Chapter 1875 (Raw 1886): Venerable Xu Yun
Xiao Chen watched the strange, scaled man flying around in the clouds, appearing every now and then.
After observing for a while, Xiao Chen flapped the azure-colored dragon wings on his back ferociously.
A strong wind blew and swirled up the boundless thundercloud.
In the next moment, Xiao Chen appeared before that scaled man, blocking that scaled man’s path of retreat.
The scaled man showed mild surprise on his face at Xiao Chen’s sudden appearance blocking his escape route.
“d.a.m.n it! I’ll fight it out with you!”
“Boom!”
The scaled man burst forth with astonis.h.i.+ng lightning-attributed energy. The light looked resplendent, rippling like water as it gently spread out.
The resplendent electric light contained terrifying energy. When this strange man erupted with power, he felt tricky to deal with.
Xiao Chen did not want to retreat. He did not want to let this person off, either.
Xiao Chen snorted coldly and drew his purple Tyrant Saber. Starlight flickered in his eyes, and his Star Venerate Will merged with his saber. He drove his primal chaos Veritable Essence Energy, and the saber immediately lit up with resplendent saber light.
Aside from the resplendent saber light, only black and white existed in the thunderclouds.
“Bang!” Xiao Chen’s saber strike knocked the scaled man back.
The Demon Blood Vulture let out a burst of strange laughter, then opened its beak to swallow the scaled man whole.
Delightful. Even after all that jumping around, this great me still ate you.
The Demon Blood Vulture felt extremely excited after swallowing up this scaled man.
Xiao Chen looked at this scene with some shock. Then, he rapped on the Demon Blood Vulture’s head. Without explaining, he made the Demon Blood Vulture turn back into a ring and temporarily restricted it.
“What a stupid bird…”
Xiao Chen muttered under his breath for a long time. That scaled man was indeed very strange, having a low-ranking Dragon Race bloodline as well as the aura of a Fiendish Demon.
Xiao Chen could not figure out why. His figure flashed as he charged out of the clouds.
It was already daytime.
He had been out the entire night. Not daring to remain in this place for too long, he rushed back to the Marquis’s Residence.
After asking the little monk, Xiao Chen found that neither the Soaring Dragon Marquis nor anyone else had come to look for him.
It looked like Monarch Yu’s matter was settled for now.
However, it would be better to remain in the Marquis’s Residence during this period and focus on cultivating.
It was better to be careful.
Xiao Chen laid a Spirit Gathering Formation in the cultivation room within the courtyard, then sat cross-legged in the center of the formation.
He looked within himself and saw the demonic cloud seed he had successfully condensed above his dantian.
Blood Dripping Seal!
Following the method of the Demonic Cloud Heaven Swallowing Art, Xiao Chen’s hands moved continuously, forming the Blood Dripping Seal.
Xiao Chen’s heart opened a crack, and a drop of his heart’s blood fell slowly, s.h.i.+ning with a strange light.
As the drop of blood fell, Xiao Chen’s hands kept moving, infusing his Soul Energy, Veritable Essence Energy, and Vital Qi into it.
The drop of heart’s blood brightened, its scarlet light intensifying.
The light became so strong that it even leaked out of his body, covering his skin with a layer of scarlet.
This looked extremely strange. If someone else were here, he would be able to tell at a glance that Xiao Chen was definitely not cultivating a Righteous Dao Cultivation Technique.
“Whoos.h.!.+”
This drop of heart’s blood contained Xiao Chen’s Soul Energy, Veritable Essence Energy, and Vital Qi. It accurately landed on the demonic cloud seed, and the scarlet light infused into the demonic cloud seed.
The drop of heart’s blood instantly vanished, and the black demonic cloud changed color, turning scarlet.
Xiao Chen finally officially condensed a demonic cloud seed. As he cultivated it, this demonic cloud seed would turn into a demonic cloud bird living in his body.
This was the exact same process of a true Demonic Cloud Bird’s birth during the Great Desolate Eon.
The Demonic Cloud Bird of that eon also started off as a clump of demonic cloud contaminated with the Primal Chaos G.o.d Demons’ blood. Then, it evolved into the Demonic Cloud Heaven Swallowing Bird.
However, in this case, the Primal Chaos G.o.d Demons’ blood was replaced with Xiao Chen’s blood, something much weaker.
Nevertheless, Xiao Chen’s bloodline power was much stronger than the Scarlet Blood Pirate King’s.
