Longzang

Chapter 135 Showing weakness to the enemy
After dealing with Xu Wenwu, the issue of supplies was once again placed before Wei Yuan.

The people who have already arrived all came empty-handed, and they didn't seem to think that supplies were a problem at all. For them, as long as they could restore their spiritual energy, that was enough. Qingming's domain expanded extremely quickly, and once the domain expanded to two or three hundred miles, the spiritual energy within would be enough for several people to cultivate at the same time.

Let alone ordinary people, even ordinary cultivators like Zhang Sheng and Ji Liuli felt that they were not very useful. They only needed to do some odd jobs and dirty work, and stay away during battles so as not to get in the way.

These powerful figures were all stubborn and unyielding, but Wei Yuan, burdened with heavy responsibilities, had to consider everything carefully. Wei Yuan agreed with Xu Wenwu's view on supplies, and now their last hope rested on Cui Yu.

As an outstanding figure among the younger generation of the Cui family, this young master has always enjoyed traveling with friends and acquaintances. Therefore, when he comes, he'll most likely bring a bunch of cronies, making the journey slow. With so many people, it's inevitable that they'll need to bring supplies.

Cui Yu genuinely cared for these cronies, taking them on trips and experiences, sharing both the rewards and the dangers, to prevent them from becoming spoiled brats.

After killing Xu Guanwen, Wei Yuan carefully examined the map and discovered that both the airship routes to Hanyang Pass and the land routes to the old Ningxi County were under the control of the Xu family. Transporting supplies from Taichu Palace would likely not be so easy.

Therefore, Wei Yuan paid special attention to the quality of the goods, but he didn't have high hopes. He only hoped that the powerful figures he had summoned would bring some goods with them in their luggage. As for the Tai Chu Palace's daily freight routes, Wei Yuan felt that they would most likely be paralyzed.

However, considering that these great immortals before him were all outstanding figures of the Taichu Palace, and that they rarely had the chance to get together, it would be a shame not to go all out. With this in mind, Wei Yuan suddenly had a somewhat immature idea.

He coughed and said, "This is my record of killing the Great Witch last time. Take a look. Perhaps we can get some more Heavenly Merit?"

"A miracle?" Xiao Yu's ears perked up.

This was a record of slaying the Great Witch. Zhang Shengji, Liu Li, and Bao Yun all became serious, carefully watching the footage recorded by Wei Yuan using his primordial spirit. Only Xiao Yu was a little confused; why did it start directly with the Heavenly Technique? Wasn't that a bit too fast?
Everyone remained silent until they had watched the entire battle unfold before asking a few key questions. Wei Yuan explained that the key to killing the Great Witch lay in the fact that a Celestial Lord had previously torn apart the Dharma Form from afar, and then a remnant of an Ancient Immortal's malevolent intent had been used to annihilate the Great Witch's sea of ​​consciousness.

The group then examined the corpse, gelatinous substance, and white pupa left behind by the great shaman.

Zhang Sheng asked, "What are your thoughts?"

Wei Yuan said, "Heaven and earth here are shattered, and there is another fragment of a grotto-heaven hundreds of miles away. The Wu Clan cannot figure out the cause and effect of this place. I have only established Qingming less than two days ago, so the Wu Clan probably thinks that strong reinforcements will not arrive so soon. They are colluding with the Xu family, and they will most likely know immediately that a Dharma Aspect True Person has entered the Shattered Domain. Therefore, they probably think that we do not have a Dharma Aspect here to guard us right now."

At this point, Wei Yuan glanced at Xiao Yu and said, "The only reinforcement that arrived in time was a sword cultivator, and both of them were sealed off, so our defenses in this area are now extremely weak."

Xiao Yu snorted and said irritably, "Who do you think you are, a sword cultivator?"

Wei Yuan didn't dwell on the issue, as it would easily invite criticism of his respect for teachers, since Zhang Sheng would be the one most affected.

Wei Yuan continued, "With the abilities of the Wu Clan, they should soon discover that the last Great Wu actually died under the methods of the Immortal Lord. Once this kind of trump card is used, it's gone. So there might still be a Great Wu hiding around, trying to see if we have any more trump cards like this."

If all goes as expected, they will test us multiple times today. Once we show the High Priest that we have no more trump cards, he will most likely make his move, and quite possibly even storm into the realm. After all, if we delay any longer, reinforcements from the palace could arrive at any moment, and we won't have such a good chance to eradicate us completely.

Ji Liuli asked, "How do you plan to feign weakness to the enemy?"

Wei Yuan had already planned: "When the Witch Clan comes, Xiao Yu and I will lead our troops to fight them, then suffer a crushing defeat, be seriously injured, and escape back to the realm. We'll then pretend to be trying to steal the boundary stone and run away. That Great Witch will definitely not stand by and watch us take the boundary stone, so he will most likely try to seize it. Once he enters the realm, we'll all act together, and maybe we can stop him."

Ji Liuli nodded: "This plan is simple but feasible, though it has some minor flaws. I'll set up a new feng shui formation in a bit to add a wish-fulfilling attribute to your realm. With good luck on your side, and Xiao Weiyuan contributing some of your luck, I'll set up a luck-fishing formation, and that guy won't have to worry about falling for it."

Wei Yuan released the last wisp of energy, and Ji Liuli held a small tower in her hand to suppress the energy before busily setting up the array. She naturally carried the array-setting artifacts with her.

Bao Yun also said, "I'll search the surrounding area to see if I can find the location where the Great Shaman is hiding. If I can find it, I can use the Treasure Tree to subtly influence him, making him irritable, easily angered, and impulsive."

