Within the Smoke and Fire of the Mortal World, countless mortals were bustling about, screening candidates according to the criteria provided and compiling them into a long roster.
Wei Yuan entered the Smoke and Fire of the Mortal World, gazing upon the bustling city.
By now, the water level had receded a bit. Originally, the city spanned only three li across, but the newly exposed land around it now stretched dozens of li. Groups of mortals were laying out plans for this newly added ground, moving buildings out of the city and raising expansive residential quarters.
Looking down from above, there were now a hundred and ten thousand mortals within the Smoke and Fire of the Mortal World—an increase of nearly twenty thousand. However, close to thirty thousand had fallen in the prior battles; whether the discrepancy meant those missing had entered reincarnation or had had their souls scattered to the winds remained unknown.
At present, the Dao Foundation warriors within the Smoke and Fire of the Mortal World exceeded three hundred, alongside two dharma idol warriors. These newly manifested warriors were distinct from dragon guards, originating directly from Shaman souls and birthed through the sea of souls surrounding the Gate of the Many Realms.
Only a small portion of the Dao Foundation warriors had awakened sapience. Wei Yuan was not entirely clear on the conditions required for them to awaken; it seemed random, though as the dharma idol's overall spirituality grew, the number of sapient individuals would also increase accordingly.
Since he had come to the Smoke and Fire of the Mortal World, Wei Yuan took the opportunity to visit Maiden Yin-Yang. She still stood quietly in her distorted world, but deep within her pupils flickered a spark of spiritual light, showing that she could still converse and provide feedback on simple tasks.
Wei Yuan greeted her out of habit, then turned to attend to his business.
First, he inputted the formation Feng Chutang had taught him into the Smoke and Fire of the Mortal World as an archival backup.
This formation was truly extraordinary—over a dozen times more intricate than the most complex karmic luck formation Wei Yuan had ever studied. To achieve certain specialized functions, its patterns were not merely exceedingly elaborate; they were also structured into upper and lower layers that interfaced in complex alignment.
This formation vastly exceeded Wei Yuan's current mastery, and even the Smoke and Fire of the Mortal World could not yet parse it. It could only be stored away as reference material until the mortals and immortal plants achieved the requisite proficiency in formations to put it to practical use.
Taking the newly generated roster, Wei Yuan exited the Smoke and Fire of the Mortal World, then manifested several sapient Dao Foundation warriors and set them to copying the roster in his study. This was a new utility he had recently developed: having sapient Dao Foundation warriors transcribe materials developed within the Smoke and Fire of the Mortal World into reality, which saved him an immense amount of time.
A short while later, the transcription was complete. Wei Yuan summoned Xu Yi, Cui Yu, Xu Wan'er, and the others, divided the copied rosters into several portions, handed them out, and instructed, "Gather everyone on this roster at Northern Training Camp No. 2 for basic training. Afterward, I will activate Ephemeral Multitude once so they can experience it."
Xu Wan'er, ever attentive, examined the roster and asked, "None of these people have reached the Blood Merging Realm yet?"
Wei Yuan nodded. Xu Wan'er felt a bit puzzled, not understanding why people who had only just begun Body Casting—barely fit to be deemed able-bodied farmers or laborers—were being given such importance. Still, obedient as always, she did not press further.
After assigning the duties regarding the roster, Wei Yuan took the opportunity to inspect each of them carefully. Finding no obvious signs of karmic debt, he set his mind at ease, then flew to Ding'an City and walked straight into the Castellan's Manor.
The Castellan's Manor was deathly silent. When the guards caught sight of Wei Yuan, they saluted soundlessly and stepped aside to let him pass. Wei Yuan entered the inner manor, pushed open the door to the inner hall, and found it equally quiet. Venturing deeper, he found Bao Yun lying fully clothed on the bed, taking a nap.
Bao Yun seemed a bit unusual at the moment: her breathing was rather rapid, its cadence nothing like her usual self, as if she were in the throes of some strange dream.
Without making a sound, Wei Yuan merely lifted his aura slightly, which startled Bao Yun into gradually waking. When she opened her eyes, her delicate face was filled with sheer vexation.
"I was just about to go in..." Seeing that it was Wei Yuan who had awakened her, she hesitated, looking as though she wanted to say more, before finally puffing up her cheeks in a pout.
Wei Yuan asked in confusion, "Why the pout? Where were you about to go?"
"Nothing, just a trivial matter. What did you come to see me for?"
"Just dropped by to see you. More specifically, to give you a physical examination," Wei Yuan said solemnly.
Bao Yun froze, then covered her mouth and giggled. Sitting back on the bed, she asked, "Should I sit or lie down for the exam?"
Wei Yuan hastily replied, "Standing is fine."
Bao Yun stood up, walked right in front of Wei Yuan until she was nearly pressed against him, and asked, "Is this all right?"
Wei Yuan felt a growing headache and hurried to say, "Quite all right. Don't move; I'll be done in a moment."
A divine gleam flared in Wei Yuan's eyes. A speck of true intent lanced straight toward the center of Bao Yun's brow, only to be pulled back right as it almost made contact.
Provoked by this probe, an extremely faint strand of black qi seeped from the center of Bao Yun's brow, hovered briefly, and shrank back.
This was a technique Wei Yuan had learned from Feng Chutang, allowing him to use his own karmic luck to stimulate another's karmic debt and tease out what lay hidden.
"As expected, you've accumulated some karmic debt, though it's very faint and won't affect anything."
