Chapter Thirty: The Tome of Dao Body

After a few days spent with Jing Hong and Wang Bo, Li Ruoyu once again entered seclusion to consolidate his mastery of the Dao Body realm. Unlike the Dust Refining realm, the Dao Body realm is divided into early, middle, and late stages. In the early stage, one condenses the vague shadow of a Dao Image; in the middle stage, the Dao Image begins to take form; and in the late stage, the Dao Image can become tangible, its power escalating with each progression.

Li Ruoyu pondered the Dao Body chapter in the Celestial Burial Absolute Method. This chapter presented an exceedingly peculiar approach: it emphasized condensing the Dao Image by merging various heavenly materials, earth treasures, divine metals, and ancient artifacts, extracting their divine essence to forge the Dao Image and refine the divine body.

Reflecting on this, Li Ruoyu took out the remaining fragment of Blazing Phoenix Marrow, holding it before himself and following the method outlined in the Celestial Burial Absolute Method. Gradually, he absorbed its divine essence, which flowed into his Dao Image and body, bestowing upon him an aura of extraordinary mystique, radiating a remarkable presence.

Half a year later, Wang Bo broke through to the late stage of the Dao Body realm, endured a heavenly tribulation, and charted a cosmic black hole diagram. His gaze grew ever deeper. Possessing the Gluttonous Beast physique, Wang Bo was terrifyingly powerful, facing almost no bottlenecks—this was the most coveted physique throughout history. As Wang Bo crossed his tribulation, Jing Hong also emerged from seclusion, her cultivation advanced to the middle stage of the Dao Body realm. With her fiery red dress, she appeared ever more alluring and dazzling, impossible to ignore.

Gentle moonlight bathed the land, accentuating its desolation. Half a month later, having stabilized his cultivation, Li Ruoyu set out alone. After parting from Wang Bo and Jing Hong, he ventured northeast of Demonfall Valley to temper himself, slaying fierce Dao Body realm beasts and battling fellow cultivators who entered the valley. His pace was neither hurried nor sluggish, but every step was steady and firm. After half a month, he arrived before a certain cave.

This was the very cave where Ji Heng and Mei Yingxue had fallen. Li Ruoyu gazed into the cave, which exuded an ominous chill, and slowly explored its depths. The remains of various sect members came into view; dried blood stained the ground, its dark red hue stretching deep into the cave like the maw of a monstrous beast.

Advancing, the ground stirred up layers of bone ash. Li Ruoyu saw a damaged teleportation array ahead, and upon it, a white-haired youth.

The white-haired youth, resembling a monk, opened his eyes and gazed at Li Ruoyu with cold indifference, as if scorning heaven and all living beings. The broken sword behind him swept toward Li Ruoyu.

As always, the attack was simple, relying solely on speed. Li Ruoyu faced the blow, summoning the Grand Soul Banner and lightly tapping the sword with its tip.

“So young, yet already initiated into the Dao. Truly a prodigy,” the white-haired youth commented, his interest in Li Ruoyu clearly piqued.

The attacks came swiftly; the broken sword struck again and again, each blow as elusive as a hornless antelope. Li Ruoyu countered each time with a tap of the Grand Soul Banner. Seeing the sword’s prolonged assault fail, the monk formed a seal and recited, “A broken sword, eight or nine parts faith.” As his words fell, a world materialized behind him, filled with countless broken swords. Illusory turned real, the swords surged forward like a dragon toward Li Ruoyu.

Li Ruoyu summoned his Dao Image: a grave, a stele, accompanied by black snow. Tears unwittingly slid from the corners of his eyes. The dragon of broken swords crashed through the black snow, arriving before the tombstone.

The inscription on the tombstone began to glow, though its words remained indistinct, only flashes of light visible. The dragon of swords halted in its tracks.

“Desolate Body—who would have thought your lineage survives,” the white-haired man said, looking at Li Ruoyu with complex emotions.

Li Ruoyu did not understand the meaning of the man's words, nor was he versed in ancient tongues. Yet through spiritual intuition, he sensed the white-haired youth’s killing intent had receded.

The white-haired man, realizing Li Ruoyu’s lack of ancient language, connected via soul light, conveying, “In the ancient war, we were defeated. Now, one thing is returned to your lineage.”

He threw a sword case to Li Ruoyu. From it, Li Ruoyu sensed a familiar aura. The case was black, old and unadorned, its surface etched with intricate patterns, clearly not an ordinary item. The sword case felt intimately close to him. Touching it, Li Ruoyu fell silent, tinged with sorrow. He now understood why this case resonated with him—it had been forged from the Desolate Body, containing its blood and bone, soul and flesh.

“Go now, youngster! Time is short. May you retain some power to protect yourself in the coming catastrophe.” The white-haired man’s gaze softened as he looked at Li Ruoyu, as if he shared a deep connection with the sword case.

Li Ruoyu watched the white-robed youth retreat toward the cave entrance, wary, sensing the youth was restricted to a certain area. As he withdrew, Li Ruoyu caught sight of Ji Heng and Mei Yingxue’s remains, pausing in surprise—he had not seen them since the parting at the Ice Valley, never expecting to find their bodies here. Li Ruoyu carried their remains outside and built a five-foot-high burial mound for them.

“One day, if I fall like these two, will someone come to raise a burial mound for me?” Li Ruoyu mused quietly.

