Immortal and Martial Dual Cultivation

Xiao Chen suppressed the surge of excitement in his heart. Then, he said calmly, “I know. You can tell me how to get in already.”

Ao Jiao did not say anything. She closed her intelligent eyes, displaying fluttering eyelashes, and slowly formed hand seals, emitting a faint, white light from her body.

This white light was as bright as the stars. As it drifted around, it filled the entire space, and intersecting lines appeared before Xiao Chen.

There were two types of lines—black and white. They tangled up with each other as they overlapped. Aside from the azure palace, these lines had split this space into a checkered pattern.

Xiao Chen felt astonished. He could sense the most primal truth and reason from the two types of lines, like everything had been reborn.

Ao Jiao opened her eyes and said, “The white lines represent space while the black ones represent the world. As long as you don’t touch these lines, you will be able to cross safely.”

Xiao Chen’s eyes lit up. He realized that if he could figure out the pattern of the colored lines, he would be able to cross over without touching them.

“How awesome! How did you do it?” Xiao Chen praised Ao Jiao sincerely. She was truly exceptional to be able to find openings in space and time.

Ao Jiao smiled and said, “Towards his later days, Sang Mu had been only a step away from Sovereign Martial Emperor. Although he could not control space and time yet, he had touched the threshold already.

“He had suffered a lot under this formation, so he spent a considerable amount of time researching how to break it. I just made use of that research. Remember, you have only one chance. If you fail, the sword Qi will tear you apart immediately.”

Xiao Chen took a deep breath and started to observe closely. The black and white lines before him crisscrossed like a black-and-white chessboard.

The plain lines seemed to rise and take form before his eyes. He started to grasp some of the mysteries of space and time, started to comprehend them in his heart.

“Xiu!”

Suddenly, Xiao Chen moved, flying forward without hesitation.

Lines passed beside his body. White lines represented space, and black lines, the world. If he touched any of those, he would activate the Five-Element Absolute Sealing Formation.

Then, Xiao Chen landed firmly on the ground, arriving before the azure palace. He released his bated breath. He had remembered correctly; the lines did not exist around the palace.

“Hu!”

The white light that Ao Jiao gave off disappeared. All the visible lines of space and time turned invisible again. Aside from some drifting junk, there was nothing left.

A thick layer of dust covered the steps to the tightly shut palace doors. This place had stood neglected for a long time like a dilapidated, abandoned temple in the desolate wilderness with no one to maintain it.

Ao Jiao looked at the big doors and said, “There is no need to even try the doors. Back then, Sang Mu had used his strongest single-target Heaven Ranked Martial Technique, but the doors did not even budge.”

Xiao Chen left footprints on the steps as he walked up them. “Ka ca!” Then, he pushed the doors open.

The instant the dust- and dirt-covered bronze doors opened, the detritus of ten thousand years sloughed off like snow and landed on Xiao Chen.

The little, pretty face of Ao Jiao behind him filled with shock. Her bright eyes opened wide. She felt somewhat flabbergasted as she stammered, “You…you…you… How did you open it?”

The doors had opened only by a crack, not entirely. Xiao Chen looked through the crack and saw lit oil lamps; the interior was not in complete darkness.

Xiao Chen had not even thought about Ao Jiao’s problem. When he saw these doors, he felt a welcome like a homecoming.

So he very naturally pushed open the doors. He had never wondered whether or not he could get in. Surely he would be able to enter like it was his own home?

Xiao Chen pushed hard, and the two bronze doors opened completely. The first floor of the azure palace now appeared before his eyes.

The surrounding walls all had oil lamps on them. It was unknown what the lamp wicks were made from. Unexpectedly, they had burned for ten thousand years without going out.

A gust of wind blew in when the doors opened, causing the flames to dance and flicker. The fitful light made the ancient hall looked more mysterious.

The walls were a dark yellow and had some pictures carved into them. As Xiao Chen was some distance away, he could not quite make out what these carvings depicted.

The wall that faced Xiao Chen had a painting hung on it that portrayed an imposing man in azure clothes against a white background.

A saber hung at the waist of this azure-clothed man, and his right hand rested on its hilt. However, his appearance was indistinct.

A table stood below the portrait, and a brocade box sat on that table.

Everything in the hall had a mysterious aura to it that deterred rash action.

When Xiao Chen looked down, he saw an extremely complicated formation made from golden blood on the floor of the hall. The faint Emperor’s Might it gave off was enough to make a person breathe fast.

He had to quickly activate his sovereign bloodline before he felt better. He continued looking around and saw a transparent crystal radiating light in the center of the formation.

This place gave him a feeling of déjà vu; these scenes dazzled Xiao Chen. Finally, his gaze fixed on that portrait. He could not help but step forward, wanting to see it clearly.

Who was that person in that painting?

“Don’t go in yet.”

Just as Xiao Chen raised his leg and was about to cross the threshold, Ao Jiao pulled him up short, rousing him from his daze. This is the azure palace that could stop even the Thunder Emperor. How can I just step inside so casually?

Ao Jiao drew Xiao Chen back and closed the two bronze doors shut again with a ‘pa’ sound.

Xiao Chen felt it was strange, so he asked, “What are you doing?”

