Chapter 334: Creating Wu Gong and Zhong Li Wang Luan

In novels and martial arts rumors, creating martial arts techniques was always extremely difficult, worthy of reverence, rarely explained in detail, and once created, their fame could endure as long as the techniques themselves.

For creating Wu Gong, Li Yuan was extremely cautious; over several days, he pored over countless books, discussed with Old Han, and repeatedly consulted Old Dragonhead and the mysterious Bronze Tower Master.

Slowly, Li Yuan realized that creating Wu Gong was not complicated; once that hazy veil was lifted, he found it was not hard to understand at all.

Especially Yi Xing Zu He.

Li Yuan sat cross-legged in stillness within the room, his mind drifting into the Shan Xuan Jing Mi Jing.

"Yi Xing Zu He is like a jigsaw puzzle—or stacking blocks."

At the inverted mountain peak, a gentle breeze Xu Xu blew; Li Yuan pressed one hand against the stone tablet, drawing forth the ever-present Shan Xuan Jing Qi, while in his mind flashed this thought.

Hum~

The Shan Xuan Jing Qi drifted toward him, responding to his will, and in visible speed, coalesced into a ferocious thunder dragon thirty meters long.

The thunder dragon growled low, soaring through the air.

Li Yuan focused intently; one after another, the Shan Xuan Jing Qi, under his command, took the forms of all the mundane and spirit beasts he possessed.

Bai Yuan, Ling Yuan, fierce tiger, Ling Hu, old turtle, white crane, gray eagle, Ling Lang...

In less than half an hour, dozens of various beast forms, along with weapons such as the Dao Sha Chui, had appeared around him.

The most prominent among them were naturally the Bai Shou Lei Long, Wan Renling Long, and the ever-circling Dragon-Tiger forms.

"Huh!"

Li Yuan kept his hand on the tablet, transforming all the forms he had cultivated into this space.

Manifesting dozens of forms at once, all coexisting simultaneously—by his own power alone, this would be nearly impossible; even if he somehow achieved it with spirit pills, he could not sustain it long.

"This is much more intuitive."

Feeling the myriad forms born of Shan Xuan Jing Qi, Li Yuan nodded inwardly; ordinary martial artists had never enjoyed such an advantage.

He had once asked Old Han in detail about the entire process of creating Bai Shou Lei Long—it was purely built through visualization, then painstakingly replicated in the outside world, slowly tested and refined.

One attempt took at least half a month, sometimes even three to five months.

Thus, from the moment he conceived the idea to the initial creation of the thunder dragon, it took him seventy years.

"Use the thunder dragon as the spine."

Li Yuan's mind shifted; the thunder dragon in midair let out a low roar, its coiled body instantly straightening like a long rod.

"Use Wan Renling Long as the bones!"

"Use Long Xiang Heliu as the meridians."

……

Hum~

Hum~

As Li Yuan murmured a thought in his mind, the corresponding beast form responded instantly.

He had a mental blueprint; no thinking was needed, and soon, the beasts on the ground all rushed into this trial.

"Use thunder form as the mouth and tongue."

As a thunderclap exploded upward, Li Yuan finally looked up.

Before him stood a colossal entity merging all forms: Dao Sha Chui as horns, Qing She Qiang as claws, fish scales as skin, Wan Renling Long as bones...

"Ugly."

One glance, and Li Yuan's lips twitched involuntarily—but he still held great hope:

"Come on, move."

"Roar!"

The beast roars exploded like thunder, layered atop one another, unbearably harsh and deafening.

Li Yuan's eyelid twitched; the colossal entity in midair flapped its dozen mismatched wings—"Puh!"—two monkey forms tumbled down.

Another flap, and two tigers and three giant bears crashed down.

A dive sent the packed beast forms tumbling like hail—"Pili-pala!"—in an instant, scattered beyond recognition.

Only a few dragon forms, led by the thunder dragon, still soared in the air.

……

Li Li Daoye's first attempt ended in shameful failure, barely lasting thirty to forty seconds?

"Who ever succeeds at creating Wu Gong on the first try?"

Li Yuan comforted himself inwardly.

For Old Han, one failure meant at least a month wasted, plus a large supply of pills; for Li Yuan, failure cost at most an hour or so.

