Chapter 543: Borrowing Blood

Boom— As the blade-light dispersed, the divine realm trembled violently. "That's it? He won?"

Not to mention Tiancan Fuxiu Daoren and Nie Xianshan—even Long Xi Xiang, who had urged Li Yuan to finish the fight quickly, couldn't help but shrink his pupils. This was far too fast!

Moreover…

"How did he withstand the first slash of Fu Mo?"

It wasn't just him; Tiancan Fuxiu Daoren and Laitou Monk, the two Grandmasters who had likewise been trapped by that blade-intent for decades, also felt the same doubt rising in their hearts!

Fu Mo Dao Fa was a peerless blade art created by Wan Wan Zhuliu after gathering the strengths of a hundred schools and adding in the Demon-Slaying Dragon God Blade. Wielded by a body at the great completion of Blood Exchange, even a Grandmaster would not dare to take it head-on with his body!

Yet Li Yuan had taken it, and that slash hadn't even broken through his protective true qi…

"The fortune he obtained from the Eight Directions Temple…"

Boom.

After a momentary shock, Tiancan Fuxiu Daoren was the first to react. With the blade-intent that had locked him for years now removed, even his temperament couldn't contain a long, loud howl!

Then with a sweep of his great sleeves, he sent everyone present out of the divine realm, while he himself laughed heartily and plunged into the radiant divine light bursting from that old tree!

—

As light and shadow flowed, Li Yuan withdrew from the divine realm. Before he even opened his eyes, he heard several "crack" sounds, and upon opening them, he saw Long Xi Xiang releasing his true qi outward, shielding the ancestral tablets within the small temple!

Nie Xianshan swayed, barely suppressing his leaking vigorous qi—his mind clearly in turmoil. Laitou Chan Master also swayed, emitting a sound deep and resonant as a great bronze bell!

"Protect the Dharma."

Long Xi Xiang reacted, pressing his hand on Tiancan Fuxiu Daoren's left shoulder. Nie Xianshan and the monk were half a beat slower, one pressing the right shoulder, the other the back, and began channeling true qi!

In an instant, myriad colors wove through the small temple. The true qi of the four Grandmasters surged and churned, forcibly pushing Li Yuan out of the small temple!

"Hoo—"

As he stepped out of the small temple, Li Yuan finally exhaled a breath of turbid air. His gaze was very bright; the benefits of stacking armor were indeed tremendous.

Just over ten days ago, when drawing the blade for Wang Wang Wenyuan at the Star-Picking Tower, that first slash of Fu Mo had still given him some pause—taking it head-on might have meant injury!

But now, bolstered by three additional eighth-tier divine armors, he could already completely ignore that slash. If he struck with full force, a Wan Wan Zhuliu of the same realm would no longer be a match for him even for a single exchange.

Looking at the small temple shrouded in radiant light, Li Yuan was in excellent spirits. For many years, he had once taken Wan Wan Zhuliu as his greatest imaginary foe, using him as a mirror!

When he first drew the blade, he couldn't have lasted even a few exchanges against a Wan Wan Zhuliu of the same realm. Now, years later, the situation had reversed. The progress and transformation within was like fine wine; he savored it with quiet joy. If he weren't afraid of getting hurt, when he drew the blade for Wang Fuzi earlier, he could have already withstood that Fu Mo Dao Fa head-on… Now, taking it head-on still isn't his limit!

Feeling the various enhancements from the Soldier Register, Li Yuan was refreshed in body and mind. He couldn't help but pull out a gourd of Hundred Herbs Brew and gulp it down with loud gulps!

Hum!

White mist rose in the small temple, shrouding it within. Li Yuan had no mind to wait idly. Glancing back at his elder brother and sister-in-law's family, who had come out to watch the commotion upon hearing the noise, he touched the mask on his face and cupped his hands in a bow!

"Old Long is still dependable. Second Brother and Sister-in-law both look well, completely unaffected. And these two little ones have grown much sturdier!"

With a slight smile, without waiting for a response, Li Yuan turned and found a secluded spot by the cliff, sat cross-legged to regulate his breathing, and began reviewing the battle. Every encounter, every matter—afterward he must review. This was a habit he had cultivated in his previous life!

