Chapter 238: On the Road (Combined Two-in-One)

In the night, Yu Yu Banzhou pressed his forehead against the cold ground, faintly hearing the Red Flame Dragon King mutter to himself, yet could only pretend not to hear and wait for his orders.

"Get up."

After a long while, the Red Flame Dharma King finally turned, looking at Yu Yu Banzhou kneeling prostrate on the ground:

"How is the cultivation of the 'Spirit Children' of Master Baili Lei Jingchuan and Brother Huangfu Kun progressing?"

"Replying to the Dragon King, those Spirit Children are still contemplating the 'Living Person Steles' of Hall Masters Master Baili and Brother Huangfu; progress, progress is somewhat slow."

Yu Yu Banzhou answered respectfully: "Hall Master Lin has been urging them in the underground palace..."

The Contemplation Method and the Living Person Stele are life-saving secret techniques accessible only to helmsmen and above within the sect; unless encountering a Grandmaster who penetrates Yin and Yang, even upon death, there remains the possibility of rebirth within a Spirit Child.

"Urging? Or is it seclusion?"

The Red Flame Dharma King glanced at him:

"Lin Lin Chonghu established great merit in years past, thus receiving a 'Blood-Transformation Spirit Pill'; these years he has been attempting to digest it, hoping to change his blood. Do you think I do not know?"

"This... it is not that your subordinate concealed it from the Dragon King, it is, it is that your subordinate also did not know Hall Master Lin intended to change his blood."

Yu Yu Banzhou felt somewhat terrified.

"Changing blood is changing blood; yet finding excuses to conceal it. Lin Lin Chonghu is still so timid. Among the eight hall masters of Mount Hengshan, I like him the least."

The Red Flame Dharma King cared little, turning instead to speak in a deep voice:

"Do you know why I came today?"

The Star-Picking Pavilion Master?

Yu Yu Banzhou shook his head, looking utterly bewildered: "Your subordinate does not know."

"Secret reports from the sect state that after the battle in the Imperial Capital, the Star-Picking Pavilion Master fled to Mount Hengshan; the Sect Leader divined and knows he has fallen at Pingshan in Youzhou..."

The Red Flame Dharma King did not conceal it.

In fact, several months ago, after clashing across the void with Long Xi Xiang, unless it were a major matter, he would not have been able to split his true qi again in such a short time.

"What? The Star-Picking Pavilion Master has arrived at Pingshan?"

Yu Yu Banzhou's face changed drastically; the mountain behind him was, after all, Pingshan...

"Why panic?"

The Red Flame Dharma King seemed very displeased.

"Your subordinate lost composure, but, but that is the Star-Picking Pavilion Master, a Mortal Immortal..."

Yu Yu Banzhou wore a bitter smile on his face, his heart filled with dread.

Excluding the Nine Provinces of Henglong, the Great Destiny still has five great paths and nineteen provinces; how many Wu Zhiren are there but countless myriads, yet in nearly two hundred years, only twelve Grandmasters have been listed on the Divine List.

Those are monuments of the martial way, peerless giants who can defeat a nation alone, gods and buddhas walking the human world; how could he not fear them?

"A Mortal Immortal is indeed terrifying and fearsome, but a dying Mortal Immortal is not so awe-inspiring."

The Red Flame Dharma King's body flickered; he had to reach out and press down on Yu Yu Banzhou's shoulder. The latter's form trembled, feeling his entire body's true qi pour out like floodwaters released from a dam, his face turning deathly pale.

"In the battle of the Imperial Capital, the King of Suppressing Martial Arts, wielding the Dragon-Demon-Slaying Divine Blade, severely injured his divine spirit and shattered his Dragon-Demon Heart Sutra. Furthermore, the Sect Leader and Shen Qi Sheng the Recluse successively launched attacks, pursuing him for over a hundred thousand li; several severe injuries scattered his mind and spirit. Even if he does not die, he is not far from it!"

The Red Flame Dharma King's body stabilized; Yu Yu Banzhou's face was already as pale as paper.

"This..."

