"It seems Yaotie has truly found a good master."
As he watched Li Yaotie step outside the Heavenly Light Sect to face his tribulation, the Heavenly Light Ancestor casually waved a hand, sending out a protective talisman to act as his Protector.
Seeing this, Li Wei was also genuinely happy for Li Yaotie.
In reality, during the two years since becoming the Heavenly Light Ancestor's disciple, Li Yaotie had not actually learned a great number of techniques directly from the Ancestor.
It was only when he encountered some point of confusion in his various professional arts that an avatar of the Heavenly Light Ancestor would appear to dispel his doubts.
During the times Li Wei had observed this master and disciple pair, he had once heard the Heavenly Light Ancestor say something profound.
"The Dao is a path one forges for oneself. The world may say that we cultivate the unorthodox side paths, but there are tens of thousands of methods of cultivation.
Who was it that decreed that the path followed by the majority is the only correct one?
There is a fundamental truth in this world, and that is the Great Dao.
The Great Dao that each person perceives may be different, yet in the end, all paths lead to the same destination."
Several days passed.
On that Mountain, the site of the great battle from two years prior was still a devastated landscape, riddled with wounds.
Li Yaotie now sat cross-legged at the very spot where Ye Xiu had achieved his breakthrough.
Gaze after gaze could still be felt spying upon this Mountain, yet when the protective talisman of the Heavenly Light Ancestor appeared, not a single observer dared to cross the boundary.
As the thunderclouds began to gather, all the members of the Li family watched with concern as Li Yaotie began to face his tribulation.
This time, however, the nature of his tribulation left them all greatly astonished, and that included even Li Wei.
Li Yaotie was seen to rise into the air, and that protective talisman from the Heavenly Light Ancestor, to their astonishment, appeared directly beneath him, transforming into... a colossal furnace!
Piece after piece of raw ore and forging materials materialized in the air all around him.
The lightning tribulation in the sky escalated, transforming from a One-Nine Lightning Tribulation to a Three-Nine Lightning Tribulation, until finally... it reached the Nine-Nine!
Meanwhile, the ore and forging materials began to merge, bit by bit, into Li Yaotie's body.
"This..."
Having cultivated for over two hundred years, the members of the Li family naturally knew a thing or two about the art of artifact forging.
Watching as Li Yaotie transformed his own body into a furnace to facilitate his breakthrough, they all began to understand the crux of his method!
Witnessing such a peculiar sight, Li Wei too was greatly astonished.
[Your descendant, Li Yaotie, aided by the Heavenly Light Ancestor, has used great spiritual power to conceal his innate talent. Each of his cultivated professions allows him to conceal one layer of the lightning tribulation, enabling him to proceed in a step-by-step manner. He is merging with the forging materials, using the methods of the "unorthodox paths" to transform his very body!]
...
The Heavenly Light Sect has existed since the very founding of the Azure Dynasty. And though the Heavenly Light Ancestor himself rarely appears in person, his name is one known to all.
For such a legendary existence to take on a personal "closed-door" disciple was an event that naturally did not escape the notice of the Azure Dynasty's various powerful factions.
They all witnessed the great commotion on that Mountain.
Not far from the Mountain, Daoist Mingkong, the very Sect Master who had blocked Wang Jinhu's path that day, was now gazing at the lightning tribulation in the sky, his expression deeply complex.
Among all the cultivators of the entire Heavenly Light Sect, there was not a single one who did not dream of becoming a disciple of the Heavenly Light Ancestor and receiving his direct tutelage. Yet, in all their ordinary days, they had never so much as laid eyes upon the Ancestor's face.
In all these years, they had never once witnessed the Heavenly Light Ancestor personally take action. And now, some obscure, unknown individual had actually become his disciple?
"Daoist friend Mingkong."
A figure appeared at Daoist Mingkong's side. It was none other than Qu Yang, the very same Tian Xing avatar who, on that fateful day, had been besieged by Ye Xiu and Daoist Shanchen, and had subsequently fled in a wretched state after Wang Jinhu and that black mist figure arrived as reinforcements!
Qu Yang and Daoist Mingkong appeared to be somewhat acquainted; his standing beside Mingkong did not cause the latter to raise his guard.
He chuckled and said, "The Heavenly Light Ancestor is indeed worthy of his reputation as a great power. Li Yaotie's tribulation should have originally been a Six-Nine Heavenly Tribulation, yet he has managed to face this Nine-Nine trial instead! What a pity, though," he added with a hint of mockery, "that a legacy of this caliber was not passed down to you, the Sect Master."
Daoist Mingkong remained silent, but very quickly, even Qu Yang himself fell silent as well.
They, along with the entire populace of the Imperial Capital, were all witnessing a method of breakthrough the likes of which they had never seen before!
"He is... using his own body as the furnace, and the heavenly thunder and earthly fire as the forge!" one of the onlookers exclaimed.
Beneath the crashing thunderbolts, the iron ore surrounding Li Yaotie began to melt, bit by bit.
Then, under the pressure of the gradually intensifying lightning, the molten liquid formed from this ore began to envelop Li Yaotie, wrapping him within a massive, black cocoon!
Array formations, the script of talismans, the intricate patterns of puppets...
All these arts of the "unorthodox paths" were being inscribed, bit by bit, from the inside out onto the exterior of the massive cocoon!
"How is this possible? To be well-versed in so many unorthodox paths... to have mastered every single one!"
Qu Yang gritted his teeth, his face dark and clouded with gloom.
He could sense it; Li Yaotie was growing stronger, and in the near future, he would become their most formidable stumbling block. And yet, they were powerless to do anything to Li Yaotie, for standing behind this fellow now was the Heavenly Light Ancestor himself!
He turned to look at Daoist Mingkong, who stood nearby, and began in a low, heavy voice, "Daoist friend..."
But before his words had even faded, Daoist Mingkong cut him off with a scoff. "I know what you're about to say. You want me to help you deal with Li Yaotie. Don't be a fool," Mingkong stated plainly.
"Even if Li Yaotie had never arrived, the Grand Ancestor would not have passed his legacy down to me. Your affairs are your own to resolve. I will only do what I believe is the right thing."
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