Chapter 14: Alligator-Resting Art
Chapter 14: Alligator-Resting Art
Dusk. Cliff’s edge. The setting sun was as red as blood.
“The Hyena Gang? What’s their story, what grudge do they hold against Zhangsun?” Li Yi frowned. As the mountain wind brushed past him, the restless anger in his heart gradually calmed down considerably.
“Actually, they’re just the ones eliminated from the Outer Academy in previous years. Bitter and resentful, they call themselves ‘hyenas’, meaning that as long as there’s meat to eat, even if they encounter a lion, they dare to pounce and take a few bites! Otherwise, what normal person would dare to provoke the Zhangsun Clan? They’d be seeking their own death, right?” Yan Zhao shook his head, his eyes flickering with disdain and disgust. “But for now, we don’t know who hired them.”
“There are seven in the Hyena Gang. Most are at the Half-Step fourth or fifth layer. Their leader, Yang Kai, is at the Half-Step sixth layer! Moreover, this man used to be a mountain forest hunter. He tames magical beasts, Mountain Vultures, to aid him.”
“Mountain Vulture?”
Li Yi’s expression shifted slightly. The Mountain Vulture was a type of mountain forest magical beast, incredibly strong, capable of tearing tigers and leopards apart with its bare claws. Among lower-tier magical beasts, its physical strength was comparable to that of a magical bear.
“Not only that. Yang Kai values this beast highly. It wears a ‘Spirit Link Ring’ and a ‘Fury Collar’. Once activated, it becomes fierce as a roc, able to kill rhinos and elephants! Recently, he also obtained a magical artifact as payment for acting against Zhangsun. I’ve only heard it’s a summoning-type artifact…”
“A summoning-type artifact?” Li Yi tilted his head, thinking. “Elemental Life, an imp from the underworld, or maybe a hellcat? None of those things are easy to deal with…”
Yan Zhao looked at Li Yi, his face filled with worry, hesitating to speak. “This group… won’t be easy to handle…”
Clearly, he was concerned about Li Yi’s safety.
A faint sense of guilt welled up in Li Yi’s heart.
It wasn’t deliberate, but hiding his true cultivation level was not a good thing…
“Yan Zhao, actually I…” Li Yi carefully chose his words.
“No need to say it!” Yan Zhao cut him off, waving his hand magnanimously. “I know your strength isn’t up to it… I’m actually quite satisfied that you have the heart to think about it! You, just focus on your cultivation. You don’t need to go.”
So he thinks I want to run away?
Li Yi gave a bitter laugh, feeling both amusement and frustration internally.
“I’ll go, I will definitely go!” He said resolutely, in a tone that brooked no argument.
“Fine. Tomorrow at noon, right here!” Unexpectedly, Yan Zhao did not refuse.
“Yan Zhao, actually I’m quite strong…” Li Yi couldn’t hold back, speaking with great seriousness.
“Let’s not say any more,” Yan Zhao patted his chest, his entire expression saying “I understand”. “I know, true strength comes from within!”
Watching the other’s retreating back, Li Yi felt a surge of anger. Frustrated, he kicked a pebble flying.
“Strength from within? Strength from within, my foot!”
Night had grown deep. Threads of chill seeped into the room through the window frame.
“Alligator-Resting Art, deduce!”
In the room, Li Yi sat cross-legged. Lowering his gaze and calming his mind, he silently gave the command.
In an instant, a stormy sea rose within his Sea of Consciousness, turning his world upside down!
Streams of light meandered, mantras surged and faded, characters flickered. The old formula was annihilated, giving birth to countless mysterious and profound writings, containing the great Dao, unfathomably deep and obscure.
The text shone brilliantly, its strokes ancient and forceful, as if each character were a priceless pearl, falling to the ground with a tangible weight!
One hundred Magic Crystals vanished into nothingness, and the Alligator-Resting Art transitioned from obscure to clear!
At the same time, another formula projected forth from the Heavenly Prophecy Ring, hovering in the air.
Meditation Art — Softshell Turtle Dream Art!
“Deducing the Softshell Turtle Dream Art requires ten thousand Magic Crystals? The Alligator-Resting Art was ten times the cost of the Turtle Hibernation Art, and the Softshell Turtle Dream Art is actually one hundred times the cost of the Alligator-Resting Art! My heavens!”
“What about the next stage then? A thousand times? Ten thousand times?”
Seeing that chilling number, Li Yi’s expression twisted and changed violently, like a character in an exaggerated drama.
His body trembled several times. A wry smile gathered at the corner of his lips.
He suddenly had a feeling that he had become the donkey on a millstone, kept working day and night by a carrot dangling just in front of him.
But who said he wasn’t willing?
A moment of confusion, and a self-pitying sentiment seemed to surface, then gradually faded.
“Let’s cultivate!”
Li Yi carefully studied the mantra of the Alligator-Resting Art, word by word, not daring to be the slightest bit negligent.
His tightly closed eyes darted rapidly. His mental energy was being consumed at a furious rate.
After a long while, he opened his eyes. His expression was weary, but a dawning comprehension showed on his face. His eyes shone with a new light, filled with burgeoning heroism.
