"Not a single Nether Shaman is any good! And they're ugly to boot! She didn't just swindle your friend; she swindled me too! If I'd known earlier... I would never have spared her a second glance! Sigh, it's too late to say anything now. Let's leave it at that. I haven't seen you, and you haven't seen me." Jiumu rose, intending to leave.
Wei Yuan stepped across, however, blocking the doorway. "Leaving so soon, Lord Jiumu? A friend of mine still has many things he'd like to ask!"
"A rat like you having a friend, my foot..." Jiumu snapped angrily. Then, suddenly remembering something, he glanced at Wei Yuan's loosely curled right hand and muttered, "My time is limited, and so is my patience. If you have questions, ask them quickly!"
Wei Yuan's expression darkened. "My friend has quite a few questions, so you'll need to exercise a bit of patience. After all, corner a rat, and it will bite even a shaman."
Jiumu glared at Wei Yuan, but Wei Yuan did not yield an inch!
Jiumu suddenly burst into laughter. "I never imagined I'd actually be threatened by a groundhog! I may enjoy lying flat and slacking off, but that doesn't mean I've discarded all my dignity."
Wei Yuan said coolly, "Had we lived in the same era, it remains to be seen which of us would have ascended to Heavenly Shaman. So even though I'm threatening your damn self, it doesn't diminish your dignity in the least."
"'Your damn self'... what local dialect is that?"
"Eastern Desolation," Wei Yuan answered off the cuff.
Jiumu slowly sat back down in his seat. "Ask."
"That friend of mine wants to know: why did you arrive so late in the battle just now?"
Jiumu froze for a moment, looking puzzled. "That has nothing to do with your friend, does it?"
"Originally it didn't, but just now, it does."
Jiumu stared into Wei Yuan's emotionless eyes, the skin on his face twitching slightly. From start to finish, he had not found a single opening to strike. He had an instinct that the moment he attacked, Wei Yuan would inevitably have a spear in hand. And if he were grazed by even the tip of that spear, things would likely turn exceedingly bad.
Just how bad, Jiumu didn't know, but he had a rough guess.
Wei Yuan, meanwhile, quietly took stock. At this moment, he still had barely ten million threads of azure qi, along with the karmic luck of several hundred Power Shamans—just enough to pour entirely into a single thrust.
Jiumu hesitated for a moment before finally averting his gaze. "A certain fellow I don't care to offend asked a favor of me: every few decades, set a trap for Ronglong to whittle down his power. I'm neither to let him build merit nor let him grow. Whenever he sticks his head out, harvest him. This time, if Yanhu at his side grew stronger, he would have become a considerably useful aid, so Yanhu had to die. The other three Desolate Shamans don't have much of a future, so they were left alone."
"And the flame demons? You don't care about them?"
"That's for the Ancestral Shaman and the First Heavenly Shaman to worry about. How much do I even get fed to care about all that?"
Wei Yuan pondered for a moment and asked again, "Why target Ronglong?"
Jiumu replied, "Ronglong possesses supreme talent, is decisive in action, and takes the long view. He carries the bearing of a grand commander. If he becomes a Heavenly Shaman, it probably wouldn't take long before he's capable of competing for First Heavenly Shaman. Therefore, the Heavenly Shamans will not allow him to become one."
"Heavenly Shamans... plural?"
"Did you think this was ordered solely by the First Heavenly Shaman? Wrong. From the First Heavenly Shaman down to the Third Heavenly Shaman, all of them gave tacit approval! Otherwise, do you think I'd agree just because any random Heavenly Shaman asked me to move against Ronglong? They will never permit Ronglong to become a Heavenly Shaman. When I became a Heavenly Shaman, on the other hand, every single one of them was in unanimous agreement."
Wei Yuan fell silent as well. It seemed political struggles among the upper echelons were much the same for both Shamans and humans. It was just a pity for Yanhu and Zhengang, who in a sense had both become sacrifices to this infighting. With the Power Shamans already sitting at the very bottom overall, yet still scheming to strangle their own geniuses, Wei Yuan could only sigh.
Although to some degree Wei Yuan didn't want to see Ronglong become a Heavenly Shaman either—as that would add a terrifying enemy to humanity—thinking of Yanhu and Zhengang still left him deeply suffocated.
Wei Yuan said to Jiumu, "That the Shamans possess a Heavenly Shaman such as yourself is truly a blessing for other races."
Jiumu wasn't angry in the least. "I earn what I'm fed, with a clear conscience! Besides, do you think anything would change even if Ronglong became a Heavenly Shaman? What difference does a slightly stronger First Heavenly Shaman make to the Ancestral Shaman? On the contrary, it's someone like me who is indispensable. If you could stand in the Ancestral Shaman's shoes, you'd understand that I am far more useful than Ronglong."
