by Dragon King
Both Zhao Guang and Zhao Hongyu were home. It seemed like they knew that Hao Ren and Zhao Yanzi would return since they had prepared dinner for them already.
As Zhao Guang predicted, the people from West Ocean Dragon Palace stayed two more days in East Ocean City and fought a small-scale battle with East Ocean Dragon Palace. They had at least 30 ‘practices’ with each other and ended with light injuries on three Elders from West Ocean and moderate injuries on seven Elders from East Ocean. By gaining the upper hand over the East Ocean, the West Ocean got the revenge they wanted.
Since Hao Ren and Zhao Yanzi were out of the city, they were not engaged in the fierce battle. Now, West Ocean had withdrawn their forces, and things began to settle down a bit.
“Ren, you can go with me to the Dragon Palace today. Now that you are on Kan-level, I think it’s necessary for you to choose a Natal Dharma Treasure as soon as possible,” sitting down at the dinner table, Zhao Guang said after a moment of consideration.Hundun means ‘primordial chaos and the nebulous state of the universe before heaven and earth separated’ in Chinese.
177 The Mysterious Daois
“Natal Dharma Treasure?” Hao Ren asked. He thought that he could only get Natal Dharma Treasures after reaching Zhen-level.
“Yes, Natal Dharma Treasure is the Dharma Treasure that would connect to your mind and spirit. Normally, you can keep it in your body, feed it your blood and cultivating its spirituality. In the end, you’ll be able to become one with your Natal Dharma Treasure,” Zhao Guang explained patiently.
“Isn’t it too early to talk about Natal Dharma Treasure right now?” Zhao Hongyu said worriedly.
“You’ve seen the situation now. West Ocean is forcing us out. If Ren doesn’t improve his strength quickly, he might be their major target,” Zhao Guang said.
“Natal Dharma Treasure will bond together with you for the good and the bad. Although it can help you to raise your power to a certain degree, it would be a threat too if a master gets a hold of your Natal Dharma Treasure. Isn’t it better for him to get to Zhen-level and have a steady foundation first before getting a Natal Dharma Treasure?” Zhao Hongyu asked.
“I think it’s more suitable for Ren to hurry up and refine a Natal Dharma Treasure now as West Ocean just left,” Zhao Guang said and turned to Hao Ren. “What’s your take on this?”
“Let’s go to the Dragon Palace and see,” Hao Ren said frankly. Premier Xia explained Dharma Treasure briefly before but didn’t mention anything about Natal Dharma Treasure.
Thinking of choosing a Dharma Treasure that would join his cultivation from now on, Hao Ren was still pretty excited.
“I’ll stay because I got a bunch of homework to do,” Zhao Yanzi said lightly.
Zhao Guang nodded. Hao Ren took Zi’s Dragon Core, and Zi was just like a healthier mortal being now. If she wanted to cultivate, she would have to wait until Hao Ren reaches a certain realm and completes the secret technique with Zhao Yanzi to return half of the mature Dragon Core to her.”
However, Zhao Yanzi didn’t put any effort into cultivation, and Zhao Guang never had high expectations for her. Therefore, he didn’t even allocate a Natal Dharma Treasure for her just in case that this item would become a burden for her if it got captured
After dinner, Zhao Yanzi went back to her room to study, and Zhao Hongyu followed her upstairs to tutor her. Zhao Hongyu thought that she occasionally had to care about Zhao Yanzi’s studies due to Zhao Yanzi’s Class Advisor’s last home visit.
The matter wasn’t urgent, so Zhao Guang drove Hao Ren to the beach. On the way there, the Father-In-Law and the Son-In-Law didn’t have that many conversations. Zhao Guang didn’t even ask about the two-day trip.
They arrived at the beach, went through the passage last time, crossed the bottom of the sea, and arrived at the Dragon Palace. Even though flying was convenient, there would be some inevitable inspections if Inspectors found out. Only when it was an emergency or when the weather reduced visibility, such as a thunderstorm, would the dragon cultivators be allowed to fly in the sky. This was a part of the regulations.
“Welcome Dragon King, welcome Fuma!” Premier Xia sensed the arrival of Zhao Guang and Hao Ren from the array formation and greeted them.
“Yes, have you organized the list of presents from last time?” Zhao Guang asked.
