Chapter 257: Stability

Whoosh—

Night wind blew gently; in the small courtyard, Li Li Yuanzhong stood holding a hammer, a faint yellow light extending from his arm, completely covering the long hammer.

"Force extends one chi, Qi reaches three zhang."

Li Li Yuanzhong closed his eyes to sense.

After the Thousand-Weight Qi Art was cultivated, it could leave the body and strike three zhang away through the air, but that usually required full effort, and even after leaving the body, it would still scatter.

After the Qi channel was forged, though it was only a crude channel, his internal Qi became agile once it left the body; following his will, it could extend and change within three zhang.

Like an extra arm that could grow long or short.

"Hah!"

Li Li Yuanzhong released the heavy hammer.

He exerted slight force beneath his feet; his muscular body suddenly swelled several degrees, his right hand's five fingers spread wide, and internal Qi surged out through the Qi channel like a tide.

"Roar!"

The internal Qi tore through the air, emitting a booming sound like a dragon's chant; the small mice in the room, as if startled, shrank back into their holes, while the little tiger cub on the windowsill gently pushed open the window.

Only to see yellow light surging in the courtyard; Li Li Yuanzhong extended one arm forward, internal Qi flickering and weaving into form; vaguely, long whiskers and long horns could be seen, clearly taking on the appearance of a dragon's head.

"Tsk."

Watching the very excited youth in the courtyard, the little tiger cub let out a human-like tsk of mockery, then lay back down.

"Internal Qi taking form!"

Li Li Yuanzhong's eyes were very bright.

Years ago by the banks of the Dahe River, Su Su Wanxiong struck with a palm through the air, his internal Qi like a fierce tiger capable of pouncing and killing ten meters away; merely a few years had passed, and he too could now do it.

"Withdraw."

Li Li Yuanzhong closed his five fingers, gathering all internal Qi into his palm, then raised his arm toward the sky, spread his five fingers wide, and internal Qi surged out, swelling until his arm ached:

"Ahhh!"

Li Li Yuanzhong looked up, only to see that pale yellow internal Qi shoot skyward like a water dragon, only gradually dispersing three zhang away.

"Refreshing!"

Li Li Yuanzhong was in high spirits; he retracted his right arm and struck palm after palm, internal Qi surging out, sometimes forming a Bai Yuan, sometimes a fierce tiger, sometimes a spiritual turtle, sometimes a mad lion, or an eagle bird.

In the small courtyard, Li Li Yuanzhong's clothes and hair all flew; palm after palm, as he struck, he simultaneously maintained visualization in his heart; behind every form created by internal Qi lay the various Wu Gong he cultivated.

The Thousand-Weight Qi Art diffused through the small courtyard's night sky.

In an instant, the night sky brightened; the little tiger cub raised its head again, seeing a patch of bright yellow in the air as various beast forms slowly dispersed.

"Eleven palms; with my current internal Qi, I can only strike eleven palms at full power."

When the night sky darkened again, Li Li Yuanzhong's right arm was already very sore.

He raised his hand; even the tips of his five fingers had some bloodstains; this was because the newly forged Qi channel was too crude to fully withstand high-frequency internal Qi explosions.

But his mood was quite excited:

"Spiritual ape's ferocity, spiritual turtle's heaviness; the forms created by internal Qi fully embody the characteristics of the learned Wu Gong... Hundred Beasts Thunder Dragon, combining all forms!"

"No wonder the forms of all supreme arts must combine multiple types; without supreme arts, even if I gathered a hundred forms, I could only strike one characteristic at a time; only by combining multiple forms can one perfectly integrate the strengths of all forms..."

What is learned from books is ultimately shallow; Li Li Yuanzhong had read many books on channel forging, on form changing, and on the hundred forms, but only after striking this palm himself did he truly understand, feeling somewhat enlightened.

"For now, the Hundred Beasts Thunder Dragon remains my strongest method; Qi transforming into a Thunder Dragon to empower the heavy hammer greatly increases its power..."

Across eleven palms, Li Li Yuanzhong had fully understood the content seen in books, and on this basis expanded his thinking, relating it to himself.

Now, he possessed forty-eight forms, but for now, only the thirteen forms composing the Thunder Dragon had the greatest power; next came the Battle-Killing Hammer Form, and after that, the Ancient Elephant Six-Form Hammer.

"The Thunder Dragon lacks the Thunder Form; otherwise, its power would be even greater! Hmm, once the Qi channel is formed, even without the Palm Weapon Talisman's empowerment, even established channel-forging masters like Feng Feng Yuanqing, the sect master of Fire Dragon Temple, who have been famous for many years, would not be my match!"

