Chapter 413: Gu Dao Treasure Refining Technique

Where there is Zheng Fa, there is also the Gu Dao.

Just so with Wu Gong, so too with the art of forging weapons.

The Divine Weapon Valley's method of refining treasures is based on the art of forging weapons, with the Spirit Image as its core, using visualization, breathing, and fire seeds as means to pluck divine patterns from heavenly materials and earthly treasures, combining them to refine.

Weapons forged by this method can naturally contend with heaven and earth; once forged, even the worst are of Divine Weapon grade, far surpassing normal weapon-forging methods by an unknown amount.

"With my current attainment in weapon forging, once I cultivate the Spirit Image, I can immediately enter the path of treasure refining."

As Li Yuan picked up his hammer and stepped out, his mind was still pondering the Gu Dao treasure-refining technique described by Jing Jing Shuhu.

Jing Jing Shuhu said much, but it was not actually complex; Gu Dao treasure refining emphasizes ease of entry, ease of producing results, bypassing the Spirit Image with a single word: blood.

"Soak heavenly materials and earthly treasures in vast quantities of fresh blood, combine with Yi Mi Fa, merge the divine patterns within into the blood-water, finally converging and fusing, thus hammering weapons and refining treasures."

Gu Dao focuses on simplicity; Li Yuan understood it fully after hearing it just once.

Of course, the blood has high requirements; it is best to use the blood of a martial artist who has completed the Blood Exchange, for only martial artists of this level or above have blood capable of the Ta Yin of divine patterns.

"The blood of a Grandmaster would be even better."

Where the Surging Waves Hall stood, straight plumes of smoke were faintly visible; Li Yuan pondered that Elder Nie was a Grandmaster at the peak of the Heavenly Gang, so his blood must surely meet the requirements.

The only problem is that forging the Pure Yang Sword requires over a hundred kinds of heavenly materials and earthly treasures; whether Elder Nie's blood is sufficient to soak them all remains unknown.

"My Dragon Scale Armor has not yet been quenched; perhaps I can try it first?"

As Li Yuan pondered how to borrow some blood from Elder Nie, his feet turned, and he veered toward Hundred Beasts Mountain, preparing to check on that two-winged Lei Quan King.

This was his third spiritual beast.

Among the three halls of Dragon Gate, Hundred Beasts Weishentang occupies the largest area; in the center of a dozen Dashan lies Hundred Beasts Mountain.

A waterfall sliced through the mountains, crashing into the lake and sending up sheets of spray.

The forest was lush and green, the lake clear, and vast stretches of plants along the shore teemed with vitality, among which were not lacking spiritual herbs.

Zhang Ada pushed aside the vegetation before him and saw beneath the waterfall, several iron chains binding a giant dog, with many disciples of Hundred Beasts Hall watching nearby, pointing and discussing.

The Hundred Beasts List of Mount Hengshan is widely circulated; the evil reputation of the two-winged Lei Quan King has been heard by the disciples of Hundred Beasts Hall to varying degrees.

Naturally, there were those who came just to watch the spectacle.

"Roar!"

The Lei Quan roared, its iron chains snapping taut.

"Truly a wild spiritual beast king; its ferocity is too great. If released, besides the three Hall Masters, I doubt anyone in Hundred Beasts Mountain could catch it."

"This Lei Quan King ranks fifty-seventh on the Hundred Beasts List; its nature is vicious, it runs like the wind, and it is said it can leap a hundred zhang in a single bound; only a Grandmaster can capture it."

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"This is likely somewhat exaggerated; the Lei Quan King is hard to catch because Wind Thunder Valley is a deadly place; if it were elsewhere, it would have been hunted down long ago!"

"This dog king's size is a bit too large; it won't be easy to breed!"

A group of Hundred Beasts Mountain disciples surrounded it, discussing in a murmur.

Zhang Ada lifted a wild boar weighing over a thousand jin and casually tossed it into the air above the waterfall.

"Roar!"

Only the sound of clattering iron chains was heard as the Lei Quan leaped over ten zhang, biting the thousand-jin wild boar in two with one snap; blood and internal organs were sprayed out mixed together.

