Chapter 207: The Mystical Realm of the Chen Duke: Those Who Attain the Dao Gain Much Support

The Fire Qilin possessed a foundation of six Heavenly Layers, its strength overwhelming—far surpassing most human martial artists. Where human laborers might take months to quarry the massive stones needed for the water diversion dam, the Fire Qilin merely roared—KUANG! KUANG! KUANG!

The foundational work was finished by mid-afternoon.

Divine beasts that understand human nature and cooperate with human plans are what make them national treasures.

That's how it is.

Costing labor—three large pig's trotters!

One roasted, one braised in soy sauce, one stewed in oil—with a generous handful of tender yellow beans inside.

The remaining construction and detailed water planning were personally overseen by Pang Shuiyun. Li Guanyi and Yao Guang briefly departed to Head to the Mystical Realm, a mere hundred li away. The Fire Qilin assumed its true form; Li Guanyi leapt into the air and landed atop its back.

Then he extended his hand.

The silver-haired girl looked up at the young man before her.

Sitting atop the Fire Qilin, sword at her waist, noble and bold, commanding respect, radiating courage, calm and composed—sometimes she wondered, had the original Yao Guang seen this same young warlord, so long ago?

She reached out, pulled her hood over her head, then extended her hand again.

Her palm pressed against the young man's.

Li Guanyi pulled hard.

The girl rose like a feather without weight, soaring effortlessly to land steadily in front of him, seated sideways across his lap. Li Guanyi patted the Fire Qilin; its eyes turned crimson-gold, it stepped upon empty air, exploding layers of flame as it soared far into the distance.

The Fire Qilin is not a flying divine beast like the Phoenix.

Soaring through fire is a combat skill.

Especially this Fire Qilin beside Li Guanyi, who is in a malnourished adolescent state.

Even so, after expending considerable primordial energy, it still carried Li Guanyi to the Mystical Realm, over a hundred li away. A hundred li is straight-line distance; by foot, climbing and winding through terrain, one would have to travel many times farther.

It was thanks to having devoured countless strange beast eggs within the Beicheng Governor's mansion.

Though these were said to be half the accumulated wealth of the Divine Beast Manor.

Yet they had significantly enhanced the Fire Qilin's self-recovery ability.

At least now, the technique 【Treading Fire and Soaring Sky】 no longer drained primordial energy excessively.

Li Guanyi had seen the map left by Chen Baxian in the Chen Kingdom's library, but five hundred years had passed. Though not enough for seas to become mulberry fields, vegetation had changed drastically.

Moreover, Chen Baxian had left behind hidden obfuscations.

Even the Xuan Gui needed time to search slowly.

After speaking with Li Guanyi, the girl extended her palm; faint starlight gathered into a three-dimensional map. She turned her gaze to him, voice serene: "Is this right?"

Li Guanyi said: "Left side needs adjustment."

"Mm. Now it's correct."

Yao Guang lifted both hands; the starlight map shifted and shrank, two tiny bright dots flickering to mark Li Guanyi and Yao Guang's positions, then another massive light point marked the location of the Mystical Realm.

Yao Guang clapped her hands together; the map became a string of starlight and shot away.

It landed among overlapping trees far off, igniting a beam of light.

Li Guanyi, searching everywhere for the entrance: "…………"

The Xuan Gui's phantom, scouring for the entrance: "…………"

The silver-haired girl reached out, tucking a strand of silver hair behind her ear. Her voice was serene, without ripple:

"We've found it."

Li Guanyi rejoiced, drew his sword, and slashed open a massive fissure. He advanced no more than dozens of zhang before sensing a subtle array designed to confuse orientation. He shook his wrist; the Tiger Roar Heaven Halberd appeared in his grip.

Li Guanyi ordered Yao Guang to retreat and unleashed 【Crushing Mountain】【Shattering Peak】 with the halberd.

The moves were mighty and pure.

The Mystical Realm's array slowly opened.

