Immortal and Martial Dual Cultivation

by Fiery Moon

  This was the might of a Heaven Ranked Martial Technique, the power of the Azure Dragon Martial Spirit. It had the power to topple mountains and seas, to decimate the heavens and earth. Even when it was executed by an Inferior Grade Martial Disciple, it had such a terrifying might.

  In the instant Xiao Chen saw Tang He’s body disintegrate into dust, Xiao Chen’s state of mind relaxed. Once he relaxed, the side effects of using too many medicinal pills and executing a Heaven Ranked Martial Technique came one after another.

  The Essence in his body became chaotic, and he turned pale all over, until his blood vessels could be clearly seen. After a moment, his skin began to tear and fresh blood continuously trickled out.

  This kind of pain was like having millions of ants bite at the same time; it was a pain that made one rather die instead of continue suffering. Within the mental space in his sea of consciousness, his Spiritual Sense was also incredibly disordered. Intense pain originated from his body, and his psyche continuously tortured Xiao Chen.

  Struggling to maintain a clear mind, Xiao Chen dragged his dilapidated body step by step towards the gorge. The red jade pendant that dropped from Tang He’s body was very suspicious.

  It was actually undamaged from the attack of a Heaven Ranked Martial Technique. There must have been something strange with it. With great difficulty, he managed to drag his body over and held the blood-red jade pendant in his hands. Before he had the time to take a look at it, Xiao Chen fainted from the pain.

  Xiao Chen was unaware of the destructive powers of a Heaven Ranked Martial Technique, and the requirements that were required in order to execute one. There were many examples in the Tianwu Continent of people overestimating themselves and executing a highly ranked Martial Technique, resulting in their body exploding.

  If it was not for the special characteristic of the Azure Dragon Martial Spirit, it would not be as simple as Xiao Chen fainting on the ground.

  In the outskirts of Seven Horn Mountain, in the area filled with the densest Spiritual Qi, Tang Yuan and the others were anxiously waiting for their Second Elder. Looking at the sky darkening, the originally composed group of people became anxious. When they heard the loud explosion from the distance, they grew very scared and on edge.

  After a long time, the Second Elder still had not returned. Finally, one of them could no longer hold back and asked Tang Yuan, “Young Master, should we still keep waiting for the Second Elder? The First Elder and the others are still waiting for us to bring back the Spirit Blood Jade.”

  Tang Yuan had already cleaned his clothes and brushed the dirt from his body, but his facial expression was still pained and haggard. When he heard this question, he was not able to hold back and scolded the person who spoke, “I wish to do so as well, but the Spirit Blood Jade is still with Second Uncle. Even if we went, it would be useless.”

  When the group of people heard this, their already anxious emotions turned even more apprehensive. This was a mission of great importance given to them by the First Elder.

  For the sake of this mission, not only had they sent three Superior Grade Martial Disciples and seven Martial Masters, they even sent a Martial Grand Master to lead them. With such a force, they could strut around Mohe City. Who knew that this originally simple mission would turn out this way?

  Once the First Elder found out about this, they would all be in for a terrible time.

  Amongst this group of people, Tang Yuan was the one that was the most at a loss. The others might not know of the uses of the Spirit Blood Jade, but he was very clear about it. With such devastating results, when he thought of the consequences, Tang Yuan shuddered.

  If they had not come looking for this Red Nascent Fruit, they would not have provoked that strange person. Then things would not have escalated to this point. Tang Yuan felt an incomparable regret. He blamed himself for trying to suck up to the Second Elder, for trying to be clever only to end up making a blunder.

  “First Young Master, don’t be anxious. Things might not have reached an unrecoverable stage. The Second Elder may just be slightly delayed. Maybe he is severely injured. We should go and check the situation out,” the person who spoke earlier calmly analyzed.

  If the Second Elder is severely injured, wouldn’t we just be seeking death?!

  Tang Yuan was about to start screaming in anger, but after thinking things through, he slowly calmed down. This person’s words were reasonable; the Second Elder had already reached the peak of Medial Grade Martial Grand Master long ago. Even if he had lost to that mysterious person, the mysterious person would not be in good shape either.

