Chapter 418: Bald and Broke

This was the first head-on blow he had ever taken from a World Ruler, and its power was far greater than what Wei Yuan had imagined. In just one hit, he had been frozen from the inside out; from the ethereal to the tangible!

The freezing wasn’t caused by low temperatures, but by the extinction of vitality itself. In an instant, numerous parts of Wei Yuan’s physical body lost all activity and vitality, turning into a grayish-white powder devoid of any sign of life.

However, at the very core of Wei Yuan, a single spark of vitality continued to pulse tenaciously, refusing to be frozen.

Frostspeech said expressionlessly, “A futile struggle….”

Just as he raised his hand to deliver a follow-up strike, a speck of cold star suddenly appeared behind him, and a figure clad in red appeared from the void!

“Did you really think I wouldn’t be on guard against an ambush? Your human cunning is of no use against me!” Frostspeech’s eyes were filled with scorn.

His voice sounded stiff, dazed, and sluggish, but even after he finished speaking, that speck of frost continued to flicker. The figure in red had leapt back and forth between the void and reality countless times, yet the strike never materialized.

It was because a faint shadow was pursuing the figure in red relentlessly. In an instant, the two exchanged blows countless times!

As it turned out, Frostspeech wasn’t the only World Ruler who had shown up—another Shadow Shaman was lurking in the shadows, and they, too, were skilled in stealth and assassination. They were the one who had stepped in and blocked Zhu Yuanjin at a critical moment.

Ice crystals once again appeared on Frostspeech’s fingertips. He stared expressionlessly at Wei Yuan and launched another palm strike. But just then, a gentle breeze blew in from the Beyond, light as air, and instantly touched Frostspeech.

Countless ice crystals suddenly appeared around Frostspeech, turning him into an ice statue. Then, the breeze struck him, and the ice statue shattered instantly, revealing a fleeting scene of glaciers and snow-capped mountains!

Frostspeech staggered, the robes on his back completely shredded. There was a deep fist mark on his back as well. A look of shock and fury finally flashed in his eyes as he turned to stare at a figure who had appeared out of nowhere like a ghost.

The human actually had another World Ruler who excelled in sneak attacks! Now that there were four World Rulers on this battlefield, this battle had just escalated into a major one!

At this moment, the energies on both sides became drawn toward one another. Although the World Rulers had not yet manifested their Imaginary Worlds, the Imaginary Worlds had already, in fact, become intertwined. It looked like they were merely standing face-to-face, but in reality they were already fighting a great battle, one even more dangerous than the one Zhu Yuanjin was currently facing.

Just then, a small area suddenly turned black and white. It wasn’t large, but it happened to envelop both Frostspeech and Wei Yuan.

Wei Yuan’s body suddenly took on a granular texture, no longer in a rigid, frozen state. In that instant, his robes crumbled to dust, and the Immaculate Pure Land emerged, which he grasped in his hand.

Across the Great Realm, tens of thousands of wisps of blue fortune descended upon the mortals. Instantly, sparks of light flared up from their bodies and rose into the sky, like the paper lanterns set alight during a human festival.

A faint, sallow glow appeared at the tip of the Immaculate Pure Land, and Wei Yuan instantly appeared behind Frostspeech. Then, he thrust the spear forward and drove the sallow light into his body!

Frostspeech let out a roar that shook heaven and earth. A scene of ice-bound landscapes stretching for countless stretches appeared around him, shattering the black-and-white granular world. But at the same time, his aura also plunged into a strange state.

A ten-thousand-zhang-tall jade mountain and a river flowing with gemstones appeared at the same time, crashing against the frozen world and annihilating one another. Suddenly, Frostspeech soared into the sky. Another fist mark appeared on his mark, but he did not linger, vanishing into the distance in an instant. The Shadow Shaman who had been locked in combat with Zhu Yuanjin had also vanished without a trace.

After the Shadow Shaman retreated, Bao Manshan appeared before Wei Yuan and said, “I knew something was up when you invited me here for a ‘show’, but I never thought that the decisive blow would actually come from you. I noticed that that spear strike just now had shaved at least two hundred years off that guy’s lifespan—does it have a name?”

“It’s a spear technique I inherited from a certain senior. It’s called Twilight of the Immortal Path.”

Bao Manshan sized Wei Yuan up and down while tutting, ‘You little rascal! Even I’d have to be careful if I fought you now. I would not like to take a spear strike like that.”

Just then, Zhu Yuanjin reappeared and said, “That guy was a tough opponent. He unfortunately escaped me.”

Wei Yuan hurriedly bowed in gratitude. “Thank you both for watching over me, seniors. I would never have been able to handle the situation otherwise.”

Bao Manshan said, “You know how to leverage other people’s strength while possessing sufficient power of your own. You are far stronger than I was back in my day. So worry not, I’m very satisfied with this visit.”

Wei Yuan thanked him once more.

As Frostspeech had said himself, this was a war between two races. To leave Qingming behind and venture deep into the Shaman realm was to leave the Shattered Realm behind, where World Rulers could come and go as they pleased. Naturally, Wei Yuan had to be on guard against any attacks coming from the Shamans’ World Rulers. This was not one of those secret realms or grotto-heavens where entry was restricted based on one’s cultivation level after all.