If he worked diligently, he could attempt ten or more times a day—plenty of chances and low cost for trial and error.

"First, find out where the problem lies."

Li Yuan was not discouraged; he sat against the tablet, pondering the issue.

"I originally planned to use Long Xiang Heliu as the bones, Jin Gang and Long Hu as meridians, filling with various forms as flesh and blood—but Long Xiang Heliu isn't complete, Jin Gang isn't fully perfected, so there's interference..."

"Also, perhaps some of the forms conflict with each other—I didn't consider that..."

Li Yuan analyzed the problem, and soon after, began his second attempt.

This time, he first visualized the Lie Hai Shan Xuan Jing Tu, then used it as a reference to begin his "puzzle."

……

……

Hu hu~

As dusk approached, the disciples attempting the challenge outside the Long Hu Tower gradually dispersed; Pei Jiu, his face stern, finally stepped slowly out of the tower gate.

"Senior brother."

Several disciples of the Long Rainbow Sword Sect waiting outside went forward to welcome them.

"Senior Brother, how far is it from the sixth layer?"

A disciple asked.

"Two people short."

Pei Jiu's face was cold; he answered casually and walked toward that giant stele.

On the giant stele, his name appeared in the middle-lower section; only six people ranked above the seventh layer on this stele, while the sixth layer contained as many as a hundred names. Among the few at the very top, Long Long Xinglie's name stood out prominently.

"Long Long Xinglie."

Pei Jiu murmured to himself, then thought of Li Yuan whom he had just seen.

He was born with a sword heart that was clear and bright, with a sword spirit and sword form; he was one of the two with the best talent in the Long Rainbow Sword Sect of the current generation. Not yet thirty years old, he had already successfully refined his marrow, not inferior to Xin Xin Wenhua, the second true disciple of the current Long Hu era.

But these two...

"The Twin Beauties of Long Hu?"

Without lingering, Pei Jiu turned and left.

The Long Hu Temple opened its mountain gates wide; all sects participating in this Martial Arts of the Dao demonstration had quotas to enter the mountain gates. Sects like the Long Rainbow Sword Sect, which were not friendly, were no exception, but lodging was naturally not provided.

Under the watchful eyes of the patrol disciples, a group of Long Rainbow Sword Sect disciples left the inner gate, boarded carriages, and departed into the city.

"To break into the sixth layer, the Great Perfection of the Changbai Sword Technique is not enough; the Long Rainbow Sword Technique must also be cultivated to Great Perfection. If one cultivates the 'Hundred-Step Flying Sword' to completion, there would be no problem."

Inside the carriage, Pei Jiu pondered in his heart.

The Hundred-Step Flying Sword is one of the Four Great Wu Gong of the Long Rainbow Sword Sect; those without a sword form cannot enter its gate, and even after cultivating the sword form into a spiritual aspect, one can only stop at Minor Success.

His talent was exceptional, born with an innate sword form, yet he still lingered at the threshold, unable to fully enter the gate.

"I am already over thirty. The opportunity to participate in the Martial Arts of the Dao demonstration comes only once. If I cannot seize it, there will be no chance to compete with 'Gu Shan Xuan Shang' for the position of Dao Son!"

Pei Jiu let out a long breath and slowly closed his eyes. His heart was like a bright mirror; even with his eyes closed, he could perceive the pedestrians and merchants outside the carriage, and even on the streets on both sides.

"Hmm?"

At a certain instant, as if sensing something, he opened his eyes:

"Stop the carriage!"

"Senior Brother?" The disciple driving the carriage reined in the horse and stopped.

"You all return to the guild hall first; no need to wait for me."

Pei Jiu stepped down from the carriage, did not look back, and walked straight into the 'Spring Cloud Tower' by the roadside. The several accompanying disciples dared not disobey him and could only leave.

"Young Hero Pei!"

"Brother Pei?"

The Spring Cloud Tower was one of the largest restaurants in the northern district of the city. Those feasting and drinking within were all people of the Jianghu; many recognized Pei Jiu and rose one after another to greet him.

Pei Jiu nodded slightly, did not stop walking, and went straight up to the ninth floor.

