Turtles in a Jar

Wei Yuan was extraordinarily cautious in advancing his plan, concealing it by every conceivable means. The grand array was divided into two parts. One part consisted of six array eyes forming a vast triangle, whose primary function was to coalesce and siphon spirituality. The other part possessed only a single array eye: Li Zhi's Zhenshan Fief. Its purpose was to enlighten and animate that spirituality, endowing it with sentience so that it would become Houtu. The reason Xiaoyu had been summoned from the north was specifically to have him take over Zhenshan Fief, and, just like Wei Yuan, fuse his True Fire of the Great Sun World with the Zhenshan boundary stone. It would transform into a semi-manifested mindscape world, serving as the True Fire Spirit Palace to nurture Houtu. Generating earth from fire—especially True Fire of the Great Sun—was theoretically viable. In practice, however, Xiaoyu's status was far from sufficient. That was why he had to merge with the Zhenshan boundary stone, drawing upon the karmic luck of the domain's subjects to elevate his status; only then would it be possible to nurture an innate sacred earth physique. There was no helping it; not a single high-level fire cultivator existed in the entire Palace of Grand Beginning, leaving Xiaoyu as the only one to fill the void. Yet by doing so, Xiaoyu, like Wei Yuan, would no longer be able to deploy his mindscape world at will. His might would surge tremendously within Zhenshan Fief, but he would languish once outside it. Even after ascending to immortality, his range of movement would merely expand slightly. Still, there were benefits, the greatest of which was ascension. With Xiaoyu's original aptitude, even though Wei Yuan had awakened him to abandon Star Lord Shaoyang as his foundation and switch to cultivating the True Fire of the Great Sun World, he remained some distance from ascending to immortality, with less than an even chance of success. Yet if he could enlighten Houtu into being, Xiaoyu would become like a child flying a kite: as the kite soared high, it would carry him along up into the immortal heaven. Meanwhile, as the architect of it all, virtually all the karma from plundering the Mountain Domain would fall upon Wei Yuan, whereas Xiaoyu would reap the merit of having enlightened a sacred physique. When Xiaoyu expended tremendous mental effort coupled with a flash of insight, finally grasping the full picture, he suddenly felt an urge to weep. He also understood why Yu Zhizhuo had wanted to split a single Houtu sacred physique into more than a dozen portions. Although doing so would drastically reduce its overall might, having over a dozen people divide the karma would keep it bearable. Now, Wei Yuan alone shouldered all the karma, while the emergence of a holy disciple on par with an Immortal Lord would benefit the entire human race. Noticing Xiaoyu's expression, Wei Yuan said, "Fusing the True Fire of the Great Sun World with a boundary stone is no simple task. Here are all the insights from when my mindscape world fused with Qingming back then. Take them back and study them thoroughly; strive to achieve a successful fusion within three years. Once you have integrated your True Fire World, I will activate the final array eye. After that, we must brace for the Mountain Folk's full counterattack." Xiaoyu nodded, a surge of warmth rising in his chest. Such insights were a cultivator's most guarded secrets. To put it bluntly, with these insights in hand, someone could design targeted methods to attack Qingming and shake Wei Yuan's very foundation. The most common practice was simply offering oral guidance. Wei Yuan doing this demonstrated an unreserved trust in him. Taking the insights, Xiaoyu solemnly swore, "Rest assured, even if I die, I will never let a second person see this!" Wei Yuan smiled and nodded. At this moment, Yu Zhizhuo said, "Once the final array eye is activated, there will be no way to hide it no matter what. The Mountain Folk are bound to retaliate with everything they have; by then, all of their immortals will likely take the field. Can we hold them off?" Xiaoyu remarked, "This is an immense boon for all of humanity. Would our immortals just sit by and do nothing?" Yet the moment the words left his mouth, Xiaoyu fell silent. Whether it benefited humanity did not matter; what mattered was that Wei Yuan could not be allowed to gain from it. *** Across the lands of Southern Jin, massive columns of the Qi army advanced along multiple routes in a rolling tide. A Qi vanguard general flew into midair, gazing into the distance with a faint frown. "Those mountains ahead are quite perilous. Why hasn't the Zhenshan Army fortified them? This isn't right!" The lieutenant general beside him chuckled. "General, you worry too much! The Zhenshan Army originally had just over two million men, and the true elites among them were probably fewer than three hundred thousand. Their Dao foundation cultivators numbered only a few thousand, mostly templates at that. We wiped out 1.2 million of them right beneath the city walls in that single battle; their elites were certainly among them. Where would they get more elites?" Only then did the general's expression relax. He surveyed the surrounding terrain and pointed toward a mountain pass. "That place is extremely treacherous, the sole route for several hundred li around. Station a battalion there just in case." The lieutenant general said, "A whole battalion is ten thousand men! Where would Zhenshan find the spare