TL: Etude
Jiong’s eyes gleamed sharply as he stared at Ye Tian, speaking in a deep voice: “What do you mean by this?”
Ye Tian remained calm, showing no trace of panic. After all, this was just one of his incarnations, so he had no reason to fear anything.
With perfect composure, Ye Tian responded, “Jiong, the Crimson Dragon Pool is indeed a treasure land, but it contains a special kind of energy that can affect the souls of True Monarchs. It even has the power to reshape and control souls, turning any beings who enter into human puppets forever under its control.
Letting True Monarchs enter the Crimson Dragon Pool—could it be that you intend to control them?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about!” Jiong’s expression changed slightly, as if he knew nothing.
But Ye Tian abruptly continued, “Shall I reveal the secret of the Crimson Dragon Pool and see if others believe me?”
“Who exactly are you? How do you know the secrets of the Crimson Dragon Pool?” Jiong’s face finally twisted in shock as he asked.
According to his understanding, after the Domain Realm shattered and fell into this unfamiliar region, it was no longer connected to the chaotic area from before. Furthermore, based on the external information he had gathered, the local factions knew little about the Domain Realm.
Additionally, the Crimson Dragon Dao Field was a rather insignificant faction within the Domain Realm. Only forces of the Middle Three Heavens and Upper Three Heavens knew about the secret of the Crimson Dragon Pool.There were no sect ruins from forces of the Middle Three Heavens and Upper Three Heavens in this battlefield’s ruins, only some scattered branch remnants. It was unlikely that these ruins would contain any information about the Crimson Dragon Dao Field.
Even if such information existed, it wasn’t something an average person could access.
He was deeply curious about how Ye Tian had discovered the secret of the Crimson Dragon Pool.
Ye Tian introduced himself formally: “Allow me to introduce myself—the Provisional Peak Lord of Blackwind Mountain, Ye Tian.”
“What? Provisional Peak Lord of Blackwind Mountain?”
Jiong’s expression changed drastically, filled with disbelief.
Although a Provisional Peak Lord of Blackwind Mountain might not seem overwhelmingly powerful now, their potential was immense—greater than that of most of the existing peak lords. In the future, their achievements would at least match those of the strongest True Ancestors, capable of battling ordinary Dao Ancestors.
At the Domain Realm’s peak, Blackwind Mountain rarely produced Provisional Peak Lords. It could take eons to nurture even one, given how demanding Blackwind Mountain’s requirements were. Most geniuses would rather join Upper Three Heaven powers than Blackwind Mountain.
Still, Blackwind Mountain’s strength was undeniably formidable.
Although Jiong wasn’t a real living being but the spirit of the Crimson Dragon Dao Field, he knew a bit about Blackwind Mountain. The Crimson Dragon Dao Field, as well as the mid-tier Three Heavens power supporting it, were no match for Blackwind Mountain.
Blackwind Mountain was a bandit force, notorious across the Domain Realm, with a reputation so bad that it wasn’t even categorized among other powers. Some claimed that Blackwind Mountain rivaled sixth-tier powers of the Middle Three Heavens.
Others believed it was comparable to seventh-tier powers of the Upper Three Heavens.
As for Blackwind Mountain’s true strength, no one really knew.
Jiong had heard of one incident: a sixth-tier power, on the verge of ascending to a seventh-tier power, killed one of Blackwind Mountain’s Dao Ancestors along with several True Ancestors.
Shortly afterward, mysterious experts annihilated that sect’s headquarters.
That incident only made Blackwind Mountain more enigmatic and fearsome.
If the Domain Realm still existed, even someone like Jiong would have been cautious when dealing with a Provisional Peak Lord of Blackwind Mountain.
But now, Blackwind Mountain had long since been destroyed. Even though Ye Tian carried the title of a Provisional Peak Lord, he no longer had the great backing that came with it, so Jiong wasn’t particularly afraid.
That said, Ye Tian’s talent was immense, and his future achievements would undoubtedly be remarkable. If he could avoid offending him, Jiong certainly preferred to stay on Ye Tian’s good side.
“What a pity… If this Ye Tian didn’t know the secret of the Crimson Dragon Pool, I could have controlled him, and the Crimson Dragon Dao Field would have gained a limitless genius!” Jiong sighed secretly. “What do you want to do?”
He believed Ye Tian definitely intended to negotiate; otherwise, Ye Tian would have directly revealed the secret of the Crimson Dragon Pool without informing him.
“I want the inheritance of ten Dao techniques from the Dao Pavilion!” Ye Tian laid out his demand.
“Impossible!” Jiong immediately rejected him.
The inheritance of a Dao technique was far too valuable. Creating such an inheritance required not only rare materials but also a highly skilled Dao Ancestor who had perfected a technique. Moreover, the Crimson Dragon Dao Field didn’t have many Dao technique inheritances, and they couldn’t be replenished.
To forge a new Dao technique inheritance, one needed to cultivate that technique to the perfected realm. Only then could a Dao Ancestor create a proper inheritance.
But the Crimson Dragon Dao Field didn’t even have a Dao Ancestor, let alone someone who had perfected a technique.
Every use of an inheritance reduced their stock, making them irreplaceable. If Ye Tian took ten at once, it would nearly cripple the Dao Pavilion. Without inheritances, how would the Dao Field attract geniuses to join? How could they lure them into the Crimson Dragon Pool?
Moreover, Jiong was bound by the orders of Dao Ancestor Crimson Dragon, who had entrusted him with strict management of the Dao Field. Giving away ten inheritances would betray that trust entirely.
“The inheritance of a Dao technique is limited. It’s absolutely impossible to give you all ten!” Jiong firmly stated his stance.
“Then eight Dao techniques.” Ye Tian lowered his demand.
“Six. That’s the minimum!” Ye Tian gritted his teeth.
“Stop dreaming!” Jiong responded coldly.
The two haggled back and forth, until finally, Jiong agreed to pay the price of two Dao technique inheritances in exchange for Ye Tian’s silence.
Two was his absolute limit. If Ye Tian demanded more, Jiong would rather abandon the idea of controlling the True Monarchs altogether.
Ye Tian knew not to push his luck. If he pushed further, he might walk away with nothing.
As for those True Monarchs? They had nothing to do with him. While there were a few True Monarchs from the Void Sky Hall present, Ye Tian thought, At most, I’ll give them a slight warning. If they don’t listen, it won’t be my problem.
After they reached an agreement, Ye Tian made a solemn oath.
Jiong, though in a foul mood, reluctantly went to retrieve the two Dao technique inheritances.
Ye Tian had already reviewed the information on the ten Dao techniques available. Though none were particularly extraordinary, they were still Dao techniques, which made them valuable enough.
Soon, Jiong returned, holding two spheres of light—the Dao technique inheritance spheres.
“Here, take them.” Jiong tossed the spheres over.
Ye Tian caught them and scanned them with his spiritual sense. After confirming their authenticity, he smiled and left.
…
Outside the Dao Field.
Ye Tian looked at the two Dao technique inheritance spheres in his hands and couldn’t help but smile.
“Dao technique—Gold Sever, and Dao technique—Three-Turn Golden Body. These two techniques hold immense value. Although I can’t cultivate them yet, once I advance to the rank of True Ancestor, I’ll have a chance to master them. If I succeed, my strength will skyrocket!
And once I become the official peak lord of Blackwind Mountain, I’ll likely gain access to even more Dao technique inheritances.”
Just as Ye Tian was storing the inheritance spheres away and preparing to leave, something unexpected happened!