Chapter 635: Dao Tribulation, Wings!

Eight Directions Temple.

At the peak of Eight Directions Mountain, amidst a forest of strange stones, Dong Dong Ershisan sat cross-legged on a reclining tiger stone; before him, clouds and mist wove into a mirror, reflecting the majestic city of the Imperial Capital.

Whether it was the battle between Qin Shi and the two above the city, or Pang Pang Wenlong in the treacherous land, or even that nine-story floating ship... all were within it.

"This surname Pang actually managed to fight three on his own?"

The human-headed strange bird, perched on Dong Dong Ershisan's shoulder, was quite surprised by this.

These three: one had been half-step into the Shen Qi Jing before death, one had become a god for many years; though Wan Wan Zhuliu possessed no True Form Diagram or Dao Arts and was near death, his endowment was barely at the Zhao Zhao Tianxing level!

Pang Pang Wenlong's foundation and talent were far inferior to those three...

"You underestimate him."

Dong Dong Ershisan was very calm; the battle in the cloud mirror held no interest for him, stirring not a single ripple in his heart.

But hearing the human-headed strange bird's confusion, he casually replied a few words:

"Pang Pang Wenlong was born with the form of a Waning Sun, and used a peculiar Wu Gong to alter the number of his Thousand Forms; combined with a thousand years of foundation, it is no surprise he is stronger than these three."

Indeed, Yun Yun Yeshan had once half-stepped into the Shen Qi Jing before death, but his physical body was destroyed and his soul was incomplete.

The Master of Qian Yan Fa was left with only a remnant soul; Wan Wan Zhuliu had just forged his Divine Palace, possessed no Dao Arts or True Form Diagram, and his learned Wu Gong was of a lower grade than the Dragon Demon Heart Sutra, let alone Pang Pang Wenlong's millennium of accumulation.

"Pity, his endowment is too poor."

The human-headed strange bird had merely asked casually; a Divine Palace realm cultivator over a thousand years old with such poor endowment, what did a little foundation amount to?

Its gaze shifted, landing on Li Yuan.

As the sole observer at the center of the battlefield, he was truly conspicuous.

'Holding so many Daoist Tianyun Daoist Tianyun Xuanbing, with Pang Pang Wenlong's spiritual image supporting him, why not go up and fight? Perhaps Second Master Dong Ershisan might change his mind?'

Glancing sideways at the expressionless Dong Dong Ershisan, the human-headed strange bird secretly cursed in its heart, wasting such a good opportunity for nothing.

Dong Dong Ershisan watched the battle indifferently; after a long while, he withdrew his gaze:

"It seems he has given up."

"Ah?"

The human-headed strange bird was stunned, instinctively flapping its wings: "N-no, no? He, he just hasn't had the chance to strike..."

"It has nothing to do with that."

Dong Dong Ershisan shook his head: "Regardless of the outcome of this battle, he will leave."

"This..."

The human-headed strange bird hesitated: "Second Master Dong Ershisan, should you not reconsider? This is a God-Demon level endowment; giving up on it is truly a pity."

The Eight Directions Temple has drifted through the various realms for countless years, opening countless times, yet geniuses with God-Demon level endowments remain rare.

Not to mention this young man has also altered the Ten Thousand Forms!

It is universally acknowledged across the realms that while naturally born God-Demon level geniuses have slightly higher endowments, in terms of mental state and comprehension, those who alter their endowment to God-Demon level later are even stronger!

"There is no pity."

Dong Dong Ershisan raised his hand and pressed lightly; the various scenes in the cloud mirror before him instantly vanished, and then, various texts flowed and updated like a waterfall.

"Peeping God Technique..."

The human-headed strange bird's eyelid twitched.

The Peeping God Technique is a divination Dao Art mastered by Dong Dong Ershisan; combined with the Eight Directions Temple, it can even peer into the fate of gods.

Its grade is so high that it is far beyond things like the Immortal's Guidance.

Buzz~

Dim light spread like ripples.

In a mere moment, the text above the cloud mirror stopped fluctuating.

