Another Shaman army showed up in the distance. They formed ranks before marching into the realm of Qingming.

Wei Yuan’s heart skipped a beat, but he soon noticed something unusual about the formation of this army. Though it appeared to be a staggering force, soldiers were stationed only in the outer ring—it was hollow on the inside. It had a tower chariot that was being pushed by only dozens of Shaman strongmen. Atop the chariot, a large banner was continuously emitting an army aura that enveloped all of the soldiers.

From a distance, it appeared to be an army of at least 100,000 troops. But the moment they entered Qingming’s domain, Wei Yuan saw through their ruse immediately—they numbered at most 10,000.

Yet, with the battle having reached this stage, even this 10,000-strong reinforcement was enough to shift the entire course of the war.

Wei Yuan’s expression turned grave. Though he knew the true decisive battle was likely taking place beyond the heavens, by no means did it mean that the decisive battle on the ground did not matter. He couldn’t let the True Lords return victorious from the heavens, only to find every mortal on the ground already dead.

Another Shaman leader raised the military banner and assumed command. He was the eighth commanding general to appear on this battlefield.

After the banner was raised, the sounds of horns rang out from the Shaman army. The Shaman troops still fighting at the front began to retreat slowly, returning to their main formation to await the arrival of reinforcements.

Wei Yuan looked around him. Of the original 10,000-strong main force, only a little over 3000 remained. Another 1000 or so wounded were lying behind the lines. Of the 1,500 elite cultivators led by Cui Yu, only 600 were left, and of the 100-odd Dao Foundation stage squad leaders, only 30 or so were still alive. Wei Yuan's own iron cavalry had dwindled to just 70 or so people, though the 13 remaining young masters and ladies were, for the most part, unharmed.

Without Life is a Flash, the chances of their troops of several thousand going up against the enemy’s twenty thousand-odd troops and winning were virtually nil.

Wei Yuan was the one ray of hope that might help them pull through this virtually impossible situation. Looking at his wounded subordinates, the young commander declared habitually, “It’s fine; this battle will be easy! I’ll charge first, you guys just watch and—”

Suddenly, the ground began to shake unnaturally. Then, squad after squad of human soldiers started appearing all around them. Their numbers swelled to tens of thousands in just the blink of an eye!

As they drew nearer, they suddenly noticed that the vast majority of the new troops were, in fact, ordinary mortals. Everyone was wearing rags, and no one was wearing armor. In fact, most of them were wielding farming tools, with only a handful of people wielding sabers or spears. Their ranks didn’t consist solely of strong young men either. The elderly, the women, and children barely in their teens had joined the fray as well.

At the shout of an old man, countless gray-haired seniors stepped forward from every squad. They were all clutching a sharp knife. At a glance, their equipment was, in fact, better than that of the young men.

The old man was tall and imposing. Though advanced in years, he exuded a great presence. He raised his knife and shouted, “Realm Lord Wei, we’ve reached an agreement—those over fifty will go first and fight the Shamans to the death! If you still have enough immortal energy to spare, then please grant us a boost when the fight happens—just three breaths will suffice! Once we old timers are all dead,the rest of you can charge in!”

By now, the Shaman’s commanding general had already met up with the reinforcements. However, his expression turned grave when he saw tens of thousands of mortal humans popping up out of seemingly nowhere. Though they appeared to be ordinary mortals at first glance, he had witnessed more than once how they suddenly gained unimaginable power and inflicted tremendous casualties to their elite northern frontier fighters in the heat of battle.

Their army held the advantage both in terms of numbers, skill, and experience, and still they had still suffered nearly 40,000 casualties. A thought suddenly flashed through the commanding general’s mind: they had already lost so much; they couldn’t afford to lose their remaining 20,000-odd soldiers as well. Otherwise, the army would be nearly impossible to rebuild. The higher-up’s scheme had already succeeded anyway, so the victory or defeat on this battlefield was of little consequence.

With that thought, he blew his horn and caused the Shaman army to tighten their ranks and shift their formation from offense to defense. At the same time, over a dozen squads stepped out of the battle lines to scour the battlefield and carry back the comrades who were still alive. Wei Yuan had no desire to continue fighting either, so he waved his hand and sent out his own squads to gather the wounded.

Moments later, the Shaman army turned and withdrew from Qingming’s domain.

