Chapter 920: Chapter 914: Special Event—Completed
[Special Event—Siege of the Mountain of Esoteric Stratagems, Completed!]
[Obtained massive amounts of loot]
[Void Refining cultivator corpses *13, Divinity Transformation, Nascent Soul, Golden Core cultivator corpses…]
[Obtained Ling Tian’s body!]
[From Zhen Wu and Ling Xu, two of the Four Great Leaders of the Mountain of Esoteric Stratagems, your family has obtained the Mountain of Esoteric Stratagems’ “Secret Scripture of Corpse Stitching,” which records tens of thousands of years of precious experience in corpse stitching techniques.]
Inside the Ancestral Space, having just experienced the great battle at the Mountain of Esoteric Stratagems, Li Wei looked at the lines of information scrolling across the panel, finding it hard to suppress the rising corners of his mouth.
Immediately, with a thought, Li Wei appeared within a space filled with the heavy scent of blood.
Above the Sea of Blood, the “Heaven-Imprisoning Lock” was swirling.
In the sky within the Heaven-Piercing Coffin, black mist churned.
Chains descended from above, suspending a dense array of corpses—all of them “spoils of war” seized from the Mountain of Esoteric Stratagems.
Hanging right at the forefront were Zhen Wu and He Hao.
The moment he stepped onto the ground, Li Wei could sense the exhilaration of the Sea of Blood.
The “Boundless Sea of Blood” was evidently even more gluttonous for the “delicacies” of powerful experts from the mortal world than it had been in the Underworld.
One by one, zombies crawled out from the Boundless Sea of Blood.
Zhen Wu had long since lost all signs of life. Blood could be seen flowing from his abdomen—that was the result of Li Wei continuously using the “One Thought” technique until he finally found an opening to deliver a fatal strike.
Spatial Spiritual power had also thoroughly annihilated his Divine Soul.
Zhen Wu’s features were peaceful in death.
Li Wei still remembered the final moment when the North Star Spirit-Breaking Spear pierced into Zhen Wu’s abdomen.
Zhen Wu originally had a chance to struggle, yet he simply chose to accept death, leaving behind only the words: “So be it, so be it.”
Tap, tap, tap!
Li Dalong approached, treading across the Sea of Blood and causing ripples in the bloody water.
Li Dalong had also sustained significant injuries from this battle; even though he was replenishing himself through the Sea of Blood, he still looked pale and weak at this moment.
Walking beneath He Hao—who was hanging on by a thread, his Spiritual power suppressed by the Heaven-Imprisoning Lock—Li Dalong raised his head slightly.
His expression was one of pity.
“What a pity.”
As the Sect Master of the Eternal Ancient Immortal Sect, He Hao had conducted himself commendably over the past three hundred years.
The entire Westfall Prefecture had flourished due to the Eternal Ancient Immortal Sect taking up residence there.
The secret techniques passed down from antiquity within the sect had also caused Westfall Prefecture to produce quite a few outstanding cultivators.
Furthermore, it was precisely because of He Hao’s emergence that the Eternal Ancient Immortal Sect and the Li Clan had maintained good relations.
“Fellow Daoist.”
Li Dalong did not mask his aura, and He Hao opened his eyes.
This Sect Master of a secluded sect was in a wretched state, his long hair scattered in disarray. Yet, even though he was bound securely, he remained neither humble nor arrogant.
He stiffly turned his head to look at Li Dalong, his gaze clear.
“Fellow Daoist, please listen to what I have to say. After I die, the new Sect Master of the Eternal Ancient Immortal Sect will undoubtedly be Elder Duanmu.”
Hearing these words, Li Dalong furrowed his brows.
He Hao continued,
“Duanmu Qi is a man of immense prestige and profound shrewdness, yet he is also far more ambitious.
Within the sect, he has his own clan descendants. His goals in this life are to break through to the Integration Realm and to strengthen the Duanmu Clan.
Because of this, friction is bound to arise between Westfall Prefecture and Azure Cloud Prefecture.”
“However, in such chaotic times, my Westfall Prefecture serves as a natural barrier for the Azure Cloud Prefecture.
Fellow Daoist, you should understand better than I do the importance of Westfall Prefecture to Azure Cloud Prefecture.
As long as my Eternal Ancient Immortal Sect stands, no matter what happens, Azure Cloud Prefecture will have a buffer to maneuver.”
“To stabilize Duanmu Qi, one needs only satisfy his ambitious nature; simply granting official positions to the Duanmu Clan will suffice…”
Even as his voice grew increasingly weak, He Hao continued to speak of the affairs concerning the two prefectures.
