Chapter 938: Headless and Tailless

A small flying vessel rested at the edge of Xiancheng; Wei Yuan boarded it and set off toward Taichu Palace.

After the vessel ascended, Wei Yuan activated the Qi Fortune Fishing Array he had spent days setting up, dropped in a small piece of Wilderness Essence Iron, then inserted a thousand strands of Qing Qi human fortune, and calmly began reading, waiting to see who would bite.

On a desolate mountain at the edge of Qingming, a rock suddenly shifted, gazing at the flying vessel passing overhead. Then the rock exploded, and a spiritual thought shot forth, piercing straight toward the heavens.

Within moments, several cultivators appeared at the site, but found nothing but shattered stones and no other clues.

In a hidden realm, an old man suddenly stirred in thought, opened his eyes, and before him appeared the image of a middle-aged woman.

The woman was only a spectral shadow; she bowed and said, “Master, Wei Yuan has just boarded a flying vessel and departed for the Taichu Palace gates. We have confirmed via secret method that Zhu Yuanjin remains within Qingming and did not accompany Wei Yuan.”

The old man leapt to his feet and said, “Excellent! You have done great service; I shall care well for your descendants.”

The woman’s eyes filled with tears: “Thank you, Master! Forgive your disciple for no longer being able to serve you!”

In an instant, her image vanished into the heavens and earth; the old man stepped out of his chamber, and moments later, a flying vessel emerged from the hidden realm, surging into the clouds.

Wei Yuan sat in the upper cabin, watching the scenery recede outside the window. Suddenly, the flying vessel shook violently and slowed noticeably.

From the clouds emerged a much larger flying vessel, firing waves of Chen Sha Dao Art that drastically reduced the speed of Wei Yuan’s vessel.

The small vessel was piloted by only one middle-aged cultivator and one young cultivator, both now in great panic, desperately pushing the vessel—but to no avail. Under the Chen Sha Dao Art, the small vessel’s weight had multiplied several times, barely able to hover in the air.

The large vessel fired dozens of thousand-zhang cables, driving them into the small vessel, then tightened them, drawing the two vessels closer. Wei Yuan stepped out of the cabin and gazed at an old man with a red face approaching from the large vessel; he called out clearly: “Elder, are you here for wealth or for my life?”

Wei Yuan remained composed, ignoring the dozens of black-clad assassins behind the old man.

The red-faced old man let out a long laugh: “Of course for your life—along with a little wealth.”

Wei Yuan was slightly surprised: “Elder, you’re merely a Yu Jing mid-stage cultivator. How can you be so confident? Though we are few, your men are as good as nonexistent.”

The red-faced old man flew into a rage: “Enough talk! See how long you can endure my Melted Lava Hell!”

Suddenly, around Wei Yuan, scenes of flowing magma appeared; the temperature spiked instantly, and the small vessel burst into flames!

The old man’s mental realm was uniquely brutal: nothing but molten lava and fire, brimming with lethal intent, devoid of any life or spiritual vitality. A normal Law Form—even a perfected one—would collapse within mere breaths if trapped here.

Before entering the Wilderness, Wei Yuan might have struggled to counter this. But now, having endured the Wilderness and gained slight recognition from its realm, even its sunlight felt gentle to him—he paid no mind to this heat.

Seeing Wei Yuan unmoved, the old man swept his sleeves, and all the black-clad assassins leapt up, stepping across the sea of magma, charging toward him.

Wei Yuan stood firm, calmly watching the old man, and extended one finger, gently beckoning.

The red-faced old man could no longer contain himself; he swept his sleeves again, summoning dozens more black-clad assassins—now totaling a hundred—who brandished dull, gray short swords capable of harming mental realms, surrounding Wei Yuan in unison. Above, a massive ball of magma formed and plummeted toward him!

Wei Yuan finally nodded: “Now that’s more like it.”

He pointed upward, and the magma ball froze midair; both sides began to compete in Dao power. The old man strained with all his might, but Wei Yuan stood like an immovable boulder. Despite his Yu Jing realm, the old man could not overpower Wei Yuan in Dao power.

The assassins boarded the small vessel—suddenly, countless sea grasses appeared, their edges sharp as blades, instantly entangling over ten black-clad cultivators and slicing them to pieces. The aquatic plants in the cabin’s fish tank vanished silently.

Another dozen or so cultivators were suddenly covered in ice, frozen stiff—but under the heat of the magma, water and fire clashed, and their Dao foundations shattered instantly. The small tea tree in the cabin’s flowerpot also vanished.

Then came a faint, sweet fragrance; nearly twenty assassins collapsed soundlessly, dying without a trace. The row of orchids on the cabin’s flower stand disappeared.

Finally, the surviving assassins were suddenly ignited by the magma, yet their bodies bore no wounds. From the landscape painting hanging in the cabin, a small red tree vanished, transforming into a bald, handsome youth.