There was a brief silence. Then, cheers erupted throughout the realm. Countless people leaped in ecstasy, while many more wept with overwhelming happiness, prostrating themselves on the ground to kiss the blood-fed soil.

A fine, misty rain suddenly began to fall within Wei Yuan’s sea of consciousness, condensing into countless wisps of blue fortune. Many advanced fortunes were taking form as well.

Suddenly, Wei Yuan’s sea of consciousness trembled. The swirling threads of rain converged on a single point and eventually materialized into a round, bluish droplet. This, too, was a form of fortune—and one of a higher grade than even the large advanced fortune!

Wei Yuan felt a pang of curiosity. Upon probing it slightly, he discovered that the droplet of blue fortune came from none other than Cui Yu. He had to admit that he was quite surprised—he had no idea that the guy with so much pride and dignity had such a side to him!

The rain continued to fall, and the amount of blue qi kept growing. Many blurry blue qi were condensing into advanced blue qi as well. By now, so much blue qi was pouring into his sea of consciousness that the source was indistinguishable—the only thing that was certain was that it was all flowing endlessly into him.

Out in the real world, Cui Yu had divided their remaining troops into two groups: one group to maintain vigilance against a sudden return from the Shamans, whereas the other group to clear the battlefield and tend to the wounded. Everything was proceeding in an orderly fashion. There was no doubt that he was beginning to display the bearing of a true great general.

Meanwhile, streams of fire and thunder suddenly erupted from the Void above the sky. Then, the old Daoist, Shu Li, and Feng Ye tumbled out of the void, all looking bedraggled to some extent. The old Daoist’s two unusually long eyebrows had been singed to nothing. His robes were also in tatters, revealing two muscular, sinewy arms.

His face dark with fury, he roared, “The two of you are at least warriors of some repute. How dare you act so unchivalrously? Attacking two on one is already shameful enough, but to intentionally target this old Daoist’s eyebrows and clothes? You are the very epitome of shamelessness!”

Shu Li grunted and replied in a cold voice, “You are the one who insisted on taking on the two of us alone. We may not be strong enough to take down an old scoundrel like you, Xuan Yue, but you haven’t cultivated an immortal body either. We can at least pluck out your eyebrows even if we can’t shatter your physical form! Considering that you’ve thwarted the Shamans’ grand plan, this is but a minor punishment.

“Also, that Daoist robe of yours is of such poor quality that even an Avatar wouldn’t deign to wear it, so how could it possibly withstand our clash? Who is the one really to blame for its state, you or me?”

True Lord Xuan Yue turned a little red as he changed the subject. “And what grand undertaking did I ruin, pray tell? Tell me, so I might partake in the joy.”

Feng Ye snorted disdainfully. “You wouldn’t be laughing if you knew. Our lord originally intended to surround and kill King Cheng of Western Jin, who was lurking around here. However, we did not anticipate your strength to be greater than the rumors suggested—so much so that I have to join hands with Shu Li to stop you. Originally, I should be assisting in the ambush against King Cheng.”

True Lord Xuan Yue’s expression grew serious. “So, you were plotting to take out a True Lord!”

Shu Li said, “King Cheng survived, so hard times will be befalling your disciple and grand disciple very soon. Still, killing seven of your Avatars in one go counts as a major victory. The worldly reward that follows may just be enough for our lord to take another step forward. As for you, old scoundrel, I’d advise you to request a ritual to turn your fortune around. The next time our lord catches you, you won’t be so lucky.”

Xuan Yue remained utterly unfazed. “I have already attained perfection in my mystic body—why would I fear your so-called ‘lord’? Save your boasts for when he’s attained the rank of Sky Warlock!”

The three experts had long since lost their tempers; they were all glaring at each other and thinking if they should continue their fight. Just then, a vivid crimson glow suddenly flared in the distance. A blue meteor then shot out of the red light and vanished into the distance in an instant.

Two towering figures emerged from the red light, but they did not pursue the blue meteor further.

In the realm of Qingming, Wei yuan was about to head to Sun Yu’s courtyard to tend to his injuries when he suddenly came to a halt.

Bao Yun was standing on the path ahead and waiting for him.

“Senior Sister, you....”

Bao Yun turned around and said calmly, “I have to go. I cursed that old dog, and things went way out of hand. That’s why my family is taking me back.”

Wei Yuan opened his mouth, but he didn’t know what to say. He looked at Bao Yun’s empty sleeve and asked, “Are your injuries serious?”

