Chapter 530: Daoist Li's Fierce Nature

Recalling what he had just witnessed while listening to the Heavenly Sound, Li Yuan found himself genuinely unable to make sense of it for the moment.

Given his temperament, enemies should simply be hammered to death in secret — where was the need to make such a great commotion, so that the whole world would know and he would become the enemy of all under heaven? That couldn't possibly be something he would do.

"When things are abnormal, there must be something strange about them…··a great change in temperament must have a cause!

"

Swallowing a few spiritual pills that nurtured the spirit, Li Yuan closed his eyes and concentrated his mind, looking toward the gray stone platform. The Listening Wood stele radiated a faint glow, and various characters emerged — the summary of this listening to the Heavenly Sound:

【In the Divine Capital, Emperor Qian performed the 'Divine Scrying' sacrifice, with the outsider Huang Huang Longzi as chief officiant, intending to use incense offerings to reflect Zhao Tianxing, searching the whole world to the end··the sacrifice succeeded, purple qi came from the east, and a vision of the future arose…··】

【The future cannot be measured; the Divine Scrying saw but a fragment·····In the future, the supreme grand master Li Yuan, with the ten great powerhouses as stepping stones, challenged the entire world, hammering down all beneath heaven····】

【Within the body of the Town Martial King Wan Wan Zhuliu, a Cloud Demon is hidden……】

【The future seems to contain an enormous tribulation; when the tribulation arrives, none can escape·…·】

【·····An old man who calls himself the Turtle Immortal carries a hall upon his back, within which seems to be an enormous secret……He is searching for the one who will open the temple, until fifty years later…··】

····In one battle, twelve Daoist Tianyun Daoist Tianyun Xuanbing converged, as if someone wished to merge the Daoist Tianyun Xuanbing into one……

On the wooden seal script, the various characters flowed like water, recounting the Heavenly Sound heard this time in considerable detail — some of it even things Li Yuan himself had not noticed.

For instance, the hall-bearing spirit turtle.

"A great tribulation·…···none can escape?"

Li Yuan's spirit jolted, and a sudden clarity dawned in his heart — this fit perfectly.

Based on his understanding of himself, unless he encountered an unimaginable force majeure, he absolutely could not have undergone such a drastic change in temperament.

"A tribulation — a tribulation even I cannot escape?"

Watching the characters tumbling ceaselessly on the wood, Li Yuan's thoughts instantly opened up, and many of his doubts were resolved at once.

"Right, there's a tribulation, so the way of doing things changed……"

"A tribulation — if I knew a tribulation was coming in the future····… I would definitely seek a way out. Right, my disappearing for several decades in the future must have been because I was pioneering the road to Tian Shi Yuan!"

"Then, Old Longtou and the others must have been brought along by me·…·This all makes sense now!"

Thinking this way, Li Yuan felt everything suddenly click into place — everything fit. He had almost thought earlier that his practice of the Bai Shen Fa had gone awry, causing his temperament to change drastically.

His future self must have discovered an irresistible danger, yet was unwilling to flee alone, and so had dragged Longhu Temple, and even a number of Daoist sects, along to pioneer the road to Tian Shi Yuan!

"It must be like this. Mm, it can only be like this."

Li Yuan steadied his spirit. He felt this was in keeping with his own character — if there truly were a tribulation impossible to resist, and he wanted a strategic transfer, he could not possibly have slipped away alone.

However·……

"What kind of tribulation could even my future self, fifty years from now, be unable to resist?"

Daoist Li furrowed his brow tightly, committing the characters on the wood to memory one by one. Just as he was about to ponder them carefully, his heart jolted and he suddenly opened his eyes.

"This is?"

Li Yuan pressed his brow, his expression shifting.

Hum~

Within the Mud Pill Palace, in the place of spiritual light, as Li Yuan's mind moved, the visualized Thunder Dragon trembled violently, shattered with a roar, and reformed into a human figure sitting cross-legged, transitioning into the Divine Worship Visualization Method.

