"This manual? This [Moonlight Script of the Nine Dragons] is from my Lin Clan. I cultivated it personally when I was a Saint, just like you. But of course, I have modified and refined it throughout the years, and its prowess is much greater now. Strictly speaking, you should not be allowed to use this manual as it's, after all, one of Lin Clan's legacy. But since you're Fireblade's disciple and you have a good heart, I will permit you to use it but you would have to swear a lifeblood oath."
"Senior, I will swear a lifeblood oath immediately. But dare I ask, does anyone else cultivate this manual besides the descendants from the Lin Clan? I have encountered a manual that shares the same name as this manual, and I have cultivated it before." Shen Long curiously asked as he swore an oath to the heavens.
"I, Shen Long, solemnly swear to the Heavens that I will not transmit this technique to others. If I violate this oath, may the Heavens smite me eternally!"
It was Shen Long's first, swearing a lifeblood oath. A lifeblood oath is commonly used between cultivators. In the witness of the laws of the universe, breaking an oath would only result in death. Of course, many cultivators would find loopholes in their oaths to prevent any restrictions, but the power of an oath was absolute.
"You have cultivated it before!? That's impossible. Our clan treasures our manuals so much! There's no way you'd have seen this anywhere else. I can't even sense any aura of this manual from you, that's impossible you have cultivated it. Take a look first. Don't rush." The Guardian said as his eyes squinted a little.
"I'm confident I had seen this before. I still remember the instructions to establish your Qi clearly. First, you step into a narrow horse stan, then you bring your palms together and disperse after three breath's worth of time... Then the Huanqi acupoint would open up, allowing Qi to pass through..." Shen Long spoke as he recalled the Qi Manual.
"If you can establish your Qi this simply, then everyone can be a cultivator! Plus, the Hunaqi acupoint? I have cultivated for almost four thousand years now, and have studied thousands of Qi Manuals, yet I have never heard of that acupoint. You had me worried for nothing! Hahaha!" A laughter broke out as the Guardian's anxiety disappeared.
After listening to the Guardian, Shen Long was a little startled as Shen Long actually cultivated his Qi from those seemingly ridiculous instructions. However, he decided not to tell the Guardian how he started his cultivation.
"I… I guess I was probably just mistaken then. Sorry Senior, I was spouting nonsense just now. Should we go and collect the Spiritual Manual now? I don't want to waste Senior's time as I know you must be really busy." Shen Long quickly changed the topic to avoid the Guardian to question him further.
"No rush. Let me explain the manual to you first. This Qi manual [Moonlight Script of the Nine Dragons] collects the Yin and Yang energy from the universe, and I believe it would be extremely beneficial to you, even if you choose not to walk down the path of the Dao of Balance. As you said earlier, Yin is similar to water and yang is similar to fire. This will help with your comprehension of the Daos alongside improving your Qi." The Guardian said as he handed Shen Long the manual.
"You can cultivate this manual up to Celestial Immortal level, and this manual is split into mainly 9 stances. Each stance represents a different dragon, though it is grouped in three sections. Once you cultivate the full journal, your Qi Energy would be on par with ancient dragons. The first three levels are mainly for cultivators in Qi Condensation; the fourth to sixth levels are for Saints; the last three for Demigods. Even though you are a Saint, you should still start from the beginning as you have never cultivated it before." The Guardian explained it briefly as he warped through space to another corner in the library.
"For your spiritual manual, there are five manuals that I think it will suit you. They are very different in nature though, so it's completely up to you. The first one, [Illusory Steps], focuses on defence and movement. You would be able to move through time and space as long as you have sufficient spiritual energy. Your enemy will see thousands of copies of you, and your movement speed would greatly increase.
The second manual is [Undead Kingdom] where you can summon souls and skeletons, at the expense of your spiritual energy. This technique is extremely powerful as there are no limits to the number of souls you spawn. However, you can only collect the souls if you kill them, or else your army would consist of only skeletons, greatly reducing its prowess.
The third is [Heaven's Will]. This spiritual technique would allow you to temporarily paralyze them, or even control their will if your soul is stronger than theirs. Otherwise, it would have no effect. Another drawback is that you can only use it on one person, and its effectiveness reduces if you use it repeatedly. For you, since you have never cultivated soul energy before, practising this manual may not fit you; but if you believe that your soul is strong enough, it's definitely a good pick.
The fourth is an incomplete manual that Fireblade collected when he was out venturing. It is solely for defence, and it is called [Gathering Storm]. It forms a spiritual shield around you, and it will block out any attack, or reduce its strength for a period of time. However, the last two stances are missing. Fireblade and I had tried to modify it and make the last two stances ourselves, but it didn't work. It is still, however, extremely powerful but you can only use the shield for yourself.
The last technique is called [Starfall Strike]. It is the strongest one in terms of offensive abilities, as it can pierce through almost anything. However, it requires a weapon to execute. You have never used any weapons before, so you would have to learn to use a weapon in order to learn this technique. I guess it will actually be quite beneficial towards your training as you have to learn to use a weapon regardless, and this can help you in terms of that as well."
Shen Long's eyes were brimmed with light as he was extremely excited. He pondered deeply as he could only choose to cultivate one of these supreme techniques.
"Each one has its own specialities, but [Undead Army] does not match my personality at all. I am not going to go out and kill others, just to improve the power of my spiritual technique. [Illusionary steps] can perhaps improve my chance of surviving, but it really is not reliable at all. What if my spiritual energy runs out? Then wouldn't I be dead immediately!? That's a big no.
[Heaven's will] is probably not suitable for me as well. My soul... I doubt it's strong. I think it's better if I don't choose it... Two left. One is extremely defensive, the latter being the complete opposite. How good would it be if I can cultivate both?" Shen Long thought to himself.
After a while, he had decided.
"Senior. Can I cultivate both [Starfall Strike] and [Gathering Storm]?" Shen Long asked while leaving a smile on his face.
The Guardian's eyes widened as he almost spatted out blood.