Nine Star Hegemon Body Art c1-2048
Page 143
Long Chen rejoiced inside. This time, he had been saved. But he still put on a sensible expression. “Unless you make an oath, I’ll never hand over the antidote. Don’t get any crafty ideas either. My storage ring is filled with thousands of medicinal pills. You’ll be long dead before you can find the right antidote.”
“Fine, I swear. If I renege my promise, let me die,” swore Feng Hai hastily.
Just now he really had been thinking of killing Long Chen and searching for the antidote, but he gave up that idea when he heard what Long Chen had said.
If that was true and he had that many medicinal pills, how could he possibly find the antidote? If he ate the wrong pills, wouldn’t he die even faster?
“No, that oath isn’t harsh enough. I require a poison oath[1].” Long Chen shook his head. He saw that the boulder behind Feng Hai had already slowly risen up and stealthily released eight long and hairy legs.
Long Chen knew that to be the Stony Devil Spider, a third rank Magical Beast. It was a true master of concealment. It was covered in veined patterns that made it look just like a boulder, making it appear just like part of the background.
Even walking right past it, it would be difficult to notice it. Most terrifying of all was its incredible patience.
Sometimes it would hide for months or even years for prey to show up before it stealthily crept out.
Now, the Stony Devil Spider had already stood upright and crept just right behind Feng Hai. Its movements were extremely light without the slightest sound.
Feng Hai had still yet to realize death was right behind him. Since Long Chen wanted him to make a solemn oath, he shouted, “I, Feng Hai, swear that if Long Chen gives me the antidote that cures my poison, I won’t kill him. If I break my oath, let my intestines be pulled out, let lightning strike me down, and let me die without a burial.”
Seeing Long Chen just staring blankly at him, Feng Hai hastily demanded, “Now it’s fine right? Hand over the antidote!”
Long Chen impatiently urged on the incredibly slow Rocky Devil Spider inside. He couldn’t drag this out forever.
“Cough, about that… that’s still not good enough. Can’t you make it more solemn and poisonous? You also know this is something that relates to my life. I need more reassurance,” said Long Chen slowly.
“Bastard, are you still trying to stall for time until the poison erupts? Fine, then I’ll just kill you right now and search on my own.” Feng Hai furiously raised his longsword.
“Hey, hey, hey, fine! I’ll hand over the antidote.” Long Chen knew he couldn’t delay anymore.
He threw over a jade bottle to him. “The antidote is inside. It’s made specifically to counter your poison. Take it. But your poison has infected you too deeply, and you’ve also consumed that poison suppressing pill, causing even more poison to store itself in your blood. You need the matching antitoxin crystal to cure it.”
Long Chen then handed the Silver Centipede’s crystal core to Feng Hai.
When Feng Hai touched that crystal core, he immediately felt the poison in his body change. It no longer crazily attacked his organs, filling him with relief.
At the very least, he had found an antidote for his poison. This crystal core should be enough to save his life.
He hastily consumed the medicinal pill that Long Chen had given him as well. Although he was no alchemist, he had a definite skill in identifying medicinal pills. He knew this was an antitoxin pill.
Seeing that Rocky Devil Spider continue moving like an elderly senior, Long Chen angrily cursed inside. Could it not speed up?
But then when he saw its head slowly stretch out and it opened its mouth, revealing two long poisonous fangs, he finally sighed in relief.
Seeing that it was finally about to attack, Long Chen almost wept from joy.
“What kind of thing is this?” Feng Hai eyed the fist-sized crystal core.
“Swallow in one gulp,” sighed Long Chen.
“Tch, how am I supposed to swallow this in one gulp? Are you asking me to choke to death?” raged Feng Hai
That crystal core was the size of a fist, and no matter how big a person’s mouth was, it was impossible to swallow it. Even if you could fit it through your mouth, it wouldn’t go down your throat.
“I wasn’t talking to you, but to that thing behind you.” Long Chen pointed pitifully behind him.
Feng Hai’s expression changed and he quickly turned around. But before he could, a sharp pain came from his back as a three-meter-long fang pierced through his body.
[1] A ‘poison oath’ is a real term in Chinese, meaning a solemn promise. There is no poison in a poison oath; it’s simply a very serious oath.
Chapter 205 Tenth Heavenstage of Blood Condensation
A long fang stabbed through Feng Hai’s body. He looked in disbelief at the end of that fang protruding out of his abdomen.
He roared, slashing his longsword behind him with his full force.
It went without saying that Feng Hai was incredibly powerful. A single slash of his broke apart the Stony Devil Spider’s fang, allowing him to escape.
But then he was appalled when it then opened its mouth and shot a net of web that enveloped him.
That net was dozens of meters long, and even Long Chen was caught in it.
But since he had only been on the fringe and since he hastily dodged at the first moment, he just managed to get out.
“AHHH!” Feng Hai let out a mournful cry as he was tightly wrapped by that web. He was just like a fish caught in a net, unable to escape.
The Stony Devil Spider then reeled in its web. In an instant, Feng Hai’s legs were caught in its mouth. Intense pain and terror caused him to scream.
Even Long Chen’s hair stood on end when he saw this scene of him being eaten alive.
“Die you damn brute!” Feng Hai roared. Everything below his waist had already entered its mouth. With his last energy, he slashed his longsword down on its head.
“Cliffbreaking Strike!” Terrifying Sword Qi directly sliced apart its head. He had managed to kill this third rank Magical Beast in a single blow.
But he hadn’t managed to save himself. Half his body had disappeared into its body, and his stomach had already been pierced by the Stony Devil Spider’s poisonous fang. He was already on his deathbed now.
Long Chen sighed and walked up to him. “Why did you bother with this? Why did you come to such a dangerous place to kill me? What was more important than your life?”
Feng Hai’s vitality was rapidly fading. He knew he would definitely die.
“Why did I bother? Sigh, Long Chen, you’ve won.”
Long Chen shook his head. “I didn’t win. You just lost to your greed.”
After coughing painfully a couple of times, Feng Hai’s face became black as well. The poison had already spread throughout his entire body.
“Since I’m about to die, I’ll tell you it was Elder Sun who told me to come kill you. He wanted me to bring back your spatial ring and to seal your spirit in the Soul Locking Pearl. If you want revenge, go find him…” Those were Feng Hai’s final words.
One of the senior disciple level experts of the monastery, an excellent mid Tendon Transformation expert, had died miserably here. That really was regretful.
Taking off Feng Hai’s ring, he took out a fist-sized pearl. Looking at it, Long Chen’s mood sank.
This was definitely a Soul Locking Pearl. It was an extremely sinister tool that could capture a person’s soul.
After sealing a person’s soul into the pearl, you could use all kinds of methods to torture that person’s soul. That person wouldn’t even be able to die on his own.
“You old bastard, you really are vicious. You actually wanted to imprison my soul; you’re definitely after the Nine Star Hegemon Body Art.”
Long Chen ground his teeth. As expected, his suspicions had been correct. No matter where you went, there would always be evil people.
“Feng Hai, although I didn’t k
now you, I know you only said that so I’d go find Elder Sun for revenge.
“Whether I die or Elder Sun dies, you’d at least get revenge on one. Who would have thought you’d be so smart right before dying?
“But you’ve succeeded. Not long from now, I’ll definitely send him to accompany you. I hope you train hard on the other side; don’t let that old bastard bully you once I send him your way. I actually hope you’ll be able to bully that old bastard around in death for me.”
He also took Feng Hai’s longsword. Although it wasn’t a heavy weapon, it was made of excellent material. With just a single slash, it had managed to break apart the Stony Devil Spider’s hard fang. It was definitely extremely sharp.
Currently, his flame blade wasn’t strong enough. Using it to display Split the Heavens wouldn’t be as good as using a real weapon. This sword would increase Split the Heavens’ power even more.
