Please call me Dadaozu

Chapter 363 Ruan Qing: "May you ascend to the Great Dao and live forever!" (4000)

Ruan Qing!

The wind and snow in Jiangshui City were bitterly cold, but the woman's porridge was very warm.

I've eaten all sorts of precious fruits and spiritual meats along the way, but none of them taste as good as that bowl of porridge.

Hundreds, even thousands of thoughts flashed through my mind.

Finally, it transformed into a gentle smile.

Zhang Yuanzhu took a step forward, and patterns emerged from beneath his feet, spreading outwards, covering the earth, sealing off the sky, and obscuring the figures of the two.

Fa Yan and Fa Ding remained silent, gazing at the rising array before them with complex expressions.

For the first time, they felt alarmed by the youth.

Within the formation.

Zhang Yuanzhu walked slowly forward, his red robe fluttering in the wind, his black hair dancing wildly in the breeze.

tower!
The young man stopped ten paces away from the woman, his eyes gentle.

“Miss Ruan Qing, it has been more than ten years since we parted on that snowy night. It is a pleasure to meet you again today.”

Ruan Qing's beautiful eyes softened as she approached the young man without any guard, standing only three inches away, carefully examining the handsome young man.

The unwavering determination between his brows, and those eerie, mysterious double pupils, remained unchanged from the past.

Deepest in my memory, the beggar boy in the cave, his face covered in blood and his hands frostbitten, gradually merged with the red figure before me, becoming indistinguishable.

Her red lips parted slightly:

“My benefactor, even though I am in seclusion in the True Lord’s Cave, I still often hear of you.”

“After Yu Mei returned from the chaotic place, she often mentioned it.”

"Enter the Valley of Immortal Soldiers, cross the Demon Mountain, slay demons at the border, destroy the Yuan Dynasty and establish the Ming Dynasty."

The woman recounted the young man's various experiences in great detail.

After an unknown amount of time, Ruan Qing gradually stopped speaking, a hint of pity appearing on her fair face.

"You must be tired after the journey!"

"Seventeen years of wind, frost, rain, and snow are nothing to speak of."

Zhang Yuanzhu laughed loudly.

Laughter was exhilarating and joyful. Since embarking on spiritual practice and witnessing the wonders of the world, it has always been a time of joy and vengeance, so how could it be hardship?

"Don't call me your benefactor. Miss Ruan saved my life, and I have repaid her kindness. We owe each other nothing."

"You may call me Fellow Daoist or Yuanzhu, either is fine!"

"Zhang Yuanzhu?"

Ruan Qing murmured the young man's name, her slender hand outstretched, and an invisible aura hovered in her palm.

“Fellow Daoist Yuanzhu, although the Golden Cloud Talisman is secretive and conceals heavenly secrets, it ultimately comes from the Golden Light Pavilion and is easily detected.”

After a pause, the woman clenched her five fingers together, dispersing the energy.

A pale yellow talisman flew out from his robes and hovered in front of the young man.

"This is a talisman personally inscribed by Master, which conceals the secrets of heaven, hides the aura, and severs cause and effect. Even a Golden Core True Monarch cannot deduce it."

Zhang Yuanzhu lowered his gaze, looking at the talisman in front of him.

Its pale yellow color has a hint of jade quality, mysterious and profound, and it is surrounded by Taoist charm.

He didn't accept it and shook his head.

It's too precious; it goes beyond the scope of a gift.

Ruan Qing reached out, grasped the talisman, and placed it in the young man's arms:
"Fellow Daoist, do you know why the Wuliang Palace delegation has come?"

Before anyone could answer, he began to speak on his own:
"In order to win over the Golden Light Pavilion and make us completely side with them, the so-called delegation is here to arrange a marriage between a Golden Core True Monarch disciple, which is me."

"Fellow Daoist, you killed them and did a great favor. A single talisman is nothing."

"The journey ahead will likely be fraught with danger, and a Golden Elixir Talisman can help reduce some of the trouble."

