Chapter 686: Palm Sound Register Consecutively Advances, Bai Hu Nine Infants Burn the Mind Monkey

Compared to those many strange lands and strange beasts, that blood phoenix of the Lost Self Fall Dao is the greatest fortune.

The essence of the Prison-Suppressing Divine Ability is to use the body as a prison, suppressing all evils, containing the power of all evils within the body.

This divine ability is extremely difficult to cultivate, and there are many subtleties regarding the evil beasts it contains, and that blood phoenix naturally fits perfectly.

"If I could imprison this blood phoenix within my body, my cultivation on the path of body refinement would likely immediately surpass Senior Brother Tong Tong Heihu. Of course, I have to withstand the backlash of refining evil into the body…"

Li Yuan had the thought, but did not think he was qualified at this moment to imprison that evil-god-level blood phoenix.

Even with the Lost Self Fall Dao, it is still a Zhun Liu Jing divine-grade evil beast.

"At the very least, I'd need the physique of a Si Wu Jing cultivator, right?"

Li Yuan estimated in his heart. Having merged Wan Xing Ru Xue and been tempered by that guiding divine fire, he reckoned his physique was not much inferior to that of a third-realm body-refining cultivator.

Once the Divine Palace is forged, and he additionally cultivates a few more body-refining arts, he might well meet the conditions to imprison the blood phoenix.

Of course, the premise was that he had to take down that blood phoenix.

"Take it slow."

Li Yuan's thoughts scattered slightly before settling back. On the path of cultivation, planning far ahead is certainly necessary, but what is more important is focusing on the present.

"Crack!"

Li Yuan crushed that divine-pattern seed, and a wisp of deep blue ghostly light suddenly unfurled, spreading rapidly like concentric circles, as if in an instant reaching the entire Zheng Zuo You Jing.

"Roar?"

Beneath the Dark Vine Tree, the little Bai Hu, who was digesting killing intent, curiously raised its head, only to see above Wang Yang a column of water surging skyward, then cascading down from a great height like a waterfall.

"Splash splash~"

The waterfall cascaded down, water spraying in all directions, occasionally reflecting various wondrous scenes—sometimes a babbling brook, sometimes the Dajiang rolling east, sometimes terrifying waves, sometimes a deep pool of dark water.

The various wondrous scenes flowed and intertwined, finally slowly contracting and merging into Wang Yang.

The Da De Shen Jing, the place where the three elements converge, is also the initial place that carries all magic power and divine abilities.

"Mysterious Dark Body Protection Shield…"

Li Yuan looked down at Wang Yang, where traces of divine patterns could faintly be seen.

Not only this newly acquired Mysterious Dark Body Protection Shield, but also the divine patterns of arts like Shan Xuan Gang Zhong Water, Tai Yin Sword Qi, Tian Peng Dun Fa, and so on, were all within.

The Divine Palace can transform into a Law Realm, and what drives the transformation of the Divine Palace is the various arts the cultivator practices.

The more powerful the Divine Palace, the more arts it can carry; the more arts one cultivates, the more solid the foundation of the future Law Realm will be—this is another manifestation of innate talent.

"Hum~"

When Li Yuan withdrew his gaze, ripples of water surged, forming a layer of deep blue water shield outside his body.

"Cry!"

With a shift of his mind, the Jin Chi Peng bird cultivating arts in the canopy of the Dark Vine Tree suddenly let out a long cry, and in the next instant, thousands of golden lights had already drowned the Mysterious Dark Body Protection Shield.

"Sizzle sizzle sizzle~"

Thousands of golden lights shot forth—this was the Tai Yin Sword Qi cultivated to Dao San Shi Zhong; a single one could slice through Shanfeng, yet now falling like a blanket from the sky, they were all blocked by that water-wave barrier.

"It also consumes a lot of magic power. One strand of Qing Di Fa magic power can only activate it three times. Switch to Kun Peng magic power, and one strand can only trigger it once. If it's low-grade magic power, one activation probably consumes three strands of magic power…"

Li Yuan's eyes flickered, and he already had a clear grasp of this art, which currently had the highest law-prohibition level among his arts.

The arts of ordinary Er San Jing cultivators simply cannot break through this body-protection art.

