Chapter 533: Open robbery |
In novels, the protagonist's growth often involves villains delivering challenges one after another, allowing the protagonist to gain experience until they become a formidable figure...
In reality, things are rarely that convenient.
Just like when he arrived in this world, he merely wanted to enhance his strength, but inadvertently got swept into the dynastic conflicts. Before his power could rise, enemies had already accumulated to the level of deities.
Once you provoke Dragon and Tiger Mountain, you're bound to attract Master Xu, and once you provoke him, you might end up provoking the celestial realm...
Back then, when Sun Wukong wreaked havoc in the heavenly palace, he had already mastered his skills, but what does he have now?
Well!
He has divine power.
The quality of his divine power is extremely high, capable of overwhelming the spiritual power within cultivators to some extent, but the only drawback is its limited quantity.
After integrating the three types of divine power, almost the entire day is his domain...
This is a classic case of knowing oneself but not the enemy. Du Ge feels like a tiger unaware of how formidable the donkey of Guizhou is...
Yet, this question can't be asked openly.
Asking would give him away; how could a Heavenly Demon who has reincarnated for hundreds of years not know the difference between an Elemental Infant and a Golden Elixir?
The most crucial point is that this world has magical treasures. In the Investiture of the Gods, magical treasures are said to be even more powerful than cultivation levels; the Twelve Golden Immortals were easily subdued by disciples wielding magical treasures.
Even in Journey to the West, magical treasures hold significant importance. Lao Jun's green ox wielding the diamond bracelet left a group of celestial beings in the heavenly realm unable to lift their heads...
It must be said, Master Xu is indeed very kind to Dragon and Tiger Mountain.
Of course.
If he withdraws from Dragon and Tiger Mountain now, there wouldn't be so much trouble, at least providing a buffer period.
But the top ranking, the impact of killing a dynasty's crown prince, is like a death warrant...
The so-called buffer period is just a slow-acting poison!
Since he will eventually face the celestial realm, he might as well deal with it now.
Better to die standing than live kneeling. With so many Alien Star Battlefields, when has he ever faced an easy enemy?
In fact, Du Ge knows that from the moment he acted against Liao Jiulong, he subconsciously set his sights on Dragon and Tiger Mountain...
Deep down, he's not someone who seeks stability.
As night fell over Dragon and Tiger Mountain, Du Ge's anxious heart gradually calmed down. From beginning to end, he was the one with the most steadfast resolve.
...
The Dark God power excels at concealment.
Once night fully descended, Du Ge stealthily infiltrated Celestial Master Peak from Tianlan Peak, arriving unnoticed outside the Scripture Repository.
At this moment.
Aside from the disciples on duty, there was little activity at Celestial Master Peak. Both outer and inner disciples were seizing the time to cultivate in their residences, seemingly unaffected by external events.
Even the cranes, which served as mascots flying between peaks during the day, were sleeping in a one-legged stance. But upon closer inspection, it seemed as if moonlight fell on their feathers, scattering a layer of cool, soft light.
In the pond beside the cranes, koi fish poked their heads out of the water, swallowing moonlight...
Seeing this scene, Du Ge sighed. Even the cranes and koi were seizing the time to cultivate. Dragon and Tiger Mountain had become so competitive, Master Xu truly did not spare anyone!
The doors of the Scripture Repository were tightly shut, and due to the sealed perception, Du Ge couldn't probe the situation inside. But Liao Jiulong had said that Elder Daoming rarely left the Scripture Repository, and the old fellow was likely hiding inside cultivating!
Concealing himself within the Dark God power, Du Ge slipped through the crack of the Scripture Repository's door like a flowing stream.
Unexpectedly.
As soon as Du Ge entered the Scripture Repository.
A voice exploded in his ear: "Who dares to trespass the Scripture Repository?"
Immediately after.
The lanterns inside the Scripture Repository lit up almost instantly, illuminating the interior brightly.
Du Ge quickly darted into the shadows of a corner, narrowly avoiding being exposed on the spot.
Damn!
The Scripture Repository, as expected, had defensive formations. Apparently, even Liao Jiulong didn't know about this formation. It makes sense, Liao Jiulong is a legitimate disciple of Dragon and Tiger Mountain, and obtaining supernatural powers through proper channels is easy for him.
And he's just an ordinary second-generation disciple, with a cultivation level of only a Qi Refiner. How could he possibly have access to the core secrets of the Scripture Repository?
