Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
From his quick conversation with Dugu Mo, Ling Yun had swiftly analyzed several key details.
First, the ancient martial lineages and secluded sects were already aware that the Emperor Brush had already come into the world and was specifically in Qingshui City. They definitely had their own channels and special secret techniques to determine this.
Secondly, considering that the Chinese legend had already predicted that the Emperor Brush and Earth Emperor’s Book would be born, it was highly likely that the legend concerning the birth of the Earth Emperor’s Book in Qingshui City was true. It was all the more likely because the Emperor Brush in question was in his spatial ring.
Finally, the emergence of Waterspout, the huge thunderstorm, and the mysterious Crater had all occurred within a day after the Emperor Brush had acknowledged Ling Yun as its master. In that case, the most precious treasure in the Yin Yang Dragon Lock Spell was very likely to be the Earth Emperor’s Book.
If the People’s Emperor was Fuxi, then who was the Earth Emperor? According to the ancient legends in Ling Yun’s research, there were many different interpretations of who were the Heavenly Emperor, Earth Emperor, and People’s Emperor. However, people were more inclined to believe that Shennong was the Earth Emperor.
Could it be that the Yin Yang Dragon Lock Spell which concealed the aura of Dao was set up by Shennong? The Emperor Brush had the sharpest edge on earth and was unbreakable. If so, what sort of unimaginable ability did the Earth Emperor’s Book possess?
Countless thoughts flashed through Ling Yun’s mind in an instant, but his face maintained the same nonchalant expression. The corners of his mouth curled upwards slightly. He shook his head indifferently and laughed. “That’s merely a legend, but you all treat it as though it’s the truth. How ridiculous!”
In the darkness, Dugu Mo’s body stood erect. With a sword in hand, he was guarding against a sudden attack from the giant “dragon”. Letting out a small smile, he pointed his chin at the giant “dragon” and remarked gravely, “Legend? Chinese legends might be regarded as myths in the eyes of ordinary people, but take a look at this giant python. Have you seen such a huge python before? From the looks of it, it is even bigger than the legendary dragon. How do you explain this?”
Ling Yun laughed inwardly and gazed at the giant “dragon” which stood majestically and arrogantly upright. It was definitely more than a giant python!
However, after a long period of observation, Ling Yun was able to tell that it could not be considered as a true “dragon”. Although it had already met the standard body measurements of a transformed “dragon”, it was still lacking horns on its head.
Ling Yun observantly noted that there were two protrusions on top of the giant “dragon’s” head. However, they were merely protrusions and did not even reveal the slightest tip of a horn. The creature had occupied the area around the dragon’s saliva. It was possible that it had reached a critical moment in the transformation phase. Perhaps it was waiting for an opportunity to devour the dragon’s saliva and complete its transformation into a “dragon”.
“What a pity. With so many experts around here, it’ll be hard for this giant ‘dragon’ to fulfill its desires…” Ling Yun secretly felt sorry for it.
At the same time, Ling Yun perceived a fact which surprised him greatly. Even though there was such an intense concentration of spiritual energy because of the dragon’s saliva, he sensed that his body had not been filled yet despite consciously loosening it to absorb the spiritual energy a long time ago!
*After attaining the fourth level of cultivation, to what extent have my energy center and meridians expanded? According to hearsay, it should only be double that of the third level of cultivation. Even if I cultivated the second realm of the Stellar Condensation Technique, it should only be doubled again. How is that they haven’t filled up despite absorbing so much spiritual energy? *
Actually, Ling Yun’s current body was not simply absorbing spiritual energy. It was doing so at a faster rate! It was unimaginably faster than when he had been at the peak of Physique Tempering Stage Level Three!
*What exactly is happening inside my body? It’s a pity that I’m unable to peek inside. If I were able to, I would be able to know the changes that have happened to me! *
Ling Yun certainly did not know, but the spiritual energy within his body had already been divided into five colours. The spiritual energy at the top of his body was green, while the area between his eyebrows had a pale golden spiritual energy. The spiritual energy within his energy center was both black and white, while a pale golden spiritual energy had combined with the golden Dragon Spiritual Energy to form an outline of a dragon!
Harnessing the spiritual energies from the Tribulation Stage, Emperor Brush, Yin Yang Dragon Lock Spell, and the Dragon Spiritual Energy, he had cultivated the Yin-Yang harmony balance. The extent of luxury seemed to run contrary to the way of the heavens!
Therefore, Ling Yun’s current capabilities were unimaginably greater than what he had attained at the Cultivation World even though he had similarly been at the fourth level of cultivation then.
“Eh… there is actually a two-tailed fox which is even white. What a beautiful fox…”
At this time, Dugu Mo stared at Little White beside Ling Yun as though he had just discovered the New World. His eyes were shining. He had an expression of surprise as he made the remark.
When Little White saw the expression on Dugu Mo’s face, she cast a cold glance at him. In a flash, the white shadow hid behind Ling Yun.
Ling Yun curled his lips in contempt and ignored Dugu Mo. He was still staring at the changes on scene and was contemplating how he could capitalize on the chaos to obtain the dragon’s saliva.
Although the giant “dragon” was highly ferocious and had used its upper body and tail to sweep the area violently, the twenty meter long middle section of its huge body was always wrapped the rocky pool containing the dragon’s saliva. The “dragon” refused to abandon it.
