Longzang

Chapter 678 Darling (Long chapter, thanks to Alliance Leader Kokspring)

Wei Yuan was still savoring the feeling of striking the strange man Yu Jing with his sword. Unfortunately, Feng Tingyu's black aura blocked all divine senses at the time, and Wei Yuan did not expect that the strange man's body would be so tough, almost comparable to an ordinary spiritual treasure.

If he had known this would happen, he would have cut off the leg instead of the waist, so he could have at least cut off a section of the lower leg as a souvenir.

The best option would naturally be to cut off the neck, but since Feng Tingyu's Dharma Image isolates perception, Wei Yuan was afraid of missing the mark, so he chose to cut the neck at the waist, but unexpectedly, he failed to sever it.

Now Wei Yuan could only look at the newly added thousand-plus days of merit and sigh helplessly.

"I found a treasure, I picked it up from that strange man just now," Feng Tingyu said, handing Wei Yuan something wrapped in oil paper.

Wei Yuan, without suspecting anything, casually took the paper and immediately felt that it was slippery and oily, leaving his hand covered in grease.

Wei Yuan casually wiped his hand on his lapel, then opened the oil paper and saw a perfectly round egg inside, emitting a strange smell that made him want to vomit.

Wei Yuan had a vague sense of foreboding and asked, "Where did this thing come from?"

"It fell out when I hit that weirdo, and then I also took a piece of paper from him, so I just wrapped it up with the paper."

Wei Yuan suddenly remembered what Demon Blade July had said earlier, and immediately felt a sense of foreboding. He looked at Feng Tingyu's hands, which were crystal clear and white without a single stain, while his own hands were covered with a lot of yellowish-brown grease from the oiled paper.

Wei Yuan gritted his teeth, first putting the egg of dubious origin into his storage magic item, and then noticed that there seemed to be writing on the oil paper.

He suppressed his nausea, wrapped his hands with his Taoist power, and unfolded them to see a design drawing on the oiled paper, followed by dense annotations. The design drawing had the three large characters "Transformation Pool" written on it.

Wei Yuan scanned the oil paper with his divine sense and suddenly realized that the oil stains on it were essential materials for building the Transformation Pool. So, without making a sound, he wiped his hands clean with his clothes, then took off his outer robe and put it into his storage bag, before changing into a new outfit.

After doing all that, Wei Yuan couldn't help but ask Feng Tingyu, "Why aren't your hands dirty?"

Feng Tingyu said, "My hand is very resistant to these things, so I've been using my Dao power to hold it up and not let it touch me. Oh, what I mean by hand is that it doesn't want to shake hands with you for seven days."

Wei Yuan was speechless, then asked again, "Was this thing cut out or did it fall out?"

"Isn't it all the same? It's like it was growing on my body, and then I cut it off with one stroke. But the knife doesn't seem too happy about it either."

Wei Yuan finally gave up hope.

At this moment, he was in a very bad mood, so he turned his gaze to the two surviving leaders of the men in black. Wei Yuan's killing was also methodical; he generally killed those with strong cultivation but weak magic weapons, while sparing the lives of those with weak cultivation but strong magic weapons.

As for the rest, those with strong cultivation and powerful magic weapons are dealt with according to their mood; those with weak cultivation and weak magic weapons are easily killed, and they probably don't even remember them.

At this moment, the masks of the two leaders in black were naturally removed, revealing their true faces. Their usual magical weapons and collections were all laid out on the ground beside them for identification.

Wei Yuan actually remembered one of them. So he searched his memory and remembered that he had seen this person at the Wei King's banquet. At that time, he was a powerful general under the Wei King.

Were these assassins sent by the King of Wei? But Wei Yuan didn't think the King of Wei could pull off such a large-scale operation.

"Who are you?"

The general stared at Wei Yuan and sneered, "You dare to interfere in the important affairs of the Left Chancellor and the Crown Prince? You're dead!"

Wei Yuan laughed: "So you've also sided with the Crown Prince. It seems the Prince of Wei is indeed finished. Which eye of yours saw me interfering in the affairs of the Left Chancellor and the Crown Prince?"

The general said, "I just saw it with my own eyes!"

"Oh, I saw it with my own eyes, they gouged out both of his eyes."

