Chapter 520: The Dao Elder Is Not a Generous Man

Wuuu~ The night wind blew.

Beneath the Star Gazing Platform, all was utterly silent; hundreds surrounded the open ground without a single noise, every gaze fixed upon Huang Huang Longzi.

Some awaited with hope, some doubted, some watched coldly.

"Old Zhu's luck is too good."

Among the crowd, Wan Quan heard a cold snort from beside him; out of the corner of his eye, he saw an old man with silver hair pushing past imperial clan youths to step forward.

Those gathered here were all nobles of great fortune, yet none dared speak as the old man acted so brutally—not even Wan Quan dared show any sign of avoidance!

This old man was named Pang Pang Liexue, a direct bloodline of the imperial house; by lineage, he was the Emperor's uncle, and one of the imperial family's few Tian Gang-level Grand Masters!

He harbored deep resentment!

Wan Quan exchanged a glance with Prince Pang Chuan beside him; both understood.

For the imperial court, preparing the minor sacrifice required no effort—the real trouble was selecting the candidate!

After rumors spread that entering the Eight Directions Temple extended lifespan, some doubted, but many believed—especially those ancient Grand Masters who cared nothing for potential dangers!

Pang Pang Liexue was one of them!

"Uncle, why are you here too?"

Seeing Pang Pang Liexue, Emperor Gan frowned inwardly but could only smile and greet him.

"Your Majesty."

Pang Pang Liexue bowed, said nothing, and merely stared coldly at the armored giant beneath the altar.

That man was Zhu Zhu Shengzhi, one of the Four Commanders of Chuwei in Dade Sect; years ago he had entered Tian Gang, and had also mastered the Blood, Flesh, Sinew, and Bone Four Golden Strength Arts—carefully selected by Emperor Xian!

He knew the man was displeased, but Emperor Gan said nothing, and watched silently.

"Begin."

Moments later, Huang Huang Longzi slowly turned his great umbrella and nodded to Emperor Gan; the Emperor cast a glance, and the onlookers swiftly retreated a hundred zhang away.

Commander Zhu, prepare yourself!

Huang Huang Longzi turned around.

Hmm.

Zhu Zhu Shengzhi bowed to Emperor Gan: "Your Majesty, I depart."

"Go with care!"

Emperor Gan nodded: "When you return victorious, I shall host a feast for you." "Thank Your Majesty!"

Zhu Zhu Shengzhi rose, swallowed a dark red Longhu Longhu Dadan, and his ink-black armor writhed like a living thing, enveloping him; beyond his inner armor, he now wore a divine-grade armor.

Simultaneously, he lowered his stance, releasing thick true qi that formed a bronze-colored ancient bell, encasing him entirely.

Commander Zhu, be careful!

Huang Huang Longzi's eye twitched, then he stilled his thoughts.

He stepped forward, chanting the Origin Divine Script; soon he flicked a finger, and the ten Yun Xiang Ding beneath the altar exploded violently!

Ten thick streams of incense smoke surged skyward, then, as if summoned, converged upon the altar, swirling and shifting forms under Huang Huang Longzi's guidance.

Finally, under all eyes, they shot upward!

The Great Sun Jin Lin Bell trembled violently; tangible bell waves spread in layered ripples, merging with the incense smoke in midair.

Om!

The incense and bell waves collided and intertwined; flickering lights shifted constantly, and faintly, an ancient temple could be seen 【37】 floating within the ink-black sea!

The ancient temple, rising and sinking!

"The Poisonous Dragon Academy truly deserves its sacred name—this ritual is truly extraordinary…"

Wan Wan Zhuliu stood with arms crossed, ignoring the voice echoing in his mind, his gaze fixed intently.

"Eight Directions Temple."

Low growls rose from the watching crowd.

Wan Quan scanned them—each was an ancient elder on the verge of death, gazing upward with trembling emotion, desperate to rush forward!

Hold your breath.

At that moment, Huang Huang Longzi roared; he leapt into the air, clutching his great umbrella, and as he spun, the mist formed by the merging bell waves and incense smoke cascaded down like a waterfall, engulfing Zhu Zhu Shengzhi, who stood as if facing a mortal foe.

