Longzang

Chapter 782 Fate is Predestined
Wei Yuan took Li Chengfeng to see several medical camps, and they were all similar. Two of the three wounded soldiers were unwilling to return to Zhao.

After reading it, Li Chengfeng smiled bitterly and said to Wei Yuan, "Lord Wei, that's not fair of you. You're feeding the wounded soldiers better than our generals. How can they not turn against us? If I didn't have a wife and children, I wouldn't be leaving either."

Wei Yuan said, "They eat slightly better than ordinary people, which is beneficial for their recovery. I didn't give them any special food. This is what our soldiers usually eat."

Seeing that Li Chengfeng didn't believe him at all, Wei Yuan didn't explain.

There were many other wounded soldiers in the medical camp. Li Chengfeng asked who they were and learned that they were the newly trained troops of the Xu family. These men were originally stationed at Hanyang Pass, but Li Chengfeng breached the pass and surrounded them all. These new soldiers naturally had little combat strength and little fighting spirit, and the vast majority surrendered and were imprisoned.

After the Sixth Princess was relieved of her post, these people were not released. Many of them had been tortured and were injured, and were currently receiving treatment here. However, they remained completely separate from the surrendered Zhao soldiers, and did not interact with each other.

Li Chengfeng suddenly asked, "Are you planning to send these people from the Xu family back?"

Wei Yuan said, "The price is right, everything is negotiable."

Li Chengfeng felt somewhat relieved. It seemed that the Xu family members couldn't go back anyway, so he said, "Can't I take the ones who aren't injured with me?"

Wei Yuan smiled and said, "The price is right, everything is negotiable."

Li Chengfeng knew what Wei Yuan wanted, so he gritted his teeth and said, "Within a year, I will cultivate another three million mu of mulberry fields! In addition, I will exchange them with able-bodied refugees, five refugees for one soldier, how about that?"

"Ten vagrants. Vagrants are worthless now."

At this time, with war raging and refugees everywhere, most of them could not reach Qingming. After thinking it over, Li Chengfeng felt that organizing a large number of refugees would be time-consuming, laborious, and costly, but it was not impossible, so he agreed.

Wei Yuan was very pleased. He patted Li Chengfeng and laughed, "I never let you leave empty-handed. Look, what's this?"

Seeing the wisp of grayish-black energy floating at Wei Yuan's fingertips, Li Chengfeng instinctively got goosebumps. Being knowledgeable, he quickly searched his memory and found the source of this substance, immediately exclaiming, "Dao Xuan Qi!"

Wei Yuan said, "This is indeed Dao Xuan Qi. Consider this a personal gift from me. I hope to exchange more information with Brother Li in the future."

However, with so many people in Qingming, the volume of goods transported is somewhat insufficient. Besides silk, I also need to purchase large quantities of cotton, hemp, timber, and coal. Therefore, Brother Li, would you consider building a road between the Biyue Realm and the Zhao Kingdom? I will be responsible for the road from Biyue to Qingming.”

Now Li Chengfeng was truly hesitant. Once the highway was repaired, Wei Yuan could advance directly along it. However, he then thought of the strategist's words from that day: "Only those in positions of power should plan for their duties."

Once his path is repaired, the one who will have a headache is the Crown Prince. For Li Chengfeng at present, this is all beneficial and harmless. So Li Chengfeng nodded and said, "Brother Wei, please make a list of how much of each kind of material is needed so that I can go back and prepare it."

Wei Yuan then handed over a list, on which the demand for most supplies was listed as: the more the better.

Li Chengfeng readily agreed, then carefully put away the Dao Xuan Qi, his gratitude evident in his words.

Seeing Wei Yuan's puzzled expression, Li Chengfeng said, "To be honest, Brother Wei, I have a confidante whom I have known for many years. However, her cultivation talent is mediocre, and she barely managed to cultivate to the Human Rank Dao Foundation before reaching her limit. Now, she is already showing signs of aging. Now, with this wisp of Dao Profound Qi, it is enough to raise her Dao Foundation to the Earth Rank, allowing us to spend at least another thirty years together. I am deeply grateful, beyond words!"

Wei Yuan originally intended for Li Chengfeng to use it on his juniors, but he hadn't expected this turn of events. To be honest, Dao Xuan Qi is best used on powerful Earth-rank individuals, as it can reliably raise them to Heaven-rank, greatly increasing their chances of advancing to the Dharma Aspect stage. Advancing from Heaven-rank to Immortal Foundation is more difficult and depends heavily on luck.

However, when used on the human level, it can at most raise one to a powerful earth level, but it is still not up to the heaven level. The hope of advancing to the Dharma Aspect is still not great. It is just a matter of cultivating from the early stage to the later stage, which is a real waste.

But everyone has their own destiny, and it's up to Li Chengfeng to use it however he wants, as long as it works.

Wei Yuan then took Li Chengfeng to the prisoner-of-war camp to confirm the soldiers he wanted to take back. Ultimately, 60,000 of the 100,000 wounded prisoners returned home. Li Chengfeng recorded the remaining 40,000 as having died in battle.

With this, the conflict in Zhao came to a temporary end, and trade between the two sides was bound to increase several times over in the foreseeable future. Wei Yuan immediately took action and started construction on a road leading to the Bishui Boundary.

In any case, roads, waterways, and ports are things that naturally belong to the strong, and in Wei Yuan's view, the more the better.

At this time, the area around Qingming was temporarily peaceful, while the internal affairs involved settling a large population, which Wei Yuan could handle efficiently without needing to intervene. New people continued to appear amidst the bustling human world. These were people who had naturally come into being, aged, and died in Qingming. Their hearts were with Qingming, and naturally, they did not wish to leave even after death.

