Chapter 256

Trading old for new iron isn't reliable; the bronze incense burner inside the temple won't be damaged for several more centuries, oxidation isn't that fast.

Li Yuan very reluctantly gave up this thought and turned to look at both sides.

There were three beams of Jin Guang in the small temple; besides this sixth-rank incense burner, each of the small rooms on the left and right had one, also shimmering with Jin Guang, and even more pure and dazzling.

【Azure Dragon Kasaya (Seventh Rank)】

【... Made from hundred-poison golden silkworm silk mixed with over a hundred types of spiritual silkworm silk, plus complete spiritual dragon skin, containing a dragon soul, with a violent spiritual nature】

【Mastery Conditions: Spiritual Dragon Thirteen Forms, Dragon Body, Great Perfection of Dragon Zen Vajra Sutra】

【Mastery Effects: Seventh Rank (Pale Gold): Great Perfection of the Seventh Layer of Dragon Zen Vajra Sutra, Immunity to Ten Thousand Poisons, Form of the Spiritual Dragon】

Sixth Rank (Yellow): Body-Hardening Talent, Unmoved by the Eight Winds】

A divine-level kasaya.

Li Yuan rubbed his eyes; this kasaya was far superior to Long Long Xinglie's ink-jade Qianshan Qianshan Qilin armor.

However, compared to the Jiang Mo Chu on the other side, it appeared somewhat dim and lackluster.

【Ancient Elephant Spiritual Dragon Subduing Pestle (Eighth Rank)】

【... Primarily made from complete spiritual dragon bones and ancient spiritual elephant ivory, mixed with the finest gold from under heaven, tempered by wind, thunder, ice, and fire, and nurtured for a hundred years in the Dragon-Tiger Nourishing Furnace, its spiritual nature is already sufficient...】

【Mastery Conditions: Perfection of Dragon Zen Vajra Sutra, Great Perfection of Dragon-Tiger Hun Tian Hammer, Great Might Heavenly Dragon Form, Great Perfection of Ancient Spiritual Elephant Nine Forms Hammer】

【Mastery Effects: Eighth Rank (Gold): Innate Hammer Spirit, Long Xiang Heliu】

Seventh Rank (Pale Gold): Form of Dragon and Elephant, Dragon-Elephant Colossal Strength, Mastery of a Hundred Hammers】

An eighth-rank, top-grade divine weapon heavy hammer!

Li Yuan rubbed his eyes again; the Jin Guang was too brilliant, making his eyes feel sore.

"An eighth-rank heavy hammer."

Li Yuan muttered to himself; he felt his mind was much more stable. If this had happened a few years ago, he would surely have lost his composure on the spot.

Aside from the Split-Sea Black Whale Hammer, this was the highest-rank divine weapon he had seen up close, and it was also the heavy hammer he needed most.

'An eighth-rank hammer talent, one is worth three seventh-rank talents, nine?'

Li Yuan was somewhat dazed.

Inside the small temple, Long Xi Xiang paced about, introducing the ancestral masters of past generations and the rules the Great Dragon Gate needed to observe.

After a while, he frowned slightly, waved his hand, and sent Li Yuan out, who was clearly distracted yet reluctant to leave.

"This child is quite good."

In the courtyard, Long Xi Xiang lay on the recliner again.

Monk Dou Yue glanced at Li Yuan, who kept looking back with every step:

"Ancestral Master passed the Dragon Zen Vajra Sutra to him, and you passed the Dragon-Tiger Hun Tian Hammer. Are you planning for this young man to walk the path of 'Long Xiang Heliu'?"

Monk Dou Yue's eyes flickered.

The Dragon-Tiger Nine Halls inherit the nine supreme arts of Dragon-Tiger Temple; Long Xiang Heliu does not belong to any of them, but is merely a semi-supreme killing move created by Long Xi Xiang.

Yet in the hearts of the many disciples of the Great Dragon Gate, it is more important than any supreme art.

Because it concerns the peerless divine skill of the Great Dragon Gate, 'Dragon-Elephant Vajra Heaven'.

