Read Rise Of The Worm Sovereign Chapter 111 - Helpers In Trouble? online for free - AllNovelFull
Lin Wu meanwhile was watching everything secretly. He was still lying in the place that he had fallen at the start and had a good view of both the spatial rift and Young master Shirong. At first, he had been fine just lying there due to his weight, but as the size of the spatial rift increased, Lin Wu could feel the force acting on him.
The errors still kept on appearing in his notification feed, and Lin Wu knew that the system was fully engrossed in analyzing the current situation. Seeing that the spatial rift was still expanding and its suction force was increasing, Lin Wu had secretly extended spikes from his body that embedded into the ground.
This had solidified his position for now, but he knew that it was not for long. There were now people watching the entire thing, and thankfully he had not been noticed due to the flying dust and debris.
"Dammit, system is there any more progress?" Lin Wu questioned.
~Ding~
——
ANSWER: the system was able to detect that there are two different forces coming from that rift. One is the suction force that is pulling everything towards it, while there is also a second type of force. The system's preliminary analysis shows this as a type of energy that the host felt in the ring.
This energy is being released from the rift at regular intervals and is also likely to be the reason behind the corruption of the Virtual ring interface function.
——
Reading the system's answer didn't really provide Lin Wu with much and all he could do was to hold on and watch. If push came to shove, he'll just dig down but knew that if he did that he would be revealed.
Besides this, there was one thing that was bugging him. Shirong was in trouble too and would be sucked into the spatial rift if he was not saved. While Lin Wu had no attachment to him on an emotional level, he had invested far too much time in setting up everything with him.
Shirong was the perfect candidate to leech off. Not only did he have a great status that would open up Lin Wu to information and resources which he would usually be unable to find, but with all the events that had happened Lin Wu had created an understanding with Shirong… or rather one could say misunderstandings instead.
Lin Wu wasn't sure he would be able to replicate all that he did with Shirong. Losing him now could become a large setback for Lin Wu.
Still, he would not interfere unless he was sure of if it would work.
"I can only watch for now… hopefully, the others can save him." Lin Wu said to himself.
On the other side, the cultivators and Clan head Lu had finally finished setting up the protective formation array. If this was a normal situation, the formation array would be stable and solid, not allowing anything to escape it.
But with the interference of spatial rift, even a formation array such as this could only slow down the things that passed through it. The suction force on Shirong had reduced by a Little more than half and he was able to take a slight breath of relief.
"Do it now clan head Lu!" The group of cultivators spoke.
"GO!" Clan head Lu shouted as he threw the rope with all his strength.
~Shua~
The rope was able to travel straight and reach Young master Shirong.
"I GOT IT!" Shirong yelled in joy as he caught the rope with his left hand.
He quickly wrapped his hand around the rope and held on tight.
"YAY! We got him!" The group of cultivators shouted.
"Come help me pull him back. Rememberer only use spirit qi to strengthen your body, do not use it externally or it would be sucked into the spatial rift as well." Clan head Lu warned.
Even the formation array was only able to be set up because clan head Lu helped personally. If these cultivators tried to use spirit sense on their own, it would be sucked in which would give them a backlash. And if they suffered backlash now, they may lose control of themselves and be sucked.
"READY! ONE! TWO! GO!" Clan head Lu ordered.
"PULL!" They all shouted together.
~HUAA~
The rope was stretched taut and a great force acted on Young master Shirong's body. On one hand was the spatial rift sucking him in and on the other side the cultivators pulling him. These two opposite forces put a strain on his body, but all he could do was grit his teeth and hold on.
He had wrapped the rope around his waist so that it would be a bit more firmer. But even then his legs were unable to stick to the ground and were pulled towards the rift.
~GAH~
Shirong grunted in pain as his body was suspended in the air.
"Don't stop! Keep on pulling!" Clan head Lu shouted.
"Hold on, young master!" The other cultivators shouted.
About two minutes had passed and by now they had pulled Shirong to about half of the distance of the rope. But along with this, the force of the spatial rift increased once again. It was now five meters in diameter.
Due to this, the formation array destabilized again, until…
~CRACK~
~SHATTER~
The formation array abruptly stopped and the suction force increased by six times for the cultivators.
"NOO!" Shirong shouted as he felt the pain in his body.
The corners of his clothes were now getting ripped and sucked into the rift.
"Be careful…" The clan head Lu had just warned when one of the cultivators missed their step while pulling the rope.
"Aargh," the man shouted before his grip over the rope was loosened.
He tried to hold back hurriedly, but this only made him stumble.
~Foo~
The man was suddenly sent flying as he was sucked by the spatial rift.
"NOOOOOO!" Everyone shouted in unison.
Shirong was sent flying back as the rope was loosened, but the clan head Lu tightened his grip again.
"Dammit! I'm going to regret, this aren't I?" Lin Wu said to himself as he made up his mind.
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Lin Wu had been thinking of what to do in case the clan head Lu and others were not able to save Shirong, and all of his ideas led to one thing, saving Shirong himself. But the thing was, he didn't know if he was even qualified to do that.
If even a Nascent soul realm cultivator was having a hard time and did not dare get close to the spatial rift, Lin Mu knew that he would be a fool to rush in. Right now, the only reason he was safe was because he was too heavy and nailed to the ground.
Seeing that all his progress and investment were about to go to waste, Lin Wu felt his heart ache and he decided to help.
Lin Wu triggered the innate skill cellular manipulation and started to change his form, when he heard a notification that made him stop.
~Ding~
——
RIFT ENERGY ANALYZED: Confirmed to be a type of qi.
——
This one sentence was enough to solve the problem for Lin Wu. New ideas appeared in his mind and he found the one that was the most likely to work and may even be able to hide his identity.
"If it's just qi then my skills should work. From what I've seen radiation and qi don't really mix, though I still wonder why." Lin Wu muttered to himself before looking around the area and ensuring that he was in the right position.
Shirong was now wondering whether all his luck had run out today, finally. He had been having one misfortune after the other ever since getting the green crystal spear and even wondered if it was cursed.
