I Am Overlord c1-962
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The goldsteel stone was king among materials, and top-quality goldsteel stone was emperor among materials. Without thinking twice, Xiang Shaoyun darted over. He wanted to put the goldsteel stones away, but found that they were framed around the golden puddle. He could not wantonly dig them out as that would result in the destruction of the puddle.
Xiang Shaoyun felt like he was at a buffet where he could only see but not touch anything. Because of that, he grew agitated, but was left with no choice but to step away helplessly. There were other treasures in the room as well, but these treasures were naturally not as valuable as the ones he had found initially.
For example, there were a lot of ordinary goldsteel stones, which were all king materials and could be sold for many spirit crystals. Other than that, there were stones containing vicious gold energy, known as vicious gold stones. These stones could be used to help a cultivator nurture vicious gold energy within their body and increase the cultivator's combat power. Thus, these vicious gold stones were no less valuable than the goldsteel stones.
Xiang Shaoyun tried absorbing some vicious gold energy from one of the vicious gold stones and found that he could do it easily. Only then did he notice that his second star was already completely filled with pure vicious gold energy, also known as the white tiger's ire. Because of that, he now had a certain level of resonance with natural vicious gold energy and was able to easily refine the energy without being harmed.
These random treasures occupied around 20 square meters of the space within Xiang Shaoyun’s astral cosmos sea. After leaving this place, he would be able to trade the treasures.
Since I am already in the Transformation Realm, there is no longer any need for me to return to the Martial Hall Palace. It's a pity that I can no longer keep participating in the Battle of Towns, though, Xiang Shaoyun pondered.
He had no idea how long Little White would be here. His only option was to wait patiently. He was not worried about the King Realm cultivators outside at all. They wouldn't be able to go through the layer of vicious gold aura. Not even an Emperor Realm cultivator could do that.
Otherwise, the Golden River Valley's secret would have been unearthed long ago. From this, it could be seen that this white tiger definitely had an extraordinary strength.
This will be a great chance for me to stabilize my cultivation base. My advancement has been too fast. Xiang Shaoyun decided to train here.
Having made up his mind, he walked to the corner of the space and lifted a massive boulder. Once again, he was training his physical strength. No matter what cultivation level one reached, training one's physical strength was necessary.
Xiang Shaoyun suppressed his cultivation base and used pure physical strength to lift the boulder, which was at least 30,000 catties in weight. For any other Transformation Realm cultivator, even pushing a boulder of this weight with physical strength alone would be an extremely difficult feat.
Yet Xiang Shaoyun was able to lift it and walk around with the boulder on him. At first, he seemed to struggle. But as time went on, he moved faster and faster. Before long, he was already jogging. Evidently, he had become used to the weight.
While Xiang Shaoyun was training peacefully, the outside world was bustling.
Chapter 134: Inner Shaped Energy
The Cloud Margin Pavilion King Realm cultivators and the Demon King gold serpentine crocodiles had engaged in a massive battle that ended with no clear victor. In fact, both parties had suffered great losses.
The main reason for that was because the gold serpentine crocodile clan leader wasn't a regular ninth-stage Demon King. Instead, he had reached the very peak of the ninth stage. Thus, he was able to defeat the Black Eagle King and even nearly killed him. If Long Xiaolang and others hadn't gotten involved, the Black Eagle King would have been killed.
Still, the Black Eagle King was worthy of his renown, as during the battle, he managed to break through into the ninth-stage Skysoar Realm. That breakthrough was also one of the reasons he survived.
Although the gold serpentine crocodile clan leader was powerful, there were more King Realm humans than Demon Kings. Thus, the gold serpentine crocodiles were unable to obtain any advantage in the battle. Ultimately, the gold serpentine crocodiles retreated back into the Golden River Valley while the humans were forced to leave and ask for more reinforcements from the Cloud Margin Pavilion.
Not long after, Black Eagle King's personal disciple, Zhang Xiaoyu, could be seen rushing back to the Cloud Margin Pavilion with the Black Eagle King's orders. Zhang Xiaoyu traveled on an extremely fast eagle. From the speed, it was clear the eagle was far more powerful than regular blackwind eagles. A few days later, he returned with more Cloud Margin Pavilion experts.
