Longzang

Chapter 864 I can’t figure it out

"What's wrong with it?" Wei Yuan asked curiously.

Wang Hu looked around, then moved closer to Wei Yuan and sniffed hard, like a bear smelling honey. After a while, Wang Hu's face grew increasingly certain, and he said, "I smell the stench of the Witch Clan on you!"

Wei Yuan wondered what it was, but it turned out to be the Witch Clan. He laughed and said, "This is normal. I fight with the Witch Clan every day and have been cursed countless times. It would be abnormal if there was no stench."

Wang Hu shook his head: "The stench here is different. It's not really stench, but a feeling. How should I put it? It's just that when I smell this stench, I want to stay far away. I don't know if it's something that has defecated a big pile, or someone's corpse that has rotted."

Wei Yuan became serious and pressed, "Tell me more details?"

Wang Hu's expression also turned serious and somewhat unpleasant. He said, "To be specific, it smells like a decaying butcher shop."

Wei Yuan was taken aback. What kind of description was this?
Wang Hu was still trying to find the right words and feelings, saying, "It means the shop has no customers, it's about to go out of business, the meat inside is starting to rot, and even if there are customers, they won't buy it anymore."

"Decline!" Wei Yuan blurted out.

"Yes, that's exactly what I mean! You're really smart!"

Wei Yuan frowned in thought. How could someone perceive a sense of decline in his place? Everything was on track and even accelerating.

Qingming is now fully operational. From weapons and armor to military supplies, tools, gunpowder, clothing, and housing, everything can be produced domestically. Apart from silk and cotton, even materials do not need to be imported from outside.

Every day, Qingming grows stronger, its resources become more abundant, and its people make further progress in their cultivation. In terms of steel alone, Qingming, a small territory, has already surpassed the output of the Western Jin and Zhao states, only slightly less than the combined output of the two countries.

The war with the Wu Clan was arduous, but the situation had stabilized. Given time, Wei Yuan could train tens of millions of soldiers, but he didn't believe the Wu Clan would be willing to invest nearly a hundred million troops in the Azure Sky. This was a massive number, and the resulting fortune and karma would be enough to influence the ranks of immortals, potentially elevating them to higher levels, but also dragging them down from the celestial realm.

At this moment, Wang Hu actually foresaw decline?
Seeing Wei Yuan's expression, Wang Hu understood and said, "I understand! It must be some important person who wanted to give you a heads-up, so they specially led me to Qingming to find you."

"The Lord of the Ming King Palace?" Wei Yuan asked.

Wang Hu shook his head: "It's definitely not the patriarch, the patriarch doesn't have that ability. It's also not the Palace Master of Yanshi Palace, if it were him, he could just pass on the message directly. Maybe that important person is inconvenient to show up, or maybe he simply doesn't want to see the other party succeed, so he came to me."

"What's so special about you, Senior Brother?"

"As for me, I inherited a bit of my master's ability to be unpredictable. Ordinary divination methods can't predict me, and even impulsive predictions don't work. Various defensive spells that involve taking the fall or automatically triggering spells are useless against me."

Wei Yuan was greatly surprised. These kinds of defensive spells were extremely sophisticated, and only immortal foundation cultivators like Ji Liuli of the Heavenly Mystery Hall could use them with ease. Moreover, such spells were rare, and most were said to be unsolvable, but unexpectedly, they were ineffective against Wang Hu.

Wang Hu could tell at a glance that the body was fierce and the physical killing power was extremely strong. If it were not bound by defensive magic, it would be an unstoppable weapon.

Having learned that Wang Hu was not part of the calculation, Wei Yuan was somewhat convinced that some immortal was using Wang Hu to remind him that the Wu Clan had already taken action in secret.

But where would the Witch Clan begin? Wei Yuan had pondered this question, but had no answer. Qingming was practically flawless now, unless something went wrong with Immortal Lord Yanshi.

Wang Hu's mood had changed. He became increasingly restless and soon began pacing back and forth in the room, saying, "Junior brother, I'm afraid I have to go."

Wei Yuan was taken aback: "What is the reason for this?"

Wang Hu's face was full of struggle as he said, "The stench here is getting worse and worse. I'm not afraid of mountains of knives or seas of fire, but I really can't stand this smell... Oh, it must be that the Heavenly Witch of the Witch Clan who set up this plan discovered that someone was interfering and started to fight back. Now that I've told you all this, I'm already in the middle of it. I might have become a thorn in the side of the Heavenly Witch. If I don't leave soon, I might be cursed to death."

"I'll see you off, Senior Brother. I haven't had a chance to properly thank you for your help yet." Wei Yuan then escorted Wang Hu out of the Immortal City.

The two chatted on the way, and Wei Yuan learned about the three characteristics of the Lord of the Bright King Palace: freedom from karma, detachment from scheming, and instinctive avoidance of calamity. Wang Hu, in his cultivation so far, had only inherited the detachment from scheming, but this detachment required the presence of malice towards Wang Hu. Therefore, it wouldn't work if someone, like today, was sent by an immortal to deliver a message to Wei Yuan.

Wei Yuan felt that the Lord of the Bright King Palace was the true chosen one, having already approached ascension to immortality without even using his brain. With his powerful physical body, if Heaven didn't prepare some special measures for him during the ascension tribulation, the Lord of the Bright King Palace would probably only suffer minor physical injuries.

Wei Yuan asked another question: "What characteristics did Feng Tingyu inherit?"

Wang Hu scratched his bald head, deep in thought. Wei Yuan then realized that he was bald, something he had somehow overlooked. Upon closer inspection, Wang Hu not only lacked hair on his head, but also had no eyebrows, eyelashes, or beard. Perhaps his physical body was too strong for hair to grow.

