The Mortal's Path to Immortality: Immortal Realm

Having overcome numerous challenges and trials, John Brown has successfully reached the Immortal Realm. However, his journey takes an unexpected turn as he finds himself in the Spirit Domain Realm instead, devoid of his powers, treasures, and memories from the past three centuries. Cut off from his allies and resources, John Brown must unravel the events of the last 300 years in order to find a way back to the Immortal Realm. Will he be able to overcome the odds stacked against him, or will he be condemned to remain in this lower realm forever? With the deck seemingly stacked against him, John Brown 's fate hangs in the balance in A Record of a Mortal's Journey to Immortality: Immortal Realm, a popular novel by Wang Yu that delves into themes of action, adventure, fantasy, harem, martial arts, and immortal heroes.
 
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Chapter 30: Raising the Land

After stowing the spirit ark away, Angie made her way toward the burly man as she extended a respectful curtsey. "I pay my respects to Master Murray."

"Thank you for your hard work, Angie. You must be Mr John, right?" the burly man asked as his gaze fell upon John.

"That's correct," John replied.

"My name is Bill Jun. Peak Master Eastwood wanted to welcome you in person today, but there were some matters that he had to attend to, so I had to take his place. I hope you won't mind, Mr. John," the burly man said with a smile.

"Of course not," John replied with a smile.

Bill's gaze then fell upon Drew, and his eyes lit up slightly as he remarked, "This must be your new disciple, right, Angie? She's quite a good find!"

"Junior Drew pays her respects to Elder Murray," Drew hurriedly said as she extended a curtsey.

"As long as she works hard in her cultivation, I'm certain she'll surpass me someday," Angie said with a pleased smile.

After that, Murray greeted Megan as well, and a strange look appeared on his face once he learned that she and John referred to one another as brother and sister, but he offered no comment on the matter.

Having witnessed John's power on the way here, Megan was no longer as anxious and uneasy in the presence of unfamiliar human cultivators. She was confident that as long as John was with her, no one would be able to touch her.

Murray's gaze returned to John, and he said, "Mr. John, not only were you able to kill a Deity Transformation Stage elder of the Heavenly Ghost Sect, you've also ensured a safe return to the sect for my niece Angie. Given your powers and the contributions you've already made to the sect, we would be honored to accept you as a guest elder”

“There are around a dozen cave abodes for guest elders currently available for you to select from. Do you have any special requirements or requests that you'd like to raise?"

"Truth be told, I'm currently carrying some injuries, so it would be ideal if I could have a more peaceful and secluded cave abode to aid in my rest and recovery. Aside from that, I'm also somewhat familiar with the art of pill refinement, so it would be even better if I could have a cave abode in close proximity to a plot for spirit farmland," John replied in an unhurried manner.

Murray faltered slightly upon hearing these requests, following which his brows furrowed slightly as he said, "That might be a problem. Out of the remaining cave abodes, there are several that are quite peaceful and secluded, but unfortunately, none of them have any adjacent plots of spirit farmland”.

“On top of that, most of the spirit farmland on Cloudrise Peak are looked after by our disciples, and the majority of those plots of land are situated on some sloped areas that receive the most sun exposure during the day, and I can't say they're very peaceful areas."

John was grappling with a dilemma.

Murray could see the change in John's expression, and after a brief moment of contemplation, he suggested, "How about this? Choose a plot of spirit farmland that you like, and I'll get some disciples to construct a brand new cave abode on that plot of land right away. What do you think, Mr. John?"

John was silent for a moment, then suddenly chuckled, "There's no need for that. If there are no available cave abodes with adjacent plots of spirit farmland, then I can just carry a plot up there myself. Is that something that's allowed, Elder Murray?"

Angie and Drew both faltered slightly upon hearing this, unsure of exactly what Han Li was proposing.

Meanwhile, Megan was snuggled up close to John's side, inspecting her surroundings with an intrigued expression, paying no heed to the ongoing conversation.

Murray clearly wasn't expecting such a response from John, and he burst into laughter as an intrigued look appeared on his face. "So instead of conforming to the land, you're going to make the land conform to you! How bold of you, Mr. John! Of course that's within the rules. Please come with me."

Thus, Murray led Johnand his group to a valley halfway up the mountain. There were several plots of spirit farmland in the valley that had been clearly separated, amounting to a total of around an acre in area, and there were some servants toiling away as they tended to the farmland.

"Mr. John, these plots of spirit farmland once belonged to a guest elder who perished unexpectedly during an outing several years ago. In the wake of his passing, I've been looking after these plots of spirit farmland. If they catch your fancy, then you can do with them as please," Murray said as he casually gestured toward the valley. up ahead.

"Thank you, Elder Murray." John's gaze roamed over the valley as a hint of a smile appeared on his face.

For some reason, Murray couldn't help but feel a sense of unease upon seeing this.

John strode forward as he took a deep breath, then leaned down and raised his fist before slamming it into the ground.

Boom

A resounding boom rang out as the entire valley trembled violently, and a crater had been smashed into the ground by his fist. It wasn't a very large crater, but it was so deep that its bottom was entirely out of sight.

Drew swayed unsteadily, and if Angie hadn't caught her, she would've fallen onto the ground.

Megan's also swayed slightly before hurriedly steadying herself.

Most of the servants who were working on the plot of farmland were energy Refinement cultivators, and they had no idea what was happening. All of them cried out in alarm as they hurriedly fled the valley.

Meanwhile, Murray was watching John in silence.

John made his way around the plots of spirit farmland as he strode into the valley, throwing a punch into the ground once every several hundred feet.

During the subsequent span of around 15 minutes, resounding booms rang out incessantly across the entire valley, and John made a full lap of the valley before returning to the original spot that he had set off from.

Despite the manual labor that he had just completed, John wasn't showing any signs of exertion at all, much to Murray's amazement.

Without any further ado, John crouched down before plunging his hands straight into the ground beneath him.

He then raised his arms violently, and the valley rumbled incessantly as a rift was instantly torn into the ground, gradually extending outward from John's hands.

The rift connected all of the craters that had been punched into the ground by John, ultimately the entire plot of spirit farmland in the valley.

Only now did Megan realize what John was doing, and a look of admiration surfaced in her eyes as an excited flush appeared on her cheeks.

Angie's mouth gaped open in shock, but she was unable to utter even a single word.

One final burst of rumbling rang out as the entire plot of spirit farmland was uprooted and lifted vertically upward.

From afar, it would appear as if the plot of spirit farmland were hovering in mid-air.

Drew's jaw had already dropped straight to the ground at this astonishing sight.

"Let's go check out my new cave abode, Elder Murray," John said as he turned to Bill with a nonchalant smile.

Murray looked at the uprooted plot of spirit farmland and the severely ravaged valley, and he had no idea how to feel about this.

He had thought that at the very most, John would've only chosen one of the plots of spirit farmland, then moved it using some type of treasure or secret technique, and it never occurred to him that he would uproot the entire plot of spirit farmland with the power of his physical body alone!

However, he had authorized John to do as he pleased, so he naturally couldn't say anything now. Thus, he could only give a wry smile as he led the way up the mountain.

John carried the enormous plot of spirit farmland and wandered over Cloudrise Peak for over an hour before finally selecting a cave abode that was situated in a peaceful corner near the peak of the mountain.
 
JB entering with ladies Spiritflame Mountain Range
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Gily said:
Chapter 29: Spiritflame Mountain Range

At the same time, in a certain cave abode, a thin elderly man wearing an ochre robe was situated on the main seat gently blowing into a cup of tea that he was holding in his hand.

In front of him was a middle-aged man with a pair of narrow eyes, standing with his head lowered slightly and a respectful look on his face.

"Given how much time has passed, Brad Pitt should be done on his end," the thin elderly man mused.

"There's no chance that anything could go wrong under Elder Pitt's watch. Only someone of such a lofty status as yourself would be able to request such a favor from Elder Pitt," the middle-aged man said in a respectful voice.

"Out of all of my descendants, Chuck is the only one who possesses the aptitude to be destined for great things, yet to think that he would die such a premature death! That bastard should be killed thousands of times over for what he's done!" the elderly man said in a furious voice as he slammed down his teacup.

"Look on the bright side, Patriarch. Once Drew Anderson is captured, you'll be well on your way to attaining full mastery of your cultivation art," the middle-aged man hurriedly consoled.

The fury on the elderly man's face eased slightly, and he said, "Come to think of it, she's partially to blame for Chuck's death as well, but I'll spare her for now, seeing as she possesses a constitution that's useful to me."

As soon as his voice trailed off, his expression suddenly changed slightly, and he cast his gaze toward the gates of his cave abode.

Moments later, the sound of footsteps rang out, and a young female servant appeared at the cave abode's entrance, then extended a respectful bow as she declared, "Elder Butler, Elder Clooney has come to see you."

Before the elderly man had a chance to reply, a cold male voice rang out from outside the cave abode.

"To think that you're still in the mood to be sipping tea in your cave abode at a time like this. I must say, your composure is very remarkable, Elder Butler."

Immediately thereafter, a middle-aged man in a black robe with a tall hat on his head appeared outside the entrance.

Greg Butler raised an eyebrow at the sight of the man, and he gestured for the servant to leave before asking, "What business do you have with me, George Clooney? Unless I'm mistaken, I don't believe we arranged a meeting at this time."

Instead of answering Butler's question, George raised one of his own. "Elder Pitt's soul badge suddenly cracked not long ago. Do you have anything to say about that, Elder Butler?"

"What did you say?" Butler immediately sprang to his feet with a stunned expression.

"According to those who last saw Elder Pitt, he went to intercept a group of people at your request, and that was what led to his death. May I ask who you requested him to intercept, Elder Butler?" Clooney asked in a cold voice.

"That's impossible! How could a pair of Nascent Soul cultivators possibly have been a match for Brad Pitt?" Butler was absolutely incredulous.

"Elder Pitt was an early-Deity Transformation cultivator, yet not only was he killed, even his nascent soul was unable to escape. Am I supposed to believe that you had no idea at all about how much danger you were placing Elder Pitt in? I hope you haven't made a powerful enemy for the sect all for your own selfish vendettas. In any case, I'll have to ask you to come with me on a trip to the Enforcement Hall, Elder Butler," Clooney said in a cold voice.

……

Several days later, John's group finally emerged from the Yellow Billow Desert.

Along the way, they were attacked by several swarms of Flying Sin Ants, but they were easily taken care of by John through Bruce Willa, and they encountered no further pursuers from the Heavenly Ghost Sect.

Furthermore, given that John was able to slay a Deity Transformation cultivator so easily, Angie was not surprised at all to see that he was able to deal with the Flying Sin Ants as well.

The consecutive days of travel had left Drew and Megan feeling rather exhausted, and they were cuddled up together, sleeping soundly on one side of the spirit ark.

John was seated with his legs crossed at the tail-end of the spirit ark with his brows slightly furrowed and a rather peculiar look in his eyes. In front of him seven or eight vials of different colors and materials, all of which had been completely emptied.

"How did it go, JB?" Bruce's voice rang out in his mind.

"Most of these pills came from that Deity Transformation cultivator, and there's no lack of pills of a decently high caliber among them, but not a single one has had any effect on me," John sighed.

During the previous battle, he was able to kill his opponent with his immense physical strength and the help of those five mountains, so he hadn't expended much magic power, but it was still naturally a problem that he was unable to increase his current reserves of magic power.

"What about the top-grade spirit stones?"

"I can't absorb them, either," John replied with a wry smile, spreading open his hand to reveal a spirit stone that had already become completely devoid of luster.

"It seems that only certain special pills will have an effect on you," Bruce mused.

"Perhaps. So far, only that Sharp Watch Pill and that golden pill I found in Gerald Bulter's storage bag have been effective. Once we get to the Cold Flame Sect, I'm going to get another Sharp Watch Pill and study it thoroughly. Perhaps I'll be able to find out the underlying reasons then," John replied as he absentmindedly stroked the small vial that he wore around his neck.

……

Half a month later, a spirit ark sped through the air above a lush mountain range.

There was one man and three women on the ark, and they were none other than John’s group.

"This Spiritflame Mountain Range is the entrance to our Cold Flame Sect," Angie introduced with a smile as she swept her gaze over the forest down below.

"The spirit veins are very stable, and there's a vast abundance of spiritual energy. This is indeed a fantastic place," John mused with a nod of approval.

Drew was ecstatic to hear this, but after looking around, a puzzled look appeared on her face as she turned to Angie.

Megan was holding onto the side of the spirit ark, leaning her body over the edge to inspect her surroundings, but she couldn't see any signs of a sect amid the lush greenery, either, and she couldn't help but ask, "Brother Rock, I can also sense that the spiritual energy here is very abundant, but I don't see any sect."

"All major sects are concealed by powerful arrays. We are currently situated outside the array, which is equivalent to standing outside the walls of a city, so we naturally can't see what's inside," John replied with a smile.

Megan and Drew didn't fully understand this concept, but they still nodded in response.

"Mr. John, please wait for a moment while I inform the sect of our arrival," Angie said.

She flipped a hand over as she spoke, producing a palm-sized golden badge with a flame design etched onto its surface.

A burst of light emerged on the badge, and the flame design suddenly began to sway as if it were an actual flame.

A streak of light shot forth from the badge, flying directly into the mountain range down below.

Moments later, a burst of ripples suddenly spread through the air below the spirit ark, and a semi-spherical golden light barrier that was barely visible slowly emerged.

