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

12. 361 - 392

Read Everybody is Kung Fu Fighting, While I Started a Farm Chapter 361 - Zero Void in Martial Arts online for free - NovelFull

Chapter 361: Zero Void in Martial Arts

After that, it was time to take blood samples.

Being a rank-nine martial artist, Elder Mu was the most powerful among the professors and specialists of the Superpower Research Department.

However, he rarely fought actual battles since he would be involved in scientific experiments throughout the year, which was why he was slightly weaker compared to rank-nine martial artists who wandered through the wildlands. Be that as it may, being a rank-nine martial artists meant that he was still in a class of his own within the Hua Nation.

And yet, to his chagrin, he realized that… he could not draw the blood of the two scale dragons!

To be precise, it was not that he failed, but rather, the needle fashioned from S-grade alloy could not pierce the two scale dragons' scales.

Both scale dragons were physically stronger than other Ferals—it was especially so with the scales that covered their bodies, which were harder than S-grade alloy.

Still, not one to believe in bad luck, Elder Mu charged his True Qi and burst out his full power. Needle in hand, he stabbed forth, and…

Snap!

The needle cracked.

Elder Mu hence turned awkwardly to Jiang He, who was musing to himself…

He could not stay here every day to help the Superpower Research Department take blood samples, could he?

Perhaps he could fashion a mystic item that was similar to a syringe needle?

Would they have to be afraid that it would not go through if he did make something like that?

Still, although he might just be musing to himself, it appeared completely different in the eyes of the two scale dragons. The green one shuddered, clenched its teeth, and steeled itself before saying, "My scales are too hard… how about I peel some off? You could try drawing blood again after that."

Crunch!

A crisp sound.

It had extended its talons, seizing a single scale at its belly and directly peeled it off.

Elder Mu brought out another S-grade alloy needle then and managed to draw a syringe full of blood after much difficulty. "Aside from their scales, these scale dragons are physically powerful as well," he could not help saying. "It would be difficult to stab the needle into their flesh unless one is a rank-nine elite."

"From now on, I would have to personally take blood samples from these scale dragons… Eh?"

Even before Elder Mu finished, the green scale dragon had opened its mouth and breathed out something resembling a flying shuttle.

That mystic item stabbed into the spot where he had peeled off the scale, causing it to bleed profusely. Then, it extended its talons to drag out the flying shuttle and bore with the pain to control its bleeding, saying, "With this, it would be much easier to draw blood."

Then, it turned toward the silver scale dragon.

It still had not learned how to speak and could only communicate in spirit.

As it did so, it snapped off a piece of it and conveyed, "I had only recently condensed my Daemonic Pellets and did not have the time to strengthen myself physically. That is why you could take my blood by just peeling off a scale."

Elder Mu and the others were quite pleased.

The female professor turned toward Jiang He, respect written all over her face as she sighed, "As expected of the strongest beast tamer in the country, Mister Jiang! I am utterly impressed by your technique!"

Jiang He was speechless.

How did beast-taming become involved as well?

He did not even tame these two, alright?

Even so, he could not be bothered to explain and simply smiled. "Elder Mu, Professors. Use these two Ferals for now, and give me a shout if they die—I'll get you too more."

"No!"

Even before Elder Mu could say anything, the green scale dragon was already nervous. Its two-meter body promptly tightened into a straight line as it yelled at Jiang He, "Lord Jiang He, we are quite lively and would not die so easily!"

"As long as you provide us with a handful of spirit stones and medicinal pellets that replenish blood, we could survive a handful of years even if you draw our blood every day."

Elder Mu and the others were stunned.

Was that beast… really a dragon?

Wasn't his survival instincts a little too powerful?

He said: "We here at the Superpower Research Department have developed blood supplement medicinal pellets, and we could provide a lot of those, although… I have not heard about spirit stones."

"Spirit stones are basically Orirocks."

Elder Mu could not help smiling bitterly at Jiang He explanation, saying, "Orirocks are too valuable for us to provide steadily… Eh?"

Even before he finished, he literally jumped in shock.

With a huge wave, Jiang He had thrown a huge pile of spirit stones on the floor.

There were around five hundred of those, and they were all inferior-grade spirit stones.

Right now, Jiang He had no use for superior-grade spirit stones, let alone inferior-grade ones.

Even so, would Elder Mu dare to receive it?

To his impression, Orircoks were extremely valuable and priceless. Nonetheless, Jiang He waved him off and smiled. "It's fine, I have too many of these and it's a waste of space just keeping them around. Use these for now, and ask for me for more if needed."

Since Jiang He was being insistent, Elder Mu was forced to accept the spirit stones. "With these two scale dragons, the initiation pellets you requested for would be ready in three days," he said. "I'll arrange for it to be delivered to you with a fighter plane."

"There's no need."

Jiang He replied, "It's too troublesome using a plane. Just call me when it's ready, and I'll have my dog take it."

After that, Jiang He left the Superpower Research Department and headed to the Martial Arts Department (MAD), where he found Lin Tianzheng.

Lin Tianzheng then gave him a summary of the partnership with the Ten Thousand Swords Sect.

Jiang He nodded and said, "The Ten Thousand Swords Sect has done well, even though they have their personal agenda. Still, it's good news for the Hua Nation—the promotion of both martial arts and immortal arts should not be delayed. I have a feeling that there would be a chaos in the future and it is only through strength that we would get the disposition to survive the turbulent times."

Hence, Jiang He took out some resources he would not be using and gave it all to Lin Tianzheng.

There were several hundred thousand inferior-grade spirit stones and a hundred thousand spirit stones along with various mystic items and soul items.

After all, Jiang He had too many of those.

His System Backpack was getting a little stuffed especially after he looted the treasure vault of the Green Hill Foxes.

Stunned, Lin Tianzheng was left speechless for half a beat.

He then rose to his feet, offering Jiang He a bow and a fist-palm salute. "Many thanks, Mister Jiang."

"It's a mere trifle. Not worth the mention."

Jiang He waved him off, saying quietly, "Now, the secluded immortal sects, demonic sects, and daemon cultivators would keep their act together for a while. Now is the best timing to promote martial arts and immortal arts for widespread development—you must seize this opportunity well, Elder Lin."

Lin Tianzheng agreed and personally escorted Jiang He out of the MAD.

After that, Jiang He turned into an arc of Sword Qi and returned to his village.

It was afternoon by the time he got home.

He relaxed with a bath, then went downstairs to find that both Sora and Boa Hancock had already prepared dinner.

Then, after finishing his dinner, Jiang He called the seven fairy maidens whom he had recently planted, and asked them to put up a performance for him. Even so, something unexpected happened—

"What the heck!"

"What are you doing?"

"Where are those lips sucking?"

"Is this what you mean by putting on a performance?"

Jiang He scowled, which startled the seven fairy maidens. Color draining from their faces, they promptly knelt in a single roll and tearfully apologized.

Jiang He's heart immediately softened…

He was a kind person who least desired seeing that happen to women.

Moreover, they were seven fairy maidens who were absolutely ravishing, which was why he simply breathed a long sigh and said, "I'm not getting angry for no reason, but your bites hurt… that's right, you. Come here and try again—use your tongue and not your teeth. That's right, that's it…"

"Truly, young and dangerous!"

Meanwhile, at a small hotel at the Xijiang city base.

Ooom!

An overwhelming aura suddenly burst forth, permeating heaven and earth.

The aura was not obvious to average Joes, but those above rank-seven could clearly detect it.

Startled, he divine-tier elite who was keeping watch over Xijiang promptly took to the skies and looked at the hotel from afar. Wariness was written all over his face as he muttered, "So powerful… Is that the aura of a Void-tier?"

"No, I've met Minister Wang before, and not even his aura is that powerful!"

The divine-tier elite was about to get closer to investigate and a soft breeze gusted. In the next instant, a handsome youth wearing white clothes appeared before him—his aura went as deep as the seas, and it felt like he was a black hole that kept absorbing the Yuan Qi around him.

The youth smiled. "No need to be surprised. I am merely passing by and have kept myself confined for several days to ascend since I felt an epiphany."

Whoosh!

Turning into a breeze, the white-clothed youth disappeared into Xijiang city base.

His figure flickered a few times before he arrived several hundred kilometers away. All smiles, he chuckled and said, "Zero Void… Is this the power of Zero Void elites in martial arts? It's no wonder so many martial artists would want to reach it despite it being so difficult. From how I see it, Zero Void is even more profound than Yuan Spirit and could definitely match Convergence-tier."

"Still…"

After feeling around for a bit, the white-clothed youth could not help cursing quietly.

"Zero Void in martial arts creates Secret Realms… What nonsense! Why the hell can't I do that, then?"

The white-clothed youth was indeed the guru of the Tantra Sect!

To be precise, he no longer held that title—after leaving aside all bonds, leaving the mountains and returning to the profane realm.

Having reached the limits of his lifespan before, his bodily functions and longevity improved after he ate two of Jiang He's eggplants. Then, after several days of cultivation in seclusion, he finally ascended to Zero Void. Nonetheless, right after he ascended or found out what has been happening out there, he flew northwest with irrepressible excitement. "Brother Jiang He would definitely be pleased if he knows that I've ascended."

"Moreover, I could help him guard the Stargate after I've improved… after all, he is only a novice Yuan Spirit right now and having him do so alone definitely puts a huge pressure on him."

Taking out his satellite phone, he was about to dial Jiang He's number for a heads up when his eyes abruptly narrowed, and he looked up towards the distance.

A Buddha's radiance had arisen at the distant horizon, dyeing half the skyline in a golden hue.

Iridescent clouds wafted amidst the light and a Buddha's figure sat cross-legged upon it as he flew toward the guru.

The man's figure was burly, and he wore a kasaya gleaming in Buddhist glow. His hands closed, he chanted Buddhist mantras before speaking, "Amitabha. You and I are connected by Karma."

The white-clothed guru's expression changed at that.

He did not know the person in front of him.

Even so, his aura alone was pressing down on him, suffocating him.

That golden glow over his body, as well as his physique that was comparable to jade and gold, was the manifestation of a 'golden body with a ceramic glaze' as spoken of in legends.

Not daring to slip up, the white-clothed guru promptly returned his greeting and said, "Guru, to tell the truth, I am from a Buddhist sect myself, but I had recently put aside my monkhood to retreat among the profane…"

The Buddha figure promptly frowned in displeasure even before he finished, and coolly scolded, "How dare you turn your back on the Buddhist's path?!"

As he spoke, a massive hand grasped toward the white-clothed guru as a voice resonated, "It is a grievous sin to betray a Buddhist sect. Still, I would not argue with you as we are connected, and if you acknowledge me as your master and cut ties with your wicked past, you would naturally gain salvation."

"Hello? Hello?"

"What's up?"

A voice abruptly spoke from the other end of the white-clothed guru's satellite phone then.

He had forgotten to hang up on his call just now and Jiang He had answered.

Jiang He had clearly heard the commotion on the other end, and exclaimed in surprise, "Brother, what is actually going on?"

Ka-boom!

The great hand extended from the Buddha's glow descended—it was the divine manifestation of one's Buddhist path called the Realm of Buddha's Palm.

After he seized the white-clothed guru with a single move, his quarry was unable to free himself no matter how he tried to struggle, and so he had to admit defeat right then and say, "Guru, may I bid my friend farewell before that?"

Smile bitterly and sighing, he then said, "Jiang He, I have just reached Zero Void in martial arts cultivation and I was just about to celebrate with you over some drinks… but now it seems we have to call it off."

There was clear bitterness in his smile.

He had reincarnated for three lifetimes, each of which he lived as a monk.

Now that he had left everything behind and carved a life of his own, he was forced into monkhood again!

Was he really never escaping the life of a monk for all his existences?

Meanwhile, over the other end of the call…

Having a general idea of what the commotion over there is about, Jiang He promptly barked angrily, "Bro, turn on your speaker. I really want to see for myself which bald donkey has the guts to force you to become their disciple!"

After that, Jiang He unleashed a tirade of curses until the satellite phone on the other shook, even laughing coldly, "Mongrel, release him right now. Don't you believe Mister Jiang here would snap your neck tomorrow if you don't give me face?"

Crack!

A Buddha glow flashed.

The white-clothed guru's satellite phone was instantly smashed into pieces as the Buddha figure appeared slightly angered, growling, "How dare that brat mouth such insolence… only the Eighteenth Level of Hell could purify him off his skins for his insults to our sect… Eh?"

Still, at his own words…

The Buddha figure suddenly appeared taken aback.

Turning towards the white-clothed guru, he frowned as he said, "The person communicating through the charm called himself Mister Jiang. Could he be…"

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Chapter 362: Immortal Arts, Martial Arts

"That was Jiang He?"

After three lifetimes of reincarnation and centuries of monkhood, the white-clothed guru who got off the mountain after much difficulty to search his soul was feeling utterly indignant right then. He merely laughed coolly at the other monk's words and did not answer.

In fact, he was already sweating all over.

Screw me!

Brother Jiang He is still that fearsome!

You don't know what tier the one before me is, and you're already scolding him?

However, the guru did not actually answer because he wanted some degree of protection. What if he revealed details about Jiang He to that monk, and the monk went off for revenge?

Meanwhile, the monk with Buddha's glow frowned before asking again, "His last name is Jiang. Is he Jiang He?"

The white-clothed guru did a double take for a moment, but managed to quickly say, "No, he's not Jiang He."

Though he could refuse as much as he could, that blank look just now had betrayed him. Still, the guru could not be blamed here—he had only been a high monk though he had lived for three reincarnations, so had he even lied before?

Most importantly, he had been startled.

After noting the white-clothed guru's expression, the monk's whole body shuddered as he exclaimed in panic, "Is he really Jiang He? The one who flattened the Penglai Sect alone, forced the Foxes of Mount Changbai to seal their mountain, and wiped out the Green Hill Foxes?

His Buddha glow and iridescent clouds promptly faded.

Perhaps because he had been frightened, the monk forgot to maintain his otherworldly image, exposing his true form: a stout but strong monk.

On the other hand, the white-clothed guru who was still caught in the Realm of Buddha's Palm appeared taken aback and asked in shocked, "What are you talking about?"

At Jiang He's house in Jinyintan Village, near Lingzhou City—mouthing a tirade of curses, Jiang He stepped out of his mansion with the Mosquito Cutter in hand. He whipped out his communications jade charm and contacted Jin Sidao to ask about the Buddha Sect.

"Buddha Sect?"

"They have been residing in the west for a long time and rarely come out. However, they had sealed Mount Ling even before the Hundred Races invaded… have they revealed themselves too?"

Fine!

I'd asked for nothing!

Jiang He complained a little and hung up.

Even so, annoyance and slight anger filled his chest.

A monk from that Buddha Sect captured the white-clothed guru?

Did he intend to force the white-clothed guru into his sect? That said, the guru was quite the unlucky one… it was not easy for him to leave the Tantra Sect, but if he was captured by that Buddha Sect, won't he have to continue his monkhood again?

"It's like he was born fated to be a monk!"

Jiang He muttered, and he felt a little less irritated at that. In fact, he found it rather funny, and wondered what the look on the white-clothed guru's face would be like.

He then asked the Taixu Sect about it, who could only offer an identical answer as Jin Sidao's, and so Jiang He had to put away the Mosquito Cutter and give up… If he had no idea where the Buddha Sect was, how was he supposed to rescue the white-clothed guru?

"Whatever."

"Let him get caught or whatnot… he has already been a monk for three lifetimes, so being one for a few days more would not matter. Moreover, since that Buddha Sect have revealed themselves, there would traces that lead me to them eventually… Also, the Shaolin temple is historically a Buddha Sect as well, and I could ask them about it."

As for the Tantra Sect, however…

Jiang He had no intention to visit them.

He was aware of the Tantra Sect's history—despite their thousand over years worth of history, they merely spread martial arts and some Buddhist teachings, but did not actually have much to do with Buddha Sect histories.

Putting away his sword, Jiang He was ready to do a little bit of farming before sleeping when his eyes narrowed and he turned towards the distant horizon. A Buddha's light was rapidly flying toward his direction in the night, inside of which was a dwarfish monk.

Beside the monk was the youthful guru, dressed entirely in white.

Taken aback, Jiang He promptly went out to meet them.

The Buddha's glow paused in the night sky then and the white-clothed guru promptly flew to Jiang He's side. Looking upon him in astonishment, he asked, "Brother Jiang He, what happened in the twenty days when I cultivated behind closed doors?"

The white-clothed guru was beside himself in shock.

That Buddha Sect's elite who had cultivated a 'golden body with a ceramic glaze' was actually scared half to death after hearing Jiang He's name and had personally come knocking on his door to apologize.

On the way, he had even stuffed a ring filled with hundreds of spirit stones and two mystic treasures to put a good word in after meeting Jiang He…

'Did I confine myself for twenty years instead of twenty days?' the white-clothed guru thought then.

Meanwhile, Jiang He gave him a glance before exclaiming in surprise, "Zero Void in martial arts?"

Then, he added, "No rush, brother. Let's have a pillow talk after I shoo that monk away."

Opposite them, the monk was already sweating visibility on the forehead. Putting his palms together, he said, "Amitabha. Mister Jiang, this poor monk had been blind and unaware that this man is your friend. Please be understanding for this mistake."

Studying the monk, Jiang He laughed coolly, "A mere seven retribution Sufferance trying to walk all over me? Who gave you the guts?

The monk promptly lost all bravado right then.

He had left the mountains under orders from his master to seek those with karmic connection.

After all, the Buddha Sect had confined themselves in their mountains for a long time. Though it was now time for them to step out into the world and recruit some disciples, the monk ended up learning that Jiang He had trampled all over the Penglai Sect single-handedly. But even before he could relay the information he had gathered to his sect after asking around, he personally witnessed Jiang He beating up the Foxes of Mount Changbai.

On that day, the monk himself had seen with his own eyes how the battle unfolded and was truly stunned by the fight Jiang He had put up.

Of course, he was merely stunned inwardly.

The Buddha Sect possessed unfathomable strength and they would be fearless even against the Green Hill Foxes.

But how could he have imagined that in less than three days, Jiang He would have destroyed Green Hill as well? The monk himself had also rushed to the scene to watch the fight and cold sweat flowed out of his body at once when he personally saw it happening!

That fellow had such an easy time wiping out Green Hill!

The nine Mahayana Foxes of Green Hill had jointly invoked their immortal items and an immortal fox's corpse only to end up being crushed by Jiang He's heavenly thunderbolts, killing every last one of them.

Rumors hence blazed among the cultivators.

Word now was that Jiang He was a demon lord who would wipe out a sect at the slightest provocation. Even the Ten Thousand Swords Sect, whose casualties included one dead Elder, one dead vice-chieftain, as well as one dead six-retribution elite, still had to make amends and apologize by paying a huge sum of spirit stones and mystic treasures.

And right now, knowing that he had provoked Jiang He, how could the monk keep calm?

Sweating visibly above his brow as his pious heart was left uncertain, he quickly said, "Mister Jiang, this monk has offered some compensation. We could only hope that you could stay your hand."

Jiang He turned towards the white-clothed guru who nodded, saying, "He gave me a few hundred spirit stones and two mystic treasures…"

But even before he could finish, Jiang He was laughing coldly and saying, "A few hundred spirit stones and two mystic treasures?"

"Are you trying to chase off a beggar here, sir?"

All the monk could do then was wipe the sweat off his brow.

Jiang He then added, "Bring five thousand mediocre-grade spirit stones and five hundred superior-grade spirit stones, along with three premium-grade sage items and one demi-immortal item. Do that and I won't pursue this matter any further, or I shall make the trip to Mount Ling!"

Gritting his teeth, the monk acknowledged his condition before excusing himself and leaving.

His spirit seemed to have left his body as he flew west and certainly did not fill the skies with Buddha glow or iridescent clouds like he did when he first appeared…

Meanwhile, Jiang He brought the white-clothed guru into his mansion. After having Sora brew some Big Red Robe tea, he told the white-clothed guru about what happened recently over tea…

Of course, he did not mention the process of his own cultivation.

Still, the white-clothed guru did not press Jiang He on the matter and certainly did not dare to ask since Jiang He would not say a word. It was after half a minute of silence and a sip of tea that he said, "I had thought that I could help you watch over the Stargate after ascending to Zero Void, but that seems unnecessary now."

"You're too kind, Brother."

Jiang He's gaze shifted as his divine mind studied the white-clothed guru then and his eyes twitched a little after feeling out the former monk's Zero Void cultivation. "Brother," he asked, "could you show me what makes Zero Void unique?"

"It's a little stronger than I've imagined."

At those words, the white-clothed guru stepped out into Jiang He's yard. His aura stirred as his strength began to circulate and he said, "Martial artists would experience three changes when they reach divine-tier. As they ascend to the second level of divine-tier, divine tempest, True Qi is converted to Nature Qi. Likewise, once a martial artist reaches Zero Void, that Nature Qi would change once more into Yuan Qi."

As the white-clothed guru's Yuan Qi circulated, a nebula formed behind him.

After feeling it out, Jiang He found that the nebula was identical to a black hole that swirled endlessly, absorbing everything around it.

Then, the white-clothed guru added, "The most important part of Zero Void is to convert one's own cinnabar field and ocean of qi into a boundary of emptiness. The power from it strengthens oneself, greatly improving one's personal ability."

Ooom!

A unique power extended out of the white-clothed guru's right then.

Having felt it out carefully, "Opening a boundary of emptiness inside one's own cinnabar field and ocean of qi? Are you trying to create a little universe inside yourself? Would that boundary keep changing, and turn into a galaxy, star system or whatnot if your martial cultivation continues to improve?"

The white-clothed guru was dumbstruck.

He clearly had no idea what Jiang he was talking about and continued, "However, what lies beyond Zero Void exists only in legends. I have no idea how to cultivate to that level either, but I have a feeling that the Zero Void of the martial path is rather special."

Jiang He nodded and answered, "Yes, that's what I feel too. If categorized according to tiers, Zero Void should be an equivalent, but I sense that you could prove to be a match for a full-fledged Yuan Spirit despite being a Zero Void novice. If you could master it, you would give a full-fledged Convergence cultivator a run for their money, and any levels above Zero Void would probably correspond to Sufferance."

Be that as it may, that did not actually mean that martial arts were superior to immortal arts…

Instead, it made it clear that martial cultivation was more difficult than immortal cultivation.

Since a single martial arts tier was equivalent to two tiers in immortal arts, the difficulty in cultivating it would definitely be harder than both tiers added together. Moreover, the most important thing here was that there was yet to be a clear path on how to cultivate to the following level.

A question occurred to Jiang He then.

The martial arts were founded after the Era of Qi Refinists. The reason for it was because the immortals had embarked on a voyage across the stars and left Earth after Earth's Dragon Vein had been suppressed. As Spirit Qi began to dry up, the immortal sects, demonic sects, and daemon cultivators all sealed their mountains and stopped teaching immortal arts, leading to the gradual rise of the martial path.

However, who was the one who founded the martial path?

The founding master of Mount Wudang was the last elite on Earth to become an immortal.

But did he cultivate martial arts or the immortal arts?

Perhaps Jiang He should create a martial technique that was even more awesome?

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Chapter 363: Cheng Dongfeng's Joy

Noting that Jiang He was spacing out a little, the white-clothed guru could not help asking, "What are you thinking about, Jiang He?"

Coming to his senses, Jiang He had a sip of Big Red Robe and smiled, "I'm wondering which is superior: martial arts or immortal arts."

"All roads lead to Rome—be it martial arts or immortal arts, both seek the Truth."

The white-clothed guru tilted his head in thought for a long while before offering a frivolous answer.

Jiang He then asked, "Brother, the Tantra Sect has a long history—don't you have manuals for cultivations beyond Zero Void?"

The white-clothed guru shook his head and said, "We don't. According to the text we kept in our sects, the ancestral masters of the Tantra Sect had only cultivated up to mastery over Zero Void."

Zero Void was basically equivalent to Convergence-tier.

The ancestral masters of the Tantra Sect were quite the important figure around a thousand years ago too. At the time, the immortal sects, demonic sects, and daemon cultivators had already confined themselves to their own mountains, whereas martial arts had only started developing recently—being able to cultivate to that level was already impressive.

Then, Jiang He could not help recalling the three statues with human heads and tiger bodies, which he had seen before in the grand temple of the Tantra Sect…

A weird thought crossed his mind at that very moment. "Could your ancestral masters have been daemon cultivators?

A daemon founding a Buddhist Sect?

It was a little unlikely, was it not?

"What about the Shaolin Temple? Wasn't there a saying that all martial arts originate from Shaolin? Would they have superior martial arts too?"

The white-clothed guru shook his head again to gesture that he had no idea.

Jiang He then added, "What about Mount Wudang?"

