Chapter 519: Closed-Door Cultivation Within the Temple

Within the Sea of Ink, one 'star' after another rose and fell, emitting a faint glow.

Li Yuan squinted, adjusting to the change in light.

If the You Jing covered by the Eight Directions Temple was a deep, profound darkness, like a moonless, starless midnight, then this You Jing was like the moment the sun had just set and night had just begun—still dim, yet one could faintly see.

"Ong~"

Blood-colored little elephants swung their trunks, gathering Li Yuan to their center, alert and on guard.

"He really walked out?!"

The little mother dragon poked her head out, still finding it unbelievable: "Just… just walked out like that?"

"What are those glowing things?"

Li Yuan focused his senses. The aura emanating from those 'stars' was far too terrifying—even a gaze from an unfathomable distance made his heart run cold.

The stars illuminated the You Jing. What was even more dreadful was that he could faintly see, within those 'stars', flickering shadows, as if Daoists sat cross-legged within them.

Azure dragons lay dormant; colossal beasts growled low.

"Those are gods!"

The little mother dragon did not dare look directly, merely darting a quick glance before lowering her head, her voice full of awe:

"Gods dwell in the You Jing, shining upon all realms, receiving worship from all realms… guiding all races and living beings forward, illuminating the You Jing."

"Shining upon all realms, worshipped by all races. Is this what a god is?"

Li Yuan suddenly felt his eyes sting. As he lowered his head, blood actually seeped from them. He could not help but be shocked—even looking was not allowed?

"Divine might is unfathomable; it cannot be gazed upon."

The little mother dragon was utterly awed, yet also filled with immense longing: "Only gods are worthy of receiving offerings from all races, dwelling long in the You Jing, living forever and watching eternally…"

Li Yuan wiped the blood from the corner of his eye:

"What realm is a god?"

"…"

The little mother dragon raised her head and looked at him as if he were a monster. Unable to withstand his pressing, she still shook her head:

"Information about gods is taboo even among my Mirage Dragon clan. I—I'm still young, I've never seen one… but their disciples and descendants can roam freely across Tian Shi Yuan, commanding all races…"

Li Yuan did not dare gaze upon those stars again, yet his heart could not help but stir.

To live forever and watch eternally.

He could not stop himself from looking at those stars once more, his gaze growing fervent.

Immortality, worshipped by all races—how much incense and offerings must that accumulate?

"Right."

The little mother dragon seemed to think of something and suddenly spoke:

"I—I've heard Laozu Sect say that the highest gods can be called 'Great Powers.'"

"Great Powers?"

Li Yuan glanced at her, frowning slightly: "The highest gods are Great Powers? Didn't you say earlier that within Tian Shi Yuan, Great Powers are few and far between?"

This little mother dragon is unreliable.

Li Yuan did not dare look directly at those stars, but from his earlier sweep he had already counted them—there were as many as ninety-three.

"I—is that a lot?!"

The little mother dragon looked at him as if he were an idiot: "D-Do you know how vast Tian Shi Yuan is? Daoist Qun Xing, compared to Tian Shi Yuan itself, is no more than a speck of dust!"

Tian Shi Yuan was vast, like an endless expanse.

And the Hundred Gods of Tian Shi Yuan were the mightiest among all races, accumulated over the eons-long years of this boundless continent!

"Great Powers…"

Li Yuan's thoughts turned subtle: "Then, what about the absolute peak of Great Powers?"

"What?"

The little mother dragon was stunned; clearly this exceeded her understanding.

"Never mind."

Li Yuan decisively cut off the topic. Borrowing the light of the gods, he scanned his surroundings. What met his eyes felt only desolate and ruined, not a blade of grass growing, like an ancient battlefield.

Was this the true face of the You Jing?

"This place must be very dangerous, right?"

Li Yuan's brows were tightly furrowed. The light of the gods had already grown extremely faint here; heaven knew how far the distance was.

"I-it should be."

The little mother dragon warily looked around, but saw no trace of human expansion. She too felt uncertain:

"H-how does one get through here?"

She had only left home once, but the dangers of the You Jing were known to all. From ancient times to the present, there was no shortage of legends of gods falling within the You Jing.

