Chapter 136 - 94: Grand Daoist Yanyu

Chapter 136: Chapter 94: Grand Daoist Yanyu

In Mu Xiaoyu’s guest courtyard at Zulu Temple.

Li Yinsheng and Shangguan Ling’Er exchanged a glance, an unspoken understanding passing between them. Standing nearby, Zhao Xuan was completely lost. At first, he had been so immersed in the joy that Zulu Temple would finally have another Grand Daoist that he completely ignored the anomalies in his Senior Sister’s aura. But after Shangguan Ling’Er’s reminder, having chosen the Fire Element as his Major Cultivation as well, he quickly realized the problem. Although his Senior Sister’s Cultivation Technique had always been fierce, such violent fluctuations were truly unprecedented.

"What are you two talking about?" an anxious Zhao Xuan could not help but ask. "Shangguan, if you can sense the changes in Senior Sister Yanyu’s aura, is there a way to save her?"

Before Shangguan Ling’Er could speak, Li Yinsheng offered, "Zhao Xuan, if your Senior Sister is truly in this condition because her lifespan is nearing its end, I might have a way to help her. It just depends on whether you trust me and are willing to take me to see her."

At such a critical juncture, bringing an outsider to see Yanyu while she was breaking through was incredibly risky. If he harbored any malicious intent, even the slightest interference would cause her to perish on the spot, her cultivation destroyed. Zhao Xuan hesitated for a moment. He carefully sensed his Senior Sister’s aura again; the fluctuations were growing increasingly violent with no sign of stabilizing. Instead, the trend of losing control was becoming more obvious. Gritting his teeth, he nodded. "Since you have a way, Li, please follow me. My two senior brothers should have already gone to stand guard for her. Whether this succeeds or fails, Zulu Temple will remember your kindness!"

Li Yinsheng patted Mu Xiaoyu’s head. "Junior Sister, go back and cultivate for now."

"Senior Brother, can you save that senior?" Mu Xiaoyu looked up at Li Yinsheng, asking with a hint of worry.

Even though the people of Zulu Temple were a bit mean, she still did not want anyone to get hurt. Furthermore, that senior had been in secluded cultivation the whole time. The blame for forcing her to learn Artifact Refining and making her life harder could not possibly be pinned on that senior. She was innocent.

"Don’t worry. If it’s truly caused by her waning lifespan, I’m eighty percent sure I can do it," Li Yinsheng said, rubbing her head.

Mu Xiaoyu breathed a sigh of relief. "Senior Brother is amazing! I’ll go back to cultivate then!"

Zhao Xuan waved his hand, releasing a crimson cloud. He invited Li Yinsheng and Shangguan Ling’Er to board it before transforming into an Escape Light and flying toward the place where Yanyu was in secluded cultivation.

The crimson cloud Escape Light landed in a secluded, tranquil courtyard in the southeast corner of Zulu Temple.

Taking the lead, Zhao Xuan walked toward the only small cabin in the courtyard. Following behind, Li Yinsheng immediately felt the surrounding temperature rise to an extraordinary high. However, with his Refining Body foundation, he did not feel much discomfort. A half-inch-long crimson feather pattern emerged between Shangguan Ling’Er’s brows, allowing her to turn a blind eye to the scorching heat.

The wooden door of the cabin Zhao Xuan approached was wide open, its Iron Wood panels already parched and cracked. Li Yinsheng and Shangguan Ling’Er followed him inside. In the center sat an elderly woman who looked to be over seventy, cultivating cross-legged. She was dressed in a Zulu Temple Daoist Robe with a black background and red cloud patterns. By now, the floorboards around her had turned to ashes, and even those ashes glowed with a dark red hue. The three Daoists of Zulu Temple gathered around all wore worried expressions.

"As expected, her lifespan is nearing its end," Shangguan Ling’Er said.

Although True Cultivators were not immune to aging, they did not age evenly like mortals. For the most part, they maintained a youthful or middle-aged appearance. At most, their hair and beards would turn white, but they would still retain a healthy, vibrant complexion. An obvious state of senescence like this meant that her lifespan was nearly exhausted.

Upon seeing Li Yinsheng and Shangguan Ling’Er, Kunjun was about to ask questions, but Zhao Xuan preemptively explained. "Senior Brother, Shangguan noticed Senior Sister’s unstable aura while in the guest courtyard. She suspected that a lack of lifespan was causing her Three Treasures to weaken. Li said that if it truly is a lack of lifespan, he has a way to help."

Kunjun was taken aback. "This... Li?"

He could also sense that his Senior Sister’s situation was critical, but he found it incredibly hard to believe that Li Yinsheng, such a young, newly advanced Daoist, had a way to help her while she was breaking through to become a Grand Daoist. While he did not think Li Yinsheng would harm her, he feared that this young man, blessed with extraordinary talent, might be too arrogant and underestimate the difficulty of breaking through to the Grand Daoist realm. If he rashly intervened, his good intentions might backfire and only worsen the situation.

Seeing Kunjun’s expression, Li Yinsheng could roughly guess his concerns. Without another word, he directly initiated Soul Emergence. A figure identical to him stepped out of his Flesh Body and stood shoulder-to-shoulder with him in front of Kunjun.

"Fellow Daoist Kunjun, will you allow me to try?" both Li Yinshengs asked simultaneously.

Although Kunjun was not a Grand Daoist, he came from Zulu Temple and naturally possessed excellent judgment. His expression shifted several times within the span of a few breaths before he gave a decisive nod. "Zulu Temple will never forget this favor, Li."

Zhao Xuan and the other Daoist also snapped out of their daze and nodded in agreement.

