Traveling the Heavens in Thunderbolt

Chapter 32: Siege of Yanmen
Since Emperor Yang Guang of the Sui Dynasty ascended the throne, he felt that he would definitely surpass Emperor Wu of Han because he had inherited a strong economy from his father.

He began to carry out a series of spectacular projects, starting with the construction of the eastern capital Luoyang, which took ten months and required the conscription of two million laborers.

After that, huge amounts of money were spent to expand and renovate the Grand Canal, opening four sections: Yongji Canal, Tongji Canal, Hang Canal, and Jiangnan River, connecting the three major water systems of the Yellow River, Huaihe River, and Yangtze River, strengthening exchanges between the north and the south, but also conscripting more than one million soldiers and civilians from Henan and Huaibei.

Yang Guang still felt that all this was not enough, so in the seventh year of Daye, he successively recruited more than one million soldiers and more than two million civilians to start the first expedition to Goguryeo. Then he encountered heavy rain, which blocked the road, and the soldiers lost more than 300,000 people, and the civilians also suffered heavy losses. Peasant uprisings broke out in the country.

In the ninth year of Daye, Yang Guang once again invaded Goguryeo and sent out an army of at least 600,000. However, he withdrew his troops because of Yang Xuangan's rebellion in the country and the fact that the great master Fu Cailin was assassinating key military figures day and night on the front line.

In the tenth year of Daye (614 AD), Yang Guang launched an expedition against Goguryeo for the third time, this time with nearly one million troops. Despite Fu Cailin's assassination attempt and widespread resentment at home, he finally defeated Goguryeo, but did not gain any substantial benefits.

The three expeditions to Goguryeo and the previous continuous construction of wonders consumed the manpower, causing serious damage to the productivity of the Sui Dynasty, and peasant uprisings broke out one after another.

In the eleventh year of Daye, Yang Guang was inspecting the northern fortress when he was suddenly besieged at Yanmen Pass by Shibi Khan of the Turks with hundreds of thousands of cavalry.

Li Shimin joined the troops of General Yun Dingxing of the Left Tunwei Army and went to Yanmen Pass to rescue Yang Guang.

At the same time, reinforcements from various directions also arrived at Yanmen Pass, and the Turkic troops failed to capture it after several attacks. The grassland's great master Wu Zun Bi Xuan was also unable to break through Yang Guang's guards, so the battle entered a stalemate between the two sides.

Just when Emperor Yang of Sui was worried about how to repel the Turkic troops, the appearance of a Taoist priest at Yanmen Pass changed the situation of the war.

On this day, Yang Guang was listening to Li Shimin's military report as usual, when suddenly someone came to report that a Taoist priest had come outside and said he had a plan to repel the enemy to offer to His Majesty.

Yang Guang immediately ordered people to arrange a meeting. When he saw the visitor, his eyes lit up.

It was because the man was about twenty-five years old, fresh and handsome, with a graceful demeanor. Although he was young, he had an immortal air and an extraordinary appearance.

Yang Guang saw that the visitor was extraordinary, so he asked, "Where are you cultivating in the immortal mountain? Do you have any tricks to repel the enemy?"

The young Taoist bowed to Yang Guang and said, "Wulian Tianzun, I am the Taoist of Heaven and have come here to help relieve the siege of Yanmen Pass."

"But what about the Southern School of Heavenly Masters, which once produced the Heavenly Master Sun En?" It was Li Shimin who asked. Because of his profound family knowledge, he knew of Sun En's great reputation.

"Yes, I come from this school."

"Then I wonder what the long-term plan will be?"

"It's actually very simple. We just need to defeat Wu Zun Bi Xuan to destroy the morale of the Turkic army and make them leave."

Hearing this, Yang Guang said anxiously, "Master, please don't joke around. Not to mention that Ning Sanren is not here, even if he is here, he wouldn't dare to easily defeat Bi Xuan. Master, do you have any other plans?"

Ling Donglai smiled and said, "Your Majesty, don't worry. I will defeat Bi Xuan right now. Your Majesty just needs to wait here for good news."

After saying that, before anyone could react, Ling Donglai flew down the city wall, came to the front of the Turkic formation, and used his inner energy to transmit his voice, calling for a duel with Martial Master Bi Xuan.