Yu Yu Banzhou wiped the cold sweat from his face, swallowed several Yuan-Replenishing Pills, and still forced his spirit to respond, daring not let the Dragon King's words fall to the ground:

"The King of Suppressing Martial Arts, the Sect Leader, and the Recluse Shen Qi Sheng successively launched attacks, yet still could not kill that Star-Picking Pavilion Master?"

Yu Yu Banzhou did know of the battle in the Imperial Capital.

It was nothing more than the Star-Picking Pavilion Master attempting regicide, being blocked by the King of Suppressing Martial Arts, leaving severely injured, and escaping only with the secret support of a 'mysterious expert'.

Now it seems, afterwards, two Grandmasters successively launched attacks to pursue him, yet he still managed to escape alive?!

"Even the five of the Wudadao Sect could not have stopped him, right?"

"After all, he is the Star-Picking Pavilion Master; the Dragon-Demon Heart Sutra is, after all, the number one demonic art under heaven..."

The Red Flame Dharma King shook his head slightly, said nothing more, reached out to pat Yu Yu Banzhou's shoulder again, and then floated away into the night.

"..."

Yu Yu Banzhou's face was already deathly pale; struck by the pat, he felt his vision go black and nearly fainted.

Only after a long while did he recover his breath, secretly regretting why he had not gone into seclusion.

He suspected this old fellow had come here specifically to absorb his true qi.

"Huff!"

The Red Flame Dharma King floated away; moments later, a figure emerged from the shadows.

It was an extremely emaciated old man with a large frame, yet seeming to have no flesh and blood; he walked without sound, looking in the direction the Red Flame Dharma King had departed, his voice hoarse and low:

"Grandmasters are indeed terrifying and fearsome; even a wisp of true qi was so keen... The Dragon King's words were spoken for me to hear."

"Brother Lin, you, you have succeeded?"

Seeing his terrifying appearance, Yu Yu Banzhou was also startled.

"The most difficult hurdle has been passed; afterwards comes stimulating the bone marrow, nurturing new blood, and reshaping the body."

Lin Lin Chonghu looked at his withered palm and could not help but sigh:

"Even with the aid of the 'Blood-Transformation Spirit Pill', I nearly died. Changing blood is already this difficult; how much more difficult must traversing Yin and Yang be..."

Yu Yu Banzhou also sighed, but suddenly came to his senses; he himself had not yet changed his blood...

"Brother Lin, you say the Dragon King's words were for you?"

"Yes."

Lin Lin Chonghu's eyes flickered: "A Mortal Immortal... if he gave me an arm, it would save me ten years of Ku Gong, or even allow me to glimpse the mystery of the convergence of Yin and Yang..."

"Then you?"

Yu Yu Banzhou's heart gave a 'thud'.

"A land immortal—even the Dragon King fears one. How would I dare go up against him?"

Lin Lin Chonghu gazed toward Pingshan from afar:

"But since we've already heard it, whether we want to go or not is no longer up to us…"

……

Wooo!

The night wind blew through the mountain forest, curling up wisps of gunpowder smoke.

A stretch of mountain range over ten li long had been burned black, and among the smoke, embers still not extinguished.

Lin Lin Chonghu hurried over and, from a great distance, spotted the Chi Yan Fa Wang, whose entire body was one color. He sighed faintly and followed:

"Your subordinate Lin Lin Chonghu, pays respects to the Dragon King."

"This mountain has been burned very clean."

The Chi Yan Fa Wang turned around, sizing up the skeletal-looking Lin Lin Chonghu: "Good. Old blood gone, new blood born. Once you pass this hurdle, you'll be able to call yourself a Zhun Sect master!"

"Many thanks to the Cult Master for bestowing the spiritual pill."

Lin Lin Chonghu answered very respectfully: "This mountain fire should have started three days ago. That same day, the Seven Fiends Gate relay station over ten li away also caught fire…"

"Oh?"

The Chi Yan Fa Wang raised an eyebrow: "What a coincidence?"

"No survivors."

Before he could ask, Lin Lin Chonghu had already answered:

"The mountain fire burned for four nights and three days. The strange thing is, quite a few wild beasts seemed to have died before the fire…"

"Besides this, are there any other unusual signs at Pingshan?"

