Dragon Canon

Upon returning to the realm of Qingming, Wei Yuan was immediately confronted with two major events: an attack by the Shamans and Xiao Yu preparing to return home for a funeral.

The Shamans had never been known for their patience; launching another attack barely a few days after the last one. It was also obviously just a probe. Only 20,000 troops were carrying out the assault, with 10,000 acting as the reserve force and 50,000 standing by in the encampment.

At this point, the above-ground portion of the newly constructed city consisted merely of the outline of a city wall, and the total population within the city was less than twenty thousand. They had been digging underground day and night. When the Shamans attacked, these people immediately retreated underground as per pre-established protocols. Wei Yuan, for his part, mustered a force of 10,000 troops and formed a battle line fifty li behind the new city.

This time, the Shamans changed their tactics. They split off 10,000 troops to circle around the city and confront Wei Yuan’s main force directly, while another 10,000 entered the city and charged straight underground.

The tactic truly caught Wei Yuan off guard. It would seem that the Shamans’ commanding general had a rather clever plan this time.

Wei Yuan acted decisively, immediately ordering his entire force to advance. At the same time, he ordered Cui Yu to lead five hundred Dao Foundation cultivators in an assault from the left flank, and the Fifty Bandits of Heaven Fighting in an assault from the right flank. He then activated Life is a Flash.

Instantly, the battlefield was engulfed in clouds of gunpowder smoke, and deafening explosions joined into a continuous roar. Flames flickered ceaselessly through the smoke as Shaman fighters fell in droves, many not even knowing how they had died. Right now, every soldier in the realm of Qingming fired their guns first and asked questions later.

When the roar finally subsided, and the smoke was blown away by mystic spells, the Shaman generals were stunned to discover that their casualties had already skyrocketed to thirty percent! The sight of so many comrades dying in such a short time caused the army’s morale to be shaken instantly.

Wei Yuan gave them no chance to regroup. The jade hill descended, tearing a gap in the center of the Shamans’ military formation. He then led his troops into the breach, ripping apart their formation in a single decisive strike.

The Shamans’ troops started panicking, but the new city was right behind them. They would have to flee around it—but how could they possibly pull it off while under such a ferocious assault?

Their defeat came like a landslide. Before long, the entire 10,000-strong force had been annihilated.

Meanwhile, rumbling continued to echo from beneath the new city, and plumes of white rose from the underground entrances.

Wei Yuan was just preparing to lead his troops into the city and trap all of the invaders underground when another 20,000 Shaman troops appeared in the distance. He had no choice but to halt his advance and face off against the Shaman reinforcements.

Meanwhile, the Shaman troops that had gone underground received orders to retreat to the surface. However, it was much easier to enter underground tunnels than it was to leave. The underground tunnels crisscrossed in every direction, forming a labyrinth. A human could emerge from any corner and fire their guns at them before fleeing. It was a thoroughly unscrupulous tactic to say the least.

It took a full fifteen minutes for the Shaman troops who had charged underground to finally withdraw to the surface. Of the 10,000 who had gone down, only 6,000 emerged. The Shamans’ reserve force then moved in to retrieve the 6,000 survivors.

The Great Warlock, who had been overseeing the operation, cast a distant glance at Wei Yuan before ordering the troops to withdraw to camp. Wei Yuan also knew when to call it a day and simply watched the Shamans leave.

For the Shamans, this was just a probing attack. They had sent only ordinary fighters, rather than the elite forces from the northern borders as they had done previously.

On the other hand, Wei Yuan had deployed every means in his disposal—the new firearms, Life is a Flash, and his fortune—leaving nothing out.

The battle in the city’s underground was basically fought by a small number of Dao Foundation cultivators and a massive crowd of ordinary mortals. Even with the blessing of Life is a Flash, casualties still neared six thousand. However, the vast majority of the wounded were ordinary mortals with not even a speck of cultivation whatsoever. In contrast, the Shamans had lost nearly four thousand fighters with cultivation. It was clear who was the victor here.

