When drills concluded, all the cultivators laid down their weapons and picked up tools to build fortifications.
The newly constructed Xuanwei Six lay directly along the Shamans' route of attack against the domain. Just how crucial this position was could be seen from the last Shaman assault, when their commanding general had detached a force in an attempt to seize it.
Only, the Shaman commander had clearly misjudged Wei Yuan's military strength. He had not anticipated that within such a short span, Wei Yuan would be reinforced by over a hundred Dao Foundation cultivators. As a result, the ten thousand troops left on the surface were swiftly routed by Wei Yuan with equal numbers. Had Shaman reinforcements not arrived in time, their entire force of twenty thousand would have been wiped out.
Having tasted the benefits of subterranean fortifications once more, Wei Yuan naturally seized every moment to construct underground redoubts. These cultivators were precisely at the stage where they needed rigorous tempering, so outside of training, they were all dragged off to dig tunnels at Xuanwei Six—under the pretext of solidifying their foundations in advance.
In truth, all the cultivators understood that Qingming was not just human territory; it was their only home. Thus, every one of them trained, fought, and worked as if their lives depended on it.
Even if Wei Yuan were to order ordinary folk to charge the Shamans with fire guns and fire a single shot, no one would object. In the previous major clashes, there had even been several occasions where units took over fifty percent casualties yet fought fiercely to the death without retreating a step.
The Cui family members, however, had only just arrived and had not yet grasped the situation. Dazed and confused, they had switched to tools along with the rest and spent the entire night excavating tunnels. At first, they assumed this was part of the training. Only when dawn drew near and tools were downed to return to ranks did they realize this was simply manual labor.
Of the five who had paid to buy survival, apart from the direct line's elder branch disciple, the other four had dug dirt all night just the same. In Cui Yu's view, what they had bought was merely the right not to take the battlefield; no one said they could skip the labor.
Yet wherever dandies gathered, loose lips were never in short supply. In less than half an hour, word had spread to everyone that five individuals had already paid to purchase immunity from death.
When they first arrived, these pampered scions had felt that war was far away. But after digging dirt all night, some began to sense something amiss—weren't they constructing military fortifications?
While tunneling, they had even come across uncleared corpses and severed limbs from time to time. Only then did they realize that war was right upon them. Inquiring with veteran cultivators about past engagements, many of the scions panicked.
Those who still had some family wealth immediately resolved to seek out Cui Yu the moment work ended and purchase a death-exemption quota.
As the quitting bell tolled, cultivators emerged from the earth one after another. The Cui contingent was also heading back to camp for a brief rest before the next day's training began.
A young woman was pulling on the sleeve of another Cui disciple, speaking anxiously. The young man sneered, "Lend you money to buy a death-exemption spot for your brother? With what will you pay me back?"
Tears welled in the girl's eyes. She glanced back at her younger brother behind her—timid, yet with hope shining in his eyes—and gritted her teeth. "I'll pay you back with... myself!"
The man was momentarily tempted, but a companion yanked him away, saying, "Come on, let's go! A single spot costs two hundred immortal silver! Two hundred! How many like her could that buy?"
The man immediately saw the sense in this and walked away without looking back. The girl desperately tried to grab him, only to be shoved aside.
Pulling herself together, she went to approach others. But whether begging for a loan or offering herself, she met with no success.
***
By full daylight, Wei Yuan arrived at the drill grounds once again, preparing to activate Ephemeral Multitude. Cui Yu rushed over at that moment and handed him a new list.
Wei Yuan was somewhat surprised. "So many bought exemption?"
"Yes, seventeen more. That's another three thousand four hundred taels of immortal silver in our pockets. Those without hard silver can pledge magical artifacts or other goods, but no credit on account."
"Some of them must be bankrupting themselves! Spending this much money only halves their chances of forging a Dao Foundation. Is going to the battlefield really that terrifying?"