"If this young man can cultivate this Dragon Zen Sutra to half-perfection and the Hun Tian Hammer to half-perfection within fifteen years, then he will have the qualification to compete for 'Dragon-Elephant Vajra Heaven'."

Long Xi Xiang glanced at him while speaking:

"Are you worried?"

"This disciple fears nothing."

Monk Dou Yue pressed his palms together, his expression calm.

"That is good."

Long Xi Xiang yawned, implying something:

"Long Xiang Heliu, you brothers can all receive the transmission. I claim no bias; who can master Dragon-Elephant Vajra Heaven depends on your own fate."

Speaking thus, he paused slightly, thinking of Chi Yan Fa, his junior uncle who had defected from the sect because he did not learn this divine skill and joined the Xieshen Sect.

"This disciple understands."

Monk Dou Yue bowed deeply.

"Enough, go down and prepare. Three years is long yet short; the venue for the Martial Arts of All Paths also needs advance preparation..."

Long Xi Xiang waved his hand.

"Yes."

Monk Dou Yue bowed slightly and withdrew.

After the two left in succession, the courtyard suddenly grew quiet. Long Xi Xiang yawned several times, nearly falling asleep:

"If you don't come out, this old man is going to fall asleep."

His voice was neither loud nor soft, but the sound waves spread out like solid matter, visible ripples expanding, shattering the lingering smoke and clouds within the temple.

A female Taoist in a Taoist robe, holding a fly-whisk, walked in from outside the door and bowed slightly:

"Nie Ying pays respects to Junior Uncle."

"Nie Ying... hmm, Old Nie's youngest daughter. I heard you are now the Tangfutang of Jingtao Hall?"

Long Xi Xiang looked at this female Taoist, remembered who she was, and couldn't help feeling somewhat emotional:

"How long has it been? You have even succeeded in blood replacement. Old Nie's methods of training disciples are not bad."

How long has it been?

It has been nearly fifty years...

Nie Ying inwardly scoffed but performed the rites very respectfully: "I didn't expect Junior Uncle to still remember your niece."

"What business brings you to see this old man?"

Long Xi Xiang sat up.

"This disciple has just returned to the sect and heard that Junior Uncle has emerged from seclusion; I have come specifically to pay my respects."

"If you have something to say, say it; do not beat around the bush."

Long Xi Xiang cut off her pleasantries; he was truly somewhat exhausted.

"This... this disciple has come on my father's orders with an unreasonable request; I hope Junior Uncle..."

"Since you know it is an unreasonable request, then do not say it."

Long Xi Xiang cut her off again.

"... Then, this disciple takes his leave."

Nie Ying gave a bitter smile and quickly bowed to take his leave.

"Wait, tell me." Long Xi Xiang called her back; he still had a bit of friendship with Nie Xianshan.

"Replying to Junior Uncle, my father wishes to request a Long Hu Longhu Dadan..."

"Indeed, an unreasonable request."

Long Xi Xiang raised a hand; Nie Ying felt a massive force rolling toward him and involuntarily retreated out of the small temple.

"Long Hu Longhu Dadan? Has that old fellow Nie Xianshan gone mad? It took this old man fifteen years to obtain a single Longhu Dadan; how thick is his skin, daring to come and request one?"

In the courtyard, Long Xi Xiang was quite furious.

The Long Hu Temple produces many spiritual pills, such as the Great Return Pill, Long Dan, Hu Dan, and the Dragon Transformation Pill; every year there are one or two batches.

However, the Long Hu Longhu Dadan is far more precious than the Great Return Pill; it is good enough if one batch is brewed every ten years, as the main ingredients are the heart-blood essence of the two 'Beast Ancestors' in the mountain.

After his anger, he immediately stood up, went inside the room to retrieve paper and brush, and wrote down the important matters.

Mainly regarding the Long Hu Longhu Dadan.

"Nie Xianshan is shameless; the Long Hu Longhu Dadan will absolutely not be lent out! Hmm, Li... Li Yuan's talent and aptitude are not bad; he can be my personal disciple."

"Seventh-rank incense ash."

In the cold wind, Li Yuan washed with cold water, his heart restless.

