Chapter 536: The Grandmaster's Weakness (Make-up Update 9)

The crowd entering the temple suddenly fell silent, everyone gazing into the distance—

toward the mountain peak!

Amidst the swirling clouds and mist, the aura emanating from the ancient temple made their hearts tremble; they could barely contain their urge to climb the mountain, and their breathing grew rapid!

"That person—is Li Yuan?"

The Qian Emperor tightened his grip on the golden bell in his palm, his gaze darkening: "In the prophecy, it is this very man who, fifty years from now, assassinated Us, as well as all the Dao Lords!"

He glanced to one side!

Long Long Yingchan, Fang Fang Sanyun, Da Da Dingchan, and Daoist Feng Yuanqing stood shoulder to shoulder, their expressions all shifting; separated by clouds, mist, and Gaoshan, they too could not discern who that person was!

"Traitorous disciple."

Long Long Yingchan suddenly let out a furious roar, his voice like thunder exploding; Fang Fang Sanyun and the others closest to him were caught off guard, their ears—

buzzing so loudly they nearly burst their eardrums!

"You wretched creature, come down the mountain at once!"

Long Long Yingchan unleashed a thunderous shout, his voice shaking for a hundred li, causing every person present to frown!

"Enough."

Shen Shen Qisheng's face was dark as water, his cold eyes like swords: "Old bald donkey, are you trying to pass a secret message to that wretched creature?"

"Old mangy dog."

Long Long Yingchan flew into a rage, his long brows bristling upward: "Without a shred of evidence, you dare slander this old man? Do you believe this old man won't strip the skin off you?"

"Try it, then?"

Shen Shen Qisheng was likewise enraged!

"Enough."

Seeing the two seemed about to come to blows, some silently stepped back to make space, others swept cold glances over; but the Qian Emperor frowned deeply: "If the two of you wish to fight, then go outside and fight."

At his side, Wan Wan Zhuliu said not a word; he merely swept a cold glance at the two, then strode toward the stone tablet at the foot of the mountain!

Seeing this, the assembled crowd also gathered their thoughts and hurried to follow!

"Li Yuan's tablet? Eastern Realm, fourteen thousand two hundred thirty-seven? Wait—could so many people truly have entered this temple?"

"The Eight Directions Temple truly comes from beyond the heavens—does the human race perhaps have another species different from man?"

"Eastern Realm? Could there also be a Western Realm?"

At the foot of the mountain, a stone tablet stood conspicuously; most of the gathered crowd had entered relic sects before, so the inscribed text on the tablet was not unfamiliar to them!

Yet the information it revealed left many inwardly astonished!

"Talent—Zhao Zhao Tianxing grade?"

The Qian Emperor's gaze darkened as he looked toward Huang Huang Longzi, who had been quietly observing to one side; the latter had kept a very low profile, not uttering a word since entering this place, but now could only answer: "Ordinary person, Dragon-Phoenix, Absolute, Epoch-Making, World-Shaking, Zhao Zhao Tianxing, God-Demon… Zhao Zhao Tianxing grade is the sixth-rank talent!"

Sixth-rank talent!

As he spoke, Huang Huang Longzi felt his tongue go somewhat numb; what was Zhao Zhao Tianxing?

Namely, a stunning prodigy whom a single life-star might not produce once in ten thousand years.

Such a prodigy, if enrolled in the Poison Dragon Academy, would qualify to contend for the position of Dao Child; and he could be certain that the person atop the mountain at this moment was no ordinary prodigy!

According to intelligence circulated by the Martial Immortal Gate, when the Eight Directions Temple had manifested in years past, more than one prodigy from various realms had been turned away at its gates.

"Above World-Shaking."

"This boy's talent is actually so high."

"No wonder he could open the Eight Directions Temple—so that's how it is, so that's how it is."

Hearing "sixth-rank talent," the assembled crowd buzzed with discussion, but were not overly shocked—after all, this was the only person in ten thousand years to have opened the Eight Directions Temple!

Before entering the temple, everyone had silently assumed he possessed something extraordinary!

Listening to the crowd's discussion, Huang Huang Longzi quietly turned his gaze away; following the mountain path upward, he looked at the blurred figure in the clouds and mist, and felt somewhat dazed: "This person may well be the greatest fortune of this heaven and earth, apart from the Eight Directions Temple itself."

