Chapter 214: An Autumn Rain Brings a Chill (Part 2)

Standing post before dawn, practicing martial arts by day, and undergoing medicinal baths at night to transform his bone and marrow structure, followed by cultivating the Thousand-Weight Qi Art to convert internal force into Qi and engage in visualization.

Before sleep, he would enter the Shan Xuan Bing Mi Jing to spar with masters manifested from true Qi.

Standing post, hammer practice, converting internal force to Qi, visualization, and studying the diagram of the Black Whale...

Li Li Yuanzhong felt thoroughly fulfilled, completely losing himself.

After Pan Yi and Yu Xiang arrived, he was entirely freed from trivial matters, gaining more time to practice martial arts.

Every day, Li Li Yuanzhong could feel his progress; this sensation brought him joy, leaving him with no weariness or boredom, even feeling that time passed too quickly.

Immersed in martial arts practice, Li Li Yuanzhong reached a state where self and object were forgotten, doing nothing but training day after day.

Three days later, Fang Fang Bao Luo returned; seeing his diligence, he merely glanced from afar before turning and leaving.

Another three days passed, and Li Li Yuanzhong emerged from his immersion to meet Fang Fang Yunxiu, who had arrived at Dechang Prefecture; they conversed for a little over half a day before he returned to the small courtyard to continue training.

"Hoo!"

"Haa!"

In the small courtyard, Li Li Yuanzhong's bare upper body was as hard as iron, with an unnatural flush of blood wandering across his entire frame.

He pushed the stance of the Mang Niu Gong, his feet stepping in the Hawk Step, while simultaneously attending to multiple Wu Gong.

His breathing was extremely rhythmic, perfectly matching his footwork and movements, with internal force circulating within his body almost without cease.

With supreme-level blood and Qi and a great circulation of internal force covering his whole body, even when deploying multiple inferior Wu Gong simultaneously, there was no conflict between them; instead, they complemented each other in perfect harmony.

After transforming his bone and marrow structure repeatedly, Li Li Yuanzhong's own talent was already not poor; he could manipulate blood and Qi, internal force, and even control the progress of various Wu Gong.

This standing post session lasted from morning until deep night; Pan Yi and Yu Xiang watched for a long while before departing after nightfall.

"Hoo!"

At a certain moment, Li Li Yuanzhong settled his stance, took out a blood-enhancing and bone-strengthening pill from his chest, and swallowed it; the blood and Qi surging through his body instantly multiplied several times over.

"Spirit Monkey Dual Blades Fundamental Diagram!"

As Li Li Yuanzhong's thoughts shifted, he swung both arms, his palms like blades, practicing the blade technique in the courtyard.

After day and night of tempering, the bone and marrow transformation for the Spirit Monkey Dual Blades had reached a critical moment, and he deliberately relaxed his control over the four inferior martial arts he had been managing: Mang Niu Gong, Hawk Step, Bai Lu Leaping Technique, and others.

Boom!

Blood and Qi erupted from his abdomen, then spread throughout his entire body.

In an instant, Li Li Yuanzhong's already crimson skin seemed ignited by flames, as the transformations of one spiritual and four mundane bone structures converged.

"Ugh!"

Li Li Yuanzhong gritted his teeth; the intense numbness and soreness forced him to endure only briefly before he jumped into the iron vat prepared in advance.

Inside the iron vat, there was no longer iron sand, but various irregular iron shards, even fragments of knives and swords; once stirred, they rubbed against his body like a meat grinder.

This vat of iron shards was used to assist in cultivating the Ten Thousand Blades Spirit Dragon Body; during bone and marrow transformation, it could also delay the bone-penetrating numbness, soreness, and astringency.

"That's a bit fierce!"

Stirring the vat of iron shards with both arms, Li Li Yuanzhong's skin was cut with countless white marks; although the Ten Thousand Blades Spirit Dragon Body had not yet been mastered, his external hardening had increased significantly.

Crack!

After a long while, Li Li Yuanzhong, drenched in sweat, climbed out of the vat; the blood color on his body grew even more intense, as if he had been roasted in the Red Fusion Cave for a long time.

The transformation of the five bone structures was far more intense than he had imagined.

In his perception, he felt like a piece of raw iron being hammered, becoming compact and solid.

