Shrouding the Heavens: Starting by joining the Holy Land of Yao Guang

Chapter 265 Gods Within the Formation
The half-meter-tall Divine Mark Purple Gold Pagoda is incredibly heavy, weighing millions of kilograms. Ordinary cultivators probably couldn't lift it at all.

This is the largest amount of immortal gold Li Yao has ever received in a single transaction.

Don't be fooled by the imposing appearance of the Immortal Gold Furnace now; it was painstakingly built up bit by bit, and he has reforged it countless times.

Thinking of this, Li Yao summoned the Immortal Gold Furnace and examined it carefully.

Although it was a five-colored celestial light, the proportion of celestial gold was quite obvious.

Among the five colors of immortal light, crimson is the most abundant, which is the immortal light of phoenix blood crimson gold. This immortal gold has the highest proportion.

The Phoenix Blood Crimson Gold obtained from the Primordial Ancient Mine, the Holy Lord of the Jiang Family, and Jiang Taixu all weighed as much as three fists.

Secondly, there are the Mother Qi Source Root of All Things and Immortal Tears Green Gold, which are almost on par with each other.

The source of all things' primordial energy, which was obtained through an exchange with Ye Fan, who took nearly one-third of it.

The Immortal Tears Green Gold was obtained from the spearhead of the Azure Scale Clan's prodigy and the Feathered Ancestral Temple, and its weight is about two fists.

These two types of immortal gold have almost the same proportion, with the mother energy source of all things being slightly less. However, after more than ten years, they have generated a considerable amount of primordial yellow energy, which is why they are comparable to immortal tears green gold.

But this is only temporary. As time goes by, the source of all things will generate more Xuanhuang Qi, which will naturally overwhelm the Immortal Tears Green Gold.

The third type is the Dragon Pattern Black Gold, which weighs about the size of a fist. These include the Dragon Pattern Black Gold Small Sword and the Dragon Pattern Black Gold Piece belonging to the Crow Taoist.

The worst is the Divine Mark Purple Gold, which is only the size of a fingertip.

But that was before today. From now on, the proportion of Divine Mark Purple Gold will jump to the largest, almost comparable to the total of all other immortal golds combined.

Li Yao was filled with excitement, already able to foresee the magnificent appearance of the Immortal Gold Furnace after the Divine Mark Purple Gold Pagoda was integrated into it.

"Qiang!"

The furnace lid was opened, and blazing divine flames roared forth from the furnace opening, eternally burning.

This is the Holy Flame, born from a furnace, containing rich sacred laws. Once unleashed, it is enough to dry up oceans and destroy countless mountains.

Li Yao weighed the Divine Mark Purple Gold Pagoda in his hand, then threw it into the furnace, letting it be licked by the holy flames.

Immortal gold is extremely hard, not to mention the Divine Mark Purple Gold Pagoda, which has already been forged into a weapon. Although it has not yet been engraved with various Dao marks and Dao principles, it has already taken shape and is much more solid than the unformed Divine Mark Purple Gold.

Even the Holy Flame could not melt the Divine Mark Purple Gold Pagoda in a short time.

Moreover, the amount of immortal metal to be smelted this time is far too large, no longer the small-scale operations of the past. This smelting process can be described as a complete refining.

Fortunately, Li Yao has a plan, and it won't be long before the Immortal Gold Furnace can be reforged.

He closed the furnace lid, tossed the Immortal Gold Furnace above his head, and five-colored immortal light descended, transforming into a barrier that protected him and the dragon horse.

Having obtained the Divine Mark Purple Gold Pagoda, Li Yao was in an extremely good mood and looked forward to the journey ahead even more.

Longma felt very heavy-hearted at this moment. Watching such a huge Divine Mark Purple Gold Pagoda being obtained by someone else was heartbreaking.

Unfortunately, its hooves were smaller than its opponent's fist, so it could only endure it, which was truly frustrating.

In its grief and anger, it lowered its head and began to frantically devour the ancient medicine, just like it was eating weeds.

Finally, after traveling an unknown distance, Li Yao only knew that he had entered the Creation Realm five more times before finally arriving at Dragon Head Peak.

Stepping onto a mountain path, tens of thousands of dragon-head peaks stand side by side, forming a magnificent valley. The valley is shrouded in ethereal mist and countless rays of light, making it seem as if it has fallen from a celestial realm.

