Chapter 670: Minor Gathering, True Transmission Preaches the Dharma

Hum~

Wisps and strands of pale golden magic power flowed through the meridians, bones, and blood, even circulating between the Ni Wan Palace, sometimes converging at the acupoints, sometimes gathering within the dantian.

At times it transformed into a Kun, breathing in and out within the dantian; at times it transformed into a Peng, darting freely among the orifices across the body.

The magic power flowed unbound, circulating naturally within the divine body.

Li Yuan only felt a sense of perfect wholeness welling up from his soul, from his heart, giving him the feeling of filling in what was lacking, of self-elevation.

The He Yi Jing has two great leaps.

The first is the forging of the first strand of magic power—from nothing to something is a tremendous transformation; the second is the final strand of magic power, which represents perfect harmony and completion.

No matter whether it is a canon or a scripture, or even the 'Dao' itself, any fundamental method can forge at most nine-times-nine strands of magic power at the He Yi realm.

"He Yi is complete."

A sense of satisfaction radiated from Li Yuan, from the inside out:

"This is the benefit of stacking up talent—first hard, then easy, nothing more to it!"

From eighty strands of magic power to eighty-one, for an ordinary cultivator it would count as a difficult hurdle, but he had not sensed the existence of any bottleneck; it had reached completion as naturally as water finding its course.

The benefits of a divine-demon level endowment manifested at this moment, yet were still far from reaching their bottom.

Why did the Qi Yuan Divine Dynasty call seventh-tier talent 'divine-demon'?

For no other reason than that those possessing such an endowment, before the sixth realm, almost never encountered any insurmountable bottleneck. The reason it is said 'almost' is that when ascending to the sixth realm, one must undergo the Dao Tribulation.

A divine-demon level endowment, in many realm-sects and factions, even carries the title of quasi-divine.

"According to what the books say, a divine-demon level endowment, whether innate or altered by fortune in later life, will invariably give birth to a near-Dao body…"

Amid his joy, Li Yuan could not help but feel a twinge of doubt.

Regarding the divine-demon level endowment, the many classics within Mount Mount Dongxuan described it in greater detail, collectively referring to the constitution that a cultivator of divine-demon level endowment would inevitably give birth to as the 'Near-Dao Body'.

Broken down further, it is what most cultivators recognize as 'Law Bodies', 'Divine Bodies', 'Demon Bodies', 'Sacred Bodies', and the like.

Broken down even further, among Divine Bodies there are Yuan Ling Bodies, Tai Yin Divine Bodies, Tai Yang Divine Bodies, and so on.

"The Dao-Comprehending Body of the Dragon Demon Daoist, to be precise, should be called a 'Dao-Comprehending Sacred Body'—one of the rarest among all such constitutions…"

Thinking of the Dragon Demon Daoist, Li Yuan could not help but grumble inwardly.

Back in those years at the Eight Directions Temple, the lingering divine intent left behind by that old Daoist had mistaken the blessing he wielded for a strange constitution.

And even named it the 'Fierce Ox Body'…

"All divine-demon level endowments come with a constitution; there's no reason I'd be special, right?"

Li Yuan let out a long breath and stopped tormenting himself.

Having a constitution is certainly good, but if there truly isn't one, then he would investigate the reason.

Could it be any harder than pushing his root bone, step by step, from the middle-lower tier all the way to the divine-demon level?

"Hum~"

Li Yuan's mind shifted slightly as he entered the Ni Wan Shen Jing.

Two-plus years was neither short nor long. His Xing Gong had perfectly forged eighty-one strands of magic power, and the unification of essence, qi, and spirit naturally advanced in tandem. Setting aside his physique for now, the changes in his divine realm were naturally considerable.

He raised his eyes and looked; what met his gaze was no longer the boundless Wang Yang of before, but an island of considerable scale sitting in the center of the sea.

