Chapter 597: The Legendary City

Boom!

The heavy hammer shattered the air.

Facing what might be the Dao traces left by the legendary God King, Li Yuan dared not be the slightest bit negligent; his True Qi transformed into a hammer, and he struck with all his might.

True Qi surged around his body; under the layered blessings of the Weapon Command Talisman, he leaped like a dragon breaking through the air, and at that instant, continuous air explosions erupted in the sky, the momentum being extremely vast.

Having existed in the present world for three years and in the Shen Zang Mi Jing for thirty, although Li Yuan had not yet begun to harvest the strange sights, his foundation was already deep and sufficient; in a battle among peers, even the legendary traces of the God King made him startled but not fearful.

"Roar!"

The layered air explosions merged into a single sound, like a green dragon roaring and the Thunder Duke raging.

The dazzling light that burst forth in an instant shocked not only the Five Dragon Immortal who was staring intently, but also the straw-cloaked fisherman holding a fishing rod on the opposite side of the scorched earth, who could not help but raise an eyebrow slightly:

"Kun Peng?"

Buzz~

The mighty True Qi spread out in layers, as if contending with the heavens and earth around him, transforming into vast expanses of mist and clouds.

"God King's Dao traces!"

As he leaped up and the heavy hammer shattered the air, Li Yuan's mind was completely free of distracting thoughts; he simply stared fixedly at the straw-cloaked fisherman on the opposite side of the scorched earth, whose facial features were invisible.

Facing his all-out strike, the straw-cloaked fisherman appeared extremely calm and composed, so calm that Li Yuan could not help but feel a void in his heart.

'This old fellow...'

If this were in the outside world, upon sensing something amiss, Li Yuan would certainly turn and leave, never risking his body, but being within the Mi Jing, although he sensed something amiss, he still gritted his teeth and struck down.

Buzz~

Almost at the same time, Li Yuan heard a faint, barely audible tremor.

This sound was not mighty, as if coming from the extremely distant sky beyond the heavens; he had a moment of trance, and when he suddenly snapped back to his senses, his pupils involuntarily contracted violently.

After a trance lasting less than one-thousandth of a moment, the world before his eyes seemed to change once more.

The original scorched earth vanished; in a trance, there was only endless mist and clouds swirling, covering everything within sight.

Spiritual Projection?

Divine Realm?

Li Yuan was almost stunned; the technique before his eyes had exceeded his understanding, making him doubt whether what that old fellow said about a peer-level battle was true or false.

"This is my Spiritual Projection."

Almost the instant the doubt arose in his heart, Li Yuan heard the calm yet indifferent voice of that straw-cloaked fisherman.

"Hmm?"

He suddenly raised his head.

As if seeing above the infinite sky, amidst the swirling mist and clouds, a towering, majestic, and massive gate stood eternally.

That gate was magnificent and solemn, like the Heavenly Gate in legends, untouchable and unseeable.

"Is this Entering the Dao?!"

Li Yuan's expression changed; bone-chilling coldness, along with an indescribable, immense suction force, descended from the heavens.

He had originally struck with all his might, his force fully expended, and his speed no slower than that of a Grand Master; now, under the pull of that immense suction force, his speed increased by an unknown amount!

Boom!

The sound of air explosions was incredibly dense.

Li Yuan's eyelids twitched wildly; in a trance, he had already lost control and perception of his own body; his sight and perception were completely stolen by the Heavenly Gate, faintly visible behind the mist and clouds.

He could only watch helplessly as himself, at a speed beyond the limit, crashed and shattered into pieces.

"Great-uncle actually..."

Upon seeing the gate faintly visible within the mist and clouds, the Five Dragon Immortal inside the bronze coffin straightened her back, her expression filled with disbelief; Yu Yu Xuanji then gave a bitter smile:

"It's over."

She never expected her Great-uncle to use his Spiritual Projection; even if it was only a prototype at the Entering the Dao level, it was something no one could resist.

"True Form Map of the Kun Peng..."

