Dragon Canon

Upon entering the late stage of the Dao Foundation stage, Wei Yuan’s Dao power had improved once again. Although the increase was modest, his control over his Dao energy had reached a new high. The benefits of this improvement were also comprehensive: using the same spell template, he could either add more components to create a more powerful Dao spell, consume less Dao energy, or create other effects.

The old ghost’s blood qi had also improved his physical body slightly. His physical body was already on par with that of an Avatar’s mystic body. Now, it was no longer inferior to that of a typical late-stage Avatar.

At the moment, Wei Yuan was radiating a treasure light from the inside out. His Dao energy had flowed to every extremity of his physical form.

With all his hidden injuries and ailments now gone, Wei Yuan was about to remove the cloth covering his eyes. Suddenly, the woman grabbed his hand and said, “Wait a ke before you remove it.”

Immediately after, a rustling sound filled the cave. Out of respect, Wei Yuan did not deliberately use his perception to look. The boulder blocking the entrance already allowed him to see everything anyway[1].

A ke later, Wei Yuan removed the cloth from his eyes. The instant he opened them, a faint interplay of black and white qi swirled within his pupils.

She was sitting upright on a rock. She was wearing the clothes of the lost clan—an outfit hailing from a previous dynasty—but it had been tailored to be simpler, cleaner, and with more angular lines that hugged her figure more closely.

She had a pair of slightly arched eyebrows, with tips as sharp as swords, that looked both gentle and resolute. Her eyes were deep and bottomless, merging with her eyebrows to form a unique, unforgettable look. She also possessed a prominent, delicate nose and a chiseled jawline.

She was like her sword: unrivaled in radiance and sharpness.

If the First Consort was like flowing water or falling blossoms, then she was a peerless immortal sword—even the gentlest and most graceful light she radiated was still that of a blade.

This was the Master he remembered!

Her long hair had been tied back in a simple manner, fully revealing the exquisite contours of her profile. Though she no longer possessed any cultivation, she naturally exuded a commanding presence as she sat there.

Wei Yuan was about to approach her, but she threw him a look and snapped, “Sit still!” So, he obediently returned to his seat. The authority she had built up over so many years wasn’t something that could be shaken away immediately.

She used a stone to sketch a map on the ground and said, “This region of the far north snowy mountains span roughly five hundred thousand li. It was neither too vast nor too small. It also lies between the territories of the Liao and the Shamans; perhaps we can exploit the conflict between them.”

Wei Yuan replied, “We can repeatedly crisscross their border. As long as the pursuing forces from both races come face to face, there’s no doubt they’ll end up fighting each other.”

“Furthermore, now that my physical body has been reshaped by the White Lotus of Tainted Earth, my Body-tempering cultivation has been all but wiped out. I would need additional armor for protection.”

Wei Yuan immediately replied, “That’s easy. I’ll design it right away. It’s just that... I’m lacking some measurements....”

When Wei Yuan tried to lean in again, the woman gave him a cold stare that instantly pinned him back in place. The gall of this boy to spout such utter nonsense. ‘Lacking some measurements’? His primordial spirit is powerful enough that he basically has a photographic memory; what measurements could he possibly not know?

“One thing. Although my Dao Foundation is destroyed, my perception remains. Lend me a potent mystic artifact that I can temporarily control to deliver a fatal blow at a critical moment. However, since I currently do not have Dao energy, it must be something an ordinary mortal can also use.”

Wei Yuan mused, “That’s a bit tricky. Let me think it over carefully.”

“There’s still two hours until dawn. We still have time to make some preparations.”

Since his shifu had made a clear request, Wei Yuan dared not waste even a moment and immediately entered the Great Realm. In the blink of an eye, he had designed a set of fish-scale armor and had the three sentient Dao Foundation stage warriors craft it.

As he quietly watched the warriors craft the armor pieces, Wei Yuan suddenly realized that if it hadn’t been for the White Lotus of Tainted Earth—or if its potency had been even slightly weaker—then Zhang Sheng would have already perished.

It made him feel a fresh wave of dread.

Although the Dao Foundation stage warriors had become sentient, they lacked emotions and never grew impatient. They kept working on the armor with movements as precise as three machines.

There was nothing particularly interesting about the armor-making process, so Wei Yuan went to take a look at the group of reincarnated clansmen instead. He discovered that they had divided into over 100 small groups to work on the rocks.

Some of the rocks were being shaped into bricks, while others were being cut into large, thin, hollow slabs. Moreover, not all of the bricks were the same. Some were thick and sturdy, while others were thin yet larger in volume, transformed into hollow bricks. The proportion of the latter was steadily increasing as well. Only a small portion of the houses currently under construction used solid bricks; most of the later structures had switched to hollow bricks.