"When it comes to age, Wudang's ancestral master would be much younger than you and Elder Guo, would he not? Did he cultivate martial arts or immortal arts?"

The white-clothed guru's eyes gleamed at the mention of Mount Wudang's ancestral master and he said, "The ancestral master of Wudang was born to train in martial arts. He was once a disciple of the Shaolin Temple who did not take the vow of monkhood before he eventually founded the path of Taiji and the Holy Grounds of Mount Wudang. He was challenged by the other Holy Grounds when he did—we, the Tantra Sect, sent our elites as well, but they were defeated by that man too."

"He was merely Void-tier at the time, but no one expected that a dozen years later, he relied on his own strength to defeat the many Sky Demon elites, hence revealing his peerless ability."

Feeling a thought coming to him then, Jiang He asked, "What was the cultivation of Mount Wudang's ancestral master?"

"Above Zero Void."

The white-clothed guru answered. "I was in the middle of a reincarnation cycle and was not a part of that battle against the Sky Demons. Still, in my conversation with Elder Guo, I heard him mention that the ancestral master of Mount Wudang would have reached the strongest level in martial arts, which is why he eventually gained the power to leave by splitting space itself."

"Of course, whether a tier beyond Zero Void exists is merely a hunch of mine. That ancestral master of Mount Wudang had only mentioned that once too."

Question marks appeared all over Jiang He's head.

What the heck?

The greatest martial artist?

Breaking space itself?

However, according to the Taixu Sect, the ancestral master of Mount Wudang was the last person who became an immortal.

Perhaps…

A person directly ascending above immortal after Zero Void?

The strongest level?

Breaking space itself?

It meant that he had grasped the mystery of spatiality, something which Jiang He himself could never achieve even if he overworked himself… and did that not mean becoming immortal lies beyond Zero Void?

Moreover, it did not mean that cultivating martial arts made it easier to become immortal, but that the martial arts system was simply incomplete—attempting to ascend was therefore much more difficult!

After all, when it came to immortal arts, there was a detailed division between Yuan Spirit, Convergence, Sufferance, to Mahayana: what a person should cultivate on each level and what to experience were distinctly different, but it was not so in martial arts.

As such, would it be that simple to achieve what one must accomplish over different immortal arts tiers, within a single martial arts tier?

Jiang He hence pondered.

When the puzzled white-clothed guru asked him about it, he breathed a long sigh. "Martial cultivation is very difficult, and it has not been that long since martial arts was founded. Most tiers are incomplete, which is why I want to develop a cultivation manual that fully explains the later stages so martial artists have a goal to strive for."

The white-clothed guru became solemnly respectful and said, "Brother Jiang He, on behalf of all martial artists in this world, I salute you with tea instead of wine…it sounds easy, but isn't accomplishing that incredibly difficult?"

Jiang He had another sip of Big Red Robe and sighed emotionally. "That is true. Creating cultivation manuals is seriously difficult and I know that very well, but for the sake of the futures of all martial artists, I would not be stopped from creating a path of martial arts no matter how hard it is!"

If push comes to shove…

I just have to use up some brain cells after my farm levels up!

Moreover, the limits and constraints his farm had would be a lot less after his farm leveled up. Creating a cultivation method then would not be that difficult now, would it?

Still, the white-clothed guru certainly had no idea what Jiang He had in mind. Even so, he admired Jiang He even more now and he finished his cup of tea with a single gulp, somberly saying, "You are truly peerless!"

After that, they chattered away idly over tea for over two hours. As dawn approached, the white-clothed guru put fist to palm and bade Jiang He farewell.

Though Jiang He tried to stop him, the white-clothed guru said, "I've only ascended recently, so I would be staying at Lingzhou City for a while to stabilize my cultivation. I could come to have a conversation at any time."

Whoosh!

He disappeared in a flash.

After seeing off the white-clothed guru, Jiang He entered his farm and began planting spirit stones as well as mystic treasures.

Right now, he had innumerable spirit stones and mystic treasures, and he would disregard anything a little inferior in grade… Jiang He made a general inventory then, and it appeared that after he received the spirit stones and mystic treasures of the Buddha Sect, along with the initiation pellets of the Superpower Research Department, he would earn around a billion Farm Points and could level up his farm then.

Jiang He yawned after planting all the spirit stones.

He did not sleep well after going through several tough fights recently and he was tired in spirit since he used the Twenty-Three Swords on multiple occasion.

"I'll collect the spirit stones later…"

"Moreover, my current irritations are resolved for now, so it's time to plan my resting hours—it would not do to have reversed days and nights on the long term."

With that thought in mind, Jiang He left the farm and headed to his bedroom.

Yeah.

He must plan his resting hours.

After all, as the saying goes, early to bed, early to rise, and it would not fly if he kept staying up for long nights.

"From now on, I'll wake up at half past eight, have breakfast, and go to work at the farm at half past nine. Then, I'll have a two-hour break at noon and continue farming in the afternoon until I get off work at six… Moreover, since I have not leveled up my farm yet, I could head outside for a trip and carry out my plan to do so."

Still…

When he woke up, Jiang He understood profoundly what the saying 'plans never catch up to changes' meant.

He checked the time on his phone while rubbing his eyes, which were blurred from sleep…

Gasp!

Jiang He could not help inhaling sharply. "It's already twenty-four minutes past one in the afternoon?"

"And here I was thinking I could go with a nine-to-five schedule… Whatever, I'll start tomorrow."

Jiang He headed downstairs for his lunch.

Sora was already washing the dishes while Boa Hancock cleaned up the house. As Jiang He leaned back against his sofa, he had the seven Fairy Maidens dance to entertain him.

That was when two powerful auras extended from the outside.

Soon, a bold voice spoke, "Mister Jiang. I am Heng Yuan of Mount Ling and I have come with my disciple to make amends."

Two monks were standing outside Jiang He's house, having stopped when he noticed the array outside Jiang He's house.

Jiang He hence stepped out to find the stout monk from yesterday with an older monk, who was wearing a kasaya while holding a shippei and appeared rather menacing. Holding up one palm, he chanted a Buddhist mantra, "Amitabha. Mister Jiang, Heng Yuan is graced by your presence."

"Guru Heng Yuan. Did you bring the stuff?" Jiang He smiled.

Even as he spoke, he studied the monk closely.

A full-fledged Mahayana.

His cultivation was not bad, and most importantly, his qi was exuberant despite his aged appearance. He must be accomplished even when it comes to physique, and was perhaps three or four retributions in Sufferance.

Likewise, the monk was also quietly studying Jiang He, his eyes gleaming at him just then as he grew in respect toward Jiang He.

He took out a Spatial Ring and said a bunch of stuff about how his disciple was blind and the like, but Jiang He waved him off impatiently, saying, "Guru Heng Yuan, I have accepted a token of sincerity from the Mount Ling's Buddha Sect. However, I would not speak of this further as I have other matters to attend to."

With that, he promptly turned and enter his farm.

Heng Yuan smiled stiffened at that, while the stout mount beside him whispered, "Master…"

"Silence!"

Heng Yuan barked, "We'll return to Mount Ling now!"

He could not help feeling furious despite his Buddhist discipline. Even so, it was not Jiang He's arrogance that angered him, but this disciple of his…

It was so heart-rending. Five thousand mediocre-grade spirit stones and five hundred superior-grade spirit stones…

There was also the three premium-grade sage items and one demi-immortal item.

Even with the Buddha Sect of Mount Ling's deep pockets, it was a major blood loss.

After leaving Jiang He's house, the stout monk growled, "Master, that Jiang He is so arrogant…"

Heng Yuan shot his disciple a look that cut him short, even adding, "Watch your tongue. Chaos has yet to descend upon this world, so the decision for our sect to reveal ourselves is a mistake in the first place. Mention not another word of this matter, and I will suggest that we seal our mountains once more when we return—anything could wait until the Buddhas come back."

[Ding!]

[100 Farm Points!]

[Ding…]

In the farm, Jiang He was absolutely busy, having to harvest batch after batch of spirit stones.

He worked hard until lunch when he received a call from Elder Mu, and he instructed Dumbo and Trumbo, "You two, head to the underground base outside Jingdu City and bring me the initiation pellets there. I have something to attend to at Lingzhou City."

Both Dumbo and Trumbo danced chipperly and left on a daemon cloud.

As for Jiang He, he got on the sports car he had not driven for a long time and headed out to Lingzhou City.

He sought out Cheng Dongfeng first.

Once they met, Cheng Dongfeng sweetly greeted Jiang He with the honorific 'grand-master', which made Jiang He smile and say, "I've come to you today mainly to give you something."

Cheng Dongfeng was delighted.

After all, the Jiang He of the present was absolutely impressive.

Even scraps from him was enough to make Cheng Dongfeng rich.

Be that as it may, his smile stiffened in the next instant—Jiang He had taken out over eighty mineral bottles and thrown them all over the floor, saying, "I know you like to collect bottles, so have these bottles I had recently used."

Cheng Dongfeng was dumbstruck.

Unsure if he should laugh or cry, he asked, "I'm not gathering your used bottles, grand-master, but the Origin Fluid you were… eh?"

His eyes suddenly widened at one of the mineral bottles, which was almost full.

He lunged towards it and opened the bottle cap.

A fragrant aroma wafted to his nose right then.

An almost full bottle of Origin Fluid?

Jiang He could not hold back his laughter and showed a look of envy, before sighing emotionally, "I really envy you when I think about it sometimes… you could be happy just over half a bottle of rank-nine Origin Fluid, while I can't feel the same way even if I had a whole hill of spirit stones piling in front of me."

Cheng Dongfeng, who was just happily counting his bottles, promptly did a double take at that, suddenly finding the bottles of Origin Fluid not that pleasing already.

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Chapter 364: The Purple Bamboo Forest of Mount Putuo

Jiang He stopped teasing Cheng Dongfeng when he saw the grief in his eyes.

Taking out a thousand inferior-grade spirit stones and dozens of initiation pellets then, Jiang He said, "Take these initiation pellets and spirit stones, and share them with Chief Duan and Commander Chen Jingzhou. It won't do for you three to be this weak when you have to stand guard over Lingzhou City."

Cheng Dongfeng was left dumbstruck.

There were a thousand inferior-grade spirit stones that piled over the tea table in his farm. However, he did not care much for the dozens of initiation pellets, since not many people know about that stuff.

"Jiang He… I mean, grand-master!"

Cheng Dongfeng's eyes were going red even as he stared at the pile of spirit stones. Even so, he held back despite usually acting as if money was more important than his life, and he gritted his teeth for a firm refusal. "Grand-master, one should not receive rewards one did not work for. Spirit stones are too valuable and I wouldn't dare to accept them."

"Why not?"

Jiang He laughed beside himself, saying, "That's not like you, Old Cheng."

At the same time, Cheng Dongfeng's face had flushed, though there was no telling whether he was embarrassed, or not accepting the spirit stones was too difficult for him. He started caressing the spirit stones just then, and though he could feel the texture with his palm, he abruptly turned away and closed his eyes to stop looking, even seething through his teeth, "I'm just not accepting it. Do I need that many reasons?"

"I have plenty of inferior-grade spirit stones."

Jiang He said. "Even superior-grade spirit stones would not work for me now, so these are no different from rocks to me."

Cheng Dongfeng turn back to sneak a look at the pile of spirit stones at that, even saying seriously, "Well, I'll accept these on behalf of Chief Duan and Commander Chen then… grand-master, what are these initiation pellets supposed to be?"

"It's a soul pellet that the Superpower Research Department has developed. It aids in the unlocking of a person's orifices after consumption. That said, I have eaten a dozen of these but it did not even unlock a single orifice for me."

Cheng Dongfeng appeared half-convinced, but picked up an initiation pellet and put it in his mouth regardless. He chewed it slowly, and was about to mention its texture when his face dropped.

He could even feel a curious energy spreading away from inside his body, and in the next instant…

Poof.

A crisp sound, and an orifice at Cheng Dongfeng's arm opened.

He promptly sat down in meditation, directing his energy flow for around three minutes as another orifice was reopened.

After a long while, he slowly opened his eyes and cried out in surprise, "Was… was this medicinal pellet called the initiation pellet? It's really divine… one pellet alone has unlocked two orifices for me, and from now on, the rate of Yuan Qi I could absorb and my strength output would strengthen a little."

Jiang He frowned, and asked, "That's it?"

"Don't underestimate these two orifices, grand-master," Cheng Dongfeng replied. "Little drops make the ocean—if I needed three months to cultivate to full-fledged rank-eight, I could do that in two and a half months now. It's half a month saved!"

"Moreover, opening an orifice means that one would recover True Qi quicker in a fight. If two were equally matched in a battle to the death, the one who can recover True Qi quicker would definitely be the last one standing!"

Saving half a month?

That did not mean much, did it?

Jiang He thought then, though his eyes widened and he gasped after he compared that to his experience. "Woah… I definitely could do a lot in half a month!"

After all…

It took him just half a month to improve from Yuan Spirit to full-fledged Mahayana.

Cheng Dongfeng could not help taking another initiation pellet then to unlock another orifice, saying, "The effect of the medicinal pellet is weaker now. I think I would only unlock on orifice after taking two, or even five pellets… still, my cultivation speed would shorten considerably if I could unlock ten orifices."

Envy showed all over Jiang He's face and he said, "Being weak is so nice. Unlocking three orifices after just eating two initiation pellets… I could not feel a thing even after I had dozens."

Damn it!

Cheng Dongfeng scowled even harder then, while Jiang He laughed out loud. "Just remember to share these spirit stones and initiation pellets with Duan Tianhe and Chen Jingzhou… oh, I have three Spatial Rings here with me too. Take them."

Jiang He had too many Spatial Rings and he had no use for them, not to mention throwing them away was a huge waste—therefore, it would be a good idea to gift the rings to people he was close.

After leaving Cheng Dongfeng's room, Jiang He was about to find Three Blades Lin to talk about the old days. He was not home, however, and it was said that he was cultivating behind closed doors to reach divine-union, the third tier in divine-tier for martial arts.

Hence, Jiang He whipped out his phone and asked Wang Siyu out.

She had improved seriously lately. Thanks to Jiang He's resources, both her martial cultivation and spirit strengthened incredibly and she had already reached rank-eight advanced, while her spirit was not inferior to rank-nine elites who grasped the Boundary of Wills.

Her spirit's improvement had strengthened her superpower to some extent as well, and if she be willing, not even a rank-seven grandmaster could hide from her mind-reading.

Naturally, her fire-type powers had improved even quicker.

Her spirit was equal to a top rank-nine elite who grasped the Boundary of Wills and her superpowers naturally reach the level to match a top rank-nine elite.

They had lunch, tea, and then had a break at a hotel for several hours. It was night by the time they stepped out, and after strolling about for a bit, Jiang He took out a secret immortal arts manual, saying, "This manual is for a fire-type technique. You are a fire-type user, so it would be very suitable for you to cultivate with. Try it… oh, and I have another thing to give you as well."

Jiang He held Wang Siyu's hand, took out one of the better looking Spatial Rings, and slipped it on her finger.

Bliss showed all over her face and she exclaimed, "Thank you… Kyah!"

She cried out in pain before she finished—for some reason, Jiang He had taken out the Mosquito Cutter and pierced her finger.

Wang Siyu was stunned. "What are you doing?!"

"Drawing blood, of course!"

Jiang He took a drop of her blood and dripped it on the Spatial Ring, explaining, "This is a Spatial Ring and could be considered a mystic treasure. It needs blood invocation before it could be used."

Wang Siyu was dumbstruck.

Grief showed on her little face.

Blood invocation?

You could have just said it—can't I prick myself with a needle myself?

Drawing a sword directly… how frightening that was.

Jiang He only reached home at eight in the evening.

Both Dumbo and Trumbo had already gathered the new batch of a thousand initiation pellets that the Superpower Research Department had cooked.

Jiang He hence harvested all the ripe spirit stones before planting the initiation pellets, and after a round count, he realized that it would take him around three days to farm all the initiation pellets and spirit stones he had.

On the other hand, he was not in a rush to plant mystic items or the Spirit Condensation Pellets.

After all, he could earn Farm EXP as well if he planted those after leveling up his farm.

"I can't loaf around in these three days either, though I could renovate the farm."

Jiang He had already decided on how he would renovate his farm.

He would make some an artificial hill, an artificial lake, a shed, and a purple bamboo forest around the Chinese-style mansion. He did not have to worry about the artificial hill and the shed, however, since there were a lot of those in the park within the country.

Calling Dumbo, Trumbo, and the Seven Bottle Gourd Brothers to him, he told them, "Go out for a bit tomorrow morning and find abandoned parks to get some artificial hills and sheds… Just find a unique boulder if there's no good-looking artificial hill and we'll plant it."

"As for bamboo forests, I just looked online and it turns out that there are three purple bamboo forests in the country: one is the Nanwutai purple bamboo forest at Mount Zhongnan, while the other is at Mount Putuo of the Wu Region. Just get me enough bamboos to make a forest."

Dumbo, Trumbo, and the Seven Bottle Gourd Brothers were delighted.

Being able to go out on a stroll was definitely good for them.

Soon, they were huddling together and whispering to each as they held a conference. Still, Jiang He could vaguely hear stuff like 'grill rack', 'condiments', 'no spicy food', 'bear' or 'wok'.

The two eaglets were listening on them while tilting their heads, thought they soon went to Jiang He, flapping their wings as they communicated psychically with a childish tone, "We want to go out to play too, master… We want to share the work as well."

Jiang He could not help laughing and said, "Alright, alright, you two can go with them too."

He then checked the time to find that it was almost dawn.

Considering that he did not carry out his 'early to bed, early to rise' plan, he quickly went to sleep.

However, once Jiang He left, Dumbo stood up on its rear legs, clapping its paws as it said, "Everybody, come over here… Do you remember what I said? Being outside is a rare chance for us, so we have to really enjoy ourselves… so let's split up to buy the stuff we need…"

"What, you don't have any money?"

"You trash. It's just some grill ingredients and you don't even have the money for that?"

Dumbo hence generously shared the cash worth several dozen thousands of dollars to everyone…

"You fifty, you fifty… give me that remaining fifty too."

"…"

Jiang He had slept all the way until noon the next day when he finally woke up.

That naturally left him sighing emotionally…

The 'early to bed and early to rise' plan was too difficult!

After heading downstairs to wash up, he arrived at the dining table when Sora approached him and said coquettishly, "Master, Trumbo left a letter for you."

"What the heck?"

Jiang He was surprised.

Trumbo wrote him a letter?

To tell the truth, it was more of a note than a letter.

Jiang he took the note that was folded into the shape of a small plan, and found that 'master' was written on the right wing and 'for your eyes only' was written on the left.

"For the master's eyes only?"

"Is Trumbo sick or something? Why would he act all mysterious instead of saying something directly?"

Jiang He swore under his breath as he unfolded the paper plane, only to find calligraphed fonts written neatly on it that read, "Your truly is aware of my masters' many bothers, agitation even, and thus unable to sleepeth at dusk. Thence, it is a hope of yours truly for the master's understanding over parting without one word of farewell bade."

Jiang He was left speechless.

What does this letter even mean???

It was neither archaic nor modern, and absolutely awkward to read.

Most importantly…'parting without one word of farewell bade'?

You two were just trying to slip out for a walk… couldn't you have waited until I woke up?

Report chapter

Chapter 365: The Pompous Dumbo

"I've got it!"

"Mount Putuo is within the Wu province, but it's not in the mainland and situated on the southeastern sea region of the Zhoushan Isles instead…"

"We could depart from the harbor of Qiantang River and head to the purple bamboo forest of Mount Putuo from there…"

In the wildlands beyond the Hangzhou City base, Trumbo used its feline paw to adjust its reading glasses that had no lens, while it used its other paw to swipe through his phone masterfully.

Beside the cat, Dumbo, dressed in its usual baggy pants, was holding its canine paws on its hips while standing on its rear legs, cigar in mouth.

After breathing in a puff of the cigar and choking until it was tearing up, it swore, "Bloody hell… other people tend to look so elegant when smoking cigars, so why am I choking when I smoke one? Looks I should smoke Chinese cigarettes instead of cigars."

When he was done cursing, he pointed at the Hangzhou City base, which was just nearby. "Well, what are we waiting for? Let's charge into the city, capture someone, and have them bring us to the Qiantang River harbor."

"No way!"

Trumbo said elegantly at his own pace, "We'll frighten the people in there if we entered the city with how we look—moreover, we can find the Qiantang River harbor on the map."

Holding up his phone, he started searching.

"The Qiantang River harbor is just twenty kilometers away from Hangzhou City… hold on, that's before the Revival of Qi. Because there had been too many Ferals in the waters, Hangzhou City was evacuated entirely. Now, it is eighty kilometers away from the Hangzhou City base."

"There is also a military base set up at the mouth of Qiantang River to repel aquatic Ferals."

Trumbo maintained a neutral look as he nonchalantly acted like an old scholar, saying, "We could head to the military base at Qiantang river and ask about the location of Mount Putuo."

"Can't you check that stuff online?"

Dumbo asked uncertainly, dropping his cigar.

Trumbo appeared a little embarrassed at that and lowered his head to ask, "I'm not sure about that north, east, south, west thingy showed on the map… that's why for now, we would have to get someone to lead us to the military base."

Dumbo was at first taken aback, before it started to howling with laughter while clutching its stomach, just like a dog.

At the moment, the Seven Bottle Gourd Brothers were playing around while up in the skies, the two golden eagles were soaring and circling the skies, chasing each other and having too much fun.

That was when a car honk echoed, followed by the screeching of brakes. Then, someone angrily scolded, "You blind fool! Do you have a death wish?"

Dumbo and Trumbo promptly turned toward the commotion and found several refurbished pickup trucks at the nearby road, while the Seven Bottle Gourd Brothers were just next to it.

All seven brothers were playing around without keeping an eye out for any vehicles, and they were almost hit by the trucks after they suddenly ran out on the road.

Seventh Brother pouted because of the scolding, feeling utterly aggrieved.

At the same time, Eldest Brother went up to apologize.

The driver, however, snorted coolly and continued scolding, "Where are your parents? You have a mother who had given birth to you, but no mother taking care of you? Who made you so brave that you would run out of the city to play?"

As a matter of fact, the region within ten kilometers outside most city bases were safe zones, with fighters or military forces culling any Ferals from time to time. After all, the people in the city base still needed to eat and the farms near the city must not be trampled over by Ferals.

Though some would manage to escape from time to time, most would be fine and no one usually made it out of the city.

"Damn it!"

Dumbo was cracking its paws and about to step out when it saw that the Seven Bottle Gourd Brothers were being scolded. Trumbo stopped it, however, and said nonchalantly, "Calm down. Eldest Brother and the others can handle it."

"They must be a party of mercenaries, but even the strongest of them is just rank-six intermediate."

Over on the other side, the Seven Bottle Gourd Brothers were not enraged, and they said in one voice, "Uncle, we don't have a mother."

Only then did the driver noticed that the seven brothers looked identical and was left astonished at once.

He called out to the other martial artists and Awakened then, and everyone immediately alighted to study the Seven Bottle Gourd Brothers. Someone even asked, "You boys don't have a mother? Could you have climbed out from a rock?"

Eldest Brother shook his head and said seriously, "We did not climb out from a rock. Gramps planted us from bottle gourds."

Everyone in the mercenary party were at first taken aback, but soon laughed out loud. The martial artist who had scolded the Seven Bottle Gourd Brothers first even extended a hand to pat Eldest Brother's head, chuckling sinisterly, "What the hell, these boys are such a laugh…"

"What the hell!"

Dumbo promptly kicked away Trumbo, who was still holding him back and barked, "How could I hold back?! They are bullying the Seven Bottle Gourd Brothers! I am not just going to sit and watch!"

In a flash, Dumbo turned into a puff of daemonic qi and arrived, slapping the martial artist into the dirt with its paw while smiling, "You blind fools! Do you want to die?"

The entire party of mercenaries were all petrified.

Then…

They started to tremble.

Trumbo flew toward them nonchalantly too, and hovered in the air as it adjusted its glasses and sighed. "Dumbo, you're going to have to do something about that Temper. Each of the Seven Bottle Gourd Brothers are a match for divine-tempest pinnacle martial artists, and they definitely could deal with those small fries."

The party of mercenaries all felt their eyes widening, disbelief written all over their faces.

Two… Feral Kings?

No!

Being capable of human speech meant that they were Feral Emperors!

Then, the two golden eaglets sensed what was going on below and descended as well.

It had been just over a month since they hatched, but since they had been cultivating with spirit stones every day, their ability improved very rapidly. Moreover, they possessed the bloodlines of divine beasts, which was animated the more their abilities improved. After having just weathered through the Four Lesser Retributions of the Nine Heavens, their menacing aura did not lose out to Feral Emperors.

And then there was their wingspans that almost reached eighty meters.

