The return journey went smoothly. Drawing close to Ningxi Commandery, the land was already a desolate wasteland spanning a thousand li, completely devoid of human presence—neither mortals nor Shamans were to be seen.
Upon returning to the domain, Wei Yuan did not pause for a single breath. Gathering the immortal silver, he set out once more toward the Bianning commandery city. This time he brought Xu Wenwu along and lent him the green colt to ride. Before they even reached Bianning, Wei Yuan spotted the military grain convoy already en route.
Dispatching the goods before the immortal silver was in hand suggested that Sun Chao'en had fared quite well these past few months, earning a fair deal of trust from Yue Qilin.
Handing the immortal silver over to Sun Chao'en, Wei Yuan did not linger even to drink a mouthful of water before rushing back. Xu Wenwu, who had expected a grand banquet, singing and dancing, and an overnight stay, was bitterly disappointed.
He had thought his master was finally bringing him along to mingle in officialdom, starting right off with a vice prefect—a rather high-end entry point. Within a commandery, the vice prefect was second only to the commandery prefect. Though he did not wield much direct authority, his position was vital; should anything happen to the prefect, the vice prefect would assume all governing power.
Who would have guessed Wei Yuan would barely exchange two words, drop off the immortal silver, and leave immediately? Xu Wenwu had not even had time to take a proper look at the study's furnishings—whether there were gentle maidens attending to the incense, and if so, through which door they would enter, whether through the back door or straight from behind the bookshelves.
The journey back was another few thousand li.
Having received the blessing of karmic luck, the green colt had completely taken on the bearing of a spiritual steed. Cloud vapor curled about its hooves, and shimmering cyan radiance trailed in its wake. It was astonishingly swift, its hooves never touching the solid earth as it rode the clouds. In just a single night, the party of four returned to the domain from the Bianning commandery city.
Even Wang Yu and Xu Yi, both Heaven Foundations, felt thoroughly exhausted. Xu Wenwu was naturally worn down like a dead dog; during the latter half of the journey, he had only endured because Dao power glued him to the horse's back.
Making four trips back and forth in under two days, covering more than ten thousand li, left Xu Yi, an aristocratic young lady, groaning in misery, the insides of her thighs chafed raw and swollen red. Yet after such extreme galloping, both of them could clearly sense that their cultivation had progressed. Even if this improvement seemed somewhat unreasonable, they no longer had any grounds for complaint. As for Xu Wenwu, he was already dead to the world in a deep slumber, with no idea how much his cultivation had grown.
Next, to receive the grain convoy, Wei Yuan meticulously selected two forces. One consisted of several hundred Body Casting cultivators, tasked with escorting the wagons and hauling cargo. The other was an elite force of three hundred Dao Foundations led by Cui Yu, waiting in ambush from afar.
If the Western Jin forces had set a trap, or if Yue Jinshan sensed something amiss and led troops in pursuit, a tremendous surprise would be waiting for them.
Even so, a minor mishap occurred when receiving the grain.
The grain escort numbered a full thousand soldiers, led by four colonels. Song Chao was merely one of them and not the leader. By the time the convoy reached a spot just a dozen-odd li from the military redoubt, the banners atop the redoubt's walls were already visible in the distance.
The troops beamed with joy and quickened their pace, but the colonels bore peculiar expressions, all waiting for something.
Suddenly, silence fell over the wilderness. Even the wind ceased. Moments later, masked riders emerged from all directions. A mere few dozen riders somehow projected an aura of encircling a thousand men!
Fear crept onto the faces of many imperial soldiers as they glanced around for an escape route. They had not been in the Western Regions long, yet they had already heard numerous rumors regarding the Heaven-Battling Gang. It was said this band was utterly lawless and ferocious beyond measure, led by a monstrous half-Shaman, half-human hybrid who relished raw human flesh and possessed immense strength, having once crushed a dharma idol with a single hand.
