The trio quietly returned to Qingming’s domain.

The Shamans had shown up with a full battalion, but only a handful of them managed to escape and live. It was basically a total rout. However, their main objective was to modify heaven and earth to seal away all immortal swords, rendering them incapable of unleashing their full power. In that sense, they had fulfilled their mission. As for how long this modification would last, it depended on the Shamans’ willingness to invest sacrifices. Assuming they spared no expenses, the seal could last between three and five years even considering that it spanned several thousand li.

Bao Yun was the first one to break the silence upon returning to the domain, “I’ve just arrived, and I don’t fully understand the war situation. What was the objective of that battle? Did the Shamans modify the world to seal away all immortal swords?”

The reminder stoked Xiao Yu’s anger instantly.

Wei Yuan had been eagerly looking for an opportunity to change the subject. Since Bao Yun was doing just that, he hurriedly snapped himself out of his mind-blank state and gave her a succinct explanation.

In fact, the Shamans had paid a far bigger price than a battalion to modify the world and seal off a type of Dao Foundation. The battalion’s main goal was to release the curse they had prepared beforehand and test out the humans’ strength. Ideally, they would like to set up camp as well. Thus, the elimination of this battalion simply signified the start of the war; the appetizer before the main course. The real battle was still ahead of them.

From the start, Wei Yuan had intended to trick the Shamans into modifying the world and sealing away the immortal swords. Now, he had achieved that objective with Xiao Yu’s help. Despite paying a huge price, the Shamans had failed to weaken Wei Yuan’s strength in any way. There was no doubt that they were the losers of this exchange.

Wei Yuan hadn’t expected Xiao Yu to be the first one to show up, but since he was already here, he might as well make use of him. There was simply no reason not to. Back then, Xiao Yu had “accidentally” crossed his path every day with his Dao Foundation between his arms. As if that wasn’t bad enough, he didn’t even realize what the young swordsman was doing until way after the fact.

Wei Yuan felt like a fool every time he recalled that memory, even though Xiao Yu was acting even more like a fool than him. That was why he had used the carrot and the stick to trick the swordsman into fighting against the Shaman battalion who could seal away the immortal swords.

In fact, the Shamans’ strategy wasn’t misguided. If Wei Yuan really possessed a Dao Foundation of one hundred immortal swords, then neither he nor Xiao Yu would have been a match for the battalion after they sealed away the immortal swords. They would have been forced to withdraw back to Qingming’s domain.

Unfortunately for them, not only did they get his Dao Foundation completely wrong, he had grasped the One Wonder Treasure Tree a while ago. Thanks to it, he was able to manifest a significant portion of the Great Realm and crush an entire battalion with barely any effort.

In short, the overall situation hadn’t changed by much even though the sealing of the immortal swords had significantly weakened Xiao Yu. Besides that, the modification only worked outside Qingming’s domain. It wasn’t completely ineffective within the domain—it suppressed a Heaven-tier Dao Foundation by ten percent, and an Immortal-tier Dao Foundation by five percent—but it might as well be.

Moreover, Qingming was constantly and rapidly expanding its domain. Xiao Yu could simply play the role of a defender.

After briefly explaining the war situation, Wei Yuan asked his companions about their recent experiences.

Xiao Yu was not at the mountain gate when Wei Yuan’s distress letters reached the Palace of Absolute Beginning. He had been training in the western frontier of Zhao; an area that had traditionally been under the Xiao Clan’s influence. However, all aristocratic families maintained their own communication networks, so as soon as Wei Yuan’s distress letter had arrived at the Palace, it was immediately relayed back to the Xiao Clan and eventually made its way to Xiao Yu. The swordsman had received the distress letter less than two hours after Wei Yuan had sent it. He was training in the southeast part of Ningxi at the time, and it was pretty close to where Wei Yuan was.

Suffice to say, Xiao Yu was quite surprised when he received the letter. It had been years since they contacted each other, and the first person Wei Yuan thought to ask for help from upon encountering a life-threatening crisis was him? Deeply moved by the display of camaraderie, he had dropped everything and rushed to Wei Yuan’s rescue immediately. He had even set aside the humiliation Wei Yuan had dealt him during the martial test.

To make haste, Xiao Yu specifically requested the family senior guarding the region to escort him for a bit and repel the Shaman’s border forces. After setting foot in the Shaman’s domain, he immediately flew to Wei Yuan’s location without sleep or rest. It so happened that the Immortal Sword The Sun boasted great flight speed as well. That was why he was the first out of everyone to arrive. Because he had departed urgently, he hadn’t been able to pack anything with him; not even a sip of water.

Unfortunately, after all the natural and artificial obstacles he had overcome, after penetrating multiple Shaman forces attempting to block his way, the first thing he experienced upon arrival wasn’t Wei Yuan’s friendship, but his treachery. As if that wasn’t enough, it turned out that the bastard had also asked Bao Yun for help!

To be fair, it made perfect sense that Wei Yuan would contact the girl. Xiao Yu did not think that there was anything wrong with it either. However, it was equally undeniable that he felt like Wei Yuan had stomped his sincerity into the mud. What’s that poem again? I am devoted to the moon, but the moon is shining toward the drain!

Fortunately, Xiao Yu was a mentally tough man. He buried all of these grudges and grievances deep within his heart and molded them all into his seed of vengeance. It would detonate when the time was right!

