Longzang

Chapter 692 Taking Your Dog's Life
After being refined by his senior sister, Wei Yuan's flying vehicle's appearance was improved by another 10%, and its speed was increased by 10%. Now, when flying, even ordinary mid-stage Yu Jing cultivators cannot catch up with it.

At this time, the situation within the Western Jin Dynasty was different again. The territories controlled by the Prince of Jin and the Xu family had been opened to Wei Yuan, and flying boat caravans could travel freely back and forth.

Now, Wei Yuan only needs to worry about the north. The Lü family is located in the northwest corner of Jin State, and Wei Yuan usually doesn't need to travel there.

In just one day, Wei Yuan arrived at the northern mountain gate.

At this time, the northern mountain gate was already deep winter, and as far as the eye could see, it was covered in a blanket of silver.

Within the mountain gate area, it wasn't particularly cold, but outside, the wind howled and the cold penetrated to the bone; only those who had completed the Muscle and Muscle Realm cultivation could survive in such temperatures. During the coldest month of winter, those below the Blood Fusion Realm could hardly venture out.

Despite the freezing cold, the Northern Liao people and their horses could move freely, thus maintaining their offensive.

Wei Yuan entered the northern mountain gate, reported the news, and then awaited the Immortal Lord's summons. In the previous fierce battle, True Lord Xuan Yue was seriously injured, so he returned to his home mountain to recuperate, while also overseeing the construction of the Azure Sky Hall.

Wei Yuan waited three days before being summoned by the Immortal Lord.

The Immortal Lord of the Sea still resides atop that small peak. The summit was extremely cold; even Wei Yuan felt a chill, and his body even felt somewhat numb as he ascended.

This chill was quite abnormal; ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivators would freeze to death after only a few steps, and even a Dharma Body couldn't stay there for long. Only a Dharma Body like Wei Yuan's, with its powerful Dharma Body, profound and inexhaustible Dao power, could reside on this mountain peak.

The entire peak was shrouded in the great formation, and the area inside was extremely cold. At this temperature, even steel would become brittle.

The Immortal Lord of the Sea was still sitting on the edge of the cliff fishing when Wei Yuan came up behind him and stood still.

At this distance, one can see tiny particles constantly flying out from the body of the Sea-Listening Immortal Lord, most of which are then drawn back in, but occasionally one or two will disappear.

Immortal Lord Tinghai put down his fishing rod, slowly rose, and sat down with Wei Yuan at the stone table. He said, "Now only the North Sea Frost Prison Formation can delay the collapse of my immortal body. This formation consumes a lot of energy. The reason I am still clinging to life is that I still have the strength to make one last attack."

The Northern Liao's Junior Grand Preceptor knew this, so he never approached, only sending his hounds to harass him constantly. It seems I can't take the Junior Grand Preceptor's life before I can hold out any longer; I can only take his hound's.

After the immortal lord was seated, he asked, "What brings you here?"

Wei Yuan said, "Xu Wangu asked me to pass on a message to you, saying that he can grant you a request."

The Immortal Lord of the Sea chuckled and said, "This Xu Wangu, he changed his immortal body, but it seems like his brain was changed too?"

Wei Yuan asked, "Cunning?"

"They've become stupid!"

Wei Yuan didn't understand what he meant, so he could only listen.

"I've heard you're an exceptional chess player in the mortal realm. Come, play a game with me first."

Wei Yuan nodded, then pondered in his heart how he could lose, and lose with all his might, in a heart-wrenching way.

As he was thinking, he saw the Immortal Lord of the Sea casually make a swipe, and a radiant cube appeared in front of him, consisting of nineteen squares in each direction.

"This is a chessboard often used by immortals. When a piece is completely blocked in all directions, it is dead. Come, try a game."

Looking at this 3D chessboard, Wei Yuan's mind was a complete mess!
The world was initially silent, then erupted into chaos, but even with nearly a million ordinary people present, it was difficult to manage the unfolding of such a massive game.

Wei Yuan had no choice but to follow along with Tinghai Xianjun, and naturally he lost miserably. Before the opening moves were even finished, Wei Yuan's pieces were already all dead.

After finishing the game, Immortal Lord Tinghai put away the chessboard and smiled, saying, "This is considered the simplest chess game among immortals. It is said that there is also the Hun Tian Grand Chess Game, which has 361 lines in each direction, and that is beyond my ability to participate in."

Wei Yuan thought to himself, "So this is how immortals pass the time. It seems their lifespan is indeed a bit too short."

As if knowing what Wei Yuan was thinking, the Immortal Lord of the Sea laughed and scolded, "You brat, you even dare to make fun of me! I'm playing this game with you to tell you that when an immortal makes a move, he not only considers the vast land and rivers, but also the past and future millennia. Every move involves a great deal of implications."

