Chapter 502

Chapter 502: Old Li Rushes to the Market

“Ding dang, ding dang, ding ding dang dang…”

Attached to the neck of the azure bull was a twisted flower-patterned copper bell that jingled as it walked. The ball of threads asked in confusion, “Old man, why did you put a copper bell on Little Azure? This way, we’ll know wherever we go.”

“Take it easy, old buddy. Let me explain.” Li Hui sat astride the azure bull and, holding a talisman brush, began to draw as he spoke. “Cultivating the heart of Dao into demons is like a deadly poison. Despite my efforts for two thousand years, I haven’t been able to eliminate it; I can only slightly suppress and contain it! This copper bell is called the Heart Bell. Don’t be misled by its ordinary material; it can greatly suppress the demonic heart. Nurtured by the heart of Dao, what comes forth is extremely evil, and it must be eradicated with all my strength.”

The ball of threads quickly inquired, “Can it be completely eradicated?”

Li Hui pondered for a long time before finally shaking his head and saying, “No! Even if I obtain the Rare Treasures from the Celestial Palace, I can only suppress it, not eradicate it! The safest approach would be to let the demonic heart emerge, perform reverse techniques to turn the demonic heart into Dao, and then return after a complete cycle! If successful, there might be hope to touch upon those unspeakable realms.”

The ball of threads sighed, “Your path of Dao is quite treacherous!”

“Look on the bright side; if it weren’t treacherous, how could one dominate a lifetime?” Old Li suddenly put down the talisman brush and said, “It’s done! Little Azure’s egg shell once devoured the bones of the Golden Luan, leaving behind three thousand nine hundred golden feathers, just enough to craft three sets of teleportation talisman formations. This will allow us to travel stealthily, moving freely.”

In a flash, the azure bull transformed into golden light, and when it reappeared, it had left the mountains and seas, entering a mighty river.

“This place is…”

“No need for directions. This river is twenty-three million miles away from the mountains and seas, and the practitioners of Guishui Continent have been plotting for a long time. I wonder if they have gone in. At the riverbed lies an ancient ruin containing two Infinite Calamity Swords. I’ll keep one and give one to Lü Chunyang to thank him for generously letting me reference the heart of Dao.” Li Hui smiled slightly, patting the bull’s head. “Little Azure, speed up; we have a lot of ground to cover today.”

Despite being only a young bull, Little Azure had unfathomable power. When someone rode on its back, it would inevitably feel resentful but could only moo and gallop forward, firmly suppressed.

Little Azure plunged into the broad water curtain. Resistance arose from all directions as the golden-glinting feathers spun into the air, each with swirling symbols.

“Hmm? This is the future talisman path…” Before the ball of threads could have a good look, the golden feathers transformed into light, forming a long bridge as Li Hui rode the azure bull forward at high speed.

His speed was astonishing, and in an instant, many formations were left behind. A stone wall appeared ahead, with two treasured swords embedded in it.

Little Azure’s eyes gleamed; being a demon with a solid foundation, it wasn’t comparable to wild beasts without heritage. Little did it expect that the practitioner who had pulled it out of the mud and mire today would be so powerful, treating formations and restrictions as trifles. As far as it knew, the ancient cave of Golden Luan was exceedingly formidable; even its parents might not have been able to enter to obtain treasures.

Li Hui lifted his hand to draw the two swords into his treasure cabinet and turned Little Azure around, saying, “Alright, it’s not the right time to meet Dai Qingtian and Lin Qingtian. Remember, I nearly lost my life in the Golden Luan Cave because of those two. It was also when the demonic heart erupted, leading to endless misfortunes… sigh!”

“Old man, what are you mumbling about?” The ball of threads felt exhilarated, gazing at the perilous cave, realizing that the two Infinite Calamity Swords would be saved for the fate of those destined, indicating their significant power.

“The time isn’t right; at least fifty practitioners from the Yimu and Guishui continents want to kill me, including Dai Qingtian, Lin Qingtian, Jian Wujie, and the most troublesome and seemingly harmless Tan Tiandi. These four will roam for many years, reaching great heights of cultivation; they are my lifetime foes!”

