Longzang

Chapter 1072 Original Intention
The fierce battle lasted for three days and three nights. Even the elite Qingming troops could not hold out, so Wei Yuan had to rotate his troops to the rear and take an emergency one-hour rest.

Once these soldiers arrived at their designated location, they would immediately collapse and fall asleep in all sorts of strange and unusual positions; some even fell asleep while still standing in place.

A large number of logistics-oriented cultivators moved among the soldiers, hanging small pouches containing first-aid pills and rations on their bodies.

Hundreds more cultivators joined forces to cast a spell, transforming it into a light drizzle that showered the warriors. The rain contained not only magical properties but also medicinal ingredients that promoted wound healing, reduced fatigue, and alleviated pain. After the drizzle, the warriors would be full of energy again.

After several days of fierce fighting, Wei Yuan had fought his way through the mountain people to the vicinity of the Daoist checkpoint. At this time, the checkpoint was littered with the corpses of the mountain people, and only 20,000 of the 50,000 Daoist soldiers in the city remained. Wang Hu's injuries were too numerous to count, and many wounds had not yet healed before new ones were added.

Outside the checkpoint, the mountain people had left behind 500,000 corpses, and more than ten giants had perished.

After Wei Yuan led the main force to the pass, the mountain people no longer split up, and the million mountain people who went to attack the second fortress defense line were separated and lost contact with their own team.

However, Qingming's pressure also increased dramatically, as mountain people continued to appear on the front lines.

Wei Yuan has eliminated more than 1.5 million mountain people, but there are still 5 million on the front lines!
For three days, the mountain people have been forced into retreat. Despite their skill in manipulating rocks and earth, they haven't even had time to build a complete defensive line.

One tribe after another was thrown to the front lines, only to be decimated within an hour. Many tribes didn't even have the chance to retreat and preserve their lives; they were wiped out as a whole after being deployed to the front lines. Many small mountain tribes had lost all their able-bodied men, leaving only the old, weak, sick, and disabled, facing only the fate of being annexed.

Wei Yuan launched a relentless attack, giving the mountain people no chance to catch their breath or rest, thus inflicting losses on them several times greater than before. However, this offensive was also a severe test for Qing Ming; both sides were gritting their teeth and persevering, waiting to see who would fall first.

Before the checkpoint, the mountain people finally amassed a sufficient numerical advantage, and by using wave after wave of flesh and blood to hold back Wei Yuan's iron torrent, the rear immediately seized every opportunity to build fortifications and defensive lines. Given just one day, they could construct a complete defensive line.

In the celestial realm, two giant mountain dwellers stand like pillars supporting the sky, forming a triangular formation, facing a secluded courtyard with a clear stream flowing through it.

Within the Celestial Realm, all the measures and units of measurement in this world have lost their meaning; only relative proportions have significance.

If the courtyard were the size of a normal human dwelling, then both giants would be terrifying behemoths, each over ten thousand feet tall, making them completely disproportionate.

The courtyard was peaceful and serene, with two people enjoying tea and playing chess, their expressions relaxed. One was the Immortal Lord Yan Shi, and opposite him was a short mountain dweller, only five feet tall, ugly in appearance, yet possessing an ethereal and otherworldly air.

Holding a white piece, he placed it on the board, instantly capturing several black pieces from Yan Shi, and then smiled and said, "Fellow Daoist was careless."

Yan Shi, always carefree, said, "This is something I didn't calculate clearly; you've outsmarted me."

The game played by the two was a chess game used exclusively by immortals. The chessboard had three axes: length, width, and height. A piece could only be captured if it was surrounded in all six directions.

This game has 81 squares per axis, which is already a top-tier chessboard among immortals.

Yan Shi's appearance remained unchanged, but a striking patch of gray hair appeared at his temples. Although he was at a disadvantage in the game, Yan Shi refused to give up, proceeding cautiously and fighting tenaciously.

The short mountain hermit immortal said, "I am determined to take this place. Besides, it was never your human territory to begin with, so why are you so fixated on it? Countless people have died or been injured in the lower realms. Don't you care at all?"

