Chapter 599: The Secret of Divine Patterns

"Damn it!"

Li Yuan's heart pounded wildly. He instinctively shifted to dodge, but in less than a thousandth of an instant, a thunderous roar beyond imagination exploded beside his ear and within his mind.

Boom—boom—boom!

Blindingly brilliant light and incomprehensibly massive sound arrived at the same time.

In that instant, Li Yuan had lost all control over himself. In a daze, he seemed to see a colossal star, watched it from birth to destruction.

Between that birth and death, the bursting light tore apart everything within sight.

"Pfft!"

Dragon Mountain small courtyard, inside a room—Li Yuan's eyes snapped open, his force blasting outward. Though only for an instant, the bed beneath him, the floor, and even the entire small courtyard let out an unbearable groan, collapsing in an instant as dust billowed.

"Damn it!"

Amid the dust, Li Yuan gasped for breath, cold sweat instantly soaking his Dao robe. He kneaded his temples; before his eyes was a sheet of white, every perception stolen by that thunderous roar.

After a long while, he finally came back to himself, only then startled to realize a large crowd had gathered outside the small courtyard. Old Long and the Dragon Dao Lord had come upon hearing the news, faces dark as water, expressions grim and murderous.

"Whoosh~"

Flying swords came and went, leaving trails across the long sky. Before long, Nie Xianshan also landed before the ruins of the small courtyard, brow tightly furrowed.

"What happened?"

Seeing Li Yuan recover, Long Xi Xiang strode forward and asked:

"Who was it? Wan Wan Zhuliu? Or those two old ghosts?!"

"Master."

Li Yuan's head was still buzzing. He gave a bitter smile and explained: "This disciple was just now pondering divine patterns, and for a moment his emotions surged…"

"Divine patterns?"

Long Xi Xiang frowned slightly, but did not press further, merely waving his hand to disperse the crowd outside the small courtyard.

"You haven't even plucked a marvel—where did divine patterns come from?"

After the crowd dispersed, Nie Xianshan spoke, looking Li Yuan up and down: "Marvel plucking and divine pattern combinations concern the spiritual aspect of the divine realm. You cannot act recklessly."

"This disciple understands."

Li Yuan pressed down the throbbing in his heart. The scene of the Five Dragon Immortal's five fingers pinching together still flashed unbidden before his eyes, making his vision go black then white.

Unlike the indescribable divine-city spiritual aspect of that straw-cloaked fisherman, the Five Dragon Immortal's method was simple and brutal—just a single pinch of five fingers—and the thunderous blast that erupted crushed every one of his struggles.

'That has to be at least a Nine-Marvel Jin Dan, right?'

Li Yuan's head was somewhat muddled, and he had no mood to discuss things with the elders. After a few evasive words to send them off, he turned and went to his second brother's small courtyard instead.

……

With something weighing on his mind, Li Yuan had no spirit even for eating. He hastily took a few bites, then went into the room and shut the door.

"This Five Dragon Immortal's realm is too high—there's simply no way to fight…"

He lit a few sticks of spirit incense to calm his spirit, and in his heart replayed that 'battle' from before.

With ten thousand lives as his baseline, losing once meant nothing to him. He had entered that great hall intending to die once, but this death was far too casual.

Let alone fishing for information—he hadn't even gotten a clear look at the Five Dragon Immortal's methods.

The only gains were the 'superior divine patterns' and 'Divine Pattern Ranking' she had mentioned, and the 'Star Dipper divine patterns' she might have used.

"There's no way to communicate."

Sighing, Li Yuan felt a dull ache in his teeth.

The old one at least said a few words; this inhumanly beautiful young one simply couldn't be communicated with at all.

"If you want to break through the six barriers of Shen Zang Mi Jing, even the Divine Palace realm has no chance."

Li Yuan settled his mind, and felt no real disappointment. When it came to the Origin God Clan, he had never imagined he could break through Shen Zang Mi Jing at this point.

