Standoff

Where Wei Yuan stood, only faceted, scale-like boulders remained. There were no pavilions, no woman, and no call of "Lord Sovereign"—as if none of it had ever happened. He looked around in all directions. In the far distance, that mountain range—so immense it made one's heart palpitate—still lay quietly, and the land was scarred and devastated. Yet in reality, this gray-white world did not exist. It had no substance, no karma; it was not even an illusion. It had long been destroyed, reduced to primal chaos. The only reason it could be seen was that he was Wei Yuan. Everything before his eyes was a sliver of memory left to Wei Yuan by the world at the final moment before its destruction, telling him what the contours of that former heaven and earth had looked like. Beneath Wei Yuan's feet, over a hundred li of that small, thousand-li mountain range had already been covered by the Land of Vitality, completely transformed. At this moment, Wei Yuan was standing atop the colossal skull of an enormous beast. Those faceted, plate-like boulders were in truth the scales of the giant beast, which had merely turned to stone under the wash of ages. A giant beast a thousand li long was already unimaginable in this realm. If that mountain range nearly a million li long in the distance was also a giant beast... Wei Yuan reached down, picked up a piece of rubble from the ground, slowly crushed it between his fingers, and watched the stony sand fall to the earth. The composition of the rubble showed that this beast skeleton did not truly exist either; rather, as the Land of Vitality expanded, it had been sculpted according to Wei Yuan's memories, its composition identical to that of the Land of Vitality. So it was all vanity and illusion? Wei Yuan felt a touch of disappointment, yet one thing lingered persistently in his mind. When that woman with two horns on her head had called out "Lord Sovereign," she hadn't attached an honorific title. What Lord Sovereign lacked an honorific title? Shouldn't there be something like "Wondrous Purity" or "Superior Spirit" tagged on? Just as Wei Yuan was preparing to return, he suddenly sensed a flicker of vitality. That vitality lay deep within the beast skull, faint yet genuine. Wei Yuan's heart jolted. He immediately inspected the skull, looking for a way to get his hands on that trace of vitality. After observing for a while, Wei Yuan suddenly noticed that a large rough patch on the skull looked like a fracture, as if something had once grown there but was later broken off. Judging by its position, it seemed to be... a horn? Wei Yuan expanded his divine sense, sweeping across the entire skull, and sure enough, in the region buried deep underground, he saw another curved horn. The shape of this horn was very familiar; Wei Yuan had just seen it. The shape of the mountain range did not quite match the woman's long serpentine body, but Wei Yuan looked toward another narrow, elongated mountain range. Viewing the two ranges together made everything fit: the serpent body had been severed at the waist, and the rear half had become that narrow mountain range. Although this skeleton had been manifested by the Land of Vitality based on Wei Yuan's memories, once it appeared, it seemed to possess a mysterious power. Wei Yuan's divine sense unexpectedly could not penetrate it, nor could his body pass through it; he could not move freely through it as he did elsewhere in the Land of Vitality. "Pardon the offense..." Beneath the Tree of the Great Dao, Wei Yuan's true body finally stood up and walked over at a steady pace. Before this skull spanning a hundred li, Wei Yuan's dharma body of nearly ten thousand zhang appeared as small as an ant. Yet he extended dozens of hands to support the skull, slowly lifting it off the ground. Beneath the skull lay an egg no larger than a finger, along with a peculiarly styled beast-claw pendant. The flicker of vitality Wei Yuan had sensed was this very egg. Supporting the skull, Wei Yuan had one hand detach from his body, scurry into the pit, and retrieve both the egg and the pendant. However, the moment the pendant touched Wei Yuan's true body, it vanished without a trace, leaving only the mark of a beast claw in his sea of consciousness. The appearance of the claw mark immediately triggered a subtle disturbance in a hidden memory. Such a disturbance was almost imperceptible, but Wei Yuan possessed the Splendor of the Many Realms, allowing him to monitor and record his own state at any time. He quickly located the source of the memory disturbance, feeling somewhat surprised. *** In Southern Jin, an iron army was advancing swiftly across the land. They could already hear the faint thundering of artillery, and the earth trembled slightly. The general immediately ordered the entire army to quicken its march to reinforce the front lines. At the front, Li Zhi stood on the frontline