Even if such rumors were absurd and unbelievable, the four thousand stripped soldiers were cold, hard facts. For a few dozen riders to consecutively raid multiple redoubts garrisoned by thousands of men and not only crush them like dry weeds, but do so with scarcely any casualties throughout the entire seizure, made it obvious they operated with immense leeway.
Now surrounded by the Fifty Bandits, despite the redoubt being only a dozen-odd li away, none of these soldiers believed they could hold out until reinforcements arrived.
Among the colonels, a man of ordinary build and plain features, yet with an unmistakable look of determination, showed no fear. Drawing his blade, he shouted, "Colonel Song Chao of the Great Jin stands here! How dare you attempt to hijack military provisions? This is a crime punishable by clan extermination! Withdraw at once, and you may yet keep your lives for now!"
A rider wearing a jade mask chuckled softly. "Why do you not withdraw at once instead? That way, we spare each other unnecessary bloodshed. How about it?"
Song Chao laughed loudly and bellowed, "Mere bandits dare spout such brazen words, attempting to bargain with the imperial forces of the Great Jin! Today, this general shall see what kind of skill you possess to earn such a grand reputation!"
The Heaven-Battling Gang rider spoke no further, simply pointing a finger forward. The dozens of riders no longer concealed their aura and advanced at a steady pace.
Song Chao gathered his Dao power, preparing for battle, when suddenly the other three colonels wheeled their horses around and fled without a single word!
With their commanding officers fleeing, the soldiers under their commands naturally would not stay behind. Besides, this was not the first or second time this had happened; everyone was thoroughly practiced at it. There was no need to look left or right—they simply ran after their leaders.
In the blink of an eye, only Song Chao and his hundred soldiers remained on the field.
Song Chao was not cowed; instead, he roared and threw himself into battle. The hundred soldiers following him fought to the bitter end as well, paying no heed to life or death.
Though Song Chao possessed only an Earth Foundation, his Dao Foundation took the rare form of a blade and shield, combining offense and defense seamlessly. His five personal guards were also well-trained, holding a tight, disciplined formation. Even with Wang Yu and Xu Yi, two Heaven Foundations, leading four or five Dao Foundation cultivators in a coordinated assault, they could not bring him down for a long while.
The remaining soldiers, however, were only at the Body Casting stage and had no way of retaliating against the other riders. Under the overwhelming onslaught of Dao arts, they suffered heavy casualties in the blink of an eye.
Seeing his subordinates fall one by one, Song Chao's eyes threatened to split with rage. He snapped his head up to gaze into the distance. The fleeing colonels had slowed their pace, glancing back from time to time. Atop the walls of the military redoubt stood several generals looking in this direction, one of whom wore gleaming armor—Guerrilla General Wang Kun.
Wang Kun narrowed his eyes slightly, watching the fierce battle in the distance.
Seeing that each of the Fifty Bandits possessed profound cultivation and an endless array of advanced Dao arts, the generals beside him grew pale. They knew that in a one-on-one duel, none of them would likely be a match for any of these bandits, not to mention that the rider in the jade mask had not even moved from start to finish. Rumor had it that this individual had once crushed a dharma idol with bare hands.
Watching Song Chao's personal guards fall one after another, and seeing Song Chao himself sustain more and more wounds, holding on bitterly despite blood soaking his armor, Wang Kun's gaze flickered with complex emotions. Ultimately, however, it turned cold. "Song Chao, oh Song Chao, who told you to repeatedly spoil the young general's good fortunes? To meet such a deadly trap today is your own doing."
Noticing the ashen faces around him, Wang Kun snorted. "Look at how terrified you all are! Let me lay it out for you today: if you ever run into the Heaven-Battling Gang in the future, invoke my name or the young general's name, and you can at least save your miserable lives."
The officers' eyes lit up, feeling as though a brand-new horizon had opened before them. A clever one asked, "Then if we run into trouble, could we ask them for help?"