"The nest of ghost-faced apes your subordinate keeps is short a few—they also died in the mountain fire, but Monkey Mountain is a full hundred li from here…"

Lin Lin Chonghu frowned slightly: "Your subordinate only just came out of seclusion and doesn't yet know whether there are any unusual signs elsewhere."

"Is that so?"

The Chi Yan Fa Wang reached out to pat Lin Lin Chonghu, who bowed and stepped back to dodge:

"It's not that your subordinate is unwilling to show filial respect—it's truly that I'm at a critical juncture right now. Losing too much true qi would affect the blood exchange."

"Heh~"

The Chi Yan Fa Wang smiled: "If that's the case, then so be it."

Before his words had faded, he had already walked slowly toward the fire scene. This past half night, he had walked several hundred li of mountain road—the only place with anything unusual was here.

Lin Lin Chonghu followed closely behind.

……

……

"Slap!"

Half-asleep, Li Yuan raised his hand to block the descending tiger paw. With a 'slash,' five bloody gouges had already appeared on the back of his hand.

"Here we go again!"

Li Yuan opened his eyes and saw, in the pitch-dark tent, a pair of eyes gleaming with Jin Guang.

A half-black, half-white little tiger cub squatted on the hammer handle, licking its little paw in between.

"This tiger cub really has plenty of spiritual intelligence, and…"

Looking at the claw marks on the back of his hand, Li Yuan shook his head helplessly. With his horizontal training plus internal qi, he had actually been breached time and again by a single tiger cub.

These past few days, whenever he had a break from traveling, he had flipped through the Mount Hengshan Ten Thousand Beasts Ranking several times, yet still couldn't find a spiritual beast similar to this tiger cub.

"Woo~"

On the hammer handle, the little tiger cub half-squatted, making 'woo-woo' sounds.

Not far away, underground, a little mouse trembled, belly up, both scared and timid.

These past few days, the tiger and mouse got along 'very harmoniously.' Fortunately, this little tiger cub only looked down on the little mouse and had not the slightest interest in it.

"Hungry again?"

Li Yuan reached into his clothes and fished out a bottle of pills, took one out and tossed it to the little mouse, and tossed the rest to the little tiger cub.

These weren't six-qian-per-tael Blood-Nourishing Pills, but two one-tael-per-tael Zeng Xue Dan.

These past few days, Li Yuan had tried every way to feed the tiger, but this little tiger cub was unbelievably picky—it wouldn't eat raw meat, wouldn't drink unboiled water, and besides herbs, would only eat pills.

It wouldn't even eat the low-quality ones.

"Woo~"

Li Yuan only saw a flash of black shadow, and the empty bottle had already been slapped back.

The little tiger cub still squatted on the hammer handle, grooming its fur. Six Zeng Xue Dan had gone into its belly without any visible change—its digestive ability was countless times stronger than the little mouse's.

"Six a day, no more."

Li Yuan took the empty bottle and also saw the little tiger cub's human-like eye-roll.

"…This temperament is way too rotten."

It looked like a cow-cat and acted like one too. Li Yuan shook his head inwardly. Apart from the day it was caught, he hadn't been able to pet the cat once in all these days.

Every time he had this thought, this little tiger cub would bristle, claws and fangs out, making a tremendous ruckus—plenty wild.

"Behave, stop bothering me."

Li Yuan touched the python-ox rope on his hand, then closed his eyes and continued his visualization.

Since the Visualization Method had reached an introductory level, he hadn't done much fist-practicing or stake-standing—the gains from the Visualization Method were enough to cover it.

"Hah!"

"Hoo!"

Li Yuan's breathing steadied, and gradually, the tent fell silent.

Pressed into a corner of the tent, the little mouse timidly opened its eyes. Seeing that the "cat ancestor" on the hammer handle seemed to be asleep, it tiptoed over to pick up the pill on the ground and gave it a small lick.

Then, it stood upright on its hind legs and threw some proper-looking punches. These past few days, it had been extremely diligent, sensing the crisis.

"Hiss!"

Suddenly, its whole body trembled and it tumbled to the ground, looking up in terror to find the "cat ancestor" had somehow walked right up to it.

It wanted to flee, but didn't dare move a muscle, allowing the little tiger cub to fiddle with it with a look of distaste.

"Woo!"