The entirety of the Spiritflame Mountain Range, which stretched for several hundred kilometers, was completely encompassed within the light barrier.

"As expected of one of the most dominant sects in a realm," John remarked with a hint of approval in his voice.

Megan and Drew were both gripping onto the edge of the spirit ark, looking down with awe and amazement in their eyes.

Beneath the golden light barrier were countless palaces and pagodas interspersed throughout the lush forest.

Some of the buildings were situated individually atop sheer cliffs, while others were connected together in a cluster. Some were positioned in canyons and gorges, while others were built halfway up mountains.

At the center of the entire mountain range were around a dozen mountains that were far taller than all of the other ones, and there was white mist and purple qi rising up from those mountains. It was clear just from a glance that those peaks were particularly abundant in spiritual energy.

"This place is beautiful!" Drew couldn't help but exclaim.

Megan also nodded eagerly in agreement.

Angie was clearly in a very good mood following their return to the sect, and she turned to John with a smile as she said, "Mr. John, Elder Murray is already waiting for us on Cloudrise Peak. Let's go see him right away."

John nodded in response.

Right as the spirit ark passed through the light barrier, he felt a burst of spiritual sense sweep over his body, and he presumed that it belonged to the aforementioned Elder Murray.

After John and the others officially entered the Cold Flame Sect, Megan took a curious glance upward to find that the light barrier had already disappeared, and all that was left to be seen were the pristine blue sky and the drifting white clouds.

The spirit ark flew toward the center of the mountain range, then descended onto a lush mountain peak that extended all the way up into the clouds.

At the foot of that mountain was a spacious white plaza, where an imposing man was standing, casting his gaze toward the spirit ark from afar.

The man had a set of rugged features and was wearing an ochre robe with a black belt around his waist, accentuating the outline of his pronounced pectoral muscles. Judging from the aura that he was giving off, he was a Deity Transformation cultivator.
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People are so quite on this thread. Don't you like this story?
 
Was also thinking of leaving this story for grandmaster OpeOla to continue translating. What do you guys think?
 
Gily said:
Was also thinking of leaving this story for grandmaster OpeOla to continue translating. What do you guys think?
Click to expand...
It's a new story and not many had started reading it. I guess it'd pick steam with time.
 
Everyone would soon be in awe of John. To uproot an entire land mass with your physical strength, this news will get to the cold flame patriarch and some might even become envious. The story is slow and steady and I think it will be interesting as we moved on
Gily said:
Chapter 30: Raising the Land

After stowing the spirit ark away, Angie made her way toward the burly man as she extended a respectful curtsey. "I pay my respects to Master Murray."

"Thank you for your hard work, Angie. You must be Mr John, right?" the burly man asked as his gaze fell upon John.

"That's correct," John replied.

"My name is Bill Jun. Peak Master Eastwood wanted to welcome you in person today, but there were some matters that he had to attend to, so I had to take his place. I hope you won't mind, Mr. John," the burly man said with a smile.

"Of course not," John replied with a smile.

Bill's gaze then fell upon Drew, and his eyes lit up slightly as he remarked, "This must be your new disciple, right, Angie? She's quite a good find!"

"Junior Drew pays her respects to Elder Murray," Drew hurriedly said as she extended a curtsey.

"As long as she works hard in her cultivation, I'm certain she'll surpass me someday," Angie said with a pleased smile.

After that, Murray greeted Megan as well, and a strange look appeared on his face once he learned that she and John referred to one another as brother and sister, but he offered no comment on the matter.

Having witnessed John's power on the way here, Megan was no longer as anxious and uneasy in the presence of unfamiliar human cultivators. She was confident that as long as John was with her, no one would be able to touch her.

Murray's gaze returned to John, and he said, "Mr. John, not only were you able to kill a Deity Transformation Stage elder of the Heavenly Ghost Sect, you've also ensured a safe return to the sect for my niece Angie. Given your powers and the contributions you've already made to the sect, we would be honored to accept you as a guest elder”

“There are around a dozen cave abodes for guest elders currently available for you to select from. Do you have any special requirements or requests that you'd like to raise?"

"Truth be told, I'm currently carrying some injuries, so it would be ideal if I could have a more peaceful and secluded cave abode to aid in my rest and recovery. Aside from that, I'm also somewhat familiar with the art of pill refinement, so it would be even better if I could have a cave abode in close proximity to a plot for spirit farmland," John replied in an unhurried manner.

Murray faltered slightly upon hearing these requests, following which his brows furrowed slightly as he said, "That might be a problem. Out of the remaining cave abodes, there are several that are quite peaceful and secluded, but unfortunately, none of them have any adjacent plots of spirit farmland”.

“On top of that, most of the spirit farmland on Cloudrise Peak are looked after by our disciples, and the majority of those plots of land are situated on some sloped areas that receive the most sun exposure during the day, and I can't say they're very peaceful areas."

John was grappling with a dilemma.

Murray could see the change in John's expression, and after a brief moment of contemplation, he suggested, "How about this? Choose a plot of spirit farmland that you like, and I'll get some disciples to construct a brand new cave abode on that plot of land right away. What do you think, Mr. John?"

John was silent for a moment, then suddenly chuckled, "There's no need for that. If there are no available cave abodes with adjacent plots of spirit farmland, then I can just carry a plot up there myself. Is that something that's allowed, Elder Murray?"

Angie and Drew both faltered slightly upon hearing this, unsure of exactly what Han Li was proposing.

Meanwhile, Megan was snuggled up close to John's side, inspecting her surroundings with an intrigued expression, paying no heed to the ongoing conversation.

Murray clearly wasn't expecting such a response from John, and he burst into laughter as an intrigued look appeared on his face. "So instead of conforming to the land, you're going to make the land conform to you! How bold of you, Mr. John! Of course that's within the rules. Please come with me."

Thus, Murray led Johnand his group to a valley halfway up the mountain. There were several plots of spirit farmland in the valley that had been clearly separated, amounting to a total of around an acre in area, and there were some servants toiling away as they tended to the farmland.

"Mr. John, these plots of spirit farmland once belonged to a guest elder who perished unexpectedly during an outing several years ago. In the wake of his passing, I've been looking after these plots of spirit farmland. If they catch your fancy, then you can do with them as please," Murray said as he casually gestured toward the valley. up ahead.

"Thank you, Elder Murray." John's gaze roamed over the valley as a hint of a smile appeared on his face.

For some reason, Murray couldn't help but feel a sense of unease upon seeing this.

John strode forward as he took a deep breath, then leaned down and raised his fist before slamming it into the ground.

Boom

A resounding boom rang out as the entire valley trembled violently, and a crater had been smashed into the ground by his fist. It wasn't a very large crater, but it was so deep that its bottom was entirely out of sight.

Drew swayed unsteadily, and if Angie hadn't caught her, she would've fallen onto the ground.

Megan's also swayed slightly before hurriedly steadying herself.

Most of the servants who were working on the plot of farmland were energy Refinement cultivators, and they had no idea what was happening. All of them cried out in alarm as they hurriedly fled the valley.

Meanwhile, Murray was watching John in silence.

John made his way around the plots of spirit farmland as he strode into the valley, throwing a punch into the ground once every several hundred feet.

During the subsequent span of around 15 minutes, resounding booms rang out incessantly across the entire valley, and John made a full lap of the valley before returning to the original spot that he had set off from.

Despite the manual labor that he had just completed, John wasn't showing any signs of exertion at all, much to Murray's amazement.

Without any further ado, John crouched down before plunging his hands straight into the ground beneath him.

He then raised his arms violently, and the valley rumbled incessantly as a rift was instantly torn into the ground, gradually extending outward from John's hands.

The rift connected all of the craters that had been punched into the ground by John, ultimately the entire plot of spirit farmland in the valley.

Only now did Megan realize what John was doing, and a look of admiration surfaced in her eyes as an excited flush appeared on her cheeks.

Angie's mouth gaped open in shock, but she was unable to utter even a single word.

One final burst of rumbling rang out as the entire plot of spirit farmland was uprooted and lifted vertically upward.

From afar, it would appear as if the plot of spirit farmland were hovering in mid-air.

Drew's jaw had already dropped straight to the ground at this astonishing sight.

"Let's go check out my new cave abode, Elder Murray," John said as he turned to Bill with a nonchalant smile.

Murray looked at the uprooted plot of spirit farmland and the severely ravaged valley, and he had no idea how to feel about this.

He had thought that at the very most, John would've only chosen one of the plots of spirit farmland, then moved it using some type of treasure or secret technique, and it never occurred to him that he would uproot the entire plot of spirit farmland with the power of his physical body alone!

However, he had authorized John to do as he pleased, so he naturally couldn't say anything now. Thus, he could only give a wry smile as he led the way up the mountain.

John carried the enormous plot of spirit farmland and wandered over Cloudrise Peak for over an hour before finally selecting a cave abode that was situated in a peaceful corner near the peak of the mountain.
Click to expand...
 
1714065716318.jpeg
Gily said:
Chapter 30: Raising the Land

After stowing the spirit ark away, Angie made her way toward the burly man as she extended a respectful curtsey. "I pay my respects to Master Murray."

"Thank you for your hard work, Angie. You must be Mr John, right?" the burly man asked as his gaze fell upon John.

"That's correct," John replied.

"My name is Bill Jun. Peak Master Eastwood wanted to welcome you in person today, but there were some matters that he had to attend to, so I had to take his place. I hope you won't mind, Mr. John," the burly man said with a smile.

"Of course not," John replied with a smile.

Bill's gaze then fell upon Drew, and his eyes lit up slightly as he remarked, "This must be your new disciple, right, Angie? She's quite a good find!"

"Junior Drew pays her respects to Elder Murray," Drew hurriedly said as she extended a curtsey.

"As long as she works hard in her cultivation, I'm certain she'll surpass me someday," Angie said with a pleased smile.

After that, Murray greeted Megan as well, and a strange look appeared on his face once he learned that she and John referred to one another as brother and sister, but he offered no comment on the matter.

Having witnessed John's power on the way here, Megan was no longer as anxious and uneasy in the presence of unfamiliar human cultivators. She was confident that as long as John was with her, no one would be able to touch her.

Murray's gaze returned to John, and he said, "Mr. John, not only were you able to kill a Deity Transformation Stage elder of the Heavenly Ghost Sect, you've also ensured a safe return to the sect for my niece Angie. Given your powers and the contributions you've already made to the sect, we would be honored to accept you as a guest elder”

“There are around a dozen cave abodes for guest elders currently available for you to select from. Do you have any special requirements or requests that you'd like to raise?"

"Truth be told, I'm currently carrying some injuries, so it would be ideal if I could have a more peaceful and secluded cave abode to aid in my rest and recovery. Aside from that, I'm also somewhat familiar with the art of pill refinement, so it would be even better if I could have a cave abode in close proximity to a plot for spirit farmland," John replied in an unhurried manner.

Murray faltered slightly upon hearing these requests, following which his brows furrowed slightly as he said, "That might be a problem. Out of the remaining cave abodes, there are several that are quite peaceful and secluded, but unfortunately, none of them have any adjacent plots of spirit farmland”.

“On top of that, most of the spirit farmland on Cloudrise Peak are looked after by our disciples, and the majority of those plots of land are situated on some sloped areas that receive the most sun exposure during the day, and I can't say they're very peaceful areas."

John was grappling with a dilemma.

Murray could see the change in John's expression, and after a brief moment of contemplation, he suggested, "How about this? Choose a plot of spirit farmland that you like, and I'll get some disciples to construct a brand new cave abode on that plot of land right away. What do you think, Mr. John?"

John was silent for a moment, then suddenly chuckled, "There's no need for that. If there are no available cave abodes with adjacent plots of spirit farmland, then I can just carry a plot up there myself. Is that something that's allowed, Elder Murray?"

Angie and Drew both faltered slightly upon hearing this, unsure of exactly what Han Li was proposing.

Meanwhile, Megan was snuggled up close to John's side, inspecting her surroundings with an intrigued expression, paying no heed to the ongoing conversation.

Murray clearly wasn't expecting such a response from John, and he burst into laughter as an intrigued look appeared on his face. "So instead of conforming to the land, you're going to make the land conform to you! How bold of you, Mr. John! Of course that's within the rules. Please come with me."

Thus, Murray led Johnand his group to a valley halfway up the mountain. There were several plots of spirit farmland in the valley that had been clearly separated, amounting to a total of around an acre in area, and there were some servants toiling away as they tended to the farmland.

"Mr. John, these plots of spirit farmland once belonged to a guest elder who perished unexpectedly during an outing several years ago. In the wake of his passing, I've been looking after these plots of spirit farmland. If they catch your fancy, then you can do with them as please," Murray said as he casually gestured toward the valley. up ahead.

"Thank you, Elder Murray." John's gaze roamed over the valley as a hint of a smile appeared on his face.

For some reason, Murray couldn't help but feel a sense of unease upon seeing this.

John strode forward as he took a deep breath, then leaned down and raised his fist before slamming it into the ground.

Boom

A resounding boom rang out as the entire valley trembled violently, and a crater had been smashed into the ground by his fist. It wasn't a very large crater, but it was so deep that its bottom was entirely out of sight.

Drew swayed unsteadily, and if Angie hadn't caught her, she would've fallen onto the ground.

Megan's also swayed slightly before hurriedly steadying herself.

Most of the servants who were working on the plot of farmland were energy Refinement cultivators, and they had no idea what was happening. All of them cried out in alarm as they hurriedly fled the valley.

Meanwhile, Murray was watching John in silence.

