In the ancestral lands of the Lu clan, people bustled to and fro. Life was affluent and fulfilling, and smiles brightened many faces.
In recent years, the Lu clan had seen immense yields from their mining, medicinal herbs, and spiritual wood, while iron smelting and steel forging had developed with remarkable speed. Many Lu clansmen had reaped tangible benefits, pocketing substantial sums of immortal silver.
The only fly in the ointment was that the Lu clan's ancestral lands strictly forbade the use of Qingyuan, leaving many clansmen quite disgruntled. One Qingyuan could now be exchanged for one tael and eight qian of immortal silver, and as Qingming's military might grew, the value of Qingyuan rose along with it. Being barred from using Qingyuan meant forfeiting the chance to ride its appreciation. For this reason, many harbored quiet complaints against the Immortal Ancestor in private.
Right now, however, anxiety clouded the faces of many Lu clansmen passing back and forth in the streets. Several southern commanderies had fallen, and with no word on how their estates and businesses there were faring, they naturally found little reason for cheer.
Even with an Immortal Ancestor watching over their family, Qingming was backed by the Palace of Grand Beginning. Even if the fallen commanderies were eventually reclaimed from Qingming, their properties would surely have suffered grievous losses—losses they had no idea who to seek compensation from.
Still, despite their worries, they told themselves it was merely a matter of financial loss at the end of the day. So long as the Immortal Ancestor remained, the ancestral lands would remain secure, and their people safe.
Just then, a rapid, frantic tolling of bells shattered the air. One bell tower after another joined in succession, their clamor clashing and echoing across the entire ancestral lands.
Everyone froze in shock. It was an alarm bell—one of the highest order, signaling an enemy attack, and no minor skirmish!
How long had it been since the ancestral lands last tasted the fires of war following the Immortal Ancestor's ascension? So long that mortals and low-level cultivators could not even remember. Even many at the Dao Foundation and Dharma Idol realms had never once seen the ancestral grounds touched by conflict since the day they were born.
Figures began rising into the sky one after another, assuming battle-ready postures as if facing a mortal foe. The silhouettes of two Scenery Command elders stood out prominently in the center, and only their presence soothed the countless uneasy hearts below.
A glint of light suddenly flashed on the horizon. Many Dao Foundation cultivators scrambled into the air to get a better look.
That spark of fire moved at horrifying speed. In a flash, it streaked across the vault of heaven and entered the ancestral lands—moving far faster than an ordinary Scenery Command cultivator, leaving Dharma Idols utterly incapable of keeping pace.
Instantly, a barrage of fiery rain and wind arrows lit up the sky, but all of them fell behind the incoming missile. Misjudging its speed, numerous Dharma Idol cultivators saw their Dao arts strike empty air.
Several missiles outpaced all interception spells, hurtling into the Lu clan's ancestral lands!
Unable to watch any longer, a Scenery Command elder grunted coldly and unleashed a jade ruler, striking the warhead of one missile in a flash!
The missile abruptly detonated. A burst of blinding white light flared in the sky, rapidly turning into pale gold. Every cultivator below Scenery Command felt as though their eyes were burned blind in an instant, leaving their vision a blank expanse of pure white!
From within the white light, faint Buddhist chants seemed to echo, yet to the ears of the gathered cultivators, they morphed into piercing shrieks. The howling threw their minds into disarray and shook their Dao hearts, leaving the weaker ones unable to form even a single coherent spell.
The detonation of the first missile triggered the simultaneous explosion of three trailing behind it. Layered together, the compounded blasts rendered over half the Lu clan's cultivators unable to cast magic; many low-level Dao Foundation cultivators even plummeted from the sky, crashing to the ground with grievous injuries.
Naturally, Scenery Command cultivators were immune to such interference. Infuriated, they struck with full force, unleashing several Dao arts that detonated several more missiles.
Yet even as their attacks struck home, the two Scenery Command cultivators felt anxious deep down. The cultivators below were kept in the dark, but they knew all too well: the Immortal Ancestor had fallen long ago. Now, the Lu clan ancestral lands' last shred of dignity rested entirely on their shoulders as Scenery Command elders.
Moreover, Qingming's missiles were nothing like the rumors described. They were far too fast; even Scenery Command elders had to focus with undivided attention to intercept them, while Dharma Idol cultivators needed several people acting in concert to guarantee any chance of success.
