Longzang

Chapter 698 The List is Too Long
Having occupied the two military fortresses, Wei Yuan sent out several reconnaissance squads to investigate the surrounding enemy deployments.

These reconnaissance squads were centered around an eight-wheeled chariot, supplemented by a dozen or so cavalrymen. Although the chariots were not fast, unable to outrun the Liao cavalry, their firepower and defense while on the move far surpassed that of the cavalry, making them mobile killing machines.

As soon as these reconnaissance squads were dispatched, one of them was surrounded by hundreds of Liao cavalry.

However, the Qingming Army was not surprised. Relying on their chariots, they defended and retreated at the same time. The cannon fire and flying sword spears of the chariots were a nightmare for the Liao cavalry, and their heavy arrows could not penetrate the armor of the chariots at all.

In the end, despite the loss of over a hundred lives, the five hundred Liao cavalrymen were still unable to defeat this small squad of a dozen men, allowing it to break through the encirclement and escape.

The reconnaissance squad was merely a tool used by Wei Yuan to distract the Northern Liao; the actual reconnaissance was carried out by the various Dharma Ministers.

On the barren land, a tiny flying squirrel was running, dodging a fox chasing after it. They ran and stopped intermittently, when suddenly a strange tree appeared in their field of vision.

The tree was no more than ten feet tall, with only a few sparse leaves, but it was covered with fruits the size of watermelons. Each fruit was a dark green, varying in shade.

For some reason, the area around that tree was exceptionally desolate, almost completely barren. For miles around, it was a dusty yellow expanse, with only this one tree standing out as green.

The flying squirrel found a burrow under the rock and immediately scurried inside. Then it poked its head out of the burrow to observe its surroundings, mainly to see if the fox had followed.

But what appeared before it was a strange, rugged, and somewhat oddly handsome face. The Liao youth grinned and greeted the palm-sized flying squirrel, "Hello, dinner!"

A flash of cold light appeared as the Liao tribesman, wielding a heavy arrow, thrust it towards the flying squirrel!
This arrow stirred up the spiritual energy within a hundred feet radius, revealing that this Liao clan member was also a top expert in the Dharma Aspect realm!
The flying squirrel let out a shriek and turned to try to escape back into its cave, but it immediately found that its body was firmly bound by the opponent's magic, and it flew involuntarily toward the tip of the arrow.

In desperation, it grabbed the arrowhead with one claw!

This arrow, powerful enough to pierce most defensive magical artifacts, was actually blocked by its claws!

The little flying squirrel then let out a roar like a dragon's cry, which actually made the Liao tribesman's head spin slightly. By the time he came to his senses, the little flying squirrel had already revealed its true form, transforming into a flying sable, summoning a ripple in the void in front of it, and leaping into it.

The Liao tribesmen drew their bows and arrows with lightning speed, shooting one into the ripples. A faint mournful cry could be heard emanating from within the ripples, after which the ripples in the void vanished.

He took to the air and searched around, but found no trace of the flying sable. He then realized that the little creature had traveled a distance in the void that exceeded his perception range.

“What a pity…” He shook his head, returned to sit under the tree, lowered his eyes, and began to doze off.

Wei Yuan was adjusting models of two Liao tribal battle fortresses in the military headquarters. To move the cannons onto the city walls, the fortresses needed certain modifications. The modification plan had been optimized by the Humanity faction, and construction was underway while awaiting the arrival of the artillery.

Just then, Wei Yuan suddenly had a thought. A ripple of void appeared in front of him, and the flying sable leaped out from within it. However, it had a huge wound on its back, which, judging from its shape, was probably an arrow wound.

Seeing Fei Diao seriously injured, Wei Yuan was shocked and hurriedly summoned Master Chuhe and Sun Yu to treat Fei Diao. The two had different tasks: Sun Yu was responsible for treating the injury, while the old Taoist was responsible for calming Fei Diao down.

During the healing process, the flying sable manifested everything that had just happened.

