Longzang

Chapter 572 There's still the imperial court?

At the ancestral home of the Xu family, Xu Lanshan was personally demonstrating and passing down the five-style bayonet spear technique.

The spear techniques consist of the most basic movements, with thrusting being the most important. At this moment, tens of thousands of soldiers on the training ground are repeatedly practicing the first move, "straight thrust with spear held high." Each person also has a brick tied to their spear, and the spear tip must not droop when thrusting to be considered qualified.

As a top-tier Dharma Aspect, Xu Lanshan was able to personally create this spear-wielding technique based on the characteristics of muskets and battlefield combat, clearly demonstrating her immense importance placed on it. Moreover, she ordered the soldiers to discard all their miscellaneous personal weapons—chopping knives, hand axes, swords, long knives, etc.—forbidding them from being kept; only spear-wielding weapons were permitted in melee combat.

By this time, they had been training for almost half an hour, and everyone from soldiers to officers was secretly complaining, but no one dared to utter a word. Those who dared to complain were already dead, and even their most powerful backers were not as powerful as Xu Lanshan.

During the training, a man suddenly flew at full speed and delivered an urgent military report to Xu Lanshan. Xu Lanshan opened it and saw that the report read: "General Wei Boyang of the Great Tang Anyuan Army is heading towards Hanyang Pass in a royal boat. The garrison has been unable to stop him and many of his men have been wounded."

Another image appeared on the urgent report: an extremely magnificent flying ship was hovering outside Hanyang Pass, with a majestic general standing at the bow, confronting a group of Xu family cultivators.

Xu Lanshan frowned slightly. She had also read the relevant intelligence about Wei Boyang's arrival to support Qingming.

Wei Boyang may appear rough and boorish, but he is actually meticulous and skilled in commanding troops. Born into an ordinary family, he became close friends with the current regent in his childhood, growing up together. Because of this relationship, after achieving success in his cultivation, Wei Boyang served in the Great Tang Dynasty. Although his official position was prestigious, he was actually confined to the Tang territory and accomplished little in his life.

How could someone like that suddenly come to Hanyang Pass and have a conflict with the Xu family?
Xu Lanshan immediately said, "You train on your own, I'll go and handle some military affairs."

She then took off and flew at full speed toward Hanyang Pass.

Above Hanyang Pass, Wei Boyang's voice boomed like thunder in a clear sky, echoing throughout the entire pass: "Open your dog eyes and see clearly! This is the Regent of the Great Tang Dynasty's royal boat, equivalent to the Emperor Tang's imperial procession! By blocking this boat, you are blocking the imperial chariot! Someone just said you were from the Xu family? Come on, say it again louder, which family do you belong to who are blocking the Emperor's royal boat?"

At the front of the flying boat, several elders of the Xu family looked at each other, wondering who would dare to speak at this time and on this topic.

Wei Boyang said again, "You're not talking, and you're not moving aside. Are you all dead? Come on, set sail and run these dead men over first!"

Two voices came from beyond the sky: "Wait!"

Two figures flew in from different directions, both at roughly the same speed. One was Xu Lanshan, and the other was Qiuniu Zhenjun.

Xu Lanshan and Qiuniu Zhenjun exchanged a glance. Xu Lanshan took a half step back, indicating that Qiuniu Zhenjun should take charge at this time. Wei Boyang was a powerful figure in Yujing, while Xu Lanshan's cultivation and status were still a bit lacking. It would be more appropriate for Qiuniu, who was also from Yujing, to step forward.

Qiuniu Zhenjun then said, "General Wei, why are you so angry? This is a pass, and it is common knowledge that flying boats are prohibited from passing over border passes. Besides, if General Wei wants to return to the court, he doesn't need to take this route. This roundabout way is a bit too much."

Wei Boyang sneered and said, "This general is traveling by imperial decree and can go wherever he wants. Besides, I have never heard of any prohibition on flying above checkpoints. Even if there is a prohibition, it is for ordinary flying boats. Who would dare to prohibit the emperor's ship? You have a lot of nerve! I think you are planning a rebellion!"

Lord Qiuniu frowned, but still patiently said, "I'm just worried about injuring the general and the emperor's ship..."

Xu Lanshan thought to herself, "Oh no, Qiuniu has said the wrong thing."

As expected, Wei Boyang raised his eyebrows and shouted, his voice shaking the surrounding area: "What is there to worry about? If you damage the emperor's ship, you can just die when someone tries to assassinate the emperor. But even if you die, your entire family will be executed."

Qiuniu's face flushed crimson; he was furious, but Wei Boyang's words seemed to make sense, and he didn't know how to refute them. He could only say, "This one..."

Wei Boyang interrupted him again: "Who do you think you are, daring to call yourself 'this one' in front of this general? In this desolate and barbaric land of yours, the only person I know is Li Shenji. The rest are not worthy of my acquaintance."

To put it bluntly, someone like you, a mere upstart with no real foundation, dares to speak to this general? And you call yourself "this lord"? Don't you know your place? You're not even a seventh-rank official! You dare call yourself "this lord"?

Qiuniu Zhenjun's anger surged to the top of his head, and with a roar, he was about to charge forward to fight Wei Boyang. How could Wei Boyang be afraid of him? His hand was already on the hilt of his treasured sword.

Seeing that things were not going well, Xu Lanshan leaped to stop Qiuniu, then said to Wei Boyang, "General Wei! You are a high-ranking official of the court, how can you do such a disgraceful thing without resorting to insults at the slightest disagreement?"

