by Dragon King
The golden shield saw Hao Ren at his cave entrance, and it immediately flew up above the spiritual field and turned in circles, pretending that it was protecting the spiritual herbs.
Hao Ren sighed; he wouldn’t say much since the golden shield had returned. After all, if the golden shield wanted to do something for him, it would be quite helpful.
“Gongzi!”
The Lu sisters were in their nearby cave. They felt Hao Ren’s aura in the valley, so they rushed out from their cave.
When they saw Hao Ren holding a loli who was wrapped in a blanket, they were a little shocked. Then, they saw two white ears sticking out of the loli’s black hair, so they realized that the loli was Little White after transformation. They immediately flew over to examine Little White.
Transforming into the human form without reaching level 10 or going through Heavenly Tribulation was quite rare.
Amongst the demon beasts, only the Heavenly Foxes were known to be able to transform into pretty girls before reaching level 10. However, they were extinct.
Even if they weren’t, Heavenly Foxes would still show signs of demonic essence after they transformed.
When Little White saw Lu Linlin and Lu Lili, she was a little scared. She probably remembered how the Lu sisters threatened to take her apart to make dharma treasures.
“Good, good…” The Lu sisters patted Little White’s head.
When the tens of snow lion cubs saw Little White, they all gathered over.
“Hao Ren! Uncle!”
Xie Yujia and Zhao Yanzi had cultivated throughout the night. When they felt the change in the valley, they came flying over from their caves.
The Ruyi Cloth that Xie Yujia was standing on was prettier and looked like a fluffy cloud, and the Purple Green Treasure Sword that Zhao Yanzi stepped on looked more dashing.
When they saw the loli in Hao Ren’s arms turning into a snow lion, they were both excited and shocked.
The golden shield had spun in the sky for a long time, but no one paid attention to it. It only had the choice of flying over to Hao Ren slowly.
After one night, the nature essence intensity in the valley had decreased by a lot compared to when the Soul Formation Realm cultivators were setting up the array formation. However, it was still higher than the average nature essence intensity of Fifth Heaven and on par with Sixth Heaven.
With Hao Ren’s status, they could even find a place to settle on Seventh Heaven. However, they had gotten used to Ethereal Summit, and Seventh Heaven was rather far from land. Also, Seventh Heaven was more disconnected to the outside world, so it would be more inconvenient going in and out. That was why Hao Ren didn’t consider moving.
“Little shield…” Xie Yujia put away her Ruyi Cloth and waved at the golden shield when she saw it flying over.
Finally, someone gave some attention to the golden shield, so it immediately flew into the palm of Xie Yujia with gratitude.
Xie Yujia initiated her Life-Death Notes and used her Ruyi Cloth to wipe the golden shield’s body, and it had forgotten about the discontent yesterday entirely and enjoyed Xie Yujia’s rubbing.
“Little White, you can transform!?” Zhao Yanzi poked Little White’s stomach and asked with astonishment.
Little White was rolling on the grass, and it was unwilling to transform into her loli form. Hao Ren looked down and knew that it was just trying to pretend to be cute as usual.
Unless a demon beast reached the true transformation Realm, it would still be very different from humans. Little White was only able to turn into a loli and able to speak some simple sentences. This did not mean that she was able to cultivate in her human form.
However, Little White had reached new heights in her ability to be cute, but that was not effective toward Hao Ren.
If Little White jumped at Hao Ren, the latter would just push her away.
“We still have school; let’s go back,” Hao Ren said as he pointed at the sky that was already bright.
Xie Yujia ran toward the spiritual field, and she carefully examined the Seven-Core Five-Color Lotus that had sprouted for two centimeters. She looked incredibly satisfied.
The array formation around the spiritual field enabled it to absorb the nature essence on Fifth Heaven and nurture the level 6 spiritual herbs around the Seven-Core Five-Color Lotus and the Seven-Core Five-Color Lotus itself.
