Chapter 360: Using the Enemy as a Mirror, Listening to the Blade Again and Again

Wooo...

In the dim study, the Demon-Subduing Dragon God Blade hummed and rang, and all manner of light and shadows rose from the blade, flowing and shifting like a revolving lantern.

In Wan Wan Zhuliu's gaze was reflected every scene — the many blade-intents he had planted, and the hundreds and thousands of fierce battles unfolding within them.

"Long Xi Xiang is at Dragon Tiger Temple, so the one who drew the blade is naturally there as well. If it truly were that old ghost from Star-Plucking Tower, he would not have failed to pull out the blade-intent on Qin Li Shixian's body…"

The various lights and shadows wove and flowed before his eyes like water. Wan Wan Zhuliu sorted through them one by one, and finally his gaze settled again on that radiance reflecting the bronze pagoda:

"Qin Li Shixian is not at Dragon Tiger Temple, or else, the one who drew the blade is not that old ghost from Star-Plucking Tower…"

After a moment, all the lights and shadows sank back into the Dragon God Blade.

"If my blade art advanced one more step, then wherever the blade-intent is, it would be as if I were there in person. As it stands, I still fall short by one measure."

Wan Wan Zhuliu tossed it casually; the blade fell among the Daoist Tianyun Daoist Tianyun Xuanbing. Accompanied by the 'clanging' of weapons colliding, this divine slaughter-blade let out a breath like that of a living creature.

"Hoo!"

In the room, Li Yuan lay on his back staring at the ceiling, his head buzzing.

After quite a while, he came back to himself, closed his eyes, and re-entered the bronze pagoda Mi Jing.

Hum—

The stone tablet rose in due course:

"Wan Wan Zhuliu refined his viscera with the Demon-Subduing Blade. Within his five viscera and six bowels dwell eleven dragon-demons. Straining to the utmost, he can unleash eleven strikes of the Demon-Subduing First Blade in a single breath!"

This is allowed too?

Li Yuan's face went a little blank. Going up against a Wan Wan Zhuliu who had just entered viscera-refining against one at great mastery was truly far more difficult than he had previously estimated.

The first hundred and eighty strikes he took in full, but had already been forced to drive three Thunder Dragon Jun Heaven Hammers. After that came those eleven strikes, crisscrossing and interweaving—

He truly could neither evade nor dodge them, nor even manage to drag his foe down with him.

"Before entering the Dao, it is not rare for those of peerless talent to fight across realms — but that absolutely does not include Wan Wan Zhuliu. At the channeling stage you might find an opening to perish together with him. As for viscera-refining…"

The text on the stone tablet was somewhat jumbled.

"Truly worthy of being first under heaven."

Li Li Daoye could not help but concede. The pressure such an opponent — one who had hammered every single realm to its absolute extreme — exerted on him was truly immense.

Yet in his heart he could not help a stirring of excitement. Tempering himself against a master of this caliber, his foundation would naturally be solid enough to chase after the first under heaven himself.

"At great mastery of viscera-refining, Wan Wan Zhuliu's Demon-Subduing Blade was only in its embryonic form, yet it was still a god-tier blade art without question. Even if you reach great mastery of viscera-refining, it will be very hard for you to find an opening to perish together with him."

Text appeared on the stone tablet.

At the top of the bronze pagoda, the white-robed woman's composure, which had just settled, was disturbed once more. But she quickly adjusted, cutting away the vexation and gloom that had welled up in her heart:

"Dragon Tiger Temple has four Si Da Shen Gong, three complete and one incomplete, yet even so they may not be able to break the Demon-Subduing First Blade."

Li Yuan was somewhat absent-minded.

Wan Wan Zhuliu refined his viscera with the Demon-Subduing Blade?

He also had Daoist Tianyun Daoist Tianyun Xuanbing — so could he refine his viscera with the Sea-Splitting Mystic Whale Hammer?

"Three months — could the Divine Viscera Scripture be cultivated to completion?"

Text appeared on the stone tablet.

"About that."

Li Yuan thought it over. Cultivating to completion was not the same as cultivating to great perfection. Let alone three months — even one month would be more than enough; after all, he had the foundation of the Bai Shen Zheng Fa.

That was equivalent to the general outline of both the Divine Viscera Scripture and the Divine Palm Scripture.

"Wooo—"

The light and shadow before his eyes dispersed, and Li Yuan was ruthlessly kicked out of the bronze pagoda divine realm.

"With this lad's talent, and with the aid of the Longhu Longhu Dadan, in half a year he might well reach marrow-refining…"

At the top of the bronze pagoda, the white-robed woman no longer believed this lad would be willing to suppress his realm, and this gave her a bit of a headache.

Marrow-refining was blood-replacement; the two were originally a single realm.

If this lad carelessly stepped into marrow-refining, then what he would face would be a Wan Wan Zhuliu at great mastery of blood-replacement.

That was the one figure in a thousand years who, with only a blood-replaced body, had overthrown a Grandmaster and emerged victorious yet alive.

"Why can't he wait two more days?"

The white-robed woman's heart gave a start; once more she caught herself losing composure — this was not the sort of thought one should have when asking a favor of another.

She looked down at the bronze pagoda beneath her feet. The tip of the blade pressed down inch by inch, and the pagoda's body had already begun to crack — this had already touched upon the very origin of her divine realm.

If the bronze pagoda shattered completely, she would never in this lifetime have hope of forging a Divine Palace.

