Chapter 522: Rich Dragon

"Pfft."

The headless corpse tumbled to the ground with a dull thud!

"This is what they call striking first!"

In the passage, Li Yuan shook out his hands and feet. Though the fight lasted only a few instants, for him it was no less than a life-and-death struggle!

This was a Tiangang-level Grandmaster; had he not seized the initiative and the terrain, and instead let the man come in, he would have exhausted every trick he had and still might not have won!

"The importance of a surprise attack!"

Li Yuan was reviewing the battle, and felt his assassination skills had already reached great mastery. When it came to explosive power in a single instant, he asked himself who under heaven could compare to him, who bore soldier-seals within him!

Even a Tiangang-level Grandmaster, struck head-on by his full-powered hammer, would be gravely wounded and on the brink of death!

This man's horizontal training was no less than mine, but when it came to physique, he was still a notch below me!

Having won the fight, Li Yuan did not grow complacent, but calmly analyzed it!

The benefits of Thousand Form Transformation were displayed in full after his blood exchange reached great mastery, but if he fought a Tiangang-level Grandmaster head-on, even with the boost of nine divine weapons and Daoist Tianyun Daoist Tianyun Xuanbing, his odds of winning were not that great!

Of course, if he took out the Yu Xuanjing Hammer, it would be different!

With my current realm, I can barely attempt to drive the Yu Xuanjing Hammer; I just don't know how much power I can unleash!

Li Yuan reversed his hand and took out the Yu Xuanjing Hammer. The crimson hand-hammer emanated a faint glow. The Yu Xuanjing Hammer was a weapon of slaughter; Zhou Ying had driven it with all her might and a single blow could grievously wound a Supreme-level strange beast. Even though his realm was insufficient, it was still not something a Grandmaster could receive!

Just now he had also made secondary preparations; if that sudden burst had failed to grievously wound the man, he would surely have had to wield the Yu Xuanjing Hammer!

"Fortunately, it was a single stroke of Yang Jian Gong."

Li Yuan's brow eased, and only then did he begin tallying the spoils!

First, the divine armor that had been cracked by his hammer!

Guard Black Dragon Armor (Seven-Rank)

This was a quasi-Eighth-Rank divine armor, with only two enhancement effects: Black Dragon Physique (Eighth-Rank) and Blade-and-Pierce Immunity (Seventh-Rank).

"Black Dragon Physique, thirteen spirit forms, hmm, it's of some use!"

Li Yuan stripped off the armor; although the armor was severely damaged, it did not affect his control over it!

After the divine armor came a Sixth-Rank inner armor, and a Sixth-Rank half-armor, both quasi-divine weapons with Seventh-Rank control effects—showing that this man had prepared before entering the temple!

"Divine-level horizontal training, divine-level armor, quasi-divine-level inner armor

and half-armor, stacking armor this thick—if I hadn't used a hammer, it really would have been hard to achieve Yang Jian Gong in one strike!"

Li Yuan's heart chilled, and he grew even more wary of the imperial court!

He knew this man had probably been thrown out as a scout; otherwise he wouldn't have come without even a single spiritual pill!

And since this man had verified the possibility of the small sacrifice, the next one to come would likely be a Grandmaster of Keda Sect, wouldn't it?

"If a Grandmaster of Keda Sect really comes, I'll probably have to use the Yu Xuanjing Hammer…"

Putting away the spoils one by one, Li Yuan's brows knit tightly. He was no stranger to Grandmasters; in the Yu Xuanjing Gate trial, he had fought life-and-death battles with Qianji-level Grandmasters countless times!

But a Grandmaster of Keda Sect…

Three elements merged as one, a divine realm in attendance; a single palm at full force could sever a river ten li long…

Li Yuan paced back and forth, somewhat uneasy. A Grandmaster of Keda Sect was called a Land Immortal; every gesture transcended the mortal realm. Whether the Yu Xuanjing Hammer could slay a Grandmaster of Keda Sect, he truly had no confidence. Of course, with the token in hand he could come and go freely, but to hand over the Eight Directions Temple to the imperial court—no matter what, he

was unwilling!

