Chapter 690: A Hundred Battles a Day to Build Fame, Cultivating Various Arts to Strengthen the True Form

Of the seven arts, aside from Qing Di Yan which only has twenty-one layers of law prohibitions, the rest have at minimum thirty-two layers, while the Shan Xuan Gang Heavy Water has already reached thirty-six layers.

The highest naturally come from the Divine Power Seed — the Shan Xuan You Body Protection Shield and Turtle Breath Concealment, both with eighty-one layers of law prohibitions.

"A Third Realm cultivator, even one as strong as Yellow Ape, mostly has arts below sixty layers. Many Fourth or Fifth Realm cultivators, aside from their main cultivated arts, mostly only have around eighty-one layers…"

Though he felt the information reflected by the Taixu Divine Mirror was only for reference, Li Li Yuanzhong still found it quite intuitive.

In the over a hundred battles with Yellow Ape, though he had never won a single one, his skill in combining and employing arts had grown considerably, and he had a clear sense of his current strength.

Though he had only ascended to the Third Realm a few months ago, and his Spirit Phase was far from complete.

But relying on the Qing Di Fa's magic power and his various high-grade arts, he no longer feared ordinary Fourth or Fifth tier Third Realm combatants.

"As for peak Divine Palace powerhouses with Zhao Tianxing or Divine-Demon-grade talents, as long as they're not like Senior Brother Yellow Ape, I might not be unable to fight them. Having fewer arts also has its own way of fighting."

Using Yellow Ape as a mirror, Li Li Yuanzhong felt he had gained an extremely deep understanding of Divine Palace realm cultivators' combat power.

The limit of the nine heavens of the Divine Palace is eighty-one superior arts, but this is only theoretical — the vast majority of cultivators could never possibly cultivate so many arts.

Even Yellow Ape didn't have that many, and most of his arts don't have very high prohibition layers.

A thought stirring in his heart, Li Li Yuanzhong opened the Visit Friends interface and exchanged a few words with Feng Feng Xiuqi, then gathered his thoughts. As starlight rose beneath him, he entered the Combat Arena once more.

……

"A thousand battles in a day, sword aimed at Chao Ying Shan Xuan Long?"

In Wind God City, in a small courtyard, Feng Feng Xiuqi's eyes shimmered with light and shadow. His suggestion had been rejected, and the next flickering spiritual message made his heart jolt:

"A hundred battles in a day, sword aimed at first place!"

"This…"

Looking at the spiritual message from 'Eight Thousand Li', Feng Feng Xiuqi sucked in a breath of cold air, feeling that this Daoist understood the art of spectating even better than he did.

"A hundred battles in a day can spread longer, and 'sword aimed at first place' attracts other cultivators to spectate more than 'sword aimed at Chao Ying Shan Xuan Long'…"

"The premise is — you can't lose!"

Through the Communication Sphere, Feng Feng Xiuqi seemed to sense that Daoist's intense will. His heart pounding, he immediately set out and opened the Recording function.

Before long, the news of "Outer Realm Blue Dragon breaks through three realms in seven years, sword aimed at first place on the Combat Rankings" had already spread at extreme speed.

Not only Feng Feng Xiuqi — opponents who had fought Li Li Yuanzhong before and tasted the sweetness of spectating also sprang into action one after another.

"Three realms broken through in seven years!"

"A hundred battles in a day, total victory!"

"Outer Realm Strong Dragon, sword aimed at first place!"

Before long, the news of 'Eight Thousand Li' reappearing, breaking through three realms, and aiming his sword at first place had already swept through the entire spectating area like a hurricane, spreading rapidly through the Communication Sphere until it reached the many Xiancheng within Tian Shi Yuan.

Countless cultivators came upon hearing the news — some newly curious, asking to watch Li Li Yuanzhong's past battles; some throwing themselves into the Combat Palace Hall, wanting to see this Outer Realm Strong Dragon for themselves.

For a time, it even caused quite a stir within the scope of Tian Shi Yuan.

……

Fire Phoenix City sits at the extreme south of Tian Shi Yuan, named for being established by the Fire Phoenix clan. The races gathering here are extremely numerous, and its bustle and prosperity rival the five great main cities.

