Longzang

Chapter 664 Another Autumn Day
In the cultivation world, it is common knowledge that the more bizarre and strange the heavenly tribulation lightning is, the more terrifying it is; the more ordinary and unremarkable it looks, the easier it is to be saved.

As the gray-white lightning struck, Shengxin stood frozen for a moment, and countless tiny cracks suddenly appeared on her face.

Then his entire body began to disintegrate. In the moment of life and death, Shengxin tore off his little finger and threw it to Huixin, and then his body turned to ashes.

All of this happened so suddenly that Huixin was completely caught off guard. Then, her little finger in her palm made a sound: "Get me out of this hellhole! We're not looking for the Chosen One anymore."

Just then, a voice rang out from the side: "Are you looking for the Chosen One?"

Hui Xin turned around and saw Lei Dong.

Upon seeing Huixin's appearance, Lei Dong's initial anticipation instantly turned to disgust. He sized her up, thinking to himself that although this witch was horribly ugly, her cultivation was not low, and she might come from some powerful force. At this moment, Huixin's physical beauty was completely ignored.

Lei Dong said politely, "I am Lei Dong, the lord of the Lei Ze tribe. If you are looking for the chosen one, then you have come to the right shaman."

Hui Xin was taken aback. The chosen one she had been searching for for several months had just delivered himself to her doorstep.
The finger in her hand then said, "He isn't!"

"Who said I'm not?" Lei Dong's expression turned somewhat unpleasant.

The image of the Holy Heart appeared on the little finger. After carefully examining Lei Dong, it said, "He may have been, but he isn't anymore. Without your secret technique, his fortune will only dissipate faster and faster. Let's go!"

Lei Dong was greatly surprised, and his attitude immediately became much more respectful. He said, "Two high shamans, since you have come here, why don't you come and sit down in my Lei Ze tribe for a while! Let me show you the hospitality of a local, and then we can talk in detail."

Little Finger Saint Heart couldn't refuse, so he reluctantly agreed.

Hui Xin was a little confused. Where did she get some secret method to help people consolidate their luck?

……

"Primordial Mystic Plant... Primordial Mystic Plant..." Wei Yuan chanted viciously, wielding two Chaos Blades in his hands, slashing once with each chant.

At this point, another month had passed since the Primordial Mystic Plant sprouted. Wei Yuan had absorbed Qi from four different sources, but his cultivation progress was negligible.

At this moment, a thought struck him, and he realized that the vitality of the Primordial Mystic Plant had reached a critical point and was about to sprout. So he returned to the mortal world and looked at the stone ball that already had countless cracks.

The stone sphere cracked open, releasing a black and red aura that hovered in the air before plunging into the Jade Mountain and landing in the black pool beside the Gate of All Realms. There, it transformed into a vibrant red flower, appearing and disappearing in the water.

Upon seeing the flower, Wei Yuan's mind went blank for a moment, and he flew over to examine it closely. A moment later, he emerged from the jade mountain, looking somewhat lost and disoriented.

This flower has characteristics of the other shore and clearly does not belong to this world. If Wei Yuan's guess is correct, it is most likely the other shore flower that is said to only be produced in the Yellow Springs and the impure land. In Buddhist scriptures, it is called Manjushaka.

Like the Red Lotus Bodhi, this flower is generally associated with profound karmic consequences. In Taoist scriptures, it is considered an extinct celestial species, only likely to survive in certain special celestial realms and grotto-heavens.

When Wei Yuan used the Xuan Tian Zi Qi bestowed by True Lord Yan Shi to transform the Xuan Seed, he clearly felt that the Xuan Seed had undergone some changes. Considering the effects of the Xuan Tian Zi Qi on transforming immortal plants, he felt a little strange.

As the flowers of the other shore fell to the ground, Wei Yuan's cultivation journey increased from four thousand years to four thousand two hundred years. Facing the extra two hundred years, Wei Yuan's heart was no longer disturbed.

The normal lifespan of a Dharma-form being is three to five hundred years, while a Celestial-form being might approach a thousand years. Wei Yuan estimated that his original lifespan should have been a thousand years, and he still had eight hundred years left. However, given how turbulent the mortal world is, Wei Yuan felt that he probably wouldn't live past eight hundred years.

Wei Yuan returned to Qingming to deal with the backlog of matters from the past two months.

The past two months have passed peacefully in Qingming. The Pill Workshop has been producing pills steadily, and the number of people exchanging for Lesser Qi Cultivation Pills has exceeded 50,000. According to statistics, more than 10,000 new Body Forging cultivators have been added, and the Gate to Immortality has been opened for them.

The newly added 10,000+ cultivators contributed over 5,000 strands of azure energy to Wei Yuan, a significantly higher proportion than the refugees. It seems that the stronger one's abilities, the greater their fortune. Based on current trends, it is estimated that the number of Body Forging cultivators reaching the Muscle and Muscle Realm will increase by 100,000 within a year. In terms of work efficiency, this is equivalent to a million ordinary refugees, enough to replace 500,000 large livestock.

