This journey to the Desolate Realm was scheduled for three days. Nearly all the dharma idol cultivators, including Xiaoyu, Bao Yun, Cui Yu, and Xu Yi, took part, leaving behind only True Monarch Chuhe, who had already attained Scenery Command, to guard Qingming.
Although the old daoist's combat prowess was nothing impressive among True Monarchs, and his mink, cat, and snake were already outdated at this level, Rooster Father's forceful rise to prominence had directly elevated the old daoist's combat strength to the same tier as Zhu Yuanjin's.
The main issue remained that the old daoist's dharma body was too frail and prone to sudden death. In an actual battle, enemies would inevitably direct all their attacks at him, which would severely hold Rooster Father back.
For this expedition to the Desolate Realm, Wei Yuan mobilized almost all the dharma idol cultivators of the Palace of Grand Beginning. Furthermore, with the precedent of Cui Yu's twelve dark-skinned heavenly soldiers, nearly everyone set aside their ongoing work, turning it into quite a grand affair.
After all, once those heavenly soldiers turned dark, they had visibly grown stronger. The suns of the Desolate Realm could not only temper the physical body, but could also tan dharma idols—giving everyone a glimpse of dawn upon their Dao path.
As it turned out, upon hearing the news, Immortal Zhao Li directly sent Princess Ningguo, who had just attained a dharma idol, over as well, wanting her to get some sun in the Desolate Realm too.
Wei Yuan naturally could not refuse. Selecting an auspicious hour, once everyone had assembled, he activated the teleportation formation. The instant the grand formation flared to life, the magic power of the five hundred template Dao Foundation cultivators powering it was drained dry in a single breath. Fortunately, Qingming had an abundance of template cultivators, with an entire shift kept on standby at all times. The cultivator in charge of the formation hurriedly activated the backup energy formation, stepped in himself to fuel it, and urgently summoned the resting template Dao Foundations—even recalling those on leave—to fill the formation. Only then did the grand formation stabilize.
It was worth mentioning that, to prevent the template Dao Foundation cultivators from entertaining useless second thoughts and preserve their Dao hearts as pristine as when they began, Qingming's power supply formations were kept separate from the formations consuming that energy.
Power supply formations were generally housed in standalone halls, fitted out in exceptionally elegant decor featuring a palette of black, white, and gray, accented by motifs of plum blossoms, orchids, bamboo, and chrysanthemums—anchored around the theme of noble, unsullied virtue seeking no reward.
When template cultivators needing to consolidate their Dao Foundations entered the formation, the working environment alone lifted their spirits, making them feel distinctly superior. Even if their compensation was meager or nonexistent, none were willing to leave.
Certain template Dao Foundations with long seniority and stable power output were even assigned exclusive seats within the formation, which they could decorate to their personal taste. Such spots were rare, typically granted to only one in a hundred template cultivators, making competition exceptionally fierce.
Once opened, the teleportation formation leading to the Desolate Realm stabilized quickly, operating far faster than the last time. Wei Yuan faintly sensed that the Desolate Realm authority he carried seemed to be constantly growing, though he had no idea whether that was a good thing or bad.
At this moment, although Wei Yuan had virtually no karmic luck on him, his heart was at ease. After all, he still owed Nine Eyes a wisp of Heavenly Shaman karmic luck. Before that debt was repaid, he shouldn't face much danger in the Desolate Realm, so he stepped through the teleportation portal first.
The three suns of the Desolate Realm felt gentle and warm. Looking out at that familiar fiery-red world, Wei Yuan even experienced the illusion that he had been born and raised here.
Just then, Nine Eyes' voice echoed in Wei Yuan's mind: "You're stepping on my eye!"
Wei Yuan looked down and saw that he was standing on ground resembling amber—it was indeed Nine Eyes' eye. But staring at an eye several zhang across, Wei Yuan was slightly taken aback; he didn't recall Nine Eyes' true body being this massive.
