by Translator: Pokka; Author: 我本纯洁 (I Am Pure); Licensed From: Migu
Xiang Shaoyun made the others stay behind while he entered invisibility and searched for the dragon liquid within a certain cave belonging to a draconic lizard. However, a dreadful Sovereign draconic lizard was residing in the cave. It was most likely a mid-stage Sovereign, its strength fearsome.
Xiang Shaoyun had thought that his plan would succeed so long as he could sneak into the cave with his invisibility. But the slumbering draconic lizard Emperor actually opened its eyes and started sniffing the air when he entered, as if it had sensed him.
"Where is this human smell coming from?" the draconic lizard Emperor muttered with a piercing voice.
At that, Xiang Shaoyun sneaked out of the cave, not daring to stay a second longer. After he returned to the group, he got the others to retreat with him as well. He did not dare to even stay in the cave's vicinity.
"There's a scary draconic lizard there. He almost found me. It will be hard to steal the dragon liquid from him," said Xiang Shaoyun.
"Each location of dragon liquid will be guarded by powerful demons. Looks like none of the academy missions are easy," said Tang Longfei with a sigh.
"So, are we returning, or are we going to continue our search somewhere else?" Shou Xie asked.
Xiang Shaoyun sank into thought for a bit before answering, "You guys find somewhere safe and hide there. I will lure him out with the puppet before I sneak inside and steal the dragon liquid."
"Won't that be too dangerous?" Lady Shura asked.
"Don't worry. I'll be fine," said Xiang Shaoyun confidently.
The others didn't say anything when they saw how confident Xiang Shaoyun was. Inwardly, they were ashamed that they couldn't be of any help. After the others left, Xiang Shaoyun started his plan. He used the same plan, sending the nether prison devil puppet to attack the draconic lizard's cave.
Infuriated, the draconic lizard charged out of the cave and battled the puppet. The draconic lizard was indeed fearsome. He was a fifth-stage Demon Sovereign, and he revealed a combat prowess comparable to a human sixth-stage Emperor. The nether prison devil puppet was unable to use devilish energy, and it could only fight with pure physical strength. Even so, it managed to fight the lizard to a standstill.
As the battle raged on, Xiang Shaoyun snuck into the cave and found a hole containing a pile of high-grade spirit crystals. A considerable amount of high-level spirit spring liquid could be found in the hole as well. From the liquid's fragrance and the milky white appearance, Xiang Shaoyun was certain it was an emperor-grade spirit spring liquid.
Although the liquid had yet to transform fully into a spirit spring of life, it was not far from becoming one. Apart from the spirit spring, the spirit crystals seemed to contain some sort of liquid drops that looked more like tiny dragons. These were most certainly droplets of dragon liquid.
In his joy, Xiang Shaoyun exclaimed, "That draconic lizard sure knows how to enjoy life. He actually built a spiritual pool like this for himself? Well, thank you very much, then!"
Without a doubt, Xiang Shaoyun was planning to steal everything in the pool, not leaving anything for the lizard. Just as he was about to make a move, he noticed three extraordinary looking spiritual herbs growing beside the pile of spirit crystals.
When he focused on the plants, joy covered his face as he muttered, "Half-life draconic lizard herb? This is a treasure as well!"
The so-called half-life draconic lizard herb was a spiritual herb that would grow alongside draconic lizards. Shaped like an actual draconic lizard, the plant would only turn into a true spiritual herb with the nourishment of draconic lizard's blood essence and essence energy.
The three stalks had yet to reach the level of a sovereign medicine, but they were most certainly emperor medicines. Each stalk contained an amount of energy comparable to 10 drops of dragon liquid. Without waiting any longer, Xiang Shaoyun started harvesting everything.
Fortunately, the pool wasn't too big. Otherwise, it would take him a much longer time to dig it out. Outside, the draconic lizard who was battling the nether prison devil puppet sensed something going on within his cave, causing him to break free and rush back.