The victory was even more overwhelming on the surface. Wei Yuan had deployed over 500 Dao Foundation cultivators for this battle, and that number exceeded 1,500 while Life is a Flash was active. Everyone was equipped with a gun as well. After Wei Yuan broke through the enemy line with his jade hill, they were able to rout the enemy and allow only a little over a hundred to escape. The casualties numbered a little over two hundred only.

This probing attack by the Shamans was unquestionably a resounding defeat.

The battle had barely ended, and Wei Yuan was still directing the cleanup of the battlefield when Xiao Yu came to find him. Wei Yuan had intended to ask him to stay, but upon seeing Xiao Nian standing behind him, he changed his mind and told him to not worry about the matters here and simply return home with peace of mind.

After exchanging a few pleasantries with Zhang Sheng and Ji Liuli, Xiao Nian summoned a flying vessel. Just as they were about to board and depart, Xiao Yu suddenly said, “Grandfather, since you’ve come all this way, why not give Wei Yuan a token of your visit?”

Xiao Nian sighed helplessly. “If I give too much, people might criticize me... Let’s do it this way: I noticed that the jade hill you used earlier contains a hint of nether energy. There’s also a small patch of nether soil in Sun Yu’s courtyard. It so happens I have something suitable on hand, so here you go.”

Xiao Nian took out a box and handed it to Wei Yuan. When Wei Yuan took it, his hand sank a little—the tiny box actually weighed several hundred catties. When he opened it and looked inside, he saw two objects about the size of an apricot. They were deep blue in color and covered in shells. He had no idea what they were.

Xiao Nian explained, “These are the seeds of a plant called the Shadow Wheat. I stumbled upon them by chance during my exploration of a grotto-heaven. That grotto-heaven had shattered, and the spirit wheats growing there were all tainted by otherworldly energies. Most of them perished save for a single plant that miraculously survived for a thousand years. I’ve collected a total of six seeds and given away four over the years. These two are all I have left.”

“It’s a mutated variant originating from contaminated spirit wheat?” exclaimed Wei Yuan with pleasant surprise.

Xiao Nian nodded. “It is a type of spirit food. It should have been classified as an immortal-grade item, but the spirit food it produces contains a trace of the nether soil’s quietude energy and cannot be consumed in large quantities. Consequently, it was downgraded to a top-grade.”

“Thank you, Senior!” Wei Yuan bowed solemnly. At the moment, he was particularly keen on anything that could be planted or eaten.

Xiao Nian said, “It’s nothing special. No need to thank me.”

Xiao Yu grabbed Wei Yuan’s arm and pulled him up, saying urgently, “It really isn’t anything special. No need to thank him!”

Xiao Yu’s reaction took Wei Yuan by surprise. These two seeds were a grade higher than even the Star Dragon Trees. If this wasn’t special, then what was?

Glaring at him with a mix of frustration and disappointment, Xiao Yu gestured at Wei Yuan’s body as he spoke, “Look at you; you don’t even have a single decent piece of armor on you. You basically rely entirely on your thick skin and tough flesh to weather through everything. This face especially is—”

Wei Yuan felt touched at first, but the more he listened, the more something didn’t sit right about his sect fellow’s remarks.

Before Xiao Yu could say more, Xiao Nian grabbed his grandson, hoisted him up, and shoved him into the flying vessel. “We should get going.”

Xiao Yu struggled to stick his head out and shouted, “Do not let anyone take my position as the city lord of Yong’an! I’ll be back!”

Wei Yuan nodded. “Relax! No one’s going to fight you for it.”

“Someone will! And you better watch out for that girl, Feng Tingyu—don’t let her charm you!”

Xiao Nian pushed his grandson’s head back into place before stepping into the flying vessel himself. A ring of light rippled across its surface, and it shot straight into the sky.

But the flying vessel did not head east, nor did it ascend. Instead, it flew toward the northwest where the Shaman realm lay. A dazzling sword beam spanning hundreds of zhang burst into existence and slashed fiercely at the void. At the same time, Xiao Nian’s authoritative voice boomed throughout heaven and earth. “Who dares to stand in the way of my ship? Do you think the Xiao Clan has no one left?”