This is a true land of immortality. Even just stepping in, one can sense that it is an unparalleled pure land, possessing the wonders of creation and capable of nurturing immortals.

Li Yao looked around and saw that each of the Dragon Head Peaks was radiant with countless rays of light and auspicious colors, no less magnificent than the mythical mountains.

On the mountain peaks grow many precious medicinal herbs, the least of which are 20,000 years old.

Unfortunately, those places were all within the Emperor Formation. Even though he had mastered 45% of the Hengyu Emperor Formation, he didn't dare to venture into it.

Even if he couldn't enter Dragon Head Peak, there were still many precious medicinal herbs along the safe path, and they were quite old. He even saw two medicinal kings that were 90,000 years old.

The ancient herb is a meter tall, resembling a small tree carved from coral, radiating a brilliant celestial light.

The value of ancient medicines of this caliber is self-evident; they are rare and precious treasures, so much so that even sages would bow down before them.

Because a medicine of this caliber, when refined into a precious elixir, could extend the lifespan of even a saint.

Li Yao carefully put away these two medicinal herbs. When he returned to Beidou, he would use one of them to refine pills to prolong Qin Jue's life. He thought it would be no problem to add 500 years to his life.

Qin Jue had plenty of lifespan, so he felt at ease roaming the universe...traveling freely.

Especially with his current cultivation level, he is capable of roaming the starry sky, so he really can't stay in the Big Dipper.

Now, perhaps the princes and princesses of the ancient clans have also awakened.

They were once rivals, but now they are from completely different worlds and are no longer on the same side.

Even looking across the entire universe, there are probably no other geniuses who can rival him.

……

The path was winding and was the only way to survive in the imperial formation. One wrong step would mean certain death and annihilation.

Li Yao walked very carefully, observing each step for a long time. Although there was a path here, if one thought that a path meant safety, one would definitely die a terrible death.

The dragon horse carried him around Dragon Head Peak, passing many mountains before finally entering the valley.

During this process, Li Yao harvested eight more medicinal kings. Although they were not 90,000 years old, they were all ancient medicinal kings that were 80,000 years old.

If these things were exchanged for an equivalent amount of pure source, the price would be astronomical.

Any single medicinal herb, if it appeared at an auction, would be fiercely contested by powerful forces, even more so than a sacred weapon.

After all, they really do have holy weapons. Having more would be good, but not having them wouldn't be a problem.

But the ancient medicine king is different. This thing is really rare for them. It can prolong the life of a saint. Which family would not want to obtain it?

All these thoughts were completely forgotten after entering the valley.

Tens of thousands of dragon-head peaks cascade down with endless celestial light, like waterfalls plunging three thousand feet.

It wasn't a metaphor, because it really did turn into liquid and gather in the center of the valley.

There, there was a fairy pool about ten feet in size, filled with rising celestial mist, and with countless rays of light, dazzling and radiant, submerging most of the valley.

Within the Immortal Pool lies something powerful enough to drive the entire universe mad. Even though it is now damaged, it is no exaggeration to say that it is still comparable to an Emperor-level weapon.

If word gets out about this, it will be snapped up like crazy. All the great sages in the entire starry sky will cross over and gather at Kunlun Mountain.

But even such a thing couldn't attract Li Yao's attention at the moment; his mind was entirely on something else.

The valley is shrouded in mist and clouds, a divine land of unparalleled beauty, teeming with precious medicinal herbs that drive people mad. If all of them could be harvested, it would bring immeasurable wealth.

At the same time, a special, irresistible medicinal fragrance wafts through the air, so enticing that even a whiff is enough to make one feel weak in the knees.

This is no ordinary medicine. Even a medicine king that has been around for 100,000 years could not make Li Yao like this. Only an elixir of immortality can emit such a fragrance.

"The White Tiger Divine Medicine!" Li Yao's heart trembled violently.

This is his goal, the most important thing, and nothing can compare to it.

Elixir of Immortality, Cauldron of Immortality, King of Medicine... all of these are insignificant compared to the evolution of the Heavenly Book.

This concerns the very foundation of his livelihood and cannot be ignored.

His talent is good, but only good. To be fair, he is at most at the level of a Holy Son. In the early stages, he might be considered good, but after the gathering of the geniuses of the five major domains, the level of a Holy Son has become the unit of measurement.

Without the Heavenly Book, he might be somewhat famous now, a prodigy among the masses, living on in the mouths of others.

