Chapter 519: Taste the Saltiness

Wei Yuan stood in the night, carefully combing through the changes in Qi and the entanglements of karma over the past half-hour.

With the Azure Void elevated and a new sapling of the Heaven-Reaching Divine Tree added to the earthly fireworks, Wei Yuan's spiritual perception had improved once more. He could see the fluctuations of Qi more clearly and could even faintly perceive karma.

After sorting through it, Wei Yuan concluded that his discovery of the mole and the black-robed Shaman tribe at this moment was no coincidence.

The black-robed Shaman who had spoken with him had deliberately chosen this place and time to meet, specifically so that Wei Yuan would discover the Shaman tribe member coming to make contact with the mole.

The identity of the mole was already on the tip of his tongue, but Wei Yuan now felt a headache instead. Furthermore, since the mole had already been exposed, the timing of closing the net was a delicate matter; an immediate arrest would not be wise.

Wei Yuan pondered on one hand and sent this problem into the earthly fireworks on the other. He himself flew back to the main peak, preparing to rest for a moment.

Before he could land on the main peak, the earthly fireworks provided a pile of responses that left him both laughing and crying. The number of mortals had grown, and the "Crouching Dragon and Fledgling Phoenix" had also increased in tandem; they were now so numerous that they were gathering in groups and could form cliques to breed.

The mainstream opinion was: "Better to stay still than to move; at this moment, one should watch the changes quietly, wait for the mole to come knocking, and first taste the saltiness."

Wei Yuan felt that the earthly fireworks could also be unreliable at times; the mainstream opinion was not necessarily correct, and truth still lay in the hands of the few.

As dawn approached, Wei Yuan's heart stirred. The Dao Foundation warriors he had left at the edge of the domain had already spotted the Shaman tribe's merchant caravan. Wei Yuan rushed over immediately, and upon arriving, he saw heavy cargo trucks driving into the domain, where Shaman tribe warriors were lifting heavy crates off the trucks and stacking them up.

A sweep of Wei Yuan's spiritual sense revealed that the crates were filled entirely with Thunder Sand. Such a large caravan must have set out days ago.

The leader was still Tian Yu. At this moment, he stood side-by-side with Wei Yuan, watching the Shaman warriors move the goods. Tian Yu took the wine gourd from his waist and handed it to Wei Yuan: "A gift for you."

Wei Yuan opened the gourd and took a sip. Instantly, a line of fire shot straight into his belly, followed by a massive explosion of spiritual energy. Hundreds of places all over his body felt a tearing pain simultaneously, followed by numbness and itching, as countless tiny wounds healed in an instant.

With just this one sip of wine, Wei Yuan's physical body had actually improved slightly. Although the degree of improvement was negligible, it was a tangible gain. Given the current sturdiness of Wei Yuan's physical body, even a tiny improvement was extremely difficult; this gourd of wine was truly precious beyond measure.

"Good wine! Must be expensive, right?"

"Twenty thousand immortal silver per gourd. I have several more jars; if you like it, I'll send you a few more. Just remember to use the contact magic treasure I gave you next time."

"I will." Having accepted such an expensive gourd of wine, Wei Yuan felt a bit embarrassed and thought it necessary to restrain Tian Yu's followers.

Those people had now started a sect and added quite a few members. If left unchecked, they might hold a sect-wide worship, and Tian Yu could easily die an untimely death.

Tian Yu took out another gourd of the same wine and said, "After Grandfather saw you last time, he went back and ordered people to speed up the mining of Thunder Sand. Now that we've finally gathered two million jin, I've brought it to you first."

"What do you want?"

"Didn't you just kill a Spirit Shaman named Ju Ling? We want its flesh and blood; just a quarter of the portion will do. But try to keep it as intact as possible."

Wei Yuan said, "Its soul is gone, and the flesh has lost the vast majority of its power; it's actually of little value."

Tian Yu said, "It's not the value of the flesh we care about, but its identity. After we get its remains, we will find a way to return them to its tribe, letting its relatives and elders know the truth of its death. Grandmaster Hongye will definitely try to cover up the truth, and we want to expose it."

Wei Yuan asked curiously, "Is there some inside story to this?"

