Chapter 285

After storing the Thousand Spirit Soul-Resonating Stele, Li Yuan stretched lazily and fell asleep with a serene sense of contentment.

The ambush on Chu Shan Xuan Kong seemed brief, yet his spirit had remained tense the entire time, and channeling the Sea-Splitting Black Whale Hammer had caused backlash.

The moment his mind relaxed, he plunged into deep sleep; before long, his breathing grew faint and steady.

The various breathing techniques he mastered had long become muscle memory, naturally adjusting during sleep—the best method for nourishing life and healing.

Wuu!

⊙￠o

Not long after Li Yuan's breathing slowed, a small mouse poked its head out from a hole in the corner.

It glanced cautiously at Li Yuan, then scurried to the door, fumbling around until it pulled the door open just a crack.

A little tiger cub walked in from the rainstorm; its soft fur bore not a single drop of water, and though it had trodden through mud all the way, not a speck clung to it.

A layer of qi, faint yet present, surrounded it, blocking all rain and dust.

"Smack!"

Raising a paw, the tiger cub swatted the sycophantic mouse into the corner, then leaped onto the bed, pacing as it studied the sleeping Li Yuan, its eyes filled with surprise and contemplation.

The mouse huddled in the corner; seeing the cub approach Li Yuan step by step, it couldn't help but let out a "Squeak!" before being knocked flat by the invisible qi.

"Wuu~"

Glancing at the fainted little creature in the corner, the tiger cub pondered for a while, then suddenly raised its tiny paw,

and pointed it toward Li Yuan from a distance.

Buzz~

A wisp of faint purple light spilled from its paw, accompanied by the smoke of burning spiritual incense, seeping into Li Yuan's nose and mouth.

Then, she yawned, jumped back to the windowsill, and lay down to sleep.

……

Li Yuan slept deeply, yet maintained a certain alertness to the outside world; vaguely, he seemed to hear the voices of the little mouse and the little tiger cub.

But he was truly drowsy, so he had no desire to open his eyes.

Even the mightiest martial artist requires sleep; it is merely a matter of quantity, serving not only to replenish the spirit but also to detoxify the internal organs.

Buzz~

In the state between sleep and wakefulness, Li Yuan felt his mind being drawn somewhere, drifting into a strange space.

"Hmm?!"

In an instant, Li Yuan suddenly woke; the scene before him left him stunned.

Before his eyes lay a small island spanning roughly thirty-plus li, containing trees, grass, mountains, rivers, streams, birds, and beasts.

At first glance, it seemed unremarkable.

But as he looked around, Li Yuan's eyelids twitched wildly; the island was surrounded by pitch-black depths with no bottom, and the sky held neither stars nor sun nor moon.

It was like a lone island isolated from the rest of the world, yet he could clearly see everything.

"Am I dreaming?!"

The thought arose in Li Yuan's mind; he wasn't groggy from sleep, so he pinched himself, only to discover it didn't hurt at all?

"A real dream?"

Li Yuan was somewhat startled, but quickly calmed down; studying the small island, within moments his gaze settled on its center.

There stood a bronze tower, nine stories tall, but at this moment, the tower was pierced through by a massive blade enveloped in Jin Guang.

"This place looks somewhat like the Shan Xuan Bing Mi Jing?"

Li Yuan forced himself to calm down, striving to analyze:

"Is it that 'God' inside the Thousand Spirit Stele playing tricks, or the two Ancestral Masters within the stone tablet?

Could it be the Health Furnace? Given my current talent, it's no surprise the furnace would take an interest."

As these thoughts churned in his mind, Li Yuan felt somewhat terrified; being dragged into such a place while asleep, who wouldn't be alarmed?

He eyed the surroundings warily; trees, grass, mountains, and rivers formed a painting, with birds and beasts moving among them.

Ignoring the gloom and horror of the surroundings, as well as the bronze tower at the island's center, this place resembled an utterly normal small island.

"It really does resemble the Shan Xuan Bing Mi Jing?"

