Longzang

Chapter 1073 Use all possible means
There are also those among the mountain people who are willing to die, a conclusion Wei Yuan drew after observing the effects of the artillery barrage.

With the Qingming army's offensive stalled, Wei Yuan mobilized heavy artillery and unleashed its full firepower, bombarding the mountain people's positions in an attempt to create a breakthrough.

But the mountain people, one after another, used their innate abilities to build layers of rock walls and stone shields to resist the artillery fire. Although the stone shields would soon shatter under the artillery fire, and the mountain people behind the shields would become corpses, for every one of them who died, another would take their place.

As soon as the shelling stopped, when the Qingming troops attacked, countless mountain people appeared out of nowhere and charged into the Qingming troops to fight.

In close-quarters combat, Qingming also held the advantage. Qingming's armor was of significantly higher quality than that of the mountain people, who were renowned for their iron smelting, and they were generally equipped with pistols that fired shotgun shells. Even if the shotgun shells accidentally hit friendly forces, they wouldn't penetrate Qingming's standard armor unless the target was too close, but the mountain people's armor and shields couldn't stop them.

However, the mountain people who rushed into the formation were fearless and reckless. Large groups of mountain people continued to charge at the chariots, and dozens of mountain people even took turns rushing up, using their racial talent to turn into rocks and bury the entire chariot.

The earth elemental power summoned by the burning of the mountain people spreads, causing rocks to grow inside the chariots. In this way, the mountain people often have to pay a heavy price of hundreds of lives to bury a single chariot, but they are still fearless, and more and more of the Qingming chariots on the front line are paralyzed.

Wei Yuan concentrated all his heavy artillery on a front less than ten miles long and launched a fierce attack for an entire afternoon, launching more than ten offensives in a row, but all of them were repelled.

On the narrow front of the attack, the mountain people poured in 300,000 men in half a day, yet they did not retreat an inch.

Just five miles behind, the mountain people are working hard to build fortifications, and a defensive line is about to take shape.

Once this defensive line is completed, the mountain people will be able to stabilize their position, and casualties will be greatly reduced. They will no longer have to use their flesh and blood, long swords and shields, to collide with Qingming's cannon fire and bullets as they do now.

Wei Yuan reappeared above the mountain people's army formation and charged directly into their aura. Two Yujing Mountain People instantly appeared nearby, ready to use their aura to their advantage.

However, as the sun rose into the sky, the Evil Yang True Intent instantly sent chills down the spines of the two mountain dwellers, Yu Jing, who retreated without hesitation. But having received guidance from the immortal, they knew that the cost of Wei Yuan activating the Evil Yang True Intent was enormous, so they retreated but did not leave.

Such a ferocious thing as the Evil Yang, if released for enough time, would make it impossible for Wei Yuan to control or seal it, and he would be devoured by the Evil Yang. Therefore, several mountain dwellers, Yu Jing, kept a distance, ready to attack Wei Yuan once he could no longer hold on and withdrew the true meaning of the Evil Yang.

Upon seeing the posture of the mountain people guarding the scenery, Wei Yuan naturally understood their intentions. However, Wei Yuan's intention in forcing them away with his Evil Yang True Intent was merely to prevent them from interfering in the battle for the time being.

Another large, deep yellow star appeared in the sky, and its heavy pressure instantly enveloped the defensive line under construction below, rendering all the mountain people unable to move.

However, the mountain people are a race born of the earth element, and their resistance to this earth element pressure is exceptionally strong. At present, many mountain people with good cultivation simply use magic to hide in the earth and rocks, using the earth to resist the pressure of the cave.

But the mountain dweller, Mikage, whether ordinary or giant, was utterly shocked.

At this moment, Wei Yuan had already unleashed the power of two different grotto-heavens simultaneously. Having two grotto-heavens is one thing, but being able to unleash two grotto-heavens at the same time is another realm!
The imperial guards immediately thought, "Is having two grotto-heavens really that ordinary? They haven't even gotten close to the entrance of a grotto-heaven."

Fortunately, the Thick Earth Cave Heaven was perfectly suited to the earth element attribute of the mountain people. At this moment, the suppressing power was wide but not concentrated, making it very difficult to kill even the Dao Foundation level of the mountain people. Therefore, the Imperial Viewers were not worried about the battle situation, only thinking that Wei Yuan had become desperate. Using earth element power against the mountain people would be a complete waste of time.

But at that moment, countless black dots suddenly flew out from the Earth Star!

As soon as the numerous tiny, insect-like dots left the large star, they rapidly grew larger, eventually transforming into mirages several meters tall!
The mirage demons were seemingly endless. Several leaders of the Faxiang Mountain tribes present were shocked and fought back. However, several mirage demons pounced on them, passing right through their bodies and pulling out their souls!
There's even a Yujing hidden among the mirage demons? And not just one?
After several years of recuperation, the number of mirage demons, whose reproductive capacity far surpasses that of rabbits, has exploded. When released now, they are virtually inexhaustible, with tens of millions pouring out in an instant.

The mountain people are physically resilient and adept at using earth and stones for defense, but their protection of their spirit and soul is much weaker, less than half that of the witch tribe. The mirage demon is naturally skilled in illusory spiritual attacks, and now, existing between reality and illusion, it can even squeeze through a pinhole-sized hole in the earth and stones, directly attacking the mountain people's bodies.

