Longzang

Chapter 120 The beginning of the war
"Dig the trenches like this, and when the Blood Curse lands, hide in other areas. As long as we lure the Witch Clan into the trench positions, we can weaken their advantage. What we need now is to buy time. As long as we are not defeated by their first wave, we have a chance!"

Yun Feifei and Xu Wan'er both felt there were still some problems. What if the Wuyu tribe didn't enter the trenches? Couldn't they just stand there and fight? But before they could question it, Wei Yuan said, "It's decided! Let's go!"

Since Wei Yuan has already made his decision, Yun Feifei and Xu Wan'er, though puzzled, must carry it out. Perhaps the high-ranking officials of Taichu Palace have their own reasons.

Following Wei Yuan's instructions, they summoned all the surrendered guards and assigned tasks to each of them. The dozens of cultivators were also confused by this order, but thinking that the high-ranking cultivators of Taichu Palace must have a deeper meaning, they obediently went to dig the trenches.

Wei Yuan looked at Xu Wenwu's physique and gave up the idea of ​​having the guy dig the ditch. He said, "You stay here and think about it carefully. See if you can come up with anything useful."

Xu Wenwu was flattered and quickly sat down to ponder deeply.

As Wei Yuan ascended into the air, he saw nearly a hundred cultivators scattered throughout the area, already working diligently to dig. Even those at the Foundation Establishment stage were no exception. Yun Feifei and Xu Wan'er spared no effort with their Dao power; a single Dao spell could move a section of mud and rocks several feet square.

The ordinary warriors of the Witchcraft Clan are incredibly agile and nimble, capable of skimming across the water in swamps. Their greatest strengths lie in spells and poisons, not in physical combat. Bringing them into the trenches would limit their speed, forcing them into hand-to-hand combat in a confined space. This was Wei Yuan's reasoning for persuading them.

But there was another reason: Wei Yuan realized he couldn't let the guards rest any longer; he had to make them do something. These men had initially followed Wei Yuan out of passion and because they were intimidated by him, but now some were beginning to waver, remembering the Xu family's power and terrifying methods. At this moment, groups of three or five were whispering and discussing how to escape.

Therefore, Wei Yuan needed to quickly find something for them to do so they wouldn't be able to think about anything else. At least he had to get these people on his side first. Fortunately, the recovery speed under the influence of Jia Mu Sheng Xuan was accelerated, so this group of people could last much longer than normal while digging trenches.

Wei Yuan then called Yun Feifei over and asked her to take a walk around the surrounding towns to inform them that the Wuyu Clan army was about to arrive. He also instructed her to call all those with cultivation to come and reinforce the defenses, while those without cultivation should disperse into the mountains and fields to hide until the Wuyu Clan army retreated.

Yun Feifei didn't stop for a moment, flying away as if by lightning. An hour later, she returned with over a hundred cultivators, including about ten Foundation Establishment cultivators. Although they were all Foundation Establishment cultivators, and there wasn't even a single mid-stage cultivator, they were still a considerable force.

According to Yun Feifei, several hundred more people with partially completed Body Forging are on their way. They can't fly, and they can't run as fast as those with fully completed Body Forging. So they will arrive one after another.

According to Yun Feifei, upon hearing that a cultivator from the Primordial Palace had taken action, boldly erecting a boundary stone and reopening this domain, the people of the surrounding towns were overjoyed and wept with joy, spreading the news far and wide. Countless people vied to come and assist in the defense. However, the blood curse of the Witch Clan was too lethal to ordinary people, so Yun Feifei did not allow them to come, but only selected those who had achieved body tempering.

With these people around, Wei Yuan felt a little more confident.

Over the next few hours, cultivators arrived one after another. Yun Feifei and Xu Wan'er gathered them together, forming several teams to dig trenches. After several hours of continuous digging, ten trenches, resembling a giant spider web, had formed on the ground. Yun Feifei selected a captain and vice-captain for each team and then assigned them initial combat zones.

Taking advantage of this break, Wei Yuan had a detailed conversation with Qing Ming.

