At the cost of three Great Shamans, over ten Shaman Scholars, and dozens of legion beasts, the Shamans finally breached the first nether-iron gate, captured the corridor and its parallel bypass, and deciphered the mechanics behind the toxic fumes and explosions.
Before they even had time to curse, they peered down the pitch-black second stretch of tunnel, feeling a prickle of unease in their hearts.
Shielded by the alchemical smoke, Wei Yuan cradled a magical treasure resembling a wine cask, slotted its four support legs into holes pre-drilled in the floor, and locked them in place with a sharp click.
Then, as several strange beasts warily rounded the bend to scout the depths of the smoke, Wei Yuan activated the barrel.
With a thunderous blast, the barrel spewed a storm of nether-iron pellets as thick as fingers, instantly riddling the beasts ahead into sieves. The tunnel wall curved in a smooth arc, causing the pellets to ricochet repeatedly and mowing down a massive swath of Shamans and beasts crouching around the bend.
Wei Yuan fired two more casks until he sensed that all movement in the tunnel had ceased.
Packing up the barrel, Wei Yuan ventured forward to investigate. He found the ground strewn with shattered primordial spirits. Only one Great Shaman was still breathing, while the other primordial spirits were shredded beyond recognition. Wei Yuan hauled the Great Shaman back, and after a seamless sequence of maneuvers, sent him into the Smoke and Fire of the Mortal World as well.
Afterward, with a broad wave of his sleeve, Wei Yuan swept up every primordial spirit that had not yet dissipated. Such things were useless to ordinary people, but in Xu Henshui's hands, they made fine pill ingredients.
Using primordial spirits to concoct pills inherently harmed the harmony of heaven, however, and the rules of most major immortal sects contained strict prohibitions against it. Some banned using the primordial spirits of humanity, while stricter ones forbade using those of any sentient being.
Having been founded not long ago, the Palace of Grand Beginning had yet to refine its regulations to such granular detail; its rules only barred using human primordial spirits, remaining silent on what happened if one used fragments. Thus, Xu Henshui occasionally slipped in a few fragments when concocting certain specialized pills.
Furthermore, according to Xu Henshui's research, adding primordial spirit fragments greatly aided in breathing spirit into a pill, allowing it to become an immortal pill. Once a pill attained spirit, the alchemist stood to gain immense benefits, rendering the negligible karmic debt incurred practically inconsequential.
Besides, the Nether Lily of the Valley could also cleanse some karmic debt, even if it was less potent than the Red Lotus Bodhi. Yet the Nether Lily of the Valley would not drag its master off to a Buddhist temple, which made it superior to the Red Lotus Bodhi in that regard.
Following this devastating strike, Shu Li's avatar was left thoroughly dazed. He had expected the demons unearthed beneath Nether Mountain to be difficult to deal with, but he had never imagined them to be this troublesome.
Could he really be forced to turn to his friends for aid? Yet in these extraordinary times, who would come to his rescue, and who would dare?
Composing himself, Shu Li immediately ordered the Shaman Scholars to haul earth, stone, and timber to construct a fortress outside the cave entrance, intending to seal the demons within Nether Mountain.
After much bustling, the Shamans managed to haul in a substantial quantity of construction materials. Selecting a site several dozen zhang from the opening, they began building the stronghold.
At that moment, Wei Yuan arrived at the cavern mouth carrying a rotary autocannon. Cloaked by the alchemical smoke, he fitted a magazine of flying swords coated in Spirit Refinement salve, lined up his sights on the Shaman Scholars laboring in full swing, and pulled the trigger!
In an instant, an endless barrage of flying swords screamed forth, hurtling toward the gathered Shamans.
"How dare you!" Shu Li's avatar bellowed in fury. His divine sense morphed into a heavenly net, snaring dozens of flying swords in an instant!
Yet a bloodcurdling scream tore from his throat the very next moment. His divine sense felt as though it had caught red-hot branding irons; the flying swords melted through, instantly burning dozens of gaping holes into his net.
Shu Li's avatar turned deathly pale. He let out a muffled grunt as a trickle of fresh blood dripped from his nose. That single exchange had dealt a grievous wound to his divine sense, leaving him severely injured.
Even so, flying swords continued to stream relentlessly from the cave, each seeking out its own target. Wei Yuan's divided-mind control was not yet fully practiced; maneuvering dozens of flying swords simultaneously proved strenuous enough that a cunning Shaman Scholar managed to evade the salvo.
None of the other Shaman Scholars were so lucky. The Great Shaman overseeing the work suffered a particularly gruesome fate, pierced through by six or seven flying swords. Just like Shu Li's avatar, he had instinctively tried to block them with his divine sense, completely unprepared for an unnatural substance like Spirit Refinement salve coating the blades.
Several charred, blackened wounds tore across his primordial spirit, continuing to spread wider by the second.
With a screech of agony, the Great Shaman rocketed into the sky and fled toward parts unknown.
