Chapter 658: Gathering Wonders to Refine the Kunpeng Art

Raising a hand to send Li Yuan off, Yu Yu Fa Huan Zhen lifted Cha Bei Pin and took a sip:

"How was it?"

Hum~

Behind her head, the void rippled like water, and a dark-red treasured mirror trembled lightly:

"Divine-demon-grade talent, innate constitution also top-tier — must have cultivated a body-tempering art, Qi and blood surging, vitality extremely vigorous, already has a hint of a young Kunpeng about it!"

"As for what physique he carries, that requires further reflection to see…"

"No wonder he gained the recognition of the Guiding Divine Fire. Does Martial Uncle Brother Tianying cultivate a great body-tempering divine ability?"

Yu Yu Fa Huan Zhen praised.

"Refining the Eight Fiends Body, my flesh itself is a divine prison… that Bahuang Zhenyu can indeed be called a great divine ability."

The dark-red treasured mirror trembled in reply: "Your little junior brother's innate talent is no less than yours back then; in a few hundred years he may well hope for True Transmission."

"True Transmission is not that simple."

Yu Yu Fa Huan Zhen shook her head. She herself was only one step from True Transmission, yet that single step had stalled her for two hundred years.

With the 'Boatman's Sea' backing her and still so, on what basis could this junior brother with no background whatsoever?

"He won't be a second Yu Yu Wangxian, unless he too has a heaven-shaking fortune that thoroughly transforms his innate talent, turning acquired into Mu Mu Xiantian."

Yu Yu Fa Huan Zhen set down her teacup, her eyes filled with anticipation: "Still, with his help, perhaps my Demon-Slaying Immortal-Slaughtering Sword can take another step forward…"

……

……

Whizz~

Nine-colored clouds streaked across the West Sea, their speed extreme and their movements ever-changing. From time to time strange beasts burst from the sea, but before they could even take to the air, the clouds had already vanished without a trace.

Upon the nine-colored clouds, Li Yuan sat cross-legged, took out the Communication Sphere to speak with the Lingshu Dao Child. After the usual greetings, he casually brought up Yu Yu Fa Huan Zhen.

"Yu Yu Fa Huan Zhen?"

In the quiet bamboo grove, the Lingshu Dao Child, who had been immersed in the Grand Void Myriad Phenomena, frowned slightly and split off a sliver of attention to reply:

"She entered the sect six hundred years before you, cultivates a Sword Scripture, and chose the 'Demon-Slaying Immortal-Slaughtering Sword' as her natal spirit treasure. Her temperament is aloof and proud — don't you go provoking her!"

This isn't me provoking her…

Li Yuan sighed inwardly and inquired about the 'Demon-Slaying Immortal-Slaughtering Sword'. Earlier he had also tried searching exhaustively, only to find that Yu Yu Fa Huan Zhen's information in the Grand Void Myriad Phenomena was also shielded.

This was Yu Yu Wangxian's treatment!

He combed through all the information on the inner disciples and found only the top five enjoyed this treatment.

"Demon-Slaying Immortal-Slaughtering Sword…"

Lingshu Fayin Tongzi hesitated, then still spoke evasively:

"A divine sword famed for its brutal, overbearing, and ferocious slaughter… In short, don't provoke her, but you needn't fear her either. Disciples of Mount Mount Dongxuan are strictly forbidden to fight — whoever dares break the prohibition will alarm even the Little Lord!"

"Many thanks, Immortal Child, for clearing my doubts."

Li Yuan felt somewhat reassured. Once Lingshu ended the call, he put away the Communication Sphere.

"Demon-Slaying Immortal-Slaughtering Sword, Demon-Slaying Immortal-Slaughtering Sword… could there be four in total?"

Li Yuan muttered to himself. After Lingshu Fayin Tongzi's evasive words, his curiosity only grew, and he even considered seeking a method to forge such divine swords.

Daoist Li harbored quite a yearning toward sword immortals.

"The top five inner disciples really are generous."

"Setting aside what she hides unseen within her mud pellet, just on her person she carries three divine treasures… especially that 'Sun-Reflecting Treasure Mirror' — surely it's only one step away from a Dao treasure?"

Li Yuan gathered his thoughts and began sensing this famous riding cloud of Mount Mount Dongxuan, finding it extraordinarily wondrous.

Its speed was extreme, its movements agile, and it had the effect of gathering and dispersing without form. While within it one hardly noticed, but from outside it looked like a wisp of cloud — it truly had the effect of concealing form and hiding traces.

