The Supreme Lord Donghuang

by Stayrr

Zhou Donghuang, a man from the Earth, is able to destroy any planet in the universe without lifting a finger. His supreme will can sweep across the vast cosmos in the blink of an eye. And his immortal spirit can depart from his body and wander around the universe! In Kunlun Mountains lies a circular slate, which brought him back to one thousand years ago…

5. 129

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Chapter 129: Buddhist Essence

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

The Western Chu Ridge was located in the northwest of the country of Yunyang. Due to the proximity of the Western Chu Ridge to the forest at the northern border of the Yunyang country, Big Gold and Little Gold had arrived in the Western Chu Ridge and settled in the Lost Forest in the central ridge.

The distance from the Chu royal city to the Yunyang imperial city was similar to that from the Chu royal city to the hometown of the two golden-crowned eagles. Nonetheless, the distance was much further than that from the Chu royal city to the inferior Yunfeng prefecture.

"Little Gold, you are too slow… if Big Gold doesn't have to take care of you, we'll save two to three days on our journey to your hometown," remarked Zhou Donghuang condescendingly. He sat cross-legged on Big Gold's back as he glanced at Little Gold flying alongside them.

Since leaving the Chu royal city, they had taken ten days to reach the rugged mountainous range beyond the northern border of Yunyang country. After Big Gold had achieved Great Consummation of the Qi-Gathering, not only had its inner qi been enhanced, but its body had also undergone morphogenesis. Even if it did not use its inner qi to fly, it could still fly much faster than before. If Big Gold did not need to take care of the Petty Consummate demon, Little Gold, at its current speed, they would be able to reach at least two or three days earlier.

"Young Master, give me two more months, I'll be able to achieve Great Consummation!" Faced with derision from the young man, Little Gold's eyes shone as it promised.

"Two months?" Zhou Donghuang shook his head as he replied condescendingly, "You're really worthless!"

"Young Master," said Little Gold with a bitter smile. "Two months is already an ambitious target, given my current progress… my talent is definitely far from yours, but it's comparable to my brother's. Of course, if we manage to successfully defeat or drive away that Connate red goshawk and take over that treasured land… perhaps in less than a months' time, I'll be able to achieve Great Consummation!"

As it spoke, its eyes glinted with greed.

"Are we almost there?" asked Zhou Donghuang calmly. Hearing Little Gold mention that land again, Zhou Donghuang's eyes narrowed as he gazed into the distance.

Of course, despite his calm appearance, he was rather emotional…

In the past, when he stood at the top of the world, a site like this where a monk had attained nirvana would hardly appeal to him. In fact, even if he had gone past it, he would be too lazy to enter. Monks that required a location to attain nirvana were merely at the Dharma Laws stage. Those that were beyond the Primordial Soul stage had already converted the Buddhist essence into the Primordial Soul; even if their body deteriorated, as long as the Primordial Soul was kept alive, they could easily abandon their current physical body to find a new one. Hence, monks of that level did not require a location to attain nirvana at all. Even if they felt merciful and did not wish to rob someone's body, they did not require a physical location to attain nirvana because once their bodies died, the Primordial soul would turn into ash as well.

"Almost," responded Big Gold. "At our current speed, we'll reach within a day and night."

"Alright," said Zhou Donghuang with a nod. He shut his eyes and returned to his practice.

Sitting on the back of the golden-crowned eagle, although he was faced with blowing wind, it hardly affected him. After taking the concentration elixir, he could easily go into a focused state of practice. Using the Lord of the Four Supremes, he could make incredible progress.

An afternoon passed.

A night passed.

It was the next dawn when Zhou Donghuang opened his eyes again. According to Big Gold, in another two hours, they would be able to reach the treasured land where the red goshawk had taken over the site of nirvana of the monk. "When you first met the red goshawk, it was just in the early Connate stage?" asked Zhou Donghuang. Although Little Gold had mentioned it before, Zhou Donghuang still had to make sure.

"Young Master, for eagle demons like us, an early Connate adept can reach wingspans over ten meters. In the middle Connate stage, wingspans can reach over twelve meters. In the late Connate stage, they can be over fifteen miters. And in the penultimate Connate stage, wingspans can be over twenty meters," explained Big Gold. "When we saw that red goshawk, when it opened its wings, it was slightly more than ten meters… hence it must have just achieved the Connate stage not long ago. It has been almost ten years since then. Now, we can't be certain of its level. Perhaps it is still in the early Connate stage, or in the middle stage… but because it is one of the inferior breeds among the demons, even with the help of the treasured land, it can definitely be unable to attain the late connate stage or even the penultimate stage!"

"Mm," responded Zhou Donghuang with a nod. Although he had some knowledge of demons, he only had some general knowledge and had little understanding of the evolution of eagle demons. Eagles were just one type of the many winged demons. The Cloud Condor from the imperial court was of a similar level of the Qi-gathering as Big Gold and Little Gold then, but because it was a condor, it was much larger than the eagle demons. No matter what level they were at, condors were naturally of a larger size than an equally skilled eagle.

"Young Master," asked Little Gold, as if he had suddenly remembered something. "You said previously that the red goshawk had taken the site of nirvana of a monk… the golden glow around the place is the Buddhist essence from his body. If the red goshawk has already consumed that essence… then would that treasured land disappear?" Little Gold seemed worried.

Hearing this, Big Gold's eyes narrowed as it scolded uncontrollably, "Little Gold, you are a golden-crowned eagle, the king among the eagles, don't learn to be a jinx like those rotten crows!"

Zhou Donghuang smiled and replied Little Gold, "If it really swallows that Buddhist essence, that is in fact a good thing for us."

"Why so?" Little Gold was confused. "If it consumes that essence, then wouldn't it become a part of its stomach? Without the essence, that treasured land will just become an ordinary cliff."

Zhou Donghuang shook his head and answered, "If it wanted to swallow that Buddhist essence, it would have done so earlier… why would it wait till you discovered that place? Furthermore, back then, when you appeared there, it did not leave with the Buddhist essence, did it? It only chased the two of you away. The Buddhist essence, even if it was just left behind by an early Primal Core stage monk, would not be able to be swallowed by it… if it does, it would be destroyed by the power released by it. In fact, it may not even be able to go close to the Buddhist essence. Even if it were left behind by just an early Primal Core monk, any humans or demons beneath the Primal Core stage would be severely injured if they attempted to go too close to it! The Buddhist essence contains the culmination of a whole life's worth of gathered qi… as compared to the Primal Core or the Inner core, the Buddhist essence can continue to absorb the Spirit for a period of time after the monk has attained nirvana. After that, the essence will turn into dust after the power within disappears."

Zhou Donghuang had some understanding of the Buddhist essence. In his previous life, he had a senior who was a monk who had attained Separating Divinity. He had learned much about Buddhism from that senior.

"Senior Brother Qinghong…" As he thought of that senior, Zhou Donghuang breathed in deeply as he tried to suppress his rising emotions. In his previous life, that senior had died in the hands of two immortals because of him. Although he had taken revenge and killed the two immortals, his Senior Brother Qinghong could not be revived. Senior Brother Qinghong was both a brother and a teacher to him and was one of the few people he deeply respected.

"Since I have been reborn, in this life, I will not allow the same tragedy to happen again!" Zhou Donghuang's eyes were firm.

"Young Master, are you really from a small town in Yunyang country? Why does it seem like you know even more than most people?" Little Gold asked curiously as he heaved a sigh of relief after hearing his words.

Although Big Gold did not question, his sharp eyes were shimmering with curiosity.

"After living long enough, you'll naturally know more," Zhou Donghuang murmured, his eyes filled with sadness.

"Live long enough?" His words left both Big Gold and Little Gold shocked. As far as they were concerned, this young man was only seventeen or eighteen years of age, how could he say that he had lived long enough? Wouldn't that mean that they had lived for an even longer time?

"Young Master, we are here!" After two hours, Big Gold called out, bringing Zhou Donghuang back from his whirring emotions. Just now, when thinking of his Senior Brother Qinghong, he could not help but remember many things from his past life, his mind wandering.

"It's that cliff right in front!" cried Little Gold. Zhou Donghuang saw a tall peak pierce through the clouds, clearly prominent among the rest of the other surrounding mountains.

"Go straight there!" ordered Zhou Donghuang as he looked at the mountaintop, his tone emotionless.

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Chapter 130: Late Connate Stage Demon

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

If a Buddhist essence appeared at the site of nirvana attainment by a monk, that meant that the monk was at least an early Primal Core stage and at most of the Dharma Laws stage. In his past life, Zhou Donghuang reigned supreme over the whole universe, and he could hardly be concerned about something as minute as the site of nirvana of a monk. But now, he was extremely interested in it as he was only at the stage of Great Consummation of the Qi-Gathering. If he managed to lay his hands on the Buddhist essence of the monk, he would have an easier journey ahead. He would be able to attain the Connate stage more easily and gain the ability to traverse the different galaxies. If he left Ziyun planet for more prosperous planets, and seek better resources for his practice, he would be able to reach his peak more quickly, or perhaps even surpass his previous achievements!

"Go straight there!" Hearing Zhou Donghuang's orders, Big Gold and Little Gold sped towards the mountaintop among the clouds.

Soon, they passed through the clouds and neared the mountaintop.

"The Buddhist essence is still around," commented Zhou Donghuang as he saw the golden glow that radiated from the cliff at the mountain peak. The essence had not been taken by anyone, nor had it dissipated after the power inside it had slowly diminished over the years.

At the same time, Zhou Donghuang picked up Little Gold's words to Big Gold. "Brother, the golden glow seems to be much less than what it used to be back then. I remember… the golden glow even covered this area. Back then, we had attained intelligence as we stayed in the hole over there, under the golden glow."

As Zhou Donghuang followed Little Gold's gaze, he saw a small opening in the straight face of the cliff. It was relatively big, and could even hold Big Gold now. It should have had no problem containing both Big Gold and Small Gold back then when they were both of a lower stage of the Qi-Gathering and smaller in size.

"Little Gold, are you sure… back then, the golden glow could radiate up to here?" Before Big Gold could respond, Zhou Donghuang had already questioned Little Gold, his expression turning serious.

"Young Master, I am positive," confirmed Little Gold as he flew towards the opening and left a long mark along the stone cliff with his claw, three meters beneath the opening. "Back then, we had attained intelligence here… hence, I remember it clearly. The golden glow reached here at that time." Little Gold was confident.

Big Gold added, "Young Master, I remember it too… Little Gold is right. Back in that year, the golden glow did indeed reach here."

Zhou Donghuang nodded.

"Young Master, is there anything wrong?" asked Big Gold.

"From the position of the Buddhist essence, if it could radiate its glow up to here, that must mean that the monk who left it behind must at least be at the penultimate Primal Core stage." Zhou Donghuang looked at the mountaintop and the golden glow that enveloped it. "And now, that Buddhist essence has clearly gone past the stage where it can absorb the surrounding Spirit to increase its energy… now, it can no longer regenerate its power. When the power within it slowly runs out, it will disappear with the wind. Luckily, the two of you brought me here… if we had waited for you to achieve the Connate stage, and become Connate demons, the Buddhist essence would have been mostly depleted, and maybe even disappear!"

Hearing this, both Big Gold and Little Gold looked fearful. In the half a year that they had spent together, they had learned to trust the words of this young man without a doubt.

"Let's go! Let's meet that Connate demon red goshawk!" With that, Zhou Donghuang pulled out three small bottles and opened one of them. He poured its contents into his mouth, then handed the other two bottles to Big Gold and Little Gold.

"Young Master, what is this?" asked the eagles curiously.

"Qi-increasing elixir," replied Zhou Donghuang flatly. "After taking it, you will be able to temporarily boost your inner qi within that short time, increasing it by about 500kg of strength… when the effects are gone, there will be no side effects too."

The qi-increasing elixir that Zhou Donghuang had swallowed and given to the two eagles had been concocted using the gallbladder of the level-nine grizzly bear. A total of ten bottles had been made, but he had never used them. But today, faced with a Connate red goshawk whose strength he was unsure of, he had not only taken a bottle for himself but even gave one to each of the two golden-crowned eagles, for safety's sake.

"Young Master, give me more of this good stuff!" Little Gold's eyes shone.

"More of this? You think this is cabbage?" Zhou Donghuang glared at Little Gold as he rushed them, "Out of safety, take this qi-increasing elixir before we enter the area enveloped by the golden glow."

Big Gold and Little Gold obediently swallowed the elixir. Feeling the boost in its inner qi, Little Gold's eyes widened. "My inner qi feels no less than Great Consummation… too bad, this is only temporary." It was visibly disappointed.

"Stop talking nonsense, let's get to work," said Big Gold. It shot towards the peak of the mountain with Zhou Donghuang on its back.

"Brother, wait for me!" Little Gold called out as he rushed towards them.

Soon, under the orders of Zhou Donghuang, the two eagles had not only entered the cliff within the golden glow but had even circled the area and exited in front of a small cave on the edge of the cliff.

"It is the Buddhist essence, indeed." Showered in the golden glow, Zhou Donghuang further confirmed that the glow was the power emanating from the essence. Being enveloped within it made one's soul feel cleansed, and it aroused the inner qi.

"That red goshawk must be inside." With the incredible hearing ability from his Lord of the Four Supremes, he could easily hear a dull buzz from within. Although it seemed like it was deliberately trying to decrease its volume, as if it did not want to be heard, Zhou Donghuang could still hear it.

He thought to himself, Previously, before achieving Great Consummation of the Qi-Gathering, I probably would not have been able to hear this… now, my hearing has improved greatly.

At the same time, Zhou Donghuang heard a faint noise from within the cave. Clearly, the red goshawk was coming out, but its movements were tiny. Clearly, it did not want to be found out.

"Since you don't want us to find out, let's play!" A cold smile played on his lips as Zhou Donghuang quietly ordered Big Gold to drop him off at a small protrusion on the mountain face near the hole. The protrusion was only enough to accommodate him standing there. Someone who was less daring would not even dare to stand on top of it.

"I'll hide here… the two of you distract it, and I'll stab it from behind to try and kill it with one blow!" Zhou Donghuang instructed the two eagles.

"Young Master, you have the distinct scent of a human, even if it can't sense it from within the cave, once it nears the opening, it will definitely be able to smell you," said Big Gold.

"Human scent?" Zhou Donghuang smiled slyly as he took out another small bottle and poured out some of the liquid onto his palm. He picked up some sand from the mountain and mixed it within the liquid, then rubbed the mixture on himself.

"Now, can you smell me?" He asked Big Gold and Little Gold playfully.

"Young Master, you… how did you do this?" The two golden-crowned eagles were shocked because they realized that they could no longer smell the human scent on the young man. Although there was a scent that wafted out, it smelled exactly the same as the sand of the mountains. The young man seemed to have become one with the mountain. If they did not see him with their own eyes, with their keen sense of smell, they could hardly believe that there was a man standing there.

"After we settle this, I'll explain it to you." Zhou Donghuang's eyes turned serious. "The two of you go and prepare quickly… it is about to come out! Remember! Don't look in my direction and expose me!" Zhou Donghuang reminded the two golden-crowned eagles seriously, then he stood there quietly. Even his breathing slowed down as if he was afraid that the red goshawk would discover his presence.

Big Gold and Little Gold then circled outside the cave opening, staring at the opening.

Whoosh!

Soon, at the opening, that was seven or eight meters tall, appeared a massive goshawk that was at least six meters tall. Its body was covered with brown feathers, with a crimson red on a tuft of features on its crown and at the tip of its wings.

Its sharp eyes landed on Big Gold and Little Gold, then spoke using demon tongue, "You two again." It seemed to recognize the two golden-crowned eagles.

"You know us?" Big Gold was surprised.

"Back then, I knew that you gained something from here and attained intelligence. On account of the fact that you left immediately, I spared your life… I did not think that you would dare to come back!"

The massive brown eagle flew out of the cave, its wings spreading more than fifteen meters long.

"You… you have already reached the late Connate stage?!" Little Gold's eyes narrowed as he cried in shock.

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Chapter 131: Appetizer

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Unlike the Qi-Gathering stage which was split into eleven stages, the Connate stage was categorized into just four levels: early Connate, middle Connate, late Connate, and penultimate Connate.

Early Connate adepts or demons could release their inner Qi a foot beyond their bodies. The presence of the Qi was so strong that it was like a metal slicing through mud. If an early Connate adept were to battle against an adept who had achieved Great Consummation of the Qi-Gathering, even before the Qi-Gathering adept had reached the Connate adept, the Qi-Gathering adept would already be injured by the inner Qi of the Connate adept radiating out of their body.

The early Connate stage could only be considered the preliminary level within the Connate stage. As one progressed into the middle Connate stage, one's Qi could be emitted outwards up to three feet away, putting the adept or demon at an even greater advantage when battling. In the late Connate stage, the Connate Qi would be able to be released ten feet from the body and would easily be able to injure or kill anyone within three meters. In the penultimate Connate stage, such adepts were the most powerful presence within all Connate adepts, and they could release their Qi thirty feet from the body, which was a whole ten meters' distance. Nobody would be able to come within ten meters of the penultimate stage adept without being killed.

"Late Connate stage?!" Upon seeing the red goshawk extend its wings to reach a wingspan of over fifteen meters, both Little Gold and Big Gold were so shocked that their eyes narrowed, filled with utter disbelief.

Not long ago, the two of them had just said that the red goshawk could only have reached the middle Connate stage at most, and it was impossible for the red goshawk to have entered the late Connate stage… but now, the sheer size of the red goshawk showed that it was clearly in the late Connate stage!

"This time, since you are here, then don't think of leaving!" The eyes of the red goshawk flashed coldly as it cried out at them. It spread it wings, turning into a brown streak of lightning as it rushed towards Big Gold and Little Gold. Its speed of attack was a far cry from the speed that Big Gold could achieve now.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

As the red goshawk spread its wings, streaks of green Qi seemed to radiate from it to a distance of ten feet, shooting towards Big Gold and Little Gold like two-foot-long swords cutting through the air. Seeing this, even though both Big Gold and Little Gold had used the Qi-increasing elixir and had boosted their Qi, but they did not dare to fight against the streaks of Qi as they escaped.

At this point, their best chance of escape would be if they separated and flew in different directions. But, in order to ensure that their Young Master did not lose his chance, they retreated in a straight line.

Whoosh!

Since its appearance, the red goshawk had not discovered any trace of Zhou Donghuang. Seeing the two golden-crowned eagles retreat in a straight line, it did not suspect anything as it tried to go closer to the two of them.

Just then, wham!! The rare sound of a spear whistling resounded through the air, sounding like a banshee.

At the same time, a little spear radiating a cold glow flew through the air towards the red goshawk at a faster speed than even the red goshawk itself. It flew straight towards its target on the back of the red goshawk's head. If the spear landed on its target, even if the red goshawk was a late Connate stage demon, it would definitely be killed by the spear.

"Oh no!" But just as the little spear was about the pierce through the back of the red goshawk's head, it seemed to react in one lightning-fast motion as it tilted its head to the side.

Boom!!

However, the red goshawk's reaction was still half a beat slow as the spear missed the back of its head, but still pierced through the side of its head, bringing with it a flow of rushing blood.

The blood splashed through the air, appearing especially radiant in the golden glow.

"Kill it!" As the spear passed through the side of the late Connate red goshawk's head, it stumbled and tried to steady itself with its huge pair of wings. Zhou Donghuang called out to Big Gold and Little Gold hurriedly.

"A human?!" Then, the red goshawk tilted its injured head slightly, as it locked eyes with Zhou Donghuang, its eyes filled with disbelief. It could not imagine how a human could possibly understand demon speak. Neither could it comprehend how a human had just been hiding so close nearby to the cave, but it had not noticed his scent at all. The human scent could be easily picked up even by Qi-Gathering demons, so it would definitely have been noticed by a Connate demon like itself.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

With Zhou Donghuang's orders, the two golden-crowned eagles flapped their wings, and stopped in midair at thunderous speed. They transformed into black streaks of lightning as they rushed towards the red goshawk one after the other.

Now, the red goshawk was seriously injured by the spear that had passed through the side of its head. The inner Qi that radiated from within its body seemed to appear intermittently, as if it could not fully materialize.

"Just the two of you… want to kill me?" Initially the red goshawk had though that a Great Consummate and a Petty Consummate golden-crowned eagle would not be able to kill it, even if they worked together. But at its current injured state, it would definitely not make it out alive, but it could surely bring the two golden-crowned eagles down together with itself.

But as the two golden-crowned eagles flew towards it, the red goshawk realized that not only was the larger Great Consummate eagle far stronger than any ordinary Great Consummate demon, but even the smaller Petty Consummate eagle was exhibiting more power than any typical Great Consummate flying demon.

After a brief scuffle, Big Gold and Little Gold managed to tear the red goshawk into two parts, risking serious injury to themselves. They finally killed the red goshawk!

As the two halves of the red goshawk dropped to the abyss below, Little Gold, which was covered with fresh blood, circled in the air close to the cave, its eyes incredulous. "I never would have thought… a late Connate demon would die in my hands."

As the words left its mouth, Big Gold could not help but interrupt its little brother, "Don't get too cocky. If Young Master had not injured it first and diminished its power to less than a tenth, based on our current strength, we would have died if we had faced it head-on."

As it spoke, Big Gold turned to Zhou Donghuang, its eyes filled with shock. "Young Master, I originally thought that since it was a late Connate demon, you would not be guaranteed to be able to kill it even with the help of the spear sphere… I did not imagine that you would still manage to injure it severely, giving us the chance to attack it."

"It was just luck," said Zhou Donghuang as he took a deep breath. After he called Little Gold to send him to the door of the cave, he was still reeling from the shock. Just now, even for him, he was not confident of the attack.

"Didn't you two say… the red goshawk could only be a middle Connate demon at best?" Thinking of the sheer fright from just now, Zhou Donghuang glared at Big Gold and Little Gold. "If you had told me the correct information, I would have made more preparations. Thankfully, our luck was good this time."

Just now, as Zhou Donghuang struck with the spear sphere, he had used all of the inner Qi within his body, which had been enhanced by leaps and bounds by the Qi-increasing elixir. Without the qi-gathering elixir, even if he had exhausted all of his inner Qi and flung the spear, he would not have been able to injured the red goshawk as seriously as he did.

Hence, he had felt very lucky. Furthermore, Big Gold and Little Gold could only have destroyed the red goshawk so easily because they had taken the qi-increasing elixir too. Otherwise, with their current strength, even if the red goshawk was so seriously injured, they may not have been able to kill it.

"Young Master, we did not expect it as well." Hearing Zhou Donghuang's words, Big Gold laughed bitterly, as Little Gold followed suit. Both of them also had never expected that even the red goshawk, which was one of the most inferior species among the eagle demons, would be able to achieve the late Connate stage within such a short time at this place. Late Connate demons were vastly stronger than middle Connate demons; the difference between the two could be said to be like comparing Earth to the skies.

"Forget it, no matter what, we managed to get through this crisis." Zhou Donghuang shook his head. When he looked at Big Gold and Little Gold again, his eyes turned strange. "Then again… the two of you, just let the body of the red goshawk drop all the way down like that? Although it had not achieved the primal core stage, or crystallized the inner core… but as a late Connate stage demon, every piece of flesh and bone on its body is filled with intense concentrated spirit energy. That is the product of the spirit energy that it had absorbed from the Earth and air during its practice. If you consumed its body, Big Gold would be another step closer to achieving the Connate stage, and Little Gold will definitely be able to achieve Great Consummation of the Qi-Gathering within a few days."

As his words left his mouth, Big Gold and Little Gold seemed to turn crazy as they flapped their wings desperately and sped downwards towards the carcass that was falling through the air.

"Those two dumb birds." Shaking his head again at the two golden-crowned eagles, Zhou Donghuang turned his attention to the cave behind him. Standing there, he could still clearly feel that gentle energy that was cascading out from the cave behind him. Most importantly, he would hear Sanskrit chanting surrounding him.

Zhou Donghuang was not a Buddhist monk after all. This Sanskrit chanting would seem like the words of a higher God in the ears of a Buddhist monk, but to him, it sounded just the same as any other noise.

"Let's take a look inside." Zhou Donghuang pulled a torch out and lit it with fire, then ventured into the dark depths of the cave. Inside, he listened closely to confirm that there was no other living being within the cave. Typically, there would be no chance of any other living thing inside the cave… because the other living thing would definitely compete with the red goshawk for the benefits of the Buddhist essence, and the red goshawk would surely no tolerate that.

"Young Master, it's so incredible." Zhou Dongunag had just slowly walked into the cave, but within the period of ten breaths, Big Gold and Little Gold had returned. Looking at the blood stains on their mouths, it was easy to tell that they had already swallowed the red goshawk whole.

Little Gold walked behind Zhou Donghuang, looking towards Zhou Donghuang with eyes that were filled with respect. "If not for your reminder, I would never have thought… that red goshawk's body would bring me so much benefits! Now, I feel that the last bottleneck of the Petty Consummation of Qi-Gathering has been loosened, and if I begin practicing now, I am confident of breaking through the frontier within a day and achieve Great Consummation of the Qi-Gathering!" With that, Little Gold's voice was extremely excited.

Although Big Gold was silent, its eyes were filled with unmistakable gratitude. It was clear that it felt as pumped as Little Gold was at that moment.

"The body of the red goshawk was just an appetizer…. the most valuable thing in this place is the Buddhist essence!" Zhou Donghuang did not even turn back to look at the two golden-crowned eagles as he walked straight into the depths of the cave, his footsteps increasing in speed.

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Chapter 132: Buddhist Essence of Early Dharma Laws Stage

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

"Buddhist essence!" Hearing Zhou Donghuang's words, the eyes of the two golden-crowned eagles following behind, be it Big Gold or Little Gold, all lit up with glee.

"Young Master, that red goshawk was just a lowly eagle demon of inferior blood, but with the help of the Buddhist essence, it was able to achieve the late Connate stage… that Buddhist essence must be something extraordinary, am I right?" Little Gold asked as he followed the footsteps of the young man leading the way ahead of them.

"It is indeed extraordinary," agreed Zhou Donghuang as he nodded and continued walking. "Based on what you have told me, and the fact that the red goshawk managed to reach the late Connate stage… the Buddhist monk that left the essence behind must be at least of the Primal Core stage, or maybe even the Dharma Laws stage!"

Dharma Laws. That was the stage above the Primal Core stage.

Both Big Gold and Little Gold were clearly aware of this, so when they heard Zhou Donghuang's words, their eyes narrowed. "Dharma laws?!"

"Even if it is the Buddhist essence left behind by a monk who had achieved the Dharma Laws stage, today, its power is left with just a fraction of the original," said Zhou Donghuang with a sigh. But he added, "Even then, even if the Buddhist essence is hardly left with any of its original power and is far less useful to us than what it used to be at its peak… it is still very helpful to all of us now. On the whole, we will gain much from this."

As he spoke, in the deep recesses of Zhou Donghuang's eyes, a shimmer of light seemed to appear, shining especially brilliantly in the glow cast by the fire of the torch in his hands.

"Young Master." After Little Gold had spoken, Big Gold also piped up. "Just now, the little bottle of fluid that you took out, what liquid was that? It was somehow able to mask your human scent." Big Gold was fully aware: if the young man had not used that bottle of liquid to mask his human scent and thus was able to carry out a sneak attack without the red goshawk noticing… today, even if they had used the qi-increasing elixir, they would not be able to have killed the red goshawk.

"That is the scent-mixing potion, a potion I produced using the leftover herbs from some other medicine." Hearing Big Gold's question, Zhou Donghuang could not help but slow his steps. "That scent-mixing potion, after it makes contact with any object and is rubbed on the body, will be able to mask the body's scent for half an hour."

The scent-mixing potion was a kind of unpopular potion that Zhou Donghuang had decided to produce on a whim. Although he had produced more than ten bottles, he had only one bottle on him.

Before today, he never would have thought that the scent-mixing potion would be so useful in such situations, and could be said to have even turned the tides in the most crucial of times.

"If not for the scent-mixing potion today that allowed me to hide from the red goshawk without it discovering my presence… even if I had used the qi-increasing elixir, it would have been extremely difficult for us to kill it without a sneak attack." Zhou Donghuang was clearly aware that without either one of the qi-increasing elixir or the scent-mixing potion today, they would not have been able to kill the late Connate red goshawk demon. Of course, Big Gold and Little Gold had been crucial in retreating in a straight line at the most important moment.

"Humans are really amazing, producing a potion like that," exclaimed Little Gold. Its eyes were also filled with fear, because this also meant that if any other human used this potion against it, the human could also be able to destroy it with a sneak attack.

"We're here!" At the same time, Zhou Donghuang had discovered that there was no further road leading forward using the light from the fire torch in his hands. As he looked around him, he saw that there was a pile of bones on the ground in the corner of the cave, and on top of the bones lay pieces of clothing.

Most important, within the pile of bones that lay on the ground, there was a round orb that was golden in color. Even from that distance, one could sense the coldness that was emanating from within the orb that seemed to push anybody more than a thousand miles away.

"Young Master, this is the Buddhist essence?" Little Gold looked at the faintly golden orb, its eyes widening.

"Yes," responded Zhou Donghuang with a nod of his head.

Little Gold's eyes were filled with confusion. "Young Master, didn't you say that the golden glow outside was emanating from this Buddhist essence? Why is it no longer radiating any golden glow? Furthermore, since we entered this cave, we have not been able to see any golden glow."

"We cannot see the golden glow inside this cave because there is no light, but this area is still filled with the energy that it is releasing uncontrollably… as for the golden glow outside, it is caused by its energy mixing with the natural light outside, which is why you see the glow," explained Zhou Donghuang. "If you stand outside at night, if there happens to be moonlight or starlight, then you will still be able to see a faint glow that appears and disappears intermittently… but if there are no moon or stars that night, then you will not be able to see the golden glow."

"I see," responded Little Gold.

At the same time, Big Gold was staring intently at the Buddhist essence that was glowing brightly. It did not forget to ask the young man, "Young Master, this little Buddhist essence… are you able to tell what level of Buddhist monk left it behind?"

Zhou Donghuang's eyes had not left the Buddhist essence ever since his gaze had landed on it. Now, hearing the question from Big Gold, his eyes shone as he answered, "This Buddhist essence was left behind by a Buddhist monk of the early Dharma Laws stage after he had sat here to attain nirvana. It looks like even when you first discovered it, it had already gone past the stage where it could absorb spirit energy to replenish itself, and had begun depleting its internal energy and dissipating into ash. Otherwise, the golden glow that it radiated would surely reach further than the area where you attained intelligence! Now, the power within it is less than twenty percent of its original at most… roughly similar to a Buddhist essence left behind by a late Primal Core stage Buddhist monk who has attained nirvana."

As he spoke, Zhou Donghuang's eyes seemed to shine even brighter. To him now, even if it was just a Buddhist essence left behind by a late Connate stage monk, it would be an incredibly valuable treasure to him.

"Early Dharma Laws stage? Late Primal Core stage?" Both Big Gold and Little Gold were noticeably disappointed after hearing Zhou Donghuang's words.

If this was originally a Buddhist essence left behind by a late Primal Core stage monk, they would have been more than satisfied. However, knowing that this was originally a Buddhist essence left behind by an early Dharma Laws stage monk, they were not only not satisfied, but were disappointed that they had missed their best chance.

"Learn to be happy with what you have." The look in the two golden-crowned eagles' eyes allowed Zhou Donghuang to easily see their disappointment. He told them, "Think about it this way… If you had not told me about this and waited until the two of you had achieved the Connate stage and become Connate demons before coming back here, it could already have disappeared. Even if it was still around, its power would be left with much less… and that red goshawk could possibly have achieved the penultimate Connate stage. Could the two of you, who would have just reached the Connate stage, be able to defeat a penultimate Connate stage red goshawk?"

Hearing his words, the eyes of Big Gold and Little Gold were no longer dark and even shone brighter than they used to be, because what Zhou Donghuang had just said did indeed make sense. What they had right now was in fact a decently good outcome.

"Young Master, do you have any way to take this Buddhist essence?" Big Gold asked Zhou Donghuang. Seeing that the young man had not even reached the Connate stage, Big Gold was suspicious if he would be able to take the Buddhist essence.

Zhou Donghuang was silent but answered Big Gold with his actions. He stretched out his hands gently and easily grabbed the Buddhist essence with his outstretched hands. In fact, the hand that Zhou Donghuang had used to grab the Buddhist essence was emanating waves of gentle inner Qi that infused into the Buddhist essence, allowing him to use a special method to suppress the icy cold power that shot straight out of the surface of the Buddhist essence like icy cold daggers.

In the instant that Zhou Donghuang grabbed the Buddhist essence, the icy cold power that was radiating from the golden orb seemed to completely disappear. Rather, it had been absorbed back into the orb.

"Let's head back!" After taking a look around him and not seeing anything of value, Zhou Donghuang called out to the two golden-crowned eagles as they left the cave.

The two golden-crowned eagles soon realized that after that had left, the golden glow around the cave had disappeared. "Young Master, what is going on here? Why is the golden glow from the Buddhist essence gone?"

"I have already used my Qi to seal it so that the power within the essence will no longer leak out of the orb. Since it is no longer interacting with the light outside, it will no longer produce the golden glow that we used to see," Zhou Donghuang replied as he held the Buddhist essence in his hands. "You should have noticed it a long time ago… in the instant that I picked up the Buddhist essence, not only did the icy cold atmosphere within disappear, but the noise that had been sounding in your ears had also disappeared as well."

Whoosh! Whoosh!

The two golden-crowned eagles streaked across the sky like black lightning as they flew towards the Chu royal city, making their way back home.

"Young Master," asked Little Gold along their journey. "Since the Buddhist essence left behind by a monk is so valuable… why did the Buddhist monk find such a place to meditate and achieve nirvana? And he even left his essence right there. Why didn't the monk just achieve nirvana in front of his friends or family and leave the Buddhist essence to them?" Little Gold was perplexed about this matter.

"Buddhism is concerned about this thing called "Fate"… only a small portion of Buddhist monks would choose to achieve nirvana in front of their close friends or their disciples, and leave their essence to them. Most other Buddhist monk are more concerned about leaving it to fate, and will choose to leave the Buddhist essence at a place where few people would know about, and wait for someone fated to find it," answered Zhou Donghuang.

"And what if there is no one fated to find it? Wouldn't that Buddhist essence be left to waste?" asked Little Gold again.

"To most Buddhist monks, even if nobody finds their Buddhist essence, and it is left to disappear like ash in the wind, it is also a form of fate," continued Zhou Donghuang.

"Young Master, you… how do you intend to make use of the Buddhist essence?" asked Big Gold curiously.

"Don't worry, the two of you will definitely benefit as well," assured Zhou Donghuang with a slight smile.

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Chapter 133: Chief of the Valley of Medicine Masters

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

The afternoon of August 5th, 1229 of the Ziyun era.

An old man who looked worn and weary, rode a massive beast as he entered the main gate of the Yunyang imperial city arrogantly. Many passersby stopped to look at the sight.

The beast beneath the old man looked like a leopard but seemed slightly different from a typical wild leopard. This was a demon that looked like a leopard. It was covered with dark gray fur that shone in the light. Its saucer-large eyes were bloodshot, and its mouth was filled with two rows of razor-sharp teeth. It was a fearsome creature to behold.

"It's a Lightning Leopard, a level-seven demon of the Qi-Gathering stage!" Many people recognized the demon that the old man was riding. Although it was a common sight to see demons being ridden as a steed, having a level-seven demon as a steed was a rare occurrence. A person who was able to ride a beast like this was either somebody from the imperial family or from one of the few premier tycoon families within the imperial city. Furthermore, even those few premier tycoon families had only one or two demon steeds of such a high level. Hence, when the old man rode the Lightning Leopard along the streets of the imperial city, it drew the attention of many people throughout the city's streets.

"I hope… that emperor does not get angry at me," said the old man on the Lightning Leopard going towards the emperor's palace. As he spoke to himself, a bitter smile appeared on his lips, his eyes filled with impatience.

This old man was none other than the second elder of the Chu royal household of the Western Chu ridge, Xiang Donghua. This was the second time that Xiang Donghua had come to the Yunyang country imperial city this year.

The first time, it was because a young man had appeared in the Western Chu ridge, who had managed to defeat the two Great Consummate golden-crowned eagles of the Lost Forest. That young man had ignored the orders of the imperial court and had ordered the two golden-crowned eagles to destroy the tycoon Fan family of the Western Chu ridge. The Chu royal household could do nothing about the young man and could only report the matter to the imperial court in the hopes that they would be able to take action against him.

However, that time, although he had brought one of the most powerful adepts in the Yunyang imperial court back with him to the Chu royal city, together with the Cloud Condor that the imperial court had spent much effort training. But both the adept and the demon had been killed by that young man.

As he had brought the adept and the Condor back with him, so, when they were both killed, the Chu king had ordered him to return to the imperial city to report the news to the imperial court.

He had rejected it right away. What a joke! He had been the one to bring both the man and bird to the Chu royal city, and they had never returned. What if the imperial court was furious at him?

Because he had refused to go to the imperial city, the Chu royal household had sent someone else to report the news to the Yunyang imperial court. This time, he was here because of the continuation of the same matter.

After the messenger had relayed the news of the death of both man and bird to the Yunyang imperial court, the imperial court had sent the previous emperor and the current retired emperor of Yunyang country, Jiang Yunding, who was an early Connate adept, personally to the Chu royal city of the Western Chu ridge.

After that, Jiang Yunding had personally paid a visit to the young man. However, even before he got past the front door, he had been killed by that young man, and in just one blow, just like the previous time!

Jiang Yunding was the retired emperor of Yunyang country and the only Connate adept in the whole Yunyang country, but he had died in the Chu royal city of the Western Chu ridge, and even in one of the guest inns under the Chu royal household.

This matter was extremely significant and had to be reported to the Yunyang imperial court immediately. Hence, he was sent once again by the Chu king.

"We're here." As they reached the main entrance to the palace of the imperial household, Xiang Donghua hesitated as he rode his Lightning Leopard. He then inched closer and identified himself before he was allowed to enter the imperial palace.

In the imperial court, the emperor of Yunyang country, Jiang Tianchen, sat at the emperor's seat. As he looked at Xiang Donghua, his expression seemed dark.

Although Xiang Donghua had not said a single word, Jiang Tianchen still had a faint sense of evil foreboding.

"Speak," said Jiang Tianchen in a low voice.

Xiang Donghua breathed in deeply, then smiled bitterly as he said, "Your Majesty, my… my sincere condolences."

Crack!

Just at the instant that the words left Xiang Donghua's mouth, Jiang Tianchen's right hand shook as he the right armrest of the throne was broken off by him, wooden splinters flying out of the chair. He had tried to comfort himself that his father must have run into some issues either on the way there or on the journey back, so had not returned to the imperial court yet. Now, this phrase from Xiang Donghua had confirmed his greatest worry.

"Your Majesty, please calm down." Seeing Jiang Tianchen's fury, Xiang Donghua was taken aback like a bird that had just been faced with an arrow. He was so frightened that his expression changed drastically, his body crumbling to the ground as he kneeled down anxiously and plastered his head to the ground. He did not dare to get up at all. Of course, this was a smart move on his part, as this gave him the greatest chance of keeping his life.