The little tiger cub glanced at it, turned, and leaped back onto the hammer handle. Strands of moonlight had somehow filtered in through the gaps in the tent, enveloping it within.

"Squeak?"

The little mouse froze, its tiny bean-sized eyes not moving at all.

The "cat ancestor" was "eating" the moonlight?!

"Squeak…"

The little mouse's startled cry faded, and it glanced back nervously.

On the bed, its master—who it had found increasingly disagreeable these past few days—was breathing long and slow, his robes rippling as if countless snakes were slithering beneath the fabric.

It looked left and right, then slowly retreated into its hole, shivering…

……

Ever since Han Han Chuijun had caught up with them, the group hadn't entered a city. They rested one night every two days, and their traveling speed skyrocketed. In no more than seven or eight days, they had reached the next ferry crossing.

Right beside the dock was a commandery city, but Han Han Chuijun refused the group's request to enter the city. He bought a medium-sized boat right at the dock and didn't even hire any sailors.

The tasks of poling the boat and steering the rudder fell to Gao Gang, Liu Zheng, and the others.

Although life on the boat was also hard, it was still much better than traveling day and night without rest.

"Traveling by water is indeed more comfortable."

On the deck, Li Yuan looked around. This commandery city sat on the edge of Youzhou, with a direct waterway leading to Mount Hengshan City, and was very bustling. Though it was only early spring, merchant ships were already coming and going in an endless stream.

"Even busier than the canal at Dechang Prefecture."

Fang Fang Yunxiu was also surveying the surroundings. She had followed Han Han Chuijun on many missions before and was long accustomed to this intensity of travel.

"After all, this is the essential waterway leading to Mount Hengshan City."

Feeling the river breeze, Li Yuan's heart stirred with a few ripples. Once he reached Mount Hengshan City, he could join Dragon Tiger Temple.

With an ultimate-grade hammer technique in hand, he could begin to wield the "Rift Sea Mysterious Whale Hammer." This Daoist Tianyun Daoist Tianyun Xuanbing—even at first mastery—surpassed any divine weapon, and by a wide margin.

"There are quite a few experts around too."

Li Yuan followed Fang Fang Yunxiu's gaze and saw a lone leaf-like boat drifting downstream. A handsome, elegant youth stood with his hands clasped behind his back, the river breeze stirring his sword tassel and long hair—quite dashing.

Whether he was truly an expert or not, Li Yuan couldn't tell from this distance, but the man's appearance was indeed eye-catching.

White robes, a sword at his side, suave and dashing—truly bearing the air of a chivalrous young hero of the jianghu.

"Dressed in all that white, traveling alone in just one little boat like that—it looks impressive, but it must actually be miserable."

Wang Wang Peiyao's focus was different.

On this journey, she and Liu Zheng, who had the lowest Wu Gong, had suffered greatly. Seeing such a lone little boat now, she immediately felt a pang of sympathy.

"That's true enough."

Fang Fang Yunxiu was amused. She glanced at Li Yuan and asked, "By the way, Junior Brother Li, where's your cat?"

"In the cabin."

Li Yuan replied.

This little tiger cub didn't like meeting strangers. If he wanted to come out for a breath of fresh air, he could only tie it up in the cabin.

"Brother Li is finally acting normal. Once we reach Mount Hengshan City, I want to raise a little cat just like that one too."

Wang Wang Peiyao chuckled lightly. Compared to that mouse, the little cat was very cute—just shy, and wouldn't let anyone touch it.

"Elder Feng is back."

Li Yuan looked toward the dock.

Feng Feng Zhongyi, the only one who had gone into the city to buy supplies, had returned carrying big and small packages.

"Set sail!"

Only then did Han Han Chuijun give the order. As the boat drifted downstream with the current, the group finally breathed a sigh of relief.

On the deck, Feng Feng Zhongyi took out a map and gestured: "Drifting downstream, we'll reach Mount Hengshan City in at most three to five days!"

"We're almost there at last."

The disciples of Shenbing Valley were all exhausted. Leaving Gao Gang and the others to steer, the rest returned to their cabins to rest, no longer minding the rocking.

Wang Wang Peiyao sensibly returned to the cabin.

Han Han Chuijun asked:

"Any discoveries?"

