Wei Yuan called Yun Feifei over to his side and commanded her to bring the young masters and ladies to Sun Yu for treatment.

Puzzled, Xu Wan’er asked him in secret, “The guards’ injuries are much more serious—several of them are near death. These scions have nothing more than superficial wounds, so why treat them first?”

Wei Yuan answered, “Because the guards wouldn’t dare to receive treatment until they had.”

As Xu Wan’er stated, the scions had not taken any major injuries. In fact, Cui Yu was the one who was most injured. Wei Yuan was going to see him personally, but as soon as his sect fellow heard that Sun Yu from the Xuanming Hall was present, he insisted on waiting until the cultivator was free. He would rather suffer than let Wei Yuan treat him.

Cui Yu knew Wei Yuan inside and out. It had taken the guy ten years just to lay his Dao Foundation—how could he possibly have had the time to study the art of healing? As for Technique Theory, Wei Yuan’s grades weren’t even as good as his back then.

A few guards were seriously injured or near death, but Wei Yuan used Jia Wood Nurtures Life to keep them alive. They could afford to wait a bit with no risk of dying.

Later, Wei Yuan ordered Xu Wan’er to prepare a set of armor and a warhorse for every scion.

As expected, Sun Yu’s medical skill was top-notch. The fastest treatments took only breaths to complete, and the slowest ones took no longer than half a teatime. All in all, he was able to finish treating all of the scions in less than an hour.

After the young masters and ladies were done with their treatment, Wei Yuan took them to a clearing and pointed at the pile of heavy armor on the ground. He said, “Each one of you will all pick a set. If you can’t find one that fits your size, then speak to Wan’er for a minor modification. The pile to your right are the weapons. Just the same, you will all pick a weapon of your choice.”

The scions looked at the pile of heavy armor and weapons with troubled expressions. Some girls were even complaining with a weepy expression, “Must we?”

“Yes, you must!” Cui Yu was the one who spoke up, not Wei Yuan.

Leading by example, he picked up a set of armor and donned it on the spot. Then, he grabbed a mystic artifact-grade spear and gave it a measured lift. When he was ready, he turned back to his companions and said, “We came here to fight a war. Since none of us wants to leave, it is imperative that we follow orders. Junior Brother Wei is now the ruler of this realm. According to the Palace’s rules, we must all obey his commands. From now on, there’s no more ‘Brother Cui’—there is only Realm Lord Wei!”

Wei Yuan hurriedly interjected, “You’re too harsh, Brother Cui. We will always be fellow disciples. Since Brother Cui has brought you all to me, I can’t let you come all the way for nothing. This heavy armor is extremely important—it can save your life on the battlefield and is far superior to any robe or gear. Thus, I would advise you to get used to it as soon as possible. Also, here’s a piece of advice for you: the longer you hesitate, the likelier it is that you’ll miss out on the best-looking and best-fitting pieces.”

The young ladies immediately rushed forward and grabbed the few sets of heavy armor they thought were most pleasing to the eye, fitting be damned. Following their lead, the rest of the scions all picked up the armor and tried it on there and then. If anything didn’t fit properly, they would let Xu Wan’er know about it. The aide made sure to take note of every issue—she couldn’t have been more attentive if she tried.

Once they had donned the heavy armor, choosing a weapon and a warhorse was the natural next step. There weren’t many warhorses in the realm, and the dozen or so that Wei Yuan had prepared were all mortal horses. Only two looked particularly tall and sturdy and qualified as fine steeds. Of course, Xu Wenwu had ridden each of them once.

In the distance, there was a man riding a massive, blood red horse. He eventually came close and passed by the group of scions at a leisurely pace.

The scions could not help but stare at the man. They had seen the horse in action before and knew that it belonged to Wei Yuan. To say it looked handsome would be an understatement; it had literally stomped a Dao Foundation stage Shaman to death not long ago. Everyone here possessed fairly strong perceptions, and even a tentative sweep left them with a mild stinging sensation. That was how they knew that the horse wasn’t just an outstanding spirit beast. It was literally stronger than them.

With all that said, how was it possible for a spirit beast like this to allow a mere mortal to ride it?

