At the main peak of Qingming, Wei Yuan looked up at the sky. Qingming's world had already grown quite sturdy, and the fractured traces across the firmament above were gradually showing signs of mending. Yet through the rifts, he could still sense the gaze of extraterrestrial fiends sweeping across from time to time.
Ever since he laid eyes upon that extraterrestrial fiend, Wei Yuan found that his perception of their aura had become exceptionally acute. Yet he would have preferred to be as he was before—knowing nothing at all—so he could live carefree and content.
At present, countless matters tangled together, and complicated thoughts crowded his mind. Wei Yuan drew a deep breath to calm himself, then began sorting through the proper order of tasks.
First and foremost was securing connections between the Nether Cold domain, Qingming, and the Smoke and Fire of the Mortal World. The very first task was to construct a teleportation formation, using formation arrays to anchor the gateway to the Smoke and Fire of the Mortal World into a permanent passage.
In addition, the teleportation array within the Heavenly Abyss space formed by the extraterrestrial fiend needed to be modified as well, to guard against any hidden traps. Once transit was secured, Wei Yuan planned to establish an outpost within that Heavenly Abyss space, sending his Dao Foundation warriors to take turns standing guard and monitoring the movements of the extraterrestrial fiend.
Having seen the extraterrestrial fiend with their own eyes, the restriction placed upon the matter by the immortals lost its effect on the cultivators of the Palace of Grand Beginning. Yu Zhizhuo had taken on the task of constructing the teleportation formation, but even he did not know how to build one connecting the Ancestral Master's realm with Qingming.
In theory, one could simply leave a mark in the Nether Cold Realm as Wei Yuan did and then teleport their primordial spirit to the marker without needing an array. In truth, however, that was strictly a Scenery Command technique; among the Dharma Idols of the Palace of Grand Beginning, not a single one possessed a primordial spirit as formidable as Wei Yuan's.
After conferring, they had no choice for now but to first enter the Smoke and Fire of the Mortal World, and then pass from there into the Nether Cold domain.
Shortly thereafter, Wei Yuan returned to the Nether Cold Realm, arriving where the Ancestral Master's boundary stone had been planted. The ground here had turned into fertile black soil, amidst which stood an exquisite cyan boundary stone.
Within a hundred li of the boundary stone, the world had gained rich colors, though every hue carried a faint sheen of cyan.
Wei Yuan placed his hand upon the boundary stone, silently sensing it. As the domain expanded and converted a portion of the origin qi of heaven and earth, information from the Ancestral Master's boundary stone gradually began to surface.
Having been re-erected, this boundary stone absorbed the origin qi of heaven and earth and communed with the fundamental Great Dao, thereby receiving a name from the Heavenly Dao: the Spring Splendor Dao Stone.
This Dao Stone was rooted in wood, giving birth to fire from wood—an exceptionally potent Fire of Life. In its attributes, it was somewhat discordant with the Nether Cold Realm, even carrying an edge of sharp opposition.
Its properties were remarkably intense, and its domain expanded with tremendous ferocity. All the Nether realm fiendish beasts unable to adapt to the new domain scurried away in panic like cornered rats. A few stubborn ones adamantly refused to leave, instead attempting to resist the power of the domain.
Yet before Wei Yuan could even intervene, the Spring Splendor Dao Stone automatically mobilized the origin qi of heaven and earth, concentrating the domain's power upon those few beasts. With shrill screams, emerald flames erupted directly from their maws, incinerating them from the inside out into ashes!
Several Dharma Idol-grade beasts died cleanly and thoroughly just like that, without even the chance to struggle.
Wei Yuan watched, dumbfounded. The Ancestral Master's boundary stone seemed to have quite a fiery temperament.
Then again, thinking back on the Ancestral Master of old, he had likely been a hothead as well; otherwise, he wouldn't have charged into the Wu domain the moment he achieved immortality, forcefully slaying the First Heavenly Shaman while besieged by three veteran Heavenly Shamans.
At this point, the remaining information of the boundary stone gradually revealed itself. The Spring Splendor Dao Stone possessed two traits and one divine wonder. The divine wonder was called the Will of Life. This wonder invigorated the life force of the domain's populace, making it difficult for them to perish. Had it been only this, it would merely resemble Jia Wood Life-Mystic, falling far short of the subsequent advanced Jianmu Life-Mystic.
Where the Will of Life truly proved formidable was that the Domain Lord could designate several beings to preserve their primordial spirits and blood essence within the Dao Stone. Even if they died outside, they could be resurrected by drawing upon the domain's power through this stored blood essence and primordial spirit. However, the resurrected individual would lose the greater part of their cultivation and most of their memories.