Cui Yu replied, "It really is that terrifying. I merely gave them a rough summary of the casualty rates from the last few battles, and even I spooked myself a bit."
Wei Yuan fell silent. With casualty rates like that, he would never let his own kin set foot on such a battlefield either.
"They don't want to die, yet their chances of achieving a Dao Foundation are slim to begin with. Why bother coming at all? They'd be better off heading straight home."
Cui Yu scoffed. "As if it were that easy to go back! For them to be sent here, their families all received benefits from the clan, which is why the Old Ancestor declared casualties wouldn't matter. If they dared to run back like that, the clan wouldn't spare them. They might well be caned to death on the spot."
"Then I won't trouble myself about it." Wei Yuan had no spare time to fret over useless scions of high clans. Once training was finished, he still had to accompany Yu Zhizhuo to the Weaponsmith Workshop.
With over a hundred newly minted Dao Foundation cultivators, steel production in the domain had increased substantially, yet it remained far from enough. Now that a high-ranking expert from the Hall of Heavenly Craft had finally arrived, Wei Yuan naturally had to seek his guidance without delay.
When the drills concluded, Wei Yuan met up with Yu Zhizhuo and flew with him toward the Weaponsmith Workshop.
Still more than a dozen li from the workshop, Yu Zhizhuo looked at the rising plume of smoke ahead and said, "The furnace temperature is a bit too low. It won't smelt materials for magic treasures."
Wei Yuan was instantly impressed. Anyone could judge temperature by looking at the flame, but discerning the furnace heat from miles away just by glancing at the smoke required a true master.
The previous night, Zhang Sheng had privately given Wei Yuan a detailed briefing on this Martial Uncle Yu. Like Ji Liuli and Zhang Sheng, Yu Zhizhuo had attained perfection in the Dao Foundation early on, yet deliberately held back from advancing to dharma idol, all to achieve perfection in his primordial spirit and state of mind as well. He was a figure with immense prospects.
Furthermore, Zhang Sheng had mentioned that in earlier years, much of Wei Yuan's cultivation resources had come from the Hall of Heavenly Craft, passing through Yu Zhizhuo's hands. Zhang Sheng had merely touched upon this in passing without elaborating.
There was one other matter Zhang Sheng had not mentioned: he had written to Yu Zhizhuo long ago, but had never received a reply. Even now, Zhang Sheng did not know why he had suddenly come to Qingming. Could it truly be for the Nether Soil?
Arriving at the Weaponsmith Workshop, before Yu Zhizhuo could examine the furnace, his gaze was drawn to fifty cultivators forging iron in unison. He watched in silence for a moment, then asked, "Forging iron like this... do they work for half a shichen a day?"
Wei Yuan replied, "It's more like... eight shichen."
No matter how knowledgeable Yu Zhizhuo was, he could not help being taken aback. "Why?"
"They have just forged their Dao Foundations and need to solidify them," Wei Yuan said.
Yu Zhizhuo snorted. "How the devil could smithing iron solidify a Dao Foundation? You're doing this... to mass-produce steel plates?"
"Martial Uncle has discerning eyes! These steel plates are the key to manufacturing fire guns. This is a matter of life and death for the domain, so the more, the better."
"Fire guns?"
"I was just about to demonstrate for you. Please come with me."
Wei Yuan brought Yu Zhizhuo to the shooting range and ordered a batch of steel-tube guns of various models brought over. Picking up a steel-tube gun with a two-jin powder charge, Wei Yuan aimed at a wooden target ten zhang away and activated the gunpowder.
With a resounding boom, a fist-sized projectile blasted out, blowing a gaping hole straight through the wooden target clad in standard Shaman armor!
Without a word, Yu Zhizhuo flashed before the target. He examined it meticulously for a long while and picked up the bullet to inspect it. Then, he test-fired the weapon himself, firing several dozen shots in succession before setting it down, looking as though he had not quite had his fill.