Moreover…

With a shift of Li Yuan's mind, in the next instant, that dark water shield trembled slightly, then, with a sizzling sound, thousands of golden lights shot out together, stirring up towering waves.

It was precisely the Tai Yin Sword Qi that had been swallowed by the dark water shield.

This body-protection art can briefly swallow the arts the enemy activates, and then rebound them back.

"A Gong-character-grade art indeed has impressive power."

Retracting the dark water shield, Li Yuan was quite satisfied with this art. With a shift of his thought, the dark water shield transformed into water flow and merged into his body, then a layer of deep blue armor appeared.

That armor was piece by piece like scales, covering his entire body, within which two-colored water waves flowed—besides Shan Xuan Gang Zhong Water, there was also the light of 'Dark Water'.

Kun Ming Ten Thousand Layers Armor is a rather peculiar body-protection art. The intensity it can exert is not only related to its law-prohibition level, but also to how many water arts the cultivator additionally cultivates.

Each additional water art increases the power of this body-protection art accordingly.

"With two water arts augmenting it, the power of the Ten Thousand Layers Armor has increased considerably, yet the magic power consumed hasn't changed. Truly worthy of being a companion art of the Dark Abyss Scripture."

Having praised Shu Shu Haoshou a few times in his heart, Li Yuan dispersed the water waves around his body and let the Jin Chi Peng bird return to cultivating arts.

"You don't stay idle either."

After some thought, Li Yuan flicked his finger, and a dark, heavy water droplet had already fallen beneath the Dark Vine Tree, producing a tremendous 'boom' that violently shook the entire island.

"Roar!"

The little Bai Hu was startled, then let out a low roar and pounced on the pool of Shan Xuan Gang Zhong Water that had gathered.

Metal generates water. The little Bai Hu, already possessing some semblance of true form, could barely cultivate arts as well, though its speed was inferior to that of the Kun Peng spirit form.

……

Night fell.

In the bamboo tower, Li Yuan, who had spent the day refining arts, eased his spirit as usual, visualizing the 'Qian Jin Bai Hu True Form Diagram' while taking out the Communication Sphere.

"Hum~"

The moment he took out the Communication Sphere, a vibration sound came from within.

"Quite a harvest."

Li Yuan opened the Combat Hall.

During the more than ten days he had been invited to observe Qi Yun Fa Tian, Feng Xiu Qi had not missed that rare good opportunity, vigorously publicizing the matter of 'the True Transmission of the Poison Dragon challenging the Extraterrestrial Prodigy for eighty thousand li'.

"Thirty-two Xiao Gong?"

Opening the viewing area, Li Yuan's eyes immediately lit up: "Is this Chao Shan Xuan Long's fame really this great? Averaging nearly three Xiao Gong per day."

Thirty-two Xiao Gong was already close to three years' stipend for an inner disciple of Mount Mount Dongxuan.

Converted into seventh-tier incense, that would be three thousand two hundred wisps—enough for him to forge another Daoist Tianyun Daoist Tianyun Xuanbing, or to exchange for a top-grade spell at the Scripture Pavilion!

"Feng Feng Xiuqi is a talent!"

Li Yuan grew interested and opened the spectator area, watching the number of people queuing to fight him still climbing nonstop.

He looked more closely and found it wasn't only Feng Feng Xiuqi—many of his opponents were also pushing hard, promoting their matches against him, not wanting to miss this rare opportunity.

"All of them are talents."

Li Yuan wasn't surprised.

Thirty-two Xiao Gong was nothing to him, but for the other combatants, that was thirty-two million yuan coins—even split among many, it was still a considerable sum.

"Dao-ye, are you there?"

"Dao-ye, quite a few people recently wanted to invite you to a match, many of them are Shadow Lords…"

"Dao-ye, that Chao Ying Shan Xuan Long has charged into the top twenty of the Battle Rankings!"

"Dao-ye…"

……

Li Yuan opened the friends interface; Feng Feng Xiuqi's messages kept popping up, every word addressing him as Dao-ye, his manners quite thorough.

He thought for a moment, then replied with a few lines, the gist being that he was in closed-door cultivation and Po Jing was not far off.

"Dao-ye truly is a heaven-gifted genius!"

Feng Feng Xiuqi had clearly been waiting on the other end—his reply came extremely fast, his words full of flattery and amazement.

