Chapter 647: Disciples of the Great Luo Heaven

Whoosh~

A wisp of divine light pierced straight through the darkness, plunging deep into Ru You Jing.

You Jing and the Star Sea are two sides of the same whole as the present world, but compared to the present world, You Jing is bizarre and perilous; moreover, the divine realms of fallen mighty cultivators from the present world often plummet into it.

Thus some call it 'Opening Gui Xu,' and because since ancient times the boundless fallen mighty cultivators' divine realms, refined worlds, and Fa Tian have plunged into it, it is also called 'Fa Jie Hai.'

Wooo~

That wisp of divine light pierced through the void, passing through layer upon layer of dimensions; as it pressed deeper, its speed gradually slowed, until finally it halted before a 'mountain.'

This 'mountain' stood at the extreme depths of You Jing, seeming both illusory and real; its size was like the spine of the heavens—even a deity could not glimpse its entirety in a single glance.

Yet it was also incomprehensibly small, like a speck of dust—even a deity arriving in person could not discern the slightest detail of it.

Pop~

After a brief pause, the divine light surged forward again, and only after piercing through an invisible barrier did it dissolve into specks of light that sank into that divine mountain.

Ding~

Almost simultaneously, the sound of a bell rang out from somewhere within the divine mountain.

"Eh?"

In a quiet bamboo grove, a Dao-robed youth of about thirteen or fourteen was tending to flowers and herbs in a medicinal field; just before the bell sounded, the six small ears on either side of his head all twitched at once:

"This is?"

The Dao-robed youth froze for a moment, then looked toward the depths of the bamboo grove.

There stood a small cottage of green bamboo, with a fence outside, a stream, and a medicinal field; a string of wind chimes hung from the eaves, and the bell sound had come precisely from that string of wind chimes.

"The Grandfather Kuhai Bell has rung!"

The youth stared blankly for a beat, then suddenly came to his senses; he tossed aside his herb hoe and dashed toward the bamboo cottage, bowing three times to the 'Grandfather Kuhai Bell':

"Grandfather Grandfather Kuhai, was it you who summoned me?"

The wind chimes swayed once but gave no answer; only the bamboo door creaked open with a 'squeak.'

"Thank you, Grandfather Grandfather Kuhai."

The youth bowed once more, then carefully stepped into the bamboo cottage.

The bamboo cottage was small—from the outside, it looked barely large enough to house a single person—but when the youth stepped inside, it was as though he had walked into a sea of stars.

He cautiously surveyed his surroundings; wherever his gaze reached, he saw only stars filling the sky, star rivers swirling; even straining his eyes to the utmost, he could not glimpse a fraction of it all.

He could only faintly make out a Daoist sitting in stillness amid that vast sea of stars.

Compared to the stars filling the sky, that Daoist—merely the size of an ordinary person—was like a speck of dust, yet anyone who entered this place would inevitably see his figure.

Hum~

The instant the youth stepped into this place, boundless light suddenly bloomed within that endless sea of stars, as if suns and moons were rising from the deepest reaches of the star sea.

"Disciple Ling Shu, pays respects to the Little Elder."

The youth did not dare meet his Elder's eyes directly, and bowed in salute.

"Within the San Yuan Fa Jie domain, someone has triggered the Guidance Divine Fire left behind by Junior Brother Brother Tianying in years past. Go wait before the mountain gate and bring him into the sect."

The Daoist spoke, and the sea of stars trembled.

"Yes…"

The moment Ling Shu bowed, he felt the heavens spin around him, and he was already outside the bamboo cottage.

"Someone actually triggered the Guidance Divine Fire left behind by Little Elder Brother Tianying?! And they actually passed through?!"

A gust of cold wind blew past, and only then did the stunned Ling Shu snap awake; with a start, he scrambled in frantic haste toward the foot of the mountain.

……

Boom!

Intense fighting raged on within You Jing.

Perhaps stimulated by someone entering the Great Luo Heaven, Ying Ying Shan Xuan Long and the others fought fiercely, the roar of divine treasures echoing throughout Zheng Zuo You Jing.

"Great Luo Heaven."

On a desolate mountain outside the battlefield, a burly monk stood with his hands at his sides; he seemed to be watching the battle, yet also seemed to be watching the direction that wisp of divine light had gone.

