When Tianyu departed, Wei Yuan made a special trip to see him off, watching until the trade caravan of the Desolate Ancestor Tribe vanished into the billowing dust before returning to Qingming.
Upon leaving, Tianyu had not only taken tens of millions of Qingyuan worth of goods, but had also casually purchased several dozen freight trucks that Wei Yuan had just manufactured. Tianyu had deliberately selected small-stature Power Shamans, barely stuffing them into the engine compartments, and only then managed to drive the trucks away.
Before taking his leave, Tianyu had specifically requested that Wei Yuan develop a dedicated freight truck tailored for Power Shamans to operate. Tianyu discovered that using an engine was not only far more efficient than relying on hairy legs, but also substantially more comfortable. No matter how orderly the hairy legs were trained to run, the ride was still considerably bumpy, far inferior to a freight truck outfitted with shock absorbers and weight-reduction formations.
This time, Tianyu had brought an immense quantity of ingredients unique to the Wu domain—tens of millions of jin of assorted fruits, melons, and frozen meats. Spiritual wood, coal, and mineral ores were beyond count, and several million jin of cotton had been specially added to the delivery. These supplies would soon find their way onto mortal dining tables, into their wardrobes, and some would be forged into weapons and armor to protect them.
Thus, with the arrival of the Shaman caravan, Wei Yuan also reaped over a hundred thousand strands of azure qi.
Bao Yun, meanwhile, had been waiting in Qingming. The instant she saw Wei Yuan return, she appeared directly before him, grabbed his collar, and in the blink of an eye whisked him into a study.
Before a startled Wei Yuan could react, a silk ribbon appeared in Bao Yun's hand. She looped it around his neck and drew him close to her, her warm breath fluttering across his face as she spoke. "Didn't you say you wanted to know what the difference was between doing it outside and in the illusory realm...?"
"Didn't we already spot the differences?"
"Every time is different—"
"But—"
"No buts." She stopped his mouth with hers.
A long time later, she leaned lazily against Wei Yuan, unwilling to lift so much as a finger. Wei Yuan patted her gently and asked, "What came over you today? Something feels off."
"Nothing. From now on, whenever there's an opportunity, whenever there's time, I'm going to drag you to spot the differences. As many times as we can!"
Wei Yuan frowned slightly, sensing that her emotions were not quite right.
Just then, a time chime sounded within the Smoke and Fire of the Mortal World, reminding Wei Yuan that it was time to focus on his cultivation. Calculating the third orbit was no simple matter.
Wei Yuan struggled to pull his hand free from where it was pinned against Bao Yun's chest and said, "I have to get to work."
"You really are... Fine, go on."
Wei Yuan wanted to explain, but in the end only let out a sigh. The Yellow Springs Grotto-Heaven was impossible to explain; telling her would only add to her worries. At this moment, all he could do was seize every scrap of time to cultivate, striving to grasp that slim glimmer of survival Yanshi had spoken of. Yet where that glimmer of life lay, Wei Yuan still had no inkling.
Qingyuan was now beginning to show its might, but it clearly required military force as a guarantee. At present, Wei Yuan's strongest combat assets were three Scenery Command Mirage Demons, followed by dozens of dharma idols. Once manifested from his mindscape world, the power of these entities was slightly inferior to true cultivators of this realm, but Wei Yuan held an overwhelming advantage in sheer numbers, which more than made up for any deficiency—enough to suppress even Shaoyang Star Monarch until he could barely lift his head.
Yet Wei Yuan instinctively felt things would not be that simple. Lacking a clear lead, he consulted various contingency plans generated by the Smoke and Fire of the Mortal World and decided to continue expanding his army on one hand. Within Qingming, he could receive the dual reinforcement of the domain and the army's qi, leaving him fearless even before powerhouses of the late Scenery Command realm.
Outside of Qingming, Wei Yuan could reliably defeat those at the early Scenery Command realm, though he lacked confidence against the mid stage. However, if bolstered by the army qi of a hundred thousand soldiers, he would be confident of victory even against mid Scenery Command experts.
On the other hand, he began calculating the third orbit. As for the grotto-heaven core, Wei Yuan had no need to worry. Ever since True Monarch Xuanyue learned that Wei Yuan possessed two grotto-heavens, he had immediately unsealed the palace treasury and taken inventory of the treasures left behind by past patriarchs, discovering two or three items that could serve as grotto-heaven cores for Wei Yuan.
