A vast void suddenly opened along the deadlocked battle lines. Where Ding'an City had once stood, nothing remained but a ruined wasteland, utterly devoid of life.
Under Hongye's Collapsing Starry Dome, every living being within a thousand zhang—human and Shaman alike—had perished without exception.
With a sweep of his divine sense, Smoke and Fire of the Mortal World produced the exact casualty count: eighty-seven thousand humans, and one hundred twenty-one thousand Shamans.
And among those eighty-odd thousand humans were twenty thousand elites Wei Yuan had deployed to prevent a sudden collapse of the frontline.
Wei Yuan clenched his fist, his knuckles popping in rapid succession. But an instant later, he relaxed his grip and continued battling Ju Ling, coldly searching for any flaw in his opponent.
Ju Ling was there specifically to stall Wei Yuan. Without eliminating him first, Wei Yuan had no way to kill Hongye—or at least no way to deliver a Yang Bullet to him.
Wei Yuan suppressed all emotional turmoil and focused entirely on the fight. A lethal ultimate like Collapsing Starry Dome was bound to impose a tremendous burden on Hongye; Wei Yuan doubted he could unleash it a second time, or else there would be no point in fighting this war at all. However, that final drifting leaf was Hongye's natal divine ability, which he could certainly use again.
Wei Yuan alerted all the Palace of Grand Beginning's dharma idol cultivators to remain on guard while watching the entire battlefield, prepared to suppress and intercept with Peerless Dao Domain at any moment.
With Ding'an City destroyed, a massive gap was torn into the defensive line. Swarms of Shamans surged through it, charging into Qingming.
Behind the former city, the firing rhythm of the defense cannons atop the raised platforms suddenly shifted. Instead of sweeping across the field for targets, they laid down a barrage three hundred zhang before the platforms, creating a wall of fire to hold back the tide of incoming Shamans.
Dense formations of warriors gathered beneath the platforms, defending the artillery emplacements. Wei Yuan had fortified this line over an extended period, and it was finally proving its worth.
To ensure this line was not breached as well, Wei Yuan finally deployed the Longzhou heavy infantry while concentrating missile fire to heavily bombard the ruins of Ding'an City, cutting off the Shamans' advance.
The situation had grown exceptionally perilous, yet Wei Yuan surveyed the entire theater like a born predator, weighing gains and losses. Under his orders, another hundred thousand mortal troops held in reserve left their camps and marched toward the line behind Ding'an City.
Ju Ling's expression finally eased somewhat. The longer the battle dragged on, the greater the Shamans' advantage grew. Once Hongye caught his breath and could deliver another lethal strike, the human defenses would collapse.
Just then, an abrupt silence fell over the battlefield. A colossal ancient tree appeared, spanning earth and sky and casting a deep shadow. Beneath that shadow, invisible power surged, enveloping Ju Ling!
Inside the giant tree's expanse, Ju Ling's movements slowed drastically, specks of wood vitality sprouting across his body. His mindscape world was already teetering on the verge of collapse under the combined assault of Smoke and Fire of the Mortal World and this heaven-and-earth giant tree.
Between heaven and earth, True Monarch Huangyun's silhouette materialized. Looking down at Ju Ling, she chuckled. "Indeed an exotic species between heaven and earth. In that case, taking you down with me isn't a loss after all."
An overwhelming sense of dread gripped Ju Ling. He darted left and right, desperately trying to break out of the giant tree. Yet no matter how he rammed against it, the transparent wooden walls repelled him.
Hongye's face tightened. He stepped through the void, rushing forward, but abruptly halted a hundred li away!
Spear in hand, Wei Yuan strode through the air, blocking his path. At this moment, Wei Yuan stood precisely ten li within the boundary, waiting for Hongye to draw nearer.
Hongye started to move forward, but an ominous warning suddenly flared in his heart, making his hair and beard flutter without wind. Relying on the terrifying intuition granted by the Ancestral Shaman's favor, he knew taking even a single step farther could cast him into eternal damnation; that bizarre magical treasure might very well fall upon him.
Yet that intuition also puzzled Hongye. Did that magical treasure possess karmic power?
Knowing mortal peril was upon him, Ju Ling screamed hysterically, "Hongye, save me! Save me, quickly!!"
