Chapter 515: Eight Directions

Three Yuan, Ten Thousand Clans; the Human Race stands first.

As Li Yuan touched the stone stele, he casually asked for information about the clans of Tian Shi Yuan.

The little female dragon actually knew very little; her understanding of most races was limited to names and rumors, with relatively detailed knowledge reserved for small clans with distinct characteristics.

Such as the Prison Clan, the Nether Clan, the Cloud Demon Clan, and the like.

As for the Human Race...

【Three Yuan, Ten Thousand Clans; though the Human Race is first, but...】

When the little female dragon mentioned it, she suddenly realized that for a very long time, she had almost subconsciously ignored the Human Race.

For no other reason; the Human Race's influence permeated every aspect, making it taken for granted.

The instant Li Yuan reached out to touch that stone stele, he felt a faint light in his brow; in a trance, he seemed to see a powerful, towering figure with two horns on his head.

【The Human Race's strength lies in the Cave Heavens and Sacred Lands, not in bloodline or physique; you...】

As the little female dragon spoke, her voice grew quieter.

Because she suddenly remembered that the person before her possessed supreme talent; once entering Tian Shi Yuan, he would surely be accepted as a true seedling by one of the Five Cave Heavens.

Bloodline talent?

Li Yuan withdrew his hand, and the towering figure in his eyes vanished with it.

He glanced at another stone stele on the mountain path, feeling slightly relieved; did this place not require him to fight his way through one by one?

With a thought in his heart, Li Yuan took out the token; only hearing a 【Hum】, a stone stele identical in specification to the Prison Dragon Stele immediately rose from the foot of the mountain.

【Li Yuan's Stele (14,237)】

The text specifications on the stone stele were no different from the Prison Dragon Stele; all concerned bloodline, physique, potential, and the like.

【Still have to climb the mountain?】

Glancing at the text on the stele, Li Yuan steadied his spirit and attempted to step onto the mountain path.

Boom!

Almost the instant he stepped onto the first stair of the mountain path, a clap of thunder exploded in Li Yuan's ears and heart; immediately, he felt the surrounding air suddenly become viscous, wrapping him within. Suffocation, heaviness, every step a struggle.

In a mere moment of distraction, Li Yuan's breathing grew heavy; he felt his limbs and torso as if bound by iron chains, where moving even an inch required immense strength.

【Crack】—the Crimson Blood Pattern Dragon Armor on his body retracted into his interior.

Roar!

Li Yuan looked up; in a trance, he felt the sea of clouds boiling, dragons moving within, mountains shaking, countless birds and beasts running and crying, all manner of scenes forcing their way into his eyes with an extremely brutal posture.

Li Yuan's heart stirred, suddenly recalling a scene he had witnessed earlier when listening to sounds.

That was a study; the Dragon Demon Daoist transformed blood into a human form to explore a mural, and what he saw before his eyes now, was it not extremely similar to that mural?

Is this the Map of the Eight Directions?

Li Yuan stood dazed and lost; the scene before him grew clearer and grander, until it enveloped him.

In a trance, he felt as if he had turned into a wisp of cloud and mist, drifting into this scene, letting the wind blow and clouds roll, rising and falling within it, floating like an immortal.

At his waist, the Mirage Dragon Belt trembled lightly; the little female dragon was completely unaware.

In her perception, Li Yuan had only taken one step before freezing entirely in place.

His tendons and bones trembled violently; beads of sweat like beans seeped from his forehead, cheeks, and entire body, like a piece of refined gold scorched by fierce fire, stripping away impurities amidst the heat.

【Creation, Adaptation!】

Though not knowing exactly what had happened, the little female dragon keenly perceived that Li Yuan was currently undergoing a transformation.

Envy and anxiety inevitably rose in her heart.

She had entered too; why was there not the slightest change?

The Mirage Dragon Belt fell to the ground; the little female dragon propped herself up to lift her head, as trembling sounds emitted from Li Yuan's body, thick like the tolling of a bell.

"This, this."

Through the connection with Li Yuan, the little female dragon could clearly perceive that Li Yuan's tendons, bones, muscles, and even his internal organs were, under the pressure of an indescribable vital energy, beginning to vibrate and tremble with overload.

Violent, and unceasing.

In a mere moment, she saw Li Yuan's pores around his body expand, and streams of sweat vapor carrying blood qi rolled out; due to the extreme intensity, it even emitted a moaning sound.

【Washing the Marrow and Cleansing the Hair!】

Moreover, it was the Washing the Marrow and Cleansing the Hair from the Temple of the Eight Directions!

【Ah, take me along, take me along!】

The little female dragon's eyes turned red; she jumped up and down, yet felt no change in vital energy, so she could only watch helplessly as this native boy bathed alone in creation.

Sweat vapor rose like clouds and mist; Li Yuan stood within it, his mind empty and void, falling into a state that seemed intentional yet unintentional.

His heart-sea perception seemed to split in two at this moment, simultaneously reflecting that picture and the changes in his own physique.

【Screech!】

At a certain instant, Li Yuan's body trembled; the surging true qi flowing within his body suddenly released outward; under the little female dragon's gaze, it transformed into a young elephant equal in height to his body, lifelike.

The young elephant swung its trunk and let out a long trumpet, only to be quickly dispersed by invisible vital energy.

Then, true qi released outward again, transforming into a young elephant once more before being dispersed again; repeating this cycle, in a mere moment, it had already repeated over a thousand times.

【This boy's true qi is so profound?】

The little female dragon was shocked.

The Mirage Dragon differs from the Human Race; no need for refining organs and exchanging blood, born with the blood exchange already perfected; yet even she, a dragon of such extraordinary talent, did not possess such profound true qi before entering the Dao.