John made his way around the plots of spirit farmland as he strode into the valley, throwing a punch into the ground once every several hundred feet.

During the subsequent span of around 15 minutes, resounding booms rang out incessantly across the entire valley, and John made a full lap of the valley before returning to the original spot that he had set off from.

Despite the manual labor that he had just completed, John wasn't showing any signs of exertion at all, much to Murray's amazement.

Without any further ado, John crouched down before plunging his hands straight into the ground beneath him.

He then raised his arms violently, and the valley rumbled incessantly as a rift was instantly torn into the ground, gradually extending outward from John's hands.

The rift connected all of the craters that had been punched into the ground by John, ultimately the entire plot of spirit farmland in the valley.

Only now did Megan realize what John was doing, and a look of admiration surfaced in her eyes as an excited flush appeared on her cheeks.

Angie's mouth gaped open in shock, but she was unable to utter even a single word.

One final burst of rumbling rang out as the entire plot of spirit farmland was uprooted and lifted vertically upward.

From afar, it would appear as if the plot of spirit farmland were hovering in mid-air.

Drew's jaw had already dropped straight to the ground at this astonishing sight.

"Let's go check out my new cave abode, Elder Murray," John said as he turned to Bill with a nonchalant smile.

Murray looked at the uprooted plot of spirit farmland and the severely ravaged valley, and he had no idea how to feel about this.

He had thought that at the very most, John would've only chosen one of the plots of spirit farmland, then moved it using some type of treasure or secret technique, and it never occurred to him that he would uproot the entire plot of spirit farmland with the power of his physical body alone!

However, he had authorized John to do as he pleased, so he naturally couldn't say anything now. Thus, he could only give a wry smile as he led the way up the mountain.

John carried the enormous plot of spirit farmland and wandered over Cloudrise Peak for over an hour before finally selecting a cave abode that was situated in a peaceful corner near the peak of the mountain.
Click to expand...
 
Alonzo03 said:
For now it's not packed with intense drama
Click to expand...
Come on, John Brown just moved a piece of land by his physical body. If that not drama, what could it be 🤣
 
Gily said:
Come on, John Brown just moved a piece of land by his physical body. If that not drama, what could it be 🤣
Click to expand...
I guess this kind of drama no longer amuses me, afterall it's similar to John white story. I'm still wondering if this story it connected to John white. Megan once asked JB if he was the legendary John white. And why do I feel like the soul remnant in JB might be fritz Although might had regained his body only for him to loose it again 😂
 
Alonzo03 said:
I guess this kind of drama no longer amuses me, afterall it's similar to John white story. I'm still wondering if this story it connected to John white. Megan once asked JB if he was the legendary John white. And why do I feel like the soul remnant in JB might be fritz Although might had regained his body only for him to loose it again 😂
Click to expand...
Haha that was my doing man, I tend to over exaggerate on these stories so that you guys enjoy reading
 
Chapter 31: Trade Valley

John casually smashed a giant crater that was around an acre in area into the secluded cave abode, then placed the plot of spirit farmland into it, and Murray couldn't help but burst into raucous laughter upon seeing this.

"Your extraordinary strength has far exceeded my expectations, Mr. John! I have truly been humbled!"

"You're far too kind, Mr. Murray. Now that you've finished examining my abilities, it's time that we discuss some official matters, is it not?" John asked with a hint of a smile on his face.

A sheepish smile appeared on Murrays face upon hearing this, and he cleared his throat in a slightly awkward manner as he replied, "I had no such intentions, Mr. John. There's not too much that needs to be said. You don't need to do anything to become a guest elder of our sect, and every year, our sect will assign you 50,000 spirit stones and some pills to support your cultivation.

“However, the pill assignment window for this year has already passed, so you'll have to wait for next year. This is your badge, it contains a map of our sect and some information on all of our sect's peaks. This is this year's spirit stone allotment of 80,000 spirit stones. The additional 30,000 spirit stones are a welcoming gift from Peak Master Eastwood."

Murray pulled out a shimmering golden badge and an azure storage bag as he spoke, then offered them to John.

A complex look appeared in Angie's eyes as she cast her gaze toward John. The benefits that Murray had just described were normally reserved only for Deity Transformation Stage elders, but given the power that John has displayed, no one could argue that he was unworthy of such treatment.

"Thank you, Elder Murray. By the way, are Sharp Watch Pills allocated yearly by the sect or are there some other avenues through which they can be obtained?" John asked as he accepted the badge and the spirit stones.

"Sharp Watch Pills are occasionally allocated by the sect. They're great for treating injuries, but they don't have much use when it comes to cultivation base advancement. Some disciples will trade them in our sect's internal markets, but most of them are traded very quickly, so they're not easy to obtain," Murray replied.

"It looks like I'll just have to try my luck then," John said with a thoughtful expression.

Murray didn't linger much longer, and he departed with Angie and Drew after exchanging some more small talk with John.

Following Murray's departure, John activated all of the restrictions within the cave abode, then led Megan on a tour. He arranged a bedroom for her to rest in, then departed from the cave abode.

Around 15 minutes later, John appeared in a valley several kilometers away from Cloudrise Peak.

There was a white stone plaque situated at the entrance of the valley, upon which were engraved the words "Trade Valley" in large red characters. Beneath the plaque was a wide stone street that extended into the valley.

This Trade Valley was none other than the internal market that Bill Murray had referred to earlier, and even before entering the valley, John could already hear the chaotic commotion one would normally expect to hear in a busy market.

John paused momentarily at the entrance of the valley, then continued onward, and by the time he arrived under the plaque, most of the valley was laid out before him.

Most of the streets in the valley sloped upward, and all of the shops were also constructed in a way that followed the terrain of the valley. All types of flags were hanging outside the shops, and it looked no different from a normal market.

At the moment, it was just past noon, and there were countless people entering and exiting the shops in the market, presenting a lively and bustling sight to behold.

John chose a pill shop at random before walking into it, but shortly thereafter, he emerged in an expressionless manner before proceeding to the next shop.

He visited five or six large pill shops in a row, but didn't encounter even a single Sharp Watch Pill. Only in one of the shops was he informed that they had recently received one such pill, but that was two months ago, and it had been traded away on the same day.

After close to half a day, John traversed through almost the entire market, but still had nothing to show for his efforts.

After emerging from yet another pill shop, John didn't continue deeper into the valley. Instead, he made his way toward a secluded corner, then suddenly swiveled around before casting a cold gaze toward a nearby tree.

"You've been following me almost the entire time I've been in this valley. Do you have some business with me?"

"Please forgive me, It's all just a misunderstanding."

A gray-robed elderly man emerged from behind the tree before making his way over to John with a sheepish expression.

The man's hair and beard were all completely white, yet he had an extremely youthful, childlike face, presenting a rather peculiar contrast to behold.

John could sense that the man was a Deity Transformation cultivator. "A misunderstanding?"

The elderly man's expression remained unchanged as he calmly explained, "I am Paul Adelstein, an elder of Sunset Peak. I just so happened to overhear that you were searching for a Sharp Watch Pill, and that's why I've been following you briefly."

"The Sunset Peak? If I recall correctly, that peak is specifically dedicated to the pill refinement masters of the sect, right? Could it be that you have a Sharp Watch Pill in your possession?" John asked.

"Haha, I do indeed have a Sharp Watch Pill, and I intend to trade it, but I'll have to see if you have anything that I need," Adelstein replied with a smile as he took a glance at the storage bag on Johns waist.

"What are you looking for, Elder Paul?" John asked.

"There's no hurry. I still don't even know your name yet, Mr….” Adelstein said, displaying no urgency to proceed with the trade.

"I am John Brown, a guest elder of the Cloudrise Peak. Can we get back to business now?" John asked with a calm expression.

"A guest elder of Cloudrise Peak? You must possess some remarkable abilities, Mr Brown. I'm completely unable to discern your cultivation base! But I digress. I am looking for Glacial Energy Water, Blue Crystal Sand, Heavenly River Starstone, or a Lanling Flower or Inkfragrance Herb over 3,000 years old”.

“Do you have any of those things, Mr. John? If you have any one of them, I'd be more than willing to trade my Sharp Watch Pill to you," Adelstein said as he stroked his long beard.

"Surely you jest, Elder Paul. Every single one of those things is extremely rare. If I had those things, I would be asking for far more than just a Sharp Watch Pill," John said.

Adelstein's expression stiffened slightly upon hearing this, and a sheepish look appeared on his face.

"I suggest you make some more realistic requests, Mr. Brown. Otherwise, I'd be willing to purchase the pill from you using spirit stones as well," John continued.

Even though he hadn't found any Sharp Watch Pills thus far, he had managed to sell some of the materials, ingredients, and pills that he had previously obtained for a decent sum of spirit stones. In addition to the spirit stones that Murray had given to him, he had a small fortune at his disposal. Of course, the few top-grade spirit stones that he had obtained weren't being factored into those calculations.

Adelstein hesitated momentarily upon hearing this, then conceded, "Alright, in that case, I'll do you a favor and trade my Sharp Watch Pill for spirit stones. I'll take two top-grade spirit stones for my Sharp Watch Pill. What do you say?"

"You're asking for way too much, Elder Paul! Sharp Watch Pills may be quite rare in this market, but even the highest asking price shouldn't exceed 600,000 spirit stones!" John said as his brows furrowed slightly with displeasure.

"I don't think I'm asking for too much. After all, you're referring to the prices in our sect's internal market. If a Sharp Watch Pill were to go on auction outside of the sect, it would fetch a far higher price," Adelstein countered in an unhurried manner.

John was silent for a moment, then asked, "How about this? I don't have any of the things that you listed earlier, but I have some other precious materials and ingredients in my possession. Are you interested?"

"If you're only referring to some common treasures, then there's no need to bring them out, Mr. Brown. It would be much more convenient to just use spirit stones," Adelstein said with a smile.

"I have an Azure Underworld Crystal, a Myriad Energy Spirit Trapping Array Scroll, and a Energy Soul Zoysia. Do any of those things catch your interest?" John asked.

Those were all things that he had found in Brad Pitt's storage bag, and they were precious items, but they weren't very useful to him.

A hesitant look appeared on Adelstein's face, and only after some contemplation did he reply in a reluctant voice, "I have some use for a Energy Soul Zoysia, but it has to be at least 1,000 years old, and the Sharp Watch Pill is yours if you can throw in an extra 300,000 spirit stones on top of that."

John immediately turned to depart upon hearing this, not hesitating in the slightest.

"Mr. Brown, please wait!"

Adelstein's calm facade instantly fell away at the sight of John's sudden departure.

John naturally wasn't serious about leaving, and he willingly obliged, stopping in his tracks. However, instead of making his way back to Adelstein, he merely turned around to look at him from where he was.

Adelstein hurriedly made his way over to John, then said with a sheepish smile, "Don't be in such a hurry to leave, Mr. Brown, the price is still negotiable. Would you be able to let me see the Soul Energy Zoysia that you have in your possession?"

John didn't waste any time with words as he flipped a hand over to produce a wooden box that was around half a foot in length, then opened the lid of the box by a sliver. Adelstein immediately released his spiritual sense to inspect the contents of the box, and a hint of surprise appeared on his face before quickly fading.
 
Chapter 32: Pill Reversal Art

"You're a lucky man, Mr. Brown. That Soul Energy Zoysia has to be at least 2,300... no, 2,400 years old. It's more than enough to exchange for a Sharp Watch Pill," Adelstein said.

"I want two Sharp Watch Pills for this Soul Energy Zoysia," John demanded in an implacable voice.

A wry smile appeared on Adelstein's face upon hearing this. "But I only have one of these pills, Mr. Brown."

"Perhaps I would believe you if you were an elder from another sect, but you can't expect to convince me that an elder of the Sunset Peak like yourself is unable to offer me at least two Sharp Watch Pills. If it's too much to ask, then I can afford to keep waiting. I'm sure I'll find a seller eventually," John said in an unhurried voice.

Adelstein's brows furrowed slightly upon hearing this, and this time, he was truly grappling with a dilemma. After pondering the situation for quite some time, he finally conceded, "Deal!"

John accepted a white jade box that was handed to him by Adelstein, and a pleased smile appeared on his face after he inspected the box's contents with his spiritual sense.

The scent of different medicinal ingredients emanating from Adelstein's body served as confirmation to John that he was indeed a pill refinement master.

For others, a spirit medicine that was over 2,000 years old was perhaps extremely rare, but it naturally wasn't much in John's eyes, and it was far less useful to him than these two Sharp Watch Pills.

Adelstein brought the wooden box under his nose and took a long whiff, then exhaled with a satisfied expression before gleefully stowing the box away in his storage bag. He then invited John to visit him at Sunset Peak when he had some free time before quickly departing.

After completing the trade, John didn't immediately leave the market. Instead, he continued to make his way through the valley, trading most of his spirit stones for high-grade pills of a similar caliber to the Sharp Watch Pill, and only after that did he depart from the valley before traveling back to the Cloudrise Peak.

After returning to his cave abode, John saw Megan sitting on her own in the hall, staring absentmindedly into the distance with her chin resting on her hand.

"What are you thinking about, Megan?" John asked as he made his way over to Megan before taking a seat in front of her.

Only then did she notice that John had returned, and she immediately called out in an elated voice, "Brother Rock!"

"Why are you daydreaming here on your own kiddo?" John asked with a gentle smile.

"I was just thinking to myself that ever since I met you, my life has felt like a dream," Megan replied with a serious expression.

