Li Daoxuan's vision now covered nearly the entirety of Huanglong Mountain. Only a small remaining stretch stood between it and Yan'an Prefecture.
At the same time, the cement road extending from Gao Family Village was also approaching its final destination. Once completed, it would run uninterrupted all the way to Yan'an.
Huanglong Mountain had become a frenzy of construction.
Despite Zhong Gaoliang commanding well over a hundred thousand labor reform prisoners, truly strong and able-bodied workers were still in short supply. Developing a mountain range of this scale was no trivial matter. Even in a later age, this would have been classified as a super-project. In the current era—where nearly everything relied on bare hands and simple tools—the workload was nothing short of monstrous.
Cheng Xu folded his arms and said coldly, "I don't care if your manpower is stretched thin. Conscription must happen. If our forces are inadequate and the rebel bandits break through, the people will suffer catastrophic losses. By then, all these houses you're building will be completely meaningless."
His words struck home.
Zhong Gaoliang hesitated for a moment, then finally nodded. "Very well. The group you want to recruit is currently working on the final mountain pass leading to Yan'an Prefecture. I'll take you there so you can see it yourself."
The two climbed into a Solar Car and drove along the newly paved cement road that wound through Huanglong Mountain, heading straight for Yan'an.
The road stretched far and long, twisting endlessly through forests and valleys. After more than a hundred li, Cheng Xu was growing impatient—until the cement road suddenly came to an abrupt halt.
Ahead lay nothing but a dirt track of yellow earth.
At the end of the road, thousands of labor reform prisoners were hard at work, pushing the construction line deeper into the mountains.
Cheng Xu's spirits instantly lifted.
He jumped out of the Solar Car and shouted across the worksite, "Labor reform prisoners! Gather here! I have an announcement!"
The workers stopped what they were doing and converged rapidly. Seven thousand men gathered together, shoulder to shoulder, forming a dense crowd. Yet there was not the slightest noise—no chatter, no disorder. Years of incarceration had hammered discipline deep into their bones.
Cheng Xu cleared his throat and announced the conscription order.
As expected, the reaction was completely different from that of ordinary civilians.
These men had once been rebel bandits. They had wielded blades, spilled blood, and fought with their lives on the line. They weren't plagued by the same exhaustion and fear of war that haunted common folk.
The moment they heard about the generous treatment and benefits afforded to militia soldiers, the crowd erupted.
"I'll join!"
"Count me in!"
"I'm willing!"
Voices overlapped as everyone scrambled to volunteer.
Cheng Xu was overjoyed. At last—real manpower.
Just as he was basking in success, a man stepped forward from the crowd. His appearance was honest and unremarkable.
"Instructor He," the man said respectfully, "I wish to enlist immediately as well. However… this cement road before us—the Huang–Yan Highway—is almost finished. Only the final mountain remains. Once we break through it, the road will reach Yan'an Prefecture."
He paused, then continued slowly, "I've worked on this road since the very first shovel struck the ground. From beginning to end. If I leave now, without seeing it completed… I fear that regret will follow me for the rest of my life."
At his words, the surrounding prisoners all fell silent.
One by one, their gazes shifted—from the speaker… to the towering final mountain ahead.
That mountain was Dadunliang Mountain.
It stood as the last barrier before Yan'an Prefecture. Once it was dealt with, Huanglong Mountain and Yan'an would be fully connected by road.
As the prisoners stared at it, complicated emotions flickered in their eyes.
Cheng Xu understood immediately.
Every single one of them felt the same way.
They had carved this road out with their own hands and feet. With so little remaining, leaving now would gnaw at them forever.
After a moment's thought, Cheng Xu said, "Very well. Finish this last stretch first. Once it's done, you may enlist."
Zhong Gaoliang leaned in and whispered awkwardly, "It sounds simple, but in reality… this will take a very long time. A highway can't go straight up a mountain and down the other side. It has to coil upward, winding like an earthworm."
He gestured toward Dadunliang Mountain. "And this peak is far steeper than ordinary mountains. Building a proper mountain road here is extremely difficult."
After hesitating, he added, "This final section alone… could take another six months."
"Six months?!" Cheng Xu nearly jumped. "Absolutely not! The world is already in chaos, rebel bandits are everywhere. Even after conscription, soldiers need six months to a year of training before they're combat-ready. If we wait another half year just to recruit, it'll be far too late!"
Zhong Gaoliang frowned. "Then what should we do?"
Cheng Xu let out a long sigh. "This is a real problem…"
At that moment, a calm voice suddenly spoke from Cheng Xu's chest.
"Leave this matter to me."
Cheng Xu froze, then immediately bowed. "Greetings, Dao Xuan Tianzun!"
Zhong Gaoliang followed suit, bowing deeply.
Dao Xuan Tianzun chuckled softly. "The highway must cross Dadunliang Mountain, correct?"
"That's right," Zhong Gaoliang replied hurriedly. "But this mountain—"
"I see it."
Dao Xuan Tianzun examined the peak carefully, briefly considering whether to simply reach in with a shovel and remove it entirely.
But after a closer look, he dismissed the idea.
Dadunliang Mountain was part of the Huanglong Mountain range, its core composed almost entirely of solid stone. It was tightly connected to the surrounding ridges, forming one massive, unified structure.
A small shovel wouldn't even make it budge.
What about using a metal scraper to carve a path?
That wouldn't work either.
The mountain was steep, jagged, and riddled with deep V-shaped ravines. Even if a path could be carved, it would still twist endlessly up and down. Paving such a route with cement would remain an enormous burden, consuming vast amounts of time.
Given all this—
There was only one solution.
Li Daoxuan laughed softly. "Then let's dig a tunnel."
Cheng Xu blinked. "A… tunnel?"
Zhong Gaoliang echoed in confusion, "What is a tunnel?"
Li Daoxuan explained calmly, "The shortest distance between two points is a straight line. At the base of Dadunliang Mountain, we'll bore directly through it—from one side to the other. This passage will be called a tunnel."
He continued, "There will be no need for winding mountain roads. The highway will be shorter, and construction time will be drastically reduced."
"Through the mountain?!" Cheng Xu was stunned.
Zhong Gaoliang stammered, "But… how could such a thing be done?"
He stopped mid-sentence, suddenly remembering who he was speaking to, and hastily covered his mouth.
While humans might find it impossible—
A Dao Xuan Tianzun certainly would not.
Cheng Xu, for his part, had never doubted it.
Zhong Gaoliang did not know that when Cheng Xu had first been rescued and brought to Gao Family Village, Li Daoxuan had triggered a landslide that buried an entire small mountain, faking Cheng Xu's death and deceiving the Embroidered Uniform Guard.
Cheng Xu knew very well just how terrifying this being truly was.
Dao Xuan Tianzun said, "Wait a moment. I need to prepare the appropriate tools."
With that, his voice fell silent.
Cheng Xu exclaimed excitedly, "Dao Xuan Tianzun has gone to prepare his divine artifacts!"
Zhong Gaoliang's eyes lit up. "A divine artifact capable of piercing a mountain… astonishing!"
Their excited voices spread through the crowd.
The seven thousand labor reform prisoners erupted.
"The Dao Xuan Tianzun is personally going to break through the mountain?"
"We have to see this!"
"This is history in the making!"
They quickly gathered on a nearby hillside facing Dadunliang Mountain, sitting neatly in rows. Dried rations and water skins came out as they ate and drank, eyes fixed on the mountain, eagerly awaiting the moment when divine power would descend.