Dragon Canon

The Shaman city was right around the corner. After the city-wide defense array was breached, the entire city was left unguarded. Anyone hiding nearby would be able to penetrate it using their perception with impunity.

The three Great Warlocks were taking turns shielding the entire city with their perception, constantly scanning the surroundings to prevent Wei Yuan’s spies from spying on them. But this time, Wei Yuan had sneaked in himself to investigate.

Wei Yuan’s primordial spirit was formidable. After he concealed his aura, he was able to come within three li of the Shaman city before faintly arousing the Great Warlock’s suspicion.

It was impossible for a Great Warlock to maintain their perception coverage at all times—only a Shadow Warlock could manage that.

After observing for a moment, Wei Yuan realized that the Great Warlock currently on duty scanned their surroundings roughly once every ten minutes. So, he timed his move carefully and lit an incense inside a small cave. He also placed an Avatar-level spirit material in it.

Wei Yuan quietly crept to the edge of the city, climbed up the wall, and looked inside.

At the moment, thick smoke was still billowing from within the Shaman city. Nearly every soldier was searching through the ruins for survivors. The city squares were littered with corpses, with more being carried in by the minute.

The wounded were gathered in several open areas. Some Warlocks were casting Shamanic spells or administering medicinal broths to the wounded. Several large cauldrons had been set up beside the square, simmering medicinal broths made from unknown ingredients.

The area where the wounded were laid out were clearly demarcated. The largest square held a mere few hundred Shamans, yet nearly every Warlock healer were stationed there, with several cauldrons for brewing medicine situated nearby. The Shamans in this square were all dressed in lavish attire. Clearly, they held positions of status and influence.

The other open areas were already packed with over ten thousand Shamans, yet new casualties were still being carried in. Judging by their attire, those lying here were all commoners. Only a handful of Warlocks were patrolling these areas, and they rarely offered treatment. Those with minor injuries were left to heal on their own, while the gravely wounded were left for death to claim them. Only when an injury was neither too serious nor too trivial—and could be easily treated—would the Warlocks deign to bend down.

The final square was piled with Shamans clad in rags, all of whom were wearing vacant expressions. Their bodies were similar to those of ordinary humans, with only a rare few possessing characteristics of divine beasts. There were no Warlocks here at all; all of the injured Shamans were left to survive on their own, clinging to life only through the city-wide life-sustaining spell cast by the Great Warlocks, waiting for a miracle to occur.

Only a handful of Warlocks were tasked with healing the injured. Most of them were busy at the altar, replacing the jade array bricks that had been blown to pieces. Once ready, specialized Warlocks would crouch over them and begin carving array patterns into them.

Wei Yuan counted them; there were roughly sixty Warlocks on the altar. Their robes differed in color compared to the usual Warlock, all dark silver in color. Similar to the array masters of the human race, they held a revered status and were specifically tasked with setting up the altar.

The altar had not yet been fully restored. Seated at its center was a Great Warlock who was continuously pouring out a mist of blood qi to the surroundings. The blood mist permeated the entire Shaman city and infused every member with a touch of vitality.

The other two Great Warlocks were nowhere to be found. One was obviously recuperating from his injuries—Wei Yuan’s Dao spell had not been easy to take—and the other was likely hiding in a secret chamber and using his perception to keep watch over the surroundings.

Taking advantage of the chaos in the city, Wei Yuan leaped down the city wall, grabbed a filthy cloak, and threw it over his shoulders. He then made his way toward the altar.

At the moment, the Shaman city was filled with moans, screams, and cries. No one had time to notice a humanoid Shaman dressed like a slave. It wasn’t until he had come within fifty zhang of the altar that Wei Yuan was stopped by the guards. The altar was sacred, and only nobles, Warlocks, and sacrifices were permitted to touch it. An ordinary Shaman was not even allowed to approach it.

Wei Yuan obediently stepped back and calculated the time. He waited patiently.

The perception of the Great Warlock on watch duty was as vast as a mighty river, sweeping over the entire city. But this time, his perception clearly paused for a moment before homing onto a small cave. Evidently, he had spotted the spirit material Wei Yuan had left behind.

