Book Synopsis
Book Tags
Donation Rankings
Comment
0 Comments
You May Also Like
墨書 Inktalez
Long Xiao Wu stared at Zhao Yang, who looked as if he had seen a ghost, and asked, "Now that we know there is a Jade Dragon beneath the Fish Pond, what should we do next?"
Zhao Yang was always the core of their small team. Although he appeared carefree on the surface, he observed everything carefully and made immediate judgments and strategies. While Long Xiao Wu and Scholar Xiu were discussing the Perfect Foundation, he was already contemplating the matter of Shiyunsheng.
"Currently, Shiyunsheng from the Outer Sect is determined to obtain the Jade Dragon's inner elixir. He has waited ten years without establishing a foundation, clearly aiming to break the record that has stood for millennia and become a Perfect Foundation cultivator. It would be rather unkind of us to swoop in and seize the opportunity he has waited for all this time."
Scholar Xiu and Long Xiao Wu looked at Zhao Yang in surprise, not expecting him to be so principled. The cultivation world was known for its ruthless competition over rare treasures, often leading to extermination of entire sects. The Jade Dragon's inner elixir, capable of creating a Perfect Foundation, would incite greed in anyone who saw it. Yet Zhao Yang was able to analyze the situation so rationally. However, no one understood Zhao Yang better than Long Xiao Wu; he knew there would be a twist.
"However," as expected, Zhao Yang pondered for a moment before speaking seriously, "we don't yet know whether Shiyunsheng is friend or foe. If we could befriend him, what would it matter if we let him have this opportunity? After all, he has also guarded it for ten years. I suspect he is someone with great ambitions. But if we can't become friends..."
"What then? Are you really going to let him have it?" Scholar Xiu quickly asked.
"If we can't be friends, then we can kill him and take the treasure! Think about it—he reached the ninth level of Qi Refinement at just ten years old. He must possess either an extraordinary cultivation method or rare treasures. When the time comes, we can seize them..."
"Such devious thoughts," Long Xiao Wu shot a disdainful glance at Zhao Yang and muttered.
Zhao Yang chuckled but suddenly grimaced in pain, feeling dizzy and unstable on his feet. The two were about to help him when Zhao Yang quickly recovered.
He waved his hand dismissively. "It's just a symptom of my rapid cultivation increase. I need to calm down and consolidate my power during this time. Shiyunsheng shouldn't be able to capture the Jade Dragon just yet; let's observe for a while longer. In the meantime, Scholar Xiu, you'll have to take care of fishing again."
Zhao Yang flashed a bright smile, revealing his pearly white teeth under the sunlight. Long Xiao Wu also showed off her shiny tiger tooth and exchanged a glance with Zhao Yang that almost ended in a celebratory high-five. Although Scholar Xiu was now part of their team, thinking back to how he had previously analyzed their shortcomings in front of everyone made her irritated; naturally, such errands would still fall to him.
Half a month later, on a clear morning, Zhao Yang abruptly awakened from meditation with a long howl that sent rippling sound waves outward like water. He clenched his right hand suddenly, causing the sleeve of his arm to tear apart instantly, revealing a muscular arm filled with intricate veins that pulsed with immense energy—seemingly capable of shattering the void with just one punch.
"What's with the ghostly howling in the middle of the night? Can't anyone get some peace?" Long Xiao Wu, still tucked under the covers, was startled awake by Zhao Yang's long howl. After a moment of cursing, he settled back down to continue sleeping.
Zhao Yang released his True Qi, and his right arm returned to its smooth, jade-like appearance, resembling a delicate youth that one would want to approach.
Knock knock, there was a sound of knocking at the door. The scholar had just returned from the Fish Pond and hadn't even reached the courtyard when he heard Zhao Yang's howl. The howl contained a gentle yet powerful aura, leading him to believe that Zhao Yang had finally awakened after consolidating his cultivation for half a month.
"Scholar, come in," came Zhao Yang's voice from inside.