"Quite a few."

Feng Feng Zhongyi took out the intelligence he had purchased and handed it to the group:

"These past few days, the imperial court has been making big moves. Not just the Zhenwu Hall, but reportedly the Jingping Bureau has also sent experts… Star-Plucking Tower outposts have been discovered in many places across Huizhou and Youzhou, with heavy casualties…"

How could "many" even begin to cover it?

Li Yuan flipped through the intelligence. In just one glance, he saw that the Star-Plucking Tower outposts in the two major Fucheng of Zhelong Prefecture and Dechang Prefecture had also been wiped out.

The Zhenwu Hall and the Jingping Bureau were the two great violent organs the Dayun imperial court used to clamp down on sects across the realm. With them joining forces, the jianghu was in turmoil.

Only a few Star-Plucking Tower outposts had been taken down, but along the way, who knew how many gangs, Shanzhai, and even minor sects had been wiped out.

"Secretly colluding with the Xieshen Sect?"

Looking at those few small sects whose mountain gates had been broken, Fang Fang Yunxiu couldn't help but snort coldly.

"If you want to make a move, there are plenty of pretexts."

Han Han Chuijun's expression remained as usual; what he was concerned about was Youzhou.

"Even if something happens, it has nothing to do with us."

Feng Feng Zhongyi no longer paid much attention.

The few chatted for a while, then each returned to their cabin, while Li Yuan followed Han Han Chuijun back to his room.

"This cat is probably a very rare kind of spirit beast."

Han Han Chuijun glanced at the little tiger cub lying on the windowsill; the latter didn't even lift an eyelid.

"It's not even on the Ten Thousand Beasts Ranking — could it be from somewhere else?"

There was tea in the room; Li Yuan poured Han Han Chuijun a cup.

"There are more than ten thousand kinds of spirit beasts under heaven — it's normal for some to be undiscovered. Maybe this cat is one of them?"

Han Han Chuijun had little interest in spirit beasts. In his earlier years, when he was gathering Yi Bai Xing and creating the Ten Thousand Beasts Thunder Dragon, he had caught many, but now he had long lost interest.

"Probably?"

Li Yuan glanced at the little tiger cub; the latter didn't look at him either.

"Keeping it for amusement is fine, but don't lose your ambition to a pet."

Han Han Chuijun warned.

"…This disciple will keep it firmly in mind."

Li Yuan gave a wry smile — he hadn't even petted it once.

"This is Dao City territory. If the one behind all this wants to make a move, the last chance is before entering Dao City. If they don't act then, they most likely won't act at all."

As an old hand, Han Han Chuijun was very certain.

"Once I enter Dao City, I won't leave the city unless there's something I need to do."

Li Yuan naturally understood Old Han's meaning.

"Mm, on this point, this old man is still at ease."

Han Han Chuijun nodded.

In the few years since joining Divine Weapon Valley, Li Yuan's reputation for never leaving his quarters had spread far and wide — he truly was someone who could keep his composure and endure loneliness.

In the cabin, master and disciple chatted for a long time; mostly Han Han Chuijun was giving instructions while Li Yuan listened.

In the end, the two still came back to the topic of martial arts — the Hundred Beasts Thunder Dragon.

"The Hundred Beasts Thunder Dragon is still in its rough draft stage. Learn it if you can, drop it if you can't. Don't lose sight of the essentials chasing after trifles. Dragon Tiger Temple has no shortage of absolute arts, and divine skills too — more than enough for you to learn."

Han Han Chuijun set down his teacup, somewhat wistful:

"Remember — when there's a path to walk, don't think about blazing your own. Creating martial arts is truly an arduous journey."

"What about you, then?"

Li Yuan was somewhat curious; given Old Han's talent and methods, he certainly shouldn't have had nothing left to learn.

"Many years ago, this old man obtained a remnant page of a divine skill at some place — very tattered, just a single page with neither beginning nor end — but, after all, it was a divine skill…"

Han Han Chuijun didn't hide anything, and spoke of the events of that year.

