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

Chapter 103 Dragon Marrow Pond

In fact, Li Yao had already guessed what the Holy Master Yao Guang was going to talk about, and as he expected, it was indeed about the Ruthless People's lineage.

Li Yao had not expected the Holy Lord of Yaoguang to be so frank. No, he had told him such an important matter without considering whether his young mind could handle it.

After learning about this, Yao Xi immediately left the Yao Guang Holy Land and went into hiding, never to appear in public again.

"But you find it hard to accept?" Yao Guang Holy Lord said understandingly, "When I first found out, I also found it hard to accept, but this is something that every Holy Lord has to know."

"Of course, it's a bit early for you, but because you're so talented, they kept pressing you. Only after I warned them repeatedly did they give up."

Li Yao sighed: "I'm sorry to have made the Holy Lord laugh. It's really hard to accept that I suddenly learned about this."

The Holy Lord of Yaoguang waved his hand, looking like someone who had been through it all, and said, "I completely understand. This matter is indeed too shocking. If they hadn't tried to attack you several times, I wouldn't have wanted you to know so soon."

Li Yao nodded in understanding, but the Holy Lord of Yao Guang could not have imagined that he had known all along. However, even if he knew, he had to act as if he had just found out.

"Don't spread these things, or it will definitely cause a huge uproar," the Holy Lord of Yaoguang solemnly warned.

"I will keep today's events strictly confidential. I won't even reveal them to Elder Xun," Li Yao said earnestly.

"Yes, go down." The Holy Lord of Yaoguang nodded in satisfaction, waved his hand, and the Dao patterns in the hall dissipated, the void was unsealed.

As soon as I stepped out of the bronze hall, I saw a beautiful figure, slender and graceful, with no flaws no matter how I looked at it.

Upon seeing Li Yao emerge, Yao Xi gracefully approached, wanting to inquire about what Li Yao and the Holy Lord had discussed.

"If the Holy Lord wants you to know, then he won't ask you to temporarily hide," Li Yao said calmly.

He had just promised in the main hall that he wouldn't tell anyone, so naturally he wouldn't go back on his word.

"Tch, fine, I won't say then." Yao Xi wrinkled her delicate nose, a gesture that was clearly meant to be arrogant, but somehow it gave off a charming and alluring vibe.

Even Li Yao couldn't help but sway slightly. He was a man, and it was impossible for him to remain completely unmoved when faced with such a stunningly beautiful woman.

However, he was resilient and, although he felt a slight unease, it was only for a moment, and he quickly suppressed his thoughts.

"Senior Sister's appearance is truly stunning. After she goes out to gain experience, I'm afraid it won't be long before she's known as the most beautiful woman in the Eastern Wilderness." Li Yao's tone was unreadable, giving the impression that it was both a compliment and a joke.

"Hmm, junior brother, do you also think I'm beautiful?" Yao Xi asked with a hint of surprise, her heavenly voice filled with joy.

This wasn't acting; she always felt a sense of defeat towards Li Yao. As the Holy Maiden of Yao Guang, she had countless admirers throughout the entire Holy Land, yet Li Yao had never shown the slightest bit of admiration for her.

It was like this from the very first time they met. Although the two chatted and laughed, Yao Xi knew very well that it was all just a facade.

Over time, she actually developed a competitive spirit: the less you care, the more I'll make you admire me.

This is a common emotion for many people. Although it may seem melodramatic, there are indeed many similar situations between men and women.

The more proud a person is, the more likely they are to fall into this trap, but this is often the beginning of their downfall.

Looking at Yao Xi's delighted expression, Li Yao chuckled and said, "Senior Sister can doubt her talent, but she doesn't need to doubt her charm."

The words, which were half derogatory and half complimentary, displeased Yao Xi. She pouted her red lips slightly and said, "Senior Sister's talent is also very good. In the entire Eastern Wilderness, there are very few people whose talent can rival mine."

She paused for a moment before continuing in a low voice, "It's just that compared to you, I don't seem so good."

Yao Xi, the Holy Maiden of the Yao Guang Holy Land, possesses unparalleled beauty and astonishing talent. She was appointed as the Holy Maiden at a young age, so her talent is naturally very strong.

It could even be said that throughout the ancient history of the Yao Guang Holy Land, few people could rival Yao Xi's talent. She was still alive when Ye Fan was over six thousand years old, which means that her cultivation at that time was at least at the Saint Realm, and she may have even made considerable progress within the Saint Realm.

