Longzang

Chapter 363 Temporary Balance
As dawn broke, small groups of fleeing soldiers were scattered across the land, while cavalry and infantry units swept through the remaining troops.

Twenty thousand elite soldiers of Southern Qi fought their way through the enemy lines and set up a strong defense on the enemy's inevitable route back, causing the enemy's morale to collapse completely and causing them to scatter and flee for their lives. Even Elder Faxiang could not maintain military discipline and could only flee for their lives in the end.

Bao Yun saw the sun rise and then quietly left; no one knew when she left.

The second war between the Xu family of Ningzhou and Qingming ended in defeat, and this time it was not only a complete defeat, but a crushing defeat.

The commander of the Xu family in this battle was actually a seasoned general, but Bao Yun used the lives of five thousand soldiers as bait to make him trust her and boldly advance deep into enemy territory. As a result, the army became separated and fell into an ambush.

In reality, the 40,000 youths were not at a high level of Body Forging, and their actual combat strength was mediocre. As long as the Xu family's vanguard dared to charge desperately, they could slaughter everyone once they entered the formation. However, the youths advanced slowly and fired, killing nearly 10,000 people in just a few rounds.

The near 20% casualty rate caused the morale of Xu's vanguard to collapse, turning into a rout. The central army, overwhelmed by the fleeing soldiers and then breached by Li Zhi's forces, also collapsed upon seeing their retreat cut off. At this point, the outcome of the battle was decided.

While cleaning up the battlefield, Li Zhi reviewed the situation in his central command tent, and the more he reviewed it, the more cold sweat broke out on his brow.

In reality, stripped of their fleeting glory, most of the troops in the realm were inferior to ordinary government troops, essentially at the level of civilian militia. The 40,000 youths were merely at the level of ordinary regular troops. Even with the addition of Li Zhi's 25,000 elite soldiers, their strength on paper was still far weaker than the enemy's.

This is also why Li Zhi chose to play it safe and steady, competing with his opponents in terms of willpower and attrition.

Bao Yun's ruthlessness lay in sacrificing five thousand men to achieve a complete victory. These five thousand men knew they were doomed, yet they fought to the death.

It wasn't that they were truly that brave; it was also because Cui Yu, as the commander-in-chief, fought on the front lines without ever retreating an inch. With their commander refusing to retreat, everyone was naturally ready to die for him.

Li Zhi was also impressed. He couldn't bring himself to be so ruthless. He didn't have a general willing to fight to the death, nor did he have so many soldiers who knew they would die but still fought.

In terms of military strategy, he was still a notch below Bao Yun.

However, Li Zhi was not discouraged. Bao Yun's military tactics were too unconventional and risky. According to the teachings of the academy's masters, military strategy should prioritize conventional tactics and use unconventional tactics as a supplement—this is the true way of the king. When commanding hundreds of thousands or even millions of troops, the kingly way of military strategy will become crucial. That will be the time when Li Zhi surpasses Bao Yun.

After this battle, Li Zhi left all the spoils to Qingming and led his troops back to the realm.

The next few days were calm.

Despite the occurrence of such a major event as the Great Curse of Cause and Effect, the imperial court acted as if it knew nothing, neither appointing a new military governor nor even sending an envoy to investigate.

After two defeats, the Xu family suffered heavy losses. This time, of the 200,000 troops, less than 20,000 escaped, over 100,000 were captured, and 40,000 died in battle.

By this point, the Xu family's publicly acknowledged army had suffered more than half its losses. Those government troops, though ostensibly from the Western Jin court, were in reality controlled by the Xu family, essentially Xu's private army disguised as government forces and fed by the government. The Xu family could mobilize them without even needing the Prince of Jin's decree.

After this failure, the Xu family unexpectedly became more subdued.

Bao Manshan personally intervened to restrain the Xu family, and through deliberate misdirection, Zhu Yuanjin severely injured the Taotie. In addition, Li Zhi led his army into battle. In the eyes of the bigwigs, it was actually the Bao family and the Li family of Southern Qi who stepped forward to curb the Xu family's westward ambitions.

At this point, Qingming became eerily calm, but everyone knew that the tranquility was only temporary. The benefits of a complete immortal stone without a realm master were too great, at least equivalent to a prefecture, enough to support a small family from nothing to eventually stand outside the gates of the Seven Clans and Thirteen Noble Families.

With such a huge stake, various powerful families and even immortal sects will inevitably get involved to some extent. It may take an incredibly complex series of behind-the-scenes deals to finally determine the ownership of Qingming.

Previously, with Wei Yuan around, anyone wanting to seize Qingming either had to shatter it and take it, or kill Wei Yuan. The Taichu Palace would never stand idly by and watch Wei Yuan be killed, which even sparked a war among immortals.

But now Wei Yuan has suddenly been struck by the Great Curse of Cause and Effect, and his fate is unknown. If he really dies, then the sovereignty of the Azure Netherworld may be transferred.

Although the Xu family has quieted down, the situation at Taichu Palace is no better than before. Even the Palace Master of Taichu Palace didn't intervene under the Great Curse of Karma, and given that he has been in seclusion for many years, it's inevitable that people have doubts about his current condition. Immortal Lord Tinghai was already severely injured, and this Great Curse of Karma likely further aggravated his injuries, possibly preventing him from living much longer.

However, as the head of the four great immortal sects, Taichu Palace relies not only on its immortal lords but also on its immense size. Even if Immortal Lord Tinghai were to perish, and even if Taichu Palace were to experience a temporary shortage of immortals, new immortals would fill the gap within a few decades. Moreover, Taichu Palace possesses a large number of True Lords and Dharma Aspects, which allows it to steadily suppress any other sect on this level.

