His Dao Foundation’s second ability was named Power of the Realm. It applied to Wei Yuan only. Upon activation, attacking Wei Yuan with a Dao spell was akin to attacking a boundless expanse of earth. The attack was dispersed across the vast heaven and earth, dramatically diminishing the force that ultimately landed on Wei Yuan. The extent of the dispersion depended on how much of the world he could manifest.

Right now, Wei Yuan could only control a hundred zhang of land or so. It was enough to decrease the strength of an ordinary Dao Foundation stage cultivator’s Dao spell by fifty percent, an Avatar’s by ten percent, and a True Lord’s by... that last bit was entirely overthinking on his part.

The Power of the Realm was far more effective against Dao spells than direct weapon attacks. Therefore, the best way to injure Wei Yuan was to hit him with sabers, axes, and more. Worst case scenario, arrows would work as well. However, any mystic artifact arrow imbued with Dao energy would experience a significant decrease in potency.

Finally, Wei Yuan could summon his jade hill and use it to attack his enemies. Although the jade hill was only a little over a zhang tall, it was unusually tough and weighed like ten thousand stones. It was like a hill of pure metal.

His jade hill was basically unstoppable among Dao Foundation stage cultivators. Practically no one could take a blow head on. Unfortunately, controlling the hill was not easy. With his current Dao power, he could only alter its course slightly. He could not yet use it to attack his enemies at will either.

For now, these were the only abilities Wei Yuan had discovered. The Great Realm was one of a kind; so unique that nothing was even remotely comparable to it. He could only draw inspiration from mountain and boulder-type Dao Foundations and work from there. New wonders might emerge after the speck of vitality in the jade hill had sprouted as well.

Having spent a whole day researching his Dao Foundation, Wei Yuan had long depleted both his Dao energy and his primordial spirit. However, there was still some time before they reached the Palace of Absolute Beginning, so he decided to take stock of the spoils of this expedition.

The most valuable loot he had obtained from this venture was, in fact, not the young chieftain’s head. Instead, it was the jade bowl that was filled with water. No matter where the bowl was, it could always produce an endless stream of clean water. It was basically an inexhaustible spring. The water it produced wasn’t mundane water either. It was spirit water with a bit of vitality in it. Plants nourished with this water would grow several times faster than usual. An injured human who drank the water would recover several times faster as well.

In the Liao realm, the jade bowl was definitely a godlike artifact. It could create an oasis in a desert and sustain the daily needs of several thousand troops.

There was a similar mystic artifact in the Palace of Absolute Beginning called the Pure Water Veluriyam Treasure Vase. It could be obtained using the Palace’s merit exchange system. The vase had multiple duplicates and could be bought for the price of twelve thousand merits. Should Wei Yuan surrender the jade bowl to the Palace, he would obtain four thousand merits in return.

In terms of functionality, the Pure Water Veluriyam Treasure Vase and the jade bowl were essentially identical. There were no fundamental differences between the two artifacts. However, one was priced at a whopping twelve thousand merits, whereas the other was worth four thousand merits when sold. Wei Yuan did not know which item represented the fairer value, but he was beginning to understand how the Palace’s merit exchange system was able to maintain its operations.

The second most valuable loot he had obtained was the young chieftain’s head. It alone was worth thirty-two ordinary Dao Foundation stage cultivator’s heads. Once more, Wei Yuan lamented the fact that the young chieftain only had one head. If the man had cultivated a mystic ability akin to those of a divine beast such as the nine-headed lion, then he would be set for the next three years of his life.

But of course, Kanbida was way harder to kill than thirty-two Human-tier Dao Foundation stage cultivators combined. They didn’t even belong in the same league. Killing thirty-two Human-tier Dao Foundation stage cultivators was just a matter of time to Wei Yuan, but killing Kanbida had cost him over a hundred black qi. In terms of combat strength, the young chieftain was probably worth more than a hundred Dao Foundation stage cultivators.

Next, the young chieftain’s golden axe. It was a top-tier mystic artifact on the same level as Lee Zhi’s long bow, golden beast-headed shield, or armor and worth one thousand and five hundred merits. Imbued with three godlike effects—Divine Edge, Sharp Blade, and Deathblow—it was unquestionably a lethal weapon. Unfortunately, Wei Yuan wasn’t an axe wielder. Otherwise, it would definitely serve him well.

Finally, the black horse’s saddle and armor were also mystic artifacts. They were worth five hundred merits in total.

