Longzang

Chapter 85 Accident
According to the rules of the Taichu Palace, a standard Human-level Dao Foundation cultivator is awarded 100 merit points. The Daoist counted 80 for Wei Yuan, which means that if these injuries were inflicted on an ordinary Human-level cultivator, they would likely be fatal. If a Human-level cultivator dies, it would only be counted as 100 merit points, and the extra immortal silver would be called a consolation payment.

After treating his wounds, before Wei Yuan could even get up, the two young Taoist priests had already placed the blood-covered cultivator beside him; he was already lifeless. Wei Yuan didn't dare linger and quickly left the clinic, not wanting to take up someone else's seat.

After leaving the clinic, Wei Yuan checked the direction and headed towards the south gate. A moment later, he exited the south gate and arrived at the flying boat.

Two temporary halls had been erected outside the flying boat, and a Taoist priest at the entrance was shouting: "Taichu Palace, enter the left hall; other sects, enter the right hall!"

The cultivators filed in and out in single file. Those who entered the left hall went in empty-handed and came out empty-handed, while those who entered the right hall came out carrying large and small bags.

Wei Yuan stood at the end of the line. After a moment, it was his turn to enter the left hall. There were only a few tables in the hall, and behind each table sat a cultivator. They were all expressionless. When someone came, they would look at him with a book, call out a number, and then move on to the next person.

When it was Wei Yuan's turn, behind the table was a middle-aged female cultivator with eagle-like eyes, a downturned mouth, and a hooked nose, looking as if everyone owed her several taels of immortal silver.

But upon seeing Wei Yuan, the female cultivator's expression suddenly softened. She scrutinized him carefully for several moments before shining her book over his face and reading aloud: "A total of four centurions, eleven captains, and one hundred and thirty-seven ordinary cavalrymen have been killed!"

Putting aside the female cultivator, everyone in the hall was greatly surprised. Wei Yuan didn't have any Dao light on him, clearly indicating that his Dao Foundation was still incomplete. In terms of cultivation level, he was only equivalent to a captain of the Liao Barbarians. A captain's merit points were twenty, while a centurion was equivalent to a Ground-Rank Dao Foundation cultivator, with two hundred merit points!

The battlefield is not a one-on-one battle. With Wei Yuan's level, it would be quite good if he could kill a few captains. Some people with extraordinary talent and good luck can kill a centurion even if they are above their level. But Wei Yuan has only been here for three days and has already killed several centurions, captains in a row, and mobs of miscellaneous soldiers. This is unprecedented!

Although shocked, meritorious service cannot be faked. Every disciple of the Taichu Palace cultivates a Daoist technique that, when cast before battle, records the outcome of the battle in their primordial spirit. Because it only records the results, the burden on this technique is almost zero, allowing for prolonged use. When the Taichu Palace verifies merits, they only need to examine the battle results recorded by this technique.

The female cultivator gave Wei Yuan a deep look and recorded in the register: Wei Yuan of Tianqing Palace, 1,237 merits.

In the Taichu Palace, merit points are far more useful than immortal silver, as they can be exchanged for almost all resources. Many elixirs, precious medicines, spiritual materials, and magical treasures can only be obtained through merit points. If there's really nothing you want to exchange for, you can directly convert it into immortal silver; the Taichu Palace sets the exchange rate at one point of merit points for ten taels of immortal silver.

In reality, many disciples secretly exchanged immortal silver for merit points from others. This price fluctuated from time to time, generally ranging from twelve to fifteen taels for one point of merit points.

In other words, Wei Yuan has earned more than 10,000 taels of silver in these three days of fighting. If he were to exchange it privately at a relatively high price, he could get close to 20,000 taels.

The Left Hall is for disciples of the Taichu Palace, so only merits are recorded. Those wishing to exchange for anything can return to the palace. The Right Hall is for disciples of other sects, so the Taichu Palace has prepared a batch of supplies that can be exchanged on the spot. Although the options are fewer, some are rare items that cannot be bought outside, so most people choose to exchange for them on the spot.

Seeing everyone leaving with their hands full of things and beaming with joy, Wei Yuan understood just how powerful the on-site settlement of military merits was. So many people had gone to such lengths for the rescue; currying favor with the Bao family was secondary, and most were probably there for the on-site settlement.

