115: Chapter 115 The Cycle of Yin and Yang, Eight Million People

In the fiftieth year of the Divine Kingdom, the Northern Nether Earth was no longer desolate; around the Soul-Nurturing Platform, cultivation academies, Medical Cultivator Camps, Formation workshops, and several new cities had been built.

Pure Soul Power flowed continuously along the ley lines, the range of the Purple Mansion Cultivators' Divine Sense continued to increase, and the Formation Hall's control over large-scale military Formations became more precise.

In the Shura Field, the Immovable Wisdom King Army Formation had expanded from five hundred to three thousand people. The Martial Masters marched in Formation under the pressure of Soul Power, their steps becoming increasingly steady.

Wang Shan visited the Shura Field for inspection every day; he could spot faults at a glance, whether someone's Formation was a beat slow or their Qi and blood connection was unstable.

"Third column on the left flank, you dare to raise your shield when your footing is unstable? If an enemy launches a Divine Soul attack, you'll be the first to bring everyone behind you down!"

The young Martial Master who was called out felt his ears burning and hurriedly adjusted his position. The veteran soldier beside him lowered his voice: "The harder the Commander scolds you, the more he values you."

Wang Shan had sharp ears; he slammed his sword hilt down: "Who taught you that nonsense? Three extra rounds of training in the Shura Field."

The veteran immediately shut his mouth, grabbed his shield, and ran into the Formation. The people around held their breath, forcibly swallowing their laughter.

Resources from the Northern Nether Earth were gradually being digested, and the Hundred Arts Hall delivered new results. The Casting Workshop repeatedly smelted undead bone materials with black scale coatings to forge the first batch of Nether Bone Xuan Armor.

The Nether Bone Xuan Armor was covered with a black scale coating on the outer layer to block poison and resist corrosion, while the inner layer was embedded with Soul-Cleansing Bone Runes, specifically designed to defend against Divine Soul attacks.

On the day of the armor test, a Martial Master donned the Nether Bone Xuan Armor and stood in the center of the Shura Field as ten Spirit-Nourishing Formation Plates were activated simultaneously.

This Martial Master could originally only hold out for twenty breaths, but after putting on the Nether Bone Xuan Armor, he firmly held on for a full incense stick's time; the Soul-Cleansing Bone Runes on the inner layer of the armor flickered alternately and never dissipated.

Wang Shan circled the Martial Master twice, slapped his large palm onto the shoulder armor, making a clanging sound: "Good stuff, prioritize equipping the main combat army first."

The head of the Casting Workshop hurriedly protected the record book: "Commander, the Nether Bone Xuan Armor consumes a lot of materials. Our inventory of undead bone materials is only enough to forge five thousand sets for now."

Wang Shan frowned: "Then stop the non-essential work at the Casting Workshop. The main combat army gets equipped first, the reserve army comes after."

When Wang Mu stepped into the Casting Workshop, Wang Shan had already written to the third page of the military supply application, clearly marking which battalion would be equipped first.

Wang Mu scanned the roster and added a line at the end with his brush: "The Formation Maintenance Team, Medical Cultivator Camp, and Artillery Battalion Maintenance Team are also listed for the first batch of equipment."

Wang Shan looked up: "They aren't on the front lines."

Wang Mu pushed the ledger in front of him: "They guard the artillery positions, Formation eyes, and wounded soldiers. When a Divine Soul attack comes down, the front line might survive, but if the rear falls into chaos, it's still a total defeat."

Wang Shan grabbed the pen and heavily added a few names to the application: "Fine, I'll listen to you, since you always like to meddle."

Mass production of the Nether Bone Xuan Armor began; the Casting Workshop operated day and night, melting purified undead bone materials into armor plates and applying the black scale coating layer by layer.

The old armor in the army was not discarded but transferred to the reserve army and militia camps; every resource in the Divine Kingdom was utilized to its fullest extent.

The Alchemy Pavilion's Pill Furnaces never went out; Soul Fire Crystals and purple blood vermilion fruit were sent into them, and the alchemists toiled over the new Pill Formula for seven whole years.

Soul Fire Crystals locked the Divine Soul, while purple blood vermilion fruit replenished Qi, blood, and Spiritual Qi; refining them together produced an extremely fierce medicinal property that was very difficult to control.

The first eleven batches of Medicinal Pills were discarded one after another. Some left charred dregs that caused Divine Soul tremors upon ingestion; others had excessive soul-locking properties that forcibly stagnated the circulation of True Essence.