“This method, how should I describe it? Ferocious, wildly unyielding, overbearing, as deep as an abyss or a ravine, impossible to measure!”
“The hundred Magic Crystals were not spent in vain!”
“Tonight, I will break through!”
He concentrated his spirit, his body gave a sudden shake, like a great beast shaking its pelt. His body tensed like a bowstring. Closing his eyes, his breathing gradually slowed and eased!
…
Star Radiance Tower, second floor. Starlight dotted the space, elements floated in the air, drifting like fireflies.
The ground floor held the residences of the Outer Manor Disciples. The second floor belonged to the Inner-Mansion Disciples, particularly the central area where elements gathered, which was occupied by a very small number, the Heaven’s Pride.
Bai Yun sat serenely. Her snow-white gauze robe could not surpass her fair skin, but the two complemented each other, making her seem especially pure and beautiful, like an immortal untouched by worldly dust.
She formed a magic hand seal resembling a lotus. Her expression was peaceful, as if detached from the world.
On the night of the summoning ritual, her gains had been quite substantial — a brand new Bloodline Ability, “Moonlight”.
This Bloodline Ability could enhance spells of the star, moon, and twilight systems, strengthen the connection with the River of Fate Stars, and also, during nighttime meditation, one would receive the blessing of the laurel, causing the effects of meditation to rise step by step.
More importantly, the “Moonlight” ability, together with the “White Jade” bloodline, could produce a special phenomenon — “Moonlight Shines on White Jade”, which promoted the growth of the bloodline!
Her “Flawless Body” might possibly advance towards an “Immaculate Body”!
The luck was truly not bad!
No, actually, it couldn’t simply be called luck.
A hero saving a beauty!
For no reason at all, the figure of a youth surfaced in her mind again.
“Li Yi… huh? Why am I thinking of him again? That youth isn’t even an Inner-Mansion Disciple yet…”
Shaking her head, Bai Yun calmed her mind, dispelling distracting thoughts. Raising the lotus hand seal high, she once again immersed herself in meditation.
After another while, she opened her eyes again, a look of puzzlement on her face.
This time, the reason wasn’t that figure in her heart.
“What’s going on? Tonight, the elemental density in the Meditation Chamber seems even thinner than yesterday’s?”
She thought for a moment, then gently raised her jade-like arm. A wisp of Wind of Perception flowed out from the door crack and soon returned.
Without needing to open the door, she had already “seen” that outside, the stars were brilliant, the starlight radiant and bright.
It wasn’t the weather then. Could it be the Well of Stars had some issue with one of its rings again?
But that wasn’t common…
Another Meditation Chamber.
A figure with golden hair and fiery pupils sat cross-legged. His body was robust and sturdy, formidable like a martial artist, unmoving as a mountain.
After a while, fiery clouds rose above his head, gradually becoming more and more intense. Fiery air like a furnace, blazing flames, forming a round shape, wrapping around him layer by layer!
He let out a fierce shout and opened his eyes!
From his pupils, fiery light shot upwards. Golden Mana surged around his body, taking form like a mane, fiercely rising and falling.
This strange spectacle made him look like a massive golden ape!
This Meditation Art was called the “Furnace Refining Ape Art”, and it belonged to the very top tier of Meditation Arts.
However, its practice was exceptionally painful, comparable to being skinned and having one’s marrow extracted. Only those with great perseverance and toughness could cultivate it.
Otherwise, it was extremely easy to deviate into demonic cultivation or fall into madness.
The benefits of this method were also astounding. Not only did it temper the soul’s strength, but it could also give birth to a terrifying pupil technique!
“Today’s Pill Fire seems a bit fainter…”
“Let me think. Array maintenance isn’t scheduled for the next few days. Is that Fatty Wang slacking off again? Maybe I should throw him into the furnace to refine him too.”
Such excruciating pain would likely have shattered an ordinary person’s soul, but this person still wore a calm expression. His speech was unhurried and unruffled, without a single tremor.
Another room.
A youth sat cross-legged. Upon his shoulders, two soul lanterns seemed to burn, their flames flickering, sometimes bright, sometimes dim.
“The array has a malfunction, and no notice was given in advance? That Wang Fatty, next time I see him, he’s going to pay… But the guy next door is probably even angrier!”
Not far from his room, a column of frost-white aura shot skyward. Hoarfrost congealed, freezing dozens of meters, like a frost phoenix taking flight!
“Wang Fatty, do you have a death wish? My ‘Ice Demon Sealing Essence Art’ is at a critical breakthrough stage. Pulling my leg at a time like this, are you tired of living?”
That night, the ordinary disciples on the second floor noticed nothing.
But the Heaven’s Pride, whose senses were sharp enough to discern the finest detail, all felt that compared to usual, the meditation environment had somewhat deteriorated.
They didn’t think much about it, simply laying the blame on that Wang Fatty.
Little did they know, that clump of fatty flesh was currently scurrying around like an ant on a hot pan, his head feeling like it was covered in bumps.
“Damned ghosts, truly damned ghosts!”
“This is unprecedented! What kind of change happened down on the lower floor? It’s actually affecting the second floor now!”