“I’ve already put it in the main palace for the Dragon King to look through,” Premier Xia said respectfully.
Zhao Guang nodded.
“I plan to have Ren choose a Natal Dharma Treasure, and I’ll leave that to you. I’ll check the altar for the Heavenly Tribulation. Come to see me if anything happens.”
After he finished speaking, Zhao Guang flew away.
“Natal Dharma Treasure…”
Premier Xia seemed to be surprised too. Then, he slightly bowed at Hao Ren and said, “Please follow me, Gongzi Hao.”
He met Hao Ren many times, and they weren’t as unfamiliar as before. He was closer to Hao Ren than Zhao Yanzi, and he was more inclined towards this ‘Fuma’.
Hao Ren thought that Premier Xia was bringing him to the Godly Treasure Palace to choose a Dharma Treasure, but Premier Xia led him to the southeast corner of the Dragon Palace.
There was a huge palace here, and there was a normal brick house beside it with a small garden.
Premier Xia stopped in front of the fence that circled the garden and yelled, “Grandmaster Qiu, are you in there?”
“Even with Premier Xia’s prestigious status in the East Ocean Dragon Palace, he has to stop at the entrance of this small garden. Who is the person living in this house?” Hao Ren couldn’t help but be curious about it.
Seeing no reactions from the inside, Premier Xia straightened his body and yelled again respectfully, “Grandmaster Qiu, are you in there?”
There was still no reaction. Premier Xia thought slightly and finally yelled again, “Grandmaster Qiu, are you in there?”
If it weren’t a request from the Dragon King, he wouldn’t dare to bother this influential figure! If they still didn’t get a reply after three tries, he could only bring Hao Ren back and report to the Dragon King!
The worn wooden door of the brick house was pulled open, and a little Daoist, dressed in green clothes, walked out; he looked like he was eight to nine years old.
“What’s up with the yelling? I’m taking a nap!”
Premier Xia shrunk his neck and smiled awkwardly, “Little Daoist Zhen, is your master here?”
“Nope! He went to travel the world!” this kid answered impatiently with an unfriendly attitude.
“When will he be back?” Premier Xia asked again.
“I don’t know!” the kid said before turning around and heading back to the house to continue his nap.
However, Premier Xia didn’t even dare to get angry. He could only force a smile and didn’t call the boy back. Seeing that this little Daoist was about to close the door, he turned to face Hao Ren with a sad expression.
“Eh?” Suddenly, the kid, who was about to close the door, got surprised. He walked out of the house, passed through the garden that had a lot of plants, and stood in front of Hao Ren and Premier Xia.
Hao Ren looked at this little Daoist at the same time and found that this kid actually looked like an eight or nine years old boy. He had a red dot on his forehead and was very good-looking.
“Five Elemental Body Type. Hmm, that’s kind of weird,” he circled around Hao Ren and murmured.
Premier Xia smiled as he stood aside and didn’t dare to interrupt.
“Hey, show me your cultivation technique,” this little Daoist went back to Hao Ren and said.
Hao Ren wasn’t happy with the attitude, but he thought that he shouldn’t hold a grudge against a little kid. Thus, he circulated the Nature Essence in his body using Light Splitting Sword Shadow Scroll and shot out five elemental sword lights over the small house.
After a crashing sound, five dashes of sword energies exploded, and the energ
y got bounced back with tremendous force. Premier Xia set up a defensive energy wall quickly in order to block the damage.
Obviously, powerful array formations were set up around the house.
“Oh.” This boy in green didn’t have a beard, but he still touched his chin pretentiously. “You’re cultivating the Light Splitting Sword Shadow Scroll,” he said.
Hao Ren was surprised because this kid could tell that he was cultivating an uncommon technique instantly, which meant that this kid was knowledgeable. He started to take this kid seriously.
“Are you here for the Natal Dharma Treasure?” this boy turned to look at Premier Xia and asked.
“Yes, yes,” Premier Xia nodded hastily.
“My master is not here, and I’m too lazy to do the work. But again, it doesn’t matter if one has or doesn’t have a Natal Dharma Treasure when he or she is cultivating the Light Splitting Sword Shadow Scroll,” the boy said proudly.
“How so?” Premier Xia asked right away.
