Immortal and Martial Dual Cultivation

Xiao Chen already knew many of the things about the Eternal Heavenly Sword School that the waiter mentioned, so he could not help but feel somewhat disappointed.

The waiter noted Xiao Chen’s expression and could tell that Xiao Chen would be sending him away soon. So he said, “Young Hero, there is a piece of news that will definitely interest you.”

Xiao Chen looked up and asked, “What news?”

“Hehe! About this…” The waiter paused at this moment. Xiao Chen understood what he meant and gave him another five Astral Coins.

The waiter smiled in joy and said, “Young Hero is really straightforward. In that case, I will be straightforward as well. Recently, the Eternal Heavenly Sword School began preparing to auction a broken sword—it’s a damaged piece of a Sub-Divine Weapon.”

When Xiao Chen heard this, he raised his eyebrows slightly. He said, “A Sub-Divine Weapon is worth cities. It would even interest Martial Emperors. A fragment of a Sub-Divine Weapon is also similarly valuable and would attract some Martial Sages. However, this is not such big news.”

The waiter smiled mysteriously and said, “What if it is a fragment from the Thunder Emperor’s sword?”

As soon as the waiter said that, both Xiao Chen and Ao Jiao, who was in the Immortal Spirit Ring, stared at him blankly, looking quite surprised.

Xiao Chen remembered back when he obtained the Thunder Wood Sword, there had been only half of it. The remaining half had been missing.

How can the remaining half be in their hands?! Ao Jiao exclaimed agitatedly from the Immortal Spirit Ring. Xiao Chen, ask him if it is true.

Upon seeing Xiao Chen’s look of disbelief, the waiter quickly said, “This insignificant one does not dare to lie. In recent years, the Eternal Heavenly Sword School would occasionally sell some treasures of astronomical value, all worth cities. Other sects would definitely hide such treasures and keep them for themselves. However, the Eternal Heavenly Sword School sold them all.”

Xiao Chen raised his wine cup and gently took a sip. A contemplative look appeared on his face. According to what the waiter said, this Eternal Heavenly Sword School seemed to be behaving rather strangely.

“What is this auction called and when will it be held?”

Since Xiao Chen knew about this auction already, he would certainly go and check it out, see if there was any chance of obtaining the remaining half of the sword.

However, he had nothing more than a vague hope. After all, even though it was just a fragment of a Sub-Divine Weapon, that half piece of a sword was still worth cities.

Every ingredient required to forge a Sub-Divine Weapon was a rare resource. Such materials were treasures that could be found but not sought. Once they were gone, one might have to wait for several hundred years to find another one.

After the half piece of a sword was melted, it would become ready-made Sub-Divine Weapon material. It would interest several Martial Sages, especially those from sects preparing to forge Sub-Divine Weapons. These people would be willing to spend large sums to purchase it.

Once a Sub-Divine Weapon was forged, then it was not an exaggeration to say that the wielder’s strength could immediately increase by fifty percent.

Furthermore, this Sub-Divine Weapon was once the Thunder Emperor’s sword, adding some flavor and legend to the forged weapon.

It would not be practical for Xiao Chen to compete with these people with his wealth.

“It is called the Flourishing Heaven Auction. It will be held on the thirtieth of this month. At that time, several other treasures will be on auction as well,” the waiter said with a smile filling his face.

The thirtieth, the end of the month, was in three days. That was not much time.

Waving his hand, Xiao Chen dismissed the waiter. He said mentally to Ao Jiao, What do you think? How did the remaining half of the Thunder Wood Sword end up in the Eternal Heavenly Sword School’s hands?

Frowning, Ao Jiao sank into deep thought. Then she replied, This Eternal Heavenly Sword Sage must have been a good friend of Sang Mu in the past. If I can see a painting of him, I should be able to recognize him.

Are you saying that this Eternal Heavenly Sword Sage is the one who betrayed the Thunder Emperor? Xiao Chen asked probingly as he put down his wine cup.