Li Yinsheng’s soul took a few steps forward and raised his left hand. A vibrant green light rose from his palm, enveloping Yanyu. Previously, when he used the Withering and Flourishing Spiritual Breath to accelerate the growth of the Peach Seedlings and the Red Jade Mosquitoes, he had only consumed a small amount each time. This time, however, he poured out all his remaining Withering and Flourishing Spiritual Breath in one breath.

He estimated that this Withering and Flourishing Spiritual Breath should be able to extend Yanyu’s lifespan by about ten years. Although ten years was not a long time for a Daoist, the weakening of a Daoist’s Three Treasures usually only became severe in the final few years of their life. As long as he could extend her lifespan by ten years, her condition would recover by seventy or eighty percent, making the breakthrough much easier. Once she succeeded, her lifespan would naturally increase significantly again.

As expected, bathed in the tender green glow of the Withering and Flourishing Spiritual Breath, the white-haired, senile Yanyu rapidly grew younger. By the time the last wisp of the Withering and Flourishing Spiritual Breath was exhausted, she had restored her appearance to that of a forty-year-old woman. Her white hair had turned black again, and her face glowed with vitality. The violently fluctuating aura around her quickly smoothed out. The surrounding high temperature also plummeted—or rather, retracted back into her body, causing a layer of crimson flames, about two or three inches high, to dance around her.

The other three Daoists were overjoyed.

"Thank you, Li!" Kunjun bowed deeply.

Li Yinsheng’s soul returned to his Flesh Body. Staring at Yanyu, whose aura was much more stable but still fluctuating, he gently shook his head. "There is no need for such formalities, Fellow Daoist Kunjun. Although Yanyu has stabilized, whether she can break through ultimately depends on herself."

Shangguan Ling’Er stared thoughtfully at the flames dancing around Yanyu. "The Cultivation Technique Yanyu practices is too fierce. Even though she is an Artifact Refiner and her Divine Sense is quite formidable, it’s still difficult for her to completely control it at this moment. These flames are likely her Cultivation leaking out because she can’t contain it."

Bringing her hands together in front of her chest, her ten fingers continuously formed Seal Techniques. Dozens of streams of Red Gold Spiritual Light flew from her fingertips, swirling around the cross-legged Yanyu. They outlined a Red Gold Fire Lotus that encapsulated her, with each streak of Red Gold Spiritual Light forming a lifelike petal.

The flames around Yanyu were the external manifestation of her Cultivation, capable of easily melting an Upper Grade Magical Artifact. However, when they met the Red Gold Fire Lotus conjured by Shangguan Ling’Er, the petals merely swayed slightly before suppressing all the flames back. With Shangguan Ling’Er’s help, Yanyu slowly drew the flames back into her body bit by bit.

It was not until late at night that the final wisp of flame around Yanyu was completely retracted into her body.

Shangguan Ling’Er dispelled the Red Gold Fire Lotus. "Alright. From here on out, it really is entirely up to her."

"Thank you, Shangguan!" Kunjun bowed once again.

Shangguan Ling’Er waved her hand, signaling that there was no need for such courtesy, before walking over to stand side by side with Li Yinsheng.

The five of them waited for another half of the night, until the pale white of dawn appeared on the horizon and a ray of sunlight illuminated the courtyard.

Li Yinsheng and Shangguan Ling’Er simultaneously looked toward the cross-legged Yanyu. Soon after, an identical figure stood up from Yanyu, while her main body remained seated in place. The standing figure bowed solemnly to Li Yinsheng and Shangguan Ling’Er, then sat back down, merging with her main body as she slowly opened her eyes.

The three Daoists of Zulu Temple instantly grew excited.

"Senior Sister!"

"Senior Sister Yanyu!"

"Senior Sister!"

Yanyu stood up and said to her three junior brothers, "I have worried you all. I have broken through, and I am fine." She then bowed solemnly to Li Yinsheng and Shangguan Ling’Er once again. "Thank you both for your grace in helping me attain the Dao."

"We are both under the Zhengyang Dharma Vein. There’s no need to be so polite, Yanyu," Shangguan Ling’Er replied.

Li Yinsheng nodded.

"I’ve long heard that Spiritual Phoenix Daoist is a prodigy among the younger generation of our Dharma Vein—loyal, straightforward, and possessing beauty that could topple cities. Seeing you today, I know the rumors are not baseless, but entirely true," Yanyu said with a smile.

Shangguan Ling’Er raised an eyebrow, her gaze softening with a lot more warmth as she looked at Yanyu.

Immediately after, Yanyu turned to look at Li Yinsheng, her expression tinged with confusion. "And which prodigy of our Dharma Vein is this Fellow Daoist? Forgive my ignorance for never having heard of him. Could he be... Spiritual Phoenix Daoist’s Dao Companion?"

"Ah?" Li Yinsheng blanked for a moment.

The tips of Shangguan Ling’Er’s ears grew hot.

"Senior Sister, you’re mistaken, you’re mistaken," Kunjun hurriedly interjected. "This is Li Yinsheng from Xuanzhen Temple. He came here with Shangguan."

"Xuan... Xuanzhen Temple?" Yanyu paused, blinking once, then twice, and then staring in utter bewilderment. After a long while, she finally looked at Kunjun. "Junior Brother, did you say this Li is from Xuanzhen Temple? But... isn’t Li a Grand Daoist?"

"It is indeed true," Kunjun affirmed. "Li is exactly the Grand Daoist of Xuanzhen Temple!"

Yanyu stood frozen for a long moment, staring at Kunjun. "Junior Brother, I’m a bit confused about the years now. Just how long was I in secluded cultivation?"