With a final, long-drawn sigh, He Hao lowered his head, maintaining a completely dignified and open demeanor to the very end.
Li Dalong wore an expression of admiration, while secretly cursing that damnable “Dao Seed.”
He shook his head and walked to a secluded spot within the Sea of Blood.
There, he saw the Old Ancestor of the Zhao Clan standing in place, his body already withered and completely devoid of intelligence.
“I wonder when I’ll be able to refine him into a Zombie Emperor.”
Li Dalong’s gaze was filled with anticipation.
In the final two layers of the Daoist techniques from Heaven-Piercing Coffin’s legacy, the “Heaven-Piercing Coffin Corpse Driving Art,” there were methods for refining a Zombie Emperor and a Zombie Progenitor, corresponding to the Integration Realm and the Mahayana Realm, respectively.
Refining a Zombie Emperor would require a vast amount of materials, and his mastery of the “Corpse Driving Art” had to be absolute.
Furthermore, to control a sufficient number of zombies, his Divine Soul also needed to be powerful enough.
Only in this way could he ensure that the zombies he refined would absolutely obey his commands and not rebel.
Even now, the number of Void Refining zombies Li Dalong could control with absolute authority over their life and death was no more than three.
Among them, only one zombie had truly reached the Void Refining Realm.
Turning his head slightly, he saw Spiritual Qi surging and a crushing pressure radiating outward. A smile surfaced on Li Dalong’s face.
A massive amount of spoils was piled up there, all harvested from this great battle!
Li Wei, off to the side, was no different; he had already dived into the pile of treasures.
The cultivators who had come to the Mountain of Esoteric Stratagems for this battle were existences who rarely appeared before the world. How could the items in their possession possibly be anything ordinary?
What delighted Li Wei the most was undoubtedly those nine bronze gates belonging to Zhen Wu.
The reason his battle with Zhen Wu had dragged on for so long was entirely due to the existence of these nine bronze gates.
It was precisely by relying on these bronze gates, combined with his own techniques, that Zhen Wu had become a top-tier existence within the Void Refining Realm!
Now, these nine bronze gates had transformed into a necklace—a black cord strung with nine ancient, unadorned bronze tablets.
[Top-Grade Dharma Treasure: Nine Life-Siphoning Gates]
[A Dharma Treasure passed down for generations within the Mountain of Esoteric Stratagems, refined using precious materials by generation after generation of cultivators.
Inside each bronze gate, one living being below the Integration Realm can be sealed. Once sealed within, their Spiritual power can be extracted for one’s own use.]
[Only those with a powerful physical body can absorb this Spiritual power into their body to strengthen themselves; alternatively, the bronze gates can be used to ward off enemies.]
[Currently contains three Corpse Beasts: two at the Early Void Refining Realm and one at the Mid Void Refining Realm.]
“What a treasure!”
Li Wei was overjoyed.
“With this Dharma Treasure, plus the three Corpse Beasts already inside, even a Void Refining cultivator with the most mediocre aptitude—even at their absolute worst—could possess strength comparable to the Martial Emperor.”
This was absolutely the most powerful Dharma Treasure Li Wei had ever seen.
The more powerful living beings sealed within, the stronger it became. If one were to seal nine “He Haos” inside, Li Wei suspected one could truly go toe-to-toe with an Integration Realm cultivator!
“And there’s this thing…”
Li Wei looked toward a glittering golden jade slip to the side.
That was the Natal Dharma Treasure from within He Hao’s body.
The Artifact Spirit within it had long since perished, and the jade slip’s Spiritual power was gradually dissipating. Yet even so, Li Wei was endlessly delighted.
[High-Grade Dharma Treasure: Golden Jade Slip of Formations and Talismans (Damaged)]
[The Natal Dharma Treasure of He Hao, Sect Master of the Eternal Ancient Immortal Sect.
It is the fundamental source of He Hao’s ability to form talismans and formations with a mere wave of his hand, inscribed with the Dao of Talismans and Formations that He Hao spent many years cultivating.]
Only Li Wei, who had personally fought against He Hao, knew just how profound He Hao’s foundation in the arts of talismans and formations truly was.
This man was evidently a rare, scholarly master in these two disciplines.
While Li Wei was naturally familiar with some unorthodox paths through his own cultivation, the sheer depth of He Hao’s attainment was enough to make Li Wei break out in a cold sweat.
“Yaotie is an expert in this field. With this technique, it will be helpful for his future cultivation and Artifact Refining.”
Li Wei beamed with joy.
“For Tianqi and Tianming, this Golden Slip is a supreme technique.