Ju Ling's piercing shriek echoed through heaven and earth. Subtle ripples disturbed the vault of the sky as the Nether Shamans and Scenery Command cultivators engaged in fierce combat above spared a strand of divine sense to cast their gazes downward.
Hongye's face turned grim. He hovered motionless in midair, glaring fixedly at Wei Yuan.
Wei Yuan showed not the slightest flaw. If Hongye dared step forward another ten li, Wei Yuan could lock him in place with the power of his dao domain and unleash the Yang Bullet. All he needed was for Hongye to take just a few steps more.
Yet Hongye never took that final step.
Beyond the sky, whether Sacred Shamans, Desolate Shamans, or Nether Shamans, all were astonished. Formidable as Wei Yuan's magical treasure might be, could it truly warrant being too frightened to even exchange blows?
Ju Ling's background was by no means ordinary, and he was practically Wei Yuan's natural counter. Now the humans had suddenly produced another True Monarch who trapped Ju Ling right off the bat, clearly brewing a killing stroke.
All Hongye needed to do was force Wei Yuan back and join forces with Ju Ling to shatter the phantom of the giant tree. An endeavor so effortless, yet Hongye refused to advance. Was he truly unwilling to take the slightest risk?
Ju Ling's desperate pleas for help turned into venomous curses. With every ounce of strength, he cursed Hongye and his Land of Rain, cursing everyone tied to Hongye to die a horrible death, screaming repeatedly, "My grandfather will never let you off!"
Beyond the heavens, the Sacred Shaman's aura wavered slightly, allowing Su Xuejing to slip past a lethal blow and reclaim much of the initiative.
A green radiance suddenly rippled across Ju Ling's body. The scales on his head and body peeled back, and wooden branches sprouted from within! His shrieks grew horrific with terror and agony. Suddenly, his body expanded rapidly, attempting to detonate itself.
Yet the giant tree spanning heaven and earth suddenly began to wither, as though countless eons were condensed into these few breaths. Cracks abruptly surfaced along its gnarled trunk and twisted limbs, and mottled bark peeled and fell away. Countless leaves flared for an instant, then drifted downward in a fluttering cascade. In a mere moment, silence enveloped the surroundings.
The branches growing from Ju Ling withered along with the giant tree, and with them withered his very life force. Though Ju Ling possessed an immense lifespan of thirty thousand years, at this moment he could only watch helplessly as his life force drained away and dried up alongside the giant tree!
Though Ju Ling had a vast lifespan, his dharma body was ordinary, and his life force paled in comparison to that of the heaven-and-earth giant tree—scarcely half of it. The giant tree had only just begun to yellow when Ju Ling's life force was already spent.
Ju Ling flapped his wings frantically, but his body grew heavier and heavier, sinking toward the earth. Even after crashing to the ground, he still beat his wings wildly, struggling to take flight once more. Yet numbness spread everywhere, and one part of his body after another lost all sensation.
Driven by a final obsession, Ju Ling dragged himself along the ground, crawling toward the depths of the Wu domain.
Wei Yuan flickered into view above Ju Ling. Sweeping the Crimson Night Immortal-Slaying Sword through the air, he sheared off both wings and long tail.
Hongye was taken aback, fury immediately flashing across his face. He surged forward, but halted once more just before crossing into the boundary.
By now, Ju Ling seemed to have lost all bodily sensation, completely oblivious to his wings and tail being severed. The light in his eyes had faded; he only mumbled incoherently under his breath, crawling inch by inch in the direction of home.
He crawled and crawled, until he moved no more.
The mood on the battlefield abruptly shifted once more. Beyond the heavens, the Shamans began to withdraw. In the blink of an eye, five Scenery Command cultivators appeared at the horizon and entered the battlefield.
Three of the five were familiar to Wei Yuan: the Bao family's Seventh Elder, Mister Chenzhou, and Monk Qiuyue, while the other two were strangers. Looking upon the raging battlefield, they fell silent.
Just then, the retreat horn sounded from the Shaman center army, and Hongye had already vanished without a trace.
