Chapter 51: The Physical Body

The vital energy of life was boiling, rolling like towering waves and surging with tremendous might. The divine radiance within his internal organs shone brilliantly, leaving them pristine and flawless.

It had only been a quarter of an hour, but Li Yao’s physique had grown at least ten percent stronger than when he first began.

The effects of the Vajra Bodhi Liquid were simply too apparent. As time flowed on, this enhancement continued to build without the slightest sign of stopping.

After a long while, the furnace trembled, and its lid automatically sprang open. Inside the vessel, Li Yao appeared as though he were forged from gold and iron, resembling a humanoid weapon rather than a mortal made of flesh and blood.

The Vajra Bodhi Liquid had been completely absorbed. His body was now flawless and radiant, akin to a crystal-clear divine artifact. With every gesture and movement, boundless divine power surged forth, and his physical strength had increased by at least two to three fold.

At this moment, Li Yao felt that relying solely on the power of his physical body would be enough to easily defeat Li Tianqi.

"At most, a single punch would reduce him to a pulp, and those weapons could be shattered into dust with the flick of a finger," Li Yao estimated.

While he might not yet compare to an Ancient Physique of the same realm, matching the likes of a Divine Physique or a King Physique was already more than sufficient.

This was quite exaggerated. The effects of the Vajra Bodhi Liquid had far exceeded his expectations, allowing a mortal physique like his to directly rival special physiques in terms of physical might.

Of course, this was also because Li Yao’s foundation was incomparably profound, possessing an inherently formidable physical potential.

It was not as if everyone could achieve the results Li Yao had attained. If things were truly that exaggerated, then the efficacy of the Vajra Bodhi Liquid would be entirely defying the heavens.

Yet Li Yao felt it was still not enough. He required even greater physical strength. Even though his physique had now been enhanced to rival Divine Physiques and King Physiques, compared to his divine power, it was still a fraction weaker.

"My goal has never been merely the likes of Divine Physiques. If I wish to tread the Emperor's Road, I cannot afford a single shortcoming in any domain. Let's set a small goal first: at the very least, my physical body must be able to rival an Ancient Physique of the same realm."

This might seem difficult, if not completely impossible, for others. But for Li Yao, it was entirely achievable. As long as he found a body-refining scripture and deduced it to the level of an Emperor Scripture, the dream of having a physical body that could rival an Ancient Physique would be far from an idle fantasy.

"My innate advantages may not be enough, but fortunately, I can make up for it the day after." This was what Li Yao considered to be his luckiest advantage.

When that time came, with peerless divine power to suppress everything and a tyrannical physical body to achieve eternity, not a single soul would be able to contend with him even upon the Emperor's Road.

To realize his ambitions, however, Li Yao required a vast amount of Origin Stones. Therefore, he prepared to emerge from seclusion.

Now that his realm had broken through to the Other Shore, and his physical body had finished tempering, it would be difficult to achieve another leap in progress within a short timeframe.

Rather than continuing to toil in closed-door cultivation, he might as well try his hand at stone gambling to harvest some Origin Stones. After all, the lineage of the Holy Master had already provided his reward, and he could not keep them waiting indefinitely.

"In that case, Jiang Family's Stone Gambling Pavilion, here I come."

This time, he was gambling by imperial decree, with the entire Awakening Light Holy Land backing him up. He had no fear of being targeted by others, and should he unseal any extraordinary treasures, he would not have to worry about anyone attempting to snatch them away.

While some might still harbor lingering desires to seize treasures after the alliance between the Rising Sun Divine Island and Sunset Mountain, this time it was the Holy Master's lineage that had spoken. Every single precious item cut out would belong exclusively to him.

If anyone still remained blind and courted death at this juncture, they would not be striking at him, but rather slapping the face of the Holy Master's lineage itself.

...

Upon emerging from seclusion, Li Yao went to find Yao Xi at the earliest opportunity.

"In the past, it was always Senior Sister who sought you out. Today, Junior Brother has come to find me instead, which actually feels a bit unusual."

Yao Xi possessed a jade-skinned celestial physique with exquisite curves, outlining a breathtaking and soul-stirring silhouette. Flawless and crystalline, she was mesmerizing enough to bewitch all living beings.

Long eyelashes, obsidian-like eyes, jade-like cheeks, a slender and delicate neck, full breasts, a willow waist that could be grasped with a single hand, rounded and plump hips, and straight, slender jade legs—any man who laid eyes upon her would have his blood boiling instantly.

Especially right now, as she put on a slightly aggrieved expression, any man would naturally feel a surge of tender affection.

"She is the combination of an enchantress and a celestial maiden." Even though the two had met numerous times over the past month, and occasionally drifted into ambiguous banter when conversations strayed, Li Yao felt that he had not built up any resistance to Yao Xi’s peerless beauty; if anything, he felt as though he was sinking deeper and deeper.

"It is this junior's fault, which is why the moment I left seclusion, I came straight to Senior Sister to hopefully make amends for my mistake." Li Yao also put on a remorseful expression, as though he were truly captivated by Yao Xi’s beauty.

