A faint, almost invisible mysterious glow enveloped Li Yan's body. This was different from the flickering eerie light of his past cultivation sessions; his divine light was now more restrained.
Within his Dantian's sea, the endless expanse of ink-like spirit power had diminished by another ten percent. This was the result of Li Yan cultivating the "Nine Cauldrons Gui Water" art.
Through daily refinement, the Gui Water spirit power sea was constantly being condensed and compressed, making Li Yan's magical power increasingly pure. A single drop of his spirit power contained the force of a divine thunder hammer, capable of easily pulverizing a mountain into dust.
Li Yan's magical power was now steadily progressing toward the Late-stage, but he estimated that, under normal cultivation, it would still take at least another century to break through to the Late-stage Nascent Soul.
Even though the True Scripture of Gui Water incorporated the Five Elements Great Dao, giving him a more thorough understanding of the rules of celestial motion and allowing him to easily fuse the transformative powers of the Five Elements, the Late-stage Nascent Soul was a mountain that was nearly insurmountable for cultivators of the lower realms.
Even with the resources of a clan like the Tianli, only the Great Elder had successfully broken through in over a thousand years. Apart from cultivating the best techniques in the world and possessing supreme aptitude, one also needed a heaping dose of great fortune from the heavens.
Li Yan felt there was a high probability he could break through to the Late-stage Nascent Soul within a century, but he still considered this speed to be too slow.
If others knew of this thought, they would have the heart to eat him alive, just to see if his essence blood could aid their own cultivation.
How many years had it been since he had entered the Nascent Soul stage? And he was already thinking of breaking through to the Late-stage, with a certain degree of confidence that he could achieve it within the next hundred years. How were they supposed to cultivate after hearing that? They could only sigh in dismay.
This was the power of a Five Immortal Sects cultivation method. Aside from breakthroughs to major realms, the bottlenecks between minor realms existed but were not unbreakable.
By harnessing the ceaseless generative power of the Five Elements, one could almost always break through; it was only a matter of when. But when it came to breakthroughs into major realms, it truly required personal opportunity and arduous cultivation.
An hour later, Li Yan, clad only in a set of tight-fitting undergarments, had his left index finger pressed to the ground. One leg was extended behind him, while the other was bent in a cross-legged position—a posture that an ordinary person could never achieve.
Yet he remained perfectly still in this pose, slowly circulating his mental art and breathing steadily. He had already cultivated the "Qiongqi Purgatory Art" to the fifth layer.
His progress through the fourth layer had been unexpectedly fast, perhaps because his own cultivation had long surpassed the Golden Core stage, and also due to the essence blood of the "Undead Nether Phoenix." He had spent hardly any time on it at all.
Once he had the subsequent cultivation method in hand, it took him a mere half-hour to break through to the fourth layer. He then spent another half a day cultivating and advanced all the way to the fifth layer, giving one the impression that the fourth layer of cultivation had never even existed.
After entering the fifth layer of cultivation, Li Yan's progress continued in a straight line. More than a year ago, he had reached the peak of the fifth layer.
Since then, Li Yan had been ceaselessly consolidating this realm. Now, as he continued to train diligently, his physical strength still saw slow but steady growth.
Although it seemed Li Yan had cultivated these two layers very quickly and with little apparent effect, only he knew just how much he had benefited.
His physical strength, which had not improved for a long time, had once again increased by more than ten percent.
It must be understood that at Li Yan's realm, whether it was magical power or physical strength, even the slightest improvement was incredibly difficult, requiring an unknown amount of time in arduous cultivation.
If before he had to consider his chances of escape when encountering a Late-stage Nascent Soul Great Cultivator, now he was confident he could exchange a few blows with one.
But this was just his own thinking. This was assuming the opponent's strength was within the normal range for a Late-stage Nascent Soul cultivator. He had secret arts and divine abilities, but others could have them too. Thus, one could not judge another's combat strength by their realm alone.
Li Yan would always maintain a cautious attitude and would never underestimate any opponent. He knew all too well that many had failed due to carelessness, and he had no wish for that to happen to himself.
Three hours later, as the sky outside began to brighten, Li Yan finally released his rock-steady posture.
The moment he relaxed, his previously smooth skin was instantly covered in layer after layer of sweat. In an instant, he looked as if he had been pulled from the water, sweat pouring from him like a waterfall.
This was because during his cultivation, the muscles and bones in his body had been in a state of balance. But in reality, with every breath, Li Yan was consuming an astonishing amount of strength and magical power.
When the cultivation ended, the balance was broken in an instant, and the body's instinctive reactions were revealed. Of course, Li Yan could have forcibly suppressed this phenomenon, but allowing the body to recover naturally was the best form of regulation.
After performing a small spell to wash himself, Li Yan went to the window.