“It probably still needs a few more days to mature,” Xie Yujia said happily after she ran back to Hao Ren. Now that she was at the Core Formation Realm, her elegance improved, and her skin was even smoother.
Hao Ren nodded with a smile; they had done everything to prepare for this moment. They could only patiently wait for the Seven-Core Five-Color Lotus to grow. Even if there were no array formation protecting Ethereal Summit, no one would dare to trespass.
“Little shield!” Hao Ren shouted.
The golden shield flew up from Xie Yujia’s hand and got in front of Hao Ren.
Hao Ren jumped up and stood on top of the golden shield. Hao Ren now knew that Little White was female, so he felt like he shouldn’t ‘bully’ her or sit on her back even though her appearance couldn’t trick him.
Little White knew what she should do. She transformed into her large snow lion form and moved to carry Xie Yujia, Zhao Yanzi, and the Lu sisters on its back.
She was still Hao Ren’s spirit beast; transforming into a loli was only one of her abilities. Only when she passed the Heavenly Tribulation could she really reach the Transformation Realm and have real intelligence.
“You guys go back first! I’m going to go to the Dragon God Shrine for a bit!”
Hao Ren lightly tapped the golden shield, and they separated with Little White an the girls after flying out of Fifth Heaven.
738 The Cultivation Library
The golden shield carried Hao Ren to the Dragon God Shrine, drawing out a golden line in the sky on its way. It had absorbed every ounce of godly light that was shot out by the five Soul Formation Realm cultivators.
It had reached its maximum unless it went through another Heavenly Tribulation. If it did that, it would become a Nature Godly Treasure.
Compared to the Ancient Godly Items, the Nature Spiritual Treasures, Nature Celestial Treasures, and Nature Godly Treasures were all treasures that had cultivated on their own. All these treasures had been through Heavenly Tribulation, maybe once, twice, or three times.
Ancient Godly Items were synchronized with nature and were the ultimate treasures. Just like how no one could own the world, no one could truly become the owner of an Ancient Godly Item.
That was why the best treasure that a cultivator could have was a treasure that had been through Heavenly Tribulation three times. However, there was only one such treasure, and it was in the Dragon God Shrine.
Hao Ren had never seen this godly treasure, so he didn’t know how powerful it was. In the world of cultivation, being the oldest didn’t mean it was the most powerful. Disciples may one day defeat their masters, so it was hard to tell the real strengths between treasures.
There were ten Ancient Godly Items in the Nine Dragon Palace, but there was only one Nature Godly Treasure in this world.
That godly treasure in the Dragon God Shrine might not be weaker than the Ancient Godly Items. However, the godly treasure was newer and thus of a younger status than the Ancient Godly Items.
While Hao Ren thought about all that, the golden shield arrived at the Dragon God Shrine.
The Dragon God Shrine was made of black stones, and it was like a miniature version of the Origin Dragon Grand Palace. It was a huge square with a pointed tower on the top.
Hao Ren jumped onto the platform which the Dragon God Shrine was on and showed his inspector’s token before going in. The golden shield floated on Hao Ren’s right side; it was more tamed in the Dragon God Shrine.
The administrative duties of East Ocean City were left to Su Han to deal with. Hao Ren was only a regional inspector by name, and his main responsibility was t
o keep an eye on the young cultivators there, something that Su Han didn’t like doing.
The Dragon God Shrine had a high nature essence intensity. When one looked up to the high ceiling, they would sense the power and authority of this place.
The stairs swirled up to the ceiling, and along each floor were different rooms and hallways in all directions.
The cultivators were not allowed to fly in the Dragon God Shrine regardless of what level they were at. They had to also wear their inspector silk robe and walked around.
When Hao Ren first came into the Dragon God Shrine, he was stunned by the scene.
With Hao Ren’s level 4 status, the only place that he couldn’t access was the top floor which was the area specifically for the Deputy Shrine Masters and Shrine Master. Other than that, he could walk freely in the Dragon God Shrine.
