In the distance, a number of Shamans were setting up camp. From afar, one could see a ten-zhang-tall platform was under construction. It was the main camp’s altar. Judging by its scale alone, it was clear that they were preparing for a head-on clash against Qingming.

At the same time, tens of thousands of Shaman troops were being deployed outside the boundary. The vanguard consisted of a dense mass of ordinary fighters.

Wei Yuan observed them using his Qi Viewing spell. These ordinary fighters were constantly emanating green qi and wrapped in blood red light. Although they were easily the weakest troops of the army, the green qi they were radiating were more abundant than that of the nobles or the Warlocks.

The green qi was visible through the Qi Viewing spell. This meant that the cannon fodders exerted a far greater effect than the nobles or the Warlocks in terms of transforming the world around them. No wonder the Shamans always brought large numbers of cannon fodder into battle. They reproduced quickly anyway, so it did not hurt them even if they were to lose countless.

Tens of thousands of ordinary fighters were gathered in that direction right now. The green qi they emanated were forming a slow-turning cyclone that pushed back even Qingming’s domain by a full li.

It was at this moment the sound of distant, resonant horns rang out from the Shamans’ ranks, and the main force began to advance slowly. At the same time, another Shaman force—roughly ten thousand—appeared on the western flank and charged in.

Wei Yuan swung himself onto his horse, his expression solemn. This would be a battle of life and death. Whether or not Qingming could hold its ground depended entirely on this clash.

Behind him, sixteen young masters and ladies were fully armed and ready.

Directly ahead, the encroaching army was forced to narrow its formation due to terrain constraints. Both flanks were scrambling up the hills and causing their once-orderly ranks to fall slightly into disarray.

Then, the main force, shrouded in a surging green qi, marched directly into the domain. Like oil and fire, the contact between the green qi and the clear qi instantly sparked an explosive reaction!

At the center of the army, a tall platform was advancing slowly with the troops. Standing on top of it was a bear-like Shaman who was striking a human-skin war drum with all his might. With every beat, a faint, bloody glow would emerge from the bodies of many Shaman fighters.

Besides that, there were also five pillars on a platform. Each one had a human bound to it.

Like a green python, the Shaman’s army slowly slithered into the domain. When they were ten li deep, the green qi shrouding their soldiers had nearly dissipated. The horns sounded again, and the vanguard of Shaman fighters began their charge, screaming as they rushed toward the humans’ positions!

By this time, Wei Yuan had long dug out not one, but two networks of trenches. There was a layer above ground, and another below.

Surging forward like a green tidal wave, the Shaman fighters instantly engulfed the entire position! Like scattered sparks, the human resistance was extinguished in the blink of an eye.

It was at this moment a gigantic pagoda suddenly appeared in the sky, immobilizing a small portion of the enemy wave in an instant. Noticing that the enemy’s opening move was too strong, she had no choice but to act prematurely. In fact, she went so far as to abandon all killing power and focus solely on suppressing the enemy. Even so, she only managed to suppress seven thousand Shamans.

There were just too many enemies. At least ten thousand troops were still pouring into the positions.

A sandstorm started blowing. It was Bao Yun who was forced to make her move this time. The human cultivators had all withdrawn into the trenches, and the surface was crawling with Shamans. Her sandstorm blew three chi above ground and just enough to keep the Shamans at bay.

Bao Yun was doing everything she could to increase the range of her sandstorm and enveloping as many fighters as possible. Although it weakened her spell to the point where it could not take out even an ordinary fighter, it still inflicted severe pain to the enemy and hampered their movements.

A wall of fire hundreds of zhang long suddenly flared up on the flank. Sword in hand, Xiao Yu stood behind the wall and gazed coldly at the advancing army. Behind him were only two hundred human cultivators.

The wall of fire burned with extraordinary ferocity. It was because Wei Yuan had ordered his men to cut down numerous large trees and piled them up here, forming a defensive line. He also ordered them to scatter gunpowder as fuel. That was why Xiao Yu needed only a single stroke of his sword to ignite the whole length.