Wang Kun replied, "Then you must invoke the young general's name. Using mine won't work."
In an instant, the officers straightened their backs, their faces glowing with renewed vigor, feeling as though they could swagger through the Shattered Lands once more.
By this point, Song Chao was drenched in blood. His blade had snapped, and he was holding his shield with both hands, struggling desperately to hold his ground. Only two riders were currently assaulting him; their Dao arts shone with brilliant radiance and immense power, unmistakably revealing them to be Heaven Foundation cultivators. The watching officers could tell that they had ordered the ordinary riders to fall back out of concern that Song Chao might try to drag someone down with him before dying.
At this point, all one hundred soldiers under Song Chao's command had fallen in battle; not a single one had fled or surrendered.
Wang Kun suddenly had no desire to watch any further. He turned to descend the wall. Just then, an earth-shattering roar echoed behind him:
"I, Song Chao, die today before all of you, clear of conscience, true to my sovereign, and blameless before heaven and earth! If my death can awaken even a shred of honor and shame in your hearts, then I shall not have died in vain!"
With that final cry, Song Chao planted his shield into the ground, turned his palm, and struck the crown of his head, shattering his sea of consciousness. Blood poured from his eyes, yet his corpse stood upright without falling.
Wang Kun's footing faltered for a fraction of a beat.
He looked up at the sky, sighed, and muttered to himself, "Everything above is already in chaos. How can people like us know whether what we do is right or wrong? Perhaps wrong is right, and right is wrong."
He shook his head and returned to his tent, his retreating figure tinged with a hint of loneliness.
Within the redoubt, the soldiers still standing atop the walls watched helplessly as the dozens of riders herded the grain wagons, slowly bypassing the redoubt and heading west.
Someone suddenly asked how much money they would get to share this time. In an instant, the spirits of the crowd were lifted, and everyone chimed in eagerly. From top to bottom, every soldier in this battalion—including the three colonels who had fled from the grain convoy and their men—would receive a cut.
Speaking of this, the soldiers grew increasingly animated, their faces flushed red, wishing the number of plundered grain wagons had been several times greater.
For a time, the still-warm corpses lying beneath the redoubt walls were completely forgotten.
After heading several dozen li to the west, the grain convoy was handed over to follow-up forces responsible for transporting it back to the domain. Wei Yuan and the fifty riders lingered behind for a while to guard against pursuers. Standing in place and watching the grain convoy fade into the distance, the riders felt an inexplicable heaviness settle over them.
At that moment, Wei Yuan said, "Song Chao just said that he was clear of conscience and true to his sovereign. Those two statements were right, but the third was wrong. In stopping me from taking grain, he was guilty before heaven and earth. If you can comprehend this sentence, it will benefit your future cultivation."
The riders were startled, and several fell into deep thought.
Wei Yuan added, "You have gone through life and death with me so many times, so there is no harm in sharing a few words. As long as our domain secures a firm footing, limitless possibilities await, and your Dao paths might not end here."
Apart from Wang Yu and Xu Yi, every rider was struck with shock, followed immediately by wild ecstasy.
They were all of the Earth Tier Dao Foundation, which under normal circumstances meant their journey would halt before the dharma idol stage. The reason they were willing to fight so desperately on the battlefield was precisely because they knew their Dao paths were at a dead end; it was far better to risk their lives to earn something tangible. Even if they could not use it themselves, leaving it behind for their descendants was worthwhile.
Yet Wei Yuan had just said their Dao paths might not end here?
Many people's initial reaction was disbelief, but they soon remembered how many who had once had no hope of forming a Dao Foundation had suddenly succeeded in casting one. Perhaps there truly would be immortal miracles within Qingming? Moreover, Wei Yuan never made empty promises; thus far, every boast he had made seemed to have come true.
Just then, a red silhouette flickered through the air before Wei Yuan and vanished, whereupon a sheet of jade paper drifted down from above, landing squarely in Wei Yuan's hand.
Chapter 219