The Fire Qilin entered first; Li Guanyi and Yao Guang followed close behind. Once the force of Li Guanyi's 【Crushing Mountain】【Shattering Peak】 faded, the entrance of the Mystical Realm slowly sealed itself, vanishing once more.

Before Li Guanyi and Yao Guang, the world had changed. An intense surge of primordial energy washed over them. Li Guanyi drew a deep breath, feeling his spirit refreshed, his internal qi slightly more fluid—this was medicinal power, the scent of countless five-hundred-year-grade spiritual herbs.

Distant roars of beasts echoed, more intimidating than a tiger's.

The Xuan Gui floated in midair, its pea-sized eyes bulging wide.

It turned its head, glancing left, then right.

It darted far to the left, then scurried back with tiny claws to the right.

But it was dazzled, unable to decide where to go.

Li Guanyi exclaimed:

"Here lie the various herbs left by Chen Baxian five hundred years ago. Harvesting them will provide enough medicinal power to force internal qi into their bodies. With internal qi, at least their base strength and endurance will reach the threshold of this era's second-tier military units."

"Those with decent Wu Gong might even enter the realm."

"As for Fan Qing—who already entered the realm and dared kill officials—the benefits will be even greater. Yao Guang, help me gather them."

The silver-haired girl nodded.

Together they gathered the corresponding herbs—not only those planted by Chen Baxian, but also those that had naturally propagated over the centuries. Li Guanyi collected herbs aged decades to a hundred years.

Most were 【Nourishing Qi】【Nourishing Blood】.

These herbs had mild, gentle properties, their medicinal limits not exceeding those of ordinary people.

The special herbs centuries old carried potent medicinal properties—deadly poison to ordinary people. Only martial artists beyond the Second Heavenly Layer, whose five viscera and six bowels had been refined, could ingest them safely, channeling their power throughout the body without dying.

Yet as Li Guanyi was gathering, he suddenly heard a roar.

He looked up to see a colossal black bear, impossibly heavy—thousands of jin—opening its mouth in a thunderous bellow, charging straight at Yao Guang. Li Guanyi seized her, twisted his body, and dodged the bear.

Li Guanyi glanced once and understood the situation. He frowned slightly:

"This bear seems to have marked us as its first meal."

The bear reared up, over one zhang tall—over three meters. Li Guanyi set Yao Guang down, his right hand now gripping the Tiger Roar Heaven Halberd. He charged forward and thrust one devastating 【Crushing Mountain】 strike.

After only a few exchanges, Li Guanyi spotted an opening and thrust his spear forward.

The black bear staggered several steps outward, blood pooling beneath it, then collapsed and died. Li Guanyi exhaled, his heart stirred—he darted deeper to investigate, and his expression subtly changed; in the distance, he could faintly see monstrous beasts roaring incessantly.

There were leopards, tigers, bears, flying eagles, ferocious beasts.

Li Guanyi fell into thought.

"These spiritual herbs emit potent medicinal energy. Though these monstrous beasts cannot refine pills, they instinctively sense that the herbs' energy benefits them, and all seek to claim the regions where superior spiritual herbs grow."

"For this reason, they kill each other."

"So, five hundred years after Chen Duke planted these herbs, these monstrous beasts developed a new ecological structure based on the strength of the herbs' energy?"

Li Guanyi leapt down from the tree.

Looking at the black bear, he noted its immense strength but sluggish speed, and its lack of abilities like the Fire Qilin's. A third-tier Wu Gong wielder, armed and cautious, could kill it without injury; even over ten second-tier Wu Gong could hunt it down.

Yet such monstrous beasts had been driven to the outermost ring.

They could only guard the herbs descended from Chen Baxian's original plantings—those of lesser age.

Li Guanyi recalled how Chen Duke, after first seizing the Fire Qilin egg, had immediately turned and fled, pursued by the Qiongqi, only returning after leaving the Mystical Realm to ambush and slay the Qiongqi with ferocity. Clearly, the danger within this Mystical Realm was extremely high.

Li Guanyi told Yao Guang: "Be careful—collect only the herbs on the periphery."

