Chapter 191

"Waiter, bring wine!"

In the modest tavern, voices buzzed loudly; in one corner of the main hall, Li Yuan had ordered a full table of food and drink.

Traveling the Jianghu was a hard job; even with lightness skills, Li Yuan refused to walk for months on foot.

Exhaustion was one thing, but it also wasted time for cultivation.

After Han Han Chuijun left, he followed Fang Fang Bao Luo to a nearby county town and bought some commonly used pills and dried rations.

He also planned to join a security escort company.

After all, the Divine Weapon Valley had relocated en masse, and all the relay stations had long been abandoned.

"Did you hear? The Divine Weapon Valley suffered a great disaster—its mountain gate has been seized by heroes from all over, even the relay stations are occupied!"

"They say the Daoist Tianyun Daoist Tianyun Xuanbing has appeared— even the Huilong Palace sent an elder, and they say 'Yan Yan Qingyuan' has come too!"

"It's not just Huilong Palace—they say Longhu Temple…"

The tavern was full of Jianghu figures; Li Yuan glanced casually and saw a flash of weapons—blue and white blades mixed with flashes of green light.

Too bad, Master Li's standards were high now—he barely gave a second look to second- or third-grade swords and knives.

"Tch, news spreads fast."

Li Yuan listened to the chatter; the appearance of the Daoist Tianyun Daoist Tianyun Xuanbing was a major event shaking the entire Jianghu, with rumors flying everywhere, true and false.

But one thing was certain: Zhelong Prefecture must be buzzing right now—Lord Master Gongyang Yu's decision was correct; staying would make him a target for all.

Soon, Fang Fang Bao Luo returned carrying bundles of goods.

"There's a small escort company in town—twenty-three taels of silver per person. You don't have to join the guards, but you must bring your own rations."

Fang Fang Bao Luo picked up his chopsticks; before departure, he'd treat himself to a meal—after this, it'd be wind and dew for meals.

"Twenty-three taels of silver? A bit expensive, but acceptable."

Li Yuan had no objections—spending money had its perks; at least he didn't have to find the road himself.

These days, knowing the way was a serious skill; without someone experienced to guide you, you'd waste countless miles on wrong paths.

Plus, with others guarding, you could sleep peacefully.

"After all, these past few years have been turbulent."

Fang Fang Bao Luo ate quickly; between him and Li Yuan, the table's food vanished in no time.

Then the two went to the city gate; at noon, they saw a banner with the words "Dingyuan" approaching from within the city.

"Dingyuan Escort Company is one of the largest in Huizhou, with branches in every prefecture and county town—many small escort companies even use their banner to travel."

Fang Fang Bao Luo explained.

With the Jianghu in chaos, travel was hard; without a big banner, small escort companies struggled to get jobs—and even if they did, they weren't safe.

"It's just posing as a tiger's hide."

Li Yuan was familiar with it—he'd once traveled with Changyuan Escort Company to Fucheng and had asked plenty about escort work.

Normally, escort companies divided their jobs into six types: letter escort, bill escort, silver escort, grain escort, goods escort, and person escort.

Ours, traveling along as passengers, falls under the escort captain's side income—the cheapest form of person escort.

They charge silver based on the value or status of the escorted item, and use various methods to transport it.

Open escorts pose as tigers' hides; covert escorts take back roads, and so on.

"We'll just travel along the same route, stay low-key, don't cause trouble. Zhelong Prefecture's been very unstable lately…"

Fang Fang Bao Luo gave a few instructions, spoke briefly with them, then returned; the two joined the escort company's group and boarded a cart.

Li Yuan had wanted to sneak onto a separate cart, but Fang Fang Bao Luo refused—he thought it safer for them to stay together.

More accurately, after seeing Li Yuan's lightness skills, he suspected he might be the one who needed protection.

Through the cart curtain, Li Yuan observed—the small escort company's convoy was surprisingly large, likely over thirty or forty carts in total.

"This small escort company is transporting goods escort—some special 'Qingshe Teng' vines from Yunjing Commandery, good material for whips, but not very valuable."

Fang Fang Bao Luo had naturally inquired ahead of time and casually added a few details.

If they were transporting valuable goods, he wouldn't even approach—they wouldn't accept unknown person escorts either.

"Alright, I'll follow Brother Fang's plan."

Li Yuan nodded; he'd traveled the Jianghu in his past life, but his experience didn't apply much.

In his past life, he'd barely met a few pickpockets or thieves who stole oil from carts—these days, people could die at any moment.

The cart was tiny; even sitting face-to-face, their legs touched. Li Yuan leaned back against one side and pulled out the booklet left by Old Han.

Old Han had a teacherly nature; you could tell from the books he left in the library, like the Treatise on Root Potential.

He wrote to be clear and accessible—so even Bingtang disciples could understand without any barrier.

"Form of Transformation."

The first half of this booklet explained the differences among the three categories of form: mortal, spiritual, and heavenly-earthly.

