Bayue Weiban

Chapter 285 Obtaining the Inheritance

Ji Yuan watched the other person in silence, his heart filled with complex emotions.

After comprehending the ‘River God Dao,’ he was acutely aware of the immense price and suffering involved in wielding such a profound technique.

To transition from the immortal path to the divine path, to transform from a mortal into a deity, the first trial one had to endure was the disintegration of form and bone, feeling the agonizing torment as gale winds, blazing infernos, and chilling ice powers consumed the flesh and skin.

Crucially, during this process, consciousness would remain extraordinarily clear, senses amplified several, perhaps even over ten, times. The perceived duration of time would stretch infinitely, allowing one to experience pain that penetrated the very depths of the soul.

Only if one could persevere through this boundless agony without their soul collapsing could they proceed to the subsequent steps.

The divine path once flourished across the land, with deities presiding over mountains and rivers, truly dominating for several eras.

However, to transform from a mortal body into a mountain or river deity, even with extraordinary willpower and unparalleled talent, the outcome was almost always certain death.

“As you answered before, the past has faded with the wind,” Huang Tianci said with a faint smile, sensing the unspoken questions in Ji Yuan’s gaze.

He then slowly moved aside, his body swaying as he settled onto a cushion. He gestured towards the space before him.

A flash of light ensued, and the surrounding tables and desks vanished. A cushion materialized out of thin air directly in front of him.

Ji Yuan immediately understood, stepping forward swiftly to sit cross-legged on the cushion. He silently observed the elder before him, sensing an aura of decay emanating from him.

Even though the elder was a grandmaster of the Way of Alchemy and this place lacked for no spiritual medicines, the absence of incense and votive offerings made sustaining himself for thousands of years an insurmountable challenge.

“Several months ago, a cultivator of the Golden Core stage, possessing immense power and formidable means, shattered the confinement of this dojo,” Huang Tianci said, stroking his long beard. “As brilliant and terrifying lightning descended, breaking the seal that had held for millennia, I was finally able to drag my decaying divine body out of the water mansion.”

Lightning…

Ji Yuan’s heart stirred, and the image of Xu Chengfeng, the peak master of Lei Ze Peak, instantly flashed in his mind. He recalled the world-ending strike Xu Chengfeng had unleashed to break open the entrance to this dojo.

As the elder spoke, some lingering questions in Ji Yuan’s mind began to unravel.

After being able to leave the water mansion, Huang Tianci had taken on the appearance of his youth. With his remaining divine power and memories, he had recreated several of his old friends.

They roamed near the marshlands. If they encountered alchemists or cultivators with talent in the Way of Alchemy, they would lure them into the water mansion to undergo the trials of inheritance he had set.

This was why there were over a dozen alchemists currently undergoing trials within the water mansion. Huang Tianci had used the lure of fortune within the marshlands to draw them here.

“Among the forty-three cultivators with talent in the Way of Alchemy, only you have reached this point,” Huang Tianci said, his voice tinged with a hint of somberness. “There were even one or two whose innate talent surpassed yours.”

As he spoke, his gaze flickered, seemingly hinting at something. Ji Yuan understood the meaning behind his eyes. If he hadn’t possessed the Grand Dao Compendium, it was likely someone else would have ended up here.

The Grand Dao Compendium, left behind by the ancestor of Xuan Tian Guan, contained hundreds, even thousands, of fundamental principles. It would reveal the most suitable principles based on the holder’s aptitude.

Furthermore, if one’s cultivation level was sufficient, the holder could freely peruse all the principles within the Grand Dao Compendium.

Although it contained only the most fundamental principles, it was enough for cultivators below the Golden Core stage to spend their entire lives comprehending.

“The book in your hand is a treasure. Its value is no less than the combined worth of several Dharma treasures,” Huang Tianci stated, his eyes flashing with a sharp glint as he glanced at Ji Yuan.

Had he obtained this Grand Dao Compendium in his past, perhaps he would have condensed his own Golden Core, rather than reluctantly relying on medicinal pills, wasting decades of time in vain.

Naturally, he would not have ended up in the dojo of Daoist Chi Xin, and ultimately, in that blood sacrifice, not only had his companions perished, but he himself had been forced to turn to the divine path to survive.

Hearing this, Ji Yuan’s brow furrowed slightly. He knew the Grand Dao Compendium was incredibly precious, but he had never imagined it to be worth as much as several Dharma treasures combined.

Normally, even a Dharma treasure with just ten restrictive formations would be considered an heirloom by a major sect, cherished and refined by generations of cultivators.

“Let’s get back to the main topic. Since you have passed all the trials, you may now receive my inheritance.”

The elder before him casually pointed, and twelve stone tablets, each about the size of a palm, appeared on the ground between them.

Each stone tablet exuded a spiritual glow, containing profound Daoist rhymes. Dense runes emerged from them, emitting an ineffable, mystical aura.

With just a glance, Ji Yuan’s heart jolted. Each of the stone tablets before him was equivalent to a top-grade Dharma artifact, containing nine innate restrictive formations. When their energies intermingled, they released fluctuations comparable to Dharma treasures!

