Chapter 83: Yuan Tiangang Repels Jidi with His Sword
Between the Great Tang Empire and Tianzhu Country the situation was tense beyond comparison. That day, Li Zhi issued an imperial decree, appointing Li Ji as the Grand Marshal in charge of the troops, leading a million elite soldiers straight to the border between the Eastern Divine Region and the Western Heavenly Buddha Land—Two Realms Pass!
Two Realms Pass was easy to defend but difficult to attack, with walls thirty zhang high, a hundred thousand soldiers, abundant provisions, and eight hundred thousand arrows. The person in charge of defending the pass was a Zen Master, known as the Fierce Fire Zen Master, whose mana had reached that of a Great Immortal. He possessed a Great Seal, which was a replica of the Sky-Overturning Seal, called the Mountain-Suppressing Seal, extremely formidable—striking down the enemy with certain death!
Li Ji ordered Cheng Yaojin to be the vanguard on the left flank, Qin Shubao to be the vanguard on the right, and Yuchi Gong the vanguard of the main force. The three divisions of the army, with three hundred thousand on each flank and four hundred thousand in the main force, marched mightily towards Two Realms Pass.
This movement by the Great Tang Empire shocked the Buddhist Sect and caught Tianzhu Country unprepared.
On hearing the scout’s report, the Fierce Fire Zen Master immediately ordered the soldiers to move logs, boulders, and pots of oil to the top of the city walls and sent for reinforcements from Tianzhu Country.
Tianzhu Country was under the governance of the Western Heavenly Buddha Land and its ranks were mostly filled with Buddhist monks, Zen Masters, and Holy Monks. However, these were not ordinary people; they were not to be compared with those who spent their days only reciting "Amitabha Buddha" and "Well said, well said."
The vanguard of the left flank, Cheng Yaojin, arrived twenty li from Two Realms Pass, set up camp, prepared food, and rested for two hours before launching the attack on the city!
Cheng Yaojin’s mana level was at that of a Profound Immortal and he possessed an indomitable strength; even Immortals usually had difficulty matching up against him. On the surface, he appeared crude but was in fact as cunning as an old demon, dubbed "Cheng the Demon," often infuriating both Emperor Li Shimin and his successor Li Zhi. However, it was undeniable that he was an excellent leader in warfare.
After the soldiers prepared the food and rested for two hours, Cheng Yaojin gave the order.
Upon the sound of the cannon, like thunder on the ground, a hundred thousand soldiers remained to guard the camp, while the remaining two hundred thousand launched a direct assault on the city.
This assault was also to test the strength of Two Realms Pass.