'Zhao Zhao Tianxing…'

"Huang Huang Longzi!"

Suddenly, a voice came!

Huang Huang Longzi's heart gave a start; the speaker wore a black cloak, an extremely peculiar one that seemed to block perception—at a single glance, even that person's face could not be seen!

The Dharma Lord!

Huang Huang Longzi cupped his hands slightly; his wariness of this person was no less than that of Wan Wan Zhuliu!

Upon first entering this place, he had been greatly shocked—and wary—that within the heaven and earth cut off by the Eight Directions Temple, someone dared to take the name of a 'god' and harvest incense offerings!

Knowing the divine names of 'Thousand-Eye Bodhisattva,' 'Red-Haired Buddha,' 'Hundred-Armed Daoist,' 'Sword Spirit God,' 'Thousand-Yin Dharma Lord,' and others—

yet still daring to impersonate them—that kind of courage could no longer be described as merely "great"!

And as far as he knew, the source of all this was none other than the cloaked figure before him!

"Might I borrow the Tongshi Orb for a moment?"

"Hmm?"

Hearing the transmitted voice, Huang Huang Longzi's heart sank; he was now certain that the Qian Yan Fa beneath that cloak also came from beyond the heavens—otherwise he would never have known of the Tongshi Orb's existence!

He wished to refuse, but the words reached his lips and he felt a chill run down his spine!

"Brother Huang Long!"

At that moment, Wan Wan Zhuliu's voice rang out; Huang Huang Longzi felt as if granted great reprieve, cupped his hands toward the Qian Yan Fa, and had already hurried toward the foot of the mountain!

After a bout of noisy discussion, someone had already attempted to climb the mountain!

That was an old man with white hair and beard, his body already bearing the air of twilight; his name was Zhang Zhang Shan Xuan Dan, a seasoned Grandmaster, a minister through three reigns, the Laozu Sect of the Zhang Family of the Divine Capital!

He was also one of the few Grandmasters present!

He was also one of the few Grandmasters in the world!

At this moment, under the gaze of Emperor Qian, Wan Wan Zhuliu, he swallowed a spirit pill; with a tremor of his form, his beard and hair turned from white to black, and a set of battle armor materialized around his body!

"Your Majesty, this minister takes his leave!"

Zhang Zhang Shan Xuan Dan cupped his hands in a salute, then strode up the steps!

Only a "hum" was heard, and the brows of the crowd at the foot of the mountain furrowed in unison, all of them feeling an indescribably majestic aura, vast as the sea, vast as the heavens, suddenly descend!

Pfft.

In but an instant, blood gushed from Zhang Zhang Shan Xuan Dan's mouth and nose; the divine-grade armor on his body let out cracking sounds, and in less than a few instants, he had already tumbled back down to the foot of the mountain!

A mouthful of backflowing blood sprayed out, and his whole body fell backward, as if he had Suffered heavy wounds!

"Elder Zhang."

Emperor Qian's expression changed, and he stepped forward to support him!

A Heavenly Gang realm master had only managed to climb a single step?

The expressions of all the masters and grand masters of the Yigan Sect at the foot of the mountain path changed, and when they looked toward the mountaintop again, their eyes were filled with disbelief!

A blood-replacement cultivator reaches the summit, yet a Heavenly Gang cultivator is stopped at the first step?

"There's a stone tablet."

Long Long Yingchan had sharp eyes; he caught sight of a newly risen stone tablet!

【Zhang Zhang Shan Xuan Dan, bone age one hundred and ninety-three!】

realm: Heavenly Gang.

Talent: Dragon-Phoenix.

Divine Constitution: Lower.

Overall Evaluation: Inferior (Lower).

"Inferior, and inferior-lower at that?"

Seeing the text on this stone tablet, the expressions of everyone present changed: "Bone age?"

Long Long Yingchan's eyelids also twitched!

For those present, this Dengshan trial tested bone constitution, comprehension, or martial combat — they all had some confidence in handling it. But bone age — his peripheral gaze swept across them; among the fifteen people present, the only one who looked to be no older than a hundred years was none other than Huang Huang Longzi himself.

"Bone age?"

Huang Huang Longzi's heart rejoiced, but upon noticing the gazes of the crowd, his expression also sank along with the rest: "This... I truly do not know either!"

The crowd looked toward Huang Huang Longzi, their tone unfriendly!

