Immortal and Martial Dual Cultivation

“That has to be right. Otherwise, there would not be so many youths here. However, the number of people invited this time might be at least three times the previous time.”

“This era of cultivation has begun. In the past ten-odd years, these geniuses had grown up. Naturally, the Heavenly Extermination Union would end up inviting more people.”

“The only unknown is the topic of the examination this time. Will there be more spots this year?”

The other people all gave their opinions as well. Everyone was sure that the situation at the Clear Spring Inn was related to the Ancient Desolate Tower.

In the broad backyard of the Clear Spring Inn, a large arena had been set up in the center. It was several hundred meters wide. Some tables and chairs circled the arena.

“Boom! Boom! Boom!”

Two young swordsmen with unfathomable strength exchanged moves in the arena.

Intense shockwaves spread into the surroundings as the weapons clashed.

When the shockwaves reached the edge of the arena, a formless barrier halted their progression. Ripples appeared in the surrounding space of the arena.

It turned out that a barrier covered the arena’s surroundings. This allowed the cultivators to exchange moves with each other with their full power and not have to worry about their overwhelming strength destroying the surrounding buildings.

“Thunder Wind Sword Flash!”

“Nine Sun Sword!”

“Boom!”

The two shouted war cries and raised their auras to their peaks. They both used their killing moves. As their surging sword Qi clashed, an unending chain of explosions rang out.

Sword Qi flying around chaotically covered the arena. There were also boundless sword images. The two danced around in the storm of attacks and sent dozens of moves before coming to a stop.

The two stood firmly on the ground, the chain of moves resulted in a draw. They no longer desired to continue. Furthermore, this was not the time to reveal their true moves.

“Lu Chunsheng, after not seeing you sword for three years, it is still as sharp as before. However, I only used seventy percent of my strength. In the next Tianwu Rankings, you will not feel as relaxed anymore.”

The cultivator in long gray robes sheathed his sword. He seemed very confident.

The swordsman called Lu Chunsheng smiled faintly, “Zuo Tiancheng, don’t think that you are the only one who did not fight at full power. I only used fifty percent of my strength.”

Just at this moment, Ding Fengchou and Jin Wuji walked in from outside.

When the two entered the backyard, the cultivators in the arena immediately looked over. They focused their gazes on Ding Fengchou.

When the two felt Ding Fengchou’s sword intent, they immediately revealed cautious gazes. In the depths of his eyes, they could sense a raging fighting spirit.

Ding Fengchou’s sword intent pressed forward, unconcerned with consequences. The two in the arena unexpectedly had to work together to resist and push their auras back at him.

Ding Fengchou raised an eyebrow, and the surging sword intent in his body rushed into the sky. It seemed as though swords hummed in the air.

Despite fighting one against two, Ding Fengchou was not at a disadvantage. He slowly stepped forward, and his sword intent blazed even stronger, suppressing Lu Chunsheng and Zhuo Tiancheng.

“Ha! Ha! Ha! Surprisingly, even after the two of you worked together, you cannot suppress Ding Fengchou. Ding Fengchou, it looks like you have had a good harvest in the Deep Sea.”

A loud, forthright laugher came from outside of the backyard. A young man with an elegant figure and playful smile on face slowly walked into the backyard.

When Jin Wuji saw who it was, his expression changed slightly. It was the Beast Taming Abode’s Pei Shaoxuan, one of the top hundred in the previous Tianwu Rankings.

This cultivator had defeated Jin Wuji at that time. He had not even lasted three moves and was thrown from the arena miserably. He somewhat feared this person.

When Pei Shaoxuan saw Jin Wuji, he mocked, “Why did you bring trash to such a grand event? Ding Fengchou, are you not afraid of embarrassing the Heavenly Sword Gate?”

When Jin Wuji heard this, he raged in his heart. If he had not feared the strength of the other party, he would have lashed out at him.

Ding Fengchou withdrew his sword intent and looked at Pei Shaoxuan. He smiled faintly and said, “Even you First Senior Brother does not dare speak to me like that. Pei Shaoxuan, have you forgotten that sword strike already?”

Pei Shaoxuan’s face sank. He remembered the sword that had struck his chest. He replied in a cold voice, “Don’t worry; no matter how strong you have become, I will pay back the debt of that sword strike this time.”

The two people in the arena walked down somewhat miserably. In the previous Tianwu Rankings, they had found defeat at Ding Fengchou’s hands.

After two years of effort, the distance between them and Ding Fengchou had unexpectedly grown larger.

“I have to get a spot in the Ancient Desolate Tower this time. Otherwise, there will no longer be a chance to overtake him.”

The two both muttered to themselves. Only the Ancient Desolate Tower, or a fortuitous encounter, could guarantee their strength would rise quickly in a short period, allowing them to surpass Ding Fengchou.

As time crawled by, the number of people in the backyard increased. Soon, most of the tables were full.

The hundred-odd people in the backyard looked for people they knew and started chatting in soft voices.

After a while, four old men walked into the backyard. The one leading them swept his gaze through everyone. All of the chatting immediately stopped.

This old man faintly emitted a formless aura. He was a true-blue Martial Monarch.

The three people beside him were not simple either. They all were half-step Martial Monarchs, also considered experts.

“Old Li, it seems like not everyone is here yet. The Myriad Fiend Palace’s Jiang Zimo and Mu Xinya have not arrived.” After one of the people at the side looked around, he said respectfully to the old man leading them.

