Chapter Thirty-Six: The Differentiation of Red Complexion

  The appearance of the little squirrel undoubtedly relieved Helian's gloomy mood, and even the sulky little wolf seemed to regain some spirit, happily running around the squirrel. Seeing that the sky was already dark, Heliano decided to rest under the Jade Phoenix Tree for the night. Firstly, the nights in the You Yue Forest were much more dangerous than the days, and even with the Tian Lang dagger in hand, Heliano didn't dare venture out at night. Secondly, Heliano still hoped to wait for Chong Chong, after all, this time they parted ways, it was possible that the two would be separated by thousands of miles, and who knows when they could meet again, perhaps really relying on that elusive fate.

  He Lian took out the dry rations specially prepared by He Lian for him and solved his dinner with a big mouthful of the clear spring under the Yu Huan tree. After finding a more comfortable branch to lean on, he was ready to rest. However, the little wolf who had reunited with its companions was reluctant to sleep and kept chasing after the ball under the tree. Although it was an extremely simple game, the two little guys were having so much fun that they didn't want to stop. He Lian saw that the little wolf was playing happily and didn't bother it anymore, but unfortunately for the Jiu Bao Xuan turtle, the little wolf had previously been very righteous and had carried it in its mouth to play together. Later, perhaps because it felt the small turtle was a hindrance, it simply threw it aside by the spring and ran off on its own, playing with abandon. The small turtle struggled to move its four short legs to try and catch up, but ultimately could only be ruthlessly left far behind due to its innate deficiency. He Lian saw this and smiled slightly, jumping down from the tree to pick up the small turtle and placing it in his palm. Then he jumped back onto the tree, leaned against the trunk, closed his eyes, and began to circulate the soul power within his body.

  He Lian Nu originally thought that using the Nine Treasures Tortoise's unparalleled auxiliary abilities to help himself cultivate would be akin to cheating, and he didn't want to resort to such means. However, this viewpoint of his was met with scorn by Gong Sun Jian, who rebuked him in a tone used to speak to fools: "I say, you really are willing to enter the Treasure Mountain empty-handed? Honestly, I agree with your unwillingness to use the Tortoise to break through bottlenecks, and I even admire it somewhat. After all, every breakthrough requires soul cultivators to undergo pain that is extremely precious as training. But your idea of not using the Tortoise to increase your cultivation speed is utterly foolish! You should know that a soul cultivator's lifespan is limited, no matter how strong their abilities are. How to accelerate one's cultivation speed within this limited lifetime has become the problem that all soul cultivators rack their brains trying to solve. As far as I know, countless soul cultivators on the Demon Moon Continent use various methods to increase their cultivation speed. Now you want to give up the Nine Treasures Tortoise, which is the most effective way to boost your cultivation speed? Let me tell you, if you want to reach my level and become one of the top strongmen in the Demon Moon by the time I'm this old, then go ahead and abandon the Nine Treasures Tortoise!"

  Kerlin was startled by Gong Sun's fierce reaction, and would he really have to wait until his old age to reach the level of a top-notch master like You Yue? Kerlin felt a bit uneasy thinking that he would have to spend his entire youth on cultivation, but never mind, he was just using the Xuan Gui to speed up his cultivation and not relying on it to break through.

  After understanding this point, Helianuo always put the Jiubao Xuantu in his palm when he practiced cultivation from then on. Moreover, the loud title of the first auxiliary soul beast was not in vain. As long as he placed the Xuantu beside him during cultivation, Helianuo would feel that the speed of the soul force circulation within his body had increased by four or five times. Even though he had just started practicing the fourth transformation of Tianxuanjiubian, he clearly felt that his absorption of soul force was very rapid, and this was probably due to the Xuantu's efforts as well.

  The fourth change of Tian Xuan's nine changes is called Rou Xing Bian. The first three changes of Tian Xuan were all about changing the cultivator's physique, and it wasn't until this fourth change that they began to learn the technique of absorbing and condensing soul power. In fact, the soul itself can produce a very small amount of soul power without relying on external absorption, but the amount produced by oneself is far from enough to support the consumption of soul power when casting soul techniques. Therefore, cultivators must practice their skills to master the method of absorbing soul power from the outside world.

  This star-absorbing transformation, as the name suggests, is when the practitioner cultivates it to a level of perfection that they can even absorb the power of the stars for their own use. Although this statement may be slightly exaggerated, it also reflects the heaven-defying aspect of the Tian Xuan Nine Transformations. At this moment, Helian Nuo's entire body, inside and out, has already been transformed by the first three transformations into a container for storing soul power. Now all that needs to be done is to learn how to absorb and condense soul power.

  He Lian'nuo had once asked Gong Sunliang what level his current strength was equivalent to in the Soul Realm, and Gong Sunliang's answer made him somewhat angry, as he had previously been extremely confident. Gong Sunliang estimated that He Lian'nuo's current strength could at most only reach the level of a Soul Guard!

  Soul Guard? He Lian Nu thought that with his mastery of the first three moves of the Tian Xuan Nine Changes, he would at least be able to enter the Soul Department level. Who knew that he was only just reaching the Soul Guard level? However, thinking about it again, his younger uncle He Lian Shang was also only at the Soul Department level. At just ten years old, being a Soul Guard wasn't bad either.

  At that time, Gong Sun Zhen looked at He Lian Nuo's still somewhat dissatisfied appearance and couldn't help but feel a bit downhearted. To think that he himself was only a Da Hun Shi at the age of ten, despite being called a genius of the Gong Sun family who appeared once in a hundred years! But this young man in front of him was already a Hun Wei! Gong Sun Zhen could even imagine that with He Lian Nuo's current potential and strength, once he appeared before the world, it would definitely cause an earth-shaking sensation and impact!