These artifacts shared a striking similarity with his thirty-six Water Pearls. Individually, they were within the realm of Dharma artifacts, but when activated together, unleashing their latent restrictive formations, they possessed power exceeding that of ordinary Dharma treasures.

Generally, such sets of Dharma artifacts were more favored by cultivators than single, ordinary Dharma treasures. Their refinement difficulty was lower, yet their power was immense, easily wielded by cultivators in the second or third realms for combat.

Otherwise, even a cultivator at the peak of the third realm would find it extremely difficult and taxing to unleash the full power of a Dharma treasure.

“Each stone tablet contains one complete set of the Twelve Dharmas,” Huang Tianci, the elder before him, said softly. “This was one of my signature treasures back then. Relying on it, I have slain countless powerful enemies.”

As he spoke, he gently raised his hand, and with a fleeting flash of light, a sapphire-blue alchemical furnace appeared in his palm.

This furnace was no larger than a fist. Its round body, with three legs and two ears, was carved with motifs of surging waves, giving the impression of a vast, churning ocean at a glance.

As a wisp of divine power was channeled into it, the furnace exuded a majestic aura, and twelve restrictive formations emerged on its surface.

Upon witnessing this, Ji Yuan’s eyes widened. He hadn’t expected this alchemical furnace to be a Dharma treasure with twelve restrictive formations!

However, considering the elder’s identity, his shock subsided. As a grandmaster of the Way of Alchemy, possessing the complete method of water-refining elixirs, it seemed not entirely unbelievable for him to possess such a Dharma treasure-grade alchemical furnace.

“This furnace is named ‘Vast Sea Qiankun.’ It was refined with great effort by a grandmaster of artifact craftsmanship, at my request, after I ascended to the third realm,” Huang Tianci said with a touch of melancholy. This artifact had accompanied him for most of his life; while not his life-bound treasure, it was close.

He used his divine power to lift the Vast Sea Qiankun furnace, causing it to slowly float forward. He cautioned Ji Yuan to use it wisely.

However, even without the elder’s admonishment, Ji Yuan would have cherished this furnace immensely, not only because of its Dharma treasure-grade quality but also because he had received the elder’s inheritance.

Although the process had been somewhat convoluted, he had ultimately obtained the method of water-refining elixirs, along with eleven other Dharmas, not to mention a set of extremely powerful Dharma artifacts and this Vast Sea Qiankun furnace.

“Now that this dojo is connected to the outside world, if there is sufficient incense and votive offering, will you be able to exist for a while longer?” Ji Yuan asked after carefully storing away the twelve stone tablets and the sapphire-blue alchemical furnace.

If his memory served him correctly, within the territory of the Great Yu Dynasty, several deities had existed for thousands of years. The Mountain God of Mount Zhongyue, the foremost of the Five Sacred Mountains, had existed for over nine thousand years.

For immortal cultivators, unless they had transcended the heavenly tribulation to achieve immortality, even powerful beings with immense magical power had a natural lifespan of only eight hundred years. With countless longevity-boosting spiritual items, they could extend it to fifteen hundred years at most.

But for divine beings, as long as they could ensure a steady supply of incense and votive offerings, existing for thousands, even tens of thousands, of years was not impossible.

Although he did not have much affection for the elder before him, Ji Yuan, in all honesty, did not wish for him to fade away so sadly. It would be good if he could persist for a few more centuries.

In his view, since the elder had managed to persist for four to five thousand years with medicinal pills alone, without any incense and votive offerings, it should not be difficult for him to last for several more centuries.

Incense and votive offerings might be rare for ordinary beings, but if the elder revealed his identity as a grandmaster of alchemy, the Great Yu Dynasty would undoubtedly spare no expense, dispatching Golden Core stage cultivators, even powerful beings, to deliver sufficient incense and votive offerings.

A grandmaster of alchemy was a being capable of ensuring a sect’s prosperity for hundreds, even thousands, of years. For a dynasty, their importance was even greater.

Within the entire Great Yu Dynasty, and even in the surrounding nations, the known grandmasters of alchemy were fewer than ten!

However, Huang Tianci shook his head, a wry smile appearing on his face. “I know what you are thinking. Even with abundant incense and votive offerings, it can only repair this decaying body or coalesce a golden form.”

But his soul had already decayed. No miracle medicine, however potent, could restore it. Without external influences, he would likely only exist for another month or two.

“If you have no urgent matters, you might as well stay here for a while,” the elder said, stroking his long beard and looking meaningfully at Ji Yuan.

Evidently, the injuries within Ji Yuan’s body could not be hidden from this grandmaster of alchemy. With just a glance, he had essentially discerned the extent of them.

Upon hearing this, Ji Yuan pondered for a moment and then nodded. Although he was also concerned about Lin Yubai, who was also severely injured and hiding in a tree hollow, four months had already passed, and worrying now was futile.

It would be better to take this opportunity to fully recover his injuries within the water mansion. After all, in this underground dojo, there were likely few places safer than here.