One Step at a Time

The shadow in the firmament grew larger and larger until it finally surpassed the critical threshold. The shadow dispersed, and the two minor worlds formally docked under the working of immortal power. This time, the two worlds were not parallel. Instead, they met at an angle, so that looking across, each seemed tilted and plunged into the other's heaven and earth, forming a celestial V-shape. Surging waters flooded into that world as well, but did not submerge much land. They merely pushed the boundary forward by a fraction before the roiling waves came to a halt before a boulder-strewn beach. Wave after wave crashed down, only to recede reluctantly, leaving behind a shoreline of white foam reeking with an inexplicable fishy stench. A pair of sharp claws stepped onto the shore. The waves churned with even greater frenzy, yet none could reach the claws, splashing only flecks of flying foam against them. Each claw was like a blade over a chi long, adorned with gilded cloud patterns. Above them rose dark silver greaves, extending upward until armor encased the being all the way to its neck. This creature stood a full zhang tall, fangs protruding from its face. Its eyes were likewise dark silver, inset with black cross-shaped pupils. A long mane cascaded behind its back, imposing and magnificent. He looked down at the waves before his toes, pupils contracting slightly. "A world of the lowest grade can actually push its boundary all the way to my claws?" Behind him stood a female creature with a pale golden mane. A low, commanding roar rose from her throat as she said, "This indicates the other side spans a vast domain, teeming with countless beings, and possesses exceptionally abundant world power. If we slaughter this world, there will surely be a reward from the Immortal Venerable!" The tall, silver-maned, fanged male slowly nodded. "A world of the lowest tier can contend with us; they must have an extraordinary number of Dao Foundations over there. Perhaps a thousand, perhaps three thousand? "Whether it is a thousand, three thousand, or more, as long as we butcher them all, perhaps—no, the Immortal Venerable will certainly elevate our world! When that time comes, you will be able to become a Scenery Command and continue to live. This is our best chance..." At this point, his voice dropped low: "...and our last chance." The golden-maned female creature said, "I want to take their world! And live there! That side is bound to be a world bursting with life; I never want to live here again." "That is not something we can covet. How the world is apportioned rests on the Immortal Venerable's decree. For now, let us attend to the task before our eyes." The silver-maned male turned around, his voice echoing across the entire realm: "Prepare for war! Slaughter them all!" Roars thundered through heaven and earth as warrior after warrior with long manes emerged behind them, blanketing the hills and plains. Yet as they crowded onto the shore, all of them halted, at a loss before the boundless sea. Two burly black-maned warriors leaped into the air and skimmed the surface of the water in rapid flight. A moment later, they plunged into the Smoke and Fire of the Mortal World. Instantly, their bodies felt weighed down by a thousand jun, sinking abruptly so hard they nearly plunged into the waves! Terrified, they struggled to fly upward, but beneath the water, countless tentacle-like fronds of seaweed suddenly shot forth, instantly wrapping around them. The two warriors at the early dharma idol stage were dragged directly underwater, vanishing in a flash. Moments later, a vast pool of fresh blood floated to the surface. A violent, ferocious aura surged from the deep sea, shooting straight into the firmament! Wei Yuan frowned slightly. The seaweed had devoured far too much across these battles, and its Dao heart seemed unstable, showing signs of reverting to its vicious, savage killing instincts. The awakening of the seaweed's bloodthirsty instincts momentarily silenced the immortal plants. Yet within the blink of an eye, each immortal plant seemed to awaken something within itself, releasing dangerous auras of the primordial wilderness one after another. With all of them more or less beginning to awaken their ancient instincts, the atmosphere within the Smoke and Fire of the Mortal World grew abruptly delicate. The believers of the various immortal plant churches were utterly bewildered. Just moments ago, their default doctrines had suddenly shifted, shedding many tenets of love and peace while adding a great deal of content on being aloof from worldly strife. Contention ran rampant throughout the world; therefore, one must flatten all defiance until none in the world dared contend with them—that was what it truly meant to be aloof from worldly strife. Only the celestial laurel tree looked around blankly, unable to comprehend why the atmosphere had turned so eerie. She tried her best to tighten her bark; it was on the verge of failing to hold everything in again. Wei Yuan hovered in the air, everything within the Smoke and Fire of the Mortal World naturally reflected in his mind. The breach between the worlds lay 1,800 li from Central City, separated entirely by the boundless ocean. However, while slaying those two dharma idols, the seaweed had been gravely injured once again; vast swathes of its fronds and stems had withered directly, leaving it with no strength left to fight. Though the ferocious fish in the waters were numerous, their individual combat strength was mediocre at best; they relied entirely on the seaweed's suppression to get a chance to tear off a few bites. Faced with the current situation, Wei Yuan made an immediate decision, commanding, "Build ships! Assemble a navy to fight them on the sea! Send every fellow who dares intrude to feed the