Longzang

Chapter 978 Morale
Liu Miao Xianjun left without saying anything, and it's unclear whether he was satisfied with Wei Yuan's answer. Wei Yuan was certainly telling the truth, but he hadn't told the whole story.

Although the green aura of human destiny is considered the most basic form of destiny, it actually has subtle differences, especially after being processed by Wei Yuan. A slight improvement in the quality of the green aura and a slight change in its properties may not be noticeable in small amounts, but a large quantity will result in a huge difference.

Just like gunpowder, if the proportions are wrong or the purity is low, it becomes fireworks and firecrackers; but if carefully formulated and processed with excellent craftsmanship, it immediately becomes a deadly weapon. The same is true for later spirit wood fiber gunpowder and fertilizer gunpowder.

Moreover, Wei Yuan's mere presence would amplify the karmic backlash, not to mention that he personally blessed these fortunes.

Wei Yuan was right about only one thing: offending Heaven will bring additional punishment, though it won't be as severe, and there are various ways to circumvent it. To some extent, Heaven and Earth are indeed unjust, and immortals can do whatever they want.

After the Six Wonders Immortal Lords retreated, Wei Yuan did not leave the city. Instead, he looked around from the city wall, repeatedly scanning the heavens and earth with his divine sense. He then sent hundreds of soldiers to explore the way ahead, and only then did he confirm that the direction leading to the mountain people's territory was safe.

The immortal's abilities were all-encompassing, and he had already laid an ambush in the natural world. This ambush was merely a divine thought, devoid of any real power, so Wei Yuan was completely unaware of it.

However, once Wei Yuan steps into the trap, the surrounding environment will immediately come to life, transforming into various vengeful ghosts and demons that will attack him. Moreover, the immortal's divine sense will mark Wei Yuan, and once marked, the immortal can directly cross realms from beyond the heavens to intervene. With several layers in between, the karma required to kill Wei Yuan will be greatly reduced.

Although Guantun County is small, it has a long history, having been established here for over three hundred years. The land within its borders is relatively fertile, so for over three hundred years, the county's population has fluctuated around one hundred thousand, weathering numerous natural disasters. However, a rebellion caused the county's population to plummet to forty thousand, with only twelve thousand remaining in the city. No rebel troops passed through the county; it was actually destroyed by government forces, a man-made disaster rather than a military catastrophe.

The longer a county town has stood, the more its boundaries have been nurtured and perfected, forming a self-contained entity, making it difficult for a Celestial Lord's divine sense to penetrate. Moreover, the Six Wonders Celestial Lord particularly dislikes places with an official orthodox aura, so his divine sense can only lie in ambush outside the town.

Wei Yuan was initially unaware of all this; he simply didn't want to leave the city on instinct. However, Liu Heihu's later behavior made Wei Yuan realize something was amiss, concluding that there must be an ambush outside the city. Furthermore, Wei Yuan's own extraordinary luck naturally attracted various signs around him.

As a result, Liu Heihu, seeing that his plan was not working, had no choice but to launch a full-scale attack. However, he still failed to force Wei Yuan out of the city. Instead, he was defeated by the endless Dao soldiers summoned by Wei Yuan, forcing the Six Wonders Immortal Lord to personally appear and take action. As soon as the immortal appeared, Wei Yuan immediately understood why he had been unwilling to leave the city earlier.

When the Six Wonders Immortal Lord left, he was unaware that hundreds of tasks had already been set up in the mortal world. From his background history to the magic of a giant hand scooping up a Dao soldier, all of these tasks were established to conduct a comprehensive analysis of him from head to toe, inside and out.

Moreover, this analysis was conducted by Feng Chutang and Ji Liuli. These two, chosen to teach the younger generation of disciples at the Taichu Palace, naturally possess extremely profound knowledge of cultivation theory. Given enough data, even the material of the Six Wonders Immortal Lord's underwear could be researched… if he had it.

Ten days later, a rebel army of several thousand men escorted more than 30,000 civilians to Guantun, presenting them with a boundary stone and the county magistrate's seal. This was the entire population of the neighboring county; however, the county magistrate and other officials had already abandoned the city and fled upon hearing of the rebels' arrival, and had not come along.

The rebel leader was a young cultivator with a deep and shrewd face. He was not at all like a bandit, yet the rebels all held him in great awe.

The young general, mounted on his horse, watched as the starving people slowly entered the county town. He said to his men, "After sending supplies to the seven counties, there are still hundreds of thousands of starving people. Where will they get so much food? This man has too big an appetite. I'm afraid not many of these people will survive once they get here."

A scholar standing nearby remarked, "Isn't this just seeking fame and fortune?"

The young general shook his head: "It will still allow more people to live, so it's not like we're just seeking fame and fortune."

At this moment, three warriors flew out of the city and went straight to the young general, cupping their hands and saying, "The military governor said that you have come a long way and have had a long journey. Please have a meal before you leave."

