Eternal Life by Dual Cultivation-Chapter 177 - 142: Ling Changqing: This "Fighting" of Yours, Is It Decent?

Chapter 177: Chapter 142: Ling Changqing: This "Fighting" of Yours, Is It Decent?

Silence filled the magnificent and imposing hall.

Ling Changqing walked briskly past rows of exquisite jade and gold bookshelves. Under the guidance of Luo Qingxuan at his side, he arrived at a bookshelf in a corner area.

As this was the most important repository of the Deep Sea Dragon Race’s cultural heritage, the vast majority of the Scriptures and secret manuals inside were only suitable for individual Dragon Race members to cultivate and comprehend.

Of course, there were some Cultivation Method Scriptures suitable for the Human Race. These had been casually collected by many Dragon Race Elders over the long years and were not highly regarded by the Dragon Race’s upper echelon.

Additionally, there was a small number of rather special Cultivation Method Scriptures with no racial restrictions. Any intelligent being could cultivate and comprehend them, such as certain Dual Cultivation Techniques.

Ling Changqing stopped before a bookshelf and gently picked up a silver Beast Skin Ancient Scroll that shimmered with a dark glow and emanated a fearsome pressure. He reached out to untie the black-gold cord binding it.

"My love, wait. Let me do it!"

Luo Qingxuan, her lovely face captivating and her beautiful eyes flowing with charm, extended a jade-like arm and took the Beast Skin Ancient Scroll.

The Dao Rhyme aura attached to the scroll was too violent and tyrannical. With Ling Changqing’s current Cultivation, she feared he wouldn’t be able to withstand it.

In front of him, Luo Qingxuan gently unrolled the ancient scroll, gradually revealing the Ancient Celestial Book runes within.

A deep, desolate beastial roar, filled with a primordial aura, echoed endlessly at the level of his Divine Soul. It carried an incomparably tyrannical, wild, and savage pressure, but Luo Qingxuan blocked most of it.

Only after the residual impact of the Dao Rhyme had subsided did Luo Qingxuan hand the ancient scroll to Ling Changqing.

"This... should be a Cultivation Technique from the Ancient Witch Race, right?"

Ling Changqing glanced through it and already had his answer.

This Body Refining Technique of the High level Witch Race was simple and crude, yet it pointed directly to the heart’s true nature, fitting quite well with the corresponding Dao Origin Laws.

"This is good stuff. It should be at least a Middle to Upper Grade Earth level Technique. Unfortunately, it’s not very suitable for me."

Ling Changqing sighed. This cultivation method was powerful, but using it in combat required consuming a large amount of life force as the price.

The experts of the Ancient Witch Race possessed exceptionally vigorous vitality and blood qi, with formidable life force. They thought nothing of such consumption.

But Ling Changqing was from the Human Race. How could he possibly withstand a technique based on the principle of ’kill a thousand enemies, suffer eight hundred wounds’?

"You’re right. Let’s keep looking for something more suitable then!"

Luo Qingxuan smiled, unconcerned. She deftly put the Beast Skin Ancient Scroll back and continued browsing through other secret manuals.

The scale of the Scripture Hall was somewhat absurd, housing tens of millions of Cultivation Technique Divine Techniques, Scriptures, and secret manuals.

Even with the Cultivation of a Golden Core Peak Master, one couldn’t hope to browse through the entire collection here without spending at least a year and a half.

However, Ling Changqing only needed to look at Cultivation Techniques suitable for the Human Race, and the total number was estimated to be less than five percent of the collection. With Luo Qingxuan’s help, three days would barely be enough.

"My dear wife, there’s no need to look at the Cultivation Method Scriptures below Xuan Level. That should narrow down the selection even further."

Ling Changqing said.

In the Human Race’s Cultivation Realm, Cultivation Method Scriptures are divided into the Four Grades: Heaven, Earth, Profound, and Yellow, with each grade further divided into Upper, Middle, and Lower Grades.

Other intelligent races had their own classification standards, but they weren’t much different from those of the Human Race’s Cultivation Realm.

In fact, ever since the Human Race rose to become the masters of heaven and earth, many of the rules in the Cultivation Realm, as well as certain unwritten customs, were largely defined according to the principles of Human Race civilization.

Luo Qingxuan nodded slightly. "You’re right, my love. This way, the number of Scriptures and secret manuals we need to look through will be much smaller."

The higher the grade of the Cultivation Method Scriptures, the fewer there were.

Since he had finally gotten a chance to enter the Dragon Race’s sacred heritage ground, Ling Changqing naturally couldn’t waste it. He had to get at least one Earth level Technique secret manual to make the trip worthwhile.