"All things under heaven have form; the most common are mortal forms, easiest to learn and most widespread—many mortal forms can overwhelm a single spiritual form…"

"Spiritual beasts versus mortal beasts are like superior root potential versus inferior root potential—but hard to learn and rare to encounter…"

"Heavenly-earthly forms—mountains, rivers, winds, rains, thunder, lightning, ethereal and elusive—only those with extraordinary insight can cultivate them.

The 'Battle-Death Hammer Form' gained upon completing the Battle-Death Hammer technique of the Bingtang can also be classified as a heavenly-earthly form…"

Li Yuan read with great interest.

Old Han explained deeply yet simply, categorizing all forms under heaven into these three types, even detailing the effects and pairings of each.

Bear, elephant, ox, tiger—emphasize weight; kite, eagle, birds—emphasize speed; ape, monkey, leopard-cat—emphasize agility.

And each had further subdivisions—extremely thorough.

The second half began discussing the concept of "primary form."

"Heaven and earth hold countless forms; human hearts are infinite, but human life is finite—impossible to master them all, so one must prioritize, emphasize the main and subordinate…"

Normally, the forms of heaven and earth are best suited as the primary form, with the primary form encompassing all other forms, and the other forms compensating for the primary form—this is the way of mutual reinforcement.

The Divine List Grand Master of Dragon Tiger Temple, Long Long Yingchan, takes Wind Tiger Cloud Dragon as his primary form—a perfect fusion of spiritual form and heaven-earth form, with all other forms complementing it, thus rendering him invincible in battle, earning him a place on the Divine List.

…

Wind Tiger Cloud Dragon—within this primary form alone, at least two heaven-earth forms are contained: 'Wind' and 'Cloud'; and two immensely powerful spiritual beast forms: 'Dragon' and 'Tiger!'

Li Yuan slightly narrowed his eyes; from between the lines, he could sense Old Han's longing, and his eagerness to try.

Old Han spent over seventy years to achieve Yi Bai Xing—what did he use as his primary form?

"Crack-sea Black Whale—the Black Whale is one; that Crack-sea Star…"

Li Yuan sensed the Black Whale Hammer within the gray Dingxin Shitai; with a slight probe, the image of the colossal whale roaming through the cloud-sea reappeared in his mind.

And that oceanic planet, covered in inverted mountains, yet devoid of any land.

"Crack-sea Star."

Li Yuan's mind was agile; his understanding of heaven and earth differed from that of anyone in this world.

Others—even figures like Han Han Chuijun—held only vague notions of heaven and earth, but he, at least, had received formal education.

"All things have form—why should a planet be any different? But the difficulty… would even the entire Shan Xuan Bing Mi Jing's Qi suffice to outline it?"

Li Yuan's thoughts wandered.

"Younger brother?"

Hearing a silly "hehe" laugh, Fang Fang Bao Luo rolled over and sat up—he never expected someone could laugh while reading martial manuals.

"Ah, nothing."

Li Yuan also sat up, shoved the book into his chest—actually storing it inside the incense burner within the gray Dingxin Shitai.

Time flew while reading; the carriage had slowed. He lifted the curtain—the sky had darkened.

The escort company had already begun setting up tents.

"Come on, let's go set up our tent too."

Li Yuan stepped down from the carriage—he would absolutely insist on his own tent; otherwise, how could he alter his root constitution?

Fang Fang Bao Luo didn't press—he too needed to practice.

Before nightfall, the head escort appeared—a man over sixty, stout and muscular, carrying a broad-bladed great knife, surnamed Liu, named Liu Liu Fuen.

"Internal Strengthening perfected."

Li Yuan glanced at him—stronger than Cao Yan back then, but only slightly.

No threat.

Li Yuan asked for hot water, and on the way, circled around—the sixth-rank Commanding Talisman could now sense weapon auras within forty meters.

Confirming no hidden experts lurked within the escort company, Li Yuan returned to his tent in peace.

Caution never hurts—he only wanted a quiet ride, and had no wish to be dragged into some messy affair again.

"Squeak~"

The little rat, pent up all day, scampered happily inside the tent—thankfully it was nocturnal; if he'd kept a dog, it'd be far more troublesome.

Raising a rat? The point is convenience.

"Play on your own—just don't get snatched by a dog."

Li Yuan warned it, then let it go.

This small escort company kept over a dozen fierce mastiffs—for night watch—they were more effective than humans.

"Huh!"

Inside the tent, Li Yuan stood in stance, wielding the hammer—his Soldier Body Posture flowed effortlessly.

With his martial talent stacking, the Soldier's Battle Hammer Technique was nearly complete—only a slight refinement remained.

"Pity I couldn't get the form diagram for the Soldier's Battle Hammer Technique."

Li Yuan multitasked.

The inferior Root Diagram, the superior Form Diagram—these are the foundation of Wu Gong. But the Divine Arms Valley had relocated en masse; the Secret Tower had long been moved—he had nowhere to borrow from.

After practicing several sets of Soldier Body Postures to circulate his blood and Qi, Li Yuan slowly closed his eyes, replacing the hammer with two long staves to satisfy the requirements of the "Spiritual Monkey Gun Fa Root Diagram."