'A bit too exaggerated, to the point of seeming insincere.'

Li Yuan critiqued him thus in his heart, yet his mood was quite pleasant; he couldn't help but gain some insight, feeling he had been a bit too reserved before.

"Noted."

Exiting the Battle Hall, Li Yuan entered the Grand Void Myriad Phenomena as usual, scouring through all manner of information, expanding his understanding of every aspect bit by bit.

He didn't find it the least bit tedious—on the contrary, he was immersed in it.

But not long after, Li Yuan's heart stirred suddenly; he exited the Common Lore Sphere and entered the Weapon-Holding Space, locking onto one thread amid the jumble of Listening Sounds.

"…On a certain night after refining the Dharma Heaven, Qi Yun, while in deep meditation, suddenly thought of his own master—and the next instant, the master's face in his thoughts grew clear, his gaze falling down, so terrifying that even his Dharma Heaven rumbled for a long while…"

"Master?"

Li Yuan listened with rapt attention—he had been drawn in by this very Listening Sound.

"…No one knows what dharma decree Qi Yun received, only that the thought of descending the mountain arose in his heart; he invited several close senior brothers to observe the Dharma Heaven ceremony…"

"…After sending one person off, he announced he wished to seek a place in the San Yuan Fa Jie domain to broadly establish a sect, widely accepting disciples, and asked three senior brothers to assist, as if preparing for some great matter…"

Was that after sending me off?

Li Yuan's heart stirred slightly; he pulled this Listening Sound out and pondered it carefully.

"…Qi Yun guessed that those who descended the mountain were not only him, nor was it only beginning now; the senior brothers through the ages who had refined the Dharma Heaven perhaps also…"

More than one person?

Li Yuan focused his mind and analyzed, extracting the key points.

"Refining the Dharma Heaven, the master's dharma decree, establishing a sect in the lower realm, and the senior brothers through the ages who refined the Dharma Heaven are suspected to be the same?"

"A great matter—what great matter?"

Li Yuan was suddenly a little alarmed.

His master, whom he had never met, had attained the Dao long ago; with a new generation every thousand years, by their generation it was already the thirteenth!

"A great matter that could make a Dao Lord scheme for so long…"

What manner of man was Li Dao-ye, sharp and perceptive as he was?

From this Listening Sound alone, he faintly caught the scent of a storm about to break.

"A great matter…"

For a Dao Lord, what counted as a great matter?

The benefit of reading every day and gathering intelligence now showed itself; with a turn of thought, Li Yuan had already gathered quite a few.

"For the Weitian Dao Sect, for Dao Lord-level powerhouses, great matters are nothing more than opening up a Returning Ruins, attacking other-dimensional realms such as the Xuanhuang Great Realm, struggles with other Weitian Dao Sects, the ownership of all the heavens and myriad domains…"

Which could it be?

Recalling the great matters in ancient history, lacking the necessary intelligence, Li Yuan could not judge accurately, yet a sense of urgency inevitably rose in his heart.

"Only senior brothers who refine the Dharma Heaven descend the mountain—this means cultivators below the Sixth Realm have almost no need to know of this matter…" Li Yuan deliberated for a long time before steadying himself and beginning to sort through the various Listening Sounds that had been uninterrupted for these past dozen-plus days.

Because cultivators often had spells to conceal their forms and block heavenly deduction, the Listening Sound harvest wasn't great.

He sorted through them and found only a sparse few that piqued his interest—such as Fayin Fayin Tongzi tending his medicinal fields, preparing to trade for a spirit pill after the little lord came out of closed-door cultivation.

For example, Yu Yu Fa Huan Zhen was still searching for people to explore the Demon Refining Ground, and had even tracked down the old ancestor of the Boatman Sea.

"The old ancestor of the Boatman Sea…"

Li Yuan paid close attention to intelligence on the various gods of Tian Shi Yuan; true and false, he knew a great pile of it.

The old ancestor of the Boatman Sea—his attainment of the Dao was suspected to predate even the Venom Dragon God; reportedly, in the most flourishing year of the Origin, he had ferried people at a hidden place in the Returning Ruins; after the collapse of the Divine Dynasty, he came to Tian Shi Yuan and founded the Boatman Sea.

