Chapter 390: Man Becomes a Young God, the God Is Already an Elder

Old Man Li's mind worked very fast.

Recalling what he had gleaned from several listenings, he keenly sensed something.

"Shua!"

The little tiger cub on the windowsill opened its eyes and saw Li Yuan flip himself up. He didn't even light the oil lamp, took out paper and brush, and was writing away with a brisk "shua shua."

Its heart stirred; it found an angle to peek from, and saw the paper covered with square, upright characters in some unknown script. It thought and thought, but simply couldn't recognize what writing it was.

"The first time I listened to the Heavenly Sound was when Chi Chi Zhuiyang and Murong Qing were charging the Eight Directions Tower, which holds a world-shaking great secret…"

"The second listening, when the Dragon Demon Daoist transmitted the Dao to Pang Pang Wenlong…"

"The third time, the Dragon Demon Daoist, in a hidden place, transformed blood into a man, wanting to probe a strange place suspected to be the Eight Directions Temple…"

"The fourth time…"

Li Yuan's brush flew across the paper, listing what he had gained from the four listenings. Although he had it all in his heart, doing it this way felt more intuitive to him.

"The common thread of the four listenings is the Eight Directions Temple!"

Li Yuan reached his conclusion: "What Chi Chi Zhuiyang, Murong Qing, the Qian Emperor, Wan Wan Zhuliu, and the Dragon Demon Daoist are looking for should all be the Eight Directions Temple."

The reason he said "should" was that the Qian Emperor's words were ambiguous, spoken vaguely.

"For now, to seek the Eight Directions Temple, there seem to be only two paths. One is to blast through the final trial of the Daoist Tianyun Daoist Tianyun Xuanbing relic sect; the second is the Eight Directions Tower?"

On this point, Li Yuan wasn't entirely sure. After all, a single proof doesn't make a case; much of the information came from the Qian Emperor, and he spoke very vaguely.

"Comparing the third and fourth listenings, the Dragon Demon Daoist mentioned talent, and the so-called trial rules that made the Qian Emperor want to scrap his cultivation and start over…"

Li Yuan glanced at the little tiger cub; the latter turned its head back and lay down again.

"Then…"

Stuffing the rough paper on the desk into his chest—in reality tossing it into the Soldier-Bearing Space to be destroyed—Li Yuan already had some clarity in his heart.

'What is this kid writing…'

Watching Li Yuan lie down in his clothes yet not actually sleep, the little tiger cub grumbled inwardly. Repairing the divine realm was too draining on the mind and spirit; it couldn't hold on any longer and was about to sleep.

Hum~

Yu Xuanjing Mi Jing, on the Inverted Mountain.

Li Yuan pressed his fingers together like a sword; the Yu Xuanjing Qi moved with them, transforming into one Sea-Splitting Divine Text after another—precisely what he had noted down during his listening just now.

The palm-sized Yu Xuanjing formed from the crimson-red hand hammer drifted in mid-air. A moment later, a stone tablet rose, and broken, intermittent characters emerged:

"Eight Directions Temple, Ji Shen Jin Lin Pian."

Li Yuan recited word by word, sentence by sentence, and the Yu Xuanjing Spirit's translation grew ever more fluent:

"Today, Cang Huang Longzi came to see me, to inquire about matters of sacrificing to the gods."

Still in first-person perspective—is this a diary?

Li Yuan's heart stirred.

"The great affairs of the world are only sacrifice and cultivation: cultivate oneself, sacrifice to the divine spirits…"

With the aid of his 'photographic memory,' Li Yuan had memorized in full the few pages Wu Wu Yingxing had flipped through earlier. Unfortunately, it had been a casual flip, and the content wasn't continuous.

One diary entry recorded a person named Cang Huang Longzi visiting the diary's owner, mentioning matters of sacrificing to the gods.

After that, the next few pages were about sacrificing to the gods.

"The reach of the Heaven-Tilting Calamity grows ever heavier. For three hundred years, no disciple of my Jin Lin Sect has forged a 'Divine Palace.' How many more hundreds of years can I live…

Sigh, what is to be done?"

"…Cang Huang Longzi came to see me, also weighed down by worry in his heart, I suppose? Perhaps I should contact the Shier Sect and restart the 'Ten Thousand Gods Sacrifice.' If the barriers can be broken and the Tong You Jing reached once more, perhaps…"

"Perhaps…"

What is all this?

