Immortal and Martial Dual Cultivation

A faint smile appeared on the aged face of the black-robed spirit. He said, “That is a good guess. However, you are not supposed to be in this place.”

After the black-clad spirit said that, he pointed at Ao Jiao, and his finger lit up. Before Ao Jiao could react, she turned into a beam of light and entered the Immortal Spirit Ring.

Xiao Chen’s expression changed. He quickly summoned the Lunar Shadow Saber and looked at the black-robed spirit coldly.

The black-robed spirit smiled friendlily as he told Xiao Chen calmly, “There is no need to be anxious. I merely made her sleep well. She might even thank me after she wakes up.”

Xiao Chen sent his Spiritual Sense into the Immortal Spirit Ring. Indeed, it was as the old man said. Ao Jiao lay beside the Netherworld Flower in a calm and deep sleep.

“I have waited for you for ten thousand years already,” the Item Spirit said, looking at Xiao Chen with some excitement deep in his eyes.

Xiao Chen was not too surprised. From the moment he laid eyes on the azure palace, he had this hunch. Long ago, when Xiao Xiong discovered that Xiao Chen had the Azure Dragon Martial Spirit, and subsequently chased him out of the clan, Xiao Chen already suspected that he had an extraordinary heritage.

However, could he trust this black-robed spirit?

Xiao Chen leaped down from the top of the stairs and looked at the Item Spirit. Then, he asked calmly, “Who are you? Why have you waited for me for ten thousand years?”

The Item Spirit had a deep look in his eyes that gave off a feeling of mystery. He smiled faintly and countered, “Who am I? Why don’t you ask who are you, instead?”

Xiao Chen coughed for a bit, and a strange look flashed in his eyes. He stared at the black-robed spirit, trying to get a hint from the Item Spirit’s eyes.

Who was Xiao Chen? He was the Xiao Clan’s Xiao Chen, the White Robed Bladesman Xiao Chen. However, all these were what others knew about him.

Only Xiao Chen himself knew he was not them. He had come from another world. Although his name had also been Xiao Chen, he was not the real Xiao Chen.

However, the old man’s eyes were boundlessly deep; Xiao Chen could not see anything in them. He could not guess what the old man was thinking nor derive any information.

When the black-robed old man saw Xiao Chen’s expression, he smiled good-naturedly. “There is no need to be so wary against me. I will not harm you. In fact, if you had not attempted to enter the second floor, I would not have appeared before you.”

“I cannot go up?”

The aged face of the Item Spirit could not help but smile. He said, “Naturally, you can. The entire Azure Dragon Palace is yours. If you truly managed to cross the Five-Element Absolute Sealing Formation, I would not stop you.

“However, you are currently too weak. The test of the second floor would immediately take your life. Even until now, I cannot figure out how you crossed the Five-Element Absolute Sealing Formation outside.”

Xiao Chen thought for a while before he explained how he managed to cross the Five-Element Absolute Sealing Formation.

“I see. That youth from five thousand years ago is indeed a great talent. Unexpectedly, he could think of such a method to break through the formation. It looks like I have to find a way to fix this in the future.”

The black-robed old man revealed a look of understanding. Then, he asked Xiao Chen, “How is that youth now? He should be the strongest Sovereign Martial Emperor of this age by now. He has probably claimed the title Thunder Sovereign.”

Xiao Chen shook his head and said, “No, he died many years ago.”

A trace of shock appeared on the black-robed old man’s aged face. He asked, “How can that be? He possessed great Luck. Five thousand years ago, he was already a Minor Heavenly Martial Emperor, an emerging power.

“How could he have fallen for no reason? The Sovereign Martial Emperors of the Tianwu Domain would not allow him to die. That person had the potential to reach the level of the Azure Emperor.”

When the black-robed Item Spirit heard that news, his aged face displayed some evident panic. He kept mumbling to himself in disbelief.

“An absolute genius like the Thunder Emperor would have been through many tribulations before becoming a Martial Emperor. He would have already possessed a supreme Luck. Even the Emperors of the other races would not have made a move lightly.

“Could it have been them? It must be. Just one Azure Emperor already gave them a lot of trouble. They would not allow another one to appear no matter what.”

As the black-robed Item Spirit spoke to himself, Xiao Chen became more confused. He could not understand what was going on. He could not understand why the Thunder Emperor’s death upset this Item Spirit so much.

The black-robed Item Spirit took a long time to calm down. Then, he looked at Xiao Chen like he had come to a decision and said, “Your Martial Spirit has been scattered. Originally, I was planning to let you slowly recondense it yourself. However, it looks like we do not have that much time.”

The old man walked around Xiao Chen. When he arrived behind him, he said, “Turn around. Let me ask you, have you practiced the Dragon Subduing Slash to the second move but are unable to improve further, unable to find the feeling of truly attacking with the saber?”

Xiao Chen asked in shock, “How did you know?”

The black-robed Item Spirit smiled faintly and replied, “Your Martial Spirit is scattered. How could you learn the essence of Soaring Dragon? Become a Martial Emperor as soon as you can and cross the Five-Element Absolute Sealing Formation with your own power. When that time comes, this old man will serve you.”

“Ding!”

The old man pressed one finger on Xiao Chen’s forehead. In that instant, a strong wind blew, and Xiao Chen’s body floated up without his volition. His body gave off an azure light, and berserk energy surged out.

Suddenly, all 361 acupoints of Xiao Chen’s body burst open. Dragon Qi swam around in his body, raising havoc everywhere. The berserk energy charged through every bit of his skin and internal organs, inflicting intense pain.

Xiao Chen clenched his teeth, and his face twisted as he endured the agony. The bits of his Azure Dragon Martial Spirit that had hidden in his acupoints all emerged at this moment.

