Chapter 340: Gang Winds Beyond the Sky, Sky-Fleeing Boat

How could it be so fast?!

On the rooftop, the little tiger cub bristled.

She had personally witnessed Li Yuan's battle last night, so naturally she had expectations that he could draw his blade.

But the scene before her truly made even her feel a chill of horror.

Wan Wan Zhuliu's Fu Mo Dao Fa was a supreme-grade blade art honed through countless life-and-death battles, unrivaled under heaven, with almost no one able to break it.

Even just one slash, at the level of Tongmai, the difficulty of resisting it, of breaking it, was as great as ascending to heaven.

In her expectation, it would surely require her patient guidance, waiting until his Yang Jian Tian Yi was cultivated to completion, combined with several ultimate arts like the Long Chan Diamond Sutra reaching great perfection, then through countless bitter battles, seeking an opportunity for mutual destruction.

"It's only been half a night, half a night…"

The little tiger cub murmured in her heart.

No matter how hard she strained her imagination, she could not understand how this kid could have broken the first slash of Fu Mo within half a day.

Outside the small temple, Li Yuan turned his head and glanced at the dazed cat bristling on the rooftop:

"What's that silly cat spacing out about now?"

Master Li was in a good mood. He cast a casual glance, then turned back and began to sense the fluctuations emanating from the small temple.

"Dao Master Long's reaction is really fast… no, that disrespectful old man must be peeking at me right now."

Wisps of fog enveloped the small temple. Li Yuan reached out to touch it, finding the texture like gauze, extremely effective at blocking the line of sight.

But through that thin veil of clouds, he could still sense the aura emanating from within the small temple—very intense, unable to be completely obscured by the mist.

Through the fog, he could see within the small temple, Bai Guang surging like tides, rushing skyward, transforming within the clouds into scroll after scroll of paintings, hazy and indistinct, impossible to see clearly.

The Yang Sheng Lu truly has a wide range of uses.

This close, even as the Bai Guang spread and surged, the light and shadows flickering right overhead, Li Yuan still could not see clearly. This mist came from the Yang Sheng Lu; it looked like a thin layer, but its concealing power was actually very strong.

However, he only muttered this once in his heart. With a shift of thought, he had already taken control one by one of a set of items that boosted spiritual power, including the Divine Fire Bone-Forging Ring (Fifth-Order).

As time accumulated, the items he had gathered were abundant, and had gradually been assembled into several different control combinations.

For cultivation, for combat, for smithing—he would switch to the corresponding control combination. Though the Thousand-Grade talent was indeed a tremendous boost, he would not reject going a bit faster.

Relying on the boost of this 'spiritual power' control combination, his vision instantly became clear.

Beneath the clouds, Bai Guang surged skyward, its spread covering far more than just this small temple. Gazing into the distance, Li Yuan was somewhat startled:

"This must be ten li in radius? No wonder Dao Master Long wanted to conceal it—the commotion is too great!"

Whooosh～

It wasn't just seeing—Li Yuan also heard sounds.

Those scrolls of paintings, some overlapping, some standing alone, contained raging waves, waterfalls, mountains and forests teeming with energy, as well as deep valleys filled with Lei Ting.

He even saw the Cold Pond and Fire Valley of the Divine Weapon Valley.

The scenery was varied and never repeated; the only common element was that in every single scroll, there was a pure-white azure dragon and a six-tusked old elephant.

"This is… a realm?"

Li Yuan's heart stirred.

Previously he had asked that master of the bronze tower about Grand Masters and Spirit Phases, and the latter had mentioned realms, or rather, 'wondrous sights.'

The Body-Shaping before entering the Dao, and the Spirit Phase after entering the Dao—this is the essence of the martial Dao.

As Li Yuan's thoughts turned, he heard a cry ring out from the air, and then that dragon and elephant abruptly stepped out from the scrolls.

Hum!

Suddenly, the Bai Guang blazed intensely.

"…Damn!"

Li Yuan was caught off guard; his vision flashed red, and tears immediately streamed down.

After he rubbed his eyes and looked again, he saw the Bai Guang flowing back like a tide, every scene concealed within, with only the roars of the azure dragon and old elephant faintly echoing from within.

Within the Bai Guang, it seemed to have transformed into a battlefield, where violent collisions and slaughter were taking place.

Li Yuan focused his gaze to look, but could no longer see anything. He could only pray in his heart: "Old dragon head, give it some strength."

……

Crack-crack-crack!

On the lone mountain, beneath the Shan Qing Song, Long Xi Xiang sat cross-legged. Before and behind him, the entire Pian Shen Jing was collapsing and shattering.

