Longzang

Chapter 228 Advanced Dao Techniques
All those books weren't read for nothing; now Wei Yuan is going to start building his own advanced Dao techniques.

Wei Yuan had already learned the original Water Blade Storm, but that was a standard version of another type, suitable for all Dharma Aspects and high-level Dao Foundations, but not for Wei Yuan.

Although Wei Yuan barely understood the Immortal Lord's Dao of Water, after forcing himself to read it through once, he discovered that there were many parts in the book that he could use immediately.

For example, the shape of the water blade at the pinnacle of technique—the Immortal Lord spoke of the principle, but actually calculating it is extremely difficult. Without the divine sense of a True Lord, one shouldn't even think about it. But if one truly wants to research something, it's best to do so after ascending to immortality. An immortal's divine sense can generate billions of thoughts in an instant; only such divine sense can accurately calculate related issues.

However, Wei Yuan didn't need to calculate, because the Immortal Lord had already directly provided the most suitable form for the water blade to fly in the wind of this realm, and also provided the corresponding Dao structure. As for how the water blade would move through steel, through flesh and blood, and even through the opponent's defensive Dao, that was a closely guarded secret, and it was possible that even the Immortal Lord hadn't studied it.

Wei Yuan thought about it and agreed. Once you become an immortal, who would still use the Water Blade Technique? Would they even have any shame?

After reading the book, Wei Yuan realized that the problem with the original Water Blade Storm was that the structure of the Dao technique was not large enough to accommodate Wei Yuan's unfathomable Dao power, thus limiting the upper limit of the Dao technique's power.

This is the benefit of reading. If Wei Yuan hadn't exchanged all of the Immortal Lord's works and read them all, all he could think of was exchanging them for a more powerful Dao technique later.

Wei Yuan now felt that the Daoist structure of the Rapid Flow Water Blade Technique was quite massive, making it very suitable for him. Moreover, this Daoist structure had evolved over tens of thousands of years and was already quite perfect and stable enough.

Wei Yuan started by examining the structure of this technique, first removing all decorative and unnecessary parts. He also considered which parts could be disassembled without affecting the overall structure, as mentioned in the Immortal Lord's book, and simply removed them.

This spell is an ancient Taoist technique, producing a thin yet rapid stream of water. After Wei Yuan added water blade-shaped elements to the spell's structure, several real water blades appeared within the stream. After some thought, Wei Yuan tried adding even more water blade formations, resulting in a corresponding increase in the number of water blades and a surge in power.

Seeing that the attempt was effective, Wei Yuan kept adding water blade configurations, installing eighteen in one go. At this moment, a stream of water shot out, which was now densely packed with water blades.

Wei Yuan continued to modify the design, shrinking the water blades until each blade was only the size of a fingernail. Then he added another 108 blades in one go.

At this point, most of the work on the Rapid Water Blade Technique is complete. The next step is to add components that will make the water flow thicker and faster, extend its range, and even allow it to be slightly steered at will. Anyway, the core structure of the Daoist technique is large and sturdy enough, so we can just pile on more components.

A day and a night passed in the blink of an eye. Wei Yuan, without sleep or rest, finally completed his first advanced Dao technique. Next, it was time to test the power of the technique.

The region was vast and sparsely populated, so a special testing ground for Daoist techniques was set up. Wei Yuan deliberately chose to come here an hour before dawn, and sure enough, it was deserted.

Wei Yuan moved a stone humanoid target, about ten feet tall, burying half of it in the ground. Then he placed three layers of magical armor plates on its chest, totaling about two palm-widths thick. He then erected five wooden planks with steel plates nailed to them behind the target for protection. Originally, an array should have been set up behind the Taoist target range to neutralize the Taoist energy, but Wei Yuan didn't have the money.

After setting it up, Wei Yuan estimated that the defense of this stone target was roughly equivalent to five Xiao Yus, half of the senior sister, or half of the Dharma Aspect Elder of the Xu family back then.

