Longzang

Chapter 1153 Digging the Roots
In the ancestral home of the Lü family, people come and go in a hurry, living a prosperous and fulfilling life, with smiles on many faces.

In recent years, the Lü family has produced a large amount of mining, medicinal herbs, and spiritual wood, and its iron smelting and steel forging have developed rapidly. Many members of the Lü family have benefited and received a large sum of immortal silver.

The only drawback is that the use of Qingyuan is strictly prohibited in the ancestral land of the Lü family, which has caused considerable dissatisfaction among many members of the Lü clan. Currently, one Qingyuan can be exchanged for one tael and eight qian of immortal silver, and with the growing strength of the Qingming army, the value of Qingyuan has also risen accordingly. The inability to use Qingyuan means losing the opportunity to enjoy its appreciation. Because of this, many people privately harbor resentment towards the Immortal Ancestor.

But now, many members of the Lü clan passing by on the road looked worried. Several southern prefectures had fallen, and they didn't know what had become of their businesses there, so naturally they couldn't be happy.

Although they have a Celestial Ancestor overseeing their home, Qingming also has the Taichu Palace behind it. Even if the few counties that have fallen can eventually be recovered from Qingming, their assets will likely suffer heavy losses, and it's unclear who will compensate them for those losses.

Although they were worried, they also felt that in the end it was just a financial loss. With the immortal ancestor around, at least the ancestral land would not be lost, and the people would be safe.

Just then, a sudden, rapid bell rang out, its sound tinged with urgency. Then, one bell after another rang out, their sounds echoing and reverberating throughout the ancestral land.

Everyone was stunned. This was a warning bell, the highest level of warning bell, meaning that an enemy was attacking, and it was not a small-scale attack!

How long has it been since the Immortal Ancestor ascended to immortality that the ancestral land has not experienced the ravages of war? So long that mortals and low-level cultivators can hardly remember. Even many foundational Dharma forms have never witnessed the ancestral land being affected by war since their birth.

Numerous figures began to ascend into the air, appearing as if facing a formidable enemy and on high alert. The figures of the two Imperial Elders in the center were particularly conspicuous, which finally calmed the uneasy hearts of the many.

A flash of light suddenly appeared in the sky, and many Foundation Establishment cultivators hurriedly took to the air so they could see it more clearly.

That spark was incredibly fast, sweeping across the sky in an instant and flying into the ancestral land. Its speed far exceeded that of ordinary divine realms, and even the Dharma form couldn't keep up.

In an instant, numerous fiery rain arrows lit up the sky, but they all fell behind the incoming missile. Many Dharma Aspect cultivators, having misjudged the missile's speed, had their spells miss their mark.

Several missiles left all the intercepting spells behind and flew into the ancestral land of the Lü family!
One of the Imperial Elders finally couldn't stand it any longer. He snorted, summoned a jade ruler, and instantly struck the warhead of a missile!

The missile suddenly exploded, illuminating the sky with a blinding white light that then transformed into a pale gold. Everyone below the Imperial Realm level was instantly blinded, their vision reduced to a blinding white expanse!
A faint Buddhist chant seemed to rise from within the white light, but to the cultivators it sounded like a piercing scream, disturbing their peace of mind and causing their Dao hearts to waver. Those with weaker cultivation levels couldn't even cast a complete spell.

The first missile detonated, causing the next three missiles to explode simultaneously. The multiple blows combined instantly rendered more than half of the Lü family cultivators unable to cast spells, and many low-level Dao Foundation cultivators fell from the sky, suffering serious injuries.

The cultivators of Yujing were naturally not bothered by this. They were all furious and attacked with all their might, destroying several missiles with their magic.

Despite their success, the two Imperial Cultivators were actually quite apprehensive. The cultivators below were unaware of the news, but they knew very well that the Immortal Ancestor had long since perished, and now the last vestige of the Lu family's ancestral land's reputation depended on the Imperial Cultivators to maintain it.

The missiles from Qingming were completely different from those in the legends. They were too fast. Even if Elder Yujing tried to intercept them, he would have to concentrate fully. Several Dharma Aspect cultivators would need to act simultaneously to ensure a high success rate in interception.