The Shaman force attempting to attack the flank was instantly thrown into confusion. Some, relying on their cultivation, attempted to fly over the wall of fire, only to collide head-on with Xiao Yu. For the first time in a long while, the Immortal Sword The Sun finally revealed its true might and scattered fiery lotuses in all directions, instantly reducing eight warriors to charred remains.

Left with no choice, the Shamans were forced to split into two groups, bypassing the wall of fire and climbing over the hills on either side. However, fierce flames also erupted here and there on the hills, forcing the Shaman army to divide even further into a dozen or so squads, weaving their way through the fires.

The Shamans had an innate fear of fire, and they definitely could not endure the sensation of being roasted alive. In the time they took to cross the fire zone, every one of them was drenched in sweat and missing half of their mystic energy. Seeing that the Shamans’ movements were hampered, Xiao Yu did not hesitate to lead all of his cultivators to charge out of their positions and attack the Shaman troops on one flank.

The army of ten thousand had been forced to split up again and again. By the time they met Xiao Yu and his two hundred cultivators in combat, they numbered only one thousand or so in total. The rest were still navigating the fire zone. It would take some time for the enemy forces on the other flank to arrive as well.

On the main battlefield, the man-bear Warlock on the tall platform roared repeatedly before hacking off the heads of three sacrificial victims on the pillar in one go!

The warm blood from their necks drenched him as the man-bear roared toward the heavens. The next moment, a blood red beam of light spewed out of his mouth while bloody ripples spread out along its path.

Suddenly, a rain of blood began falling over the battlefield. Overhead, the domain began to tremble, and holes started appearing on the massive pagoda every time a rain drop landed on it. It was riddled with holes in just the blink of an eye. Down below, any Shaman fighter who was touched by the bloody droplet would emanate a crimson glow and gain a ten percent boost in power instantly.

Battered by the bloody rain, the suppressive effects of the Devil Suppressing Nine Level Pagoda began to destabilize greatly. As strong as Ji Liuli was, she was just one person. She could hardly fight off a blood curse that had been activated via a blood sacrifice all by herself. Despite this, she held on for as long as she could because every second she bought meant many human lives saved.

Invigorated by the blood rain, countless Shaman fighters screamed at the top of their lungs and jumped into the trenches. Their spirits were so high that they decided to fight the humans in their own turf!

Suddenly, Qingming trembled as countless sparks rose from the earth. At that moment, all human cultivators felt an indescribable power flooding through their veins and boosting their strength to unprecedented heights! Many full Body-tempering stage cultivators even felt the presence of Dao Foundations inside their bodies!

Without exaggeration, every single one of them had dreamed of becoming a Dao Foundation stage cultivator. And now, not only could they sense it, they could even use it and attack their enemies with it!

For an instant, every human cultivator thought that they were dreaming. However, the sudden frailty of the enemies in front of them and the Dao arts that answered their call as easy as breathing told them that it wasn’t a dream!

Life is a Flash!

At that moment, the combat strength of nearly every human doubled, with those of lower cultivation seeing the greatest increase. Right here and now, this was no longer a scattered band of western region cultivators against the Shamans, but the Nine Armies of Great Tang whose fame struck fear into the hearts of all under the heavens!

Of course, while these cultivators could now match the Nine Armies of Great Tang in individual combat prowess, they still lagged far behind in terms of tactical formation and military strategy. However, considering that the battle had devolved into chaotic close-quarters combat, no military strategy could have held sway anyway.

Mere cannon fodders could not possibly resist the Nine Armies of Great Tang. In just the blink of an eye, the Shaman fighters standing inside and above the trenches were slaughtered en masse. The enemy casualties were literally rising by the thousands. At the same time, Xiao Yu on the flank had massacred every Shaman troop that had charged out of both sides of the fire zone. After seeing that there were no enemies left, he decided to lead a charge into the fire zone to massacre those inside.