The transformation of heaven and earth by the boundary stone is not instantaneous, but rather gradually expands outwards from the boundary stone as the center, until it reaches its limit. An ordinary boundary stone can expand outwards by half a mile a day, while the Azure Boundary Stone can expand by ten miles.

Wei Yuan's heart stirred, and he ordered Qingming to shrink the area. Sure enough, the surrounding poisonous miasma and dampness spread rapidly, and the area returned to the state it had been before Qingming was planted. Wei Yuan expanded the area again, and this time the transformation of heaven and earth was much faster, changing into a clear realm in less than a quarter of an hour. At this time, Wei Yuan was not idle in his sea of ​​consciousness either, shaping stones into flying swords and arranging them around Jade Mountain. Several hours passed, and he had already shaped over a hundred flying swords. At this moment, Wei Yuan felt a little regretful. He had written too conservatively in his letter to Xiao Yu. He should have written: "My Dao Foundation has been newly formed with a hundred immortal swords. Would you dare to come and see them?"
While they were still preparing for battle, a beacon suddenly rose in the distance. That was an alarm device set up by Yun Feifei. Small groups of witch warriors might be able to infiltrate, but the main force would not be able to sneak in and would inevitably trigger the alarm.

Two hundred miles away, the smoke of war had already risen. Wei Yuan communicated with Qingming and retracted the boundary, and moments later, this area was once again covered by damp, poisonous fog. At this time, several hundred cultivators were already on their respective positions, their faces showing both tension and a fierce determination to die for their cause.

Many of them didn't even think about winning; they just knew they had no way out. Since someone had set up a boundary stone, they might as well fight to the death!

Standing atop Wei Yuan, surrounded by a dozen or so carefully selected cultivators, all of whom were physically strong and capable of charging into battle in heavy armor, Wei Yuan was also accompanied by a magnificent horse. This horse was entirely crimson, with only some white and blue variegation on its hooves, and stood nearly ten feet tall.

This horse originally belonged to Xu Wenwu, but due to the residual luck that Wei Yuan had sent in twice, some of it hadn't been recovered. The horse was now noticeably stronger, a top-quality steed among ordinary horses, and looked extraordinary. Wei Yuan needed a mount for his charge, so he took this horse.

Large, dark clouds appeared on the distant horizon, rolling in with a faint blood-red glow emanating from them. This was a sign of the arrival of the Wuyu tribe's army. At this moment, a middle-aged man beside him gazed at the blood-red clouds, his face grave, and said, "Judging from these clouds, the Wuyu tribe has at least ten thousand men, and there's a high-ranking shaman among them!"

Another man sneered, "What, scared?"

The middle-aged man flew into a rage and said, "Anyone who dares to stand here now is prepared to die! What you're saying is utterly meaningless!"

The man straightened his expression and said, "I misunderstood you, fellow Daoist. I apologize."

The middle-aged man snorted and said, "No need for that. Let's see who kills more later!"

The dark clouds drew near in an instant, revealing a massive, dark army of the Wuyu tribe beneath them. At the center of the army was a massive platform, upon which stood a throne. A high shaman, shrouded in black robes, sat enthroned, surrounded by dozens of sorcerers and generals, each shrouded in a blood-red aura. At the four corners of the platform stood four tall pillars of fire, their tops containing braziers that burned with eerie green flames, constantly hurling unseen objects into the sky.

The Great Shaman looked towards the ruins of the Lanshen Palace not far away and saw a wisp of pure energy rising up, though it was still very dim and struggling against the surrounding dark green aura.

The great shaman was furious, saying, "So you really did erect a boundary stone! How dare you! But it's only just been erected; the boundary hasn't formed yet. There are many strong sacrificial offerings hidden there. Go, capture them all! After this battle, I will immediately offer sacrifices to the heavens!"

The high shaman's voice was deep and hoarse, accompanied by hissing sounds, like countless insects rubbing their wings. At his command, the vanguard of the shaman army, four thousand strong, immediately accelerated, like a swarm of insects crawling across the earth, and crashed into the old grounds of the Lan Shen Palace.

One by one, the strangely shaped witch warriors charged at full speed, faster than galloping horses. As the first rank of warriors approached the trenches, they leaped into the air and charged directly into the human ranks.

(End of this chapter)