Chapter 536: Descendants Of The Azure Ape
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
If one has to name the single greatest achievement s.h.i.+ Mu was able to accomplish through three years of his retreat, it would undoubtedly be his progress in the Eighteen Staves Through Heaven.
For this set of Eighteen Staves Through Heaven, he had almost fully grasped its knowledge.
s.h.i.+ Mu sighed as the longstaff began to glare with black light, emitting a horrible aura.
The next moment, his figure swayed and the Wishful Steel Staff in his hand suddenly turned into a heavy shadow, like a black dragon dancing on its own.
“Spirit Snake Trench!”
“Art Of The Hawking Fowl!”
“Art Of The Tiger Paw!”
…
“Hidden Dragon Tornado!”
s.h.i.+ Mu’s moves were like clouds and water while generating the technique of the Eighteen Staves Through Heaven. Over time, shadows of beasts appeared through his staff technique. Compared to the past, his strength had advanced greatly.
His arm moved and the staff in his hand glowed in bright black light. With just a sweep from left to right, a black staff shadow cut through the void with a shocking scream.
The staff shadow was not only extremely powerful but the trajectory fluctuated up and down as well. It was dazzling and impossible to determine the direction of the shadow.
“Total Annihilation!”
This was the ninth style of the Eighteen Staves Through Heaven. It seemed to be just a simple long sweep of the staff but the subtle variations were endless.
s.h.i.+ Mu’s arm moved and the staff shadow suddenly went from bottom to top.
On the staff, an airflow violently rolled over a radius of several ten feet, forming a huge black whirlwind. Countless stones were rolled up and flew away in a distance.
“Strife Of The Mountains!”
Heavy shadows of the staff emerged, forming a mountain of shadows, hitting in all directions.
“Sweeping Wind Of The Leaves!”
…
“Straight Into The Void!”
“Weight Of Jungle Mountain!”
“Art Of The Mountain Ascent!”
“Weight Of The Sky!”
“Sweeping Winds Of The Leaves!”
“Shockwave In Eight!”
“Art Of The Overwhelming Ground!”
“Meteoric Moon Technique!”
After performing the Eighteen Staves Through Heaven, he was able to use all ten techniques with a slight delay.
s.h.i.+ Mu held the Wishful Steel Staff and slammed it forward. His movements seemed unpleasant but there was a residual image around the body. There were also several ghostly shadows around the staff.
The next moment, the residual images around s.h.i.+ Mu combined into one.
Black waves flew from the top of the staff. When it pointed out, a hill with a height of several tens of feet shook slightly. With a bang, it burst into small pieces of gravel.
A huge mountain disappeared in just a blink of an eye!
s.h.i.+ Mu breathed a sigh of relief and his eyes showed a hint of surprise. The power of the Eighteen Staves Through Heaven was beyond his expectations.
A figure flew out of the spirit beast bag and landed on s.h.i.+ Mu’s. It was none other than Cai.
For the past three years, there seemed not to be much change in Cai. However, the feathers on his body were now more vivid and the red light in his eyes flowed as if there was substance in it.
Ever since Cai took a bite of the spirit beast pill and went into a deep sleep three years ago, his strength improved a lot as soon as he regained consciousness.
s.h.i.+ Mu saw this and continued feeding the spirit pill to Cai over time. The spirit pill had helped in raising Cai’s power. He still was not very effective in combat but his eyesight improved a lot.
“s.h.i.+ Mu, you finally completed the staff method. With a glance of the last technique, you look like an undefeatable Heaven-ranked warrior,” Cai praised.
“There’s still a gap in the Eighteen Staves Through Heaven. Otherwise, it would’ve been really invisible.” s.h.i.+ Mu shook his head and said.
After he spoke, he went silent.
In the past three years, for him to reach the level this level in the Eighteen Staves Through Heaven was satisfying. If he were to improve more, he would need to hone it through real combat.
At the moment, the biggest confusion could be seen on his face.
“Let’s go back home,” s.h.i.+ Mu waved his green-winged flying carriage and flew to the cave residence.
All the attendants had gathered in front of the main gate.
“Congratulations, young master, for the customs clearance and the progress in your training!” Qi Feng said while standing in front, following the voices of the other attendants.
“It’s alright. There’s no need to make a fuss,” s.h.i.+ Mu said helplessly as he shook his head.
“Along you go now. Qi Feng, come in with me.” s.h.i.+ Mu said as he turned and walked inside.
The other attendants dispersed and Qi Feng followed s.h.i.+ Mu right away.
“Has everything been going smoothly during my retreat?” s.h.i.+ Mu asked as soon as he set foot in the hallway.
“With the young masters’ blessing, everything went extremely well! This is the income and expenditure bill from the spirit lands for the past three years. Please take a look at it.”
Qi Feng took out a jade slip with both hands with a respectful expression across his face.
s.h.i.+ Mu took it and examined it casually.
“Tell me, have there been any issues among the disciples for the past few years?”
“Nothing big. However, some time ago, there was news regarding the promoted disciple named Zhao Ji.”
“Oh, what was it about?” s.h.i.+ Mu’s brows furrowed as he asked.
