Chapter 732

"Screech~"

Divine lights interwove, transforming into a Golden-Winged Roc that spread its wings to soar through the vast sky, acting with reckless abandon, employing all arts.

Before the true form's transformation, it could only accommodate nine arts, but now, as the Roc spread its wings and soared, all eighty-one arts Li Yuan had learned and cultivated were bestowed upon its body.

The arts flowed, as if instinctive.

The Manifestation has five tiers: Mortal, Spirit, Heaven, Divine, and Saint; the Saint Peak tier is already the highest tier of manifestation.

"Screech~"

The Golden-Winged Roc spread its wings and returned; behind it, five-colored divine lights rose like a peacock displaying its feathers. With a single cry, five beams of divine light slashed toward the skeletal demon men arrayed in formation.

"Roar~"

The skeletal demon men roared in unison, moving in formation; a chilling cold surged toward the sky, yet was instantly extinguished by the five-colored divine light, transforming into the spiritual qi of heaven and earth.

"Whoosh!"

Immediately, a flash of five-colored light appeared on the Qi-Collecting Platform; the one hundred and eight skeletal demon men were scattered and broken, their formation shattered, and the majority were absorbed.

"Not bad."

Satisfied in his heart, Li Yuan released the skeletal demon men, then waved his hand; the Roc transformed into a halo of light that settled upon him, seeming to exist and not exist.

The Divine Realm is where the Three Origins converge; the Manifestation is the external expression of Essence, Qi, and Spirit; when the Elixir is formed, the Manifestation is formed.

This ring of art gathers his lifelong cultivation.

"Hum~"

In this instant, in Li Yuan's perception, the Divine Realm still resided within the Niwan, yet was not confined to the Niwan; the Three Origins merged, and he was the Divine Realm.

"Hiss~"

At Li Yuan's thought, the two gourd Dao soldiers guarding nearby each spat out an extremely sharp gourd sword qi.

These two sword qi beams were nurtured by the gourd Dao soldiers over years of demon refining, possessing immense killing intent, sufficient to slay a Fourth Realm demon lord.

Li Yuan remained unmoved, allowing the sword qi to strike his brow.

"Hum~"

Ripples visible to the naked eye erupted three feet before him; as Xu Xu expanded, a glimpse of the Divine Realm could faintly be seen.

Immediately, that sword qi was extinguished.

"Heaven and Man initially unite; I am the Divine Realm!"

Li Yuan's eyes were very bright.

Once the Jin Dan is formed, the Divine Realm possesses some characteristics of the Art Realm; any killing technique must breach the Divine Realm before it can damage the cultivator's source.

However, the Divine Realm is ultimately not the Art Realm.

If it were an Art Realm cultivator, like that Ling Ji monk, where the person is the Art Realm, even if the Profound Yin Divine Thunder pierced and destroyed their physical body, as long as the Art Realm does not perish, their spirit does not perish.

But for cultivators where the Three Origins unite, if the spirit does not perish, the body does not perish.

"My foundation is too solid; the Longhu Longhu Dadan is flawless, the Art Ring is perfect, and my magic power and Art Seals are fully sufficient for me to begin constructing the Art Realm!"

Li Yuan's perception was subtle.

Over twenty years of bitter cultivation exchanged for this moment's rapid explosion; aside from the magic power not being perfectly complete, to say he was at the peak of the Fourth Realm would not be an exaggeration!

The Enlightenment Tea's effect on strengthening magic power was not great, but its amplification of all arts was immense.

Now, the Art Seals of all the arts he learned were all above the Seventy-Sixth Layer; for a normal Fourth Realm cultivator, even with a perfect realm, it would be no more than this!

"To reach the True Disciple level, I only lack the Yi Pin Fa Fa Jie and the Grand Sacrifice!"

Li Yuan felt joyful; after entering the sect for over thirty years, he had initially closed the gap in realm with his Mount Dongxuan senior brothers.

At least, Huang Yuan's realm was already not as high as his.

"Clang~"

At this moment, Li Yuan heard a sword cry; the Demon-Refining Sword trembled violently within his dantian, clearly unable to wait to emerge.

A surge of ferocious and violent energy rose in his heart.

"Not yet."

Li Yuan suppressed it.

Thanks to the Source Sword Qi and the Golden Nature's enlightenment, the Demon-Refining Sword had reached the level of a Top-Grade Spiritual Treasure; to consecrate the sword and sharpen its edge, it required at least slaying one Fourth Realm Great Demon.

