Chapter 266: Old Han's Advance

"Open personally by Li Yuan."

Closing the courtyard gate, Li Yuan withdrew the pile of long-handled heavy hammers stacked like a small mountain into his Weapon Storage Space, returned to his room, and opened Old Han's letter; the text on it bore his distinct style.

On the first page was the supplement to Hundred Beasts Thunder Dragon, or more precisely, the part of this nascent supreme art concerning refining the viscera.

"Hundred Beasts Qi Art, Internal Qi Transforming into True, Thunder Dragon True Qi."

Old Han was concise; the first page held only a few hundred characters, clearly based on what Li Yuan had written, so even if others obtained this letter, they could not learn a single bit.

Many of the terms were simply created by Old Han himself.

"Thunder Dragon Qi Art."

Li Yuan wielded several bone ornaments that enhanced the spirit, recited the text a few times, and committed it to memory.

He had practiced Hundred Beasts Thunder Dragon for a long time, but restricted by the fact that the 'Thunder Form' was not yet complete, he could not enter the next step; however, his understanding of this supreme art was already profound, and since the creator had imparted everything, it was impossible not to understand.

Old Han's supreme art, with Thunder and Dragon as the core and Hundred Beasts as the auxiliary, was initially inferior to Dragon Zen Vajra Sutra, Dragon Tiger Hun Tian Hammer, and even Ten Thousand Blades Spirit Dragon when first entering the path.

Yet as the number of assumed forms increased, the power of this supreme art would steadily rise.

In his hands, Hundred Beasts Thunder Dragon was only slightly superior to the Soldier Dao Dueling Hammer, but in Old Han's hands, it was completely different.

"The true essence of Thunder Dragon True Qi is to combine the transformations of all forms, all qi, and all strengths..."

The content of the letter was somewhat obscure; Li Yuan pondered it slightly and could not help but be moved.

From this Thunder Dragon True Qi, one could feel that Old Han's intent in creating the art was extremely high and his ambition enormous; since he now possessed Hundred Forms, it was called Hundred Beasts Thunder Dragon.

If one gathered a thousand forms or ten thousand forms, it would be Thousand Beasts or Ten Thousand Beasts Thunder Dragon.

"If Old Han could assume the forms of ten thousand beasts and become a Grandmaster or Supreme Grandmaster with this supreme art, could it not also be called 'Ten Thousand Beasts Sitting in Forgetfulness, Thunder Dragon Heart Sutra'?"

"Old Han's heart is truly vast."

Li Yuan muttered in his heart that this Hundred Beasts Thunder Dragon suited him even better than Dragon Tiger Hun Tian Hammer and Dragon Zen Vajra Sutra.

Whether Old Han could assume a thousand or ten thousand forms was hard to say, but as for himself... hmm, that was also very difficult.

"Even if the Root Diagram is sufficient, ignoring the threshold of wielding, and with ample Spirit Pills, I can assume three forms a month; to gather ten thousand forms..."

Li Yuan calculated with his fingers.

Good heavens, that's heading toward three hundred years?

With a change of thought, Li Yuan turned to the second page.

On the second page was the current situation of the Divine Weapon Valley.

After the Dragon Tiger Banquet, as the Fire Dragon Temple and Iron Sword Sect ceased their activities, the Divine Weapon Valley unified the Dechang Prefecture without lifting a finger; disciples were stationed in all counties, and the city guards everywhere were replaced with their own people.

However, Lord Master Gongyang Yu acted primarily with stability; although holding the upper hand, he still invited the major and minor sects of the Dechang Prefecture to a meeting, sacrificing some interests to gain time for recuperation.

The letter mentioned Jing Jing Shuhu and Lei Lei Jingchuan; after these two old men were seriously injured, they no longer managed affairs, one fishing all day and the other sunbathing all day; their injuries never healed but also never worsened.

As for Old Han...

"The Xieshen Sect forced our Divine Weapon Valley to migrate the entire sect; if this grudge is not avenged, my old heart's depression will not be relieved, and my thoughts will not be clear."

Although the letter contained only this single line, Li Yuan seemed to feel Old Han's pure and domineering will from the words, feeling both surprised and worried.

Old Han was indeed a ruthless character, but the Xieshen Sect was by no means easy to deal with.

"Since Old Han has created Thunder Dragon True Qi, then he is not far from refining the viscera; perhaps he has already succeeded?"

Li Yuan sighed in his heart.

With the body of Hundred Forms and Divine Armor upon his person, looking across all prefectures and counties under Mount Hengshan, Old Han could indeed roam unchecked, but the Xieshen Sect...

Li Yuan recalled the carriage he had seen in the city just now.

