Though Wei Yuan had not said so explicitly, Zhang Sheng realized there was something amiss with this dharma idol and pressed no further.
After observing the place for a while, she suddenly sent an Immortal Sword · False Sun flying out to pierce into the nether iron wall. Zhang Sheng then waved her hand again, and seven more Immortal Swords · False Sun flew forth, forming a circle as they embedded themselves into the wall.
The False Suns penetrated only a fraction, barely anchoring themselves to keep from falling. Zhang Sheng then pointed a finger, empowering the eight False Suns with a sword formation diagram that linked them into a single whole. Enhanced by the sword formation, the eight swords merged their power, their might surging instantly.
Zhang Sheng's False Suns were of far higher quality than Wei Yuan's original versions. With the eight swords united, a golden-red blossom of True Fire of the Sun ignited at the center of the formation.
Zhang Sheng's mastery of sword formations had reached the realm of perfection. With a mere eight False Suns, she had actually produced a flame of True Fire of the Sun no weaker than Xiaoyu's. Wei Yuan's eyes shone as he committed the formation's structure to memory, intending to conjure a few blossoms of True Fire of the Sun to play around with later.
The grade of this True Fire of the Sun was right on the heels of Longying's Nanming Li Fire, prompting even Longying to cast a few sidelong glances at it.
Scorched by the True Fire of the Sun, the nether iron softened rapidly. Zhang Sheng raised a hand to draw over the Crimson Night Immortal-Slaying Sword, and with an offhand scoop, she excavated a cylindrical block of nether iron.
At this point, Zhang Sheng dug no further. Instead, she pointed at the heap of nether iron stacked in the corner waiting to be transported and said, "This pile of nether iron already weighs several hundred thousand jin. We couldn't use all of it even if we tried. Why waste more thought and manpower here? Better to spend it on dealing with the Shamans."
Wei Yuan explained, "I was shifted here by a Shaman secret art. The Shamans originally intended to suppress and kill me, or at least block my route into the Nether Cold Realm so I couldn't explore as I pleased. If we don't dig our way out, freedom is impossible. Besides, we are likely inside the kingdom of some Nether Shaman right now. Once we uncover a path out, war will begin."
Zhang Sheng said, "A Nether Shaman's kingdom? That does warrant caution. However, the surroundings here don't look like a Nether Shaman's kingdom; they resemble your Smoke and Fire of the Mortal World instead."
Pointing at the immortal orchid in the corner, Wei Yuan said, "It seems exceptionally suited to this environment. It expanded a domain of its own, replacing the original kingdom."
Zhang Sheng frowned. "A kingdom is a Nether Shaman's nascent spirit. If so, this Nether Shaman has surely sensed something. We must remain on guard."
As she spoke, Zhang Sheng felt that the immortal orchid looked somewhat familiar. She reached out and touched it; even the texture felt vaguely familiar, though she couldn't recall where she had felt it before. The immortal orchid, meanwhile, trembled violently, wishing to get as far from this natural predator as possible, yet daring not actually uproot itself and flee. In so small a space, there was nowhere to run anyway.
Fortunately, Zhang Sheng had little interest in the immortal orchid. Looking around, she mused, "Even a Nether Shaman would struggle to dig through nether iron like this under normal circumstances. Let me first see how thick it really is."
Zhang Sheng shot a strand of sword qi against the nether iron wall. A sharp ting rang out with tremendous penetrating force. But when she tilted her head to listen closely, she heard no echo.
Zhang Sheng then planted four immortal swords into the ground, empowered them with a sword formation, and flicked a finger. All four swords hummed in unison, their vibrations overlapping and amplifying layer upon layer.
Even Wei Yuan felt a slight dizziness in his head, while the few Dao Foundation cultivators at work simply collapsed headfirst. This time, Zhang Sheng finally received a resonance. Tracing lines in the dirt with her sword, she calculated silently for a moment before saying, "The mountain wall is at least fifty zhang thick. Dig slowly. If you want to carve a way out quickly, you'd be better off digging through the nether crystal underground."
Wei Yuan said, "This nether mountain doesn't seem like a natural creation. I suspect the Nether Shaman spent hundreds or thousands of years cultivating it. So the more I dig away, the weaker that Nether Shaman becomes. The conditions here are harsh—Teacher, are you adjusting well?"
"The dozen or so chilling yin-attribute swords of mine are all steadily rising in quality here. Before long, one of them will advance to an Earth Tier flying sword."
Wei Yuan had always been somewhat puzzled about Zhang Sheng's Dao Foundation. He asked, "Teacher, why refine so many low-tier immortal swords? Why not reduce the count and raise their overall quality a bit? At the very least, you should have an immortal foundation sword!"
Zhang Sheng smiled faintly. "I actually gained this insight from your dharma idol. No matter how extraordinary a single sword is, it will always reach its limit. Once at the peak, advancing even a tiny step requires a hundredfold or thousandfold the effort of before. But numbers are different. As long as you can bear the load, you can add as many as you wish. Therefore, the true path is actually to triumph through sheer numbers.
