Immortal and Martial Dual Cultivation

Xiao Chen smiled faintly and waved his hand, stopping Jin Lin and the others. He looked directly at Bai Wuxue and said, “That’s right. I knew about your plan to sneak-attack Heavenly Wind Island. I also knew that the Corpse Race laid a trap at Heavenly Wind Island and waited for you all to fall into it.”

Bai Wuxue’s and Ximen Bao’s faces sank. Killing intent immediately gathered in their eyes.

“However, I was not the one who leaked your movements. It was Azure Monarch Island’s Island Lord, Xia Feng. The evidence is with Qin Wu and not with me. I don’t need to explain too much, either. As long as I know I’m not guilty, that is enough. Whether you believe me or not has nothing to do with me.”

In his heart, Xiao Chen did not feel guilty at all and was being very magnanimous. Originally, he wanted to use the opportunity to go to Black Patterned Island to destroy the Corpse Refining Pool.

However, before he left, he gave the situation some thought. While Bai Wuxue and Ximen Bao deserved to die for being too greedy, the group of Black Monarch Island elite Martial Sages following them did not deserve death.

If Xiao Chen gained all those military merits using the lives of these innocents, then this would not be a very clean way of doing things. As he was now, he did not need to act this way.

Bai Wuxue and Ximen Bao exchanged glances. They could see the confusion in each other’s eyes; they could not understand what was going on.

However, Black Monarch Island’s two Vice Island Lords were startled and asked, “Little Friend Xiao Chen, is what you said true? The commander of Dragon Wood Star’s third line of defense is a mole for the enemy? This is an earthshaking matter!”

“Naturally, it is true. Vice Island Lord Qin Wu made a copy of the evidence. He already sent it along with Xia Feng’s plan to Lord Huangpu Feng. Soon, the truth will come to light.”

Xiao Chen revealed the truth. At this point, there was nothing to hide.

“You all should go. With this, there is no way for the entire Dragon Wood Star to be at peace. If I’m not wrong, Wei Hua should be bringing the army of the Corpse Race to attack Azure Monarch Island. They will probably work with Xia Feng.”

Bai Wuxue and the others were incredulous. Xiao Chen’s words were simply too shocking. However, Xiao Chen already asked them to leave, so they could not continue lingering here. After all, this Dragon’s Gate’s warship belonged to Xiao Chen.

“I, Bai Wuxue, will remember this debt of gratitude. I will return this favor to you sooner or later. However, the bet between us is still on,” Bai Wuxue said somewhat grudgingly. Then, he left together with his group, heading for Azure Monarch Island.

“Pu ci!”

Right after these people left, Xiao Chen suddenly coughed and spat out some blood. He immediately felt much better afterwards.

“Senior Brother Xiao Chen, are you alright?!” Jin Lin and the others asked out of concern, quickly rushing forward. Xiao Chen had remained behind all alone and held back the entire Corpse Race army. It could not have been as effortless as he made it look.

Xiao Chen closed his eyes and took a breath. After a while, he opened his eyes once again and replied, “It’s just a small injury. Nothing major.”

While charging out of the dense encirclement, he had suffered a few strikes. He himself could not recall how many landed on him. Given his Rank 3 Sage Body and that the blows missed his vital spots, these were indeed just minor injuries. He would be fine after resting for about twenty minutes.

Seeing that Xiao Chen’s complexion did not look too bad, Jin Lin and the others relaxed. He whispered, “Where are we going now? Are we still going to follow the original plan?”

In the original plan, the entire Dragon Wood Star would not fall into chaos. Xiao Chen would mount a sneak attack on the Corpse Refining Pool alone. Wei Hua and the others were bound to rush back to provide support. After all, they would not be very far away.

However, now, the Corpse Race army was probably rushing to Azure Monarch Island and was unlikely to be able to receive any news from the Corpse Refining Pool. Even if they could get word, due to the long distance, they could not rush back, either.

In any case, due to Xiao Chen’s benevolence, the situation on Dragon Wood Star turned chaotic; there was no longer any way to salvage it.

However, this was fine as well. This chaos would come sooner or later. As long as he destroyed the Corpse Refining Pool, the Corpse Race would eventually return in defeat.

After thinking for a while, Xiao Chen made his decision.

“I’ll pass control of the Dragon’s Gate’s warship to you. Cancel the original plan. All of you, rush over to help Azure Monarch Island. The third line of defense is critical and must not fall at all costs.”

When Jin Lin heard that Xiao Chen had no intention of going back, he asked, “Senior Brother Xiao Chen, what will you be doing?”

“Me? Naturally, my plan has not changed. I will still attack the Corpse Refining Pool. This is the best opportunity. Wei Hua will definitely not expect me to go to Black Patterned Island right after I escaped the Corpse Race’s army.”

Xiao Chen smiled gently and patted Jin Lin’s shoulder. He said, “Don’t worry about me. Just worry about yourselves. My saber Dao has reached a critical juncture. The greater the pressure on me, the easier I will break through.”

Starlight spangled the night sky. A white figure leaped off the bow of the ship. Under the Supreme Sky Sect younger-generation disciples’ gaze, Xiao Chen stepped on motes of starlight as he headed for Black Patterned Island.

“He wants to destroy the Corpse Refining Pool by himself. Senior Brother Xiao Chen’s courage is truly unimaginable,” Xiao Xian sighed ruefully as she watched the figure slowly disappear from her sight.

However, Jin Lin had a fervent look in his eyes. He said in an envious tone, “It would be great if one day, I could have the same level of courage and grace as Senior Brother Xiao Chen. An absolute self-confidence and the grace of a grandmaster. Our Senior Brother Xiao Chen is definitely no weaker than the geniuses of the various clans in the Starry Heaven Silver Lake.”

