Chapter 569: Wind Stirs Bafang Temple

Hum~

The instant the Dark Whale leapt from the sea, the sound of surging waters rose atop Bafang Mountain.

That sound rolled and churned, like a thousand waterfalls pounding a pool all at once; the crashing din even carried down to the mountain paths and the foot of the mountain.

Together with the wind-borne prayer that spread from the mountain path, it echoed through the peaks.

"What does that Thousand-Eyed old ghost intend? This prayer…"

"Heaven-Man Resonance?"

"That lad Li has entered the Dao already?"

At the foot of the mountain, the crowd surrounding Chi He Lian with their questions also heard that surging water-sound; raising their eyes, they saw atop the peak dark and azure hues weaving and surging like tide and wave.

Before long, a colossal beast of two interwoven colors leapt from that 'sea'.

"One day alone, and already Heaven-Man Resonance. This lad's foundation is truly no shallow thing; this counts as a natural course."

Seeing this, Long Long Yingchan's heart eased. What he had worried about was nothing other than Li Yuan being in meditation and harmed by that prayer-thing.

At this step, there was no longer such a worry.

With the Bafang Command Token in hand, even if that old ghost had some scheme, he could withdraw with composure.

"Worthy of Zhao Zhao Tianxing's talent. The intensity of this Heaven-Man Resonance surpasses the ordinary by tenfold."

Fang Fang Sanyun and the others, seeing this, also felt their hearts lighten and began to observe the phenomenon of Heaven-Man Resonance.

The Pass of Entering the Dao is called by the world the Dragon Gate Pass, meaning the transformation at this pass is like a fish becoming a dragon — and indeed that is exactly so.

Only when Qi meets Spirit, and Spirit merges with Body, can one contend with Heaven and Earth and transform into True Gang; only at this step can the will truly interfere with Heaven and Earth.

When True Qi is unleashed, it reaches ten zhang; a world-shaking talent might reach several dozen zhang.

But True Gang, contending with Heaven and Earth, reaches a hundred zhang from the first release; through the transformation of Earth Sha and Heaven Gang, it can even reach several li, or over ten li.

The gap between the two, truly, is no exaggeration to call the difference between fish and dragon.

"Thunder Dragon transforms into Dark Whale, using the scene of the Daoist Tianyun Daoist Tianyun Xuanbing as the initial scene — the conception is quite lofty, but this two-color flow of his, what Mi Fa is that?"

Daoist Feng Yuanqing narrowed his eyes slightly.

His breadth of vision was extremely high; he had dabbled in the Entering-Dao Mi Fa of every school, and at a glance recognized that Li Yuan's Mi Fa for harmonizing Qi-blood and soul was not from Dragon Tiger Temple, yet it appeared even more profound.

"Qi-blood and soul, chasing and flowing into each other — you in me, I in you. This Mi Fa…"

Grand Master Master Dading's heart stirred slightly; he looked toward Long Long Yingchan:

"Brother Long, this Mi Fa is?"

"Two colors interweaving like a turning wheel. This lad…"

Long Long Yingchan recalled what Li Yuan had told him when they discussed the Entering-Dao Mi Fa before; pinching his long brows now, he too felt something strange:

"He said it's called… Taiji?"

Whoo-whoo~

On the mountain path the wind blew swift and fast, stirring the clouds and mist.

The Qian Yan Fa Master, chanting the prayer, also noticed the Entering-Dao scene atop the mountain, but paid it little heed — to him, Entering the Dao and Blood Exchange were no different.

Still, the speed of his prayer-chanting increased considerably.

'Prayer? This old ghost truly is lurking in the shadows…'

The Qian Yan Fa Master's prayer carried far; Li Yuan naturally heard it too. Splitting his attention, he was wary of the prayer while also sensing himself.

In that instant, his will was no longer within his body; it was as if, along with the Dark Whale vaulting from the abyss, he felt he had become a true Dark Whale.

Soaring through True Qi and the sea of clouds.

"Indeed, the things the patriarchs left behind are useful… the pivot of motion and stillness, the mother of yin and yang — using Taiji to harmonize soul and Qi-blood is truly a brilliant move!"

