Dragon Canon

That said, it wasn’t like he had read all these books in vain. Wei Yuan was now ready to begin crafting his own advanced Dao spell.

Although he had grasped the original Water Blade Storm, it was, technically speaking, just another standard spell. It was suitable for all Avatars and high-level Dao Foundation stage cultivators except him.

Although Wei Yuan had basically failed to grasp Immortal Lord Tinghai’s Dao of Water, after forcing himself to read through everything once, he discovered there were still many sections in the books that could be put to use immediately.

Take, for instance, the shape of a Water Blade in The Pinnacle of Technique. Although the Immortal Lord had explained the underlying principles, the calculations involved were extremely difficult to say the least—simply out of the question without the perception of a True Lord. In fact, if someone truly wished to perform some actual research, it was best to wait until they had attained immortalhood. An Immortal Lord’s perception could process billions of thoughts in an instant; only a perception at this level was capable of performing the necessary calculations.

However, Wei Yuan didn’t need to perform any calculations himself because the Immortal Lord had already provided the best spell structure for a Water Blade spell to fly through the air in the Homeworld. As for what was the best spell structure for a Water Blade to travel through steel, flesh and blood, or even an opponent’s defensive spells, those were closely guarded secrets that were not revealed to the public. Of course, it was also possible that the Immortal Lord simply hadn’t researched them.

Wei Yuan thought about it and realized it was a given—who in their right mind would still be using Water Blade after becoming an immortal? It would be a total loss of face.

After reading the texts, Wei Yuan realized that the problem with the original Water Blade Storm was that its spell structure wasn’t expansive enough to contain his bottomless Dao energy, thus limiting the spell’s maximum potency.

This was the benefit of reading. If he hadn’t exchanged and read through all of the Immortal Lord’s works, he would have only thought to replace it with a more powerful spell in the future.

Now, Wei Yuan felt that Rushing Water Blade’s massive spell structure suited him perfectly. Moreover, the structure was quite refined and stable after tens of thousands of years of evolution.

Wei Yuan began stripping away all the decorative components and parts he deemed unnecessary. The Immortal Lord’s texts had already outlined which components could be removed without affecting the overall structure. He simply needed to do as per instructed.

The Dao spell was an ancient Dao technique. It produced a stream of water that was both thin and fast. When Wei Yuan tried attaching a Water Blade spell’s configuration to Rushing Water Blade’s spell structure, several actual Water Blades appeared within the stream. After some thought, Wei Yuan added even more Water Blade spell configurations as an experiment, causing both the number of Water Blades in the stream to increase accordingly and the spell’s power to surge dramatically.

Seeing that the experiment was successful, Wei Yuan kept piling on more Water Blade spell configurations, adding eighteen in one go. Now, when a stream of water shot out, it was densely packed with Water Blades.

Wei Yuan continued to refine the spell, shrinking Water Blade’s spell configuration until each blade was no larger than a fingernail. He then added another one hundred and eight in one go.

With this, the bulk of the work on the improved Rushing Water Blade spell was complete. The next configurations to be added would make the water stream thicker, more forceful, extend further, and even allow it to be slightly redirected at will. After all, the core structure of the spell was large and sturdy enough—he simply had to keep stacking configurations on top.

In the blink of an eye, a day and a night had passed. Wei Yuan had worked tirelessly without sleep and had finally completed his first advanced Dao spell. The next step was to test its power.

The realm was vast and sparsely populated. Thus, a special range had been set up specifically for testing Dao spells. Wei Yuan had deliberately chosen to come here two hours before dawn, and sure enough, the place was deserted.

Wei Yuan moved a stone target a little over a zhang tall and carved in the shape of a human figure into position. He then buried half of it in the ground and stacked three whole layers of mystic armor plates on its chest, which together were as thick as two human palms. Next, he erected five wooden boards studded with steel plates behind the stone target to serve as protection. Normally, an array would be set up behind a Dao technique range to dissipate the Dao energy. However, Wei Yuan was poor, so that was that.

Once everything was set up, Wei Yuan estimated that the stone target’s defense was roughly equivalent to five Xiao Yus, less than half of Big Senior Sister, or half of that Avatar-stage Xu Clan elder back then.

Once he was ready, Wei Yuan carefully channeled his Dao energy. A faint glow appeared in front of him, then faded into nothing. He tried again. This time, the light grew slightly brighter before fading once more.

