Chapter 447

Can there be?

Chi He Lian blinked slightly in surprise, but Li Yuan's heart lurched—he's not coming after me again, is he?

"If we have one Daoist Tianyun Daoist Tianyun Xuanbing, we can indeed attempt the Great Sacrifice."

After a moment's pause, Chi He Lian nodded in agreement—not only because of this cauldron's incense, but also because the Eight Directions Temple invisibly severed this realm from the outside.

Coming is easy; leaving is hard.

"Mm."

The statue blinked; the deal was struck.

Inside the ancient temple, silence reigned. After locking eyes, Chi He Lian departed with her black umbrella.

The light and shadow before him shattered; Li Yuan felt an invisible chain tighten behind him, forcing him backward involuntarily.

He stared at the ancient temple and heard the statue murmur to itself:

"Where is the one born of the Strange Scenery?"

The light and shadow vanished—as if in an instant—Li Yuan returned to his body, and the Echoes rang in his ears:

"The outsider Chi He Lian, wielding a black umbrella, cautious and reserved, has stolen incense from the Xieshen Sect, seemingly seeking the Spirit Turtle…"

"The Thousand-Eyed Bodhisattva, stirred by the imperial court, appears to intend a supreme Great Sacrifice, requiring a Daoist Tianyun Daoist Tianyun Xuanbing as a catalyst…"

"Ancient legends say that when the Eight Directions Temple is about to appear, a one born of the Strange Scenery will descend upon the world, marked by extraordinary omens, brimming with fortune, even attracting miraculous treasures from the heavens that will fall at their feet and recognize them as master…"

"The outsider Chi He Lian, gazing faintly at the night moon beneath her umbrella in the mountains, bears caution in her eyes…"

The characters on the wooden tablet shifted and changed.

Li Yuan snapped out of his daze, frowning deeply.

"Can't shake them off."

He opened his eyes; dawn was breaking, but sleep was gone. He rolled upright and practiced Xu Tui's stance training to calm his inner agitation.

He organized the intelligence gleaned from the Echoes.

"Both the imperial court and the Xieshen Sect want to perform a Great Sacrifice at the Eight Directions Temple—and both are tied to outsiders… Add the Spirit Turtle, and there are already three outsiders!"

"A Daoist Tianyun Daoist Tianyun Xuanbing is needed for the Great Sacrifice at the Eight Directions Temple."

"The Xieshen Sect is filthy rich—so much incense."

"Of the twelve Daoist Tianyun Xuanbing, all except the Great Wilderness Purple Gold Spear have masters; the unclaimed ones can't be found."

"From any angle, Brother Dao is the softest persimmon."

"No—so long as Brother Dao doesn't leave the mountain, he's the hardest!"

Slowly ending his stance, sweat rose from Li Yuan's body.

At this moment, Longhu Temple gathered at least four Weida Sect masters; even if the Thousand-Eyed Bodhisattva had ulterior motives, she could not possibly act now.

But logic was logic.

"Best to move back to the mountains—don't leave for a while!"

Li Yuan opened the door; daylight was bright. Two little ones played in the courtyard, saw him, and no longer seemed distant—they called out, "Third Uncle."

"Go play."

He hugged the two little ones; his inner vexation eased slightly. He stood in the courtyard awhile, until Wang Juan finished cooking and Li Lin returned from outside.

He had left at dawn and gone to the weapons forge.

"Third brother."

Li Lin was quite excited; the weapons forge in Hengshan City was far larger than the one in the county.

Li Yuan listened patiently for a while, then casually mentioned moving to live in the mountains over dinner.

"To the mountains?"

Li Lin was tempted; he held deep reverence and longing for Longhu Temple—it was the heaven of Hengshan Dao.

"Yes, the mountain environment is better."

Li Yuan offered no further explanation; his brother and sister-in-law showed no resistance, even genuine interest.

For the vast majority of people in Hengshan Dao, Longhu Temple existed only in rumors and legends; no one would refuse a chance to see it firsthand.

"Staying a few days is fine."

Wang Juan was also tempted; she'd been thinking these past days of getting the children into Longhu Temple.

"Good."

With his brother and sister-in-law's agreement, Li Yuan's heart raced home; he immediately summoned servants to pack their belongings, and by noon, had settled his brother's family in a residence under the Pure Yang Flag.