Tian Yu said, "I'm not very clear on it either. I just heard the elders say that this Ju Ling's identity is not simple, but it was deceived by Grandmaster Hongye and ended up dying in battle. Now Grandmaster Hongye wants to shirk responsibility and hasn't told the truth to Ju Ling's relatives. The elders want to send its corpse back so they can expose Grandmaster Hongye's lies."

"So that's how it is. Then let me tell you the truth about when it died in battle; at that time, its main opponent was me."

Tian Yu's spirits lifted, and he said, "Do you mind if I record an image?"

Wei Yuan handed an image directly to Tian Yu and said, "It's all here; see for yourself."

Tian Yu opened the image, which recorded the very moment Ju Ling died in battle. It was shrouded by giant trees, unable to escape no matter what, and could only cry out loudly to Grandmaster Hongye for help.

And Grandmaster Hongye's face showed hesitation; just as he was about to act, Wei Yuan blocked the way ahead. Until the very end, Grandmaster Hongye did not make a move, watching helplessly as Ju Ling fell.

In the image, Wei Yuan's aura was weak, as if he had just entered the Dharma Form realm, and after the great battle, he was panting like an ox, looking exhausted and ready to collapse at any moment.

It was this very Wei Yuan who had actually been able to make Grandmaster Hongye stop in his tracks, not even daring to make a move.

Tian Yu was stunned at first, blurting out, "He really did watch without helping?!" Then Tian Yu noticed something wrong and asked, "Why are you so weak here?"

Wei Yuan looked sincere: "I had been in a great battle for a long time and was already severely wounded; I was just holding on by force at that time."

"Is it serious? Have your wounds healed?" Tian Yu asked hurriedly.

"They've already healed mostly; I took elixirs." Wei Yuan managed to muddle through with great difficulty.

This image was Wei Yuan's own memory, restored within the earthly fireworks and appropriately processed according to Tian Yu's needs, such as magnifying Grandmaster Hongye's cold expression while accompanying it with Ju Ling's shrill cries. Finally, it was paired with an image of Ju Ling crawling on the ground toward the direction of home, with the whistling of the wind deliberately added.

In the image, Wei Yuan deliberately weakened himself, completely deleting the aura of the Yang Bomb that was already in a state of readiness. Looking only at the image, Tian Yu felt that he himself could slap Wei Yuan to death.

Such a weak little crawler, and yet it could deter Grandmaster Hongye from daring to move forward? It was clearly Grandmaster Hongye watching without helping, sitting by and watching Ju Ling go to his death.

Afterward, Wei Yuan retrieved Ju Ling's corpse and handed it to Tian Yu. Tian Yu hadn't expected Wei Yuan to give so much and kept saying it wasn't necessary. Wei Yuan, however, said that the more of the body there was, the easier it would be for the elders of the Desolate Ancestor tribe to gain the trust of Ju Ling's relatives, and only then did Tian Yu accept it. In fact, during the great battle that day, with numerous Dharma Form experts in the sky and on the ground, many immortals must have been watching. As one of Wei Yuan's ultimate trump cards, the maiden Yin-Yang, Wei Yuan had not let her appear to compete with the magnificent will of the Shaman tribe from beyond the heavens for Ju Ling's soul.

Therefore, after Ju Ling died, its soul returned beyond the heavens, and the value of the body itself was greatly reduced. However, the wings and long tail that Wei Yuan had severed while it was still alive had retained some of the essence, and after being preserved with secret techniques, the essence had not been lost and had turned into rare materials. These two pieces, naturally, would not be given away.

Tian Yu's trip had exceeded expectations, and he was in a great mood, saying, "If there's an urgent matter in the future, you can also use that method to find me."

Wei Yuan patted Tian Yu and said, "Don't worry, I will control the intensity."

Tian Yu did not notice the strangeness in Wei Yuan's tone and discussed the details of the next transaction with him.

This time, Wei Yuan took the opportunity to ask for some spiritual wood. Spiritual wood was a resource that was also abundant in the Shaman domain where vegetation grew wildly; many low-rank spiritual woods were left to grow, and no one wanted them. Tian Yu naturally agreed immediately.

By this time, the caravan had finished unloading, and Wei Yuan summoned the garrison to begin moving the goods. Tian Yu waved at Wei Yuan and left with a dashing silhouette.

