Chapter 782: You Will Definitely Not Lose
Ao Jiao, is she right?
Ao Jiao nodded and said, More or less. These three Spirit Herbs surpa.s.s the existence of Rank 9 Spirit Herbs. People who have them would not lack Astral Coins.
Xiao Chen’s tone remained calm and collected as he asked, “Can you give me these three Spirit Herbs now?”
At his somewhat interested response, Ying Qiong’s face lit up in joy. She replied, “That is impossible. However, I have the means to collect everything within a year.”
Xiao Chen calculated the time. If nothing unexpected happened, he would have enough acc.u.mulations as a half-Sage after a year. If Ying Qiong could really do what she said, he could consider it.
For him, the core painting piece could significantly increase his strength, but it was not his opportunity to become a Martial Sage.
If Xiao Chen could become a Martial Sage sooner, his accomplishments in the future would be higher. For the sake of the Thunder Emperor’s matter, he had to become a Martial Sage as early as possible.
Compared to becoming a Martial Sage, this half of the core painting piece was nothing.
“Fine, I agree. If you really find the Flaming Sun Fruit, Three Sage Gra.s.s, and Heavenly Dragon Flower, you can come look for me any time. Of course, if I end up waiting too long, I might change my mind.”
Ying Qiong smiled sweetly and said, “Deal! Consider the Spirit Herbs that you purchased in the Flouris.h.i.+ng Heaven Pavilion as a small present from me.”
After a while, Xiao Mei entered the room, bringing two sets of the ingredients that they could collect for the Breaking Sage Pill.
Apart from the Flaming Sun Fruit, Three Sage Gra.s.s, and Heavenly Dragon Flower, there were still several Spirit Herbs unavailable. However, these herbs were not too rare. Xiao Chen should be able to obtain them after spending some effort.
The crucial ones were still the three Spirit Herbs Ying Qiong mentioned. Those were herbs that could only be found and not sought, which was a headache.
After Xiao Mei handed everything over, she said apologetically, “As for the Heart Nouris.h.i.+ng Flower, this is a very rare Spirit Herb. Normally, no one would even auction it unless it is a major auction.”
Direct consumption of the Heart Nouris.h.i.+ng Flower could increase the toughness of the cultivator’s heart. The heart was the weak point of all cultivators. No one would worry about the herb not selling.
Xiao Chen had not held much hope for this herb in the first place. He waved his hand and let Xiao Mei take her leave first.
This pile of ingredients was worth more than two million Astral Coins. Since Ying Qiong was willing to pay for it, Xiao Chen was happy to let her do so.
“I shall not waste any more time here, then. Goodbye.”
Now that Xiao Chen had achieved his objectives, he did not need to linger, so he got up and took his leave.
Ying Qiong stood up to see him off. As she watched Xiao Chen leave, she touched her red lips. A strange expression flashed in her eyes as she sighed, “I’m not sure who lost out here. Such an unromantic person actually took this lady’s first kiss.”
After leaving the Flouris.h.i.+ng Heaven Pavilion, Xiao Chen asked around for the whereabouts of the third of the Ten Evils, Zong Zhenghao, the person who won the auction for the Thunder Emperor’s broken sword. He found out that Zong Zhenghao had not returned to Hunluo City for half a year since the auction.
Rumor said that Zong Zhenghao had offended some big shot in Hunluo City and no longer dared to remain. He took the Sub-Divine Weapon fragment and left for the even more dangerous and chaotic Primal Chaos Domain.
All Hunluo City had were human and Fiend Race loose cultivators. Furthermore, there was only one province for them.
The Primal Chaos Domain was different. It had loose cultivators from all five great domains of the Kunlun Realm. It was truly a land of chaos. Hunluo Province was simply incomparable to the Primal Chaos Domain regarding the level of lawlessness.
When Xiao Chen heard this, he could only sigh helplessly. It looked like he had to put his plan of retrieving the Thunder Emperor’s broken sword on hold indefinitely.
Having killed an Inferior Grade Martial Sage of the Eternal Heavenly Sword School, Xiao Chen knew he could not remain in this place for long. Once he had news of Zong Zhenghao, he immediately left the city and flew for three days and three nights straight.
After that, Xiao Chen landed before a rather desolate valley.
“This place is outside Hunluo Province, so there should not be any danger here. The experts from the headquarters of the Eternal Heavenly Sword School should not be able to find any traces of me,” Xiao Chen muttered when he landed.
Rocks and trees covered the valley. He looked around for a clear spot and sat down cross-legged there, entering into a state of cultivation.
The Heavenly Sage Laws in his body surged. His Quintessence recovered rapidly, and the clouds acc.u.mulated around his dantian again.
After using the Thunder Dragon Steps for three days straight, Xiao Chen had exhausted a lot of Quintessence. He would not be able to recover his peak state quickly.
The Thunder Dragon Steps was the Movement Technique that he made by fusing Thunder Steps and Azure Dragon Cloud Soaring Art. Xiao Chen named it himself. While the name did not sound very nice, it fit the Movement Technique well.
After six hours, Xiao Chen opened his eyes. A bright light gleamed in them; he had recovered all his Quintessence.
“Ao Jiao, partner me in practicing the saber. You should have gained a lot during your cultivation in Misleading Fog Lake, right?”
A beam of white light shot out of the Immortal Spirit Ring on Xiao Chen’s finger as the pet.i.te and cute Ao Jiao with her extraordinarily hot figure emerged.
Ao Jiao materialized two blades of light in her hands. She looked at Xiao Chen with her bright eyes and smiled. “This is really rare. You actually asked me to practice the saber with you. It looks like you are not as confident about the duel with Bai Wuxue as I thought.”