After preparing, Wei Yuan carefully mobilized his Dao power, and a faint light appeared in front of him before extinguishing. Wei Yuan tried again; the light brightened slightly before going out again.

This is the standard procedure for testing new Taoist techniques. You need to increase your Taoist power little by little, and only proceed to the next step after you have no problems with the previous one.

After repeating this process three to five times, Wei Yuan finally gained confidence. A sudden wind arose across the vast landscape, and the pebbles on the ground began to tremble slightly. This technique finally allowed Wei Yuan to unleash his full power!

A bright light suddenly appeared in front of Wei Yuan, which then transformed into a huge halo several meters long. A stream of water as thick as a bucket shot out from the center of the halo, its interior as dazzling as a galaxy, containing countless tiny water blades.

The water jet slammed into the humanoid stone target, and the three layers of magical armor offered only slight resistance before crumbling into dust, leaving a huge hole in the center of the target. The water jet continued forward, piercing through the five layers of steel-studded wooden planks as if they had never existed.

This dazzling column of water stretched for thousands of feet in an instant, illuminating the entire realm before slowly disappearing.

Wei Yuan held his breath. The stone target he had personally set up was a defense at the Dharma Aspect level, and it was all gone just like that?

In an instant, several divine senses swept across the shooting range. Some were familiar to Wei Yuan, some were not so familiar, and some were completely unfamiliar. Wei Yuan counted them; apart from his senior sister and master, there were actually three other divine senses. It seemed there were quite a few people hidden in the Azure Netherworld. The latter few, who had originally been perfectly concealed, were all exposed by Wei Yuan's astonishing power.

Wei Yuan didn't need to lift a finger; his senior sister and master had already taken action.

Then a powerful divine sense arrived late. Master Chuhe, with dark circles under his eyes and protected by eight immortal swords, flew over and asked as he flew, "What happened? Why was this old Taoist so frightened just now, as if he was in danger of dying?"

When the old Taoist arrived at the Taoist magic testing ground, he only saw a stone target with a large hole in its body, and a long imprint on the ground, with the grass near the imprint flattened.

The old Taoist priest went to look at the mark, and the further away he looked, the more his expression changed.

"What kind of Taoist magic is this?" the old Taoist asked.

In the spirit of respecting teachers, Wei Yuan did not lie: "Rapid Flowing Water Blade Technique".

Master Chuhe stroked his sparse beard, searching his memory. Relying on his powerful divine sense, he quickly found the corresponding Dao technique from his vast collection of memories. "Oh, so it's an ancient Dao technique. This technique is quite powerful, but it's rather rigid..." Fortunately, Master Chuhe didn't have a penchant for lecturing, so he said that and didn't mention it again.

In ancient times, every human capable of cultivation was born with the potential for spiritual growth. They observed the heavens and earth, and the powerful beings of other races, gradually developing incredibly powerful Daoist techniques. However, these techniques were clumsy and crude, and only true geniuses could use them effectively. Unlike today's refined Daoist techniques, where any cultivator can unleash two at once.

At this moment, three waves of magical energy appeared in the distance, like three bubbles being popped. Then Zhang Sheng and Ji Liuli flew over carrying three small animals and threw them on the ground.

Zhang Sheng then said, "We captured three spies from the Witch Clan. Your method of alerting them was quite good, but next time remember to give them a heads-up beforehand."

Ji Liuli looked at the marks left on the ground, lost in thought, and said, "You're studying ancient Taoist techniques? Those were originally meant to be learned after the Dharma Form stage. Did you succeed with this technique? What kind of technique is it?"

"Success! It's the Rapid Flow Blade Technique. But why must one achieve Dharma Aspect before learning ancient Taoist arts?"

