A young cultivator stood atop a small hill, gazing out at this verdant green world thick with marshes, dense forests, scrubland, and swarming mosquitoes and flies.
The hill was not high, only a few hundred zhang, with very gentle slopes.
Standing on the summit, he looked as far as his eyes could see, then said after a moment, "This is a good spot!"
Beside him stood dozens of people, both civil officials and military officers, all dressed in the attire of Zhao. Seven large flying vessels were docked in the flat expanse at the foot of the hill. By now, half of the vessels had already been unloaded and were taking to the air one after another, flying back toward Zhao.
A sprawling camp had already been established beneath the hill. Tens of thousands of soldiers, having swapped their weapons for scythes and iron shovels, were clearing the shrubs and woods, digging ditches for drainage. A group of artisans was surveying the terrain, excavating foundations, and constructing a fortress city.
The young cultivator unfurled a map and said to the group behind him, "This place is thirty-five hundred li from Qingming and fifteen thousand li from Li Zhi's Zhenshan Domain. It's wedged right between them, situated southwest of Qingming. To the northwest, we can push into the Wu domain; to the southwest, we can pacify the Mountain Folk; and it cuts off Qingming's route to the Mountain Folk as well. Truly killing multiple birds with one stone!"
A scholar remarked, "While this location offers numerous advantages, it has only one drawback: it is too far from Zhao. If something happens, I fear reinforcements from home won't arrive in time."
The young cultivator said, "Which is precisely why I prepared this. Bring it up!"
Several soldiers carried up a heavy chest. Upon opening it, inside lay a strange golden-green stone. At the sight of it, everyone was startled: "A Clear Water Stone?"
The young cultivator smiled faintly. "Indeed. Although this stone expands the domain by only a thousand li, its unique property allows it to draw upon the power of the water element to protect the domain's populace. First, it suits this world well; second, it is ideal for defense against enemies."
The generals and counselors studied the map. If a domain were established here, once fully expanded, it would form a domain two thousand li across, wedged right at Qingming's southwest. At that point, its perimeter would be merely twenty-five hundred li from Qingming's core.
Rumors had long circulated that Qingming was an immortal stone, and Zhao's internal assessment was that Qingming's domain should expand to around five thousand li, sufficient to encompass several commanderies.
If this Clear Water boundary stone were planted, it would carve a massive chunk out of Qingming's full territory, dealing Qingming an excruciating blow.
Seeing the young cultivator reach toward the Clear Water boundary stone, a thick-bearded general called out, "Hold!"
"General Yang, what is your view?"
The thick-bearded general said, "Qingming's military power is formidable, and Wei Yuan commands troops like a god. Furthermore, this surrounding region was originally a gathering place for Shamans; it only became open ground because Qingming defeated the Land of Rain and the Shamans withdrew. Placing our boundary stone here leaves us without the slightest buffer. We can only win, not lose. I suggest moving another thousand li to the southwest, which would also serve to intimidate Li Zhi."
The young cultivator gave a faint smile and said, "I know full well that in this battle, we can only win, not lose. Winning is fine and well, but losing would make me the target of universal condemnation. Therefore, all we need to do is not lose."
He levitated the boundary stone and continued, "If we moved a thousand li to the west, it wouldn't cut Qingming to the quick, and Wei Yuan would most likely not come out to fight. Then wouldn't the three years I spent toiling to train troops turn into nothing more than flowers in a mirror and the moon in water? Father would not be satisfied either. Before even playing this game of chess, I would have already lost to Third Brother and Seventh Brother—perhaps falling behind even Eldest Brother."
The thick-bearded general wanted to advise him further, but with a flick of the young cultivator's hand, the Clear Water boundary stone dropped to the ground. Immediately, a beam of golden-green light expanded rapidly, and wherever it passed, the world slowly began to transform.
The young cultivator chuckled. "Now we have no way out; we can only fight with our backs to the river."
The thick-bearded general opened his mouth as if to speak, but could only let out a sigh.
