Chapter 694: Divine Treasure Dun Tian Zhou, Li Li Yuanzhong's Saint Body! (Combined Two-in-One)

Putting down the various spiritual treasures, Xiong Xiong, the infant of the mirage beast, hurriedly returned to his own cave dwelling with the spiritual pills Li Yi had given him, not knowing whether he went to refine magic power or to play with the Universal Knowledge Ball.

Li Yi, meanwhile, took the bone bracelet to feed the Bone Demon.

With the white gourd, which had fallen silent after receiving a dose of magic power, hanging at his waist, Li Li Yuanzhong finally began to count the various spiritual items the little female dragon had gone to purchase.

There was the Spirit Treasure-grade Bone Demon Mountain, along with some ordinary divine runes that might be used for refining magic power in the future.

Finally, there were three Superior-grade spiritual treasures, and several ordinary magical treasures.

All these added up to nearly one thousand Xiao Gong!

Holding this sum of money, Xiong Xiong's hands trembled as he went to Tian Shi Yuan; upon returning, he looked as if he had been granted a great reprieve.

"The Tai Xu Pavilion's prices are truly ruthless."

Playing with those three Superior-grade spiritual treasures, even the now wealthy and powerful Daoist Li felt a distinct pang of heartache.

One thousand Shan Gong was mostly spent on these three Superior-grade spiritual treasures.

For no other reason, the divine seals contained within these three Superior-grade spiritual treasures far exceeded those of the Green Mist Little Thunder Dragon; it would not be an exaggeration to call them the Superior-grade among them.

【Great Void Diagram (Tier Eleven)】

【Nine Methods Refining Golden Crown (Tier Eleven)】

【Blazing Sun Ruler (Tier Eleven)】

With light and flow interweaving in his eyes, Li Li Yuanzhong perceived the three newly acquired Superior-grade spiritual treasures.

These three spiritual treasures each contained thirty-two divine seals; if not for the low level of the vessel seals, their price could have doubled, or even multiplied several times over.

But being expensive naturally had its reasons.

For instance, the Great Void Diagram contained thirty-two divine seals, including functions like Great and Small Adaptability, Evasion, Body Protection, Enemy Seeking, Body Fixing, Spirit Fixing, and so on; these thirty-two functions could be said to have wide-ranging uses.

If it were the lowest quality spiritual treasure, it would only have three.

When cultivators nurture and refine magical treasures, they consume magic power and slow down their cultivation.

Admittedly, the former requires more magic power for refinement, but one piece is worth ten of the low-quality ones; all things considered, it is much more cost-effective.

However, what Li Li Yuanzhong valued was the enhancement these three spiritual treasures provided to his talents.

【Void Body Tempering】

【Nine Methods Spirit Refining】

【Seven Yang Qi Strengthening】

These three Tier Eleven command enhancements not only had the effect of stacking innate endowments, but also corresponded to the number of the Three Origins; individually, they might not compare to the Dragon Subduing Yellow Springs Diagram, but stacked together, they were likely even more potent.

"Thus, counting the Profound Perception Qi Gourd, the Green Mist Little Thunder Dragon, and the Dragon Subduing Yellow Springs Diagram, there are now six spiritual treasures that stack innate endowments; adding the Dun Tian Zhou, that makes seven."

Li Li Yuanzhong did not count the Profound Weapons like the Sea-Splitting Profound Whale Hammer, because he intended to completely merge all Profound Weapons into the Dun Tian Zhou later.

In this way, three command slots would still be left open.

Putting the three spiritual treasures, along with a pile of magical treasures he had previously selected, into the Weapon Command Space, Li Li Yuanzhong shifted his mind and entered it as well.

"Merge Weapons!"

At Li Li Yuanzhong's mental command, incense smoke rose and ignited the Divine Fire Weapon Fusion Furnace.

The large batch of magical treasures Xiong Xiong had purchased was intended for weapon fusion; not only these, but he planned to fuse all the divine weapons and magical treasures he had accumulated over the years!

The incense required for weapon fusion was truly not a large number for the Daoist Li of this moment.

"Over three thousand weapons below Tier Six, three hundred and seventy-two magical treasures and divine weapons of Tier Seven combined, sixty-three of Tier Eight, twenty-three of Tier Nine..."