"Speak." When Jiang Tianchen opened his mouth once again, although his tone seemed flat, it was clear that he was trying extremely hard to suppress the anger that was boiling within him.

"Your Majesty." Xiang Donghua took a deep breath as he gathered his courage to look up. He looked respectfully at the emperor and continued, "The retired emperor came to the Chu royal city and headed directly to our royal household and learnt more about that young man. Right after that, he had left for the guest inn that the young man was staying in. According to eye witnesses inside the guest inn at that point in time, the retired emperor was originally very courteous and wanted to have a peaceful talk with that young man… but the young man did not even allow him past the door. The retired emperor had then asked the young man to give up the first-grade martial art at the door."

Xiang Donghua told Jiang Tianchen truthfully, "The young man refused, and the retired emperor then threatened him by saying that if he did not do so, the imperial court would report everything about him to the Valley of Medicine Masters. Then, the Valley of Medicine Masters would gift the imperial court the first-grade martial art technique anyway. Later, in his fury, the young man then released a spear in a single blow, killing the retired emperor right outside the door. Before he died, the retired emperor had taken out the soft waist spear to defend himself, but he was not able to block the phantom like spear that transformed from the metal ball in the young man's hands."

With that, the atmosphere within the imperial court seemed to appear exceptionally oppressive and dark.

After a lifetime, Jiang Tianchen still had not responded. Xiang Donghua remained kneeling on the floor, too fearful to stand up.

"How was my father's body handled?" Finally, Jiang Tianchen spoke, his eyes staring emotionless at Xiang Donghua as he asked in a deep voice.

"Your Majesty, the body of the late retired emperor was kept in an ice casket…. at the same time, once our Chu royal household prepares enough ice blocks, we will send the body of the retired emperor on its way to the imperial city," answered Xiang Donghua hurriedly.

"Mm," said Jiang Tianchen as he nodded his head with satisfaction. He added, "If there are no further matters, you may leave now."

"Yes, Your Majesty." As Xiang Donghua left the imperial court, the robe on his back was entirely soaked with his cold sweat, but he seemed to not be bothered by it and even heaved a heavy sigh of relief.

After Xiang Donghua had left the imperial court, Jiang Tianchen did not leave, but the aides beside him all left hurriedly.

Soon, the top level of ministers in the imperial court of the Yunyang country had once again gathered in the court.

…

That night, the emperor of Yunyang country, Jiang Tianchen, personally rode a demon and left the palace. The beast as his steed was a massive lion covered with a body of golden fur. As it ran, its speed was not any slower than the Petty Consummate flying demon, the Cloud Condor. This was another of the Petty Consummate demons that the Yunyang imperial court had reared, the Fiery Lion.

When the Fiery Lion ran, its whole body of golden hair shook like the flames of a brilliant golden fire burning brightly. Although the speed of the Fiery Lion was not slower than that of the Cloud Condor, it was not a flying demon and had to stay on the roads… so based on its speed on the roads, it was still much slower than the Cloud Condor.

Now, Jiang Tianchen left the royal palace riding the Fiery Lion, riding straight into the distance. That was the direction where the Valley of Medicine Masters lay.

"The issue of this young man, if I report it directly to the second elder of the Valley of Medicine Masters, Chen Tianhe, whom we always communicate with, knowing the lazy nature of Chen Tianhe, even if he eventually reports it up to the chief of the Valley of Medicine Masters, he will surely claim all the credit for himself and not mention me at all." As Jiang Tianchen sped on his way, his eyes were shining. "Thus, it is better if I make the trip there myself. If this time, our Yunyang imperial court is not able to gain some real benefit from the Valley of Medicine Masters from this matter… then my father would have sacrificed his life for nothing!"

As he thought of the death of his father, Jiang Yunding, Jiang Tianchen's expression turned immensely dark once again.

"Zhou Donghuang is the name? I want to see how you can try to fight against the Valley of Medicine Masters!"

…

After many days, Jiang Tianchen finally rode the Fiery Lion and reached one of the mountain gates of the Valley of Medicine Masters.

"I am the emperor of Yunyang country, chief of the Yunyang imperial Jiang family, Jiang Tianchen. I am looking for the valley chief for some extremely important matters." At the gate, Jiang Tianchen identified himself and stood outside the door into the Valley of Medicine Masters, waiting for the disciple guarding the gate to relay the message into the Valley. He appeared extremely patient the whole time.

Although he was the emperor of a whole country, but before the Valley of Medicine Masters, he did not dare to be arrogant.

After two minutes, the disciple who had relayed the message then returned, as he brought with him a message from the chief of the Valley of Medicine Masters. "Chief Jiang, the valley chief ordered me to bring you in."

"Thank you."

As he came in front of the mountain gate, Jiang Tianchen leapt off the back of the Fiery Lion and held on to the Fiery Lion. Now, as he entered the gate, he led the Fiery Lion alongside him.

This was one of the rules of the Valley of Medicine Masters: other than Connate adepts, within the valley, no matter if the person was from the valley or an outside, no person was allowed to ride a beast around.

"Chief." After a minute, Jiang Tianchen came up to the chief of the Valley of Medicine Masters.

As for his Fiery Lion, it had been brought somewhere else by someone from the valley, and had not accompanied him to the residence of the Chief.

The residence of the Chief of the Valley of Medicine Masters was found in a small courtyard in front of a small waterfall in the corner of the valley. Inside the courtyard, there were many flowers and plants, and even some plants that were brightly colored and in strange shapes, which were clearly rare plant species.

"Emperor of Yunyang country, why are you looking for me?" The chief of the valley was a middle-aged man in a loose gray robe. His eyes were bright and his brows sharp. His face was princely, and it was not hard to see that he had been a handsome young man in his youth. Even now, he had a special kind of aura as a mature man.

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Chapter 134: Connate Demon Silver-Crowned Crane

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

This was the second time that Jiang Tianchen had seen the chief of the Valley of Medicine Masters.

Back then, before he had taken over the position as emperor of Yunyang country, he had once visited this Valley chief together with his father Jiang Yunding, then the emperor of Yunyang country. Then, he was just a young teen, barely thirteen years of age.

In the blink of an eye, thirty years had passed, and he had already gotten so much older. The years had left their mark on his wizened face, but the emperor that stood in front of him still looked the same as he had thirty years ago, just like a middle-aged man.

"Although I had heard a long time ago that the chief of the Valley of Medicine Masters had the ability to maintain his image well… but I never thought that he would still be able to maintain his look from more than thirty years ago." Jiang Tianchen looked at the middle-aged man in front of him as he sunk deep into his thoughts. He was extremely shocked that the man looked exactly the same as he had thirty years ago. Was this really the valley chief that he had met on his previous visit and not the son of that chief? Although he had long heard that this chief of the valley had such abilities, but it had always been just hearsay. Now that he finally saw the man in the flesh for himself, Jiang Tianchen was shocked and could hardly calm himself.

Even when the valley chief spoke, Jiang Tianchen did not respond as he was still deep in thought.

"Jiang Tianchen, right? Even your father did not dare to be as disrespectful in front of me." The elegant man was the chief of the Valley of Medicine Masters, Su Mo. Seeing that Jiang Tianchen had ignored him, although there seemed to be hardly any change in his expression, his eyes seemed to flash with a murderous cold glint that scared Jiang Tianchen so much that he recovered from his daze immediately.

"Your Excellency, please do not misunderstand. I was just so alarmed to see that Your Excellency looks exactly as young as you did thirty years ago. That was why I went into a daze." Jiang Tianchen bowed deeply as he spoke, his voice apologetic.

Although he was the emperor of Yunyang country and the one who reigned supreme over the whole of the country, but in front of this man, he did not dare to show any sign of arrogance. Not only was the man the chief of the Valley of Medicine Masters, which ruled over all sixteen countries of the Eastern valley, including Yunyang country, but just the level of power within the man was also enough to make him cower in fear. Not only was the man the chief of the Valley of Medicine Masters, but he was also a Connate adept who had achieved the late Connate stage!

Needless to say, Jiang Tianchen was very good with his words. At least, what he just said was enough to soften Su Mo after it entered his ears. His fierce gaze turned gentler as he said, "So…. what urgent matter brings you here today to find me?"

Jiang Tianchen breathed in deeply, before he spoke slowly, "Your Excellency, my father has been murdered." As he spoke, his tone turned low as if he could not control it. In front of Su Mo, the chief of the Valley of Medicine Masters, Jiang Tianchen, the emperor of Yunyang country, did not dare to refer to himself as the emperor, but referred to himself in the first person using just the term "I."

"Oh?" Su Mo raised his brows. "As far as I know, your father Jiang Yunding had already achieved the early Connate stage quite some time ago… recently, did a Connate adept cause trouble for you in Yunyang country?" As he spoke, Su Mo's eyes seemed to flash coldly. All the sixteen countries within the Eastern valley were under the protection of the Valley of Medicine Masters, including Yunyang country. This was widely known. Hence, although many of the sixteen countries of the Eastern valley did not have any Connate adepts, these countries did not receive any trouble from other Connate adepts. This was because it was understood that these sixteen countries of the Eastern valley had the backing of the Valley of Medicine Masters.

Now, hearing that the retired emperor of Yunyang country, Jiang Yunding, who had already achieved the Connate stage, had just been murdered, Su Mo, as the chief of the Valley of Medicine Masters, immediately felt that someone had dared to disrespect the Valley. Laying hands on Jiang Yunding was no different from slapping the Valley of Medicine Masters on the cheek.

"Your Excellency, my father was not killed by a Connate adept… the man who killed my father is only a Great Consummate adept of the Qi-Gathering at best," replied Jiang Tianchen, his face bitter.

"Jiang Yunding had already achieved the Connate stage many years ago, but he was killed by a Great Consummate adept of the Qi-Gathering? What happened to his years as a Connate adept?" The icy cold glint in Su Mo's eyes disappeared and was replaced with disdain. A Connate adept of the early Connate stage being murdered at the hands of a Great Consummate adept was simply a disgrace to Connate adepts! In that instant, Su Mo felt that Jiang Yunding had embarrassed the ranks of Connate adepts.

"Your Excellency, although that man is only a Great Consummate adept of the Qi-Gathering, he is definitely not your typical Great Consummate adept." Seeing Su Mo's disdain towards his late father, Jiang Tianchen was infuriated, but he did not dare to show his anger. He forced a bitter smile out of the edges of his mouth as he said, "That man most likely received the treasure of a Primal Core adept!"

"Primal Core adept?" Su Mo's eyes narrowed. His expression, which had been relaxed, now changed drastically.

"In his hands, he had a small metal sphere which could transform into a spear… the metal spear did not look impressive, but it radiated a cold glow that was visible to the naked eye. Once if flew out, it could easily kill a man. My father had died because of that metal sphere, and had been murdered by that metal ball which had transformed into a spear and pierced through him." Jiang Tianchen continued, "My father was wary and had defended in time, but he was still unable to defend himself against that spear."

"Small metal ball? Transformed into a spear?" Su Mo's eyes narrowed again as his gaze landed on Jiang Tianchen like lightning bolts. He asked seriously, "Are you sure… the small ball in that man's hands could transform into a spear?"

The sudden seriousness of Su Mo gave Jiang Tianchen immense pressure. He breathed in deeply, then dared to respond, "Your Excellency, although I did not see it for myself, many people in the Chu royal household of the Western Chu ridge of Yunyang country saw the scene with their own eyes… Most importantly, my father had died because of the small metal spear that had transformed out of that small metal sphere!"

As he spoke, Jiang Tianchen paused before adding, "The reason why I suspect that he is in possession of a treasure left behind by a Primal Core adept… this mysterious metal ball that can transform into a spear is just one of the reasons.

"The other reason is the sheer speed of his increase in power. Two years ago, he was just sixteen years old and a martial invalid that everyone knew about… but now, he is just eighteen years of age and has already achieved Great Consummation of Qi-Gathering! Most importantly, he was not born into any reputable families, but is just someone who was born and raised in a desolate little town in an inferior prefecture of the Western Chu ridge." Jiang Tianchen finished his piece in one breath.

"Sixteen years old, a martial invalid?" Su Mo's eyes narrowed once again. His expression changed drastically again as he asked, "Eighteen years old and somehow appears to have achieved Great Consummation of Qi-Gathering? Plus, using a small metal ball that seems to be a spear sphere, he killed the previous emperor of Yunyang country, the early Connate adept Jiang Yunding?"

Su Mo had seen records in the old books that had been passed down through generations of the Valley of Medicine Masters of an amazing weapon that only adepts of the Primal Core stage and above could produce. That weapon was known as the spear sphere.

Within the spear sphere, there were many complicated spells, and if one did not know how to use the spear sphere, it was simply impossible to awaken it. But once the spear sphere was awoken, it was able to release frightening amounts of murderous power, and the more inner Qi that was injected into the weapon, the more powerful it would become.

According to the old books and records… middle Connate stage adepts who managed to awaken the spear sphere and utilize it had a more than eighty percent success rate in using it to ambush and kill penultimate Connate stage adepts. If late Connate stage adepts injected all their energy into the spear sphere, they did not even have to ambush the opponent, as long as they had the opportunity, they could easily use it to kill a penultimate Connate stage adept!

Thinking of this, Su Mo's eyes flashed as he sucked in a deep breath of cold air.

In an instant, his eyes glinted brightly as his gaze landed on Jiang Tianchen once again. "You should now… the consequences of lying to me." His eyes flashed threateningly as he said this.

"Your Excellency." Seeing his reaction, Jiang Tianchen was sure that the chief of the Valley of Medicine Masters before him was very interested in the treasure that was in the hands of that young man. Otherwise, Su Mo would not have confirmed the truth in his words once again. "If there is any untruth in anything that I, Jiang Tianchen, told you today, Your Excellency can take away my life at any time!" Jiang Tianchen said seriously, even using his life as a guarantee.

Seeing this, Su Mo no longer doubted him. He pulled out a short flute and put it to his mouth, blowing a short verse of music on the flute. The sounds of the flute rolled away into the distance.

Whoosh!

Just as Jiang Tianchen raised his brows slightly at the ear-piercing flute music, another sound came to his ears, the sound of something speeding through the air. When he raised his head towards the source of the noise, he saw a massive white crane. Its wingspan was more than ten meters wide. As it appeared in the air above him and the chief of the Valley of Medicine Masters, Su Mo, it circled in the sky, its sharp eyes fixated on Su mo.

"Is this the Connate demon of the Valley of Medicine Masters, the silver-crowned crane?" With just a glance, Jiang Tianchen could easily see the silver crown on the head of the white crane. Instantly, he guessed that this white crane was the Connate stage flying beast that the Valley of Medicine Masters had reared.

The Connate demon, silver-crowned crane.

"Old friend, follow me on a trip," said Su Mo to the silver-crowned crane with a smile. Usually, even Connate demons which had attained intelligence would find it difficult to understand human language. But if the Connate demon had lived long enough and people had always used human language to communicate with it, eventually these Connate demons would be able to understand human language easily.

But even though they could fully understand human language, Connate demons could not speak the language. This was simply because demons had a bone in their throat that only allowed them to use demon tongue… only Primal Core demons which had their inner core would be able to use the inner energy of the Primal Core to transform the bone in their throat such that they would be able to speak the human language and interact with humans.

Whoosh! Whoosh!!

…

As Su Mo spoke, the massive Connate silver-crowned crane that was circling above now shot towards the ground, scooping Su Mo up together with it into the skies and flying towards the direction of Yunyang country. As for Jiang Tianchen, the emperor of Yunyang country, he was also brought onto the back of the silver-crowned crane together with Su Mo.

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Chapter 135: Foot-Long Streak of Qi

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Western Chu ridge of Yunyang country.

Chu royal city.

"In the blink of an eye, we have returned for a whole month… this Buddhist essence, till now, has really been fully utilized by us." In the biggest master bedroom in the second guesthouse of Chuxiu inn, a young man dressed in a shirt as white as the snow was seated cross-legged on the mattress. He opened his eyes and muttered to himself.

Around him radiated a faint golden glow that not only filled the whole room, but even extended outside and surrounded the whole second guesthouse and the neighboring third guesthouse. From a distance, the ten bedrooms in these two guesthouse, as well as the rear courtyard of the third guest house, were all basking in this golden glow.

"Little Gold, how is your progress? I am about the reach the final bottleneck of Great Consummation of the Qi-Gathering, with just a little more, I will be not far from achieving the Connate stage and becoming a Connate demon." In the backyard of the third guesthouse, a massive black eagle with a fiery golden crown called out to another slightly smaller black eagle not far away from it. Its eyes shone with unmistakable emotion, and its voice was agitated.

"Black Gold, within such an environment, just give me another half a month and I will be able to catch up to where you are now!" the black eagle in the back said unhappily.

"If you give me another half a month, I may already be able to reach the final bottleneck of Great Consummation of the Qi-Gathering… You will always be less powerful than me." The huge black eagle in front raised its head proudly, its eyes filled with glee.

As it spoke, it seemed to suddenly remember something, and its eyes suddenly shone as it said, "Then again… I never thought that Young Master would not only able to take the Buddhist essence that even the late Connate stage red goshawk could not obtain, but even swallow it into his stomach! Young Master not only understands the Buddhist essence, but even understands how to control it…. based on the current situation, after he swallowed the Buddhist essence, he was able to perfectly control the power within the Buddhist essence and aid us in our practice."

The eyes of the other black eagle also seemed to shine with genuine respect and admiration. "Young Master is definitely no ordinary person… it is truly our fortune to be able to follow him. In the past, we were thinking of leaving him and regaining our freedom once we entered the Connate stage and became Connate demons… but now, I do not really want to leave him. I feel that we will be able to see more of this vast world if we stay by his side."

"I agree."

…

These two black eagles were none other than the two golden-crowned eagles that Zhou Donghuang had taken with him from the depths of the Lost Forest.

When the two golden-crowned eagles had first left the Lost Forest, they had only been Petty Consummate demons, and they were a great distance away from achieving Great Consummation of the Qi-Gathering… But now, after following Zhou Donghuang for this period of time, both of them had not only achieved Great Consummation of the Qi-Gathering, but they were even close to the Connate stage.

They had achieved this within just a month.

Now, with the help of the Buddhist essence that had already been integrated with Zhou Donghuang's body, not only were the two golden-crowned eagles able to progress rapidly, but their rate of practice of Donghuang's entourage was also ridiculously fast.

The most amazing improvement was in Yun Lu, that little lass. Yun Lu had always had the most natural talent among the people around Zhou Donghuang. Furthermore, she had mastered the premier technique, "Thousand-Star Sword Technique," which allowed her to achieve level-six of the Qi-Gathering in just a short month's time, all under the influence of the golden glow that emanated from the Buddhist essence that was controlled by Zhou Donghuang.

A month ago, Yun Lu was just a level-three adept. She had surpassed three levels in just a month.

"Xiao Lu's progress is really incredible… but it is partly because I did all I could to move the energy within the Buddhist essence in order to aid their practice. If they were to stay on that cliff on the mountaintop and train within the golden glow of the Buddhist essence that bathed the mountaintop, they would not be able to make so much progress in such a short time with just the natural release of energy from the Buddhist essence."

A month ago, after obtaining that Buddhist essence, Zhou Donghuang had then used his own inner Qi to set up some spells that suppressed the energy that the Buddhist essence radiated out of itself. After that, after fully bringing the Buddhist essence under his control, he was able to control the release of its energy and swallowed it to make it a part of his body.

Now, with just a thought, he would be able to fully stop the flow of energy out of the Buddhist essence. In the same away, he could fully control the energy released and the boundaries where it stretched up till… just like now, he was controlling its release of energy in order to aid the practice of the two golden-crowned eagles and the other people around him. Of course, when he was controlling the flow of energy, it was depleted much faster than if it slowly diminished naturally.

"If we continue to exhaust it like this… even if this Buddhist essence is of the same power as that left behind by a late Primal Core stage Buddhist monk, within one or two years, its energy within will be completely depleted, and it will disappear!" Zhou Donghuang was very clear about this fact.

But, even then, I will be able to use its strength to achieve the early stages of the Primal Core! Thinking of this, Zhou Donghuang's eyes revealed his immense confidence.

The Buddhist essence in his body was left behind by a Buddhist monk of the early Dharma laws stage, so even though just a small portion of its strength was remaining, it was still similar to the Buddhist essence left behind by a monk of the late Primal Core stage.

The red goshawk was only a lowly species among the eagle demons and had little natural talent and poor technique, but it was able to achieve the late Connate stage using just its practice under the help of this Buddhist essence. With Zhou Donghuang's natural talent and the help of medicine that he produced, he would be able to make use of the Buddhist essence to the greatest extent.

Today, not only can I control the energy of the Buddhist essence to reach out to aid others in their practice, but I can even use its power to attack. Although I have not achieved the Connate stage and am not able to fully utilize its energy to produce power similar to that of a Primal Core adept. But… Before he could finish the thought, he seemed to hear something as his eyes turned dead serious.

Instantly, he cut off the energy that was released from the Buddhist essence. After a few breaths, the golden glow that covered the two guesthouses slowly dissipated, and eventually disappeared, as if it had never appeared before.

"What is going on?"

"Young Master cut off the energy from the Buddhist essence?"

…

Not just the two golden-crowned eagles, but also Fu, Freezing Wind and Lu Qinghu, or Lin Lan, Yun Lu or Yang Zixi all noticed at the same time that their rate of practice had returned to its original speed. Of course, they were well aware that this was the result of Zhou Donghuang cutting off the flow of outward energy of the Buddhist essence.

Just as the two golden-crowned eagles and the rest of the people stopped their practice, Zhou Donghuang had already opened the door of his room and stepped out. He stood in the middle of the courtyard, his eyes staring at the skies.

Flap! Flap!!

…

Just as Zhou Donghuang stood in the center of the courtyard and stared into the skies, a large shadow appeared in the sky above. It was a massive white crane that descended rapidly, appearing in the skies above Zhou Donghuang, circling at a low height.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Before the white crane landed, the two golden-crowned eagles had already shot out of the third guesthouse, they circled the nearby skies. As they stared at the white crane with caution, they told Zhou Donghuang:

"Young Master, this crane is a Connate demon!"

"Young Master, this Connate demon is probably not as powerful as the red goshawk."

Big Gold and Little Gold took turns to remind Zhou Donghuang about the danger.

By now, Zhou Donghuang had taken a good look at the white crane that descended from the skies. Its wingspan was more than ten meters, and there was a silver crown on its head. Its eyes did not look as gentle as that of most other white cranes. They were fearsome.

"Silver-crowned eagle?" Zhou Donghuang's brows furrowed. From his millennia of experience and knowledge from traversing the universe, it was easy to tell that this white crane was a silver-crowned crane, a species that had rather superior blood among the flying demons. Among the cranes, it was only lesser to the golden-crowned crane and some other species. Zhou Donghuang only glanced at the silver-crowned eagle, then his gaze landed on the two figures on its back.

One of the two men was in a dragon robe embroidered with nine five-clawed golden dragons. His face was serious with thick arching brows that seemed to add an intense coldness to his whole figure, like the eyes of a dragon.

"Emperor of Yunyang country?" Seeing the clothing of the man, Zhou Donghuang could easily guess his identity. This man was most likely the emperor of Yunyang country.

But Zhou Donghuang then looked at the man who was standing in front. To be able to have the emperor stand humbly behind him, it was obvious who this man was. This man was in a humble gray dress, his brows sharp and his features defined. He stood with his hands behind his back as he stood upright on the back of the silver-crowned crane, looking down upon him with a cold gaze.

"You must be Zhou Donghuang?" The man in gray stared at him as he asked calmly.

But Zhou Donghuang's response was simply to transform the small metal ball that he spun in his hands into a little spear shimmering with a cold radiance. The spear sped out of his hands with a whistle, flying straight towards the silver-crowned crane.

Whoosh!!

The little spear was so fast that the silver-crowned crane in the early Connate stage was too slow and had no time to react, its eyes filled with defeat.

"It is indeed a spear sphere!" Seeing the little spear fly towards the silver-crowned crane, and about to slaughter the crane, the man in gray muttered in an agitated tone as he pointed with his finger.

In that instant, a burst of green Qi appeared and crystallized into a green streak that was as thick as his finger, which easily hit the flying little spear.

The green streak that appeared was a foot long and then returned into his fingertip after it had hit the little spear.

"Late Connate stage?" Zhou Donghuang reached out to catch the metal sphere that had returned to him. His gaze hardened as he stared at the man. "Chief of the Valley of Medicine Masters?"

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Chapter 136: Su Mo Makes His Move

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

To be able to exert the Qi force externally into rays was a sign of true mastery of the Connate stage.

So when this middle-aged man, riding on a Connate demon silver-crowned crane's back, started shooting out Qi at the point of a finger with such ease, it only pointed to one fact—that he was an advanced Connate level adept!

Presently, there could only be one master practitioner from the country of Yunyang that fit that description:

The Head of the Valley of the Medicine Masters.

Moreover, this master practitioner that stood before Zhou Donghuang, seemed to have come accompanied by the emperor of Yunyang himself. The latter seemed to cling to him, showing him such reverence and respect; this was yet another reflection of how extraordinary this character truly was.

A Connate stage, advanced level adept practitioner, riding right alongside the Emperor of Yunyang—if this was not the Head of the Valley of Medicine Masters, who else could it be?

"Indeed, it is I, the Head of the Valley of the Medicine Masters, Su Mo."

On the back of the silver-crowned crane, Su Mo peered at the young boy indifferently. "18 years old, and already you have achieved the Great Consummation of Qi-gathering. Never—across the Sixteen Countries of the East Valley, and even in the history of the Valley of the Medicine Masters—has there ever been a practitioner that has attained this level of wizardry and genius, such as yourself."

"Although the essence of the Primal Core seems to have helped, this is still rather difficult to achieve," Su Mo expressed nonchalantly.

"Get down."

Donghuang gave Su Mo the same look of indifference. "I don't like people who try to patronize me. I'll take five breaths. If you don't come down in that amount of time, I'll have to make you come down."

As Donghuang said this, the words seemed to startle Su Mo for a moment.

The Emperor of the country of Yunyang, Jiang Tianchen, who stood behind Su Mo, had heard news of the young man's arrogance before. Yet, he never would have thought that this young man in front of him would dare to be this impetuous while he was standing face to face with the Valley Head and Connate level practitioner.

"Hey kid, how dare you show such blatant disrespect for the Head of the Valley of Medicine Masters. Do you have a death wish?" Jiang Tianchen's tone was severe as he regarded the young man coldly.

His eyes flashed with bloodthirsty hatred in need of revenge. This was the very man that had killed his father Jiang Yunding, and he was desperate to exact some vengeance quickly!

"The Head of the Valley of Medicine Masters?"

Having just noticed the commotion outside, Fu, Leng Hanfeng, Lu Qinghu and the others stepped out of their room. On hearing Jiang Tianchen's words, their faces collectively drained of color.

The Valley of Medicine Masters—by far, the Valley held the greatest sect in all of the Sixteen Countries of the East Valley, including the country of Yunyang. Every year, the Sixteen Countries would pay the Valley large quantities of tributes of gold and silver, in exchange for the Valley's protection.

And within that Valley, where master practitioners roamed aplenty, legend had it that there was one Connate level practitioner who was strongest amongst them.

"That's him, Su Mo, the Head of the Valley of Medicine Masters?"

"Isn't the Head of the Valley supposed to be more than 70 years old by now? How does he look so young?"

"Yes, I'd heard that the Head of the Valley was supposed to have some age-defying abilities, but this looks pretty preposterous, doesn't it?"

…

Fu, Leng Hanfeng, Lu Qinghu and the rest of the men, had heard about the legendary Valley Head before, but they had stayed in Chu Royal City for far too long, and everything they did hear about this man was through the grapevine—information collected through hearsay and gossip.

And what they'd known so far was from the deliberate investigation on their part.

This was because, up until now, their young master had not yet met a worthy opponent in all of the country of Yunyang, and the only person that was a threat to his reputation was this Head of the Valley of Medicine Masters.

Considering all that they understood about this man, they were naturally afraid and had as a group prayed in their hearts that Su Mo would not interfere in the feud between their young master and the Yunyang royal family. They did not think that Donghuang, their young master, could yet contend with the likes of the Valley Head.

The only thing was, they never would have thought in a million years that not only would the Valley Head interfere in this business with the Yunyang royal family, but the advanced Connate adept would personally come riding on the Connate demon silver-crowned crane to meet them.

And now, looking at the middle-aged man in the unmistakable dragon print robes behind Su Mo, it was easy to guess who that person was—it had to be the Emperor of Yunyang himself.

"It looks like the Yunyang imperial family possesses a short memory."

Zhou Donghuang cast a casual glance at Jiang Tianchen. "Originally, I couldn't care less about getting involved in more issues with the royal family, but, since you have personally made your way here today, Emperor of Yungyang, I guess after this, Yunyang is ready for a change in leadership."

Upon hearing these words, Jiang Tianchen was taken aback at first, but then he couldn't help but start laughing. "Zhou Donghuang," he jeered sarcastically, "you haven't lost your mind yet, have you? A 'change in leadership' from me—to you?"

"I am thinking, perhaps you should run this by the Valley Head first to see if he'll give you permission to take over the rulership." As Jiang Tianchen said this, the sneer at the corner of his mouth became more and more pronounced.

"Ignorant young fool!" Su Mo by now had regained his composure and regarded the young man once more, this time with an icy stare. "I can't remember, after all these years, the last time that someone has infuriated me this much. I must really say, your courage is admirable. Did you really think, that with the essence of the Primal Core and the weapons and techniques you've reaped from the Primal Core adepts, that you'd be completely invincible?"

The same sneer appeared at the corners of Su Mo's lips as he said this.

"You know nothing!"

"You must know, if I wasn't thinking of asking you to hand over the Primal Core essence and show me how to use the sword sphere techniques, you would actually be dead by now!"

As Su Mo's voice fell, there was a murderous intent in his eyes.

"Five breaths. Your time is up."

Under the gaze of those around him, the young man seemed unperturbed. Instead, he responded to Su Mo's lecture with his brightest smile, parting his lips to reveal his snow-white teeth.

Hua!

In an instant and with barely any movement in his robes, the young man held the sword sphere in the palm of his right hand. In a flash of light…

The next moment.

Xiu!

With a subtle whistle, the sword sphere was turned into a small iron sword that flew out like a phantom. Su Mo, who stayed vigilant the whole time, found his response to this slower by half a beat.

Xiu!

A long rod of Qi shot out, but this time, it failed to hit its target.

Phoosh!

With that, the small iron sword went right through the skull of the Connate demon silver-crowned crane's and killed it in an instant.

The silver-crowned crane's pair of fierce, twinkling eyes instantly dimmed, and both wings ceased their flapping. The huge creature's body that had been hovering above everyone, suddenly plunged and landed heavily with a loud crash in front of the stone table in the courtyard.

Thump!

Emperor Jiang Tianchen was flung violently and haphazardly to the ground, and when he stood up, his legs seemed to sway—that was a sure sign of injury to his legs.

Because he was an adept of the Qi-Gathering, at the moment he landed, Jiang Tianchen was able to hurriedly project his qi to protect his legs in time. Even so, the impact of the landing was so strong, that it still managed to cause some injury to his leg.

Boom!

Rumble! Boom! Boom!

…

On the other hand, the Head of the Valley of Medicine Masters, Su Mo, seemed to float as he descended. As he landed, a blast of green qi started pulsating from his feet, the cemented ground shattered and stone fragments flew as he landed.

The power of the Qi propulsion helped Su Mo return safely to the ground.

The Connate stage adept had just landed from a 10-meter fall and was completely unharmed.

"Old friend!"

As Su Mo landed, his eyes fell on the silver-crowned crane that had fallen dead to the ground. His eyes flashed in mourning.

This creature had been with him for so many years. And now, it just lay before him, lifeless.

Su Mo instantly locked eyes with the young man again. His eyes were cold and ruthless. "It looks like I've underestimated you. I didn't expect you to be able to use the sword sphere with such a speed that's no slower than my own attack, all without having reached the Connate stage. This is this the working of the essence of the Primal Core then?"

As he said this, Su Mo's eyes grew hungry with greed, and he stared at Zhou Donghuang as if he were regarding a rare treasure.

Although Zhou Donghuang's speed closely matched his, he was responsible for the death of the Valley's own Connate, silver-crowned crane.

Still, he could not concede that Zhou Donghuang was equally matched with him.

For an adept who had not managed to attain the Connate level, even with the Primal Core sword sphere and other little tricks up his sleeve, there was no way this man could be his match.

If he really did have the ability to kill him, why didn't he just aim for him directly, instead of killing the silver-crowned crane first?

This was what Su Mo was thinking.

"So what if it is?" Zhou Donghuang replied belligerently, his tone still bored.

"Junior, when I make you kneel, we shall then see… if you can be just as cocky as you are now!"

Su Mo's face darkened, and his eyes grew cold. At the same moment, the gray garments that clothed him started bulging, and green rays of qi started emanating from his body—some rays were short and some were longer, and some were as long as a stake!

"Connate level unleashed!"

Fu and the others had only known that the Head of the Valley of Medicine Masters was a Connate level adept from rumors and gossip, but now, they were first-hand witnesses to the sheer display of Connate level power that the Valley Head had.

"Young master!" They collectively held their hearts in their mouths and regarded the young man who was near them with worried faces.

Even though they did have confidence in their young master's skills, this was Su Mo, the undefeated fighter from all of the sixteen countries!

Could an 18-year-old really contend with the power of this man in front of them?

Emperor Jiang Tianchen gave the young man an icy stare. "You'd better get ready to get on your knees and beg for mercy, brat," he said darkly. "Perhaps then, the Valley Head will spare you the amount of pain you deserve!"

Despite this, Zhou Donghuang ignored him completely. His eyes were transfixed on the Qi that was emanating from Su Mo, but otherwise, he was expressionless.

"I won't be a bully. I'll give you a chance to make your move. If you don't do something in three breaths, I won't wait any longer."

It didn't seem like Zhou Donghuang thought much of Su Mo at all.

"You crazy kid!"

Su Mo couldn't withhold his anger any longer, and in that instant, the Qi emanating from his body seemed to swell up. His whole being seemed to become wrapped in green flame as he rushed toward Zhou Donghuang.

Hua!

The green flames raged and transfigured into the shape of a flaming giant beast with its mouth wide open, poised to swallow Zhou Donghuang whole!

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Chapter 137: Become my dog

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

"Unleashing of the Connate level?"

In the face of the explosive Qi emanating throughout Su Mo's body, advancing toward him like raging flames, a touch of laughter seemed to involuntarily appear at the corner of Zhou Donghuang's lips.

Presently, Zhou Donghuang 's face was one of complete calmness and serenity—it was as if he had the whole situation that was unfolding before him under complete control.

"Young Master!"

As Su Mo drew closer to Zhou Donghuang, Fu and the other men's faces immediately drained of color—so much for fearing the two flying golden-crowned eagles! This time, the situation was cause for real worry.

The Emperor of Yunyang looked at Zhou Donghuang, and once more his lips curled with a disparaging smile. Looking at this, he thought, no matter how strong Zhou Donghuang was, surely it was not enough to beat Su Mo.

Su Mo was not just a Connate adept, but also the only one of the entire Sixteen Countries of the East Valley to have attained this level of power.

In the face of the oncoming onslaught, when Su Mo had crossed almost half the distance to where his target was, Zhou Donghuang eyes narrowed ever so slightly. He said in a soft tone, "If you want to get near me, try getting past this first."

As he said this, a flash of lightning appeared in Zhou Donghuang's right hand, and with that, a brilliant ray of light suddenly burst from the palm of his hand, which surged over three meters across.

Hua!

As Zhou Donghuang lifted and dipped his right hand, the surge of brilliant golden light that had grown over three meters suddenly transfigured into a giant golden palm that reached for Su Mo's head. It landed with great momentum and shocking force.

Boom!

Rumble! Boom! Boom!

…

A loud booming and explosive noise filled the air as the giant golden palm the size of a small mountain soared through the air. It whistled as it descended towards Su Mo to crush his head.

"The Connate stage?!"

When he saw Zhou Donghuang use this technique with such ease—the golden light skyrocketing and turning into a palm heading toward him—Su Mo was stunned, the look on his face changed dramatically, and he couldn't help but make a loud exclamation in surprise.

Emanating Qi more than three meters long— this for sure was a sign of the Connate stage technique.

This Connate level practitioner, Su Mo thought, was definitely not at a level that his own Connate stage technique could contend with.

In the face of the current offensive strike, Su Mo had already made up his mind about this, but now that he was right in the middle of the young man's current onslaught, he decided that he could only try to stick it through.

Xiu! Xiu! Xiu! Xiu! Xiu!

…

Blades of green rays of light shot out from Su Mo's ten fingers toward the descending giant palm.

Every ray of light was more than a meter long. This move alone, in normal circumstances, would have been enough to shock many people.

However, right now, each ray of light that shot out from Su Mo's ten fingers severely paled in comparison to the three-meter wide palm that appeared before him.

All that original allure he carried was now completely stolen from him.

Boom!

Boom! Crash! Crash!

…

As the crowd watched on, the giant golden palm the size of a small mountain whistled as it descended upon the ten rays of light, shattering them in an instant.

"How could it be?"

Even though he knew it would be difficult to subdue the oncoming giant palm, Su Mo never in a million years would have thought that the Profound Celestial Fingers technique—a first-grade martial arts technique borrowed from the Valley of the Medicine Masters—would be so vulnerable in the face of this giant palm.

Little did Su Mo know, that just like him, Zhou Donghuang could similarly demonstrate such a display of first-grade techniques.

Zhou Donghuang's first-grade technique called the Eclipsing Palm, was of equal class to Su Mo's Profound Celestial Fingers technique, however, the latter's belonged to a lesser-grade technique in that class compared to the former's technique, which was one definitely an apex move.

Now, Zhou Donghuang borrowed from the strength of the Buddha's lifeblood that was buried deep within his being, and in a blink of an eye, was able to demonstrate the full force of the Connate level strength.

Boom!

The monstrous giant palm continued straight for Su Mo's shroud after it destroyed his attack.

"Have mercy on me!"

Su Mo called out in panic. As he pleased for Zhou Donghuang's leniency, the qi around his body recoiled, surrounding the surface of his body tightly, as if he were being shrouded by a green jade wall.

This defensive martial stance called the Jade Wall, was also a first-grade martial arts technique.

Bang!

The giant palm still continued to descend upon Su Mo, smashing his external Jade Wall defense to pieces in an instant. Su Mo fell, and his whole being was soon firmly crushed into the solid ground itself.

"Oof—"

As Su Mo lay buried in the ground, all the appearance of elegance he had before was now reduced to a battered and exhausted mess. He opened his mouth to cough up some blood and seemed to become entirely dispirited. The qi he was emanating seemed much weaker, and he was like a shadow of the person he was before.

All this happened because of the release of the golden palm at the very last moment. If not, Su Mo would undoubtedly have died in that single attack!

"Thank… thank you for having mercy on me."

Su Mo took a deep breath, barely able to lift his head to look at the young man who was not too far away, his eye filled with fear as he said this.

In his heart, he knew, that if the young man had not exhibited restraint, he would definitely have been a dead man with no chance of survival.

"You have two options."

Zhou Donghuang gave Su Mo a dispassionate look. "You can choose to die, or you can choose to… become my dog."