In Fire Phoenix Xiancheng, atop a massive tower that rose from the ground straight into the clouds, a figure in red — Feng Huang'er — sat cross-legged, drawing in the Essence of Li Fire from between heaven and earth.

"Huff!"

At a certain moment, she slowly finished her cultivation, frowning as she looked at the Communication Sphere. The instant she opened it, a ball of Bai Guang leapt out, sketching a play of light and shadow before her eyes.

Within the light and shadow, fire and lava could be faintly seen. A fire dragon with crimson scales walked out from the lava, transforming into a dragon girl with dragon horns, looking about thirteen or fourteen years old.

"Sister Huang, do you know Eight Thousand Li?"

The dragon girl hopped onto a piece of fiery red crystal.

"Eight Thousand Li?"

Feng Huang'er frowned: "Who is this?"

Hearing her question, the dragon girl immediately became animated:

"They say he's a strong dragon from the outer realms. Even Chao Ying Shan Xuan Long challenged him to a fight! They say he came alone from the outer realms, broke through three realms in seven years, and won a thousand battles in a thousand at the Combat Arena. They say he's a Mu Mu Xiantian Dao Body!"

"…Three realms broken through in seven years?"

Feng Huang'er frowned deeply as she listened, directly ignoring what she'd said about the Mu Mu Xiantian Dao Body, and asked: "Which three realms? It can't be the realms before entering the Dao, can it?"

She didn't really believe this little dragon girl's words.

This princess of the Fire Dragon clan had been exposed to the Communication Sphere too early, had watched too much nonsensical stuff, and didn't even seem like a dragon anymore.

"Entering the Dao, Unity, and Divine Palace!"

The dragon girl counted on her fingers: "They say seven years ago he had just entered the Dao, and now he's already at the Sixth Heaven of the Divine Palace realm. Some say he's suspected to be a Mu Mu Xiantian Dao Body from the Weitian Dao Sect!"

"How could that be?!"

Feng Huang'er found it utterly absurd — even a Mu Mu Xiantian Dao Body absolutely couldn't cultivate to the Sixth Heaven of the Divine Palace in seven years.

"I'm telling the truth, go to the Combat Palace Hall and see for yours—"

"Snap!"

Feng Huang'er ended the conversation without mercy, but her heart had been disturbed by 'Weitian Dao Sect', and for a time she didn't even feel like cultivating anymore.

"Shan Xuan Xuanjing Daozi, Feng Feng Wu Ding!"

Grinding her teeth as she muttered the names of the enemies who had cut off her own opportunities, Feng Huang'er opened the Communication Sphere, and instantly various pinging sounds erupted into a cacophony.

Some came from the Visit Friends interface, some from the Taixu Ten Thousand Phenomena Recording Area, but most came from the Combat Palace Hall's spectating area.

【Over the past three years, a total of 1.4 million people have watched your battles against… total income in Yuan Coins… 617 million…】

Glancing at it absently, Feng Huang'er's mood worsened. Over three years without appearing had an impact after all — the number of spectators had dropped by a large margin.

But she didn't pay it much mind; she just needed to find someone to fight a few rounds. After thinking for a moment, she clicked into the spectating area, preparing to see the 'Outer Realm Strong Dragon' the little dragon girl had mentioned.

"So many people are sending his battles?"

Seeing battles related to Eight Thousand Li flooding the spectating area, Feng Huang'er was also startled, but she didn't believe anything about a Mu Mu Xiantian Dao Body.

Years ago, a Heaven-Physique of the Weitiandao Sect passed through Tian Shi Yuan. That day, it is said all five great Grotto-Heavens of Tian Shi Yuan had to turn out to welcome him, and even Feng Feng Qingcang came out of seclusion to pay his respects to that person.

How could such a figure possibly appear on the Tian Shi Yuan Douzhan Tai?

"Pa!"

Thinking this, Feng Huang'er casually tapped open a battle. A moment later, her brows knit:

"This counts as a strong dragon?"

Frowning, she scrolled down and found that there were several hundred entries related to that Ba Wan Li, and quite a number of spectators for each.

