Chapter 484: Rainy Night

Wuuu!

The You light flickers; in the darkness, an ancient temple rises and falls like withered leaves in a tide, separated by an unknown distance, as a desolate, ancient aura rushes toward the face!

"Eight Directions Temple."

Li Yuan's heart jolted!

He had heard countless rumors about this ancient temple, yet this was the first time he saw it with his own eyes!

In the instant the stone statue's gaze shone, Li Yuan had deeply Ta Yin-ed the temple's form into his heart; he closed his eyes, and that fleeting glimpse immediately surfaced in his mind.

An ancient temple, its doors opening to eight directions, its walls mottled and ancient, within it a light of gathered colors, bizarre and mysterious!

"Was this Eight Directions Temple drawn out by the Great Sun Jin Lin's bell sound? Or because of the imperial court's great sacrifice?"

Li Yuan's heart fluttered; he focused intensely and looked around, but alas, the You Jing was dark, with visibility of only one meter!

He pondered in his heart, yet still lifted the hammer and walked into

the You Jing; he moved quickly and soon arrived at the ancient temple where Zhou Ying was!

Voom!

Without hesitation, Li Yuan lit incense; amidst the flickering light and shadow, he saw Zhou Ying once more!

This former Great Black Whale Hammer Master also seemed attracted by the Eight Directions Temple's disturbance; at this moment, he stood beneath a great tree, gazing far into the distance!

"Someone is sacrificing to the Eight Directions Temple."

Zhou Ying turned back, his brows tightly furrowed: "I never thought anyone would dare sacrifice to the Eight Directions Temple!"

"Hmm?"

Li Yuan's heart stirred slightly: "Senior, do you know?"

"This old man has seen it before!"

Zhou Ying sat cross-legged on the ground, his expression wooden: "Do you know what caused the Great Zhou's fall?"

Li Yuan was startled; although he had read many history books, he had never deeply investigated this, yet since Zhou Ying asked now, the answer was obvious: "Because of the Eight Directions Temple?"

"Correct!"

Zhou Ying showed emotion: "Our Great Zhou had famous scholars like clouds and powerful ones like rain; the Imperial Guard was number one under heaven; if not for a heaven-shaking calamity, how could the nation have fallen?"

Li Yuan frowned, recalling the Great Zhou recorded in history books!

A dynasty established for nearly two thousand years, land annexation and class solidification had reached an extremely severe degree; in his view, it already possessed the causes of national ruin!

But as Zhou Ying said, the Great Zhou had a strong army and a wealthy nation, with several Zunda Sect Grand Masters stationed; if not for a great calamity, it could have lasted many more years!

"The Great Zhou also sacrificed to the Eight Directions Temple?"

Li Yuan coughed lightly, waking Zhou Ying from his deep reverie; the latter collected his thoughts and nodded!

"In past years, an old scholar in the Imperial Academy, somehow bewitched Your Majesty; Your Majesty deeply agreed with his words, and with the entire nation's strength, performed a great sacrifice to the Eight Directions Temple..."

"An old scholar in the Imperial Academy?"

Li Yuan shivered, instantly thinking of the Dragon Demon Daoist he had seen while listening to the Heavenly Sound before!

"Was it him?

"

"This beast destroyed our Great Zhou."

Zhou Ying angrily struck the ground; the ancient temple trembled, and dust and smoke rose several zhang high!

Li Yuan turned thoughts in his heart, but he was uninterested in the grudges and affections of the previous dynasty: "Cough, and then what?"

And then...

Zhou Ying steadied his spirit: "Just as today, the Eight Directions Temple trembled and hummed, responding to the great sacrifice; after that..."

He paused slightly: "After that, the Imperial City shook, the nation-protecting Grand Master died in battle; after that, beacons rose across the land, Gao Gao Feiqing appeared in the sky, seized the Divine Capital; this old man could not prevail, had his Sui Shen Jing shattered by him, and could only Yi Mi Fa to drag out a life, neither dead nor alive!"

This...

Li Yuan was somewhat startled and suspicious: "The Imperial City shook, a Grand Master died in battle... did this great sacrifice have a backlash, or was there another reason?

"

What evil god did the great sacrifice reach?

"I do not know!"

Zhou Ying shook his head!

He was out of town that year; when he heard of this matter, the Imperial City had already become a battlefield of flesh and blood!

"The great sacrifice carries risks!"

Li Yuan could not help but mutter in his heart!

