37 Blessing or Curse?

It wasn't long until Li Qingyu arrived at the scene. Shen Long's unusual glowing body had caught her attention, and she immediately teleported Shen Long to the Apothecary Department. Even though Shen Long was unconscious, his life was not at risk. The main priority for her was to move the formation away before Daoist Fireblade noticed. This was because Shen Long hadn't told Master to cancel their training session yet.

With her prowess as a Celestial Immortal, she could easily hide her and Chen Mei's aura. However, moving a formation like this would definitely cause gigantic space ripples. Even though Daoist Fireblade used a small fraction of his spiritual energy to monitor the training ground, these ripples would definitely be noticed. The best Qingyu could do currently was to hide the formation and seal off the energy leakage. Since she mastered in the Dao of Constructions, doing such tasks were still fairly easy.

After sorting out the formation, she returned to the Apothecary Department along with Chen Mei. Shen Long was lying flat on the silvery-white bed, eyes closed while his body continued to radiate intense heat. His breathing and pulse were normal, so Qingyu didn't pay any heed to him. Chen Mei, on the other hand, was feeling uneasy as Shen Long offered to help her. Plus, judging from the scene, it really seemed like that Shen Long was hurt badly.

The essence of the universe was mysterious. Cultivators could never control it as it acted as it willed. In its own respective universe, the power of the universal essence was absolute, even when compared to the Daos. Typically, cultivators would crave for an opportunity to more essence as it would greatly aid in their cultivation, but it was extremely rare.

But Shen Long was different from everyone else. He had already received the recognition of the universal essence when he was back on Earth. He was favoured by the universe, and he was fated to become a powerful experience. This was another reason why Daoist Fireblade sacrificed his precious treasures, just to receive Shen Long from Earth.

Qingyu was, of course, unaware of the baptism that Shen Long received. She envied Shen Long's fortune slightly as she was crystal clear on the prowess of the universal essence. Not only it could strengthen one's Qi, but it would have a well-rounded effect on the cultivator. Last time Shen Long received it, his soul had a qualitative change as his talents and affinities improved drastically.

Meanwhile, Shen Long's consciousness escaped from his body again. The entire universe was within Shen Long's sight as it was boundariless. Shen Long could not help but gasp at this stunning sight. Examining closely, he could see some complexed patterns on the plane. One of them, in particular, attracted his attention as he propelled himself towards it.

It was a three-dimensional sword as it revolved around its own axis. The monumental sword was an emblem of the Sword Dao as a large amount of energy surged into Shen Long. It was, however, a painless process as Shen Long was merely moving around with his consciousness. It generated temporal ripples that could overcome all matter, and its aura was unique yet extremely profound.

Even though Shen Long couldn't understand anything from the patterns that glowed on the surface of the sword, he still immersed himself in observing the sword. The translucent colours interweaved with each other flawlessly, while it was constructed by millions and millions of smaller swords.

Each sword was different in appearance, as they all, fundamentally, were very different. Nonetheless, they still emanated power of great intensity. However, just as Shen Long was about to walk even closer, he thought of something about his own path as a cultivator.

Despite his affection towards the sword, he never thought of becoming a sword cultivator. He wished to walk down the Path of Balance as a cultivator; the sword was merely his weapon, for him to execute his attacks. In other words, the Sword Dao was a supporting Dao for Shen Long. Shen Long was clear on his own ambitions, and he was clear that he didn't want to become a Sword Cultivator.

Shen Long decided to visit other corners of the plane as he knew how beneficial it would be, for his cultivation. Despite Shen Long wasn't aware that these gigantic "sculptures" were the physical manifestations of the Dao, he discovered how beneficial these were as they all provided him with new, different insights.

For example, the gigantic sword revealed to him the immense defensive power of the sword, by simply linking the sword strikes flawlessly like a curtain of water. Through the sword intent, given off by the swords, he could feel his comprehension towards the sword increasing. He desperately wanted to find the sculpture that resembled "Balance" to help with his cultivation.

Wandering around, he finally found the sculpture of Balance. It was a gigantic cross which looked identical to the Holy Cross. There was a perfect symmetry in the middle as every element was in a state of equilibrium. It was a spectacular sight as you could see the spikes of heaven-defying rays of light merging with the chaotic darkness. Despite they're opposing elements, in the Cross, they were compatible with each other, highlighting the difference, forming such a stunning scenery.

This was the real balance. In the state of balance, everything could co-exist and it could form any matter. Naturally, Shen Long wished to be even closer to the sculpture. However, his consciousness suddenly faded and returned to his original body. As he opened his eyes, he had already returned to the reality.

Shen Long cursed inwardly as he missed the opportunity to learn more about the Dao of Balance. As a Heavenly Dao, it was extremely difficult for one to progress. Studying the sculpture would greatly help his comprehension of the Dao, but he had unfortunately missed his chance. However, he, at least, benefitted a lot from studying the gigantic sword as his comprehension towards the Dao had increased.

Upon waking up, Shen Long immediately started thinking about the first stance of [Melodies of the Nine Sole Swords]. He, however, still wasn't sure how to merge the two opposing forces together. Just as he was about to head out, he realised this place was not his residential inn. Even worse, his clothes, just like last time, were completely ripped apart, including his underwear. He was completely naked, and staring at this brought back some fantastic memories which left him trembling.

(Do you guys remember the interview scene? History repeats itself...)

Wasn't sure what to do, he wrapped the blanket around his body. His movement was hindered due to the thick blanket. He jumped up and down as he struggled to go to the exit. Using his head to peek, he saw a sh*t ton of people outside. Seeing those disciples with the apothecary emblem, he figured out he was in the Apothecary Department.

Shen Long definitely would not walk out of his room in this blanket. He sat back down on the bed as he heard some noises, coming from the bathroom. That, of course, was Chen Mei as she was instructed by Li Qingyu to wait beside Shen Long. Even at important moments like this, Qingyu didn't forget to "help" Shen Long out.

"Junior Brother Long, you can thank me later!" Qingyu said as she chuckled.