Hao Ren went to the East Ocean City’s inspector room to rest and change into his black robe.
Su Han was still in the Demon Sea. There were still a few sets of Su Han’s clothes in the bedroom.
Hao Ren sat on the cold jade bed to relax a bit. Then, he cultivated using the Light Splitting Sword Shadow Scroll for ten circulations. After that, he practiced the Mystic Water Sword Techniques in his mind once.
The cold jade bed was extremely chilly, so one needed to be cultivating to keep warm while sitting on it. However, due to the coldness, one’s cultivation strength would increase faster.
However, Hao Ren still thought that this cold jade bed was better suited for Su Han’s cultivation technique.
Buzz! Hao Ren retrieved all the sword energies in the room and left.
He had come to the Dragon God Shrine this time because he wanted to search up some techniques to supplement the Mystic Water Sword Techniques. He had been practicing it last night but still couldn’t figure some of the variations out.
When Zhao Haoran first got this set of sword techniques, he probably spent a lot of time on understanding it. However, since everyone’s learning capabilities were different, what Zhao Haoran comprehended was not necessarily right. That was why when he gave this set of sword techniques to Hao Ren, he didn’t give any reference materials.
Also, Hao Ren had to prepare to plant the mystic crystal in his dragon core. The Dragon God Shrine was the central management office for the Dragon Tribe, so there were many Qian-level and Kun-level dragon cultivators working there. Therefore, there should be more resources regarding mystic crystals.
The golden shield had now shrunk to the size of a button, sticking onto Hao Ren’s collar. Hao Ren looked quite sharp with the golden accessory on his black robe.
There were different lounges for different leveled inspectors.
In these lounges were some recent journals and news, and there were also comfortable seats, creating a cozy environment. The inspectors could chat with each other and get up-to-date.
The Dragon God Shrine’s library was on the third floor, and only those on and above level 2 were allowed in.
Some cultivation techniques required contribution points to purchase while general information was free to read.
Dragon cultivators fought very hard to become an inspector, and one reason was that there were all sorts of resources which they could use; even some of the larger dragon clans didn’t have such an extensive library. These free cultivation materials were already fantastic to them, let alone the techniques that had to be purchased by contribution points; they were better than almost all the cultivation techniques stored at the various dragon palaces.
Right now, Hao Ren wasn’t searching for a specific cultivation technique, so he didn’t need contribution points to read up on the basic sword techniques. Also, he wanted to get more information on planting the mystic crystal.
Buzz!
The gate of the library on the third-floor sensed Hao Ren’s token by his waist, and it opened automatically.
The library was enormous with black stones covering all sides. It was a closed-off environment, and the bookshelves were so large that it went up all the way to the ceiling of the Dragon God Shrine. Since it was so tall, one wouldn’t feel suppressed in it. The black stones also reflected light, so the library was well-lit.
Inspectors in black robes walked around the room; everyone was very prudent and careful not to make noise.
Hao Ren had been to the Dragon God Shrine and had passed by the library, yet this was his first time in here since he didn’t have time before.
The Dragon God Shrine had a square base and a tower on top, making the base was larger than the top. The library occupied a lot of space on the third floor, so there was a lot of resources stored here.
As long as one got promoted to level 2 inspector, they would immediately have access to the immense library. This was the main reason why level 1 inspectors tended to actively complete missions.
There were dozens of level 2 inspectors in black robes at the gate. When they saw the four-claw golden dragon embroidered on Hao Ren’s black robe, they all moved aside and created a path for him to go through.
The library was circular and wrapped around the central staircase, but not every area was accessible to everyone. Just like how there were different access clearance in the Dragon God Shrine, there were some areas in the library that were accessible to higher ranking inspectors.
Hao Ren walked through a light blue array formation and entered the level 3 inspector zone. When the level 3 inspectors saw Hao Ren, they also cleared out a path.
Then, Hao Ren went through a light red array formation to enter the level 4 inspector area. This area was not big, and there were only two inspectors there.