  The most important thing was that even if the Second Elder had been killed by him, that mysterious person might not necessarily take away the Spirit Blood Jade, as it would be useless to him.

  Thinking this, Tang Yuan’s expression softened as he spoke to the others, “We need to retrieve that Spirit Blood Jade. Thus, regardless of the circumstances, we need to check out the place where that explosion happened.”

  The others’ expressions contained fear. Despite the explosive sounds coming from the distance, they had still felt the terrifying power contained within it.

  However, when they thought of the consequences of failing this mission, and weighed the pros and cons, the crowd chose to follow Tang Yuan and headed to the location of the explosion.

  Before long, the group saw a ridiculous gorge on the ground. It was three meters wide and seven meters deep, and had definitely extended out for thousands of meters.

  The faces of those in the group turned extremely unsightly, but under the leadership of Tang Yuan they moved apprehensively forward until they finally saw Xiao Chen, who had fallen into the gorge.

  Seeing the red jade pendant in Xiao Chen’s hands, Tang Yuan felt joy in his heart. He was about to step forward when suddenly a green shadow appeared; it quickly picked up Xiao Chen, rapidly leaping towards the front and leaving swiftly.

  Tang Yuan stopped his subordinates who were about to follow. His icy cold gaze watched the disappearing green shadow as he said with a cold voice, “There is no need to give chase…”

  Chapter 35: Men in Black

  An unknown period of time passed before Xiao Chen finally awoke. After doing his best to open his eyes, he eventually managed the task and found himself lying on a wooden bed.

  After observing his surroundings, Xiao Chen recognized that he was in a wooden hut. Sunlight shone in from the outside, filling the hut with warmth.

  Not far away from the bed, there was a table. On the table was a bundle of roses, and besides it was some home cooked food. It was all vegetarian, but was still very fragrant, causing anyone who smelled it to look forward to eating the dishes.

  Where is this? Why am I here? Xiao Chen thought in suspicion.

  He remembered that he was severely injured, and had fainted, after obtaining the red jade pendant the day he executed the Return of The Azure Dragon. How did he end up here?

  Was he rescued by someone or captured by someone?

  Screw it! I’ll get up first.

  Xiao Chen pushed away the quilt and unveiled his entire body, which was now covered in bandages. There was the faint aroma of medicine coming from the bandages, and he suddenly felt that his skin was soft and itchy, signifying that his wounds were almost healed.

  Rising up, Xiao Chen entered into a state of cultivation after some difficulty. He sank his consciousness down and slowly circulated the Purple Thunder Divine Incantation. He then noticed something he had not expected; his meridians, which should have been severely damaged, were actually almost completely recovered.

  This could only be the effect of consuming a medicinal pill. It seemed like, not only did the person who brought him here bandage him up, he had even wasted a medicinal pill on him.

  After a while, Xiao Chen came out from his state of cultivation and removed the bandages, layer by layer. As he removed them, his face slowly turned red, for even his pri
vate areas had a few layers of bandages on them. If the person who bandaged him was a male… he would rather die...

  After removing all of the bandages, his pale skin was exposed and Xiao Chen began to relax. The medicine smeared on the bandages must have been very good, as there were no scars left behind, so he did not have to worry about being disfigured.

  There was also a set of brand new men’s clothes laid out at the head of the bed. Xiao Chen felt consoled in his heart; this person had even prepared clothes for him. After he putting on the clothes, Xiao Chen impatiently went for the food on the table.

  Despite not needing to eat or drink due to having consumed the Fasting Pill, after such a long period of not eating or drinking he simply missed doing so. When he saw the table full of delectable food, Xiao Chen could no longer resist.

  Looking at the current situation, he was definitely saved. If he had been captured the enemy would not have used such good medicine, or prepared clothing for him to wear.

  With an incredible speed, Xiao Chen rapidly finished all the food on the table. Even though these were not fine cuisines, he felt they tasted better than fancier fare.

  “Hey, Cousin, you’re awake already,” a pleasantly surprised voice said, as the door of the wooden hut was gently pushed opened.

