Starting My Cultivation With Time Management

Chapter 173: Chapter 35 Not yet available in the current version, right?
The secret realm entrance of the Three Islands Treasure Ship.

Elder Shi Ding paced back and forth on the Meng Chong, a kindly smile appearing on his face each time a disciple emerged from the secret realm, yet a faint trace of worry still lingered between his brows.

Not Liuli…

Not Liuli either…

Why still not Liuli…

Finally, Linghu Chu appeared from the secret realm, causing Elder Shi Ding’s heart to leap into his throat.

Following him was… Luo Yan.

Elder Shi Ding took a deep breath, about to inquire, when Shi Liuli finally appeared.

With that, the worried look on his face disappeared, and all he heard was Shi Liuli shouting, “Daddy,” before she flung herself into his arms like a swallow returning to the forest.

“As long as you’re alright, that’s good, that’s good.” Elder Shi Ding hugged his daughter with a beaming smile, then turned to look at Linghu Chu, “Thank you for your hard work, Chu-er.”

“It’s my duty as the eldest disciple,” Linghu Chu said with a touch of guilt, because he had actually messed things up halfway through—and the fact that his junior brother and sister ultimately escaped had nothing to do with him.

The real decisive factor in this matter, Luo Yan, was simply nodding calmly at the side.

After some pleasantries, everyone set off for the return voyage.

Back at the Heavenly Craft Workshop, Shi Liuli and Luo Yan exchanged a few glances before going into detail about the events in Gui Xu with Elder Shi Ding.

Elder Shi Ding sat in a chair, his brow slightly furrowing upon hearing that both had fallen into the water, and when the discussion turned to the appearance of the Underwater Dragon Palace, he couldn’t help but tug at his beard.

At the mention of the one hundred thousand ancient manuscripts in the side hall, Elder Shi Ding immediately stood up in agitation and asked:

“Did you bring back all those ancient books?”

“We brought them back.” Luo Yan and Shi Liuli took out their storage bags, removed all the ancient books, and soon a small mountain piled up on the hall floor.

Elder Shi Ding: ……

He didn’t know what expression to show for a moment.

With the destruction of the Chan and Jie sects, it was clear how many lost techniques had vanished. Nowadays, no one can even reforge a Tenth Rank Immortal Sword, showing the sadness of the academic discontinuity.

Now that he had so many ancient books unexpectedly, Elder Shi Ding could hardly contain the joy in his heart, but thinking that his daughter and beloved disciple had exchanged their lives for this, he also felt some residual fear and dread.

Seeing his master’s facial expression, Luo Yan knew what he was thinking and quickly explained. They had met many ancient cultivators in Gui Xu, each of them talented, with pleasant conversation. They cooperated to decipher the Formation and worked hard to escape from Gui Xu, with very harmonious relations.

During that time, he had learned a lot about Formation knowledge, Shi Liuli had also learned cooking techniques, and they both had grown considerably.

Elder Shi Ding listened sternly and then asked:

“So how did you manage to escape?”

“I broke the Gui Xu Grand Formation and acquired this Magical Treasure,” Luo Yan said quickly as he presented the Heavenly Weaving God Shuttle.

Miss Shi had also seen this treasure, so keeping it a secret was definitely not going to work.

Moreover, on their way back, Luo Yan had thoroughly examined the “Heavenly Weaving God Shuttle of Creation and Transformation of the Universe” with his Divine Sense and found out that aside from being exceptionally fast and able to fly with people on board, it seemed to have no other functions.

If that was really the case, then such an impressive name would be wasted… Of course, the likelihood of that was slim; Luo Yan was more inclined to believe that there was some secret within the Divine Shuttle that he was currently unable to discover due to his low Rank and knowledge level.

Elder Shi Ding received the Divine Shuttle, looked at it for a few moments, and said curiously:

“This shuttle, it’s very peculiar, why does it seem like it has no spirit at all?”