Plop!

The entire party of mercenaries all dropped to their knees.

"Hetui!"

Eldest Brother spat in disdain.

However, he released an air blade inadvertently with that single spit and the woods in front of him collapsed entirely.

That was when an aura arose from the Hangzhou City base.

The martial artist who was watching over the Hangzhou City base promptly rushed to the scene, his face falling after he sensed Dumbo, Trumbo, and the golden eaglets' auras. Afraid to get too close, he shouted from the distance, "Where have you come from, Ferals? How dare you strut outside Hangzhou City?"

Dumbo took the air above a daemonic cloud, staring at the martial artist as he sneered. "I'm Jiang He's dog. What is your name? And it's such a coincidence since I have something to ask of you."

"…"

That divine-tier martial artist did a double take, and soon came to his senses.

Jiang He's dog?

He had heard about it…

Carefully flying towards the group of beasts and children, he could not help gasping inwardly after discreetly studying Dumbo, Trumbo, and the two golden eaglets, and thought to himself, 'I heard that Mister Jiang Likes pets and had reared a dog and a cat, which are both Feral Kings… but it seems that the rumors are not to be believed—their auras have reached Feral Emperor already!'

"The two eaglets did not lose out by much!"

"Still, why are those seven children hanging around with Mister Jiang He's pets?"

As thoughts whirled in his head, he heard from Dumbo about Mount Putuo and quickly said with a solemn tone, "Dear… dog, there has been freakish incidents happening on Mount Putuo and frequent extraordinary phenomenon. Elites sent there to investigate had yet to return, and orders from above was that none must go there."

Dumbo's eyes promptly lit up at that.

Didn't that mean that things were getting lively over there?

Moreover, the elite guarding Hangzhou City could not stop Dumbo once he insisted. Hence, he led Dumbo and the others to the military base at the Qiantang River harbor, and pointed them to the right direction.

Hence, the dog, the cat, the two eagles, and the Seven Bottle Gourd Brothers all took to the skies and disappeared over the horizon.

At the same time, the divine-tier elite quickly sought out the one in command at the military base and reported the matter to the higher-ups, saying, "The dog, the cat, and the two eagles are Jiang He's pets. Likewise, the two children are very special and are perhaps prodigies whom Mister Jiang is grooming. Keep a close eye on the movements around Mount Putuo and try to contact Mister Jiang right away if anything unusual happens."

It was the eighth of December, which was a clear day.

Though the skies were clear over a thousand miles, the northwestern region was slightly chilly in December and some average joes were already putting on sweaters and long johns.

In his farm, Jiang he was dusting himself a little emotionally.

With Dumbo and the other rascals all gone, the house was quite empty. Most importantly, no one was helping him dig holes whenever he needed to plant something.

"Those rascals have been gone for two days without giving a call… I only told them to get some sheds, fake hills, and purple bamboo forest… why the delay?"

Jiang He cursed quietly as he stepped out of the farm.

He whipped out his phone to call Dumbo and Trumbo's phone again.

Both cat and dog had their own satellite phones.

Still, they were not within coverage area even after Jiang He had called them a handful of times.

Meanwhile, at the military base at the Qiantang River harbor, a military elite was standing upon an elevated spot, looking at Mount Putuo from afar.

A golden radiance had arisen from the mountain, dyeing half the skies in golden hue as multiple white clouds flew toward the peak.

The military elite thought nothing of the sight, however, since that phenomenon had been occurring every other day over the last half month and would diminish in a handful minutes.

A divine-tier elite had been sent by the military to investigate what happened but he never returned. Orders from above afterwards was to ignore Mount Putuo, even though the phenomenon was drawing the attention of immortal sects, demonic sects and daemon cultivators.

Be that as it may…

After five minutes, the military elite's face twitched.

That golden radiance, which dyed half the sky, had yet to fade.

Then, ten minutes passed, but the phenomenon still did not fade. Instead, there were echoes of Sanskrit resounding from the direction of Mount Putuo, and multiple powerful auras appeared in the distant horizon. There were collisions of terrible energy signatures as well, stirring waves over the nearby rivers and the Qiantang River to start rising.

Later, the military elite could hear a dog barking human speech, which sounded incredibly arrogant even from a dozen miles away—

"I'm Jiang He's dog! Who dares touch me?"

"If I have a single strand of fur dropping, everyone here must die!"

And then…

The terrible energy signatures instantly faded, and the waves of powerful aura that could shake the world were quickly withdrawn.

Within seconds, the golden radiance that filled the skies… was gone!

Report chapter

Chapter 366: The Purple Bamboo Forest of the Southern Sea

"I should plant some flowers and herbs around the mansion."

Back in his farm, Jiang He was sketching with pencil and paper.

"I should put a stone table and stone stools beneath the Elder Tea Tree of Enlightenment… hmmm, a normal stone table and stone stools would be a little degrading, so I should get something like the Eternal Jade of Warmth or the Eternal Jade of Frost. For cultivators, those aren't exactly treasures, and when I'm done here, I could get Jin Sidao to send me a set."

He then made of sketch of his idea on the paper.

It was only after he was finished sketching that he realized…

He could not even understand what he had drew.

"Hmmm…"

"It's a little untidy… but whatever, I don't know a thing about designing anyway. I could just get Big Onion Bro when I need him and have him help me with the design," Jiang He said as he crumpled the paper and threw it away.

He then turned toward the many spirit stones trees, which were dangling with thumb-sized spirit stones, which would be ripe in around an hour.

'Another four or five batches and the spirit stones would all be planted. Everything would be settled including the 1,000 initiation pellets and I could level up the farm afterwards,' Jiang He thought, and left his farm.

As he stood in his yard, he lit himself a cigarette and looked up at the skies towards the Stargate, his face twitching when he did so.

"Isn't the Stargate… getting wider?" he exclaimed in surprise.

Jiang He had not really been keeping an eye on the Stargate over the last half month and now that he looked closer, he noticed that the Stargate actually was much wider now, its diameter having widened to 15 meters.

Still, since the Stargate was just around ten thousand meters up in the air, Jiang He's divine mind could easily reach it.

As he scanned it with his divine mind, he noticed that the entire passage was much stabler than before. While only full-fledged Yuan Spirits could pass it before, it could now accommodate Convergence individuals.

"Hold on…"

"Only Convergence individuals?"

Jiang He could not help scowling at that thought and swore under his breath….

Damn it!

He had been too preoccupied with improving his cultivation before to fight the immortal sects, demonic sects, and daemon cultivators. Now that he ended up becoming a full-fledged Mahayana, he would cause the Stargate to crumble by just entering it—spatial storms and dimensional rifts or whatnot would definitely kill him when that happened.

"And I even talked about making time to visit the Sky Demons… How would I get to them now?"

"Should I hide inside my farm while Dumbo carries the farm, allowing it to bring me over?"

"No, that's not safe… A full-fledged Mahayana could journey across the stars physically without problems. Why don't I just walk up to the Sky Demons instead?"

Still, there was another problem.

The universe was vast.

While flight speed would increase considerably since there was no gravity in space, distances between cosmic bodies were counted in light years—so what if he could fly at twenty times the speed of sound?

"Right, my top speed is around twenty to twenty-five times the speed of sound. In space where there is no gravity, I could fly up to fifty times the speed of sound…."

Still, he would cover less than twenty kilometers in a single second even if he traveled at fifty times the speed of sound.

"In other words, it would take me five to six hours if I journeyed physically to the moon, or half a year to Mars."

Jiang He gave up on his idea after a little calculation.

Would he not be feeling lonely and isolated, flying half a year in the infinity that was space?

Of course, there were also things like super-long distance warp portals when it comes to space travelling, and a lot of problems would be spared if there was one. But the problem here was where on earth would he get something like that?

"That is why there are three ways to handle the Sky Demons right now."

"First, become immortal—my flight speed would greatly increase, and should I be able to grasp Dao and control spatiality then, is there a place I can't go even with the vastness of space?"

"Secondly, I could acquire an immortal item that manipulates space and use it to travel."

"Thirdly, wait for them to come over."

In truth, Jiang He would not actually mention ideas like waiting for an opponent to come to him because that was too passive.

"Hmm… actually, there is a fourth solution."

"If the Sky Demons can stabilize the Stargate, I should be able to do that too… I could travel through it once the Stargate stabilizes to some extent, though I'm not familiar with that stuff and I have no idea how I should stabilize the Stargate."

That was when Jiang He's phone rang.

And once he answered, he heard a rather familiar voice.

"Greetings, Mister Jiang. I'm from the military; my name is Li Jianguo."

"Li Jianguo?"

Jiang He did a double take, but soon remembered and laughed, "Chief Commander Li, yes? What is the matter?"

On the other end of the call, Chief Commander Li did not waste his breath and cut to the chase. "Jiang He, did your pets go to Mount Putuo?"

"Oh, yes."

Jiang He answered honestly. "Aren't we a little free lately? I was going to landscape my house for a bit, and since I heard that the purple bamboo forest of Mount Putuo is an incredible scenery, I was thinking about moving them to my house."

Chief Commander Li said nothing for a long while.

How…

Whimsical!

You are cutting down the purple bamboo forest in Mount Putuo and moving it to your house just because the scenery is nice?

Does that mean you would pluck the stars from the skies and put them in your house if you find them pretty?

He searched his words for a moment before saying, "Well, the thing is, there has been a string of unusual phenomena occurring at Mount Putuo lately…"

He then spoke of what happened, and Jiang He could not help laughing when the chief commander mentioned how Dumbo barked "I'm Jiang He's dog! Who dares touch me!?"

"That dog has learned how to use the influence of others, huh?" He said.

Chief Commander Li then added, "Afterwards, the phenomena on Mount Putuo disappeared since the elites there had stopped clashing. I've sent someone to investigate too, but it seems an invisible barrier had appeared ten kilometers out of Mount Putuo, and there was no getting past it."

"Oh?"

Jiang He's gaze changed as he repeated, "An array?"

"We can't determine what is going on at Mount Putuo, and out of concern for your pets and disciples, we've given you a call," Chief Commander Li said, and soon hung up.

Meanwhile, Jiang He appeared thoutghtful.

Mount Putuo?

Unusual phenomenon?

Arrays?

Could Mount Putuo be an immortal sect as well?

"No, if there was a sect on Mount Putuo, it would be a Buddha sect and not an immortal sect." Jiang He suddenly remembered… the purple bamboo forest of Mount Putuo did sound a little familiar!

"The Purple Bamboo Forest of the Southern Seas, wasn't it?"

"Guanyin's Bodhimanda?"

Whoosh!

Jiang He stood up and called in Sora, instructing her, "Wrap some dumplings for tonight. Wasn't the mutated wheat we planted last time processed into flour? I haven't eaten that yet, so let's have some of that to keep things fresh."

"By the way, add in some potato and beef filling. We still have that, right? I remember killing an old rank-eight ox which meat was quite good… As for potatoes, you could get it from the market."

Still, Jiang He was a little speechless upon the mention of potatoes.

He had not eaten any potatoes for three months.

But there was no helping it…

How was he supposed to eat it when all he got from planting were potato landmines?

Meanwhile, atop Mount Putuo, south of Qiantang river delta, in the southeastern isles of Zhoushan, oceanic winds were gusting and there was a melodious rustling of bamboo leaves at the bamboo forest with a purple hue.

Many elites were gathered there.

Most of them were Sufferance-tier, the weakest of whom were three or four retributions, while the stronger ones were seven or eight. They were all cultivators from major immortal sects, demonic sects, and daemon cultivators, having been split into groups of seven or eight.

Of course, the most eye-catching group was still Dumbo and the others.

After all, they consisted of a cat, a dog, two eagles, and Seven Bottle Gourd Brothers.

Dumbo was the strongest among them but though his auras could match Feral Emperors or True Childs, he was not an actual Feral Emperor. It was no exaggeration that the elites could kill them with a mere breath.

Even so, Dumbo was being absolutely pompous.

Standing on its rear legs, it was chewing on a cigar while wearing sunglasses…

Though the cigar heated its throat, the thing was thicker and larger, which makes smoking it a little imposing.

It took two puffs before looking around at the others and sneering. "Not leaving, people? Or am I going to have you escort you away?"

There was silence in the purple bamboo forest.

After a long while, a six-retribution cultivator said, "Mount Putuo is said to be Guanyin's Bodhimanda. Everyone has the right to claim the legacy she left."

That six-retribution cultivator was wearing a blood-colored robe.

His very aura contains the scent of blood and killing intent—he was obviously a cultivator from a demonic sect.

Nonetheless, Dumbo turned towards him and coolly said, "What is your name and what is your Sect? What is your cultivation, and what did you just say? Do repeat yourself if you have what it takes."

The six-retribution cultivator was gritting his teeth in frustration, his face flushing crimson. If a cultivator from another immortal sect had said that, he would have gone amok and fought with his life.

This dog, however…

He genuinely would not dare to provoke it.

One must know the owner even if they hit a dog, and this dog's owner was Jiang He!

Jiang He, who would murder and wipe out entire sects if one word rubbed him the wrong way!

However, while Dumbo appeared absolutely pompous, the dog was so frightened inwardly it could wet itself.

Damn it!

Why were there so many elites?

It was so frightening… but it wouldn't do if he didn't act pompous.

A single stray bolt from these morons' battles before almost killed it. That was why it had to mention Jiang He's name… to an unexpected effect.

The dog became confident all at once.

The way he could scold these elites without holding back could not be more delightful, even if they were endlessly more powerful than himself.

At that thought, it snuffed out its cigar and stood up again, then strode toward the misty Bodhimanda with the air of absolute cockiness, saying, "That Bodhimanda and everything inside belongs to my master. Who has anything to say about that?"

"Bottle Gourd Brothers, bigger eagle, smaller eagle—you guys get in first. Trumbo and I will stand guard here. I do want to see who would dare to offend our master!"

Soon, the Seven Bottle Gourd Brothers and the two eagles had entered the Bodhimanda shrouded in a misty Buddhist glow. The other elites looked at each other then, with one four-retribution cultivator saying meekly, "But… I was the first to discover the Bodhimanda on Mount Putuo."

Dumbo was dumbstruck.

Chapter 367: The Monkeys of Mount Huaguo

Whoosh!

A sword radiance cut through the skies.

With Royal Sword Flight, Jiang He soon arrived at the Zhoushan Isles.

The Zhoushan Isles were located northeast to the Zhejiang province and south to the Changjiang delta. They were a cluster of islands on the eastern seas located at the outer edge of Hangzhou, spanning 182 km from east to west and 169 km from north to south. They were the largest cluster of isles of the Hua Nation, and Peach Blossom Island which Jin Yong had written about was located among those isles too.

As for Mount Putuo, it was located at the southeastern seas of the Zhoushan Isles, though the island was not that huge—just thirteen kilometers squared.

Even so, Mount Putuo was also known as the 'Buddhist Realm of the Seas' or the 'Sacred Grounds of the Southern Seas'. Temples of various sizes were built on top of it, including the Temple of Mass Salvation, the Temple of Mystic Rain, the Shrine of Jagged Stones, and the Shrine of Spirit stones, each of which consecrated Guanyin.

It was once the most famous tourist spot of the Zhoushan Isles, with endless visitors frequenting it every year…

Of course, that was before the Revival of Qi.

Prior to that, there were even administration centers set up at the Zhoushan Isles. Aside from being a tourist spot, it was also the largest natural fishing harbor of the Hua Nation, and the Shenjiamen Fishing Port located there was one of the three largest fishing harbors in the world.

However, as oceanic Ferals rampaged after the Revival of Qi, every resident who were living at the Zhoushan Isles had moved to the mainland, and everything including the temples were abandoned.

And right now, Jiang He was standing atop the lighthouse at the Shenjiamen Fishing Port.

It was the highest spot of the Shenjiamen Fishing Port, and when he stood on top of it, he could clearly see Mount Putuo, which was just nearby.

Mount Putuo was nothing special when observed with one's physical eyes. Even so, once Jiang He infused his mystic energy into his eyes, he noticed that Mount Putuo was located beneath a gigantic radiant shroud, which was clearly an array.

Streaks of golden lights were materializing beneath the radiant shroud, along with thousands of other weird phenomenon.

Then, a figure flew in rapidly from the distance and landed beside Jiang He.

It was Lin Tianzheng.

After a little chat, Lin Tianzheng then quietly said, "There has been a lot of unusual phenomenon occurring from various locations in the nation. Intelligence personnel from the Jiangsu City base have also discovered a heavenly phenomenon on Mount Cangwu, where I've just returned from…"

Lin Tianzheng appeared weirded out at that and said, "There was actually a flock of monkeys in Mount Cangwu, each of whom were overwhelmingly powerful. While most of the monkeys were high-ranked Ferals, there were also over a dozen Feral Kings among them."

"Weren't you guys culling Feral Kings everywhere before?" Jiang He exclaimed in surprise then. "Did you guys managed to leave out Mount Cangwu? Hold on… you said that there were over a dozen Feral Kings, but what about Feral Emperors?"

"There aren't any."

Lin Tianzheng shook his head, saying, "That's what weird about it… I'm guessing that the dozen or so Feral King monkeys only ascended in the last half month. While we were aware of their presence early on, their king was just rank-nine—moreover, they preferred remaining in the mountain and rarely left it, which is why we would not target them."

Jiang He became quiet then.

To tell the truth, Feral Kings were not that powerful.

Even so, it was quite outrageous that a dozen Feral Kings had ascended from such an average troop of monkeys.

Moreover, the entire band of monkeys were high-ranked, which meant that they might have gained some advantage to mutate and evolve. If left unchecked, there would be many Feral Kings or even Feral Emperors who rise to power among them.

"Interesting."

Jiang He chuckled, and said, "I'll investigate the matter if I have the time for a trip to Mount Cangwu… By the way, Elder Lin, is Mount Cangwu in Jiangsu? Why haven't I heard about it before?"

"Moung Cangwu is otherwise known as the Blue Peak or Mount Huaguo. It is the highest peak of Yuntai Valley."

"…"

What the hell?

Mount Huaguo?

Taking a deep breath to calm his ruffled mind, he said, "Take a break here, Elder Lin. I'll go to Mount Putuo and investigate what's there."

"But there's an obstructing array, Mister Jiang."

Even so, Jiang He stepped up into the skies, striding forward and laughed. "A mere array stopping me? Don't you know that I, Jiang He, am a master of arrays too, Elder Lin?"

He arrived outside the array and carefully observed the array with divine mind and a way to crack it. Even so…

An hour passed.

Jiang He frowned in rage. "What the hell is that array? Why is it so different from the array techniques I've developed?"

Since he couldn't crack the array with his own technique, he could only crack it by force.

Hence, Jiang He clenched his fist and punched out.

The nonchalant punch, however, contained his full physical strength.

Kaboom!

The air rumbled.

Beneath his feet, a wave over a thousand feet tall suddenly kicked up over the serene surface of the ocean.

Jiang He's physical strength could match a full-fledged Mahayana—how powerful was the force of his punch?

Oom!

Even so, the array merely shook a little under the force of his punch and did not break.

Behind the array, inside the Purple Bamboo Forest of Mount Putuo.

The many elites could only feel the ground rumble and the isle's tremors, and their feet wobbled a little. However, in the next instant, a Buddha glow swirled in the Bodhimanda at the edge of the Purple Bamboo Forest, repelling the aura.

Outside the aura, Jiang He sneered.

"I would never believe in bad luck. How tough could that array be anyway?"

Charging the Nine Heavenly Stars Body Formula, veins of starlight promptly descended and shrouded Jiang He's body. As he clenched his fist and unleashed a barrage of punches upon the array, it rumbled and shook endlessly, whereas the shockwave dispersing caused towering waves around the seas and crushed many nearby isles, but the array still stood.

Jiang He's temper flared and the Mosquito Cutter arose as he beckoned with his hand.

Around it, the Sword Array of Ten Realms and Infinity formed instantly. Directing the sword array and slicing thrice upon the array, eventually…

Crack!

A crisp sound.

The array cracked.

Jiang He withdrew the Sword Array with a loud laughter, calmed the towering waves beneath him with a wave of his hand and strode out, descending upon Moun Putuo.

"Bow-wow…"

A dog's bark was echoing from the distance.

Dumbo was rapidly flying towards him on a daemonic cloud, calling out as it flew, "Master, Master…"

Yip, yip!

It whinnied as it dived to Jiang He's feet, crying through tears and snot, "Master, I was praying to the stars and the moon, but you finally came… If you didn't come, my 200-catties worth of dog flesh would be vaporized here."

Jiang He scowled and shoved Dumbo away with his foot.

However, Dumbo dived toward Jiang He again, wailing, "Master, those thugs were trying to hurt me!"

Jiang He kicked him away again, though when he looked up, all the human and daemon cultivators shuddered. Going pale in fear, one of them even cried out, "Lord Jiang He, we did not attack… Brother Dog!"

"Bleh!"

Dumbo leapt up to its feet again then. Holding a paw at its hip while pointing a claw at the cultivators, he barked, "A bunch of trash like you, calling me brother?"

"You were thinking about attacking me even though you did not do it. Did you think I wouldn't know?"

All color drained from the faces of the many human and daemon cultivator, and they were left uncertain on how to answer.

Jiang He, meanwhile, was facepalming, having felt a rare sense of embarrassment…

Still, with the array now broken, the other cultivators naturally would not dare to hang around, and used various excuses to leave.

"Don't leave if you dare!" Dumbo pompously barked at them.

His teeth clenched in frustration, Jiang He yelled, "You dog! There's a limit to bullying—aren't you afraid that someone would whack you dead in secret?"

Dumbo promptly cried out in surprise, "Master, they wouldn't dare, would they?"

"Why wouldn't they? I wouldn't know who has done it if they don't leave a trace."

Fear registered all over Dumbo's face then.

Jiang He then asked, "Tell me, what actually happened? And where are the Seven Bottle Gourd Brothers and the eagles?"

Dumbo and Trumbo spoke over a dozen minutes as they each try to get a word in.

Jiang He frowned. "So you're saying that the array only appeared today?"

"Two hours before, to be precise."

Trumbo said nonchalantly, "Weird phenomena started to appear here on Mount Putuo a dozen days ago, and more occurred after we arrived. It is only today when that Bodhimanda suddenly showed up, drawing out some of the elites and causing them to fight. They only stopped because they were wary about your mighty name, after which the array popped up."

Jiang He looked up to the edge of the Purple Bamboo Forest at that.

The Bodhimanda was covered beneath the vague radiance.

Jiang He strode before it, focused on coming up with a way to enter the Bodhimanda when a golden flash shot forth, assuming the shape of a door. A samanera stepped out then with his palms put together and chanting a Buddhist mantra, "Amitabha. This way please, sir."

Somehow, Jiang He felt a weird familiarity toward the samanera after just one look.

Beside him, Dumbo suddenly shrieked, "Is that you, Eldest Brother?!"

Jiang He was dumbstruck.

It really was Eldest Brother!

He had changed into monk robes and shaved himself bald, and Jiang He almost did not recognize him.

After his initial surprise, Jiang He scowled. "What's with that getup, Eldest Brother?"

"Amitabha…"

Eldest Brother was about to chant more Buddhist mantras when Jiang He slapped him squarely on the back of his head, knocking him to the ground.

"Talk like a human, wretch!" Jiang He scolded.

Eldest Brother started wailing at that, "Gramps, hurry up and save Second Brother and the others! They are being converted!"

Report chapter

Chapter 368: Inspired King and Black Wind King

What the heck?

"Who would have so much free time to convert you lot?" Jiang He exclaimed in shock. "Hold on… did you really just convert?"

As he imagined, something was definitely wrong since Eldest Brother kept chanting Amitabha and was calling him 'sir' instead of 'gramps'.

Meanwhile, Eldest Brother was crying endlessly and sobbing, "Gramps, after we entered the Bodhimanda and followed the Buddha's glow, we became muddleheaded and was converted by two fishes. They said that we have Buddha Roots, and would accept us as disciples until the Boddhisatva or something returns, and we shall serve her then."

The Boddhisatva?

Jiang He's gaze twitched.

That referred to Guanyin, did it not?

Did this mean that his world view would be broadened again, and now progress toward divine myths?

Still, Jiang He was not too surprise since he had expected it.

Then, irritated by Eldest Brother's endless crying, he scolded, "Shut it and stop crying. Don't worry, not even the greatest god could convert you."

And Jiang He was very confident about that.

While most people would be completely indoctrinated after their conversion, the Seven Bottle Gourd Brothers and the two eagles would not have such problems… after all, Jiang He had planted them—just look at Eldest Brother, who was solemnly saying things like Amitabha and sir, looking as if he had renounced the profane to become a true Buddhist.

Even so, he returned to normal with just one slap from Jiang He.