  When Xiao Chen, who looked extremely unsightly with his mouth full of food, suddenly saw Xiao Yulan outside the door he was startled and accidentally choked on the food, coughing continuously.

  After a long time, Xiao Chen recovered, “Cousin Yulan, Why… why are you here?” he asked in an indistinct manner.

  Seeing Xiao Chen’s appearance, Xiao Yulan giggled. Her face looked as pretty as blossoming flowers as she asked in a gentle voice, “Cousin, take your time to eat. If it is not enough, I can make more for you.”

  Hearing these words, Xiao Chen finally understood. It was Cousin Yulan who had saved him. Casually wiping his mouth with his hands, he did not pick up the chopsticks and continue eating. After being seen eating in such a manner by Xiao Yulan, how could he dare continue?

  Suddenly, he remembered that his private areas were bandaged up as well. He looked at Xiao Yulan, and pretended to ask in a nonchalant manner, “Cousin Yulan, did you help bandage me up?”

  Xiao Yulan nodded her head; she did not notice that something was wrong, “I happened to be coming back from the inner mountain that day when I heard an explosion. By the time I rushed over I saw you lying on the ground, severely injured.

  Xiao Yulan suddenly blushed, as though she remembered something, “I practice the way of cultivation, so there is no need to sweat the small details. I have a need to be magnanimous, both mentally and physically.”

  Magnanimous, both mentally and physically. Cousin Yulan, you sure are bold and unconstrained, Xiao Chen smiled bitterly in his heart. “Right. Cousin Yulan, how long was I unconscious for?”

  “For two days already. Yesterday, the Third Elder even came to visit you. Seeing that your meridians were injured, he gave you a Jade Cloud Pill. If it were not for that, your internal injuries would not have healed so fast,” Xiao Yulan said quickly, telling him the details of the Third Elder’s visit as well.

  The Third Elder—Xiao Tian. The matters of the Xiao Clan’s Seven Horn Mountain were all managed by him. With such a big commotion in the forest, it was not strange that he was aware of it.

  What caused Xiao Chen surprise was that Xiao Tian actually took out a Jade Cloud Pill to treat him. The Jade Cloud Pill was a Grade 4 pill. Within the entire Qizi County, it was impossible to find an alchemist who could refine one. A pill that could save one’s life in an emergency was worth thousands of gold.

  When he had an opportunity he would have to repay this kindness. The next time he refined medicines, he would give a bottle to the Third Elder. Xiao Chen etched everything in his heart.

  Xiao Yulan took out a red jade pendant and asked with some suspicion, “Cousin Xiao Chen, where did you get this Spirit Blood Jade?”

  Spirit Blood Jade, so that was the name of this red jade pendant. He made a very quick decision and told Xiao Yulan what happened that day, using many half truths.

  Aside from hiding the Heaven Ranked Martial Technique—Dragon Subduing Slash, he made no other discrepancies. He only said that he had expended a lot of energy before ending Tang He in mutual destruction. This red jade pendant was obtained from his body.

  When Xiao Yulan heard that the jade pendant was obtained from Tang He, her expression changed slightly, “I originally thought that this jade pendant belonged to you, and so I didn’t inform the Third Elder. It seems that the matter is more serious than I thought though. We need to inform the Third Elder immediately.”

  It was just a jade pendant... Was it really that important?

  Xiao Chen’s suspicions grew deeper, and then he suddenly remembered what he overheard when he had used his Spiritual Sense. He remembered Tang He mentioned something about a plan or mission. Thus, he asked, “This Spirit Blood Jade… What is it used for?”

  Xiao Yulan did not hide anything, so she explained the origins and usage of the Spirit Blood Jade to Xiao Chen.

  When speaking of the Spirit Blood Jade, one must first begin by taming beasts. With a strong Spirit Beast, one would have an advantage in battle. Thus, the cultivators of the Tianwu continent had never given up on taming Spirit Beasts.

  The way the earliest cultivators tamed Spirit Beasts was similar to the method of taming normal animals. They took away young Spirit Beasts and nurtured them from a young age. After raising and training them, they established a relationship with the Spirit Beast, thus accomplishing their goals in taming them.

