Immortal and Martial Dual Cultivation

Xie Ziwen shouted a warcry and smashed his palm low against the Wukui Tree trunk.

“Bang!”

The two huge energies clashed in midair. A purple energy ripple rapidly radiated outward through the air. The space seemed as if it had been cut in half.

When the huge force pressed down, Xie Ziwen immediately vomited a mouthful of blood. Blood poured from his pores.

“Xiu!”

The palm strike tossed the divine tree into the sky again. However, there were no signs of it breaking. Even the direction of its fall did not change.

The rebound from the divine Wukui Tree caused Xiao Chen some discomfort. He thought to himself, This person is indeed strong. Despite the heavy attack of the Wukui Moves Heaven, he could counter like this.

Again!

“Bang! Bang! Bang!”

The divine Wukui Tree with a vast aura crashed towards Xie Ziwen repeatedly under Xiao Chen’s direction.

Certainly, Xie Ziwen was exceptionally strong. Although his injuries were more severe than before, he managed to repeat this feat four or five times, enduring up until now.

The many cultivators who watched from the sky were extremely shocked when they saw this.

Under the attacks of the divine tree, the land under Xie Ziwen’s feet sank deeply. Blood poured from his seven orifices; it was simply horrific.

Just as Xie Ziwen could no longer hold on, a strong, boundless aura flew over. A black-robed old man smashed a palm strike against the divine Wukui Tree.

“Ka ca! Ka ca!”

It was unknown how much force was behind this palm strike. The entire divine Wukui Tree instantly cracked down the middle. After a moment, it became a scarlet shockwave, moving with the wind.

When Xie Ziwen saw the black-robed old man, he immediately relaxed. He said weakly, “Second Martial Uncle, why are you here?”

After the black-robed old man dealt with the divine Wukui Tree, he turned to Xie Ziwen and said, “To think you are not even embarrassed to ask that…. If I had not heard the commotion, this person might have beaten you to death.

“I told you long ago. Times have changed. Yet, you still maintained the same mindset as the past. Even if you had managed to enter the Ancient Desolate Tower, the waves would have swept you up, and you would have died on the beach.”

Xie Ziwen did not take the old man’s words to heart. He pointed at Xiao Chen and said, “Second Martial Uncle, kill him. You can’t let him go. All my internal organs have suffered injuries. I most likely cannot participate in the arena battles for the Ancient Desolate Tower.”

When the black-robed old man heard this, he checked Xie Ziwen’s injuries. His expression immediately shifted. He shot Xiao Chen a frosty glare.

Xiao Chen instantly felt as though a terrifying force watched him. His racing heart slowed to a crawl under the old man’s gaze.

Xiao Chen could not help but feel astonished, Unexpectedly, this black-robed old man is a Martial Monarch.

The black-robed old man withdrew his gaze and said coldly, “You really are courageous. You even dare offend the Evil Moon Pavilion. You better not leave this Ancient Desolate Land for the rest of your life.”

After the old man spoke, he ignored Xie Ziwen’s request and carried him, quickly leaving Xiao Chen’s sight. He left as fast as he came.

Just as Xiao Chen felt that it was strange that the other party had not taken any action, another strong aura arrived behind him.

It was the old man who had announced the date of the arena battles that day at the Tianwu Plaza. He looked in the direction Xie Ziwen and his Martial Uncle left. Then, he smiled coldly and said, “He is wise. He knows that his Evil Moon Pavilion cannot afford to display arrogance here.”

Xiao Chen suddenly understood everything. Now he knew why Xie Ziwen’s Martial Uncle had not dared take action. He responded to the old man in the sky, “This junior is Xiao Chen. Many thanks to Senior for the assistance. Might I ask for Senior’s name?”

The old man smiled gently and floated down. He carefully measured Xiao Chen up and said, “Not bad. You have certainly not obtained your hundred consecutive victories by chance. This old man is Shi Hailong; you can address me as Senior Shi.”

Xiao Chen nodded and expressed his gratitude again. When the other outstanding talents in the courtyard saw the old man, they all flew over and greeted him respectfully.

Shi Hailong turned to Xiao Chen and said, “Today, you have done the Heavenly Extermination Union a big favor. As long as you are in the Ancient Desolate Land, I can guarantee that no one from the Evil Moon Pavilion will dare to do anything to you. I have something small for you; consider it a thank you gift from me.”

The other party tossed over a pill bottle. Xiao Chen opened it and sniffed. He smelled a heavy medicinal fragrance; when one smelled it, one felt drunk.

The internal injuries that Xiao Chen had accumulated after the consecutive battles felt relief when he inhaled this fragrance.

Surprisingly, this was a Medicinal Pill that treated internal injuries. The fragrance alone was quite effective. One could easily imagine the rank of this pill. Xiao Chen quickly expressed his gratitude once more.

After Xiao Chen pondered for a moment, he understood what the Senior Shi had meant by doing the Heavenly Extermination Union a big favor.

Thinking about it, the Heavenly Extermination Union had not wanted to let Xie Ziwen enter the selection for the Ancient Desolate Tower. However, as they owed them a favor, their hand was forced.

Now that Xiao Chen had injured Xie Ziwen so heavily, Xie Ziwen could not participate in the selection.

The Heavenly Extermination Union’s people had paid back their favor in addition to achieving their aims. Their satisfaction came easily.

“You should have no problems obtaining one of the twenty spots. We look forward to seeing how many floors you can climb in the Ancient Desolate Tower.”

After the old man finished speaking, he did not remain. After his figure flashed a few times, he was already a kilometer away. The strength of a Martial Monarch was truly unfathomable. His speed alone astonished this group of outstanding talents.

