Chapter 592: Physique

"Although Wan Wan Zhuliu is not the Temple Opener, since he has caught Dong Dong Ershisan's eye, there is a possibility he can break free from the Eight Directions Temple's shackles!"

Pang Pang Wenlong held his teacup, his gaze dark and profound:

"If he performs the ritual outside You Jing, he is very likely to draw the Cloud Demon Clan, or even other forces from Tian Shi Yuan, here ahead of time!"

After speaking, he also glanced at Li Li Yuanzhong, his meaning self-evident.

You Jing was already extremely perilous, and Li Li Yuanzhong traveling alone was already fraught with hardship; if Wan Wan Zhuliu could also break free of his shackles, even if there was only the slimmest possibility, he would still not feel at ease.

Li Li Yuanzhong was silent; this was also the reason he had come to seek Pang Pang Wenlong.

Within this place, he still had the Wudadao Sect, and Pang Pang Wenlong could lend his strength; but once he left this place, he would very likely have to face Wan Wan Zhuliu—who had already broken through to the Divine Palace realm—alone.

"As Li Li Yuanzhong said, Wan Wan Zhuliu is now also under the Eight Directions Temple's protection; to kill him, we must force him out!"

Long Xi Xiang set down his teacup and looked at Pang Pang Wenlong:

"Break through the Divine Capital, capture and kill the Qian Emperor—surely he won't stay hidden!"

"Precisely so!"

Nie Xianshan spoke up in agreement, the Pure Yang Sword on his back trembling lightly like a dragon's cry, looking rather eager to try.

Long Long Yingchan pinched his long brows and said nothing.

Wan Wan Zhuliu must die!

In the small courtyard, Li Li Yuanzhong barely spoke at all, yet the few of them had already reached a consensus.

In fact, he was not surprised in the least.

As early as three years ago, Pang Pang Wenlong had already intended to integrate the court and the jianghu, mobilizing the strength of the whole world to jointly overcome the impending Calamity of the Sun of Heaven—only originally he had planned to wait until Li Li Yuanzhong left before setting this in motion.

Now, it was merely brought forward.

"Breaking the Divine Capital is easy, capturing the Qian Emperor is not hard, but this may not necessarily force Wan Wan Zhuliu out."

At this moment, Long Long Yingchan, who had been pondering for a long time, finally spoke; he pinched his two long white brows, his expression rather solemn:

"Senior, have you perhaps forgotten the Spirit-Peering Ritual that took place in the Divine Capital city earlier?"

"Mm?"

Long Xi Xiang's brows furrowed deeply.

"This…"

Nie Xianshan also frowned, but suddenly looked at Li Li Yuanzhong:

"Could it be that in the future shown by the Spirit-Peering Ritual, Li boy's assassination of the Qian Emperor was precisely to force that Wan Wan Zhuliu out?"

"It's not impossible?"

Li Li Yuanzhong was slightly startled, then felt it was not very likely.

After all, in the future foreshadowed by that Spirit-Peering Ritual, Wan Wan Zhuliu was not burning his lifespan so aggressively; even if he broke through to the Divine Palace realm, he absolutely could not have been rated 'Excellent' by the Eight Directions Temple.

"A minor ritual—how could it glimpse the future?"

Pang Pang Wenlong waved his hand; he did not care about that Spirit-Peering Ritual, and merely looked at Long Long Yingchan:

"What is your view?"

Long Long Yingchan did not hesitate either, and answered: "Wait!"

"Wait?"

Pang Pang Wenlong was first startled, then immediately understood, and the look in his eyes as he gazed at Long Long Yingchan gained a few more shades of admiration.

"Wait for what?"

Old Daoist Nie frowned deeply: "At a time like this, what riddles are you still playing at?"

"……"

Long Long Yingchan smoothed out his brows:

"Now, the ones in a hurry are hardly only us! Wan Wan Zhuliu, the imperial court, or perhaps those two old ghosts—they may well be far more anxious than we are!"

As he spoke, he glanced at Li Li Yuanzhong; the latter was lost in thought, clearly having also understood his meaning.

"Wan Wan Zhuliu washed his bloodline with the greater part of his lifespan, broke through to the Divine Palace, and received an Excellent rating from the Eight Directions Temple first; then he allied with the Qian Yan Fa Lord to seize Qi Qi Benchu, this 'person born of the Eight Directions Temple's wondrous phenomenon,' afterwards.

