Chapter 1468 (Raw 1448): Closed-Door Cultivation
After the Heavenly Profound Holy Lady finished speaking, Xiao Chen felt an irresistible force tossing his body out of the Mirage Immortal Palace.
The world spun around. When he felt his feet planted firmly on the ground again, he discovered himself on an island.
Xiao Chen casually looked around and discovered that this nameless island was the island where the hemp-robed old man had been before entering the Mirage Immortal Palace.
He did not know if the Heavenly Profound Holy Lady did this on purpose or if this was a coincidence.
"Whoos.h.!.+"
Just as Xiao Chen was about to leave, a figure suddenly appeared beside him. It was the Four Sea Wild Saber, Feng Xiao.
"Brother Shadowless, I did not expect to be able to meet you again after coming out."
Feng Xiao appeared to be in good spirits; he gave off a certain sharpness. He must have gained a lot in the Mirage Immortal Palace.
Xiao Chen nodded firmly, answering the other party"s greetings. Then, they casually chatted for a while.
Indeed, it was as Xiao Chen expected: Feng Xiao had obtained the Dao Comprehension Picture that an ancient bladesman left behind. After spending some time to comprehend it, Feng Xiao made a great harvest. Now, Feng Xiao was preparing to enter into closed-door cultivation and absorb the complete Dao.
Xiao Chen smiled faintly and congratulated Feng Xiao, offering his blessings.
"Hehe! My harvest is not really much. There was a huge explosion on the ninth floor of the Immortal palace"s underground. I heard that a supreme treasure appeared. Unfortunately, I missed out on it."
Feng Xiao was in a good mood, turning somewhat voluble.
"It might not necessarily be a bad thing that you missed it. For many such fortuitous encounters, you need to gauge your own strength first," Xiao Chen said as he recalled his experiences on the Immortal palace"s ninth underground floor.
Naturally, Feng Xiao did not understand the deeper meaning behind Xiao Chen"s words. He nodded and said, "Brother Shadowless is right. I have to enter closed-door cultivation quickly, so I won"t chat any longer. Let"s meet again in the future if it is fated."
"See you." Xiao Chen sent Feng Xiao off with a cupped-fist salute.
Not long later, the middle-aged couple also came out. After casually greeting Xiao Chen, they rushed off.
It looked like they feared Xiao Chen attacking them, s.n.a.t.c.hing away their treasures. Xiao Chen found it funny but did not say anything about it.
It looked like the Heavenly Profound Holy Lady purposely sent out his group to the same place.
The hemp-robed old man had died, so he would definitely not come out. However, there was also Geomaster Jiang Tian.
Although Xiao Chen believed that nothing would happen to the other party, he was still somewhat unsure in the depths of his heart.
"Could something have happened to that old fellow?"
Just as Xiao Chen muttered to himself, a beam of light flashed beside Xiao Chen. It was Jiang Tian, who emitted negative energy, appearing beside Xiao Chen.
"Haha! Don"t worry, even if you all die, this old man will not die."
Although Jiang Tian seemed to give off negative energy, he was very spirited. He was not in a sorry state despite having gotten trapped in a Ghost Mountain.
"How unfortunate! If only I could continue."
Jiang Tian was in a very good mood, somewhat forgetting about the matter of the Immortal Cultivators.
It was only some time later that Jiang Tian realized that he was being too rude. He smiled abashedly and said, "Sorry, when I was under the Ghost Mountain, I was researching the methods of the ancient Geomasters and got too engrossed. How was your side? Did the Penglai Sea"s people manage to obtain the way to cultivate as a Ghost Immortal?"
Xiao Chen felt that there was nothing much to hide from Jiang Tian. So he honestly spoke about his encounter at the Immortal palace.
After hearing his account, Jiang Tian was stirred, sighing endlessly.
"Unexpectedly, it is so difficult to cultivate as a Ghost Immortal. The Heavenly Profound Holy Lady, a heartless person, is really pitiful."
Xiao Chen said indifferently, "I feel that she is still fine. At least, she actually helped me obtain the Cycle Arts, unlike some people…"
Jiang Tian smiled in embarra.s.sment. "Wasn"t I trapped in the Ghost Mountain? If not for being trapped, it would have been easy for me to help you obtain the Cycle Arts."
"It looks like you are rather carefree after coming out, not like you were restricted at all." Xiao Chen did not accept the other party"s excuse. No matter what, he was the one who dealt with the Penglai Sea"s people, so he had to try and get something out of Jiang Tian.