Speaking of which, the black horse was unquestionably a fine steed. Not only was it exceptionally fast, strong, and enduring, it could share some of the damage received by its master as well. It was worth at least two thousand merits even without the empowerment of Outlawed by Heaven and Earth. Unfortunately, Wei Yuan had endured three strikes from the Snow Hawk on his way back to the south, and the horse had absorbed a small portion of that damage. In the end, it could not survive. Without it, he might not have made it back alive.

Wei Yuan was planning to keep the jade bowl and only the jade bowl. The rest of the loot were not very useful to him, so he was going to sell them off for immortal silver and repay his debt.

The flying vessel moved like lightning. It eventually made it back to the Palace of Absolute Beginning.

As soon as they returned to the sect, before Wei Yuan even got a chance to pay his residence a visit, two Daoists had walked up to him and declared that Founder Xuan Yue had summoned him for a meeting. As Zhang Sheng was currently injured, the Daoists personally carried them to the Skyblue Hall.

The Skyblue Hall’s main hall looked the same as ever, and True Lord Xuan Yue looked as kind as ever. His hands were also still hidden within his sleeves. The six Truemen from the two halls were present as well.

Only half a month had passed since Wei Yuan had an audience with them. Naturally, the main hall or the Truemen had not changed one bit. If one must point out a difference, then two Truemen felt a little weaker in terms of presence. Perhaps they had learned to respect their betters[1].

The pair of eyes underneath True Lord Xuan Yue’s long eyebrows narrowed into slits when he saw Wei Yuan. He said gently, “Good boy. Open your primordial spirit for me, will you? This old man would like to take a good look at your peerless Dao Foundation! But don’t manifest it, this place isn’t big enough to fit it all.”

Wei Yuan did as he said, and six powerful perceptions instantly rushed into his sea of consciousness, moving faster than even True Lord Xuan Yue himself. However, the young man’s sea of consciousness had become boundless, and the continent had no discernible edge whatsoever. Although the perceptions were darting wildly about, none of them could detect its limits.

True Lord Xuan Yue sat motionlessly in his seat. He did not appear impatient in the slightest.

The perceptions hadn’t entered Wei Yuan’s sea of consciousness for free. They all left behind a rainstorm prior to their departure. They were the manifestation of the Truemen’s Dao energy, and they were meant to nurture Wei Yuan’s primordial spirit and hasten the consolidation of his Dao Foundation. Every “rain” saved him half a year of hard work. However, no one’s Avatar was the same, so the rain they left behind was different as well. A fiery red rain especially burned so hot that smoke rose from the earth, and Wei Yuan’s primordial spirit shuddered in pain. As if that wasn’t enough, it was a violent downpour that felt like the sky was taking a leak.

Zhang Sheng watched Trueman Fen Hai coldly as the old man flushed red from how hard he was exerting himself to pour fire on Wei Yuan’s Dao Foundation. His reputation was well-deserved at least; he managed to pour out three Truemen’s worth of Dao power.

After the Truemen’s perceptions had receded, True Lord Xuan Yue finally took action. A breeze began blowing on the continent as a perception—one greater and gentler than all others who had come before—entered Wei Yuan’s sea of consciousness. Motes of blue light, each of them a speck of vitality, were riding the wind as well.

The breeze eventually stopped. It wasn’t enough to cause life to sprout on the continent, but patches of soil had appeared within a hundred li of the jade hill. The breeze was easily greater and more effective than the previous six rainstorms.

In any case, the sight of Wei Yuan’s Dao Foundation gladdened the Truemen deeply. Their decade of hard work had not been in vain.

True Lord Xuan Yue said, “Since you have forged your Dao Foundation, it is time you embark on the true path and begin cultivating the secret arts of the hall.”

Wei Yuan felt a surge of anticipation. It was only now did he truly set foot upon the path to transcendence and begin his journey toward immortality.

True Lord Xuan Yue continued, “From what I’ve observed of your Dao Foundation, it seems resplendent with the grandeur of heaven and earth and unfazed by the erosion of time. Thus, the Qianqing Orthodox Canon Time Resisting Scripture may...”

For some reason, the Skyblue Hall suddenly felt dimmer to Wei Yuan. True Lord Xuan Yue’s voice was also becoming fainter over time, drifting and wavering until he was struggling to hear each word. Alarmed and confused, Wei Yuan wondered if a powerful enemy was attacking. However, none of the Truemen seemed to share his sentiments. They were all wearing normal expressions as if nothing was happening.

1. If you don’t remember, refer to chapter 60. ☜