Longzang

Chapter 713 A Heavy Responsibility on Our Shoulders
After surveying the human world, Wei Yuan flew into the sky. Driven by his divine sense, countless rocks and soil rose from the sea, then gathered in the high sky, eventually transforming into a small floating island.

When Wei Yuan felt the area was about right, he conjured a courtyard, mountains and rivers, and an ancient tree on the island. Wei Yuan originally wanted to move a few immortal plants up there, but then he thought that the immortal plants all had their own tasks and could even take human form after advancing in rank, which would inevitably lead to gossip. So he changed it to an ordinary ancient tree.

While tidying up the courtyard, Wei Yuan realized that he really didn't have any design talent. Fortunately, there were ready-made ones to copy, so he copied the courtyard of Immortal Lord Yan Shi exactly.

Wei Yuan then sat down in his study and began to examine the condition of Qingming through the many avatars he had left behind, while assigning the corresponding tasks to the mortal realm.

Unbeknownst to many, Wei Yuan had been fighting in the northern mountain gates for half a year. During this time, Qingming was relatively peaceful. Several small forces that wanted to occupy open land in the surrounding area were wiped out by bandits, but there were still people who were not afraid of death and rushed to the Western Regions one after another.

Some people kept trying to speak to Qingming, hoping that he would let these small forces off the hook, saying that there would be a reward in the future.

To carve out territory around Wei Yuan's side would cross his bottom line. So no matter who came to plead for them, Wei Yuan's avatar would only say one thing: "The Realm Lord said he's not here."

Anyone who wanted to establish a foothold on the edge of Qingming was wiped out by Wei Yuan, regardless of whether they were the gatekeepers of the left and right prime ministers of Jin or the illegitimate son of the brother-in-law of some prince of Zhao. He did not care about casualties when he attacked them, and anyone who dared to resist was killed or seriously injured on the spot.

Wei Yuan's attitude was very clear: if you want to develop, come to Qingming. The land outside will eventually be mine, and I will not allow anyone else to touch it.

The only exception is the Azure Water Realm, but that was the work of King Zhao. Other forces that are not at King Zhao's level are not worthy of it.

In the span of six months, Qingming has absorbed another million refugees, bringing its total population to over five million. In ancient times, when the population was dwindling, this would be the size of a small country.

With more people, it becomes easier to cultivate land. Qingming has already cultivated 14 million mu of land and is currently developing another 2 million mu.

At this moment, an official document from the Zhizheng Yuan was delivered to Wei Yuan by Daoji warriors.

The document states that Qingming has not had any cultivators advance to the Foundation Establishment stage for four months. At this time, it has accumulated 13,000 Body Forging Great Completion cultivators. In addition, there are more than 5,000 independent cultivators and members of various families who have paid their fees and are preparing to advance.

The text requests permission from Wei Yuan to return and preside over the upcoming advancement.

This was a major event, and Wei Yuan immediately instructed that the Dao Foundation Advancement Ceremony be held half a month later.

He then left the mortal world and found the Danming True Lord on duty, proposing to take a group of Dao soldiers who had completed their body forging back to Qingming, and try to help them advance to the Dao Foundation stage.

After multiple rounds of training by Qingming, most of the promising Dao soldiers from the Northern Mountain Gate who were capable of advancement have already advanced. Now, with the ongoing war, a new batch of cultivators who have achieved the Great Perfection of Body Forging has emerged, and Wei Yuan plans to bring them back to Qingming for advancement as well.

Danmingzi glanced at the list and nodded. Removing five thousand Body Forging Grandmasters in one go would significantly weaken the entire defense line, but True Monarch Danming did not object. He simply told Wei Yuan to go ahead and do as he pleased, as the old guys would hold the line.

Over the next few days, Wei Yuan was busy organizing the list, transferring personnel to the rear for assembly, and having Qingming's officers explain the matters related to advancing to the Dao Foundation stage.

The day before returning to Qingming, Immortal Lord Yanshi suddenly sent someone to summon Wei Yuan.

For the past month, Wei Yuan hadn't seen Immortal Lord Yan Shi; other True Lords had been attending classes in his place. This time, upon meeting him, Yan Shi was sitting and sipping tea, still using that broken teacup. Wei Yuan subconsciously glanced at the corner of the courtyard; the kiln was still burning, but the teacups inside were still not fully fired.

After Wei Yuan sat down, Yan Shi asked, "Do you plan to select a group of key Dao soldiers to go to Qingming for training?"