He opened it, and a cool morning breeze rushed in to greet him. The Chan chamber he was in was very secluded, set far apart from the other guest rooms. It had been specially arranged for him by Zhuo Lingfeng.
The chamber was built on the edge of a cliff, with a ten-thousand-zhang abyss right outside the window. In the distance lay a continuous range of mountains.
Because the peak Li Yan was on pierced the clouds, the mountains in the distance, though originally tall, now appeared somewhat "short." The entire vista, near and far, was captured in a single glance.
The cool morning breeze entered his body, and Li Yan couldn't help but feel his spirits lift. He then stood by the window, lost in thought.
An unknown amount of time passed before Li Yan, who was gazing at the undulating mountains outside, showed a slight change in expression. A smile then appeared on his face.
'He's finally here. I hope... it's a good result!'
A few breaths later, Zhuo Lingfeng's voice came from outside the door.
"Fellow Daoist Li, my apologies for the disturbance!"
Only then did Li Yan slowly turn around. As he did, the door opposite him opened silently.
Outside stood a young monk: Zhuo Lingfeng.
But Zhuo Lingfeng's current appearance was somewhat shocking to Li Yan. His face was extremely haggard, and he had lost a great deal of weight.
When the door opened, Zhuo Lingfeng saw Li Yan standing by the window, smiling at him. He pressed his palms together, his body leaning forward slightly.
"Amitabha. Fellow Daoist Li, the refinement art is a success!"
Half an incense stick's time later, Zhuo Lingfeng hurried away again. On Li Yan's table now lay a string of prayer beads and two jade slips.
Li Yan's Divine Sense swept over them quickly. One of the jade slips was the "Golden Pearl Dragon-Subduing Art" that he himself had recorded.
The other contained the refinement art for the "Secret Traces Vajra Suppresses the Sacred Mountain," or rather, another method to refine the Vajra Hand Bodhisattva.
Li Yan picked up that jade slip and immersed his Divine Sense within, examining it carefully. Half an hour passed before he finally withdrew his Divine Sense.
The method recorded here was certainly different from the Mingtuo Temple's refinement art for "Secret Traces Vajra Suppresses the Sacred Mountain." It was a kind of imitation, or perhaps a method that forged a new path.
Zhuo Lingfeng had also made it clear that since they had never actually performed the refinement, they only had less than a forty percent certainty of success. Everything would only be known during the actual refinement process, at which point they might have to adjust the art as they went.
They had studied day and night without rest. This time, they had assembled the three Temple-Protecting Divine Monks of the Sand Gate Temple. Any one of the three possessed an incomparably exquisite mastery of Buddhist arts, far surpassing that of Great Master Dajing.
Finally, after spending more than two years, they developed a refinement method.
This process also brought great benefits to the three Divine Monks of the Sand Gate Temple and Zhuo Lingfeng, who had participated. They also saw the different essences of Buddhism from another continent.
Thus, as soon as this matter was concluded, the three Divine Monks announced that they would be entering seclusion for a period of time to comprehend what they had gained.
As for Zhuo Lingfeng, although he had only assisted, he was the most exhausted while also gaining enlightenment. There were many things he could not understand, which required him to invest even more energy to comprehend.
After a brief explanation, Zhuo Lingfeng had to return to get some much-needed rest. Li Yan, of course, understood this. It was also why he hadn't gone looking for Zhuo Lingfeng when the one-year agreement had passed.
If the deduction had failed or been too difficult, Zhuo Lingfeng would have come to him long ago. Since he hadn't, it meant they were all immersed in their research and had reached a critical stage.
And next, all Li Yan had to do was wait. He had to wait for Zhuo Lingfeng to be fully rested before they could truly begin the refinement.
Although Li Yan was anxious, some time was essential.
He couldn't possibly start refining a magical treasure when Zhuo Lingfeng was not in his best state, especially when there was only a forty percent chance of success to begin with. That would likely be a case of getting half the result with twice the effort.
Ten months later, when Zhuo Lingfeng appeared again, he was already in his peak state. Moreover, there was a certain inexplicable quality about him that Li Yan couldn't quite place. Li Yan guessed it was likely a sign of Zhuo Lingfeng's advancement in the Buddhist Dharma.
Zhuo Lingfeng wasted no words and led Li Yan directly into a secret chamber...
Seven months later, a figure departed from the Sand Gate Temple.
In the void, Li Yan stood with his hands behind his back atop the "Cloud-Piercing Willow." He glanced at Zhuo Lingfeng, who was standing before the main hall, and with a calm expression, he rode the wind and departed. In the blink of an eye, he had vanished without a trace.
This time, he was truly fortunate to have Zhuo Lingfeng's help. Otherwise, Li Yan wouldn't have had even a twenty percent certainty of refining this magical treasure, and he would have wasted all those precious raw materials.
