Chapter 493: Examining the Body

Amidst the earthly smoke and fire, countless mortals were busy at work, screening candidates according to given criteria and finally consolidating them into a long list.

Wei Yuan entered the earthly smoke and fire, looking at the bustling city.

At this moment, the water level had receded slightly. The city, which originally only had a radius of three *li*, now had dozens of *li* of land exposed above the water. A group of mortals was replanning the newly added land, moving buildings from within the city to the outside and constructing large residential areas.

Looking down from above, there were now 110,000 mortals in the earthly smoke and fire, an increase of nearly 20,000. However, the previous war dead numbered nearly 30,000; it was unknown whether the difference had been reincarnated or if their souls had scattered.

At this time, there were over 300 Dao Foundation warriors and two Dharma Form warriors in the earthly smoke and fire. These newly generated warriors were different from the Dragon Guards; they originated directly from the souls of the Shaman tribe, born through the sea of souls surrounding the Gate of Myriad Realms.

Only a small portion of the Dao Foundation warriors had attained enlightenment. Wei Yuan was not very clear about the conditions for their enlightenment; it seemed random. Furthermore, because the spirituality of the entire Dharma Form was increasing, the number of enlightened individuals would also increase.

Since he had come to the earthly smoke and fire, Wei Yuan took the opportunity to check on the young girl, Yin-Yang. She was still standing quietly in the distorted world, but there was a glimmer of spiritual light deep within her pupils, indicating that she could still engage in dialogue and provide feedback for simple tasks.

Wei Yuan habitually greeted her and then went about his business.

He first input the formation technique taught by Feng Chutang into the earthly smoke and fire as a data backup.

This formation was truly extraordinary, more than ten times more complex than the most intricate Qi-luck formation Wei Yuan had ever learned. Moreover, to achieve certain special functions, this formation not only had extremely delicate and complex formation patterns but was also composed of two layers, upper and lower, thereby achieving complex integration.

This formation was far beyond Wei Yuan's current level. Even the earthly smoke and fire could not parse it and could only store it as reference material, waiting until the mortals and the immortal plant formation attainments reached the corresponding level before it could be truly used.

Wei Yuan took the newly generated roster and left the earthly smoke and fire, then manifested several enlightened Dao Foundation warriors, ordering them to copy the roster in the study. This was a new use Wei Yuan had recently developed: having enlightened Dao Foundation warriors copy some of the data researched in the earthly smoke and fire into reality, which could save Wei Yuan a great deal of time.

A moment later, the copying of the roster was completed. Wei Yuan summoned Xu Yi, Cui Yu, Xu Waner, and others, divided the copied roster into several parts, handed them over to them, and said, "Gather the people on the roster to the Northern No. 2 Training Camp for basic training, and then I will initiate a 'Moment of All Living Beings' for them to experience."

Xu Waner was relatively meticulous. After looking at the roster, she asked, "Are these people all those who have not yet reached the Blood Merging Realm?"

Wei Yuan nodded. Xu Waner was somewhat puzzled, not understanding why these people who had just forged their bodies and could only be considered qualified farmers and laborers were also so highly valued. But she was always obedient and did not ask further.

After arranging the matters of the roster, Wei Yuan took the opportunity to carefully examine the few of them. Finding no obvious signs of karmic debt, he felt relieved. He then flew to Ding'an City and walked straight into the City Lord's Mansion.

The City Lord's Mansion was silent at this moment. The guards saluted silently when they saw Wei Yuan and then cleared the way. Wei Yuan entered the inner mansion and pushed the door to walk into the inner hall. It was still quiet here. Walking further in, he saw Behind Bao Yun lying on the bed, fully clothed, taking a nap.

Behind Bao Yun was a bit strange at this moment; her breathing was quite rapid, and the rhythm was not at all like her usual self. It was unknown what kind of dream she was having.

Wei Yuan did not make a sound but raised his aura, which startled Behind Bao Yun, causing her to wake up slowly. After waking up, Behind Bao Yun's small face was full of annoyance.

"I was almost inside..." Seeing that it was Wei Yuan who had woken her up, she had a look of wanting to say something but stopping, and finally pouted angrily.

Wei Yuan asked in confusion, "What are you angry about? Where were you going to enter?"

"Nothing, just a small matter. What are you looking for me for?"

"Just came over to see you. To be specific, I want to help you check your body," Wei Yuan said solemnly.

Behind Bao Yun was startled, then covered her mouth and chuckled, sat back on the bed, and asked, "Should I be checked sitting or lying down?"

Wei Yuan hurriedly said, "Standing is fine."

Behind Bao Yun stood up and walked right in front of Wei Yuan, almost pressing against him, before asking, "Is this okay?"

Wei Yuan felt a headache and hurriedly said, "Perfectly fine. Don't move, I'll be done immediately."

A divine light suddenly bloomed in Wei Yuan's eyes, and a point of true intent pierced straight into Behind Bao Yun's glabella, but he withdrew it just as it was about to touch.

Stimulated, a wisp of extremely faint black Qi overflowed from Behind Bao Yun's glabella, hovered for a moment, and then shrank back.

This was a technique Wei Yuan had learned from Feng Chutang, which could use his own Qi-luck to stimulate the other party's karmic debt, thereby fishing out hidden karmic debt.