This time, only three experts had arrived. But these were definitely among the strongest in the Cloud Margin Pavilion. The newly arrived experts appeared old yet imposing. With each step they took, they moved a large distance, almost like they were teleporting instead of walking.
"Greetings, pre-elders," greeted the Black Eagle King, He Luo, and the others deferentially.
The so-called pre-elders were in fact ex-elders of the Cloud Margin Pavilion that had retired a long time ago. It was a pity that none of them had been able to enter the Emperor Realm. Thus, they were unable to extend their life span, causing their outer appearance to gradually turn old.
With the appearance of the Golden River Valley's secret, they were sent here to both deal with the gold serpentine crocodile clan leader and seek for a fortuitous encounter that could help them break through into the next realm.
The leader of the three was Xiao Xin. He said, "At ease. Let's enter directly."
Xiao Xin was the strongest of the three newcomers. He also specialized in the power of gold. Thus, the secret of Golden River Valley was very attractive to him. But when they returned to the Golden River Valley, they found that a layer of vicious gold aura had formed around the valley.
"These gold serpentine crocodiles are quite smart to release the vicious gold aura. But that won't be able to stop us." Xiao Xin sneered and dove straight into the valley. The others followed closely behind him. But the moment they actually approached the vicious gold aura, they all turned back in horror.
"W-what kind of vicious gold aura is that? It's so terrifying. Not even our kingly aura can resist it," Xiao Xin said as he wiped some sweat off his head.
"What should we do now? Are we supposed to give up?" Black Eagle King asked in indignation.
"Of course not. Put this place on lockdown. Without the protection of a formation, the vicious gold aura will dissipate before long. We will naturally be able to enter then," said Xiao Xin.
In a sense, he was right. The released energy would disperse naturally without a formation keeping it there. Thus, the Cloud Margin Pavilion members scattered and put the valley on lockdown as they waited for the vicious gold aura to dissipate.
At this time, the Young Lightning King approached Zhang Xiaoyu and said with a smile, "Junior Brother Zhang, a minute of your time."
Zhang Xiaoyu also smiled. "How can I help you, Senior Brother Zi?"
They were both proud geniuses and rarely spoke to each other. In fact, there was even a slight enmity between the two. But that did not mean they were mortal enemies who had to fight the moment they saw each other.
"You're a straightforward person. This is what I like about you," Zi Poli praised. He then went straight to the point, "I heard you have obtained an amethyst core? I wonder if you can trade it to me? Just let me know what you want for it."
The amethyst core was a pure concentration of crystalized lightning energy and would be extremely helpful for those cultivating lightning energy.
"I have no reason to reject you, Senior Brother Zi. But this amethyst core is something I have obtained after a lot of effort. If you really want it, sure..." Zhang Xiaoyu baited Zi Poli.
"What do you want for it?" Zi Poli asked.
"After the vice pavilion master is done with his breakthrough
into the Emperor Realm, I need you to borrow his Myriad Poison Sutra for me," Zhang Xiaoyu said. The very thought of the sutra filled him with excitement.
"Myriad Poison Sutra?" Zi Poli was alarmed.
The Myriad Poison Sutra was one of the precious sutras of the Cloud Margin Pavilion. It was extremely attractive to poison cultivators, was an emperor-grade battle technique, and was one of the Cloud Margin Pavilion's trump cards. Generally, only Emperor Realm experts were qualified to study the sutra.
"Yes. You should be aware that apart from cultivating, my only other hobby is to study poisons. I have been longing for the Myriad Poison Sutra for a very long time. Unfortunately, not even my master is qualified to withdraw it. On top of that, he does not approve of my interest in poisons anyway," Zhang Xiaoyu said longingly.
"I really can't guarantee I can get that sutra for you either." Zi Poli shook his head.
"Only talk to me when you are sure you can get it, then," said Zhang Xiaoyu.
...