The girl nodded, activated the next array to mask the stench of the dead bear's blood, then swiftly gathered herbs with Li Guanyi. The Fire Qilin, however, looked bewildered, sitting on Li Guanyi's shoulder, gazing afar: "I feel… I seem to know this place well."

Li Guanyi replied: "Naturally—you were taken from here."

He recounted the tale of Chen Baxian. The Fire Qilin grew melancholy.

It swished its tail: "I feel something inside is calling me—but what, I don't know."

"But I feel we can't enter the innermost region now."

It grew even more melancholy.

As a divine beast, its intuition was unmistakable.

Deep within lay many, many powerful monstrous beasts—though their status fell below the Fire Qilin's, they had lived too long; nearly all were adults, even elders. As a juvenile Fire Qilin, it could not defeat them.

Li Guanyi thought a moment, then said: "When we grow stronger, we'll return here."

He patted the Fire Qilin's head, comforted it, then twisted grass into a rope and bound the dead black bear—weighing thousands of jin—a monstrous beast with potent blood and qi, capable of stimulating the human body to generate internal qi when paired with these decades- or centuries-old herbs.

"Enough. We must leave."

The Fire Qilin resumed its true form. Li Guanyi leapt upward, the black bear impaled on his battle spear, the Fire Qilin soared through the air—yet as Li Guanyi and the Fire Qilin departed, Li Guanyi suddenly felt the silver-haired girl's body stiffen.

For the first time, the silver-haired girl radiated intense tremors and dread.

In the next instant, Li Guanyi and the Fire Qilin sensed the presence too.

The boy snapped his head upward.

The sky of the Mystical Realm turned crimson-gold. Vast clouds swirled, spiraled, and stretched endlessly upward. A crushing sense of primordial vastness settled instantly into Li Guanyi's heart. The Fire Qilin, bearing Li Guanyi and Yao Guang, flew through the air—yet amid this colossal atmospheric transformation, they felt profoundly small.

The Fire Qilin was bewildered: "What is this…?"

BOOM!!!

The clouds seemed scraped raw by something moving at incredible speed, erupting in fire, a piercing sound of tearing air. Li Guanyi's pupils contracted. He extended his right hand—the Tiger Roars to Heaven Battle Spear materialized. Yet its appearance seemed to enrage the entity within the boundless cloud sea.

The clouds turned utterly gold-red, vast and primordial.

Li Guanyi saw a being glide through the cloud's fissures—golden-red scales.

Dragon's Roar!

The boy's body froze slightly.

A low, resonant dragon's roar rose—far surpassing the aura of Li Guanyi and General Yue Qianfeng's Crimson Dragon Phantoms. Then the clouds parted, and there, upon the heavens, glided a colossal, ancient divine dragon—so vast it obscured even the sun behind its clouds.

This was an aged dragon—the supreme stage of the divine dragon.

It regarded Li Guanyi calmly. Even the sun dimmed beneath its radiance. The Fire Qilin communicated only silently with Li Guanyi. The primordial dragon spoke, its voice vast and thunderous: "Tiger Roars to Heaven… Eight hundred years. Has this deadly weapon been grasped again?"

"Who are you… Has the era of the Red Emperor passed?"

This was the primordial dragon who had sworn an oath with the Red Emperor!

Its honorific title—

【Zhu】!

The Fire Qilin, bearing Li Guanyi and Yao Guang in its true form, was no larger than the dragon's eye, slowly hovering before this mythic being. A tremor, uncontrollable, surged through Li Guanyi's heart—such a presence.

The Red Emperor of old had such a primordial beast—and still spent such long years to conquer the world.

How strong had the overlord of eight hundred years ago truly been?

Could the pinnacle of martial cultivation truly clash with such mythic beings?

Eight hundred years ago, the famed general Chen Baxian had fled upon seeing this primordial crimson dragon.

Only legends of martial cultivation might dare confront such a being.

