The Cloud Margin Pavilion King Realm cultivators and the Demon King gold serpentine crocodiles had engaged in a massive battle that ended with no clear victor. In fact, both parties had suffered great losses.
The main reason for that was because the gold serpentine crocodile clan leader wasn't a regular ninth-stage Demon King. Instead, he had reached the very peak of the ninth stage. Thus, he was able to defeat the Black Eagle King and even nearly killed him. If Long Xiaolang and others hadn't gotten involved, the Black Eagle King would have been killed.
Still, the Black Eagle King was worthy of his renown, as during the battle, he managed to break through into the ninth-stage Skysoar Realm. That breakthrough was also one of the reasons he survived.
Although the gold serpentine crocodile clan leader was powerful, there were more King Realm humans than Demon Kings. Thus, the gold serpentine crocodiles were unable to obtain any advantage in the battle. Ultimately, the gold serpentine crocodiles retreated back into the Golden River Valley while the humans were forced to leave and ask for more reinforcements from the Cloud Margin Pavilion.
Not long after, Black Eagle King's personal disciple, Zhang Xiaoyu, could be seen rushing back to the Cloud Margin Pavilion with the Black Eagle King's orders. Zhang Xiaoyu traveled on an extremely fast eagle. From the speed, it was clear the eagle was far more powerful than regular blackwind eagles. A few days later, he returned with more Cloud Margin Pavilion experts.
This time, only three experts had arrived. But these were definitely among the strongest in the Cloud Margin Pavilion. The newly arrived experts appeared old yet imposing. With each step they took, they moved a large distance, almost like they were teleporting instead of walking.
"Greetings, pre-elders," greeted the Black Eagle King, He Luo, and the others deferentially.
The so-called pre-elders were in fact ex-elders of the Cloud Margin Pavilion that had retired a long time ago. It was a pity that none of them had been able to enter the Emperor Realm. Thus, they were unable to extend their life span, causing their outer appearance to gradually turn old.
With the appearance of the Golden River Valley's secret, they were sent here to both deal with the gold serpentine crocodile clan leader and seek for a fortuitous encounter that could help them break through into the next realm.
The leader of the three was Xiao Xin. He said, "At ease. Let's enter directly."
Xiao Xin was the strongest of the three newcomers. He also specialized in the power of gold. Thus, the secret of Golden River Valley was very attractive to him. But when they returned to the Golden River Valley, they found that a layer of vicious gold aura had formed around the valley.
"These gold serpentine crocodiles are quite smart to release the vicious gold aura. But that won't be able to stop us." Xiao Xin sneered and dove straight into the valley. The others followed closely behind him. But the moment they actually approached the vicious gold aura, they all turned back in horror.
"W-what kind of vicious gold aura is that? It's so terrifying. Not even our kingly aura can resist it," Xiao Xin said as he wiped some sweat off his head.
"What should we do now? Are we supposed to give up?" Black Eagle King asked in indignation.
"Of course not. Put this place on lockdown. Without the protection of a formation, the vicious gold aura will dissipate before long. We will naturally be able to enter then," said Xiao Xin.
In a sense, he was right. The released energy would disperse naturally without a formation keeping it there. Thus, the Cloud Margin Pavilion members scattered and put the valley on lockdown as they waited for the vicious gold aura to dissipate.
At this time, the Young Lightning King approached Zhang Xiaoyu and said with a smile, "Junior Brother Zhang, a minute of your time."
Zhang Xiaoyu also smiled. "How can I help you, Senior Brother Zi?"
They were both proud geniuses and rarely spoke to each other. In fact, there was even a slight enmity between the two. But that did not mean they were mortal enemies who had to fight the moment they saw each other.
"You're a straightforward person. This is what I like about you," Zi Poli praised. He then went straight to the point, "I heard you have obtained an amethyst core? I wonder if you can trade it to me? Just let me know what you want for it."
The amethyst core was a pure concentration of crystalized lightning energy and would be extremely helpful for those cultivating lightning energy.
"I have no reason to reject you, Senior Brother Zi. But this amethyst core is something I have obtained after a lot of effort. If you really want it, sure..." Zhang Xiaoyu baited Zi Poli.
"What do you want for it?" Zi Poli asked.
"After the vice pavilion master is done with his breakthrough into the Emperor Realm, I need you to borrow his Myriad Poison Sutra for me," Zhang Xiaoyu said. The very thought of the sutra filled him with excitement.
"Myriad Poison Sutra?" Zi Poli was alarmed.
The Myriad Poison Sutra was one of the precious sutras of the Cloud Margin Pavilion. It was extremely attractive to poison cultivators, was an emperor-grade battle technique, and was one of the Cloud Margin Pavilion's trump cards. Generally, only Emperor Realm experts were qualified to study the sutra.
"Yes. You should be aware that apart from cultivating, my only other hobby is to study poisons. I have been longing for the Myriad Poison Sutra for a very long time. Unfortunately, not even my master is qualified to withdraw it. On top of that, he does not approve of my interest in poisons anyway," Zhang Xiaoyu said longingly.
"I really can't guarantee I can get that sutra for you either." Zi Poli shook his head.
"Only talk to me when you are sure you can get it, then," said Zhang Xiaoyu.
...
In the blink of an eye, one month passed. Underneath the Golden River Valley, Xiang Shaoyun was no longer lifting that large boulder. Instead, he was currently cultivating his inner shaped energy. After spending half a month training his physical strength, he was able to consolidate and stabilize his physical strength, allowing him to better control his new strength.
There were two types of shaped energy, respectively outer shaped energy and inner shaped energy. Outer shaped energy would form around a person's skin while inner shaped energy would fill every inch within a person's body.
Currently, Xiang Shaoyun was circulating his Heaven Conquering Overlord Manual and pulling strains of pure energy from his stars toward his meridians, organs, bones, and so on. By the time energy filled his entire body, he started trying to transform the energy into shaped energy.
His 365 acupoints started blinking, forming a connection with his stars that caused the strains of pure energy to become more and more solid. After a while, a thin layer of shaped energy finally formed within his body, protecting all his organs.
This was the so-called inner energy phase. Generally speaking, to form the inner shaped energy, one had to first reach the fourth or fifth stage of Transformation Realm. But Xiang Shaoyun was a genius in cultivation. Thus, he accomplished the feat as a second-stage Transformation Realm cultivator.
The shaped energy helped improve his defense, reducing the amount of damage his body would sustain when attacked. Generally, only those with a higher cultivation level would be able to harm a person with shaped energy.
Done with his cultivation, Xiang Shaoyun stretched and smiled. "With my current combat power, I won't lose to any mid-stage Transformation Realm cultivators. In fact, I even stand a chance against late-stage Transformation Realm cultivators. Finally, I am no longer as helpless as I was before."
It was at this moment that there was finally a reaction from Little White.
"Roar!"
A furious roar rang out, echoing in the space repeatedly. The golden cocoon around Little White withered.