Everybody is Kung Fu Fighting, While I Started a Farm

by Little Merger

Rejuvenation of spiritual energy, prevalence of martial arts, and extraordinary awakening, Jiang He said that he didn’t panic at all. With a farm system, farming can become stronger. What should I do if I practice too slowly? Don’t panic, plant some cucumbers to eat. Cucumber effects: clearing away heat and detoxification (relieving hundreds of toxins), strengthening the brain a

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Read Everybody is Kung Fu Fighting, While I Started a Farm Chapter 199 - : Royal Sword Flight online for free - NovelFull

Chapter 199: Royal Sword Flight

The world was quiet—only the waters of Lake Kanas churned.

Standing up in the air, Three Blades Lin stared at Jiang He who was standing atop the skull of the Red Toad King's corpse with a frozen look on his face, feeling as shocked as if the world had turned upside down!

In the distance, Chen Jingzhou and the others were utterly shocked.

The Red Toad King…

Was dead!

And Jiang He had killed it!

A newly ascended rank-nine successfully slaying a top Feral King was simply unbelievable, unseen and unheard of before this… in fact, anyone who claimed that a rank-nine martial artist could kill a top Feral King before this would be publicly labeled an imbecile.

It was utterly impossible, and yet Jiang He did it.

In fact, it was not just Three Blades Lin and the others—Jiang He himself felt a little confused.

His whole body was soaked in blood. Even as his 'special effects' of rising suns as well as a dragon's roar and an elephant's trumpeting continued, a thought occurred to him…

"Isn't this kill too easy?"

"Heck, even I'm not used to this. I was ready for a major bloodbath that last over fifty minutes, and properly observe the moves of a top Feral King!"

"Back then, the Black King Drake recently ascended and had yet to fully metamorphize or grasp the powers of a Feral King. But now, with the Red Toad King, it ate me and did not even give me a chance to fight, and two blasts already blew it half to death, not to mention it actually died instantly after two slashes?"

Were Feral Kings that weak?

They might be tough outside and would remain unscathed even after being struck by missiles, but its insides were actually that weak?

Thankfully, his cultivation method was better. With Indestructible Diamond, Dragon-Elephant Prajna and the immortal physique art Nine Stars Heavenly Body Formula, he was strong inside out. Even if a dozen pea bombs were stuffed down his stomach, it would merely make an eruption sound in his stomach, but would never hurt him.

Of course, Jiang He had not eaten a bomb before and so did not have experience on that front. The System had clearly labeled that the pea bombs were inedible, and even if he was not hurt after it blew up inside him, the constipation or diarrhea that it cause would still be unbearable.

Nearby, Three Blades Lin was flying towards him.

He stared at Jiang He for a while, before landing at the shores without a word.

What was he doing?

Jiang He was puzzled. Could Old Lin be wrong in the head?

'I wasn't even provoking you. What is with that look of grief?'

Putting the corpse of the Red Toad King into his System Backpack with a wave of his hand, Jiang He strolled over the water to land on the shores of the lake as well.

In the distance, Chen Jingzhou and the rest were streaking towards them.

All of them said nothing either, and merely stared straight at Jiang He, having yet to recover form their shock.

"Jiang He, you've slain two Feral King in a week… this could be a problem."

That was when Three Blades Lin abruptly sighed. He held his gaze upon Jiang He and said, "The Ferals may appear to be a loose group, their kings were connected to each other, or us humans would have picked them off one after another already."

"The Feral Kings had charged down at Jiang Nan to demand a recompense when the Black King Darke was killed. They might all leave their mountains now that the Red Toad King is killed."

"What?"

Jiang He frowned, saying, "It's just a wart toad, and it's dead. What trouble would that cause?"

"I've read that agreement or whatnot as well, that beings above rank-nine must not start wars on a whim or massacre the weak. However, did it mention anything about rank-nines are not to kill Feral Kings?"

Three Blades Lin's gaze shifted at that.

That indeed seems to be the case.

The agreement before only restrained the Feral Kings and elites who were above rank-nine, but it did not mention that rank-nine beings were prohibited from killing Feral Kings… after all, no one imagined that a rank-nine could bend the natural rules to that extend.

And if that happened, they only need to let Wang Hou 'reason' with the Feral Kings:

If you Ferals are that powerful, send over some of your powerful rank-nines to kill our divine-tier humans. Our best elites would not even fart in your direction if you succeed…

The look on those vermin's faces would definitely be very exciting.

Still, Three Blades Lin did not show what he was thinking—he was ready to knock Jiang He a peg down, or the kid would cause more major trouble in the future.

"That being said, we need to be cautious." He said with a straight face.

"You already count as a divine-tier fighter given how you've slain the Black King Drake, and the Red Toad King by a stroke of luck. In the future, the Feral Kings would not allow you to slaughter their inferiors."

From Three Blades Lin's point of view, Jiang He would never have been able kill the Red Toad King if the monster did not eat him.

Jiang He's face dropped at that and quickly asked, "I'm not a divine-tier, but I have to stick to that agreement too?"

Three Blades Lin shot Jiang He a look.

Don't you have any idea how strong your own power is?

Sure, you are not divine-tier, but you fight stronger than the average divine-tier being. Moreover, the Ferals would now have their eye on you after you cut down two of their kings in a week.

Jiang He frowned, saying, "Do you mean that the Feral Kings would join forces to blocks me?"

"Block?"

Three Blades Lin nodded after some thought and said, "That's not quite the right word, but the general idea is that they would treat you like a divine-tier elite since you have divine-tier powers."

Jiang He snorted in return. "What nonsense. Do I have to consider a bunch of vermin's moods if I want some meat in the future? I did not decide on that agreement anyway, so why should I follow it?"

"If the Feral Kings would have the guts to target me, I will blow up their nests one by one."

Now, Jiang He spoke with utter confidence.

Feral Kings… so what about them?

'If they really pushed me too far, I'm journey across the world to collect Orirocks, and after collecting up to some fifty thousand, I will stay at the farm, earn truckloads of Farm Points and cultivate myself until I am invincible, and mow down those so-called Feral Kings.'

In response, Three Blades Lin forced smile and shook his head. "This is very important," he said begrudgingly, "I must report to Minister Wang. The rest of you, keep an eye on the time and don't be late for the opening of the Tantra Secret Realm… it took Minister Wang a lot to earn that list."

Three Blades Lin took to the skies.

Chen Jingzhou and the others only seemed to react then, each of them having their input as they broke into a noisy chatter.

Meanwhile, Jiang He had taken out his grill rack, charcoal, and bottles of condiments, saying, "Everyone's tired after a night of running. There's a lot of fish and prawn blown to hell in the water, so you could grab some to grill. I still have an errand to do, and will be going off for a moment."

He did not even give Chen Jingzhou and the others a chance to ask a question and quickly said, "I'll definitely be back in four hours."

Whoosh!

Swiftly using Blind Princess's Eight Practices, he disappeared from sight after several flashes.

Although Jiang He appeared very arrogant and did not even saw the Feral Kings as a threat…

It was merely lip service.

After all, there were still two Feral Emperors in the Hua Nation.

Those are horrific beings that could match Void-tier elites and were two tiers higher than Jiang He, and he certainly would not have the power to kill Feral Emperors for now.

"So…"

"I must get to Mount Tian as soon as possible!"

"Before the Feral Kings and Feral Emperor 'block' me, I must get my payback against the Golden-Crowned Black Eagle for shooting golden light at me back at the Jiangnan wildlands!"

Killing intent was broiling in Jiang He's heard.

Still, he suddenly slowed down even as he ran.

"Lake Kanas is six hundred kilometers away from Mount Tian. Why am I running over there?"

"Right now, I'm a cultivator of full Qi-Refinist tier… and I also have a premium soul weapon in the flying sword. I wonder if I could use Royal Sword Flight…"

Whipping out the Scarlet Flame Sword, Jiang He charged it with his mana.

With a humming sound, the Scarlet Flame Sword expanded into a giant sword burning with faint red flames.

Jiang He strode out and leapt atop the Scarlet Flame Sword.

Whoosh!

The Scarlet Flame Sword took to the air, streaking towards the horizon.

At first, Jiang He was apprehensive, shambling awkwardly atop the sword. Nonetheless, he soon adapted to it, and stood with his hands clasped behind his back atop the sword, looking down upon the land and its rivers, unable to help a sensation of pride rising in his chest.

Soon…

Mount Tian, which was covered in stark-white snow from the ridge appeared in Jiang He's sight.

At the same time, Three Blades Lin gave Wang Hou a call.

He first described what happened at Lake Kanas, and Wang He laughed out loud over at the other end. "Good, very good, Jiang He. I really had the right idea about the kid."

On the other hand, Three Blades Lin groaned. "Minister Wang, after Jiang He slew two Feral Kings in one week, the other Feral Kings would probably make a fuss again."

"Hmph!"

Wang Hou snorted coldly and sinisterly said, "Whichever blind vermin that would dare to start trouble shall be killed promptly. We could use this chance to rid ourselves of a group of Feral Kings and free up a good portion of our combat force."

"As for the Sky Demon Cult…"

"It's time they were dealt with too!"

Three Blades Lin's face twitched, while Wang Hou's tone shifted on the other end as he chuckled, "Of course, we still need to take this matter slow. Old Lin, keep an eye on Jiang He—he's an unstable element, so do have the group hurry to Tantra and back. After that, I will talk to him personally."

"Don't worry, Minister Wang."

Three Blades Lin patted his chest and spoke with assurance, "I was merely being careless before. From now on, I would ensure that Jiang He would not start any sort of trouble in Tantra until he returns."

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Chapter 200: Try Running?

The call lasted over a dozen minutes.

After Three Blades Lin hung up, he turned and flew back to Lake Kanas.

Up in the air, he saw the group of people having a grill session.

There was another fire started beside the grill rack, and Chen Jingzhou was seated beside it, baking a huge meter-long fish that he skewered on his S-grade alloy longsword.

"Tut, tut."

Three Blades Lin could not help chuckling as he landed. "The higher-ups intend for you people to train yourself a little when they told you to cross the wildlands towards the Tantra Secret Realm, but you people turned this dangerous journey to a picnic."

Nearby, Cheng Dongfeng was squatting beside the lake and washing a red bass over a meter long.

An S-grade alloy dagger in hand, he was scaling, gutting and dicing the fish… and he done it masterfully and in a single breath.

The title of Wildlands Master Cheng was not undeserved.

"Oh, blame Jiang He. Would there be any actual sense of danger when you travel with that kid?"

Cheng Dongfeng sighed even as he cut the fish into thin slices. "Huh! You don't even need to say it, but having a grill session in Lake Kanas. This red bass especially has evolved to a rank-three Feral, having few bones and bountiful meat—most importantly, the meat is fresh and scrumptious."

Beside him, Zhou Rui was holding several steel skewers, skewering the meat slices.

At the same time, Yang Chengwei was in charge of the grill.

Three Blades Lin gave the youth a look and said, "This is the first time you're grilling meat, aren't you? Look at you—the way you're oiling and sprinkling cumin is clearly incorrect…"

Chuckling, he joined the 'picnic force' too.

Soon, the dozen or so skewers were cooked.

Chen Jingzhou, Cheng Dongfeng, He Litong, Zhou Rui and Yang Chengwei each had a skewer, while Three Blades Lin picked up the remaining ten skewers alone, took out a bottle of Maotai and started eating.

Even so, he kept feeling that something wasn't right inwardly.

"Could I have sprinkled too little salt when I cooked the meat?"

"But this is the right amount of saltiness…"

As he had alternated between mouthfuls of meat and Maotai in pleasure, he abruptly rose to his feet even before he finished the second meat skewer, exclaiming in shock, "Where's Jiang He?"

No wonder he kept feeling that something wasn't right.

Where had Jiang He gone?

He had been here for a dozen minutes but did not see Jiang He at all!

"Jiang He?"

Cheng Dongfeng, who received the 'grand mission' of cooking Three Blade Lin's skewers replied, "He said that he had an errand to run, and told us to rest for now—he would come back around four hours."

Errand?

"Did he not mention what it is?"

Three Blades Lin's voice became rather hoarse.

A sense of foreboding arose in the bottom of his heart, and Three Blades Lin abruptly found the meat in his hand not that tasty now.

He had given Wang Hou his assurance just a while ago—could that brat had gone off to start trouble again?

"He didn't say."

Cheng Dongfeng continued grilling the meat without looking up, grinning, "I know the kid, he's never resting even for an instant. He might have gone off to hunt after developing a craving for game."

Three Blades Lin's expression relaxed considerably and returned to his meat, laughing while he ate, "Game is alright. With Jiang He's current abilities, he could strut over four hundred kilometers around Lake Kanas."

"My lord!"

That was when the black panther who kept lurking in the forests beside the lake poked its head out and communicated meekly to Three Blades Lin through spirit voice, "My master isn't going to hunt; he is going to get payback."

Three Blades Lin turned towards the black panther and asked in surprise, "The area three hundred kilometers around Lake Kanas is uninhabited wildlands, and Jiang He had never been to the Western Frontier, yes? Why would he have enemies here?"

"My master's enemy is not human!"

The black panther replied, tilting his head in thought. "I remember Master mentioning that his enemy resides at Mount Tian, and it seems to be a big bird."

"Mount Tian?"

"Big bird?"

Three Blades Lin had not realized it immediately.

Nearby, Chen Jingzhou who was cooking a fish shuddered, and turned towards Three Blades Lin with wide eyes as he exclaimed in shock, "Could it be the Golden-Crowned Black Eagle of Mount Tian?"

"Yes, yes, yes!"

The black panther's eyes lit up as it nodded, and continued to communicate in spirit, "That's more or less what's it called.

"…"

What the heck!

Three Blades Lin was left dumbstruck.

He threw his grilled meat and Maotai on the floor and promptly rose to his feet again, bounding towards Mount Tian as fast as lightning, his enormous spirit scanning the mountain forests beneath him.

"Even if he's a match for divine-tier being in fighting ability, he is a rank-nine novice and can't fly, so he wouldn't be that quick.'

"Lake Kanas is almost eight hundred kilometers away from Mount Tian. I should be able to get to him at full speed!"

Three Blades Lin's head was swimming.

The Red Toad King was dead regardless.

And according to Wang Hou, the Red Toad King did not have many connections. There were just two Feral Toad Kings across the globe, and the other one—the Gold Toad King was in the distant lands of the Amazon.

Even Feral Kings would try to cause trouble by using that excuse, the two Feral Emperors in the Hua Nation would not dare to be reckless now that the five Holy Grounds and the government had an accord.

But the Golden-Crowned Black Eagle King was a different matter.

The Feral Eagles were too powerful.

These creatures were the tyrants of the skies even before the Revival of Qi, standing atop the food chain of avians as they nested on the loftiest precipices of the mountains. Moreover, after the Revival of Qi and the mutation of most animals, as well as how natural treasures easily manifest at old mountains and ancient forests, a new generation of powerful Feral Eagles were born unto this world.

One such example was the Golden-Crowned Black Eagle King of Mount Tian.

It was a top Feral King alongside the Violet-Crowned Golden Eagle King, and both of them were ranked amongst the most powerful Ferals in the world.

In fact, the most powerful Feral Eagle was a golden eagle that dubbed itself the Golden-Winged Roc King, which was also one of two Feral Emperors of the Hua Nation, residing at the uninhabited zone of Bukadaban summit in Kekexili, just next to Mount Kunlun.

And if Jiang He did kill the Golden-Crowned Black Eagle King, the Golden-Winged Roc King would go on a rampage too.

Feral Emperors were horrific beings that could match Void-tier Ferals, and not even Wang Hou might be able to stop them.

"Hold on…"

"Why am I so sure that Jiang He could kill the Golden-Crowned Black Eagle King?"

"That beast is just a class above the Violet-Crowned Golden Eagle, which I am an equal match against… Jiang He only killed the Red Toad King by chance, so wouldn't it be a pipe dream for him to kill the Golden-Crowned Black Eagle King?"

Three Blades Lin was a little calmer at that thought.

Moreover, he was flying at twice the speed of sound, and he would definitely get to Jiang He before he reached Mount Tian.

"My Royal Sword Flight is still too slow!"

Jiang He landed beneath Mount Tian, put away his Scarlet Flame Sword with a wave of his hand and shook his head. "The Scarlet Flame Sword is a premium soul weapon and would be buffed in flight speed to a certain extent, but I'm just a Qi-Refinist at the moment and a novice in immortal arts. Even at full power, I'm just moving at two point five times the speed of light."

In fact, 2.5 times the speed of light was actually too quick.

It was difficult for ordinary divine-tier elites to even reach twice the speed of sound.

Even so, Jiang He was very dissatisfied.

After all, he was about to face the Golden-Crowned Black Eagle King, and records show that that the Golden-Crowned Black Eagle King's top speed was three times the speed of sound… Even Jiang He had a hunch that the beast would surpass that when it fleed for its life.

And how could he catch up at 2.5 times the speed of sound?

"Actually, I think it would be more practical if I came for my payback after ascending to Golden Cinnabar."

Withdrawing his aura, Jiang He strode up the mountain.

After all, the uniqueness of sword training would not really manifest on Qi-Refinist tier.

Nonetheless, his ability would definitely shoot up once he reached Golden Cinnabar. When the time comes, his flight speed would definitely shoot up as well, and he could chase down the Golden-Crowned Black Eagle King even if he gave it a head start of several thousand meters.

"However…"

"I'm still far from reaching Golden Cinnabar!"

"Even after I earned a ton of Farm Points, going off to the Tantra Secret Realm and going back to Lingzhou City, and then come back when I'm Golden Cinnabar… it would take over half a month!"

And half a month was too long!

It was the sixth of October today, six whole days since that Golden-Crowned Black Eagle King shot a golden ray at him.

Jiang He felt that it was too much compassion letting the vermin live six more days.

"Compared to Golden Cinnabar, I have a more practical solution!"

"I will pretend to be weak, and take it down with a single strike!"

"After all the Golden-Crowned Black Eagle King wouldn't flee at once when it sees me since I'm just rank-nine novice… When that happens, I could just burst forward, unleash by Scarlet Flame Sword and cut it down without giving it a chance to escape. That way, I certainly wouldn't have to worry about catching up."

Jiang He's eyes lit up when that idea came to mind.

That plan…

Was perfect!

At that thought, Jiang He did not bother to hide his aura at all.

He merely released a fraction of this rank-nine novice aura, and soon caught some Ferals' attention.

Drawing out his Dragon-Slaying Saber, he slaughtered his way from the foot of the mountain halfway up the peak, where he slew a rank-nine Feral with some 'difficulty' in a bloodbath…

Screech!

A sharp cry resounded over the peak—the Golden-Crowned Black Eagle King stretched its great wings atop the stark-white peak, circling the sky once before diving down upon Jiang He.

Delight showed on Jiang He's face.

It's here!

The vermin was finally alerted…

He wouldn't be able to keep pretending if it hadn't come, since acting 'weak' was very difficult, and it took a lot for him to engage a rank-nine Feral in a bloody battle when he could cut it down with a single strike.

What if the Golden-Crowned Black Eagle King was frightened off when that happened?

"Human!"

The Golden-Crowned Black Eagle King dove down at him and landed on a giant boulder fifty meters away from Jiang He, leveling its dark-golden eyes on Jiang He and laughing when it recognized him. "Human," it spoke, "You really have a death wish—you had Wang Hou protecting you back at Jiangnan, but now… who could save you?"

Jiang He: "…"

He did a double take.

Why were the Feral Kings all acting all civilized when he met them, speaking with such culture—leaving aside your increased intelligence after you evolved, could you have gained self-taught knowledge as well?

He smiled and strode towards the Golden-Crowned Black Eagle King, the silhouette of six suns appearing behind him, with a dragon and an elephant circling between them.

Dragon-Slaying Saber in hand, Jiang He laughed. "Golden-Crowned Black Eagle King, when you attacked me on that day, did you consider that you would be the one dying because you failed to kill me?"

"Hahahaha!"

Golden-Crowned Black Eagle King was most amused.

It was at first shocked that a rank-nine martial artist could unleash such a powerful aura, but that bit of strength would never match him.

There was mockery in the Golden-Crowned Black Eagle King's dark golden eyes as it laughed, "Since you wish to die, this king shall humor your wish."

Whoosh!

Spreading its ink-dark wings that were as tough as steel and kicking up a hurricane the instant it did. However, even as the Golden-Crowned Black Eagle King was about to take to the skies, it saw Jiang He suddenly swinging his blade at itself from less than thirty-meters away!

"Vermin!"

"Eat my blade!"

Boom!

A thirty-meter thunder slash erupted.

At the same time…

Shiiing!

The hum of a sword echoed.

After the thunder slash, a sword radiance blazing with scarlet flames grew larger and larger in the Golden-Crowned Black Eagle King's vision…

In the end, thirty-meters was too close.

The Golden-Crowned Black Eagle could only shriek deafeningly once, before…

Shunk!

Sword light pierced through its skull.

Boom.

And the Golden-Crowned Black Eagle landed on the ground.

Extending his hand to withdraw the Scarlet Flame Sword, Jiang He came beside the corpse of the Feral King and couldn't help chuckling.

"As I've thought… my idea was just too solid."

"Running from me when I could instakill you?"

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Read Everybody is Kung Fu Fighting, While I Started a Farm Chapter 201 - How Do I Actually Kill A Feral Emperor? online for free - NovelFull

Chapter 201: How Do I Actually Kill A Feral Emperor?

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

The many Ferals that were approaching in a circle around Jiang He promptly scattered, fleeing across every direction once they saw that the Golden-Crowned Black Eagle King was dead.

Not bothered to give chase, Jiang He retrieved the corpse of the Golden-Crowned Black Eagle and used Royal Sword to fly atop the mountain.

The Golden-Crowned Black Eagle's nest was not on the peak, but over a cliff.

A huge boulder protrudes from that cliff, atop of which was an extra-large bird nest, with two car-sized bird eggs inside.

"The Golden-Crowned Black Eagle's eggs?"

Jiang He's gaze twitched in slight surprise.

After so long, the Golden-Crowned Black Eagle turned out to be female?

Fair enough…

Jiang He was not good at identifying the gender of birds, but he knows that the eggs of a powerful Feral King would definitely fetch a hefty price. When cooked, a little salt would be enough to make it exquisite.

After putting away the eggs, Jiang He walked around the peak, where he found three tufts of white snow lotus growing between the cracks of several snow boulders.

"Is that the legendary Mount Tian Snow Lotus? Still, these look like ordinary Mount Tian Snow Lotus that had not evolved into Floral Spirits…" Jiang He simply plucked off the three tufts of Mount Tian Snow Lotus, before leaping into the air and darted down the mountain."

"Mount Tian is the Golden-Crowned Black Eagle's territory and there are hordes of Ferals living atop it. If a Floral Spirit was really born, it would have been eaten by those Ferals—would I even have gotten any?"

Approximately 180 km away from Mount Tian, a blade light was shooting away from Lake Kanas.

"Where is Jiang He?"

"Where the heck is Jiang He?"

Three Blades Lin felt like his heart was being strung up.

He was about to reach Mount Tian.

His spirit had been scanning the mountain forests below all along, but he never caught a glimpse of Jiang He at all.

"Could that black panther had fooled me?"

"Jiang He was not actually heading to Mount Tian?"

Three Blades Lin kept thinking, and only come up with one possibility—since his flight speed was twice the speed of sound, he would be catching up soon if Jiang He really came to Mount Tian.

But just in case, Three Blades Lin was still going ahead to check.

He had no idea that the Golden-Crowned Black Eagle was already gone!

Still, since it was almost 200km away from Mount Tian, not even divine-tier elites could sense that far. In addition, the whole process in which Jiang He slay the Golden-Crowned Black Eagle took less than 20 seconds. It would only be weird if he sensed that instakill, and complete lack of a world-ending battle.

Whoosh!

His blade light cut through the air and shot rapidly towards Mount Tian.

In his vision, Mount Tian, which was covered in white snow halfway was getting closer…

"Less than twenty miles away from Mount Tian… it seems Jiang He definitely did not come."

Three Blades Lin slowed down and was ready to turn back, when…

Boom!

A loud eruption resounded from eight miles up front, and even Three Blades Lin could see the flame erupting into the air.

"Jiang He?"

What the hell!

Three Blades Lin was stunned.

That kid had already got here?

Was he really that quick?

But that was fine—at least he managed to catch up.

A stream beneath Mount Tian.

Jiang He was staring at a fat, gorgeous fish floating on the surface and could not resist chuckling, "Pea bombs are really amazing when it comes to blast fishing."

He made a grabbing gesture, and True Qi billowed, levitating the meter-long fish from the stream.

Suddenly, Jiang He's eyes shifted to the horizon to find a blade light streaking towards him.

"Hmm?"

"Three Blades Lin?"

Frowning and slightly surprised, Jiang He watched as Three Blades Lin landed before him and asked in surprise, "Old Lin, why did you come here?"

"Oh, perfect timing. This stream is water melted from the snow of Mount Tian, so the fish living here must taste extraordinary. I'm just done blasting, so you could take a few home for a taste."

"…"

Three Blades Lin couldn't decide if he wanted to laugh or cry.

Blast fishing?

Didn't you just blow up Lake Kanas?

Still, he breathed a sigh of relief inwardly…

This spot was still ten miles away from Mount Tian—he finally caught up to the brat.

He then looked down to find that there were about fifty fish spread out on the floor. He picked five since he had the Spatial Ring anyway and carrying it was easy, whereas Jiang He retrieved the rest of the fish.

After the fish were all put away, Three Blades Lin finally said, "Let's go back, Jiang He."

"Go back?"

"Go back here?"

Back to Lingzhou City?

Could something have happened at Lingzhou City, which was why Three Blades Lin was looking for him in such a hurry?

Puzzled, Jiang He asked, "What happened, Old Lin?"

"Nothing, Jiang He."

Three Blades Lin replied. "I'm taking you back, do not resist."

He extended his hand and grabbed, and a shroud of power reached out and covered Jiang He. Jiang He then felt his body lighten up and float into the air, before flying towards Lake Kanas with Three Blades Lin.

Nothing beats being carried in flight.

Even so, Jiang He became even more puzzled when he saw Three Blades Lin scowling, and could not help pressing, "Old Lin, what actually happened?"

In response, Three Blades Lin turned to look back at Mount Tian.

Unable to decide if he should laugh or cry, he said, "Jiang He, you mustn't go to Mount Tian… we're not supposed to attack the Golden-Crowned Black Eagle for now. Having stood guard over Mount Kunlun before, I know that the Golden-Crowned Black Eagle and the Violet-Crowned Golden Eagle were close. Those two Feral Eagles were also very close to the Golden-Winged Roc of Bukadaban Peak."

"The Golden-Winged Roc, the Violet-Crowned Golden Eagle?"

Jiang He blinked, recalling the two eggs of the Golden-Crowned Black Eagle and muttered, "Old Lin… is that Violet-Crowned Golden Eagle male or female?"

"Female. Why would you ask that?"

Three Blades Lin looked at Jiang He in confusion, adding, "I was stationed at Mount Kunlun to keep an eye on the Violet-Crowned Golden Eagle. I know that well after having fought it many times… in fact, the Golden-Crowned Black Eagle of Mount Tian is female too."

But I know that already.

"I've got it!"

Jiang He said thoughtfully, "It seems that the Golden-Crowned Black Eagle and the Violet-Crowned Golden Eagle are good sisters… does that mean the Golden-Winged Roc is their mate?"

"How did you know that? A hunch?"

Three Blades Lin did a double take.

Though both the Golden-Crowned Black Eagle and the Violet-Crowned Golden Eagle did fly to the Golden-Winged Roc every other day…

No one thought about that.

After all, since those three birds' nests were not far from each other and they were all Feral Eagles, was it not common sense that they move around a lot?

"Does that even take a hunch?"

Jiang He gave Three Blades Lin a look of concern he would otherwise give a fool, saying, "The truth is right out there—do I still need to guess with those eggs laid?"

"Eggs?"

Three Blades Lin's brow twitched, a foreboding feeling suddenly arising inside him as he asked, "What eggs?"

"The Golden-Crowned Black Eagle's eggs. It had two, and each are the size of my sports car. They probably would last a lot of meals."

Three Blades Lin suddenly paused mid-flight as his eyes widened at Jiang He, unable to hold back from yelling, "You've stolen the Golden-Crowned Black Eagle's eggs?"

"Stole?"

Jiang He was at a loss for words. "Old Lin, you are a divine-tier elite for goodness's sake, and even a man glorified as Blade King. Why is your wording that inappropriate? Stealing? I took them justly and honorably, alright?"

"…"

Three Blades Lin stared at Jiang He for a while, before turning around and flew back towards Mount Tian, growling, "Put those back! Put the Golden-Crowned Black Eagle's eggs back in its necks! If those eggs belonged to the Golden-Crowned Black Eagle and the Golden-Winged Roc, it wouldn't just be the Golden-Crowned Black Eagle going amok if it found that the eggs were gone—even the Golden-Winged Roc would start rampaging!"

From Three Blades Lin's perspective, the Golden-Crowned Black Eagle must have been away from its nest, allowing Jiang He to sneak in and steal its eggs.

"Hehe."

"Don't worry, Old Lin. The Golden-Crowned Black Eagle would never notice."

Jiang He chuckled in amusement.

"How could it notice after I killed it?"

Three Blades Lin: "…"

His form stiffened as if struck by thunder, his voice shaking and raspy as he pointed at Jiang He and asked in disbelief, "You… you… you killed the Golden-Crowned Black Eagle?"

"Uh-huh!"

Jiang He nodded.

Three Blades Lin's whole body shuddered, his aura becoming erratic.

Since he was carrying Jiang He in flight, once his aura stirred, Jiang He promptly dropped from the sky.

Bang!

The several-hundred meters fall and the acceleration of gravity, Jiang He crashed into the mountain forest below, kicking up a big clump of dust.

Dusting his backside and leaping out of the human-shaped crater, Jiang He cursed while pointing at the sky, "What the hell are you doing, Three Blades Lin? Are you trying to kill me?"

Whoosh!

It was only after a dozen seconds that Three Blades Lin descended from the skies, laughing out loud, "I'm such an idiot, to think I'd believe your nonsense…"

"After counting the time, I've caught you just as you reached the foot of Mount Tian?"

"Killing the Golden-Crowned Black Eagle…"

"The Golden-Crowned Black Eagle is just a notch beneath me in power. Could you even have killed it?"

"Jiang He, don't make a joke like this again… eh?"

Three Blades Lin froze even before he finished—with one wave from Jiang He, the massive corpse of the Golden-Crowned Black Eagle dropped to the ground.

Beside it, Jiang He rubbed his temples, suddenly realizing a solemn problem.

"The Golden-Crowned Black Eagle is the eggs of the Golden-Winged Roc… doesn't that mean those two eggs are the Golden-Winged Roc's kids?"

"I killed its mate and intends to eat its children… wouldn't it come for me?"

Jiang He pondered.

A Feral Emperor, coming to him with a bone to pick?

Wouldn't that be too dangerous?

Or perhaps… he should strike first before the Golden-Winged Roc realized what happened, and think of some way to kill it?

Jiang He promptly put his hands together.

That plan… was perfect!

He shall strike preemptively and kill the Golden-Winged Roc, and it would never know that he killed its consort and stole its egg.

And if it was dead, how could it seek revenge on him?

Otherwise, Lingzhou city might be caught in the crossfire when the Golden-Winged Roc come for him, and there was no telling how many would die then!

The only bother was… how was he actually supposed to kill a Feral Emperor?

"A Feral Emperor is equal to a Void-tier human, which Minister Wang is. I could ask him about it…"

Looking up at the dumbstruck Three Blades Lin, Jiang He said, "Old Lin, help me a bit out here. Don't spread word that I've killed the Golden-Crowned Black Eagle—everything can wait until after I returned from the Tantra Secret Realm."

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Chapter 202: Kill A Feral Emperor For Him

Jiang He retrieved the corpse of the Golden-Crowned Black Eagle with a wave.

Three Blades Lin came to his senses and stared straight at Jiang He for a dozen seconds in disbelief and asked, "That's the Golden-Crowned Black Eagle! Even if I fought it, I could hardly stop it from escaping… You…"

"How did you manage to kill it?"

It was not as if Three Blades Lin was underestimating Jiang He—they fought just two days ago, and though Jiang He appeared to be powerful, he was not powerful enough to reverse the natural order to slay the Golden-Crowned Black Eagle.

One should know that he, Three Blades Lin, had only slain one Feral King ever since the Revival of Qi.

And here was a rank-nine who killed two in the course of a day.

He was basically divine.

In return, Jiang He smiled smugly. "I've actually thought about it on the way there, that it's a fifty-fifty if the Golden-Crowned Black Eagle tried to flee as fast as it could. That is why I pretended to be weak, dull its wariness before I suddenly burst out and instakill it. It's never getting away with that."

That… that actually made a lot of sense.

If I really had the power to kill the Golden-Crowned Black Eagle with a single strike, why would I let it go?

After taking a deep breath to calm his stirred mind, Three Blades Lin said, "Jiang He, I must report this to Minister Wang at once. As for keeping it a secret… did you kill all the Ferals of Mount Tian?"

"Huh?"

Jiang He's face dropped as regret showed all over his face. "Damn it, I was careless… I've only killed a dozen and allowed the others to run off—wouldn't they report to the Golden-Winged Roc?"

Blade in hand, Jiang He turned around with overflowing killing-intent to massacre the mountain, only for Three Blades Lin to stop him.

"That's unnecessary, Jiang He."

No longer blanking out from disbelief like before, Three Blades Lin laughed out loud and said boldly, "It's fine. So what if the Golden-Winged Roc knows? Just keep calm and head to the Tantra Secret Realm—I'm going back to Jingdu right now to discuss this matter with Minister Wang."

"You set your mind at ease and cultivate yourself, so that you could reach divine-tier soon."

"Your killing of the Golden-Crowned Black Eagle is still within the rules. The Golden-Winged Roc would never rule the skies!"

Three Blades Lin's Blade Qi shot to the air.

With a whoosh, he turned into a blade light and took to the air, disappearing over the horizon.

There was somberness all over his face even as he rushed at top spit in the direction of Jingdu.

So what if the Golden-Winged Roc went on a rampage?

Jiang He must be protected!

So what if they went to war, when it was for the sake of a genius who could slay Feral Kings like chopping vegetables at rank-nine?

The Hua Nation's present was not traded by being yes-people and compromising with the Ferals, but it was a path carved out by countless martial elites and Awakened!

"He's gone… just like that?"

There was a look of envy in Jiang He's eyes even as he stared at the blade light shooting up into the air…

Divine-tier individuals could walk on air.

Him, on the other hand, could not, and must use Royal Sword Flight with his flying sword, even though it seems like he was quicker…

Nonetheless, Jiang He sighed when he remembered about the Golden-Winged Roc. "Whatever—it's unrealistic for me to kill something as a Feral Emperor with my current abilities. Just like Three Blades Lin said—it's more practical for me to prioritize improving myself."

Feral Emperors were equal to Void-tier martial artists, which in turn were equal to True Child on the Immortal Path.

"So what if it's True Child?"

"According to the usual Xianxia novel plot, the path of Sword Sages which I had taken could kill foes regardless of tier, and it's a simple matter for me to slay the Golden-Winged Roc."

Jiang He strode out and sprinted towards Lake Kanas.

Since he had told the others that he would be away for around four hours, and only one hour had passed for now…

Therefore, Jiang He slowed down, taking out the Twenty-Seven Leafed Sword Will Grass from his System Backpack.

He must improve himself as soon as possible!

Focusing his sword will and extending it at the Twenty-Seven Leafed Sword Will Grass, in the next split second…

Boom!

As if thunder clapped in his mind, Jiang He's figure abruptly froze, and he almost tripped and dropped to the ground.

He promptly sat cross-legged, his expression turning pale-white and cursed through gritted teeth, "What the heck… I guess cultivating sword will while running would never work. Moreover, isn't this Twenty-Seven Leafed Sword Will Grass I planted a little too powerful?"

The powerful sword will was washing over the sea of swords in Jiang He's mind.

He focused his own sword will up to maximum to resist the powerful sword will.

As if honed over a thousand times, his sword will became increasingly purer and sharper, even as Jiang He himself closed his eyes in his meditation upon sword will.

Meanwhile, a 2-meter long venomous spider had climbed atop the tree over Jiang He's head.

Its horrific eyes were swiveling rapidly, venom dripping out of its fearsome mandibles.

It dropped off the tree all of a sudden as it lunged at Jiang He. But even before it could get closer, its body abruptly split apart into endless chunks, as if sliced apart by countless swords.

A mist of blood descended, but did not fall upon Jiang He's body—formless veins of Sword Qi surrounds his entire body, rapidly strengthening.

An entire hour passed when the Twenty-Seven Leafed Sword Will Grass finally withered into a tuft of dried leaves. Jiang He opened his eyes, sword radiance shining from his gaze and smiling in pleasure after feeling around his body for a bit. "Awesome, the Twenty-Seven Leafed Sword Will Grass is truly extraordinary. One tuft is enough to improve my sword will from thirty percent to more than seventy percent."

Jiang He took out a second tuft of Twenty-Seven Leafed Sword Will Grass with a wave of his hand and thought to himself, "The second one might have a weaker effect and wouldn't help me gain perfect grasp over sword will, but reaching ninety-percent wouldn't be a problem."

Charging his sword word and stimulating the sword will Twenty-Seven Leafed Sword Will Grass and fighting it again, he cultivated his own sword will once again.

Soon, another hour passed.

Shing!

The cry of a blood echoed over Jiang He's body. At his thought, his Scarlet Flame Sword turned into a Scarlet Longsword and landed on his palm.

He swung it.

Swish!

A terrifying Sword Qi landed, with everything from tree to boulder sliced apart without a sound where it passed.

Withdrawing the sword, Jiang He sensed around his own body to find an ethereal Sword Infant forming in that sea of swords, and was showing signs of materialization.

"My sword will actually turned into a Sword Infant… if it fully takes shape, wouldn't it mean that I gained perfect grasp over my sword will?"

Jiang He couldn't help forcing a smile and shake his head at the thought, a look of balefulness in his eyes.

There was no helping it…

Life is hard—he had always been cultivating by himself.

Even if his grasp of sword will was almost perfect, he knew nothing about swordplay, having not even trained basic sword techniques. All he could do was think to himself what the path of sword will was…

Either way, his sword will was probably above ninety-five or six percent now.

"How should I cultivate sword will to perfection now?"

"Train with a sword?"

But he didn't know swordplay!

Jiang He rubbed his temples, becoming rather upset at that.

He could plant three cultivation manuals after his farm improved to level four. Should he try planting a swordplay after planting the Nine Stars Heavenly Body Formula and the Three Thousand Calamities?

"Forget it."

"Planting a swordplay would have to wait until after I return. It's four hours soon—I should go back to Chen Jingzhou and the others."

"Eh?"

