Chapter 460: Star Ao Body

Hum, countless sounds echoed in his ears!

Li Yuan listened quietly, pondering inwardly; after so many listenings, he had gradually grasped some patterns of the Palm Sound Strategy!

The Palm Sound Strategy is highly random, and its rank determines the lower limit of the Listening Sounds!

This pattern is even more evident in the finger-note symbols!

A sixth-rank Palm Sound Strategy has a lower limit of sixth-rank Listening Sounds; if combined with third-rank incense, it can yield at least ninth-rank divine weapon information!

The same applies to Treasure Sounds, Life Sounds, Death Sounds, and Passing Sounds—nearly identical!

Incense plus the rank of the Palm Sound Strategy determines the lower limit; as for the upper limit, he had not yet reached it!

In the ancestral hall of Long Hu Temple, two divine weapons left by the sect's founding master were enshrined—symbols of the Dao Lord's status, possessing power far exceeding ordinary divine weapons…

"Long Hu Temple's true disciple Shan Hong is hosting a banquet for true disciple Xin Wenhua, seeking to exchange several heavenly treasures and earthly essences to repair his damaged divine weapon…"

"Deep within the Hundred Beasts Mountain lies a cold pool, where a Jiao bone sword lies hidden—no one knows who left it, but it has been nourished by Jiao blood qi, gradually gaining spiritual marvels…"

After a moment, Li Yuan ceased his listening!

"The Palm Sound Strategy is highly random; unless high-rank incense is used, seeking intelligence on the Eight Directions Temple is no better than gambling!"

Li Yuan pondered inwardly!

The Heaven's Destiny Mysterious Weapon reaches eleventh rank; theoretically, only a sixth-rank Palm Sound Strategy combined with fifth-rank incense could guarantee acquisition—and the Eight Directions Temple's rank could not possibly be lower than this!

Thus, at least fifth-rank, perhaps even sixth- or seventh-rank incense, would be needed to reliably obtain intelligence of this rank!

Li Yuan glanced at his incense burner: "Forget it—I'll just gamble!"

After upgrading the Palm Sound Strategy, the high-rank incense he had left could barely suffice for his weapon fusion—he truly didn't want to waste it before acquiring more!

As for third- or second-rank incense, he no longer lacked it!

Hum, Li Yuan made up his mind, releasing a vast amount of incense that drowned the finger-note symbols, and then countless Listening Sounds echoed,

like a tidal wave drowning him!

Listening Sounds are highly random, but with sufficient volume, even luck may strike!

Soon, Li Yuan heard the intelligence he sought: "In the Divine Capital, bells ring; the Great Sun Golden Scale Bell sways gently; on the Star Gazing Platform stands a large black umbrella, beneath which someone murmurs, 'Such a rank of magic treasure, combined with a grand ritual attuned to cosmic fate, may indeed open the Eight Directions Temple—but one won't be enough; perhaps even four won't suffice…'"

He struck luck!

Li Yuan's spirit surged; he memorized the Listening Sound, analyzing it word by word!

"The black umbrella—the celestial visitor Chi Lian, who traded with the Thousand-Eyed Bodhisattva, also carries a black umbrella; this person must be the celestial visitor of the Divine Capital!"

"Magic treasure—does this refer to the Heaven's Destiny Mysterious Weapon? That's a Celestial Realm term; hmm, 'magic treasure'…"

"Why does everyone carry an umbrella?"

Li Yuan opened his eyes and instinctively glanced out the window; dawn had just broken, and through the glass, he faintly saw four bright moons on the horizon!

"Four won't be enough… The imperial court is inviting the Five Great Sects—surely they're after the Heaven's Destiny Mysterious Weapon?"

Li Yuan lost all sleepiness!

After all, of the twelve Heaven's Destiny Mysterious Weapons, he alone possessed two!

After long thought, he sighed inwardly; the Cult of Evil Gods lingered like a nightmare, and now came these celestial meddlers!

"This grand ritual—I absolutely won't join in."

A gentleman does not stand beneath a crumbling wall; neither does the Daoist. Li Yuan resolved firmly, pondering how to persuade the Long Dao Lord—but he realized it would be difficult!

Unless the grand ritual was certain to fail, the Five Great Sects would never allow the imperial court to monopolize the Eight Directions Temple!

After much thought, Li Yuan still removed the Shen Dragon Belt and asked the female dragon about the Poison Dragon Academy and the grand ritual!

"You…"

The female dragon, emerging from the dark cell, looked dazed,

and this time, she was far less cooperative; she realized this bastard boy never treated her as a person!

But seeing Li Yuan about to lock her in the dark cell again,

she gritted her teeth and answered: "The greatest matters in the world are ritual and cultivation. The Poison Dragon Academy has venerated the 'Poison Dragon God' for generations; the ritual, naturally, is for the Poison Dragon God."