His physique thinned at a speed visible to the naked eye; tendons, skin, and flesh clung tightly to his skeleton, evoking the feeling of a thousand hammers and a hundred refinements, all impurities removed, forging iron into steel.

"It hurts!"

Li Li Yuanzhong's teeth clicked loudly; his greatly increased spiritual power allowed him to clearly perceive the changes within himself.

He forced himself to endure, occasionally supplementing with a pill...

After a long while, the glaring blood color receded, Li Li Yuanzhong's breathing gradually returned to a normal rhythm, and his boiling blood began to settle.

"The Ten Thousand Blades Spirit Dragon Body is nearing mastery; supreme-level external hardening is truly difficult to practice. It's a pity I'm not in the Weapon Casting Valley; if I had the Red Fusion Cave, I might have already mastered it."

Swallowing a Yuan-Supplementing Pill, Li Li Yuanzhong sensed the changes in his physique.

The transformation of the five bone structures provided significant benefits to his current physique; his external hardening also improved considerably, his arms becoming stronger and his skin more resilient.

"Twenty-two forms!"

Lying on his back on the ground, the late autumn night was already somewhat cold, yet Li Li Yuanzhong was in excellent spirits; he was highly excited mentally, though physically quite exhausted.

"Thirteen Great Dragon Forms, twenty-six forms; should this be another level?"

Li Li Yuanzhong's thoughts wandered.

He had already consumed two Transformation Dragon Pills given to him by Lord Master Gongyang Yu, and over these past few days, he had finished the last remaining Red Dragon fish meat.

But up to now, he had not yet detected any changes in his Dragon Body.

Although the Dragon Body and Dragon Form differ by only one character, they are separated by five forms; despite taking two Transformation Dragon Pills, it seems the time for metamorphosis has not yet arrived.

"Once I gather all twenty-six forms, there should be some change, right?"

Suppressing his impulse, Li Li Yuanzhong, already quite exhausted, forced himself back to his room, placed the little rat at the door, closed his eyes, and fell into a deep sleep.

When he opened his eyes, Li Li Yuanzhong felt a rare soreness throughout his body.

Transforming his bone and marrow structure multiple times in a short period was even too much for his current physique.

"I've trained a bit too fiercely these past few days; I need to rest for a day or two..."

Li Li Yuanzhong loosened his tendons and bones, feeling the ever-increasing strength, and felt satisfied.

Form Twenty-Two; his current bone structure and physique were far beyond those of ordinary Form-Transforming martial artists. If one could train their personal physique to this extent, wouldn't that be a superhuman in the previous life?

Master Li Dao was hard-pressed not to be satisfied; he rose, pushed open the door, and with a single step, a shallow footprint appeared on the ground.

"Strength has increased significantly."

Li Li Yuanzhong adjusted slightly, and his landing was unremarkable.

Realm and Wu Gong are both indispensable; the former enhances strength, while the latter controls it. Fortunately, he lacks neither.

Creak~

Pushing the door open, the sky had just brightened; the red sun rose amidst clouds and mist, and wisps of cooking smoke were already rising within the city.

"When the sun rises with clouds clutching it, the weather changes within three or five days... It's going to rain soon. Before winter sets in, I'd guess there will be only one or two more rains."

As a wild Daoist Priest, Daoist Priest Li cannot divine fortune or observe stars, but he can at least read some simple celestial phenomena.

"Three or five days is enough for me to digest another Dragon-Transforming Pill."

Li Yuan murmured to himself.

The medicinal power of one Dragon-Transforming Pill requires at least three days to consume. Calculating the time, perhaps I can even gather the twenty-six forms of the Great Dragon Form?

His thoughts wandered slightly; Li Yuan prepared to seek out Linghu Linghu Baiwan to ask about the situation, and incidentally, urge on the Thousand-Eyed Bodhisattva Temple.

Six days ago, he had entrusted Liu Zheng to purchase an incense burner at the temple. If that fourth-rank incense burner were obtained, it would be even more secure.

A pair of fourth-rank boots might not be much stronger than three pairs of third-rank ones, but they occupy only one Master-Command slot.

"Three or five days..."

"The Divine Weapon Valley is currently too dangerous to provoke; these bounty missions cannot be accepted..."