Touching the sword case, he dripped blood into it, spiritually sensing its contents. Inside lay a bone sword, seemingly forged from a spine, exuding the strong aura of the Desolate Body. The sword radiated the weight of ages and a deep sadness. The case was not large, measuring three feet five inches long, five inches wide, and five inches high. Li Ruoyu tried to store it in the World-Destroying Pearl, but to his surprise, it resisted.

He stripped a piece of bark from a nearby tree, twisted it into a cord, and slung the sword case across his back. With the case on his back, Li Ruoyu seemed to possess a timeless, immortal air.

To the east of Demonfall Valley lay a vast desert, endless and golden, reminiscent of the sands where he had seized the Fire-devouring Ant Egg. The wind swept the sand, obscuring all sight. As Li Ruoyu entered this dusty expanse, a sense of solitude and grandeur filled his mind. He walked through the wilderness, contemplating its desolation, honing himself and his Dao Image. Within his Dao Image, the black snow began to show signs of solidifying.

“This time, we must make sure he falls here,” said a man holding a mirror, in which Li Ruoyu’s reflection appeared.

Li Ruoyu’s spiritual sense detected something amiss and glanced behind him, summoning his Dao Image. The mirrored image vanished. The man holding the mirror belonged to the Ancient Sect; the mirror was a rare treasure that could search for a person’s image within a certain range, brought into Demonfall Valley by Gu Tianyi as a contingency. Beside him were numerous disciples from the Tianyi Sect, Su Qingyi among them. Since the battle at Ice Valley, the Ancient Sect and Tianyi Sect had pursued Li Ruoyu, seeking to kill him and reclaim the Extreme Cold Ice Marrow. Su Qingyi, as a Pure Yin Body, was particularly ardent; she required moonlight and Yin-attribute treasures to transform her Dao Image and thus never ceased her pursuit.

Li Ruoyu sat cross-legged atop a dune, with the sword case at his left, waiting calmly.

He trusted his spiritual senses. Moments ago, someone had spied on him with a treasure. Ahead, Gu Tianyi of the Ancient Sect, Su Qingyi of Tianyi Sect, Meng Ningsi of the Meng Family, Shi Sansheng of the Three-Life Sect, Yan Shangying, the second prince of Yan Country, Dao Feiyan, the senior outer disciple of Taiyi Sect, and others led their disciples from Zhao Country’s Four Sects—Great Dream Sect, Corpse Sect, Lifeless Sect—approaching through the vast desert like dark clouds pressing upon the city, their collective pressure bearing down on Li Ruoyu.

“They think highly of such a humble person as me. Aside from Sword Sect, Putuo Temple, Chu Royalty, and Demonic Sect, everyone has shown up: three hundred and five in total. Quite the spectacle,” Li Ruoyu remarked.

From afar, another group arrived, seven in all, exuding a wild aura. Great demons from the Demonic Sect appeared, their eyes cold and filled with murderous intent, staring at Li Ruoyu.

“Hand over the Extreme Cold Ice Marrow at once, give it to Fairy Su, or you will die here today,” Gu Tianyi shouted, his momentum overwhelming.

“When my cultivation was low, I fled your siege. Today, I’ll kill you all,” Li Ruoyu retorted.

A tangible cold moon slashed toward him, its suppressive force freezing the void, sealing his escape.

“Cold Moon Bathes Autumn Snow!”

This was Su Qingyi’s Dao Image. As Li Ruoyu progressed, so too did Su Qingyi; she had long reached the late stage of the Dao Body realm. As she attacked, Gu Tianyi acted as well, a golden ancient tree materializing behind him, radiating the aura of ages, as though it had traversed the river of history. The entire tree—trunk, leaves, roots—glowed golden.

“One Tree, Dao of Spring and Autumn!”

This was his Dao Image. Li Ruoyu watched as “Cold Moon Bathes Autumn Snow,” “One Tree, Dao of Spring and Autumn,” and the Three-Life Sect Saint’s “True Sun Shines Across Nine Heavens” all hurtled toward him. He calmly summoned his Dao Image.

A black grave grew with tufts of grass.

A black tombstone inscribed with indistinct words.

Both stood in a realm where black snow drifted.

When “Cold Moon Bathes Autumn Snow,” “One Tree, Dao of Spring and Autumn,” and “True Sun Shines Across Nine Heavens” touched the black snow, their Dao Images dimmed, their resistance fading to nothing in mere moments. At the same time, other attacks reached him.

A golden celestial dragon, radiant and spirited, formed behind Yan Shangying, the second prince of Yan Country, and lunged at Li Ruoyu.

“Ancient Celestial Dragon!”

This was Yan Shangying’s Dao Image, unleashing tremendous power.

Meanwhile, Dao Feiyan of Taiyi Sect summoned his Dao Image and attacked.

Despite the onslaught, Li Ruoyu remained composed. Since his battle with Sha Cangqiong, he had cultivated an invincible confidence. He activated his Dao Image and struck at Su Qingyi first, intending to eliminate her. As a Pure Yin Body, she would never relent unless destroyed.

“Transcendent Fist”—an art recorded in the Celestial Burial Absolute Method, practicable in the Dao Body realm, growing stronger with each level and insight.

It was Li Ruoyu’s first time employing it, and though somewhat unrefined, its power was still terrifying. Su Qingyi, a late-stage Dao Body cultivator, was forced back five steps by someone only in the early stage.