position, holding a golden sword. He raised the golden sword high, sending out wave upon wave of light that covered this core position. Southern Jin's artillery bombardment was ferocious, shells shrieking through the air. Yet when washed over by the light waves, many shells lost their momentum and failed to reach the position, their effectiveness vastly diminished. Meanwhile, the shells that flew past Li Zhi were all cloaked in a faint golden glow. Southern Jin's army-protecting grand formation was rendered practically useless; even the intercepting arrows fired by Dao foundation sharpshooters were frequently deflected by the shells, leaving them to helplessly watch the projectiles crash into their defensive lines, blasting away fortifications and waves of soldiers. On the Southern Jin artillery positions, explosions were non-stop as the enemy heavily bombarded them. Around the position, over a dozen Confucian scholars held scriptures and ferules, pointing toward the sky. With each point of a ferule, a shell would explode midair. But the more they pointed, the more pages vanished from the scriptures in their hands. Dozens of other Dao foundation sharpshooters kept firing into the air, which was the only reason most shells were stopped. Meanwhile, the Southern Jin artillerymen fired back desperately. A heavy cannon was readied to fire, and the gunner ignited it with a blast of Dao fire. Yet instead of roaring as usual, the heavy cannon abruptly exploded, instantly blowing apart three neighboring cannons and killing over a hundred gunners. The sudden barrel burst stunned the entire position. Then, when another heavy cannon was about to fire, the gunner channeled Dao fire twice, but the cannon produced no reaction at all! The vice general in charge of the position rushed over, ripped open the breech bare-handed, and hauled out the shell from inside. The shell's propellant chamber was blackened by the Dao fire, yet it had failed to fire. He tore the shell open directly, scooped up a handful of white granules inside, and sniffed them, his face instantly draining of color. Enraged, the vice general seized a nearby scholar and roared, "What is wrong with this batch of shells?! Half of them misfire, and others burst the barrel! We've already had three guns blow up in this battle alone! Look at this—is this gunpowder? What the hell is this?! We're putting our heads on the line fighting at the front, and your Academy gives us shells like this?!" The scholar, choked by the throat, couldn't utter a word. Suddenly, a flash of sword light gleamed, and the vice general's head flew into the air. A grand scholar appeared; it was he who had decapitated the vice general with a single strike. Exuding righteous indignation, he barked, "Slandering the Academy and disrupting military morale—this is the consequence!" The Dao foundation sharpshooters were filled with indignation, yet they had no choice but to keep fighting. This grand scholar was widely renowned and acted as army supervisor; he had already executed several Southern Jin generals. Moreover, when he killed, he needed no evidence whatsoever—a single charge was sufficient. Yet the artillery fire of the Zhenshan Army grew fiercer by the moment. The shells from Qingming possessed extraordinary power, as the Southern Jin artillerymen knew all too well. Previously, the shells supplied by the Academy were merely low in power, but lately they suffered frequent misfires and barrel bursts. Attentive observers had noticed that, based on their craftsmanship, the Academy's shells were actually produced in several distinct batches—one batch was specialized in failing to fire, while another was responsible for blowing up the barrels. *** In the imperial court of Southern Jin, the Prince of Jin wore an ingratiating smile as he had a pile of memorials delivered before Master Huaipu and two grand scholars, saying, "These are urgent memorials sent by the frontline officers and men. Because they concern the Academy, this prince cannot presume to decide on his own, so I must trouble the three masters to make the determination." The grand scholar seated at the bottom only skimmed a few lines before flying into a rage, hurling several memorials to the floor and berating, "Pure fabrications, malicious slander! To dare insult our Academy is to insult the Sages! If not for our Academy supplying vast quantities of military stores, your Southern Jin would have fallen long ago! What, now supplying you has become our fault?!" A military general gave a cold sneer and countered, "The Academy certainly didn't charge any less money, did it? Setting aside the quality of the shells, they're actually fifty percent more expensive than those from Qingming!" The scholar roared in fury, "Absolute nonsense! Men, drag him out and behead him!" The general was stunned, then turned toward the Prince of Jin in shock and fury. The