Longzang

Chapter 1063 Attack and Defense
Amidst the faint chanting of Buddhist scriptures, wisps of pale red mist fell upon the earth.

The fog was invisible and intangible, so ordinary soldiers couldn't feel anything. Daoji felt only slightly uncomfortable, while Faxiang was inexplicably terrified and his face turned ashen. Yujing retreated instantly, and even Xiao Jingyuan subconsciously retreated several feet, but for the sake of morale, he teleported back to his original position.

The Embroidered Robe Commander vanished in an instant and reappeared just as quickly, as if he had never moved. In the central command headquarters, apart from the Duke of Cao with his swollen, red eyes, no one noticed that the two had moved.

The mist fell in patches and layers, like snowflakes. This mist was actually a faint red lotus karmic fire, which even cultivators of the Imperial Realm feared like a tiger, daring not to let a single flame touch them.

Wei Yuan today is not the same as before, nor is he the same person who cursed and killed 800,000 witch soldiers. His attainments in Buddhism have advanced by leaps and bounds, and his ability to control karmic fire is completely different from what it used to be. Today, he can turn an entire sea of ​​fire into thousands upon thousands of wisps of mist.

As the karmic fire appeared, all the Azure Nether Warriors immediately hid in the deep underground tunnels. Only a few warriors who were already entangled in battle with the Dao soldiers or the Ji army were unable to retreat. But this only fueled their ferocity, and they charged directly into the depths of the enemy formation, trying to hold them back and prevent them from escaping.

Petals of crimson lotus flames fell, primarily heading towards the gray-robed Dao soldiers, instantly igniting countless of them. At this moment, Wei Yuan's accumulated karma was completely transformed into incinerating flames, falling upon the mortal realm.

Cangwu appeared in the air, his face contorted in rage as he roared furiously. However, his thunderous roar was entirely contained within a ten-foot radius around him, not escaping at all, so even Wei Yuan did not notice his appearance.

Cangwu stared at the misty sky, nearly going mad, roaring repeatedly, "Why didn't I figure it out? Why didn't you tell me he had this trick up his sleeve?! He clearly used Karmic Fire when he fought against the Witch Clan, why didn't you warn me?!"

Cangwu's voice suddenly turned sinister: "...So you want to destroy my precious treasure, is that it..."

The Red Lotus Karmic Fire is remarkably effective against Daoist soldiers primarily composed of Yin energy. A mere touch can ignite the entire Daoist soldier, burning away all Yin energy and spirituality, leaving only a wisp of white ash.

A faint light appeared in the sky, bringing joy and peace to those who beheld it.

Wei Yuan finally appeared, standing in the light, holding a small red lotus in his hand. The lotus petals kept falling off and turning into wisps of red mist.

The Taoist soldiers were originally devoid of emotions, fearless, and unaware of pain, but when they were touched by the karmic fire, they writhed on the ground in agony, howling to the heavens! It turned out that they were not without pain, but rather that it was suppressed and bound.

Some Azure Nether Warriors were also tainted by the karmic fire, but a flash of azure light immediately extinguished it. This was due to the good fortune Wei Yuan had bestowed upon them beforehand, which was the only way to counteract the karmic fire. However, some Azure Nether Warriors were repeatedly tainted by the karmic fire and were eventually ignited again.

When the red lotus in Wei Yuan's hand dissipated, less than 20% of the more than one million Dao soldiers below remained. The nearly 500,000 Dao soldiers were still a huge threat, but they were no longer enough to overthrow the Azure Nether Formation.

As the karmic fire subsided, another bell rang in the sky, and countless Azure Nether Warriors emerged from the ground to fight alongside the Dao soldiers and the Ji army.

Flames began to spew from countless bunkers, and the fire swept across the surface of the position. The multiple, overlapping firepower wiped out swathes of those Ji Jun dared to stand on the surface of the position, and even Captain Daoji could not escape.