Li Yuan read on in utter bewilderment, even suspecting the Yu Xuanjing Spirit's translation was at fault. Though he hadn't recorded much, he hadn't missed any of those pages.

【That's, that's all there is】

Seeming to sense Li Yuan's doubt, the Yu Xuanjing Spirit answered, a little aggrieved.

"So, it's just this narrative style?"

Li Yuan cross-checked once more and shook his head inwardly. Throughout the whole piece, the only thing he could understand was 'Divine Palace.'

According to the records in the library, among the two-thousand-plus years of Dragon Tiger Temple, those who had cultivated the Divine Palace seemed to be only the two founding ancestors who established the sect.

Master Long Yin and Daoist Yan Chunyang.

"Divine Palace, Divine Palace…"

Li Yuan turned it over in his mind, planning to find time to ask Old Long Head. A strong curiosity about this Ji Shen Pian had risen in his heart.

From the Qian Emperor's words, this likely concerned the Outer Gods and the Heaven Beyond Heavens.

"This Shier Sect—should it represent the twelve Daoist Tianyun Daoist Tianyun Xuanbing?"

Li Yuan looked at the Yu Xuanjing Spirit. The little thing shaped like a whale looked utterly blank, clearly not knowing.

On the stone tablet, no characters appeared either.

"The person who left this Ji Shen Pian…seems to have had some reservations, even not daring to set certain things down on paper?"

Li Yuan held no great expectations of the Yu Xuanjing Spirit either. He mulled things over in his mind, occasionally tossing out questions one after another, but most of the time the latter just wore a blank face.

On the stone tablet appeared either 'don't know' or 'don't understand.'

"What is a god?"

Li Yuan was merely asking as usual. Over these past days, he would ask the Yu Xuanjing Spirit questions from time to time—mainly because it was too rigid; even if it knew, it wouldn't answer unless actively asked.

But this time, the Yu Xuanjing Spirit actually answered

【Gods come in many kinds.】

"Eh?"

Li Yuan glanced at it, suddenly interested: "How many types?"

【Man is the young god, the god is my lord】

Hmm?

Li Yuan's spirit jolted — those words didn't sound like something the Shan Xuan Jing Hammer Spirit's brain could come up with; they most likely came from the Shan Xuan Jing Sect?

"Tell me more?"

The Shan Xuan Jing Hammer Spirit answered whatever it was asked, as long as it knew:

【Not a god, cannot touch incense offerings, nor can it produce them…】

"And then?"

Li Yuan pressed.

【Don't know anymore】

"…That's all?"

Asked again, the Shan Xuan Jing Hammer Spirit gave no answer. Li Yuan mulled it over — did the hammer spirit mean that incense offerings were actually very precious?

His gaze fell on the stone stele, on the hammer spirit's translation.

He figured it might also be because the two scripts didn't quite correspond to each other, or rather, the words failed to convey the meaning?

"Cang Huang Longzi, Jin Lin Sect, Shier Sect, the Myriad Gods' Sacrifice, the Divine Palace…"

Li Yuan muttered. There was actually quite a lot of content on these pages, but some things required pondering and guessing, which annoyed him.

What annoyed him most was those riddle-speakers who opened their mouths with nothing but mystifying nonsense.

"If only Wu Wu Yingxing had turned a few more pages…"

Li Yuan was very interested in this Ji Shen Pian, not only because it might concern the Eight Directions Temple and the Beyond the Heavens, but because of what the opening revealed.

In this person's tone, a few hundred years sounded like a few years…

"Immortality perhaps not, but definitely very long-lived."

After pondering for a while, Li Yuan's gaze fell on the last part — the diary's owner wanted to contact the Shier Sect to hold the Myriad Gods' Sacrifice,

and the purpose was the Tong You Jing.

"Tong You Jing, then Tong You Jing again…"

Li Yuan looked at the Shan Xuan Jing Hammer Spirit. Ever since acknowledging a master, every time it was released this hammer spirit acted like an affectionate little puppy, circling around him.

But what he looked at was the control effect of the Shan Xuan Jing Hammer:

【Twelfth-Tier (Black): Walk Through the Hidden】

【Walk Through the Hidden: Can walk within the 'You Jing'】

"You Jing."