Ritual and cultivation!

Li Yuan frowned; he had heard this phrasing before!

"The You Realm is everywhere; deities dwell within the You Realm; thus, no matter where one stands, the ritual may be answered—but the farther the distance, the greater the cost!"

Inside the room, the Shen Dragon Belt coiled like a small snake around Li Yuan's arm:

"But I heard cosmic wonders can sever the You Realm—can your region still receive ritual responses?"

"Sever the You Realm?"

Li Yuan's spirit stirred slightly; after thinking, he recounted the entire story from beginning to end!

"Ritualize a cosmic wonder?"

The female dragon was stunned: "Can cosmic wonders be casually ritualized? Aren't you afraid of summoning some great horror?"

"Long ago, in the Tian Shi Yuan, several sects performed reckless rituals, summoning a great horror that extinguished the sun of their world, even shattering heaven and earth…"

She shuddered in dread!

Deities must not be lightly ritualized; cosmic wonders are not deities at all—reckless ritualization may summon all sorts of chaotic things!

Extinguishing the sun…

Li Yuan felt his scalp prickle, yet something felt off.

If even the female dragon knew this, how could the Poison Dragon Academy not know?

Something's wrong… wrong…

The female dragon grew agitated; she realized it too—the Poison Dragon Academy was one of the Five Great Cavern Heavens of Tian Shi Yuan; it made no sense they'd be unaware of such taboos!

What if there were divine weapons or treasures from the Eight Directions Temple? Li Yuan calmed down!

"Treasures from the Eight Directions Temple?"

The female dragon also calmed: "That's possible… You—do you have any treasures from the Eight Directions Temple?"

That fit!

Li Yuan felt slightly relieved; the idea of the sun being extinguished was far beyond his comprehension!

"Since the Poison Dragon Academy is targeting the Eight Directions Temple, then…"

The female dragon lifted her head slightly, looking at Li Yuan: "Run away. Help me rebuild my body, and I'll take you to Tian Shi Yuan—as long as you…"

"Star-level Azure Dragon?"

Li Yuan ignored her, tossing her back into the Weapon Strategy!

The sky had brightened, but he had no sleepiness; unwilling to go out, he shut the door and sat cross-legged in meditation!

Hum, on the gray stone platform, the Lei Shouling Pill glowed with a faint aura.

This quasi-tenth-rank divine weapon required three conditions for mastery: the form of a spirit dog, the form of a spirit ao, and the form of lightning—for him, these were easily met!

The only missing element—the spirit ao form—he had already altered days ago!

"The Star Ao Body grants a tenth-rank enhancement, while the Shen Dragon Form is only eighth-rank…"

Li Yuan felt great anticipation for this pill; it was the strongest body alteration he had ever undergone!

Even if I don't have a thousand forms, if I can gather a few hundred, won't that be enough? "Roar."

The instant he mastered the Lei Shouling Pill, Li Yuan's body trembled violently, as if struck by lightning; every hair on his body stood on end, his hair bristling upright!

In a daze, he seemed to see a young ao dog woven with lightning, standing atop a colossal divine peak, letting out a thunderous roar!

As it howled, starlight surged like a tide, engulfing it completely!

"Star Ao Body."

Li Yuan exhaled sharply; foul blood welled from his mouth and nose—not from backlash, but because the Star Ao Body's bodily transformation was violently intense!

Far exceeding any previous bone alteration!

"The Shen Dragon's hundred forms may reach heaven; star… if a thousand forms correspond to heaven, do star-level forms correspond to ten thousand?"

"This ao dog seems juvenile, yet even as a juvenile, it's

far stronger than the Shen Dragon—no, this female dragon doesn't seem fully mature either…"

Li Yuan's eyes gleamed!

He felt the medicinal power surging within him; the Long Hu Great Pill's potency was being ruthlessly extracted, sinking into every limb and organ, his body trembling uncontrollably!

As if countless electric currents rubbed and intertwined beneath his sinews, membranes, and even flowed with his blood!

"Too intense!"

But soon, Li Yuan had to focus entirely; he couldn't suppress his body's tremors—and what terrified him more was!

As the medicinal power was consumed and his bones altered, the fur on his arms grew visibly thicker and blacker. "Stop."

Li Yuan swiftly replaced the Lei Spirit Pill; he only wanted to alter his bones—he never intended to become a Star Ao!

He touched his noticeably elongated canine teeth and felt a chill run down his spine!

He had never encountered such an extreme bone alteration before!

"This Star Ao's rank must be very high…"

Li Yuan winced inwardly; the alteration effect was too violent—he guessed it was because the gap between him and the Star Ao was too vast!

Can bone alteration even change one's species?

He took out the pill, playing with it, feeling waves of tingling; he had already overestimated it, which was why he finally mastered it!

Yet he had still underestimated it!

"This Star Ao has at least a thousand forms—perhaps more."