Two soldiers immediately attacked, and the general let out a scream as his eyes became two bloody holes.

Wei Yuan asked again, "Which eye of yours saw me interfering in the affairs of the Left Chancellor and the Crown Prince?"

The general trembled all over, cursing loudly, but surprisingly refused to beg for mercy.

Wei Yuan then said, "Uncle Sun, destroy his Dharma form, but spare his life."

Sun Yu remained silent, and the Poisonous Scorpion carrying the cauldron appeared, spraying a mouthful of poisonous mist mixed with elixir fire onto the general, instantly corroding his Dharma form into countless holes. The general fainted from the pain, but woke up in the blink of an eye, immediately feeling that the whole world had changed, and his divine consciousness had vanished.

He was both shocked and furious, and exclaimed, "You, you are so vicious!"

Wei Yuan said calmly, "This is what happens when you oppose me. Your master may be fine, but you dogs will not only die, but die a very gruesome death. I will spare your life, but remember to tell your master everything that happened here, without omitting anything."

When the other leader saw Wei Yuan looking over, he gave a wry smile and said, "I am the younger brother of the Left Prime Minister. If Lord Wei can be lenient, I will do my best to speak well of you to my elder brother and the Crown Prince when I get back."

Wei Yuan said indifferently, "Speak well of me? What good will it do? The Great Jin is beset by internal and external troubles. The Crown Prince has the throne in his hands, but he doesn't think about how to defend against foreign enemies. He just does this useless thing all day long."

"I'll spare your life for now, but you must deliver a message: I've sent the King of Chu and Consort Yuan back. Try and touch either of them if you dare. Also, have the Crown Prince send over the seal of the Grand Tang Qingyang Military Governor immediately. If he refuses to grant it, I'll have the Zhao Kingdom grant it."

The Left Chancellor's younger brother paused for a moment before saying, "I will definitely bring it."

"Just say it the way it was said, don't change a single word."

The Left Chancellor's younger brother said, "...This is a challenge to the emperor's authority, and the Crown Prince absolutely cannot agree to it."

Wei Yuan smiled and said, "That's why you still need to gain experience. He will definitely agree."

The man stopped talking.

Wei Yuan pointed to the corpses scattered on the ground and said, "Three thousand elite troops, wouldn't it have been better to use them to fight the Northern Liao? Using them here, they wouldn't even make a splash. Another thirty thousand would be the same, don't you think?"

Whether the person believed it or not, they had to nod.

Wei Yuan was greatly satisfied and ordered his men to strip the general, whose image had been destroyed, naked and tie him to a tree.

The Left Prime Minister's younger brother was sprayed with poisonous smoke by Sun Yu. He was going to fall seriously ill after returning home and would be unable to use his magic for three years. Wei Yuan then released him.

At this moment, another force arrived from the rear, consisting of over two hundred imperial guards. Seeing the battlefield littered with the corpses of men in black, they were terrified. Wei Yuan ordered them to change back into their original clothes and escorted Consort Yuan back to the capital.

The black-clad assassin who intercepted Consort Yuan was orchestrated by the Crown Prince, while the suddenly appearing strange man from Yujing was related to the world of Luohan. Wei Yuan wasn't sure if there was any connection between the two, but he figured there probably was, otherwise they wouldn't have coordinated so perfectly.

However, the strange man was struck by the Void-Destroying Dagger, and at least one-tenth of his mental world was shattered. With such a severe injury, it is unknown how long it will take to recover, and his cultivation level may even drop.

No matter how powerful an organization is, Yu Jing Yuan is not a free lunch. Wei Yuan estimated that those people wouldn't be able to send out a second one anytime soon.

At this time, the convoy was reorganized, Wei Yuan's men were withdrawn, and the guns and cannons were unloaded and taken over by the Imperial Guards.

The convoy then set off eastward. Consort Yuan leaned out of the carriage window and waved to Wei Yuan. Wei Yuan nodded slightly in farewell.

The convoy gradually drove away into the distance.

The Qingming troops had finished clearing the battlefield, and the Human Smoke and Fire team had tallied the results: a total of 3,000 black-clad assassins, 100 Dao Foundation Establishment cultivators, and 4 Dharma Aspect cultivators had been killed. The spoils of war were worth 900,000 taels of immortal silver.

