Longzang

Chapter 708 No Cultivation for the Next Life
"I have a question, but I don't know if I should ask it," Wei Yuan said.

"Go ahead."

Wei Yuan said, "I am confident that we can win against the Liao Clan today with equal numbers. But even if we can achieve a 1:4 ratio or even better in every battle, our numbers will still be far fewer than the Liao Clan's. Even if all the disciples of the Northern Mountain Gate, or even the disciples of my Taichu Palace, voluntarily exchange their pieces, we can only reduce a small part of the Liao Clan's strength and cannot change the overall situation."

Immortal Lord Yan Shi said, "That's right. And then?"

"On both sides of my northern mountain gate, we border the Eastern Jin and the Northern Qi respectively. Over the past three years, the war situation at the northern mountain gate has become increasingly dangerous. These two countries have stood by and watched, even intentionally withdrawing their military forces, giving up their defensive lines, and allowing the Liao army to cross the border and attack my northern mountain gate. They are trying to sit on the sidelines and watch the tigers fight, hoping that we and the Liao people will fight to the death so that they can come and pick up the spoils!"

Such despicable people deserve to be killed even more than foreign invaders!

"That's right, and then what?"

"What I can't understand is why we fight to the death with the Liao people, yet we let these two villains from both countries reap the benefits?"

Yan Shi Zhenjun said calmly, "Anger solves nothing. Since you can't stand it, how do you plan to resolve it? Or are you just going to express your anger and then be done with it?"

Wei Yuan took a deep breath and said, "In my opinion, the best strategy is to lure the Liao army to attack the weak points of both countries, forcing them to reinforce their defenses. However, the Liao army may not do as we wish. But if they suddenly obtain some military intelligence, things may change."

Immortal Lord Yan Shi remained expressionless and continued listening.

"The middle strategy is to support militias and bandits within the two countries, or help several regional warlords grow powerful and establish separatist regimes. If necessary, we can even purge the court of corrupt officials or replace the king. Even if we cannot remove the incompetent ruler, at the very least, we can have supplies from both countries, so that we are not cut off from external resources and can only rely on the production of the northern mountain gates to sustain ourselves."

Having said all that, Wei Yuan had no more reservations and said, "This disciple has another plan!"

"Don't be afraid, I'm here. Please speak freely."

Wei Yuan gritted his teeth and said, "If the so-called grand strategy can only benefit villains, then we might as well abandon it! If the war is going badly and things are beyond saving, we might as well retrieve the remains of the Immortal Ancestor and establish a new sect in the rear. In this way, the two countries will face the Northern Liao army directly, and they will probably perish soon. The ancestral tombs of both royal families will be excavated, and the world will be spared a few powerful families!"

Immortal Lord Yan Shi could not discern any change in his expression, and said, "You seem to harbor even greater hatred for the two nations than for the foreign races."

"We are naturally on different sides from other races, so we should just fight them, there's nothing more to say. But I truly hate this kind of backstabbing. Today, seeing so many soldiers killed and wounded, and thinking that some of them died for the incompetent rulers of both countries, I feel deeply sorry for them!"
Such a foolish ruler, since his virtue is unworthy of his position, why not replace him?

Yan Shi said, "The current situation of the nine kingdoms is the result of the Martial Ancestor's arrangements. This is the overall situation of the human world, and it cannot be easily changed, nor is it advisable to change it."

Wei Yuan said, "Today, most of the nine kingdoms are incompetent and chaotic, the people are suffering, and talents are dwindling. If the overall situation only results in heroes shedding blood and only villains benefiting, what use is this overall situation? Is this the overall situation of the human race, or the overall situation of those villains?"

"Forgive my bluntness, but the Martial Ancestor has been dead for a thousand years; perhaps his grand strategy... is already outdated."

Yan Shi finally showed some emotion and chuckled, "If the Martial Ancestor heard what you said, he'd probably crawl out and cause you trouble."

After a lighthearted remark, Yan Shi's expression turned serious. He said, "Let's not even talk about how early it is for you to say these things now. Just imagine if one day you were able to shoulder this earth-shaking responsibility, the price you would have to pay would probably be far beyond your imagination."

That would be carrying the entire human race on one's shoulders, like the Great Ancestor or the Martial Ancestor—that would be the best possible outcome. But that would also mean the severing of the path to heaven and the end of reincarnation! Would you still be willing to take that burden?

Wei Yuan seemed to see Fang Hetong, Yun Feifei, and the faces of his comrades who had died on the battlefield. After a moment of silence, he said, "This disciple will not cultivate for the next life in this life."

Yan Shi paused for a moment, then sighed. He didn't say anything, but simply said, "Let's go and do what's in front of us first."