The Azure Dragon tattoos on his left and right arms slowly faded. Under the control of the black-robed Item Spirit, the three-hundred-odd strands of Dragon Qi surged towards Xiao Chen’s dantian.

“Boom!”

When all the Dragon Qi crashed together, they suddenly took form. Then, they gave off a powerful explosion, causing Xiao Chen to vomit a mouthful of blood.

When the light faded, Xiao Chen’s consciousness sank down. He discovered that the Azure Dragon Martial Spirit, which Song Que had shattered in the past, had actually reformed inside his dantian.

His formerly ordinary dantian now had golden lines on the outside, making it look more solid, heavy, and mysterious.

The Quintessence in Xiao Chen’s dantian spread out and formed a hundred white clouds floating around the dantian.

After the Azure Dragon Palace’s Item Spirit did all this, his body dimmed visibly. Then, he pushed Xiao Chen’s forehead.

Xiao Chen’s body flew back like a fired cannonball. He landed with a loud crash on the mountain that the Thunder Emperor had truncated.

“Pa!”

The two bronze doors closed, and the black-robed Item Spirit’s voice came from inside. “Ten thousand years is not long, but neither is it short. Become a Martial Emperor as early as you can, for the sake of Dragon’s Gate and for yourself as well.”

Xiao Chen looked at the tightly shut bronze doors. His mind filled with doubts. He could not make head or tail of how all these events were related.

Why is the Heavenly Flame’s Origin Flame sealed in the palace? Why did the Thunder Emperor’s death make the old man more anxious? Why did he say he has waited for me for ten thousand years?

What does this extraordinary Secret Treasure—the Azure Dragon Palace of the fallen Holy Land, Dragon’s Gate—and the unrivaled Azure Emperor have to do with me?

After thinking about one muddle after another, Xiao Chen still could not make sense of anything.

“Never mind, I’ll just pretend that I was never here. Thinking about it will only add to my troubles.”

Xiao Chen shook his head gently and sighed. If it were possible, all he wanted to do was be a simple bladesman, chasing after the great Dao of cultivation, standing at the peak of the world.

However, all the clues so far clearly indicated that his arrival in this world might not be a coincidence. Perhaps it was his fate from the very start.

No matter what, increasing his strength was the essential thing for Xiao Chen. Regardless of whether he just wanted to survive or to unravel these layers of secrets, strength was always his first priority.

He collected his thoughts and stopped looking at that dust-covered Azure Dragon Palace. After his Martial Spirit had recondensed, the Azure Dragon tattoos on his arms had disappeared as well.

The matter of utmost importance now was to see how these changes had affected his strength.

The shattering of Xiao Chen’s Martial Spirit by Song Que had severely injured Xiao Chen. He had ended up in a sorry state in the underground river and experienced a perilous situation that he barely survived. He found it hard to forget this.

Since then, he had thought that there was no hope of recovery for his Martial Spirit. Unexpectedly, it managed to recondense today.

Xiao Chen, who had not had a Martial Spirit for a long time already, could not get used to this sudden change. So, he circulated his Quintessence slightly.

One white cloud around his dantian immediately disappeared, turning into surging Quintessence that rushed through his meridians like a river in full spate, facing no obstructions.

Xiao Chen swung his finger, and a strand of dense purple saber Qi appeared in the air. Then, it flew out, disappearing from his sight only after a long time.

“Hey, it feels like my usage of Quintessence is smoother now,” he said in surprise. He tried a few more times and found that it was indeed so.

He could now circulate his Quintessence about twenty percent faster. With just a thought, Quintessence gathered in his finger and fired out.

When Xiao Chen closed his eyes and sensed his cultivation, he rejoiced. Apparently, when all the Dragon Qi in his body flowed back, it had turned into his cultivation.

His cultivation had now reached middle-stage Medial Grade Martial Monarch, bordering on late-stage Medial Grade Martial Monarch, not far from the peak.

Circulating just his Vital Qi, Xiao Chen swung his fist and punched the air. A surging Vital Qi exploded at the tip of his fist.

Suddenly, a loud sound like a peal of thunder reverberated. Strong winds blew, and ripples appeared in the air, spreading out for three kilometers.

Xiao Chen entered deep thought and muttered to himself, “In the past, when I open my acupoints, my Vital Qi would shoot up by about thirty percent. Now that my Martial Spirit is no longer in the acupoints, I will not experience that kind of explosive power again.

“However, my strength had grown from nine hundred tons of force to one thousand tons of force. Even though I do not have the thirty percent of explosive power, my regular strength increased by twenty percent. In the end, this is a gain.”

The only thing that disappointed Xiao Chen was the fact that the Azure Dragons in the acupoints on his feet were gone. He would no longer be able to perform high-speed close-quarter maneuvers that changed quickly.

The acupoints on Xiao Chen’s feet had helped him greatly in many battles, allowing him to attack or retreat when he wanted. It was a very practical ability.

“Never mind all this. I should focus on raising my cultivation first. After refining my Quintessence twice again and reaching late-stage Medial Grade Martial Monarch, I will be able to trounce people like Ximen Bao.”

Xiao Chen flipped his hand, and some fifty-year-old Earth Essence Fruits appeared in his palm. Then, he sat cross-legged and ate three in one go.

To Xiao Chen, the fifty-year-old Earth Essence Fruits had the same effect as scratching an itch. He would achieve his purpose of quickly raising his cultivation only if he ate a few at a time.

After absorbing the medicinal energy of the fifty-year-old Earth Essence Fruits, he was not in a rush to consume more. Instead, he first spent time seriously refining all the Quintessence that he had converted from the Medicinal Energy.