Glares flashed endlessly across the horizon as more and more missiles descended. The two Scenery Command elders intercepted them with everything they had, bursting balls of white light in the air. After a dozen or so detonations, barely any Lu clan cultivators remained aloft.
The first wave had just been neutralized. Before the Scenery Command elders could catch their breath, they saw points of light merging into a solid sheet on the distant horizon—nearly a hundred missiles shrieking toward them at once!
The faces of the two Scenery Command True Monarchs turned the color of ash. There was no way they could stop this, and summoning the other elders to take to the skies was already too late.
Right at that moment, a cold snort sounded from above: "Trifling parlor tricks—and you dare flaunt them here?"
The silhouette of Cui Zhengxing manifested in midair. With a wave of his hand, he unleashed a sweeping expanse of pale red radiance that washed over the hundred-odd oncoming missiles. Under the crimson immortal light, the temperatures of the warheads soared astronomically; some exploded in midair, while far more melted away completely.
Cui Zhengxing snorted again, his face grim. "Capable of nothing but insidious tricks!"
By now, everyone understood what had happened: Qingming's incoming missiles had been divided into two waves. The first wave detonated at the slightest strike, designed primarily to produce blinding flashes and Dao-heart-shattering shrieks. Caught unprepared, most intercepting cultivators fell victim to it. Once the interceptors were neutralized, the second wave served as the true killing stroke, aimed squarely at ground targets.
Naturally, such ploys were trivial to an immortal like Cui Zhengxing. Yet having to step in personally to swat away missiles made of mere mortal material left him profoundly displeased, making the Lu clan's Scenery Command elders look all the more pathetic in his eyes.
Cui Zhengxing huffed once more. "You lot must cultivate diligently and stop slacking off. Unable to intercept mere mortal contraptions and forcing me to intervene—where has your decorum gone? You have utterly disgraced the Lu clan!"
The Scenery Command elders flushed scarlet, not daring to utter a word of protest.
Right at that moment, the warhead of one missile suddenly burst open. Its inner casing was actually a spiritual instrument! Immediately afterward, a dense aura of mortal fortune erupted forth!
Cui Zhengxing had witnessed mortal fortune slaying an immortal with his own eyes and was hypersensitive to its aura. In this world today, wherever mortal fortune appeared, it was almost certain that Wei Yuan had arrived!
Sure enough, amidst the thick veil of mortal fortune, a trace of Wei Yuan's presence leaked out!
The souls of the Lu clan Scenery Command elders nearly leapt from their bodies. They wheeled around and fled without a second's hesitation. Even their Immortal Ancestor had fallen to Wei Yuan; if they didn't run, were they just waiting to die?
Cui Zhengxing's heart skipped a beat. Remembering how the Glazed Light River had abruptly disintegrated and vanished over Qingming, he felt an unexpected urge to flee as well. Fortunately, his vast experience and peerless Dao heart prevailed. Forcing himself to remain calm, he resolved to see what follow-up move Wei Yuan had prepared; if it truly proved irresistible, running then would not be too late.
Cui Zhengxing focused all his attention, bracing for battle, only to see Wei Yuan's presence flash once and vanish completely. And then... nothing followed?
Wei Yuan hadn't come?!
Just as confusion seized Cui Zhengxing, he inwardly cursed. Several more missiles were already streaking toward them at blistering speed. He scrambled to intercept, but in his fluster, several missiles slipped through his defenses and plummeted toward the Lu clan's ancestral lands below.
The heart of the Lu clan's ancestral lands was an exquisite peak. Built up over thousands of years by the clan, it was picturesque beyond measure. Innumerable pavilions and towers nestled among the wilderness. Celestial mist curled through the valleys and peaks, spirit beasts roved the terrain, and cultivators flew by on swords at all hours.
At the foot of the mountain lay a main city and several satellite towns. The main city housed the primary branch of the Lu clan, while the smaller towns served various specialized purposes.
The secret realm grotto-heaven where Lu Changhe had cultivated and resided was nestled inside the Ancestral Mountain, its entrance marked by a magnificent grand hall where people constantly came and went.
Gentle slopes, fertile fields, and spirit farmland fanned out around the Ancestral Mountain, each plot assigned its own role.
This was the classic layout of an aristocratic clan's ancestral seat. Accumulated slowly over countless ages, it had been developed to the pinnacle of perfection, resembling a paradise on earth.