Wei Yuan bowed and walked towards the palace gate. As he approached the gate, he heard the voice of Immortal Lord Yan Shi behind him: "Remember to get married soon."

Wei Yuan stumbled and almost fell. The immortal's thoughts, as expected, were unpredictable.

Before he could recover, Immortal Lord Yan Shi said again, "It's fine if you don't get married, just have children early, have as many as you want! I'll help you raise them."

Wei Yuan fled in disarray.

After leaving the side hall, Wei Yuan went to check on the injured. At this time, Sun Yu had fitted himself with a prosthetic leg. This prosthetic leg was also a magical artifact; it could extend, retract, and twist freely, essentially replacing a leg, and in many cases, even being more useful. Sun Yu was currently busy; several beds were lined up in front of him, each occupied by someone so seriously injured that they required his personal treatment.

Each injured person was pushed in front of Sun Yu. He scanned them with his divine sense to determine the extent of their injuries, then with a swift movement of his knife, he would cut off something and wave his hand to move on to the next one.

The disciples would push the bed in front of him away, and then push the next bed in front of Sun Yu so that he could make an incision, and then move on to the next bed.

Then he saw the long hospital bed passing by Sun Yu one after another, with a distinct rhythm.

Those who had been cut by Sun Yu would be sent to other disciples, who would stitch up the wounds, stop the bleeding, and then cast a spell to accelerate the body's growth before bandaging them up, thus ending the treatment.

Next, the disciples who had treated the wounded would push them into a large hall, where they would be neatly arranged to await recovery. The hall was filled with the fragrance of medicinal incense, the scent of which was believed to accelerate the regeneration of flesh and blood.

Sun Yu moved extremely quickly, and despite his own serious injuries, he was already sweating profusely.

A beautiful female disciple beside him wiped his sweat and said considerately, "Master, would you like to rest for a while?"

Without looking up, Sun Yu said, "If these people are treated even a minute later, they might never be saved. Go and get some sedative incense."

The female disciple handed him a small jade bottle and held it to Sun Yu's nose. Sun Yu smelled it and instantly felt much better. However, blood began to seep from the gauze wrapped around his body again.

Wei Yuan did not disturb him. He watched quietly for a while before returning to the northern mountain gate to see Feng Tingyu.

At this moment, the demonic blade appeared and said, "I know where she is now. I can take you there directly. You won't need to search anymore, which will be much more convenient. Just hold the hilt and silently chant 'Wind Listening to Rain'."

Wei Yuan reached out and grasped the hilt of the sword, asking in surprise, "Haven't you already acknowledged her as your master?"

Demon Blade July said solemnly, "Nonsense! I clearly acknowledged you as my master first! Besides, a renowned sword doesn't recognize two masters, unless..."

Demon Blade seemed to realize he had misspoke and immediately stopped talking. Then he launched his attack, and in an instant, Wei Yuan appeared in a small building inside the northern mountain gate.

Steam rose in front of Wei Yuan, where a large wooden tub filled with a rich medicinal soup was placed. Feng Tingyu was lying inside, healing her wounds while eating snacks.

Upon seeing Wei Yuan appear, she cheered and pounced on him, pinning him down. Her eyes gleamed: "Are you here to molest me?"

Wei Yuan struggled, but to no avail. He tried to speak, but his mouth was gagged again.

After a while...

Wei Yuan used a combination of coaxing and deception to successfully gain the trust of twelve different parts of Feng Tingyu's body, finally managing to get her back into the bathtub to continue treating her injuries.

When he left, Wei Yuan felt a little more at ease, but he was still a little scared.

Having witnessed the true face of war at the Immortal Lord Yanshi's place, Wei Yuan felt a lingering fear. He wasn't afraid of himself, but rather of the sudden possibility that one day, all those around him would perish before his very eyes. And this was almost inevitable.

Just like in this battle, if he had arrived even a moment later, Feng Tingyu would have been annihilated. If he hadn't meticulously searched every corner of the battlefield, Sun Yu would most likely have met the same fate.

To be an enemy of immortals is akin to being an enemy of Heaven; how could there be no price to pay? This is precisely why Wei Yuan harbors such deep hatred for the villains of both countries.

In the azure sky, a flying boat from the northern mountain gate had just landed. The cultivators unloaded large wooden crates from inside, then carried them to the Reincarnation Furnace and pushed them in through the feed inlet.

One of Wei Yuan's avatars, a warrior, stood by the furnace, watching wooden crates being pushed into the Reincarnation Furnace, his face expressionless.

Around the smoke and fire of human life, wisps of chaotic energy also emanated.

(End of this chapter)