As he said this, there was a flash of murderous intent in Zhou Donghuang's eyes, as if he was ready to devour his prey.

Swish!

At Zhou Donghuang's words, the look on Su Mo's face changed completely.

He was after all, a legitimate Connate level practitioner, Head of the Valley of Medicine Masters and number one in all of the Sixteen Countries of the East Valley… and this teenager, wanted to for him to become Zhou Donghuang's dog?

"Sir, even if I were not your match, it doesn't mean that you can just put me through such embarrassment!" Su Mo's face darkened as he said, "One can kill, but not humiliate!"

"Oh, is that so?"

Zhou Donghuang, took two steps forward, looking over the severely injured Su Mo who was rendered immobile. He grinned. "Since you still have so much backbone, let me give you something you can really enjoy!"

At this, Zhou Donghuang raised his hand once more, and the same three-meter-long golden rays shot out once more to form the giant palm.

"Humph!"

Zhou Donghuang's face grew cold, and with a grunt, he started to wave his hand.

All those who were present, including the Emperor of Yunyang, Jiang Tianchen, had no doubt that it would only take this one strike to kill Su Mo.

"Have mercy, Master!"

On the brink of death, his heart filled with terror, Su Mo hurriedly pleaded for leniency as he called Zhou Donghuang "Master."

Before that, he had sincerely believed that preserving his dignity was very important. He had always thought to place it above his own life.

However, as he saw death approaching and that suffocating sense of oppression, he suddenly recalled the hardship of cultivation and practice over the past few decades. He realized that life itself was more important.

When you are dead, you have nothing, and everything would have been for nothing.

Plus, looking at this young man, barely 18 years old and already applying the full strength of the Connate level practitioner, he was sure that he would become an icon in the years to come— one that would shake the very history of the Ziyun era.

For this man to be his master, that can't be considered a shameful thing.

As Su Mo said the word "master" to Zhou Donghuang, the entire room fell into a deathly silence.

Su Mo, a Connate level practitioner, the Head of the Valley of Medicine Master, and an elder of more than 70 years… Now, a servant of this young man?

"Young Master."

This time, Fu, Leng Hanfeng, Lu Qinghu and the others were the first to regain their composure and saw that the young man's eyes burned with a certain fanatical passion.

Back then, even know their young master was not ordinary, they didn't think that their 18-year-old lord would be able to pressure the Head of the Valley of Medicine Masters into calling him his master.

Hovering above this scene was Little Gold, overcome with shock. As he flew toward Big Gold, he asked with some difficulty, "Brother, the technique that young master just used was with the strength of Buddha's lifeblood, right? He… He was able to harness all that power from Buddha's lifeblood to use that against his enemy? And was able to demonstrate the power akin to that of Connate level practitioners!"

"That must be it. This power is different from the type of power that helps us with our practice. I never would have thought that young master would be able to display such power with the help of Buddha's lifeblood."

Big Gold's own eyes were similarly filled with both shock and wonder. Never in a million years did he think that his young master could pull off this stunt.

Splat!

As Zhou Donghuang focused his gaze on the Yunyang Emperor Jiang Tianchen, the Emperor's face, which was in a rage before, suddenly changed, and his eyes filled with mortal fear. He instantly fell to the floor on his knees and started begging. "Master… Master Dong, please let me live!"

Jiang Tianchen's voice was clearly quavering with fear.

Jiang Tianchen did seem to put on quite a display of bravado earlier on.

However, this was only because he thought that the Head of the Valley of Medicine Masters could suppress the young man before him. No one would have thought that Su Mo would be so sorely defeated by this youth, to the point that he would be clinging for his own life and willingly prostrate himself to become the young man's dog.

In his eyes, Su Mo was unbeatable, and no one could surpass him.

Still, the juvenile proved himself well above Su Mo. Now, even Su Mo was willing to become a dog in front of him…

Xiu!

In response, the sword sphere in Zhou Donghuang's hand transformed once more into a small iron sword. It took all of one stab to end Jiang Tiangchen's life.

Just like this, Jiang Tianchen's—the Emperor of Yunyang, and the Head of the Jiang's, the Yunyang imperial family—reign of the Western Chu Ridge was over.

With a look of desperation as Jiang Tianchen lay dying at the hands of Zhou Donghuang, there was only one thought in his heart:

If he could turn back time, even if he had the courage of one thousand, or even ten thousand men, he would not have dared to provoke this boy.

"This time, I will head for the Valley of the Medicine Masters."

Zhou Donghuang's gaze calmly swept across towards the defeated Su Mo, who was still splayed on the floor. He held out a small medicine bottle at Su Mo. "This is the wound-healing elixir I concocted," he said plainly.

Taking his eyes off Su Mo, Zhou Donghuang regarded the two golden-crowned eagles, Fu and the other men as he made strides towards his own bedroom. "Let's get back to practicing."

"We'll wait till I attain the Connate stage, before I take you all to the Valley."

When Zhou Donghuang finished, he headed back into his room.

"Attain the Connate stage?"

Upon hearing what the young man said, Su Mo was completely dumbfounded. "He… He's not yet a Connate level practitioner?!""

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Chapter 138: Will the Myth Be Shattered?

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

"That's right!"

"The qi that he emanates is not the usual green… It looks like, for some reason or another, he is able to harness a power similar to that of a Connate level practitioner!"

Su Mo thought of this at once.

This young man has definitely not attained Connate-level strength, but there must still be some reason for this ultimate display of power so similar to that of the finest practitioners.

At the very least, he must have practiced to the point of the Great Consummation of the Qi-Gathering.

However, even so, thinking about how close he was to death just a moment ago and recalling that feeling of desperation, he knew in his heart that he would not dare to raise any negative thoughts against the young man.

No matter what the reason, he would not dare to take a risk at incurring the wrath of this young man, considering he was able to harness this amount of power.

The quick decisiveness with which this young man took to kill the Emperor of Yunyang left a sorely deep impression on Su Mo. This youth was definitely an iron-fisted and compassionless young man!

In fact, he felt that chances were, the young man had some other use for him. Otherwise, he would not have spared his life at all.

"It looks like what this man really has is not simply the ordinary Primal Core essence that I assumed he had," Su Mo thought.

While Su Mo did ponder about this, he did not dare have any intention of obtaining the Primal Core essence from the young man. This was because he knew that if he were to challenge the youth again, there was no way Zhou Donghuang would spare his life another time.

If he were to put himself in the man's shoes, he could not possibly show mercy time and time again if someone were to try to offend him repeatedly.

Su Mo was truly afraid.

To this day, it had been over 16 years since he had started practicing at the Qi-Gathering level. If he were to throw this all away today, all that effort would have been for nothing at all.

"A wound-healing elixir that he prepared himself?"

Looking at the little medicine bottle in his hand, a feeling of complete disdain stirred up within Su Mo.

Even if this were to be a wound-healing elixir that was left by the Primal Core practitioners, he did not think that it would compare to his very own concoction, much less a concoction prepared by this young man.

"I'll have to see for myself how good a concoction his wound-healing elixir is. Even if it were to pale in comparison to mine, I have brought some of my own to use." As Su Mo thought about this, he took off the seal from the medicine bottle, brought it to his lips and consumed its contents.

After a while, the look of disdain he had in his eyes was all but gone and instead was replaced by a look of complete disbelief and wonder.

"This wound-healing elixir… how can it be so effective… and so strong?

"Can a wound-healing elixir even have this level of efficacy? I had always thought that my own concoction was already the best of its kind. To think that there would be a wound-healing elixir of this quality in the world!"

This time, Su Mo was well and truly astounded.

He never would have thought in a million years that there would be a medicine of this level in existence. In fact, this concoction was so strong, it beat his own wound-healing elixir that he knew to be the best in the world, and it beat it by a long shot!

"In my own knowledge, this grade of elixir can only be formulated by the very best of the Primal Core stage practitioners and refined with the healing elements of the Samadhi fires. I never thought that a wound-healing elixir could in fact be this powerful."

Su Mo could only think that his own elixir, which he had always carried with him, was rubbish compared to the wound-healing elixir he had just consumed.

Su Mo had to acknowledge that the efficacy of this miracle drug that Zhou Donghuang had given him was indeed very strong.

It only took a moment, and Su Mo struggled to sit up. After that, he was already completely mobile and able to move freely.

Before leaving, Su Mo stood in the courtyard in front of the master bedroom and called out respectfully, "My master, I will await your most honored arrival in the Valley of the Medicine Masters!"

"Mm."

The simple curt response came from within the master bedroom, and Su Mo turned to leave with a pained look on his face.

He completely regretted coming with the Yunyang Emperor, Jiang Tianchen, to provoke a fiend like this, to the point of being forced to call him master.

But he immediately sobered up as he thought of Jiang Tianchen's dreadful fate.

At least, he was still alive.

Fwoop! Fwoop! Fwoop!

…

As Su Mo was leaving, he did not go towards the main door. Instead, his body seemed to change in shape. With his qi flowing on the surface, he leaped across the walls, and in the blink of an eye, he was soon far from the enclosure.

As a sense of calm and quiet was restored on the grounds, a few maids who kept their distance outside the courtyard, mustered enough courage to open the main doors.

When they saw the lifeless bodies of the Yunyang Emperor, Jiang Tianchen and the Connate demon, the Silver-Crowned Crane, they were not surprised. In the last few months alone, there had already been similar deaths that had occurred in the same courtyard grounds.

However, when Jiang Tianchen's body was carried out of the guesthouse, and Chuxiu Inn's keeper invited Xue Meng, leader of the guards of Chu Royal City, to claim Jiang Tianchen's body, the look on Xue Meng's face was hard to describe.

As he looked on, his pupils rapidly constricted. "Don't let anyone touch him. I will call for His Highness immediately!"

Xue Meng left the innkeeper in a hurry and ran out of the Chuxiu Inn. As he rushed toward the Chu royal household, his heart was pounding rapidly.

"Oh heavens!

"That young man, had the cheek to kill the Emperor of Yunyang?"

Xue Meng had been with the Chu king when he saw the Emperor of Yunyang once. It was only the one time, but it was enough for him to remember what he looked like.

And that young man in the courtyard with the dragon robes was for sure the very same emperor that he had seen before—Jiang Tianchen.

"Your Majesty!"

When the Chu king saw Jiang Tianchen's body after he had hurriedly followed Xue Meng into the Chuxiu Inn, his face drained of color, and he could not help give an involuntary shout.

"Your… Your Majesty?!"

The shout gave the Chuxiu innkeeper a fright.

The innkeeper saw the lifeless body of a young man lying on the ground, clothed in robes that had been stitched with a five-clawed golden dragon. He recognized this instantly as the distinctive emblem of the Yunyang Emperor's attire.

While he saw all this, he did not dare associate this scene with the likes of His Majesty, the Yunyang Emperor.

The emperor himself, the man at the top. How could he so inexplicably appear in this very inn, dead?

So, he had thought that it was someone else who had deliberately dressed in the dragon robes as a hoax to fool people.

Only until he heard the confirmation come from the Chu royal household's king's own mouth did he finally come to terms with the fact. This man whom he thought had dressed in the robes as a joke was in fact the Emperor of Yunyang!

"That young man… He was at odds the Head of the Valley of Medicine Masters!"

The Chuxiu innkeeper was just as elderly as the Chu King and was aware that the young man had killed the Yunyang Emperor. He knew the young man was in for a whole lot of trouble.

The country of Yunyang was under the protection of the Valley of Medicine Masters.

And those in control of the country of Yunyang, was the Yunyang imperial family, the Jiang family. As the head of the Jiang family, the Emperor of Yunyang was naturally under the protection of the Valley of Medicine Masters.

This did not only apply to the Emperor himself, but also any other king of the Sixteen Countries of the Eastern Valley was under the protection of the Valley.

In the past, there had been assassinations of the emperors of old, and the perpetrators were always foreign Connate-level practitioners.

Even then, all those murderers had in turn been killed by the master practitioners of the Valley of Medicine Masters without exception!

Before long, with the Valley safeguarding the Sixteen Countries of the Eastern Valley, no other Connate level practitioner had tried to dethrone the royal families or even attempt to interfere with each country's affairs.

This was solely because all the Sixteen Countries had come under the protective wing of the Valley of the Medicine Masters.

The strongest clans who dominated the Eastern Valley all resided in the Valley of the Medicine Masters, and within them, Connate-level practitioners roamed aplenty.

At the border of the Sixteen Countries of the Eastern Valley was a large district of land, primarily claimed by the Medicine Masters as their own territory.

"Who else will he kill?"

When Xiang Xiong regained his composure, his face broke out in a bitter smile. As he looked towards the Chuxiu innkeeper, he asked, "Did his majesty go looking for the young man on his own?"

"He was also accompanied by a giant white crane," replied the Chuxiu innkeeper.

"Take me there, I want to have a look."

Xiang Xiong was able to spot the white crane that the Chuxiu Innkeeper spoke off fairly quickly. Sure enough, there lay the carcass of the great beast.

"This… this is… the Silver-Crowned Crane?!"

Even though this was the first time that Xiang Xiong lay eyes on the alarmingly huge white crane, he had known that the Valley of the Medicine Masters was in possession of a great Connate demon called the Silver-Crowned Crane.

"Your Highness, this… this can't be the Connate demon, the Silver-Crowned Crane, the very one owned by the Valley of the Medicine Masters?"

Xue Meng, who was standing by the side, could not help but swallow and spoke with some difficulty in response to Xiang Xiong.

"It most certainly is that very one."

Xiang Xiong laughed bitterly, saying, "If I were to be so bold, Your Highness, if the Retired Emperor, a Connate-level practitioner, could be killed by the young man, I'm sure the Yunyang Emperor did not attempt to face him on his own.

"He most definitely would have employed some help from the Valley of the Medicine Masters.

"It looks like this Connate demon, which belongs to the Valley of the Medicine Master, was the cavalry that he sent for.

"I guess the only thing was that he did not think that even this Silver-Crowned Crane would be no match for the young man and end up being completely helpless."

"This Connate demon attained the Connate stage over 20 years ago. If it were to have only just reached the Connate stage recently, its strength would not have been much compared to the Retired Emperor, who had entered the Connate stage a few years earlier."

As he said this, Xiang Xiong drew in a long breath. "From what I know, this Silver-Crowned Crane was the Head of the Valley of Medicine Masters' very own mount.

"And now that the Silver-Crowned Crane is dead, the Head of the Valley of the Medicine Masters must be furious. Once that Connate-level practitioner gets angry, he can be more terrible than the emperor of all of the Eastern Valley!"

"This young man, he's really testing the limit this time!" Xiang Xiong murmured to himself while shaking his head, a look of pity filling his eyes.

"I have also heard that this Connate demon was almost akin to the Valley Head's family and best friend," said Xue Meng, feeling the same amount of pity.

Both Xiang Xiong and Xue Meng now felt that this young man named "Zhou Donghuang" was in for some bad luck.

They both empathized with the young man, considering the calamity that was about to befall him.

"Your Highness, what should we do next? Do we immediately send a messenger to notify the Valley Head, or should we send someone to report to the imperial household and let the royal family share the bad news with the Valley Head?" asked Xue Meng.

"Commander Xue, you will personally make a trip down to the imperial city to report at the imperial household. This news… it must be shared with the royal family as soon as possible.

"If we don't do this, the imperial family might place the blame on the Chu kingdom," Xiang Xiong said darkly.

"Yes, Master Wang," Xue Meng responded as he made his leave.

"It won't be long before this myth created about this young man who can make an enemy of an entire country on his own strength alone… will be completely shattered," Xiang Xiong murmured quietly as Xue Meng left the inn.

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Chapter 139: The 18-Year-Old Connate Warrior

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Ziyun and Earth were similar in that both supported life, and their place among the stars and galaxies were quite alike.

Ziyun's weather patterns were also identical to that of Earth's.

The Sixteen Countries of the East Valley lay in approximately the same area where the Asian continent could be found on Earth. Toward the end of November in the Year 1229 in Ziyun's calendar, the weather had started to turn cold.

At the Chuxiu Inn, in the courtyard of the number three guest room: "Aunt Lan, are you sure you don't plan on going to the Valley of the Medicine Masters with Elder Brother Zhou?"

A teenage girl, about 16 or 17 years old and dressed in a flowing rose-colored mink fur coat, questioned the beautiful woman seated opposite her at the stone table.

The gorgeous lady was resplendent in a silver mink fur coat, and she exuded a quiet and elegant grace.

"Mm." The lady nodded her head in response to the young girl's questions. "The country of Yunyang, and even the Sixteen Countries of the East Valley, is just a starting point for that boy Donghuang, I'm afraid. The road that this child wants to travel, I'm sure, will not be limited to the Sixteen Countries. I don't think I want to follow where he goes, I will just be a burden to him. Besides, it has been over a year already, and I find I have not grown accustomed to these other places. I still very much prefer Qingshan town, compared to the Chu royal city, or even the city in Yunfeng prefecture."

As the beautiful lady said these words, a wistful smile appeared at the corner of her lips; in her eyes was a look of yearning as she reflected on the past.

"We've been gone for so long…I'm sure Aunt Lian misses me."

On the subject of Aunt Lian, some warmth was brought back into the woman's eyes. From as early as she could remember and into her adult life, this was the first time she had left the care of Aunt Lian for this long.

She had watched Aunt Lian grow from a middle-aged woman to the one she knew now, aged and weathered through the years.

"Heh heh…" A young child of seven or eight years in a similar mink fur coat ran over from somewhere. "Mother, if you want to head back to Qingshan town, Little Lu will come along with you."

"Good," the beautiful lady answered in laughter as she heard the little girl's words. She quietly breathed a sigh of relief.

After all, when it came to choosing the next path to take, she could decide for herself, but she could not force anyone else to make the same choice.

A faint look of disappointment seemed to flash across the teenage girl's face. She looked across to the woman and smiled, saying, "Aunt Lan, I'm sure you wouldn't mind if I came along with you too?"

"If you don't wish to hold back Brother Zhou, Zixi, you can come with us."

At the stone table, the three beautiful ladies, old and young, named Lin Lan, Yang Zixi and Yun Lu, talked among themselves and discussed the affairs of Qingshan town.

Little did the three ladies know that while they were talking, their voices had traveled past the walls of their room and were clearly heard by Fu, who had just left his own room.

The room that Fu stayed in was just adjacent to the courtyard of guestroom number three.

"Yes indeed. if I were to follow the young master to the Valley of the Medicine Masters, wouldn't it be cumbersome for him? Mm, I guess I should head back to Qingshan town with you, Milady and little Miss Lu."

Fu had really intended to continue staying by Zhou Donghuang. However, as he thought about how far his young master's strength had surpassed his own, he decided to cancel any thoughts of heading back to Qingshan town with him.

As Fu considered this, he had also thought to consult with the four men—Leng Hangfeng, Lu Qinghu, Zhou Han and Zhou Feng—and tell them what he had overheard from Lin Lan and the other ladies.

The four men fell silent as they heard this news.

"If even Lady Lian is not willing to follow the young master to the Valley of the Medicine Masters for fear of being a burden to him, then aren't we being selfish for doing so?"

Leng Hanfeng was the first to express his thoughts, his eyes flashing with a new resolve. "I have decided to head back to Qingshan town with Lady Lian, and in the free time I have outside of my training, I will gather a strong team from within Yunfeng prefecture to protect Lady Lian and Miss Lu. This way, we will spare our young master any further worry about the future of their welfare!"

Both Zhou Han and Zhou Feng looked up to Leng Hanfeng as a second parent as well as their teacher. So when Leng Hanfeng made this decision, they naturally accepted it wholly and unconditionally.

"Originally, I had planned to follow Young Master Donghuang. With him, I had harbored the hope of achieving the Connate stage in the days ahead… However, now it looks like even if I am not meant to go with the young master to the Valley of the Medicine Masters, I am fully confident that there will come a time when I will reach that Connate stage!"

Lu Qinghu's eyes shone with renewed vigor, and he responded with a laugh, "Since you have all decided to head back to Yunfeng province with Lady Lian, I guess I should do the same as well."

"From this day onward, the Lu family shall not perish, but for the protection of the Lady!" As Lu Qinghu declared this, his whole being seemed to be ablaze with a hardened resolve.

For some time now, with the help of Buddha's lifeblood exuded by Zhou Donghuang's strength, Lu Qinghu's practice had improved drastically and very quickly, as if he were onboard a rocket.

Meanwhile, in the Chu royal household: "My Lord, it has been three whole months since the time Commander Su last delivered a message to the imperial family. Has there been any news of activity at all from the Valley of the Medicine Masters?"

In the middle of a spacious courtyard was a splendidly dressed, beautiful woman, her eyes full of worry as she questioned the middle-aged man sitting and reading at the table.

The middle-aged man, clothed in dark gold robes that had been embroidered with a four-clawed golden dragon, was the head of the Chu royal household—King Chu, Xiang Xiong.

The beautiful lady was his betrothed, a Chu royal consort, Fan Ji.

"No." Xiang Xiong closed the volume in his hands, shaking his head. "It does seem like there is something odd going on here. I have asked Commander Su. He was in the imperial city in the ninth month. He had gone into the palace to report on the killing of His Majesty and the Connate demon, the Silver-Crowned Crane to the imperial family."

"And by my estimates," Fan Ji said darkly, "if the imperial family were to send word to the Valley of the Medicine Masters, it would not take more than a month to do so, no matter how slow. Besides, other than the flying beast Cloud Condor which has died, the imperial family has also raised and trained a Petty Consummation of the Qi-Gathering beast, the Fiery Lion.

"And even if the Fiery Lion has for some reason been retained in the Valley of the Medicine Masters, the imperial family has also trained two other flying beasts who are level-nine adepts of the Qi-Gathering. With the speed of these two flying beasts, the news would have reached the Valley in less than a month.

"By more generous estimates, it would only have taken them a little over a month.

"And if the men from the Valley of the Medicine Masters didn't have means of transportation via the Connate demons, they could have depended on one of their many other Great Consummation of the Qi-Gathering beasts, not to mention their flying beasts.

"It would take no longer than half a month for a messenger of the Valley of the Medicine Masters to reach the Chu royal city.

"But now, it has been over three months…and yet there hasn't been a word or sound from the other side."

Fan Ji looked terribly disturbed when she finished.

As he considered Fan Ji, Xiang Xiong was able to read and understand her thoughts completely. He couldn't help but let out a sigh. "My royal consort, you still can't let it go, can you?"

"My king, for many days now, I have not been able to stop dreaming about the Fan family, kneeling and begging us to avenge them!"

A burning desire for revenge could be seen in Fan Ji's eyes as she spoke through clenched teeth in a measured voice. "I hate that I lack the strength to avenge them myself. Otherwise, I wouldn't have to helplessly wait on a hero from the Valley of the Medicine Masters to come to kill that Zhou Donghuang!"

As Fan Ji spoke, the iciness in her tone seemed to manifest more clearly in the chilly weather, throwing her anger into sharper relief.

Xiang Xiong sighed again.

"My king, I do not blame you." There was cold-blooded murder in Fan Ji's eyes. "Where there is injustice, there must be someone who must pay the debt… My only hope is that a hero from the Valley of Medicine Masters will come quickly to kill that Zhou Donghuang for the sake of avenging my entire Fan family!"

"Even if their main purpose for killing Zhou Donghuang isn't to help me exact that revenge," said Fan Ji, her eyes narrowed and full of hatred.

Not long after Fan Ji said these words…

Bang!

A sudden loud noise came out of nowhere, and a stunned Fan Ji froze completely, while the volume in Xiang Xiong's hands fell to the floor.

In the next moment, both Xiang Xiong and Fan Ji realized that a man had appeared in the middle of their courtyard. This man was dressed in plain, thin white robes, and a green light seemed to emanate from his entire body and surrounded him. Some of these green rays of light shot out more than a meter away from his body.

"A Connate-level practitioner!"

Seeing the white figure before them, his back towards them, both Xiang Xiong and Fan Ji could not help but shrink back and call out in surprise.

"Your Excellency…are you from the Valley of the Medicine Masters?"

Xiang Xiong immediately rose and took a deep breath, respectfully bowing toward the white figure in greeting.

"I had no quarrel with you, but, since the two of you are so bent on killing me, it looks like there is no reason why I should spare your lives," a bored voice rang out.

Upon hearing this, Xiang Xiong's face drained of color, and the pupils in his eyes immediately contracted in fear.

The white figure, whose entire body was wrapped in qi, slowly turned towards them. A handsome face with a youthful appearance appeared before Xiang Xiong.

This young man, whose robes were white as snow, seemed to exude an extraordinary aura about him. His eyelids seemed to droop halfway, and he seemed to have a rather lackadaisical attitude about him.

"Young…Young Master Donghuang."

Xiang Xiong's face was pale, his legs turned to jelly, and he was so frightened that he fell seated onto the ground, "I…we…we have no intention of becoming your enemy!"

Never in a million years would he have thought that in just a span of a few months, the young man before him would so suddenly enter the Connate stage.

An 18-year-old Connate practitioner? Young Master Donghuang?

When Fan Ji heard this uninvited guest speak, she had not been able to react. But upon hearing how Xiang Xiong had addressed him, the look on her face also changed completely.

The young man clothed in white in front of her…was he the very same one that drove the two golden-crowned eagles to destroy the Fan Family: Zhou Donghuang?

"No intention of becoming my enemy?"

Zhou Donghuang glanced at the two of them, a wry smile appearing at the corners of his lips. "Then I guess I must have been deaf a while ago?"

In the next moment, as Xiang Xiong and Fan Ji looked on in horror, Zhou Donghuang made a small wave with his hand, his own face completely calm.

Xiu!!

The sword sphere transformed into a sword, and with a fleeting, howling sound, it took the lives of both people.

Just a moment before, Zhou Donghuang had entered the Connate stage. He had been about to initiate the Lord of the Four Supremes technique when he found himself in a sort of surreal state of being.

And in that state, his sense of hearing seemed to reach an astonishing level of keenness, and he was able to hear everything a mile away, from the Chuxiu Inn to the furthest reaches of the Chu royal household.

To be sure, the distance between the Chuxiu Inn to the Chu royal household was not that long, but they were still a few hundred meters apart, with a lot of other noises interfering in the middle.

Despite the distance, as Zhou Donghuang reached this surreal state of being, he was able to hear every word that came from within the Chu royal household.

This, of course, had included what was said between Xiang Xiong and Fan Ji.

It was because of this that when he returned from that ethereal state, and he could no longer hear voices from outside the Chuxiu Inn, he quickly left his room and leaped from roof to roof from the Chuxiu Inn until he finally came to the Chu household.

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Ziyun Era, Year 1229, December 25

Zhou Donghuang had entered the Connate stage and become a Connate-level practitioner!

After killing Xiang Xiong, Zhou Donghuang did not bother using any martial arts to leap onto roofs or vault across the walls to leave the Chu royal household. Instead, he arrogantly swaggered out of the main doors of the courtyard where Xiang Xiong and his royal consort had been.

To top it off, he kicked open the courtyard doors.

"Who goes there?!" the maid and guards who kept watch outside the courtyard shouted out in anger, but when they saw meter-long green rays of light emanating from the young man who stepped out of the yard, they were quick to keep their lips sealed. Instead, there was only fear in their eyes.

"Qi emanating a meter long— that is a true sign of a Connate-level practitioner who has just entered the Connate stage," they thought.

"This young man clothed in white: is he really a Connate-level warrior?"

Zhou Donghuang took a quick glance at the maid and the guards and then turned and headed toward the main entrance of the Chu royal household, controlling the qi that was radiating from his body while he walked.

He was still trying to adapt to this newfound Connate state.

Even though Donghuang had experienced being in this state in a previous life, it was a completely foreign and new encounter to his present life and current body, and he definitely needed some time to adjust to it.

He could get used to maintaining the outward flow of qi quite quickly.

Therefore, as Zhou Donghuang stepped out of the gates of the Chu royal household, it was already apparent to most of the people in the vicinity that their master, the Chu king, Xiang Xiong, had been killed by a Connate-level practitioner.

And killed along with the king was the Chu royal consort, Fan Ji.

About half an hour later, in the main hall of the Chu royal household: "I have come back from Chuxiu Inn. The innkeeper witnessed with his own eyes the meter-long rays of green light radiating from Zhou Donghuang's body when he returned to the inn."

Xiang Donghua, the second elder of the Chu royal household, said gravely in response, "It has been confirmed that the young man who killed the king and the royal consort, and who so arrogantly strutted out of our palace a while ago was Zhou Donghuang!"

"He…has already entered the Connate stage?"

The look on Xue Meng's face, the commander of the Chu royal city guards, changed dramatically at this moment.

"It looks like there has not been an appearance of a representative from the Valley of the Medicine Masters, and in all the border districts of the Sixteen Countries there is not one person who has been able to stop him!"

"Commander Xue, it looks like it has been two months since you last made your report at the royal household to tell them that His Majesty and the Valley's Connate demon had been killed? In my estimates, a representative sent from the Valley would have been here by now, so why hasn't he come?"

"Someone from the Valley of the Medicine Masters will come eventually. It is possible that they are not bothered about Emperor Yunyang's death, but surely they could not ignore the fact that their Silver-Crowned Crane is dead."

"I think so too. That Silver-Crowned Crane was not just the Valley's only Connate-level demon, it was also the Head of the Valley's personal mount for many years!"

…

The Chu royal household had intended the keep the death of their king, Xiang Xiong and the royal consort, Fan Ji under wraps. However, the number of people who already knew were too many, and soon enough, the news had managed to spread far and wide.

This sensational news stirred up all of the Chu royal city.

"Both the king and the royal consort died at the hands of that Zhou Donghuang?"

"Heavens! That young man, is he not worried that the Yunyang imperial household will hold him responsible?"

"The Yunyang imperial household? Didn't he also kill the last Great Consummation adept of the Qi-Gathering that the Yunyang imperial household sent? Why would he be afraid of them?"

"It's no wonder everyone says that he can make an enemy of an entire country, there hasn't been any sign of a response from the royal household. It could be that they are very fearful of him."

"The districts surrounding the Sixteen Countries of the East Valley and even the Valley of the Medicine Masters have refused to make a move. I'm afraid no one can stop him!"

"I hear that after he had committed the murders, shafts of qi more than a meter long were wrapped around his body as he left the royal household. Apparently he has entered the Connate stage!"

"The Connate stage? Him, a young man his age, entering the Connate stage?"

"A Connate-level teenager…that seems to defy the laws of nature itself!"

…

A teenage Connate practitioner. Never in all of the country of Yunyang, much less the surrounding districts of the Sixteen Countries of the East Valley including the Valley of the Medicine Masters, had there ever been an appearance of one.

And this young man's achievements could be considered completely unprecedented in all of the surrounding areas of the Sixteen Countries of the East Valley.

Inside the Tang Family mansion, the head of the powerful and influential aristocratic family Tang Liunian wanted to immediately step forward with his congratulations when he heard that the young man had entered the Connate stage. However, after more serious consideration, he laughed bitterly as he decided to strike that idea.

"The Yungyang royal household must have no guarantee of being able to put him to task and that is why they are taking so long to send someone over. However, the champions from the Valley of the Medicine Masters, whose abilities have been called 'strong like a forest, and unwavering under the force of the wind,' I estimate should not take much longer to come and deal with him," Tang Liunian said with a sigh.

At first, when the Yunyang family's Emperor had died at the hands of Zhou Donghuang, news of this had been kept so tightly under wraps that even the aristocratic families in the Chu royal city were completely unaware.

They only thought that a Great Consummation adept of the Qi-Gathering had been sent from the Yunyang imperial household, together with a Petty Consummation of the Qi-Gathering beast, and both had been killed by the young man.

"Now all I hope is that the champion from the Valley of the Medicine Masters be willing to accept him into the Valley, as opposed to killing him. Otherwise, it would be a complete waste of talent."

It was precisely because he had considered the possibility of the young man being defeated by the Valley that Tang Liunian decided against paying a personal visit to congratulate him.

Imagine if he were to congratulate the young man today. The Chu royal household wouldn't dare to touch him, and the Yunyang imperial family wouldn't go near him.

But what if the arrival of the representative from the Valley of the Medicine Masters meant death for Zhou Donghuang?

After the young man's death, the Yunyang imperial family still would not care for him, but the Chu royal household surely wouldn't let him get away so easily!

As the head of the Tang family and generations of aristocracy, Tang Liunian needed to consider all the possibilities.

At the Yang Family mansion, the head of the grand Yang family, Yang Yunji, had received news that the young man had entered the Connate stage. He was thoroughly displeased.

"I only wish that the champion from the Valley of the Medicine Masters would kill him right away when he comes and that he doesn't recognize his talent and try to accept him into the Valley."

As Yang Yunji prayed silently about this his eyes were full of cold-blooded murder.

In the Shi Family mansion: "The Yunyang imperial family hasn't sent anyone over for a long time now, and the Valley of the Medicine Masters has been nothing but silent. It looks to me like the Yunyang imperial family has no intention of sharing the spoils of the Primal Core practitioners' essence that Zhou Donghuang now possesses.

"Otherwise, considering the lure of the power of the Primal Core Essence, it is impossible that no sound or word has come from the Valley," said the head of the Shi grand family, First Young Master Shi Yu, as a look of realization flashed across his eyes.

"I'm sure that the Yunyang imperial household has kept this from the Valley of the Medicine Masters only because they want this miracle essence of the Primal Core practitioners for themselves!"

As he considered this, Shi Yu left the Shi family mansion immediately and headed straight for the Lu family mansion.

The Lu family was the foremost of the three grand families in the Chu royal city, and other than the occasional business dealings that they had with the Shi family, they did not have much else to do with each other.

Nonetheless, this time Shi Yu was heading straight for the head of the Lu family. Lu Yuanshan.

"Dear Nephew Shi Yu, I hear from my family's subordinates of reports that you have a plan to establish a connection between the Lu family and the Valley of the Medicine Masters? Is there any truth to this?"

Lu Yuanshan was a middle-aged man, an emaciated figure dressed in long grey robes. Half his hair had already turned white. With a grave look on his face, he considered Shi Yu.

"Master Lu, would I dare spread deceit and lies as I stand right in front of you?" Shi Yu smiled slightly. "I'm here this time because I want to offer a rare opportunity to the Lu family."

"Explain the details to me."

Lu Yuanshan stared at Shi Yu intensely. He did not think that Shi Yu, a subordinate from a more inferior grand family such as the Shi family, would dare take the head of the finest of the grand families—the Lu's—for a ride.

Shi Yu drew a deep breath and proceeded to explain all he knew about Zhou Donghuang, planning out every detail. "Now, both the Chu royal mansion and the imperial household already know that Zhou Donghuang has gotten his hands on the Primal Core essence. However, the imperial household apparently does not want the Valley of the Medicine Masters to know about this. If they did, even if the imperial household did not dare to send a representative to deal with Zhou Donghuang, the Valley would not wait until today to make a move.

"So I have come to the conclusion that the imperial household has kept this news from the Valley."

As Shi Yu came to this point, Lu Yuanshan could not help but draw a sharp breath. "Who would have thought that a man like Zhou Donghuang could have come from an inferior prefecture."

"I've always said, how could an evildoer such as he appear in the country of Yunyang…an 18-year-old Connate practitioner…"

"And so it is, all because he has gained the powers of the Primal Core essence."

"It's no wonder then."

As he said this, Lu Yuanshan stared deeply into Shi Yu's eyes. "And so, you, Shi Yu, wish to have the Lu family report of this to the Valley of the Medicine Masters? Why don't you go on your own?" questioned Lu Yuanshan.

"Master Lu, you must be worried that there is some error in this news, and that the Valley would somehow place the blame on you?"

Shi Yu seemed to be able to read Lu Yuanshan's thoughts with one look. "How about this: I will make the trip with you," he said, smiling slightly. "I've come here for you, because I know that the Lu family owns a Qi-Gathering level-seven flying beast. Of course, if you decide not to go, I will look to the Ouyang family instead."

"According to my sources, the Ouyang family also possesses a Qi-Gathering level-seven flying beast," smirked Shi Yu, knowing for sure that Lu Yuanshan would take the bait.

"The Chu royal household has a Qi-Gathering level-eight flying beast. Why didn't you look to them?" asked Lu Yuanshan.

"Master Lu, if the Chu royal household had the intention of doing that, they would have reported of this to the Valley on their own…After all, they had known about that Zhou Donghuang and his Primal Core essence for a long time now."

"If I were to go to the Chu royal household, it would come to nothing. And if so, why would I want to take that extra mile?" Shi Yu asked, shaking his head.

"Master Lu, if you and I were to go together, and the Valley of the Medicine Masters does eventually get hold of Zhou Donghuang's Primal Core essence, I am sure they will not let a good deed go unrewarded."

"If you're really uninterested, I will head for the Ouyang family now," continued Shi Yu.

Lu Yuanshan reacted immediately at the mention of the Ouyang family, but at last he finally agreed. "Okay! You and I will make the trip together!"

Soon after, a vulture rose from the Lu family mansion into the sky and headed for the region beyond the Chu royal city. Its entire body was jet black, except for the feathers surrounding his shiny bald head, which were white.

This very vulture was the Lu family's Qi-Gathering level seven flying beast, the white-headed vulture.

And at this very moment, on the white-headed vulture's back, stood Shi Yu and Lu Yuanshan.

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Chapter 141: Returning to Qingshan Town

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

"Big Brother, you have already attained the Connate stage?"

The news that Zhou Donghuang had attained the Connate stage was spreading through the Chu royal city. Meanwhile, Yun Lu, who was in the third apartment of Chuxiu Inn, heard the servant girls whispering among themselves and ran to the second apartment immediately in search of Zhou Donghuang.

When Yun Lu arrived, the youth was seated at the stone table sipping tea and enjoying the sunshine, and the shimmering green aura that enveloped him had been drawn back into his body and could no longer be seen.

"Wow! Big Brother is fantastic. An eighteen-year-old Connate stage adept! In the history of the Sixteen Countries of the East Valley, it is said that there has never been such a powerful person."

Yun Lu leapt into the youth's arms, looking at him with a worshipful smile as she continued muttering, "But I wonder when I will be able to attain the Connate stage just like my big brother."

"Silly girl, aside from Big Gold and Little Gold, you will definitely be the first among the others to attain the Connate stage with your talent."

Zhou Donghuang stroked the girl's head with an indulgent smile.

"Really?"

Yun Lu's eyes shone, moist and bright, as she gave him a doe-eyed look, as though seeking further confirmation of what the youth had just said.

"Of course."

Zhou Donghuang nodded confidently.

He was impressed by Yun Lu's improvement during this period of time.

Yun Lu's current level of practice was almost catching up with Lu Qinghu and Freezing Wind, the two members of his entourage who had the highest current level of practice.

With Yun Lu's martial talent, she would definitely be the first among his entourage to attain the Connate stage and become a Connate-stage adept if all went well.

"When I attain the Connate stage, I will no longer be a burden to you. When that happens, I will be able to go to the Valley of the Medicine Masters to look for you."

There was a look of longing in Yun Lu's sparkling eyes.

"Burden?" Zhou Donghuang frowned. "Xiao Lu, who said you were a burden to me?"

"Hehe… Big Brother, that was a slip of the tongue. Mother said that, and she told me not to tell you." Yun Lu giggled. "Big Brother, don't you tell on me."