"Senior Sister Yu really is relentless."

Li Yuan was genuinely a little curious about the Demon Refining Ground she was pursuing, but he had been collecting Listening Sounds for four years, and the few related ones were only Yu Yu Fa Huan Zhen's failed explorations, someone's death, and the like.

After those two Listening Sounds, there was nothing of value.

"The grade of the Sound-Holding Register is still too low."

The sudden great matter left Li Yuan feeling a little uneasy, thinking the grade of the Sound-Holding Register was too low:

"Upgrade it to ninth-tier first!"

……

"Boom!"

"Boom!"

In the Soldier-Forging Space, two tremendous booms exploded one after another.

The grey stone platform trembled violently twice, then doubled in size; the platform that once could barely hold a foothold was now broad as a plain.

"Whoosh!"

Li Yuan shook himself out of his daze. Entering this place, he saw the darkness beyond the stone platform churning, still chilling to the heart.

"This darkness outside the stone platform doesn't resemble the aura of the Returning Ruins…"

Li Yuan gazed for a moment, then turned to look at the Listening-Sound Wooden Tablet.

【Nine-Tier Sound-Listening Tablet】

【Can listen to Heavenly Sound: once every six months (available)】

【Activated: Sound-Listening Tablet (Nine-Tier)】

【Not activated: Sound-Pointing Talisman (Nine-Tier)】

【Consume two hundred Nine-Tier rare treasures to advance to Ten-Tier】

【Number of Heavenly Sound listenings: twenty-one】

The Sound-Listening Tablet's two advancements consumed two thousand four hundred strands of Seven-Tier incense, that is, twenty-four Xiao Gong.

"Advancing to Ten-Tier will take fifty-four Xiao Gong."

For the current Li Yuan, fifty-four Xiao Gong wasn't too much, but he truly didn't have it on hand right now. He reached out to touch the Listening-Sound Wooden Tablet and found that two advancements hadn't brought much change either.

"Damned Cang Xing Fa."

Cursing inwardly, Li Yuan began sorting through the various Sound-Listenings he had obtained.

The consumption of a full two thousand four hundred strands of Seven-Tier incense naturally meant the Sound-Listenings obtained were far beyond the everyday sort. With only a slight sensing, Li Yuan saw quite a few Sound-Listenings that interested him.

"…In the sixth layer of the Returning Ruins, within a hidden alternate dimension, Yu Yu Wangxian stepped into the air, his body transforming into a blazing sun, sweeping across the heavens—its light was dazzling,

darkness banished utterly, thousands upon thousands of miles bright as day… In an instant, a youth burst forth from the void, declaring 'Return the lives of Bei Chen Fa Jie's living beings to me!' Yu Yu Wangxian laughed, raised his sword, and slew him…"

"…On the shore of a dark, vast Wang Yang, an old man in a straw raincoat sat fishing. In an instant, his face lit with joy; he swiftly raised his rod and pulled in a green-wood thunder dragon. The thunder dragon wailed as it fell into the fish basket—only then did one discover that within were not only all manner of beasts from beyond the stars, but also no few cultivators like him…"

"…In the deepest reaches of the Returning Ruins, within boundless darkness, an ancient bronze coffin drifted, and faintly, the sound of thunder came from within…"

"…In a certain star domain of the Winter Mu Fa Jie realm, a youth lay prone atop a meteorite, drifting through it. His expression was resolute, his eyes fierce with killing intent, his heart steeled—he swore to the death to seek intelligence on these extramural demons, to prevent these demons from invading the Shan Xuan Huang Great Realm again…"

"…In a dark place strewn with volcanic sulfur, demon after demon whose faces could not be seen stepped forth from the void, prostrating themselves with utmost reverence,

faintly visible within the dark caverns stood row upon row of demon statues that seemed freshly carved. Demons observed them with utmost care, silently mouthing 'Five Decays,' 'Six Paths,' 'Tribulation Extinction'…"

……

Sound-Listenings of extremely high quality wove together, jumbled and chaotic.

Li Yuan listened through them roughly, and only now felt a sense of harvest.

"There are actually over twenty related to alternate dimensions—pretty good luck…"

Li Yuan sorted them into categories.

