Amid the crashing ocean waves, several hundred Dao soldiers braved the wind and crested the surges, breaking into the unfamiliar realm. They soon reached the coast and came ashore from the water.
The shore was littered with unfinished stone boats and scattered roving warriors. But their main force had already been completely wiped out in the Smoke and Fire of the Mortal World; all who remained were the old, the weak, the sick, and the crippled.
Wei Yuan charged directly onto the shore. Sweeping his demonic blade in an arc, an intangible wave of killing intent washed out, wiping out every trace of life within a hundred zhang in an instant. Several dozen maned tribesmen collapsed straight to the ground without a single blemish on their flesh.
Only now was the demonic blade able to show its might. Throughout the prior battle, it had been thoroughly suppressed; during the clash against the twin long and short blades, Wei Yuan had even heard its pained whimpers, though he had silenced it to keep it from speaking.
A pang of heartache flared in Wei Yuan's chest. Those two blades had likely been the most precious treasures on Yinren—unmistakable immortal blades no worse than the Demonic Blade Qiyue. What a pity that under the tribal secret art, every shred of their immortal power had been drained, reducing them to scrap iron and drifting sand.
Time was running out. Wei Yuan ordered his men to seize several captives for interrogation, while he shot into the sky to survey this realm's terrain.
The land rolled in undulating ridges and troughs. Wei Yuan unleashed his divine sense, covering more than five hundred li, yet he still found no edge. Everywhere loomed perilous, sheer peaks thousands of zhang high, pointing like blade tips straight into the heavens.
Gazing into the distance, Wei Yuan spotted a city cradled among the mountains. It was of considerable size, packed tightly with towering buildings. Inside, many maned tribesmen could be seen scurrying in panic. The gates were already barred, and many warriors stood upon the walls, though their heights were mismatched and most moved sluggishly with age.
Pressed for time, Wei Yuan had no desire to mount another full siege. He dispatched several dozen Dao soldiers. Half of them manifested aerial projections of Yinren and Leiling falling in battle, while the other half shouted in unison, "Your chieftains have all perished! This realm now belongs to Lord Wei Yuan, who slew Yinren! Hand over all your treasures at once and your lives will be spared! Otherwise, the red lotus karmic fire shall descend from the heavens, and not one soul will be left alive!"
Without waiting for an answer, Wei Yuan summoned a small patch of karmic fire, igniting dozens of warriors on the wall. Howling in agony, they collapsed to the ground. Their souls were burned to nothingness, yet their bodies remained completely unharmed.
Such ruthless methods instantly struck terror through the entire city. Under Wei Yuan's stern reprimands, the surviving Thunder Wolf tribesmen finally opened the gates and surrendered. Wei Yuan then dispatched a dragon guard to descend upon the city lord's manor to seize and inventory the treasures. At the same time, he unleashed several groups of Five Elements Dao Soldiers—over a thousand of them in all—who dashed across the streets, scouring the place clean.
Wei Yuan himself had already departed the city in search of his next objective.
Just then, a stirring in his senses drew his gaze toward the horizon at the world entrance. A tiny black dot was flying toward him at incredible speed. It turned out to be Yu Zhizhuo.
Yu Zhizhuo was not adept at fighting within the Smoke and Fire of the Mortal World, so Wei Yuan had not called on him earlier. But now that it was time to loot a minor world, Wei Yuan had summoned him at once. When it came to prospecting ore veins, ten Wei Yuans combined could not hold a candle to a single Yu Zhizhuo.
Yu Zhizhuo also knew time was short. Meeting up with Wei Yuan, he said, "This world is exceedingly bizarre; there isn't the slightest trace of life. Neither flora nor spirit beasts exist here. I truly cannot fathom how this Thunder Wolf tribe managed to survive..."
Wei Yuan, who was interrogating several dozen tribesmen simultaneously, had already extracted a good deal of information. He replied, "By raiding other realms in foreign campaigns, and by being fed by an Immortal Venerable."
Yu Zhizhuo's pupils narrowed. "What cruel methods! This realm is already dead. We can forget about finding world essence, origin qi of heaven and earth, or spiritual power. But mineral veins endure forever. I'll search for ore veins immediately. Give me two silver nails. Once I locate them, I'll plant the nails, and you can come over to strike a single blow with your hoe before the deadline arrives."
"Excellent!" Wei Yuan wasted no words, handing two silver nails to Yu Zhizhuo. The two men each chose a direction and flew off to explore. By then, the surviving mortals had also begun entering this world one after another, fanning out to search at full speed.