Yet the young cultivator said, "Now that the domain is established, none of us has a retreat. General Yang, whatever you have to say, speak freely."
Somewhat surprised, the thick-bearded general replied, "Fourth Prince, then I shall speak plainly. Qingming's firearms are potent and numerous. Leaving aside their elite legions—our Great Zhao's elites are certainly superior—firearms allow ordinary troops to see their combat power leap forward by bounds. Qingming also boasts that every citizen is a soldier. When the time comes, we may well face an army of hundreds of thousands. What's more, those hundreds of thousands have just emerged from bloody combat with the Shamans; there are no weaklings among them."
The young cultivator said, "Qingming's firearms are sharp and potent; everyone knows this. I have already made preparations and naturally won't throw the elites we painstakingly trained against their ordinary troops. Hmph, firearms are nothing more than mortal implements—what difficulty is there? If they can have them, naturally we can have them too. Men!"
His personal guards carried over several large chests. The young cultivator opened them, revealing neatly arranged rows of flying-sword guns inside, with gun-launched flying swords stacked along the edges.
The other chests were filled entirely with flying swords for the guns, several hundred to each chest.
"These are the flying-sword guns Qingming currently uses. Now we can forge them in bulk as well; it's nothing difficult. This first batch consists of five thousand guns, each supplied with ten flying swords. Another fifteen thousand guns and two hundred thousand flying swords will follow. A few months from now, there will be even more."
The thick-bearded general's expression finally eased. Cupping his hands, he said, "Your Fourth Highness is truly farsighted. This subordinate is filled with admiration!"
***
Wei Yuan hurried to the Weaponsmith Workshop.
Nowadays, the Weaponsmith Workshop was no longer a small workshop as its name suggested. It was a behemoth that produced two million jin of ore and hundreds of thousands of jin of molten steel daily, boasting sixteen mines and thousands of template Dao Foundation cultivators consolidating their cultivation realms here.
During the war against the Land of Rain, Wei Yuan had developed steel forging and smelting with everything he had. More than four thousand of Qingming's six thousand template cultivators were assigned to the Weaponsmith Workshop, resulting in this present behemoth.
The Weaponsmith Workshop comprised multiple workshops scattered across Qingming, their total area already hard to calculate. To facilitate memory and navigation, they had begun numbering and partitioning the areas. And where Wei Yuan was heading at this moment was the most mysterious and core sector of the Weaponsmith Workshop: Area 51.
Area 51 was situated on the Weaponsmith Workshop's original site. This was also one of the places in all of Qingming with the best subterranean fire channels; back then, Yu Zhizhuo had selected it immediately.
In the years that followed, Yu Zhizhuo had continuously refined the earth veins using secret arts from the Hall of Heavenly Craft, and now the natural subterranean fire here had been elevated an entire tier overall.
Wei Yuan passed through multiple lines of defense before entering the core of Area 51, where he met Yu Zhizhuo in a side hall.
The interior of this hall was a pale white, spotless and pristine, divided into several distinct experimental zones, each filled with completely different apparatuses.
One zone had a specialized formation array established within it, where two Dao Foundation cultivators sat in meditation, powering the array to supply energy to the entire hall. After running the array for six shichen, replacements would relieve them, allowing them to rest for a day before returning to work.
Several cultivators in the hall were working with rapt attention, Yu Zhizhuo among them. When Wei Yuan found him, he was holding a tool thinner than a strand of hair, meticulously arranging materials utterly invisible to the naked eyes of mortals.
Wei Yuan waited quietly by his side. Only when Yu Zhizhuo finished the work in his hands did Wei Yuan ask, "Martial Uncle, calling me over so urgently, is there something important?"
Yu Zhizhuo said, "I saw in recent battle reports that the Fourth Prince of Zhao planted a boundary stone southwest of us and garrisoned a massive army."
Wei Yuan nodded. "Indeed. I am currently gathering intelligence, and I also went over to take a look. There are quite a few people there; the boundary stone has taken root, and they are building a city. I intend to head over a bit later—courtesy before force—and ask them to move out."
