Chapter 581: The Difficulty of the Ten Thousand Forms

Hush~

Inside the main hall, Li Yuan pushes the Dragon-Tiger Great Stance, his movements so extremely slow that the void seems to ripple and leave traces as he stirs it, with faint air currents spreading out.

Outside the door, the Belt of the Mirage Dragon hangs on a tree in the small courtyard; the young female dragon glances into the room through the snow-light, then lazily lowers her head:

"This fellow is truly diligent..."

Over these years, Li Yuan has practiced in the room almost every day, and she has long grown accustomed to it.

She keeps only a fraction of her attention outside, while most of her spirit gathers within, using the true qi Li Yuan infused into the whip to carefully repair her Shen Jing.

"Damn it, with such poor craftsmanship, how can you even try to forge weapons..."

The young female dragon grits her teeth and buries her head in repairing her Shen Jing.

For a martial artist, the foundation lies in the Shen Jing; only by repairing the Shen Jing does she have the possibility of turning death into life.

Wuuu~

Inside the room, the sound of air currents is faint and indistinct.

Li Yuan slowly pushes the Dragon-Tiger Great Stance; the complex stance is performed within a square inch of space, appearing calm on the surface, yet the rhythm within his body is extremely violent.

After entering the Dao, all the stances he learned, including the Dragon-Tiger Great Stance, have been pushed to the level of Perfection or even Great Perfection.

In Li Yuan's perception, his blood surges like boiling water; if not for his pores tightly closed to lock it in, the immense heat rolling out would be enough to burn the entire small courtyard to ashes.

At a certain moment, when the qi and blood in Li Yuan's body boiled to the extreme and a set of stances was completed, he closed his eyes and sat down on the ground; at the same time, the sound of a dragon's roar echoed in his ears and heart:

"Ao!"

Waves rise in the sea of the heart, and the dragon's roar is fierce.

In a trance, Li Yuan seemed to see a ferocious crimson azure dragon; the azure dragon roared and charged into the Ni Wan Palace, stirring up towering waves within his Wang Yang Shen Jing, which was still merely a prototype.

Ferocious! Violent!

Since the transformation of form up to the change of blood, practicing the Dragon Demon's Sitting in Oblivion can continue to alter the body even after the change of blood or entering the Dao, yet there are difficulties.

The difficulty lies in visualization.

Once the Shen Jing is formed, the spiritual image arises naturally; wanting to visualize something else beyond the spiritual image is extremely difficult, which is why, after three years, Li Yuan's Shen Jing and spiritual image remain only prototypes.

If the Shen Jing is formed and the spiritual image arises, even if only newly born, storing any other object within this Ni Wan Main Palace would be extremely difficult; as for the other eight palaces, they relate to other spiritual images and even the Dharma Images after the Shen Gong Realm, and cannot be touched lightly.

"Ao!"

The azure dragon roars, roaming freely within the vast ocean.

Li Yuan forcibly suppresses the prototype of the spiritual image, allowing that azure dragon to shuttle through the Shen Jing, while simultaneously mobilizing the medicinal power of the Longhu Longhu Dadan in his abdomen to accelerate the alteration of this spirit-dragon body.

"Crack crack crack~"

Even though most of his spirit is gathered in the Ni Wan Palace, Li Yuan can hear the rhythmic friction of his bones, tendons, and organs.

The Ten Thousand Forms is the end of bone and frame alteration; not only was it mentioned in the handwritten notes left by the Dragon Demon Daoist, but the records of Tian Shi Yuan state the same.

This seems to be the limit of post-natal bone and frame alteration.

"Endure, endure..."

Hearing the dragon's roar echo, Li Yuan can even feel the trembling of the Shen Jing; the dragon-kun lurking in the vast ocean can barely restrain the impulse to suddenly spring up and swallow it in one bite.

"The alteration of the Ten Thousand Forms, according to the Dragon Demon's handwritten notes, at the final instant, ten thousand forms will emerge together in the Shen Jing; I must gather them one by one and recombine the dragon-whale..."

