Longzang

Chapter 276 Evidence
After removing most of the names from the roster, only eighty people remained for this round of foundation-building attempts.

When Wei Yuan arrived at the training ground, several thousand people were already sitting around the outer perimeter, and almost all the prisoners were present.

Originally, only those who had achieved the Great Perfection of Body Forging and the Successful Completion of Bone Forging were invited to attend the ceremony. However, after hearing the news, even those who had already formed their Dao Foundation rushed over. They had faced numerous difficulties in forming their Dao Foundation, but here in Qingming, it seemed that the Dao Foundation was readily available, so they had to come and see for themselves.

Among the ten people on the training ground, several were generally considered to be dull-witted and incapable of forming a Dao Foundation, so it was unclear why they were chosen. If these people could form a Dao Foundation, then there would be no one who couldn't.

Seeing that almost all the surrendered soldiers had arrived, Wei Yuan changed his mind and came to them, saying in a deep voice, "So far, I have not received a single letter of ransom. In other words, you are all useless scum, good-for-nothings, and no one intends to ransom you! If you were really any useful, you wouldn't be sitting here."

Some people were bewildered, some were ashamed, but some even had a fierce glint in their eyes.

Wei Yuan observed everyone's reactions and then said, "But in Qingming, your past is not important. Whether you are mediocre or useless, you all have a chance to improve in Qingming. Those ten people were lucky to be directly selected, while you are not so lucky. But it doesn't matter, you can make up for your lack of good luck with merit. Just you wait and see!"

The time had come, and Wei Yuan activated the "Instantaneous All Beings" skill twice to warm everyone up before officially beginning to build their Dao foundation.

The cultivators patrolling the training ground are now quite familiar with the procedures. Cui Yu, Wang Yu, and Xu Yi are all in the training ground. In the two instants of sentient beings, the foundation of their respective paths was likely revealed, so they have a clear understanding of the situation.

As the foundation-building process began, primordial energy from heaven and earth began to appear shortly afterward. Some found it easy to condense their foundations, but most struggled. Cui Yu and his companions would occasionally intervene, pulling those who had strayed back onto the right path. This practice significantly impacted the final quality of the formed foundations, but since those present had little hope of advancing to the next level and the quality had little room for further decline, they could proceed with greater freedom.

With someone looking after them and the power of Jiamu Shengxuan added to their strength, more than ten out of the eighty people eventually formed their Dao foundations, and seven out of the ten prisoners condensed their Dao foundations!

Seeing so many people forming the foundation of their Dao, all the prisoners were in an uproar.

Wei Yuan came to them again and said, "In Qingming, you will not only receive poison, but also traces of immortality. You don't need to rush. As long as you have merit, you will have a foundation for the Dao."

A few days later, the prisoners' merits were assigned to military camps in the southern part of the territory.

This military fortress, garrisoned by two thousand men, is the gateway to Quliu Town. The garrison commander, Li Shuangchen, is naturally a confidant of Yuan Qingyan.

The Zhan Tian Gang mobilized again. This time, the original government troops and Xu family's private army transformed into bandits, marching south in a grand procession and directly surrounding the military stronghold. As Yuan Qingyan's staunch confidant, Li Shuangchen was quite principled, preferring to die in battle rather than surrender.

Finally, Wang Yu stepped up for a one-on-one duel. Under Wang Yu's divine eye, Li Shuangchen was completely helpless, all her intentions were exposed, and she ultimately suffered a smooth and predictable defeat and died.

With the death of their commander, the morale of the army plummeted, but there were still many who fought to the death. Although the Western Jin Dynasty was corrupt and incompetent, it still had hundreds of years of accumulated problems, and the people's discontent had not yet reached the point of boiling over. There were also often capable soldiers in the army.

Wei Yuan immediately stood beneath the military fortress and declared, "Our Zhan Tian Gang's mission is solely aimed at the traitor Yuan Qingyan. Unrelated individuals should not seek their own deaths. As long as you lay down your weapons, we will take the provisions and leave. I will count to three now; anyone who does not lay down their weapons will be executed without mercy!"

His voice echoed throughout the entire fortress, making it clear to everyone.

At this moment, the military camp was surrounded by thousands of men, with hundreds of masked knights guarding the outer perimeter. The enemy casually sent a knight who then killed Li Shuangchen in a fair one-on-one duel. Many soldiers in the camp began to waver, after all, not everyone was willing to risk their lives for Yuan Qingyan.

Or to put it another way, Yuan Qingyan doesn't have anything worth risking your life for.