Although there are many high-level combatants later on, they don't even look at the situation in this life. All kinds of heaven-defying physiques such as royal physique, divine physique, and demonic physique have emerged. All kinds of freaks that were sealed in ancient times have also been born in this life. Even imperial princes, princes, and forbidden zone princes have come to join the fun.

This is an extraordinary lifetime, ranking among the top in all the golden ages.

In ordinary times, reaching the Holy Realm is already considered being a powerful being who looks down upon the mortal world.

From this perspective, Yao Xi's talent is truly remarkable; it's just that the struggle for supremacy in this life is far too brutal, making her incomparable to those prodigies destined to become emperors.

Li Yao did not talk with Yao Xi for long; after chatting for a little over fifteen minutes, he took his leave.

He wasn't shutting himself off from love; in fact, after his cultivation improved and he was no longer in danger of losing his life, he no longer rejected matters of love.

However, that doesn't mean he's a womanizer who sleeps with every pretty girl he sees. As for Yao Xi, he can only say that he'll leave it to fate. If they really fall in love in the future, then they'll naturally get together.

At least for now, he does treat Yao Xi somewhat differently.

The Eastern Wilderness gradually returned to peace. The turmoil caused by Li Yao was significant, but as he remained absent for a long time, things eventually calmed down.

At this time, no one knew that Dong Yaoguang, who was famous throughout the Eastern Wilderness, was no longer there.

On the border of Zhongzhou, adjacent to the Eastern Wilderness and Western Regions, a clear light flashed, and Li Yao flew out of the void and arrived in the vast world.

Although the Yao Guang Holy Land is an extreme power that can span a large region, the Southern Region is extremely far from the Central State. Although it can be crossed, it certainly cannot reach the central region.

After observing for a while, Li Yao discovered that although this place was the easternmost edge of Zhongzhou, it was not an uninhabited area.

Not far ahead, there is a small town, not very big, only about a hundred miles in circumference.

Li Yao entered the town and asked some passersby for information. He learned that the land he was in was a country called Qianyang.

This country is very powerful; it is not a country of ordinary people, but a true country of cultivators.

Unlike the Eastern Wilderness, the Central Plains are rich in dragon energy, so when cultivators establish their forces, many create dynasties.

This also implies an attempt to emulate the four great dynasties.

Besides knowing where he was now, Li Yao also learned another piece of news: a vast dragon aura had appeared in the mountain range near the capital of Qianyang. Some people speculated that dragon marrow might exist there!
Now, many people have been alarmed, and even the most extraordinary geomancers are rushing there.

"Dragon Marrow!" Li Yao's heart stirred. He had come to Zhongzhou for the Dragon Marrow, and now that he heard about it, he naturally wouldn't miss the opportunity.

After finding out the direction of the capital of Qianyang, Li Yao did not delay and immediately headed there.

Dragon marrow is a rare treasure of heaven and earth, extremely difficult to find, and is very rare even in the Central Plains. Although dragon energy has appeared in the Qianyang Mountains, it does not mean that dragon marrow has been discovered.

Finding dragon marrow is no less challenging than gambling on stones in the Eastern Wilderness. It requires very powerful dragon-finding skills to locate the dragon vein and find the location of the dragon marrow.

Therefore, Li Yao was not worried that the dragon marrow would be found before he even reached the Qianyang Mountains.

Moreover, such rare and precious materials, even if they are truly born, will not have a home for a short time. Their ownership will only be determined after a fierce battle.

……

At this time, many cultivators gathered in the Qianyang Mountains, all of whom were attracted by the news of the Dragon Marrow.

Of course, the most powerful force among them is the local master, the Qianyang royal family. An old royal uncle with a short lifespan is now in dire need of prolonging his life. Dragon marrow is a treasure of heaven and earth, and some of the superior dragon marrow has the effect of prolonging life. Therefore, this old royal uncle is extremely frantic and is searching for it day and night in the Qianyang Mountains.

However, although the Qianyang Mountains are filled with dragon energy, the whereabouts of the dragon marrow remains a mystery. Many cultivators have dug three hundred feet into the ground, but after several days, they still have not made any progress.

"My lifespan is nearing its end. Whoever finds the Dragon Marrow and presents it to me, I guarantee that I will not disappoint them and will offer the appropriate value." These were the exact words of Uncle Qianyang.

He was really anxious. As a peerless expert at the first level of the Sendai realm, he possessed extraordinary strength and a very high status, but his lifespan was running out.

The Qianyang Kingdom has stood in the eastern part of Zhongzhou for ten thousand years, and its wealth is naturally considerable. However, dragon marrow is absolutely priceless and unavailable. Even if he wanted to buy it, no one would sell it to him.

