Chapter 525: Mud Pellet Nine Palaces

Borrowing incense fire..

Bai Xiang Wang's face twitched. As the unfamiliar woman walked slowly forward, an invisible aura had already blanketed the entire bamboo grove, cutting off any possibility of his escape.

'Grand Master!'

Cold sweat seeped from Bai Xiang Wang's forehead, yet he truly could not recall any figure called 'Chi He Lian' in the jianghu.

Shock and fury roiled in his heart. He forced himself up and squeezed out an ugly smile:

"How, how much do you want?"

"How much do you have?"

Chi He Lian glanced at him lightly: "However much you have, I want it all."

"......"

Bai Xiang Wang's chest felt blocked. When had He Ceng ever been robbed to his face? But at this moment he could only lower his head:

"The sect's incense fire has always been in the Dharma Lord's hands. After the Dharma Lord departed, only those three cauldrons remained. Since you want them, Senior, I shall go fetch them for you right now."

"Go quickly and return quickly."

Chi He Lian was not afraid he would flee. She let him stumble off into the depths of the bamboo grove, while she herself held up her umbrella, found a clean spot, and sat down cross-legged.

"The temple-opener."

Under the umbrella, keeping a sliver of attention on Bai Xiang Wang, Chi He Lian took out an ancient mirror and gazed at the crisscrossing patterns on its surface. Her brows could not help but knit.

This ancient mirror had been refined at great cost, with the guidance of a master craftsman, and paired with the secret art 'Immortal's Guidance,' it was unmatched for seeking out hidden secrets.

But now, the patterns on the mirror's face flowed and shifted without any direction—nothing to point at.

"Pointing is no longer possible. I can only pin my hopes on the ritual... the Eight Directions Temple. If I can enter, even if I cannot seize the temple-opener's fortune, this trip will not have been in vain."

Chi He Lian's heart stirred with excitement.

The academy records clearly state that the only temple-opener of this era is the current head of the Martial Immortal Sect. Yet even those who followed him into the temple back then are now, without exception, supreme experts who roam across Tian Shi Yuan.

Recalling the powerful figure she had once seen, Chi He Lian could not steady her emotions, wishing she could fetch the primordial fire right now to perform the sacrifice.

A moment later, Bai Xiang Wang returned.

"Senior, all the incense fire I have is here."

He set down the three great cauldrons, his heart aching with an inexpressible pang. These were things he had painstakingly dug out from the ruins after the main altar was destroyed.

He had originally intended to keep them for his own use when his lifespan ran out, but now.....

"Mm."

Chi He Lian nodded in satisfaction. Just these three cauldrons of primordial fire—if she were in Tian Shi Yuan, she would have had to fight desperately many times to obtain them. Yet here, a single casual word and someone delivered them.

"Not bad."

Chi He Lian rose and could not help but offer a word of praise.

Though the incense fire in these three great cauldrons was not as good as the one the Thousand-Eye Dharma Lord had once given her, their grade was considerably higher.

"As long as it is useful to you, Senior."

Bai Xiang Wang's heart was bleeding, yet he still forced a smile: "Do you have any other instructions?"

"Come to think of it, there actually is."

Chi He Lian saw through his thoughts like looking at fire, but did not much care. She glanced at him lightly:

"I need to hold a sacrificial ritual, and I still need a number of rare treasures. Since you are so thoughtful, then—you shall go and procure them!"

"... I shall do my utmost."

Bai Xiang Wang's smile was uglier than a cry, yet he could only lower his head and agree.

"Might I ask, what is this sacrificial ritual for?"

"This ritual......"

Chi He Lian began to answer instinctively, then immediately realized something was wrong. That was not Bai Xiang Wang asking—that was.......

"Who?"

Chi He Lian started in alarm, gripping her umbrella as she turned.

But in the night she saw an old man in a purple robe, with a dignified appearance, standing with his hands behind his back. He had appeared at some unknown moment, and was now studying her with great interest.

"It's you?!"

As Chi He Lian's heart jolted in shock, Bai Xiang Wang's horrified cry rang out from behind her:

"Qin, Qin Yun!"

Boom!

The bamboo grove trembled. Bai Xiang Wang stamped his foot and retreated, tearing through the night like a meteor, fleeing headlong without regard for his injuries.

"Since you recognize this old man, how dare you still flee?"

Qin Yun chuckled. Under Chi He Lian's gaze, he raised a hand and grabbed.

Whoosh—

It was only what seemed a casual grab, yet Chi He Lian felt the bamboo grove, the temple, and even the heaven and earth within her perception all overturning under an invisible, colossal force.

The next instant, accompanied by a scream, the fleeing Bai Xiang Wang was dragged back by a tremendous force, flying backward in utter disarray and crashing back to where he had been.

With a thud, dust billowed up.

"You...."

Chi He Lian's hand gripping the umbrella bulged with veins, her expression solemn yet tinged with dread:

"Divine Palace?!"

In that instant, every hair on Chi He Lian's body stood on end. A bone-chilling cold surged in from all directions, brutally forcing all her outward aura back into her body.

This was no longer the method of a He Yi Jing martial artist.

What shocked and enraged her even more was that such a powerful expert had actually been tailing her, striking from the shadows—so that, caught off guard, she had no chance to strike back or flee.

"The visitor from beyond the heavens certainly has a decent eye."

Qin Yun stood with his hands behind his back, the smile on his face fading:

"This old man is Qin Yun. I've come to borrow you for a use!"

"You!"

Chi He Lian's heart was shocked and furious. Just as she was about to act, she felt a coolness at her brow—Bai Xi's jade-like finger had already tapped onto her brow, so fast it was extreme, leaving her utterly unable to dodge.