Scholar Xiu entered and was taken aback by Zhao Yang's appearance. His handsome face was now adorned with stubble, his hair was tousled, and he emanated an unpleasant odor. Unfazed, he got straight to the point: "Zhao Yang, you’re finally awake! For the past half month, I’ve been monitoring the Fish Pond every night. In the beginning, Shiyunsheng didn’t show up at all, but three nights ago, he reappeared. He even brought a package with him; I couldn’t see what was inside from afar, but I’m certain he scattered whatever was in that package into the Fish Pond."
"Feeding fish? Or feeding Jade Dragon?" Zhao Yang asked, puzzled.
"It was something glowing—some red and some yellow. I couldn’t see clearly from such a distance," Scholar Xiu added.
Zhao Yang inhaled sharply and murmured, "Could it be Essence Stones? Red and orange Essence Stones used to feed Jade Dragon? While it wouldn’t be wasteful per se, that’s quite extravagant. Is he trying to lure me into robbing him?"
Zhao Yang daydreamed about lying amidst piles of Essence Stones, drooling at the thought.
Scholar Xiu was exasperated by Zhao Yang's impractical thoughts and yawned before leaving him with his idiotic expression to return to his room for rest.
Once Scholar Xiu departed, Zhao Yang wiped away his drool and frowned at his own sour smell. He stepped outside and gazed at the pale sky, taking a deep breath as memories of his parents and sister flooded back. It had been nearly three months since he left; he wondered how they were doing now.
After finishing his bath, Zhao Yang looked into the dark murky water of the tub and felt speechless. He hadn’t expected to find so many toxins and impurities still lingering in his body. The Qi Refinement Stage required refining essence into Qi and expelling impurities to achieve a pure state. Thanks to Long Xiao Wu’s Destiny Pearl at the bottom of the Fish Pond and the dragon energy forcibly infused into him by the Giant Serpent, most of the impurities had been cleansed from his body. Now that he had consolidated his cultivation for another half month, he believed that any remaining impurities were nearly expelled as well.
Zhao Yang had now reached the eighth level of Qi Refinement Stage, just one step away from the final level. After half a month of consolidation, he had not experienced any adverse reactions from his rapid advancement. Being an active person, sitting still for half a month was unbearable for him. Now that he had reached the eighth level, aside from Shiyunsheng, the top of the Outer Sect, and his mysteriously-identified brother Long Xiao Wu, there seemed to be no rivals left in the Outer Sect. Thus, he decided to practice with something.
Zhao Yang took out the Stone Hammer, which he had never used before, from his hair using a technique of weight and balance. He swung it vigorously, recalling what his master had said before leaving—that there was a treasure hidden within the Stone Hammer that could only be accessed at the appropriate level. With nowhere to expend his energy, he felt restless and entertained the thought of breaking open the Stone Hammer ahead of time. He began to smash it randomly, causing all the birds in the back mountain to take flight in alarm.
“Earthquake! Earthquake!” Long Xiao Wu exclaimed sleepily as he jumped out of bed, clutching his blanket and rushing outside. Scholar Xiu, awakened by the commotion, hurried out as well, his eyes heavy with dark circles from weeks of sleepless nights.
The two were furious to see Zhao Yang wildly smashing in the courtyard, startling even the cattle and sheep in the back mountain. After a chaotic bout of smashing, Zhao Yang noticed that there were no signs of cracks on the Stone Hammer and felt puzzled.
“Didn’t my master say this hammer was just a random stone found on Buddha's Palm Mountain? How can it be this hard without even a single crack?”
Turning to see Long Xiao Wu and Scholar Xiu looking utterly worn out behind him, he shyly asked, “What are you two doing? Why are you staring at me like that? I don’t have flowers on my face.”
Unable to hold back any longer at Zhao Yang’s irritating expression, they rushed forward and tackled him to the ground. Long Xiao Wu then grabbed Zhao Yang’s Stone Hammer and brought it down on his head with a thud.
“Now it's settled,” Long Xiao Wu sighed in relief. He exchanged a silent high-five with Scholar Xiu before both returned to their respective rooms to sleep.
“Where did I find this Stone Hammer? It must weigh over ten thousand pounds. I just overexerted myself and now my back is hurting…” Long Xiao Wu thought grimly to himself.
Comment 0 Comment Count