【Mount Dongxuan Nine-Smoke Gauze (Eleventh Grade)】

【…A spirit treasure refined by Mount Mount Dongxuan disciple Yu Yu Fa Huan Zhen from auspicious clouds. It contains nine prohibitions, refined to eighty-three layers of weapon prohibitions. A single breath shifts ninety thousand li…】

【Control Requirements:???】

【Contained Divine Prohibitions:???】

Owned magical treasures often cannot be peered into — this had nothing to do with the Soldier Register, but was simply because this Nine-Smoke Gauze was saturated with Yu Yu Fa Huan Zhen's magic power; any inward probe would inevitably alert her.

"A standard Nine-Smoke Gauze only has three prohibitions; Yu Yu Fa Huan Zhen added six more… otherwise, it would long since have been refined to the top-grade spirit treasure tier."

Li Yuan clicked his tongue in wonder.

The experience of riding the Nine-Smoke Gauze was excellent; he guessed this had to do with the six divine prohibitions Yu Yu Fa Huan Zhen had later added.

Spirit treasures were not fixed either. If one was skilled in treasure-refining arts, one could subsequently add divine prohibitions oneself. But in that case, while the treasure's functions naturally increased, the difficulty of refining and advancing it would rise accordingly.

A top-grade spirit treasure with nine prohibitions required at least three times the refining difficulty of one with three.

"Still, the riding experience is truly excellent."

Li Yuan's eyes shone bright. His thoughts flowed as he drove the Nine-Smoke Gauze streaking across the West Sea.

He was not the Nine-Smoke Gauze's master. Even though it contained Yu Yu Fa Huan Zhen's magic power and he had her permission, he could only bring out one or two tenths of its might.

But even so, ten thousand li in a single breath was more than enough for him.

At such speed, ordinary third-realm strange beasts couldn't catch up. As for the fourth realm — if he truly encountered one, he would surely have to cry out 'Immortal Child, save me!'

Since descending the mountain to gather wondrous sights, Li Yuan had not closed the Communication Sphere, guarding against any sudden danger.

Whizz~

The Nine-Smoke Gauze streaked through the sky. Within a single day, Li Yuan had already shifted to several dozen different wondrous sites, and before the sky had even darkened, he had gathered sixteen types of sea divine patterns.

The efficiency could truly be called explosive!

"Counting the previous twelve types, only the last eight remain!"

Having personally experienced the wonders of a magic-power-driven treasure, Li Yuan's anticipation for refining magic power grew even stronger.

A magic treasure, whether driven by magic power or not—the difference in power between the two could easily be dozens or even hundreds of times, and that would be nothing strange.

This was also the reason he hadn't been in a hurry to merge the Daoist Tianyun Daoist Tianyun Xuanbing.

"Once I refine magic power, will the augmentation from the Soldier Register change as well?"

Li Yuan's heart filled with anticipation as he urged the Nine-Colored Smoke Luo once more. ……

Early the next morning.

Whoosh~

The Nine-Colored Smoke Luo stretched across the long sky, in the blink of an eye already spanning tens of thousands of miles. In less than half a cup of tea's time, Li Yuan had crossed countless mountains and waters, and in the distance caught sight of Mount Mount Dongxuan.

Swish~

The next instant, he had already landed at the foot of Mount Mount Dongxuan. The Nine-Colored Smoke Luo trembled lightly, then vanished into the void under Li Yuan's somewhat reluctant gaze.

So fast was it that he couldn't even catch a trace of it.

"Ninety thousand miles in a single breath!"

Li Yuan couldn't help but envy it. Riding the clouds to fly across ninety thousand miles, touring the Cang Hai in the morning and Cang Wu at dusk—the attraction this held for him was simply immense.

"But once I refine magic power and finish merging the Daoist Tianyun Daoist Tianyun Xuanbing, Dun Tian Zhou's speed will only be even faster!"

Li Yuan steadied himself and hurried back to his own little grotto-heaven.

He'd been away for over half a month and had barely closed his eyes. Even though his spirit was still excited, it was no longer at its peak, so naturally he wouldn't refine magic power in that state.

Back at the little grotto-heaven, he set the little mother dragon down and let her go cultivate on her own.

Li Yuan returned to the bamboo tower, had Li Yi prepare several spiritual dishes for him, and after eating and drinking his fill, dropped straight off to sleep.

