Longzang

Chapter 1141 Never Imperfect
Wei Yuan's divine sense was stronger than ever before, instantly sweeping across the entire Azure Netherworld and taking everything into his mind. A divine sense that can cover tens of thousands of miles is already at the level of a true immortal. Although Wei Yuan only reached this level temporarily with the blessing of the Azure Netherworld's fortune, it is still rare in ancient and modern times.

Within the azure sky, nearly half the populace had stepped forward, standing beneath heaven and earth, becoming part of Wei Yuan's radiant light. Of the tens of millions capable of bearing the message of enlightenment, ninety percent had stood up.

However, about ten percent of the people were afraid of the immortals and hid at home, trembling and awaiting the final outcome. A small group of people had shifty eyes and were bursting with ambition, preparing to do something when Wei Yuan fell, or at least be among the first to welcome the immortals to settle in.

Those who were physically weak and did not receive the information distributed by the various realms were mostly confused at first. They had to wait for someone around them who had received the information to explain the situation before they could make a choice.

However, this group of people heard about it from others, and many of them didn't quite understand it. They could only look around blankly, first observing how most people around them made their choices, and then following suit.

Wei Yuan suddenly realized: So this is what mortals are like.

They possess courage and wisdom, but also greed, hesitation, clumsiness, and even malice. Many are driven by passion and choose the path of righteousness. Others are opportunistic, repaying kindness with enmity, and even stabbing each other in the back at crucial moments.

Looking at the azure earth, Wei Yuan smiled slightly.

Mortals are never perfect, but Wei Yuan still loves them. As for the reason, the billions of rays of light floating around him at this moment are the reason.

With a thought, Wei Yuan gathered countless rays of light at his fingertips and pointed them at Xu Shuhe!
The radiance did not coalesce into a single, indestructible beam of light as in ordinary immortal magic. Instead, each radiance remained an independent point of light, but as countless points of light rushed toward the same direction, they transformed into a mighty river.

In the eyes of mortals, it is but a moment; to immortals, it is an instant.

Xu Shuhe's face instantly changed color, his eyes widened, and he said in a trembling voice, "How could your counterattack come so soon? This, this is not right!"

But the vast river of light was already upon him, and he had no choice but to erect a somewhat murky light barrier to desperately resist it. However, the river was so immense that it quickly pushed the light barrier to the brink of collapse.

Xu Shuhe was both shocked and furious. He was used to being high and mighty, and in his eyes, not only were ordinary mortals insignificant, but even Dharma beings were ants. Yu Jing was slightly better, as he was a domestic dog.

Wei Yuan's finger strike was essentially a collection of the willpower of billions of mortals, and it hadn't even been refined or integrated yet. Its rank was incredibly low, yet his proud immortal light defense almost collapsed at the first touch! Doesn't this mean that he, a dignified immortal, is no match for a group of mortals?
But the current situation is just like this. The pressure from the will of millions of mortals is so great that Xu Shuhe can't even lift his head. He will probably be defeated in a few breaths and leave a bad name for eternity.

Xu Shuhe had no choice but to summon a relatively intact grotto-heaven, then ignite it from the inside out to support the immortal light defense. However, the grotto-heaven burned very quickly and couldn't hold out for long. Wei Yuan's radiant river of light, on the other hand, was endless.

Xu Shuhe's face was contorted with rage and resentment. Could it be that even a dignified immortal, having burned through his inner strength, was still no match for a mere mortal?

Above the celestial realm, the old monk looked surprised as he gazed towards the azure sky. Master Gu's expression also changed; he seemed about to move, but suddenly a chilling sword intent rose, subtly locking onto him.

Yan Shi said calmly, "Brother Gu, why are you in such a hurry? Wouldn't it be better to stay and chat? I just realized that what the master said was very true; it would be worthwhile to keep the two of you here."

The old monk glanced at a certain spot in the void, then calmly said, "It's just a bargain; it won't change the overall trend."

Yan Shi said, "If it's a little more cost-effective here and a little more cost-effective there, maybe the overall situation will change?"

"Then this old monk will wait and see." The old monk slowly closed his eyes and entered meditation.

Mr. Gu, however, seemed somewhat uneasy, frowning in thought, muttering to himself, "Something's not right. Why did he retaliate so soon? Does he have a backup plan?"

As soon as the words left his mouth, he was suddenly startled and looked at Yan Shi, saying, "You're plotting against me?"

Yan Shi said, "I already know these things even if you don't say them, and it's no big deal to say them anyway. So why bother?"

Yan Shi's words were not wrong, but Master Gu's expression grew increasingly grim. Just now, his Dao heart had been slightly moved, and Yan Shi seized the opportunity to guide him to say what he should have kept in his heart.

This was essentially a battle of wits across distances, with him slightly inferior. Now, it's unclear whether it's that Master Gu himself is weaker than Yan Shi, or whether the Quasi-Sage's legacy is inferior to the Primordial Ancestor's Immortal Sword. Either way, it's hard to accept.

