Chapter 593: In Years Past, Old Gu Dwelt in the Nine Heavens

Boom—!

The roar of the rumble echoed through the mountains.

"Pfft!"

A mouthful of reversed blood spurted out. Wan Wan Zhuliu staggered to his feet, leaning on his Demon-Subduing Saber to stand. Blood was streaming from his seven orifices and even from every pore of his body,

yet he seemed unaware, staring fixedly at the dazzling divine light—at the colossal creature within, soaring and crying out, like a dragon, like a kun.

"Aaang!"

Within the boiling divine light, the shadow of that giant beast trembled and let out a long cry, like a great demon long sealed about to break free. Through layer upon layer of divine light, a sudden gale even rose atop the peak.

"A Myriad-Form Dragon-Kun?"

The fingers gripping Wan Wan Zhuliu's saber tightened. His sinews and bones ground against each other, now and then letting out a quivering hum, and only after a long while did they settle.

Hoo!

Dong Dong Ershisan raised a hand and pressed lightly. An invisible qi spread outward; the shadow of the giant beast within the divine light faltered, then dissolved into a skyful of hammer-shadows that vanished along with the light.

"How was it?"

Dong Dong Ershisan's voice rang out. Only then did Wan Wan Zhuliu come back to himself from his daze. He shook his numb arms, his voice tinged with melancholy:

"That hammer—what Wu Gong was that?"

Wan Wan Zhuliu's voice was hoarse. The scene of the fight just now churned in his heart like a tide, refusing to settle for a long time.

Unlike that battle in the dueling arena, and unlike any fight he had ever experienced in his life, in a clash of the same realm he had been hammered into defeat in an utterly overwhelming manner.

What saber-arts spirit-forms, what shifts and cunning—in the face of that crushing hammer-blow, they were like bubbles on water, bursting at a touch.

"It wasn't a Wu Gong."

Dong Dong Ershisan sensed briefly and had already captured the entire course of their exchange. He knew what Wan Wan Zhuliu was asking was not the embryonic form of the hammer technique's spirit, but the force that, in a flash, multiplied several-fold, ten-fold, even more, and erupted:

"It is a kind of constitution."

"Constitution?"

Wan Wan Zhuliu raised his head. Beneath his disheveled hair, the dragon-mark at his brow glimmered with a ghostly light.

"The four corners of heaven and earth, the myriad reaches of the universe—seemingly disordered and chaotic, yet beneath them laws are interwoven. All things in the cosmos move according to these laws. Some call it the 'Dao'…"

Dong Dong Ershisan spoke concisely:

"Those born in harmony with the laws, those who approach the Dao, are gifted from birth with powers ordinary folk cannot imagine. This is a heaven-bestowed constitution."

"In harmony with the laws of heaven, earth, and the cosmos…"

Recalling that hammer-blow that had suddenly erupted with force far beyond the scope of entering the Dao, Wan Wan Zhuliu's chest heaved, and for a moment he fell silent.

Wu Gong can be honed; the legendary Dao-methods and divine abilities can also be learned. But a constitution bestowed by heaven itself…

"What constitution does he have?"

After a long while, Wan Wan Zhuliu finally suppressed the pounding in his heart and asked.

"I don't know."

Dong Dong Ershisan shook his head: "The myriad reaches of heaven and earth, the countless stars like grains of sand—who could know every law-body, divine-body, demon-body, or saint-body?"

Wooo~

As he spoke, he gave a slight beckoning motion. In the void a wisp of divine light shimmered, then transformed into a divine mirror, half-real, half-illusory, and gently shone it upon Wan Wan Zhuliu.

"Mortal body."

The human-headed strange bird glanced over. This mirror was even more broken than it was; it looked as though it could not even maintain a solid form.

"Those who possess a constitution approaching the Dao hold unimaginable advantages over ordinary folk, yet it is not unheard of for a mortal body to overcome a divine body, or even a saint body."

Dong Dong Ershisan withdrew the divine mirror, his voice calm yet carrying a hint of consolation:

"In years past, in the Bei Dou Fa Jie domain there was a supreme powerhouse. Though of mortal body, he surpassed all the prodigies and geniuses of his generation who possessed divine, demon, or saint bodies. Every domain revered him!"

"This junior understands."

Wan Wan Zhuliu was silent for a moment. Compared to such an example that anyone with eyes could see was utterly unique, he was more concerned with how to obtain such a constitution.