Old Li walked to a table in the center and sat down there. He said indifferently, “Let’s wait a while then. If Jiang Zimo does not come, there will be a lot of rumors.”

All of the geniuses present started to feel excited. These four people were the upper echelons of the Heavenly Extermination Union. They were also the people in charge of this Trial of the Ancient Desolate Tower.

Up until now, the method of selection had been a mystery. Everyone waited in anticipation.

Outside the Clear Spring Inn, Jiang Zimo and Mu Xinya occasionally looked around as if searching for someone.

Mu Xinya withdrew her gaze and said somewhat disappointedly, “Zimo, it looks like that person you mention will not be coming.”

Jiang Zimo smiled helplessly, “Never mind; that was the first time we met. He probably thought that I harbored bad intentions. Let’s go. Let’s not make the others wait too long.

---

On a rather desolate mountain in the Heavenly Spring Mountain Range, injuries covered Xiao Chen as he stood in a tall tree looking very miserable. He clutched an Illusionary Yin Grass as he gasped for breath.

The Inferior Grade Secret Treasure inner vest on his chest was incredibly tattered and had completely lost its Spiritual Energy. An extremely horrifying wound decorated his chest.

The wound was so deep that bone was visible. Even breathing caused Xiao Chen pain. If not for the protection of this inner vest, this wound might have split him in half.

Xiao Chen placed the Illusionary Yin Grass in his Universe Ring and said with a tired expression, “That Dazzling Shadow Panther King should have stopped chasing me already.”

One day ago, Xiao Chen had finished off the two Superior Grade Martial Kings. He was in high spirits as he prepared to sweep the valley clean of Illusionary Yin Grass.

Who knew that, right after he picked ten stalks of Illusionary Yin Grass, he would receive a vicious sneak-attack.

That was a Dazzling Shadow Panther King. It was unknown how long it had lived and how many Illusionary Yin Grass it had eaten. Xiao Chen could not detect it with his Spiritual Sense.

Earlier, as Xiao Chen was about to pick the Illusionary Yin Grass, the killing Qi that he had sensed had not belonged to Qin Pengyu or the cultivator in green. Instead, it came from this Dazzling Shadow Panther King.

Actually, Xiao Chen should have thought of it long ago. With Qin Pengyu’s cultivation, he was far from having that dense a killing Qi.

Xiao Chen could only blame himself for having too much faith in his Spiritual Sense. In the end, there was a Dazzling Shadow Panther King that he could not detect with his Spiritual Sense.

Thus, the situation devolved into a tragedy. The first attack of the Dazzling Shadow Panther King tore apart Xiao Chen’s inner vest, leaving a large gash on his chest.

This compromised Xiao Chen’s combat prowess. Furthermore, he could not sense the other party’s location. The Spirit Beast had caught him off guard, and he had suffered injury after injury.

If it were not for Xiao Chen’s body being tempered by a Heaven Ranked Body Tempering Cultivation Technique, the Dazzling Shadow Panther King would have torn him to shreds long ago.

Xiao Chen sent out many clones and used all of his trump cards. After spending an entire day trying to flee, he finally managed to escape from danger.

After that, Xiao Chen casually tossed aside the inner vest and bandaged his wounds. Then, he placed a Medicinal Pill in his mouth and started to treat his injuries.

After this lesson, Xiao Chen no longer dared to be careless no matter when it was.

Even if Xiao Chen’s Spiritual Sense verified that it was safe, he could not let down his guard.

This world was so vast. There was no telling whether there was a cultivator who had a tool for evading Xiao Chen’s Spiritual Sense. If such a cultivator pursued him, it would not be as easy to flee.

After about 7 minutes, most of Xiao Chen’s wounds had healed. He summoned the silver warship and quickly headed back to the Heavenly Spring City.

When Xiao Chen saw the sun blazing above, he felt somewhat anxious. Today was the seventeenth, and it was now past noon.

Xiao Chen did not know if he could rush to the Clear Spring Inn. If he missed this opportunity, he could suffer a great disadvantage.

If Xiao Chen missed this kind of fortuitous encounter, which most geniuses attended, he would be left far behind in cultivation.

Xiao Chen was originally already behind regarding cultivation. If he wanted to catch up after missing out, it would become even harder.

Furthermore, based on what the cultivator in green had said, the Ancient Desolate Tower was a place that even the geniuses from the Thunder Emperor’s era needed to go. Xiao Chen really did not want to miss it.

Xiao Chen moved at full speed and finally arrived at the Heavenly Spring City after an hour. He rushed towards the Clear Spring Inn.

The inn looked like before; its business flourished. Sounds of people eating, drinking, and chatting filled the place. It did not look like some major matters had just occurred.

Xiao Chen felt suspicious. He stopped a waiter and casually tossed him a Medial Grade Spirit Stone. Then, he asked, “Was there a girl called Xia Xiyan or a man call Jiang Zimo here?”

The waiter received the Medial Grade Spirit Stone and said happily, “You must be here to ask about the Ancient Desolate Tower selection. However, you are too late. The Heavenly Extermination Union has already led these people to Longyang Island.”

Xiao Chen was somewhat disappointed, but he continued to ask, “In that case, were Xia Xiyan and Jiang Zimo together?”

“Naturally, they left together.” The waiter paused for a moment before continuing, “However, the Jiang Zimo you mention stood outside for a long time, delaying the Heavenly Extermination Union by two hours, He offended many of the outstanding talents there.”

Xiao Chen walked out of the Clear Spring Inn and looked up at the sky. He was certainly disappointed.