A figure tumbled out of the void, their aura fluctuating erratically. It was clear that the sword strike had left them somewhat disheveled. The figure was indistinct, and its identity was unknown. The only thing that was certain was that they turned and fled as soon as they were struck. Their escape technique was obviously masterful.

However, the flying vessel pursued them relentlessly, throwing titanic sword beam after sword beam at the fleeing figure. All the while, Xiao Nian’s voice grew increasingly frustrated, “Arrogant scoundrel! I’ve yielded again and again, and still you won’t clear the path? What deep-seated grudge do we share that you must block my path? I’m warning you: If you don’t let me pass, I’ll have no choice but to fight back....”

In the blink of an eye, the figure and the flying vessel vanished into the distance. Even after they were completely gone, flashes of sword light could still be seen flickering on the horizon.

Zhang Sheng appeared beside Wei Yuan and asked, “Have you learned?”

Wei Yuan was deeply impressed as well. “His ability to twist the truth is truly—”

Zhang Sheng smacked him in the head. “—clumsy and crude! Who told you to learn that? What I wanted you to learn was his nerve to tell a bald-faced lie in front of the one hundred thousand people in the realm, and still keep a straight face and a steady heart!”

Wei Yuan fell silent for a moment before commenting, “It is rather shameful....”

“It is. That is precisely why I want you to learn it.”

Xiao Yu’s departure was sudden, but also inevitable. The woman in court attire who had come to protect Xiao Yu that day had been very close to him before her unexpected passing. Be it out of moral or emotional obligation, he had to return and attend her funeral.

However, the noble clans’ stance was ambiguous at the moment. It was impossible to say when Xiao Yu would return again after this departure.

Life was always a mix of joy and sorrow, fortune and misfortune.

Not long after Xiao Yu’s flying vessel disappeared, Wei Yuan’s primordial spirit suddenly trembled. A surge of spirit qi had erupted from the Great Realm like a gushing fountain!

The flood of spirit qi was exceptionally abundant. It had already condensed into a mist that lingered thickly in the air. When Wei Yuan entered his sea of consciousness to trace the source of the spirit mist, he discovered that it came from the spirit fields with Liang rice! In this part of the great Realm, green plants could be seen sprouting everywhere from the ground and bearing heavy, fist-sized grains of millet!

Each plant was exuding spirit qi. Though the yield from each individual plant was modest, their combined output was a different story. This early harvest of spirit rice alone had shortened the time it would take Wei Yuan to complete the first stage of his cultivation by a full year.

However, the spirit plants within his Dao Foundation did not quite match the description of the Liang rice in the records. Wei Yuan withdrew from his sea of consciousness and flew straight toward the spirit fields of Liang rice.

It was a vast expanse of spirit fields where the vast majority of the plants were still green seedlings. However, one corner had already fully matured, with each plant laden with pale yellow grains the size of a human fist.

These were the first five hundred mu of Liang rice Wei Yuan had planted at the very beginning. They were supposed to be ten days away from ripening, but now they had suddenly all matured. Moreover, the grains were much larger than normal, and their color was pale yellow—not the reddish-yellow hue typical of an ordinary Liang rice.

Wei Yuan plucked a grain, cracked open the husk, and revealed the pale yellow kernel inside. It was plump, lustrous, and brimming with spirit qi. He was taken aback, to be honest. Liang rice was the most common spirit plant in the western regions and an indispensable staple for low-level cultivators. He himself had eaten it countless times. This was definitely not the Liang rice he was familiar with.

This grain was much larger than an ordinary Liang rice grain and contained twice as much spirit qi. Although the spirit qi of a millet was naturally meager, and double the amount still wasn’t much at all, if this was the norm, then the spirit plant would have to be reclassified.

Suddenly, a voice rang out from nearby: “This Liang rice is as round as a pearl and as lustrous as jade—truly exquisite!”

Wei Yuan turned his head and saw that a Daoist had appeared beside him at some point, staring intently at the grain of millet in his hand, his eyes shining with excitement.