"When one alters one's innate root-bone after birth to the level of gods and demons, one can touch upon the laws of heaven and earth, and thereby give rise to a body that approaches the Dao…"

Dong Dong Ershisan answered. This was no secret; it was widely circulated across the domains.

"God-and-demon level…"

Paying no heed to what Wan Wan Zhuliu, lost in thought, was pondering, Dong Dong Ershisan asked lightly:

"Will you still choose a second strange stone?"

Whoo-whoo~

A gentle wind still swept the peak, and now and again flakes of snow drifted down.

Gazing at the nine floating strange stones that glowed with ghostly light, Wan Wan Zhuliu did not hesitate in the slightest. He shook his head in refusal, and, under the watchful eyes of the man and bird behind him, vanished from the peak.

"A mortal body felling a divine body?"

The human-headed strange bird clicked its tongue and shook its head. It recalled certain memories concerning constitutions that approached the Dao, glanced at the strange stone Li Yuan had left behind, and was very curious:

"Li Yuan's constitution—even you can't make it out?"

"Some of its features can correspond to a few law-bodies, yet they seem both alike and unlike… Still, he altered his innate endowment after birth to the god-and-demon level, so it should be some kind of law-body."

Dong Dong Ershisan did not pay it much mind either. Constitutions that amplify strength, apart from a few legendary ones, mostly are not of a high enough grade.

He estimated Li Yuan's constitution to be only within the scope of the 'Third Heaven,' far inferior to Ying Ying Xuantian's or Feng Feng Mantian's, let alone compared to his own self in life.

"Oh."

Watching Dong Dong Ershisan sink into memory, the human-headed strange bird's form suddenly stiffened. It had just recalled that within its memories concerning 'constitutions that approach the Dao,' there flashed a memory concerning this very person.

'They say Old Gu was born with a saint-body…'

Casting a few cautious glances, the human-headed strange bird quietly slipped away. ……

……

Dragon Mountain Small Courtyard.

After a brief exchange, Pang Pang Wenlong and Long Long Yingchan had each gone their separate ways; Long Xi Xiang and Nie Xianshan also departed in haste to contact the various Daoist sects and the jianghu's fellow cultivators.

Li Yuan, meanwhile, was quite free, letting the old fellows do as they pleased.

He went to his second brother's courtyard for a meal, then returned to his room.

【... Of the ten strange stones, Wan Wan Zhuliu chose the one resembling both a dragon and a kun...】

On the grey stone platform, the ghostly light flickered on and off. Li Yuan sat cross-legged on the Human Tribulation Platform, fishing, and upon hearing this listening-sound, he could not help but raise an eyebrow.

【Then, a crushing defeat!】

"Taking this Daoist master for a soft persimmon to be squished?"

Li Yuan sneered inwardly; he was not surprised by Wan Wan Zhuliu's choice, nor by the crushing defeat.

In the strange stone grove atop the Eight Directions Mountain, his strange stone appeared to be of the lowest realm, but anyone who took him for a soft persimmon would be gravely mistaken!

The imprint left on that strange stone was his peak state when he left the Eight Directions Temple — it looked like he had only just begun to enter the Dao, but in truth he had all manner of divine weapons and Daoist Tianyun Daoist Tianyun Xuanbing under his command, bolstering him.

Let alone Wan Wan Zhuliu at the Dao Entry realm, even a He Yi Jing Wan Wan Zhuliu might not necessarily win!

"Judging by Dong Dong Ershisan's temperament, Wan Wan Zhuliu will probably have to start climbing the mountain all over again, right? He won't get the three rewards for climbing ten thousand steps in one go, but a hundred steps probably won't stump him..."

Li Yuan guessed inwardly:

"He'll most likely obtain one Eight Directions Token..."

While pondering in his heart, under his guidance, streams of fifth and sixth-tier incense drifted into the Listening-Sound Wooden Tablet. Soon, dozens or hundreds of listening-sounds wove together in his mind,

and before long, he caught useful intelligence from among them.

【... Atop Eight Directions Mountain, the Door-Sitting Puppet Dong Dong Ershisan spoke of the 'Dao-Approaching Physique'... He seemed to recall his glorious years of old, and could not calm himself for a long time... (Thirteenth Tier)】

"When one's innate constitution is altered to the Divine Demon grade, one can touch upon the laws of heaven and earth that resonate with oneself, thereby transforming and giving birth to a 'Dao-Approaching Physique'?"