Terrifying clashes of aura tore at slice after slice of 'wondrous sights,' making them appear only to be destroyed, sketching out a scroll of devastation.

"Roar!"

The azure dragon roared in fury, the old elephant stamped its feet, darting through the great earth and above the clouded heavens.

Beneath the Shan Qing Song, Long Long Yingchan's expression was solemn, but he could not participate in this scene of breaking through the Heavenly Gang, and could only channel true qi into Long Xi Xiang.

"Hoo!"

At a certain moment, the wild wind in the Pian Shen Jing suddenly ceased. Beneath the Shan Qing Song, Long Xi Xiang rose to his feet.

Within the Pian Shen Jing he had appeared withered and aged—a reflection of the severe damage to his spirit intent—but now, vigorous vitality radiated from his body, visibly making him younger.

But he had no time to examine closely. In a stride he mounted the old elephant, spread his five fingers to grasp the azure dragon, and charged into the scroll of devastation woven from the myriad wondrous sights.

Boom!

In an instant, it seemed there were a thousand collisions.

Long Xi Xiang's figure vanished within the qi. Long Long Yingchan focused with utmost intensity.

He saw that at the place of collision, streams of aura swelled, compressing the surrounding air into high-pressure shockwaves that raged and surged outward, and for a moment the void became a hazy chaos.

A divine saber a thousand zhang long gradually dimmed, transforming into a black dragon that vanished into the void.

……

In a wooden corridor, a silver-haired girl with delicate features and a golden vertical mark between her brows tiptoed to the end, carefully looked around to confirm no one was there, and only then pushed open the door at the end.

"Creak—"

The soft creak of a door being pushed open made the young girl jump; she instinctively glanced left and right, her heart nearly stopping.

A tall, silver-haired young man was staring at her with a blank expression.

"Big Brother Wan Quan, I—I didn't do anything."

The girl hurriedly waved her hands: "It's just that this 'Dun Tian Zhou' is really rather boring, so I thought I'd wander around a bit…"

"Is the Ninth Princess thinking of going to my father's study?"

Wan Quan looked at her deeply, and seeing that her little face had gone a little purple, he smiled: "Follow me."

"Ah? Really?"

The girl was both startled and delighted: "I heard earlier that Brother Yan Chunyang snuck into Uncle Wang's study and almost got beaten to death on the spot."

"The Ninth Princess's bloodline is pure, her status noble—how could she be compared to that kind of impure-blooded mongrel?"

A trace of coldness flashed through Wan Quan's eyes as he smiled and went inside.

"This big?"

Stepping into the study, the girl was also a little surprised: "There must be a million volumes here—can Uncle Wang actually read through all of them?"

"My father's merit borders on creation; what are a few books to him?"

Wan Quan smiled. He was very patient with this girl, because if nothing unexpected happened, she would be his wife.

"So many weapons!"

The girl darted between the bookshelves, then suddenly looked toward the other side—behind the study there was another open room, much larger than the study itself.

On bookshelves of unknown material sat blade after blade of weapons—swords, spears, sabers, halberds, hammers, staves, axes, bows—everything one could want; at a glance, no fewer than a thousand.

"Father is very fond of collecting divine weapons from across the realm. Most of these were given by his subordinates; a small portion, like that 'Golden Sun Sword,' that Star-Chasing Bow, were collected by Father himself."

Wan Quan was very patient, introducing them one by one. As he spoke, he picked up a half-man-tall dragon-blade:

"This one, I obtained two years ago by passing the inner-gate trial of the 'Dragon God Gate.' Father had me bring it here to be nurtured. Within ten years, nourished by the aura of ten thousand weapons, it should be promoted to a top-grade divine weapon!"

"Big Brother Wan Quan passed the Dragon God Gate's inner-gate trial?"

The girl's eyes immediately filled with reverence.

"Mm."

Wan Quan quite enjoyed the girl's worship, but upon reaching this point he still stopped. The deepest part of the study was a stretch of gloom.

One could only faintly make out the outline of a dragon-blade.

"Is that Uncle Wang's Demon-Slaying Dragon God Saber?"

The girl's eyes lit up; she instinctively wanted to approach, but was held back by Wan Quan:

"You can't get close. This Demon-Slaying Dragon God Saber—apart from Father, anyone who dares approach dies."

The girl was a little disappointed, and just as she was about to leave, a voice suddenly sounded by her ear, calm and indifferent: "Since the Ninth Princess likes it, having a look is fine."

"Father."

"Uncle Wang."

Both startled, they hurriedly bowed.

From outside the study walked in a tall, broad-shouldered middle-aged man, silver-haired in a black robe, wearing a flat-topped crown, majestic without anger.

