Friendship and Mutual Assistance

In the fourth month of the third year of Hongjing, a minor tempest broke out in the imperial court of the State of Jin. Following a bout of drinking, Sun Chao'en, Vice Minister of Personnel, chanced upon Cai Miao, the grandniece of the Left Prime Minister. Struck by her heavenly beauty, he immediately ordered his household warriors to scatter her escort and snatched her back to his manor. Cai Miao's renown resounded throughout Yingdu, pursued by countless noble sons and royal scions. The Left Prime Minister had always doted on her, going so far as to assign a Dharma Idol cultivator as her personal protector. Yet beneath the wild clubbing of a few servants from Sun Chao'en's manor, this Dharma Idol expert failed to cast a single spell. His Dharma Idol had barely poked its head out when several heavy blows struck his skull, instantly battering him bloody and sending him crashing to the ground. His dharma body, which had enjoyed quite a reputation, seemed as flimsy as paper at this moment. Somehow, though Sun Chao'en had abducted her after dinner, word did not reach the Left Prime Minister's ears until the following morning. The Left Prime Minister was furious and immediately impeached Sun Chao'en during the morning audience. The evidence was irrefutable, yet in the end, the King of Jin merely ordered Sun Chao'en stripped of his post pending investigation, commanding him to return home to await sentencing—without uttering a single word about Cai Miao. Every courtier was sharp-eyed, and they all understood this was the King of Jin's deliberate attempt to humiliate the Left Prime Minister. For every day Cai Miao remained in the Sun Manor, the Left Prime Minister lost another measure of face. Though the Left Prime Minister still held his office, the officials knew his downfall was only a matter of time. Thus, by tacit agreement, none spoke up, leaving Cai Miao detained in the Sun Manor. Now that Sun Chao'en had lost his position, who knew how much resentment he would vent on her throughout the night? Yet the turn of events defied everyone's expectations. That very night, Sun Chao'en packed his valuables, took Cai Miao with him, and fled to escape punishment. The King of Jin had originally posted two Dao Foundation guards at the Sun Manor, but with merely two Dao Foundation cultivators stationed solely at the front gate, how could they possibly prevent Sun Chao'en—a Dharma Idol cultivator himself—from slipping away? The matter reeked of strangeness. The officials understood the game and held their peace. Only two or three days later, once certain Sun Chao'en had fled far away, did they submit memorials in droves demanding the execution of Sun Chao'en's nine familial clans. The King of Jin rejected the extermination of his kin, sentencing him merely to immediate decapitation in absentia and issuing an empire-wide arrest warrant, demanding Sun Chao'en return of his own accord to face death. Half a month later, in the State of Ji. Having failed to suppress the rebellion effectively, the Minister of War of the State of Ji had retired to his hometown on account of age, putting his grand estate in the royal capital up for sale. To everyone's surprise, a wealthy merchant surnamed Sun stepped forward, purchased it outright with Qingyuan, and moved in with his lady. This move immediately drew the attention of the State of Ji's Embroidered Uniform Bureau. The Embroidered Uniform Bureau functioned similarly to the Embroidered Uniform Guard of the early Great Tang era, specializing in gathering intelligence and keeping watch over civil and military officials on behalf of the King of Ji; its chief commanders had always been palace eunuchs. The merchant surnamed Sun had moved into the former Minister of War's mansion only at noon, and by nightfall, a visitor arrived. The visitor was an elegant scholar, but Sun Chao'en retained both his sharp sight and cultivation; one glance told him the scholar was in fact a eunuch. The scholar made no secret of his errand, stating plainly, "Mister Sun Chao'en, I presume? A gentleman of your vast talent went unappreciated in Jin, but our State of Ji has use for you! The King bids you enter the palace for an audience." "Now?" "Right now." "Very well!" *** At the western border of Qingming, Wei Yuan stood in waiting. Moments later, he felt the surrounding temperature surge, and