Is this boy truly human?

【Boom!】

At a certain instant, Li Yuan heard a loud crash; the surrounding scenery vanished instantly, and he broke free from the trance.

In an instant, a massive wave of drowsiness surged into his heart.

Li Yuan stepped back one step, down the stairs. A gust of wind blew in, every hair on his body standing on end; he felt as if his body were so transparent it barely existed, and that gust of wind passed straight through him.

【There's even this benefit?】 Fighting off an enormous drowsiness, Li Yuan's eyes lit up. Though sweat poured from him like syrup, there was an indescribable sense of exhilaration.

It was as if the impurities accumulated within his body had all been driven out by that invisible qi mechanism; at this moment, his true qi and qi-blood circulation both had an inexpressible sense of perfect harmony and ease.

He closed his eyes to sense for a moment. His ears were filled with the 【clink-clink, jingle-jangle】 sound of fresh blood flowing. In just this short while, his blood-replacement progress had surged by a large chunk.

The originally slow-progressing Wan Xing Ru Xue had caught up with the blood-replacement progress head-on, and even surpassed it somewhat.

What a treasure land!

Opening his eyes, Li Yuan's face was full of joy. He flexed his five fingers and clearly felt the increase in his physical strength.

At this moment, his blood-replacement progress had reached seventy percent.

Most of the blood flowing through his whole body was fresh blood. With Wan Xing Ru Xue having reached this step, the increase in strength was already extremely considerable.

This is just one form. If I draw a hundred forms, a thousand forms into my blood, my physi—

cal strength, I'm afraid, won't multiply tenfold, or even dozens of times!

Li Yuan's heart surged with excitement. The Longhu Longhu Dadan was beginning to show its edge.

Wh-what happened?

Only then did Li Yuan notice the little mother dragon, her eyes full of grievance. The latter hovered in mid-air, circling him ceaselessly, her pea-sized little eyes so red they looked about to bleed.

【You can't see it?】

Li Yuan's heart stirred slightly. He pointed at the towering mountain and sea of clouds before him.

The little mother dragon followed his gaze, but couldn't make out the slightest oddity. A great wave of dejection welled up in her heart at once. 【There's nothing there...】

Only challengers can see it?

Li Yuan looked at his own stone tablet. At the very bottom, an extra line of text had appeared: 【Dengshan — First Step, Eight Directions Diagram not yet comprehended.】

The little mother dragon let out a great cry and shot skyward, but the moment she was more than three zhang away from Li Yuan, she let out a miserable shriek and crashed heavily to the ground.

Daoist Li was speechless. The mental cultivation of this Dragon Mirage King's daughter was truly too poor. He immediately reached out, grabbed her, wrapped her around his waist, and once more surveyed the mountain path and that stone tablet.

At this look, he really did notice something odd. After he retreated, a faint ring of light had clearly appeared on the Prison Dragon Tablet.

ring.

What is this?

Li Yuan narrowed his eyes slightly. With a slight sensing, that burly giant shadow appeared at the bottom of his gaze.

Compared to before, it had become more real, as if about to step out of the tablet at any moment.

"Does this mean, stepping up one more stair, I can awaken one more stone tablet?"

Li Yuan decisively shook his head and retreated far away.

Don't be ridiculous — this is a supreme grandmaster of an alien race with world-shaking talent!

The moment he retreated, the ring of light on the stone tablet dimmed. 【Good, at least I can choose for myself.】

Li Yuan let out a breath of relief, then immediately noticed the little mother dragon's gaze full of contempt. She was somewhat going crazy, wishing she could take the place of this cowardly native boy.

【There's not even a guide.】

Daoist Li had no time to pay her any mind. He muttered to himself, found a clean spot, sat down on the ground, closed his eyes, and visualized to nurture his spirit.

Though he had only climbed one step, the consumption of his spirit was already very intense — and that was with two Long Hu Longhu Dadan in his belly.

Hoo!

Inhale!

Li Yuan circulated his true qi, regulating body and mind. Half a shichen later, his spirit had fully recovered. Only then did he approach the Prison Dragon Tablet.

The faint, indistinct ring of light grew brighter as he drew near.

The text on the stone tablet, under his gaze, flowed and shifted again like ripples on water. Soon, three more lines had appeared:

【Talent Ascends the Steps, Divine Soul Observes the Diagram】

【After reaching the hundredth level of the Heaven Steps, one must comprehend any one of the Eight Directions Diagrams.】

【One must hold a token to ascend the steps. Ascending one level allows one to observe the diagrams of predecessors' enlightenment upon ascending.】

【The rules of Dengshan?】

Li Yuan pondered briefly and already understood completely: 【The diagrams of predecessors' enlightenment upon ascending? Mm, at least I don't have to fight.】

Not having to fight was naturally excellent.

【The predecessors' enlightenment diagrams — there's no rush to look at them now. First, climb the mountain.】

Recalling the changes from his previous Dengshan, Li Yuan was somewhat savoring the taste. Climbing a few more times, even without other benefits, would be more than worth it.

However, before Dengshan, he adjusted his combination of controlled items.

The two Daoist Tianyun Daoist Tianyun Xuanbing remained unchanged. Things like the Fighting Hammer, Jun Heaven Hammer, and Divine Fire Boots were naturally swapped out for items that boosted the spirit, like the 【Divine Fire Bone-Forging Ring (Fifth Grade)】.

"The Mud Pill Palace is almost fully opened."

Feeling the swelling sensation from between his brows, Li Yuan was very satisfied. As things stood, the mountain path before him was, for him, an extremely excellent treasure land for closed-door cultivation.

Setting aside safety, it could also greatly accelerate his blood-replacement progress.