Wei Boyang sneered: "Your Xu family has openly rebelled and defied the imperial court. I, this general, have only cursed you a couple of times and haven't even scolded your ancestors yet. I've already been quite polite. What, that wild Yu Jing is still not convinced? Where were you, you beast, when I was tearing You Wu apart? Were you hiding in your mother's arms, trembling?"

A burst of true yang fire shot out from the top of Qiuniu Zhenjun's head, preparing to pounce and fight to the death.

Xu Lanshan desperately tried to stop him, then ordered someone to send Qiuniu Zhenjun away. She said coldly, "General Wei, what exactly do you want? Just say it! Otherwise, with our Immortal Ancestor here, not just any cat or dog can bully us!" Wei Boyang sized her up, but Xu Lanshan wasn't afraid. She was about to break through to the Yujing realm. After the breakthrough, although she would still be a step behind Wei Boyang in terms of minor realm, she would at least be able to protect herself. If their realms were the same, she was confident she could have a slight advantage—that was her confidence.

Wei Boyang suddenly grinned and said, "Your female cultivator is not bad looking, but she's a bit skinny. It's not very interesting to hug her."

Xu Lanshan's face was icy as she said, "If General Wei continues to act like a thug, he will only bring shame to the imperial court."

Wei Boyang sneered: "Do you still have any respect for the imperial court?"

Xu Lanshan was also helpless. She thought to herself that in this vast world, apart from a few old men and women in Tangyu who clung to their past glory and lived in their memories every day, who still cared about the imperial court?
But these are thoughts one can only harbor, not words. After all, the Tang Dynasty is still the supreme ruler and the symbol of legitimacy. You can shout for rebellion against one country and then flee to another. But if you dare to rebel against the Tang Dynasty, no matter how vast the world is, you will find no place to hide.

Xu Lanshan did not respond to Wei Boyang's words, but said, "General Wei, if you don't think that flying over the pass will make you look good, then go ahead and fly. However, you are using the court's public resources for private purposes and only want to satisfy your own selfish desires. We will report this matter to the court later."

Wei Boyang snorted and said, "Do you think I'm afraid of you complaining? Go ahead and complain wherever you want! Since you're letting me pass, then stop talking nonsense and get out of the way!"

Xu Lanshan flew to the side and ordered the elders to make way.

The airship slowly started moving and flew towards Hanyang Pass.

At this moment, an elder of the Xu family suddenly pointed to the area beyond the pass and said, "There are some more people over there! They look like bandits!"

Xu Lanshan turned her head and saw a group of bandits on a small hill about 20 miles away from Hanyang Pass. They were busy leveling the ground and digging foundations, looking like they were planning to set up camp.

The hill was only a few dozen feet high and not very large, with sparse vegetation and few resources. Xu Lanshan hadn't paid much attention to it at first, but she never expected that it would be occupied by bandits in the chaos.

Wei Boyang stood on the flying boat, which slowly flew over Hanyang Pass. The imperial guards on board were all arrogant and haughty, constantly making obscene gestures towards the guards below, throwing things and spitting. Although the flying boat was flying hundreds of feet high, the spit certainly wouldn't reach the guards' heads, but the shouts and gestures were still clearly visible.

This time, Wei Boyang did not recreate the spectacular scene of a thousand people relieving themselves in mid-air. The flying boat slowly passed Hanyang Pass without incident.

Behind the pass, camps stretched across the mountains and plains, where countless caravans were stuck. On the hillsides and grasslands, there were even more refugees, many of whom were too weak to stand. Even the sight of such a huge and magnificent flying ship passing overhead could not make them cheer.

Seeing the refugees covering the hillsides below, Wei Boyang understood why Wei Yuan had sent him to see this. He immediately ordered, "Record everything that's happening below. Oh, and remember to make a lot of noise so the Xu family can see that we're recording."

The commander of the Imperial Guards perked up and said, "General, rest assured, I will handle this perfectly."

The commander thought Wei Boyang wanted to leave the Xu family with leverage so they would come to negotiate a better price. So he summoned a hundred imperial guards, arranged them in neat formation on the stern deck of the flying boat, and shouted, "Everyone, get this image-capturing formation in place! Otherwise, if it affects my image-capturing performance, I'll skin you alive!"

The imperial guards responded in unison.

The commander looked back and found that there was no one behind him; the Xu family cultivators were all flying towards the outside of the pass.

Xu Lanshan flew to the top of the hill and looked at the busy bandits. She said to an elder of the Dharma Aspect, "Go and ask them where these people come from."

An elder said, "These bandit leaders are all wearing masks. Why do they look like members of the Zhan Tian Gang?"

Upon hearing the words "Battle Heaven Gang," the elders' expressions became somewhat unnatural, and some even showed signs of fear.

Fortunately, an elder said, "What's there to be afraid of? Wei Yuan himself submitted a memorial to the court, saying that he has wiped out the Zhan Tian Gang and that there will be no more Zhan Tian Gang from now on. Do you think Wei Yuan would go back on his word?"

The elder who had been asking the question lowered his altitude, but when he was a hundred feet away, he felt uneasy, as if he were being watched by some natural enemy. He immediately felt a chill and knew that these bandits were no ordinary people. He stood in the air, cupped his hands in greeting, and said, "May I ask what brings you brave warriors here, and what brings you here?"

A muscular man wearing a mask stepped forward and declared loudly, "We are the number one bandit gang in the Western Regions, the Annihilation Heaven Gang! The so-called Fifty Great Bandits of Annihilation Heaven in the cultivation world refer to us! We believe this small mountain is a geomantically auspicious place, and we plan to establish a stronghold here and make a name for ourselves!"

The Extinction Gang? The elder swayed and nearly fell from the sky.

(End of this chapter)