Chapter 724: Taking Stock of the Harvest, the Young Divine King (Combined Chapter)

Those were two strange stones with divine prohibitions contained within; focusing his spirit to sense them carefully, he could faintly see extremely intricate divine patterns constantly forming all manner of divine prohibitions, each one of which contained the profound mysteries of the Sword Dao.

"Sword-Grinding Strange Stones!"

Master Master Fufa flicked a finger and tapped lightly. With a 'hum', the Sword Dao's mysteries manifested outwardly, filling the entire cave dwelling in an instant.

Li Yuan focused his spirit to sense.

Amid the interweaving mysteries, he seemed to see countless scenes of cultivators forging swords, nurturing swords, and wielding swords in slaughter, then all vanished in a flash.

"Sword-Grinding Stones are treasures of heaven and earth. Their nurturing is related to the sword-forging cultivators of the world. Any cultivator who nurtures swords, forges swords, or even leaves behind qi imprints from battling others—

will, over the long passage of ages, slowly converge, and ultimately give birth to this stone."

Daoist Daoist Tongqing explained to Li Yuan:

"The foundation of these two Sword-Grinding Stones is the qi imprints left by two Sword Lords dueling. It took several epochs to nurture them. For sword cultivators like us, their value is no less than the Tai Shan Xuan Tong Tian Sword Scripture."

"Many thanks, junior brother."

Master Master Fufa cupped his hands in thanks.

"What are you saying, senior brother?"

Li Yuan hurriedly returned the courtesy:

"Compared to senior brother's grace in transmitting the Dharma and protecting me, what do these Sword-Grinding Stones amount to? Besides, didn't senior brother still promise me a great scripture!"

"Surely you're not going to welch on that?"

Master Master Fufa laughed helplessly, and without further politeness, he pushed back the Sword-Grinding Stone containing a wisp of Tai Shan Xuan Sword Qi:

"Keep this one for yourself. As for this one…"

He looked toward Daoist Daoist Tongqing:

"Senior Sister Daoist Tongqing, one Sword-Grinding Stone can be used twice. Are you interested?"

"Naturally I am!"

Daoist Daoist Tongqing's beautiful eyes shifted: "Junior Brother Li, this senior sister doesn't have much Shan Gong to spare. I can probably only offer three hundred and twenty Da Gong."

"Too little."

Before Li Yuan could answer, Master Master Fufa had already spoken up to cut in.

"Too little it is, but senior sister doesn't have your methods of refining demons. Her daily cultivation consumes a great deal of Shan Gong. Even these three hundred and twenty Shan Gong, she'd have to scrape together from every direction!"

Daoist Daoist Tongqing shot Master Fufa a look, knowing well that he feared Li Yuan wouldn't dare refuse her.

Master Master Fufa, who had clearly prepared his words long ago, asked casually: "I heard that back in the day, senior sister captured an extremely fierce and violent Dark Ape within the 'Nether River Forbidden Ground'?"

"…You've had your eye on my Dark Ape for a long time now, haven't you?"

Daoist Daoist Tongqing was somewhat pained: "That Dark Ape's bloodline is extremely strong. I had been planning to refine it into a Dharma Protector God in the future. You certainly know how to pick!"

"Exotic beasts are extremely difficult to tame, let alone the fact that your Dark Ape also carries the blood of Wu. If you refine it into a Dharma Protector God, you'll surely suffer backlash in the future."

Master Master Fufa knew her all too well, and pierced through her with a single sentence:

"That Dark Ape isn't of much use. Only junior brother here needs to cultivate the Eight Wastes Prison Suppression, otherwise how would it qualify to compare with this Sword-Grinding Stone?"

"You truly are my good junior brother!"

Daoist Daoist Tongqing glared at him, then turned to look at Li Yuan:

"Junior Brother Li, don't listen to his belittling. My Dark Ape is far more than merely mixed with Wu blood—it contains within its body a trace of Wu Shen bloodline!"

"Wu Shen, the blood of Shan Xuan Ming!"

The latter sentence, Daoist Tongqing transmitted directly into his mind by voice, clearly not daring to speak that name aloud.

"The blood of Shan Xuan Ming!"

Li Yuan's heart gave a jolt.

Ever since his authority within the Great Luo Records was upgraded, most intelligence within Mount Mount Dongxuan regarding the Returning Ruins Otherworld had been opened to him, including that concerning the Wu Shen Fa Jie.

Shan Xuan Ming was one of the twelve supreme Wu Shen of the Wu Shen Fa Jie!

"A ferocious beast of water!"

Li Yuan's thoughts stirred, and he naturally nodded, indicating 'whatever senior brother says goes'.

"Many thanks, Junior Brother Li. This senior sister owes you a favor as well."