Li Li Yuanzhong calculated in his heart.

Weapons and magical treasures above Tier Seven were rarely standardized, so the success rate of weapon fusion was worrying, but even if it were lower, fusing three Tier Eleven divine weapons would count as success.

"Voom~"

At Li Li Yuanzhong's mental command, flames burned fiercely in the Weapon Fusion Furnace, and weapon after weapon, spiritual treasure after spiritual treasure, sank into it under his gaze, from low to high.

Some succeeded, some failed.

Li Li Yuanzhong's expression remained unchanged; he only focused on urging the divine furnace fire, and the various divine weapons and magical treasures piled on the gray stone platform decreased at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Before long, accompanied by a deep boom, after many failures, the first Tier Eleven divine weapon flew out of the furnace.

【Profund Whale Gourd (Tier Eleven)】

【... Various magical treasures and divine weapons, forged from massive amounts of incense smoke in the Divine Fire Weapon Fusion Furnace; though the divine seals were damaged, their spiritual nature remained undiminished...】

【Command Condition: Bloodline of the Weapon Command Master】

【Command Effect: Tier Eleven: Physical Body Talent】

【Tier Ten: Hammer Technique Talent】

Magical treasures are not suitable for weapon fusion; even if the divine seals contained within are exactly the same, there is still a significant probability of failure when fusing magical treasures, and if a magical treasure is fused with a divine weapon, the failure rate is even higher.

Over the past few years, Li Li Yuanzhong had occasionally fused weapons, so he was naturally well aware of this; therefore, he had rarely fused weapons before.

"Not bad."

Li Li Yuanzhong played with the oddly shaped iron gourd for a moment, then tossed it into the Weapon Command Talisman, and immediately continued fusing weapons.

"Voom~"

"Voom~"

"Voom~"

The gray stone platform flickered indistinctly; after many failures, Tier Eleven Profound Weapons flew out of the furnace one after another.

Counting the Profund Whale Gourd, there were four in total, one more than he had anticipated.

"Pity that this one's command effect has nothing to do with talent."

With a slight regret, he tossed one of them into a corner; Li Li Yuanzhong then threw the other three Superior-grade spiritual treasures into the Weapon Command Talisman, and immediately opened his eyes.

"Voom~"

The little mouse cultivating in the courtyard heard the sound, poked its head out, and saw a huge flying boat stretching across the long sky, its aura seemingly present yet absent, as if it were about to merge into the void at any moment.

Hoo~

On the eighteenth floor of Dun Tian Zhou, Li Yuan took out all his Daoist Tianyun Daoist Tianyun Xuanbing one by one, and placed the incense and fire merits he had exchanged in front of him as well.

Then, he began to merge the weapons.

Carrying three thousand Shan Gong, Li Yuan felt no heartache over the consumption of incense and fire merits at all. Relying on his magic power to control the furnace fire, he tossed the Daoist Tianyun Daoist Tianyun Xuanbing one by one into the burning flames.

Demon-Subduing Dragon God Blade, Sea-Spanning Purple Gold Spear, Great Sun Jin Lin Bell…

Under Li Yuan's gaze, the Daoist Tianyun Daoist Tianyun Xuanbing that could make martial artists in the Great Fortune Jianghu fight until rivers of blood flowed—one by one melted away, sinking into the small grotto-heaven being nurtured within the furnace.

During this process, there was no disturbance whatsoever.

In the end, Li Yuan paused slightly. Placed before him was the Splitting Sea Shan Xuan Whale Hammer.

Among all his Daoist Tianyun Daoist Tianyun Xuanbing, his feelings for this Shan Xuan Whale Hammer ran the deepest. He still remembered the joy of obtaining this divine weapon after enduring countless hardships all those years ago.

"Woo~"

Li Yuan's heart rippled slightly, and the Shan Xuan Whale Hammer responded gently as well, filled entirely with longing for completing itself.

"Hoo!"

A moment later, Li Yuan tossed the hammer into the furnace fire.

"Boom!"

The instant the last Daoist Tianyun Daoist Tianyun Xuanbing merged in, a tremendous roar echoed throughout the entire small grotto-heaven. Visible shockwaves spread out in layers, and even the sea of clouds was torn apart.