“One, two…” Wei Yuanning’s calm voice echoed above the military camp, and then one soldier after another put down their swords and spears.

A captain suddenly turned ferocious and shouted, "You have defected to the enemy on the battlefield! You deserve to be executed!" He swung his broadsword and cut down several soldiers who had dropped their weapons in one go.

At this moment, two knights outside the fortress waved their swords and released their divine swords. The sword light circled the captain a few times before severing all four of his limbs. The army arrayed outside the fortress finally moved, charging up the wall like a pack of wolves, and in a moment, they slaughtered all the soldiers who were still resisting.

The captain was still yelling and cursing when suddenly a boot stepped on his head. Then a somewhat condescending voice came from above: "What is Yuan Qingyan that you're willing to risk your lives to follow him?"

The captain spat and said, "Lord Yuan may have a thousand faults, but he's still a commoner, and he worked his way up from the bottom just like us. I admire people like that! You all, what are you, so-called immortal sects, powerful clans, or aristocratic families? If you take all that away, what are you?"

The voice above said, "It's nothing, but killing you, an ant, is still possible."

The foot stomped down heavily, and blood and brain matter spilled out.

Beneath the military fortress, Wei Yuan frowned slightly, somewhat puzzled as to why Cui Yu had suddenly resorted to such ruthlessness. If he wanted to kill, he could have simply beheaded; there seemed to be no need to go this far. These past few days, Cui Yu had given off a strange feeling, appearing rather irritable and anxious.

At this point, all those who dared to resist were killed. Several masked knights drove the surrendered soldiers out of the camp and lined up in an open space. Then, thousands of soldiers poured into the camp and carried away everything of value like locusts.

Then a knight approached the surrendered soldiers and said, "Those who wish to join the Battle Heaven Gang, step forward! Joining us will lead to a bright future, and the path to immortality can continue! Those who do not wish to join are also welcome; simply stand here and do not move."

Of the 1,500 or 1,600 surviving soldiers, only a dozen or so stepped forward. These men were clearly the ones who had been bullied and ostracized in the army.

Moments later, the military camp was emptied, and the army began its slow northward march. Wei Yuan approached the surrendered soldiers and said, "You are wise to be pragmatic, which is why you escaped with your lives this time. When you get back, remember to tell the people around you that whoever follows Yuan Qingyan will be sent to their death without hesitation. I want to see how many lives Lord Yuan can buy."
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In Dingbian City, Ningxi Prefecture, Yuan Qingyan hurriedly entered Chen Dao's study, bowed, and said, "I wonder why Your Excellency has summoned me so urgently?"

Chen raised an eyebrow and said slowly, "I summoned Lord Yuan here to ask how your plan to cut off food supplies is going."

Yuan Qingyan said, "It has worked. The bandits will run out of food in the next few days. They might even resort to cannibalism."

Chen Dao placed an official document in front of Yuan Qingyan and said, "I heard that a military fortress under Lord Yuan's jurisdiction was attacked by bandits and suffered heavy losses. Why hasn't this been reported?"

Yuan Qingyan remained calm and said, "We are currently taking stock of the losses and will report them to the authorities once the situation is clear. In fact, the losses are not significant; it's just four hundred soldiers and a few days' worth of rations in the camp."

Chen Dao narrowed his eyes slightly and said slowly, "Just four hundred soldiers... These lives aren't worth much in your eyes, Lord Yuan!"

Yuan Qingyan said calmly, "They joined the army, and it is their duty to die on the battlefield. As long as they die a worthy death, let alone four hundred, even four thousand or forty thousand would be justified. However, the bandits are rampant and dare to openly attack military camps and kill officers and soldiers, which is no different from rebellion. I have repeatedly submitted memorials requesting that troops be sent to suppress them. I wonder why Your Excellency the Governor has not taken any action?"

"Don't you have a direct channel to the Emperor? Why not send it there? Why go through me?" Chen Dao said sarcastically.

Yuan Qingyan frowned slightly and said, "Reporting things up the chain of command is the proper way. Only if I discover any acts of disloyalty will I try to get the matter directly to the Emperor."

The threat in those words was quite obvious. Chen Dao's eyes twitched slightly, but he was a man of great composure and suppressed his temper, saying, "I only want to remind Lord Yuan that your plan to cut off our food supply may have some changes."

Yuan Qingyan said decisively, "No! The bandits were rampant, attacking the military camp, but afterwards they swept away all the military rations and, unusually, did not take any prisoners. This is clearly evidence that they have run out of food!"

"I hope so." Chen didn't want to say anything more and picked up his teacup.

(End of this chapter)