Chapter 265

In the dead of winter, the streets of Mount Hengshan City were nearly empty, and the Street Office workers were clearing the accumulated snow.

The only places unaffected were the many wine houses along the street, where the cacophony of voices, singing, and storytelling was far clearer than usual.

Li Yuan casually found a wine house, ordered a few small dishes, paired them with his own Hundred Herbs Brew, and ate leisurely to soothe his spirit.

Inside the wine house, the storyteller's voice rose and fell, recounting the widely circulated "Biography of Yuan Qing," whose protagonist was Yuan Qing, the True Person and Grandmaster of the Shenbangda Sect, master of the One Qi Manor in Gusu Dao.

Among the Five Great Dao Sects and the twelve Earth Immortals, this True Person Yuan Qing was not the strongest, yet his fame had spread very widely.

The reason was nothing else: he possessed breathtaking talent and a life experience full of dramatic ups and downs.

This Grandmaster of the Shenbangda Sect was born into a farming family, but from childhood displayed astonishing aptitude; relying solely on an incomplete sword manual picked up by the roadside, at seven years old he killed a local bully who had cultivated strength, causing a sensation at the time.

At eight, he entered the One Qi Mountain Manor; at ten, he had cultivated the "Formless Force," attracting the previous manor master to take him as a disciple, and from then on, he was unstoppable.

At twenty, he became a true transmission disciple of the One Qi Mountain Manor; at thirty, he had perfected the manor's supreme art, the "Mu Mu Xiantian Sword Form"; before forty, he had penetrated Yin and Yang and become a Grandmaster.

Li Yuan had heard about his deeds in many places.

"Mu Mu Xiantian Sword Form, Formless True Qi..."

Li Yuan chewed slowly; storytellers always exaggerate, but every Earth Immortal is a legendary figure, whether in comprehension, talent, or opportunity, all are the absolute peak.

Listening casually, he also sized up the other guests in the wine house; this was just a place he had picked at random, yet there were experts within.

The glimmer of several high-grade famous artifacts was extremely conspicuous.

Without needing to think, he knew these were experts drawn by the "All Dao Martial Tournament" in two years.

"A great martial arts event of the Jianghu."

Hearing some guests mention and discuss it, their lowered voices filled with excitement, Daoist Li spun his wine cup, feeling somewhat sighful in his heart.

He had practiced Wu Gong for many years, but he felt no interest in these great events that Jianghu people revered.

Hammering iron, practicing Wu Gong, occasionally listening to Jianghu anecdotes, drinking a few cups of small wine—this was the life he preferred.

However, he also knew this was purely because he held the Military Talisman, enjoying the treatment of a genius due to his extremely high aptitude; if he were an ordinary inner sect disciple, with or without clan or sect support, he would now be bitterly rushing back and forth, exhausted.

"Praise the Ancestral Master."

Whenever he felt somewhat emotional, Li Yuan was grateful he had not forgotten the ritual of the Heaven-Granted Talisman.

After eating for nearly an hour, Li Yuan took out silver to pay the bill and leave, but before descending the stairs, his gaze suddenly froze.

On the long street, a carriage rolled over the snow, passing in front of the wine house.

The carriage style was very common, but in Li Yuan's eyes it was extremely glaring; a faint golden light caught his eye:

【Flesh and Blood Four Vajra Armor, Seventh Tier】

... Mainly using the bones and blood of four spiritual beasts: Tiger, Crocodile, Eagle, and Turtle; supplemented by a hundred types of superior iron; forged with incense as fire and the "Flesh and Blood Vajra Ritual" as the furnace; the resulting divine armor possesses sufficient spiritual nature...

Control Conditions: Bai Shen Fa, Fifth Layer; Bai Flesh and Blood Vajra Fa, Fifth Layer

Control Effects: Seventh Tier Pale Gold: Bai Shen Fa, Seventh Layer; Bai Shen Vajra Fa, Seventh Layer; Hardening Talent

Sixth Tier Yellow: Divine Foot Sutra Upper, Divine Palm Sutra Upper, Divine Organ Sutra Upper

Fifth Tier Pale Yellow: Bloodthirsty, Calm

Good heavens, meeting a big fish right after descending the mountain!

Li Yuan's eyelid twitched; he glanced once and then withdrew his gaze.

Among the various weapons, armor ranks first; armor of the same tier is harder to forge than any weapon, and because it protects the wearer, it is extremely precious.

And...

"Not Bai Blood Vajra Fa, but Bai Flesh, Blood, Sinew, and Bone Four Vajra Fa? Who is this person..."

Li Yuan was slightly startled in his heart; after several years, under his deliberate collection, his understanding of the Xieshen Sect was naturally far greater than before.

Normally, experts of the Xieshen Sect practice Bai Shen Fa, and because they worship different deities, they are divided into dozens or even hundreds of different branch methods.

Bai Blood Vajra Fa, Bai Thousand-Eyed Bodhisattva Fa, Bai Hundred-Armed Dao Ren Fa, Bai Remnant God Fa, and so on; because the worshipped deities differ, their Wu Gong also differs.

