A faint light barrier enveloped the bookshelf, seemingly fragile but containing a rather strong energy. “Hmm?” His gaze cautiously swept under the light barrier. After a moment, Xiao Yan let out a soft exclamation. He noticed that there seemed to be a faint, almost imperceptible, spatial force around the barrier. “This barrier must have been set by the old ghost Di Ma. It contains some spatial power. Although it’s not very strong, if forcibly destroyed, it may damage the items within.” Su Qian beside him also detected the special nature of the barrier, and his brows furrowed as he spoke. Xiao Yan nodded slightly, bending his finger and unleashing a thread of emerald green flame from his fingertip, which gently touched the light barrier. “Sizzle! Sizzle!” As the flame made contact, the barrier immediately began to fluctuate, with ripples spreading from the point of contact. Then, the space at the barrier suddenly twisted. Seeing this, Xiao Yan’s brows furrowed, and the flame on his finger gradually dissipated. The barrier, although not very strong, would, if forcefully destroyed, release the energy contained within, causing an explosion. The explosive force might not be too great, but it could easily destroy the scrolls inside. Seeing Xiao Yan pull back, Su Qian and the others also understood that the barrier was not as easy to crack as they had imagined, and they fell into a thoughtful silence. “Old ghost Di Ma is truly a Battle Sect expert of the seven-star level. Even the sealing energy he left behind is this troublesome,” Su Qian sighed. It was frustrating to see the treasure but not be able to take it. Xiao Yan’s brows furrowed slightly, and his gaze suddenly turned to Zi Yan, who had just returned after disposing of the magical beast. A hint of joy flickered across his face. He had almost forgotten that Zi Yan seemed to have a natural immunity to such energy seals. She had effortlessly broken through the strict energy blockade of the Inner Academy. “Hmph, what do you want now?” Seeing Xiao Yan’s smile, Zi Yan immediately became wary and huffed. “Take the things inside, and I’ll return all the medicinal ingredients you left with me last time, and I’ll even refine them into your favorite flavors,” Xiao Yan said with a light smile. Hearing this, Zi Yan’s eyes, like purple gemstones, brightened. She then calmly approached the bookshelf, glanced at the light barrier outside, and added, “No cheating, okay.” Xiao Yan nodded with a smile. Seeing this, Zi Yan turned around and stretched her hand straight towards the light barrier. Under the astonished gazes of Xiao Yan and the others, she smoothly reached into the bookshelf and retrieved four wooden boxes, one by one. “This girl’s unusual abilities are truly astonishing. Not only does she have incredible strength, but she also has a unique perception for rare herbs, and she’s immune to these energy seals,” Su Qian remarked, shaking his head in amazement as he watched Zi Yan effortlessly retrieve the four wooden boxes. Xiao Yan also nodded in agreement. He then took the four somewhat rustic wooden boxes from Zi Yan, who looked quite pleased, and opened them one by one.
The first box contained two silver scrolls. The material of the scroll was quite peculiar, resembling a strange crystalline substance, with tiny electric sparks skittering across its surface like silver serpents.
Seeing the extraordinary appearance of the scroll, Xiao Yan’s eyes flashed with surprise. He picked it up and slowly unrolled it.
“Thunder Rush Manual, Intermediate Earth Tier, Lightning attribute cultivation method.”
Xiao Yan’s eyes widened in even more surprise as he read the introduction on the scroll. Lightning attribute cultivation methods were quite rare, especially ones of such high quality. He had never expected to find one here.
“Brother, this is a good find,” Xiao Yan smiled and tossed the scroll to Xiao Li. As a fire attribute cultivator, the lightning method wouldn’t be of much use to him.
Xiao Li quickly unrolled the scroll and a look of excitement appeared on his face. “An intermediate Earth Tier lightning attribute cultivation method? Haha, it seems coming here wasn’t a waste of time!”
