In the State of Zhao, within Anxi Commandery, stood Phoenix Perch Hall, ancestral grounds of the Cui family.
A dignified old man, accompanied by the Cui family's old matriarch, walked out of Phoenix Perch Hall. Behind them trailed a dozen or so young men and women, conversing in hushed voices.
The old man clasped his hands in farewell and departed with the youths. The matriarch watched until they had boarded their carriage before turning back. A middle-aged scholar hurried over and handed her a letter.
She walked to a side hall, took a seat, unfolded the letter, and read it with care. Once finished, she said, "To the Heavenly Mechanism Hall."
The Cui family's Heavenly Mechanism Hall was not particularly tall, yet it was immense, consisting of a central hall and nine subsidiary halls. At the center of the main hall sat an enormous sand table map displaying the entire human domain and its surrounding geography. Encircling the main sand table was a ring of smaller sand tables, though even these "small" tables measured several zhang across.
The matriarch walked straight toward a corner of the hall, where a newly crafted sand table map stood. It depicted none other than the Western Regions in its entirety, though much of it remained blank and lacked detail.
Two middle-aged men hurried in and flanked the matriarch. Both were outstanding Manifestation cultivators of the Cui family with prospects of reaching Scenery Command, serving as pillars of the clan today.
The matriarch stood before the sand table for a long while before speaking: "The boy Yu'er wrote back, asking for aid."
One middle-aged man said, "When Qingming sent a plea for help last time, didn't the elders already dispatch a shipment of supplies? Why has Young Master Yu written again?"
Cui Yu ranked fourth in his generation within the main lineage. Thus, after ascending to the Manifestation realm, some called him Fourth Young Master, while others called him Young Master Yu. Addressing him as "Young Master" was a title of respect, largely because Cui Yu was so young.
The other man said, "Though Qingming is promising, it is someone else's foundation after all. Young Master Yu is young and capable; it is the right time for him to serve our clan instead. Why labor in vain for another's benefit?"
The matriarch replied mildly, "What you say is not unreasonable, but there is something you do not know. Wei Yuan petitioned the Tang dynasty for reinforcements, and now the dynasty has dispatched Senior General of Anyuan Wei Boyang to his aid. Two days ago, a massive uproar erupted in the royal capital. Li Shenji was utterly humiliated and barely managed to suppress the matter. The survival of Qingming has drawn the eyes of the entire realm. We are so close by; if we only send a meager batch of supplies, do you want the world to laugh at our Ji-Zhao Cui family?"
Hearing the matriarch's tone turn stern, the two men dared not press further.
The matriarch added, "Moreover, Wei Yuan has already trained over five hundred Dao Foundation cultivators for our Cui family. Even if their cultivation never advances another inch, they have greatly enriched our foundation and increased our strength."
"Yet we paid immortal silver for that..."
"Short-sighted fools!" The matriarch's voice grew sharp with anger. "Can five hundred Dao Foundation cultivators be bought with mere immortal silver? If you two have such ability, go and produce fifty Dao Foundation cultivators for me right now!"
The two dared not utter another word. If they fell out of the matriarch's favor, any hope of advancement within the family would become difficult.
The matriarch said in a deep voice, "The world's gaze is upon this matter, and we truly owe Wei Yuan a debt of gratitude. Let us do this: send two Scenery Command elders to Qingming to oversee the front—one elder from each of your two branches shall go. It has been a long time; it is high time we meet the Nether Shamans again and see what formidable figures they have produced."
The two middle-aged men exchanged glances and hurriedly departed.
***
In Qingming, Wei Yuan was discussing new fortification designs with Yu Zhizhuo when someone suddenly rushed in to report: Senior General of Anyuan Wei Boyang of the Great Tang has arrived!
Wei Yuan was slightly taken aback. His petition to the Tang imperial court had merely been an idle move on the board; how had actual reinforcements really arrived? "Senior General of Anyuan" sounded exceptionally prestigious. By Tang ritual protocol, it was an official post of the second rank—far weightier than any second-rank title granted by the feudal lords.