Normally, worshipping multiple deities can cause conflict or even backlash; only a few, such as Flesh and Blood Vajra and Organ Jialan...

"Could it be a monster at the Guardian or Dharma King level?"

Li Yuan, who had intended to go out, silently sat back down and ordered a few more dishes of wine and food.

Is this guy coming for me?

Recalling what Nie Ying had said earlier, Li Yuan frowned tightly, feeling a bit unnerved in his heart.

After talking with Old Dragon Head, he became even more wary of the Xieshen Sect; Wu Gong like Bai Shen Fa and Divine Foot Sutra he could still understand, but those rituals...

"Take the hammer and leave; after that, I won't descend the mountain. Let Liu Zheng help send it up the mountain..."

Li Yuan took a deep breath, buried his head in his meal; this time returning to Huishan, he did not plan to come down for now, so naturally he should eat more.

Li Yuan took a deep breath and buried his head in his meal; this time, since he was returning to Huishan and did not plan to come down for a while, he naturally needed to eat more.

On the long street, the carriage moved slowly.

An old man wearing a long robe and a felt hat slowly lowered the carriage curtain:

An old man wearing a long robe and a felt hat slowly lowered the carriage curtain:

He lowered his eyelids; another thin old man inside the carriage spoke calmly:

"Reporting to the Guardian, several bases in Mount Hengshan City and many secret agents have been uprooted by the Dragon and Tiger Temple; the few who have not yet been exposed are doing their utmost to hide..."

Lin Lin Chonghu nodded slightly; the felt-hat old man before him was named Fang Chao Tong, one of the eight Guardians of the main headquarters and his direct superior.

Lin Lin Chonghu nodded slightly; the felt-hat old man before him was named Fang Fang Chaotong, one of the eight guardians of the main headquarters, and his direct superior.

Fang Chao Tong asked again:

"What about the Dao Office?"

"The Dragon and Tiger Temple has always been domineering; the Mount Hengshan Dao Office and the Town Martial Hall are suppressed by them, and for the past half-year they have been dispatched by the imperial court to hunt down the Star-Picking Tower..."

"Longhu Temple has always been domineering; the Hengshan Dao Office and the Wutang have been suppressed by it, and for the past half-year, they have also been dispatched by the imperial court to hunt down the Star-Picking Pavilion..."

Lin Lin Chonghu replied.

"So, after all this time, there has been no gain?"

Fang Chao frowned slightly.

"With ten million people in Hengshan City, who is Li Li Yuanba, what does he look like, and whether his name is true or false remains unknown; capturing him is truly difficult."

Lin Lin Chonghu lowered his voice; since entering Hengshan City, his mind had been tense.

Even though many hall masters of the Dragon Tiger Temple had descended the mountain and left the city with Long Long Yingchan, once discovered, whether Fang Chao could escape he did not know, but he himself would surely die here.

"Without intelligence or ears, capturing someone is indeed not easy..."

Fang Chao murmured softly, suddenly opening his eyes, his pupils red as blood:

"Without ears, then recruit ears. I recall, is the Dragon Chant Hall of the Dragon Tiger Temple responsible for intelligence gathering?"

"What does the Dharma Protector mean?"

Lin Lin Chonghu's heart stirred.

"I just heard someone say that Chu Shan Xuan Kong of the Dragon Chant Hall failed to break through to Kongtupo Sect, his qi and blood are both depleted, and his life is near its end?"

Fang Chao smiled; he suddenly remembered that years ago, someone from the sect had tried to recruit Chu Shan Xuan Kong...

"This subordinate understands."

Lin Lin Chonghu sighed inwardly and accepted the task.

"Mm."

Fang Chao nodded, then asked: "Since the Dragon King parted with you, has he contacted you again?"

"The Dragon King suspects that Qin Li Shixian also came to Hengshan City, then left this subordinate behind, taking Yu Yu Banzhou away; it is unknown if they are still on the Hengshan Road."

Lin Lin Chonghu shook his head.

"A Land Immortal, even if severely injured and near death, is still an immortal; the Dragon King's courage is truly beyond my reach."

Fang Chao felt somewhat emotional.

Your courage is no less than his,

Lin Lin Chonghu thought inwardly; the Five Great Dao Cities were also extremely dangerous places for him.

"Mm, go then."

Fang Chao asked no more, waved his hand to let Lin Lin Chonghu out of the carriage; the latter bowed slightly, just

about to leave when he was called back:

"By the way, that expert from Huizhou who killed Brother Brother Huangfu once before, named Han Han Chuijun, has no news either?"

"This..."

Lin Lin Chonghu smiled bitterly and lowered his head:

"There is news of this person; in the past half year, branch halls in Huizhou, Youzhou, and Dingzhou were severely damaged by him, but afterwards he also vanished..."

"Truly great courage."

Fang Chao sneered and waved his hand to let him go.

Afterwards, he transmitted a voice to the driver:

"Go to the Hengshan Road Office."

Relying on the thirty-six thousand taels of gold borrowed from Xin Xin Wenhua, the weapon forge expanded quickly; the number of blacksmiths in the shop more than doubled.