Now that autumn is approaching, Wei Yuan estimated that the surrounding situation would not change much by the time winter arrived. So he returned to the main mountain of Taichu Palace and applied to the palace for the protection of immortal artifacts, preparing to completely take over that tall building.

Xuan Yue took Wei Yuan's decision to venture into dangerous territory very seriously, so she personally led him to the Dao Mountain Ancestral Realm to seek help from the immortal artifacts of the seniors.

Soon, Xuan Yue led Wei Yuan to a secluded spot within the mountain gate. The scenery here was rather ordinary; it wasn't some celestial paradise, nor did it possess any extraordinary sights like floating mountains or islands. It was just common mortal landscape. Upon arriving, Xuan Yue landed on the ground, ceasing her flight. Wei Yuan followed behind Xuan Yue, walking a short distance before suddenly feeling his body become heavy. All his Dao power had vanished without a trace. Moreover, his body felt incredibly heavy, and the powerful physical body he had acquired through body forging was no longer effective. He was now completely like an uncultivated mortal.

Xuan Yue's posture and gait instantly changed, becoming heavy and sluggish. It was clear that he had also lost all his Dao power, and his physical body's power was not manifest. Even with Xuan Yue Zhenjun's cultivation level, which was close to ascending to immortality, he was completely suppressed. The strength of the laws of heaven and earth in this area was truly rare in the world.

The two walked along the road for half a day, and then a small mountain appeared in front of them. It was only a few dozen feet high. A stream flowed through the mountain, and there were a few thin fields on the slope. Some fruit trees and flowering trees were planted on the steep parts. It looked like a paradise on earth.

Several people were working in the fields, and a thatched cottage could be seen on the mountain, with women going in and out. Several children were playing and frolicking under the trees.

As Wei Yuan climbed the mountain with Xuan Yue, everyone on the mountain curiously observed him, their eyes filled with curiosity. However, none of them gave Wei Yuan the feeling of being penetrated; they all seemed to be ordinary people.

Xuan Yue walked to the open space in front of the thatched cottage, knelt down in front of the central cottage, and respectfully kowtowed three times, saying, "This unworthy disciple, Xuan Yue, has brought his junior, Wei Yuan, here because Wei Yuan is about to go to a place of extreme danger. He wishes to temporarily borrow a celestial weapon from his predecessors to suppress his fortune. Please grant me permission, Ancestor."

Wei Yuan then conjured up the dilapidated building he was going to explore, just as Xuan Yue had instructed, and a chorus of exclamations immediately rose from the surrounding crowd.

Before anyone knew it, the men and women who had been working gathered around, and the children stopped playing. What was even more baffling was that the cattle, horses, chickens, and dogs were all standing by watching the spectacle.

A hen walked over and pecked at Xuan Yue's calf, cursing as she pecked: "Su Chunqiu, how dare you wear human skin! This junior is so young, he hasn't even grown up yet, and you send him to such a dangerous place? Even if you want to glorify the Azure Heaven Palace, you can't do this, can you? Why don't you go yourself?"

Xuan Yue was pecked so hard that she jumped up and down. She quickly explained, "This junior's cultivation is not enough to keep the situation under control. We need the seniors to step in so that the enemy will not dare to act recklessly."

An ox still harnessed to a plow said, "It doesn't matter if the enemy acts recklessly; we have our own ways of dealing with them."

Before it could finish speaking, it received a slap on the head!

A woman appeared beside it, her mouth and eyes drooping, her face full of meanness and ferocity. She said to the ox, "Who gives you the right to speak here! Have you finished your work and come out to watch the show? Go back to plowing the fields!"

The ox looked reluctant and muttered to itself, "I just came here to have a drink of water."

"You'll drink water eight hundred times a day if you work!"

The ox had no choice but to go back to work. The woman found no one in the field, so she grabbed the horse that was hiding nearby and drove them all back to the field.

At this moment, Xuanlu appeared in front of Wei Yuan and smiled, "If it really doesn't work, I'll go with you this time. I'm familiar with that area."

Before she could finish speaking, a cold, icy voice rang out: "I'll go."

The door to the thatched cottage on the side opened, and a girl with an icy expression walked out. As soon as she appeared, Wei Yuan felt a faint stinging sensation on his skin, as if he were being pricked by countless sharp needles.

The door to the thatched cottage on the right also opened, and a bald, loosely dressed young man with a face no less handsome than any woman walked out. He bowed and said, "Such a trivial matter does not require your help, sister. I can handle it myself."

The icy girl raised her eyebrows slightly and said, "Are you trying to take it from me?"

The boy hurriedly replied, "How dare I compete with the fourth generation elder sister? I just find that world quite novel and want to experience it. It seems that there is a destiny for me there, and I hope that elder sister will grant my request."

The icy girl glanced at the building that Wei Yuan had materialized, pondered for a moment, and said, "Alright."

For some reason, Wei Yuan had a strong sense of unease, as if he were standing on the edge of a tall building, about to lose his footing, when someone came from behind and gave him a push.

He was never one to accept his fate. In a single stride, he stood before the icy maiden, bowing and saying, "Please, elder sister, lend a hand!"

The girl frowned slightly, took a step back to distance herself from Wei Yuan, and said, "How rude!"

Wei Yuan was stunned and dared not take another step forward.

At this moment, the boy walked over, grabbed Wei Yuan's arm, and laughed, "What are you afraid of? It's not like I'm going to eat you."

(End of this chapter)