However, the cultivator who heard this did not take it to heart at all. Dragon marrow is such a rare treasure that even low-grade dragon marrow is in short supply. If it appears, there is no worry about selling it.

In fact, if it were put up for auction, the final price would be much more favorable than selling it to a private individual.

"boom!"

On the western side of the Qianyang Mountains, a fierce battle suddenly broke out, with people bleeding profusely, leaving everyone stunned.

"There's something going on there! There's a stone door underground!" someone exclaimed.

In the distance, a cultivator unearthed a stone door a thousand feet underground. But before he could rejoice, he was instantly reduced to a bloody mist by other cultivators who had rushed over, his life extinguished.

The path of cultivation is cruel; without absolute strength, even if you are lucky enough to find a treasure land, you will still die a violent death.

This is a classic case of having good fortune but not being alive to enjoy it. A dozen or so cultivators from the vicinity arrived one after another, bombarding the earth with their attacks. The powerful force caused the mountains to continuously sink, and soon a large crater was created in an area several feet in radius. During this process, everyone was very careful, guarding against sneak attacks from others.

At this moment, the cultivators in front of the stone gate also stopped. They had tried, but they were unable to open the gate with their strength.

“Fellow Daoists, this door is incredibly sturdy and difficult to open. Now is not the time to seize it. How about we work together to open it?” a cultivator stepped forward and suggested.

“That’s right. We are very close to this place, which is why we have this good fortune. If we don’t open this door soon, we won’t even get a taste of the soup when the other powerful figures arrive,” another person said.

The group quickly reached a consensus, and instead of fighting amongst themselves, they began to bombard the stone gate together.

Various weapons, furnaces, cauldrons, towers, bells, halberds, etc., all exuded a terrifying aura and continuously bombarded the stone gate.

They originally thought that with everyone's combined strength, they could easily break through the door, but unexpectedly, the stone door was incredibly sturdy and could not be shaken at all. The powerful attack only caused minor damage and left some marks.

"What kind of material is this? Why can't we open it? Does it mean we have to wait for other powerful figures to discover this place before we can open this door?" One cultivator was very annoyed. The treasure was clearly behind the door, but he could only look at it helplessly.

This is something that would be hard for anyone to accept, no matter who it happened to.

"Hey!"

Just then, a middle-aged man noticed the anomaly and rode a divine rainbow to the thousand-foot-deep pit.

"Found it! This is the source of the dragon's energy! Haha, I, Daoist Chiming, am truly blessed!" The middle-aged man was overjoyed, gazing eagerly at the stone gate.

The faces of the dozen or so cultivators immediately turned grim. Although Daoist Chiming was a rogue cultivator, he was a big shot who dominated the eastern part of Zhongzhou and could rival the Supreme Elder.

With the arrival of such a being, the dragon marrow behind the stone gate will no longer be available to them.

"Considering your contribution in discovering the dragon marrow, I will spare your lives. Leave now." Daoist Chiming waved his hand, dismissing the cultivators in front of the stone gate.

“Senior, we discovered this place. We dare not hope for dragon marrow, but this cave is clearly inhabited. There might be other good things inside. May we go in and have a taste?” One cultivator was unwilling to give up. Dragon marrow was definitely out of their reach now, but he didn’t want to give up just yet.

"Hmph, allowing you to leave is already an act of great mercy from this old man, yet you do not cherish it. In that case, you may all die." Daoist Chiming sneered and raised his hand to strike out with a palm.

The palm was enormous, with Dao principles interwoven within it, bursting forth with dazzling light that blasted dozens of cultivators into a bloody pulp.

"They really don't know their place." Daoist Chiming sneered, somewhat annoyed that a bunch of ants from the Four Extremes dared to offend his authority.

However, upon seeing the stone gate, his anger turned to joy.

"boom!"

The Crimson Bright Daoist struck out with his palm again, and the stone gate vibrated and began to shake.

"What a sturdy stone gate," said Daoist Chiming, before resuming his relentless pounding on the stone gate. In a short while, dust billowed up, and the ancient stone gate shattered after being bombarded hundreds of times.

The moment the stone gate shattered, the dragon's energy surged forth, now unhindered, soaring into the sky.

"It's dragon marrow! Dragon marrow has appeared!" The entire Qianyang Mountain Range was alarmed, and everyone flew towards the place where the dragon energy soared into the sky.

At this moment, Li Yao, who had just arrived a hundred miles away from the Qianyang Mountains, also noticed the dragon aura soaring into the sky.

"The dragon marrow has been born. Fortunately, it's just in time, not too late."

Li Yao dared not delay. He stepped on the secret of the "Xing" character and disappeared from the spot like a wisp of smoke.

