Dragon Canon

As he watched the Bay Laurel Immortal Tree tree branch giving its all to retract its new, slender branches but failing to do so, and the buds blooming bit by bit right before his eyes, a sudden insight flashed through Wei Yuan’s mind, and many things fell into place.

One did not necessarily need to annihilate another being to receive a reward from heaven and earth. Severely crippling another’s foundation also qualified for a reward. Of course, it would have to be a blow so severe that it obliterated the victim’s foundation with zero hope of recovery... and it so happened that the utter destruction of one’s lifespan via Twilight of the Immortal Path fell into this category.

In fact, Wei Yuan had found it strange that, for all his might and power, Rock Heart had fallen surprisingly easily. If it were truly that weak, Zhang Sheng’s full-powered sword strikes would not have severed only half of his vitality, not to mention that Trueman Chu He’s earlier ambush had failed to injure him at all.

But now, Wei Yuan understood everything. In the end, the key had been the descent of the immortal tree. When the Water Blades had transformed into laurel petals, Wei Yuan and the immortal tree had become one for an instant. That instant was enough to breach Rock Heart’s defenses utterly, leaving him completely defenseless. When Twilight of the Immortal Path struck, the Great Warlock had literally no strength to resist. Not only had he bore the full brunt of its power, but he also suffered additional damage.

It was like a finger—strike it against a fist, and finger bones would shatter. But strike it against an egg, and the egg would burst.

Rock Heart was like a shelled egg after he was pierced by the current of laurel petals—and a raw one at that.

Wei Yuan had not seen a speck of the worldly reward he should have earned after shaving three thousand years off Rock Heart’s lifespan. He hadn’t thought about it at the time, but now, the culprit had grown so fat it couldn’t even wear its clothes anymore.

Seeing that Wei Yuan had seen through everything, the Bay Laurel Immortal Tree tree branch decided to drop the pretense. With a twist, its withered bark fell away, its new branches unfurled, and its buds blossomed, instantly transforming into a three-chi-tall, white-gold sapling. The tree was covered in tiny, delicate blossoms, each tinged with pale red.

When the immortal tree took shape, the scenery around it shifted, and the entire landscape within a hundred zhang transformed. A small, white-gold pond formed at the sapling’s base, and the ground around it all turned into fine white sand, resembling a sea of snow.

At the moment, the Bay Laurel Immortal Tree was occupying a corner all to itself far from the jade hill and the nether soil. However, the Great Realm was so vast that it didn’t matter.

Wei Yuan was still standing beside the Bay Laurel Immortal Tree, so the white-gold pond was right next to his feet. It was a zhang or so in radius with gentle, rippling waters. Several white shadows could be seen darting back and forth within the waters, resembling swimming fish.

But they were not fish—they were sword qi. The sword qi swirling around the immortal tree had also increased from one wisp to three: The threat it posed could not be more obvious. Combined with those in the water, there were a total of seven wisps of sword qi.

By now, the Red Jade Lantern had retreated behind Wei Yuan, coiling around his waist and too afraid to show its head. However, it kept squeaking and whining incessantly, goading Wei Yuan to charge forward. What cultivator could not overcome his own Dao Foundation?

When the Bay Laurel Immortal Tree heard its squeaking, it flew into a rage and unleashed a sword qi tinged with pale vermillion. It curled around Wei Yuan and slashed toward the Red Jade Lantern!

Stunned, the Red Jade Lantern hurriedly darted to the side. But just as it peeked out from the other side, a sword qi was already waiting for it there, striking down from above!

The Red Jade Lantern was terrified out of its wits. In the end, Wei Yuan reached out and blocked the sword qi. The moment the sword qi made contact with his hand, it turned a white-gold color and lost all sensation in an instant.

Fortunately for him, the Bay Laurel Immortal Tree managed to withdraw the sword qi in time. Otherwise, Wei Yuan’s hand would have been reduced to a shower of floating petals.

This time, both Wei Yuan and the Red Jade Lantern realized just how determined and short-fused the Bay Laurel Immortal Tree was. So, they behaved and stopped harboring any impure thoughts.

However, the Red Jade Lantern was still wriggling around surreptitiously and signalling its grievances. When the Bay Laurel Immortal Tree noticed, it flew into another rage and nearly lashed out with another sword qi.

Wei Yuan was puzzled about something. He asked, “Why can’t you accept it? Just the bark you’ve shed would be enough to feed it for a long time.”

The Bay Laurel Immortal Tree proceeded to transmit a mental sensation that was filled with extreme fury and loathing. Having read the novels of two worlds, Wei Yuan understood its meaning instantly.

It was like a young woman in her prime being harassed by an older man for sex. The man was also sleazy, balding, penniless, and didn’t like to bathe. They also read unhealthy novels only.

Now that he thought about it, Xu Wenwu once told him that they had a specific term for someone like that: splenda daddy.

Forget allowing it a single bite, the Bay Laurel Immortal Tree wouldn’t even allow the Red Jade Lantern to drink its foot-washing water.

Hmm, it looks like the Red Jade Lanterns have a pretty poor reputation... Wei Yuan hummed thoughtfully before asking, “Where should we put it then?”