This was the standard procedure for testing a new Dao spell. First, the amount of Dao energy injected into a Dao spell had to be increased gradually. Second, one could not move onto the next step until the current step was flawless.

After repeating this step for another five times, Wei Yuan finally gained enough confidence to give it a real go. A sudden breeze stirred inside the Great Realm, and the pebbles on the ground trembled slightly. He was channeling all of his Dao energy to fuel this Dao spell!

A flash of intense light erupted before Wei Yuan. The next instant, it expanded into a massive halo several zhang in diameter. From the center of the halo shot a stream of water as thick as a water bucket, its interior shimmering like a starry river containing countless tiny Water Blades.

The water column slammed into the humanoid stone target. The three layers of mystic armor offered only a brief resistance before disintegrating to dust, leaving a massive hole at the center of the stone target. The water column continued forward, piercing through the five layers of steel-studded wooden boards like they didn’t exist at all.

In an instant, this dazzling water column stretched a thousand zhang across the sky, lighting up the entire realm before slowly fading away[1].

Wei Yuan held his breath for a moment. The stone target he had personally set up boasted Avatar-level defense—did it really just disintegrate like nothing?

In an instant, several streams of perception swept across the range—some familiar to Wei Yuan, some less so, and others completely unknown to him. Wei Yuan counted them one by one and identified three more streams of perception besides Big Senior Sister’s and Master’s. It would appear that quite a few people were hiding in Qingming, and they had been concealing themselves flawlessly until Wei Yuan’s stunning Dao spell had startled them all out of hiding.

There was no need for Wei Yuan to act himself. Big Senior Sister and Master were already on the move.

Shortly after, a powerful perception arrived belatedly. Trueman Chu He, sporting two dark circles around his eyes and protected by eight immortal swords, flew over as he called out, “What happened? Why did this old Daoist’s heart race like he was in mortal danger just now?”

When the old Daoist arrived at the Dao technique range, he saw a stone target with a large hole in its torso and long, deep indentation on the ground. Even the grass near the mark had been flattened completely.

The old Daoist’s gaze kept chasing the indentation further and further away. The farther he looked, the more stunned his expression became.

“What kind of Dao technique is this?” The old Daoist asked.

In the spirit of respecting his betters, Wei Yuan answered honestly, “Rushing Water Blade.”

Trueman Chu He stroked his exceedingly sparse beard as he searched his memory for the term. Thanks to the powerful perception of an Avatar, he instantly retrieved the corresponding Dao spell from his vast store of knowledge.

“Oh, it’s an ancient Dao technique. It’s quite powerful, though a bit rigid....”

Fortunately, Trueman Chu He did not make it a habit of lecturing someone. He said no more after that simple remark.

Back in the Distant Antiquity Era, every human capable of cultivation possessed innate cultivation potential. They had observed heaven and earth, studied the titans of other races, and gradually pieced together Dao techniques of immense power. Alas, such works were naturally clumsy, crude, and utterly impossible to master save for a few true geniuses. They were not nearly as refined as the Dao techniques of today, where any cultivator could cast a couple of Dao spells.

At the same time, three mystic energy fluctuations appeared in the distance, only to pop out of existence like bubbles the next second. Then, Zhang Sheng and Ji Liuli flew over, carrying three small animals, and tossed them onto the ground.

Zhang Sheng said, “We’ve captured three Shaman spies. This scare tactic of yours is pretty effective, but remember to give us a heads-up next time.”

Ji Liuli looked at the indentation left on the ground with a thoughtful expression. She asked, “Are you studying ancient Dao spells? This is something you’re supposed to learn only after becoming an Avatar. It looks like you’ve succeeded though. What Dao spell is it?”

“You’re right. It’s the Rushing Water Blade. But why do you say that one must reach the Avatar stage before studying ancient Dao spells?”

Ji Liuli had been a teacher for several years. She explained, “A great number of ancient Dao spells directly mimics a natural phenomenon the inventor has witnessed in their lifetime. Though possessing immense power, they are structurally unstable. This is why the vast majority of ancient Dao spells require modification before they can be used as standard spells.

“Most study ancient Dao spells to gain a fresh perspective on the workings of the Great Dao, and only the perception of an Avatar is powerful enough to analyze their structures. Now that I think about it, your perception is more or less sufficient.”