Tianqi cultivates formation arts; he can study the formations within to strengthen his Turtle Shell formation.
And then there’s Tianming—that personality of his cultivates the method of Talisman Spirit Channeling!”
Li Wei dove right into the pile of treasures, searching for items useful to his clansmen.
It was a pity that there were many fragments of Dharma Treasures here; when ordinary cultivators engaged in great battles, they rarely let others benefit from their deaths, destroying whatever they could before the end.
Moreover, given the nature of this journey, most cultivators had left the treasures they wouldn’t be using back at their homes.
“Spiritual items, spiritual items, and more spiritual items. Twenty-seven pieces that are Grade Seven or higher? Hiss, the Skyveil Hall is going to eat its fill this time.”
“This… a Grade Four Spirit Medicine, the Ancient Sage Phantom Beast Grass!
It purifies the bloodlines of demon beasts and enhances their evolution.
Exactly two stalks—one for Cuihua and one for Old Flood dragon!”
“Earth-Tier Sword Technique, Shadowless Void-Crossing Sword.
When practiced to the ultimate level, it carries traces of Spatial Laws. When the sword is wielded, it remains unseen by others, killing without form. What a despicable sword art.”
“….”
Just as he was tallying the items one by one, Li Wei paused, his gaze fixing upon a golden metal shard.
[Innate Spirit Treasure: Golden Chapter of Enlightenment (Damaged)]
[Obtained from a certain unknown cultivator. This person cultivated for two hundred years to reach the Divinity Transformation Realm.
He came to the Mountain of Esoteric Stratagems to fish in troubled waters, only to perish in the shockwaves of the great battle between you and Zhen Wu.]
[The Golden Chapter of Enlightenment is born of Heaven and Earth.
When kept within the body, it assists in deduction and calculation, while cultivation methods, cultivation techniques, or unorthodox arts. There is a certain probability it will trigger sudden enlightenment for the user.]
“Huh?”
Li Wei’s mouth fell open.
He vaguely recalled that when he and Zhen Wu had burst out of the Void Refining Dimension during their chase, a young Divinity Transformation cultivator just happened to be passing halfway up the Mountain of Esoteric Stratagems.
That young man had been acting furtively, only to be crushed to death by the Spiritual power of Zhen Wu’s Bronze Gates.
“Did it come from him? Reaching the Divinity Transformation Realm in two hundred years… was this kid even more heaven-defying than Su Chen?”
Scratching his head, Li Wei couldn’t help but feel that an unlucky wretch—who likely would have become someone extraordinary in the future—had just died.
And this Golden Chapter was probably the biggest reason for that person’s meteoric rise in cultivation!
As for Spirit Treasures, Li Wei possessed some knowledge about them.
Spirit Treasures were divided into Innate and Acquired categories, though it was difficult to judge which was superior.
Innate Spirit Treasures were naturally generated by Heaven and Earth; each piece had existed for vast eras and possessed peculiar, unique effects.
Acquired Spirit Treasures, on the other hand, were refined by cultivators—Li Dalong’s Heaven-Piercing Coffin and the Heaven-Imprisoning Lock belonged to the latter.
“This thing…” Looking at the Golden Chapter of Enlightenment, Li Wei deeply understood the object’s extraordinary worth, given that it had groomed a cultivator to the Divinity Transformation Realm in just two hundred years.
After thinking for a moment, Li Wei thought of Li Zhiheng. However, the utility of the “Heavenly Dao Divine Heart” that Zhiheng possessed was likely even more potent than this damaged Golden Chapter.
This item would be best used to nurture the younger generation.
Among his descendants, the one with the superior aptitude was undoubtedly Li Chuyuan, currently within the Eternal Ancient Immortal Sect…
“Assists in deducing unorthodox arts, cultivation techniques, and cultivation methods.”
Li Wei pondered for a moment. “Yaotie is engaged in Artifact Refining all year round; letting him use it couldn’t be more suitable.”
With this thought, Li Wei instantly vanished from his spot and appeared beside Li Yaotie and the others. It would still take some time for Li Dalong to catch up to them.
At this moment, the clan members who had participated in the siege of the Grand Tower were traveling atop an auspicious cloud, heading toward the Grand Tower’s headquarters, fresh from the great battle.
Gazing at his clansmen on the auspicious cloud, Li Wei’s face was filled with gratification.
During the days he had spent rushing about the Star Domain, the family had already grown powerful beyond what the world knew.
The battle to hunt down the three hundred members of the Grand Tower also proved that the family’s efforts in refining the “Void-Soul Exchanging Dao Technique” over the past three hundred years had not been in vain!
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