Jiang He was about to head towards Lake Kanas when he suddenly felt something, and looked up towards the horizon…

A gigantic golden eagle was flying towards Mount Tian, both its claws were violet just like a tuft of down on its head, and it appeared no different from a violet crown.

"Is that not the Violet-Crowned Golden Eagle which lives up at Mount Kunlun? What is it doing, going to Mount Tian? Could it have known that I killed the Golden-Crowned Black Eagle already?"

"No, that's not right. How could information be passed between Ferals at such divine speed?"

"Maybe… it wanted to talk to its sister about the good old days and gossip."

Jiang He's gaze lit up thoughtfully.

Meanwhile, Three Blades Lin had already returned to Jingdu City.

Once he arrived at the headquarters of the Martial Arts Department (MAD), he sprinted straight towards Wang Hou's office.

"You're here, Old Lin?"

Wang Hou, who was resting his feet on his desk with a Thermos cup in hand exclaimed in surprise when he saw Three Blades Lin return. "Aren't you supposed to escort Jiang He and the others to Tantra in secret? Considering the duration of their journey, they shouldn't have arrived, have they?"

"Something unexpected occurred."

Three Blades Lin cut straight to the point, saying, "After Jiang He slew the Red Toad King, he went off to Mount Tian and killed the Golden-Crowned Black Eagle."

Pfft~

Wang Hou, who was having a sip of tea from his Thermos flash promptly spat it at that, looking utterly incredulous. "Didn't you tell me he only reached rank-nine yesterday? That Golden-Crowned Black Eagle is one of the strongest Feral Kings…"

"And isn't it an eight hundred km distance heading from Lake Kanas to Mount Tian?"

"Is that kid that bored that he had to go to Mount Tian?"

"I heard he went there for payback." Three Blades Lin replied at that.

"Payback?"

Wang Hou muttered to himself, the corner of his lips twitching when he remembered the golden light that the Golden-Crowned Black Eagle breathed at Jiang He to prove his power…

What the hell.

'The kid is even pettier than I am?

'That… calls for payback too?

'Fine.

'Even if it was called for, how many days had it only been? You ran eight hundred km expressly for payback?

'When the kid said that he did not want to go to the Tantra Secret Realm, and then specified that he would go there afterward… could he had been prepared to kill the Golden-Crowned Black Eagle then?'

Wang Hou rose to his feet, completely unconcerned by that matter as he grinned. "It's just the Golden-Crowned Black Eagle. Dead is dead, and Jiang He is only rank-nine so it's not breaking the rules. Even if the other Feral Eagles are that powerful, are we humans short of elites now?"

Three Blades Lin kept impassive as he replied, "Both the Golden-Crowned Black Eagle and the Violet-Crowned Golden Eagle are the Golden-Winged Roc's consorts, and the Golden-Crowned Black had laid two eggs."

"By the way, Jiang He has the eggs."

Wang Hou: "…"

After staying quiet for a long time, he laughed out loud and slammed this Thermos cup on his desk, smashing it into pieces. "Wonderful, good job!"

"I've been saying that the kid had limitless future. Now it seems that I'm right."

"Minister Wang…"

Three Blades Lin was at a loss for words and blue with shock. "Shouldn't we be thinking about how to handle the Golden-Winged Roc's rampage? And after Jiang He had slain three Feral Kings—the Black King Drake, the Red Toad King and the Golden-Crowned Black Eagle in a single week, I fear the Feral Kings would not agree to it."

"Hoho."

Wang Hou smirked. "Old Lin, send word to every divine-tier elite within the nations to prepare for war. Also, contact the martial clans and have them send their old founders hiding to cultivate to step out for some monster hunting."

"Old Zhou!"

He barked, and as Zhou Yu entered, Wang Hou said, "Old Zhou, send word to the five Holy Grounds and say I want to borrow their people. Each faction shall loan us a Void-tier individual aside from the elites who left to defend each of their stations, and I'll personally go with the Void elites to set a blockade on the Golden-Winged Roc's nest. We'll see if it would make a fuss then…"

"If it does, then it's war!"

In that very moment, Wang Hou appeared absolutely overwhelming!

Aside from ability, the reason he gained his position today is his attitude… Wang Hou was overbearing and charismatic, able to declare war even against Feral Kings at the drop of a hat.

He might have been milder before, but after reaching an agreement with the five Holy Grounds, would he still be pushed around by those vermin?

"That's not right is it, Minister Wang? Going to war after several months of stability?"

"Yes!"

Wang Hou cut to the point, saying, "It's cool if the Feral didn't act, but it's war if they do. Anything could wait until we killed a bunch of them—if we can't get rid of this bunch of vermin, how are we supposed to deal with the enemies from beyond?"

"Alright!"

Three Blades Lin was a bold person too, and he promptly laughed. "I'll be taking vanguard if we really are going to war, Minister Wang…"

His phone rang before he finished.

Taking his phone out from his pocket, Three Blades Lin blinked when he saw the caller ID and asked in confusion, "It's Jiang He. Why would the kid call me after we just parted ways?"

Nonetheless, he answered the call.

Wang Hou gave him a look then, and understanding his intention, Three Blades Lin put the call on loudspeaker.

Jiang He voice spoke from the other end, and he appeared rather meek with embarrassment, "Old Lin… uh… the Violet-Crowned Golden Eagle was headed to Mount Tian."

"Eh?"

Three Blades Lin's expression twitched, but before he could say anything, Jiang He quickly added, "But don't worry, I always resolve the problems I caused—so, to avoid the Violet-Crowned Golden Eagle from tattling to the Golden-Winged Roc ahead of schedule, I killed it…"

Thud!

Three Blades Lin's hand shook, dropping his phone on the ground.

What the hell!

Why were the best Feral Kings cabbages turning to cabbages at Jiang He's hands?

How was he slaughtering them as he liked?

Jiang He's voice could still be heard from the dropped phone, saying, "Hello? Hello? Are you listening, Old Lin? Weren't you going back to meet Minister Wang? Please help me pass the word to him, see if he could give me a few thousand Orirocks and several dozen tufts of Sword Will Barrenwort as reward. When I get back from the Tantra Secret Realm, I will kill a Feral Emperor for him!"

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Chapter 203: Three Blades Lin's Gramps

The peak of Mount Tian.

The colossal corpse of the Violet-Crowned Golden Eagle was lying on the ground. It had a sword wound that stretched over ten meters long on its belly—it had sliced through the bird entirely, and the blood sleeping out was dyeing its beautiful golden feather scarlet.

Beside the corpse, Jiang He had ended his call with Three Blades Lin and Wang Hou with an upset look.

Retrieving the Violet-Crowned Golden Eagle's corpse with a wave of his hand, he could not help sighing. "Huh… the Martial Arts Department (MAD) has such deep pockets, so why are they acting so poor?"

"All I want is a few hundred Orirocks and three tufts of Sword Will Barrenwort, and they are only giving me a hundred Orirocks and one tuft?'

Most importantly, although Wang Hou had agreed to it, Jiang He was afraid from his tone that the MAD did not have that much stock.

Still, Wang Hou did say he would get him a hundred Orirocks even if he had to steal them—moreover, it was reasonable that they were short on Orirocks.

After all, Orirocks were no different from spirit stones that were spoken of in epic fantasies, and were cultivation resources of divine-tiers as well as greatly benefiting the cultivation of rank-nine elites.

Therefore, in this world where Qi had not returned for long and with so-called spirit stones veins yet to be found, everyone had to depend on heritage sites, and even those might not produce Orirocks with complete certainty.

Even if an elite unlocked a heritage site and claimed the Orirocks within to cultivate and improved their ability, those who accumulated 14 of them like Long Mountain Lin were in the minority. After all, Long Mountain Lin had reached the limit of rank-nine and fall short because he did not gain a perfect grasp over sword will, which was why for him, using the Orirocks would be a waste.

"Still, Wang Hou is a Void-tier elite. He certainly wouldn't con a martial arts newbie like me since he promised me a hundred."

"As for steal or extort, what does that have to do with me?"

Jiang He hence leapt, vaulting down from the peak of Mount Tian.

Up in the air, a scarlet sword light shot out from between his brows, expanding against the wind and turning into a giant sword that landed beneath Jiang He's feet.

Whoosh!

It cut an elegant arc over the horizon as Jiang He directed the sword ahead.

When he was around a hundred miles away from Lake Kanas, he jumped out of the sky, withdrawing his Scarlet Flame Sword and casting Blind Princess's Eight Practices to hurry on.

After all, Jiang He was keeping his little trump card in reserve, and he did not want to reveal that he had assumed the path of an immortal.

And the two eagle sisters that were aware he was a Royal Sword user were dead.

"Jiang He!"

When Chen Jingzhou and the others noticed him from the distance, they got up and came to him, with Chen Jingzhou asking in concern, "Are you alright, Jiang He? Your mount told us that you went to Mount Tian for payback… by the way, where's Blade King senpai?"

Jiang He did not answer, and looked at the black panther that was eating fish on the lake shores.

The black panther whose body twitched and shuddered, and quickly spoke through spirit voice, "Please don't get angry, master. I was worried about you…"

Acting cute, now?

Jiang He withdrew his gaze and laughed out loud, "My mount is merely fooling around… Mount Tian is the domain of the Golden-Crowned Black Eagle after all, and a Feral King just like the Red Toad King. How would I dare to start trouble with that bird when I'm just a rank-nine martial arts newbie?"

Even as he lied, Jiang He's eyelid did not even twitch. After all, he was lying for the sake of Chen Jingzhou and the others—what if they were spooked if he told the truth?

He added, "I heard that the stream beneath Mount Tian was water melted from snow, with fresh bountiful fishes swimming within. That's why I went there for a bit."

"Anyway, it's already one. Let's keep going."

"Blade King has something to do so he went back to Jingdu City for now. I'll call the shots when we reach Tantra later."

"…"

Chen Jingzhou's opened his mouth, his expression suddenly much darker.

Martial arts newbie?

Don't you think you've mistaken about the term?

And after you've just killed the Red Toad King, you're somehow saying you wouldn't dare to start trouble with another Feral King—doesn't your conscience hurt?

He stared at Jiang He suspiciously…

Blade King senpai had returned?

That was possible, but was it not a little too hasty letting Jiang He call the shots?

Indeed, Chen Jingzhou was worried Jiang He would start fighting with the Tantras when they reached their Holy Grounds.

Nonetheless, the group had already finished their grill meat and washed their rack, and tidied up the bottles of condiments.

Jiang He retrieved the rack with a wave of his hand before leaping up on the back of the black panther, smiling. "Let's go, and try to get to Tantra before dark."

MAD headquarters, Jingdu City.

Wang Hou was typing away on his computer, issuing various orders and strategies down the command chain with Three Blades Lin and Zhou Yu.

"Minister Wang… it seems the five Holy Grounds are rather reluctant."

"What?"

Wang Hou was furious. "Why are they dallying over us loaning some of their people? Do they still want to recruit disciples from our domain? Relay this to them—it's fine if they won't loan us their people, but each of them must give me a hundred Orirocks so that I won't keep score against them."

"Minister Wang…"

Zhou Yu forced a smile, saying, "The five Holy Grounds insisted that they would close their doors once again if you keep acting like this. They have a limited number of Void-tier elites needed to control the Stargate after all."

Wang Hou: "…"

After a brief loss for words, he barked, "Did those people grew up eating dung? Setting aside Wudang, why would the other four Holy Grounds have groomed so few Void-tier elites?"

Zhou Yu said nothing.

After all, it was not his place to comment on this matter—he was not even divine-tier, just as Void-tier elites were not to be trifled with. Furthermore, it was already very impressive for the Holy Grounds to have accumulated a handful of Void-tier individuals over their thousand-year history, please!

As a matter of fact, Void-tier Elites could live up to five hundred.

Incidentally, five hundred years ago was the Degenerate Age and the era of decline for martial arts. It was the uniqueness of the five Holy Grounds and their Secret Realms that allowed the grooming of that many Void-tiers—just look at the martial clans and schools who left the mountains. How many of those had Void-tier elites?

Even if there were, they would be in tight seclusion, with some even reaching the limit of their lifespan.

"How did the old martial clans and the schools with Void-tier elites react?"

"The Void-tier elite of Ji clan of Xibei is willing to help keep the Stargate safe. It's said that they have a strong connection with the Jiang clan of the Yellow Emperor Tomb, and had been cultivating at the Jiang clan's Secret Realm all along. Also, Old Dong of the Eight Trigrams School is willing to fight, and Elder Luchan is willing to step out of his mountain too."

"The Ancient of the Southern Frontier's Miao clan is reaching the end of his lifespan, and I had yet to contact them."

"Zhang Tianxiang, the chief of the Cangzhou's Zhang Clan just called, saying that he would pull himself to fight if need be as well."

Wang Hou waved him off, saying, "It's enough to have Master Dong and Elder Luchan holding the line. Please tell Master Zhang to rest and recuperate well—I shall have a drink with him when I'm free."

Having received his orders, Zhou Yu stepped out of the room.

Wang Hou then called for Three Blades Lin and asked, "How's your gramps, Old Lin? Has he returned?"

As a matter of fact, the Lin clan of Jingdu city was an old martial clan with a long history too.

Aside from Three Blades Lin, the Blade King whose name resounds over the martial world, Three Blades Lin's gramps was a Void-tier elite as well.

Nonetheless, Three Blades Lin was smiling reluctantly at the mention of his gramps, sighing. "I've got no word at the moment… well, it's a long story with my gramps. He may be over two hundred, but he's no different from a kid—what era is this now? How dangerous is the ocean?"

"Even so, once he heard that a heritage site was found at the island nation a while ago, he insisted on crossing the sea to claim that providence, only to run into the Nine-Headed Serpent Emperor in its invasion of the island and had a bout with the beast, and there was no word of him ever since."

A while ago, it was reported on the net that the Nine-Headed Serpent Emperor's attack on the island nation ended with one of its islands sunk, and the beast was only repelled when a Hua Nation elite came to help.

The incident did indeed happen, but it was a little different from what actually happened.

The reality was that Three Blades Lin's old man could not sit and wait upon learning about the discovery of a heritage site over at the island nation. Though he arrived first to claim that providence, the unsealing of the heritage site ended drawing the Nine-Headed Serpent Emperor.

Hence, the battle between a Void-tier Elite and a Feral Emperor sunk an island.

As for why the news would report that a Hua nation-elite went to assist the island nation and repel the Nine-Headed Serpent Emperor… was that headline not better to the ears than what actually happened?

After all, the Hua Nation was vast and had many elites—they needed to save face, at least.

Indeed, the island nation's media echoed that perspective might have to do with Wang Hou's subsequent trip there.

Nonetheless, upon the mention of the Nine-Headed Serpent Emperor, Three Blades Lin was gritting his teeth in rage. "If something really did happen to my gramps, I'm going to kill that Nine-Headed Snake King!"

"The likes of you? A divine-tempest pinnacle martial artist like you… what are you supposed to do, behead yourself and use your head to kill it?"

Wang Hou could not help retorting, although his gaze shifted before he finished. "Hold on, are you talking about the Nine-Headed Snake King? That vermin at Lake Panlong?"

Amused, Wang Hou chuckled, "The Nine-Headed Snake King is one thing, while the Nine-Headed Serpent Emperor is another matter entirely… both of them might be snakes with nine heads but they are completely unrelated. Any mishap your gramps face is due to the Nine-Headed Serpent Emperor. Why would you kill the Nine-Headed Snake King?"

"I don't care. I just want to kill!"

Three Blades Lin laughed coldly. "Isn't it its own fault for growing more heads? Moreover, a kid like Jiang He has already slaughtered four Feral Kings at rank-nine. How could a high-mighty divine-tempest elite like me lose out to Jiang He?"

Wang Hou was a little speechless.

Aren't you embarrassed competing against a junior over such matters?

After musing to himself for a while, Wang Hou eventually said, "Your gramps is probably fine. There's a good chance he entered the heritage site, and that site must be extraordinary if a Void-tier individual could enter it. This counts as providence for your gramps too, and it could be a grand providence since he isn't returning even after so long. Moreover…"

His eyes lit up as he lowered his voice, adding, "I attempted to force my way in, but a mysterious power knocked me out. I suspect that the heritage site is a relic before the Old Martial Era.'

"What?"

Three Blades Lin's expression changed as well and he exclaimed in surprise, "Minister Wang… do you mean my grandfather might have secured a legacy from the Era of Qi Refinists?"

"That's just a hunch, but there's a strong chance."

Wang Hou was not certain but…

It was very likely!

After all, the three Immortal Peaks—Fenglai, Fanghu and Yingzhou were all eastward of Bohai Sea, and the island nation was incidentally in that direction. It was reasonable that an elite of the Qi Refinist Era had left a cave from that age.

Half past six on the 6th of October.

Jiang He's group of six had finally arrived at the mountain gates of Tantra.

In reality, it was not yet night at Tantra due to the time difference.

As Jiang He stood beneath the mountain and watched the stairs that stretched on into the clouds, he caught Cheng Dongfeng who was about to climb it, saying, "Hold on, Old Cheng. Why the rush?"

After that, Jiang He looked up the mountain again.

A mist shrouded the mountain halfway up, and the peak was entirely obscure.

And there was not a single figure halfway down the mountain.

Lifting a brow, Jiang He barked, "What is the Tantra Sect doing? We are here representing the country, aren't we? And yet they aren't even sending an acolyte to receive us?"

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Chapter 204: I Am Quite Experienced In Creating Cultivation Methods

"Acolytes refer to Shaolin monks who are under twenty. Shouldn't the young ones of Tantra be called junior lamas?"

But even as Cheng Dongfeng turned to find an unfriendly look on Jiang He's face, he promptly changed his tune, "Of course, I've always thought that since both Shaolin and Tantra are Buddhist temples, lamas or acolytes or whatnot are all the same. Why bother with the distinctions?"

He lowered his voice then, saying, "Jiang He, the Tantra Sect is one of the five Holy Grounds and holds great depth and boasts many elites. Let's be subtler."

"That's right."

Fearful that Jiang He would start trouble here, Chen Jingzhou quickly added, "How precious are the Secret Realms? It's said that disciples had to meet strict requirements even if they want to enter, and the Tantra Sect is already upset with Minister Wang's demand of six entrants, so it's understandable that they are acting arrogant."

Even so, Jiang He ignored both Cheng Dongfeng and Chen Jingzhou's words, putting a step forward as he looked up quietly at the mists above.

His spirit had already reached divine-tier two days ago, and since then, he had munched on several catties worth of purple-golden sunflower seeds—a treasure that improved spirit.

And that was not counting up to five bottles of rank-nine Origin Fluid that improved spirit as well.

Basically, Jiang He's spirit was slowly growing with every second and minute.

As such, Jiang He could see through the mist even if the others couldn't, to view the many grand buildings on the peak, his spirit slowly extending….

At the same time, within a majestic temple on top of the peak.

The bone-dry lama who was sitting cross-legged in meditation abruptly opened his eyes the moment Jiang He's spirit extended. His murky eyes seemed able to see through everything, and despite the many obstructions, he glanced at Jiang He' direction from the distance.

The old lama laughed and said, "Corban, Minister Wang's people are here. Go down the mountain to lead them up."

Outside, a burly lama holding an iron staff bowed reverently at the temple before turning to head down the mountain.

At the gates of the Diamond realm of Tantra, a monk stopped him, saying, "Elder Sangha's orders—no disciples are to leave the mountain."

Corban maintained a serene face and replied, "I am the Iron Staff Lama. The elder monk cannot lift a finger against me. Moreover, I am going down the mountain under orders! Make way!"

Sangha was a title and scholarly position at Tantra, usually charged with instructing disciples in sutra studies and martial arts practice… Of course, Sangha Lama had high-ranks, which was while most sutra studies and martial arts practice were carried out by the senior monks in the temple.

On the other hand, an Iron Staff Lama like Corban was not ranked lower than the Sangha Lama, in charge of maintaining the discipline within the temple. They were also known as prefect and disciplinarian, and because they would often carry a disciplinary iron staff around with him, they were often addressed as the Iron Staff Lama.

Unlike the Shaolin Temple, the Tantra Sect's were not fixed. It would always change with knowledge and the martial world, just as seniority in the Tantra Sect follows the policy of monk officers) used in older times.

For example, the head of the Tantra Sect was called head monk.

The elders directly beneath him were also known as the sangha.

The Iron Staff Lama were the sojo, or equivalent to bishops.

"Living Buddha!"

The monk who had been obstructing Iron Staff Lama promptly made way.

Watching as Corban went down the moment, the monk promptly informed the higher-ups about Corban's stepping out of the mountain… and soon, many of the Tantra Sect's hierarchs were astonished.

One of them turned towards the sealed but majestic temple in confusion.

"Even the best amongst the six people under the mountain is rank-nine advanced. Why would Corban, our temple's sojo and a divine-tempest elite need to personally receive him?"

One of the monks sought out the head monk then.

The head monk of the Tantra Sect was an equivalent to Shaolin Temple's abbot, although he was the highest-ranked monk bar the Living Buddha. He had a beard, and all his hair was white—he had a monk's tunic, red lama robes, and a cockscomb hat, smiling, "The Living Buddha naturally has his intention since he had spoken. The new age has come, ushering in a great future, and those chosen by Wang Hou would certainly be extraordinary."

The head monk hence strode out of the temple, looking out into the distance with a smile, "The Old Martial Era is long gone, and the New Martial Era is the future. After the five Holy Grounds accomplished our duty, we would certainly assimilate into the new era."

"Come!"

"Follow me to receive these new martial artists."

How great an honor for the guests was it to have the head monk personally receive them?

After all, not even the head monk received Wang Hou when he climbed the mountain—of course, Wang Hou was already fighting even before he went up the mountain, after which he headed straight into the great temple where the Living Buddha secluded himself.

At the foot of the mountain.

Chen Jingzhou, Cheng Dongfeng, and the others were trying to persuade Jiang He to go up the mountain.

Nonetheless, Jiang He's gaze twitched then and he smiled. "Someone's coming."

And in the instant that he spoke those words, the mist halfway up the mountain parted abruptly, with Corban coming down the steps in his iron staff, monk tunic, and red lama robes.

He smiled as he arrived before Jiang He and the others, saying, "I'm Corban, an Iron Staff Lama of Tantra Sect have come under the Living Buddha's orders, to receive and escort your company up the mountain."

Chen Jingzhou, Cheng Dongfeng, and the others promptly responded with fist-palm salutes.

They had done their homework before coming, and knew who the Iron Staff Lama of the Tantra Sect was. Moreover, the overflowing aura extending from Corban's body showed that he was not much weaker than Three Blades Lin.

In fact, they could not help doubting inwardly even as they offered their salutes…

Was their group that impressive?

The Living Buddha of the Tantra Sect actually spoke out, even sending a high-ranked and powerful Iron Staff Lama to receive them…

"Corban?"

Jiang He, on the other hand, had no idea what the deal was with the iron staff or the silver staff. Han people were the majority while the Hui people were the minority in Lingzhou City, and there were not many temples—how would Jiang He get to learn that stuff?

All he knew that the monks of Shaolin Temple were known as monks, while the monks of the Tantra Sect were known as lamas.

Still, the name Corban invoked some of Jiang He's memories. Looking at the monk from head to toe, he asked, "Master Corban, are you acquainted with a martial artist named Cordo?"

Corban smiled, shaking his head.

Beside Jiang He, Cheng Dongfeng's face turned green instant and he promptly casted Secret Acoustics, saying, "Please, Jiang He, I'm begging you, stop talking… Cordo is a Sky Demon Cultist and Master Corban an Iron Staff Lama of the Tantra Sect and their sojo—how could you mention them on equal terms?"

The others did not know Cordo, a Sky Demon Cultist whom Jiang He had killed, but Cheng Dongfeng did.

"What does Iron Staff Lama even mean?"

Jiang He asked in return through Secret Acoustics, and Cheng Dongfeng gave him the rundown as Corban led them up the mountain gates of the Tantra Sect.

But on the way, Jiang He could not help asking, "Master Corban, why are the mountain gates of your sect known as the Diamond Realm?"

"The Diamond Realm is also known as the vajradhatu, and is the opposite of the Womb Realm. Both are the essence of my sect's doctrine, which believes that everything in the universe is a manifestation of the Mahavairocana, of which the aspect of virtuous wisdom is known as the Diamond Realm, whereas the aspect of rationality is known Womb Realm."

Corban smiled. "Of course, these are merely classical doctrines applied to enlighten the younger generation. The universe and its celestial bodies evolve, and neither are our sect's disciples ignorant—most of them still believe in science."

They arrived halfway up the mountain just then.

That was when Corban extended his hand and shoved, his hand muscles tightening. A dragon's roar and an elephant's trumpeting sounded as a wave of True Qi fired out of his palm into the mist and he cried, "Open!"

Boom!

The mist once again parted as a cloudy walkway appeared beneath everyone's feet.

"This way, please."

Corban continued climbing up the mountain, stepping on the cloudy stairs.

Chen Jingzhou and the others stepped on the clouds too, with Jiang He staying at the back as he recalled a certain scene where a Daoist persuaded people to trust in science, before turning and jumping down a mountain peak and flying away.

"Believe in science… my foot!"

Jiang He thought about something even as he complained.

Just now, a dragon's roar and an elephant's trumpeting could be heard from Corban's body when he casted his technique, making it obvious that the Dragon-Elephant Prajna was used…

"The Dragon-Elephant Prajna… but why is it different from when I used it?" Jiang He was rather puzzled since the sound effects of Corban's Dragon-Elephant Prajnaw as much weaker and almost nonexistent, and would not have been heard if he had been further away.

There were no special visual effects either.

"Could his cultivation be lacking?"

"No way. Corban's cultivation would not lose out to Three Blades Lin. There's no telling how many years an elite like him had trained, and if a martial arts newbie like me could cultivate Dragon-Elephant Prajna up to fifth tier, why would his cultivation be lower than mine?"

"Therefore, it must be because my Dragon-Elephant Prajna is stronger thanks to my revamping it, as such producing the special effects."

Jiang He pondered.

When it comes to special phenomenon…

It made sense that there was no divine dragon or divine elephant jumping out when Corban used Dragon-Elephant Prajna, since those were special effects that Jiang He added in to his own revamped version.

And without special effects, there naturally wouldn't be any special phenomenon.

Eventually, they reached the mountaintop, where the head monk was waiting outside the mountain gates with another group of monks.

Chen Jingzhou, Cheng Dongfeng, and the others were shocked and felt a sense of surrealism. Order from above was for them to be discreet at the Tantra Sect, since the disciples of the five Holy Grounds

Now, however, the sojo of Tantra personally came down the mountain to receive them while their head monk and other elites received them at the gates… what was with this reception?

Nonetheless, after introductions and preamble, the head monk suddenly turned towards Jiang He with a frown. "Young man, your cultivation is refined and your qi pure… but isn't that the secret technique of our sect—the Dragon-Elephant Prajna?"

At his word, every monk around Jiang He turned towards him.

Jiang He's heart skipped a beat!

That monk had a good eye.

Even so, he kept his expression unchanged and smiled. "I have indeed cultivated the Dragon-Elephant Prajna, but it's not like the one your Dragon-Elephant Prajna teaches, but something I created myself."

His answer left the scene silent immediately.

One of the senior lamas burst out in rage then, "What drivel! You, creating on your own? The Dragon-Elephant Prajna is a secret technique passed down in the Tantra Sect that not even average disciples get to cultivate! Speak! Where have you stolen our forbidden art from?"

Jiang He lifted a brow and turned towards the monk who spoke.

The senior lama had a red lama robe draped over his monk garbs, although he was not wearing a cockscomb hat.

He had one arm that was very tanned bared, the muscles on it as hard as steel and his aura overflowing. Jiang He felt that he was stronger than the Black King Drake, although he fell short against Feral Kings the likes of the Red Toad King and the Golden-Crowned Black Eagle.

"Senior Lama, one may eat anything that like but words must never be spoken on whims. I, Jiang He may be a martial arts newbie and had not touched the martial arts for long, but I'm quite talented in creating cultivation methods—so why couldn't I develop Dragon-Elephant Prajna on my own?"

Jiang He smirked, casting a sweeping glance over the many infuriated lamas.

What would a bunch of frogs that remained beneath their well know?

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Chapter 205: The Dragon-Elephant Prajna I Created Myself Is So Weak!

The scene turned silent at once. It was not just the disciples of the Diamond Sect who were stunned, but Chen Jingzhou, Cheng Dongfeng and the others were dumbfounded too.

What the heck?

Nonetheless, there was a wave of laugher after the silence.

Rank-nine… creating cultivating methods…

That was certainly possible.

Many martial artists tended to develop blade techniques or swordplay that fitted them best, but those were all average skills. Therefore, how could a rank-nine novice martial artists create a godly technique like the Dragon-Elephant Prajna?

The elder lama who spoke out before was about to say something again when the Diamond Sect's head monk stopped him.

Looking at Jiang He, he smiled. "Young man, it is your providence to be able to learn the Dragon-Elephant Prajna. However, since the Dragon-Elephant Prajna is a secret technique the Diamond Sect does not teach to outsiders, and you're not a core disciple of ours…"

Jiang He laughed coldly to cut the head monk short before he could finish, saying, "Oh? Whatever do you mean?"

"Your cultivation of the Dragon-Elephant Prajna is extensive, and it shows that you have karmic connections to our Diamond Sect. You may join us, and we naturally would train you as a core disciple… otherwise…"

The head monk breathed a long sigh, saying, "I must follow the code of the Diamond Sect."

Lifting an eyebrow, Jiang He asked, "And that would be?"

The head monk turned to give Corban a look then, who stepped forward with the Iron Staff of Discipline, saying, "According to sect code, those that steal our secret techniques or learnt it without permission shall be penalized as traitors to the sect. However, since you are not a disciple of ours, young man, so it would suffice that we recover the cultivation method."

Jiang He was left amused at that.

He could not help laughing. "I've already learned said cultivation method. How would you recover it?"

"The guru shall take action, and he certainly could wipe away your memories of the Dragon-Elephant Prajna."

"Hahahaha!"

Jiang He suddenly broke out in loud laughter until tears were flowing from the corner of his eyes.

The many disciples of the Diamond Sect all stared at Jiang He, believing that he was upset after hearing about the Diamond Sect's code.

On the other hand, there were uncertain looks on the faces of Chen Jingzhou, Cheng Dongfeng and the others, with Cheng Dongfeng stepping forward to say, "Venerable ones, Jiang He learned that technique by chance and did not steal it. Moreover, he is not a disciple of the Diamond Sect, and isn't it inappropriate that you would apply your code to him?"

Cheng Dongfeng's feet shook and his stomach churned when the head monk and the other elites turned toward him, but he kept an uncowed look, smiling flatly as he added, "By the way, I've neglected to introduce myself—Cheng Dongfeng, at your service, a disciple of the Eight Trigrams School, and my master Dong Haichuan is one of the Hua Nation's Void-tier elites."

The many elite monks reacted to that.

Any martial artist who could ascend as a Void-tier would certainly be extraordinary.

Even so, Corban insistently shook his head, saying, "The code of the Diamond Sect must not be broken!"

As a sojo who maintains discipline in the diamond sect, he certainly did not wish for anyone to break sect code.

Chen Jingzhou and He Litong stepped forward then as well, despite being rank-nine advanced and rank-seven respectively. They were unafraid even with the crowd of Diamond Sect elites before him, their presence imposing as Chen Jingzhou spoke, "Jiang He is a martial artist of the New Martial Era and has a title in the nation's military. Anyone who makes a move against him is an enemy of our nation's legions!"

Despite being merely rank-six, young Yang Chengwu stepped up as well instead of hanging back, saying, "If push comes to shove, we will forfeit on our entry to the Secret Realm! Let us leave, Bro Jiang!"

Meanwhile, though Zhou Rui did not say anything, she stood quietly behind Jiang He.

Indeed, Jiang He felt moved by the scene.

Holding back his laughter, he stepped forward with a smile. "What are you lot doing? Minister Wang went through great lengths to claim the entries into the Secret Realm—and you are giving up just like that? Moreover, the Dragon-Elephant Prajna I cultivated does not belong to the Diamond Sect. For what reason would they erase my memory?"

"Still trying to weasel out of this?"

A monk yelled furiously, "How could the head monk be wrong in what he sees?"

Jiang He promptly turned to stare at the monk who had spoken.

The monk was not weak—he was a rank-nine pinnacle and had grasped the Boundary of Wills, and yet he stumbled three steps backward when Jiang He stared at him, his whole body turning cold as he hung his head, afraid to look back into Jiang He's eyes.

Even if Jiang He had learned martial arts for little over a month, there was no telling how many Sky Demon Cultists he had killed. As for Ferals, he had killed four Feral Kings and bombed countless more average ones to death—how could he be compared to these disciples of the Diamond Sect who never stepped out into the world, ever?

"Your killing intent is very strong, young man!"

Someone spoke out then.

Jiang He turned to him, chuckling, "You must be divine-tier, aren't you? Have you cultivated the Dragon-Elephant Prajna?"

The monk moved a step forward, saying composedly, "I am a divine-conversion elite, but my disposition is lacking—I've only cultivated the Dragon-Elephant Prajna up to the eleventh tier."

Jiang He was aware that divine-tier martial artists were categorized into three tiers: conversion, tempest, and union. However, he was confident that he could kill a martial artist of such level even without using his immortal arts.

"Could you show me your Dragon-Elephant Prajna?" He asked then.

The monk did not quite understand Jiang He's and so turned to the head monk, who nodded. He hence promptly circulated his qi, and a powerful aura promptly burst out, almost tearing his monk tunic apart while his red lama robes flapped loudly despite the lack of wind."

Through it all, a dragon's roar and an elephant's trumpeting could vaguely be heard from inside the monk's body.

"Powerful!"

Jiang He clapped his hands, in praise, "As expect of the Dragon-Elephant Prajna that the Diamond Sect teaches. Such power even at the eleventh-tier… though the one I created is different."

Rawr!

Out of the blue, another dragon's roar and elephant's trumpeting resounded from Jiang He's body—it was more than ten times louder than the monk's, and deafening when heard up close.

Most importantly, in the instant that Jiang He charged his Dragon-Elephant Prajna, its 'special-effects' ensued: a divine dragon's silhouette circled over his head while a divine elephant reared its head up at the skies, trumpeting.

Be that as it may, Jiang He pulled back almost as soon as he let loose his aura, sighing, "I've only cultivated the Dragon-Elephant Prajna I created myself to the fifth-tier, and remain so far from the perfection at the eighteenth tier. It's so lacking compared to that venerable one's too… ah, isn't my cultivation method just so weak?"

"…"

Once again, there was silence before the mountain gates of the Diamond Sect.

Cheng Dongfeng was the first to respond after a long while as he cried out in surprise, "What the hell, Jiang He? You've really created a cultivation method on your own? What's the name? And isn't it too cool?"

How could it not be cool?

I spent over an hour to draft my own version of the Dragon-Elephant Prajna out of nonsense, with another half-an-hour put in to polish as well as edit the special visual and sounds effects. Wouldn't I be losing out if it's not cool?

As for the name of the cultivation method…

Jiang He eyed Cheng Dongfeng with concern one would afford an imbecile, calmly saying, "Didn't I tell you? It's the Dragon-Elephant Prajna…"

"Oh, right!"

Jiang He then turned towards the head monk of the Diamond Sect, grinning as he asked, "Venerable one, surely using another technique's name for my own doesn't break the Diamond Sect's code, does it?"

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Chapter 206: Selling Orirocks? I'll Pay You Well

Jiang He's group of six hence followed the head monk to a majestic temple, inside of which was vast but empty, save for three buddha statues and round prayer mats placed over the floor.

The other monks were gone, and just eight had the rank to follow the head monk into the temple.

"The Diamond Sect is truly one of the Five Holy Grounds. Isn't their sect too powerful? These eight are all divine-tier, and the head monk's aura feels similar to Wang Hou's—he probably is Void-tier, and there is no telling how much forces they still have hidden."

Jiang He scanned through the group of monks and then at the three buddha statues. Then, upon a closer look, he muttered in surprise, "Those three statues are…"

"They are the three founding masters of the Diamond Sect!"

Someone answered, only for Jiang He to continue in confusion, "Why would a founding master have a tiger head over a human body? Could they be monsters? And… are your founding masters triplets?"

The three buddha statues that stood up to eight meters tall all indeed had a tiger head over a human body. Their faces were also identical—only their postures and the color of their robes were different: red, white and black.

Meanwhile, the group of lamas were staring hostilely at Jiang He, who chuckled without concern, "I'm only asking a question. Forget not telling me, why the stares?"

"Jiang He!"

Cheng Dongfeng cleared his throat, and signaled at Jiang He with his eyes.

Jiang He understood Cheng Dongfeng's meaning, who was probably trying to tell himself that he had spoken out of turn, and referring to the Diamond Realm founding monsters as monsters was an insult in the first place.

Even so…

Jiang He insist on insulting.

Though the Diamond Sect was not too hostile after he revealed his revamped version of the Dragon-Elephant Prajna, they did demand that his memories be wiped.

And he was supposed to let that slip?

Hence, ignoring the monks' stares, he pulled out one of the prayer mats and sat on it, chuckling, "Head monk, the Secret Realm opens tomorrow, I believe?"

"Jiang He!"

Unable to bear it any longer, one of the lamas barked angrily, "Please mind your status."

After all, the monks would never dare to be that whimsical in the head monk's presence."

Jiang He looked at the monk who spoke, who happens to be the divine-conversion tier elite who displayed his Dragon-Elephant Prajna, and promptly laughed. "Sir lama, please watch yourself. A mere divine-tier like you, being impudent before me?"

"Impudent!"

The lama roared in rage, promptly bursting out with his divine-conversion tier aura as his palm bore down at Jiang He.

Rawr!

Jiang He raised his hand and answered with a palm of his own, slamming his palm into the monk's even as a golden dragon silhouette roared as it streaked out between his fingers.

The prayer cushion beneath Jiang He's feet split into pieces just while the floorboards cracked apart, whereas the divine-conversion tier lama stumbled three steps back with a dull grunt.

His tanned face appeared taken aback and he looked at Jiang He in disbelief, and he could not help crying out, "No way! You're just rank-nine, and a rank-nine novice at that. There's no way your cultivation and strength could be that powerful!"

The monk tried to advance on Jiang He again, only for the head monk to stop him.

Despite his look of utter exasperation, the monk waved his sleeve, turned and left.

On the other hand, Jiang He pulled himself another full prayer mats, smiling calmly, "The Diamond Sect is a Holy Ground for Buddhism, but I didn't expect a senior master to be no different from us average joes. That said, I wouldn't be afraid if everyone here wants to have a go!"

Whoosh!

Suddenly, Jiang He rose to his feet as a violent aura burst away form his body. Six great suns rose into the air behind him, with Nature Qi shrouding his starlight-glinting body while a dragon's roar and an elephant's trumpeting echoed.

He laughed out loud in utter arrogance, saying, "I've only reached rank-nine yesterday, but I do want to have a spar against the Diamond Sect's style!"

"Insolence!"

The many Diamond Sect monks were furious; all of them charged their auras.