"Ba Wan Li's first battle upon entering the Dao, Ba Wan Li's hundred-win battle, Ba Wan Li's thousand-win battle…"

Feng Huang'er read through them one by one, her expression shifting several times. After watching his final battle of the thousand wins and calculating the time, her countenance finally changed:

"In just two short years, his progress has actually been this enormous?!"

Is he really a Heaven-Physique?

Feng Huang'er was somewhat dumbfounded. Though she still did not believe it, she could not help looking toward the spectator area, and amid the waterfall-like scrolling battles, she saw Ba Wan Li's next battle after appearing once more.

……

【Human Race, Zhao Tong Heihu (Fourth-Tier Douzhan Zhe), Divine Palace Sixth Heaven…】

Before his eyes, starlight cascaded like a waterfall, interweaving and flowing.

"A Divine Palace cultivator of the Covering-Heavens tier."

Li Yuan raised a hand and seized, transforming that mass of starlight into the Nine-Smoke Gauze, then lifted his gaze toward the distant mountains.

Where he now stood was the Third-Tier Douzhan Tai. Compared to the First Tier, it was many times larger; at a glance, mountains and rivers stretched on endlessly, great rivers rushing.

On a desolate mountain three thousand li away, a Daoist of imposing physique, mounted on a black tiger several zhang tall, was eyeing Li Yuan from afar:

"My luck's not bad—barely twenty-odd random battles and I've already run into you…"

"A strong dragon from beyond the realm?"

A cold snort exploded like a thunderclap. The tiger's roar whipped up a gale that swept across a thousand li of mountains and rivers, and in an instant scattered the clouds across the sky, weaving them into a scene upon the vault of heaven.

Within the light and shadow stood a mountain rising sheer from the earth, ten thousand zhang tall. Six black tigers occupied the mountain—some lying, some standing, some poised to descend, some howling at length.

Yet at the very instant Li Yuan's gaze fell upon them, they all let out earth-shaking roars as one.

"Boom—!"

Dust and smoke billowed, mountains and rivers shattered. In but an instant, Li Yuan felt one bone-chilling killing intent after another rushing at him from every direction—some to pin his body, some to pin his spirit.

The most terrifying was a tiger's roar, so violently savage it seemed to explode directly from within his heart, seeking to freeze him where he stood.

"Crack!"

Almost at the same moment, Li Yuan heard the sound of tearing silk. He jerked his head up and saw, in the void above, fangs faintly appearing, about to envelop a thousand li around him with himself at the center.

Body-Pinning, Spirit-Pinning, Displacement, Concealment…

In a single instant, six spells descended together, swift and violent!

Boom—!

The next instant, dust and smoke, as if to drown the entire Douzhan Tai, surged skyward. A terrifying blast of air followed, sounding as if ten thousand thunderclaps had exploded in a single instant.

"Seven years, three realms?"

On the distant desolate mountain, Zhao Tong Heihu's expression was cold and fierce: "This is the Douzhan Palace. What matters is spell-battle and combat, not some cultivation speed…"

"Hm?!"

Before the thought could even turn in his mind, Zhao Tong Heihu felt a chill on his back. Without a second thought, he activated his protective spell, and the black tiger beneath him transformed into a vicious gale that swept him along within it.

"Chi!"

Almost at the same moment, he heard the sound of raindrops piercing the air, then heard a "crack"—the sound of his protective spell being pierced through.

"Not good!"

In that instant, Zhao Tong Heihu sensed the killing intent of at least three spells. The moment his protective spell shattered, he had already activated his Dun Fa and displaced himself away.

But in the instant before he reappeared from his displacement, his pupils contracted sharply. He saw, high in the long sky, clouds and mist rolling, and a great Kun plunging down across the heavens.

It let out but one cry, and scattered drops of water came blotting out the sky and earth, enveloping the entire space where he stood.

"Chi!"

"Chichi~"

The myriad drops of water fell—each one a droplet of Mysterious Gang Heavy Water condensed to the thirty-sixth layer of law-prohibition, every drop possessing the force to shatter mountains and rivers. Now they shot forth like rain, ending this battle in an instant.

……

【Victor: Ba Wan Li】

【Obtained: 5,000 Yuan Coins】

【Two thousand wins may advance to Fourth-Tier Douzhan Zhe】

【Current: 1,100 battles, 1,100 wins】

"Fourth-Tier and above are still a bit tricky. If that Zhao Tong Heihu hadn't been trying to win quickly, he might not have lost so fast."

