Longzang

Chapter 1133 Don't Call Me Dad

Wei Yuan appeared in Ganzhou Pass, standing in the air, his divine sense sweeping across the entire city.

In the city, every household had its doors tightly shut. Only Qingming warriors and numerous cultivators were on the streets, carrying rosters and going door-to-door to check and register the names.

The city had 150,000 inhabitants and 150,000 in garrison. Before the battle, everyone believed that the city was impregnable, with supplies piled up like mountains and a hundred cannons inside, so no one fled.

No one expected that the entire city would fall in less than an hour, and the defending troops would all be taken prisoner. Only the generals, seeing the situation was dire, fled in advance.

When Qingming fired its first cannonball, a 1.5-foot caliber shell weighing 4,000 jin, none of the Dharma Generals dared to stop it, and they could only watch helplessly as the shell fell. The battle to defend the city was ignited, but the cannonball was too powerful, directly smashing through the array's light shield, blowing away half of the city tower, and destroying the nodes of the defensive array.

These shells were far heavier than Qingming's previous mind-guided missiles; even a Dharma Avatar would be injured by them. Crucially, Qingming didn't just have one, but fifty, heavy cannons of this caliber!
Therefore, when the Lü family's Dharma forms saw the situation was not good, they immediately fled. Even if they could stop the first fifty shots, they would all be seriously injured. Then there would be a second, third, and even dozens of rounds of bombardment. What would they use to block them? It would be a joke if they were to be killed by ordinary fire and iron in their Dharma forms.

Several Golden Core Dharma Aspects were among the Azure Vanguard Legion, responsible for guiding artillery shells with their divine sense and breaking through the enemy's Dharma Aspect interception. Golden Core Dharma Aspects are still Dharma Aspects, and their supernatural powers far surpass those of ordinary Dao Foundation Perfection cultivators. Although they are far inferior to true Dharma Aspects, they are perfectly suited for guiding missiles and artillery shells.

However, it was the first time that Qingming's newly developed heavy cannons had been deployed on the battlefield, and their power was extremely astonishing. Even ordinary Dharma Aspects dared not be afraid of its sharpness. After three shots, the morale of the defending army collapsed. Before the first round of bombardment was over, the Dharma Aspect generals had all disappeared.

At that moment, a girl with a bright and aloof beauty, yet possessing a pair of bright and somewhat innocent eyes, flew over. Her face remarkably combined icy coldness with adorable innocence, making her unforgettable.

She stood beside Wei Yuan, looking like a well-behaved girl, and called out, "Daddy..."

Wei Yuan almost slumped down, and said irritably, "How many times have I told you not to call me that! Didn't you understand?"

The girl said, "Okay, Daddy."

Wei Yuan laughed in anger: "Call me Palace Master!"

The girl replied, "Yes, Father Palace Master."

Wei Yuan was both amused and exasperated, but there was nothing he could do about it, so he had no choice but to let her go.

This girl was none other than Wei Ying of the Water Moon Palace, who still looked quite young. But in fact, she had already grown into her current appearance when she was five or six years old, and had not changed since.

Like Xu Shiba, Wei Ying was born after absorbing and devouring all of her brothers and sisters. She had extraordinary talent and innate wisdom, and her growth rate was seven or eight times that of a normal person. Her cultivation was incredibly fast, and Wei Yuan felt that if they were any faster, they would catch up with him.

At this moment, Wei Ying had already cultivated his Dharma form, which was a full moon, the most orthodox and top-tier Dharma form of the Water Moon Palace. Originally, the three top-tier Dharma forms of the Water Moon Palace—the full moon, the jade toad, and the immortal cassia—were all slightly imperfect, ranking at the bottom among the twelve palaces. Just like Wei Ying's original Dharma form, the surface of the full moon had several blurry areas.

Those cultivators who knew about the past of the third-generation Palace Master, the Demon Lord Su Chan, naturally believed that this was because the power of time and years had been lost abroad.

However, after Wei Yuan obtained the Ancient Full Moon Dao Foundation and used it to cultivate his grotto-heaven, the deficiencies in Wei Ying's Dharma form suddenly decreased significantly, and the cultivation levels of the other cultivators in the Water Moon Palace also advanced accordingly. Only then did Wei Yuan realize that the Water Moon Palace's path to enlightenment was still missing the Ancient Full Moon.

The ancient human race rose from the wilderness, a land teeming with hidden talents, each cultivator a prodigy. For instance, the ancient full moon served as the foundation for a certain cultivator's Dao, unique across all realms. This means that this genius acquired a portion of the power of heaven and earth even at the foundation stage.

Even now, Wei Yuan finds it hard to imagine what kind of path could lead to a Dao foundation like the Ancient Full Moon.
Since obtaining the ancient full moon, the power of the Water Moon Palace's techniques has greatly increased, placing it in the upper-middle tier among the twelve palaces. If it could reclaim the lost power of time, it would likely be on par with the Three Realms.

