Longzang

Chapter 691 The Immortal's Actions
"Since it's such a shameful matter, I'd better not listen." Wei Yuan got up to leave.

With the King of England and Xu Lanshan making such a show of force, and Xu Lanshan even using her immortal sword to isolate the surroundings, if Wei Yuan still couldn't guess that they were talking about Lü Changhe's shameful deeds, then he might as well give up.

It concerns the disgraceful deeds of immortals, so the less you know, the better, otherwise you might get struck by lightning.

But how could the King of England let Wei Yuan escape? He pressed Wei Yuan back into his seat with his large hand and said, "Although the cause and effect of this matter are great, knowing about it will still be more beneficial than harmful to you."

Wei Yuan could only sigh and say, "My cultivation is low and my progress is slow. I may very well stop at the Dharma Aspect stage in this lifetime. So for now, I must focus on cultivation. Don't expect anything from me."

The King of England smiled slightly and said, "That's natural. If you weren't one of the top geniuses in the Taichu Palace, the position of Qingyang Jiedushi wouldn't have fallen to you."

Xu Lanshan also said, "Power is just an external thing. Sooner or later, we will transcend the world and strive to embark on the path of immortality."

Everyone assumed that Wei Yuan was aiming for the Immortal Realm and wouldn't be interested in the throne of the Human King, much less be hindered by it. Therefore, both the Prince of Jin and the Prince of Zhao were ruthless in bestowing official titles upon him, knowing that Wei Yuan would eventually leave.

If Wei Yuan's path to immortality is only enough to reach the Imperial Realm, then the position of military governor will not fall to him.

Having heard the King of England speak to this extent, Wei Yuan had no choice but to sit down and listen.

The King of Ying then said, “The royal family of the Western Jin Dynasty belongs to the Lü family, and Lü Changhe is also from the Lü family. The two Lüs were originally one family, and they were both descended from the same immortal ancestor. However, the Lü of the royal family and the Lü of Lü Changhe are not from the same branch, and they are not even from the same direct lineage.”

Wei Yuan asked in surprise, "Lu Changhe is an immortal, how could he hand over the throne to a collateral branch of the family?"

Even immortals cannot transcend the mortal realm; on the contrary, they have even greater needs from it. For example, Xu Wangu's ascension to immortality required the resources accumulated by the Xu family over a thousand years.

The King of England paused for a moment before saying, "Several hundred years ago, Lu Changhe's branch was a collateral lineage, and it was quite far removed from the bloodline of the original Immortal Ancestor."

Wei Yuan was surprised again; this was completely different from what he had heard.

The King of England said, "This matter dates back to before Lü Changhe ascended to immortality. Back then, Lü Changhe was born into a branch family, and was even born out of wedlock. He was considered to have good talent from a young age, but he was not exceptionally gifted."

At that time, the branch clan leader, for the sake of his own son's future, desperately suppressed Lü Changhe and stole the spot to enter the ancestral land to cultivate immortal scriptures and comprehend the true meaning left behind by the first ancestor. Lü Changhe was indignant and complained to the clan elders, but the elders colluded with the branch clan leader and instead reprimanded and severely punished Lü Changhe.

Lu Changhe was extreme in temperament and caused a scene at the elders' meeting, resulting in him being severely injured and left in the wilderness.

Everyone thought he was dead, but no one expected that Lü Changhe would suddenly appear three hundred years later and return to the Lü family. At this time, he had already reached the Great Perfection of the Imperial Realm. The Second Generation Immortal Ancestor had just passed away, and several elders were severely injured by him alone. No one could control him, so he seized power from the Lü family.

After obtaining the relics of the first and second generation of immortal ancestors, Lü Changhe successfully ascended to immortality. His first act upon ascension was to renovate the ancestral hall, placing his branch in the proper position and relegating the rest to collateral branches.

Wei Yuan was greatly shocked. This move was truly outrageous and unconventional. It was nothing short of a betrayal of one's ancestors and a betrayal of one's master.

He couldn't help but ask, "If the previous two generations of immortal ancestors had any spirits, would they have tolerated his actions?"