In reality, however, he remained exceedingly sober. His infatuation with Yao Xi never extended beyond her breathtaking appearance, and no genuine feelings of romance had ever sprouted within his heart.

Affection and romance were far too dangerous concepts. In the histories he had studied, an untold number of prodigies had fallen precisely because of this.

Therefore, prior to possessing absolute self-preservation capabilities, Li Yao strictly restrained himself from developing romantic feelings for anyone.

"You... broke through?" Yao Xi, who had just been feigning a pitiful demeanor, suddenly turned serious. At this moment, her temperament underwent a heaven-shaking transformation, turning her back into a hallowed celestial maiden.

Of course, one had to ignore the trace of astonishment lingering within her bright eyes.

"Pure luck, sheer luck." Li Yao waved his hand dismissively, wearing a completely nonchalant expression.

Yao Xi’s lips, red as dripping blood, twitched slightly. She rarely felt anxious over matters of innate talent—even the Awakening Light Holy Son was merely on par with her.

Yet the current Li Yao genuinely shocked Yao Xi. How much time had it taken her to cultivate to the Other Shore realm?

Yao Xi calculated quietly in her mind: it had taken her roughly one year and eight months. In other words, Li Yao had reached her level of progress in the Wheel and Sea realm in a mere fraction of that time.

"It seems the Holy Master's grand scheme might actually succeed," she muttered inwardly.

"Junior Brother is truly brilliantly talented and brightly glowing. It appears it won't be long before you catch up to Senior Sister." Yao Xi smiled brightly, though this time, without the all-encompassing charm that could captivate the world, her smile carried a genuine sincerity.

If initially Yao Xi had only befriended Li Yao due to the Holy Master's instructions, now she genuinely felt that Li Yao was a person well worth befriending.

"Thank you for the praise, Senior Sister. I shall continue to work hard," Li Yao replied.

Naturally, he had noticed Yao Xi’s change and understood what had prompted it. Yet Li Yao did not view Yao Xi’s motives for approaching him as impure because of this.

All bustling in the world is for the sake of profit; all commotion in the world is for the sake of wealth.

The vast majority of beginnings in this world are driven by mutual benefit, differing only in what each party hopes to gain.

Had Li Yao been nothing more than an ordinary cultivator, someone of Yao Xi’s proud and exalted status would never have lowered her standards to approach him.

Thus, in Li Yao’s worldview, people approaching him out of mutual interest was the most natural thing in the world. It did not disgust him, nor did it trigger any psychological aversion; on the contrary, it actually set his mind at ease.

If someone were to approach him without any reason, relation, or hidden motive and treat him exceptionally well, Li Yao not only wouldn't find it pleasant, but would instead grow deeply wary.

"Now that Junior Brother has broken through, shouldn't our trip to the Jiang Family's Stone Gambling Pavilion be arranged as soon as possible?" Yao Xi suddenly brought up the topic.

Li Yao nodded and said, "This trip out of seclusion is precisely for stone gambling. I wonder if Senior Sister would care to accompany me."

Yao Xi’s starry eyes flashed brilliantly. Upon hearing that they were going stone gambling, her exquisitely beautiful face instantly lit up with eager anticipation: "I'll go, I'll go! Good Junior Brother, this senior sister would love to go broaden her horizons."

Li Yao was not surprised. Although Yao Xi was the Holy Maiden of the Awakening Light Holy Land—occupying an exalted position with transcendent cultivation talent—precisely because of this, she had practically been restricted from traveling and forced to remain within the Holy Land.

This was not unique to the Awakening Light Holy Land; major holy lands imposed similar restrictions on their successors.

Take Ji Haoyue of the Ji family, for instance—he had been strictly hidden away from the world for nearly twenty years before being permitted to step outside.

Li Yao had been in this world for close to a year. Although he occasionally gathered intelligence during his days out, news regarding the Ji and Jiang families amounted to little more than vague rumors that a Divine Physique might have appeared, with no concrete details circulating whatsoever.

Come to think of it, this was likely the very first time Yao Xi had left the Southern Domain and traveled to a place as distant as the Northern Domain.

Although Yao Xi had certainly visited stone gambling pavilions over the past month, those had merely been casual outings; she had undoubtedly never witnessed a true master of source-seeking plying their trade.

As for Li Yao, he had already made a name for himself in a single battle. Who throughout the entire Holy City did not know that the Awakening Light Holy Land had produced a grandmaster of source-seeking?

One could say that if Li Yao were to spread the word that he was heading to the Jiang Family's Stone Gambling Pavilion to gamble on stones, it would inevitably draw a massive crowd, with many half-step Mighty Experts showing up just to watch.

At present, Yao Xi was merely a young girl of fifteen or sixteen years old, filled with boundless curiosity toward such matters.

Especially since this was the person who had actually cut out Divine Marks Purple Gold!

*PS: This is today's first chapter. I forgot to set yesterday's chapter on a timer, but I added it later, so it doesn't count against today's chapters.*

*It's the end of the month, begging for monthly votes, recommendation votes, and consistent readership!*