Chapter 746

Foundation first!

Inside the Great Luo Hall, the Other Shore Golden List shines brilliantly; looking closely at the golden light, one can even faintly see various light and shadow patterns interwoven.

"Li Yuan?"

Ripples rose in the void, and a child boy jumped out in surprise.

He wore his hair in a skyward bun, draped in a loose Daoist robe, stood less than four chi tall, and was now curiously looking at the name still flashing atop the Golden List:

"This little child's divine body has not yet reversed the Innate; even if he has forged a Super-Grade Great Elixir, his foundation should not be able to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the Red Dragon Daoist, should it?"

The Great Luo Record illuminates the Twelve Mountains of Great Luo, encompassing information and intelligence on all members of the Great Luo Heaven Gate since all eras; Li Yuan did not block the Disciple Token, and is cultivating within Mount Mount Dongxuan, so naturally he could not hide from him.

"Why not?"

The purple-robed Daoist glanced at his own child boy.

"The Red Dragon Daoist's Eternal Saint Body is also one of the Nine Saint Bodies, and he reversed the Innate ten thousand years ago; the 'Eternal Dao Scripture' he cultivates has reached the tenth level of attainment, and he possesses eighteen Great Divine Arts; his foundation is not inferior to Lord Lord Tianyu's back in the day..."

"And this little child hasn't even cultivated the Hunyuan Five Extremes Dao, has he?"

The Great Luo Child was quite perplexed.

He had personally witnessed Li Yuan forging the Super-Grade Great Elixir and seen his name leap up the Foundation List, yet precisely because of this, he felt it unreasonable.

Setting aside the Red Dragon Daoist who holds first place in foundation, let us speak of the Floating Dragon Daoist.

This number one true disciple of the 'Floating' lineage from twelve thousand years ago also cultivated the Hunyuan Five Extremes Dao; apart from the Super-Grade Great Elixir, he surpassed Li Yuan in every aspect, yet he only ranks ninth on the Foundation List.

"Whether it is aptitude or Dao Scriptures and Divine Arts, they are merely one aspect of the foundation..."

The purple-robed Daoist closed the Golden List, then immediately cast it into the void:

"The Golden List was born from our Dao essence; although its rank is not as high as yours, on this point, it observes far more thoroughly than you."

"What else?"

The Great Luo Child felt unconvinced, thinking inwardly what capability the Golden List could have to compare with himself; he grew even more curious, but seeing the Dao Venerable not answer, he could only suppress himself and instead said:

"Master, do you wish for this little child to hold the Golden List?"

The purple-robed Daoist corrected: "The Golden List possesses a spirit and chooses its own master."

"... Then do you think the Golden List will choose this little child?"

The Great Luo Child asked again.

"Who can say for certain about future matters?"

The purple-robed Daoist tapped the child boy's brow: "Do not ask so much."

"Yes..."

The Great Luo Child felt somewhat dejected, but instantly added: "Even if this little child is first in foundation, he is still lacking ten thousand years of cultivation; how can he compete with the Red Dragon Daoist?"

"Should we not find a Guardian Daoist for this little child?"

Unlike the current era's Grotto-Heavens and Sacred Lands, disciples of the Great Luo Heaven Gate rarely have Guardian Daoists, but he felt this little child truly needed one.

Otherwise, he could not think of how he would contend with those peerless heavenly geniuses whose foundations matched his yet who had cultivated ten thousand years longer.

"Let nature take its course."

The purple-robed Daoist's expression was calm, seemingly not caring about Li Yuan ascending to first place in foundation, yet as if sensing something, he said:

"Child, do you still remember that Xuanhuang World Tree?"

"How could I forget that?"

The Great Luo Child couldn't help but raise his eyebrows: "That shameless old tree ambushed me when I was unprepared back then; sooner or later I will settle this score with it!"

"Hmm?"

Speaking thus, he suddenly realized:

"Master, could it be that you intend to..."

"Now that the Other Shore Golden List has emerged into the world, many matters can be handled with slightly more freedom..."

The purple-robed Daoist lowered his gaze toward the depths of the Return to Ruins; his sight seemed to penetrate the boundless void sea, seeing an indescribable divine tree:

"What do you think?"

"Are you speaking of the Weitian Martial Arts?"

The Great Luo Child felt endless joy:

"Good! How could it not be good!"