That was when the Diamond Sect's head monk abruptly took a step forward.

He merely strode a step forward, but a mystical force was released once his foot touched ground, nullifying the monks and even Jiang He's aura.

Watching the other monks, he quietly said, "Leave us."

In response, the monks respectfully retreated out of the temple despite their reluctance, with some of them throwing vicious glares at Jiang He, which was answered with a sneer from Jiang He.

Why the looks? We could do this if you're upset.

Meanwhile, the head monk came before Jiang He, got himself a prayer mat to sit—he did not react with an ounce of age towards Jiang He's provocation, even explaining with a smile, "The Diamond Sect does indeed have three founding masters, being the White Tigercoat Wise King, Red Tigercoat Wise King and the Black Tigercoat Wise King."

"Of the three, the White Tigercoat Wise King enlightened all life with compassion, blessing them with longevity, health, fortune and favor. He satisfied the beseeching of the masses, fulfilling their ambitions."

"Likewise, the Red Tigercoat Wise King enlightened all life with of forgiveness and tolerance to all life. He spread radiance to all life with the first flame of wisdom, illuminating three thousand great realms with the flames. With the light of wisdom, he converted the impulses of all life into kindness, and kindness into wisdom and Bodhicitta.[1]"

The head monk's visage appeared exceedingly ancient.

His bear and brows were all white, his face full of wrinkles and he had lost several teeth, but he spoke without a stutter as he explained patiently, "Meanwhile, the Black Tigercoat Wise King enlightened all life with might. He uprooted all vile thoughts and devilry, satisfying the ambition of all life to convert the vile intentions of hedonism and bringing harm upon life to kindness."

Jiang He smiled but did not say a word.

'Even after speaking for so long, are your three founding masters not triplets?'

Leaving aside the difference in names and color, they were basically identical… and their statues had tiger heads over human bodies, so how could they not be monsters?

That was when the head monk added, "Lady and gentlemen, you may enter the Secret Realm at midnight to cultivate for seven days, after of which you would be escorted out."

It was an answer to Jiang He's first question.

Jiang He glanced at his phone. It was not even ten yet and the sky just turned dark, making it a little over two hours to midnight.

He asked, "Head monk, your Diamond Sect has a long history and knows much secrets, and I have a question to ask!"

"Does the Era of Qi Refinists really exist?"

The head monk nodded. "The Era of Qi Refinists did exist, but following a great upheaval, immortal arts became lost the world, and only then did martial arts came to be widespread."

"Oh?"

Jiang He's gaze shifted and he pressed, "Does your sect have immortal art keepsakes?"

The head monk appeared likely taken aback at that and could not help saying, "And here I was thinking that you would ask about the upheaval that led to loss of immortal arts…"

"So, what happened?"

"No idea."

"…"

Jiang He was speechless.

'Why did you even bother?'

Chuckling, the head monk then added, "The Diamond Sect's history merely extends over twelve hundred years. Immortal arts were already lost and martial arts widespread, not to mention that my sect only cultivates Buddhist teachings and not the immortal path."

Well, that was true.

Immortal arts were affiliated with Daoism, while Buddhists naturally cultivated Buddhist teachings.

And from the way the head monk put it, it was clear that the Diamond Sect possessed Buddhist legacies that could match immortal arts—though Jiang He would not be interested in such a thing.

He did not want to become a monk at all, so why get into Buddhism?

"Does your sect possess Orirocks, head monk?"

"Yes!"

The head monk laughed. "We do have Orirocks, though few in number. Our disciples had been using them excessively for cultivation and emptied the stocks we had, and now we could only depend on the Secret Realm to produce around a hundred Orirocks each year."

Delighted, Jiang He promptly rose to his feet and asked, "Are you selling those? I'll pay you well!"

[1] A mind that strives toward awakening, empathy, and compassion for the benefit of all sentient beings.

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Chapter 207: Into the Secret Realm: the Womb Realm

"…"

Inside the temple, Chen Jingzhou, Cheng Dongfeng and the others were staring at Jiang He, taken aback.

Was that not too direct?

And Orirocks were priceless—who could even afford it?

Indeed, the elderly head monk was stunned as well.

Nonetheless, he soon smiled. "Mister Jiang, we at the Diamond Sect are only able to produce a hundred Orirocks each year, and it's not even enough for our disciples' cultivation…"

"Head monk, in the end, Orirocks are worldly possessions. As a prestigious school and a Holy Ground of martial arts, how could the disciples of the Diamond Sect be over-reliant on a worldly possession for their cultivation?"

Jiang He smiled in return. "Moreover, I believe that all trades are possible, and all it takes is for the buyer to pay as much as the seller asks for… and though Orirocks are cultivation resources, it dulls in comparison to life-saving items."

With a flip of his hand, Jiang He whipped out a Strengthened Bezoar Detox Pill and placed it before the head monk, saying, "Please have a look, head monk. This is a Bezoar Detox Pill that I've developed through hardship and tears, and it cures all poisons!"

He then flipped his hand again.

Whoosh!

The Red Toad King's corpse appeared in the temple, its gigantic corpse occupying most of the temple.

It was only because the temple was tall and large enough, or it would burst apart.

Jiang He got to his feet and approached the corpse, grinning. "This is the Red Toad King that was living in Lake Kanas, which I killed in passing along the journey here… Of course, that's not the point—the point is that the Red Toad King is highly venomous."

The head monk's eyes lit up in surprise.

He was aware of the Red Toad King since the Diamond Sect was not too far away from Lake Kanas, and now that the sect had opened its doors to outsiders, some of their elite disciples had left the mountain to learn about the situation in the mundane world around them.

And yet, the youth before him—a mere rank-nine had actually slain the Red Toad King, which was equivalent to a divine-tempest tier elite?

"Rank-nine novice, repelling Ciren Deji with a single palm and even slain the Red Toad King… where did this youth actually come from?"

The head monk, shocked and bewildered leveled a puzzled look at Jiang He… did he take out the Red Toad King's corpse to tell him that he had leverage to trade with him?

Meanwhile, Jiang He had drawn out his Dragon-Slaying Saber and walked a lap around the Red Toad King while sensing it with his spirit, before eventually finding the creature's venom sac.

He then cut it with the Dragon-Slaying Saber, breaking the venom sac.

Then, with a release of True Qi from his hand, he levitated the poison up in the air.

The violent poison was eating away at Jiang He's True Qi with a gurgling sound—it would have instantly corroded the True Qi in an average rank-nine's entire body, but Jiang He remained serene as he smiled, "Head monk, since I'm selling you the Bezoar Detox Pill, I naturally have to show you its effect."

The head monk was stunned, though he also mostly understood Jiang He's intention. However, before he could speak, Jiang He's True Qi kicked up… and directly poured the venom down Jiang He's open mouth.

"What the hell!?"

Beside them, Chen Jingzhou and the others who had been confused in the first place were almost scared to death, while Cheng Dongfeng promptly dashed up to Jiang He, exclaiming urgently, "What are you doing, Jiang He? You just have to cultivate a little longer without the Orirocks! It's not like it can't be solved!"

"Mister Jiang He, please, spit that venom out right now. The Orirock excavation will begin at midnight when the Secret Realm opens—I could give you half of the hundred Orirocks this year if you really want it!"

Even the head monk was anxious now, and no longer as calm as he was.

Given how 'demonic' Jiang He proved himself to be, Wang Hou might really tear the Diamond Sect apart if he really died in front of the head monk's eyes.

That left Jiang He between laughter and tears. "Head monk, Old Sheng, what are you trying to do?"

"I'm just trying to give a demonstration with Strengthened Bezoar Detox Pill…"

Even as he spoke, Jiang He smacked his lips, closed his eyes and carefully felt the scent of the Red Toad King's venom before complaining, "That beast's poison tastes terrible—it's both bitter and fishy, and I would've added condiments if I knew."

The head monk: …

Cheng Dongfeng: ???

Everyone in the temple appeared utterly astonished, with Cheng Dongfeng gaping at Jiang He and asking seriously, "Jiang… Jiang He, you're actually alright?"

"That's the poison of one of the strongest Feral Kings…" The head monk added.

Jiang He continued to extend his senses over his body and laughed awkwardly. "No worries, head monk. I'm fine for now… what the hell? Who was it who told me that the Red Toad King is extremely poisonous? Why isn't the poison kicking in yet?"

Indeed, Jiang He was at a loss for words.

He had swallowed the Red Toad King's poison to demonstrate the effect of his Bezoar Detox Pill, but the poison's effect was not taking hold, and he could neither eat nor put away the Bezoar Detox Pill in his hand.

"No worries, people. My cultivation is special in that it detoxes and heal wounds in the first place. Aside from the Dragon-Elephant Prajna, I've also cultivated the Indestructible Diamond technique of the Shaolin temple up to mastery, strengthening my physique and qi overwhelming. On top of that, I cultivated another profound physical art and had eaten many vegetables that clear body heat and detoxes, so my body is basically impervious to blades, water, fire, and poison. That's why with my strong poison resistance, the venom would only take hold after a while."

Jiang He had to brace himself even as he offered that explanation.

Even so, his words left everyone in the temple even more shocked and gasping in shock inwardly!

All of them watched with their own eyes that Jiang He ate the Red Toad King's poison… and yet he was absolutely fine?

Wasn't that poison resistance too frightening?

It was perfectly capable of killing a divine-tier elite!

Nonetheless, they waited for twenty minutes until Jiang He's eyes lit up.

"The poison is finally kicking in!"

His face blackened in a split second, and the blackness soon covered his entire body in three seconds. Taking out a Bezoar Detox Pill once again, Jiang He smiled. "Look, head monk. I'm now poisoned until my face has gone black. Even so, only a single Bezoar Detox Pill which clears body heat and detoxes is needed…"

But even before Jiang He could finish his sentence or take the pill, he froze.

He could feel his True Qi and mana circulating in the instant that the poison kicked in, nullifying the Red Toad King's poison immediately.

As the blackened qi on Jiang He's face and body promptly receded, his lips twitched as he grinned and said reluctantly, "Head monk, does the Diamon Sect keep some poison that could be more powerful than the Red Toad King's venom, given your thousand-year history? My poison resistance is too strong and the beast's venom too weak, and it's counteracted even before I could show you the effect of the Bezoar Detox Pill."

It took a while for the head monk to react.

Even if he was Void-tier, he was left bewildered by Jiang He's actions.

After taking a moment to compose himself, the head monk said, "Mister Jiang He… does your Bezoar Detox Pill really cure most poison?"

"Not most poison—all poison!"

Jiang He reminded him somberly. "It cures anything that is poisonous, though that might not apply if the tier of the poison was exceedingly high. Even so, I once cured Sichuan's Long Mountain Lin off the Six-Eyed Desert Spider's poison, and one pill was all it took to cure that top rank-nine poison."

"Please wait for a moment, Mister Jiang."

The head monk's gaze shifted then and he left the temple, summoning a monk and giving them a few words of instructions before returning.

Then, just minutes after he returned, he saw two young lamas holding an old, unconscious lama to the temple.

"Mister Jiang, this is a brother of the Diamond Sect, who unfortunately ran into a centipede monster when he left the mountain a few years ago. It was powerful rank-nine Feral and its poison was frightening, could your Bezoar Detox Pill help?"

"Easy!"

Jiang He walked up, forced the old lama's mouth open and stuffed in a Bezoar Detox Pill.

Then, helping the lama up and firmly slapping his back to help swallow the pill, the old lama's vigor improved in no time at all. Just after he slowly opened his eyes and stared straight at the ceiling of the temple, he abruptly leapt up and exclaimed in surprise, "I'm not dead?"

That being said, his aura was rather weak when he leapt to his feet. Even so, by the time he walked several times around the temple, noticed the head monk and bowed, his aura had returned to the peak levels before he had been poisoned, and all traces of being poisoned was gone.

The head monk appeared stunned.

Delighted, Jiang He began to brag about the effects of the Bezoar Detox Pill, saying, "The centipede's poison may have been lacking compared to the Six-Eyed Desert Spider, and feeding him an entire pill is rather wasteful… A third would have been enough."

Inwardly, he breathed a long sigh of relief.

Fortunately…

He had finally demonstrated the effect of the Bezoar Detox Pill.

If he had known, he would have fed Cheng Dongfeng the Red Toad King's venom sac, which would definitely have poisoned him instantly. Jiang He could feed him the antidote after that instead of going through the lengths he went before.

Meanwhile, the disciple had respectfully left with a wave from the head monk.

The head monk then turned towards Jiang He and exclaimed in surprise, "You truly exceed my expectations, Mister Jiang! Not only did you create a technique so divine and concoct such an astonishing antidote in your youth, even your cultivation is outstanding. You truly are the ace of a generation!"

"Just average, just average."

Jiang He replied humbly. "I'm just a little multi-talented, it's nothing so significant."

His tone then shifted as he added, "Head monk, what do you think about the Bezoar Detox Pill then?"

"It's certainly not bad. How many of these pills do you have, Mister Jiang?"

Jiang He's glanced at his System Backpack and said, "I could provide twenty at the moment, and I'll plant… I mean cook a new batch if you need more."

"It's alright, it's alright—twenty pills are enough."

The head monk promptly waved him off. Twenty pills of such unparalleled effect would already fetch a king's ransom, and he definitely would not be able to afford more.

He then asked, "Are Orirocks all you need, Mister Jiang? How much would you be willing to trade for?"

"Five Orirocks for one Bezoar Detox Pill… would that be asking too much?"

In truth, Jiang He was rather apprehensive about that exchange.

After all, the Bezoar Detox Pills were too easily available, and he could grow a tree full of those after buying just one box at the pharmacy… would it not be too greedy on his part if he exchanged for five Orirocks with one pill?

He was therefore completely unaware that the head monk became even more delighted at his price… in the end, the cultivation improved from five Orirocks was very limited for a divine-tier martial artist, whereas a Bezoar Detox Pill could save a life when it matters. It was simply outstanding value!

Hence, he summoned one of the high monks in the temple, gave a few instructions.

Soon, the monk returned with a hundred Orirocks, which Jiang He collected before handing 20 Bezoar Detox Pills to the head monk.

"Hold on…"

He suddenly realized something and asked in surprise, "Head monk, didn't you mention that you could only excavate the Orirocks after the Secret Realm opens at midnight? These one hundred Orirocks are…"

The head monk, who was beside himself in pleasure believing that he had just made a killing, simply explained in response, "We do limit our excavation to a hundred Orirocks each year, but the Diamond Sect has been saving up in the last few years and had some left."

"…"

'What the heck!

'Does this lama even speak a single word of truth?'

Nonetheless, when it came to Orirocks, it was certainly the better the more he had.

"Are you still selling?" Jiang He hence asked. "Head monk, how many Orirocks do you have left? Can I trade for all of them?"

"Counting in the hundred we'll excavate after the Secret Realm opens at midnight, there would be around a hundred and eighty… Mister Jiang, do you have more detox pills?"

Jiang He shook his head, saying, "I won't be trading Bezoar Detox Pills this time."

"Could you have other treasures then, Mister Jiang?"

"Orirocks!"

With a wave of his hand, Jiang He took out 200 Orirocks from his System Backpack and said, "I'll trade two hundred Orirocks for your one hundred and eighty. What do you think?"

The head monk: "…"

What have you been smoking?

In fact, even Cheng Dongfeng and the others were dumbfounded.

Trading 180 for 200… does Jiang He not know how to count?

Even so, as Jiang He insisted on trading, the head monk was forced to say, "If that's so, let's trade a hundred and eighty for a hundred and eighty."

Jiang He was delighted at that.

As a matter of fact, he had procured four hundred Orirocks thanks to the four he planted before.

However, the 'crops' from his farm could not be used as seeds, which was why Jiang He had no use for the four hundred Orirocks he had.

On the other hand, the Orirocks of the Diamond Sect were different.

When he returned and planted these 180 Orirocks, he would get 18000 in return.

In the process of planting one Orirock, he would earn around 10000 Farm Points, 1000 EXP, meaning that he would be earning 1.8 million Farm Points from these 180 Orirocks.

"This one hundred-and eighty, when added to the one hundred I received before and the other hundred that Minister Wang promised me means I would have a total of three hundred and eighty Orirocks… that means three point eight million Farm Points. What an earning, what a killing!"

Soon, midnight arrived.

The head monk led the many Diamond Sect high monks to a mountain cavern behind the temples.

The cave had a plaque adorned over it, inscribed with the words 'Womb Realm'.

Jiang He's gaze twitched in surprise. "The Diamond Sect's Secret Realm is in this cave?"

The head monk, having had a drastic change of opinion towards Jiang He after presuming that he had taken advantage of him, explained, "The Womb Realm is a legacy of the Diamond Sect's founding masters, and it's a world of its own inside, with its own stars, sun, moon, as well as mountains and rivers—and the qi in this world is dozens of times more concentrated than it is outside, making easier to understand the universe within. Some Floral Spirits would grow within as well, and all of those are treasures."

He then walked up, moving in synchrony with the other Diamond Sect high priests to release their aura, casting a special Buddhist technique into the cavern.

The mountain shook in that instant, and a bright myriad-colored light shone over the mouth of the cavern.

A high monk entered, and left soon came out with a hundred Orirocks.

Then, the Diamond Sect disciples who were to cultivate in the Secret Realm this time entered—there were thirty of them, the weakest of them being a rank-seven while the strongest being a divine-tempest tier elite.

It was after they had all entered that the head monk said, "Mister Jiang, lady, and gentlemen… if you please."

Cheng Dongfeng and the others were rather excited.

After all, they had only heard of the microworld and the Secret Realm, but never really entered one.

On the other hand, Jiang He was rather thrilled, and as he stepped into the cavern, he could not help muttering, "I wonder what the scenery in the Womb Realm would be like…"

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Chapter 208: Can Suns and Moons be Planted?

Ooom!

Within the mountain cave, the bright myriad-colored radiance extended, consuming Jiang He's group of six.

At the same time, outside the cave.

One of the monks muttered, "I seem to hear that brat musing about the scenery within the Womb Realm… is he taking the Diamond Sect for a tourist spot?"

Then, another monk came behind the head monk and growled, "Brother, Jiang He is exceedingly arrogant and shows utter disdain towards our sect. The Womb Realm is the Secret Realm of the Diamond Sect, and though Wang Hou was promised six entries, we should not have let Jiang He in at all because of his disrespect towards our fellowship."

The monk was Ciren Deji, one of the ranked monks of the Diamond Sect and the divine-conversion tier lama who had clashed physically against Jiang He in the temple just now.

The head monk turned toward Ciren Deji at that and said, "From this day forth, anyone in the Diamond Sect who would provoke Jiang He shall be treated as traitors against the sect."

"Ciren Deji, pack your things and leave this mountain. There are many Ferals in the Western Frontier and the Martial Arts Department had only been founded recently, therefore lacking resources and elites. After leaving the mountain, you should pick a city to stand guard, and you may return after three years."

"Head monk!"

Shocked, Ciren Deji was about to say something else, only for the head monk to wave him off and flatly saying, "Go. This is the will of your guru."

Gritting his teeth, Ciren Deji bowed and left respectfully.

"So this is the Secret Realm of legends?"

"What a fine cultivation spot!"

Beside a stream in the Womb Realm, Cheng Dongfeng's eyes lit up as he exclaimed in delight, "The Yuan Qi here is at least thirty times more concentrated than the outside, and cultivating seven days here is more than cultivating outside for a year!"

"…"

Jiang He exclaimed in surprise, "Old Cheng, did your biological teacher teach you mathematics? If the Yuan Qi is 30 times more concentrated here, it would mean one day cultivating here is a month of cultivating outside. How did seven days become a year?"

Cheng Dongfeng grinned. "The concentration of Yuan Qi helps a lot for ascending past the bottlenecks between certain tiers. For one, I would have needed up to three months of cultivating out there to rise from rank-seven novice-pinnacle to rank-seven intermediate, but within this Secret Realm, I would ascend in just one day!"

"There's a bottleneck between rank-seven novice-pinnacle and rank-seven intermediate?"

Jiang He shook his head earnestly. "That's a blind spot in my knowledge. After all, I've never encountered any bottleneck in my cultivation, and only ever get there as naturally as a river flows downstream. Ascending so naturally is such a bother!"

The other five promptly turned to Jiang He with faces blue with shock, with Cheng Dongfeng especially gritting his teeth. "Jiang He, that's uncalled for—we're all friends here."

That naturally made Jiang He retract the words 'I envy you people, having bottlenecks while my cultivation remains ever dull and boring' that were on the tip of his tongue…

Hence, he looked around to find trees, flowers, and fields of grass around them and atop the mountains.

While it had been was a little past midnight outside, it was now daytime in the Womb Realm—like the head monk had put it, this was a world in itself unaffected by the outside.

Jiang He looked around, but could not find any clues.

"The Womb Realm may be a Secret Realm left by the Diamond Sect founding masters, so what could a martial arts and immortal path newbie even see?" Jiang He thought, and then looked at the sun hanging high above.

It was very huge, but it did feel 'hot' as it usually would otherwise, and was merely 'huge' in the visual sense.

Clearly, the sun was created by artificial means. Real suns were stars after all, and no matter how impressive the Diamond Sect founding masters were, they could not have plucked the sun and dumped it into their Secret Realm, could they?

"What are you looking at, Jiang He?"

Chen Jingzhou could not help asking after noticing that Jiang He's eyes were fixated on the sun.

"Looking at the sun."

Jiang He had not turned away, but was continuing to stare at the sun as he asked in return, "Old Chen, how do you think that artificial sun was made?"

"Might be some mysterious treasure or something along those lines."

Chen Jingzhou deduced, before going on to say, "Everyone, our entry into this Secret Realm did not come easy. Seize the moment to cultivate, so that your abilities would take a great leap forward in these seven days."

With that, Chen Jingzhou left, sword in hand.

It was indeed easier to grasp 'will' in here, and he already couldn't wait to develop his sword will.

"I'm off to cultivate too."

He Litong said—he had spoken few words on their journey here, and it appeared that this descendant of a founding father and hero was not that good with people.

Zhou Rui and Yang Chengwei had split up as well. They had found themselves an acceptable domain nearby and began to cultivate—the concentration of Yuan Qi in here was mostly consistent everywhere, meaning that it was the same no matter one cultivated, and as long as they were not disturbing each other.

In the end, only Cheng Dongfeng and Jiang He were left.

"Aren't you going to cultivate, Jiang He?"

Cheng Dongfeng asked, and when he found Jiang He still looking up at the sun above, he could not help adding, "It's just a manmade sun, what's there to nitpick about? I'm off to cultivate then."

With that, Cheng Dongfeng sat cross-legged beside the lake in meditation.

Jiang He hence looked away from the sun to glance at Cheng Dongfeng…

And silently left.

Unlike the other six, Jiang He came here on a pleasure trip to have a breather and relax, and kill the Golden-Crowned Black Eagle for payback to what happened outside Jiangnan City. Having killed two more Feral Kings in the Red Toad King and the Violet-Crowned Golden Eagle, the purpose of his trip was basically more than fulfilled.

And despite the trifling displeasure upon arriving at the Diamond Sect later, the net profit of two hundred and eighty Orirocks meant that it remained a trifle.

"So…"

"My objective of coming here to the Western Frontier has already been met?"

Jiang He hence strolled through the Secret Realm, enjoying the scenery, taking some photos and eating some grilled food.

It took him around a day to map out the surface area of the Womb Realm, which was over ten thousand squared kilometers. That was not vast, but certainly not small—most major cities were two thousand squared kilometers at best, even when their suburban areas were included.

"That said, the Womb Realm is ten times bigger than Lingzhou City… but how big is the mountain behind the Diamond Realm's temples in comparison?"

"This is a little similar to my farmyard back home."

This perhaps involved knowledge of spatiality.

Indeed, Jiang He had his doubts—it was claimed that Zero Void-elites could create Secret Realms, but were those elites this impressive?

Did this not concern the fundamental principles of space?

"Maybe I'm overthinking this. It might have been opened by a completely different method instead…"

Nonetheless, it was a surprise delight for Jiang He that night and day were reversed on the inside compared to the outside. After all, his biological clock was usually upended—he never felt drowsy at night, and he simply could not get out of bed during the day.

But when the sun rose again on his second day inside the Womb Realm, Jiang He began to feel bored.

He simply…

Had nothing to do at all.

He tried to keep his patience and cultivate, but he found it dull in less than two hours, and hence grabbed a handful of sunflower seeds as he wandered around the Secret Realm again.

And on that day, he beat up all eight Diamond Sect disciples he encountered.

On the third day, he beat up several more Diamond Sect disciples too.

By the fourth day…

Aside from the divine-tempest elite who entered, Jiang He had already beaten up the other twenty-nine Diamond Sect disciples at least once… Of course, there might be discrepancies with that number, since some of the Diamond Sect disciples were unlucky enough to run into Jiang He in all three days, and were therefore beaten more than once.

Then, on the fifth day…

Jiang He was frowning a little even as he traversed the mountain creeks of the Womb Realm.

Where on earth had that divine-tempest monk gone?

"Since I've already beaten up the other twenty-nine, leaving him untouched would make me appear to be biased… I'm so bored anyway, so I guess I'll look around and beat him up. "

Meanwhile, even as Jiang He remained ever bored from idleness, the Diamond Sect disciples were losing their minds.

In a cave within the womb realm, all thirty Diamond Sect disciples had gathered, with everyone's faces green and swollen while their bodies showing various injures… aside from the divine-tempest high monk.

The high monk's visage appeared slightly younger than Chen Jingzhou. His figure was strapping, and he stood at one point nine meters.

His name was River White Nima.

It was a quite unique name. As a personal disciple of the Diamond Sect's guru, he inherited 'River White' from the guru's own name, 'River White Scarlet Fierce'. Moreover, 'Nima' referred to the sun here at the Western Frontier, instead of being an expletive[1].

And now, River White Nima was frowning at the many disciples around him. Being a personal disciple of the guru, he was equal in rank to the head monk, and was also the mentor of these disciples' mentors.

"Master Nima!"

"Master Nima… you have to stand up for us!"

The many Diamond Sect disciples were crying out, with one particular rank-nine pinnacle lama pausing as he grimaced in pain between words, "Master Nima… that Jiang He is too much. If this continues, the thousand-year prestige of the Diamon Sect would crumble under his hands."

As River White Nima asked them what happened, everyone spoke at once and at length, but in the end, it was clear Jiang He was out looking for trouble.

He would use various excuses to challenge the monks when he met them, and whether they accept it, all of them would suffer a vicious beating.

Fury showing on his face, River White Nima growled, "Continue on your cultivation and do not worry. I shall settle this with Jiang He myself."

Leaving the cavern, River White Nima went straight down the mountain to find Jiang He.

The opening of the Secret Realm was not easy and it costs a lot, and everyone's cultivation must not be squandered only because of Jiang He.

Even so, River White Nima was not aware that Jiang He was looking for him too.

Be that as it may, the Womb Realm was quite wide and he gave up after over an hour.

Lying down on the grass and taking out a handful of sunflower seeds, he started munching on them while he stared at the sun above, a curious idea suddenly occurring to him then—

"The sun and moon of the Womb Realm must have manifested from some treasure. Would this place blow up if I get up there and pluck them?

"And if I could pluck them, can I plant them?"

[1] Nima (尼玛) is pronounced the same as 'your mum' in mandarin, which is used as a swear word

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Chapter 209: The Golden-Winged Roc

Bukadaban Peak.

Also known as the Syn Qing Feng, the peak stands 6800 meters above sea level at the northern edge of Mount Kunlun, and constantly covered in snow.

Because of the climate, there were many glaciers around the peak and lakes that formed from melted snow, some of which were steaming—a unique hot springs of the highlands.

Once, many wild animals that faced extinction lived here and it had been a national natural preservation, but it was now a forbidden zone.

The many wild creatures that the government once protected had all evolved into horrifying Ferals, the most frightening of which was the Feral Emperor that lived atop Bukadaban Peak—the Golden Winged Roc!

The most powerful Feral Eagle in the world, and one of the rare few Feral Emperors in this world!

It was said that a colossal golden eagle was once spotted on Bukadaban Peak before the Revival of Qi, and it was suspected that the Golden Wing Roc had already mutated even before the Revival of Qi.

And it was not impossible!

For example, prehistoric species such as Nine-Headed Serpent Emperor, the sovereign of the Pacific had lived for an untold number of centuries. It had already been starting storms hundreds of years ago, but was worshipped as a deity by the ignorant islanders.

And then there was the other sovereign of skull island at the Pacific. Another federation nation had already discovered its presence in the 1930s, with an entire army boarding the island with the intent to kill it, only to be wiped out entirely.

Now, on the silent Bukadaban Peak, a roar suddenly resounded as a gigantic golden eagle with a wingspan of 150 meters flew out of the mountain, circling the skies as it screeched in fury, and its voice was so sharp that the soundwaves alone split steel and rock.

The snow atop the mountain shook from the soundwaves, and soon collapsed in horrific avalanches.

Still, the Golden-Winged Roc's rage was not ceasing, causing the glaciers and mountains beneath to shake and crumble as well, and it almost appeared as if the world was breaking.

"Human!"

"They had gone too far!"

The golden eagle roared in fury. "How dare they kill my beloved and my unborn children! They really wish to die!"

Swish!

The golden eagle spread its wings and was about to leave in a streak of golden radiance, but even before it could fly over ten kilometers, a white cloud was wafting towards it, blocking its way.

The golden eagle stopped and glared in rage at the white cloud, roaring, "You actually had the guts to come to Mount Golden Roc, Wang Hou?!"

The white clouds floated away as a puff of smoke while Wang Hou's figure materialized, and he spoke in surprise, "Golden-Winged Roc, when did you rename your mountain into Mount Golden Roc? Wasn't Bukadaban Peak perfectly fine?"

"This here be this emperor's domain. I'll name it however I wish."

The Golden-Winged Roc laughed coldly as it continued to speak with fury, "Wang Hou, you allowed a human elite to kill my beloved and break our agreement publicly. Do you really want all-out war against our kind?"

Wang Hou chuckled in response. "The one who killed both the Golden-Crowned Black Eagle and the Violet Crowned Golden Eagle is a mere rank-nine. There was nothing mentioned that rank-nine elites are forbidden from killing Feral Kings, are there?"

"Moreover…"

His voice suddenly changed, and his killing intent burst out while he spoke coldly, "If you monsters want a fight, I, Wang Ho, shall be your opponent!"

"What?!"

The massive form of the Golden-Winged Roc actually shuddered at that.

Nonetheless, it was not startled by Wang Hou's killing-intent and aura, but upon hearing Wang Hou's words, it was falling apart as it cried a blood-curdling shriek in disbelief, "Violet was killed too?!"

Clearly, the Golden-Winged Roc only knew about the Golden-Crowned Black Eagle's death, and not the Violet-Crowned Golden Eagle's.

After all, the Golden-Crowned Black Eagle was already dead by the time the Violet-Crowned Golden Eagle had arrived at Mount Tian. The other Ferals had already fled under Jiang He's menacing might, so no Feral was within sight to see Jiang He's slaying of the Violet-Crowned Golden Eagle.

That was why when the Ferals that fled from Mount Tian to the Bukadaban Peak which was less than a thousand miles away, they could only report the death of the Golden-Crowned Black Eagle.

On the other hand, Wang Hou did a double take as well.

What did that mean?

Violet?

Did that refer to the Violet-Crowned Golden Eagle?

You didn't actually know that the Violet-Crowned Golden Eagle was cut down by Jiang He?

Well, this was awkward.

Wang Hou laughed, and was just about to speak when the Golden-Winged Roc flapped its wings violently, firing golden rays at Wang Hou who in turn deflected them with his fist.

But in that split second, the creature was already darting into the distance.

Clearly, it had sensed the other two auras lurking nearby!

"We're found out. Attack!"

Wang He darted forward in a flash, calling out to his partners while in pursuit.

Ooom!

That was when a black-and-white Taiji symbol that was several Mu wide abruptly appeared on the horizon, and with a small tremor, the Golden-Winged Roc's flight was slowed considerably.

Behind the Taiji symbol, Dong Haichuan, the founding master of the Eight Trigrams School arrived, stepping upon thin air.

He was already two-hundred years old but he looked no different from someone in his forties. Wearing a black martial arts tunic and sporting a black beard, his first attack was a towering palm that descended upon the Golden-Winged Roc, ensnaring him.

The bird shrieked at the heavens, a dazzling golden light bursting around its body, shaking off and nullifying the silhouette of the palm.

Even so, Wang Hou had already caught up, encircling the Golden-Winged Roc alongside Dong Haichuan and Taiji School's Yang Luchan.

The trio fought together, battling the Golden-Winged Roc.

But though they were all Void-tier elites, they only recently reached this level, and also had a hard time taking down the Golden-Winged Roc even when working together.

After all, the Golden-Winged Roc was just too quick…

It had directly turned into a golden flash that circled the trio, and it did not try to fight directly against them even though it would not be a problem for it to take a blow. Not only was it powerful, but its feathers were harder than gold and too strong in defense.

But even if the trio could not take down the Feral, the Golden-Winged Roc still had a hard time trying to flee.

It kept roaring in rage, shrieking, "Wang Hou, your human martial artist killed this emperor's beloved, and now you would kill this emperor too?"

Wang Hou acted as if he heard none of that and kept pressing his attack.

Nonetheless, there was a helpless look that flashed momentarily upon his face…

The Golden-Winged Roc was too powerful.

Such a Feral that evolved even before the Revival of Qi was just too frightening. The fact that it shares the bloodline of the mythical Golden-Winged Roc notwithstanding, the main problem here was that Wang Hou himself, Dong Haichuan, and Yang Luchan had only recently reached Void-tier.

And that was especially the case for Dong Haichuan and Yang Luchan.

Though the providence they obtained was not as profound as Wang Hou's, they relied on their own talent and skill to arrive at their current standard. Indeed, their two-hundred-year deft was so rich that they could have fought the Golden-Winged Roc alone in several years instead of encircling it like this.

Still, they could not do that at the moment.

"Die!"

Wang Hou growled as he charged at the Golden-Winged Roc again.

The battle this day was a declaration of the Hua Nation's hierarchy—even if they could not kill the Golden-Winged Roc, they will beat it up until it felt fear!

For the Hua Nation was a territory of humans!

Boom!

The mountains beneath continue to explode, with waves of boulders rolling down.

Over the skies, the winds and the clouds were shifting!

The battle lasted over a dozen minutes. Wang Hou, Dong Haichuan, and Yang Luchan all were injured, just as there was no telling how many of the Golden-Winged Roc's feathers were knocked off.

Several peaks were already flattened, the glaciers in between crumbling under the shockwaves.

But in the end, the battle only subsided when the Dragoncroc Emperor of Shenlongjia arrived.

It remained hidden in the clouds, its hundreds-meter-long form vaguely visible from time to time as it spoke, "Are you breaking our agreement, Wang Hou?"

"Your human elites do not outnumber the kings and emperors of our race, for our elders have simply not appeared amongst humans for a long time and isn't bothered to show up. But if you want war, then humans and beasts shall have war."

Despite his shock, Wang Hou kept an impassive face and smiled. "When have I broken the agreement? The human elite who slew the Golden-Crowned Black Eagle and the Violet-Crowned Golden Eagle is a rank-nine, and we're just worried that the Golden-Winged Roc would do something silly in its grief, so we came to hold it here for a bit."

Back at the microworld of the Womb Realm.

After several futile attempts of plucking the moon and the sun, Jiang He gave up on trying to bring them home to plant.

The sky was too tall—to be precise, it seemed to become taller right before his eyes no matter how he flew.

Jiang He had a hunch that it was some array, or the spatial refraction that the method which created the Secret Realm caused.

"How boring…"

Jiang He sighed a few times even as he lay down on the grass. Just as he was musing if he should contact the head monk and let him out ahead of time, his ears twitched just then and he leapt up to his feet.

Nearby, the burly River White Nima was striding towards him, barking angrily, "Jiang He! Why would you hurt the disciples of the Diamond Sect?"

Hurt?

Jiang He frowned.

That word was rather harsh on the ears.

'All I wanted to do was to get an idea of how powerful or weak my Dragon-Elephant Prajna is compared to the Diamond Sect's!

'However, your disciples proved too weak and were crying for mommy and daddy with their swollen faces even before we really fought.

'What could I do about that?'

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Chapter 210: The Dull and Boring Tour of the Secret Realm

Jiang He's meaning was clear.

In short, if someone were to be blamed, it would be the exceedingly weak Diamond Sect Disciples whose Dragon-Elephant Prajna proved lacking.

I wouldn't have such an easy time thrashing them, would I?

Furious, River White Nima pressed, "If you wanted to spar with the Dragon-Elephant Prajna, you could have sparred against the disciples who had cultivated that technique. More than a dozen amongst the twenty-nine disciples you beat up did not cultivate it, so why would you hurt them?"

"…"

Jiang He mused to himself for a few moments before answering seriously, "I might have struck too quick to notice if they had learnt Dragon-Elephant Prajna."

"Arrogant brat!"

River White Nima yelled, his aura instantly bursting out.

He was burly in the first place, and he became even larger after he charged Dragon-Elephant Prajna, presenting him in a menacing presence.

The lama then took one step forward, the earth cracking and shaking beneath his foot.

"I'm River White Nima, personal disciple of the Diamond Sect's guru. My Dragon-Elephant Prajna has already been cultivated up to tier-twelve—Mister Jiang, do show me the Dragon-Elephant Prajna you developed yourself!"

A boom resounded as he punched out, and the air itself was cracking.

The fist was not charged with True Qi or a technique at all, and yet the sheer physical strength of Dragon-Elephant Prajna at the twelfth tier absolutely reached the limit point of rank-nine.

"Good!'

Even so, Jiang He was completely unafraid.

Rawr!

In the instant that River White Nima attacked, Jiang He had already charged his own Dragon-Elephant Prajna. In his body, a dragon's roar and an elephant's trumpeting resounded deafeningly, and a dragon's silhouette circled his head while an elephant roared at the skies.

Golden light shone upon his body, and Nature Qi encircled him.

Indestructible Diamond and Dragon-Elephant Prajna burst out simultaneously…

After all, from Jiang He's standpoint, though his revamped Dragon-Elephant Prajna was strong, he had merely cultivated it to fifth-tier while River White Nima had cultivated to twelfth-tier—he would never win by relying on Dragon-Elephant Prajna alone.

Boom!

Jiang He clenched his fist and punched out as well.

With a thundering band, the two men's fists collided sharply. Air waves visible to the naked eye kicked out between their fists and unfurled over all directions, blowing sand and stone off the ground.

River White Nima grunted and took three steps back, while Jiang He did not move an inch, staring straight at his fist while he remained where he was and exclaiming in surprise, "My physical strength is already this powerful?"

Actually… Jiang He really had not expected that!

Nonetheless, he soon understood.

Mastery of Indestructible Diamond had already honed his physique to frightening toughness, and coupled with the fifth-tier of the Dragon-Elephant Prajna, he could physically match the best rank-nine elites.