When Xiang Shaoyun sensed the draconic lizard heading back, his nerves grew tense. He had the nether prison devil puppet stop the draconic lizard with all its strength while he directly released his Nether Soul Domain, trying to use the power of the domain to help dig the entire place up. After he was done, he immediately stuffed everything into his astral cosmos sea.
It was at that moment that the draconic lizard entered the cave, cramping the cave with his massive body. Xiang Shaoyun was so frightened his hair stood on end, and he quickly dashed out of the cave while sticking close to the wall.
Hiss! Hiss!
The draconic lizard was infuriated to find his treasure stolen. Sniffing at the air, he quickly locked on to Xiang Shaoyun's position and clawed at him furiously.
"Nether prison devil puppet!" Xiang Shaoyun quickly summoned the puppet over to provide assistance. The puppet dashed over, grabbed the draconic lizard's tail, and forcefully dragged the draconic lizard out of the cave. And thus, Xiang Shaoyun was able to barely avert the calamity.
He patted his chest and muttered, "This young master nearly pissed his pants in fright!"
He normally acted like he feared nothing, but he also feared death like everyone else. Without delay, he fled at his full speed. Nowadays, he was able to keep his Nether Shadow Evanescence active for a long period of time, long enough for him to escape far away.
As for the nether prison devil puppet, after luring the draconic lizard toward a different direction, it returned to Xiang Shaoyun. The draconic lizard did not bother giving chase to the nether prison devil puppet. After all, he couldn't actually do much to the puppet, and his priority was figuring out who stole his treasure. After meeting up with the puppet, Xiang Shaoyun returned to Tang Longfei and company.
"We need to leave immediately!" Xiang Shaoyun did not dare to stay and quickly got them to leave with him. He was afraid that the draconic lizard, mad with fury, would suddenly appear. Things would then get really troublesome.
Chapter 614: Discovery of an Underground Palace
The theft had indeed greatly angered the draconic lizard. For a long time after, the draconic lizard had ripped any human apart who so much as stepped into his territory. In fact, peace only returned after an academy overseer personally put down the draconic lizard.
Although the Dragon Phoenix Mountain Range was the demons' territory, the fact that the Dragon Phoenix Academy could be built here meant that they had the strength to contend against the demons. The draconic lizard's act of wantonly slaughtering humans was naturally not something the academy would put up with. Of course, this all happened in the future.
Xiang Shaoyun had quickly rejoined Tang Longfei and company after stealing from the draconic lizard. After fleeing far away from the draconic lizard's territory, Xiang Shaoyun took out the dragon liquid he found and gave each of the people present five drops in addition to five drops of the emperor-grade healing spring liquid. They were all filled with excitement after receiving their share.
"Young Master Xiang, a-aren't these too much? We haven't contributed anything!" Shou Xie said, feeling somewhat embarrassed.
"Just take it. Since you guys have the guts to come, at least the effort counts," said Xiang Shaoyun nonchalantly.
He had reaped a great harvest this time. Disregarding the pool of emperor-grade liquid, he had also harvested over 100 drops of dragon liquid. He had only shared about one third of his harvest and still kept the majority for himself. Although he was the only one who had worked for the harvest, he did not keep everything for himself. His generosity was evident.
Shou Xie, Jin Shui, and Ling Lin were filled with admiration. If they were in a similar situation, they wouldn't have been so generous.
"Haha, it has always been profitable following Shaoyun," said Tang Longfei with a hearty laugh.
Ning Wenhuang was also fi
lled with gratitude. "I, Ning Wenhuang, will definitely help without hesitation if you need anything from me in the future, Young Master Xiang."
The dragon liquid was incomparably precious. Each drop would benefit their cultivation greatly. One could say that with this harvest alone, they could complete the mission on a perfect note. Just one drop of dragon liquid was worth 200,000 contribution points, which they could do a lot with. One could say that getting the dragon liquid had benefited them in multiple aspects.
Xiang Shaoyun shrugged indifferently. "We are all friends. There is no need to be too polite."
They did not end their search after the big harvest. It hadn't even been a month since they had left the academy, so they had plenty of time. During the coming time, Xiang Shaoyun relied on his senses and the treasure seeking mouse to locate two more places with dragon liquid.