A powerful aura filled the heavens and earth, startling even the Mirage Infant in the cave dwelling, who had been engrossed in the Tongshi Ball, causing her to involuntarily poke her head out to look.

She saw that above the vault of heaven, divine light blazed dazzlingly, like the great sun at high noon, falling from the highest reaches right before her eyes. Even she, who had cultivated magic power, felt her eyes sting and ache, as if she could not look at it directly.

After quite a while, she finally managed to make it out.

"Dun Tian Zhou?"

The Mirage Infant gazed into the distance and saw the familiar outline within the divine light:

"This is the complete form of Dun Tian Zhou? This, this must already be a divine treasure!"

"Hum~"

Divine light cascaded like a waterfall, surging and roiling. An indescribable aura spread outward, and the entire void trembled, as if this small grotto-heaven could not bear the burden.

In fact, the small grotto-heaven truly could not bear the burden of Dun Tian Zhou unleashing its full aura, because within the vessel itself, there also existed a small grotto-heaven!

This was a small grotto-heaven covering roughly three thousand li, empty and dilapidated within. Apart from a few small hills, there was no sign of life whatsoever.

But within this three-thousand-li radius, broken-down sect archways stood one after another—precisely those old sect sites from within the Shan Xuan Bing Mi Jing.

"It's barely considered a prototype—is it because it hasn't been nourished by magic power for too long?"

After one glance, Li Yuan withdrew.

In the bamboo tower, with a beckoning gesture, Dun Tian Zhou—massive as a mountain—instantly shrank to the size of a fist, like a small boat carved from jade, and landed in his hand.

【Dun Tian Zhou (Fourteenth Tier)】

【... A complete life star, along with all the living beings upon it, sublimated in the great sacrifice, tempered within the Eight Directions Temple, stained with the aura of a Dao treasure and transformed...】

【Within this vessel resides the most intense obsession of countless beings upon that life star...】

【Void-Dodge! Void-Dodge! Void-Dodge!】

【Condition for mastery one: Any sect dao child of Liehai Star, eighty-one Yi Dao Zhong Pin magic power】

【Mastery effect: Fourteenth Tier: Void-Dodge

【Thirteenth Tier: Shift, Space-Containment, Samadhi Fire Essence, Star Dragon-Tiger, Nurturing Life.】

【Twelfth Tier: Xing Xing Tongyou, Void-Evasion, Dragon-Tiger Convergence, Spirit of Flame...】

【Condition for mastery two: All sect dao children of Liehai Star】

【Mastery effect two: The various divine prohibitions nurtured within】

【Contained divine prohibitions:???】

Upper-grade divine treasure level!

In that instant, Li Yuan sensed an extremely intense will—or rather, obsession—from within Dun Tian Zhou.

In a daze, he seemed to see a life star in the depths of despair, along with the unwillingness and fury of the countless beings upon it.

And the obsession to fight across, no matter the cost!

"Void-Dodge!"

Li Yuan looked at Dun Tian Zhou's sole fourteenth-tier mastery effect.

【Dive into the void, and emerge in a new heaven】

【Burn magic power to dive into the void; the more magic power burned, the farther the traversal. Array prohibitions and boundary membranes can scarcely hinder it... it may even possess the ability to dive into alternate dimensions】

"Void-Dodge..."

With a thought, Li Yuan tossed Dun Tian Zhou into the Weapon Soldier Record.

"Boom!"

Almost simultaneously, Li Yuan felt his vision go black. The Ni Wan Shen Jing rumbled and trembled along with it, emitting a sound like a groan of unbearable burden.

In that instant, it was as if the weight of an entire planet bore down upon him!

"Puh!"

Behind Li Yuan, light and shadow intertwined. The shadow of the Shan Xuan Teng Tree suddenly emerged, within which the seven great spirit phases roared in unison. The Five Extremes Temple trembled at the same time, erupting with five-colored radiance.

"Whoosh!"

Li Yuan decisively swapped Dun Tian Zhou out, and actually felt a long-absent weariness.

"In just that one instant, it actually consumed thirteen strands of Kun Peng magic power and six strands of Qing Di Fa!"