Personally, Xiao Yu believed that it wasn’t completely impossible for the three of them to guard this land by themselves. It was likely that they would need to request for reinforcements from their clans, however. When he imagined that he, Bao Yun and Wei Yuan would be fighting side by side and bathing in blood and death against the Shamans, he could not help but feel some degree of expectation and anticipation. It was enough for him to set aside his grudge temporarily.

Besides, those persisting in evil naturally brought about their own destruction. Had Wei Yuan not performed the One Wonder Treasure Tree in front of Bao Yun? Xiao Yu could not wait to see how Wei Yuan was going to handle the aftermath.

Bao Yun’s experience was more or less the same as Xiao Yu’s. Wei Yuan’s distress letter had reached her about two hours after it reached the Palace of Absolute Beginning. Bao Yun had departed immediately after that. The Seven Wonders Exquisite Treasure Tree boasted many wonders such as the ability to isolate space and perception. Besides that, Bao Yun had snuck past every obstacle and hardship she had encountered on the way. Thus, her journey here, while undeniably dangerous, had not left a scratch on her person. It was also why she had arrived right after Xiao Yu even though she was much farther away.

Wei Yuan broke out in cold sweat again when he heard that Bao Yu had arrived not long after Xiao Yu.

After the duo were done recounting their experiences, Xiao Yu asked, “Where are we staying?”

Wei Yuan’s mind was still mostly blank at the moment. He replied unconsciously, “Wherever you like.”

Xiao Yu cast his perception across the whole area but could not find a single house with a roof on it. His seed of vengeance nearly sprouted there and then.

Noticing Xiao Yu’s unfriendly look, Wei Yuan finally snapped out of his daze and added in a hurry, “This place has been abandoned for years, and it hasn’t even been two days since I established the realm stone. The Shamans have been attacking almost non-stop during this time as well. That is why I didn’t have a chance to build proper housing.”

“It’s fine. I’ll find a suitable spot myself.” It wasn’t the mundane luxuries that Xiao Yu really cared about, but something else[1].

Spirit energy was pretty abundant within Qingming’s domain. Although it couldn’t hope to compare to the Green Cliffs That Hang Over An Empty Valley, it was barely passable.

Xiao Yu looked around and spotted the central peak almost immediately. The summit was fairly small, but it had more than enough space to fit three people. Moreover, it was lofty, proud, and unequaled within the area. It was easily the place he wanted to live in.

It was at this moment Wei Yuan’s senses pricked. Someone else had entered the domain, and they were moving swiftly. They had appeared in front of him in just a matter of breaths!

Joy overcame Wei Yuan when he saw who the newcomer was. He immediately bowed deeply and declared, “This disciple greets you, master!”

The newcomer was none other than Zhang Sheng. Unlike Wei Yuan’s peers, however, he wasn’t unscathed. His left sleeve was ripped and stained with blood. He hadn’t even bandaged the wound yet. Whoever had intercepted his master, they had to be incredibly strong.

Zhang Sheng paid no heed to his own injuries. When he entered the domain, he had seen the thousands of Shaman corpses laid out in the corpse field, and the newly eradicated Shaman camp on the mountain ridge. His prodigious mind allowed him to grasp the war situation quickly.

Looking at Wei Yuan, Zhang Sheng could not help but feel a pang of emotion. In what felt like the blink of an eye, the little boy from back then had grown up into a full adult. Not only that, he had already caused such a huge mess just days after he had set out to the world solo. If he were to gain a couple more years of experience, Zhang Sheng wasn’t sure he would be able to handle the consequences.

But so what? He was his disciple. It was a shifu’s natural responsibility to bear his disciple’s karma. That was what Trueman Fen Hai had told Zhang Sheng back then.

Of course, Fen Hai had also refrained from saying this in recent years. The reason was simple: Zhang Sheng’s karma had grown beyond his ability to bear. In fact, Wei Yuan’s karma had grown beyond the Trueman’s ability to bear as well.

Zhang Sheng gave Wei Yuan a pat on the shoulder and lifted him back to full height. He said gently, “Do not be afraid, for I am here. No matter how many Shamans rear their ugly heads, your Master promises to cut all of them.”

He then removed the backpack he was carrying and poured out a dozen or so mystic swords. He declared indifferently, “See these swords? Each one carries a great deal of power and history.”

Having learned his lesson from the battle in the northern frontier, Zhang Sheng no longer carried only a sword with him. For this trip, he had gathered over a dozen high-grade mystic swords with him in one go, ready to make a big splash in this battle. Alas, it was clear that the mystic swords were the handiwork of the Skyblue Hall. After all, all of them combined weren’t even worth as much as Xiao Yu’s scabbard.

Wei Yuan’s eyelid twitched when he saw the mystic swords. He did not dare to respond to his master’s kind words.

At the side, Xiao Yu was wearing a conflicted look on his face. He did not think that Wei Yuan had called upon Zhang Sheng as well and could not help but feel a growing sense of disappointment. However, Zhang Sheng was Wei Yuan’s shifu, and the Skyblue Hall was famous for protecting their own. Even if Wei Yuan hadn’t contacted his master, the man would most likely find out and show up anyway. Thus, Xiao Yu swallowed his feelings and refrained from pouring salt in the wound.

It was at this moment a lazy voice echoed beside him, “Did you notice? I think they’ve modified the world.”

1. Man, the guy is too pure for this world. XD ☜