The environment on the ninth floor was excellent; there was no main hall, only individual private rooms. When Pei Jiu came up, the door of one private room was pushed open, and a tall, handsome young man smiled and greeted him:

"Brother Pei, it has been several years since we parted; are you well?"

"Brother Chu's elegance remains unchanged."

Pei Jiu smiled in response.

This tall young man was named Chu Hun Tian Zhu, the second true disciple of the current generation of the Samadhi Cave. His hand of the Crimson Flame Zhang Fa had entered the realm of transformation; his Wu Gong was extremely high, and ten years ago he had already reached Great Success in Blood Exchange.

He looked young, but in reality, he had been famous for twenty or thirty years.

"When did Brother Chu arrive in Hengshan City?"

Pei Jiu, familiar with him, walked into the private room and found only him there, yet there were three sets of bowls and chopsticks.

"I just arrived today; these bowls and chopsticks are newly added. That one set belongs to Junior Uncle Zhong."

Chu Hun Tian Zhu invited him to take a seat.

"Senior Zhong has also come?"

Pei Jiu's heart tightened. Compared to Chu Hun Tian Zhu, the reputation of his Junior Uncle Zhong was much greater, and not limited to the Yan Shan Dao.

At the last Martial Arts of the Dao Grand Assembly, Zhong Luanluan defeated all opponents on the Sitting Forgetfulness Peak, making his name known throughout the world. Now, he was even a master-level giant of the Rudaode Sect.

"Just now on the road, there was a madman shouting and screaming. You know what kind of person Junior Uncle Zhong is..."

Chu Hun Tian Zhu sighed; regarding that Junior Uncle Zhong of his, he was truly somewhat helpless.

He did not say it, but Pei Jiu understood in his heart.

Zhong Luanluan's name often appeared in the mouths of storytellers, with a frequency second only to that legendary True Person Yuan Qing. The reason was that he loved to right wrongs.

In the words of his Sect Master, he was 'a person with the style of a chivalrous hero, pure yang and utterly righteous.'

Although he understood in his heart, Pei Jiu naturally would not comment on someone else's Junior Uncle; he just smiled and raised his cup to drink with him.

"Sigh."

Chu Hun Tian Zhu felt somewhat annoyed in his heart. He did not know how many messes he had cleaned up for that Junior Uncle along the way. Seeing that they had reached Hengshan City, he was still not behaving properly.

"Drink, drink."

Pei Jiu clinked his cup against his.

"I just arrived in Hengshan City and heard of Brother Pei's great name. The shadow of Bai Hu appeared, a talent of the absolute world. It is said you even fought your way to the fifth layer of the Long Hu Tower?"

Chu Hun Tian Zhu suppressed his depression and asked with a smile.

"Brother Chu is well-informed, but do not mock your junior brother."

Pei Jiu shook his head, knowing he wanted to inquire about intelligence, and did not mind; he recounted the major and minor events of Hengshan City over the past half year one by one.

"Li Yuan?"

Chu Hun Tian Zhu keenly sensed Pei Jiu's emotion: "Is this person's talent very good?"

"Extremely good."

Pei Jiu's expression turned solemn: "I heard that before, at Longhu Sishan's mountain gate, there was once a sight of dragon and tiger appearing together. I suspect it was this very person!"

"Dragon and tiger appearing together — that has to be at least an Eternal-tier talent, right?"

Chu Hun Tian Zhu was somewhat moved.

Eternal-tier talent — this was a saying that circulated only between the imperial court and the Dao Sects, originating from Daoist Tianyun Daoist Tianyun Xuanbing.

The complete ranking should be: 'Outstanding' — one in ten thousand; 'Dragon Among Men' — peerless bearing; 'World-Renowned Gift' — supreme endowment; 'Eternal and Unrivalled.'

And as far as he knew, in the world today, hidden ones were hard to say, but openly, Eternal-tier talent belonged only to Wan Wan Zhuliu and that possibly real-or-fake Qian Emperor — those two alone.

"Whether it's Eternal-tier is hard to say, but the talent is truly astonishing. It's a pity I've challenged the tower many times and never randomly matched him, couldn't take his measure."

Pei Jiu was somewhat regretful.