In the span of ten-plus days, nearly two thousand long-handled hexagonal hammers had been piled in the backyard, many of which had entered a rank.

Liu Zheng called for six horse-drawn carriages and, following Li Yuan's instructions, delivered them to his residence on Huntian Peak.

Li Yuan packed the spiritual beast bones and leather from the warehouse onto the carriages, instructed Liu Zheng to continue expanding the weapon forge, and without stopping, hurried back to the mountain.

"Counting the hammers on Dingxin Dingxin Shitai, combining one seventh-rank heavy hammer is about right; these spiritual beast bones and leather can be made into bone ornaments and boots; combining them, a few famous artifacts can also be produced."

Inside the carriage, Li Yuan counted his assets.

Over the past half year, his expenses were enormous; he even borrowed forty thousand taels of gold, but the gains were also great.

Not only had the various command and control combinations in the Weapon Register been updated, but his gear had all been replaced with famous artifacts, with various attributes greatly improved.

Among them, besides the hammer weapon combination changing the most, the boots came next.

Hengshan City had no shortage of spiritual beast leather; he had collected over a hundred hides, estimating he could assemble two pairs of fifth-rank boots; the rest, such as inner armor and bone ornaments, were also plentiful.

What was most lacking was still incense...

"Incense, incense."

Counting the remaining incense, Li Yuan felt conflicted; this incense barely sufficed for him to combine two seventh-rank divine hammers, but afterwards nothing would remain.

But if he combined the boots and bone ornaments first, there would not be enough for the hammers.

"Replacing the incense burner for our own ancestral master is one thing, but the other halls have no such excuse..."

Carrying a trace of worry, he returned to the courtyard; before he could even unload the heavy hammers, Li Yuan saw Fang Fang Yunxiu, whom he had not seen in over half a year.

"Senior Sister Fang, just back?"

Li Yuan went forward to meet her.

Fang Fang Yunxiu, unseen for many days, appeared more capable than before; her Wu Gong robe fitted closely, her long hair tied back, she arrived treading on snow, possessing a certain spiritedness.

"Mm, I just turned in a mission; I must descend the mountain tomorrow, so I came to see you."

Fang Fang Yunxiu's expression was somewhat complex; this was her first time entering the Inner Gate, and it was only because Li Yuan's reputation was great enough.

"So urgent?"

Li Yuan was also very admiring of this woman who threw herself into her work; the Divine Weapon Valley provides support for disciples who join the Dragon Tiger Temple, yet Fang Fang Yunxiu still rushed back and forth.

Not only regarding pills and gold and silver, but also concerning Wu Gong.

Inner Sect disciples of the Dragon and Tiger who ascend the Dragon List gain merit to study Wu Gong; even supreme or ultimate arts hold hope, but Outer Sect disciples lack the qualification to ascend the Dragon List at all.

Sighing inwardly, knowing he could not dissuade her, Li Yuan invited her inside to sit for a while.

"No. Since I have accepted the mission, I must prepare early."

Fang Fang Yunxiu shook her head and politely refused. She had intended to stay a few days this time, but the Dragon List she saw on the mountain path had unsettled her heart.

When they first met years ago, Li Yuan had not yet cultivated internal strength, while she had already reached the threshold of Form Transformation. In a flash of years, her own Form Transformation remained incomplete.

Li Yuan had already achieved success in Meridian Unblocking, ranked forty-second on the Dao Sect's Dragon List, a Dragon and Tiger new talent, and the second most talented in a century...

How could she remain seated?

"Then it won't delay having a few cups of water wine?"

Li Yuan invited again: "I have gained some insights practicing martial arts over these half-year; I hope Senior Sister will not hesitate to offer guidance."

"Hmm..."

This time Fang Fang Yunxiu did not hesitate; she had previously received Li Yuan's insights and gained much benefit.

For Fang Fang Yunxiu, Li Yuan held nothing back, recounting his martial arts insights from these years one by one and discussing them with her.

At first, Fang Fang Yunxiu could still chat a few words, but later she could not interject, only listening as Li Yuan spoke, her inner complexity gradually turning to shock.

Li Yuan began his explanation from blood and qi, continuing through Form Transformation and Meridian Unblocking; he spoke no mysterious, obscure terminology, sounding simple and unadorned, even somewhat overly plain.

Yet as Fang Fang Yunxiu pondered in her heart, she felt every step he described seemed to correspond with herself.

She even had the illusion that if she had followed his words back then, she could have achieved great success in Form Transformation years ago!

"You..."

【128】 Over two hours later, Fang Fang Yunxiu was somewhat dazed as she left the door; only after walking far did she suddenly remember the main matter, quickly returning and shoving a letter into Li Yuan's hands.

More than two hours later, Fang Fang Yunxiu was somewhat dazed when she stepped out the door; only after walking a great distance did she suddenly remember the matter at hand, quickly turned back, and shoved a letter into Li Yuan's hands.

She then hurried back to the Outer Sect; after this conversation, she felt suddenly enlightened and urgently wanted to try a bit.

"What is this?"

Li Yuan closed the courtyard gate and narrowed his eyes slightly:

"Old Han's letter?"