In comparison, the Daluo Banner was very sluggish, merely silently inhaling and exhaling the magic power of the Five Emperors.

Compared to the Demon-Refining Sword, which received massive resource allocation, the Daluo Banner barely advanced one tier by inhaling and exhaling the magic power of the Five Emperors, possessing only the level of a Spiritual Treasure.

"Eh?"

Li Yuan was about to sort through his gains when, as if sensing something, joy filled his heart:

"The Dao Body has also reached the time for transformation..."

During the twenty-plus years of seclusion, he had almost daily altered his innate endowments, swallowing countless spiritual elixirs, and now finally saw results.

"Hum~"

Li Yuan closed his eyes and entered meditation.

In a trance, his mind fell once more into the abyss, climbing the unfinished path within the darkness.

"Woo~"

Almost simultaneously, beams of divine light pierced through his body, causing the spiritual qi of heaven and earth to howl toward him, and various strange scenes appeared accordingly.

The advancement of the Dharma Body caused a commotion seemingly greater than a realm breakthrough!

A quiet bamboo house.

In the starry sky, Lord Lord Tianyu sat cross-legged; rivers of stars circled around him, within which endless divine patterns interwove, sometimes forming seals, sometimes manifesting arts, sometimes rising, sometimes extinguishing.

"So this is the Divine Body?"

Lord Lord Tianyu was somewhat surprised. Through the void, he saw Li Yuan seated cross-legged, the light and shadow around him waxing and waning, and faintly, a hint of the aura of Chaos had already appeared.

This was several decades earlier than he had anticipated.

"At this rate, there is a slim chance of reversing back to the Innate Chaos Dao Body!"

Lord Lord Tianyu nodded slightly. Just as he was about to close his eyes and refine his art, something seemed to stir in his heart. He flicked a finger, and a streak of flowing light appeared reflected from the void.

Within the curtain of light, Master Master Fufa bowed in salute:

"Greetings, Master."

"The sword's edge has been drawn; Ba Jing is not far."

Lord Lord Tianyu studied his disciple: "After centuries of sharpening your edge to its fullest, from now on your focus should be on nurturing the sword. Bear in mind—do not venture deep into the Heavenly Demon Realm. The Heavenly Demon Realm has encountered calamity."

"The Heavenly Demon Realm has encountered calamity?"

Master Master Fufa started, then asked at once.

"In those years, to annihilate the Origin Divine Dynasty, the realms of Ru Tian Mo Fa Jie paid an enormous price. How could they be willing to see another Divine Dynasty arise in the present world?"

Lord Lord Tianyu did not conceal it either, and laid out the gathering within the Da Luo Hall.

"This…"

Upon hearing of the Da Luo Hall gathering, even Master Master Fufa's eyelids twitched:

"Since the Heavenly Demon Realm has encountered calamity, can the matter of establishing the Divine Dynasty not be postponed?"

The establishment of the Divine Dynasty would surely be a cataclysmic event shaking all the myriad realms. Every branch of the Weitian Dao Sect, and even the various sacred grounds and grotto-heavens of the present world, would take part.

When the time came, the struggle for the throne of the Divine Emperor would likely spark countless great wars. And with cultivators from the otherworldly Ru Tian Mo Fa Jie fanning the flames in secret, one careless step could bring forth a terrifying upheaval.

"This is the great tide."

Lord Lord Tianyu spoke thus, making it clear the matter absolutely could not be delayed or postponed.

"Master, ever since that Wankun Mother-Lord attained the Dao, although the realms of Ru Tian Mo Fa Jie have not been unified, they no longer attack and slander each other as before. Instead, it is our Weitian Dao Sect that…"

Master Master Fufa's brow furrowed tightly.

Even he, warlike as he was, felt dread at the mere thought of establishing the Divine Dynasty.

"No destruction, no establishment."

Lord Lord Tianyu said calmly:

"That Wankun Mother-Lord did not obtain 'Yin-Yang' or 'Six Paths,' and the cycle of reincarnation could not be opened, yet she still wielded inconceivable might… In recent years, the cultivators of Ru Tian Mo Fa Jie slipping into the present world have grown ever more numerous."

"Establishing the Divine Dynasty will be just the thing to purge them all!"

"This disciple understands."

Master Master Fufa nodded with solemnity.