“The Light Splitting Sword Shadow Scroll uses Nature Essence to cast sword energies. Even though this cultivation technique could host a Natal Dharma Treasure, it’s better off using the sword energies that are formless and weightless. They are capable of killing enemies from thousands of kilometers away, and they could also form sword formations. Wouldn’t it be extra to have a Natal Dharma Treasure in the body?” he squinted at Premier Xia and said.
“I see. I know now.” Premier Xia cupped his hands together slightly and replied. However, he thought in his mind, “If you don’t want to make us a Natal Dharma Treasure, why bother to say so much other stuff. He has the same weird temper as his master.”
Yet, Hao Ren suddenly had a feel of comprehension. In fact, this kid’s words were similar to his assumption. The Light Splitting Sword Shadow Scroll was to change formless sword energies into solid swords. If it could be further cultivated, the sword energies could reach the grade of ‘Tiangang’. Wouldn’t it be more powerful than any other Dharma Treasure?
“However, since you came, I shouldn’t waste your time.” this kid said. Even though he looked like a kid, he spoke like an old man. He stood on his tiptoe, reached his hand out, and pinched Hao Ren’s necklace.
“Okay, I’m going to take a nap. Don’t bother me if nothing happens in the future.” The kid waved his hand and returned to the house.
“Thank you very much, Little Daoist Zhen!” Premier Xia cupped his hands together and said respectfully.
Seeing the boy entering the house, Premier Xia turned to Hao Ren quickly and whispered, “What did he give you?”
Hao Ren lowered his head and looked at the necklace. “There doesn’t seem to be any changes.”
“Try inputting some Nature Essence,” Premier Xia said.
Hao Ren followed his instruction and suddenly made a discovery… This broken necklace suddenly had space within it! It was a space that was as big as a bedroom!
It was similar to a Dharma Treasure called Xumi Ring that could be used as a portable storage space. However, the space inside this necklace was now a few hundred times bigger than the space inside ordinary Xumi Ring!
Seeing the surprised expression on Hao Ren’s face, Premier Xia guessed that little Daoist Zhen had given Hao Ren something.
He smiled contently and said, “Finally, we didn’t come in vain! Gongzi Hao, let’s report to the Dragon King. I’ve tried my best, so please say something nice about me!”
Hao Ren nodded and followed Premier Xia. They left this corner and headed towards the direction of the main palace.
What Hao Ren was shocked about wasn’t just the large space inside his necklace. On top of that, that kid created a space in the necklace from a simple pinch of his fingers.
According to Premier Xia’s explanation from last time, spatial Dharma Treasures like Xumi Ring were the hardest to create!
Also, what was amazing was that the Dharma Spell needed to open this space was the Light Splitting Sword Shadow Scroll!
When that boy created the Dharma Treasure casually, he also changed the Dharma Spell of this Dharma Treasure into the phrases written on Hao Ren’s cultivation technique!
When he saw that Hao Ren was still in shock, Premier Xia laughed, “Gongzi Hao, you are very fortunate. This little Daoist Zhen has the same queer temper as his master and never easily gave away benefits. However, he made an exception and upgraded your Dharma Treasure for you!”
“Who is his master?” Thinking of Premier Xia’s respectful attitude in front of that kid, Hao Ren asked.
Premier Xia slowed down his pace. “The Godly Dragon has nine sons, and each of them is unique and different. His master is the elder son of the Godly Dragon who created heaven and earth, Qiu Niu!”
178 Resisting Heavenly Tribulation
“The son of the Godly Dragon who created this world…” Hao Ren immediately slowed down his steps as he was stunned.
“Since his seniority is so far beyond us that we could only address him as Grandmaster Qiu. He doesn’t involve himself in the business of the East Ocean. However, when he is in a good mood, he would toss out some defective items, and we’d pick them up for our collection,” Premier Xia said.
“Defective items… Collection…”
It meant that the shining advanced Dharma Treasures displayed in the Godly Treasure Palace were all items discarded by Grandmaster Qiu. This grandmaster found a quiet place in the East Ocean Dragon Palace to live, and he gave the Dragon Palace these ‘defective’ Dharma Treasures as a repayment. Because the most powerful Dharma Treasure Creator resided in East Ocean, the East Ocean had the largest number of top-tier Dharma Treasures among the four ocean Dragon Clans.