"Looks like, at this Dao Martial Exhibition, Longhu Sishan is going to take first place?"

Chu Hun Tian Zhu sighed lightly, and didn't take it too seriously — a Tongmai martial artist, no matter how good the talent, still couldn't catch up to this Exhibition.

"As for Long Long Xinglie…"

The two chatted for a long while, mostly Chu Hun Tian Zhu asking questions — besides Longhu Sishan, he also asked about the other Dao Sects.

Before every Dao Martial Exhibition, the major Dao Sects and the various Zhou Sect all had to arrive early.

"Yiqi Mountain Manor is hard to say — I heard True Person Feng Yuanqing is in closed-door cultivation, may arrive last. As for my Changhong Sword Sect, should be arriving in about half a month…"

Pei Jiu looked at Chu Hun Tian Zhu, who replied: "My Sanmei Grotto should be about the same. I came a step ahead with Martial Uncle Zhong."

"As for Qinglong Pavilion and Xinyi Sect, they're probably arriving soon too?"

Over cups clinking, the two exchanged intelligence. Both were true disciples with hopes of contending for their sect's Dao Child, and they held great expectations for this Dao Martial Exhibition.

"Come to think of it, the biggest variable in this Exhibition should be Yan Yan Chunyang."

As Pei Jiu spoke, Chu Hun Tian Zhu's expression immediately grew somewhat solemn.

"This Yan Yan Chunyang…"

Recalling his sect's intelligence, Chu Hun Tian Zhu didn't know what to say for the moment. Just then, footsteps came.

By the time the two stood up, the visitor had already walked in.

'What a fine fellow!'

Pei Jiu's gaze sharpened.

The newcomer was extremely tall — surely over eight chi — broad-shouldered and thick-backed, round eyes and big ears, a beard like wild grass on his face, every inch the unrefined, bold knight-errant.

It was Brother Zhongli Wang Luan.

"Junior Pei Jiu, greetings to Senior Zhong."

Pei Jiu's eyes lit up somewhat.

But Chu Hun Tian Zhu felt a headache coming, because behind that big fellow was the very madman who had been shouting on the roadside earlier:

"Martial Uncle, what is this?"

"Sit."

Brother Zhongli Wang Luan's face was dark as water. He invited the others to sit, but the man with disheveled clothes and hair, terror all over his face, kept waving his hands, not daring to sit.

"Eat something first, then you'll have the strength to take revenge!"

Brother Zhongli Wang Luan tossed over a whole chicken. The man hurriedly caught it, and the way he wolfed it down made both Pei Jiu and Chu Hun Tian Zhu furrow their brows deeply.

"This man is named Liu San, a Constable of the Dao government office's Bing Room."

Brother Zhongli Wang Luan downed a cup of wine, his face already slightly flushed: "He says his little sister went missing at the Dao government office some days ago. He insisted on going to look for her and was beaten out with clubs…"

Hearing only half, Chu Hun Tian Zhu's eyelid twitched:

"Martial Uncle, you didn't barge into the Dao government office, did you?"

"You think Laozi is stupid?"

Brother Zhongli Wang Luan glared at him: "I went in fair and square, circled around, didn't find anything, so I brought him back."

"That's a relief then."

Chu Hun Tian Zhu breathed a quiet sigh of relief.

"I rifled through the Dao government office's archives…"

Chu Hun Tian Zhu breathed a sigh of relief — sneaking into the archives was a small matter.

"Where his little sister went missing is hard to say, but it's true that a great lecherous demon has appeared in this city."

Why are you so fond of meddling in other people's business?!

Chu Hun Tian Zhu nearly cursed out loud, but could only helplessly advise: "Martial Uncle, this is the government office's business, or at worst, Longhu Sishan's business. You…"

Pei Jiu said nothing, listening on the side. He paid no attention to their conversation, instead using his Sword Heart Clarity to sense Brother Zhongli Wang Luan.

In his perception, this burly great fellow was like a sun itself — utmost yang, utmost firm.

"Know why you can't comprehend the Great Sun Golden Form?"

"Hmm?"

Chu Hun Tian Zhu gave a slight start.

Brother Zhongli Wang Luan wiped the grease from his mouth and stood up: