Cultivation begins with the Druid panel

Reaching the deepest part of the lake, Lu Lin looked around curiously from the bubbles. The surroundings were not dark at all; on the contrary, a pale blue light was emanating from the depths of the lake, the color of spirit stones and crystals.

The words "Dragon Palace" suddenly appeared in Lu Lin's mind. If it weren't for Senior Water Dragon personally bringing him here today, who would have thought that there was another world at the bottom of the cliff lake?

"A hundred years ago, a human came to this place, talked to me, and then left," the water dragon said in a deep voice, finally stopping.

The scene before him utterly shocked Lu Lin.

It truly was a dragon palace. The palace was vast and empty, with dragon pillars that seemed to reach the sky. Standing before this dragon palace, Lu Lin felt a sense of insignificance compared to the vastness of the world.

At this moment, the water dragon transformed into human form and landed in the Dragon Palace. Lu Lin glanced at the water dragon senior and thought that the senior must be taking care of his size.

"Follow me." The water dragon changed from swimming to walking on its feet in the Dragon Palace, and Lu Lin followed closely behind. After a moment, the senior water dragon led Lu Lin into a crystal room. The surface of the crystal room was engraved with special runes, as if it possessed strange power.

Upon entering the house, Lu Lin was surprised to find that there was no water inside, just like a house on land. The water bubbles that had been enveloping him burst at that moment.

Lu Lin took a breath and immediately felt refreshed. He exclaimed in amazement, "The concentration of spiritual energy here is so high!"

With just one breath, Lu Lin felt his cultivation level loosen up a bit.

Senior Water Dragon said, "The Dragon Palace is built on a spiritual vein, and this place is directly above the spiritual vein, so you naturally didn't feel anything when you were in the water bubble."

Otherwise, why do you think the Cliff Academy chose this location for its branch campus?

That makes a lot of sense, and Lu Lin didn't know how to refute it for a moment.

"May I ask, senior, if I may cultivate here?" Lu Lin asked excitedly, his eyes darting around.

Cultivating here would be twice as effective with half the effort, and it would also be a great opportunity.

Shui Long glanced at Lu Lin: "Of course you can, but with your cultivation level, it will be very difficult for you to sneak in here. You don't even know the most basic water-avoidance technique."

Lu Lin was able to get here only because of the protection of Senior Water Dragon's bubbles. Otherwise, if he had relied on himself, the water pressure would have crushed his Qi Sea before he even descended here.

However, Lu Lin remained confident and laughed, "Senior, have you forgotten that I can transform?"

Even a powerful senior like Shui Long was taken aback upon hearing this, then laughed heartily: "You're quite clever, kid. But unfortunately, your inability to use the transformation technique wasn't due to my restriction, but rather because there's a restriction inherent in the lake's depths. Otherwise, any guy who knows transformation would be coming to this lake to grab a share, and the Cliff Academy branch would be useless!"

"Although the Cliff Academy allows outsiders to freely enter and borrow cultivation techniques and secret arts, it absolutely forbids anyone from undermining the foundation of the Cliff Academy. Don't be so clever, kid. As far as I know, in the past hundred years, only one person has managed to leave unscathed after offending the Cliff Academy. Rumor has it that that person was at least a second-level Foundation Establishment cultivator."

Lu Lin sensed a hint of gossip in these words and immediately asked curiously, "So what did the Foundation Establishment stage cultivator do?"

Senior Water Dragon chuckled and asked, "Do you know the founding treasure of Cliff Academy?"

Lu Lin really didn't know that.

Firstly, it wasn't written in the book he was reading, and secondly, his senior classmates didn't tell him.

Shui Long was astonished to see Lu Lin shake his head, seemingly surprised that there was someone in the world who didn't know the Cliff Academy's greatest asset.

"It's spirit wood," Senior Water Dragon said. "You don't even know what this is? How did your elders teach you?"

Lu Lin paused for a moment upon hearing the words "spiritual wood," his expression immediately turning strange. He asked, as if seeking an answer, "Is it innate spiritual wood?"

"Otherwise, is there another Spirit Tree in the world?" Senior Water Dragon frowned and looked at Lu Lin, not understanding why Lu Lin would ask such a question.

Lu Lin was stunned.

Senior Water Dragon shifted his attention away from Lu Lin and began gossiping to himself:

"This happened a while ago. I heard about it from other people. I was hiding at the bottom of the lake when I heard the disciples of the Cliff Academy talking about how a thief had come and forcefully broke into the Cliff Academy. He punched the Grain in Ear (芒种) of the Twenty-Four Solar Terms and broke off a piece of the Spirit Wood before turning around and leaving."

They said the battle was so fierce it was almost devastating; even the Cliffside Academy used its formations, but they couldn't stop the thief and could only watch him escape and disappear without a trace.

Lu Lin listened from the side, pursing his lips guiltily.

Senior Water Dragon continued, "Then, the various prodigies of Cliff Academy swore an oath that if they found the thief, they would tear him to pieces!"

Lu Lin immediately shrank his neck.

"Huh? Why aren't you saying anything?" Senior Water Dragon suddenly turned his head.

"No, no, I just heard you talking about it with great interest, senior." Lu Lin quickly smiled and wiped non-existent sweat from his forehead.

Senior Water Dragon laughed and said, "I also find it very interesting. Cliff Academy hasn't suffered a setback in many years, so it's quite gratifying to hear that they've been defeated."

Lu Lin chuckled dryly, while frantically speculating in his mind, but the result was always the same: the spiritual wood he used to enter the Dao was the one he broke off from the spiritual tree at the Cliff Academy.

But Lu Lin still harbored a sliver of hope, and he continued to ask:

"Senior, have you heard what happened at Heavenly Fire Cliff?"

Shuilong raised an eyebrow: "Huh? How did you know I was about to say that?"

Before Senior Water Dragon could even speak, Lu Lin's heart sank. He preemptively asked, "May I ask if a Heavenly Fire Seed was stolen from Heavenly Fire Cliff?"

Upon hearing Lu Lin's words, Senior Water Dragon seemed to have found a kindred spirit: "How did you know? Did you know a disciple of Heavenly Fire Cliff? Did he tell you?"

Both Tianhuo Cliff and Shanya Academy are sacred places of cultivation, and both adhere to the principle of "family scandals should not be made public." Therefore, these two matters are difficult for outsiders to know. Only those who know the disciples of the two major forces are qualified to hear about them.

Lu Lin laughed awkwardly, "Yes, that's right. I know a disciple from Tianhuo Cliff. He mentioned it to me once, but... he didn't say much."

Senior Shuilong patted Lu Lin on the shoulder: "It's normal, it's normal. After all, they certainly wouldn't talk about such a shameful thing."

"Come, come, I find that you and I get along very well. You humans love tea, and I happen to have a collection here. I'd like to have a good talk with you about it today."

Senior Water Dragon had clearly been cooped up for the past hundred years. With a wave of his hand, he led Lu Lin to sit at the table in the room, summoned a teapot and teacups, and poured Lu Lin a cup.

The tea in the cup is fragrant and its taste is so refreshing that it can instantly relieve fatigue, which shows that this tea is not ordinary.

"This is Xiling Dragon Tea, born in a dragon's lair and imbued with dragon energy. When humans drink it, it can enhance male virility, break through cultivation levels, and nourish the spirit. It will be of great benefit to someone like you at the fourth level of Qi Refining," Senior Water Dragon laughed heartily.

"Moreover, this tea is compatible with wood, making it favored by wood-type spirits..."

Senior Water Dragon was introducing his treasured collection when he suddenly noticed a vine emerging from Lu Lin's sleeve.

Lu Lin's expression changed slightly.

But Senior Water Dragon made the first move, using only his spiritual power to pull Guji out of Lu Lin's sleeve.

"Gurgle gurgle?" Guji was confused; it just wanted to smell something.

"This wood spirit..." Senior Water Dragon narrowed his eyes.

Lu Lin was extremely nervous.

If Senior Water Dragon discovers that Guji's true form is a piece of spirit wood, wouldn't we be doomed?

"The aura of this wood spirit is very similar to that of the spirit wood?" Senior Water Dragon finally voiced his doubt, but quickly smiled, showing no suspicion towards Lu Lin, and said, "Young friend, you have a great opportunity! This wood spirit has an extremely high potential!"

Lu Lin breathed a sigh of relief and quickly retrieved Guji. He said to Senior Water Dragon, "Yes, I took it in precisely because of its pure wood attribute aura."

"Good eye. As far as I know, among all the wood-attribute woods in the world, only the Spirit Wood is purer than this." Senior Water Dragon laughed heartily.

Lu Lin chuckled dryly from the side.

Fortunately, Senior Water Dragon did not suspect him.

But thinking about it, it makes sense. Lu Lin thought that any normal person would not doubt that he, a fourth-level Qi Refining cultivator, could have the ability to connect with the thief who broke the spirit wood.