Chương 78: Beast Form, Weapon Form, Dharma Form; Dragon Form, Twelvefold

Everyone stared blankly at the shocking scene before them.

"The Divine Venerable! The Divine Venerable has fallen!"

"Waaah! Divine Venerable…" There were many evil cultists from Xuelian Jiao (Blood Refining Cult) in Yandang Mountain. But cultists fought for the beliefs in their own hearts, gaining divine power through the God-Inviting Art. Now that the Blood Refining Divine Venerable had fallen, they had lost their power—and their dao heart along with it. Some knelt on the ground and wailed. Some looked utterly lost, unable to believe it.

Others simply shattered every meridian in their bodies with a palm strike, choosing death over acceptance. … The sudden turn of events left the surviving experts from Lu County looking at one another in shock.

"Old Iron Ox, just now I heard… that disciple of yours seemed to call Asura Child Granny his master…" Zhang Yunshun, leader of the Cao Gang (Canal Gang), was covered in crisscrossing wounds. Quite a few were so deep that bone showed through. Even so, he still leaned on his fishing spear, dragging himself over to Sun Tiexin with a limp, and spoke rather timidly.

"Hm? Seems like it… I'm old now. My ears aren't too good anymore…"

"Besides, with how monstrously talented my disciple is, isn't it only natural that Asura Child Granny would take a liking to him?" Sun Tiexin raised an eyebrow at Zhang Yunshun. Back in Lu County, aside from the government office, there had been four strongest martial artists: the three giants of the Tiejiang Bang (Blacksmith Gang), and Zhang Yunshun of the Cao Gang. Now, Yang Dingtian had turned out to be the evil cult's Ghost-Masked Man and had already been executed.

As for Wang Shan, he had recklessly charged ahead, lured them into being trapped in Yandang Mountain, and disappeared without a trace. If one truly counted, the only strongest martial artists left were Sun Tiexin and Zhang Yunshun. After the battle at Yandang Mountain, Sun Tiexin had also come to understand Zhang Yunshun's character a little better. He had some goodwill toward him now, so he made a joke. As for Su Zhe? Sun Tiexin was happy for him from the bottom of his heart.

In the world of martial dao, changing one's sect was never a huge deal to begin with. Not to mention, Zhujian Shanzhuang (Sword-Foring Villa) had always governed the Tiejiang Bang. Their relationship was similar to a main sect and a branch lineage. For Su Zhe to enter Asura Child Granny's tutelage was something countless people could only dream of.

"The Cao Gang and Tiejiang Bang are willing to form an everlasting alliance!"

"I was badly wounded in this battle—nearly died, really. Iron Ox, you've got to look after me a little!" What sort of person was Zhang Yunshun? He had led the Cao Gang for so many years and lived through all the storms of Lu County's martial world. He was the sort of man whose eyelashes were hollow with cunning. After seeing through Su Zhe's connection, he immediately lowered his stance toward Sun Tiexin, only hoping the Cao Gang could be left with a breath of room to survive. Sun Tiexin smiled but did not reply.

Instead, he looked toward Su Zhe. At that moment, Su Zhe had already absorbed all the incense power cleanly. Once the blood-colored altar lost its incense power, it also lost its divine strength. It became nothing more than an ordinary mortal object. After absorbing so much incense power, the Good Fortune Immortal Cauldron fell silent. No matter how Su Zhe tried to activate it, there was not the slightest reaction. Su Zhe could only give up.

"Scumbag. Got full, pulled up your pants, and now you don't know me anymore." Su Zhe cursed inwardly. The Black Cavalry was powerful. Yushen had also destroyed the Blood Refining Divine Venerable, so no matter how numerous the evil cultists were, they were all captured by force. Yushen and Li Shanyun stood beside Su Zhe.

"It's all thanks to my good disciple. Otherwise, that wild god would have had an endless accumulation of incense power."

"As your shifu, I really would have been dragged into a bitter battle. One careless move, and the whole game would have been lost."

