White Elder Passed Down a Technique

Chapter 23: White Elder Passed Down a Technique

Three days had passed. Today, Long Jiuyyao was once again spending time with Zi Lin, just as he had every day.

As usual, Long Jiuyyao also made time to practice martial arts. Although a great expert lived here, he had never offered Long Jiuyyao a single word of guidance.

Long Jiuyyao knew that being allowed to stay here for five days was already a rare privilege.

Today, Long Jiuyyao did not practice martial arts. Instead, he gripped the Demon Breaking Dragon Halberd tightly, wanting only to swing the Dragon Halberd in his hands to his heart's content.

"Whoosh!" Long Jiuyyao exhaled a breath of stale air, then swept the Dragon Halberd through the air.

Long Jiuyyao stomped his right foot against the ground, and his stance began to shift. The Dragon Halberd thrust forward one moment and swept upward the next. His movements seemed entirely without pattern.

Indeed, Long Jiuyyao had never learned any halberd techniques. Every swing now followed his instincts—in short, he swung however felt most satisfying.

As Long Jiuyyao moved faster and faster, he swung the Dragon Halberd more and more frequently, and his movements gradually began to flow together.

The air currents from Long Jiuyyao's swings bent the straight bamboo stalks ever so slightly. The beautiful melodies of bamboo leaves brushing together echoed through the grove.

As time passed, the grove's exquisite music continued to ring in his ears. The way Long Jiuyyao wielded the Dragon Halberd had gone from painfully awkward to pleasing to watch—a sign that he was beginning to transform.

On a distant cliff's peak, the White-bearded Elder watched the youth swinging his Dragon Halberd in the bamboo grove and stroked his beard with a nod.

"With this child, the Dragon Clan will surely rise again. And she would surely be pleased with the choice I made for her."

"Boy, I'll pass one move on to you. Whether you learn it or not will depend entirely on your talent." Old Bai formed a hand seal, and the bamboo grove was instantly engulfed in thick white fog.

In the grove, Long Jiuyyao stood motionless like a puppet, seemingly fast asleep.

Atop the cliff, Old Bai murmured, "Boy, we'll meet in your dream."

In the dream, Long Jiuyyao held the Dragon Halberd and looked up at the towering mountain before him. "Where is this? Wasn't I swinging my Dragon Halberd? How did I get here?"

Long Jiuyyao's mind was filled with questions.

But the towering mountain before him vanished. In its place stood a black-haired young man in a gray robe, holding an unknown halberd-shaped spirit treasure and facing a Shadow Figure whose face was covered in golden demonic markings and whose back bore golden demonic wings.

Long Jiuyyao stared up at the two figures facing off atop the cliff and cried out, "That's Old Bai when he was young! Could the one he's facing be a Yi Mo?"

The spirit treasure in Old Bai's hand touched the ground. The still winds of the world suddenly howled to life, and the figure, as if aware of how terrifying this move was, was engulfed by billowing black mist.

As soon as the black mist appeared, all the Yuan Power in the world began to seethe, repelling the mist emanating from the Shadow Figure.

The black mist slowly formed a thin black membrane that wrapped around the figure.

"Demon Suppressing Wind Pressure!"

Old Bai swung the halberd-shaped spirit treasure in his hands. With each swing of the young Old Bai's weapon, the howling winds grew more violent, and an invisible, boundless pressure of wind, filled with destructive power, slowly took shape.

As the boundless wind pressure formed, the turbulent winds between heaven and earth fell still. Yet the terrifying power radiating from that silent wind pressure could not be ignored.

The silent, boundless wind pressure enveloped the figure wrapped in the black membrane. Within it, the figure's pupils dilated, a flicker of fear showing in his eyes.

The Heaven and Earth Yuan Power and black mist within the destructive wind pressure—everything in its path—was slowly broken down and vanished by the terrifying gale. Even the space and air within it were broken down and erased, gradually leaving a vacuum.

The thin membrane formed by the black mist was slowly broken down and vanished. However, under the Shadow Figure's control, it did not disappear completely, though its power had been greatly diminished.

"Nirvana Wind God Halberd!"

Young Old Bai roared. The silent winds between heaven and earth coiled behind him like a ten-thousand-zhang wind dragon.

With one final swing of the spirit treasure in his hand, the destructive wind dragon howled toward the Shadow Figure trapped within the wind pressure.

The destructive wind pressure surged into the Shadow Figure's body. As he watched the wind dragon draw closer, the fear in his eyes became unmistakable.

The wind dragon pierced through the Shadow Figure. Endless, violent gales howled, tearing his body apart and dispersing all the black mist around him. Before the might of heaven and earth, the Shadow Figure seemed so utterly weak.

The howling gale swept away the black mist left behind after his death. The clouds that had obscured the sun were blown apart, and beneath its light, young Old Bai's figure looked like a celestial deity to Long Jiuyyao.

"Old Bai was so powerful when he was young! He actually killed that Yi Mo!"

