Hu~
In a quaint room, Zhuo Fan sat on his stone bed with his eyes closed and a raging azure flame on his forehead. Deep in his mind, a prismatic dragon with the same azure flame on its forehead rested with its eyes closed. Its majestic figure brimming with more power with every flicker of the flame.
Hum~
Zhuo Fan flashed his eyes open and shook all over as his aura exploded.
The dragon soul did the same and roared, the azure flame covering it and turning the dragon into a flaming dragon, spreading the flames in every corner of his mind.
Roar!
Zhuo Fan howled at the heavens for a full fifteen minutes.
Zhuo Fan took a deep breath and took a feel of his boosted power. Three months was all it took to reach the 2nd layer.
[Training the soul with azure flame is way faster than any cultivation method out there.]
And with azure flame and dragon soul combined, his soul achieved perfection, making his soul attacks even deadlier.
“Steward Zhuo, may these old bones come in?” An aged voice had Zhuo Fan quick an eyebrow, “Venerable Bai, please.”
A flick of the hand had the array torn down, and with a point, the crude wooden door opened.
Venerable Bai smiled, and his eyes brightened at his advance with a cup of his hands, “Ha-ha-ha, congratulations, Steward Zhuo. Oh my, you’re moving up in the world in just three months. Steward Zhuo is a true gem in this cultivation world. So many so-called geniuses would be dying of envy.”
“You’re too kind, Venerable Bai. I’m just putting in a little bit more effort than the rest. I always tell these youngsters my success came from slow and steady progress, devoted day and night to one goal. But all they want are my pills. Such feisty children.” Zhuo Fan shook his head.
Venerable Bai’s cheek twitched at his touch of the dramatic.
[Good frickin’ actor!]
[The world is saturated with those going at it harder than you but do you see any other freak around? While having talent is innate, it gives you no right dangling before others.]
Zhuo Fan smiled, “Venerable Bai, to what do I owe this visit? Why aren’t you speaking?”
[Why do you think so?]
Venerable Bai shook his head, “Steward Zhuo, Sect Leader and the three coaching venerables have asked for you. But with you being in seclusion, they haven’t disturbed you. Judging from the sound the array gave, they figured you advanced and sent word.”
“Oh, thank you for waiting for me, Venerable Bai.” Zhuo Fan bowed most respectfully.
Venerable Bai smiled, “It’s my duty.”
“Why does Sect Leader need me?”
“Well…” Venerable Bai gathered his thoughts, “Sect Leader and the coaching venerables are asking, so it must be related to Double Dragon Gathering.”
Zhuo Fan nodded. Xie Wuyue treated the event with such importance he never told him anything.
[For him to ask about my situation, he must be ready to set off.]
Zhuo Fan squinted.
Leaving Venerable Bai, Zhuo Fan went for the hall to find Xie Wuyue and the fiends waiting.
Xie Wuyue smiled, “Finally showed up?”
“What can I say? I needed a few days to enter the 2nd layer of the Radiant Stage.” Zhuo Fan shrugged.
Xie Wuyue nodded, “I know that. Venerable Bai told me. Why else do you think you’re not punished for denying my summons.”
Zhuo Fan remained silent, taking a random seat.
Xie Wuyue’s face sank, [The prick still has no respect after all this time, not even for me.]
[Let’s calm down, he still has his uses…]
Xie Wuyue gnashed his teeth.
Fiend Yang laughed, “Zhuo Fan, you’re advancing so fast, a true talent. We aren’t ones to nitpick slights from such geniuses. Rules are made for the strong, after all, right Wuyue?”
“You’re one to talk, having the same attitude decades ago. I thought I told you it’s Sect Leader!” Xie Wuyue glared.
Fiend Yang chuckled.
Xie Wuyue went down to business, “Zhuo Fan, Double Dragon Gathering is just around the corner, and there are some things you should know about it.”
[Figured as much…]
Zhuo Fan nodded.
Fiend Yang continued, “Zhuo Fan, to talk about Double Dragon Gathering we need to start with the world’s situation. Have you ever heard of a sacred spirit stone mine?”
[I have one on my finger.]
However, he was curious how the mortal domain even heard of a sacred mine. But to avoid suspicion, “What is that?”
“Ha-ha-ha, coming from a backward place like Tianyu, of course you’d not know.” The four chuckled, with Fiend Yang explaining, “Sacred spirit stone mine is the place where an even greater spiritual energy gathers, greater than any spirit stone can hold. The mining is harsh but it has great applications in arrays, soon making it the target of every sect and empire on these lands. And this world has five!”
“You’re serious?”
Zhuo Fan gasped.
Sacred spirit mines made sacred stones, a rarity even in the Sacred Domain such that every grand clan monopolized them to the point not even a Demonic Emperor like him could get one.
Yet here he was, in the mortal domain with five of them. [Wonder if the clans there would be invading it en masse at the news.]
Though it got him thinking from another angle. For the land to give birth to sacred mines, it had to have thick spiritual energy. Why was the mortal domain’s so thin instead?
While the four had an even greater reaction to his reaction. [Didn’t he just say he doesn’t know? Why so jumpy?]
Zhuo Fan gave a strained laugh, “For the sacred spirit mine to be so precious it must be quite rare. Yet there are five of them? One can hardly be divided while five makes it even easier…”
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“Zhuo Fan, you’re no fool. You call five mines for the entire world many?” Zhuo Fan eyed him, “Plus, sacred spirit mines are in a different class from common spirit mines. A spirit mine assists one’s cultivation and even without it, a cultivator can just take the spiritual energy from the air. He can go anywhere with a bit of talent. While a sacred spirit mine assists your cultivation ‘and’ improves your constitution. It’s the best ingredient to grow experts. That’s what makes it invaluable. Why else do you think middle three sects and superior three sects are so powerful?”
Zhuo Fan turned solemn, “They use sacred stones for cultivation?”
“Right you are. This is the basis behind Double Dragon Gathering.”
Fiend Yang nodded, “The five mines are split between eastern lands, western lands, southern lands, northern lands, and central area. To defend their sacred mine, each area’s power formed a union. We belong to the Ten Sect Alliance of the western lands, with Double Dragon Manor as our head. While it might be like a sect, it is not, because it has no disciples. It is more of a group formed of strong people, our strongest force in western lands. They guard the mine against any invaders.”
“To raise the power of western lands, Double Dragon Gathering holds a Double Dragon Gathering every three centuries, selecting the best seeds to groom in the Double Dragon Gathering.”
Xie Wuyue picked up, “However, they do not take these disciples for themselves, returning them after a decade or two. But even a decade under their teachings and sacred stone cultivation will earn one more progress than simple cultivating for centuries. It will be of great benefit for the future. While the chosen disciple’s sect will be greatly rewarded as well.”
Zhuo Fan’s eyes jumped. [The sole purpose of Double Dragon Gathering is to protect western lands, to prepare for war.]
While the nine sects, to raise themselves, participated in it, wishing their disciples were chosen, raised for free into experts, while also earning a big profit for themselves.
[That explains their almost fanatic desire for growth.] No one knew more about sacred stones than him. Take a plain ol’ Spiritual Gathering Array and supply it with sacred stone and you’d have a sect with the same environment as those in the Sacred Domain; to raise dozens of talents.
Who could possibly resist the allure, certainly no man, and without a doubt no sect…