If Li boy had not had some foresight, and in addition had not gathered ten thousand forms himself to transform his bone structure, then Wan Wan Zhuliu this time would at least have gained the qualification to fight those of the same realm…"

Pang Pang Wenlong spoke up to explain, and his admiration for Long Long Yingchan could not help but grow a few shades more—there was a feeling of strategists at his side from the days of conquering the world.

"What do you mean, Senior?"

Long Xi Xiang seemed lost in thought.

"The imperial court has paid such a great price, and is still only one step away from seizing the identity of the Temple Opener, yet precisely under the circumstances that Wan Wan Zhuliu is not long for this world,

if it were you, what would you do?"

Long Long Yingchan released his long brows; this remark, however, was spoken while looking at Li Li Yuanzhong.

"…Kill me, of course."

Li Li Yuanzhong sighed; he naturally understood what Dao Lord Long meant, and subconsciously sensed the various divine weapons shining brilliantly within the Armament Tome, before saying:

"How should we bait… ahem, how should we proceed? Just give the order, Senior."

……

……

Whoo-whoo~

Light curtains intertwined, reflecting the various scenes within the Eight Directions Temple.

From Wan Wan Zhuliu entering the temple, the stele inscriptions appearing, the combat arena shattering…

"Li Li Yuanzhong!"

Watching the young Daoist disappear from within the light curtain, the Qian Emperor's face was dark as could be; the onlookers around him were all silent as cicadas in winter, yet when their gazes met in passing, they too revealed an inexpressible horror.

Although slaying a grandmaster of the Nifa Sect through blood replacement was indeed extremely difficult, no one had expected that someone as powerful as the Town Martial King would be defeated in a single hammer strike.

When the arena within the light screen shattered, even Wu Wu Yingxing's heart gave a tremor; for a moment he lost his voice, hardly daring to look at the Emperor Qin's expression.

It was not until Li Yuan flicked his sleeve and departed, and Wan Wan Zhuliu was led up to the mountain summit, that the heavy atmosphere eased somewhat, and the crowd finally dared to look at Emperor Qin's sullen face. "Three odd stones? Win three times against those of the same realm, and only then may one enter the temple…"

Watching the ten odd stones flickering with divine light within the light screen, Emperor Qin's expression finally improved by a few degrees, though a stifled feeling still lingered in his heart.

When Wan Wan Zhuliu was defeated in a single strike within the arena, he felt as though a great hammer had smashed into his face, and was dazed for quite a while. Now, seeing the situation turn for the better, and that Wan Wan Zhuliu seemed to have caught the eye of that seated-door puppet, Dong Dong Ershisan, the great stone suspended in his heart finally dropped to the ground.

However…

"If those two old fellows had not run into trouble, the overall situation would already be settled by now!"

Pinching the bronze mirror in his sleeve that gave no response, Emperor Qin let out a long breath, his gaze never leaving the light screen before him, his thoughts scattering, annoyance, worry, and killing intent churning within:

"Although Wan Zhuliu is strong, those who can ascend Eight Directions Mountain are by no means ordinary. To win three battles outright and enter that small temple directly, I'm afraid it won't do…"

"Although that Li Yuan is young in years and has only just entered the Dao, Wan Zhuliu could not win even when crossing realms. Those who once reached the summit are likely far stronger…"

"That seated-door puppet does not seem to favor Li Yuan, yet for Wan Zhuliu to completely take his place is also nearly impossible… Only…"

Suppressing the churning stray thoughts in his heart, Emperor Qin swept his gaze over those present—Shen Shen Qisheng, Wang Jin, Wu Wu Yingxing… a trace of worry flashing through his eyes:

"To kill Li Yuan and the others, we must still rely on those two old fellows…"

Boom!

A tremendous roar echoed out from within the light screen.

Emperor Qin started awake with a jolt, only to see a dazzling blue-green light, hammer shadows filling the sky like a meteor shower descending from the heavens, drowning the surging, dragon-like river of blade-light within.

"What?!"

Emperor Qin's countenance changed, and Wu Wu Yingxing and the others also turned pale.

Those able to observe the battle here were without exception seasoned Grandmasters and Great Grandmasters; the instant those hammer shadows appeared, they had already sensed something amiss.

Just as in the arena, the moment that young Daoist's hammer shadows rose, it made them all feel an overwhelming, mountain-toppling pressure. Within the light screen, Wan Wan Zhuliu, who was exerting himself to draw his blade, instantly fell into an absolute disadvantage!