Jiumu stood up and said, "The story's been told, and the questions have been answered. I'm leaving. Don't forget: I haven't seen you, and you haven't seen me!"
Yet Wei Yuan blocked his path again, saying flatly, "Wanting to leave without touching any karma won't be that easy, I'm afraid!"
"What else do you want? Push your luck any further, and don't blame this seat for getting nasty!" Jiumu's face darkened.
Wei Yuan said, "I hear that friend of mine came to the Wu domain looking for something. As soon as he finds it, he'll leave immediately. And to extract himself from the Wu domain, he will likely have to burn through most of his karmic luck. Therefore, he won't stir up trouble; he'll leave quietly. But if he can't find it, then all his karmic luck will probably have to be spent right here in the Wu domain."
"Then I wish your friend the best of luck."
"From your mouth to Heaven's ears." Wei Yuan stepped aside, opening the way.
Reaching the door of the secret chamber, Jiumu suddenly asked, "If that friend of yours strikes with full power, just how formidable is it?"
Wei Yuan said, "That fellow loves to brag. He's always claiming that a single thrust of his spear can slash away tens of thousands of years of lifespan. Well, I don't believe him anyway!"
Jiumu's face twitched again. He said slowly, "Slashing lifespan at the drop of a hat... damages one's hidden merit, doesn't it?"
Wei Yuan sighed. "I've tried to advise him, but he wouldn't listen. In the end, because he did so many wicked deeds, he ended up entangled in karmic debt. Yet he cultivated a secret art that actually converts karmic debt into karmic fire to incinerate his enemies. Alas, the Heavenly Dao is truly unjust—good shamans get no good reward, while bad shamans live on for a thousand years."
Jiumu's expression fluctuated. He nearly couldn't suppress the rage in his heart, itching to slap this groundhog into a groundhog pancake. But glancing at Wei Yuan's right hand, which remained curled ready, he suppressed the flames of anger after all, pushed open the door, and vanished in an instant.
After Jiumu left, Wei Yuan instantly broke out in a cold sweat. Fortunately, the spear's divine ability Protect Master was truly overbearing, denying Jiumu even the slightest opening, which had allowed Wei Yuan to spar with him so calmly.
After Jiumu departed, Ronglong walked into the secret chamber, closed the door, and sat down across from Wei Yuan.
"Jiumu left without touching Yanhu's Dharma body. I have you to thank for this."
"How could I possess such ability? He was still wary of you. Earlier... did you suffer a divine soul attack?" Wei Yuan asked tentatively.
Ronglong rubbed his brow gently, his voice slightly sluggish. "It wasn't a divine soul attack. From the day I arrived at Fengmang, I discovered that many warriors in the fortress had no family or kin—or if they did, it was as good as none. So I memorized the background and past of every single warrior. That way, even if they fell in battle, there would still be someone in this world who remembered them. Their chances of reincarnation would be much greater, and they wouldn't scatter into nothingness between heaven and earth.
"Only, over several centuries, too many warriors have come and gone. Every shaman who came here had a different tale of sorrow. As these sorrows accumulated, I gradually became affected by them and had to seal a portion away. If all this grief were released at once, I would lose control—but in that state, I... would be very strong."
Wei Yuan gave a bitter smile. "Today brought much more grief."
"A hundred and forty-two. It has been a very, very long time since so many died." Ronglong's voice grew increasingly sluggish.
Goosebumps began to prickle Wei Yuan's skin like needlepoints. He couldn't help but feel awestruck; Ronglong's strength truly ran unfathomably deep.
"Did you hear what Jiumu said just now?" Wei Yuan asked.
"About becoming a Heavenly Shaman? I know."
"You knew?"
Ronglong was indeed distracted, his voice growing clear and firm once more. "No one wants me to become a Heavenly Shaman. In fact, one could say they fear it. If I become a Heavenly Shaman, I will inevitably drag their bloodline descendants to the Desolate Realm to build fortresses. Not like now, where descendants and clansmen of Heavenly Shamans rarely ever go to the War Domain, much less appear at Fengmang."
For a Power Shaman, evading military service in the War Domain was a capital crime. Once discovered, they were either executed or banished to Fengmang. However, this charge was only strictly enforced against Power Shamans of impoverished origins.
Wei Yuan asked again, "With them acting so recklessly and unchecked, is there really nothing that can be done about them? What of the Wu domain's laws?"
"Punishment does not reach the nobility," Ronglong said, playing on the words.
Chapter 901