Chapter 122 – Dao Palace Reward: Jiao Dragon Essence Blood

Upon hearing Mu Lin’s request, Yan Yunyu immediately left to prepare resources for him, while Mu Lin took Chu Lingluo to cultivate.

However, his cultivation did not last long.

Qi Qiu’s actions had a significant impact on the academy. Even though he failed to recruit Mu Lin, due to Dongfang Ya’s influence, Mu Lin had no intention of leaving Anping Dao Palace for the time being.

Nevertheless, his invitation made the higher-ups of Anping Dao Palace realize one thing: the underestimated Mu Lin had now become a highly sought-after figure, and Anping Dao Palace was not his only option.

More importantly, Dongfang Ya, whom he trusted, did not disappoint Mu Lin.

“Hmph, don’t think Mu Lin won’t leave. He only has feelings for me, not any attachment to Anping Dao Palace.”

“And with the court, noble families, and local government providing so many resources to the Dao Palace every year, if you’re stingy with the students, I have no interest in staying here!”

This threat immediately forced the Dao Palace to compromise.

“Miss Dongfang, don’t worry. We never said we wouldn’t provide resources to the disciples.”

“For Prodigies, we are never stingy…”

“We didn’t give Mu Lin resources before because we didn’t realize he was so strong…”

“That’s right. When you said you wanted to gather resources for Mu Lin’s Third-Class Spirit Root to evolve into a Second-Class Spirit Root after the Southeast Region assessment, didn’t we agree?”

Qi Qiu’s invitation, Dongfang Ya’s demands, and Mu Lin’s undeniable potential ultimately led the Dao Palace, fearing his departure, to swiftly approve the allocation of resources for him.

This time, they truly brought out some valuable treasures to win back Mu Lin’s affection for the Dao Palace.

These resources even prompted Dongfang Ya to remark when she saw Mu Lin, “Such a heavy investment—the Dao Palace is truly anxious this time.”

“But it makes sense. The Headmaster has his pride. If a Prodigy he nurtured were poached by another Dao Palace, where would he put his face?”

This piqued Mu Lin’s interest.

“Did the Dao Palace give something good this time?”

“Of course. Here, this is the first treasure the Dao Palace gave you.”

As she spoke, Dongfang Ya tossed a jade vial to Mu Lin.

The vial was small but exquisitely crafted. Through its transparent walls, Mu Lin saw that it contained a drop of blood resembling a ruby.

What stirred Mu Lin’s heart was that the blood did not seem lifeless but rather appeared to be alive.

Even more astonishingly, this vibrant blood was not merely alive—it constantly transformed. Sometimes it took the shape of a gemstone, other times it morphed into a swimming fish, and at times, it even turned into a tiny—Jiao Dragon.

“Is this… Jiao Dragon blood?”

“Not just blood, but essence blood. I specifically requested it for you.”

After saying this, Dongfang Ya explained her reasoning.

“I’ve also reviewed your experience in the Tower of Illusory Heavens. Among the three treasures most important to a Qi Refiner—essence, energy, and spirit—your Divine Soul is the most abundant and powerful, and the quality of your Spiritual Energy is high. In comparison, your physical body leaves much to be desired.”

“If you were just an ordinary Cultivator, this wouldn’t matter. I might even advise you to specialize in spirit and energy, without diverting attention to essence, as human energy is limited.”

“But you are a Prodigy, and those who contend with you are also prodigies of the Great Spirit Imperial Dynasty. Against them, you cannot have any weaknesses. Therefore, you must strengthen your physical body.”

Mu Lin agreed with this point.

“Thank you for the guidance, teacher. I won’t neglect the cultivation of my physical body.”

Dongfang Ya: “Good. There’s one more thing you must remember: this Jiao Dragon Essence Blood is at the Mortal Shedding Realm, containing immense energy and a trace of the Jiao Dragon’s Divine Soul will. You cannot consume it directly now. Instead, you need to prepare a special Spirit Elixir and place the Jiao Dragon Essence Blood in it, allowing the elixir to absorb the aura of the Jiao Dragon Blood.”

“Only this diluted Spirit Elixir can be consumed. I have brought the preparation method for the elixir, but for the specific process and required materials, you should go to your little girlfriend.”

This made Mu Lin somewhat embarrassed:

“Ahem… Teacher, neither Chu Lingluo nor Yan Yunyu is my girlfriend.”

“Hmph.”

Dongfang Ya ignored this entirely and immediately moved on to the second reward granted by the Dao Palace.

“Besides the Jiao Dragon Essence Blood, the Dao Palace also allows you to visit the Dao Palace’s True Library to choose a Cultivation Method. However, this is pending—I didn’t agree immediately. You should understand the reason, right?”

“I understand. Teacher is worried that I might bite off more than I can chew?”

His quick response pleased Dongfang Ya, and she nodded in satisfaction.

“It’s good that you realize this on your own. So, do you still want this reward? If not, I can ask the Dao Palace to exchange it for something else.”

Upon hearing this, Mu Lin spoke with almost no hesitation:

“No need to exchange it. I want the opportunity to choose a Cultivation Method.”

This made Dongfang Ya frown slightly.

“What’s the reason? You should know that mastering ten Spells to proficiency is not as good as mastering one Spell to Master Grade.”

Mu Lin naturally understood this principle; in fact, he had experienced it firsthand.