“Natal Dharma Treasures are quite different from ordinary ones. While the ordinary Dharma Treasures can be activated with a Dharma Spell, the Natal Dharma Treasures must be stored in the cultivator’s body and connected with the cultivator’s blood and meridians. Therefore, they need to be made with a special method. An ordinary cultivator can make ordinary Dharma Treasures as long as he or she has the materials and enough cultivation realm. However, Natal Dharma Treasures can only be made by special Dharma Treasure Creators since any minor issues in them would be fatal to the cultivators,” Premier Xia explained on the way.
Today, he took Hao Ren to the small house to try his luck. Usually, the Elders of East Ocean wouldn’t dare to trouble this ancient grandmaster, who could be counted as their ancestors, by asking him to make them Natal Dharma Treasures. However, since Hao Ren was the Fuma of East Ocean, and Grandmaster Qiu might make an exception for him. After all, it was an easy task for Grandmaster Qiu to make a Natal Dharma Treasure. Unfortunately, Grandmaster Qiu was not at home, and his disciple was too lazy to make it for Hao Ren. It was pretty much a useless trip.
“With Grandmaster Qiu’s help, Zhao Yanzi’s Third Uncle will pass the Heavenly Tribulation with ease, won’t he?” Hao Ren asked.
“Hehe, here is where you are wrong. For one thing, Grandmaster Qin is now traveling, and no one knows when he’ll be back. Also, even if he is now in the Dragon Palace, he won’t interfere with the Heavenly Tribulations. After all, when one reaches top-tier Qian-level, one must face the Heavenly Tribulation. If you pass it, you live. Otherwise, you die. It is one of the Natural Laws, and Grandmaster Qiu will never interfere with it.”
After a pause, Premier Xia continued, “Besides, if you are Grandmaster Qiu who has lived for tens of thousands of years, you wouldn’t care if a junior could pass the Heavenly Tribulation or not. If he did care, he would have been an extremely busy man in the past tens of thousands of years.”
Hao Ren nodded silently. Indeed, Zhao Kuo’s fate was essential to East Ocean. However, it was a trivial matter in the eyes of Grandmaster Qiu.
It meant that if a war broke out between the East Ocean and West Ocean and there were many casualties, it would seem like a child’s play to Grandmaster Qiu, and he won’t be caring enough to intervene.
Premier Xia and Hao Ren
returned to the main palace and didn’t see Zhao Guang. Knowing that he would be at the altar, Premier Xia took Hao Ren to find him there.
The altar was situated in the Northeast region of the Dragon Palace. Although Hao Ren had mentally prepared himself for it, he was astonished when he saw the altar.
As big as four official soccer fields, the altar was built with one piece of jade that was purer than white marble. There were many layers to it, and each layer was engraved with complicated patterns. On top of that, colorful crystals were inlaid in the essential locations, and the whole altar was magnificent!
Undoubtedly, the patterns engraved on the altar were, in fact, advanced array formations.
Judging from the great preparations the East Ocean Dragon Clan was making for Zhao Kuo’s Heavenly Tribulation, Hao Ren knew the event in half a month would be grand and breathtaking.
“How did it go?”
Zhao Guang was checking the last-minute details of the altar. When he saw Hao Ren and Premier Xia, he walked over and asked.
“Grandmaster Qiu is out, and only his disciple is in the house. However, little Daoist Zhen didn’t want to make a Natal Dharma Treasure for Fuma, and he said that Fuma didn’t need one with his cultivation technique,” Premier Xia answered.
“Well, we can’t force them if they are not willing to help.” Zhao Guang’s face fell.
Obviously, he also didn’t believe little Daoist Zhen’s words. The Natal Dharma Treasure would grow and level up with the cultivator; without it, the cultivator would be at a disadvantage if he or she encountered an opponent who had one. Besides, Zhao Guang had seen Hao Ren’s weak sword energies and knew that Hao Ren defeated Qin Shaoyang because he got the secret help from the Elders who were at the party.
“Uncle, I think that boy was right. If I can master the Light Splitting Sword Shadow Scroll, my sword energies could battle with Dharma Treasures. In the long run, it’s not good for me to have a Natal Dharma Treasure. Also, Premier Xia did his best,” seeing the worrisome expression on Zhao Guang’s face, Hao Ren tried to comfort him.