"Wait a little longer. If it truly won't do…"

The white-robed woman slowly closed her eyes, and in her heart began reviewing again the many battles and fights with Wan Wan Zhuliu. She felt that, rather than relying on others, it was better to do it herself.

"This lad is unreliable."

"Going round and round, I still can't dodge this blade."

Reclining on the bed, idly stroking the cat, Li Yuan felt a touch of emotion in his heart, but he was not discouraged.

He recalled again and again those eleven crisscrossing strikes of the Demon-Subduing Blade. The more he thought about it, the more he felt this blade art was simply exquisite; even going through it a few more times, it seemed he could hardly break through it by technique alone.

"To break this blade, one needs not only absolute strength, but even greater speed!"

Li Yuan did not believe there existed an unbreakable blade in this world; it was only because of the limits of his realm that it seemed unsolvable.

Strength, he did not lack. Driving the Sea-Splitting Mystic Whale Hammer, even if a Grandmaster stood still he was confident he could smash them dead. Only speed — he still fell short by quite a bit.

A fight is not a chase. It is not about being faster than a Wan Wan Zhuliu at great mastery of viscera-refining — it is about being faster than his blade!

"Would a pair of seventh-tier boots be enough? Perhaps I also need to cultivate the Cloud Dragon Nine Appearances to great perfection…"

Having settled the matter in his mind, and seeing that dawn had not yet broken, Li Yuan yawned, dropped his head, and fell asleep, his mood utterly untroubled by victory or defeat.

He even felt that, using this first-under-heaven as his mirror, his path might just be walked all the more steadily.

Over the next few days, the bronze tower master did not come, and Li Yuan's life returned to what it had been before.

He rose at first light each day, cultivating the Dragon Snake Nine Transformations imparted to him by the Cloud Fog Mountain Master, along with six other stance arts; once the sky was fully bright, he went to the Surging Wave Hall to discuss matters with Wan Chuan, Jiang Xie, and the others, and to forge iron; in the afternoon, he went to the library to borrow books.

In the afternoon, he practiced the various Zhong Cheng Wu Gong he had exchanged for at the library.

At night he visualized, cultivated Tian Yi Jiu He Lian, and contemplated the Rift Sea Mysterious Whale Diagram, washing and tempering his viscera with true Qi; before sleep he used blood to refine the Illusory Dragon Whip and the Crimson Blood Patterned Dragon Armor.

During this period, he also attempted to master the Crimson Blood Patterned Dragon Armor, using the surging medicinal power of Long Hu Longhu Dadan to alter his root bone.

In Mount Hengshan city, he had made his name in one battle, and escaping a Grandmaster's grasp a second time had greatly raised his ranking on the Divine Thief List, with his bounty soaring tenfold.

"Divine Thief Cloud-Covered Moon, upon hearing of this, is also seeking Brother Sikong Xing, wanting to compete with him…"

Li Yuan first found it amusing, then immediately roused himself.

Cloud-Covered Moon was ranked twenty-third on the Divine Thief List, his "record" far higher than Brother Sikong Xing's—another fat sheep.

"Pity this intelligence is a jumbled mess, can't be targeted; otherwise, this Daoist could truly know everything under heaven without leaving his door."

One bell tone, and Li Yuan had consumed over a hundred first-tier incense merits.

Although for the current him it was but a drop in the bucket, not hearing any useful intelligence was still somewhat regrettable.

"Fourth-tier incense merit."

For many days now, Li Yuan had not used any fourth-tier incense merit; for him, one stick of fourth-tier incense merit represented a famous weapon, and he truly could not bear to part with it.

But the advancement of the Palm Sound Register still required listening to fourth-tier tones two hundred times.

"Give it a try?"

Li Yuan did not hesitate; the advancement conditions for the Palm Sound Register were not yet met, and with a thought, brilliant light bloomed on the wooden register, sound and text appearing together:

"Jianghu rumor has it that the Rift Sea Mysterious Whale Hammer master is at Dragon Tiger Temple; some doubt it, some are half-believers, some believe it firmly, and the Green Dragon Pavilion wishes to avenge a past grievance…"

"Green Dragon Pavilion?"

Li Yuan frowned, recalling an old matter he had heard before at Old Longtou's place.

The Wudadao Sect each held one Daoist Tianyun Daoist Tianyun Xuanbing; although on the surface there were rules, secretly there was an agreement that no faction was allowed to possess a second Daoist Tianyun Daoist Tianyun Xuanbing.

This rule had actually not been in force for long, and its origin lay with the Green Dragon Pavilion.

Many years ago, the Green Dragon Pavilion had a supreme Grandmaster who found the Da Huang Jia Hai Purple Gold Spear in a deadly land; once the news leaked, the several great sects naturally would not allow it.

The specifics, Li Yuan was not too clear on, but Dragon Tiger Temple had clearly also taken part.

"This kind of rule truly is…"

Li Yuan shook his head inwardly, thinking of Wan Wan Zhuliu; this Town Martial King was said to have also obtained a second Daoist Tianyun Daoist Tianyun Xuanbing, yet no one was heard of going to trouble him.

Counting Dun Tian Zhou and Tian Huo Yin, the imperial court had a full four Daoist Tianyun Daoist Tianyun Xuanbing.

"It's still a matter of strength."

Li Yuan noted this matter in his heart; he reckoned he had hidden it well, and even if the Dragon Dao Master might have some guesses, they were only guesses.

If not exposed, then it doesn't exist.

"Sleep."

Having consumed one stick of fourth-tier incense merit, Li Yuan did not wish to continue; he yawned and went to sleep.