While Xiao Chen’s Grade 8 Azure Dragon bloodline power could not be called undefeatable in the world, it would not be arrogant to call it unrivaled in the world.
The demonic cloud seed that was now tinged with the heart’s blood gained even more demonic nature, looking like it was br.i.m.m.i.n.g with vitality.
“Thump! Thump! Thump!”
Xiao Chen could vaguely hear a heartbeat. It was exceptionally strange, showing an extremely strong lifeforce.
Great success!
Xiao Chen’s hand seal changed, bringing out the Heaven Swallowing Seal to aid the cultivation.
Then, he activated the Spirit Gathering Formation. All the Spiritual Energy contained within the formation entered the demonic cloud seed within a breath—an incredible speed.
The demonic cloud seed pulsated, turning the Spiritual Energy into pure Demonic Qi Veritable Essence Energy that flowed into the 9-Star Primal Core.
Due to Xiao Chen rarely cultivating it in recent times, his Demonic Qi Veritable Essence Energy was already at a clear disadvantage.
His Demonic Qi Veritable Essence Energy was no longer in balance with the Spiritual Energy Veritable Essence Energy. This prevented him from bringing out the Taiji force field.
The Taiji Dao emphasized balance. Once the balance was broken, there was no way to execute it.
After about seven minutes, the hundred-odd Medial Grade Spirit Jades in the Spirit Gathering Formation were depleted.
Xiao Chen opened his eyes and frowned slightly. This was the bad thing about Demonic Dao Cultivation Techniques.
Demonic Dao Cultivation Techniques drained a lot of energy. The stronger the technique was, the more energy it used compared to a Righteous Dao Cultivation Technique.
If this continued, who knew when Xiao Chen could finish cultivating the Demonic Cloud Heaven Swallowing Art’s first layer.
After thinking for a while, he took out Superior Grade Spirit Jades this time and placed them in the nodes of the formation.
Superior Grade Spirit Jades were exceptionally precious. They were much more expensive than Medial Grade Spirit Jades.
Xiao Chen had not found that many Superior Grade Spirit Jades in the Scarlet Blood Pirate King’s treasure trove. There were only about one hundred thousand, quite few in comparison.
Usually, Xiao Chen could not bear to use them. Now that he cultivated the Demonic Cloud Heaven Swallowing Art, he had no other choice.
The days pa.s.sed very quickly, one after another.
From the time Xiao Chen fought Monarch Yu in the drill ground, more than two months elapsed.
Over the two months, several Long Clan disciples visited Xiao Chen.
These people wanted to befriend Xiao Chen or seek advice on Saber Techniques and archery from him. However, he did not meet with any of them.
Time was of the essence. Xiao Chen was about to go to the Divine Dragon Empire. How could he waste time on this?
However, the little monk leaped out, quite willing to accept the adoration of the Long Clan disciples.
Back then, the little monk had suppressed two Holy Venerates and the rest of Monarch Yu’s escorts. This made a deep impression on everyone.
Several Long Clan disciples were in awe of the little monk.
Knowing that the little monk was willing to guide them, they felt stirred up and excited.
Unfortunately, not everyone could be as unperturbed as Xiao Chen, calmly dealing with the nature of misfortune of the little monk.
All sorts of accidents happened when the Long Clan disciples practiced with the little monk in the drill ground.
In merely seven days, more than half of the Long Clan disciples ended up injured.
No one dared to seek out the little monk anymore.
Feeling bored, the little monk could only drag the Demon Blood Vulture around and wander the Marquis’s Residence. Everyone who saw him fled at the sight of him. He truly turned into the tyrant of the Marquis’s Residence.
The little monk was even more exuberant than the first young master of the Marquis’s Residence. He entertained himself and had plenty of fun.
Hence, the entire Marquis’s Residence suffered unspeakable misery. The various Long Clan disciples all sought out Long Yan to complain, wanting to get the little tyrant to leave earlier.
Long Yan smiled bitterly. It was clearly impossible to ask the little monk to leave.
On this particular day, an old man arrived outside the gates of the Marquis’s Residence.
This old monk wore gray monk robes with a kasaya draped over them. His eyebrows and beard were white, and he held a dharmic staff.
When the Soaring Dragon Marquis received news of it, he led the Marquis’s Residence’s upper echelon and a group of his children out and personally received the old monk.
“Venerable Xu Yun, I apologize for the long wait!”
