Scoring a Bonus

The moment Cui Yu stepped out of the teleportation gate, the piercing, intense sunlight forced his eyes shut. As for Wei Yuan, every minute grain of flesh and blood throughout his body and soul groaned in sheer comfort. Here, the breeze was gentle, the sunlight warm, and every rock sang, smiling at him and even longing to leap into his embrace. Wei Yuan was thoroughly astonished. The Desolate Realm hadn't been anything like this when he left. Could Ronglong's dharma body returning to heaven and earth have brought about such a massive change across the entire realm? But in a Desolate Realm like this, how was one supposed to temper the body? Just then, a groan came from beside him. Cui Yu rasped, "No good... I can't take this. Can we quickly find some shade...?" Wei Yuan turned to look, only to see Cui Yu flushed crimson, steam rising from the crown of his head, his gaze already dazed from the baking heat. It had only been a few breaths of time, yet Cui Yu was on the verge of fainting from the sun. Only then did Wei Yuan recall that when he had first entered the Desolate Realm, he too had been unable to endure the heat for long. Cui Yu's physical body was far weaker than his had been back then, so failing to hold out after a few breaths was only natural. It seemed the power of the Desolate Realm's sun hadn't changed at all; he had simply grown stronger. Wei Yuan first swept his divine sense over the surroundings, only to discover that its coverage was unexpectedly vast—it actually took in everything within three thousand li! With his divine sense confirming the desolate surroundings were devoid of fortresses, outposts, and flame demons, Wei Yuan relaxed. Taking Cui Yu with him, he flew beneath a stone terrace, slicing off slabs of rock with his bare hands and trimming them into shape. Seeing Wei Yuan tear through rock as easily as tofu, Cui Yu wanted to help. But when he reached out and clawed at the cliff face, it didn't budge in the slightest. He clawed again, and it remained completely motionless. Refusing to believe it, Cui Yu poured in every ounce of his physical might and refined Dao power, raking with all his strength. His fingers ended up dripping with blood, while the rock stood as if in mockery, unyielding as ever. While Wei Yuan sliced the rock in his hands into sheets as thin as paper, he said, "The stones here are almost as hard as Scenery Command spirit treasures. You won't be able to budge them." Only then did Cui Yu give up. As for why Wei Yuan could tear them apart so effortlessly, Cui Yu had no desire to ask. Knowing Wei Yuan, the man would bring it up himself shortly. And if he didn't, it only meant he had something else he wanted to brag about even more. In the blink of an eye, Wei Yuan had assembled a sunshade out of the newly prepared materials. Using the thin stone sheets to regulate the amount of sunlight filtering through, he gestured for Cui Yu to lie underneath. He then instructed him to record his internal physiological changes so the data could be submitted to the Smoke and Fire of the Mortal World for gradual analysis once they returned. The sunlight of the Desolate Realm could penetrate straight into the internal organs—an extraordinary marvel. Gritting his teeth, Cui Yu endured the agony, experiencing the sensation of constant destruction and renewal at an infinitesimal level. At that moment, Cui Yu suddenly realized his robes and armor were rapidly deteriorating. Startled, he hurriedly scrambled up, stripped them off at lightning speed, laid them beneath him, and lay back down on top of them. This gear of his had cost a fortune, obtained only through his family's support; having it ruined here would break his heart when it came time to replace it. Wei Yuan didn't care much about his own robes; the Desolate Realm treated him far more gently now. Even so, he casually shed his robe, bathed in the sunlight, and while foraging in the ground for refined ores, began teaching Cui Yu the Desolate Roar. Cui Yu attempted to circulate the technique. As he roared out one syllable after another, the blood and Qi within him surged, his vitality noticeably strengthening, while the destructive effect of the sunlight lessened. What Wei Yuan taught Cui Yu was no longer a single syllable, but a combination of dozens of roaring tones of varying pitches. Once he finished teaching the full set, Wei Yuan simply linked them together, set lyrics to them, and roared, "We who cultivate immortality..." Cui Yu roared along. Although he felt an inexplicable sense of embarrassment, there was no one else around, so there was no need to dwell on it. With this roaring, his blood, Qi, and vitality rapidly intensified, and the ordeal gradually became far more bearable. Wei Yuan left Cui Yu to bake in the sun while he rummaged through the surrounding ground, picking through the earth for natural refined desolate iron ore to bring back. Suddenly, Wei Yuan spotted a rock the size of a washbasin on the ground ahead. It emanated an ancient, desolate aura from top to bottom; he could not tell what rare ore it might be. But anything that appeared out of the ordinary in the Desolate Realm had to be the finest of the fine. Delighted, Wei Yuan marched over immediately, grabbed the stone in both arms, and pulled—yet it seemed rooted in the earth, staying completely motionless. Only then did Wei Yuan realize something was amiss. The earth beneath the rock suddenly dissolved into fine sand, sliding away to both sides to reveal a