Li Daoxuan stood to one side, arms folded, quietly watching the Twelve Widows of Tianbo Mansion rehearse.
The actresses' movements were graceful enough, though lacking real power. Their strikes looked elegant but soft, their footwork pretty but light. Still, this wasn't a serious problem. With a bit of post-production—emphasizing strengths, hiding weaknesses—the footage would be more than acceptable.
After all, audiences of this era had no concept of "professional cinematography." They wouldn't nitpick details the way later generations would. As long as the story moved them, minor flaws would be forgiven—or simply never noticed.
"You continue practicing," Li Daoxuan said calmly. "I'll return when it's time for the official shoot."
With that, he activated Co-sensing, shifting his consciousness away from Puzhou City and into the tiny Dao Xuan Tianzun statue, woven from cotton thread and sewn onto Shi Jian's chest.
At present, this was Gao Family Village's only active field army. He couldn't afford to neglect it.
The moment his consciousness settled in, he sensed that something was wrong.
Shi Jian's expression was heavy with fatigue. Zheng Gouzi, riding beside him, looked grim. The entire unit was advancing slowly, formation tight, movements cautious.
Li Daoxuan's vision swept outward.
They were deep inside a ravine.
The slopes on both sides rose at terrifying angles—well over forty-five degrees—like walls of stone pressing inward. On each slope, Gao Family Village scouts were positioned, clinging to uneven ground.
Many of them were injured.
Bandaged arms. Blood-stained sleeves. Exhausted faces.
The moment Li Daoxuan saw his little people wounded, a surge of anger rose in his chest—sharp and instinctive, like seeing his own pet injured by someone else.
Someone dared hurt them.
Shi Jian and Zheng Gouzi heard his voice and were instantly overjoyed.
"Dao Xuan Tianzun!"
"You've arrived!"
Li Daoxuan asked directly, "What's going on?"
Shi Jian answered grimly, "Reporting to Dao Xuan Tianzun. This region is nothing but ravines. The terrain is extremely complex. Bandits hide in gullies everywhere and launch sudden ambushes."
He clenched his fist. "We've slowed our advance as much as possible, but scouts moving ahead are impossible to fully protect. They keep getting hit by surprise attacks."
Li Daoxuan immediately understood.
This really was a nightmare battlefield.
The area lay outside his expanded Field of View, meaning he couldn't observe from above like before. Nor could he simply lift his little people into the air to scout.
As for the CC-01 Reconnaissance Dao Xuan Tianzun unit—it was too slow. Covering even a few miles took half a day. Completely useless in this terrain.
So how could he help?
Li Daoxuan frowned slightly.
Then—
An idea flashed through his mind.
"Can any of you make a Kongming lantern?" he asked.
Several soldiers answered at once, "Yes! Though we're not professionals."
A few even raised their hands.
Kongming lanterns weren't difficult to make. Many soldiers had made them before, either for festivals or in their hometowns.
"Good," Li Daoxuan said. "Make one."
He continued, giving clear instructions:
"Paint my image on all four sides. Tie a cotton thread to it. Release it into the sky and keep it directly above your formation."
The soldiers didn't understand why—but they understood obedience.
They immediately got to work.
There was no spare bamboo, but that wasn't a real problem. Several soldiers carried bamboo-tube rice; they shaved thin strips from the tubes, light and flexible.
A rectangular frame was assembled.
Paper was pasted onto all four sides.
The final problem was the image itself—
Until someone suddenly shouted, "I've got it!"
He pulled out a dog-eared copy of Dao Xuan Tianzun's Demon-Slaying Chronicles, tore out the illustrated page, carefully cut out the Tianzun's likeness, and pasted it onto each side.
Problem solved.
Moments later, the Kongming lantern was finished.
Shi Jian personally lit the oil lamp inside.
The lantern slowly rose into the air, drifting upward, a long cotton thread trailing behind it. Zheng Gouzi held the thread in his hand, as if flying a kite.
Then—
The face painted on the lantern blinked.
It moved.
Dao Xuan Tianzun's gaze descended from the sky.
From the tiny statue on Shi Jian's chest came his calm voice:
"Three hundred meters front-right. See that narrow gully. Behind the large rock at the entrance—about a dozen men hiding. Deal with them."
Shi Jian's eyes lit up.
He immediately waved his hand, issuing a low command.
Two scouts spurred their horses and charged toward the gully.
Inside, fifteen hardened bandits crouched behind the rock, weapons ready.
They grinned.
"They're back."
"Only two this time."
One sneered. "If they enter the gully, rush them. Drag them down. Kill them. Take the horses."
Everything was planned.
The two scouts reached the entrance.
The bandits tightened their grips.
Then—
The scouts lit two small black spheres and casually tossed them behind the rock.
The bandits stared.
"…What the hell are those?"
BOOM!
BOOM!
Two violent explosions tore through the gully.
When the smoke cleared, all fifteen bandits lay motionless on the ground.
From the sky, Dao Xuan Tianzun gave a soft snort.
"Hmph."
Then the statue spoke again:
"That ambush has been cleared. Now—front-left, two hundred meters. Another group was startled. They're fleeing. Pursue immediately."
Shi Jian cracked his whip and surged forward without hesitation. Zheng Gouzi and three scouts followed, all five horses charging at full speed.
In moments, they reached the gully entrance.
Inside, seven or eight bandits were scrambling desperately to escape.
Shi Jian and the others raised their flintlock rifles.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
One by one, the fleeing figures collapsed.
Cheers erupted from the ranks.
"With Dao Xuan Tianzun here, everything's different!"
"We don't have to fear ambushes anymore!"
"All hail Dao Xuan Tianzun!"
Li Daoxuan, floating within the lantern, was having an incredible time.
This experience—hovering inside the box, seeing through his people's eyes—was completely different from observing from the outside.
The immersion was absolute.
Watching from outside the box felt like playing with a mouse.
This?
This was like full VR.
Then, Li Daoxuan noticed something else.
To the northwest, a mountain gully stretched for several kilometers, opening into a small valley.
Inside the valley was a force carrying a banner marked with the character "Xue."
Xue Hongqi's men.
Further northwest—
Another army.
The garrison force led by Yansui Governor Chen Qiyu, currently resting at a temple several kilometers away.
The Dao Xuan Tianzun statue spoke calmly:
"Xue Hongqi intends to ambush Chen Qiyu."
Shi Jian hesitated. "This Chen Qiyu… should we save him?"
Li Daoxuan answered without pause.
"Save him."
He had already investigated Chen Qiyu.
An honest official. In half a year, he had fought rebels, opened coal mines, repaired waterworks, and genuinely benefited the people. The common folk of Shaanxi respected him.
Such a man—
Was worth saving..