"Right… my good disciple, you… how can you absorb incense power?" Yushen tilted her head. Her cute face was filled with confusion. This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author's work. Thump! Su Zhe's heart instantly leapt into his throat. Li Shanyun, however, revealed a thoughtful expression, then said,"Could it be… the constitution of one whose roots and bones have been transformed…"

"It is said that Great Qian's founding emperor rose to power after slaying a white dragon. The hearts of the people turned toward him, and he accumulated fortune through the power of incense offerings."

"From then on, everything went smoothly for him. His blessings were so deep that he could pick up money just by walking down the street." Hearing this, Yushen and the others showed looks of understanding. Su Zhe secretly let out a breath of relief. Thank goodness Li Shanyun was here to speak for him. Otherwise, Su Zhe really would have had a hard time explaining it.

"A transformation of roots and bones is the work of heaven and earth's fortune. And so-called fortune is where one's destiny resides."

"The will of the people is also fortune. Therefore, one whose roots and bones have been transformed can accomplish great things!" Yushen sighed deeply. Her cultivation was profound, and now that she had slain a wild god, she was even more affected by the path of incense divinity. Naturally, her understanding of it was also deeper.

"This humble official, Zhao Xun, thanks Villa Master Yushen for lending us your aid. On behalf of the common people of Lu County, I offer my deepest gratitude!" County Magistrate Zhao led the many Lu County experts forward and bowed to Yushen. Yushen swept a cool glance over the experts of Lu County, then snorted coldly.

"A tiny backwater place like this? You think I'd waste my time worrying about it?"

"It's only because your Lu County has deep fortune. It produced my good disciple, and it also happened to have a suppressed wild god here."

"I came this time first for my disciple, and second to kill someone. What does it have to do with any of you?" Yushen really did not give them even a shred of face. That was understandable. The strongest person in Lu County was not even fourth-rank. Fourth-rank was nothing more than the average level of the Black Cavalry. Yushen, meanwhile, was a noble seventh-rank martial artist. Once her Martial Dao Yang Spirit emerged, she was like an immortal exiled to the mortal world.

In her eyes, martial artists below the fourth rank were truly no different from ants.

"Yes, yes, yes…"

"Villa Master Yushen is absolutely right. For someone from Lu County to be accepted as Villa Master's disciple is Lu County's good fortune. Lu County is… honored beyond measure!" County Magistrate Zhao knew he had to bow his head when standing under someone else's roof. He immediately went with the flow, not daring to show the slightest temper. Even someone with Sun Tiexin's stubborn ox-like personality lowered his head and said nothing.

Lu County was remote, so they had heard very little about many of Zhujian Shanzhuang's powerful figures. But they had still heard the great name of Asura Child Granny. Rumor had it that years ago, Zhujian Shanzhuang of Tang Prefecture and Haiyan Tang (Sea Peace Hall) of Zhelong Fu (Hidden Dragon Prefecture) had fought a war to the death. Asura Child Granny had charged alone into a city controlled by Zhelong Fu, carrying only one hammer.

She slaughtered until heaven and earth went dark, until the sun and moon lost their light. By the time others discovered what had happened, everyone in that city—from hundred-year-old elders to infants still crying for milk—was dead. A massacred city. A dead city. Throughout all of Yangzhou, anyone who heard the name Asura Child Granny trembled in fear. Sun Tiexin might be stubborn, but he was not stupid. He could still tell the difference between standing firm and throwing his life away.

There was a great deal of cleanup work to handle afterward. It was dull and tedious. Yushen was not very good at dealing with these matters, so she handed everything over to Li Shanyun. But Su Zhe was the kind of person who would pluck feathers from a passing goose. He took Yang Dingtian and Wang Hai's weapons. Then, while he was at it, he thoroughly looted every valuable item from their bodies.

"Su Zhe, my disciple. Come with me!" Yushen left that sentence behind and turned to leave. Su Zhe followed. The master and disciple walked one behind the other. As they admired the scenery of Yandang Mountain, they chatted casually.