Wei Yuan forced himself not to look at the diminishing blue water in Qingming’s pool. He pointed his spear forward and led the young masters and ladies in a charge toward the Shamans’ rear camp!

Though small in numbers, this cavalry unit moved as one with the Pure Realm of Humanity following them like a shadow. Not only that, a streak of pure light suddenly appeared above the cavalry, cutting through the wind as they advanced.

The man-bear Warlock on the platform had originally intended to ignore the cavalry unit, but upon seeing their blinding speed and overwhelming momentum, he lost his composure.

The altar was still under construction, and it absolutely could not be defiled by the Pure Realm of Humanity. Otherwise, it would have to be torn down and rebuilt. If the cavalry unit managed to charge all the way to the base of the altar, even slaughtering every last of them after the fact would be of no avail.

The man-bear immediately beheaded another sacrificial victim on a pillar and struck the human-skin war drum at the same time. Upon receiving the order, half of the Shamans’ rearguard immediately split off to intercept Wei Yuan.

Wei Yuan first cleaved a path through the enemy forces using his jade hill. Then, he charged straight through the gap he had created. In the blink of an eye, he had cut through the hastily deployed rearguard and left hundreds of corpses in his wake. The cavalry unit pressed on without pause, charging directly toward the altar in the main camp.

Flying into a panic, the man-bear cut open his own chest. As blood spurted forth like a fountain, a bloody glow bathed over the rear troops of over five thousand, dramatically increasing their speed and strength. They then chased after Wei Yuan and his dozen or so riders at full speed.

Seeing that Wei Yuan was moments away from reaching the edge of the main camp, the eyes of every member of the rearguard grew bloodshot with madness. They gave chase with everything they had. At the same time, chaos reigned within the main camp as well. Everyone was converging on the altar, preparing to use their own bodies to withstand the cavalry’s onslaught.

Wei Yuan pointed toward the sky, and the jade hill reappeared. This time, though, it swung around and struck the pursuing rearguard instead of crashing into the altar! As soon as this happened, the cavalry unit abruptly turned their horses around and charged through the gap created by the jade hill. Moving like a singular entity, the cavalry unit instantly accelerated to full speed while the Shamans’ rearguard pursued them with frenzied intensity. There was a brutal collision between the two forces, and the dozens of Shamans blocking the cavalry’s path were sent flying, bones shattering and muscles snapping.

In the blink of an eye, the two forces had passed each other. The entire rearguard, unable to halt their momentum immediately, would charge forward another hundred or so zhang before slowly coming to a halt. Many of them did not understand what had happened or how the enemy had suddenly vanished.

It was at this moment Wei Yuan charged ahead, heading straight for the man-bear on the tall platform.

The Shamans’ entire rearguard had been diverted, and the middle guard was completely exposed to Wei Yuan. Because the middle guard was mixed in with numerous human sacrifices and slaves intended for wartime blood rituals, it was actually weaker than its numbers might suggest. But of course, this was only if a Great Warlock wasn’t present. Otherwise, the middle guard would easily be the strongest of the three guards.

At the moment, there were no Great Warlocks among the army. Thus, the middle guard was the weakest of all the forces. The prey had unwittingly exposed its soft underbelly!

Wei Yuan’s speed increased steadily as he hurtled toward the middle guard like a shooting star.

However, just as the tall platform came into view, a thick, tangible glow of blood suddenly emanated from the bodies of the many fighters below. Their eyes grew vacant, and they all turned to stare at Wei Yuan with bloodshot eyes.

They were the Great Warlock’s personal guards!

Wei Yuan immediately reined in his horse, the blood-red steed letting out a long whinny as it reared up and kicked its forelimbs a few times. It was only then it managed to halt its momentum. Chaos erupted among the rest of the cavalry unit as well as some young masters and ladies charged too far ahead, their horses having to swerve to the sides before circling back.