"They borrow my entry into the temple, and steal my fortune!"

Daoist Li was somewhat annoyed, yet helpless!

He was well aware this was very likely the mechanism of the Eight Directions Temple, or perhaps the way that supreme great power screened his inheritors. As the little mother dragon had said, the upper gods were called great powers; the supreme great power's requirements for an inheritor were clearly far higher—and far more troublesome—than he had anticipated!

"I'm not without people either!"

Daoist Li snorted coldly. Setting aside everything else, Zhou Ying was a real Wan Wan Zhuli to him. If he had her hold the Yu Xuanjing Hammer and guard the gate, then let alone a Grandmaster of Keda Sect, even a Supreme Grandmaster of Keda Sect would not dream of entering.

Thinking this, Li Yuan immediately felt much better!

If the imperial court could borrow his entry into the temple, there was no reason others couldn't.

"Eh?"

Raising his hand to toss the headless corpse out the door, Li Yuan suddenly froze; he saw that the instant the corpse fell into You Jing, wisps of true qi actually leaked out!

He focused his perception and dimly saw a divine realm shrouded in black mist, breaking apart!

You Jing was absorbing this man's divine realm?

Li Yuan's heart stirred, and the little mother dragon coiled at his waist also saw this scene: "When a martial artist's divine realm perishes with the body, if it has no Mi Fa or incense to sustain it, it must fall into You Jing, be eroded, and become a strange land, while its spirit forms become strange beings!"

As she spoke, she suddenly thought of something and grew excited: "Ah, my divine realm—my divine realm might still be in You Jing!"

"Hmm?"

Glancing at the suddenly excited little mother dragon, Li Yuan's heart stirred: "Your divine realm? After so long, it's probably already become a strange land, hasn't it?"

Li Yuan was very clear about the origins of the Dragon-Serpent Sash; this little mother dragon was a divine realm that had descended from the heavens over a thousand years ago. Even if it fell into You Jing, it could not have lasted until now!

"No."

The little mother dragon was excited beyond measure; she felt she had been blind to what was right under her nose: "I—my divine realm has a lot of Origin Fire; it won't fall into a strange land for a thousand years."

"Oh?"

Li Yuan was immediately interested: "How much is a lot of Origin Fire?"

"When I snuck out, I brought thirteen streams of Origin Fire."

The little mother dragon was somewhat resentful; she felt she must have lost a lot of memories when she was refined into a long whip, otherwise how could she only now remember her divine realm?

"Thirteen streams?"

Li Yuan's heart jolted. He remembered—one stream of Origin Fire was a hundred wisps, and one wisp of Origin Fire was a Seventh-Rank incense. This little mother dragon actually had thirteen hundred Seventh-Rank incense sticks?

A rich dragon indeed.

A thought turning in his mind, Li Yuan's gaze changed: "Can you sense your own divine realm?"

"Uh."

The little mother dragon had prepared a whole pile of excuses to convince Li Yuan, but when he asked her like that, she was suddenly at a loss for words; she rose into the air and swam about before the temple gate!

After a moment, her head drooped!

"N-no, I didn't sense it!"

But very soon she raised her head again: "No, that's not right—it must be that the distance is too far, and besides, the Eight Directions Temple is interfering with my senses."

The little mother dragon scrambled for excuses, afraid Li Yuan would change his mind: "Help me find the Shen Jing, and all the Yuan Fire will be yours, and other treasures too, all yours, and also, also, if I can take back the Shen Jing, I-I'll be able to recover a fraction of my peak strength!"

"Is that so?"

Li Yuan neither agreed nor disagreed, but in his heart he could not help but stir with interest!

This little mother dragon isn't all that reliable, but the Mirage Dragon King blood should be genuine—after taking back the Shen Jing, who knows, the grade of this Dragon Sash might be able to transform?

"Mirage Dragon King blood—surely worth at least a thousand shapes, no?"

