Immortal and Martial Dual Cultivation - Chapter 516

Changing 516: Exchange Room

Xiao Chen asked, "What are his odds of success?"

Bai Lixi replied with a sullen face, "It is hard to say. He had already reached peak Consummation half-step Martial Monarch a year ago. He is only short of opening his sea of consciousness. Once the sea of consciousness is formed, he would immediately become a Martial Monarch. Unfortunately, cultivating Mental Energy is extremely difficult. This bottleneck has trapped more than seventy percent of cultivators who reach this stage."

Xiao Chen had always respected this senior bladesman, the Bloody Bladesman Sun Guangquan. He was like a teacher and a friend to Xiao Chen.

Although their acquaintance was short, Sun Guangquan had provided Xiao Chen with a lot of help and pointers. Xiao Chen could only wish him good luck and hope that Sun Guangquan would surmount this hurdle.

Four days later, after rushing at full speed, the two left the inner area of the Battlefield. The three outpost islets appeared before them.

Many cultivators were resting at the outpost islets before preparing to depart again.

Xiao Chen looked at the departing crowd and discovered many of them to be very strong. Furthermore, they were rather young as well. He felt it to be strange, so he asked, "Why does it seem like there are many new faces?"

Bai Lixi nodded and said, "Yeah, I found out about it two months ago. This time, the Divine Dragon Palace sent invitations to the other areas of the Boundless Sea.

"The noble clans from the Southern Boundless Sea, Northern Boundless Sea, and the Western Boundless Sea sent people over. Rumor has it that the Dragon King of the Divine Dragon Palace utilized favors from the old Dragon King to get these people here."

Xiao Chen still felt suspicious. He said, "It is just a third grade Battlefield. Is the Divine Dragon Palace not powerful enough? All they have to do is to send some Martial Monarchs and annihilate the Demons."

Bai Lixi laughed and said, "Brat, you are oversimplifying things.

"The Eastern Boundless Sea doesn't have just one third grade, fourth grade, and fifth grade Battlefields. They need their Martial Monarchs to guard them; otherwise, there will be chaos. As for the sixth grade Battlefield, it is a place where all four regions of the Boundless Sea stand watch. It is of utmost importance, so the Divine Dragon Palace has to send people as well.

"Furthermore, the borders between the Black Dragon Group's and the Divine Dragon Palace's territories are not very peaceful and need Martial Monarchs to guard them. Considering all this, even if the Divine Dragon Palace was stronger, do you think they'd have the manpower to spare?"

However, Xiao Chen's frown still did not relax. He kept feeling that this third grade Battlefield was different. However, he had limited knowledge and could not rebut Bai Lixi's words.

This time, the two intended to have a proper rest, so they did not stop at the outpost islets. Instead, they quickly headed for the huge Divine Dragon Warship.

After another half a day, the city-sized Divine Dragon Warship appeared before the two of them. They could not help but speed up. They wanted to board the huge Divine Dragon Warship before night fell.

The huge warship had a very large area comparable to that of a city. The plaza that Xiao Chen was in previously was just the tip of the iceberg.

Under Bai Lixi's lead, Xiao Chen moved past building after building. There were restaurants, inns, smithies, and all sorts of other shops. It was no different from a regular city.

Bai Lixi pointed at a beautiful wooden building. He smiled and said, "This is the Spring Pavilion. It is also the place with the best business here."

Xiao Chen looked over and discovered that it was indeed bustling and business was booming.

This popularity was not hard to understand after thinking about it. Cultivators who spent a long time fighting and killing would need a place for relaxation and venting themselves. Affairs of passion were undoubtedly one of the best ways to vent.

After making seven or eight turns, Bai Lixi brought Xiao Chen to a vast palace. This place was even noisier and more crowded than the Spring Pavilion.

Bai Lixi said softly, "We have arrived. This place is the command center of this Battlefield. You can use your points here to exchange for all sorts of items. Let's go in."

The two followed the crowd in. There were not many extravagant decorations in the big palace; it looked very simple.

A glowing jade wall stood in the center of the hall. Many people were standing in front of the jade wall and discussing in hushed voices.

"The Southern Sea's Four Heroes live up to their reputation. They already made it into the top twenty after being here for two months."

"The Western Sea's Seven Knights and the Northern Sea's Four Young Masters are pretty strong as well. They also managed to get into the top twenty. In fact, these people are all in the top twenty spots."

"These are the young experts of the Boundless Sea. They have participated in several Battlefields already and they all had exceptional results."

"There are also experts from other places as well. There is Bai Zhan from the Great Jin Nation's Evil Moon Pavilion. He is very powerful. He has ranked within the top three and never fallen below that."

"Ha ha! You are also aware that he is from the Great Jin Nation. How can he not be strong? At such a young age, he is already a Small Perfection half-step Martial Monarch. His Raging Frost Flame Palm is very pure and fiery. It is very frightening."

When Xiao Chen heard this, he could not be help but stunned. He asked Bai Lixi beside him, "What is that? Everyone seems to be very excited over it."

Bai Lixi felt rather pleased when he replied, "That is the points ranking wall. The jade wall is a formation that is linked to our jade pendants. As long as you've accumulated some points, they will immediately be reflected on this wall."

Xiao Chen fell into deep thought. No wonder the discussions were so intense. Since ancient times, only the top would be respected. In every place and situation, people would compete to see who was the best. He wondered what his rank was and whether he would be able to rank in the top twenty.

Bai Lixi continued, "This is a small encouragement by the Divine Dragon Palace to boost morale. The people in the top twenty can obtain a corresponding reward. Furthermore, the reward seems to be something precious."

Xiao Chen felt it was strange. He said, "There is something wrong with the rules. Aren't they afraid of people cheating? If half-step Martial Monarchs killed Demons in the periphery, their points would increase explosively."

Bai Lixi laughed and countered, "That is correct but do you think that is likely to happen? Do you think that people would purposely kill low-ranked Demons in the periphery for the sake of the ranking?"

Xiao Chen shook his head to indicate that he did not think so. The main reason he came here was so that he could temper his killing Qi, to comprehend his Saber Techniques further while treading the line of life or death, to raise his cultivation. How could it be possible for him to waste time for some reward?

"I understand now. The rules more seem very casual but in reality, no one would waste their time like that, working just to get into the ranking. Speaking of which, what is your rank? And did you see my rank?" Xiao Chen asked after he understood how it worked.

The pleased expression of Bai Lixi's face became more obvious. He chuckled and said, "I am not very talented, ranking only tenth. I am also the only cultivator from the four nations to rank in the top ten. As for your rank…he he, I went to look for it two months ago. You seem to be below five hundred."

Two months ago, Xiao Chen happened to be with Wu Quan and the others. At that time, he was focused on investigating the Demons and did not kill many. So it was not surprising that he ranked very low.

Seeing Xiao Chen remain silent, Bai Lixi patted his shoulders and said, "Don't be sad. You are roaming around by yourself. It is hard for you to compare yourself to me. It is pretty good that you managed to get a rank of five hundred odd. Now, there are countless people pouring into the Battlefield, a minimum of five to six thousand. At least you are better than most of them.

"Come, I'll bring you to go exchange your points. Tonight, I will take you to the Spring Pavilion. My treat!"

Xiao Chen smiled and did not say anything. Then, he followed after Bai Lixi.

Within the big palace, there was a small palace. The words "Exchange Room" were written on the signboard. That was the place to exchange points for Spirit Stones, Spirit Weapons, Secret Treasures, and all sorts of Medicinal Pills.

The doors were tightly shut because only one person could enter at a time. There was a long queue for it. No one had special privileges; everyone had to wait patiently.

Xiao Chen had always been very patient. While he waited, he looked around and took the measure of the cultivators moving about. Hence, he was not bored.

However, Bai Lixi did not have a lot of patience. He looked at the points on his jade pendant and hated that he could not immediately rush forward.

Seeing Bai Lixi being so impatient, Xiao Chen felt curious. So, he asked, "Old Bai, how many points do you have? Why are you so excited?"

Bai Lixi grinned widely and said, "Not many, just slightly more than three thousand. This is my third time making an exchange already."

The moment Bai Lixi spoke, the surrounding people shot envious looks at him. Having three thousand points to himself was a lot. Furthermore, this was his third exchange.

There were some people who recognized Bai Lixi. They discussed him in soft voices, which pleased him greatly.

Before this, Xiao Chen could not be bothered to check how many points he had. After hearing what Bai Lixi said, he took out his jade pendant. He only saw that the back of his jade pendant was densely filled with black dots.

A rough count gave Xiao Chen at least ten thousand points.

After some time, it was Bai Lixi's turn to make his exchange. He smiled at Xiao Chen and said, "I will go in first. After I come out, I will wait for you. He he! Tonight, I will bring you out for a good time."

Bai Lixi had already been here twice before, so he was familiar with the exchange process. Not long later, Xiao Chen saw Bai Lixi come out excitedly with a wide grin on his face.

"One point can be exchanged for ten Medial Grade Spirit Stones. Ten points can be exchanged for one Superior Grade Spirit Stone. This person has three thousand points. No wonder he is grinning so widely."

"Ha ha, with three thousand points, that is not all the benefit he will obtain. The more points one exchanges in one go, the better the item they can get."

When the people behind saw Bai Lixi's smile, they were envious. These people were unable to obtain three thousand points even after a few months.

As for Bai Lixi, after making two exchanges before, he was still able to get three thousand points. This was indeed an incredible feat. There was no way they could not be envious.

Xiao Chen pushed the door open in anticipation. Then, he entered the Exchange Room.

The room inside was not large but it was very orderly. Rare treasures in neat rows filled up shelves on all four walls.

There were high-ranked Spirit Weapons, Earth Ranked Cultivation Techniques and Martial Techniques, all sorts of natural treasures, Spirit Cores, and miraculous medicines. There were also all sorts of rare ores found only at the bottom of the sea: Frost Iron, Demonic Crystal Stone, Purple Silver, Gold Essence, Brilliant White Steel, Tide Jade, and Deep Sea Blood Fiend Stones.

A long jade table was placed in the center of the room. Four old men in purple robes embroidered with golden dragons sat behind the table. Their blood and Qi were flourishing, and their auras were strong. When Xiao Chen checked them out, he found that they were Great Perfection half-step Martial Monarchs.

As for the fifth old man, who sat in the middle, with white eyebrows and a genial look on his face, his purple robes had four ferocious azure flood dragons on it. He was even stronger than the others—a peak Consummation half-step Martial Monarch.

Chapter 517: Xuanyuan Zhantian

The white-haired old man looked at Xiao Chen and smiled gently. "Little friend, have a seat. This must be your first time here. If you do not understand anything, you may ask me. Don't worry about time."

Xiao Chen sat down on the opposite side of the table and looked at the old man. He said, "Thank you, Senior. This is my jade pendant. This junior is called Xiao Chen."

The old man took Xiao Chen's jade pendant and glanced at the points at the back. He was astonished—there was a total of 14,000 points.

He muttered to himself, "Xiao Chen…I don't think I've heard this name before. There is no Xiao Noble Clan in the four seas. There is no Xiao Chen in the Great Jin Nation as well. Plus, I've never heard that there was a potential inheritor of a great sect with the family name Xiao.

"However, the points that he obtained are even more than the people from the Boundless Sea's noble clans. They are comparable to those of the Evil Moon Pavilion's Bai Zhan."

However, this white-haired old man had seen many of such hidden geniuses in his lifetime. Although he was astonished, he did not find it strange.

The white-haired old man handed the jade pendant to the other four old men to verify that the points were real.

"Let me explain the rules of the exchange first. One point may be exchanged for ten Medial Grade Spirit Stones. Ten points may be exchanged for a Superior Grade Spirit Stone. That is all for the exchange of Spirit Stones. As for the other items, there is a list here. You may have a look."

Xiao Chen received the list and began looking through it carefully. He discovered that the items in the list were the rare treasures on the shelves around him. The list also included the number of points needed to exchange for those items.

Xiao Chen looked through the list carefully a few times. He already had a rough idea of what he wanted. At the moment, he did not need Medial Grade Spirit Stones; there were more than two million in his Universe Ring. What he needed was Superior Grade Spirit Stones.

If Xiao Chen wanted to maintain a fast pace of cultivation after reaching Martial Monarch, he would need to use large amounts of Superior Grade Spirit Stones. So he had to prepare ahead.

Aside from these, Xiao Chen also needed Spirit Herbs that increased Vital Qi. As of now, he could achieve 400,000 kilograms of force by using only Vital Qi. After he reached Great Perfection of the Firmament Body Tempering Art, he should be able to achieve 450,000 kilograms of force.

When Xiao Chen wanted to break through 500,000 kilograms of force, he would need to use Spirit Herbs. Thousand-year-old Spirit Herbs were no longer useful to him. Only Spirit Herbs older than two thousand years old would have an effect.

Just as Xiao Chen about to make the exchange, he suddenly noticed an item—Inferior Grade Spirit Gathering Pearl. One thousand points was required to exchange for one.

Xiao Chen paused for a while, entering deep thought. Then, he looked at the old man and asked, "Senior, may I take a look at this Inferior Grade Spirit Gathering Pearl?"

"It's a small matter. You may inspect the goods before making the exchange."