Wei Yuan sighed. These assassins weren't exactly lucrative; all these men combined couldn't even scrape together a million taels of silver. But then again, it made sense. If they had money, who would be willing to do this kind of work?
The army set off and returned to Qingming.

The young King of Chu also returned to the capital with Consort Yuan. He is a karmic being of Arhat, not someone who dies easily, nor someone who is easily controlled.

As they approached Qingming, all the cultivators suddenly changed their expressions, sensing a distinct aura of heavenly tribulation.

This calamity seemed both near and far, as if it were in the azure sky, yet also as if it were not.

Wei Yuan leaped into the air and flew towards Qingming, with the other cultivators following closely behind. This tribulation was extraordinary, giving off an exceptionally eerie feeling.

Just as he was about to enter the Azure Netherworld, Wei Yuan suddenly remembered something, quickly took out a silk scarf and tied it on before flying into the Azure Netherworld to search for the source of his tribulation. However, after flying in the Azure Netherworld several times, he still couldn't pinpoint the location of the heavenly tribulation!

The cultivators of Taichu Palace were in the same boat, all gaining nothing.

Wei Yuan then took stock of the cultivators within Qingming who might be undergoing tribulation, and finally discovered that Bao Yun was nowhere to be found. However, Bao Yun and the other cultivators of Taichu Palace were always free to come and go, and no one else knew where Bao Yun had gone.

The aura of the heavenly tribulation lasted for almost half a day before finally dissipating.

A normal heavenly tribulation usually lasts about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, ending after a few bolts of lightning.

Wei Yuan's tribulations were more complex, coming in numerous, fierce, and highly targeted forms. Almost none of Wei Yuan's prior preparations were of any use. Some are favored by heaven and earth, while others are targeted; Wei Yuan clearly belonged to the latter.

Zhang Sheng's tribulation was an extreme case, consisting of over five hundred tribulations. As she went through the tribulations, especially the more than three hundred human-rank flying swords, she became restless and agitated, which she took as a way to temper her Dao heart.

This tribulation in Qingming lasted for a considerable period, yet it lacked any obvious fluctuations. It was related to this realm, yet also outside of it, making it exceptionally strange. The nature of this tribulation remained unknown. Wei Yuan urgently searched the records in the Hall of Merit, but to no avail.

As dusk fell, a soft, ethereal voice suddenly rang in Wei Yuan's ears: "Come to Ding'an City to see me."

Wei Yuan was both surprised and delighted; it was Bao Yun's voice!

He took off immediately and arrived in Ding'an City shortly afterward, entering Bao Yun's residence.

In the newly built Ding'an City, Bao Yun's city lord's mansion was several times larger than the original, with a five-story main building, as well as several back gardens and side gardens. The main building was extremely magnificent and elegant, with vermilion pillars supporting lotus-shaped brackets, a glazed tile roof, and the curves of the eaves were all quite exquisite.

The garden itself was meticulously arranged. A back garden was enclosed by blue bricks and white tiles, with tender gardenias peeking over the walls, peach blossoms swaying in the April breeze, and mist swirling around the trees, while scattered moss dotted the stones. A bamboo curtain hung within the garden, behind which several cobblestone paths, lined with waist-high asparagus fern, led to a side garden. Within this side garden, a winding corridor led to a bronze incense burner shaped like a wind chime hanging from the eaves, its smoke rising gently, nourishing the spirit. Several spirit lanterns, inlaid with fluorite, emitted a hazy blue glow as people walked by, making them seem almost alive.

Bao Yun is different from the other cultivators in Taichu Palace. She comes from the Bao family and has been used to a life of luxury since childhood. Making her live a simple life and live in a small, humble house would only affect her Dao heart.

The cultivators of Taichu Palace were not the type to endure hardship without effort; they simply found it troublesome and unnecessary. Naturally, they preferred to live as comfortably as possible when they didn't need to worry about anything.

Just like Xu Henshui, his own courtyard was decorated almost like the Jade Pool Wonderland. He originally planned to plant nine more fairy orchids, but when he found that Wei Yuan didn't have enough orchids, he immediately gave them all to Wei Yuan, revealing his ambition.