First, those concerning alternate dimensions. The disciples of the Weaving Heaven Dao Sect were constantly opening alternate dimensions, and likewise, alternate dimensions had never given up on descending into the present world.

Among them, the weaker ones like Bei Chen Fa Jie and Shan Xuan Yin Fa Jie mostly came seeking revenge, while powerful great realms such as the Shan Xuan Huang Realm, Wu Shen Fa Jie, and Tian Mo Fa Jie descended of their own accord.

"The Straw-Coat Fishing Old Man!"

Beyond alternate dimensions, the Sound-Listening Li Yuan paid most attention to concerned a 'Straw-Coat Fishing Old Man,' who sat cross-legged outside an unknown Wang Yang, fishing the myriad heavens.

In that fish basket, who knew how many exotic beasts and even cultivators there were—it made him think of those terrifying fishing lines he had glimpsed when he cast down the 'Heavenly Tribulation Rod.'

"This old thing fishes with a bare hook, not even putting out bait—where is this fishing? It's pure plunder!"

Li Yuan looked at the Human-Tribulation Platform, thought for a moment, and realized he wasn't much better himself. Of course, his fishing cost incense—it wasn't snatching something for nothing.

After a long while, Li Yuan had sorted through all the Sound-Listenings and felt there were gains, but not enormous ones.

"Is it that Senior Sister Yu hid things deeply, or is that Demon-Refining Ground of hers somewhat strange?"

Going through them one by one, Li Yuan didn't see anything about that Demon-Refining Ground, but he did see something about the Blood Phoenix.

Within the Blood Phoenix's belly was hidden its Fa Tian, which had not yet been fully eroded by You Jing—this was the reason countless cursed lands were fighting so fiercely.

"Whoosh!"

Exiting the Soldier-Forging Space, Li Yuan gently rubbed his brow. After that bout of Sound-Listening, he felt that the area outside Mount Mount Dongxuan was more dangerous than he had imagined.

The Fishing Old Man, alternate dimensions, evil gods, and those demonic cultivators whose sects had been destroyed and who plundered others from time to time—even the ancient deities left behind after the fall of the Origin Divine Dynasty.

"The ancient bronze coffin drifting in the depths of the Returning Ruins…"

Recalling that Sound-Listening, Li Yuan strongly suspected it was also a God-Burial Coffin.

Because he worried that the Grand Void Pavilion might keep records of his exhaustive searches, he had never used the Grand Void Myriad Manifestations to exhaustively search for God-Burial Coffins. But he had searched for many things, and occasionally stumbled upon things related to the Origin Divine Dynasty.

Such as the Poison Dragon God, the Divine Wind Marquis, Boatman Sea Old Ancestor… virtually every ancient deity still in existence had some connection to the Origin Divine Dynasty.

"There's not a single one about Master—I'm guessing only listening to Heavenly Sound might let me hear anything about him?"

The thought arose in Li Yuan's mind and was quickly dismissed. Ever since Master Master Fufa had transmitted teachings across the void, he had not dared to recklessly think about those powerful beings in his heart.

Moreover, he was even somewhat reluctant to listen to Heavenly Sound and endure heavenly tribulation on Mount Mount Dongxuan.

"If not necessary in the future, it's best the main body not leave Mount Mount Dongxuan…"

Settling his mind, Li Yuan pushed open the door and went out. After eating his spirit meal, he went as usual to the Qi-Gathering Platform to practice Xing Gong and refine his methods.

……

Practicing Xing Gong and refining methods, summoning and refining demons, visualizing the True Form Diagram, controlling Ying Mo Shen to explore the Blood Phoenix's belly, Sound-Listening and fishing the All-Knowledge Sphere…

Over the next few days, Li Yuan cultivated with increasing diligence.

More than ten days later, beneath the Shan Xuan Vine Tree, the little tiger cub that had originally been only fist-sized was now over a zhang tall. And on this day, Li Yuan switched his Soldier-Forging.

Relying on the 'Nine Infant True Form Diagram' and the Soldier-Forging augmentation paired with his dharma treasure, he successfully visualized the Nine Infant True Form, and fed it killing intent to help stabilize its form.

A few more days passed, and the true form of the Nine Infants — nine-headed, resembling flood dragons and pythons — had begun to take shape, sent by Li Yuan to guard the divine furnace.