Bao Yun gave her sleeve a flick and replied, “It’s a bit of a hassle—I almost died back then. But I’ll be fine once I get back. The Bao Clan is never lacking in immortal-tier methods. Don’t worry.”

“Mm. That’s good.” Wei Yuan nodded somewhat numbly.

In truth, he knew Bao Yun would have to leave sooner or later. As the future hope of the Bao Clan, she could never remain in the western regions for long. After all, Qingming was led by him, and how could the Bao Clan tolerate their most outstanding prodigy serving another?

It wasn’t until the time for parting had arrived that Wei Yuan realized how fleeting their time together had been. It felt as though they had only just met, yet were already about to be separated. He suddenly recalled the letter he had written to Bao Yun, which began like this: “It has been a month since we parted, and I have missed you dearly....”

That had only been a month. How many more years would it be before they met again after this parting?

Try as he might, Wei Yuan found himself unable to say a single word. All the elegant prose he had spent a lifetime mastering seemed to have vanished into thin air.

Bao Yun suddenly held out her right hand and said, “Come, give me a hug!”

“Huh?” Wei Yuan’s mind went blank, but he mechanically opened his arms and did just that.

Bao Yun said, “Remember to come pick me up from home when you’ve made something of yourself, okay?”

“I will.” Although he didn’t understand why Bao Yun had said that, he gave her a solemn promise anyway.

Bao Yun smiled radiantly, her joy filling the air with sunshine. Then, she vanished, leaving behind only a single leaf slowly drifting down from the sky.

On the central peak, Ji Liuli said with a soft sigh, “In the end, someone has left.”

Zhang Sheng replied calmly, “The path to immortality spans tens of thousands of years. It is inevitable that people come, and people go.”

Ji Liuli gave him a deep frown. “Enough, enough! Stop with the sappy shit already, I’m begging you! Just when are you going to fix this horrible habit you picked up when you were cultivating Parting Sorrow?”

Zhang Sheng’s face flushed slightly—a rare occurrence—as he replied, “I-It’s become a part of my Dao Heart. It’s not easy to change.”

Ji Liuli suddenly felt a pang of melancholy. “Now that Bao Yun’s gone, I suddenly realize how much time has passed since we left the sect. Those days when we used to beat up Hsu Henshui together were the best. It’s a shame that days like that might never come again.”

“The path to immortality is long, and we have only taken our first step. Besides, we can still beat up Hsu Henshui any time we want. You don’t think he can put up a fight, do you?”

Ji Liuli shot him a withering look. “The battles will only get bigger and harder from now on. You’re going to have to use your brain more. My bluff worked wonderfully this time, didn’t it? You held back your last two swords, and I used a fengshui array to amplify your aura to the extreme. Because of this, any Great Warlock who tried to approach felt as if disaster was about to befall their heads. Four Shadow Warlocks and even a Holy Warlock showed their faces this time, yet not a single Great Warlock dared to set foot within the domain.”

Zhang Sheng had to give it to her—sometimes, refraining from drawing his swords was more effective than drawing them. However, it didn’t change the fact that he had effectively become a prop in this battle. Though he played a crucial role, a prop was still a prop.

Zhang Sheng let out a sigh and asked, “It’s almost time for the curse sealing all Immortal Swords to wear off, right?”

Ji Liuli silently calculated the heavenly mysteries in her head before breaking into a smile. ‘Congratulations, only three days remain.”

Zhang Sheng exhaled a breath of relief. After so many days, he finally saw the light at the end of the tunnel.

Meanwhile, in the north, the mysterious Warlock standing over two zhang tall were scanning the Great Warlocks kneeling before him with a frown. “Are you sure you sensed a peerless immortal sword being nurtured at the center of the realm?”

The Great Warlocks hurriedly replied, “It’s true! We swear upon the Ancestor Warlock!”

“Well, I suppose I can’t blame you for being so afraid of death. A peerless immortal sword, huh? The human race is indeed cunning. We were luring their Avatars, but they were luring our Great Warlocks as well. The only reason they failed is because you are too cowardly.”

He stroked his chin and pondered for a moment. Finally, he said, “This isn’t a light matter. Go set up an altar. I will perform the ritual myself and impose another Immortal Sword Banishment upon that region[1]!”

1. Heh. ☜