In the end, the five-clawed golden dragon gained the upper hand and defeated the Fearless Lion and the Three-Legged Silver Toad. The Treasure Art finally transformed, moving in the direction Xiao Tian had hoped for.
His Da Wa body and Sixth Calabash Brother body deduced and cultivated it together, producing excellent results and rapid progress.
These past few days, his Sixth Calabash Brother body, far away at the Deer-Chasing Academy, had also been in secluded cultivation.
Suanni was presumably a descendant of the Adamantine Fearless Lion and a true dragon.
Pulao, meanwhile, was a descendant of the Three-Legged Silver Toad and a true dragon.
With the two combined, the bone text belonging to the True Dragon Treasure Technique became more complete, naturally suppressing the incomplete bone texts of the other two fierce beasts.
He had to admit, a dragon's nature really embodied a man's true colors. As long as it was female, a dragon dared to make a move.
Of all the Primordial Remnants between heaven and earth, those possessing dragon blood were undoubtedly the most numerous. The most famous were the nine sons.
"Does the Heaven Mending Pavilion have treasure techniques for Qiuniu, Yazi, Chaofeng, Pulao, Suanni, Baxia, Bian, Fuxi, and Chiwen-
"These kinds of Primordial Remnant Treasure Arts?"
After cultivating for seven days straight, Xiao Tian reached a stopping point and opened his eyes. The first words out of his mouth were a request for Treasure Arts.
"Hahaha! You really are something, kid. To tell you the truth, yes. Our Heaven Mending Pavilion has an ancient heritage and has collected all sorts of Treasure Arts. Of the ones you mentioned, we have two."
"The Fuxi Treasure Art and the Qiuniu Treasure Art. However, techniques cannot be passed on lightly. Without a tremendous contribution, you can't learn Treasure Arts like these just because you want to."
Thunder Ancestor Mu Yan spoke.
"So first, you need to become part of the Heaven Mending Pavilion, rather than thinking about running off to the Deer-Chasing Academy.
"There's also the matter of trust between people. I think you should admit who you are and truly become part of the Heaven Mending Pavilion."
Elder Han spoke up as well.
Just then, however, Elder Tao Ye arrived, holding a golden gourd in his hand. He looked at Xiao Tian with some uncertainty. Now, he was beginning to believe that Xiao Tian had been wrongly accused.
"What are you staring at me for? Starting to think I've been wrongly accused? Ever since I, Li Xiaoyao, made my debut, I've never stooped to impersonating anyone. I stand straight and sit upright."
Xiao Tian stood up and declared solemnly.
"Pfft-"
Ancestor Mu Yan and Elder Han simply could not hold it in. Seeing Xiao Tian's utterly serious expression, they inexplicably wanted to laugh.
"The students suddenly started fighting earlier. Zhou Yuhang and Yu Feng were nearly beaten to death. After roughly looking into what happened, I found that it all started with that child, Shi Qingfeng."
Elder Tao Ye glanced at the inexplicably laughing Mu Yan and Elder Han as though they were idiots, then spoke.
He said this because he believed Bear Child was still at the academy. When Xia Youyu had issued the special recruitment tokens for the Genius Camp, each person had their own designated place-a radish for every hole. It had all been quite clear.
Only the token given to Bear Child had ended up with Shi Qingfeng. The Heaven Mending Pavilion's higher-ups all knew this; Xia Youyu had reported it long ago.
Thus, behind the scenes, the people of the Heaven Mending Pavilion paid close attention to Shi Qingfeng, deliberately using him as bait to fish out Bear Child.
This was also why Xiao Tian had fallen under suspicion and taken the blame for Shi Hao.
What they had not expected was that Shi Qingfeng would not only fish out Xiao Tian, but now also draw out another mysterious child who had concealed himself very deeply.
Ordinary elders like Xiong Fei and Zhuo Yun did not even know about this.
Tao Ye then explained what had happened and offered his deductions. After Xiao Tian had been taken away, Yu Feng and Zhou Yuhao had found Shi Qingfeng even more of an eyesore. They deliberately or otherwise made trouble for him, seizing opportunities to bully him.