The white-haired old man stretched his hand out and waved. A brocade box flew off a shelf behind Xiao Chen into his hand. The old man opened the box to reveal its contents—four round white pearls filled with Spiritual Energy. This were the Inferior Grade Spirit Gathering Pearls.

Xiao Chen's chest tightened. It was as he had guessed. He also had two white Spirit Gathering Pearls.

Although Xiao Chen could feel the vast Spiritual Energy in them, he did not know what they were. Hence, he had not found any opportunity to use them yet. Unexpectedly, he found them here.

The white-haired old man explained, "The Spirit Gathering Pearl is the creation of a Martial Sage. It is created by refining ten thousand Spirit Stones and exhausting the Sage's Source Energy to extract and condense the Spirit Stone essence. Naturally, an Inferior Grade Spirit Gathering Pearl is made from Inferior Grade Spirit Stones; a Medial Grade Spirit Gathering Pearl is made from Medial Grade Spirit Stones; and a Superior Grade Spirit Gathering Pearl is made from Superior Grade Spirit Stones.

"The higher the grade, the more Source Energy is exhausted. Most Martial Sages would not be willing to refine anything better than a Medial Grade Spirit Gathering Pearl."

Exhaustion of Source Energy was different from exhaustion of Essence. When Essence was exhausted and cultivation damaged, one could quickly fix this problem with Spirit Stones or Medicinal Pills. However, when Source Energy was used up, one would require at least one month to recover. Most of the time, it would take even longer.

This showed the preciousness of these Spirit Gathering Pearls. These were refined by a bona fide Martial Sage using his Source Energy. How could it not be precious?

Xiao Chen asked happily, "What can this Spirit Gathering Pearl be used for? How does one use it? What should I pay attention to? Will Senior give me some pointers?"

The white-haired old man smiled and said, "This cannot be considered pointers. Let me quickly explain. The purpose of Spirit Gathering Pearls is the same as Spirit Stones—they are used to aid cultivation. However, Spirit Gathering Pearls are definitely much better. One Inferior Grade Spirit Gathering Pearl is equivalent to hundreds of Superior Grade Spirit Stones.

"However, because the Spirit Gathering Pearl contains far too much Spiritual Energy, cultivators under Martial Monarch cannot normally use it to cultivate. Otherwise, it might result in the dantian exploding. However, it is excellent for breaking through bottlenecks. One can break through the bottleneck with the surging energy.

"When using it, you should place it on the Tianmen Acupoint on your head. Then, use a Yang-attributed energy to refine it into liquid and pour it into the body. You cannot consume it orally. Otherwise, no matter how strong your body is, it would explode instantly."

After listening to the old man's explanation, Xiao Chen finally knew what he wanted. He would use ten thousand points to exchange for ten Inferior Grade Spirit Gathering Pearls and use the remainder for a three-thousand-year-old Monarch Blood Grass.

The old man reminded, "Little Friend, with your cultivation now, you should exchange for at most five Inferior Grade Spirit Gathering Pearls. Any more would be a waste."

Xiao Chen thanked the old man for the reminder but still insisted on exchanging for ten Spirit Gathering Pearls.

Xiao Chen was very clear on his situation. He cultivated a Heaven Ranked Cultivation Technique. Furthermore, given his strong foundation from when he broke through to Martial King, his cultivation could not be measured by conventional methods.

When Bai Lixi, who had been waiting for a long time, saw Xiao Chen come out, he immediately welcomed him with a smile. "Xiao Chen, let's go and take a look at the point ranking wall. Let's see if your big brother has increased his rank."

Actually, Xiao Chen was not very interested. He had just obtained information about the Spirit Gathering Pearl and wanted to give it a try. However, he could not reject Bai Lixi, who seemed very enthusiastic. So, he could only follow him.

Bai Lixi parted the crowd excitedly. He was tall and stout; furthermore, he was extremely strong. No one could resist his shove. Soon, he pushed his way to the very front.

Ignoring the dissatisfaction of the people around him, Bai Lixi began to look for his name excitedly. His name was near the top, so he found it quickly. However, the moment he found it, the smile on his face froze.

Bai Lixi saw that he was ranked eleventh on the jade wall. As for Xiao Chen…he had overtaken Bai Lixi, ranking tenth.

"Damn it, how is this possible?" Bai Lixi was stunned. Originally, he thought he was doing much better than Xiao Chen. Who would have imagined that Xiao Chen had already surpassed him?

Not only that, Xiao Chen had snatched away his top ten position, squeezing him out.

Xiao Chen was surprised. He never expected that he could rank within the top ten. However, he did not care too much about it.

The point ranking was not an indication of strength. The true experts were fighting the peak Demons at the island in the core area. Killing those Demons would be extremely difficult. Yet, these people are not even in the top hundred of the point ranking. However, no one would deny their strength.

The ones who ranked highly on the point ranking were the cultivators who fought in the inner area. Some of them worked together, achieving better results than they would have alone.

When Xiao Chen looked at the person ranked first, he did not recognize the name. After he asked around, he found out more about this person.

This person was nicknamed the Eastern Sea's Little Dragon King. His name was Xuanyuan Zhantian. Since the point ranking was established, he had always been ranked first. In the past three months, at least twenty thousand Demons died at his hands.

When Xiao Chen continued looking, he discovered that the top nine rankers were unfamiliar to him. When he thought about it, he guessed that these were the young cultivators of the Boundless Sea.

However, Bai Zhan, who ranked third, attracted Xiao Chen's attention. Earlier, he had heard people talking about him, that Bai Zhan used the Raging Frost Flame Palm.

This description seemed to match up with the yellow-robed youth that Xiao Chen met. If that was indeed him, then it would be interesting.

Xie Ziwen was the second and final disciple of the Evil Moon Pavilion's Pavilion Master. This Bai Zhan was even more powerful than him. He had to be Xie Ziwen's Senior Brother.

Xiao Chen did not know if this person was aware of his grudges with the Evil Moon Pavilion. If Bai Zhan knew about the matter, then Xiao Chen would have difficulty avoiding trouble.

"Xuanyuan Zhantian has returned!"

Suddenly, someone cried out in the large palace. Everyone turned their heads to look. They saw a youth in purple Battle Armor and a purple dragon cape behind him entering the palace.

This person looked about twenty and was very handsome. A strong aura came from him as he exuded arrogance from his eyes. His strides were wide and heavy.

When this person walked over to the jade point ranking wall, the surrounding people immediately opened a path for him. When he glanced at his ranking on the wall and saw the name Xuanyuan Zhantian at the top, he looked neither satisfied nor disappointed. It was just as if this was to be expected, as if first place was created for him.

When Xiao Chen felt this person's aura, he was astonished as well. This person was already a Great Perfection half-step Martial Monarch. He wondered how this person cultivated. This person was probably more powerful than Bai Lixi.

"Ha ha! Xuanyuan Zhantian, you better keep looking while you can. Your name will not remain at the top for long."

Everyone wondered, who was courageous enough to speak to Xuanyuan Zhantian like that?

Xuanyuan Zhantian was the heir of the Divine Dragon Palace. As long as nothing happened to him, he would be the next Dragon King of the Divine Dragon Palace. Half of the Eastern Sea would have to obey his orders.

When everyone looked, they saw four youths standing at the entrance of the palace. The four were dressed in different colors, wearing red, blue, green, and purple robes. They all looked impressive and handsome. Unexpectedly, they were all at least Small Perfection half-step Martial Monarchs.

Of the four, the second person from the left, the youth in green, seemed the most extraordinary. Like Xuanyuan Zhantian, he was a Great Perfection half-step Martial Monarch.

The person who spoke earlier was this youth in green. He looked very arrogant as he stared at Xuanyuan Zhantian.

"So, it is the Northern Sea's Four Young Masters. No wonder they dared to call out to Xuanyuan Zhantian. They are indeed qualified to do so."

The Northern Boundless Sea was ruled by four noble clans. These four were the heirs of these noble clans. In the future, they would be the ones ruling the Northern Boundless Sea. They were Xuanyuan Zhantian's rivals.

The people around who understood the situation discussed it in hushed voices with evident, great interest. When two outstanding talents met, they might end up clashing. Who knew, maybe they would get to see a good show in the large palace.

However, the crowd was surprised to see the Eastern Sea's Little Dragon King, Xuanyuan Zhantian, ignore the green-robed youth's mocking. He did not even look at the other party.

Xuanyuan Zhantian only said indifferently, "If you have the capabilities, then go for it. However, are you capable enough?"

Chapter 518: Refining the Spirit Gathering Pearl

Xuanyuan Zhantian laughed loudly after speaking. Then, he headed off to the Exchange Room with big strides, turning his back on the four. He had no intention of paying any attention to them.

This disregard frustrated the green-robed young master greatly. He clenched his fist tightly and his face turned ashen. He felt very stifled.

The purple-robed young master at the side consoled him, "Big Brother, just ignore him. You have just advanced to Great Perfection half-step Martial Monarch. It would not be too late for you to fight with him after you trained some more."

The green-robed young master had a cold look as he said, "This fellow is exceptionally arrogant. He seems to think that the Divine Dragon Palace is the same as it was five thousand years ago. Someday, I will make him kneel before me and beg for mercy."

"Ha ha! Stop bragging. Xuanyuan Zhantian already defeated you once. You can forget about turning the tables on him for the rest of your life."

Seven youths, all wearing golden Battle Armor, entered the palace. They all had swords girdled at their waists.

When all seven of them stood at the entrance together, they looked very dazzling. It felt like the hall brightened up because of them.

"The Western Sea's Seven Knights are here too!"

"This is exciting. Now, only the Southern Sea's Four Heroes are missing. If they were here, then all the outstanding talents of the Boundless Sea would be gathered."

Just as everyone was saying this, a mixed group of four youths came in through a side door. They kept a very low profile. After they entered, they did not go to the point ranking wall in the middle but headed directly for the Exchange Room instead.

However, the strong aura the four gave off did not escape the notice of the cultivators in the hall. "It really is the Southern Sea's Four Heroes. All the outstanding talents of the Boundless Sea's younger generation are gathered."

Clearly, the Northern Sea's Four Young Masters and the Western Sea's Seven Knights were not friendly with each other. However, the green-robed young master endured. He looked coldly at the leader of the seven before heading off to the Exchange Room.

Xiao Chen had not expected there to be so many strong geniuses in the Boundless Sea. There were so many hidden talents and they were much stronger than the talents of the four nations.

On the continent, probably only the peak geniuses of the Great Jin Nation would have such strength.

I am still weaker than them. However, I have only just begun. Unless they advance to Martial Monarch, I should be able to hold my own against them.

Xiao Chen could sense the distance between him and them, but he was not upset. Instead, his blood boiled with excitement and he became more motivated.

However, it seemed strange that these people returned from the Battlefield together. The timing did not seem to be a coincidence.

Bai Lixi had already recovered from his earlier shock. When he saw Xiao Chen's serious expression, he thought that Xiao Chen was upset that these people had stolen the limelight from him.

Bai Lixi consoled him, saying, "Don't overthink this. The limelight might have been focused on you in the Ancient Desolate Land. However, that is nothing in the Boundless Sea.

"The nine Dragon Veins of the Tianwu Continent have been gone since the collapse of the Tianwu Dynasty. Aside from the Great Jin Nation, the nations of the Tianwu Continent have sparse Spiritual Energy. As for the Spiritual Energy of the Boundless Sea, it has not changed since the Ancient Era. Furthermore, these people have strong powers supporting them. They have been eating natural treasures since they were young. All their Secret Treasures are stronger than yours.

"They ate better than you, dressed better than you, and lived better than you. Now that this is the era of geniuses, their talents are very good as well. It is normal that they are stronger than you.

"However, this is just the beginning. You still have a chance to catch up at the bottleneck of peak Martial Monarch. When you become Martial Monarchs, you will all be on the same starting line."

Xiao Chen smiled helplessly. Although Bai Lixi was very cocky from time to time, they were still friends in the end.

"Thank you, but that is not what I was concerned about. Don't you feel that it is too much of a coincidence that these people returned at the same time?"

When Bai Lixi heard this, he was stunned. "Coincidence? What coincidence?"

The moment Bai Lixi spoke, he thought about it and understood what Xiao Chen meant.

No one would return to the Divine Dragon Warship—unless they really had to. They would settle all their needs on the outpost islets.

There was no pattern to when the cultivators came to the Divine Dragon Warship.

However, it looked as though the outstanding talents of the Boundless Sea had agreed upon a particular time to return together. This was too much of an coincidence.

Xiao Chen continued, "It does not hurt to be prepared. Let's not go out for these few days. We should wait until all these people have left before leaving."

After the two chatted for a while, they took their leave of each other. Bai Lixi wanted to restore his Secret Treasures and Xiao Chen wanted to find somewhere to experiment with the Spirit Gathering Pearls.

Not long after Xiao Chen left the palace, he ran into someone. He could not help but stop. It was the yellow-robed cultivator he met a few days ago.

When the yellow-robed cultivator saw Xiao Chen exit the palace, he was stunned as well.

"Evil Moon Pavilion's Bai Zhan?"

"The White Robed Bladesman, Xiao Chen?"

The two exchanged looks before probing each other. While Xiao Chen tried to guess the other party's identity, the yellow-robed cultivator was doing the same to him.

