Ho Ho Ho! Merry Christmas to all! Sorry I didn't update before. I had planned to but shit got real and I had to go out with my parents. Plus, my parents have been using my laptop repeatedly and not letting me use it. I got pretty frustrated since I didn't wan them to now what I was doing on the laptop so I had to wait it out. Anyways, enough with the excuses and enjoy!

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Feng Yun involuntarily let out a gasp full of recognition. Xia Qing's expression scrunched hard trying to figure out what was it that was so familiar about the black aura being emitted by the shard. She had not seen Feng Yun's Creation Synthesis so naturally, she had no idea of what this was. Although she had felt it slightly when she had eaten the petal of the Eleven Colours Elemental Leaf, it was only for a moment. She glanced behind her and saw that Feng Yun's expression was vibrant upon seeing the shard. He quickly reverted back to his original expression but Xia Qing had seen through it.

"Feng Yun,  do you know what that shard is? I feel a strange familiarity with the shard which I can't explain." Xia Qing was puzzled by the rock and questioned Feng Yun. She knew he was hiding something. Feng Yun let out a sigh and said,

"Well, to be honest I'm not sure what it is myself. When we consumed the Eleven Colours Elemental Leaf, I clearly sensed the presence of four elements besides the primary seven. I haven't been able to grasp the elements myself. When I protected you from the Blood Demon Sect while you were unconscious, I accidentally triggered it but I haven't been able to get a hint of it since then." Feng Yun scratched his head and had a tight frown. Xia Qing was surprised. Another four elements? This was unheard of. No one had ever known about four to her elements besides the primary seven. Her gaze wandered onto the shard once more. 

"How could a shard containing an aura of one of the four elements be casually sold here? We need to buy this shard immediately. Perhaps, it could help us understand it better." Xia Qing's expression was firm and unyielding. Feng Yun nodded. They made their way towards the stand selling the rock. They made their expressions appear indifferent so that the old man standing there wouldn't suspect that the rock was worth more than what he imagined. 

The old man lifted his scarred head to look at the incoming strangers. His eyes were cold and I different as they swept both Feng Yun and Xia Qing. He gave off an extremely powerful aura as they approached. Feng Yun and Xia Qing were surprised at the amount of power that the old man displayed. Unexpectedly, this old man who looked like a beggar was actually so strong. Feng Yun gritted his teeth and moved forward. Xia Qing did the same. the old man's eyebrow raised slightly. He decided to stop torturing them and straightened his back with some difficulty. His long gray beard extended in full view. Feng Yun approached the old man and appeared as if he was surveying the things the old man was selling. This was an act however. He already knew what he wanted.

"Customer, what do you want from this old man's shop?" The old man said with a yawn. His eyes were sharp and he could guess at the act that Feng Yun was playing at.

"Hello, shopkeeper. What do you recommend that I buy?" Feng Yun replied with a smile. The old man looked at him deeply and sighed.

"Buy whatever suits you tastes, boy. I don't really care. This old man is tired and needs to rest." The aura that appeared terrifying to Feng Yun and Xia Qing previously seemed to diminish as if sighing alongside the old man's exhaustion. Feng Yun was perplexed as to the nature of this man. He was clearly a very powerful expert but he appeared to be very tired. Feng Yun decided to not think about it anymore as he shook his head. He stalled for about a minute and stared at the fragment which had occupied most of his attention. After a minute of staring, he picked up the shard of black aura carefully and slightly raised his voice.

"Senior, I would like to buy this rock." The old man shook slightly and opened his dreary eyes with hesitation. A bit of annoyance flashed past his eyes from being woken up from a blissful dream but that all disappeared when he saw the object that Feng Yun was holding up. His eyes widened slightly. He turned to Feng Yun and said,

"You...boy you wish to buy this object?"

"Indeed Senior, I wish to. It seemed to be a little interesting to me after carefully examining it. It may have more to it than meets the eye. Senior, how did you get a hold of this fragment?"

"That fragment...has vexed me for years. I coincidentally found it being guarded by an abnormally ferocious Tyrant Realm beast in the Blue Stone Mountains. Thinking that the treasure that the beast was protecting was a great and awe-inspiring object, I fought with the beast and after a while, I killed it."