If that didn’t work out, picking a few Middle Upper Grade Profound Level Cultivation Techniques would also meet his expectations.

Luo Qingxuan’s gaze swept across the numerous bookshelves suffused with Spiritual Light. A moment later, she made a new discovery.

But when she took it and flipped through it, her snowy, jade-like face instantly flushed crimson like the sunset clouds. She wished she could find a hole to crawl into right then and there.

It was a book that seemed to have been refined from stitched-together flower petals. It was full of vivid illustrations and text, lacking no shortage of all sorts of hot, bold, and utterly shameless "fighting" positions.

The Dao Rhyme aura attached to the book was extremely pervasive, causing Luo Qingxuan’s heart to race and her blood to boil involuntarily. Her voluptuous body even began to feel weak in waves.

"What kind of Cultivation Technique is this? Let me see!"

Ling Changqing asked, reaching out to take it.

Luo Qingxuan suddenly came to her senses. She whipped her hand behind her back in a flash, her soft, smooth voice trembling slightly:

"It’s nothing! Just a bunch of little figures fighting. It’s a low-tier technique, nothing worth looking at."

Ling Changqing: "???"

’My wife, is this "fighting" of yours... the proper kind?’

Seeing her expression, Ling Changqing seemed to understand something and nodded, not pressing the matter further.

Luo Qingxuan breathed a sigh of relief. She turned and tossed the rather high-grade Dual Cultivation Technique back to its original spot, then walked away as if escaping.

But a moment later, she stealthily snuck back. Seeing that Ling Changqing wasn’t paying attention, she swiftly slipped the Cultivation Technique into her sleeve.

’Hmm, it is a very profound Secret Technique after all. I’ll take it back to study carefully. It’ll be useful for "sparring" with my love in the future.’

Luo Qingxuan mused, her beautiful face beet red. ’Her mother the Queen had instructed her beforehand that this was a required lesson for palace concubines to win and maintain favor. Of course, she couldn’t be an exception.’

A short while later, Ling Changqing found a new target: a set of dark, black steles that were neither metal nor iron, yet resembled something other than jade.

There were twelve steles in total, each about three inches thick and a little over two feet tall, exuding an indescribable sense of ancientness.

The surfaces of the steles were covered in Ancient Celestial Book runes resembling dragon heads and phoenix tails. A sharp and fierce Sword Intent Dao Rhyme flowed within, contained but not revealed.

True Understanding of the Sword Dao.

That was the name of this Cultivation Method Scripture. It was left behind by a certain Human Race Sword Immortal Great Power from the Middle Ages, a treasure that countless Sword Cultivators would value as much as their own lives.

As for the Cultivation Realm of that Great Power back then, it could no longer be verified. At the very least, he was no weaker than the old monsters still existing in the major top-tier factions.

Ling Changqing observed it briefly and understood that this Sword Cultivation Divine Scripture was at least a Middle Grade Earth level Technique. Once successfully cultivated, the destructive power it could unleash would be unimaginable.

The only regret was that this Cultivation Technique was incomplete.

Because a corner of the twelfth stele was missing, the final few dozen characters of the Essence of the Secret Technique had vanished.

"My love, this... The process of obtaining this Sword Technique must not have been smooth, which is why it broke."

Luo Qingxuan said, sounding slightly guilty.

The consequence of an incomplete Cultivation Technique is that it’s difficult to cultivate it to the Realm of Peak Great Perfection.

What was originally a Middle Grade Earth level Sword Dao Secret Manual could now, at best, only be classified as Low Grade Earth level.

"It’s fine. Even so, this is still an extremely precious and rare Cultivation Method Scripture."

Ling Changqing put it into his Storage Pouch. Since he pursued the paths of a Sword Cultivator, Magic Cultivator, and Body Cultivator simultaneously, he could naturally make use of it.

’As for the missing part, I can just find a way to slowly repair and complete it in the future.’

The couple continued their search. Soon, Ling Changqing discovered that the Scriptures here were quite eclectic, covering Geomancy, Yin Yang Technique and Divination, Netherworld Ghost Dao, Pill Talisman Array, Celestial Secret Calculation... it seemed to include everything and lack nothing.

After filtering out the most numerous Yellow level Techniques, then eliminating those with too many missing parts that were impossible to cultivate, and those unsuitable for his chosen path, there weren’t many Scriptures left.

Of course, "not many" was only relative. The absolute number was still in the thousands, and many were unique copies that had long been lost to the Human Race’s Cultivation Realm.

After all, this was the accumulation of the Deep Sea Dragon Race over tens of thousands of years. The depth of their foundation was something no ordinary major Human Race faction could compare to.