Li Yuan multitasks, suppressing the spiritual image while recalling the Dragon Demon Daoist's insights on altering the Ten Thousand Forms.

"Store the spirit within, alter the form without; gather the Ten Thousand Forms in the Ni Wan Shen Jing to regulate them... use the main form to subdue, thus storing within the Ni Wan and altering the physique without, thereby achieving the Ten Thousand Forms..."

This was naturally obtained from Pang Pang Wenlong three years ago, and it is the only manual in this world he can emulate.

Since he altered the Thousand Forms, there is almost no one left to guide him on the path ahead; even the Dragon Dao Lord and others can only converse with him, and when it comes to the foundation of martial arts, they are already a step inferior.

"Once I gather the Ten Thousand Forms, my dragon-whale should have the foundation of the Saint Rank? Even if not, it is not far off, right? Afterwards, I only need to pick up the wonders of heaven and earth to fill the required divine patterns..."

Li Yuan settles his spirit.

The Ten Thousand Forms is the end of bone and frame alteration; unlike the Hundred Forms or Thousand Forms, it is extremely complex and may carry risks; for this, he is also very cautious.

Li Li Daoye, now over thirty, has become even more composed, deeply understanding the principle of neither being arrogant nor impatient.

"First gather the Ten Thousand Forms, then subdue them, combine them, store them, and alter them..."

Reciting the essence silently in his heart, Li Yuan repeatedly circulates his qi and blood and true qi; gradually, various colored lights flicker within the Ni Wan Palace; the dragon's roar continues, yet it carries even more ferocity.

Under Li Yuan's gaze, the Shen Jing ocean ripples with thin waves; a Bai Yuan cautiously pokes its head out of the water, looks up at the azure dragon soaring overhead, grins, and pulls a One heavy blade from the bottom of the water.

With a "Splash," the Bai Yuan leaps out of the water, lets out a "Ya," and wields the hammer to strike the azure dragon.

The moment it moves, that patch of vast ocean instantly boils.

The waves surge like towering waves, various lights shine, and shadows of various weapons and beasts rise into the air, either attacking the azure dragon or rushing toward each other.

Dozens... hundreds...

Over a thousand...

No one knows how long passed; under Li Yuan's gaze, the Ni Wan Palace is already shrouded in various colored lights, and all the forms he has altered over these years seem to have emerged at this very moment.

Like true spiritual beasts and weapons, filled with the ferocity and wildness they should possess, they, supported by the Shen Jing, unleash a battle that seems endless.

This is a collision of forms, and likewise a collision of the essences of all the martial arts he has learned.

"First broadness, then purity; the way of altering form... hmm, the Dragon Demon Daoist's handwritten notes record exactly what I see now; the difference is that he ultimately gathered the forms with a 'Bodhi Tree,' while I..."

"The Ten Thousand Forms return to the sea, and afterwards the dragon-whale leaps into the sky!"

Li Yuan watches coldly, suppressing the surging of his emotions:

"First release their nature, then gather their forms!"

As dawn barely breaks, the cooking smoke in the Ducheng rises first, followed by the clamor spreading across the streets.

Inside a wine tower, Qin Li Shixian, who has sat in silence all night, frowns slightly:

"Here we go again."

She waved with a hint of disdain, pulling a bronze mirror from her sleeve that emitted a faint You Jing glow; an old face floated up within it.

"What now?"

Qin Li Shixian's eyes held vigilance and a touch of resentment: "Didn't you already borrow the Divine Dragon Mustache Pillar? What, do you want to borrow my Great Desolation Purple Gold Spear too?"

"If he says he won't lend it, then he probably won't. Besides, if you borrow, you return; what are you afraid of?" On the other end of the mirror, Pang Pang Wenlong shook his head helplessly.

"Borrow and return? That's not certain."

Qin Li Shixian snorted; she didn't trust that cunning brat and certainly wouldn't be as generous as the old man.

Thinking of this, her teeth ached.

Over these past few years, the old man had practically given his heart, liver, and lungs to that brat; she'd never had such treatment, nor could she have even imagined it.