"Did I use up a lifetime of luck in obtaining an immortal weapon?" Shirong asked himself as his grip on the rope weakened.
"NOOOOO! YOUNG MASTER!!!" Clan head Lu yelled as he saw Shirong being sucked towards the spatial rift.
He was regretting that he didn't pay a close eye on the courtyard and ensured Shirong's safety. While he didn't know how a spatial rift appeared here, he was still betting on the fact that it could be the scheme of an enemy.
He knew Shirong had been in seclusion and perhaps an enemy had taken advantage of this and somehow sneaked in to do something like this. But just as he had given up all hope, a bright light blinded him.
~SHIIIIIIIG~
A high frequency sound assaulted the people's ears as they slammed their hands on their ears.
"What… is… that… horrible… noise…" Lu Peng uttered with difficulty as he squinted his eyes.
The others had similar reactions and couldn't help but look towards the source of the sound which was coming from the spatial rift.
Shirong had a dull look in his eyes as he helplessly looked at the spatial rift that was about to swallow him. But when he was just two meters away from it, he saw something appear in front of his eyes. It was glowing brightly and was two meters long.
It didn't take him long to realize what it was.
"The spear?" He muttered, feeling speechless.
~Weeng~
Then a wave of sickening energy assaulted everyone in a radius of a hundred meters. The energy made them feel hot and their skin was itching for some reason.
~Shua~
The suction force that was acting on Shirong suddenly fell to zero and he fell to the ground with a thud. He looked at the spear and could feel the same energy he had felt back when one of its seals was released. This was a bit different from before though, as the energy was more contained and directed towards the rift.
From his connection with the spear, he could feel the large amount of spirit qi that was stirring inside the spear. But strangely enough, the energy being emitted by the spear was not spirit qi at all.
"Is it elemental qi, fire attribute spirit qi perhaps? No! While it is hot, it's not exactly the same." Shirong muttered to himself.
~Huala~
An almost visible line could be seen in the air as Shirong saw two energies colliding and canceling each other out. It took him a second to process this, but he realized what the energy coming from the spatial rift was.
"The spatial attribute spirit qi… it's being repelled?" Shirong uttered in disbelief.
Shirong had learned about spatial attribute spirit qi a long time ago when he learned the theory behind the elements. Most people only knew of the nine elemental attributes. But he had learned the full theory behind it in his clan.
The elements were classified into; five mortal, four heavenly, and three primordial elements. The five mortal were; fire, wood, metal, earth and water. The four heavenly were; Wind, lightning, light and darkness. And finally, the three primordial were; Space, time and chaos.
The three primordial elements were relatively unknown to most people in the world, and only certain Powers knew the entire theory behind them. Becoming a nascent soul realm cultivator would qualify one to come into contact with the three primordial elements for the first time.
The element that they would experience was none other than the spatial element.
The difficulty in controlling the elements increased exponentially from mortal to heavenly to primordial. Even learning to control heavenly elements was an impossible task, if one didn't have the talent and the right cultivation technique.
Shirong was lucky that his Immortal Sky shaker art was one of the cultivation techniques that allowed one to comprehend two of the heavenly elements: Wind and lightning. He knew the difficulty that came with the immortal Sky shaker art and couldn't even begin to imagine how immensely difficult it would be to control a Primordial element like the space would be.
From what he had seen in the Ji clan's secret records. There were no cultivation techniques that allowed one to gain an understanding of the three primordial elements.
But the situation currently was something that didn't match the well established and undisputed theory. There was actually something able to compare with the Spatial element!
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The suction force of the spatial rift seemed to have suddenly stopped. The people wanted to take a look but the blinding light was making it hard for them to do so. They were happy that the suction force had stopped, and they didn't have to dodge random projectiles.
But the people were now under a different kind of duress. Their skin was burning and blisters were appearing on it. It was still fine for them before when the spatial rift was sucking everything in, as long as they dodged the projectiles or stayed far away from the rift, they would be fine.
But now this new type of energy was burning their skin and pain assaulted their senses. The strange thing was, their clothes were fine, but their bodies were still being affected.
"What in the heaven's name is the disaster!" one of the old clan heads uttered with shock.
"What ever that light is, I think it's stopping the suction force of the spatial rift and is also releasing the hot energy." Lu Peng analyzed.
By now their eyes had acclimatized to the bright light a bit and it wasn't as unbearable as before. While they still have to squint to see it, they could at least see something.
"LOOK! ITS THE YOUNG MASTER!" One of the cultivators who had tried to save Shirong yelled.
Clan head Lu's neck snapped at his response and he took a look.
"Impossible! How?" He said in disbelief before jubilation papered on his face.
"AHAHA! The heavens are merciful!" He uttered in joy.
Clan head Lu was about to proceed forward to get Young master Shirong and threw the rope towards him again. Now that their spirit qi was no longer in danger of being sucked by the spatial rift, clan Head Lu thought it would be fine.
He was the only one currently here that was fine despite the heat and was not suffering from skin blisters either.
~poof~
The rope spirit tool that was thrown towards Shirong suddenly lost power in the middle and turned limp before falling to the ground helplessly. The spirit qi that was infused to control the spirit tool was also dissipated after that.
"What!" The clan head said in shock.
But before he could attempt anything else, he felt the spirit qi emanating from his body getting suppressed. Clan Head Lu could do anything else and only tried to resist this. He didn't know what exactly was happening, and thus he didn't proceed ahead.
Shirong could see that the spear was emanating a lot of energy to repel the spatial attribute qi that was coming from the spatial rift. This had created a divide which had also blocked the suction force in the process.
Another strange thing Shirong found was that while he felt hot, no blisters were appearing on his skin.
"Is the spear… intentionally avoiding me?" Shirong wondered as he looked at the other people who were getting them.
He was the closest to the spear and yet he was safe, while the others were now shouting in pain. This lasted for about a minute before Shirong felt the energy coming from the spear starting to stir.
~Whirl~
The energy started to spin around the spatial rift, forming a vortex. The diameter of the vortex slowly shrank as it started to close in towards the spatial rift.