---

Xiao Chen activated the effect of the Heavenly Sea Cloak and hid his killing intent. As he headed for Black Patterned Island, the starlight parted for him as the dark night provided him with cover.

His heart was calm and at peace. He did not feel any anxiety or excitement at the prelude to a great battle. In the dark of night, he landed silently on Black Patterned Island.

Relying on the Heavenly Sea Cloak, he walked past many patrolling Corpse Race cultivators undetected. An unwelcome guest had arrived at this heavily guarded island.

It was not hard to find the Corpse Refining Pool since it was where the death Qi was strongest.

With his Spiritual Sense extended, Xiao Chen hovered above the ground and passed by many figures, not attracting any attention as he arrived in the vicinity of the Corpse Refining Pool.

From midair, he could see corpses piled high on the ground. Most of these were the corpses of various Astral Beasts.

Occasionally, he would see someone bringing a freshly killed Astral Beast to this place and collecting a reward.

Many black-clad people worked busily on the Astral Beasts’ corpses. They expertly tore open the abdominal cavity and drained the blood. Then, they added various powders that Xiao Chen did not recognize. Not far away, there were corpses of human Martial Sages.

On careful observation, he saw that the cultivators who turned in the human corpses obtained better rewards.

The area near the Corpse Refining Pool was quiet and organized. As Xiao Chen watched the human corpses being refined into Demonic Corpses, even someone as calm as him was shocked at the sight.

No wonder the other races did not like dealing with the Corpse Race. This was a group of people who would not let one rest in peace after one died, making one tremble in fear.

If the Corpse Race was not strong, they would have perished long ago.

Xiao Chen flew over and arrived above the Corpse Refining Pool. Then he started to observe it thoroughly.

The Corpse Refining Pool was rectangular, measuring five hundred meters long and one hundred meters wide. Its surface was dark and sinister, roiling with black water. Even one look at it made one very uncomfortable and nauseous.

It had an underwater formation with formation lines made with blood and Astral Cores set at the intersections of the lines. If he wanted to destroy this Corpse Refining Pool, he had to destroy the formation and completely bury this place.

However, even without considering the patrolling Corpse Race cultivators, Xiao Chen would find the four Superior Grade Martial Sages, one at each corner of the Corpse Refining Pool, difficult to deal with.

The four old men each had a Demonic Corpse with a surging black aura beside them. Based on their auras, these should be equal to Superior Grade Martial Sages—which meant these were high-quality Sage Grade Demonic Corpses.

Suddenly, Xiao Chen frowned. He had not expected to see those two people here—the scholarly, white-faced Long Fei and Kui Dou, the body temperer whom he had once met.

The two walked over in high spirits. They stopped in front of the Corpse Refining Pool and looked around with interest.

This is going to be problematic. My predictions are off. There is not just Long Fei but also Kui Dou, the Iron Hand Sovereign’s descendant.

Corpses rose out of the Corpse Refining Pool. Occasionally, the Corpse Race Martial Sages in the four corners flashed hand seals, activating the underwater formation. Beams of gray light shot out from the pool.

When the gray light landed, it actually formed a Demonic Corpse, which moved rather rigidly to the coffins at the side. Then, the Demonic Corpse lay down in a coffin and placed the lid on properly.

Immediately, other Corpse Race cultivators would paste labels on the coffin, listing the strength of the Demonic Corpse and its grade. After that, they transported it away. The rows of coffins in the back was a dazzling sight to behold. There were at least a thousand of them, all Monarch Grade Demonic Corpses.

There were also a few coffins with especially deep colors, which contained Sage Grade Demonic Corpses—the true trump cards of the Corpse Race.

Sage Grade Demonic Corpses had already gained some spirituality. Low-quality Sage Grade Demonic Corpses could already rival Martial Sages. High-quality Sage Grade Demonic Corpses could even equal Superior Grade Martial Sages.

As Kui Dou watched Demonic Corpses occasionally leap out of the Corpse Refining Pool, he smiled and said, “With this limitless number of Demonic Corpses, it would be difficult for the Corpse Race to lose the war on this Dragon Wood Star.”

The scholarly, white-faced Long Fei waved his folding fan and said seriously, “That is not exactly true. We can mass-produce only Monarch Grade Demonic Corpses. Sage Grade Demonic Corpses require more time and effort. Of course, with such levels of battles, as long as the Corpse Refining Pool is not destroyed, our Corpse Race will eventually gain victory.”

Kui Dou smiled and nodded. “Monarch Grade Demonic Corpses are nothing before experts. However, they do not require that many resources. If one hundred Monarch Grade Demonic Corpses can wear down an Inferior Grade Martial Sage and kill him, it would be worth the price.”

The two chatted as they walked around the boundary of the Corpse Refining Pool. Occasionally, the four Corpse Race old men spoke with the two.

As Xiao Chen watched all this, he entered deep thought. Right now, what he had to face was four older-generation Superior Grade Martial Sages, four high-quality Sage Grade Demonic Corpses, and two young demonic geniuses who surpassed ordinary Superior Grade Martial Sages.

Based on the auras of the four Corpse Race old men, they were not ordinary Superior Grade Martial Sages, either. They were all old monsters who had lived for several hundred years. Their cultivation was unfathomable. Even in a one-on-one fight, Xiao Chen would not be confident of defeating them within a hundred moves.

If the high-quality Sage Grade Demonic Corpses were added, the fight would become even more problematic. Gaining victory without at least a thousand moves would be hard.