Recalling the juvenile Star Ao he had glimpsed during mastery, Li Yuan felt both fear and joy!

This pill truly lived up to its quasi-divine weapon status—but he must find a way to suppress his own transformation!

"Huh."

Li Yuan's body trembled; true qi surged in and out, shaking loose the coarse hairs that had sprouted, and he rose to his feet, practicing several rounds of Long Hu Da Zhuang to calm his nerves.

After a while, he couldn't resist taking control of the spiritual pill again.

He discovered that during this process, the digestion of the Bai Xing Dan had accelerated dramatically.

"Once—maximum three minutes!"

Li Yuan glanced at the bronze mirror inside the room; in its reflection, the golden light in his eyes was fading, and a layer of black, fuzzy hair had grown on his hands and neck.

"A good thing—but use it cautiously?"

Li Yuan exhaled, stopped taking control of the spiritual pill, changed his clothes, and as he opened the door, Xin Wenhua's voice reached him.

The forging of the Pure Yang Sword had reached its final stage!

Jingtao Hall!

By the riverbank, the burning furnaces one by one went out, leaving only one—Wan Chuan, Jiang Xie, and the other three divine smiths stood in a circle, their expressions solemn as if facing a great enemy.

After more than a year of preparation and forging, the Long Hu Pure Yang Sword had taken its initial shape.

From afar, Li Yuan could already sense the faint glow of the blade—a golden-red radiance, the hallmark of at least a rank-nine weapon.

"There's a fifty percent chance it will become a supreme divine weapon!"

Li Yuan's eyes brightened slightly.

Along the riverbank, many spectators watched—Lin Tingfeng, Jing Shuhu, Lei Jingchuan, and the disciples of the four divine smiths all watched with intense tension.

Even more tense was Nie Xianshan; the old Daoist clutched his beard, motionless, his gaze locked on the furnace, radiating an aura that kept all others at bay.

Xin Wenhua's heart pounded; he couldn't even imagine what would happen if the Pure Yang Sword failed to be forged.

"Fifty percent is already very high!"

Li Yuan silently walked to his own forging platform; these past days, he hadn't been idle—he'd already completed the extraction and refinement of all the iron materials using the old Daoist's blood.

"I hope this succeeds in one go!"

He lit the furnace fire and focused intently; if these four succeeded, his remaining iron material would be enough to forge at least one high-grade divine weapon.

Wan Chuan and the other three wore solemn expressions; only when Li Yuan's furnace began to rise did they exchange glances and strike in unison.

The heavy hammers fell—the riverbank trembled.

Within inches, the four divine smiths raised their hammers simultaneously and brought them down together—four distinct forging techniques perfectly synchronized.

The hammer strikes echoed; the smiths' spirits tightened, and the onlookers held their breath.

"Master Nie."

In an instant, Wan Chuan shouted loudly.

"Shhh!" Before his voice faded, Nie Xianshan had already appeared before the furnace—he slashed his palm, and blood dripped into the roaring flames.

Then came more blood!

The most crucial step in forging a divine weapon is infusing it with the owner's blood and true qi; without this, even a perfectly forged weapon cannot fully recognize its master.

"Splash!"

Hearing the sound, Li Yuan's eyelids twitched.

Nie the Daoist was ruthless—this slash had opened a major artery; the blood spurted so violently it nearly drowned the flames. The four divine smiths nearly broke into cold sweat: "Enough."

"Step back."

Wan Chuan and the others no longer cared for decorum—they shouted, shoved Nie the Daoist away, raised their divine hammers high, unleashed torrents of true qi, and brought the hammers down.

Boom.

The riverbank shook violently; thick plumes of smoke surged into the sky.

In the next instant, a sword's cry tore through the smoke and fire—a blinding radiance shot straight into the heavens, as if splitting the clouds and sky in two.

This was Nie Xianshan's Pure Yang Sword intent.

"Ong."

The sword's cry echoed like a dragon's roar.

Li Yuan looked up and saw golden and crimson light interwoven into a sphere; Nie the Daoist appeared like a phantom, snatching the glowing sword blank in his hand.

"Zheng!"

He raised his hand—and a torrent of sword qi surged; the blade swept across the riverbank, cleaving the waterfall a hundred paces away in two, sending rocks and water soaring into the air.

"It's done."

By the riverbank, Xin Wenhua couldn't help but cry out in astonishment.

By the furnace, Wan Chuan and the others tensed, rushing toward Li Yuan's furnace and shouting together: "Master Nie—quench it!"

"Zheng."

The sword's light surged toward him; Li Yuan reached out and caught it, golden light flickering in his eyes, a streak of crimson flashing—rank nine!

"Li kid—quench it!"

Jiang Xie shouted, urging him.

Li Yuan nodded, flipped his wrist, and tossed the sword blank into the boiling cauldron.