Seeing Wei Yuan's slight annoyance, the girl became more obedient and said, "I've already inspected the fortified city's defenses. Compared to traditional fortified cities, the defensive array here has been significantly modified, increasing its ability to defend against explosions while weakening its Daoist defenses. At the same time, the city walls have been lowered in height and increased in thickness. All these changes are to counter our artillery fire. However, they are dealing with our first-generation cannons, which have limited power; one shot is only equivalent to a single strike from an early-stage Dao Foundation cultivator. Our latest heavy cannons, on the other hand, are modeled after the naval cannons of the outer world. A 1.5-foot heavy cannon already possesses the power of a single strike from an early-stage Dharma Aspect cultivator, and a 1-foot heavy cannon is equivalent to a single strike from a perfect-stage Dao Foundation cultivator."

Such power cannot be withstood by these reinforcements. Judging from the damage in the last battle, the enemy's fortress must be completely rebuilt and equipped with thirty Dharma Aspects to withstand our bombardment.

Wei Ying paused for a moment before saying, "Therefore, the era of high walls and fortified cities is over."

Wei Yuan asked, "Then how should we defend against heavy artillery?"

"For fortification, the city walls cannot be too high. The defensive array should be built primarily to defend against ordinary iron and explosives. The best approach is to use the array to detonate enemy shells in advance. If it is an open field fortification, it is necessary to build the defensive works by relying on the mountain and digging directly into the mountain. If it is a plain, it is necessary to build an underground network of fortifications and reinforce them multiple times."

But the best approach is air suppression, high-altitude assault, or using mobile forces to attack enemy artillery positions; a middle-ground strategy is to use long-range missiles or artillery for suppression…

Wei Ying's answer was clear and concise, indicating that he had done extensive research. Unlike Xu Shiba, who focused solely on swordsmanship, Wei Ying had a wide range of interests, particularly in warfare and military campaigns. He was already serving as a general in the vanguard legion.

Wei Ying possessed exceptional cultivation and extraordinary talent, and her naturally cool yet adorable face made her a heartthrob among young men. As a result, she had numerous suitors among the talented young men in the military, and countless others dared only keep their admiration to themselves, never daring to reveal it.

Aside from the fact that Wei Ying's beauty far exceeded their psychological limits, forcing them to only secretly admire her, Wei Ying would chase after Wei Yuan every day calling him "Dad" as soon as he arrived at the front lines. As a result, rumors circulated in the army that she was actually the illegitimate daughter of the Realm Lord.

Upon hearing this, Wei Yuan said, "Very good. We'll leave this area to the follow-up troops. You will immediately lead the vanguard legion to the next pass. Once we take it, this prefecture will be ours. If we encounter the main force of the Lü family, we can ignore the pass and annihilate the enemy forces first."

"Yes, Dad!"

"Don't call me Dad!"

"Yes, Dad!"

Watching Wei Ying fly away, Wei Yuan also felt a headache coming on. Although she had the wisdom of her past life, it seemed that everything she did in this life was an effort to do something for Qing Ming.

Therefore, Wei Yuan simply shook his head and stopped thinking about the unpleasantness from before. Back then, the Great Curse of Karma failed to kill Wei Yuan. As a result, in the far north, Wei Yuan not only formed a marriage with Zhang Sheng, but also brought back the core of the Yellow Springs Cave Heaven, and gained some karma from the Dragon Guards. His gains were enormous.

The most important thing is actually the Yellow Springs Grotto-Heaven. Wei Yuan increasingly realized that the Yellow Springs Grotto-Heaven is an indispensable link in the natural cycle of heaven and earth. Only with the existence of the Yellow Springs can heaven and earth form their own system.

Thus, it is clear that the Great Curse of Cause and Effect back then was also influenced by powerful figures working behind the scenes. While Fei Yutong's betrayal had its own reasons, it is likely that more factors were secretly guided by powerful figures.

Just as everyone has a dark side, most people don't actually do it. Even Wei Yuan is no exception, let alone others.

Wei Ying's vanguard legion was extremely efficient. In less than half an hour, the first mobile force had already left the city and begun to advance into the interior.

Wei Yuan knew that Lü Changhe was an immortal and closely connected to the Western Jin royal family, holding a crucial position. As the saying goes, "pulling one hair affects the whole body," Wei Yuan anticipated that taking down Lü Changhe wouldn't be so easy, and someone would inevitably step forward to obstruct him. The more people who stepped forward, the clearer Wei Yuan would be of the scheme behind the scenes.

What if no one intervenes?
This problem is simple: good things come in pairs, and there can't be only one immortal slayer.

(End of this chapter)