"Guidance Divine Fire—that is rather unexpected."

After a long while, the great monk shifted his gaze toward the life-star enveloped by the Eight Directions Temple; he flicked his fingers twice to calculate, and suddenly his face changed drastically.

"Lord Lord Tianyu?!"

The great monk's eyelids twitched wildly; the mere flash of that Daoist title through his mind sent a bone-piercing chill surging up his heart:

"Lord, forgive me, this humble monk…"

The great monk staggered, nearly falling to the ground, so that he could not even force out the second half of his sentence.

His face was ashen to the extreme, yet he did not dare raise his head at all; he only faintly sensed an incomparably terrifying gaze projecting toward him from within his own thoughts:

"Begone."

"I shall humbly obey the Lord's decree!"

The great monk gritted his teeth and bowed; by the time that terrifying gaze vanished, cold sweat had already soaked through his monk's robe, but he did not dare say a single word more, and turned to leave at once.

"Screech!"

Almost at the same moment he fled, the Blood Phoenix being besieged and killed in the extreme distance suddenly let out a long cry; it no longer wished to fight, and with a single beat of its wings, vanished in a streak of dust.

"Don't even think of escaping!"

Seeing this, Ying Ying Shan Xuan Long and the others were all furiously enraged; they forcefully urged their spiritual treasures forward and pursued at extreme speed.

……

After Xing Ji Gong succeeded, Li Yuan had only wanted to take his spiritual pills and enter meditation to drive the further metamorphosis of his body, but he was stopped by someone.

The one who stopped him was neither the fellow disciples who wanted to hold a grand feast for him, nor Pang Pang Wenlong who had driven everyone out, nor Huang Huang Longzi, Gui Gui Laoxian, and the others who had been desperately wanting to see him ever since his Xing Ji was completed.

It was someone he hadn't expected.

Dong Dong Ershisan!

"Hm? Senior, what is this?"

Li Yuan was startled.

He had been thinking of paying a visit to Dong Dong Ershisan before leaving, but before he could set out, the man had actually come to see him.

"That Blood Phoenix has already escaped."

"Escaped?" Li Yuan instinctively gripped the Demon-Slaying Dragon God Blade at his waist, and with a turn of his mind, he indeed found that the You Jing no longer held any trace of the Blood Phoenix.

Not only was the Blood Phoenix gone, there wasn't even the slightest stir—everything was a dark, heavy blank, chilling to the eye.

"The true form of the Kun Peng, a top-tier talent… truly the style of the Weitian Dao Sect…"

Dong Dong Ershisan gave Li Yuan a deep look:

"You've given this old man quite a surprise."

Li Yuan naturally didn't pick up that thread, and still respectfully bowed: "Senior, please come in."

"Mm."

Dong Dong Ershisan gathered his thoughts and walked into the Piandian.

"Senior, please have some tea."

Li Yuan nimbly brewed a pot of tea, all the while pondering the purpose of Dong Dong Ershisan's visit. As he poured him a cup, he already had a guess in mind.

"You may sit as well."

Dong Dong Ershisan only needed a glance to know what this scheming youngster was thinking, and got straight to the point:

"How much do you know about the Daluo Heaven—or rather, the Weitian Dao Sect?"

Sensing the shift in Dong Dong Ershisan's tone, Li Yuan felt a sudden stirring within. This old fellow's manner of speaking with him had not been like this before.

'So this is the weight of a Daluo Heaven disciple?'

Turning the thought over in his mind, Li Yuan casually poured himself a cup of tea as well:

"To answer Senior, this junior's obtaining that cluster of Guiding Divine Fire was entirely accidental; I don't know much about Daluo Heaven."

Li Yuan was telling the truth. When he first heard the name Daluo Heaven, he had indeed been badly startled—but that was because in his past life he had been a wandering Daoist Priest.

In fact, even though he had already achieved success through the Xing Ji Gong, he truly had no real knowledge of the Weitian Dao Sect's Daluo Heaven.

"The Origin Divine Dynasty collectively refers to those ancient powers that have existed longer than the Divine Dynasty itself and are not active in the present world as the Weitian Dao Sect, of which Daluo Heaven is one."