The human-headed strange bird focused its gaze to look:

【The Temple Opener: Li Yuan】

【... Medium-Low Root Bone... bribed his way into the Weapon Forge through fifteen brothers... later favored by Zhang Ben for his exquisite hammer techniques...】

"Is this Li Yuan's life story? This young man originally had only Medium-Low Root Bone?!"

The human-headed strange bird was shocked, concentrating as it watched; the text very roughly flashed through Li Yuan's ten-plus years of life, nothing but practicing Wu Gong and forging iron.

But then, the text suddenly changed, causing the corners of its mouth to twitch involuntarily.

【... Night of rain, stealth approach, ambush and kill Qin Xiong...】

【... Night of rain, stealth approach, ambush and kill...】

【... Night of rain, stealth approach...】

Shi Shi Zuzu several thousand characters, all were night of rain, stealth approach, ambush, sudden attack, assassination...

"..."

The human-headed strange bird grunted for a long time before saying: "He, low root bone, peerless comprehension, cautious and prudent..."

"Cautious and prudent is correct, but the him of now is not the skinny, weak, Medium-Low Root Bone apprentice of the Weapon Forge from back then."

Dong Dong Ershisan sighed.

He was naturally not peeping into Li Yuan for the first time; in fact, upon just awakening, he had peeped into Li Yuan's life story; although most experiences were vague, it was enough to glimpse his true nature.

Diligent, cautious, smooth, peerless comprehension, abundant luck...

"With his endowment and caution, he can thrive anywhere; Unity, Divine Palace, Jin Dan... the realms before Shen Qi Jing are all smooth paths for him..."

"Uh..."

Dong Dong Ershisan stopped speaking, but the human-headed strange bird already knew his meaning:

"You worry he cannot pass the 'Dao Tribulation'?"

"Cultivating the Dao and touching the Dao, desiring to grasp the Dao and become a god — one must face the Dao Tribulation! That is a tribulation born from the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth. Without endless slaughter and tempering, how could one possibly cross the God-Ascending Dao Tribulation?"

Dong Dong Ershisan waved his hand and dispersed the cloud mirror before him: "From a weapon-forging shop apprentice with mid-to-lower grade bone constitution to his current god-and-demon level innate gift, his comprehension is so high that even among all the domains, he belongs to that rare batch…"

"Precisely because of this, this old man feels regret…"

"So that's why you…"

The human-headed strange bird seemed to realize something in a daze; it had always thought that Master Dong Ershisan was deliberately targeting Li Yuan.

"Could it be that you think this old man is targeting him?"

Dong Dong Ershisan glanced at it.

"Uh…"

The human-headed strange bird gave an awkward smile, then suddenly recalled something and was struck with fright:

"I recall that the God-Ascending Dao Tribulation seems to vary from person to person — the higher the innate gift, the harder it is to cross?"

"There is no saying that a higher innate gift makes it harder to cross. Regardless of race, regardless of innate gift, apart from the Innate Divine Beings of ancient legends, the God-Ascending Dao Tribulation is extremely difficult for anyone."

Dong Dong Ershisan casually fiddled with the cloud mirror before him, and once again Li Yuan's figure appeared within it. A subtle shift passed through his eyes:

"With this kid's natural endowment, during the Dao Tribulation he might also encounter… perhaps?"

The human-headed strange bird didn't catch it clearly:

"Encounter what?"

"Keep watching. This kid may not be able to keep hiding forever."

Dong Dong Ershisan did not explain. After briefly steadying his Yi Xia Xin Jing, his gaze fell once more upon Li Yuan.

"You're still holding things back from me?"

The human-headed strange bird felt dissatisfied and was about to press further when it suddenly felt Dong Dong Ershisan's body shudder. Yu Yu Xuanji had already let out a wretched scream and tumbled more than ten li away.

"Master Dong Ershisan?"

It looked over in astonishment.

It saw Dong Dong Ershisan's brows lift as he looked beyond the Eight Directions Temple, his gaze icy cold.

"Hm?!"

The human-headed strange bird was startled — it actually sensed killing intent from this lord. It flapped its wings and returned to the mountaintop, following Dong Dong Ershisan's gaze.

It saw only a vast shadow shaped like wings, like a descending canopy, nearly covering the entire Eight Directions Temple!

(End of this chapter)