Even the paths opened by the various races and the various grotto-heavens and sacred lands came with tremendous danger, let alone wild paths?

"Is there any way?"

Li Yuan wore crimson armor, holding the Shan Xuan Jing Battle Hammer in one hand and the Eight Directions Temple's token in the other, extremely alert.

This place was very quiet—quiet enough to make one's hair stand on end. By feel, it was far, far more dangerous than the You Jing covered by the Eight Directions Temple.

"No way, no way."

The little mother dragon shook her head repeatedly, quite vexed and thumping her chest in frustration: "How hateful! If only my 'Tongshi Orb' hadn't been lost…"

"Roar!"

The little mother dragon had not finished speaking before a great roar cut her off.

Li Yuan's reaction was lightning fast. The instant that roar came, he had already activated the token; with a flash, he had retreated into the Ghost Gate.

"Moo..."

As he retreated, Li Yuan gazed far into the distance.

That roar, like a dragon or an ox, was unknown in location when it first sounded, yet in an instant it was a hundred li away, carrying sky-piercing raging fire!

A bizarre beast, entirely crimson, resembling both an ox and a horse.

It came with overwhelming ferocious might; a hundred li was nothing to it but a fleeting instant beneath its feet.

Boom!

Within the Eight Directions Temple's cave heaven, Li Yuan stumbled; that sound wave, like thunder, rushed at his face, making his eyes go black and nearly causing him to fall headlong to the ground.

"Supreme-grade bizarre beast!"

Closing the You Gate, Li Yuan broke out in a cold sweat; had he not been constantly vigilant and never loosened that token, disaster would surely have befallen him.

This is far too dangerous!

"For a bizarre beast of this rank, unless I can transform ten thousand forms into blood and have the Daoist Tianyun Daoist Tianyun Xuanbing to bolster me, I simply cannot contend!"

Li Yuan wiped the cold sweat from his forehead.

That ox-like, horse-like bizarre beast possessed extreme ferocity and incredible speed; the violent aura contained within that single mighty roar was hardly inferior to that of the bizarre dragon on the Path of the Profound Whale.

It was not something he could contend with at present.

"Blood-Horned Ox!"

The little female dragon only then reacted:

"Once such a bizarre beast appears, it is always in groups of three or five; they rarely travel alone. I encountered a group when I traveled through the You Jing with the 'Wang Luan Dragon Boat' back in the day."

"Groups of three or five..."

Li Yuan's mouth twitched; he couldn't even handle one, let alone groups of three or five?

Immediately, he abandoned his thought of exploring Tian Shi Yuan; if the entire journey was filled with bizarre beasts of this rank, even if the Dragon Demon Daoist or the Pure Yang Ancestor were reborn, they probably would not be able to pass through.

This is not a matter of one or two steps.

"Unless one can find the paths opened by those cave heavens and sacred lands, one simply cannot cross."

The little female dragon looked somewhat dejected.

"Cave heavens and sacred lands?"

Li Yuan's heart stirred; he thought of those three visitors from beyond the heavens. The Poison Dragon Academy claims to be one of the five great cave heavens of Tian Shi Yuan; surely its disciples would know?

"Hmph."

The little female dragon sighed deeply, filled with endless worry.

With a legendary creation right before her, she had gained nothing; having left the area covered by the Eight Directions Temple, she was also unable to contact the Laozu Sect.

"Hah!"

Li Yuan, however, calmed down; naturally, he was very curious about Tian Shi Yuan, but he held no obsession with it.

For him, this Eight Directions Temple was the best sacred land for cultivation.

Tian Shi Yuan must be visited, but there is no rush for the moment; wait until I enter the Dao, wait until I break the Great Dipper...

Gathering his thoughts, Li Yuan's heart became excited once more.

With his current talent and the Dragon-Tiger Life-Nourishing Pill, although entering the Dao was not a smooth path for him, it was now within reach.

Reaching out to wrap the somewhat withdrawn little female dragon around his waist, Li Yuan relaxed his muscles and bones, assumed a stance, and began pushing the Dragon-Tiger Great Stake.

With the blood exchange completed, he must also plan to enter the Dao.