John faltered slightly upon hearing this before an amused smile appeared on his face.

"If this is a dream, then I really hope that I never wake up. Aside from mom and dad, you treat me better than anyone else in the world. I want to be by your side forever, Brother Rock," Megan said in a low voice as tears began to well up in her eyes.

John then suddenly raised his hand and joined his index and middle fingers together before pressing them against Megan's forehead.

Megan was quite startled by this, but she didn't recoil.

"Close your eyes," John instructed in a gentle voice.

Megan immediately did as she was told without any hesitation, closing her eyes tightly.

A faint smile appeared on John's face as he also closed his eyes before chanting an incantation.

Around ten minutes later, John opened his eyes.

At this point, Megan's face had already turned slightly pale, and there was a faint sheen of sweat on her forehead.

John withdrew his fingers as he said, "Alright, you can open your eyes now."

Megan's eyelashes fluttered slightly as she slowly opened her eyes, then cast a puzzled gaze toward John.

"I just implanted a cultivation art by the name of 'Illusory Spirit Cicada Transformation' into your mind. I picked up this high-grade demonic cultivation art some years ago, and it's perfect for a demonic fox like yourself to cultivate," John said with a faint smile.

Megan closed her eyes to sense the newly implanted cultivation art in her mind upon hearing this, but she still looked rather perplexed.

"I'll continue to do my best to protect you, but if I'm not by your side for some reason, you need to be able to protect yourself as well. At the very least, you need to be able to keep yourself safe until I get to you," John explained with a serious expression.

Megan thought about this momentarily before nodding in response with a serious look of her own. "I'll be sure to work hard on this cultivation art!"

John gave a pleased nod in response.

……

In a certain conference hall on Cloudrise Peak, Murray extended a respectful bow toward the scholarly-robed middle-aged man sitting on the main seat.

"As expected, John really is a high-grade body cultivator. I've already arranged a place for him to stay, and no one from the other peaks has been made aware of his arrival. As for niece angie, I've already issued a reward to her as you instructed, and she's been told not to tell anyone about John's exploits in slaying that Deity Transformation Stage elder of the Heavenly Ghost Sect."

Peak Master Eastwood nodded in response. "Good. The fact that he was able to slay a Deity Transformation cultivator as a Nascent Soul cultivator indicates that he must possess an exceptionally powerful body. I'm sure he's going to be extremely useful to our peak in the future. Make sure to look after him and satisfy any requests he may have as much as possible."

"Yes, Sir" Murray replied.

"You can go now," Peak Master Eastwood said with a dismissive wave of his hand.

Murray extended a respectful bow before departing.

Following Murray's departure, Peak Master Eastwood sat in silence with his eyes closed for a short while, then rose to his feet and made his way toward the back of the hall.

……

John was naturally oblivious to the conversation that had taken place between Murray and Peak Master Eastwood.

At this moment, he was seated with his legs crossed in a secret chamber of his cave abode, and there were around a dozen containers, such as jade vials and jade boxes, placed on the table in front of him.

He was holding a small red vial, and he pulled out the stopper before tipping out a crimson pill. A strong medicinal aroma immediately spread through the air, and after a brief inspection, John took the pill before closing his eyes to examine his internal condition.

Moments later, he reopened his eyes with tightly furrowed brows.

The red pill was comparable in caliber to the Sharp Watch Pill, but it had no effect on him whatsoever.

John wasn't surprised by this, and he picked up a second vial before tipping out a yellow pill that he promptly swallowed.

The pill melted as soon as it entered his stomach, but there still wasn't any spiritual energy generated.

A short while later, John opened his eyes before picking up a third vial.

Soon, most of the pills on the table had already been tested, but none of them had proven to be effective, and there was only a purple jade box and an azure porcelain vial left on the table.

A contemplative look appeared on John's face, and he was beginning to feel rather frustrated.

It seemed that finding pills that would have an effect on him was going to be far more difficult than he had imagined. However, the good thing was that he was now part of a major sect, and based on his current understanding of the Spirit Domain Realm, this was a realm with an abundance of cultivation resources, so as long as he put his mind to it, there was surely progress to be made.

With that in mind, he picked up the purple jade box from the table, then plucked out a gray pill between his fingers before tipping his head back to swallow it.

This time, a hint of elation finally appeared on John's face.

He could feel wisps of spiritual energy emerging from the pill before circulating throughout his meridians and entering his elixir field, slightly increasing his spiritual energy reserves.

The gray pill was far less effective than the Sharp Watch Pill, but it was still very encouraging that he had managed to find another pill that he could use for spiritual energy restoration.

As for the pills in the azure porcelain vial, sure enough, they were also completely ineffective.

John exhaled as he pulled out another gray pill from the purple jade box and held it at the center of his palm.

This pill was called the Dark Cloud Pill, and it was supposed to have restorative properties, but it was more suited to cultivators using water-attribute cultivation arts, and its intended effect was quite different from that of the Sharp Watch Pill.

After a moment of contemplation, John suddenly rose to his feet, then exited the secret chamber before making his way outside.

He stopped while passing by Megan's bedroom, and even through the door, he could still sense the spiritual energy surging inside the room, clearly indicating that she was cultivating diligently.

He gave a pleased nod before continuing onward, quickly arriving in the pill refinement room.

This pill refinement room wasn't very large in size, and the ground was a dark azure color. At the center of the room was a cylindrical mound that was around half a foot tall, upon which was engraved an array consisting of many dark red patterns.

At the center of the array was a black hole that contained a lit flame, and a scorching aura was emanating from within it.

A pill furnace that was around half the height of a grown human was sitting on the mound, giving off wisps of spiritual qi.

John swept his gaze over the room, then took a seat on a cushion beside the pill furnace before releasing an incantation seal with a wave of his hand.

The red array immediately lit up, following which a burst of bright red groundfire erupted out of the black hole to envelop the pill furnace.

First, John cleaned the inside and outside of the pill furnace in an expert fashion. He then flipped a hand over to produce the Dark Cloud Pill before tossing it into the pill furnace.

The groundfire began to move at his behest as he made a hand seal, splitting up into eight independent flames that surged into the pill furnace, and soon, a strong medicinal scent began to waft through the air.

As John continued to make hand seals, the medicinal aroma suddenly became less pronounced.

His expression remained unchanged as he continued to go through a series of hand seals, and close to an hour passed by in the blink of an eye.

At this point, the medicinal aroma wafting out from the furnace had almost completely faded, and it had been replaced by another aroma that seemed to be a rather chaotic culmination of many types of different scents.

John then released a final incantation seal, and the flame beneath the furnace was instantly snuffed out.

He swept a hand through the air to remove the furnace's lid, and the Dark Cloud Pill inside had already disappeared, having been replaced by a small mound of colorful powder.

John inspected the small mound of powder briefly, then carefully released a burst of green light that carried the powder out of the furnace.

The green light shuddered slightly, and countless thin threads that resembled thousands upon thousands of tiny hands reached into the powder.

Soon, the small mound of powder was split up into around a dozen portions, each of which was of a different color.

John gave a pleased nod upon seeing this, then carefully split the powder up into around a dozen small jade boxes that he had already prepared in advance.

The secret technique that he had just used was called the Pill Reversal Art, and it was quite a rare secret technique that he had obtained by chance back in the Spirit Realm. The secret technique allowed him to reverse-refine and break down pills.

The creator of the secret technique had tried to use it to break down other people's pills in order to extrapolate the refinement methods for those pills.

Unfortunately, he failed in the end. The Pill Reversal Art ultimately still had its limits, and it was only able to help one identify the ingredients used in a pill, but was unable to yield the actual pill refinement method.

John had been quite intrigued by the secret technique, and he was a pill refinement master himself, so he decided to record it, but this was the first time that he had ever used it.

Thankfully, the Dark Cloud Pill was only a Nascent Soul Stage pill, so it wasn't of a very high caliber. Otherwise, he may not have been able to successfully break it down on the first try.
 
Gily said:
Chapter 32: Pill Reversal Art

"You're a lucky man, Mr. Brown. That Soul Energy Zoysia has to be at least 2,300... no, 2,400 years old. It's more than enough to exchange for a Sharp Watch Pill," Adelstein said.

"I want two Sharp Watch Pills for this Soul Energy Zoysia," John demanded in an implacable voice.

A wry smile appeared on Adelstein's face upon hearing this. "But I only have one of these pills, Mr. Brown."

"Perhaps I would believe you if you were an elder from another sect, but you can't expect to convince me that an elder of the Sunset Peak like yourself is unable to offer me at least two Sharp Watch Pills. If it's too much to ask, then I can afford to keep waiting. I'm sure I'll find a seller eventually," John said in an unhurried voice.

Adelstein's brows furrowed slightly upon hearing this, and this time, he was truly grappling with a dilemma. After pondering the situation for quite some time, he finally conceded, "Deal!"

John accepted a white jade box that was handed to him by Adelstein, and a pleased smile appeared on his face after he inspected the box's contents with his spiritual sense.

The scent of different medicinal ingredients emanating from Adelstein's body served as confirmation to John that he was indeed a pill refinement master.

For others, a spirit medicine that was over 2,000 years old was perhaps extremely rare, but it naturally wasn't much in John's eyes, and it was far less useful to him than these two Sharp Watch Pills.

Adelstein brought the wooden box under his nose and took a long whiff, then exhaled with a satisfied expression before gleefully stowing the box away in his storage bag. He then invited John to visit him at Sunset Peak when he had some free time before quickly departing.

After completing the trade, John didn't immediately leave the market. Instead, he continued to make his way through the valley, trading most of his spirit stones for high-grade pills of a similar caliber to the Sharp Watch Pill, and only after that did he depart from the valley before traveling back to the Cloudrise Peak.

After returning to his cave abode, John saw Megan sitting on her own in the hall, staring absentmindedly into the distance with her chin resting on her hand.

"What are you thinking about, Megan?" John asked as he made his way over to Megan before taking a seat in front of her.

Only then did she notice that John had returned, and she immediately called out in an elated voice, "Brother Rock!"

"Why are you daydreaming here on your own kiddo?" John asked with a gentle smile.

"I was just thinking to myself that ever since I met you, my life has felt like a dream," Megan replied with a serious expression.

John faltered slightly upon hearing this before an amused smile appeared on his face.

"If this is a dream, then I really hope that I never wake up. Aside from mom and dad, you treat me better than anyone else in the world. I want to be by your side forever, Brother Rock," Megan said in a low voice as tears began to well up in her eyes.

John then suddenly raised his hand and joined his index and middle fingers together before pressing them against Megan's forehead.

Megan was quite startled by this, but she didn't recoil.

"Close your eyes," John instructed in a gentle voice.

Megan immediately did as she was told without any hesitation, closing her eyes tightly.

A faint smile appeared on John's face as he also closed his eyes before chanting an incantation.

Around ten minutes later, John opened his eyes.

At this point, Megan's face had already turned slightly pale, and there was a faint sheen of sweat on her forehead.

John withdrew his fingers as he said, "Alright, you can open your eyes now."

Megan's eyelashes fluttered slightly as she slowly opened her eyes, then cast a puzzled gaze toward John.

"I just implanted a cultivation art by the name of 'Illusory Spirit Cicada Transformation' into your mind. I picked up this high-grade demonic cultivation art some years ago, and it's perfect for a demonic fox like yourself to cultivate," John said with a faint smile.

Megan closed her eyes to sense the newly implanted cultivation art in her mind upon hearing this, but she still looked rather perplexed.

"I'll continue to do my best to protect you, but if I'm not by your side for some reason, you need to be able to protect yourself as well. At the very least, you need to be able to keep yourself safe until I get to you," John explained with a serious expression.

Megan thought about this momentarily before nodding in response with a serious look of her own. "I'll be sure to work hard on this cultivation art!"

John gave a pleased nod in response.

……

In a certain conference hall on Cloudrise Peak, Murray extended a respectful bow toward the scholarly-robed middle-aged man sitting on the main seat.

"As expected, John really is a high-grade body cultivator. I've already arranged a place for him to stay, and no one from the other peaks has been made aware of his arrival. As for niece angie, I've already issued a reward to her as you instructed, and she's been told not to tell anyone about John's exploits in slaying that Deity Transformation Stage elder of the Heavenly Ghost Sect."

Peak Master Eastwood nodded in response. "Good. The fact that he was able to slay a Deity Transformation cultivator as a Nascent Soul cultivator indicates that he must possess an exceptionally powerful body. I'm sure he's going to be extremely useful to our peak in the future. Make sure to look after him and satisfy any requests he may have as much as possible."

"Yes, Sir" Murray replied.

"You can go now," Peak Master Eastwood said with a dismissive wave of his hand.

Murray extended a respectful bow before departing.

Following Murray's departure, Peak Master Eastwood sat in silence with his eyes closed for a short while, then rose to his feet and made his way toward the back of the hall.

……

John was naturally oblivious to the conversation that had taken place between Murray and Peak Master Eastwood.

At this moment, he was seated with his legs crossed in a secret chamber of his cave abode, and there were around a dozen containers, such as jade vials and jade boxes, placed on the table in front of him.

He was holding a small red vial, and he pulled out the stopper before tipping out a crimson pill. A strong medicinal aroma immediately spread through the air, and after a brief inspection, John took the pill before closing his eyes to examine his internal condition.

Moments later, he reopened his eyes with tightly furrowed brows.

The red pill was comparable in caliber to the Sharp Watch Pill, but it had no effect on him whatsoever.

John wasn't surprised by this, and he picked up a second vial before tipping out a yellow pill that he promptly swallowed.