"Clang—"

With a beckoning gesture from the black-robed middle-aged man, a dragon-blade had already appeared in his palm—silver-white and gleaming, yet covered all over with intricate black patterns.

"Uncle Wang is so nice."

The girl carefully touched the blade; a black ripple actually rose on the edge, as if something flashed past, and she immediately jumped in fright.

"Don't be afraid."

The black-robed middle-aged man's manner was gentle, but his voice truly carried no warmth.

"What is this?"

Wan Quan glanced at his own father, and seeing that he did not object, softly explained:

"Father takes the martial artists of the world as his whetstone. The patterns on this blade are blade-intents Father left within the bodies of some experts in the martial world in earlier years, manifesting…"

Wooo—

The black-robed middle-aged man gave a timely tap, and one of the black patterns instantly rose up, sketching out a scroll-painting in the blink of an eye.

In the painting was a towering mountain piercing the clouds, frost covering the peak, and a giant blade that had pierced straight through the mountain.

On the peak stood an old Daoist, hair and beard all white, his whole body reeking of twilight, slowly sheathing his sword, his expression dim.

"This man is the Heavenly Silkworm Daoist of the Azure Dragon Pavilion, Dragon Hidden Dao. Fifty years ago he had already broken through the Heavenly Gang, and once ranked ninth on the Divine List. Later he was gravely wounded by a single saber strike from Father."

Wan Quan's face was full of awe and longing:

"Father uses this man as a whetstone. Over these fifty years, who knows how many geniuses of the Azure Dragon Pavilion have come here to challenge, willingly whetting Father's blade!"

The girl felt both awe and a touch of pity:

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This is not the Zhenwu Prince's Mansion, but a massive floating warship suspended in the void, standing eighteen stories tall, with each level displaying a dozen "Qian" character royal flags, three men thick and a hundred meters high.

Outside the hull rages a terrifying gale capable of tearing steel apart, yet it is entirely held back from the ship.

Countless elite soldiers clad in armor and wielding sharp weapons darted across the decks layer by layer, casting out black whips as if fishing for something within the gale.

Upon seeing the middle-aged man in black robes, whether soldiers or generals, all knelt and prostrated themselves on the ground.

The middle-aged man in black robes casually replied.

He walked slowly to the deck, gazing out over the railing; he focused his gaze downward, his vision seemingly piercing through the layers of gale to see, tens of thousands of feet below, that boundless Wang Yang.

"That old turtle runs quite fast."

The middle-aged man in black robes merely glanced, then raised the Dragon Blade in his palm; he gently stroked the spot where a black pattern was missing, his eyes dim:

"Is there anyone in this world capable of breaking my blade intent? Or is it that old ghost from the Star-Picking Tower again?"

Outside the small temple, Li Yuan waited for over an hour, but the clouds and mist surrounding the Longmen Main Peak still had not dispersed.

He did not wait for Long Xi Xiang to emerge from seclusion, but he did wait for Dou Yue, Yin Fa, and other senior brothers; although the clouds and mist obscured the Bai Guang, it was still very conspicuous.

"Junior brother, what has happened?"

Dou Yue's voice was low, his face somewhat heavy:

"Could it be that Master, the old one..."

Li Yuan glanced with his peripheral vision and found that the faces of the senior brothers were all quite sorrowful, and several of them looked at him with strange eyes.

"Where is Master?"

"Is the Dao Master here too? Did the old one leave any words?"

"Junior brother Li..."

A group of Monks wore mournful faces, scaring away other disciples and followers who had been led there so much that they dared not approach; his hearing was very good, and he vaguely heard words like "passed away," "inheritance," "don't go up and invite bad luck," and so on.

Good heavens, they think the Old Dragon Head has passed away?

"Master, the old one, is fine."

Looking at the surrounding clouds and mist, Li Yuan still spoke vaguely; the Dao Master Long seemed to intend to conceal things, so naturally he had to cooperate.

"Then?"

Dou Yue coughed lightly; the group of Monks had already moved to various places, scolding and driving away the many disciples and followers who were watching.

"Junior brother Li, since no one is around, speak your mind."

The speaker was a thin Monk with quite dark skin; his name was Yin Fa, the second disciple of Long Xi Xiang.

"Replying to Second Senior Brother..."

Li Yuan pondered for a moment, but before he could speak, a scolding voice came from inside the temple:

"What, do you all hope for this old man to pass away?"

Long Xi Xiang's voice was full of energy, and the intense joy was almost perceptible to everyone; Dou Yue and Yin Fa exchanged a glance, both seeing the surprise and doubt on each other's faces.

The old man hasn't had such full energy in decades...

Creak~

The temple doors swung wide open:

"Li Yuan, come in; everyone else, disperse!"