She shook her head slightly and replied, Not necessarily. Given the Eternal Heavenly Sword Sage’s strength back then, even if Sang Mu was severely injured, Sang Mu would have been able to kill him easily.

Xiao Chen asked somewhat helplessly, What should we do about the half piece of the sword? Given my financial capabilities right now, it would be very hard to win the auction.

His competitors at the auction would surely be wealthy Martial Sages. His hundred thousand Astral Coins would be nothing before them.

Ao Jiao did not seem to care too much about this. She sighed softly and replied, We will see what destiny brings. It will be fine just to take note of who wins the sword fragment in the end. In the future, maybe we will have a chance to get it back. That way, we will be able to save on a lot of trouble when we want to upgrade the Lunar Shadow Saber to a Sub-Divine Weapon.

After Xiao Chen ate and drank, he rented a courtyard behind the restaurant for some peace and quiet.

------

As night approached, a Magnificent Fiend Hall cultivator went to the western part of the city, the most chaotic district in Hunluo City, and looked around. When he found his goal, he carefully made his way to the front of a courtyard.

The most ferocious loose cultivators stayed in the western part of the city. If not for the identity medallion of the Magnificent Fiend Hall that this cultivator sported, as a Medial Grade Martial Monarch, he would not be able to step into this area.

When this person arrived before the doors, a look of fear flashed in his eyes. One of the infamous Ten Evils of Hunluo City—Wu Yuankai—stayed at this courtyard.

The Ten Evils were great bandits of the Tianwu Domain or the Fiend Domain. The weakest of them was a half-Sage. The top three of the Ten Evils were Martial Sages.

Even the six major factions of Hunluo Province would not dare to offend these three people casually.

After calming himself, this Magnificent Fiend Hall cultivator rapped the door cautiously with the knocker. Then he called out in a loud voice, “Senior Wu, this humble self is a disciple from the Magnificent Fiend Hall. Some information that you have been waiting for has surfaced.”

His voice lingered in the dark night for a very long time. However, no reply came from the courtyard. This silence gave the Magnificent Fiend Hall cultivator standing outside goosebumps.

“Come in!”

A hoarse voice finally called out from the house. The Magnificent Fiend Hall cultivator quickly pushed the door open and entered.

Inside the courtyard, Wu Yuankai wore robes made of sackcloth. He looked indifferently at the new arrival and said, “The Magnificent Fiend Hall is only so-so. It took you seven days to find a person.”

The Magnificent Fiend Hall cultivator smiled and said, “Hunluo Province is so big. Finding a person is like searching for a needle in the sea. It is not something easy. Take a look. This is the deposit, fifty thousand Astral Coins. After you have accomplished the matter, we will give you the other half.”

Wu Yuankai received a spatial ring from the Magnificent Fiend Hall cultivator. After he check it, a greedy look flashed in his eyes. He smiled and said, “Give me that person’s address, then wait for my good news three days from now.”

“Senior, thank you for your troubles. This insignificant one will take my leave first.”

That person handed Xiao Chen’s address over to Wu Yuankai and departed quickly, not wanting to remain a second longer.

Wu Yuankai glanced at the address and said softly, “Gaining the wealth of others and avoiding calamities. Junior, don’t blame me for being ruthless.”

------

With the auction slated for the thirtieth of the month, Xiao Chen had three days of free time. Having no interest in shopping or seeing the sights since Hunluo City was a chaotic place, he decided to focus all his efforts on cultivation.

“Ghostly Image Chop!”

“Return of the Azure Dragon!”

“Soaring Dragon!”

In the small yard, Xiao Chen used less than ten percent of his Quintessence to execute his three Heaven Ranked Martial Techniques.

Regarding might, Soaring Dragon was definitely the strongest of the three Heaven Ranked Martial Techniques, because it contained the momentum of a True Dragon soaring.

