Don't farm, cultivate immortality!

However, although it awakened the bloodline of the Platinum Rat and learned the ability to burrow underground, its combat power was very weak. It was even afraid of a grass snake guarding the snake fruit, let alone being able to fight other monsters.

It doesn't have many means to steal the demon cores from human cultivators, which is also a very risky thing.

It was timid by nature and dared not contact any other humans except Zhuang Xing and Yun Ling. Last year, when the Taoist priests arrived at the village and there was even the slightest disturbance, it ran away without a trace.

For them, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

Therefore, it tried very hard to convey to Zhuang Xing how valuable the mural was.

It squeaked twice and suddenly opened its mouth in front of the painting.

From its tiny mouth, which was as small as a mustard seed, came out many things: millet, spiritual fruit, the demon core that Zhuang Xing had just given it, and some broken pieces of gold and jade.

These things piled up and were bigger than the white mouse's body. It had also learned a kind of storage ability, but Zhuang Xing didn't understand what it was doing. It would spit things out and swallow them back in, repeating this several times. Then it would bite Zhuang Xing's shoes and wouldn't let go, pulling him toward the painting.

Yunling looked at the white mouse for a while, then at the mural for a while.

"It seems to be saying... that it learned the art of storage from this mural."

"Is that right?" Yunling squatted down and scratched the white mouse's head.

"Squeak." The white mouse nodded quickly and affectionately rubbed against Yunling's fingers.

"So you mean, if we also activate this mural, we can learn the art of storage?" Zhuang Xing asked. "You want to use this technique to exchange for a demon core with us?"

"Squeak!" the white mouse replied.

"Such a wonderful thing really exists..." Zhuang Xing looked at the mural in front of him.

The method of storing things is a supernatural power. In this world, only a very few demonic beasts can possess such supernatural powers, such as the fire phoenix that can be reborn from fire. It is said that whenever the fire phoenix reaches the end of its lifespan, it will set off a great fire under the ironwood tree where it roosts, and transform itself into an egg in the fire, thus being reborn from the ashes.

Some people have witnessed the phoenix's death, and many have tried to find the phoenix's egg, but in the end they only found a pile of ashes. However, many years later, the phoenix that has hatched will indeed reappear in the place where it was burned.

Therefore, some people believe that in order to avoid being disturbed during their rebirth, the fire phoenixes hide their eggs in Mount Sumeru.

The art of storage is not something commonplace; it is a supernatural skill that cannot be taught to others. Just as no matter how much a person cultivates, they cannot transform into an egg again in a raging fire like a phoenix.

If this mural could truly grant Zhuang Xing and Yun Ling an extra supernatural power out of thin air, then its value would be far greater than the demon cores in Zhuang Xing's pocket. He would even be willing to lend out all the demon cores he had for the next year as a credit card.

"But if it's true, how do we activate this mural?" Zhuang Xing stroked his chin.

The white mouse stood up on its two legs and patted its chest with its short front paws.

"You can?"

"squeak."

"Then give it a try. If it really works, you can take all of these demon cores."

"squeak!"

The white mouse immediately climbed onto the stone wall, stepping on the gold and jade embedded in it.

It left trails of breath beneath its feet, and with each footprint it made, the various scenes on the mural came to life: a white dragon soaring into the sky, mermaids entering the water, and fairies fluttering about.

Zhuang Xing and Yun Ling suddenly felt their bodies floating, as if riding on clouds.

They felt a pulling sensation, and suddenly the surroundings lit up. There was no longer any stone cave or murals. A strong wind blew in their faces. Zhuang Xing squinted and was so shocked that he couldn't speak.

Good heavens, he has actually arrived in the heavens!

He looked at his hands and suddenly realized that he had grown up. He was now dressed in white, standing on a sword, flying through the air with the boundless blue sea beneath his feet.

Is this really him? He couldn't believe it...

It felt like a dream; he seemed to have entered someone's dream.

Wait, where did Yunling go?

He felt someone hugging his waist, and when he looked down, he saw Yunling, who was a head shorter than him.

Although Zhuang Xing has grown taller over the past year, he is still a little shorter than Yun Ling, since girls develop earlier than boys.

But at this moment, Zhuang Xing had become like an adult, while Yun Ling was still that little girl.

"Zhuang Xing?" Yunling looked up, her tone filled with doubt.

"It's me," Zhuang Xing said with a smile.

He laughed heartily, and the sword beneath his feet moved as he pleased.

Although he didn't know what was going on, he felt carefree and joyful as he flew high in the sky on his sword.

But Yunling was a little scared. She couldn't feel any change in herself. She was still wearing the same Taoist robe. She hugged Zhuang Xing tightly around the waist. If she didn't, she was afraid she would fall and be smashed to pieces.

This was the first time she had ever been to such a high place; it was many times higher than the mountain where Xuanqing Temple was located.

"Can't you fly on a sword?" Zhuang Xing asked.

Yunling shook her head: "I seem to...haven't changed at all..."

"Then hold on tight to me!" Zhuang Xing laughed.

He saw the dragon's tail in the clouds. The sword moved at his will and went as it pleased. He felt no fear, only comfort and pleasure.