In the blink of an eye, one month passed. Underneath the Golden River Valley, Xiang Shaoyun was no longer lifting that large boulder. Instead, he was currently cultivating his inner shaped energy. After spending half a month training his physical strength, he was able to consolidate and stabilize his physical strength, allowing him to better control his new strength.
There were two types of shaped energy, respectively outer shaped energy and inner shaped energy. Outer shaped energy would form around a person's skin while inner shaped energy would fill every inch within a person's body.
Currently, Xiang Shaoyun was circulating his Heaven Conquering Overlord Manual and pulling strains of pure energy from his stars toward his meridians, organs, bones, and so on. By the time energy filled his entire body, he started trying to transform the energy into shaped energy.
His 365 acupoints started blinking, forming a connection with his stars that caused the strains of pure energy to become more and more solid. After a while, a thin layer of shaped energy finally formed within his body, protecting all his organs.
This was the so-called inner energy phase. Generally speaking, to form the inner shaped energy, one had to first reach the fourth or fifth stage of Transformation Realm. But Xiang Shaoyun was a genius in cultivation. Thus, he accomplished the feat as a second-stage Transformation Realm cultivator.
The shaped energy helped improve his defense, reducing the amount of damage his body would sustain when attacked. Generally, only those with a higher cultivation level would be able to harm a person with shaped energy.
Done with his cultivation, Xiang Shaoyun stretched and smiled. "With my current combat power, I won't lose to any mid-stage Transformation Realm cultivators. In fact, I even stand a chance against late-stage Transformation Realm cultivators. Finally, I am no longer as helpless as I was before."
It was at this moment that there was finally a reaction from Little White.
"Roar!"
A furious roar rang out, echoing in the space repeatedly. The golden cocoon around Little White withered.
Chapter 135: Little White's Lightning Tribulation
Little White had changed. He now looked sturdier and mightier. His coat of fur was even whiter and looked exactly the same as the white tiger in the legends. More importantly, his aura felt much more terrifying than it was before.
Xiang Shaoyun was already a second-stage Transformation Realm cultivator, but he still felt a suffocating sense of oppression when he looked at the current Little White. Clearly, Little White's strength had skyrocketed. He had become much stronger.
Did he become a Demon King just like that? Xiang Shaoyun guessed.
But when he recalled that he did not yet see Little White undergo a lightning tribulation, he discarded the thought.
When all the vicious gold aura withdrew into Little White, he opened his eyes and gazed at Xiang Shaoyun. His gaze was akin to a sharp blade, one that gave off an intense pressure.
The viciousness Xiang Shaoyun sensed from that gaze caused him to take a step back as he said, "Little White, are you fine?"
The moment Xiang Shaoyun's voice rang out, Little White's pupils dilated as his viciousness lessened. He finally said, "Boss, you need to leave. I am going to face the lightning tribulation."
The moment Xiang Shaoyun heard the term "lightning tribulation", he fled.
Rumble!
Instantly, a lightning bolt struck down from the sky above. Both the gold serpentine crocodiles and the humans outside were flabbergasted.
"Lightning tribulation? And this is not a regular lightning tribulation. It's a unique lightning tribulation. Retreat!" the gold serpentine crocodile cried out.
The gold serpentine crocodiles scattered everywhere when they heard his command.
"This is a demonic lightning tribulation!" Xiao Xin, Black Eagle King, He Luo, Mo Chage, and the others also cried out in alarm when they saw the tribulation from afar.
Young Lightning King was getting agitated seeing the tribulation. He cried out, "T-this is not a regular lightning tribulation! This is the goldflame lightning, a mutated form of lightning. Regular demonic beasts are not capable of causing such a lightning tribulation to form. Is the gold serpentine crocodile clan leader breaking through? That's not possible!"
"Should we go inside to get a better look?" someone suggested.
"A lightning tribulation will punish anyone who gets involved. We will think of something after the tribulation is over," Xiao Xin said with a solemn look on his face.