"…That bandit was ferocious. At the time, this old man had only just undergone Yi Xing, and even joining forces with Jing Jing Shuhu, the two of us were no match. We had no choice but to flee into a hidden passage beneath a cold pool in a mountain valley…"

"There were no spirit beasts in that cold pool, but the waterways were many and complex. We narrowly escaped with our lives, only to end up in what appeared to be a predecessor's cave dwelling!"

Being hunted, then gaining a fortuitous encounter.

Li Yuan listened with great interest.

The little tiger cub on the windowsill had pricked up its ears at some unknown point.

"That divine skill was only one page, but its name carried too great a weight. Jing Jing Shuhu decisively gave it up, but this old man couldn't bear to, and in the end, embarked on this bumpy road of creating a skill."

At this point, Han Han Chuijun paused slightly:

"This divine skill — you should have heard of it…"

"Ah?"

Li Yuan was startled.

"Ten Thousand Beasts Sitting in Forgetfulness, Dragon Demon Heart Scripture!"

Crack!

Li Yuan turned his head, only to see half of the windowsill had collapsed. The little tiger cub seemed to have been startled — its fur stood on end for a moment, then it calmed down again.

"This cat has always been jumpy like this."

Li Yuan offered an explanation.

Han Han Chuijun frowned slightly; seeing that the little tiger cub still seemed not yet weaned, he nodded.

"You created your skill because of the Dragon Demon Heart Scripture?"

Li Yuan asked.

As for the Dragon Demon Heart Scripture, he had naturally heard its name thunder in his ears. Among the ten great world-shaking demonic skills widely circulated in the jianghu, the Dragon Demon Heart Scripture had once been called the foremost.

Although this had something to do with the reputation of Star-Plucking Tower, it was enough to show how formidable it was.

"Correct. Although this old man only obtained one page of the heart scripture, he was deeply drawn to it — so much so that he resolved to create an absolute art to match this world-shaking divine skill…"

Han Han Chuijun sighed: "In the blink of an eye, that's been over fifty years."

"Your perseverance is truly astonishing."

Li Yuan was full of admiration, and couldn't help being curious — how exquisite must the Dragon Demon Heart Scripture be, to make someone like Old Han squander decades of his life on it?

"This one page of heart scripture cannot be passed to you. It's not that this old man is stingy — I truly fear you won't be able to hold steady, and will go astray."

Han Han Chuijun saw through his thoughts and refused in advance:

"No matter how powerful the Dragon Demon Heart Scripture is, with only one page, it's still not as good as the Hundred Beasts Thunder Dragon I created."

"This disciple believes he can hold steady."

Li Yuan felt his self-control was still quite decent; he'd had the Bai Shen Fa for so long, yet only now began to learn it.

"No!"

The two master and disciple argued, while the little tiger cub on the windowsill paced back and forth, occasionally glancing sideways at the pair, lightly grinding its teeth.

"In a few years, if you still want it, I'll give it to you then."

Seeing Li Yuan wouldn't give up, Han Han Chuijun dispelled his thoughts with a single sentence:

"This page of the Dragon Demon Heart Scripture is terribly incomplete; only one who has mastered all Yi Bai Xing forms may forcibly practice it…

Once you've gathered all Yi Bai Xing, not only will I pass this page of the Heart Scripture to you, I'll also lead you to a place where you can learn this peerless divine art in full!"

"Hmph!"

Li Yuan frowned, and Han Han Chuijun also frowned. Looking back, they saw the little tiger cub in the corner fiddling with a little mouse, tossing it up and down.

*Smack! *

Li Yuan reached out, caught the dizzy little mouse, stuffed it back into his sleeve in one motion, and glared at the little tiger cub in warning.

The latter didn't even turn its head, just lay against the corner licking its fur.

Han Han Chuijun frowned, and only after quite a while withdrew his gaze:

"Given your talent, if you're diligent, in at most ten-odd years you should be able to gather all Yi Bai Xing. When that time comes…"

"This disciple will certainly do his utmost!"

Li Yuan could almost be certain that the place Old Han spoke of was the Star-Plucking Tower.

In all the world, the place with the complete Dragon Demon Heart Scripture was this one and only…

"I'll secretly send you into the city; after that, you needn't look for me."

Han Han Chuijun rose and went out the door; without any visible movement, he had already vanished from above the river.

Li Yuan watched him depart into the distance and bowed deeply.