He himself returned to Longmen Main Peak, pondering how to warn the Old Dragon Head.

"Not here."

Passing the small temple, Li Yuan saw no one, but his mind shifted—he replaced the Longhu Yangsheng Furnace, returned indoors, spread his fingers, and threads of light wove before his eyes.

"Damn, a big gathering!"

Li Yuan's eyelid twitched.

In the light, it was the sect's grand hall.

He instantly spotted Long Long Daozhu, the Old Dragon Head, and Nie Nie Lao Dao—all present; also Master Dading Chan Master, Master Da Ming Chan Master, Brother Zhongli Wang Luan, and Yuanding Dao Master.

Besides those he knew, several unfamiliar faces were also there—clearly of the same caliber as Dao Zong's Chang Lao.

Most striking was a young man clad in a crimson great robe, his aura flamboyant, eyes blazing like fire, his presence overwhelmingly powerful.

"Master of Sanmei Cave, Fang Fang Sanyun."

Li Yuan's heart stirred slightly—what major matter were they discussing?

"Everyone's nearly here."

In the great hall, Fang Fang Sanyun took a sip from his teacup and set it down: "The Azure Dragon Pavilion was robbed, Brother Sky Snake can't get away for the moment, True Person Feng Yuanqing and his old flame haven't seen each other in years—who knows how long they'll want to dote on each other—and as for Wei Wei Tianzuo, whether he comes or not is still unknown."

His voice was neither loud nor soft; everyone in the hall could hear it.

Daoist Yuan Ding was a little embarrassed, but he couldn't retort—who could blame him, when his senior brother was such a lecher by nature?

"With the people not all here, this meeting will have to be held again; better to wait until everyone is present."

Nie Xianshan yawned; he hadn't slept in days.

"Being all here has its merits, and being short has its own merits too."

Fang Fang Sanyun swept his gaze across the hall, lingering on Long Xi Xiang for a brief moment before asking: "Did the imperial court send anyone afterward?"

"No one was sent."

The one who answered was Long Long Yingchan; he was pinching his Changmei brow, seemingly in a very good mood.

"In years past the imperial court insisted on taking part, but this year an old mudfish died, a little beast died, and they don't come?"

Fang Fang Sanyun's brow furrowed slightly.

"Their not coming is fine too; saves us the trouble of having to deliberately avoid them."

Long Long Yingchan raised a hand, and clouds and mist rose up, enveloping everyone within.

Truly vigilant.

Li Yuan muttered inwardly, raised his hand and grabbed at the light-shadow, and the blurred scene became clear again.

Though Wind Tiger Cloud Dragon was a top-tier Cang Xing Zhi Fa, it still couldn't hide so many people beneath the Dragon-Tiger Longevity Furnace.

Within the light-shadow, a group of elders and sect masters discussed the matters of the various sects' martial demonstration—from the preliminaries to the grand competition, to the supreme divine weapons each house had produced.

Very dry, very boring.

But Li Yuan still listened patiently, until the group withdrew and only the four great grandmasters remained—even Old Daoist Nie and Brother Zhongli Wang Luan had withdrawn.

Li Yuan saw that Old Daoist Nie had even clenched his fists tight.

"The Dragon Tiger Temple's fortune is truly astonishing."

Fang Fang Sanyun looked toward Long Xi Xiang, considerable amazement in his eyes: "With the Dragon-Tiger Longevity Furnace suppressing things, killing that old mudfish is one thing, but even Wan Wan Zhuliu's blade intent could be purged…"

"Daoist Master Fang's Dharma Eyes are sharp as a torch."

Long Xi Xiang was not surprised; though he had hidden himself well, sharing the same quarters, he couldn't fool grandmasters of the same rank.

"Afterward, Fang Mou would like to meet this young friend."

Fang Fang Sanyun was quite interested.

"Enough."

Long Long Yingchan cleared his throat lightly to interrupt: "What we need to discuss this time is how to deal with Wan Wan Zhuliu."

The hall instantly fell silent.

"He wields the Demon-Slaying Dragon God Blade; any one of us alone has no chance of victory. If he were to fully subdue the Sea-Suppressing Shan Xuan Tortoise Armor as well, I'm afraid even if we joined forces, we still couldn't take him down."