After so long in the Black Corner Region, he knew how much of a stir such a method would cause at an auction. Of course, he wouldn’t be foolish enough to sell the Thunder Rush Manual. Being a lightning attribute himself, he could potentially break through to the Battle Emperor level in a short time with it.
Seeing Xiao Li’s excitement, Xiao Yan smiled and took another silver scroll from the box. He glanced at it and chuckled, “Thunder Awakening Method, intermediate Earth Tier battle skill, a set with the Thunder Rush Manual. Looks like my brother is having a big day.”
Xiao Yan tossed the scroll to Xiao Li, who caught it carefully and laughed again.
“Looks like the old ghost Di Ma couldn’t bear to auction off such skills and techniques, so he stored them here,” Su Qian observed, smiling.
Xiao Yan nodded and opened another box, revealing a somewhat familiar crimson scroll.
“Flame Manipulation Decree?” Xiao Yan stared at the scroll, surprised. He had obtained the Flame Manipulation Decree from the three local cultivators, but he hadn’t practiced it yet. Puzzled, he unrolled the scroll and saw the three large, fiery characters: Flame Manipulation Decree. His expression became even more puzzled, as it seemed redundant.
“Hmm?” As he was about to put it away, his hands paused, and his gaze fixed on a particularly vivid red character following the three large characters.
“True?”
“True? Flame Manipulation Decree, True?”
Stunned, Xiao Yan frowned. Was the one he had acquired from the local cultivators a fake?
Frowning, Xiao Yan quickly unrolled the scroll and read the text carefully.
“This Flame Manipulation Decree is the result of many years of hard work and improvement. Though the previous decree was powerful, it required at least three people to practice and form a ‘pseudo-unique flame,’ and each formation had a significant cost. However, this decree surpasses it, as it can be practiced alone to form a ‘pseudo-unique flame’ with even greater power and fewer side effects. Though the refining method is more complex, the benefits outweigh the drawbacks.”
Xiao Yan was moved. He had avoided practicing the original Flame Manipulation Decree due to its serious side effects, but the old ghost Di Ma had improved it significantly.
“If I master this Flame Manipulation Decree, can I create a ‘pseudo-unique flame’ alone? If so, the Destruction Lotus wouldn’t have the one-use limit. This will greatly help my journey in the Central Continent. The old ghost Di Ma has really helped me a lot.”
Thinking this, a faint smile spread across Xiao Yan’s face. Today’s trip was indeed not in vain.
Seeing Xiao Yan’s smile, Su Qian and the others also smiled. They then turned their attention to the final two rustic wooden boxes.
Seeing their gaze, Xiao Yan chuckled and opened the two boxes simultaneously.
Inside, there was a fist-sized, fiery red orb and a gray-brown bamboo slip.
Xiao Yan and the others first focused on the fiery red orb, sensing a powerful, chaotic fire energy within.
“Is this a demon core?” Xiao Yan asked, staring intently at the orb. It was the first high-level demon core he had seen.
“Yes, it’s a demon core… but not just any demon core. It likely belongs to a high-level magical beast that can transform, given its quality and energy,” Su Qian said, stroking his beard with a hint of surprise. “My guess is that it’s a seventh-tier fire-attribute demon core. Didn’t expect the old ghost Di Ma to have such a collection.”
Seventh-tier magical beasts were equivalent to Battle Sects. Their demon cores were extremely valuable, and such beasts had intelligence comparable to humans. When cornered, they would self-detonate their cores to prevent enemies from obtaining them. Few people managed to obtain such demon cores.
Xiao Yan nodded, his gaze lingering on the fiery red orb for a while before turning to the ordinary-looking bamboo slip.
The slip was gray-brown and seemed plain, but Xiao Yan knew that anything the old ghost Di Ma kept here was extraordinary. Gently unwrapping the fine threads, he unrolled the slip, and a bloody, vicious-looking character appeared in his field of vision, making his heart skip a beat.
“Heavenly Demon Puppet!”
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