"Those whose yang-lifespan is exhausted find it hard to enter the present world. Among my disciples whose yang-lifespan remains, those who can be used are few. You, along with Bai Yuangang, Daoist Tongqian, Daoist Daoist Tongqing and the others, will have to bear more hardship."

Lord Lord Tianyu paused slightly:

"Once your Junior Brother Yu completes his cultivation of the Fa Tian, he can hold the Northern Dipper. As for the eight domains such as the San Yuan Fa Jie domain, Master Master Fuyuan and others can hold them. Only the Zi Wei Fa Jie domain requires you to go in person."

"This disciple understands."

Master Master Fufa bowed and accepted the charge.

The matter of establishing the Divine Dynasty had been plotted long ago. The twelve mountains of Da Luo each corresponded to one of the Jiu Da Fa Jie domains, and among the domains corresponding to Mount Mount Dongxuan, the Zi Wei Fa Jie domain was the strongest.

"What about Junior Brother Li?"

Master Master Fufa inquired.

"He has a temperament wholly devoted to the mysterious cultivation, dislikes worldly affairs, and besides, his years are still few. Let him remain on the mountain and cultivate."

Lord Lord Tianyu said:

"Once he has attained the Dao and the Divine Dynasty has not yet been established, let him make his own choice."

"…"

Master Master Fufa seemed to wish to speak but held back.

"What do you wish to say?"

Lord Lord Tianyu glanced at him: "This master has always taught according to aptitude, with no like or dislike between them. Your junior brother's nature is as such. If you insist on sending him down the mountain, it will only hinder his cultivation."

As for the dispositions of his own disciples, Lord Lord Tianyu knew them thoroughly in his heart.

Master Master Fufa's nature was bloodthirsty, delighting in dueling others to the death, fearless and courageous before Yu Yu Wangxian. But Li Yuan was clearly not of such a temperament; his mind was steady, cautious, and meticulous.

To send him down the mountain—wouldn't that mean having to 'report his whereabouts' to himself every few days…

"…This disciple dare not."

Master Master Fufa was helpless at heart: "Junior Brother Li is highly skilled in the path of Fa Wu, his talent for combat eclipses all the realms. In the future, he should be able to hold dominion over a region…"

At this point, he paused:

"Then, should this matter be told to Junior Brother?"

"Mm…"

Lord Lord Tianyu gazed down the mountain.

Seeing the various wondrous sights gradually fade and Li Yuan's aura settle, it was clear he had already stabilized his Dao Body. Only then did he flick a finger:

"Then summon him here."

……

Climb!

Climb!

Within the endless darkness, Li Yuan gritted his teeth and walked alone, enduring the terror of his five senses being absent, wanting to climb higher.

After a long while, his strength gave out and he tumbled down.

"Boom!"

As his senses returned, Li Yuan only felt the light and dark before his eyes shift and change; in a daze, it was as if he saw that 'Dao Body' where myriad colors interwove and chaotic qi curled around.

Vaguely, within the Dao Body, he saw his own nine great true forms, the Five Extremes Ancient Temple, and even the various spells and the Suppressing Prison Gu Gu Shentong.

The Chaotic Body bears all laws, and likewise empowers all laws.

In that instant, even without sensing it in detail, Li Yuan knew that the might of his various spells would surely grow by a notch, and that the speed of his Xing Gong and refining of laws would also increase.

"The Chaotic Sacred Body is not far off…"

Enlightenment rose in Li Yuan's heart. Just as he was about to sort through his gains, he felt his mind tremble, and his five senses abruptly shot up to an extreme height.

The next instant, he saw a boundless starry sky, and within that starry sky, a white-haired Daoist sitting cross-legged, shaped like an ordinary person, yet whose qi seemed capable of bearing the star seas and the universe.

"Mm?"

Li Yuan was startled, then immediately knew it was his Master summoning him. He bowed and paid respects:

"Disciple Li Yuan, pays respects to Master!"

"Mm."

Lord Lord Tianyu nodded and beckoned him closer.

Li Yuan was not timid either. He stepped forward and discovered that within the light screen, the image of Master Master Fufa also appeared, cupping his hands in salute and addressing him as junior brother.

In his heart, however, he was somewhat startled and doubtful — this didn't seem like transmitting the Dao?

"Master Fufa, you speak."

Lord Lord Tianyu gave the order.

"Yes!"

Master Master Fufa bowed in assent, then immediately began to recount the matter of the Tripartite Divine Dynasty to Li Yuan.