The head of the Alchemy Pavilion placed the records of the failed pills on the long table, his voice hoarse: "Give me another three years. If I still can't refine it, I will go to the Medical Cultivator Camp and test the medicine myself."

Wang Mu looked at him, covered in medicinal ash, and picked up the record book to flip through it page by page: "It's useless for you to test the medicine. The problem lies in the purification sequence of the Soul Fire Crystals."

"First, wash them with the Soul Power of the Soul-Nurturing Platform, then coat the Soul Fire Crystals with the purple blood vermilion fruit medicinal liquid; don't let Death Qi and the medicinal power enter the furnace at the same time."

The head of the Alchemy Pavilion froze in place, then grabbed the record book and rushed back to the pill room, forgetting even to bow.

Three years later, the first Soul-Burning Heaven-Mending Pill was produced. The pill was crimson gold in color, covered in fine soul runes, and still radiated warmth even when placed in a jade box.

Dozens of tests by the Medical Cultivator Camp confirmed that the Soul-Burning Heaven-Mending Pill could lock the Divine Soul during critical injuries, buying time for treatment.

This pill could not bring the dead back to life, but it could forcibly pull back those who had one foot in the gates of hell.

Wang Shan held the medicine box, remaining silent for a long time, then allocated the entire first batch of Medicinal Pills to the frontline heavy armored army and the Artillery Battalion Maintenance Team.

"In that battle at the Black Swamp, the Rescue Team carried people through toxic mud; in the Skeleton Wasteland, the maintenance team repaired artillery barrels while enduring Death Qi. Let them have them first."

Wang Mu said nothing and picked up his brush to write down three rules on the distribution roster: merit first, critical injuries first, and frontline first.

The Soul-Burning Heaven-Mending Pills were distributed to major Medical Cultivator Camps, significantly increasing the survival rate of emergency rescues and breaking the deadlock where one had to resign to fate if their Divine Soul was injured.

Young Medical Cultivators clutched the new medicine manuals and studied diligently; many stayed up until their eyes were bloodshot, unwilling to leave the pill room for even a step.

Remembering one more medicinal property could mean bringing back one more veteran from the front lines, preserving one more complete family.

In the hundredth year of the Divine Kingdom, the Northern Nether Earth was connected to the entire ley line system of the Divine Kingdom, and the efficacy of the Spirit-Nourishing Formation Plates, Soul-Cleansing Grass, and Yin Soil cultivation substrates was fully realized.

As the Yin Soil's Soul Power merged into the ley lines, the Spiritual Qi in the Immortal Dao Ancestral Court became more stable, the Qi and blood in the Martial Dao Holy City became deeper, and the children in the academies of various cities also benefited.

That day, the alternation of day and night first appeared in the sky of the Divine Kingdom. During the day, Spiritual Qi rose, and as night fell, the Yin Soil's Soul Power flowed along the ley lines to every city.

The Yin and Yang rotation did not hinder cultivation; on the contrary, it caused the flow of Spiritual Qi, Qi and blood, and Soul Power to align with the Laws of heaven and earth, allowing the Divine Kingdom's ecosystem to operate on its own.

Wang Mu stood atop the Northern Soul-Nurturing Platform, looking up at the alternating colors of the sky, the Jade Slip in his hand recording the Divine Soul test results of newborns over the past decade.

"Divine Lord, the Yin and Yang rotation has completed part of the Law, and the Divine Soul strength of newborns has exceeded that of the past by two times."

Wang Pingan sat high in the sky, his Divine Thought brushing over the cities. Many children who had just learned to breathe and absorb Qi sat upright in the academies, their Divine Souls far more stable than their parents'.

This change would not immediately translate into military combat power, but in ten or a hundred years, it would become the deepest Foundation of the Divine Kingdom.

Wang Pingan issued a divine oracle: "Continue to expand basic academies, open the Northern Nether Earth Soul-Nurturing Platform based on contributions, and all newborns must have their Divine Soul data recorded."

Wang Mu bowed to accept the order: "I will incorporate the Yin Soil's Soul Power into academy training; first nourish the roots, then Cultivate the talent."

Wang Shan heard the news and hurried to the Soul-Nurturing Platform, gazing at the stretches of new cities in the distance; his face was rarely so calm.

"In the past, when fighting wars, I only thought about training a few more people who could hack down enemies. Now, looking at these little ones, I think slow nurturing isn't bad either."

Wang Mu turned his head to look at him: "You finally understand?"

Wang Shan stiffened his face: "I understood long ago, I just didn't like to talk about it."