The yellow-robed Bai Zhan smiled gently and said, "If I had known who you were that day, you wouldn't be standing here today."

Although Bai Zhan's tone was calm and he had a warm expression, he was mocking Xiao Chen with his words. He did not care about Xiao Chen at all, like he could kill him whenever he wanted.

Smiling, Xiao Chen countered, "Why, your Movement Technique that day was quite exquisite. You disappeared without a trace very quickly."

Naturally, Bai Zhan could tell that Xiao Chen was mocking him for fleeing without a fight.

Bai Zhan's lips curled up, drawing a smile on his handsome face. He said faintly, "You better pray hard that you don't run into me in the Battlefield. The Pavilion Master already issued orders. As long as you are not dead, I will never become Pavilion Master.

"Although I don't care about the position of Pavilion Master, I don't mind using your head to repay the Pavilion Master's favor."

After Bai Zhan spoke, he bumped Xiao Chen's body as he passed, walking towards the large palace.

Although Bai Zhan was a Small Perfection half-step Martial Monarch, the combat prowess he displayed rivaled that of a Great Perfection half-step Martial Monarch.

He used a Martial Technique that alternated between two opposing attributes—fire and ice. This was very terrifying. The most important thing was that this person was extremely cautious. He considered the big picture and knew when to advance or retreat.

It would be fine if Bai Zhan did not make a move. However, the moment he made a move, he would be confident of victory.

When Xiao Chen compared his own strength against Bai Zhan's, he discovered that Bai Zhan's overall combat prowess was much greater than his.

At the very least, Xiao Chen would not dare to fight with more than twenty high-ranked Superior Grade Winged Demons simultaneously. Being targeted by this person would be very problematic.

Xiao Chen had to quickly advance to Superior Grade Martial King. Otherwise, when they fought, he would only have a forty percent chance of victory.

After Xiao Chen left the palace, he spent a lot of money to find an isolated courtyard away from people on the Divine Dragon Warship.

"Xiu!"

When Xiao Chen arrived at the courtyard, Leng Yue immediately rushed out of the Spirit Blood Jade. Xiao Chen pointed at a side room and said, "You can stay there for the next few days. I won't be going out for a while."

Leng Yue thanked Xiao Chen before saying, "That person is much stronger than you. He may have sounded very casual about it, but he actually has already made up his mind to kill you. Be very careful of this person."

The Eros Demons were very good at reading the hearts of people. Bai Zhan might have spoken very casually outside the palace, and his smile had never left his face, but he could not hide the murderous intent in his heart from an Advanced Demon like Leng Yue.

Xiao Chen smiled faintly and said, "I know what I'm doing. He is very strong, but he would not be able to stop me from fleeing. You don't have to bother about this."

When Leng Yue heard the confidence in Xiao Chen's words, she did not say any more. She headed for her own room.

Xiao Chen went to his room and took out the twelve Inferior Grade Spirit Gathering Pearls from his Universe Ring before laying them on the table. After that, he took out the two blue Spirit Gathering Pearls.

The blue Spirit Gathering Pearls were part of the Savanna King's burial items. When placed together with the white Spirit Gathering Pearls, it was immediately clear which was better.

Regardless of the glow or the amount of Spiritual Energy, the blue ones were far better; they were clearly in a different league altogether.

Xiao Chen played with the two blue Spirit Gathering Pearls in his hands for a while before putting them away. He thought, The blue Spirit Gathering Pearls should be Superior Grade Spirit Gathering Pearls. However, now is not the time to use them.

"It's time to try out how powerful a white Spirit Gathering Pearl is."

Xiao Chen picked up a white Spirit Gathering Pearl and carefully placed it on the Tianmen Acupoint on his head. Then he sat cross-legged on a prayer mat.

Although the white-haired old man from the Divine Dragon Palace said that one could not cultivate with them before Martial Monarch, Xiao Chen believed that his condition was special.

Xiao Chen had been stuck at peak Medial Grade Martial King for a while already. If Xiao Chen's cultivation were compared to a bottle, then rather than him reaching the bottleneck, the bottle was continuously expanding.

Xiao Chen drained twenty-odd Medial Grade Spirit Stones every day. When accompanied with the sixth layer of the Purple Thunder Divine Incantation, a Heaven Ranked Cultivation Technique, his cultivation speed was particularly fast.

However, Xiao Chen had yet to arrive at the bottleneck of Medial Grade Martial King. The bottle kept enlarging. He could still go a lot further as a Medial Grade Martial King.

This was a happy inconvenience. If anyone else cultivated at Xiao Chen's speed, they would have reached peak Superior Grade Martial King long ago.

However, Xiao Chen was still slowly progressing as a Medial Grade Martial King. He could not even see the end point; it seemed infinitely far away.

With such strong foundation, once Xiao Chen became a half-step Martial Monarch, the older-generation experts that were stuck at half-step Martial Monarchs for a long time would not have any advantage over him.

"It is time for some shock treatment. Even though there are some risks, I need to take them. I do not have any time to remain stuck. All the outstanding talents in the Boundless Seas are stronger than me. Furthermore, Bai Zhan is now targeting me; he might kill me at any time.

"I no longer have a choice. I need to charge forward without stopping!"

Xiao Chen made up his mind. He steeled his nerve and no longer hesitated. Then he closed his eyes and circulated his lightning-attributed, Yang-attributed energy to his head.

"Hu! Hu!"

After some time, white smoke came out from Xiao Chen's head and the white Spirit Gathering Pearl started to melt slowly.

Xiao Chen remained calm. He was not in a rush to pour the white fluid into his body. He sent out a strand of Essence and made the white liquid float above his head.

Chapter 519: Attack of the Scar-Faced Man

After an hour, the Spirit Gathering Pearl completely melted into a fluid flowing with spiritual light. It floated quietly above Xiao Chen's head.

The Spiritual Energy that leaked out of the liquid became a white mist and spread throughout Xiao Chen's room. The room immediately filled with a refreshing fragrance.

Xiao Chen carefully separated out a grain-sized drop of spiritual liquid and dripped it into his Tianmen Acupoint.

People had to be bold and cautious in everything they did. They should not act recklessly on their emotions, thinking that they were the main character of a novel, someone who would never die.

Xiao Chen's dantian, the Chanzhong Acupoint on his chest, and the Tianmen Acupoint on his head were connected, bisecting his body. This path was the most important of the nine major meridians.

"Boom!"

The moment the grain-sized liquid touched Xiao Chen's head, it immediately poured into the acupoint, gushing through the meridian.

It was like a waterfall pouring down from the sky. It went through the Tianmen Acupoint, the Chanzhong Acupoint, and arrived at Xiao Chen's dantian with great force.

The energy contained within the spiritual liquid was too vast. It moved too fast; Xiao Chen did not even have time to react. He instantly felt horror.

The Qi whirlpool at Xiao Chen's dantian was like a small stone at the base of a waterfall. When the Spiritual Energy poured into it, his body gave off a loud sound. His internal organs immediately churned and his heart vessels hurt.

"Pu ci!"

Xiao Chen opened his eyes and vomited a large mouthful of blood. He was caught off guard and was severely injured.

Before this finished, Xiao Chen lost control over the large ball of spiritual liquid. It all instantly gushed into Xiao Chen's body.

The energy of the grain-sized spiritual liquid was very horrifying already, the pressure testing Xiao Chen's endurance. When the entire glob of energy poured into him, it was like an entire river rushed into him. It was more than a hundred times stronger than a waterfall.

The sudden flood of energy was sufficient to burst Xiao Chen's body into bits, not even leaving a body.

The situation was currently very dire. If that glob of spiritual liquid plopped into Xiao Chen's Qi whirlpool, it would definitely explode and he would die.

"Bang!"

When the spiritual liquid finally landed in the Qi whirlpool, a loud sound came from Xiao Chen's body. The purple Essence Liquid within him exploded at this moment.

The purple liquid was Xiao Chen's Source Energy that he had accumulated over the many years. In terms of capacity and energy, it had much more than the white spiritual liquid.

The two spiritual liquids merged together and rushed around wildly in his body. They ran rampant like a wild horse.

Xiao Chen's already injured lungs suffered further injury. If he could not find an outlet for this horrific energy, it would eventually rip his body apart.

I cannot die!

Xiao Chen did not despair. At this critical moment between life and death, he remained incredibly calm. The twelve acupoints on each of his arms that he could control freely opened immediately.

Xiao Chen found an outlet for the rampaging energy. It promptly surged towards his arms.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

Twenty-four dragon-shaped strands of energy rushed out of Xiao Chen's acupoints. As the dragons roared, they shattered his room into rubble. Then, they crushed the rubble into dust.

Xiao Chen released his bated breath in relief. Instantly, he felt an unending, intense pain and vomited another mouthful of blood.

Xiao Chen's complexion became incredibly pale. He could no longer endure and fainted.

"Xiu!"

The instant the Dragon Qi appeared, Leng Yue, who was in the side room, felt an intense aura. At the same time, she felt pain in her chest.

This was what would happened when the master of the Spirit Blood Jade was in a life-or-death situation. She quickly rushed out and headed for Xiao Chen's room.

However, the moment Leng Yue arrived at the door, she saw the twenty-four Azure Dragons bursting out of the room and shredding the building into dust.

An intense shock wave surged and Leng Yue instantly soared into the air. When she landed, the entire courtyard no longer existed; only rubble remained.

When Leng Yue searched around the rubble for Xiao Chen's body, she saw the Spirit Gathering Pearls on the ground. She said angrily, "A Martial Monarch already refined their Essence into Quintessence. Only then would they dare to use the Spirit Gathering Pearls. This fellow is really reckless. Even if you wanted to use it, you should have told me first."

"Boom!"

Right at this moment, a wooden coffin rose up from the rubble in the courtyard.

The coffin lid fell off and the scar-faced man emerged from within. When he saw the unconscious and heavily injured Xiao Chen, he laughed sinisterly. "I originally thought that I would have to spend a lot of effort. I did not expect things to become so simple."

Leng Yue turned her head to see the scar-faced man who came out from the rubble, but there was no change to her expression.

When Xiao Chen was in the inner area of the Battlefield, he would frequently run into cultivator teams who wanted to rob him. After he had beaten these people up, he would always hand them over to Leng Yue.

After absorbing the Yang energy of many cultivators, Leng Yue already had recovered some of her strength. She was not like before, when she met that middle-aged swordsman, where she could not fight after her charms broke.

Huh!

Suddenly, Leng Yue sensed the aura of the scar-faced man's Demonic Beast Martial Spirit. She muttered, "Surprisingly, it is someone from the Dark Church."

The scar-faced man looked at Leng Yue. Originally, he did not care too much about her. However, when he saw her slender, long tail, he could not help but frown. Unexpectedly, this brat has an Eros Demon with him.

The Dark Church was established by Demons. Naturally, they worshiped the Demonic God of the Deep Abyss. It was the same even until now.

Everyone entering the church had to place a mental imprint on the statue of the Demonic God and swear on a heart demon that they would be loyal to the Demonic God.

Only then would their Martial Spirits become Demonic Beast Martial Spirits and gain strong power. At the same time, they would be able to learn the Martial Techniques of the Demons. Naturally, the people with naturally mutated Demonic Beast Martial Spirits did not count.

However, the scar-faced man was not one of those people. He had placed a mental imprint on the Demonic God's statue and sworn loyalty. One of the rules was not to kill Demons. Killing a Demon meant that they were disloyal to the Demon God and they would suffer from a heart demon.

When the scar-faced man swore on his heart demon, he had not thought too much of it. After all, the Demonic Calamity had been several years ago already. The Demons were also very far from them. Such rules did not impact him much.

However, the scar-faced man had not expected that the person the Vice Church Master wanted him to kill had an Eros Demon.

After thinking for a long time, the scar-faced man looked at Leng Yue and said expressionlessly, "Go away and don't obstruct me from doing my job. Although I cannot kill you, I can still heavily injure you."

The scar-faced man did not have any true loyalty to the Demonic God. He did all this for the sake of gaining power. He did not even respect the Demons and only found them problematic.

Leng Yue smiled gently and said in a gentle voice, "No."

It might just be a simple word, but Leng Yue said it in a flirtatious manner. Even though the scar-faced man was very resolute, he still felt his mind waver.

The scar-faced man steeled himself and recovered his senses. He said in a cold voice, "Very good. You used your Charm Technique on me. That means you made the first move. Nothing will happen to me if I accidentally kill you."

The scar-faced man had a Demonic Beast Martial Spirit and was very strong. He might be a half-step Martial Monarch but with a Demonic Beast Martial Spirit, he was stronger than most regular half-step Martial Monarchs.

As a result, the scar-faced man was very arrogant. He did not care about Xiao Chen at all, much less an Eros Demon.

Leng Yue's lips curled up. When she looked at the wooden coffin behind him, she had a playful expression. She smiled and said, "I wonder which layer you have reached in this Coffin Evasion Art. I hope you will be able to come back."

After Leng Yue spoke, she formed complicated, ancient hand seals with a serious expression. The purple mark on her forehead started to glow and she emitted an ancient aura.

The scar-faced man felt a dangerous aura. He quickly took three steps back and made similar hand seals as well. Eight wooden coffins slowly rose up from the rubble of the courtyard.