Perhaps it was a habit built up over many years—even though entering stillness and sitting in meditation could now restore his spirit, Li Yuan still chose every so often to pull the covers over his head and sleep soundly.

"Hoo!"

The next day, before the sky had even brightened, Li Yuan was already up early.

Master Li was a man who valued ritual. He ate spiritual dishes, then pushed through several sets of great stances, and only when his qi and blood had become thoroughly active did he feel his spirit and body had both reached their peak.

Only then did he sit cross-legged on the third floor of the bamboo house.

Snap~

Li Yuan took off the bone chain and had the White Bone Demon stand guard outside.

He closed his eyes and entered stillness, descending into the Mud Pill Palace.

Slosh, slosh~

Over the great sea of the Mud Pill, sometimes the ocean surged in waves, sometimes fierce winds rose suddenly, sometimes the Gang wind howled, sometimes clouds and mist spread thick……

All manner of scenery coexisted within the Mud Pill Palace—precisely the various divine patterns he had gathered over the past half month.

"Refine the law!"

Li Yuan recalled the many steps for refining magic power.

Given his innate talent and foundation, the three essential elements for refining magic power had always been only the 'Earth Sha and Heaven Gang Divine Forbidden.' Now that the divine patterns were complete, he only needed to combine the divine patterns into the Divine Forbidden.

Hum~

The various strange sights in the Mud Pill sea trembled along with it. Following Li Yuan's shift of will, the drifting Gang wind across the Wang Yang gathered as if summoned.

"If we say that body-shape combinations are like jigsaw puzzles, then divine-pattern combinations are more like stacking blocks……"

Li Yuan had long since memorized the process of combining Divine Forbidden by heart. Guiding the different divine patterns to converge with his spirit sense, he urged them toward fusion at an even, unhurried pace.

His spiritual force was only slightly inferior to that of Pang Pang Wenlong; the flow and rhythm of the divine patterns were as clear to him as reading lines on his palm.

Very quickly, the different divine patterns, under his matchmaking, had gradually converged into a single one.

"Hiss~"

Before long, accompanied by a strange sound, Li Yuan condensed the first Heaven Gang Divine Forbidden: 'Gang.'

This divine pattern was one of the core Divine Forbidden of the Kun Peng magic power, gathered from the Zi Jiu Chong Gang Wind Cloud.

"Easier than expected. I even prepared backup divine patterns—seems I won't need them after all……"

Li Yuan felt a slight joy in his heart, then Yu Yu Xuanji gathered his focus, cut away stray thoughts, and continued condensing Divine Forbidden.

'Water'

'Wind'

'Sea'

'Change'

'Transformation'

……

Condensing the Divine Forbidden was far easier than Li Yuan had anticipated.

He had prepared three sets of backup divine patterns, but clearly they wouldn't be needed. From Gang to Transformation, from Heaven Gang to Earth Sha, the eighteen kinds of Divine Forbidden were condensed almost in one breath!

"My savings are simply too abundant!"

Li Yuan wasn't surprised by this.

After the Divine Forbidden were condensed, a shift of his mind had already landed him on the vast, expansive Mud Pill sea:

"The divine patterns are sufficient. The next step is the Three Primordials merging as one!"

……

Outside the bamboo tower's small courtyard, the little mother dragon, who had been about to approach, suddenly felt a chill at her heart. A White Bone Demon over a zhang tall had already landed before her, its pitch-black eye sockets staring at her until she hurriedly retreated several steps.

"Li Yuan is refining the law? This is far too reckless……"

The Shark Infant's heart tightened slightly. Refining the law was no easy matter—not only difficult but dangerous. Within her clan, many people, even with elders protecting them, would suffer grave injuries from a single moment of carelessness.

"He……"

Suddenly, a sound of rushing water came from high up in the bamboo tower.

"What is this?"

The Mirage Infant looked up and saw clouds and fog churning all around, light and shadow interweaving—in less than an instant, the bamboo tower, the bamboo grove, and even the entire mountain were all swallowed into layer upon layer of rippling water.

"A vision of the Mud Pill!"

The Mirage Infant looked all around, feeling as if the entire world had been covered by a vast ocean—everything in sight was seawater.

Light and shadow interweaving, vivid as life itself, she even saw the undercurrents in the sea, the reefs, and—giant sea beasts on the ocean floor that made her breath catch at the very sight!

(End of this chapter)