the Sun of the Great Desolation—his muscles like forged iron—appeared before him. Previously, the Sun of the Great Desolation had behaved completely uninhibited before Wei Yuan, treating his shamanic life as a lark. Today, however, he looked exceedingly grave, his muscles twitching incessantly as he muttered to himself, "How bizarre. Why does my heart feel like it's pounding in terror? Could it be that I can't beat you?" "This junior is merely a humble Dharma Idol. How could you fail to beat me?" The Sun of the Great Desolation drew close to Wei Yuan and sniffed suspiciously. "No! That is definitely the scent of a formidable foe! Back when I faced Hongye, I wasn't any more terrified than I am right now!" Wei Yuan had not expected the Sun of the Great Desolation's nose to serve such a purpose. He quickly changed the subject. "I brought the liquor. This delivery contains a new brew. Why don't you try some?" The moment he heard the word "liquor," the Sun of the Great Desolation cast his doubts to the wind. Taking the liquor basin Wei Yuan handed him, he downed it in one gulp. Two jets of fierce flame burst from his nostrils, and he roared, "Good brew! Strong and fierce enough!" Wei Yuan offered a faint smile. This batch of spirits had been specially mixed with powdered stone from the Desolate Realm. Swallowing a mouthful was like guzzling magma; naturally it packed a punch. Even the Sun of the Great Desolation could not drink much of it. An ordinary Dharma Idol Power Shaman would collapse after a single cup. Wei Yuan said, "This is Great Desolation Divine Brew, one thousand barrels in all. There are also five hundred thousand barrels of second-tier Desolate brew. Please try this as well." The Sun of the Great Desolation drank it down in one gulp and remarked, "Had I not tasted the earlier one, this would still be top-notch liquor. Pity that after having that Divine Brew, this one tastes rather bland. Still, it actually has the flavor of the Desolate Realm in it. How did you pull that off?" "A seasoning was added to the Desolate brew, formulated from iron materials of the Desolate Realm at a ratio of one to ten thousand. Thus, it can also be called Desolate-flavored liquor." By now, Qingming's liquor barrels had also been standardized to precisely one ton each, and one hundred freight wagons were gifted to the Desolate Ancestor Tribe free of charge. The wagon beds had been specially engineered to haul these barrels. With these wagons, the Desolate Ancestor Tribe could transport the strong brew all the way to the Shaman Clan's heartland hundreds of thousands of li away. Wei Yuan then presented several specialized jade contract plates covered densely with clauses and conditions. "Please look over the contents. If there are no issues, you may sign." The Sun of the Great Desolation took them, gave them a cursory sweep without looking closely, and signed his true name directly. He used his finger as a brush. The jade plates possessed an innate divine wondrousness; with every stroke, blood seeped from his fingertip, signing his name in blood as ink. The divine status of the jade plates was remarkably high—even the Sun of the Great Desolation's physical body could not resist it. After finishing the signatures, the Sun of the Great Desolation glared at Wei Yuan and huffed, "You humans are so tedious in your dealings. Given your status in the Desolate Realm... ah, over on that side, why would I ever doubt you?" Wei Yuan smiled. "This is for the good of both sides. An extra layer of restraint ensures our cooperation can endure." Then the Sun of the Great Desolation waved his hand, and over a dozen young Power Shamans flew over from the direction of the Shaman Realm. Each looked upon Wei Yuan with a mixture of curiosity and awe. The Sun of the Great Desolation said, "These are the finest little brats in the tribe. They can endure hardship and have good talent; they're just not the sharpest in the head and aren't clever like Tianyu. But when it comes to fighting and killing enemies, every one of them is a master!" "Good. I will send them to the Qingming Military Academy for secret training for about half a year. Once they complete their studies, they will know how to wield Qingming weapons and master the corresponding troop-training methods. Then they can return to train the tribal warriors. All told, an army can be forged in