Dragon Canon

After absorbing the memories of the iron ring, it lost all its supernatural qualities and became an ordinary iron ring.

Wei Yuan set the matter aside for the time being and picked up the fragments of the idol one by one, storing them inside the Great Realm.

Even if the memories within the ring were true, they had happened a very, very long time ago. Who knew what might have changed since then? That Liao youth could well be ashes at this point.

Moreover, it was far more likely that these so-called memories were merely an illusion—or even a deception.

Without further clues, Wei Yuan decided not to dwell on the matter and chose to secure the idol first. The blood-clay used to sculpt the statue possessed astonishing spirituality; the Red Lotus Bodhi, the Ice-Glass Divine Tree, and the aquatic immortal plant all began to stir with renewed life. His Dao Foundation’s spirituality had also strengthened accordingly, which caused the amount of Dao energy he could use to multiply.

By this point, Wei Yuan had already used up more than half of the flying swords at his disposal, and just obtaining the idol was already an immense gain. Moreover, standing where he was right now, he could faintly sense a terrifying aura from deeper within the caves—one that far surpassed that of an Avatar.

Wei Yuan decided against taking further risks and prepared to return to the surface first, both to replenish his supply of flying swords and to determine his next course of action. The aura emanating from the depths of the underground was far beyond what Wei Yuan currently withstand, so he only intendedly to sweep the surrounding area and harvest as many ordinary undead monsters as possible to accumulate more spirituality within his Dao Foundation.

The spirit awakening stage followed a clear criteria: if the newborn spirit could not exceed the level of Dao Foundation, then it was essentially impossible for the cultivator to ascend to the Avatar stage. Only when the spirit had reached the Avatar level could an Avatar be successfully cultivated. As the saying goes, you cannot hatch a phoenix from an egg. Without a sufficient amount and caliber of spirituality, forming an Avatar was difficult as a matter of course.

In reality, only a handful of immortal foundations could cultivate an Avatar-level spirit. For most cultivators, their spirit landed somewhere between the Dao Foundation level and the Avatar level. Thus, it was up to fortune and timing whether they could successfully form an Avatar.

The three Dao Foundation stage warriors Wei Yuan should be classified as Dao Foundation level spirits—That’s right, he didn’t have just onespirit, but three. The number would certainly increase in the future. The quantity of spirit was a crucial factor in nurturing an Avatar; generally speaking, the cultivators of the Palace of Absolute Beginning believed that ten Dao Foundation level spirits were roughly equivalent to one nascent Avatar-level spirit. However, while there had been cultivators who had achieved the Avatar stage purely by amassing a large number of Dao Foundation-level spirits, such cases were extremely rare.

As if that wasn’t enough, Wei Yuan’s Dao Foundation warriors were no ordinary spirits either. They were already sentient. With no precedents to follow, he wasn’t sure how he should measure them.

After obtaining the blood-clay from the idol and reviving the immortal plants, Wei Yuan’s Dao energy regeneration had increased significantly, allowing him to stockpile 500 flying swords daily. Combined with the three sentient Dao Foundation stage puppets, Wei Yuan now effectively possessed four firing points[1], causing his combat power to skyrocket. However, his combat power was also highly dependent on the number of flying swords he possessed. If he ran out, his combat power would be cut in half.

When he stepped out of the temple, Wei Yuan sensed that something was amiss in the village once again. There was no thick smoke this time, but there was a vast cloud of residual Dao energy lingering above the village, and the fundamental laws in its vicinity were also disturbed. All of this indicated that a battle between Avatars had just taken place here.

Wei Yuan dispatched a warrior to sneak up to a high vantage point to observe the village, while he himself walked slowly back. Empowered by the treasure tree’s concealment ability, and because the Dao Foundation stage warrior lacked the natural reactions of a flesh-and-blood being, its stealth capabilities were exceptionally strong, surpassing that of even Wei Yuan himself.

From this Dao Foundation stage warrior’s vantage point, he could see that the villagers were carrying stones to repair their collapsed houses. It wouldn’t be long before they were restored to their original state.

When Wei Yuan returned to the stone hut, the woman was whittling wooden shafts to make more crossbow bolts. Upon seeing Wei Yuan, she immediately tensed up, her expression suggesting that she was ready to fight at a moment’s notice.