After suffering heavy casualties, the soldiers of Ji Kingdom finally realized what was happening and jumped into the trenches.

The cultivators began engaging in one-on-one combat, and in this aspect, Qingming completely crushed them. Although the Ji Kingdom's army had a large number of Dharma Aspects, most of them were in the early stages, and their quality was not high. The cultivators of Taichu Palace could basically chase down several of them at once.

At the Foundation Establishment level, although Qingming only has 300,000 warriors on its front lines, a fraction of Ji Jun's forces, its Foundation Establishment cultivators are five times the number of Ji Jun's! Three templates are enough to take down a Human Rank cultivator, and five templates can overwhelm an Earth Rank cultivator.

The battlefield descended into a chaotic melee and a bloodbath, and the power of Cangwu's Dao soldiers began to manifest. Each of these Dao soldiers possessed the strength of the late-stage Body Forging realm, and their fearless nature meant even the template Dao Foundation cultivators had to be dealt with with caution.

Wei Yuan had never expected Cangwu to be able to directly deploy Dao soldiers on the heavy artillery position, resulting in the destruction of most of the heavy artillery and heavy casualties among the artillerymen. Such an obvious mistake seemed to be influenced by the opponent's immortal status.

Fortunately, Wei Yuan deployed a large force in the new city of Guantun County, which had no city walls, causing the 200,000 troops stationed there to fight a bitter battle.

The buildings in this city were strangely designed, yet exceptionally sturdy. Even with heavy hammers, soldiers could only manage to create a hole in a wall, and the entire building showed no sign of collapsing. Demolishing a building in the city was akin to blasting through a mountain.

Unable to breach the buildings, the Taoist soldiers fought amongst themselves in the labyrinthine city, while the Azure Nether warriors, familiar with the terrain, employed flexible tactics. Wei Yuan had long ago set up numerous roadblocks and fortifications within the city, with every window facing the street serving as a firing point, and a large number of landmines were also laid, resulting in heavy casualties for the Taoist soldiers entering the city.

The gray-clad Taoist soldiers were incredibly powerful, showing no signs of injury or fear, only knowing how to fight, and continuously inflicting casualties on the Azure Nether Warriors. In contrast, although Ji's army outnumbered them, many of their veteran soldiers only shouted slogans of fighting and killing, without actually advancing, constantly observing escape routes.

This meat grinder-like battle situation terrified them the most, as they could lose their lives at any moment, and die without knowing why. Wei Yuan stood in the air, his mind as calm as still water. At this moment, all lives were just numbers rising and falling in his eyes.

With the support of the prosperity of all realms, coupled with his ability to simultaneously handle tens of thousands of missions, Wei Yuan had every corner of the hundred-mile battlefield under his sight, tracking the battle situation of squads as small as ten people.

At this time, several small Qingming units had moved to the vicinity of the heavy artillery positions and began to besiege the Taoist soldiers who occupied them. Several other units also began to advance towards Guantun New City, preparing to encircle and annihilate the Taoist soldiers who had entered the city.

On the left and right flanks, two elite cavalry units, each with three thousand men, suddenly broke through the defensive line and flanked Ji's army from a distance. Ji's army immediately dispatched three Dharma Aspect Generals from each flank to intercept them. The leader of the northern flank was Xiao Yu, who, holding the immortal sword Great Sun, stood at the front of his army, bolstered by the army's aura, shouting and hurling insults at them.

Ji Jun and his three Dharma Aspects also faced the battle with the added military aura, but they were somewhat apprehensive when they saw the immortal sword in Xiao Yu's arms. However, they soon discovered that the immortal sword in Xiao Yu's arms was significantly different from the real immortal sword, the Great Sun. It was not as intense, and the fire was ordinary fire rather than the true flames of the sun. It only looked like the Great Sun of the immortal sword.