As Eldest Brother led the way ahead, Jiang He followed him while Dumbo and Trumbo looked around them curiously. The Bodhimanda was actually a temple laden in mist, which gave the feeling that one had walked into a godly realm.

There was another purple bamboo forest behind the temple and a fishpond beside it.

White jade bars sculpted with dragons and phoenix images surrounded the fishpond where lotus flowers grew, and it was quite a beautiful sight.

Like other spots, the fishpond was wafting with mists too.

"Eh?"

Eldest Brother walked a lap around the fishpond, but his eyes turned red again and he sobbed, "Gramps, Second Brother and the others were still here just now… I knew it, the two fishes ate them!"

"Fishes?"

"Yes, two fishes that could speak. One is golden and the other black, and they were inside the fishpond."

Jiang He looked at the fishpond then, only to find that the mist seemed to block divine minds, and not even he could see through it.

He then remembered the legend of Guanyin… the Boddhisatva liked rearing pets, some of which were depicted in Journey to the West.

"What was the name of her fishes?"

"Thingmajig and Jigmathing?"

"Was that it? Why does it feel so weird…"

Jiang He shook his head and gave up on thinking about it, saying, "Don't worry. If those really were Guanyin's fishes, they most likely wouldn't eat people. Second Brother the others are born lucky as well, and won't die."

Still, his gaze lingered on the white jade bars around the fishpond.

That thing was really beautiful and much more profound than bamboo fences or whatnot.

"Dumbo, Trumbo, get going and dismantle that bar."

Dumbo and Trumbo went to work immediately at his command, but the bars would not budge no matter how they tried to shift it, and Jiang He ended up having to move it himself.

"Eh?"

Jiang He could not move the white jade bars at all even if he grasped it firmly.

As it did not budge an inch even after using as much strength as he could, he eventually resorted to violence, whipping out Mosquito Cutter. Still, just as he was about to swing his sword, the mist over the fishpond churned and a jet of water shot up, on top of which a golden fish floated. Its round eyes were glaring as it barked, "How dare you, thief! What do you think you are you doing?!"

"Biubiubiubiu…"

It pursed its mouth and spat several shots of water at Jiang He.

Even before Jiang He moved, however, Eldest Brother roared in rage, "How dare you hurt Gramps, devil?! Biu… biu…"

Eldest Brother had opened his mouth and fired two air blades.

Jiang He was dumbstruck.

It was a painful sight.

Furious, the golden fish exclaimed, "You have converted to Buddhism, and yet you would disrespect the sentinels?"

Biubiu~~~

Eldest Brother went, "Biubiu~~~"

Hence, both fish and child kept spitting at each other, splashing water and air blades everywhere—even so, the golden fish had no intention to do harm or one spit would have been enough to kill Eldest Brother.

Not bothered with them, Jiang He raised his sword to cut the white jade bars instead.

Others notwithstanding, it was just as expected of an immortal weapon—two swings and a chunk of the white jade bars was cut down.

"How dare you!"

The golden fish released his aura right then, just as a black figure shot out from the fishpond as well.

It was a black fish around five feet, which was shining all over with Buddha's glow as well, and his cultivation was equal to the golden fish.

Regardless, Jiang He kept an impassive face as he placed the five-feet chunk of the white jade bar into his System Backpack, smiling, "Brothers, calm down. I'm just taking this chunk."

Both fishes appear rather wary toward Jiang He, but still scolded him strictly.

Jiang He, however, smiled. "Thingmajig, Jigmathing… you converted my mounts and grandkids without consent, so why the blabbing when I only took a chunk of your bar? I'll dismantle this Bodhimanda if you keep talking, okay?"

Having witnessed how Jiang He cracked the array outside by force, the fishes stopped scolding and instead asked, "What do you mean, Thingmajig, Jigmathing?"

"What, aren't those your names?"

Jiang He discreetly plucked a few lotus flowers too.

Those had been nurtured for untold years and were basically sentient, and would certainly not lose out to spirit medicines. Seeing that Jiang He wasn't plucking a lot, the two fishes did not bother him.

Then, the golden fish said, "My name is Inspired King, not Thingmajig."

"And I'm Black Wind King," the black fish added.

The Inspired King?

A golden fish?

Jiang He recognized that name, since it was the fish of Tongtian River.

But as for the Black Wind King…

Wasn't it supposed to be a black bear spirit?

Why was it a black fish instead?

Could Journey to the West be wrong?

Still, Jiang He did not dwell on it and scooped up several puffs of the wafting mists.

Unable to hold it in any longer, the golden fish said angrily, "Sir, that's enough."

Even so, how could these few puffs suffice?

Having been inspired by Guanyin's Bodhimanda, Jiang He was about to throw the mist in his farm and yard, speaking as he did so, "You two converted my gramps and mounts without consent. Wouldn't these items be enough for compensation?"

The black fish changed form into a pitch-black Dhutanga monk and chanted a Buddhist mantra. "Amitabha. Sir, we did not force them into conversion. They are simply karmically connected to our Buddha and therefore initiated, and they are now accepting our legacies."

At the same time, the golden fish promptly inhaled sharply, and the mist wafting all over the Bodhimanda surged inside his body and was collected entirely.

On the other hand, Jiang He whipped out his Mosquito Cutter and invoked the Sword Array of Ten Realms and Infinity. As the terrific might of the sword array shook the entire Bodhimanda, he sneered and said, "You mongrels. I was being calm with you guys and giving you face, but neither of you would afford me the same courtesy?"

"I would have slaughtered you for my grill if not for the Boddhisatva. And you are upset with me just taking a little mist?"

As Jiang He leapt forward with his sword, Sword Will swirled and filled the fish pond, preventing both fishes from escaping inside the fishpond.

"Give me another three hundred meters of that white jade bar and thirty of those lotus flowers," Jiang He added coolly then.

"The Inspired King, was it?"

"Spit out the mist you absorbed!"

Still, not one to be outdone, the golden fish transformed into an ugly man that had fish scales growing on his red face and drew out a nine-petaled scarlet hammer with a turn of his hand. "Sir," he said quietly, "do you really take us brothers for small fries?"

Then, as Jiang He's sword shot out and his Sword Qi erupted, both Black Wind King and Inspired King unleashed various moves to repel it, causing crisp cracking sounds.

However, Jiang He caughter their auras and whipped out two three-retributions Violet Sky Thunder Talisman. With a charge of mystic energy, thunder talisman turned into thunderclouds, and two violet thunderbolts descended immediately.

Boom-crack!

Stunned, both fishes were struck and left charred.

Buddha glow arose over their bodies as they charted their protective mystic treasures.

Boom-crack!

Two more violet thunderbolts descended and struck the fishes, and their Buddha glow dulled immediately as their mystic treasures shattered.

Jiang He then turned his hand, taking out a dozen Violet Sky Thunder Talismans, and smiled. "I do consider you two small fries. What do you have to say about that?"

Report chapter

Chapter 369: My Bodhimanda is Gone?

The Inspired King and the Black Wind King traded glances and were able to see the fear in each other's eyes.

The Violet Sky Thunder Talisman was simply frightening!

Thought they had no idea how the paper talismans Jiang He was holding could turn into terrible thunderbolts of retribution, they did personally experience the power of the two bolts just now.

The two thunderbolts had shattered their protective mystic treasures and wounded them, and there would not be scraps of them left if another handful of bolts had reached them.

Hence, after another look at the paper talismans, the Inspired King seethed, "We could give you the six children and the two descendants of the Golden-Winged Roc, but the white jade bars, lotus flowers, and mist were personally placed here by Guanyin. The Boddhisatva had charged us with guarding the Bodhimanda before leaving back then, and we would be held responsible if we yield these items to you."

Jiang He smiled coolly but said nothing and rubbed the Violet Sky Thunder Talismans he was holding just then.

"Half! We can only give you half of what you've asked for!"

The Inspired King stretched out its neck and closed its eyes as if admitting defeat. "Just kill me if you're still not satisfied with that."

"This is the sacred ground of a Buddha Sect. How could we go about fighting and killing here?"

Jiang He laughed out loud as he put away the Sword Array of Ten Realms and Infinity.

The Inspired King felt his lips twitch, and was speechless inside…

You were actually aware that this is the sacred grounds of a Buddha Sect?!

It then reverted to its golden fish true form and breathed out some of the mist it had inhaled before. In response, Jiang He took out a jade bottle with a turn of his hand, drawing the mist into the bottle with a gust of mystic energy.

He had got that bottle from Green Hill—it was a superior-grade sage item that could hold even a small river, and that bit of mist was naturally a simple matter.

After gathering the mist, Jiang He smiled and said, "I'll get the white jade bars and the lotus flowers myself, saving you brothers the bother."

Holding his sword, Jiang He cut off half of the white jade bars—around four-hundred meters of it—surrounding the fishpond. Then, he took over a hundred of the lotus flowers… which required a technique in itself, as the lotus leaves, roots, and lotus fruit must be moved entirely if he were to replant those.

After that was done, Jiang He then glanced at the waters in the fishpond and could not help asking, "Brothers, is there some mystic imbued into those waters?"

Furious, the Inspired King rolled his eyes and seethed, "Sir, you are too much. This fishpond is our home—are you going to take it apart too?"

"I'm just asking. Do you have to act like that?"

Jiang He mumbled, turning to look at the golden fish then and asking in curiosity, "By the way, that hammer you had was quite cool. If my memory serves me right, it was called the nine-petaled scarlet hammer, was it not? Could it be an immortal item?"

Splash!

Unwilling to talk further with Jiang He, the golden fish promptly threw itself into the fish pond.

It was afraid that it would not be keeping the nine-petaled scarlet hammer if it kept talking.

Jiang He was left speechless at that.

What the heck?

I was just asking a question. That hammer is so ugly that I would not give a damn even if you gave it to me.

Then, turning to the Black Wind King, he asked, "Don't you have any weapons, Black Wind King?"

The Black Wind King reverted to its black fish form and was about to leap into the fishpond as well, but Jiang He stopped it with his sword. "My grandkids and mounts haven't returned yet."

Unwilling to speak further with Jiang He, the Black Wind King simply said, "The six children and the two descendants of the Golden-Winged Roc are receiving legacies left by the Boddhisatva, and they would return afterwards."

Splash.

With that, it leapt into the fishpond as well.

Though the fishpond seemed small, the space inside was vast—it was an aquatic realm that was several dozen kilometers wide.

A variety of daemons including fish, prawns, crabs, and turtles swam beneath the surface. They had planted various unusual plants there, just as there were clams refining pearls. There were even several luxurious palaces at the center of the depths.

And now, both the Inspired King and Black Wind King entered the palace together with terrible looks on their faces, shoving off several gorgeous maiden water daemons who had come to greet them.

They were utterly irritated and smashed up the decorations around the palace as Black Wind King scowled. "Brother, where did that fellow come from? Which immortal sect, demonic sect, and daemon cultivator has not show us, Mount Putuo of the Southern Sea, some degree of respect? And that brat even kept insisting that he reveres the Boddhisatva… Damn it!"

Even before he could finish, the Black Wind King was raving, "Brother, he's prying out the floor bricks…"

Obviously, they could sense everything happening outside the fishpond.

Grimacing, the Inspired King clenched its teeth. "Let him pry. What, could he move the Bodhimanda too?"

Soon, the Black Wind King added, "Brother, he carried off the shed…"

"Which shed?"

"The one that the Boddhisatva used often…"

The Inspired King's eyes were bulging and almost growling, "It's just a shed. Let him have it—what, is he going to move the temple too? His grandkids and the two descendants of the Golden-Winged Roc are brimming with the Buddhas' aspects, and they would be converted to align with our Buddha once they received our legacies. We would not lose out even if he claims the Bodhimanda for himself after that.

Outside, Jiang He was studying the majestic temple, but shook his head and sighed. "Forget it, I'm not moving the temple… Even though it is overflowing with grandeur and looks very imposing, it is too religious for me and unsuitable for my farm.

Most importantly…

Second Brother and the others were receiving legacies in the temple. Wouldn't he be denying them their providence if he dismantled the temple?

As for whether they would be brainwashed and become unable to recognize himself after receiving said legacies… that was not a point of consideration for Jiang He.

The first rule of his farm: Everything he planted must be loyal to him.

Jiang He hence took a stroll around the Bodhimanda, whisking away several potted plants as well and unable to resist an emotional sigh. "Guanyin's aesthetic values are quite something… the stuff kept here really fits me."

Most importantly, the potted plants were just like the lotus flowers. Even if they appeared plain, they had been alive for thousands of years. Moreover, with the Buddha's glow illuminating them every single day at the Bodhimanda, even the most average of potted plants could match soul medicines that were thousands of years old.

"Oh, right… there is a purple bamboo forest behind the Bodhimanda too. Dumbo, Trumbo, Eldest Brother—go cut down that purple bamboo forest. I'll replant it after I'm done, and it would definitely be very awesome."

He then imagined it a little.

A Chinese-style mansion.

White-jade bar fencing.

Thousands-year old, greened floor bricks freshly peeled off the ground, and potted plants Guanyin had planted herself, along with the shed dismantled out of Guanyin's Bodhimanda…

"When the time comes, I'll create an artificial lake to replant those lotus flowers and get two scale dragons from Shennongjia to raise as pets. When I'm free, I'll feed the dragons and have a sip of Big Red Robe tea under the shed, as well as having the seven fairy maidens give me the full course of entertainment… wouldn't that be awesome?"

Meanwhile, Dumbo picked up its blade and Trumbo drew its sword while Elder Brother spat at the purple bamboo forest from afar. However, Dumbo could soon be heard cursing, "What the hell? The bamboo here is so hard! I can only leave a white mark even with a full-power cut!"

Jiang He walked up to chop one of the bamboos himself, and was left surprised just then. "This bamboo is as hard as a superior-grade soul item. It could be refined to premium-grade soul item or inferior-grade sage item if we cut them down and replant them!"

And there were almost of these ten thousand bamboo growing closely to each other.

Jiang He's face twitched.

With this grade of bamboo, they would definitely earn him a fair deal of Farm Points when replanted.

Utterly motivated, he rolled up his sleeve and began to cut the bamboo himself with the Mosquito Cutter, chopping down piles of them with a single swing of his sword.

It took him around four minutes to finally chop off the whole purple bamboo forest, and that was when eight golden radiances shot forth as the nearby temple shook. The radiances soon turned into calm clouds up in the skies, with the two golden eagles as well Second Brother and the rest of the Seven Bottle Gourd Brothers all landing on it.

They were all chanting Buddhist mantras in Sanskrit, their auras improving wildly, and became full-fledged Yuan Spirit in just half an hour.

Most importantly, their skins were shining with golden light combined with a mystic ceramic glaze, indicating that they had cultivated the golden form with ceramic glaze of Buddhist Sects.

Back in the fishpond, the Inspired King and the Black Wind King poked their heads slightly out of the water, laughing. "Even if that thug has ruined the Bodhimanda, we are not losing out with those six children and two descendants of the Golden-Winged Roc joining us. Guanyin would probably not hold us responsible when she returns."

However, that was when a single sword light shot up toward the calm clouds.

The Inspired King stared at Jiang He, who stood above the sword, and sneered. "It seems that the thug is not giving up. Even so, they have now gained Guanyin's legacy, meaning that their destiny is intertwined with Mount Putuo and they would become child disciples of Mount Putuo."

Meanwhile, above sword light, Jiang He was cursing as he tried to make the six Bottle Gourd Brothers and the two eagles come to their senses.

But that was useless.

In the fishpond, the Inspired King was laughing uncontrollably, with contempt showing all over his face.

Even so…

His smile stiffened in the very next instant.

After his rant, Jiang He had raised his palm and slapped the six Bottle Gourd Brothers. Though they looked the part of little monks just before, they were now crying and wailing, begging their gramps to stop hitting them again and again. Likewise, both golden eagles that had Buddha's glow shining over their bodies were squawking incessantly, their feathers dropping all over the floor.

Jiang He stopped hitting them right then, saying, "You guys are already full-fledged Yuan Spirits, and have reached Convergence-tier in physique. Well, it seems that you guys have benefited plenty… Eldest Brother, go into the temple again and see if you could improve again."

The Inspired King and the Black Wind King traded glances in the fishpond then, with fear filling their gazes.

Meanwhile, at a Buddha's tower that stood atop a continent of immeasurable proportions in deep space, Guanyin, shrouded entirely beneath a Buddha's glow, opened her eyes to look up into the distance. Her gaze seemed to penetrate everything to see through space and time…

After a long time, she withdrew her gaze and divined with her fingers.

Splash.

A water mirror appeared before her.

Its reflection showed Jiang He chopping the white jade bars, peeling off the floor bricks, dismantling the shed, and cutting down the purple bamboo forest…

A muttering of disbelief could be heard then. "My Bodhimanda… is gone?"

In the starry skies near Earth, the endless legions of Sky Demons and their elites had gathered upon a deathly planet.

The Demon Lord of the Sky Demons, shrouded with Demonic Qi, suddenly opened his eyes and looked toward Earth.

The stars seemed to shake as an unique energy surge seemed to quake endlessly.

Rising with a rustle, Demonic Qi churned around him as he laughed out loud. "Legion! The Star Map array beyond Earth is now collapsing on its own. We would soon be able to descend upon Earth directly."

"Send word to pause the expansion of the Stargate. All shall advance to Mars, and warp to Earth with the portal on Mars when the array collapses!"

"Prepare the shrine. I shall cast my mystic arts to recall our immortals."

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Chapter 370: Jiang He's Undefeated Legend Has Ended?

"Demon Lord!"

"Be mindful!"

"Earth is the first star of the humans. Dangers lurk everywhere upon it and we must not be careless even if their immortals have yet to return."

Several figures stepped up then. They did not look ferocious, but instead resembled Earthlings—they were obviously royalty among the Sky Demons since their aura did not lose out much compared to the Demon Lord, and each was a full-fledged Mahayana.

And there was a dozen of them.

If the other novice, intermediate, and advanced Mahayana eminences were included, there would be almost a hundred of them—naturally, there were even more Sufferance eminences, numbering over a thousand.

While there was no mistaking that the Sky Demons were a small race among the stars, they still occupied dozens of living planets. But even that did not count for anything, since the elites on Earth were countless in the Era of Qi Refinist, and the Hundred Races that invaded Earth together failed to fully conquer Earth too.

At the time, the Sky Demons were merely bottom-feeders among the Hundred Races too.

Nonetheless, as the history of Earth's immortal arts was almost lost after two thousand years, with Earth's immortals and their many elites going on voyages across the stars, elites on Earth were now few and far between. Even so, the total of Mahayana elites from the various immortal sects, demonic sects, and daemon cultivators would be dozens.

Soon, more Mahayana Sky Demons gathered, with one calling out, "Demon Lord, we must go about this carefully. Leaving aside whether the former elites of the past have left some backup measures or if there were slumbering elites who did not travel through the stars… even those who continued the Dao tradition in seclusion should not be underestimated. "

The Demon Lord laughed in disdain at that. "The cultivators of the humans' first star are divided. The immortal sects, demonic sects, and daemon cultivators could never abide by each other's existence, and there is also the Buddha sect that is less known… If the humans had been unified before, the Hundred Races would never have been able to invade Earth even if we worked together."

Then, not giving others any chance to say a thing, the Demon Lord continued, "I have made my decision, so do not try to dissuade me. Now that their Star Map array is begging to crumble, we have some time to prepare—prepare the shrine right now, for I will contact the Demon Lord. Once the array is open, we shall descend upon the Earth and advance over every direction with the swiftness of a thunderbolt for that one shot at providence. That way, we might just get it when the immortals of Earth return."

There was a look of irrepressible excitement on the Demon Lord's face then, and he growled, "When the time comes, our predecessor shall have their chance to prove their Dao. Once they succeed, we, the Sky Demons would become a powerhouse in the universe with a single leap, claiming better planetary regions, securing better resources and grooming more elites!"

Meanwhile, back on Earth, within the Taixu Sect at Mount Kunlun—

Whoosh!

Four figures appeared in the skies above Mount Kunlun out of the blue.

They were the four Mahayana elites of the Taixu Sect, and they were all looking up at the horizon somberly.

There was not a cloud in sight over thousands of miles, and the sun was hanging high overhead up in the skies.

The average human or even average cultivator might not see or sense a thing, but peak Mahayana cultivators could clearly sense the waves of change echoing from distant space.

One of the elites paled in shock and exclaimed, "The planet's Star Map array is falling apart… How could this be? It's ten years before the projected date!"

"Is the Star Map array collapsing?"

"Haha! Once it falls, the hidden blessed grounds and grotto-heavens would be revealed, and Yuan Qi would be restored completely. The immortals would return… and then comes my chance to become immortal!"

Some elites were delighted.

There were those who were crying from sheer delight on their knees too. "The immortals would return with the fall of the array! We finally don't have to worry every day about that Jiang He!"

"Achoo!"

Jiang He, who had just stepped out of Mount Putuo, sneezed and could not help exclaiming, "Why did I just sneeze? Is someone missing me… hmmm?"

He promptly looked up at the horizon. He certainly could feel the change occurring over the horizon.

In that split second, Dao itself was resonating and Yuan Qi vaguely seemed to be becoming thicker.

Jiang He's aura shuddered, and he could not help exclaiming in shock, "Am I becoming immortal?"

Still, the resonance soon calmed and Jiang He realized what had happened after directing his mystic energies to carefully feel out his body. "I'm not becoming immortal. Instead, it's whatever that had changed just now—from now on, all cultivators could ascend as immortals, and that opportunity leads to that mistaken feeling."

"But what has caused this change?"

Jiang He called Dumbo, Trumbo, the Seven Bottle Gourd Brothers, and his two golden eagles to him, instructing, "You all should get home now. I'm heading beyond the skies to check on what's going on."

Leaping vertically, he turned into sword flash that shot up into the skies. Soon, he had pierced the clouds and crossed the atmosphere.

There were many other elites beyond the skies right now as well.

They were affiliated to various immortal sects, demonic sects, and daemon cultivators, and among them were Jin Sidao, as well as that Green Scale Dragon King of Shennongjia.

Jiang He looked around at the elites present before looking up, where he found a gigantic Star Map which were twinkling with stars that looked genuine and was so colossal it covered all of Earth.

The real planetary bodies lay beyond the Star Map.

Stunned, Jiang He exclaimed, "Does… does that mean the stars and the moon were all fake?"

Jin Sidao greeted him with a smile then. "That is not so. The Star Map is an array and an incredibly powerful soul treasure. The planets within were refined from actual planetary bodies, so does real or fake count?"

"Moreover, the Star Map array is usually hidden and not shown. That is why the stars everyone usually looks upon are real."

"Oh?"

It was quite a novelty.

While it was usually hidden, the array would materialize and stop any cultivators trying to cross it. Moreover, while it sealed space so that nothing could teleport behind it, it would not obstruct flying objects such as satellites.

"Where did this Star Map array come from? Why is something like this kept beyond the skies?" Jiang He asked then, and Jin Sidao explained, "It's something left by the immortals before they left Earth, and its purpose is to seal the dimensions to prevent outsiders from entering Earth… Moreover, it was alleged that the Star Map is connected to certain secret grounds on Earth, and once the Star Map crumbles, those secret grounds might be revealed."

Jiang He nodded before then asking, "I can feel the Yuan Qi on Earth increasing. Does that have something to do with the Star Map too?"

Jin Sidao nodded, but soon frowned and said uncertainly, "It's weird. According to the prophecy that the immortals left before leaving Earth, it would be another ten years before the star array collapses on its own. Why did it occur ahead of time? Could someone have tampered with it?"

The many elites all shook their heads, gesturing that they had no idea.

Then, the Green Scale Dragon King could not help butting in, asking, "How powerful is the Star Map as a soul treasure? With the array sealing the dimensions, someone would have to enter it first if they were attempting to tamper it, and who could be that powerful to crack the array that the immortals have left and enter the Star Map?"

Someone turned to look at Jiang He with a suspicious look just then.

Furious, Jiang He yelled, "You're a demonic cultivator, aren't you? Where is your sect? Are you thinking that I had tampered with the array, with that look on your face?"

The demonic cultivator quickly shook his head and tried to explain himself, when a loud laughter could be heard.

The laughter was extremely pompous and it was coming from inside the Star Map, exclaiming, "Haha! I truly am a child of destiny… so this is the Paragon of martial arts…"

"I entered her by chance and cultivated for a hundred years, and have finally improved my martial arts cultivation to Paragon… this should be an equivalent to the Mahayana tier in immortal arts… does this mean I could punch Jiang He now?"

Jiang He was dumbstruck.

Why is that laughter a little familiar?

Was it Wang Hou?

Moreover…

That sly old fox was obsessed with punching him?

He might have lost his marbles.