"Not going over now?"
Wei Yuan shook his head. "No rush. Better to wait until they've almost finished building the city. Constructing a fortress costs an immense fortune, yet city walls no longer mean much against us. Zhao is watching us like a tiger stalking its prey right now, so naturally we should let them waste effort on useless endeavors to deplete their resources. If we attack now, they won't have spent enough money yet, and they might just pull up their boundary stone and run."
"Did it ever occur to you that they want to fight a serious battle with you?"
"I know. Planting the boundary stone this close makes it abundantly clear. Aren't they spitting right in my face?"
Yu Zhizhuo said, "I also went to take a stealthy look. Although I couldn't get too close, my spiritual bird was able to approach within fifty li. The tone of their conversation was rather odd, which suddenly reminded me of something. Six months ago, a junior fellow disciple in the hall reached a cultivation bottleneck and prepared to return to the main mountain to enter secluded cultivation for a breakthrough. That being a major matter, I permitted him to return. But there was no news of him after that. Two days ago, after I checked the Zhao encampment, a sudden premonition struck me, bringing that matter to mind. So I checked back with the main mountain, only to find that the junior fellow disciple had stayed there for less than half a month before leaving, and nothing has been heard from him since."
"What was that senior brother's surname?" Wei Yuan asked.
Yu Zhizhuo sighed. "Surnamed Li, of the direct lineage of Zhao Li."
"Did many things pass through his hands?"
"Mainly the manufacture of flying-sword guns and fire guns. Because his cultivation was insufficient and his energy limited, he hadn't touched other things yet."
Wei Yuan said, "Half a year is enough to accomplish a great deal. So the Zhao army has very likely already equipped fire guns?"
"And flying-sword guns," Yu Zhizhuo reminded him.
Wei Yuan's expression turned somewhat grave. Fire guns mainly caused casualties among Body Casting cultivators, posing limited threat to Dao Foundation cultivators. Flying-sword guns, on the other hand, had to be stimulated with Dao power, which meant only those who had achieved Body Casting mastery at the very least could use them; a single shot posed a lethal threat even to Dao Foundation cultivators.
However, having weathered countless storms, Wei Yuan naturally remained composed. "No need to be nervous. Since his knowledge was limited and he left half a year ago, let's first review what new progress we've made over these six months."
Speaking of this, Yu Zhizhuo knew every detail by heart and said with full confidence, "Mainly, the new steel infused with nether iron has begun widespread application. Because of that, we improved our missiles; rotary flying-sword guns entered mass production; infantry guns entered mass production; long-range infantry guns also entered mass production; eight-wheel-drive light war chariots and twelve-wheel-drive heavy war chariots entered mass production; and breastplates capable of withstanding fire gun shots within fifty zhang have been fully equipped..."
The further he listed, the more relaxed both of them became, until finally they looked at each other and smiled.
Yu Zhizhuo sighed. "This matter with Junior Disciple Li nearly brewed a catastrophe. From now on, I will strictly supervise the fellow disciples in the hall. Anyone who can access core secrets will be made to sign a blood curse."
"They are all fellow disciples; is that truly necessary?"
Yu Zhizhuo explained, "Although we share the Palace of Grand Beginning, those from prominent noble clans are still different from us. At crucial junctures, many will stand with their families. Those who truly consider the Palace of Grand Beginning their home are probably only people like us with no backing."
"Then I will leave that to Martial Uncle's discretion."
After leaving Area 51, Wei Yuan ordered someone to go to the Zhenshan Domain and invite Li Zhi over for discussions.
Then, he mustered a ten-thousand-strong cavalry unit, instructed them to don leather armor and carry old-model fire guns, and then drafted eight thousand greenhorn recruits who had not even reached the Blood Merging stage to fill out the cavalry ranks, marching aggressively toward Zhao's new domain with great fanfare.
Chapter 665