Immortal and Martial Dual Cultivation

Ao Jiao withdrew her gaze, not revealing much shock on her adorable face. “Now do you feel more assured? A True Dragon Cave is not something that a group of youths can explore at will. It will take them at least another week to enter the core zone.”

Xiao Chen put away the map and removed the blue strip of cloth around his forehead. The mark on his forehead flared scarlet. Then, the scarlet throne appeared with another flash of scarlet light.

The instant he removed the strip of cloth, he could no longer cover up his king’s Qi. No matter how much he tried to conceal his sharpness, no one would dare look at him directly.

Xiao Chen leaped lightly onto the scarlet throne ensconced in the scarlet clouds. The scarlet clouds churned, spreading his power everywhere as if a king were descending onto the world.

Ao Jiao’s petite and exquisite figure drifted through the air like a fallen leaf on the wind. Then, she promptly sat on the armrest of the scarlet throne.

As scarlet light flashed, the scarlet throne carried Xiao Chen and Ao Jiao, who were sitting on it, to the nearest forbidden land, which had a treasure that he needed.

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Several hundred kilometers to the north of the Azure Dragon Palace, a huge skeleton lay half buried in the ground.

Just the exposed part of the skeleton was already a hundred meters high. If the buried section were included, it would only be taller. It was unknown how big exactly the entire skeleton would be if it were all dug up or what kind of scenery would appear.

No grass grew within a kilometer of the skeleton; only sand surrounded it. Dust covered the bones, hiding their original color.

However, a different scene presented itself a kilometer away. Plants and trees grew rampant, spreading many branches and forming a vast and dense forest.

Tall trees crowded the forest, all boasting large branches verdant with leaves that blocked the already dim sunlight from reaching the ground.

In this dark forest that hid a multitude of horrifying Demonic Beasts, a mutated Twin-Armed Demonic Ape basked quietly under a tree.

Unlike a regular Demonic Ape, which had long fur over its body, this Twin-Armed Demonic Ape had bone covering every centimeter of its skin. The texture of its skin was similar to metal.

It looked like a strange creature made entirely of metal. Its appearance was more like a machine, not something alive.

The Twin-Armed Demonic Ape’s cold eyes did not contain any emotion. It simply watched over its territory, not permitting any other Demonic Beasts or cultivators to enter.

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Xiao Chen stood on a lush tree far in the distance. He gently pushed aside the tree branch in front of him as he squinted.

A scarlet Spirit Herb was the focus of Xiao Chen’s attention. A golden line appeared among the fresh red. This plant was the objective of this trip—the Monarch Blood Grass.

However, this Monarch Blood Grass was only five meters away from that mutated Twin-Armed Demonic Ape. If Xiao Chen picked it, he would undoubtedly anger that Demonic Beast.

The Twin-Armed Demonic Ape was originally a high-grade Rank 8 Demonic Beast, on par with cultivators like Hu Hai. After it had mutated, it became even more horrifying.

Even two of Hu Hai might not be a match for the Twin-Armed Demonic Ape. Just the defense of its metallic body was a headache.

In a one-on-one battle, Xiao Chen would not fear this mutated Twin-Armed Demonic Ape. However, if he could not settle the fight quickly and startled the other Demonic Beasts in the forest, there would be great trouble.

Furthermore, if he ended up rousing that Demonic Emperor’s remains in the desert zone in the center of the forest, it would pose an even bigger problem.

Xiao Chen considered various countermeasures for a while. Then, he flipped his hand, and a small, exquisite, golden sculpture appeared on his right palm.

“This use will probably break the Golden Savage Ox sculpture.”

Xiao Chen sighed. The Golden Savage Ox had the bloodline of a Savage Beast. If it were truly here, it would be about as strong as this mutated Twin-Armed Demonic Ape.

In the end, the Life Bestowal Spell could imitate only so much. It would be very good already if it could buy him some time.