The Tang dynasty was the sovereign lord of all under heaven, and having dispatched the Senior General of Anyuan across tens of thousands of li to offer aid, Wei Yuan naturally could not be remiss. He immediately notified the cultivators of the Palace of Grand Beginning and Li Zhi, leading the crowd out to welcome him.
Outside Qingming, a colossal flying boat hovered in the sky. Drums, pipes, and string instruments played melodiously from its decks. The vessel was entirely black and embellished with gold motifs, with its hull painted to resemble crashing azure ocean waves.
This flying boat was far more luxurious than any vessel belonging to the Palace of Grand Beginning.
Wei Yuan and over a dozen cultivators flew up and landed on the foredeck. Two rows of armored warriors stood lined up on the spacious deck, wielding golden battle-axes. Tall, robust, and imposing, every single one of them was a Dao Foundation cultivator! Judging by their uniforms, they were none other than the Great Tang's world-renowned Imperial Guard.
Five hundred Dao Foundation guards stood on this deck alone, radiating an extraordinary presence.
At the far end of the two rows, upon an elevated platform, sat a burly, imposing man who looked down, scrutinizing Wei Yuan. Mountain ranges faintly rose and fell around him—he was undeniably in the Scenery Command realm, and his mindscape world was nearing full completion.
Upon seeing Wei Yuan, the general's pupils narrowed slightly. He felt a faint sensation of pressure! That was unprecedented; it meant Wei Yuan likely possessed something capable of threatening him.
Dispelling any condescension, Wei Boyang asked in a deep voice, "Are you Wei Yuan?"
"I am!"
Wei Boyang stood up at once and called out in a resonant voice, "Wei Yuan, receive the imperial decree!"
An imperial decree? This was the decree of the true Son of Heaven, entirely distinct from the kings of the Nine States. Wei Yuan led the crowd to kneel and receive the decree.
Wei Boyang proclaimed loudly, "...We hereby establish Qing Province and institute Qingyang Prefecture. In recognition of Wei Yuan's devotion to the common people and his meritorious service in expanding our territory, he is appointed Garrison Commander of Qingyang. Respect this!"
Wei Yuan offered his thanks and received the imperial decree. One had to admit that the Tang Son of Heaven's decree was high in quality—it was actually a dharma treasure. Just like that, Wei Yuan had somehow become an official of the Tang dynasty. However, with the Tang court in decline, appointments were handed out rather casually, tossing out a governor-level post without a second thought.
There were several subtleties within the decree. Most notably, it used Hanyang Pass as the boundary to divide the two provinces of Qing and Ning. Everything beyond Hanyang Pass was designated as the newly created Qing Province, and the four western commanderies of Ningxi were now organized into Qingyang Prefecture, with Wei Yuan serving as its garrison commander.
Under Great Tang governance, a prefecture—*fu*—was an administrative level between a province and a commandery. It was instituted intermittently at the discretion of the Nine States. A prefecture's civil affairs were led by a Grand Coordinator, and its military by a provincial commander. In border regions, a Pacification Commissioner was sometimes appointed instead, wielding both civil and military authority—such as Cui Shutong, the Pacification Commissioner of Yuyang Prefecture in Zhao.
A Pacification Commissioner was essentially a lesser Military Commissioner. Since Wei Yuan had already been appointed Military Commissioner of Dingxi by Western Jin, any post granted by the Tang Emperor had to be ranked lower to properly assert the supremacy of the Tang court.
For the exact same territory, Western Jin granted a second-rank Military Commissioner, while Great Tang only offered a third-rank Pacification Commissioner.
Viewed from another angle, the office bestowed by Western Jin carried tangible weight, whereas the post of Pacification Commissioner of Qingyang granted by the Tang Emperor was mostly nominal.
Having delivered the decree, Wei Boyang helped Wei Yuan to his feet and looked him up and down. "I have long heard that the Palace of Grand Beginning produced a peerless genius who cultivated an invincible momentum, boldly claiming that all Manifestation cultivators under heaven are trash..."