"Do you know the relationship between the Martial Dao Yang Spirit and beast-force phantoms?" Yushen suddenly asked.

"This disciple does not know." Su Zhe nodded. How the heck would I know…

"Martial dao is the comprehension of the Great Dao of heaven and earth."

"In ancient times, humans comprehended the myriad forms of heaven and earth. Among them, the most common were beast forms."

"They took beast forms into the human body, transformed their own flesh, and ultimately became transcendent martial dao experts."

"But between heaven and earth, aside from beast forms, there are also weapon forms and dharma forms."

"So-called weapon forms are things like blades, swords, stones, and the like. By observing weapon forms, one studies martial dao."

"So-called dharma forms are things like stars, clouds, water, and the earth. They pursue martial dao through the forms of nature."

"The Dao follows nature. Heaven and man become one. A dharma form is a certain law by which heaven and earth operate." Yushen stood beneath the setting sun, explaining Su Zhe's doubts. Beast form, weapon form, dharma form. Su Zhe committed these to memory. An explanation from such a mighty expert was a rare opportunity.

"At third-rank, one condenses internal force and can manifest beast-force phantoms."

"At fourth-rank, one opens the meridians. The internal force throughout the body becomes like a surging sea, and the beast-force phantom becomes even more solid."

"At fifth-rank, one tempers the five viscera. It is also called the Five Palaces Realm. A martial artist refines one breath within and trains the muscles, bones, and skin without. After tempering the five viscera, both life force and cultivation rise greatly. Even if one suffers a fatal injury, so long as it does not damage the five viscera and six bowels, it will not matter."

"At sixth-rank, one reaches the True Qi Realm. False is refined into true, and internal force transforms into true qi. What is true? False internal force, condensed to its utmost limit, becomes true. Those in the True Qi Realm have their internal force condensed into a tangible qi within the body. Compared to a fifth-rank martial artist, it is a hundred times purer." At this point, Yushen glanced back at Su Zhe and smiled.

"You brat, your fortune is quite deep. According to legend, Zhou Minggang's talent in the craftsman path was exceedingly high back then. He was said to possess two great martial dao divine weapons: one hammer and one furnace."

"That hammer you used when fighting Yang Dingtian earlier—it was his, wasn't it?"

"And your internal force and Sun Tiexin's are more than ten times purer than that of ordinary third-rank martial artists. I imagine that was also thanks to the Fire-Refining Furnace!" Su Zhe nodded. He knew there was no hiding this from Yushen, so he might as well admit it plainly.

"Seventh-rank is the Yang Spirit Realm. One takes the true intent of various forms of martial arts into one's own soul, thereby opening up the Martial Dao Yang Spirit."

"From that point on, martial artists can fly through the heavens and tunnel through the earth, almost like immortals. And if their cultivation reaches the Grandmaster Realm, they can even send a wisp of divine soul wandering through the void. From ten thousand li away, they can display martial dao might and easily kill a ninth-rank martial artist." Yushen continued explaining, clearing up Su Zhe's confusion. A wisp of divine soul wandering through the void, displaying power from ten thousand li away!

Easily wiping out a ninth-rank expert! Su Zhe sucked in a cold breath. Once someone truly reached the Grandmaster Realm, they had long since surpassed the level of ordinary humans. Calling them martial immortals would not be an exaggeration at all.

"In water, the dragon form has the greatest strength. On land, the elephant form has the greatest strength."

"Among the many beast forms, the dragon and elephant are supreme."

"Do you know…"

"How the dragon form came to be?" Yushen revealed a meaningful smile as she asked Su Zhe. Dragon form? Su Zhe fell into thought. Whether dragons even existed in this world was still uncertain. At the very least, Su Zhe did not know. If he went by the understanding from his previous life, creatures like dragons did not exist. So how did the dragon come to be? A flash of inspiration suddenly crossed Su Zhe's mind!