The pill melted as soon as it entered his stomach, but there still wasn't any spiritual energy generated.

A short while later, John opened his eyes before picking up a third vial.

Soon, most of the pills on the table had already been tested, but none of them had proven to be effective, and there was only a purple jade box and an azure porcelain vial left on the table.

A contemplative look appeared on John's face, and he was beginning to feel rather frustrated.

It seemed that finding pills that would have an effect on him was going to be far more difficult than he had imagined. However, the good thing was that he was now part of a major sect, and based on his current understanding of the Spirit Domain Realm, this was a realm with an abundance of cultivation resources, so as long as he put his mind to it, there was surely progress to be made.

With that in mind, he picked up the purple jade box from the table, then plucked out a gray pill between his fingers before tipping his head back to swallow it.

This time, a hint of elation finally appeared on John's face.

He could feel wisps of spiritual energy emerging from the pill before circulating throughout his meridians and entering his elixir field, slightly increasing his spiritual energy reserves.

The gray pill was far less effective than the Sharp Watch Pill, but it was still very encouraging that he had managed to find another pill that he could use for spiritual energy restoration.

As for the pills in the azure porcelain vial, sure enough, they were also completely ineffective.

John exhaled as he pulled out another gray pill from the purple jade box and held it at the center of his palm.

This pill was called the Dark Cloud Pill, and it was supposed to have restorative properties, but it was more suited to cultivators using water-attribute cultivation arts, and its intended effect was quite different from that of the Sharp Watch Pill.

After a moment of contemplation, John suddenly rose to his feet, then exited the secret chamber before making his way outside.

He stopped while passing by Megan's bedroom, and even through the door, he could still sense the spiritual energy surging inside the room, clearly indicating that she was cultivating diligently.

He gave a pleased nod before continuing onward, quickly arriving in the pill refinement room.

This pill refinement room wasn't very large in size, and the ground was a dark azure color. At the center of the room was a cylindrical mound that was around half a foot tall, upon which was engraved an array consisting of many dark red patterns.

At the center of the array was a black hole that contained a lit flame, and a scorching aura was emanating from within it.

A pill furnace that was around half the height of a grown human was sitting on the mound, giving off wisps of spiritual qi.

John swept his gaze over the room, then took a seat on a cushion beside the pill furnace before releasing an incantation seal with a wave of his hand.

The red array immediately lit up, following which a burst of bright red groundfire erupted out of the black hole to envelop the pill furnace.

First, John cleaned the inside and outside of the pill furnace in an expert fashion. He then flipped a hand over to produce the Dark Cloud Pill before tossing it into the pill furnace.

The groundfire began to move at his behest as he made a hand seal, splitting up into eight independent flames that surged into the pill furnace, and soon, a strong medicinal scent began to waft through the air.

As John continued to make hand seals, the medicinal aroma suddenly became less pronounced.

His expression remained unchanged as he continued to go through a series of hand seals, and close to an hour passed by in the blink of an eye.

At this point, the medicinal aroma wafting out from the furnace had almost completely faded, and it had been replaced by another aroma that seemed to be a rather chaotic culmination of many types of different scents.

John then released a final incantation seal, and the flame beneath the furnace was instantly snuffed out.

He swept a hand through the air to remove the furnace's lid, and the Dark Cloud Pill inside had already disappeared, having been replaced by a small mound of colorful powder.

John inspected the small mound of powder briefly, then carefully released a burst of green light that carried the powder out of the furnace.

The green light shuddered slightly, and countless thin threads that resembled thousands upon thousands of tiny hands reached into the powder.

Soon, the small mound of powder was split up into around a dozen portions, each of which was of a different color.

John gave a pleased nod upon seeing this, then carefully split the powder up into around a dozen small jade boxes that he had already prepared in advance.

The secret technique that he had just used was called the Pill Reversal Art, and it was quite a rare secret technique that he had obtained by chance back in the Spirit Realm. The secret technique allowed him to reverse-refine and break down pills.

The creator of the secret technique had tried to use it to break down other people's pills in order to extrapolate the refinement methods for those pills.

Unfortunately, he failed in the end. The Pill Reversal Art ultimately still had its limits, and it was only able to help one identify the ingredients used in a pill, but was unable to yield the actual pill refinement method.

John had been quite intrigued by the secret technique, and he was a pill refinement master himself, so he decided to record it, but this was the first time that he had ever used it.

Thankfully, the Dark Cloud Pill was only a Nascent Soul Stage pill, so it wasn't of a very high caliber. Otherwise, he may not have been able to successfully break it down on the first try.
Click to expand...
Nice one
I think it could be lovely novel
 
Chapter 33: Cloud Crane Herb

John set the jade boxes containing the different powders aside, then swept a hand through the air to release another incantation seal, activating the pill furnace array once again. After that, he pulled out another pill, and this one was a Sharp Watch Pill.

After a brief hesitation, he tossed the Sharp Watch Pill into the pill furnace and unleashed the Pill Refinement Art again.

Close to an hour later, the Sharp Watch Pill was also split up into around a dozen different types of ingredients that were stored into jade boxes.

He placed the ingredients of the two pills together before conducting a thorough examination.

A short while later, a faint smile appeared on his face.

Most of the ingredients used for these two pills were completely different, but there was a type of blue crystalline powder used in both pills that was identical in both color and form, so it was clear that it was the same type of ingredient.

However, the Sharp Watch Pill contained much more of this ingredient than the Dark Cloud Pill did.

Both types of pills had an effect on him, and while the blue powder wasn't necessarily confirmed to be the sole effective ingredient, it was definitely something worth exploring.

John gently dipped the tip of his finger into the blue powder before taking a whiff, then placed it into his mouth for a taste, and his brows slowly furrowed slightly.

Ever since the beginning, his cultivation journey had been closely intertwined with the art of pill refinement. Regardless of whether it was in the Human Realm or the Spirit Realm, he was at least somewhat familiar with all of the pill refinement ingredients that the two realms had to offer, and he even had some knowledge of the pill refinement ingredients of other realms. However, he had no idea what this blue powder was.

Perhaps this is something unique to the Spirit Domain Realm?

After pondering the issue to himself for a while, John suddenly rose to his feet before promptly departing from his cave abode.

At this point, it was already quite dark outside.

Azure light flashed from his body as he flew through the air, and moments later, he descended in front of a certain cave abode on Sunset Peak several dozen kilometers away.

The cave abode was situated in quite a secluded location with barely anyone around.

John quickly inspected his surroundings, then made his way to the entrance of the cave abode before flipping a hand over to produce a voice transmission talisman, which he whispered a message into before sending it flying through the air.

The voice transmission talisman flew into the cave abode as a streak of white light, and moments later, the gates of the cave abode swung open amid a burst of rumbling.

"Please pardon my intrusion, Elder Paul," John said as he cupped his fist in a salute.

"Not at all! I didn't think we would meet again so soon, Elder John. Please come in." Adelstein emerged with a wide smile before inviting John into the cave abode.

Adelstein's cave abode was clearly larger than John's, but the furnishings were quite simple, and a strong medicinal aroma was wafting throughout the entire cave abode.

"I won't waste any more of your time than necessary, Elder Gao. I came here because I wanted to ask you something," John said in a direct and straightforward manner after taking a seat.

Adelstein faltered slightly upon hearing this, then prompted, "Go ahead, John."

John flipped a hand over to produce a jade box that contained the blue powder, then offered it to Adelstein. "Do you recognize this ingredient, Elder Paul?"

Adelstein accepted the jade box before taking a close look. He then dipped a fingertip into the powder before placing it onto his tongue, and he raised an eyebrow as he took a meaningful look at John.

"Looks like I came to the right person," John said with a smile.

"You did indeed make the right decision to come to me. However..." Adelstein's voice trailed off here as a suggestive smile appeared on his face.

John immediately flipped a hand over to produce a high-grade spirit stone, which he tossed at Adelstein.

Adelstein gleefully accepted the spirit stone, and his smile grew even wider as he elaborated, "This is powderized Cloud Crane Herb. Upon reaching a certain age, the Cloud Crane Herb is used as one of the main ingredients for several types of high-grade pills produced in our sect, and it's an extremely rare ingredient.

“On top of that, this powder seems to have been processed through certain means, and I was only just barely able to identify it thanks to the familiarity with all types of ingredients that I've developed through years of pill refinement."

John nodded in response, then asked, "I see... Would you be able to tell me about the medicinal properties of this Cloud Crane Herb?"

A suggestive grin reappeared on Adelstein's face, as he gave John a sly look.

John tossed another high-grade spirit stone at him.

Adelstein happily accepted the spirit stone, then said, "The Cloud Crane Herb is also known as the Chameleon Herb. The herb turns white at 100 years old, blue at 1,000 years old, red at 3,000 years old, dark red at 10,000 years old, and purplish-red at 30,000 years old or above.

“The most remarkable property of this herb is its ability to absorb the energy of the rising sun and produce a wisp of quintessential purple energy upon reaching 100 years old. Not only is quintessential purple qi something that's absolutely required for cultivating several types of incredibly powerful cultivation arts, it can also be directly converted into quintessential spiritual power, which can cleanse one's essence and enhance one's constitution.

“The older a Cloud Crane Herb is, the purer the quintessential purple qi it contains becomes, and effects of that quintessential purple qi naturally become more incredible as a result."

"Where can this Cloud Crane Herb be found?" John asked.

"This herb can only grow in a set of very specific conditions, and as far as I'm aware, it can only be found in a few places, virtually all of which are under the control of the major sects in our realm. At the moment, almost all specimens over 1,000 years old are in the possession of the major sects, and they're almost impossible to find outside of that," Adelstein replied.

After hearing what Adelstein had to say, John had already gotten the answers that he wanted. It was most likely the case that this quintessential purple qi was the key to his magic power recovery.

"Aside from the Sharp Watch Pill, what other pills are refined using the Cloud Crane Herb?" John asked.

This time, Adelstein didn't ask for any further financial compensation as he replied, "Aside from the Sharp Watch Pill, small amounts of the herb are also used in the Dark Cloud Pill. In addition to that, the Spirit Nurturing Pill and the Void Origin Pill also contain small amounts of Cloud Crane Herb of a young age, but the quintessential purple qi that those pills contain is virtually negligible."

After parting ways with Gao Adelstein, John made another trip to the Trade Valley and spent a top-grade spirit stone to purchase a few of each of the pills that Adelstein mentioned. In addition to that, he also purchased several Cloud Crane Herbs in the hundreds of years old before returning to Cloudrise Peak.

Inside the secret chamber of his cave abode, John was seated on a cushion, and placed in front of him were the pills and the Cloud Crane Herbs that he had just purchased.

He opened a white porcelain vial before tipping out a Dark Cloud Pill that he promptly swallowed. A surge of warmth quickly rose up from his elixir field as traces of spiritual power were released by the pill, gradually converting into magic power that was stored in his body.

This was naturally an encouraging development, and he picked up a Cloud Crane Herb before placing it into his mouth, then chewed a few times before also swallowing it.

Roughly 10 minutes later, his elixir field began to warm up again, and wisps of spiritual energy flowed into his elixir field before being stored again.

A faint smile appeared on John's face, and he could finally confirm that this quintessential purple energy was indeed the key to his magic power recovery.

After a day and a night, he had devoured most of the pills and Cloud Crane Herbs that he had purchased, and as a result, his cultivation base had recovered to the late-Nascent Soul Stage.

He was ecstatic to see this, yet right as he was about to devour all of the remaining pills, his expression suddenly stiffened slightly.

The medicinal power in his body that was still yet to be converted was finally converted into magic power that converged toward his elixir field, but his elixir field was already like a filled tank of water, unable to hold any more spiritual energy.

All he could do was watch as the superfluous spiritual energy lingered momentarily in his elixir field, then dissipated into nothingness.

John heaved a faint sigh, and he knew that this most likely had something to do with the condition that his nascent soul was in. In his current state, any further consumption of pills was most likely only going to be a waste.

He would have to wait for his physical body and spiritual sense to recover further before he could investigate the cause behind the condition that his nascent soul was in.

At the moment, he was unable to increase his spiritual energy power through cultivation, and he could only recover to the late-Nascent Soul Stage through the use of pills, so his top priority now was to enhance the rate of recovery of his physical body and spiritual sense.

With that in mind, he was rather unsure of how to proceed, and his brows furrowed slightly as he fell into deep thought.

Moments later, a thought suddenly seemed to have occurred to him, and he flipped a hand over to produce the guest elder badge that he had received from Bill Murray.

He injected his spiritual sense into the badge, and a map of the Cold Flame Sect that was formed by golden lines of light appeared before his eyes.

His gaze roamed over the map for a moment before finally settling on a building on the Sage Gathering Peak, which was annotated with the words "Scripture Library" in small text.
 
Chapter 34: Theft in Scripture Library

Halfway up the Cloudrise Peak, a young disciple in a white robe was making his way up the mountain path.

Right as he raised his foot and was about to tread onto the next step, a blur suddenly flashed through his eyes, and he was instantly rooted to the spot, while his spiritual sense had also become murky and indistinct.

Immediately thereafter, an imposing young man appeared beside him, and it was none other than John.

"Tell me about the scripture library," John said in a peculiar voice as he looked into the young man's eyes with blue light flashing in his own eyes.

The white-robed disciple's eyes were completely glazed over, giving him a dazed appearance as he replied, "The scripture library is situated on the Sage Gathering Peak, and it's split up into the inner library and the outer library. The outer library is open to all disciples and elders, while the inner library is accessible only to inner court disciples and elders."

