by Dragon King
The ice-cold red demonic core contained a trace of fire elements, so it could help Little White a lot.
Gulp!
Little White opened its mouth wide and devoured the demonic core, so eager that it almost ate Hao Ren’s hand.
While Little White swallowed the demonic core, a thought occurred to Hao Ren, “Level 10 demon beasts are close to the Transformation Realm, but a Bin-level demon beast’s top level is only about level 6. Little White might transform into a human after eating this demonic core…”
Grumble… With a noise coming from its belly, Little White shook its tail and continued to fly with no sign of discomfort.
It seemed that this demonic core’s elemental attribute suited Little White, but Little White would need time to absorb the demonic essence.
If that level 10 demon beast was still alive and fought with Little White for the demonic core, Little White would have exploded if it swallowed that level 10 demonic core when it was only a level 4 demon beast. However, since that demon beast was dead, and its demonic soul was destroyed, Little White just took the demonic core as a big elixir pill, and it could absorb the demonic core little by little.
“Hu…” After eating the demonic core, Little White flew faster than before. Since the demonic core’s power wasn’t in effect yet, Little White’s acceleration showed that it hadn’t tried its best at flying.
“Bad dog…” Hao Ren pulled at its ear.
Little White and the golden shield were a perfect pair since they were both lazy.
When they got close to Kunlun Mountain, Hao Ren detoured. Although Kunlun Mountain was not as big as the Demon Sea, the Soul Formation Realm cultivators in there were tough to deal with.
After flying for a long distance, Hao Ren took out the inspector’s token to pass the array formation before arriving at the gate of the Dragon God Shrine.
The black Dragon God Shrine looked the same as before. After leaving Little White at the gate, Hao Ren walked into the Dragon God Shrine.
With his level 3 inspector’s token, he was greeted by the level 1 and level 2 inspectors on the way.
In the Inspector System of the Dragon God Shrine, the relationship between the different level inspectors was very formal.
Entering the small room in the grand hall, Hao Ren saw a level 2 inspector looking through the mission booklet. When he saw Hao Ren’s level 3 inspector token, he backed away respectfully.
“Elder, I’m here to report the completion of my mission.” Hao Ren placed the Penglai Immortal Token on the table and said politely, “I’ve delivered the object to Penglai Island successfully.”
“Oh?” Elder Luo who had been making a list looked up in surprise and picked up the round golden token from the table before staring at it for a while.
“You didn’t disappoint us. Now, I’ll put 600 contribution points under your name.” Elder Luo took out the name list and wrote 600 under Hao Ren’s name.
“Then… Can I go trade for something?” Hao Ren asked.
The golden shield had had its eye on some objects in the warehouse of the Dragon God Shrine. Hao Ren had come here in a hurry since he was afraid that other inspectors would take them.
“Of course.” Elder Luo stood up with a smile and led Hao Ren into the underground warehouse.
Each of the treasures had its price written in contribution points below.
“You can register the things that you choose when you’re done.” Elder Luo bowed to Hao Ren slightly and walked out of the warehouse.
In fact, Hao Ren didn’t want Elder Luo to walk with him. After Elder Luo was gone, he released the golden shield from his necklace and said, “Little shield, it’s all you!”
In theory, all these treasures could be taken and hidden in his necklace, but the Dragon God Shrine had its ways to make sure that the treasures couldn’t be stolen.
Any of the treasures here would make the low-level cultivators green with envy, and that was why so many young cultivators attended the general exams of the Dragon God Shrine, hoping to become an inspector.
The golden shield flew from Hao Ren’s hand and began to sweep across the shelves.
Ignoring the rare elixir pills and dharma treasures, it turned to one corner and hovered above a white cloth.
The white cloth was on the lowest shelf. If not for the price tag of 60 below it, Hao Ren would have thought it was a rag for cleaning the shelves.
Everything in the warehouse was expensive since they generally cost above 100 contribution points. However, each mission usually was worth 40 to 50 contribution points, and only those dangerous missions were rewarded with 80 to 90 contribution points.