~Woong~Woong~Woong~
A droning sound was heard as the vortex started to speed up. It was now making multiple revolutions in a second, and it didn't seem like it would slow down. Its speed kept on increasing as it forced the spatial qi back into the rift.
Seconds seemed like hours as all the people braced themselves.
~Phut~
Then in an almost anti-climatic manner, the spatial rift was compressed and disappeared with a suppressed sound.
"That's it? A spatial rift was stopped just like that?" Shirong question in disbelief.
Shirong then saw the spear move towards him, and he instinctively held out his hand.
~Shing~
The spear was clasped in his hand as the glowing light started to dim down. It was now that a fact hit Shirong.
'I need to hide the spear! The others can't know of it!' He thought to himself with great worry.
He looked around and saw that they were still having a hard time seeing due to the bright light. Even he was only able to sense the spear due to his connection with it and was barely actually 'seeing' it.
Shirong quickly started to think of ideas and his thoughts ran at lightning speed. Shirong's eyes went wide as a potential solution appeared in his mind.
"Hopefully this should work…" Shirong prayed in his mind.
He then communicated with the spear using his communication and tried to see if it could do what he wanted it to do. The spear lightly hummed in his hand and then he felt it move. The spear started to wrap around his arm and moved upwards.
"Sssss!" Shirong gasped in pain as the hot surface of the spear rubbed against his skin.
When he had held the spear, it was likely that the spear had protected him, but now that it was doing something else, it could no longer do the same.
The sound of searing flesh was heard as the spear moved over his exposed skin. A lot of his clothes had been torn off by the suction force and his torso was completely bare. The spear made a loop around his right arm and then around his left arm.
Then the middle part extended over his neck, latching around it. The length of the spear started to extend and wrapped around his chest. Every place that the spear touched was burned, and Shirong was gritting his teeth to bear it.
The spear had now wrapped around his neck, upper arms, and upper torso. It looked as if Shirong had been wrapped with a rope. But a second later, Shirong felt it starting to rapidly suck his spirit qi as another change happened.
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Shirong could feel the spear tighten around his body and felt as if his bones would crack. The rope like form of the spear started changing and became more flatter. The coils joined, interlocking, and the shoulder parts broadened.
On his abdomen, two parts extended from the spear and joined together. The two crimson glowing lights were now positioned on the back of Shirong and glowed even more fiercely. Finally, Shirong felt it lighten and he could breathe much more comfortably now.
The blinding light finally faded away and people could see clearly now. But what they saw shocked them. The spatial rift had disappeared and in its place was standing Shirong. He was clad in an emerald green armor that covered that covered his shoulders, and upper torso while exposing his abs.
Two Crimson red eyes glowed at the back of the armor and they could feel the power exuding from them.
"Wha-what is that?" Someone asked, feeling awed.
Shirong looked down at his body and saw the armor. He had not fully expected for the spear to be able to what he had wanted to do. But now that it had taken the form of an armor as he wanted, he knew that he would be able to get through this without arousing much suspicion.
"It's an armor! A divine armor!" Another person shocked.
Clan head Lu stumbled forward, his jaw open in shock. He had not thought that the spatial rift would be able to be closed so easily like this. One must know that even a Dao shell realm cultivator would have a hard time doing the same unless they had a spatial attribute spirit tool. But such spirit tools were extremely rare.
"Young master Shirong! Are you fine?" Clan head Lu asked with concern.
Shirong turned around after hearing the voice and spoke, "Yes clan head Lu, I'm fine now. I'm grateful for your help."
~Phew~
"If you are fine, then everything is good." Clan head Lu replied and took a look around at the destruction.
"Let's go Young master, we'll talk somewhere else. You can rest and change into some clothes." Clan head Lu said before continuing, "take care of this all, we'll go ahead." He said to the juniors of his clan.
"Yes, clan head!" They responded and made way for the two of them to go ahead.
Shirong was actually feeling quite tired after this all. It had taken his all to be able to resist the suction force of the spatial rift, not to mention that he had to continuously use a massive amount of spirit qi to strengthen his body.
If he did not do that, he would have been sucked into the spatial rift early on or could have even been torn in half if something went wrong. He looked at his right hand and sighed.
'I'll need to get another spatial storage ring. This was another big loss… I've lost all the things stored in my ring.' Shirong thought to himself with sorrow.
Clan head Lu took out a large flat disk and both of them climbed onto it. They then flew towards the Lu clan courtyard. Clan head Lu flew it at a slow speed so as to not troubled Young Master Shirong. He could sense that his dantian was quite depleted and he needed rest.
A few minutes later they landed at the main hall, and people were already waiting for them with some things.
A few servants walked ahead and draped a robe onto to Shirong, which he gladly accepted. Even if the spear had been turned into an armor for now, he knew it was rather eye catching. He will have to address this later on as a lot of people had seen it, and there was no way that clan head Lu would not question him about something that could stop a spatial rift.
"Young master, please rest for a while till you feel good, we'll talk later. I'll send some pills for you to use and food will be sent too if you so desire." Clan head Lu said.
"Thank you clan head Lu for your understanding," Shirong replied.
"There is no need to thank me, young master. I'm merely doing what is expected of me. Besides you are an honored guest, the Lu clan would not dare to mistreat you." Clan Head Lu said with a light chuckle.
Shirong nodded and was then taken to a private courtyard. He entered the main room and saw that the things that Clan head Lu said were already prepared. He could see a lot of pill bottles and boxes of medicine kept there, along with a set of clothes.
But the most important thing was none other than a spatial storage treasure that was kept there. It was in the form of a broad bracelet and was lying on the very top of a table.
"Huh, seems like clan head Lu guessed the reason behind the spatial rift…" Shirong muttered as he picked up the bracelet.
He branded it with his spirit sense before putting all the pills inside it, sadly though the bracelet was a mid grade spatial storage treasure and he would not be able to store the spear/armor inside it.
"Now let's take a look at this," Shirong said as he then used his spirit sense to check the armor.