At present, the Dao Stone could engrave three individuals; at full completion, it could ultimately hold seven.
Beholding the Will of Life, Wei Yuan could only marvel in admiration at the sheer power of the Ancestral Master's boundary stone.
Of the other two traits, one was Spring Flames, an offensive technique that carried the might of a perfected Dharma Idol when unleashed.
The second trait was named Ardor of Ancestral Generations. Within the domain, the human race would receive all-around enhancements, whereas non-humans would suffer suppression and weakening. Furthermore, should any non-human display strong hostility, it risked provoking an autonomous strike from the Dao Stone.
Seeing this, Wei Yuan gained some sense of the founding ancestor's attitude toward other races.
However, this was the Nether Cold Realm after all, so Wei Yuan sealed away the Dao Stone's autonomous attack function from Ardor of Ancestral Generations. Otherwise, if great demons like Dream Eater came to visit, they might have to swallow a burst of Spring Flames first.
At that moment, Sun Yu walked over and said, "I have inspected the Shaman folk in the palace city and questioned several dozen of them one by one. They are all Shaman commoners who fell in battle against the extraterrestrial fiend earlier. Shu Li preserved them through the power of his realm, allowing them to live within the grand hall. Therefore, these Shamans are valiant spirits who fought against the fiend."
Having said that, Sun Yu fell silent, awaiting Wei Yuan's decision.
Wei Yuan stood with his hands behind his back, gazing up at the Nether Cold Realm's void-like sky. After a moment, he finally made up his mind and said, "I will open another gateway and send them into the Smoke and Fire of the Mortal World. What follows will depend on their own destiny."
What would happen when the primordial spirit bodies of the Shaman folk entered the Smoke and Fire of the Mortal World went without saying. Sun Yu said nothing, though approval shone in his eyes.
A moment later, Sun Yu brought all the valiant Shaman spirits in the city before the grand hall. Wei Yuan opened the gateway leading to the Smoke and Fire of the Mortal World and ordered the Shaman folk to enter.
The Shaman folk no longer wore numb expressions. Some showed despair, others fury; some even lunged directly at Wei Yuan, spewing vicious curses. Yet they were merely broken remnants who had survived catastrophe, their primordial spirits exceptionally feeble. Wei Yuan merely summoned a wisp of Spring Flames to reduce those Shamans to flying ash.
Under the intimidation of the surrounding cultivators, the valiant Shaman spirits entered the Smoke and Fire of the Mortal World one after another. The moment they emerged, they found themselves suspended in midair above a boundless ocean, screaming as they plunged down into the waters.
As soon as they entered the Smoke and Fire of the Mortal World, the valiant Shaman spirits felt as though boiling oil had been splashed over them, struggling in agony. After plunging into the sea, it was like falling into strong acid; in the blink of an eye, they were corroded into flying ash.
One by one, the valiant Shaman spirits vanished in the sea. Subsequently, people walked out from the black pool beneath the Gate of the Many Realms one after another. When they first stepped out, they looked somewhat bewildered, but someone soon appeared before them to gather this entire batch of reincarnated individuals together.
After about half an hour, all nine thousand-odd valiant Shaman spirits had entered the Smoke and Fire of the Mortal World.
Wei Yuan then rose into the air and projected his voice: "To any Shaman folk who remain hidden, you have one final chance. Walk out on your own and you may yet be reincarnated. If you hide and refuse to come forth, the only road that awaits you is total annihilation!"
Wei Yuan repeated this three times. In the end, fewer than a hundred Shaman folk stepped out and voluntarily entered the Smoke and Fire of the Mortal World. Seeing that no one else emerged, Wei Yuan promptly activated Ardor of Ancestral Generations. A ball of emerald blazing fire erupted violently from the Dao Stone, scattering into hundreds of sparks that shot in every direction!
Shrill screams rang out instantly. Shamans hiding in the dark were ignited one after another, along with many lurking legion beasts.
After that volley of flying fire, Wei Yuan felt the entire domain become noticeably cleaner. Next came the tally of humans reincarnated in the Smoke and Fire of the Mortal World: roughly a thousand. Broadly speaking, eight valiant Shaman spirits yielded one human primordial spirit body.
When Wei Yuan brought these reincarnated humans into the Nether Cold Realm, sure enough, expressions of both joy and bewilderment appeared on many of their faces. Many twisted their bodies in strange ways, trying to find limbs and organs that no longer existed.
Wei Yuan then ordered people to lead them into Shaman City within the grand hall. These reincarnated folk immediately dispersed, naturally walking to various locations, and instinctively picked up tools before freezing in place, unable to understand why they were doing so.
