Chapter 239: Zhou Donghuang Entered the Dharma Stage
Primal Core adepts could create an even bigger ruckus during practice than Divine Transformation adepts?
Although He Jin was the noble Autumn Valley Head of the Lightning Sword Sect, one of the four chief elders, he could not help his confusion. He was completely at a loss as to what was happening.
He had never encountered such a situation.
But he also knew how difficult it was to gather spirit energy at such a speed... as far as he knew, even the Lightning Sword Sect Valley Head at the Divine Transformation Stage could not do it.
"This Zhou Donghuang is not to be underestimated... he must either be in possession of some strange treasure or have some special methods up his sleeve that allow him to absorb spirit energy so wantonly," He Jin said to himself.
"Where exactly did he pop up from? Looks like I must ask that lass Mengxi upon my return and get to the bottom of this."
At the thought of this, He Jin's expression became more grave as well.
By absorbing spirit energy at a speed as terrifying as this, even if he transformed only half of the spirit energy into inner Yuan, his speed of practice could be said to be extremely frightening.
At present, Zhou Donghuang did not know that the changes in spirit energy that had occurred during his practice had attracted the attention of the Autumn Valley Head He Jin.
His body and mind were completely immersed in executing the practice method in "The Lord of the Four Supremes" right now.
Time went on. He did not know how long it had been either. A century seemed to have passed, but it also seemed that only a moment had passed... And during this process, he glanced internally at his essence points only to discover that the four Golden Essences had all began to show Dharma Power at its fledgling stage.
He had witnessed such a scene in his previous life, so what was happening before his eyes was more than familiar to him too.
Time continued to pass.
Just then, Zhou Donghuang could vaguely make out the nascent forms of Dharma Power appearing in each of the four Golden Essences in his essence point. Their outlines were now clear.
"That's... Green Dragon Dharma Power?"
The newly-formed Dharma Power on one of the Golden Essences looked a little like a snake. However, the massive size of its body differed greatly from what he knew. Furthermore, there was an outline of five claws on its abdomen.
"The Five-Clawed Azure Dragon?"
"What's going on? Shouldn't it be the Four-Clawed Azure Dragon?"
In his past life, Zhou Donghuang had come across a Dharma adept who had created Divine Dragon Dharma Power. He knew that all Divine Dragon Dharma Powers were Four-Clawed Divine Dragons. No Dharma adept had Divine Dragon Dharma Power that was a Five-Clawed Divine Dragon.
But now, the nascent Dharma Power on the surface of one of his Golden Essences had the outline of a Five-Clawed Divine Dragon.
"Even the Dragon race, one of many races in the universe and its galaxies... the Divine Dragon Dharma Power gathered by people of this race in the Dharma Stage is only a Four-Clawed Divine Dragon. It's only after entering the Primordial Soul Stage that they can gather the Primordial Soul of the Five-Clawed Divine Dragon."
In his past life, Zhou Donghuang had interacted with the Dragon race and knew about this in detail.
The Five-Clawed Divine Dragon was of a higher level than the Four-Clawed Divine Dragon.
"Could it be due to "The Lord of the Four Supremes"?"
Zhou Donghuang's heart jumped.
The more he thought about it, the more sense it made to him. Other than this, he could not think of any other possibility.
"But this is a good thing too... gathering Dharma Power in the form of a Five-Clawed Divine Dragon at the Dharma stage, even a Dharma adept one stage above will be defeated by it eight or nine times out of ten!"
The Four-Clawed Divine Dragon Dharma Power alone was enough to wipe out more than ninety percent of Dharma adepts at the same level.
Less had to be said about the stronger Five-Clawed Divine Dragon Dharma Power.
"The Green Dragon Dharma Power is already beginning to take shape as a Five-Clawed Divine Dragon... the other three Dharma Powers would probably not be ordinary either."
At this thought, Zhou Donghuang was particularly excited. He then shifted his focus to another Golden Essence. To his surprise, the fledgling Dharma Power shown on its surface was a bird. "This is probably the Vermilion Bird Dharma Power.
"This is the White Tiger Dharma Power."
The outline of the Dharma Power on the third Golden Essence appeared to be a walking beast. Upon closer look, to his surprise, there were many signs that it was the king of all beasts, the tiger.
"Black Turtle Dharma Power."
The outline of the Dharma Power on the fourth Golden Essence closely resembled a turtle, a large turtle at that.
Just when Zhou Donghuang was focusing on the outline of the Dharma Power appearing on the four Golden Essences in his essence point, He Mengxi returned to the Autumn Valley in a rage.
"Just wait until I enter the intermediate Dharma Stage. I will definitely teach that Lian Can a lesson... how dare he side with Pan Yilin? He's clearly going against me, He Mengxi!"
This time, He Mengxi had gone to the Summer Valley to settle scores with Pan Yilin. Before she could take action, Lian Can stuck his foot in and declared that he was going to protect Pan Yilin.
In her moment of fury, she had a battle with Lian Can. They were evenly matched and each of them was helpless when it came to the other.
Under such circumstances, she could only return in low spirits, following her failure to achieve her objective.
Although she was the daughter of the Autumn Valley Head, Lian Can's background was no less remarkable. He was the adopted son and the direct disciple of the Summer Valley Lord. He did not fear her identity at all.
However, when He Mengxi came back in a fury, there was sadness written all over her brow. "That Lin Can is about to enter the intermediate Dharma Stage... what's more, his level of martial talent is slightly higher than mine."
By the time she entered the intermediate Dharma Stage, there was an 80 to 90 percent chance that Lian Can would have broken through to that stage as well.
When the time came, she would similarly be helpless against him.
It was precisely for this reason that she felt extremely indignant.
"Why? You didn't manage to help Da Zhuang regain the respect he's due?"