He could feel the spirit qi that was still stirring within it and had not fully calmed down. But he could also feel the connection between him and the armor, it was as the armor was an extension of his body and did not feel foreign.
"Seems like there is more to it than I thought before. An immortal tool that can adapt different forms is not something I've ever heard or read anywhere. If it's already this powerful, then what would it be like when the rest of its seals are released." Shirong wondered.
He then willed it and the armor started to morph again, changing back into the form of a spear.
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"Sssss," Shirong gritted his teeth as the armor rubbed against his skin which was already burned.
Once the armor was fully turned into a spear, one could see the ugly burn wounds all over Shirong's back and chest. His hands were trembling as he popped a healing pill into his mouth and sat down to stimulate the healing properties.
He continued using more pills and twelve hours passed like this. The burns on his body were finally healed and his skin turned to its normal color.
While this was happening, Lin Wu was going over the entire series of events and the notification log that the system had recorded. A lot of things were happening all at once and Lin Wu did not have much time to focus on other things while he was using his innate skill.
In fact, he had almost failed at stopping the spatial rift, but thankfully his proficiency rose at the very last moment which helped him tide through it.
" System show me the logs," Lin Wu ordered.
~Ding~
——
WARNING!: Host is in imminent danger!
SUGGESTION: Escape immediately
PROFICIENCY INCREASED: Radiation Manipulation (minor) (Proficiency: Intermediate- Expert)
PROFICIENCY INCREASED: Qi Amplification (minor) (Proficiency: Basic- Novice)
PROFICIENCY INCREASED: Cellular Manipulation (lesser) (Proficiency: Intermediate- Expert)
NOTIFICATION: The warning status has been lifted and the host is now safe.
DATA BANKS UPDATED: New Data has been obtained.
——
Lin Wu was barely holding on and his spirit qi was draining rapidly when he was trying to suppress the spatial rift. He was using radiation manipulation to use the natural radiation in the environment to force the spatial attribute qi back.
He didn't know whether this would fully work, but thankfully it did and stopped the spatial rift. Honestly, he had not expected to fully close the spatial rift, all he wanted was to stop the suction force so that Shirong could get away safely.
But after using the innate skill radiation manipulation for a long time, that too in a complex task, its proficiency increased which made everything easier for Lin Wu. That was when he gathered even more radiation and made the vortex to suppress the spatial rift from all sides.
When the spatial rift was closed, he was wondering if his identity would be exposed and the others would find out he was a supposed 'immortal weapon'. But thankfully Shirong had given him an idea which he would not have thought of them because he was also tired mentally.
But there was another thing that was restricting him, which was none other than his proficiency level. But he thought he may as well try it and see if it worked. This time though, he could leech of spirit qi from Shirong and use it in the skill.
In a pleasant surprise, the skill proficiency of cellular manipulation increased as well, and he was successfully able to turn into an Armour. Though he had to admit that this form was rather uncomfortable to him, but then he reckoned that he will get used to it, eventually.
Another big thing he learned was the relation between radiation and spirit qi. Lin Wu had been wondering how a naturally present thing such as radiation would affect spirit qi as it was present nearly everywhere. But he got the answer when his proficiency increased and he was able to perceive everything better.
It turned out that only when radiation was in a high enough concentration would it affect the spirit qi, but the exception to this was none other than himself. If he was the one manipulating radiation, even a smaller amount of it could resist spirit qi.
This was a new discovery to him and opened up a lot of new ideas. Another thing he realized was that he was getting closer to being able to control specific types of radiation. Right now he was merely using everything blindly. He didn't really know how the physics of it worked, but it worked.
Even his qi amplification skill increased in proficiency because he had been using it all this time, which was a nice surprise to him. Now there was another thing that required his attention, which was none other than his current form of an armor.
He wondered if there would be any new differences in this form. In his different weapon forms, he was able to increase the performance of certain qi skills that Shirong used. He wondered if this could apply to any defensive skills that he knew as well.
"System, how's the analysis going?" Lin Wu questioned.
~Ding~
——
ANSWER: The new data has increased the speed of analysis and it is approximately fifty percent done.
——
"Good, hopefully we'll know what exactly happened back there…" Lin Wu muttered to himself.
Shirong finally opened his eyes and looked at the spear that was lying on the ground next to him. He stared at it for a few seconds before standing up and walking to the bathroom. An hour later, Shirong was refreshed and clad in a new set of clothes.
"Ah, this feels much better…" Shirong said in a relaxed tone.
He entered the room he was previously in and saw that the spear was still there. He picked it up and wondered what he could do with it now since he couldn't store it in the spatial storage treasure anymore. He could always continue to wear it as an armor, but it also meant that his spirit qi would be continuously consumed.
~Sigh~
"I'll need to get a new high grade spatial storage treasure soon… but now I lack money as well. Hmm, clan Head Lu shouldn't mind sponsoring me for a bit, besides I can always pay him back later." Shirong muttered to himself.
Shirong didn't know that even if he had a high grade spatial treasure tool, Lin Wu wouldn't go inside it. He was scared by what had happened and would not go inside another one till he knew what exactly happened.
"Well, then let's go talk to clan head Lu…" Shirong muttered to himself before putting the spear in a safe and leaving the courtyard.
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Shirong was standing in the main hall of the Lu clan and the rest of the leaders were sitting here along with clan head Lu. They had smiles on their face as they felt relieved. They had truly been given a great shock and had not expected for something like a spatial rift to have opened.
"So Young master Shirong, are you feeling good now?" Clan Head Lu questioned with concern.
"Ah yes! It's all thanks to clan head Lu for rescuing me in time, or I'm afraid I would not be here today." Shirong thanked.
He truly was grateful this time. He knew that even if he had been saved by the spear in the end, it was actually due to the effort of the clan head Lu. If he had not delayed for time till the spear saved him, he would truly have been dead.
Now he wondered if it would actually be good to reward them. Shirong was not stupid. He had spent many years at the Ji clan and had learned how to rule over one. He knew that one of the top rules to having a Strong clan was to also have loyal allies.