To be fair, when Wang Hou left the Martial Arts Department and kept insisting that he would find providence and cultivate to greater height in martial arts, Jiang He was merely a full-fledged Sufferance cultivator who had just wiped out the Penglai Sect. Therefore, it made sense that Wang Hou would come up with such a stupid idea.

Still, there was also that part about 'cultivated a hundred years'… had it not just been twenty days?

Could time flow different inside and outside the Star Map?

Jiang He focused as the looked at the Star Map, and just as he expected, he found Wang Hou striding out pompously from the Star Map.

His smug laughter promptly stopped. Stunned by the sight of the many elites outside, his gaze eventually reached Jiang He, and he asked in surprise, "Jiang He, why are you here?"

"Did you take control of the Star Map?"

Before Jiang He could say a thing, a demonic cultivator nearby asked.

The realm beyond the skies became silent at those words, with many pairs of eyes turning toward Jiang He, with burning-hot greed that could not be concealed.

That Star Map was a soul treasure!

It was ranked above premium-grade immortal items and the many elites present would not be able to hold back their jealousy.

Even Jiang He felt his eyes become heated.

The Star Map did resemble the starry skies. Since there was now a sun and a moon in his farm, that was all that is left… if he threw it up in the air, and the stars twinkled in the company of the moon high above, how great would it be to go on a barbecue night with a handful of chicks, enjoying the scenery of the moon?

Still, Jiang He was not comfortable with stealing the Star Map after it had possibly recognized Wang Hou as its owner. He flew to Wang Hou's side and whispered, "This isn't the place to talk, Minister Wang. Let's wait until we return."

He was about to leave with Wang Hou when several figures appeared before him in a flash, blocking their way.

Aside from Jin Sidao and the Green Scale Dragon King, the nine Mahyanas present were all in Wang Hou and Jiang He's way. They were affiliated with various immortal sects, demonic sects, and daemon cultivators, each of them representing a different faction.

One of the demonic cultivators growled, "Brother Jiang He, that Star Map is a keepsake from the predecessors of our various sects. Aren't you going to say anything when your friend is about to plunder it?"

Jiang He scowled, and he barked with raging killing intent. "Get lost!"

The demonic cultivator appeared wary, but he did not make way and sneered instead. "Jiang He, the immortals shall return soon with the Star Map opened! Your brief undefeated legend shall end soon!"

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Chapter 371: How Do I Kill An Immortal?

Though the other eight Mahayana elites did not say anything, each of their auras were released, clearly sharing the same thought as the other demonic cultivators.

The mystic treasures over their heads were hovering and shining brilliantly, with three of those actually being demi-immortal items.

In the distance, Jin Sidao's expression kept changing, but the Green Scale Dragon King flew up to him just as he was about to advance, smiling as he communicated with acoustics, "Are you going to help Jiang He, Brother?"

Jin Sidao paused and turned toward the Green Scale Dragon King then, and it smiled. "Your sect was almost wiped out because of Jiang He. Though your case soon proved to be a blessing in disguise and your sect was allowed to spread your teachings in the Hua Nation, you would still have to suffer Jiang He's temper… but now, with the immortals' return at hand, you would be standing against everyone else if you help Jiang He now. Once the immortals are back, do you think the Ten Thousand Swords Sect could stop the immortals of the other sects?"

Nonetheless, Jin Sidao shook his head and said, "Does anyone know when the immortals would actually return, Green Scale Dragon King?"

"As long as they don't, no one could stop Jiang He."

"Moreover… you have no idea how scary he could be!"

Hence, he stepped forward, sword in hand as he landed behind Jiang He. The flash from the demi-immortal Dragon Abyss Sword shone brilliantly, indicating his stance.

The other sects may know that Jiang He possessed overwhelming power, but they did not know about Jiang He's cultivation background.

But Jin Sidao knew!

He had walked among the commoners on multiple occasions, just as elites of his Ten Thousand Swords Sect had discussed with the Hua Nation's government about promoting their teaching. When they did so, they had taken the time to ask about Jiang He's accomplishments.

Allegedly, Jiang He had merely been an average rank-three martial artist just three months ago.

For him to gain such strengthen in three months, what heights would he reach even if the immortals returned in a few years?

"Jin Sidao!"

One of the demonic cultivators seethed. "Do you want the Ten Thousand Swords Sect to be outcast?"

Jin Sidao said nothing, and merely casted the demonic cultivator a cool look.

Wasn't that Heartless Ying of the Unbounded Demonic Sect?

It made sense.

The demonic sects had yet to suffer Jiang He's ruthless beatings, which was why their irrational reaction now was understandable.

At the same time, the other Mahayana elites were shouting, scolding, and threatening Jin Sidao, while Heartless Ying turned toward the Green Scale Dragon King. Still, just as Heartless Ying was about to speak, the daemonic cultivator put on a show of taking out his communications jade charm, exclaiming in shock, "What?"

"The Poison Scale Dragon King's eighth consort is giving birth?"

"Alright, I'll be right there!"

Whoosh!

The daemon was gone in an instant with a puff of green smoke.

Jiang He was dumbstruck.

Wasn't that snake a little too good at acting?

What a shame that he ran off… if the Green Scale Dragon King had proven greedy and tried to attack him with the nine blind fools here, he had a clear reason to put his foot down on the scale dragons' clan.

On the other hand…

Jin Sidao had really broadened his horizons.

With this, Jiang He himself would feel too awkward to prank him now.

Naturally, Wang Hou was not aware of what was going on in Jiang He's mind right then.

There was a sour look on his face—he presumed that he had been cultivating for a hundred years in those treasured grounds to ascend up to Paragon in the martial path, allowing him to strut when he left. How could he expect not to even have the time to get smug and run into such a situation instead?

The nine elites who were in his way possessed overwhelming auras. He just might be able to take them one at a time, but if all nine came at him at once…

There was no running away.

He took a step forward with a pained smile. "Daoists, you misunderstand. I have no idea what soul treasure or Star Map this was… I had simply entered it by mistake and cultivated here for a hundred years… hold on, a hundred years? What year is it, Jiang He?"

"Time might have flowed differently there. You had only been away for twenty days," Jiang He explained calmly.

Heartless Ying, however, chuckled coolly. "Funny. The Star Map is a soul treasure, so how could you enter it if it does not acknowledge you as its owner? Jiang He, have your friend sever his connection with the Star Map, and we won't trouble you any longer on this day."

Jiang He could not help laughing and said, "Brother, are you thinking about troubling me?"

"The demonic immortals of my sect, the Unbounded Demonic Sect, shall return soon," Heartless Ying answered fearlessly. "If you have show tact, Jiang He, I assure you that our immortals would not retaliate against you."

"Hand over the Star Map and the immortals of the Blood Demon Sect would not attack you either."

"We, the Black Demon Sect…"

Ka-boom!

Suddenly, Jiang He moved.

His full-fledged Mahayan mystic energy and physical strength erupted instantly.

The Clear Sky Mirror appeared in his grasp.

Whoosh!

With a flash of twilight radiance, the world of hills and waters inside the mirror manifested upon the starry skies and descended upon Heartless Ying. Despite his surprise, Heartless Ying invoked a blood blade which burst out with a towering bloody radiance, slicing immediately at the mirror world!

It was a demi-immortal blade.

Even so…

The Clear Sky Mirror was already an immortal item. Would a demi-immortal weapon ever break the world it manifests?

In the instant that Heartless Ying's blade sliced forth, sword light arose around Jiang He's body as well—the Sword Array of Ten Realms and Infinity took shape immediately, and as he pointed with his figure, the power of the sword array erupted and was fired forward as a shot of Sword Qi.

"No!"

Hearless Ying cried out in panic. A sea of blood appeared around him and in a flash, the blood radiance turned to a black combat armor that kept him together.

Even as he swung his blade again, Heartless Ying shrieked, "Brothers! Save me!"

And yet…

It was already too late.

The power of the Sword Array of Ten Realms and Infinity was approaching the level of immortals.

A single sword cut tore through the sea of blood, shattering Heartless Ying's armor.

Boom!

The mirror world then descended, subjugating Heartless Ying.

"Back!"

Jiang He reached out with a grasping motion, stuffing both the mirror world and Heartless Ying into the Clear Sky Mirror.

Once inside the mirror, Heartless Ying shrieked, "How dare you capture me, Jiang He? Don't you know that you are being hostile against a demonic sect? Your fate is sealed once the immortals of the Unbounded Demonic Sect returns!"

However, even though Heartless Ying released every move he had, he could not break out. So, he promptly bellowed in rage, "Let me out! Let me out!"

"If you don't let me out, the elites of the Unbounded Demonic Sect will slaughter every family member and friend you have, as well as millions of commoners to avenge me!"

Jiang He, who had been nonchalant, was longer calm then.

The other eight Mahayana elites thought that Jiang He felt threatened by Heartless Ying as his expression changed, with the one from the Blood Demon Sect stepping forward and sneering, "Come seal all of us if you have what it takes, Jiang He."

"It would not matter even if you do."

"You would definitely be killed once the immortals return. All your friends and family would get dragged into this, and there wouldn't be a place to bury them."

Jiang He shot an icy glare at the other seven Mahayana elites and growled, "Do the rest of you think you can defeat me too?"

Another demonic cultivator hence stepped forward and spoke flatly, "Afraid now, Jiang He? It's just as Brother Heartless has said—your undefeated legend is over. Release him and give us the Star Map, and we could end this right now."

Whoosh!

The Sword Array of Ten Realms and Infinity erupted without precedent at all. A single dazzling sword light pierced the daemonic cultivator between his eyes, vaporizing his Yuan Spirit and any signs of physical life.

Jiang He then beckoned with an outstretched hand, retrieving the cultivator's corpse and his mystic treasures while sneering. "A piece of trash without a single demi-immortal item, having the guts to threaten me?"

Killing intent overflowing upon his body while his gaze burned like torches, he looked at the other Mahyana elites and said intimidatingly, "Whoever still intends to threaten me with the immortals or my friends and family, step forward right now… Do you people think I'm easy to bully just because I haven't been killing people for a couple of days?"

He took out a six-retribution Violet Sky Thunder Talisman with a turn of his hand and threw it at the elite from the Blood Demon Sect. Thunderclouds churned immediately, with violet thunderbolts descending—in no time at all, that Mahayana cultivator was killed.

Jiang He then dragged out Heartless Ying from the Clear Sky Mirror and maimed him with one shot of his Sword Array of Ten Realms and Infinity before slamming a barrage of wild punches on him, crushing his Yuan Spirit and killing him right then and there.

He then turned towards the remaining six Mahayana elites and coolly warned, "Remember, as long as the immortals have not returned, I can walk all over you people and pee on your heads. So! Who still wants the Star Map? Who else would threaten me with the Immortals? Step forward now!"

The six Mahayana elites did not even dare to breathe too loudly.

One of them mustered their courage and said, "Mercy, Lord Jiang He… We were merely confounded by Heartless Ying…"

Jiang He locked in on that cultivator's aura and casually threw out a five-retribution Violet Sky Thunder Talisman.

The cultivator shrieked in fear and promptly turned to run. However, the Violet Sky Thunder Talisman was capable of locking on to targets on its own, and everyone watched as the moving thundercloud remained right behind the cultivator's buttocks, firing violet thunderbolt after violet thunderbolt.

By the time the fourth thunderbolt struck him, his soul and spirit were completely destroyed.

Plop!

The remaining five Mahyana elites all dropped to their knees

What the hell!

How terrible!

Even immortals would have to do more if they wanted to cut down a Mahayana cultivator, don't they?

On the other hand, Jiang He just had to throw talismans.

Hence, ten minutes later…

All five Mahayana cultivators swore unbreakable oaths that they, as well as the immortals of their respective sects would not be hostile against Jiang He in the future. All of them even willingly gave up an demi-immortal item each, as well as substantial treasures as compensation, and only then did Jiang He spared them.

Jiang He, putting away the Violet Sky Thunder Talisman, could not help sighing afterwards. "The kind ones are always bullied… that saying is so true."

After sighing, his expression turned somber and he said, "The immortals would soon return… well…"

Jiang He panicked a little at that.

It seems that he had provoked many an immortal sect—for example, the Green Hill Foxes and the Penglai Sect were all wiped out, so if the immortals of both factions return, they might come for his life.

He turned toward Jin Sidao and asked, "How are immortals categorized, Jin Sidao? How powerful are they?"

Pausing, he then added, "How do I kill an immortal?"

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Chapter 372: Two Little Professionals Braggarts

"Killing an immortal?"

Jin Sidao appeared taken aback, and gave Jiang He a weird look.

Jiang He was perhaps the only person who could ask such a question—if it was not him but any other young man, Jin Sidao would have rolled up his sleeves to hit him.

After some thought, Jin Sidao answered, "Immortals exist beyond the Three Realms and Five Elements. As such, the only people who could kill immortals might be other immortals."

"Only immortals could kill immortals?"

Jiang He felt a headache right then and chuckled bitterly. "And here I thought that I could kill one if I played every last trump card I had, but it seems that I was delusional…"

Therefore… he must become immortal!

And as soon as possible, at that.

Otherwise, how was he going to fight when the immortals returned?

Still, he was more or less doubtful of Jin Sidao's answer…

After all, were immortals really that powerful?

Right now, he had learned the Sword Array of Ten Realms and Infinity, and with the Violet Sky Thunder Talisman and a pepper, it was not as if he wouldn't have the power to kill an immortal.

"Still, even if I could kill an immortal, it would be the weakest ones… I have provoked too many sects now and their elites would definitely come at me once the immortals return. That said, I'm afraid there would be widespread death and destruction once war breaks out…"

Jiang He was very worried.

After all, an immortal could move mountains and seas with just the flip of one's palm. If someone like that went to Jiang He's home to attack him, all of Lingzhou City would be gone.

"So…"

There was a quick flash of viciousness in Jiang He's eyes. "It would be best to resolve this issue ahead of time… for example, stopping the immortals before they could return and resolve our differences."

Meanwhile, the five trembling cultivators waited until Jiang He had his word before leaving as fast as they could.

They promised to gather the treasures and sprit stones Jiang He demanded as soon as possible.

After they left, Jin Sidao asked hesitantly, "Brother Jiang He, are you about to attack the Unbounded Demon Sect, Blood Demon Sect, Thousand Cavern Mountain, and the Blue Cloud Sect?"

"If you intend to purge the four great factions, all of the Ten Thousand Swords Sect would help you."

The cultivators who had been the first to leap forward in action against Jiang He belonged to those four factions, with the daemon cultivator being affiliated to Thousand Cavern Mountain, although the Blue Cloud Sect was an immortal sect.

Still, knowing Jiang He… Jin Sidao was sure that the Four Great Factions would most likely end up crushed.

Jiang He, however, shook his head and said, "No need. Those Four Great Factions are trash and I alone could deal with them… Moreover, I've never mentioned anything about fighting them."

"Eh?"

Jin Sidao did a double take, while Jiang He smiled. "Are you trying to say that this isn't my style?"

Sigh!

Exhaling lengthily in exasperation, "I, Jiang He, am not that homicidal. Did you think that I'm very keen about fighting and killing?"

"I may have flattened the Penglai Sect and wiped out the Green Hill Foxes, but that was all done in self-defense. And if I didn't do so… would Earth be this peaceful?"

Jin Sidao appeared thoughtful at that…

And it turns out that Jiang He was quite right about that.

If Jiang He had not destroyed the Penglai Sect and Green Hill at the speed of lightning, making a name for himself as the Invincible Demon Lord and the Sect Destroying Maniac, the various immortal sects, demonic sects and daemon cultivators would have revealed themselves, and Earth would be caught entirely in an age of chaos.

Jiang He paused then, before adding, "Furthermore, I don't intend to wipe out the Four Great Factions… their Mahayana elites may have provoked me, but I have already killed them. Naturally, I would think of a way to deal with them too."

"There's no need to kill the small fries of the Four Great Factions."

Wang Hou was dumbstruck.

Having frozen up like a stone statue for a long while, he finally came to his senses.

There was a totally blank look on his face and his eyes were widened as he looked at Jiang He, muttering, "Jiang He, I have definitely cultivated over a hundred years in the Star Map… but how many years have passed on the outside?"

"What do you mean, years? It was just twenty days!"

Jiang He was speechless.

Was Wang Hou doubting him?

Nonetheless, Wang Hou could not resist whipping out his satellite phone… but since he had cultivated for a hundred years in the Star Map, it was out of battery despite its super long battery-life.

Jiang He hence handed him his satellite phone.

Wang Hou was even more stunned after a look at the date and he could not help exclaiming, "It really was just around twenty days… How could this be?"

"If I remember correctly, weren't you merely full-fledged Sufferance? How did you become full-fledged Mahayana so soon?"

Wang Hou appeared unable to take it, and muttered, "Impossible, impossible… I have cultivated for a hundred years, but I can't even catch up to your progress of twenty days?"

Jiang He thought about it, before saying seriously, "Actually, I was already full-fledged Mahayana more than ten days ago, Minister Wang."

Wang Hou scowled even harder at that.

It was only after a long while that he said, "By the way, who is this?"

Jiang He introduced them.

Wang Hou offered a fist-palm salute in greeting. "Chieftain Jin."

"Minister Wang!"

Jin Sidao was quite shock too. He had heard of Wang Hou but never met him, and was naturally quite shocked…

Was Wang Hou a person who carries a great destiny as well?

Even if he did not fully control the Star Map after entering it to cultivate for a hundred years, he would certainly have formed a certain degree of connection to it.

In his mind, he could not help praising himself for deciding to collaborate with the Hua Nation and spread their sect's teachings to the world.

After they had a few exchanges, Wang Hou laughed, "Wang Hou, Chieftain Jin… Isn't it cold out here beyond the skies? Why don't we get down from this place to talk?"

The trio hence flew down to Earth, back to Jingdu City.

Wang Hou led them to a teahouse and asked about the current situation on Earth. After hearing about how Jiang He had threatened the Foxes of Mount Changbai, wiping out the Green Hill Foxes and overwhelmed all immortal sects, demonic sects, and daemon cultivators on Earth until they did not dare to raise their heads, he laughed smugly and said, "Well done… those antiques that can't die from old age have to know who's boss on Earth."

Jin Sidao flushed in slight embarrassment at that—it felt a little insulting!

Jiang He changed the conversation then, "By the way, Minister Wang… what actually happened with that Star Map?"

"I'm not too sure myself," Wang Hou answered. "So, wasn't I thinking that I was quite weak and tried to improve myself by finding some heritage sites or legacies?"

"And as the saying goes, hard work always pays off—I was searching overseas for over thirty or so hours when I found a mountain cavern on an uninhabited island. It was the palace residence of an elite and after I cultivated in there for two days, I was teleported inside the Star Map for some reason."

Wang Hou spread his hands then and showed a helpless look on his face, saying, "That's how I got locked up in the star map for a hundred years!

"Really, a hundred years… no one would know how I lived this long. I can't get out, and I have no one to talk to, so I was forced to keep cultivating…"

As Jiang He listened to Wang Hou tell his personal experiences, an undisguisable look of envy appeared on his face and he could not help sighing, "You're really blessed, Minister Wang. You could go on adventures to find some providence… while I am forced to stay home to farm."

Wang Hou, too, smiled bitterly and said helplessly, "I should be envious here—I want to enjoy a pastoral life like yours too, but circumstances would not allow it!"

Jin Sidao was speechless.

He did not take offense even though Wang Hou's negligent words did prick him, but he could not hold it in now!

What the hell! If you two want to brag, brag in private—have you conspired how I would feel when you say all this in my face?!

Slamming his hand on the table, Jin Sidao sprang to his feet indignantly, turned away, and stormed off!

Jiang He quickly gave chase, saying, "Chieftain Jin, please wait… I still have something I need your help with."

"What is it?" Jin Sidao asked with a scowl.

"It's about the Four Great Factions."

Jiang He answered. "Though I have a heart of compassion and am reluctant to go on a rampage to wipe out the Four Great Factions, it is an indisputable truth that they had provoked me."

"As such, please go in place to pass my word and tell them that their elites had tried to kill me, which is a let down of my trust towards them. It dealt a great blow to my young heart, and it must be healed with tons of treasures."

Jin Sidao was shocked beside himself.

What the hell.

You trusted them before?

Have you even heard about the Four Great Factions before this?

Moreover… young heart?!

Go away!

I want to shoot my two-thousand-year-old spit at you so much right now!

Of course, Jin Sidao merely thought that, and he would never say it if he killed him. Nodding, he said, "Don't worry, Mister Jiang. I will talk to the Four Great Factions when I return."

Even so, it was an errand that would provoke other sects and paint a target on the Ten Thousand Swords Sect.

In fact, would the immortal swordsmen of his sect not kill Jin Sidao once they returned to find themselves the enemies of every other sect?

However, there was no need to think consider so much since he had chosen to tie himself with Jiang He and the Hua Nation.

"By the way…"

Jiang He added then, "When you visit the Four Great Factions, remember to capture the aura of every Mahayana cultivator they have left. Or you could just ask them for a keepsake—I would have use for those later."

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Chapter 373: Planting the Corpse of the Immortal Fox

In front of the teahouse at Jingdu City, Jin Sidao nodded in acknowledgement and said, "Don't worry, I will settle this well, I assure you. But…"

His tone then changed as he asked quietly, "There is no telling when the immortals would return for now, Jiang He… why don't do you go into hiding for now?"

"Why hide?"

Jiang He was puzzled and Jin Sidao answered, "You don't have to fight the returning immortals directly. With your talent and disposition, you could go on a journey across space and come back after you become immortal. After that, even the immortals of the various major sects would have to be careful if they want to attack you."

"There's no need."

Jiang He smiled. "Running before a fight is not my style. Moreover, there are different levels of how powerful immortals could be. What if Golden Immortals exist among the sects that want me dead? Wouldn't I have to hide for years before daring to come back?"

Jin Sidao was dumbstruck.

He gave Jiang He a weird look.

What the hell.

We were just having a nice conversation—why are you suddenly bragging again?

What do you mean, hide for years if those sects had a Golden Immortal? Does that mean you won't fear them several years later?

"By the way, don't leave in such a hurry. You could discuss further about promoting the immortal arts of your sect with Minister Wang," Jiang He said then, and Wang Hou was just stepping out of the teahouse too.

"Minister Wang, Chieftain Jin, you two should talk. I need to go home to cultivate since I'm short on time." Jiang He bade them farewell at that.

He was feeling some serious pressure after hearing news that the immortals would soon return.

"Chieftain Jin…" Wang Hou smiled at Jin Sidao. "Have you walked the streets of Jingdu City yet? How about I give you a tour?"

"Very well."

Jin Sidao nodded and said, "I'll be counting on you then, Minister Wang."

Wang Hou had many questions about the Era of Qi Refinists, while Jin Sidao was interested in modern cities as well and could not help exclaiming in wonder, "To think that things have changed so drastically in the mortal realm…"

Jin Sidao only left at five in the afternoon, heading directly to the Blue Cloud Sect without returning to the Ten Thousand Swords Sect.

The Blue Cloud Sect was located deep within the mountains of Sichuan, and was in the middle of mourning and an uproar just as Jin Sidao arrived.

However, just as he arrived beyond the mountain archways of the Blue Cloud Sect, a flash shot toward him and turned into a scowling old woman leaning on a crutch. "Brother Dragon Abyss," she said unhappily, "please return. The Blue Cloud Sect does not welcome you."

"Is that necessary?" Jin Sidao said with a smile, having expected this already.

The various sects would have set up chambers like the 'soul palace', keeping tabs on the disciples, executors, elders, and hierarchs of the sect.

The soul plate of the Blue Cloud Sect's Mahayana cultivator would have shattered when Jiang He killed him, and the sect would naturally be aware of his death. Moreover, there were the other five Mahayana elites whom Jiang He had released… naturally, after asking around a little, the Blue Cloud Sect would have learned the specifics, and that Jin Sidao had stood by Jiang He's side.

Whoosh!

That was when another figure flew toward them.

It was the third Mahayana cultivator of the Blue Cloud Sect.

There were three Mahayana cultivators in the sect, and their strength were naturally a little superior compared to the Ten Thousand Swords Sect. However, their third Mahayana cultivator's temper was a little fiery in comparison—his mystic treasure was invoked, and his aura was already erupting the moment he appeared.

"Jin Sidao," he barked coldly. "Jiang He is oppressing the Ten Thousand Swords Sect too, and yet you would become a traitor for him. Aren't you afraid that the immortal swordsman of your own sect would punish you when they return?"

Jin Sidao shook his head, unwilling to argue that question and instead said, "Brothers, listen to my advice—don't seek meaningless death, it was not easy for the Blue Cloud Sect to last until now."

"Jin Sidao!"

That Mahayana cultivated roared in rage and was about to attack when the old woman stopped her.

There was a cold flash in the old woman's turbid eyes as she asked, "What do you mean?"