The King of England said, "Lu Changhe is ruthless and cunning. In terms of the methods left behind by the first and second generation ancestors, he is no match for them. All the formations he left behind have been broken, and all kinds of treasures have been seized by him. Even the direct descendants of the second generation immortal ancestor are now living in poverty. It takes them several months to save up enough money for the immortal sect's unified examination."

Wei Yuan's heart tightened, and he asked again, "Prince Ying, what is your current position in the Lü family? And how do you view this matter?"

The King of England said, "King Cheng and I are both of the bloodline of the first ancestor. My branch's ancestor was a brother of the second Immortal Ancestor. After Lü Changhe seized power, he separated the descendants of the second Immortal Ancestor. My branch and King Cheng's branch have royal lineage, and our bloodline has a restriction placed by the Great Tang Martial Ancestor. Lü Changhe feared the Martial Ancestor, so the succession to the throne was relatively normal before."

Currently, within the Lü family, Lü Changhe's side has three Imperial Guards, while the other branches each have seven.

Hearing this, Wei Yuan had no desire to listen any longer and said with a wry smile, "Your Highness, we have no grudges against each other, so please don't drag me into this mess!"

Xu Lanshan interjected, "You were already in the water."

The King of England nodded and said, "The Crown Prince is very likely to be surnamed Lü, but not the Lü of Your Majesty."

Wei Yuan's hand, holding the cup, froze in mid-air.

After all that had been said, how could he not understand? The more Wei Yuan thought about it, the more alarmed he became; the truth was about to be revealed.

"How close is the Crown Prince Lü to the Immortal Ancestor?" Wei Yuan asked, forcing himself to speak.

The King of England said, "This matter involves immortals, and I cannot know the truth. I have discussed this matter privately with King Cheng, and based on various clues, we deduced that even if it is not particularly close, it is very close."

Wei Yuan sighed, "This Lü..."

Halfway through his sentence, the space created by the immortal sword suddenly trembled, and Wei Yuan immediately changed his words: "...The immortal ancestor of the Lü family truly possesses the skills of an immortal."

The Immortal Sword Space returned to normal, and Xu Lanshan praised, "Indeed, being cautious was the right thing to do."

The King of England said, "So you should understand now that although it is nominally one Lü family, it is actually two separate parts that are almost irreconcilable. If Lü Changhe hadn't been concerned about the majesty of the Great Tang imperial family, he would have seized the throne long ago."

"Why should he be afraid when the Tang Dynasty is in decline?" Wei Yuan asked, puzzled. "He is not afraid of the current Tang Dynasty, but of the Great Tang Martial Ancestor."

Wei Yuan was taken aback. The Martial Ancestor of the Great Tang Dynasty had passed away a thousand years ago. Lu Changhe was, after all, an immortal. Why was he still so afraid of him? But even the King of Ying couldn't explain this matter.

Having discussed the secret, we now move on to the main topic.

The Prince of Jin regained some ground and expanded his power. Although he still couldn't touch the six prefectures of Ganzhou, the ancestral home of the Lü family, and couldn't collect much silver there, his influence in the prefectures on the periphery of the Lü family had increased, and taxes were finally able to be reduced somewhat.

The Xu family was naturally happy to see Lü Changhe suffer a setback, and they also contributed some money and grain. As a result, the Prince of Ying in the north was finally a little better off, and the military funds were able to be delivered to him.

In the past, military spending was always recorded in the accounts.

The King of England received only military equipment and armor produced by the Ministry of War, as well as inferior firearms. Aside from the occasional payment of meager military wages when things were truly dire, the King rarely saw any silver.

With the Immortal Silver in hand, the King of England went directly to Wei Yuan, intending to purchase armor and weapons from him. Most importantly, he wanted to purchase a batch of flying swords and spears used by cultivators who had reached the Great Perfection of Body Forging or even the Foundation Establishment stage, in order to counter the heavy arrows of the Northern Liao Iron Cavalry.

Previously, the firearms cast by the Ministry of War were of poor quality, with short range and inconsistent power, and were prone to exploding after only a few shots. Therefore, many officers and soldiers melted down their firearms to use as arrowheads.

Wei Yuan held the King of Ying in high esteem, and thus agreed to sell the flying sword spear. Each flying sword spear sold for only one hundred taels of silver, and each flying sword used in the spear cost five taels.