"You dare touch my divine soul?!"

Chi He Lian reacted quickly, throwing her head back in shock and fury, her voice turning shrill: "There's a restriction from the Poison Dragon God in my divine soul. You dare—"

"Smack!"

Qin Yun shifted his finger to a palm, gripped her face, and lifted her bodily up:

"Poison Dragon God... well then, let's change locations and have a chat about that ritual of yours."

As he turned, he glanced at Bai Xiang Wang. The latter's face was deathly pale, yet he didn't dare delay. He forced himself to hold up the three great cauldrons and followed Qin Yun away.

Eight Directions Temple Grotto-Heaven.

"Huu!"

"Haa!"

On the grass below the mountain path, Li Yuan sank his waist and sat with his legs apart. His pores were dilated, and as a faint, elusive qi spread outward, the airflow within several dozen zhang around him moved with it, making the grass and trees rustle loudly.

"Qi and blood. True qi."

Li Yuan observed himself internally.

Within his body, true qi circulated ceaselessly through a grand circulation of thirty-six qi meridians, while blood surged through the meridians all over his body.

Qi-blood and true qi ran in parallel within his body, supporting his various organs and viscera.

Of the four steps to entering the Dao, Li Yuan had already completed two. Apart from the final breakthrough of 'uniting body and spirit,' he only needed to knead together true qi and qi-blood before he could break through and enter the Dao.

But this step was by no means easy.

Although true qi and blood qi both originated from blood, there was a great difference between the two. To forcibly fuse them carried the danger of blood flowing backward and meridians rupturing.

"The danger of this step lies in the overlap between the grand circulation of qi meridians and the meridians throughout the body. I cultivate thirty-six qi meridians, so I have a great advantage at this step..."

Li Yuan's mind was like a bright mirror, illuminating his entire self.

True qi, qi-blood, blood, sinews and bones, the various organs and viscera, and even the acupoints on his limbs, torso, and brow—all were visible at a glance.

The benefits of such powerful inner vision for the four barriers of entering the Dao went without saying.

"A Grand Grandmaster unites the three primes. This barrier of entering the Dao can be considered a union of two—qi unites with blood, spirit unites with body... no wonder so many quasi-Grandmasters fear the barrier of entering the Dao like a tiger. It truly is perilous."

Li Yuan murmured to himself.

His inner vision came from opening the Niwan acupoint, from the nurturing of his spirit by the Qi of Health Preservation and the Qi of the Mysterious Whale. His spiritual power was far stronger than that of martial artists of the same level.

Even so, he felt it was dangerous—one could well imagine the situation of other martial artists.

Martial artists who could attempt the barrier of entering the Dao were already the chosen of their time, dragons and phoenixes among men. But at this barrier, three or four out of ten would succeed—even with the aid of various spirit pills.

"The step of uniting qi and blood is still a bit too dangerous. To be safe, I still need to open the Nine Palaces of the Niwan..."

Li Yuan's mind stirred, and he had already guided his true qi to flow toward his brow.

Hum—

The Niwan glowed with a faint light like a star. In the dimness around it, one could faintly sense acupoints that had not yet been lit up.

"With the Niwan Palace empowering my divine soul and all nine stars opened, my divine soul should undergo a transformation. When the time comes, attempting the step of 'uniting qi and spirit' might be much safer."

Master Li Dao weighed the matter in his heart.

He had always been extremely cautious about martial cultivation. He would rather go a bit slower than take a wrong path, and would often ponder each step three times before acting.

It was precisely this habit that had kept him from going astray in the early stages, even without anyone to guide him.

Hum—

Li Yuan guided his true qi to sink into the Niwan.

Since opening the Niwan, he would guide his true qi to nourish it every few days, so he was naturally already well-versed in the process.

During this process, he could feel his brow swelling more and more, while the 'stars' around the Niwan gradually began to glow faintly.

After a long while, Li Yuan opened his eyes, swallowed a handful of spirit pills, entered meditation again, and mobilized his true qi into the Niwan.

He repeated this, not knowing how many times.

When Li Yuan's true qi was once again exhausted, he felt the swelling at his brow reach its peak, and finally 'burst open.'

Boom!

Even though he had been prepared, Li Yuan's vision went black, as if he had been struck head-on by a hammer.

But he seemed utterly unaware. His attention was entirely on his brow. As the last wisp of true qi vanished into the darkness, a great light blazed in his mind.

Stars clustered around the Niwan Palace, blooming with a faint glow.

"Nine Palaces of the Niwan!"

In that instant, Li Yuan felt a chill spread from his brow throughout his entire body. His spiritual power climbed sharply at a perceivable speed.

In a daze, he had the illusion of himself sitting upright in darkness.

It was as if he had become the Nine Palaces of the Niwan, sitting quietly within. He faintly sensed subtle responses coming from the darkness around him, but when he focused his spirit carefully, he could no longer perceive them.

"Are those... other acupoints?"

Li Yuan's heart stirred. He committed that feeling to memory, savoring the benefits of the Niwan being fully opened.

His divine soul was still growing stronger, and his control over himself had risen another step—he could even detect the finest blood vessels and meridians!

"If my divine soul grows stronger again, then even without the Mi Fa of the Xieshen Sect, I can find the other acupoints one by one!"

A moment later, Li Yuan opened his eyes.

In the grotto-heaven, the sun and moon had wheeled on, and now it was deep into the night.

"Steady progress."

Satisfied, Li Yuan ended the day's cultivation.

After casually taking a Grain Grain Grain Grain Bigu Pill, Li Yuan found a clean spot, sat cross-legged, and with a single thought, arrived on the gray stone platform.

Since the last minor court sacrifice, he had remained on high alert, listening to the sounds every day.