In short, it was quite difficult to trade for one treasure with only one mission. Only after completing two to three missions could an inspector choose a powerful dharma treasure or a special cultivation technique.
The white cloth looked like it didn’t have any nature essence, and no one knew its functions. That was why no sane inspector would trade this object with the contribution points they earned at the risk of their lives. After all, 60 contribution points wasn’t a low price.
“Little shield, are you sure?” Hao Ren asked it.
It was hard to tell if the golden shield understood Hao Ren’s words, but it hovered above the white cloth.
Hao Ren trusted the judgment of the golden shield which had elevated to a higher level and was quite sensitive to spirit properties.
After Hao Ren took the white cloth, the golden shield floated away in satisfaction toward a shelve in the front.
This time, it stopped before an old, used glove. Without hesitation, Hao Ren took it as well. This glove cost 80 contribution points. Even though it cost a lot, and even the appraisers of the Dragon God Shrine couldn’t determine its functionality, it must be unique in some way since these rare and unidentifiable items must have been dug out from some ancient ruins and tombs by inspectors.
One old rag and a broken glove had cost Hao Ren 140 contribution points. The golden shield spun around to continue its search, but Hao Ren ignored it and walked directly to a shelve that he had noticed the last time, picking up a red jade thumb ring which cost 450 contribution points.
The objects on this shelf were all radiant with abundant nature essence, and each of them cost more than 400 contribution points.
In the warehouse, several other inspectors were selecting treasures, and some of them were level 4 inspectors.
They looked surprised when they saw Hao Ren picking up the red jade thumb ring which cost 450 contribution points. Hao Ren was only a young man with a realm of top-tier Dui-level, but he had accumulated over 400 contribution points!
They didn’t know that Hao Ren had earned 600 contribution points with one mission! It was extremely dangerous to deliver things to the Demon Sea, and few people could accomplish it. That was why the reward was so high!
Spinning fast in front of Hao Ren and releasing layers of golden light, the golden shield seemed to be asking Hao Ren to choose some other objects.
However, Hao Ren wasn’t too greedy. The golden shield had had its eyes on a blue elixir pill and a piece of black mineral which were probably very valuable, but Hao Ren had no use for them right now.
After taking the red jade thumb ring, the white cloth, and the broken glove, he had only 10 contribution points left. Since he couldn’t take anything else, Hao Ren walked out of the warehouse.
Then, the golden shield followed Hao Ren out of the warehouse.
The other inspectors looked astonished when they saw that the ugly round disk was a supreme spiritual treasure!
“That guy is Hao Ren. He is the East Ocean cultivator who defeated the official inspector Qin Shaoyang in this year’s general exams.”
“His realm grew so fast! He’s indeed a genius!”
Oblivious to their talks, Hao Ren walked out and showed the objects to Elder Luo for registration.
He had spent almost all of the 600 contribution points in one go. If he wanted
to make use of the remaining 10 contribution points, he would have to take on more missions, but he didn’t have time right now.
“Please wait a minute!” When Hao Ren put away the things and was about to leave the small room, Elder Luo called out hurriedly, “The Shrine Master wants to see you.”
677 People Have Different Ambitions
“The Shrine Master?”
Hao Ren stopped and looked back at Elder Luo in surprise.
“Inspector Hao, please follow me.” Elder Luo stood up and led Hao Ren out of the small room.
The Shrine Master and Deputy Shrine Maters’ cultivation rooms were on the top floor of the Dragon God Shrine, higher than the rooms of the level 4 inspectors.
As a level 3 inspector, Hao Ren wasn’t supposed to enter the area for the level 4 inspectors, but he met no obstacles with Elder Luo leading the way
As an administrator responsible for the registration, Elder Luo had been a senior member in the Dragon God Shrine ever since the establishment of the organization, which was why he could move in the place freely.
The higher they went, the more abundant the nature essence was.
Having returned from Demon Sea, Hao Ren wasn’t astonished at the great nature essence intensity.
