Longzang

Chapter 968 Making a grand appearance
The howling wind whipped the Xu banner in the wind, beneath which stood tens of thousands of rebel soldiers in a chaotic mob, each with a ferocious expression and murderous intent, staring at the government troops confronting them in front.

This army of the Ji Kingdom numbered approximately ten thousand, a clear numerical disadvantage. Although many soldiers looked pale and trembled, they managed to maintain their formation under the gleaming swords of the general's personal guards. This was a rare and formidable force in the Ji Kingdom.

Under the banner bearing the character "Xu," a burly man with dark skin and thick black hair on his chest suddenly transformed into a malevolent ghost with two heads and five arms—a very incongruous form.

He was breathing heavily through his nostrils, seemingly on the verge of losing control, but his narrowed eyes gleamed with a sharp, clear, and calm light. The Ji army's formation before him was fairly disciplined; a battle would likely come at a considerable cost. He glanced casually at his own troops, calculating the difference between the cost and the reward.

Several of the rebel generals were somewhat surprised, feeling that General Tiger was acting differently than usual. Normally, he would have already led a large army up, and these government troops would have scattered with a single charge.
For some reason, Xu Kuang felt a sense of unease. He slowly raised his hand, then drew a circle and pointed backward.

retreat?

The rebel generals were all incredulous, but the order was given, and no one dared disobey. General Ji was also extremely nervous; he too could hardly believe it, yet he desperately maintained the formation. Only with an orderly formation could the two armies engage in battle, giving him a chance to escape.

A military aura suddenly appeared in the distance. Although it was condensed and shaped like a sharp sword, its sharpness was overwhelming. However, this military aura was rather thin, probably consisting of only a few thousand people.

The military aura, sharp as a sword, moved with incredible speed, entering the battlefield in the blink of an eye; it was a small squad of only a hundred men.

Although there were only a hundred men, their imposing presence was no less than that of a thousand troops. However, each soldier carried a rather large backpack, the purpose of which was unknown.

Suddenly, a thunderclap rang out in the clear sky! Then, a booming voice, as loud as if the earth were splitting and the sky were collapsing, cried out: "Xu Kuang, come out and face your death!"

Xu Kuang had never been treated with such humiliation before. With a wave of his hand, the rebel army stopped their retreat and narrowed their eyes at Wei Yuan. Wei Yuan, meanwhile, looked down at him with disdain, his gaze sweeping across the entire scene before settling on Xu Kuang.

Xu Kuang felt a chill run down his spine, sensing that his opponent was at the same level of perfect Dharma Aspect as himself. Since raising the banner of rebellion, he had never encountered such a formidable enemy.

Xu Kuang first bowed respectfully, then said, "I believe I have never seen you before. May I ask how I have offended you?"

The rebels were shocked again; they had never seen Xu Kuang so amiable and reasonable.

Wei Yuan said calmly, "You're Xu Kuang? That's good!"

With a wave of his hand, Wei Yuan summoned a hundred soldiers who immediately deployed, forming a horizontal line. Holding their rather strange spears, they marched in orderly steps and began their attack. Then, Wei Yuan pointed to the sky, and bolts of lightning, almost in a straight line, fell directly upon Xu Kuang!
A vengeful ghost appeared above Xu Kuang's head, each of its five hands wielding a different magical weapon, facing the falling lightning. The first bolt of lightning struck the ghost's magical weapons, exploding into a large area of ​​thunder and fire. The ghost let out a mournful cry, showing fear.

Xu Kuang's eyes widened. These were clearly ordinary lightning strikes, so how could they be so powerful? Just one strike was enough to make his Dharma form feel pain. Even the celestial demon-slaying divine lightning was probably no more powerful than this.

However, Wei Yuan's lightning strikes were not just one or two, nor a dozen or twenty, but one or two hundred from the very beginning!
What everyone saw was a waterfall of lightning.

In an instant, the lightning dissipated, revealing the vengeful spirit to be covered in wounds, with only three arms remaining and most of its head still intact. Xu Kuang was terrified, for Wei Yuan appeared calm and composed, as if he hadn't even used his power.

Without hesitation, Wei Yuan pointed to the sky again, and countless bolts of lightning fell!

Suddenly, a sigh echoed in the air, and someone said, "Let bygones be bygones! Why must young people be so ruthless?"