That city was the Thunder Wolf tribe's primary settlement, housing the majority of the population. Yinren, Leiling, and Nulei had all resided there previously, sharing a single manor.
The most valuable items recovered from the city lord's manor were the spare armor and weapons belonging to the three chieftains, as well as the spoils of war amassed over years and decades. A small portion of the armaments were spirit treasures, more than half were top-grade dharma treasures, and the rest were dharma treasures endowed with special functions. All told, there were over a hundred pieces, including more than a dozen spirit treasures.
In Leiling's quarters, they even unearthed a short blade that was, astoundingly, a failed immortal weapon!
Yet the greatest treasure offered up by the tribal elders was a bronze jue. When tipped, a gurgling stream flowed from it, capable of filling an entire water vat in a quarter of an hour. This water was the sole source in the entire realm; apart from it, they had to seize water during campaigns in outer worlds.
This vessel possessed the ability to create something from nothing, bringing forth water even in an environment where the realm's essence was depleted and all prospects severed. To the Thunder Wolf tribe, it was naturally a supreme treasure, but to Wei Yuan, it was completely useless.
The Smoke and Fire of the Mortal World had vast, surging oceans. Even as Wei Yuan explored, he was channeling seawater into this realm, intending to use the power of the Smoke and Fire to fracture the world. For one thing, Wei Yuan still held out a sliver of hope to see if any world essence remained; after all, swallowing just two mouthfuls in the first minor world had saved him a century of bitter cultivation.
Wei Yuan was busy enough to have steam rising from his crown, only for these tribesmen to present him with a bronze cup that merely poured water? He was so infuriated that he nearly brought down several more petals of red lotus karmic fire.
He had half a mind to burn the city down, yet there was not even anything combustible inside it.
Urging his warrior Dao soldiers to speed up their interrogations, Wei Yuan executed on the spot anyone who refused to speak and flew toward the depths of the mountain ranges. Just then, two successive ripples reached him from Yu Zhizhuo's direction; he had already planted both silver nails.
Wei Yuan's spirits lifted slightly. Finally, some good news. Any vein Yu Zhizhuo fancied was bound to be extraordinary. He only wondered whether a hundred-li radius would be enough to cover the entire deposit.
During the first half-shichen, Wei Yuan had been thoroughly excited, brimming with the tension and anticipation of prospecting a treasure mountain—like standing before a row of treasure chests, completely unsure which to open first or what might emerge. But half a shichen later, confronted with monotonous scenery and a lifeless realm, Wei Yuan was growing fatigued.
This land was quite vast, but it had been dead for who knew how long and was utterly barren. Wei Yuan consoled himself with the fact that he had at least acquired a defective immortal weapon and several spirit treasures, which allowed him to muster a bit of enthusiasm.
Yet the value of those items was still far inferior to the two mouthfuls of world essence he had absorbed in the first minor world.
As he flew on, Wei Yuan suddenly noticed an unusual spot ahead. It was a valley half-hidden among the mountains, enveloped in swirling mist that surged like a beating pulse. Intrigued, he flew over and touched down directly in the center of the valley floor.
Since this world was dead, with no living creatures or spirit plants, Wei Yuan simply wanted to see if there was anything peculiar here.
Yet the moment his feet hit the ground, a chilling sensation crept up his spine!
Just then, a message from a Dao soldier reached his mind. Under severe torture and threats to his family's lives, the oldest tribal elder had finally confessed that hidden deep within this world was a powerful demonic beast—one that even Yinren had been unwilling to provoke!
Wei Yuan snapped his head up. Through the dense mist, he saw the clouds churn violently as two emerald-green suns flared to life in the heavens above! Those were no suns at all—they were the eyes of a demonic monster!
Judging by its size alone, it was undoubtedly a Scenery Command beast!
At this moment, Wei Yuan did not even have the energy left to curse. Had this information been pried loose just a few minutes earlier, he would never have blundered straight into the monster's lair.
Wei Yuan's entire body seized up. Invisible chains bound him firmly to the spot; without his realizing it, the creature had already locked onto him.
On the razor's edge between life and death, Wei Yuan acted decisively. He drove a silver nail into the earth, swung his jade hoe, and dug a single stroke!
In the blink of an eye, Wei Yuan found himself standing over an empty void. The valley and the demonic beast had already been cast into the Smoke and Fire of the Mortal World. Only then did a cold sweat break out across his back.
Chapter 734