Wei Yuan could only offer an awkward smile, unsure how to reply. He had clearly stated that the *Xu family's* Manifestations were trash; how had it spread as all Manifestation cultivators under heaven?
Wei Boyang laughed heartily. "Regardless, a Manifestation cultivator under twenty years of age is exceedingly rare in this world. Forgive my curiosity, but is your manifestation an immortal manifestation?"
Wei Yuan said evasively, "Roughly... something like that..."
Wei Boyang assumed Wei Yuan was merely being modest. "How could it be anything else? Very well, down to business. I have come to offer aid under the orders of the Regent King of Jin. How stands the battle? Have any Nether Shamans appeared on the other side?"
"There are Nether Shamans."
A sharp light flashed in Wei Boyang's eyes. "Excellent! It has been decades since I last crossed hands with a Nether Shaman. Do they have names? Perhaps they are old acquaintances of mine. It will be a fine chance to see if their cultivation has slipped over the years."
Wei Yuan answered at once, "For now, we only know of one named Hongye, whose cultivation fell from the Nether Shaman realm. We do not yet know the names of the other Nether Shamans."
Wei Boyang's expression tightened. "*Other* Nether Shamans? How many?"
Wei Yuan recalled the auras he had sensed and said, "Distinguishing by their auras, there are at least six. In addition, there is a Sacred Shaman."
The smile on Wei Boyang's face froze.
The corner of his mouth twitched faintly before he asked, "For a Sacred Shaman to take the field, this offensive must be extraordinary. How large an army did the Shamans mobilize in total?"
"Our initial reconnaissance confirmed one point eight million, with ten million laborers and conscripted workers in the rear."
Wei Boyang could no longer manage a smile. Frowning, he asked, "Under such circumstances, has Western Jin not sent troops? What has the Xu family done?"
Wei Yuan replied, "The Liao Clan's northern assault is fierce, and over a thousand li of northern territory has already been lost. I suspect the King of Jin has no strength to spare for reinforcements. As for the Xu family, they have an old feud with me and fought two major battles against me last year. They will never send aid."
Wei Boyang countered, "A private grudge is just a private grudge—what does it matter before an alien invasion?! That Xu... hmph!"
Even as a Senior General of Anyuan of the Tang dynasty, he evidently could not utter Xu Wangu's name lightly.
Wei Boyang paced back and forth several times before speaking: "I never anticipated the situation would be this critical. Although I brought three thousand Imperial Guards, they serve as the Son of Heaven's ceremonial retinue and cannot be squandered lightly. Even if they are deployed, they can only hold key rear positions to maintain order."
Though he did not say it outright, Wei Yuan understood well that anyone serving in the Son of Heaven's Imperial Guard was of noble lineage. They joined the army to pad their credentials and put on ceremonial displays, not to fight actual wars. Losing even a few would cause no small amount of trouble. Wei Yuan had never planned on giving them critical duties anyway; finding a safe location for them to garrison and keep up appearances would suffice.
Wei Boyang looked toward the sky and said, "These Shattered Lands truly live up to their name—troublesome indeed. However, I have come by imperial order and carry the blessing of the Son of Heaven's fortune, which naturally conceals me from the otherworldly monsters. So long as I do not unleash my full power, they cannot detect my presence.
"Taking advantage of this, I will hide here in your Qingming and see which blind Nether Shaman walks right into my hands..."
Midway through his sentence, True Monarch Xuanyue's surprised voice rang out from the sky: "Wei Boyang?! What are you doing here? This old Daoist thought you died eight hundred years ago."
Wei Boyang's expression shifted drastically. Looking up, he saw True Monarch Xuanyue standing in midair.
He looked at True Monarch Xuanyue, then at Wei Yuan, and then back at True Monarch Xuanyue before sighing: "Such a fine lad—how did he end up taking you, an old thief, as his master? What a waste of talent! A pearl cast before swine! It's like planting a fresh flower right into a pile of old cow dung!"
Chapter 487