Chapter 141: Wondrous Things
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Night.
Xuantian University.
At three o’clock in the morning, the university campus shrouded in darkness was completely silent.
!!
Occasionally, the sound of insects could be heard from some corners. After a while, it would disappear.
Under the moonlight, a ghostly figure streaked across the sky and emerged from the clouds, landing on the rooftop of a building in the northeastern corner of the campus.
The top structure of this tall building was rather special. It was like a bowl was placed upside down at the top.
As a result, moving from the rooftop to the windows required a huge turn.
If it were anyone else, they would have taken quite a bit of effort to enter the window from the rooftop.
Not Su Jingxing.
He, who had disguised himself as Yang Jian, took a few steps at the edge of the rooftop and calculated the location of his target window. With a flash, he flew down along the wall like a gecko and easily bypa.s.sed the poles that seemed to promise electric shocks to arrive outside a window.
Stepping on the wall,he maintained his true energy and tapped lightly on the four corners of the gla.s.s window.
Crack!
The thick gla.s.s began to crack from four corners until the whole piece peeled off.
Swoosh!
Su Jingxing put the broken window gla.s.s into his palm s.p.a.ce and walked through the window into the room like a ghost.
Throughout the entire process, not a single sound was made. The Ghost Python Breath-holding Technique had been executed way back when he was on the rooftop and had been maintained until now.
At the Peak of Perfection, the Ghost Python Breath-holding Technique hid his aura, heartbeat, and breathing so much that they were almost inaudible.
If a person was not within a meter of Su Jingxing, they would not be able to detect or hear him.
Moreover, there was no wind tonight, so the plan went surprisingly smoothly.
Su Jingxing easily entered the top floor of Xuantian University Library, which was the library where important doc.u.ments, ancient books, and other information were stored.
On the rows of bookshelves, important books pa.s.sed down from ancient times were neatly arranged.
Su Jingxing walked slowly along the aisle, looking for a suitable cla.s.sification from the labels on the sides of the bookshelves.
What category does a ring and a glowing tree belong to?
Miscellanies? Metals? Plants?
Su Jingxing searched as he walked.
Occasionally, he would stop by a bookshelf and pick up a book to flip through quickly.
As the room for precious doc.u.ments, there were naturally cameras installed in the corners of the ceiling to monitor the situation in the library 24 hours a day.
The reason why Su Jingxing could move around so easily and casually pick up books to read was because he had hacked into the surveillance system of Xuantian University Library through his computer before coming here.
He copied an empty video in advance. Then, he calculated the time and covered the surveillance footage ten seconds before he entered.
It was late at night, 3am in the morning. There was no one in the library. The contents of the video was almost the same as the real-time surveillance footage.
Therefore, Su Jingxing wasn’t worried about being discovered. Even if he was out, it didn’t matter.
He was wearing a cloak and a visor. It wasn’t as if he had any intention of stealing a book. He was just checking for information. He didn’t believe that the guards of the library would take him on at the risk of destroying the library.
As such, Su Jingxing was not in a hurry to leave.
He walked rows of bookshelves to look for suitable books.
Simple Explanations of Array Formations, True Energy for Beginners, Basics of Alchemy, a.n.a.lysis of Mutated Beasts…
Many of the ancient books that only had fragments of their contents on the Internet were here.
Su Jingxing flipped through them quickly and put them back.
Even with his photographic memory, he could not read so many books.
Anyway, the books were always here. He could come and read them when he needed to.
What Su Jingxing was most eager to find were rare records about glowing trees and the like.
After walking around for a long time, he finally reached a bookshelf and saw a copy of Record of Wondrous Things, he picked it up and flipped through a few pages before his eyes lit up.
Found it!
The Record of Wondrous Things was an ancient book about various rare items and happenings.
Although the entire book was not very old, the paper was specially made. It could be stored for hundreds of years, capable of withstanding exposure to water, oil, and wind.
Thus, even though it was a duplicate version, the content, words, and patterns recorded on it were very clear. There was also a unique aura about it that made one feel inexplicably fascinated.
Su Jingxing’s soul power was strong, so he was not afraid of this. He quickly flipped through the pages and found the content he wanted.
Five Elements Ring!
The strange ring he had obtained from the treasury vault in the Shi Family’s secret base was actually an item of natural formation.
It resembled a ring, but the original shape of this item was similar to begin with.
People noticed that they looked very similar to rings, so they slightly altered them.
The ability of such rings, as the name suggested, was to possess the power of the five elements. It could be controlled, released, or absorbed.
And the prerequisite to controlling them was to have great soul power.
If one’s soul power wasn’t strong, he wouldn’t be able to utilize it.
On this point, all Five Elements Rings were the same. There were even records of how to control them using soul power.
Su Jingxing was delighted and quickly memorized this information.