Long Long Yingchan's expression was solemn.

"The Daoist Tianyun Daoist Tianyun Xuanbing is not exclusive to one bearer; the likelihood of him fully mastering the Sea-Suppressing Shan Xuan Tortoise Armor is extremely small. Compared to that, what Fang Mou fears more is that one Dun Tian Zhou."

Fang Fang Sanyun's brow also furrowed slightly.

Long Xi Xiang and Grand Master Master Dading couldn't help but nod.

Demon-Slaying—

The Dragon God Blade is certainly unmatched in slaughter, and there may yet be ways to deal with it, but that Dun Tian Zhou is genuinely hard to counterbalance.

When driven at full strength, it can not only hold a hundred thousand troops, but possesses the world's supreme speed. Patrolling beyond the heavens, it is like a divine edge—the imperial court's strongest weapon for intimidating the world, bar none.

"True Person Feng Yuanqing once said that if one could fully master the San Yuan Yi Qi Zhuang, there might be a way to pin down the Dun Tian Zhou."

Long Long Yingchan spoke.

"Fully master—"

Grand Master Master Dading couldn't help but shake his head: "If True Person Feng Yuanqing could fully master the San Yuan Yi Qi Zhuang, Wan Wan Zhuliu's threat would no longer be a threat."

"If we can't handle the Dun Tian Zhou, surrounding and killing Wan Wan Zhuliu is impossible. If we could, those undying old things from the Xieshen Sect would have long since tied him up and dragged him to the underground lair."

Fang Fang Sanyun sighed.

"Given Wan Wan Zhuliu's talent and Wu Gong, perhaps before the next various sects' martial demonstration, he could break through that final move."

Long Xi Xiang's brow was tightly furrowed.

"How do we kill him?"

Daoist Master Long—no, it's the Wudadao Sect wanting to surround and kill Wan Wan Zhuliu?

Outside the light-shadow, watching the others disperse after their fruitless discussion, Li Yuan furrowed his brow slightly.

He had seen that Dun Tian Zhou with his own eyes; its astonishing mobility was one thing, but it could also conceal tens of thousands of troops—this was far too great a threat to the Wudadao Sect.

Especially since Wan Wan Zhuliu was also aboard.

"In normal times, if Wan Wan Zhuliu launched a sudden attack by ship, could the other sects arrive in time to reinforce?"

Li Yuan's heart chilled slightly.

A moment later, Li Yuan dispersed the light-shadow before him. From San Yuan Wai came the voice of Old Daoist Nie, here to fetch him for weapon-forging.

"Coming!"

Li Yuan gathered his thoughts. At this juncture, even Wan Wan Zhuliu wouldn't dare to offend, and the Qian Yan Fa master presumably didn't have the nerve either.

But to be safe, he couldn't leave the mountain for now.

Besides that, he also needed to find Daoist Master Long to ask how that Great Sun Heaven-Surveillance Mirror was used—this was the world's foremost weapon for slaying gods.

"Which Daoist Tianyun Daoist Tianyun Xuanbing will that Thousand-Eye Bodhisattva set his sights on?"

The cold wind howled furiously, snow whirled in great drifts.

In a certain mountain forest, Bone Vajra's face was black as the bottom of a pot; he gripped a red-faced young man with all his might.

"Bone Brother, let me go, let me go right now!"

The young man's face flushed crimson, his entire arm letting out a series of *crack-crack* sounds, yet how could he possibly break free?

"Damn it all, why the hell do I have to be the only one stuck here? No way—if you're staying, Laozi, then you have to stay here with me too!"

"Bullshit!"

Sinew Vajra flew into a rage:

"How can you even compare? You just pick any Earth Fiend skeleton and use it as a body, you're not afraid of dying no matter what, but I've only got this one body left!

"Laozi doesn't care!"

Bone Vajra's fury blazed, but suddenly his voice dropped low.

Sinew Vajra's frame trembled, his expression darkening as well; he turned to look and saw, through the wind and snow, a lone figure walking slowly toward them.

That person was exceedingly tall, his long beard and hair stirred by the wind and snow; he carried a sword on his back, went barefoot, and walked at a slow pace, as though measuring the earth.