Nine Eyes snapped irritably, "Ronglong grew to that ridiculous size and you weren't shocked, yet you're surprised when I'm only this big? This isn't even the full extent of my true body!"
Wei Yuan took a step back, moving off Nine Eyes' eye, and asked, "What are you doing here?"
"Your portal caused such a racket it nearly alerted several Desolate Shamans. Of course I had to come check it out, lest those ignorant bumpkins make a fuss."
Wei Yuan said, "I brought some kin over to get some sun and temper their physical bodies."
"Oh, that's a small matter. Let them bake first. Once you're done setting them up, come find me. I'll take you to see something."
"All right," Wei Yuan agreed without a second thought. He had once harbored deep wariness toward Nine Eyes, but ever since he borrowed a wisp of Heavenly Shaman karmic luck and used it as a guide to slay the rogue cultivator Liumiao, he had completely relaxed.
Heavenly Shaman karmic luck was a supreme treasure that could be met but never sought. Being able to borrow it made Wei Yuan inexplicably lose his fear of Nine Eyes, even giving him an urge to treat the being as an equal. Truly, the borrower is king; even high-realm cultivators were no exception.
Nine Eyes sank into the ground, and soon afterward, Bao Yun, Xiaoyu, and the others stepped out from the teleportation portal one by one. Wei Yuan had already scoped out a nearby weathered plateau. He called everyone over, then set to work slicing stone slabs with his own hands to erect a sunshade canopy. From there, each person would bask in the sun at their own pace; when it became unbearable, they could duck beneath the canopy, and if even the canopy proved too much, they could call Wei Yuan to send them back.
However, Wei Yuan estimated that the canopy he crafted by hand was unique, capable of blocking ninety percent of the Desolate Realm suns' intensity. Even the weakest, Princess Ningguo, ought to be able to last a full day. With such slow-roasting and gentle smoking, Wei Yuan felt that if he didn't tan Ningguo dark, he wouldn't even be able to face Immortal Zhao Li.
Additionally, there was a petty thought born of the heavenly demon: since he would likely have little to do with Princess Ningguo from now on anyway, why not tan her dark? If he couldn't have her, ruin her. That was the heavenly demon's thought, not Wei Yuan's.
And then the heavenly demon had another thought: beneath her pure and innocent exterior, Ningguo had always been rather wild. Tanned dark, she would be even wilder, perhaps even... All of the above were purely the heavenly demon's thoughts and had nothing to do with Wei Yuan.
With the Desolate Realm authority Wei Yuan now possessed, slicing stone slabs and iron ores was like tearing through bean curd. Yet in the brief time it took him to construct the canopy, Xu Yi and the few weakest dharma idols were already finding the heat unbearable, resorting to specialized heat-clearing elixir pills.
Seeing things were amiss, Wei Yuan built several more canopies, allowing Xu Yi, Princess Ningguo, and the other weakest dharma idol cultivators to cultivate inside, which finally brought them some relief.
Cultivators with deeper cultivation or tougher dharma bodies scattered across the area, each seeking a suitable spot to cultivate on their own. Wei Yuan, meanwhile, needed to inspect everyone's cultivation state one by one to ensure nothing was amiss before he could feel at ease to seek out Nine Eyes.
Back then, with Wei Yuan's dharma body and cultivation, his initial arrival in the Desolate Realm had left him thoroughly roasted and miserable. Most of the cultivators from Grand Beginning had dharma bodies inferior to his back then, so naturally, they had an even harder time.
Yet none who dared to move about beneath three suns were ordinary people. Each displayed their own unique abilities, and as Wei Yuan inspected them one by one, he couldn't help but sigh in admiration.
Bao Yun naturally gave full play to her Heavenly Demon Wondrous Idol. She would strike an exquisite dancing posture and hold perfectly still until that side was sufficiently baked before switching to another pose. Above her head, her Heavenly Demon Wondrous Idol manifested simultaneously, but facing and posing in the exact opposite direction of Bao Yun; whenever Bao Yun shifted, it moved as well, creating an exceptionally striking visual.