Both places did not have much dragon liquid, but they had instead obtained some king and emperor medicines, so their harvest was still decent. Of course, they had also gotten into many difficult fights. Fortunately, they had Xiang Shaoyun to keep them safe. Just as they were about to end their search, the treasure seeking mouse discovered something astonishing.
"Young Master Xiang, the treasure seeking mouse has discovered an underground palace!" Shou Xie informed Xiang Shaoyun of the news.
Everyone was shocked.
Xiang Shaoyun's eyes lit up as he asked, "Where?"
"Right within the valley ahead of us, but it's filled with poisonous miasma and other powerful poisonous life forms. Moreover, some of our fellow academy members are nearby. Looks like they have discovered something as well," said Shou Xie. "A powerful formation surrounds the underground palace, one that massively pressured the treasure seeking mouse from a distance and forced it to give up on advancing and return to us."
Generally, the treasure seeking mouse was allowed to roam free instead of being kept around them. It would usually return to Shou Xie so long as it discovered something. It was the same this time.
"Let's go check it out," decided Xiang Shaoyun without any hesitation.
Inwardly, he mused, The divine site can't be here, right?
He had the urge to take a look at the map he was given, but he restrained himself from doing so since he still couldn't verify if the underground palace was in fact the divine site. And thus, the group advanced under the treasure seeking mouse's lead. After about an hour, they arrived near a valley surrounded by poisonous miasma. They stopped, not daring to go any deeper.
The poisonous miasma was rather powerful, and the vegetation in the area was all withered and dead. A rotten smell hung in the air, and some poisonous life forms were hidden within the miasma. If the groups somehow survived the miasma, the life forms would bite them to death. In fact, the ground just ahead of them was stained in blood. Evidently, someone had left the bloodstains not too long ago.
"What a powerful poison. With our strength, entering will only mean death," said Tang Longfei with a sigh.
"That's right. We can say that this is a place protected naturally. Not even a powerful Soul Foundation Realm expert would dare to delve too deeply. Who knows if there are any more powerful poisonous life forms inside," said Shou Xie.
Xiang Shaoyun remained silent as he scanned the situation within the miasma with his Nether Soul Domain. The further he extended his senses, the more dangerous the poisonous miasma felt. He also discovered a group of about a dozen people struggling to rush out not far ahead of them. Gradually, he got a clear look at the group. Di Lin and Di Shang were actually part of the group.
The moment they rushed out of the miasma, they dashed toward a different direction. A group of dreadful poisonous beasts was chasing after them, constantly spurting poison from their mouths. With a single touch from the poison, those who weren't fast enough would be helplessly reduced into a pile of blood.
During the moment of crisis, Di Lin tossed out a peak Emperor puppet to block the poisonous beasts. Only then did they manage to flee safely. Xiang Shaoyun had the urge to chase after them and strike them while they were down, but he decided against it after some hesitation.
He had a feeling the group was being protected by a very powerful person. He did not dare to act rashly. If there really was a hidden expert somewhere, he would be the one to fall into danger instead.
A gentleman can always afford to wait before taking his revenge. It won't be long before I harvest all your heads, thought Xiang Shaoyun to himself.
He then said to the others, "Let's leave. This place is filled with poison. Even if there is an underground palace here, it is not a place we can explore."
The others agreed.
Xiang Shaoyun warned, "Also, make sure none of you speak about this, or we might invite great trouble upon ourselves."
They naturally understood what he meant. News of this would move even the upper echelons of the academy. When that happened, they would attract everyone's attention, and they might even be forced to explore the poison miasma so as to prove their words. Since a different group had also found the valley, it was better to let the other group spread the news. As for what would happen after that, there was no way of guessing.
Chapter 615: Overlord Legion
Di Lin and company who had fled far away looked extremely sorry. They had begun the trip with over 30 people, but fewer than 10 had survived. Their loss was disastrous. They would definitely receive strict punishments from the academy after news of their loss spread. After all, each disciple was considered the academy's treasure. A death or two could be overlooked, but over 20 deaths would cause rather big consequences.