Within the Divine Realm, not a single wisp of cloud or mist is seen, yet heavy rain pours down like a deluge, with water mist almost filling heaven and earth.

Beneath the Black Vine Tree, Li Yuan sat cross-legged, quietly listening to the sound of rain, feeling his own transformation.

Yes, transformation!

The moment the Divine Realm touched the External Scene, Li Yuan suddenly realized he had underestimated the Super-Grade Great Elixir.

The difference between the Ten Scenes and the Nine Scenes is not merely one extra scene; with the inner and outer connected, he is currently only a prototype of the Dharma Realm, yet it is as if he has forged the Dharma Realm!

"Crack!"

Li Yuan saw lightning flashing and thunder rumbling, but it was not formed by spells or Divine Arts; it was a true, literal wonder of heaven and earth!

This means his Divine Realm has already acquired certain qualities of the real heaven and earth.

The birth of wonders also means his Divine Realm can spontaneously draw in the spiritual qi of heaven and earth; even without Xing Gong to refine the Dharma, his magic power is surging!

"The speed of magic power accumulation has almost doubled!"

Feeling the changes within himself, Li Yuan himself felt shocked.

Keep in mind that before forging the Super-Grade Great Elixir, thanks to his Chaos Divine Body, the Five Extremes Great Scripture, and the blessing of the Military Talisman, his speed of refining the Dharma had already surpassed Yu Yu Wangxian!

Doubling again...

"No wonder it could make even a God King linger on it…"

Li Yuan's heart surged with excitement.

Not only had the speed of accumulating magic power skyrocketed, but the speed at which he cultivated his arts and their might had also leapt up by a great margin!

Beneath the tree, Li Yuan focused his spirit and sensed carefully.

The Law Realm, as the name implied, was a world woven from arts. Though he only had a rudimentary form of the Law Realm, every kind of art had long since been woven into every inch of his Ru Le Shen Jing.

All manner of wondrous sights arose of their own accord; beneath the nourishing spiritual rain, his magic power grew like a farmer's crops, thriving vigorously.

It wasn't any single art that was growing — every single art was growing!

"The Fifth Realm is only half a step away from me; all that's lacking is for the rudimentary Law Realm to solidify from illusion into reality!"

Li Yuan reached out, plucked a weed from the ground, and casually tossed it. With a 'hiss', the rain curtain stretching for who knew how many tens of thousands of miles was sliced open by a single sword!

This was not the Tai Yin Sword Qi whose Shi Zhong Fa were nearly full, but one of the several thousand arts he had cultivated over the years — called the Grass Sword Art, with only San Shi Liu Zhong of Fa Jin.

But with the augmentation of the Chaotic Body, the Five Extremes Mountain of Primordial Unity, the Five Emperors' Temple, and his Ru Le Shen Jing, its might was equivalent to Ba Shi Zhong Fa of this sword art!

"Hum~"

The severed rain transformed into a Feng Feng Mantian of mist, and streams of divine light gathered in his palm at Li Yuan's slightest thought, like a five-colored folding fan.

This was the Five Extremes Divine Light.

Li Yuan lightly held up the Five Extremes Divine Light, feeling as if the entire Zheng Zuo Shen Jing rested in his palm.

Over these twenty years, the Five Extremes Divine Light had made the greatest progress.

There was no other reason — the might of a Natal Gu Gu Shentong was inherently tied to its cultivator. The growth of every art, magic power, and Gu Gu Shentong he cultivated, as well as his physique, all pushed forward the might of the Five Extremes Divine Light.

"If I were to pour everything into unleashing this Five Extremes Divine Light, its power should be no less than the Mysterious Yin Divine Thunder that Lei Chi could only nurture after accumulating it for many years!"

Li Yuan felt a deep satisfaction in his heart.

Unlike the Five Element Divine Light when it had first taken form in the past, this Natal Gu Gu Shentong could now serve as a true trump card.

"Apart from my magic power not yet being complete, I am now a true peak of the Fourth Realm!"

Using Wu Long Xian as his mirror, Li Yuan felt that apart from the smaller number of Gu Gu Shentong he cultivated, he had no flaws or shortcomings worth mentioning among Fourth Realm cultivators.

"Clang~"

At that moment, Wang Yang split open, and a blindingly brilliant sword light pierced through the heavens. As the bone-chilling aura spread, the sky-filling mist instantly crystallized into ice.

Then, even the Wang Yang of his Ru Le Shen Jing began to freeze.