The wooden coffins contained the Rank 4 Demonic Corpses that the Dark Church refined. One Rank 4 Demonic Corpse was equal to a peak Superior Grade Martial King. Furthermore, the corpse had undergone special tempering; ordinary Martial Techniques would be insufficient to damage the Demonic Corpses.

With eight of such Demonic Corpses, the scar-faced man could kill even a Great Perfection half-step Martial Monarch.

Leng Yue finished her hand seals before the scar-faced man did. A dazzling purple imprint formed between her palms and she pushed it forward.

The purple imprint exploded into a complicated formation in the air. The formation flickered with a purple light and encased the scar-faced man and the eight wooden coffins.

The scar-faced man's expression changed greatly. He said in astonishment, "This is the Great Exorcism Imprint, a Martial Technique of the Advanced Demon races. How can you, an insignificant Eros Demon, know it…"

Before the scar-faced man could finish speaking, the light of the formation became more dazzling. When the light became extremely resplendent, the eight wooden coffins that were still rising up returned to where they came from. A strong suction force from the scar-faced man's coffin tried to pull his body back in.

That suction force was very strong, like the wind of a strong hurricane. The scar-faced man's face filled with dissatisfaction. He dropped to one knee and clutched the ground with his fingers.

"Chi! Chi!"

However, the scar-faced man could not resist the suction force. His ten fingers left long gouge marks in the ground. His expression turned into one of horror. The Great Exorcism Imprint could send Demons back to the Demonic World.

There were eighteen layers to the Demonic World. No matter which layer he was sent to, he would not have a good life there.

[TL note: In Chinese folklore, hell has eighteen layers. The eighteen layers of the Demonic World could be a reference to that.]

Although the scar-faced man joined the Dark Church, he was still human. He still wanted to enjoy the world of humans. How could he get used to the Demonic World?

Furthermore, every layer of the Demonic World was filled with dangers. It would be difficult for him to survive as a human.

However, no matter how strongly the scar-faced man resisted, his efforts were futile. The light of the formation grew even more dazzling and eventually, he could no longer hold on; he was sucked back into the coffin.

"Pa!"

The coffin lid covered and sealed the coffin again. Then, Leng Yue pointed into the air. The purple Great Exorcism Imprint immediately pressed on the wooden coffin, and the coffin vanished into the rubble of the courtyard.

After Leng Yue did all this, she looked at the ten gouge marks on the ground. She rolled her eyes and patted the ground flat again, restoring the place to exactly as it had been when the courtyard turned to rubble.

Chapter 520: Noble Imperial Fragrance Pill

Three days later, Xiao Chen, who was lying on the ground, finally woke up.

"Cough…! Cough…!"

Xiao Chen opened his eyes weakly and coughed heavily. He struggled to sit up from the ground.

When Xiao Chen checked his body with his consciousness, he could not help a bitter smile on his pale face.

Although he had released the huge Spiritual Energy through his twenty-four acupoints, the vast remnant Spiritual Energy still caused a lot of damage in his body.

Xiao Chen's heart, liver, spleen, kidney, large colon, small colon, stomach, and gallbladder…all his internal organs were severely damaged. Every single movement caused him intense pain.

Fortunately, Xiao Chen's meridians were not severely injured. They had been tempered twice before, by the Dragon and Tiger Body Sculpting Art and the Firmament Body Tempering Art.

Xiao Chen's meridians were already as resilient as Frost Iron, as hard as Heavenly Mountain Stones, and at the same time, as gentle as autumn water, and very flexible. This combination meant that it was hard for them to receive any true damage.

However, the most disappointing thing was that the Essence in Xiao Chen's body dried up completely. It had completely drained with nothing remaining. He could not even circulate some Essence to ease the pain.

No matter how intense a battle was, cultivators would always reserve some Essence. This was because they could only cultivate if there was Essence. They needed it to complete the cycles in the meridians to quickly replenish the Essence.

If a cultivator's Essence ran dry completely, it would be very difficult to recover. Even the most incredible Medicinal Pill would be useless. They could only wait for the dantian to naturally generate a strand of Essence before anything could work.

This time, Xiao Chen had ruined himself. He sighed silently to himself. In the end, he could not be too reckless when cultivating.

Xiao Chen glanced at Leng Yue at the side. She was currently watching the sky calmly, as if she had not noticed Xiao Chen waking up.

"Is the sky nice to look at? I am awake already and you don't even bother to look at me."

Leng Yue withdrew her gaze and smiled charmingly, "How could it be? I just did not notice."

After that, Leng Yue ran over to help Xiao Chen up. He could not stand up by himself; she could clearly feel this when she supported him. She could also see the pained expression on his face.

"Now that you are so severely injured, this experiential training will probably come to an end."

Xiao Chen smiled when he heard this. He let go of Leng Yue's hand and said, "End? You underestimate me. I can still afford the expenditure for this small bit of internal injuries. Don't bother thinking of any tricks."

Leng Yue grumbled in her heart. She was only showing concern for Xiao Chen, but he did not understand anything.

After half a day, Xiao Chen recovered his basic ability to move about. Then, Leng Yue finally understood what Xiao Chen meant by being able to afford the expenditure.

Xiao Chen spent 300,000 Medial Grade Spirit Stones to buy a bottle of Rank 9 treatment medication—the Noble Imperial Fragrance Pill. It dealt specially with internal injuries and had the best effect for his condition.

The shop was operated by the Divine Dragon Palace's subordinate merchant association. Cultivators were bound to get injured during experiential training. Hence, their business was booming and they had all sorts of herbs and medicines.

Buying the treatment medication was insufficient. Xiao Chen spent another 400,000 Medial Grade Spirit Stones to buy a two-thousand-year-old Life Blood Mushroom for replenishing blood essence.

That day, Xiao Chen had vomited several mouthfuls of blood. Furthermore, it was not ordinary blood he vomited but blood essence.

When blood essence flourished, a person would be strong and energetic. They would also be in high spirits and feel like they could do anything. When blood essence was insufficient, their aura would be weak, their skin would be yellow, and they would become dispirited and feel lethargic.

Thus, Xiao Chen had to replenish his blood essence. Furthermore, he had to replenish a lot of it; he had to replenish it all within a short period of time. So, he was willing to spend the Spirit Stones.

After the Life Blood Mushroom, Xiao Chen spent another 300,000 Medial Grade Spirit Stones to buy a few more two-thousand-year-old Spirit Herbs with similar effects.

Even so, Xiao Chen felt his supplies were still insufficient. So he bought a few thousand-year-old Sea Cucumbers. This was a special produce of the Boundless Sea that worked very well for supporting the recovery of internal injuries. It would also enhance the effect of the Noble Imperial Fragrance Pill when consumed together.

When Xiao Chen left the shop, the owner of the shop escorted him out with smiles on his face. He looked very excited.

The owner could not help his excitement. Xiao Chen spent a total of one million Medial Grade Spirit Stones in one go. That was equal to one month's worth of sales.

Originally, with Xiao Chen's strong physical body, he would only need some supplemental Spirit Herbs. Although his injuries were severe, he would be able to recover in a month.

However, Xiao Chen lacked time. One month meant thirty days; he could not afford to waste that time. Furthermore, he had the feeling that something big was going to happen in a few days.

Thus, Xiao Chen had to heal all his injuries in three days. So, he could only use Spirit Stones to buy time. No matter how great the price was, he had to spend it.

Leng Yue, who was beside him, wore a pink dress and a loose black-and-white robe, which hid her tail, as well as a face veil.

This way, no one would be able to figure out her identity as an Eros Demon. This was an idea Leng Yue thought of in the past few days. This meant that she would not need to hide in the Spirit Blood Jade.

When the two returned to a newly rented courtyard, Leng Yue clicked her tongue as she said, "Young Master Xiao, I could not tell that you were this rich. No wonder you said that this was a little injury. Though I wonder, how many times can you do this? The Spirit Gathering Pearl is not that easy to absorb."

Xiao Chen's expression changed a little when he looked at Leng Yue. "You seem to have more to say."

Leng Yue smiled embarrassedly and nodded. "That's right. I know a way that will allow you to absorb the Spirit Gathering Pearls in a normal manner. However, you have to agree to a few of my conditions."

Xiao Chen shook his head slightly and did not say anything. Then, he walked towards his room.

Xiao Chen did not intend to use the Spirit Gathering Pearl for the moment. Like the white-haired old man had said, that thing could only be used when making breakthroughs while he was a Martial King.

Xiao Chen had oversimplified the problem. It was not about whether the dantian could contain the Spiritual Energy. Instead, it was about whether the dantian could withstand the surging force that would suddenly gush in.

The dantian's endurance was at its best when one was about to make a breakthrough. At that moment, the dantian required a strong force to help break the bottleneck.

A so-called bottleneck referred to when a cultivator could not make a breakthrough no matter how much force he used.

Only at this special moment could the dantian endure the rush of spiritual liquid from the Spirit Gathering Pearl. The stronger the force, the better.

However, this moment was very dangerous as well. If one failed, there was a ninety percent chance of death. Not many people would dare use the Spirit Gathering Pearl this way. The price of failure was too high.

Xiao Chen did not believe that Leng Yue had the means to use something so dangerous. Furthermore, the Demons were very cunning. How could he believe her completely? He did not want to experience the ordeal again.

When Leng Yue saw Xiao Chen leaving without looking back, she thought that it was because he felt that there were too many conditions. She quickly said, "There is no need for a few conditions; three would do.

"Alright, two! Just two conditions!

"Don't go! Fine! One! Just one! That should be fine now, right? I will tell you have to use the Spirit Gathering Pearl; you just have to fulfill one of my conditions."

Leng Yue chased after Xiao Chen quickly, panting as she ran. Her face blushed under her face veil.

Xiao Chen turned back and looked at Leng Yue suspiciously. "You really know how to use the Spirit Gathering Pearl correctly?"

Seeing that Xiao Chen was underestimating her, Leng Yue was unhappy as she replied, "Of course I know it. I also know how to deal with the Corpse Demon Fish and Witch Fiends. I was about to tell you at that time but you refused to let me out.

"Had you asked me about it in advance, you would not have become so miserable this time." Then, she thought to herself, I even chased away a huge spot of trouble for you.

Xiao Chen nodded and said, "Alright, I'll believe you. Tell me your condition."

Condition…condition…what should I asked for? Leng Yue thought anxiously. The condition cannot be too easy, or else he will know that I am helping him on purpose.

It cannot be too difficult, either. If he cannot do it, he will definitely reject it.

Damn it! Why is this fellow so straightforward? It is so difficult for me to think of a condition.

Xiao Chen watched Leng Yue and found her demeanor strange. She had her head lowered and her fist clenched. He could not tell what she was thinking.

After a while, Leng Yue looked up and said in a depressed manner, "I have not thought of it yet. What should I do?"

Xiao Chen was slightly stunned but he did not mind. He just treated it as Leng Yue trying to maximize her benefits. "There is no rush. You can think for three days. That is how long it would take me to heal from my wounds."

When Xiao Chen reached his room, he took out the Spirit Herbs and Medicinal Pills he bought from the shop and laid them on the table.

Then, he sorted them into two categories. One was for replenishing blood essence and the other for treating internal injuries. He could not take both at the same time. He had to follow a certain order: first, treat his internal injuries; then, deal with his blood essence.

Otherwise, if Xiao Chen tried to forcibly replenish his blood essence while severely injured, his body would not be able to withstand the flourishing aura and it would suffer further injuries.

When Xiao Chen looked at the table covered with Spirit Herbs and Medicinal Pills, he felt an headache. One million Medial Grade Spirit Stones were not easy to earn.

Now, Xiao Chen had only 1,700,000 Medial Grade Spirit Stones left. He needed to reserve at least 700,000 for his cultivation. So all he had left to spend was a million Medial Grade Spirit Stones.

Xiao Chen took a deep breath and picked up the Noble Imperial Fragrance Pill. He opened the bottle and a dragon-shaped cloud of fragrance came out.

Xiao Chen sniffed it and the dragon-shaped fragrance split into two and entered his nostrils. Then, it moved about in his chest, turning into a liquid that permeated his internal organs. His pain immediately eased.

"It truly lives up to its name as a Rank 9 Medicinal Pill. Just the fragrance alone has therapeutic effects. It is worthy of the title Holy Medicine."

Xiao Chen revealed a joyful smile. At first, he had many doubts about these Medicinal Pills. He had been very worried that he would not recover within three days. From the looks of things, that no longer seemed to be a problem.

Without further hesitation, Xiao Chen took out the contents of the bottle and ate them together with the thousand-year-old Sea Cucumber. He instantly felt very sleepy and drifted off.

During the night, the Medicinal Pill seeped into Xiao Chen's internal organs, quickly healing the injuries as he slept soundly.

The next day, Xiao Chen opened his eyes and stretched himself. He was surprised to discover that he was already mostly recovered.

"Spending one million Medial Grade Spirit Stones is worth it!" Xiao Chen felt very happy, his dispirited and depressed mood instantly vanishing.

Chapter 521: Refining the Exquisite Seven Aperture Fluid

After another two days, Xiao Chen completely recovered from his internal injuries and blood essence loss. His aura flourished and his face glowed red. He felt spirited; he was back to peak condition.