On the Douzhan Stone Platform, Li Yuan sat cross-legged, reviewing the hundred battles just fought. Apart from Zhao Tong Heihu, he felt there was little worth summarizing.

As for Zhao Tong Heihu…

"The Grand Void Divine Realm's judgments are too loose. That Zhao Tong Heihu may have had six great spirit-forms, but his cultivation was at most Third Heaven—not even as solid as Old Pang."

After grumbling a few lines about the Grand Void Divine Realm hiding its strength, Li Yuan finally sorted through the gains of the hundred battles. The five hundred thousand Yuan Coins were nothing to speak of; the main thing was the spectators. The moment he took a quick tally, he was startled. In the time it had taken him to finish the hundred battles, the number of spectators had surged by no less than a hundredfold compared to normal.

"Twenty-one Xiao Gong!"

Li Yuan's eyes immediately blazed bright.

In less than a day, he had earned close to two years' worth of disciple stipend, and it was still rising rapidly—especially his battle against Zhao Tong Heihu just now. In that brief moment, over ten thousand people were already watching.

"The intelligence from the Grand Void Ten Thousand Images is still useful. In battle, either crush them utterly, or match them evenly—only then is there spectacle."

Li Yuan was very satisfied with this gain.

The Grand Void Divine Realm had been circulating for so many years that cultivators from every domain had already done quite profound research into its various functions.

It wasn't the case that a higher realm or more exquisite spells guaranteed a large audience — unless one was at the level of Feng Feng Qingcang or Fa Fa Wushe, otherwise it was the spectacle that drew more viewers.

Take Feng Huang'er, for instance — that prodigy of the Fire Phoenix clan was extremely skilled at this. His moves were dazzling to the extreme, full of spectacle, and the Origin Coins he earned were dozens of times more than the likes of Ying Ying Shan Xuan Long or Feng Feng Wu Ding.

"A hundred battles a day — if I can maintain this harvest, no need for more, in a year or two, let alone the three realms, I could probably gather part of the cultivation resources for the four realms!"

Although he knew such a harvest couldn't be maintained for long, Li Yuan felt quite heartened in his heart, feeling that his plan had no problems at all.

Otherwise, take an ordinary third-tier combatant — even if they won a thousand battles, even if they broke into the top hundred of the Combat Rankings, they absolutely couldn't earn twenty Xiao Gong in a single day.

Li Yuan opened the Friends interface, and Feng Feng Xiuqi had sent him a long string of spiritual sense messages — besides flattery and praise, they were all about how he had operated to successfully spread 'Outworld Strong Dragon' far and wide.

"A Shadow Recorder is of great use, ah."

After reading through them one by one, Li Yuan reached a conclusion.

He had this harvest, and Feng Feng Xiuqi deserved no small credit — one Shadow Recorder was equivalent to thousands upon thousands of cultivators, spreading by word of mouth, quickly making 'Outworld Strong Dragon' known everywhere.

Of course, the hatred from the eighty-thousand-li had also been pulled to the full.

At this very moment, who knew how many three-realm cultivators were madly queuing randomly in the Combat Arena, wanting to have a go at him.

"Can't be too hasty."

Suppressing the urge to enter the Combat Arena again, encouraging Feng Feng Xiuqi with a few words and telling him to keep up the good work, Li Yuan closed the Communication Sphere.

His execution capability was beyond doubt — once he had a plan, he would carry it through to the end.

A hundred battles a day, until he reached the top.

Of course, this also had a slight relation to the fact that he currently had no confidence in reaching the top directly.

……

Starting from this day, Li Yuan's Shan Gong began positive growth, surging at a pace of at least a dozen or so per day, at most twenty or thirty — after just over a month, it broke through one thousand two hundred!

This was an Inner Disciple's century-long stipend!

"One thousand two hundred Xiao Gong!"

In the bamboo tower, Li Yuan couldn't help but tallied it up once.

Over four years, he had already become thoroughly familiar with the Communication Sphere, and his understanding of the Combat Hall ran quite deep. From his conversations with Feng Feng Xiuqi, he knew this income had already exceeded the scope of the Star Rankings!