The sky was ablaze with fire as more and more missiles came flying in. The two Yu Jing cultivators did their best to intercept them. Clusters of white light exploded in the air. After more than ten missiles, there were hardly any Lu family cultivators left in the sky.

The first wave of missiles had just been intercepted, and before the elders of Yujing could even catch their breath, they saw the distant sky filled with lights, and nearly a hundred missiles roared in at the same time!

The two Imperial Realm Lords were ashen-faced. This was something they absolutely could not stop, and it was too late to call for the other elders to take to the sky.

But at that moment, someone in the air suddenly snorted and said coldly, "A mere trick, and you dare to make a fool of yourself?"

Immediately, Cui Zhengxing's figure appeared in the air, waving his hand and releasing a large amount of pale red light, which simultaneously shone on the more than one hundred incoming missiles. The missile warheads illuminated by the red light experienced a rapid increase in temperature; some exploded in mid-air, while many more melted away.

Cui Zhengxing snorted again, his face darkening, and said, "All you do is resort to underhanded tricks!"

By this time, everyone understood that the Azure Nether missiles were coming in two waves. The first wave would detonate upon being attacked, primarily producing flashes of light and a whistling sound capable of shaking one's Dao heart. Intercepting cultivators would be caught off guard, and most would be hit. After clearing out the interceptors, the second wave of missiles would be the real trump card, designed to bombard ground targets.

However, these methods were naturally no match for Cui Zhengxing, who was an immortal. He was quite displeased that he had personally intercepted a missile that was merely a mortal, and therefore he particularly disliked the few imperial guards of the Lü family.

Cui Zhengxing snorted again and said, "You all need to practice diligently and not slack off. You can't even stop a mortal, and I have to take action. What kind of behavior is this? You have completely disgraced the Lü family!"

Several imperial guards blushed and dared not refute.

Just then, a missile warhead suddenly exploded, revealing its inner casing to be a magical artifact! It then released a dense aura of human fortune!

Cui Zhengxing had personally witnessed the power of human destiny slaying immortals, making him extremely sensitive to the aura of human destiny. In the present world, whenever human destiny appears, it's almost certain that Wei Yuan has arrived!

As expected, amidst the heavy concealment of the human presence, a trace of Wei Yuan's aura emanated! The Lü family's Imperial Realm members were instantly terrified, turning tail and fleeing without the slightest hesitation. Even an Immortal Ancestor had fallen at Wei Yuan's hands; if they didn't escape, were they simply waiting to die?

Cui Zhengxing felt a chill run down his spine, recalling how the Glazed Light River had abruptly disintegrated and disappeared above the Azure Sky. For a moment, he even had the urge to flee. Fortunately, he was experienced and his Dao heart and will were still top-notch, so he forced himself to remain calm and decided to see what Wei Yuan's next move was. If it was truly unstoppable, then it wouldn't be too late to escape.

Cui Zhengxing focused his attention on the enemy, only to see Wei Yuan's aura flash by, and then... nothing more?
Wei Yuan didn't come?!
Just as Cui Zhengxing was wondering what was going on, he suddenly realized something was wrong and saw several missiles flying towards him at high speed. He hurriedly tried to intercept them, but in his frantic efforts, several missiles still managed to break through the defenses and land below the Lü family's ancestral land.

The core of the Lü family's ancestral land is a stunning mountain peak. After thousands of years of continuous development by the Lü family, it is now a picturesque landscape with countless pavilions and towers hidden in the mountains. The valleys and peaks are shrouded in ethereal mist, and spirit beasts roam freely. Cultivators often travel back and forth on their swords.

At the foot of the mountain lies a main city and several smaller towns. The main city is inhabited by the main members of the Lü family clan, while the smaller towns each have their own specific functions.

Lu Changhe's own secret realm for cultivation and residence was located within the ancestral mountain, with a magnificent hall at the entrance where people constantly entered and exited.

Gentle slopes, fertile fields, and sacred farmlands unfold around the ancestral mountain, each serving a specific purpose.

This is a classic ancestral home layout, which has been slowly accumulated over countless years and is now fully developed, resembling a paradise on earth.

Several missiles, having broken through the interception, each had their own target. Two flew towards Zushan Mountain, one landing in the palace complex at the highest peak, and the other halfway down the mountainside. Both missiles carried thousands of kilograms of explosives. Upon impact, a massive fireball immediately rose, and the shockwave swept across a vast area, instantly leveling the palaces that were hit!