"Dong! Dong! Dong!"

Knocking came from the door. Xiao Chen calmed down from his excitement. This should be Leng Yue.

Xiao Chen opened the door and indeed it was the charming Leng Yue. She stood at the door and smiled. "I thought of the condition already."

Xiao Chen nodded gently and asked with interest, "What is it?"

Leng Yue gently replied, "Reduce our agreement from one year to half a year."

According to their original agreement, Leng Yue had to stay by Xiao Chen's side for a period of one year, helping him to control the state of massacre. Now, three months had already passed. If the period was changed to half a year, that would mean only three months remained.

Xiao Chen thought for a while before saying softly, "Nine months. Help me for another six more months and I will release you, regardless of whether I have grasped the state of massacre or not."

"Deal! Nine months it is."

This was out of Xiao Chen's expectations. Leng Yue did not try to bargain over it and quickly agreed to Xiao Chen's counteroffer. Then, she handed him an Alchemic Recipe.

Xiao Chen received the Alchemic Recipe from Leng Yue and took a look. There were many precious herbs listed on the Alchemic Recipe. When mixed together in a certain ratio, it would form a special medicinal liquid—the Exquisite Seven Aperture Fluid.

Leng Yue explained, "A Spirit Gathering Pearl contains an incredibly vast amount of Spiritual Energy. One can only resist that surging force when one reaches Martial Monarch and refines one's Essence into Quintessence. If you want to absorb this Spiritual Energy before Martial King, you will have to use the Exquisite Seven Aperture Fluid to dilute the spiritual liquid. Then, you have to fill a bathtub full of the spiritual liquid and add the petals of the Heavenly Demon Flower to it. Finally, you just have to enter the bathtub and you absorb the Spiritual Energy."

Xiao Chen looked at the Alchemic Recipe carefully and frowned slightly, "The things that you listed here are not cheap. One portion of Exquisite Seven Aperture Fluid would cost about 500,000 Medial Grade Spirit Stones."

Leng Yue had an extremely serious expression as she said gently, "Cultivation is built on resources. Without resources, you cannot afford to be injured. Without resources, you will not be able to obtain methods to cultivate quickly. Only a few Royal Demons know about this Alchemic Recipe in the Demonic World. Also, it is only the Royal Demons who can afford to make the Exquisite Seven Aperture Fluid.

"You are only responsible for buying the ingredients. I will make the Exquisite Seven Aperture Fluid for you. Otherwise, if you do it yourself, you will end up bankrupt before you succeed."

Xiao Chen clutched the Alchemic Recipe tightly and looked at Leng Yue. "Can I trust you?"

"Of course you should trust me. Now, a strong enemy is targeting you. If you die, I would not be able to survive, either; we are on the same boat," Leng Yue said seriously. As she spoke, she exuded an aura of nobility.

In the next two days, Xiao Chen went to all the herb stores in the entire Divine Dragon Warship. Then, he also went to the Cultivator's Free Market and looked around for a long time. He finally managed to gather enough ingredients for two portions of the Exquisite Seven Aperture Fluid.

Xiao Chen spent another one million Medial Grade Spirit Stones. Even he felt like a spendthrift when faced with that kind of outlay. Within one week, he had gone through two million Medial Grade Spirit Stones.

Hopefully, I will be able to achieve my purpose with this. Otherwise, this loss would be too great.

Thousand-year-old Heavenly Demon Flower, Blood Snake Flower, Dead Sea Mushroom, Magic Blood Crystal, Demon Emperor Grass, Poison Stump Fruit…

In Leng Yue's room, she took stock of the ingredients Xiao Chen brought, carefully checking the quality of every item. She looked very serious and meticulous.

Furthermore, Leng Yue was very strict with the quality. She seemed proficient in this. She found several Spirit Herbs that did not meet her requirements. "This Blood Snake Flower is not really a thousand years old. Only nine hundred years can be counted. When judging the age of an herb, you cannot just look at physical number of years it was alive. This Blood Snake Flower spent a hundred years growing in the belly of a snake. That hundred years are not counted. You have to buy another one.

"As for this Dead Sea Mushroom, there is one that is withered already. The person who sold it to you nourished it with spiritual liquid. This spiritual liquid will be used up in twelve hours; by then, it will be useless."

The Spirit Herbs in Leng Yue's Alchemic Recipe were extremely rare. Even the chapter on alchemy in the Compendium of Cultivation did not record them. That was why Xiao Chen had gotten fooled.

Leng Yue's words did not upset Xiao Chen. He carefully took note of what she said, feeling that he had learned a lot.

After Leng Yue took out the items that did not clear the quality check, she told Xiao Chen, "You have to repurchase these items. You wasted 200,000 Medial Grade Spirit Stones."

Xiao Chen put the failed items into his Universe Ring and said indifferently, "It is not really a waste. Naturally, I will be teaching the people who dared to cheat me a lesson, making them pay severalfold of what they cheated me. Wait here for a while."

Leng Yue did not have to wait too long. After four hours, Xiao Chen came back exuding a raging killing Qi. He took out the items that he repurchased.

"I will take my leave first, then. I will not interrupt you while you're refining the Exquisite Seven Aperture Fluid."

Leng Yue stopped Xiao Chen, saying, "You don't have to leave. Plus, I need your help as well. The method to refine the Exquisite Seven Aperture Fluid is not a secret. As for how much you can learn, that would depend on your abilities."

"Bang!"

Right after Leng Yue spoke, she waved her hand and a cauldron appeared from nowhere. The dark green cauldron was twice the height of a grown man. It was very wide with dragons and phoenixes carved on it. The many talisman scripts on it glowed with a spiritual light.

A glossy, transparent, sparkling mirror floated above the cauldron.

A crystal tablet lay beneath the cauldron. There was a formation carved on the tablet and a clump of white flame floated at the center of the formation.

All this was an eye-opener for Xiao Chen. The Immortal Cauldrons recorded in the Compendium of Cultivation looked almost exactly like this.

When Xiao Chen looked at the charming and innocent-looking Leng Yue, he felt shaken. Leng Yue's identity was greater than he had imagined.

"Xiu!"

The purple mark on Leng Yue's forehead flashed with a glistening and dazzling light. Then, she pointed at the crystal tablet, sending out a beam of dim light. The clump of white flame in the center of the formation erupted, burning intensely and fiercely.

However, that flame did not raise the surrounding temperature. Instead, there was a cool wind, making one feel comfortable.

Xiao Chen knew that this white flame was a high-ranking Yin flame. As for what kind of Yin flame it was, only Leng Yue knew.

"The mirror floating above is the Raging Golden Light Flame Mirror. Originally, it can automatically absorb the flames of the sun during the day and use it. However, we are in the Deep Sea Battlefield. The sun is completely blocked by the demonic clouds. Hence, we need to use your Purple Thunder True Fire."

Xiao Chen nodded to indicate that he understood. He gathered the purple flames in his right eye, condensed it into a purple dragon, and sent it into the Raging Golden Light Flame Mirror.

The glossy, transparent mirror instantly refined the purple dragon into a pure Yang flame. It dazzled with a golden light as it flickered.

Leng Yue opened the lid of the cauldron and added the ingredients one by one. Water bubbled inside; she had apparently placed water in the cauldron in advance.

Then, Leng Yue replaced the cauldron lid. She pointed at the Raging Golden Light Flame Mirror and a beam of golden light went through the cauldron lid and entered the cauldron.

At this moment, Leng Yue closed her eyes. The Yin and Yang flames mixed together, working together to refine the herbs. The purple mark on her forehead flashed and she exuded an ancient and noble aura that overshadowed her usual charm.

After refining for six hours, Leng Yue opened her eyes again. She emitted two beams of dim purple light from the depths of her eyes, then started the final stage of the refining process.

"Boom!"

The dim light disappeared and Leng Yue waved her hand. The cauldron lid immediately fell off and two portions of golden liquid leaped out of the cauldron.

Under Leng Yue's control, the golden liquid flew into the jade bottles that she had waiting on the table. Then, she stopped the bottles carefully and handed them to Xiao Chen.

"The Exquisite Seven Aperture Fluid is done. Here you go. Remember, one bottle can only handle a maximum of three Spirit Gathering Pearls. After that, it would be useless."

Xiao Chen clenched the jade bottles, but he was in no rush to leave. He stared at the cauldron and asked, "This cauldron can be used to refine equipment as well, right?"

Leng Yue was slightly stunned; she had not expected Xiao Chen to know this. Nodding her head, she said, "It can. What are you thinking of? You will not be able to afford the natural treasures needed if you want to refine Magic Treasure."

Xiao Chen did not respond to that. He took out the Palm Sword in his right hand and said, "Help me strengthen this Secret Treasure. I will pay for all the materials needed. If you have any more requests, you can name them as well."

Leng Yue accepted the Palm Sword that Xiao Chen proffered. She looked at it carefully and nodded. "There are some differences between Secret Treasures and Magic Treasures. However, they come from the same origin. I can help you strengthen it. I will list the ingredients; think of a way to obtain them yourself.

"As for any further conditions, there is no need for those. Just continue to hand over those cultivators who come to seek trouble for you to me. The stronger you get, the more I feel assured staying by your side in the next six months."

While Xiao Chen was an Inferior Grade Martial King, the Palm Sword was one of his trump cards. He could activate the Palm Sword at a moment's notice and deal an attack, catching his opponent off-guard. Furthermore, it was hard to dodge.

However, as Xiao Chen advanced, the Palm Sword would lose its utility. Its flying speed would not pose a threat to half-step Martial Monarchs.

If Leng Yue could strengthen it, that would be for the best. In the future, Xiao Chen could also ask her to improve the Blood Flame Shoes and the black leather gloves he wore.

Xiao Chen received the list that Leng Yue wrote and took a look. The list contained all sorts of rare ores, like Ink Crystal, Brilliant White Steel, Earth Crystal Rock, and Magic Blood Crystal. Without a doubt, they were all expensive.

Now, Xiao Chen only had 700,000 or 800,000 Medial Grade Spirit Stones left. After purchasing the items on the list, he would only have about 200,000 Medial Grade Spirit Stones left.

Even just 200,000 Medial Grade Spirit Stones should be enough for me to cultivate to Martial Monarch. Let's not think too much for now. I will think about the problem of resources again when I reach the Martial Monarch realm. If I really still cannot figure it out, I will just have to rely on Yue Chenxi's Supreme Sky Sect.

The further one climbed in cultivation, the more resources one would need. This was especially so for genius cultivators. Without sufficient resources, they would not be able to bring out their potential.

Hence, most genius cultivators would rely on large sects to gather the necessary resources, so they could afford the horrifying amount of resources needed.

Once Xiao Chen made up his mind, he no longer hesitated. He went out and spent 400,000 Medial Grade Spirit Stones to buy all the rare ores in the list. Then, he handed them over to Leng Yue together with the Palm Sword.

After Xiao Chen did all this, he returned to his room to make preparations to absorb a Spirit Gathering Pearl.

A bathtub that was half a grown man's height stood in the room, filled with water. Black Heavenly Demon Flower petals floated on the water.

Chapter 522: Plotting against Xiao Chen

Xiao Chen took out a jade bottle and carefully poured out a third of the Exquisite Seven Aperture Fluid in that bottle. As the golden light splashed into the bathtub, the water started churning and golden bubbles gurgled.

The black Heavenly Demon Flower petals floated gently on the surface, suppressing the Spiritual Energy within the water, not letting any of it leak out.

When the Exquisite Seven Aperture Fluid mixed completely with the water, the clear water became golden. Xiao Chen took out a Spirit Gathering Pearl and made it float above his hand. Then, he refined it using the Purple Thunder True Fire.

"Chi! Chi!"

The Purple Thunder True Fire burned fiercely, and the Spirit Gathering Pearl soon began to melt. After a while, it turned into a blob of spiritual liquid floating above his palm.

The spiritual liquid contained a vast amount of Spiritual Energy. It caused cold wind to blow within the room.

Xiao Chen added the spiritual liquid to the medicinal liquid and waited patiently. The golden liquid quickly heated up and mist rose from the bathtub. However, the Spiritual Energy did not leak at all.

The Heavenly Demon Flower petals were like a formless but firm net trapping all the Spiritual Energy within the golden liquid.

When the golden liquid stopped bubbling, Xiao Chen took off his clothes, stepped into the bathtub completely naked, and sat cross-legged.

After one breath, the Exquisite Seven Aperture Fluid poured into Xiao Chen's body via his pores. Then, it circulated one cycle in his body; all three-hundred-odd acupoints of his body suddenly opened.

The wild and surging spiritual liquid hidden in the fluid immediately found ingress; they headed for Xiao Chen's acupoints.

With three-hundred-odd acupoints open, it was like the might of the spiritual liquid was split into three-hundred-odd portions. This meant that the pressure would be much less.

Xiao Chen's face immediately lit up in joy. This was indeed useful. The Heavenly Demon Flower stopped the Spiritual Energy from leaking. The Exquisite Seven Aperture Fluid opened his acupoints, and at the same time, it split up the spiritual liquid of the Spirit Gathering Pearl.

Given all this, there was no danger in using the Spirit Gathering Pearls to cultivate.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

The spiritual liquid poured into his meridians from the three-hundred-odd acupoints. They were like three-hundred-odd rivers in his meridians, surging with boundless Spiritual Energy.