They were still puzzled when Xu Wenwu had shrunk into a dot in the distance. All he had left behind was a mysterious back.

Wei Yuan finally let out a sigh of relief when he was done coercing the scions to switch their gear. After listening to Cui Yu’s account and comparing it with the obstacles he had encountered along the way on the map, Wei Yuan realized that the Shamans had infiltrated the eastern region and cut off the route from the realm to the Hanyang Pass. In other words, Qingming was now surrounded.

Suddenly, Wei Yuan sensed something and looked at the sky. The setting sun was as red as blood, and the sky was ablaze with evening clouds. Half of it was so crimson it looked as if it might bleed. Most people would find nothing unusual with this sight, but Wei Yuan had studied fengshui in depth and was empowered by Qingming. He could see it all clearly.

He tensed. He knew that the unusual phenomenon most likely meant that a Great Warlock had arrived.

Several thousand li to the west, in a main camp of the Shamans, a Great Warlock was sitting in the center of an altar and gazing up at the sky.

Just then, another Great Warlock ascended the altar. Its movements were most peculiar—the way its long robes trailed behind its back suggested that it wasn’t walking, but gliding upward.

The Great Warlock sitting at the center seemed displeased at his colleague. He said, “The stench of wretches on your body is growing. You’re going to anger the Heaven eventually.”

The Great Warlock who had just ascended the altar let out a low, eerie laugh. “I will know if the Heaven is angry. I don’t need you to tell me about it.”

The two Great Warlocks fell silent after that. They each occupied one corner of the altar.

Moments later, an average-looking old man ascended the altar. On the surface, he looked like a human and nothing like a Shaman. However, he was able to ascend the activated altar without triggering any reaction.

After reaching the summit, the old man stood face to face with the two Great Warlocks and greeted, “Blood Eye, Phantom. It’s been ten years since we last met.”

The Great Warlock sitting at the center of the altar asked, “Why have you abandoned the humans’ side and sought us out, Mu Shang?”

The old man responded, “A strange boy has emerged among the humans as of late, and I have a feeling that it may cause some trouble to your plan. Since you’re here, I want you to curse that boy and eliminate him. If you succeed, I will receive a sizable pay from the humans.”

The Great Warlock at the center—Blood Eye—grew a little angry. “You want me to work so you can get paid?”

“It’s fine if you don’t want to do it. He has caused you far more trouble than he has caused me anyway. But if you fail again, I’m afraid the lord won’t let you off as easily as he did last time.”

“Who is he? Show him to me.”

The old man delivered a lump of fresh blood to Blood Eye. “His name is Lee Zhi, and this is his karma.”

Blood Eye accepted the lump of blood and sucked it into his mouth. Moments later, he spat out a blood mist that automatically coalesced into several clumps. Most of the lumps were small and dense, clustering together in one spot. The largest clump, however, was far off in another direction. It was the thinnest of them all, yet far larger than all the other clumps combined.

Looking at the distribution of blood, Blood Eye grunted, “The boy is cunning alright. He left behind many karmic debts in this land, but the biggest one is hundreds of thousands of li away. That is also his true body.”

A crimson glow flared up from the shadows underneath his hood as Blood Eye stared at Mu Shang. “Are you certain you gave me the right item? How could his true body be so far away? How could he have traveled hundreds of thousands of li in just two days?”

“There can be no mistake! Do not forget that this old one’s skill in the Dao of karma is good enough to teach your Master. You do not have the right to question me!” The old man retorted fiercely.

“‘This old one’? Have you pretended to be a human for so long that you’ve forgotten who you truly are?”

“The humans are cunning and treacherous. Even a minor slip-up could cost me my disguise. If you were in my shoes, hah! I would pay you ten thousand superior sacrifices if you manage to last just six hours!”

Blood Eye grunted with displeasure. “You best be sure, for he is too far away. It will cost much more than expected to curse him from this distance.”

This time, it was the old man’s turn to question Blood Eye’s skill. “From the looks of it, this human is currently situated in the southwest region of Zhao. In fact, he’s almost at the Zhao border. Are you sure your blood curse tracking is accurate?”

Blood Eye let out a low growl. “You can curse him yourself if you think your blood curses are better than mine!”

The old man harrumphed and said nothing more.