In the next instant, under all eyes, Zhu Zhu Shengzhi moved without wind, rising like a falling leaf, and vanished from sight.

"Unveil the Great Sun Heavenly Mirror."

Emperor Gan spoke in a deep voice.

Wang Jin, standing nearby, stepped forward; golden light shot from his sleeves, forming four blazing copper mirrors that converged in midair.

A single "Om!" rang out—the four mirrors fused into one.

Amid swirling incense smoke, they projected countless flickering images!

Within You Jing, Zhu Zhu Shengzhi walked forward; the mist formed by the incense and bell waves raced ahead of him, guiding his path.

And amidst the curling incense smoke, it cast forth all manner of light and shadow!

The Eight Directions Temple's Heaven Pocket: a great moon hung high, Daoist Qun Xing glittered.

On the ninth step of the mountain path, Li Yuan practiced Xu Tui's Stance, resisting the omnipresent crushing pressure; his movements were slow, yet his bones and sinews trembled violently.

Even with his current physique, he could barely seal his pores—sweat vaporized like mist around him!

From first to ninth step, pressure layered upon pressure, yet no qualitative change occurred—for me, this is the perfect ground for body refinement.

Li Yuan closed his eyes, practicing Xu Tui's Stance.

With his current physique, he could barely keep his pores locked; steam from his sweat rose around him like mist!

From level one to level nine, the pressure layered upon itself, but there was no qualitative change—for me, it is an excellent ground for body tempering.

Li Yuan closed his eyes, Xu Tui's stance art!

Within his body, his qi, blood, and true qi circulated with tremendous intensity, and when transmitted to his tendons, bones, and organs, it grew even more violent—his Bai Yu-like skeleton let out a "kra-ka" grinding sound!

"Palm Control, Thunder Beast Spirit Pill!"

Almost the instant Li Yuan's thought stirred, a wolf's howl seemed to explode at the very core of his heart!

In a daze, he saw once more that young Mastiff standing atop a divine peak of towering mountains, howling at the sky, drawing in starlight to temper its body.

Star Mastiff.

Li Yuan's movements did not change; he still slowly pushed through the Dragon Tiger Grand Stance!

He could feel the Dragon Tiger Great Pill within his body cracking apart completely, the remaining medicinal power rolling outward in waves, seeping into his limbs and a hundred bones!

The transformation of the Star Mastiff body was still extremely violent, but after achieving Great Success in Blood Exchange, his physique was far stronger than before; even such a violent bodily transformation, he bore it through by sheer endurance.

"To forge iron, one must be hard oneself. Without the Thousand Forms Body, accommodating the Star Mastiff body would truly be difficult, but now, it's barely possible!"

Li Yuan could hear the trembling and grinding of his viscera, tendons, and bones, yet he acted as if he noticed nothing, pushing through the stance again and again, enduring the agony of bodily transformation!

This process was far faster than before; under the pressure of the Eight Directions Temple's qi, Li Yuan could even clearly sense his body changing at an extremely rapid pace!

One form, ten forms…

By the time the remaining medicinal power was completely exhausted, he had shockingly gained nearly two hundred forms!

He was only that little bit away from his talent undergoing another metamorphosis!

Roar!

When Li Yuan slowly finished his stance, a wolf's howl actually rang out from within his body. The little female dragon at his waist had already been shocked by the intensity of his tendons and bones trembling!

Hearing that wolf's howl, she was so frightened she tumbled to the ground: "You, you, what bloodline and constitution are you stealing now?"

Li Yuan shot her a glance. Ever since she sensed that he also bore some of a dragon's characteristics, this little female dragon had suspected he possessed some method of stealing the bloodlines and constitutions of other races!

Ignoring her, Li Yuan let out a long breath, loosened his tightly constricted pores; the thick stench of sweat rolled outward in waves, only to be dispersed by the night wind!

Comfortable!

Standing on the steps, Li Yuan eased his tendons and bones. The pressure of the qi on the mountain path below the tenth step, he could already bear it, and could even borrow it to temper his body!