Black-haired Old Bai turned and looked toward Long Jiuyyao in the distance. "I created this move when I was young, but I only completed it recently. How much did you see, and how much do you remember?"

Long Jiuyyao was stunned. "Seventy percent."

Black-haired Old Bai nodded at his reply. To remember seventy percent on the first try was quite good.

Black-haired Old Bai sent a seal flying toward Long Jiuyyao's brow. Long Jiuyyao did not even have time to react before he collapsed to the ground.

"Boy, this move will serve you all the way to the Reincarnation Stage."

Outside the dream, the White-bearded Elder looked at the sleeping Long Jiuyyao and nodded in satisfaction.

"Your five days are up. Go!"

Old Bai waved his hand, and Long Jiuyyao shot away like Flowing Light, disappearing before the elder's eyes.

Beyond the island lay an endless lake. Long Jiuyyao was lying on the lakeshore. After he appeared, a ferocious beast sprang from the mountains and charged toward the unconscious Long Jiuyyao.

The beast licked Long Jiuyyao's cheek and let out a low growl, then lay down beside him to rest.

The sun sank in the west, and the day moon began to appear.

The unconscious Long Jiuyyao slowly opened his eyes and looked around. When he saw the beast lying in front of him, delight was plain in his eyes.

This beast was Jin Ming, who had gained an opportunity. Long Jiuyyao couldn't help marveling at how much Jin Ming's body had changed.

His bloodline had evolved a little further. Even that tiny improvement was an enormous opportunity for Jin Ming at this stage.

Then he looked down at the Purple Back Dragon Horn Centipede coiled around his waist and smiled. He was immensely glad he had decided to travel to the Secret Treasure Land.

Otherwise, how could he have gained an Ancient Spirit Worm and a Martial Arts Opportunity? More importantly, he had met an unparalleled expert, and Jin Ming had also reaped great rewards.

Suddenly, Long Jiuyyao's brow trembled, and a flood of images poured into his mind—the scenes from the dream he had just experienced.

The information also contained the Halberd Technique Secret: The Dragon Halberd serves as the vessel; Yuan Power and spiritual strength provide support. Gather the winds of the world and wield them as your own. The move has two forms. At minimum, one must reach the Nirvana Realm in Yuan Power and become a Heavenly Symbol Master in spiritual strength to use it, even to a limited degree.

Sleeping Jin Ming sensed something unusual, opened his eyes, and looked at Long Jiuyyao, who had sat up. It gave a happy, low growl.

"Jin Ming, let me introduce you to a new companion: Zi Lin."

The Purple Back Dragon Horn Centipede coiled around his waist instantly grew several times larger, looking terrifying against the night.

Jin Ming was equally unwilling to back down. It bared its teeth and glared at Zi Lin.

Watching Jin Ming and Zi Lin glare at each other, Long Jiuyyao couldn't help feeling a headache coming on. He stopped the two beasts and introduced them to each other.

"You two are brothers. You can't act like this..."

Long Jiuyyao kept talking, and at last the two beasts looked away. Still, neither had fully accepted the other.

Long Jiuyyao knew Jin Ming and Zi Lin might not accept each other so quickly, but they had plenty of time. He believed they would eventually get along.

Long Jiuyyao rested his head on Jin Ming's belly, while Zi Lin coiled around his arm. The man and two beasts fell asleep like that.

With Old Bai in the lake, Long Jiuyyao had no fear of strange creatures appearing in the mountains.

As he slept, time passed. The day moon faded, and the sun blazed overhead.

Long Jiuyyao made his preparations and set off for his final destination. After the opportunities they had each gained, the frigid mist in the Yin Dragon Mountain Range affected them far less, so their pace increased considerably.

"Whoosh!"

A demonic beast raced past in an instant. Lying on the lion's back, Long Jiuyyao murmured, "We've been traveling without rest for the past few days. We should be out of the Yin Dragon Mountain Range before long, right?"

Long Jiuyyao looked at the route on the map, feeling a little anxious. He had lost five days at Old Bai's place and had traveled for several more days. The destination was still thirty thousand li away, yet they were still in the Yin Dragon Mountain Range, and only half a month remained before the deadline.

The sun would eventually set.

"Stop!"

Jin Ming halted. Long Jiuyyao jumped down from its back. Seeing that night was approaching, he took a tent out of his Universe Bag and set up camp right there.

Jin Ming immediately lay down and panted heavily. After running nonstop for days, it was already exhausted. It was still a cub, and only at the mid-stage of the Earth Origin Realm—and it had only broken through to the mid-stage thanks to its opportunity at Flame Lake.

Long Jiuyyao lit a campfire and took out several pieces of demonic beast meat. He skewered them on branches and sprinkled on seasoning made from Spiritual Medicine. In just a short while, the meat was roasted.

The man and beast ate the roasted demonic beast meat heartily. As an Ancient Spirit Worm, Zi Lin had always eaten only the spiritual treasures of heaven and earth, and the beast meat held no appeal for it.