Chapter 599: Precious Treasure in Hand

In a quiet room filled with the fragrance of elixirs, a tall and fierce Dao soldier walked to the bronze mirror, tidied up his clothes, and sat down at the desk, spread out the jade paper, and wrote:

Brother Xiaoyu:

I recently obtained tens of thousands of merit points, which is probably more than the merit of many fellow disciples, and I don't know how to spend them, which is very annoying...

Writing to this point, the Dao soldier suddenly shook all over, doubt flashed in his eyes, then he skipped the long-winded sarcasm in the middle and wrote down the signature: Wei...

When he wrote the first character "Wei", lightning flashed in the Dao soldier's spiritual sense, breaking the vanity covering his Primordial Spirit.

He looked at himself again, then looked up, and saw a strange man wrapped in a black robe appearing in front of the desk, who was the mysterious Shaman tribe person who had contacted him not long ago.

The Shaman tribe seemed to smile and said in a hoarse and unclear voice: "Being able to crack my heart-spirit illusion so quickly, you are worthy of being someone who has passed the Heart Demon Tribulation. Is the person in this letter your greatest obsession?"

Wei Yuan, who had transformed into a Dao soldier, put away the letter paper without changing his expression and said: "Of course not, it's just a former classmate, and I just happened to have something to write him a letter about."

The Shaman tribe did not pursue the question, but said: "Don't be nervous, you are still you, and you are still in the Azure Void. I just created a small illusion, and took advantage of your comprehension of Daoist techniques and your Primordial Spirit leaving your body to trap you, that's all. It's not difficult to crack if you know the trick."

The more he said this,

Wei Yuan asked, "Did you plant a hidden trap on me?"

The Shaman shook his head and said, "Once a Dharma body is cultivated to your current realm, it is already close to being stainless. If I had planted a hidden trap, you would have sensed it very quickly. No need to guess; this is merely one of my innate Shamanic arts. It actually has little use, serving mostly for secret meetings with certain people, just like now.

Since you were able to overcome the Heart Demon Tribulation, the intensity of this illusionary realm is quite ordinary for you; you could break through it at any time."

Wei Yuan said calmly, "Very well, what business do you have coming to find me?"

The Shaman opposite him said, "We have confirmed that Hongye was indeed struck by the Yang Bullet, shortening his lifespan by one thousand one hundred years..."

Wei Yuan was startled and said, "How could it only be one thousand one hundred years?"

"Your Yang Bullet's rank is not yet high enough; its effect is greatly diminished when striking Hongye. Our original projected limit was a lifespan reduction of one thousand two hundred years. The current result is about what we expected, and we are very satisfied."

The Yin-Yang Bullets were crafted by Wei Yuan's own hands, so he naturally understood under what circumstances their effects would be diminished. His heart shook, and he asked, "Are you saying that Hongye is essentially a Heavenly Shaman?"

"It's not quite that exaggerated. If he truly were a Heavenly Shaman, we wouldn't be looking to deal with him. But he does indeed possess several materials belonging to a Heavenly Shaman, so we had no confidence in dealing with him and had to use your Yang Bullet."

"And what about my reward?"

"Rest assured, we will not go back on our promise. That fragment of the boundary stone has already been placed outside Azure Void. Here is the location; go and retrieve it yourself. Furthermore, the Lord is very satisfied with your performance this time and has indicated that the other fragment is not impossible to give you as well. He looks forward to our next cooperation."

An image appeared before Wei Yuan's eyes. It was a mountain pool where mist rose and spring water descended in tiers from the mountain peak, forming a stepped waterfall that flowed into the center of the pool. The area around the pool was lush with vegetation, the bluestone was smooth, and the pool itself was filled with mist—it was a hot spring.

Wei Yuan had long studied the terrain around Azure Void, so he naturally knew of this mountain spring. The Shaman chuckled and said, "Now that the business is concluded, I should be going. However, to be able to stay calmly in an illusionary realm for so long, you are worthy of being someone who has overcome the Heart Demon Tribulation. Let us meet in reality next time; I have no desire to let you into my mind's illusionary realm again."

Wei Yuan merely smiled faintly, appearing unfathomable. Shortly after, the illusionary realm shattered. Wei Yuan discovered he was still in the Law Comprehension Room; the Dao talismans on the four walls were glowing, and the Dao rhyme was flowing. The Dao soldier in his consciousness was already quite perfect, with every detail vivid and lifelike.