The only bad thing was, the consumption of pills was too fast!

After several dozen steps, would the pressure surge?

Li Yuan looked up. On the tenth step stood another stone stele, no more than a zhang away from him, yet he simply could not make out the text upon it!

I'll try tomorrow!

Li Yuan slowly stepped down. The exhaustion from the transformation of his tendons and bones could not be offset by medicinal power; it required time to ease. Likewise, the mental exhaustion from comprehending the Eight Directions Diagram could only be relieved through sleep or visualization!

【After the Mud Pill Palace opens wide, I should be able to last longer, right? How does one even count this diagram as 'comprehended'?】

Pinching his slightly swollen brow, Li Yuan sat cross-legged, visualizing the Whale Diagram of the Sea-Splitting Lineage to ease his mental fatigue, while also pondering that Eight Directions Diagram!

The higher he climbed the mountain, the clearer that scroll became, but after several attempts, he had comprehended nothing from it!

Hoo!

Hah!

Amidst the long, drawn-out sounds of breathing, the little female dragon slid down from Li Yuan's waist like a little snake. Unwilling to give up, she carefully crawled onto the first step!

What stung her heart was that she still had not detected anything unusual!

Entering a treasure mountain and coming out empty-handed, I, I…

Just thinking about it made the little female dragon so frustrated she wanted to bang her head against the wall, hating to death that bastard who had refined her into a long whip!

"I am a descendant of the Mirage Dragon King's bloodline."

She writhed in stifled frustration, yet couldn't even manage to cry out!

Suddenly, she heard a trembling hum and whirled back to shield Li Yuan, but immediately sensed something was wrong—the strange sound did not come from the distant mountains, but from behind!

What is this?

When the little female dragon turned her head, Li Yuan also opened his eyes. He flipped his wrist and took out that token; with just one glance, his expression changed!

The token trembled, conveying a single meaning!

That was, someone was using Yuan Fire as a sacrifice to follow him in, and the Eight Directions Temple had not refused!

The imperial court's move is this fast? Borrowing my entry into the temple…

The Eight Directions Temple didn't refuse—seems this incense offering really is good stuff, even the Eight Directions Temple can't refuse it, but…

Li Yuan gritted his teeth, but he had long anticipated this through Listening Sound, so he wasn't too alarmed; instead, he focused his spirit to sense this token!

Hum!

With just a turn of his mind, Li Yuan felt his line of sight suddenly soar upward; in a daze, he already saw within the You Jing, an armored man sprinting toward the Eight Directions Temple!

This burly armored man was shrouded in incense offerings, sprinting toward the Eight Directions Temple!

"This is a Grandmaster; even if not as good as Old Daoist Nie of those years, probably about the same?"

Li Yuan sprang to his feet with a whoosh, wound the Mirage Dragon Belt around his waist, and quickly returned to the passage he had come through!

"The imperial court is very likely using Mi Fa to follow and monitor…"

In the dim passage, Li Yuan carefully avoided Dong Dong Ershisan, and while striding had already changed into a different outfit, put on a mask, and took out a Dark Whale Battle Saber!

"Want to piggyback on this Daoist master to get in…"

Before the invisible gateway, Li Yuan slowly tightened his grip on the Zhang Zhong Zhong Hammer

, with all manner of Palm Control enhancements layered upon him!

Gathering momentum, waiting!

Eight Directions Temple.

Within the You Jing, Zhu Zhu Shengzhi strode forward, and almost the instant he arrived before the temple, that temple door slowly opened a crack.

"It worked."

The Dayun monarch and ministers beneath the Star Observation Platform all rose to their feet!

Good.

Watching Zhu Zhu Shengzhi slip through the door in a single step, Emperor Qian could not help but clap his hands and laugh out loud, but the very next instant, a muffled boom from within the bronze mirror froze the expression on his face!

Before even a single instant had passed since stepping inside the temple, Zhu Zhu Shengzhi's armor shattered, his chest caved in, and coughing blood he flew backwards out of the mountain-temple's gate—only to have his forehead seized by a hand that reached out from within the temple gate.

"Crack."