Immortal and Martial Dual Cultivation

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Xiao Chen said half-jokingly-half-sternly, “You can forget about it. Not only can I not give you more Black Astral Coins, but the resources that your merchant association earned also has to funnel into the construction of Heavenly Dragon City.”

Jin Dabao opened his fan and interjected, “Hehe! I was just joking. To this Fat Lord, money is just a number. What this Fat Lord enjoys is the process.”

There was no falsehood with Jin Dabao’s words. If he were really just greedy for riches, his wealth in the Sky Dome Realm was already sufficient to last him several lifetimes.

Xiao Chen continued, “The amount of support I will give you will not be little. You can choose one of Heavenly Star Island’s satellite islands and build up a merchant island for the exclusive use of the Azure Dragon Merchant Association. As for merchant ships, once Mo Chen has settled the matters at Black Flame Island, I will send the first batch of King Grade warships that she refines over to your merchant association.”

When Jin Dabao heard that, his eyes immediately lit up, and a wide smile appeared on his face. “That is very generous. I will make a solemn vow as well. Within three years, I will make the Azure Dragon Merchant Association the top merchant association of the Western Sea.”

Xiao Chen waved his hand and said, “There is no need for such a vow. I believe in your capabilities. However, our target is not just the Western Sea but the entire oceanic world. After that, we still have to charge back to the Kunlun Continent and trample those who dared to smash your signboards, make them break their own signboards.”

After Jin Dabao heard that, he recalled the times when his signboards were all smashed. Then, he could not help showing an evil look.

When Xiao Chen saw that expression, he frowned slightly. “Something seems wrong with you. You look like you can’t control your own bloodlust.”

Jin Dabao nodded and said, “After making a trip to the Black Sea and back, I need to rest for a month. Otherwise, it would be hard to guarantee that my character will not change. Aside from the local cultivators, no one dares to stay in the Black Sea for long. Of course, this does not include those cultivators who are there to temper their minds.”

Xiao Chen thought for a while, then removed the Sea Monarch Headscarf from his forehead. He handed it to Jin Dabao and said, “This is the Sea Monarch Headscarf. In the future, when you go to the Black Sea, you can wear this. I guarantee that you will not experience any change in character.”

Jin Dabao did not take the headscarf. He said, “From your tone, you make it sound like I will be heading back to the Black Sea immediately. It is better for you to keep it.”

Xiao Chen said seriously, “My state of mind has long reached a level where it won’t be influenced so easily. That mysterious substance in the Black Sea will not be able to affect me. Your cultivation of the mind is much weaker than mine; there is no need to force yourself.”

The Sea Monarch Headscarf had many uses. Xiao Chen quite liked it.

However, Jin Dabao clearly needed it more than Xiao Chen did, so there was no need for Xiao Chen to keep it for himself. The main impetus behind the rapid development of the Azure Dragon Merchant Association was Jin Dabao’s enormous effort to open a trading route to the Black Sea.

In the end, Xiao Chen asked where Ba Tu was, and he let Jin Dabao go to rest.

After Jin Dabao left, Xiao Chen slowly walked out of the pavilion and returned to the summit.

He looked down at the million people setting the foundations of the future Heavenly Dragon City. It was buzzing with activity but not at all noisy. With Mo Chen and Lan Shaobai’s administration, it was not very chaotic despite the number of people.

At an even more distant place, the Mo Clan was currently preparing the foundations of the Dragon’s Gate’s refining pavilion on Black Flame Island.

Yue Chenxi and the others personally went out to manage the various resource islands. The development of the entire Heavenly Star Island was proceeding in a very organized manner.

With an Asura Race Martial Emperor staying in the main island, Heavenly Star Island’s prospects looked quite promising.

“I really can’t bear to leave,” Xiao Chen muttered as he revealed an expression of affection.

However, no matter what, he needed to leave for now. He needed to find his own fortuitous encounters and seek a quick yet stable way to merge his soul with the Heavenly Seal.

Xiao Chen was fighting a battle with heaven. Most people believed that he would not be able to advance to Martial Emperor. They waited to see him make a joke of himself, to see how he would fall from the peak four years later.

The opponents that Xiao Chen once defeated all watched coldly, waiting for that day to arrive.

It was impossible for fortuitous encounters to just fall from the sky while Xiao Chen was at home. He needed to go and seek them out, to adventure in the most dangerous places.

Indecision invariably led to trouble. Xiao Chen closed his eyes and breathed deeply three times. When he opened his eyes again, he was no longer hesitant or felt anxious.

Xiao Chen pushed off the ground and headed down the mountain to say goodbye to his old friends.

After visiting most of his friends, he went to Mo Chen last. She was currently in her room, which was replete with piles of rough drafts and all sorts of books and information.

In this somewhat messy room, Mo Chen worked busily on drawing more rough drafts. Even when Xiao Chen arrived, she did not notice him.

When Mo Chen casually raised her head and saw Xiao Chen outside, surprise flashed in her eyes. She stopped what she was doing and asked with a smile, “What’s wrong? How come you have time to come and visit me?”

Xiao Chen replied, “Try guessing. You have three chances.”

Mo Chen slapped her own forehead and smiled bitterly. “I really hope I guess wrong this time, but you have to leave eventually. Now that Heavenly Star Island is on the right track, you can leave feeling assured.”

Xiao Chen smiled. Indeed, he could not hide anything from this girl.

There was no need for words between these two. After a short silence, Xiao Chen told her to take care before turning to leave.