A small umbrella was tossed down from the sky, spinning rapidly and catching all the lightning strikes—a truly magical sight. However, after catching them, the umbrella's luster dimmed considerably. An old man appeared, and seeing the damaged umbrella, a fierce look crept into his eyes. He snorted heavily and said, "Little brat, you're quite ruthless! Didn't your elders teach you properly?"

Wei Yuan sneered: "If my elders were here, I would respect you for your courage if you still dared to speak like that! But with your meager mid-stage Yujing cultivation, you dare to block me?"

Wei Yuan raised his hand again and pointed to the sky, and lightning struck like a tide, this time a total of three hundred and sixty bolts of lightning! There were only very slight differences between each bolt of lightning, but even Yu Jing Zhenjun could hardly distinguish them. In his eyes, it was just a thick and brilliant pillar of lightning descending from the sky!

The umbrella spun at full speed, and instantly its surface burst into flames, emitting mournful cries like those of an infant. Countless innocent children's faces appeared on the umbrella's surface, each face contorted in extreme agony.

In the blink of an eye, the treasure umbrella transformed into a fireball, and the souls of the many bound children scattered amidst the thunder and fire. Finally, three or five bolts of lightning, no longer able to stop the calamity, struck Xu Kuang, causing him to vomit a mouthful of blood on the spot.

Xu Kuang was unlucky. Although he commanded tens of thousands of troops, their morale was low and practically nonexistent. Wei Yuan's thunder magic was extremely powerful and specifically targeted ghosts, causing exceptional pain when it struck him.

If the tens of thousands of rebels were the elite Qingming warriors, their solidified military aura could reduce the power of the lightning magic by at least 30%. If the Xu family's youths formed a battle formation, their military aura would be square and unadulterated, without any impurities or frills, and could reduce the power of the lightning magic by half.

Therefore, if two cultivators are of equal skill and ability, one of them standing in the midst of a ten-thousand-strong army is already in an invincible position.

But this rebel group clearly lacked any military discipline.

The old man in the air was casting spells at the treasure umbrella, trying to extinguish the fire, but the umbrella was too badly damaged and exploded with a bang, sending the eighteen infant souls flying out, hovering blankly in the air.

The old man hurriedly exhaled two puffs of white breath from his nose, trying to retrieve the infant spirits. But Wei Yuan pointed, and the infant spirits flew over and disappeared into Wei Yuan's body.

The old man was filled with shock and anger, and shouted, "How dare you steal my Holy Infant?"

Wei Yuan didn't speak, but slowly raised his hand. This time, the lightning didn't fall directly, but instead gathered in the air to form a thundercloud, which became brighter and brighter.

The old man was shocked upon sensing the terrifying power within the thunderclouds. Xu Kuang, the target of the thunderclouds below, was already deathly pale, too afraid to even flee. If he made a single movement, the force of his energy would draw in the lightning tribulation!
The old man exclaimed, "No! Stop right now!"

Wei Yuan completely ignored him, coldly watching the old man, wondering if he dared to get close. At this moment, he possessed military aura, though not much, but of extremely high quality. With this enhancement, Wei Yuan was confident that he could keep the old man from escaping; all he had to do was let him get close.

With just those dozen or so infant souls and hundreds of child souls, Wei Yuan no longer intended to let the old man leave alive. Now that hundreds of young souls had been drawn into the Yellow Springs Cave, Wei Yuan could feel a significant boost from the power of their vows. With this power, he could naturally fulfill their wishes. However, even without this power, Wei Yuan would still do this.

The old man dared not flaunt his age any longer and hurriedly cried out, "Xu Kuang is a descendant of immortals. He has come down the mountain this time to collect the elixir of immortality for the Immortal Venerable! If you harm him, you will be obstructing the Immortal Venerable's path!!"

Wei Yuan waited until he finished speaking before unleashing the lightning tribulation. A rolling ball of lightning crashed down on Xu Kuang, and then he said, "I don't believe it."

As the tribulation lightning struck, a pale yellow light shield suddenly appeared around Xu Kuang, protecting him within it. When Wei Yuan's tribulation lightning struck, it was directly dissipated on the light shield, failing to harm Xu Kuang at all.

Wei Yuan's expression turned solemn. Only after this lightning strike did he realize that Xu Kuang was not just gathering herbs for the Immortal Venerable; he himself was on the path to becoming an Immortal Venerable!
(End of this chapter)