"From blood exchange to entering the Dao via Yin and Yang, it is divided into four steps: spirit and soul separating from the body, kneading the true qi of blood and qi, merging forms to transform the body, and uniting body and spirit..."

"Spirit and soul separating from the body, I can already achieve; merging forms to transform the body was also achieved early thanks to the Dragon Demon Heart Sutra. I only need to knead the true qi and blood qi, and I can attempt to break through!"

Pushing the stake, holding a visualization in his mind, Li Yuan multitasked, his thoughts scattering as he planned his cultivation for the coming days.

Beyond kneading true qi and blood qi, he must also master the Splitting Sea Profound Whale Hammer and the Thunder Beast Spirit Pill to continue altering his root and bones, simultaneously transforming forms into blood, and at the same time prepare to fully master the Dragon-Tiger Life-Nourishing Furnace.

"Fully mastering the Dragon-Tiger Life-Nourishing Furnace is not difficult; one simply needs to follow the path of mastering the Splitting Sea Profound Whale Hammer again... As for the Ten Thousand Forms, I estimate it may not be enough."

Li Yuan pondered in his heart.

The Thunder Beast Spirit Pill can alter a thousand forms; the form of the Splitting Sea and the form of the Profound Whale are probably not much different; adding the Star Dragon and Tiger of the Life-Nourishing Furnace, that is at least four thousand forms.

The two major boosts of fully mastering the Life-Nourishing Furnace are the union of Dragon and Tiger and 'Life-Nourishing', yet they may not be sufficient to alter one's root and bones.

In other words, he needs more divine weapons, or rather, Daoist Tianyun Daoist Tianyun Xuanbing.

"Daoist Tianyun Daoist Tianyun Xuanbing..."

With his eyes closed, twelve light spots that Li Yuan had seen previously via the token floated in his mind; the directions and locations of the paths to the ruins within those Daoist Tianyun Daoist Tianyun Xuanbing were already etched in his heart.

"I must find a way to distinguish what specific Daoist Tianyun Daoist Tianyun Xuanbing they correspond to; if I run headlong into Wan Wan Zhuliu, that would be quite a spectacle... Among the twelve Daoist Tianyun Daoist Tianyun Xuanbing, the only one without a master should be the Da Huang Jia Hai Purple-Gold Spear..."

"Hmm, there is also the Chang Hong Yi Qi Sword..."

Pondering and planning in his heart, Li Yuan extinguished his thought of leaving the temple; right at the foot of this mountain, he began his seclusion.

With the Dingxin Dingxin Shitai present, he always kept pots and pans on hand, plus a body full of spiritual pills; for him, it made no difference where he secluded himself.

Great Fortune Imperial Capital.

In the Piandian, the Qian Emperor and the Yellow Dragon Daoist were playing a game of Go.

"Your Majesty."

Outside the hall, an armored soldier knelt on one knee: "All preparations for the ritual are in order; the Yun Xiang Ding is ready!"

"Oh?"

The Yellow Dragon Daoist's eyes lit up; he could not help but feel somewhat surprised. The wealth of the Great Fortune imperial court was truly too vast; only a few days had passed, and they had prepared everything again?

"Yellow Dragon Daoist, after the Great Sacrifice is split apart, there should be no calamities, correct?"

The Qian Emperor set down a piece.

"Once split up, a single minor sacrifice will only cost ten Yun Xiang Ding, so even if some evil thing is drawn here, it won't matter much."

"Hopefully so."

Yellow Dragon Zi abandoned his pieces and conceded, rising and cupping his hands:

"Your Majesty, shall we move?"

The Qian Emperor rose and walked out of the hall — he was more concerned than Yellow Dragon Zi.

No other reason: the price paid had been too great.

To gather incense offerings, he had not only refused to compromise with the Wudadao Sect, but had also distributed vast quantities of gold and silver, supporting temples along the Heng Long and Wan Long paths to draw in believers.

On the plaza beneath the Star-Gazing Platform, the ministers of the Great Fortune had long been waiting.

On the open ground, an altar had been erected; ten Yun Xiang Ding were arranged at each direction. After Yellow Dragon Zi counted and found no discrepancy, he looked toward the armored man waiting at the side.

This was naturally the first temple-entrant the Qian Emperor had chosen.