Clan head Lu had proved to him that the Lu Clan was truly willing to pledge themselves to the Ji clan by aligning them with him. This was actually one of the reasons why he had originally come to the Ling kingdom: to make allies.
At first, he had intended to go talk with the royal clan directly, but then upon hearing that a new forbidden zone was created in the Millennium forest due to a meteor, he was very interested in it. He reckoned that it would be better to check it out, after all, he could always go to the royal clan later. It was not like they would reject him either.
But seeing the dedication of the Lu clan made him think more of them. Also, this didn't mean that he had to choose only them, the best thing for him was to add as many allies as he could. At least, the Lu clan head a nascent soul realm cultivator which made them worthy of being an ally.
"Umm, Young master Shirong…" Clan head Lu was just about to ask something when he was interrupted.
"I believe, clan Head Lu and the people here want to know what exactly happened?" Shirong asked.
"Yes, we do. Something like a spatial rift… simply does not appear randomly." Clan Head Lu replied.
Shirong nodded his head in acknowledgment before speaking, "yes clan head Lu is right. The reason for the spatial rift was none other than my spatial storage ring."
Clan head Lu raised his brows after hearing this. Before he had seen the spatial storage ring missing from Shirong's hand and had thought that it was destroyed due to the spatial rift. It was not uncommon for spatial storage treasures to become unstable and break due to the influence of a spatial rift.
Even his own spatial storage treasure had been damaged, which made his heart ache. But he didn't mind it and simply assured himself that it was all for saving Young master Shirong. Thankfully though, while his spatial storage treasure had been damaged, it had not fully destroyed.
Rather, his spatial storage treasure's capacity was merely reduced. This also meant that some of the things that were kept in his ring were inadvertently lost in an unknown fragment of a minor dimension. He had thought that the same thing happened to Shirong but on a higher scale, destroying the ring completely.
In fact, he couldn't even begin to think how a spatial storage ring would be able to cause a spatial rift to appear. The sheer amount of spatial attribute spirit qi required for that would be enough to make a hundred spatial storage treasures easily.
"How would something like that happen though?" it was Lu Peng who asked this time.
"I'm afraid, I do not know the full reason either. The spatial storage ring I was using was actually found in the tomb of a fallen expert that I luckily found a few years ago. Perhaps there was some kind of anomaly in the spatial storage ring that I didn't know of and that was what caused it.
I was cultivating normally when suddenly I felt the ring cracking on my hand. I knew that the destruction of a spatial treasure can cause injuries sometimes, and thus I quickly threw it away. But I never expected that it would release such a massive amount of power that would open up a spatial rift." Shirong explained while making up a lie.
The spatial storage ring he had was actually from his clan and was not from an expert's tomb as he had stated. But that was not something that they needed to know. But the part about him finding an expert's tomb was true. Using a factual encounter and combining it with a half lie only made it stronger.
"I see… perhaps the spatial storage ring was made using some unique production method and it had gotten weaker of the year and finally broke." Clan Head Lu hypothesized.
"Yes… I think that's what must have happened too… I need to be careful about what random things I pick up from now, hahaha…" Shirong acknowledged with a light laugh.
"Then is that were Young master got the divine armor too…" One of the elders suddenly asked.
Nearly all of the people that were here had seen Shirong dressed in the armor and had seen it stopping and closing the spatial rift. The bright light had stopped them from seeing what had actually happened and as it only appeared when Shirong was about to be sucked into the rift, only made it that much real to them.
Clan Head Lu tensed upon hearing this and gripped the armrest of his throne hard.
"Elder Niu! Watch your mouth!" Clan head Lu shouted.
He knew that there were certain secrets that must not be said out loud, and seeing the abilities of the emerald green armor Shirong was wearing only made it obvious to him. There was no chance that something that could stop a spatial rift would be anything simple.
At the very least, it must have been a peak grade spirit tool.
"Please, please! Clan head Lu, it's fine. They can ask me." Shirong calmed him down.
"If the young master says so…" Clan Head Lu spoke in a straight tone but still gave elder Niu a glare.
"No, the armor was no something that I found there. Rather, it was a small pendant that was given by the ancestor to protect me. I've had it for a while but never knew that its true form was that of an armor. I also didn't think that it would have been able to stop a spatial rift, thus I didn't try to use it at the very start.
But luckily for me, it automatically activated when I was about to be sucked into the spatial rift." Shirong explained.
"Ahh~ so it was the Ji clan ancestor's grace that the Young master is alive today. I should have expected this, only a great man like him could be capable of doing something like this…" Clan head Lu praised.
"The Ji clan ancestor is truly peerless!" Elder Niu exclaimed, and the others joined in as well.
They all knew how to boot lick and were not naive youngsters anymore. They knew that clan head Lu wanted to grow a good relationship with Young master Shirong and this was a good way to show their stance.
Shirong secretly smirked and knew that his plan had worked. He was actually not sure if they would really believe it or not, but it seemed like their eagerness to become his ally made them blind to some inconsistencies that would be revealed if they thought about it a bit more.
Shirong even thought that if it was the Mu clan or even the Xiong clan, they would have doubted his claim about the armor. Thankfully, he had been Lucky… or rather unluckily… he couldn't really tell at this point. His life recently had been a roller coaster in terms of luck.
It was good for a while and then would crash to the very bottom next. If Shirong counted it correctly, in the past month itself, his life had been under mortal threat at least three times. Which was three times too much than he would have liked.
In fact, if he tried to recall when his life was threatened like this ever before, he could think of less than five incidents since he was a child.
'Did obtaining the spear really mess up my luck?' Shirong wondered.
"Well then," Clan head Lu interrupted his train of thought.
"Now that, young master Shirong is finally recovered, I believe it is finally the time for a proper banquet." Clan head Lu proposed.
"Ah, yes. It would be good to relax for a while…"
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Shirong was sitting in his room, currently a bit bewildered at some news he had just received.
"Uncle Quan died?" Shirong muttered to himself.
About two hours ago.