"Commanding a war will inevitably incur karmic debt. How could anyone escape it entirely? Why did you suddenly rush over to check mine? Did someone suddenly get entangled in karmic debt, and you noticed too late, so you hurried over to see if I was all right? Let me think... who could make you so anxious all of a sudden? It shouldn't be hard to guess..."
In his haste, Wei Yuan clamped a hand over Bao Yun's mouth.
Bao Yun looked at Wei Yuan with smiling, wide eyes, the warm tip of her tongue lightly flicking against his palm.
As if jolted by electricity, Wei Yuan snatched his hand back and smiled wryly. "As long as you're fine, that's what matters. Go back to resting; I still need to check the others. Oh right, there's a meeting early tomorrow morning. Don't forget to come."
Bao Yun did not make things difficult for him. She nodded and let him go.
Wei Yuan flew about, checking each of the key generals and castellans. Only after confirming that everyone's karmic debt remained within safe thresholds did he finally rest easy.
He then issued a string of orders. Moments later, all of Qingming began to stir into feverish activity. Countless torches illuminated the darkness before dawn as swarms of commoners stepped out of their homes. Along the roads, innumerable officers and petty officials held rosters, some counting the ranks assembled before them, others shouting names without pause.
Carrying only simple bundles of clothing, large contingents of commoners set out under cover of night, most heading north. At present in Qingming, aside from cultivators and registered officials, ordinary people possessed virtually no personal property—at most some saved-up clothes and whatever rations had been distributed but not yet consumed.
Thus, the commoners could move at a moment's notice, so long as food and shelter were provided along the way.
From southeastern to northwestern Qingming was a journey of over eight hundred li. Ordinarily, it would take these commoners five to six days, so proper arrangements had to be made along the route.
Three hundred li northwest in Qingming, a vast expanse of land had already been cleared, where rows of military tents stretched without end. Wagons loaded with weapons and armor arrived in steady succession, dumping their cargo directly into the staging yards.
After marching for two days, the first group of commoners finally drew near the camp. Along the way, they spotted construction underway in the mountains ahead. Atop a peak, four thick, ancient tree trunks stood erected as pillars. These gigantic pillars were fully thirty zhang tall, clearly visible from afar at a single glance.
"What are they building over there?" a curious mortal asked.
An officer escorting the column said, "That mountain range has already been named Heroic Spirits Mountain by the Domain Lord, dedicated to burying those who fall in battle. What's being built on the summit is the Lingxiao Heroic Spirits Hall, where spirit tablets will be enshrined for those who have rendered great service to the domain. If you and I get lucky, we might even manage to earn ourselves a spot in there."
The mortal shrank his neck back and said, "We're just mortals. How could we ever have the chance to render great service to the domain? We wouldn't even dare dream of reaching the Dao Foundation!"
The officer gave a chuckle. "Shows how little you know. The Domain Lord declared that the first floor of the Great Heroic Spirits Hall is reserved specifically for the spirit tablets of mortal heroic souls! Only heroes below the Dao Foundation are enshrined there. So, you and I both have a shot—though of course, yours truly is already at the Bone Tempering Realm, so my chances are just a bit better than yours."
The surrounding mortals all pricked up their ears to listen. The mortal looked both shocked and thrilled, saying, "If I could get a spirit tablet in there, wouldn't future generations all know who I was? When my sons have grandsons and great-grandsons in the future, they could still come visit me!"
"Hahaha! If you, Hu Laosan, can get a tablet, shouldn't I, Liao Yong, get two?"
Hu Laosan snorted. "Don't count on it!"
The column pressed forward and finally arrived at the prepared camp. The camp officers quickly got to work, leading them to their assigned tents and handing out armor and weaponry.
Dawn gradually broke.
In the council hall, not only had all the cultivators of the Palace of Grand Beginning assembled, but Li Zhi was also seated among them.
A sand table sat in the center of the conference table, with a mountainous region marked specifically in the northeastern mountains of the domain.
Wei Yuan said, "I have selected twenty thousand mortals. Some have families and siblings and are willing to fight with their own lives to win a future for their kin; some hold deep affection for Qingming and are ready to die for it; and others are alone in the world with nothing to fear. In short, these twenty thousand are largely willing to fight to the death for Qingming."
Wei Yuan pointed to the marked mountain area on the map and said, "In addition, I intend to establish Heroic Spirits Mountain here. Everyone who fights for Qingming will be buried here. At the summit, the Lingxiao Heroic Spirits Hall will be constructed, enshrining the spirit tablets of those who render great merit to Qingming. The first floor will be reserved exclusively for mortals below the Dao Foundation. Perhaps many years from now, this will be a place where all people of fiery spirit will come to pay their respects."
Having heard this, everyone grasped the gist of Wei Yuan's intent. Still, they felt somewhat perplexed. Commoners of Qingming had taken to the battlefield before, and several of those engagements had been exceptionally brutal; in Yun Feifei's battle, they had even dragged numerous enemies down with them in death. Why was such solemn ceremony being made of it this time?
Feng Chutang looked around at everyone and said calmly, "These twenty thousand are the vanguard elite. They won't all be deployed at once. The first wave will take two thousand, combined with another twenty thousand mortals into a single force, which I will lead. Once the great battle begins, as long as these two thousand lead the charge to fight to the death and rouse the fighting spirit in the rest, I can cast a secret art that will drive everyone to battle to the bitter end—relentless and unyielding unto death."
Many present were startled to their core!
Chapter 491