"Wan Jinliu is indeed an extraordinary powerhouse!"

One knows one's own affairs best. Daoist Li had always possessed self-awareness; even though he had crushed Wan Wan Zhuliu's blade-intent as easily as pulling up a withered tree, he did not dare to underestimate the man!

He reckoned to himself: without the Soldier Register's enhancement, to defeat Wan Wan Zhuliu would likely require a bitter fight. But why shouldn't he use it?

Daoist Li had absolutely no psychological burden. To forgo a crushing game and instead fight a grueling battle—that would be a problem in the head. Moreover, Wan Wan Zhuliu's blade-intent was born from his current realm, possessing the vision and intuition of a top-tier Grandmaster—far stronger than when he himself was at the great completion of Blood Exchange back then!

Reviewing the battle just fought, Li Yuan couldn't pick out a single flaw. From the moment he struck—

to the moment he crushed that Dao Lord, there was not the slightest gap or mistake. He was confident that even if anyone else in the present age had taken his place, the result would have been the same!

"A great victory."

Invincible among peers.

Li Yuan thought for a moment. Tian Shi Yuan was hard to say, but at least in the current imperial court and jianghu, no one should be able to defeat him within the same realm. However, he had never deliberately pursued this!

A turn of his thoughts, and he let it go. There were still more uses for Soldier Control combinations!

Over the past half month or so, Li Yuan had been pondering, exploring more Soldier Control combinations. In fact, even earlier, he had had similar ideas; it was just that high-tier weapons were scarce, preventing him from trying more combinations. But now…

"Armor can be stacked, bone ornaments can be stacked, spirit boots can be stacked, blades, swords, hammers, and staves can likewise be stacked—even bows can be stacked."

Controlling Daoist Tianyun Daoist Tianyun Xuanbing simultaneously was certainly good, but given the characteristics of Daoist Tianyun Xuanbing, pairing them in new combinations might yield wonderful uses!

Li Yuan pondered in his heart: multiple Soldier Control combinations could handle more different situations—martial training, traveling, killing and fighting… and so on!

The only slight flaw was that although the cooldown for switching Soldier Control was very short, it still couldn't be seamless!

If the Soldier Register reached tenth-tier, it should be able to achieve seamless switching… Mm, with the wealth of these two elders helping me advance the Soldier Register to tenth-tier, it should be more than enough!

Calming his mind, Li Yuan internally visualized, externally trained horizontal cultivation, not wasting time even while waiting!

The temple doors were tightly shut, clouds and mist obscuring the view. In a flash, it was evening. Li Yuan was circulating qi and blood true qi, tempering his body, when suddenly—he sensed something!

He looked up and saw, within the clouds and mist, green light weaving together, transforming into a luxuriant old tree. The branches and leaves of the old tree rustled with the wind!

Looking closely, he could faintly see among the branches and leaves, some beast-shapes flickering!

Divine Silkworm Nine Transformations!

Li Yuan focused his spirit and observed carefully!

That old tree rose from the ground. In an instant, it was as if it had experienced spring, summer, autumn, and winter. In the blink of an eye, the tree had withered and yellowed, its leaves falling. But immediately, new branches sprouted, which in another moment withered and fell again!

Repeating this nine times, the old tree trembled slightly. The vitality from the nine cycles of withering and flourishing flowed backward. In the blink of an eye, the small temple door was pushed open, and Tiancan Fuxiu Daoren strode out!

"Has he cultivated the Nine Transformations to completion?"

Li Yuan was briefly dazed, then rose and walked toward the small temple. His long-standing ailments gone, Tiancan Fuxiu Daoren now radiated a terrifyingly vigorous vitality. Even from several dozen zhang away, Li Yuan felt that surging vitality of all things competing to flourish!

"Congratulations, Senior. Your divine art has reached great completion."

Li Yuan cupped his hands in congratulation. Years of ailments removed in a single day, and unexpectedly, he had also entered the Ninth Transformation!

As he spoke, Tiancan Fuxiu Daoren bowed deeply, his sleeves sweeping the ground, giving Li Yuan no chance to refuse—a solid, grand salute. "Many thanks, young friend, for drawing the blade and extending my life."