Zhuo Lingfeng was still that person of utmost integrity and sentiment; once entrusted with a task, he could be relied upon completely.
That day, when Li Yan had followed him into the refining chamber, he was stunned to find a long-browed old monk already seated there.
Zhuo Lingfeng then introduced the kindly-looking old monk as his master, Divine Monk Kong Hai, a Temple-Protecting Divine Monk of the Sand Gate Temple and a Late-stage Nascent Soul Great Cultivator.
It turned out that Zhuo Lingfeng, fearing that problems might arise midway through the refinement, had disregarded Divine Monk Kong Hai's seclusion and, after sending a voice transmission, had summoned him over anyway.
This moved Li Yan deeply. To be honest, although he had long known of Zhuo Lingfeng's character, meeting him again on a foreign continent after so many years, he was surprised to find that his nature remained unchanged.
Li Yan asked himself if he could do the same in such a situation. He was a cautious person, and at times, even quite petty. Not plotting against others was already a good thing for him.
From this, Li Yan could also see that Divine Monk Kong Hai was particularly fond of his disciple, Zhuo Lingfeng. He spoke a few words to Li Yan, always maintaining a peaceful demeanor, and even offered a word of caution before the refinement began.
"Fellow Daoist Li, no matter what happens during the refining process, leave it all to my master and me, unless we ask for your assistance!"
The meaning behind his words was clear: Li Yan should just remain quiet throughout the entire process.
It was Zhuo Lingfeng's idea to let Li Yan observe the refinement from the side. Otherwise, Li Yan would have had to wait outside. Zhuo Lingfeng's mind was open and honest; he wanted Li Yan to see how his precious raw materials were being used.
And for the entire refinement process that followed, Divine Monk Kong Hai insisted that Zhuo Lingfeng do the work, only stepping in when necessary. This was clearly to allow Zhuo Lingfeng to earnestly comprehend this refinement method.
Li Yan said nothing about this, but the final result left him utterly astonished.
He didn't know if it was because the cultivation method they had deduced was truly powerful, or if the three raw materials he had prepared were exceptionally extraordinary.
After melting down the three "Sinking True Dragon" bones of varying sizes into a liquid, they ended up refining three and a half Vajra Hand Bodhisattvas. Including the original one, that made a total of four and a half.
The reason for the half a dharma manifestation was likely because after casting the three complete Vajra Hand Bodhisattvas, there wasn't enough bone liquid left to cast another full one. In the end, they only managed to refine a semi-transparent, blurry dharma manifestation.
This dharma manifestation could still be wielded, but its power was significantly less than the other four.
During the entire refinement process, whether due to the refinement method itself or because Buddhist dharma manifestations are not easily forged, six violent fluctuations occurred.
Each time, the dharma manifestation would spontaneously let out a booming Buddhist chant, shaking the surroundings and causing a backlash against the refiner.
It was thanks to Divine Monk Kong Hai's vast Buddhist power that he was able to suppress it. At the same time, he chanted strings of complex and incomprehensible scriptures that Li Yan could not understand, which slowly stabilized the wrathful Vajra.
Zhuo Lingfeng, who was personally refining it, suffered internal injuries as a result, but he could only swallow medicinal pills and continue.
At the final moment, when the four and a half Vajra Hand Bodhisattvas took shape and appeared above the prayer beads, although no technique was used to activate them, the restrictions of the entire secret chamber began to emit heavy, "thump-thump-thump" sounds.
Even with Li Yan's formidable physical body, at that moment, it felt as if his heart was about to be crushed by a massive external force. His every movement became incredibly heavy, and he felt as if walking was an arduous task.
Li Yan was overjoyed by this suppression. This was just the pressure brought forth by the manifestation of the dharma forms. If he were to activate it with a technique, an ordinary Nascent Soul cultivator would likely be unable to resist and would be easily suppressed.
At that moment, a hundred different alerts rose in Li Yan's heart. With such a powerful Buddhist treasure, if Monk Kong Hai turned on him and tried to kill him for it, what would he do?
There were other high-level cultivators in the temple. If the other two Temple-Protecting Divine Monks attacked at the same time, Li Yan was not confident he could escape with the treasure.
However, if it truly came to that, he would not hesitate to use all his Fragmented Poisons and turn the Sand Gate Temple into a thousand-li land of death.
But in the face of his wary gaze, Divine Monk Kong Hai merely smiled faintly and had Zhuo Lingfeng escort Li Yan, along with the newly refined magical treasure, out of the chamber.
Zhuo Lingfeng must have seen through Li Yan's thoughts as well. After leaving the secret chamber, he claimed he would be leaving the temple in a few days and would not be able to accompany Li Yan.
The implication was that he feared Li Yan would be too embarrassed to propose leaving immediately after the magical treasure was finished, so he himself urged him to depart.