Then, for no apparent reason, the two of them had been mobbed and beaten, leaving them with broken bones and torn tendons. They could forget about recovering without a month or two of rest.
Xiao Tian was speechless. He had not expected the plot to return to its normal course again.
Were Zhou Yuhao and Yu Feng simply courting death?
Xiao Tian figured that, barring any surprises, he would be completely free in a few more days. Once the truth came out, the Heaven Mending Pavilion's Ghost Master, who could not rest in death, would ultimately latch onto Shi Hao. It would have nothing to do with him, and he could go complete his check-in without a hitch.
He would no longer have to stay here under the watchful eyes of two old men in the Array Formation Realm. What a cruel twist of fate! That brat Shi Hao had caused the trouble, yet Xiao Tian was the one confined here, forced into secluded, grueling cultivation.
As it turned out, six days passed. Xiao Tian gained quite a lot from his recent intensive cultivation, occasionally asking the two old men for advice. Most importantly, he was rewarded with the Fuxi Treasure Art, which Elder Liu brought over.
By now, they probably felt that Xiao Tian really might have been wrongly accused.
Over the past few days, spiritual herbs had gone missing from the Heaven Mending Pavilion's medicinal garden several times, and they still could not determine who had done it.
In ancient Chinese mythology, Fuxi was the eighth of the dragon's nine sons. Dragonlike in form and fond of refined literature, Fuxi coiled around the tops of stone steles. Ranked eighth and a lifelong lover of writing, Fuxi was depicted by the ornamental dragons on either side of stone steles.
Fuxi was the offspring of a true dragon and a Teng Snake.
The Treasure Art leaned toward the Confucian path, meaning that the more literary talent one possessed, the more power one could unleash with it.
This Treasure Art was very unusual, suited to cultivators with literary learning. In the hands of someone without such learning, it was merely an ordinary Primordial Remnant Treasure Art. In the hands of someone learned, it became a Treasure Art of immeasurable power.
Of course, this primordial fierce beast's Treasure Art was currently gathering dust in the Heaven Mending Pavilion's scripture repository. No one showed any interest in it, leaving a bright pearl buried in dust. They had given it to Xiao Tian mainly because they knew he needed it, padding out his rewards.
Xiao Tian felt that, having thoroughly read Three Hundred Tang Poems, even if he could not write poetry, he could at least recite it.
Right, he also knew a little of Three Hundred Song Lyrics and some classic poems from other dynasties. Thanks to embarking on the path of cultivation and strengthening his soul, he was gradually recalling everything he had once studied and read.
For instance, with nothing else to do, Xiao Tian wrote a story, "The Injustice to Dou E," to express his current helplessness.
He tried empowering it with the Fuxi Treasure Art. In an instant, it was as though an ice-type Primordial Remnant Treasure Art at the Spirit Transformation Realm had erupted with Xiao Tian at its center. White snow drifted through the hall, bitter winds howled, and ice spread as though it could freeze everything.
"Achoo!"
Elder Han sneezed. A wave of heat rolled across his body, precisely counteracting the might of Xiao Tian's Treasure Art. This alone showed how exquisite the old man's control over a Treasure Art's power was—like an antelope hanging by its horns, leaving no trace, handling immense weight as though it were nothing.
Not bad. Xiao Tian was a little surprised. This Treasure Art was fascinating; it could actually judge the quality of literary talent and unleash power accordingly.
"It's snowing! It's snowing!"
Outside the Heaven Mending Pavilion, many disciples and elders were astonished. It was June-how could it snow? Yet within the pavilion's grounds, white snow really was drifting down, blanketing everything. Even the elders' expressions changed.
Some forces spying on the Heaven Mending Pavilion were also left utterly baffled. What on earth had happened?
Fuxi was dragonborn to begin with. Empowered by the literary talent in Xiao Tian's "The Injustice to Dou E," producing a few celestial phenomena came naturally.