In the hall of the Scripture Repository, an elderly man with white hair and beard, seemingly on the brink of death, had been sitting cross-legged. But when Du Ge sneaked into the Scripture Repository and triggered the warning formation, he stood up, his sharp eyes scanning the entire Scripture Repository. After a round of searching without finding anyone, he frowned and shouted, "Who dares to trespass the Scripture Repository, reveal yourself, and I will let bygones be bygones."
Let bygones be bygones?
Who are you kidding?
Hidden in the shadows, Du Ge silently pursed his lips, observing the layout of the Scripture Repository.
The first floor of the Scripture Repository was filled with bookshelves, each containing a book. Du Ge looked at them one by one: "Lunar Stealth Technique," "Inedia Technique," "Wood and Stone Stealth," "Three-Seven Escape Technique," "Nine Palaces Diagram," "Inner Scene Returning to Origin"...
Each shelf was enveloped in a layer of white light, which was either protective or an alarm.
Liao Jiulong had mentioned that the Scripture Repository had three floors, with the higher floors containing more advanced cultivation techniques. The "Nine Transformations of the Universe Technique" and the "Primordial Infinity Technique" practiced by the Celestial Master himself were originally on the third floor of the Scripture Repository, inaccessible to ordinary disciples, who learned their techniques through oral transmission from the peak master.
But even the techniques on the first floor seemed quite impressive to Du Ge. Master Xu, having been in the celestial realm for so many years, had indeed concocted quite a few good things for his disciples!
"Do you really think a mere stealth technique can fool me?" Elder Daoming snorted coldly, suddenly raising his hand to wipe his brow. His murky eyes suddenly shot out two beams of golden light, like searchlights, scanning every corner of the Scripture Repository.
Seeing Elder Daoming with eyes emitting golden light, Du Ge was momentarily stunned. This one truly lived up to being the sweeping monk of Dragon and Tiger Mountain. Over the years in the mortal world, he must have mastered every single spell passed down by Master Xu. A world with magic is indeed difficult...
In this situation, trying to sneak away with a few cultivation techniques was clearly impossible.
Du Ge quietly moved his body, shuttling back and forth in the shadows to avoid Elder Daoming's golden gaze, then seized the opportunity to head straight for the second floor.
The first and second floors were filled with magic; naturally, he should go to the top floor to complete his collection of cultivation techniques first...
As soon as Du Ge broke into the second floor.
Elder Daoming followed closely behind: "You audacious thief, reveal yourself now, if not now, when?"
As he spoke, Du Ge felt a tremendous pressure from behind, his head buzzing as if a large bell had been struck inside, leaving him dizzy and disoriented.
But at this moment, his mental power was over twenty million, and in an instant, his mind cleared.
In the blink of an eye.
Du Ge, following the shadows along the wall.
With a swoosh, he crashed into the third floor, but as he ascended the stairs from the second floor to the third, it felt as if he had hit an invisible wall.
However, the wall only held for a moment before he forcibly broke through.
When Du Ge broke into the third floor.
The formation on the third floor activated instantly, and Du Ge's vision turned white as if he had entered another space.
Then.
Flames erupted beneath his feet, engulfing him in an instant.
"The path to heaven is wide open, yet you choose to enter hell." Elder Daoming's voice echoed again, "How could a mere thief break through the Celestial Master's formation?"
To be honest.
When Du Ge broke into the third floor and was trapped by the formation, he was somewhat panicked, but when the flames erupted, his tense heart instantly calmed.
Is this it?
Is this the Celestial Master's level?
As the flames burned him, not only did he feel no pain, but under the scorching flames, his Golden Elixir rotated, and the Sun God power inexplicably increased, causing his stalled cultivation level to begin a new ascent.
The flames set up by Master Xu in the Scripture Repository were clearly not ordinary flames, but the Sun God was born from the sun, the ancestor of playing with fire. How could he be burned to death?
Even without the Sun God power, the Power of Poseidon was specifically effective against flames!
If it weren't for the concern of alerting more experts from Dragon and Tiger Mountain, Du Ge would have been tempted to lie in the flames and absorb them completely.
But now?
Du Ge hesitated for a moment, then suddenly began flailing and struggling in the flames, and the more he struggled, the smaller his form became, until finally, he silently collapsed on the ground, allowing the flames to burn him.
After integrating the divine body with the Golden Elixir, he gained the ability to transform into water. When he turned into a puddle, the flames burned for a moment and naturally extinguished.
The third floor of the Scripture Repository returned to its original state, and Elder Daoming had already retracted his golden light supernatural power, silently standing at the stairway.
