16. The Book Eating Cultivator

Dong Xian was lead into a room by Zhao Feng himself. He had to admit, the room was deserving of the name "Sect Master's Room" There was a neat and tidy king-sized bed smack into the middle of the room, with golden blankets on it. The floor was mostly devoid of dust and at the sides of the room, were shelves overflowing with manuals. Dong Xian really wanted to jump into the bed and sleep instead of cultivating. He had been kept awake for many hours by Zhao Xian and was feeling pretty lethargic.

Did Zhao Feng care about Dong Xian's panda eyes? Not at all. Instead, he dragged Dong Xian to a particular area among his bookshelves. He pulled out a manual with golden lettering. "This is the cultivation technique that I have tested out and perfected. I got to the Soul Stage in a mere 50 years! This is perfect for cultivating your Heavenly Qi!" Dong Xian looked at the manual before he touched it with his hand." [Ding! Appraisal starting...] [Ding! Worth 0 Currencies, will damage body of cultivator if practiced] "..." Dong Xian really wanted to beat Zhao Feng up. Was Zhao Feng trying to kill him or nurture him? He looked at Zhao Feng, shouting out,"What the hell is this piece of junk? Are you trying to cripple me or what?"

Zhao Feng replied, "I swear this is the number 1 cultivation technique at the Great Demon Clan. After stealing multiple manuals from demonic clans and killing demons, I managed to create this manual from scratch!" Dong Xian was enlightened. "Wait, I'm a Heavenly energy cultivator! Why the hell are you giving me demonic energy manuals?" "This is literally the Great Demon Clan! Now ask me, why would a demonic clan need an orthodox cultivation technique?"

Dong Xian thought for a while and determined that Zhao Feng was indeed right. Still, that left a question. "Then how are you the top dog among the other sects and clans?" Zhao Feng looked at Dong Xian like an idiot. "Isn't it obvious? By kicking the sect leader's butt! No Ascendant Stage expert would come down and confront us anyway!"

"Wait, so how did you even become a Formation Stage expert in the first place?" Dong Xian presented this question for Zhao Feng. "Through following my Mentor's manual!" Dong Xian was exasperated. "Just give me your Mentor's Manual and be done with all this bull!"

Zhao Feng looked at Dong Xian with a hurt expression. It was nice if it was a girl, but an old man putting on an act like this was just horrible and disgusting. Dong Xian wanted to sip some Unsee Juice to get rid of the lasting images in his mind.

Anyway, after pestering Zhao Feng for an hour, he finally relented and brought out an old dusty book. Dong Xian could feel the power emanating from the book by just looking at it alone. It was like feeling slimy tentacles caressing your skin. He instinctively wanted to appraise it to not be affected by this revolting feeling.

However, he stopped at the right moment. If Zhao Feng saw that he was absorbing books, there was a chance that he might discover the Soul Bell on him. Without the Soul Bell, he might as well be a cripple in the Great Demon Clan, waiting to be beaten up by his enemies.

He quickly figured out a solution to chase Zhao Feng out. "I need silence and isolation to begin cultivating this method!" Dong Xian implored Zhao Feng to get the hell out of his room. It was rude, but it was effective. Soon, Dong Xian touched the manual lying on the floor.

[Ding! Appraisal starting...] [Ding! System has determined this cultivation technique to be the copy of the copy of the copy of the book 19th revised, simplified version of the manual "Advent of the Shadow Age" written by Demon Lord Silenced Night, Shadow Monolith!] [Ding! Do you want to exchange Shadow Monolith for Currency? Yes/No ]

Dong Xian blinked his eyes multiple times while he scanned through the analysis. Was this not too much words? Normally, the system kept it short and simple by just noting down the name and the effects. But, this was simply too ridiculous, is it not? What more with how many times this 19th version has been copied, the book itself still has so much power, even if it is covered in cobwebs. How strong would the original manual be?

It seems like this book "Shadow Monolith" is not bad, but when compared to godly cultivation techniques, it is completely at the lower rungs. This was still too little for Dong Xian, who's aim was to become immortal and escape the dreary fate of being in the underworld.

Only a cultivation technique that would allow him to become absolute was worth it! Dong Xian decided to stop bullshitting in his mind and press the "Yes" button. The Soul Bell started vibrating intensely against Dong Xian's skin. Dong Xian's eyes were glowing with Heavenly Qi as he let out an ear piercing scream. "Arrrgggh!!! I did not even try and absorb that manual, so why is it hurting?" Dong Xian screeched out his grievances as he got assaulted by a head-splitting headache. At this moment, the Soul Bell successfully assimilated into Dong Xian's body.

Dong Xian's eyes were filled with Heavenly Qi. He furiously blinked to get rid of the unpleasant feeling in his eyes. Suddenly, he saw an ancient behemoth rumbling!