Although it was merely an image manifested by the flying sable, Sun Yu and Chu He instinctively increased their Dao power upon seeing the Liao man's eyes, and Wei Yuan also felt a chill run down his spine. The flying sable had already begun traversing the void, and he could still pursue and severely injure it with an arrow. The Liao people's cultivation and archery skills were extremely terrifying, and their strength far surpassed Sun Yu's. It was unknown how they compared to Feng Chutang and Feng Tingyu, but in terms of cultivation level, the Liao people were superior to both of them.

The strange tree that Fei Diao discovered was about 1,200 li away from the town where Wei Yuan was currently located, which could be considered deep behind enemy lines. For some reason, Wei Yuan, who always loved spiritual plants, felt very uncomfortable and even somewhat disgusted when he saw this tree.

Wei Yuan pondered for a moment, then patted Fei Diao's head and said, "Don't be afraid, I'll go avenge you."

He Fang had just arrived after being summoned. Wei Yuan pointed to the tree and asked, "Do you recognize this tree?"

He Fang's expression changed immediately, and he said, "These are Red Soil Trees! They planted them here?"

He Fang then explained in detail. The Red Earth Tree looks like a tree, but it is actually a kind of life form somewhere between a demon and a spiritual plant. Its trunk above ground doesn't look very big, but its underground roots can actually extend for dozens of miles.

Given enough time, its roots will spread throughout an area dozens of miles underground and more than ten miles deep.

This tree, once planted, can absorb all the spiritual energy and vitality within a radius of nearly a hundred miles in just two or three years, turning the place into a desolate wasteland that will not recover naturally for at least a hundred years.

The fruit that the Red Earth Tree produces after absorbing life force contains a deadly poison; even a slight whiff of its scent will kill a human. The Liao people suffer the same fate.

This tree can be described as a malignant tumor in the world, serving no purpose other than destruction.

The Liao people originally planted red soil trees along the border of the Northern Mountain Gate to prevent its territorial expansion. However, after occupying the land of the Northern Mountain Gate in recent years, they also planted red soil trees to completely destroy the vitality of this area and undermine the foundation of the Northern Mountain Gate.

According to He Fang, the red soil tree that Fei Diao saw should have been planted just over a month ago, but it had already rendered the surrounding area barren for miles, and its roots had penetrated deep into the ground, possibly exceeding a hundred feet.

Wei Yuan, however, observed more closely. He realized that the Liao people were specifically sitting and guarding under the Red Soil Tree, which was probably unrelated to their cultivation level, but rather they were waiting for him.

Although, given the timeline, it's unlikely the Liao tribe knew Wei Yuan had arrived. He was waiting here specifically for other high-level cultivators of the younger generation from the Taichu Palace, to hone their skills through life-or-death battles and use the flesh and blood of their opponents as stepping stones on their path forward.

But Wei Yuan automatically dismissed the possibility that he was waiting for someone else. Just now, through Fei Diao's memories and eyes, Wei Yuan felt that the Liao tribesman had glanced at him!
Wei Yuan instantly felt a surge of anger, as if he had been offended!
Since this person wanted to challenge a high-ranking cultivator, Wei Yuan felt that he should not refuse.

However, to guard against any trickery from the enemy, Wei Yuan said to He Fang, "Notify the mountain gate and ask the duty True Lord to oversee the situation for me. Use the mountain gate's grand formation to check that area of ​​heaven and earth to prevent the enemy from ambushing me. I'll go and meet that kid now."

Although far from Qingming, Wei Yuan could not receive the blessing of Qingming Realm's power, nor could he use the causal attack of the Peerless Dao Domain.

However, Wei Yuan was currently blessed with good fortune. Among the mortal world, Long Ying, the two guards of civil and military affairs, six Dharma Aspects, and hundreds of Dao Foundations were all ready to fight. Most importantly, the young girl Yin Yang still had the power to deliver a full blow.

Therefore, when it comes to fighting alone, Wei Yuan has never been afraid of anyone.

However, after careful consideration, he decided to exclude his senior sister, as his future teacher, after achieving Dharma form, would also need to be sent outside. As for Bao Yun, her Dharma form could shield her from the power of realms and block out worldly affairs, plus the possibility of the Heavenly Demon Dance... Thus, another person was added to the list.

(End of this chapter)