"kill!"

Shouts of battle rang out as cultivators clashed fiercely, their long swords flashing like lightning. Soon, blood flowed like a river, and corpses littered the ground.

No one can remain calm in the face of dragon marrow; in fact, they are already in this state even before they have seen it.

Li Yao suddenly appeared on the battlefield, disappearing into the massive crater as if he were passing through a field of flowers without a single petal touching him.

He didn't have time to fight these cultivators. Just now, he had noticed that several people had already rushed down, and without exception, they were all powerful individuals.

But even though he didn't seek out anyone to fight, others still noticed him.

"boom"

A massive cauldron descended from the sky, turning dozens of cultivators into mincemeat, but its primary target was Li Yao, who was speeding away.

The unparalleled suppressive power caused the void to tremble. Li Yao was caught off guard, and his figure froze for a moment.

The next moment, an overwhelming offensive swept towards him, including various divine weapons and powerful offensive techniques.

Li Yao was submerged, but fortunately he activated the Primordial Holy Light Technique in time and was not harmed in the slightest.

In the sky, the great cultivator who was riding the cauldron saw the scene below and couldn't help but smile contemptuously. What a small fry, just relying on its speed, it dared to have designs on the dragon marrow.

He was somewhat smug, thinking that the man had probably been beaten to a pulp. Just as he was about to retrieve the cauldron, his expression suddenly changed.

"Crack!"

A massive shockwave emanated from the attack, causing countless weapons to shatter like glass, swords and blades to explode, spears and halberds to break, and cauldrons, towers, and bells to fall into pieces.

A terrifying figure soared into the sky, like a divine dragon, and slammed a punch into the cauldron.

"Crack!"

Without exception, the cauldron exploded and fell into the sky, its essence dissipating completely.

"what……"

The powerful figure wielding the cauldron let out a miserable scream. He was a being at the eighth stage of the Dragon Transformation realm, yet he was split in two by Li Yao's palm strike. He passed right through the cauldron without any hindrance.

Then, he transformed into a wisp of smoke and disappeared into the battlefield. All those who had attacked him earlier had their heads thrown into the air, and blood flowed dozens of feet high.

Everyone was terrified, knowing that this person was an unparalleled expert. Even the knight army of Qianyang Kingdom, which was ordered to guard the stone gate, dared not stop him and let Li Yao rush in.

This is an ancient mine. Humans have been here for countless millennia. There are many skeletons in the cave, left behind by powerful individuals who perished here.

"Hmm, something's up." The moment Li Yao saw the skeletons, he instantly deduced that this ancient mine was most likely a place of great danger.

Wherever rare and precious materials are born, they are invariably ominous places, because they are often guarded by strange and ferocious creatures.

Li Yao walked for dozens of miles along the ancient mine, and finally, he arrived at the end.

As he expected, the ancient mine was guarded by powerful creatures, and the several powerful individuals who had entered earlier were all currently engaged in fierce battles.

Those were three silver creatures, their holy light pulsating like three holy spirits. They all had human forms, but were covered in silver scales, with bone spurs on their backs, each more than half a foot long. They did not look like benevolent beings at all.

However, the shimmering silver light made them appear quite sacred, not like undead. Each creature possessed a pair of silver wings, which shimmered and could tear through the void with a single flap.

Li Yao concealed his presence, hiding in the shadows, carefully discerning the origins of the three monsters, without intending to rush out directly.

"Flying Divine Yaksha!"

Soon, based on the monsters' appearance, he discovered that these three monsters looked exactly like the flying god Yaksha, who were said to be transformed from ancient unparalleled masters after their deaths, each of them being terrifyingly powerful.

Ancient records confirm that the Flying Yakshas possess immense combat power, and they are being fought by four Supreme Elders, all of whom are currently engaged in a fierce battle.

One of the middle-aged men, whom Li Yao did not see enter the pit, must have entered before Li Yao arrived, and was probably the first person to enter.

At this moment, he was in the most miserable state, covered in wounds, one of his arms was torn off, and his chest was ripped open, revealing his chest from front to back, with blood gushing out.

"Being the first to enter doesn't guarantee all the benefits. In this situation, even if he doesn't die, he'll miss out on the divine artifacts that follow."

Li Yao thought to himself, then began to scan the huge ancient mine in front of him.

"Precious Marrow!"

At the very end of the ancient mine, there is a marrow pool, no more than a meter square, from which endless dragon energy is breathed. Within it are thirty-six crystal-clear liquids, like tiny dragons swimming back and forth, dazzling and fragrant enough to intoxicate.

(End of this chapter)