On the island, a towering great tree reached the heavens, already a full ninety-nine zhang tall. Its trunk was dark as jade, yet covered in strands and wisps of purple patterns, its canopy crowning the island in lush, verdant abundance.

One tree had already become a forest.

The Kun Peng Spirit Image no longer hid beneath the sea as it once did; most of the time it transformed into a Jin Chi Peng bird and perched among the branches, even building a rather large nest.

At this moment it was preening its feathers in the nest, which was actually cultivating the 'Tai Yin Sword Qi'.

Over these two years, the four spells Li Yuan had learned had advanced considerably. Reflected in the spirit image, the feathers covering the Peng bird were in fact entirely composed of Tai Yin Sword Qi.

Beneath the tree, the once-vast nine-headed snake slough now appeared somewhat small—not only because the Shan Xuan Teng Tree had grown, but also because the snake slough had shrunk.

"A bit faster than expected, by twenty-five percent less. At this pace, perhaps in at most another seven or eight years, I can fully digest it."

Li Yuan stepped onto the island and gently stroked the great tree. He could feel the Shan Xuan Teng Tree's joy, and also sense the changes gestating within the tree.

"What will it give birth to?"

Li Yuan felt both anticipation and satisfaction.

The growth of cultivation was clearly perceived in the physique, but what manifested in the divine realm was even more direct and clear.

The expansion of the divine realm, the growth of the island, the flourishing of the Shan Xuan Teng Tree, and even the increasingly lively and agile Jin Chi Peng bird… all of these were the fruits of his cultivation.

How could one not rejoice at the sight?

"The only thing that hasn't gone smoothly is the Qing Di magic power…"

Li Yuan felt a touch of regret again.

Relying on the five Shan Xuan Teng Snake Sloughs, his cultivation of the Qing Di Longevity Scripture had been as if aided by the gods, almost without any troubles or difficulties.

But for the condensation of the first strand of magic power, divine patterns were indispensable.

Over these two-plus years, while he had devoted himself to refining his methods, the little Mirage Dragon would head out every few days, carrying the already third-realm gourd Dao Soldier as it traveled about gathering scenery and expanding patterns.

Unfortunately, the Dong Shan Xuan Da Fa Jie had no scenery that produced top-grade divine patterns. Although all other types of divine patterns had been gathered, without the core Jiu Da Shang Pin divine patterns, the Qing Di magic power could not be forged.

And the growth of the Shan Xuan Teng Snake was likewise limited to ninety-nine zhang, unable to increase by even a fraction.

"Of those nine top-grade divine patterns, six are available in the major Xiancheng of Tian Shi Yuan. Though the prices are steep, they're manageable. As for the other three, that's a bit troublesome—wonder if any of the other senior brothers have them?"

In the bamboo tower, Li Yuan slowly opened his eyes.

"Congratulations, Master, on your great advancement in cultivation!"

On the balcony, the white-skinned little gourd swayed gently, offering its rather delighted congratulations. It sensed its master's incomparably pure magic power, which faintly exceeded the scope of Zhong Pin Fa.

"A reward!"

Li Yuan flicked out a strand of magic power with a flick of his finger.

Wooo~

The instant the magic power left his body, one could see his cultivation at a glance—golden light flooded the bamboo tower, and the faint sound of tidewater spread outward, while a subtle fragrance of grass and wood lingered at his nose and mouth.

"Thank you, Master!"

The white-skinned little gourd swallowed that wisp of magic power in one gulp, overjoyed beyond measure.

"Come with me for a walk outside."

Li Yuan casually hung the little gourd at his waist and walked out of the bamboo tower.

The small grotto-heaven had changed quite a bit as well.

The mountain peak where the bamboo tower stood already carried a fair whiff of an immortal's cave abode. Outside the bamboo tower, all the way down to the mountainside, spirit bamboo and spirit grass grew lush and verdant, and spirit birds sang softly.

