Chapter 21: Legacy

Meeting Lin Fangjing didn’t delay Mu Yuan for long. With one strike, he thoroughly defeated his opponent and seized the twin hooks. Mu Yuan couldn’t help feeling a bit proud inwardly, thinking to himself that he finally had some real skill to travel the world; at least he wouldn’t have to fear overly perverse cultivators at the same level.

In the end, Mu Yuan didn’t kill the other grey-robed man. He did, however, successfully interrogate him about his origins. It turned out they belonged to an evil faction within the Tianlong Kingdom called the Ice Soul Sect. This sect wasn’t well-known in the Cultivation World. Neither Lin Fangjing nor Mu Yuan had heard of it. Seeing that these two were already around forty years old, yet their cultivation was merely at the Qi Refining Third Layer—making Core Formation a hopeless prospect for them in this lifetime—Mu Yuan felt no concern about future revenge. So, he incidentally spared their lives.

Just as the saying goes about plucking a feather as the goose flies by, Mu Yuan also managed to extract the cultivation method of the Ice Soul Sect. While he wouldn’t personally cultivate it, knowing more wouldn’t hurt. Moreover, every sect’s existence had its own profound aspects. The Ice Soul Path’s Cold Ice Zhenqi offered a useful extension to the principles within the Tidal Flow. Mu Yuan didn’t want to delve too deeply; he simply extracted the concept of “Cold Water True Will,” adding a bit more power to the icy aspect within his Tidal Flow.

Lin Fangjing’s Divine Thunder technique clashed with the Cold Ice Zhenqi. Although she heard its secrets too, even if she couldn’t utilize them, broadening her horizons was a form of cultivation in its own intangible way. Having obtained the dragon’s essence energy, Lin Fangjing intended to return to her sect for help in refining it. The two bid farewell. Only then did Mu Yuan silently trigger the Dragon Soul Sword. With multicolored light swirling around his body, he flew back to find Mo Xue and Chu Yunfei.

As they returned to the Forest Sea, dawn was breaking faintly. Seeing Mu Yuan return, both were slightly surprised by his flying technique. While both riding the wind and riding qi were methods of flight, the difference between them was immediately apparent. Though curious, neither asked about it.

Chu Yunfei had acquired the dragon horn, and Mo Xue the dragon spine bone. Both also intended to return to their respective sects to forge these into suitable magical artifacts. After all, Chu Yunfei’s Soul-Gathering Banner wasn’t truly handy for him; though it had its own usefulness, it didn’t benefit his own cultivation at all. Despite the Profound Yin Sect’s poor reputation, Chu Yunfei disliked the idea of his attacks reeking of ghostly energy and wailing cries, declaring him plainly as a demonic disciple!

Mo Xue, while having the Starlight Bracelet in hand, felt it was too singular. Constantly carrying the dragon spine bone unused seemed like a waste of a great resource. Therefore, she decided to return to her sect to craft a proper magical artifact. The three then bid farewell. Though Mo Xue felt reluctant, she comforted herself that cultivation took many years, and there would always be chances to meet again. Mounting her Dragon Rhinoceros, she departed from Mu Yuan.

In the blink of an eye, Mu Yuan was alone again. Having grown accustomed to companions, this sudden solitude inevitably brought a touch of loneliness. He momentarily considered the idea of returning to the Longevity Palace.

The Feng Luan was perched on a huge paulownia tree not far away, its jade-green eyes half-open, half-closed. Seeing it rest, Mu Yuan had an idea stirring within him. He took down the gourd hanging around his neck, toyed with it for a while, and then a plan formed.

The Green Gourd was brimming with exceedingly rich Black Water Primordial Qi, perfect for nurturing trees and providing a resting place for the Feng Luan. Though not a true phoenix with its rigid standards of perching only on paulownia trees, the Feng Luan still had some preferences. Immediately, Mu Yuan activated the Longevity Art, sensing the wood-attuned spiritual energy within the surrounding Forest Sea. Suddenly, dozens of large trees nearby uprooted themselves, transforming into streaks of jade light that shot into the gourd.