The scripture library was a vital location in the sect, so it was undoubtedly guarded extremely tightly.

In order to exchange for resources from the library, not only did the disciples and elders of the sect have to issue large sums of spirit stones, they also had sect contribution points deducted as well.

Sect contribution points were a measure of the degree of contributions that inner sect disciples and elders had made to the sect, and they were generally earned by completing missions assigned by the sect. The more difficult a mission was, the greater the number of contribution points awarded. Without sufficient time to accumulate contribution points, it was impossible to earn enough to exchange for high-grade cultivation arts and secret techniques.

As a result, many people tried to pursue shortcuts.

There had been no lack of vagrant cultivators with ulterior motives who had agreed to become guest elders of the Cold Flame Sect in order to sneak into the scripture library to steal cultivation resources, but all of them had been caught with no exceptions, and the fate that they suffered was not enviable, to say the least.

The defenses of the scripture library were watertight, and there were no holes to be exploited.

According to the white-robed disciple, there were Spatial Tempering Stage elders stationed in the scripture library at all times, and the establishment was patrolled at all hours of the day. There were also countless powerful restrictions set up there, making it impossible for the average cultivator to even get close to the scripture library.

John considered the information that he had received for a moment, then tapped a finger against the white-robed disciple's fore head before vanishing on the spot in a wraith-like manner.

At this point, the white-robed disciple's foot had been suspended in mid-air for quite some time, and only now did he take the step.

As a result, he almost stumbled and fell onto his face.

After steadying himself, he massaged his slightly numb calf, then looked around with a confused expression before shaking his head in a perplexed manner and continuing up the mountain.

Few minutes later, John Li appeared on the Sage Gathering Peak.

He stood at the foot of a huge cypress tree as he cast his gaze toward a two-story tall pavilion in the distance.

The pavilion had only a single entrance, and that was on the south-facing wall. There were many types of complex defensive arrays engraved onto the roof of the pavilion, and two groups of patrolling cultivators were constantly surveying the area.

After observing for some time, John vanished from the spot in a flash.

That night, there was a large bluestone hall situated in a valley deep in the Cold Flame Sect, and the area was being patrolled by as many as seven or eight groups of disciples. All of the groups were led by Deity Transformation cultivators, so it was clear that this was an extremely important place.

One of the patrol groups flew silently through the entrance of the valley. The group was led by an azure-robed man, and he was yawning in a rather weary manner.

Right at this moment, another patrol group flew past several hundred feet away, traveling in a different direction.

The azure-robed man pursed his lips in discontent upon seeing this.

The Heavenly Talisman Hall was an extremely important location in the Cold Flame Sect, but in his opinion, it was completely overkill to have so many disciples patrolling the area at night.

Not only was the all situated in a very secretive location, it was entirely enshrouded under a powerful protective array, so it was preposterous to think that anyone could infiltrate the area.

Of course, he didn't dare to voice these objections. Instead, he made a voice transmission to the disciples behind him, telling them to be on their guard as they flew into the valley.

Right at this moment, a thunderous boom suddenly rang out from a hall not far away from the azure-robed man, followed by a flash of purple lightning before everything immediately fell silent again.

The azure-robed man faltered slightly upon seeing this.

"Who's there?"

"Someone's breaking into the Heavenly Talisman Hall!"

Cries of alarm rang out from the disciples behind the azure-robed man, and at this point, the azure-robed man himself had also returned to his senses, flying down as quickly as he could to arrive outside the hall in the blink of an eye.

"Who goes there? Surrender yourself right now!" the azure-robed man roared as he grabbed onto a weapom with one hand while sweeping his other hand through the air, upon which the disciples behind him immediately dispersed to surround the hall.

The other disciples also arrived on the scene in a flash, and soon, all of the patrolling teams were assembled, amounting to over hundred cultivators that surrounded the hall in a watertight encirclement.

The interior of the hall remained completely dark and silent.

All of the halls here were enshrouded under restrictions, keeping all spiritual sense at bay.

The leaders of the patrol groups exchanged a series of uncertain glances with one another, unsure of whether they should rush in or not.

As patrolling disciples, they had no right to set foot into the hall.

"What's going on here?" A streak of white light shot forth before arriving outside the hall, revealing itself to be a white-haired elderly man.

"Master Zeller, someone's broken into the Heavenly Talisman Hall! We're considering entering the hall to capture the perpetrator, but according to the rules, we don't have the right to enter the hall," one of the patrol groups' leaders hurriedly reported.

The white-haired elderly man was furious to hear this. "Are you an idiot? Now's not the time to be following rules! Hurry up and go in!"

He immediately rushed into the hall as he spoke, and most of the patrol groups' leaders quickly rushed in with him, but two of them remained outside.

Upon reaching the entrance of the hall, the white-haired elderly man was surprised to find that the restrictions on the gate were completely unharmed.

This was quite a perplexing sight, but there was no time for him to ponder the situation, and he immediately pulled out a badge, which released a burst of white light that fell upon the gate.

The gate flashed momentarily before swinging open.

Everyone immediately rushed into the hall, and the white-haired elderly man released an incantation seal, upon which dazzling white light instantly appeared all over the hall, illuminating the entire scene.

The layout of the hall was very simple with only around a dozen white jade shelves in the room, so it was a simple matter to take stock of what, if anything, had been lost.

There were a few black scorch marks on the ground, but there wasn't a single person to be seen. Could it be that the perpetrator has already gotten away?

The leaders of the patrol groups couldn't help but exchange a few bewildered glances.

The azure-robed man was also in the hall, and his eyes were wide with incredulity.

He had been right beside the hall at the time of the incident, and his gaze had been focused on the building the entire time, so it was downright unfathomable to him how the perpetrator could've possibly escaped.

All of a sudden, the white-haired elderly man rushed over to one of the white jade shelves, and his face paled significantly.

"Argh! The Heavenly Shadow Rock and the Moon Gazing Herb are all gone!"

All of these white jade shelves were laden with ingredients and materials, and all of them were enshrouded under restrictions, but the restrictions near two of the shelves had been broken, and those shelves were missing a large number of items.

"The Flowing Billow Wood and Ironheart Feather have been taken as well!" the elderly man cried as he rushed over to another shelf with a distraught expression.

The leaders of the patrol groups also wore grim expressions.

"Conduct a search! Deploy all of the patrolling disciples! We must capture the perpetrator!" the white-haired elderly man roared in a furious voice.

The theft that had taken place in the Heavenly Talisman Hall stirred up a massive commotion in the Cold Flame Sect, and countless night patrol disciples were deployed to search for the perpetrator.

The search wore on all the way until the morning, upon which many outer court disciples were also woken up and ordered to join the hunt.

An exhaustive search was conducted throughout the entire Spirit Flame Mountain Range, but not a single trace of the perpetrator was found.

The higher-ups of the sect were quickly alerted to the incident, and a late-Spatial Tempering Stage elder who was adept at tracking was sent to the Heavenly Talisman Hall. After an investigation, he concluded that the perpetrator had fled the scene using some type of lightning teleportation array, and he hadn't left any traces behind, making it impossible to track him down.

The late-Spatial Tempering Stage elder was powerless to do anything, and there was no way that any of the Body Integration Stage grand elders would get involved with something so minor, so Master Zeller of the Heavenly Talisman Hall was forced to call off the hunt.

Even though the incident seemed to have blown over on the surface, there was naturally no way that the sect would let something like this pass so easily.

There were no signs of a break-in in the protective array around the entire Spirit Flame Mountain Range, so the perpetrator had to still be somewhere in the mountain range, and the Cold Flame Sect had sent out powerful cultivators to continue the hunt in secret.

In the wake of such an incident, the defenses in all parts of the Cold Flame Sect were bolstered by several fold.
 
Chapter 36: Theft

While the two Spatial Tempering cultivators were still speculating about what was happening, the figure had already appeared in a black hall.

The hall wasn't very large in size, and there was a thick white jade pillar standing at its center. There were countless runes inscribed upon the surface of the stone pillar, and gentle yellow light was radiating from the top of the pillar, forming a dome-shaped yellow light barrier that encompassed a certain area.

Around a dozen red stone cabinets could be seen within that area, but it was impossible to see what was inside the cabinets, giving them a rather mysterious air.

The figure remained on the spot as he carefully inspected the yellow light barrier up ahead with blue light flashing in his eyes.

Moments later, he swept a hand through the air, releasing dozens of bursts of black light, which were quickly revealed to be a series of black array flags that landed around the yellow barrier in an orderly fashion.

Immediately thereafter, he made a hand seal, and pillars of black light erupted out of the array flags before coming together in mid-air, forming an even larger black light barrier that completely encompassed the entire yellow barrier beneath it.

The yellow light barrier already took up close to half of the space within the hall, and the black light barrier encompassed virtually the entire hall.

The figure then opened his mouth to release a burst of white mist that landed upon the yellow light barrier, attempting to bypass it just as he had done with all of the previous restrictions.

However, in an unexpected turn of events, the white mist had only just corroded a palm-sized hole into the light barrier when the surface of the light barrier suddenly began to glow brightly, releasing countless bursts of yellow light that enveloped the cloud of white mist

At the same time, the runes on the white jade pillar at the center of the light barrier lit up in unison, and the yellow light barrier flashed brightly as countless dazzling threads of yellow light appeared, wrapping themselves around the cloud of white mist before constricting viciously.

The white mist was instantly sliced into countless shreds that quickly dissipated, following which the yellow light also receded, and the hole in the light barrier sealed over again.

The figure's expression remained completely unchanged upon seeing this, seemingly not very surprised by this outcome. After scrutinizing the white jade pillar for some time, he flipped a hand over to produce around a dozen more array flags of different colors.

With a casual flick of his wrist, all of the array flags spread through the area, hovering in mid-air to form a strange ovular array that seemed to be completely random and erratic, but there was far more to the array than met the eye.

As the figure continued to cycle through a series of hand seals, black light flashed from his hands incessantly, and the dozen or so array flags also began to glow with light of different colors as they struck the yellow light barrier like a series of javelins, driving their way in like nails to encircle an area.

The surface of the yellow light barrier flashed wildly as it resisted the advance of the array flags, and at the same time, a burst of powerful magic power fluctuations surged through the air. However, these fluctuations would instantly vanish as soon as they made contact with the black light barrier, unable to spread any further beyond that.

The figure chanted a complex incantation, and the dozen or so array flags flashed brightly as they sped up drastically, finally completely embedding themselves into the light barrier.

In the next instant, the yellow light on the surface of the light barrier in the section encircled within the array flags quickly dimmed.

The figure immediately released another burst of azure qi out of his mouth, and this time, the weakened light barrier was unable to offer any resistance, and most of it was eroded away in the blink of an eye.

However, the runes on the white jade pillar suddenly began to flash brightly, and the rest of the yellow light barrier outside the encircled area also glowed with dazzling radiance. An enormous outpouring of yellow light emerged, surging toward the area encircled by the array flags like a violent wave, but the array flags managed to keep the turbulent yellow light firmly at bay.

Fierce spiritual energy fluctuations proliferated through the air, only to be contained by the black light barrier. However, the spiritual energy fluctuations on this occasion were incredibly fierce, and the black light barrier began to buzz and tremble incessantly, seemingly on the verge of being overwhelmed.

Thankfully, it only took around two or three seconds before a large hole was eroded into the section of the yellow light barrier encircled by the array flags.

The figure immediately flew through the hole in the light barrier, landing near the white jade pillar before opening his mouth to release a cloud of dense black energy. The black energy enveloped the jade pillar, and at the same time, he made a hand seal before releasing a string of black incantation seals onto the pillar.

The black energy quickly spread over the jade pillar, staining all of the runes on its surface black.

The light glowing from the jade pillar quickly dimmed, and the fierce light surging over the yellow light barrier also slowly receded. Soon, everything was back to normal.

With a wave of the figure's hand, the dozen or so array flags flew out of the light barrier before returning to his grasp, and they were promptly stowed away.

Immediately thereafter, the figure flipped a hand over to produce a stack of yellow array flags, which shot forth as around a dozen streaks of light that struck the yellow light barrier from the inside.

These array flags flew into the light barrier before vanishing without encountering any resistance.

The entire yellow light barrier rippled momentarily before returning to normal, and the large hole that had been corroded into its surface also quickly sealed over again.

Only then did the figure direct his attention toward the dozen or so stone cabinets positioned around the jade pillar.

Every single one of the stone cabinets was enshrouded within a dark red light barrier.

The figure made his way over to one of the stone cabinets, then opened his mouth to release a burst of white energy onto the light barrier without any hesitation. The affected area of the light barrier instantly began to ripple violently, and the red light quickly began to fade, looking as if it were about to be snuffed out imminently.

Right at this moment, specks of white light appeared on the surface of the red light barrier, and the red and white lights intertwined to keep the white energy at bay.

At the same time, the deafening sound of a huge gong being struck rang out deep within the hall.

The space around the figure rippled slightly, and he seemed to have been caught off guard by this.

However, in the next instant, he immediately began to chant an incantation while making a series of hand seals, and the cloud of white mist immediately began to churn violently, taking on various different forms to attack the red and white restriction, but no matter what form the white mist took on, it was still unable to break through.

All of a sudden, the figure dispelled the cloud of white mist in a decisive manner with a wave of his hand. He then joined his index and middle fingers together before pressing them against his forehead, and a black rift suddenly split open there before widening to reveal an inky-black eyeball.