pipe-like tentacle. Wei Yuan followed the tentacle upward with his gaze and saw that, over ten zhang away, a large eye opened on the tentacle and blinked at him. Wei Yuan immediately exhaled in relief and snapped testily, "Lord Jiumu, did you come here to kill me? If I don't die by your hand, I'll be scared to death instead!" Jiumu said, "You've got some nerve, daring to sneak back into the Desolate Realm! Aren't you afraid I'll capture you and claim credit for it back home?" Wei Yuan was wholly unbothered. "Ronglong thought quite highly of you. You wouldn't do something like that." Jiumu instantly perked up. "How did Ronglong praise me? Quick, tell me everything in detail!" Wei Yuan felt a twinge of embarrassment. How was he supposed to know what Ronglong thought of Jiumu? He had merely figured that the strong held mutual respect for one another, and the higher one stood, the more one cared about the opinions of fellow top-tier experts. Thus Wei Yuan had taken a gamble—and sure enough, Jiumu couldn't contain himself. Pondering for a moment, Wei Yuan said, "Ronglong said that in your heart, you still hold a place for the Power Shamans..." Overjoyed, Jiumu peered eagerly at Wei Yuan with all nine eyes, waiting for what came next. Wei Yuan forced himself to fabricate several dozen sentences until he truly could not make up any more. Yet Jiumu was already thoroughly satisfied. Tossing the stone to Wei Yuan, he said, "This thing might be useful to you. I sensed you had arrived in the Desolate Realm, so I brought it along." Wei Yuan's heart tightened. "Did my arrival in the Desolate Realm cause that big a stir?" Jiumu shot him a look with his eyes. "The Great Dao of heaven and earth shuddered. What do you think?" Seeing the worry on Wei Yuan's face, Jiumu added, "No need to worry. Unless a Heavenly Shaman happens to be in the Desolate Realm, no other shaman can sense it." Only then did Wei Yuan rest easy. Looking down at the stone in his hands, he asked, "What is this? Why does it feel so extraordinary?" Jiumu replied, "I'm not entirely clear on its exact origins either. Rumor has it that several thousand years ago, a human came to the Wu domain and started smashing, looting, and burning without a word, refusing to listen to any attempts at negotiation. Several Heavenly Shamans were forced to intervene to stop him, but I heard that even the First Heavenly Shaman of that era was beaten to death, his head and shaman core severed and taken away. "That man carried a stone with him, which was later shattered during the fight. A few fragments couldn't be retrieved in time and were left behind in the Wu domain. This is one of those pieces." The more Wei Yuan heard, the more unnerved he felt, and his hands trembled slightly as he held the stone. Just then, Jiumu spoke again: "Right, there's a matter I'd like you to look into for me." "What matter?" "Is there a divine beast on your human side—the kind of bird that has three eyes? If there is, get me some information on it." Wei Yuan grew vigilant, but kept his expression impassive as he asked, "I haven't heard of such a thing. Still, I can check our records when I get back. Why do you need information on it?" Jiumu sighed. "Here's the story: we have a treasure passed down from ancient times, but out of nowhere, such a bird flew over and laid an egg on it. Right now, all the Heavenly Shamans are utterly helpless against this egg. After digging into it, the only thing they could deduce was that the bird likely flew over from the human side. "Now, seeing that the egg is about to hatch and the Heavenly Shamans still have no idea what to do, the First Heavenly Shaman, Minglei, has promised a hefty reward. I figured if I could obtain some information and submit it, I might even score a little bonus. After all, the end of the year is almost here!" "I'll do my best." Jiumu was elated, patting Wei Yuan with a tentacle as he said, "If I get any perks, I definitely won't forget your share! Oh, are you heading back to the human side? Do you need me to open a portal for you?" Wei Yuan replied, "Just open an opening into the void for me. I can handle the rest of the journey myself." "Fair enough." Jiumu drew several tentacles across the air, carving out a portal leading into the void. Once Jiumu departed, Wei Yuan went over to tell Cui Yu to get up. By now, Cui Yu's Dao power was largely exhausted; basking any longer would result in internal injuries. Though Cui Yu's aura had weakened, it had visibly solidified, and a blistering aura was beginning to radiate faintly from his body. Wei Yuan asked, "How is it? Any gains?" Cui Yu replied, "I feel like my dharma idol has grown stronger." With that, Cui Yu summoned his dharma idol, only to stun even himself. There were still twelve Liuren Heavenly Soldiers, but now, every single one of them was gleaming jet-black. It seemed Cui Yu's dharma idol had turned black, but it had indeed grown stronger, proving this path was viable. Thoroughly pleased, Wei Yuan pulled Cui Yu through the portal and stepped into the void. In the void, Wei Yuan pointed toward a brilliant speck of light not far away and said, "That is our home realm. Just fly toward it." Moments later, Cui Yu cried out in alarm, "Why is it getting further away?! And I can't stop!" Wei Yuan's voice sounded—low, gentle, and full of patience: "Your divine sense has long been accustomed to the home realm, so naturally it isn't used to the void. If you want to overcome this, you must first establish coordinates..."