Wei Yuan did not look at the manbear on the platform. He felt a tingling itch in his left arm. When he lifted his armguard and tore open his sleeve, he found out that, at some unknown moment, blood had been seeping out of every pore on his arm. The blood was not Wei Yuan’s usual light pink either. It was dark red and gave off a pungent stench.

The outflowing blood converged at one point and formed an eye, blinking. Then, it let out a shrill cry, “I see it! I see it! He does not have an immortal trump card! It’s a ruse!”

Wei Yuan wiped the eye with a hand infused with pure light. It let out a bloodcurdling scream before dissipating into clear smoke.

Up ahead, a crimson, three-eyed python spanning tens of zhang in length manifested into existence. It was only opening its left eye and keeping the other two tightly shut, however. Below the crimson python was a somewhat wizened figure wrapped inside a red robe. His appearance was completely hidden from view.

Looking at Wei Yuan like he was a dead man walking, the Great Warlock said, “You thought you could fool me with such petty tricks? If you do not have an immortal trump card, then you may die!”

When the Great Warlock saw Wei Yuan looking left and right like he was searching for someone, he added with a sneer, “Stop looking. No one can come to your aid right now.”

Wei Yuan did not panic as he thought he would, though. Suddenly, the young man let out a chuckle and declared, “I’m looking for witnesses, not helpers.”

As soon as he said this, Wei Yuan drew in a long breath like a whale inhaling the sea. His aura began surging higher and higher!

At the same time, Qingming’s domain returned to its original size and just happened to envelop this whole area.

Qingming’s power, the Great Expanse, Jia Wood Nurtures Life, and Life is a Flash converged within him. Each time he empowered himself, his aura would soar to another level.

Up until this point, Wei Yuan had only been bestowing blessings upon his fellow humans. He had been fighting with his physical body only. It was only now that he finally unleashed his full power.

As the master of Qingming, Wei Yuan could bestow its powers upon others. However, it was when he bestowed it upon himself that the results were unthinkable.

This was not the end, though. Next, Wei Yuan manifested the Great Realm and pulled it unto himself. The boundless power of heaven and earth all surged it into his body!

At that moment, Wei Yuan’s aura surged to unprecedented heights, and a vast shadow began to loom faintly above his head. No one could discern what lay within the shadow, but the sheer scale of it—easily spanning over a thousand zhang—was enough to send shivers down anyone’s spine!

Wei Yuan slowly rose into the air and looked down upon the three-eyed python. His voice shook heaven and earth as he roared, “Why would I need the power of an immortal to kill you? Take this!”

Wei Yuan took a single step forward, closing the distance between himself and the Great Warlock in an instant. Then, he thrust the two spears he was wielding straight toward his enemy. Both spears were imbued with the Power of the Realm, impossibly fast and infinitely heavy. No art could possibly stand in its way!

The Great Warlock raised both arms to block the attack, but they exploded to smithereens as soon as they made contact with the blades. He could only watch as the spearheads sank into his chest.

Dao energy flickered in both of Wei Yuan’s arms, and a pair of muffled bangs followed. The Great Warlock’s back exploded in a shower of gore as a pair of spearheads flew out, leaving behind two massive holes.

Without hesitation, Wei Yuan rammed the Great Warlock out of the sky and into the ground. While the hollow spear shafts were still pinning down the Shaman in place, he leaped into the air and summoned a dead branch. He then stabbed it straight into the crimson python’s skull[1]!

The crimson python struggled with all might, but suppressed by the terrifying shadow above Wei Yuan’s head, it could not break free no matter what it tried.

Wei Yuan then looked back at the stunned young masters and ladies and yelled, “The hell are you guys waiting for? Attack! Mooch as many merits as possible!”

The shout finally snapped the scions out of their daze. Doing their best to suppress their shock, they channeled their Dao energy and unleashed countless shoddy Dao spells at the Great Warlock.

1. Remember, the crimson python is the Avatar. He’s attacking the manifested Avatar, not the main body. ☜