Chapter 316: Long Xi Xiang's Fang Shen Jing

Dragon Demon Daoist!

In the room, Li Yuan was wide awake, the information about this legendary figure surfacing unbidden in his mind.

The founding patriarch of the Star-Plucking Tower, a Grand Master of the supreme rank who, legend had it, had transformed into the forms of ten thousand beasts; the Dragon Demon Heart Scripture he created was a heaven-defying demonic art on par with the Bai Shen Fa!

"Then that Eight Directions Temple..."

A place that could make such a supreme Grand Master pursue it his whole life, even to the point of forgetting life and death.

"Eight Directions Pagoda, Eight Directions Temple... is that little room on the Eight Directions Pagoda?"

Li Yuan's thoughts drifted, a strong curiosity welling up within him.

In the latter half of the night, he tossed and turned, not knowing when he finally fell into a deep sleep.

Whine~

Under the moonlight, the little tiger cub padded in. She fixed her gaze on Li Yuan, who was fast asleep on the bed, a thoughtful look in her eyes.

Suddenly, as if sensing something, she flopped onto the bedhead with a *poof*.

A wisp of mist arrived on the wind, transforming into an old monk with long eyebrows. The little tiger cub was annoyed in her heart but could not withstand that drowsy heaviness; just before falling asleep, she heard a muttering:

"This old man actually couldn't help myself—what kind of spirit beast is this? Strange, very strange indeed."

'The old monk didn't recognize me.'

The little tiger cub relaxed in her heart and fell fast asleep.

"Master of the Star-Plucking Tower."

Before the bed, clouds and mist drifted. Long Long Yingchan paused for a moment in thought, then drifted away nonetheless.

A moment later, the little tiger cub finally awoke from her stupor. She stretched her fleshy paws, quite annoyed, but still held back, and blew out a wisp of purple mist that seeped into Li Yuan's mouth and nose.

Hum~

Li Yuan slept very deeply this time; in his half-sleep, half-waking state he did not notice anything amiss. When he came to himself slightly, he saw the towering bronze giant pagoda before his eyes.

"Here we go again."

After dozens of fierce battles within the Dragon Tiger Pagoda, Daoist Li was truly a little weary. Just as he was preparing to refuse, text had already appeared on the stone stele:

"Today, I shall pass on to you a secret art."

Hmm?

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After the complete text was displayed, an inquiry came from the stone stele.

"I've memorized all of it."

Li Yuan came back to himself. Photographic memory was truly useful—just one glance was enough. This Tian Yi Nine Refinements was as if branded into his mind; he couldn't forget it even if he wanted to.

Memorized all of it?

At the top of the bronze pagoda, the white-robed woman was somewhat skeptical. Various questions then appeared on the stone stele, all concerning this secret art. Naturally, Li Yuan answered them with perfect fluency.

"Photographic memory?"

The white-robed woman's brow smoothed; this saved her trouble.

"This secret art aims to temper true qi. It not only requires the expenditure of spirit pills, but also takes a long time. Whether you wish to learn it is up to you."

On the stone stele, text appeared.

"Learn!"

Having focused on it once in his mind, Li Yuan's eyes lit up. He hurriedly nodded in agreement, then asked all his doubts—mainly those terms whose true meaning he did not know.

The master of the bronze pagoda answered every question, teaching with great care.

A long while later, Li Yuan felt he had no more questions, bowed in thanks, and withdrew from this Fang Shen Jing.

"A once-in-a-millennium aptitude. With the aid of spirit pills, in at most half a year he should be able to reach the first refinement, no?"

At the top of the bronze pagoda, the white-robed woman muttered to herself, then felt a touch of vexation.

This was the untransmitted secret of her lineage. If she truly had no choice, she would not want to let this stinky brat benefit from it.

"Dare to touch me..."

"Tian Yi Nine Refinements!"

In the room, Li Yuan sat cross-legged, swallowed two Spirit-Nurturing Pills, and simply gave up on sleeping.

Hum~

Li Yuan turned his gaze inward upon himself.

Thirty-six qi meridians crisscrossed, covering his entire body, with the dantian and the two 'orifices' between his feet serving as three centers, through which true qi flowed and circulated like water.

"True qi determines a martial artist's explosive power, endurance, organ tempering, marrow tempering and blood exchange, and even entering the Dao—all of these are related to it. The transformation combinations, or rather the spirit forms, also require true qi as support."

Li Yuan turned these thoughts over in his mind.

In the Bronze Tower divine realm he had not shown it, but in truth, after seeing this Mi Fa, he was quite shocked in his heart—this true qi tempering technique was at the very least an Absolute Art, and might even be a Neng Shi Shen Gong level supporting Mi Fa.

"As expected, only by showing one's own value will others invest heavily."

Li Dao Ye felt a touch of emotion in his heart, and without hesitation, he ran through all the checkpoints in his mind, then immediately began attempting to cultivate.

With the blessing of an epoch-defying talent, he picked up any Wu Gong very quickly.

Whoo—

In the qi meridians, true qi flowed like water.

