Facing a direct blow from a Scenery Command expert for the first time, its power far exceeded Wei Yuan's imagination. From inside to out, from illusion to reality, he was completely frozen by that single strike!
This freezing was not mere cold, but the extinction of vitality. In an instant, many parts of Wei Yuan's physical body lost all life and vitality, turning into lifeless grayish-white powder.
Yet at his core, a spark of vitality pulsed stubbornly, refusing to be frozen.
Expressionless, Frost Whisper said, "A futile struggle..."
Just as he raised his hand to deliver a finishing blow, a cold star abruptly surfaced behind him, and a crimson-robed figure stepped forth from the void!
"Did you think I would not guard against an ambush? The deceit of you humans is useless against me!" Mockery showed in Frost Whisper's eyes.
His voice sounded stiff, dull, and sluggish, yet all throughout his speech, that cold star flickered ceaselessly. The crimson-robed figure leaped between the void and reality countless times, but that strike simply could not land.
Meanwhile, a faint shadow dogged her every step from behind; in a mere split second, the two exchanged who knew how many blows!
It turned out Frost Whisper was not the only Scenery Command expert the Shamans had sent; there was also a Nether Shaman lurking in the dark. Equally adept at concealment and assassination, it had struck at the crucial moment to intercept Zhu Yuanjin.
Specks of ice crystals surfaced once more upon Frost Whisper's fingertips. Staring blankly at Wei Yuan, he pressed out another palm. Yet right at this moment, a wisp of breeze drifted in from beyond the sky. Soft as nothingness, it landed instantly on Frost Whisper.
Countless ice crystals abruptly coalesced around Frost Whisper, turning him into an ice statue. Then the breeze settled on him, and the ice statue violently shattered as a fleeting vision of glaciers and snow mountains appeared across the world!
Frost Whisper stumbled. The robes across his back shredded completely, revealing a deep fist print between his shoulder blades. Shock and fury finally appeared in his eyes as he spun to glare at a figure that emerged like a phantom.
The humans had actually ambushed him with yet another Scenery Command expert who specialized in sneak attacks! With four Scenery Command figures involved, this was already a major war!
At this moment, their qi and momentum locked together. Though their mindscape worlds had not manifested outward, they were already intertwined. The great battle had begun. While they seemed merely to stand facing each other, the peril was even greater than the clash over by Zhu Yuanjin.
Just then, a small area abruptly turned black and white. It was not large, but it happened to envelop both Frost Whisper and Wei Yuan.
Wei Yuan's body suddenly took on a grainy texture, no longer rigid and frozen. In that instant, all the robes and clothes covering his body disintegrated into fine powder. Flawless Transmigration fell out, and Wei Yuan snatched it into his grip.
Within Ten Thousand Li of Rivers and Mountains, tens of thousands of streaks of azure karmic luck descended upon mortals. Tiny sparks immediately rose from these mortals and floated toward the sky, like sky lanterns released during human festivals.
At the spearhead of Flawless Transmigration, a spark of dusky yellow ignited!
In an instant, Wei Yuan appeared behind Frost Whisper, thrusting the spear inward and driving the dusky yellow deep into his body!
Frost Whisper let out an earth-shattering roar. A scene of ten thousand li frozen in ice manifested around him, shattering the grainy black-and-white domain. Yet his aura also plunged into a bizarre state in that instant.
A ten-thousand-zhang Jade Mountain and rivers flowing with gemstones materialized, annihilating each other alongside the frozen world. Frost Whisper abruptly shot into the sky, another fist print stamped onto his arm. Yet without pausing for a moment, he fled into the distance. The Nether Shaman tangled with Zhu Yuanjin likewise vanished without a trace.
After the Nether Shaman withdrew, Bao Manshan appeared before Wei Yuan and remarked, "I knew nothing good would come from inviting me to 'spectate.' Still, I didn't expect the decisive strike would actually rely on you. By my estimation, that spear strike shaved off at least two hundred years of that fellow's lifespan. Does it have a name?"
"It is a strike inherited and formed from a certain senior's lineage, named Dusk of the Immortal Path."
Bao Manshan looked Wei Yuan up and down, saying, "You brat! Even if I were to fight you now, I'd have to be careful. Otherwise, taking a strike like that would be no fun at all."
Just then, Zhu Yuanjin appeared and said, "That fellow was tricky. He got away."
Wei Yuan hastily bowed. "It was all thanks to both seniors' protection; otherwise, I could hardly have survived today."
Bao Manshan chuckled. "You brat know how to borrow strength from others, and your own power is sufficient. You're far better than I was back in my day. Coming here this time has made me quite satisfied."
Wei Yuan thanked him once again.
Frost Whisper had said himself that this was a war between two races. Once leaving Qingming and moving the battlefield into the Wu domain, one left the Shattered Lands behind, and Scenery Command figures were able to come and go freely. Wei Yuan naturally had to be on guard against Shaman Scenery Command experts intervening; this was not one of those secret realms or grotto-heavens that restricted entry by cultivation level.
According to Wei Yuan's deductions, Zhu Yuanjin alone might not be enough to control the situation. Since this war was put on for the Bao family to see in the first place, then adhering to the principle of making full use of everything, Wei Yuan had sent word to the Bao family long in advance, inviting Bao Manshan over to 'spectate.'