Today was the day that the banquet was going to be held by the Lu clan. All of the influential people of the Deer wood city were invited and were told that the guess of honor was none other than Young Master Shirong. The reason for it was none other than them coming out of a dangerous situation, which was the spatial rift.
The people all agreed and were happy about this, they all wanted to find a chance to suck up to Young master Shirong. After all, there were many that had seen his capabilities and the rumor 'divine armor' had become quite popular too.
There were many theories behind it and how the Young master was chosen by the heavens. Since he was not wearing it beforehand they all thought it had appeared out of thin air. Though the clans knew the true reason behind it and this was merely the gossips of the common public.
Another reason why they did not really mind the banquet was because they had truly not been at a disadvantage back then, and neither had they had any losses due to the spatial rift. It was the Lu clan that had the biggest losses, seeing how one of their high quality courtyards was destroyed, not to mention the junior elder that they had lost to the spatial rift too.
This was the man who was sucked into it, and a small funeral ceremony was held by the clan yesterday as well. Because there was no body, all they could do was make a tablet for him and place it in the ancestral shrine. Even the Clan Head Lu prayed for him as there was a chance that due to his sacrifice, their clan was living to see the next day.
If it had been young master Shirong that had been sucked inside then it would have splat doom for the clan or perhaps the entire Deer Wood city instead.
The banquet was going to be held in the afternoon but was then shifted to the night time because a messenger had come for Young master Shirong. Having no other choice, the banquet was delayed again, hopefully for the last time.
The messenger gave Shirong a letter and went away, but not before Shirong informed him of a few things that he needed from the clan. This included nothing but a high grade spatial storage ring, alchemical pills, and spirit stones.
He also gave the messenger a report of all that had happened here with a few changes here and there that he did not want them to know. Finally, only after the messenger was gone did Shirong dare to open the letter. He had seen the seal that was stamped on it and knew that it came from none other than the Patriarch, his father Ji Shan.
If it came from the patriarch himself, then it was to be taken care of with the utmost privacy and not one bit of the information was to be leaked. Shirong touched the seal and uttered a few words.
~Shing~
~Shua~
Suddenly the seal glowed and formation runes appeared out of it, before forming a circular barrier around Shirong. This was a privacy barrier and no one could listen to what was being said inside it, nor could they see inside it. Even the spirit sense could not penetrate it, and using it on the barrier would only give one backlash.
The seal was finally released, and Shirong was able to unroll the letter. As soon as he saw the impressive and elegant handwriting on the letter, he knew that this letter was personally written by the patriarch and not by an aide like they usually were.
This only raised the importance of the letter that much more.
The letter read;
"My son Ji Shirong,
Your fifth uncle Quan has died under suspicious conditions. He was investigating some anomalies in the Dread Coil marsh and we lost contact with him about a month ago. The people that were working with him have also disappeared and are also presumed dead.
We sent some of our people from the local areas, but they are afraid to go into the marsh now. We only found out about the death of your uncle due to his soul imprint lamp going out two days ago. He was investigating a new small sect that was supposedly operating out of the Dead Coil marsh.
His death is a sensitive matter and others cannot know anymore. Since you are the closest to the location, I am assigning you to this mission.
Your mission is to; find the reason behind Ji Quan's death, investigate the sect that has been operating there, find the people that have gone missing- either dead or alive and finally reach the nascent soul realm.
It has already been quite a while since you've been at the pseudo-nascent soul realm. I believe you should find the right moment and reach the Nascent Soul realm. Since you are the chosen heir, you have to prove your worth and do it on your own without the clan's protection.
A set of supplies has been sent to the Capital of the Ling kingdom and should be enough for this mission. If you need any more or something specific, you can request the supplier when you meet him at the capital.
There is also another thing that I want you to keep an eye on. This is not something specific to you, but rather has been told to all clansmen. There have been some strange movements in the three guardian clans. Some of the temples of the three guardians have been closed down without any specific reason, and the people have been warned not to go there.
We do not know what exactly has happened and neither can we ask the Long clan. All the temples of the three guardians come under their authority and there isn't much we can do. Still, news such as this cannot be kept secret for long and is bound to leak.
If you are able to gain some information, you are to report it to the clan as fast as possible."
~Sigh~
"Let's hope my luck will hold up this time…"
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Shirong rolled up the letter and carefully stored it in the bracelet. He would have preferred to destroy the letter, but he still needed to show the seal to the supplier in the Capital of the Ling Kingdom. The supplier was a person working for the Ji clan, disguised as a merchant.
He would never reveal his real identity, even to the heir of the Ji clan, unless they had the proper identification. But for Shirong that had become a problem due to the spatial storage ring being destroyed. He had lost the identity token he had in there.
Thankfully, this seal would serve as the same thing and he would be able to get a new token from the supplier. He would have asked the messenger, but that would have created some problems. Besides, a sensitive thing such as an identity token could not be easily given away and could only be issued by the clan.
What Shirong actually wanted was not even the supplier, but rather access to the teleportation formation. This was how the clans transported important items and letters. It was difficult to communicate with communication jades as the distance between the clan and the people would often be a lot.
Most communication jades only worked up to a range of 1000 kilometers. Anything beyond that and it would become expensive to make a communication jade like that. Only a few important people could use a Communication jade like that.
Shirong had one too, of course, but it was destroyed too. This left him with no choice but to use teleportation formation. Though he knew that he would have to use up a lot of his credits from the clan to get the things he needed.
~Sigh~
Another sigh escaped Shirong's lips as he felt a headache approaching.
"Just as I finished one thing, another popped up. Besides, I'll need to reach the nascent soul realm now too… Ugh! I need to recover my cultivation. Uncle Quan was a child stage nascent soul realm cultivator, and even he died. I cannot be reckless and definitely need to be strong before I go to the Dead Coil marsh." Shirong stated to himself.
While all this was happening, Lin Wu was observing it all with his spirit sense. He had not expected for it to come in handy so fast. But unfortunately, the barrier had stopped him from seeing what exactly was in the letter. Though he already had a plan to obtain that letter ready in his mind.
~Knock~
"Young master Shirong, the banquet is ready." A servant suddenly spoke from the outside.