Once the Nine Infants had taken preliminary form, Li Yuan no longer had to shuttle back and forth; he only needed to stuff the demonic remains into the Ni Wan Shen Jing, and the nine little creatures would naturally snort and puff as they drove the divine furnace to temper them.

After the third true form was completed, Li Yuan's Xing Gong and Fa refinement speed grew somewhat faster — of course, this was also related to his purchase of spiritual pills.

Thanks to Feng Feng Xiuqi's efforts, his income grew rapidly; in less than twenty days he had accumulated nearly eighty Xiao Gong, and although it later leveled off, he still earned at least one Xiao Gong every three days.

With income coming in, Li Yuan naturally wouldn't stint on himself; he bought quite a few spiritual pills, spiritual incense, and the like to boost his cultivation, and his Fa refinement efficiency soared.

Thus, another twenty-plus days passed. Feeling that the Nine Infants had grown sturdy and that water and fire had been preliminarily harmonized, Li Yuan took command of the 【Fire-Departing Heart-Mind Ape Sword (Ten-Tier)】.

Because there was no true-form chart, this sword was also far too incomplete.

This time, it took him half a day to visualize the 'Red Emperor Heart-Burning Ape,' and another half a day later, among the branches and leaves of the Shan Xuan Vine Tree, there appeared an extra little red monkey.

That little monkey was quite fond of the Shan Xuan Vine Tree; its love of wood-Fa far surpassed that of the Fire Phoenix Furnace, and it roamed among the treetops every day, chattering away.

The Shan Xuan Vine Tree, meanwhile, stood immovable, steadily drawing upon the shed essence of the Nightmare Nine-Headed Serpent and the demonic qi and blood fed to it by Li Yuan, advancing step by step.

"Four great true forms!"

On the Qi-Gathering Platform, Li Yuan inwardly observed his Shen Jing.

In the Ni Wan Shen Jing, the sea was calm, with only occasional faint ripples. Compared to before, the Shan Xuan Vine Island had grown considerably; nourished by demonic qi and blood, the Shan Xuan Vine Tree was now nearly three hundred zhang tall, giving off a real sense of one tree becoming a forest.

Among the trunk, the Jin Chi Peng bird quietly cultivated spells, while the Heart-Burning little monkey 'squeaked' noisily, roaming back and forth among the branches and provoking the Bai Hu lying beneath the tree.

The Bai Hu lay at the edge of the pool, 'whooshing' audibly — it was cultivating Shan Xuan Gang Heavy Water.

In the Wang Yang, what had once been a soldier-nurturing ground could now be called a small island, spanning a full ten-plus li, with countless chaotic divine patterns upon it — one could see how many demons had been refined.

At the center of the small island, the divine furnace burned fiercely, the Nine Infants working diligently — some heads blowing the fire, some adding fuel, some hauling demonic corpses — all nine heads busier than they could handle.

"The Heart-Burning Ape is still a bit small. After a few more days of nurturing it should be able to cultivate spells too — that 'Divine Fire Shield' would suit it well…"

Li Yuan mulled this over in his heart, then Tui Chu Shen Jing.

Over forty-odd days, he had naturally refined those two Gu Gu Shentong seeds; the spell contained in one was called 'Turtle Breath Concealment,' a Cang Xing Fa with Ba Shi Yi Zhong Fa prohibitions.

The other was the Divine Fire Shield, a body-protection spell similar to the Kun Ming Ten-Thousand-Layered Body, originating from the Red Emperor Fire Phoenix Scripture; he suspected it was related to the Fire-Departing Heart-Mind Ape Sword.

"Having condensed three great true forms in a row, even with my foundation, I need to slow down a bit… It also happens to be time to save up some Shan Gong — true-form charts don't come cheap."

In the small grotto-heaven, Li Yuan devoted himself to refining Fa, single-mindedly enduring bitter cultivation.

In the blink of an eye, nearly another three months had passed.

On this day, as he finished his Xing Gong, a sudden sense of perfect wholeness and completion welled up in his heart — the twenty-one strands of Kun Peng magic power he had lost had all returned to fullness.

"Time to forge the Divine Palace!"

As the thought arose, Li Yuan closed his eyes and entered meditation, arriving beneath the Shan Xuan Vine Tree.

(End of this chapter)