She paused, a strange emotion flashing in her beautiful eyes, her red lips slightly parted:
"This is the Gui Cang Talisman. The Jin Xiao Talisman given to me by Yu Mei is now useless. I wonder if it can be returned so I can pass it on to her."

Zhang Yuanzhu nodded slightly, took out the Golden Cloud Talisman, and handed it over.

At the same time, with his other hand, he took out a golden gemstone from his storage bag.

The strange stone is the size of an egg, burning with intense flames, fiery and dazzling.

A thought came to my mind.

Crimson-gold flames rose, engulfing the original flames of the strange stone and causing it to melt into a liquid.

Driven by the will of the youth, it twisted and deformed, quickly transforming into a string of golden bracelets.

With a light touch of the five fingers, lines are formed from the fingertips and imprinted on the bracelet.

Before long, a crystal-clear, golden bracelet appeared in my palm.

"Let's keep this bracelet as a thank-you gift for now."

"When the day comes, I will fetch you a bracelet of the Golden Core level as a true token of my gratitude."

Zhang Yuanzhu looked serious.

The killing of the Wuliang Palace delegation was entirely of his own volition, and had absolutely nothing to do with the other party.

"That's enough. I really like this bracelet."

Ruan Qing took the bracelet and put it on her wrist. The golden light reflected off her skin, making her look radiant and beautiful.

She gently stroked the bracelet, feeling its warmth against her fingertips. Her red lips curved into a smile, as if she wanted to say something, but then she suddenly sighed.
"Fellow Daoist Yuanzhu, it's time for you to leave."

Her voice was gentle, tinged with reluctance.

Zhang Yuanzhu turned his body slightly to the side, looking towards the city.

He turned around and lightly touched his forehead.

Farewell, and I look forward to meeting you again in the years to come.

"I also look forward to it."

As the words drifted by, Zhang Yuanzhu no longer hesitated, dispelling the surrounding array and quickly collecting the array-setting materials.

Then, carrying the Dharma words and Dharma teachings from outside the formation, they left and disappeared into the jungle.

Watching the young man's departing figure, Ruan Qing felt a mix of emotions. She clasped her hands together, placed them against her chest, and whispered a blessing:
"Little beggar, may you ascend to the Great Way and live forever."

咻咻 咻 ~
Golden rays descended from the sky, and figures appeared around the woman.

"Senior, a fierce battle has broken out in Yuanshui City. A True Person of the Ning Sha Realm from the Qingyun Chamber of Commerce has fallen. It is suspected that a powerful figure from the Wuliang Palace was involved, and there are also traces of the Buddhist sect's involvement."

Should we inform Elder Gong immediately?

One of the disciples spoke, his expression solemn.

Ruan Qing lowered her hands, the gentleness in her eyes vanished, replaced by indifference, and glanced at the disciple who had spoken.

"This matter is of great importance. We will search again to avoid any omissions."

"Yes, senior."

The cultivators responded in unison and followed the woman, walking slowly towards the immortal city.

In the ancient forest.

Zhang Yuanzhu and the other two walked side by side, crossing grass, trees, mountains, and rivers, getting closer and closer to Wuliang Palace.

Fa Yan stood beside the young man, his eyes calm, and whispered:

“Disciples of the Golden Core stage are obsessed with their obsessions, almost like demons.”

"If you can't overcome it, it's a calamity; if you can overcome it, it's a blessing."

The young man paused slightly, looked at the nun, his eyes deep and unwavering.

There was no surprise whatsoever, nor much emotional fluctuation.

"With the whole family dead and all relatives and friends gone, it would be laughable to have no attachments."

Through brief contact and past acquaintances, he had a basic understanding of Ruan Qing.

The once gentle, delicate, and kind woman is now a true Golden Core disciple.

In terms of both temperament and cultivation, he is excellent.

And that's enough—I'm extremely sincere to him.

Fayan put his hands together in prayer and softly chanted a Buddha's name:
"It is enough for you to know, fellow Daoist."

The three of them fell silent and moved forward in silence.

After traveling 80,000 li, the young man slowed down and stopped by a large river when he was only a little over 10,000 li away from the territory of Wuliang Palace.