"Sure enough, you have karmic debt on you now, but it is very slight and doesn't affect anything." "Directing a war will inevitably result in karmic debt, how could there be none at all? Why did you suddenly come to check the karmic debt on me? Is it because someone suddenly became entangled in karmic debt, and you discovered it late, so you hurriedly came to see if I was okay?"

"Let me think, who could make you suddenly so nervous? This shouldn't be hard to guess..."

In his anxiety, Wei Yuan covered Behind Bao Yun's mouth.

Behind Bao Yun looked at Wei Yuan with a smile in her large eyes, and the tip of her warm tongue tapped on Wei Yuan's palm.

Wei Yuan felt as if he had been electrocuted, hurriedly withdrew his hand, and smiled bitterly, "It's good that you're fine. Continue resting, I still have to check on others. Oh, by the way, there is a meeting tomorrow morning, don't forget to come."

Behind Bao Yun did not make things difficult for Wei Yuan, nodded, and let Wei Yuan go.

Wei Yuan flew back and forth to check on the important generals and the City Lord, confirming that everyone's karmic debt was within a safe range, which finally put his mind at ease.

He then began to issue a series of orders. A moment later, the entire Qingming began to boil. Countless torches illuminated the darkness before dawn. Numerous civilians began to walk out of their homes. On the road, countless officers and minor officials held rosters, some counting the teams gathered in front of them, others constantly shouting names.

Large groups of civilians carried only simple clothing and set off under the cover of night, most of them heading north. Currently in Qingming, except for the level of cultivators and registered officials, ordinary people had no property of their own at all, at most just the clothes they had accumulated and the rations that had been issued but not yet eaten.

Therefore, the civilians could leave as soon as they were told, as long as they were given food and provided with a place to stay on the road.

It was over 800 *li* from the southeast to the northwest of Qingming. These civilians would normally take five or six days to walk, so arrangements had to be made along the way.

Looking one by one...

At this time, a large open space had been cleared 300 *li* northwest of Qingming, with camps stretching continuously. Cargo trucks loaded with weapons and armor arrived and were dumped directly into the cargo yard.

After walking for two days, the first team of civilians finally approached this camp. On the road, they saw a piece of hilly land in the distance under construction, with four thick ancient trees erected on the mountaintop as pillars. These giant pillars were as high as 30 *zhang* and could be seen from far away at a glance.

"What is being built there?" a curious mortal asked.

A minor officer in charge of escorting said, "That mountain area has been named Ling Shan by the Domain Lord, specifically used to bury those who died in battle. What is being built on the mountaintop is the Lingxiao Spirit Hall, where the spirit tablets of those who have made great contributions to the domain will be enshrined. Perhaps if you and I are lucky, we might also be able to get a spot inside."

The mortal shrank his head and said, "We are just mortals, where would we have the opportunity to make great contributions to the domain? Even becoming Dao Foundation is something I dare not think about!"

The officer chuckled and said, "You don't know about this, do you? The Domain Lord said that the first floor of the Spirit Hall is specifically for enshrining the spirit tablets of mortal heroic souls! Only heroes below Dao Foundation are enshrined there. So, you and I both have a chance. Of course, I am already in the Bone Forging Realm now, so my chance is a little bigger than yours."

The surrounding mortals were all listening with pricked ears. The mortal was both surprised and happy, saying, "If I could have a spirit tablet inside, wouldn't future generations be able to know who I am? My few sons, if they have grandsons and great-grandsons in the future, they could also come to see me."

"Hahaha, if you, Hu Laosan, could have a spirit tablet, wouldn't I, Liao Yong, have to put up two?"

Hu Laosan snorted and said, "That's really not certain."

This group of people continued forward and finally arrived at the prepared camp. The officers in the camp became busy, leading them to distribute tents and then issuing armor and weaponry.

The sky was gradually brightening.

In the Council Hall, not only had the cultivators of the Tai Chu Palace all arrived, but Li Zhi was also sitting in the seats.

A sand table was placed on the central conference table, and a piece of hilly land was specifically marked in the mountain area in the northeast of the domain.

Wei Yuan said, "I have already selected 20,000 mortals. They are either dragging their families along, having brothers and sisters at home, and are willing to fight for a future for their families with their own strength; or they are some who have deep feelings for Qingming and are willing to die; and there are also some who are alone and fearless. In short, these 20,000 people are largely willing to fight to the death for Qingming."

Wei Yuan pointed to the hilly land marked on the map and said, "In addition, I plan to set up a Ling Shan here, and everyone who fights for Qingming will be buried here. The Lingxiao Spirit Hall will be built on the mountaintop, where the spirit tablets of those who have made great contributions to Qingming will be enshrined. The first floor is specifically reserved for mortals below Dao Foundation. Perhaps many years later, this will be a place that all hot-blooded people will want to come and see."

Speaking of this, everyone roughly knew Wei Yuan's thoughts. However, they were still a bit strange. In the past, Qingming civilians also had to go to the battlefield, and a few battles were fought extremely tragically. Yun Feifei's battle even involved dragging many enemies to die together. Why be so solemn this time?

Feng Chutang looked at everyone and said calmly, "These 20,000 people are the essence; they don't have to go up together. The first batch will go up 2,000 first, and then 20,000 other mortals will be organized into a team, and I will lead the team. When the great war begins, as long as these 2,000 people can take the lead in fighting to the death and arouse the bloodiness of others, I can cast a secret technique to allow everyone to fight to the death, never dying and never stopping."

Many people present were suddenly shocked!

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 494 =====