“Xiao Chen, thank you for helping me earlier,” the Beast Taming Abode’s Zuo Mo stepped forward to thank Xiao Chen, cupping his hand in respect as he did so.

Xiao Chen’s response was soft, “There is no need to thank me; it was just a matter of convenience.”

However, Zuo Mo smiled bitterly. It was indeed a matter of convenience. However, at that moment, Xie Ziwen was extremely furious. Furthermore, a sizable power, the Evil Moon Pavilion, backed him. If anyone wanted to help, they would have to consider the consequence first. This was not a helping hand that anyone would dare extend. Also, not everyone could do it so accurately.

Zuo Mo looked up and said sincerely to Xiao Chen, “I will not continue to thank you, then. Let’s meet again in the Ancient Desolate Tower. I hope that we both can reach heights that no one ever has before.”

“After that, we will go to the Five Nation Youth Competition and fight to force those arrogant Great Jin Nation geniuses to lower their heads in shame.”

Xiao Chen smiled gently and said nothing more.

The gathering came to an end. Originally, it was a gathering meant for investigating potential opponents. They had not expected the situation to turn out like this.

Everyone’s initial amazement when they looked at Xiao Chen had now turned into respect.

Although Xiao Chen and Zuo Mo had not fought in the end, they were familiar with each other’s strength.

As of now, Xiao Chen could be considered to have triumphed over Zuo Mo, becoming the strongest youth in the other four Great Nations.

The young geniuses who could rank above him were likely only the peak geniuses of the Great Jin Nation. The distance between himself and the others was now clear.

After the crowd dispersed, Xia Xiyan looked at Xiao Chen and said, “Xiao Chen, now that you have offended the Evil Moon Pavilion, although the Heavenly Extermination Union currently protects you, they might not be able to prevent them from playing some small tricks. Why don’t you stay at the Thousand Sword Pavilion’s branch for the time being, until the arena battles start?”

Now that Xia Xiyan had invited Xiao Chen twice, he was too embarrassed to reject her again. Furthermore, Xia Xiyan’s offer made sense.

It was very easy for the other party to play some small tricks. Although he was not afraid of such things, it was better to avoid the trouble. So, he accepted Xia Xiyan’s invitation.

As the two left for the Thousand Sword Pavilion’s branch, a scar-faced man stood in the top of a tree outside the courtyard, staring at Xiao Chen expressionlessly.

If Xiao Chen had noticed this person, he would have noticed that this person was the Dark Church remnant who snatched away the Martial Sage’s body on Qianren Island.

“It is indeed the Azure Dragon’s Qi. He used it several times in the wrestling ring and a few times today. I can return and tell the Deputy Church Master that I have confirmed it.”

---

On a nameless island outside of Desolate City, a black stone coffin occupied a secret room in the middle of the island. A preserved corpse lay inside the coffin.

Sticky red liquid filled the coffin, bubbling continuously. Strands of red energy slowly poured into the corpse.

The corpse looked alive. Within the liquid, its skin had a certain sheen to it. It did not look dead at all.

When examining the appearance of the corpse, one would realize that it was the body of the Martial Sage that the scar-faced man had claimed from Qianren Island.

Surrounding the coffin were cultivators in black robes embroidered with red clouds. They watched the corpse inside the coffin nervously. Occasionally, they added more ingredients to the coffin.

A wrinkled, black-robed man with a sinister atmosphere lingered near the wall. His eyes glowed with excitement, and he was clearly filled with anticipation.

As the old man stood there, he was like a big ball of shadow. The originally dim secret room seemed to grow even darker with his presence.

“How is it? How much longer does it need before this corpse is refined into a Demonic Corpse?!” The black-robed old man’s hoarse voice echoed through the secret room.

A cultivator stopped what he was doing and responded respectfully to the old man, “Replying to Depute Church Master Ding, we still need another half a year until his refinement is complete. There is nothing more we can do about the long wait.

“Otherwise, we could have used it in the war against the Blood Wolf Gang.”

It was unknown if the Dark Church Master was dead or alive. Those who normally revealed themselves were the three Deputy Church Masters.

Aside from this old man, the other two Deputy Church Masters frequently wandered about and ignored the management of the Dark Church. Hence, the old man before them was the true leader of the Dark Church.

The old man smiled and said, “It’s fine; it’s not that long, just half a year. This is a rare Martial Sage that had cultivated the physical body. You might not even find one once every thousand years. As for the Blood Wolf Gang, there is no need to bother with them. They are only minor characters.”

“Dong! Dong! Dong!”

Knocking sounds originated from outside the secret room. When the stone door opened, a person surrounded by black Qi came before Deputy Church Master Ding and whispered a few words.

When Deputy Church Master Ding heard everything, his face lit up with joy. He waved his hand to dismiss that person and turned to the four refining the Martial Sage corpse. He instructed, “Stay here in this secret room for half a year and do not leave. When everything is complete, I will be sure to reward all of you richly.”

The few quickly nodded. The old man left the room and entered a long hall.

The scar-faced man had been waiting there for a long time. When he saw the old man, he immediately bowed and greeted his superior, “Wu Yang greets the Acting Church Master.”

Acting Church Master Ding’s wrinkled face revealed a smile. He said, “There is no need to stand on ceremony. Do you have any good news for me?”

Wu Yang nodded and gave his report, “After verifying it a few times, that brat who snatched the Martial Sage’s burial items on Qianren Island is indeed the inheritor of the Azure Dragon Martial Spirit.”

When Acting Church Master Ding heard this, his expression shifted slightly. He fell deep into thought. Before the Church Master entered closed-door cultivation, he claimed that the inheritor of the Azure Dragon Martial Spirit would definitely appear. It looked like this was true.