Mysterious Shadow

Seated cross-legged on a short green hill by the light of the moon, Yi Jiang peacefully observed the stunning garden in front of him. Down below, a pair of small wild ducks swam throughout a tiny spirit pond, chasing around some white carps. He sat by the trunk of a beautiful cherry blossom, which released delicate pink petals in the wind every now and then. That was the piece of land he had chosen as his cultivation ground after becoming an honorary disciple of the Celestial Royal Clan.

A few days ago, after completing the second test at the Yellow Spring Peaks, Elder Bao brought them back and formally accepted the 50 successful young men into the Celestial Palace domain, granting them a few rights, along with some time to recover.. As for the third test, it was yet to be issued.

Although Yi Jiang had prepared a whole fallacious narrative to cover up his sword's breakthrough, to his surprise, Elder Bao did not even mention it. As so, he finally settled down in that cultivation paradise and continued on with his cultivation. By now, Yi Jiang found himself in the very border between the Daoist Realm and the Master Daoist Realm. Yet, he was incapable of breaking through!

After tragically failing the Great Saint Tribulation and losing his life, Yi Jiang had developed an even bigger perfectionism with his cultivation! Also, Yi Jiang suddenly found his Dao Heart infiltrated by a mysterious shadow he suspected was an Inner Demon!

*Chat with the Inner Demon*

"Hey, hey you! You know I'm talking to you, right?"

"Yes, you filthy beast! But you are nothing! Now let me have my breakthrough in peace!" Yi Jiang mentally spoke, smashing the formless shadow with his unshakable will.

"AAAHHHHHHHH! Stop! Stop! You know that hurts, you brat! Are you sure!? Are you sure it is time to breakthrough!? What about that stuff about an "unshakable foundation"? I know, your cultivation is flawless, perfect without end!"

"Yet, do you remember that ancient tale that said the ones who broke through the Master Realm with a True Dragon's Reverse Scale is a true son of the Heavens? One Golden Light it shall blind in the time of need!"

"Yeah... I really heard of that one. But..."

"But what? Were you going to say your cultivation resource is the Heavens? No! Wrong! Wrong! Wrong! You already cultivated for thousands of years! Get out there and find that dragon scale! Do something! To live is not only to meditate, my... friend!"

"Yes, it is!"

"No!"

"Yes!"

...

That was it! Yi Jiang could not take it anymore! He just wanted to sit there on his own, cultivate in peace! Yet, that annoying mysterious shadow kept popping up out of nowhere, filling his mind with its nonsense in crucial points of his cultivation!

"Hey! Hey kid! What do you think? That Elder Bao is quite a beauty, no? I don't know you, but I have quite a taste for mature women! What about it, hah? She seemed to have a good impression of you..."

"Silence! My Dao has nothing to do with the things of the world, you perverse creature!"

"Yo, yo, yo! More respect with my wise self, please! Come on, why do you have to be so boooooring!?"

Finally, Yi Jiang stressed out and began to ponder on the shadow's proposal. Back in his previous life, he had once heard that by refining high-level materials into one's body at each realm breakthrough, there was a possibility they helped the daoist out in future tribulations. Take the True Dragon's Reverse Scale as an example! In some antique texts, Yi Jiang once read about an ancient daoist who had once refined one of those in his first realm breakthrough by luck! Then, when that powerful daoist was at his last Golden Heavenly Lightning, without the strength to continue on, the Reverse Scale suddenly awakened from his body and deflected the golden strike from the Heavens!

Although, in theory, it was plausible, in real life, doing such a thing was virtually impossible! Like, which low-level daoist would have the ability to take a True Dragon's Reverse Scale!? Such an idea was like delivering yourself to death!

Still, there was no other way around it! Yi Jiang could not permit that annoying shadow to continue on perturbing his precious cultivation! That was it! It was time for him to go out and fetch that damned lizard scale! It was not like he necessarily needed to slay a True Dragon, right? There were other ways of getting what one desired! But how?

...

A white-veiled figure was calmly observing its surroundings. Lustrous light-purple pillars held up an eye-catching ceiling. Stunning twinkle stars filled up its dark-blue background, together with multiple bright moons and dazing magical figures carved out of purple gold, which lively flew around from border to border. It was like a living painting, filled up by the most beautiful colors the Heavens could conceive.

Yet, the while-veiled figure looked at all that with dim eyes, letting out a long sigh every now and then. It had all that space, beauty, and luxury, and still, it was all alone in the breeze of the night. After a known amount of time, two delicate hands left the exuberant silk embroidered vest and gave a faint clap.

Seconds later, two mountain-sized golden gates opened up at the end of the grand hall in perfect symmetry. Another figure then entered the room with low steps that echoed throughout the purple columns. In the faint light, it revealed itself to be a beautiful mid-aged woman vested in a white dress. She had long black hair and a penetrating gaze. It was Bao Xiao! The woman who identified herself as Elder Bao while receiving the young men some days ago.