Wei Yuan had no time to greet the newly arrived Scenery Command masters. He mobilized the army to pursue the retreating Shaman forces. Yet this time the Shamans were withdrawing from a position of advantage; their retreat was methodical, and they covered their rear with blood curses. After pursuing for only a dozen-odd li and slaying twenty to thirty thousand rearguard troops, Wei Yuan pulled his forces back.
Wei Yuan turned command of the troops over to Cui Yu and Li Zhi, then immediately returned to the main peak.
Atop the main peak, the Scenery Command masters were gathered, gazing at True Monarch Huangyun seated cross-legged in midair.
True Monarch Huangyun still appeared no older than thirty. Giant trees flickered faintly in her pupils, and her skin gave off a vibrant green hue.
Her aura at this moment was exceedingly strange. An indescribable vitality surged within her, rivaling an entire forest realm spanning thousands of li. She stood remarkably close to the Heavenly Dao, as though her entire being were about to dissolve into it, and any mortal trace about her had worn vanishingly thin.
Seeing Wei Yuan arrive, True Monarch Huangyun smiled faintly and said, "Two days ago at the Northern Mountain Gate, I met with a tribulation of life and death. I was one move short and failed to overcome it. But for us cultivators of the Palace of Grand Beginning, falling in the struggle for the Great Dao is commonplace; there is nothing to complain about.
"In those days, our founding patriarch's talent towered over the world, yet he enjoyed a lifespan of only three hundred thirty-one years. Later came the Three Immortals who pacified Yunzhou, all of whom entered meditation and passed away before age five hundred. I have lived six hundred years, blessed by our forebears' legacy to enjoy a measure of carefree freedom.
"At the Northern Mountain Gate, I slew two Scenery Command enemies, and today here in the Western Regions, I destroyed a Spirit Shaman; that is no loss. Looking back on this life, I have slain eleven alien Scenery Command foes. My conscience is clear, so none of you need grieve.
"It is just that, after turning it over in my mind, the only one I could not let go of was that granddisciple of mine, little Yun. So I rushed over before my soul body completely shattered to see her one last time. I never expected I could also eliminate an exotic beast of heaven and earth while I was at it. Perhaps our founding patriarch's spirit in heaven could not bear to see otherwise, and wished to grant me a crystal-clear Dao heart when I departed."
On the main peak, Bao Yun was already weeping uncontrollably. Old Daoist Chuhe lay prostrate on the ground, his back heaving with uncontrollable sobs.
True Monarch Xuanyue let out a long sigh and looked up toward the heavens, while Zhu Yuanjin was nowhere to be seen.
True Monarch Huangyun said to Wei Yuan, "I entrust these unworthy disciples and granddisciples of mine to you. Chuhe's fortune runs deep; he will not die easily, so I do not worry about him. The one I worry about most is little Yun."
Wei Yuan replied solemnly, "Rest assured, True Monarch. I will not fail your trust!"
True Monarch Huangyun smiled faintly and said, "Then my mind is at ease. This ruined body of mine and my mindscape world are still of some use, so I shall pass into meditation here with you. I have already chosen the spot."
Wei Yuan was greatly shocked and hurriedly said, "This... this must not be!"
If True Monarch Huangyun passed away here, her body would become part of Qingming. If Wei Yuan ever failed to hold Qingming in the future, it would mean losing even the True Monarch's mortal remains to the enemy!
Under normal circumstances, a Scenery Command True Monarch would pass away either at the three great mountain gates or in a grotto-heaven, using their mindscape world to expand or reinforce it. Who could have imagined that True Monarch Huangyun would choose to pass away in Qingming!
"My decision is made; speak no more of it. I still have a bit of time, so I shall lecture on the Dao right here. How much you gain depends entirely on your own fortune."
True Monarch Huangyun closed her eyes slightly, her clear, gentle voice echoing into every corner of Qingming. At this moment, regardless of cultivation, status, or even race, all heard the sacred resonance of the Great Dao.
Countless people could not fathom the meaning of the True Monarch's words at all, yet seemed to faintly touch upon something, their soul bodies subtly elevating in essence.
Within the Smoke and Fire of the Mortal World, countless mortals stood motionless where they were, listening attentively. With every moment they listened, their spiritual soul light brightened just a little.
Chapter 514