Black runes emerged within the eyeball, and a beam of black light around as thick as a human finger shot out before striking the restriction around the stone cabinet in a flash.

In the face of the beam of black light, the red and white restriction was instantly punctured before shattering with a dull thump.

At the same time, a burst of enormous spiritual sense erupted out of the figure's forehead before splitting itself up into around a dozen portions, each of which entered a jade slip before rapidly inspecting its contents.

With the strike of that gong, all of the restrictions outside the scripture library instantly began to flash wildly while a piercing alarm rang out.

"Someone's broken into the scripture library!"

"Who would dare to do that? They must have a death wish!"

"Could it be the same bastard that broke into the Heavenly Talisman Hall two days ago?"

A series of furious voices rang out as one figure after another converged toward the scripture library from all directions.

With the precedent set by the Heavenly Talisman Hall incident, the patrols didn't hesitate at all, informing the sect's higher-ups of the situation while the most powerful patrol group leaders among them instantly charged into the scripture library.

Lights appeared all over the Cold Flame Sect in the night, and a chaotic commotion erupted.

The first people to react were actually the two Spatial Tempering cultivators at the entrance of the inner library.

As soon as the alarm was raised, the two of them immediately sprang to their feet with furious expressions.

Someone had snuck into the inner library right under their noses! Could it really have been a Grand Ascension cultivator?

That same thought immediately occurred to both of them, but this wasn't the time to be pondering such matters. Each of them quickly summoned a jade talisman, but one was of a crescent shape, while the other was ovular in form.

The two jade talismans were placed together to form a complete circle, which was immediately adhered to a certain part of the stone door.

The rippling restriction on the door quickly vanished, and the stone door swung open, following which the two of them immediately flew in without any hesitation.

Both of them faltered slightly at the sight of the black light barrier before them.

In a state of urgency, the portly monk quickly made a decision, gritting his teeth as he flipped a hand over to produce a round mirror.

He made a hand seal, and gray light flashed from the mirror before it released a thick beam of gray light, which struck the black light barrier with a deafening boom.

The light barrier churned violently as large ripples surged over its surface, but it wasn't immediately destroyed.

At the same time, the thin man summoned four azure flying swords, which circled around briefly in the air before transforming into four blue lotus flowers.

Countless streaks of sword energy erupted out of the four azure lotus flowers, all of which struck the black light barrier.

Finally, the black barrier was unable to withstand the assault and was torn apart to reveal the scene within.

"Stop!"

The two Spatial Tempering cultivators were quite relieved to see the indistinct silver figure within the light barrier, but at the same time, they were also furious and embarrassed.

The figure was only giving off a Nascent Soul aura!

However, the figure paid no heed to the two Spatial Tempering cultivators. He had just finished inspecting the contents of the jade slips in one of the stone cabinets, and he quickly moved on to another one.

Another beam of black light shot out of his forehead to shatter the restriction around that stone cabinet, following which he calmly released his spiritual sense again to glean the contents of the jade slips in the cabinet.
 


Chapter 37: Escape

"How dare you!"

"Surrender now and we'll grant you a swift and painless death!"

The portly monk and his companion were furious, and the former flipped a hand over to produce a yellow jade badge, which he thrust forward with venom.

A beam of yellow light shot out of the surface of the jade badge, landing on the yellow light barrier in a flash.

The light barrier instantly parted down the center to create a path

The two Spatial Tempering cultivators instantly flew in, charging toward the figure inside.

Right at this moment, the figure suddenly raised a hand, chanting an incantation as he pointed a finger forward.

A beam of black light erupted out of his fingertip before striking the white jade pillar at the center of the hall.

All of the runes on the jade pillar instantly lit up, as did the yellow light barrier, and it released countless bursts of yellow light that struck the two Spatial Tempering cultivators like lightning while they were still in mid-air.

As a result, both of them instantly felt as if they had fallen into a swamp. Their body weight increased by several hundredfold in the blink of an eye, and it became extremely difficult to even raise a hand.

"The array has been tampered with!" the thin man exclaimed in shock.

"Who are you? How are you able to manipulate this array?" the portly monk interrogated in a furious voice.

The figure completely ignored them as his spiritual sense quickly read through the jade slips, and at the same time, he made a string of hand seals without pause, casting a series of incantation seals onto the white jade pillar.

The yellow light instantly began to ripple before revolving around the pair of Spatial Tempering cultivators, forming a pair of yellow vortexes that completely bound them.

The two of them struggled with all their might, frantically unleashing attacks to strike at the yellow vortexes that they were trapped within, but no matter what they did, they were completely powerless to escape.

Their fury and frustration were growing by the second, but there was nothing that they could do. This yellow restriction was set up to keep out enemies, but somehow, it was being used against them.

Right at this moment, seven or eight figures flew in front outside, all of whom were Deity Transformation Stage patrol group leaders.

They were momentarily stunned by the sight that they were greeted by, but they quickly returned to their senses, summoning a series of treasures to attack the yellow restriction in an attempt to rescue the pair of Spatial Tempering cultivators.

"Stop! Don't attack!" the portly monk exclaimed in an alarmed voice.

However, it was already too late. Seven or eight treasures struck the yellow vortexes, causing them to tremble violently.

However, at the same time, a series of millstone-sized bulges appeared on the yellow vortexes, and seven or eight tentacle-like bursts of light shot out in a flash, wrapping themselves around the Deity Transformation cultivators before dragging them into the vortexes in the blink of an eye.

These patrol group leaders possessed far inferior cultivation bases to the Spatial Tempering cultivators, so they were naturally completely immobilized as well.

"Damn it!" the portly monk roared in frustration.

"Have you notified the sect of the situation here?" the thin man asked in an urgent voice.

"The sect... has already... been notified..." Even speaking was difficult for the Deity Transformation Stage patrol group leaders.

The expressions of the two Spatial Tempering cultivators eased slightly upon hearing this, and they turned their attention back to the figure.

The figure was still breaking restrictions one after another before rapidly reading through the contents of the jade slips in the stone cabinets. He was doing so with astounding speed and efficiency, and he had already read through most of the jade slips in the room.

The two Spatial Tempering cultivators were desperate to intervene, but there was nothing that they could do aside from watch helplessly from within the confines of the yellow restriction.

"Who dares to infiltrate the scripture library?"

Right at his moment, a thunderous roar rang out from outside, causing the air within the entire hall to tremble violently, and even the yellow restriction was swaying slightly in the face of the powerful sound waves.

The eardrums of the cultivators trapped in the yellow restriction were ringing loudly, but ecstatic looks had appeared on all of their faces.

The figure stiffened slightly upon hearing this voice, then cast his gaze outside, following which the vertical black eye in his forehead began to glow brightly.

Several beams of black light shot forth in a flash, shattering the restrictions of the three remaining stone cabinets at the same time.

Almost at the exact same moment, a red-haired giant of a man came barreling in through the entrance.

The man was over 20 feet tall and was built like a steel wall. He was wearing a crimson robe that was burning with scorching flames, and the entire hall was instantly plunged into what felt like a lava pit.

Judging from the aura radiating from the man's body, he was a Body Integration Stage powerful being.

"Die!"

The red-haired man cast his gaze toward the figure, and his eyes were practically burning with fury.

With a sweep of his hand, he sent a massive burning sword flying through the air, and the sword swelled to several hundred feet in size mid-flight before striking the yellow light barrier with devastating might.

A vast expanse of yellow light emerged in an attempt to oppose the giant sword, but it didn't even manage to make contact with the sword before it was torn apart by the flames burning on the blade of the sword.

The giant flaming sword struck the yellow barrier with ferocious might, and countless cracks instantly appeared on its surface, but it was able to withstand the attack without completely shattering.

Right at this moment, the figure swept a hand through the air, releasing a burst of suction force that drew all of the jade slips in the three stone cabinets into his grasp before being stowed away.

The red-haired man was furious to see this, and he immediately made a hand seal, upon which the giant flaming sword swelled to twice its original size, and the flames on its surface sprang up to several dozen feet.

The yellow light barrier was completely shattered with a dull thump, and the two Spatial Tempering cultivators and the Deity Transformation Stage patrol group leaders were finally freed.

The giant flaming sword faltered momentarily, then continued to crash down toward the figure.

All of a sudden, the figure raised his head, and dazzling light erupted out of the vertical eye in his forehead. Countless back runes surfaced within the eye, and a thick pillar of black light was blasted straight into the giant sword.

A dull thump rang out as the pillar of black light exploded, and most of the flames on the giant sword instantly dissipated.

At the same time, ripples surged through the surrounding space, immobilizing the sword in mid-air, thereby preventing its fall.

"That's the Law Destruction Eye!" the red-haired man exclaimed.

The figure made a hand seal while chanting an incantation, and a burst of purple lightning appeared over his body before quickly spreading to form a lightning array around him. Dazzling light flashed within the array amid a rumbling thunderclap, and the blurry figure within the array had become even more indistinct.

"You're not getting away!"

The red-haired man's fury was growing by the second, and all of a sudden, flames rose up on the giant sword again as it abruptly split itself into two.

A fiery sword projection that was comparable in size to the giant sword came crashing down, traveling several times faster than the giant sword itself as it struck the lightning array.

Boom

A resounding voice rang out as dazzling red light erupted in all directions alongside bursts of violent shockwaves.

The two Spatial Tempering cultivators shuddered violently, and they were forced to take several backward steps before finally managing to steady themselves. As for the Deity Transformation Stage patrol group leaders, their legs instantly gave out from under them, causing them to fall to their knees, and the protective spiritual light around them was flickering like a candle in the breeze.

The red light dissipated, revealing a deep trench that had been slashed into the ground, but the figure had already vanished.

Everyone exhnged a series of bewildered glances before turning to the red-haired man, who wore a furious expression.

Meanwhile, at the center of the secret chamber in John Li's cave abode.

There was a large purple array engraved onto the ground, and arcs of electricity were surging throughout the array. John Li's eyes were tightly shut, and he was seated beside the array with his eyes closed.

All of a sudden, a burst of dazzling light appeared in the array, and a resounding thunderclap rang out, following which a humanoid figure enshrouded in black qi emerged.

John Li's eyes immediately sprang open, and a hint of elation appeared on his face as he cast an incantation seal.

The black qi around the figure quickly faded, revealing a shimmering silver-armored warrior that had been sumamoned from a talisman.

Half of the silver-armored warrior was destroyed, and its aura was fading in and out of existence, seemingly about to be snuffed out at any moment.

With a wave of John's hand, jade slips flew out of the armored warrior's body before landing in his grasp.

He stowed the jade slips away, then pressed a finger against the armored warrior's forehead.

Black light flashed from the armored warrior's forehead, following which an egg-sized black bead flew out from within with a burst of silver energy slowly flowing within it.

At the same time, the light on the armored warrior's body faded, and it disintegrated into a tattered silver talisman and a purple talisman, both of which drifted down through the air at the same time.

The silver talisman was none other than the Armor Origin Talisman, while the purple one was the High Zenith Invisibility Talisman, both of which had been refined using the materials that John had stolen from the Heavenly Talisman Hall several days ago.

Unfortunately, the Armor Origin Talisman was already too severely damaged for further usage.
 
Chapter 38: A Glimmer of Hope

John quickly stowed the two talismans away, then sat down with his legs crossed and held the black bead between his thumb and index finger before pressing it against his own forehead.

The energy within the bead immediately began to seep out wisp by wisp, circling around his forehead momentarily before vanishing into it.

If one were to look closely, one would discover that this energy was actually comprised of countless tiny characters that were even smaller than the tiniest of mosquitoes. These were all of the cultivation arts and secret techniques that the Armor Origin Talisman puppet had gleaned from the scripture library earlier.

Even with John's unfathomably powerful spiritual sense, it was impossible to absorb such an enormous amount of content all at once.

However, he was in no hurry, and he had plenty of time to spend on this.

Time slowly passed by, and John continued to sit as still as a statue for three days and three nights.

Only on the morning of the fourth day did he slowly open his eyes.

Some of these scriptures were quite remarkable, presenting incredible ideas and concepts that even he couldn't help but be in awe of, but none of them fit his current needs.

He shook his head as he stowed the black bead away, then swept a sleeve through the air, upon which jade slips appeared on the ground. These were the jade slips that the Armor Origin Talisman puppet had taken right before its departure from the scripture library.

He swept his gaze over these jade slips with a slightly disheartened expression, hoping that he would find something useful among them.

With that in mind, John picked up one of the jade slips before injecting his spiritual sense into it.

Another whole day passed by, and as John withdrew his spiritual sense from the final jade slip, there was a clear look of disappointment in his eyes.

These jade slips all contained advanced and profound cultivation arts and secret techniques, but there was still nothing that was useful to him.

A wry smile appeared on John's face. He had gone to great lengths to secure these resources, stirring the entire sect up into a frenzy in the process, but it had all been for nothing.

He shook his head as he prepared to destroy all of the jade slips.

Even though he had already examined the jade slips and confirmed that none of them had any tracking restrictions applied to them, it was already clear that the Spirit Domain Realm contained some things that he was unfamiliar with, such as quintessential purple energy. As such, there was no guarantee that there were no measures applied to these jade slips that were undetectable to him, so it was better to be safe than sorry.

All of a sudden, a surprised look appeared on his face.

All of the jade slips had been reduced to a pile of dust, but there was a completely unremarkable yellow jade slip among them that was completely unharmed.

After a brief moment of contemplation, he picked up the jade slip before inspecting it closely with an intrigued expression.