Ji Liuli added after a pause, “Let’s gather after breakfast. We should discuss the siege cannons today.”

“Siege... cannons?” Trueman Chu He seemed puzzled by the unfamiliar words.

“It’s a kind of armament used to attack an enemy’s fortification,” Ji Liuli explained.

“I see. No wonder I’ve never heard of it before. May I join in?”

“It would be a great honor if you were to participate, Trueman.”

After the group dispersed, Wei Yuan’s heart, which he had just managed to calm a moment ago, began to race violently once more.

His newly formed Dao spell had drained an amount of Dao energy equivalent to that of a hundred ordinary Dao Foundation stage cultivators. This was before accounting for the continuous stream of Dao energy he had to supply the spell to maintain it. However, its power also far exceeded his expectations. Assuming he faced off against that Avatar-stage Xu Clan elder again, and he was foolish enough to confront the Dao spell head on, his defenses would be breached within three breaths, and he would suffer grievous injuries within ten.

If the Dao energy of a hundred ordinary Dao Foundation stage cultivators were hurled toward an Avatar one by one, then all it would amount to was a light massage. But if they were gathered together and unleashed at once, it would become a fatal blow.

Forget that Avatar-stage Xu Clan elder, not even Big Senior Sister would be able to withstand it....

Wei Yuan hurriedly pushed the terrifying thought out of his mind. He wondered if it was his imagination, but ever since he had developed this new Dao technique, he had a vague sense that he was straying further and further away from the righteous path of respecting his betters, and moving toward the heretical path of blaspheming against them. Yes, the word blasphemy seemed well within the range of his Rushing Water Blade.

This new Dao spell was powerful enough to kill an Avatar, placing it firmly within the Earth-tier and deserving of its own name. Alas, Wei Yuan had little talent in this regard and hastily settled on the name Water Dragon Cannon. He intended to refine it after he had upgraded it further.

Water Dragon Cannon possessed immense power, but as Trueman Chu He mentioned earlier, it was somewhat inflexible. If an Avatar was shameless enough to take evasive action, then they definitely could evade it.

Just then, a sudden insight struck Wei Yuan: An individual could dodge the Dao spell, but a city could not!

Wei Yuan gazed into the distance. At the farthest edge of his vision in this direction lay the Shamans’ newly constructed fortified city.

Originally, everyone had been deeply concerned by its existence. That was why they had decided to prioritize the development of siege cannons after reviewing Xu Wenwu’s records. But now, Wei Yuan felt it might not be necessary. After all, what kind of city wall could be tougher than an Avatar Trueman’s mystic body; endure the cutting power of his new Water Dragon Cannon spell?

If he was worried day and night that the city would prove a major thorn in his side before, now Wei Yuan was hoping the Shamans would build their city larger and taller, and consume as much manpower and resources as possible in the process.

A short while later, as dawn broke, the members of the Palace of Absolute Beginning gathered together to begin discussing the siege cannons.

Wei Yuan did not object to the development of siege cannons just because he now had Water Dragon Cannon. On the contrary, he actively advocated for it. As far as he was concerned, he wanted both of them.

Meanwhile, deep in the mountains ten thousand li to the southeast, several cultivators had set up a few wooden huts. They were currently chiseling away at the nearby cliff face and studying the distribution of the mineral veins within.

A dark-skinned cultivator glanced at the sky and frowned, “It’s been another day. Why haven’t we heard anything yet?”

A young cultivator beside him replied, “Big Senior Brother, I don’t mean to speak ill of others behind their backs, but are you really confident that Trueman Chu He would carry out the task you entrusted him with? Those from the Jianmu Hall love to disguise themselves as simple farmers. They may look honest, but they’re as cunning as can be, every single one of ‘em.”

The senior cultivator’s face darkened. “Who told you that? How could you speak ill of a fellow senior behind their backs?”

“Sister-In-Law said so.”

The senior cultivator fell silent immediately.

The young cultivator continued, “Big Senior Brother, if you do the math, you’ll know there’s more than enough time for Trueman Chu He to send us a message several times over. What if that old Daoist discovered something valuable and is planning to keep it all to himself behind our backs?”

1. Thus, Wei Yuan had accidentally completed a laser cannon before even building a standard artillery. ☜