“Don’t forget what you promised, that you will personally watch me remove my veil.” As Mo Chen said that, tears welled in her eyes.

Xiao Chen paused for a moment, but he did not turn his head back. He laughed, “Don’t worry. I, Xiao Chen, never go back on a promise. If I said I would do it, I will. I will definitely keep living and will personally watch you remove your veil. You are the top beauty of the Cloud Sea Domain. I will not feel satisfied if I die without seeing what you really look like.”

After saying that, Xiao Chen left, taking big strides, his departing figure slowly vanishing from Mo Chen’s misty sight.

What awaited Xiao Chen in the mysterious Black Sea? Would he be able to find the means to break through to Consummation quasi-Emperor? Everything was all unknown.

With this step, a new journey awaited Xiao Chen. The path to Emperor, a fight against the heavens!

When going to the Black Sea from Heavenly Star Island, the first stop would be one of its five great sea domains, the Black Water Sea. This sea domain was comparable to the entire Western Sea Domain.

Xiao Chen rode on the flood dragon war chariot and got Ao Jiao to drive it, soaring above the clouds.

He continued to cultivate inside the war chariot, not wasting any time.

A cold, jade prayer mat floated on the soft bed in the carriage. Xiao Chen sat cross-legged on it. Lights of five different colors slowly circled him.

Each of these lights gave off a different feeling: massacre, death, ruin, despair, and grief. All of them different from each other.

That was right. These lights were the five thrones that Xiao Chen had collected. He had gathered five different kinds of higher-level states. For most people, if they could comprehend one of these states and advance it into a will, they would be called geniuses. With two such wills, one could move around unhindered. With three, one could be called an absolute genius.

However, Xiao Chen possessed five such states. If he managed to collect the Destruction Throne and Pain Throne in the future, he would have seven.

There were too many. Xiao Chen did not intend to turn these into wills. Doing so would waste too much time. He intended to wait until he collected all seven states and then merge them into the state of cycles.

After that, he would advance the state of cycles into the will of cycles—which he intended to do after reaching Martial Emperor.

As for now, Xiao Chen could not completely give up on these various states, either. He pointed, and the roof of the carriage opened up. As he sat cross-legged on the prayer mat, a vista unfolded before him, allowing him to look into the distance.

With a thought, the Lightning Talisman that represented the will of thunder flew out and shone with a bright light. Then, it took the shape of a sharp, small saber. This was the form of Xiao Chen’s Great Perfection saber soul.

The electricity on the saber soul did not fade, crackling as it sparked.

Xiao Chen extended his hand and shot out a strand of saber Qi with electricity surrounding it from his fingertip. It looked like a bolt of lightning as it tore through the sky and struck a Rank 8 Spirit Beast five kilometers away.

The saber Qi containing the power of lightning first split the Spirit Beast in half. Then, the electricity in it exploded, blasting the two pieces of the Spirit Beast’s body into ashes. When the wind blew, the ashes all scattered.

This extra might came from the addition of the power of lightning to the saber soul. In the end, for a bladesman, the standard of measure of one’s strength was still the saber soul.

“Pu ci!”

Little Yellow Feather, who was with Ao Jiao, loathed to appear weaker, so it spat out a golden flame and directly burned another Rank 8 Spirit Beast to ashes. Then, it shot a cocky look at Xiao Chen.

“Little Yellow Feather, behave. Xiao Chen is testing his move. Don’t interrupt him,” Ao Jiao said as she patted Little Yellow Feather’s head while driving the deep-sea flood dragons.

Xiao Chen laughed and tossed an Astral Core to Little Yellow Feather before formally starting his test.

These lights were all higher-level states. Although he had not advanced them to wills, they were of a higher level and were stronger than elemental states like fire or ice.

Xiao Chen intended to separately fuse these different states with his saber soul, creating a massacre saber soul, ruin saber soul, despair saber soul, death saber soul, and grief saber soul. That way, he would have different options when facing different enemies, allowing him to choose a more appropriate weapon, depending on the enemy.

Sometimes, some opponents possessed a strong defense. Even Xiao Chen’s strong lightning saber soul would not be effective. In such a situation, the other kinds of saber souls might bring out unexpected results.

Xiao Chen absorbed the state of death into his sea of consciousness. Instantly, his mind filled with all sorts of emotions associated with death. It took him a while to adjust to them.

Xiao Chen’s eyes turned a deathly gray. Then, he flicked out a strand of saber Qi from his fingertip. This time, its speed was significantly slower. The trajectory of the saber Qi tearing through the sky was noticeable.

Then, the saber Qi struck a Rank 8 Spirit Beast five kilometers away. This saber Qi did not split the Spirit Beast in half. However, the saber Qi infused into the Spirit Beast, and the power of death slowly spread.

Life gradually faded from the Spirit Beast’s body. After a while, its withered body fell from the sky.

Xiao Chen entered deep thought. Then, he muttered, “Its might is much lower than the lightning saber soul. However, this is due to its low compatibility. After some practice, it might be able to achieve some unexpected results against certain types of opponents.”

Following this, he tested the might of the various saber souls. Then, he worked on improving their compatibility.

Continuously practicing these saber souls was also another form of training with his saber soul. For a quasi-Emperor, a seventy-percent-comprehended saber soul was already very scary. Most bladesmen could not even condense a form for their saber soul after they advanced their saber intent into a saber soul.

However, there was still a lot of room for improvement. Practicing more did not have a negative impact on strength. After all, Xiao Chen was a bladesman at his core. The saber soul was very important.