Wang Hu thought for a long time before saying, "It seems that Junior Sister didn't inherit any of the characteristics related to karma or celestial secrets. Master seems to have said that Junior Sister's only direction is killing and warfare; she's exceptionally good at fighting and is best at defeating the strong with the weak. Back then, I was a Dharma Aspect, while Junior Sister's Dao Foundation was complete. There was a huge difference in our cultivation levels, and I still struggled a lot. Now that Junior Sister has cultivated into a Dharma Aspect, I'm no match for her." "Her Dharma Aspect is indeed troublesome..." Wei Yuan deeply agreed. Being enveloped by Feng Tingyu's black aura was even more terrifying than being shoveled over the head by a kidnapper; his five senses were truly cut off, leaving only the sense of touch.

Wang Hu replied that when he perfected the Dharma form of the Mountain-Moving Giant Ape and the world of his mind was initially formed, multiple Heavenly Eyes would grow on the Mountain-Moving Giant Ape's body, and then he would no longer be afraid of the wind and rain.

Soon they reached the edge of the azure sky. Wang Hu became extremely nervous, his whole body sweating profusely. He dared not linger any longer and fled like the wind.

Upon returning to the Immortal City, Wei Yuan invited Ji Liuli, Bao Yun, Feng Chutang, and other cultivators, as well as True Monarch Xuan Yue and the Palace Master of Ming Wang. With two True Monarchs present, he felt much more confident.

Once all the cultivators had gathered, Wei Yuan said, "Senior Brother Wang Hu from the Mingwang Hall just came by. He noticed that the Wu Clan had set up a hidden plan, which they might launch soon. I don't know where the Heavenly Wu Clan will place their move, so I've invited everyone to come and discuss this together to see if there are any oversights."

The Lord of the Ming Palace immediately said, "Wang Hu? That brat came by? Why didn't he tell me? Is he trying to rebel?"

"Senior Brother Wang Hu said the stench here was too unbearable, so he left after finishing his business," Wei Yuan explained for him.

The Lord of the Mingwang Palace's face instantly turned extremely ugly. He slammed his hand on the table and said, "He thinks it smells particularly bad? This kid has walked right into the immortal's trap! If I find out who's been using him as a pawn behind the scenes, I will never let him get away with it!"

True Lord Xuan Yue said, "Old Ming, calm down..."

"My surname isn't Ming!"

"Old Zhang..."

"Spit it out! Don't call my name!"

Xuan Yue Zhenjun said, "Wang Hu has already received your true teachings, and the immortal who sent him also has karma to deal with. He should be safe."

The Lord of the Ming King Palace said coldly, "It's best if nothing happens, otherwise things could get very serious!"

"The Heavenly Witch Clan's current scheme is aimed at Wei Yuan. Why don't you go around and see where the Witch Clan's hidden forces might be positioned?"

The Lord of the Mingwang Palace nodded and said, "I'll go take a look now. But don't worry too much. This is the Shattered Realm after all, and we both know the abilities of those Heavenly Witches. Putting aside everything else, even if a Heavenly Witch were to take action himself, he would most likely be defeated by us in this Shattered Realm. Moreover, it's Kaguya who's here; she specializes in curses, not direct combat."

Xuan Yue felt a little relieved, and then asked Wei Yuan about the corresponding arrangements.

Having experienced the Great Curse of Cause and Effect once, Wei Yuan has become extremely cautious, and now he is protected by the Peerless Dao Domain. To curse Wei Yuan is equivalent to cursing the entire Azure Netherworld; unless the power of the Great Curse of Cause and Effect is restored, it is impossible to succeed.

Meanwhile, to prevent the Wu Clan from secretly setting up formations in Qingming, there is also the Zhou Tian Xing Dou Grand Formation for monitoring. The Wu Clan's inside agents can at most set up small formations in their own rooms; they can do nothing else.

Now that the Immortal City has been completed, only the immortals of the Primordial Palace are allowed to enter and exit; no one else is permitted to do so at will.

This arrangement was foolproof; Wei Yuan didn't think the Witch Clan could have any other methods besides casting a powerful spell from afar. Even True Monarch Xuan Yue and Palace Master Ming Wang couldn't find any flaws. In the end, they could only agree to let Palace Master Ming Wang and Ji Liuli wander around the realm freely to see if they would discover anything.

Since no conclusion could be reached, the meeting adjourned. Suddenly, True Lord Xuan Yue asked, "Where is Zhang Sheng?"

"The teacher is at a critical moment of breakthrough, only one step away from the Dharma form, and has been in seclusion recently."

True Lord Xuan Yue was very satisfied and stroked his beard, saying, "This child has broken through and then established himself again. His Dao foundation has actually been cultivated into five hundred and twelve immortal swords. This is truly unprecedented and will never be repeated! As teachers, we have no regrets if we have such a disciple."

The Lord of the Ming Palace's face darkened, and he said, "Feng Tingyu and Wang Hu are not much different!"

Xuan Yue Zhenjun shook his head: "Compared to others, Feng Tingyu and Wang Hu are indeed quite good. Old Ming, you are a blessed man. However, I have a question that I can't figure out. I wonder if you can enlighten me?"

The Lord of the Ming King Palace sneered: "Is there anything you can't figure out? Tell me."

The moment the words left his mouth, the Lord of the Bright King Palace regretted them.

Sure enough, True Lord Xuan Yue said, "Why is Zhang Sheng's Dao foundation composed of 512 immortal swords? Not one more, not one less. It's truly strange."

(End of this chapter)