Wei Yuan did not touch her. Instead, he asked, “Is there anything you need to pack? We have to flee.”

“You already know?” The woman asked.

“I’m not blind... oh. I mean, the signs of battle are so obvious; of course I could sense them. What I don’t understand is why the Liao always show up whenever I’m in the temple.”

“That’s because the mountains are only safe during the hour of noon. At other times, extremely powerful monsters—so powerful that even the Liao gave them a wide berth—roamed them.”

“But why did the Liao choose now of all times to appear?”

“It’s most likely because of you.”

Wei Yuan nodded; that was what he had suspected as well. The woman had mentioned that the sky itself had shedded blood—such a massive, extraordinary phenomenon would almost certainly have caught the Liao’s attention. Moreover, the great shamanists of the northern frontier knew all sorts of arcane[2] spells, and they had once far surpassed the human race in the art of divination and foretelling the heavenly mysteries. It wasn’t until 10,000 years ago that the human race had gradually caught up.

Just then, a voice outside the stone hut called out, “Young Master, the village elder requests your presence.”

Wei Yuan stepped out of the stone hut, and this time, the woman did not follow him. He followed the villager all the way into the village.

Upon seeing Wei Yuan arrive, the elderly woman said, “The Liao have already discovered your whereabouts and sent a chiliarch here today. This village has remained hidden for thousands of years, but it seems we can no longer keep it concealed. It won’t be long before the Liao sends even more powerful warriors. You need to leave.”

“What about you all?”

The elderly woman smiled and said, “Considering our states, ‘living’ is really just clinging to life. Even in death, we’ll find no peace. It’s better to die and be reborn sooner than later. Come with me; I’ll take you to see the village’s ancestral shrine.”

The elderly woman stepped out of the house and slowly made her way up the mountain. Wei Yuan followed behind her. They walked for several li straight before they arrived at a large boulder.

The elderly woman touched the boulder with her finger, and the entire object dissolved like ripples on water, revealing a deep, dark passageway. When she stepped inside, the lamps along both walls lit up one by one, illuminating the passage.

Beyond the passage lay a stone hall, with a tiered platform built within it. Each level of the platform was densely lined with spirit tablets. On the offering table stood a small incense burner, translucent as glass, with a seven-colored glow swirling inside.

The entire ancestral shrine felt sinister, eerie, and bone-chilling. The walls were covered in mold stains, and countless tiny white worms could be seen constantly wriggling about within them.

Purple-red flesh had grown on many of the spirit tablets, rotting and occasionally dripping yellow pus and blood. Only a small number of the tablets remained relatively clean.

Wei Yuan used his perception to discern the flow of the spirit veins within the ancestral shrine. That was when he discovered that a soul-binding array had been set up here. Incredibly, it bore a striking resemblance to the array that had once imprisoned the soul of the Xu Clan youngsters.

“Our ancestors are enshrined here. As you may have noticed, their condition is not quite right.”

Wei Yuan nodded.

All the spirit tablets were made of a special material, forming part of the overall soul-binding array. As long as the array remained intact, these spirit tablets would serve as an extension of the listed individuals’ souls and physical bodies. The condition of their physical forms would be reflected in the tablets, and conversely, the tablets could influence their physical forms.

The more Wei Yuan examined the array, the more he sensed something was terribly wrong. It wasn’t just a soul-binding array, but also a soul-controlling one. The array was capable of controlling everyone whose spirit tablet was enshrined within the ancestral hall—even after their physical deaths!

The elderly woman noticed Wei Yuan’s shock and said, “It seems you’ve noticed. The underground chambers of the temple are vast, but they’re also heavy with yin qi and malevolent qi. Even if you enter it during noon, one cannot last even an incense stick before they are forced to retreat. Later, our ancestors devised a solution to counter this. They transformed the bodies of our deceased clansmen into puppets and controlled them to venture deep underground. Thanks to generations of exploration, our ancestors ultimately made a breakthrough had discovered a temple hidden deep underground.