Take Chu He as another example. The materials used in his courtyard were changed again and again. The house he built looked simple and rustic, with a quiet and elegant mountain charm, but in reality, many of the stones on the walls were treasures and rare stones dug out from deep underground.

Sitting in this room instantly doubles one's cultivation speed and boosts one's luck by 50%.

The old Taoist priest loved hot pot, and luckily, guinea pigs reproduced very well. With the old Taoist priest and his three adoptive fathers eating as much as they could, the population kept growing and was about to become a plague.

The old Taoist priest was alright; thanks to his cultivation, his physique remained unchanged. Xu Wenwu, however, had gained a significant amount of weight, adding a pound of flesh to his body every day.

Seeing the examples of Xu Henshui and Chuhe Laodao, Wei Yuan seemed to have something on his mind. In addition, since there was nowhere for Yuanfei to stay, he embarked on a large-scale construction project and built a new immortal city at the foot of the main peak.

When the Immortal City was first built, all the cultivators said it was unnecessary and a waste of time. But once the Immortal City was completed, everyone quietly moved in. Even those who had their own places to live, such as Sun Yu, Xu Henshui, and Chu He, each took up a residence in the Immortal City, and no one refused.

Therefore, when Wei Yuan rebuilt Ding'an City, he specifically referred to the scene he saw at the Bao family's residence and rebuilt Bao Yun's residence.

However, the huge mansion was now eerily quiet. As soon as Wei Yuan entered the gate, he immediately felt that the surroundings had darkened. What was supposed to be dusk had now turned into the first glimmer of night.

The inside and outside of the courtyard are like two different worlds.

The lights were on in every room, brightly lit everywhere, yet there was a deathly silence—not a sound, not even the wind or the rustling of trees. No one knew who had turned on the lights.

Wei Yuan frowned slightly and used his divine sense to look around, but found nothing unusual. The only unusual thing was that there was a wisp of heavenly tribulation aura permeating the courtyard, causing any living being to tremble instinctively.

Wei Yuan walked towards the main building, where the aura of heavenly tribulation was most intense. As soon as he entered, the lights in the rooms suddenly turned a deep red!
This red was not fiery or bright, but rather rich and damp, as if dripping from the ceiling and seeping from the walls, composed of countless tiny, wriggling particles, each piece of red watching Wei Yuan.

Ignoring the surrounding red, he strode up the stairs, floor by floor, the red becoming more intense and writhing the higher he went.

Upon entering the top floor and stepping into Bao Yun's bedroom, Wei Yun saw a woman dressed in a bright red wedding gown sitting quietly by the bed. A veil covered her face, but judging from her figure, it seemed to be Bao Yun.

Wei Yuan felt a chill run down his spine and tried to mobilize the power of his domain, but he immediately discovered that the entire mansion was shrouded in a strange power. He couldn't mobilize the power of his peerless domain. Wei Yuan wanted to materialize human life, but he was blocked by this strange extraterrestrial power.

Wei Yuan's heart sank. Could something have happened to Bao Yun?
At this moment, the woman sitting on the bed said, "It's getting late, it's time to rest."

This was Bao Yun's voice, but it was calm, mechanical, and without any inflection. It exuded indifference from the inside out, unlike that of a living being.

Wei Yuan's face darkened, and he prepared to step forward and lift the woman's veil.

But just as he was about to make a move, an extremely cold will suddenly appeared, filling the entire room. The extreme chill seeped into his skin, instantly covering Wei Yuan's body with a layer of ice, making it difficult for him to move.

Wei Yuan exerted all his strength, his internal Dao power burning like a furnace, instantly dispelling the extreme cold. He strode forward and yanked off the woman's veil!

Beneath the veil was Bao Yun's face.

At this moment, her face was deathly pale, and her eyes were filled with despair and panic.

She said to Wei Yuan, "Please take off your clothes and rest early, my lord."

The voice remained mechanical and cold, like a lifeless object.

However, her lip movements were not like that. From her lip reading, Wei Yuan read: "I am already dead, you must run!"

Wei Yuan suddenly felt a surge of heat rush to the top of his head!

(End of this chapter)