"Hmm, night has fallen; I must go warn Senior Brother Dou Yue to report to the Sect... As for finding Old Dragon Head, forget it, don't disturb that old man, he wouldn't remember anyway."

Li Yuan turned to the last sheet of paper.

Old Han hinted at the 'Dragon Demon Heart Sutra'; the general meaning was that he would go to seek the Dragon Demon Heart Sutra afterwards, might have no news for several or even ten years, and asked Li Yuan not to mind.

"Dragon Demon Heart Sutra."

Li Yuan carefully put away the letter, his brows slightly furrowed.

'Ten Thousand Beasts Sitting in Forgetfulness, Dragon Demon Heart Sutra'; this peerless-level Mo Gong, in terms of reputation, was not inferior to Bai Shen Fa, and to learn it, one need not think to know it was as hard as climbing to the sky.

Judging by Old Han's tone, it was more solemn than him challenging the Xieshen Sect alone, even with the intention of never returning.

Was the Xieshen Sect's main headquarters that treacherous?

"Star Plucking Tower... no news from Wang Wang Wenyuan for a long time; should I write a letter later to ask?"

Inside the room, Li Yuan pondered for a long time before finally taking off his boots and sitting cross-legged on the bed.

Buzz~

The gray Dingxin Dingxin Shitai was covered with heavy hammers.

However, Li Yuan did not rush to merge the weapons; with a thought, he entered the Shan Xuan Jing Mi Jing again.

The Mi Jing remained unchanged, still high mountains and sea of clouds; Li Yuan sensed slightly, and the Shan Xuan Jing Hammer still showed no movement.

Snap!

He lightly tapped the stone tablet; only a buzzing sound was heard, and streams of True Qi gathered, outlining a ghost-faced figure at an extremely fast speed.

"Old Han who has opened the meridians, even without the Crimson Flame Naga Armor, his Wu Gong would not be inferior to one who has refined the viscera..."

Feeling the pressure from Old Han, Li Yuan spoke to himself, then suddenly darted out; the heavy hammer formed by True Qi danced through the wind, the heavy hammer small.

Buzz~

Li Yuan used his full strength for this strike, not only his own but also the enhancement of the seven heavy hammers within the Weapon Writ; before merging with the second Divine Hammer, he wanted to feel his limit.

Boom!

The air waves surged; the ghost-faced figure suddenly erupted, swinging a hand hammer into a sky-filling shadow of hammers; those hammer shadows seemed illusory yet seemed to contain immense, hard-to-bear force in every single one.

Strength, technique, transformation, timing...

The ghost-faced figure had reached the peak in all aspects; had it been a day or two ago, Li Yuan would have exhausted all means, fighting until both sides were drained of strength, just to barely determine a winner.

But now...

Li Yuan's gaze sharpened:

"Ten Thousand Ton Force!"

Boom!

The blessing of the Jun Tian Heavy Hammer took effect instantly; in a single breath, the hammer shadows filling the sky shattered one by one. With another strike, the Ghost-Faced Man was forced back violently...

On the third strike, the Ghost-Faced Man's hammer shattered. On the fourth strike, his body exploded into fragments, dissolving into wisps of true qi in the wind atop the mountain peak!

Meeting force with force, he defeated the Meridian-Opening Ghost-Faced Man in four strikes!

"This strike weighs one hundred and fifty tons; even Old Han at the Meridian-Opening stage couldn't withstand it!"

Li Yuan slowly settled his stance:

"However, if it were truly Old Han, I reckon he wouldn't meet force with force either. Hmm... with my lightness skill, it's uncertain against a Blood-Refining Zhun Sect Master, but below Marrow-Refining, no one can outrun me."

The body formed from Black Whale True Qi was identical to his own, and the blessing of the Weapon Register made no distinction; this strike, he could unleash it here, and in the mortal world, he could naturally unleash it as well.

Sensing the changes under the blessing of the Jun Tian Divine Hammer and after delivering four strikes, Li Yuan detected no backlash.

At least, the fierce explosion of these four strikes did not exceed his tolerance limit.

"Hardening the body is of great use."

Li Yuan felt satisfied within his heart.

He sat cross-legged for a while at the stone stele on the mountain peak, contemplating the Schematics of the Splitting Sea Black Whale. After a long while, when the Black Whale Hammer did not appear, he withdrew accordingly, prepared various gold and silver heavy hammers and incense, and began to merge the weapons.

Tens of thousands of li away, in Dingzhou.

The cold wind howled, and heavy snow fell.

In a dilapidated temple on a barren mountain, Han Han Chuijun sat cross-legged beside a bonfire, leisurely turning a bear paw sizzling with oil, his blood-stained outer robe hanging nearby.

"I wonder if the young Li received the letter... Hmm, the Dragon-Tiger Temple is not lacking in supreme arts and divine skills; even if he didn't receive it, it matters little."