"Senior, you're being far too kind to this junior!

"

Li Yuan gave a wry smile and could only accept it. Although he had always been meticulous in his manners, he was in fact a very pragmatic person!

"You are worthy of it!"

The mad-headed monk flicked a finger, true qi forming into characters; his heart

could not settle at this moment either!

"The old monk spoke correctly—you are worthy of it!"

Letting Li Yuan help him up, the old Daoist's spirit was refreshed; he stroked his long beard, in excellent spirits: "Beyond those items I promised, if my young friend has any further requests, feel free to speak them all at once!"

"Senior, you're far too courteous!"

Though Li Yuan said this with his mouth, he looked toward Long Xi Xiang; the latter, however, said: "Senior has just escaped his calamity and ought to be greatly celebrated. The rest can be discussed later—it won't be too late."

"Should celebrate, should greatly celebrate."

The Heavenly Silkworm Daoist quite agreed; with a beckoning gesture, he summoned the disciples and grand-disciples attending at the side and gave his orders!

For the next two days, the Green Dragon Pavilion held a feast of three thousand tables—city residents, passing merchants, anyone who came along were all invited to the banquet, which indeed drew quite a crowd of onlookers!

Seven days later, while people in the city were still discussing the Green Dragon Pavilion's grand feast, the Xinyi Sect's great monk followed suit, booked out half the city's taverns, and likewise held a feast of three thousand tables, to a flood of respondents!

All manner of discussions grew even more deafening—this young broth

er, could today be some great occasion? Why such a commotion?

A young blade-bearer hurrying to join the fun impatiently waved his hand, but stumbled himself; realizing he had encountered an expert, he immediately forced a smile onto his face: "Old sir, just entering the city? Today's no great occasion—it's that the Xinyi Sect's Grand Elder has a happy event and wants to feast the neighbors. They say it's on the same scale as the Green Dragon Pavilion's a few days ago—three thousand tables!"

"So that's how it is—many thanks, young brother!"

Qin Yun released his grip and let the young man hurry off!

Interesting!

Qin Yun smiled, turned back, and looked at the expressionless black-clad woman beneath the black umbrella!

"The Immortal's Finger-Pointing Road truly is a marvelous method from beyond the heavens—this road really has pointed correctly!"

"Hm?

"

Chi He Lian's heart jolted; she looked toward the tavern at the end of the long street, somewhat dumbfounded!

"That temple-opener—he, he found it just like that?"

Divine Silkworm Nine Witherings-and-Flourishings, bronze bell with golden-dragon veins… indeed rather interesting!

Qin Yun's expression was subtle, yet he did not step forward; instead he casually found an inn and checked in. Chi He Lian quickly followed, while Bai Xiang Wang carried an unconscious youth on his back and brought up the rear!

Moo—

A low, deep bellowing echoed among the mountains, startling away countless hungry beasts prowling through the snow; the accumulated snow on the trees, however, met an invisible barrier three chi from Li Yuan and slid off to the side, falling with a soft "shua-shua." He looked up and surveyed the scene!

Before his eyes stood a giant ox.

Its shoulders stood three zhang high,

its muscles sturdy and powerful, its body covered in gilded scales; its curved horns were translucent as white jade, gleaming in the sunlight!

This was an extremely rare spirit beast, called the "Panic-Horned Bull," ranked twenty-third on the world's Spirit Beast List!

Is it enough for your divine weapon's quenching?

As Li Yuan was lost in thought, the bull spoke in a deep voice!

It's about enough!

Li Yuan received a full large jar of bull's blood, and the bull flashed and vanished into the forest; in just a few moments, the old Heavenly Silkworm Daoist walked out from the woods!

"Senior…"

There are only eight kinds of blood; even one more kind and there'd be none left.

The moment Li Yuan opened his mouth, the old Daoist's face turned somewhat green; with a wave of his hand he vanished into the dense forest!

Li Yuan still bowed in thanks, and only after watching him depart did he hoist up those jars one by one.

"Eight kinds are eight kinds, but among the Five Sacrificial Beasts, there are only… kinds. To be safe, this blood still needs to be borrowed!"