The Soaring Dragon Marquis observed the Buddhist greeting conventions as he politely welcomed this seemingly ordinary, old monk.
“May the Lord Buddha preserve us! Lord Marquis is too polite. I hope my little disciple did not give the Marquis’s Residence any trouble.”
The Venerable Xu Yun bowed lightly and returned the greeting with one hand, smiling and looking benevolent.
Inside the Marquis’s Residence, someone immediately wanted to say something, to reveal what the little monk had done.
However, the Soaring Dragon Marquis glared that person into silence. Then, he said softly, “The child is just a little mischievous. It was not a big problem. Venerate, there is no need to worry.”
This was an esteemed monk of the Hidden Spirit Temple. Even the emperor of the dynasty would have to show him respect.
“Hahahaha! Master, you finally came. I have been very happy in this Marquis’s Residence. I ate well and slept well. If you still did not come, I would take up residence here.”
A berserk, scarlet wind blew above everyone’s head, accompanied by happy laughter. Riding the Demon Blood Vulture, the little monk appeared before everyone.
“Whoos.h.!.+ Whoos.h.!.+”
The little monk urged the Demon Blood Vulture to move at its fastest speed, which caused strong winds to howl endlessly.
Then, the signboard above the gates of the Marquis’s Residence fell off.
This scared Long Yan into changing his expression radically as he took to the air hastily and caught the signboard.
When the little monk landed and saw this scene, his tender little face appeared embarra.s.sed.
“Sorry, Big Brother Long, I’ll help you to hang it back up.”
The little monk quickly walked over and grabbed hold of the Marquis’s Residence’s signboard, wanting to make up for his mistake.
Long Yan said quickly, “No need, no need. There’s really no need.”
“It’s fine. This is something I should do.”
“Crack!”
Under the tug-of-war between ma.s.sive forces, the signboard directly tore in half, right down the middle.
Everyone in the Marquis’s Residence turned ashen. Even the Soaring Dragon Marquis’s lips twitched involuntarily.
Breaking a person’s signboard was as severe as killing that person’s father.
The signboard of the Marquis’s Residence represented the Long Clan’s prestige. It had not been taken down for a thousand years and already influenced the clan’s Luck.
The breaking of a signboard was unbearable for any clan.
When the Demon Blood Vulture saw this scene, it laughed wildly in its heart. This is for torturing me every day. You are in trouble now.
The little monk truly felt embarra.s.sed.
The little monk had not seen his master in a long time. Now, the moment they met, he caused such huge trouble.
The Venerable Xu Yun’s expression did not change. He smiled faintly and said, “It looks like he is genuine. He really is my good little disciple. If Lord Marquis does not mind, this old monk can write out a new signboard for the Marquis’s Residence to express my apologies.”
The Soaring Dragon Marquis immediately rejoiced. He was so happy, he looked like a flower blooming. The Venerable Xu Yun’s cultivation was very high; even the Soaring Dragon Marquis found it unfathomable.
If the old monk put in effort in writing the words, the new signboard would be as good as a Soul Tool.
What was rare was that this was an esteemed Buddhist monk. His cultivation of the Buddhist doctrine was extremely high.
Obtaining the ink calligraphy of the old monk naturally meant the protection of the Buddhist sect’s will. It was a form of blessing on its own.
It was said that many of the signboards of the halls in the royal palace were written by esteemed monks of the Hidden Spirit Temple at the request of the royal clan.
This offer was equal to royal treatment.
“Venerable, this way, please.”
The Soaring Dragon Marquis led the Venerable Xu Yun into the Marquis’s Residence.
The little monk felt very depressed as he followed behind, riding the Demon Blood Vulture. Occasionally, he heavily patted the Demon Blood Vulture’s head, causing it so much pain that it wanted to fling off the little monk several times.
However, when the Demon Blood Vulture thought about the consequences of doing that, it endured helplessly.
The Venerable Xu Yun was an esteemed Buddhist monk. After a casual and pleasant chat with the Soaring Dragon Marquis, he immediately started to write out a calligraphic treasure.
Those Long Clan disciples who were fortunate enough to watch were incredibly shocked. It was said that the sound of the Buddhist Great Dao rang out with every word the Venerable Xu Yun wrote. Five-colored treasure light appeared, surprising everyone.
After the Venerable Xu Yun completed the calligraphic treasure, the little monk led him straight to Xiao Chen’s cultivation room.