Li Yuan mulled it over:

"A Divine Demon-grade talent must surely come with a Dao-Approaching Physique... That's right. My Divine Demon-grade talent was achieved through the blessing of the Soldier-Commanding Tablet, so my actual constitution should fall within the World-Shaking grade. Naturally, the Wan Yuan Zhao Shen Jing cannot illuminate a physique I do not possess."

How could it illuminate something that isn't there?

"According to Dong Dong Ershisan, the limit of altering one's acquired innate constitution is the Divine Demon grade... In other words, my constitution can still be altered further, all the way to the Divine Demon grade?"

Li Yuan's thoughts wandered, and he felt it was very possible.

After all, the limit of acquired alteration was Divine Demon, not Wan Xing.

"Wan Xing is the endpoint — further altering the physical form cannot transform the constitution, but there should be other methods to alter the constitution... If my own constitution is altered to the Divine Demon grade, and then I add the blessing of the Soldier-Commanding Tablet on top?"

Above Divine Demon?

The listening-sounds still echoed on the stone platform. While Li Yuan's thoughts wandered, he multitasked, extracting useful intelligence from among them.

In the past, when he listened to sounds, he mostly used low-tier incense, but now he used only fifth-tier and above incense. Naturally, this was to obtain intelligence regarding the imperial court, the Eight Directions Temple, and those two old ghosts.

【... Somewhere in You Jing, the Qian Yan Fa Master and his companion, who had waited a long time, finally saw Wan Wan Zhuliu emerge from the temple. Though he had obtained an Eight Directions Token, there was no joy on his face...

After a brief exchange among the three, the Qian Yan Fa Master left You Jing, seemingly to seek out the deities of the Xieshen Sect scattered across the land, seemingly plotting against Pang Pang Wenlong... (Thirteenth Tier)】

"Mm?"

Li Yuan's heart stirred, and he set down the Human Tribulation fishing rod: "Seeking out other deities?"

Li Yuan grew wary inwardly.

The last time Pang Pang Wenlong emerged from seclusion, he seemed to have been injured at the hands of the Jiu Da Fa Masters of the Xieshen Sect...

"Old Pang should have a sense of it. Given his cultivation realm, there are only so many methods in this world that can wound him..."

Li Yuan calmed his heart and listened quietly to the sounds.

After a long while, as the last wisp of sixth-tier incense vanished into the wooden tablet, Li Yuan ended this listening session and began to organize and sift through the intelligence he had obtained.

With fifth and sixth-tier incense plus the seventh-tier Sound-Commanding Tablet, the listening-sounds were at least twelfth-tier, greatly reducing their randomness. Most were related to the Yiganda Sect and Daoist Tianyun Daoist Tianyun Xuanbing.

A very small portion, however, concerned the rules of the Eight Directions Temple.

【... Within the Divine Burial Coffin, there seemed to be a murmuring voice, 'Three-Three Law, Six-Six God, Nine-Nine Saint... There's actually a Saint-grade spirit puppet here, and the combination of divine patterns seems somewhat familiar...' (Sixteenth Tier)】

"What is this?"

Hearing this last listening-sound, Li Yuan's heart trembled slightly, and he looked toward the bronze coffin at the center of the stone platform. The copper coffin was silent, showing no movement whatsoever, yet it made his hair stand on end.

Li Yuan reacted quickly. A turn of thought, and he knew the Saint-grade spirit puppet mentioned in this listening-sound referred to Dong Dong Ershisan, and this indicated...

'Is the old fellow in this coffin watching me?'

Li Yuan was startled but not flustered, and continued to sift through what he had gained from this listening session. Yet, knowing that some old fellow might be spying on him, he could not help but feel a touch of irritation.

'These old fellows...'

Cursing inwardly, Li Yuan was not overly afraid. After all, he had long suspected there was something ghostly about that coffin. Suppressing this bit of irritation, he put away the Human Tribulation rod and walked toward the bronze coffin.

Usually, after listening to sounds and fishing, he would enter the Zang Guan Mi Jing to digest and organize. Naturally, he did not wish to make an exception this time.

"Whoosh!"

A flash of ghostly light bloomed, and Li Yuan vanished from the grey stone platform.

(End of this chapter)