The power that he had just unleashed would've been enough to completely destroy even a piece of iron essence, yet this jade slip was completely unscathed.

After some inspection, John discovered that there was nothing remarkable about the jade slip. It was made from normal jade, and he had inspected its contents earlier to find that all it contained was a cultivation art suitable for Spatial Tempering cultivators.

John inspected the jade slip for a moment longer before applying some squeezing force through his fingers.

A faint sheen of luster that resembled starlight suddenly appeared on the surface of the jade slip, keeping his power at bay.

His eyes lit up slightly as he relaxed his grip again, and the faint sheen of light also vanished.

It seemed that there really was something special about this jade slip. He could sense that the starry sheen wasn't a tracking restriction.

John injected his spiritual sense into the jade slip again with the idea that perhaps there was something special about the cultivation art that it contained, but once again, he was unable to discover anything of note.

He read through the contents of the cultivation art from top to bottom three to four times, and he even tried cultivating it, but he still failed to find any hidden secrets.

"Could it be that I'm mistaken?" John murmured to himself.

However, he was still unwilling to give up, and he released an enormous burst of spiritual sense out of his forehead, completely enveloping the jade slip before carefully inspecting it inch by inch.

The starry sheen immediately surfaced on the jade slip again, and it was giving off a devouring force that was eating away at John's spiritual sense.

Immediately thereafter, a speck of golden light appeared on the jade slip's surface.

John was initially quite alarmed by this, but his alarm quickly turned into elation, and instead of withdrawing his spiritual sense, he allowed the jade slip to devour it as it pleased.

As time passed, an astonished look gradually appeared on his face.

The jade slip was like a bottomless pit. It had already devoured close to a fifth of his spiritual sense, yet it still wasn't satisfied, and at this point, the speck of golden light had already grown to the size of a broad bean.

At the moment, his spiritual sense was only at around 10% of its peak, but due to the cultivation arts that he practiced, it was still comparable to that of the average immortal, yet this jade slip had managed to devour a huge chunk of it.

It was going to take quite some time to recover this spiritual sense, but after some brief contemplation, John decided to continue with the process.

Moments later, an astonishing scene ensued.

More and more golden light began to appear on the jade slip, filling its entire surface before gradually forming a golden diagram of the Big Dipper.

At the same time, the devouring force being released by the jade slip finally ceased.

John heaved a sigh of relief as he picked up the jade slip with an ecstatic expression, and as he injected his spiritual sense into it again, he couldn't help but be stunned by what he saw.

The contents of the jade slip were also changing, and the previous body of tiny yellow text had disappeared, only to be replaced by large passages of golden text.

John faltered slightly upon seeing this before hurriedly reading through the new text.

Only after few minutes had passed did he raise his head with an elated look in his eyes.

The new jade slip contained a body refinement secret technique by the name of the Bigger Dipper Origin Arts.

According to information that Patriarch Cold Flame had left in the jade slip, this was not a cultivation art that could be found in the Spirit Domain Realm. Instead, it was an authentic Immortal Realm cultivation art that the patriarch had sent down to the Spirit Domain Realm following his ascension.

What was worthy of note was that the cultivation of this secret technique didn't depend on the spiritual power of heaven and earth. Instead, it involved refining the physical body by drawing the power of starlight into the body.

The cultivation art was split up into seven levels, and with each level that was mastered, he would be able to manifest a profound aperture. After mastering all seven levels, seven apertures would be manifested, allowing one to attain a True Extreme Body, thereby becoming a legendary Profound Immortal.

Given the current state of his nascent soul, he was unable to cultivate using the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, but perhaps he could try to harness the power of starlight.

However, at the end of the cultivation art, Patriarch Cold Flame had specifically left a note, which contained a warning that refining one's body using the power of starlight was going to put them in constant excruciating pain.

Furthermore, this was not an orthodox cultivation art. It could dramatically enhance one's physical body, but it was impossible to elevate one's spiritual energy power using this cultivation art. Even if they could master this cultivation art, they would have to pursue the path of becoming a Profound Immortal, which was a far more difficult path than becoming an ordinary immortal. Thus, one was advised not to practice this cultivation art unless they were absolutely certain that they wanted to pursue such an arduous path.

Most importantly, in order to practice this cultivation art, not only was it a prerequisite that one had to already possess a sufficiently powerful physical body, enormous spiritual sense was also required to draw the power of starlight into the body. Hence, the barrier to entry was extremely steep.

Back when Patriarch Cold Flame sent this cultivation art down from the Immortal Realm, he had placed a special restriction on the jade slip so that only those with sufficiently powerful spiritual sense would be able to see the Big Dipper Origin Arts.

John's grip tightened slightly with excitement around the jade slip, and he felt like he could see a glimmer of hope.

The Big Dipper Origin Arts was virtually tailor-made for him. Even though there was a warning that practicing the cultivation art was going to be extremely painful, that didn't discourage him at all.

However, right at this moment, the jade slip in his hand suddenly cracked before transforming into a ball of piercing golden light.

John's pupils contracted slightly upon seeing this, and he raised his head to discover a golden figure hovering in mid-air.

The figure was a well-built middle-aged man with a square face that wore a stern expression, giving off a sense of authority and righteousness.

John's heart jolted slightly upon seeing this. Having seen a portrait of this man in the sect, he knew that it was none other than Patriarch Cold Flame!

"Fantastic! Looks like my efforts didn't go to waste. Finally, someone has managed to unravel this restriction! Which peak are you a disciple of, and what is your name?" Patriarch Cold Flame asked with a warm smile.

John's mind was racing as he scrambled to fabricate a convincing lie.

It was clear that this was an avatar left behind by Patriarch Cold Flame's spiritual sense, but it still gave him a significant sense of pressure, so it was most likely quite formidable in battle.

Before John had a chance to reply, Patriarch Cold Flame's brows suddenly furrowed slightly, and his voice took a cold turn as he asked, "Why do I not sense the aura of any of our sect's cultivation arts in you? Could it be that you're not an inner court disciple?"

"I am a guest elder who has only recently joined the sect, so I still haven't had a chance to practice any of the sect's cultivation arts yet," John hurriedly replied.

"A guest elder? How did a guest elder like you get your hands on the jade slip containing the Big Dipper Origin Arts?" Patriarch Cold Flame interrogated in a cold voice.

John had no response to this.

Patriarch Cold Flame's gaze then fell upon the pile of powder near John's feet.

John's expression remained unchanged upon seeing this, but his heart sank ever so slightly.
 
Chapter 39: Dragon Man Decree

Patriarch Cold Flame swept a hand through the air, releasing a burst of golden light that swept up all of the powder in front of John, forming a ball of faint golden light that hovered before him.

"These are all jade slips that contain cultivation arts and secret techniques of our sect. Why are they all in your possession? Could it be that you broke into the inner library and stole them?" Patriarch Cold Flame asked in a cold voice.

Even though the jade slips had been reduced to powder by John, even the slightest trace of what they had once been was enough for Patriarch Cold Flame to identify them.

A resigned look appeared on John's face, and he sighed, "I can explain, fellow elder."

"How dare you refer to me as an equal to yourself!"

Patriarch Cold Flame was furious, and dazzling golden light abruptly erupted out of his forehead. Countless rippling circles of light swept through the air, instantly forming a golden flower projection.

As the golden flower slowly revolved, light flashed from its bud, and a near-transparent pillar of golden light was released, hurtling toward John at an incredible speed.

The space in the wake of the pillar of light rippled like water.

John remained on the spot, making no attempt to take evasive action. Instead, he merely raised his head slightly, and a burst of invisible ripples erupted out of his forehead as well to oppose the pillar of golden light.

A dull thump rang out, and the space shuddered violently as ripples surged through the air.

It seemed that the golden pillar of light had crashed into something, and it quickly disintegrated, while the invisible ripples also faded.

All of this had taken place in the blink of an eye, and John remained completely unscathed as he stood with a faint smile on his face.

Patriarch Cold Flame shuddered as he exclaimed in an incredulous voice, "Impossible! Are you also an immortal?"

Even though this was only a projection manifested by his spiritual sense, and that wasn't an all-out attack, even a Grand Ascension cultivator definitely wouldn't have been able to withstand the attack so easily, let alone a Nascent Soul cultivator.

This indicated that John's spiritual sense wasn't inferior to his own!

"Will you listen to me now, Fellow Elder Cold Flame?" John asked in a calm voice.

Patriarch Cold Flame was silent for a moment, and even though he was still rather displeased, he was clearly willing to listen. "Fine. Why don't you tell me why you're here stealing the scriptures of our sect when you've already ascended to become an immortal."

"Due to some unforeseen circumstances, I fell into the Spirit Domain Realm by chance. I bear no ill will toward your sect, but I currently have some injuries, and I do not have the suitable pills to treat those injuries, so I decided to take some of the scriptures of your sect to conduct some research," John explained.

"I see. May I ask which Immortal Region you were originally from, Brother?" Despite what he was saying, it was clear from the look in Patriarch Cold Flame's eyes that he didn't completely believe John's story.

"I'm only staying here for now, and I can assure you that I won't do anything detrimental to your sect. As for where I've come from, that's something that I'd rather not share," John replied with a hint of a smile on his face.

Patriarch Cold Flame gave a cold harrumph upon hearing this. An immortal had suddenly appeared in the Spirit Domain Realm, so he was naturally inclined to find out as much about this immortal as possible. However, this was only an avatar formed by a wisp of his spiritual sense, so he couldn't really do anything if John were unwilling to answer his questions.

"Rest assured, Brother. I owe you a favor for this, and in exchange, I can promise you here and now that if the Cold Flame Sect encounters any trouble in the future, I can step in one time to resolve the sect's troubles," John continued in an unhurried voice.

Patriarch Cold Flame was greatly moved by this. "I'll be holding you to that promise, Brother."

Even though he had already ascended to the Immortal Realm, he still greatly cherished the Cold Flame Sect, which he had built up from nothing. Otherwise, he wouldn't have gone out of his way to send resources down to the sect.

It seemed that the Cold Flame Sect was a dominant powerhouse in the Spirit Domain Realm with a bright future ahead, but the sect was not truly without its concerns.

Unfortunately, he was in the Immortal Realm, so there wasn't much that he could do to help the sect. However, if he could recruit the assistance of John, then a whole host of possibilities would be opened up.

……

Two days later, on the Holy Fire Peak of the Cold Flame Sect.

There was an elegant tile courtyard situated deep in a misty purple bamboo forest.

The purple bamboo trees in the forest were neatly organized, and the arrangement didn't seem to be remarkable in any way, but in reality, there was a hidden purpose to how everything was positioned.

The position of every single purple bamboo tree corresponded with a node of an array, and this vast sea of purple bamboo formed a unique array.

The purple bamboo planted here also wasn't just bamboo of the ordinary variety. Instead, it was Lungfire Bamboo that was capable of absorbing the power of earthly fire. If one were to inspect these bamboo trees closely, they would discover that there were dark red patterns spread along the surface of the bamboo.

It was exactly because of the existence of this array that this area had the most abundant spiritual energy in the entire Spirit Flame Mountain Range, and it was also the area with the highest concentration of earthly fire.

The small tile courtyard was situated right on the core of the array.

At this moment, there was a purple-robed man seated with his legs crossed and his eyes closed, cultivating in the main room inside the courtyard.

The man had a head of shoulder-length hair that was as white as snow, and there was a purple flame insignia on his forehead. There was purple energy revolving all around him, and he appeared to be no more than 30 years of age, but he was giving off an extremely powerful aura.

On a small rosewood table not far in front of him was a gold-plated copper incense burner, protruding out of which were several sticks of lit incense that were releasing wisps of smoke.

The table was situated right next to the wall, upon which a portrait of a middle-aged man that was over three feet in length was hanging.

The lines of the portrait weren't particularly intricate, but they were extremely effective in conveying the aura of the subject. The portrait depicted a man with a square face and a pair of bright and piercing eyes. The man had a very strong build, and even his visage alone was giving off a strong sense of authority and righteousness.

Right at this moment, the white-haired man's eyes suddenly sprang open, and he cast a surprised gaze toward the portrait on the wall.

A burst of peculiar fluctuations suddenly erupted out of the portrait, and a series of ripples spread over its surface. It was as if the subject of the portrait had suddenly sprung to life, and he stepped out of the portrait as if it were a portal leading to another realm.

The white-haired man hurriedly rose to his feet, then fell to his knees, trembling slightly with emotion as he greeted in a respectful voice, "Welcome, Patriarch."

"No need for formalities. I've come to you today with some instructions," Patriarch Cold Flame said with a wave of his hand.

Only then did the white-haired man return to his feet, and he waited with a respectful expression for further instructions.

"I've already heard about the incident that took place at the scripture library some days ago," Patriarch Cold Flame said.

The white-haired man's heart jolted upon hearing this, and cold sweat instantly began to appear on his forehead. He was just about to offer an explanation, but he was cut off by Patriarch Cold Flame. "Leave this matter and do not investigate it any further."

The white-haired man faltered slightly upon hearing this, and he couldn't help but protest, "But Patriarch..."

However, Patriarch Cold Flame raised a hand to cut him off, then communicated something to him through voice transmission.

The white-haired man's expression changed once again upon hearing this, first turning to surprise before switching to elation.
 
This simple demonstration of John means he doesn't have a match in the spirit domain realm. Even tho he has lost some of spiritual energy. He still possesses an immortal body so I believe nothing should be able to harm him
 
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