Li Guanyi thought a moment, then dissolved his divine weapon into mist, bowed deeply, and said with ease:

"Disciple Li Guanyi, pays respects to the Primordial Crimson Dragon, Master 【Zhu】!"

The Crimson Dragon regarded Li Guanyi. Its gaze pierced his body, sensing the Crimson Xiao Sword Soul within. Slowly, it spoke: "In your body, I sense the aura of an old friend…"

"I have been here eight hundred years. How has the mortal world changed?"

Li Guanyi sat atop the Fire Qilin, gazing at the colossal dragon, and recounted every major historical event of the past centuries. The dragon remained silent—then suddenly laughed. Its laughter was thunderous, primordial, yet tinged with nostalgia. With a long sigh, it said:

"You were right again…"

Li Guanyi was puzzled.

The Primordial Crimson Dragon drifted slowly: "My friend, before his death, told me: 'After several centuries, go see the mortal world again. Even if I am gone, affairs of men will still churn with storms and heroes rise.'"

"Yet even after eight hundred years, countless heroes have come and gone."

"Still, the world whispers his name."

"The title of the Red Emperor will never fade with time. He said: even fleeting mortals, their achievements transcend all—people will never forget him."

The Crimson Dragon, remembering its old friend, gazed at Li Guanyi with aged eyes and spoke in a deep, resonant voice:

"The changes of the mortal world mean nothing to me. But since you have come here, holding the Chi Xiao Sword, you are his replacement. When your realm rises one more level and you return here, I shall enhance your Crimson Dragon Manifestation once—fulfilling the promise I made with him long ago."

The Crimson Dragon then saw the Fire Qilin.

The ancient beast seemed disappointed, sighing: "Still a child, immature."

"When you grow stronger, come to the deepest depths."

"The previous Fire Qilin left something for you."

The Fire Qilin, alarmed, asked urgently: "What is it?"

But the Crimson Dragon no longer answered; it let out a long roar and soared into the sky, its scales tearing through the sea of clouds. Merely its ascent stirred the air into violent waves, like a hurricane—so fierce the Fire Qilin could barely control its flight, nearly being flung away.

Only after struggling to stabilize itself did it realize: the heavens and earth now held only the vast sea of clouds—the ancient Crimson Dragon was gone. Whether Li Guanyi, Yao Guang, or the Fire Qilin, all felt as if they had awoken from a dream.

"Ancient Crimson Dragon… Mystical Realm…"

This Mystical Realm undoubtedly held greater secrets, but Li Guanyi had no time to ponder them now. He and the Fire Qilin, along with Yao Guang, returned to Zhongshan and blended the materials into medicine, intending to boost the strength of these martial artists.

What he did not expect was that several guests had arrived.

When Li Guanyi arrived, he saw Pang Shuiyun chatting with a refined middle-aged man dressed in splendid robes, his lips trimmed with a beard, his aura clear and bright, his back bearing a fox-shaped manifestation.

"Hahaha, Little Brother Li, long time no see!"

The man turned, smiled, and bowed—none other than Changsun Wuchou of the Ying State's Duke's Mansion!

Li Guanyi was both startled and delighted: "Brother Changsun, what brings you here?"

Changsun Wuchou clasped his hands in greeting and smiled: "Changsun Wuchou, ordered to lead thirty mounted scouts of the merchant caravan, come to assist Little Brother Li."

Behind him stood thirty elite men, all at the Second Heavy Heaven Realm, their brows sharp, clad in light armor, mounted on horses, skilled in mounted archery, each equipped with three quivers of arrows and short blades. They bowed slightly, their demeanor calm—not arrogant at all.

These were the light cavalry Changsun Wuchou had led through the treacherous lands of the Western Regions, where every single warrior was a treasure—losing one would break one's heart. Though not matching the top three cavalry units, they could certainly rival the finest regiments of any nation.

And they excelled in reconnaissance and flanking tactics.

Changsun Wuchou stepped forward again, offering a letter with both hands, gently saying:

"It is a letter from the Second Young Master."