After leaving the Hall of Merit, Wei Yuan returned to the fortified village and, following the regulations, found the warehouse specifically for military supplies. He then refilled his gun cases and bows and arrows, thus completing his post-war rest.

Wei Yuan didn't spend much time resting. After collecting his equipment, he didn't know what to do next. The fortified village was bustling with people, the roads were crowded, and there were countless cultivators at the Foundation Establishment stage. No one paid any attention to Wei Yuan, a junior who hadn't even reached the Foundation Establishment stage yet. The great battle had just ended, and everyone was busy cleaning up the battlefield, treating the wounded, and restoring the city's defenses. Bao Yun didn't know what she was doing, but she knew she must be surrounded by people like a star. There were quite a few important figures from the surrounding reinforcements alone, and several reinforcements with more than a hundred riders could be seen in Wei Yuan's direction alone. Among the leading cultivators were many talented young cultivators who had already consolidated their foundations and entered the mid-stage of the Foundation Establishment stage, and even some in the late-stage of the Spirit Condensation stage. From any perspective, Wei Yuan couldn't even be considered among them.

Wei Yuan, who came alone, was not even at the Dao Foundation stage.

Wei Yuan didn't linger. He toured the fortified village, studying its defenses, before returning to Shayang Village. He didn't inform Bao Yun, coming and going quietly. He and Bao Yun were now from two different worlds, in terms of both cultivation and status. The only connection between them was an IOU for several hundred thousand, which Bao Yun had probably long forgotten.

Upon leaving the fortified village, Wei Yuan felt the array plate in his arms still vibrating intermittently, and people around him were still calling for help. However, the main force of the Northern Liao army in Bianning County was clearly with Bao Yun, and even Dharma Aspect cultivators had made their move. Now that the Dharma Aspect experts were injured and had fled far away, and the main force had been repelled, at most only a few cavalry remained on the battlefield, and they would soon retreat as well.

Wei Yuan's primary responsibility was to guard his own defensive zone, and his ability to provide external assistance was also limited; anything beyond that was the responsibility of other cultivators. At this time, the area around Quyang was peaceful and quiet, so Wei Yuan was able to rest in peace.

On the return journey, Wei Yuan frequently saw the corpses of men and horses lying by the roadside, indicating that a fierce battle had just taken place there. The eastern part of Bianning County was not Agula's main attack area, but it was still rife with fighting.

Occasionally, villages can be seen in the mountains and fields on both sides of the road, all of which have been abandoned. Skeletons are scattered everywhere, and it is unknown when or what caused their deaths.

In just three days, Wei Yuan's state of mind had changed. He had become somewhat accustomed to seeing corpses and skeletons, but a faint sadness still lingered in his heart.

The northern landscape was shrouded in a dim yellow light, perhaps due to the retreat caused by the defeat in the great battle. After the dim light, nothing could be seen clearly, and it was unknown how many Liao soldiers were hiding behind it, licking their wounds while preparing for the next attack.

Before long, Shayang Village and Quyang County were in sight, but Wei Yuan's expression suddenly changed!
In Shayang Village, many sections of the battlements had collapsed, the gates were wide open, and bloodstains were everywhere on the walls and ramparts. The village was eerily quiet, without a sound. The two villages behind it were in the same situation, with their battlements collapsed and their gates open.

Wei Yuan used his Qi Observation Technique and saw that the blood and resentment energy at the entrance of each village were intertwined and lingered. This was the case in all three villages. In Shayang Village, however, a thin wisp of white energy rose up, thin but condensed and unyielding.

Wei Yuan's eyes narrowed, he drew his spear, and spurred his horse at full speed toward Shayang Village.

In the blink of an eye, Wei Yuan arrived at the village entrance. He dismounted, but his pace slowed. Several large holes had appeared in the wide-open wooden gate, and the bolt had been cut in two. Arrows were stuck everywhere in the parapet, some so deep they were featherless. These arrows had white fletchings, something he had never seen before.

The village was filled with an aura of death; blood had stained almost every road, most of which had dried, but some where the blood had pooled deep still appeared soft. Corpses were everywhere—on the roads, inside houses, in courtyards, and behind houses—and none of them were intact. Most had their limbs severed, with only a few retaining a hand or a leg.

None of the corpses had heads.

Wei Yuan walked step by step, his boots landing on the ground, each step squeezing out the still-wet blood and leaving clear footprints.

(End of this chapter)