"I've come today to relay Jiang He's words."

Jin Sidao calmly said, "It is suicide even if the nine elites of the Unbounded Demon Sect, the Blood Demon Sect, the Thousand Cavern Mountain, and the Blue Cloud Sect would gang up on Jiang He. Right now, Jiang He is not willing to go on a slaughter and he is letting you live for better or worse."

"However, even if capital crimes can be pardoned, punishment is inevitable—if your sect is willing to offer enough in compensation, I could ask Jiang He for mercy in your stead!"

"Dream on!"

The hot-tempered Mahayana could die from his frustration, and was hammering his chest as he wailed, "Is there even a god?"

"Jiang He has killed an elite of the Blue Cloud Sect, and still demands that we compensate him?"

"Isn't he afraid that our immortals would come for him once they return?"

Jin Sidao sneered and said, "Brother, Sister. The cultivators before had the same idea, but Jiang He would remain unbeatable as long as the immortals do not return. He slays Mahayana elites like he would slaughter mongrels—I'll just put it out there: he could make good on his promise in less than three moves. Anyway, I still have to visit the Unbounded Demon Sect, the Blood Demon Sect, and the Thousand Cavern Mountain, so fare thee well!"

Whoosh!

Before he left, he subtly captured the auras of the Blue Cloud Sect's Mahayana elites.

Still, he felt uncertain inwardly. "It's just a strand of aura… why would Jiang He need this?"

"Could Jiang He have learned some shaman assassination technique? Legend has it that those arts could kill even elites from long distances, but isn't it a little ridiculous for something like that to kill a Mahayana elite from afar?"

Soon, Jin Sidao arrived at Thousand Cavern Mountain.

Meanwhile, Jiang He had long since returned to Lingzhou City.

After having a meal and taking a bath, as well as enjoying Sora's oil massage, he quickly headed to his farm to pluck every spirit stone he had.

"I'll plant all the spirit stones and initiation pellets I have in the wee hours of the next morning, and I could level up my farm then…"

Jiang he stared at his Farm Points which numbered over a billion but felt no delight at all…

What good was a billion anyway?

It would take him ten billion Farm Points to cultivate Three Thousand Calamites up to Eighth Fold.

"Ten billion…"

"Hmmm…"

"I've still have pile of things I did not plant. It would be easy to gather three or five billion if I add in the compensation from those sects, but when it comes to ten billion…"

Jiang He smiled bitterly.

He would only have a shot if the purple bamboo shoots that he chopped off Guanyin's Bodhimanda earned him a good chunk of Farm Points.

"Oh, right."

"I need more of these Violet Sky Thunder Talismans."

"This stuff is useful… and I wonder how many more the Thunder Talisman Daoist has crafted now."

Suddenly, Jiang He froze.

He remembered planting heavenly thunderbolts before… but where had they gone?

Back when he was weathering the retribution of his physique cultivation, he had captured every heavenly thunderbolt and given half of those to the Thunder Talisman Daoist to craft Violet Sky Thunder Talismans with. He had sealed the other half with mystic energies, stuffed them into small porcelain bottles which he planted under the ground, and then…

It did not grow!

Most importantly, Jiang He had forgotten about them.

"Whatever, I'll leave them there since nothing grew out. Let them stay underground and who knows, something might take root and sprout when the farm levels up?"

"Oh, right!"

"Some stuff would happen when the farm levels up. Since I've hoarded quite a lot of good stuff, I need to plant them ahead of time!"

With a turn of his palm, a pile of fox corpses appeared on the ground, the most eye-catching being the corpse of the six-tailed daemon fox—which appeared quite alive despite being dead for over two thousand years.

"Six-tailed daemon fox…"

"When it comes to the Green Hill Foxes, it seems that the bloodline of a fox is nobler the more tails they have. The mythical Daji was said to be a nine-tailed fox herself."

Jiang He hence called out to Dumbo, who distractedly used its Earth-type powers to dig dozens of holes.

"What is it?" Jiang He asked in concern.

Dumbo whinnied unhappily before diving towards Jiang He, sprawling over the ground as it wailed, "I'm suffering, Master. I'm really suffering…"

"The Seven Bottle Gourd Brothers and the eagles got their Buddha Sect legacies and cultivated golden bodies with ceramic glazes, but I… Master, your dearest Dumbie isn't even a Feral King!"

Damn it!

Jiang He shuddered and kicked the dog away while scolding, "Are you blaming me when you're not cultivating diligently, mongrel? Moreover, I'm putting you on the barbecue rack if you dare to call yourself Dumbie again!"

Dumbo hence ran off to a corner of the farm while sobbing.

At the same time, Jiang He pondered.

His pets' abilities were certainly too weak and not catching up to him. In fact, even though the Seven Bottle Gourd Brothers and the two golden eagles had received some legacies, their combat strength still did not reach full-fledged Convergance.

What use were these weaklings?

Still, since he had many treasures on hand, it might be time to draw up a plan to improve them so that they could reach Sufferance or Mahayana as soon as possible. Would they not gain respect even if they left the house on errands for him then?

Therefore…

As he watched the Seven Bottle Gourd Brothers, two eagles, Trumbo, and the sobbing Dumbo cultivate, he said, "Stop cultivating like that. You would hardly reach Mahayana in a hundred years even if you all stick to this orthodox cultivation."

"Anyway, I did manage to get my hands on a lot of stuff at Guanyin's Bodhimanda, so let's decorate the mansion here inside the farm for now."

After all, he had the white jade bards that were sculpted with dragon and phoenix impressions, limestone floor plates that were at least thousands of years old, a subtle but stylish shed, as well as the purple bamboos that were harder than your average sage weapons…

"And the potted plants… I could make benches and stools out of the purple bamboo too, which I would put the potted plants on. It would definitely look gorgeous."

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Chapter 374: The Third Mysterious Seed

Jiang He dug out a huge pile of stuff.

First, the white jade bards.

He had gotten four hundred meters worth of these from Guanyin's Bodhimanda, and it was more than enough for a wall around his farm.

Still, making a fencing required skill.

The most practical method was to dig out a foundation first, after which he would to pour in concrete directly. Then, he would plant the base of the bars into the concrete.

Digging out a foundation was easy, but when it comes to the concrete…

There happened to be a mixing station in Lingzhou City specializing in producing concrete, which was owned by Wang Sizhen. That man had been hitting it rich lately, and the superpowered construction team he oversaw was famous throughout the nation, as well as secured partnerships with multiple foreign countries. In fact, they took part in the construction of many foreign city bases.

As such, Jiang He just had to make a call to get concrete. In fact, he would have enough to rebuild the roads of the entire village, let alone build a tiny foundation.

But…

How troublesome would that be?

"Moreover, the fact that it is troublesome would not matter that matter much. The most important problem here is that concrete ruins soil quality…'

After some thought, Jiang He decided on a simpler method: he just needed to hold the white jade bars up with the soil.

Around three to five inches of the bat planted under the ground would be enough. After that, he could put in a stabilizing array—would he have to be afraid of the fence collapsing then?

"Yeah, yeah, let's do that."

"What are you doing, Fourth Brother? Just look at the wall you're making, it's slanted by over a dozen centimeters! Take it apart and do it over!"

"As for the shed…"

Sitting underneath the Elder Tea Tree of Enlightenment, Jiang He was shouting until his throat had gone dry. Picking up his teacup and taking two large sips of Big Red Robe tea, he then turned toward the Blazing Violet-Golden Eagle and could not help yelling, "Damn it, you silly eagle! You're so clumsy that you had almost overturned that potted plant! Don't you know how precious it is?"

The Blazing Violet-Golden Eagle appeared upset at that.

Even though it had shrunk its size, it still stood up to four meters tall and its claws were larger than the potted plant itself. That was why it had almost knocked over the pots even as it moved it, which frustrated Jiang He so much he was actually feeling heartache.

"Moron," he then seethed in utter disappointment, "don't you know how to assumed human form?"

Yuan Spirit daemons could transform and the Blazing Violet-Golden Eagle was already full-fledge Yuan Spirit.

The Blazing Violet-Golden Eagle was dumbstruck.

Changing forms instantly, the Daemonic Qi around its body swirled like smoke and mist with a pop. By the time it faded, a toddler around two years old and wearing a small dudou had appeared in Jiang He's vision.

The toddler was staring tearfully at Jiang He. Its body retained some of the Blazing Violet-Golden Eagle's attributes—for examples, its eyes were dull-golden, while its hair was violet.

Jiang He was dumbstruck.

In the end, he could not scold it since the Blazing Violet-Golden Eagle was still a kid!

Jiang He only remembered then that it had only been around two months since it had been born.

Nearby, the golden eaglet transformed into a toddler as well.

He was similar to his mutated younger sibling in appearance, having dull golden eyes as well, although the golden eaglet's hair was blonde.

"Fine, fine, the two of you don't need to work. Go run off to a corner and play!"

Jiang He barked with a scowl, only to find the Seven Bottle Gourd Brothers staring tearfully at himself as well, leaving him at a loss for words and unable to decide if he should laugh or cry. "You all don't need to work either… come, Gramps will give you lollipops."

Even as he spoke, he redeemed seven pellets of nitrogen fertilizers.

The Seven Bottle Gourd Brothers accepted their 'candies' and happily ran off.

After all, Jiang He was a person with principles—he would never resort to child labor.

"I won't plant the purple bamboo forest for now, since I should only decide on the design after my farm levels up and the ground surface area expands… likewise, I should dig the artificial lake after my farm levels up too."

"Okay."

"I could use the purple bamboos to make chairs where I could put the potted plants."

Taking out several purple bamboos, Jiang He began to build some chairs, which was a simple matter for Jiang He. In fact, he managed to build over ten little chairs in just half an hour.

He hence put the wooden chairs beside the white jade bars and placing the potted plants above. Though his craftmanship was not immaculate, the rather primitive crudeness had its own sense of aesthetic.

"I planted the immortal daemon fox's corpse."

"There would be eleven bodies if I include the corpses of the other Mahayana foxes of Green Hill, and I planted the rest too."

"Right… and there's still a lot of Sufferance and Mahayana fox corpses…"

"That Feral Corpse… oh, it's that blind ox daemon from the Thousand Cavern Mountain!"

Jiang He realized then that a massive ox daemon's corpse lay amongst the corpses he had emptied out.

The ox daemon stood over a dozen meters tall, which was taller than his mansion. Its fur was blue and its two horns were as tough as it was sharp. After testing it out for a bit, Jiang He realized that the ox horns were as hard as premium-grade sage items.

Crack!

With a single swing of his sword, Jiang He cut off the ox daemon's two horns that were taller than himself.

"Awesome. I just need to hone these horns a bit to fashion them into incredible item refinement materials. Being a grandmaster at item refinement myself but never actually having done it, I could take the time to try it since I had hoarded quite a lot of treasures and wouldn't lack premium-grade item refinement materials."

At Mahayana-tier, even the ox daemon's pelt was a treasure. Each strand of fur could match premium-grade soul item in hardness, and if it was infused within a modern composite alloy, a metal stronger than S-grade composite alloys could be crafted.

"I'll keep the pelt for Mu Wanqiu. Didn't she set up a branch of the Superpower Research Department at Lingzhou City? I could let her experiment with it."

"As for the ox daemon corpse…"

Jiang He pondered.

He would not be planting the ox daemon's corpse and would save it for food instead… Moreover, he needed to feed his Cloudscraper Vine, and that would need a lot a meat.

Just days ago, the Cloudscraper Vine had mutated for a third time.

Its thirty-six vines had hence split into seventy-two, with each vine becoming twice as thick and growing up to a kilometer in length.

Right now, the Cloudscraper Vine would definitely be a match for Yuan Spirit cultivators, but that was still too weak for Jiang He.

"That said, the Cloudscraper Vine is the least difficult to develop. I did get a lot of fox corpses from Green Hill, with no lack of Yuan Spirit, Convergence, and Sufferance daemon cultivators. I just have to feed the Cloudscraper Vine some and it would not be too difficult for it to evolve twice afterwards."

As the thought crossed Jiang He's mind, he nonchalantly took out the corpses of several Yuan Spirit daemon foxes and threw them to the Cloudscraper Vine.

Delighted, the Cloudscraper Vine's seventy-two vines coiled around the corpse, its many spikes stabbing into the corpses as it consumed their blood and flesh.

Then, he spoke to the willow tree for a while.

Right now, the willow tree had already cultivated the Eastern Emperor Greenwood Art. Its powers were growing every passing day and it would not be long before it could transform.

Before, Jiang He had been looking forward to the willow tree's transformation, though he now worried about it… It would be a headache if it transformed into a girl toddler like the two eaglets.

Soon, two hours had passed, and another batch of spirit stone had ripened.

After plucking the spirit stones, Jiang He planted the moon he traded from the Taixu Sect chieftain.

"Oh, yes."

"I did promise to craft two sage items for the Taixu Sect chieftain… wonder when he would come to put in his order."

It was now already night.

Jiang He returned to the farm after finishing dinner and stayed there until the wee hours of the morning, when he had finally planted all the spirit stones and initiation pellets he had on hand.

With a flip of his palm, Jiang He swiftly planted the third Mysterious Seed.

Taking a deep breath, Jiang He checked his System Panel and muttered, "Time to level up the farm!"

He had the ascension materials for his farm anyway.

Orirocks, Yuan Spirit daemon corpses…

He planted everything in his farm.

And soon enough… ooom!

The entire farm quaked, and in the next instant, the Yuan Qi in the farm rapidly changed, just as another unique energy was spreading in the farm.

"Oh, right!"

"I still have one Mysterious Seed left!"

The Mysterious Seed could grow quickly and ripen with the special energy that appeared when his farm level up!

Moreover, Jiang He had high hopes for the Mysterious Seed.

He had gotten Boa Hancock from the first Mysterious Seed and the Spirit Animal Ring with the second, though he had yet to use the latter.

But what about the third Mysterious Seed?

What could grow from it?

Report chapter

Chapter 375: Living Soil of the Nine Heavens, Seeds of the Eternal Spirit Ginseng

Oom!

The farm shook gently.

A curious energy began to extend and under its influence, the entire farm was changing drastically.

The corpses of the six-tailed daemon fox and the other Mahayana foxes, the immortal-grade jade tower, the demi-immortal items, as well as the premium-grade sage items were all rapidly growing out of the ground.

Even the Mysterious Seed, which had a longer growth cycle, was growing rapidly with two fresh buds breaking out through the ground.

The Cloudscraper Vine, which had just evolved just now, was also swaying and rapidly strengthening thanks to the energy swirling as his farm leveled up.

Likewise, the willow tree was rapidly changing.

"Aaaaah, Master…"

"It's so curious! I feel like something has entered my body!"

The brain waves of the willow tree extended into Jiang He's then, and he barked, "Stop that nonsense! Direct the flow of your cultivation to see if you could refine that energy! The same goes for you lot—Dumbo, Trumbo, Bottle Gourd Brothers, eagles!"

The cat, the dog, the Seven Bottle Gourd Brothers, and the two eaglets—who had just transformed into two brats—all sat on the ground, and began to cultivate.

Suddenly…

Boom!

A suddenly explosion made Jiang He jump from the shock, and he turned to find a part of the ground blown apart, with two leaves flickering in lightning glow creeping out.

The two leaves were palm-sized, and thunderbolts were shining brilliantly and cracking relentless over it.

Boom, boom, boom!!!

As a chain of explosions echoed, more thunderbolt leaves grew beside the palmed-sized leaves.

"Are those the heavenly thunderbolts I grew?"

Jiang He's face twitched.

He looked up around the farm to find that the 'walls' around the farm was slowly fading, replaced by gray mist instead.

The mist was rolling outward relentlessly, with the turbid air sinking while the clear air rose above, causing whole farm area to expand rapidly.

[Ding!]

[Your farm area is expanding.]

[Ding!]

[The quality of soil in your farm has improved significantly!]

[…]

[Ding!]

[Farm level up completed.]

[Congratulations, Host. You have leveled up the farm to Lv6. Additional rewards: System Backpack boxes 12, cultivation manual planting slots 5, 1 pack Living Soil of the Nine Heavens, 1 pack Spirit Ginseng seeds]

A crisp System Notification jingled beside Jiang He's ears as the farm stopped altering, while the swirling energy calmed down as well.

Kaboom!

An aura arose from the willow tree then, and it swayed as it called out, "Master, I'm ascending both in cultivation and technique, and I could transform soon enough."

Dumbo and Trumbo's auras had strengthened incredibly as well, although the Seven Bottle Gourd Brothers and the two eaglets did not develop much since they already strengthened greatly at Guanyin's Bodhimanda.

However, it was the Cloudscraper Vine which improved the most.

That thing was a curious being in this universe—it could evolve solely with eating without limit and without cultivating. It had just grown seventy-two tendrils that stretched up to one kilometer after being fed some daemon corpses, and in no time at all, all seventy-two tendrils grew up to 1.5 kilometers, with faint blood-colored stripes appearing on the tendrils and the leaves.

Its aura was more than twice stronger too, and it would not be long before it evolved again.

"With the Cloudscraper Vine and the willow tree rooted to the farm as it leveled up and the soil improving greatly, the Spirit Qi in the farm would improve greatly as well, quickening their evolution and cultivation in the future!"

A thought crossed Jiang He's mind then, and his eyes lingered over the Living Soil of the Nine Heavens as well as the seeds of the Thousand-Year Spirit Ginseng, both of which were the farm leveling rewards this time.

The Living Soil of the Nine Heavens was kept inside an elegant bag and was approximately twenty catties.

[The legendary Living Soil of the Nine Heavens is an sacred relic of humans in ancient times, a soul treasure of innate karmic merits…]

[…legends also stipulate that it was a material Nüwa used in creating humans.]

Information and legends about the Living Soil of the Nine Heavens appeared in Jiang He's mind then, claiming that it was a sacred object of the five elements.

However, Jiang He thought that the Living Soil of the Nine Heavens was more or less the same as the Mysterious Soil—and was just a fertilizer.

"This must be an upgraded version of the Mysterious Soil, although I would have test to see the specific effects.

Jiang He turned toward the System Shop then, and just as he had expected, the Living Soil of the Nine Heavens was listed among the items sold now.

As for the price…

"What the hell!"

Jiang He promptly mouthed an expletive after a look at the price of the Living Soil, cursing even as he scowled, "A f*cking pack of Living Soil costs a million Farm Points? Does it get any worse?"

Moreover…

It was the small pack that only contained five catties each.

In the System Shop, the Living Soil comes in three sizes: small, medium and large. The medium pack contains 10 catties of Living Soil and costs 2 million each, while the big pack contains 20 catties and costs 3 million for each pack.

This naturally made Jiang He seriously doubt the System's intelligence.

According to the numbers, shouldn't the 20 catties pack be sold at 4 million Farm Points?

Or perhaps there was a rebate when purchasing a big pack?

Then who would by the small packs?

Would it not be better to directly buy the big pack and use it on separate occasions?

"Anyway, those factions would come bringing my compensation, and I could test the quality of the Living Soil then."

After that, Jiang He took out the packet of Eternal Spirit Ginseng seeds.

The packet itself had a weird ginseng drawn on it—it resembled a human shape and the leaves above looked just like hairs and it was tied with red ropes.

Several lines of text were also written beneath the picture, and it appeared to be instructions.

"Seeds of the Eternal Spirit Ginseng, 100-seed pack… function: cultivates flesh from bones and revives the dead. Improves cultivation, qi, and physique?"

"As for how to plant the spirit ginseng… plant it in fertile spirit farms, water with spirit fluids every day at the first earthly branch after planting, and cultivate with mystic energies. Also, weed it at the third earthly branch and clear pests at the fourth earthly branch, and keep it under the sun during the morning…"

The instructions on how to the plant the Spirit Ginseng was very detailed.

Jiang He studied it intently, only to find that the last part read: "The medicinal value of the Spirit Ginseng increases with a longer growth cycle, but it must be tied with red rope as it ripens, or it would jump out of the ground and run away."

"…"

Hehe.

Jiang He laughed.

Was this supposed to be the spirit ginseng?

It sounded so childish.

Still, if he remembered correctly… the first earthly branch referred to 11 pm to 1 am, did it not?

In turn, the third earthly branch referred to 3 to 5 am, while the fourth earthly branch referred to the 5 to 7 am.

Was he supposed to stay awake just to plant some spirit ginseng?

Leaving aside a whole load of work in the evening, the ginseng must be basked under sun and then placed under the shed in the afternoon… was Jiang He supposed to be some sort of child apprentice herbalist here?

"I just hope for an easy farming life, and losing sleep over farming goes again my purpose in doing this in the first place."

As such, Jiang He tore open the pack of Spirit Ginseng and noncommittally sprinkled the 100 Spirit Ginseng seeds all around.

Just grow however you like—I'm losing out if I have to help you clear weed and pests every single day.

After that was done, Jiang He checked his System Panel.

[Name: Jiang He]

[Cultivation: Immortal Path—full-fledged Mahayana; Martial Arts—Void-tier]

[Ability: Royal Sword, fire]

[Martial Arts Cultivation: Indestructible Diamond (Mastery), Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms (Mastery), Strengthened Nine Yang Technique (Mastery), Ninefold Thunderblade (Mastery), Dragon-Elephant Prajna (Mastery), Nine Heavenly Stars Body Formula (Seventh Tier), Three Thousand Calamities (Seventh Fold), Twenty-Three Swords (Mastery).]

[Arrays: Nameless Sword Array (Mastery), Great Nine Heavens Array of Dragon Sealing, Nine Heavens Thunderflame Array, Earthen Black Tortoise Array, Ten Thousand Phenomenon Array.]

[Owned Land: 100 Mu]

[Farm Level: 6 (EXP 1/5000000)]

[System Backpack: 36 boxes]

[System Shop: Unlocked]

[Farm Points: 1,580,000,000]

After his farm leveled up, Jiang He's farm directly expanded from 9 Mu up to 100 Mu, which was more than ten times the area before.

"Haaaa…"

Jiang He sighed softly. "A hundred Mu is just 66,600 squared meters, and less than ten soccer fields… I even thought about digging an artificial lake in the farm, which I would slowly expand to a sea, but it seems that would have to wait until my farm levels up again."

"Hold on…"

"When did my martial arts cultivation improve to Void-tier?"

"And that Nine Yang technique which I had given up on—how did it get to mastery?"

Jiang He did a double take.

When did he master it?

Why was he not aware of that?

Translator's note:

(1) Nüwa is the mother goddess of Chinese mythology.

Report chapter

Chapter 376: Planting A Nine-Tailed Fox

Jiang He remembered how he had cultivated the Strengthened Nine Yang Technique for hours but failed to master it, and hence gave up on cultivating it entirely.

To think that he had already mastered it…

"The Nine Yang Technique is considered one of the godliest of techniques in martial arts, though it could be cultivated naturally without deliberately cultivating it… was that how I mastered it?"

"Or did I forget about spending Farm Points to master it?"

Jiang He muttered to himself for a while, and soon gave up on thinking about it.

After all, Void-tier in martial arts was no big deal, and insignificant compared to the future of his immortal path and physique cultivation.

"Still, that reminds me…"

"There are aspects about martial arts worth referencing. Wang Hou's Paragon martial arts cultivation gives me the feeling that it would not lose out to Mahayana cultivators and after leveling up the farm, I can plant five cultivation manuals now before leveling up again… I might be able create a Paragon-tier martial technique."

"However, I could not be content with Paragon… after all, Paragon is just equivalent to Mahayana and less than Heavenly Immortal—what use is it for me even if I cultivate it?"

Various martial arts depicted in the martial world of the Stormriders hence appeared in Jiang He's mind unwittingly.

While that stuff was mostly fabricated from novels, those techniques were bold and unconstrained, and even more overwhelming than immortal arts or other godly moves.

For example, the godly move that was the Twenty-Three Swords, which cut Yuan Spirit specifically, was a mystical secret Yuan Spirit technique, one which Jiang He had yet seen to have an equivalent even among cultivators at present.

"I'll spend my time researching after I've dealt with the things I have done on hand, and see what martial technique is most suitable… oh, and I would have to remake new immortal arts and physique refinement techniques."

There were eighth folds to the Three Thousand Calamities, which only supported his cultivation up to full-fledged Heavenly Immortal.

On the other hand, while there were nine folds to the Nine Heavenly Stars Body Formula, that stuff was a class beneath the Three Thousand Calamities and could only be considered as mediocre and standard-issue. Indeed, Jiang He estimated that he would only be a little stronger than Heavenly Immortals after cultivating it to mastery.

And since Jiang He was a man who was going to become a Sword Sage, there was still much road to cover in cultivating the immortal arts.

This sort of stuff could not be rushed.

When the Three Thousand Calamities was mastered, he could develop an immortal swordsman's technique that started from Heavenly Immortal tier, the type that could cut down demigods and the like upon reaching mastery.