strength for an ambush? Even if they wanted to launch a surprise attack, there is no road—could they fly across?" However, having weathered countless battlefields, the seasoned Qi general felt a nagging foreboding he could not shake. Disregarding his subordinate's objections, he insisted on leaving behind three battalions. Furthermore, he gave explicit instructions regarding the defensive specifications of the encampment, strictly forbidding any cutting of corners. Only after securing the retreat route did he feel at ease continuing south. Over the next few days, several more columns of Qi forces passed through the mountain pass. When their commanders saw the newly constructed defensive camp, they all marvelled, yet every one of them felt it was making a mountain out of a molehill. The specifications of this encampment were exceptionally high; by the military standards of the Southern Qi army, it should have been capable of withstanding a siege by a hundred-thousand-strong host. Facing the offensive of over a million Qi soldiers, where could the Zhenshan Army spare a hundred thousand troops for an ambush? Thus, the various Qi armies marched south at full speed, each terrified that friendly forces might snatch the primary glory. It was only as they were about to exit the Southern Jin hinterland and enter the territory of the Eastern Eleven Commanderies that they encountered fierce resistance from the Zhenshan Army. Southern Qi was at the height of its national power, boasting ferocious firepower that slightly outmatched even the Zhenshan Army, despite the latter receiving support from Qingming. Both sides engaged in fierce combat for several days, yet the Zhenshan Army's defensive line stood resolute and unyielding. The various Qi forces nearly exhausted their ammunition, and seeing their offensive stall, they frantically demanded that artillery shell supplies be expedited from the rear. *** Outside the Southern Jin capital, inside the Qi imperial command tent, the King of Qi looked through dispatch after dispatch with furrowed brows. He slammed one onto the table, roaring in fury, "Over a million artillery shells fired, yet you've pushed forward across only two mountain ridges—less than a hundred li in total! A pack of useless fools! Did I spend so much on costly shells just to purchase a few measly counties?" After his outburst, the King of Qi acknowledged the capabilities of his frontline generals after all; more importantly, he had personally witnessed the combat strength of the Zhenshan Army and their terrifying, unbreakable resolve. Suppressing his temper, he said, "Allocate another million shells to the front line from our reserve of 1.5 million! Tell them that no matter what, they must push all the way to Li Zhi's lair!" "Understood!" The herald immediately ran out of the tent to convey the order. The King of Qi continued handling military affairs within the tent. In the blink of an eye, the moon hung high in the sky, yet he felt not the slightest drowsiness. Just then, hurried footsteps suddenly approached from outside. The King of Qi frowned instantly, detecting panic in the sound. A general rushed into the tent, not even pausing for formalities before blurting out, "Your Majesty, disaster has struck! The Zhenshan Army launched a surprise attack and somehow captured Xiaoyaoyu! Now all our supply transport units have been blocked!" A sudden jolt struck the King of Qi's heart. He immediately searched the map and swiftly pinpointed the location of Xiaoyaoyu, his pupils shrinking! The position was too critical—it severed the Qi army right in the middle. Bypassing it would require a detour of several thousand li. "Useless trash! Why was no one left to garrison such a vital position?!" Fire flared in the King of Qi's eyes. "General Liu did post a garrison—he left thirty thousand men and even built a fortified camp." The King of Qi was dumbfounded. "Thirty thousand men, and the Zhenshan Army still took it? Just how many troops did they bring?" "This subordinate estimates... at least a hundred thousand." "A hundred thousand? How did a hundred thousand get across—did they fly? What about their heavy weaponry? Did they bring no cannons, just hacking away with blades?" The barrage of questions left cold sweat dripping down the general's forehead, completely unable to answer. With a darkened expression, the King of Qi said, "They were likely carried across the rugged mountains by high-level cultivators. After fighting a battle on top of that, there cannot be more than a hundred thousand. Men!" The King of Qi penned a military order and handed it to the herald. "Order General Pei to lead five hundred thousand imperial guards south to attack Xiaoyaoyu! Send word to the front lines as well, commanding them to dispatch three hundred thousand men back north for a pincer attack! I give them three days to reopen Xiaoyaoyu!" *** In the southeastern corner of Southern Jin, Li Zhi turned a deaf ear to the roar of artillery outside his tent, keeping his gaze fixed intently on the map, running endless calculations. After a moment, he finally lifted his head and spoke to Sun Chao'en beside him: "Having received word that Xiaoyaoyu has fallen, the King of Qi is bound to march his forces south right now. But he would never guess that what I have positioned there is a hundred thousand Dao Foundation cultivators! "Hmph, today's Qi army is not what it used to be. Stripped of their supplies, the million Qi soldiers south of Xiaoyaoyu are nothing more than turtles trapped in a jar!"