Li Yuan's thoughts lingered for a while on the dantian and the three orifices on his feet, but he still chose the orifice beneath his left foot as the primary one to cultivate this true qi tempering technique.

After all, although he had not yet deduced the locations of the other orifices within his body, he was certain there must be others—but the dantian was the only one of its kind.

"Refine Qi!"

Having chosen the left foot orifice, Li Yuan shifted his mind, and the true qi throughout his entire body surged toward that orifice.

Under his powerful spiritual control, the true qi gathered in spiraling currents, filling that orifice like a vortex.

What determined the speed of true qi circulation was the mind and the spirit.

The stronger the spirit, the more exquisite the circulation and control of true qi.

Wisps of true qi collided and rubbed against each other within, circulating according to a special transformation.

"Hoo!"

A long while later, Li Yuan opened his eyes and glanced out the window. By now it was broad daylight, the sun high in the sky, and he was somewhat startled:

"Just one circulation took six hours?"

Li Yuan frowned slightly, sensing the left foot orifice. After running a complete grand cycle according to Yang Jian Tian Yi, he could faintly perceive a change.

"The true qi has become a bit purer, and the amount of true qi the dantian can hold has also increased somewhat."

Li Yuan felt the changes in his true qi.

According to what Yang Jian Tian Yi stated, taking the dantian qi sea as the center, temper all the true qi in the body once, reducing the total amount of true qi to one-third of its original.

This process is called one refinement.

Afterward, one would take spirit pills or bitterly cultivate to refill the purified true qi back into the qi sea dantian, then use the same method to once again reduce the total amount of true qi to one-third of its original.

This is the second refinement.

Repeating this cycle nine times, Yang Jian Tian Yi would then reach great completion!

"The grade of this Mi Fa must be very high!"

Li Yuan was quite shaken in his heart. Setting aside the nine refinements, just achieving one refinement alone meant his true qi was equivalent to tripling?

Although he knew it couldn't be calculated that way, the benefits of this Mi Fa were self-evident.

However...

"This will consume a great deal of time, as well as spirit pills."

Li Yuan opened his eyes.

The former was fine—he wasn't even Dong Dong Ershisan yet, he had plenty of time—but these spirit pills...

"Second on the Dragon Ranking, twenty-five spirit pills per year as a quota. If one is a true disciple, it doubles again—fifty spirit pills. Being frugal, that should be enough for at least half a year..."

Li Dao Ye breathed a sigh of relief in his heart.

He rose, washed up, stewed a large pot of spirit rice, and stir-fried a few small dishes with Nuqing eggs. Placing them on a serving tray, Li Yuan knocked on the door of the small courtyard opposite.

"Come in!"

Inside the small temple, Long Xi Xiang opened his eyes. He, who had not slept for many days, was looking better and better in spirit, but the gaze he used to size up Li Yuan was somewhat complicated.

'This old dragon-head's complexion is frighteningly good—don't tell me it's a final flare before death?'

Li Yuan nimbly served the old dragon-head his meal, but couldn't help muttering uneasily in his heart.

An old man who had been severely injured for decades and was forgetful by nature had suddenly become full of vigor, even his forgetfulness improved by a good half—it was impossible not to worry.

Recalling how over these past days the old man had come to give him pointers from time to time, his worry only deepened.

"Come into the temple."

After finishing the meal, Long Xi Xiang stopped Li Yuan, who was clearing the dishes, and turned to walk into the small temple.

"Yes!"

Li Yuan set down the dishes, wiped his palms clean, and followed him into the small temple. He stole a glance and saw that some of the newly replaced incense burners had already gathered a bit of incense ash.

But it was very thin, and none of it had reached a grade.

"With your talent, the path before entering the Dao is smooth all the way. As long as you walk steadily and prepare well, perhaps within fifteen years you can penetrate yin and yang."

Inside the small temple, Long Xi Xiang sat cross-legged. His tone was calm—not praise, but a statement of fact, giving Li Yuan no chance to be modest.

Fifteen years?

Li Dao Ye said nothing, but he felt it shouldn't take that long.

"Close your eyes."

Long Xi Xiang spoke.

Li Yuan closed his eyes, and only heard a breeze blow past, when an inexplicable drowsiness rose within him—a feeling that was somewhat familiar.

"Don't resist."

With his mind emptied, Li Yuan felt clouds and mist drift before his eyes, and when he opened them again, the environment had changed drastically.

The clouds were light and the wind high—this was atop a solitary peak.

The mountain summit was narrow, covered in snow and frost, utterly smooth, with cliffs and precipices all around.

Beneath the sole Shan Qing Song tree entwined with vines, Long Xi Xiang sat cross-legged, yet his appearance was not the rosy-lipped, white-toothed, youthful visage seen outside, but rather that of an old, withered man, reeking of decay.

"This is my teacher's Divine Realm."

Long Xi Xiang spoke slowly.

Li Yuan followed his gaze to the cliff face, where an iron chain stretched across the clouds and mist, and opposite was not a sheer precipice, but a blade stuck into the earth, its height unknown, perhaps hundreds or thousands of meters.

"This blade?!"