Jiang Tian knew that he was in the wrong. He said, "Very well, I owe you a favor for this. How do you want me to repay it?"
Xiao Chen smiled in satisfaction. "You are truly a good senior, very straightforward. In that case, I"ll speak directly. I want you to help me to investigate the Treasure Master"s ident.i.ty and the ghost Hou. See if there is any connection between them."
The moment Xiao Chen said that, Jiang Tian"s expression sank.
"Little brat, you are pus.h.i.+ng me into the firepit. The Treasure Master is low-profile and mysterious. Even the Primes did not dare to make a move against him, yet you want me to investigate him? This…is really hard to justify." Jiang Tian tried to push this away, clearly unwilling.
"A gentleman keeps his promises. Haha! I can"t be bothered about that. This is my Voice Transmission Talisman; just inform me when you have any information." Xiao Chen did not care. After tossing out a Voice Transmission Talisman, he left the nameless island while laughing heartily.
This left Jiang Tian alone, holding the Voice Transmission Talisman. After a while, he said with a sullen expression, "The Treasure Master"s matter… Indeed, I should not try to delude both myself and others. Fine, I"ll take this opportunity to check him out thoroughly together with some old friends."
He had long suspected that the Treasure Master was connected to the Deep Abyss Demonic World.
However, the Treasure Master was too strong, and his movements were very low-profile. Furthermore, he did not oppose the various Holy Lands. Hence, everyone just closed one eye to his existence.
This was especially so after the Heaven Abandoning Deity Sovereign made a move and failed to take down the Treasure Master. As a result, everyone felt more reverence for the Treasure Master"s strength.
Nevertheless, if this continued and Jiang Tian simply watched as the Treasure Master kept slowly increasing his influence, Jiang Tian would just be deceiving himself and others.
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After leaving the island, Xiao Chen sought a suitable place for closed-door cultivation on the boundless sea.
Compared to Feng Xiao, Xiao Chen had an even greater need to enter closed-door cultivation. Furthermore, he made up his mind to not come out of closed-door cultivation until he comprehended the state of cycle.
Wearing a mask everywhere he went gave Xiao Chen a feeling of shame.
In the long term, this would make his Heart Demon even more difficult to deal with, possibly even insurmountably so.
As Xiao Chen reflected, he discovered a pretty good spot for his closed-door cultivation. It was a lone island with the boundless sea surrounding it for five thousand kilometers around. It was not along any trade routes, nor did it contain any natural treasures.
There should not be anyone coming to this place for ten to a hundred years.
True to his cautious nature, after Xiao Chen landed on the lone island, he laid down some defensive formations. Then, he tossed out a formation plate and tapped the air with his right hand, activating the simple defense.
After laying his formation, he sat down cross-legged, then cleared his head, entering into a state where he forgot about everything and himself.
After achieving the right mental state, Xiao Chen shouted. Lights of seven different colors shot out from his body.
Each light represented a different state: ma.s.sacre, destruction, ruin, pain, grief, despair, and death.
Ma.s.sacre caused destruction. When destruction spread out, it resulted in ruin, which brought pain and grief. When grief was infinitely expanded upon, it would become despair. At the end came death.
Death represented the destruction of all things. However, from death came new life, a cycle.
Nothing could escape this cycle, from the insignificant ants, birds, and beasts, to the world, even the epoch.
This was so for the Immortal Epoch. The Immortals fell, and the world crumbled. Everything was destroyed. However, the epoch"s death gave birth to a new epoch. Now, the Kunlun Realm was already this prosperous.
The great world above would definitely be even more prosperous. The Cycle Dao never stopped.
On the first page of the Cycle Arts secret manual, there were eight ancient words: the cycle does not stop; life never ends.
After he grasped the cycle, the flames of life would be eternal and inextinguishable. They would blaze intensely, living as long as the heavens.
This was the greatest aspiration the creator of the Cycle Arts had for the Cycle Dao. Whether it truly had such an effect was unknown.
The Cycle Arts in Xiao Chen"s hand was incomplete. The contents at the back were clearly lacking, just enough for him to comprehend the state of cycle. It was still a mystery if there was more at the back.
Xiao Chen read through the Cycle Arts secret manual again. Then, he closed his eyes and circulated his energy as prescribed.
He cultivated accordingly. As the Primordial Energy swam around in his body, seven flames spun around him.
The lights of seven colors soared into the air, looking like a rainbow as they lit up the entire sky.