This naturally restricted the giant “dragon’s” movements. The Qinggong of the seven or eight experts were altogether impressive. Although they appeared to be in great danger from the giant “dragon’s” violent attacks, the giant “dragon” was still unable to injure them in the least.
The scales on the giant “dragon” surpassed the armor cast by fine iron. It was impenetrable. The weapons wielded by the experts could not cut through it, and both sides were unable to do anything to each other for a time.
*Indeed, it doesn’t have any magical powers. As long as it doesn’t have magical powers and is afraid to move, it will not pose as a threat to me… *
Ling Yun was not boasting, but compared to the people in the cave at least, he was first in terms of magical powers and speed. Even Little White could not match up to his speed currently.
“Eh… you actually have a black blade in your hand? It looks like…” As Dugu Mo had been met with a frosty reception from Little White, he redirected his attention to Ling Yun’s Dragon Scale Knife. He revealed an even greater surprise in his expression.
Ling Yun’s precious Dragon Scale Knife was entirely black. It was even darker than the absolute black of the huge cave. If Dugu Mo had not come so close to Ling Yun, he would have thought that Ling Yun was empty-handed.
Ling Yun rolled his eyes and remarked indifferently, “Can’t you be less jumpy? Why, do you know this blade?”
Dugu Mo took a step towards Ling Yun before stooping to scrutinize the Dragon Scale Knife in Ling Yun’s hand for a long time. Suddenly, he retreated five steps in shock. Lifting his finger to point at Ling Yun’s black blade, he exclaimed in a terrified voice, “This… this looks like the legendary Devil’s Underworld Essence Blade. Oh my, how did it appear in your hands? Ling Yun, you… are you actually from the Devil Sect?
“Devil’s Underworld Essence Blade?!” Ling Yun thought that name was awesome and casually brandished the blade before him. He then remarked disdainfully, “Nonsense, why does everything become legendary according to you?”
Although Dugu Mo had broken through to Houtian Realm Level Nine, Ling Yun’s body, ability, and magical speed were vastly different after he had broken through to the fourth level of body cultivation. Moreover, he could rely on the spiritual energy inside his body to execute certain new moves. As he expected that Dugu Mo could not impress him, he was very rude to him.
On the night that he had saved Zhuang Meifeng, Ling Yun had attained Qi Cultivation Level Nine with the help of the Emperor Brush. At that time, Priestess Heartless and Dugu Mo had been at Houtian Realm Level Eight, He Xingyan had been at the peak of level eight, the expert assassins had been at Houtian Realm Level Nine, and Qin Qiuyue had been Xiantian Realm Level Two. Ling Yun had already had a clear understanding of their respective capabilities.
“Ling Yun, you can’t be the young master from the Devil Sect, right? But, that can’t be correct… I heard that the Devil’s Underworld Essence Blade disappeared at least thousands of years ago… could it be that I heard wrongly?”
As Dugu Mo was still muttering vehemently and pondering on the matter, he lightly dodged a huge stone that had been swept by the giant “dragon”. He asked Ling Yun, “Is there a scabbard for your blade? If there is a spiral black dragon on the scabbard, then it is definitely the Devil’s Underworld Essence Blade. I have read about it in the ancient books at home before…”
When Ling Yun heard him, his heart beat violently once more. Wasn’t there a lifelike black dragon engraved on its scabbard?
“Ling Yun, if you aren’t from the Devil Sect, I advise you to discard this blade quickly. Legend has it that this blade is extremely evil. Not only can it absorb the blood that it sees, it is also able to seize control of a person’s mind. It gradually plunges them into the way of the devil…”
Ling Yun scoffed at his claims. “Nonsense, this blade is my family heirloom. I thought that a black blade would be stylish, so I decided to dye it that colour. How can it be some nonsensical Devil’s Underworld Essence Blade?!”
Ling Yun was very depressed. He was unable to wield the Emperor Brush in front of these people, and now that Dugu Mo had confidently identified his blade as the Devil’s Underworld Essence Blade just after taking a look at it, wouldn’t he have to hide that too?
He did not wish to be regarded as a person from the Devil Sect since they were persecuted by everyone else.
Dugu Mo was just about to speak when he heard someone shouting. That person was being attacked by the giant “dragon”. “Hey, I say, have you two finished talking? Can’t you see that we have been working so hard to fight the giant python here? And you both are actually in the mood to have a chat?”
Another young man followed him in shouting, “Yeah, Dugu Mo, haven’t we made a pact? Even if we’re all here for the Earth Emperor’s Book, we must first locate it together. Let’s think of a way to collaborate to kill this giant ‘dragon’ before that!”
Ling Yun almost lashed out at the imbeciles. If they were not even able to break the defences of the giant “dragon” with those weapons in their hands, the idea of killing it was foolish talk.
Dugu Mo did have an agreement with those people. After he had heard those words, he bade a brief farewell to Ling Yun before flying to join the legion. He shared their burden and helped them in combat.
Ling Yun did not bother to engage in battle. Taking advantage of the deadlock between the crowd and the giant “dragon”, he sneaked towards the three stone doors.
“Damn, that chap wants to take the shortcut! Quick, stop him!” Someone saw Ling Yun moving towards the stone doors and shouted immediately.
Sure enough, immediately after the shout, two people dodged the attacks from the giant “dragon” and flew towards Ling Yun to block his path.