Of course, Long Chen was a thrifty person and also gathered the Stony Devil Spider’s essence blood as well. Unfortunately, it didn’t possess much essence blood at all.
After he finished gathering the essence blood, he looked at Feng Hai’s corpse. Hesitating for a few moments, he still decided to dig a grave for him.
No matter what, they were all from the same sect. Once a person died, the hatred and enmities relating to him also concluded. He didn’t want to leave his corpse out in the wilderness.
After gathering everything, Long Chen carefully returned back to his own encampment.
Three days later, Long Chen had fully recovered and began to crazily start hunting again. Now that Feng Hai had died, the crisis had temporarily passed.
But Long Chen had seen just how great the difference was between him and his senior apprentice-brothers. He was almost unable to withstand even a single blow.
Previously, when he had fought with Wu Qi, he had realized that his senior disciples were incredibly powerful. But he had still not thought that they had reached such a level.
As a small squad leader of the law enforcers, Wu Qi’s cultivation base should definitely be excellent even amongst his peers.
After being punished by Elder Tu Fang, he had lost a great deal of prestige. Long Chen had no idea when he would come for him for revenge.
So before he did that, he would have to increase his strength as much as possible. Otherwise, he could only suffer. But of course, that inner will refused to allow him to suffer loss like that. He could only rapidly increase his strength.
So from that day onwards, Long Chen began to hunt Magical Beasts even faster. With that longsword, Long Chen could now kill mid third rank Magical Beasts much easier.
Furthermore, he had found an even more efficient method to kill them. First, he would use his full force with Split the Heavens. As long as he shot one poison arrow into the wound formed by Split the Heavens, all he had to do was dance around until they died to the poison. He began to hunt Magical Beasts en masse.
These Magical Beasts were all extremely tyrannical with low intelligence. As long as he didn’t encounter any of them that were stronger than him, it was guaranteed that he would be able to escape at least.
With that kind of hunting method, Long Chen’s efficiency went from one Magical Beast every two days to two Magical Beasts every day.
Three days later, Long Chen had absorbed seven Magical Beasts’ essence blood, allowing him to advance to the ninth Heavenstage.
After reaching the ninth Heavenstage of Blood Condensation, Long Chen’s strength grew even more. But unfortunately, without a heavy weapon, he was unable to truly bring out the full potential of his powerful body.
Long Chen swore to himself that once he returned, he would definitely obtain a heavy weapon. Otherwise, he would be unable to properly use his strength, no matter how powerful he was.
Now that he had reached the ninth Heavenstage, Long Chen had the confidence to hunt even more and faster without needing to be so careful.
As long as it wasn’t a late third rank Magical Beast, Long Chen would be able to defeat his opponent without a problem with his poison arrows.
As time passed, the Magical Beasts around him gradually grew sparser. Long Chen had no choice but to increase his range.
The rubble wasteland had ended up becoming a youth’s hunting ground. Occasionally, the roar of a Magical Beast would echo out.
Time passed quickly. On this day, Long Chen had just finished absorbing essence blood when his blood began to surge. A whistling sound came from his body that could be heard clearly even from a mile away.
BOOM!
A terrifying wave of qi shot out along with an intense pressure. The current Long Chen looked like a divinity disdainfully looking down on all.
“Haha, I’ve finally reached the Tendon Transformation realm!”
Long Chen laughed crazily atop a huge boulder. Feeling the surging power within his body, he had an urge to tear apart heaven and earth.
“Oh, wait a sec… I haven’t reached Tendon Transformation yet. My tendons haven’t changed at all and they aren’t even being nourished.”
Long Chen suddenly realized that something was off. He realized his blood had once more returned to its depleted state. That was the situation that would occur every time he advanced Heavenstages in the Blood Condensation realm.
Each time he advanced, his body’s blood vessels would widen slightly, increasing his blood capacity.
So once the vessels were enlarged, even though he didn’t lose any blood, he would not be at his max capacity any longer.
That would occur every time he purified his blood and advanced. But this was the tenth time now.