However, he is far from being comparable to Ye Fan, Nan Yao, and others. He will become a unit of combat power in other people's eyes, rather than the amazing Dong Yaoguang in ancient history.

With the Heavenly Book, not to mention combat power and cultivation speed, the mere existence of this incomplete chaotic body is already a miracle.

It should be noted that Xia Mingxiao would have to devour countless physiques to reach his level.

This is still due to the Devouring Heaven Demon Art; apart from that, it is difficult to find any other examples of artificially created chaotic entities.

As for the underworld, it took countless human and material resources and countless years to finally create a flawed chaotic entity.

Comparing the two, he achieved this step by step, while the other two must have expended a great deal of effort.

Moreover, they were destined to fail, while he was destined to succeed as long as he followed the steps.

This alone shows how much the Heavenly Book helped him.

And this is only the Heavenly Book before the upgrade; it's hard to imagine what exaggerated changes will occur after this upgrade.

Immortal arts and immortal scriptures are not a problem. They may require a huge amount of resources, but they are insignificant compared to the gains.

"Hoo..." Li Yao let out a long breath, trying his best to suppress his excitement, and then walked into the valley.

……

The Land of Immortality is a place filled with too many secrets, concerning the plans of many supreme figures in ancient history. Throughout history, countless outstanding individuals have come to explore it, hoping to uncover those secrets, but in the end, almost all of them perished.

Only someone of great power like Rong Chengzi could leave unharmed and even gain something.

Li Yao walked carefully through the valley, stopping from time to time to watch the tens of thousands of dragon-head peaks rising side by side, with a waterfall gushing out from the dragon heads, surrounded by ethereal mist, all of which gathered in the celestial pool in the center of the valley.

It was a very special place, shrouded in countless rays of divine light. Even Li Yao couldn't see through it. If he didn't already know what was inside, he would probably be incredibly curious right now.

The valley is filled with ethereal mist, radiant glow, and auspicious energy, with various divine radiances flowing through it, making this place seem like a fairyland on earth.

The dragon-horse was panting heavily, like a dragon emerging from the sea. Its four hooves pounded the ground, showing its restlessness. If it weren't for the extreme danger of the place, it would have loved to rush out directly.

As a native beast of Kunlun Mountain, it naturally knew the place of immortality, but it had never been here before, and couldn't even enter the outer gate. Li Yao jumped off the dragon horse and personally measured the ground with his legs. This was the center of the imperial formation, and he dared not be careless. Stepping on the ground himself would help him sense the formation.

Upon arriving here, the killing intent was even stronger than outside the valley. Even without triggering anything, the murderous aura emanating from it was still chilling.

This was only because the area was shrouded in celestial mist, which concealed most of the killing intent; otherwise, the killing intent alone would have been enough to tear flesh apart.

Li Yao opened his Heavenly Eye, and countless runes flowed within. He saw that in the void, lines and patterns intertwined, intricate and profound, like a star field, spreading to every corner.

Those formations were in no way inferior to the Hengyu Emperor Formation, and, to be very disrespectful, they were even slightly superior.

This is a fully-fledged Emperor Formation. Once triggered, even a Quasi-Emperor would face utter annihilation; there would be no other outcome.

In the valley, many immortal herbs grow. They are in the imperial formation, but they are unharmed because their roots are integrated with the laws of the formation. Even though the killing formation is dense, it is a pure land for them.

Of course, this is also because a god was born in this formation. Once marked by Him, one can freely enter and exit the killing formation. Ordinary formations do not have this ability.

After entering this place, Li Yao dared not act rashly in the slightest. Although he knew the correct path, he had no token. It didn't matter much in the outer area, but this was the depths, and no one could predict the attitude of the array spirit towards him.

But it doesn't matter. As can be seen from Rong Chengzi's entry into the Immortal Ascension Ground, as long as you don't cause trouble, the array spirit might not bother with you.

Of course, it cannot be ruled out that the spirit of the formation may be asleep most of the time and cannot stay awake all the time.

Time is merciless. Although the Imperial Array is different from life, it is impossible to completely avoid the damage brought by the years.

His lifespan may be long, but it is definitely not eternal. As long as one does not reach the level of an immortal, there is no such thing as eternity.

Suddenly, Li Yao felt a cold sweat pour down his back. He quickly withdrew his foot and took a step back.

"What's wrong?" Ryoma was startled by the sudden action and asked nervously.