Prince of Jin smiled awkwardly, but in the end said, "Men, take him away and put him in prison!" The scholar frowned and said, "I said behead him!" At that moment, Master Huaipu spoke up, "Enough. At present, we are in need of capable men; it is not advisable to execute a general. In my opinion, fine him three months' salary, and let there be no next time." The scholar was resentful, but with Huaipu speaking, he could hardly say more. Shortly after, court was dismissed. The three scholars did not leave, but instead entered a side hall. Huaipu carefully shut the hall doors, then suddenly hurled the memorials in his arms straight at the faces of the two scholars, cursing, "Is making money never enough for you?! How much silver will it take to fill your bellies? I endured the earlier batches of shells, but now you've even substituted the gunpowder! Are you still complaining you aren't making enough? Are you afraid I won't lose fast enough, or that I won't die soon enough?! From tomorrow onward, don't show your faces here again. Get the hell back to the Academy!" The two scholars exchanged a glance and replied, "We belong to the lineages of the Sage of Mind and the Sage of Principle. You, Huaipu, have no authority over us. If you want us to leave, Elder Mr. Gu must give the order! Four Sages Academy—'Four Sages'—does not belong solely to the descendants of your Sage alone." "Good, good, good!" Huaipu laughed in anger. "Then I will report this to Duke Yansheng and conduct a thorough investigation into corruption! We will kill every last one we uncover, investigating wherever the trail leads! If we accidentally wipe out the disciples of both your branches, don't blame me! As for the two of you, feel free to keep sitting pretty in court!" Only then did the two scholars' expressions change, and they hurried to say, "Do not be angry; let us discuss this calmly. At worst, once this batch of shells is delivered, we won't touch this business again. How about that?" Huaipu was helpless as well. After a long silence, he shattered the entire side hall with a single palm strike and swept out, sleeves fluttering. *** On the Southern Jin frontline, several hours after the fierce battle began, Southern Jin's artillery was finally suppressed completely, their gunners suffering near-total casualties. Just when defeat was clearly imminent, the scholars abruptly packed up their scriptures, turned, and fled. Suddenly deprived of defensive fire, incoming shells rained down at once, turning the entire position into a sea of flames. Most of the Dao foundation sharpshooters did not even have time to escape. With their artillery suppressed, the Southern Jin general knew the day was lost and led his personal retinue in flight. Once the commanding general fled, the Southern Jin army collapsed immediately. Li Zhi pressed the advantage, pursuing them for dozens of li before calling off the chase. With this victory, another commandery fell into Li Zhi's hands, bringing the total to seventeen commanderies under his control. While clearing the battlefield, Li Zhi and Sun Chao'en inspected Southern Jin's artillery positions together. After looking over everything, Li Zhi sighed, "Southern Jin actually mustered twice as many heavy cannons as we did; I truly did not expect that. It seems there are still quite a few capable figures in their army." Sun Chao'en picked up an unexploded shell, examined it closely, and smiled. "Yet within Southern Jin, we also have quite a few helpers." Li Zhi sighed, "I imagine this is yet again the handiwork of those martial uncles." Sun Chao'en said, "With this commandery taken, Southern Jin's gateway is wide open; they are certain to mobilize heavy forces here for defense. This place is already a natural stronghold, and the fortifications are readily available. Your Majesty might consider garrisoning here in person to wage a war of attrition with Southern Jin for several months, slowly bleeding them dry. Once their elites are mostly exhausted, you can defeat them in a single battle and claim several more commanderies. Ah, right—this subject just procured twelve invigorating immortal medicines from Qingming. Keep them on your person, Your Majesty, and take one whenever needed." Li Zhi said with a wry smile, "I've truly become both general and foot soldier." Sun Chao'en said seriously, "Your Majesty charges at the forefront in every battle, and everyone under heaven sees it. It has made reforming the captured Southern Jin troops far easier for this subject. There are already over three hundred thousand surrendered Southern Jin soldiers in our army. As our strength waxes and theirs wanes, Southern Jin's downfall is not far off." Li Zhi said earnestly, "If the day comes when great success is achieved, you shall be Prime Minister, Master!" Sun Chao'en waved his hand, however, saying, "When that day comes, I intend to go back to running