"Mother said that?" Zhou Donghuang's frown deepened. "Xiao Lu, what's the meaning of this?"

"Big Brother, Mother said that if we go to the Valley of the Medicine Masters with you, we would definitely burden you. Moreover, she said that she prefers Qingshan town and plans to return to Qingshan town in Yunfeng prefecture after you go to the Valley of the Medicine Masters," Yun Lu said as she blinked her doe-like eyes.

After hearing what Yun Lu had said, Zhou Donghuang shook his head. "Why would Mother think that? You all would never be a burden to me."

After finding out from Yun Lu that Lin Lan wanted to return to Qingshan town, Zhou Donghuang paid a special visit to Lin Lan to persuade her to go with him to the Valley of the Medicine Masters. "Mother, you all will not be a burden to me. Moreover, I will be able to take even better care of you in the Valley of the Medicine Masters."

"Donghuang, I have made up my mind. You don't need to try and persuade me." Lin Lan said with a smile, "Go and focus on what you have to do. In the future, just come back to Qingshan town and visit me as often as you can, whenever you are free."

"I will also practice diligently, and will strive to live long enough to see you get married and start a family and have many children."

At this, there was a look of longing in Lin Lan's eyes.

Zhou Donghuang spent some time trying to persuade her, but Lin Lan was adamant and Zhou Donghuang had no choice but to give up. "Mother, since you really have made up your mind, I won't try to persuade you anymore. Tomorrow, I will send you back to Qingshan town personally and spend some time with you there before going to the Valley of the Medicine Masters."

…..

It was just as well that the golden-crowned eagle Little Gold had attained Great Consummation of the Qi-Gathering and had grown physically larger. Otherwise, the two golden-crowned eagles would not have been able to ferry Zhou Donghuang and the other ten people.

"Sister Zixi, Aunty Mei, don't be afraid. Even if you do fall off, Little Gold will save you," Yun Lu said to Yang Zixi and Aunty Mei who had their eyes squeezed tightly shut as they sped through the air on Little Gold's back with Yun Lu seated next to Lin Lan.

It was the first time that Yang Zixi and Aunty Mei were sitting on a golden-crowned eagle. High in the air, they did not dare open their eyes for a long time.

After a long while, Yang Zixi finally mustered enough courage to open her eyes and take in the surrounding view.

"You all…really don't intend to go with me to the Valley of the Medicine Masters?"

Zhou Donghuang stood beside Lin Lan and addressed Fu, Freezing Wind, Lu Qinghu, Zhou Han and Zhou Feng in a calm, even voice.

"Young Master, since Mistress has already decided to return to Qingshan town, I will also prepare to return to the Lu family. If Mistress would like to continue running the Magnolia Guild, the Lu family will be her biggest backer!" Lu Qinghu began with a smile, but as he finished, his expression became more earnest and serious.

"Young Master, my ability is too weak, and I will only burden you if I follow you. Moreover, I was born and raised in Qingshan town, and I have deep feelings for Qingshan town. If Mistress wants to return, I would like to return with her," Fu said.

"Young Master, I, Zhou Han, and Zhou Feng—the three of us—will protect Mistress and Young Mistress. As for you, after you go to the Valley of the Medicine Masters, you will no longer need to have any worries at the back of your mind," Freezing Wind added in.

"Mm." Zhou Donghuang nodded.

In all honesty, if these people all stayed with him, he really would be somewhat restricted. Now that they were all staying of their own accord, he did not try to persuade them otherwise.

Of course, this did not mean that Zhou Donghuang intended to abandon them.

Conversely, Zhou Donghuang had decided to nurture each and every one of them. This way, after he ascended to the divine realm, he would be able to leave a trusted and powerful source of strength behind in the physical universe that was completely loyal to him to protect his mother Lin Lan, his little sister Yun Lu, as well as everyone else he cared about.

His experience in his previous life had driven home the importance of this.

In the history of this physical universe, there was no shortage of powerful adepts who, after ascending to the divine realm, neglected to provide for their friends and relatives in the physical universe, leaving them unprotected against vengeful attacks by old enemies.

After ascending to the divine realm, not only did the friends and relatives of those powerful adepts suffer disaster, but even the sects and family clans that they had previously been a part of had been wiped out and extinguished!

In the physical universe, any attachment was a potential worry and a point of weakness, unless he lived like he did in his previous life without any attachments.

At the same time, in the course of exploring and wandering the universe, one could be certain that feuds would be started with other people or powers. This was something that was unavoidable and could not be solved at the root every single time.

Therefore, cultivating a source of strength that was loyal and belonged completely to himself was extremely important.

"It is also good that they stay in the country of Yunyang. In the future, as long as I obtain some resources for practicing, I can send it back to them anytime. That way, their progress will definitely not be slow!"

With this thought, Zhou Donghuang made a decision in his heart.

Even without using their qi, the two Great Consummation golden-crowned eagles demons managed to reach Qingshan town in Yunfeng prefecture in a short period of several days using their own natural flying speed.

It was on the last day of the year 1229 of the Ziyun Era, December 31, that they returned to Qingshan town.

At Yunxuan Restaurant, business was still booming. After Zhou Donghuang and his entourage finished their meal in the heavenly dining booth of Yunxuan Restaurant, they retreated to the compound behind Yunxuan Restaurant.

Although no one had stayed there for a very long time, the chief steward of Yunxuan Restaurant, a side relative of the Lu family named Lu Qing, had arranged for someone to keep it in order. Being a lady, she was very meticulous. Therefore, everything there was still as clean and neat as ever, and once Zhou Donghuang and the others had arrived, they were able to move straight in.

"This Lu Qing of your Lu family really is pretty good."

Zhou Donghuang was generous in his praise of Lu Qing's work in the presence of Lu Qinghu.

"I will make sure I reward her and her family handsomely once I return to the Lu family," Lu Qinghu replied with a nod.

"When do you intend to return to the Lu family?" Zhou Donghuang asked.

"I intend to stay with you till you leave so that I can listen to your teachings," Lu Qinghu replied diligently.

"Listening to my teachings is a pretense. Hoping that I can help with your practice is the truth, isn't it?"

Zhou Donghuang looked deeply at Lu Qinghu, laying bare his innermost thoughts with a word and making Lu Qinghu smile awkwardly. "The most important thing is that practicing with you, Young Master, will help increase my rate of practice more than ten times."

Although Lu Qinghu had been enjoying the Buddhist light given out by the Buddhist essence all along that aided in his practice, he did not know it was Buddhist light given out by the Buddhist essence.

He only knew that under the glow of that golden light, his rate of practice increased more than ten times!

This was also the main reason he could not bear to leave Zhou Donghuang before he left for the Valley of the Medicine Masters.

Over the next few days, Zhou Donghuang constantly maintained the output of Buddhist essence from his body and transformed it into Buddhist light, aiding Lu Qinghu and the others in their practice.

As for him, he remained at Lin Lan's side, chatting idly with her, talking about events from his childhood up till recent times.

However, whenever he mentioned Chen Dandan, Lin Lan would abruptly fall silent.

Chen Dandan. A cold gleam flashed across Zhou Donghuang's eyes. He knew that Chen Dandan was most probably in the Valley of the Medicine Masters, and if only he went to the Valley of the Medicine Masters, he would see Chen Dandan again.

"Chen Dandan, are you still congratulating yourself now because you found out that your biological father was the second elder of the Valley of the Medicine Masters?

Don't worry. Very soon, I will be going to the Valley of the Medicine Masters, and turn your heaven into hell!"

With this thought, it seemed that a layer of frost had formed on Zhou Donghuang's face.

Later, as Lin Lan had constantly mentioned Granny Lian, Zhou Donghuang specially made a trip to the capital of Yunfeng prefecture on Big Gold to personally bring Granny Lian back to Qingshan town.

At the same time, he wrote down many formulas and gave them to Lin Lan. "Mother, among these formulas is the formula for the qi-gathering elixir that you are all currently using, as well as formulas for some other elixirs and potions…"

"As for the more valuable herbs among those that cannot be found in Yunfeng prefecture, I will make a trip to the Chu royal city before I move on to the Valley of the Medicine Masters to get them to procure those herbs, and send it over to you."

Seeing that Zhou Donghuang had given the formulas to her, Lin Lan knew that her son was about to leave soon.

"Donghuang, when are you preparing to leave?" Lin Lan asked with some reluctance.

"In two days' time."

Zhou Donghuang continued with a slight smile, "Mother, I will come back to visit you when I am free. Big Gold will be able to attain the Connate stage very soon, and when he becomes a Connate-stage demon, it will only take a few days to return to Qingshan town from the Valley of the Medicine Masters.

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Farewells always made one sad.

Therefore, Zhou Donghuang bid only Lin Lan farewell as he was leaving this time, leaving it to Lin to Lan inform the others in turn.

On the morning of January 8, 1230 of the Ziyun Era, Zhou Donghuang rode the golden-crowned eagle, Big Gold, and they both departed Qingshan town, preparing to travel to the Valley of the Medicine Masters.

As for the golden-crowned eagle Little Gold, he was ordered by Zhou Donghuang to stay at Qingshan town to protect his mother Lin Lan and little sister Yun Lu as well as the others. "Little Gold, keep a close eye on them. If anything happens to my mother or Xiao Lu, I will hold you solely responsible!"

Little Gold had a thousand objections to being instructed to remain in Qingshan town. After all, if he left the youth, he would have no way to enjoy the glow of the Buddhist light from the Buddhist essence, and his rate of practice would drop.

However, in the end, he had no choice but to stay behind, being constrained by the youth's power.

Moreover, the youth had already told him that when his big brother attained the Connate stage and became a Connate stage demon, he would order his big brother to return to Qingshan town and take over, allowing him to travel to the Valley of the Medicine Masters and practice with him.

Several days later, Zhou Donghuang and Big Gold returned once more to the Chu royal city, appearing in the air directly over the Chu royal mansion.

As Big Gold landed in the Chu royal mansion carrying Zhou Donghuang, they naturally caused a commotion and a large amount of movement. A group of palace guards who had arrived at the sound of the commotion scattered, not daring to approach.

"It's the golden-crowned eagle!"

"That youth in white on the golden-crowned eagle's back… could that be that Connate-stage youth?"

"In the territory of our country of Yunyang, there is no one other than he who can use a golden-crowned eagle as a mount."

As the group of palace guards whispered to each other, the second elder of the Chu royal family Xiang Donghua presented himself, leading several other elders of the Chu royal family. They all bowed respectfully to the youth. "We acknowledge Young Master Donghuang!"

At that moment, the group of palace guards watching at a distance were completely certain of the youth's identity when they heard the words of the second elder of the Chu royal family. This was the Connate-stage youth, Zhou Donghuang!

Although the Ziyun Era had entered the year 1230 and Zhou Donghuang was considered to be almost nineteen years of age, his face still bore some traces of youth, such that a casual observer would still naturally assume that he was still only a youth.

Going strictly by age, one was considered a young man on the planet of Ziyun after turning eighteen.

"Who is currently in charge of the Chu royal family?" Zhou Donghuang stood on the back of the golden-crowned eagle with his hands clasped behind his back as he surveyed Xiang Donghua and the elders of the Chu royal family as he addressed them calmly.

"Young Master Donghuang, Head Elder and I are in charge at the moment," Xiang Donghua answered respectfully.

Although the youth before them had killed the king and the royal consort of the Chu royal family, he was a Connate-stage adept, and this meant that the Chu royal family could do nothing more than swallow this bitter pill.

"Let the Chu royal family send men to find the herbs written on this paper, and no matter how much they find, send them at once to Qingshan town in Yunfeng prefecture and hand them over personally to my mother, Lin Lan."

With a flourish of his arm, Zhou Donghuang sent a piece of paper fluttering out and flying in Xiang Donghua's direction.

"As you command."

Xiang Donghua received the piece of paper and acknowledged respectfully without even so much as a glance at it.

"This is a second-grade offensive technique. Consider it a gift to the Chu royal family for their labors. In the future, when I return to Qingshan town, and if I see that you have been productive, I will give the Chu royal family a second-grade swiftness technique."

With another flourish of his arm, Zhou Donghuang sent another piece of paper crammed with writing fluttering and flying towards Xiang Donghua.

This time, when Xiang Donghua heard Zhou Donghuang's words, his eyes widened and his face began to flush with excitement as he hurriedly reached out to receive the second piece of paper that Zhou Donghuang had thrown over.

As the second elder of the Chu royal family, Xiang Donghua was a Petty Consummation adept, and with a single glance, he could tell that what was recorded on the paper in his hand was indeed a second-grade technique!

Before this, the Chu royal family only had several third-grade techniques and did not possess any second-grade techniques.

Even in the imperial court of Yunyang, second-grade techniques were extremely rare, such that the imperial court of Yunyang was unwilling to share them with the various royal families under them.

"Big Gold, let's go!" Zhou Donghuang commanded.

With a flap of his wings, Big Gold shot into the sky like a flash of black lightning and vanished into the clouds, leaving Xiang Donghua and the other elders of the Chu royal family with expressions of excitement on their faces.

Although Zhou Donghuang was not worried that the Chu royal family would not do work for him if he did not reward them, they would not be efficient in their work if they were forced into it by the threat of his power.

And now, by giving the Chu royal family a second-grade offensive technique and promising to give them a second-grade swiftness technique if they were efficient in their work…

Under these circumstances, the Chu royal family would definitely go all out to work for him as efficiently as they could.

Swoosh!!

After Zhou Donghuang rode Big Gold and departed the Chu royal city, they flew in the direction of the Valley of the Medicine Masters.

Previously, before they had left the Chu royal city, he had obtained a map on which was indicated the location of the Valley of the Medicine Masters, and he had already shown it to Big Gold before they had set out.

So Big Gold already knew the route from the Chu royal city to the Valley of the Medicine Masters.

Although Big Gold had not yet attained the Connate stage and become a Connate-stage demon, few Great Consummation flying demons could match his speed in his current state. In less than ten days, Big Gold had already left the borders of the country of Yunyang.

During this period of time, Zhou Donghuang had been seated cross-legged all the while on his back as he practiced, and even though bitterly cold strong winds had buffeted them, it did not affect his practice one bit.

The Valley of the Medicine Masters was located southwest of the country of Yunyang, and was still some distance from the country of Yunyang.

In the blink of an eye, three days had passed.

"Young Master, we have arrived."

Since setting out from the Chu royal city of the Western Ridge, Big Gold had spent ten days and had now reached the airspace just outside the Valley of the Medicine Masters, and he informed Zhou Donghuang immediately.

"We have arrived?"

Zhou Donghuang roused himself from his practice and opened his eyes, gazing ahead. With a single glance, he took in the vast valley before him.

Buildings could be vaguely seen scattered in clusters around in the valley, and there were several wide roads that connected the buildings and led out of the valley.

"The environment of this Valley of the Medicine Masters is really not bad."

Besides the clusters of buildings, the valley itself retained the original appearance of mountain forests, and seen from afar, the swath of green made one feel happy and relaxed.

"Young Master, do we go straight in?"

In the blink of an eye, Big Gold had ferried Zhou Donghuang to the airspace bordering the Valley of the Medicine Masters, and he questioned Zhou Donghuang as he circled in the air.

"We go straight in," Zhou Donghuang said casually.

The master of the Valley of the Medicine Masters, Su Mo, had already acknowledged him as superior and was willing to be submit to him like a dog.

Now that he was coming to his dog's territory, why should he have to stop at the entrance to the Valley of the Medicine Masters and let someone announce his arrival?

"As you say," Big Gold acknowledged, and with a flap of his wings, he seemed to transform into a bolt of black lightning and hurtled through the air into the valley where the Valley of the Medicine Masters was located, entering into the airspace of the valley proper.

"Young Master, how shall we seek out that Valley Master of the Valley of the Medicine Masters?" Big Gold asked Zhou Donghuang as he circled in the air above the valley proper.

"Wait a while, he'll naturally come over." Zhou Donghuang replied casually, as though he concluded from his own words that the Valley Master of the Valley of the Medicine Masters, Su Mo would personally come over to welcome him.

As soon as he finished speaking, Zhou Donghuang, who had was sitting cross-legged on Big Gold's back, closed his eyes and began to meditate.

There were observation towers at various points in the valley where the Valley of the Medicine Masters was located, and there were usually elders of the Valley of the Medicine Masters mounted on Great Consummation flying demons there on duty.

The main responsibility of their duty was to be the "eyes" of the Valley of the Medicine Masters, keeping a lookout in all directions.

One of the elders of the Valley of the Medicine Masters soon spotted a flying demon that suddenly appeared and began circling in the air above the Valley of the Medicine Masters. It seemed to be a flying demon of an eagle species.

"The rider is probably the esteemed guest that the Valley Master informed us about earlier," he thought.

Earlier, Valley Master Su Mo of the Valley of the Medicine Masters had returned from outside, and he immediately convened a meeting of the group of elders responsible for the duty of the observation towers. He informed them to keep a constant watch on the airspace over the valley where the Valley of the Medicine Masters was located.

If there was someone riding a demon eagle into the valley, they were not to offend the new arrival and were to notify him immediately. That would be his esteemed guest, and he would receive his guest personally.

Muttering to himself, this elder of the Valley of the Medicine Masters leapt onto the back of an enormous grey vulture. Riding the vulture and transforming into a grey blur, he hurtled towards the side of the valley.

That big grey vulture was one of the Great Consummation flying demons reared in the Valley of the Medicine Masters, a thunder-feathered vulture. Flying demons made up the majority of the Great Consummation demons reared in the Valley of the Medicine Masters.

This could be attributed to the former Connate-stage demon, the Silver-Crowned Crane of the Valley of the Medicine Masters. As a Connate-stage flying demon, that Silver-Crowned Crane could easily hunt and kill Great Consummation flying demons and plunder their eggs.

Those eggs eventually became the property of the Valley of the Medicine Masters.

"Valley Master."

As soon as the elder of the Valley of the Medicine Masters had ridden the thunder-feathered vulture and landed at the accommodation of the master of the Valley of the Medicine Masters, Su Mo, reporting to him that someone riding an eagle species demon had arrived, Su Mo hurriedly mounted the thunder-feathered vulture's back and rode the mount up into the air.

"What manner of esteemed guest would cause the Valley Master to so hurriedly rush to welcome him in such a manner?" With an expression of surprise and shock, the elder of the Valley of the Medicine Masters watched the thunder-feathered vulture rapidly become a little black dot before his eyes.

"Even when the sect master of the Guiyuan sect arrived, I had never seen the Valley Master lose his composure like that."

The Guiyuan sect was a sect of similar strength to the Valley of the Medicine Masters, and their sect master was also a late Connate-stage adept.

The Valley of the Medicine Masters commanded a vast swath of territory adjacent to the Sixteen Countries of East Valley, and the Guiyuan sect commanded a vast swath of territory adjacent to the Fourteen Countries of the North Border.

"Su Mo acknowledges Master!"

Zhou Donghuang, who was sitting cross-legged with his eyes closed and meditating on the back of the golden-crowned eagle, had waited just fifteen minutes before the Valley Master of the Valley of the Medicine Masters Su Mo arrived.

When Su Mo saw the youth once again, he respectfully prostrated himself on the back of the thunder-feathered vulture with a humble demeanor, as compliant as a well-trained dog!

The thunder-feathered vulture had no true intelligence. Otherwise, seeing the valley master of the Valley of the Medicine Masters kneel before a youth and address him as "Master," it would probably be so shocked that it would forget to flap its wings and plummet through the air.

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Chapter 143: Connate Elixir

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Since returning to the Valley of the Medicine Masters after being gravely wounded, Su Mo considered feigning compliance, gambling that the youth might not be able to demonstrate once more the Connate-stage ability that had defeated him so soundly.

However, in his midnight dreams, the scene of his crushing defeat by the youth played out again and again. Repeating that scene when his life hung in the balance had caused his spirit to crumble.

This caused Su Mo to abandon any ideas of trying his luck.

Acknowledging the youth as Master might be humiliating, but it would ensure that he could live in peace.

He had practiced for more than sixty years before attaining the late Connate stage, and with his martial talent, there was still a chance that he would be able to successfully attempt reaching the Primal Core stage in his lifetime

.

If he attained the Primal Core stage, he would break free of the upper limit of his lifetime, potentially living for three hundred years.

If he was not able to attain the Primal Core stage, he could hope to live just a hundred years.

If he managed to attain the Primal Core stage, he could live an additional two hundred years!

He was not willing to die for his dignity.

"Mm." Zhou Donghuang lazily opened his eyes and gazed indifferently at the Valley Master of the Valley of the Medicine Masters, Su Mo, who was respectfully prostrated on the back of the thunder-feathered vulture.

"Get up," Su Mo said evenly.

Su Mo waited for the youth's reply before daring to rise and say respectfully, "Master, you must be weary from your travels. Shall I arrange a place for you to rest?"

"Mm." Zhou Donghuang nodded. "Find me somewhere quiet."

Riding on the thunder-feathered vulture, Su Mo soon led Zhou Donghuang and the golden-crowned eagle to the mountainside where their accommodation was. It was a cave by a small road that led to several main roads of the Valley of the Medicine Masters.

However, just beside the bends in both directions of the small road, two giant slabs of stone had been erected and carved with the words "Forbidden Place."

The two carved words had even been painted in red paint, which made them extremely obvious.

"Master, this is where my respected teacher, the previous Valley Master of the Valley of the Medicine Masters, practiced. It is a paradise inside, and incomparably quiet and peaceful. Why don't you go in and inspect it, and stay here if you find it satisfactory. If you are not satisfied, I will find accommodation at the foot of the mountain for you," Su Mo said respectfully.

The entrance to the cave was very big, easily more than ten meters high and five or six meters wide. Not only in his current state, but even if Big Gold attained the Connate stage, he would be able to enter and exit the cave easily.

"Master, please go ahead."

After leaping off the back of the thunder-feathered vulture to the ground, Zhou Donghuang followed Su Mo into the cave.

The thunder-feathered vulture waited patiently outside, but Big Gold followed them in.

Inside the cave, there was an indistinct white light that seemed to come from the cave's depths.

After they had walked ten more meters, the white light became brighter, and they arrived at a bend in the path.

After rounding the bend, they entered into a gigantic cavern.

This cavern was vast, more than fifty meters deep and at least forty meters wide, with a height of twenty meters, as though it had been scooped out of the mountainside.

Seeing this, Zhou Donghuang was moved. "Such a large cave," he thought. "Even if Big Gold attains the Connate stage, he could spread his wings here without a care."

Everywhere in the cave, there were green plants that people had planted that gave off a fragrance that was immediately apparent. There was no lack of plants that could be used as herbs.

Besides this, there was a small waterfall at one side of the cave. Water welled out from a corner at the top of the cave and flowed languidly down, watering the plants around the cave.

In the middle of the cave, there was a free-standing wooden house, sparsely furnished. Aside from a wooden bed and a wooden table, there was nothing else inside it.

"Master, what do you think?" Su Mo asked anxiously, looking at the youth.

"It will do."

Seeing the youth nod, Su Mo heaved a sigh of relief. He fished out a token from his pocket, which he had prepared in advance, and passed it to the youth. "Master, this is the 'Token of the Medicine Master.' Seeing the token is equivalent to seeing me. With this token, it will be more convenient for you in the Valley of the Medicine Masters in the future."

There was only one Token of the Medicine Master in the Valley of the Medicine Masters, and it was usually passed down through successive generations of Valley Masters of the Valley of the Medicine Masters.

When the Valley Master of the Valley of the Medicine Masters passed the Token of the Medicine Master to someone, it meant that that person possessed supreme authority in the Valley of the Medicine Masters, equal to that of the Valley Master.

"Mm." Zhou Donghuang took the token and stuffed it into his pocket, not even bothering to glance at the token that symbolized supreme authority in the Valley of the Medicine Masters.

"Master, when it is mealtime, I will arrange for someone to send your meals here." Su Mo continued.

"Mm." Zhou Donghuang nodded again.

"If that is all, I will not disturb your rest any longer."

Su Mo bowed and retreated, and added on, "Master, I will be staying at the foot of this mountain below this cave. If there is anything you need, you may look for me anytime."

"Hang on."

Just as Su Mo was about to leave, Zhou Donghuang stopped him and proceeded to take out a piece of paper from his pocket, flinging it towards him.

The piece of paper floated lightly as though it came alive in the air, and landed gently on Su Mo's palm.

"I need the herbs written on it urgently. Gather them and send them over as soon as you can," Zhou Donghuang said.

"Yes, Master."

As he respectfully acknowledged the words, Su Mo glanced discreetly at the long list of herbs written on the paper. Just that glance was enough to give him a shock.

"Master, you are intending to formulate the Connate elixir?"

As the Valley Master of the Valley of the Medicine Masters, Su Mo was not only accomplished in the martial way, his knowledge and abilities in medicine were also considerable.

Su Mo was a genuine earth-level medicine master.

As such, Su Mo was able to formulate a qi-gathering elixir that increased the sense of qi by two hundred percent, double the qi-gathering elixir that the superior-level medicine master of the imperial court of Yunyang could formulate.

The importance of Connate elixir to a Connate-stage adept was the same as the importance of qi-gathering elixir to a Qi-gathering stage adept.

Of course, even the best qi-gathering elixir was almost useless to a Connate-stage adept, because qi-gathering elixir was a medicine used only by qi-gathering stage adepts to aid their practice.

After attaining the Connate stage, the method of practice would change since the sense of qi would be almost at its maximum limit and would not increase no matter how much qi-gathering elixir one used.

"Mm."

Zhou Donghuang nodded. "I have just attained the Connate stage, and I don't have any Connate elixir yet, so I am preparing to brew some."

"Master, if these are all the herbs you need to brew Connate elixir, I fear that your Connate elixir will not be right."

Su Mo looked again at the herbs written on the paper in his hand with a slight frown.

"There's nothing wrong with it," Zhou Donghuang replied casually.

"Master, quite a few of the herbs you have written here have conflicting medicinal properties, and I fear that rashly pairing them together in the same formulation will cause great harm to the body."

Su Mo's frown deepened.

"As the Valley Master of the Valley of the Medicine Masters, don't you know that for herbs with conflicting medicinal properties, you only need to control their balance and not only will they not harm the body, they will even produce outstanding results?" said Zhou Donghuang, giving Su Mo a sweeping glance.

Shocked at what Zhou Donghuang said, Su Mo was unable to stop himself from exhaling a breath of cold air. "Master, you… you mean that you can control their balance?"

From what he knew, controlling the balance of even just two herbs with conflicting medicinal properties, never mind balancing many herbs with conflicting medicinal properties, was something that only heaven-level medicine masters were able to do.

"Mm." Zhou Donghuang replied once more, then said somewhat impatiently, "That's all. You can go. Prepare these herbs for me as soon as you can. I need them urgently."

Since attaining the Connate stage, Zhou Donghuang had been wanting to formulate Connate elixir to aid his practice.

In the country of Yunyang it was very difficult to gather all the herbs required to formulate Connate elixir; therefore, he had delayed it till now.

The reason for coming to the Valley of the Medicine Masters was that the Valley of the Medicine Masters could provide him with the herbs to formulate Connate elixir, while at the same time he could better understand the circumstances of the planet of Ziyun.

In his previous life, although he had returned to Ziyun after attaining the Primal Core stage and leaving Earth, he had not visited anywhere else, and had returned directly to the country of Yunyang.

He knew only that the country of Yunyang was one of the Sixteen Countries of the East Valley, and that the area surrounding the Sixteen Countries of the East Valley was the territory of a sect called the Valley of the Medicine Masters.

He knew absolutely nothing else about the circumstances of the planet of Ziyun.

"At once."

Seeing that the youth had begun to grow impatient, Su Mo hurriedly retreated, although he was still shocked.

"If he can really control the balance of several kinds of herbs with conflicting medicinal properties, the Connate elixir that he can formulate can yield a ratio of up to three hundred percent of additional remaining qi.

In any case, although the sense of qi of Connate-stage adepts had reached its limit and they could absorb the spirit energy, the efficiency of transforming their qi was less than ten percent.

But by consuming Connate elixir, the effectiveness of preserving qi could be increased from the original of less than ten percent to a hundred percent or more, even up to two hundred percent.

As for Su Mo, as an earth-level medicine master, the Connate elixir that he formulated could preserve an additional sixteen percent of qi.

This was already an extremely high preservation rate.

…

After Su Mo left, Zhou Donghuang returned to the wooden house and prepared to practice.

The furnishings in the wooden house had obviously been cleaned not long before, and there was only a small amount of insignificant dust.

Sitting cross-legged on the wooden bed, Zhou Donghuang muttered to himself, "Relying only on the Lord of the Four Supremes to practice, only fifty percent of the qi converted from spirit energy can be preserved…

"But once I formulate that Connate elixir, I can increase the preservation of qi by an additional forty percent, which will allow the preservation of qi to increase to more than ninety percent when I practice!"

There was a look of longing in Zhou Donghuang's eyes at this thought.

"However, I did not expect that the Connate-stage portion of the Lord of the Four Supremes would be so potent that I could preserve fifty percent of qi."

"The Thousand Star Sword Technique, the Fiery Thunder Training Regimen, the Manual of Unruffled Sage, and the other top techniques in the universe can only preserve forty percent of qi at the Connate stage."

"As for techniques that are able to preserve fifty percent of qi at the Connate stage, I had heard of them in my previous life… but those methods usually exist only in legends."

"I never imagined that I would be able to find just such a legendary technique in the Kunlun Mountains on Earth."

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Chapter 144: Do You Know Where Chen Dandan Stays?

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

It had to be said that Su Mo got things done extremely efficiently.

On the second day, he sent Zhou Donghuang all the herbs that he required and even brought all the equipment that Zhou Donghuang needed to formulate elixirs.

"Very efficient."

Seeing Su Mo put all the herbs and equipment on the table, Zhou Donghuang nodded in satisfaction, and immediately rose and got off the bed and went to the table.

"Master, you … you are about to begin formulating Connate elixir?"

Seeing Zhou Donghuang pick up the equipment and inspect it, and glance towards the pile of herbs, Su Mo's eyes lit up, but then immediately dimmed as he turned and prepared to leave. "Master, I'll take my leave now."

"Who gave you permission to leave?" Zhou Donghuang asked casually.

"Hmm?"

As the youth's words reached him from behind, Su Mo stopped in his tracks and turned to face the youth again. "Master, you … you mean that I can observe you formulating the elixir?"

At this, Su Mo's eyes shone brighter than ever, full of hope.

It must be stated that when most medicine masters, including him, formulated their elixirs, they did not allow anyone to be present to observe other than their own disciples.

One reason was fear that the formula would be learned and stolen, and another was that their proprietary methods of formulating elixirs would be stolen.

"Mm," Zhou Donghuang casually acknowledged again, and then proceeded to ignore Su Mo, taking up the equipment and herbs and beginning to formulate the Connate elixir that he needed.

At first, Su Mo felt that the youth's movements were nothing extraordinary.

But as time passed, he noticed that the youth's speed was a quick as lightning. His hands seemed to have become a blur, causing even him, a late Connate adept, to feel dizzy just watching.

If it was an ordinary youth who claimed that he could brew Connate elixir, Su Mo could not possibly believe him.

However, this youth before him could not be compared to any ordinary youth. Which youth had the ability to defeat him, a late Connate adept, and force him to acknowledge him as master?

Because of this, when the youth said he intended to formulate Connate elixir, he did not even doubt whether the youth could do it, but was surprised at the herbs the youth wanted him to gather.

There were a good number of herbs among those which had conflicting medicinal properties, and even an ordinary heaven-level medicine master would find it difficult to maintain the balance in the process.

However, although Su Mo did not doubt the youth's capabilities, he was still shocked by the youth's skill in formulating. Completely shocked!

It was the first time he had seen such speedy and mysterious methods, as though each kind of herb had come alive in the youth's hands.

About fifteen minutes later, Zhou Donghuang stopped, having made twelve bottles of Connate elixir from the herbs that Su Mo had brought.

"You've finished formulating it?"

Su Mo stared agape. Had it only been fifteen minutes?

Even he, an earth-level medicine master, needed at least six hours to be able to formulate Connate elixir, under the best conditions.

And now, this youth before him had only taken fifteen minutes.

Moreover, in the process of formulating this Connate elixir, he had used several kinds of herbs with conflicting medicinal properties, as though balancing their medicinal properties was child's play.

"I won't take advantage of you."

Zhou Donghuang took a bottle of Connate elixir, poured it into his mouth and swallowed it, then put nine bottles into his pocket, leaving two on the table. "In the future, each time you provide me with this amount of herbs, I'll give you two bottles of Connate elixir."

Without waiting for Su Mo to reply, Zhou Donghuang returned to the bed to practice.

Waves of golden light reached out from his body, illuminating not only himself but extending all the way out to illuminate Big Gold, the golden-crowned eagle practicing outside the wooden house.

Of course, it only illuminated him and Big Gold, and did not illuminate Su Mo.

Within the cavern in the cave, the walls of the cavern in all directions were mounted with luminous pearls, so that even though the cavern was located in the mountainside, it was still bright and well-lighted.

Of these luminous pearls, the big ones were about the size of a fist, and the small ones were about the size of a chicken egg. They were extraordinarily valuable, but here they were used only for illumination.

The light from the luminous pearls combined with the power from the Buddhist essence, producing waves of golden Buddhist light.

"Master, I'll take my leave now."

Although he was doubtful about the golden light radiating from Zhou Donghuang's body, Su Mo did not dare to ask too many questions and retreated after taking the two bottles of Connate elixir from the table.

Once he arrived back at his accommodation, the first thing he did was to consume one of the bottles of Connate elixir and begin practicing.

Shortly after closing his eyes to practice, Su Mo suddenly opened his eyes which were full of shock and incomprehension.

"Forty … forty percent? After consuming that bottle of Connate elixir, the efficiency of preservation of qi when I practiced increased by an additional forty percent! Impossible! Impossible!"

Although Su Mo had been psychologically prepared, he had all along assumed that the Connate elixir formulated by the youth would only increase the efficiency of preservation of qi by at most thirty percent.

Now he realized that he had underestimated this youth.

"Increasing the rate of preservation of qi by an additional forty percent … the Connate elixir I formulated can only increase the rate of preservation of qi by sixteen percent. Does this mean that with an uninterrupted supply of this type of Connate elixir, my rate of practice in the future will be almost two hundred percent faster in the future?"

At this thought, Su Mo exhaled a cold breath of air, and his eyes began to glitter with dazzling light and his expression was so excited that he began to twitch slightly.

"He said earlier that each time I give him that amount of herbs, he will formulate twelve bottles of Connate elixir and give me two bottles."

At this thought, Su Mo stopped practicing, walked out of his room, and convened a meeting of the few elders who held the real power in the Valley of the Medicine Masters and issued them orders to gather the herbs that the youth needed from outside with free rein.

Although there was still no shortage of those herbs in the Valley of the Medicine Masters, he felt that there was nowhere near enough, and he wanted more!

"Over the next few decades, if I continuously use that kind of Connate elixir in my practice … I have over ninety percent confidence that I will be able to break free of the shackles of the Connate stage, attain the Primal Core stage, and become a Primal Core adept!"

Su Mo was extremely emotional.

To him, nothing could be more important than attaining the Primal Core stage and becoming a Primal Core adept.

If he managed to become a Primal Core adept, his lifespan would be extended to three hundred years, which was an additional two hundred years for him to use. That was his life's goal!

"It seems that I have chosen to serve the right master."

If it was said that Su Mo had previously been forced to acknowledge Zhou Donghuang as master, then now he felt that he had chosen rightly.

When he had relied on the Connate elixir that he had formulated himself, he had less than ten percent confidence that he could attain the Primal Core stage and become a Primal Core adept.

And now, with the Connate elixir formulated by his master, he had over ninety percent confidence of becoming a Primal Core adept!

…

To Zhou Donghuang, giving Su Mo two bottles of Connate elixir mainly created some sense of urgency for Su Mo to gather the herbs he needed.

Now, with the Connate elixir in addition to the aid of the Buddhist essence, Zhou Donghuang's stage of practice was advancing at an even greater pace.

"At this stage of practice… I will be able to attain the late Connate stage in over a month at most!"

Zhou Donghuang was extremely satisfied with his current rate of practice.

Of course, when completely devoting oneself to practicing continuously, there would always be times when one would feel drained, and continuing to practice at these times would not produce any meaningful results, and might even affect practice in the future.

As someone who possessed a thousand years of memories from his previous life, Zhou Donghuang naturally knew how to solve this problem.

Taking a walk outside then resuming practicing when his emotions were completely relaxed would produce better results than continuing to practice.

"It has been some time since coming to the Valley of the Medicine Masters. I still have not been out to look around." At this thought, Zhou Donghuang left the mountain retreat and walked out of the cave.

As for the golden-crowned eagle Big Gold, although he noticed that the Buddhist light that could help him increase his rate of practice had disappeared, he was still absorbed in his practice, working hard to attain the Connate stage and become a Connate-stage demon.

After walking out of the cave, Zhou Donghuang followed the path in front of the cave and came to one of the main roads in the Valley of the Medicine Masters, and continued onwards.

At first, he did not see anyone as he walked.

This place in the Valley of the Medicine Masters was rather secluded.

Gradually, as he walked out of the secluded corner of the valley, he saw some disciples of the Valley of the Medicine Masters passing through the various crossroads.

Among these disciples of the Valley of the Medicine Masters were youths, young men and women, as well as middle-aged men and women.

Occasionally, he saw a few old people.

Of course, the old people might not necessarily be elders of the Valley of the Medicine Masters; they could also be disciples of the Valley of the Medicine Masters.

In the Valley of the Medicine Masters, being old only meant that one was advanced in age, and did not indicate one's status in the Valley of the Medicine Masters. Status was something that one gained based on his martial prowess.

"Hey! I don't recall seeing you before… have you just been inducted into the Valley of the Medicine Masters?"

Zhou Donghuang had originally been walking quietly by himself, when suddenly a voice came from nearby, followed by a youth who looked about sixteen or seventeen years old who walked towards him.

The youth was wearing a blue robe, and although he could not be considered handsome, he could still be considered pleasant and delicate looking. He approached familiarly. "I'm called Huang Mingfeng; how about you?"

Zhou Donghuang merely swept a casual glance over him before looking away, ignoring his overtures, continuing to follow the main road as he walked onwards.

"Hey, I'm talking to you. Why are you so rude? Didn't you hear me talking to you?"

Huang Mingfeng caught up with Zhou Donghuang and turned towards him as he spoke with displeasure.

"Do you know where Chen Dandan stays?" Zhou Donghuang asked, glancing at Huang Mingfeng.

"Chen Dandan?"

Huang Mingfeng was stunned at first, but then he shook his head. "Although you are not bad looking, I fear that pursuing sister Chen Dandan is not very realistic."

"Who says I intend to pursue her?" Zhou Donghuang gave a start, following it up with a derisive smile.

To say that Chen Dandan was fit to be pursued by him?

Laughable!

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Chapter 145: How Is It That You Are Here?

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

"If you are not intending to pursue her, then why are you asking where she stays?"

Huang Mingfeng had a look of disbelief at what Zhou Donghuang had said.

"I'm asking where she stays because I…am preparing to look for her to settle an old score."

Zhou Donghuang narrowed his eyes and spoke in an even voice.