Seated cross-legged at the mountain gate, Tao Ye opened his eyes and glanced at the snow falling in June. He frowned slightly, took out his gourd, and pulled out the stopper. In an instant, all the swirling snow, along with the clouds overhead, was swallowed into the gourd.
Meanwhile!
Elder Han and Mu Yan, who were reading Xiao Tian's story "The Injustice to Dou E," stared at him as though they had seen a ghost. To express his grievances and test the Fuxi Treasure Art, this kid had actually concocted a story like this. He really was one hell of a talent!
Xiao Tian had already closed his eyes. His understanding of this Treasure Art had deepened, and before long, he would be able to incorporate it into the embryonic form of his True Dragon Treasure Technique.
This was merely a minor interlude!
That evening, a burst of screams, howls like wolves, and wails like ghosts erupted from the new disciples' residential area.
Lately, Elders Xiong Fei and Zhuo Yun had felt old and short of energy. They could neither eat nor sleep properly, leaving them utterly exhausted and frazzled, with blisters even forming around their mouths.
Still, they rushed over in a panic, only to discover that something truly serious had happened. Ghost Master, who had appeared once every few centuries since ancient times, had appeared again.
Ghost Master's appearance did not merely mean that people might die. It also heralded the reopening of the Transverse Mountain Range.
As for Ghost Master, few people could see him. Those who did described an old man with an ancient sword piercing his skull, black blood flowing from the wound, disheveled hair, and hollow eyes. His appearance meant ill fortune. It meant people would die.
The Ancient Hall was literally named "Ancient Hall." Primordial Treasure Bones and rare, wondrous stones were embedded within, arranged according to the Dao patterns of heaven and earth. Like light bulbs, they made lamps unnecessary even at night.
Runes flowed across all six sides of the magnificent hall, protecting this oldest building in the Heaven Mending Pavilion.
Xiao Tian cultivated calmly. Strand after strand of divine radiance shot from his body, bone text interwove, and dragon roars, tiger howls, frog croaks, and snake hisses resounded from his crotch. It was quite a lively scene.
Just then!
Elder Xiong Fei backed into the ancient hall. He had nearly been frightened to death. All along the way, he had felt chilling energy constantly seep into his body, leaving him cold all over and rigid with fear.
More importantly, an ill-fated child was clinging to his back, both arms wrapped around his neck, refusing to get down. The child's strength was astonishing.
He, Xiong Fei, was merely an ordinary elder in the Inscription Realm. Why did he have to bear such pressure? He really did not want to die!
After all, the records concerning Ghost Master were far too terrifying. According to legend, even elders in the Array Formation Realm had perished after provoking him.
Upon entering the ancient hall, Shi Hao immediately spotted Xiao Tian. There was no mistake. This was the person his big brother had transformed into, using the alias Li Xiaoyao. In the eighth examination area, he had even studied a Treasure Art together with him.
Shi Hao fought back the urge to leap over. He had heard that Xiao Tian had been taken away by the Heaven Mending Pavilion's elders and had never returned. In truth, he had been quite worried.
Later, after sounding out the elders with indirect questions, he learned that a senior elder valued Xiao Tian and that he was cultivating in seclusion in the Ancient Hall. Only then had he relaxed.
Xiao Tian opened his eyes. Upon seeing Shi Hao, he immediately shifted his gaze toward Senior Elder Tao Ye.
The old man was straightforward. He tossed over the treasure bone recording the Qiuniu Treasure Art.
Xiao Tian knew perfectly well that this was compensation.
Speaking of which, being able to cultivate in the Ancient Hall was already a sure gain with no loss. The spiritual energy here was extremely dense, and with the support of formation patterns, it was easier to enter meditation and calm his mind.
Moreover, he had received two dragonborn Primordial Remnant Treasure Arts for free.
Many elders entered the Ancient Hall, numbering over a hundred. Most were in the Inscription Realm.
All of them were senior to Xiong Fei and Zhuo Yun, belonging to the Heaven Mending Pavilion's old guard.
Given how long the Heaven Mending Pavilion had existed, having this many Inscription Realm experts was perfectly normal. Having too few would have been abnormal.
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(End of chapter)
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