Moreover, he also had the Nine Stars Heavenly Body Formula…

That technique was an immortal physique technique, and with Jiang He's first-tier mastery, his physical strength would triumph against the strongest of rank-nines. Even though he did not use it right now, the physical strength and strengthening gained from the first tier of the Nine Stars Heavenly Body Formula was very much real.

"This is the Dragon-Elephant Prajna you developed yourself!?"

River White Nima growled as he turned to Jiang He. "No, the cultivation method you developed is wrong—the Tigercoat Wise Kings, the Diamond Sect founders had developed the Dragon-Elephant Prajna according to the ancient divine beast, the Dragon-Elephant. Mastery meant one would gain the power of the Dragon-Elephant with each move, with the silhouette of a Dragon-Elephant hovering above them!"

Amused, Jiang He could not help saying, "Nima, are you wrong in the head? Is the silhouette of the dragon and elephant over my head not obvious enough?"

"No!"

River White Nima retorted seriously. "A dragon is a dragon, an elephant is an elephant, and a Dragon-Elephant is neither a dragon nor an elephant."

Jiang He: "…"

Opps.

He was certainly stunned.

So that's what 'Dragon-Elephant' actually meant?!

He had misunderstood Dragon-Elephant into a dragon and an elephant when he copied the cultivation method…

That being said, he couldn't just say that, could he?

Moreover, Jiang He felt that his revamped version of the Dragon-Elephant Prajna was much stronger than the Diamond Sect's Dragon-Elephant Prajna.

Hence, River White Nima walked up and punched out at Jiang He again, who returned the punch as if he had that reaction beaten into him.

Indeed, this primitive fighting style was making Jiang He beside himself with excitement. He even attacked, punching, kneeing and elbowing at River White Nima who parried each blow. Even so, in this pure contest of strength and physical toughness, how could he win against Jiang He when he was lacking in all departments?

Suddenly, their fists collided again.

Pow!

River White Nima stumbled over ten feet behind, the ground shattering beneath him as he stared at Jiang He in disbelief, the hand with which he clenched a fist shaking profusely.

Now, the dragon's roar and elephant's trumpeting were becoming even louder and the creatures' silhouettes even more solid.

Delighted, he exclaimed, "My Dragon-Elephant Prajna actually improved to sixth-tier…"

"…"

River White Nima breathed a deep sigh. He was about to offer a fist-palm salute and admit defeat, but Jiang He had already lunged at him, squawking, "Come, come, Master Nima. Let's keep this going for another three hundred rounds!"

The pair once again clashed.

River White Nima was an earnest one, and did not unleash his True Qi cultivation even though Jiang He was basically giving him a beatdown—his face was swollen and he had one broken rib, and his arms were hurting so much that he could not raise them.

Most importantly, Jiang He had slammed a palm over his bald head, elaving a clear red palm mark.

Nonetheless, Jiang He offered a fist-palm salute as he floored River White Nima with another punch. "You've let me win, Master Nima!"

River White Nima was lying on the ground and wheezing like a cold, even as he heard an exclamation of delight—

"Haha!"

"I've really earned a killing here… not only did I get to punch this old bald donkey, my Dragon-Elephant Prajna is also almost seventh-tier. I might even reach seven if I could have a real battle now!"

The voice slowly became distant as Jiang He wafted into the distance.

After a long time, River White Nima finally got to his feet, breathing a long sigh as a bitter smile appeared on his face.

As a high priest of the Diamond Sect, he had come with a bone to pick with Jiang He. Aside from trying to stop him and preventing him from beating up the other Diamond Sect disciples, his most important intention was to prove that the Diamond Sect's Dragon-Elephant Prajna was genuine!

Even so, he was beside himself in disappointment!

That secret technique, almost divine body-refining art left by the founding masters of the Diamond Sect fell far too short compared to the 'Dragon-Elephant Prajna' which Jiang He created himself.

Hence, dragging along his exhausted and quite injured body, River White Nima found himself a seclude spot and meditated to heal his wounds. He was physically strong and possessed strong regenerative abilities, but though swells were easily removed, broken ribs can't be mended that quickly.

In one of the mountain caves.

The twenty-nine Diamond Sect disciples had kept waiting until the moon appeared, but River White Nima had yet to return.

Some of them were worried.

Some of them were delighted!

"Clearly, Master Nima has defeated—and even injured Jiang He. That's why he hasn't reached us, because he has no strength to come to us… Master Nima must have found himself a place to cultivate too, which is why he hasn't returned!"

"Everyone, the seven days are soon up. Let's seize the moment and start cultivating."

The twenty-nine Diamond Sect disciples hence split up and cultivated separately.

At the same time, Cheng Dongfeng and the others were cultivating as well.

The five-days of cultivation had greatly improved them, and most importantly, it was easier to grasp the Boundary of Wills in the Secret Realm, and their understanding of martial arts had also hence become even more profound!

Naturally, Chen Jingzhou benefited the most.

He had neither slept nor drank over the last few days as he kept training his swordplay atop a peak. When one looked from the distance at night, they would fine a faint sword light covering the mountaintop.

Even if he was a thousand meters away, Jiang He felt…

Envy.

"Impressive!"

"Chen Jingzhou now grasps around sixty percent of sword will, does he not?"

Chen Jingzhou could hone his sword will by training his swordplay, but he… did not even know how to use a sword. The only thing he had confidence in was the White Foal Crosses the Rift which was a Royal Sword technique, open which he promptly mastered once learnt, making training meaningless.

"Huh…"

Jiang He breathed a sigheven as he sat atop the mountain. After taking out his barbecue rack, cutting out chunks of Blue Drake King meat and making over fifty skewers, he organized a moon-viewing party with himself, taking out his sunflower seeds and rank-nine Origin Fluid as well.

Others notwithstanding, the moon of the Secret Realm was in a league of its own.

The moon here was eternally round and very huge, the latter perhaps because it was too close to the ground or because of spatial refraction.

After he was full of food and drinks, Jiang He found himself a secluded valley, took out a capsule and threw it on the ground…

Bang!

A mansion appeared upon the ground.

Stretching and yawning, Jiang He entered the mansion while complaining, "The days in here are so difficult, and it's another two more days before the Secret Realm reopens… How am I supposed to pass the time!"

"I'm not going to any Secret Realms anymore!"

Bukadaban Peak…. Or Mount Golden Roc, after its renaming by the Golden-Winged Roc.

At the foot of the mountain, Wang Hou, Dong Haichuan and Yang Luchan were sitting together and fishing in front of a lake.

They were not using fishing rods, but fashioning fishing lines out of Yuan Qi to fish with in the water.

The trio's seating was actually specific too: Wang Hou sat in the middle, while Dong Haichuan sat on Wang Hou's right and Yang Luchan to Wang Hou's left.

"By the way, Master Yang, Master Dong… you two had been the most famous grandmaster backs in your heydays, with Master Yang being known as the invincible while Master Dong founded the school of Eight Trigrams.

Reining in his fishing line, Wang Hou smiled as he asked, "I've heard that you two had sparred more than once, so I'm very curious… did you, actually? Who won then?"

Dong Haichuan and Yang Luchan both gave Wang Hou a glance, smiled, but said nothing.

But out of the blue, the surface of the lake burst apart—Dong Haichuan and Yang Luchan's Yuan Qi fishing lines had actually been fighting underwater.

One giant fish after another was sent flying up into the skies, and the two two-hundred-year-old martial art masters moved, catching themselves two fishes.

Smiling as he grilled his fish, Dong Haichuan said, "Elder Luchan had been peerless back then in Jingdu, and with his reputation of being the Invincible Yang, why would I dare to challenge him at the peak of his fame, when I only went there later?"

Though Yang Luchan appeared younger than Dong Haichuan and appeared around thirty, he was still of the Taiji faction and therefore paid more attention to his wellness.

"You're too kind, Master Dong." He laughed.

The pair complimented each other, but said nothing about the past.

Clearly…

The two had fought before.

Nonetheless, no martial artists would fight in the open back in those days unless it was a death grudge. For one, they would be embarrassed if they lost, and secondly, they would definitely need a clear winner if it was fought out on a ring. Setting aside the cases where there was a huge difference in abilities between the combatants, fatal strikes and bloodbaths were unavoidable if they were equally matched, and it was certainly easy to tell what would happen if a someone bearing a grudge seizes the opportunity.

Meanwhile, as the trio had their grilled fish, Dong Haichuan suddenly said, "Minister Wang, I heard my disciple mention that Jiang He's cultivation is not actually that impressive… but after learning that he had cut down four Feral Kings in a single week, I wonder—could you have had a hand in the matter?"

Wang Hou smiled, shaking his head. "I would have simply come up with some excuse if I really wanted to kill me some Feral Emperors. Why go through such lengths?"

"Then that's simply outstanding!"

Dong Haichuan exclaimed in awe. "And he's only rank-nine?"

"Even if he relied on outside help, a rank-nine turning the tables against Feral Kings is so frightening."

Clearly, from the trio's perspective, Jiang He relied on outside help to slay the Golden-Crowned Black Eagle and the Violet-Crowned Golden Eagle.

Dong Haichuan's tone changed then as he asked uncertainly, "But despite his genius, you've actually agreed to the Golden-Winged Roc's condition of letting it settle its differences with Jiang He personally. What are you thinking, Wang Hou?"

Wang Hou laughed out loud. "I'm just going along with Jiang He's idea… Moreover, with us three staying here, could that bird kill the kid even if it wanted to?"

He looked up at the direction of the Tantra Sect then.

Inwardly…

He was actually feeling a little anticipation, but was also rather worried.

Anticipation, because Jiang He was capable of miracles.

As for his worries…

The kid seemed restless, and the Tantra Sect's bald donkeys were quite prejudiced towards Wang Hou himself, and Jiang He could start trouble after reaching the Tantra Sect.

"I'm overthinking this."

Withdrawing his gaze, Wang Hou chuckled self-deprecatingly as he changed his mind. "The Tantra Sect possesses profound depth, and not even I would are to push them too far… would Jiang He even dare to go too far at the Diamond Sect?"

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Chapter 211: I'll Stop Pretending and Show My Hand

Boom!

The world was shaking.

Inside the Womb Realm, everyone who had been cultivating felt the tremor and were jolted out of their trance.

Jiang He awoke with a start as well.

However, unlike the others, he was yanked out of a dream.

Rubbing his drowsy eyes, Jiang He arose from his soft, large bed and walked up to the window. Looking out, he saw an opening split out of the horizon.

"Huh…"

"The Secret Realm's passage is open?"

Yawning, Jiang He stepped out of his mansion, reverting his luxurious mansion into a capsule.

He put it away and walked out of the gorge he had been in, and climbed up a peak.

"Eh?"

Jiang He!

Nearby, Cheng Dongfeng was cheerfully waving and dashing towards Jiang He, all smiles as he asked, "How was your cultivation, Jiang He?"

"It's alright."

Jiang He replied simply, muttering inwardly that he did not cultivate at all anyway. Then, after a glance at Cheng Dongfeng, he frowned and could not help asking, "Why aren't you rank-eight yet?"

Cheng Dongfeng's smile stiffened.

At first, he had been thrilled.

After all, he was merely rank-seven novice-pinnacle when he entered the Secret Realm. Though he made it up to rank-seven pinnacle, he was just one step away from rank-eight.

Most importantly, Cheng Dongfeng had glimpsed how he should take that 'step' in the seven-days' worth of cultivation, and he was confident that he could reach rank-eight in one month even after he left the Secret Realm.

Even so…

Jiang He's single line flung his mood into the bottom of the abyss.

Forced to change the conversation, Cheng Dongfeng said, "By the way, I've never seen any of the Diamond Sect Disciples since I entered the Womb Realm. I was actually worried that they would bother us on purpose and interfere with our group's cultivation. It seems that I was being petty despite their magnanimity… I'm surprised that their disciples are that well-disciplined."

Jiang He was about to answer when he saw a Buddhist radiance descending from the skies—the head monk of the Diamond Sect had come personally to receive Jiang He.

"How has your tour been, Mister Jiang He?"

The head monk asked with a smile, catching both Jiang He and Cheng Dongfeng with a curious energy with a wave of his hand.

Jiang He was at a loss for words and complained, "Head monk, the design of your sect's Secret Realm is a little illogical. I can't leave for seven days, so what if there's a family emergency back home or catch some serious sickness that needs curing without delay?"

The head monk was speechless.

The disciples' family was the Diamond Sect itself. What emergency could there be?

As for sickness…

Golden Sect disciples who were allowed to enter the Womb Realm would be at least rank-seven or even above divine-tempest, each of them as lively as the next—how could they be sick?

He turned to Jiang He and exclaimed in surprise, "Could your family have an emergency?"

"Haha!"

Jiang He laughed before answering truthfully, "It's no big deal. I was just bored in here and so wanted to go out for a stroll.

Bored?

Now this is too much.

The others could not wait to cultivate as much as they could once inside the Secret Realm.

And then there's you, who came here to complain about being bored?

Still, how could the head monk say something like that?

Meanwhile, even as the head monk brought Jiang He and Cheng Dongfeng out of the Secret Realm passage, River White Nima was flying out of the Secret Realm too.

Aside from River White Nima, several divine-conversion tier monks were flying out with the other disciples too.

"Eh?"

Abruptly, the head monk's gaze shifted towards the other Diamond Sect disciples.

All of their faces were swollen and appeared utterly miserable… of course, that was no big deal, since River White Nima was the one most seriously injured.

River White Nima's physical injuries had all been healed, but his single broken rib had yet to mend completely. Still, the head monk managed to determine the situation immediately with his vision.

He did not ask anything, and merely turned to glance at Jiang He.

Beside them, Cheng Dongfeng glanced at the many disciples of the Golden Sect and then at Jiang He, seemingly understanding something.

Jiang He did not notice anything, however, but quickly jogged towards River White Nima when he saw the monk, smiling, "You've came out too, Master Nima?"

"Well, about that…"

"Is there a master in the Diamond Sect who has cultivated the Dragon-Elephant Prajna up to the thirteenth-tier, and could you introduce me to him? I think I've reached a bottleneck in physical strength but I still want to improve to the next level, so I must find myself a stronger body-honing elite to spar with."

River White Nima scowled, saying, "Mister Jiang He, my master has already cultivated the Dragon-Elephant Prajna up to perfection four hundred years ago, and the head monk succeeded recently too."

"In addition, my brother disciple the Iron Staff Lama is nearing perfect grasp over the Dragon-Elephant Prajna too."

"Just three?"

Jiang He could not help groaning, "Well, forget it. I'm not interested in Corban since he looks just like Justice Bao, walking around with his iron staff all the time. As for head monk and your master… They are both on their way to their graves already—what if I killed them by accident?"

It was almost midnight outside.

When Chen Jingzhou and the others got out as well, Jiang He came up to them, saying, "Old Chen, I won't be traveling back with the group."

"What's up?"

Chen Jingzhou's face twitched and he quickly asked, "Jiang He, did something happen?"

Jiang He thought about it…

He had enough Orirocks now, and all he needed to do was farm to kill that Golden-Winged Roc. There was nothing to hide about that, so there was no need to stop pretending—he could show his hand!

"It's fine if I tell you guys since it's no big deal," he said, "Did you know that I spared some time to visit Mount Tian when you guys were having a grill over at Lake Kanas?"

"There's a grudge between me and the Golden-Crowned Black Eagle. I was off to get payback, but I ended up finding out that the beast is a consort of the Golden-Winged Roc after I killed it… even laying two eggs."

"What?"

Chen Jingzhou could not help exclaiming. "Did you kill the Golden-Crowned Black Eagle?"

Jiang He had been whispering, but thanks to Chen Jingzhou exclaiming it, every pair of eyes around them looked towards them, and there were looks of surprise, especially from the Golden Sect disciples.

"Yes."

Jiang He smiled begrudgingly. "But that's no big deal, since the Golden-Winged Roc's had another consort, and it turned out to be the Violet-Crowned Golden Eagle of Mount Kunlun…"

"But I was so unlucky!"

"After I had slain the Golden-Crowned Black Eagle, the Violet-Crowned Golden Eagle came to Mount Tian. To prevent news from reaching the Golden-Winged Roc immediately and having that Feral Emperor come after me immediately, I killed the Violet-Crowned Golden Eagle too."

"…"

Silence immediately ensued.

Chen JIngzhou opened his mouth but felt that his throat going dry, unable to say a word.

Nearby, River White Nima appeared mystified.

Was that for real?

Although the Diamond Sect had closed off their mountain for almost a hundred years, they were not ignorant of the outside world. At the very least, he knew about the Violet-Crowned Golden Eagle and the Golden-Crowned Black Eagle—those two frightening Feral Kings, and would not lose out to him in power.

As River White Nima touched his broken rib, he wiped away a pinch of sweat.

Luckily, he did not use his divine-tempest tier cultivation to spar against Jiang He…

Otherwise, he would end up with more than one broken rib.

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Chapter 212: The Willow Tree Has a Gender?

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

The 14th of October, one in the morning.

After completing the exchange of Orirocks with the head monk, Jiang He brought along the black panther he had left with the Diamond Sect as he prepared to leave the mountain.

The head monk even personally escorted Jiang He's group to the entrance of the mountain gates.

"Farewell!"

Jiang He offered the head monk a fist-palm salute, whereas the head monk put his hands together and bowed, saying, "Mister Jiang, I know of that Golden-Winged Roc—it had become intelligent even before we, the Diamond Sect closed off our mountain, and once rampaged across the Western Frontier. The disciples of our sect had even left the mountain in an attempt to slay it."

"Its ability is simply extraordinary. Be cautious when you confront it."

The head monk offered him a kind warning.

He had become exceedingly friendly towards Jiang He now—not even Wang Hou was shown such hospitality before.

Jiang He smiled in gratitude. "Don't worry, head monk. I value my life a lot, and I won't fight it until I'm confident I could defeat it."

He turned, ready to leave the mountain when Corban flew in from the distance, exclaiming, "Please wait, Mister Jiang."

Landing before Jiang He, Corban said, "Mister Jiang, the guru has asked me to relay his intention: if you intend to eliminate the Golden-Winged Roc, the Diamond Sect shall assist you."

"There's no need."

Jiang He headed down the mountain, waving him off without turning his head. "It's just one Golden-Winged Roc. I can deal with it myself."

Jiang He spoke without concern, but the high monks and even the head monk of the Diamond Sect twitched.

The guru actually volunteered to help Jiang He eliminate the Golden-Winged Roc?

One should know that even when Wang Hou sought an audience before, the guru had merely sent one divine-tier disciple and a handful of average disciples to escort him down the mountain—even the Diamond Sect cultivation manuals that they gifted him were nonessential.

The head monks then looked up at the temple where the guru was, surprise showing in his eyes.

He had respect Jiang He plenty enough.

And yet, it turned out the guru had an even higher opinion of him?

Chen Jingzhou and the others who were going down the mountain with Jiang He were beside themselves in shock as well, though their expression appeared stiff.

It was only when they arrived beneath the mountain that Cheng Dongfeng came to his senses and muttered, "Jiang He, are you acquainted with the guru of the Diamond Sect?"

Jiang He shook his head.

"Why would he volunteer to help you if you didn't? According to what I know, every guru past of the Diamond Sect was simply extraordinary, and there were even rumors that they were actually one and the same… their soul would reincarnate would after they passed on, whereas the disciples of the Diamond Sect would step out into to the world in search of the guru's reincarnated body and bring him back to their sect."

Jiang He did a double take and could not help asking, "Aren't they a little too much, the Diamond Sect? The man already reincarnated—can't they be given some space?"

Indeed, something crossed Jiang He's mind just then…

The lamas of the Diamond Sect were no different from monks since they were prohibited from taking a wife and having children. It was alright for average disciples, but for someone who cultivated up to Void-tier, it meant living up to several hundred years. However, if the guru continued to reincarnate, wouldn't he be celibate for several lifetimes?

Was that not too scary?

Nonetheless, Jiang He smiled as he stared at Yang Chengwei, "Well done, Little Yang—you've reached grandmaster already? From now on, there shall be three grandmasters standing guard over Lingzhou City?"

"Eh?"

Yang Chengwei blinked and asked uncertainly, "Bro Jiang, don't you mean four?"

Even as he spoke, he counted with his fingers.

Cheng Dongfeng, Duan Tianhe, Bro Jiang, and himself…

Jiang He smiled but did not reply.

The kid was right in a way—he was still rank-nine, and more or less still counts as a grandmaster, even if that might not be the case tomorrow.

After all, Jiang He was concerned about whether he should deal with the threat that was the Golden-Winged Roc as soon as possible. That might cause him to have trouble sleeping like before, when he was so worried about the Sky Demon Cult coming after him for payback.

Ascending as soon as possible would solve that problem, and he could go home and farm in peace.

Jiang He then glanced at He Litong and Zhou Rui too.

They had improved significantly in the Secret Realm as well—He Litong had ascended up to rank-eight, with his aura becoming even more intense.

As for Zhou Rui, it was clear that her superpower had developed remarkably with the shroud of razor-sharp Sword Qi around her.

Offering a fist-palm salute, Jiang He said, "Everyone, I'm pressed for time so I'll be going ahead. Farewell!"

Chen Jingzhou, Cheng Dongfeng, and the others all returned his salute, while Jiang He leapt up the black panther and firmly slapped it on the backside.

At his 'hyah', the black panther shot out like an arrow.

But after around forty miles, Jiang He remembered something—

Snikt!

A scarlet sword light shot out from his brow, turning into a giant scarlet sword. With a light tap over the black panther with his foot, Jiang He jumped onto the sword.

"…"

The black panther stared at the sight with wide-eyes, its jet-black gaze filled with disbelief and unsure how to convey its deepest thoughts through acoustics.

"What are you doing, spacing out?"

"Jump on. I'm in a hurry!"

The black panther leapt up at Jiang He' words, landing behind him.

Whoosh!

The giant sword streaked into the clouds, becoming a scarlet sword flash. Then, in the next split second…

"Aaaaaaaah!!!"

"Master, slower, slower!"

"I'm afraid, I'm afraid of heights…"

The black panther was sprawled prone over the sword flash, shuddering and staring at the ground below in fear—it was even stuttering in its spirit voice.

Speechless, Jiang He slapped the beast and barked, "You fool. Won't it be fine if you just closed your eyes? And here you're still staring downwards…"

The black panther promptly closed its eyes with its two front paws and exclaimed in delight, "Oh, master, this feels much better…"

"I really want to kick you off so you'll fall to your death right now!"

Jiang He's Royal Sword Flight was swift, reaching twice the speed of sound even while carrying the black panther. Moreover, since the Diamond Sect's mountain was just a little over 2000 miles from Lingzhou City, Jiang He, who started his journey at twenty past one in the morning, he reached home by half-past two.

It was now late into the night, and the best timing to sleep reasonably speaking. Indeed, Jiang He intended to have a bath, sleep, and then plant the Orirocks.

That was when he realized that he was not drowsy at all.

After all, he woke up in the Secret Realm before he returned.

"Whatever. I'll start farming since I'm not falling asleep!"

Jiang He entered the farm.

Already sensing his return, Dumbo and Trumbo happily lunged towards him.

Jiang He stretched out both hands to slap them aside, asking, "Dumbo, anything happened at home when I'm not around?"

"Yes!"

Dumbo stood on its rear legs, breathing human speech as it replied, "Master, a Feral came out of nowhere on the night before yesterday, intruding on our home."

"A Feral?"

Jiang He's gaze had a flash as he frowned, "Could it be the Sky Demon Cult again? A Feral… was it a powerful Beast Tamer?"

Dumbo shook its head, saying, "Not according to what I've observed. The Feral was merely rank-four, and it was shipped to death by the willow tree before I could do anything."

Jiang He turned towards the willow tree then.

It had already grown up to six meters tall, its many dangling branches glimmering in faint fluorescent light in the night.

Even as Jiang He stared at the willow tree, a single willow branch discreetly crept towards him, rubbing itself intimately on Jiang He's face.

"M-Master…"

A bashful, hesitant, and crisp loli voice reached Jiang He's mind.

Jiang He twitched in spirit…

This willow tree actually had a gender???

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Chapter 213: The Bottle Gourd Brothers' Education Is Priority

"M-Master?"

The willow branch retreated as subtly as it reached out. Having developed sentience recently, it was actually stuttering in its spirit voice.

That left Jiang He very much shocked.

Trees had gender too?

Still, it made sense when he thought about it—the tree was already a special lifeform since it had developed 'sentience'.

"By the way, I remember reading a novel which had a willow goddess or something living inside…"

Jiang He studied the willow tree he planted thoroughly, a thought occurring to him…

Would the willow tree take human form after it ascended up to a certain level?

There was no telling if it would be pretty after it did either…

"Kya!"

The willow tree suddenly cried out, its dangling branches covering its tree trunk as it exclaimed with a flustered tone, "M-master… why are you staring at me like that?"

Jiang He couldn't help becoming amused at that.

It was actually embarrassed?

Still, he could try grooming this tree since it's a strong floral spirit on its own. Its loli voice was quite melodious, and whether it could take human shape remained to be seen.

"Since it's a floral spirit, nitrogen or composite fertilizers would definitely promote her growth."

Suddenly inspired, Jiang He pointed a finger at the corner of a wall.

Slither.

A sheet of green leaves crept out his body, quickly forming a wooly green bundle that landed at the corner of the wall.

Roots soon grew out of the green bundle, entrenching itself into the soil and soon grew into the massive Cloudscraper Vine.

With a wave of his hand, Jiang He took out the Red Toad King's corpse from his System Backpack, cutting it in two and giving the Cloudscraper Vine half.

Delighted, the tendrils of the Cloudscraper Vine danced and covered that half of the Red Toad King's corpse.

Dumbo threw Jiang He a look of grief at that, quietly grumbling, "Master, you're biased…"

Huh?

Jiang He could not help chiding the dog with a smile. "Learnt to give your opinions, have you now, dog? Well, it's fine, since you and Trumbo have a variety of powers and lack only in cultivation."

Dumbo and Trumbo each possessed four superpowers as well as Ucchusma Stonebreaker Palm and swordplay, although they were still short of rank-seven.

That said, they were not too far behind.

After some thought, Jiang He took out four bottles of rank-nine Origin Fluid, giving Dumbo and Trumbo two each while saying, "You've learnt many superpowers and had a lot of cucumbers that could enhance your spirit. Moreover, after having bucketsful of qi pellets and blended qi pellets, your potential is abundant and just a step away from rank-seven."

"This Origin Fluid enhances spirit and cultivation respectively. Having one bottle each could help you break through the shackles to reach rank-seven."

Both Dumbo and Trumbo were overjoyed.

Still, Jiang He rubbed his temples rather worriedly… he still had some blended qi pellets, but those wouldn't help with his cultivation, and it would be the same for Dumbo and Trumbo after they ascended up to rank-seven.

"Surely I can't feed Dumbo and Trumbo with Origin Fluid every day, can I?"

"I don't have much of it, so what am I supposed to drink if I get thirsty after feeding them with those?"

Jiang He mused to himself for a long time, before his eyes suddenly lit up and exclaimed, "Right… if humans have immortal arts or martial arts, then Ferals would definitely have theirs too!"

"Maybe I should come up with some Feral cultivation manuals for Dumbo and Trumbo to use."

In fact, Jiang He found that idea very viable.

The only problem was…

There was none available online, and it was difficult even if he tried to come up with one.

"By the way, if the Diamond Sect head monk was right, the Golden-Winged Roc would have mutated over a hundred years…"

"But are there Ferals with a longer history than the Golden-Winged Roc?"

Jiang He believed that there definitely would be.

First and foremost, the Nine-Headed Serpent Emperor of the pacific would have already existed for several hundred years, just as there would be some that had lived since a thousand or thousands of years ago. According to most novel plots, Ferals would have a longer lifespan compared to humans, and it wouldn't be difficult for them to live for thousands of years especially for certain mutated species.

"If I have the chance, I could talk to those powerful ancient Ferals, get myself a handful of Feral cultivation manuals to train Dumbo and Trumbo with."

Jiang He turned towards Dumbo then.

The dog was ready to open his bottle of Origin Fluid, but it caught on to Jiang He's intention instantly with a wag of its tail.

Extending its paw, its claws glinted with earthen-yellow glimmer as it casted its earth-type powers.

Multiple craters began to form on the ground.

Jiang He planted a whole bunch of Orirocks with a flip of his hand, saying, "Dig more. A little over two hundred would be enough."

Hence, Dumbo continued digging holes with its earth-type powers.

Meanwhile, Jiang He counted the Orirocks while planting them… but paused when he reached fifty, exclaiming in surprise, "Keep going, Dumbo! Why did you stop?"

Dumbo complained tearfully and miserably, "Can't I dig fewer? Two hundred is so difficult!"

Thud!

Jiang He promptly slapped out at the dog, barking, "Goddamn it! Your earth-type powers are not that weak. Are you that reluctant to actually dig two hundred and eighty holes?"

Rising to its feet, Dumbo rubbed its dog face with its dog paws in grief, "Master… It's not that I don't dig… I can't count beyond fifty!"

"???"

Jiang He suddenly remembered…

Dumbo had indeed miscounted before, insisting that the Orirock trees Jiang He planted before grew fifty Orirocks even if each bore a hundred.

It was a pain in Jiang He's head.

He was actually hoping for the dog to work for his every errand after it improved in ability, only for the rather clever canine to be math dumb.

"Just dig as much as you can. Can't you just bury any additional holes?"

Jiang He remembered the seven Bottle Gourd Brothers he left at home then, who would be sleeping in their bottle gourds at this hour.

"After planting the 280 Orirocks I have, I will have more than enough with the 100 Wang Hou promised me. With that, I could feed them fertilizers every day and don't have to worry about improving abilities… but not going to school is a no-no for children."

Even so, sending the seven Bottle Gourd Brothers and his pets to school?

Jiang He was really worried that they would take the school apart.

"Should I…"

"Get a home tutor?"

Jiang He thought even as he planted the Orirocks, "Well, forget it. Jinyintan village is a wildland now… would any home tutor be willing to teach here?"

There's a chance of running into Ferals every time they came to his house to give a lesson.

"Eh…"

"I could plant a teacher!"

Jiang He's eyes suddenly lit up—worrying about that problem was unnecessary if he had just planted a teacher.

Still…

What sort of teacher should he plant?

First of all, it must be a woman with good looks, and the type with a tantalizing figure at that.

After all, good-looking teachers would usually be… patient in their teaching!

Report chapter

Chapter 214: The Cloudscraper Vine Evolves again

"There's no rush to plant a teacher for now, so we could put that on hold while I check online for a hot teacher to plant."

Jiang He collected his thoughts before continuing to plant Orirocks.

Now that his farm had expanded to three Mu, Jiang He planted all 280 Oririocks in one go.

At the same time, Dumbo continued to dig his holes.

While Jiang He planted the Orirocks, Trumbo would be burying and watering the holes behind him. By the time Jiang He planted the last Orirock, the Orirocks they planted at the start was already budding.

Still, Jiang He was rather surprised to find that this was unlike planting gold bullion trees, where only ten trees grew on each occasion and he had to chop down ten more for ten more to grow.

The Orirocks, on the other hand…

Thirty would grow on each occasion which greatly shortened planting timeframe, otherwise, since it takes two hours to harvest a single Orirock tree, at least sixty hours of non-stop harvesting was needed if the trees grew by a multiple of ten.

Though he was only in charge of burying the Orirocks and plucking them, the prospect of working 60 hours straight was horrific.

"This must be an effect after the farm leveled up. Still, the gold trees wouldn't wither and it grows Yuanbao long-term. On the other hand, Orirocks would turn to ash on its own after harvest."

That was a little miserable, since otherwise Orirocks would be no different from Yuanbao—only harvested once per week. Would it not have been a delight to earn three hundred thousand Farm Points in a week from those thirty trees?

"Eh…"

Jiang He remembered something else at the mention of 'one week', and exclaimed in surprise, "It's already the fourteenth, over twenty days after the monthly reward on the twenty-fourth last month…"

"Where's my weekly gift pack, System?"

Even Jiang He himself had forgotten about that.

Wasn't he supposed to get a small gift pack every seven days and one big gift pack each month… but where was it?

After asking for half a day, his System did not react at all.

Damn it!

After several words of complaint, Jiang He frowned and said, "Could this be the same like games where I count as a newbie in the first month after I received the System… and there's no gift pack rewarded once that passes?"

"Forget it. It's the same whether I have the gift packs, so it's nothing to look forward to."

In the meantime, it would be over an hour before the thirty Orirocks grew, and Jiang He went to a corner of the wall after some observation.

At the corner of the Farm, oily-green clumps of grave grass had grown out of the five graves.

"Are those the Sky Demon Cult's Heavenly Generals that were bombed to death by the potato landmines?"

There was nothing happening at the other graves, however.

Jiang He nodded to himself subtly. It seems that his hunch was right—the Heavenly Generals were rank-seven, and it meant there was a three-level gap his level 4 farm.

The reason last time the grave grass would grow last time was mostly likely because of the farm leveling up.

"Planting human corpses seem to be chickenfeed, which doesn't help me much, not to mention that the grave grass is too unhygienic… It would be acceptable if it's something like the Sword Will Barrenwort, but I'm never eating the grave grass since all it helps is awaken superpowers, although it's not bad for training pets."

"As for farm level… I could use the fact that grave grass would grow out of powerful corpses and use that well."

That was when a weird sound could be heard.

Jiang He turned to find that the Cloudscraper Vine's tendrils were swaying after consuming its half of the Red Toad King's corpse, growing wildly!

At first, the nine 100 meters long tendrils of the Cloudscraper Vine were elastic and capable of constriction. The spikes hidden beneath it were almost rank-nine in penetration too.

And now, after consuming half of a Feral King, the tendrils grew up to 150 meters long and even thicker than its arm-wide size before.

A cool glimmer glinted on the spikes over the leaf beneath the tendrils.

Jiang He walked up, allowing the Cloudscraper Vine to attack him.

Swish!

The nine 150 meters tendrils promptly retracted to ensnare Jiang He, instantly forming a green cage that rapidly shrank, its many spikes stabbing down on Jiang He…

Crack!

A soft, clear sound echoed as untold spikes were broken by Jiang He's overwhelming physique.

After feeling out the horrific constriction strength of the nine tendrils of the Cloudscraper Vine, Jiang He exclaimed in surprise, "Not bad. You could first restrain your target before you kill them, and probably even the best of rank-nine elites would be killed by your coils."

"Still, that's no different from a massage for me."

The Cloudscraper Vine loosened its coils at that.

Jiang He checked his body to find little red spots on its body, caused by the Cloudscraper Vine's spikes.

Jiang He nodded in surprise, saying, "The spikes has powerful penetration that not even combat suits made with S-grade alloys or rank-nine elites bad at defense could stop."

"Generally speaking, however, it's still lacking… I still have a few Feral King corpses, and you should seize the moment to evolve and reach divine-tier as soon as possible."

The Cloudscraper Vine extended a tendril to touch Jiang He.

Its 'sentience' seemed to have fully developed, and it could only communicate its thoughts by using its tendril to touch Jiang He.

Nonetheless, what surprised Jiang He was that he could clearly read its thoughts.

"You're saying that you're stuffed and need days to digest?"

"Eh?"

Suddenly, Jiang He's expression turned dark as he slapped away the Cloudscraper Vine, barking, "What the hell? I've just put you back in the farm for an hour and you're trying to get inside me again?"

In response, the Cloudscraper Vine curled into itself, and even its tendrils and leaves seemed listless then.

Jiang He ignored the Cloudscraper Vine, and whipped out his mobile phone instead, dialing Three Blades Lin's number.

Though it was very late, Three Blades Lin soon answered.

Over on the other end, the man chuckled, "Did you leave the Secret Realm already, Jiang He? Was your trip to the Secret Realm fruitful?"

"Fruitful, my foot!"

Jiang He yelled, "Don't call me up for something like that next time. Did you know how I had to pass those seven days locked inside the Secret Realm?"

"If the Diamond Sect disciples didn't enter the Secret Realm with us so that I could beat them up every day, I would have lost my mind!"

Three Blades Lin: "…"

He was left silent for over five seconds before exclaiming in surprise, "Jiang He, you actually beat up the Golden Sect disciples? Wouldn't their elites bother you?"

"They didn't!"

Jiang He laughed. "Others notwithstanding, the Diamond Sect are good hosts. Their divine-tempest tier Iron Staff Lama, the high monks as well as the head monk of the Diamond Sect himself came to welcome us, and he personally escorted me on the way back. Even their guru asked if I needed help, saying that they would help me get rid of the Golden-Winged Roc."

"Hello?"

"You still there, Old Lin? Why aren't you saying anything?"

Jiang He yelled into the phone for a long time before Three Blades Lin finally answered stiffly, saying, "Are you kidding me? What rank is the guru, and not only did he not blame you for beating up the Golden Sect disciples, he even offered to help you?"

Jiang He shook his head. What is wrong with the world that no one believes the truth now?

Not bothered to explain himself, Jiang He asked, "What's the situation with the Golden-Winged Roc, Old Lin?"

"It learned that you killed the Violet-Crowned Golden Eagle and the Golden-Crowned Black Eagle as well as steal its eggs around three days ago, so it was about to go on a rage-fueled rampage. However, Minister Wang, Master Dong and Elder Luchan stopped it."

Three Blades Lin replied, "Though I wasn't there, certain images captured later showed that there might have been a serious battle. Mountains that were over four thousand meters crumbled, with glaciers collapsing and endless avalanches."

"Hold on…"

That was not Jiang He's concern, and he asked, Master Dong, as in Dong Haichuan, the founding master of the Eight Trigrams school?"

As Three Blades Lin replied with an affirmative, Jiang He then asked, "What about Elder Luchan? Who is he?"

"One of the handful of Void-tier elites in the country now. He hails from the same generation as Master Dong and has a connection to Mount Wudang, one of the five Holy Grounds… guess he counts as a disciple!"

A person from the same era as Dong Haichuan and has a connection to Mount Wudang?

One name come to Jiang He's head in an instant: Yang Luchan!

After all, Jiang He had watched a lot of shows about Yang Luchan, such as the recently popular Taichi Master available online and the Godly Beggar which was made years ago, hence learning about Yang Luchan feats such as stealing the Chen family's fists technique and becoming the peerless champion of the capital.

Meanwhile, Three Blades Lin continued over the phone, "Anyway, the Golden-Winged Roc developed intelligence over a hundred years ago, and is so powerful that even Minister Wang, Master Dong and Elder Luchan could not defeat him even when fighting it together. And with the Dragoncroc joining the fray later, they had to give up and promised the Golden-Winged Roc so that it was allowed to resolve its grudge against you personally—as you've insisted."

"The Golden-Winged Roc is that powerful?"

Jiang He was quite surprised, but soon smiled, saying, "Old Lin, relay my message to Minister Wang that I'll go to the Golden-Winged Roc's nest in around two or three day and have a heart-to-heart with it, and we'll discuss about me killing its lovers and stealing its children."

After hanging up, Jiang He looked up at the Orirock trees that were now almost three meters tall.