Inside a private room of a restaurant in Chengnan, Linghu Linghu Baiwan had ordered a table of wine and dishes but had little appetite; flipping through a Juan Sect manuscript he had copied himself, he sighed inwardly.

The assassination bounty board at the Star-Picking Tower listed many missions, but many missions had hung there for decades; the employers' families were already extinct, and it was not certain anyone could complete them.

He picked and chose, his gaze falling upon a name circled in cinnabar.

"Li Yuan's bounty has risen again..."

Linghu Linghu Baiwan's eyes flickered. Having had most of his wealth knocked away, he urgently needed to accept a few missions; otherwise, even the pills for practicing martial arts would run out.

And on this scroll of bounty listings, Li Yuan's bounty could already rank within the top ten, yet Qi Ren Wu Gong could not enter the top hundred; this was an excellent mission target.

Alas...

"Not many have the courage to accept it... But if this Li Yuan fails to enter the Dragon-Tiger Temple afterward..."

Linghu Linghu Baiwan sighed in his heart, but by then, he would not have the qualification to compete with the top assassins inside the tower.

"Brother Linghu!"

Footsteps approached.

"Hmm?"

Linghu Linghu Baiwan frowned, rose, and opened the door. Outside stood a young man in tight-fitting clothes; his name was Wei Bao, an official of the Wutang in Dechang Town. Though he had not yet changed his form, he was deeply trusted by An San Yuan Wu.

"Brother Linghu, the Hall Master requests your presence."

"Fire Dragon Temple again?"

Linghu Linghu Baiwan's heart sank, and he followed Wei Bao to the banquet.

Dechang Prefecture was commercially prosperous with many restaurants. Perhaps due to the lesson learned last time, this banquet location was not a restaurant, but a private house in a small alley.

"As expected!"

Glancing at Yue Chongtian who greeted them in the courtyard, Linghu Linghu Baiwan understood immediately.

Inside the room, as predicted, Feng Feng Yuanqing was there; the difference was that this time, several figures in cloaks and masks had joined.

Linghu Linghu Baiwan sat quietly in a corner. After waiting a while, several more experts arrived, though they too wore masks.

"Everyone is nearly here."

After another while, Yue Chongtian closed the door, and only then did Feng Feng Yuanqing, who had been keeping his eyes closed, open them:

"Everyone knows Feng's intent; there is no need for further nonsense."

"Wait..."

An San Yuan Wu spoke to interrupt: "Hall Master Feng had better speak more clearly; if someone misunderstands the meaning, that would not be good."

Feng Feng Yuanqing's gaze darkened. Glancing at Yue Chongtian, the latter coughed lightly and clasped his hands, saying:

"My master's meaning is to take the initiative to strike while the Divine Weapon Valley is not yet firmly established..."

The room was very quiet, with only his voice audible.

Linghu Linghu Baiwan observed everyone in the room; he guessed these masked figures were likely the renowned experts of Dechang Prefecture.

"Excellent! The Divine Weapon Valley acts arrogantly. If they are currently too busy to care about us, that is one thing; once they have stabilized their footing, it will be us who suffer!"

Someone spoke in agreement, also pinching their voice so their original tone could not be recognized, but it seemed consensus had already been reached.

An San Yuan Wu frowned slightly, merely looking at Feng Feng Yuanqing; the latter knew his thoughts but deliberately pretended not to hear.

"The Thousand-Crisis Cave has a thousand-year legacy; the Divine Weapon Valley can destroy it at will, let alone us?"

"We must tear off the face sooner or later; it is better to strike first!"

"Kill that Lord Master Gongyang Yu..."

The discussion inside the room gradually grew louder.

Not only An San Yuan Wu and Wei Bao, but even Linghu Linghu Baiwan realized what was happening:

"Fire Dragon Temple is finding a batch of scapegoats?"

"Gulp!"

Like a stone falling into a deep well.

Li Yuan swallowed the last Dragon-Transforming Pill; his skin and membranes glowed with a faint red light, his bones and tendons throughout his body emitted a 'crackling sound', and subtle changes were brewing within his body.

He kept his eyes closed, yet he seemed able to perceive the outside world.

The congealed lamp oil, the cooled medicinal liquid, the gecko crawling on the wall, the nameless bugs scurrying in the corners…

And the night wind, carrying a chill and a dampness.

It's going to rain!