However, the attributes of those cores were quite extreme, comparable to the earlier Yin Soul Cauldron. Because of that, True Monarch Xuanyue had not brought them out, intending instead to travel and seek gentler cores for Wei Yuan. Yet after wandering away from the mountain for half a year, he found that Wei Yuan had already completed his second grotto-heaven.
Now that Wei Yuan even possessed the Yellow Springs Grotto-Heaven, no attribute could possibly be more extreme than this. Thus, Xuanyue stopped agonizing over the matter and simply gave them all to Wei Yuan, merely waiting for him to calculate the third orbit before retrieving them for use.
Since its formation, the Yellow Springs Grotto-Heaven had displayed its immense power in short order, visibly accelerating the rate at which the Smoke and Fire of the Mortal World absorbed and exhaled the essence qi of heaven and earth. Merely covering a single Medicine Garden had already raised the speed by nearly ten percent.
If it were to expand to its original span of ten thousand li or so, Wei Yuan's cultivation speed would likely increase a hundredfold. Such a violent intake and exhalation of worldly essence qi would far exceed the limits of the Smoke and Fire of the Mortal World, and by then, the entire continent might very well collapse.
At present, the Yellow Springs continuously drew in tiny souls, refining and elevating the fundamental essence of the Smoke and Fire of the Mortal World bit by bit. Occasionally, minute soul fragments would merge together, giving birth to a few new living beings. Among the newly born were spiritual flora, spirit beasts, and even several humans. Moreover, the moment these few humans came into the world, each already possessed a name and surname of their own.
While Wei Yuan was seizing every moment to cultivate, Zhang Sheng was also gradually approaching the final hurdle. Of her five hundred and twelve immortal swords, the sword-bearing immortals were nearly all cultivated, leaving only the final three. Zhang Sheng therefore slowed her pace and began preparing for her tribulation.
Upon hearing the news, Wei Yuan immediately emerged from seclusion, scouring ancient texts and beginning modifications on the tribulation base to help Zhang Sheng weather her heavenly tribulation.
Although advancing from Dao Foundation to Dharma Idol did not inevitably provoke a heavenly tribulation, Zhang Sheng's ascension to Dao Foundation had already drawn layer upon layer of tribulation. Her Dao Foundation had even been capable of overpowering the dharma idol of True Monarch Shaoyang; thus, the might of her impending tribulation would surely be boundless, which Wei Yuan estimated would fall only a hair short of his own.
In truth, Wei Yuan knew full well in his heart that his own heavenly tribulation did not have to be so difficult; it was all because of his loose tongue and penchant for courting death that the tribulation had grown increasingly absurd.
Setting aside the parts caused by his own improper conduct, Zhang Sheng's heavenly tribulation was actually bound to be even more terrifying.
***
In the Wu domain, the City of the Night Moon.
Above the altar at the center of the city, only a full moon was ever visible, continuously shedding its cold, crisp moonlight.
Over a dozen shamans of varying dispositions already sat upon the altar—Nether Shamans, Spirit Shamans, and Power Shamans among them, along with two Saint Shamans.
All of them sat in silence, gazing toward the central elevated dais.
A moment later, a cascade of moonlight spilled downward, and a figure emerged from the lunar glow. She wore wide robes with billowing sleeves and a silver mask. The instant she appeared, the temperature on the altar plummeted, causing a frail Nether Shaman to shudder with a cold shiver.
The female shaman atop the dais was the universally acknowledged most mysterious Heavenly Shaman: Huiye.
She never showed her true face to anyone, leading to persistent rumors that she wore her mask year-round because she was exceedingly hideous.
"Heaven's Demise has appeared once more, and again it is in the Far Eastern Desolate Domain. This time, I am responsible for conducting a thorough investigation. In that region, the person most likely connected to Heaven's Demise is Wei Yuan. Therefore, our first step is to capture Wei Yuan and ascertain what connection he bears to Heaven's Demise."
A Nether Shaman asked, "How will we determine whether he truly has a connection or not?"
"You do not need to know; the Ancestral Shaman will naturally see through everything. What you must do is capture him and bring him before the Ancestral Shaman.
"The latest intelligence regarding Wei Yuan has already been delivered from within the human race. At present, his most formidable method is the ability to summon three Scenery Command Mirage Demons, along with what should be even more dharma idol-level summoned puppets. I will bestow upon you several shaman treasures; when deployed at an opportune moment, they can seal off his ability to summon puppets."
Chapter 826