Good timing!

Xiao Chen cheered in his heart. The purple Qi whirlpool quickly spun and the three-hundred-odd streams of Spiritual Energy immediately poured in. They merged together and exploded within the Qi whirlpool.

However, the Spiritual Energy of the spiritual liquid did not all pour in at once. Instead, they poured into the Qi whirlpool in a steady stream. Hence, the might of this explosion was within Xiao Chen's tolerance.

After the explosion ended, the crystalline purple Qi whirlpool increased in size again. This was comparable to cultivating continuously for a month. Xiao Chen was elated.

However, this was far from the end. The spiritual liquid contained in the golden liquid poured endlessly into Xiao Chen's three-hundred-odd acupoints.

The purple Qi whirlpool's speed of growth visibly accelerated, astonishing Xiao Chen greatly and rendering him speechless with joy.

The resplendent purple Qi whirlpool represented Xiao Chen's cultivation. The larger it grew, the higher his cultivation was.

Previously, Xiao Chen would have had to cultivate for half a month and expend several thousand Medial Grade Spirit Stones before he could increase the size of the Qi whirlpool slightly. However, now, the Qi whirlpool continuously increased in size every second.

How can one not be flabbergasted at such a fast rate of cultivation? Xiao Chen thought excitedly, All this is worth it!

One million Medial Grade Spirit Stones? Severely injured and almost dying? Given this speed of cultivation, all this is worth it!

This growth continued for the time it took to brew a pot of tea. After that, the spiritual liquid in the golden water started to diminish. The water turned clear and Xiao Chen's three-hundred-odd acupoints closed quickly.

The Heavenly Demon Flower petals floating on the water were not excluded, either; they all shriveled into nothing.

Xiao Chen opened his eyes, and his eyes gave off a bright light. They looked very resplendent in the darkness, like crystals. Only after a long time did they dim.

Xiao Chen felt full of boundless energy. He could feel his Qi whirlpool filled with purple liquid. This cultivation session was equal to three months of his normal cultivation.

However, Xiao Chen still felt that he was in the range of a Medial Grade Martial King; he had not reached the bottleneck yet.

"My potential is ridiculously terrifying. I still have not reached the depths of it yet. However, now that I have the Spirit Gathering Pearls, I don't have to rush anymore. In six days, I should be able to advance to Superior Grade Martial King."

With such a vast foundation, Xiao Chen would be very strong when he advanced to Superior Grade Martial King. Even he felt afraid just thinking about it.

Then, Xiao Chen remembered the Evil Moon Pavilion's Bai Zhan. He was a terrifying opponent. He could use a killing technique in an instant. The more Xiao Chen thought about this person's strength, the more terrifying he seemed.

"However, you are too optimistic in thinking you can use my head to repay the Pavilion Master's favor. When I advance to Superior Grade Martial King and completely grasp the state of massacre, I would not mind giving you a surprise," Xiao Chen said with a cold look and serious expression.

------

A vast and luxurious courtyard stood in the huge Divine Dragon Warship. It had ponds and fake mountains, gardens and rivers. Everything that was needed was present. This was the courtyard that the Northern Sea's Four Young Masters rented together.

At the moment, the green-robed young master was entertaining an important guest. This guest was the first disciple of the Evil Moon Pavilion's Pavilion Master—Bai Zhan.

The Evil Moon Pavilion was one of the ten great sects of the Great Jin Nation. They were undoubtedly a super great sect in this world. Even the clan that the green-robed young master came from was quite inferior to it.

Furthermore, Bai Zhan's strength was even more unfathomable. Hence, the green-robed young master did not dare show any disrespect at all.

"After not seeing you for two years, I did not expect your cultivation to exceed mine already," Bai Zhan said as he picked up a wine cup, took a sip, and looked at the green-robed young master.

Once he drained the cup, one of several enticing maids in revealing clothes came from the side and filled Bai Zhan's cup with more wine.

There was a slender, black tail on the back of this maid. All the other maids had slender, black tails as well. Unexpectedly, all the five or six maids in revealing clothes were beautiful Eros Demons.

The green-robed young master waved off the compliment and said, "Brother Bai, stop laughing at me. Everyone knows that at our level, cultivation realm is not the only measurement of combat prowess. As of now, I am probably not a match for Brother Bai."

Bai Zhan smiled faintly without refuting him. He said, "I came looking for you today because I want you to help me kill someone."

The green-robed young master swirled his wine gently. As he looked at the spinning wine in his cup, he smiled and said, "Speak, what are you offering?"

Bai Zhan placed the wine cup heavily on the table before saying in a soft voice, "An Advanced Eros Demon!"

"Bang!"

The green-robed young master shattered the cup in his hand. The wine was like an arrow as it broke through the ceiling and rushed towards the sky.

The four regions of the Boundless Sea all had their own Deep Sea Battlefield. These noble clan heirs or sect inheritors trained in the Battlefield from a young age.

They were no strangers to Demons. They did not fear them, either. They were resolute and had strong willpower.

There were even many strong cultivators who would subdue Eros Demons to keep as sex slaves. This was because the Eros Demons were very beautiful and their physical bodies were almost exactly like human females.

The Eros Demons were even better than human girls at techniques in bed. They felt much better and gave more pleasure than regular human girls.

There were even some cultivators who used the unorthodox cultivation method of dual cultivating. They used the Yin energy to balance their Yang energy, strengthening themselves. The Eros Demons were innately capable of using Yang Energy to balance their Yin energy. They relied on the male's Yang energy to cultivate. So the Eros Demons were the best cultivation cauldron for such cultivators.

When Yin and Yang supported each other, the effects were even better. This was far better than just plundering the Yin to balance the Yang.

The Cultivation Technique that this green-robed young master utilized was the Joyful Yinyang Incantation. It was an incomplete ancient dual cultivation technique. He had found it in an ancient remnant in the Boundless Sea two years ago.

After the green-robed young master made up for the incomplete parts, he started to cultivate it. When he used the Yin energy to balance his Yang energy, his cultivation improved rapidly. Within two years, he managed to catch up with the top genius of the Boundless Sea, Xuanyuan Zhantian.

The green-robed young master had obtained boundless benefits and pleasures from the Eros Demons. So when he heard Bai Zhan say the words "Advanced Eros Demon," he was so excited that he could not contain himself.

Unless there was a Demonic Calamity, there would not be any Advanced Demons coming from the spatial cracks. Even if there were, such Demons would just take a look around before returning.

The green-robed young master had once used the strong influence of the four noble clans in the Northern Shallow Sea to search for an Advanced Eros Demon. Even after spending countless resources, he had not obtained even a single clue.

The green-robed young master gazed at Bai Zhan with incomparable fervor. "Brother Bai, are you telling the truth?"

I knew it. This brat would definitely bite on this bait! With a faint smile, Bai Zhan asked gently, "What do I gain from lying to you?"

After that, Bai Zhan told the green-robed young master about Xiao Chen's backers and about the Advanced Eros Demon that Xiao Chen subdued.

The green-robed young master mumbled to himself for a while. He did not rush into a decision. Instead, he carefully weighed the pros and cons.

The Four Young Masters were backed by strong clans. Since childhood, they had received instruction from famous teachers, not just on cultivation but also on matters of the secular world. They knew how to weigh benefits and costs, and how to devise all sorts of devious plans.

These people were very smart. For them to gain the accomplishments they had today, they had to hone their minds. How could the green-robed young master not know that Bai Zhan wanted to use him?

However, the two would use each other to their mutual benefit. Since Bai Zhan honestly told the green-robed young master about Xiao Chen's backers, he had displayed his sincerity.

Even if what Bai Zhan said is true, there is no need to worry about it.

While the Heavenly Extermination Union is very strong, this is the Boundless Sea. Their reach would not extend this far.

Furthermore, I will not rely on the power of my clan. All I have to do is to get the other three young masters to help me; then it would just be a dispute between the younger generation. Even if the Heavenly Extermination Union came here, they would not be able to say anything about it.

Given this, the issue of the Heavenly Extermination Union is settled. I will not end up bringing my clan any trouble.

These people were very cautious in their actions. They considered every step they took. It would not be worth it to lose his status as heir for the sake of one Advanced Eros Demon.

"Ha ha! Brother Bai, thank you for the news that you brought. Tell me, what do you want me to do?"

After thinking about it, the green-robed young master felt that there would not be any big problem. So he laughed and made his decision.

Bai Zhan smiled faintly, like he had already anticipated that the other party would agree. He said softly, "I will not make things difficult for you. If you have the opportunity, kill Xiao Chen and pass his head to me. If not, just subdue his Eros Demon."

Chapter 523: Reforging the Palm Sword

Actually, Bai Zhan did not care about Xiao Chen at all. Even though Xiao Chen had comprehended saber intent, had exquisite Saber Techniques, and simultaneously comprehended two states, Xiao Chen was still two Cultivation Grades lower than him.

Bai Zhan's cultivation had been obtained through hard work. He had used an unknown amount of Spirit Herbs, miraculous medicines, and natural treasures. He also cultivated the peak Superior Grade Earth Ranked Cultivation Technique of the Evil Moon Pavilion.

In regard to cultivating conditions, Bai Zhan was far ahead of Xiao Chen. Furthermore, his talent was not weaker than Xiao Chen's. He had the confidence of dealing with Xiao Chen in ten moves, not even giving him an opportunity to escape.

However, Xiao Chen had an Advanced Eros Demon with him, which added a variable into the fight. Bai Zhan no longer had complete confidence in preventing Xiao Chen from fleeing. So, he had to deal with Xiao Chen's Eros Demon first before he would make a move.

This was how Bai Zhan was. He would not make a move unless he had complete confidence of victory. However, the moment he made a move, he would not leave any room for failure.

The green-robed young master smiled and said, "That is the best. If he is tactful, I might be willing to spare his life. If not, then don't blame me for being vicious."

Thus, this topic ended here. The green-robed young master asked Bai Zhan another question: "Brother Bai, you are part of the group at the peak of the Great Jin Nation. Tell me, with my strength, will I be able to rank highly in your Great Jin Nation? Maybe I should participate in the next Five Nation Youth Competition and see if I can snag a top ten position."

Previously, the many outstanding talents of the Boundless Sea could not be bothered to participate in the Five Nation Youth Competition. The rewards were not sufficient to catch their eyes.

This was because there were similar competitions in the four regions of the Boundless Sea as well. Furthermore, the rewards were not inferior to what was offered in the Five Nation Youth Competition.

However, there was a rumor that this round of the Five Nation Youth Competition was special. This was the budding era of geniuses. Heroes poured forth, and geniuses gathered. This had already attracted the attention of the upper echelons. Those who ranked highly could enter the Upper Realm.

The mysterious Upper Realm held a fatal attraction for the cultivators of the Boundless Sea. Naturally, the green-robed young master was no exception.

When Bai Zhan heard the confidence in the green-robed young master's tone, as if getting a top ten position was inevitable, he could not help but mock the green-robed young master in his heart. You overestimate yourself. Even I am not confident of making it to the top ten. I wonder where his confidence is coming from?

"Everyone knows that the Great Jin Nation has ten great sects. The true inheritors of every sect are all top-rate geniuses. However, what many people do not know is that there are eight great noble clans that are even stronger. These clans have existed since the Tianwu Dynasty. Some of these clans even date back to before the Tianwu Dynasty. Every one of these clans have produced a Martial Emperor before.

"Ten true inheritors and the heirs of the eight noble clans—those are eighteen people. The top eighteen positions of every Five Nation Youth Competition are usually monopolized by these eighteen people. With your strength, you can try fighting for the remaining two positions of the top twenty.

"However, you do not have much hope, either. This is because there are many hidden independent cultivators. The four nations have recently produced some peak geniuses as well. With your strength, you can only be sure of a top thirty position."

Bai Zhan wanted to deal a blow to this person's arrogance, to prevent him from getting overconfident. So, Bai Zhan told him the truth.

When the green-robed young master heard Bai Zhan's words, he felt embarrassed. The top ten was the standard for the peak. The top twenty were top rate. As for the top thirty, they were merely second rate.

The green-robed young master smiled disconcertedly and stopped pursuing this topic in preference of other things.

As the few Eros Demons served them, the two happily drank and chatted. The sky slowly turned dark.

"Brother Bai, stay here tonight. I will discuss that matter with my brothers first."

The green-robed young master did not let Bai Zhan refuse his offer, insisting that Bai Zhan stay. He revealed a nefarious smile on his handsome face as he ordered the scantily clad Eros Demons, "Take care of Brother Bai properly tonight. If he is not satisfied, I will punish you."

The subdued Eros Demons bowed, revealing a lot of their skin. They smiled and said in seductive voices, "Rest assured, Master. We will definitely not disappoint Young Master Bai."

As Bai Zhan watched the green-robed young master leave, he smiled coldly to himself. This person is extremely reckless. He even dares to cultivate an incomplete ancient Cultivation Technique.

In the end, dual cultivation is an unorthodox cultivating method. Furthermore, it is incomplete. This person will end up developing a heart demon and sinking deeply into it.

There were no shortcuts in the Martial Path. This had been proven since ancient times. Few who took shortcuts had good endings.