In a stretch of dim stillness, dark and azure hues shone upon each other.

The two colors flowed and chased, wearing each other down yet giving rise to each other, as if following certain natural principles, turning of their own accord.

On closer look, it was not merely two colors; his True Qi threaded through them, like the Dao-line dividing yin and yang, balancing the two, and also as if all three were fusing.

"With this step, the foundation of the Three Primaries' Unity is laid. One need only harvest wondrous scenes to fill it, and step by step break through the Earth Sha and Heaven Gang transformation, reaching straight to the Unity realm!"

At his flash of inspiration in applying the principle of Taiji to the step of Spirit-Body Unity, Daoist Li could not help but feel a touch of admiration.

Though this was a principle left by the patriarchs, to perfectly replicate it in this other world — could that not be called genius?

"After Entering the Dao, Heaven and Earth are vastly different!"

Li Yuan murmured within his heart.

From inside out, only after Entering the Dao did he truly perceive the Heaven and Earth outside — not through flesh-eyes or perception, but through the soul.

Using True Qi as medium, he not only perceived the external Heaven and Earth, but could interfere with and influence them to a certain extent!

"No wonder True Gang Forming, Thousand-Li Soul-Lock, Sword Flight, and Spirit-Phase Transformation all require Entering the Dao to touch. Contending with Heaven and Earth — so this is the feeling…"

In that instant, Li Yuan truly felt why this pass of Entering the Dao was called Vaulting the Dragon Gate.

He could feel the transformation of body and spirit, stemming from a transformation of the level of life that was still ongoing; and what pleased him even more was soaring as the Dark Whale.

This experience, like flying through the skies and diving through the earth, was simply too wonderful — a joy as if ten thousand shackles had been cast off and only today had he found freedom — so much so that he did not even wish to return to his body.

But it was only a passing thought; he had already suppressed the desire to explore the sensation of contending with Heaven and Earth, and returned to his flesh.

Let alone the initial union of spirit and body — even at Three Primaries' Unity, the flesh body remains the root of cultivation and cannot be lightly cast aside.

Whoo-whoo~

As the Qian Yan Fa Master chanted the prayer, gust after gust of wind scattered the mountain mist and blew up to the peak. The moment Li Yuan opened his eyes, he felt a chill.

"This is the Wind God Prayer — run!"

The little mother dragon stiffened and urged him on.

Though she did not know what the prayer-chanter intended, this was clearly aimed at Li Yuan.

"Such a long prayer… what does this old ghost intend?"

The divine soul returned to the body, and the outwardly projected true qi rolled back in; Li Yuan held the Belt of the Mirage Dragon in one hand, while the other had already grasped the Token of the Eight Directions.

He could feel the wind in the mountains gathering, growing ever more violent; the Master of the Thousand Eyes Technique held an unknown token in both hands, chanting prayers amidst the gale.

A faint, almost imperceptible strange power spread in all directions with the wild wind.

Such a long wind-up for this thing...

Li Yuan narrowed his eyes slightly, with no intent to investigate; the instant he sensed danger, he activated the Eight Directions Token and vanished from the mountaintop.

As if sensing Li Yuan's departure, the Master of the Thousand Eyes Technique suddenly looked up on the mountain path; beneath the cloak, the pair of magical eyes were blood-red, appearing extremely terrifying and ferocious:

"The Temple Opener!"

Boom!

Under everyone's gaze, the Master of the Thousand Eyes Technique hurled the Wind God Token from his hand.

In an instant, the gale on the mountain path gathered, shooting straight toward the sky like a tornado; the clouds and mist in the mountains also converged, transforming into a faceless giant visage.

Wooo~

In that instant, silence fell over the mountain top and bottom, as if time itself had frozen at this moment.

"Wind God!"

At the foot of the mountain, Chi He Lian's mind went blank; an indescribable aura spread in all directions, making her tremble involuntarily.

It was not just her; the instant the prayer finished, Long Yunchan also felt a strange power coming from nowhere; that power was not intense,

yet it seemed to lock them completely within it.