From Form-Change mastery to Channel-Forging mastery is only a small step, yet Li Li Yuanzhong felt he had crossed a huge leap; the gap between natural internal Qi explosion and internal Qi taking form is actually immense.

Like a ragtag mob of scattered sand versus a well-trained elite army.

"Form-Change is Form-Change, realm is realm; both are important, yet they must advance together!"

Li Li Yuanzhong felt deeply moved in his heart.

Without a forged Qi channel, not to mention him, even Han Han Chuijun, who had gathered a hundred forms, could not achieve internal Qi taking form; let alone the state of Channel-Forging mastery, where Qi and form move with the body.

Once the realm is reached, even with only one form, internal Qi can take form.

"According to the books, when the Qi channel is completely forged, it is Channel-Forging mastery; at that time, internal Qi will swirl around the body, and with form empowerment, it will add the power of one form!"

Below Daozhou, Channel-Forging mastery is already an absolute top-tier expert; elders, even sect masters, of prefecture-level sects like Divine Weapon Valley, Pang Pang Liexue Mountain, and Fire Dragon Temple are merely of this level.

Han Han Chuijun and Lord Master Gongyang Yu are rare exceptions; Divine Weapon Valley was originally a province-level sect, only having declined for several hundred years.

"Qi form added to the body, adding the power of one form; the books exaggerate somewhat; otherwise, wouldn't Old Han be adding the power of a Thunder Dragon?"

Li Li Yuanzhong was half-skeptical about this, but it was certain that martial arts would surge greatly upon reaching Channel-Forging mastery.

"Forging the Qi channel depends only on spiritual power and internal Qi; I am only lacking some internal Qi; even so, in as little as one or two months, or as much as three or four months, I can forge thirteen meridians, thereby achieving Channel-Forging mastery!"

After practicing martial arts for these years, Li Li Yuanzhong had improved greatly and could somewhat calculate his own progress.

In the courtyard, Li Li Yuanzhong took a pill, stepped out of the Dragon Zen Stance, and only after his internal Qi recovered did he slowly settle his posture; by then, daylight had fully broken.

With a realm breakthrough, Li Li Yuanzhong was in high spirits; the only thing needing worry was the Longhu Health Furnace.

When disciples within Longhu Temple broke through, this Daoist Tianyun Daoist Tianyun Xuanbing would sense it somewhat; and even if one did not break through in the mountains, as long as one entered or exited the Longhu Inner Gate once, the Dragon List ranking would inevitably update.

"The Dragon List ranking has reached fifty-two; without even needing Channel-Forging mastery, I can enter the top fifty, but the top ten..."

Li Li Yuanzhong shook his head inwardly.

In the more than half-year since joining the sect, although he had not joined any division, he was already quite familiar with the Longhu Inner Gate.

Within Longhu Temple, there are the Dragon and Tiger Lists; the Dragon List enumerates disciples under sixty years old, while the Tiger List covers the entire sect.

These two lists affect every aspect.

These two lists affect every aspect.

From the smallest matters—housing, medicinal allocations, shares of spirit pills and spirit rice, eligibility to enter the Life-Nurturing Mi Jing—to the grandest: selection of supreme arts, qualification for divine skills, positions of Hall Masters, Helmsmen, and even True Disciples, all are intimately tied to this.

To gain access to the Long Hu Longhu Dadan, one must at least reach the top ten of the Dragon List.

Yet the top ten of the Dragon List, at the very least, have achieved the Great Perfection of Organ Refining, and all are individuals of extraordinary talent; entering is no easy feat...

After a brief wash, Li Yuan fed the two little ones at home as usual.

"Eat for yourself."

Li Yuan placed

down a bottle of Zeng Xue Dan. A small mouse poked its head out from the corner, while the little tiger cub on the windowsill lay lazily, unmoved.

"This little one hasn't eaten Zeng Xue Dan for quite a few days..."

Li Yuan muttered to himself but didn't take it seriously.

Since entering Long Mountain, the little tiger cub had hardly wanted his pills, but Long Mountain was full of wild beasts, spirit plants, and spirit herbs, so he simply assumed the little one was foraging on its own.

Closing the door, Li Yuan took up his hammer and went out; he hadn't visited Pure Yang Peak in days, and he needed to forge several more weapons.

He would not abandon the trade-in-for-new path; after all, the Fundamental Diagrams he brought from the Divine Weapon Valley were nearly exhausted, and next, he would be able to use these weapons.

"For inner disciples of Longhu Temple learning Wu Gong, there are three paths: first, accept missions and exchange contributions; second, receive instruction from elders after becoming a disciple; third, rise in rank on the Dragon List."

Walking slowly along the snow-covered mountain path, Li Yuan felt inner peace; he greatly liked this regular life, fulfilling and steadily progressing.