Bai Zhan set down his winecup and looked at the beauties surrounding him. He frowned slightly and said coldly, "Thinking of absorbing my Yang energy to pry into the Evil Moon Pavilion's Cultivation Techniques? Do you really think that I would not figure out this trick? Stupid."

Bai Zhan quickly moved his forefinger. It flashed with a brilliant light as it poked the six Eros Demons in the forehead. Then, a mark appeared and they all fell into deep sleep.

------

In the past four days, Xiao Chen had been focusing on refining the Spirit Gathering Pearls. This was so he could strengthen his cultivation to deal with the Evil Moon Pavilion's Bai Zhan.

However, Xiao Chen did not know that Bai Zhan had already made a move. Furthermore, he was using someone else to do it, using tricks to deal with Xiao Chen. He laid trap after trap to force Xiao Chen into desperation one step at a time.

In the past four days, Xiao Chen already used four Spirit Gathering Pearls. His Essence increased explosively. The purple Qi whirlpool became even more resplendent and crystalline.

Suddenly, faint crystals appeared in the Qi whirlpool, a sign of Qi crystallization.

In the end, the purple Qi whirlpool was just a mass of Qi. If it could crystallize completely, a cultivator's heart vessels and cultivation could not be damaged even if someone else wanted to.

"After Four Spirit Gathering Pearls, I finally can see the end of the Medial Grade Martial King realm. Once I absorb two more Spirit Gathering Pearls, I should have completely uncovered all the potential of the Medial Grade Martial King realm." Xiao Chen muttered as he climbed out of the bathtub, having finished his cultivation for the day.

No matter how great one's potential was, one would eventually reach one's limits; Xiao Chen had already expected such a day to arrive. He did not show any signs of depression. Instead, he was very excited; he had been waiting for this day for a very long time already.

Xiao Chen put on his clothes. As he prepared to go out, he saw a scroll of a painting on the table. So he paused.

Xiao Chen had taken this painting from the Ancient Desolate Tower. He had obtained this after he broke out of the Scarlet Blood Flame Prison. While everyone else's paintings exploded, his remained intact.

The scene depicted in the painting had also changed from the Scarlet Blood Flame Prison to what it currently was: a huge hand floating above a lotus-flower-shaped Scarlet Blood Frost Flame.

The painting was very weird. Xiao Chen could not put it into his Universe Ring. Originally, he had forgotten about it. However, every time he entered the bathtub, he had to remove his clothes. So, he saw the painting again.

"I should go ask Leng Yue if she knows what this is. It has been four days; my Palm Sword should be ready already." Xiao Chen put the painting back within his robes, pushed open the door, and headed for Leng Yue's room.

"Dong! Dong! Dong!"

"Come in. The door is not closed." Leng Yue's melodious voice rang out after Xiao Chen knocked on the door a few times.

When Xiao Chen entered the room, he saw the two-man-tall cauldron right away. The Yin flame burned fiercely on the crystal tablet below the cauldron and the Raging Golden Light Flame Mirror shone down a golden light.

Leng Yue's purple mark flashed brightly as she stared at the cauldron. She did not even look when Xiao Chen came in.

My timing seems to be bad. When Xiao Chen saw the situation, he knew he should not interrupt Leng Yue. So he prepared to step out.

"Don't go. It is almost ready. Just wait awhile more," Leng Yue said softly, still staring at the cauldron.

So, Xiao Chen sat down on a chair at the side. He continued to watch with interest, his heart filled with anticipation. He really wanted to know how strong the Palm Sword would become after Leng Yue tempered it.

The Immortals used cauldrons to refine Magic Treasures and Medicinal Pills. Xiao Chen was very familiar with the contents of the Compendium of Cultivation, so he understood this very well.

As for the Secret Treasures of the Tianwu Continent, they were refined using cauldrons as well. Although Secret Treasures were very similar to Magic Treasures, there were still differences. Xiao Chen did not know if he had made things difficult for Leng Yue by asking her to strengthen the Secret Treasure using the methods for the Magic Treasures.

The expression on Leng Yue's face became more and more serious. Her fair fingers flickered with a purple light. She quickly formed hand seals with her hands. The purple light flashed constantly, filling the room with bright sparkles.

"Boom!"

When Leng Yue finished forming the hand seals, the cauldron lid opened and a seven-centimeter sword flew out of the cauldron.

Purple flames burned brightly on the sword. Leng Yue shouted and the small sword instantly enlarged into a 1.3-meter sword. The sword trembled and gave off a melodious hum.

The raging purple flames became a purple sword light, firing out from the sword and flashing in the air. The temperature of the room instantly rose.

"Go!"

Leng Yue pointed and the sword flew towards Xiao Chen at an extremely fast speed, like a bolt of lightning. In the blink of an eye, it arrived before Xiao Chen's nose. He did not even have the chance to react to it.

The instant the sword flew over, Xiao Chen felt a dangerous aura. For a moment, he thought that the sword would stab him.

Xiao Chen felt the power of his bloodline in the sword and smiled. Then, he stretched out his hand and the sword automatically flew over. With a thought, the sword shrank and became the size of a palm again.

Xiao Chen controlled the Palm Sword to fly around in the room. Everywhere the small sword passed, a raging purple fire burned and lightning flashed.

It was not just fast. Its might had increased significantly. What was even more interesting was that it now shared Xiao Chen's attributes; it was no longer a simple, sharp sword.

Xiao Chen held the small sword in his hand. Excitement filled his face as he said seriously, "Thank you, Leng Yue. It's been rough on you."

Leng Yue placed the cauldron lid back and said gently, "It was not that difficult. Secret Treasures are adapted from Magic Treasures. The main purpose is to allow cultivators with no Magic Energy to use them. It can be considered a simplified Magic Treasure.

"I have used the materials that you passed to me to reforge this Palm Sword. It is now even harder that the Heaven Ranked Spirit Weapons of your world. I also placed a formation within it and raised the explosive power of the small sword. Finally, I infused all of the thunder fire that you stored in the Raging Golden Light Flame Mirror. Your little Secret Treasure is now reborn."

Xiao Chen could not stop smiling as he caressed the smooth formation markings on the sword. The more he looked at it, the more he liked it. He said, "This can no longer be called the Palm Sword. You should rename it."

Chapter 524: Using the Spirit Gathering Pearls Again

Leng Yue smiled happily, "I already thought of a name long ago. Even if you did not say it, I would have said something. Palm Sword is a horrible name. Let's call it the Thunder Fire Sword."

"Thunder Fire…Thunder Fire…good name! We will call it the Thunder Fire Sword, then."

Xiao Chen played with the small sword awhile more before taking it back into his palm.

When Xiao Chen recovered his wits, he recalled his other purpose in coming here. He took out the painting in his robes and handed it to Leng Yue. He said, "Take a look at this. Do you know what this is?"

Leng Yue received the painting. At first she did not care too much for it. However, after she unfurled the scroll, her expression slowly turned serious. She said, "This is a Void Projection Painting. Originally, it would be blank. However, it can make a perfect copy of a certain space. This is a rare treasure even in the Kunlun Realm. Where did you get it? Was it at the Heavenly Pagoda?"

"No, I got it at the Ancient Desolate Tower. One would obtain some benefits for every floor that was cleared. I obtained this in the third floor."

Leng Yue furled the painting and said, "Without a doubt, that is the Heavenly Pagoda. In every one of the three thousand great realms, there is a Heavenly Pagoda. Each realm calls it by a different name. This makes sense, now that I think about it. That is the only place in your realm where you can get this Void Projection Painting."

Xiao Chen was not very interested in the history of the Ancient Desolate Tower. When he took back the painting, he asked, "What can this Void Projection Painting be used for now?"

Leng Yue explained, "Naturally, it is very useful. If you dripped your blood on it and bound it, you can use the Scarlet Blood Frost Flame within it. If your Mental Energy is stronger, you can even pull in other cultivators and trap them there."

"Isn't the scene within the painting fake? How can the Scarlet Blood Frost Flame be used?"

Leng Yue patiently explained, "I said that it was a perfect copy. It cannot be differentiated from the real one.

"Let's say I make a clone, one with your memories, your personality, your character, your physical attributes, your appearance, and your Martial Techniques. If I call this clone Xiao Chen, no one would be able to tell the difference. Would you say that he is real or fake?"

Xiao Chen pondered about this for a while. Just thinking about it made his hair stand on end. If everything was the same and no one could tell the difference, then the fake would be real.

"You figured it out, right? This Scarlet Blood Frost Flame was copied in such a manner. When it was copied, that person who made it must have held back. It is impossible for him to have perfectly replicated the might of the Scarlet Blood Frost Flame. Otherwise, he would have overdrawn on his Mental Energy and died."

Xiao Chen nodded, "I figured it out. You know how I can bind it with my blood, right?"

When Xiao Chen heard Leng Yue's words, he started thinking. If he could use this Scarlet Blood Frost Flame in the painting, his strength would soar.

Leng Yue said, "If you have Magic Energy, it would be simple to bind it with your blood. All you have to do is drip your blood on it. However, it cannot be done without Magic Energy. This is a Magic Treasure; you cultivators cannot use it."

Xiao Chen felt extremely disappointed. He had such a good treasure but he could not use it; this was very depressing.

While Xiao Chen had the cultivation method for Immortal Cultivation, he could not build the foundation for Immortal Cultivation. So how could he condense Magic Energy? The Immortal Cultivation Technique—the Purple Thunder Divine Incantation—cultivated Mental Energy, not Magic Energy.

"However, if you have the resources, I can construct a Ten Thousand Magic Gathering Spirit Formation and help you forcibly condense some Magic Energy. Then, you will be able to bind it with your blood."

Xiao Chen asked, "How many Medial Grade Spirit Stones are needed to get the resources?"

Leng Yue already had a rudimentary understanding of the value of items in this world. She made some mental calculations and said, "You should be able to get all the ingredients with twenty million Medial Grade Spirit Stones."

Xiao Chen opened his mouth wide. He looked very stunned. Then…then there was no more then.

He had fought very hard in order to obtain the three million Medial Grade Spirit Stones that he had had.

Twenty million Medial Grade Spirit Stones were an overwhelmingly huge amount. Unless Xiao Chen could get as lucky as Bai Lixi, he would not be able to obtain that much.

If Xiao Chen sold the Demonic Beast materials on him and added the remaining Spirit Stones that he had, he would barely manage to raise one million Medial Grade Spirit Stones.

Raising twenty million Medial Grade Spirit Stones seemed impossible for Xiao Chen. However, he still wanted to obtain one set of ingredients for the Ten Thousand Magic Gathering Spirit Formation and hand them to Leng Yue.

While there was very little chance, it did not mean that there was no chance at all. When he reached Martial Monarch, it might still be possible for him to obtain twenty million Medial Grade Spirit Stones.

Xiao Chen took out his Blood Flame Shoes and the pair of black gloves on his hands. Then, he handed them to Leng Yue and said, "Help me strengthen these two Secret Treasures. Just let me know what materials you need."

Leng Yue received the Blood Flame Shoes and black gloves and said, "You should only have about a few hundred thousand Medial Grade Spirit Stones. You will need at least a million Medial Grade Spirit Stones to strengthen these two Secret Treasures."

"I have my ways. Just write down the materials needed."

Xiao Chen received the list of materials from Leng Yue and looked through it. Then, he left decisively.

Xiao Chen went to the market and sold off all the Demonic Beast materials in his Universe Ring, the items he gained from other cultivators, and some useless Secret Treasures.

In the end, Xiao Chen managed to obtain 1.1 million Medial Grade Spirit Stones and purchased all the natural treasures and rare ores on the list.

The 1.1 million Medial Grade Spirit Stones were all spent in an instant, leaving Xiao Chen completely broke.

"I brought the stuff. I will pick up the Secret Treasures in three days. Sorry for all the trouble." Xiao Chen appeared very resolute as he handed the items over to Leng Yue.

With the precedent of the Thunder Fire Sword, Xiao Chen believed that the Blood Flame Shoes and the pair of black leather gloves would bring him a pleasant surprise.

Even if Xiao Chen became poor, he did not care. He had to raise his strength quickly. Only then would he be able to hold his own against Bai Zhan in a short period of time.

Back in the bedroom, Xiao Chen took out the bottle containing the Exquisite Seven Aperture Fluid and poured the golden liquid into the bathtub.

"Gurgle…!"

The water in the bathtub bubbled and the clear water turned golden. Xiao Chen continued watching as he waited for the Exquisite Seven Aperture Fluid to completely mix with the water.

Then, Xiao Chen took out a Spirit Gathering Pearl and refined it into spiritual liquid before adding it to the golden liquid.

Xiao Chen closed his eyes and waited for a while. When he knew that liquid was ready, he stopped looking at the bathtub and took his clothes off one by one.

He had already gone through this process a few times. He was no longer as cautious as he was the first time he tried this.

Xiao Chen entered the bathtub and sat cross-legged. Soon, all three-hundred-odd acupoints on his body opened with the aid of the Exquisite Seven Aperture Fluid.

The spiritual liquid that the Spirit Gathering Pearl melted into poured into Xiao Chen's body continuously. He closed his eyes and started to refine it into his cultivation.

The purple Qi whirlpool glowed with a resplendent light and spun wildly like a tornado as it greedily absorbed the vast spiritual liquid.