The river flows swiftly, splashing water everywhere, and mist rises from the riverbank.

Zhang Yuanzhu stood on the ground, gazing at the opposite bank of the river.

"We are about to enter the Boundless Palace. I need to go into seclusion for a few days to make arrangements." Fayan and Fading exchanged a glance and nodded slightly.

"Brother Dao, please go into seclusion without worry. We will naturally protect you."

Upon hearing this, the young man took a step forward and stepped into the river. The water flowed naturally, revealing the riverbed covered with silt.

Strands of crimson-gold flames burst forth from its body, drying and burning through the silt to reveal a passageway for people to pass through.

Step by step, they entered, the flames burning continuously, and array plates flew out from their arms, burying the surroundings.

Legal terms and statutory provisions followed.

Soon, a simple underwater cave was successfully built.

Zhang Yuanzhu pointed to the room on the right and spoke directly:
"I will be in seclusion here for no more than half a month before I emerge. You two can continue your cultivation in the other rooms."

"Alright, everything will be arranged as you see fit, fellow Daoist."

After exchanging a few words, they went their separate ways.

Crunch!

The young man pushed open the stone door, walked to the center of the room, and sat down cross-legged.

Patterns spread out from beneath him, expanding in all directions before disappearing.

After setting up several layers of formations around the area, Zhang Yuanzhu began to take stock of the spoils from the battle at Yuanshui Immortal City.

With a thought, two streaks of light flew out from his bosom and hovered in front of him.

A small, exquisite green bell with a hole in the middle, and a storage bag embroidered with cloud patterns.

Zhang Yuanzhu first focused his gaze on the green bell, then reached out and lightly touched the bell with his five fingers.

The clear chime of the bell echoed in the room.

"A masterpiece among top-grade spiritual weapons, no less powerful than Emperor Yuan's Imperial Sword. What a pity!"

Zhang Yuanzhu sighed softly.

Seeing the hole pierced through the bell, this punch destroyed most of the bell.

Now we can only hope that it will possess the [features].

The young man whispered in his heart:

'Take control!'

In an instant, the green bell in his palm disappeared, only to reappear shortly afterward.

Zhang Yuanzhu shook his head in disappointment; there was no [Special Feature].

He put away the broken green bell and then looked at the storage bag.

He reached out and gently grasped the storage bag. Layers of patterns emerged from his palm, enveloping the bag and breaking the restriction.

A surge of spiritual awareness entered, exploring the interior space.

Elixirs, ores, pills—all sorts of rare and precious spiritual items flashed through my mind.

Zhang Yuanzhu's spiritual sense did not stop, but continued to search.

These spiritual items would be considered treasures for Qi Refining cultivators and even some Foundation Establishment cultivators, but for him, they were better than nothing.

In less than the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, the storage bag had been searched.

A smile appeared on the young man's face. He released his hand from the storage bag, and a transparent stone wrapped in silver lightning appeared in his palm.

This is an unknown lightning-attribute rare stone, containing extraordinary energy.

Most importantly, the final material for refining the membrane.
Done!

The five fingers suddenly exerted force.

The transparent, strange stone was crushed into powder, which slipped through my fingers and drifted all over me.

In an instant, the body tempering process was activated again.

"An unexpected bonus."

Zhang Yuanzhu sensed the changes in his body, and his smile deepened.

During this period, he had not been able to find a suitable lightning-attribute gemstone. If he could not find one, he planned to directly use a meteorite core to refine his body.

Now it seems there's no need to waste such a precious spiritual object as the meteorite core.

With a flick of his sleeve, the young man collected the storage bag from the ground, his expression turning serious.

With a gentle pat on his waist, a pitch-black coffin descended to the ground, wisps of black mist swirling around its body.

It is sinister and demonic!
This was his true goal in seclusion: to allow the Golden Armor Corpse to advance further and break through to the Condensing Evil Realm.

Over the past few days, his understanding of the "Glassy Jade Bone Scripture" has been sufficient to assist him in breaking through the bottleneck of corpse refining.