Li Yuan scooped up a handful of soil and plucked some flowers and grass, discovering that although this place wasn't as lifelike as the Shan Xuan Bing Mi Jing, to the naked eye it appeared identical to the flora, soil, and stones of the outside world.

"Is it truly the Health Furnace?"

After wandering around for a while and finding no danger, Li Yuan relaxed slightly and walked toward the bronze tower.

From over ten li away, the bronze tower already seemed very tall; approaching it, Li Yuan realized he had truly underestimated it.

The tower was terrifyingly high, estimated at least three hundred meters or more; even more frightening was that blurred massive blade.

It pierced through the three-hundred-meter-tall giant tower and plunged straight into the ground to an unknown depth.

"This blade must be at least a thousand meters?!"

Li Yuan felt a chill in his heart; as he drew nearer, he sensed a coldness, as if it sought to freeze him solid.

Li Yuan slowed his pace; just as he hesitated, he spotted a stone stele beneath the giant tower.

"Is it truly the Shan Xuan Bing Mi Jing?"

Li Yuan looked at the stone stele; his heart trembled as text suddenly surged forth upon it, actually answering him:

"This is the 'Divine Realm'."

Divine Realm?

Seeing that the stone stele could communicate, Li Yuan was shocked, yet instead grew calm.

If it can communicate, it is not a bad thing.

He did not ask questions like "Who are you?"; instead, he inquired:

"What is the Divine Realm?"

"After refining Essence, Qi, and Spirit to a certain realm, a place manifests within the heart; it is an image formed of Qi and light, both real and illusory..."

The stone tablet truly had an answer.

"A place of spiritual light?"

Li Yuan tried asking.

"... One could say so."

The stone tablet replied.

"A place of spiritual light..."

Li Yuan surveyed the surroundings, his thoughts scattering: "What use does this place have?"

This so-called Divine Realm is actually visualized?

Then, what about the Shan Xuan Bing Mi Jing?

"Unite mind and heart, take residence here, and nourish the spirit... it is the foundation for forging the Divine Palace."

The stone tablet answered every question.

Uniting mind and heart, the foundation of the Divine Palace?

Although Li Yuan didn't understand, he memorized it all; he estimated this was likely a realm accessible only to Grandmaster-level experts.

Through question and answer, he discovered the stone tablet held at least no malice on the surface, so he didn't guess its intentions and asked directly:

"Why did you pull me here?"

"Draw the sword!"

The stone tablet did not hesitate.

"Draw, draw this sword?"

Looking at the giant sword, at least a thousand meters tall that made him feel suffocated just by approaching, Daoist Li turned and left, not even wanting to ask about the benefits.

"..."

On the tower top, a woman in white clothes was disheveled by the wind.

Crack!

Li Yuan stopped, looked up, and the stone tablet descended from the sky, planting itself before him:

"There are benefits!"

"What benefits?"

Looking at the stone tablet merely a foot away from him, Li Yuan frowned tightly; he was sensing the Commanding Talisman.

Both the Commanding Talisman and the Listening Sound Talisman could sense it, which made him feel much more at ease.

"Gold, silver, Wu Gong, pills, divine weapons, nothing is missing."

"... Alright then."

Such a huge pie; Li Yuan criticized inwardly and asked:

"How do I draw the sword?"

"No rush."

Li Yuan agreed; the stone tablet trembled, rose from the ground under his gaze, and fell back before the Bronze Tower.

His eyesight was good, so he saw the words on it:

"Return when the Meridian Unblocking is fully accomplished."

Hum~

Almost simultaneously, Li Yuan felt clouds and mist swirling around him; when he opened his eyes again, the daylight was already bright.

In the corner, a little mouse slept soundly with a 'hoo-hoo' sound; on the windowsill, a little tiger cub swished its tail, leisurely basking in the sun.

"Divine Realm, giant tower, giant sword, Divine Palace."

Li Yuan rubbed his temples; being pulled into a baffling place by an unknown expert made him feel both wary and surprised.