Furthermore, it was a move that Xiao Chen grasped perfectly. When he used this move, no Superior Grade Martial Monarch would be a match for him. Even half-Sages would not dare to clash head-on.

Of course, the other two Heaven Ranked Martial Techniques were not just for show. Ghostly Image Chop had moves hidden within moves. Once Xiao Chen found an opening and could exploit it, even if he faced a half-Sage, he was confident of a fifty percent chance of killing his opponent.

He could use Return of the Azure Dragon multiple times in succession. Unlike Soaring Dragon and Ghostly Image Chop, it did not require large amounts of Quintessence and Mental Energy.

Under normal circumstances, Return of the Azure Dragon was the most versatile. The other two were killing moves.

Aside from these, Xiao Chen still had the Dragon Tone Art. When used unexpectedly, it could achieve surprising results. Furthermore, it was particularly effective against Spirit Beasts.

As for using the Dragon Tone Art against a Deity Race expert, Xiao Chen did not dare to presume that it would work. After all, he had never seen what the Deity Race’s Mental Energy Martial Techniques were like.

Naturally, Xiao Chen kept the Taiji Yinyang Flame Diagram as his trump card. It easily blocked the full-power strike of two half-Sages. It had unlimited potential.

In these three days, Xiao Chen did a simple appraisal of his strength. After fighting with Liu Chen and Situ Lei, he had gained a better understanding of his overall strength.

“On the surface, my weakness is my insufficient cultivation. However, in reality, it is the lack of a will.”

Xiao Chen withdrew his saber and stood erect, calmly analyzing the differences in strength between the seven giants. Bai Wuxue and the others were several times weaker than An Junxi.

There were many reasons for this difference. However, the crucial factor was An Junxi’s will, allowing him to surpass them severalfold.

Although An Junxi’s cultivation was the same as the others, his strength was on an entirely different level. He might even be stronger than some Inferior Grade Martial Sages.

“The most crucial thing is still comprehending a will. After this, I have to rush to the place that Ao Jiao mentioned. Who is sneaking around there?”

Suddenly, Xiao Chen’s expression changed, and he turned around, retreating a hundred meters. He placed his right hand on the saber hilt and looked coldly at Wu Yuankai standing on the wall.

Wu Yuankai stared at Xiao Chen as he landed silently on the ground. He smiled sinisterly and said, “You are quite alert. Unfortunately, you will be dead soon.”

Wu Yuankai’s face did not look old; he seemed to be no more than middle-aged. However, the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes and the profound look in them gave others the impression of heavy lethargy.

Broad black robes covered Wu Yuankai’s body. He wore a pair of dark gold gloves on his large hands hidden under his robes.

“Wuwuwuwu! Wuwuwu!” Although there was nothing around Wu Yuankai’s body, miserable crying sounded occasionally. The pathetic sobs in the quiet night would put any cultivator on edge.

While this person jumped down, Xiao Chen had taken the opportunity to move back another two hundred meters. He looked at the other person with a grave expression and did not dare to be careless at all.

Xiao Chen’s Mental Energy was vast and boundless. His Spiritual Sense was sharp. Normally, he would detect any cultivator approaching purposely from a kilometer away.

However, he only noticed Wu Yuankai when Wu Yuankai was a hundred meters away. Any later and he might have died from a single blow in a sneak attack.

The miserable cries sounded occasionally. Although Xiao Chen was not too affected, he felt that something was wrong.

He tried gathering his Spiritual Sense in his eyes and looked over. Indeed, he discovered over a dozen barely visible, blood-red light ribbons spreading out from outside of Wu Yuankai’s body.

These light ribbons were as fine as thread. They surrounded him, undulating like waves.

In the wake of the blood-red light ribbons, the surrounding Spiritual Energy increased, sprinkling like rain. Dew converged between the swaying ribbons, looking like the headwaters of an endlessly gushing creek.