The 'xenophobia' of Tian Shi Yuan cultivators was fiercer than he had imagined.

"A pity, it's starting to slide down."

Li Yuan felt a touch of regret, then Yu Yu Xuanji took out his Inner Disciple Token.

Over six months in total, the true forms of the Azure Dragon and Fire Phoenix had also initially stabilized — though still not usable, he could continue visualizing other true forms.

At the same time, he also had to cultivate other spells.

"Buzz~"

With a turn of his mind, Li Yuan arrived at the Scripture Pavilion, cupped his hands in salute, and summoned Shu Shu Haoshou.

"Eh?"

The little old man had only just appeared when he sensed something amiss: "Did you just strike it rich?"

"Can you tell?"

Li Yuan was in a very good mood.

"Seen plenty."

Shu Shu Haoshou let out a 'hehe' laugh: "The Combat Arena, right?"

"You can tell that too?"

Li Yuan was somewhat surprised.

"Generally speaking, newly admitted disciples will mostly try the Combat Arena at the three realms — you don't think you're the only one who knows you can earn Shan Gong in the Communication Sphere, do you?"

Shu Shu Haoshou put on a pompous air, the look of an old hand who'd seen it all.

"That's true enough."

Li Yuan was dumbfounded, but on second thought it seemed quite normal — even if it wasn't his style of play, just legitimately climbing the rankings could also earn a decent sum of cultivation resources.

There were no run-of-the-mill disciples among Mount Mount Dongxuan — take Liu Liu Jingshan, for instance, he estimated that fellow even had the strength to top the rankings.

"Spend it sparingly — the Ten Thousand Domains Sect isn't as simple as you think."

Shu Shu Haoshou waved his big hand, and a curtain-like enormous list was laid out:

"What spells are you preparing to choose?"

"Senior, this junior wishes to choose spells related to the Five Extremes Great Scripture, as well as the Qianshan Qianshan Qilin True Form Diagram."

Li Yuan answered.

"You little rascal's progress is truly astonishing — it's only been how long, and you've already visualized the Azure Dragon and Fire Phoenix?"

Shu Shu Haoshou couldn't help but be somewhat startled, then with a wave of his hand, over ninety percent of the catalog on the curtain vanished at once — but what remained was still densely packed, in the thousands upon thousands.

"Could the senior recommend one or two?"

Li Yuan humbly sought guidance.

"At the Divine Palace realm, theoretically one can cultivate eighty-one upper-grade spells — of course, not many can cultivate them all. In your generation, it seems only two or three people have completed them all?"

Shu Shu Haoshou paused, then said: "Including those five True Inheritors."

"The senior's meaning is, no need to seek quantity?"

Li Yuan still wanted to ask who those two or three people were, but Shu Shu Haoshou had already given a light cough and begun recommending spells for him.

"The Five Element Escape Arts go without saying — since you intend to pursue the Five Extremes Great Scripture, these five escape arts are something you must certainly choose."

"The Five Element Escape Arts?"

Li Yuan simply assumed the posture of an eager listener.

"All manner of spells, their essence lies in using 'Divine Prohibitions' to drive divine patterns, operating the power of heaven and earth — and the essence of escape arts is precisely to borrow the power of heaven and earth to evade all attacks, tangible and intangible."

Having grown familiar with each other, Shu Shu Haoshou said a few more words: "Escape arts must be practiced in multiple schools, to guard against being targeted — for instance, body-fixing, spirit-fixing and the like."

"The Ding Shen Fa, in essence, fixes the circulation of the world's spiritual Qi…"

Li Yuan nodded; he had this bit of foundation.

"Beyond the Five Elements escape arts, naturally come the Five Elements body-fixing arts — these are techniques that any cultivator of the Primordial Five Extremes Dao will inevitably choose, without exception."

Shu Shu Haoshou glanced at Li Yuan, saw that the latter's expression was as usual, and could not help being a little surprised.

This kid's sudden windfall must be no small sum…

"These ten techniques, plus the ones from before, ought to be enough for you to cultivate for over a hundred years…"

Speaking to here, Shu Shu Haoshou paused and said:

"As for those techniques used to strengthen the true form, pick them yourself — the Qi Zhong Shang Pin are mostly much of a muchness. Remember: they must be suited to the spirit-image."

