Chapter 549 550: The Holy Land's Foundation, the Astonishing Dao Storage Hall

Lord You slowly shook his head. "While I can undo this for you, I think it would be better if you undid it yourself!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Lord You's figure vanished on the spot.

Chen Dong and Zisang Jin were both stunned. 'He just disappears without explaining himself? What does he mean by that!'

Chen Dong wasn't actually that interested in Cultivation Techniques. He had yet to fully comprehend the ones he already knew. It was said that it was better to master one technique than to have a shallow understanding of ten thousand. This was especially true for Divine Techniques, which were a league above mere arts. Every bit of strength gained, every rank ascended in a single Divine Technique was far more practical than dabbling in countless methods.

However, Chen Dong was very interested in the Alchemy Dao and Array Dao within.

'Lord You has left. I might as well go take a look at this Dao Storage Hall.'

Zisang Jin, on the other hand, was utterly helpless. With her divine soul frozen, trying to comprehend and memorize Cultivation Techniques would be incredibly difficult. And with her Nascent Soul frozen, attempting to cultivate and hone her arts and techniques was pure fantasy.

For Zisang Jin, this was like entering a mountain of gold but only being allowed to grab a single handful, unable to take anything else.

But as Chen Dong looked at the helpless Zisang Jin, a thought struck him. 'If we can't return to the domain of the Human Race, how am I supposed to accumulate the fluorescence for the Path of Red Dust?'

'Ah, forget it. I'll worry about it later. This is just the price for using the Dao Essence; it's not like my lifespan is truly being eroded by time. One can be recovered and compensated for, while the other is irreversible.'

The two of them passed through numerous palace halls and finally arrived at the Dao Storage Hall.

Chen Dong was momentarily stunned. 'So this is the foundation of a Holy Land?'

Hearing about it from Lord You hadn't made much of an impression. But the sight before him—a boundless sea of jade slips—was enough to shake one's soul.

Each jade slip was protected by an individual restrictive seal. They were organized in neat rows and columns, categorized by attribute and level. Offensive, defensive, speed-related, movement-based... the dazzling array of various Secret Techniques and Divine Techniques was mind-boggling.

Chen Dong casually picked one up and found that the seal had no effect on him; he could take it as he pleased.

Upon closer inspection of the seal, understanding dawned on Chen Dong. 'It must be a privilege granted by Lord You.' The seals here didn't just serve a protective function; they could also counterattack.

Chen Dong looked at the introduction on the jade slip he had just grabbed. It was a metal-attribute, Profound-rank Sword Technique—the Sharp Metal Art.

A randomly chosen one was already Profound-rank. Back in the Cyan Sky Sect, a Profound-rank technique was considered a treasure that could anchor an entire Sword Peak. To even get a chance to study it required not only a massive amount of contribution points but also a corresponding status.

A massive amount of contribution points alone equated to a hefty sum of Spirit Stones, and achieving the required status was no small feat. You had to join the corresponding Sword Peak and become a True Disciple, or even a Core Disciple.

And yet, a Sword Technique of this caliber was just something picked at random from this sea of jade slips. Here, he could look at it whenever he wanted.

He recalled how he had to spend quite a few Spirit Stones just to view the jade slips on Alchemy Dao and Array Dao, and even then, he could only see the low-rank ones.

Here, the jade slips for side paths went up to the eighth rank, which thrilled Chen Dong. Although he couldn't comprehend such advanced jade slips at his current level, it didn't diminish his excitement.

If these jade slips were taken out and sold for Spirit Stones, he could probably buy several Cyan Sky Sects.

The ancient Holy Lands were truly terrifying!

At this moment, however, Zisang Jin was on the verge of tears. She felt as if the venerable Lord You she so respected was bullying her.

With her divine soul frozen, she couldn't see the contents of the jade slips even when holding them. She could barely make out a few words and phrases, and even those were fragmented.

Lord You had mentioned "tomes," so Zisang Jin had assumed they would be transcribed books. But it turned out they were jade slips. If she had known, she would have insisted Lord You unseal her divine soul no matter what.

Zisang Jin walked over as if to vent her frustration and kicked Chen Dong.

"If I can't comprehend them, you're not allowed to either!"

Chen Dong's brow furrowed. "Peak Master Zisang, what kind of logic is that?"

Zisang Jin was so angry she was practically fuming. At first, she thought that upon entering the mountain of gold she could at least grab a handful. Now, not only was she forbidden from grabbing anything and forced to just watch, but she also had to see her companion carry away bag after bag of gold nuggets. How could she not be furious?

"I don't care! It's partly your fault that my divine soul is frozen. In short, if I can't look, you can't look either!"

Chen Dong could understand Zisang Jin's feelings, but then he recalled how Lord You had left in such a hurry, as if he had done it on purpose.

Just then, he happened to notice the Dao Essence between Zisang Jin's brows.

"Peak Master Zisang, Lord You probably meant for you to properly comprehend the Dao Essence! He even said you should be the one to break the ice seal yourself."

Zisang Jin frowned and said, "That's just your interpretation. If that were really the case, why wouldn't Lord You just say so directly?"

The more Chen Dong thought about it, the more he felt it had to be true.

He then said, "Don't be fooled by his appearance. He's actually not good with words. Plus, he probably doesn't know you that well, so he felt it would be awkward to say it!"

Zisang Jin's frown deepened. "What are you talking about? Lord You is not the kind of person you're describing!"

Then, feeling as if Chen Dong was quite familiar with Lord You, she asked, "You knew Lord You before this, didn't you?"

Chen Dong scowled. "I don't know him at all! Let me tell you, he was the one who taught me to grope women!"

Zisang Jin clapped a hand over her mouth in shock, her eyes wide with utter disbelief.

But what Chen Dong said wasn't a lie. Back then, Lord You had threatened his life to make him grope someone. Chen Dong had only added the specific gender.

Chen Dong normally never spoke ill of people behind their backs, but when it came to Lord You, he felt a strange sense of delight in doing so.

'Then again, this doesn't really count as talking behind his back,' Chen Dong thought. 'It's more like saying it to his face.' He was convinced that nothing within this Divine Palace could escape that guy's perception. Especially after looking at the map of the entire palace complex, Chen Dong felt there was something peculiar about the Array that constituted the Divine Palace.