Regarding learning Wu Gong, Daoist Li had his own plan.

Accepting missions, he would not do; not out of laziness, but purely because it was troublesome and would delay his Wu Gong practice.

The cheap master had just transmitted the Longhu Hun Tian Hammer; without sufficient reason, it would likely be hard to obtain mid- or low-grade Wu Gong.

As for the third...

"When free, I'll go to the Internal Affairs Office to ask how many Wu Gong I can claim; from one hundred and fifty down to fifty, surely they won't give me fewer than ten or eight copies?"

After the heavy snow, the sky cleared.

On Pure Yang Peak, wisps of smoke drifted; the sounds of various hammering and quenching merged into one; this light snow and severe cold were almost non-existent for the inner disciples of Longhu Temple.

Although Form-Shifting Wu Gong practitioners cannot be immune to cold and heat, their tolerance far exceeds that of ordinary people.

"Junior Uncle Li!"

"Junior Uncle Li..."

After greeting familiar disciples, Li Yuan skillfully lit the fire and opened the furnace, taking out various refined iron materials and counting them.

"Only four types of iron materials remain before I can attempt forging the 'Supreme Autumn Water Sword'."

Li Yuan prepared methodically.

Over the past half-year, his weapon-forging art had improved greatly; he could now attempt forging supreme-grade sharp blades. Once he forged the first piece, his attainment in weapon-forging would catch up with Old Lei and enter the realm of Perfection.

"At the current pace, at most three or four years, I can attempt forging a Divine Weapon; this, too, is the realm of Old Jing Tou."

"If I can forge it, I will be the first Divine Artisan in over seven hundred years of the Divine Weapon Valley!"

The forging hammer rose and fell, flipping swiftly; the hammering sounds were dense and low. Li Yuan immersed himself, skillfully handling various iron materials and repairing various weapons.

"Huff!"

Around dusk, Li Yuan finally set down the forging hammer and tidied the iron materials.

He rushed work today, repairing fully over a dozen weapons; although he said it was free, inner disciples coming to forge or repair weapons would bring along one or two types of iron materials.

Accumulated over time, this was also no small source of income.

"Supreme-grade famous artifacts carry extremely high prices; if this Autumn Water Sword is forged, it will be worth at least eighty thousand taels of gold. Pity, it is being forged for someone else."

After returning all rare iron materials to the warehouse, Li Yuan was about to leave when he saw someone walking quickly along the mountain path.

The person wore a white robe, stepping through the snow; without any apparent movement, they had already arrived close by—indeed, it was the one who had entrusted him to forge the 'Supreme Autumn Water Sword'.

Disciple of Nie Xianshan, Master of the Tiger Gate; True Disciple of Longhu Temple; second on the Dragon List: Xin Xin Wenhua.

"Senior Brother Xin."

Li Yuan clasped his hands in greeting.

"Junior Brother Li is truly diligent."

Xin Xin Wenhua returned the greeting, his tone carrying considerable appreciation.

This was indeed heartfelt.

Over the past half-year, it was not only him watching Li Yuan; countless attentive ones from both inner and outer sects were observing this Longhu rising star.

And Li Yuan was far more composed than anyone expected, ignoring every recruitment and temptation, focusing solely on forging iron, practicing Wu Gong, and reading books.

After exchanging a few polite words, Xin Xin Wenhua asked about his Autumn Water Sword.

"In a few days, I should be able to attempt forging it; however, my attainment is limited. If I fail, it may consume quite a bit of iron material."

Although Li Yuan was confident, he did not speak too absolutely.

"That is no matter."

Xin Xin Wenhua was unconcerned: "Whether refining pills or forging iron, where is there a hundred percent certainty? Junior Brother, just apply your heart; this senior brother has high hopes for you."

Li Yuan gave a bitter smile, changed the subject, and asked about his purpose.

"It is not a major matter; simply, the Eldest Senior Sister has returned to the mountain and wishes to see you to ask a few things..."

Xin Xin Wenhua spoke casually.

Eldest Senior Sister?

Li Yuan was stunned.

Xin Xin Wenhua is already the current Eldest Senior Brother of the Tiger Gate; the one he would call Eldest Senior Sister must be none other than the daughter of Master Nie, Nie Ying?

This person, it seems, is the head of the Tiger Gate's intelligence system; seeking me out is...

"It is not only you; for every disciple who entered the sect in these past two years, the Eldest Senior Sister must see them."

"Ah?"

Li Yuan's heart tightened slightly:

"Senior Brother,

do you know what the Eldest Senior Sister wishes to discuss?"

"Hmm..."

Xin Xin Wenhua transmitted his voice secretly:

"It is said to be regarding the Sea-Splitting Black Whale Hammer."