Dragon Canon

Since repelling the Shamans, Wei Yuan would think of the 100,000-strong Western Jin army stationed nearby. And every time the thought crossed his mind, he would feel a deep sense of frustration and the urge to just simply march his troops over and crush them.

But he couldn’t. At least, not yet.

After seeing the Cui clansmen off, Wei Yuan planned to visit the merit hall and exchange for a few historical texts to read. He was hoping that the reading would calm his nerves.

One could not base their whole life around novels. Besides, novels never held up to repeated readings.

Upon entering the merit hall, Wei Yuan noticed that the Bay Laurel Immortal Tree had borne fruit once more. After offering up a vast amount of nether soil last time, this subsidiary hall of the true merit hall had reaped significant benefits as well: its quality had improved, its absorption of worldly origin qi had accelerated, and its cycle for bearing fruit had shortened by one day. Now, they could perform an exchange once every two days.

Wei Yuan opened the jade tablet and, out of habit, checked his merits total first. At first glance, he thought that he might be seeing things, so he rubbed them before bringing the string of purple-glowing numbers into focus:

Wei Yuan—Total Heaven Merit: 6,200. Current Balance: 5,020.[1]

Wei Yuan rubbed his eyes again—vigorously this time—but they didn’t change. It really was Heaven Merit, not merit; 6,000, not 1,600. Even with Wei Yuan’s composure, he needed a moment to steady his nerves.

He pulled out the merit booklet next and flipped through his past records, confirming that he had indeed earned 5,000 Heaven Merits in the previous battle! In other words, Rock Heart was equivalent to an Immortal-tier Avatar, and his cultivation was in the late-stage as well. That was how he had earned 5,000 Heaven Merits in one go.

Based on this calculation, the Heaven Merits who escaped amounted to less than 2,000. Wei Yuan’s regret diminished considerably after realizing this.

According to the merit booklet, Wei Yuan had now leaped into the top 10 of all Dao Foundation stage cultivators. In fact, he was closing in on the number one spot and, of course, left both his shifu and his Big Senior sister in the dust. The names of the top 10 Dao Foundation stage cultivators were all unfamiliar to Wei Yuan; he had never even heard of them. Moreover, only their names were revealed. Everything else were kept confidential.

This was the case for everyone in the top 100. Others could not view Wei Yuan’s information either. However, he was so famous that he was practically a public figure at this point. Knowing his name meant knowing roughly everything about him.

Xiao Yu should have been here—that was the first thought that crossed Wei Yuan’s mind. He wasn’t, but Wei Yuan had no intention of letting him off the hook. So, rather than rushing to redeem his merits, Wei Yuan instead spread out a piece of jade paper and wrote a letter to Xiao Yu:

“To Junior Brother Xiao Yu:

I have recently acquired a small amount of merits and wish to exchange them for a few mystic artifacts. Alas, my knowledge and experience are quite limited, so I humbly ask for your guirance....”

The entire letter was written in a single stroke. Wei Yuan made sure to hand it to a cultivator for delivery before finally returning to the merit hall to continue reviewing the list.

He ended up spending the whole afternoon poring over it.

Qingming was in dire need of reconstruction and short on everything at the moment. Thus, Wei Yuan exchanged for a mystic treasure-grade pill furnace for Sun Yu. He also acquired a medicine cabinet capable of isolating worldly origin qi and locking onto spirit qi, also mystic treasure grade.

Although mystic treasures were typically reserved for Avatar Truemen, a Dao Foundation-stage cultivator could just barely wield them. Since Sun Yu was a Dao Foundation-stage cultivator who could break through to the Avatar-stage at any moment, these mystic treasures were perfect for him.

Yu Zhizhuo arrived later than everyone, but his role could only be described as crucial. His cultivation method also differed from others in that it depended largely on the quantity of natural treasures at his disposal. The higher the grade of materials used in crafting mystic treasures, the greater the benefit to him.

Unfortunately, any item that met Yu Zhizhuo’s standards were far from ordinary. Despite owning a whopping 5,000 Heaven Merits, Wei Yuan still could not afford a single one.

That said, there were workarounds. Wei Yuan spent 500 Heaven Merits to exchange for a piece of Origin Crystal Iron, a high-grade material designated for thunder trees. If it was placed underneath a thunder tree and baptized by thunder day and night, it would eventually transform into a piece of Thunder Tribulation Divine Iron.

The Thunder Tribulation Divine Iron was a World Ruler-level treasure material. A single piece cost thousands of Heaven Merits. With this placed beneath the Thunder Crystal Tree, Yu Zhizhuo now had something to look forward to.

Although Wei Yuan felt that his senior uncle was wealthy enough that he wouldn’t be short on a single piece of iron, no one could ever have too much of a World Ruler-grade treasure material.