They had already borne fruit, with Orirocks dangling on the tip of the branches and flickering in crystalline radiance beneath the moonlight with astonishing beauty.

[Ding!]

[100 Farm Points]

Jiang He rose to his feet to pluck one Orirock while killing intent appeared in his eyes and he sneered, "Damn you, Golden-Winged Roc. I've merely killed your two mistresses and stole your eggs, and you would start a war over that. There's no telling how many innocent lives would perish because of me if Minister Wang and the others hadn't stopped you…

"Such a blight must not be allowed to remain!

"Killing and grilling it are only right!"

Report chapter

Chapter 215: Planting Swordplay: Twenty-Three Swords

[Ding!]

[100 Farm Points.]

[Ding!]

[100 Farm Points.]

The System Notifications rang repeatedly beside Jiang He's ears, and unhappy with how troublesome it was to pluck each Orirock, he simply released his True Qi that gusted and plucked every Orirock.

Soon, the thirty Orirock trees were fully harvested, and Jiang He had a total of three thousand Orirocks, three hundred thousand Farm Points and thirty thousand EXP.

And after the harvest, the Orirock trees crumbled into ashes on their own in the farm.

Meanwhile, Jiang He's gaze shifted to the System.

[Name: Jiang He]

[Cultivation: Immortal Path—perfect Qi-Refinist; Martial Arts—Rank-Nine Novice]

[Ability: Royal Sword, fire]

[Martial Arts Cultivation: Indestructible Diamond (Mastery), Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms (), Blind Princess's Eight Practices (Second Practice), Strengthened Nine Yang Technique (Sixth Tier), Ninefold Thunderblade (Third Fold), Dragon-Elephant Prajna (Sixth Tier), Nine Stars Heavenly Body Formula (First Tier), Three Thousand Calamities (First Level)]

[Owned Land: 3 Mu]

[Farm Level: 4 (EXP 44800/50000)]

[System Backpack: 18 boxes]

[System Shop: Unlocked]

[Farm Points: 352000]

"Oh?"

"I'm almost level 5 in EXP now?"

Jiang He was all smiles when he saw the six-figure Farm Points, just as thirty more buds grew out of the farm ground.

It was now past five in the morning.

Jiang He simply took out a lunch box, squatted at the farmyard and started eating. Even though it had been kept inside his System Backpack for half a month, it tasted no different from being recently cooked.

Sora had prepared three lunchboxes for him: Coleslaw of cucumber, black wood ear and carrot shreds, while the other two were stir-fried eggplant over meat and stir-fried black wood ear over meat.

The rice was normal, but the dishes would sell for astronomical prices if they were sold out there—people would clamor for it even if it was sold at dozen millions per portion.

After having a few mouthfuls of his lunchbox, Jiang He took out a bottle of rank-nine Origin Fluid and had a few sips. Watching as the Origin Trees grew at a rate visible to the naked eye ahead of himself, he could not help chuckling, "I guess the greatest pleasure of a farmer really is to see the crops you planted with your own hands growing fertilely. So what if I worked a little hard for it?"

After finishing the lunchbox, Jiang He absentmindedly threw away the box and the bottle, but quietly picked up the bottle when he remembered something.

"Shouldn't throw the bottle away—I'll give it to Cheng Dongfeng if I run into him when he gets back."

Jiang He still clearly remembered the moment when Cheng Dongfeng subtly picked up his bottles.

That was when Dumbo, who was lying down on the ground at a corner of the farm abruptly had a burst of aura.

Jiang He could not hold back his delight.

After all, his dog is now rank-seven.

Trumbo's aura strengthened after Dumbo's did too, as it quickly evolved to rank-seven.

And once cat and dog ascended, they were cheerfully celebrating their joy all over the farm.

They ran out of the farm to find the black panther lying miserably outside the farm, with grief overflowing in its feline gaze.

Trumbo leapt up to the black panther's back, startling it as it promptly communicated with spirit voice, "Stop it… my head hurts."

The cat actually had not recovered from its fear of heights.

Dumbo chuckled, stood on its rear legs and extended its paws to assume several different poses in front of the black panther while speaking human language, "Big kitty, ever seen such thick doggie muscles?"

"Eh?"

"You pig! How dare you glare at me—I'll kill you in an instant, believe it!"

Dumbo's aura overflowed and it ran off to the storehouse, grabbing a longsword of S-grade alloy and displayed a most natural sword technique, leaving the black panther gaping.

What the heck!

"Rank seven already?"

The black panther exclaimed through spirit voice, while Dumbo rolled its eyes at a loss for words, barking, "Am I showing you my tier? I was showing you my sword technique…

"Ever seen a dog's swordplay?

"By the way, I know palm techniques too…"

Boom!

Dumbo's claw slashed out, and a golden palm print promptly descended, sending the black panther flying over a hundred feet away. Even so, not only was the black panther not angry, its eyes widened even more.

Back in the farm, Jiang He stepped out after hearing the commotion outside, yelling, "What's with all that noise in the middle of the night… Eh? What are you doing lying on the floor, big kitty? Didn't I tell you to go back to Mu Wanqiu at the Superpower Research Department? Why aren't you there yet?"

The black panther pushed itself up off the ground, and wailed in grief through spirit voice, "Master, I can't go… that woman is so scary—she draws my blood with a half-meter long alloy needle every single day!

"Master, I want to learn swordplay and palm techniques from you too!"

"Go away!"

Jiang He yanked the black panther away with a kick, scolding, "Head to the Superpower Research Department right now. I'll consider teaching you martial arts after Mu Wanqiu is done with her research."

The black panther wailed miserably once, but ran to Lingzhou City in the cover of the night with its head slumped.

It wanted to seize the moment to slip away halfway on its journey, but after some thought…

"Forget it." The panther mused to itself.

"I'm just a rank-seven panther, and living in the wild is too dangerous since there's a big chance some human martial artist would kill me. Even if I didn't run into human elites, the other thuggish Ferals might kill me too!"

The black panther notwithstanding, after Jiang He had scolded Dumbo and Trumbo as well, he found Sora coming out of the mansion.

Dressed in a sleeping gown, she exclaimed in surprise, "You're back, master?"

Even as she spoke, she was lunging at him.

Jiang He was rather speechless. How many days had it only been?

And what could a maid like you be trying, diving into your master's arms?

"Hold on…"

All of a sudden, Jiang He realized in shock that he was… reacting!

"Why is this happening? I didn't eat any peppers… or could Sora had sneaked in some in the stir-fried black wood ear over meat?"

Therefore, Jiang He decided to give Sora a fine lesson.

The details about said lesson could be spared—Jiang He only relented after Sora pleaded for mercy, and the sun had already risen by then. Lighting himself a cigarette, Jiang He headed upstairs for a bath, before returning to the farm with his clothes on.

Back on the farm, the thirty Orirock trees had already matured.

"Well, my farm is only 5200 EXP short of level 5…"

Since each Orirock earned Jiang He 100 Farm Points and 10 EXP, Jiang He only needed 520 Orirocks.

True Qi gusted with a wave of his hand—Jiang He plucked all Orirocks from five trees, and twenty more from the Sixth.

A crisp System Notification jingled in his head at that.

Turning to the System Panel, Jiang He could see that the EXP bar showed (50000/50000).

Another notification had also popped up beneath his stats panel, labeled the 'Farm Level Ascension Materials'.

[One 500kg portion of Feral King flesh]

[Two 500kg portions of rank-nine Feral flesh]

[Orirocks: 100]

"This is outrageous, System!"

"It was at most 200kg before this, and now it's 500 at one go?"

Still, complaints were complaints—he still has to level up.

Even so, Jiang He needed to make a swordplay before he did… after all, he could still plant one more cultivation manual after reaching farm level 4, and he must not waste it.

And as for what swordplay, Jiang He already had an idea!

"The Sacred Spirit's Sword Style and the Twelve Mystic Yin Swords are swordplay that breaks the rules of the world. Though it's a martial world over here, such illogical technique would cut down sages and gods alike!"

Jiang He thought to himself.

There were twenty variants to the Sacred Spirit's Sword Style, whereas the Twelve Mystic Yin Swords had twelve. It could be troublesome cultivating all those, and he would have to write over several thousand words even if he resorted to creating the manuals for those techniques…

That was why Jiang He decided to cultivate Twenty-Three Swords instead.

That particular sword technique counts as a derivative of the Sacred Spirit's Sword Style, the most powerful sword technique that the Sword Sage grasped on death's door. It was in turn divided to three styles: Selfless Passion, World Calamity, and the Six Annihilations.

Of those three, the Six Annihilations was the most powerful style—wielding one's blade with your mind to destroy the enemy's essence, it was one of the greatest of sword techniques in the Storm Riders series!

"It's a bit outrageous—wielding swords with one's mind to directly cut down another's essence… it's rare even for an immortal art, is it not? And doesn't the Storm Riders series actually portray a martial world?"

Report chapter

Chapter 216: Four Retributions of the Nine Lesser Heavens?

"The Twenty-Three Swords…"

Jiang He brought out his pen and paper, but paused halfway through his writing.

Having read the comic, tv series, and movies of the Storm Riders franchise, he knew very well how powerful the Twenty-Three Swords technique was—it was without question, the finest swordplay in Storm Riders.

Space and time would actually freeze once that technique was unleashed. The sword would in turn be wielded by one's heart and essence, keeping themselves immune from all physical blows, and it was only by grasping 'essence attacks' that one could stop it.

And yet, that was precisely why using the Twenty-Three Swords required one's essence to leave their physical body, leaving it in a 'pseudo-death' state. Jiang He would be unable to resist at all if his physical body was struck at that moment.

"But it's not like I would be completely defenseless. If I hone my physical body to a certain extent of durability, my opponent could hardly injure my physical form."

"The only problem is that the Twenty-Three Swords is basically a self-destruct swordplay—there's a chance I would kill myself even before I defeat my opponent."

That said, Jiang He actually had a theory about that.

Since the Twenty-Three Swords was no longer within the domain of martial arts, the reason it requires one's essence to wield the sword outside one's body was because the Sword Sage had yet to cultivate himself into a Primordial Spirit. That was why once his sword leaves the sheath, his spirit and consciousness would erupt along with his sword, dispersing and himself perishing naturally after using that technique.

"So, if I could cultivate into a Primordial Spirit and achieve essence disembodiment, the one drawback of the Twenty-Three Swords would no longer be a drawback, but a most powerful essence attack!"

"Still, the problem is that I'm a novice of the Immortal Arts who only recently completed the Qi Refinist tier. I'm thousands of miles away from cultivating into a Primordial Spirit… surely I can't learn the Twenty-Three Swords, only for it to prove incompatible with me?"

Therefore…

Revamping was needed!

And Jiang He was very experienced when it comes to that.

"First of all, there's no need to strengthen the power of the Twenty-Three swords since it's strong enough. What if I can't plant it if it was too powerful?"

"Sword-wielding with one's essence and heart… okay, I could alter it into mind sword-wielding, and the power of the Twenty-Three Swords shall be connected to how far strong the part of one's mind which the user could allocate. The stronger the part of mind allocated, the stronger the power of the Twenty-Three Swords!"

The mind was not one's essence.

As such, one did not have to worry about dying even if one did not cultivate into Primordial Spirit. At worst, one would be waning in spirit and be tired in consciousness, and that could be resolved with some medicine for the mind such as the Heart Invigorating Pill that helped with a troubled mind, palpitations, and insomnia…

Either way, after thirty minutes, writing several hundred words elegantly albeit with innumerable adjustments, Jiang He was done revamping the Twenty-Three Swords.

Be that as it may, he maintained the three styles of the technique:

First Style: Selfless Passion.

Second Style: World Ruin.

Third Style: Six Devastations.

After that was the touch-up following the revamping.

Truth be told, touching-up is actually no different from post-editing for novels, adding in certain cool words, putting on airs while adding to the word count.

For Jiang He, that meant adding special sound and visual effects to add cool points.

After musing to himself for a while, Jiang He raised his pen and wrote, "Once the sword technique is released, the sword's hum shall resound away from the user, with ten thousand blades resonating within a hundred miles."

"Once the sword technique is released, the sword light fires into the school as Sword Qi overflows…"

"Finished!"

"Job done!"

After checking the Twenty-Three Swords manual carefully and correcting several typos, Jiang He crumpled it into a ball and dump it into the hole Dumbo had already dug.

Turning on his System and redeeming a bag of Mysterious Soil, Jiang He poured the bag entirely into the hole before burying it.

As he looked on expectantly, the soil began to squirm in moments, and a sword light was slowly streaking out of the earth.

At first, it was merely a hilt, but it soon turned into a small sword that was around eight inches in a dozen minutes.

It looked ethereal instead of physical, with various symbols flickering and flashing over its edge.

And after an hour when the sun rises, the small sword grew up to a meter in length and stopped extending.

Extending his hand, Jiang He grasped the small sword.

Ooom!

The small sword instantly turned into a sword light, sinking between Jiang He's brows.

[Ding!]

[30000 Farm Points]

[Ding!]

[Swordplay: the Twenty-Three Swords detected. Consume 100,000 Farm Points to learn the First Style?]

"Woah!"

Jiang He could not help inhaling sharply once he heard the System Notification in his head, feeling utterly disconcerted.

What the heck…

Was the world of Storm Riders not a martial world?

And yet, the first-style of the Twenty-Three Swords already costs 100,000 Farm Points!

"It only cost me 50,000 Farm Points to learn White Foal Crosses The Rift—the first style of the Three Thousand Calamities…"

Jiang He couldn't help complaining.

Of course, complain was all he did. The truth was that he felt pleasant, since the more Farm Points was consumed, the more powerful the technique was.

That said, Jiang He did not learn the Twenty-Three Swords at once, since he had all the Farm Points he needed.

The most pressing matter right now was to level up his farm!

"Hold on…"

Jiang He suddenly realized something. "If I level up the farm now, the Farm Points and EXP I earn from Orirocks would definitely be reduced significantly based on how awful the System had been!"

Hence, Jiang He turned to look at the many Orirock trees.

Releasing a gust of True Qi with a wave of his hand, Jiang He blew off the Orirocks on the trees.

[Ding!]

[100 Farm Points.]

[Ding!]

[…]

As System Notifications jingled repeatedly, Jiang He stared mournfully at the EXP that was basically leaking out of the System Panel, and seethed through clenched teeth, "It's a waste of EXP, but I just have to farm it slower next time. Still, there won't be such a great chance of hoarding Farm Points!"

Eventually, he had harvested a total of 280 Orirocks.

It takes almost two hours for an Orirock tree to mature and be harvested, and with only 30 trees going in each batch, Jiang He basically stayed in his farmyard until the sun was setting, eventually converting the 280 Orirocks into Farm Points and EXP.

Jiang He turned on his System for a look then… to find out that he had actually accumulated a total of 2,882,000 Farm Points!

"2.88 million…"

Jiang He laughed out loud, and had a thought!

"System, I'll learn the Twenty-Three Swords."

[Ding!]

A crisp System Notification jingled—

[-100,000 Farm Points.]

[Congratulations, Host. You have gained Mastery over Selfless Passion, the First Style of the Twenty-Three Swords.]

Ooom!

An exceptional sword will instantly erupted within Jiang He's body.

As the sword will overflowed, Jiang He's grasp over sword will which was already above 90 percent instantly reached perfection.

"Level up, System! Level everything!"

"Nine Stars Heavenly Body Formula, Three Thousand Calamities… Hold on!"

Jiang He, who had been prepared to spend all 2.88 million Farm Points suddenly paused, asking hesitantly, "System… If I level up Nine Stars Heavenly Body Formula and Three Thousand Calamities… would it trigger divine retribution and other stuff like that?"

After all, it was a most common plot in novels.

Whenever cultivators reached the level of Golden Cinnabar, they would face the legendary Four Retributions of the Nine Lesser Heavens.

What if he ascended without preparation, in tun invoking divine retribution upon himself which he could not defend against?

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Chapter 217: The Door to Divine-Tier

[Question: Would cultivators face the Four Retributions of the Nine Lesser Heavens upon ascension up to Golden Cinnabar?]

[Urgent!]

[Online and waiting for an answer!]

Of course, that was no more than a pipe dream.

If this were an era where every person cultivated immortal arts, Jiang He had the feeling that a post like his would be answered with the right answer.

Now, however…

He would be taken for a fool.

"This is an entirely Schrodinger's cat situation… before the ascension to Golden Cinnabar, no one knows if the proclaimed lightning would strike."

Jiang He mused to himself for a bit before coming to a decision:

Steady on—there was no hurry.

It would not be late even after he visited the Golden-Winged Roc's nest. He would have nothing to say if no lightning struck, but if there really were lightning, he could use that to hammer that bird.

"As for Three Thousand Calamities, it's no hurry… but I could learn the remaining two sword techniques ahead of schedule."

Three Thousand Calamities was an immortal sword technique Jiang He had created that could be cultivated up to the standard and tier of Heavenly Immortal.

In turn, it included three different styles.

Jiang He had already learned the first style, White Foal Crosses The Rift, and the remaining two were Thunderflame Calamity and Three Thousand Calamities.

At 50,000, those two styles did not need many Farm Points to learn. Though it was not all that all-powerful, the Three Thousand Calamities itself was a rare technique that strengthens according to the user's tier.

[Ding!]

[-50,000 Farm Points]

[Congratulations, Host! You have gained Mastery over Thunderflame Calamity, the Third Level of the Three Thousand Calamities.]

A System Notification rang beside Jiang He's ear at this though, and he could feel an enormous mystical sword technique surging into his brain. Hence, in just a split second, he grasped the essence of Thunderflame Calamity and Three Thousand Calamities.

"Eh?"

Jiang He suddenly gasped.

He stretched out his hand to charge thunder will…

Cackle.

Veins of bolts arose from his palm.

"My thunder will seems to have improved a little. It was just thirty percent before, but now it must be fifty."

Still, Jiang He was accustomed to such a thing.

Clearly, after he cultivated Thunderflame Calamity and grasped its essence, he naturally would improve his grasp over thunder will.

And aside from thunder will, Jiang He noticed that he had grasped flame will in addition to Thunderflame Calamity.

"Let's continue!"

"Nine Yang Technique, Seventh Tier!"

Boom!

Jiang He's aura expanded with a burst.

His martial arts cultivation had elevated far above rank-nine novice now… in spite of his intention to improve his Nine Yang Technique up to Seventh Tier, his expression changed even before he could think it.

"What the hell…"

And that was all he had time to exclaim before realizing that a raging energy inside his body was bursting out.

The energy instantly shrouded Jiang He, before an extraordinary epiphany came to his mind. In that very moment, he did not need to divert his attention to use inner vision to clearly 'see' any part of his body now.

He could see a curious door appearing vaguely in the depths of his mind.

His True Qi, spirit, and even sword will were about to reach it too.

"What… is that thing???"

Shock was written all over Jiang He's face, leaving him at a loss for words even as he grumbled inwardly, "What devilry did I commit that the sea of swords in my head which appears whenever I awaken superpowers is replaced by a door?"

To tell the truth, having a door appearing in his head was rather frightening.

Was it a new superpower?

Or something else entirely?

Jiang He mused to himself for a long before whipping out his phone… He has to ask his senior in martial arts who were much more learned, since he's not falling asleep if he doesn't understand what that door was.

Lingzhou City's Martial Arts Department (MAD).

Cheng Dongfeng and the others had returned from the Western Frontier. After a small break, Cheng Dongfeng and Yang Chengwei headed to the chief's office.

On the other hand, Chen Jingzhou, He Litong, and Zhou Rui left, since they were not Lingzhou City citizens and they had their own work and responsibilities.

"Good, very good."

Duan Tianhe was all smiles. "Good job, kid… I really was right about you. Aren't you only 19? Becoming a rank-seven grandmaster at your age and an Awakened with B-class superstrength—you are the best in talent, even if it's within all of Xibei."

Rather bashful, Yang Chengwei quickly replied, "Am I really that awesome? If you keep flattering me, Chief Duan, I would start to bloat."

"You brat!"

Duan Tianhe laughed out loud, before turning to Cheng Dongfeng, who was looking smug with a puffed chest.

"Why aren't you rank-eight yet, Old Duan?"

Duan Tianhe said that on purpose, naturally knowing what was going on in Cheng Dongfeng's mind. Indeed, Cheng Dongfeng's face darkened immediately and he was left speechless. "Are you jealous of me, Old Duan? Forget jealousy and envy—I understand your feelings after being surpassed by me when you reached the level of grandmaster before I did, but did you have to talk like that brat Jiang He?"

Duan Tianhe breathed a long sigh at the mention of Jiang He, saying contentedly, "Honestly, I was worried when the higher-ups arranged for your group to accompany Jiang He. That brat had always acted according to his mood and feelings, and I was worried that something would happen to you people just by following him around… I'm surprised that he changed enough for a steady journey to the Diamond Sect, and did not start any trouble."

"By the way, where's Jiang He?'

Duan Tianhe asked, but he looked up to find that the air in the room had gone wrong, and there were weird looks on Cheng Dongfeng and Yang Chengwei's faces.

Then, Cheng Dongfeng quietly said, "Old Duan, how did you come to the conclusion Jiang He did not cause trouble? Oh… Was that because I didn't call you to report in?"

He was about to tell Duan Tianhe about what Jiang He did in their journey, but even before he could put those things to words, his phone rang and he promptly picked it up, chuckling, "Speak of the devil. It's Jiang He."

Answering it and putting it on loudspeaker, Cheng Dongfeng leaned on his sofa, and put the phone on Duan Tianhe's new steel-tempered tea table, smiling, "Jiang He… we're back just a moment ago. What about you?"

"What, you have an important question about martial arts cultivation?"

Cheng Dongfeng was full smiles, even lighting himself a cigarette with a wave of his hand and exhaling a smoke ring. "Alright, just ask away," he said teasingly, "I could call up the founding master of the Eight Trigrams School if I don't know the answer, and that would answer your question regardless."

Over at the other end of the call, Jiang He seriously asked, "Well, Master Cheng… I cultivated a little after we returned from the Golden Sect yesterday."

"Somehow, I accidentally completed my rank-nine cultivation… and found myself in a mystical state, like there's a door in my head now."

"What the heck is that, Master Cheng? How did a door get inside my mind?"

Since the phone was on loudspeaker, Jiang He's voice could be clearly heard by all three persons in the office.

Young Yang Chengwei's eyes bulged in utter disbelief…

Completion…

Of rank-nine?

Both Duan Tianhe and Cheng Dongfeng were utterly stunned as well, but not because of Jiang He's cultivation, but because of the door that Jiang He spoke of.

"The divine door?"

Cheng Dongfeng could not help yelling. "What the hell, Jiang He? You've already reached the divine door? Are you divine-tier already??"

Report chapter

Chapter 218: Jiang He Reaches Divine-Tier

"The divine door?"

Jiang He could not help breathing a sigh of relief when he heard that, and said with lingering fear, "And here I was startled why a door would suddenly pop up in my head… what a scare."

Cheng Dongfeng: "…"

He clenched his fist even as he stared at the mobile phone on top of the tea table for a long while, unable to resist an urge to transmit himself through the cell signal to show Jiang He's what's what.

After a long silence, he then said, "That said, those who completed their rank-nine cultivation might not find the precise location of the divine door even years after. And you're not content even with that?"

"Hold on…"

Cheng Dongfeng suddenly remembered something at that and frowned. "It's said that one would reach divine-tier upon breaking-through the divine door… even if your cultivation ascended from average rank-nine to the limits of rank-nine overnight, you would not find the door if you come up short in the Boundary of Wills or your spirit."

After all, what exactly was rank-nine completion?

In truth, reaching the limits of rank-nine did not make one a complete rank-nine, and it was only by cultivating True Qi, spirit, and the Boundary of Wills to the very limits of rank-nine that one could be considered a complete rank-nine.

And only complete rank-nine individuals would sense the presence of the divine door.

"How is my spirit lacking?"

Jiang He was upset at that—who do you think you are making light of?

He then added in confusion, "Didn't Three Blades Lin tell you? That my spirit's shackles had been broken and reached divine-tier ten days ago?"

"What about the Boundary of Wills?"

Not one to succumb easily, Cheng Dongfeng seethed, "How long had you grasped sword will? If you want to reach the divine door, the three requirements of cultivation, Boundary of Wills, and spirit must all be met."

"I have perfect grasp over sword will already!"

"???"

Jiang He was left bewildered as 'beep-beep-beep' echoed beside his ears at that.

What the heck…

Hanging up on me again?

Hence, Jiang He called Cheng Dongfeng once more and asked, "Don't hang up, Old Cheng. Why the rush? I still have things to ask you about…"

"Just ask!"

"Old Cheng, how do I get to the divine door? Is there any trick to it? You know I am a martial arts newbie, and wouldn't know such common knowledge."

"Hah!"

Cheng Dongfeng was cursing away inwardly, even getting an impulse to stab someone.

You've just completed rank-nine and is beginning your search for the divine-door and journey to divine-tier, and you're telling me you're a martial arts newbie?

Even so…

How could Cheng Dongfeng understand Jiang He's pain?

How long had he even started cultivating?

Less than two months!

And in said two months, Jiang He had cultivated less than ten hours… and in that period, he was still in a self-learning mode.

His common knowledge in martial arts was only learned from various data and whatever was posted on Warrior Home.

Even so, would those materials describe the rush to divine-tier?

Squatting at his farm and whipping out his phone, Jiang He humbly consulted Cheng Dongfeng, who was grumbling and cursing something over the phone.

It was only after a long grumble that he said, "Jiang He, I'm only rank-seven pinnacle so all I know about divine-tier and the divine-door is learned from a senior of the Eight Trigrams School."

"Once a martial artist's cultivation reaches completion at rank-nine, they could vaguely sense the presence of the divine door…"

"It's alleged that the door exists in a person's mind, and once it is opened, various mystics would develop, providing the individual with unthinking divine strength. That level in turn is called the divine-conversion tier."

"Oh?"

Jiang He glanced at his own divine door and asked, "Does that mean all I have to do is break that door? How, specifically? Get a hammer to knock a hole in my brain?"

Cheng Dongfeng could not help chuckling before answering, "The fusion of spirit, qi, and psyche breaks through the divine door—in other words, spiritual strength, True Qi and the Boundary of Wills."

"That being said, you would only have a vague sense of the divine door's presence right after you cultivate rank-nine to completion. Pinpointing it is a long process, just as opening it is not accomplished in a single night."

"Eh?"

Jiang He was left taken aback and at a loss for words. "Does that mean I can't ascend right now? Isn't that a little ridiculous? By the way… Master Cheng, how do I pinpoint the location of the divine door?"

"It seems that the divine door exists vaguely in one's mind, and after it slowly turns solid—"

"What the hell!"

Jiang He suddenly exclaimed even before Cheng Dongfeng could finish. The latter's face dropped and he quickly asked, "What's wrong, Jiang He?"

There was silence over the other end of the phone.

Duan Tianhe had stood up with a swish in the office too.

Nonetheless, Jiang He's voice returned to the call after Cheng Dongfeng's urging, and he meekly said, "Master Cheng, I think I accidentally broke through the divine door… It's not that big of a deal, is it?"

"Hold on…"

"I think I'm ascending!"

Beep!

The call was disconnected.

Cheng Dongfeng promptly looked up at Duan Tianhe, and they locked gazes before abruptly turning together to look outside the window.

Through the arched glassed walls of the office, they could clearly see dark clouds suddenly appearing above Jinyintan village.

And lighting bolts were flashing within.

The farmyard in Jiang He's house back at Jinyintan Village.

Jiang He had really accidentally broken through the divine door.

He was comparing the divine door in his mind's eye to Cheng Dongfeng description, and realized that his divine door was already pinpointed as well as solid. Therefore, he fused his spirit, qi, and psyche and gently tapped into it…

And then it broke!

There was a boom when it did.

As if a world-shattering thunderclap erupted in his head, Jiang He 'saw' lightning sparkling within the mystical door in the next split second, making it seem as if the world was ending.

At the same time, the weather had changed dramatically.

Dark clouds were rolling forth from the horizon, and lightning flashing…

"Divine retribution?"

"Nope, that's not it—just a phenomenon caused when a martial artist ascends up to divine-tier from rank-nine."

Jiang He gained epiphany then.

With a wave of his hand…

Boom, crack!

Lightning descended from the skies above, the thick, massive bolts leaving Jiang He's himself shocked.

"So…"

"This is my divine power?"

"Summoning lightning??"

Even before he could think, another mysterious energy extended within his body in the instant that the divine door was broken through, rapidly strengthening and altering his body.

Be that as it may, a martial artist's ascension from rank-nine to divine-tier was not merely the gaining of a divine power, but a comprehensive evolution of the body and a leap of a person's existential threshold.

And this ascension lasted hours!

Night has already arrived when Jiang He finally opened his eyes.

It was almost eleven at night.

Feeling out the changes in his body, Jiang He couldn't help gasping in surprise. "Huh… my True Qi has multiplied by several folds, improving my physical toughness and strength considerably. Also, my Dragon-Elephant Prajna was cultivated to tier-seven pinnacle on its own…"

"Most importantly…"

Whoosh!

Taking to the skies with a single leap, Jiang He flew around up in the air with utter delight, laughing, "Awesome, this is too awesome… although I am capable of Royal Sword Flight, is that anywhere as delightful as flying on my own?

Whoosh!

Out of the blue, Jiang He's body flashed with streaks of sparkles as he transformed into a thunderbolt entirely, instantly covering the distant of several dozen miles!

Report chapter

Chapter 219: I Was Freaking Out At The Time!

"A phenomenon!"

"Jiang He… really reached divine-tier?"

In front of the glass wall of the chief office found atop Lingzhou City Martial Arts Department (MAD), both Duan Tianhe and Cheng Dongfeng were staring tightly at the thundering skies out at the horizon, shock showing all over their faces.

They only withdrew their gazes when the thunder light faded after a long time, trading glances.

Slap!

Duan Tianhe had suddenly raised his palm and slammed it on Cheng Dongfeng's face, and the victim exclaimed in shock, "Ouch… that hurts, so I wasn't dreaming!"

"Thrice the speed of sound!"

Jiang He finally stopped after lying dozens of miles away, and exclaimed in surprise, "Even Three Blades Lin, who is a peak divine-tempest elite would only reach little over twice the speed of sound at top speed when he turned into a blade light. How did someone like me who just reached divine-conversion, which is only the first level reach three times the speed of sound?"

"Maybe this has to with my power. I was shrouded in the power of thunder just now, and even felt my whole body turn into thunder."

"Martial divinity… so is this it? Isn't this already levels of high fantasy?"

An empty wildland was beneath him.

Jiang He unleashed a thunderbolt with a wave of his hand.

Boom-crack!

Thick, giant bolts instantly smashed down, shattering a peak into pieces.

"The power of this sky lightning is not bad… I could kill a newly ascended Feral King like the Black King Drake with a single bolt!"

After that, Jiang He toiled around for half an hour to accustom himself with his power.

It was almost midnight now.

Leaning back in his swimming pool, Jiang He resisted the urge to level up the Strengthened Nine Yang Techniques.

"I'll hold back on improving my martial technique tiers for now… the Strengthened Nine Yang Technique needs two hundred thousand Farm Points at tier-eight, and probably fifty thousand at tier-nine…"

"After all, I have to keep some Farm Points to improve my immortal arts."

On the other hand, he could afford to level up the Ninefold Thunderblade a little.

After all, since his divine aspect was revealed to be thunder, the power unleashed when matched with Ninefold Thunderblade would definitely not be weak.

[Ding!]

[-30,000 Farm Points]

[Congratulations, Host. You have gained Mastery over the Fourth Fold of the Ninefold Thunderblade.]

[Ding!]

[-50,000 Farm Points]

[Congratulations, Host. You have gained Mastery over the Fourth Fold of the Ninefold Thunderblade.]

[Ding…]

As System Notifications jingled repeatedly beside Jiang He's ears, he spent a total of 580,000 Farm Points at one go to level up Ninefold Thunderblade up to Eighth Fold.

"Okay…"

"This is enough. After all, I'm mainly cultivating the immortal arts and assuming the path of the Sword Sage, so my martial arts and blade techniques are merely a simple cover… moreover, I could cut down a divine-tempest tier elite in a direct confrontation now, couldn't I?"

Jiang He sensed himself carefully, and then exclaimed in slight delight, "I didn't think that improving the Ninefold Thunderblades actually perfected my grasp over thunder will, and even help me gain blade will too…"

[Name: Jiang He]

[Cultivation: Immortal Path—complete Qi-Refinist; Martial Arts—divine-conversion]

[Ability: Royal Sword, fire]

[Martial Arts Cultivation: Indestructible Diamond (Mastery), Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms (), Blind Princess's Eight Practices (Second Practice), Strengthened Nine Yang Technique (Seventh Tier), Ninefold Thunderblade (Eighth Fold), Dragon-Elephant Prajna (Seventh Tier), Nine Stars Heavenly Body Formula (First Tier), Three Thousand Calamities (First Style), Twenty-Three Swords (First Style)]

[Owned Land: 3 Mu]

[Farm Level: 4 (EXP 50000/50000)]

[System Backpack: 18 boxes]

[System Shop: Unlocked]

[Farm Points: 2,000,000]

Jiang He scowled even as he eyes swept across the System Panel and he complained, "It feels good to improve in ability, but my Farm Points is being spent very quickly too… the Strengthened Nine Yang Technique would need two hundred thousand at Eighth Tier and five hundred at Ninth, just as the Ninth Fold of the Ninefold Thunderblade needs five hundred thousand as well…"

2 million Farm Points… was really not much.

Nonetheless, Jiang He rose to his feet and chuckled, "But if I fully mastered the Strengthened Nine Yang Technique, my martial arts cultivation would reach perfect divine-union tier…"

Then, he could not help frowning after he stepped out of the pool.

Sora…

Was actually not around.

'Why isn't she here to help me put on my silk pajamas?'

After dressing up himself and getting a hairdryer to blow his hair, Jiang He returned to his room to find Sora lying on his bed coquettishly.

So, here to warm his bed again?

October 15th.

The skies were cloudy.

For once, Jiang He woke up early—it was not even 11am.

He went downstairs, washed up and had a meal, after which he headed to the farm and threw the other half of the Red Toad King's corpse to the Cloudscraper Vine. He then poured two steel bowls-full of blended qi pellets for Dumbo and Trumbo and then redeemed some nitrogen pellets for the Seven Bottle Gourd Brothers, saying, "Be good boys at home, and gramps will bring you a big birdie to eat."

"Wow!"

The Seven Bottle Gourd Brothers' eyes lit up, cheering as they clamored, "I want to eat gramps' birdie, I want…[1]'

Damn it!

Jiang He kicked Dumbo, yelling, "What are you laughing at, dog?!"

"I wasn't laughing, Master."

Dumbo replied with much grief, but when even as the Seven Bottle Gourd Brothers kept shouting the same thing, its mouth was curling up involuntarily, revealing its two sparkling canine teeth.

And in the next instant, it sneaked behind the Cloudscraper Vine, shuddering, "I'm really not laughing, Master."

Jiang He couldn't help chuckling.

He hence strode out of the farmyard and stepped up into the air, streaking into the distance in the next instant as a bolt of lightning…

Before he departed, Jiang He had already obtained information about the Golden-Winged Roc from Three Blades Lin, thereby learning the location of the bird's nest.

Meanwhile, beneath Mount Golden Roc.

Wang Hou had just finished listening to Deputy Zhou's report via satellite phone. Even so, he could not stop his hands from shaking, his usually calm face looking bewildered.

Boom!

Nearby, a small hill abruptly collapsed.

Both Dong Haichuan and Yang Luchan were walking together out of the rubble, each of them holding a rabbit… leaving Wang Hou with a headache.

Of these two men, one was a Taiji grandmaster and the other the founding master of the Eight Trigrams school—Void-tier champions both, they enjoyed resounding fame in the martial world even two hundred years ago.

Even so…

They were so childish.

When added together, their age was more than five hundred.

Can't they give up on their subtle rivalry grudge match they go one every single day, out of nowhere?

That said, there was no way Wang Hou could empathize with Dong Haichuan and Yang Luchan's mindset.

They were both alive in the same era, and being characters of great fame in the martial world, many outsiders often spread rumors about them on whether they clashed or who was superior.

As it turns out, the pair had indeed sparred many times over their two-hundred years acquaintance, winning and losing in different occasions without one coming up on top significantly.

And while they do pit their strength against each other from time to time, they do have a healthy relationship.

Now, Dong Haichuan said while holding his rabbit, "Old rules, Elder Luchan. You'll do the skinning, washing and grilling…"

"Eh?"

"What's wrong, Minister Wang?"

Yang Luchan turned to Wang Hou with a smile then. "I can tell that you're shaken… You weren't like that even when we fought the Golden-Winged Roc."

Composing himself, Wang Hou took a deep breath before saying, "Jiang He… might be coming."

"Eh?"

"That fast?"

Both Haichuan and Yang Luchan were stunned, with the former frowning, "Wouldn't that be too early? Didn't they just leave the Diamond Sect's Secret Realm yesterday?"

"He was only rank-nine when he was heading to the Diamond Sect, and even if he learned much there, there was no telling if he could actually reach rank-nine pinnacle… why would he come here? To die?"

"It is certainly impatient of him."

Yang Luchan chuckled. "But he is not dying as long as we're here."

Wang Hou: "…"

He stared at Yang Luchan and Dong Haichuan for a long time, before quietly saying, "Gentlemen… Jiang He has reached divine-tier."

???

The two men did a double-take before bursting out in laughter, but after guffawing extensively and finding that Wang Hou was still staring at them with the same look, something came to mind.

"Are you for real, Minister Wang?" One of them asked.

Wang Hou did not say a word, and stared instead at the distant skies.

There was lightning flashing at the distant horizon.

A single thunderbolt had cut through the skies.

And within that bolt was Jiang He in his white jersey.

Already been born with natural good looks, he became even more handsome after ascending up to divine-tier. Most importantly, his aura had changed utterly…

Either way, he was more handsome now!

As for how handsome, there was no word that perfectly fits.

Smiling, Jiang He walked up to them, putting together fist and palm as he greeted, "Minister Wang."

Wang Hou returned the greeting, though shock was showing in his eyes.

In truth, he had been doubtful—scarcely able to believe the report from Deputy Zhou.

But now, it seems that the kid… really ascended?

His cultivation was rich and overflowing, and if felt like he had ascended centuries ago.

Beside them, both Dong Haichuan and Yang Luchan were giving Jiang He a thorough look from head to toe, with shock registering on their faces.

Jiang He offered them a fist-palm salute as well, asking, "Gentlemen, could you be Master Dong and Master Yang?"

Both men came to their senses then and returned his salute, with Dong Haichuan unable to stop himself from muttering. "True divine-tier…"

"What true divine-tier?"

Jiang He appeared taken aback.

"Nothing, Jiang He." Dong Haichuan smiled. "It's nothing. I've heard about you a lot since my grand-disciple Cheng Dongfeng often mentions you, Jiang He. I wasn't quite convinced with the way he always praised how peerless you were… but now, it seems that you're not just peerless—your mere existence violates the laws of nature!"