In other words, normally he should have reached the Tendon Transformation realm. But seeing what was going on, his heart began to pound.
“Could it be the Nine Star Hegemon Body Art’s Blood Condensation realm also has thirteen levels?”
Long Chen couldn’t help but be stupefied.
In order to advance out of the ninth Heavenstage, he had killed a total of thirty-seven third rank Magical Beasts. Only then had he gathered enough essence blood.
He had basically killed all the Magical Beasts he could within a range of hundreds of miles. Then according to the Nine Star Hegemon Body Art’s increase in difficulty, wouldn’t he need to kill seventy third rank Magical Beasts to reach the eleventh Heavenstage?
Then the twelfth Heavenstage would require one hundred forty Magical Beasts, and the thirteenth Heavenstage would require two hundred eighty. Counting on his fingers, Long Chen’s excitement rapidly deflated.
He would need to kill at least five hundred third rank Magical Beasts before being able to reach the Tendon Transformation realm. Five hundred! Those weren’t five hundred hogs for the slaughter! Wasn’t this just a joke?!
The level of difficulty for a Blood Condensation rookie to kill five hundred third rank Magical Beasts was essentially impossible. He would need to hunt forever to do that.
Long Chen angrily cursed. He had no Spirit Blood, Spirit Bone, or Spirit Root, so the Nine Star Hegemon Body Art was his only option. After cursing for a while, he had no choice but to accept his fate.
“Oh wait, my blood has changed color? There’s a bit of gold to it now.”
Long Chen suddenly paused. When he had examined his inner body, he saw that specks of gold had appeared in his blood, looking like golden sand.
“This Nine Star Hegemon Body Art really is strange. Ugh, might as well keep hunting.”
Cursing and cursing, Long Chen once more began to explore. But when he killed another third rank Magical Beast and began to absorb its essence blood, he found that the energy from that essence blood almost had no effect on him.
“What’s going on?” After absorbing that energy, all that had happened was that the golden sand within his blood had increased ever so slightly. The effect was very low, almost imperceptible.
“Damn, damn, this time I’m screwed. Perhaps to advance I’ll need fourth rank Magical Beast essence blood!” Long
Chen’s heart grew cold.
According to the normal increase in difficulty of the Nine Star Hegemon Body Art, his hypothesis was most likely correct.
Magical Beasts below the mid third rank were probably almost useless to him now. At the very least, he would need to kill late third rank Magical Beasts.
But most likely only fourth rank Magical Beast essence blood would really let his cultivation base explosively grow again. But fourth rank Magical Beasts? Long Chen could only laugh at that. He didn’t want to become a snack for a Magical Beast.
“Ok, whatever. I’ve already been away for a month. It’s time to return. Although I haven’t broken through to the Tendon Transformation realm, with my current power, it should be enough to handle them.”
Long Chen stood atop a tall boulder and looked towards the south. That was the direction of the monastery. It was time to return home.
Chapter 206 Long Chen Returns
Within the Xuantian Monastery, the third Faction Competition was about to begin.
During the first Faction Competition, Tang Wan-er and Ye Zhiqiu’s factions had been betrayed, causing them to have zero flags at the end, ranking them last.
Then, Long Chen had furiously killed those traitors and had been exiled to the rubble wasteland. The chances of him returning alive were extremely slim. After all, that was the graveyard of the exiled.
Ever since the monastery had been established, there had not been a single core disciple who had managed to walk out of the wasteland alive.
Furthermore, all those exiled core disciples had already broken through to the Tendon Transformation realm, while Long Chen had only been at the seventh Heavenstage of Blood Condensation. So, the chances of him surviving were incredibly remote.
Long Chen’s departure had been a large blow to Tang Wan-er and Ye Zhiqui’s morale. But they were comforted by the fact that even after such a huge setback, there was not a single person who left their faction.
After consuming the medicinal pills Long Chen had left for them, their factions’ cultivation bases once more grew explosively. Even without the support of many points, they weren’t at all inferior to others.