Wang Mu didn't expose him and handed over a new recruit training roster: "Since you understand, there will be an additional two hundred thousand eligible youths next year; you arrange it yourself."

Wang Shan stared at the roster for a long while, then picked up his blade and turned around: "I'm going to check the Shura Field; the training camp needs to be expanded."

As time passed, the Nether Bone Xuan Armor continued to roll off the production line, Soul-Burning Heaven-Mending Pills were sent to various Medical Cultivator Camps, and the Immovable Wisdom King Army Formation trended toward Perfection through repeated drills.

The scale of the main combat army expanded to twenty thousand, with ten thousand Purple Mansion Cultivators and elite Martial Masters; the Auxiliary Army, reserve army, and Hundred Arts system expanded in tandem.

Wang Pingan always kept the pace of military expansion under control, ensuring the number of troops never exceeded the Divine Kingdom's capacity to support them; military rations, Medicinal Pills, armor, Formation Plates, and Medical Cultivator configurations had to be in place first.

Every citizen who stepped into the main combat army had to undergo multiple trials, including the terrain of the Black Swamp, the exhaustion of the Green Abyss, the Death Qi of the undead, and the pressure of Soul Power.

Those who could stand in the main combat army might not have the highest Realm, but they had to understand military orders, Formations, rescue, and strategic retreat, and even more importantly, they had to know how to bring their comrades back.

In the one hundred and eightieth year of the Divine Kingdom, the Northern Nether Earth merged with the other territories, with the day and night rotation covering eighty thousand square kilometers of land, and cities and spirit fields spread across the mountains, rivers, and networks.

The twenty thousand main combat troops were all equipped with Nether Bone Xuan Armor, their Soul-Cleansing Bone Runes connecting into a military Formation that tugged at the Soul Power deep within the Yin Soil.

Ten thousand Purple Mansion Cultivators and elite Martial Masters stood at the core of the military Formation, their Divine Souls polished to the limit of their Realm; as the Immovable Wisdom King Army Formation unfolded, the Evil Qi within it exuded a pressure capable of severing Divine Souls.

Wang Shan stood in front of the training ground, his crimson flame saber propped on the ground, gazing at the neatly arrayed legions; the heroic spirit he had suppressed for many years surged out from his chest.

"Whoever dares to use Divine Soul methods to suppress us again, let him come in and try it himself; let's see if this military Formation will leave his corpse intact!"

The twenty thousand soldiers shouted in unison, the sound wave sweeping across the training ground, passing over the Northern Nether Earth, and falling into a new city that was currently being expanded.

Inside the Immortal Dao Ancestral Court, Wang Mu closed the last volume of the Divine Kingdom's administrative files. Standing before the desk was a group of young citizens, belonging to the academies, Hundred Arts Hall, military camps, and local cities.

They were either skilled in administration, proficient in Spirit Planting, knowledgeable in Formations, or capable of calculating military supply ledgers to the last detail.

They took over from their Seniors, managing the spirit fields, cities, academies, Hundred Arts Hall, and military camps. The Divine Kingdom no longer relied solely on that initial group of people to struggle on.

Wang Mu watched them walk out of the great hall one by one, the heavy burden that had pressed on his shoulders for over a hundred years feeling much lighter.

He did not ascend the high platform of the Ancestral Court to issue orders again, but instead handed the command flags to the top young commanders, retiring behind the scenes to organize the Legacy and old cases.

Wang Shan did the same, handing over the main combat army to new elite generals who had been tempered in the Black Swamp, Green Abyss, and Skeleton Wasteland, only appearing during major drills.

A new commander dared not accept the blade, so Wang Shan kicked him in front of the military flag: "If you can fight, take it; if you can't hold it, then train! I can't keep fighting for you until I'm eight hundred years old."

The new commander steadied his footing while holding the crimson flame saber, fire in his eyes, and bowed solemnly to Wang Shan: "This subordinate will certainly not fail you, Commander."

Wang Shan waved his hand, turned, and stepped out of the training ground, muttering: "Less talk, let me see you fight it out."

Wang Pingan stood in the sky, overlooking the prosperous Divine Kingdom of eighty thousand square kilometers. Spirit fields stretched out in succession, the Hundred Arts Hall was brightly lit, and trade routes and military roads crisscrossed between the cities.

The older generation of citizens gradually retired, Wang Mu and Wang Shan relinquished power, and the new generation with better Aptitude and talent took over the reins of power; within the Divine Kingdom, prosperity thrived, and eight million citizens lived and multiplied endlessly.