Streams of spirit spring had been channeled down the mountain, irrigating the three hundred mu of spirit fields that had already taken on some scale. Three hundred mu was not much, but for Li Yuan alone it was barely sufficient.

Inside and outside the spirit fields were spirit puppets laboring away.

Apart from those two gourd Dao soldiers, Master Li, whose purse was not exactly fat, had not purchased any further Dao soldiers, but he had still bought over thirty spirit puppets for labor. They were used to tend the spirit fields and open up the mountains.

"Squeak squeak~"

The little mouse poked its head out of its hole and chittered twice, as if offering congratulations to its master, then promptly shrank back into its hole to bury its head in digesting the Mortal-Shedding Pill.

A few days earlier, unable to withstand the little creature's tearful begging as it failed time and again to enter the Dao, Li Yuan had taken it to meet the Shan Xuan Teng She. Upon seeing its 'little playmate' of nearly a hundred zhang, the badly shaken little mouse refused to step one foot out of its hole ever again.

It swore that it absolutely had to enter the Dao.

"This little mouse still needs thirty-two years to enter the Dao."

Li Yuan calculated on his fingers, and in his heart he already understood.

What he used to calculate on his fingers was a spell he had cultivated two years ago, called 'Qing Di Yan', a divination art of concealment from the Qing Emperor Longevity Scripture.

Since he began practicing this spell, he would calculate on his fingers from time to time—it also counted as cultivating the spell.

In fact, the cultivation of this spell depended entirely on the Qing Emperor Longevity Scripture. Because of the growth of the Shan Xuan Teng tree, he had gathered the divine patterns and easily entered the door, but lacking Qing Emperor magic power, he found it hard to advance further after entry.

"Huff huff~"

On the Qi-Gathering Platform, the black-skinned little gourd was huffing and puffing as it gathered the Nine-Smoke divine patterns.

After Li Yuan expended considerable heart and effort to advance it to the Third Realm, this little gourd's scenery-gathering speed had increased quite a bit—it could gather a full three sets of Nine-Smoke divine patterns in a single month.

Although its appetite had grown greatly, each one requiring an extra wisp of magic power, relatively speaking, Li Yuan was still satisfied.

For no other reason than this—even though he had not properly refined it, merely nurturing it day by day, the Nine-Smoke Net had already nurtured nine layers of weapon prohibitions, advancing to a superior-grade magic treasure, with a sharp increase in flight speed.

"A reward for you!"

After the little gourd finished gathering this wisp of divine patterns and wobbled in salute, Li Yuan flicked his finger, sending two wisps of magic power into the gourd, drawing an 'Aiyo!' from the latter, which kowtowed repeatedly in thanks.

"Keep gathering scenery."

Taking away the divine patterns the black-skinned little gourd had gathered, Li Yuan departed satisfied. He did not leave this small grotto-heaven directly, but instead went to the neighboring mountain.

This mountain was only a little over ten li from his residence, and was quite desolate—neither up nor down the mountain could a single blade of grass be seen. He had later chosen it as the feeding ground for his White Bone Dao soldiers.

"Crack crack~"

From afar, Li Yuan already heard waves of teeth-grinding crunching sounds.

One sturdy bone demon after another squatted amid piles of various bone materials, eating heartily. The White Bone Human Demon that had just advanced to the Third Realm a few days earlier had an enormous appetite, and had been feeding for a full seven or eight days.

"Come!"

After the White Bone Human Demon finished feeding, Li Yuan beckoned, and the twelve White Bone Human Demons, already tinged with a silvery quality, transformed into a bone chain and fell into his hand.

"Twelve is still too few. If I could gather thirty-six, an ordinary Third-Realm magic cultivator could be taken down by Dao soldiers alone. What a pity—too expensive."

When receiving the entry-door benefits, Li Yuan had already guessed these White Bone Human Demons would not be cheap.

In fact, they truly were not cheap, and Li Li Xuanyong was not very willing to sell them either.