But of course, transforming the Origin Crystal Iron into the Thunder Tribulation Divine Iron wasn’t something that could be accomplished in just a year or two, not even within the realm of Qingming.

Trueman Chu He’s request was much easier to fulfill, and it happened to align perfectly with Wei Yuan’s own needs. Aside from cultivating rare variants, the Trueman desired to be constantly surrounded by spirit plants. Now that Wei Yuan had an immortal tree in his possession, the old Daoist was practically impossible to shoo away.

That said, he still felt he should make a gesture. So, Wei yuan exchanged for a Shadow Water Spirit Ginseng. Just like the Wood Spirit Ginseng, it was a type of Five Phases Spirit Ginseng. However, the Shadow Water Spirit Ginseng was an Avatar-grade spirit plant, and the Wood Spirit Ginseng was a Dao Foundation-grade spirit plant. It was also why Wei Yuan had only exchanged one.

With the Shadow Water Spirit Ginseng, the nether soil, two mutated Star Dragon Trees, and newly acquired Red Jade Lantern, Trueman Chu He would have his hands full for a while.

Finally, Wei Yuan exchanged for a batch of spirit materials for arranging arrays. Just like that, he had spent all 5,000 Heaven Merits.

It was only after finishing the exchanges that Wei Yuan realized he hadn’t selected anything for himself, his Master, or his Big Senior Sister.

After coming back to his senses, Wei Yuan reviewed the items he had exchanged and realized they were all intended for the realm of Qingming.

In fact, he had been thinking about these items for quite some time. He had originally assumed that he would have to exchange them slowly one by one. He hadn’t expected Twilight of the Immortal Path to net him 5,000 Heaven Merits in one go and allow him to acquire them all at once.

Although he had made the exchanges for the greater good, Wei Yuan still felt a bit guilty. He didn’t need anything for himself, but it wasn’t right to prepare no gifts for his Master or Big Senior Sister.

His Master had slain another Great Warlock and earned a ton of Heaven Merits. Combined with the worldly reward he received from the kill, he should have accumulated enough energy to perfect his fourth immortal sword. All that remained now was an opportunity to advance to the Avatar-stage.

As for his Big Senior Sister, Wei Yuan still had no idea what she was waiting for. Since the day she arrived at the realm of Qingming, the Devil Suppressing Nine Level Pagoda had been virtually omnipresent. Needless to say, she must have gathered a sea of merits. Whatever she was lacking—as long as it wasn’t a deficiency in her state of mind—she could definitely obtain it via merit exchange.

Speaking of state of mind, after all those years of refinement, Wei Yuan concluded that there was likely nothing in the world that could shatter his Big Senior Sister’s Dao Heart. Even if the world were to come to an end, his Big Senior Sister would be able to face it with a smile.

He had exchanged too many things at once, so much so that he couldn’t carry them all in a single trip. He had to make two more trips before he finally managed to move everything outside the merit hall’s array.

As soon as Wei Yuan finished moving the items, his vision blurred momentarily, and Trueman Chu He appeared in front of him. He said quietly, “This old Daoist seems to have caught the scent of something extraordinary once again.”

Wei Yuan handed over the Shadow Water Spirit Ginseng while saying, “I traded for a spirit plant to add some spirit qi to the realm.”

“Oh, you! You didn’t need to do this! This plant is practically useless, really; you’d be better off saving your Heaven Merits to buy yourself a set of mystic armor. Just look at yourself—you’re practically dressed in rags!”

The old Daoist chattered on and on, but his eyes sparkled as he held the Shadow Water Spirit Ginseng with both hands.

This plant also required the use of the nether soil, which would be of great benefit to his cultivation.

“Oh right, I’ve finished planting the Red Jade Lantern for you. You may move it to the immortal tree now.”

As soon as he had conveyed the message, the old Daoist refused to linger a moment longer and took off running toward the herb garden.

Wei Yuan chuckled and shook his head. After that, he carried the pill furnace and medicine cabinet over to Sun Yu.

While entering Sun Yu’s courtyard, Wei Yuan noticed an ancient bronze cauldron placed before the healer’s desk. To his surprise, he found several Shaman souls in it. As the cauldron was placed alongside other medicinal ingredients, he wondered if the item contained within the cauldron counted as pill ingredients.

Wei Yuan had a vague sense that Sun Yu was no longer the sunny, cheerful senior uncle he had once known. But of course, it was also possible that he had never truly understood him to begin with.

Wei Yuan’s gifts greatly delighted Sun Yu. He was particularly fond of the medicine cabinet, remarking that he could store all his fresh ingredients in it from now on. The cabinet was no ordinary piece of furniture; it could hold living creatures while ensuring their spirituality remained intact.

Things were simpler with Yu Zhizhuo. Wei Yuan simply placed the Origin Crystal Iron under the Thunder Crystal Tree and took the craftsman to take a look.

