A few days later, Ling Xiao had become thoroughly familiar with most of the outer formations of the Yuehua Sect.
They were called outer formations because he, as an outer sect disciple, was not qualified to access certain confidential areas.
Nevertheless, his performance greatly satisfied Yuan Zun and Yang Danlin.
As a result, Ling Xiao received a promise that Yang Danlin would personally take him to the Guanghan Palace for training.
The master of the Guanghan Palace, like the master of the Desperate Tower, seemed unwilling to reveal their true appearance to outsiders. She also wore a mask, though this one was far more attractive than the ghost mask of the Desperate Tower’s master, designed in the shape of a butterfly and very beautiful.
“Strange, the master of the Desperate Tower last time gave me a familiar feeling, and now the master of the Guanghan Palace does too. Moreover, there’s a similar aura on both of them?”
Ling Xiao had thought he’d confirmed the identity of the Desperate Tower’s master, but now he was confused again.
“Guanghan Heavenly Venerable, I’ve given you the promised pills. Can my disciple now go to the Guanghan Palace to cultivate?” Yang Danlin asked with a smile.
“Master Yang, I keep my word. However, the gate of the Guanghan Palace can only be opened once a year; that’s the sect’s rule,” the Guanghan Heavenly Venerable said calmly. “This is my ‘Guanghan Token.’ If this boy can enter the Guanghan Palace, he can stay as long as he wishes, and I won’t stop him.”
As she spoke, she tossed a jade token to Ling Xiao.
The token felt strangely cold in his hand.
Ling Xiao felt as if his right hand was about to freeze.
“Lord of Mountains and Rivers, transform!”
Clearly, the token was infused with the Guanghan Heavenly Venerable’s true essence, an extremely chilling true essence of far higher quality than Ling Xiao’s own Heavenly Dragon True Essence, Thunderbolt True Essence, Ferocious Beast True Essence, and Golden Lotus True Essence.
How could Ling Xiao waste such a valuable thing?
In an instant, he converted the Heavenly Dragon True Essence in one of his martial veins entirely into this extraordinarily cold “Guanghan True Essence.”
Of course, he named it himself, as he didn’t know what martial art had produced this true essence. The opponent’s strength was too great, and even with the analytical abilities of his Mountains and Rivers Martial Soul, he couldn’t see through it.
Now, his body contained five types of true essence. The Ferocious Beast True Essence occupied one martial vein but was nearly depleted, consumed during formation and pill refining.
The Thunderbolt True Essence occupied one martial vein, with less than half remaining.
The Guanghan True Essence occupied three martial veins and was abundant. While this amount might be insignificant to the Guanghan Heavenly Venerable, for Ling Xiao, it was the full true essence of three martial veins.
The remaining four martial veins were divided as follows: two for Golden Lotus True Essence, focused on attack, and two for Heavenly Dragon True Essence, focused on defence.
Among the five types, the Guanghan True Essence was the strongest, but he wouldn’t use it unless absolutely necessary. As it belonged to a Heavenly Human Realm expert, while its destructive power was terrifying, it would likely harm him as much as his enemy.
Next were the Golden Lotus True Essence and Heavenly Dragon True Essence, currently equal in power, one excelling in attack and the other in defence. These were Ling Xiao’s own true essences, recyclable and reusable.
The weakest were the Thunderbolt True Essence and Ferocious Beast True Essence.
Ling Xiao kept the Thunderbolt True Essence to aid in comprehending the “lightning” celestial phenomenon.
The Ferocious Beast True Essence, capable of producing black flames, was naturally used for pill and formation refining.
“Hm?”
The Guanghan Heavenly Venerable was quietly shocked to see Ling Xiao holding her Guanghan Token without the slightest discomfort.
She had been curious why both Yang Danlin and the Desperate Tower’s master valued this outer sect disciple so highly. So, she had infused some of her true essence into the Guanghan Token to test him.
Normally, even a Mortal Realm martial artist would have their right hand frozen upon touching the token.
Yet this boy showed no reaction at all.
What a freak!
“What’s wrong, Senior? Is something amiss?” Ling Xiao asked curiously.
“Nothing. I was just wondering how you’ll enter the Guanghan Palace if not through the main gate,” the Guanghan Heavenly Venerable said.
“Senior, if I don’t enter through the main gate, would that violate the sect’s rules?”
Ling Xiao didn’t want to give anyone an excuse to frame him.
“For others, it would certainly violate the rules. At best, they’d be banned from ever entering the Guanghan Palace again; at worst, their cultivation would be crippled, and they’d be expelled from the sect,” the Guanghan Heavenly Venerable replied. “But you’re different. With the Guanghan Token, entering is my command. No one can say anything, and you could even be considered my representative.”
“Heh, then it’s simple,” Ling Xiao said with a smile.
“Simple?” the Guanghan Heavenly Venerable asked, surprised.
“Senior, I’ve already examined the protective formation of the Guanghan Palace. While it’s been continuously repaired, there are still oversights. Currently, there are three well-hidden flaws that any Mortal Realm martial artist could easily use to enter and exit without being detected by you.”
“Impossible!” Ling Xiao’s words shocked the Guanghan Heavenly Venerable.
Though she wasn’t a formation genius, she was very familiar with the protective formation, and the Formation Hall maintained it monthly. How could there be such significant flaws?
She thought Ling Xiao was exaggerating, and her aura grew colder.
She didn’t like liars.
“Guanghan Heavenly Venerable, don’t underestimate this boy. His skills are no less than those of the Formation Hall,” Yang Danlin said with a smile.
“Master Yang, you also believe there’s a problem with my protective formation?” the Guanghan Heavenly Venerable asked, frowning.
“How about a wager?” Yang Danlin said.
“What kind of wager?” she asked.
“Simple. If this boy can enter the Guanghan Palace, can you lend him your Guanghan Token for as long as he needs it?” Yang Danlin replied. “If I lose, whenever you want to refine a pill, no matter how difficult, as long as you provide the materials, I’ll refine it for you. How’s that?”
“Deal!” the Guanghan Heavenly Venerable’s eyes gleamed with excitement.
Even as a Heavenly Venerable in the Heavenly Human Realm, getting Yang Danlin to refine pills, especially high-risk ones, was extremely difficult.
This wager was absolutely in her favour.
“Ling Xiao, you heard that? The Guanghan Heavenly Venerable has given you a great opportunity. Don’t miss it,” Yang Danlin said to Ling Xiao with a smile.
Ling Xiao smiled too. It was normal for the Guanghan Heavenly Venerable not to believe him; after all, he was just an outer sect disciple.
But this matter wasn’t difficult for him.
The three flaws in the Guanghan Palace’s formation each allowed free entry and exit.
Of course, the prerequisite was finding those flaws, which required both deep knowledge of formations and exceptional perception.
Even the Guanghan Heavenly Venerable couldn’t do it.
But he could!