The reincarnated clansmen had grasped the true intent of cauldron Wei Yuan had just imparted a while ago in the blink of an eye. Not only that, they had already begun to make wonders out of it.

In the previous lives, these clansmen had all possessed considerable cultivation. Even the lousiest among them was a Dao Foundation stage cultivator. Although they had been reincarnated into ordinary mortals, they still retained fragments of their past memories. Therefore, understanding and mastering the true intent of cauldron posed no difficulty for them.

With the introduction of hollow bricks, construction efficiency soared. Wei Yuan then noticed that the clansmen were no longer content with simply building houses; they had begun paving roads, constructing drains, and even planning city walls.

Wei Yuan was both amused and exasperated as he quickly called off the city wall project—where in the Great Realm would they even find external enemies? What was the point of building a city wall?

Another thing that left Wei Yuan speechless was the fact that a small group of people had turned to stone carving. They were currently carving blocks of stone in preparation to build a statue... of him.

Even later, they uncovered the three giant swords of inheritance. Consequently, a crowd of worshippers gathered beside each one.

By this point, Wei Yuan finally figured out the truth: this group really had nothing better to do, so they worshipped whatever came their way.

Wanting to keep them occupied, Wei Yuan materialized a copy of the materials written by Xu Wenwu from memory and passed it to them. He then gave them one of the flying-sword launchers he had developed and instructed them to find a way to improve it. Finally, he withdrew from the Great Realm.

During the last ke before dawn, Wei Yuan took out the newly crafted scale armor and helped his master put it on. Unfortunately, he wasn’t ready to produce a weapon that fit his master’s request just yet. All of Wei Yuan’s previous weapons had been directly powered by Dao energy; he hadn’t yet considered creating weapons that even ordinary mortals could use.

Next, Wei Yuan set up a feng shui array and began contemplating what kind of aura he should use to enhance his fortune this time. By this point, his mastery of feng shui and fortune had reached a profound level and rivaled that of Ji Liuli. After all, a certain level of natural talent was required to use this type of arrays, and no talent was more suitable than being a Chosen One.

At the moment, Wei Yuan possessed several Immortal-tier auras: The Bay Laurel Immortal Tree, the Ice-Glass Divine Tree, and the Red Lotus Bodhi. As for higher-tier auras, he had the girl Yin Yang and the shadow in the moon. The All-Gate of Reincarnation was possibly an option, though he couldn’t be sure since he had never tried it before.

Each aura served a different purpose. The Bay Laurel Immortal Tree could enhance his killing prowess, the Ice-Glass Divine Tree could plunge enemies into icy stillness, and the Red Lotus Bodhi could dispel karmic debt.

After some thought, Wei Yuan decided to use the Ice-Glass Divine Tree. He wasn’t entirely sure if the immortal tree boasted other effects, but slowing down the enemy was the one they needed most at the moment.

The Ice-Glass Divine Tree cooperated fully, handing a shard of frost crystal to Wei Yuan.

After boosting his fortune, Wei Yuan removed the boulder blocking the cave entrance and charged out the moment the first rays of dawn appeared. A Dao Foundation stage warrior carrying Zhang Sheng followed closely behind him.

In another cave far away, Dragonhawk sensed the rapidly receding aura with an unfriendly expression. It was because the terrifying creature was still prowling outside, its gaze occasionally sweeping over his cave entrance. It wasn’t until a whole hour later that it finally departed. After that, he immediately burst out of the cave and gave chase at full speed toward the last mark that had appeared.

As he pursued them, Dragonhawk suddenly felt an unusual chill in the air. Then, the two Dao Foundation stage warriors he was dragging along suddenly lost their balance and collided into each other. The two then crashed into several others in quick succession, forcing Dragonhawk to intervene and steady them from a distance before he could resume his high-speed flight.

The fact that Dragonhawk hadn’t burst out cursing was already a remarkable show of restraint. These Dao Foundation stage cultivators weren’t even exerting any effort of their own; they were just being pulled forward by the Avatar’s Dao energy. How was it possible for them to lose their balance?

The biting cold wind whipped around him, and in the blink of an eye, Dragonhawk had covered over 100 li. Based on Wei Yuan’s speed from the previous day, the distance between them should have narrowed by 30 li by now.

Soon, a new mark appeared, confirming that the distance had indeed closed. They were now just over 500 li apart. Dragonhawk stopped holding back. He channeled a wisp of mystic energy into the shamanist and instantly boosted his speed.

By the time the next mark appeared, Dragonhawk had already flown 400 li and closed the gap with Wei Yuan by another 100 li.