Then, a breath that even he found terrifying surged over like a towering wave, drowning the visualized spirit-self, the place of spiritual light, and even the entire Mud Pill Palace within it.

"So much incense fire?!"

Li Yuan was startled.

He was no stranger to the Bai Shen Fa drawing in incense fire, but the incense fire surging in this time — both in quantity and quality — far surpassed anything before.

In an instant, Li Yuan even felt as though he were drowning and choking. He forced himself to concentrate and draw it in, and only after a long while managed to break free from the tide-like breath of incense fire.

He took a quick inventory — in the place of spiritual light, colors interwove; second- and third-tier incense fire numbered in the tens of thousands, and there was even fifth- and sixth-tier incense fire drifting about.

Just this one surge had fully replenished the incense fire he had used listening to the sound these past days, and more was still pouring in ceaselessly.

"Hah!"

After a long while, Li Yuan finally let out a long breath, gathered the drawn-in incense fire and stored it in the Armament Space, though his heart could not help but feel somewhat heavy.

Such a fierce convergence of incense fire showed just how enormous an impact that purple qi prophecy had caused.

"The imperial court has widely invited the jianghu to observe the sacrifice — at this moment in the Divine Capital, probably more than half of the realm's experts have gathered, haven't they?"

Li Yuan rubbed his temple lightly, feeling a headache coming on.

Although he himself knew the prophecy was incomplete and had hidden circumstances, in the eyes of others, he was probably the number-one archvillain under heaven.

Assassinating the Emperor, assassinating the Daoist Sect Master, assassinating his own master and senior brothers····

Just thinking about it made Li Yuan feel his head swell — wasn't this going to make him the enemy of the whole world?

"You're drawing in primordial fire?"

At this moment, the little mother dragon's voice came through. She had clearly sensed the surging aura on Li Yuan:

"You didn't go out, so where did the incense fire come from? Could it be that someone is sacrificing to you?"

Drawing in primordial fire was nothing unfamiliar to her.

Tian Shi Yuan was full of similar methods, and not lacking those who privately erected shrines for the sake of primordial fire — showmen in Tian Shi Yuan, and even in the Grand Void Divine Realm.

But that kind of showmanship required going out oneself to stir up trouble. This sort of sitting at home and still drawing in incense fire could only come from having a shrine erected for worship.

And that was a taboo in Tian Shi Yuan.

"You're seeing wrong."

Li Yuan had no mind to chat with her. He tossed off a line and was already furrowing his brow in thought.

"If there is some tribulation in this world that I cannot resist, what would I do?"

Li Yuan murmured inwardly, asking and answering himself.

Judging himself by himself, he was working out what his future self had done.

"First, a way out.

Lord Li naturally understands his own character well; he will inevitably consider an escape route, and that escape route is obvious—it is likely Tian Shi Yuan.

"You Jing is dangerous; relying on one's own strength to carve a path straight to Tian Shi Yuan is too difficult. I will inevitably borrow strength, and the first I will consider is Daoist Lord Long."

Based on what Ling Yin revealed and his own understanding, Li Yuan analyzed and pondered.

Daoist Lord Long acts with stability and is the first choice for discussing great matters; Old Daoist Nie and Old Dragon Head have unstable characters and can only be backups; as for Qin Yun and the Master of Zhai Xing Tower, they would certainly rank even lower.

"Furthermore, there is gathering heavenly treasures and earthly gems, forging weapons, merging weapons, and plotting over other Daoist Tianyun Daoist Tianyun Xuanbing..."

..."

Ling Yin also mentioned, 'Someone desires to gather twelve Daoist Tianyun Daoist Tianyun Xuanbing and merge them into one.' Li Yuan continued to ponder.

Finding an escape route is the first.

Gathering treasures to strengthen power is the second; next should be finding usable people, eliminating potential threats, and probing the source of the calamity.

"So, I probably 'persuaded' the other Qitadao Sects and the experts of the age... hmm, I estimate I also killed a few; the Qian Emperor is clearly not a cooperative object."