  A proficient-grade Substitute Paper Figure only allowed Mu Lin to create one Clone, which could withstand only thirty percent of the damage.

A Master-grade Substitute Paper Figure could create six Clones, not to mention its damage-sharing ability increased to eighty percent. Additionally, the Master-grade Substitute Paper Figure possessed functions such as aiding cultivation and storing Mana.

In terms of practicality and importance, a hundred proficient-grade Paper Figures couldn’t compare—just the cultivation assistance alone made the Master-grade Substitute Paper Figure far surpass the proficient-grade one.

However, even knowing all this, Mu Lin still intended to choose an additional Cultivation Method. His reason for doing so was: “I have some confidence in my comprehension. I can still manage my current Cultivation Methods. Most importantly, I need a military formation secret technique.”

“Military formation… for your Paper Figure army.”

“Yes.”

Through his battle with Zhuang Ding, Mu Lin discovered that his Divine Soul was sufficiently powerful. Moreover, because he had solidified countless Netherworld Soldiers in his Mindscape, he could effortlessly grant temporary consciousness to nearly a hundred Yin Soldiers and Ghost Messengers at once.

Although summoning Yin Soldiers into the world required not only temporary consciousness but also sufficient vitality.

However, since the Substitute Paper Figure advanced to Master Grade and could store vitality, Mu Lin had already solved this problem.

Yet, he was not satisfied with the combat power of the Yin Soldiers and Ghost Messengers.

Indeed, they could completely overpower ordinary malevolent ghosts and also cause some interference to demonic monsters like Zhuang Ding who were at the Spirit Pool Realm.

However, all they could do was interfere. Mu Lin hadn’t forgotten that Zhuang Ding, at the cost of some price, could forcefully break through the interception of the Yin Soldiers and Ghost Messengers to reach him.

Therefore, he wanted to increase the combat power of the Ghost Messengers and Yin Soldiers.

As for how to enhance them, the Great Spirit Imperial Dynasty indeed had a method—military formations.

Among the various arts of cultivation such as alchemy, talismans, formations, artifacts, puppets, and true intent painting, formations were the most difficult and profound.

At the same time, formations were also categorized into three types: celestial, terrestrial, and human. Celestial formations were the most vast and grand, capable of harnessing the power of the cosmos, stars, and all natural phenomena when mastered.

Terrestrial formations could draw upon the power of earth’s spirit veins, mountains, and rivers.

Human formations, on the other hand, could gather the strength of many individuals.

Mu Lin did not intend to pursue the path of a Formation Master, but he planned to learn a few formations to unify his own power.

Upon learning of Mu Lin’s idea and hearing him express confidence in his ability to master it, Dongfang Ya ultimately did not stop him. Instead, she offered guidance.

“The Dao Palace has quite a few military formations, such as the Four Spirits Celestial Array, the Blood Stupa Grand Array, and ordinary formations like Crane Wing and Dragon Flight.”

“However, the Blood Stupa Grand Array is designed for human martial artists and requires blood energy. The Four Spirits Celestial Array requires expertise in elemental arts, neither of which suits you. As for ordinary formations like Dragon Flight and Crane Wing, you wouldn’t learn them either. If you want to choose a military formation, your only option is the Celestial Fortress Array.”

Mu Lin: “Celestial Fortress? Is this a defensive-type formation?”

Dongfang Ya: “Yes.”

“Once the Celestial Fortress Array is set up, it will connect the auras of your paper figures, merging them into one entity like a castle or palace. When someone attacks your paper figures, attacking one will feel like attacking an entire city.”

“Additionally, after the Celestial Fortress Array is formed, the surrounding area will be affected by the formation, making it difficult to traverse. If you are at the center of the array, you will be extremely hard to kill.”

“However, this military formation has very high requirements for positioning, so while it excels in defense, it lacks in offense and mobility.”

Hearing this, Mu Lin almost immediately made his choice without hesitation.

“I’ll take it.”

“Huh?”

His decisiveness caught Dongfang Ya off guard.

“Are you sure you don’t want to reconsider? I thought someone with your temperament would prefer offensive formations?”

This made Mu Lin smile.

“I do like taking the initiative. However, with the Paper Figure Curse, most of the time, others are the ones attacking me. I just need to sit somewhere, set up the formation, and wait for them to come.”

Thinking of how Mu Lin’s curse tormented even demonic monsters at the Spirit Pool Realm, driving them to desperation, Dongfang Ya fell silent.

After a long pause, she finally spoke. “That ability of yours really does invite hatred. With such a skill, you don’t need to chase enemies. Just sit somewhere, and others will attack you frantically.”

“Even the most cowardly person, when facing you, would only die on the path of attack.”

After explaining the Celestial Fortress Array, Dongfang Ya moved on to the third reward the Dao Palace had for Mu Lin, which was also the last one.

Since Dongfang Ya respected Mu Lin’s personal choices, she did not specify the final reward either.

“I’m not entirely sure what you specifically lack—magical artifacts, elixirs—whatever you need, just tell me, and I’ll have the Dao Palace gather it for you.”

Upon hearing this, Mu Lin pondered for a moment. Instead of requesting anything from the Dao Palace, he spoke up, “Teacher, could the Dao Palace provide funds to help me exchange for the North Star Purple Tenuity Array from Master Meng Rui?”

…

(End of Chapter)