Over these years, he had been collecting weapons; alas, the higher the rank of the weapon, the harder it was to obtain, so gradually his focus shifted to searching for low-rank weapons and incense ash.

But weapons above the grade of supreme famous artifacts were extremely rare, and incense ash above the sixth rank was no easier to find.

"The incense burners in the Long Hu Temple have not been replaced for hundreds of years; obviously, they either do not know or do not care about the small amount of incense ash within; the symbolic meaning of these burners far exceeds their practical meaning."

Li Yuan pondered.

Over the past half-year, relying on the tactic of trading old for new, he had obtained many weapons enhanced with martial arts, but the incense burner was different; this thing had no concept of new or old, nor would any disciple bring one to trade.

"I must take the initiative... hmm, knocking on a few incense burners won't be hard; I'll try again? Hmm, just say he himself asked me to replace them; this old man's memory is so poor..."

Wealth moves the heart; Daoist Li's thoughts scattered, and he could not help but entertain the idea of deceiving the old man.

"No wonder someone in the temple dares to covet the Grandmaster's inheritance; a forgetful old man is too easy to bully; he cannot remember grudges."

Li Yuan murmured to himself:

"Is it not wrong to bully an old man?"

Letting out a long breath, Li Yuan looked toward the corner; there were several small incense burners in the corner; he had previously thought of replacing the incense burners but had not yet started acting.

"Is it not alright to try? If I don't replace them, just consider it a disciple's small act of filial piety; hmm, filial piety."

Li Yuan felt slightly settled in his heart.

Over these few months, he had spent money like water; except for the gold tickets used to buy the blood of spiritual beast kings, all his silver had been poured into the weapon-forging shop.

The results were also very good; under Liu Zheng's supervision, the losses of the weapon-forging shop grew larger and larger; over a thousand hammers, both ranked and unranked, had been forged; counting the ones he had searched for himself previously, it was enough to combine a seventh-rank Divine Hammer.

Only the incense ash was missing...

"Huff!"

Shaking off the frost from his body, Li Yuan returned to the room, lit a stick of Concentration Incense as usual, swallowed a few pills, sat cross-legged in meditation, and opened the Long Hu Hun Tian Hammer manual.

This supreme-art-level hammer technique, although Li Yuan had just obtained it, he was actually already very familiar with it.

Over the past half-year, he had searched for nearly ten heavy hammers enhanced with this supreme-art-level hammer technique; although the highest level of control and enhancement he possessed was only Great Perfection, it was enough for him to get started quickly.

"Long Hu Hun Tian: utmost rigidity and utmost yang; momentum outweighs techniques; it emphasizes suppressing people with momentum and breaking cleverness with force... very suitable for me."

Li Yuan squinted slightly; there was only one oil lamp in the room, but he could see very clearly; at the same time, in the Land of Spiritual Light, he had already begun attempting to practice standing meditation and hammer drills.

"Hmm, first, install the hammers."

With a thought, Li Yuan sequentially switched his control to seven heavy hammers, including the 【Hexagonal Patterned Dragon Hammer (Fifth Rank)】 and the 【Hexagonal Mixed-Rigid Hammer (Fourth Rank)】.

Voom~

With eyes closed, he felt the changes within himself.

The enhancement of multiple hammer technique talents, along with scenes of others practicing hammer techniques constantly floating in his mind, allowed Li Yuan to master this supreme-art-level hammer technique at an extremely fast speed.

"At most three days, and this hammer technique will reach the entry level!"

After a long while, Li Yuan opened his eyes, his mood excellent; compared to the difficulties of the Ten Thousand Blades Spiritual Dragon Body and the Dragon Zen Vajra Sutra, the progress of this hammer technique was simply astonishingly fast.

This was naturally because he had prepared in advance, but also because his own hammer technique talent was very high.

"At most half a year, it should reach Great Perfection. This speed is even faster than the Soldier Dao Battle-Killing Hammer!"

Li Yuan was very satisfied in his heart; he reopened the manual; the techniques, standing meditation postures, and breathing methods were all mastered by him very quickly; the visualization method was slightly harder, but with the foundation of the Soldier Dao Battle-Killing Hammer, he also mastered it quickly.