Li Yuan's heart grew slightly cold.

The imperial court lineage is obviously an alien race from beyond the heavens, and is very likely the descendants of the demons lured by Dragon Demon Daoist's deception of the Great Zhou imperial court's grand sacrifice in years past.

As for Wan Wan Zhuliu...

"Wan Wan Zhuliu has silver hair and dragon patterns; he must also be a descendant of that demon, and that demon is very likely inside Wan Wan Zhuliu's body, the Yun Demon clan..."

Li Yuan recalled; the self in the Kui Shen Ji prophecy was clearly more wary of that old ghost inside his body.

After sorting out every detail one by one, Li Yuan's heart finally felt relieved, having completely digested the gains from this Ling Yin; afterwards came summarization and response.

【After the Kui Shen Ji, the Qian Emperor was furious, besieging Long Hu Temple. Long Yingchan argued with reason, using the Eight Directions Temple to mobilize other forces under the pretext of cleaning the sect's own house, reaching a preliminary cooperation with the imperial court, intending to jointly plot against the Eight Directions Temple...】

"Daoist Lord Long was probably quite frightened as well."

Looking at the text on the wooden tally, Li Yuan felt great respect; if he were in that position, he probably would not have the ability to respond like that.

However, the cooperation between the Dao Sects and the imperial court was still beyond his expectations...

"Do they take me for a great demon?"

Li Yuan found it both laughable and bitter; he had indirectly caused the imperial court and several major Dao Sects to reach cooperation, and clearly the self in the prophecy made the imperial court feel a huge threat.

As for why they cooperated...

"This is to come and strangle me."

Opening his eyes and rising, Li Yuan relaxed his muscles and bones; his heart was truly somewhat complex. This Kui Shen Ji had indeed brought him huge trouble.

With the Eight Directions Temple token in hand, he was not afraid of being blocked, but the other Qitadao Sects were probably temporarily beyond hope.

"I must see Daoist Lord Long."

Practicing Xu Tui's stance, under the powerful supply of blood and qi, Li Yuan's mind was clear; a schemer like Daoist Lord Long would absolutely not believe so lightly in a single word from the prophecy.

And as long as Daoist Lord Long was persuaded, the other Qitadao Sects would obviously not be a problem.

Regarding Daoist Lord Long's capabilities, Li Yuan had absolute faith.

But how to meet him was another problem; the current Ducheng was a forbidden place to him and could not be easily entered.

"In the prophecy, it seems only Wan Wan Zhuliu alone entered the Eight Directions Temple in the end? But since this matter is known to all under heaven..."

... this exclusive feast..."

Wan Wan Zhuliu certainly cannot eat it all alone.

Li Yuan's heart was crystal clear.

Having already seen the prophecy, if Wan Wan Zhuliu still wanted to monopolize the Eight Directions Temple for fifty years, let alone the Wudadao Sects, even the imperial court experts, or even the Qian Emperor himself, might not be willing.

Then Daoist Lord Long and Old Dragon Head would very likely enter the Eight Directions Temple.

"Huff~"

After a moment, Li Yuan slowly settled his stance; inside the Eight Directions Temple's cave heaven, it had once again become late night.

Having not slept for another day and night, Li Yuan had no sleepiness either; he swallowed a few pills, and after his blood and qi and spirit returned to their peak, he stepped onto the mountain path.

Because once climbing the mountain failed, the token would become void, so he had been very cautious when climbing before, but now...

"In the prophecy, I probably temporarily withdrew from the Eight Directions Temple, allowing Wan Wan Zhuliu to monopolize it for fifty years... but even so, after fifty years, killing him would be like killing a chicken!"

That Kui Shen Ji certainly brought many troubles, but it also greatly increased Lord Li's confidence.

Without the fortune and opportunity of the Eight Directions Temple, he would still be invincible under heaven.

If so, why worry from beginning to end?