Behind Yan Shi, in the small courtyard, the celestial light grew increasingly bright, and the Great Dao trembled continuously, indicating that the tribulation of ascending to immortality could arrive at any moment. The old monk and Master Gu remained expressionless, yet there were subtle fluctuations of divine thought in the void, clearly indicating that they were constantly communicating. Then Master Gu calmed down, closed his eyes, and began to wander in his mind, and the situation once again reached a stalemate.

While things remained still here, elsewhere a great upheaval was taking place.

In the four southern prefectures of Ji State, Li Zhi was inspecting a battalion of soldiers. This battalion consisted of more than five thousand men, each one full of energy, their armor gleaming, and their fiery spirit palpable. Clearly, they had been well-fed and their bodies were in good shape.

Li Zhi looked at each soldier one by one, occasionally inspecting their weapons, armor, and inner garments. Sometimes he would even squat down to check their boots, and even made several soldiers take off their boots on the spot to check the lining and socks.

After inspecting more than three hundred men, Li Zhi finally nodded in satisfaction and said to the general beside him, "The soldiers have been well led. The entire battalion will receive a minor merit."

The generals, who had been tense, finally breathed a sigh of relief.

After conquering the four southern prefectures of Ji State, Li Zhi did not stop. He then conquered one prefecture each on the left and right, bringing the total to six prefectures. Only then did he pause his advance and begin to build defenses on the spot, recruit new soldiers, and train and expand his army, showing a steady and methodical approach.

Emperor Gaozong (Li Zhi) placed great importance on the army. During his free time, he would often conduct surprise inspections of military camps. Upon entering, he would assemble the entire army and meticulously inspect their equipment, clothing, and supplies. Previously, Li Zhi discovered that the commander of one camp had embezzled funds intended for ammunition purchases, resulting in a battalion having less than 30% of the required ammunition.

Li Zhi was enraged and, disregarding the fact that the camp commander was his cousin and the child of his closest aunt, beheaded him on the spot.

After this incident, Li Zhi's maternal uncle, along with several members of his maternal clan, came to demand an explanation. As a result, several middle-aged and elderly playboys were arrested by Li Zhi on the grounds of disrupting the morale of the army. They were severely beaten with a hundred strokes of the cane, leaving them with torn skin and barely alive, without any dignity whatsoever.

From then on, all the generals were terrified and dared not tamper with military equipment and supplies again. Those who had tampered with them quickly made up for the shortfall with their own money.

Thus, in the years following the uprising, Li Zhi never fully understood the situation regarding the Prince of Ji's inner circle, but he had already amassed 300,000 elite troops in the southern part of Ji and trained a new army of 700,000.

The pressure on the southern part of Ji State was palpable. The three generals, Annan, Dingnan, and Sinan, submitted memorials to the King of Ji day and night, requesting reinforcements to defend the pass.

However, King Ji was also in a bind at this time. The Southern Qi army in the north was pressing on the border and was constantly provoking incidents and frictions, forcing the Ji Kingdom's nearly two million border troops to be unable to move or be mobilized at all.

The upheaval in the State of Ji originated in the western frontier, and later Wei Yuan occupied two prefectures, establishing Yizhou. Therefore, the once-powerful western frontier army had long since vanished. As a result, the King of Ji only had a few hundred thousand imperial guards and some ineffective local troops left to defend the south.

So despite the constant stream of urgent reports from the south, Prince Ji still had no troops to send. It wasn't that the Imperial Guards were incapable of being commanded, but rather that the three generals of the south refused to serve.

Thus, Li Zhi continued to train his troops and consolidate local power at a leisurely pace, patiently waiting for the Ji Kingdom to exhaust its strength.

The battalion of 5,000 men he just inspected is the new army, composed of veteran soldiers from the Zhenshan Commandery as officers and a large number of new recruits.

Seeing that Li Zhi finally nodded in approval and awarded them military merit, everyone felt as if they had just escaped the gates of hell.

Li Zhi was about to say something when he suddenly felt something and turned to look into the distance. The sky was a blood-red sunset, the sun half-hidden behind the clouds, but at this moment the red was exceptionally dazzling and vibrant.

Li Zhi raised his hand and saw that it was covered in blood. Most of the soldiers in front of him suddenly turned into skeletons, but the few who did have their auras rising steadily. The last one even had a banner faintly appear above his head, and his aura was no less powerful than Li Zhi's.

The illusion lasted only a moment, and everything before Li Zhi's eyes returned to normal. However, with his current strength, he naturally knew that such an illusion could not appear out of thin air, but rather seemed to be in harmony with the great Dao of Heaven and Earth, allowing him to glimpse a glimpse of the mysteries of the future.

He also possessed the bearing of a ruthless leader, and immediately realized: the time had come!
Li Zhi's gaze fell on the person with the banner rising above his head in the illusion. At this moment, he was still an ordinary-looking young soldier with a peasant's simplicity on his face.

Li Zhi walked up to him and asked, "What's your name?"

(End of this chapter)