Chapter 342: Treasures of Enlightenment: The Yuanlong Dao-Embodying Pearl

The moon fell across the mountains, cold and clear.

Fang Longye reached out to gather the gauze-like moonlight before the window, his gaze deep and dim, carrying an unknown profundity.

A moment later, he suddenly smiled.

"It is merely becoming the head of the Seven Great Sages! It is not actually that difficult~"

Oh, no~

Now, with him added, if nothing else changes, it should be the Eight Great Sages swearing brotherhood!

In any case,

to him, wanting to become the leader of the "Eight Great Sages" is not so difficult that it is impossible.

As long as he achieves the Taiyi True Immortal realm, combined with his Spirit Treasures, it is still enough to surpass Niu Mowang and become the "big brother."

Perhaps someone might ask, why must one have superior strength and surpass the strongest, Niu Mowang, just to become the sworn elder brother of Sun Wukong and the others? Is your status and position not the most noble, Fang Longye? And since you are familiar with most of the original Seven Great Sages, wouldn't a simple nomination put you in the position?

It is just swearing brotherhood, does it really require fighting?

Surely not~ Surely no one actually thinks that the Monkey, Sun Wukong, ranks his sworn brothers by age? Or rather,

with that arrogant nature of the Monkey, would he be so willing to become the youngest of the Seven Great Sages?

The Demon Clan is not the Human Clan; sworn brotherhood among peers is not ranked by age, nor does it care about who is virtuous and respected~ It is all fought for with blade and spear.

Whoever can fight the best is the big brother!

"Tsk~" Fang Longye shook his head, turned back to sit on the Cloud Couch, and couldn't help but click his tongue.

To be honest, if it were not necessary, given his nature, he really does not like to be so flashy, fighting over being the big brother or second brother~

Not to mention being low-key—one still has to put on a show when necessary—but he really is not keen on the pretense of being someone's sworn big brother~

After all, being a big brother is not easy. Once a younger brother has trouble, one must step in to help.

If it were the kind of subordinate-like younger brother, that would be one thing, but these are sworn brothers who treat each other as equals, so being this big brother is a thankless task~ Otherwise,

on the journey to the West, with the Golden-Winged Great Peng's self-important and face-conscious personality, one did not see him fighting to be the leader; instead, he held up Qing Shi and Baixiang as big brother and second brother, while he himself settled for the last position~ Isn't it just because this kind of leader is a thankless task? It is a pity that various reasons determined he could only fight to be the Monkey's sworn big brother~

"Enough thinking~" Fang Longye shook his head; things have reached this point, and complaining is meaningless.

If he really did not want to do it, he could have declined this errand and not sworn brotherhood with the Monkey; it is just that profit is at the forefront, and he covets that benefit~

There are few things in this world that are perfect; if you want benefits, you must bear certain risks and troubles.

If he really wanted to get benefits without getting involved in anything, he might as well go home and drink milk~ After making up his mind, Fang Longye turned the page and began to ponder his own cultivation.

Now that it has not been long until his promotion to Taiyi True Immortal, it is time to choose his treasure of enlightenment.

For the Taiyi Realm, the refining of a treasure of enlightenment has nothing specific; strictly speaking, as long as it fits oneself, it is fine.

This fit depends entirely on how the cultivator thinks. It can be a fit of temperament, a fit of Aura, or a fit between one's innate essence and the Great Dao one cultivates, and so on...

There is no set rule; it all depends on one's own feelings. Even if it is just a preference for a certain object, such as liking blades or liking swords, it is all acceptable.

Fang Longye previously had two choices.

One was to directly refine the Two Instruments Divine Gourd, which had been growing with him, into his treasure of enlightenment.

The other was to refine a furnace based on the phenomena generated in his body by the "Great Vehicle Yin and Yang Dragon Transformation Scripture" as his treasure of enlightenment.

This is also one of the reasons why he previously called that transformed precious tripod the "Yuanlong Tripod."

It was his intention that if the final form of his treasure of enlightenment were to be a furnace, he would use this Yuanlong Tripod as the foundation to forge it.