Then, he continued flipping through the pages and found the glowing tree.
Concentration Fruit Tree!
The actual name of the glowing willow tree in the underground cave was Concentration Fruit Tree.
From its name, one could tell how special this tree was.
Concentration!
The fruits produced by this fruit tree possessed the ability to pull together attention, which was also the effect of increasing one’s soul power.
Su Jingxing couldn’t help but think of the giant crocodile when he saw the text.
Eating the crocodile meat boosted his soul power. Previously, Su Jingxing thought that it was because of the giant crocodile itself.
Only now did he understand that the giant crocodile’s meat had such an effect, probably due to the Concentration Fruit Tree.
The pages recorded that the Concentration Fruit Tree flowered every 30 years, bore fruit every 30 years, and the fruits would ripen in 30 years.
In other words, it would take nearly a hundred years to get the fruits.
Although the giant crocodile was guarding the entrance of the cave, the tunnel connecting it to the empty cavity was very s.p.a.cious. At least for now, the giant crocodile could still crawl through the tunnel and enter the cavity.
Therefore, it would have eaten at least one Concentration Fruit having stayed in the underground cave for 200 years.
The reason why it was once was because it took time for the Concentration Fruit Tree to grow.
It was stated that it would take 81 years to grow from a sapling into a tree.
When the fruits have ripened, they will automatically fall off.
And it would take another cycle of nearly a hundred years for them to grow again.
In other words, if Su Jingxing wanted to eat the Concentration Fruit, he would have to wait 70 to 80 years.
Previously, Su Jingxing had looked around the Concentration Fruit Tree, but he did not see a single flower.
If there was no other way, he would have to wait that long.
However, at the end of the introductory pages of the Concentration Fruit Tree, there was a pa.s.sage.
“Set up high-level Energy Gathering Array Formations around the Concentration Fruit Tree. They can help the Concentrating Fruit Tree to flower and bear fruit in advance.
“If there are no high-level Energy Gathering Array Formations, one can also set up many basic Energy Gathering Array Formations.
“The lowest requirement is the Energy Gathering Stone. Bury Energy Gathering Stones under the Concentration Fruit Tree following the trials of a basic array formation, and the effect of flowering and bearing fruit in advance will still be present.”
The more Energy Gathering Stones there were, the shorter the time it would take for the tree to bear fruit!
Of course, correspondingly, the effects of these fruits would be significantly poorer than the fruits that matured following a normal timeline.
For example, eating a Concentration fruit that matured normally could increase one’s soul power by one.
In comparison, fruits that matured in advance would only do so by 0.4, or even 0.3, or 0.2.
Not only was Su Jingxing not discouraged, instead, he was pleasantly surprised.
Since it was able to reduce the waiting duration of decades to a few months, what were slightly weaker effects?
This difference could be easily made up with multiple accelerations of maturation.
Although Su Jingxing didn’t know how many times such accelerated maturations could be carried out in advance, and it wasn’t written in the book, even if it could only be done three times, he would have made a killing.
When the boost in his soul power increased his extraction range past a hundred meters, Su Jingxing tried the visualization of the Demonic Heaven Trampling Elephant Diagram.
This time, he successfully persevered, and visualized a vague Heaven Trampling Elephant.
If he had enough Concentration fruits, he could eat them and continuously increase his soul power.
Fully visualizing and condensing the Heaven Trampling Elephant would not be a problem at all.
Once the Heaven Trampling Elephant was solidified, it could continue to grow stronger. It could run, roar, stomp, and charge in his consciousness.
When his visualized Heaven Trampling Elephant had reached that extent, Su Jingxing would even dare to clash with a martial artist in the top ranks.
What was the most terrifying thing about a martial artist in the top ranks?
It was not true essence, but Martial Art True Intent!
To put it bluntly, true essence was true energy, a qualitative change brought about by quant.i.ty.
If Su Jingxing could extract True Energy Cards, he could acc.u.mulate up to thousands or even tens of thousands of years of true energy cultivation.
In this aspect, he did not fear the true essence of a martial artist in the top ranks at all.
As long as he had sufficient true energy, he would be able to overwhelm the true essence all the same.
What Su Jingxing was wary about top-ranked martial artists was Martial Art True Intent.
Shi Zhinie, the pseudo third-grade, almost had him on his knees and unable to control himself.
What was the reason?
It was the power of Martial Art True Intent!
Martial Art True Intent could interfere with reality through the mind.
Once this formless power was released, the most direct impact would be on the consciousness and soul. One would be pressured to the point of losing self-control.
The area of effect was very large too, ranging from tens of meters to hundreds of meters long and thousands of meters.
For example, the Ethereal Sword Immortal’s Martial Art True Intent could cover an area with a radius of over 80 meters.