She heard the voice of the Bronze Coffin Spirit, filled with reverence yet carrying a subtle tone:

"It is said that before your my lord attained the Dao, he once subdued and killed a true Kun Peng..."

"Is this damn thing Entering the Dao?!"

The instant the heavy hammer touched that gate, Li Yuan was almost dazed.

An indescribable immense force, in a manner that seemed to crush withered wood, instantly ground the heavy hammer formed from his True Qi, along with the True Qi and True Energy, into dust; he exerted all his strength and struggled to the utmost, yet could only barely avoid direct contact with that Divine Gate by relying on the massive recoil force from the shattering of the heavy hammer.

Yet even though he merely brushed past it, half of his body had already vanished without a trace.

"Pfft!"

More than half of his body exploded into mist.

"He avoided it!"

Li Yuan struggled to dodge, but in the next instant, shock, even terror, surged onto the half of his face that remained.

In that instant, he truly saw that Divine Gate, holy and magnificent, amidst the swirling mist and clouds, and also saw behind the Divine Gate, something even more ethereal and void-like than the mist and clouds:

The Divine City!

This holy and magnificent gate was merely one door of that Divine City!

This is...

"Origin Divine City!"

In that instant, only this thought remained in Li Yuan's heart.

One by one...

The Origin Divine City, the unchanging Divine Capital of the Origin Dynasty for seventy-two eras; in legend, the supreme treasure used by the Origin Divine Clan to suppress countless realms for tens of thousands of years.

Boom!

The view before his eyes, along with the remaining half of his body, shattered beneath the Divine City.

Li Yuan still had a shred of strength left, but he offered no resistance whatsoever—instead, he focused his spirit to the absolute limit, engraving the last silhouette of the Divine City he had seen deep into his heart.

"Ah!"

A wave of bone-shattering agony surged over him like a tide, and Li Yuan jolted awake. Sweat poured from his forehead like rain, and he gasped in great gulps before realizing, to his alarm, that he was still on the boat.

The rain-cloaked fisherman sat cross-legged, fishing from the bow of the boat, as if nothing at all had happened just now.

"Senior."

Li Yuan drew in a deep breath, feeling his very body begin to tremble.

This Zang Guan Mi Jing was far, far more real than the Shan Xuan Bing Mi Jing; what his spirit had transmitted back was the terror of having truly died once.

"Divine-demonic innate talent, solid foundations—though you are not of my Origin Divine Clan, serving as a Dao Protector is, barely, sufficient."

The rain-cloaked fisherman's voice was calm and even, without a ripple.

"Many thanks for Senior's praise."

Li Yuan lowered his eyes and played obedient, yet the shadow of that Divine City still floated before his mind's eye.

Only at this moment did he seem to truly feel terror: before that Divine City, the form of the Long Kun that he had pieced together from ten thousand shapes was fragile as a bubble in water.

"What are you thinking?"

Though he still could not see the fisherman's features, Li Yuan knew the man was watching him. After a slight hesitation, he answered honestly:

"Reporting to Senior, this junior was thinking—what benefits come with being a Dao Protector."

Praise or criticism, Daoist Li couldn't care less; being a stand-in or anything else, he didn't care about that either. The only thing he cared about was what he could gain.

"Refreshingly blunt."

The rain-cloaked fisherman seemed a little taken aback, but he didn't mind, merely continuing in a calm tone:

"Everything you can imagine."

"Huh?"

Li Yuan's heart gave a sudden leap, yet inwardly he went cold—this kind of sales pitch was all too familiar to him.

Just as he had expected, this being, suspected to be a Dao Scar left behind by a Divine King, had drawn him a grand, empty pie.

"On the day you break through the six heavens of the Divine Coffin, whatever you need, whatever you desire—this old man can grant it all to you!"

As the drifting words faded, the rain-cloaked fisherman had already vanished from the bow.

"……"

Li Yuan raised his eyes to the sky, silent in his heart.

This pie was too big—he couldn't quite swallow it.

(End of chapter)