Dragonhawk’s spirits improved at the sight of this. He was just about to maintain full speed in pursuit, when suddenly, the Dao Foundation stage cultivators behind him collided into each other again, tumbling into a heap!

Dragonhawk was furious to say the least, but out of concern for his reputation, he couldn’t bring himself to truly leave them behind. So, gritting his teeth, he threatened, “I’ll cut down whoever loses their focus again, you hear me?”

But not even a ke had passed since he spoke those words when the Dao Foundation stage cultivators collided into each other once more. This time, even the shamanist noticed that something was wrong and suggested, “Why don’t we leave them behind?”

“Absolutely not!” Dragonhawk growled through gritted teeth.

When they set off again, all the Dao Foundation stage cultivators were bound together and dragged along by Dragonhawk as he flew. While this prevented further accidents, it inevitably slowed their speed slightly.

Wei Yuan received a signal from his tracking mark, confirming that there were still more than a dozen Dao Foundation stage cultivators among the pursuers behind him. He immediately changed his strategy, charging straight toward the southwest at a slightly increased speed. Now, with a speed difference of 50 li per ke, the gap between them was steadily closing.

While draining his opponent’s mystic energy, Wei Yuan continued to approach the Shaman realm.

Soon, Dragonhawk sensed Wei Yuan’s intent and suddenly flew at full speed, outpacing Wei Yuan by 200 li per ke!

Although such a speed consumed immense amounts of mystic energy and could not possibly be sustained for long, he finally managed to close the distance to within 100 li by the time the new mark appeared.

In fact, if it weren’t for the mountainous terrain,he would have been able to see Wei Yuan directly at this distance.

Dragonhawk’s perception suddenly surged forth like a tidal wave, sweeping past Wei Yuan in an instant and placing a mark on him. However, his complexion turned slightly pale, and his mystic energy reserves dropped significantly after the marking.

However, the mark he had placed in haste was erased by Wei Yuan in just a teatime. During that period, Dragonhawk was able to close the gap by another 10 li. Gritting his teeth, he rolled his perception over Wei Yuan once more like a storm and placed another mark on him. Then, he continued his frantic pursuit. But once again, Wei Yuan was able to remove that mark quickly.

With only 70 li separating them, Dragonhawk disregarded the drain on his mystic energy and placed a third mark on Wei Yuan—or at least, he tried to. When his perception swept over the area this time, he was shocked to find that he could not find his quarry!

Dragonhawk was determined not to let his efforts go to waste. His perception would surge like the raging waves of the ocean seven times in a row before he finally located Wei Yuan and forcibly placed a mark.

Thus, the two engaged in a back-and-forth for some time. Wei Yuan would vanish from time to time, forcing Dragonhawk to repeatedly scan and lock onto him with his perception. In the blink of an eye, the chase had stretched from dawn to afternoon. After racing back and forth for over 10,000 li, Dragonhawk finally caught up to Wei Yuan.

By this point, the dozen or so Dao Foundation stage subordinates Dragonhawk was dragging behind him were on the verge of death. His own mystic energy reserves had dwindled to just 60%. Meanwhile, inside Wei Yuan’s sea of consciousness, the True Dragon descendant and old ghost of the lost clan, had finally completed his reincarnation, rising slowly from the earth to transform into a Dragon Guard.

Without a word, Dragonhawk swept his arm wide, and the surrounding world shifted. The two found themselves in an isolated world.

Dragonhawk stared at Wei Yuan, a savage grin slowly spreading across his face. “You made me chase for so long and nearly cost me all my face. Well done, very well done! But now it is time for you to pay the price. This is my Hunter’s World; it’s pretty awe-inspiring, isn’t it? But what will truly drive you to despair isn’t this world, but... him!!”

A towering warrior stepped out from Dragonhawk’s side, wielding a massive horse-cutting saber. His aura was linked to Dragonhawk’s, and they resembled each other so much they could almost be twins.

Dragonhawk’s voice rose an octave, his face contorted with fervor, as he spoke almost like a sing-song voice, “Do you see? This is the legendary Dragon Guard. It is the proof of the hunt, proof of status, and proof of power! You never expected this, did you? I have already completed one hunt. And you... you will be my second Dragon Guard. For this honor, I will make your death truly... gruesome!”

His voice lingered in the air, echoing endlessly.

When Dragonhawk opened his eyes again, he saw two people standing beside Wei Yuan.

To his left was a young woman holding a bright red immortal sword, and to his right was a scholar carrying a bundle of tubes that were spinning rapidly.

1. It’s a boulder-sized 128k camera! XD ☜