Chapter 598: First Meeting with Five Dragon Immortal

Elder Li never took anyone's bait.

But the raincoat-wearing angler left as soon as he spoke, and there was nothing Li Yuan could do about it; he could only look up at the six great suns in the sky.

"The Shen Zang Mi Jing has six layers."

Li Yuan murmured to himself. It had only been a guess before; now he could be certain.

"That old fellow is way too fierce."

Outside the great hall, Li Yuan sat cross-legged, replaying the battle just now in his mind.

Ever since he had torn out Wan Wan Zhuliu's sword intent, this was the first time he had suffered a crushing defeat in a same-realm duel—worse, even, than when he had first faced Wan Wan Zhuliu's sword intent head-on.

Recalling the shadow of that towering divine city, he still felt a tremor in his heart.

The shadow of the dragon-kun he had conjured by altering ten thousand forms, before that one heavenly gate, was like a little mud loach attempting to leap the dragon gate—and that gate was merely one door of the Origin Divine City.

It had been only a fleeting glimpse; he could not even imagine how terrifying it would be if the entire divine city came crashing down.

"Spell-arts, Daoist arts, and… spirit-phase."

Li Yuan analyzed inwardly, digesting the gains and losses of this battle.

In the end, he had to admit he had not lost unjustly.

Daoist arts, spell-arts, and the like were far too unfamiliar to him; before today he had never even seen them with his own eyes. Moreover, that old fellow—whose traces seemed to belong to a Divine King—had been ferociously overwhelming.

Even suppressed to the same realm as himself, the pressure he brought far exceeded that of anyone Li Yuan had encountered before.

"Setting aside Daoist arts, spell-arts, and spirit-phase, I still couldn't beat that old fellow."

Li Yuan knew himself well, yet his heart remained unruffled. Setting aside the possibility that the angler was a trace left by a Divine King, even if he were not, he was still a great figure of the Origin Divine Race.

He did not much care about winning or losing. What occupied his mind most right now was still Daoist arts, spell-arts, and this Shen Zang Mi Jing.

Though there had been little exchange between them, relying on the various pieces of information he had gathered within the Shen Zang Mi Jing, he still had quite a few conjectures.

Nothing more than contingencies left behind by the Origin Divine Race after the fall of the Divine Dynasty.

"After all, it was a colossal entity that ruled over seventy-two epochs of the myriad realms. Even if it fell, leaving some contingencies behind is only natural."

Li Yuan was neither surprised nor much concerned.

How the Origin Divine Dynasty had fallen, what contingencies the Origin Divine Race had left behind—these were far removed from him and had nothing to do with him.

The grand upheavals and tales of love and hate within it held no interest for him either.

He was a worldly man; pondering these things, he was only thinking about what benefits he himself could gain.

"Six layers of Shen Zang…"

After a long while, Li Yuan stood up. Without the slightest hesitation, he walked toward that unguarded great hall.

The elder had drawn a big empty cake; surely the younger one wouldn't draw one too?

Muttering inwardly, Li Yuan pushed open that great door, which had been shut for who knew how long.

……

"Grand-Uncle…"

Inside the bronze coffin, watching the raincoat-wearing angler's departing back, Five Dragon Immortal fell silent within. After a long while, she raised her hand, only then realizing her face was already streaming with tears.

"His lordship's Dao-traces are still here?"

The voice of the bronze coffin's spirit rang out, as if uncertain as well.

"You, as the spirit of the bronze coffin, cannot sense it either?"

Five Dragon Immortal wiped the corners of her eyes.

"What manner of being was his lordship? How could this humble spirit dare to touch the Dao-traces of His elder?"

The bronze coffin's spirit's voice was full of awe: "Still, since His elder left behind Dao-traces, surely he would not depart so easily?"

"Grand-Uncle left Dao-traces because he long knew I could not break through the six-layered Shen Zang Mi Jing, didn't he?"