Wei Yuan was very satisfied.

Another matter was that the heads of more than a dozen large merchant guilds jointly requested an audience, wanting to start trade in Lesser Qi Cultivation Pills and Great Sun Rising Pills.

Wei Yuan then ordered his men to summon the heads of these chambers of commerce to discuss the matter.

The guild leaders wanted to buy the Lesser Qi Cultivation Pills at a price higher than the exchange rate; they were willing to offer double the price. Wei Yuan roughly calculated that the guild could still make about 80% profit this way. The Lesser Qi Cultivation Pills produced by Qingming were of excellent quality, and could be sold for even higher prices, perhaps even doubling their profit.

Wei Yuan then said, "This is a good thing for everyone, and I'm very willing to do so. However, the current stock of medicinal herbs is limited, and there aren't enough for the Lesser Qi Cultivation Pills. If everyone could bring in some medicinal herbs, that would be even better."

Although the ingredients for the Lesser Qi Cultivation Pill are miraculous medicines, they are not rare. At that moment, seven or eight merchants confidently declared that they could supply it, and that they could provide as much as needed.

After further discussion, the two parties agreed on a ratio of three portions of medicinal herbs to one Small Qi Cultivation Pill, and that half of the Small Qi Cultivation Pills purchased must be obtained through the exchange of medicinal herbs.

After the agreement was reached, Wei Yuan distributed 100,000 pills from his inventory to various merchant guilds, and then put two two-patterned Great Sun Morning Glory Pills up for auction. They were then snapped up by two major merchant guilds for 150,000 taels each. Thus, both sides were happy.

Qingming Pill Workshop has optimized its medicinal herb processing several times, developing a variety of previously unseen methods. Therefore, while three portions of herbs might yield three or fewer pills in the hands of an ordinary alchemist, Qingming Pill Workshop can produce five or more pills. This alone doubles their efficiency.

The problem of insufficient supply of medicinal materials for the Lesser Qi Cultivation Pill has been solved, but the production capacity of the Pill Workshop cannot be increased for the time being. Wei Yuan's number of Dao Foundation Warriors is limited, and without a major war with the Witch Clan, their numbers cannot be increased.

Several more months passed peacefully, and before long, the State of Jin was once again bathed in the crisp autumn air.

In the following months, Qingming gained over a thousand more Foundation Establishment cultivators, the vast majority of whom were template Foundation Establishment cultivators. Once they completed their cultivation, they were quickly dispatched to various regions to consolidate their realms.

More than 200,000 refugees migrated from various places. At this time, many of them heard that a paradise called Qingming had appeared outside the pass, so they traveled thousands of miles to come here.

With the addition of the 500,000 refugees Wei Yuan purchased from various regions, the current population of Qingming is approaching three million. The amount of Qing Qi stored in Wei Yuan's mortal realm is also increasing, and although he is making every effort to utilize it, it still exceeds 500,000.

The first batch of officers from the military academy have graduated and been assigned to various units. Their new uniforms greatly impressed the soldiers, and many families considered it an honor for their daughters to marry officers.

The first heavy armored unit, established entirely in accordance with the second version of the military plan, has been completed. This unit is based on two thousand former Longxiang Army soldiers and equipped with five hundred military academy officers, totaling twenty thousand men. Bao Yun is the commander, and the unit calls itself the First Army of Qingming.

According to the second edition of the military plan, there was also a special unit, totaling three thousand men, whose average quality was even higher than that of the First Army. This unit was named: the First Battle Regiment of the Annihilation Gang.

At this moment, news came from the northern mountain gate that after several months of seclusion, the eldest sister had finally broken through to the Dharma Form stage, and after undergoing the Ninefold Heavenly Tribulation of the Xuanji Heavenly Star Fire Thunder Form, she achieved the Dharma Form Xuanhuang Linglong Ninefold Pagoda.

It is said that the Heavenly Lord Yan Shi was so happy that he distributed celestial silver red envelopes to everyone he met, giving away hundreds of thousands of taels of celestial silver in just over ten days. He also declared that such a divine appearance should be celebrated and that the people should share in the joy.

This contrasts sharply with the situation when Wei Yuan achieved the Dharma Body, when he dragged him around borrowing tens of millions of taels of immortal silver. The relationship between the two True Lords has once again plummeted to its lowest point.

Another piece of news is that Zhang Sheng has consolidated his Dao foundation, entered the Spirit Nourishing Realm, and begun seclusion. The duration of this seclusion is unknown, but given the desire to imbue hundreds of immortal swords with spirits, it's clear it won't be short.

Wei Yuan felt somewhat disappointed.

At this moment, news arrived that Consort Yuan and the young Prince Chu were leaving the capital for a spring outing and would be visiting Qingming.

(End of this chapter)