To Wei Yuan’s surprise, Yu Zhizhuo was absolutely thrilled to learn what he had prepared for him. The craftsman remarked that the Thunder Tribulation Divine Iron was such a special material that only a top-grade immortal sword could hope to cut it, and lavished praises on Wei Yuan’s ability to choose gifts. For some reason, the praises made Wei Yuan’s heart sink, like he had a premonition of looming disaster.

Having dealt with his three senior uncles, Wei Yuan could finally attend to his own affairs.

Riding the momentum of his great victory, Wei Yuan now possessed over 3,000 wisps of ordinary blue fortune, 100 wisps of advanced fortune, and 5 drops of great fortune. Besides that, he still had 18 wisps of advanced otherworldly fortune.

By now, Wei Yuan had become quite familiar with the application of fortune. Based on his comprehensive assessment, blue fortune was, on the whole, one tier lower than the otherworldly fortune. To give an example, a drop of great blue fortune was equal to a wisp of advanced black fortune.

With so much blue fortune at his disposal, Wei Yuan couldn’t be bothered to check who each wisp came from.

The great fortune was a different story, though. To his surprise, it came from Cui Changfeng. Despite the young master’s boastful behavior, it looked like deep down, he was well aware of the reality of the situation.

He had invested three wisps of ordinary fortune and earned a drop of great fortune in return. If this had happened a month ago, Wei Yuan might have laughed himself awake from his slumber. But now, he merely gave it a casual glance and acknowledged its existence.

Inside the Great Realm, a small, lustrous white vine had sprouted in the location corresponding to the herb garden in Qingming. It was bearing several rice-grain-sized fruits that looked vibrant red and juicy. They were also shaped like tiny lanterns.

The vine kept calling out to Wei Yuan, so he went over to it and pulled it up.

A rather unique existence, a Red Jade Lantern was meant to paired with an immortal tree. If it was paired with an immortal tree, then it would become a top-grade World Ruler-grade spirit plant. If it was paired with an ordinary spirit tree, then it would be an Avatar-grade high-grade spirit plant. If the spirit tree it was paired with wasn’t strong enough, then it would degrade to the middle-grade and drain the spirit tree to death.

Immortal trees were nothing like mundane trees. They naturally possessed all manner of extraordinary wonders. For example, the Bay Laurel Immortal Tree’s tree branch given to Wei Yuan by Immortal Lord Tinghai could naturally shift between the tangible and intangible and exist in either reality. It could exist in a cultivator’s sea of consciousness and Dao Foundation, but also manifest itself in the real world. It was no mere simulation created from one’s Dao energy either—it could truly exist in the real world.

It so happened that the Red Jade Lantern also possessed the ability to shift between the tangible and the intangible. So, Wei Yuan pulled it out and started toward the Bay Laurel Immortal Tree’s tree branch.

It was an immortal tree branch, not an immortal tree.

Everyone believed that Wei Yuan possessed an immortal tree, but only he knew that he did not.

The immortal tree branch looked much the same as before, except it had thickened slightly, with several pale red veins on its surface. It was lying lazily in a pool of white-gold water until it saw Wei Yuan approaching with the Red Jade Lantern in hand.

For the first time in his life, Wei Yuan saw a spirit plant emitting a murderous aura.

The Bay Laurel Immortal Tree’s tree branch stood up, but this did not deter Wei Yuan.

Wei Yuan could already hear the Red Jade Lantern cheering in his hand. The disparity in their levels of existence was vast—as vast as the difference between heaven and earth—that letting the Red Jade Lantern take a bite was practically nothing.

Just then, a flash of white-gold sword qi streaked past, carving a deep gash into the ground right before Wei Yuan’s feet!

Wei Yuan was stunned. He rubbed his eyes to make sure he hadn’t misseen it, but he hadn’t. It really was a sword qi.

The sword qi flew back to the immortal tree branch, swirling around it. Its level was so high that it surpassed even the Immortal Sword The Sun by a notch, and matched the power of Zhang Sheng’s fourth immortal sword.

Wei Yuan stared at the Bay Laurel Immortal Tree’s tree branch, and the tree branch stared back at him. For a time, man and branch stood there in a standoff. The white-gold sword qi never stopped swirling around the branch, its meaning self-evident.

Suddenly, a soft snap sounded, and the pale red patterns on the branch’s surface suddenly cracked open. Several slender new branches sprang forth, all of them studded with white-gold leaf buds.

As it turned out, those pale red marks weren’t patterns at all. They were imprints of the new branches straining against the old bark. In the end, the old bark could not contain the new branches and broke apart, allowing them to spring forth.

When Wei Yuan saw this, a rather peculiar thought suddenly struck him: Had the branch eaten so much that it couldn’t hold it in any longer and begun to sprout?

1. I decided to touch up the format a bit. The previous one was too... wordy. ☜