Among these, the Two Instruments Divine Gourd had been used since he was weak and had been growing and progressing with him, witnessing his entire path of cultivation.

It could be said that it could completely fit himself.

And that "Yin and Yang Furnace" phenomenon was a symbol of his Dragon path, containing his philosophy on the path of Bloodline evolution, no different from the Yinglong Laozu's treasure of enlightenment, the "Dragon Gate."

One only needs to pour his other aspects of the Great Dao into it, and it could likewise be refined into a treasure of enlightenment.

However, after careful consideration during this period, Fang Longye has finally decided to discard these two options; he will choose neither~

"Duo!"

He let out a soft shout, and from the thousand acres of auspicious clouds above his head, a divine light shot out, spreading out in a fan shape, a thousand feet high, supporting a lotus flower.

Further up, the clouds rose, and a precious pearl shone brilliantly.

This pearl was none other than the Dragon Pearl that Fang Longye had been tirelessly refining since he first became a flood dragon.

His Dragon Pearl did not look large, only the size of a pigeon's egg, yet it was bright, radiant, and crystalline, with ten thousand patterns coiled upon it, deriving infinite brilliance that fell like a waterfall, layered and shimmering, illuminating both inside and out.

The heaven and earth above and below all became a brilliant expanse.

Truly speaking of the degree of fit, what other treasure could compare to his own Dragon Pearl?

All these years, he had not been slack in refining his own Dragon Pearl, and as he achieved the Taiyi realm, this Dragon Pearl naturally made great progress along with him.

Now, even if he were to pit this Dragon Pearl against a Supreme Spiritual Treasure, it would be no problem at all.

Of course, he would not do that~ It is not as if he does not have other Spirit Treasures on hand; why use porcelain to fight with an earthen pot? The Dragon Pearl is closely linked to him.

Even if damage to it does not affect him as much as damage to other demons' inner cores, it does not mean there is no effect at all.

Just like the treasure of enlightenment, before one achieves the Daluo realm, few people would use their own treasure of enlightenment to fight against others.

Fighting others is the job of defensive treasures.

The function of a treasure of enlightenment has never been for that, but to reflect oneself, to find the deficiencies in one's own Great Dao, and to better perceive oneself.

This is the meaning of a treasure of enlightenment.

Of course,

just like the "Law of Heaven and Earth" ability, which was originally created by great powers to perceive heaven and earth and comprehend the Pangu Great Dao, it ended up becoming a divine ability for immortals and gods to fight and kill in later generations.

After reaching the Daluo realm, especially for the top-tier Great Divine Ability users, and even Hunyuan Saints, the thing they use most handily is actually their own treasure of enlightenment~

That is another matter~ In short, after thinking it over all these years, Fang Longye finally decided to refine his own Dragon Pearl into his treasure of enlightenment~

Looking at his Dragon Pearl, Fang Longye nodded; truly speaking, the essence of his Dragon Pearl now is no worse than the Two Instruments Divine Gourd.

As he reversed the Innate and achieved the status of an Innate Living Being, his own Dragon Pearl also reversed the Innate along with him, and it could now be called an Innate Dragon Pearl.

It counts as a top-tier Innate Spiritual Object, with endless Innate mysteries visible flowing within, suffused with an aura of the Great Dao consistent with his own.

This Innate essence is solid and real, and does not rely solely on its master, Fang Longye, to exist.

Even if he were to suffer a great disaster at this moment and perish, this Innate Dragon Pearl would not regress in the slightest; it would remain a top-tier Innate Spiritual Object.

Why else would they say that the Dragon Clan is a treasure from head to toe! Even a Dragon Clan member at the level of a Post-Heaven Living Being is a treasure from head to toe, let alone one with the foundation of an Innate Living Being.

Without any hesitation, Fang Longye immediately urged his entire cultivation and Dharma power, igniting the Dao fire to warm and refine his Dragon Pearl.

The refining of a Dao-Attainment Treasure is somewhat special.