Yan Shi said calmly, "I observe that the deaths and injuries among the mountain people in the lower realm far exceed those among the human race. This kind of exchange is not necessarily a bad thing."

The mountain hermit glanced into the house behind Xiang Yanshi and said, "Although your ascension to immortality is not perfect, your rank is actually not low. You should be enjoying a carefree life, but you spend all your time sleeping with the Ancestral Master's Immortal Sword. Is this the kind of life an immortal should lead?"

Yan Shi smiled slightly and said, "I don't want to either, but I have no choice. There are always people who want to see if I'm afraid of death. In fact, living for ten thousand years is not as good as killing someone to my heart's content before I die, and taking a heavyweight with me! What do you think, fellow Daoist?" The Mountain Immortal gave Yan Shi a deep look and said, "If you make a move now, with three against one, you will surely die."

Yan Shi nodded and said, "With fellow Daoists accompanying me on the road to the Yellow Springs, it won't be so lonely."

The mountain immortal frowned slightly and said, "The Primordial Palace should have been ten or a hundred times stronger than it is now, but generation after generation of palace masters were either framed by the human race or forced by the tide of events to be drawn into the vortex of the Heavenly Dao and sacrifice themselves for their clan. Is this a coincidence?"

Yan Shi said, "No."

"Then what's the point? There are so many immortals among the human race, but they are all just clinging to life, only good at plotting in secret to push your Taichu Palace to the front. The Academy is hypocritical, the Pure Land is treacherous, and the Sword Palace is a little better, but it is still clinging to the old ways and is like a nouveau riche who is obsessed with saving face. As a result, each generation is worse than the last."

When asked the question by the mountain hermit, Yan Shi smiled but did not answer.

The mountain hermit suddenly put down the chess pieces, swept the remaining pieces aside, and said, "This game is null and void. Mortals in the lower realm, let your fate be. If you and I were of the same kind, I would definitely make you my friend. It's just a pity that we are now on different sides, and we can only meet on the battlefield in the future."

Yan Shi rose to see him off, escorting him to the courtyard gate, and said, "Fellow Daoist, why don't you withdraw your troops?"

The mountain hermit shook his head and said, "My temperament is actually somewhat similar to your ancestor's; we both follow the straight path. I met him once, and although we only talked for a short while, I deeply admired him and considered him a lifelong friend. It's just a pity that not long after, he went deep into the Witch Domain and shook the pillars of heaven established by the Ancestral Witches, which led to the existence of Ningzhou and today's Qingzhou."

"It is my greatest regret in life that I have not been able to spar with him. But if I do not make a move today, this friendship will have come to an end. You have not yet reached perfection, and are no match for me, so there is no need for a spar."

Yan Shi said, "So you are someone who has been on friendly terms with the Ancestral Master. I was being presumptuous just now."

The mountain hermit said, "My name is Di Ran. I came here because of information from your human race. Be careful."

"Thank you for the reminder, senior. Shall we let the juniors decide the battle situation below?"

Di Ran smiled slightly and said, "Whether I win or lose this round, it will have no impact on me. But if I lose, your Taichu Palace will fall into decline for another hundred years. Very well, I will agree to your request and will not interfere in this battle for the time being."

"Thank you, senior."

Di Ran waved his hand and said, "You don't need to thank me. Actually, I also want to know why he chose to go to the Witch Domain to confront the Ancestral Witch, given his unparalleled talent back then, his near-unrivaled status upon ascending to immortality, and his dominance over an entire era. I have been observing the Primordial Palace for thousands of years and have gained some insights. Perhaps I can find the answer in your generation."

After the three mountain immortals departed, Yan Shi returned to the main hall and stood before the portrait of the ancestor. Suddenly, he recalled the figure of the ancestor he had seen during the ancestral worship ceremony when he first entered the Taichu Palace.

At that time, the patriarch stood atop the mountains, with endless dark clouds and storms in front of him, and his enormous body, spanning millions of miles, stretched across the heavens and earth.

The storm is coming.

The patriarch only said one sentence: "My initial motivation for cultivating the Tao was to die for my clan. You don't need to follow my example."

He then drifted away, heading straight for the center of the storm.

(End of this chapter)