Dong Dong Ershisan lifted his teacup and spoke calmly.

Li Yuan listened quietly, only occasionally asking questions, otherwise just pouring tea and serving water.

According to Dong Dong Ershisan's account, the Weitian Dao Sect was among the most ancient of powers. Its last large-scale activity in the present world, it was said, had been seventy-three Eras ago, at the founding of the Origin Divine Dynasty.

"It is said that the people of the Weitian Dao Sect dwell deep within the You Jing, spending countless tens of thousands of years exploring unknown dimensions. Whenever they appear in the world, it is either to take in disciples, or to slay evil gods…"

Dong Dong Ershisan's eyes gleamed faintly: "The vast majority of powers in the world treat the Weitian Dao Sect with great reserve; what this old man knows is not much either."

"This junior has greatly benefited."

Li Yuan poured him tea, committing every word he said to memory.

"Furthermore, this old man has heard that the Weitian Dao Sect's method of recruiting disciples is quite different—the only common thread is the Guiding Divine Fire left behind when a true lineage member of the sect perishes outside…"

Dong Dong Ershisan paused slightly: "This old man has heard that within the Weitian Dao Sect, disciples who enter through the Guiding Divine Fire are also called quasi-true lineage disciples…"

"Quasi-true lineage?"

Li Yuan frowned at once. True lineage is true lineage—how could there be a quasi-true lineage?

"The specifics, you'll know once you've entered the sect."

"Many thanks for Senior's guidance."

Li Yuan pressed down his thoughts and offered his thanks.

"It was merely an offhand remark."

Dong Dong Ershisan held his teacup, hesitated a moment, then asked:

"This old man has come to ask—will you still enter the Eight Directions Temple in the future?"

"Uh…"

Li Yuan answered cautiously: "What is Senior's meaning?"

"Judging by your experiences, you've never exactly lingered in the crowd—how is it you're this slippery?"

Dong Dong Ershisan was rather speechless. Had he not witnessed with his own eyes this youngster's process of entering Daluo Heaven, who would dare believe that this kid was the heaven-shaking prodigy capable of entering Daluo Heaven through the Guiding Divine Fire?

"This old man cannot presume to decide for a disciple of Daluo Heaven."

Seeing that Li Yuan did not reply, Dong Dong Ershisan set down his teacup in some annoyance. He had meant to sweep his sleeves and leave, but at the door he still couldn't help but stop:

"That Eight Directions Token—you may keep it for now. As for those twelve Daoist Tianyun Daoist Tianyun Xuanbing…"

"Hm?!"

Li Yuan gave a sudden start.

"These twelve Daoist Tianyun Xuanbing were obtained from the 'Rift Sea Star' where the Eight Directions Temple had opened last time. They are weapons left behind when the various sects of that Rift Sea Star performed great sacrifices to outer gods, forged through the Ten Thousand Sources Divine Reflection Mirror…"

At this point, Dong Dong Ershisan gave his sleeve a shake, and with a 'whoosh' vanished from the Piandian:

"…Consider it this old man's congratulatory gift to you on entering Daluo Heaven!"

"Many thanks, Senior!"

Li Yuan relaxed inwardly and bowed to see him off.

After a long while, he closed the great doors of the Piandian, swallowed a Long Hu Longhu Dadan, then sat cross-legged and entered meditation, sensing the wonders of the Kun Peng true form.

"Gulp!"

The moment the Longhu Dadan entered his belly, Li Yuan felt the difference.

Before performing the ritual, a single Longhu Longhu Dadan would take him at least several months to fully refine without wasting any medicinal potency, but now the moment the great pill entered his belly, it visibly shrank at a speed discernible to the naked eye.

His stomach and intestines were now nearly ten times stronger than before!

In other words, a single Longhu Longhu Dadan could now be fully refined by him in just three days!

"At least three days per great pill—how could I possibly afford to eat them at that rate?"

Li Yuan's teeth ached a little, but he quickly gathered his focus and began digesting this great pill; as the medicinal potency spread throughout his body, his brow gradually smoothed out.

His qi and blood boiled within him, and the metamorphosis that had previously halted due to insufficient medicinal potency was now driven forward once more by the faintly golden blood coursing through his body.

(End of this chapter)