"There is no rush in creating the cultivation manuals. Let's see what would happen after I plant the stuff I have for now.'

Collecting his thoughts, Jiang He turned toward the… thunder trees?

Hmmm!

That name was a little embarrassing…

But it was the truth.

After their shoots grew out of the ground thanks to the curious energy that swirled when Jiang He leveled up his farm, the forty heavenly thunderbolts Jiang He had planted before had grown into forty trees, each shaped like a lightning bolt and flashing with other cracking bolts.

The leaves were a deep violet and had the markings of lightning bolts on it too, and it resembled a bolt that streaked through the night skies.

"Interesting… Thunder Tree?"

Jiang He grinned, feeling very curious inwardly… What would the fruits that eventually grow out from these heavenly thunderbolts be?

More heavenly thunderbolts?

Jiang He, however, was no longer that bumbling youth he was before, and no longer believed in the principle of 'you reap what you sow'.

Now, the energy that swirled when the farm leveled up had already calmed down, which was why the growth of the Thunder Trees had slowed as well—Jiang He estimated that they would need five to seven days to ripen.

At the same time, the third Mysterious Seed, which he had planted before leveling his farm, had sprung as well, with a lush emerald-tree growing out of it.

The growth cycles of the Mysterious Seeds were quite long, and only ripened in seven days. Despite the catalyst effect of the curious energy from the farm's leveling shortening that by a day or so, the Mysterious Seed would still take at least five days to ripen.

Meanwhile, the other sage items, soul items, demi-immortal items, and immortal items that Jiang He planted were all ripe. Many mystic treasures now dangled across the farm, each shining and illuminating the farm with dazzling radiances.

The most eye-catching was a nine-floor White Jade Tower which stood around a foot tall. Its design was exquisite and its four corners sharply articulated, with a dragon head breathing a jade pearl sculpted upon it, while profound immortal mystic scripts were inscribed all over the structure of the tower.

The White Jade Tower floated at the center of the many mystic treasures with a thin shroud of immortal radiance, and no mystic treasure could get thirty feet near it.

"A mediocre-grade immortal item!"

Jiang He laughed out loud before teaching out to grasp towards the White Jade Tower—

[Ding!]

[10 million Farm Points.]

Jiang He could not help jumping in shock at the jingle of the System Notification and exclaimed in surprise, "I'd actually earned ten million Farm Points from a single mediocre-grade immortal item?"

He pondered after his initial surprise.

"That said, I could earn Farm Points without limit if I could craft immortal items on my own… I would craft over two thousand inferior-grade immortal items and use those as seeds, plant them, and strengthen them… after that, I would earn two thousand mediocre-grade immortal items while receiving ten million Farm Points for each… gasp!"

Even Jiang He himself inhaled sharply.

He turned his eyes to the White Jade Tower, and a series of data quickly popped up before his eyes.

[Nine Skies Palace]

[Grade: mediocre-grade immortal item.]

[Sacrifice a drop of blood for use.]

"Nine Skies Palace?"

"Why would a jade tower be named so?"

Jiang He was a little perplexed, but after he invoked it with a drop of blood… he understood.

His mind shifted and the jade tower shone with veins of Immortal Dao after a brief hum and vibration. It took to the skies entirely, instantly expanding while the many floors split apart, and the entire structure transformed into nine palaces.

Back at Green Hill, that White Jade Tower was formed with the powerful nine demi-immortal palaces. After Jiang He had planted it and strengthened it, it was improved from inferior-grade to mediocre-grade immortal item—now, even if it was split into nine palaces, they were shining in immortal radiance, with each having strengthened to inferior-grade immortal items.

With just a thought from Jiang He, the nine palaces flew up and combined as one, forming the Jade Tower once again.

It then landed on the ground, now being three hundred and thirty feet tall.

Jiang He strode inside the Jade Tower and only came out after strolling around for half an hour, and could not help laughing, "Funny… the foolish Green Hill Foxes actually used the Nine Skies Palace as a defensive mystic treasure. What overkill."

Jiang He more or less understood how to use the Nine Skies Palace after studying it for around half an hour.

This item must have been an heirloom left to the Green Hill Foxes by their immortal predecessors to better develop the younger Green Hill Foxes. Each floor contains a trial checkpoint, assessing sword techniques, blade techniques, physical techniques and the Daoist heart.

"Still, Dumbo and the others would have some use for it… moreover, the design is quite comfortable, and I could keep it around the farm."

Aside from the Nine Skies Palace, Jiang He had planted nine other immortal items.

These immortal items were all planted and strengthened out of demi-immortal items, six of which he had obtained from Green Hill, and the other three from the blind cultivators who tried to kill him, only to be killed by Jiang He in return.

Of the nine immortal items, one was an inferior-grade immortal combat armor, which was originally worn by Fabulous Fox of Green Hill.

Among those nine immortal items, two were flying swords, two were combat blades, while the others were a spear, a daemonic banner, a bell, and a scarlet combat axe.

There were also over thirty demi-immortal items planted.

Those were strengthened from premium-grade sage items, and Jiang He obtained some as compensation from the Foxes of Mount Changbai and the Scale Dragons of Mount Changbai, and recovered the others from the ruins of Green Hill.

One must say that the Green Hill Foxes were quite rich.

Flying swords occupied more than a third of those thirty-or-so demi-immortal items, since swords were the most common mystic treasures used among cultivators.

Jiang He felt a little thrilled then.

This way, he could wield seven demi-immortal flying swords and three inferior-grade flying swords to set up his Sword Array of Ten Realms and Infinity. Hence, its power would be more than double from what Jiang He could release from before and definitely reach the level of Heavenly Immortals—and not at the novice level at that.

"Jin Sidao had claimed that only immortals could kill immortals, but I wouldn't agree."

"If I subtly fire my Twenty-Three Swords technique at a Heavenly Immortal, I would maim their Yuan Spirit instantly even if I can't cut it down. However, I could release the Sword Array of Ten Realms and Infinity directly at almost the same time, and I would not believe I would fail to kill my opponent!"

Picking seven of the demi-immortal flying swords, Jiang He invoked them before throwing every other mystic treasure into Void Storage.

His eyes then turned to look at a corner of the farm.

There was a grave sitting there, with a single massive morning glory growing out of it.

The flower was closed, though the insides were brimming with something unknown.

"That grave… was that where the immortal daemon's body had been buried?"

Jiang He's eyes lit up.

Had the six-tailed daemon fox's corpse become ripe?

Still, Jiang He could not see what was growing inside the flower, and he must pluck it to find out for himself.

He hence walked up and firmly plucked the two-meter-tall morning glory.

[Ding!]

[20 million Farm Points.]

Jiang He was rendered speechless.

The System Notification in his head left him dumbstruck, and he only came to his senses after a dozen seconds, exclaiming in shock, "What could be inside this morning glory? It's more valuable than the Nine Skies Palace!"

He reached out, and was about to pry apart the enclosed petals when…

Whoosh.

The petals opened on their own, and veins of immortal radiance shone from within.

A voluptuous figure dressed in a multicolored, half-see-through dress then descended and curtseyed at Jiang He, saying charmingly, "Mister…"

At the same time, nine furry tails gently swayed behind her, adding more degrees of charm to her beauty.

"…"

What the hell!

Jiang He's eyes widened and he found his mind blanking out just then…

Was that cosplay?

No way!

It was a nine-tailed fox!

Report chapter

Chapter 377: Mahayana Dao Fruit

There was a record in the Classic of Mountains and Seas that read, "Foxes dwell upon mountains in the realm of Green Hill, having four feet, nine tails, and crying like a baby. They occasionally devour humans, thought those who consume the flesh of the nine-tail fox would unmeet vile Daemonic Qi."

Jiang He was aware of that extract as he had read about that myth on the internet before he attacked the Green Hill Foxes.

"But what does 'unmeet vile Daemonic Qi' mean?"

"Does that mean I won't fear Daemonic Qi after I eat the flesh of the Nine Tailed Fox?"

As the idea struck Jiang He—he studied the Nine Tailed Fox from head to toe, his gaze eventually lingering on her chest.

Eat, my foot.

What was there to eat? The only meat this Nine Tailed Fox had was on her breasts.

"Why are you staring at your humble servant like that, Master?"

The Nine Tailed Fox squeaked charmingly, but despite her protest, she was deliberately puffing her chest for Jiang He's benefit. Her near-perfect cheeks and figure… even her nine tails were oozing an aura that could invoke calamity that destroyed a nation.

Jiang He could not help shooting her a sideways glance.

He had planted her anyway. What laws would he be breaking for having a few more looks?

Still, he felt a little doubt after looking…

Since that familiar 'data panel' did not show up, Jiang He shelved some of his thoughts that came with inappropriate timing and asked, "What is your name?"

"Your humble servant is Hu Mei (1), Master."

"Oh."

Jiang He felt a little dispirited at that.

Hu Mei?

Was that her former name?

To think that it was not actually Da Ji.

"What is your cultivation?"

Immortal radiance shone around Hu Mei just then, as her Immortal Dao emanated frightening immortal might. Still, it was withdrawn as soon as released and Hu Mei answered, "I'm a full- fledged Heavenly Immortal, having cultivated all thirty-six Dao of Heavenly Immortals."

"Oh?"

Jiang He appeared taken aback, and asked, "How are the immortals categorized, specifically?"

"As for cultivating the Dao of Heavenly Immortals, does that mean the more Dao are cultivated, the stronger they are?"

Hu Mei shook her head and said, "Be it human or daemon, all cultivators would eventually assume the path of Dao enlightenment. Heavenly Immortals would still cultivate Dao—the deeper they understand Dao, the stronger they would be, and they would be able to condense more Heavenly Immortal Dao."

"Oh?"

Jiang He nodded blankly without actually understanding a thing.

Under the impression that Jiang He did not get it, she mused to herself for seconds before saying, "Master. After cultivators start off as Qi Refinists, they would in fact start to grasp Dao only after reaching Golden Pellet. Every move and technique, when infused with Dao, would invoke the might of heaven and earth."

"I know that."

Jiang He then said, "For example, martial artists could cultivate the Boundary of Wills, and that power could be considered Dao… albeit in shallower terms. But as one cultivates it deeper, they would gradually be enlightened of Dao."

"That's right."

Hu Mei replied. "And there are different Dao—after cultivating up to Convergence, one reaches a process where their different Dao converges and are sorted…"

But before she finished, Jiang He waved her off and said, "Alright, Hu Mei. You don't have to go into detail about cultivation."

Damn it.

Dao, Convergence, and whatnot…

It is a pain just hearing about it. Moreover, why should I study that stuff when I'm already Mahayana?

As for the condensing the Dao of Heavenly Immortals… that could wait until he ascended as an immortal.

Hu Mei hence went off to stood at a corner since Jiang He was not asking more questions. At the same time, the graves of the other Green Hill Foxes were taking root and sprouting to bear raw, green fruits.

Small trees had grown out of the trees of each Mahayana Fox, and each tree was dangling with three raw-green fruits that resembled almonds.

Jiang He reached out to pluck one.

[Ding!]

[500,000 Farm Points.]

Jiang He was not surprised that he had earned five hundred thousand. Would he expect less from the fruits growing from Mahayana cultivators?

As he looked closely while holding it on his palm, a cluster of data popped up.

[Mahayana Dao Fruit]

[A Dao Fruit crystallized from the essence of a Mahayana cultivator and their Dao enlightenment. Cultivators would quicken their own Dao enlightenment after cultivating with the fruit to improve personal ability, or inherit all of the fruit owner's previous abilities through complete cultivation with the fruit.]

[System Hint: Cultivators with compatible Dao could achieve more with less effort.]

Jiang He's gaze twitched.

Mahayana Dao Fruit?

This stuff was ridiculous.

There were ten trees that bore thirty Mahayana Dao Fruits—didn't that mean he could use this stuff to quickly cultivate a batch of Mahayana elites?

"I wonder if there are limits to this thing… for example, those who cultivated using this Dao Fruit might have a hard time improving later, or not improve at all… but it would be incredible if it could be used without limit."

A thought occurred to Jiang He then…

From his perspective, the Dao Fruit might not have side-effects, since the data would definitely show it if there were.

[Ding!]

[500,000 Farm Points.]

[Ding!]

[500,000 Farm Points…]

After plucking the many Dao Fruits, Jiang He picked a green one which was faintly swirling with Blade Will.

One would notice that there was a sea of Blade Qi if they observed that fruit with spirit, and Jiang He thought, "This fruit must have grown from the corpse of a Mahayana Fox who mainly cultivated Blade Dao… Since Dumbo cultivates Blade Dao as well, he could use this."

"Trumbo, on the other hand, is adept at sword techniques…"

Dao Fruits containing Sword Dao and Blade Dao were the most numerous, while those with Elemental Dao such as fire, water and earth came second.

Since the Seven Bottle Gourd Brothers could breathe air blades, they could cultivate the Dao Fruit for Blade Dao. Moreover, Third Brother's steel body counted as the earth element, while Fourth Brother could breathe fire and Fifth Brother could breathe water—allowing them to cultivate from the fruits with corresponding Dao.

On the other hand, the Blazing Violet-Golden Eaglet and its brother could cultivate both metal and fire. Moreover, it had grasped Wind Dao as well after weathering the Four Lesser Retributions of the Nine Heavens. As such, Jiang He gave it a Dao Fruit with the Fire Element and said, "You are the descendant of a divine beast, and your cultivation progress would not be slow. Moreover, the stronger you are, the easier you would trigger your bloodline, so take this Fire Dao Fruit to cultivate for now. After we slaughter a real Golden-Winged Roc, you two could refine its bloodline, and might hence truly evolve as divine beasts."

As for Dao Fruits with the metal element…

Jiang He did not get any, perhaps because the Green Hill Foxes were not adept at it.

The only thing that pleased him was that there was one with the wood-element, which he could give the willow tree to cultivate with.

He then picked two more, and gave one each to Boa Hancock and Sora.

"There are seventeen Dao Fruits left, and one with the fire element which I could save for Wang Siyu…"

"And then I could give one each to Two Dog Li, Cheng Dongfeng, and Duan Tianhe, since we are all from Lingzhou City. After they improve their abilities, they could stop one or two powerful opponents trying to invade my house in the future."

Jiang He quietly made his plans and put away the remaining Mahayana Dao Fruits.

He then reached out grasped, and grabbed a 'full moon'.

That moon was the one he had traded with the Taixu Sect chieftain. Initially a superior-grade sage item, it was now a premium-grade sage item after planting via strengthening.

Delight showed on Jiang He's face then.

The moon he had been yearning so dearly for was finally here.

Right now, there was only a sun and no moons in his farm, which kept the farm constantly illuminated under the sun. Indeed, one would be unable to differentiate the time of day if they lingered at the farm for too long.

Jiang He nonchalantly threw the moon then and it took to the skies, rapidly enlarging and finally becoming a big moon high above, while the sun set toward the east…

"I still need to adjust it so that it won't be like the Secret Realm of the Tantra Sect, where daytime and nighttime are reversed for the inside and the outside…" With a burst of mystic energy, Jiang He created an 'orbit' for the sun and the moon in his farm.

The sun would now rise during daytime while the moon sets.

At night, the moon would rise while the sun sets in the west.

After he had done all that, both sun and moon started looping, with the moon setting while the great sun took to the skies.

This meant that it was daytime outside.

"And somehow an entire night is gone already."

Jiang He shook his head. However, his gaze twitched just as he was about to harvest every remaining crop, having sensed Jin Sidao's presence.

He stepped out of his farm to find a sword flash shooting toward him, and found Jin Sidao sporting a bruised and swollen face as he descended from the skies.

"What happened?"

Jiang He asked with a frown. "I only asked you to pass a word to me, but how did you become like this? Did the people from the Four Great Factions beat you up?"

Translator's Note:

(1) Hu Mei 狐媚: fox's charms.

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Chapter 378: Why Would the Powerful Sky Demon Legion Run Off to Mars?

"Jiang He!"

Jin Sidao reached Jiang He in two strides with a look of grief on his face and seethed through his teeth, "The thugs of the Blue Cloud Sect are too much! I visited them first and offered them some good-natured advice, but the moment I left, they alerted the Unbounded Demon Sect, the Blood Demon Sect, and the Thousand Cavern Mountain, gathering six Mahayana elites to ambush me at the Thousand Cavern Mountain! I would not have seen you again if I did not manage to get away quickly!"

"You're quite impressive—not even six Mahayana elites could prevent you from escaping."

Those words did improve Jin Sidao's mood considerable. All grief was promptly gone from his face as he said smugly, "But of course, we at the Ten Thousand Swords Sect strive the path of swordsman cultivators, which is why we would be superior to cultivators of the same tier when it comes to attacking. Our immortal swordsman back than had even cut down a Golden Immortal too!"

Jiang He was speechless at that.

I was just praising you a little, but you're becoming that conceited already?

Moreover… swordsman cultivator?

Are you not dragging their name through the mud?

I myself am a swordsman cultivator as well—I could even slaughter sixty Mahayana elites trying to ambush me, let alone only six of them.

Still, Jiang He put away those thoughts, sneered, and said, "Those four factions are really bold. They would ambush you when you were just helping me relay a message? This is an insult to me!"

Turning toward Jin Sidao, Jiang He asked, "So, the four factions are not going to pay the compensation for mental distress they caused me, are they?"

Compensation for mental distress?

It was a very unfamiliar term for Jin Sidao, but he more or less understood what that meant, and promptly nodded with a pained smile. "Jiang He, their background is quite something, which is why they are feeling even more secure in the knowledge that their immortals would soon return."

"Feeling secure, huh?"

Jiang He laughed in exasperation and said, "If those four factions would not pay up, the five other factions would naturally follow suit… the return of the immortals, the return of the immortals… are those people mentally retarded?"

"As long as the immortals do not return, I, Jiang He, am invincible… No, I'll have them know that no one could stop me from slaughtering them even if the immortals would return."

Jin Sidao's face twitched, but Jiang He continued, "Did you do as I told you and capture their auras?"

"I caught the auras of the six Mahayana elites who ambushed me."

Auras were quite a mysterious thing. Wanting to capture another person's aura was as simple as it was difficult—for example, each cultivator's Dao arts and sword skills would contain their auras, just as their clothes and belongings would do so.

Nonetheless, Jin Sidao handed the six strands of aura to Jiang He and asked in curiosity, "Are you going to cast a godly technique that kills through karmic connection or something of the like? Should I step back?"

"Why should you? It's nothing that must not be seen."

Jiang He carefully felt out the six auras and took out six Violet Sky Thunder Talisman with a flip of his palm. Jin Sidao craned his neck for a look, and exclaimed in surprise, "Does that paper talisman hold a curse? Hmmm… it is quite unique, and it is unmarked with any fulu or other symbols… though the style looks quite similar to the Nine Retribution Talismans which the Thunder Talisman Daoist of our sect crafts."

"Violet Thunder?"

"Is this talisman called a Violet Sky Talisman?"

After all, the paper talisman Jiang He took out was not labeled with any symbols, but just the two words—'Violet Sky'.

At Jin Sidao's question, Jiang He explained while charging the Violet Sky Thunder Talisman, "This paper talisman is improved based on the Nine Retribution Talisman, which the Thunder Talisman Daoist crafted. I've named it the Violet Sky Thunder Talisman."

With that, he waved his hand.

Whoosh.

All six Violet Sky Thunder Talismans were thrown out.

Once they left Jiang He's fingers, they promptly began to burn up and turned into thunderclouds that flew into distance.

Jin Sidao held his breath, intent on observing Jiang He's godlike technique from up close—still, he was forced to change his mind after noticing that Jiang He was not doing anything else for over eight minutes, and thought, "Perhaps Jiang He could not cast it with me around?"

As he turned and withdrew his divine mind to stop observing, he heard Jiang He calling to him the instant he did so. "Brother Jin, could I trouble you to visit those four factions again?"

"Eh?"

Jin Sidao turned around and asked in confusion, "Again?"

Jiang He nodded.

Jin Sidao flashed a bitter smile in return. "I am most pleased to help solve your problems, Brother Jiang He… but the Mahayana elites of the four factions would kill me on sight."

"It's fine."

Jiang He smiled mysteriously, and took out a set of combat armor with a flip of his palm, saying, "You don't have to worry, Brother Jin. I've already punished the four factions, and they would definitely not dare to attack you when you go to them this time."

"By the way, here's a set of demi-immortal armor. Use it."

Eh?

Jin Sidao was left dumbstruck at that.

Meanwhile, Jiang He nonchalantly threw the armor to him, "It's difficult for you to fly here and there for my errand. I even wanted to give you a demi-immortal flying sword… but I only have seven of those to lay out my sword arrays. Moreover, I could see that your physique is weaker as a swordsman cultivator, and it would not do if you fought in close quarters. This armor would make up for your shortcoming.

Jin Sidao was speechless.

All he felt was his brain's humming, unable to make headways just then.

Clutching the demi-immortal armor, his Adam's apple bobbed as he felt his throat go dry, and he said hoarsely, "Seven… demi-immortal… flying swords?"

Jiang He clapped Jin Sidao on the shoulder just then, and flatly said, "I, Jiang He, have always clearly differentiated favors from grudges. You ran errands for me, Brother Jin Sidao, so you would naturally be rewarded… By the way, if you have the free time, you should visit the other five factions as well. I'll give you a demi-immortal flying sword if they would offer one."

Jin Sidao's whole body promptly froze at that, and his eyes went red even as he cried out hoarsely, "Don't worry, Mister Jiang! I will definitely get all nine factions to pay the compensation for your mental distress!"

Whoosh!

He took to the skies, riding a sword as he flew towards the Blue Cloud Sect once again, invoking the demi-immortal combat armor and beside himself with thrill.

A demi-immortal item!

This was a demi-immortal item!

In any other immortal sects, demonic sects or daemon cultivators of present, any one of these could aid a sect in changing their fate!

Even so, Jiang He gave it to him without even a blink.

Moreover…

He had even promised him a demi-immortal flying sword!

"I already have Dragon Abyss. With a fire-type demi-immortal flying sword, I could use both to cast an Ice and Fire Duality Sword Array with at least five times more power…"

Nonetheless, Jin Sidao soon flew up to the Blue Cloud Sect's domain.

He could not help quivering just as he saw the mountain archway of the Blue Cloud Sect, his thrill promptly cooling down as if a bucket of cold water had been splashed upon him. Scowling, he muttered, "I was too focused on my bliss, and did not even think about what would happen if the Blue Cloud Sect would work with the other factions to ambush me again…"

After all, Jin Sidao doubted that Jiang He's talismans, which were thrown from thousands of miles away, could 'punish' their Mahayana elites.

But since he was already been rewarded up front, he would have to brace himself and head inside the Blue Cloud Sect again.

And just as he arrived in front of the Blue Cloud Sect, he saw a figure appear in a flash.

It was the elderly woman from before.

"Jin Sidao!"

Her turbid eyes were overflowing with hate as she roared in rage, "You mongrel! How dare you come here again?"

She promptly charged toward Jin Sidao.

Even so, when she is all by herself, she was no match for Jin Sidao.

With the demi-immortal armor's protection while wielding the Dragon Abyss Sword, Jin Sidao knocked her back with just a few moves, and coolly warned, "Sister, do not be mistaken. I had offer you advise under good intentions, but your sect would rather join forces with the Unbounded Demon Sect, the Blood Demon Sect, and the Thousand Cavern Mountain to ambush me. And now, you even attack me directly—do you really take me for a clay doll?"

The old woman hence stopped attacking, and started wailing and sobbing tears instead. "Mongrel… Jin Sidao, you mongrel…"

She only stopped crying after a long while, and quietly said, "Go back, Jin Sidao. The Blue Cloud Sect would gather every treasure Jiang He demanded in one day, and deliver it to the Ten Thousand Swords Sect."

Jin Sidao was a little lost at that.

What…

On Earth is going on?

Still, the matter was settled and it was not like he had to solve the problem at its root. So, he quickly said, "By the way, if I remember correctly, the Blue Cloud Sect does have demi-immortal items… the flying boat called Cloud Crosser and the flying sword named All Evils… and Mister Jiang demands that he be given All Evils."

He turned and flew off, arriving at the Thousand Cavern Mountain soon enough. However, he was greeted by utter Chaos, as daemonic cultivators were running across every direction and screaming in hysteria.

His divine mind extending for some observation, Jin Sidao then found out…

The Centipede Spirit of the Thousand Cavern Mountain was dead!

And recently, at that.

It appears that a thundercloud had suddenly wafted inside its cavern when it was having a drink… and its thunderbolts struck it down.

Stunned inwardly and remembering the Violet Sky Thunder Talisman which Jin Sidao had thrown out, Jin Sidao exclaimed in shock, "Right, there seemed to be people in mourning at the Blue Cloud Sect as well… could their Mahayana elite have been struck down too?"