Having been a teacher for several years, Ji Liuli explained, "Many ancient Daoist techniques directly imitate the natural world, possessing immense power but unstable structure. Most ancient Daoist techniques need to be modified before they can be used as normal Daoist techniques. Many people study ancient Daoist techniques to observe the operation of the Great Dao from a different perspective, but only those at the Dharma Aspect realm have sufficient spiritual sense to analyze the structure of Daoist techniques. Oh, your spiritual sense is almost sufficient."

Ji Liuli then said, "Let's all get together after breakfast. Today we're going to discuss the siege cannons."

"A siege...cannon?" Master Chuhe felt like he didn't understand.

“It’s a tool used to attack enemy cities,” Ji Liuli said.

"I see. No wonder I've never heard of this before. May I participate?"

"If the real person wants to participate, that would be even better."

After the group dispersed, Wei Yuan's heart, which he had managed to calm down, began to pound violently again.

The newly formed Dao technique drained the equivalent of one hundred ordinary Dao foundations from Wei Yuan in one go, requiring a continuous supply of Dao power. However, its power far exceeded expectations. If he were to encounter the Xu family's Dharma Image again, and dared to confront it head-on, his defenses would be breached in three breaths, and he would be severely injured in ten.

If you were to throw the power of one hundred ordinary Dao Foundation cultivators at a Dharma Image one by one, it would be like scraping a cupping itch; but if you gather them together and then throw them out, it becomes a salvation.

Let alone the Dharma Aspect Elder of the Xu family, even if the eldest senior sister came, she wouldn't be able to withstand it...

Wei Yuan quickly banished this terrifying thought from his mind. Ever since he developed this new Dao technique, Wei Yuan had a vague feeling that respect for teachers and the Dao was fading away, while betrayal of teachers and ancestors was drawing ever closer. These four words seemed to be right within the range of the Dao technique.

The new Dao technique can kill Dharma Aspects, which is already worthy of being classified as Earth Rank and deserves a separate name. However, Wei Yuan doesn't have much talent in this area, so he hastily decided on a Water Dragon Cannon for now, and will think about it more carefully later when he advances.

The water dragon cannon was incredibly powerful, but it was also somewhat inflexible. Even a powerful being could dodge it if they really wanted to. However, Wei Yuan had a sudden inspiration: a person could dodge, but a city couldn't!
Wei Yuan gazed into the distance, where, at the edge of his vision, lay the magnificent new city built by the Wu tribe.

Everyone was initially worried and, after reviewing Xu Wenwu's information, was preparing to put the siege cannons on the agenda. But now Wei Yuan felt it was unnecessary. What kind of city wall could be stronger than the Dharma Body of a True Person of the Dharma Aspect, and withstand the cutting and erosion of the water dragon?
Wei Yuan had been worried day and night, but now he hoped that the Wu tribe would build the city bigger and taller, and spend more manpower and resources.

A moment later, as dawn broke, the people of Taichu Palace gathered together and began to discuss the siege cannons.

Wei Yuan did not object to the existence of the Water Dragon Daoist technique; on the contrary, he actively promoted it. Now, he wanted both the Water Dragon Cannon and the Siege Cannon.

Meanwhile, deep in the mountains thousands of miles to the southeast, several cultivators had built a few wooden huts and were carving into the mountainside to study the distribution of mineral veins.

A dark-skinned cultivator looked at the sky, frowned, and said, "Another day has passed, why is there still no news?"

A young cultivator standing nearby said, "Senior Brother, I'm not talking badly about people behind their backs. But is the matter you entrusted to Master Chuhe really reliable? Those guys from Jianmu Hall love to pretend to be old farmers. They look honest and simple, but they're all incredibly cunning."

The eldest disciple's face darkened, and he said, "Who told you that? How can you speak ill of your fellow disciples like that?"

"That's what my master's wife said."

The eldest brother immediately fell silent.

The young cultivator continued, "Senior Brother, judging by the time, the message should have traveled several times. Could that old Taoist have discovered something valuable and is trying to keep it all to himself?"

(End of this chapter)