Five Dragon Immortal lowered her head. She had already guessed the purpose behind her grand-uncle's leaving Dao-traces, which warmed her heart, yet also left her somewhat downcast and aching.

"…At the very least, your eye for people is accurate. This lad has at least passed His lordship's test and is qualified to walk the Mi Jing in your stead."

The bronze coffin's spirit offered comfort.

"He's stronger than me?" Five Dragon Immortal felt even more stifled.

The bronze coffin's spirit fell silent too. After quite a while, its voice rang out again:

"…Immortal, that lad is about to enter the hall to challenge you!"

"Hmm?"

Five Dragon Immortal looked up, her gaze toward the great hall of the palace growing several degrees sharper:

"That is not me!"

She was buried within the coffin, neither alive nor dead. The one in that great hall was not her, but the version of her in her grand-uncle's eyes.

……

Whooo~

The great hall was still and quiet, light and shadow mottled.

Following the wide-open great door, Li Yuan swept a glance. This great hall was far larger than it appeared from outside; twelve great dragon-veined pillars held up the vast space, with ink-black jade paving it in neat rows.

Hum~

Light shone into the great hall and quickly vanished.

Li Yuan glanced back at the closed great door. After the great door closed once more, the hall actually grew brighter. He lifted his head slightly; on the dome of the great hall, specks of starlight twinkled, like a starry sky, magnificent beyond compare.

Looking over them one by one,

'This starlight feels so real…'

Li Yuan narrowed his eyes slightly.

He had once altered into the form of the Star-Divine Mastiff, and was extremely sensitive to starlight. With a slight sensing, he already felt that the starlight shining down from the dome was almost no different from the outside world.

However, this was not real starlight.

At a thought, he switched the combination of palm-control augmentations enhancing his perception, and when he gazed again, he finally saw the intricate divine patterns flowing beneath the starlight.

"These are Star Dipper divine patterns."

A clear, cold voice rang out, especially distinct within the vast, empty hall.

Before entering Rudian, Li Yuan had already spotted the white-robed figure seated cross-legged at the far end of the hall; hearing the voice now, he looked over.

Hum~

The thin starlight suddenly blazed, dazzling.

The starlight, originally confined to the dome, instantly spread across the entire hall and its floor, giving one, in a daze, the sensation of being immersed in a starry sky.

The white-robed figure, who had been sitting with their back turned, turned around under the starlight's glow.

"……"

At a single glance, Li Yuan's eyelid twitched:

"You are……"

Can a person actually look like this?!

Even with Li Yuan's current state of mind, upon seeing the white-robed figure's full face, he could not help but feel a momentary daze.

The person before him was extraordinarily beautiful in appearance; at first glance, they simply did not seem like a creation of the mortal world.

"No, this isn't a person at all!"

Li Yuan steadied himself, and only now truly understood the commentary he had previously read in the ancient texts regarding the Origin Divine Race.

'Stars transformed, a divine being born of heaven!'

"Star Dipper divine patterns are extracted from celestial stars beyond the heavens. Used to forge artifacts, they gather spiritual Qi; used to refine pills, they nourish the spirit; used to lay formations, they can store starlight to aid cultivation, or to slay foes……

Even on the Divine Patterns Ranking, they rank among the upper-tier divine patterns."

The white-robed figure's gaze was clear, their voice cool:

"My surname is Wu Long, given name Xian."

Li Yuan came back to his senses, cupped his fist in greeting: "I am Li Yuan, greetings, Senior."

The white-robed figure, who called themselves Wu Long Xian, paid him no heed, merely raising a hand calmly; the starlight throughout the entire hall gathered like water between her five fingers, radiant and shimmering:

"I possess ninety-nine kinds of upper-tier divine patterns. Defeat me, and you may take them all!"

"Wait!"

Li Yuan's eyelid twitched, and he decisively called a halt:

"May I ask what realm Senior has reached?"

Wu Long Xian extended a hand indifferently; the starlight in her palm suddenly exploded, surging like a tide, drowning everything.

(End of this chapter)