Wei Yuan did not sit idly by. Instead, he continued digging downward. When he had dug to a depth of about a hundred zhang, he fashioned a stone chamber and left a realm beacon inside.
Then Wei Yuan left the stone chamber, digging and backfilling the earth as he went, planning to surface in a different spot.
Wei Yuan wasn't certain whether the beacon he left behind would be discovered. Generally speaking, in a place that demon bees had already purged, hardly anyone would be bored enough to dig down another hundred zhang just to check.
However, Wei Yuan felt that Shengxin was an eccentric, perverted fellow whose mental state was deeply abnormal; there was every chance he might dig down a few hundred zhang and uncover the beacon.
To be safe, Wei Yuan decided to leave several more beacons in different places. That way, by boosting his karmic luck before entering the Nether Cold Realm, he stood a high chance of avoiding an ambush.
A moment later, Wei Yuan emerged from the earth. After tidying up the ground, he dashed toward Shu Li's realm at near full speed.
Along the way, Wei Yuan spotted a fast-moving black cloud in the distance, likely the bee swarm he had just encountered. However, they were headed away from Shu Li's realm. From their behavior, Wei Yuan reckoned that Nether Shaman realms most likely possessed the function of warding off mindless demon beasts.
If the demon bee swarm had been deliberately lured here, someone would inevitably inspect the scene afterward. Their search would have to be meticulous; otherwise, it would be difficult to spot any subtle traces left behind by Wei Yuan.
Wei Yuan needed to seize this window of time to widen the distance, aiming to reach Nether Shaman Shu Li's realm before the enemy could react.
Maintaining his concealed state, Wei Yuan dashed and flew at maximum speed. After traveling like this for half a day, he was not far from Shu Li's realm, already able to faintly sense the shift in the distant heaven and earth.
His spirits buoyed, Wei Yuan flew straight toward the realm when several soft pops suddenly sounded—something had burst.
These things had detonated directly against Wei Yuan's body. He halted at once and carefully examined his surroundings, discovering a strange kind of transparent worm drifting in the air.
These worms possessed numerous segmented rings and had transparent, gelatinous bodies. They were almost imperceptible to divine sense; one had to inspect them closely under specific lighting with the naked eye to spot them.
Advancing at full speed, Wei Yuan had failed to notice them in time and shattered several of the transparent worms. When they burst, a sliver of magic power erupted, seemingly maintaining a faint connection to the distance.
Wei Yuan realized that these worms were most likely an outer perimeter alert for the realm.
The realm could ward off demon beasts, its insiders certainly knew the entry and exit points, and with a dense cluster of worms deployed all around, any stranger attempting to approach would trigger an alarm.
Since his presence was already exposed, Wei Yuan hesitated no longer and charged toward the realm at full speed.
In the blink of an eye, Wei Yuan felt as though he had plunged into a colossal soap bubble, and the surrounding world changed.
The heaven and earth seemed to grow more distinct, no longer bearing the extreme nether chill. By human standards, it was still intensely cold, but compared to the true Nether Cold Realm, this pocket of the world could already be considered quite warm.
A faint sweet, metallic scent drifted through the air, reminiscent of spiritual blood. Inhaling it gave Wei Yuan a feeling of refreshed delight.
In a valley, neat rows of dwellings stood closely arranged, and a ritual ground was built against the mountain. In the center of the ritual ground stood an archaic, primitive rostrum, upon which a four-winged Shaman was preaching the Dao. Surrounding the rostrum were white disk-shaped stone pedestals, each about a zhang across. Over a dozen Shamans of varying forms were coiled or seated atop the pedestals, listening attentively.
The smaller among them were roughly human-sized and still in their infancy. The largest exceeded ten zhang in length, sporting over a dozen tentacles and capable of shifting into various forms at will. It occupied about ten pedestals all by itself, yet carefully steered clear of the two infant Shamans closest to the rostrum.
The preaching Shaman emitted a strange buzzing sound that was not the language of the Shamans. Yet as it reached the ears of the listeners, the shifts of the Nether Cold Realm naturally took shape in their consciousness.
In this lecture, the Shamans saw a massive mountain range crack open, an abyss of ten thousand zhang tearing through its heart, after which an extraordinary, gigantic creature crawled out from the depths. Its body was thousands of li long, with a pair of jointed legs on every segment.
After crawling out of the abyss, it ascended continuously into the sky. Its jointed legs trod upon empty void as if on solid ground, setting the surrounding space trembling ceaselessly. It climbed ever upward until it vanished beyond the horizon.
The Shamans all contemplated the shifts in heaven and earth that occurred when the mountain split and the colossal creature emerged.
The voice of the preaching Shaman then resonated within their minds: "This was an otherworldly monstrosity passing through the Nether Cold Realm. I was nearby when it appeared; what you see now is what I witnessed back then. It tore open the sky and earth of the Nether Cold Realm, allowing the Great Dao to manifest. It was the finest moment to comprehend the Great Dao of heaven and earth.
"Yet do not merely gaze upon the cross-section of the abyss; pay close attention to its legs as well. Its legs can tread the void. If you can gain some comprehension from them, it will bring you great advantage when venturing into worlds beyond in the future..."
At this point in the explanation, the Shaman suddenly stopped and said, "An external enemy has invaded."
The Shamans were rather surprised. An external enemy had really invaded? They had arrived here at different times; only the few who had stayed the longest had ever experienced an invasion of the realm.
Even so, every Shaman held supreme confidence in the realm's security, showing not the slightest panic.