Because there are so many variables, even immortals cannot fully perceive the changes. Often, meticulously planned schemes are actually falling into someone else's trap.

Wei Yuan felt a headache just thinking about it. Even someone with the computing power of Immortal Lord Tinghai was only at the entry level of an immortal. So how terrifying were those old immortals who had lived for many years?
The Sea Immortal said, "Now you should know that the grudges between immortals are not as simple as they seem on the surface. In this battle, I really didn't expect to be ambushed, and it's probably because of this attack that I perished."

However, your Qingming has grown to this level in just a few years, and has already begun to influence Xianren Buzi. So, I win again. Overall, I still have a slight advantage.”

"Are immortals always scheming against each other?"

Listening to the Sea Immortal Lord smiled and said, "Of course not all are like that. For example, our ancestor was particularly simple and direct. At that time, our ancestor could not find a place to set up the Taichu Palace mountain gate, so he thought of killing a Heavenly Witch and seizing a piece of land from the Witch Clan."

When the patriarch arrived at the location, he was surprised to find three Heavenly Witches there. Despite being surrounded, he still managed to kill the first Heavenly Witch. Upon returning, he established the Taichu Palace gate, and for hundreds of years, the Witch Clan dared not invade.

After taking a sip of tea, Tinghai Xianjun asked, "If we disregard the grudges between me and Xu Wangu, what would you most like to ask for?"

"Shouldn't we go too far?" Wei Yuan asked.

"Of course! There's no need to consider things like making him commit suicide."

Wei Yuan had already thought about this on the way, and said, "This disciple wants free trade."

The Immortal Lord of the Sea was also taken aback, then asked, "What is free trade? Explain in detail."

"That is, within the area controlled by the Xu family, there will be no more checkpoints to collect taxes between counties, or, to take a step back, no checkpoints to collect taxes on the Qingming caravan; there will be no artificial restrictions on the outflow of goods, nor on the inflow of Qingming goods. The buying and selling of goods will be entirely based on market conditions, and the government will not interfere."

After pondering for a moment, the Immortal Lord of the Sea asked, "You have such confidence in what Qingming produces?"

"I have absolute confidence in the quality of armor, firearms, elixirs, and brocade. As long as there is no human intervention, it won't be long before only Qingming products remain on the market."

Listening to the Sea Immortal Lord said, "Apart from Qingming, do you intend for all regions to produce only raw materials and then come to buy your finished products?" Wei Yuan was taken aback, not expecting the Immortal Lord to be so perceptive, revealing his final plan in just one sentence.

“Those merchant guilds, and even the families behind them, will certainly not sit idly by and watch you cut off their source of income.”

Wei Yuan said, "This disciple understands. That's why I currently have a large army and horses... men and horses at my disposal, precisely to guard against this matter."

Listening to the Sea Immortal Lord nodded and asked, "Then what is the purpose of earning so much immortal silver?"

Wei Yuan then said, "Having thoroughly read history books and seen and heard my own experiences, I have discovered that in this world, the most basic element—human beings—is actually useless. Many times, a large number of people only serves as a burden. Therefore, some people cleverly use various means to eliminate the superfluous. Natural disasters, man-made calamities, wars, plagues, and so on are all examples."

I have learned by chance that there are otherworldly realms where mortals without great power can live well. Though I am unworthy, I wish to protect mortals in my own little world, giving them meaning in life. I also wish to guide more mortals onto the path of immortality, even if it's only to the stage of building tendons and merging blood.

All this celestial silver will ultimately be used here.

The Immortal Lord of the Sea smiled and said, "In the Middle Ages, a great Buddhist master made a vow: 'I will not become a Buddha until hell is emptied.' You already have some of the shadow of that great Buddhist vow."

Immortal Lord Tinghai should have been praising him, but Wei Yuan felt a chill run down his spine, as if something was beckoning to him from the shadows. A string of crystal beads seemed to hang in the void, one of which was engraved with the words "Wu Yuan."

Wei Yuan quickly cleared away these illusions and said, "This disciple didn't think that far ahead. I just felt that mortals suffer too much and wanted to change things a little. How is your immortal body? Did the Kun Yuan Longevity Pill I contributed last time work?"

Immortal Lord Tinghai shook his head and said, "My immortal foundation has been destroyed, so longevity pills are of little use to me."

A faint sadness slowly rose in Wei Yuan's heart. He said, "Who attacked you that day? When I ascend to immortality, I will avenge you!"

The Immortal Lord of the Sea laughed and said, "The origins of this matter are quite long. I have been thinking about it carefully these past few days, and perhaps the cause and effect are still before I ascended to immortality. At that time, I was young and impetuous, and I was not careful enough when I made my moves. As a result, someone seized on my flaws, and I should have suffered this calamity."

