Longevity Martial Arts: I have a Mysterious Water Snake Avatar-Chapter 475 - 387 Refining Tao Grandmaster

The night was deep and quiet. The water dragon and fire phoenix, transformed from the Heavenly River Sword and the Colorful Butterfly Sword, were still entwined. The dragon’s roar and the phoenix’s cry echoed continuously, presenting a harmonious picture of water and fire intertwined.

"Qing, when do you plan to marry me? Give me a clear answer soon?!"

Hong Yuan’s heart sank when he heard the coquettish words of the Butterfly Sword Martial Saint, but there was no sign of resistance on his face. He smiled, his eyes squinting, gently pressed his forehead against the Butterfly Sword Martial Saint’s smooth forehead, rubbed it a little, and said earnestly, "I also want to start a family with you soon, but we both carry heavy responsibilities right now. We must cultivate Menghuang and help her compete for The Destiny of Great Dreams."

"When the battle for The Destiny of Great Dreams is over, regardless of whether Menghuang becomes the destiny of this era or not, we can start a family then."

"In my opinion, this battle for destiny will last at least ten years, and at most more than twenty years..."

Hong Yuan spoke sweet nothings, leaving the Butterfly Sword Martial Saint utterly charmed. As for these promises, Hong Yuan was always generous with them, whether to the Butterfly Sword Martial Saint or Ye Xiner.

They were, after all, just passersby in his long life. In the very end, he would still walk the Path of Immortality alone. For now, if they could all live well in the moment and each have beautiful memories, that would be enough!

"Hmph, you can’t go back on your word, or I’ll take your dog life!" The Butterfly Sword Martial Saint’s beautiful eyes hardened as she fiercely grabbed Hong Yuan’s collar.

Hong Yuan just smiled and said nothing more. In some ways, he was using a beauty trap. Though it seemed somewhat beneath a man to resort to a beauty trap, it was undeniably an excellent opportunity to ascend within the upper echelons of the Human Race. Once he married the Butterfly Sword Martial Saint, the Ji Clan would favor him. Then, with the support of the Ji Clan as his strength grew, the position of Human Race Leader was not beyond Hong Yuan’s reach!

While both the Sword Body and the Original Body were increasing their strength, the Demonic Body also did not stop its own growth. In addition to planting trees, he also nurtured the Destiny Demon Realm.

Destiny Demon Realm.

Above the small Ninth Heaven sat the Purple Golden Palace, magnificent and resplendent. At the heart of the central great hall, the Demonic Body, Hong Yuan, sat quietly on the dragon throne. Then, he slowly opened his dragon-like eyes, and a streak of Purple Gold Divine Light flashed through the grand palace.

Compared to the bustling past, the palace complex atop the small Ninth Heaven was now exceedingly quiet. Of the vast Mysterious Water Snake Clan, only Hong Yuan and a scattered handful of Mysterious Water Snake Clan members remained.

One year in the outside world equated to three hundred years in the Destiny Demon Realm. Under the torrent of time, many things had changed beyond recognition, washed away by rain and blown by wind. The four great empires had become three; the empire founded by the Human Race had been crushed by the other three empires.

Nowadays, the cultivation system in the Destiny Demon Realm was primarily composed of Food Tao, Refining Tao, Sound Tao, and Water Tao. Beings in control of these powers were revered as Transcendent! The growth paths for these sorcerers were extremely rigid, advancing only from one sequence to the next. The substances that could help them grow were referred to as "Magic Potions!"

Hong Yuan tightly grasped the Flood Gathering War Banner, feeling the major shifts in the Destiny Demon Realm. After a long while, he exhaled a breath of turbid air, his eyes flashing with an intrigued gleam.

"Sequence? Magic Potions?"

"Marvelously similar, yet perhaps influenced by something..."

"No, that’s not quite right. It’s more accurate to say that those who couldn’t break through the Saint Realm were driven mad. This led them to sense the power of the Purple-Gold Furnace, the Flood Gathering War Banner, and the Dragon Sparrow Zither, attempting to become agents of these Holy Artifacts!"

TAP TAP—

Hong Yuan gently tapped the armrest of the dragon throne, pleasantly surprised by the ingenuity and insight of the cultivators in the Destiny Demon Realm. Although these prominent cultivators were driven by the restrictions he had set to find another path, and that path had gone awry, the underlying concept was still commendable. For instance, the idea to sense Holy Artifacts, emulate Holy Artifacts, and replace Holy Artifacts was noteworthy. Conveniently, Hong Yuan could apply this concept to the Heaven Earth Secret Realm to enhance his own Divine Powers!

"Let’s set these aside for now. What’s important at the moment is to refine a Dream Tao Holy Artifact."

CLAP—

Hong Yuan stopped tapping his fingers. With a thought, the Dream Butterfly Fairy Worm flew out from the Dream Butterfly Valley in a swirl, quickly fluttering into the Purple Golden Palace and appearing before him. Its body was primarily gold, with a pair of semi-transparent wings that shimmered with dreamlike hues. Its tail bore a vast cloak of flowing light, like a pair of gigantic colorful wings.

Pure! Sacred!

However, the Dream Butterfly Fairy Worm was not a true Holy Worm of the Saintly Tao, but a rare Dream Tao Desolate Beast that Hong Yuan had inadvertently refined. Compared to a Dream Tao Holy Artifact, it was somewhat lacking. Limited by the shortage of Dream Tao materials, Hong Yuan planned to use it as the main material to refine a personal Dream Tao Holy Artifact for his Original Body.