Blood Eye’s body writhed unnaturally and slowly changed form. Massive clumps of blood qi were rising from inside the altar at the same time green qi was descending from the heavens. Next, he extended a massive, bestial claw to crush the blood qi and the green qi into one before spitting out a drop of his own blood. Then, he yelled in an ancient language, “Trace the bloodline, slaughter the clan!”

After that, he grabbed the biggest and thinnest clump of blood with his claw and crushed it viciously!

This was a blood curse costing a thousand sacrifices. Not only would it kill the target, it would trace their bloodline and curse all of their descendants including the still unborn.

Neither the old man nor Phantom made a move. They simply waited patiently for the results. A blood curse at this level came with quick results. Even if the target happened to have a method or two to deal with curses, there were three of them. They could handle any defense the target could possibly put up.

On the border between Zhao and Ji, in a well-organized military camp, Lee Zhi was sitting upright in his tent and gazing intently at a map.

A commandant stepped into the tent and reported, “General Qi has issued an order: we are to capture Sword Singing Pass within three days without fail. Otherwise, we will be court-martialed!”

Lee Zhi did not even bother looking up as he answered, “Sword Singing Pass only has a garrison of eight hundred, but the terrain is exceedingly treacherous. The only way to take it is by sacrificing many lives. Moreover, the land ahead is wide open once the pass is breached. General Qu has a large force, while we are small. If his army sweeps through, we won’t get any credit for the victory, again.”

“Yet....”

Lee Zhi finally looked up and said indifferently, “What’s there to fear? He can’t lay a hand against me. Besides, even if we manage to overcome the pass, all we’ll be doing is killing the common people of Ji. It isn’t worth it at all. I want to fight the foreigners, not play their little games of killing innocent people to pad my record. Alas, the higher-ups are too afraid to touch the foreigners and only dare to fight among themselves.”

“What should I tell General Qu then?”

Lee Zhi answered, “It’s simple. Tell them that an urgent illness has befallen me[1], and I am unable to handle the affairs. We’ll stall for between ten days and half a month. He’ll naturally head back once his supplies run out. If he still wants to attack Sword Singing Pass then, he is free to do it on his own.”

The plan was simple yet effective. The commandant was just about to flatter him a bit when suddenly, Lee Zhi’s face turned deathly pale, and his eyes turned grayish-white in an instant. Then, he violently spat out a mouthful of black blood and fell on his back!

The commandant nearly jumped on his feet when he saw this. General Lee was a man of action alright—he hadn’t even waited a moment to pull off his act!

Something was strange, however. He was the only one in the tent right now. Who on earth was he putting on this show for?

It took the commandant a moment to realize what he should do and rush out of the tent, screaming, “Someone! The general has succumbed to a sudden illness! Get the military doctor here right now!”

His scream was hoarse and piercing as if Lee Zhi was truly on the verge of death[2].

Moments later, several military doctors rushed into the tent and cried out in shock and terror when they saw Lee Zhi. They sounded even more panicked than the commandant had been.

Inside the tent, Lee Zhi was barely breathing amidst a pool of black blood. The only things keeping his life and his soul intact were the jade tablet around his neck, and a book he kept inside his shirt.

Back in the western regions, the clump of blood representing Lee Zhi’s true form was flickering like a candle in a rainstorm. However, it refused to go out no matter how weak it became.

Feeling slightly embarrassed by the fact that Lee Zhi had not perished immediately, Blood Eye let out a grunt and said, “The boy’s got quite a few tricks up his sleeve alright. He definitely carries a secret. But did he really think he’s going to survive after falling under my curse?”

Blood Eye spat out an entire clump of blood on the thin clump of blood this time.

The old man and Phantom were wearing serious expressions as well. Not only did the boy withstand Blood Eye’s thousand-sacrifice curse without dying, he was able to leave behind many karma in these lands as well. He could not be a simple boy. Their lord had given the order, and the boy was the biggest variable of these lands. Better to kill the innocent than let the threat go free, so he had to die.

1. Beware what you wish for... not that it would make a difference. XD ☜

2. He is, in fact, on the verge of death. The treachery of Wei Yuan truly knows no bounds! XDD ☜