Indeed, as valiant spirits, their primordial spirits had become exceptionally resilient. Even after being refined by the Smoke and Fire of the Mortal World and reborn through the Gate of the Many Realms, these Shaman folk miraculously retained a faint trace of their past life's habits.
At this, Wei Yuan could not help but feel a twinge of respect. Yet respect or not, Wei Yuan would not alter his methods. This place was simply too important; he would never leave behind the slightest hidden threat.
The reincarnated people adapted remarkably well to the current Nether Cold Realm, as though they had lived here for generations. Having found their respective workstations, they stopped there, awaiting further orders.
Wei Yuan swept his divine sense across the entire grand hall, then transmitted a layout map of Shaman City into the Smoke and Fire of the Mortal World.
The Smoke and Fire of the Mortal World immediately analyzed the city's layout and the reincarnated people's workstations, planning what to demolish first and what to adjust next, before laying out a new city.
Because the Spring Splendor Dao Stone stood outside the grand hall, the new city was to be built around the Dao Stone, with a sturdy fortress erected directly above it to withstand potential attacks.
While Wei Yuan was busy beyond measure, atop an isolated peak far away, Hongye and Shu Li stood side by side. Shu Li suddenly let out a heavy snort and said, "What a ruthless brat! He purged every single Shaman commoner I left behind—not a single one remains!"
Hongye said, "Then your defeat was well deserved."
"Let us hope he can truly suppress that fiend, or I will certainly never let him off!"
Hongye sighed and looked helplessly at Shu Li. "You had best mend that stubborn, contentious pride of yours. You have lost your realm and no longer pose a threat to them. Once I leave, so long as you can swallow your pride and endure in silence until your avatar is reasonably cultivated again, Long Zhe should grant you another chance to establish a realm. After all, the pressure has only mounted over these past few centuries. Every Nether Shaman matters, and the more realms there are, the better."
"I..." Shu Li hesitated, words dying on his lips.
"Even if you cannot bear it, you must!" Hongye had seen through his thoughts long ago.
Shu Li nodded slowly, then said, "My Lord, I still do not understand. Why were you willing to take that shot?"
"Since I failed to take Qingming, my fate was already sealed. Had I not taken that shot, all of you would ultimately have been dragged down with me to our deaths. Furthermore, certain old fogies up above are deeply wary of the Yang Bullet in Wei Yuan's hands; it had to be expended. By doing this, I bought all of you a sliver of a chance at survival."
Finally, Hongye patted Shu Li's shoulder and said, "Remember, do not make an enemy of him. I, at least, was bested in a fair duel on an open battlefield, and I accept my defeat wholeheartedly. You are no match for him."
Shu Li nodded with difficulty.
Wei Yuan busied himself for several days in succession, only able to breathe a sigh of relief once everything was properly settled. He then returned to Qingming and went to Zhang Sheng's residence.
Within the quiet room, a subtle fragrance drifted. Steam curled up from immortal tea, gently caressing a stunningly beautiful face.
Dressed in moon-white silk, Zhang Sheng sat upright by the desk, perusing the Daoist canon. Seeing Wei Yuan arrive, she slowly lifted her gaze, her limpid eyes brimming with delight. Setting down the book, Zhang Sheng rose with a smile and asked, "Are you done with all your chores?"
Bewitched by Zhang Sheng's smile, Wei Yuan's composure faltered, nearly making him forget his purpose in coming. He hurriedly reined in his thoughts and said, "Things are mostly arranged; now we just have to wait. By the way, Teacher, I have a question. Hongye said that nineteen years ago, a sudden fiend surge erupted from the Heavenly Abyss, and that happened to be right when you descended the mountain to seek the dragon."
Zhang Sheng said thoughtfully, "Come to think of it, it truly was strange. I don't even know why I suddenly felt compelled to go seeking a dragon back then. Reflecting on it afterward, even without dragon qi, there were plenty of things that could have substituted for it.
"As for the Heavenly Abyss fiend surge... though I felt nothing of it, great upheavals indeed occurred across the mortal world that year. Afterward, I inexplicably lost my Dao power as well, and for three whole years, I couldn't even make it out of Yongzhou."
At this point, Zhang Sheng shot Wei Yuan a sideways glance and said, "...And isn't that when I ran into a rebellious disciple like you?"
That tiny expression of hers brought forth an effortless, radiant beauty—so natural and consummate that it seemed to brighten the entire mortal world.
Wei Yuan's heart stirred once more. Stepping up to Zhang Sheng's side, he said, "Your disciple has one more matter."
"What is it? Speak."
"Your disciple currently has a dragon on his person. Would you like to search where it is...?"
With a soft gasp, Zhang Sheng turned to flee, only to be caught in a firm grasp and pulled into a fiery embrace.
Chapter 642