It was extraordinary that the nature essence intensity on the top floor of the Dragon God Shrine was almost half of that of the inner area of the Demon Sea. The nature essence intensity was much more abundant than Sixth Heaven, and no other place on land had the same amount of nature essence as this place.
Elder Luo ushered Hao Ren to the entrance of the top floor and backed out deferentially, asking Hao Ren to go in by himself.
“Thank you, Elder.” Hao Ren watched Elder Luo walk down the stairs before turning and walking down the corridor.
Built with black rocks, the Dragon God Shrine looked very grave. Walking in it, he saw no light from outside, which meant that no nature essence could leak out. It was like a huge cave with many cave rooms.
Hao Ren walked straight to the big stone door furthest to him. Counting the rooms on both sides, he found that there were nine of them which should belong to the nine deputy shrine masters.
Hao Ren placed his token into the dent in front of the stone door, and it opened automatically.
In the big dim room, there were nine armchairs set on both sides, and nine cultivators sat in them. Yue Zilong sat in the third chair on the right, wearing a black robe with a lively five-clawed golden dragon embroidered on the shoulder.
Hao Ren had never met the remaining eight cultivators before and couldn’t sense their realms or even their elemental attributes.
Among the nine deputy shrine masters of the Dragon God Shrine, it’s said that three had reached the pinnacle stage of the Qian Level and Hao Ren thought the remaining six must have been at the top-grade of the Qian Level.
On both sides of the room, six bright pearls emitted white light.
Before the stone wall at the back of the room sat a man with a broad back. Instead of facing Hao Ren, he faced the black and cold stone wall.
On the stone wall were two characters, ‘Heaven’ and ‘Earth’. The characters were so magnificent that Hao Ren felt moved when he looked at them.
“You…are Hao Ren?” the man facing the stone wall said abruptly.
“Yes,” Hao Ren answered as he stood in the middle of the secret chamber.
With the dim light from the bright pearls inlaid in the walls, the nine deputy shrine masters were in the shadows. Vaguely, Hao Ren recognized Yue Zilong, but he couldn’t clearly see the faces of the other deputy shrine masters except for their different shadows.
“You can keep this Penglai Immortal Token.” A golden round token rose from the Shrine Master and floated toward Hao Ren.
Hao Ren took the golden token and placed it into his necklace.
The nine deputy shrine masters in the secret chamber looked at Hao Ren in a new light. Yue Zilong was especially surprised that Hao Ren could return from his trip to the Demon Sea within half a day.
He knew Hao Ren had connections with Lady Zhen, but there were other big demon kings in the Demon Sea besides her, and they probably wouldn’t spare Hao Ren for her, which made Hao Ren’s trip into the Demon Sea very risky since he was only at Dui-level.
If no inspector took this mission, one of the deputy shrine masters or the Shrine Master would have to make the trip personally, but they would feel shameful in front of Zhen Yuan Zi.
As an inspector, Hao Ren had won respect for the Dragon God Shrine by venturing into the Demon Sea and delivering the elixir pills to Zhen Yuan Zi, showing that despite the dangers in the Demon Sea, the Dragon God Shrine still could send people in there and back safely.
“Did the Penglai Island Master let you go easily?” The Shrine Master asked again.
“He set up a Seven Killing Array, and I broke it with luck,” Hao Ren said.
Hearing Hao Ren’s words, the nine deputy shrine masters who were sitting in the armchairs shook slightly.
They knew the eccentric temperament of Zhen Yuan Zi who would test the strength of the inspector from the Dragon God Shrine, but they were astonished that he used the most powerful Seven Killing Array.
More amazingly, Hao Ren had broken the array formation!
“Very good. Very good…” The Shrine Master nodded with satisfaction while facing the wall.
By delivering the elixir pills, Hao Ren had gone into the Penglai Island in the Demon Sea as an envoy. The more powerful Hao Ren was, the higher Zhen Yuan Zi thought of the Dragon God Shrine.
It showed that the Dragon God Shrine was full of masters since a Dui-level cultivator could venture into the Demon Sea!
