Master of Strange Dao

If things continue like this, I might die in a few years.

Yu Ziqing studied the Wei Clan's Dharma Method, focusing on that ritual.

With his limited skills, he could see that it wasn't a ritual at all, but rather a sacrificial technique.

It's a very ancient sacrificial technique, with nearly half of the original materials no longer in existence.

Now, the substitutes used by the Wei Clan are ones tried out using who knows how many lives.

The Yang Devil couldn't gather and control his rank by himself, so he used the Wei Clan to do so.

The innate connection of blood turned into the connections between fragments gathered over a lifetime by the people of the Wei Clan.

The drawback is that it requires an enormous amount of time, using ten millennia as a basic unit.

But the advantage is also this: the lengthened time causes the connections to be intermittent from a human perspective.

The initial starting point might be lost over the long years, with future generations never knowing what it originally was.

Ironically, on the surface, the actions taken by the Wei Clan were supported by Emperor Zhen, who would provide resources for them to do so.

No Emperor of Zhen ever failed to wish for complete mastery over the vast uninhabited western region of Dazhen.

Even if mortals cannot take root and survive here for long, the aim is to develop ways for cultivators to do so indefinitely.

To find unique resources here that can be stably supplied.

With cultivators as the foundation, the west might begin to flourish as well.

From the perspective of the Divine Dynasty, the nation's fortune of Dazhen would also rise significantly.

Therefore, as a pioneering family that laid many bones in the west of Dazhen, the Wei Clan is actually highly respected, with an imperceptibly high status.

The troubles over 2,000 years ago in Dazhen, and even those of the recent century, have not affected the Wei Clan.

Even when the Sealed Kings and trapped animals struggled, they never considered dragging the Wei Clan down with them.

Because that would mean dying faster.

Although the family's greatest endeavor is a falsehood, the exploration, knowledge, and legacy of the Wei Clan through generations is not fake.

If there's anyone in this world who understands the Extremely Cold Forbidden Land best, with the greatest hope of one day developing the Forbidden Land, as well as the larger radiated area of the western Dazhen.

It really is only the Wei Clan.

"Don't lose heart, elder. All the experiences will yield rewards.

Your family's understanding of this place is the most precious wealth.

Rest assured, I keep my promises, and I'll definitely find a new, more suitable path for you."

Wei Jing said nothing, he glanced at Wei Tai and nodded.

He knew that the situation is no longer suitable for him to say anything as the Family Head, and he was meant to allow Wei Tai to succeed him.

Wei Tai calmed himself, and said in a deep voice.

"Other places we of the Wei Clan dare not speak of, but the disasters that occurred in the northern Wilderness and western Dazhen.

We, the Wei Clan, will certainly investigate thoroughly, at least, we can definitely find out where it happened."

Yu Ziqing remained silent, the Wei Clan proactively took this task upon themselves; in normal times, they indeed know how to manage appearances.

"Thank you, as for that ritual, no, it is actually a sacrificial technique, it's best not to use it again."

The two from the Wei Clan nodded silently, they understood the difference between a ritual and a sacrificial technique.

There were records in their family, stating that the purportedly ritual technique transmitted in their lineage seemed like a sacrificial technique because the materials and process didn't resemble ordinary rituals.

However, as materials changed and the nature of their endeavor was not ordinary, this issue was left unresolved.

Only after contracts and curses dissipated did they realize in hindsight that those past contracts and curses had influenced their thoughts, preventing them from tracing their origins.

The expedition concluded, and finally, Wei Jing and Wei Tai found the frozen former Family Head, a Big Zombie, and asked Yu Ziqing for help as they wanted to take the previous Family Head back with them.

Even if it meant destruction, he could not remain here.

In just a few days, the Big Zombie broke free from the ice of the Extreme Cold Stream. Yu Ziqing, with simple and crude actions, used pure force to smash all the bones of the Big Zombie, then sealed key nodes in its body with locust tree wood spikes, a more thorough measure than severing spinal joints.

Wei Jing claimed that the purpose of coming here was to find the ancestors' remains and the heritage left behind.

Now it really did come true.

At the place where the Big Zombie appeared, they found some items left behind by the previous Family Head under the water below.

After returning, at least in the eyes of outsiders and those clan members of Wei who did not know the truth, this expedition was a great victory.

The return journey wasn't much simpler than the arrival, Wei Jing and Wei Tai remained cautious.

Even as they reached the periphery, where Yu Ziqing had an advantageous perspective, with the greatest dangers now largely irrelevant, he still slowly departed along with them.

Recording the path considered relatively safe for now, if he didn't come, others might use it in the future.

For example, Yang.

Wang Zixuan trailed not too close and not too far behind, almost blending into this frigid world unnoticed by anyone.

He did not want to encounter strangers and was wary of trouble from the supposed Deity that came with him, so he followed Yu Ziqing.

...

On the western edge of the Hengduan Mountains, Wei Lan, who ventured alone, had already managed to exit the Extremely Cold Forbidden Land's radiation range.

Without the guidance of experienced elders, even retracing his original path, he faced quite a few hardships.

And even then, crossing the Hengduan Mountains would still be equally dangerous.

Because the overall environment within the Hengduan Mountains is not as straightforward as the Extremely Cold Forbidden Land.