If it were an Innate Spiritual Treasure, there would be nothing to say; one would simply use one's own Great Dao to warm and refine it, making the Innate Spiritual Treasure perfectly compatible with oneself.

But if it is refined as a Post-Heaven object, it is different from refining an ordinary Post-Heaven Spiritual Treasure.

The Divine Prohibitions within a Dao-Attainment Treasure do not require the cultivator to imprint them manually like ordinary Post-Heaven Spiritual Treasures; instead, they evolve spontaneously in response to the cultivator's Great Dao.

As Fang Longye refined it, the Dragon Pearl naturally began to evolve Post-Heaven Divine Prohibitions, each one perfectly compatible with his Great Dao.

Sensing the Post-Heaven Divine Prohibitions evolving within the Dragon Pearl in the dark in response to his own Great Dao, Fang Longye knew that the refining of his Dao-Attainment Treasure was on the right track. Once the Post-Heaven Divine Prohibitions evolved to the level corresponding to his current realm, the refining of his Dao-Attainment Treasure would be considered complete for the time being.

From then on, it would be a matter of gradual progress, advancing along with the growth of his own realm.

……

Fang Longye's Dragon Pearl had always been tempered and polished by him, so it was long since spotless and its essence was extraordinary.

There was no need to shape a treasure embryo like when refining other types of Dao-Attainment Treasures.

Therefore, in just over a year, the Post-Heaven Divine Prohibitions within the Dragon Pearl, born from his Great Dao, had evolved to the level corresponding to his current realm.

At this point, the refining of Fang Longye's Dao-Attainment Treasure was considered complete—"Thirty-two Post-Heaven Divine Prohibitions—"

Fang Longye held his Dragon Pearl, which was suffused with endless mystery, in his palm, a smile appearing on his face.

He was quite satisfied.

As mentioned before,

Dao-Attainment Treasures are different from ordinary spiritual treasures; except for those that are Innate Spiritual Treasures from the start, all others improve according to the cultivator's own rise in realm.

Taiyi Loose Immortal, thirty-two Post-Heaven Divine Prohibitions, not far from the perfection of a Superior Spiritual Treasure—very good!

Don't look at the "Two Instruments Divine Gourd" in his hand; although it can also absorb Dao essence to spontaneously generate Divine Prohibitions, it was already a perfect Superior Spiritual Treasure.

But that is because its essence is special. Plus, the Dao essence source it fused with does not come solely from Fang Longye himself, but includes much from elsewhere.

It is still different from a Dao-Attainment Treasure that only improves in response to one's own Great Dao.

"Hmm—now that you are not only my Dragon Pearl but have also become my Dao-Attainment Treasure, it is time to give you a name!"

Fang Longye stared at his Dragon Pearl and said.

He pondered for a moment and said: "Let's call you 'Yuan Dragon Essence Dao Pearl'!"

Instantly, the Dragon Pearl in his palm hummed.

Having already retracted its strange phenomena, it suddenly burst into brilliant light, triggering constant celestial sounds in the void—

Fang Longye laughed, then stored this Dao-Attainment Treasure he had refined into his body.

He moved his body, stretched, calculated the time with his fingers, and then breathed a sigh of relief. It was still early—there were more than three years until his wedding! I'm afraid some people have only just received his invitations—over in the Honghu Realm, the avatar is also finishing up! The time left for him is still very ample—……

Xiniu Hezhou.

Cuiyun Mountain, Banana Cave.

The pavilions were secluded, the pines and cypresses were interesting, and the banana trees were green and clear, suffused with the colors of last night's rain, reflecting the moss under the pines, patch upon patch of lush green.

Ruyi Daoren used a wooden hairpin to pin up his hair, draped a water-and-fire Dao robe, and was reading the wedding invitation Fang Longye had given to Niu Mowang under the shade of the trees.

He was reciting the contents of the invitation to his elder brother, Niu Mowang, who was beside him.

It wasn't that Niu Mowang was illiterate.

It was purely because he had no good feelings toward Fang Longye, but the other party's status was set there, so he couldn't just tear up the invitation.