"Yes, this batch has a total of five thousand people. If we're lucky, there might be six or seven hundred Dao Foundation Establishment cultivators, which would be a significant boost to our combat strength." "Hmm, that's good. However, the Little National Preceptor of Northern Liao has anticipated this and has come to the front lines again, intending to launch a surprise attack while we're vulnerable."

Wei Yuan was taken aback: "There are two immortals right in front of us?"

Yan Shi smiled slightly and said, "Without that dog, he wouldn't even be considered half an immortal. He'd just be a decoration if he came."

Wei Yuan, however, thought differently. Even the weakest immortal was still a true immortal. The top-tier Imperial Realm cultivators might be able to contend with them to some extent, but they would be far from being able to defeat them. Who among those who could ascend to immortality wasn't one of the top figures among the surrounding Imperial Realm cultivators back then?
Yan Shi, knowing Wei Yuan's thoughts, said, "You don't need to worry, just do your own thing. Now that there's an extra junior national advisor, I think it will indeed be a bit difficult to win, but that's all."

Wei Yuan understood Yan Shi's unspoken meaning: He couldn't lose.

Yan Shi continued, "In the past six months, the Liao people have lost two million soldiers, nearly half of whom were lost under your command. Everyone has seen this record, so now is the time to give you some more responsibility."

Wei Yuan felt a chill run down his spine, sat up straight, and said, "Master, please give your instructions."

Yan Shi said, "First of all, the sixth and eighth towns to your left and right will be under your jurisdiction from now on."

This was the heavy responsibility of commanding 200,000 soldiers, but Wei Yuan had commanded hundreds of thousands of troops before, so he readily agreed.

Yan Shi then took out a golden palace shaped like a small golden seal and placed it in front of Wei Yuan, saying, "This is the sixth Dao Weapon Palace refined in the palace. I discussed it with the masters of the various palaces and decided to give it to you."

Wei Yuan was greatly shocked and hurriedly said, "A Dao Weapon Hall that lasts for three hundred years?! What virtue or ability do I possess to obtain such a celestial treasure?"

Yan Shi reached out and pressed down, saying, "We have all seen your contributions to the palace over the years. Qingming cannot afford to lose it now. If it is nurtured for several more decades, the shattered domain will gradually be repaired. At that time, Qingming will be in danger. Therefore, this Daobing Hall is a precautionary measure."

Next, Yan Shi taught him how to use the Dao Bing Hall and the techniques for refining it.

The Daobing Hall is a unique immortal treasure of the Taichu Palace, and only one can be forged every three hundred years. This hall is the core reason why the Taichu Palace is able to possess a huge number of Daobing soldiers, open three mountain gates in succession, and resist the Northern Liao without being defeated.

Once the Dao Soldier Hall is completed, it will take root in the relevant realm, merging with the boundary stone and transforming into a magnificent hall. Those who wish to become Dao Soldiers need to register their names in the hall, leaving behind a portion of their primordial spirit and essence, and from then on, cultivate the unique body-forging techniques of the Dao Soldier Hall.

These are all preparatory Dao soldiers. They will advance to true Dao soldiers after they have mastered the cultivation techniques and achieved great success in body forging, thus activating the mysteries of the Dao Soldier Hall and receiving blessings.

All Dao soldiers are bound together by the Dao Soldier Hall in the unseen realm, sharing both glory and loss. With the blessing of the Dao Soldier Hall, both offense and defense are greatly enhanced. Furthermore, before the number of Dao soldiers reaches its maximum, the blessing from the Dao Soldier Hall increases with the number of Dao soldiers.

The more and stronger the Dao soldiers, the greater the blessings received. Back then, Wei Yuan trained a large number of Dao foundations for the Taichu Palace, and all the Dao soldiers in the related Dao soldier halls were also greatly enhanced.

Besides offense and defense, formal Dao soldiers are protected by the Dao Soldier Hall, which greatly increases their resistance to spells such as curses, blood curses, misfortunes, and diseases. Taking the Wu Clan as an example, a blood curse that can kill an ordinary Dao Foundation cultivator will not kill a Dao soldier, even if the body is fully forged.

The Dao Soldier Hall has a maximum capacity of 50,000 Dao soldiers. When Wei Yuan received the golden seal, he had already figured out the source of the Dao soldiers: the young Xu family from the new city and many high-quality sacrificial offerings would be enough to fill most of the Dao soldier quota.

(End of this chapter)