After a brief calculation, Li Yuan's eyelids twitched wildly.

After a spiritual treasure advanced to a divine treasure, the transformation was tremendous. With his current foundation, simultaneously mastering ten upper-grade spiritual treasures would pose no burden whatsoever, but the weight of Dun Tian Zhou far exceeded the sum of ten spiritual treasures.

"With my current magic power, I can sustain it for at most a dozen breaths, and that is without actively triggering the Void Escape..."

"Triggering the Void Escape once consumes at least eighty-one Kunpeng magic power units. Even at my peak, I could only trigger it once!"

Li Yuan felt not worry, but joy.

The more magic power consumed, the greater the power of the Void Escape; this could fully serve as a life-saving technique!

"Moreover, the problem of high magic power consumption is not without a solution..." Li Yuan took down the white-skin gourd at his waist, which looked at him with full curiosity, and a smile appeared on his lips.

Gourd Dao Soldiers feed on magic power, so naturally they can be used to store magic power, provided they do not steal and eat.

"A Third Realm gourd Dao Soldier can theoretically hold eight hundred and ten magic power units. With two combined, that is enough for me to trigger the Void Escape twenty times!"

Li Yuan pondered whether to raise a few more gourd Dao Soldiers; although they consume magic power, their utility is not small.

But he only had the thought for a moment, then hung the gourd at his waist, immediately sat cross-legged, swallowed several spiritual pills, and began to restore his magic power.

The Void Escape was an unexpected joy, and there was nowhere to use it at present.

His true purpose was to rely on the stacking of various Commandings and endowments to probe the legendary Mu Mu Xiantian Dao Body.

At the very least, he must push his own endowments to grow again, accelerating the gestation of his Dao Body.

"Hoo!"

"Inhale!"

After a long time, Li Yuan slowly opened his eyes, dispersed the mist around his body, and only after feeling he had returned to his peak did he sense the Commanding Soldier Talisman.

In the next instant, accompanied by a trembling sound, light and flow rose from the Dingxin Dingxin Shitai.

'Great Void Diagram', 'Nine Laws Alchemy Crown', 'Mystic Sensation Qi Gourd', 'Green Dark Little Thunder Dragon', 'Dragon Subduing Yellow Springs Diagram'... together with the Dun Tian Zhou, a total of ten!

This was the strongest 'Talent Set' he had currently assembled, combining essence, qi, and spirit!

"I can attempt to alter the talents!"

Li Yuan opened his mouth and swallowed a large handful of Third Realm spiritual pills. Altering endowments consumes a tremendous amount; although he did not know if he could continue altering them, being fully prepared was never wrong.

"Boom!"

In the next instant, a massive oppression, as if a planet were pressing down horizontally, descended.

Even though he had prepared in advance, Li Yuan's vision went black, but he gritted his teeth and persisted, allowing his magic power to be consumed violently, and with a thought, all the Commandings descended together.

"Vroom~"

In an instant, Li Yuan felt as if he were Jade Jade Ronghua.

With his current endowments, a single Upper Spirit Treasure had a negligible effect on his alteration, but with all ten together, it was still extremely fierce.

In one or two instants, the spiritual pills he had swallowed into his belly had already been digested by more than thirty percent!

"It works!"

Finally sensing the transformation of his own endowments, Li Yuan was overjoyed in his heart; where was the care for such a small consumption of spiritual pills? Immediately, he opened his mouth and swallowed hundreds of various spiritual pills.

This was the quota of spiritual pills he needed for a year of cultivation.

"Hoo!"

The spiritual pills were like oil on fire in his belly.

Li Yuan did not even feel the spiritual pills falling into his stomach; one by one, they had already vaporized, turning into countless warm currents that sank into his four limbs and hundred bones.

"Whoosh whoosh~"

The sound of surging blood poured out of his body, like terrifying waves and roaring tides, audible tens of li away.

The Divine Realm was shaking.

Waves rose in the boundless Wang Yang; the Soldier-Raising Island trembled violently; the Nine Infants suddenly stood on their hind legs, their nine heads shaking; on the Mystic Vine Island, five-colored light was dazzling, as if about to burn.

Dragon roars and tiger howls, Qianshan Qianshan Qilin long cries, the Heart Ape leaping while scratching its ears and rubbing its face...