"Looking for Chen Dandan to settle an old score?"

After giving Zhou Donghuang an earnest look and confirming that Zhou Donghuang did not seem like he was joking, Huang Mingfeng shook his head and said, "Brother, although I don't like that Chen Dandan either…Chen Dandan is not someone that ordinary disciples of the Valley of the Medicine Masters like us can provoke."

"Her father is the second elder of the Valley of the Medicine Masters, Chen Tianhe!"

"That second elder is a late Connate-stage adept, and is among the top five in terms of the strength of his ability."

"I don't know what grudge you have against Chen Dandan but I advise you to let it go for your own good."

Huang Mingfeng reemphasized his point.

"The second elder of the Valley of the Medicine Masters, Chen Tianhe?"

The corners of Zhou Donghuang's mouth had curled up with a look of bland condescension. "You don't have to bother about the rest of it. Just tell me, do you know where she stays?"

"She usually stays with the second elder."

Seeing that the youth not only did not take his advice despite his warning but persisted in asking where Chen Dandan was staying, Huang Mingfeng could not help raising his impression of the youth.

What kind of illustrious background did this handsome youth with an extraordinary aura, who was dressed in a snow-white robe, have that he was not afraid of Second Elder Chen Tianhe who stood behind Chen Dandan?

Someone who was still so adamant was either extremely confident in himself or deluded.

And this person before him did not seem at all like the latter.

"I just came from the training grounds and I saw Chen Dandan there sparring with other people. Come to think of it, she should still be there, and probably has not gone back yet."

All youths enjoyed watching a show, and seeing that Zhou Donghuang was not the least bit afraid after discovering Chen Dandan's background, Huang Mingfeng naturally assumed that Zhou Donghuang had an even more powerful background.

"The training grounds? How do I get there?" Zhou Donghuang asked with a gleam in his eye.

"It's over there."

Huang Mingfeng turned and glanced towards one of the branches in the road, reaching out to point into the distance beyond the branch in the road. "This road leads there. After walking for some time you will see another main road on the right…forget it, I'm free right now anyway, I'll take you there."

As soon as he finished, Huang Mingfeng called to Zhou Donghuang and led the way, walking ahead of Zhou Donghuang.

Zhou Donghuang followed him.

"Brother, you still haven't told me your name." Huang Mingfeng glanced over his shoulder at Zhou Donghuang and asked.

"Zhou Donghuang," Zhou Donghuang replied casually.

"Brother Donghuang, how did this feud with Chen Dandan come about?"

Huang Mingfeng continued, "From what I know, she arrived here in the Valley of the Medicine Masters not long ago and she is the daughter of Second Elder who was wandering outside…I heard that she grew up in a small place in Yunyang country."

"That small place is so insignificant that we can't even imagine it."

"In that small place, even a mere level-two adept of Qi-gathering can be a tyrant."

Once Huang Mingfeng started talking, he seemed unable to stop and continued, "Apparently, it was the second elder of a minor preeminent family of the inferior-level prefecture capital of that small place who found her. Later on, the young master of that minor preeminent family was inducted into Second Elder's family."

"Hong Yunfei?" Zhou Donghuang asked.

"That's right! Hong Yunfei!"

As Huang Mingfeng nodded, an expression of surprise came over his face. "Brother, so you know Hong Yunfei."

"It's a pity…that Hong Yunfei originally thought that he could rise together with Chen Dandan in the good graces of Second Elder. He never imagined that after Second Elder and Chen Dandan acknowledged each other as father and daughter, he would be kicked out of the Valley of the Medicine Masters by Chen Dandan."

"That Chen Dandan is really ungrateful. Even if she did not want to be close to Hong Yunfei, at the very least he helped her to find her biological father and did not deserve to be cut off in such a manner."

At this, Huang Mingfeng shook his head continuously, "That Chen Dandan is still pleasant to the eye, but her character is really poor."

"Beautiful people can be like snakes and scorpions; the ancients never failed to warn us about this."

Zhou Donghuang was not the least bit surprised to learn that Hong Yunfei had been kicked out of the Valley of the Medicine Masters. Knowing Chen Dandan's character, there was naturally no way that she could have remained together with Hong Yunfei after learning that her biological father was the second elder of the Valley of the Medicine Masters.

The only thing that he did not expect was that Chen Dandan had actually kicked Hong Yunfei out of the Valley of the Medicine Masters.

"Brother, you still haven't told me…how did your feud with Chen Dandan come about?" Huang Mingfeng asked again.

"It can't really be considered a feud. It's just that she owes my mother a substantial debt."

A cold gleam flashed across Zhou Donghuang's eyes, and his tone grew chilly in an instant. "I am preparing to collect on that debt!"

The time had come to collect on the debts that Chen Dandan owed his mother Lin Lan.

"Your mother?"

Huang Mingfeng gave a start, and continued, "Brother, you…who on earth are you? How could that Chen Dandan owe a debt to your mother? Was it from before she returned to the Valley of the Medicine Masters?"

Huang Mingfeng was now even more confused.

"Those are the training grounds just ahead?" Zhou Donghuang asked.

Zhou Donghuang had just followed Huang Mingfeng onto another main road in the Valley of the Medicine Masters. The countryside opened up and he could see the large space that lay at the center of the valley.

In the large open space, groups of people were scattered everywhere. There were two blurred figures in each group of people, and it was obvious that they were sparring.

Of course, there were also some people who were gathered at a corner of the space, sitting or standing, talking and laughing, deep in conversation.

"Not bad."

Huang Mingfeng nodded in response, feeling more certain that this unfamiliar youth had just recently arrived in the Valley of the Medicine Masters, otherwise there was no way he could not know about the training grounds of the Valley of the Medicine Masters.

"There is still some time before the Valley of the Medicine Masters takes in disciples from the Sixteen Countries of the East Valley…and I am from the previous batch of new disciples who entered after passing the test of the Valley of the Medicine Masters," Huang Mingfeng thought.

"And if he has just arrived in the Valley of the Medicine Masters, it proves that he has been specially invited by the senior leadership of the Valley of the Medicine Masters. Just as that Chen Dandan, and Hong Yunfei before her, had been specially invited by Second Elder Chen Tianhe."

Huang Mingfeng's heart skipped a beat.

In the Valley of the Medicine Masters, senior leaders of the late Connate stage and above had special authority to take in people from outside the Valley of the Medicine Masters. Of course, after taking someone in, the senior leader had to take responsibility for the person he took in, just as Hong Yunfei had been inducted into Second Elder's family after being taken specially invited in by Second Elder, becoming a disciple in Second Elder's family.

When Huang Mingfeng came around after giving it some thought, he realized that the youth in the robe that was whiter than snow had already walked ahead quite a distance, so that the training grounds were now not very far off.

Immediately, he hurried to catch up, shouting as he ran, "Brother Donghuang, wait for me!"

The training grounds at the center of the valley where the Valley of the Medicine Masters was located was at a higher elevation, and vast. Four long stone stairways surrounded it, leading to the four winding main roads of the Valley of the Medicine Masters, which in turn led to the entrance of the mountain.

"Chen Dandan!"

Taking the stone stairs to the training grounds, Zhou Donghuang swept a calm gaze around his surroundings. A moment later, it fell on one of the groups of disciples of the Valley of the Medicine Masters.

With his current visual acuity, he was able to immediately see a young lady sparring with a youth through a gap in the gathered group.

Woosh! Woosh! Woosh!

…

With some smooth footwork, the delicate and beautiful young lady dressed in a light green long-sleeved gown forced her way closer to a youth who looked somewhat younger than she. They began to engage in an evenly-matched duel, but she gradually began to gain the upper hand.

From the looks of things, it was only a matter of time before the young lady was victorious.

"Sister Dandan is really good!"

"She is worthy of being Second Elder's daughter, as she has such ability even though she only returned to the Valley of the Medicine Masters not long ago."

"She really does her father proud!"

…

The group of disciples of the Valley of the Medicine Masters gathered to watch were effusive in their praise as they watched the young lady gain the upper hand.

"Although Chen Dandan is said to have grown up in a small place, she has an uncommon martial talent, and not long after returning to the Valley of the Medicine Masters, she has already broken through successive levels of practice and has attained level-four of Qi-gathering."

When Huang Mingfeng caught up with Zhou Donghuang and saw that his gaze had fallen on Chen Dandan at the center of the group, he chimed in, "Of course, this is also because Second Elder has used a good deal of rare medicine on her."

Crash!!

As Huang Mingfeng finished, in the center of the group Chen Dandan's palm connected with great force on the youth's chest, sending him reeling back. The youth's body trembled, and blood flowed from the corners of his mouth.

"Sister Dandan, I concede defeat."

Although there was anger in the depths of the youth's gaze at being wounded to such a degree even though it was only a sparring session, he dared not let it show on his face due to his fear of the second elder who backed the young lady, and he clasped his hands in salute as he bowed humbly.

Now Chen Dandan was like a proud peacock, gazing indifferently at the youth before looking away and walking out of the group.

"Sister Dandan, wait for me!"

Two voices called out in unison as two youths left the group and followed in Chen Dandan's footsteps, as though they were two shadows following her.

However, the young lady who had been heading out of the training grounds with great strides had suddenly stopped in her tracks.

They looked to the front at once.

They saw only two youths standing not far off.

One of the youths was familiar to them. He was also a disciple of the Valley of the Medicine Masters named Huang Mingfeng, but it was the first time they had seen the handsome youth dressed in a robe whiter than snow.

"Zhou Donghuang?"

Chen Dandan had stopped suddenly because she had seen someone she never, in her wildest dreams, had imagined would appear here…

That youth who had grown up with her, her childhood playmate, Zhou Donghuang!

"How is it that you are here?" Chen Dandan asked in a cold voice, her gaze turning chilly in an instant.

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Chapter 146: Lion's Roar

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Chen Dandan's gaze never left the person before her as she spoke in a cold voice.

He was a youth dressed in a robe whiter than snow. His face had lost much of the tenderness of the handsome face in her memory and was now angular and sharp…and even more handsome and dazzling.

Besides that, the youth had grown a head taller than her in height, and she now had to tilt her head up to look at him.

As she and the youth stared at each other, she had a vague feeling that the youth was surrounded by an aura of extraordinary refinement that seemed to have come from nowhere, causing her to involuntarily feel a sense of inferiority.

Even the most outstanding among this generation of youths of the Valley of the Medicine Masters had never caused her to feel this way.

This sensation exasperated Chen Dandan extremely.

She, Chen Dandan, was the daughter of Second Elder Chen Tianhe of the Valley of the Medicine Masters, the cream of the crop of the ladies of the Valley of the Medicine Masters, an exalted position.

This Zhou Donghuang was only a country bumpkin from a small village in an inferior-level prefecture in Yunyang country of the Western Ridge of the Chu king. How did he manage to give Chen Dandan this feeling of inferiority?

"Who brought you here to the Valley of the Medicine Masters?" Chen Dandan cut in before Zhou Donghuang could speak.

In her opinion, if Zhou Donghuang were here, it could only be because he had found some way to bypass the person from the Valley of the Medicine Masters who was responsible for the country of Yunyang.

He could not possibly have entered the Valley of the Medicine Masters through the person from the Valley of the Medicine Masters who was responsible for the country of Yunyang.

This was because the person in the Valley of the Medicine Masters responsible for the country of Yunyang was none other than her father, the second elder of the Valley of the Medicine Masters, Chen Tianhe!

Faced with Chen Dandan's question, Zhou Donghuang paid her no heed, and said casually, "Chen Dandan, it seems that you have adapted well to the Valley of the Medicine Masters…and have already attained level-four of Qi-gathering."

As he finished speaking, the corners of Zhou Donghuang's mouth subconsciously curled up into a cruel smile.

Chen Dandan attaining level-four of Qi-gathering at this age was enough to create an uproar in the country of Yunyang, but in his eyes, it was not even worth mentioning!

The level of practice of his younger sister Yun Lu, who was eleven years old this year, had already far exceeded Chen Dandan's current level of practice.

"How about this? Would you be interested in sparring with me?"

There was a look of cruel mockery in Zhou Donghuang's eyes, and he looked deeply at Chen Dandan.

Faced with the "challenge" from this youth before her, Chen Dandan's expression immediately darkened. Although she was now already a level-four adept and beyond comparison to herself in the past, she knew clearly that she was not a match for the youth before her.

When she was still in the Hong family in the prefecture capital of Yunfeng prefecture, she had heard that the youth had killed the head elder Lin Tianzheng of the Lin family, a preeminent family just like the Hong family.

And that Lin Tianzheng had been a level-four adept.

Today, it had been two years since that occasion.

In two years, the youth's ability had definitely become stronger.

Even if it had not become stronger, she could not hope to match his ability from two years ago in her current state.

"Zhou Donghuang, don't be gleeful!"

Chen Dandan gave Zhou Donghuang an icy look, and said in a growl, "In the Valley of the Medicine Masters, there are many strong adepts, and people who can do you in are all around!"

Chen Dandan's speech was an admission to those around her that her ability was no match for Zhou Donghuang, and that she did not dare to fight Zhou Donghuang.

It seemed this brother Donghuang's ability was considerable…at least greater than level-five of Qi-gathering.

Huang Mingfeng, who was standing not far from Zhou Donghuang, could not help guessing in his heart as he watched Chen Dandan's reaction.

"Really?"

Zhou Donghuang swept a dismissive glance over Chen Dandan.

This time, Chen Dandan did not manage to reply to Zhou Donghuang in time. The two young men following behind Chen Dandan had already taken two steps forward, flanking her on either side, glaring ferociously at Zhou Donghuang.

"Little fellow, who on earth are you? How dare you be so disrespectful to sister Dandan!" One of the young men growled.

"Someone who is collecting a debt."

Zhou Donghuang did not spare the young man a glance, his gaze remaining fixed on Chen Dandan as he broke into a smile..

Someone collecting a debt?

The young man could not help giving a start.

"Little fellow, are you also a disciple from the Valley of the Medicine Masters? I have never seen you before. Who invited you in?" the other young man asked with a solemn expression.

In the Valley of the Medicine Masters, those who had the authority to give special invitations were all senior leaders in the middle Connate stage and above, and if the youth before them had been specially invited in, it was proof that there was a senior leader of the Valley of the Medicine Masters at the middle Connate stage backing him.

"I'm not a disciple of the Valley of the Medicine Masters," Zhou Donghuang replied indifferently, still not bothering to glance at the other young man who had questioned him, his gaze still not leaving Chen Dandan.

"And I have no interest in being part of the Valley of the Medicine Masters."

Zhou Donghuang paused and hesitated, before giving Chen Dandan a searching look. "There are some people who think that they can rely on the Valley of the Medicine Masters to back them up, seeing themselves as a phoenix even though they are sitting on a branch."

"In any case, in my eyes, the Valley of the Medicine Masters is no big deal."

"To the extent that I, Zhou Donghuang, will not even bother joining a small sect like the Valley of the Medicine Masters."

As Zhou Donghuang finished, not only Chen Dandan but also the two young men were stunned. Huang Mingfeng, who had followed Zhou Donghuang over, and the other disciples of the Valley of the Medicine Masters who had gathered to watch the commotion, were all stunned as well.

This youth was actually saying that he could not be bothered to join the Valley of the Medicine Masters?

And saying that the Valley of the Medicine Masters was a small sect?

"Big words!"

Chen Dandan laughed coldly and followed up by giving the youth a freezing look. "Zhou Donghuang, from what you are saying…you…no one brought you into the Valley of the Medicine Masters, but you came into the Valley of the Medicine Masters on your own?"

"In the Valley of the Medicine Masters, I come and go as I please, why do I need someone to accompany me?"

Zhou Donghuang smiled condescendingly.

"Zhou Donghuang!"

As Zhou Donghuang finished, Chen Dandan glared at him and raised her voice again. "Such gall, you actually dare barge into the Valley of the Medicine Masters!"

"Barging into the Valley of the Medicine Masters?"

When they heard what Chen Dandan said, the group of disciples of the Valley of the Medicine Masters who had gathered around broke into a commotion, and the looks that they gave the youth were filled with hostility.

"Little fellow, you are really quite capable…that you managed to avoid being seen by the elders of the observation towers and sneak into the Valley of the Medicine Masters!"

One of the young men beside Chen Dandan took a step forward, giving Zhou Donghuang a cold look. "We have rules here in the Valley of the Medicine Masters: a light penalty for trespassers is to have their level of practice destroyed; a severe penalty is death!"

"In view of your youth and ignorance, I'll destroy your level of practice. After that you can find your own way out of the Valley of the Medicine Masters!"

As soon as he finished, the young man's arms and legs moved without warning, and his whole person seemed to transform into a hound as he sprang at Zhou Donghuang.

"Hng——"

As the youth sprang at him, Zhou Donghuang suddenly gave a cold snort.

The snort did not seem like anything to the gathered group of disciples of the Valley of the Medicine Masters, but pierced into the young man springing at Zhou Donghuang and caused his expression to change completely, and his body trembled suddenly as he stopped in his tracks.

Crash!!

In full view of the crowd, the young man who had sprung at Zhou Donghuang crashed headfirst into the ground, skidding forward due to his momentum, completely unconscious.

Bright red blood ran from both his ears, flowing slowly and steadily like a stream.

"This is…an aural attack technique?!"

There were a good number of experienced disciples among the crowd of disciples of the Valley of the Medicine Masters, and seeing that the young man had been wounded to such a degree in the blink of an eye, their expression changed, and the looks that they gave the youth in white standing with his hands clasped behind his back were now tinged with dread.

In the instant the young man had sprung into motion, Zhou Donghuang had demonstrated an aural attack technique that he had obtained on Earth called "Lion's Roar".

Although Lion's Roar was only a second-grade technique, with Zhou Donghuang's current level of practice, he could easily kill an ordinary Qi-gathering adept.

If he had demonstrated Lion's Roar to the fullest extent of his ability, that young man would certainly be dead!

The young man was only a level-six adept of Qi-gathering.

"This…how is this possible?!"

The scene unfolding before her caused Chen Dandan's beautiful face to go pale. She never imagined that a level-six adept would be so gravely wounded and struck unconscious by just a sound from Zhou Donghuang before even approaching him.

"Aural attack technique?"

"Since when were aural attack techniques so strong? Ke Hui was a level-six adept, but he was struck unconscious at once."

"Even if the aural attack technique he demonstrated was a second-grade technique, to strike a level-six adept unconscious even if he was unprepared would mean that he is at least a level-eight adept."

"Him? A level-eight adept?"

"He looks like he is at most seventeen or eighteen years old…a seventeen year old level-eight adept? Are you kidding me?"

…

The gathered crowd of disciples of the Valley of the Medicine Masters chattered among themselves and gave Zhou Donghuang looks full of disbelief, as though they were looking at a monster.

"Level-eight of Qi-gathering?!"

Chen Dandan's expression changed, and the other young man beside her discreetly wiped away a trickle of cold sweat, giving silent thanks that he had not been the one to step forward first.

Otherwise, the one lying on the ground now would not be Ke Hui, but him.

His level of practice was similar to Ke Hui's.

"Go and bring Elder Li here!"

Chen Dandan took a deep breath and suppressed her roiling emotions with an effort, instructing the young man beside her in a low voice, "Tell Elder Li that there is a trespasser in the Valley of the Medicine Masters!"

The Elder Li that Chen Dandan spoke of was a Connate-stage adept, the elder of the Valley of the Medicine Masters who was responsible for maintaining order and discipline in the training grounds. His accommodation was near the training grounds.

He would occasionally come to the training grounds to observe, but most of the time he would be found practicing at his accommodation.

"Very well," the young man acknowledged hurriedly.

After the young man left, the look Chen Dandan gave Zhou Donghuang contained an additional portion of dread, but her gaze was just as chilly and her expression just as icy. "Zhou Donghuang, I could never have imagined that you have already attained level-eight of Qi-gathering."

"It's a pity…even if you have attained level-eight of Qi-gathering, today you will surely die here!"

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Chapter 147: Connate Stage Youth

Although Chen Dandan maintained a fierce demeanor, it was actually a facade.

Right now, the youth before her was already a level-eight adept of Qi-gathering, and if he made a move against her before Elder Li arrived, she would be unable to defend herself.

"You're truly the daughter of the second elder of the Valley of the Medicine Masters, deciding the fate of others so readily."

Zhou Donghuang smiled coldly and took a step forward, and began to walk towards Chen Dandan. With each step, it seemed that he was stepping on Chen Dandan's chest, making Chen Dandan's expression change.

"You…what do you think you're doing?!"

As Chen Dandan's expression changed, she looked at Zhou Donghuang in dread.

"As I said earlier…I am here to collect a debt."

In an instant, Zhou Donghuang was in front of Chen Dandan, breaking into a smile that showed both rows of teeth.

It was a brilliant smile, but it frightened Chen Dandan into a fit of trembling.

As the childhood playmate of this youth before her, she naturally knew that when the youth showed a smile like that, he was anything but happy, and was actually showing that he was extremely furious.

In the instant that Chen Dandan's expression changed once again, Zhou Donghuang flicked his arm out, striking at Chen Dandan's chest with his palm.

"No—"

Chen Dandan's expression changed completely. With her level of practice, she was completely unable to dodge Zhou Donghuang's palm in time.

"Stop…"

Several of the disciples of the Valley of the Medicine Masters who were gathered around watching were level-eight adepts, stronger in ability, who had originally intended to stop the youth who was attacking Chen Dandan. But when they saw a foot of green haze welling out of the youth's palm, it was as though each had been savagely throttled, and their voices died in their throats.

Out of the two words "stop it," they only managed "stop."

Crash!!

Zhou Donghuang's palm landed on Chen Dandan's chest, and the green haze from the youth's palm dissipated with the sound, while Chen Dandan was sent reeling two steps back from the blow. Her face alternated between turning red and green, and trickles of blood leaked from the corners of her mouth.

"Connate…Connate-stage adept?!"

"Earlier he was only…using his qi?"

…

Now the attention of the gathered crowd of disciples of the Valley of the Medicine Masters was no longer on the wounded Chen Dandan. Their gazes fell in unison on the youth dressed in robes whiter than snow.

When the youth had struck out with his palm, there had been a destructive green haze coming from his palm, easily a foot long.

This was the hallmark of the early Connate stage.

This youth who looked seventeen or eighteen years old was actually an early Connate-stage adept?

"Is he really a Connate-stage adept? A Connate-stage adept striking sister Chen Dandan with his palm, and only managing to drive her back two steps?"

"Even a level-eight adept of Qi-gathering, never mind a Connate-stage adept, would not possibly drive her back only two steps with a casual blow from his palm."

…

At the same time, some people began to be suspicious that the blow from Zhou Donghuang's palm only drove Chen Dandan back two steps, but basically felt that Zhou Donghuang had deliberately held back.

"You…you destroyed my meridians?"

Chen Dandan was shocked that although Zhou Donghuang had expended his qi, when she subconsciously tried to activate the qi within her body, she noticed that the qi within her body was dispersing in all directions, and she was unable to gather it.

At the same time, she felt waves of sharp pain coming from the meridians in her body.

With Zhou Donghuang's palm landing on her with a not-great force, all in all, it was not difficult for her to guess that the blow from Zhou Donghuang was not intended to wound her, but to destroy her meridians!

Immediately, a look of despair came over Chen Dandan's eyes.

She could not be more clear what having her meridians destroyed implied.

It implied that she would become a martial invalid for the rest of her life!

She thought that by becoming the daughter of the second elder of the Valley of the Medicine Masters, she could fly to the top branch and become a phoenix…

She never imagined that just when her level of practice was advancing at an incredible rate, promising that she would attain the Connate stage in this lifetime, her childhood playmate from former times would seek her out and directly destroy her meridians.

With her meridians destroyed, there would be nothing she could do, even in the Valley of the Medicine Masters where there was no lack of powerful adepts.

"He…destroyed Sister Chen Dandan's meridians?"

"My god! He is offending the second elder backing Sister Chen Dandan to death!"

"I was wondering why he held back earlier…so his blow was not intended to wound Sister Chen Dandan, but was intended to destroy Sister Dandan's level of practice!"

"If I were Sister Dandan, and if I had a choice…I would rather be so gravely wounded that I would be lying on my bed for a few months than have my level of practice destroyed."

"In the face of a choice like this…anyone would probably choose to be bedridden for a few months, wouldn't he?"

…

The faces of the gathered crowd of disciples of the Valley of the Medicine Masters showed expressions of shock. They could never have imagined that the youth before them would be so daring, destroying Chen Dandan's level of practice with his first attack.

It must be stated that Chen Dandan was no ordinary person.

She was the daughter of the second elder of the Valley of the Medicine Masters, Chen Tianhe!

Moreover, because the second elder of the Valley of the Medicine Masters, Chen Tianhe, previously had neither a son nor a daughter, he doted on his long-lost daughter, Chen Dandan.

This was also the reason why Chen Dandan had been able to attain level-four of Qi-gathering not long after arriving at the Valley of the Medicine Masters.

The second elder had spent a considerable amount of rare and valuable herbs on his daughter, which showed his love for his daughter.

The important thing was this: The second elder of the Valley of the Medicine Masters was a middle Connate-stage adept!

Even if the youth before them were an early Connate-stage adept, he could not possibly be a match for the second elder of the Valley of the Medicine Masters.

"This…this…"

When the disciple of the Valley of the Medicine Masters, Huang Mingfeng, took a second look at the youth in white standing nearby with his back to him, his eyes widened, and an expression of shock and wonder came over his face.

He never imagined: The youth before him was actually an early Connate-stage adept.

Furthermore, he could never have imagined that the youth before him would destroy Chen Dandan's level of practice once he struck.

This was as good as offending the second elder of the Valley of the Medicine Masters to death!

"Zhou Donghang, damn you!"

When Chen Dandan looked at the youth again, she wailed like a banshee and sprang towards the youth, all claws and teeth.

In that moment, she completely forgot that the youth had shown how he exuded qi earlier.

There was only one thought in her mind, revenge!

Crash!!

This time, Zhou Donghuang did not activate his qi, but kicked out casually, sending the onrushing Chen Dandan flying.

Even without using his qi, Zhou Donghuang possessed more than a thousand jin of maximum muscular strength, making it child's play to deal with Chen Dandan, whose meridians had been destroyed.

"Wah——"

Chen Dandan fell to the ground, more severely wounded than before, After spitting out a mouthful of fresh blood, stared with a look of bloodthirsty vengeance at the youth whose white clothes had not even a speck of dust, saying through gritted teeth, "Zhou Donghuang, you destroyed my level of practice. My father will definitely not let you off!"

"I will get my father to capture you, and I will flay you alive personally!"

Chen Dandan was now completely consumed by vengeance as she screamed hysterically, as though she had completely forgotten that the youth was in full control of the scene before her.

"Flay me alive?"

Zhou Donghuang smiled, and his expression turned frosty. "Do you believe…that before your father arrives, I could kill you?"

Chen Dandan was so frightened by Zhou Donghuang's words that she quivered, her expression changing completely.

At that moment, she realized that the youth held a total advantage, to the extent that he could kill her before her father arrived.

"Elder Li is here!"

Just at that moment, there was a commotion in the crowd of onlookers, and a group of disciples of the Valley of the Medicine Masters parted to create a path.

An old man dressed in a pale green long robe strode through, with the young men who had been with Chen Dandan acting as her protectors jostling around him.

"Elder Li!"

At the sight of the old man, Chen Dandan's eyes lit up, even as she wore a savage expression, and she appealed to the old man urgently, "This Zhou Donghuang not only trespassed in the Valley of the Medicine Masters, he also wounded Ke Hui, and destroyed my meridians!"

"What?!"

When the old man, who appeared relaxed and easygoing at first, heard what Chen Dandan said, his expression changed completely.

He already knew that Ke Hui had been wounded.

But he never imagined that during the period of time he took to arrive, this youth who trespassed in the Valley of the Medicine Masters would actually destroy Chen Dandan's level of practice!

Chen Dandan was no ordinary disciple of the Valley of the Medicine Masters. She was the daughter of the second elder of the Valley of the Medicine Masters.

"Elder Li, he is an early Connate-stage adept. You must restrain him. Don't let him get away!"

Chen Dandan gave a timely reminder as the old man's expression changed.

Although she did not want to believe that the youth was an early Connate-stage adept, the meter of qi exuding from his palm when he struck earlier was proof that the youth had already attained the early Connate stage.

"Connate stage?"

As Chen Dandan finished, not only the old man who had just arrived, but the young men who were jostling him, were all stunned speechless.

They looked at the youth before them with disbelief in their eyes.

"Sister Dandan, are you mistaken? Look at him! At most seventeen or eighteen years old, a Connate-stage adept?" the young man spoke up doubtfully.

"When he attacked me earlier, he exuded a foot of qi. Everyone here saw it clearly."

Chen Dandan was not surprised by the young man's doubt, and she replied stormily while looking at the youth hatefully.

"Sister Dandan is correct! He is indeed a Connate-stage adept."

"When he attacked earlier, he exuded a meter of qi, He is an early Connate-stage adept."

…

The crowd of disciples of the Valley of the Medicine Masters spoke up one by one in unanimous confirmation. Even if the old man and the young man refused to believe it, they were forced to believe.

"Elder Li, you are equal to him, an early Connate-stage adept, and might not be able to handle him. You restrain him. Zhong Yuntao, you go and get my father here!"

Chen Dandan told the old man and the young man.

The young man acknowledged and left, and the old man hurriedly took several steps forward, staring ferociously at the youth. "You, who on earth are you? Why did you trespass into the Valley of the Medicine Masters?"

"Moreover, why did you injure my disciple of the Valley of the Medicine Masters Ke Hui, and destroy my disciple of the Valley of the Medicine Masters Chen Dandan's level of practice?"

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Chapter 148: The Second Elder of the Valley of the Medicine Masters

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

The old man stared ferociously at the youth, and once he spoke, it was a steady stream of questions.

Of course, while he was asking his questions, his gaze subconsciously betrayed an expression of dread.

A Connate-stage youth.

Someone of this level had never appeared before in the history of the Valley of the Medicine Masters.

Because of this, he was deeply afraid that the youth before him was from somewhere that was more powerful than the Valley of the Medicine Masters. That level of power was not something that the Valley of the Medicine Masters could afford to provoke.

"Who am I?"

Zhou Donghuang looked the old man over, and glanced at the young lady who had just struggled to her feet with difficulty and was staring at him vengefully with a look of loathing. "She knows best who I am, why don't you ask her?" he said casually.

"Oh?"

The old man heard and looked at the young lady. "Young Mistress Dandan, you know who he is?"

"Of course I know!"

Chen Dandan gritted her teeth and said, "He is from the country of Yunyang."

"Moreover, he is someone born and bred in a small town in an inferior-level prefecture of the Western Ridge of the Chu king in the country of Yunyang …he is someone I grew up with."

"Elder Li, you don't have to worry, he has no personal background, only good luck that he has this level of practice at nineteen years of age."

As Chen Dandan finished her speech in a single breath, everyone present, including the old man, sank into a deathly silence.

Now all the disciples of the Valley of the Medicine Masters had come over and joined the crowd.

So after they fell silent, the entire training grounds was so quiet that if anyone had thrown a needle to the ground, they would have been able to hear the needle clearly.

After a moment, a disciple of the Valley of the Medicine Masters regained his wits, and exhaling a breath of cold air, asked, "It can't be possible …someone from somewhere so small, attaining the Connate stage at only nineteen years old?"

"In the history of the Valley of the Medicine Masters, wasn't the youngest Connate-stage adept more than thirty years old?"

"Sister Dandan has no need to lie to us."

"I also believe what Sister Dandan says. It's just that, it's so difficult to imagine, how could someone from such a small place achieve this level of practice at such an age?"

"Someone from a backwater like that, attaining the Connate stage at nineteen years of age …unless he had some fortunate encounter!"

"Even a treasure left behind by a supreme Connate-stage adept would not allow him to do this. Unless it is …a Primal Core adept!"

…

As the crowd of disciples of the Valley of the Medicine Masters debated among themselves, their gazes, filled with burning desire, very quickly fell again on the youth.

Who would not want a treasure left behind by a Primal Core adept?

Even an adept who had attained the supreme Connate stage would be interested in a treasure left behind by a Primal Core adept, because it would affect the possibility of them smoothly attaining the Primal Core stage and becoming a Primal Core adept!

"A Primal Core adept?"

A flicker of despair crossed Chen Dandan's face, and she looked at the youth again with intense jealousy and hatred.

In that instant, she understood completely.

That was why this martial invalid of the past was suddenly able to practice and attain the Connate stage in two short years!

It was because he obtained a treasure from a Primal Core adept.

Moreover, he probably obtained it not long before she left the Magnolia Guild of Qingshan town.

No wonder he could defeat the guild master of the Sunset Guild Hong Yue, a level-one adept of Qi-gathering, with one punch. It was because he had already obtained the treasure left behind by a Primal Core adept by that time.

Now there was a sliver of regret in Chen Dandan's heart.

If she had known earlier, she would have left the Magnolia Guild later, and might even have managed to snatch the treasure left behind by the Primal Core adept from the youth's hands.

"If I had been able to snatch the treasure left behind by the Primal Core adept from his hands …now it would be me instead of him who attained the Connate stage!"

At this thought, Chen Dandan looked back at the youth with an even more intense look of hatred and jealousy, while at the same time bitterly regretting that she had not been able to snatch the treasure left behind by the Primal Core adept before leaving the Magnolia Guild.

"A treasure left behind by a Primal Core adept?"

Even as an elder of the Valley of the Medicine Masters and an early Connate-stage adept, the look he gave the youth was full of greed.

He was now eighty-one years old. With his martial talent, there was no hope of the Primal Core stage, and he had at most twenty or thirty years of life left.

However, if he could obtain the treasure left behind by a Primal Core adept, he would have the chance to attain the Primal Core stage and become a Primal Core adept, and the upper limit of his life would be raised to three hundred years.

At this moment, he dearly wished to take for himself this treasure left behind by a Primal Core adept that the youth had obtained.

In the midst of all that was going on, the old man made a decision. "Although he is also an early Connate-stage adept, he might not necessarily be a match for me …even if he can fight me to a standstill, I am entirely capable of discussing privately with him the possibility of fleeing with him from the Valley of the Medicine Masters before Second Elder arrives."

"He only needs to agree to share the benefits left behind by the Primal Core adept with me."

The old man was clear that even if the treasure and benefits left behind by the Primal Core adept obtained by the youth were to fall to the Valley of the Medicine Masters, he would not receive a share of it, given his position in the Valley of the Medicine Masters.

Just as he was not worthy of practicing the first-grade techniques in the Valley of the Medicine Masters.

Only the senior leaders who were at the middle Connate stage and above were worthy of practicing the first-grade techniques in the Valley of the Medicine Masters.

Swoosh!!

Acting on his thoughts, the old man's legs flickered, and seemed to transform into something sinister. He rushed towards the youth like a shadow, extending and withdrawing his arms as he formed his right hand into a fist and launched it forward.

Qi exuded from the old man's body for a foot or more, deeper than the qi that Zhou Donghuang exuded, making it obvious that he was at a higher level of practice than Zhou Donghuang.

In any case, faced with the ferocious onslaught of the old man, Zhou Donguang looked calmly at him, the qi within his body not stirring, his white clothes fluttering in the wind.

"This Zhou Donghuang, why …"

Many of the disciples of the Valley of the Medicine Masters saw the youth seem to be daydreaming and were beginning to wonder what was happening. Before they could complete their thought, they saw the old man reach Zhou Donghuang, qi gushing from his fist as he threw it at the youth, like a pale blue comet flashing past.

Crash!!

Just as many onlookers felt that the youth was about to be struck by the old man, there was a loud sound, and the only thing they saw was qi pouring out from under the youth's feet, over a meter of it, and with a flicker of his legs, his whole person rose up two meters into the air.

In that instant, the crowd of disciples of the Valley of the Medicine Masters was dumbfounded.

Before their very eyes, Zhou Donghuang seemed to be stepping on a ladder made of thin air, stepping two meters into the air, his whole body light as a bird.

"First-grade swiftness technique?!"

As the old man's fist connected with the air, his eyes widened, and he could not help crying out.

His cry seemed like a stone causing a thousand ripples, shocking the crowd of disciples of the Valley of the Medicine Masters one by one into expressions of shock. "Is it really a first-grade swiftness technique?"

"We were wondering what kind of fantastic technique this is? So it is a first-grade swiftness technique. We understand now."

"Although the Valley of the Medicine Masters has first-grade techniques, those few first-grade techniques do not include swiftness techniques."

…

Just when the crowd of disciples of the Valley of the Medicine Masters, including Chen Dandan, realized that what Zhou Donghuang had demonstrated was a first-grade swiftness technique, Zhou Donghuang, who had risen into the air by stepping on the Cloud-scaling Ladder, landed at that moment right behind the old man.

In the moment that it took the old man to turn swiftly around, Zhou Donguang had already calmly pushed out a palm, the abundant qi accumulating like waves before the eyes of everyone present, meeting the old man's hastily thrust palm.

This was the first-grade technique, wave-stacking strength.

Two layers of qi, each a meter thick, collided like a dazzling burst of fireworks.

The next moment.

"No—!"

Following the old man's panicked shriek, the stacked waves of qi easily extinguished the qi from his fist.

Ka-chak!!

There was the sound of bones breaking, but it was the arm that the old man had used to attack Zhou Donghuang that was cleanly folded backward, with the old man's shriek accompanying it.

Crash!!

Still shrieking, the old man's body flew backward, crashing heavily to the ground, fresh blood spurting from his mouth.

"Elder Li …is defeated?"

"This Zhou Donghuang's qi is obviously not as concentrated as Elder Li's, but he was able to defeat Elder Li with one blow from his palm. Could the palm technique he demonstrated also be a first-grade technique?"

"Isn't it obvious? Among techniques of the same grade, swiftness techniques are the most valuable, and this Zhou Donghuang has a first-grade swiftness technique that even the Valley of the Medicine Masters does not have. How is it strange that he has other first-grade techniques?"

"It seems this is a technique left behind by the Primal Core adept!"

…

The old man's defeat was unexpected by everyone present.

However, everyone present looked at Zhou Donghuang with an even more intense look of desire, as though looking at an invaluable treasure.

Swoosh!!

At the sound of a swiftly onrushing wind, the gaze of everyone at the training grounds was directed in unison up into the sky.

There they saw an enormous flying demon rushing at great speed towards them, reaching the air above the training grounds in an instant.

This flying demon was was a completely greenish-gray giant condor, and its fully outstretched wingspan was easily ten meters, making it impressive and intimidating.

This giant condor was another of the Great Consummation flying demons in the Valley of the Medicine Masters, a green cloud condor.

It was also the mount of the second elder of the Valley of the Medicine Masters, Chen Tianhe.

"Father!"

At that moment, Chen Dandan raised her head and looked at the figure on the back of the green cloud condor which was circling in the air with bloodshot eyes, shouting loudly, "Your daughter's level of practice has been destroyed, you must avenge her!"

"Descend."

When the middle-aged man standing on the green cloud condor with his hands clasped behind his back heard Chen Dandan's cry, his stormy expression immediately became even darker, as though it was about to drip water.

At his command, his legs giving the back of the green cloud condor a shake, the green cloud condor flapped its wings, landing slowly on the training grounds, raising a cloud of dust as it landed.