“I don’t know either,” said Luo Yan honestly, “Perhaps the divine skills are all locked within, which is why I cannot detect them.”

“Hmm, it does look like an ancient strange object indeed,” Elder Shi Ding stared at the Immortal Seal Script on the shuttle, muttering to himself for a moment, then said, “Follow me.”

Luo Yan quickly kept pace with his master, and Miss Shi also followed with a calm demeanor, as if she didn’t consider herself an outsider at all.

The three of them left the Heavenly Craft Workshop and headed to the nearby Tianji Pavilion.

“I need the Dragon and Tiger Attraction Device for three hours,” Elder Shi Ding instructed the attendant, “Postpone all other requests for me.”

“Of course,” the attendant hurried to say, “Elder, please use it, I will explain to the other applicants.”

Luo Yan and Shi Liuli followed into the Tianji Pavilion, where they saw a huge device placed in the center, occupying over sixty square meters, with a shell made mainly of copper spheres, and countless iron rings winding around it.

This was the “Dragon and Tiger Attraction Device” of Penglai Yuqing View, able to observe extremely minute structures of spiritual power, the best identification equipment within the View.

Elder Shi Ding then pinched a Daoist formula as if entering some sort of password. The copper spheres began to rotate by themselves, the iron rings rapidly spun into position, then split apart to the sides, revealing a jade platform.

Having placed the Heavenly Weaving God Shuttle on the platform, Elder Shi Ding pinched another formula, causing the copper spheres to close up again.

Luo Yan watched from behind with eager curiosity, wondering if this device was akin to the scanning tunneling microscope of the Cultivation Realm?

What if he put Ah Jing and the Green Duckweed Sword inside for meticulous identification, one by one? What kind of results would that yield… But if they were both girls, wouldn’t such identification be like X-ray vision?

“I advise you not to ask for trouble,” the Kunlun Mirror suddenly said.

“I advise you not to court death,” the Green Duckweed Sword also threatened.

Luo Yan smiled without saying a word, watching as Elder Shi Ding approached the Dragon and Tiger Attraction Device and twiddled one of the protrusions for a moment before staring blankly at the runic script above it.

After some time, he turned back and said:

“This ancient magical treasure is sealed.”

“Sealed?” both Luo Yan and Miss Shi asked in unison.

“Correct, there are three layers of seal,” Elder Shi Ding nodded and said, “Before the seals are lifted, I fear it can’t exhibit even one percent of its true power.”

“Please elaborate, teacher,” Luo Yan respectfully said.

“The first seal requires Nine Nether Yin Soul Stones and Nine Phoenix Scorching Sun Stones to unravel,” Elder Shi Ding sighed as he spoke, “The second seal lies even deeper, which can only be known after unlocking the first.”

Shi Liuli went off to look at the runic script, while Luo Yan stood silent for a long while, showing a helpless bitter smile.

Nine Nether Yin Soul Stones are formed by the accumulation of Yin energy, usually found underground in Mass Burial Mounds or ancient battlefields.

These stones are not so scarce as to be considered unique treasures, but many cultivation techniques of the Nether Ghost Path require the help of Nine Nether Yin Soul Stones, thus almost leading them to extinction due to relentless searching over the last hundred years.

Nine Phoenix Scorching Sun Stones, in contrast, are formed from the accumulation of Yang energy, appearing only near the habitats of the Golden Crow species.

The problem is, the Golden Crow species, as part of the Demon Race, have been exiled to the Eastern Emperor Demon Realm since ancient times.

After hundreds of thousands of years, even if there were any Nine Phoenix Scorching Sun Stones left, they’re likely to have been already thoroughly scavenged by various cultivators.

Seeing Luo Yan’s dejection, Elder Shi Ding comforted him:

“Don’t be too fixated on this. Even if it can’t be unsealed, it’s still good as a mode of transportation.”

“That’s all I can hope for now,” Luo Yan sighed.