Ao Jiao showed a depressed look in her eyes. She clenched her teeth and said, “I can’t believe that this door opened so easily. Back then, the Thunder Emperor never could, even using the Strength Character Formula, which could instantly kill even a Rank 10 Demonic Beast with one strike.”

She pulled Xiao Chen back a few more steps and leaped up. Her dainty hands gave off some light as strong Quintessence gathered in her palms. Then, she landed a palm strike on the bronze doors.

A loud, dull sound rang out, but the bronze doors did not budge at all. The tremendous force seemed weak like a thrown rock sinking into the sea without a trace, not even creating a ripple.

“Bang! Bang! Bang!”

Ao Jiao sent out another few palm strikes one after another. She only stopped to go up and check the bronze doors for marks and was perfectly satisfied when they still did not show any signs of movement.

A crafty look flashed in her eyes as she smiled and said, “Hehe, that’s the way it was. Trashy Master, go and try again.”

Xiao Chen gaped slightly, at a loss for words. What if these doors really did not open again? It turned out that Ao Jiao had stopped him just for this reason.

However, he believed that the doors would open for him and that there would not be anything unexpected.

Xiao Chen stepped forward and gently touched a bronze door with his palm. It seemed like there were no changes.

However, light flowed within the core formation on the floor in the azure palace. As the light moved, it quickly issued some kind of verification.

Xiao Chen gently pushed on the doors, and they opened easily once again, giving no resistance.

He walked in with long strides and looked around. Ao Jiao had an incredulous expression. He smiled and said, “Come in, I’ll show you a sight that the Thunder Emperor could not bring you to see.”

Ao Jiao’s lips curled up as she muttered, “Who cares about that?”

Although Ao Jiao said that, she still walked over quickly. She looked around curiously with her adorable eyes taking the measure of everything she saw.

She evidently felt a keen interest in this place, despite her words of feigned nonchalance.

Xiao Chen smiled faintly and walked over the great formation made of golden Emperor’s blood. Then, he went to the painting and looked at it, focusing on it.

The azure-clad man had eighteen Azure Dragons embroidered on his clothes. Each of the Azure Dragons looked remarkably lifelike. Xiao Chen even got the impression that they were moving around on the man’s clothes.

The azure robes gave off a faint light. Under close observation, a large patch of light appeared that seemed to span thousands of kilometers and looked boundless.

These azure robes were definitely a supreme Secret Treasure, surpassing Superior Grade Secret Treasures or Peak Grade Secret Treasure. As for its exact grade, Xiao Chen was not sure.

However, what held Xiao Chen’s complete attention was the azure-clad man’s posture as he held on to his saber.

As a bladesman himself, Xiao Chen immediately picked up on the queerness of this simple posture.

Thus, Xiao Chen quickly simulated the direction of the azure-clad man’s attack, how that man would draw the saber from the scabbard, in what direction the strike would come from, and how to block it.

“Xiu!”

Right after Xiao Chen completed his simulation, he felt a saber light heading for him. All of a sudden, the person in the painting came to life and attacked from an angle that Xiao Chen had not expected at all.

The saber light flashed, and Xiao Chen’s eyes filled with horror. He did not even have time to cry out before he felt his head get chopped off by a saber and go flying into the air.

“Bang! Bang! Bang!”

He took three steps back, so horrified that his voice failed him. He touched his neck and found no wounds or blood. His head was still there; he was still alive.

Xiao Chen looked back at the portrait. The person in the painting looked as graceful as a fairy; he had not moved at all.

Could I have seen wrong? However, that felt very real. Xiao Chen could not understand what had happened despite thinking about it. Earlier, he really thought that he had died.

That horror was indescribable with words. In that instant, just before he felt himself die, the many things he had yet to do had flashed before his mind’s eye.

Ao Jiao, who had been examining the formation on the ground, looked up curiously and demanded, “What’s wrong with you? Are you alright?”

Xiao Chen replied embarrassedly. Naturally, he could not say that a painting had frightened him.

After thinking for a while, he stepped forward and took down the painting without hesitation. Then, he furled it up and placed it into the Universe Ring.

This painting hid boundless mysteries. The person portrayed possessed remarkable abilities. He was definitely someone great.

“Hey, why are you storing a dead man’s portrait like a treasure?” Ao Jiao could not help but ask when she saw Xiao Chen’s actions.

Emperors could live for a thousand years. Sovereign Emperors could even live for more than five thousand years.

Xiao Chen did not feel that this person was definitely dead. He felt a strange closeness to him. He replied, “Who says that he is dead? Maybe this senior is undergoing experiential training in the starry skies or the Demonic World.”

“That is Dragon’s Gate’s Azure Emperor. He has been dead for more than ten thousand years already. If he is not a dead person, what could he be?”

So, he is the Azure Emperor. This information stunned Xiao Chen for a moment, leaving him somewhat dumbfounded. He wanted to take out the painting to get another careful look. However, he feared that the strange scene from earlier would recur.

Ao Jiao smiled. “Hehe! Although the Azure Emperor was the strongest Sovereign Martial Emperor since the Ancient Era, moving through the Kunlun Realm unhindered, shaking the eighteen Demonic Worlds, he’s been dead for ten thousand years already. There is no need to be frightened at this point.

“Come, look at this. This is the truly frightening thing.” Ao Jiao beckoned Xiao Chen over to the middle of the hall, to the edge of the formation made using golden Emperor’s blood.