The aura of slaughter filled heaven and earth, causing the true forms cultivating arts in various places to glance over.

"Cry!"

A cry rang out.

A three-legged Golden Crow flew out of its sun-nest, like a great sun crossing the sky, radiating the utmost light and heat, seeking to sweep away the aura of slaughter between heaven and earth.

"Clang~"

The next instant, the Refine Demon Sword tore through the air. Had Li Yuan not reached out in time to grab it, it would likely have fought that Golden Crow.

"Hum~"

The Refine Demon Sword lay across his knees. Li Yuan gently stroked the blade; the pitch-black sword body was covered in golden patterns, and faintly, it already bore some semblance of a divine treasure.

"It's truly difficult for the Refine Demon Sword to advance into a divine treasure."

Li Yuan could sense that wisp of sword qi within the blade — the origin sword qi of the Nine Extremes Heaven. Just one last wisp remained, and it would completely merge into the Refine Demon Sword.

But for the Refine Demon Sword to advance into a divine treasure, it required a sword sacrifice.

"Either slay a top-grade demon at the absolute peak of the Fourth Realm, or find a Fourth Realm cultivator with the talent of a god or demon to sacrifice to the sword…"

Li Yuan looked slightly troubled.

He wasn't a person who liked fighting and killing, but the conditions for the Refine Demon Sword's advancement were as they were, and he had no other choice.

"A top-grade demon at the peak of the Fourth Realm isn't easy to find…"

The essence of the Ying Mo Shen Refining Mi Fa surfaced in Li Yuan's mind.

A top-grade demon was equivalent to a cultivator of seventh-grade talent, and even in Tian Mo Fa Jie they were exceedingly rare.

He had been refining demons for nearly sixty years now, and hadn't seen even one.

Moreover, since such demons were indispensable spiritual materials for cultivating fierce spiritual treasures and Gu Gu Shentong, they couldn't be bought even if one had the money.

He had issued a mission through Ying Mo Shen in the Underworld, and though someone had accepted it, there had been no response yet.

"If it really won't work, I'll have to send Ying Mo Shen to Tian Mo Fa Jie…"

His thoughts wandering, Li Yuan didn't stay idle. He raised his hand and summoned streams of Wu Di Fa to wash over the Refine Demon Sword, helping it digest that last wisp of origin sword qi.

The Great Luo Banner quietly drifted over and fiercely swallowed a stream of Wu Di Fa.

Thanks to Ying Mo Shen's diligence, this protective treasure had also progressed quickly. It was now a top-grade spiritual treasure, and he had left it on Xuanteng Island.

Any curse arts or divinations targeting him had to first pass through the Great Luo Banner.

"Hum~"

Half a month later, accompanied by the consumption of yet another stream of Wu Di Fa, the Refine Demon Sword let out a clear, dragon-like trill, as if rejoicing.

The next instant, the golden light on the Refine Demon Sword blazed intensely, rolling away like water waves, dyeing the sword a brilliant gold.

"Boom!"

Under Li Yuan's gaze, the Refine Demon Sword rose into the air, slicing through layer upon layer of rain. The light on the blade flickered, and within it a cave heaven seemed to be gestating — but in the end, it fell back down.

"Wooo~"

The Refine Demon Sword trilled in unwillingness — its advancement had failed.

"Don't rush."

Li Yuan gently stroked the Refine Demon Sword, helping it calm its aura.

The origin sword qi from Nine Extremes Heaven was ample, and combined with the tempering of metallic nature, it should have allowed the Refine Demon Sword to advance into a divine treasure. But a fierce sword that has not tasted blood can never advance.

Fortunately, the failure did not damage the Refining Demon Sword; after falling silent, it transformed into foundation.

"I can try to master those three Great Mystery Sword Scriptures now!"

Tossing the Refining Demon Sword into Wang Yang, Li Yuan's mind stirred, and three Great Mystery Sword Scriptures had already appeared in his hand.

Over forty years had passed, and he still had not cultivated the Great Mystery Sword Scriptures, yet he had not lacked in studying them, and had sought guidance from a host of senior brothers and sect elders, not minding any leakage in the slightest.

And this Dao Lord's inheritance was truly a top-grade social tool; every senior brother and elder praised it without exception.

It was also because of this that the senior brothers and elders answered every question he asked, and gifted him mastery items such as the Yin-Yang Dual Scriptures and the Five Extremes Great Scripture.