The young general and the scholar exchanged surprised glances. The scholar then gave a wink, signaling them not to enter the city.

The young general replied, "It's alright. For Lord Wei, annihilating us is no more difficult than crushing an ant. Order the entire army to put away their weapons and enter the city! Once inside, no noise or fighting is permitted. Anyone who disobeys will be executed, and their superiors will be implicated!"

Upon receiving the order, the rebel army immediately put away their weapons, demonstrating remarkably strict discipline.

Moments later, several thousand rebel soldiers entered the city, and upon entering the city gate, they were greeted by a strong aroma of meat. They were then led to an open space where several large pots had already been set up, all filled with stewed meat! There were also more than a dozen vats of rice and steamed buns, and each person was given a large bowl.

The general did not immediately order the chopsticks to be used, but instead asked, "May I ask what kind of meat this is?"

The Dao Foundation cultivator who brought them here laughed and said, "Just eat it, it's not human flesh anyway. Our Jiedushi would never do such a thing."

The scholar picked up a piece of meat, examined it closely, and then took a sip of the broth before saying, "It's very fragrant and delicious; it's definitely not human flesh!" The young general's expression relaxed, and he bowed, saying, "Please forgive my rudeness earlier, and please convey my apologies to the military governor."

"It's okay, you guys eat by yourselves. I have something to do, so I won't keep you company."

"Wait a moment!" the young general called out to the cultivator, asking, "May I see your true face?"

The cultivator laughed and said, "You're quite perceptive. I concealed it only to avoid shocking the world. Since you've seen through it, I'll show you."

The cultivator's body rippled like water, his appearance changed, and finally he transformed into a wooden Daoist soldier.

The young general and the scholar looked at the face, which clearly bore the marks of time and was stiff and rigid, and could not reconcile it with the lifelike cultivator from just moments before.

The wooden soldier laughed and said, "Since you two have already seen it, then have a good meal. After you've eaten your fill, someone will take you out of the city. I need to go check on the situation of the starving people."

After the wooden soldiers had gone far away, the scholar whispered, "Could that person be Wei Yuan in disguise?"

The young general quickly said, "Shut up! You mustn't address the military governor by his name!"

"Why? He's not an immortal..." The scholar was clearly unconvinced.

To everyone's surprise, the wooden soldier turned around and laughed, "Jie, the Jiedushi is too lazy to do such a thing. If he really did it, there must be a reason. He probably just wants to hear your opinions on him."

The young general and the scholar were both completely bewildered, not understanding what the soldier was saying. They seemed to understand, yet also seemed not to.

The wooden Dao soldier turned and left. In a few steps, his figure changed, and he transformed into an ordinary-looking female cultivator. In the blink of an eye, he disappeared into the crowd.

At this moment, Wei Yuan was handling official business in the county government office when Feng Tingyu walked in and said, "The rebels have left. They were really starving; they even licked the pots! But there shouldn't be anyone around. Even if the starving people knew we had meat to eat here, they wouldn't come over!"

Wei Yuan was always very patient with Feng Tingyu, and said with a smile, "I don't want the starving people to know, but the rebels to know that as long as they come here, they will have meat to eat."

Feng Tingyu seemed to understand, but seeing Wei Yuan still diligently handling official business, she reluctantly abandoned her thoughts of being overwhelmed by the mystery. After Feng Tingyu left, Wei Yuan finally breathed a sigh of relief, put aside the decorative documents, took out the initial exploration of the Desolate Realm, and continued to study it.

In just half a month, the population and boundary stones of the seven surrounding counties were all delivered. In the end, the population of Guantun County totaled more than 200,000, and the county town could no longer accommodate them.

Each time the rebels came to escort them, they were treated to a meal, which they ate with grease on their faces.

Upon hearing this, Liu Heihu initially accused Wei Yuan of putting on a brave face and attempting to undermine morale. However, after three or four times, he fell silent. Meanwhile, the rebel generals had already fought several times over the escort mission.

After seven times, Liu Heihu had become indifferent to the concept of morale among his troops.

Meanwhile, the rebel generals were hunched over maps, diligently searching for counties with remaining populations. They reasoned that since Wei Yuan clearly had ample supplies and was known for his benevolence towards his people, he would surely accept sending people there. Therefore, in the eyes of the rebel leaders, the seven counties were not the end, but the beginning.

The generals quickly identified six or seven counties, with a population of over 100,000. By this time, the generals had long forgotten that they hadn't carried out a massacre in a city for almost a month.

On one occasion, Liu Heihu planned to massacre two towns that dared to resist, but his subordinates actually urged him to die rather than accept it!
In the end, Liu Heihu was persuaded to lay down his butcher's knife, and then a general, feeling quite pleased with himself, led his troops and escorted more than 8,000 people from the two towns to Guantun County.

(End of this chapter)