The battlefield looked roughly the same as it was at the beginning. The survivors had purposely left the most important areas such as the tall platform where the Great Warlock had died untouched. It wasn’t until Wei Yuan returned that they finally began looting the battlefield.

Wei Yuan leaped up the platform and noted that the Great Warlock’s corpse was exactly where he had left it; a misshapen body wearing robes that were riddled in insect-made holes. He then manifested a sword and cut away the robe, revealing the body within.

The Great Warlock possessed a wizened body but an unusually large head. He had a pair of large main eyes on his face, and six smaller compound eyes on his forehead. His skull was covered in wrinkles and a sparse amount of hair. He had a total of four arms, although the lower arms were exceptionally small. His skin was also wrinkly like an old, withered tree bark, and full of holes like a humanoid-shaped insect nest.

Wei Yuan could clearly see a ball of dark green light glowing inside the Great Warlock’s chest. It left him feeling very uncomfortable. There was another smaller, lighter green light in the same area.

Wei Yuan tried to cut the Great Warlock’s body with his immortal sword, Fake Sun. However, all the attack managed to inflict a white mark. It wasn’t until he gathered all of his strength and launched a series of sword strikes that he managed to cut open a small, shallow wound. The body was tougher than even his own.

But of course, Wei Yuan’s physical body was his real body. The Great Warlock’s shell could be something else entirely.

Wei Yuan proceeded to enlarge the wound. It took him over a hundred cuts before he finally managed to cut open the Great Warlock’s chest. As it turned out, his insides were also riddled with honeycomb-like holes. At the center of his chest was a fist-sized cavity containing a mass of yellowish-green, gelatinous substance.

Wei Yuan did not recognize the object, but he could tell from its rich Dao energy that it was a rare treasure. In fact, the spirit light emitting from within the Great Warlock’s skull was stronger, but the bones were too thick to cut through. Until he had a better weapon, there was nothing he could do to extract the treasure.

As if on cue, Yun Feifei handed him a sword. It was her personal weapon and an upper-grade mystic artifact. Quality wise, it was several times stronger than his manifested Fake Sun.

Wielding the sword, Wei Yuan mustered his strength and unleashed a dozen or so cuts in a row. Finally, he was able to hack open the Great Warlock’s head. The Shaman’s skull gleamed with a metallic sheen. Surprisingly, it was hollow and devoid of brain matter, containing only a massive white pupa that occupied the entire cranial cavity.

Exposed, the pupa transformed into a ball of dark green light. Despite its dark color, it was surprisingly blinding! Yun Feifei only managed a look before she let out a startled cry and covered her eyes, tears streaming down her face.

Wei Yuan pondered for a moment before placing the bone back in its place, sealing the pupa. Then, he cut off the Great Warlock’s head. It was a natural container and shouldn’t be left to waste.

After he was done examining the Great Warlock’s body, Wei Yuan became unsure if the Great Warlock was a Shaman or something else. Looking at his discoveries alone, it felt like the white pupa was the Great Warlock’s true body.

Besides the Great Warlock’s corpse, the floor was also covered in insect carcasses. Some of them were still giving off bluish smoke that transformed into spirit rain after rising into the sky.

Wei Yuan picked up a carcass. The insect was about as big as a human finger and possessed large mandibles and poisonous needles. There were even metallic stripes on its exoskeleton. It was obvious at first glance that it was pretty fierce. Although all traces of spirit qi had vanished from it, the carcass remained as hard as metal. Wei Yuan tried squeezing it and discovered that he couldn’t even put a dent on it.

Wei Yuan ordered Yun Feifei to collect all of the insect carcasses. They should make excellent artifact-forging materials or primers for certain powerful Shamanic curses.

There was a drum on the platform that was covered in swirling, blackish red qi. After a quick inspection, he discovered that the drumhead was fashioned from layers and layers of human cultivator skin. The drumstick was forged using a human cultivator’s thigh bone as well. A single strike of this drum could intimidate low level human cultivators and enhance the potency of Shamanic curses.

There were many other ritual implements and ornaments besides the human-skin drum. Function aside, the materials from which they were made were pretty rare.

Finally, the platform itself was extremely valuable. It was carved from yin wood that had been buried underground in a land of extreme yin for a thousand years. Harder than metal yet permeable to spirit energy, it was a remarkably high quality material. Despite this, the Shamans had used it to build a simple platform. It was a testament of the Shaman’s wealth.

It was unfortunate that the Warlocks and nobles had escaped too quickly. Wei Yuan had not been able to hunt down a single one. Now that he realized just how wealthy they were, he could not help but feel a tinge of regret.

The looting of the battlefield proceeded as usual after Wei Yuan had cleaned out the platform. The Shamans had left behind thousands of corpses and over two hundred venom lizard carcasses. Entire swathes of land were stained with their dark green blood. Most Shamans’ blood was highly toxic and killed everything it touched. Only certain poisonous plants native to the Shaman realm could grow despite its lethal effects.

Fortunately, the battlefield fell within Qingming’s domain. All these poisonous blood would be neutralized and cleaned up eventually.

In the Palace of Absolute Beginning, Pei Tinghai fished for about half a day but came up with nothing. By now, the game on the board was approaching the end. However, the victor was still undecided, and the battle between the white and black pieces had reached maximum intensity.

He was just about to check out the board state when another cloud of bluish qi appeared above his head, raining. His mystic body absorbed all of it.