Wei Yuan shook his head. Had the Great Shaman stayed behind, Shu Li might have had a way to treat him. Fleeing on his own, with the ruthless potency of the Spirit Refinement salve, he was almost certainly doomed.
With that single burst from the autocannon, Wei Yuan emptied the two-hundred-round sword magazine and wiped out nearly a hundred Shaman Scholars. These scholars formed the backbone of the realm, and many were likely close disciples; losing them was no small blow to Shu Li.
Beside himself with shock and fury, Shu Li's avatar stepped forward in person, unleashing a barrage of shamanic arts upon the cave entrance for the span of an entire cup of tea. Though well aware the bombardment would accomplish little, he could not appease the fury burning in his chest without it.
Naturally, the shamanic arts of Shu Li's avatar were extraordinary, blasting away more than half of the alchemical smoke and laying bare the interior of the cavern. Just then, a human cultivator appeared.
His robes hung in tatters, and he held a glazed orb the size of a water vat in both hands, shouting, "Hold your fire! We surrender!"
Adopting an imposing countenance, Shu Li's avatar barked, "Walk out yourself!"
Trembling from head to toe, the human cultivator stepped out of the cave and was brought before Shu Li's avatar. Though he possessed the cultivation of a dharma idol, he had only just entered the realm; Shu Li's avatar could crush him as easily as an ant.
Seated high upon a stone dais, Shu Li's avatar looked down and demanded, "Who are you, and why have you appeared beneath my Nether Mountain? Where is Wei Yuan, and what is that object?"
The cultivator answered each question: "We are all rogue cultivators abducted by Old Fiend Wei, forced to drive magical treasures day in and day out to grind away at the iron mountain. We only know his surname is Wei; we don't know his given name.
"The old fiend was ruthless and cruel, beating and berating us without end, treating us like beasts of burden to power his magical treasures for free—utterly detestable! Just now, he tried to see what was happening outside, only to run headfirst into a barrage of shamanic arts and fall critically wounded.
"The few of us put our heads together and realized the chance of a lifetime had come. We steeled our hearts, slaughtered the old fiend, and sent me out to present this treasure to Your Lordship, begging to surrender! We humbly beseech Your Lordship's gracious mercy!
"This object is the magical treasure Old Fiend Wei used to grind away the iron mountain. I brought it out specifically as a gift for our audience. Beyond this, the old fiend has countless other treasures stored away in the treasure vault at the bottom of the mountain."
Hearing that this treasure could grind through Nether Iron Mountain, Shu Li's avatar was genuinely tempted. The glazed orb possessed an exquisite appearance, radiating a strand of frigid immortal qi of extraordinary grade—a notch higher even than Shu Li's true body. It was unequivocally a creation of the immortal path; no wonder it could wear down nether iron.
"Present it!" Shu Li's avatar commanded with solemn poise, betraying not the slightest hint of urgency.
Holding the glazed orb high, the human cultivator mounted the terrace. The instant he drew near Shu Li's avatar, the outer shell of the glazed orb melted away like water, exposing a dense thicket of flying swords within, their points facing outward!
With a deafening roar, a terrifying explosion swept across a radius of a hundred zhang. Countless flying swords shredded everything in range, leveling the stone terrace entirely and reducing scores of Shaman Scholars to dust!
Sword light flared in the cavern with blinding radiance, dazzling the eyes beyond endurance! Countless flying swords surged from the tunnel mouth, one portion forming a rain of swords that blanketed the area where Shu Li's avatar stood, while another hundred blades darted with breathtaking agility, each seeking out a target to pierce through over a hundred Shaman Scholars and strange beasts!
This was the first time Zhang Sheng had unleashed her full might since forging her new Dao Foundation. She could not yet command all of her flying swords, but loosing two hundred and fifty-six blades at once was terrifying in its own right.
After that wave of flying swords passed, silence fell outside the cavern. Wei Yuan darted from the tunnel, charging straight toward Shu Li's avatar. Greatsword in hand, brimming with murderous intent, he arrived above the former terrace in the blink of an eye. Looking down, he found the ground leveled, pitted everywhere with craters left by the blades. Aside from scattered magical treasures and primordial spirit fragments, nothing remained.
Wei Yuan let out a breath of relief, glad to have finally destroyed one of Shu Li's avatars, yet feeling a hollow sense of loss in his chest.
Back in the cave, Zhang Sheng was pale, swaying on her feet. Her strength had never lain in abundant Dao power, and that last volley had strained her past her limits.
Seeing this, Long Wushuang showed an anxious expression and moved to rush forward to support her, only to be yanked back by Han Li, who signaled with his eyes not to. Confused, Long Wushuang followed Han Li's gaze toward the shadows in the corner, where the scholar dragon guard stood in silence.
Long Wushuang's face flattened into calm, his inner thoughts completely masked once more.
Chapter 632