"Ah!"

"This damn dog!"

The crowd of watching Hundred Beasts Mountain disciples, caught off guard, were splattered all over their bodies and faces; one by one they hurriedly dodged, cursing loudly. The Lei Quan then shook itself, tossing the boar's carcass onto the shore; its crimson eyes stared at the crowd, yet it suddenly fell silent. "This dog did it on purpose!"

Someone grew angry.

"Truly a wild dog king; it holds a grudge just from being looked at twice!"

A youth with a stout appearance

wiped the blood from his face; he was the one who had previously mentioned breeding, having just been studying the dog king's lower regions when he was drenched head to toe.

"Enough! What are you all doing standing around here?"

Seeing the crowd making a scene, Zhang Ada frowned and scolded them, dispersing the crowd, then kicked the wild boar back to the Lei Quan; the latter raised a paw and flung the half-boar far away.

It smashed the stout youth who had been discussing breeding with someone onto the ground.

Zhang Ada's eyelid twitched.

Many spiritual beasts understand human nature, but why does this Lei Quan King seem to understand human speech?

"What a dog king!"

A man emerged from the forest, tall and burly; it was none other than Fang Fang Qinhu, the Hall Master of Hundred Beasts Hall. He clapped his hands in praise, followed by several young disciples, both male and female, all his juniors.

"Hall Master."

Zhang Ada clasped his hands in greeting.

"This Lei Quan King possesses great spiritual intelligence; Yun Shu Lou ranking it fifty-seventh on the Hundred Beasts List is somewhat too low."

Fang Fang Qinhu strode forward.

The Lei Quan King, half-squatting in the pool, suddenly rose; a large mist surged up at once, as if facing a great enemy.

"Father, this Lei Da wants to challenge you!"

A delicate young girl's eyes sparkled; the others also looked on, quite interested.

Wild spiritual beast kings are the most arrogant."

Fang Fang Qinhu glanced at Zhang Ada:

"Starve it for ten days or half a month, then throw it to the back mountain; let those few from the Weizu Sect teach it a lesson."

"Yes."

Zhang Ada nodded.

The methods of taming beasts in Hundred Beasts Mountain are simple and brutal: starve first, then beat, throw to the back mountain; if it still disobeys, repeat the cycle. No matter how vicious the spiritual beast, it cannot withstand a few cycles.

"However, I must first break its wings."

"Roar!"

The Thunder Wolf King glared in fury, its massive wings flapping to sever the entire waterfall; huge waves surged down as if to bury them all.

"What spiritual awareness!"

Fang Fang Qinhu casually swiped his hand, and the rolling waves were shattered into mist. He was not annoyed; instead, he grew even more interested.

Father, didn't you say earlier that the Dao Master once promised our family a spiritual beast? This Wolf King...

The young girl, captivated by the Thunder Wolf King, could not tear her gaze away; it was her first time seeing such a magnificent great dog.

"Hall Master."

Zhang Ada's expression shifted slightly.

"Nonsense!"

Fang Fang Qinhu frowned deeply:

"This is a King of Spiritual Beasts, not a mere spiritual beast!"

After scolding his children, his heart stirred, and he turned to look at the other side, where, accompanied by several disciples of the Hundred Beasts Mountain,

Li Yuan had also arrived at the riverbank, walking while observing this Thunder Wolf King.

"Junior Brother Li."

Fang Fang Qinhu smiled and stepped forward to greet him.

Senior Brother Fang, Senior Brother Zhang.

Li Yuan clasped his hands in greeting, exchanged a few polite words, then fixed his gaze on the Thunder Wolf King, whose fur bristled all over as if ready to devour anyone at any moment.

The crimson light tinged with purple from the Thunder Beast Spirit Pill caught his eye.

"Did Junior Brother Li come specifically for this Thunder Wolf King?"

Zhang Ada coughed lightly and asked directly: "What did the Sect Master say?"

"My Master did agree to me, but afterwards, the Dao Master still needs this Thunder Beast, so it will likely have to be temporarily fostered here at Hundred Beasts Mountain."