Mu Yuan projected his Spiritual Sense inside the gourd. He saw the vast interior space suddenly packed with dozens of towering, straight trees. Black Water Primordial Qi coiled around them, condensing into countless dewdrops on the lush leaves. As the branches and leaves quivered gently, the scene became incredibly lifelike and vibrant!

Instantly, boundless joy flooded Mu Yuan’s heart. It felt as if he had forcefully created a world within this space. Excited, he proceeded to move over a hundred more trees of various kinds inside. They formed a small forested belt dozens of miles across, occupying most of the gourd’s space!

“This shouldn’t be…” Mu Yuan muttered curiously. “According to the old man, this gourd has been worn by successive bearers of the Tidal Flow tradition. It shouldn’t be only this much! Two miles is certainly not small, but for a lineage passed down for thousands of years… that’s just too shabby!” Immersing most of his Spiritual Sense into the gourd, his entire body suddenly felt as refreshing as soaking in water. He probed towards every corner of the gourd’s space!

Among the Five Elements Paths, only Fei Longzi established the Longevity Palace long ago. The other four paths largely lacked formal sects. The Water Path was a single-line transmission; that was understandable. The other three paths often had anywhere from a few to dozens of disciples. Even so, the legacy artifact for the Water Path shouldn’t be so simplistic!

Moreover, successive Tidal Flow masters traversed the world, surely witnessing extremely broad vistas and amassing plenty of remarkable treasures. Recalling he had only been away from the mountain for half a year and already had such bountiful gains… Mu Yuan absolutely refused to believe bearers of the Tidal Flow had such pitiful luck over millennia that they accumulated nothing at all!

His Spiritual Sense scoured every inch but found no seals or restrictions. Disappointment inevitably crept in, replaced by profound disdain for the Tidal Flow cultivators of past generations!

“I’ve only been down the mountain for half a year and already gathered things like the Dragon Soul Sword, Dragon King’s Dynamic Force, and the Tidal Flow itself – such marvelous treasures and divine arts! How come all of you were such idiots, leaving nothing behind?”

Disappointment swirled within him. Raising his hand, he unleashed a Canglang Water Sword in anger, slashing viciously through the Void. The Black Water Primordial Qi inside the Green Gourd immediately boiled and surged. It coalesced into a massive water sword that echoed his strike. Suddenly, the internal space shattered! The two-mile expanse shuddered violently. Space walls to all sides crumbled like fortress ramparts collapsing with thunderous roars. Mu Yuan’s Spiritual Sense was battered by an overwhelming, fierce, and wildly fluctuating torrent of Tidal Flow force crashing in from all directions! Like mountains collapsing, oceans roaring, or the Milky Way pouring down, countless watery streams transformed into the shapes of Flood Dragons, bellowing long and fiercely, shaking the heavens and the earth!

Space fractured. Water-attuned Primordial Qi raged uncontrollably. A crackling sound, like tearing silk, erupted. The surrounding heaven and earth instantly expanded, stretching out for hundreds of square miles! This sudden transformation gave Mu Yuan the profound feeling of stepping into an entirely new world. The air instantly felt fresher. The sky seemed clearer, the earth vaster, lifting his spirits immensely.

“Good! Excellent!” Mu Yuan clicked his tongue in praise, his emotions quite stirred. “Even if there’s nothing else, this huge space alone is an exceedingly rare treasure!”

Hundreds of miles across—this was equivalent to a massive city or wilderness field. The sheer volume it could hold was immeasurable. Traveling in the future would be incredibly convenient!

“So that was it… It needs to be activated by force from the Tidal Flow to unleash new space!” Curiosity ignited, Mu Yuan spread his Spiritual Sense wide. He discovered that the newly unlocked storage space was piled with materials for artifact forging and quite a few treasures of heaven and earth… but no high-grade magical treasures. There were only a few scattered, delicate trinkets—well-crafted but practically useless. Mu Yuan rifled through them for a while before casually tossing them back inside.