The Great Warlock scanned the area repeatedly until suddenly, an agonized roar echoed from beneath the ground somewhere in the Shaman city. The earth erupted, and a Great Warlock burst out to the surface, clutching his head and rolling through the air in agony.

The Spirit-Eroding Incense had received lavish praises from all cultivators of the Palace of Absolute Beginning after its first showing. Encouraged, Sun Yu devoted himself to improving it for three days after the battle.

Thanks to the nether soil he had received from Wei Yuan, Sun Yu was able to refine its formula further and dramatically increase its toxicity. Now, it was effective even against an Avatar. Thus, he renamed it to the Devilish Spirit-Eroding Incense.

Judging by the Great Warlock through the air, the potency of the Devilish Spirit-Eroding Incense exceeded even what Sun Yu had claimed. His Senior Uncle was excellent in every way, except for his penchant for modesty: he always underestimated the potency of the potions he crafted himself.

The incident had happened out of nowhere. Before the Great Warlock at the altar could figure out what was happening, he suddenly sensed a familiar and extremely intense fluctuation of Dao energy. The next moment, bricks and stones cracked as a torrent of brilliant golden water burst through the altar’s floor and slammed violently into him!

The altar was hollow, with a blood pool built inside to store the power of sacrifices and essence blood. That was why Wei Yuan’s Golden Light Water Blade had pierced right through it from the bottom up and struck the Great Warlock’s vital point with perfect precision!

The Great Warlock was currently maintaining a city-wide Shamanic spell. Normally, it would take him a bit of time to break it. However, he was like a block of wood being drilled by a high-speed drill bit right now—how could he possibly remain seated for even a moment?

The Great Warlock let out a frenzied roar and shot skyward, blood spurting from every part of his body like a long, long tail.

Wei Yuan sighed inwardly. The problem with Golden Light Water Blade was its lack of flexibility. Once cast, he was forced to remain in place. While he still had a bit of mystic energy left, Wei Yuan made the torrent sway from side to side and destroyed most of the altar. He also grazed over a dozen silver-robed Warlocks in the process and sent them all back to the loving embrace of heaven and earth.

Wei Yuan turned to flee immediately after he ran out of Dao energy. Of course, he did not forget to pick up the spirit materials and extinguish the half-burned Devilish Spirit-Eroding Incense once outside the city walls.

To the Shamans’ credit, they reacted swiftly. Dozens of nobles and Warlocks were right behind his back. However, just a few li outside the city, a giant python suddenly burst out of the earth and swallowed several nobles in one gulp!

Having struck its blow, the giant python burrowed back into the ground and vanished.

The shamans kept pursuing, and this time a striped tiger suddenly leaped out of the woods, shattering the bones of several Warlocks with a few swipes of its claws before vanishing back into the forest.

Despite the consecutive ambushes, the Warlocks and nobles did not relent. The bastard fleeing ahead of them had destroyed their altar. From a human’s perspective, it was like someone spitting on your ancestral tablets in your ancestral hall in full view of everyone. It was a crime that demanded pursuit across ten thousand li[1]!

Every Warlock and noble who managed to keep up with Wei Yuan’s speed was exceptionally powerful and incredibly fast. In the blink of an eye, they were dozens of li away from the Shaman city. Just then, countless Dao Foundation-stage cultivators suddenly appeared all around the pursuing Shamans. They all charged when an expressionless Cui Yu raised a hand and pointed at the enemies.

There were many Cui clansmen among the cultivators. However, they also outnumbered the enemy ten to one. Thus, they fought with unparalleled ferocity.

Outside the Shaman city, an old Daoist was sneaking about and peering around furtively. However, he had just reached the city walls when his eyelids began to twitch uncontrollably. He knew this was a warning sign and had no choice but to abandon his plan to claim a Great Warlock’s Heaven Merit all to himself.

At the same time, he realized why Wei Yuan had turned and fled the moment he landed his strike, even though he clearly had the chance to slay the Great Warlock. The old Daoist could only curse Wei Yuan’s cunning under his breath. Now that he thought about it, ever since arriving at the realm of Qingming, he had not had a single chance to claim a prize all to himself.

1. Or for non-Chinese, like someone spitting on your beloved’s grave. ☜