Since Bao Manshan had come all the way here, he naturally wouldn't just stand by at the crucial moment. Moreover, his ability to conceal himself was not inferior to Zhu Yuanjin's, which was why the Shamans had never noticed his presence. Frost Whisper and the other Nether Shaman had split between the open and the dark, thinking that would suffice. They never imagined Bao Manshan was lying in ambush as well, allowing Bao Manshan to land a successful strike from beyond the heavens.
Yet what truly dealt a heavy blow to Frost Whisper was still Wei Yuan's spear strike. Fuelled by the vows, desires, and karmic luck of common mortals, and using the mortals within the Smoke and Fire of the Mortal World as the furnace, it transformed into the fire of dusk and quiet extinction upon the immortal path, capable of burning away lifespan.
From that point on, this Dusk of the Immortal Path technique broke free of Qingming's confines; as long as Wei Yuan possessed mortal karmic luck, he could use it anywhere, though the cost was immense.
However, the lifespan-burning effect when applied to a Scenery Command expert was heavily discounted compared to when facing a dharma idol. Frost Whisper had first been successfully ambushed by Bao Manshan, and the two had locked in desperate combat. He had then fallen into Wei Yuan's Domain of Yin-Yang and taken Wei Yuan's spear strike almost completely unguarded—only under such conditions was two hundred years shaved off his lifespan.
Two hundred years of lost lifespan might not sound like much, but just as Bao Manshan had said, no one wanted to take a thrust from Wei Yuan. One could never have too much lifespan; let alone two hundred years, nobody would willingly lose even twenty or ten years for nothing.
Moreover, this strike came at a huge cost, burning ten thousand streaks of azure qi with a single blow. But as long as the humans in Qingming lived and worked in peace and contentment, and the population grew, Wei Yuan would naturally not lack karmic luck.
At this moment, Zhu Yuanjin's gaze swept over Wei Yuan. Her gaze felt almost tangible, like a line of ice running across his body, and she nodded. "Mmm, quite well-endowed."
Wei Yuan started, then looked down and inwardly cried out in dismay!
Taking Frost Whisper's strike head-on earlier had already left him severely injured, but that was one thing. His robes and battle armor had been utterly unable to withstand the attack, completely reduced to lifeless ashes by the intent of extinction. All his storage equipment, along with everything stored inside, had also been destroyed. Only Flawless Transmigration had survived, thanks to the sheer quality of its materials.
Certain parts of Wei Yuan's body had also turned to ashes—to put it simply, the weakest parts, which were mostly hair. As a result, Wei Yuan was now gleaming from head to toe, shining even more brilliantly than Zhao Fusheng had back then.
Frost Whisper's blow had also damaged Wei Yuan's senses; most of his body was currently numb without any feeling, which was why he hadn't noticed that he had gone bald—and broke.
Only now did Zhu Yuanjin fetch a robe and hand it to Wei Yuan. Wei Yuan could only accept it and offer his thanks, unable to take issue with why this senior hadn't brought it out earlier. Remembering her early background as an assassin, Wei Yuan felt it was probably best not to question her.
The two Scenery Command figures returned beyond the heavens into concealment, and Wei Yuan returned to the army. By now, the Shaman forces were in utter chaos, all their units retreating. Before new Shaman Scenery Command experts arrived, Wei Yuan still had a bit of time.
At this moment, the scheduled supply convoy arrived as well.
This supply contingent was massive, bringing a full five thousand elite warriors. Wei Yuan rotated out over ten thousand soldiers and added the five thousand elites, replenishing his military qi. He immediately drove the army west, crushing numerous retreating Shaman units along the way, until another town appeared ahead.
Fifty thousand Shamans lived in this city. When Wei Yuan's army reached the walls, forty thousand Shamans had not yet managed to leave. They had never expected Wei Yuan would push this far, throwing the city into sheer panic.
In moments, the city was taken by Wei Yuan. At that time, the Shaman scholars and nobles in the city were hauling humans one after another onto the sacrificial altar. They had only just beheaded a dozen or so to draw blood, unable to even activate the heaven-sacrificing ritual.
When Wei Yuan stepped onto the altar, the limbs of the freshly slaughtered human sacrifices were still twitching.
A general came up beside Wei Yuan and asked, "My Lord, what are your orders for this city?"
Wei Yuan said, "Open the west gate. Shamans leaving through that gate will not be stopped. Aside from that, leave no one in the city alive!"
At this time, another small Shaman town was discovered not far to the west, already surrounded by several thousand Qingming troops. However, the flags and insignias on this small town differed from those of the Land of Rain; they belonged to the Desolate Ancestor Tribe.
Wei Yuan promptly relayed an order through the enlightened Dao Foundation warrior stationed with that unit, informing the other side that he was only fighting the Land of Rain and had no intention of going to war with the Desolate Ancestor Tribe; they merely needed to leave.
The Shamans in the Desolate Ancestor town grew somewhat restless at first, but after the few troublemakers leading the commotion were beheaded on the spot, the rest quieted down and were forced to evacuate the town.
Chapter 417