He recalled what the little female dragon had mentioned earlier,

that a haphazard great sacrifice summoned great terror and blew out the sun of the world they were in!

"I do not know whether this person performing the great sacrifice can draw the Eight Directions Temple into the present world..." Zhou Ying gazed toward the location of the Eight Directions Temple!

Li Yuan was also gazing, but could only see a patch of darkness!

After a moment, Zhou Ying collected his thoughts and looked at Li Yuan: "Speaking of which, this is also an opportunity for you!"

"Hmm?"

Li Yuan's heart trembled slightly: "Please, Senior, offer guidance!"

"Guidance is not the word!"

Zhou Ying waved his hand and said seriously: "The path of the Great Black Whale has only three stations, but after the three stations, how to reach the Eight Directions Temple, the Great Black Whale Gate has no record!

"

At this moment, the Eight Directions Temple's disturbance has appeared; if you can break through the three stations, perhaps there is hope to enter the Eight Directions Temple!

"This, I fear, will be difficult!"

Li Yuan smiled bitterly and mentioned what he had seen before — the second station's eerie transformation!

"It really transformed?"

Zhou Ying frowned: "The three stations on the Dark Whale Road were cleared of three eerie lands by experts of the Dark Whale Sect, then overlaid with the divine realms of three great masters. The second station is the divine realm of the 141st-generation Dark Whale Lord, Ying Ying Xuanpeng!"

"Earlier, this junior caught a glimpse of one corner — atop the ancient pagoda, nothing but eerie beasts, eerie soldiers…"

Recalling what he had seen, Li Yuan felt quite a headache: "What realm was this person in during their lifetime?"

"Above Unity!"

An eerie land transformed from such an existence — Zhou Ying also found it thorny!

A supreme grand master!

Li Yuan's heart sank slightly: "Can we take a detour?"

"Detour?"

Zhou Ying shook her head: "The Dark Whale Road was opened up by the Dark Whale Sect at enormous cost, and is relatively safe. A detour would likely be even more dangerous…"

"Then, there's no choice!"

Li Yuan sighed. He was quite curious about the Eight Directions Temple, but he didn't want to risk his life either!

"An opportunity like this is hard to come by — it'd be a shame to miss it. You have the Dark Whale Hammer in hand; perhaps if you're careful, you could bypass that eerie land?"

Zhou Ying very much wanted Li Yuan to give it a try!

"That, I'm afraid won't work!"

Li Yuan politely declined. An eerie land transformed from a supreme grand master — just thinking about it made his scalp tingle!

If he were truly to attempt it, wouldn't it have to be after he completely mastered the Sea-Splitting Dark Whale Hammer?

"You should take a gamble!"

Zhou Ying still wanted to persuade him, but seeing the latter's lack of interest, could only sigh: "It seems this opportunity will fall into the hands of those few families again!"

"Which few families?"

Li Yuan was slightly startled!

"Dragon Tiger Temple, Unified Qi Mountain Manor, Zongwei Grotto… these few families should still be around, right?" Zhou Ying asked!

"Still around!"

Li Yuan was somewhat curious: "Senior, you mention these few families — why?"

"Among the twelve Daoist Tianyun Daoist Tianyun Xuanbing, each has an ancient road!"

Zhou Ying didn't hide it either: "Compared to the Sea-Splitting Dark Whale Hammer, the Daoist Tianyun Daoist Tianyun Xuanbing held by those few families have received generations of incense offerings, so the divine realms on their ancient roads probably haven't transformed eerily!"

"True!"

Li Yuan thought it over briefly and caught on!

Although the few great Daoist sects don't have the masters of the Daoist Tianyun Daoist Tianyun Xuanbing, by relying on the methods left behind by their ancestors, their grasp of the Daoist Tianyun Daoist Tianyun Xuanbing is actually quite deep too!

"The martial path values contention — when one must contend, one cannot yield!"

Zhou Ying still hadn't given up the idea of persuading Li Yuan to try!

"Many thanks for Senior's guidance!"

Li Yuan remained unmoved, merely cupped his hands in thanks, then withdrew from the ancient temple!

Before leaving, he took out some incense offerings and placed them into that incense burner, lest this ancient temple lose its incense offerings and transform eerily as well!

"Eight Directions Temple…"

In the dark, gloomy You Jing, only the faint light from the stone statue's gaze illuminated. Li Yuan looked toward the end of the Dark Whale Road, his heart

hesitating!