Although he hadn’t found anything extraordinary, Mu Yuan wasn’t truly disappointed. After all, possessing the Dragon Soul Sword made common magical artifacts beneath his notice. Conversely, as a containment artifact, this gourd was exceptionally handy.

Slowly withdrawing his consciousness from the gourd, Mu Yuan lovingly re-hung it. With nothing else to do, he faced the rising sun, breathing in its essence. Purple Qi flowed from the east as he trained his Dharma Body.

After the Qi Refining Third Layer came the refinement of the Dharma Body. Upon mastery, it could become hard as gold, offering tremendous defense. While still no match for legendary dragon beasts, its power wasn’t meager. Crucially, only after achieving a solid Dharma Body could one begin refining the dual spirits (soul and mind), expanding the Sea of Consciousness, preparing for Core Formation!

The sun rose in the east. Gradually, streams of sunlight filtered down through the branches, dappling the ground in shifting patterns of light and shadow. Creatures that had lain dormant at night began stirring, hunting for sustenance. Birds sang, heralding a burgeoning vitality.

He breathed in the essence for nearly half an hour. As the sunlight intensified and the blazing solar fire energy grew too rich, Mu Yuan stopped his intake. Continuing further would harm him immensely, potentially igniting internal flames and causing injury. This intangible Taiyang True Fire, though it might not manifest physically on flesh, was supremely effective for burning spirits and refining the soul!

The Feng Luan that had perched on the paulownia tree also spread its wings and flew out to forage. Being a dominant master within this Forest Sea, the king of birds, it naturally didn’t fear danger. Still, Mu Yuan contemplated the idea of teaching the Feng Luan some Spirit Refining methods later, lest someone stronger than himself strip away his imprint and tame it.

Sprung to his feet, Mu Yuan aimlessly wandered through the Forest Sea. Occasionally encountering animals or plants he fancied, he collected them all into the gourd, enriching its developing world.

The gourd was now populated with much more: timber, beasts like wind wolves, flower leopards, squirrels, and sables. Eventually, inside formed a verdant band of woodland dozens of square miles in size, populated with all manner of creatures—almost enough to form a mini-ecosystem.

As he walked, a fierce tiger’s roar suddenly erupted ahead. A wave of foul, pungent air, thick enough to choke on, spread with the mountain breeze. Simultaneously, a high-pitched, sharp screech, so piercing and unique he’d never heard its like before, shattered the air. Mu Yuan’s curiosity piqued. The tiger’s roar carried terror, panic, and utter despair. What kind of creature could unnerve the self-proclaimed king of beasts so completely?

Tigers boast the title “king of beasts,” though for practitioners, such titles held little worth. In this world, beings stronger than tigers were innumerable. The true king of beasts was hard to crown definitively!

Nevertheless, tigers are formidable predators: powerful claws, sharp fangs, immense strength, capable of tearing apart most creatures. Within the Five Elements, the Western Divine Beast is the White Tiger. Though not the same beast, their root was one; tigers remained formidable, sweeping the Forest Sea unchallenged—unless confronted by something extraordinarily powerful.

This fierce tiger’s unprecedented fear indicated a truly monstrous adversary. Mu Yuan’s curiosity ignited. He swiftly took to the air. The closer he ventured forward, the thicker the putrid stench became. The overwhelming stench of blood threatened to choke him!

After flying several dozen feet, a scene unfolded before Mu Yuan that shocked his senses. A clearing, nearly fifty feet wide, lay ahead. In its center stood a colossal humanoid behemoth. Covered in thick, shaggy hair, it towered over thirty feet tall. Its arms stretched out like two massive tree trunks, hands resembling thighs of a calf. Its eyes were enormous, like large bowls, gleaming with oily green light. A cavernous mouth gaped open, lined with four viciously interlocking fangs—a picture of savage horror!

Scattered around the giant were the corpses of over a dozen wolves, most torn cleanly in half. Entrails and organs littered the ground, soaking the earth in still-warm blood that emitted a heavy metallic reek. Off to one side, crouched in abject fear some distance away, a huge striped tiger whimpered, its entire body trembling violently. It lacked even the courage to flee!