This price was unexpected by the King of England, since the muskets cast by the Ministry of War cost fifty taels each, and the ammunition cost one tael per round. Muskets and ammunition did not require special craftsmen or special materials; any apprentice could produce them with some scrap iron.

In other words, the Ministry of War dared to sell a single iron bullet and a bit of old-fashioned gunpowder for one or two taels of silver. Back then, Wei Yuan's monthly silver when he first entered the Taichu Palace was only enough to buy ten of them.

Only cultivators who have reached the Refinement of Spirit or Great Completion of Body Forging can use the Flying Sword Spear. There are approximately 20,000 of them in the Northern Army under the command of the King of England.

So the King of England immediately ordered 20,000 flying swords, 1 million flying swords for guns, plus 100,000 sets of breastplates, totaling 9 million taels of silver, which completely depleted his newly acquired military funds.

Making so much money, and not being the Minister of War, Wei Yuan felt somewhat guilty.

He had great respect for the King, but that respect was limited to feeling guilty; it wasn't enough to warrant a discount.

Once the matter was settled, the King of England pushed over a sandalwood magic box, which contained exactly nine million taels of silver. In addition, the box itself was a storage magic treasure, worth more than ten thousand taels of silver.

Wei Yuan felt even more guilty and hesitated about whether to offer a 1% discount, but after thinking it over, he felt it was inappropriate and could only guarantee to deliver the goods as soon as possible.

After the matter of the King of England was settled, Xu Lanshan said, "You have made a contribution this time, but you have also offended Lü Changhe. The Immortal Ancestor has instructed that you may make a request."

Wei Yuan was taken aback. This question was very strange. What did he mean by making a request? Did he want the true meaning of the Eternal Sword, and was he really going to give it to him?
Xu Lanshan gave Wei Yuan a meaningful look and said, "You can go back and think about it slowly. There's no rush now."

Wei Yuan suddenly realized that the words were not addressed to him, but to Pei Tinghai.

Wei Yuan then said, "I'll think about it carefully when I get back."

Xu Lanshan nodded and then said, "The Immortal Ancestor has another message for me to tell you: the Prince of Fu also has the surname Lü."

Wei Yuan and the Prince of Ying both changed color instantly!
Wei Yuan's mind was in turmoil, and he didn't know what to feel. The Consort Yuan had even kept this from him; how many other things did she not know?

In matters of the heart, Wei Yuan still had the mindset of a young man. He was gradually opening his heart, but unexpectedly he was betrayed, as if he had been stabbed in the back, his heart was torn apart.

Wei Yuan forced himself to remain calm and said, "Please thank the Immortal Ancestor for me."

Xu Lanshan nodded, then said, "Let me add something here: the methods of immortals are far beyond the comprehension of us mortals. If they want you to know, you can know; if they don't want you to know, even if you watch with your own eyes, you will not see it."

"Consort Yuan is likely unaware of this matter; only my ancestral immortal could see through the secrets of heaven and discern Lü Changhe's contingency plans."

Wei Yuan nodded, his face remaining expressionless.

"Alright, everything that needed to be said has been said. Let's drink to our hearts' content, and then we'll call it a day." Xu Lanshan sheathed her immortal sword.

The three men each finished their drinks, and then Wei Yuan and the King of Ying agreed on the handover time and method. This batch of military equipment would be transported by the Xu family's flying boat, bypassing the Lü family's territory, and sent directly to the northern front.

Upon returning to Qingming, Wei Yuan arranged for the construction of the Reincarnation Furnace. With trade routes open and ample materials readily available, Wei Yuan built two Reincarnation Furnaces in one go.

The Reincarnation Furnace is enormous; even with numerous Dao Foundations available to Qingming, it would still take six months to complete its construction.

After Wei Yuan and others began construction on the two Reincarnation Furnaces, he left Qingming and went to the northern mountain gate to meet the Immortal Lord Tinghai.

Xu Wangu asked Pei Tinghai this question, and naturally only Pei Tinghai could make the decision. Wei Yuan now knew more or less about the actions of immortals, how they planned for a thousand years, and how without ascending the immortal mountain, it was difficult to fathom their plans, so he dared not make a decision for the immortal lord.

(End of this chapter)