Daoist Daoist Tongqing cast a reluctant glance at the other Sword-Grinding Stone—that strange stone was clearly of higher quality.

But with Master Master Fufa present, she didn't even get the chance to ask the price.

"What about Junior Sister Fujiang?"

"Me?"

Fujiang gave a slight start, then shook her head—she had not been transmitted the Demon-Refining Sword.

"Come."

At this moment, Daoist Daoist Tongqing flicked a finger, and a corner of the Dharma Heaven manifested. A line of spirit puppets filed out, bearing delicacies and spirit wine:

"Congratulations to Junior Brother Li on ascending to the peak of the Sword Realm!"

……

After the banquet, Li Yuan returned to his own cave dwelling.

The Dao Lord's decree was still spreading; countless cultivators were gathering, and there would surely be an even larger Sword God Assembly afterward. Carrying a fortune as he now did, he naturally didn't want to miss the opportunity.

"After Master opens the Sword Realm on a grand scale, there will likely be a flood of Third Realm cultivators rushing to challenge the Sword Realm. In the short term, a massive amount of spirit objects and rare treasures from the Sword Realm will flow out, and prices will surely hit their lowest point!"

Within the cave dwelling, Li Yuan calculated in his heart.

After Master departed, he remained in the Sword Realm for most of another day. Besides adding a large number of friends and paying respects to elders like Daoist Daoist Tianyun, he also carefully observed the other cultivators within the Sword Realm.

Without the Tai Shan Xuan Tong Tian Sword causing trouble, the difficulty of climbing the Sword Realm plummeted dramatically. Take Lin Yue and Wu Wu Yunlong—for instance, previously they could reach at most the fifth or sixth level of the Sword Realm, but now both harbored thoughts of challenging the ninth level.

For the fortune of the Sword Realm, even if it meant recuperating for several years afterward, it would be worth it.

If they thought this way, other cultivators would surely think so as well.

"After a big round of purchases, I'll return to the mountain and go into closed-door cultivation."

Letting out a long breath, Li Yuan closed his eyes and entered meditation, beginning to review this trip to the Sword Realm.

For this trip, he had prepared for nearly a full year. To be safe, he had barely left Master Master Fufa 's side, and had sent Ying Mo Shen into the realm, striving for stability.

Even before being drawn into the Sword Realm, he had decisively informed his Master; sensing something was wrong, he immediately withdrew.

But even though he had acted so carefully, he had still nearly perished in the Sword Realm — he couldn't be sure whether the God Burial Coffin could smash that Ghost Demon One-Heart Sword to death.

"Outside the mountain is still dangerous. After this round of purchases, I'll return to the mountain, and unless it's necessary, I won't leave again!"

Li Yuan calculated and planned in his heart.

Apart from the One-Heart Sword, his harvest from this trip to the Sword Realm was naturally enormous.

First was incense and Yuan coins. Those cultivators who left behind recordings were not lacking Great Cultivators. No matter the reason they shared the profits with him, at the very least, he felt that the resources needed before the Sixth Realm were mostly earned!

After that, came connections.

His Master's descent shook the Eight Wastes. Even though he was still only an inner disciple, the distance to True Transmission was actually just one Daoist title, and paying respects to the Ancestral Master, away.

This point was not only acknowledged by the disciples of Mount Mount Dongxuan, but also by most of the disciples of the Weitian Dao Sect.

For the vast majority of Weitian Dao Sect disciples, reaching the peak of the Sword Realm was even harder than advancing to True Transmission!

"Aside from senior brothers and sisters who are in other realms and dimensions, or in death seclusion, I've added the contact methods of all twelve generations of True Transmission senior brothers and senior sisters of Mount Mount Dongxuan, and even elders of the sect like Uncle-Master Daoist Tianyun!"

Li Yuan was satisfied in his heart.

Connections were naturally a huge harvest; the control objects for the Five Extremes Great Scriptures were obviously nothing to worry about.

After that, came the harvest from reaching the peak of the Sword Realm.

Two Sword-Grinding Stones, the complete Tai Shan Xuan Sword Scripture, and the Sword Lotus on the eleventh floor suspected to be a great medicine.

"Dao-Nurturing Grass."

At a thought from Li Yuan, that stalk of Dao-Nurturing Grass had already fallen into the Ni Wan Shen Jing. The Shan Xuan Teng She extended its long vines and planted it beneath the tree.

"Hum~"

Li Yuan entered the Divine Realm. With a thought, incense like an overcast sky rolled and flowed, converging toward the Soldier-Nurturing Island, and with the trembling of the 'Fire Phoenix Divine Furnace,' it was continuously refined.

In the blink of an eye, tide-like and sea-like incense vanished by ninety-nine percent, but what remained was all seventh-grade or higher incense.

