Naturally, the most common and customary course of action was to attach oneself to a vassal kingdom, which was also where the human race's greater cause lay. All Nine Kingdoms bordered alien races; repelling foreign incursions and guarding the Son of Heaven was the heaven-ordained mandate given to them upon their original enfeoffment.
At present, the situation varied across the Nine Kingdoms. Although life grew increasingly difficult for ordinary mortals, they had not yet encountered territory-wide natural disasters, allowing them to barely scrape by. Scattered civil unrest broke out here and there, but it was not yet severe enough to cause a dynasty's collapse. Past dynastic transitions—such as that of Great Li—had all been preceded by catastrophic natural disasters sweeping across the entire human domain, covering the land in starved corpses before the populace finally rose in revolt.
Furthermore, because the alien races were fierce and formidable, the tremendous pressure of resisting foreign foes meant that the Tang Son of Heaven was still revered as the common sovereign, and mankind remained united.
Turning the domain into a mountain gate of the Palace of Grand Beginning would also present immense difficulties. Persuading the three surrounding kingdoms of Jin, Zhao, and Ji was a daunting hurdle in itself. Moreover, the Palace of Grand Beginning was currently pouring its efforts into expanding its northern mountain gate, seeking to fully reveal the precious lands formed by several ancestral masters who had passed away there.
For a territory to become a mountain gate of the Palace of Grand Beginning without dispute, someone near the level of an Immortal Monarch would have to pass away there, transforming a lifetime of cultivation into precious land. That was obviously not an option for now.
Naturally, there was a third path: declaring complete independence. However, that would cut oneself off from humanity and was out of the question. Thinking up to this point, Wei Yuan searched through the historical records in his mind and felt that Great Tang's mandate had not yet run out; the time was not ripe.
Wei Yuan had no ambition to proclaim himself a king. He simply did not want to watch the mortals around him slaughtered by alien races. Furthermore, Western Jin was benighted and incompetent; if the commoners were absorbed into it, they would only suffer. The best approach was for Wei Yuan to take them under his own protection; formal titles hardly mattered.
Just as he was contemplating the future, a cultivator outside came to report, "Domain Lord, a general from the State of Zhao claiming to be an old friend of yours is waiting outside."
Wei Yuan did not recall having any old acquaintances serving in Zhao. He left the main peak and flew to Zhike Town, where he saw a valiant general admiring calligraphy and paintings hung upon a wall. From the back alone, the man exuded an extraordinary air.
The general turned around and smiled warmly. "Little Brother, long time no see!"
Li Zhi!
Both surprised and delighted, Wei Yuan stepped forward. The two embraced before stepping back to look each other over. After several months apart, Li Zhi had grown slightly taller. The last traces of youthful innocence were gone, replaced by a commanding dignity, though his aura seemed somewhat unsteady.
Looking at the uniform of a Zhao general on him, Wei Yuan asked, "Brother Li, how did you end up a general in Zhao?"
Li Zhi chuckled. "My status is sensitive, so I couldn't secure an important post in Southern Qi. Hearing that Zhao was broadly welcoming talented men, I went over to join them. After fighting for nearly half a year, I finally made vice general."
Before he could finish, he suddenly began to cough violently, an unnatural flush rising to his cheeks. Wei Yuan hurriedly supported him and asked, "Are you injured? As it happens, I have a Senior Brother Sun here whose medical skills are divine. Why not let him examine you?"
Li Zhi waved his hand. "It's nothing serious. A while ago, I was struck by a sudden, acute illness for unknown reasons, but later I recovered just as mysteriously. The illness came swiftly and left just as quickly. None of the physicians around could explain it. I wrote to ask my father, and he even had an imperial physician look into it, but they found nothing conclusive either. They only told me to rest well."
Listening to these symptoms, Wei Yuan found them rather familiar. "Could it be a curse?"
"I suspected that as well," Li Zhi replied. "However, I was facing the Mountain Folk and the State of Ji. The Mountain Folk only excel at raiding and slaughter; they aren't skilled in curses. The Shamans certainly are, but I haven't provoked them. Why would they curse me out of the blue?"