"You flatter me…"

Jiang He was about to be a little humble when he realized that doing it would come off as a brag, especially since he is now divine-tier. As such, with a flash of inspiration, he changed his reply, "Actually, Master Cheng had been my guiding like in my journey within martial arts, and I would not have ascended to divine-tier that quickly if not for him."

"Oh?"

Dong Haichuan's eyes lit up.

'Is my grand-disciple that competent?'

Even Yang Luchan and Wang Hou turned towards him in surprise.

Nonetheless, Jiang He continued earnestly, "When I was cultivating back home, I somehow completed rank-nine and then found a door appearing inside my mind, it really freaked me out at the time."

Dong Haichuan: "???"

Yang Luchan: "…"

Wang Hou sniggered.

Somehow?

Freaked you out?

Those words are too infuriating!

[1] ?

Chapter 220: What Jiang He Says Goes

"When I found the door and was almost freaking out, I remembered how knowledgeable Master Cheng is, so I quickly called him to ask about it."

"That was when Master Cheng told me that it was the divine door, and after it fully materializes and its location fixed, it could be broken with spirit, qi, and mind combined. I wasn't really thinking at the time and tried anyway…"

"As it turns out… I accidentally broke the door…"

Jiang He's description was plain, simple, and short as he pointed out the process of his ascension and how Cheng Dongfeng had helped him.

Still, he did a double-take after he was finished. As he looked at the trio, he could not help asking, "Why those looks, gentleman? Could my method in breaking through the divine door be mistaken?"

"No, no!"

Dong Haichuan replied, before breathing a long sigh and exclaimed in awe, "Truly, young and dangerous!"

Beside him, Yang Luchan, who had never been good with words nodded in agreement after Dong Haichuan spoke, although he was not sure what to add.

Meanwhile, Wang Hou laughed out loud, delight showing all over his face as he said, "Not bad, kid. I really was right about you—sending you to the Diamond Sect's Secret Realm was the right call."

Then, still under the impression that Jiang He's rapid ascension up to divine-tier was thanks to the Womb Realm, he added, "By the way, the Sword Realm of Mount Qingcheng, which is another Holy Ground of Martial Arts would be open by the end of this month as well, and they did promise me five spots too…"

"No-no-no…"

Jiang He quickly waved in decline, cutting Wang Hou short as he seriously said, "How precious are the spots for entrants into the Secret Realm, Minister Wang? I think it should be distributed to those who need it instead!"

"Moreover, I've just returned from the Diamond Sect. People would talk if I went to Mount Qingcheng too."

"Who would have the guts to do that?"

Wang Hou sneered most imposingly. "No one is to have a say with the name list I demanded."

Speechless, Jiang He smiled bitterly. "To tell the truth, Minister Wang… I really don't want to go into the Secret Realm. Everyone is cultivating after they went in, while I'm strolling around, barbecuing and taking in the sights… life there is so dull since I don't even have anyone to talk to, and I could lose my mind if I went twice!"

Jiang He realized then that he seemed to have developed a phobia towards Secret Realms, perhaps caused by the toiling over seven-days in the Womb Realm of the Diamond Sect.

With Wang Hou left gaping but yet to speak, Jiang He threw up his hands and cut straight to the point, saying, "Whoever wants to go to the Sword Realm of Mount Qingcheng should go. Either way, I won't be going even if it kills me!"

He then looked up at the distant mountains.

The peak renamed to Mount Golden Roc reached into the clouds like a stork standing amongst chickens… And while there had been many mountains that reached over four thousand meters above sea level nearby, all of those almost completely collapsed in the battle several days ago.

"The Golden-Winged Roc nest is up that mountain?"

Jiang He turned away and strode towards Mount Golden Roc, but was stopped by Wang Hou after a single step.

"You don't have to go, Jiang He!"

Wang Hou flatly said. "It's just two Feral Kings and they're dead already—all the Golden-Winged Roc need to do is ignore it. And if it dares to cause more trouble, I'll test my killer move on that bird the first opportunity I get once I've finished it!

Dong Haichuan and Yang Luchan both spoke out as well, saying that all they need to do was kill the Golden-Winged Roc if it caused more trouble.

Their intention was clear.

Jiang He was exceedingly gifted, and would certainly become the Hua Nation's pillar in the future, which was why he did not have to risk himself.

Even so…

"No way!"

Jiang He said solemnly. "I've already said I would visit the Golden-Winged Roc's nest, and now that I'm already at the foot of the mountain, wouldn't I be eating my words?"

"My words are golden and I always see through what I've said. And since I've said that I would cut down the Golden-Winged Roc, I will!"

That was when a sharp cry resounded over the peak of Mount Golden Roc, followed by a golden flash that came gusting down from it.

The Golden-Winged Roc was hovering three miles away, its body golden as if forged from pure gold, every feather seemingly metallic.

Its wingspan was almost two hundred meters, but it was not actually large amongst Ferals. After all, the rank-seven Leopard Python which Jiang He killed so long ago was already around two hundred meters—but the fearsome aura that the Golden-Winged Roc exudes was more than ten thousand times greater than that of the Leopard Python's!

And now, the Golden-Winged Roc was circling up in the skies, slowly flapping its wings whilst stirring small hurricanes around itself. Its golden eyes were leveling a death stare at Jiang He and firing golden beams as its killing intent overflowed.

Wang Hou stepped up to stand between the bird and Jiang He, coldly saying, "Golden-Winged Roc, Jiang He is merely rank-nine before. His killing of the Violet-Crowned Golden Eagle and the Golden-Crowned Black Eagle is lawful!"

Dong Haichuan and Yang Luchan came to stand before Jiang He quietly as well.

High above, the Golden-Winged Roc cried in rage, "Do you take this emperor for a fool, Wang Hou? That man is a rank-nine? He had killed my beloved eight days ago, and even if he ascended up to divine-tier afterward, could he have cultivated to this level that quickly?"

Wang Hou did a double-take, and turned by reflex towards Jiang He…

Other matters notwithstanding, Jiang He's aura was so abundant that it showed no signs of its previous unstable and hollow aspect, and was no different from the divine-tier elites who had ascended for years.

Not bothered to offer an explanation since that was his usual attitude anyway, Wang Hou laughed coolly once more. Without saying anything, his killing intent erupted and he leveled a cold glare at the Golden-Winged Roc in return.

"Wang Hou!"

The Golden-Winged Roc shrieked, golden light overflowing from its body as it roared, "You have promised personally, Dragoncroc Emperor as my witness, that I will be allowed to settle the score with that brat. You would renege on your promise?"

"Do you really think that our kind is without champions?"

Given that the Golden-Winged Roc was using the Dragoncroc Emperor as leverage and Wang Hou had indeed said those words, he mused to himself for a moment before saying, "Golden-Winged Roc, your two lovers are dead anyway. Perhaps you would be satisfied with Jiang He returning the two eggs he had taken?"

But even before the Golden-Winged Roc could speak, Jiang He butted in with embarrassment, "About that… the eggs are gone. I've eaten them."

Swish!

Wang Hou, Dong Haichuan, and Yang Luchan all turned towards Jiang He while the Golden-Winged Roc's killing intent raged further. It reared its head and screamed, blowing up distant glaciers and causing waves of avalanches.

In truth…

Jiang He had not eaten the eggs.

He was about to plant it since something born between a Feral King and a Feral Emperor would certainly be extraordinary. How cool would the mount born from it be?

"Why waste words with vermin like this, Minister Wang?"

Jiang He's aura suddenly changed. He strode forward to Wang Hou and stared coldly at the Golden-Winged Roc, looking it from head to toe… and could not help drooling.

That beast was handsome.

Its entire body was an elegant golden, and would suddenly be a tasty full-bird grill.

Wiping away his drool, Jiang He then laughed out loud, "No rush, Golden-Winged Roc. I'll reunite you with your lovers soon."

"No, Jiang He!"

Wang Hou tried to stop him, only to find Jiang He smiling as he replied, "Don't worry, Minister Wang. I never do anything I'm not confident in."

He strode one step out and turned into a thunderbolt, streaking towards the top of Mount Golden Roc.

In response, the Golden-Winged Roc emitted a long crow and dived downwards in pursuit.

"Damn it!"

Wang Hou cursed through clenched teeth. "The kid is too impulsive… the Golden-Winged Roc is no average Feral Emperor! Master Dong, Elder Luchan, we'll move immediately without hesitation if Jiang He is in danger… Eh?"

The look on Wang Hou's face changed just then!

The skies had been clear for miles just a moment ago…

And now it was suddenly dark.

Clouds of gloom were rolling, converging over the skies above Mount Golden Roc even as thunderbolts churned, with thick, massive bolts brewing within.

Even Wang Hou's heart pounded in the presence of those thunderbolts!

That was when the golden light form that Jiang He had assumed was sent flying by the Golden-Winged Roc away from Mount Golden Roc, crashing into the ridge of a mountain a dozen miles away with a resounding boom.

And then…

The thunderclouds gathering above the skies of Mount Golden Roc actually followed Jiang He, moving to the skies above the peak a dozen miles away.

Caw?

The Golden-Winged Roc who was about to continue its pursuit abruptly looked up, a stunned look flashing in its golden eyes.

What… was that thing?

Chapter 221: This Heavenly Retribution Seems Weak?

[Ding!]

[-200,000 Farm Points.]

[Congratulations, Host. You have gained Mastery over the Second Tier of the Nine Stars Heavenly Body Formula.]

Though it appeared to have been a long process, all it actually took was a split second.

Jiang He had already opted to cultivate the Nine Stars Heavenly Body Formula in the instant he strode out, assuming the form of a thunderbolt as he flew atop Mount Golden Roc.

In a mere instant, Jiang He felt his body becoming utterly different.

Starlight glowed faintly over his muscles and bones, and his entire figure seemed to exude a scent of being unbreakable.

He could feel his strength growing exponentially to the point that he could slay a peak Feral King with his bare hands. If he was up against Three Blades Lin… he would be making him scream gramps with two punches!

Second tier mastery of the Nine Stars Heavenly Body Formula was equivalent to having one's body fully becoming Golden Pellet, and in a very complete sense of the term. Physique of such level would definitely repel nuclear missiles, and Jiang He would not get so much as a scratch even if he just stood still, allowing Three Blades Lin to cut away at him as he like.

Such physique was truly impervious to all attacks!

And in the instant that Jiang He mastered the second tier of the Nine Stars Heavenly Body Formula, dark clouds began to churn up in the skies, with lightning flashing within.

Jiang He's visage darkened as he looked up at the horizon, cursing, "What the hell… I'm just ascending physically, but that invokes heavenly retribution too?"

A similar sight of dark clouds and thunderbolts had occurred when Jiang He reached divine-tier, but it was no phenomenon.

It was a heavenly retribution in the most genuine sense.

Jiang He could even feel a horrific presence of destruction within those sparkling bolts.

Even so…

Intimidation was all there is to it.

Jiang He could not help blinking even as he stared at the thunderbolts, mumbling, "Why do I have the feeling that the thunderbolts wouldn't threaten me even if it lands on me…"

Whoosh!

That was when the Golden-Winged Roc streaked towards him in a blur of golden radiance.

Like a golden blade, its wings slashed towards Jiang He, slicing ruthlessly onto Jiang He's body while he was staring distractedly up at the skies.

Bang!

Sparks flied and Jiang He was sent flying backwards, slamming into a mountain ridge over a dozen miles away.

Boom!

The mountain shook violently, almost crumbling because of Jiang He.

The Golden-Winged Roc was about to press its advantage for victory when it abruptly looked up at the clouds of retribution above, its golden gaze appearing taken aback.

Those clouds did not appear because of it. Even so, its head was pounding in the detection of a threat.

What… on earth was that?

It was sharing the same thoughts as Wang Hou and the others—after all, the Golden-Winged Roc had not encountered such lightning retribution, although it caused memories ingrained deep within its bloodline to surface.

"Lightning retribution?"

Two words appeared in its mind then.

Boom!

A dull crack.

In the distance, the mountain ridge that Jiang He crashed into abruptly collapsed, although he managed to stepped out, ashen-faced as he looked down at his hip.

Gasp!

He could not help inhaling sharply.

"Impressive, Golden-Winged Roc. I may have mastered the second tier of the Nine Stars Heavenly Body Formula and my body could match cultivators who accomplished Golden Pellet cultivation, and yet I could not withstand that bird's rage-fueled blow!"

Jiang He stared at the half-feet long skin-deep gash, and was about to further exclaim in awe when he saw his wound rapidly closing itself. As such, he gave up with a sigh.

Boom-crack!

That was when the clouds of retribution dozens of miles away up in the sky was fully charged. With a dull eruption, a thick violet thunderbolt descended from the skies, smashing straight on Jiang He's head.

And since he was up in the air, the bolt staggered him…

"Lightning retribution! It really was lightning retribution!"

The Golden-Winged Roc was utterly astonished.

Yang Luchan's expression changed beneath the mountain as well. "Lightning retribution…" He muttered solemnly. "A heavenly retribution that could trigger whenever qi-refinists or cultivators ascended past certain thresholds… Did Jiang He cultivate immortal arts too?"

Those words left both Wang Hou and Dong Haichuan in astonishment.

"Damn it!"

Wang Hou growled, "Master Dong, Elder Luchan—we need to fight and hold back the Golden-Winged Roc. Jiang He is weathering retribution now, and must not be allowed to be affected by outside factors!"

Whoosh!

With that, Wang Hou took to the air.

In that very moment, he was beside himself in shock.

Jiang He…

He actually assumed the path of qi-refinists and cultivators?

Though the Era of Qi Refinists had been proven, there was not much study on that front because no records of that age had been kept, let alone individuals who actually cultivated immortal arts!

Over the last year, Wang Hou himself had been searching everywhere too, seeking any signs from that era.

And yet, he never imagined that Jiang He cultivated immortal arts anyway, and to a remarkably profound level.

Could he possess an inheritance of a certain immortal art?

In that very moment, Wang Hou was attacking without holding back, his Void-tier strength released in full to restrain the Golden-Winged Roc.

After all, he knew that there was a chance of failure even if one was fully prepared to 'weather retribution', and be blown into ashes by the retribution thunder—let alone with a powerful Feral Emperor watching as if the kid was a prey?

If Jiang He really was distracted… his death was certain!

"Die!"

Wang Hou bellowed in fury even as he rose to the skies, but his eyes widened just as he was about to unleash his killing stroke, staring in disbelief at Jiang He…

After all, Jiang He was laughing despite the retribution clouds overhead, before he flew towards the Golden-Winged Roc on his own.

Meanwhile, golden radiance shone all over the Golden-Winged Roc's body, and with a flap of wings, golden blade slashes erupted away, slicing towards Jiang He once again.

Jiang He was sent flying once more, before another thick, massive thunderbolt struck his body again with a loud booming crack!

Though he was sent flying backwards at first, the thunder sent him crashing down, slamming into the ground at supersonic speed from a thousand meters up in the air.

Boom!

A glacier directly shattered under his weight, and the earth as well as the mountains nearby shook ceaselessly.

"Jiang He!"

Wang Hou's face dropped and was about to fly over and help, but stopped again before he covered a thousand meters.

The glacier erupted and Jiang He flew out once more.

The thunderbolt had left him cutting a sorry figure, but he still remained unharmed… the Golden-Winged Roc's wing blades might be capable of cutting mountains and seas, but it was no big deal for Jiang He's body!

"What the hell!"

Even Wang Hou could not hold back an expletive right then. He rubbed his eyes, not quite believing what he was seeing…

"How… how is that possible?"

He was rather dumbfounded.

Was that an immortal cultivator's move?

"F*ck!"

On the other hand, Jiang He was furious even as he took to the air once more.

'Sure, the Golden-Winged Roc could not hurt me…

'But am I, Jiang He, that shameless?

'Where would I hide my face in the future after you've sent me flying again and again?

'And then there's that crappy thunderbolt retribution that was no different from itch-scratching, but never stopping even after so many bolts?

'Am I supposed to give face?

Be that as it may, even as Jiang He reached out for his Dragon-Slaying Saber, the third thunderbolt retribution descended from above!

"Break!"

Jiang He growled, holding the Dragon-Slaying Saber and swung it down at the skies.

Ninefold Thunderblade, Eighth Fold!

The eighty-meter thunder slash sliced through the air to meet the third sky thunderbolt, both crumbling as thunder blade radiance and the bolt of heavenly retribution collided.

Jiang He strode out, and sneered as he arrived beside the Golden-Winged Roc, "Time for my counterattack, big birdie!"

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Chapter 222: One Golden Pellet Down The Stomach!

Ooom!

The air shuddered lightly.

Nonetheless, in the split second that Jiang He slashed out, golden light shone magnificently over the Golden-Winged Roc's body, with veins of golden radiance cascading like waves around it and forming a golden domain.

While the golden domain did not extend far and only radiated so far as 300 meters around the Golden-Winged Roc, the strength of the eight-meter thunder slash waned when it reached it, and it felt like a cow descending into a swamp.

Then, even before it could cut apart the golden domain, the thunder slash faded into tiny thunder bolts.

Jiang He's visage hence stiffened!

The Golden-Winged Roc was quite something, and certainly a Feral Emperor in its own right… This was only fitting for its status after all, since it would be selling itself short if it fought physically with superior strength and speed like what most average Ferals did.

"Brat!"

"Your death is certain on this day!"

The Golden-Winged Roc spoke in human tongue then, its wings flapping viciously… and whoosh, nine streaks of golden radiance burst out of its wings.

Jiang He's face twitched as he quickly pulled back, but he was already too late—six of the razor-sharp golden radiances missed, but three stabbed on to Jiang He's body.

He removed all three golden feathers at once, but those projectiles had left three bloody holes on his body.

Fresh blood flowed out freely.

Moreover, a sharp Gold Qi lingered over the gaping wounds, stopping Jiang He's physical regeneration from instantly healing them.

But that was no big deal.

All three holes were no deeper than three inches.

In other words, they were skin-deep wounds as well.

"No!"

"That's impossible!"

The Golden-Winged Roc was left dumbfounded. That single strike could be considered one of his lesser trump cards, but it proved incapable of even hurting Jiang He…

Not even the physiques of Feral Emperors were that powerful.

How did a mere human cultivate that?

Regardless, with a shrill cry, the Golden-Winged Roc spread its wings as it charged towards Jiang He once more, the golden domain around its body shrinking into a half-solid golden armor that shielded its body.

Blade in hand, Jiang He went out to meet him.

He slashed out a dozen times, releasing a flurry of strikes that finally tore through the golden armor with a crack.

And yet, golden light squirmed in the next instant, forming the golden armor once more.

How was he supposed to fight?

Jiang He was actually a little speechless at that…

He had always assumed that his best ability was farming and second-best ability was physical defense, and that his opponent could hardly pierce their defenses when he found under most normal circumstances. He could not have expected that something like this would actually happen to him.

Meanwhile, the Golden-Winged Roc flapped its wings once again, materializing more golden blades.

For a third time, Jiang He was struck and sent slamming into Mount Golden Roc.

Furious, he seethed through clenched teeth, "Screw that! I won't believe I'm that unlucky!"

But as he flew out of the mountain, the fourth lightning retribution burst out.

Of the Four Retributions of the Nine Lesser Heavens, the fourth lightning retribution was the strongest bolt, and Jiang He had to slash tree times to cut it down.

And with that heavenly retribution passing, the thunderclouds slowly dispersed.

Jiang He promptly waved…

And put away his Dragon-Slaying Saber.

On the other hand, the Golden-Winged Roc was charging towards him, laughing as it did, "Just surrender, human! I'm an emperor who cultivated the domain of golden light. You are no match for me!"

And yet, Jiang He was smiling calmly even as it approached without trying to dodge.

"System," he then said. "Level up Three Thousand Calamities and improve my cultivation up to Golden Pellet!"

"Second Style of the Three Thousand Calamities!"

"System, cultivate that!"

[Ding!]

[-500000 Farm Points.]

[Congratulations, Host. You have gained Mastery over the Second Style of the Three Thousand Calamities.]

A System Notification jingled in his head.

Though it seemed to be an eternity, all that took was a single instant.

Even if the Golden-Winged Roc had reached him, Jiang He's cultivation improved at the speed of thought.

In a split second, a horrific and mysterious aura burst out of Jiang He's body.

Boom!

Up in the skies, the clouds of retribution which had yet to fade entirely converged once more. While it gathered over Jiang He's physical ascension before and stretched over a dozen miles, it now covered a range of over a hundred miles, with thunderbolts churning like serpents amidst the clouds, exuding a horrific air of devastation.

And in that very moment, the world darkened.

The charging Golden-Winged Roc promptly paused, surprise showed in its eyes at first, which was soon followed by fear.

In the distance, Wang Hou and Dong Haichuan turned to glance at Yang Luchan, who looked utterly blank as he muttered, "What… why is the heavenly retribution returning?"

"Does the kid's very physical being invoke heavenly retributions?"

"The retribution clouds that covered over a dozen miles unleashed four thunderbolts before, each of them stronger than the next… It was definitely the Four Retributions of the Nine Lesser Heavens, but why would it form again after Jiang He survived it?"

He certainly was not aware that Jiang He had only weathered through the heavenly retribution his physical being invoked… and was in the category of appetizers.

Now, the true show begins.

Overhead, the retribution clouds continued to churn.

At the same time, Jiang He's entire being was being elevated from strength to strength.

The mana within his body was surging wildly, and his body was morphing fundamentally within one single second—a Golden Pellet slowly materialized before flying out between Jiang He's brows with a whoosh, hovering above his head.

In that very moment, all the Yuan Qi in the world across hundreds of miles all surged towards Jiang He.

The tiny Golden Pellet rapidly enlarged under the nourishment of endless Yuan Qi, just as Jiang He's cultivation improved with haste!

Golden Pellet Novice!

Golden Pellet Intermediate!

Golden Pellet Advanced!

Golden Pellet Completion…

Suddenly, Jiang He opened his mouth and inhaled—

Swish!

Like a whale gulping water, his inhale drawn in the endless Yuan Qi, with the Golden Pellet landing upon Jiang He's cinnabar fields as well.

A sharp aura erupted over Jiang He's body, and for a single instant, it felt like he was a keen sword that could slice through the heavens.

"One Golden Pellet down the stomach, and not even the heavens shall dictate my destiny henceforth!"

An epiphany arose in Jiang He's mind just then.

Using inner vision to 'see' the abundant mana morphing within his body, he muttered, "My mana wouldn't be mana after it morphed… instead, it is now Sword Yuan!"

"Even my Golden Pellet is different from the average cultivator."

After all, the Sword Sage was fundamentally different from normal cultivators.

Boom!

Meanwhile, the clouds of retribution were churning even more violently, and with an abrupt cracking boom, a thunderbolt shot down at Jiang He's head!

"So noisy!"

Jiang He quickly looked up, growling at the bolt that resembled a thunder serpent, but was equal in power to the fourth bolt before…

And in the next instant…

Snikt!

A scarlet sword light shot between his brow.

Slicing through the storm, it streaked through the thunderbolt without losing speed, and then unleashed a Sword Qi and radiance even more horrific than the thunderbolt itself!

Swish!

That single slice of the sword light tore apart the clouds of retribution that churned over a hundred miles.

With that, all the Four Retributions of the Nine Lesser Heavens managed this time was unleash a single lightning retribution before it was cut down by Jiang He.

Jiang He laughed out loud, summoning with a wave of his hand to have the Scarlet Flame Sword hover over his head.

Striding over the air as he approached the Golden-Winged Roc, chuckling, "I've said I will kill you today, Golden-Winged Roc, so I will do just that… or what, does what I say not count?"

The Golden-Winged Roc stared at Jiang He silently for three seconds, and then…

Turned and fled!

Whoosh!

Its body turned instantly into a vein of golden light, outside of which were layers of bloody flames—a sign that the Golden-Winged Roc was burning its own life essence to escape.

"Trying to run?"

Laughing, Jiang He abruptly waved his hand.

Whoosh!

The Scarlet Flame Sword disappeared from over his head.

In the next second, a single bloody line was cut out across the Golden-Winged Roc's body, causing it to shriek in panic. Its golden form flared even harder, and it actually flew even quicker.

Jiang He frowned.

Truly, Feral Emperors were extraordinary.

He was now a full-fledged Golden Pellet, a sword cultivator wielding a premium soul weapon who also wields a Heavenly Immortal-level art in the Three Thousand Calamities.

A single White Foal Crosses the Rift did not finish the job?

It did not matter.

With one slash doesn't end it, he would slash out a second time, and a third if that was not enough too!

Whoosh!

Thunderflame abruptly materialized over the horizon.

Dragging out a long trail of thunderflame and Sword Qi behind itself, the Scarlet Flame Sword sliced towards the Golden-Winged Roc once more.

The second style of the Three Thousand Calamities: Thunderflame Calamity!

Snikt!

The Golden-Winged Roc cried out as its body quivered in the air, its flight speed slowing as the sword definitely injured it.

Stepping upon thin air, Jiang He controlled the sword with his gestures, pointing out once again from five miles away!

The sword style changed once again.

The Three Thousand Calamities erupted.

After the deed was done, Jiang He put withdrew the Scarlet Flame Sword with a wave of his hand.

The Golden-Winged Roc was on the verge of dying but not actually dead. It was stubbornly struggling, its wings flapping as it revealed its incredible survival instincts, shrieking on top of its lungs, "Human, you can't kill me, you can't… there are many eminences of the daemons who had been slumbering for years, and they are not lacking in power though they do not walk amongst us—they simply could not be bothered! But if you kill me, they will leave their seclusion and Hua Nation would fall!"

"Dragoncroc Emperor Senpai, save me…"

The Golden-Winged Roc continued to cry.

Jiang He smiled calmly and said, "I will kill whoever dares to save you and their entire family!"

In the distant horizon, the Dragoncroc Emperor's entire body shuddered even as it lurked behind a cloud… and it refrained from stepping out.

Meanwhile, Jiang He pointed with his fingers again.

Ooom!

The sea of swords in his mind began to tremble.

An illusory radiant sword materialized out of the blue, and Jiang He's spirit was imbued into it within the next instant, wielding it as it cut towards the Golden-Winged Roc.

Shiiing!

The resounding hum of the sword rang over the skies.

Oooooooom…

Even the longsword Yang Luchan carried over his back was humming in resonance.

Hence, Sword Qi thundered over a hundred miles, the veins of blinding sword light it embodied bursting and drowning the Golden-Winged Roc.

Soon, the light faded, and the Golden-Winged Roc's corpse fell from the skies.

The sword did not actually leave any injury upon the bird's body, but its spirit and mind had already been vanquished.

After all the Twenty-Three Swords cuts essences!

On the other hand, Jiang He staggered up in the air and almost fell out of the skies, inwardly startled. "The Twenty-Three Swords is truly a self-destructive sword technique. Even after revamping, having just a portion of my mind detached left me so fatigued!"

Indeed, Jiang He's face was pale-white.

He sensed his body, and a bitter smile flashed on his face for a moment.

With this toll on his mind…

He could only recover it after returning home and having a good sleep!

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Chapter 223: A Swordplay Developed From Movies and TV Dramas

The Twenty-Three Swords cut essences.

Though the Golden-Winged Roc was no Primordial Spirit, its spirit and mind were destroyed by Jiang He with a single swing of his sword, and it certainly could not be deader now.

Its colossal body dropped out of the skies and smashed into the ground with a bang, causing the earth to tremble.

That was when Jiang He, still standing up in the air suddenly felt something, and looked up towards the distant horizon.

A distant cloud that had been quietly hanging there since the start of the battle abruptly turned into steam and smoke as it dispersed, as if it had never been there.

Jiang He frowned subtly. Was someone spying on him?

No, it might not even be human.

Jiang He could not help remembering the Golden-Winged Roc's cries for help as death loomed…

The Dragoncroc Emperor?

Jiang He knew about that beast, since Three Blades Lin had mentioned it when he asked about the situation with the Golden-Winged Roc before—being one of two Feral Emperors in Hua Nation, its powers were unfathomable but squarely above the Golden-Winged Roc's.

"That's probably it!"

"I even heard from Minister Wang that when he, Dong Haichuan, and Yang Luchan tried to encircle and slay the Golden-Winged Roc, that Dragoncroc Emperor interfered in the critical moment… and it's now coming to spy on me too?"

Jiang He thought to himself.

Why would the Dragoncroc Emperor spy on him in secret?

"If I'm remembering correctly, that Dragoncroc Emperor's lair must have been Shennongjia. It's two thousand miles away from here, and a Feral Emperor like it wouldn't have run here for no reason!"

"The Golden-Winged Roc clearly knew that the Dragoncroc Emperor is here, which was why it cried for help… Could those two vermin have an agreement, for example… taking the advantage to kill me?"

"But because it could see that I'm actually strong enough, it betrayed the Golden-Winged Roc?"

Gasp!

Jiang He inhaled sharply.

He was actually in that much danger just now?

Indeed, if he was not powerful enough, the Dragoncroc Emperor would have blindsided him in his battle against the Golden-Winged Roc, and he would have been grievously injured even if he was not outright killed.

"I've never even crossed paths with the Dragoncroc Emperor, and yet it would scheme against me?"

There was a chilling glint in Jiang He's eyes as he coldly seethed, "If the opportunity arises, I would question the Dragoncroc Emperor face-to-face about its intentions!"

Whoosh!

Jiang He descended from the skies then, stopping in front of the enormous crater that the Golden-Winged Roc's corpse formed when it crashed down.

How heavy would a bird with a wingspan of 200 meters weigh?

Probably dozens of tons.

And when a corpse of such weight fell from thousands of meters over the skies, the crash caused by the acceleration of gravity was certainly frightening!

In fact, the crater from the crash was almost a kilometer in circumference, with dense cracks extending all over the edge of the crater over several kilometers more.

The corpse of the Golden-Winged Roc itself lay at the center of the crater, its body laden with sword wounds and untold number of its golden feathers having dropped off, leaving it basically featherless. Moreover, with half a wing sliced off and an entire talon missing—was pitiful even enough to describe its miserable state?

Even so, Jiang He was very satisfied.

"Half its feathers are gone so it saves the trouble of plucking, and since Twenty-Three Swords destroyed the Golden-Winged Roc's mind, its corpse is relatively complete—full grilled bird is the best way to cook it."

Yes.

When it comes to cooking an entire eagle, half a wing and one talon gone meant nothing. He just had to deal with not eating those stuff.

Come to think of it…

What was he even doing in the past?

So many delicious Feral corpses were not preserved in perfect condition, only with chunks of meat left to be stir-fried or barbecued. Was there anything thrilling about such food?

Reaching out with his hand, he retrieved the Golden-Winged Roc's corpse.

That was when the Void-tier elites: Wang Hou, Dong Haichuan, and Yang Luchan reached him.

They were not actually too far away, but had deliberately stopped for a moment to compose their stirred emotions. Even so, they were flashing weird looks at Jiang He after they reached him, scanning him from head to toe as surprise filled their faces.

Damn it!

Those looks again!

Why would everyone love to look at him like that every time he did something not worth mentioning?

As such, Jiang He could not hold back from saying, "Gentlemen, I've merely killed the Golden-Winged Roc. It's nothing that surprising, is it?"

Merely?

What?!

Us three failed to kill the bird even after we worked together to surround him. And here you are being all nonchalant about it—are you making light of us?

Nonetheless, the trio could not help being restless after composing themselves.

"Gentlemen, this is not the place to talk."

Wang Hou suddenly said.

He was looking out at the distant horizon, and though he could not see anything, he felt something unnatural.

Hence, all four men streaked to the air and left.

After Jiang He, Wang Hou, Dong Haichuan, and Yang Luchan all left, another white cloud condensed at the distant horizon, wafting towards Mount Golden Roc and then hovering above it.

And above that cloud was a twenty-feet long crocodile with a weird appearance.

Its body was covered entirely in black scales that looked draconic, and there was also a single horn growing over its head that resembled a dragon's as well.

The Dragoncroc Emperor, the other Feral Emperor of Hua Nation!

And yet, the feral that was superior to the Golden-Winged Roc was lying prone on the cloud, with a youth standing beside him.

The youth was wearing a green shirt and his visage had yet to be completely free from childishness, but his gaze was rather distant and there were several scales on his forehead.

"Your highness… did that kid cultivate immortal arts?"

The Dragoncroc Emperor spoke in human tongue hesitantly. "Perhaps the cultivators were not completely wiped out?"

"There's no need to be concerned about a mere Golden Pellet cultivator. He must have inherited some legacy to gain such cultivation anyway."

The scaled youth smiled faintly. "Back when the races of beyond invaded and Earth was being torn apart by war, the first emperor of humankind summoned every Qi Refinist in the world to build twelve Bronze Men and setting up a world barrier to seal the Stargate and the Earth's draconic veins. Though they succeeded in cutting Earth out of the era of immortal arts for two thousand years, the draconic veins are now reviving, and it seems that the profound age of unrest is returning now.

Puzzled, the Dragoncroc Emperor was about to ask about the past when the youth shook his head, saying, "You'll know when the time is right, Dragoncroc. Take me back, for I have just revived and need to cultivate in seclusion in order to stabilize my current tier."

Meanwhile.

Beside a scenic lake over a thousand miles away.

Whoosh!

Four figures—Jiang He, Wang Hou, Dong Haichuan, and Yang Luchan descended from the skies.

Once they landed, Jiang He could not refrain from complaining, "What's up, Old Wang? I had yet to scrounge through the Golden-Winged Roc's nest, and there might be treasures within since it was a Feral Emperor and all."

Wang Hou's eyes glinted in slight confusion, but he frowned regardless. "I don't know, but I suddenly felt something dangerous as if a certain eminence was spying on us in secret."

Both Dong Haichuan and Yang Luchan turned to him then.

They were both Void-tier elites and did not dull in comparison to Wang Hou in martial cultivation.

Even so, they sensed nothing.

"This has to do with my path."

Wang Hou simply explained.

Jiang He gasped in surprise then. "Oh, yes, I did sense something right after I killed the Golden-Winged Roc too, as if something powerful was watching in secret… Could it be the Dragoncroc Emperor?"

"No way."

Wang Hou said confidently. "The Dragoncroc Emperor may be powerful, but there was no way it could trigger my danger sense with us four together. I suspect that some powerful being who had been in slumber has awakened!"

"Oh?"

Jiang He turned to Wang Hou at that as well.

Both Dong Haichuan and Yang Luchan were stunned as well.

"Minister Wang, the Dragoncroc Emperor had mentioned that as well… could the daemons really have powerful comrades in slumber?"

"I don't know."

Wang Hou shook his head in reply. "Still, there is a good chance that there were: according to the data from the Superpower Research Department, animals that evolve into Ferals would gain extremely long lifespans, and while Void-tier humans could only live up to five hundred years, Ferals of the same level could easily live up to eight hundred years, and the stronger ones would survive even longer!"

"Of course, Ferals are what we call them. Those things refer to themselves as daemons, and I myself had read about them even on ancient archives when I had been investigating certain matters. It was the Era of Qi Refinists then, and the daemons would certainly have been much stronger, even oppressing humankind."

As he spoke, he turned towards Jiang He with a smile. "Jiang He, you must have inherited the heritage site of a certain Qi Refinist or cultivator, yes? Do you know much about the daemons?"

Inherited, my foot!

As for daemons or whatnot… hell if I know?

Nonetheless, it was best if he did not reveal that he was creating immortal arts. Since Wang Hou was presuming that he possessed some heritage site or legacy, let him presume away.

Hence, he simply said, "I've only received two immortal arts and one soul weapon that is the flying sword, and nothing else."

Yang Luchan's eyes lit up at that. Despite knowing that it was impolite to ask about another person's cultivation methods, he could not help asking, "Was the last sword technique that you killed the Golden-Winged Roc with an immortal art? It was truly formidable, and my sword was humming in resonance in from a dozen miles away."

"Oh, are you talking about the Twenty-Three Swords?"

Jiang He replied earnestly. "It's not actually an immortal art but a swordplay I put together myself… it should still be categorized as martial arts."

That's right.

The Twenty-Three Swords was not an immortal art.

The Storm Riders franchise was a martial artist show and high fantasy at best. What does that even have to do with cultivators?

Still, silence immediately ensued.

Astonishment was written all over Yang Luchan's face as he exclaimed in shock, "You truly are a divine prodigy, creating such an extraordinary sword technique at such a young age!"

"Haha!"

Amused, Jiang He answered humbly, "I'm not actually that powerful. I merely developed that technique by referring to movies and tv dramas."

Yang Luchan: "…"

Wang Hou: "…"

Dong Haichuan: "…"

'Is this person even human?

'Movies and tv dramas…

'You actually managed to develop a swordplay of such nature-defying proportions just by watching that stuff?!'

Report chapter

Chapter 224: The Money-Grubbing Cheng Dongfeng

"Then what about the Dragon-Elephant Prajna?"

"I heard that you used it back at the Diamond Sect, causing a minor conflict with the disciples of the Diamond Sect?"

Wang Hou could not help asking while staring at Jiang He. "Did you develop Dragon-Elephant Prajna by watching movies and tv dramas too?"

"Not quite."

For some reason, Wang Hou breathed a sigh of relief at Jiang He's answer. Nonetheless, he looked weirded out in the next second as Jiang He continued, "The Dragon-Elephant Prajna was not developed that way, but by inspiration gained from martial arts novel. However after I saw the real Dragon-Elephant Prajna, I realized that I missed something in my development, although that's not a big deal."

It was certainly a little blunder on Jiang He's part since he misunderstood what 'dragon-elephant' actually meant. Nonetheless, it was fortunate that the Dragon-Elephant Prajna he actually developed was a class above, or he would definitely die from embarrassment.

The scene was abruptly silent once again.

Wang Hou did not even want to talk to Jiang He now.

Are you even human?

Forget developing cultivation methods from movies and tv dramas—martial arts novels too?

Jiang He was frowning at the trio's weird looks as well.

Were they doubting that he had 'created' cultivation methods on his own?

While it was hard to demonstrate a technique like the Twenty-Three Swords, but it was alright when it comes to the Dragon-Elephant Prajna. Hence, as Jiang He qi stirred and his revamped Dragon-Elephant Prajna erupted, a dragon's roar and an elephant's trumpeting echoed while the silhouette of a godly dragon and elephant circled his head.

"Look—this is the Dragon-Elephant Prajna I develop which I've also cultivated up to the seventh tier… Eh? Tier eleven?"

Jiang He suddenly expressed his surprise even as he spoke, when he realized that his Dragon-Elephant Prajna was somehow tier eleven? Still, he got the answer soon with some thought, since his physique and qi improved considerably when he leveled up the Nine Stars Heavenly Body Formula, which leveled up the Dragon-Elephant Prajna as well.

The trio all stared at Jiang He's demonstration, completely ignoring Jiang He's expression of surprise.

And that look left all three in shock.

"Jiang He, why is your Dragon-Elephant Prajna… so unusual?" Wang Hou asked.