Smelling the aroma of roasting meat, Han Han Chuijun's appetite surged, but after only a few bites, his brows furrowed slightly, and he raised his eyes to look outside the temple.

He saw that amidst the wind and snow, with the cold wind howling, a figure strode forward from the east.

That person wore a blue robe and carried a long blade; with each step, it seemed as if he tore through the air. Driven by the surging waves of qi, the accumulated snow rolled behind him like a snow dragon overturning the river and sea.

"They've arrived truly fast."

Han Han Chuijun set down the bear paw. Outside the blue-robed swordsman, a long whistle sounded, containing a chilling killing intent:

"Old villain, you killed my men and yet do not flee; you truly have a huge gall!"

"Hmm, two Deputy Hall Masters. Lin Qiying didn't come? Very well, killing these two will almost suffice to make up the 'contribution' needed for the Star-Picking Tower headquarters..."

Han Han Chuijun rose to his full height. The firelight and Lei Guang blazed intensely; then, a true qi dragon woven from lightning and fire tore through the dilapidated temple.

With an extremely violent and ruthless momentum, it charged against the two ferocious Xieshen Sect Deputy Hall Masters.

"Kill!"

"Merge the weapons!"

"Merge the weapons!"

Within the dim Weapon Register space, divine fire flickered, igniting and extinguishing repeatedly. The towering piles of gold, silver, and various hammer weapons vanished quickly.

Having gained experience from the first time, Li Yuan, though cautious, moved with considerably greater speed.

After a little over an hour, accompanied by another hum and tremor of the Divine Fire Weapon-Merging Furnace, a pale golden light surged forth once more.

"Excellent!"

Li Yuan felt a sense of relief in his heart, and joy rose within him.

Another success!

"This Daoist's fortune is at its peak!"

The seventh-rank incense could only ignite the Weapon-Merging Furnace three times in total. The first two were completely successful, leaving one final opportunity. Li Yuan was naturally overjoyed.

【Thunder Dragon Jun Tian Hammer (Seventh Rank)】

With the same schematics and the same low-rank heavy hammers merged, the second Jun Tian Hammer differed only slightly from the first, but the seventh-rank control effects 【Ten Thousand Ton Force】 and 【Hammer Technique Talent】 remained unchanged.

"Two divine hammers now."

Li Yuan opened his eyes, feeling truly excited, and could not wait to control these two Jun Tian Divine Hammers.

Hum!

Having prepared in advance, Li Yuan controlled without fully unleashing; he did not trigger the blessings of the two 【Ten Thousand Ton Force】 lines, but merely sensed the Hammer Technique Talent.

Talent is somewhat ethereal and intangible.

Previously, Li Yuan could only judge changes in his own talent through the subtle sensations of practicing hammer strikes and forging iron, but now, with his eyes slightly closed, he seemed to touch his own 'talent'.

Although somewhat vague, he truly felt the existence of the talent.

The blessing of the second Jun Tian Divine Hammer seemed to have broken a certain limit...

"Hammer weapons!"

Li Yuan opened his eyes. His room was never lacking in various hammers. As his gaze swept across, the several hammer weapons in the room, whether long-handled or short-handled, forging hammers or combat hammers,

actually emitted a faint humming sound, as if responding to him.

"These hammers..."

This feeling was very vague; Li Yuan did not know how to describe it at the moment. But with a spread of his five fingers and a mere thought, the hammer weapon his gaze focused on was already gripped in his palm.

It was as if an invisible, untouchable thin thread existed between the hammer and him.

"In the biography of Yuan Qing, there is a passage stating that when True Person Yuan Qing perfected his sword Dao, all sword weapons within a radius of ten li, regardless of their grade or whether they had a master, emitted a trembling hum, as if ten thousand swords were paying homage..."

Looking down at the long hammer in his palm, Li Yuan's expression was somewhat subtle; he vaguely felt that with just one more Jun Tian Heavy Hammer, he could indirectly accomplish what that Grand Master of the Shenbangda Sect had once done.

It was just...

"Ten Thousand Hammers Paying Homage doesn't sound good."

This thought flashed through his mind, and Li Yuan retracted his aura, no longer urging the palm control. Outside the door, footsteps approached.

"Is Junior Brother Li here?"

Zhang Adai's voice came through.

Li Yuan's heart stirred; he quickly opened the door. Outside, Zhang Adai wore a broad smile, carrying a jar in his hand.

"This is the jar of blood I owed you earlier."

"Thank you, Senior Brother Zhang."

Li Yuan reached out to take it; previously, he had bought four jars of Spirit Beast King Blood from Zhang Adai, and this final jar was only delivered now.

"Additionally, there is news regarding the fifth type of Spirit Beast King Blood you requested."