Although the academy would temper their disciples harshly, they wouldn't accept their disciples dying for no apparent reason. Di Lin did not seem to mind. He called his elder brother Di Shang to his side and spoke through voice transmission, "You should return to the Ziling Sect immediately and tell Father everything. As for what will happen next, it no longer has anything to do with us."
"Little brother, what if the others spread the news of what happened?" Di Shang asked with a frown.
"Don't worry. They won't have the chance," Di Lin said with a sharp glint in his eyes.
...
Xiang Shaoyun and company did not spend a second longer at the valley filled with poisonous miasma. They started their return journey to the academy. On their way back, they did not forget to gather some more treasures in passing. One could say that they were returning from a rewarding journey.
When they neared the academy, Shou Xie said solemnly, "Young Master Xiang, from today onward, we will be following you. I hope you can take care of us!"
Although Shou Xie was also a special recruit and was not lacking in talent, there was still a big gap between him and the many genius disciples. He might be able to control demonic beasts, but it did not seem possible to obtain power in the academy relying on that alone. After more interactions with Xiang Shaoyun, he had a feeling it was time he made a choice.
He was confident Xiang Shaoyun would not be willing to keep a low profile forever. Sooner or later, he would unite a group of people under his lead. Taking the chance when Xiang Shaoyun had yet to do that, Shou Xie decided to join. That way, he would be considered a senior figure in Xiang Shaoyun's faction in the future. It would give him a status that was entirely different from being an ordinary member.
Xiang Shaoyun did not reject the offer. He smiled and said, "Feel free to look for me if you have any issues in the future. I won't dare to promise I can solve everything, but I won't have a problem solving anything that isn't too big of a deal!"
"Allow me to thank you in advance, then!" said Shou Xie with joy. "In truth, with your strength, you can totally start your own faction!"
Tang Longfei nodded and joined in, "That's right. Shaoyun, it is something worth considering. This is a good opportunity for you."
The academy was filled with the geniuses of the dominion. It would be very beneficial for Xiang Shaoyun's future power if he could recrui
t them. That was the reason why many geniuses had established their own factions in the academy.
Prior to this, Xiang Shaoyun had been focused on cultivating and hadn't gotten the chance to properly consider forming a faction. Now that they were talking about it, he was tempted. He was clear that one person might be powerful, but many people together would be even more powerful.
Now, a perfect opportunity lay before him. Since he was already a Dragon Ascension Realm cultivator, it wouldn't be hard for him to proclaim his own hegemony within the academy. Now was the perfect timing for him to rise.
"Let's do it! Together, we will shake the world!" Xiang Shaoyun clapped his hands and agreed in a straightforward manner.
The others were filled with excitement upon hearing his agreement. At present, they were still independent disciples in the academy. With Xiang Shaoyun stepping up as the leader, it signified that their position in the academy would stabilize. People would no longer dare to easily create trouble for them.
"If we're forming a faction, we need to think of a proper name, then," said Lady Shura.
Without taking any time to think, Xiang Shaoyun said, "Let's call it Ziling Sect."
Tang Longfei quickly objected, "Shaoyun, you shouldn't act on your emotions. We know what you're thinking, but it's not a proper name. Even your father won't agree to it. He would instead hope for you to surpass him!"
Tang Longfei understood what Xiang Shaoyun was thinking. He merely wanted to rebuild Ziling Sect and reclaim everything his father had built. But Tang Longfei did not wish to see him do that in the academy.
After all, if the disciples knew his actual intention of establishing the faction, not many would be willing to join. After all, a disciple would only join a faction in the hope of gaining some companions that would watch each other’s back in the academy. Having companions would help them grow better and obtain more cultivation resources.
After graduating and returning to where they came from, they might not necessarily be willing to share the task of reclaiming a sect alongside Xiang Shaoyun. Tang Longfei did not say all that, but Xiang Shaoyun understood what he meant.