Chapter 517: Listening Within the Temple, Li Yuan's Command

After Dengshan, this token also underwent subtle changes.

Li Yuan pinched the token, and the various uses of this token naturally surfaced in his mind.

Only the holder of the token may Dengshan; if Dengshan fails, crushing the token can substitute for death once, but afterward one will be sent out of Ba Fang Temple.

But before this token is crushed, one may freely enter and leave Ba Fang Temple.

If it were crushed...

"The mountain can be climbed countless times, but once you fail, there will be no more chances."

Looking at the mountain path that stretched beyond the reach of his eyes, Li Yuan forcefully suppressed the pounding of his heart. The benefits of Dengshan were too great, the temptation too strong; he had to force himself to calm down instead.

Dengshan could not be rushed; he only had one token, and he had no room for trial and error.

"The temptation in this place is simply too great."

Li Yuan sat down with his back to the mountain path.

Ba Fang Temple's guidance had been too overwhelming for him, so much so that earlier he had had no time to think at all and had followed the rainbow bridge straight in.

But now that he had calmed down, he felt things were not quite steady enough. It wasn't that he hadn't brought Little Mouse or the kitten cubs—after all, they couldn't be brought in either. What he was weighing instead was the matter of entering Ba Fang Temple itself.

'My entering Ba Fang Temple must have caused no small stir; otherwise Wan Wan Zhuliu wouldn't have caught up so quickly. The imperial court very likely has some Mi Fa monitoring Ba Fang Temple.'

Li Yuan deliberated; he had to consider the worst-case scenario.

That was: the imperial court might have discovered that he had entered Ba Fang Temple.

"If the imperial court really did discover it, then I can't go out after all."

Li Yuan furrowed his brow: "But if no one noticed me coming in, and I suddenly vanish from Ba Fang Mi Jing at this very juncture, it'll be hard to keep it from Qin Yun."

With Ba Fang Temple at stake, Li Yuan had to think it over more carefully.

But he was truly too drowsy; after forcing himself to stay awake for only a short while, he was already yawning nonstop. He let out a yawn and lay down to sleep right where he was.

Of course, before sleeping he still kept a portion of his attention outward, and he put on the Blood Dragon Pattern Armor, and released the Dragon-Mirror Belt. Li Yuan slept heavily; perhaps because he had thought too much before falling asleep, he had a nightmare, which was rare for him.

In the dream, he woke from sleep to see a Dun Tian Zhou come sweeping through the sky. Led by Wan Wan Zhuliu, a host of Grandmasters of the imperial court surrounded him.

"Ah!"

This time, Li Yuan truly jolted awake.

"What you think about by day, you dream of by night. Still, this really is troublesome."

Rolling over to sit up, Li Yuan frowned. The dream had been exactly what weighed on his mind. With Ba Fang Temple involved, if it were truly exposed, the danger would be far too great.

"I have to find a way to learn the imperial court's reaction..."

A moment later, Li Yuan suppressed the distracting thoughts in his heart and resolutely began Listening to Sound to gather intelligence; at present, this was his only channel.

"Listening related to Ba Fang Temple."

Hum!

On the gray stone platform, flowing light flickered. Li Yuan directly mobilized sixth-tier incense, no longer caring about the eightfold consumption for Treasure Sounds.

【In the Divine Capital, the rulers and ministers of Da Yun lit three hundred Yun Xiang Ding for a minor sacrifice to Ba Fang Temple. At that time, the incense took form and projected an image; Ba Fang Temple appeared faintly, as if someone had entered within.】

【The Divine Capital boiled with fury; the Qian Emperor raged, resolved to thoroughly investigate and track down the one who entered the temple... (Thirteenth Tier)】

Li Yuan's luck was good—after Listening three times, he obtained one relevant piece.

In fact, with a seventh-tier Sound-Receiving Talisman and sixth-tier incense, the Listening he obtained had an extremely high probability of being related to Ba Fang Temple.

"The imperial court indeed has a way to monitor Ba Fang Temple, but it seems they don't know the one who entered is me."