Li Guanyi had his men handle the giant strange beast, then took the letter, unfolded it—the handwriting was sharp and precise: Li Zhao Wen's script.

"Dear Brother Li, greetings—"

"I heard of your achievements and rejoiced inwardly, wishing I could stand beside you, charging into battle together. General Yuwen Tianxian is a famed general, formidable indeed. I have therefore assigned Wuchou and his thirty light cavalry to your command, to serve at your discretion."

"Though few in number, they are valiant and usable."

"May you remain well; I await your good news from afar."

"When you become a famed general, I shall raise a cup to you from here."

"Your younger brother, respectfully."

Li Guanyi was moved.

In this age, knowing what Li Guanyi intended to do, the Second Young Master immediately dispatched one of his most capable subordinates and one of the few precious assets within Chen State—all at once. Li Guanyi did not know whether the Second Young Master was acting out of boldness or overwhelming Emotional Weight.

Li Guanyi simply laughed freely, tucked the letter away, and said:

"Your arrival, Brother Changsun, is my fortune. Please, come in!"

Changsun Wuchou smiled: "Though I am no master of Wu Gong, merely at the Fourth Heavy Heaven Realm, years of traveling as a merchant have given me some insight into logistics. Following the Second Young Master's orders, I now serve under your command."

"Also, Xue Lao sent me a batch of Mo Family crossbows and light armor."

He seemed to recall something and added with a smile: "Ah, by the way, I met some people on the road who seemed eager to meet you. I judged them harmless and brought them along." He turned and pointed. Li Guanyi looked up—and froze.

There were two groups, sharply divided.

One group was a woman in a blue robe, tall and slender, her face veiled except for her eyes—glowing with brilliance—holding a short sword, tossing and catching it effortlessly: none other than the number one beauty of the Jianghu, Nangong Wumeng.

The other group consisted of five large men.

Their leader was barely into the realm, rugged in appearance, with a touch of boldness—but his eyes darted left and right, betraying a hint of cunning: Lei Laomeng.

Li Guanyi was stunned, then burst into laughter: "Hahaha, Lei Laomeng!"

"What are you doing here?"

Lei Laomeng frowned, his face gloomy.

He was furious with himself!

Damn it, why did they come?!

He had already turned back, ready to flee—until he heard of Li Guanyi's deeds. Then his gang suddenly got drunk on horse urine, declared it shameful that Ying State men were fighting Chen State men, and charged headlong with fervor.

Lei Laomeng shouted at them to hold steady, to be patient, damn it!

The next day, those four brats ran off on their own. So Lei Laomeng cursed as he followed, muttering that he had to find a way to catch up—but when the young man laughed and came running over, Lei Laomeng somehow felt a fire ignite in his chest.

He grinned, planning to say: "Give me some silver and I'll leave."

Then he heard himself say: "I think you're short on men."

Damn it!

Lei Laomeng wanted to slap himself.

When did his mouth start moving faster than his brain?

What kind of Jianghu boldness was this? It was pure suicide.

Li Guanyi laughed, looked at the five men of the Strange Beast Manor, and bowed deeply, solemnly saying:

"Thank you."

Lei Laomeng fumbled, returning the bow: "Ah, what did you say?"

"It's only right."

Li Guanyi exhaled, smiling: "Good. I have something to show you—you're experts on strange beasts. Are you familiar with bear-type ones?"

Lei Laomeng's eyes lit up instantly, thumping his chest:

"Bear? Cooked, cooked!"

"Haha, good then!"

Li Guanyi arrived with the five from Divine Beast Manor, pointed at the dead black bear, and looked at the disciples of Divine Beast Manor, who were gaping in shock: "How should this be eaten to best strengthen the body?"

Lei Laomeng's mouth twitched: "You mean... this cooked?"

Just as several Divine Beast Manor disciples, who had thought they could raise a rare beast, were heartbroken, Li Guanyi turned his gaze to the woman idly tossing a flying dagger over there and said:

"The most beautiful woman under heaven, Nangong Wumeng."

"What are you doing here?"