roughly a year and a half." A vicious glint flashed in the eyes of the Sun of the Great Desolation. "Good! I'll wait another year and a half, and then I'll teach those Nether Shamans a lesson they won't forget!" The Sun of the Great Desolation summoned two Power Shamans, each cradling a scarlet stone in their hands. "These are the pivot stones for the shamanic formation at the Red Sand Oasis. Take them. One month from now is the Grand Sacrifice to the Ancestral Shaman, the perfect opportunity for a surprise attack. When the time comes, I'll have our people open the gates for you." "Very well." Wei Yuan had Cui Yu take the pivot stones. Back when Wei Yuan had been exiled to the Desolate Realm, the Red Sand Oasis had been recaptured by the Leize Tribe. All the Qingming cultivators on duty at the oasis had been killed. Later, the clashes between Yanmo, Molten Dragon, and Nether Phoenix within the Desolate Realm spilled out into the world beyond. The Sun of the Great Desolation led the Desolate Ancestor Tribe in several major battles against Leize, trading victories and defeats. In the end, neither side could bear further losses and they had to agree on a compromise: joint administration of the Red Sand Oasis. Now that Wei Yuan had returned, bearing the Desolate Realm's authority, the Sun of the Great Desolation, as a veteran Desolate Shaman, had naturally received word and knew of Wei Yuan's special identity. Thus, the two hit it off immediately and embarked on comprehensive cooperation. The Sun of the Great Desolation had merely been puzzled by the Qingming–Desolate Ancestor Treaty of Friendship and Mutual Assistance Wei Yuan tossed him, not quite understanding what kind of thing it was. Wasn't it just a fear of backing out? When had a Power Shaman ever gone back on his word? Back when the Sun of the Great Desolation was young, drunken blurriness had caused him to accidentally make a tryst with an ugly shaman woman. When he sobered up, he was filled with regret, but didn't he still carry through with tears in his eyes? That was just how scrupulous Power Shamans were! The treaty's contents were not complicated. Primarily, the Desolate Ancestor Tribe would cooperate with Qingming to seize the Red Sand Oasis. Qingming would also gain the right to build all manner of roads within the Desolate Ancestor Tribe's domain; within fifty li of either side of these roads, Qingming was free to construct any military, warehouse, or industrial facilities. At the same time, Qingming would help train a new generation of troops for the Desolate Ancestor Tribe, chiefly to seek vengeance against the Leize Tribe and secondarily to handle other Nether Shaman tribes. Qingming would supply the new army with a complete array of weaponry and military provisions, with the costs deducted from trade proceeds. In addition, Qingming would construct several large-scale communication formations within the Desolate Ancestor Tribe's lands to transmit military intelligence in real time. Naturally, delicate work like array formations could only be handled by humans; Power Shamans had no head for such intricacies. The Red Sand Oasis had abundant water, traversed by a river, while facing the scorching western desert. Rich in resources, with complex terrain and climate, plentiful ore veins, and large deposits of saltpeter and sulfur, it was ideal for placing the Mirror Lake realm stone. At present, the oasis was under joint administration by the Desolate Ancestor and Leize tribes, each garrisoning tens of thousands of troops. But with the Desolate Ancestor Tribe acting as an inside accomplice, the Leize defenders were nothing more than turtles trapped in a jar. *** State of Ji, Guantun County. Zhang Sheng was adjusting the defensive lines when someone suddenly reported that Mountain-Pacifying Military Commissioner Li Zhi requested an audience. By this time, the interior of Guantun County had been converted into a massive fortress, and its defenses were no longer suitable for outsiders to inspect. Zhang Sheng therefore ordered Li Zhi brought to a small hill outside the county seat to wait. Upon seeing Zhang Sheng, Li Zhi experienced a momentary trance, but he swiftly regained his composure and bowed in greeting. "Greetings, Mister Zhang. On this occasion, I sensed royal aura emerging within the borders of the State of Ji, and thus came specifically to investigate."