Xiao Chen revealed a contemplative expression as he said, “The cold lands of the extreme north are desolate and uninhabited. There is nothing there except danger. Since ancient times, that has been a place where countless geniuses have fallen. How can I underestimate Bai Wuxue when he managed to walk out alive?”
Ao Jiao’s smile vanished as she said, “That is right. Sang Mu spent some time there before as well. It is a world of ice. In its depths, there are even some small remnants of the Snow Race, one of the hundred ancient races. Even Sang Mu did not dare to underestimate their inheritance.”
Xiao Chen’s expression turned grave as he said, “That is not important. The most important thing is that he also has the strength to kill an Inferior Grade Martial Sage. Furthermore, it was a loose cultivator ranked in the top ten of the Evil Cultivator Ranking and not some ordinary Inferior Grade Martial Sage.”
Ao Jiao’s expression changed slightly. She said, “Hehe! Don’t undervalue yourself. Right now, the entire Tianwu Domain does not think well of you, waiting for you to make a joke of yourself. However, I believe that you will definitely not lose.
“The great age of geniuses has now arrived. The situation in the Tianwu Domain is changing. The geniuses of the three thousand great realms are ascending the stage. There will surely be a spot for you among them.”
Xiao Chen laughed and said, “Let’s practice, then. Help me test out whether my thoughts about the Lightning Tribulation Saber Technique are correct or not.”
“Gladly.”
There were only two months left to the one year Xiao Chen had committed to. If he deducted the travel time to the Extreme Yin Sect’s headquarters, he had less than one month to comprehend a brand-new Lightning Tribulation Saber Technique.
Completely altering a Saber Technique in one month would be impossible for normal people.
From a certain point of view, altering a Saber Technique required even more time than creating a Saber Technique.
When creating a Saber Technique, what was crucial was comprehension. Once one gained the comprehension needed, they could instantly create a Saber Technique and slowly improve it afterwards.
Back then, the founder of the Heavenly Saber Pavilion observed the lightning tribulation of Spirit Beasts and created the Lightning Tribulation Saber Technique in one night.
However, altering a Saber Technique required much consideration and caution. After all, a complete Saber Technique involved many things. Making a small change could affect other aspects. If things went wrong, one might even end up crippling their cultivation.
Thus, caution had top priority. After that, success depended on the cultivator’s understanding of Saber Techniques and their acc.u.mulations and experiences.
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The days in the valley pa.s.sed one after another as Xiao Chen nervously altered the Lightning Tribulation Saber Technique.
The time for the duel drew nearer. Several geniuses in closed-door cultivation in the Tianwu Domain also came out.
---
Thunder and Lightning Palace, in a palace floating in thunderclouds: An Junxi slowly walked out of the clouds and looked towards the Extreme Yin Sect in the north. His eyes had a look of antic.i.p.ation.
Bolts of lightning flashed amid the dark clouds behind him, presenting an extremely horrifying sight. It was like he was completely immersed in a sea of lightning.
“First Senior Brother!”
When the true inheritors pa.s.sing nearby saw this scene, they immediately flew over and congratulated him. As of now, An Junxi was already Feng Wuji’s equal. In his sect, his status was even higher than several of the inner sect elders.
These true inheritors all had sincere expressions as they congratulated An Junxi from the bottom of their hearts.
“There is no need to be so polite. How much time is there until the duel between Bai Wuxue and that Supreme Sky Sect disciple?” An Junxi asked calmly, looking as sharp as a sword.
The other disciples could not understand why their First Senior Brother was concerned about this matter. Could it be that a person destined to become a joke was still worth their First Senior Brother coming out of closed-door cultivation early?
“In reply to First Senior Brother, it will be time after a month. Bai Wuxue has already returned to the Extreme Yin Sect. However, there has not been any news of that so-called White Robed Bladesman. He probably fled in fear.”
Although this disciple grumbled in his heart, he still answered An Junxi’s question in detail.
“One month? Then I should get moving. How can someone who comprehended the immortal state of thunder flee in fear?”
An Junxi revealed a smile on his face as he turned into a beam of light, vanis.h.i.+ng before the few true inheritors.
This response kept all these true inheritors stunned for a long time.
---
In the drill ground of the Ximen n.o.ble Clan, Ximen Bao sparred with a clan elder using Saber Techniques. As they exchanged moves, he exuded a sharp feeling and an extremely ferocious atmosphere that compelled one to give way.
As the old man dealt with the moves, he nodded to himself in his heart. After the match, the old man smiled and said, “Young Master, you have made astonis.h.i.+ng progress in this past year. The Old Ancestor’s teachings did not go to waste.”
Ximen Bao casually wiped the sweat off his forehead. When he recalled the days when his great-grandfather trained him, he could not help but shudder.
A ferocious glint flashed in his eyes as he smiled. “All this is for the sake of that person who once humiliated me. In the past year, I have not relaxed at all. I only hope that he will not disappoint me.”
---
In the palace that belonged to Shui Lingling in the Supreme Sky Sect, Jun Si slowly entered.
She whispered, “First Senior Sister, it is time we departed. The transportation formation does not connect directly to the Extreme Yin Sect. It will take us more than a month to get there.”
Shui Lingling raised her head, looking fatigued. She asked, “Is there still no news of Xiao Chen?”
Jun Si shook her head. “I have not heard any news of Junior Brother Xiao Chen within the many provinces of the Tianwu Domain. I believe he left the Tianwu Domain. We will only be able to find news of him if we use the Martial G.o.d Palace’s information network.”
Shui Lingling said helplessly, “Not just anyone can use the information network of the Martial G.o.d Palace. Even the three Holy Scions do not have the right.”
“Could something have happened to Junior Brother Xiao?” Jun Xi said worriedly. “Or perhaps it is as the rumors say, that he fled in fear?”