"My Refining Tao attainment is still a step away from reaching the Grandmaster Realm. I should improve it a bit more before I start crafting the Dream Tao Holy Artifact," Hong Yuan contemplated, gazing at the Dream Butterfly Fairy Worm dancing in the grand hall.

He couldn’t afford not to be cautious, since the Dream Butterfly Fairy Worm was the only main material he possessed that could serve for a Dream Tao Holy Artifact. And unfortunately, he had only one. What was even more critical was that the Dream Tao Path was still dormant; he had no idea when he would be able to capture another Dream Tao Desolate Beast.

If he had to wait until the end of the battle for Human Race Destiny, it wouldn’t be good at all!

Thus, Hong Yuan shifted his gaze downward, particularly towards the bustling megacity below. His eyes gradually turned icy.

"By my calculations, it has been nearly six hundred years since I last harvested."

"These ’leeks’ have all grown strong and robust, and some even have the surplus energy to plan their way into the outside world."

"This is not good. The Praise for Destiny—no, the Blood Sacrifice Ceremony—should be reopened to let the world feel the majesty of ’God’ once again!"

Gradually, Hong Yuan closed his eyes. Beside him, the Purple-Gold Furnace Holy Artifact shone brightly, absorbing the essence of the sun and moon.

The Praise for Destiny, also known as the Blood Sacrifice Ceremony, was a "catastrophe" orchestrated by Hong Yuan, ordering his subordinates to slaughter the cultivators of the Destiny Demon Realm to harvest their cultivation achievements. Usually, he harvested once every three hundred years. However, the Blood Sacrifice Ceremony had been slightly postponed ever since the Mysterious Water Snake Clan members entered the battle to control the God Position of the Destiny Demon Realm and he started planting the Purple-Gold Thorn God Tree.

BOOM!

RUMBLE!

RUMBLE RUMBLE!

With the activation of the Purple-Gold Furnace Holy Artifact, one ferocious beast after another awakened within the many hidden forbidden areas of the Destiny Demon Realm. These ferocious beasts were all bizarre in appearance: some had tiger bodies and snake tails, others were squids with fiery red wings. Their eyes were pitch-black, their bodies entwined with layers of variegated black fog, and their auras were all precisely at the level of a sixth-rank Martial Saint—utterly terrifying!

WHOOSH—

Following Hong Yuan’s command, the ferocious beast with the tiger body and snake tail fiercely slammed its palm within the dark cavern. Instantly, the vast mountain range trembled, triggering a violent flash flood. Its figure then vanished from among these mountains, heading towards a megacity.

The moment it appeared above the city, it caused a great commotion.

"What—what is this!?"

"The Green Phoenix Guard has arrived! Everyone, don’t panic!"

"Move this way! Quick, drop your cart and run! Hurry!"

"..."

People scrambled in chaos, fleeing desperately for fear that the fierce, imposing beast would unleash its fury.

「At the same time.」

The other ferocious beasts also rushed towards different megacities, targeting those who appeared to be Sequence One or Sequence Two, but were in fact only fifth-rank existences. It wasn’t that they weren’t strong, but the restrictions set by Hong Yuan were too extreme!

[Refining Tao +1,000]

[Sound Tao +1,000]

[Food Tao +1,000]

[...]

[Path: Refining Tao (Grandmaster 87%) → Refining Tao (Grandmaster 2%)]

While the ferocious beasts harvested the cultivators of this realm, Hong Yuan absorbed the achievements of the Destiny Demon Realm bit by bit. First was Sound Tao, followed by Water Tao, and finally Refining Tao and Food Tao. The Demon Skills and Divine Powers of Sound Tao and Water Tao were the most numerous, while those of Refining Tao and Food Tao were slightly fewer. The blue Immortal Cave Phenomenon that manifested behind him became even more mysterious and profound.

When he observed that his Refining Tao attainment had broken through to the Grandmaster Realm, a smile spread across Hong Yuan’s face, and a feeling of refreshment coursed through his body. However, when he saw that he had fewer than ten thousand Immortal Nuance Stones left, his brows furrowed slightly, but they soon relaxed.

"These Immortal Nuance Stones are being consumed so quickly; there were enough to create a Great Saint-level figure. Yet, for my use, they could at most push me to the level of a seventh-rank Demon Saint."

"Fortunately, I can now sense that the interval before the next Heavenly Calamity and Earthly Tribulation in the Destiny Demon Realm has shortened considerably, coinciding with the growth of its Immortal Aperture Origin."

"Phew~ No worries. The more resources consumed, the more substantial my Demonic Body’s strength becomes. Besides, for problems like the lack of Immortal Nuance Stones, I can just continue to auction off Han Jiuming’s Divine Powers and techniques."

Soon, Hong Yuan, still smiling, turned his gaze back to the Dream Butterfly Fairy Worm. He planned to create a Holy Artifact with functionality nearly identical to the Great Moon Virtual Mirror, preferably one that could directly take his Original Body into a dream realm to avoid calamities and allow free traversal!

At the Master Realm, one can develop an intuition for their Path.

At the Grandmaster Realm, one can draw analogies from one’s major Path and simulate the prowess of other Paths.

At the Grandmaster Realm, one has a profound understanding of Tao Marks themselves, can dismantle and use killer moves at will, and can directly utilize the natural Tao Marks of the world.

By now, Hong Yuan’s Refining Tao attainment had reached the Grandmaster level, making him an ancestor figure in his own right! Gazing at the Dream Butterfly Fairy Worm, numerous more refined ideas flowed through his mind.

However, the most pressing matter currently was to gather the corresponding Dream Tao materials...