“However, they always lost control of any puppet who strayed too close to the idol. However, the area surrounding the idol also contained the purest yin qi, so our ancestors built burial chambers around it and placed the bodies of our clansmen inside, hoping to create even more powerful puppets to continue their descent. To ensure they had sufficient strength, some of our ancestors willingly even entered the chambers before they had reached the end of their natural lifespans.

“But just then, all the corpse puppets suddenly slipped out of their control and became the idol’s puppets. We haven’t set foot in those burial chambers since.”

The elderly woman sighed and continued, “Of course, our ancestors’ method severely depleted their secret virtue. None of those who had turned into a corpse puppet could enter the cycle of reincarnation; their souls were all contained within this Yellow Spring Two-Part Cauldron.”

The small cauldron contained surging soul energy. Who knows how many restless souls rested inside? Just like the plaza within the Xu Clan’s grotto-heaven, it was a vessel for confining trapped souls.

The elderly woman said, “I want you to take this Yellow Spring Cauldron with you. When you return to the human realm, open it and release the souls inside so they may disperse into Heaven and Earth and reenter the cycle of reincarnation once more. Only then will they find true liberation. This Yellow Spring Cauldron can sever the boundary between yin and yang and create a world of its own. It is also a treasure capable of serving as the cornerstone of a grotto-heaven of an Imaginary World. It is your reward.”

A cornerstone was required for a True Lord to manifest an Imaginary World. Treasures capable of serving as such a cornerstone were extremely rare. That was why this Yellow Spring Cauldron was a priceless treasure.

Wei Yuan asked, “What lies hidden further down beneath the temple? Why were your noble ancestors willing to pay such a heavy price just to explore deeper?”

“Our ancestors believe that every geomantic node of fortune calculated by the Great Heavenly Master is actually a gateway to another world, such as the Shamans’ Realm of Coldbelow or the Great Wilderness, and the Liao’s Realm of Golden Feathers. You haven’t explored deeply enough yet. If you had seen the burial chambers built by our ancestors, you would have sensed the terrifying beings lurking deep below.

“Our ancestors believed those beings had seeped through from another world. If, one day in the future, you are able to venture deep into the burial chambers, remember this—under no circumstances must you look at the idol.”

Wei Yuan nodded solemnly, indicating he had taken everything she said to heart. However, he did not mention that he had already, in fact, entered the burial chambers, nor the fact that the idol had been transformed into fertilizer for the immortal plants within his Dao Foundation.

The elderly woman wanted to say more, but a clap of thunder suddenly rang out in the night sky. A terrifying burst of mystic power erupted in the distance; even through the ancestral shrine’s array, Wei Yuan could sense the tremors of that power.

The eruption had occurred hundreds of li away, yet its effects had reached all the way here—clearly, it was a battle between True Lords!

The elderly woman’s gaze pierced through layers of obstacles and fixed on the distance. Suddenly, her expression changed.

She picked up the Yellow Springs Cauldron and thrust it into Wei Yuan’s hands. Then, she retrieved a bone belonging to some unknown creature from beneath the offering table and shoved into his hands as well. She said urgently, “A great shamanist of the Liao is coming. The monsters roaming the mountains won’t be able to hold him off for long, and the spirit qi I’ve accumulated from our ancestral lands can only buy us one day. Leave through the temple entrance now—there’s a secret passage leading out of the mountains. Once you’re inside, I’ll seal the entrance.”

The situation was urgent, so the elderly woman lifted Wei Yuan and instantly transported them to the stone hut where he and the woman lived. She then took the woman with her and, in another instant, appeared at the temple entrance. There, she shoved a scroll of parchment into the woman’s hands and said, “This is a map of the secret passage—”

Another thunderous boom echoed, and another burst of mystic energy erupted in the distance. This time, it was dozens of li closer than before.

The woman acted decisively. She lit a torch, glanced at the map, and then pulled Wei Yuan toward a hidden passageway. Behind them, there was a deafening roar as the entrance they had come through collapsed.

After running just a few steps, Wei Yuan scooped the woman up and began sprinting at full speed. Of course, this was way faster.

1. Literally. He can now riddle someone with flying swords from four different angles. ☜

2. Not arcane as in magic, but arcane as in obscure and mysterious. It’s about time someone use the term correctly. ☜