Wei Yuan had analyzed the situation beforehand and came to the conclusion that Zhu Yuanjin alone would likely not be enough to keep the situation under control. Since this war was being waged for the Bao Clan’s benefit, and adhering to the principle of making the best use of all available resources, Wei Yuan had sent a letter to the Bao Clan well in advance to attend a “show.”

And since Bao Manshan had arrived, he naturally wouldn’t stand idly by during a critical moment. Moreover, his ability to conceal himself was no less potent than Zhu Yuanjin’s, which was why the Shamans never detected his presence until it was too late. Frostspeech and the other Shadow Shaman—one operating in the open, and the other in the shadows—had thought that their preparations were sufficient, but they hadn’t anticipated that Bao Manshan would be lying in ambush as well. That was why the World Ruler was able to land a successful strike from the Beyond.

But what truly dealt a crushing blow to Frostspeech was Wei Yuan’s spear thrust. Fueled by the fortune and the power of prayers of all sentient beings, and using the Fire of Humanity as the furnace, he was able to create the fire of oblivion that armed the Twilight of the Immortal Path. Just like before, it could burn one’s lifespan.

In the past, he could only use Twilight of the Immortal Path within the Realm of Qingming, but not anymore. Now, as long as Wei Yuan still possessed a stock of human fortune, he could use it anywhere he wanted—though the cost was, of course, enormous.

Unfortunately, the life-shortening effects of the spear technique was significantly less potent against a World Ruler than an Avatar. Frostspeech was first ambushed by Bao Manshan, then locked into a do-or-die battle right after that. Consequently, he was caught within Wei Yuan’s Yin Yang Domain and took the spear technique with virtually no defense. Despite this, his lifespan was only reduced by 200 years.

That said, 200 years of lifespan might not seem like much, but as Bao Manshan said, no one would want to take such a blow if at all possible. Lifespan was, of course, something one could never have enough of. Forget 200 years, even 20 years or even 10 years of lifespan was a loss no one was willing to suffer.

The cost of unleashing Twilight of the Immortal Path was enormous—10,000 wisps of blue fortune to be exact. But as long as the humans of Qingming continued to live in peace and prosperity, and their population continued to grow, Wei Yuan would certainly not lack in fortune.

At that moment, Zhu Yuanjin’s gaze swept over Wei Yuan. Her gaze felt as tangible as solid matter, and Wei Yuan felt like a thread of ice was gliding across his whole body. The woman then nodded and said approvingly, “Mm, you’re packing.”

Wei Yuan froze for a moment, then looked down and immediately thought to himself: Oh no!

Earlier, he had taken a direct hit from Frostspeech and was gravely wounded. This was bad enough. However, his mystic robe and battle armor were completely unable to withstand the assault and reduced to lifeless ash by the intent of oblivion as well. All his storage equipment, along with their contents, had also been destroyed. Only the Immaculate Pure Land, made of sufficiently high-grade material, was able to endure.

Parts of Wei Yuan’s physical body had turned to ash. Specifically the weakest parts, which were mostly just body hair. As a result, Wei Yuan’s entire body was shining radiantly and even more lustrous than Zhao Fusheng had been on that day.

Frostspeech’s strike had also damaged his senses, rendering most of his body numb and devoid of any sensation. That was why he hadn’t noticed that he had gone bald—and broke, for that matter.

It was only now that Zhu Yuanjin handed Wei Yuan a mystic robe. Wei Yuan had no choice but to accept it and express his gratitude, even if he desperately wanted to question why his senior had waited so long to produce it. Recalling her past as an assassin, Wei Yuan felt it would be best not to question her.

After that, the two World Rulers returned to the Beyond to hide, and Wei Yuan also returned to his army. At this moment, the Shamans were in utter chaos and retreating in full force. This gave Wei Yuan a bit of time before new enemy World Rulers showed up.

Just then, the resupply convoy that he had arranged beforehand arrived.

This resupply convoy was massive, bringing with it a full 5,000 elite soldiers. Wei Yuan took them all while returning over 10,000 of his ordinary fighters to the convoy. With his army aura restored, he immediately led his army westward, routing numerous escaping shaman forces along the way, until another town came into view ahead.

50,000 Shamans lived within this town. When Wei Yuan’s army arrived at the city gates, 40,000 of them had yet to flee. They had not anticipated Wei Yuan’s forces would reach this far, and panic instantly swept through the whole city.

In the blink of an eye, Wei Yuan captured this city. By this point, the Shamans and nobles were just dragging human sacrifices onto their altar and slaughtered a dozen or so to draw their blood. The Sacrifice to Heaven ritual hadn’t even been started yet.

When Wei Yuan climbed onto the altar, the limbs of the recently sacrificed victims were still twitching.

A general approached Wei Yuan and asked, “What is the procedure for this city, my lord?”

Wei Yuan replied, “Open the west gate. Any Shaman who leaves through this gate will be spared, but aside from that, spare not a single soul!”

At the same time, another small shaman town was spotted not far to the west. It was already surrounded by thousands of Qingming troops. However, the banners and emblems of the town differed from those of the Kingdom of Rain. To be specific, it belonged to the Wild Ancestor Tribe.

Wei Yuan immediately issued an order through his sentient Dao Foundation warrior that he was only targeting the Kingdom of Rain, and that he had no intention of going to war with the Wild Ancestor Tribe. All he needed them to do was to leave the town behind.

At first, there was some unrest among the Shamans in the small town, but after the ringleaders were executed on the spot, the rest fell silent and withdrew from the town.