"Wait here. I will go and return shortly." The four-winged Shaman beat its four wings and vanished in a flash.
In a dense forest, a Shaman lay upon a grassy slope by a stream, napping with his eyes closed. A fishing rod was propped up beside him without the slightest movement, and the fish basket half-submerged in the stream was empty.
Suddenly opening his eyes, he looked toward the edge of the woods. A cold sneer surfaced on his face, and his figure abruptly vanished.
Afar atop a mountain peak, another Shaman sat gazing into the distance. Suddenly struck by a premonition, he rose to his full height. The mountain suddenly shook, revealing countless caves, and winged, scorpion-like beasts surged out, following behind the Shaman as he flew toward the edge of the realm.
Wei Yuan stood poised in midair, gazing thoughtfully at the four-winged Shaman before him. Then he said, "So that's how it is."
Another Shaman with a human head, a long tail, and holding a fishing rod strolled over at an unhurried pace. Seeing him, Wei Yuan's eyes lit up. "So that's how it is!"
In the blink of an eye, yet another Shaman—hundred-zhang-long with a human head and a scorpion body—slithered across the distant sky. His movements seemed sluggish, yet with every shift of his legs, he advanced several hundred zhang!
Seeing this Shaman, Wei Yuan's aura surged violently, and he burst into hearty laughter. "So that's how it is! Hahaha, I understand now!"
Before the three Shamans could speak, four thruster barrels deployed behind Wei Yuan's back. Soaring straight into the sky, he shot into the distance and departed the realm in an instant.
The three Shamans looked together in the direction of Wei Yuan's departure, none of them giving chase. Wei Yuan's speed was simply too great; they could not catch up to him at all.
At this moment, Shengxin's figure emerged. He looked at the three Shamans with some confusion, then followed their gaze, but Wei Yuan had long since vanished beyond the horizon, leaving nothing to be seen.
"Lord Shu Li, what are you doing? Why have all three of your avatars mobilized?"
The four-winged Shaman said, "Wei Yuan broke into my realm just now. The realm's defenses are insufficient at the moment, so to keep him from penetrating deeper, I had to mobilize all my avatars to intercept him, and even deployed part of my legion. But his reaction was very strange. It is quite likely he has seen through the realm's reality."
Huixin said in disbelief, "He only intruded for a single moment, yet he could see through its reality?"
Shengxin's expression turned solemn. "It is not impossible. Wei Yuan hails from the Palace of Grand Beginning, whose founder once slew a Heavenly Shaman. Among the various human factions, the one that understands us Shamans best is definitely the Palace of Grand Beginning. Perhaps Wei Yuan had his suspicions all along and merely came into the realm to test his theory."
Shu Li said, "Have you fought him?"
Shengxin replied, "Twice. The fellow is exceptionally insidious and crafty; I even suffered a minor loss. If he truly has seen through the realm's reality, that will be quite a troublesome matter."
"Is there any solution? Aside from seeking aid from other realms."
Shengxin said, "There is one way, but it will come at a price and cause minor damage to the realm. It depends on whether you are willing to pay it, Lord Shu Li."
"What method?"
A sword-mine appeared in Shengxin's hand. He said, "This is part of Wei Yuan's Dao Foundation, which happens to provide a shred of karma. As long as you unleash the full might of your realm, Lord Shu Li, I can use this karma to gather all of Wei Yuan's traces within the Nether Cold Realm and teleport him to a specific point inside the realm.
"As for the teleportation destination, my recommendation is beneath Nether Gold Mountain. Nether Gold Mountain is incomparably hard and tremendously heavy; the loose soil beneath its roots has long been compacted into rock-hard crystal stone. Teleported there, Wei Yuan will constantly bear crushing weight, unable to escape at all. At the same time, when I bind his karma, even if he has laid realm beacons elsewhere, every single beacon will be teleported together to the mountain's base.
"That way, whenever Wei Yuan enters the Nether Cold Realm again, his only entrance will be at the mountain's base. Even if he enters, he won't be able to stay long, let alone achieve anything. No matter how many times he comes, there will be nothing he can do in the Nether Cold Realm. It will simply be hard on you, Lord Shu Li, having to monitor his movements at all times."
Shu Li fell silent in contemplation. Only after a moment did he say, "Allow me to discuss this further."
Shengxin said, "Once you have reached a decision, Lord Shu Li, you may seek me out at any time. I will remain within the realm during this period."
The three Shamans nodded in unison and departed.
Shengxin and Huixin flew toward a mirror-like lake. Surrounded by trees, several courtyards sat nestled along the lakeshore, tranquil, elegant, and artfully arranged. These courtyards were reserved for Shamans of high status; naturally, Shengxin occupied the finest one, while Huixin stayed at the outer edge.
Even this was only because she and Shengxin both hailed from the Tianyi Tribe; otherwise, she would not have been permitted to reside by the lake at all.
Huixin asked, "Why can't he seek aid from other realms?"
Shengxin said, "Seeking aid from other realms would mean Lord Shu Li admitting his weakness. The other Nether Shamans would surely demand an exorbitant price, perhaps even requiring him to cede a portion of his realm. That is something Shu Li could never tolerate, so he can only come to me."
Huixin said, "Yet the price of turning to you isn't any lower than ceding part of his realm, is it?"
Shengxin gave a faint smile and said, "Turning to me has one advantage: no one else will know what price he paid... Wait. Shu Li has agreed."
Chapter 537