He wanted to learn such methods too.

"Could the Shan Xuan Bing Mi Jing contained within the Daoist Tianyun Daoist Tianyun Xuanbing also be visualized?"

Li Yuan murmured in his heart, but he didn't indulge in wild speculation; relying on the Longhu Temple, if he had doubts, he naturally had to ask.

One night passed, the sky cleared; the turmoil of last night seemed to have subsided, but the patrol disciples were several times more numerous than usual.

There were Longhu soldiers Wearing heavy armor.

Li Yuan acted like nothing had happened, first going to the Library Tower; after a round of flipping through books, he actually found records concerning the 'Divine Realm'.

"When the Three Origins enter transformation, transcending the mundane, the Divine Realm is formed."

"The Three Origins are Essence, Qi, and Spirit."

Then, that was all.

Li Yuan put down the scroll, didn't go to the inner building, but instead borrowed a few similar books and turned toward the main peak of Longmen.

In the small temple, Li Yuan bowed, watching Old Dragon Head flip through the notes he had written himself; his peripheral vision caught his own portrait on the back wall, and the corner of his mouth twitched.

He just thought about it, and this old man actually did it?

Not to mention, the painting was quite good...

Arriving at the small temple, Li Yuan felt very at ease; he wondered if he should temporarily move in to live with Old Dragon Head?

"Hmm..."

Flipping through the notes, Long Xi Xiang nodded occasionally and smiled occasionally.

Seeing his mood was good, Li Yuan asked about the "Divine Realm."

"Divine Realm?"

Long Xi Xiang frowned slightly: "Your talent is not bad, but remember not to aim too high and reach too far. With your current realm, knowing these things brings no benefit."

"Do you have the Divine Realm?"

Li Yuan asked.

Long Xi Xiang did not reply, but instead said:

"The Form-Shifting realm is the realm that establishes the foundation of martial arts; the quantity, strength, and combinations of the Form-Shiftings determine the limit of a martial artist's physique."

"Afterwards, opening the meridians, refining the organs, and refining the marrow to exchange the blood are various methods to elevate oneself to this limit."

"... It seems you mentioned this before."

Li Yuan reminded him at the appropriate moment.

Long Xi Xiang paid him no mind and continued on his own:

"Form-Shifting is the body, opening the meridians is the Qi; only when the two unite can one refine the organs and exchange the blood, and only by penetrating Yin and Yang can one touch the 'Divine'."

"Grandmaster is not a realm, nor is entering the Dao; these are merely terms used by people of the Jianghu. According to our terminology, this realm is named 'Divine Form'."

Divine Form!

Li Yuan murmured it to himself once.

"When the Astral Qi enters the brain and draws the Divine Form, at this step, a person is like a god or demon, with all forms following to destroy cities and break armies."

Long Xi Xiang did not elaborate in detail, passing over it in a few brief words:

"Taking the Divine Form as the root, the wondrous scenery cast by drawing upon the Astral and Earthly Fiend Qi is called the 'Divine Realm'!"

"The Divine Realm... is it the same as the Health Preservation Mi Jing?"

Li Yuan pressed further.

"About the same."

Long Xi Xiang nodded.

"Then, what happens if the Divine Realm is damaged?"

Li Yuan's heart stirred.

"You die."

"Master, you..."

Li Yuan wanted to ask more, but Long Xi Xiang was already somewhat impatient; he flicked his sleeve and fanned the boy out of the small temple. This kid had deliberately poked at his sore spot.

"I haven't finished asking yet."

Looking at the tightly closed temple door, Li Yuan, whose curiosity had been aroused, felt extremely uncomfortable.

However, although Old Dragon Head spoke vaguely, Li Yuan could faintly discern the meaning in his words.

"'Is it related to the Land Immortal? This matter is quite big.'"

Tightening his Daoist robe, Li Yuan decided to move into the small temple today; if Old Dragon Head wouldn't let him in, he would just build a thatched shed outside the temple.