Li Yuan's thoughts shifted, and he was already in the Weapon-Bearing Space — at the edge, the Tong You Corridor loomed faintly visible.

Whoosh~

Returning to Inverted Mountain, Li Yuan strode to the archway of the Shan Xuan Jing Sect, tossed the Shan Xuan Jing Hammer back into the Weapon-Bearing Register, then activated the Three-Mouthed Thunder Dragon Jun Tian Hammer.

Buzz~

The wind blew, the mist stirred. Behind the archway, a passage appeared once more, the text on the stone stele flickering with dazzling Jin Guang:

【True Disciple: Li Yuan】

【May enter, Dao Child Trial】

A world-shattering talent could enter the Dao Child Trial, and if the talent declined, one would revert to an inner disciple.

Li Yuan had already figured out the rules of this archway of the Shan Xuan Jing Sect.

"Although I can't beat them, but…"

Li Yuan was very curious. He turned the thought over in his mind, then still walked into the passage.

The passage of the Dao Child Trial was no different in substance from the True Disciple and Inner Disciple trials — all around, the Sea-Splitting Divine Script still flickered along with various lights and shadows.

The lights and shadows interwove and flickered. Li Yuan watched for a while, then passed through the passage.

His view opened up — still the familiar fighting arena.

"Could it be that these twelve families all share this one fighting arena?"

Li Yuan looked around. The Dao Child-level trial was still this same fighting arena, and it didn't seem any different.

Buzz~

A faint humming sound rose.

Li Yuan's spirit jolted. A chill shot from his tailbone to the back of his head, giving him a start.

"A real Grandmaster?!"

Feeling that almost tangible aura rushing toward him, Li Yuan's heart chilled. Then, he saw walking out from the passage opposite—

A dragon!

Not a person, but a dragon!

Li Yuan's eyelids twitched wildly. Even with the clouds and mist concealing it, the form was unmistakably that of a dragon — and it appeared to have five claws.

Crack~

Li Yuan saw the ground split open, a stone stele rising from the earth, with the Sea-Splitting Divine Script interweaving and flowing across it, flickering with blinding Jin Guang.

This time, no translation was needed — he already recognized some of the text on it, very familiar, having just been translated by the Shan Xuan Jing Hammer Spirit:

【Trial Taker: True Disciple Li Yuan】

【Trial Master: Dao Child, Cang Huang Longzi】

"Cang Huang Longzi… the one mentioned in the Ji Shen Pian — is this the Dao Child of the Shan Xuan Jing Sect?"

Li Yuan's pupils contracted.

Hum!

Then, a humming sounded above the arena, an echo rolling back. Li Yuan had only just begun learning the Sea-Splitting Divine Script, and he made out that it meant:

"Begin!"

"Roar!"

The next instant, Li Yuan heard a dragon's cry.

When he opened his eyes again, he had already been blasted out alive, and in his final fleeting glance, he saw only his own body shattering along with the arena.

He couldn't even withstand a single dragon's cry, let alone fight.

"Too fierce… Even the Dragon Dao Lord probably isn't this fierce!"

Li Yuan's head buzzed in chaos. That dragon's cry was like it had been branded into his mind, making him tremble uncontrollably. His face was pale, as if even his divine soul had been shaken and wounded.

"?!?!"

On the windowsill, the little tiger cub was startled awake. She glanced at Li Yuan, drenched in cold sweat and trembling all over, and a flash of surprise and doubt crossed her eyes.

Qi deviation?

Startled, she nearly leapt up, but quickly steadied herself. She caught a faint fragrance — it was the medicinal potency of the Long Hu Longhu Dadan.

With a spirit pill of this caliber, even qi deviation could be forcibly pulled back.

"Hoo!"

Li Yuan sat cross-legged. The medicinal potency of the Long Hu Longhu Dadan spread, and soon, his complexion had returned to normal.

"Even with full Yin-Yang penetration, I can't win!"

Letting out a long breath, Li Yuan's heart instantly extinguished the thought of blasting through the Dao Child trial.

"Fighting, I can't win."

Li Dao Ye gritted his teeth, already knowing what he had to do:

"Stack talents, stack them hard!"