Beyond visualization, there are also various means to strengthen the true form, but no matter which, if the true form is to reach perfection, it must inevitably be nourished by techniques.

A spirit-image without the nourishment of techniques is like a tiger without claws, fangs, ears or eyes — possessing only its form, not its substance.

"This junior understands."

Li Yuan bowed in thanks, and on the list selected another ten techniques, along with seventy-nine miscellaneous books, rounding it out to a hundred, and asked Shu Shu Haoshou to fetch them all together.

"Good lad…"

Seeing that he had actually chosen so many techniques, even Shu Shu Haoshou clicked his tongue, then Yu Yu Xuanji went to fetch the books and handed them to him:

"That'll be one thousand, one hundred and forty Xiao Gong, please!"

……

"Twenty techniques!"

Having spent a hundred years' stipend in one go, Li Yuan did not feel it a pity. He closed his eyes and entered meditation, sensing the twenty techniques shining brilliantly in his mind.

These twenty techniques, divided by the Five Elements, had four under each great scripture.

"Even if I don't want to practice other magic power for now, the divine patterns required by the techniques alone are quite a few…"

Li Yuan reckoned in his heart, and felt that if he relied solely on the little mother dragon to gather them, it would probably keep her busy for seven or eight years.

"When she returns, I'll send her to Tian Shi Yuan for a trip."

Having a plan in mind, Li Yuan began visualizing the Mysterious Yellow Qianshan Qilin True Form Diagram. He only needed to visualize this Qianshan Qilin, and his spirit-image would already complete the Five Elements.

"The remaining two need not necessarily be sought within the Five Extremes great scriptures. Perhaps I can look for true-form diagrams related to 'Yin-Yang' — after all, Yin-Yang gives birth to the Five Elements!"

Daoist Priest Li Yuan thought leisurely in his heart. Even though in his past life he had been a half-baked hedge Daoist, he still remembered this saying, although he had not found a similar explanation on Mount Mount Dongxuan.

"Buzz~"

A trembling hum rang out within the Ni Wan Shen Jing.

The Jiuying, who was operating the divine furnace to refine the demon's remains, turned one of its heads to look, and saw that on Xuanteng Island, wisps of yellowish-brown mist were gathering.

At first like fog, it gradually thickened into clouds. After a long while, a muffled roar came from within — like a dragon, yet like an ox — and faintly, as if a dragon's head flashed past within.

"Ao!"

On the Xuanteng tree, the Azure Dragon stretched its body and gazed toward that mysterious yellow mist.

Not only the Azure Dragon and Jiuying, but the Fire Phoenix soaring in the clouds poked out its head; the Bai Hu beneath the tree, the Jin Chi roc and the Burning-Heart Ape in the tree also looked over one after another.

"Roar!"

After a long while, accompanied by a low, muffled rumble, a dark-yellow Qianshan Qilin — combining many forms yet only the size of a fist — walked out from the mist, gazing blankly at its surroundings.

"Buzz~"

Almost at the same instant the Qianshan Qilin's true form condensed, Xuanteng Island suddenly trembled. The five small temples arrayed in different directions all shook at once, emitting a shimmering light, as if resonating with one another.

……

……

Poison Dragon City.

At the top of a tower that pierced the clouds, Chao Ying Shan Xuan Long leaned on the railing and gazed afar. Looking down from here, one could faintly see the You Jing that was one body with two faces with the present world.

Half of the Xiancheng of Tian Shi Yuan lies within the You Jing; whenever the Poison Dragon God descends, it is always in that half of the city.

"Senior Brother."

A streak of flowing light cut through the sea of clouds and landed in the pavilion. The newcomer bowed and said: "Feng Feng Wu Ding is suspected to have appeared. Should we still invite that Feng Feng Xiuqi to come?"

"Feng Feng Wu Ding?"

Chao Ying Shan Xuan Long frowned: "He's returned?"

The newcomer replied respectfully:

"I heard it was because he discovered a high-grade strange land, and is currently recruiting Seekers of the Hidden on a large scale, offering a very high price…"

(End of this chapter)