Xiao Chen released his Spiritual Sense. After getting a better understanding of his environment, he gently tossed out the golden sculpture.

“Life Bestowal Spell!”

He formed hand seals, and the golden sculpture quickly grew larger. Then, it suddenly took form, and a massive Golden Savage Ox landed on the ground.

“Ka!”

Before the Golden Savage Ox landed, there was a crunch. The Twin-Armed Demonic Ape had pushed off the ground and turned into a black figure zooming through the air. Then the Twin-Armed Demonic Ape used its palms to smash the Golden Savage Ox.

This strike sent the Golden Savage Ox flying back, its mound-sized body crashing through trees without end and causing a tremendous commotion.

Xiao Chen’s sea of consciousness surged. He felt somewhat dizzy. The Twin-Armed Demonic Ape’s reaction speed flabbergasted him.

He calmed himself and controlled the Golden Savage Ox into dashing off. He did not care about anything else; he only needed to lure away this Twin-Armed Demonic Ape.

“Bang! Bang! Bang!”

Loud crashes resounded in the quiet forest. The massive body of the Golden Savage Ox shook the ground as it ran, startling several Demonic Beasts.

When these Demonic Beasts saw that the Twin-Armed Demonic Ape was chasing prey, they all quickly made way, fleeing in all directions. Nothing else lingered within a kilometer of the Monarch Blood Grass.

“That should be sufficient!”

Xiao Chen pushed off the tree branch and flew nimbly like a bird. He traversed the dense forest, advancing without stopping.

After a while, he landed beside the Monarch Blood Grass. He revealed joy on his face as he carefully dug out the Monarch Blood Grass and placed it in his Universe Ring.

The Monarch Blood Grass, which could interest even the seven giants, landed in his hands just like that.

Wait a moment. Don’t leave yet.

Just as Xiao Chen was about to leave, Ao Jiao’s voice came from the Immortal Spirit Ring. He did not understand, so he asked, “What’s wrong? We have to go already. The Golden Savage Ox sculpture will not last for much longer.”

Ao Jiao flew out from the Immortal Spirit Ring and pointed to a ten-meter-tall tree in front, saying, “That is a sapling of the Lunar Cassia Tree. After it matures, the Lunar Cassia Flowers will be worth cities.

“Dig it out and transplant it into the Immortal Spirit Ring. It will be useful in the future.”

Xiao Chen frowned and argued, “But the Golden Savage Ox can last for only another five minutes at most. If the Twin-Armed Demonic Ape rushes back, we will be in trouble.”

“There is no time to lose. Even a Martial Emperor would be interested in obtaining this tree after it matures. By then, if you wanted to obtain one, it would be as hard as ascending to heaven,” Ao Jiao said agitatedly.

Xiao Chen looked around as he thought quickly. Then, he made a decision. “We will have to be fast.”

The two went to the sapling of the Lunar Cassia Tree, then started to dig it up. As they wanted to transplant the tree, they could not damage the roots.

So the two dug very carefully in fear of injuring the roots. This caution made it hard to work fast.

“Weng!”

Xiao Chen’s surging sea of consciousness quaked, and blood leaked out of his mouth. He said with an unsightly expression, “The Golden Savage Ox is gone.”

Ao Jiao increased her speed further. As her fingers moved nimbly, she shot out Quintessence and sliced off a pile of dirt. She did not even raise her head as she said, “It’s fine. We just have to be faster.”

“Bang! Bang! Bang!”

The footsteps of the Twin-Armed Demonic Ape grew louder bit by bit. Soon, Xiao Chen could clearly feel its unique cold Demonic Qi.

After Ao Jiao dug out the final root, she picked up the Lunar Cassia Tree sapling with joy and flew into the Immortal Spirit Ring. She said, It’s done. Congratulations, you have a future Spirit Tree.

However, Xiao Chen found it hard to smile. The Twin-Armed Demonic Ape had already returned. He would not be able to avoid a fight.

“Hu chi!”