fish!" The Smoke and Fire of the Mortal World seethed. Aside from the seaweed, which heartily approved, the rest of the immortal plants vehemently protested. With so much nourishment at stake, why should it all go to the fish? What had fish ever contributed? By order of seniority, it would never be the fish's turn! Wei Yuan felt a massive headache. After much effort pacifying the immortal plants, he found the mortals had already leaped into action: several research institutes had already unveiled their plaques, including things like the Ship Powertrain Research Institute, the Hull Structure Research Institute, and so forth. Between laughter and tears, Wei Yuan simply pulled several warship designs from Xu Wenwu's data and ordered them to build according to the blueprints. At that moment, another early dharma idol warrior flew in from the world entrance. It moved remarkably fast, skimming just below the cloud layer. The seaweed tried several times, but could not reach it at all. The black-maned warrior was exceedingly arrogant, circling once in the air before flying toward the center of the sea. Yet after flying only several dozen li, a massive dragon head suddenly thrust out from the clouds, huge fangs bared. It clamped down on the warrior in a single bite and dragged him back into the cloud layer. The clouds churned wildly at once, revealing the ferocity of the clash within. Moments later, calm returned, and the colossal dragon head peeked out, glancing around furtively. Several distinct wounds marked the dragon's face, still trailing faint black mist, yet it let out a satisfied burp. Some blood that clearly did not belong to it involuntarily trickled from the corner of its mouth. With a flick of its tongue, it licked it back in. Killing three enemy dharma idols in succession counted as an initial victory. But the enemy Scenery Command had yet to move; even slaughtering every dharma idol and Dao Foundation would be useless. Moreover, he was completely in the dark regarding this battle, having no idea what kind of creatures the enemy were or what specialties they possessed. He could only take it one step at a time. Wei Yuan did not dare be careless in the slightest. Resolute in refusing to enter the enemy's world, he chose to defend the Smoke and Fire of the Mortal World and slowly wear them down. He had already grasped the situation across the immortal heavens: blue worlds, even pale blue ones, were not common among all the worlds. As long as he held this world at bay, it would effectively relieve some of Immortal Monarch Yanshi's burden. At this time, the first world that had been crushed and fractured cracked further, releasing even more origin power. Meanwhile, the second world was now entirely submerged by seawater, its countdown to destruction ticking away. Right then, both worlds suddenly tore free from the Smoke and Fire of the Mortal World, plunging toward the void. Wei Yuan was stunned. He had only taken two small bites of the first, and had not even had a single bite of the second. How could they just leave like this? In truth, one hardly needed to think to know that it had to be the work of the two Liao Clan immortals. The Worthy Prince of the Left and the Little State Preceptor could hardly sit by and watch Wei Yuan devour their mindscape worlds. Though Wei Yuan felt regretful, he could only shake his head and focus all his efforts on confronting this newly connected minor world. At the docks of Central City, speedboat-like vessels were pushed into the sea one after another. On the shore, mortals temporarily screened and drafted stood in neat, orderly ranks, listening as Dao Foundation cultivators before the lines explained the essentials of piloting the boats, naval combat precautions, and the like. Next came the distribution of equipment. The so-called equipment was actually fashioned from stones within the Smoke and Fire of the Mortal World; its true essence was Wei Yuan using his own Dao power to protect the mortals' speck of true spirit. Since it was not physical matter, the armor design could be freely improvised. Thus, adhering to the principle of showing off at every opportunity, the great minds designed a truly mind-blowing suit of armor. The armor was form-fitting, primarily dark silver with black accents, complemented by faint lines of eerie blue. It looked striking and visually stunning, yet its style was thoroughly bizarre, completely out of place with the present era. At first glance of the new armor, Wei Yuan instantly recognized the source of inspiration: wasn't this precisely the futuristic mecha warrior described in Xu Wenwu's archives? However, now was not the time to fuss over such details. At Wei Yuan's command, numerous mortal warriors boarded the speedboats. Vessels sped across the sea at high speed, their long wakes weaving intricate patterns over the water. Within the Smoke and Fire of the Mortal World, these speedboats achieved unbelievable speeds without ever capsizing. Standing aboard the lead speedboats were Han Li, Jun Weizhi, Long Wushuang, and Dugu Cangqiong. Aside from Dugu Cangqiong, the other three were remarkably calm, as if setting out on a trivial errand. Dugu Cangqiong's expression, however, shifted incessantly between excitement and nervousness. Every now and then, he would ask the other three, "Do you think there's a chance the heavenly restrictions might be lifted this time? Why aren't any of you talking?" The other three merely gazed ahead, as if completely deaf to Dugu Cangqiong's words. In reality, they possessed a secret channel of communication and were continuously discussing the battle situation and their next moves within it. Long Wushuang suddenly said, "Do you think the Creation Immortal Venerable might be listening to us right now?" Han Li and Jun Weizhi remained silent, but Wei Yuan was startled.