The mountain people caught in the attack instantly fall into an illusion, completely defenseless. The vast majority of them immediately enter a state of reproduction, while a few become frenzied and violent. Once trapped in the illusion, the mountain people's innate supernatural powers will automatically dissipate. Those who were originally hidden in the earth and rocks will instantly have their earth elemental power materialize, their internal organs filled with earth and rocks, and they will be crushed to death on the spot.

The surrounding mountain people and powerful figures were shocked, but Yu Jing was intimidated by Xie Yang and could only join forces to approach. Then, hundreds of Dharma Aspect experts rushed over and fought with the Mirage Demon.

Wei Yuan waved his hand again, scattering countless emerald green spirit tree branches that transformed into Dao soldiers upon landing. The faces of the hundreds of Dao soldiers rapidly changed. Dozens of pale gold immortal swords suddenly appeared around one of them, swarming out and piercing through the leading mountain villager's dharma image, instantly killing it! Above the head of another Dao soldier, countless stars appeared, a total of three hundred and sixty stars forming a self-contained array. At the center stood a purple imperial star, overseeing the entire formation.

Countless stars flew out, like a galaxy, washing over a mountain dweller's Dharma image, instantly destroying his defenses and killing him instantly.

The hundreds of soldiers that Wei Yuan threw out were all spiritual and had different appearances. Among them, the pale gold sword formation, the celestial constellations, and the black ball of thread-like appearance were particularly eye-catching.

Hundreds of Dharma Aspects from both sides immediately engaged in battle, and more than ten perished in the blink of an eye. But the mountain people who died were truly dead; their Dharma Aspects disappeared without a trace. On the other hand, Wei Yuan's side only lost Dao soldiers, and the loss was in materials—how could these be the same?
A mountain dweller, Faxiang, was acting suspiciously when he suddenly reached out and patted the back of a Taoist soldier made of spirit wood. The soldier immediately turned into yellow sand.

This was already the fourth Spirit Wood Dao Soldier he had ambushed and killed. Just as he was about to approach his new target, suddenly a blur appeared before his eyes, revealing an ordinary-looking girl.

The mountain dweller, Faxiang, was startled and was about to retreat when he saw the girl point at him. Her eyes instantly turned one black and one white. A wisp of wind shot out from her fingertip, and within the wind, wisps of energy, like gentle waves, brushed against him.

In an instant, a multitude of true meanings, including flames, deep waters, immortal orchids, Jianmu trees, blue lotuses, reincarnation, the Yellow Springs, salvation, and the Taiyin, descended upon him, layer upon layer, like sand being blown and polished, removing all the disguises of this mountain strongman and revealing his true nature as a golden solitary peak in his mental world.

However, the profound truths, like the vast ocean, eroded and eroded the golden peaks. In the blink of an eye, the entire world of the mind was weathered away and vanished, and a generation of imperial sages fell.

On the battlefield, all the mountain people were stunned. This Yu Jing was a well-known and powerful figure, always adept at self-preservation; no one had expected him to perish so decisively!
The girl withered instantly, turning into a piece of charred wood, and disappeared.

The mountain folk who had gathered around silently returned to their original positions. No one had expected Wei Yuan to have such a backup plan, and they were all secretly glad that they hadn't rashly come forward to their deaths.

They all understood the girl's attack method: she used a large amount of highly powerful immortal spiritual energy to sweep away the Dao power of an entire Dharma Aspect cultivator in an instant, which was like a self-destruction, directly wiping out the opponent's mental world. It was extremely domineering!
Wei Yuan flicked out another feather, and with a cry, the celestial rooster appeared, pecking at the images of the mountain people on the ground one by one, as if pecking at insects.

The monks and their followers completely lost their fighting spirit and scattered and fled.

Without the support of the mountain people, the defensive line that had taken almost a whole day to build collapsed under the heavy pressure, turning back into a barren wasteland with no shelter at all.

Just as the celestial rooster was displaying its divine power, a voice suddenly rang out from beyond the heavens: "You insignificant beast, how dare you be so arrogant?"

A beam of gray light, filled with a sense of decay, shot down from the sky, heading straight for the Immortal Rooster! This was Cangwu making a move from afar, having already exerted his full strength.

The True Lord of the Hoeing Plant was shocked. Without even thinking, he instantly unfolded a colorful mental world and covered the immortal rooster with it, intending to use his body to block the immortal's attack!
Combat was not Chuhe's forte. Even if Cangwu had only used a fraction of his strength, let alone gone all out, Chuhe would have been doomed. But Chuhe still rushed forward and blocked the attack.

A sigh echoed in the void, and a figure appeared, blocking the gray light. He abruptly retreated a thousand feet, his aura immediately dropping by more than half. But he was still an immortal, and although severely injured, he still managed to withstand the attack.

Cangwu hadn't expected this turn of events and exclaimed in astonishment, "Little Imperial Preceptor?"

The figure was none other than the young national advisor of the Northern Liao Kingdom. He ignored Cangwu, only glanced back at the immortal rooster, sighed softly, and said, "From now on... I won't be able to take care of you anymore. Take care of yourself. Don't take any more risks before you grow up. There are many people you can't trust."

After saying that, the young imperial advisor glared fiercely at Wei Yuan.

Wei Yuan was also surprised and somewhat embarrassed. He quietly put the green lamp in front of the Buddha into his sleeve, with a small green lotus floating in the lamp.

The young Grand Preceptor of Northern Liao said no more, and drifted away with a carefree air. But just as he was about to reach the heavens, his body suddenly sank, and he spat out a mouthful of blood before stepping into the heavens, never to look back.

(End of this chapter)