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Chapter 149: Like Father Like Daughter

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

As the green cloud condor landed on the training grounds, the middle-aged man standing on it with his hands clasped behind his back leapt to the ground, three feet of green haze gushing from his feet, cushioning him as he landed soundly..

Exuding three feet of qi was the hallmark of a middle Connate-stage adept.

The middle-aged man was of average build, his stern face like a knife, with prominent cheekbones, his eyes sharp and alert like an eagle's.

Besides this, he had a hooked nose like an eagle's beak. Standing there, staring at Zhou Donghuang from a distance, he made Zhou Donghuang feel like an eagle demon was staring at him.

"Father!"

As the middle-aged man landed, Chen Dandan went to meet him, twin streams of tears falling from her eyes. "Your daughter is useless. I have wasted all the effort you have spent on me all this time!"

"From today onwards, I am just a martial invalid, with no means to make you proud."

Chen Dandan rushed forward straight into the arms of the middle-aged man and hugged him tightly, twitching violently as she cried her heart out.

The middle-aged man was Chen Dandan's biological father, the second elder of the Valley of the Medicine Masters, Chen Tianhe.

Chen Tianhe held a high position in the Valley of the Medicine Masters, and was in charge of supervising and liaising with seven of the Sixteen Countries of the East Valley, including the country of Yunyang.

Now, Chen Tianhe's gaze left the youth and fell on the young lady in his arms, the severity of his gaze dissipating and replaced by a deep look of tender love.

"Dandan, don't cry, let me take a look."

Chen Tianhe did a physical check of Chen Dandan as he spoke, and when he confirmed that the meridians in Chen Dandan's body had been utterly destroyed, his expression darkened completely.

In that moment, he was certain: his daughter's level of practice had been destroyed completely.

Moreover, all the meridians in the body had been destroyed, with no possibility of recovery. Even a Primal Core adept would be helpless in this situation!

In an instant, Chen Tianhe's gaze followed the path created through the crowd and landed once again on the youth, full of cold murder.

"You are that piece of trash Zhou Donghuang that my daughter mentioned to me earlier?"

Chen Tianhe said in a cold voice, "You dare destroy my daughter's level of practice? If you don't explain yourself, you can stay in the Valley of the Medicine Masters forever."

As soon as he finished speaking, an overwhelming look of cold murder rose in Chen Tianhe's eyes.

Although Chen Tianhe was still some distance away from Zhou Donghuang, the entire training grounds was completely silent, so even though his voice was not very loud, it carried clearly..

"Explanation?"

Chen Tianhe looked as though he was about to devour someone, but Zhou Donghuang remained calm, and his voice was even. "You, what are you? When I, Zhou Donghuang, do something, why should I give you an explanation?"

Such arrogance!

As the youth's voice died away, the same thought rose unbidden in the minds of everyone present, which was that the youth was far too arrogant.

The person who had come was not someone that Elder Li of the Valley of the Medicine Masters could match up to.

Elder Li was only an early Connate-stage adept, and had not practiced first-grade techniques, which was why he was defeated by the youth.

But the person who had arrived was the second elder of the Valley of the Medicine Masters, not only a middle Connate-stage adept, but also someone who had practiced the first-grade techniques of the Valley of the Medicine Masters.

Although the youth was strong, he was only an early Connate-stage adept, and was no match for the second elder.

Seeing how arrogant the youth was before the second elder of the Valley of the Medicine Masters, they looked once more at the youth together with pity in their eyes.

"Fine, fine …fine!"

Seeing that Zhou Donghuang not only spoke arrogantly but gazed at him with a look of condescension, Chen Tianhe was vexed to the point of speechlessness.

"In my whole life so far, this is the first time that I, Chen Tianhe, have seen someone as arrogant as you!"

When Chen Tianhe spoke again, his voice was even colder, as though the temperature of the surrounding air had dropped several degrees, making one feel as though they had entered a freezer.

"Dandan, your father will avenge you."

When Chen Tianhe returned his gaze to Chen Dandan, he suppressed the rage that was threatening to explode from inside him, speaking gently to her, but his voice was somewhat hoarse from suppressing his emotions.

"Father."

Chen Dandan looked up, a frosty expression on her tear-stained face. "Capture him, and after you destroy his level of practice, give him to me to kill."

"I want to flay him alive!"

"If he will cooperate and hand over the treasure left behind by the Primal Core adept, I will grant him a quick death. If he refuses to cooperate, I will cut the flesh from his body one piece at a time, and feed it to the dogs before his eyes!"

Chen Dandan's tone was even colder than Chen Tianhe's, and as her voice rang out, it was as though the entire training grounds was plunged into winter.

"Dandan, you are still thinking very thoroughly. If you had not mentioned it, I would have forgotten all about the treasure left behind by the Primal Core adept that he has."

Although the disciple of the Valley of the Medicine Masters who had gone to report to Chen Tianhe earlier had mentioned that Zhou Donghuang had obtained some treasure left behind by a Primal Core adept, by the time Chen Tianhe had arrived at the scene and been so thoroughly vexed by Zhou Donghuang, he had completely forgotten about this.

It was only when Chen Dandan mentioned it that he recalled it.

This youth had somehow managed to obtain a treasure left behind by a Primal Core adept, so naturally should not be killed straightaway. Even if he were to be killed, it would be after he handed over the treasure left behind by the Primal Core adept.

"Zhou Donghuang!"

At this time, Chen Dandan stepped out of Chen Tianhe's embrace, and looked at Zhou Donghuang, her eyes gleaming coldly, as she said icily, "I remember …that day, when I left the Magnolia Guild, you told me that you hoped I would not come to regret my actions."

"Do I recall correctly?" Chen Dandan asked.

"Correct."

Zhou Donghuang nodded indifferently.

"Thinking back on it, you said that to me because you had already obtained the treasure left behind by the Primal Core adept, am I right?"

When Dandan did not wait for Zhou Donghuang to reply to her questioned and continued, "If I had only that small preeminent Hong family to back me up, perhaps I would regret."

"But now, I am the daughter of the second elder of the Valley of the Medicine Masters. And my father, the second elder of the Valley of the Medicine Masters, Chen Tianhe, can easily slaughter you!"

"Regarding what you said then …I will reaffirm it: I, Chen Dandan, will never regret!"

At this, a cold smile rose at the corners of Chen Dandan's mouth, and the look of hate and murder in her eyes became more intense again.

"Is that so?"

Hearing what Chen Dandan had to say, Zhou Donghuang smiled casually, and glanced again at Chen Tianhe. "It seems you are very confident in your father."

"Of course!"

Chen Dandan raised her head confidently like a proud peacock. "My father is not only the second elder of the Valley of the Medicine Masters, but is furthermore a middle Connate-stage adept."

"Don't think that since you defeated Elder Li there is no one in the Valley of the Medicine Masters who can put you in your place. In the Valley of the Medicine Masters, although there are not many people who can defeat you, there are enough."

"And my father is one such person!"

As Chen Dandan's voice died away, Chen Tianhe's legs were already moving, walking towards the youth in the distance. "Nineteen years old, and at the early Connate stage. If you had not had these accomplishments because you obtained some treasure left behind by a Primal Core adept, you would be the absolute tyrant of all gifted adepts!"

"That someone like you from a small remote place in the country of Yunyang could obtain a treasure left behind by a Primal Core adept and still be so accomplished …if you gave it to any one of the disciples of the Valley of the Medicine Masters, we would have far exceeded you in our accomplishments!"

"Giving that kind of treasure to you is a waste!"

"If you are sensible, hand it over now and I will tell my daughter to leave your corpse intact!"

As Chen Tianhe finished speaking indifferently, he entered the crowd and stood facing the youth, staring furiously at him.

"Are you done?"

Zhou Donghuang raised an eyebrow lazily, sweeping an indifferent gaze over Chen Tianhe. With a shake of his right arm, a small metal sphere rolled out from his sleeve.

Zhou Donghuang toyed casually with the small metal sphere in his hand as he looked playfully at Chen Tianhe. "Chen Tianhe, is it?"

"You should know that, when she was five, your daughter Chen Dandan was wandering the streets, orphaned and destitute, almost starving to death …and my mother took her home out of the wind and snow, fed her and clothed her."

"You should also know that when she was nine, she had a chronic illness …and my mother braved the wind and rain to scale sheer cliffs at great risk to her own life to pick herbs to help her recover, and saved her life."

"Also …"

Seeing that Zhou Donghuang was about to continue, Chen Tianhe interrupted him coldly. "Your mother helped my Dandan probably because she knew that she was the daughter of Chen Tianhe and wanted to curry favor with me."

"Don't speak of your mother as though she was so noble …and don't use your mother's pitiful efforts to paint Dandan as ungrateful," Chen Tianhe said indifferently.

Zhou Donghuang was momentarily stunned at Chen Tianhe's words, but quickly regained his wits and could not help laughing. "Previously, I had only heard of the saying 'like father like daughter' …today I, Zhou Donghuang, consider myself to have seen it firsthand."

"So Chen Dandan's ungratefulness comes from you."

Cold light shone from Zhou Donghuang's eyes.

"Stop talking nonsense!"

Chen Tianhe smiled coldly as he spoke, an icy look coming into his eyes. "Since you don't intend to surrender yourself and hand over the treasure left behind by the Primal Core adept, I will capture you myself, and hand you over to my daughter to do with as she pleases!"

As soon as Chen Tianhe finished speaking, qi three feet deep burst forth from his whole body, and with a quiver of his body, he seemed to transform into a ball of blue fireworks rushing straight at Zhou Donghuang, his savage onslaught like an army of ten thousand charging the enemy.

"Hng!"

Faced with Chen Tianhe's savage onslaught, which had already covered half the distance between them, Zhou Donghuang merely grunted lightly once more.

The next moment, a foot of qi poured into the small metal sphere in his right hand.

In an instant, following the infusion of one foot of qi, the small metal sphere, or more accurately, a sword sphere, transformed into a small metal sword that glittered all over with a visible cold light.

Swish!!

With a wave of Zhou Donghuang's arm, the small metal sword sliced through the air like a comet flashing briefly through the night sky.

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Chapter 150: Commotion in the Valley of the Medicine Masters

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Crash!!

As the crowd looked on, the middle-aged man who had been charging ferociously toward the youth suddenly fell head-first to the ground, and his body skidded forward along the ground for some distance with the force of his momentum before it stopped.

The three feet of green haze that had burst forth from his body died away, just like a fire that had been extinguished.

The prior scene of the disciple of the Valley of the Medicine Masters who had stood up for Chen Dandan was playing out again, but this time it caused an even greater shock, causing all the disciples of the Valley of the Medicine Masters present to stare in stupefaction. There was a deathly silence over the whole scene.

Pak!

It was only when the small metal sword flew whistling back, transforming back into the sword sphere as it returned to Zhou Donghuang's hand, that the crowd of disciples of the Valley of the Medicine Masters began to regain their wits, exhaling a breath of cold air in unison.

"Second elder … is dead?"

Under the gaze of the crowd of disciples of the Valley of the Medicine Masters, the middle-aged man who had been charging forward till he had mysteriously fallen dead was lying on the ground with no trace of life, a ghastly wound between his brows, fresh blood still streaming from the wound.

Evidently, this was the fatal wound.

"Just now, I think I heard a brief whistling sound like a sword!"

"I heard it too."

"You all probably didn't notice earlier … that thing in Zhou Donghuang's hand, that small metal sphere, suddenly transformed into a small sword like a dagger which he threw at Second Elder? I think Second Elder was killed by that small metal sword."

"If that was really the case, the speed of that small metal sword had to be incredibly fast. I actually did not see anything."

…

As the whispering continued, the gazes of the crowd left the corpse of Chen Tianhe, the second elder of the Valley of the Medicine Masters and landed on the youth.

The youth was dressed in clothes whiter than snow, his left hand held behind his back, his right hand toying with a small metal sphere.

Earlier many people had noticed the small metal sphere in the youth's hand, but they never imagined that sphere could transform into a sword that could kill the second elder of the Valley of the Medicine Masters in a single strike.

"He … he … "

When the youth who had brought Zhou Donghuang there, the disciple of the Valley of the Medicine Masters Huang Mingfeng, saw that Zhou Donghuang had killed the second elder of the Valley of the Medicine Masters Chen Tianhe, he was so frightened that he unconsciously took several steps back, as though he were afraid that others would draw a connection between him and Zhou Donghuang.

"He … is done for."

Although Zhou Donghuang had displayed an extraordinary level of ability and killed the second elder of the Valley of the Medicine Masters, the second elder of the Valley of the Medicine Masters was not the strongest in the Valley of the Medicine Masters in terms of ability.

That is to say, there were several other middle Connate-stage adepts in the Valley of the Medicine Masters, as well as the Valley Master of the Valley of the Medicine Masters who was a late Connate-stage adept and was acknowledged as the most powerful adept in the area surrounding the Sixteen Countries of the East Valley!

"Father?"

As the gazes of the crowd of disciples of the Valley of the Medicine Masters, as well as that of the elder of the Valley of the Medicine Masters whose arm had been maimed, fell on the sword sphere in the youth's hand, Chen Dandan came around from the shocking scene before her eyes.

"Father!!"

When she realized that her father Chen Tianhe had been killed by the youth, Chen Dandan let out an earth-shaking wail, and rushed to the side of Chen Tianhe's corpse, despair flooding her eyes.

Chen Dandan was actually apathetic towards her biological father who had suddenly appeared.

If he had been a beggar, Chen Dandan would not have acknowledged him even if she were beaten to death.

But because he was the second elder of the Valley of the Medicine Masters, of such exalted status in the Sixteen Countries of the East Valley, Chen Dandan was happy to acknowledge him as her father and to put on a show of being an obedient daughter.

Chen Dandan's sorrow and pain were not because of Chen Tianhe's death, but because she had suddenly lost the greatest pillar of strength in her life.

Even if the Valley of the Medicine Masters allowed her to remain in the Valley of the Medicine Masters following Chen Tianhe's death, as a gesture of respect for him, Chen Dandan's status in the Valley of the Medicine Masters would take an abyssal plunge.

Chen Dandan could not accept this reality.

After confirming that Chen Tianhe was truly dead, Chen Dandan suddenly jerked her head up, looking at the youth standing nearby with a savage glare as she said through gritted teeth, "Zhou Donghuang, you dare kill my father? The Valley of the Medicine Masters will not let you off!"

And as though accompanying Chen Dandan's words, that elder of the Valley of the Medicine Masters whose arm had been maimed by Zhou Donghuang used his right arm to take a small bamboo cylinder from his pocket, and a signal flare rose into the sky and exploded in the air.

Bang!!

This signal flare was something that only the Connate-stage-and-above seniors of the Valley of the Medicine Masters possessed, and each of them had only one. They could only request a new one upon expending the one that they already had.

This kind of signal flare was only to be used when there was mortal danger.

Although this elder of the Valley of the Medicine Masters was in no mortal danger, this was the only way he could warn the other powerful Connate-stage adepts of the Valley of the Medicine Masters.

"Elder Li has sent the signal flare."

"Today, this youth is going to have his wings clipped."

"Once the signal flare is sent out, even the Valley Master will rush over if he sees it."

…

Just as the crowd of disciples of the Valley of the Medicine Masters were shocked by the signal flare, everywhere throughout the Valley of the Medicine Masters those who had heard the signal flare or seen the fireworks bursting out of the signal flare were shocked into action.

Especially the senior leadership of the Valley of the Medicine Masters who were Connate-stage adepts and above.

Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!

Four huge figures swooped out from the four observation towers around the Valley of the Medicine Masters, heading directly for the location of the signal flare.

"It's the training grounds!"

The four huge figures belonged to four flying demons, and from their huge figures and speed, they were evidently Great Consummation flying demons of Qi-gathering.

On the backs of each of these four flying demons stood a middle-aged or old man. The gaze of these four people was especially keen as they focused on the training grounds in the middle of the valley where the Valley of the Medicine Masters was located.

At the same time, throughout the Valley of the Medicine Masters, many figures rushed out, some riding demon mounts, others running at top speed.

These people without exception were Connate-stage adepts of the Valley of the Medicine Masters.

The signal flare that was sent was a distress signal sent by a Connate-stage adept of the Valley of the Medicine Masters, and it would be useless for someone below the Connate-stage to go over.

Therefore, the people rushing to the training grounds were all Connate-stage adepts of the Valley of the Medicine Masters.

…

At the training grounds.

Chen Dandan stared vengefully at the youth, her cold gaze cutting like a knife, as though she would dearly like to slice the youth into a thousand pieces and chop his corpse into a thousand parts!

"Zhou Donghuang, you may have destroyed me today, but you can forget about living!" Chen Dandan said coldly.

"Really?"

Zhou Donghuang merely smiled indifferently at Chen Dandan's words, with no hint of acknowledgement.

His demeanor was greatly puzzling to the crowd of disciples of the Valley of the Medicine Masters that saw it. "This youth not only has no intention of fleeing, but has a look of self-confidence on his face … could he possibly have something up his sleeve that would not be afraid of all the Connate-stage adepts in the Valley of the Medicine Masters?

"As I see it, he does not know the strength of the Valley of the Medicine Masters!"

"Does he really think that just because he can kill Second Elder with some underhanded means there is no one his equal in the Valley of the Medicine Masters? How naive!"

"If he had not used underhanded means, and if Second Elder had not been careless and unprepared, he might not have won."

"That's natural. He is only an early Connate-stage adept, and Second Elder was, after all, a middle Connate-stage adept!"

…

Although many of the disciples of the Valley of the Medicine Masters were puzzled as to where the youth's sudden confidence was from, even more people felt that the youth was ignorant.

"Who released the signal flare?"

Accompanied by a swift booming sound, a distinguished voice called out from the back of a giant gray vulture. The voice belonged to a very old man dressed in gray.

"It's the thunder-feathered vulture!"

"Elder Mo has arrived!"

"Although Elder Mo is an early Connate-stage adept, he is close to the middle Connate-stage, and is significantly stronger than Elder Li."

…

Many of the disciples of the Valley of the Medicine Masters immediately identified the old man on the back of the giant gray vulture who was the first to arrive at the training grounds.

Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!

After the thunder-feathered vulture came three more giant flying demons, a person standing on each of their backs.

"The elders on duty at the observation towers have all arrived!"

The four elders of the Valley of the Medicine Masters who had arrived first were those on duty at the observation towers in the valley where the Valley of the Medicine Masters was located. They were the first to see the signal and had rushed over at once.

The four of them were all early Connate-stage adepts, and none of them were weaker in ability than Elder Li whose arm had been maimed by Zhou Donghuang.

"Second … Second Elder?!"

However, before Elder Li could speak, the four elders of the Valley of the Medicine Masters spotted Chen Tianhe's corpse, and their expressions changed.

Chen Tianhe was after all the second elder of the Valley of the Medicine Masters, a middle Connate-stage adept.

In terms of ability, even the four of them together were not a match for Chen Tianhe.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

When the four elders who had rushed over from the Valley of the Medicine Masters realized that Chen Tianhe was dead, they released the only signal flare they carried without hesitation.

Immediately, the entire Valley of the Medicine Masters was in an uproar.

Five signal flares sent out by senior adepts above the Connate stage rang out in succession, exploding high in the sky over the valley where the Valley of the Medicine Masters was located.

Moreover, they all came from the air above the training grounds.

"My god! What happened? Five Connate-stage adepts of the Valley of the Medicine Masters encountering danger at the training grounds at the same time? I think that signal is only used when they encounter mortal danger, am I right?"

"Let's go! We'll go investigate!"

"Such a commotion, even Head Elder, the two protectors, and the Valley Master have probably been startled?"

…

Five signal flares exploded in the air one after another, and as they released dazzling fireworks, the entire Valley of the Medicine Masters was buzzing with activity.

At this moment, even the adepts of the Valley of the Medicine Masters below the Connate stage were drawn towards the training grounds out of curiosity.

Of course, they could only watch the commotion.

Who were they kidding?

When five Connate-stage adepts of the Valley of the Medicine Masters sent out signal flares to summon help, what could they do to help against such a degree of threat?

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Chapter 151: Commotion on the Training Grounds

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

The Valley of the Medicine Masters.

The training grounds.

Since the inception of the valley, the training grounds had never been this lively. Almost everyone in the valley had gathered there, elders and disciples alike.

Some had even come in from far off, riding atop flying beasts, were now circling the air above the field.

Not that they didn't want to enter. The beasts they were riding upon were lower-leveled, and since there were already several higher-powered flying beasts on the field they did not dare to get too close.

"How about we go down to the field and watch?" a valley disciple riding a flying beast suggested.

"I'm not going down there. If you want to go so bad, then you go. Can't you see the field is packed with people? Even if you try you probably won't be able to squeeze in," another disciple on a flying beast lamented, shaking his head.

"I agree. Let's just watch here from far away … at least we'll be able to see something from here. If we go down to the field all we'll be able to see will be the heads in front of us."

"That guy in white, I hear he's only nineteen years old."

"That guy? Can't really make him out from up here, but if you say he's nineteen then he must be."

"I hear he was originally from a small place in the country of Yunyang and only entered into the initial stage of his Connate abilities at such a young age because of the essence of a Primal Core monk. Plus, he even used some creepy hidden weapon to kill a mid-level second elder!

"A nineteen-year-old Connate adept … too bad, he's definitely going to die today!"

…

All the residents of the Valley of the Medicine Masters who had gathered felt that the young man in white who had killed their second elder Chen Tianhe was definitely going to die today.

On the training grounds the young man in white stood, his left hand behind his back and his right hand fiddling with a small metal ball.

And he was now surrounded by several old and middle-aged men, all of whom were valley elders already on their Connate-stage journeys, and all of whom were staring directly at him.

Though the young man was surrounded, no one made a move. They all seemed to be silently waiting for something.

Aside from the young man, there was also a young woman within the circle made by the elders. She lay next to a corpse and was glaring at the young man, brimming with hatred.

Whoosh!!

Suddenly, a booming sound came from above, attracting everyone's attention.

"It's the head elder!"

"The head elder is here!"

… .

Drawing gasps from the crowd, a large blue eagle swooped low over the training grounds and a nimble figure leaped from its back.

In a three-foot flash of green light, the figure landed firmly among a gathered group of valley elders and stepped out into view of the crowd.

It was a woman with a medium-sized build dressed in a long gray robe. Though her hair was all white, her complexion looked to be that of a middle-aged woman.

She had hair the color of a crane, yet possessed the face of youth.

"Head Elder!"

"Head Elder!"

…

As soon as the woman appeared, all the gathered elders bowed to her in great reverence.

This woman was none other than the head elder of the Valley of the Medicine Masters, Yu Meiqin.

Yu Meiqin was already nearing 90 years old. In terms of seniority, even the Valley Lord, Su Mo, would have had to call her "Uncle."

"Head elder!"

Upon seeing Yu Meiqin appear, Chen Dandan ran to her and knelt to the ground, tears streaming down her face.

"My father has dedicated his life to serving the Valley of the Medicine Masters, and now he has been murdered by someone who has infiltrated the valley. You … you must avenge him!"

"Rise."

Yu Meiqin helped Chen Dandan to her feet. Her elderly voice was firm, "No matter who it is, the Valley of the Medicine Masters will never forgive whoever has murdered our second elder."

As she said these words, Yu Meiqin's gaze landed upon the young man not far away. What had before been expressionless eyes were now sharp and piercing.

Of course, deep within her gaze there were also traces of fear.

After all, Chen Tianhe had been the valley's second elder, a mid-level Connate adept just like herself. Though his abilities had been no match for hers, he was not far behind.

On her way over she had met with the valley elders who had come to see her so was already familiar with the events that transpired.

This young man before her, a nineteen-year-old from the country of Yunyang, was suspected of receiving the essence of a Primal Core monk in order to achieve the initial Connate-stage.

"That metal ball … it transforms into a sword?"

Yu Meiqin shifted her eyes to the small metal ball in the young man's hand.

"Is that … a sword sphere?!"

As High Elder of the valley and higher in seniority than Valley Lord Su Mo, Yu Meiqin was every bit as proficient in knowledge as the latter.

"If this truly is a sword sphere … then I'm afraid only the Valley Lord is able to defeat him!"

Thinking back to what she had read in an ancient tome regarding sword spheres, Yu Meiqin could not help but feel intense fear, and it showed in her eyes.

This was definitely not the hidden weapon spoken of by the elders who came to see her. This was something only those above the Primal Core stage could ever hope to control.

The sword sphere was something that, in the hands of a Connate initial-stage adept, could easily kill a Connate mid-level adept. Even a late-stage Connate adept could easily fall before it without the proper preparation.

"Young man."

Yu Meiqin turned to Zhou Donghuang and spoke in a grave voice.

"Being able to receive the essence of a Primal Core monk was your good fortune. However, you came to our valley uninvited and murdered our second elder Chen Tianhe. That's crossing the line, wouldn't you say?"

"Crossing the line?"

Zhou Donghuang let out a faint laugh, his eyes falling upon the young lady at Yu Meiqin's feet.

"Today I'm here solely for Chen Dandan. Some people attack me just to try and fight for her … you think I would actually let them? Ridiculous!"

At this, a smirk appeared on Zhou Donghuang's face.

"She has already sent her father on his way … At your age, I would recommend you not meddle in other people's business, lest you follow in his footsteps," Zhou Donghuang said with a mocking look.

Facing Zhou Donghuang's threat, Yu Meiqin's face fell. To be intimidated by someone younger than her own great-grandson was truly humiliating.

If only she weren't wary of the sword sphere in the young man's hand she would have attacked long ago.

"Zhou Donghuang! You dare to threaten the head elder of the Valley of the Medicine Masters … you really want to die that bad?"

Before Yu Meiqin had arrived, Chen Dandan avoided provoking the young man, afraid that he would become enraged and kill her. Now that Yu Meiqin was here, she seemed to regain her courage.

"Head elder of the Valley of the Medicine Masters?"

Zhou Donghuang shook his head and chuckled, "Never mind the head elder of the valley … even if the lord of the valley were here today, he would have to kneel before me!"

"Insolence!"

"Insolence!"

…

As Zhou Donghuang spoke, Head Elder Yu Meiqin's face flushed with outrage, along with those of all the elders gathered, and an angry commotion arose.

The Valley Lord of the Medicine Masters held the most esteemed position in the valley, as exalted as an emperor and not to be disrespected.

But now this arrogant young man before them dared to dishonor their lord.

How could they accept this?

"How dare you!"

"Such insolence!"

As the elders' blood began to boil, two elderly voices came from the sky above, and a massive flying beast swooped down overhead, whipping up torrents of wind.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

As the beast flew past, two figures leaped from its back. As they dropped through the sky, two brilliant bolts of green light appeared beneath their feet, gliding them to a soft landing.

They landed at Yu Meiqin's side.

"Greetings Left Sentinel, Right Sentinel!"

"Greetings to both Sentinels!"

…

The surrounding elders' previous glares towards Zhou Donghuang were replaced by reverent bows towards the two newcomers.

"I, Meiqin, welcome you two elder brothers," the head elder of The Valley of the Medicine Masters paid her respects as well.

These two were both silver-haired and elderly, one heavyset and the other lean. The heavyset one had a youthful and chubby face that shown from within, just like Yu Meiqin.

The lean Sentinel instead had elderly features, looking close to a hundred years old.

In fact, the two were only a few years apart in age, both over ninety and the oldest in the valley.

In terms of seniority, they were both uncles to the Valley Lord, Su Mo.

The husky old man was the Left Sentinel, Wang Tao.

The slim old man was the Right Sentinel, Yu Wei.

Both were mid-level Connate adepts, and were infinitely close to becoming late-stage, meaning they could enter late-stage at any moment, or never at all.

In terms of strength, they were second only to the Su Mo and even more powerful than Yu Meiqin!

"Even the Left and Right Sentinels are here?"

"Head Elder, both the Left and Right Sentinels have arrived. Now we have all our Valley of the Medicine Masters mid-level and above Connates. I think we are only missing the Valley Lord and Third Elder, correct?

"Third Elder is traveling and definitely won't be coming. We are still missing the Valley Lord."

"Both Sentinels are here. Even if the Valley Lord doesn't come, this young man is going down!"

…

The gathered elders, without exception, were certain that this was the end for the young man.

"Zhou Donghuang, these two are our Sentinels. You dare to dishonor our Valley Lord in front of our Valley Elder and Sentinels. I suggest that you kneel and beg for mercy!" Seeing the arrival of the two Sentinels, Chen Dandan's fortitude rose even more. She stared coldly at Zhou Donghuang, taunting him.

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Chapter 152: The Valley Lord Is Here!

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Zhou Donghuang was unfazed by Chen Dandan's threats and maintained his amused gaze at the two old men.

The two Sentinels of the Valley of the Medicine Masters. The valley's strongest duo, second only to the Valley Lord.

As for the Head Elder Yu Meiqin, Zhou Donghuang was no longer looking at her. He had noticed that she most likely had recognized the sword orb he held in his hand.

"This kid … "

At this moment the two Sentinels, sensing the contempt in Zhou Donghuang's eyes, stepped forward with grave facial expressions and murderous looks, as if they were ready to attack.

"My two brothers!"

Yu Meiqin took two steps forward, blocking the way in front of the two old men. She spoke to them in a suppressed voice, "This Zhou Donghuang's little metal ball looks to be the legendary 'sword sphere' that only martial adepts of the middle Primal Core stage and above are able to refine."

The two old men had not received any message from the Valley Lord and had come only because they heard the flares, so they did not fully know the specifics of what had happened earlier.

However, as they were atop their flying beasts on the way over, they began hearing from several valley elders and disciples surrounding the training grounds regarding the murder of the valley's Second Elder Chen Tianhe at the hands of the young man.

Of course, what they had heard was that the young man, using a hidden weapon, had snuck up on a defenseless Chen Tianhe, and thus was able to kill him.

They had entered the sky above the training grounds just in time to hear the young man humiliating and insulting words towards the Valley Lord.

And it was at that moment that the anger in their hearts burned rapidly.

Now, seeing the disdain in the young man's gaze towards them, how could they stomach this?

"Sword sphere?!"

Hearing Yu Meiqin's warning, the pupils in the duo's eyes constricted and their facial expressions changed in an instant.

As two of the oldest members of the Valley of the Medicine Masters, they knew what sword spheres were. That was a legendary item, a treasure that only martial adepts of the Primal Core stage and above were able to refine.

A Connate elementary martial adept, armed with a sword sphere, could easily kill a Connate intermediate martial adept.

Even a Connate advanced martial adept, if not properly prepared, would most likely fall to a Connate elementary martial adept who wielded a sword sphere and knew how to use it.

"Does he know how to use the sword sphere?" the rotund old man, the valley's Left Sentinel Wang Tao, asked in a hushed voice.

"The Second Elder died by the sword that that sword sphere converts to … what do you think?"

Yu Meiqin smiled gravely.

"So, the hidden weapon they mentioned was actually a sword sphere. They mentioned a sneak attack … but if a Connate elementary adept has a sword sphere and knows how to use it, why even bother with a sneak attack to kill a Connate intermediate adept?"

The skinny old man, the valley's Right Sentinel Yu Wei, had a very heavy look on his face.

At this point, the duo had absolutely no more inclination to make a move on the young man.

Are you kidding me!

This young man not only had a sword sphere but knew how to use it as well. Were they to attack they would definitely end up dead.

Unless they were able to raise their level to the Connate advanced level, and under careful circumstances, even if their opponent had a sword sphere and knew how to use it, they might be able to defeat him and perhaps even kill him!

"What? You two are familiar with this sword sphere as well?" Seeing the duo's eyes directed at the sword sphere with looks of trepidation, Zhou Donghuang stared at them and asked, feigning surprise.

"Looks like you definitely received the essence of the Primal Core adept. Otherwise, you would not possess this sword sphere, which only martial adepts of the Primal Core stage and above can refine," Yu Meiqin stated.

This was not the first or even the second time Zhou Donghuang had been mistaken for having received the essence of a Primal Core adept, so, hearing Yu Meiqin's words, brushed them off and did not even think to explain.

Of course.

This person in front of him was not even worthy of Zhou Donghuang opening his mouth to explain.

"Little Sister Yu, why is the Valley Lord not here yet?" the Left Sentinel Wang Tao inquired of Yu Meiqin.

"I'm not sure … ordinarily speaking, the Valley Lord should have been here by now."

Yu Meiqin shook her head, and with a sharp flash in her eye said, "I will leave to look for the Valley Lord. My two brothers, please keep an eye on this Zhou Donghuang."

"If possible, try not to engage with him. The sword sphere in his hands is too disturbing."

As Yu Meiqin spoke, she saw Wang Tao and Yu Wei nod. Only then did she produce a leaf from her bosom and blow on it.

As the sound rang out, Yu Meiqin's flying beast mount swooped down from the sky, collected Yu Meiqin and departed the training grounds, heading directly for the residence of Valley Lord Su Mo.

On the way, Yu Meiqin came across a valley elder riding a flying beast and coming from the direction of Su Mo's residence.

"Elder Yuan, you've been to see the Valley Lord?"

"Head Elder."

Elder Yuan, upon seeing Yu Meiqin, greeted the Head Elder respectfully and said with a wry smile, "I went to see the Valley Lord but did not get a response. He must have been too immersed in his training."

"I figured you and the two Sentinels should be able to take care of the issue facing our valley, so I did not want to disturb the Valley Lord further."

Hearing Elder Yuan's words, Yu Meiqin managed a bitter smile, "Neither I nor the two Sentinels are a match for him."

Under Elder Yuan's startled look, Yu Meiqin departed on her flying beast and soon came to land at the residence of Su Mo, the Valley Lord of the Valley of the Medicine Masters.

"That young man … who is he?"

After Yu Meiqin left, Elder Yuan's eyes were filled with bewilderment, "Even the Head Elder and the two Sentinels aren't able to take him on?"

The training grounds.

With Yu Meiqin's departure, some of those within the training grounds began to discuss this "sword sphere" that the young man spoke of.

Only very few elders in the Valley of the Medicine Masters had ever heard of sword spheres.

However, it wasn't long before the information about the sword sphere and what it represented spread through the entire training grounds so that all elders in the training grounds now knew what it was.

"Sword sphere, a weapon that only martial adepts in the Primal Core stage and above can refine?"

"If a Connate martial adept were to understand how to utilize a sword sphere, using that sword sphere they could easily kill their opponent? That means this Zhou Donghuang, using the sword sphere, would be enough for him to easily kill the Head Elder and the two Sentinels?"

"No wonder the Second Elder who was at the Connate intermediate level was killed by him in one blow. That sword sphere in his hand really was a treasure left by a Primal Core adept and has unbelievable power!"

…

An uproar was happening on the training grounds.

At the same time, the elders and disciples on the training grounds realized that their Head Elder leaving most likely meant she was heading to see the Valley Lord.

Judging by current circumstances, if the Valley Lord didn't show, there would be no one to take on the young man in the Valley of the Medicine Masters.

Moreover, if the Valley Lord were to let his guard down, and if the young man were to use his full strength in sneak attacking with the sword sphere, it would be very likely that he would be able to kill the Valley Lord.

However, they all knew now that the young man had a sword sphere, so the Valley Lord would definitely not be careless.

Just the thought of this calmed their hearts.

"Sword sphere?"

At this point, Chen Dandan understood how her father Chen Tianhe had died, and she also understood why the Head Elder and the two Sentinels were reluctant to make a move on Zhou Donghuang.

It was all because of that "sword sphere" in Zhou Donghuang's hands.

"Dammit!"

"What right does he have receiving the essence left by a Primal Core adept and stepping into the Connate-stage in only two short years … and he even got his hands on a treasure like the sword sphere!"

At this moment, Chen Dandan's heart was filled with regret.

Of course, it wasn't regret about betraying her mother-in-law Lin Lan, but regret that she hadn't stayed at the Magnolia Guild longer until she had managed to take away the Primal Core adept essence and sword sphere that Zhou Donghuang had received.

"If everything the Primal Core adept left behind had been received by me, Zhou Donghuang's accomplishments would now be my accomplishments. And I might have gotten farther and become more skilled than this piece of trash!"

Chen Dandan's was filled with so much regret that her intestines were turning green.

"However, Zhou Donghuang is a fool. He knows that the Head Elder has gone to look for the Valley Lord but he still hasn't left. Once the Valley Lord is here we'll see how he plans to escape!"

Now while Chen Dandan was thinking just how idiotic the young man was in not knowing to get out of there before the Lord of the Valley of the Medicine Masters arrived, she was also partly hoping he wouldn't leave, so that the Valley Lord could fight him once he got there.

"The Valley Lord is a Connate advanced-level martial adept. As long as the Valley Lord is prepared, even if Zhou Donghuang has a sword sphere he will be no match for the Valley Lord!"

Even though Chen Dandan had yet to lay eyes on the Valley Lord, it did not affect her faith one bit in this almighty Valley Lord who held the supreme position in the Valley of the Medicine Masters.

"Zhou Donghuang, there is still the Valley Lord who can dispose of you … You don't have what it takes to make me, Chen Dandan, regret betraying that b*tch Lin Lan!"

Chen Dandan's stared icily at Zhou Donghuang, "You destroyed my life, murdered my father. Today you will die at the hands of our Valley Lord. Another day I will definitely have my father's brothers murder that b*tch Lin Lan as well as anyone connected to her!"

"Only then will my hatred be appeased!"

Of course, Chen Dandan dared not to speak these words at the moment, but could only express her hatred in her mind, as she feared that an enraged Zhou Donghuang might attack and annihilate her.

After all, of those currently on the training grounds, no one would be able to defeat Zhou Donghuang.

"This Zhou Donghuang is still sticking around?"

"Is he insane? If I were him, knowing that the Valley Lord is on his way here, I would have gotten as far away as I could by now."

"He must know that there is no way he can escape so he's planning on negotiating with the Valley Lord."

"I agree he must be waiting to negotiate with the Valley Lord. Otherwise, even if he doesn't leave, there is no reason for him to just be standing around like that. He could use that sword sphere in his hand and start killing left and right, just to see how many people he could slaughter before the Valley Lord gets here."

"Shhh … be quiet! If he hears your reminder and starts to attack us, then you'll be sorry!"

…

Just then several disciples started to whisper amongst themselves …

"The Valley Lord is here!"

In the sky above the training grounds, an elder standing atop a flying beast looked towards the middle-aged man soaring towards them on a large flying beast. His eyes lit up and he yelled excitedly with all his might.

The shout was so loud that it even covered the sound of whispers across the training grounds.

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Ah!

A giant flying beast like a shaft of fast lightning flew from the surroundings into the skies of the martial arts field. At the same time, it slowed down its speed to a comfortable one and landed on the ground.

This flying beast was no stranger to the people of the Valley of the Medicine Masters. They were, after all, mounted by the head elder of the Valley of the Medicine Masters. Presently, this very flying beast was being mounted by two figures. Other than the Valley of the Medicine Masters's head elder, another person was also standing on its back, even standing before the head elder himself.

A woman with feather-like, snow-white hair and a child-like, ruddy complexion, the Valley of the Medicine Masters' head elder, Yu Meiqin, was clustered together with a middle-aged man. This middle-aged man had on an elegant grey coat, giving off an aura of grace and calmness just like royalty. His body gave off a unique, charismatic aura characteristic of a mature gentleman.