He closed his eyes, digesting the scenes of being utterly crushed by the old and the young.

Hum~

In only a moment, the great hall covered in Star Dipper divine patterns, the Five Dragon Immortal with five fingers pinched together, and the Origin Divine City glimpsed in a single corner—all were visualized by Li Yuan.

Having cultivated the Bai Shen Fa for many years, Li Yuan was long since thoroughly practiced in visualization. With his current spiritual power, he could visualize most people and things he had seen within his mind. "That straw-cloaked fisherman won't work…"

The moment Li Yuan merely recalled the straw-cloaked fisherman, he felt his heart jolt, as though insisting on visualizing him would invite incalculable catastrophe. He decisively gave up.

"Star Dipper divine patterns, the Five Dragon Immortal… the Origin Divine City, the Origin God Clan…"

Focusing his spirit to sense the hazy visualized scene in his mind, Li Yuan could faintly perceive a hard-to-describe ancient vastness—this aura came from that blurry corner of the divine city.

The Origin Divine City!

The supreme treasure legend says suppressed all realms.

"What grade of magic treasure must this be?"

The moment he let his thoughts wander, Li Yuan felt his spirit sway. As the Master of Armaments, the pull of a supreme treasure of this caliber on him was simply too great.

"Did this divine city perish along with the fall of the Origin Divine Dynasty?"

"If it didn't…"

Li Yuan couldn't help but let his imagination run wild, but he quickly reined in his wandering thoughts and turned his mind to the scenes he had visualized.

Li Yuan couldn't help but let his imagination run wild, but he quickly reined in his wandering thoughts and turned his mind to the scenes he had visualized.

Although not a single hair had been plucked from this old and young pair, he felt that catching even a corner of the Origin Divine City's remnant shadow was already an enormous gain.

"Legend has it that before the fall of the Origin Divine Dynasty, every year countless heroes and outstanding figures went to the Divine Dynasty to gaze upon this divine city. Many among them observed the sight and comprehended spells, Dao arts, even Gu Gu Shentong!"

Li Yuan focused his spirit intensely.

Divine patterns are the manifestation of the laws of heaven and earth, containing the mysteries of the universe's birth and destruction. Spells, Dao arts, spiritual aspects, magic treasures, elixirs… everything, without exception, comes from the combination and application of divine patterns.

This was what he had gained in his thirty years in Zang Guan Mi Jing, and in the few words of this old and young pair, it was more or less corroborated.

And a magic treasure of the caliber of the Origin Divine City—without even thinking, it must contain countless divine patterns. Even if only a remnant shadow, for him, it might well be a stroke of fortune.

"Hah!"

After a long while, Li Yuan let out a long breath, his expression somewhat weary, but his eyes were very bright.

"Wondrous sight, divine patterns, combinations…"

Li Yuan thought for a moment, then drew the long whip from his waist.

"What are you doing now?"

The little mother dragon raised her head in displeasure.

Over these past few years, apart from coming to Li Yuan to ask for some heavenly materials and earthly treasures, she had been in closed-door cultivation repairing her damaged divine realm, and only now had she barely achieved some results.

"Regarding divine patterns, how much do you know?"

Li Yuan inquired.

"…I just know."

The little mother dragon's eyes rolled slightly: "Divine patterns, now, who in the world doesn't know? Oh, you don't know?"

"You know?"

Li Yuan had long grown accustomed to conversing with the little mother dragon.

"Naturally."

The little mother dragon didn't play coy either; after a brief moment of thought, she spoke out everything she knew. Much of it was obviously just rote repetition from books, but Li Yuan listened very carefully.

Only when encountering terms he didn't understand would he ask a question or two.

"Only by entering the Dao can one touch upon divine patterns."

"…The Laws support the operation of heaven, earth, and the universe; touching them, one can become a god, and divine patterns, it is said, originate from the Laws of Heaven and Earth…"

"Divine patterns are the foundation of all cultivation paths across the myriad realms and billions of races!"

(End of chapter)