He had no choice but to let his younger brother, Ruyi Daoren, who was still lingering at Cuiyun Mountain, read it on his behalf and recite the general meaning to him.

Just to avoid seeing it and feeling annoyed—

"Tsk tsk—"

After reciting the general meaning of the invitation, Ruyi Daoren flipped through it several more times before putting it down, laughing incessantly: "This Yuan Dragon Lord is truly extraordinary in his methods; he is actually going to marry three wives at once, and each one has a great background. Truly remarkable—"

"I don't know about the others, but I am quite familiar with the Three Holy Mothers; her temperament is so strange, I never expected she would accept three women marrying one husband? Truly unexpected—"

It turned out that the names on the invitation were indeed Fang Longye, Yang Chan, Tie Shan, and Long Xuan, and it even bore their exclusive seals.

One look at the Aura, and one could tell they were all written by hand.

"Virtuous brother, don't just say nice things."

Niu Mowang lay on a Vine Chair; his face was masculine, looking domineering, but at this moment his expression was gloomy, revealing a bit of ferocity.

He said coldly: "The Dragon Clan has always been a heartless and unrighteous lot. I fear the Three Holy Mothers and the others have fallen into a fire pit by giving their hearts to this young Dragon Lord!"

He was full of deep resentment.

Ruyi Daoren knew that his brother had a lot of opinions about that Yuan Dragon Lord; after all, the last time at Banana Cave, the two sides didn't have a very happy time—therefore, he smiled and didn't express any opinion on it, just asked: "Then, brother, are you going to this invitation?"

The implication was that if Niu Mowang didn't want to go, he would go on his behalf—

"Go! Why wouldn't I go!"

Niu Mowang huffed and puffed.

However, there was always a sense of reluctance.

But there was no help for it—

The sect behind him sent a message for him to go to Beiju Luzhou to attend the wedding of this young Dragon Lord, and take the opportunity to get to know that Monkey—

It turned out that the Monkey, who was highly regarded by the forces of the entire universe, was also going to attend the wedding of this young Dragon Lord.

This was a critical matter—compared to this, everything else became unimportant.

Ayu Mountain, Miwang Cave.

The Grotto-Heaven appeared a pure azure, unstained by the dust of the mortal world.

In the center stood several ancient peach trees, their branches and leaves interlocking, with Fairy Peaches, either green or red, hanging from the boughs.

The scent of peaches assailed the nose, making one drool.

Beneath the peach trees sat a macaque; his body was a brownish-gray, his tail very short, and his limbs long and slender, and he was currently staring at the Fairy Peaches on the trees, drooling.

His two hands were tightly twisted together, restraining each other, while he muttered to himself, "Should I eat just one more?"

"No, Xiao Mi, you cannot indulge yourself again! There aren't many of these Small Flat Peaches left!"

"I'll just eat one more! I absolutely won't touch the rest, I'll wait until these peach trees are full again before eating~"

"Xiao Mi, have you forgotten what Master taught you? You must overcome your own desires!"

"..."

It was as if he had schizophrenia, talking to himself and having a conversation with himself~

In the end, he sprang up, snatched one of the half-ripe peaches, and happily began to gnaw on it, muttering, "Sooner or later, I will go to the Flat Peach Garden of the Queen Mother of the West, dig up a few more Flat Peach trees, and eat my fill!"

Just at this moment, a golden light suddenly plunged into Miwang Cave and arrived beside the macaque; it was, surprisingly, a golden Talisman Order.

Seeing this, the macaque swallowed the peach in his hand whole, then wiped it on his body to clean the juice off his hands.

He took the hovering Talisman Order.

"The Dragon Clan's new Young Lord is getting married? A heaven-born Shihou of Huaguo Mountain? You want me to form a sworn brotherhood with that Monkey?"

The macaque leaned against a peach tree, playing with the talisman message sent by his master, and clapped his hands, laughing, "Fun! How fun!"

Fang Longye, who was preparing to take down the Honghu Realm,

did not yet know that his wedding had already become a place that other demon kings, who were to form a sworn brotherhood with the Monkey, would inevitably have to attend.

(End of chapter)