"Anyway, I have memorized the You Jing map in my heart; even without the token, I can still find the path to Tian Shi Yuan... if I fail, I might not be unable to enter a second time, but the imperial court..."

Li Yuan sneered coldly in his heart.

If the temple opener is kicked out, who can still borrow entry to the temple for him?

Buzz~!

Li Yuan stepped onto the mountain climb, but not as slowly as before; he ascended nine steps at once, causing the little female dragon to be startled.

She had urged him many times before; this young man was always slow and leisurely, looking as if he would climb slowly for a lifetime, but now...

"Sat in meditation, could it be he suffered qi deviation?"

While the little female dragon was internally shocked, Li Yuan had already ascended to the tenth step.

He only heard a 'buzz' sound; a mighty spiritual pressure rolled over, twice as heavy as the ninth step, and at the same time, that scene of the Eight Directions filled his vision and perception.

"The pressure suddenly increased by a large chunk, but it is still bearable..."

On the tenth step, Li Yuan did not stop; he only glanced at the stone tablet inscribed with 'Zhou Yun's Stele' and continued climbing the mountain.

Climbing the mountain has no relation to the realm; Li Yuan knew this before his blood transformation was complete; whether it was that Prison Dragon or this Zhou Yun, both verified this point.

These two who climbed a hundred steps were both of the 'Divine Palace' realm.

Buzz~

Li Yuan climbed the mountain slowly; the spiritual pressure from the Eight Directions Temple grew heavier and heavier; when he reached the nineteenth step, he could not move at all.

The invisible aura of energy almost enveloped him, as if it would grind him to powder.

"Without the Soldier Controlling Seal, I could only stop here."

Li Yuan's forehead broke out in sweat, but his heart was calm; he was determined to test his own limits. Pausing here briefly, he fished out a Longhu Longhu Dadan from his bosom and held it in his mouth.

Then, he activated the Soldier Controlling Seal.

Hum~

All manner of controlling abilities arrived in an instant, and Li Yuan felt the pressure on his body suddenly lessen.

"Entering the Eight Directions Temple is related to one's innate potential, and Dengshan is the same… That Prison Dragon and Zhou Yun had world-shattering talent, achieved success in the Divine Palace, yet could only climb a hundred steps…"

"…"

Li Yuan climbed the steps step by step. With every step he took, large amounts of sweat poured from his body; by the time he reached the fifty-first step, his clothes were already completely soaked.

He forced himself to endure the immense pressure, and very quickly, he had reached the eightieth step.

*Crack! *

The instant he reached the eightieth step, Li Yuan let out a muffled groan; he had already heard the sound of his tendons and bones snapping.

"I've reached my limit."

Li Yuan's breathing was scalding hot, yet he could no longer move, like a mosquito caught in a spider's web—unable to advance, unable to retreat, able only to watch helplessly as the aura of energy ground him to dust.

"That token must be used at this moment."

A flash of enlightenment rose in Li Yuan's heart; his throat moved once, and he had already swallowed the Long Long Modadan.

Boom!

The next instant, the medicinal power ran rampant.

The medicinal power of this Longhu Dadan was extremely violent. In just an instant, the skin exposed on Li Yuan's body had turned a patch of crimson, and an indescribable ferocity rose in his heart.

This Long Long Modadan seemed to have ignited the viciousness in his heart.

In an instant, Li Yuan's eyes filled with blood, and he forcibly withstood the pressure of that invisible aura of energy.

"Following my nature, at this moment I would surely retreat…"

His eyes crimson, yet Li Yuan's heart was incomparably calm. Normally, he would retreat to avoid wasting the token—perhaps that was exactly what he had done in the prophecy.

But now…

"I refuse to believe it!"

With a fierce resolve in his heart, Li Yuan gritted his teeth and climbed once more.

Relying on the support of the Long Long Modadan's medicinal power, he took three steps as two, forcibly climbing up to the eighty-ninth step.

At this point, even with the support of the king of spiritual pills, Li Yuan could no longer move; it seemed his talent and physique could only support him up to here.