"Alright, I'm coming," Shirong replied and went to the room where the safe was kept.
He wasn't going to take the risk of leaving the spear here, even if it was kept in a safe. It was better for it to be on his body for most of the time. At least till he got the high grade spatial storage ring, which he hopefully should get in a day or two.
Shirong opened the safe and saw the spear lying there just as he had kept it before. He removed his shirt and robes before picking it up and willing it to change its form.
~Hum~
The spear trembled lightly before Shirong felt it drawing on his spirit qi. It started using it, and the form of the spear started to morph. This time the transformation was much faster than last time and he was covered in the armor in five seconds.
While he was kept in the safe, Lin Wu had been practicing his new form, trying to get used to it. The more he did it, the more comfortable he got in it, and the less time it required him to transform. Shirong was impressed by this and tapped the armor.
"It's still heavy, but its defenses are definitely quite high. I should test them out later, perhaps…" Shirong muttered to himself.
Lin Wu didn't mind this as he would just be sucking Shirong's own spirit qi to recover and regenerate any injuries he got. In fact, he would also be obtaining a bit more spirit qi due to the stealing property, and the more Shirong used him, the more his cultivation would grow.
Right now Lin Wu was already a quarter of the way to upgrading to the next stage.
"System, show me the spirit qi that I have right now." Lin Wu ordered.
~Ding~
——
HOST CULTIVATION: Mid stage of the Core Condensation Realm
-Spirit Qi required to upgrade = [0000/12000] units (liquid spirit qi)
QI STORAGE: 4157 units [liquid spirit qi]
——
"Hmm, just a few weeks perhaps and I should be able to reach the next stage." Lin Wu muttered to himself as he estimated the rate of increase.
A change of scenery caught Lin Wu's attention as he looked at all the decorations with his spirit sense.
'Whoa! So this is the banquet they were talking about… this is quite amazing, I don't think I've ever been to anything as grand as this in my past life before.' Lin Wu thought to himself.
There were red lanterns hanging everywhere along with decorative banners. Flowers pots had been placed according to the Feng Shui of the place and auspicious statues of pixue were placed all around. Shirong finally entered the banquet hall and saw that it was filled with hundreds of people.
"Ah hah! Everyone, Young master Shirong is here finally!" One of the elders that was standing near the entrance announced.
Shirong was quickly surrounded by people greeting him and wishing him for prosperity. It took him nearly fifteen minutes just to greet everyone, and it was making Lin Wu bored now.
"Sheesh! So this is the life of aristocrats, I guess. Quite similar to the high society events that I've seen on TV before. Looks like some things never really change, do they? Even if it's an entirely different world." Lin Wu muttered to himself.
"Young Master, come sit! We have prepared a lot of dishes for you." Clan head Lu said upon seeing him.
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Shirong sat down at the table as guided by clan head Lu and soon a myriad of dishes were served to him. There were many different kinds of beasts cooked and prepared along with vegetables. There were desserts that would not be seen normally and wines of the finest kind in this kingdom.
Everything was prepared for none other than Shirong and the other people were just here to add to the glory. One could just imagine the cost of arranging a banquet such as this. Just the food and decorations would be a few tens of thousands of gold coins worth.
Even Shirong had not expected that they would go to these lengths to make a banquet. He had merely expected it to be a banquet similar to the one they had when he first arrived here in the Deer Wood city a year ago. But now it had become something completely different.
Another thing that he was a bit surprised about was the looks he was getting. The people who had served him food were none other than the women of the Lu clan. From the few that he recognized, Shirong could tell that they were all granddaughters of the Lu clan head.
He noticed the flirtatious looks they were giving him, along with the different kind of attire that they were wearing. While it was not too revealing, the dresses they were wearing definitely accentuated their body and made their curves more prominent.
Lin Wu who was watching this was fully enjoying it.
"Ahh! Such is the life! Eating good food and wine while jade beauties serve you…" He exclaimed in his mind.
'However… speaking of eating… can I have some food too, I wonder?' Lin Wu thought to himself.
Ever since he had arrived in the world, he had not had any properly cooked food. All he had eaten since then was raw flesh, dirt, grass or things that probably should not have been edible for most people. Even the beast carapace and the crystal he ate were something that would not have been consumed by any other beasts.
Now that there was such tempting food around him, he couldn't help but start to drool.
"Seems like I have to make a scheme. I can't just leave the chance of having actually good food behind…" Lin Wu muttered to himself and started to plan a 'nefarious plot'.
Overall, the banquet went rather normally and nearly everyone enjoyed it except for Lin Wu, who was only getting tortured seeing the reduction in the food.
"Dammit, leave some leftovers for me… I'll steal them later…" Lin Wu muttered with grievance.
The banquet was near the end when Clan head Lu finally asked Shirong about today.
"Young master, you seem a bit troubled… was the news brought by the messenger not good?" Clan head Lu questioned with concern.
Shirong thought for a bit and framed an answer in his mind. He couldn't tell him the truth as it was supposed to be a secret, but he could just tell him some general stuff that would not be hidden anyway. So he may as well satisfy his curiosity.
"Yes… it wasn't exactly pleasant. Besides, I've been assigned a task and will need to leave soon to accomplish it." Shirong answered.
Hearing that Shirong was intending to leave made the Clan head anxious. He had prepared so many plans, but if Shirong were to leave, each of them would end up becoming a great waste. He knew that he had to succeed in one go now.
"And when will you be leaving young master? I mean, I don't want to interfere in the matters of your clan, but perhaps we could help by preparing some supplies for you maybe?" Clan Head Lu questioned.
Hearing his words made Shirong rememberer the final goal that was assigned to him by the patriarch. He still needed to reach the nascent soul realm. For that, he needed to make a lot of preparations if he were a normal wandering cultivator.
But with his Immortal Sky Shaker art, it would be difficult and would need some new items for the breakthrough. Going through a tribulation was also a difficult task and needed the strongest of wills and utmost of efforts.