The Bay Laurel Immortal Tree immediately pointed a branch at the distant Star Dragon Trees.

This time, it was the Red Jade Lantern who refused to cooperate, wriggling and squirming as it refused to move. However, as much as Wei Yuan was powerless against an immortal tree, the same could not be said for a mere spirit plant. He easily picked up the Red Jade Lantern and walked away.

By now, the two Star Dragon Trees had grown a faint glimmer of consciousness. When Wei Yuan set the Red Jade Lantern beside them, the normal Star Dragon Tree seemed to be swaying its branches and leaves in joy.

However, the Red Jade Lantern had no interest in the normal, palm-sized Star Dragon Tree. Instead, it wandered over to the one that was buried in nether soil and hadn’t fully sprouted yet and crouched beside it.

It looked like the Red Jade Lantern had learned its lesson, but Wei Yuan could tell that it hadn’t. It was sneaking looks at the One Wonder Treasure Tree growing on the summit of his jade hill. Of course, the lofty plant did not even deign to look at it.

Wei Yuan felt a headache coming on. The number of spirit plants growing in the Great Realm was growing steadily; the Shadow Water Spirit Ginseng and the Thunder Crystal Tree would be appearing very soon. Both of these spirit plants had been planted after they had taken shape, so it would take time for them to manifest in the Great Realm. He was afraid that there would be no peace in his Dao Foundation after today—who knew how many spirit plants the Red Jade Lantern might ruin in the future?

After pondering about the issue for a moment, Wei Yuan summoned a pile of stones and started shaping into immortal swords. This time, he was making a new type of immortal sword; the evolution of Drizzle to be exact. Capable of shifting between the intangible and tangible, it just barely scraped the threshold necessary to qualify as a Human-tier Dao Foundation. Finally, it was the disgrace of immortal swords no longer.

Wei Yuan had originally intended to name the sword Blue Drizzle, but the sword qi, despite being capable of assuming a tangible form, was pale and lackluster. So, he ultimately named it White Drizzle.

Wei Yuan planted the pile of immortal swords around the variant Star Dragon Tree with the tips pointing upward, forming a fence. If the Red Jade Lantern tried to escape, the sword qi would injure it, and Wei Yuan would know immediately.

But the second the fence was finished, a wisp of sword qi suddenly flew over and attached itself to the immortal swords, dyeing the blades a white-gold hue and enveloping it in a murderous aura. Now, if the Red Jade Lantern tried to escape, it wouldn’t merely be wounded by it—it would be dead.

With that finally settled, Wei Yuan breathed a sigh of relief. He hadn’t expected there to be so much nonsense even among spirit plants. It seemed there was no place in the world that was truly a paradise.

Wei Yuan scanned his surroundings and froze all of a sudden—new figures had appeared on the distant hill of nether soil.

He walked toward them slowly, yet he was somewhat afraid to see them clearly. It wasn’t a great distance, and within the Great Realm, Wei Yuan could adjust his speed as well. In the end, he arrived at his destination.

Over a hundred figures had appeared on the nether soil, all of them faceless. Some of them wielded sabers and swords, while others were unarmed. Their armor was plain and identical. The faceless figures were all in the middle-stage of the Dao Foundation stage as well. Individually speaking, they were utterly unremarkable and roughly equivalent to a generic Earth-tier Dao Foundation stage cultivator.

But no matter how thoroughly Wei Yuan searched among them, he could not find Yun Feifei or that young master. Not even a trace.

Looking at these motionless, faceless figures, then glancing at the distinct, saber and shield-wielding figure right next to them, Wei Yuan wondered if perhaps Yun Feifei and the young master hadn’t been reborn in the black waters like Song Chao because they had died in peace and contentment. Or perhaps they had been reincarnated, but their souls had become mingled with all the other fallen warriors and transformed into these hundred or so faceless figures.

On the other hand, Song Chao’s death had been filled with such overwhelming resentment that he was able to retain most of his soul upon reincarnation. Although it lacked any sentience to speak of—which was why he didn’t have a face—Wei Yuan still recognized him instantly.

An emotion churned within Wei Yuan’s chest, one he could not suppress no matter how hard he tried.

In Wei Yuan’s opinion, calling Song Chao’s loyalty blind would be putting it far too kindly. In truth, he was nothing more than a lackey of a tyrant; a treacherous lapdog. Had Song Chao not died, tens of thousands within the realm of Qingming would have starved to death. Back then, Wei Yuan’s resentment wasn’t as intense as it was today. Were it now, he might have dragged out Song Chao’s corpse to flog it.

Yun Feifei had sacrificed her own life to deliver a decisive blow to the Shamans—a move that had unquestionably changed the outcome of the battle. Though she had died with a peaceful and serene mind, her reward was the complete dissipation of her soul, leaving her without even the chance to be reborn within the Great Realm.

Why was this so?

Wei Yuan gazed up at the vast sky. Beyond the heavens, at the edge of the Void, he wondered what it was that governed all things in the world.

After that, Wei Yuan withdrew from his sea of consciousness and wrote a letter to Sun Chao’en, arranging for a meeting the next day.