The most difficult part was the section regarding unblocking the meridians.

Unblocking the meridians is the process of outlining the meridians based on the circulation of blood qi and internal qi; with even a slight error, it would either cause internal qi to strike the internal organs lightly, or lead to qi deviation and damage the foundation severely.

Li Yuan was very careful.

"Hmm, the focus of the Long Hu Hun Tian Hammer is the waist, abdomen, and torso; hmm, it overlaps with the Battle-Killing Hammer and the Hundred Beasts Thunder Dragon..."

Li Yuan flipped through the pages several times, confirmed he had memorized them, then swallowed several pills, swapped out his hammer weapon, and took control of the items enhancing his spirit and perception one by one.

Only then did he begin attempting to open the meridians.

Several months ago, Li Yuan's internal Qi had already been capable of attempting to construct meridians, but out of caution, he had still prepared for several months, studying books and stocking up on pills.

Buzz!

Li Yuan closed his eyes; with the enhancement of the Fire Dragon Sword, his perception of his own body was very clear.

He circulated his internal Qi until his body grew warm, then carefully guided a wisp of internal Qi to spread deeper.

"The more perfect the meridian construction, the more supreme arts one can cultivate simultaneously... Normally, building one meridian constitutes a great success in opening meridians; thirteen meridians also constitute a great success in opening meridians."

Li Yuan kept his eyes closed; he could perceive the writhing of his organs, the flow of blood, and the dense network of blood vessels covering his entire body with relative clarity.

What blood circulation, what internal Qi circulation, compared to these countless

blood vessels, all seemed crude and rudimentary, whether the great circulation or the small circulation.

"The records in the Library state that a thousand years ago, an ancestor at Longhu Temple, while opening his meridians, perceived his own blood vessels and resolved to emulate the human body's vessels to construct the most perfect meridian map..."

Li Yuan's spiritual power was vigorous; while carefully constructing his meridians, he was also recalling the insights and speculations of predecessors regarding meridian opening from the Library.

"It is said there are tens of billions of blood vessels in the human body... That ancestor suffered the hardship of lacking education."

Li Yuan had a plan for constructing his own meridians.

Comprehensive, yet not pursuing complexity.

As long as it covered the Wu Gong he currently knew and left room for future Wu Gong, that would be enough; truly pursuing complexity would have no upper limit.

Constructing meridians requires powerful spiritual power and profound internal Qi; Li Yuan possessed both completely, so the construction proceeded very quickly.

"Swish!"

Just as dawn broke, Li Yuan opened his eyes.

"Is that meridian opening already?"

Li Yuan was slightly stunned; he had easily crossed the threshold of meridian opening, yet his body had not undergone any change.

"Just as Old Han said, only Body Transformation can raise the human limit and cause the physique to metamorphose..."

Having just completed the initial meridian opening, he glanced at the cat and mouse in the room, then slowly extended his arm.

To the naked eye, his arm showed no change; only he himself could feel that within his arm, a new meridian capable of holding internal Qi had appeared.

In just one night, he had outlined a meridian within his body; this speed was astonishing, yet it was also a natural outcome, after all, he had prepared for several months.

"Internal Qi leaving the body."

Li Yuan lightly raised his arm, under his own gaze.

Wisps of yellow light surged from within his body; the formless internal Qi, after the meridians were forged, showed signs of transforming into something substantial.

In the blink of an eye, his entire arm was enveloped by a faint yellow light; this feeling was strange, as if wrapped in a layer of warm water.

Buzz!

Li Yuan shifted his thoughts; the thin layer of yellow light on his arm flowed as if alive, changing in length or squareness with intent.

Swish!

Li Yuan flicked his left index finger, sending a flying dagger stabbing toward his right hand.

Only the sound "Clang!" was heard; the flying dagger rebounded. He casually grabbed it, and with the sounds "Crack! Crack!", the wrought-iron flying dagger was crushed into mud.

"Not bad."

Li Yuan's eyes brightened slightly; throughout this entire process, he had not used a bit of force; he merely shifted his thoughts, and the internal Qi naturally blocked the attack.

"The next step is True Qi taking form!"