"The brat Li is pure and kind-hearted; though he's a bit slick, that's just due to opportunity and does no real harm."

Seeing her granddaughter's full face of doubt, Pang Pang Wenlong said no more, instead asking:

"How did the scouting go?"

"How else could it go? The place is empty, people gone."

Qin Li Shixian raised an eyebrow, her expression fierce:

"This time I even reached the inner palace; the Qian Emperor's concubines are still there, but their whereabouts are unknown. Not just him, but his children, even the royal descendants, are all missing."

Mentioning this, Qin Li Shixian frowned deeply: "If only we had acted three years earlier; you insisted we wait..."

"All the royal descendants have vanished?"

Pang Pang Wenlong pondered, yet seemed unmoved, simply asking: "What about Wan Wan Zhuliu?"

"The manor gates are tightly shut; the retainers and maids are all there, but the children are gone..."

Qin Li Shixian grew suspicious: "Could these alien races have known the Heaven-Sun Calamity was unstoppable and quietly fled?"

"How could it be that easy?"

Pang Pang Wenlong chuckled and shook his head, amused by her: "Even I couldn't sever the aura of the Eight Directions Temple, let alone so many of them? That old ghost doesn't have that capability either."

His mind raced, yet he didn't spell it out, merely instructing her not to linger in the Imperial City and to leave as soon as possible.

"Understood."

Qin Li Shixian didn't refuse; with the Qian Emperor missing, there was no point in her staying.

"By the way, you can wander around the Imperial City; if there's any incense, bring it along..."

"That brat needs incense too?"

"You Jing is treacherous; naturally, more incense must be prepared..."

"... Alright, alright, just say everything else at once."

"Hmm, there actually is one more thing."

Qin Li Shixian's face twisted in disgust; she had only asked casually, yet there really was one?

She frowned; on the other end of the mirror, a smile that made her uneasy appeared on Pang Pang Wenlong's face:

"That brat has a cat lost in the Dinglong Mountain Range; he instructed me to find it for him..."

"Crack!"

The mirror light shattered.

"Just let her go like that?"

On the city wall, watching Qin Li Shixian's departing figure, the void rippled and a large umbrella appeared; beneath it, Huang Huang Longzi looked at the other two with a faint smile:

"It is said this woman once assassinated your Great Fortune's previous emperor? Is there a father-killing grudge against Your Majesty..."

"Without Your Majesty's orders, how could we act on our own?"

Wang Jin, clad in armor, remained expressionless.

Shen Shen Qisheng's face was as still as water; after glancing a few times, he turned and left without a word.

Wang Jin didn't mind Shen Shen Qisheng, whose resentment ran deep after being driven out of the Changhong Sword Sect by Qin Yun, and simply looked at Huang Huang Longzi: "What does Mr. think?"

"This Daoist has cast a divination."

"Oh?"

Wang Jin raised an eyebrow.

"It is not a good omen."

Huang Huang Longzi shook his head and left holding the umbrella; Wang Jin frowned and followed.

Wooh~

Beneath the Zhenwu Prince's manor, torches lit the deep underground palace.

Huang Huang Longzi walked slowly forward, reaching the center of the underground palace; gazing at the Xiong Xiong burning furnace, the corner of his eye twitched involuntarily, cursing inwardly, 'Waste'.

What burned in this furnace was all Yuan Fire; it was all money!

"Your Majesty."

Wang Jin bowed deeply in greeting.

"Mm."

The Qian Emperor responded, his eyes never leaving the furnace:

"Can Mr. Huang Long cast a divination for me?"

"For the Prince?"

Huang Huang Longzi also gazed at the furnace; amidst the swirling smoke, figures were faintly visible: "The Prince has Great Fortune upon him, his martial fortune is flourishing, but..."

He paused slightly, looking at the cloaked figure in the shadows with a mix of wariness and awe:

"What does Your Excellency think?"

Beneath the cloak, pairs of magical eyes slowly opened; the Master of Qian Yan Fa gazed indifferently at that furnace:

"The aptitude is insufficient, and the bone age has not decreased..."