"Spiritual Monkey Gun Fa, Spiritual Monkey Twin Daggers, Xiong Hu Dao Fa, Spiritual Fox Sword Fa—these four Root Diagrams will only last me half a year. When I return to Gao Liu, I'll secure those other few as well…"

Li Yuan stretched his sinews and tendons, skillfully took his pills and applied his medicines, and began altering his root constitution.

Simultaneously, he circulated his internal strength, activating the "Black Whale Form"—after the transformation, his root constitution altered far faster.

"Huh!"

"Hss!"

…

Traveling days were dull; to save on lodging and city-entry fees, the escort company rarely entered towns.

When they did, it was only to purchase dry rations, essentials, or change clothes.

Fang Fang Bao Luo initially thought Li Yuan might struggle to adapt—but soon realized he himself was the one who couldn't adapt.

¤￠o

He kept getting off the carriage to walk, chat with people, gaze at the scenery—Li Yuan simply got on the carriage to read, then got off and vanished into his tent.

His routine was so rigid it made Fang Fang Bao Luo uneasy.

"Younger brother, let's go into town."

That day, the escort company passed a county town and chose to camp outside—Fang Fang Bao Luo could no longer hold back.

"Fine!"

Li Yuan agreed readily, stepping out of his tent: "I sweated from training—I need a hot bath."

"Sweat from training?"

Looking at Li Yuan, who seemed as if he'd just been fished out of the water, Fang Fang Bao Luo's mouth twitched. This junior brother of his was growing more and more like their master and that big oaf.

He doesn't even blink when lying now.

"The Soldier Body Stance is vast and profound."

Li Yuan's body gave a shake, his internal force shaking loose the beads of sweat all over him, but the smell of sweat couldn't be driven off cleanly.

Over the past twenty-plus days, he had already cultivated the Spirit Monkey Strength, completed the bone-tempering transformation, and the Dark Whale form had gained a touch of spiritual liveliness.

He was one step closer to Yi Bai Xing.

"... You're right."

Fang Fang Bao Luo's face wore an expression of 'what nonsense are you spouting,' and he turned and walked toward the city.

"Cloud Dwelling County, hmm, it's still more than ten days' journey to Gao Liu County."

Li Yuan glanced at the city gate, followed Fang Fang Bao Luo into the city, found a tavern, washed himself in a hot bath, then ordered a table of wine and dishes and ate heartily.

After finishing, taking advantage of the sky not yet fully dark, the two of them went together to a pharmacy and bought a batch of pills, only then returning to the inn.

"The Palm Control Root Diagrams are down to just three, but Mang Niu Gong, Kite Step, Eagle Claw Grappling Hand, and Bai Lu Leaping Gong have all reached perfection — I'm only one step away from body-form transformation."

In the room, Li Yuan stood in a stance.

Apart from the Palm Control Root Diagrams, he was also practicing martial arts himself. Besides those four lower-grade Wu Gong, there was also the Ancient Elephant Six-Forms Hammer, a mid-grade hammer technique.

If these five Wu Gong were all cultivated to Grand Perfection, they could add at least ten more forms!

"Without the Crimson Fusion Cave, horizontal training progress is too slow. Ten Thousand Blades Spirit Dragon Body still hasn't even gotten started..."

Li Yuan muttered to himself.

He had quite a few inner armors that boosted 'horizontal training talent,' but horizontal training required not only talent but also the aid of a venue and equipment.

On the road, there really weren't those conditions.

"It's a pity the hammer technique talent's boost to Qi Ta Wu Gong is limited..."

Li Yuan stretched his sinews and bones, shifting his form within the small space. Mang Niu Gong, Kite Step, Eagle Claw Grappling Hand, Bai Lu Leaping Gong were performed one after another — the movements weren't slow, yet there wasn't the slightest sound of wind.

This was because his control over his own strength had reached a microscopic level.

After practicing back and forth for quite a while, Li Yuan asked the waiter for another bucket of hot water. Taking pills and applying medicines, a medicinal bath was also essential.

Easing the fatigue of sinews and bones, a medicinal bath was gentler, and besides, soaking in a bath felt very comfortable.

"Hah!"

Steam rose thickly in the room. Li Yuan closed his eyes, sensing the changes in his strength and qi-blood.

Before form transformation, the qi-blood and internal force great circulations were independent of each other externally, not intersecting. But after form transformation, these two great circulations now intersected with each other.

Like two additional sets of blood vessels spread throughout the entire body, supplying the whole frame, echoing one another.

Hum!

Li Yuan sank his mind, and felt only the shadow of the Cloud Sea Dark Whale ceaselessly surfacing before his eyes — at times blurry, at times clear.

At times seeming very far away, at times, as if he himself were placed within it.

His body changed along with it, the exposed flesh and bone trembling ceaselessly like waves. The medicinal power of the pills taken internally and the medicines applied externally were both absorbed by him at an extremely fast speed.

He possessed seventeen forms; the limits of his physique far surpassed that of an ordinary form-transformer. His physical strength was still continuously growing — at least for now, it was still far from reaching its limit.

"Hah!"

After a long while, Li Yuan let out a long breath, stopped sketching the Dark Whale Hammer, and turned to sensing the Rending Sea Dark Whale Hammer:

"Shan Xuan Bing Mi Jing!"