Li Zhi broke into a smile and added, "Let's not dwell on that; my illness is almost entirely gone anyway. How is your cultivation coming along? Your elder brother here has reached the late Dao Foundation realm and is on the verge of perfection. All that remains is waiting for an opportunity to achieve a dharma idol. What do you say—care to spar a bit first?"
Wei Yuan hesitated, feeling uncertain. "That might not be such a good idea. After all, I've already reached the Revival realm."
Without taking no for an answer, Li Zhi dragged Wei Yuan outside. "My Four Symbols Three-legged Cauldron has already developed sentience and possesses many wondrous properties. If I don't give you a proper demonstration, you won't know just how formidable your elder brother is!"
A moment later, the two stood facing each other on a martial arena. Eight Dao Foundation cultivators manned each corner, joining forces to maintain the arena's ward so it would not be damaged too severely.
Golden flames ignited along the longsword in Li Zhi's hand, and an ancient, massive cauldron faintly appeared above his head. The surrounding space warped ever so slightly, causing Li Zhi's aura to climb steadily. True to an immortal foundation, the ancient cauldron already displayed a touch of the grandeur of a dharma idol. It was warping the local worldly laws to channel power for Li Zhi, boosting the might of his Dao arts by fifty percent out of thin air.
Li Zhi raised his sword level with his brows. The light on the blade erupted instantly, stretching a full hundred chi. Then, with a hearty laugh, he swung down toward Wei Yuan and shouted, "Watch out, Little Brother!"
It had been a long time since Wei Yuan had faced such a textbook attack. For a moment, he hardly knew how to respond, so he casually drew a bundle of immortal swords and hurled them forward.
Hundreds of immortal swords whistled through the air. The first forty or fifty extinguished Li Zhi's sword aura, and the following seventy or eighty pinned him like a hedgehog. Yet golden light radiated from beneath the needles—Li Zhi had clearly shielded himself with the immortal cauldron.
Wei Yuan clenched his fist. Tens of immortal swords detonated simultaneously, instantly blasting Li Zhi until he looked like a beggar.
A short while later, Wei Yuan hosted a banquet. Li Zhi had bathed, washed up, and changed into fresh clothing and armor. However, a small patch of his eyebrow remained singed, resisting immediate recovery.
At the table, Li Zhi was noticeably disheartened. Having recently made a breakthrough, he had come to find Wei Yuan full of enthusiasm, only to lose without even understanding how he had been beaten. How could he possibly be cheerful?
Seeing this, Wei Yuan offered comforting words. "Brother Li, don't overthink it. You are still very formidable; others might not be a match for you at all."
Those words sounded rather grating... Li Zhi managed a strained smile and said with forced ease, "Haha! Little Brother, you're exceptionally strong yourself, so you must be surrounded by clouds of elite cultivators. If I were here in Qingming, I suppose I'd barely squeeze into the top three."
*You wouldn't even make it in...* Naturally, Wei Yuan kept that thought to himself.
At this stage, everything in Qingming was just getting started, so the feast was simple. Li Zhi paid it no mind and ate quickly. Once the servants cleared the table, he took out a sheet of jade paper and laid it flat. Activating it projected a three-dimensional map of the Western Regions before them.
The map was fully detailed with mountains, rivers, and cities. Even the newly established counties of Ningxi Prefecture and the Qingming Domain were depicted on it.
Li Zhi said, "A few days ago, the King of Qi finally relented, and Father recovered the boundary stone that originally belonged to our family. However, Empress Dowager Xiao is wary of me, so I couldn't use it in Qi. Father negotiated an exchange with the King of Zhao. I intend to place the boundary stone in the Western Regions to formally open up territory!"
Wei Yuan said, "That's wonderful news! Where do you plan to place it, Brother Li?"
Li Zhi replied, "I came to discuss precisely this with you. I intend to place the boundary stone further west, neither too far nor too close to your domain, so that we can support one another. My thought is right here!"
Li Zhi pointed to a spot on the map southwest of Qingming, over nine thousand li away. It pushed even deeper into the Wu domain than Qingming, and lay six thousand li from Zhao's nearest domain. It was an undeniably bold move.
Furthermore, there was a strategic purpose to this location: if Li Zhi truly established a foothold there, his territory and Wei Yuan's Qingming could link up into a continuous front, firmly cutting off Western Jin's westward advance.