With a slight twitch of his fingers, he flew towards the white dragon on his sword.

Chapter 98 Sword Control Technique

Above the boundless sea, Zhuang Xing flew on his sword, following the white dragon.

The painting on the stone wall came to life, and Zhuang Xing roamed within it, the sword beneath his feet carrying him and Yun Ling as they soared freely.

A white dragon soared through the clouds, its long body plunging straight down into the sea. Mermaids leaped up, creating white waves. Palaces and pavilions rose one after another in the sky. The sun and moon each occupied half of the sky, dividing the world in two, one half daytime and the other half nighttime. This was not a scene found on earth.

It was like a beautiful dream, a blend of reality and illusion, and Zhuang Xing's eyes were filled with its magnificent and rare beauty.

He had seen these scenes in his dreams. Every night, when he was reading the jade slip of the White Lotus Hermit, when he was alone in his room, reading that incredible jade slip, he seemed to see such scenes.

He had dreamed many times of flying on a sword, just like he was now.

Perhaps... this is what he's pursuing...

That's right, he had been dreaming of seeing the wonders of this world ever since Yan Huai'an picked him up.

The day he walked out of the house, perched on his father's shoulders...

As he looked at the paintings that Yan Huai'an had sent back, and sat quietly in front of them, spending the entire night in his room, this was the scene that filled his mind.

Why did he want to cultivate?

Because there are man-eating monsters in this world, there is no other way but to make oneself stronger.

Because becoming a strong person means gaining wealth and fame, and enjoying a life of luxury and honor.

Because of the fear of death, they want to find the way to immortality and transcend the boundary between life and death through cultivation.

Undeniably, Zhuang Xing had such thoughts in his mind, but what truly propelled him to take every step was his curiosity about the world and his thirst for knowledge.

Just like the words left behind by the senior who left Xuanqing Temple: He wanted to leave that small mountain village when he was very young.

When he was very young, he dreamed that one day he would see a dragon and a phoenix, ride a horse to the grasslands, sail a boat to the sea, and perhaps one day he could fly on a sword like he does now.

He looked up and gazed at the sky, which appeared to be divided in two by a boundary. He had traveled from daylight into night, and the shimmering Milky Way, like a veil, flowed before his eyes.

He was immersed in the beautiful scenery, but while he was admiring the view, Yunling only looked at him.

Yunling's eyes were completely occupied by the person in front of her.

She clung tightly to Zhuang Xing's waist, not daring to look down or up, afraid of falling off the sword and leaving Zhuang Xing's side.

She was content as long as she could be by Zhuang Xing's side.

Zhuang Xing then rode his sword, carrying Yun Ling to the ends of the earth.

Both of them realized their dreams. Suddenly, they heard the sound of bells, the long, resonant sound echoing like the lingering echoes of the Great Way.

That floating, unsteady feeling returned to them once again.

The ever-changing scenery, having lost its vitality, fell silent and transformed into a simple painting.

Zhuang Xing shivered and suddenly opened his eyes. In his dazed state, he saw a white mouse stepping on his forehead and nudging his face.

There was no white dragon, no ocean; he was just in that cave, facing that painted wall.

It turned out that the scene he had just witnessed was nothing but a dream; he was still the little child in Taoist robes, who had simply fallen asleep on the ground.

He looked into his arms. Yunling's eyelashes trembled slightly. She opened her eyes, climbed out of Zhuang Xing's arms, and rubbed her eyes.

The white mouse hopped around a couple of times, and when it looked at the stone wall again, the remaining true qi on it had completely disappeared, leaving only a beautiful stone painting.

Zhuang Xing felt something different about himself. It was hard to describe the feeling, like someone who had never learned to ride a bicycle before suddenly waking up and knowing how to ride one.

The feeling of riding a sword in his dream still lingered in his body. He found it incredible and hesitated for a moment before drawing his sword from its sheath.

He recalled that mysterious experience, and his true qi began to circulate naturally. It was a way of circulating that he could not understand with his current knowledge. As the true qi circulated, it flowed into the sword in his hand, and the sword emitted a buzzing sound.

Zhuang Xing released his grip, and the sword actually floated in the air.

He flicked his two fingers, and the sword moved as well. His eyes lit up, and he couldn't help but hover the sword in front of him and step onto it.

However, just as he was about to let the sword carry him through the air, he lost contact with it, and the sword fell to the ground with a crisp sound.

He had exhausted his true qi, and poured half of his true qi into the sword, which could only support the sword's flight for a few seconds.

That being said... he did indeed learn the art of sword control in an inexplicable way.

So, this is how the white rats learned their storage methods?

Zhuang Xing glanced at the white mouse, then looked at Yunling.

"Yunling, do you have any particular feeling?" Zhuang Xing asked. "Do you feel like you've suddenly learned something?"

Yunling shook her head and said, "It seems not."

"No?" Zhuang Xing stroked his chin.

He frowned, pondering the Taoist magic depicted in the mural.

The white rat learned the art of storage, while he learned the art of sword control.

Putting aside the white rat for now, this sword-wielding technique is probably the kind of Taoist art he most wants to learn.

"Yunling, do you still remember that dream?" Zhuang Xing turned and asked.

"I remember," Yunling nodded.