Under the little mother dragon's pleading gaze, Li Yuan, who had already intended to go out, pretended to hesitate for a moment, then agreed!

Whoo, whoo!

Within the You Jing, all was cold, still, and profoundly deep; only the Eight Directions Temple radiated a faint glow, and in the depths of the darkness, shadows flickered faintly, while the low growls of crouching beasts drifted over!

From time to time, the clear ring of blades and swords clashing came as well!

"Such a tiny patch of land, and a temple-opener has actually been born here?"

The scene of Zhu Zhu Shengzhi entering the temple only to be struck down and killed was seen clearly by Chi He Lian, who lay hidden in the darkness; her heart trembled, and she found it beyond belief!

This must be at least a sixth-tier talent, possibly even a god-and-demon-level supreme prodigy.

Such a being is rarely seen even in Tian Shi Yuan, and according to the Academy's records, beyond extremely high talent, entering the Eight Directions Temple carries other stringent restrictions!

Therefore, though the Eight Directions Temple has drifted about Tian Shi Yuan for a long time, only a few temple-openers have been born—the only one that can be confirmed is the Martial Immortal Gate Master, Feng Feng Qingcang!

The rest were nothing but followers who entered the temple!

"This Yellow Dragon Son actually leaked even such a Mi Fa."

Chi He Lian's heart chilled, and she could not help but feel some irritation; that old ghost of the Xieshen Sect was unreliable—after the connection was severed, she simply didn't have enough Yuan Fire to hold the small sacrifice!

She had to find a way to enter the temple.

After staring for a long while, Chi He Lian clenched her teeth and quietly left the You Jing!

"Who is this person? He can actually enter the temple too?"

At the second stop of the Shan Xuan Jing Path, atop an ancient tower, Zhou Ying gazed into the distance and also saw the corpse outside the Eight Directions Temple; his heart was shaken greatly!

For ten thousand years, countless people have pursued the Eight Directions Temple, and

with Li Yuan appearing, he was already greatly astonished—how could a second one have appeared in such a short time?

This!

"No, that's not right—this person has no Rainbow Bridge to guide him."

Zhou Ying's heart grew more and more astonished and doubtful!

"Roar—"

In a certain instant, a low and violent roar rang out from the darkness!

"These beasts!"

Zhou Ying was somewhat disgusted—after the Eight Directions Temple opened, those strange beasts seemed drawn over as well; he had killed no small number these past few days, and was utterly fed up!

Boom.

The sounds of collision and slaughter rang out from the darkness!

Seeing a massive creature in the shadows drawing near, Zhou Ying flicked his sleeve and vanished from atop the ancient tower; his figure blurred,

but his speed was very fast—in a little while, he had already returned to his own little temple!

"Hm?"

Zhou Ying suddenly halted, his gaze turning sharp; before he had even entered the temple, he had already spotted traces of someone having come.

"What nerve."

Zhou Ying's face darkened, then immediately changed: "Young friend Li, y-you, how did you come out?"

In the ancient temple was none other than Li Yuan.

"Many thanks for the senior's aid!"

Li Yuan added some incense to the censer before the divine statue, then turned and smiled, cupping his hands in greeting!

Zhou Ying strode quickly into the temple, but had already caught on: "Young friend Li, you… you can enter and leave the Eight Directions Temple freely?"

More or less, though there's a price, but the price isn't great!

Li Yuan paused briefly, then added: "Unfortunately, I still haven't found a way to bring people in—I've let the senior down!"

"What are you saying, young friend?"

Zhou Ying was quite courteous: "That you would keep me in mind—Zhou Mou is more grateful than words can express!"

After a few pleasantries, Zhou Ying took the initiative to ask Li Yuan the purpose of his visit; Li Yuan did not hide it and explained his reason for coming!

"The Great Fortune Court actually mastered such a Mi Fa?"

Zhou Ying was visibly moved; having already understood Li Yuan's purpose, he at once cupped his hands and said: "If young friend has any need, please speak freely—Zhou Mou will spare no effort to help."