Without a doubt, the materials in the level 4 area were rarer and more confidential than that of level 3 and level 2 areas.
Hao Ren didn’t pay attention to the stares of the other two level 4 inspectors. He just minded his own business and took out six books on sword techniques before sitting down in a chair by the wall and reading.
These few books all talked about advanced theories of sword techniques. Hao Ren had practiced the Mystic Water Sword Techniques, so he understood these books quickly. Even Su Han wasn’t as good as him if it were strictly talking about sword comprehension.
In fact, the Light Splitting Sword Shadow Scroll was also a sword technique. It was more advanced than single-sword technique and dual-sword techniques; it was a 10,000-sword technique.
Hao Ren was only lacking a firm foundation. He was like someone who knew martial arts but never went through structural training. That was why he needed to think through his techniques and sort them out in order.
Suddenly, Hao Ren seemed to have solved the problems that were preventing him from fully comprehending the Mystic Water Sword Techniques.
The two level 4 inspectors who were reading sensed a cold breeze appear behind Hao Ren as if an ordinary martial arts master opened his Ren and Du Meridians. Nature essence started to come out of Hao Ren’s back rapidly.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Sword energies flew in the air.
The two level 4 inspectors couldn’t even follow the sword energies that were flying around.
“What in the world is this sword technique?” they thought.
They couldn’t sense a large amount of nature essence, but sword energies were flying in all directions.
The sword energies did not contain any nature essence, but Hao Ren felt the immense amount of nature essence in his body.
When Hao Ren practiced the 12th strike of the Mystic Water Sword Techniques, he was able to reach the level of internal movements and external tranquility with the nature essence in his body! However, no matter how hard Hao Ren tried, he couldn’t use the 13th strike.
Bam!
Suddenly, the sword energies shattered in the air.
The nature essence inside Hao Ren was boiling and spreading throughout his body. It seemed like steam was coming out of the openings in his dragon core.
Hao Ren was able to feel the changes in his body, and this w
as what the other two Qian-level inspectors weren’t able to detect.
“If I have the mystic crystal and can use the Mystic Water Sword Techniques to activate my dragon core continuously, I should be able to break through.” Hao Ren thought as he carefully calculated what to do before he put back the books on sword techniques onto the shelf.
After that, he took out books on the mystic crystals.
When the two inspectors saw Hao Ren reading about mystic crystals, they were shocked since they didn’t expect Hao Ren not to have a mystic crystal even though he was already at mid-tier Xun-level!
There were five layers of array formation in the library, level 1, level 2, level 3, level 4, and shrine masters. If Hao Ren went over by two more shelves, he would reach a black array formation which would stop him.
The area in the black array formation was restricted to the Deputy Shrine Masters and the Shrine Master.
Hao Ren stared at the black array formation and thought for a few seconds. Then, he walked over to his chair to read the books on mystic crystals, but the black array formation suddenly moved.
Boom! Boom! Boom! The Dragon God Shrine suddenly shook violently.
The other two level 4 inspectors looked at each other with terror in their eyes.
Whoosh!
A figure that had golden lights flashing around him flew out of the library and dashed through the black array formation.
739 You Want to Catch Me?!
“Sh*t! There are more traps!”
The golden figure suddenly cursed when he dashed out of the black array formation.
The two level 4 inspectors didn’t expect someone to pop out from the area that was restricted to the Deputy Shrine Masters and the Shrine Master. They didn’t dare to stop whoever or whatever it was.
Hao Ren was shocked for a bit but quickly realized that it was Zhen Congming.
While Hao Ren was in shock, Zhen Congming came charging through the two layers of array formations and out toward the library gate. There was a golden light shining on him.
The third-floor library of the Dragon God Shrine was a closed-off space. Not only did one have to cross the array formations, but there were also defensive array formations and black stones that blocked off pathways. Even Qian-level and Kun-level cultivators couldn’t get through this library in other ways.