"What do you think?" Wei Yuan asked.
"Inconceivable! Doesn't this mean a Body Casting cultivator can unleash a strike comparable to a Dao Foundation attack?"
A slender wisp of pale-gold sword qi shot from Yu Zhizhuo's fingertip, slicing one fire gun horizontally, then another vertically.
This pale-gold sword qi truly sliced iron like mud, leaving cut surfaces as smooth as mirrors. Wei Yuan felt that this sword qi bore a distinct resemblance to Zhang Sheng's Immortal Sword Zhanxu.
Yu Zhizhuo carefully inspected the cross-section of the steel, then sliced off another piece and held it in his palm. The steel fragment heated rapidly, turning red-hot in an instant before melting into a pool of blindingly bright molten steel. He examined the color of the molten steel, then gave it a casual squeeze; its temperature plunged abruptly, hardening into a steel sphere.
Yu Zhizhuo picked up another fire gun with a two-jin powder charge—the same type Wei Yuan had just demonstrated—covered the muzzle with his bare hand, and activated the gunpowder directly!
Wei Yuan was horrified, but when the powder detonated, not a wisp of smoke escaped Yu Zhizhuo's fingers. Contained within the barrel, the blast ballooned and twisted the entire weapon.
Yu Zhizhuo unclenched his hand. A few scorch marks stained his palm, but vanished with a casual swipe. Setting down the deformed steel tube, he said, "For the power of this weapon, the steel quality is far too good—it doesn't need to be this sturdy. You can cut the number of hammerings in half and add a quench in the middle. The steel will be more than adequate, and daily steel plate output can increase by half."
Wei Yuan was overjoyed. Yu Zhizhuo truly lived up to his status as a high-ranking master of the Hall of Heavenly Craft; with just a few words, he had increased steel plate production by fifty percent.
"Where did you come up with the idea for this fire gun in the first place?"
Wei Yuan pondered for a moment and decided to speak the truth. "I captured an otherworldly visitor by chance and had him write down everything he saw and lived through in that world. Cultivation is impossible in his realm; there are only mortals. Fire guns are weapons used by mortals."
"There is such a world? Where are the records? Bring them for me to see."
"They are at the main peak. I will have someone make a transcript immediately and send it to you."
Yu Zhizhuo picked up another fire gun, aimed it toward the target, and turned it over in his hands. "Its power is a bit modest," he said slowly, "but if there are enough of them, even that would be troublesome to deal with."
"I intend to issue one to every single person in the domain. When the Shamans arrive, they will learn what it means when an entire populace takes up arms."
"If you want to ramp up production numbers, that won't be difficult either. I already have a few rough ideas, but I'll wait until after I've read the otherworldly visitor's records."
Wei Yuan said at once, "I'll accompany you to fetch the original right now, and the transcript can be sent over later. However, it's currently time for our daily council meeting. Would you like to join us, Martial Uncle?"
Yu Zhizhuo already knew that the Palace of Grand Beginning cohort held regular daily meetings, primarily to exchange whimsical ideas and handle major domain affairs along the way. After testing the fire gun, his interest in Qingming had grown considerably, and he also wanted to hear what the others who had arrived before him had to say. Thus, he accompanied Wei Yuan back to the main peak.
Once everyone was assembled, Sun Yu spoke up. "Having found a bit of free time over the past two days, I looked into that immortal medicine, amoxicillin, brought by Xu Wenwu. I discovered that this medicine is quite miraculous. For mortals, it truly lives up to the name of immortal medicine."
"That medicine actually works?" The cultivators of the Palace of Grand Beginning were all intrigued.
Sun Yu placed two small dishes on the table, both coated with a thin layer of grease. He said, "I sprinkled some amoxicillin into one dish and left the other untouched. Now, after a day and a night, the microscopic bugs in the treated dish are nearly wiped out, while in the other dish, life is teeming and multiplying."
Chapter 232