Pei Tinghai exclaimed in surprise, “Another worldly reward? Did he slay a second Avatar?”

He went over to the basin and washed his hands. However, the water remained crystal clear. Not a speck of filth or blood could be found anywhere.

In the Skyblue Hall, True Lord Xuan Yue was sitting in front of his desk. He was holding a piece of jade paper with one hand and performing a calculation with the other. Suddenly, he looked up and asked, “Why are you just standing there? Come in for a chat.”

The door opened, and a middle-aged man stepped into the small house. His build was average, and he neither looked tall nor strong. In reality, the immediate vicinity of his surroundings were twisting slightly. It was clear that his physical body had reached an unfathomable level.

Recognizing the man, Xuan Yue calmly put away the jade paper and asked, “I did not think you would make time to visit me, Bright King Hallmaster. Have you come to collect your debt ahead of time?”

The middle-aged man waved his hand repeatedly. “This Zhao is a man of his word. I would not collect a debt before it is due, and the Bright King Hall is not in such dire straits that I would have to resort to such methods. I came today simply because it’s been a long time since we last saw each other, and I would like to catch up with you.”

“We literally spoke with each other just three months ago.”

The middle-aged cultivator let out a laugh. “A day of parting is like three autumns of separation, much less three months.”

True Lord Xuan Yue’s face darkened. “Stop beating around the bush and just spill it already.”

The Bright King Hallmaster looked taken aback. “Why are you acting so estranged, Dao Brother Xuan Yue? You weren’t like this before.”

True Lord Xuan Yue let out a grunt before saying in a cold voice, “I haven’t forgotten my debt, if that’s what you’re trying to imply. I’ll pay it back to you now.”

Seeing how forceful True Lord Xuan Yue was acting, the Bright King Hallmaster hurriedly waved his hand and replied, “I already told you you don’t need to repay it in advance. Truth be told, I have come with a presumptuous request. Will you allow Wei Yuan to become a nominal disciple in the Bright King Hall?”

“Absolutely not!”

“A guest warrior, perhaps?”

“No!”

“What about a nominal elder?”

True Lord Xuan Yue looked him up and down, confused and suspicious. He wondered if his sect fellow had suffered a qi deviation.

Only a late-stage Avatar was allowed to become an elder of a Hall. Not even Trueman Fen Hai, for all his combat prowess, was qualified to become one because his cultivation was insufficient. A nominal elder was still an elder. Thus, the very notion of making Wei Yuan, a Dao Foundation stage cultivator, an elder was laughable.

Sensing his sect fellow’s reluctance, the Bright King Hallmaster said, “Fine. If you don’t want to, then so be it. Anyway, I have one more request that I need your help with. If you agree, I’ll unconditionally extend the repayment of your debt by another fifty years. I’ll also lend you another two million!”

Is there such a thing as free lunch? Rather than feeling delighted, True Lord Xuan Yue grew even more suspicious. He just stared at the Bright King Hallmaster without a word.

His sect fellow continued, “Really, it’s a small request. In my opinion, Wei Yuan’s Dao Foundation looks a little lonely in the Myriad Manifestations Hall. I believe it can use some decorations.”

True Lord Xuan Yue asked suspiciously, “Is that it? Since when did the Bright King Hall become so wealthy? And what decorations are you planning to add exactly?”

“This one!” The Bright King Hallmaster waved his hand, and an image appeared before the two men’s eyes. It was displaying Wei Yuan’s Dao Foundation with one small exception: two strongmen and two strongwomen were standing underneath the continent. They were bent over and straining their muscles as if they were bearing the weight of an entire continent on their backs. Three large words—”Bright King Hall”—were etched onto everyone’s chest!

“I—this—you—” True Lord Xuan Yue’s Dao energy might reach the heavens, but nothing could have prepared him for this.

The Bright King Hallmaster continued his persuasion patiently and methodically, “I’ll admit that this looks a tad embarrassing, but the embarrassment lies solely on Wei Yuan and the Bright King Hall—primarily Wei Yuan, actually—and has absolutely nothing to do with the Skyblue Hall. If you agree to this, then I will extend the repayment of your debt by fifty years and lend you another two million right now! Here’s the immortal silver.”

The Bright King Hallmaster placed a jade bracelet on the table at the end of his speech.

This was not an empty promise. The immortal silver was literally sitting on True Lord Xuan Yue’s table right now. To say that it had a profound impact on his Dao heart would be an understatement. For the first time, the True Lord grew hesitant. He could not understand what the Bright King Hallmaster was plotting.

“In addition, I’ll send an immortal foundation disciple to join Wei Yuan for a decade!” The Bright King Hallmaster placed another bargaining chip on the table.

This time, Xuan Yue was seriously tempted. Immortal foundation disciples were so rare that every Hall only had a few of them. To send someone this valuable to accompany Wei Yuan meant that the Bright King Hall would do their utmost to help the boy no matter what danger he encountered, if only to save their own disciple. It was as if a powerful ally had appeared out of this air.

After a long and painful consideration, True Lord Xuan Yue still chose to decline the proposal. But no sooner had he begun to shake his head than the Bright King Hallmaster declared resolutely, “Five million!”

The second he heard this, True Lord Xuan Yue’s head suddenly grew a mind of its own and nodded vigorously[1].

1. I love how unabashed these cultivators are at putting the blame on anyone/thing but themselves. :D ☜