The name Heavenly Demon Wondrous Idol wasn't for nothing—just looking at it stirred heavenly demon impulses in Wei Yuan. The moment Wei Yuan arrived, the wondrous idol abruptly changed, casting seductive glances at Wei Yuan and repeatedly unleashing killer moves.
Those killer moves were not something fit to be described to outsiders.
At this moment, Bao Yun remained dignified, cold, and aloof, her eyes downcast without sparing Wei Yuan so much as a glance. Yet the heavenly demon above her head displayed an endless variety of alluring forms. Fortunately, Wei Yuan kept his wits about him, knowing full well that if he provoked her now, the situation would reverse—and the heavenly demon would become the one playing pure and chaste.
Then, quite a distance away, Wei Yuan found Feng Tingyu.
She was currently troubled. She had stripped off all her clothes and folded them neatly under a stone slab to keep them from being ruined by the sun. But she was tossing and turning, trying to figure out how to release her dharma idol so that it wouldn't block the sunlight while still letting the idol get sunbaked as well.
The current situation was that the moment her dharma idol emerged, the sunlight of the Desolate Realm couldn't reach her body. Thus, it was either tempering the flesh or tanning the dharma idol; she couldn't have both.
When Wei Yuan hurried over, all he saw was white, white, white, dark, dark, white, dark, white... After watching for a while, Wei Yuan concluded that Feng Tingyu simply could not be tanned.
Next was Xiaoyu.
Xiaoyu was both the most normal and the most bizarre among those sunbathing. He sat upright atop a sharp peak of fiery-red stone, with Star Lord Shaoyang standing beside him. The two were gazing into the far distance together, striking profound poses. The issue was that Star Lord Shaoyang was holding a parasol.
Wei Yuan circled around them, but the two treated him as invisible.
Wei Yuan followed their gaze. At the very edge of his vision stood three Heavenly Pillars, alongside the mountain range formed by Ronglong's dharma body.
Yet that was unimaginably distant. Wei Yuan could only see it thanks to his Desolate Realm authority; he didn't believe Xiaoyu and Star Lord Shaoyang could possibly see it—even if Xiaoyu had reached Scenery Command, it would still be impossible.
Just then, Star Lord Shaoyang sighed, "Those three gigantic pillars are the conduits through which otherworldly evils invade. Otherworldly evils are deceitful and unfathomable, exceptionally difficult to deal with. If you do not cultivate diligently, when you inevitably face them in the future, you will surely perish with no hope of survival. Look, the first Heavenly Pillar on the left is visibly the most ancient—"
Wei Yuan was thoroughly shocked. Was Star Lord Shaoyang's dharma idol truly this formidable? Just extending divine intent across a million li was at the level of a Heavenly Shaman!
'It seems Xiaoyu's fortunes are quite remarkable as well...' Wei Yuan thought thoughtfully as he quietly departed.
Once he was gone, Xiaoyu and Star Lord Shaoyang both breathed a sigh of relief, their Dao hearts settling back into clarity.
Wei Yuan searched for a long time before finally finding Ji Liuli, only to discover that she seemed affected by the Desolate Realm suns, her mood noticeably off. The reason he hadn't been able to find her was that she had been circling around him all along, preparing to mount a sneak attack from behind.
The moment Wei Yuan spotted her, Ji Liuli abandoned all pretense, lunging straight at him, and the two traded blows in earnest.
Feng Chutang, Xu Henshui, Sun Yu, and Yu Zhizhuo all had their own peculiar situations as well.
Yu Zhizhuo's golden bird visibly transformed into a magpie and was continuing to develop toward a crow. Cui Yu's twelve heavenly soldiers were now true kings of night warfare.
All in all, Wei Yuan was busy putting out fires everywhere, stretched too thin to go meet Nine Eyes during the morning, and could only wait until nightfall.
Chapter 1015