"Beyond daily fishing and listening to sounds, this is enough to let the Calamity-Wielding and Sound-Wielding Tallies advance another one or two grades!"

Storing the incense into the Soldier-Wielding Space, Li Yuan was in a very good mood, feeling a sense of harvest's satisfaction.

The aftereffects of reaching the peak of the Sword Realm were still spreading. In just this short while, large swathes of low-grade incense had once again flowed out from the void, drawn by the Five Extremes Temple.

"This is the benefit of showing off before others."

Daoist Li's thoughts drifted; he felt he hadn't thought things through thoroughly enough. Before entering the Sword Realm, he should have found a bunch of recording hosts.

Harvest was one aspect; the other was safety!

"After today's battle, even the Mist-Wave Fishing Elder, the demonic cultivators, and the Opening Gui Xu cultivators shouldn't dare make a move against me in plain sight, right?"

Li Yuan walked to the Shan Xuan Teng She.

In just this short while, that stalk of Dao-Nurturing Grass had already turned into an ever-expanding lawn. Faint green light spread along with it, nourishing the Shan Xuan Teng She, and even the entire island.

The Dao-Nurturing Grass could nourish a Dao body, and likewise could nourish a Natal Spirit Plant.

The Shan Xuan Teng She, wounded by the One-Heart Sword, was also slowly recovering at this moment, but its trunk was still covered in scars, showing that taking a death in its place was not without cost.

"This time, I really owe it to you."

Li Yuan gently stroked the Shan Xuan Teng She.

His original main cultivation was the Kun Peng magic power, but gradually he switched to the Qing Di Fa as his main. The reason was simple — this Shan Xuan Teng She was truly easy to use.

"No wonder ninety percent of the senior brothers who cultivate the Qing Di Longevity Scripture choose this tree."

Li Yuan felt somewhat fortunate that he was a person who kept a low profile.

If he were the independent, maverick type, his Natal Spirit Plant might not even remember to register the Shan Xuan Teng She, and he would have to figure out the cultivation method himself.

"Woo~"

The Shan Xuan Teng She trembled lightly, looking rather feeble.

At this moment, the Nine Infants stretched its long neck close. It was transporting the qi and blood force refined from the demon's remains, carefully feeding the snake body of the Shan Xuan Teng She.

Long vines drooped one after another into the Wang Yang, drawing on the Kun Peng magic power, and the roots of the Shan Xuan Teng She also trembled lightly.

"With this stalk of Dao-Nurturing Grass, the Shan Xuan Teng She 's injuries should recover in at most half a year. The cost of taking a death in its place is truly great."

Li Yuan walked before the Red Emperor Temple.

Within the ancient temple, a wisp of flame rose, continuously drawing on the incense's qi — it was the Red Emperor Fire Seed.

"A Third Realm fire seed can theoretically aid me in Nirvana, but unlike the Shan Xuan Teng She 's death-substitution, Nirvana is far more stringent, and there's still the possibility of failure."

Li Yuan sensed this fire seed.

Unlike the Qing Di Longevity Scripture, which had the boost of the Sixth Realm Shan Xuan Teng She shed and thus advanced by leaps and bounds, his cultivation progress on the Red Emperor Fire Phoenix Scripture was not fast.

By his estimate, at least before this Red Emperor Scripture reached Si Wu Zhong, Nirvana carried the possibility of failure.

"Once I obtain the control objects for the Red Emperor Scripture, I can attempt Nirvana."

Li Yuan had his own plans in mind, and wasn't in a rush.

Each of the Five Extremes Great Scriptures had its own wonders. The Red Emperor Fire Seed allowed one to actively undergo Nirvana. Each Nirvana not only healed injuries and banished chronic ailments, but also made up for hidden dangers left by past cultivation.

Cultivators below Divine-Demon grade talent could also use Nirvana to alter their talent.

"Woo~"

Li Yuan looked down upon the Wang Yang. At the extreme north, the Black Emperor Temple was hidden among the waves; a palm-sized Fate-Defying Turtle lay before the temple, occasionally blowing a bubble.

The Fate-Defying Turtle's progress was even faster, thanks to that turtle shell obtained from the Zhang Hai Dragon.

Although that turtle shell couldn't directly strengthen the Fate-Defying Turtle, after taking control of it, his understanding of the Fate-Defying Turtle deepened, and he knew how to cultivate it faster.

"God-Soul Fate-Defying."

Li Yuan shifted his mind and took control of that tortoise shell.

This tortoise shell had two major control effects; among them, the Fate-Defying Tortoise Form went without saying, but this Spirit-Burning Fate-Defiance was the true essence.

This was a kind of augmentation that could burn lifespan, thereby altering one's innate talent.

And when applied to the Fate-Defying Tortoise itself, it would rapidly strengthen itself.