Upon seeing him, several of the female guest elders and disciples all became starry-eyed.

"All hail Your Highness!"

One of the people raised his voice to call out respectfully. With such a call, the entire practicing field sprung up. All the present guest elders and disciples of the Valley of the Medicine Masters bowed towards the flying beast, which was carrying the middle-aged man, and showed their respect.

"All hail Your Highness!"

"All hail Your Highness!"

…

A chorus of respectful voices filled the air and rang out in the martial arts field. Afterwards, even the entire Valley of the Medicine Masters's surrounding mountains and valleys echoed the same call as well, forming an impressively thunderous chorus in overall.

"Zhou Donghuang, our Valley of the Medicine Masters's Your Highness, is here… Today, even if you have a sword pill left behind by that inferior spirit weapon warrior, you will definitely face death!"

Seeing as the faraway flying beast was nearing them while carrying the charismatic, middle-aged man riding on its back, Chen Dandan's eyes shone while he cast a cold glance across the youth and spoke in a chilling voice.

"Nevertheless, you can all relax… Today, if you fold in the Valley of the Medicine Masters, I will instruct my fellow brothers to take a trip to the country of Yunyang for you to reunite with that bastard, Song Linlan, while traveling on the Huangquan Road…"

Chen Dandan previously had been too scared to speak up. However, now, things were different as she finally saw that their Valley of the Medicine Masters' ruler had arrived.

While speaking, the corners of Chen Dandan's mouth turned up, and a vicious smile appeared on her face as an evil look appeared in her eyes. To her, there were only two possible endings of today. She would either die here or be caught by the Valley of the Medicine Masters and be killed after she took on the chance encounter she gained from the inferior spirit weapon warrior..

The Valley of the Medicine Masters could not possibly allow such a large threat to survive.

Yet, reality took Chen Dandan by surprise. Originally, according to him, Zhou Donghuang should have been enraged by her words. Instead, once Zhou Donghuang heard her speak, she was not angered but instead laughed out loud.

"Chen Dandan… Do you know why I haven't taken any action towards you all this time?" Zhou Donghuang asked cheerily.

"Ah?" Chen Dandan furrowed her brows.

Zhou Donghuang's words confused Chen Dandan greatly.

Ever since the youth had personally killed her father, the second elder of the Valley of the Medicine Masters, Chen Tianhe, had not taken any further action. It was a little strange as the numbers grew in the Valley of the Medicine Masters, and they had all slowly gathered together.

Not only had he stopped her attacks against the general people, but she had also halted her attacks against Chen Dandan. She had not thought about this point before but now that it dawned upon her, she found it rather strange.

Chen Dandan questioned internally what she would do if she were in the youth's shoes. If she were to be in his position, she would leave everything behind and run for her life in order to escape death instead of staying put and waiting to be killed!

"Because…"

Just as Chen Dandan's brows furrowed, the corners of Zhou Donghuang's mouth turned up into a cocky smile. "I'm prepared for when you've lost all hope, for when you hate yourself and everything around you to take action and kill you then!"

Chen Dandan's face darkened upon hearing Zhou Donghuang's words. At the same time, Zhou Donghuang glanced at the approaching flying beast, which was nearing the duo from afar. "Now, in your opinion, Su Mo should be the last saving grace and hope of the Valley of the Medicine Masters, am I right?"

Just as he had spoken, the smile on Zhou Donghuang's face became even wider and brighter.

Upon hearing these words, as well as glancing at the infuriating smile on Zhou Donghuang's face, Chen Dandan's own face turned pale and an uneasy feeling crept up into her heart.

"This Zhou Donghuang… Surely he could not have any connection to Your Highness!?"

"Surely Your Highness was not the one who brought him into the Valley of the Medicine Masters!"

Well, it was unsurprising that Chen Dandan felt this way and made such assumptions. In any case, up till the present, the martial arts skills that Zhou Donghuang had demonstrated were extremely admirable and awe-inspiring. His innate talent as a young 19-year-old was enough for him to earn the personal offer to enter the Valley of the Medicine Masters by Your Highness.

Not far from where Chen Dandan was, the two guardians of the Valley of the Medicine Masters overheard the conversation between Chen Dandan and Zhou Donghuang. They could not help but slightly furrow their brows as well. The thoughts running through their head were somewhat similar to that of Chen Dandan's. It was just that they were still full of anger and resentment towards Zhou Donghuang for killing the Valley of the Medicine Masters's second elder, Chen Tianhe. After all, Chen Tianhe had been one of the mid Connate adepts. Including Chen Tianhe, there had only been five mid Connate adepts in the entire Valley of the Medicine Masters! Now that Chen Tianhe was dead, there were only four left standing.

"If he was really specifically invited to the Valley by Your Highness… we have to follow the rules of the Valley of the Medicine Masters and punish him severely!" the fat old man, the left guardian, Wan Tao, whispered underneath his breath to his partner.

"Naturally so." The thin old man, the right guardian, Yu Wei, nodded to show his approval.

Whoo! Whoo!

As the large, flying beast flew by in the sky, two shadows, one in front and one behind, landed neatly in the midst of a crowd of elders in the Valley of the Medicine Masters.

They were the head elder, Yu Meiqin and Your Highness of the Valley of the Medicine Masters, Su Mo.

"Your Highness."

"Your Highness."

…

The elders that were gathered together all bowed simultaneously to show their respects to Su Mo.

"Your Highness."

For the two great guardians of the Valley of the Medicine Masters, Wan Tao and Yu Wei, they were both elders to Su Mo. However, respect for status did not supersede age in such public settings, and they both bowed towards Su Mo as well.

Under normal circumstances, Su Mo would bow in return to Wang Tao and Yu Wei. However, Su Mo presently stood where he was and did not even cast a glance at Wang Tao and Yu Wei. His gaze was fixated unwaveringly on the young man dressed in white, standing a short distance away.

All along, due to that Mid-Connate elixir, which had shocking, medicinal-like effects, Su Mo's personal development and training had been accelerated greatly and he was now extremely close to becoming a mid Connate adept. Under normal circumstances, he of course would not have any intention to pause his training mid-way. Even as the Valley of the Medicine Masters's elders had sought him out, seeing as the latter had not seemed urgent nor anxious, Su Mo had still held on to the idea of continuing his training. It was only when his master, the head elder of the Valley of the Medicine Masters, Yu Meiqin, had come forward and charged through his doorway that he had paused his training efforts.

After understanding the happenings at the martial arts field, Su Mo immediately guessed that the person who had carried out the attacks at the field was definitely this young man… the white shirt, the sword pills… they were all symbols of him.

He did not even have time to explain his predictions to Yu Meiqin. Su Mo immediately got onto the back of Yu Meiqin's flying beast and headed for the martial arts field.

"Your Highness."

Chen Dandan took two, three steps forward and knelt before Su Mo, sobbing hysterically with tears running down her cheeks. "My father, Chen Tianhe, as the Valley of the Medicine Masters's second elder, had made countless contributions and sacrifices for the valley while he was alive.

"In spite of that, today, he was killed by the person who invaded our valley!

"Please bring justice for my father, Your Highness!"

Although Chen Dandan had no confidence that this method was viable, she had little choice. Just as what the young man had said, the Valley Head before her was now the last hope that she could hold onto.

On the other hand, Su Mo ignored Chen Dandan as if she did not exist. He took two steps forward, past Chen Dandan and knelt down towards the young man standing before him. The entire group of people from the Valley of the Medicine Masters looked on in confusion, shock and disbelief.

"I'm Su Mo, Master."

Su Mo's voice was extremely courteous and bright. In an instant, his words reverberated around the entire martial arts field and even beyond to the Valley of the Medicine Masters' hills. With such an echo, all the people present suddenly gained some insight. The entire field went deathly quiet, and one could even hear a pin drop.

This was especially so for the group of elders as well as the Valley of the Medicine Masters head elder, Yu Meiqin, the valley's left guardian Wang Tao and right guardian Yu Wei. They all let out expressions of disbelief as they glanced at Su Mo, who was still kneeling on the floor. If they did not have a good enough understanding of Su Mo, they would even have suspected that he was a fake and not the real Su Mo!

"Is that… really Your Highness speaking?"

"Your Highness called the young man 'Master?' Is this a joke?"

"Is that really Your Highness? Our mighty and glorious Your Highness is kneeling and calling someone else master? Am I dreaming?"

…

Now, everyone present at the field, including the common people, were completely stunned into silence. They could not believe the sight before them nor what they had just heard coming from Su Mo's mouth.

Was this all a joke?

Su Mo, ruler of the Valley of the Medicine Masters, was the first in status out of the Sixteen Countries of the Eastern Valley. As for this young man, he was merely someone from the country of Yunyang. How could he possibly be the master of Your Highness, Su Mo!?

"This… this is impossible!"

Chen Dandan was shocked into a daze by Su Mo. Now that she had regained her composure, her face had on an expression of full disbelief. "How can this be possible? This is impossible!"

Chen Dandan righted herself, and her body began to tremble uncontrollably. In a fit of delusion and confusion, she reached out a hand and pointed to Su Mo's back. "You can't be Your Highness! You're not him!"

"Chen Dandan, stop being presumptuous!"

Seeing Chen Dandan's actions, Yu Meiqin's face changed, and she called out coldly. Although Yu Meiqin herself was still unsure as to why Su Mo, their ruler, had called out to the young man as his master, she would not permit someone of lowly status, such as Disciple Chen Dandan, to call Su Mo out in a rude manner.

Upon hearing Yu Meiqin's cold voice, Chen Dandan's final hope in her heart was thoroughly demolished. She collapsed onto the ground in a heap, as if all her energy had been depleted, her face as white as paper.

"Chen Dandan, everyone has to bear the consequences of whatever decisions they make. I only hope you do not regret your choices in the future."

The words that the young man had uttered to her two years ago when Chen Dandan had left the Magnolia Chamber of Commerce now floated in her mind. At that point, she had ignored the words of this young man and moved on. This was especially after she had entered the Valley of the Medicine Masters and recognized the second elder, Chen Tianhe, as her father. She had then felt even more strongly that the young man was on a different wavelength as her.

"That young man is destined to be crushed under my feet," she had thought.

As for now…

The young man that she had always looked down on was now standing before her proudly, as arrogant as ever. As for Su Mo, Your Highness of the Valley of the Medicine Masters and someone she both feared and admired was now kneeling before this very young man, calling him "'Master…"

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Chapter 154: Golden Essence Adept

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Although Su Mo knew in his heart that kneeling before this young man would ruin his reputation as ruler of the Valley of the Medicine Masters in the eyes of the people, what did that matter?

Now that he had tried the Mid-Connate elixir concocted by the young man in the past and experienced its sweet effects, Su Mo no longer wanted to consume the mid Connate elixir that he made for himself. This was because, after consuming the mid Connate elixir by the young man, Su Mo had greatly increased his chances of entering the Primal Core stage and become a Primal Core adept before he died! Once he became a Primal Core adept, Su Mo would be able to increase his lifespan and live up to two hundred years! With this idea of being somewhat immortal, Su Mo did not care at all about things like honor and face.

Furthermore, what did it matter if he risked his reputation today? As long as he was still well-trained personally and as long as he was still the strongest man standing in the Valley of the Medicine Masters, everyone in the valley, including the elders, would still continue to respect him even if it was out of fear. To Su Mo, currying favor with the young man before him was thus the most urgent task at hand. Other things did not really matter at this moment.

"You may rise."

Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, Zhou Donghuang glanced briefly at Su Mo and allowed him to get back up. He then stepped forward and walked up to Chen Dandan in an unhurried manner.

"Chen Dandan."

Zhou Donghuang glanced at Chen Dandan, who had collapsed into a heap on the floor and had on an expression akin to that of a ghost. Chen Dandan's mouth was pale and quivering. "Now, how do you feel?"

Chen Dandan acted as if she had not heard Zhou Donghuang speak at all; she continued to lie on the floor with a numb and lost expression on her face.

"Do you feel regretful?"

Zhou Donghuang asked again.

This time, some color returned to Chen Dandan's cheeks, and she seemed to regain some composure. She glanced at Zhou Donghuang and smiled coldly. "Zhou Donghuang, you are simply lucky enough to gain the miracles left behind by the Primal Core adept. That is the only reason why you can be who you are today…

"Nevertheless, in this life you were still destined to be crushed by me, Chen Dandan!"

As Chen Dandan spoke, her eyes shone fiercely with an expression of repulsion and stubbornness.

"Presumptuous!"

Su Mo, who had just stood up, yelled out murderously as he heard Chen Dandan speak rudely to this young man. "Chen Dandan, if you continue to be rude to my master, I will kill you!"

"Ah…"

Chen Dandan smiled. This was a mocking and resentful smile. "Our great highness… how could you call this ordinary man a 'Master…?' Is this a joke?"

"You…"

Just as Su Mo was about to explode with rage and take action against Chen Dandan, he was stopped in his tracks by Zhou Donghuang's stern gaze.

Next, Zhou Donghuang glanced at Chen Dandan with a hint of playfulness and spoke up. "Chen Dandan, as long as you are willing to kneel down before me and admit your mistakes, mentioning your regret… I won't kill you. How does that sound?"

"Ah?"

The young man's words caused Chen Dandan to blurt out some sounds of confusion, and she glanced suspiciously at the former. "Are you being legitimate?"

"You only have three breaths of time to consider my offer," Zhou Donghuang replied lightly.

Even before Zhou Donghuang had finished his sentence, Chen Dandan had already dragged her weary body forward and knelt before the young man. With her head bowed, Chen Dandan spoke up in a low voice. "Brother Donghuang, I… I'm sorry. I was wrong. I should not have betrayed Mother. I should not have betrayed you and the Magnolia Chamber of Commerce."

At this point, Chen Dandan did indeed feel a sliver of regret. If she had not betrayed Lin Lan, if she had not turned her back on Zhou Donghuang and the Magnolia Chamber of Commerce, even if she could not take over the chance encounters left behind by the Primal Core adept, Zhou Donghuang would probably have shared it with her given his nature. If she had stayed by Zhou Donghuang's side, it was possible that she could have progressed at a similar rate as to when she had recognized the Valley of the Medicine Masters's second elder, Chen Tianhe, as her father and grew within the Valley.

Now, however, although she spoke of regret, as Chen Dandan knelt on the floor before Zhou Donghuang, who had humiliated her greatly, all she truly felt was a deep shred of hatred. All she was doing was getting her life back by uttering useless words of apology…

It suddenly felt like Chen Dandan was only destined to be a normal, ordinary person in this life.

In any case, knowing Zhou Donghuang's character from before, Chen Dandan knew that even if he did not kill her, he would not be able to stay by her side anymore either…

"Well, you really can be rather flexible when you want to be."

Seeing as Chen Dandan had seemingly admitted defeat, Zhou Donghuang laughed coldy, and his eyes filled with disgust and revulsion. "If I killed you personally, I would really be dirtying my hands!"

Just as he had spoken, Zhou Donghuang turned and Su Mo and said lightly, "I simply promised that I would not kill her myself. I didn't say that anyone else couldn't.

"Do you understand my meaning?"

After he spoke, Zhou Donghuang glanced severely at Chen Dandan.

"Master. I understand."

Just as Su Mo had responded, he glanced sharply at Chen Dandan with a hint of animosity.

"Zhou Donghuang, you shameless bastard!"

Once Chen Dandan had heard the young man speak, her face changed and she raised her head once again. Chen Dandan's eyes were red with rage. "You're going against your word, breaking your promise!"

"Well, what does it matter to a brute like you? You're just someone who betrayed a woman cruelly even though she treated you like her own and raised you for over ten years…"

Zhou Donghuang cast a light gaze upon Chen Dandan before glancing into the distance with a guarded expression. "Normally, to people, I won't break my promises. However, to brutes like you, especially those who are ungrateful, why should I stick to my words?"

Killing Chen Dandan was only partially fuelled by his own hatred for her. More importantly, it was to avenge his mother, Lin Lan!

"You…"

Chen Dandan was extremely angered. Even before she could utter more than one word, however, she suddenly cried out, and blood flew from her mouth.

"Hng!"

At the same moment, Su Mo had muttered under his breath, took a few strides forward like a floating spirit and appeared within two meters of Chen Dandan. He pointed his finger at Chen Dandan and a green mist flowed from it towards her.

One foot.

Two feet.

…

Seeing as the mist was about to extend to about seven feet, it pierced through Chen Dandan's chest and killed her.

Png!

Suddenly, a loud noise sounded out and echoed around the entire area. Su Mo's body shook violently, and the mist, which had been seven feet long, dissipated and his entire body was forced to take a few steps back heavily.

At the same time, Su Mo spat out a mouthful of fresh blood. His face turned extremely pale like paper, and it was clear that he was badly injured.

"Who's there!"

Zhou Donghuang's face also changed in that instant, and he glanced up at the sky. The sword pill in his right suddenly shone like his eyes, glowing under the winter light.

"Ah?"

Seeing as Su Mo had taken action, Chen Dandan had thought that she was to die today. Upon realizing that she was not dead, she first paused before following Zhou Donghuang's gaze and similarly looking up at the sky.

There, an old man stood before them in long black robes. He was extremely frail and skinny and looked aged. The old man had wrinkles all over his face and looked even older than the right guardian of the Valley of the Medicine Masters, Yu Wei. However, as he was suspended in the air, his black robes swayed with the wind. This whole scene shocked the entire crowd into silence once again.

"Yuan… Primal Core adept!" Many of the Valley disciples cried out shrilly. Everyone present was aware that for martial adepts, only those who had crossed into the Primal Core stage were able to float in the air using their full concentration of freezing their bodies.

Furthermore, if one observed the situation clearly, one could see a light shroud of golden light surrounding the old man's floating body, enabling him to stay suspended in mid-air.

"A Golden Essence adept!" Seeing as the old man's body was entirely surrounded by golden light, Zhou Donghuang flinched, and he could immediately use his foresight to tell that this black-robed old man before them was one of the Golden Essence adepts.

"Golden Essence adept" was another name for the martial arts disciples who had managed to enter the Primal Core stage.

The Primal Core stage, like the Elixir stage, was divided into four main levels: the early Primal Core, mid Primal Core, late Primal Core and ultimate Primal Core.

When an Elixir adept stepped into the Primal Core stage, the first step would be to consolidate one's Xu Essence. Once Xu Essence was successfully consolidated, one would be considered to have entered early Primal Core.

Afterwards, the next step would be to consolidate one's Shi Essence. Once one had done that, one would enter mid Primal Core.

After Shi Essence, one needed Silver Essence to enter the late Primal Core. Those who managed to enter this stage were all typically labeled as Silver Essence adepts.

Afterwards, they would proceed on to Golden Essence.

For a Primal Core adept to float in the air, one required full control of inner yuan.

In the early Primal Core stage, an adept's inner yuan's source was their Xu Essence, and it was pale white in color.

In the mid Primal Core stage, an adept's inner yuan's source was their Shi Essence and it was milky white in color.

In the late Primal Core stage, an adept's inner yuan's source was their Silver Essence and it was silver in color. Lastly, in the ultimate Primal Core stage, an adept's inner yuan's source was their Shi Essence and it was gold in color.

At this present moment, Zhou Donghuang could see that the black-robed man standing before him was a Golden Essence adept.

Of course, in general, for all practicing monks, even those who were new to training, there would be a hint of gold in their inner yuan even at the early Primal Core stage. However, that kind of trace of gold would include some kind of Buddhist scriptures in Sanskrit. That was a completely different type of gold as compared to the gold surrounding the black-robed man right now.

The gold of the inner yuan surrounding this black-robed man was priceless, unique and extremely valuable!

"Thank you for saving my life!"

After that harrowing moment, it dawned on Chen Dandan that the black-robed man was the one who had saved her life. She frantically turned around and knelt to the ground, thanking him with a joyful gaze in her sparkling eyes.

Of course, her facial expression remained slightly uneasy and confused. This was to be expected as she did not recognize nor identify the black-robed man before him. She knew that his one save did not guarantee that he would continue to protect her if need be.

"Sir."

Once Su Mo had regained his composure, he courteously delivered a full, 90-degree bow to the black-robed man and spoke with a voice that shook with both admiration and fear. "Could I ask… Why have you come to the Valley of the Medicine Masters?"

A Primal Core adept was someone that could not be messed with.

Even for new adepts who were only in the early Primal Core phase, if they used all their strength and power, their inner yuan would be able to cover 100 meters and trap everyone who was standing in that range easily!

If an adept in the mid Primal Core phase went all out, his inner yuan could envelop a land 300-meters wide and destroy a small village.

If an adept in the late Primal Core phase went all out, his inner yuan could envelop a land 1000-meters wide and destroy a big village.

If an adept in the ultimate Primal Core phase went all out, his inner yuan could envelop a land 3000-meters wide and destroy an entire small town.

As for the black-robed man before them, the gold in his inner yuan was indeed extremely unique and special. It was clear that he was an ultimate Primal Core adept. Should he decide to utilize all his powers, he could easily destroy their entire Valley of the Medicine Masters.

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Chapter 155: You Are Not Eligible!

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

The black-robed man floated in the air like a god. He cast a sweeping glance over the ground and those who were looking up at him.

Towards the question posed by the Valley Head, Su Mo, the expression in his eyes changed from dull to bright like a lightbulb had lit up within him. It was similar to that of two bright stars that lit up the entire night sky!

He lifted his gaze slightly and lightly cast a glance upon the young man, standing a short distance away from Su Mo.

This young man was wearing pure white and was staring at this black-robed man with his eyebrows slightly furrowed.

"Over the past few days, I have been traveling around. In one instance, I saw this young man ride a flying beast that had much youthful energy, the golden-crowned eagle, flying across the sky… At that point, I became curious. Since this tiny little place has no Primal Core adepts, how could there be someone who was able to ride and conquer a beast at such a young age!? This was a flying beast at that!

"That was the first time I saw this man," the old man said lightly.

Zhou Donghuang had originally assumed that the old man had arrived for the sake of Chen Dandan. He had not realized that the old man was here for him. His furrowed brows relaxed slightly as this realization dawned upon him.

After hearing the old man's words, Chen Dandan's face turned pale once again. This Primal Core adept, who had appeared like a lucky deity, was here for Zhou Donghuang!? Perhaps he had been amazed by Zhou Donghuang's strength at his tender age and wanted to take Zhou Donghuang under his wing as a disciple…

"Senior!"

Chen Dandan glanced at the old man anxiously and said, "This Zhou Donghuang is only able to achieve all he has now at this age because he was lucky enough to receive the opportune encounter by a Primal Core adept.

"I would not be far from his level or below his level if I was the one who had received that gift from the Primal Core adept instead!

"He is not of pure blood. He is simply a random villager from the country of Yunyang, one of the Sixteen Countries that belong to the Valley of the Medicine Masters.

"As for me, I am the daughter of the Valley of the Medicine Masters' second elder… My father, Chen Tianhe, was only around 50 years old when he became a mid Connate adept. He is a martial arts prodigy, which is rare in the Valley of the Medicine Masters!"

"I have inherited the bloodline of my father, my martial arts skills definitely surpass him by a lot!"

At this moment, Chen Dandan frantically spouted words and tried her best to undermine the young man's talents. She was truly afraid that the old man was legitimately interested in the young man's talents, and that he was about to recruit the young man as his disciple. if that truly happened, she was doomed to die!

However, despite Chen Dandan's frantic shouts, the black-robed man, who was floating in the air and shrouded with a faint golden mist, ignored her and did not even spare her a glance.

The old man glanced at Zhou Donghuang and continued to speak. "Of course, although I was surprised that such a talented youth could appear in a place like this, I did not stay here because of him alone.

"In any case, in the Xuanyin sect where I'm from, although there aren't many, there are indeed a sizeable number of younger disciples about his age who have trained to higher levels."

Once the old man had uttered his words, be it the Valley Head, Su Mo, or the Valley of the Medicine Masters' head elder, Yu Meiqin, left and right guardians Wang Tao or Yu Wei… Everyone's facial expression immediately changed.

"Xuanyin sect!?"

The general populace may not have been familiar with the Xuanyin sect. However, for these four characters, as they were the elites of the Valley of the Medicine Masters as well as elder folk who had much experience, they definitely had heard of this term before.

The Xuanyin sect was one of the biggest elite sects among the powerful supreme sect of Ziyun, and the most ancient one at that.

"Senior, could I ask if you are the Xuanyin sect's Elder Qi Ming or Elder Zhong Ya?" Su Mo asked courteously, bowing once again.

According to his knowledge, in the Xuanyin sect, there were two figures who had entered the ultimate Primal Core stage.

One of them was Qi Ming, and was about 200 odd years old.

The other was Zhong Ya and was nearly 300 years old.

"Ah, I'm surprised that in this tiny little place, someone could really recognize me, I'm Zhong Ya… Hahahahaha… hahahahaha…"

The old man laughed out loud heartily. His laughter echoed in all the valleys of the Valley of the Medicine Masters.

"Greetings, Elder Zhong Ya!"

Once the old man had uttered his name and acknowledged his identity, Su Mo, Yu Meiqin, Wang Tao and Yu Wei immediately bowed fervently, and their eyes had on an expression of admiration. Zhong Ya could be said to be the oldest and most experienced of the Primal Core adepts in the powerful supreme sect of Ziyun. For the past few hundred years, the powerful supreme sect of Ziyun had not yet produced any other adept that came close to Zhong Ya.

"Xuanyin sect? Zhong Ya?"

The crowd of elders and disciples from the Valley of the Medicine Masters were vaguely familiar with the background of the Primal Core adept before them, but they were not really clear on his actual identity and powers. Nevertheless, they were still welcoming towards this powerful man who had clearly crossed into the ultimate Primal Core stage.

This was only natural as in the history of the Valley of the Medicine Masters, they had not once yet produced an adept.

Of course, Zhou Donghuang had not heard of Zhong Ya either.

In his previous life, after living on Earth for a hundred years, although he had returned to the powerful supreme sect of Ziyun, he had returned directly to the country of Yunyang, which was one of the Sixteen Countries in the East Valley. All he knew was that there was a sect titled "Valley of the Medicine Masters" in the powerful supreme sect of Ziyun which led all the Sixteen Countries of East Valley. Towards other sects, he had little knowledge of them.

"After meeting him that one time, not long after, I coincidentally received some."

After saying these words, Zhong Ya's gaze returned to the young man. "After receiving the returning-heaven grass, I was prepared to leave this tiny little place… I had not expected that I would sense this man's aura once again while cruising above this valley.

"At that moment, I began to think that we had a shared destiny."

Upon hearing this, Chen Dandan's face changed. It became paler by the minute, and her body began to shake slightly as her mood changed to become more desolate.

All of a sudden, Zhong Ya's gaze suddenly moved from Zhou Donghuang to Chen Dandan. "At that time, he had just removed you of your meridians. He was fearlessly waiting for your father to appear… A mid Connate adept was easily killed by this man through the use of a sword made from a sword sphere.

"Afterwards, he was in total control of the situation.

"Until… he wanted to kill you."

As he said these words, Zhong Ya's eyes slightly narrowed as he smiled. "Returning-heaven grass, which is nicknamed as Back to Heaven, can train and refine the "returning-heaven elixir". Anyone who is at least alive and consumes it can heal any extent of injury, be it light or severe."

"Even the task of reshaping the meridian is a simple matter to the returning-heaven elixir."

At this point, Zhong Ya gave a deep glance to Chen Dandan again. As for Chen Dandan, upon hearing the words uttered by Zhong Ya, the desolation in her eyes was immediately replaced by an intense fire.

"Senior!"

Chen Dandan knelt and hit her head repeatedly on the ground towards Zhong Ya. She was so consumed in this action that she did not care if her forehead started to bleed. "If Senior is willing to offer me the returning-heaven elixir, I'm willing to dedicate my meager life to you!"

Zhong Ya did not respond to Chen Dandan's pleas and instead continued to speak. "I, Zhong Ya, entered the ultimate Primal Core stage and became a Golden Essence adept more than 80 years ago. However, I have remained stagnant since then and have been unable to improve myself to enter the Dharma stage.

"In 10 years' time, if I don't enter the Dharma stage, my life will end in vain.

"I left the Xuanyin sect and explored the entire powerful supreme sect of Ziyun in order to find some hope and method of entering the Dharma stage… There is a legend that if one wants to enter the Dharma stage but is innately not yet ready, one needs to actively seek out one's own fate instead.

"If not, it would be hard for one to ever enter the Dharma stage…"

The Dharma stage was one level higher than the Primal Core's practice stage.

Once Connate adepts entered the Primal Core stage, their lives could be extended until they were 300 years old. As for Primal Core adepts, once they entered the Dharma stage, their lives could yet again be extended another 400 years.

Dharma adepts could live 600 years, double that of a Primal Core adept!

Zhong Ya, one of Xuanyin sect's two Golden Essence adepts, was now 290 years old. If he did not manage to cross over to the Dharma stage within the next 10 years, his life would end there and then.

At this moment, all he could dream about was entering the Dharma stage to add 300 more years to his life.

Of course, regarding such matters, mere panicking was not going to solve the problem. Zhong Ya thus decided to leave the Xuanyin sect, travel the powerful supreme sect of Ziyun and coincidentally met Zhou Donghuang while he was traveling at an area near the boundary of the Sixteen Countries.

That was how everything had led to this very moment now.

"I first met this young man before I gained some returning-heaven grass. Afterwards, I met this young man again… At the second encounter, I witnessed him removing this lady of all her meridians.

"At that point, I was still merely a bystander watching the spectacle.

"That is until this young man hinted to the other to kill this lady… An idea occurred to me and flashed across my brain… That is, I felt that this young lady is probably linked to how I managed to find the returning-heaven grass and that I was destined to know her.

"I reached out my hand to stop you from killing this lady as I wanted to bring her away with me.

"If she dies, my idea will be in vain, and I'll lose all hope of crossing into the Dharma stage!"

Once Zhong Ya had uttered these words, his gaze moved from Su Mo to the young lady, Chen Dandan, whose face was now full of surprise and joy. "Are you willing to follow me back to the Xuanyin sect and be my disciple?"

"Yes! Yes, I'm willing to do so!"

This change of events had happened too quickly for Chen Dandan to fully process, and her entire face was flushed red with joy as she knelt three times shakily. "Chen Dandan acknowledges Senior as my teacher!"

Whoosh!

With a gust of wind that whooshed across the entire field, Zhong Ya's body, within an instant, disappeared from the skies. When he reappeared, he did so right next to where Chen Dandan was on the ground.

Of course, it was not that Zhong Ya had really disappeared. It was just that he had moved at an extremely fast speed, in which no one on the ground could see his actual movement. Even Su Mo, who was a late Connate adept, could not clearly see the traces of Zhong Ya's shockingly fast movements.

"Here's to some mental enlightenment!"

Just as Zhong Ya had grabbed one of Chen Dandan's hand and was planning to fly up to the skies with her to leave for the Xuanyin sect, Zhou Donghuang cast a light glance upon him.

"It's your right to try for the path of the Dharma stage… However, this Chen Dandan is someone that I had planned to kill.

"Today, if you bring her away, it will be akin to starting a grudge against me, Zhou Donghuang… Even if you have the Xuanyin sect behind you, you will still have to bear the consequences of this grudge.

"Are you prepared to accept that?"

Zhou Donghuang's gaze pierced Zhong Ya's retreating, but his tone remained calm and devoid of any emotion.

"Consequences?"

Zhong Ya turned to glance at Zhong Donghuang, and a look of disdain appeared in his eyes. "Do you think that a mere individual like you could win against someone like me, Zhong Ya from the Xuanyin sect?

"You should wait till you are able to enter the ultimate Primal Core stage at the very least before you utter such words to me. Maybe then, it would sound a bit more convincing.

"The you now… is not eligible to say such things!"

Once Zhong Ya had finished speaking, he brought Chen Dandan away, and they disappeared from the martial arts field in front of all the Valley of the Medicine Masters people present.

In Zhong Ya's mind, Zhou Donghuang was merely someone who was lucky enough to receive something that a Primal Core adept had left behind. He could also tell that the sword pill that Zhou Donghuang wielded was at most only inherited from a Mid Primal Core adept.

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Chapter 156 The Shenguang Empire

Zhou Donghuang was clear on this: With his current state, in the eyes of the Golden Core adept of the Xuanyin sect, he was no different from a grasshopper.

In his own eyes, everyone present from the Valley of the Medicine Masters, including Su Mo, was no different from grasshoppers.

The Golden Essence adept did not bother to attack them, and even if Chen Dandan had begged him to strike, he could not possibly condescend to strike.

"Teacher."

Chen Dandan, who had finally dared to open her eyes a long time after being brought aloft by Zhong Ya, said: "I want that Zhou Donghuang dead!" Her eyes glittered coldly, and her face had a hateful expression.

"I beg you to attack and kill him for me!" Chen Dandan pleaded.

"I will not condescend to attack a mere early Connate-stage adept." Zhong Ya said flatly.

"Moreover, I am now approaching the final trial before entering the Dharma Laws stage, and achieving mental enlightenment is paramount. If I lower myself to the level of killing an early Connate-stage adept, it would be difficult to prevent it from hindering my mental enlightenment and from there on affecting my progress to the Dharma Laws stage."

"If you want to kill him, you'll be able to do it yourself in a few years."

"You will follow me back to Xuanyin sect, and I will give the returning heaven grass to the essence master of the sect and ask him to forge a returning heaven core. When the returning heaven core is ready, I will give it to you to restore your meridians."

"After your meridians are restored, you will practice with me."

"If you don't slack off, you will attain the Connate stage within five years! If you work a little harder, you may even attain the Connate stage within three years." Zhong Ya said.

Five years? Three years?

Chen Dandan's first reaction upon hearing Zhong Ya's words was "why that long?" when Zhou Donghuang had spent just two years on rising from a martial invalid to a Connate-stage adept.

Of course, Chen Dandan did not dare to question the old man to his face.

"Yes, Teacher."

Chen Dandan changed the subject. "If you don't kill that Zhou Donghuang, you should at least take away that sword sphere from him. That is good stuff!"

An early Connate-stage adept using that sword sphere had intimidated the three greatest middle Connate-stage adepts of the Valley of the Medicine Masters into submission.

This showed how fearsome the sword sphere was.

"That sword sphere?"

Zhong Ya smiled in disdain. "Something forged by a middle Primal Core adept at most, no different from rubbish to me."

"When you attain the Connate stage, I can forge a better sword sphere for you myself."

Zhong Ya spoke extremely casually, as though a mere sword sphere was nothing to him at all.

Chen Dandan's eyes lit up immediately.

The old man's words had inadvertently revealed something: The treasure obtained by Zhou Donghuang had been left behind by a middle Primal Core adept at best.

And her teacher was a supreme Primal Core adept!

The supreme Primal Core stage was a whole two levels above the middle Primal Core stage, which were as far apart as earth and cloud in terms of ability.

"Zhou Donghuang!"

With a murderous look in her eyes, Chen Dandan looked in the direction of the Valley of the Medicine Masters. "When I, Chen Dandan, return after restoring my practice, I will cut Lin Lan into a thousand pieces before your eyes, then do the same to you!"

"As for that Valley Lord Su Mo of the Valley of the Medicine Masters, since you have willingly become Zhou Donghuang's dog, I will send you and your disciples along the same path!"

The Valley of the Medicine Masters.

The training grounds.

After Su Mo borrowed Head Elder Yu Mei's flying demon and personally sent off a youth dressed in a robe whiter than snow, Yu Mei and the other elders of the Valley of the Medicine Masters left.

The two protectors of the Valley of the Medicine Masters, Wang Tao and Yu Wei, seeing that Su Mo and the youth had ridden away on the flying demon, left as well.

Suddenly, only the crowd of disciples of the Valley of the Medicine Masters was left in the vast training grounds.

Now, this crowd of disciples of the Valley of the Medicine Masters was still seething with excitement. "I never imagined that I would actually be able to see a Primal Core adept!"

"I had heard that the Primal Core adepts of legend could fly through the air, but legends are just legends, and deep down in my heart I didn't quite dare believe it. It was only when I personally witnessed that elder flying through the air today that I finally believed those legends."

"The same goes for me too."

The appearance of the Primal Core adept succeeded in attracting the attention of all the disciples of the Valley of the Medicine Masters present and completely refocused their attention.

However, once their discussion about the Primal Core adept had died away, the topic of conversation once again returned to the youth in white.

"That youth called 'Zhou Donghuang' has actually been acknowledged as Master by the Valley Lord?"

"If I had not seen it with my own eyes, I would not have believed it even if you were to beat me to death: Our exalted Valley Lord, the mightiest person in the region of the Sixteen Countries of the East Valley, actually acknowledged a youth who looks like a nineteen-year-old as Master!"

"I really don't know what the Valley Lord is thinking."

"We will not be able to even guess his innermost thoughts."

This matter of Valley Lord Su Mo acknowledging that youth as Master that was so difficult for the disciples of the Valley of the Medicine Masters to understand was equally incomprehensible for the group of elders.

But no matter what, the Valley Lord was supreme and unquestioned in the Valley of the Medicine Masters.

They had to support him unconditionally.

"From this day on, there is one more person above the Valley Lord. He has become the person whose word carries absolute authority in the Valley of the Medicine Masters!"

This point was extremely clear to everyone in the Valley of the Medicine Masters.

Somewhere else.

Valley Lord Su Mo personally sent the youth back to the cavern.

"Tell me about the origins of Zhong Ya."

Zhou Donghuang stopped Su Mo just as he was preparing to take his leave.

Zhong Ya was the old man who had brought Chen Dandan away earlier, and other than being a supreme Primal Core adept, he also seemed to be from a sect called Xuanyin.

"Yes, Master."

Hearing the youth bring up Zhong Ya, Su Mo's expression immediately turned serious. "That Zhong Ya is one of the two forefathers of the Xuanyin sect."

"The two forefathers of the Xuanyin sect are both supreme Primal Core adepts. Between the two, Zhong Ya is older; the other is only just over two hundred years old, just entering the prime of his life."

"As for the Xuanyin sect, it is one of the several strongest sects of our planet of Ziyun, and they are superior to all the great empires of the planet of Ziyun."

Su Mo's explanation gave Zhou Donghuang not only a clear understanding of the Golden Core adept Zhong Ya's origins, but also a deep understanding of the situation on the planet of Ziyun.

On the planet of Ziyun, the most powerful factions were the sects, including the Xuanyin sect, followed by the various great empires.

These empires were completely different from the small countries in the Sixteen Countries of the East Valley.

In those small countries, there might not even be a Connate-stage adept, while in those empires, there were not just supreme Primal Core adepts, but also numerous ordinary Primal Core adepts.

"Our Valley of the Medicine Masters is located beyond the southeast border of the Shenguang Empire. That area is remote and difficult to access, which is why the Shenguang Empire has no intention of extending its influence here."

"To the Shenguang Empire, the area of the Sixteen Countries of the East Valley administered by the Valley of the Medicine Masters is merely a rural backwater. In addition, there is nothing of value here, so they simply aren't willing to expend manpower to occupy the area and would rather leave us to fend for ourselves."

"It is under these circumstances, over the past few hundred years, that our Valley of the Medicine Masters has developed into what it is today."

"That Guiyuan sect which administers the Fourteen Countries of the North Border shares roughly the same circumstances as the Valley of the Medicine Masters. Although the Fourteen Countries of the North Border are also outside the borders of the Shenguang Empire, they are to their south."