He Jin noticed He Mengxi the moment she returned and immediately welcomed her. When he saw the indignation written all over her face, it was not difficult for him to guess that things had not proceeded according to plan.
It seemed that someone had interfered to protect the Summer Valley disciple who had sold counterfeit goods to Da Zhuang.
"Lian Can intervened," He Mengxi said in a low voice.
"Lian Can?"
He Jin was astonished. Following that, his gaze turned slightly strange. "From what I know, that fellow Lian Can seems to be a bit interested in you... he actually got in your way?"
"He's interested in me?"
He Mengxi froze for a moment before quickly regaining her senses. She had an expression of complete disdain on her face. "Even if all the men in the world were dead and he was the only one left, there's still no way I would get together with him.
"Does he really think that I don't know about him toying with those outer female disciples who had just entered our sect, and discarding them after having made use of them?"
He Mengxi's eyes were filled with loathing.
"Alright, let's put that aside for the time being."
He Jin shook his head and changed the subject. "Where did you find that Zhou Donghuang?"
"What's the matter?"
He Mengxi was confused. She did not know why her father was suddenly asking about this.
He Jin recounted to her what he had discovered an hour ago. For a moment, even He Mengxi was dumbfounded. "Spirit energy was gathering like crazy during his practice? And the speed and force at which the spirit energy was gathering even surpassed when the Sect Leader went into seclusion to practice wholeheartedly?"
He Mengxi was shocked as well.
"He's not an ordinary person. I suspect that either his origin is unusual, or he has had extraordinary encounters," He Jin said with a grave expression.
"He isn't of remarkable origin."
When she thought of the planet called Ziyun that she had recently been to, He Mengxi shook her head. "He probably had some extraordinary encounters."
"Not of remarkable origin?"
He Jin looked at He Mengxi. "Where's he from?"
"Ziyun."
He Mengxi said, "That planet is a planet with only a few small spirit stone veins... Furthermore, there isn't even an interstellar teleporter in the galaxy where the planet is situated.
"I went on a trip not long ago for the purpose of visiting Ziyun. I helped him bring some items to his family members."
He Mengxi did not intend to tell her father He Jin, that Zhou Donghuang had come to her of his own accord. With just a few words, she merely said that Zhou Donghuang had been wandering about and ended up in Hengliu galaxy, in Ziyun. She had discovered him there and brought him back to the Lightning Sword Sect, bringing him back to the Autumn Valley.
In the Autumn Valley, Huang Long was the only person who knew that she had not been acquainted with Zhou Donghuang when he first came.
So, she had already made a special visit to Huang Long to tell him in advance.
"He came out of a galaxy that didn't even have an interstellar teleporter?"
He Jin narrowed his eyes slightly. He proceeded to say with a solemn expression, "It seems that he did indeed encounter some extraordinary happenings... Otherwise, given his background, it would have been impossible for him to get to where he is today."
"He's 23 years old and has just entered the Golden Essence Stage ... forget about that kind of galaxy. Even for some galaxies which do have interstellar teleporters, it's difficult for such a person to come out of there," He Jin verbalized his speculations.
He Mengxi did not respond to him. She recalled what she had discovered of the situation in Ziyun after going there. She too felt that Zhou Donghuang had definitely encountered strange happenings.
It was to the point where she secretly guessed:
Perhaps Zhou Donghuang's strange encounter was none other than that dreamscape of his.
A dreamscape in which he could see the future would allow him to take full advantage of new opportunities... This, in itself, was an extraordinary encounter that could be said to contravene the laws of nature.
"Father, so be it if Little Junior Brother has had extraordinary encounters... You can't be having ideas about him, right?"
He Mengxi glanced at He Jin cautiously.
"What kind of person do you take your father for?"
He Jin glared at He Mengxi in a temper. "In your eyes, am I such a person?"
"Hehe... Father, what if he were just an outsider and not a disciple of the Autumn Valley or a disciple of the Lightning Sword Sect, and on top of that not someone whom I had brought back? Are you sure that you wouldn't harbor such intentions?" He Mengxi asked with a mischievous smile.
"Enough. Quick, go back and practice. If you don't practice diligently, Lian Can of the Summer Valley may enter the mid Dharma Stage earlier than you do."
He Jin glared at He Mengxi again. "Also... When that Little Junior Brother of yours comes out of seclusion, remember to give him a warning - people are dangerous and a man's wealth is his own ruin when he causes others' greed. He should still keep a low profile when he can."
By the time He Mengxi had passed He Jin's message on to Zhou Donghuang, half a month had already passed.
"Third Senior Sister, that wasn't because of some extraordinary encounter. Instead, it was because of a type of core drug."
Zhou Donghuang looked at He Mengxi and smiled, saying, "I'm planning to give one pill of that core drug to Da Zhuang too... Once Da Zhuang takes the core drug and starts practicing, you can invite the Valley Head here to take a look.
"But... Before that, Third Senior Sister, follow me on a trip to the Summer Valley."
Earlier, Zhou Donghuang had noticed the gloominess that he could faintly discern from her brow. She had obviously been in a pretty bad mood. Upon asking her about it, he had also found out about the incident whereby the Summer Valley disciple Lian Can had caused trouble.
"Why are you going to the Summer Valley?"
He Mengxi was startled.
"Of course, it's to meet that Lian Can."
Zhou Donghuang flew into the air. The inner Yuan surrounding his body was subtle. Seeing this, He Mengxi was again startled. "Little Junior Brother, you... You've broken through?"
Clearly, He Mengxi could tell that Zhou Donghuang had already entered the Dharma Stage.
"I had a breakthrough just a few days ago."
Zhou Donghuang smiled faintly. "I've been strengthening my level of practice. Otherwise, I would've left seclusion long ago."