It was just that a normal Dao soldier was just a single Dao soldier, but this Dao soldier of Wei Yuan's was sitting at a desk. On the desk lay a half-written letter, and beside the desk stood a bronze mirror. On the other side was a bookshelf, filled entirely with Tang histories.

For a moment, Wei Yuan was actually unable to distinguish which were the mind's illusionary realms and which were truly real.

The Shaman was clearly wary of Wei Yuan and finally revealed a bit of information: that a mind's illusionary realm can not only trap an enemy, but the opponent can also use it to severely injure oneself. If one encounters an opponent with a firm will who is also proficient in mind illusion arts, then using an illusionary realm to trap an enemy is equivalent to delivering one's own vital points to the opponent's blade.

For someone who could overcome the Heart Demon Tribulation at this time, one could not overestimate their mental will, so the Shaman did not intend to let Wei Yuan enter his mind's illusionary realm again.

Yet what he did not know was that Wei Yuan had actually not overcome the Heart Demon Tribulation. At that time, when Wei Yuan was undergoing the tribulation, the formless heart demon came from beyond the heavens, entered Wei Yuan's sea of consciousness, and then saw over a hundred thousand mortals...

Thus, for the first time in the mortal world, mortals died because of a heart demon.

Therefore, Wei Yuan did not know if he had overcome the tribulation or not. In any case, he remained irritable and prone to anger, his mind agitated, especially unable to tolerate insults and provocation. There was absolutely no sign of the great enlightenment or the will as round and smooth as jade and as hard as steel that follows overcoming a Heart Demon Tribulation.

Wei Yuan checked that he was unharmed, but to prevent the Shaman from still lurking in the shadows, Wei Yuan calmly left the Law Comprehension Room, ordered light cavalry to speed to the designated area for support, and then flew toward the hot spring himself. In every movement, he tried his best to carry no trace of mortal smoke.

Finally, Wei Yuan flew to the hot spring without incident and found the jade stone at the bottom of the spring.

!

As the jade stone entered his hand, it felt warm and smooth. The bloodlines throughout Wei Yuan's entire body throbbed once more, faintly echoing with the jade stone. With a precious treasure in his possession, Wei Yuan dared not linger outside Azure Void. He returned quickly and then contacted the main mountain of the Primordial Palace through the Merit Hall, stating that he had retrieved a fragment suspected to be the boundary stone carried by the founder.

Wei Yuan did not wait long in the Heavenly Mystery Pavilion before the figure of a young Daoist appeared in the seat before him; it was the Fenhai Zhenjun Yanshi.

"I hear you obtained a fragment of the founder's boundary stone? Bring it here for me to see."

Wei Yuan took out the jade stone. Fenhai Zhenjun Yanshi examined it carefully for a long time, then silently calculated the mysterious mechanisms. A moment later, he nodded and said, "The aura has a slight deviation, but this is as it should be. The fragment has been lost for too long, and the boundary stone the founder obtained before attaining the Dao was also quite ordinary. After it was damaged, its quality fell by a rank, and the fragment and the main body drifted further apart.

But after the founder achieved success in cultivation, he re-refined the boundary stone with the blood of a Heavenly Shaman, not only repairing the damage but also raising the quality of the boundary stone by three levels, turning it into an immortal stone and laying the foundation for the Primordial Palace. However, the current scale of the main mountain is not due to the boundary stone, but because the founder and the various Immortal Lords passed away, their bodies turning into precious soil, which is how we have the number one mountain gate under heaven.

Therefore, this fragment is of no use to the main mountain, but it is of great use to you. The gift from the founder when you entered the sect was the boundary stone the founder used to establish the mountain gate. It just so happens to correspond to today. I have just calculated it; this fragment will have no small influence on your future Dao path, so you should keep it."

Wei Yuan asked, "Then what exactly is the use of this fragment?"

Fenhai Zhenjun Yanshi said, "It is the normal use of a boundary stone, but its connection to you should be unique, even more so than the one above Azure Void. Your ability to control the domain will reach its limit, and you will be able to significantly manipulate and change the environment within the domain."

Wei Yuan's heart stirred, thinking of a place where this treasure might be used.

(End of chapter)