Even Wan Wan Zhuliu, Huang Huang Longzi, and others outside the Dao Soldier Tower felt a chill in their hearts.

"This is..."

Huang Huang Longzi's eyelid twitched; he was somewhat shocked, yet his heart relaxed slightly; recognizing this prayer, he also knew it was not targeted at him and the others.

In the next instant, a thunderous roar, vast as thunder, seemed to ignore spatial distance and exploded beside the ears of everyone inside the Eight Directions Temple:

"Gu Gu Shentong, Shift Form and Exchange Shadow!"

Boom!

Li Yuan, now transported into You Jing, was startled; even though he had shifted out of the Eight Directions Temple, that chill still followed him like a shadow.

Then, he heard that thunderous explosion:

"Gu Gu Shentong?"

"Shift Form and Exchange Shadow!"

The little female dragon screamed at the right moment: "This is the Gu Gu Shentong of the Wind God!"

Gu Gu Shentong, as the name implies, is power unique to the gods; every Gu Gu Shentong possesses the ability to change heaven and earth, with power that cannot be fathomed.

She did not know what this Gu Gu Shentong meant, but the two words "Gu Gu Shentong" had already made her terrified to the extreme.

Swish!

Li Yuan did not listen to her scream at all; the instant he sensed something was wrong, he had already pulled the Human-Headed Strange Bird out of the Weapon-Commanding Space.

"You..."

The Human-Headed Strange Bird was dazed for an instant, then also sensed something was wrong:

"Shift Form and Exchange Shadow? Who is so bold as to steal a challenger's identity... Quick, give me the Spirit Puppet Heart, I will help you kill him..."

Steal my identity?

Gripping the bird's neck, hearing its voice at the same time, Li Yuan felt the wild wind rage around him; a tremendous force suddenly arose, as if trying to drag him back to the Eight Directions Temple alive.

"Spirit Puppet Heart..."

Li Yuan's heart tightened; he activated the Eight Directions Token again; with just a thought, he had shifted into the passage entering the temple.

Wooo~

Arriving here, the howling wind grew even more violent; Li Yuan activated the Weapon-Commanding Talisman but could barely stand, so he had to raise his hand and toss the Spirit Puppet Heart toward Dong Dong Ershisan.

"Swish!"

In the next instant, his figure was swept back to the mountaintop by the wild wind!

Boom!

On Eight Directions Mountain, thunder resounded.

The faceless giant visage formed by wind and clouds hung high in the sky, overlooking the mountain path, the Master of the Thousand Eyes Technique at the foot of the mountain, Long Yunchan, and others; finally, it raised its head and looked toward the mountaintop.

"Shift Form and Exchange Shadow!"

Thunder roared in the sky; the earth and mountains seemed to tremble.

"Something is wrong!"

As Long Yunchan's eyelids twitched wildly, he suddenly heard a loud cry; following the sound, he saw two stone tablets rise from the ground at the foot of the mountain, swept into the air by a wild wind.

Through the wild wind, one could see the characters on those two stone tablets flashing incessantly.

Those two stone tablets: one was the Tablet of the Thousand Eyes, and the other...

"Li Yuan's tablet!"

The crowd at the foot of the mountain's faces all changed drastically; Long Yunchan erupted into action, but the wind-swept stone tablets seemed like illusions, completely untouchable.

They could only watch helplessly as the two stone tablets slowly approached, as if about to merge into one!

Buzz~

On Eight Directions Mountain, the wild wind howled, making the Daoist robes flutter violently.

Li Yuan stood holding the hammer; his true qi contended with heaven and earth, outlining a scene of a leaping sea dragon and kun behind him.

"Killing to steal a body, and there is such a Gu Gu Shentong?"

Hearing the Human-Headed Strange Bird's cackling, Li Yuan's heart actually relaxed; he silently adjusted his various controls and looked coldly toward the mountain side.

Swept by the wild wind, the Master of the Thousand Eyes Technique, cloaked in a hood, climbed the steps and ascended the mountaintop.