"And the Sixteen Countries of the East Valley are to their east."

This was what exactly what Su Mo had said.

On the planet of Ziyun, the various great empires were all under one of the powerful supreme sects of the planet of Ziyun and were vassals of that sect.

Although the imperial courts of the various great empires were hereditary, they were usually responsible only for ruling the empires, and their military strength was average.

Their greatest source of military strength came from the powerful supreme sect of Ziyun which was backing them.

"On the planet of Ziyun, there are five powerful supreme sects. The Xuanyin sect is only one of them."

"Correspondingly, there are five empires in total on Ziyun."

"The Shenguang Empire which is closest to us is under a sect called 'Shenguang' which is a Buddhist sect."

As Su Mo paused, Zhou Donghuang narrowed his eyes, unable to help thinking about the Buddha's lifeblood that had already been absorbed into his body.

Could Buddha's lifeblood have been left behind by a forefather of the Shenguang sect?

It was no wonder that Zhou Donghuang was thinking of this.

Of the five great empires of Ziyun, the closest to the Sixteen Countries of the East Valley was the Shenguang Empire, and the Shenguang Empire was under the Shenguang sect.

"You mentioned earlier that on the planet of Ziyun there has not been a Dharma Laws adept for several hundred years?" Zhou Donghuang asked Su Mo.

"Yes," Su Mo nodded.

"It is now the year 1230 in the Ziyun era, which means that the current civilization on the planet of Ziyun began over one thousand two hundred years ago. In over a thousand years, how many Dharma Laws adepts have there been from Ziyun?" Zhou Donghuang asked.

"According to ancient records, there were only two, and they were not contemporaries."

As Su Mo continued, he seemed to remember something, and his eyes lit up. "One of them was from the Shenguang sect!"

"That person was a martial prodigy from the Shenguang sect seven hundred years ago who attained the Dharma Laws stage when he was close to three hundred years old, dominating that period. The Shenguang sect at that time was the most powerful and influential on Ziyun and was at the peak of its power!"

"However, in the following three hundred years, he remained at the early Dharma Laws stage, and was unable to advance."

"It is said that at the end of his life, he left the Shenguang sect and did not end his life with the Shenguang sect, nor did he leave his Buddha's lifeblood for the later generation of disciples of the Shenguang sect."

As he finished, Su Mo could not help letting out a sigh. "It is this that left the greatest impression of that forefather on the later generations of the planet of Ziyun."

"The question is: where did he go to end his life? And was the Buddha's lifeblood that he left behind acquired by someone?"

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Chapter 157: The Black Market

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

After listening to Su Mo, Zhou Donghuang was able to confidently confirm: The Buddha's lifeblood that the two golden-crowned eagles had led him to was left behind by the Dharma Laws adept of the Shenguang sect.

The level of practice, the time period, and the location all matched up.

Before that early Dharma-Laws-stage adept of the Shenguang sect entered his final sleep, he chose to pass on from a dangerous cliff in a place not far from the Shenguang Empire in the Sixteen Countries of the East Valley.

"Master."

Suddenly, Su Mo's expression turned serious. "That Chen Dandan has now entered the Xuanyin sect under Zhong Ya; moreover, Zhong Ya has obtained the returning heaven grass that can produce a returning heaven core."

"With the returning heaven core, Chen Dandan's destroyed meridians can recover to their original state, and as she is under Zhong Ya, her future level of practice will increase at an incredible rate!"

"In the future, I fear she could be a disaster for us."

As he said this, Su Mo's eyes filled with dread.

After all, this time he, and by extension the Valley of the Medicine Masters, had offended Chen Dandan, and she would most probably be back for revenge.

"Chen Dandan?"

Hearing Su Mo mention that young lady who had been brought away by the forefather of the Xuanyin sect, Zhou Donghuang's eyes narrowed as a cold gleam flashed across them.

The incident that day was something he had not foreseen.

In Zhou Donghuang's previous life, Chen Dandan had not had this opportunity and had passed away from old age in the Valley of the Medicine Masters after attaining the Connate stage.

However, from what that Zhong Ya said, Chen Dandan had this opportunity entirely because of him.

Earlier, Zhong Ya had said that it was because he had seen Zhou Donghuang speed past riding a Great Consummation flying demon that his attention had been attracted to Zhou Donghuang.

After that, Zhong Ya had passed by the Valley of the Medicine Masters after obtaining the returning heaven grass and had detected traces of Zhou Donghuang, which was why he had come to the Valley of the Medicine Masters.

As for what had happened later on, it was well known.

"Chen Dandan, so what if your fate has changed because of me? When you were in the Valley of the Medicine Masters, I came to the Valley of the Medicine Masters to kill you. Since you have gone to the Xuanyin sect, I will go to the Xuanyin sect and kill you!" thought Zhou Donghuang.

He suddenly opened his eyes, which shone coldly. "As for that Zhong Ya, since he and the Xuanyin sect persist in contributing to this karma, I will flatten his Xuanyin sect!"

Although Zhou Donghuang muttered this to himself softly, Su Mo, who was standing nearby, nevertheless heard it clearly.

Su Mo could not help exhaling a breath of cold air, never imagining that this master that he served had such lofty ambitions.

Flattening the Xuanyin sect?

Was it even possible?

The Xuanyin sect was one of the five most powerful sects of the planet of Ziyun that stood at the peak of the hierarchy of the planet of Ziyun.

To flatten the Xuanyin sect would require a level of practice at least of the Dharma Laws stage.

Although the youth before him had a level of practice at the early Connate stage at only nineteen years of age, as the forefather of the Xuanyin sect Zhong Ya had said, there were numerous youths his age in the Xuanyin sect who had already exceeded this.

Moreover, those disciples of the Xuanyin sect might not have the chance to attain the Dharma Laws stage, never mind this youth.

Therefore, Su Mo did not take the youth's vengeful words seriously, taking them instead as words spoken in a fit of anger.

In a moment, Zhou Donghuang's cold glare was gone, and he looked at Su Mo. "I can probably find spirit stones in the Shenguang Empire, am I right?"

Spirit stones were special stones formed when ordinary stones accumulated a great quantity of spirit energy from the environment, storing the spirit energy within them.

Using spirit stones to practice could replace the need to absorb spirit energy from the environment, and the latter method could be used in synergy with the former to make practicing even more efficient.

Since there were many Primal Core adepts in the Shenyang Empire, it was not possible that there were no spirit stones there.

As for the five elite sects which stood at the peak of Ziyun, including the Xuanyin sect, they would not be lacking spirit stones.

Zhou Donghuang was sure that they controlled a lode of spirit stones; otherwise, they would not be able to sustain a sect of such quality.

That day, Zhong Ya of the Xuanyin sect had already said that in the Xuanyin sect, although those of similar age as he but already exceeding him in the level of practice were not numerous, there were more than a few.

Those people must be prodigies that the Xuanyin sect had raised up on piles of spirit stones.

"Spirit stones?!"

When he heard Zhou Donghuang's words, Su Mo's eyes widened, and he smiled bitterly as he said, "Master, you might be able to get spirit stones in the Shenyang Empire, but it is extremely difficult."

"In the several hundred years of history of the Valley of the Medicine Masters, only the forefather who established it managed to buy a spirit stone in the Shenguang Empire, and that only at great cost after he attained the Connate stage."

"He had planned to use the spirit stone to aid him in one great effort to attain the Primal Core stage and become a Primal Core adept."

"However, when the spirit energy in the spirit stone had been used up, he was still unable to break through."

"In the personal letter that he left behind at the end of his life, he said that if he'd had three spirit stones at that time, he would have been confident of attaining the Primal Core stage."

At this, Su Mo hesitated some time before continuing, "Spirit stones are extremely valuable. Even if the Valley of the Medicine Masters gathered everything of value in this valley, it might not be enough to buy one from the black market in the Shenguang Empire."

"The black market in the Shenguang Empire?"

Zhou Donghuang's eyes gleamed, and he asked brusquely, "Can the black market in the Shenguang Empire guarantee the privacy of the negotiating parties?"

"Master, you can be assured on this," Su Mo said.

"Operating as a middleman, the black market in the Shenguang Empire does business based on trust. That year, the forefather of the Valley of the Medicine Masters chose to buy the spirit stone from the black market of the Shenguang Empire at great cost precisely because buying the spirit stone there guaranteed his personal safety one hundred percent."

"If he had chosen another option, the price he forked out to buy that single spirit stone on the black market might even have been able to get him two spirit stones."

"Although he might have been able to get two spirit stones with other options, it was very possible that he would have been killed by someone else once he received the spirit stones," Su Mo concluded in one breath.

"Mm."

Zhou Donghuang nodded. "In one month's time, you'll come with me to the Shenguang Empire. I want to take a look at the black market."

"Yes, Master," Su Mo acknowledged respectfully.

"Also, for this period of time, you may stay here and practice with me."

At first, Su Mo did not take the youth's words seriously but felt it was improper to refuse, so he planned to make a gesture of staying several days to practice before finding an excuse to return to his accommodation.

However, shortly after he had sat down and begun to practice a golden light reached out from the wooden house and touched him, and he felt the efficiency of his practice increase greatly.

His rate of practice was more than double what it previously was!

This master of mine… what kind of person is he? What kind of technique is this? He can help me increase my rate of practice by an incredible degree!

Su Mo was surprised and shocked.

It must be stated that when he had previously used the Connate elixir formulated by the youth, he had already felt his rate of practice increase dramatically, which gave him the hope of attaining the Primal Core stage.

Now, under the glow of the golden light that reached out from inside the wooden house, his rate of practice was further increased: more than a hundred percent faster than his original base rate!

If I keep using the Connate elixir formulated by my master to aid my practice while practicing by his side, I will definitely attain the Primal Core stage in ten years at the most!

Su Mo's eyes shone with irrepressible excitement.

Right at that moment, Su Mo's respect for his master, that youth who was inside the wooden house, increased further, because his dreams of the Primal Core stage were tightly bound together with his master.

What Su Mo did not know at this time was that although Zhou Donghuang had granted him the aid of his Buddha's lifeblood to practice, the strength of it was not even one-tenth of what he had given to the golden-crowned eagle, Big Gold.

Zhou Donghuang was intentionally holding back.

Su Mo had yet to win his complete approval. And, he wanted to leave enough strength in his Buddha's lifeblood for himself to attain the Primal Core stage.

If Zhou Donghuang had lent the full strength of the Buddha's lifeblood to aid Su Mo in his practice, Su Mo would be able to attain the Primal Core stage in two years at most, given his current level of practice and his martial talent

"When I attain the middle Connate stage, I will make a trip to the black market in the Shenguang empire to buy a spirit stone. If I have a spirit stone to practice with, my level of practice will be further boosted," Zhou Donghuang thought.

In the wooden house, Zhou Donghuang, who had been practicing, suddenly opened his eyes with a burning gaze. "If I can get enough spirit stones to aid my practice in addition to the Buddha's lifeblood, I can attain the Primal Core stage in less than a year!"

"Two years ago, I set the goal of attaining the Primal Core stage within five years."

"Now, if I have enough spirit stones, I can attain the Primal Core stage within a year, achieving the target I set with two years to spare!

Even though Zhou Donghuang had a thousand years of memories from his previous life, the thought of this made deep waves in his heart.

Attaining the Primal Core stage and becoming a Primal Core adept implied that he could enable his essential core to fly through the air and physically cross the stars.

At that time, he would be able to leave the planet of Ziyun and move on to other planets.

…

One month was not very short, but neither was it long.

It passed in the blink of an eye.

In the month that passed, everything in the Valley of the Medicine Masters had returned to its peaceful state, and fewer and fewer people brought up the incident that had occurred the month before at the training grounds.

Time was able to wipe everything clean.

Of course, even though fewer and fewer people brought up the incident, what had taken place that day was seared into the memories of those who had been present.

A Primal Core adept.

And the youthful master of Su Mo, their Valley Lord of the Valley of the Medicine Masters.

Swoosh!!

A giant black eagle with a wingspan of over ten meters sped away like a bolt of black lightning from the valley where the Valley of the Medicine Masters was located.

This giant black eagle had eyes that seemed to spark with electricity, and the golden crown of feathers on its head was like the fierce burning of a roaring fire.

"Master, your … your golden-crowned eagle has attained the Connate stage already?"

On the back of the giant eagle, a middle-aged man in elegant gray clothes with a refined face turned his shocked look away from the giant eagle and looked at the youth dressed in clothes whiter than snow whose back was facing him.

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Chapter 158: The Planet Tianxuan

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Several days before Zhou Donghuang had attained the middle Connate stage, the golden-crowned eagle Big Gold had also smoothly attained the Connate stage and become a Connate-stage demon!

As a Connate-stage demon, Big Gold's physical form had grown a size bigger, and his fully expanded wingspan was over ten meters. His speed was in a completely different league compared to before it had broken through.

"This golden-crowned eagle has just broken through to the Connate stage, and in terms of speed, it is a match for my own trusty mount…"

At that moment, after getting confirmation from the youth himself, Su Mo gazed at the golden-crowned eagle he was standing on as though in a daze, thinking of the Connate demon silver-crowned crane, previously held by the Valley of the Medicine Masters.

That silver-crowned crane had been killed by his current master Zhou Donghuang half a year ago.

"Where exactly is the black market of the Shenguang empire?"

Zhou Donghuang looked down through the clouds at the half-seen wilderness which seemed never-ending as he questioned Su Mo.

When leaving the Valley of the Medicine Masters by this route to travel to the Shenguang empire, all there was to see were mountain ranges and desolate wilderness. Even small villages were seldom seen. Now, Zhou Donghuang could completely understand why the Shenguang empire would not bother to occupy the land of the Sixteen Countries of the East Valley.

The Sixteen Countries of the East Valley was simply too remote.

In the eyes of the Shenguang empire, the Sixteen Countries of the East Valley were a worthless backwater, one that yielded no value through occupation.

"Master."

Su Mo replied to Zhou Donghuang's question. "The black market of the Shenguang empire is in the empire's capital city. Previously, in my free time after practicing, I reviewed the personal letter left behind by the founding valley lord of the Valley of the Medicine Masters before he passed on and gained a better understanding of the Shenguang black market."

"The imperial court of the Shenguang empire, and even the Shenguang sect that backs the imperial court, is unable to rein in the black market of the Shenguang empire. This is because the powers behind the black market include the five elite sects of Ziyun, including the Shenguang sect and also the Xuanyin sect."

"The black market's existence is monitored jointly by the five great sects. Occasionally one of the sects will send someone undercover to do business, and if fighting erupts between the parties involved, they will ferret out the culprits. The sect that is backing the culprit will have to cough up four thousand spirit stones as a fine, paid to the other four sects in equal shares."

"Under such circumstances, none of the five great sects dares to steal a profit from the black market."

"The black market has five gathering points, which are in the capital cities of the empires under the five elite sects of the planet of Ziyun."

…

Su Mo's explanation gave Zhou Donghuang a better understanding of the black market in the Shenguang empire.

In actual fact, the black market was something that the five elite sects of Ziyun had created together, and the yearly profits of the black market were split equally by the five sects.

"The profits from the black market are enormous. For example, we might want to exchange two spirit stones for a product. When we receive our product, one of the two spirit stones will be kept by the black market, and the other spirit stone will be given to the seller."

Su Mo click could not help clicking his tongue at this.

"As that founding forefather of the Valley of the Medicine Masters knew, the price paid to the black market could actually be exchanged for two spirit stones. But because the black market took half, the other half could only be exchanged for one spirit stone."

Su Mo's more detailed explanation gave Zhou Donghuang an understanding of the rules of the black market.

The black market guaranteed absolute privacy of both the buyer and seller.

However, the party who initiated the transaction would have to pay a significant price.

"I never imagined that such a market would exist on a small planet like Ziyun." Zhou Donghuang was startled.

Black markets like the one on the planet of Ziyun were not uncommon in the myriad civilizations of the universe.

"How long will it take to reach the capital of the Shenguang empire from the Valley of the Medicine Masters at the speed of my golden-crowned eagle?" Zhou Donghuang asked Su Mo.

"That silver-crowned crane of the Valley of the Medicine Masters carried me once to the capital of the Shenguang empire when it had just attained the Connate stage and become a Connate stage demon. That time it took a little over three months."

Su Mo answered, "More than two of those months was spent traveling from the Valley of the Medicine Masters to the southeast border of the Shenguang empire. After arriving at the southeast border of the Shenguang empire, the silver-crowned crane that had just attained the Connate stage took about twenty days to arrive at the capital of the Shenguang empire."

Su Mo paused and could not help sighing. "The Valley of the Medicine Masters, and even the Sixteen Countries of the East Valley, is simply too far from the Shenguang empire. Nevertheless, the Sixteen Countries of the East Valley and even the Valley of the Medicine Masters have not been annexed by the Shenguang empire."

Su Mo's statement was something that Zhou Donghuang had guessed at long before, and it did not surprise him.

Three months later.

Zhou Donghuang's eyes gleamed, and he sat down cross-legged to prepare to begin practicing. "It seems that I have a chance of attaining the late Connate stage by the time we arrive at the capital of the Shenguang empire, and even if I have not, my level of practice by that time will not be far from the late Connate stage."

Ever since he had formulated the Connate elixir, Zhou Donghuang's level of practice had advanced at an unimaginable rate.

With the Connate elixir added to the Buddha's lifeblood in his body, along with the technique of the Lord of the Four Supremes, which had a superior Connate stage component even compared to the top techniques of the Way of the Thousand-star Sword and Fiery Thunder Training Regimen, Zhou Donghuang had already smoothly attained the middle Connate stage in just over a month after arriving at the Valley of the Medicine Masters.

According to his calculations, he would be able to attain the late Connate stage in roughly two to three months.

Without the help of spirit stones, it would take at least half a year to practice from the late Connate stage to the supreme Connate stage. Proceeding from the supreme Connate stage to the Primal Core stage would take from a year to one-and-a-half years, or even up to two years!

Advancing at this rate of practice was too slow! Zhou Donghuang longed for a spirit stone to help him attain the Primal Core stage as soon as possible so to become a Primal Core adept!

"For the remainder of the journey until we reach the capital city of the Shenguang empire, if there is nothing that you must absolutely wake me for, don't interrupt my practice."

After exchanging some pleasantries with Su Mo, Zhou Donghuang immersed himself in his practice, devoting himself fully to the Lord of the Four Supremes. As he used the effects of the Connate elixir in his body, the Buddha's lifeblood extended and integrated itself into his body's qi.

…

In the boundless universe, there are uncountable stars, and Earth is just one of them, as is the planet of Ziyun.

The planet of Tianxuan was also just one of them.

However, Earth, Ziyun, and Tianxuan each do not belong to the same region of space, and the distance between them is vast. However, the distance between the regions of space in which they are located is not considered vast.

The planet of Tianxuan is located in a region of space called the 'Luohe stars'. It is one of the larger planets and is better endowed with resources for practice. The martial scene was thriving, and Primal Core adepts were numerous as dogs, Connate adepts were everywhere, and there were even many Dharma Laws adepts.

At that moment, the atmosphere in the sky above a vast mansion on the planet of Ziyun was tense and hostile.

"Hand over He Meng; otherwise we will completely wipe out the He family today!"

A stick-thin old woman in a wide, loose, green long robe floated in the air, staring coldly at the three people as she growled at them.

An image of an ape over thirty meters tall appeared over the old woman's body. This giant ape was robust and muscular, in stark contrast to the old woman's stick-thin body, and it beat its chest with its thick, muscled arms as it roared.

Now, blood dripped from the corners of the mouths of the three people facing her, and they looked dispirited.

A ten-meter-tall image appeared over each of them: a tiger, a sword, and a flame.

These ten-meter-tall images were like three-year-old children standing before an adult compared to the image of the giant ape. The larger would be able to abuse the smaller at will, and the smaller would have absolutely no power to retaliate.

"Young Mistress Luo, you have known my daughter He Meng for many years. Must you be so intent on killing her?"

The middle-aged man who projected the image of the giant tiger looked pleadingly at the young lady beside the green-robed old lady, and asked with a bitter expression, "This whole issue is because she has been confused. If you'll spare her, I will give her to you as a slave for a hundred years to do with as you please. How about that?"

The lady, Luo Qinghan, was the first among the young generation of the Luo family, the pride of the Luo family, the future hope of the Luo family.

His daughter, He Ming, was the pride of the He family, the future hope of the He family.

"Patriarch He, if, after ten breaths, He Meng has still not shown herself, as of today the He family will no longer exist."

The girl standing beside the old lady was about twenty years old, with long hair that flowed down like a waterfall, beautiful and elegant features, and vermillion lips. She was wearing a light green long dress and a stunning face that was now radiating coldness.

In addition to her icy expression and her freezing gaze, her tone was completely emotionless.

Just as the girl had finished speaking.

"Luo Qinghan!"

With a shrill cry, a girl in a pink long-sleeved dress was borne aloft from the mansion below on the back of a flying demon and was staring at the girl in the green dress.

"Young Lord Yuan is handsome, and exceeds you in martial talent, and I, He Meng, have pursued him for many years and failed. What I did that day was also to help you benefit, so that the Luo family could use him and the sect behind him to benefit all parties. Don't be ungrateful!"

The girl in the pink dress stood on the back of the flying demon with a look of indignation. She had never imagined that the man who said he would protect her had still not come back.

Evidently he had abandoned her.

"To him … I am only a pawn."

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Chapter 159: Dharma Laws Adepts

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

"You are still harping about the issue of rights at this moment?"

Hearing He Meng's explanations, Luo Qinghan's expression became even colder, and with a flicker of her body, she sprang forward like a banshee, appearing in an instant not far from the girl in the pink dress riding the flying demon, while silver light enveloped her and gave off a freezing aura.

"You … you have attained the late Primal Core stage?"

He Meng now saw the silver light enveloping Luo Qinghan's body, and her expression changed completely, shock and incomprehension showing on her face.

If she recalled correctly: Luo Qinghan was only twenty-two years old. Had she already attained the late Primal Core stage and become a silver Primal Core adept?

Even the man that He Meng adored, the one who was supposed to have even greater martial talent than Luo Qinghan, had only attained the late Primal Core stage when he was twenty-five years old…

How did Luo Qinghan manage to progress to the late Primal Core stage from the early Primal Core stage in such a short period of time?

He Meng could not understand it.

According to the martial talent that Luo Qinghan had previously shown, even attaining the middle Primal Core stage at this time would already be unimaginable to most people.

"By riding on your luck!"

Luo Qinghan smiled coldly, and the milk-white haze around her body became more translucent.

Swish!

Luo Qinghan flicked out her sleeve, and a thread composed entirely of essential core whistled out straight for the spot between He Meng's eyebrows, so fast that He Meng, who had not even attained the Primal Core stage, was completely unable to react.

"Meng'er!"

As the middle-aged man who had earlier pleaded to Luo Qinghan saw that Luo Qinghan's first strike at his daughter was with fatal intent, his expression changed completely, and the ten-meter image of a giant tiger stretched its jaws savagely as it tensed its body, as though it was about to spring forward at any time.

"He Jing, if you dare attack, all traces of your He family will be completely wiped off the planet of Tianxuan!"

The old woman who came together with Luo Qinghan spoke calmly as she waited for a chance to kill. The giant ape being projected from her body swung its muscular arms to beat its chest faster and faster, as a cold, fierce light shone from its eyes.

"Patriarch, you must not attack!"

"Patriarch, let Young Mistress bear the consequences of the disaster she created! Don't drag the entire family down because of her mistake."

As the old woman's words died away, the other two old people next to the patriarch of the He family He Jing hurriedly tried to restrain He Jing, while the giant sword and the giant flame projected from their bodies began to move, blocking the path of the giant tiger.

He Jing's ten-meter-tall tiger and the sword and flame of the two old people were actually their dharma.

Adepts of the Dharma Laws stage could use the primal core within their bodies to utilize dharma to fight their enemies, and the higher their level of practice was, the stronger their dharma would be.

Ten-meter dharmas were the hallmark of adepts at the middle Dharma Laws stage.

The He family was considered a reputable great family on Tianxuan, and the strongest in the family were the three middle Dharma-Laws-stage adepts present, and it was because of the existence of the three Dharma Laws adepts that the He family could claim their territory on Tianxuan.

In any case, the old woman who had come here with Luo Qinghan that day was one of the only two late Dharma Laws adepts from the Luo family, which was even stronger than the He family.

Earlier, the old woman had attacked and wounded the three great middle Dharma-Laws-stage adepts of the He family after only several rounds. The difference in their ability was simply too great, and the He family was unable to resist.

"Young Mistress Luo, have mercy!"

As a cry sounded from the He family mansion below, a giant dharma image flew out of the He family mansion. It was a curved saber, which appeared protectively in front of He Meng, blocking Luo Qinghan's attack.

At the same time, below this giant saber, the figure of an old man appeared.

"Hrmph!"

Seeing that someone had blocked Luo Qinghan's attack, the old lady with Luo Qinghan let out a cold snort, and the thirty-meter-tall image of the ape projected from her body leaped forward with a savage look in its eyes. Although it looked clumsy, its body like a small mountain, its speed was incredible.

In an instant, before the three middle Dharma Laws adepts of the He family could react, the image of the giant ape had already rushed to the old man who had protected He Meng.

Woosh!!

The giant ape lifted its fist and smashed it down, grabbing the three-meter-tall saber projected by the old man.

Crash!!

Crash crash!!

…

The giant ape grabbed the curved saber in its fist and squeezed, and the saber immediately shattered. Without the protection of the dharma, the old man burst apart from the squeeze of the giant fist, destroyed completely!

A mere early Dharma Laws adept was completely helpless before a late Dharma Laws adept.

"Fifth elder!"

He Jing's expression changed, and the expressions of the two old people beside him grew foul.

"Fifth grandfather!"

He Meng paled, never imagining that her poor decision would harm not only herself but this old man who loved her so much and who treated her like his own granddaughter.

"He Meng, if you had come out earlier to take responsibility, you would not have brought disaster on others."

At the moment the old man died, a look of regret flashed across Luo Qinghan's eyes. Then her gaze turned cold once again, and the silver thread whistled out, passing exactly between He Ming's brows and killing her!

"Granny, let's go."

Just as the gaze of the old woman who had killed the old man who had tried to block Luo Qinghan's attack became colder, and she began thinking of exacting greater revenge on the He family, Luo Qinghan spoke up. "The one who started this is dead. Let the matter rest."

"Fine."

At Luo Qinghan's words, the old woman glanced discreetly at her, and the cold look in her eyes vanished and was replaced by a deep look of tenderness.

As she turned to leave with Luo Qinghan, the old woman looked back and swept a cold gaze over the three members of the He family. "If Qinghan had not been benevolent, today, I would have directly wiped out the He family!"

"Many thanks to Young Mistress Luo for showing mercy!"

The two old people beside patriarch He Jing of the He family hurriedly voiced thanks to the back of the young lady with a bitter and helpless smile on their lips.

The old woman with Luo Qinghan was too strong.

Her level of practice was already high, and her dharma that she created was incomparably powerful. There were barely any late Dharma Laws adepts who could stand up to her.

The most important thing was that such a powerful person was the granny of Young Mistress Luo Qinghan.

And it was also because of Luo Qinghan's existence that this powerful adept would humble herself and stay with the Luo family instead of joining a faction on the planet of Tianxuan that was even stronger than the Luo family and enjoyed better prospects.

…

"Qinghan."

After leaving the He family mansion, the old woman looked lovingly at the breathtakingly beautiful girl in green beside her. "You really don't need me to go and bring that fellow here from Ziyun?"

"Granny, you're talking nonsense again."

Luo Qinghan frowned slightly and said irritably, "He and I just had a chance encounter. That time was just an accident. In the future, there will be no dealings between us."

"Since you feel that you both will have no dealings in the future, I will make a trip to the planet of Ziyun and kill him and that will be it."

A murderous look flashed across the old woman's eyes and she smiled coldly. "Since he has spoiled my granddaughter's purity, if I don't kill him, I will not be able to vent the hate in my heart!"

"Granny!"

Luo Qinghan's expression changed, as though she had been frightened. "Don't be rash. I've told you many times that what happened between us was just an accident. If you really want to talk about it, he was the victim. You can't just kill innocents, good people killed by mistake."

"Ha-ha! Your granny is just kidding. What is there to be anxious about? Does he have a place in your heart?"

The old woman laughed, and the murderous look in her eyes vanished, replaced by a teasing expression. "If you really like him, I will bring him over from the planet of Ziyun, and you both can get married, become husband and wife. Seeing you get married on your mother's behalf would be something I could tell your mother when I meet her in the underworld."

"Granny, what nonsense are you talking about? You are only approaching five hundred years old. You still have more than a hundred years to try and make it to the Primordial Soul stage. You will definitely be able to break through!" Luo Qinghan said with some displeasure.

"The Primordial Soul stage?"

The old woman shook her head. "If I am able to see you start a family, attain the supreme Dharma Laws stage, and have some insight into the highest levels of the Dharma Laws stage before I pass on at six hundred years of age, I will have no regrets. The last time a Primordial Soul adept appeared on Tianxuan was over a thousand years ago."

"Granny, I have confidence in you."

Luo Qinghan looked earnestly at the old woman with a resolute gaze.

"Fine, let's not talk about this now."

The old woman shook her head with a smile before her expression became serious. "Girl, are you certain that that little fellow is from the planet of Ziyun?"

"Yes."

Luo Qinghan nodded. "He is only someone from a small place on the planet of Ziyun. In that small place, he is considered a martial prodigy, but in the context of the whole of Ziyun, he can only be considered ordinary. At that time, he was at least sixteen or seventeen years old, but he had not even attained the Connate stage."

"That is indeed strange."

The old woman frowned slightly. "Not long after you came back, I made a special trip to that planet Ziyun to check it out. Over there, there aren't even any Dharma Laws adepts, and it is a martially backward planet with only five small inferior quality spirit stone mines."

"This kind of martially backward planet cannot produce someone with such noble blood."

After her granddaughter had that happy dalliance on the planet of Ziyun with that little fellow who had not even attained the Connate stage, her rate of practice had increased by leaps and bounds, as though the happy dalliance had given a sky-high boost to her talent.

This circumstance could only have one cause: That little fellow who had enjoyed her granddaughter had been a boy.

Moreover, he was of noble blood, and his martial talent had far exceeded her granddaughter's. This was what had inexplicably changed her granddaughter's constitution and elevated her martial talent.

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Chapter 160: The Conflict Above the Capital

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

"I don't know whether he is of a noble bloodline."

"I don't know whether he is of a noble bloodline." Luo Qinghan knitted her brows when she heard the old woman.

"But his martial talent is probably nothing much. Otherwise, he would not still be at the Qi-gathering stage of practice at sixteen or seventeen years of age.

"She knew what her granny was thinking of.She could confirm that the dramatic increase in her martial talent was inseparable from what occurred with that youth on the planet Ziyun.

Besides that, that time had been the first time for both her and the youth."There is probably some noble blood in his veins, but he just does not realize it. In that case, everything is clear," the old woman guessed."If that's the case, you are really in luck."

At this, the old woman could not help laughing.

"This is considered good luck?"Luo Qinghan smiled bitterly.

"If you were given a chance to choose, would you choose the same thing for the both of you, and raise your martial talent, or choose that nothing would have happened?"

The old woman looked deeply at Luo Qinghan and asked, "A lady's chastity is definitely important. However, I feel that exchanging it for your current martial talent was worth it."

Hearing the old woman's words, Luo Qinghan sank back into silence.

Although she did not reject him, she had to examine the depths of her heart. Even if she did not reject him, it was not because he caused her martial talent to increase so dramatically.

Had it been another man, she would rather not have her current martial talent than have abandoned her purity.

After she left the planet of Ziyun, before Luo Qinghan noticed that her level of practice had increased dramatically, she did not know why unbidden thoughts of that handsome youth whose eyes were too full of experience for his age rose in her mind whenever she was free.

Even if she did was unwilling to admit it, she could not help the fact that that youth had rooted himself deeply in her heart and even in her mind.

Maybe it is only because he took my virginity and I have no ill feelings towards him.It was not the first time Luo Qinghan had thought this.

At least Luo Qinghan was very clear and certain on one thing: she did not reject the youth.Whenever she thought of him, the corners of her mouth would curve up in a slight smile.Of course, this was something that others had told her.

…

The planet of Ziyun.The Shenguang empire.

Three months had passed, and Zhou Donghuang had finally arrived safely at the capital city of the Shenguang empire, thanks to Big Gold, and was consequently woken by Su Mo.

"We're here?"When Zhou Donghuang opened his eyes, he saw before him a vast and expansive city, like a giant beast lying there.Evidently this was the capital city of the Shenguang empire.

"Master, let's find an inn first before planning our next move," Su Mo suggested as Big Gold circled in the air outside the capital city of the Shenguang empire.

"Mm, you go arrange it."Zhou Donghuang nodded."It's good I brought along all the golden notes printed by the Shenguang empire that were in the Valley of the Medicine Masters; we can stay at one of the better inns."

Su Mo smiled.Although there were also golden notes in circulation in the border regions of the Sixteen Countries of the East Valley, they were printed by the Valley of the Medicine Masters.In the border regions of the Sixteen Countries of the East Valley, the Valley of the Medicine Masters did not allow any of the countries to print their own golden notes.

Only they could print golden notes.If any of the countries in the Sixteen Countries of the East Valley wanted more golden notes, they had to send gold to the Valley of the Medicine Masters in exchange for them.The countries in the Sixteen Countries of the East Valley had the power to print only silver notes.

In any case, the gold notes printed by the Valley of the Medicine Masters had no value as legal tender in the Shenguang empire.

In the Shenguang empire, even Su Mo, the Valley Lord of the Valley of Medicine Masters, had to use real silver and gold as currency if he did not have the golden notes printed by the imperial court of the Shenguang empire.

However, many of the previous valley lords of the Valley of Medicine Masters had spent time in the Shenguang empire; therefore, there was a considerable store of golden notes in the Valley of Medicine Masters that had been printed by the Shenguang empire.

On the planet of Ziyun, real silver and gold were the most widespread form of currency, but a higher form of currency was the spirit stones.In any case, under normal circumstances on Ziyun, a spirit stone could not be obtained with any amount of real silver and gold unless someone wanted to exchange the spirit stone for the precious metals.

Spirit stones had value, but there was no market for them in terms of real silver and gold.

"Master, some places in the Shenguang empire do not allow flying demons to enter. Please inform your golden-crowned eagle of this."

Su Mo gave a reminder before the golden-crowned eagle Big Gold entered the capital city of the Shenguang empire.

When they were approaching the capital city of the Shenguang empire, Zhou Donghuang saw many flying demons entering and leaving the airspace above the capital city of the Shenguang empire.

"There are really so many people."

Zhou Donghuang originally thought that the number of people entering and leaving on flying demons was great, but when he looked down, he noticed that there were even more people passing through the gates of the capital city of the Shenguang empire.

There were people on foot, and also people on demons.

"A Primal Core adept!"Suddenly, Su Mo's warning sounded in Zhou Donghuang's ears.

Unconsciously following Su Mo's gaze, Zhou Donghuang saw at once a middle-aged man in a long blue robe flying through the air into the capital city of the Shenguang empire.

There was a faint white, somewhat diffused haze around the middle-aged man's body."Early Primal Core stage adept."It was obvious to Zhou Donghuang that the middle-aged man in the blue robe was an early Primal Core stage adept.

At the same time, Zhou Donghuang also noticed that the middle-aged man in the blue flying into the capital city of the Shenguang empire did not attract much attention, and only he and Su Mo were staring at him.

It was actually Su Mo's outcry that had attracted the gaze of many of the people riding flying demons who were entering and leaving the capital city of the Shenguang empire.

Many people merely glanced at Su Mo and Zhou Donghuang before looking away.However, one middle-aged man who was also riding a large eagle demon smiled mockingly.

"Coming from the countryside? Haven't even seen a Primal Core adept? Making such a scene, what a joke!"

"What has it got to do with you if I make a scene?"

Su Mo immediately fixed a cold stare on the man as he replied casually. He was after all the valley lord of the Valley of the Medicine Masters and being mocked by someone to his face was more than he could stand.

"What? You're obviously from the countryside, but refuse to acknowledge it?"

The middle-aged man's expression suddenly turned cold, and his qi whistled out, three feet long.

He was evidently a middle Connate adept.At this, Su Mo laughed casually and looked away.

The man was merely a middle Connate adept, and if he were to get involved in an argument over this, it would be unbecoming of him.Whatever else he may be, he was still a late Connate adept with a level of practice approaching the supreme Connate stage.

However, even though Su Mo did not intend to pursue the matter, the man did not intend to let it rest. After giving a cold look, he immediately rode his giant eagle flying demon, which was at the early Connate stage like Big Gold, at great speed towards Big Gold.

The middle-aged man was wearing a savage grin on his face as he struck his palm out toward Big Gold. A three-foot-long green palm whistled out, and it seemed that it would hit Big Gold.This scene happened so suddenly!

By the time Big Gold had recovered his wits, the middle-aged man's palm which had three feet of qi was already so close that he was unable to dodge. He could only say in a panic to the youth on his back, "Young Master, save me!"

Zhou Donghuang's expression froze, and he prepared to retaliate and teach that middle-aged man on the eagle flying demon a lesson, shouting

"You dare!"

With an enraged roar, Su Mo struck before Zhou Donghuang, his right hand sweeping through the air, his index and middle finger together pointing out.

Swish!!

An arrow of qi shot out from Su Mo's fingertips, slicing through the air, swelling to ten feet long in an instant, not only easily defeating the middle-aged man's three-foot palm of qi, but even passing through the skull of the man's eagle demon with a cracking sound."No!"With the death of the eagle demon, the middle-aged man's expression changed completely, and he instinctively shook his legs, three feet of qi pouring from them, and sprung toward Big Gold using the momentum from the dead giant eagle.He intended to grab on to Big Gold to stay in the air.

If he could not, falling from his current altitude, even with the dead eagle demon as a meaty landing mat, he would most likely end up dead!

If he managed to survive, he would surely become a cripple.The middle-aged man made the decision in a flash and tried to grab onto Big Gold to avoid plummeting to the ground.

"Go down!"

Seeing the middle-aged man springing forwards, a murderous look flashed through Su Mo's eyes, and he pointed again towards man's hand reaching for Big Gold.

Ka-chak!!

The qi shot out by from Su Mo's fingertips passed cleanly through the middle-aged man's wrist, leaving a bloody hole, and his whole hand fell off, followed by the man plummeting through the air."No—!"The middle-aged man's shrill cry sounded.

Crash!!

An instant later, a loud crash sounded from below, as the man fell onto the city walls of the capital city of the Shenguang empire, turning into meat paste.

Swoosh!!

As the crowd of people riding flying demons circled around watching, the golden-crowned eagle Big Gold flapped his wings in fright and shot forward into the capital city of the Shenguang empire.

As Zhou Donghuang and Su Mo were carried into the capital city of the Shenguang empire by the golden-crowned eagle, an old man on the back of a flying demon watched and muttered to himself, "Those two are in deep trouble!"

"That person who died seemed to be Yang Wei of the Yang family?"

"Correct! It was the eighth elder of the Yang family, Yang Wei!"

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