After mulling over every word and every sentence, Li Yuan breathed a quiet sigh of relief. If the imperial court knew it was him, then those they searched for and hunted would inevitably be him.

Still, the wealth of the imperial court left him somewhat moved.

A single minor sacrifice actually deployed three hundred Yun Xiang Ding—this was simply... a wanton waste of heaven's gifts!

Li Yuan felt his teeth ache and his eyes burn with envy. If so much incense were given to him, how many divine weapons could he forge?

The advancement of the Sound-Receiving Register would also be entirely free of worry.

"The accumulated foundation of a nation over a thousand years is truly beyond imagination. Mm, what the little mother dragon said is true—it's hard to probe within You Jing. Not knowing it's me is rather good news."

Li Yuan closed his eyes and continued Listening. After several more, he obtained further relevant intelligence.

【In a side hall of the imperial palace, the rulers and ministers of Da Yun discussed the grand sacrifice with the visitor from beyond the heavens, Huang Huang Longzi. Because the Qian Emperor harbored reservations, they ultimately decided to split the grand sacrifice into parts and, by borrowing the power of the one who opened the temple, slowly explore and attempt to send people into the temple.】

【Many kings, marquises, sect masters, and even Grandmasters of Da Yun eagerly signed up, each wanting to be the first to enter Ba Fang Temple.】

"Send people into the temple!"

Li Yuan gave a start; vigilance rose in his heart, yet he could not help feeling some doubt and surprise: "What does 'borrowing the one who opened the temple' mean? Borrowing my power?"

At this thought, Li Yuan could hardly sit still. He reached out and woke the little mother dragon, asking her what a "temple opener" was.

"Temple opener?"

The little mother dragon had been wallowing in self-pity; hearing the question she froze for a moment, thought it over, then still shook her head: "I've never heard of opening a temple—opening Ba Fang Temple?"

"Are you certain no one from Tian Shi Yuan has ever entered Ba Fang Temple?"

Li Yuan frowned. Ever since discovering the Prison Dragon Stele, he had harbored doubts about this little mother dragon's words—or rather, her intelligence was in fact quite limited.

"This..."

The little mother dragon glanced at the densely packed stone steles along the mountain path, looking rather sheepish.

But no matter how she thought about it, at least within the clan there were no records of such a thing!

"Sending people in..."

Li Yuan closed his eyes again, vigilance stirring in his heart: "The little mother dragon not knowing doesn't mean it doesn't exist. That Huang Huang Longzi claims to come from the Poison Dragon Academy, which is a blessed land of Tian Shi Yuan. If they send Wan Wan Zhuliu in!"

The mere thought of it made Li Yuan feel a chill of dread.

"Still, borrowing me to enter the temple? In what way would they borrow?"

Li Yuan's mind churned with distracting thoughts. Gritting his teeth, he sent up a great swath of incense, submerging both wooden registers within it—he was going to Listen at high intensity.

Hum!

Incense offerings flowed on.

High-grade incense offerings combined with the Palm Sound Record had greatly reduced the randomness; among three or five, one could encounter a Sound Fragment related to the Eight Directions Temple.

【Yanshan Dao, when the outsider Chilian pursued the Hall-Bearing Spirit Turtle across ten thousand li, he sensed something in his heart, and within You Jing perceived someone entering the Eight Directions Temple. Shocked, he broke off the pursuit and slipped into You Jing, intending to borrow this temple-opener to enter the temple together, but failed. He let out a long howl of fury outside the temple gate, yet did not withdraw, but lay hidden in the shadows laying down secret arts, searching, and also waiting... (Thirteenth Order)】

"Sure enough, someone is blocking the door."

Li Yuan's heart chilled; he had long anticipated this, but he did not pay it much mind.

No other reason — with that token, he could come and go anywhere within You Jing covered by the Eight Directions Temple's range; unless he was willing, no one could block him.

But this also made him raise his vigilance. Those spying on the Eight Directions Temple were not only the imperial court and Qin Yun, but also those few outsiders, and even that old turtle might be hiding in the shadows.