The missiles that pierced the defense had distinct targets. Two flew toward the Ancestral Mountain, one plunging into the palace complex atop the highest summit and the other striking halfway up the slope. Both warheads were packed with thousands of jin of explosive payload. The moment they detonated, colossal fireballs surged into the sky, shockwaves sweeping across a radius of a thousand zhang and reducing the struck palaces directly to rubble!
The remaining missiles crashed into the main city. The deafening thunder instantly deafened more than half the population. Entire street blocks vanished in explosions, and countless people were hurled into the sky.
After the blasts cleared, three massive craters gaped in the city. For a hundred zhang around ground zero, everything was obliterated, every building razed to the ground!
Strictly speaking, the damage caused by five missiles was not catastrophic, but those craters were like five harsh slaps landing square across Cui Zhengxing's face!
Moments earlier he had scolded the Lu clan's Scenery Command elders for being useless and failing to intercept mere mortal projectiles; the very next moment, several missiles had slipped past his own hands. The retribution had come with staggering speed.
Cui Zhengxing's expression turned as dark as night, rendering him unable even to berate the Lu clan elders who had fled in terror at a mere wisp of Wei Yuan's presence.
This strike against the Lu ancestral lands was something unprecedented in a hundred years. On one hand, it stripped away the dignity of every aristocratic clan; on the other, it placed a thorny dilemma squarely before them. Wei Yuan was evidently enraged—what could they possibly use to withstand his spearhead?
Having lost all face, Cui Zhengxing found no reason to linger, and seeing that no further missiles were incoming, he took his leave.
The Lu clan Scenery Command elders flew back, each still shaken. Looking upon the devastated main city, one suddenly suggested, "Why don't we relocate more mortals here? If Wei Yuan bombards us again, he will only be blowing up mortals, and the karmic backlash alone would be enough to choke him."
Another frowned. "I heard he has an extraordinary grasp of karma. He once incinerated eight hundred thousand Shaman Clan soldiers with karmic fire. Would this even work?"
Yet another Scenery Command elder chimed in, "Indeed. From what I know, Wei Yuan seems to share ties with the Pure Land's Great Joy King Buddha lineage. The King Buddha's teachings are exceptionally adept at handling and manipulating karma. Doing this likely won't accomplish much."
The first elder replied, "What choice do we have? We must find every possible way to cause him grief. Now that the main city has been bombed, the folks inside will surely want to flee outward. We can just herd those wretched commoners in to take the brunt of Wei Yuan's bombs. If enough of them are blown apart, we can proclaim it to the whole world and rally everyone under heaven to revile his brutality!"
Having no better alternative, the other Scenery Command elders agreed.
Meanwhile, fifteen hundred li from the Lu clan's ancestral lands, inside the Qingming unit that had just launched all those missiles, several Golden Pellet Dharma Idol generals and a hundred template Dao Foundation captains gathered in a specially crafted tent, stepping into a formation one by one for inspection.
Most emerged enveloped in pure, clear light. However, five captains were shrouded in dense, dark crimson, while three Golden Pellet Dharma Idol generals bore a faint red glow.
Reviewing the results, the Dharma Idol general in charge of the inspection singled out the five captains. "You five are to return to Qingming immediately to receive new posts at Military Headquarters and rest for three years. As for the three generals, you may return to Qingming for three months of short leave once your successors arrive."
Those called by name beamed with joy, while the remaining officers wore looks of slight chagrin.
The general conducting the inspection chuckled. "You have shouldered burdens for Qingming, and your futures are bright indeed. Allow this general to offer his congratulations in advance."
The officers returned the salute. The captains, being mere template Dao Foundations, were grinning so widely they couldn't close their mouths.
Qingming had recently implemented a new military system, distributing the decision-making for mass-casualty strikes among frontline officers. In this way, the bulk of the generated karma fell on the officers who directly issued the fire commands, while their superiors bore a smaller portion.
Officers laden with karma would be transferred back to Qingming for rest, placed in posts that generated mortal fortune and merit, using mortal fortune to wash away their karma—a process that typically took two to three years to cleanse completely. At the same time, all their perks and stipends were upgraded by a full tier; for example, a template Dao Foundation officer would enjoy all the benefits of a Mortal Tier Dao Foundation cultivator.
Consequently, everyone in the Qingming army now vied for the chance to launch missiles. A single surge of Dao power secured years of easy leisure, while bringing honors and security to wives and children.
What was more, Qingming's foes were perverse villains steeped in villainy; slaying them carried zero psychological burden. Many even found it baffling that killing such scum brought karmic entanglement at all. Truly, how unjust were heaven and earth!
Chapter 1148