an academy and teaching students. I only hope Your Majesty will grant your permission." Li Zhi said, "We will speak of that when the time comes. For now, our first priority is still to survive." *** Northern Qi, desolate mountains. Heavy snow sealed the mountains, cutting off the paths to the outside world. Halfway up the mountain, smoke rose from the kitchen of a quaint little temple. In the back kitchen, a young novice took two steamed buns from a steamer, poured a bowl of clear water, and carried them into a side room. Inside sat an emaciated old monk, eyes closed in recitation of scriptures. When the buns were placed down, he merely took a deep breath, inhaling their aroma, and said, "This old monk has already partaken of his meal." The novice bowed, then took the buns to the abbot's quarters. The abbot was a benevolent-looking middle-aged monk. Seeing the novice enter, he asked, "Did that old monk still not eat?" "Yes." The middle-aged monk said, "Then leave him be. We'll eat them ourselves." The novice hesitated, saying, "Abbot, that old Master's origin is questionable. Should we really not ask?" "Do not ask! Asking invites karmic entanglements... Oh no, the karma has arrived." Outside the temple gate stood a young cultivator in a black robe with red lining. He raised a hand and tapped lightly on the door. After a moment, the gate opened, and a young novice poked his head out, asking, "Benefactor, our humble temple does not receive outside guests. Please return." The young cultivator smiled faintly. "I have come looking for someone. Why must Master keep people at such a distance?" The novice said, "Our temple is modest, with only a few Masters who never leave the mountains year-round. If Benefactor is looking for someone, I fear you have come to the wrong place." The young cultivator smiled again. For some reason, upon seeing this smile, the novice gasped in cold air and could not stop trembling. The young cultivator's gaze turned increasingly eerie. "If Master speaks a few more words, I fear you will take over this karma yourself. Of course, I have no objection." The novice turned deathly pale and hurried to say, "This humble monk's cultivation is meager; how could I ever shoulder such immense karma?" "As long as you know." The young cultivator strode past the gate on his own. With his next step, he entered the side hall and stood before the old monk. The old monk slowly opened his eyes and said, "What brings Benefactor here? This old monk has not concerned himself with worldly affairs for many years; I fear I will disappoint Benefactor." The young cultivator burst into laughter. "Not long ago, you not only concerned yourself with worldly affairs, but also carried out quite a few great deeds. Yet no one expected that the dignified Buddha Child would actually don this fresh skin! Haha, am I wrong? Or perhaps... should I address you as 'dragon scion'?" The old monk's face finally changed, twisting into something vicious. "Y-You... How do you know? The karma of the dragon scion was clearly wiped clean by my master back then!" The young cultivator said flatly, "To wipe clean karma so immense must have cost no small price. Forgive me for asking, but did that master of yours die a natural death?" "All things for monks are bound by karma and affinity. My master passed into Nirvana for my sake, which is of great merit." The old monk chanted a Buddhist name, then glared at the young cultivator, his expression growing ever more ferocious. "This old monk has already secluded himself in the mountains. Why does Benefactor still refuse to spare me?" Between the young cultivator's brows, a dragon claw mark surfaced. "I had no choice either. But who told me to accidentally dig back up your dragon scion karma?" The old monk's cheek twitched, and he sneered, "With Benefactor's meager cultivation, you wish to devour this old monk? Do you truly not know what place this is?" At that moment, another Buddhist chant echoed not far away. The small temple vanished completely, leaving the middle-aged monk standing amidst the snow. He let out a long sigh and said slowly, "This place is a pure sanctuary of this poor monk's cultivation. Why doesn't Benefactor..." His voice abruptly broke off. Out of the corner of his eye, atop a distant snowcapped peak, an exquisite woman had appeared at some unknown moment—her hair fell loose over her shoulders, her green robes had billowing sleeves, and an azure immortal sword floated before her. The middle-aged monk's eyelids twitched violently, and even his earlobes went pale for an instant. Yet the words from his mouth never stopped, flowing completely naturally and smoothly: "...Why doesn't Benefactor make your move sooner, so as to spare yourself the bitter wind and snow?" The young cultivator laughed heartily. "What is Master's dharma name?" The middle-aged monk replied hastily, "This humble monk is Congxin."