In the face of such power, no matter how much true energy one had, he was unable to release it. The consciousness was already suppressed, so how could the release be done?
Therefore, the best way to deal with a top-ranked martial artist was to run.
The faster you run, the better. The farther you go, the better.
Otherwise, one would have to endure the terrifying suppression on the soul.
Of course, if one had a spirit weapon on hand, or if he struck first with a sneak attack, or a.s.sa.s.sination, that would beat another matter.
In the tens of thousands of years of human history on Earth Star, there were quite a few top-ranked experts who had been a.s.sa.s.sinated.
If there was no need, Su Jingxing naturally did not want to go against these martial artists either.
However, if he had the ability to go head to head against them, he would be more than happy to do so.
Visualizing the Demonic Heaven Trampling Elephant Diagram was one way.
After eating the Concentration Fruit, he would increase his soul power and visualize a tangible Heaven Trampling Elephant.
A clear route!
With this in mind, Su Jingxing put down the Record of Wondrous Things, turned around, and walked to a bookshelves he had pa.s.sed by before. He found the Simple Explanations of Array Formations.
There were dozens of basic array formations recorded inside.
Su Jingxing chose three types and memorized them all in his mind. Afraid that he would forget, he took out his phone and silently snapped a few photos.
The main thing was that the basic array formations all came with an ill.u.s.tration and detailed explanations.
I’ll take photos, just in case.
After he was done, Su Jingxing put the book back on the shelf and did not stay any longer. He quickly left the library through the same window he had come in from.
Leaning close to the wall, Su Jingxing took out the piece of gla.s.s that he had removed from his palm s.p.a.ce and put it back together with gla.s.s cement.
Finally, he executed his lightness skill and soared into the sky, disappearing into the horizon.
He did not return to his small courtyard at the foot of the mountain.
Su Jingxing went straight to the Tai Ming Mountain Reservoir and went through the underground cavern to reach the cave.
In the s.p.a.cious and quiet empty s.p.a.ce, the white light from the Concentration Fruit Tree was still dazzling.
Su Jingxing circled it and moved some stones away, creating an empty spot for the array formation.
Then, he took out all the Energy Gathering Stones, unlocked his phone, and started to set up the basic array formation according to the ill.u.s.trations on it…
“Hmm, what happened?”
Suddenly, Su Jingxing’s eyes widened. He was a little stunned.
The photos of the basic array formations in his phone were all blurry.
It was not just one photo, but all the photos. They were all blurry and the lines could not be seen clearly.
“What’s going on?”
Su Jingxing narrowed his eyes and pondered over the reason.
There is nothing wrong with the phone, but the photos are blurry.
“Is there something wrong with the pages of Simple Explanations of Array Formations?”
Su Jingxing’s eyes lit up.
This Simple Explanations of Array Formations was also a copied version. The original version was probably in the headquarters of Xuantian University.
Almost all the books in the Qinghe City branch campus were basically replicas.
Su Jingxing could understand if the original versions had this function.
After all, the contents of some ancient books, including the pages, had been specially processed and preserved.
It was impossible to replicate them.
What Su Jingxing didn’t expect was that even a replica had this function.
“Aren’t they forcing people to steal books?”
Su Jingxing was puzzled.
If they couldn’t even take photos of the replicated version, wouldn’t that be forcing others to simply take the books away?
“Or is Xuantian University so confident that no one will steal them?”
Su Jingxing shook his head.
Su Jingxing couldn’t help himself, not to mention others.
He had never intended to bring the books out, but from the looks of it, he had no choice but to do so.
Even though Su Jingxing had also memorized a few basic array formations, in order not to make any mistakes, he still decided to go back to the library immediately to bring out the whole Simple Explanations of Array Formations.
At the very most, he would return the book after his array formations were set up.
Just do it.
Su Jingxing immediately turned around and left the underground cave. He returned through the same way, left the reservoir, and headed straight for Xuantian University.
Along the way, he upped his speed to the fastest, moving almost at the speed of lightning.
In less than ten minutes, he returned to the top floor of Xuantian University Library.
Just as he was about to use the same method to enter the library…
The sound of rushing wind suddenly came from behind him.
Su Jingxing caught it and immediately flashed to hide in a corner.
His aura, heartbeat, and breathing were concealed, almost disappearing.
Swoosh! Swoosh!
The moment Su Jingxing finished his concealment, five figures moved through the night sky and quickly landed on the rooftop.
“Everyone, move quickly!”
One of the men lowered his voice and ordered.
“Understood.”
The other four quickly took out their tools.
There were ropes, daggers, and ropes.
Soon, in less than five minutes, a zip line was made, and at the edge of the rooftop, near one of the windows, a mount was clamped.
Then the man who spoke first secured the rope to his waist, and with a leap, descended.
In less than two seconds after he did…