This place is a place to become an immortal; there is absolutely no room for carelessness. If you are not careful, you will die a horrible death.

"Just now... the formation changed!" Li Yao was still a little scared.

"What!" Longma exclaimed in shock: "The formation can change?"

Once the formation is complete, it will be fixed in place. How can it change? Is the formation still alive?
Li Yao remained silent, offering no further explanation. Instead, he continued to observe the formation, identified a safe path, and continued forward.

The terrain in the valley is not flat, but undulating, and there are even medicinal fields that look like dragon scales.

The person who set up the formation back then must have foreseen that this place was an unparalleled pure land where precious herbs could be cultivated. Or perhaps, this was part of his plan to allow the precious herbs to further enhance the wonders of the Immortal Pool.

In the medicinal herb field, Li Yao discovered many king herbs, more than a hundred in just a short time, which greatly shocked him.

Unfortunately, he could only look. Apart from those on the safe path, he dared not touch the others, even those within reach, lest he trigger the great formation.

The dragon horse exhaled celestial light, its eyes turning blood red. It had long forgotten its previous question and focused all its attention on the Medicine King.

Like medicinal fruits carved from red agate, they stand tall and plump, exuding a fragrant aroma; like fairy orchids carved from jade, they are emerald green and dripping with moisture, their fragrance irresistible...

All sorts of ancient herbs can be found in the medicinal fields, varying in age and countless in variety, as if a herb garden personally cultivated by immortals, full of treasures.

Each ancient herb radiates a dazzling, ethereal light, while many withered herb kings have transformed into essence, releasing vast amounts of vital energy to nourish this immortal land.

Nothing is eternal. The Medicine King is not a divine medicine. It is already extremely rare for it to grow to 80,000 or 90,000 years old. If it grows any longer, it will wither and die. Only a few can grow to 100,000 years old.

The ancient herbs here have gone through countless generations. The current king of herbs is formed from the seeds of the previous generation of ancient herbs that withered and died, falling into the medicinal field and sprouting anew, just like a cycle of reincarnation.

As Li Yao continued on his journey, he harvested eleven more medicinal kings along the safe paths, all of which were over 80,000 years old.

Even he couldn't remain calm after such a harvest, especially since he had been reaping rewards ever since entering Kunlun, and his heart was constantly filled with excitement.

Finally, with this feeling in his heart, he was about to arrive at the Immortal Pool, and it was at this moment that he saw a grave.

This was an incredibly bizarre scene. This place was supposed to be a land of immortals, yet here sat a tomb, lying across the imperial formation.

What's the difference between this and finding an inn in the middle of nowhere? The first impression is that something's not right.

Li Yao opened his Heavenly Eye and looked at the tomb. He saw the scene inside: dozens of fragments pieced together to form a ghost face mask, and next to it, a piece of blood-stained clothing.

The mask is covered in cracks, but they are very obvious. It looks like it's crying but not crying, and it looks like it's laughing but not laughing. Such marks can immediately remind people of its owner.

Seeing this, the identity of the tomb's occupant is self-evident; he is none other than the ruthless man's elder brother.

It turns out that the two places mentioned earlier were not the graves of the ruthless man's brother. They were just traces of his existence. The ruthless man missed his brother and did not want to miss any moment, so he protected everything that had ever existed.

"I'm just worried about my sister..."

Within the tomb, a faint voice emanated from the shattered ghost mask, carrying regret, resentment, and pleading, as if it had traveled across millennia.

The ghost mask is made of ordinary bronze and is crudely crafted, but it has a certain charm that makes it impossible to ignore once you see it.

Li Yao understood that the scene here was created by the Ruthless Great Emperor using a heaven-defying technique to restore what had happened, allowing the boy's last words before his death to flow through the years and remain forever.

"Not to become an immortal, but only to wait for your return in this mortal world."

It was a woman's voice, seemingly coming from the heavens above, making even the gods tremble. She was the only one worthy of respect in heaven and earth, so powerful that anyone who mentioned her would feel a chill.

Ryoma couldn't help but shiver.

Even Li Yao froze. Although he wasn't as helpless as Longma, the thought of that ruthless man still sent chills down his spine.

There was no tombstone in front of the earthen mound, nor could any traces of Dao be seen intertwined on it, yet it stretched across the magic array and remained immortal, which was undoubtedly a miracle.