After all, he had come to blows against the Diamond Sect disciples after visiting it twice in recent years. That was why he was very familiar with the Dragon-Elephant Prajna, and he exclaimed in surprise, "Mastery of the Dragon-Elephant Prajna would materialize the figure of a dragon-elephant once used… but this?"

Jiang He muttered in slight embarrassment, "I did say that it was my blunder, because I misunderstood what 'dragon-elephant' meant."

"But that's not a big deal, and my Dragon-Elephant Prajna proved stronger than the Diamond Sect's… look, at tier eleven, my physique could match divine-conversion martial artists and the Diamond Sect's which has only thirteen-tiers. Moreover, my version is upgraded up to eighteen tiers, and when I mastered it up to that level, I think I could blow up the likes of Minister Wang… I mean, the Golden-Winged Roc with a single slap."

Wang Hou: "…"

Was he hearing this right?

Jiang He wants to blow him up with a single slap?

Suddenly remembering Jiang He's data, Wang Hou asked, "If I remember correctly, you've also learned the Shaolin temple's Indestructible Diamond and the Guo Clan's Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms…"

"Guo Clan?"

Jiang He's eyes twitched and he laughed. "Those two cultivation methods were found online, and cultivated after a little adjustment."

Then, Jiang He demonstrated his Indestructible Diamond and Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms.

What the heck!

Clenching his teeth, Wang Hou decided that he did not want to continue this conversation.

In turn, Jiang He breathed a sigh of relief since Wang Hou stopped pressing him.

It was best if there were no questions!

They would reach form techniques if they asked any further.

And he was really reluctant to mention the name 'Blind Princess's Eight Practices'.

As their conversation continued elsewhere, Wang Hou suddenly said, "I'm afraid the delicate balance between humans and Ferals would be offset once word of today's incident spreads. Elder Luchan, Master Dong, may I ask that you gentlemen stand watch and prevent unrest amongst the Ferals?"

"Agreed."

Both Dong Haichuan and Yang Luchan agreed without hesitation.

Wang Hou then turned towards Jiang He and requested, "Would you help stand guard over Mount Dadong as well, Mister Jiang?"

Jiang He nodded in approval as well, but regretted it right after he did that.

That was so troublesome.

With the Graywolf King occupying Mount Dadong, and would he not have to repel that vermin every single day?

"Eh?"

Jiang He's eyes lit up out of the blue, suddenly getting an idea!

Elites were stationed on Mount Dadong in fear that the vermin on that peak would stir trouble… but what if it was killed?

"But killing the Graywolf King alone wouldn't be enough. After all, aside from that vermin, there are still many powerful Ferals up there. I therefore have to kill every Feral on Mount Dadong so there's no worry about the Ferals of Mount Dadong starting trouble, and when that's done, I could stay at home in peace, farming and sunbathing."

Naturally, Wang Hou was not aware of what Jiang He was thinking.

He bowed and offered the other three men a fist-palm salute in gratitude, and then added, "Jiang He, the 100 Orirocks and the Sword-Will Barrenwort you asked for is ready. I'll have Deputy Zhou send it to you personally after I return."

With that, he was the first to leave.

Yang Luchan was the next to leave, whereas Dong Haichuan and Jiang He had a chat, with the former chuckling, "Are you returning to Lingzhou City, Mister Jiang? What a coincidence, I'm going to visit my grand-disciple on the way as well."

"Very well, let's go together!"

They hence took the air and flew towards Lingzhou City, arriving soon enough.

Dong Haichuan sought out Cheng Dongfeng after they reached the city, who was shocked and quickly bowed down in greeting.

At the same time, he had so many questions—why would Jiang He be with his elder master?

Cheng Dongfeng was about to ask for Duan Tianhe and Ji Dongxu as well, but Dong Haichuan smiled. "That's unnecessary, I'm just coming by to look at you since I'm passing by. Your cultivation is not bad, Little Feng… aren't you almost rank-eight?"

"grand-master… could you not call me Little Feng when others are around? It sounds as if I'm a eunuch!"

"Buster!"

Dong Haichuan promptly slapped Cheng Dongfeng at the back of his head, barking, "Who's 'others' here? Jiang He and I may have met for the first time, but it's like we've known each other forever and bosom buddies. Call him grand-master in the future!"

"Eh??"

Cheng Dongfeng's eyes bulged.

Jiang He, on the other hand, quickly waved him off. "There's no need for that. I've known Master Cheng for a long time, and it's awkward if he called me grand-master. We could still be equals in the future."

"No way!"

Dong Haichuan went straight to the point, saying, "He must. Moreover, whoever is ahead gains seniority when it comes to martial arts. With your cultivation now, it is only right for Little Feng to call you grand-master."

Despair filling his face, Cheng Dongfeng put fist to palm and mumbled, "grand-master."

Dong Haichuan laughed out loud, saying, "Good, good… anyway, Jiang He, I believe there would be some chain reaction after what happened today as Minister Wang had put it. I need to return as soon as I could—by the way, Little Feng here had a hard life, and only he alone is left in the Cheng clan of the Eight Trigrams. I hope you could keep watch over him."

What the…

Cheng Dongfeng had the impulse to curse.

Was his own grand-master that unreliable?

It was so rare for him to come by Lingzhou City, and he would throw him to the dogs?

Even as his seniority points dropped instantly, Cheng Dongfeng felt his life turn dark right then.

Most importantly, having Jiang He watch over him? Hah! I would thank you as long as you didn't cause our deaths!

"That's only natural."

Jiang He nodded in approval, but suddenly remembered…

Now that Cheng Dongfeng called him grand-master, shouldn't he give him a greeting gift?

After some thought, Jiang He took out two empty bottles from his System Backpack and handed them to Cheng Dongfeng, saying, "I don't have anything to give you now, Little Feng, but after having seen you pick up the bottles last time, I'll give you these instead. And just tell me if you're broke next time, how much are these bottles worth anyway?"

"…"

Dong Haichuan's mouth twitched even as he was about to leave.

Are those…

Bottles?

When it comes to mineral bottles… it would not be worth much money even if accumulated by the truckloads, would it?

And yet, Cheng Dongfeng was delighted.

He glanced at the bottle in Jiang He's hand…

It was not fully finished, and there were quite a lot of Origin Fluid left in it, with more than ten drops in each bottle. Accepting them in glee, all his melancholy disappeared from his face as he grinned. "Could you give me every bottle you've finished in the future too, grand-master?"

Dong Haichuan: "…"

His entire being was stumped.

Was his grand-disciple wrong in the brain?

It was true that Cheng Dongfeng was a money-grubber, but he's always had his principles to govern himself.

But now… he's not even sparing empty mineral water bottles?

Nonetheless, when Dong Haichuan's spirit swept through the two bottles, his face dropped as he exclaimed in surprise, "What the heck, Origin Fluid?"

Report chapter

Chapter 225: Grilling the Golden-Winged Roc

Swish!

In the instant that Dong Haichuan gasped in surprise, Cheng Dongfeng had stuffed the two mineral water bottles at lightning speed, before staring blankly at Dong Haichuan and asking uncertainly, "What were you saying, grand-master?"

"Origin Fluid? Are you giving me a few bottles?"

Dong Haichuan scowled at once, and shot Cheng Dongfeng a vicious glare.

What's going on in this buster's head?

Afraid that your grand-master would greed for your Origin Fluid?

Am I even such a person?

Fine, even if I do have such intentions, wouldn't you be causing Brother Jiang He to misunderstand with you acting like this?

And you would still play dumb in front of me?

I would have slapped you to death if Jiang He weren't here!

"Origin Fluid?"

After a glance at Cheng Dongfeng, Jiang He realized with a start then—that dog was not here to collect empty bottles, but for the drips of rank-nine Origin Fluid left inside…

But it was not as if Jiang He were being wasteful.

Who would drink mineral bottles dry after all?

And for Jiang He, rank-nine Origin Fluid was no different from mineral water, and leaving half a sip or more was logical!

Still…

Was this necessary?

Making treasures of his sloppy seconds?

In the wildlands, I used that to brush my teeth and even gargle.

Or could the Eight Trigrams School have some sort of eccentricity?

Jiang He could not help feeling chills at that thought, and decided that he would rather feed his dog than give his bottles to Cheng Dongfeng. As such, he promptly put fist to palm and said, "Master Dong, Mast… grandson Cheng, I suddenly remembered something urgent to do back home. Farewell!"

Whoosh!

Turning, Jiang He turned into a thunderbolt and disappeared from Cheng Dongfeng's sight.

Damn it!

Cheng Dongfeng stared in the direction from which Jiang He had vanished and suddenly punched a wall, which collapsed with a loud rumble. Even so, Cheng Dongfeng took no notice and cursed, "He really is divine-tier now? Is he even human?"

How many days had it been?

Was he not merely rank-four when Cheng Dongfeng first arrived at Lingzhou city?

"Hold on… that brat actually called me grandson?"

Cheng Dongfeng was furious.

Nonetheless, he felt a pain in the head even before he could go on a rant—Dong Haichuan had slapped him on the back of the head.

"Buster!"

Dong Haichuan barked in rage. "What status is Jiang He? Is he someone you call brat?"

Still, before Cheng Dongfeng could say anything, Dong Haichuan extended his hand and grasped, taking into the air and flew away rapidly. Still, his voice reached Cheng Dongfeng despite the distance, resounding in his head, "Xiao Feng, remember to be courteous towards Jiang He in the future."

Cheng Dongfeng frowned in slight surprise.

Grand-master…

Was leaving just like that?

With how his grand-master usually behaved, was he not supposed to drag him to a restaurant for a generous meal, even paying for it?

But he soon noticed something and reached into his pocket, almost bursting into tears…

One of the bottles was gone.

That was when one of the MAD personnel jogged towards Cheng Dongfeng, glancing at the collapsed wall and then at the man himself before asking warily, "What happened, Master Cheng?"

"Nothing."

Cheng Dongfeng said through clenched teeth. "Get someone to fix that wall, and claim the costs from Chief Duan. Tell him my grand-master broke it!"

But even as he stormed off, a thought occurred to him.

Why not…

He move to stay outside Jiang He's house?

Making bed on the floor was fine, since he would be making a killing if he could pick up a few bottles afterward.

Even as those thoughts crossed his mind, he unwittingly arrived at Duan Tianhe's office to find Duan Tianhe and Ji Dongxu seated together, scowling.

"What is it?"

Cheng Dongfeng asked, puzzled.

Duan Tianhe rubbed his temples and forced a smile. "I've just received news that the Yuzhen garrison will withdraw by tomorrow. 2000 military personnel would remain behind under Commander Chen's command, aiding the defense of Lingzhou City."

"That's good news!"

Taking a seat on the sofa, Cheng Dongfeng picked up a teapot and poured himself a cup of tea, laughing. "Commander Chen and 2000 fully armed soldiers would greatly boost the strength of our city. Why the long faces over such good news?"

"The military's divine-tier elite watching Mount Dadong would leave too, and Jiang He would be in charge of that area now."

"What?"

Cheng Dongfeng almost spat out the tea he just drank, unable to hold back from exclaiming, "What the heck? Who arranged that? Don't they know what's Jiang He like? Aren't they afraid he would start trouble, putting him in charge of Mount Dadong?!"

"It's a joint command issued by both Minister Wang and Commander Li of the military."

Duan Tianhe looked rather helpless.

It was more than enough to have Jiang He stand guard over Mount Dadong, but who knows what he would do with his attitude?

After musing to himself for a long time, Duan Tianhe then said, "Old Cheng, let's prepare to head up to Jinyintan Village for a good chat with Jiang He. After all, it's no exaggeration to say that the post at Mount Dadong involves millions of lives."

Going to Jiang He's house?

Cheng Dongfeng promptly rose to his feet and declared, "Old Duan, you have work to do so you should stay. I shall undertake such a difficult mission alone!"

"Don't worry about me. When have I ever been a cause for concern when I do things?"

"On this day, I would get Jiang He to watch over Mount Dadong even if it means kneeling and kowtowing."

That's…

Not quite right!

When did Cheng Dongfeng become so diligent?

Even so, Duan Tianhe did not dwell on it much, merely frowning as he said, "Something important must have been happened for the military and divine-tier elites to change posts. What could have forced the higher-ups to implement such measures?"

Jinyintan Village.

Whoosh!

A thunderbolt streaked across the horizon, with Jiang He then descending from the skies.

The Seven Bottle Gourd Brothers all came to meet time the moment he stepped through the door, surrounding him in an uproar.

"Gramps is back, gramps is back!"

"Weren't you going to treat us to eagle, gramps?"

"Yes, we want to eat eagle!"

The seventh brother who never had much of a presence suddenly yelled, and soon all seven brothers yelled the same thing, crying for the eagle.

His head aching, Jiang He kicked each of the seven brothers into the air, scolding, "What a bunch of brats! Eat dung instead! Anyone yelling a little louder will be stuffed and sealed into their bottle gourd!"

Though tearful, the Seven Bottle Gourd Brothers remained lying on the floor, not daring to throw a tantrum.

Jiang He's heart softened at that, since they were his grandkids whom he planted.

As such, he said feebly, "Fine, stop crying. I'll grill you an eagle alright."

Sora came to him then and asked, "Should I prepare dinner as well, master?"

"No need. We'll have grilled birdie tonight."

Delighted, Sora exclaimed, "I want some birdie too, master. Please, I want to eat birdie too…"

Jiang He facepalmed!

How the heck did those words become so erotic when Sora said it?

Nonetheless, the Golden-Winged Roc was too huge and had to be grilled outside.

Stepping out, Jiang He dumped the Golden-Winged Roc on the ground and instructed the Seven Bottle Gourd Brothers to pluck its feathers, since there's no cooking it with its feathers.

And yet…

The Seven Bottle Gourd Brothers pulled as hard as they could, but they could not remove even a single feather.

After all, the Golden-Winged Roc had cultivated itself until its feathers were harder than even S-grade alloys, and each feather was basically fused to his body. How were the brothers supposed to pluck it out?

Hence, Jiang He had to do everything by himself.

Pluck the feathers.

Clear out the innards.

Washing.

The process took one full hour.

In the end, Jiang He whipped out his golden cleaver and cut long gashes into the Golden-Winged Roc's body, so that the flavoring would fuse quicker to the meat when they start grilling the bird.

As for how they would grill it…

Became another major problem as well.

Still, Jiang He suddenly got an idea after musing to himself for a while.

Whipping out his Scarlet Flame Sword and enlarging it over 200 meters at a thought, he stabbed it into the Golden-Winged Roc's corpse and held it aloft. Sitting crossed-legged up in the air, he ordered Dumbo, Trumbo, and Fourth Brother to come up and use their fire abilities to bake the Golden-Winged Roc.

Other function notwithstanding, the flying sword is so convenient for grilling larger Ferals!

"That said…"

"Isn't this too slow?"

Jiang He shook his head. The bird might not be fully cooked even after ten hours if they continued cooking it like this.

Charging his mana, the Scarlet Flame Sword promptly released scarlet flames that blazed away, consuming the entire bird, ad a fragrant aroma reached the nose soon enough.

"Wow!"

"That smells so nice!"

Cheng Dongfeng had arrived by car just then. Parking it aside, he got off and took a hard sniff before he turned to Jiang He, who was floating in the air and then at the flame-covered Golden-Winged Roc, exclaiming in surprise, "What the hell? Where did you get such a big chicken?"

After all, the featherless Golden-Winged Roc really resembled a chicken.

Jiang He was about to explain when Cheng Dongfeng found the golden feathers strewn all over the floor. Picking up one that was as tall as himself and studying it closely, even testing its hardness, he turned to Jiang He and exclaimed in shock, "The Violet-Crowned Golden Eagle? Jiang He, you actually cooked it?"

"Hold on…"

That was when Cheng Dongfeng turned and saw the giant sword that pierced through the Golden-Winged Roc's body, and could not help inhaling sharply—

"Gasp!"

"Such a large sword?"

"Bumpkin!"

Dumbo, who was sitting aside and drooling as he stared at the Golden-Winged Roc with burning eyes, turned to glance at Cheng Dongfeng in disdain. Its lisp curled up as it said in contempt, "Where did you come from, bumpkin?"

"My master just returned from a hunt, and this one's called the Golden-Winged Roc or something. Why would you call it the Violet-Crowned Golden Eagle?"

Dumbo studied Cheng Dongfeng from head to toe, and when it saw Cheng Dongfeng staring at itself as if he had seen a ghost, it promptly barked in its Sichuan-Xibei accent, "You tool, your eyes are round as the moon! What are you looking at?

"What, never seen a dog this handsome?"

Smack!

Jiang He slapped Dumbo into the ground from the distance as a vein bulged on his forehead, before barking with a dark look, "God damn it, shut your trap and go away!"

He leapt down from the skies.

Grasping the two-hundred-meter long Scarlet Flame Sword to lift the now golden oily Violet-Crowned Golden Eagle, he took out his cleaver to cut a piece and had a taste.

However, he could not help complaining, "Why is the meat so old?"

"Huh… it tastes aged right after it enters the mouth, but after a few mouthfuls, it becomes quite chewy."

"Want some, Old Cheng?"

"Eh? Old Cheng… Old Cheng?"

Jiang He waved his hand in front of Cheng Dongfeng's eyes when the latter did not react.

Cheng Dongfeng only came to his senses then.

Raising his hand, he suddenly slapped himself viciously!

Smack!

'Ah…

'It hurts!

'So I wasn't dreaming?!'

Chapter 226: Maybe Blow Up Mount Dadong?

Cheng Dongfeng firmly pinched himself again then, and upon feeling the pain on his thigh, he was finally sure that he was not dreaming.

Even so…

Why did everything before his eyes feel even more unreal compared to a dream?

A dog talking even though it was not a Feral King?

Fair enough.

He could accept that the dog could speak since dogs had always been intelligent creatures—it was nothing too surprising that they were capable of speech after mutating.

"Hold on…"

Cheng Dongfeng abruptly came to his senses and gaped at Jiang He, "That… is the Golden-Winged Roc?"

"Yeah."

Jiang He nodded, cutting another chunk of meat and passing it to Cheng Dongfeng with a smile. "Have a taste. Its flesh is not bad—very chewy."

"Is that really the Golden-Winged Roc? The one on Bukadaban Peak?"

"Is there another Golden-Winged Roc on Earth?" Jiang He replied.

With that, Cheng Dongfeng's body started shaking and he stuttered with an exceedingly hoarse voice, as if he doubted himself. "That Golden-Winged Roc, which is one of two Feral Emperors of the Hua Nation?"

Jiang He could not help reaching out to touch Cheng Dongfeng's forehead, exclaiming in surprise, "You're not having a fever… so what's with all the problems today? Well, let me put it to you this way—didn't I accidentally killed the Violet-Crowned Golden Eagle and the Golden-Crowned Black Eagle when we headed to the Diamond Sect of the Western Frontier?"

Cheng Dongfeng nodded stiffly, but then muttered uncertainly, "Accidentally?"

'Killed, accidentally?

'Why did I hear that you deliberately ran some eight hundred miles up to Mount Tian to kill them?

'Naturally, it does not matter if that was an accident.

'What mattered here was what you killing the Violet-Crowned Golden Eagle and the Golden-Crowned Black Eagle has to do with the Golden-Winged Roc?'

"You don't get it, do you?"

"The Violet-Crowned Golden Eagle and the Golden-Crowned Black Eagle are the Golden-Winged Roc's mistresses, and of course the Golden-Winged Roc wouldn't be pleased that I killed them… and since it's displeased, it would definitely bother me. So, instead of waiting to be bothered, I rooted out the problem entirely, which is why I went on the attack, and went up Bukadaban Peak to kill the Golden-Winged Roc."

Cheng Dongfeng: "…"

He turned silent.

He felt rather speechless at that.

"Oh, right, grandson, what's your business with me?"

Jiang He chopped off a huge chunk of the Golden-Winged Roc meat before packing the rest into his System Backpack. He moved to the mansion, cutting the chunk of meat and filleted it for the Seven Bottle Gourd Brothers, Sora, Dumbo, and Trumbo, and then put more platefuls on the dining table.

Cheng Dongfeng's stirred mood finally calmed considerably then.

When he saw the Golden-Winged Roc meat on the plate, every shocked and troubled thought faded away. Picking one and having a taste, enjoyment filled his face and he could not help exclaiming, "So delicious!"

And was it just delicious?

Once the meat reached his stomach, Cheng Dongfeng instantly felt a fiery-hot presence surging in his belly.

After all, how abundant was the qi and blood contained in the flesh of a Feral Emperor?

After just eight mouthfuls, Cheng Dongfeng's face twitched as he muttered to himself in alarm, promptly sitting down and crossing his legs in cultivation.

He was already rank-seven pinnacle after the trip to the Diamond Sect and just one step away from rank-eight. And now, these mouthfuls of Golden-Winged Roc meat helped him bridge the gap, kicking down the door to rank-eight.

Boom!

With a quaking of aura, he reached rank-eight.

He only opened his eyes after several seconds to look at Jiang He, when he found Jiang He pouring rank-nine Origin Fluid, filling a disposable paper cup halfway while grinning. "Your cultivation would be unstable after recently ascending. Here, this is Origin Fluid from Mount Helan's willow tree, which improves cultivation, rejuvenates qi, blood, and True Qi."

Cheng Dongfeng accepted the paper cup with shaking hands as he finished the whole cup of Origin Fluid at one go, almost licking the cup as well. Feeling earnest gratitude, he exclaimed, "Thank you, Grand-master Jiang He!"

"It's just one cup of Origin Fluid. Why thank me?"

With a wave of his hand, Jiang He promptly took out five bottles of Origin Fluid.

Cheng Dongfeng's eyes lit up at once, and his whole body started to shake….

Five bottles…

Five mineral water bottles!

Could Jiang He had been so pleased with him being addressed as 'Grand-master Jiang He' that he would reward Cheng Dongfeng?

And yet…

"Sora, share this Origin Fluid with Dumbo and the others."

Cheng Dongfeng: "…"

All at once, the cup of Origin Fluid he had just drunk was not that delicious now.

'What the hell!

'What are you doing?

'Feeding bearlike brats and dogs with something so precious? Isn't this too luxurious?

'Come to think of it, where did these seven bearlike children come from?

'And they were apparently calling Jiang He 'gramps' just now…

'How did he get seven grandchildren at his young age?'

Despite the thousands of questions in his head, it did not bother Cheng Dongfeng with feasting on Golden-Winged Roc meat. Anything else could wait.

Indeed, after finishing an entire plate of Golden-Winged Roc meat, he could feel his cultivation and qi improving considerably.

"If I could freeload meals out of Jiang He's house every day, I would be rank-nine in less than three months. No wonder he said that the Womb Realm was so dull and boring if I were this bleeding rich too!"

Cheng Dongfeng then burped in satisfaction and pleasure… there was little wonder why the higher-ups suddenly issued those orders now. In half a month, Jiang He had killed four Feral Kings in the Black King Drake, the Red Toad King, the Violet-Crowned Golden Eagle, and the Golden-Crowned Black Eagle, as well as one Feral Emperor in the Golden-Winged Roc. As such, the Ferals would certainly be in an uproar and start a major uprising.

Cheng Dongfeng could not help turning solemn at that thought and said, "Grand-master, I have news that the higher-ups would soon order the withdrawal of the garrison and divine-tier elite from Yuzhen, and station you there instead."

On the other hand, Jiang He was slowly eating his own portion of Golden-Winged Roc meat.

Stuffing a piece into his mouth and chewing slowly before having a sip of rank-nine Origin Fluid, he chuckled. "Minister Wang himself told me about that… how long has it merely been, and they issued the orders already?"

"Yeah."

"Since it's a joint command between Minister Wang and Commander Li, it probably means the whole country would be up in arms."

Musing to himself for a while to search for the right words, Cheng Dongfeng then said, "Jiang He, the reason I actually came is to ask you… what do you think about watching over Mount Dadong?"

He did not dare to say it directly.

How could he?

If he said, 'Jiang He, just watch over Mount Dadong and don't cause trouble every single day', Jiang He would probably make him puke out the Golden-Winged Roc meat and rank-nine Origin Fluid he just had with a backhand slap.

Meanwhile, Jiang He smiled confidently in response to Cheng Dongfeng's question, laughing, "Don't worry, I've already got a plan for this. No one needs to worry."

"What plan?"

Cheng Dongfeng's eyes lit up. After all, everything would be cool wherever Jiang He would place his sheer strength—as long as he did not start trouble.

"I can't say."

Jiang He finished his plate of Golden-Winged Roc meat. After taking out an S-grade alloy toothpick to clean his teeth and having a sip of rank-nine Origin Fluid, he then said, "The plan I've prepared this time is very dependable to prevent that vermin the Graywolf King, along with the many Ferals plaguing Xibei… Yeah, everyone would learn what my plan was probably by tomorrow.

That mysterious?

Cheng Dongfeng's head was filled with curiosity up until he got in his car and left.

Jiang He…

Actually said that he has a dependable plan?

Cheng Dongfeng could not help chuckling even as he continued driving the off-road vehicle.

"If Jiang He said that it was settled, what was there to worry about?"

"As for trouble… What trouble could he cause? Blow up Mount Dadong?"

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Chapter 227: The Cultivation Method Jiang He Needs Most!

After seeing Cheng Dongfeng off, Jiang He walked around his farm and planted the two eggs of the Golden-Crowned Black Eagle.

Nonetheless, he felt a little weary that no buds were sprouting after waiting several dozen minutes.

"Eh?"

Jiang He yawned, at once surprised and delighted!

He actually felt a little sleepy?

How long has it been since he felt it?

After all, he had been left tossing and turning in bed reasonable, hardly falling asleep.

He had to stay up late every night until he could fall asleep, and it was not even dark out at the moment. How could he not feel surprised, even if it a little bit of drowsiness?

"Perhaps because I've resolved some potential problem by killing the Golden-Winged Roc, which is why I biologically recovered thanks to my relief?" Jiang He returned to the mansion and had a bath in the swimming pool, when he remembered something…

"No!"

"The reason I would feel tired and sleep is not because my obsession with killing the Golden-Winged Roc. I mean, how could my mind be at ease when the Sky Demon Cult isn't wiped out yet?"

"It must be a repercussion form using Twenty-Three Swords."

Jiang He chuckled bitterly, but soon became pleased.

Since using Twenty-Three Swords would hurt his mind, in turn causing fatigue and sleepiness—was that not the cultivation method he needed most?

It effectively helped him sleep… it was basically divine!

Jiang He returned to his room and lay on the soft big bed, and soon arrived at dreamland.

Outside the window, the sky was becoming dark.

It was already night.

Meanwhile, in front of a huge lake far inside Shennongjia.

A figure walked out of the shadows and walked up to the shores of the lake.

The figure was wearing black robes, and appeared to be a woman with a stunning figured when seen from behind.

Even so, the true looks of person when seen from the front had always been a cruel truth… beneath the black robes was an ugly face whose skin color resembled the Hulk's.

Splash!

Waves abruptly churned in the lake as a thirty-meter-long ancient crocodile lunged out of the water, its maw opened wide as it bit down towards the black-robe figure.

"Freeze!"

The black-robed figure lightly pointed a single finger at the lunging crocodile.

Ooom!

A soft humming sound echoed, and the air actually froze, keeping the rank-seven Feral Crocodile up in the air.

"A trifling rank-seven daemon would dare to attack me, a cardinal?"

The black-robed figure spoke very hoarsely despite being a woman.

The lake churned again then, and an even larger crocodile surfaced from beneath the lake.

It was over 300 meters long and its body was covered in pitch-black scales seemingly cast from concrete steel, and its head resembled a dragon head with a single horn growing out of it.

In fact, it was the Dragoncroc Emperor itself.

And this lake was its lair.

Once the Dragoncroc Emperor appeared, the air around seemed to have become misty and its dark-golden gaze glinted coldly beneath the moon light. It stared coldly at the black-robed woman and spoke in human tongue, saying, "A human elite? No… I sense a special aura from your body, and you seem at once human at not."

The woman lowered her hood then.

Her grotesque green face squirmed, becoming a normal human's face.

She now had long blonde hair, exquisite facial features, and appeared foreign instead of resembling a Hua Nation citizen.

"I am a cardinal of the Sky Sage Faith, Dragoncroc Emperor. I have come to Shennongjia under the Saint's decree to present you a gift."

Whoosh!

The blonde woman whipped outa jade sword with a wave of his hand.

It was merely three inches long, but as it hovered before the Dragoncroc Emperor and was touched by its spirit, a message streamed inside the Feral's mind as a spirit energy.

The Dragoncroc Emperor's dark-golden eyes slowly closed then.

After around three minutes, the Dragoncroc Emperor opened its eyes again.

The imposing presence it exuded eased considerably, the killing intent fading from its eyes as it spoke, "Us daemons and humans may be like oil and water, but we are all life on earth. Go back."

"What a shame."

The blonde woman did not say anything else.

She slowly backed away, and it was only after she vanished into the darkness that her hoarse voice could be heard, "The human elites of the Hua Nation grow stronger by the day, Dragoncroc Emperor, whereas the daemons only have you and the Golden-Winged Roc championing the daemons in this country. Won't you think about your race's future?"

"If the human truly rises… would the daemons still have any space to live?"

"By the way, I forgot to mention—Cardinal Wu Dong is seeking out the Golden-Winged Roc to discuss this matter as well…"

With that, her voice faded.

That shadow was gone.

Floating on the surface of the lake, the Dragoncroc Emperor stared at the direction where the black-robed figure had disappeared and could not help sighing.

Huh…

These people really awakened some weird superpowers. That woman's powers was not much, but she could run really quick… I did not even have the time to tell her about the Golden-Winged Roc.

Closing its eyes, the Dragoncroc Emperor submerged beneath the lake once more.

Nighttime, with the moon hanging high above.

It was the fifteenth of October, and the fifteenth day of the ninth month in the lunar calendar, which was why the moon was especially round and bright.

Another black-robed figure was hovering in the air beneath Mount Bukadaban.

Black mist surrounds the figure and there was a faint glimmer in his eyes. The hands exposed beneath the robes were rather deformed, a clear sign that it was the unlucky cardinal who was injured by Three Blades Lin soon after returning from his negotiations with the Graywolf King deep within Mount Dadong.

As a matter of fact, there was more than one cardinal of the Sky Demon Cult.

According to Sky Demon Cult rules, any believer who completed cultivation of the Boundary of Wills may be baptized in the Holy Lake and be promoted to a cardinal of the Sky Demon Cult.

Of course, the Boundary of Wills was not so easily cultivated, which was why there were only four cardinals in the Sky Demon Cult, with two being foreigners, including the blonde woman.

Incidentally, the one here at Bukadaban Peak was a Hua Nation citizen named Wu Dong.

He was a killer famed in the underworld long before the Revival of Qi, but was eventually put on every wanted list for assassinating a ranked official. With nowhere to go, he joined the Sky Demon Cult and became one of their hierarchs.

Still, Wu Dong could not be considered a human now.

After being baptized at the Holy Lake, his body was slowly mutating to resemble the sky demons.

Now, as Wu Dong stood in the air beneath Mount Bukadaban, a look of disbelief showed in his eyes. He turned stiffly to look around, only finding collapsed peaks, shattered glaciers and the traces of a terrible battle everywhere.

"What…"

"What actually happened?"

Wu Dong could not find the Golden-Winged Roc even after reaching its roost.

A foreboding feeling arose inside, and Wu Dong muttered to himself in disbelief, "No way, no way… the Golden-Winged Roc is an Emperor-class Feral. Who could have hurt it?"

He felt much grief at that!

Damn!

What the heck?

Am I really that unlucky?

He had already come to an agreement with the Graywolf King in its journey to Mount Dadong, only to find that all the elites he was leading died without exception. Now, under orders from the Saint to discuss another agreement with the Golden-Winged Roc, he certainly did not expect…

That the Golden-Winged Roc would be gone.

Its nest was basically blown up.

As he stared at the golden feathers all over the ground, Wu Dong even suspected that someone had killed the Golden-Winged Roc…

"Whatever!

"The Saint can't blame me with the Golden-Winged Roc not around.

"It's a full-moon tonight. Time to find the Graywolf King to open the heritage site!"

Wu Dong clenched his teeth and laughed coldly. "I will not believe that I would be unlucky for a third-time. Try spooking me when I'm opening the heritage site too!"

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Chapter 228: Mount Dadong Heritage Site

Still shrouded in his black robes, Wu Dong took to the skies and disappeared beneath the moonlight.

He was a divine-conversion pinnacle elite who had cultivated in aura restraining techniques, hiding up in the skies while he observed the small town beneath at the wildlands: Yuzhen!

The ten-thousand personnel garrison was now empty—even the military's elite who stood guard there had left.

"What's going on?

"Why would the troops and elites of Yuzhen leave?"

Wu Dong landed on the ground but did not dare to enter the city. After all, he was afraid that there would be still be forces left in the town without confirming the situation, which was why he stood at the edge of the town and used his spirit to scan it several times, but found that there were actually several weak Ferals roaming inside.

"They're really gone?"

He was rather surprised.

With the garrison's forces and elites all evacuated… were they giving up on Mount Dadong? Or could something have happened?

With the sleeper agents of the Sky Demon Cult in Lingzhou City nearly wiped out, and even the average fellowship member who moved into the cities thanks to the government's own citizen relocation plans failing to obtain important information in time, the Sky Demon Cult was in the dark about the situation surrounding Lingzhou City.

Out of the blue, Wu Dong's figure shifted and he disappeared.

Then, three seconds after his disappearance…

Oom!

In the darkness, the black-robed blonde woman arrived.

Pausing where Wu Dong was standing, she coolly said, "Come out. How dare you show off with mere paltry tricks?"

"Haha!"

Wu Dong laughed once and stepped out of the darkness, staring tightly at the blonde woman's face as he smiled. "It did slip my mind that you're the Queen of the Night, Annette… tell me, why would the saint ask you to come to Lingzhou City?"

"To help you, of course—trash!"

The blonde woman dubbed the Queen of the Night laughed coolly. "You were personally leading the Sentinel of the Right, the Senior Elder, Fourth Elder, Flowing Cloud Holy Child as well as a host of Grands and Heavenly Generals, all to kill one, insignificant Jiang He. And yet, you failed, that was why the saint was furious, and had me come help you open the heritage site, and kill Jiang He as well!"

Wu Dong scowled.

He was definitely superior to Annette in ability. Even so, with her being the saint's own trusted aide and carrying a personal order from the saint, would Wu Dong dare to retort?

Therefore, he promptly put palm to fist and bowed, saying, "I hope His Holiness can forgive me. I would certainly gain accomplishments to make amends, and contribute to our faith's progress.

"Alright, save that for the saint."

Annette appeared rather impatient, and giggled icily before saying, "When matters regarding the Heritage Site have been settled, I will personally meet Jiang He and see what waves a frivolous rank-seven martial artist could stir!"

Wu Dong frowned at that and somberly said, "You mustn't be careless. Jiang He is protected by the Blade King, and I suspect that the Sentinel of the Right, the Senior Elder, the Flowing Cloud Holy Child, and the rest were killed by him."

"Moreover… a rank-seven breaking the laws of nature to such extent? There may be deception involved!"

Annette smirked nonchalantly. "Could Three Blades Lin stop me if I want to ambush and kill a rank-seven martial artist?"

Such was the importance of intelligence work.

The Sky Demon Cult's information about Jiang He had remained at when he was rank-seven. With their sleeper agents all rooted out from Lingzhou City and their later agents being people of no consequence, there was no way they could reach the leadership.

As for the double agent insert into the Martial Arts Department (MAD) chain of command…

Everything Jiang He was doing recently had been directly reported to the likes of Three Blades Lin and Wang Hou. How was the double agent supposed to catch on?

And from normal perspectives, it made sense.

After all, how long has it been since Jiang He was rank-seven until now?

Twenty days.

When it comes to normal cultivation—even the most demonic ones—how much could one improve in twenty days?

Nonetheless, the pair stopped thinking about that problem. They entered Yuzhen, searched around it and frowned, with Wu Dong musing, "There's no reason why the Yuzhen garrison would withdraw for no reason. Does the Holy Faith have any information about this?"

Annette shook her head, indicating that she was unsure.

Still, she chuckled. "Well, them being gone is fine, or when the phenomenon goes full bang upon the opening of the heritage site, we would be noticed given how close Yuzhen was to Mount Dadong.

Even as she continued, her satellite phone rang.

After Annette answered it, had a few words and hung up, she said, "The Sentinel of the Left, the Second Elder, Fourth Elder, Fifth Elder as well as several Grands and Holy Children would arrive soon. Let's get atop Mount Dadong to meet the Graywolf King."

The Sky Demon Cult had been suffering a string of devastating losses in Lingzhou City. That was why the leader of the Sky Demon Cult left seclusion seven days before, handpicking a group of core members to take the place of the vacancies.

That was why there was another Fourth Elder now.

Meanwhile, the two Cardinals flew up to Mount Dadong, and soon found the Graywolf King on a mountain slope.

It was lying sprawl over on the slope in cultivation, and was absorbing veins of moonlight into its own body.

That was not actually daemon cultivation, but a simple application of the world's energies… the Graywolf King had mentioned that it would open the heritage site on a full moon night because it could rely on the moon's energies, greatly buffing its combat power.

And just beneath the slope it was lying down was a ravine.

Such ravines were very common in the loess highlands of Xibei. A horde of Ferals was lying down silently on the ground as well, and the world's Yuan Qi here was much more concentrated than other places.

And the heritage site was in the ravine.

"Hmmm?"

The Graywolf King's gaze twitched at the sight of the Cardinals flying towards itself. It appeared rather wary as it growled, "Why are there two of you?"

It was actually afraid, fearful that the Sky Demon Cult would take the heritage site for themselves after it was opened.

As such, it promptly said, "This king insists before we move that both of you must contribute to the opening of the heritage site since there are two of you now… or this king would work with the Hua Nation instead!"

Annette stepped up with a coquettish giggle. "The daemons and the Hua Nation's government are like water to oil, Graywolf King. Work with them? Aren't you afraid they would turn against you and kill you?"

The Graywolf King said nothing.

As such, Annette had to say, "Fine, we'll work together to open the heritage site. However, we will wait until the other disciples of our faith arrive until we do. As for how many people, daemons, the stability of the heritage site, and whether you and us could be accommodated, we shall save that discussion for later."

Jiang He's mansion.

In the bedroom, after having fallen into a groggy state much earlier, Jiang He suddenly felt an urge to sleep.

He went to the bathroom and then returned to his bed, only to find that all drowsiness was gone as he tossed and turned, and unable to sleep no matter what he did…

Glancing at the time, he found that it was not even one in the morning.

That naturally left him a little unhinged.

Unable to get some shut-eye in the middle of the night… how could this not be boring?

"Should I go to Sora's room for some 'exercise', and then try to fall asleep?"

Standing beside his window, Jiang He lit himself a cigarette when he suddenly got an idea, and turned his eyes into the distance…

After all, he would only feel recharged after 'exercising'.

On the other hand, releasing Twenty-Three Swords to tire his mind a little was the best decision to induce sleep.