The Qi whirlpool slowly became stronger and larger. When Xiao Chen had absorbed half of the spiritual liquid, the Qi whirlpool stopped growing larger. He rejoiced, knowing that he would arrive at his bottleneck soon.

For most people, when they sensed a bottleneck, they would be very dispirited. This was because the bottleneck would result in them being stuck for at least one and a half years. They would find it hard for their cultivation to improve.

If their state of mind was not right and they did not have any natural treasures, they might be stuck at the bottleneck for four to five years. There were even people who were stuck for several decades.

However, Xiao Chen did not have this frustration. He had the Spirit Gathering Pearls and a foundation that was hard to compete against. The most important thing was that he had already failed once.

Xiao Chen knew that even though he failed the first time he used the Spirit Gathering Pearl, he had merely been severely injured because he had twenty-four acupoints that he could freely open.

As for other geniuses, they did not have these twenty-four acupoints. Failure meant death for them. Even if they had the Spirit Gathering Pearls, they would not dare to use them.

The next day, Xiao Chen absorbed another Spirit Gathering Pearl. Now, the Exquisite Seven Aperture Fluid was completely used up.

This time, the purple Qi whirlpool did not grow larger. However, there were more crystals outside the Qi whirlpool.

Xiao Chen tried cultivation and his cultivation did not increase as well. He had truly reached the bottleneck between Medial Grade Martial King and Superior Grade Martial King.

"If I cultivated like normal, I would have needed at least half a year before I reached the bottleneck of Medial Grade Martial King. These six Spirit Gathering Pearls saved me half a year of time, helping me to close the gap."

Xiao Chen clenched his fist tightly with an resolute expression.

On this day, Xiao Chen did not do anything. He merely lay in bed and slept. The next day, he did not do anything, either. He rested, recovering his spirits, making preparations to break through the bottleneck to Superior Grade Martial King.

On the third night, Xiao Chen finally moved. He got out of bed. After resting for two days and nights, his spirit was in peak condition.

Xiao Chen sat on the prayer mat on the floor, took out the remaining five Inferior Grade Spirit Gathering Pearls, and placed them on his head. Then, he slowly refined them with purple fire.

When most people made a breakthrough, they would only require three Spirit Gathering Pearls. However, Xiao Chen's foundation was greater than the average person's. Naturally, it would be much harder for him to break through his bottleneck. He even worried that five Inferior Grade Spirit Gathering Pearls were not enough.

After seven or eight minutes, the five Spirit Gathering Pearls were all refined into spiritual liquid. The leaked Spiritual Energy immediately spread throughout the room. White mist shrouded Xiao Chen's figure, making him look indistinct.

The white mist condensed on the furniture in the room, forming dew on the vase, the table, and the bed.

This dew was formed by the pure Spiritual Energy. It was very precious. However, at this moment, it filled Xiao Chen's room.

Taking a deep breath, Xiao Chen relaxed himself before controlling a glob of spiritual liquid to enter his Tianmen Acupoint.

The moment the spiritual liquid entered, it followed the major meridian and rushed down like a vast river gushing with all its might.

Its force and momentum was like a huge army kicking up dust as they charged. The warriors pointed their swords to the front; nothing could stop them.

As Xiao Chen had experienced this before, he did not panic. He quietly waited for the spiritual liquid to reach his dantian.

"Boom!"

In just a moment, the spiritual liquid crashed heavily into the purple Qi whirlpool. It caused an intense explosion and the immovable bottleneck trembled. However, it was just a very slight motion.

Xiao Chen's Qi and blood surged. Despite the intense pain, he just gritted his teeth and endured it. He roared out in his heart, Not enough! More!

"Boom!" Another stream of spiritual liquid landed and exploded again. Still not enough! More! More!

Chapter 535: Demonic Spirit Blood Moon Appears

Xiao Chen's expression turned grave. Blood leaked out of the corner of his lips as he continuously controlled globs of spiritual liquid to enter his Tianmen Acupoint and crash into the Qi whirlpool. 

Xiao Chen did not hesitate or change his expression. He did not show any fear. He was determined and decisive. Only one thought existed in his head: As long as I have one breath left, I will break through the bottleneck that ordinary people would take ten or twenty years to break.

This was because Xiao Chen was not ordinary; he was not and never would be.

Xiao Chen was a one-in-ten-thousand genius. He was the White Robed Bladesman who had killed his way to where he was without losing. He was the peak genius of this budding era of geniuses, the one that could fight with heaven.

This was the great age of cultivation. Countless geniuses filled the land like stars filled the sky. They came from many places, going everywhere. 

We cultivators are hot-blooded and full of heroism. We have to endure loneliness and temptations. We dare to fight with heaven, with the world, and other people. We will not appear weak and timid. We fear nothing.

Boundless hot-bloodedness and heroism. I only ask heaven one thing: does the peak belong to me, Xiao Chen? If heaven does not answer, then I will break through this firmament and climb to the peak!

"Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!"

Explosions rang out continuously in the Qi whirlpool. The remnant shock waves caused injuries to Xiao Chen's internal organs. However, he did not have any intention of relaxing or giving up.

When the final glob of spiritual liquid fell into the Qi whirlpool, the entire Qi whirlpool exploded and turned chaotic.

Pure Spiritual Energy surged out and spread throughout Xiao Chen's body. He instantly felt very relaxed and his internal injuries healed.

Xiao Chen waited until the chaos subsided before sinking his consciousness down. The glowing purple Qi whirlpool was now half Qi and half purple translucent crystals.

Superior Grade Martial King! Finally!

Xiao Chen opened his eyes joyfully, and they emitted a bright light. His eyes looked as bright as the sun in the white mist, and as clear as crystal.

Xiao Chen took a deep breath and absorbed all the white mist and dew.

"Cultivation is tough and my road is even harder than others'. However, I finally broke through to Superior Grade Martial King."

When Xiao Chen felt the explosive Essence of the crystal Qi whirlpool, he smiled faintly.

Xiao Chen pushed the door open and headed for Leng Yue's room. There are two strengthened Medial Grade Secret Weapons waiting for him there.

Just as Leng Yue took out the black leather gloves from the cauldron, she saw Xiao Chen at the door. She immediately smiled and said, "Congratulations. You were not blasted to death by the Spirit Gathering Pearls."

Xiao Chen was in a good mood, so Leng Yue's sarcastic tone did not bother him. He received the black leather gloves and the Blood Flame Shoes from Leng Yue and put them on again.

"Xiu!"

Before Leng Yue could introduce the two reforged Secret Treasures to Xiao Chen, they felt a chilly wind coming down from the sky. It came in through the window and entered their pores. The chilly wind was overwhelming.

"Something is wrong!"

Xiao Chen was startled. The major event that he anticipated might be starting now.

The two hurried out and looked up. They saw a full scarlet moon slowly rising in the sky. It broke through the pitch-black demonic clouds and shone down a boundless light.

"Roar! Roar! Roar!"

Earth-shatteringly loud roars resounded, coming from the Deep Sea Battlefield. The air trembled from the roars; despite the huge distance, they could feel it.

Xiao Chen's expression changed when he saw the scarlet moon rising in the sky. He muttered, "It's a blood moon, a true blood moon. What's going on?"

However, Leng Yue's expression did not change. She said calmly, "This is the Demonic Spirit Blood Moon. When it appears, the Demons become more powerful. The blood in their bodies surge and they go berserk. They become difficult to deal with."

Xiao Chen felt it was strange. He asked, "Then why are you not showing any reaction?"

Leng Yue smiled and said, "Why would I react to it? However, when the light shines on me, my strength improves by at least twenty percent."

"What causes the Demonic Spirit Blood Moon to appear? What does it mean? Do you know?" Xiao Chen asked Leng Yue. She was an Advanced Demon; she should know some of the secrets behind this.

When the outstanding talents of the Boundless Sea came back to rest at the same time, Xiao Chen had sensed that something was wrong. Indeed, half a month later, this mysterious blood moon rose in the sky.

Leng Yue shook her head and said, "The Demonic Spirit Blood Moon exists in the starry void. During a Demonic Calamity, the Demons will use the blood of ten thousand virgins to summon the Demonic Spirit Blood Moon to strengthen the Demons. If no one summons it, it would normally appear only once every three years.

"As for what it means, you will know soon."

At this moment, every cultivator on the Divine Dragon Warship felt that chilly sensation. They rushed out of their doors and were shocked to see that blood moon in the distance.

Shadowy figures leaped across the roofs, heading for the Battlefield. Everyone felt that something was wrong.

Xiao Chen followed the crowd and headed forward, preparing to find out what was happening.

The front edge of the huge warship was packed with people. As he got closer, the roars of the Demons became louder.

Xiao Chen floated in midair, trying to go forward to take a look. He could not help but frown.

Three huge pillars of light rose up from the three outpost islets. Talisman scripts appeared around the pillars of light, connecting the formations of the three outpost islets together in a dazzling blue barrier.

Countless Demons gathered behind the barrier. All eighteen races of Demons were present and there were plenty of each race.

The Iron Demons that had the strongest defense were charging in front. They played the role of meat shield in the Demon army.

Four thousand Iron Demons lined up like a wall. They blocked all the energy shells fired by the Ancient Demonic Energy Cannons on the outpost islets.

Behind the Iron Demons was an unending chain of red flaming clouds more than five kilometers long. Fire Demons stood on the clouds, sending all sorts of strong attacks at the barriers.

Then, further behind were Ice Demons, Winged Demons, Ghost Race, Blood Demons…all eighteen races were accounted for. They all roared together like a true army, mercilessly attacking the blue barrier.

Under the relentless chain of attacks, the blue barrier that seemed like it held up the sky rippled. At this rate, the barrier would be broken soon.

The three islets would be destroyed. Then the Demons would charge at the Divine Dragon Warship. Once the Divine Dragon Warship was destroyed, this third grade Battlefield would spiral out of control. Then, the islands inhabited by humans would have to be evacuated. Humans would have to migrate and suffer great losses.

"How could this happen? All the Demons from the periphery and inner area are gathered together."

"We cannot carry on like this. The islets will fall sooner or later. Once that happens, this Divine Dragon Warship will fall. All of us will die."

"What about the Divine Dragon Palace's people? I do not see them. Where are they?"

"Are you stupid? The Divine Dragon Palace's elites are in the core area. They are holding back the high-ranked Demons there. Otherwise, how could we have the chance to go to the periphery and inner area to kill Demons. Just a single high-ranked Demon would be able to slaughter us all."

Xiao Chen was not the only person who considered the consequences of the islets falling. Many cultivators on the Divine Dragon Warship thought of the consequences as well.

"Xiao Chen, you really hit it on the nail. If we were in the inner area, we would not be standing here today."

When Bai Lixi saw Xiao Chen in midair, he immediately flew over. He asked with a serious expression, "What should we do? Should we flee first? I see several people already making preparations to do so."

Xiao Chen looked around and discovered that it was as Bai Lixi said. Several people at the front had already taken to the sky and were flying away.

Such a scene was not surprising. One might have been prepared for death in experiential training, but in the end, they hoped to live.

If the islets fell, the Demons would attack. With the blood moon's light, the large number of Demons, and the strengthened Demons, there was no hope of survival.

Furthermore, the continued existence of the Divine Dragon Palace had nothing to do with these people. This was not their sect, so there was no need for them to sacrifice their lives for it.

Xiao Chen had a calm expression as he replied, "No rush. Although the experts of the Divine Dragon Palace are at the island in the core area, you've forgotten about the Southern Sea's Four Heroes, the Northern Sea's Four Young Masters, the Western Sea's Seven Knights, and the Eastern Sea's Little Dragon King.

"They are all half-step Martial Monarchs. A dozen-odd half-step Martial Monarch experts is a sizable force. I believe the Divine Dragon Palace had summoned them back because of this."

Bai Lixi analyzed what Xiao Chen said and found that it made sense. He chuckled and said, "It looks like I panicked too soon. In that case, for us, this is a fortuitous encounter."

For the weak, it was very good if they could stay alive in such danger.

However, for the strong, as long as there was a chance of survival, this endless stream of Demons was a large number of points; they were an immense fortune.

Xiao Chen's eyes glowed with confidence. His expression was resolute and his tone serious as he said, "That's right. Normally, it would be hard to find so many Demons. Now, they are all gathered together, saving us a lot of effort. This has to be a fortuitous encounter."

As he spoke, Xiao Chen unconsciously emitted a strong aura that pressured Bai Lixi somewhat.

Xiao Chen had just advanced to Superior Grade Martial King. His Essence was vast and pure, but he had not tempered it yet. He could not control his Essence freely yet. After a while, after he tempered it, such a situation would not happen again.

Bai Lixi said in shock, "Xiao Chen, you advanced to Superior Grade Martial King?"

Xiao Chen had a deep look in his eyes and a firm expression. He nodded and said, "Yes, I just advanced. I already made a vow in the Battlefield. I will not leave before becoming a half-step Martial Monarch."

"Dong! Dong! Dong!"

As the two of them conversed, they suddenly heard hoofbeats. The neighing and the 'clip clops' of the horse hooves were like thunder when mixed together.

When the crowd heard the sound, their heads buzzed. Their Qi and blood could not help but surge. They had to circulate their energies to block their ears.