The Seven Great Spiritual Phantoms and the Five Ultimate Ancient Temples all shook; amidst the interweaving colors, the Mystic Vine Tree slowly grew, its branches and leaves unfolding, like ten thousand chains stretching across the sky, suppressing the turmoil of the Divine Realm.

"Vroom~"

Sensing the transformation from within outward, Li Yuan's mind naturally drifted inward, once again seeing the Dao Body being gestated, where two-colored divine lights intertwined.

Perhaps because his own endowments were slowly altering, Li Yuan keenly perceived the changes within.

The speed of the slowly rotating two-colored divine lights gradually increased; the points of light drawn in by the two became denser and denser. Vaguely, he felt a faint, yet very clear heartbeat.

"Thump!"

The low, drumbeat-like heartbeat sound set off waves upon waves in the sea of his heart; a thrill suddenly rose in Li Yuan's heart, as if a giant beast lurking deep within his soul was about to awaken.

"Hoo!"

But in the next moment, everything returned to peace; his magic power had been exhausted, and he could no longer bear the blessings of the Dun Tian Zhou and the nine great spiritual treasures.

"It is feasible!"

In the bamboo building, Li Yuan's face was unusually pale; his magic power had hit rock bottom, the hundreds of spiritual pills he had swallowed were mostly consumed, and his essence, qi, and spirit had all fallen to the valley.

Since he cultivated the Green Emperor Longevity Sutra, this was the first time he had been so weak.

But though tired, his eyes were brighter than ever before.

"It is feasible!"

"Relying on the Commanding of spiritual treasures, I can continue to stack talents!"

Li Yuan was overjoyed in his heart.

Even if he had not yet touched the legendary Mu Mu Xiantian Dao Body, as long as the Commanding blessings could push his endowment alteration, then the Mu Mu Xiantian Dao Body was merely a matter of time for him!

Compared to that, the consumed spiritual pills were simply not worth mentioning.

"Upper Spirit Treasures are not enough; Ultimate Spirit Treasures should be enough. If that is still not enough, then gather ten Divine Treasures, or wait for the Commanding Soldier Talisman to ascend again..."

After his thoughts surged for a moment, Li Yuan let out a long breath, swallowed spiritual pills again, and began Xing Gong to refine the laws.

The very next morning.

Li Yuan made a trip to the Spirit Pill district to purchase spirit pills.

This time, it wasn't just Law Pills, Shan Xuan Shui Dan, Green Wood Pills, Fire Element Pills and the like—any spirit pill capable of nourishing essence, qi, and spirit, he bought them all in great quantities.

After that came all manner of third-tier and even fourth-tier spirit rice and spirit beast meat.

After a massive haul, Li Yuan felt he should have enough, and only then returned to the Lesser Grotto-Heaven.

The days that followed were just like before.

Each day Li Yuan would perform Xing Gong, refine his arts and demonic body; at night he would continue attempting to alter his innate constitution, and when his magic power was exhausted he would swallow spirit pills to recover, while simultaneously visualizing the True Form Diagram.

Within the Divine Realm, the seven great spirit forms practiced various spells.

Compared to his previous cultivation, the only addition was the daily, unbroken alteration of his innate constitution.

He only occasionally dropped by the Combat Hall, and even then mostly to use the Yellow Ape to hone his combat arts; beyond that, he would withdraw Origin Coins.

He hadn't accepted any challenge invitations, nor entered the Combat Platform again.

In the Spectator Area, all his various battles still drew plenty of viewers—though not as many as at his peak, still far more than before his fight with Chao Ying Shan Xuan Long.

With two or three Xiao Gong fewer each day, and five or six more on good days, after three or four months of this the number of viewers gradually declined, but still held at one or two Xiao Gong per day.

And so, in the blink of an eye, more than a year had passed.

【…Over fifteen days, a total of seventeen thousand people watched your… battles, earning you eight million three hundred thousand… Origin Coins…】

"Only eight Xiao Gong in fifteen days…"

Li Yuan's heart was undisturbed—after more than a year, even the greatest fervor had faded; the decline was inevitable.

He focused his gaze on the Combat Ranking on the star curtain. Less than half a year remained before this ranking's settlement, and the positions on it rarely changed anymore.