He looked at the spot where Du Ge disappeared, shook his head, and chanted a spell. Several red lights disappeared into the floor, and he looked at the puddle on the ground: "So it was a water-attribute monster. With cultivation reaching the Integration Realm, it would have been better to join Dragon and Tiger Mountain as a guardian beast rather than stealing cultivation techniques and ending up with both form and spirit destroyed. What a pity!"
After the formation disappeared, the third floor of the Scripture Repository returned to its original state.
Five ancient books were held aloft by soft light, quietly floating in the center of the Scripture Repository. The one in the middle was the "Primordial Infinity Technique."
The other four were "Nine Transformations of the Universe Technique," "Returning to Origin Dao Technique," "Purple Cloud Mind Technique," and "Universal Mind Technique," corresponding to the mind techniques of the five peaks of Dragon and Tiger Mountain.
Leaving the originals at Dragon and Tiger Mountain, Master Xu indeed had some confidence.
Glancing at the positions of the five cultivation techniques, as Elder Daoming approached to retrieve the water Du Ge had transformed into, Du Ge suddenly sprang into action, wielding the Dark God power to break through the soft light holding the five cultivation techniques, capturing them all in one go.
Then.
He dashed past Elder Daoming and headed straight for the second floor.
Elder Daoming didn't react throughout the process. By the time he realized, the five mind techniques had already disappeared, and he was furious: "You audacious thief!"
His figure vanished, and when he reappeared, Elder Daoming was on the second floor, but the place was empty, with all the cultivation technique manuals gone.
Elder Daoming was both shocked and terrified, quickly flashing to the first floor, only to find it in ruins, just like the second floor, with not a single cultivation technique left behind.
"Thief, thief!" Elder Daoming stomped his feet repeatedly, nearly spitting out a mouthful of blood. He dashed out of the Scripture Repository, raising his hand to throw a transparent pearl into the sky.
The pearl emitted countless rays of light, illuminating every detail of Celestial Master Peak.
The crane in front of the Scripture Repository, which had been absorbing moonlight, collapsed to the ground with a thud as soon as the pearl's light fell.
The koi in the pond suffered the same fate, forcibly pressed to the bottom by the gravity.
The disciples of Dragon and Tiger Mountain, each engaged in their own cultivation, were also affected. The sudden gravity pressed them to the ground, interrupting their cultivation, causing them to cough up blood and nearly go berserk.
Elder Daoming's speed was not slower than Du Ge's. When he chased out and activated the Xuan Gui Pearl, Du Ge hadn't yet escaped Celestial Master Peak and was pinned to the ground by the gravity.
However, his divine power was of high enough quality, allowing him to stand up quickly, though his movement speed was significantly reduced.
Moreover.
The Xuan Gui Pearl not only altered gravity but also emitted light, breaking the concealment of the Dark God power. Continuing to run would completely expose him.
With no other choice, Du Ge could only dive into the forest, using the shadows to conceal himself once more.
...
Elder Daoming's activation of the Xuan Gui Pearl quickly alerted the peak masters of Dragon and Tiger Mountain.
Several figures swiftly gathered around Elder Daoming.
The headmaster of Dragon and Tiger Mountain stood beside Elder Daoming, puzzled, and asked, "Martial Uncle, what happened? Why did you activate the Xuan Gui Pearl?"
"Jin Kui, quickly search Celestial Master Peak. A thief has stolen all the cultivation techniques from the Scripture Repository." Elder Daoming said rapidly, "It's a water-attribute monster, pinned by the Xuan Gui Pearl. It can't escape Celestial Master Peak, search quickly."
The headmaster and the peak masters were shocked, understanding the gravity of the situation. Without wasting words, they each flew into the air, using their divine sight to meticulously search every corner of the surroundings.
Their cultivation levels were high enough to be unaffected by the Xuan Gui Pearl.
While they searched, more people, alerted by the commotion of the Xuan Gui Pearl, began to appear one after another, joining the search.
Seeing more and more searchlights on Celestial Master Peak, Du Ge silently cursed. He had indeed alerted them.
Damn!
The magic and treasures were too overpowered. With so many people searching in a crisscross pattern, and possibly other spells involved, getting caught seemed inevitable...
At this moment.
Du Ge suddenly regretted coming at night. Had he known the Scripture Repository was so heavily guarded, he would have come during the day to rob it. Using the Sun God power's teleportation, he could have escaped Celestial Master Peak long ago. This time, he had miscalculated.
What to do?
Du Ge continued to move through the shadows of the forest, avoiding the golden light searches, silently contemplating a strategy.
At this point, perhaps the only option was to rely on his skills to turn the tables!