*What is Li Zhi planning?*
Wei Yuan said, "A grand undertaking indeed, Brother Li! But establishing a domain there will undoubtedly be arduous in the beginning. You must have prepared well in advance?"
Li Zhi smiled slightly. "Mine is a high-grade boundary stone. Looking across the Nine Kingdoms today, few such stones remain. Therefore, the seniors of the Four Sages Academy will support this territorial expansion with all their might. In the future, my domain will serve as a foundation to expand outward and become the academy's third mountain gate, rivaling the Palace of Grand Beginning."
"If that is the case, why not push a bit further southwest? The current location would be somewhat cramped for an academy mountain gate."
Li Zhi replied, "I considered that. But hearing that you're being ostracized and suspected in Western Jin, with them refusing to grant you an official title even now, I thought that since both are untamed lands, being closer to you would be better. That way, if Western Jin attacks your domain again in the future, I will have an excuse to intervene. As a member of the Southern Qi royal clan and a Military Commissioner of Zhao, I can force Western Jin to show some restraint."
Wei Yuan cupped his hands. "Congratulations on your promotion, Brother Li!"
Li Zhi laughed. "My boundary stone is rare even among high-grade ones; it can expand territory by eighteen hundred li. Factoring in Father's prestige, the King of Zhao went ahead and conferred upon me the title of Mountain Pacifying Military Commissioner. The royal edict will arrive as soon as the boundary stone is planted."
A thought struck Wei Yuan. Pointing to the map, he suggested, "Brother Li, I believe placing your domain here might be better."
Li Zhi looked closely. The location was bordered by mountains on three sides and faced a river on the fourth—easy to defend and hard to attack. It contained diverse terrain and sat at the border between the Mountain Folk and the Shamans, with few formidable enemies nearby. It truly was an exceptional foundation. However, it was a full nineteen thousand li from Qingming. Li Zhi frowned. "If I place it there, should anything happen to you, Little Brother, I won't be able to rush to your aid immediately."
Wei Yuan replied, "Both of our domains are newly founded, and our primary foes remain the alien races. Not long ago, I gave Western Jin a painful lesson, so they shouldn't make any major moves anytime soon.
"Besides, if we openly cut off their path west, the King of Jin will likely be infuriated. We would do better to leave them ample room and let them push westward. If we truly fall out with Western Jin in the future, we can launch a pincer attack from north and south to slice their territory in two. At that point, no matter how much land they have opened to the west, wouldn't it all fall right into our pockets?"
Li Zhi pondered for a moment before nodding. "This spot was originally one of my backups. I'll discuss it with Father once I return; if there are no objections, we'll choose this site. Ah, by the way, how far can your domain expand, Little Brother?"
Wei Yuan thought for a moment. "It should be a little over two thousand li, but that won't happen until many years from now."
Wei Yuan was not lying; it truly was a little over two thousand li. As for ten thousand li, that was merely information inherent to Qingming and had yet to be verified.
With that settled, Li Zhi continued, "I see that your domain lacks everything, and the commoners are clad in rags. On my way here, I heard that Commandery Governor Yuan Qingyan has been enforcing a blockade against you. How about this: the southern border of the Shattered Lands touches Yuyang Prefecture of Zhao. Cui Shutong, the Pacification Commissioner of Yuyang, is both short-tempered and greedy for wealth. I'll contact his vice general and have them send an escort for a merchant caravan. Think about what you need, though it will cost you a fair bit of money."
"Cloth, farm tools, refined metals, and spiritual plants," Wei Yuan rattled off several necessities in one breath.
"No problem, I'll arrange it as soon as I return. This trip will almost certainly lead to clashes with the garrison troops. When the time comes, I'll send men in disguise to escort the caravan. Even if they can't force their way through, I can guarantee a fight breaks out. Yuan Qingyan cutting off Cui Shutong's profits is something Cui will never let slide."
Wei Yuan agreed, "I'll also send disguised men to meet them. Once the fighting starts, we should be able to get them through."
Li Zhi and Wei Yuan looked at each other; their thoughts had converged on the exact same idea. It seemed, however, that the situation of rampant horse bandits in the Shattered Lands would not be improving anytime soon.
Chapter 305