The three Dharma Aspects were relieved. They naturally did not know that what Xiao Yu was holding in her arms was the Immortal Sword Pseudo-Sun, while the real Immortal Sword Great Sun was in the hands of Shao Yang Star Lord, slowly emerging behind the three Dharma Aspects.

Then a great sun rose into the sky, and one of the three Dharma Aspects fell instantly, another was seriously injured, and the weakest of the three fled in disarray. Xiao Yu then led his elite cavalry to break through the Ji army's blocking lines and stormed into the camp from the side, beginning to wreak havoc within the camp.

The elite cavalry on the southern route seemed to be without a leader, but the Ji army generals who were intercepting them died one after another inexplicably, and only a vague shadow could be seen flashing by.

With their commander dead and the southern route blockade failing, the elite cavalry stormed into the camp and set fires everywhere.

Cangwu immediately recognized that the commander of the southern cavalry was actually a stunningly beautiful young woman, Bao Yun. At this moment, Bao Yun possessed a distinct celestial aura, flickering intermittently. Above her head stood a dignified and elegant old lady, constantly following her.

The patriarch of the Bao family was not present in person; the figure in the air was merely a projection intended to warn his fellow immortal rivals that Bao Yun was the most valued junior of the Bao family in this generation. He was not to be killed, but only captured alive; otherwise, it would be a fight to the death, and the Bao family's immortal patriarch would use the same methods to deal with the enemy's juniors.

Similarly, the figure of the Xiao family's immortal ancestor can also be seen above Xiaoyu, and only fellow immortals can see it.

Cangwu gritted his teeth in hatred. If Wei Yuan had sent two other people, he would have been fearless and might have killed them outright. Even if it were Ji Liuli, he wouldn't have hesitated, since he already had a blood feud with Taichu Palace.

However, the Bao and Xiao families are outwardly neutral, with only a few of their younger generations residing in the Tai Chu Palace and Qing Ming. If they were pushed to the opposite side, Cangwu had no confidence he could pass the test with the Venerable Lord.

The battlefield situation began to devolve into a brutal and brutal war of attrition, with casualties on both sides rising sharply. At this point, Ji's army actually suffered fewer casualties than the gray-clad soldiers, as many of their soldiers were merely going through the motions.

In the stalemate, the significance of the six war zones established by Wei Yuan gradually became apparent. The commanders of the war zones were all assessing the battlefield situation on their own, and each could simultaneously command a dozen or even more troops, which could be dispersed and regrouped at will, demonstrating a sophisticated range of tactics. Xiao Yu and Bao Yun even launched a coordinated attack, raiding Ji Jun's main camp.

……

In the mountainous region, a road is gradually extending, with tens of thousands of road workers busily engaged in its construction.

At this moment, the mountain range on the side suddenly began to shake, towering ancient trees fell one after another, the earth shook, and then several terrifying giants several meters tall appeared on the ridge!
They casually pushed aside groves of forest and smashed through mountains, carving a path through the mountains. Behind the leading giants appeared more mountain giants, and then countless mountain people!

The mountain people's main force unexpectedly appeared at this moment and attacked Wei Yuan's rear.

Upon suddenly seeing the mountain people covering the hillside, the road construction workers did not panic. Instead, they put down their tools, took out weapons and armor from the trucks parked by the roadside, and donned them on the spot, instantly transforming into a heavily armed elite force.

Some of the trucks had their cargo compartments open, revealing rotary machine guns or infantry guns hidden inside.

The construction workers were transformed into heavily armed elites. Suddenly, a faint light appeared on each of them. All the light gathered in the sky and a tall figure standing with a sword in his hand appeared. Although the face of the hundred-foot-tall figure was blurred, it vaguely resembled Wei Yuan.

These tens of thousands of construction workers were actually mostly Dao soldiers from the Dao Bing Hall. Wei Yuan deployed his most elite 50,000 troops in the northwest, specifically to guard against the mountain people.

(End of this chapter)