Hum!

On the grey stone platform, light and shadow intertwined. Li Yuan spared no expense; the Sound Fragments did not cease, and the incense offerings were consumed violently.

Soon, from the great mass of Sound Fragments, he had obtained much intelligence regarding the Eight Directions Temple after its emergence in the world, among which were even Sound Fragments from within the Eight Directions Temple itself.

【In the 461st year of the Dayi Dynasty, heaven was shocked and earth trembled. On that day, a sky-fire fell from the void, and thereafter came a great drought lasting three hundred years; of all living things under heaven, not one in a hundred survived...】

【Three hundred years later, a man in a hidden place glimpsed a wondrous ancient temple. When he kowtowed outside, he obtained a divine weapon, which he named Daoist Tianyun Daoist Tianyun Xuanbing... (Fourteenth Order)】

【Yanshan Dao, in the land of Jiangzhou, an old man who called himself the Turtle Immortal expended tremendous effort. After calculating with coins transformed from Yuan Fire that the temple-opener would fail, he resolved to go slay the Hairy God... (Thirteenth Order)】

【Within You Jing, as the Eight Directions Temple emerged, many strange lands revived, and countless strange beasts emerged from them; a Grandmaster perished among them... (Thirteenth Order)】

【It is said that one cannot enter the Eight Directions Temple without affinity, and those who enter must obtain a creation. But remembered by the Eight Directions Temple's qi mechanism, often when the temple-enterer fails and exits the temple, they are shocked to discover that the Eight Directions Temple's creation also includes, at the time of entry, a token that must be present. This token requires seeing Yuan Fire to glimpse its mysteries... (Fifteenth Order)】

After a long while, when the incense offerings consumed were so many that Li Yuan began to feel the pain, he temporarily stopped and began sorting through the Sound Fragments one by one.

Only some ninety-odd strands of sixth-grade incense offerings remained.

Counting on his fingers, Li Yuan's heart ached so much he could not breathe, but he still forced himself to calm down, analyzing word by word the Sound Intent he had heard this time.

The cost was enormous, but the gains this time were also very great.

Apart from the movements of the various factions and the outsiders, the greatest gain was that one Sound Fragment reaching as high as Fifteenth Order, which came from the Eight Directions Temple.

"This token..."

Enduring his drowsiness, Li Yuan opened his eyes and took out the token that recorded his own information. At a glance, the token showed nothing unusual; only upon close inspection could one faintly see the intricate patterns upon it.

"Yuan Fire..."

Li Yuan reached out and put away the Dragon-Serpent Sash, then frowned and pondered carefully.

He had long known that Yuan Fire was another name for incense offerings; only seventh-grade incense offerings could be regarded as Yuan Fire. Yet he still harbored some hope in his heart, taking out incense offerings of various grades in succession, but the token showed no reaction at all.

"It needs seventh-grade incense offerings."

Master Li Dao sighed; he knew what mattered most. At this moment he naturally could not spare the heartache, and carefully took out a wisp of seventh-grade incense offerings.

Hum!

Under the glow of Jin Guang, the token indeed reacted. After a slight tremor, the intricate patterns upon it seemed to be lit up, turning to a pure gold color.

Li Yuan focused his spirit to sense, and faintly, within the token, he saw his own information, but differently — he saw the other side of the token.

【Li Yuan's Token (Eastern Region)】

【Activated!】

【Holding it allows one to Dengshan, to enter and exit the temple, to enter the mountain forest, to comprehend the Dengshan Enlightenment Diagrams left by predecessors, to communicate with the Door-Sitting Puppet...】

【Time of Stay: One and a half years】

【Nourished by Yuan Fire, add one year, totaling two and a half years】

Various pieces of information flooded into his mind. Li Yuan could even sense that the time he could stay within this Eight Directions Temple was slowly slipping away, as well as the other functions of this token.

It really can hide things.

If not for the Sound Fragment, how would he have known this token also hid this usage?