Yan Yan Tianxiong, at the very back, however, glanced at the master of Qian Yan Fa. His eyes shifted — he had personally witnessed this master 'breaking out of his shell' from the divine statue!

This...

Yan Yan Tianxiong's gaze stiffened, for he saw the dense glint of eyes beneath the cloak!

"Have you gentlemen truly not sensed it?"

Seeing the unfriendly gazes of the crowd, Huang Huang Longzi's heart gave a "cluck," and he hastened to speak: "Within the Eight Directions Temple, you all should not be affected by the severance of heaven and earth, and ought to be able to sense the changes in your own vitality."

"Mm?"

Hearing these words, Long Long Yingchan hurriedly focused his spirit and observed intently, faintly sensing wisps of faint vitality, coming from nowhere, flooding into his limbs and bones!

Though faint, it was ceaseless and unending!

The clouds and mist of Eight Directions Mountain are not formed from water vapor. Earlier, when Li Yuan was climbing, he could not see the mountaintop; now that he stood at the mountaintop, naturally he could not see the foot of the mountain either!

He could only vaguely make out fifteen human figures, some carrying blades, some bearing swords on their backs!

"Mm, one person provides me with one year's time — that matches!"

Li Yuan squinted his eyes, unable to clearly see who had come, and could only guess in his heart: "The Spirit-Gazing Ritual has not only exposed me, but also exposed the news that Wan Wan Zhuliu entered the temple fifty years ago and has not returned. As long as the imperial court is not foolish, and does not wish to wage full-scale war against the Dao Sect, then they must bring at least half of the Dao Sect's lords!"

Master Li is most Liu Liu Jingshan at projecting his own mind onto others!

If he were Emperor Qian, Fang Wan Zhuliu, before entering the temple he would certainly have to sweep clean any troubles behind him!

"Someone else has come in?"

The little mother dragon peered down somewhat nervously, shocked in her heart: "How could so many people have come in?"

"Don't be nervous, they can't get up!"

Li Yuan was very calm. He had long anticipated this, but ever since he ascended the mountaintop, he had not felt much urgency. He had climbed

to the mountaintop relying on 'bone age seventeen' — 'less than a month in the temple, talent transformed to Zhao Zhao Tianxing grade'!

If the imperial court could find someone comparable to him, they wouldn't have to rely on tailing him into the temple!

Therefore, Li Yuan was very calm!

He merely walked along the edge of the mountain, focusing his spirit to observe, wanting to see who had entered the temple this time!

In the few days since ascending the mountaintop, Li Yuan had not been idle. He had not attempted the 'Temple Entry Trial,' but aside from that, he had walked through every part of the mountaintop!

He had also tried to go down the mountain!

Just as ascending was extremely difficult, the difficulty of descending was also extremely great!

He tried to split off a portion of his blood to descend the mountain, but it simply could not withstand the terrifying pressure of the ten-thousand steps, and in an instant was shattered into powder!

"The one with the blade should be Wan Wan Zhuliu; what about the one carrying a sword on his back? Shen Shen Qisheng?"

As Li Yuan squinted to examine them, he suddenly heard a sound rising from below the mountain, as if someone was roaring, but by the time it reached the mountaintop, only a "hum" remained!

"Dao Lord Long?"

Though it was only a hum, Li Yuan was too familiar with Dao Lord Long's voice; with but a brief comparison, he had already identified it!

"Dao Lord Long has truly entered the temple."

Li Yuan's thoughts turned, and he had already taken out an Eight Directions Temple token. Descending the mountain from the mountaintop was beyond him, but this did not mean he could not go down the mountain!

Through this token, by consuming twenty days of his stay time, he could teleport to the foot of the mountain, or alternatively, into the passage!

Teleporting into the passage — if anything seemed amiss, he could immediately use his spirit puppet heart to choose to sit at the door puppet Dong Dong Ershisan. Having a plan in mind, Li Yuan flickered, and was already in the passage. In the narrow passage, Dong Dong Ershisan still sat with his back turned. Li Yuan's heart relaxed, and he walked toward the end!

He did not pass straight through the gate, but instead studied it with suspicion—and at that spot, he saw the Dragon-Path Sovereigns down at the foot of the mountain!

Four Sovereigns had come… the Qian Emperor, Wan Wan Zhuliu, Huang Huang Longzi… good heavens, Grandmasters made up more than half of them.