’...It’s a pity this isn’t the right occasion. Otherwise, if I had the Era Star Palace take action, couldn’t I record and replicate all the Scriptures in this hall?’

Ling Changqing mused to himself.

This was, after all, the Dragon Race’s sacred heritage ground, with several Dragon Race Elders secretly monitoring it. Thus, he didn’t dare make any unusual moves.

If by any chance those old monsters noticed anything, the consequences would be more than just serious. Even Bai Qingyi wouldn’t be able to protect him.

...

「In a hall shimmering with brilliant light and suffused with Spiritual Qi.」

A tall man with a long, flowing beard, a square and majestic face, and dressed in an emperor’s crown and robes, stood before the ten-foot-wide Nine Dragon Celestial Observation Mirror, silent in contemplation.

What this great treasure of the Dragon Race was currently displaying was the scene inside the Scripture Hall.

Watching his precious daughter and that Human Race Cultivator being so handsy and intimate, the Dragon Race Leader’s expression soured.

"That brat..."

The Dragon Race Leader snorted coldly, feeling the urge to drag Ling Changqing over and beat him to a pulp.

Beside him, Bai Qingyi, dressed in a bright red gown, noble and majestic, her beauty enchantingly radiant, was all smiles.

"Our daughter was able to find such a husband, what more could Your Majesty be dissatisfied with? Would you prefer he be snatched away by some other faction?"

The Dragon Race Leader sighed, muttering resentfully:

"I was just saying. That girl Qingxuan has always had good luck. I never thought she’d bring back a Human Race Cultivator who is also...

Those old geezers are quite fond of him. They even said that compared to him, all the other candidates we were observing can be written off."

Bai Qingyi was slightly taken aback. "Write all of them off? But I distinctly remember several of the core seeds performing quite well.

Even if they aren’t true Children of Destiny, once they mature, they can still become high-level combat power for our race, can’t they?"

The Dragon Race’s secret plan had been ongoing for many years. The prospects gathered from various channels were well-fed and well-cared for by the upper echelons, with massive resources invested in their training.

Now that they’d found someone better, did they have to abandon those who were merely performing adequately? Wouldn’t that mean all their previous investments had gone down the drain?

The Dragon Race Leader smiled. "My Queen, you misunderstand. We will certainly keep them, we just won’t be cultivating them as Children of Destiny anymore.

Since they’ve already come here, from now on they live as people of the Dragon Race and die as ghosts of the Dragon Race. We will never let outsiders have them!"

Bai Qingyi nodded lightly, then said with some worry:

"But Ling Changqing’s Cultivation is a bit weak right now. And even within our own ranks, there are quite a few who harbor ill intentions toward him!"

The Dragon Race Leader pondered. "Then we’ll arrange for a few more Elders to protect him in secret. That girl Qingxuan is no pushover either; she won’t let some bastards get their way!"

Bai Qingyi hmphed, her tone unfriendly:

"That may be so, but what’s the deal with that girl Luo Qingyu?"

Luo Qingyu and Luo Qingxuan’s accidental "encounter," and the subsequent major fight over Ling Changqing... To say there weren’t some interested parties fanning the flames from behind the scenes would be to take Bai Qingyi for a fool.

This was a providential opportunity for enlightenment that her precious daughter had found with great difficulty. Aside from herself, Bai Qingyi didn’t want anyone else getting their hands on it.

The Dragon Race Leader gave a helpless smile. "That was just an accident. Doesn’t that girl Qingyu still lack a suitable Dao Companion candidate? Since she herself is interested, why not just..."

"Absolutely not!"

Bai Qingyi refused flatly, her expression tinged with anger. "This is Qingxuan’s opportunity! Don’t even think about letting any of your other daughters get involved!"

From the Dragon Race Leader’s perspective, it was like choosing between the palm and the back of his hand—both were his own flesh and blood. He naturally wouldn’t have a strong reaction to Luo Qingyu’s actions. But Bai Qingyi was different.

’They aren’t daughters she gave birth to, so why should they get a share of the benefits?’

’Don’t even think about it!’

"Fine, fine. We’ll do it your way!"

The Dragon Race Leader conceded, a headache coming on.

He didn’t know how, but the mothers of those other girls were surprisingly well-informed. Luo Qingxuan had only just returned, and one after another they had come to him, acting cute and begging him to let their daughters have a piece of the pie.

What could the Dragon Race Leader say to that? They wanted a share, but Bai Qingyi and her daughter weren’t willing to give it.

As the leader, he was caught in the middle, finding it impossible to treat everyone equally.

’Just thinking about it is frustrating!’