"I dare not claim that none will follow my lead, but having over five hundred immortal swords is unprecedented. When refining the sixty-fourth sword, I too hesitated over whether to forge an immortal foundation. But had I chosen that, I would have been capped at sixty-four. In truth, it wasn't a hard choice: quantity comes first. When I unleash five hundred Mortal Tier flying swords, even a dharma idol must flee for their life.
"If I also possessed an immortal foundation and could simultaneously wield over five hundred immortal swords, that would exceed the utmost limit tolerated by the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth. The heavenly tribulation at that point would probably blast even Patriarch Xuanyue to death."
Wei Yuan understood the principle that excess was as detrimental as deficiency.
Zhang Sheng said, "This place is very beneficial to my Dao Foundation. I will hold the fort here; you go attend to your military affairs."
Wei Yuan repeatedly urged her to be exceedingly careful and not force herself, continuing until Zhang Sheng grew annoyed, before finally returning to Qingming.
Meanwhile, in the Land of Rain, Hongye had already dismissed a host of ill-intentioned Shamans. He had now gathered all subordinate Nether Shamans and several key Great Shamans to deliberate on the war.
Hongye played back all the pertinent battle imagery before declaring, "That tiny Qingming could blunt the edge of our advance was truly unexpected. They have heavy armor; we have heavy armor as well! Starting now, conscript every armor-caster, weapon-refiner, and blacksmith in our domain and march them to the front lines to forge heavy armor with everything we have.
"I would like to see what a tiny territory can compare against my Land of Rain!"
Hongye's words sounded imposing, but in truth the shamans were somewhat uneasy. Qingming might be small, yet it had genuinely held off the army of the Land of Rain. Furthermore, Wei Yuan had only received support from the tens of thousands of troops of Zhenshan Domain; the human realms of Jin and Zhao were holding their forces in place, merely watching the war unfold.
Clearly, they would not remain idle forever. The moment the Shamans showed signs of decline, or Qingming was on the verge of ruin, they would inevitably intervene.
With no objections from the shamans, the matter was settled. Half a day later, a massive contingent of Shaman craftsmen was forcibly conscripted and escorted to the front.
In the Hall of Political Affairs of Western Jin, a sand table map sat in the center of the hall. This was a prized treasure; currently displaying the terrain of Qingming, it would automatically manifest the events on the map once all battle reports were fed into it.
Upon the map, the two sides were currently locked in fierce combat, watched intently by the King of Jin and his ministers. The battle projection displayed a regiment of heavy-armored warriors advancing in formation, inflicting catastrophic casualties on the Shamans with a creeping barrage, pressing step-by-step deep into the Shaman army's battle line until the enemy's morale completely shattered.
Not until the grand battle concluded did the King of Jin finally let out a breath and say, "This Wei Yuan truly is an epochal genius. A battle formation so strict and orderly is something We have rarely seen in Our lifetime."
At this moment, the Minister of War stepped forward and memorialized, "Sagacious King, to your servant's knowledge, many of these soldiers were displaced refugees not long ago. Qingming's population only expanded on a massive scale over the past year; thus, these soldiers have trained for no more than a year at most. In less than a year, what kind of elite troops could possibly be produced?
"Therefore, your servant believes this sweeping victory was won on the fire guns and won on the tactics. We have heavy armor, and now we have fire guns as well, while the disciplined training of our soldiers surpasses Qingming's."
The King of Jin said slowly, "So what you mean, Minister, is that we too could win like this?"
The Minister of War said loudly, "If even Wei Yuan can win, how could we possibly fail!"
The King of Jin nodded. "Reasonable. What does Prince Cheng think?"
Beside him, Prince Cheng sat upright without moving and said, "I believe the Minister of War speaks reasonably. The three New Armies in the north have already been training for half a year. What is there to practice with fire guns anyway? Past a hundred zhang, who knows where their shots fly off to; it relies mostly on volley fire and neat ranks. As for shooting, anyone can learn it in a few days.
"Breaking cavalry with fire gun formations—Wei Yuan already demonstrated it once against Yue Pushan's Northern Border Iron Cavalry. Are we incapable of copying even that?
"Therefore, this prince believes it is time to take the initiative and teach the Liao Clan a lesson. Prince Ying drills troops every day, drilling without ever using them—so what is the point of having an army?"
The ministers chimed in in agreement one after another. Their reasoning was all identical: since the Shaman elites were helpless before an army Wei Yuan had hastily trained, then the Liao Clan—who were constantly suppressed and beaten by the Shaman army—were even weaker. The so-called New Army Prince Ying commanded was in truth drawn from battle-hardened veterans, greater in number and better equipped. How could they fail to be victorious?
As the ministers rambled on, the conversation drifted astray. They began dredging up Prince Ying's past history, veiledly accusing him of shrinking from battle and perhaps harboring disloyal intentions.
With matters pushed to this point, the King of Jin hesitated no longer. He drafted an edict commanding Prince Ying to take the initiative and extinguish the arrogance of the Liao people. At the same time, the King of Jin dispatched a copy of Qingming's battle projections to Prince Ying. Though left unspoken, the meaning was glaringly obvious:
*Look at him, and look at you!*
Several days later, an urgent dispatch arrived from the north: Prince Ying had led fifty thousand New Army troops north to fight a decisive battle south of Wolf Mountain against eighty thousand Liao iron cavalry—and his entire army had been annihilated.
Chapter 556