After Tian Yu left, Wei Yuan suddenly felt something was wrong. Recalling the details carefully, he remembered that two gold rings were embedded in his tail, filled with gems and crystals, looking expensive.

After receiving the supplies, Wei Yuan saw that the sky was not yet fully bright, so he called for Bao Yun and Cui Yu. When the two arrived, Wei Yuan said, "I have already found the mole, but I don't know how to handle it now and want to hear your opinions."

Bao Yun asked, "The one who caused the Great Karma Curse?"

"Not confirmed yet, but it's most likely."

Please... you... collect 6... 9... books... okay...!

Cui Yu said sternly, "This matter is unforgivable! No matter who it is, they must be executed, otherwise there is no way to comfort those who have died, and no way to comfort those who have survived a near-death experience!"

Bao Yun was much more observant than Cui Yu. Observing Wei Yuan's expression, she suddenly asked, "Is it someone very important and very close to you?"

Wei Yuan nodded, "Quite important, but I wouldn't say very close. I just didn't expect such a thing to happen to her."

"Why haven't you told Master?"

"Master is currently undergoing the Dao Foundation tribulation; it's estimated it will take another ten days or half a month to finish."

Cui Yu was startled, "The Dao Foundation also requires a tribulation?"

Bao Yun sighed softly, "Master Zhang is indeed peerless in this world; after recultivating, even the Dao Foundation requires a tribulation."

Wei Yuan discussed it with the two for a while longer. Cui Yu's attitude was clear: no matter what, the traitor must be executed.

Cui Yu was not an extreme person by nature, but during the Great Karma Curse, not only was he severely wounded, but he had also watched with his own eyes as many people, including the most elite cavalry under Wei Yuan's command, died one by one in front of him. This hatred made it hard for him to let go.

Bao Yun, however, felt that it could be utilized further; perhaps something could still be squeezed out of this mole.

Speaking of this, Wei Yuan inexplicably thought of the conversation he had overheard between the mole and the Shaman tribe, as well as the mainstream opinion given by the earthly fireworks.

Theoretically, what the earthly fireworks provided should be the optimal solution based on a neutral perspective. But Wei Yuan faintly felt that in certain scenarios, perhaps the "Crouching Dragon and Fledgling Phoenix" had hidden a hint of malice, or rather, an undesirable tendency in their answers.

But now, the information Wei Yuan provided was too little, and the two wisely did not ask for the mole's specific identity; in any case, the scope was already very small, and that person's name was already on the tip of his tongue.

Cui Yu still had a pile of military affairs to attend to and left first. He had already stated his attitude and believed that Wei Yuan would not be inexplicably soft-hearted.

Bao Yun, however, did not leave, but asked, "What, is your heart aching? Or are you planning to play along and taste the saltiness first?"

Wei Yuan was shocked!

How did she know about the earthly fireworks' plan? Although Wei Yuan had no intention of adopting it at all, being suddenly exposed like this felt as if a secret corner he had tried hard to hide had suddenly been discovered by someone.

However, since Bao Yun asked, Wei Yuan could not avoid it, and he certainly couldn't let Bao Yun misunderstand because of it, so he said sternly, "There haven't been many outstanding disciples in the palace for the past few generations, and she was originally highly anticipated.

I want to handle it cautiously. First, as you said, see if we can use her to lure the Shaman tribe into a trap, at least to capture the person who made contact with her. The other is that I don't want the elders in the palace to be hit too hard."

Bao Yun came before Wei Yuan, hands behind her back, looking up into his eyes. Her curled eyelashes fluttered, and she blinked her watery eyes; Bao Yun's chest was almost touching Wei Yuan's body.

Being this close, Wei Yuan instinctively felt danger and wanted to back away, but felt that doing so would be even worse.

Bao Yun smiled half-heartedly and said, "Do you still remember that sentence I told you?"

Wei Yuan instinctively had a guess, but still braced himself and asked, "Which one?"

"Rotten peach blossoms."

"Of course I remember that. What's wrong?" Wei Yuan looked innocent.

Bao Yun looked into his eyes and said, "I also agree with your first idea. However, you are not allowed to mate!"

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 520 =====