A soft but sharp sound of air breaking came from behind him. He clenched both his hands tightly and quickly circulated one thousand tons of force into a fist.

The moment Xiao Chen turned around, he sent out a punch. A loud sound rang out; this punch managed to intercept the Twin-Armed Demonic Ape’s palm strike.

A surging force poured out wildly, moving like sharp blades into the surroundings. Several towering trees fell over as a result.

Xiao Chen did not budge at all, but the Twin-Armed Demonic Ape flew back for a hundred meters, screaming in pain. Then, it nimbly flipped in the air and turned into a black shadow charging at him again.

He smiled coldly and circulated the Dragon Claw Fist. An azure-colored Dragon Head roared and burst forth with a ferocious force, knocking the Twin-Armed Demonic Ape back a second time.

“Xiu!”

This time, Xiao Chen took the initiative to charge over without giving the Twin-Armed Demonic Ape time to recover. An Azure Dragon image appeared under his feet and carried him like a strong wind to the Twin-Armed Demonic Ape.

Then, he sent out another Berserk Dragon Claw at the Twin-Armed Demonic Ape, leaving five claw marks on its chest with an azure-colored Dragon Claw.

Xiao Chen frowned slightly. Unexpectedly, the Berserk Dragon Claw did not even injure the Twin-Armed Demonic Ape. Its defense was preposterous.

The Twin-Armed Demonic Ape roared and charged over again.

Xiao Chen formed a Dragon Head with his left hand and a Dragon Claw with his right, creating a complete dragon image. Then, he pushed both his hands forward.

“Berserk Dragon Break!”

A dragon image formed of pure Vital Qi quickly clashed with the Twin-Armed Demonic Ape, knocking it back once more.

Not even bothering to observe the results, Xiao Chen immediately turned around and fled. The Twin-Armed Demonic Ape had an absurdly strong defense; dragging the fight out would not have a good ending.

“Boom! Boom! Boom!”

Xiao Chen just flew straight on, crashing through the trees in his way and turning them into sawdust.

Such a commotion startled all the Demonic Beasts in the forest. Before long, a huge army of Demonic Beasts was chasing after Xiao Chen. If they caught up, they would tear him to bits.

Xiao Chen executed his Movement Technique to its limits, dodging all the attacks and reaching the outskirts of the forest with much difficulty.

A scarlet light flickered on his forehead, and the scarlet throne appeared. He quickly leaped onto it and turned into a beam of scarlet light moving into the distance.

I finally escaped. Xiao Chen released his bated breath. Then, he could not help but say to Ao Jiao, who was planting the Lunar Cassia Tree sapling, “You say that this Lunar Cassia Tree is a sapling. How long will it take to mature?”

Ao Jiao replied, “Not long. Under normal circumstances, it should just take two or three hundred years. However, for it to reach flowering age would probably take five hundred years.”

Five hundred years…

After fighting so hard to obtain it, he could profit from it only five hundred years later. Xiao Chen nearly vomited blood at that thought. Fortunately, he could console himself with the notion that it would be useful in the future.

At first, he could have simply obtained the Monarch Blood Grass and left quickly. Now, he had exerted so much effort, but he could avail of the thing he got only after five hundred years.

Xiao Chen felt somewhat dissatisfied as he asked, “In that case, what value does this Spirit Tree have? How can it be used?”

Within the Immortal Spirit Ring, Ao Jiao’s heart filled with joy. As she cared for the Lunar Cassia Tree sapling, she smiled and replied, “The Lunar Cassia Tree will produce Lunar Cassia Flowers. With just one flower, you will be able to recover from any sort of internal injury right away.

“As for the Lunar Cassia Fruit that forms after a thousand years, it has an even greater effect. It can increase a cultivator’s recovery ability permanently. Don’t forget that most cultivators do not temper their physical bodies.”

A permanent increase in recovery ability held a strong attraction for cultivators who did not temper the physical body.