“It was said that Zhao Ji was a descendant of the famous Azure Ape. He possessed the blood essence of the white-azure ape within him. Now, he’s been accepted by the Holy Land of Qinglan to be a pro disciple.”
s.h.i.+ Mu was shocked but he knew he should have expected it.
At the beginning of the grand champions.h.i.+p, this person was able to transform into a white-azure ape. He had some premonitions about it since then. However, who would have thought that this person would actually be accepted as a pro disciple by the Holy Land of Qinglan. It was not a surprise that he was taken away by the followers of the sect.
s.h.i.+ Mu’s fingers squeezed the arm of the chair as he fell deep into his thoughts.
Zhao Ji was undoubtedly a human being with the blood essence of the white-azure ape. Just like himself, could it be a coincidence that he had obtained the blood essence of the white-azure ape king somewhere else?
However, from the information currently available, such a situation was unlikely.
In any case, Zhao Ji and the white-azure ape king must be related somehow.
“Alright then. Since you’ve told me everything, you may be dismissed.”
s.h.i.+ Mu thought about this and waved his hand, signaling Qi Feng to take his leave.
Qi Feng bowed to s.h.i.+ Mu one last time then turned away and retired.
s.h.i.+ Mu silently sat in the chair. His face looked cloudy and uncertain.
“s.h.i.+ Mu, what’s wrong with you?” Cai asked.
“It’s nothing much. I just think that something is out of its ordinary, almost as if the Holy Land of Qinglan had deliberately spread this news,” s.h.i.+ Mu shook his head and replied.
Although he was unsure what these people in Qinglan had in mind, he was even more afraid to expose his relations.h.i.+p with the white-azure ape ancestors.
Cai looked at s.h.i.+ Mu with some doubt, then shook his head to stop himself from thinking about it. He squatted on s.h.i.+ Mu’s shoulder and closed his eyes.
Well, it had always been normal for s.h.i.+ Mu to handle everything. There was no need for him to worry and bother about it.
s.h.i.+ Mu sat in the house for a moment before he walked out to the courtyard.
It was already dark and there were a few stars in the night sky, emitting faint starlight.
s.h.i.+ Mu looked at the stars in the sky and his eyes flickered.
Increasing his physical strength was the most important task at hand.
One day later, outside the Heavenly Shrine, a ray of light flew from a distance and fell outside the hall. Within the ray of light, it was none other than s.h.i.+ Mu.
He looked at the huge temple door emotionally.
Aside from being brought here by Ling Feng when he first entered the Holy Land of Qinglan, this was the second time he was here.
Even though he was standing outside the main hall, the atmosphere and qi of Heaven and Earth here were far more superior than back in the cave residence.
“This is the Heavenly Shrine. Who is this and what is your purpose being here?” A middle-aged man with sword-shaped eyebrows came over. He seemed to be a guard here.
s.h.i.+ Mu looked at the person and was shocked. The qi this particular person emitted was extremely strong and Heaven-ranked.
“My name is s.h.i.+ Mu and I want to enter the Heavenly Shrine for cultivation,” s.h.i.+ Mubsaid and took out his Xuanling wall.
“Oh, you’re the upper disciple of the yellow region. Training here costs two points per day.”
“I’ll need six months.”
The middle-aged man with sword-like eyebrows had a surprised expression on his face. For the average disciple, two points a day would be considered a luxury. However, the person in front of him was just a yellow region disciple and wanted to train for six months.
“As long as you have enough points, you can stay here for six years if you like. Now come with me.”
The man glanced at s.h.i.+ Mu as he waved his hand to retrieve a white token-like item to sweep across s.h.i.+ Mu’s Xuanling Wall.
In a wink, the points on s.h.i.+ Mu’s Xuanling Wall had reduced by three hundred and sixty.
After the middle-aged man put away the token, he turned and walked through the gate, leading s.h.i.+ Mu into the shrine.
s.h.i.+ Mu followed right behind as he pa.s.sed through the starry hall to a black circular s.p.a.ce.
The s.p.a.ce was wide and large, and the body of it was black. The diameter was approximately twenty or thirty feet and the height was more than ten feet. The wall was engraved with runes, forming a mysterious array.
There were several pa.s.sages in the s.p.a.ce leading to the depths. Each pa.s.sage had a number of gates like a stone chamber.
Each and every stone gate had a number carved into it. There were almost a hundred of them.
“These stone gates and the symbols on it are sorted according to the power of the stars. The more the stone chambers are, the stronger the power of the stars. However, the disciples renting the stone chambers here are also regulated. A yellow region disciple like you can only rent a stone room of 70 to 100. Seeing that you are renting it for a long time, I arranged a better position for you. Your room will be the 83rd,” The middle-aged man with sword-like eyebrows said.
s.h.i.+ Mu listened and nodded in agreement.
The man came to the front of the 83rd stone room and took out a white token from his sleeves. A ray of light flew out from the inside and hit the stone door.
The stone door slowly opened and the two went in.
s.h.i.+ Mu’s face changed slightly. The stone room was like a starlight hall that was full of stars that emitted a strong starry aura to it, making one feel like they were deep beneath the galaxy of stars.
The aura of heaven and earth was also terrible, almost condensing into a mist that was visible to the naked eye.
In addition, the arrangement in the stone room was very simple. Only a cyan futon was placed on the ground in the middle of the stone room and nothing else.