  What's more important is that the god-level cultivator, Helian No, has only cultivated the first three transformations of the most basic level. The soul techniques he mastered are only the Earth-level soul technique, Xuanbing Yin, and the ancient martial arts, Camera Bone Technique, Lanhuxue Shou, as well as the Tian Shang Fist that comes with the third transformation.

  These ancient martial skills were all created based on the characteristics of human body structure, and when used, they don't need to mobilize soul power, but their effect is limited to attacking an unprepared enemy. After all, no soul user would easily let the enemy touch their own body.

  He Lianuo was patiently absorbing the soul power contained in the surrounding air according to the instructions on the scroll. This Youyue Forest was indeed one of the most spiritually abundant places on the continent, and the soul power contained in the air was extremely pure. With the assistance of the Jiubao Xuan Turtle, He Lianuo's speed of absorbing soul power made even Gong Sunjian, who was hiding in his mind, feel envious. Not everyone had the opportunity to cultivate in this spiritually dense place deep within Youyue.

  One night without words, the next morning, Helianuo slowly opened his eyes, gently placing the Xuantu who was sleeping in his palm on a wide tree trunk, and he jumped down from the tree to stretch his body. It can be seen that today's Helianuo is already much better than yesterday.

  He Lianuo stretched his waist and felt an inexplicable comfort all over his body. He tidied up his clothes and looked around, only to see the little wolf curled up on a patch of grass under the jade phoenix tree, fast asleep. The mischievous squirrel, Ballball, was lying flat on its head in a big character shape, with crystal-like drool hanging from the corner of its mouth, probably dreaming of something wonderful. He Lianuo shook his head and smiled, thinking that these two guys were really a match made in heaven - same rounded physique, same love for food and sleep, same lack of dignity for their respective species. The little wolf had become more and more like a mischievous but gentle little dog under his unintentional guidance, while the originally timid and cautious squirrel Ballball had an air of a beast king, fearless and daring to do anything.

  He Lianuo didn't go to disturb the two little guys who were sleeping soundly, but instead walked to the edge of the spring and scooped up the cool spring water to splash on his face. Although it was already early spring, the morning in the forest still had a slight chill, and the spring water was even colder, slightly biting to the bone. He Lianuo didn't care at all, and after taking a few deep breaths, he splashed several more handfuls of spring water on his face.

  Before long, Xiao Lang and Qiu Qiu also woke up. He Lian Nu brought down the nine-treasured turtle from the tree and took out dry rations to feed the three little ones a meal. She herself didn't eat a single bite, watching as the sun rose higher and higher, her mood gradually sinking to the bottom of the valley.

  Won't Bug come today either?

  Kellen sat under the tree, but until noon, the insects still didn't show up. The early spring noon was already a bit hot, Kellen took off his beast skin long shirt and only wore a small jacket on top. He stood up to look at the sky, knowing he had to get going. According to the route carefully planned by Kellen himself, he had to reach the next safe location before dark, otherwise, even with the soul-stunning Wolf Fang in hand, Kellen didn't have the confidence to deal with the various terrifying soul beasts that hunted at night.

  He Lianuo hesitated for a moment, stood up and drew out the Tianlang dagger from his waist, walked to the Yu Huang tree in big strides, slightly exerted himself with both arms, lifted up a relatively flat bluestone, gently moved it to the bottom of the tree, carefully placed it against the Yu Huang tree, thought for a moment, grasped the Tianlang dagger with his right hand and started engraving on the stone. In an instant, stone chips flew everywhere. Before long, He Lianuo suddenly stopped, took a step back, examined his work, nodded in satisfaction, looked at the Yu Huang tree one last time, then turned around decisively, called out to Xiao Lang and was about to leave.

  The little wolf didn't immediately follow, but instead ran straight to the edge of the bluestone, tilted its head and examined it for a while. Then, with an air of importance, it lifted one of its front paws and lightly scratched the blank space on the bluestone, leaving four extremely clear claw marks behind. The sharp claws of the sacred beast, Tianlang, were now imprinted on the stone. Looking at its handiwork, the little wolf nodded in satisfaction, then turned around and picked up its treasured Xuan Turtle, chasing after Helianno who had already walked a great distance away.

  No one saw, being left behind, the last squirrel ball was learning from the little wolf's appearance and also lightly printed its front paws on the bluestone. Unexpectedly, the originally hard bluestone was actually tapped out of a deep stone pit by Ball Ball's light and casual paw!

  The ball watched as the little wolf tilted its head to look at its own paw prints, then suddenly turned around and chased after the little wolf with a series of bounces.

  A slightly cool spring breeze swept across the empty space in front of the jade phoenix tree, and the stone chips that had just been scraped off were lightly blown away by the wind, disappearing instantly into the air. Only the clear imprint on the bluestone remained firmly sealed on the stone, as if it would never fade away...

  A small but very deep stone pit...

  Four clear claw marks...

  A line of powerful and vigorous handwriting:

  Insects see words:

  We parted ways recently, but unexpectedly it's uncertain when we'll meet again. Life is unpredictable and it's hard to foresee the future. This time, our parting date is uncertain, take good care of yourself, if there's a chance, I will definitely return to Jade Rooster, looking forward to meeting you again...

  Under the three lines of text, a heavy pen name: Xiao Lian Zi!