Of course, these deputy shrine masters thought Hao Ren had returned immediately from his mission, not knowing that he had attracted the attention of the big demon kings under the sea and almost caused a war among them!
“Since you accomplished this impossible mission, you are qualified for rewards. Besides the contribution points, you will get a promotion from a level 3 inspector to a level 4 inspector,” the Shrine Master continued.
The nine deputy shrine masters were a bit surprised. After all, Hao Ren had become a level 3 inspector directly after the general exams. Then, in less than two months, he was promoted to a level 4 inspector. It was a rocket-fast promotion!
In the history of the Dragon God Shrine, only Su Han had the fastest promotions. When Su Han entered, she was already a Kun-level cultivator. Then, she had quickly become a Qian-level master. She hadn’t been punished for any mistakes except the war between East Ocean and the West Ocean.
Now that Hao Ren had become a level 4 inspector, he was one level higher than Su Han, becoming her boss instead of her assistant.
“Zilong, do you guys have any objections?” the Shrine Master asked.
“Hao Ren is the first inspector who could venture into the inner area of the Demon Sea and return safely. With his courage and intelligence, he is qualified to be a level 4 inspector,” Yue Zilong said.
The other deputy shrine masters didn’t have any objections either.
Since the Shrine Master wanted to keep Hao Ren close, and they could even give him a couple of powerful treasures, let alone promoting him to a level 4 inspector.
“Since you have no objections, change his token, Zilong,” the Shrine Master said.
Yue Zilong raised his hand slightly, and the black token in Hao Ren’s hand was taken suddenly before a new token appeared in his hand in the next instant. This new black token had a golden edge and a four-clawed gold dragon engraved on it.
The promotion to level 4 usually required the approval of the Shrine Master and all nine deputy shrine masters after the candidate passed strength tests. However, Hao Ren’s promotion was proposed by the Shrine Master and approved by the nine deputy shrine masters instantly, making it the quickest promotion in the history of the organization.
Before he could react, Hao Ren had suddenly become one of the level 4 ins
pectors and the only level 4 inspector who was lower than Qian-level or Kun-level.
“You guys are free to go, and I want to talk to him in private,” the Shrine Master facing the wall said suddenly.
The nine deputy shrine masters all stood up and walked past Hao Ren out of the secret chamber.
Hao Ren couldn’t feel any nature energy from them, showing that the nine deputy shrine masters’ stealth techniques had reached a great level!
With their strengths and the aids of dharma treasures, they could sweep across the Demon Sea without being noticed by the demon beasts and the demon kings.
The stone door closed slowly, leaving Hao Ren and the Shrine Master alone in the room.
Thinking that the Shrine Master would turn around, Hao Ren was expecting to have a look at his face.
However, the Shrine Master still kept his face toward the stone wall, only releasing waves of nature essence.
“I see you have the Immortal Physique; your cultivation speed must be very fast. Did Zhen Yuan Zi ask you to be his disciple?” the Shrine Master asked.
“He did. But after I broke his Seven Killing Array Formation, he didn’t mention it again,” Hao Ren answered.
“Zhen Yuan Zi is the leader of all Earthly Immortals, and his Immortal Fruit can increase one’s cultivation strength by 1,000 years. If you want to progress fast, I’m willing to take you as my disciple,” the Shrine Master said.
Hao Ren looked at the Shrine Master’s back and hesitated.
Governing the Dragon God Shrine, the Shrine Master was almost the overlord of the Dragon Tribe. If Hao Ren became the Shrine Master’s disciple, he would almost become the second most powerful person in the Dragon Tribe.
“Thank you for your kindness, Shrine Master. However, I can’t accept,” Hao Ren said after some consideration.
If he became the disciple of the Shrine Master, he might be able to take whatever treasures he wanted from the warehouse of the Dragon God Shrine, and the nine deputy shrine masters would try their best to tutor him in cultivation. However, Hao Ren didn’t want to get too close to the Dragon God Shrine.