The soldiers of the Golden Wolf Army under the Khan's command saw that the newcomer was extraordinary and did not dare to be careless, so they immediately went back to report to the Khan and Wu Zun.

After a while, a sturdy man wearing a wild hemp robe and exuding an inexplicable aura came to Ling Donglai. He looked Ling Donglai up and down and felt that he was one with nature. If you didn't see it with your own eyes, you would never notice it. He didn't dare to be careless and took out the Moon Wolf Spear that had been unused for a long time.

After both parties reached an agreement, this unpopular martial arts duel officially began.

Bi Xuan was seen holding a spear, using all his strength to perform the "Yan Yang Miraculous Skill", turning wherever he struck into a scorched earth. On the other hand, Ling Donglai seemed to be forced into a state of no ability to resist, and he just dodged without fighting back.

The Golden Wolf Army who were watching nearby shouted loudly when they saw this, cheering for their grassland guardian god, while Yang Guang on the city wall was watching with fear, fearing that Ling Donglai would be defeated too quickly and affect the morale of the troops guarding the pass.

As time went by, the power of Bi Xuan's "Yan Yang Miraculous Skill" became stronger and stronger. The spear in his hand danced faster and faster, causing the temperature around his body to continue to rise. From the outside, the figures of the two became distorted due to the rising temperature. The power of "Yan Yang Miraculous Skill" was pushed to the strongest. The spear in Bi Xuan's hand formed a whirlwind, making a sound of breaking through the air that shocked the whole audience.

It also made the surrounding Turkic soldiers so intoxicated that their shouts shook the earth.

Bi Xuan, who was in the center of the battle, became more and more frightened as the fight went on, because his opponent did not panic at all and remained calm. Unconsciously, his martial arts skills seemed to be seen through by the person in front of him during the fight, and every attack was easily avoided by him.

Moreover, this person was not affected by the surrounding temperature at all. He had tried several times to use the characteristics of the Yan Yang True Qi to drain the surrounding air and create an invisible aura centered on himself to simulate various airflows that would affect this person's body movements, but each time he tried to do so without a trace.

If I hadn't been able to sense the fresh energy from him, I would have probably thought that this person was an old monster who had lived for hundreds of years without leaving the mountain.

Bi Xuan knew that if he continued fighting, he would be the first to collapse from exhaustion, so he made up his mind, increased the strength of the spear in his hand to the maximum, and went straight for Ling Donglai.

Yang Guang and Li Shimin on the city wall said in a lost voice: "Not good."

The Turkic soldiers under the wall shouted "Victory" loudly, as if celebrating another victory of the great master of the grassland.

But the most jaw-dropping scene appeared. Ling Donglai, who had never fought back from the beginning until now, finally took action. He actually neutralized Bi Xuan's full-strength attack with just one palm. The Moon Wolf Spear slipped out of his hand and Bi Xuan was repelled.

The onlookers all looked at this scene in disbelief. One of the three great masters in the world, the guardian of the grassland, Martial Master Bi Xuan, was defeated!

Ling Donglai was unaware of it, as if he had won an ordinary duel, and said calmly: "The victory or defeat is determined by the points. I hope Wu Zun can persuade your Khan to withdraw his troops to avoid the loss of lives on both sides."

Without waiting for Bi Xuan's answer, he ordered Donglai to fly away and return to the pass.

Bi Xuan returned to the Turkic central army camp, changed his clothes, and kept his promise and began to persuade Shibi Khan to withdraw his troops.

Although the offensive was hindered in the previous few days, the Turks still had the upper hand, and Shibi Khan was unwilling to retreat so easily.

But after Bi Xuan showed him the wild hemp robe he wore when fighting Ling Donglai, he withdrew his troops that night.

This was because the inside of the wild hemp robe was painted with portraits of people in various poses, and next to it were many tiny handwritings densely written in a flamboyant style, all over both sides of the robe, and at the end of the lower left corner it said: Ling Donglai has defeated Wu Zun Bi Xuan's "Yan Yang Miraculous Achievement", and I congratulate you specially.

It was because Bi Xuan had a highly respected status in the grassland that no one dared to look him in the face. When he returned to the account to change his clothes, he discovered that his back was covered with words without him noticing.

(End of this chapter)