Lin Yue was still at the top, Wu Er was still second, and his own rank, after climbing to twenty-first more than a year ago, had slipped four or five places, then stabilized where it was now.

"If I could defeat Lin Yue before the ranking closes, the harvest shouldn't be less than this time, right?"

Silently closing the Common Sense Orb, Li Yuan drew a deep breath, took out various spirit pills from the Weapon Mastery Space, lit spirit incense, and released the White Bone Human Demon to stand guard.

When it came to his own cultivation, he had always been meticulous down to the finest detail; today, his innate constitution would once again transform, and he would nurture his own Dao Body ahead of time.

"Hah!"

"Inhale!"

One spirit pill after another was swallowed into his belly; Li Yuan's breathing grew long and steady, while two small gourds perched on his shoulders, ready at any moment to feed magic power back to him.

"Boom!"

With all manner of Weapon Mastery enhancements upon his body, a thunderous roar echoed in Li Yuan's heart.

He seemed not to notice; his mind gathered at the place where the two-colored divine light intertwined, and a deep, rhythmic heartbeat filled his perception.

Faintly, he could even "see" the "Dao Body" gradually being nurtured within that intertwining divine light.

"Hold steady!"

Li Yuan calmed his emotions, and with a steady heart continued to drive the alteration of his innate constitution.

The spirit pills he had swallowed transformed into hundreds and thousands of warm currents that sank into his limbs and bones, while mist began to rise around his body, slowly spreading to the bamboo tower and the mountains and streams.

"Thump!"

When the deep heartbeat sound pierced out from his body, the two gourd Dao Weapons, long prepared, exchanged a pained glance and channeled the stored Qing Di Fa magic power back into Li Yuan's body.

"Hah!"

Li Yuan's slightly rapid breathing once again steadied.

Yet within his body, the heartbeat that seemed to roll out from the depths of his soul grew ever more violent—at first like a drum, gradually like rolling, muffled thunder…

Suddenly, a tremendous sound, as if a planet were shattering, exploded outward!

"Rumble!"

Li Yuan felt his body and mind jolt violently.

All five of his senses vanished at once; before his eyes was only that dazzlingly brilliant divine light, the two-colored divine light colliding and intertwining, grinding like a millstone.

In less than a thousandth of an instant, Li Yuan felt as if he had "opened" his eyes.

In that instant, what lay before his eyes was no longer the bamboo tower, the Lesser Grotto-Heaven, no longer Mount Mount Dongxuan, but an endless, profound darkness—a darkness so deep it was as if nothing existed at all.

In a daze, he could no longer sense his own existence; his gaze merely wandered along that boundless darkness.

"Hum!"

It seemed like a few instants, yet also an exceedingly long span of time.

Li Yuan seemed to hear some sound, and then, in a flash, the darkness dispersed, replaced by dazzlingly brilliant daylight!

"That is…"

In that instant, Li Yuan's mind and spirit both trembled.

In a daze, in that infinitely lofty place, he saw two celestial bodies so vast they defied description, like a sun and moon, yet far larger than any sun or moon.

And behind those two celestial bodies, he faintly seemed to see an incomparably terrifying figure—those celestial bodies, as if they were Its eyes.

Close Its eyes and it is night; open Its eyes and it is day?

"Candle Dragon?"

In what seemed like only the brief span of a single thought, Li Yuan saw that "daylight" fly away, like the very first ray of Dao-light at the creation of the world, slicing through the eternal night!

……

"Dang~"

In the quiet bamboo grove, Fayin Fayin Tongzi seemed to sense something and looked toward the depths of the grove; he saw the Grandfather Kuhai Bell sway gently, and the tightly shut bamboo door slowly swing open.

Wisps and strands of chaotic mist seeped out from the void, and a Daoist draped in a crane cloak, white-haired and ruddy-faced, stepped out slowly; curling mists wreathed his body, making it impossible to glimpse his true countenance.

"Little Master!"

Fayin Fayin Tongzi cried out in alarm, and despite being more than ten li away, was already kneeling on the ground.

The Daoist's gaze, however, passed through him, looking toward the foot of Mount Mount Dongxuan.

(End of this chapter)