Upon hearing this, Wei Yuan felt a lingering fear and realized once again the importance of self-reflection. Otherwise, if he encountered enemies like Ji Liuli and Bao Yun, he might unknowingly fall into their trap and be led by the nose without even realizing it.

Bao Yun's figure disappeared. Zhang Sheng also said, "I need to set up a sword formation in advance. As long as that great shaman dares to come in, he will know what's what." The three of them went about their business, leaving Xiao Yu with nothing to do. He didn't say anything, just followed Wei Yuan with his sword. He wanted to see and remember everything Wei Yuan did and how he did it, so that he wouldn't accidentally fall into the trap of this seemingly honest fellow in the future.

By this time, Yun Feifei had already returned with her people, setting up dozens of warning traps along the main road leading to the Wu tribe. Meanwhile, Xu Wan'er had led her team to cut down over a hundred trees, which they were now carrying back one by one.

Wei Yuan selected thirty cultivators from among the rest, all of whom had reached the Great Perfection of Body Tempering. He then appointed two Foundation Establishment cultivators as captain and vice-captain, and reorganized their equipment, distributing a portion of the spoils from the secret vault to replenish the group's gear. Afterward, Wei Yuan ordered them to rest and meditate, conserving their energy for the upcoming battle.

After finishing the preparations, Xiaoyu noticed that Wei Yuan seemed a bit downcast, so she asked, "What's wrong?"

Wei Yuan sighed softly and said, "If the Great Witch is indeed nearby, then we will be defeated and forced to retreat back to the realm. Many of these people will surely die. I have a feeling that I am the one pushing them to their deaths this time."

Xiao Yu was silent for a moment before saying, "If the Great Witches aren't eliminated, they'll all die sooner or later. Didn't even more people die in the previous battle?"

Wei Yuan shook his head: "That's different. When a great battle breaks out, who lives and who dies is left to fate, but this time I have to personally pick out the people to die."

Xiaoyu didn't know how to comfort him, so she remained silent. Wei Yuan shook his head, putting his worries aside. No matter how reluctant he was, those who were destined to die had to die, and there couldn't be fewer than three, otherwise the Great Witch would see through the deception and not take the bait. If only he and Xiaoyu fought, it wouldn't convey the feeling of having given their all.

A moment later, Bao Yun appeared before Wei Yuan and said, "I found him. He's hiding in the woods to the northwest, currently in the form of a small lizard. I've secretly planted a seed in him, and it will gradually take effect in half an hour. I just don't know if this is his true form or just an avatar used for reconnaissance. Also, a large contingent of the Witch Clan is marching to the west and is expected to arrive in an hour."

With Bao Yun's help, Wei Yuan kept a close eye on the Wu Clan's movements. He immediately instructed Yun Feifei and Xu Wan'er to lead the remaining cultivators to process timber and build a batch of simple wooden huts. The huts were to be built in the designated disciple area, specifically along the Wu Clan army's route, a location not yet covered by the boundary.

Wei Yuan instructed them to immediately flee back to the realm upon seeing the Witch Clan appear.

This was a normal response, and Yun Feifei and Xu Wan'er both agreed. Then they led people to process the logs and move the timber.

The dozens of cultivators, unaware of their true mission, carried pieces of sawn timber towards their designated location. The place where they were to build the wooden huts was thirty miles from the edge of the boundary, currently without any protection and extremely dangerous.

The cultivators worked quickly, and in less than an hour, the framework of a row of ten wooden houses had been erected. Because they were building houses for themselves to live in soon, the cultivators worked with great enthusiasm. Although they were wooden houses, they were built quite well.

Suddenly, the dense forest in the distance became quiet.

Several experienced cultivators immediately became alert, stopping their work and looking towards the dense forest. At the edge of the forest, several poisonous lizards slowly emerged, each carrying a warrior wielding a shield and axe.

"The Witch Clan!" someone shouted, and the more astute cultivators dropped what they were holding and ran. Two people, reluctant to leave their newly built wooden huts, hesitated for a moment and were slowed down, immediately pinned to the spot by several long arrows!

Waves of Wu Clan warriors surged out of the dense forest, and none of the warning traps set by Yun Feifei were activated, indicating that they had been dismantled by the Wu Clan's experts in this area.

This witch clan force, led by lizard riders, moved with incredible speed and quickly caught up with the fleeing human cultivators.

At this moment, Wei Yuan and Xiao Yu emerged from the realm. Wei Yuan shot out several flaming immortal swords and simultaneously smashed several cauldrons. The cauldrons were still gleaming with golden light and were extremely powerful, instantly turning the dozen or so Poison Lizard Knights at the forefront into mincemeat. However, the immortal swords were much less powerful; their flames were dim and barely ignited. Of the seven swords thrown, only four knights were killed.

On the other side, Xiao Yu unleashed several beams of sunfire, sweeping away dozens of knights charging in front of him, looking quite imposing. But previously, killing these people only required a single sword strike.

With Wei Yuan and Xiao Yu covering their retreat, the main group of cultivators was able to escape back to the realm. Immediately afterwards, another group of cultivators rushed out from the realm. They were well-equipped and their combat strength was clearly superior. They set up a formation at the edge of the realm.

The Wu tribe soldiers continued to pour out of the dense forest, and in the blink of an eye, there were already six thousand of them!
Several noble warriors at the late-stage Dao Foundation Realm flew up from the army and fiercely pounced on Wei Yuan and Xiao Yu. Wei Yuan and Xiao Yu fought back with all their might, but the power of their immortal swords was greatly reduced. Facing the enemy with superior numbers, they struggled to fight and gradually fell into a disadvantageous position. They had no choice but to retreat while fighting, heading towards the realm.

This time, the Wu Clan army did not stop and marched directly towards the boundary.

(End of this chapter)