  However, Spirit Beasts were different from regular animals. After all, they had high levels of intelligence. Using this method, there was no way to successfully tame a Spirit Beast that exceeded Rank 4.

  It was impossible to guarantee the loyalty of Rank 4 Spirit Beasts and above. It was actually quite common to see Spirit Beasts devouring their masters in the middle of battle.

  Furthermore, this method of taming required long periods of time. Even taming that was considered fast took a few years to accomplish; if it was a slow taming, then it might take tens of years. Aside from this, one Spirit Beast could only serve one master, and there was way to transfer it to someone else.

  This situation carried on until a genius-leveled person appeared and thoroughly changed everything. He was the individual who established the Nushou Sect, Mao Yanan.

  When Mao Yanan traveled around the continent, he discovered a miraculous jade. After polishing it, it was able to store Spirit Beasts within, allowing the holder of the jade to establish a blood contract.

  Following that, there was further research done on the jewel, and they managed to unravel more of its secrets, inventing all sorts of methods to allow one piece of jade to simultaneously control tens of Spirit Beasts. Furthermore, there was no restriction on the Rank of the Spirit Beast.

  Imagine a person who could control tens of high ranked Spirit Beasts; think about the terrifying level of his battle prowess. Thus, when he established the Nushou Sect, he became the first great power of the Great Tang Nation.

  At this point in time, everyone found out about the secrets of the Spirit Blood Jade. However, in the Tianwu Continent, only the Great Tang Nation produced Spirit Blood Jades. Furthermore, they were pretty much all controlled by the Nushou Sect. Very few of them managed to spread to other places.

  It could be said that the piece of Spirit Blood Jade in Xiao Chen’s hand was one of the very few to be found within the Great Qin Nation. Its value, worth many times more than a Moonstone.

  “Does Cousin mean that the people of the Tang Clan intended to use this Spirit Blood Jade to tame Spirit Beasts that were about Rank 4?” Xiao Chen asked after understanding the crux of the problem. However, this was not really a big issue.

  Xiao Yulan was able to see through the suspicions in Xiao Chen’s heart, “This matter is not as s
imple as you think. According to the arrangements set by the Three Great Clans, clans aside from the Xiao Clan can only obtain herbs and Spirit Beasts in small amounts.”

  “However, that arrangement also clearly states, regardless of being alive or dead, Spirit Beasts that are Rank 4 and above cannot be removed from Seven Horn Mountain. This was the bottom line of our Xiao Clan, as well as the largest source of our income. Now that the Tang Clan has turned their backs on this arrangement, their intentions are quite clear.”

  To go back on this arrangement meant that the Tang Clan was looking down on the Xiao Clan, obviously thinking they could do whatever they wanted. This was quite a serious matter.

  Once this began, and if it was not managed well, when word got out the authority the Xiao Clan held over the Seven Horn Mountain would be put to question. However, why did the Tang Clan dare to do this? Their strength was far lower than the Xiao Clan. Furthermore, they had always been very low-key. There was probably someone backing them for them to have acted this way.

  At that moment, a dangerous aura came from afar. Xiao Chen hurriedly sent out his Spiritual Sense; he had always been very confident in his senses.

  After releasing his Spiritual Sense, Xiao Chen unexpectedly discovered that the distance his Spiritual Sense covered was now at 800 meters. However, just before he had time to rejoice, Xiao Chen frowned.

  Through his Spiritual Sense he discovered a group of men in clothing carrying heavy crossbows and rapidly making their way over. These people were all Superior Grade Martial Masters, and the person leading them was a Martial Grand Master.

  Based on their speed, they would arrive in less than a minute. Furthermore, the crossbows in their hands were not of ordinary quality. These weapons were likely crafted in the Heavenly Craft Manor.

  Recollecting his Spiritual Sense Xiao Chen urgently said, “There is a group of Martial Masters coming towards us from the east. They should arrive in less than a minute.”

  “Then let’s quickly leave,” Xiao Yulan’s expression quickly changed. She did not ask Xiao Chen where he obtained the information, instead grabbing his hands and leaping out the window.