This breakthrough was also a rare opportunity for him.

The process of a Foundation Establishment Peak being breaking through to the Qi Condensation Realm will be shown to him without reservation.

He reached into his robes, took out a stone box, and placed it in front of him.

"let's start!"

Zhang Yuanzhu's eyes were solemn as he clasped his hands together and cast a spell.

boom!
The coffin lid flew off and landed diagonally on the ceiling of the room.

The tall figure rose from the coffin, its entire body gleaming gold, holy and majestic, without a trace of the sinister evil of a corpse being refined.

The golden-armored corpse stepped out of the coffin, sat cross-legged in front of the young man, raised its arms, and formed an ancient hand seal.

Boom!

A thick, viscous aura of death surged forth, filling the room.

The chains on the nine-layered spiritual platform slowly slid down at this moment, and all the restrictions were completely released.

His mind trembled, and the blood of the corpse surged.

The golden-armored corpse's magical power was at the peak of the Foundation Establishment stage, and it advanced by a little further.

In an instant, a mysterious energy surged forth in the dantian of the corpse refiner.

Once the breakthrough begins, there is no turning back.

Without hesitation, Zhang Yuanzhu grabbed the stone box and opened it directly.

Huhu~
A chilling aura filled the air, and pitch-black flames burned wildly.

Laughter, curses, wails—a thousand, even ten thousand sounds emanated from the murderous aura.

The young man ignored the noise and flicked his finger.

The solitary, malevolent energy drifted out and landed on the abdomen of the corpse, then melted away like ice and snow.

The golden-armored corpse's dantian was filled with malevolent energy.

In an instant, the magical power ceased, and the nine-layered spiritual platform began to show signs of discoloration. The corpse began to self-destruct at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Zhang Yuanzhu's expression was solemn. He closed his eyes and rapidly changed the hand seals in his palm, casting out one magic hand seal after another.

At the same time, he transferred all his understanding of the laws within the solitary Yin energy into the corpse refining process.

Strands of laws emerged at the top of the spiritual platform, calming the raging evil energy, and then slowly merging with it.

At this moment, the self-destruction of the corpse was abruptly stopped, and the breakthrough continued.

Zhang Yuanzhu opened his eyes, took a deep look at the golden-armored corpse, and whispered:
"All that could be done has been done. Now, whether you turn to dust and vanish into nothingness, or go a step further, is the choice for you!"

The corpse touched its forehead slightly, its golden eyes revealing a resolute determination.

It is neither stone nor wood, but possesses a vague intelligence, knowing that this moment is the most crucial time for the corpse's life.

He mobilized all the power in his dantian, gathering all the evil energy. The dark evil energy flames burned away layer after layer of power, but were gathered into a dark sun by the successive surges of power.

Layers of deep yellow magical power enveloped the pitch-black sun like a silken net.

next moment.
Roar!
The golden-armored corpse roared to the sky.

Its spiritual consciousness, magical power, and corpse energy all converged in its dantian, carrying a baleful aura, and surged towards the nine-layered spiritual platform.
the climb!
the climb!!

Climb higher!!!
The corpse energy dissipated, and the spiritual consciousness weakened, but the magical power still pulled the pitch-black sun upward, leaving a mottled Dao mark on the spiritual platform.

Four floors!
Five floors!!
Six floors!!!

Until the evil energy is pulled up to the seventh level of the spiritual platform.

The power of the corpse-refining technique was exhausted, and the golden eyes began to dim, taking on a deathly stillness.

It was exhausted!

In the end, he was nothing more than a refined corpse, with nothing remarkable about him. He relied on refining flesh and blood to reach the peak of Foundation Establishment.

It is a barrier that countless geniuses and prodigies have stopped at; it is perfectly normal that they cannot break through it.

Without a master to provide insights into the laws, it cannot even take the first step.

Zhang Yuanzhu narrowed his double pupils, gazing at the spiritual platform in the corpse-refining dantian that was beginning to crumble inch by inch, and exhaled a breath of turbid air.

(End of this chapter)