In addition, many high-ranking cultivators in the Taichu Palace have intricate connections with various families, and many people from various families also come from the Taichu Palace.

The only disadvantage of the Taichu Palace is that it has only been established for a short time, and few of the immortal ancestors and true lords of the various families have come from the Taichu Palace. It was only in the generation of Wei Yuan and Bao Yun that the Taichu Palace began to gain a clear advantage.

However, after Zhu Yuanjin publicly stated his intention to abandon the northern mountain gate, the various aristocratic families were quite worried that the Taichu Palace would actually do so. Without the northern mountain gate, the Western Jin, Eastern Jin, and Northern Qi kingdoms would face direct attacks from the Liao people, greatly increasing the pressure on their border defenses.

Therefore, the situation is delicate at this time, and any move could have far-reaching consequences, so no one dares to make a move lightly.

...Having made a great harvest, Wei Yuan walked out of the temple and, with the help of the Dao Foundation Warrior's eyes, saw thick smoke rising from the direction of the village!

Wei Yuan then had the Dao Foundation Warriors take off and fly towards the village at full speed, while he himself hopped and skipped behind them.

In the village, an old woman and a dozen villagers stood in an open space, surrounded by dozens of Liao cavalry. Several houses in the village were burning.

Most of the villagers have gray hair and are very old; there isn't a single able-bodied man among them.

A Liao knight emerged from the village and said, "Judging from the tracks, there should still be seven or eight people in the village. They've probably all fled into the woods."

A centurion surveyed the villagers from his vantage point and said, “I never imagined there were people hiding here. The Great Shaman’s prophecy was right; there are indeed secrets in this area. Let’s ask them if they’ve seen any outsiders.”

A Liao soldier who had some knowledge of the human language asked the villagers, but the villagers all looked blank and said nothing.

The Liao soldier grew impatient and suddenly drew his sword, slashing an old man's neck with it!
The sharp curved blade cut smoothly into the flesh, but then got stuck on the neck bone and couldn't cut any further!
The Liao soldiers were stunned, and then they saw the old man suddenly smile at them, revealing a few charred and gray teeth in his mouth, and an indescribable stench of bad breath hit them!

The old man suddenly grabbed the Liao soldier and bit him on the face!
As Wei Yuan's Dao Foundation Warrior approached the village, he began to slow down, using the terrain to conceal himself and infiltrate the village. Then he saw the villagers putting out a fire; there were no outsiders in the village, and the fire was burning very strangely.

However, it was the dead of winter, and snow was everywhere. The hunters who had been out hunting in the mountains returned in time and quickly extinguished the fire. Then everyone began to take stock of their belongings and repair the house.

Just then, a horse's neighing sounded in the distance, and a tall, magnificent horse suddenly appeared and charged into the woods.

Seeing nothing amiss, Wei Yuan recalled his warriors and returned to the stone house. The woman was processing the snow leopard skin by the fire. Upon seeing Wei Yuan return, she tossed the skin aside, went back to bed, lay down with her face turned inward, and remained silent.

Seeing that the woman was alright, Wei Yuan breathed a sigh of relief, relieved that his worries hadn't come true.

Wei Yuan ladled out a bowl of meat soup and brought it to the bedside, but the woman still didn't move.

As Wei Yuan undressed and got into bed, he said, "Since we're not in a hurry to eat, let's continue..."

The woman was startled and quickly got up, snatching the wooden bowl from Wei Yuan's hand and drinking the broth in one gulp. The hot soup warmed her body, and her vitality clearly began to stir.

But the woman hadn't expected that things would continue even after the meal...

An hour later, the woman, overwhelmed, fell into a deep sleep.

Wei Yuan got up and got out of bed. While dealing with the fur he hadn't finished, he used his rare moment of clarity to contemplate life.

His hands suddenly stopped moving as he remembered the horse the Daoji warrior had seen in the distance! Wild horses rarely appeared in such treacherous snow-covered mountains, and this horse had obvious saddle marks. It wasn't a wild horse, but a warhorse, a Liao warhorse!
Upon closer reflection, Wei Yuan noticed a vague dark shadow clinging to the warhorse, seemingly tearing at it. The way the warhorse was running made it appear as if it had been caught by a predator and was desperately trying to escape.

Wei Yuan stood up, but then slowly sat back down. He sensed the woman and, seeing that she was sleeping soundly, did not wake her.

Based on the various signs he observed, Wei Yuan roughly reconstructed what had happened. A group of Liao cavalry, for reasons unknown, arrived here and discovered this small human village. They burned down several houses, and then mysteriously disappeared, with only a warhorse escaping unscathed.

Wei Yuan's mind stirred, and the Dao Foundation Warrior quietly appeared outside the house, then stealthily moved to a nearby high place and looked towards the small village.

Sure enough, in a short time, all the houses were completely repaired to their original condition. If Wei Yuan had returned even a little later, he wouldn't have known that the Liao people had already come.

Wei Yuan casually set up a feng shui array and calculated his current fortune. The conclusion was that everything was normal, perfectly normal, and there was nothing abnormal about it.

This is very abnormal.

However, Wei Yuan has no intention of taking any action now, and will pretend nothing happened. With the temple as an excellent place to replenish Yin energy, Wei Yuan is not in a hurry to act. Today's exploration of the temple has yielded fruitful results. Although he did not encounter a second Dharma Aspect monster, the spiritual energy he has accumulated is almost enough to unlock a second warrior.

The most urgent task now is to recover from my injuries and improve my strength. Once I'm stronger, the danger will no longer be mine, but that of my enemy.

As night fell, the Dao Foundation Warrior tirelessly crafted flying swords. His movements were swift, consuming all his naturally regenerating Dao power, leaving Wei Yuan with nothing to do.

And so the woman suffered again.

(End of this chapter)