The one who attacked me was an ancient, vengeful corpse; as for who commanded it, I cannot ascertain. This matter is far from your concern; just focus on your own affairs. This game of chess isn't even over yet; even if I perish, as long as you remain, the game can continue.”

The more magnanimous the Immortal Lord was, the more sorrowful Wei Yuan became. However, he buried this sorrow deep in his heart, hiding it in the deepest darkness.

Finally, Hai Xianjun said, "If you want free trade, then tell Xu Wangu this. However, there will inevitably be some twists and turns, and you know how to deal with them."

After talking for a while, Immortal Lord Tinghai looked tired. He waved his hand, and Wei Yuan took his leave and descended the peak.

Afterwards, Wei Yuan visited the patriarchs of each hall. Although True Lord Xuan Yue was not at the Northern Mountain Gate at the moment, Wei Yuan's status was now different, far exceeding that of an ordinary True Person, so it would be impolite not to pay his respects to the patriarchs of each hall.

The last stop was the Heavenly Mystery Hall.

Yan Shi Zhenjun was standing on the edge of the cliff, gazing at the distant sea of ​​clouds. Wei Yuan's arrival seemed expected; he called Wei Yuan to his side, pointed into the distance, and asked, "What do you see?"

Wei Yuan looked at it for a long time and said, "A cloud."

Yan Shi Zhenjun laughed and said, "Others, after being tricked like this, either pretended to have seen something, or they tried to force some meaning onto this cloud, such as viewing the sea of ​​clouds as if viewing all living beings. You, on the other hand, are honest!"

Wei Yuan blushed, unsure whether it was a compliment or sarcasm.

Yan returned to the hall, had Wei Yuan sit down at the table, and then poured two cups of tea.

The tea of ​​True Lord Yanshi is renowned throughout the entire Taichu Palace. True Lord Xuanyue had acquired it several times, but he couldn't bear to drink it and sold it off instead.

There were two teacups on the table. One was intact and placed in front of Wei Yuan, while the other, which had a chip, was placed on Yan Shi's side.

Yan Shi poured tea himself. Wei Yuan's cup was full, while the cup in front of him was only about two-thirds full because it was chipped.

Wei Yuan quickly tried to exchange teacups, but Yan Shi stopped him and said, "These teacups belong to whoever they belong to, and cannot be exchanged. I actually have a new cup right there."

Wei Yuan looked in the direction Yan Shi Zhenjun pointed and saw a small kiln being built in the corner of the hall, where a teacup was being fired. Although the teacup was still just a blank, it was already clear that it was exceptionally exquisite.

Yan Shi Zhenjun's expression was somewhat complicated. He sighed softly and said, "This cup is good, but there's no time to use it."

The words contained a hidden meaning, but the hints were too few, and Wei Yuan did not understand what they meant.

Xuan Yue Zhenjun had already commented on this: when listening to Yan Shi Zhenjun speak, you don't need to use your brain. If you understand, you understand; if you don't understand, it's because Yan Shi didn't explain it clearly.

True Lord Yan Shi seemed uninterested and offered no further explanation, simply escorting Wei Yuan out of the hall. Having already wasted some time, Wei Yuan left the northern mountain gate and returned to Qingming.

As Wei Yuan soared into the sky, the Northern Liao were launching a massive offensive, with bloody battles raging on the ground, in the sky, and even beyond. Wei Yuan couldn't help but turn back; with his current level of vision and knowledge, he naturally knew that all the defensive lines were safe despite the danger.

But at that very moment, the earth trembled, the sky changed color, and a massive rift, hundreds of miles long, split open in the heavens! Wind, fire, thunder, and lightning surged forth from the chasm. Countless indescribable things also descended from the void!

This is a heavenly tribulation, a heavenly tribulation that Wei Yuan has never seen before!
Then a terrifying roar echoed through the heavens and earth, and a huge shadow swept towards the northern mountain gate, attempting to stop the tribulation.

Just then, an extremely dazzling light rose from the northern mountain gate, winding its way forward in the sky, reaching a thousand miles away in an instant!
The beast's roar instantly turned into a mournful cry, and a gigantic celestial dog, hundreds of feet tall, fell from the heavens to the mortal realm, its blood staining the earth yellow.

On this day, True Lord Yanshi successfully passed through the Four Burning Heavens' Tribulation of No Thought and Destruction, and ascended to the position of immortal.

Then, Immortal Lord Tinghai unleashed his final strike, taking the life of the young Grand Tutor of Northern Liao.

After this battle, the young Grand Master of Northern Liao, cradling the dog's corpse, wept bitterly for three days and three nights, his cries echoing across the land. With the dog's demise, the young Grand Master lost two-thirds of his strength.

P.S.: I originally wanted to thank a leader of the alliance in this long chapter, but after looking at the chapter title, I don't know who to thank.

By the way, I'd like to ask for a monthly pass.

(End of this chapter)