He had no interest in charging into the Eight Directions Temple at this moment, but he was still short one weapon that could be mastered and blessed to "Soldier-Nurturing Scripture Fifth Layer"!

Without that, even if he gathered a thousand forms, he couldn't fully master the Sea-Splitting Dark Whale Hammer!

"The Crimson Blood Pattern Dragon Armor and the Dragon-Mirror Belt are just a tiny bit away from human-weapon unity — I'll try again in a few days!"

After standing for a long while, Li Yuan still turned and left!

Risking everything is usually a choice made when there's no other path. He was far from that point now, so naturally there was no need to risk his life!

After all, if the Dark Whale Road is impassable, he could still walk the path of nurturing! Hum!

The bell chime of the Great Sun Jin Lin Bell echoed through the You Jing!

"A visitor from beyond the heavens, with some real tricks!"

On the Three Yuan Road, True Person Feng Yuanqing held the Three Yuan Unified Qi Stake, gazing into the distance, and faintly seemed able to sense the outline of that ancient temple!

"This road is hard to travel!"

After pausing for a moment, True Person Feng Yuanqing still withdrew from the Three Yuan Mi Jing!

Unified Qi Mountain Manor sits among mountains, by an azure-water lakeshore. A lone boat drifted on the lake, and aboard it, True Person Feng Yuanqing slowly opened his eyes!

In the distance, Fang Fang Sanyun walked across the water. Before he arrived, his voice already carried over: "Daoist brother Feng Yuanqing, did you hear that bell chime?"

Whoo!

Fang Yuanyun landed on the small boat!

"Brother Fang came very quickly!"

True Person Feng Yuanqing rose to greet him: "The disturbances at the Eight Directions Temple have intensified — it seems the imperial court's grand sacrifice this time is not a fake!"

"They say the one presiding over this grand sacrifice for the imperial court is a visitor from beyond the heavens!"

Fang Fang Sanyun *** eyes: "It seems Divine City is unavoidable now!"

"Not necessarily!"

True Person Feng Yuanqing, however, shook his head: "Since ancient times, grand sacrifices to the Eight Directions Temple are not unheard of. The imperial court may not necessarily succeed — perhaps, like the Great Zhou sacrifice of years past, they may instead suffer for it. Who knows!"

"

"If it succeeds?"

"

Fang Fang Sanyun didn't quite agree: "To be safe, we still need to go to that Divine Capital to observe!"

"Let's wait until all the sect masters arrive before we say more!"

True Person Yuan Qing didn't argue either, and asked: "Brother Fang, did you catch a glimpse of the Eight Directions Temple?"

"Just a fleeting glimpse!"

Fang Fang Sanyun produced a great crimson seal from behind his back. Firelight radiated from the seal, and faintly, the sound of a bell seemed to ripple out from within: "Too bad, this Daoist Tianyun Daoist Tianyun Xuanbing hasn't acknowledged a master, it's hard to see clearly!"

Clutching the San Wei Yin, Fang Fang Sanyun sighed without cease: "We have benefited from the lingering grace of our forebears and can wield the Daoist Tianyun Daoist Tianyun Xuanbing, but because of this, it's hard to make the Daoist Tianyun Daoist Tianyun Xuanbing acknowledge a master!"

"Acknowledge a master..."

True Person Yuan Qing couldn't help but heave a sigh as well!

Fang Fang Sanyun's vexation was also the vexation of every generation of Dao Sect masters. Constrained by the ancestors, making the Daoist Tianyun Daoist Tianyun Xuanbing acknowledge a master was even harder than that ancient path behind the relic sects!

"Speaking of which, I wonder if the master of that Sea-Splitting Mystic Whale Hammer beneath Brother Long's gate—"

"—saw even more?"

Fang Fang Sanyun's heart stirred slightly and he looked up. He saw clouds and mist churning in the sky, as Long Long Yingchan walked over slowly and landed in the middle of the Emerald Water Lake!"

"It's still Brother Fang who arrived early!"

Long Long Yingchan smiled and offered greetings!

"Not at all, Fang Mou also just arrived!"

Fang Fang Sanyun returned the greeting!"

"Brother Long, you've come at just the right time. We were just speaking of that master of the Mystic Whale Hammer!"

True Person Yuan Qing smiled and returned the greeting!

"The master of the Mystic Whale Hammer?"

Long Long Yingchan's face was full of surprise: "You two wouldn't have believed those jianghu rumors too, would you?"

