Chapter 17

Holding the yellowed, thread-bound ancient book, Ye Feng felt both excited and extremely curious. He didn't understand why the books on the Tianlong Planet looked so similar to the ancient books from the Huaguo region of Earth, and why the characters on the cover appeared to him as traditional Chinese characters from Huaguo. If the basic cultivation technique were to be restored to its original form, he wouldn't be able to understand it at all.

It wasn't until the spatial law provided a timely hint that Ye Feng realized why he found it so familiar. The spatial law had automatically transformed the text and appearance of the books from the Tianling Planet's cultivation world into a form that Ye Feng was most familiar with. If the basic cultivation technique were to be restored to its original state, he wouldn't be able to understand it at all.

Ye Feng was amazed. How powerful must the deceased Tianlong True Immortal have been for the space he created to be able to automatically absorb and assimilate the culture of Huaguo and even the entire Earth? Or perhaps, this True Immortal from another world had once visited Earth and Huaguo, which is why the spatial law presented the cultivation technique in the form of an ancient Huaguo book with traditional characters.

These thoughts flashed through Ye Feng's mind, but he didn't dwell on them. He didn't rush to open the jade box; instead, he first flipped to the first page of the basic cultivation technique.

The basic cultivation technique was very thin. Ye Feng didn't count the pages, but he estimated there were about ten pages.

As soon as he opened the first page, Ye Feng saw the first character, and his consciousness suddenly entered a wondrous state.

It was a very peculiar state. Ye Feng felt as if he were in an endless space, unable to see the end. Many images flashed through his mind, and each one left a deep impression. He seemed to instantly understand many things.

This basic cultivation technique was the most fundamental entry-level technique of the Nine Star Decree, including a light body technique called the Nebula Step and an internal qi technique called the Qi Control Technique.

According to the spatial law, both the Nebula Step and the Qi Control Technique were very powerful. On the Tianlong Planet, they would be considered top-tier cultivation techniques. However, Ye Feng's current cultivation level was too low, so he could only learn the entry-level version. As his cultivation level improved, he would be able to gradually learn the entire technique.

When the Nebula Step was cultivated to its peak, one could break through space and instantly travel a thousand miles. When the Qi Control Technique was cultivated to its peak, one could release internal qi, gather it into a line, and take an enemy's head from a thousand miles away as easily as picking something from a pocket.

Ye Feng was thoroughly amazed. These two techniques were just the entry-level basic techniques of the Nine Star Decree, and they were already so powerful. How much more powerful and terrifying would the highest-level techniques of the Nine Star Decree be?

The power of the immortals was truly beyond the imagination of ordinary people.

Thanks to Ye Feng being the sole owner of the space, with the help of the spatial law, he could instantly learn these two entry-level basic techniques.

Next, Ye Feng practiced a few times in the wondrous space. Now he was confident that if he encountered Liu Yong again, he could easily defeat him in a one-on-one fight using the Nebula Step and his mastery of the Qi Control Technique.

After thoroughly mastering these two entry-level basic techniques, Ye Feng's consciousness left the wondrous space and returned to the second floor of the Nine Star Tower.

Next, Ye Feng excitedly and nervously opened the jade box, eager to see what the human-grade heavenly material from the Tianlong cultivation planet looked like.

To his slight disappointment, the jade box contained only a small, unremarkable black bead.

Ye Feng picked up the black bead, but it didn't seem like a heavenly material at all.

He urgently sought an explanation from the spatial law through his consciousness.

The law quickly provided an answer: "Soul Refining Pearl, human-grade heavenly material. Not edible. Requires cultivation to the fourth stage, the Soul Refining stage, to use. After use, it can refine a hundred high-level souls at once, but it becomes useless after use. With your current cultivation level, you are not yet capable of using the Soul Refining Pearl."

Ye Feng's excitement turned to disappointment upon receiving this answer. He had finally obtained a heavenly material, but he couldn't use it. This meant that the other heavenly materials he had yet to obtain would also be unusable at his current cultivation level, serving only to satisfy his curiosity.

In short, it was all because his current cultivation level was too low. To truly make use of the heavenly materials, he needed to quickly improve his cultivation progress.

After feeling disappointed for a while, Ye Feng's mindset gradually calmed down. The fact was clear: no matter how anxious or disappointed he was, it wouldn't change anything.

The biggest gain so far was the two entry-level basic techniques. With these techniques, Ye Feng had a means of self-protection, not just relying on brute force and speed.

After that, Ye Feng went to the platform to practice normally for a while, returning to his physical body in the real world at dawn.

Another week passed, and Ye Feng had already been in the detention center for over a month. His cultivation progress had reached 38%, and his soul collection had progressed smoothly, accumulating to 400 points.

Ye Feng could foresee that in a few more days, he would definitely push his cultivation progress to 40%. In about a week, he would accumulate 500 soul points, allowing him to enter the space and quickly advance his cultivation progress to 90% of the initial stage of Qi Condensation.

This way, he could take out everything from the remaining compartments of the Spirit Gathering Cabinet, including the basic spell on the top shelf. At that time, he would truly learn the Soul Absorption Spell.

Just as Ye Feng was looking forward to and filled with hope, a police officer from the detention center came to the cell and called out his name.

The police officer told Ye Feng that his case was about to go to trial, with the first hearing scheduled for 9:30 AM the day after tomorrow. He also gave him a summons and a copy of the indictment.

During the two days of waiting, Ye Feng remained calm, continuing his cultivation and soul collection.

Early in the morning, Ye Feng was escorted out of the detention center by the police and handed over to two court marshals.

At the moment he was taken out of the detention center, Ye Feng felt a sense of relief, perhaps because he hadn't breathed the outside air for so long.

The court marshals escorting Ye Feng were a separate group of two, while another group was responsible for escorting other suspects who were also going to court that day.

Ye Feng was given a ride in a small prisoner transport vehicle, while the other suspects, who were many in number, had to share a large prisoner transport vehicle. According to Ye Feng, the court generally wouldn't summon a single person for a hearing; instead, they would handle cases in batches. The court marshals would bring all the people scheduled for the day to the court and call them to the stand one by one. Some might not even get to the stand, a phenomenon known as a "slip of the court."

However, Ye Feng's case was special, so there was no chance of a "slip of the court."

On the way to the Changjiang District Court, Ye Feng found the scenery along the way very fresh, as if he were seeing it for the first time, much like when he first came from his hometown in the mountains to the city of Mingzhu, a thousand kilometers away.

When he arrived at the court, Ye Feng saw a group of familiar faces from a distance, including his friend Zhu Zi, his coworkers, and his mother, who had already heard about his situation.

His mother's gray hair and hunched figure, reflected in the glass facade of the court building, looked so aged and weathered. Ye Feng's eyes welled up, but he held back his tears, reminding himself not to cry and not to let his mother see him in tears, which would only make her more worried.

The court marshals, of course, wouldn't allow Ye Feng to meet his coworkers and mother at this moment. After checking his handcuffs and leg irons, they took him into the court, went through a series of security checks, and then led him to the holding room.

The holding room was where suspects waited before the trial began.

In the holding room, Ye Feng finally saw his coworkers and his mother.