Old Li recalled the past, a hint of sadness crossing his expression as he rode away from the riverbed on Little Azure.

After traveling a few hundred miles, he looked up to identify the direction, taking out both Infinite Calamity Swords, affixing over ten talismans to their sheaths, and softly commanded, “Go!”

The two Infinite Calamity Swords quickly faded away, startling the ball of threads, who exclaimed, “Weren’t you supposed to give away one sword? Why did you send away the second one too?”

“It’s nothing, nothing! The second Infinite Calamity Sword will fly back to Mount Tai to suppress the Murky Qi. The three great traditions of the heavens are vastly interlinked. In this world, there are only twenty-eight Dai Character Stele, twelve of which broke during the Ancient Dynasty. Now, Mount Tai hasn’t yet grown; as it continues to refine the Qi of Taiqing, it will eventually attain the Azure Sky layer, after which it will become the pillar of heaven, connecting to the Heavenly Realm.”

“Ah? Mount Tai can lead to the Heavenly Realm?” The ball of threads had already lost count of how many times it had been dazed today.

“Do you think Mount Tai is just anything?” Old Li bitterly smiled. “The Heavenly Realm is like a formation map. This world consists of twelve continents: Jia Yi in the eastern wood, Bing Ding in the southern fire, Wu Ji in the central earth, Geng Xin in the western metal, and Ren Gui in the northern water, along with Nine Maangs and Extreme Huans. This constitutes a celestial formation for defending against external invasions. When the calamity strikes, the formations have not yet arisen, so invasions are unavoidable. Over the years, I have thought of some remedial methods, but hope is slim.”

“Oh my! With all the continents forming a formation and the Heavenly Realm as the formation map, does that mean Mount Tai is the altar in those formations?”

“Correct! Old buddy, Mount Tai is the altar, and if not handled carefully, it may face attacks before the Azure Sky layer is reached. Those who stick out are the first to rot. Lü Chunyang and his companions have obtained a piece of the Dai Character Stele, so they urgently need the Infinite Calamity Sword to suppress it.” After explaining, Li Hui whimsically sat on the azure bull’s back, drawing talismans and casually collecting medicinal herbs to prepare ink. Soon, the bull’s hooves stepped on golden light, arriving outside a cave.

“This place seems rather ordinary!” The ball of threads used talismans to observe but detected nothing unusual.

“Thus, after so many years, this item remains in the cave,” Li Hui jumped down from the bull’s back and paced back and forth in front of the cave, calculating the position before striding in.

The ball of threads stayed on the back of the azure bull. About two incense sticks later, it felt the ground tremble. Little Azure kept stepping back as a terrible energy wave erupted from the ground, roaring everywhere in an instant.

“Boom, boom, boom…” The noise grew louder, and cracks formed in hundreds around the cave, three of which nearly turned into abysses, with even more terrible energy waves shooting skyward.

Little Azure realized something was wrong and swiftly fled, but suddenly, the talismans scattered from its body, and immediately afterward, Li Hui appeared in a somewhat disheveled state. He waved his hand, releasing a large number of golden feathers, shouting, “Go! We’ve got what we came for; I don’t have the skill to deal with a Three-Ring Supremacy Snake at the Bosa stage.”

“What exactly did you take?” the ball of threads asked, astonished.

“Hehe, there’s a fish in Beiming called the Kun. The Kun is immensely large, with unknown lengths of thousands of miles. Transforming into a bird, it’s called the Peng. The feathers on the left eye of the Kunpeng have been buffeted by gales for years, aiding the Kunpeng in sighting long distances, possessing all kinds of unbelievable effects.”

Li Hui took out a storage talisman, excitedly saying, “The reason this Great Thousand Cave has the Golden Luan is that it once served as a temporary nesting site for the Kunpeng. Due to the long passage of time, only a few treasures related to the Kunpeng remain; the rest are guarded fiercely by the Golden Luan and several formidable beings, but I’m confident in acquiring this Kun feather. Ha ha, just as expected, we didn’t run a wasted trip.”