"Still… I can't release it into the skies, could I?"

"Whatever. I can't sleep anyway, so I should go up Mount Dadong and remove the plague there, and release Twenty-Three Swords as well to tire myself out."

Putting on his clothes, Jiang He then quickly left the house.

It was not even one o'clock and Mount Dadong was just around 150 kilometers away and not that far. If he moved quickly enough and made his limbs move agilely, he might be able to pay his sleep debt when he gets home!

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Chapter 229: Another Fourth Elder?

Jiang He always believed himself to be a man of his word.

And since he had already promised Wang Hou to watch Mount Dadong and stop the Ferals there from causing trouble, he would certainly do it.

Even so, it was impossible for Jiang He to guard Mount Dadong every day with that attitude of his.

That was why…

He had to come up with a more dependable solution.

For example…

Killing the Graywolf King as well as every high-ranked Feral on Mount Dadong.

Was there a need to fear Feral unrest after that?

Lingzhou City was just 150km away from Mount Dadong, which was not much of a distance for Jiang He. Even if he kept a slow pace and hid his aura, it took him no more than twenty minutes to reach Yuzhen.

Jiang He had never been here before.

It was an old city with an antiquated air to it, the center of which was an ancient building.

There were also signs of military presence everywhere inside the town, with various fortifications built on the east side which faces Mount Dadong. Scars of Feral destruction were substantial on the outer reaches of the fortifications, with countless empty bullet shells strewn all over the floor.

Further ahead was dripping with crimson.

Beneath the bright moonlight, the blood-soaked ground could clearly be seen.

Jiang He turned solemn at that.

Here, many unnamed soldiers who were not even martial artists had courageously taken up their weapons to protect the civilians behind them, using their blood to keep the Ferals of Mount Dadong at bay, east of Yuzhen!

It was a race war.

Once those beasts developed intelligence and evolved into powerful individuals and collectives, war against humans was unavoidable.

And today, right after the military retreated from Yuzhen, several Ferals were already roaming the town.

With a point of his finger, Jiang He fired True Qi like arrows and nailed the many Ferals to death where they were, before streaking towards Mount Dadong.

It was merely 15 km away from Mount Dadong and Yuzhen.

A winding ravine was blocking his way upon approaching Mount Dadong.

Such a landscape was very common in the loess highlands of Xibei. The soil of loess highlands tended to be very soft, and with the many mountains around, mountain floods were unavoidable whenever torrential rains struck, surging down the mountains and slowly forming ravines over a dozen meters deep and up to forty meters wide. The ravines would also connect, flowing down to places unknown.

After a careful look, Jiang He noticed that there was a trail at the bottom of the ravine.

It was not a wide trail as it was carved on the edge of both ends of the ravines, connecting at its bottom.

No car could have passed through it, although there were many motorcycles that were left behind by the shepherds who worked up the mountains. Still, if there were downpours on such a narrow path, it would be easily flooded and require maintenance.

Fortunately, it was a soil trail, and so a little paving was all that was needed even if the trail was cut off after downpours, making it not that troublesome.

Nonetheless, Jiang He easily vaulted across the forty-meter ravine. While he could fly, he was walking along the small trail along the ravine, unable to hold back an emotional sigh. "Life is so hard for the villagers up in the mountains… still, hard work would always be repaid."

He remembered Li Fei mention before that there were many shepherds up on Mount Dadong, most of them landlords who reared three hundred sheep at minimum, over a thousand at most. The wool would earn them over a hundred thousand, let alone selling the sheep.

Once Jiang He reached the opposite of the ravine, he was finally inside Mount Dadong.

He could see several rundown farmer houses and caverns on the outer hills of Mount Dadong, with some small solar panels that were not taken away outside the cave.

That was where Jiang He encountered three weak rank-one Ferals.

"Whatever, I'll let them live for now, or I'll frighten off the Graywolf King even before I could see if I slaughtered my way to it…"

Jiang He thought.

He hence sprinted ahead, holding back his aura while using his powerful spirit to scout a path, evading all Ferals ahead.

Out of the blue, Jiang He's gaze focused and he passed after clearing a peak.

He looked up ahead.

Several peaks had been flattened and reduced to husk, with the ground reduced to a charred black.

"This must have been where the missile blew up before… wasn't it?"

Jiang He remembered then.

He was not sure what missile it was even now, but the only thing he was certain about was its incredible magnitude. He could feel the ground shaking at the time even from 150 km away, and the ensuing mushroom cloud rising into the air.

If he had been at the center of the explosion even as he was now…

He would certainly choke!

"Back then, the military must have fired the missile to intimidate the Graywolf instead of killing it. After all, how sharp is a Feral King's senses, not to mention that each missile fired takes quite a process? Once that beast escapes the center of the blast, a bomb of such yield could hardly kill it."

Jiang He shook his head, sighing.

If Feral Kings could really be killed by bombs alone, Earth would not be in its current state now.

"Well, I've come in such a hurry that I forgot to ask… where actually is the Graywolf King's lair?"

"Mount Dadong spans around 300 km. I can't comb every inch of it now, can I?"

Even as Jiang He continued ahead whilst contemplating causing a ruckus to see if he could draw the Graywolf King to him… his expression changed in the instant when he was about to throw out the pea bomb.

Extending his spirit two kilometers away behind a mountain, he found…

A group of people!

"Sentinel of the Left, Second Elder, is Jiang He really that impressive?

"Tsk!"

"Rank seven killing the Sentinel of the Right with full-cultivation of the Boundary of Wills? That's impossible… isn't it?"

"Sentinel of the Left, should we kill Jiang He after we leave the heritage site?"

A group of people was sprinting along the mountain under the moonlit sky.

There were fourteen of them, four of whom were rank-nine and the rest were rank-eight.

Jiang He used his spirit to observe a little, and promptly realized who they were—

"Sky Demon Cultist?"

Though surprised, delight soon showed on Jiang He's face!

Truly, he has some karmic connection with the Sky Demon Cult… he merely came to Mount Dadong in the middle of the night out of sheer boredom, and he somehow still managed to run into them?

That said, what were these cultists doing here in the middle of the night?

Moreover, this bunch was not weak—from their conversation, Jiang He learned that the strongest amongst them was the Sentinel of the Left. Not only did he have a perfect grasp of the Boundary of Wills, he did not dull in comparison to the Sentinel of the Right whom Jiang He had personally killed some time ago either.

And aside from the Sentinel of the Left, there were also three rank-nines in the Second Elder, Fourth Elder, and the Fifth Elder, as well as three Holy Children and seven rank-eight Grands.

"Heritage site?"

"Did one of those cultists just mention heritage site?"

"Could they have come to an agreement with the Graywolf King to jointly open the heritage site of Mount Dadong?"

"Hold on… Fourth Elder?"

"I remember killing the Sky Demon Cult's Senior Elder, Third Elder Fourth Elder and Sixth Elder. It made sense that a Second Elder and Fifth Elder would show up now, but how the heck did another Fourth Elder pop up?"

Jiang He thought then.

He hence subtly tagged along behind the many Sky Demon Cultists, and with his current abilities, none of them could notice him from two kilometers away.

He also focused his spirit a little on the Fourth Elder.

The man was a burly, muscular figure standing at 1.9 meters, and most importantly his qi and blood are remarkably strong… he must have cultivated a formidable physique.

His head was bald, and holding a two-meter-long alloy staff as thick as an arm.

Meanwhile, all fourteen Sky Demon Cultists were rushing along quietly, and only the baldie was blabbering along the whole journey, asking about everything until even the Sentinel of the Left became irritated.

Seemingly noticing that, baldie smiled politely but without losing politeness, before slowing down a little and deliberately hang around behind the group.

That was when Fifth Elder came to him and used Secret Acoustics to communicate, "Don't mind, Fourth. The Sentinel of the Left always had a temper."

"You're too serious, Fifth Elder. Would I even dare to question him?"

Baldie answered through Secret Acoustics as well. "The Sentinel of the Left is an elite with perfect grasp of the Boundary of Wills, and would promptly reach divine-tier if he was willing to bathe in the Holy Lake… By the way, why do you think he didn't bathe at the Holy Lake when he could have ascended to divine-tier if he did, Fifth Elder? Does he not appreciate power?"

"Is there really a heritage site on Mount Dadong, Fifth Elder?"

"Have you been inside a heritage site, Fifth Elder?"

"I heard that there's a Feral King on Mount Dadong. Won't it attack us, Fifth Elder?"

"I heard that heritage sites have a limit of entrants and cultivation, Fifth Elder. The heritage site here won't stop us from entering, would it?"

"Fifth Elder…"

"Shut up!"

Unable to hold it any longer, Fifth Elder seethed through clenched teeth. "You may outrank me, Fourth Elder, but keep that nonsense up and I'll beat you up, even if I have to risk our faith's punishment!"

Meanwhile, the others completely ignored the commotion, seemingly having gotten used to it.

Even so, none of them noticed that while the baldie was blabbering away, he had quietly activated a small electronic device and threw it into a bush…

A dozen seconds after the Sky Demon Cultists had all walked past the device, it suddenly beeped and emitted a faint red light.

Meanwhile.

Jingdu City.

A room filled with various computers and equipment at the Martial Arts Department headquarters.

"Quick," someone exclaimed in shock. "Contact Deputy Zhou right away—a signal has popped up!"

"Pinpointing…"

"Xibei… Eh? Signal lost?"

"Eh?

Jiang He, who had been keeping an eye on the Sky Demon Cultists with his spirit all along naturally 'saw' that sight.

He went beside the bushes to pick up the object which resembled a USB stick, holding it in front of his eyes with his index finger and thumb to study it.

"What is this?"

Then, as he pinched it a little firmer with his fingertips unwittingly…

Crack!

It was crushed.

Chapter 230: Could He Have Been Killed By Mistake?

"Perhaps that baldie be the Martial Arts Department (MAD) double agent that Old Cheng spoke of, the one embedded amongst the leaders of the Sky Demon Cult?"

Jiang He suddenly realized something after crushing the USB drive.

The baldie—Fourth Elder had placed that device in the bushes behind everyone's back. Why would he keep that a secret from the others? He must not want the others to notice, which made it very likely that he's the undercover agent.

That would be rather awkward!

If the really was the agent, does that not mean that him putting that device here was part of a plan or to send a message?

"If he really was the agent… didn't I just ruin his plans?"

"Still… after observing his behavior, he doesn't really look much of an undercover agent, does he?"

The baldie had been making noise as the group of Sky Demon Cultists made their way up Mount Dadong, asking every possible question. He was certainly abnormal even if his mind was sound—and with the MAD being ever wary in their affairs, would they had sent such a person to be an undercover agent in the Sky Demon Cult?

"Baldie is definitely not the undercover agent. He could have gotten killed at any instant if he was!

"But what if he is the agent?"

Either way, Jiang He decided it was better to be safe than sorry, and decided not to sacrifice an agent the MAD had embedded in the Sky Demon Cult.

Withdrawing his aura, he continued shadowing the group.

If any surprises should occur, he could still save baldie at any moment.

As his spirit radiated away, the whereabouts of each of the Sky Demon Cultists, their conversations as well as Secret Acoustics were no secret from Jiang He.

After all, Jiang He's spirit had already reached divine-tier when he reached rank-eight. Moreover, it continued to improve every day since he would munch on the Purple-Golden Sunflower Seeds whenever he felt bored, and quenched his thirst with rank-nine Origin Fluid. It was no exaggeration that his spirit was being improved with every passing second.

And now that his martial arts cultivation had reached divine-conversion, which was the first level in divine-tier, his spirit grew considerably thanks to ascension. It rose even further when he condensed the Golden Pellet thanks to his progress in immortal arts, and when his physique reached a horrific level, his powerful qi and blood nourishes his spirit in return, pushing his spirit to new heights.

Meanwhile, the group of Sky Demon Cultists were sprinting along the mountain rapidly.

Strangely, however…

No Feral in Mount Dadong was attacking them.

"They must have come to an agreement with the Graywolf King."

Whipping out a handful of sunflower seeds, Jiang He shadowed them from behind unhurriedly, keeping 2 kilometers between himself and the Sky Demon Cultists.

"I saw many Ferals on the way here, but most are low-ranked and there weren't even many rank-sixes, let alone higher rank ones."

"This doesn't make sense!"

Jiang He thought to himself then—though he had not been here to Mount Dadong, he knew that there was no way a mountain where a Feral King resides did not have other high-ranked Ferals.

Perhaps…

The other high-ranked Ferals of Mount Dadong had a gathering?

As a matter of fact, it was quite likely that it happened.

Since the Graywolf King would work with the Sky Demon Cult to open the heritage sites, would it not be reasonable that the high-ranked Ferals join the fun?

Then, after walking another fifty kilometers, Jiang He, who had been observing the Sky Demon Cultists with his spirit suddenly turned towards another direction and paused.

A gigantic wolf with a frightening aura was lying ahead on a slope two kilometers away. It looked no different from an ordinary gray wolf, but it was around seven meters tall and a dozen meters long even as it lay there nonchalantly.

"What a big wolf… still, it's average compared to the other Feral Kings I've met. With that size, its meat would probably last me a long time too… though with the gluttons that are Seven Bottle Gourd Brothers, Dumbo and Trumbo, we'll probably finish it after around half a month."

Jiang He thought then, before turning towards the two Cardinals beside the Graywolf King.

Both of them were dressed in black robes with hoods that kept their heads covered and their faces hidden.

The many Sky Demon Cultists promptly kowtowed, which the Cardinals accepted with composure before gesturing for them to get up.

Annette then stepped up, saying, "Everyone, it is the will of the Saint that all of you come to Lingzhou City. He remembers your diligent and helpful work for the Holy Faith, and therefore gave you a special chance to improve yourself."

"All of you are probably aware of Mount Dadong's heritage site. Later, I will work with Cardinal Wu Dong and the Graywolf King to open it, allowing you all to enter and cultivate within!"

"And remember. You must succeed in retrieving any cultivation manuals you found inside the heritage site."

"Oh?"

Jiang He was rather surprised. He did not expect to find that the Sky Demon Cult had a woman as their Cardinal, but it was all the same for him—all Sky Demon Cultists must die regardless if they were man or woman.

What's the difference if they were corpses a few minutes later anyway?

And yet, no one noticed that the newly appointed Fourth Elder was unusually quiet then.

In fact, he was beside himself in panic inwardly.

"Where are they?

"Why isn't anyone coming?

"Didn't Minister Wang promise me that as long as I activate the satellite beacon within Hua Nation borders, they would pinpoint my position in ten seconds and direct nearby elites to back me up at top speed?"

"It's a new heritage site… surely the Sky Demon Cults can't be allowed to take it for themselves, can they?"

The MAD headquarters at Jingdu City.

Wang Hou had a dark look on his face.

Beside him, Zhou Yu was serving him tea whilst asking hesitantly, "Minister Wang, could it just have been an accident? For example, the beacon was activated accidentally and then quickly turned off?"

"What do you think?"

Wang Hou looked up at Zhou Yu, who smiled begrudgingly.

"Now isn't the time to be angry, Minister Wang. Intelligence has done their best, but the key problem here is that the signal transmission was too brief—it disappeared in just five seconds, and they simply could not narrow the location down."

When Wang Hou did not respond, Zhou Yu quietly continued, "The agent did send a message eight days ago that the Sky Demon Cult was putting them through trails, and if passed, he might be promoted to Elder and becoming a core member… and then all communication was lost. Could the trial had exposed him? Could the Sky Demon Cult had caught on?"

It was too common a situation—a mole embedded in the Sky Demon Cult, once exposed, would be immediately tortured to death, and more than ten agents have died over the last few years in such situations.

After all, the Sky Demon Cult were adept at developing their cultist with methods such as trances and brainwashing.

Inversely, the Sky Demon Cult had planted many of their moles in the government from the bottom-up. Still, MAD intelligence had uncovered that their methods in securing moles were primitively simple: after brainwash and hypnosis, they would then use leverage to threaten a subject, creating one even if there was not…

What was worse, it was even harder to plant a mole in the cultists' ranks.

There was no point spying from the outer echelons since the Sky Demon Cult kept a distinct hierarchy, and average cultist are fated to never reach the information circulating amongst the Sky Demon Cult's hierarch.

One would be easily exposed even if they infiltrated the core of the cult too.

That was why the undercover agent who managed to reach the core hierarchy of the Sky Demon Cult was too important. It would be a monumental loss if something really happened.

"Minister Wang!"

Suddenly, Zhou Yu's face twitched and he mused to himself. "Minister Wang… do you think the agent was sent to Lingzhou City?"

Wang Hou appeared puzzled by that opinion, but Zhou Yu continued, "It's just a hunch since intelligence did confirm the signal was approximately in Xibei… if our agent at the Sky Demon Cult really reached the rank of Elder, wouldn't he be sent to fight Jiang He?"

"Would that even happen?"

Wang Hou shook his head, saying, "With Jiang He's power, the Sky Demon Cult would have no chance unless their saint personally sees to the brat… eh?"

He came to a realization even before he finished, and exclaimed in shock, "The Sky Demon Cult isn't aware of Jiang He's current power, are they? Others aside, there really was a chance that would happen."

"Hold on…"

Suddenly rising to his feet with a whoosh, Wang Hou's eyes widened and he could not help yelling, "What the hell!? If that really happened, doesn't that mean Jiang He might kill him?"

Zhou Yu's face dropped.

That was indeed very likely.

If the agent was sent to fight Jiang He, he would be instakilled given Jiang He's power and attitude…

That was why Wang Hou could not be bothered by anything else right then.

Whipping out his phone, he promptly dialed Jiang He's number.

Meanwhile, back at Mount Dadong.

Jiang He was sitting behind some bushes, having withdrawn his aura into himself while subtly extending his spirit to watch the Graywolf King, the two Sky Demon Cult Cardinals and the dozens of cultists.

His spirit was so exceedingly strong that he would not be noticed as long as he did not release his aura.

However, since it was just a two-kilometer distance…

Jiang He decided not to munch on sunflower seeds to be safe.

What if the cultists and the wolf were startled by his munching?

Either way, his intention was not to frighten them off. He would charge at them only after they opened the heritage site, cutting down cultists and Feral alike while he enjoyed all the spoils.

He just did not expect Wang Hou's call to arrive then.

Having forgot to put it on silent, his cellphone's ringtone echoed across the night.

All at once, the Graywolf King and the two Cardinals reacted…

Hence, Jiang He laughed bitterly and emerged from behind the bushes.

With a few quick steps, he arrived twenty meters away from the Graywolf King and the many Sky Demon Cultists before answering the call, and unable to hold back from yelling, "What are you doing, Minister Wang?"

"I was fishing here…

"Well, when your call reached me, all the fishes were sacred off!"

Opposite Jiang He, the Graywolf King, the two Cardinals and the dozen cultists were stunned for several seconds, before…

Fourth Elder's eyes widened as he exclaimed on top of his voice. "Jiang He!"

The Sky Demon Cult's hierarchy had all studied Jiang He's data, but no matter how extensively they studied, none of them could match the undercover agent's understanding of the man… after all, with so many Sky Demon Cultists dying because of Jiang He, he was even ready to be arranged in an assassination squad targeting Jiang He.

He couldn't be bothered with anything else if it ever come to that.

He must therefore become capable of identifying Jiang He at once, and only then could he quickly reveal his identity to avoid getting killed by mistake.

"Jiang He!"

The others soon reacted too, all of them crying out and painting the night with solemn killing intent.

That was when the black-robed Cardinal Annette walked up to Jiang He with her swaying booty, smirking. "You're Jiang He? You really would rather choose hell than heaven—"

Pow!

Raising his hand, Jiang He blew her up instantly with a single release of this Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms while retorting indignantly. "Can't you see that I'm talking on the phone? What's with all that noise?"

"Alright, Minister Wang, you can talk now…

"Did something happen? Why would you call me in the middle of the night?"

Wang Hou: "…"

Chapter 231: Don't Worry, It Won't Happen

Wang Hou froze over on the other end of the call.

What were those voices?

There seemed to be many people crying out 'Jiang He' and the roar of a dragon—could Jiang He have released his Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms?

After all, that 'pow' was quite easily identified, since it was clearly the sound of Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palm hitting a person.

It was not only him either—the Graywolf King and the Sky Demon Cultists whom Jiang He was facing were stunned as well. All of them traded glances and then glanced at the corpse pieces on the floor, only reacting after several second.

The divine-tier Cardinal was gone… even before she could finish her sentence?

Nonetheless, Fourth Elder spoke first!

He strode out, yelling, "Don't kill me, Jiang He!"

"I'm Yan Dehao, an undercover agent embedded in the Sky Demon Cult under Minister Wang's orders. He can prove it!"

Baldie spoke very quickly like a gatling cannon, as if afraid that Jiang He would kill him with a single palm if he spoke half a second slower.

Wang Hou also heard Yan Dehao's shouting then, and while he did not know what happened at Jiang He's end, he promptly exclaimed in delight, "Jiang He, Yan Dehao is really a mole I inserted at the Sky Demon Cult. Is he alright?"

"Fine."

Jiang He waved, gesturing for Yan Dehao to get behind him.

"Alright, Minister Wang. There's still a few small fries from the Sky Demon Cult over here I need to deal with, so let's talk later."

With that, he hung up.

Yan Dehao was so burly that he was twice as tall and as wide as Jiang He, and yet he was now hiding like a tiny chick behind Jiang He, pointing at the group of Sky Demon Cultists as he sneered, "Jiang He, that bunch are all Sky Demon Cultists who killed countless people, even stirring Feral frenzies. They won't be missed!"

"Fourth Elder!"

The Fifth Elder of the Sky Demon Cult was glaring furiously, his eyes almost bulging out in rage. "You… you were my brother, and yet you would betray the Holy Faith?"

He was an A-class Awakened with water-type powers, and as he raged out, releasing a burst of aura, the air quickly became damp and the skies started pouring.

Jiang He raised his hand and released Might Dragon Shows Penance!

"Roar!"

A draconic roar echoed over the heavens.

The golden silhouette of a dragon flew out of his palm, slamming into Fifth Elder and sending him flying several hundred meters away, crashing into a dozen trees before finally landing, and no longer breathing.

"Raining?"

"Did I allow that?"

Jiang He smiled faintly as he strode towards the other Sky Demon Cultists.

Abundant True Qi instantly burst out on his first step, with seven suns materializing behind him to illuminate night as if it was daytime. On his second, the silhouettes of a godly dragon and an elephant orbited the sun, their roar and trumpeting as deafening as it was never-ending.

Boom!

On his third step, Indestructible Diamond and Nine-Star Heavenly Body Formula were charged simultaneously, his frightening physical power erupting and blowing up the ground beneath his feet. Raging qi overflowed out from around his body, knocking back Yan Dehao and causing him to stumble several steps backwards.

Jiang He's power was indiscriminate!

In that very moment, the aura bursting out of Jiang He's body left everyone fearful and palpitating!

What the heck!

Divine-tier?

Divine-conversion or divine tempest?

Yan Dehao's face dropped.

Could Jiang He have reached divine-union? The gusting of the air kicked by his aura alone had actually knocked a rank-nine novice martial artist like him off his feet!

Was that not too much?

He would be even more horrifying if he was not divine-union!

It meant that Jiang He's fighting ability could match divine-union—the third level of divine-tier, even though he was merely at the first level: divine-conversion!

"Oh, no. Retreat!"

Cardinal Wu Dong's eyes tightened as he bellowed. "We've been misinformed—Jiang He is not rank-seven, he's divine-pinnacle…"

The Cardinal was quite a character. Knowing that he would not win, he promptly retreated without any hesitation, even grabbing two rank-eight Sky-Demon Cultists in each hand and throwing them at Jiang He as he ran, intent on slowing Jiang He down and buy time for his escape!

And even as he ran, he did not forget to curse, "You shameless, despicable little man!"

"My Holy Faith will never abide with your existence! Our Saint would soon perfect his god art, and the Holy Envoys would hence descend on Earth! You would definitely be dead if you kill me!"

Jiang He was rather speechless at that.

Was he… being threatened?

Why was a two-bit villain like him that weak in perspective?

'If you want to run, run. What was with those curses?

'Most importantly, it is not like you are banned from cursing—so why would you spit such toxic slander?

'I, Jiang He, have always been straight and honest, a man of my word. Why did I suddenly become a shameless little man when you're talking about me?'

His two palms slapped the two unlucky Grands to death, and released his Scarlet Flame Sword at his thought!

Whoosh!

A scarlet sword light shot out between Jiang He's brow and cut throw the night air, streaking straight towards Wu Dong at an indescribable speed!

First style of the Three thousand Calamities: White Foal Crosses the Rift!

Jiang He did not add in flowery special effects when he developed this technique, but the only special thing about it was its speed.

As Wu Dong turned around in the air, he was sacred out of his wits. Even so, he promptly burned his spirit, essence and blood and unleashed everything he had learnt throughout the course of his life… even so, could a mere divine-conversion individual like him repel Jiang He's Royal Sword?

Shank!

The scarlet sword light pierced Wu Dong between his eyes, the razor-sharp Sword Qi instantly extinguishing his consciousness. All his vigor promptly faded, and his corpse fell straight down out of the sky.

"Cardinal!"

The Sky Demon Cultists cried out in agony.

"Run!"

"Run, now!"

"He is alone—let's split up!"

The Sentinel of the Left cried, and every Holy Child and Grand promptly separated to escape. Jiang He merely laughed at that, charging his divine-tier cultivation and summoning thunderbolts with a wave of his hand, causing bolts to descend with deafening cracks.

Boom!

One of the Holy Children who was running away did a miserable barrel roll to flee one of the bolts, but when the bolt landed three meters away, it erupted with a boom.

Meanwhile, Jiang He continued to wave his hand and summoning more bolts, weaving a purple net of thunderbolts under the moon's radiance.

When the thunderstorm eventually faded, the many Sky Demon Cultists could not be deader, all their corpses burnt to ashes.

Yan Dehao gaped, but soon come to his senses and pointed into the distance, "Mister Jiang, the Graywolf King is running!"

Right now, the Graywolf King had lost all its nerves.

Super-buff under a full moon?

Even if my power multiplied, it was reckless to fight that thing. Would it dare to even stay?

When Jiang He summoned the thunderbolts to kill the Holy Children, Grand and Sentinel of the Sky Demon Cult, the Graywolf King had already burst out in its top speed, rushing deep into Mount Dadong.

And yet, the Graywolf King soon despaired.

After running over ten kilometers, it suddenly noticed a sword light hovering before him.

It was engulfed in scarlet flames, exuding a killing intent that forced the Graywolf King to prostrate itself.

But even as it lay down on the ground and stared fearfully at the scarlet sword light ahead shuddering, its words were harsh the moment it spoke human tongue, "Human elite, you are not allowed to kill me… us daemons had an agreement with humans! You break it if you kill me, and war shall follow!"

Jiang He: "…"

Could you not shake so much when you say that?

To think that the Graywolf King of Mount Dadong was actually such a wuss.

Still, the Graywolf King was not to blame. It was Jiang He being exceedingly fearsome, slicing through the Cardinal like chopping vegetables with a wave of his hand—who wouldn't lose their nerve at such a sight?

Jiang He then had a thought.

A spirit wave conducted into the Graywolf King's ears from the Scarlet Flame Sword then. "Come back!"

The Graywolf King promptly turned around and returned to the slope without a word. It could see that the corpses strewn over the ground had vanished already, and only that accursed baldie and that 'Jiang He' or whatnot standing ahead.

It was certainly less scared right then.

With the agreement between humans and daemons, would Jiang He dare to attack him?

Was he not afraid of Feral unrest across the country if he killed it?

The Graywolf King promptly recovered its boldness at that thought, and spoke flatly, "You are Jiang He? This king heard the Cardinal of the Sky Demon Cult mention you before. Since you are divine-tier, you have the right to work with this king. Either way, it does not matter who this king joins forces with to open the heritage site… eh?"

The Graywolf King's figure shuddered even before it finished.

Jiang He was now holding the Scarlet Flame Sword with his hand, which had extended up to thirty meters. The tip of the sword was aimed at the Graywolf King's head, with scarlet flames ablaze over it, breathing and exhaling Sword Qi with sizzling sounds…

Even though the Sword Qi was not charged yet, the Graywolf King's scalp was already split apart, with blood dripping down from it.

"A vermin, trying to negotiate with me?"

Jiang He replied coolly. "Be a good dog, open the heritage site, and I'll keep your corpse complete."

"If you don't, see you on my dining table!"

"You would dare to kill me?"

The Graywolf King growled in rage. "The agreement is signed between the Golden-Winged Roc and the Dragoncroc Emperor with your human elite, with many divine-tier humans and Feral Kings as their witness!"

"If you kill me today, the Dragoncroc Emperor and the Golden-Winged Roc would stir unrest in days to come and war against you human elites!"

"The Golden-Winged Roc… stir unrest? A war of elites?"

Jiang He smiled faintly and whipped out colossal 'chicken-wing' with a wave of his hand, chuckling, "Don't worry—there won't be unrest."

After all, I've already grilled the Golden-Winged Roc. What unrest could it stir?

And though the Dragoncroc Emperor was still around, Jiang He just need to make a trip in the next few days when he felt bored, and ask why it was spying on him back then…

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Chapter 232: Daemon Heritage Site

How large was the Golden-Winged Roc?

Its wingspan was almost 200 meters, and its single leg was a dozen meters long—almost the size of the Graywolf King.

Indeed, Jiang He looked rather funny as he held the thirty-meters Scarlet Flame Sword on his right hand and held a massive 'drumstick' with his left.

"No!"

"That's impossible!"

The Graywolf King growled, staring tightly at the supermassive 'drumstick'. "The Golden-Winged Roc is one of our two Feral Emperor's and powerful. It can't die!"

It was neither willing nor daring to believe it.

If Jiang He could kill even the Golden-Winged Roc, what was itself in comparison?

"There's no connection between 'powerful' and 'can't die' now, is there?"

Jiang He had a few bites of Golden-Winged Roc meat before stuffing the massive 'drumstick' back inside his System Backpack, saying coolly, "Still, that bird was a Feral Emperor, and some faint traces of its qi should still linger in its meat even after I grilled it. Being a Feral, your senses towards this stuff is not weak now, is it?"

The Graywolf King said nothing.

It had definitely sensed a mysterious pressure from the giant 'drumstick'—it was the presence of a higher being, and yet it still did not want to believe it. "That's impossible," it retorted furiously. A mere divine-tier like you would never be able to slay the Golden-Winged Roc."

"So what if I am?"

Jiang He rattled the sword in his hand and held it over the Graywolf King's neck, giggling coolly. "I've killed rank-sevens when I was rank-five, rank-eights and rank-nines when I was rank-six. I've even killed the Black King Drake of Chongming Island when I was rank-eight!"

"Heck, on the second day I reached rank-nine, I killed three Feral Kings in quick succession: The Red Toad King of Lake Kanas, the Golden-Crowned Black Eagle of Mount Tian, and the Violet-Crowned Golden Eagle of Mount Kunlun."

"Is it too much to believe that I can kill the Golden-Winged Roc when I reach divine-tier?"

Graywolf King: "…"

It felt its living perspective turned upside down.

Are you for real, brother? Why does it sound like a fantasy?

It was aware of the Black King Drake's death, but it was not about the demise of the Red Toad King, the Violet-Crowned Golden Eagle, and the Golden-Crowned Black Eagle. After all, there were no items like phones with which Ferals could relay information, which was why it was understandable that news travel slow amongst them.

Snikt!

Jiang He rattled his sword again.

The Scarlet Flame Sword gently brushed the Graywolf King's neck then, slicing apart fur and skin, and blood flowed out.

Panicking, the Graywolf King screamed, "Calm down, Jiang He, please calm down. This king will open the heritage site, this king will open it right now…"

Pow!

Jiang He slammed his palm into the Graywolf King's belly, making it cough blood and sending it flying over a hundred meters while he laughed coldly, "Keep calling yourself king in front of me, won't you?"

Shuddering, the Graywolf King rose from the dirt and carefully returned to the ravine. The twentyish high-ranked Ferals that had been nestled on the banks of the ravine were now lying prone on the ground, afraid to move.

Nonetheless, with a nonchalant throw, Jiang He released the Scarlet Flame Sword into the air. Thunderbolts and fire hence intertwined in the night sky, turning into rains of Thunderflame Sword Qi that descended, engulfing every Feral.

Second Style of the Three Thousand Calamities—Thunderflame Calamity!

There was no lack of rank-eight and rank-nine Ferals in the cluster of Ferals, but they simply could not fend off the Thunderflame Sword Qi. Hence, after a wave of screams were heard, all that was left were corpses.

After all, these high-ranked Ferals had killed untold numbers of soldiers when they attacked Yuzhen before.

If they were not killed and allowed to cause Feral unrest, there was no telling how many would die.

Jiang He therefore would not hold back at all when killing them.

"No!"

The Graywolf King reared its head and howled at the moon, before roaring, "Jiang He, I've agreed to open the heritage site for you! Why would you slaughter my brethren?"

Its aura strengthened as it howled. Then, as if moonlight itself was drawn to him, its crystalline rays descended, dyeing the Graywolf King's gray coat pure-white.

Its eyes began to glimmer in redness.

Its devilish, bright-red gaze was just like blood.

Most of the high-ranked Ferals in Mount Dadong were Feral Wolves. How could it not be furious now that all of them were slaughtered?

Awoooooo!

The Graywolf King howled at the moon once more before its body instantly turned into a blur as it lunged at Jiang He.

Even so, Jiang He did not even charge his true Qi, and simply punched out in response.

With a dull pow, the blurred figure of the Graywolf King was sent flying backward over several hundred meters, slamming heavily into the ground.

Jiang He then moved, his body blurring into a shadow as he slammed into the ground beside the Graywolf King and slammed one foot on the Feral King's head. Even if it was over a dozen meters long, the Graywolf could not free itself no matter how it struggled under Jiang He's foot.

Its head was pushed underground by Jiang He's stomping, but it kept struggling wildly. Even without using True Qi or mana, Jiang He's physical strength alone was now Golden Pellet-pinnacle. If categorized according to standard tiers, he was more than a match for divine-union pinnacle individuals, which was the third-level of divine-tier. How was the Graywolf King supposed to free itself?

Even so, the beast did not give up. Starlight descending from the skies increased even as it struggled, almost forming a screen of light!

Rather surprised, Jiang He exclaimed in shock, "Is that… daemon cultivation?"

He stared at Graywolf King with a surprised look.

Absorbing the moon for cultivation—was it daemon cultivation or an ability developed after the Graywolf King ascended as a Feral King?

Nonetheless, he lifted his foot… and slammed a punch into the Graywolf King's head.

Thud!

A dull echo of colliding steel echoed, knocking the Graywolf King to a daze, and it actually stopped struggling for a while.

"Oh?"

"The claim that wolves have bodies of steel does hold some truth. I punched out with a third of my strength just now, but I didn't actually split your head?"

Sneering, Jiang He then said, "Stop struggling, Graywolf King.

"Didn't you understand what I said before?"

"Be a good dog, open the heritage site, and I'll let you have a quick death. Or I'm grilling you after you die!"

The Graywolf King only rose to its feet after a while. Furious and humiliated, it roared, turned and started running again.

Swish!

Jiang He's sword shot out, instantly cutting off both of its rear legs!

"Trying to run?"

"Could you even escape if I didn't allow it?"

The Graywolf King despaired!

This was too much!

It would never win.

It would never escape.

What was it supposed to do?

Now that things had come to this, all it could do was trade for a dignified death—after all, it felt overwhelmingly miserable at the thought of being killed and then grilled for food like the Golden-Winged Roc.

"Jiang He!"

The Graywolf King growled. "Are you a man of your word?"

"I will open the heritage site for you, but after I die… you are not to eat my body!"

"No, that's not enough—you must bury me! I am a Feral King, I don't wish for other Ferals to consume my corpse…"

Jiang He was rather taken aback.

This wolf… actually desired resting in peace?

Nodding, Jiang He agreed to that condition.

In fact, the Graywolf King did not even have to tell him—Jiang He would have done that himself anyway. After all, would it not be a waste to just throw away a Feral corpse without eating it? He would carry it home and plant it in his farm, and it might eventually grow into a powerful pet too.

After all, as a beast tamer, was it not reasonable that he would 'tame' a few more pets?

Meanwhile, although the Graywolf King had lost both its rear legs, Feral Kings were capable of flight.

It hence took to the air and landed beneath the ravine.

Jiang He strode out, landing at the depth of the ravine alongside the Feral King, noticing immediately that the Yuan Qi here was extremely concentrated and up to five times that of the outside. Though it was not as outrageous as it was in a Secret Realm, it was very frightening already.

"I'm the first to discover this heritage site, benefiting from it despite not entering it. It was how I evolved into a Feral King, and because the cultivation method I used came from the heritage site, that is why the strength I cultivated must be used to open it."

Now, the Graywolf King thought that it had nothing to hide, and so stared at Jiang He even as it said, "Jiang He, I'm dying anyway, but I could have refused to help you open the heritage site and avoid compromising even in death. Therefore, I hope you would spare the thousand-wolfpack of Mount Dadong after obtaining the treasures in the heritage site, since they are not high-ranked and no threat to humans."

"Sure."

Jiang He agreed, saying "Even I am unwilling to deal with such ants. Still, they are Ferals, and others would attack them even if I don't. I wouldn't care if other martial arts come up the mountain to train."

That said, would normal martial artists training in the mountains have the strength to kill wolfpacks?

And as for those wolves…

Many of them are the Graywolf King's descendants, and they could survive as long as Jiang He was not personally slaughtering them.

The Graywolf King then flailed the stump that had been its feet, squeezing out some of its blood.

Then, it opened its mouth…

Whoosh.

And a daemon pellet flew out of its mouth.

The pellet exuded a weak Daemon Qi, bombarding the bottom of the ravine.

"Is that… the daemon pellets of myths?"

Jiang He was stunned. Could this be the real daemonic cultivation?

Having gained daemonic cultivation, not only was the Graywolf King's improvement in ability rapid, it had even refined a daemonic pellet—not even the Golden-Winged Roc had been capable of that.

"That was why the daemons must have existed even in the era of Qi Refinists… the fox spirits and other creatures in various mythical tales must have existed before, didn't they?"

In that very moment, Jiang He's thoughts went into overdrive as he recalled many divine myths.

Was that stuff real or fake?

"Hold on…"

"The daemons in myths could take human form after a certain extent of cultivation. If I got my hands on daemonic cultivations for Dumbo and the others to cultivate, would they turn human too?"

Jiang He's gaze lit up.

Dumbo…

That was fine, since it was a dog whether it transformed or not.

However, the willow tree in his house… had such a loveable tender voice. Would it become a loli if it transformed in the future?

Boom!

Just as Jiang He's imagination spiraled, the heritage site at the bottom of the ravine opened. With a dull boom, a phenomenon shout into the skies, and an exceedingly concentrated Daemonic Qi rushed up towards the horizon. The night sky that had been filled with the pure whiteness of moonlight a moment ago instantly turned pitch-black at that!

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