Li Yuan replied.

He truly only came to look; after all, he possessed no beast-taming secret arts and had to rely on Hundred Beasts Mountain to tame it first before figuring out how to extract the Thunder Beast Spirit Pill.

"In that case, this elder brother will surely tame it as soon as possible."

Fang Fang Qinhu did not doubt him, but the several men and women behind him looked somewhat disappointed.

"Thank you, Senior Brother Fang."

Li Yuan clasped his hands to express thanks, glancing subtly at the men and women behind him.

"Hmm, I don't know them."

"Why not offer your greetings?"

Fang Fang Qinhu shot them a glare; the group of men and women immediately bowed deeply in greeting, calling him Junior Uncle, and one even called him

Great Junior Uncle, which made Li Yuan glance over as well.

"This is the eldest son of my third brother; his talent is acceptable. Recommended by this old man, he is now an Outer Sect disciple."

Fang Fang Qinhu introduced them casually, then waved his hand to dismiss the juniors.

"Many children and grandchildren; Senior Brother Fang has great fortune."

Li Yuan offered a compliment, focusing on social niceties; in truth, regarding talent, that boy did not even meet the threshold for the Outer Sect.

The sect's recommendation system is actually the origin of the many great families within the Dragon Tiger Temple.

Inner Sect disciples may recommend one Outer Sect disciple every three years; True Disciples can recommend one person annually; and figures like Fang Fang Qinhu, at the Hall Master level, can recommend three Outer Sect disciples each year.

Over the years, the accumulated numbers have become quite considerable.

"If even one of them succeeds, this elder brother could face the final step with a clear conscience; alas..."

Fang Fang Qinhu shook his head, and whenever discussing family matters, he turned to look at Zhang Ada:

"Junior Brother Zhang, I leave the taming of this Thunder Beast to you; I am about to enter seclusion."

"Seclusion?"

Zhang Ada was stunned.

"Is Senior Brother also about to break through the Gate of Entering the Dao?"

Li Yuan's heart stirred slightly.

"Yesterday, the Dao Master summoned me and bestowed upon this elder brother a Life-Nourishing Pill. Perhaps in a few days, perhaps in a month, I will enter seclusion."

Fang Fang Qinhu took a deep breath, his expression somewhat heavy.

"Senior Brother will surely break through the Gate of Entering the Dao in one go and advance to Grandmaster."

Li Yuan and the other exchanged a glance and could only clasp their hands to offer blessings; breaking through the Gate of Entering the Dao is as difficult as leaping over the Dragon Gate; often, only two or three out of ten succeed, while those who fail either die or suffer from the decline of both life and blood.

"I borrow the auspicious words of you two junior brothers."

Fang Fang Qinhu smiled; he was already prepared and felt somewhat confident in his heart.

He led Li Yuan around Hundred Beasts Mountain, naturally inviting him to stay for a meal; Li Yuan did not decline and took the opportunity to ask about some beast-taming techniques.

"Carrot and stick."

On the way down the mountain, Li Yuan summarized in his heart.

Hundred Beasts Mountain's beast-taming techniques are simple and brutal: if it disobeys, starve it; if it still disobeys, beat it; if it still disobeys, then repeat the cycle!

But it must be admitted that while these methods are simple, they are effective.

Ordinary wild beasts lack sufficient spiritual awareness, so these methods are not very useful, but for spiritual beasts, they are surprisingly effective; according to what Fang Fang Qinhu said, over seventy percent of spiritual beasts cannot withstand this approach.

"Come back to check in ten days."

Li Yuan did not interfere; professional matters must be left to professionals.

"Roar!"

Amidst the mountains, furious roars occasionally exploded.

At the foot of the mountain, Li Yuan seemed to sense something; he turned back and saw clouds and mist gathering deep within the mountain range, where a green dragon was dancing in the fog, occasionally emitting dragon cries.

The descendant of that azure dragon of Dragon Seal Grandmaster, hmm, the Laozu Sect of the back mountain.