"I've already learned the White Bone Human Demon Art too—at worst, I'll refine them myself!"

Gently turning it over, feeling the bone demons' chill aura, Li Yuan stirred a thought in his heart and stepped slowly out the door.

……

There were no ordinary disciples of Mount Mount Dongxuan.

Whether listed by name or auditing, at least to Li Yuan, who had entered the door latest, his senior brothers—all at the minimum peak of the Third Realm—were truly none of them weak.

Mount Mount Dongxuan was very loosely organized; most disciples each had their own path. Only when the Dao Lord preached the Dao, or when the True Transmission senior brothers lectured on the Fa, would there be a brief gathering.

However, the Dao Lord's preaching was unscheduled—sometimes a century, sometimes several centuries between lectures—while the True Transmission senior brothers' lectures were relatively fixed, with one True Transmission lecture every twenty years without fail.

Li Yuan stepped out of his own small grotto-heaven and ran into two senior brothers. After exchanging nods, he followed them up the mountain together.

Before long, he arrived at the 'Lecture Grotto-Heaven' of nine hundred and ninety-nine steps—the fixed venue for the True Transmission lectures.

This grotto-heaven was very small, covering only a few thousand li at most—smaller even than a single-tier Combat Platform in the Combat Hall—but the environment was quite pleasant.

There were mountains and waters, as well as spirit birds and plants.

The place where the True Transmission lectured was a quiet, secluded valley, in which stood a tall Bai Yu platform, and below it were numerous cushions, equal in number to all the disciples.

"What a lively scene."

From afar, Li Yuan saw dozens upon hundreds of senior brothers and senior sisters gathered outside the valley—quite the grand occasion.

"Junior Brother Li."

Li Li Xuanyong had arrived early and was chatting with someone outside the valley. Upon spotting Li Yuan, he cupped his hands in greeting.

"Li Yuan?"

"The youngest closed-door junior brother!"

The moment Li Li Xuanyong spoke, the crowd outside the valley all looked over one after another, with curiosity and scrutiny.

"Li Yuan pays his respects to all senior brothers and senior sisters."

Li Yuan was of course not one to be intimidated. He cupped his hands in salute, and the crowd, whatever their thoughts, all returned the greeting in turn.

"Senior Brother Li, what is this?"

Li Yuan walked closer. Li Li Xuanyong was setting up a stall, and on the stall were white bone tokens, one after another.

"White Bone Black-Armored Warriors and White Bone Swords…"

Li Li Xuanyong spoke, giving the gourd on the stall a little shake: "As for this gourd, it's Nightmare Nine-Headed Serpent blood. Interested, junior brother?"

"Nightmare Nine-Headed Serpent blood?"

Li Yuan feigned surprise and doubt: "What kind of spirit beast is that?"

"A kind of Opening Gui Xu exotic beast, extremely rare, and extremely ferocious. Its blood has all manner of wondrous uses…"

Li Li Xuanyong explained briefly, then, seeing a customer approach, cupped his hands toward Li Yuan and went off to attend to them.

'Nightmare Nine-Headed Serpent blood…'

Li Yuan took a long look at the gourd, but did not disturb Li Li Xuanyong further; instead, he turned his gaze to the various stalls outside the valley.

Before the True Transmission's lecture on the Dharma, as was customary, there would be a small exchange gathering outside the valley, where the disciples of Mount Mount Dongxuan would briefly trade what they had for what they lacked—lasting anywhere from three to five days, or seven to eight.

Li Yuan had come precisely hoping to try his luck at this small gathering. Now, casting a glance around, he found all manner of treasures dazzling to the eye, making it hard for him to look away.

Anything that could catch the eye of a Mount Mount Dongxuan disciple and be put out for display was Zi Fei Fan Pin.

"Plenty of good stuff, but I wonder if there's any high-grade divine patterns?"

Li Yuan's eyes lit up, and he walked toward the nearest stall.

(End of chapter)