The most of all that he needed was a Dharma protector. While the Patriarch had said that he needed to do this without the assistance of the clan, it didn't mean that he couldn't use allies that he had made. In fact, wasn't this the very reason he was here?
"I'll be leaving in a month perhaps, if all my preparations go well. You see Clan head Lu, I'm going to need to break through to the Nascent soul realm and would need someone to act as my Dharma protector and a would also need a special place prepped for it.
I wonder if clan head Lu would like to be my Dharma protector and if the Lu clan would accommodate me for this?" Shirong questioned.
Clan Head Lu was bewildered by this and had not expected for it to be a request like this. But after thinking for a second, he realized what a great opportunity this was. If the heir of the Ji clan was to undergo a breakthrough here, he had no doubt it would increase their reputation.
Not to mention if he was the one acting as a Dharma protector that would forever place his position in a good place if the young master became the next Patriarch of the Ji clan. He had thought that he had lost the best time to progress their relationship but somehow it had just given him an even better opportunity.
"Of course, young master! I'll be honored to be your Dharma protector. In fact, I believe the entire Deer wood city would be thankful for you if you were to undergo heavenly tribulation here. Most of the cultivators have no chance to witness a core condensation realm expert breaking through to the nascent soul realm.
I'm pretty sure that this would be a great opportunity for all the juniors here. I believe even the other clans would like to give a hand in this matter, if they were given the chance to witness the heavenly tribulation." Clan head Lu replied with joy.
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Shirong heard the clan head's suggestion and found it to be reasonable.
"That would be alright with me clan head Lu, but…" Shirong was about to continue when he was interrupted.
"Do not worry Young master, I know the procedures. All of us will take a heavenly oath so you do not have to worry about trust." Clan Head Lu assured and pat test his chest with his fist.
Shirong nodded in acknowledgment and looked around at everyone. There were all of the other clan heads here, along with the more influential people of the city. Shirong even noticed the Head guard of the barrier surrounding the forbidden zone.
This made him frown for a moment as he remembered that he had yet to find out who had been sponsoring them here.
'Seems like the visit to the capital will solve a few more problems than I thought. Good that I waited till now or I would have had to waste time to travel there again.' Shirong thought to himself.
Seeing Shirong staring intently at everyone, Clan Head Lu was wondering what he was thinking of when it suddenly clicked to him.
"Young master Shirong, do you perhaps want to announce your breakthrough to them here today?" Clan Head Lu asked in a low voice.
Shirong snapped out of his thoughts upon hearing clan head Lu's words and thought over them.
"I guess it should be fine… yeah. You can announce it, go ahead clan head Lu." Shirong permitted.
"Excellent! This will be the perfect ending to the banquet for the others." The Clan head said in a happy tone.
~Slide~
The sound of a chair moving was heard as the clan head Lu stood up. Some of the people immediately noticed this and became silent. It was evident from the clan head's face that he had something important to say. Soon the rest of the hall also became silent after the higher ups of the respective clans gave their order to pipe down.
~Ahem~
"I have even more good news for you all here." Clan head Lu said and looked at their eager expressions. "Seeing that everyone showed him such hospitality, Young master Shirong has graciously decided to give us the chance to witness his breakthrough to the Nascent soul realm." He revealed.
"What! Really?" one of the clan heads exclaimed.
"The Young Master is already ready to break thought? This is impressive." Clan head Mu praised.
"Hahaha! Young master is a dragon amongst men, he simply cannot be judged by normal standards…" Clan head Xiong flattered.
The other clan heads and people similarly tried their best to bootlick and were truly happy for this opportunity. Having a chance to witness a heavenly tribulation was not something everyone had, and this was one of the very reasons why cultivation sects were so powerful.
Every time someone was about to break through to the Nascent soul realm, all of the disciples were made to observe this event so that they would have experience in it. Due to this, when they underwent their own heavenly tribulation one day, they would have a higher chance of success.
The last time anyone had seen a heavenly tribulation was when the Lu Clan head had undergone it. But even that was not seen by many people as it was done in seclusion and not openly like the Young master was about to do.
"Now then, I will be acting as the Dharma protector of Young master Shirong and the Lu clan will be setting up the Tribulation platform for the Young Master as well." Clan head Lu stated and looked around.
Then almost immediately,
"The Xiong Clan will volunteer and contribute as well!" Clan head Xiong yelled.
"The Mu clan will too!" The Mu clan head added.
One by one, every single power that was in their room decided to volunteer themselves. Even if their continuation was small, they would still have the chance to witness the heavenly tribulation. Looking at the peoples' reaction, Clan head Lu was happy.
"See young master, they all are willing to contribute. With the help of everyone, I guarantee that we will set up a proper tribulation platform for you." Clan head Lu stated.
"Thanks for your help clan head Lu," Shirong said with gratitude.
Having a tribulation platform would greatly assist him in withstanding the heavenly tribulation and was one of the necessities that he needed. Now there were a few more things that he still needed, but he reckoned they could be prepared within the month.
Shirong explained his particular requirements to clan head Lu, and he assured him that they would be taken care of. Shirong had given the time till his breakthrough as one month at the very minimum to clan head Lu, but knew that it may take him longer too.
Thankfully, he had the spear and would be going on a hunting spree soon and that should help him gain enough spirit qi to return to the pseudo nascent soul realm stage. He secretly placed his hand on his chest and felt the faint waves of power that thrummed through the armor.
"You are my fortune and mine alone. You will take me to the peak of this world and then beyond…" Shirong muttered to himself.
While this was not heard by anyone else, Lin Wu who was literally attached to him clearly heard it.
"Damn bro! Obsessive much?" Lin Wu muttered in his mind.
Still, Lin Wu was quite interested in everything that had just happened and was excited at the prospect of gaining a lot more data. He knew that this would only be more beneficial to him. Besides, he knew that Shirong was still at the late stage of the core condensation realm and would have to either cultivate or use him to gather spirit qi fast enough.
Lin Wu would be benefiting regardless of the method that was employed. This was simply a win-win situation for him and was the best kind of situation that he liked.
"Ah! The good days will soon be starting…"
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