Of course, it's also possible that the spirit of the formation backed down, and dared not touch the tomb for fear of causing a dramatic change.

In the past, when the ruthless man was enraged, the creatures of Kunlun Mountain were terrified, but Li Yao was certain that the most uneasy were actually the spirits of the formation.

At that time, the ruthless person was definitely in a state of rage. If you were to ask who was most likely to be easily killed, it would definitely be the spirit of this imperial formation.

Even after hundreds of thousands of miles, the spirit of the formation is still terrified of the ruthless man, and despite the passage of time, it still dares not touch the tomb in the slightest.

Looking at the ghost mask, Li Yao vaguely saw a little girl, about two or three years old, with a pair of pigtails. He couldn't see her face, but her big eyes were incredibly pure, though they were filled with tears.

The little girl looked helpless, sobbing softly. Her clothes were patched, and even her shoes were tattered, revealing her little toes. She stretched out her hands as if trying to grasp something.

Li Yao shook his head vigorously, and the image disappeared. He thought about the scene just now and realized that the little girl was the ruthless man when he was a child. Moreover, he was very familiar with her because he had seen the little girl before.

He paused for a moment before turning to leave. For some reason, he felt a pang of emotion. The Ruthless Emperor, renowned throughout history, possessed talent that amazed the ages and created various unparalleled martial arts techniques, but he feared that his life was not filled with happiness.

Even if one's cultivation is at the pinnacle of the Great Dao, if one is alone, even if one has never experienced it, one can still know a bit of the desolation.

Not to mention, the situation of the ruthless woman was even worse; she had been missing her brother for hundreds of thousands of years from beginning to end.

In this state, even the most ruthless person isn't driven mad; their mental fortitude is beyond imagination.

Those supreme beings who instigated the Dark Rebellion did not actually intend to do so in the first place.

Initially, this group of people probably only wanted to isolate themselves and wait for the path to immortality, never even considering starting a dark upheaval. However, over the endless years, they became confused and their minds became unbalanced, which led them to make this choice.

From then on, he became neither human nor ghost.

This shows how difficult it is to maintain one's composure in extreme situations, and the ruthless person never lost his composure from beginning to end, which is truly terrifying.

After walking a hundred feet, Li Yao collected his chaotic thoughts and dared not be distracted, because the further he went in, the faster the changes in the imperial formation became.

In just a hundred feet, the formation changed at least three times, and he was quite certain that this trend of change was accelerating.

Gradually, cold sweat broke out on Li Yao's forehead. He dared not continue forward and stood still.

In just a short while, he had fully digested all his insights from the Hengyu Emperor Formation.

Clearly, the formation changes are more complex, but the benefits of solving it are unimaginable.

That's why the insights were digested so quickly.

Li Yao sat down in Panxi and entered the realm of creation, beginning to comprehend the Hengyu Emperor Formation.

Seeing this, Longma didn't dare to breathe heavily and stood obediently in place, not daring to move even a fraction of an inch.

Time slowly passed, and a strange thing happened: after Li Yao stopped moving, the changes in the formation ceased.

Li Yao, however, was meditating with his eyes closed and did not see this scene.

As for Longma, it was completely unaware, lacked the ability, and couldn't see anything.

In the blink of an eye, several hours passed. Li Yao withdrew from the creation realm, but did not open his eyes.

He was still reflecting on the wonders of the changes in the Imperial Formation. It was so profound that even just recalling it greatly increased his speed of digestion and comprehension.

Although I have only recently withdrawn from the realm of creation, more than one-tenth of my insights have already been digested.

Just like when one has accumulated a deep foundation, after breaking through a certain level, one often does not only break through one level.

"Shh!"

Li Yao opened his eyes, looking at the formation that had changed once again in front of him, filled with fighting spirit, and began to silently deduce the formation.

He had already sensed something was wrong. Logically speaking, even an imperial formation wouldn't change its formation like this.

Unless... the supreme deity of this great formation intervenes!

But why, he couldn't understand, even if he was unlucky and the array spirit was awake at this moment, he was just a mere saint, and the array spirit was more likely to treat him as nothing.

It would never be like it is now, actually changing its formation. Isn't that giving him too much credit?

Of course, the spirit didn't want him dead; if it really did, he would have no chance of survival.

The spirit array felt to him like teasing ants: placing heavy objects in the ants' inevitable path to block their progress, then placing more heavy objects to block their progress once the ants change direction...

(End of this chapter)