Feng Yun and Xia Qing were flabbergasted upon hearing this detail. The Blue Stone Mountains, who hadn't heard of this infamous place. It was located near the borders of the Immortal Fiendlands and Sun Conglomerte. This was a mountain range where countless monstrous and demonic beasts congregated and resided in. Furthermore, most of them were at the Tyrant or Truth Realm. The mountain range was known to have many treasures for enhancing cultivation, but they were mostly guarded by these ferocious beasts. To be able to enter that mountain range, your strength had to be at the mid stages of the Truth or Tyrant Realm. 

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"Senior...Your...Your cultivation is at the mid stages of the Tyrant Realm or Truth Realm?" 

"Hmm, oh yeah, I'm at the Sixth stage of the Tyrant Realm. That's my cultivation. Now, back to my story. Strangely enough, upon grasping the object, I felt no power or aura coming from it at all. It was as if the rock was, perfectly normal." The old man scrunched up his face in thought. Feng Yun and Xia Qing were now beginning to recover from their earlier shock. They had known that the old man was strong but they hadn't thought him to be this strong. They payed attention to the man as he continued his story.

"I picked up the object and studied it for weeks, trying to see what exactly it signified and why a beast that powerful would be protecting it. Nevertheless, I failed even after trying for so long. It seems to have a certain requirement in order to be able to utilize the rock and I don't have that qualification. i know this because that rock, if you polish it carefully, will have some runes on it. It's accumulated dust after a long time of having it so I decided to just sell it. Hopefully, someone who know what it is can utilize it."

"Senior, I had no idea that it had such a background. If that is so, I truly wish to buy this object." Feng Yun said. The old man stared at him for a moment before saying,

"Hmm, you can however, you already knew of its identity before I told you of its background didn't you. You don't need to tell me but I have always wondered what this was and why I was unable to utilize it. Can you tell me?" The old man's senses were very astute and had sensed Feng Yun's intentions from the beginning. Feng Yun had expected this much so he laughed a little and said,

"Senior, you see, even I am not too familiar with this thing either. I only felt its aura and a sense of familiarity with it. I was drawn to it and I wished to study it carefully." Feng Yun didn't lie, but his words weren't the complete truth either. He didn't tell the old man about the existence of four other elements. The old man slightly narrowed his eyes but decided to not pursue the matter anymore.

"You...felt the aura? I never even felt the aura before and you clearly felt it? Hmm...kid you're quite special. Since you're able to ascertain what exactly it is, I'll sell it to you. Hmm, how about one-hundred purple gold coins?" Feng Yun and Xia Qing slightly raised their eyebrows. Although they had much more, one hundred purple gold coins was still a lot of money. However, none of them raised an objection because the object being sold was worth much more than the selling price. Feng Yun nodded and gave confirmation.

"Alright, senior. I shall pay the amount." Feng Yun waved his hands and a pouch of purple gold coins dropped from the air right into the old man's outstretched hands. The old man slightly smiled and said a few words.

"Haha, now that I look at you carefully, your level of cultivation is not small for your ages. You and that girl there will become prominent figures in the continent. Boy, what is your name?" The old man said.

"Senior, this one's name is Qiu Yun and my companion's name is Huo Qing." Feng Yun said respectfully. The old man laughed and said,

"Well, Qiu Yun and Huo Qing, since you allowed me to cure at least a little of my perplexity with this meeting, I am grateful. If you ever need to get yourself out of a tough situation, use the name, Qiang Lu to get yourself out of it. To meet such geniuses is an honor." Qiang Lu laughed. The duo seemed very happy that they got a supreme expert to help them, but Feng Yun still felt a little confused. Qiang Lu, where have I heard that name before? He decided to not think too much about it and thanked Qiang Lu. The two immediately left with the shard in tow. They were very excited and wanted to see what kind of phenomenon would occur once the fragment was awakened. 

They rushed to their residence, the Emerald Dragon, and found their room. Upon opening the door, the two sat on the floor in a meditative position. They were preparing to activate the shard. Feng Yun and Xia Qing sat across each other and placed the fragment in between them. It still gave off that black, indomitable aura that almost seemed suffocating. It didn't take them long to polish the rock to reveal intricate runes that appeared to be wavy lines. Feng Yun decided to try to activate it by pooling Yuan Energy into the runes. Xia Qing followed suit and sent her energy into the rock's intricate runes. Feng Yun's eyes were wild as he said with excitement,

"Let us see what secrets this fragment harbors!"