"Could the rumors be false?"

Fang Fang Sanyun and the other exchanged a glance, feeling rather speechless. Did this old fellow really think he could fool them?

"Naturally they're false!"

Long Long Yingchan tugged at his long brows and changed the subject: "True Person, you invited us here, it must be for this imperial court's grand sacrifice, right?"

"Correct!"

True Person Yuan Qing nodded: "Since that Wan Wan Zhuliu is broadly inviting the world to observe the sacrifice, we naturally should have some response!"

"What response does the True Person think we should give?"

Long Long Yingchan frowned slightly!

"Once everyone has gathered, we'll discuss it — it's not too late!"

True Person Yuan Qing didn't say more either, simply raised his hand and invited the two into the manor!

"Gulp!"

A few spiritual pills went down!

In the room, Li Zhou Xu Tui was holding his stance, eyes half-closed, simultaneously controlling the "Ancient Spirit Elephant Hammer, Giant Serpent Whip"!

The remodeling of the "Ancient Spirit Elephant Hammer, Nine Serpent Body" had reached its final step!

Crash!

With his eyes closed, Li Zhou could hear the sound of his blood boiling and rushing within. Remodeling sixty-three spirit forms in one go, even for him now, was quite violent!

Ordinary spiritual pills were still no match for the Long Hu Longhu Dadan. As he held his stance, his sinews and bones occasionally let out explosive sounds. Before long, the medicinal power of the few spiritual pills was exhausted, and Li Zhou fished out another handful and swallowed them!

The instant this handful of spiritual pills entered his belly, they were crushed by his stomach and intestines. As the surging medicinal power spread, Li Zhou couldn't help but let out a muffled grunt!

The Six Spirit Elephant acted upon the bones, the Nine Serpent Body upon the sinews!

The violent stretching of sinews and bones made the veins on Li Zhou's forehead bulge. After quite a while, he finally suppressed the searing pain of the bone-root remodeling!

"Hoo."

He let out a long breath. Beads of sweat slid down Li Zhou's body, the pain faded, and what replaced it was exhilaration!

"Eight hundred thirteen!"

After rinsing off in the courtyard, Li Zhou returned to his room and began the nurturing and sacrificial refinement of the Dragon-Mirage Belt and the Blood-Red Dragon-Scale Armor!

Hum!

Red light flashed in the room. The Blood-Red Dragon-Scale Armor trembled lightly, transformed into a blood dragon that rose into the air, softly keening and circling within the room!

A moment later, it became a streak of blood-light and sank into Li Zhou's body!

"Done!"

Li Zhou sensed it briefly and nodded in satisfaction!

Only when man and weapon are united can a divine weapon enter and exit the Ru Shen Jing!

"Still missing the Dragon-Mirage Belt!" Li Zhou lowered his head!

The bloodstained Dragon-Mirage Belt trembled lightly — that was the little mother dragon resisting, but her resistance had no great effect!

After all, before she awakened, this Dragon-Mirage Belt had already been nurtured and sacrificially refined by him to a very deep degree!

"Woo!"

The little mother dragon resisted, wailing, yet could only watch helplessly as that human's filthy blood seeped into her own body!

Hum.

A moment later, the Dragon-Mirage Belt burst forth with a dazzling streak of blood-light. Amid the little mother dragon's unwilling wail, it too sank into Li Zhou's body!

"Man and weapon united!"

Li Yuan closed his eyes and sensed!

The fully refined Dragon Mirage Belt and the Blood-Red Dragon Armor appeared simultaneously within the Mud Pellet Palace, the place of spiritual light!

They roamed about as if alive!

At the slightest thought, they could instantly cover his body, and compared to before, they were far more agile to wield!

"Crack."

Li Yuan's mind stirred slightly, and the Dragon Mirage Armor had already completely enveloped him; with another thought, it transformed into a long whip coiled around his waist!

"Not bad!"

Li Yuan rose and pushed open the window — the night was already deep!

"Time to head out!"

Wearing the Cang Dragon Kasaya beneath his Daoist robe, Li Yuan muttered to himself, picked up the token obtained from Wang Wen, and with a turn, stepped out of the Ba Fang Mi Jing!

Crack!

Just as he emerged from the Cold Pond, Li Yuan heard the explosive sound of startling thunder; in the night sky, dark clouds gathered, thunder rumbled and lightning flashed!

The pouring rain came crashing down!