If it was really the gold serpentine crocodile clan leader breaking through, things would get even more troublesome for them. The goldflame lightning was a golden lightning bolt with an outer layer of purple. Since it was not a regular lightning bolt, it possessed a might regular lightning bolts couldn't compare with. The lightning bolt headed straight into the hole. Not even the vicious gold aura could stop its advance as it landed straight on Little White.
"Roar! Roar!"
Little White roared, his white tiger's ire roiled out and formed a tornado around him that clashed against the goldflame lightning bolt. Xiang Shaoyun had already gotten quite far away, but he was still greatly frightened by what he saw. His ears were aching from the loud rumble, and covering both his ears with his hands did nothing. He only felt better after putting more distance between him and Little White.
What a terrifying lightning tribulation. It was said that the stronger the bloodline of a demonic beast, the more terrifying the lightning tribulation will be. Looks like Little White has thoroughly evolved, Xiang Shaoyun thought.
Suddenly, the lightning bone within him started pulsing as the purple dragon within seemed to be on the verge of breaking out of his body. The intense thirst the lightning bone displayed for the lighting tribulation shocked Xiang Shaoyun.
If he allowed himself to be struck by such a terrifying lightning tribulation, he would most certainly die. He did not believe for a moment that his lightning bone could actually fully absorb the entirety of the lightning energy that hit him.
After all, there was already a precedent for this. During the previous incident, the lightning bone had displayed intense thirst as well but quit halfway, leaving a large amount of lightning energy in Xiang Shaoyun's body that had nearly killed him. Thus, he would definitely not act rashly this time.
"Behave!" Xiang Shaoyun berated. He tried his best to suppress the lighting bone, but the bone refused to listen. One lightning bolt after another came down, each with an extremely fearsome might. Xiang Shaoyun could see Little White's bitter struggle clearly. When he saw Little White's badly mangled body, his heart ached.
Hang on there, Little White! Xiang Shaoyun prayed for Little White.
Outside, both the gold serpentine crocodiles and the Cloud Margin Pavilion humans felt like they were in a nightmare. When the initial wave of lightning tribulation ended, they thought it was over. But the next wave arrived, followed by another wave, each back to back. Each wave was also scarier than the previous. They f
elt their scalps go numb just looking at the tribulation.
"Go, go now. We need to invite the pavilion master out of his seclusion!" Xiao Xin immediately reached a decision. He was now certain that the one breaking through was most certainly not the gold serpentine crocodile clan leader. Rather, a Demon Emperor had appeared. Otherwise, how would the lightning tribulation be so scary?
And if it was really a Demon Emperor, all of them would die. The secret of this place no longer had anything to do with them. Although the Cloud Margin Pavilion people found it hard to swallow, they had no choice but to leave with Xiao Xin.
Not long after they left, the tribulation ended. Little White was in terrible shape, but he was still breathing, which signified that he had survived three waves of lightning tribulation and had become a third-stage Demon King. With the tribulation over, a large amount of energy surged toward Little White, including the vicious gold aura above them.
As the energy gathered, Little White started to heal at a speed visible to the naked eye. His demonic aura also started to rise rapidly. Xiang Shaoyun finally stopped suppressing his lightning bone and released the purple dragon projection. The purple dragon immediately devoured the remnant goldflame lightning energy in the air.
Fortunately, Little White had only absorbed the golden energy from the air and ignored all the lightning energy. Thus, Xiang Shaoyun also benefited from Little White's breakthrough. The additional energy Xiang Shaoyun absorbed did not increase his cultivation level. It only caused his lightning bone to undergo a slight change. A slight trace of goldflame was now mixed into his innate purple lightning.
Xiang Shaoyun could sense that his lightning bone was not satisfied by the amount of energy it had absorbed at all. The intense hunger of the lightning bone caused Xiang Shaoyun to feel dizzy.
Looks like this damned bone wants to consume more lightning, Xiang Shaoyun cursed inwardly.
He also finally understood why the lightning bone had stopped absorbing lightning energy when he had gathered lightning bolts the previous time. It was quite likely that the lightning bone had absorbed enough of the ordinary lightning energy where it could then generate the same lightning energy itself. That was why it had stopped. Only a higher quality lightning energy could attract it.