The other missiles landed in the main city, and the huge roar instantly caused most of the city's residents to lose their hearing. Entire blocks disappeared in the explosions, and countless people were blown into the air.

After the explosion, three large craters appeared in the city. Everything within a hundred feet of the explosion's epicenter was reduced to nothing, and all buildings were razed to the ground!
The damage caused by the five missiles was not actually that great, but those craters were like five slaps to Cui Zhengxing's face!
He had just said that the Lü family's Yujing was useless, unable to even stop a few ordinary missiles, but then he himself let a few missiles slip through his fingers. The speed at which he was proven wrong caught everyone off guard.

Cui Zhengxing's face was naturally extremely ugly, and he couldn't even scold the few members of the Lü family who had fled in panic at the mere wisp of Wei Yuan's aura.

The attack on the Lü family's ancestral land is unprecedented in a century. This incident not only humiliates all the aristocratic families, but also presents them with a thorny problem: Wei Yuan is clearly enraged. What can they use to withstand his military might?
Cui Zhengxing was too ashamed to stay any longer, and seeing that no further missiles were coming, he left on his own.

Several members of the Lü family flew back, still shaken. Looking at the devastated main city, one of them suddenly said, "Why don't we move more mortals in? If Wei Yuan bombards us again, he'll only be hitting mortals, and the karma he'll accumulate will be enough to make him suffer."

Another person frowned and said, "I heard that he has a special understanding of karma and once burned an army of 800,000 witches with a karmic fire. I'm afraid that won't work."

Another Yu Jing added, "Yes, as far as I know, Wei Yuan seems to have a connection with the lineage of the Pure Land Great Joy King Buddha. The King Buddha's Dharma is most adept at manipulating and dealing with karma. I'm afraid our efforts will be ineffective."

Yu Jingdao, the first-ranked official, said, "What other way is there but to do this? We can only try to make things difficult for him. If the main city is bombed, all those guys inside will definitely want to escape. We can just fill those poor civilians with the bombs and let Wei Yuan bomb them. If we bomb too many, we can use this to announce to the world that everyone is condemning his atrocities!"

The other Yujings didn't have any good suggestions either, so they all accepted them.

At this moment, 1,500 miles away from the ancestral land of the Lü family, in the Qingming Army that had just launched all its missiles, several Golden Core Dharma Aspect Generals and a hundred Template Dao Foundation Captains were gathered in a specially made tent, entering the formation one by one for testing.

Most people entered the formation with a pure light, but five captains had a rich blackish-red color, while three Golden Core Dharma Avatars had a faint red color.

After reviewing the test results, General Faxiang, who was in charge of the testing, pointed out the five captains and said, "You will all return to Qingming immediately to accept your new posts at the military headquarters and take a three-year rest. The three generals will return to Qingming after their successors arrive and take a short three-month break."

Several officers whose names were called looked pleased, while the rest of the officers appeared somewhat annoyed.

The general in charge of the inspection smiled and said, "You gentlemen have shared Qingming's burdens and will have a bright future. I congratulate you in advance."

All the officers returned the salute, and the captains, who were originally model officers, couldn't stop smiling.

Now, Qingming is implementing a new military system that distributes the decision-making for large-scale attacks to junior officers. As a result, most of the karma generated will be borne by these officers who directly give the orders, and their superiors will also bear a portion of the karma.

Officers burdened with karma will be transferred back to Qingming to recuperate and placed in positions that generate human merit and good fortune, allowing human fortune to cleanse their karma. This process typically takes two to three years. Simultaneously, their benefits and treatment will be upgraded; for example, those at the template Dao Foundation level will receive the same treatment as those at the Human Rank Dao Foundation level.

Therefore, everyone in the Azure Nether Army now wants to compete for a position to launch missiles. With a surge of Dao power, one can enjoy several years of leisure, and even have the opportunity to marry and raise a family.

Moreover, the enemies of the Azure Netherworld are all wicked and perverse individuals, committing countless evils, so they kill them without any psychological burden. Many even wonder why killing these people would bring them karmic retribution. This shows how unjust the universe is!

(End of this chapter)