A battle between those of the same realm, yet so ferociously fierce it reached this extent?!

Boom!

Rumble!

The spectators watching from afar through the light screen felt their hearts pound like war-drums, their mouths dry and tongues parched. Wan Wan Zhuliu, bearing the brunt of it, instantly felt that indescribable, tremendous pressure.

This pressure was even stronger than before in the arena!

In the previous battle, his realm along with his senses had been suppressed to the Blood Exchange level, but now, he was in the Entering Dao body, and what he felt was far more intense than before.

"Can't block it, can't dodge it…"

Almost the same thought rising in his heart, Wan Wan Zhuliu's gaze showed a momentary daze, then a fierce surge of shock-anger and battle-intent burst forth within him.

A battle between those of the same realm, and you still wish to defeat me?!

"Roar!"

Anger and shock rising in his heart, Wan Wan Zhuliu shot up from the ground, his true gang like ink staining the blue-green true qi that spread across the four wilds. His figure flowed, merging with the blade-light into one,

transforming into an ink-colored blue dragon, and meeting the sky-covering hammer shadows, he let out an earth-shattering dragon's cry!

……

Hum~

At the peak of Eight Directions Mountain, divine lights intertwined.

Odd stones hovered in the air, rising and falling.

Seated cross-legged among them, Dong Dong Ershisan rested with closed eyes, taking no interest in the battles within the odd stones. Whether Li Yuan or Wan Wan Zhuliu, he cared for neither.

In the long passage of years, he had already seen too many prodigies and outstanding talents.

Rather, the human-headed strange bird was very active, flapping its wings as it circled within the forest of odd stones, yet could only see a faint glow, unable to glimpse the slaughter and combat within.

The rules of the Eight Directions Temple were strict, applying not only to those entering the temple but also to spirit puppets.

It could only oversee the Dao Soldier Tower, its duty being merely to select and cultivate Dao Soldiers—far inferior to the other spirit puppets that had fallen silent after losing their spirit-puppet hearts, let alone Dong Dong Ershisan.

But it at least wanted to take a look, whereas Dong Dong Ershisan had no thought of watching at all. Before the Eight Directions Temple truly opened in full, he did not wish to expend this spirit-puppet heart.

The human-headed strange bird still could not hold back:

"Twenty-three Master, what do you think of the outcome?"

"Li Yuan."

"I think it's Li—huh?"

The human-headed strange bird was startled, suddenly turning its head to look at Dong Dong Ershisan, who had slowly opened his eyes: "You also think Li Yuan can win?"

"The distance between a Heavenly Star and a God-Demon seems to be only a single tier of innate talent gap, but in truth, this single tier of gap is very large, very large…"

Dong Dong Ershisan glanced at it: "Your spirit-puppet heart is damaged quite severely as well; you can't even remember these things."

"Uh."

The human-headed strange bird gave an awkward smile.

"Across the myriad domains of the universe, in the sea of stars like the Ganges' sands, there are countless races. Among these endless lives, there are some people who, either born of creation or by some other means, possess physiques that ordinary folk cannot imagine…"

"Divine Physiques, Demonic Physiques, Sacred Physiques… these are physiques born in resonance with certain principles of heaven and earth. In a certain sense, these are the true favored children of heaven…"

Dong Dong Ershisan was somewhat helpless, but still offered an explanation:

"Those who possess such physiques are not necessarily of God-Demon tier innate talent, but those of God-Demon tier innate talent must possess some kind of physique."

"So that's how it is."

The human-headed strange bird was somewhat enlightened, and also somewhat curious: "Then what physique does Li Yuan have?"

"He is somewhat strange."

Dong Dong Ershisan frowned slightly: "God-Demon tier innate talent must come with some kind of physique, yet the Wan Yuan Zhao Shen Jing did not reveal it…"

"Even the Wan Yuan Zhao Shen Jing couldn't reveal it?"

The human-headed strange bird was inwardly startled. That broken mirror, though terribly broken, shouldn't be so bad that it couldn't even clearly reflect a mere Entering Dao youngster, right?

"So, something's off."

Suddenly, Dong Dong Ershisan's brows shot up. The divine light on the mountain peak flared violently, and a tremendous roar split heaven and earth at the same time.

A lone figure, hair whipping wildly, coughed blood and was sent flying backward.

"That fast?"

(End of chapter)