Her perfect body slowly walked to the end of the great hall, arriving before an immense golden throne, which was built a level higher from the white-jade floor. In a respectful manner, Bao Xiao gave a full bow at the golden throne.

"This lowly servant pays her respect to Your Highness!"

"You shall stand up!" a delicate female voice sounded from the throne.

"So, what is Your Highness wish in calling this lowly subject here this night?" Bao Xiao questioned in a reverent tone.

"Come on, relax, Bao Xiao! We know each other for what? Eight hundred years? Talk normally!"

"Yes, yes!" Bao Xiao nodded continuously.

"Alright! I summoned you here today to know how the selection is going! You know, are there any promising, eye-catching candidates?" the delicate voice inquired.

"Well, we already applied the two tests Your Highness had ordered, and there are now 50 new male honorary disciples in the palace's domain! As for any eye-catching candidates, let me see..." displaying a pensive expression for some seconds, a slight blush suddenly appeared on her face. She tried her best to disguise it, but it was of no use.

"WOW! Bao Xiao! A man that can make you blush! Hehehehe! Hum, how manly could he be? To shake the legendary Ice Mind Heart! So, say it, say it! Is he handsome? Funny? I don't know... rich?" the delicate voice said in a teasy tone.

"No! I mean... Sorry, Your Highness, for my lack of control! Well... there indeed was a quite interesting young man among the selected!"

"Ow! That sounds interesting! Yet, what about him caught so much of your "attention"? Hehehehe!"

"Well, at first, he appeared to be just a pretty face trash young master..."

"And..."

"Well, it turned out he was the only one who didn't look at me with lustful eyes! Like I was a piece of meat! Also, he was kind of handsome, fast witted, smart, and mysterious..."

"That it! That's how I like it! Say, say it now! What is this young man's name!"

"His name was Yi Jiang, Your Highness!"

"Good name! Very well! But let's not hasten things too much! You know, this is a vital matter of my life... I mean, of the Celestial Royal Clan's future! Not too slow, yet not to fast! There's still some time!"

"Certainly, Your Highness!"

"Alright! Now, how about we proceed to the next test, shall we?"

"Your order is my command! Then, what shall be their next test, Your Highness!?"

"We already tested there background and their will... Yes! We need to check out their ability to take orders properly! I don't need useless a man who doesn't obey me... I mean, don't obey the clan's orders!"

"Certainly, my lord!"

"So, the next test will be like this: tell them they are clear to roam throughout the realm for the time being, as if they were free from incoming tests! Yet, tell them they can't intimately relate themselves with any woman at all costs! And then..."

Just like that, the two bossy female figures took a long time discussing the details of the next test they would have the young men pass through.

"What an ingenious plan, my Excellence! If they dare to fail, they are doomed! Hehehehehe!"

"Hehehehehe! Yeah, yeah! It's a great plan, isn't it!? It's because I'm a genius, you know! And now, let's see how this special man of yours, Yi... Yi... what's his name again?"

"Yi Jiang!"

"Yi Jiang! Yes, let's see if his heart is truly as noble as you say!"

...

Meanwhile, Yi Jiang sat in deep thoughts below the cherry tree when he unexpectedly sneezed out loud, causing multiple pink petals to fall onto his long hairs. The old used to say a person would sneeze if someone spoke of his name behind its back, yet Yi Jiang never was a superstitious man and utterly ignored the unusual occurrence.

Still, after a long time pondering about the True Dragon Reverse Scale matter, he finally came up with a solution for the issue! Browsing through his old memories, Yi Jiang remembered about a place he could obtain it: the Inner Desire Trading Trial!

It was a magical place rumored to have existed since ancient times. Legends said that once, tens of thousands of years ago, a Fate Goddess descended from the True Immortal Realm out of boredom. Then, for entertainment, she used a portion of her magical powers to build up a trial so that she could watch the lower daoists play along with their lives at risk for the sake of anything their heart desired!

Basically, it was a great pagoda of many levels, each one with a different challenge! Upon entering, the daoists would have to go all the way up, passing through the deadliest traps and hardships, only to receive a random item in the end. And that was the catch! The article received was one craved by another finalist! As so, they had to try and trade the random item for the one they truly desired! And the funny part was that the trade rarely ended well.

Although Yi Jiang knew about the risks involved in that tricky trial, it was much better than trying to hunt down a True Dragon with his current cultivation! Still, he was just too tense at the moment, and needed to relax, calm down! But what could he do besides cultivate in meditation?

After pondering for a while, Yi Jiang had a sudden enlightenment! That is right! It was time to practice an old, familiar Dao of his: Painting! Now that he was in the Celestial Royal Clan, there would be no lack of "beautiful things of the world" for him to paint!

With his heart filled with joy, Yi Jiang prepared himself to immerse himself in the Dao of Painting once more! Summoning his sword, he silently flew throughout the nocturne sky, looking for a suitable subject for him to cultivate the Dao!