Flying inside the Thousand Cavern Mountain, he laughed fearsomely, "Is Brother Bear around?"

The Black Bear Spirit was the other Mahayana elite of the Thousand Cavern Mountain.

After shouting for half a day and finding nothing, he promptly called out to a little daemon, who was left shaking in fear and wailing, "My lord, King Bear is already gone… it promptly packed up every valuable and ran off when King Centipede was struck down by the thunderbolt!"

"Damn it!"

Jin Sidao cursed loudly and promptly charged inside the Thousand Cavern Mountain, to find that only rubbish items were left in their treasure vault. With every spirit stone, sage item, and demi-immortal items gone without a trace, he promptly whipped out his communications jade charm and told Jiang He about it.

Jiang He, however, was not angered and even smiled. "Just proceed to the Unbounded Demon Sect and the Blood Demon Sect… by the way, go to the Black Bear Spirit's residence and get me an item that still has its aura lingering on it."

Jin Sidao's face twitched at that.

Right.

He forgot about that part.

Was the Black Bear Spirit trying to run away now?

Dream on!

After that, Jin Sidao headed to the Unbounded Demon Sect and the Blood Demon Sect.

Both of those sects were giants among demonic sects with powerful backgrounds. Each had sent out two of their Mahayana cultivators, who were now dead.

Around five in the afternoon, Jin Sidao rushed back to Jiang He's house… and ended up running into Elder Mo and the Chieftain of the Taixu Sect just fifty kilometers away from Jiang He's house.

Both of them bowed at Jin Sidao, since they were juniors to him.

"No need to be formal."

Jin Sidao turned towards the Taixu Sect Chieftain and asked, "You are weathering your retribution soon, I believe? The ninth retribution is extremely dangerous, so why would you come out here instead of remaining in seclusion?"

The Taixu Sect chieftain answered reverently, "I've come to ask Mister Jiang to craft a mystic treasure for me… Moreover, my grand-master had heard that Mister Jiang is a grandmaster in brewing pellets as well, which is why we have a request to ask of him."

Jin Sidao was dumbstruck.

Screw me!

Jiang He could craft items and pellets too?!

Meanwhile, at Jingdu City, Wang Hou's gaze twitched just as he returned to the Martial Arts Department and he looked up toward the skies.

He closed his eyes, and sensed beyond the skies through the Star Map outside Earth…

Moments later…

His eyes abruptly widened and he exclaimed in sock, "Sky Demons?"

"Why would their powerful legion… run off to Mars?"

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Chapter 379: Taking the Initiative to Attack

Beyond the sky, aside from enclosing Earth to protect it, the Star Map had a surveillance function too.

As such, Wang Hou could observe a portion of the solar system through the Star Map after he had gained some degree of control over it.

Naturally, Mars was within the scope of surveillance.

He had suddenly felt it inwardly when he was in a meeting, and noticed the uncountable ranks of the Sky Demon legion along with their champions through the Star Map. At a certain corner in the barren planet of Mars, a warp portal was continuously flashing as endless legions of Sky Demons flew out.

"Minister Wang…"

The others seated in the office were all backbones of the Martial Arts Department (MAD), and someone quickly asked Wang Hou about it when they saw Wang Hou's reaction. In response, he quietly said, "The Sky Demons are invading by the masses, and their legion is gathering on Mars. Contact every branch and the military now, and have them prepare for a fight."

"I'm heading to Lingzhou City for a bit. I'll be back soon."

He rose to his feet and strode out of the window, and had already moved more than a kilometer away in a flash.

Having reached Paragon in martial arts, Wang Hou thundered rapidly towards Jiang He's house and reached it in just ten minutes.

"You're here, Minister Wang?"

Jiang He was holding a pitch-black hammer and asked with a smile, frowning when he saw the look on Wang Hou's face. "What happened?"

"Sky Demons!"

Wang Hou said somberly, "Their legion and their champions are gathering on Mars, and it seems they are mounting another invasion on Earth."

Jiang He's face twitched, but he soon breathed a long sigh and said, "What would come, will come… you and I know that. With the Star Map turned on, the dimensional seal over Earth is remove. If the immortals could return now, the Sky Demons and any race that once invaded Earth would return."

"But…"

Wang Hou growled through clenched teeth, "It's my fault! It's all my fault! If I didn't touch the Star Map, it would not have unlocked the dimensional seal this early!"

"Now is not the time for self-blame, Minister Wang."

Jiang He waved him off, saying, "The most important thing now is to scout out their current forces."

"A brief look before showed no fewer than thirty Mahayana and hundreds of Sufferance, along with uncountable ranks of Yuan Spirit and Convergence-tier fighters." Wang Hou said, taking a deep breath. "Moreover, the Sky Demons are just gathering their legion and not attacking Earth yet, which is why I'm afraid more champions and forces would arrive."

"Do they have any immortal champions?"

"Not yet."

Jiang He could not help sneering then and said, "Then the Sky Demons are underestimating me too much. Daring to take Earth without a single immortal?"

"…"

Wang Hou opened his mouth, unsure as to why Jiang He was this confident.

That was when Hu Mei stepped out from the yard, teapot in hand, as she arrived in her alluring stride, saying charmingly, "Tea, Master."

She turned and left after pouring Jiang He tea.

Nine fox tails slowly swayed behind her.

Though she did not deliberately release her aura, the faint immortal aura of her body left Wang Hou, Jin Sidao, and the Taixu Sect chieftain all thunderstruck, their eyes bulging as they stared tightly at Hu Mei from behind.

Elder Mo, on the other hand, was merely a full-fledged Yuan Spirit, too weak to sense anything.

Jiang He frowned and said unhappily, "What are you people doing? Isn't it too impolite to stare at my maid like this?"

"Maid?"

Wang Hou came to his senses then, his face filled with disbelief as he asked, "That's your maid, Jiang He? An immortal?"

"Can't you see the nine tails?"

Jiang He was speechless at that.

What was with that look?

She clearly is a daemon fox, and therefore an immortal daemon.

"Haha!"

Wang Hou could not help laughing out loud, the look of worries on his face clearing away as he exclaimed, "If you have an immortal daemon as your servant, then there is no need to fear the Sky Demons… eh?"

Suddenly…

Wang Hou's laughter paused as his expression changed and he promptly sat down cross-legged, closing his eyes as he linked his senses with the Star Map again…

Soon…

Blargh!

Wang Hou's body shuddered and he puked a mouthful of blood.

His face had turned very pale and he exclaimed hoarsely, "Another twenty or so Mahayana Sky Demon champions have arrived on Mars… and there are three who are probably immortals!"

Beside them, Jin Sidao's expression changed as well and he growled, "The Sky Demons were merely bottom feeders when the Hundred Races invaded Earth before, but they are not to be underestimated. Minister Wang, Mister Jiang, we, the Ten Thousand Swords Sect, are willing to receive orders and repel the Sky Demons!"

The Taixu Sect Chieftain offered a fist-palm salute as well and said, "I'll contact my grand-master right now."

Though he was Chieftain, a decision of that level was not up to him.

Elder Mo also mused to himself, "Though the many secluded immortal sects, demonic sects, and daemon cultivators have yet to fully reveal themselves at the moment, many of their elites are already out and on the move. If everyone could work together, fending off the Sky Demons would definitely be possible."

Jiang He thought about it, and asked, "It would be very difficult to unify them, wouldn't it?"

"I'm sure they could put away their difference with an invasion at hand," Elder Mo said confidently.

"But…"

Jiang He was still not very convinced, and asked doubtfully, "Would they be willing to work together after I've killed so many elites? Perhaps I shall kill more as a caution?"

Elder Mo was dumbstruck.

Damn it!

How did I forget about this part?

Elder Mo hence quieted and did not mention that again.

Jiang He, however, waved him off and laughed. "Don't worry, everyone. I'll think of something… since they are on Mars, it would take them some time to fly over here.'

Jin Sidao then asked hesitatingly, "Mister Jiang He… where is this Mars at?"

"Mars would be the modern name. In ancient times… It must have been called the Star of Dazzle and Confusion?"

"The Star of Dazzle and Confusion?"

Jin Sidao's face twitched at that. "That place is a rest stop among the stars. It was said that in ancient times, elites intending to journey through space would head there and teleport to other systems or quadrants with their warp portals. Likewise, there are portals linked to Earth there as well."

"Where on Earth would the Sky Demons warp to through those portals?"

"I do not know."

Jin Sidao answered. "Many sects have portals linked to Mars back then, but the portals linked from Mars to Earth are connected to random locations."

Jiang He appeared even more somber at that.

Cursing quietly, he said, "Damn it… random warping? In other words, the Sky Demons can divide themselves into dozens or hundreds of different battalions, appearing anywhere from mountains to seas, or even the cities?"

Wanting to mount an ambush against them had become much more difficult if this was the case.

Jin Sidao nodded as well.

Breathing a long sigh and pacing at the gates, Jiang He only spoke minutes later. "It seems that we should take the initiative and attack them instead… Even so, the Sky Demons have too many champions among their ranks and I'm not confident in a preemptive attack. I have to improve my personal abilities as soon as possible… Minister Wang, keep an eye on the Sky Demons' movements. They must be laying other setups since they did not invade Earth immediately."

"Brother Jin, when would the nine factions pay my mental distress compensation? Give them a little push, and have them send every treasure to my house in an hour."

"Also…"

Jiang He then turned toward the Taixu Sect Chieftain and asked, "Have you decided on the design and function of the mystic treasure you want me to craft?"

"I'll be turning on my crafting tool soon to gain some experience, and craft a little something for myself later?"

Jiang He was about to make stuff like bombs.

Having used up the Doom Shrooms, while the Pea Bombs are too weak in power, he decided to design a bomb with enough power.

For example…

He could use heavenly retributions as dynamite.

Still, Jiang He must try it to see if it would work.

And now, the only thing he lacks was crafting experience.

After all, he had developed a Jiang-Style Item Refinement method but never personally used it. Therefore, he would first help the Taixu Sect chieftain craft some weapons and familiarize himself with the technique itself.

"Right, if I'm going to use heavenly retributions as dynamite, where should I get those?"

Jiang He's gaze fell upon the Taixu Sect Chieftain then, and his eyes lit up as he asked, "You've not weathered your ninth retribution yet, have you?"

"Haha, good, it's good since you had not weathered it… go invoke it now."

The Taixu Sect Chieftain was dumbstruck.

He was left completely baffled just then, and he quickly said, "Mister Jiang, I didn't bring any protective mystic treasure and I'm unprepared. I would have less than thirty percent chance of survival, though if you would craft two superior-grade sage item for me and I equip them ahead of time, I would have more than eighty percent chance of survival."

Eighty percent…

Was actually enough.

But the problem is that I have no equipment at all, and you are not crafting my mystic treasures yet.

Jiang He, however, sneered and said, "With me around, you have a hundred percent chance of survival. There would no other outcome, so listen to me and invoke your retribution right now—I'm backing you up."

In that moment, Jiang He suddenly felt inspired…

After he gets more free time in the future, should he start a business of helping others in surviving retributions?

He would be drooling all over if he charged fifty superior-grade spirit stones for each session.

"Moreover, aside from weathering retributions, I could help others strengthen their mystic treasures, since it would be a success just by planting those, and I could earn Farm Points too… My hundred-percent strengthening rate is definitely a hundred million times better than the blacksmiths in video games, where strengthening is extremely difficult and the weapon would shatter at the drop of a hat!"

Meanwhile, on Mars, one mystic treasure after another were flying away and assuming the form of palaces upon the barren planet.

Immortal radiance especially dazzled in one of the palaces, where over sixty Mahayana Sky Demons were gathered together in a meeting.

Three Heavenly Immortal Sky Demons whose bodies were entirely shrouded in Demonic Qi presided over the meeting. They were first briefed by the Sky Demon Lord about the situation on Earth, who then said, "Lord Molona would reach Mars tomorrow. Send word to the forces and have them prepare, for the legion shall advance upon the home planet of humans come day after tomorrow!"

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Chapter 380: Jiang He Crafts an Item

The Taixu Sect Chieftain was freaking out a little.

Being the Chief of a sect and an eight-retribution Sufferance elite, he was a big shot even among cultivators.

Of course, that would be relative to who he was being compared to.

Would he not be embarrassing himself if he compared himself to Jiang He?

Wanting to cry but not having the tears for it, he exclaimed, "Are you serious, Mister Jiang?"

"Nonsense!"

At a loss for words, Jiang He barked at him with a scowl, "Would I lie to you? Time is short, stop spouting nonsense. Go draw the thunderclouds of retribution right now and I'll help you survive it."

"Alright!"

It was time to stake his bets!

Since Jiang He said that he would protect him, he would trust Jiang He just this once!

Mainly because… he had no choice!

What if Jiang He got upset and killed him with a single slap?

Gritting his teeth, the Taixu Sect Chieftain promptly flew out into the distance.

"Doggone it!"

Jiang He clenched his teeth and yelled in rage, "Where are you going? Didn't I tell you to invoke your retribution? You could have done it right now—why would you run?"

Kaboom!

As Jiang He extended his hand and grasped from the distance, every Spirit Qi within five kilometers was drained dry as a colossal hand conjured from mystic energy appeared out of thin air. He caught the Taixu Sect Chieftain, who had flown eight hundred meters away and pulled him back, before slapping him into the dirt.

The Taixu Sect Chieftain broke into tears and wailed, "Calm down, Lord Jiang He! I only wanted to get a little further before invoking my retribution so my retributions wouldn't damage your residence…"

Jiang He was dumbstruck.

He felt rather embarrassed, but he could not afford to show such an expression.

After all, am I not Jiang He, a big shot with a reputation to protect?

That was why he scowled and barked, "Who do you think you are? How much commotion could you even cause by invoking your retribution? It did not even scratch me when I ascended directly from first retribution to ninth in one go. Get up and invoke your retribution right here!"

"Eh?"

The Taixu Sect Chieftain struggled to get up. He coughed out a mouthful of blood, his aura withering since Jiang He's slap had inflicted some internal injury. Still, being one with powerful survival instincts, he made a last-ditch struggle and said, "Lord Jiang He, could you give me half an hour to rest and recover? I might really die if I weather my retribution as I am now…"

Jiang He hence quietly drew out the Mosquito Cutter.

The Taixu Sect Chieftain promptly switched gears, exclaiming, "Okay, okay, I'll weather it right now!"

His eyes red with tears, he promptly charged his mystic energy and Dao. Around his body, a unique Dao hence swirled.

Once the Heavens sensed that energy, a thunderstorm promptly surged in the world around them, with a thundercloud stretching hundreds of kilometers gathering rapidly.

The Taixu Sect Chieftain took to the skies and looked up at the massive thundercloud of retribution thunderbolts sparking within. Feeling the tremendous pressure from the heavenly retribution and realizing that his death was almost certain, a tragic feeling arose in his heart and he yelled at the top of his lungs, "Elder Mo, if I don't live through today, I hope you would bring my bones back to the Taixu Sect and bury it beneath a green hill."

"Lord Jiang He!"

He then turned towards Jiang He. "If I can't survive the thunderbolts of retribution, I hope you wouldn't turn your rage to the Taixu Sect…"

Pow!

Even before he could finish, Jiang He had arrived behind him in a flash, hitting him with a knifehand strike and knocking him out.

He then threw the Taixu Sect Chieftain's body nonchalantly at Elder Mo while scolding, "How does a man like him talk so much? I said I could protect you and I would. Aren't you an irritating one, blabbing away like an old woman?"

Elder Mo was unsure what to do right then even as he held the Taixu Sect Chieftain's body, muttering, "The chieftain has fainted, Lord Jiang He… How… How is he going to live through this?"

"It's fine."

Jiang He looked up.

The frightening thundercloud had yet to fade.

After all, the heavenly thunderbolts of retribution would not stop just because their target fainted…

Boom-crack!

That was when a thick, huge thunderbolt arrived with a loud crack and shot toward the Taixu Sect Chieftain who was in Elder Mo's arms. In response, Elder Mo shrieked and threw the chieftain away from his arms.

"Don't blame me, Chieftain! I would be caught by the thunderbolt if I didn't throw you…"

He turned and fled in a flash.

And that was when Jiang He moved.

He reached out and grasped, catching the heavenly thunderbolt in his hand. Dao and mystic energy quaked and erupted around him, subjugating the heavenly thunderbolt—even in Jiang He's palm, it kept struggling and twitching, though it calmed down around three seconds later.

Jiang He took out a porcelain bottle and stuffed the heavenly thunderbolt inside the bottle before leaping up in the air and into the thundercloud.

Elder Mo, Jin Sidao, and Wang Hou all looked toward it to find flashes of thunder raging and attacking a certain location wildly. They could not see Jiang He amidst the flashes, or use their divine mind to observe him—all they could see was a sword's flash abruptly slashing out, and in the next instant, the wildly cascading thunderbolts of retribution were tamed.

Jiang He stepped out of the thundercloud and took out more porcelain bottles to collect the many thunderbolts within.

Up in the skies, the thundercloud slowly faded.

Then, a curious energy descended from the skies above and landed on the Taixu Sect Chieftain's body.

And on the ground, the Taixu Sect Chieftain who had been thrown aside by Elder Mo shuddered and woke up.

After all, the heavens rewarded Sufferance elites who survive their retributions…

And the instant the chieftain awaken, he could feel how his body had changed—he promptly leapt off the ground and looked up at the skies.

It was bright blue and without a cloud in sight of miles… the thundercloud was already gone.

Blinking, the Taixu Sect Chieftain looked at Jiang He, before shifting to Jin Sidao and eventually to Elder Mo.

Elder Mo's gaze appeared a little evasive.

Was the chieftain aware that he was the one who had thrown him just now?

"Elder Mo, how long was I out?" the Taixu Sect Chieftain asked with a hoarse voice.

Elder Mo thought about it and said, "Around ten breaths."

"Ten breaths?"

"Did I imagine everything that had happened just now? I didn't actually weather my retribution?"

"Hold on… my body's condition makes it clear that I did… but I've fainted. How did I managed to survive?" The Taixu Sect Chieftain was left dumbstruck, and Elder Mo went to him to whisper an explanation.

"What?"

The Taixu Sect Chieftain's entire body shuddered and he could not help exclaiming, "You could weather retributions like that too?"

Meanwhile, Jiang He was not bothered to say anything.

He was feeling rather annoyed just then.

He had only managed to catch nine thunderbolts of retribution…

Though the Taixu Sect Chieftain was weathering his ninth retribution which invoked powerful thunderbolts, there were just too few bolts. Even if he could fashion a single bomb out of each thunderbolt, he could only make nine.

He turned towards Jin Sidao and said, "Brother Jin. Are there any elites at their seventh or eighth retribution? Call them here and I'll help them weather their retributions too."

"For real?"

Delighted, Jin Sidao exclaimed, "I'll contact them right now."

He promptly sent word to the Thunder Talisman Daoist, who was away from the Ten Thousand Swords Sect just then. As such, he quickly returned, and had soon gathered two other Sufferance-tier elites and arrived at Jiang He's house post-haste.

Of the three, the Thunder Talisman Daoist was himself a seventh-retribution elite. Of the other two, one was seventh-retribution like him and the other was eighth-retribution.

As such…

Half an hour later, three colossal thunderclouds of retribution gathered at the same time in the skies above Jiang He's house.

The Thunder Talisman Daoist stood beneath the thundercloud with an emotional look on his face, saying, "Come to think of it… it was half a month ago when I reached seventh-retribution, didn't I? And now, just half a month later, I'm already weathering my eighth retribution…"

At the same time, Jiang He flew inside the thundercloud and captured all twenty-seven heavenly thunderbolts within ten breaths.

The eighth retribution elite hence reached full-fledged Sufferance and appeared a little thrilled.

Jiang He told him impatiently, "Alright, go be excited over there. Thunder Talisman and this brother over here, since you two are eighth retribution, keep drawing heavenly thunderbolts and I'll help you survive your ninth retribution."

Moments later, the Ten Thousand Swords Sect had two more full-fledged Sufferance cultivators, while Jiang He had eighteen more heavenly thunderbolts.

Everyone else were left dumbfounded, stunned by Jiang He's actions.

Jiang He ignored that and merely thought, 'Fifty-four heavenly thunderbolts. Well, it's enough.'

"By the way, where are the new Nine Retribution Talismans you crafted, Thunder Talisman Daoist?"

The Thunder Talisman Daoist hence took out twenty-eight nine-retribution talismans which he passed to Jiang He and said, "I still have enough heavenly thunderbolts to make over twenty Nine Retribution Talismans. My cultivation has improved a lot now, and after I return to stabilize it, I could start crafting new talismans… I would use up all the thunderbolts in half a month."

After thanking him, Jiang He said, "Everyone, please wait for a moment. I'm off to handle a little something."

He stepped inside his farm and planted all twenty-eight Nine Retribution Talismans he had before leaving the farm and heading to the gates, turning toward the Taixu Sect Chieftain who still appeared rather shocked and asked, "What mystic treasure do you want to craft?"

The Taixu Sect Chieftain took out two blueprints.

One depicted an armor, while the other a flying sword.

He then took out some crafting materials, but Jiang He waved him off and said, "No need. How could I accept your materials after taking your mystic treasures? Eh?"

Jiang He found the flying sword on the blueprint rather familiar then, and promptly took out a flying sword which was almost identical to the one on the blueprint, saying, "The flying sword you've designed resembles this flying sword a lot, so you can take this one. I'll just craft the combat armor for you."

The Taixu Sect accepted the flying sword, and after feeling out the Dao that the flying sword emanated, he exclaimed in shock, "Premium-grade sage weapon?"

"Lord Jiang He, this is too much… I just need a superior-grade sage weapon."

"Just take it, why talk so much?"

Jiang He shot the Taixu Sect Chieftain a glare and scolded, "Moreover, crafting a superior-grade sage flying sword would need one hour at least. Is my time not valuable at all?"

"…"

The Taixu Sect Chieftain's eyes lit up and he exclaimed in shock, "One hour?"

The others were extremely shocked as well, and Jin Sidao could not help exclaiming, "Brother Jiang He, you only need one hour to craft a superior-grade sage flying sword?"

Finding himself a little hard-pressed just then, Jiang He thought about it and said, "Well… I'm not too sure about the specific time needed. After all, my item crafting technique was developed without guidance and I did not craft mystic treasures before. I have to craft one to know the specific duration."

Everyone was rendered speechless then.

Damn it.

That scared us.

So he was putting on airs…

After all, even grandmasters of item refinement would at least need days to craft a superior-grade sage item.

However…

Isn't it a little ridiculous that you developed an item crafting technique without guidance?

Moreover, you would claim that you could craft a superior-grade sage item without crafting any items before…

Hmmm…

How was everyone supposed to react if Jiang He failed?

What if his embarrassment turned to rage, and he started beating everyone up?

On the other hand, Jiang He was unaware of what was going through the others' minds, and he said, "Well, let's head off to the wildlands. This is the first time I'm crafting an item and I might not control the temperature well enough—my house would be gone if I cause an explosion."

"It's fine, it's fine!"

Having become wiser with age, Jin Sidao quickly said, "I still have some matters to see to, Lord Jiang He, so I won't be going… yes, I must visit the nine sects as soon as possible and urge them to pay for their damages for causing you mental distress right away."

Whoosh.

With that, he was gone.

Of the thirty-six stratagems, running was the best policy—they should avoid getting beaten up if Jiang He felt too embarrassed from failing to craft a mystic item. Even they would not be assaulted, would it not still upset Jiang He that they saw him made a fool of himself?

Once he left, the other two full-fledged Sufferance cultivators of the Ten Thousand Swords Sect excused themselves as well.

On the other hand, the Thunder Talisman Daoist was more honest and exclaimed in surprise, "It's a great event for you to craft your first item, Mister Jiang He. It would be my great blessing to witness it personally."

Hence, Jiang He, the Thunder Talisman Daoist, Elder Mo, the Taixu Sect Chieftain, and Wang Hou all arrived at a small hill around fifty kilometers away.

There was no preamble or preparation—Jiang He took a deep breath, and took out some item crafting materials he gathered from the Green Hill Foxes' treasure vault out of his Void Storage. As he run through the Jiang-style Item Refinement method in his head, he said, "I'm starting right now. Back away, people, or the explosion could reach you."

Wang Hou and the others promptly backed five hundred meters away.

On the other hand, after Jiang He took out a load of item-crafting materials, he also took out a bucket of water, several bags of salt, vinegar, soy sauce, and other condiments…

He looked up to find Wang Hou and the others staring at himself in confusion and with mouths hanging open. He promptly explained with a smile, "It's my self-developed secret quenching technique… first, get a bucket of clean water, and then add in suitable amounts of salt, vinegar, soy sauce, condiments, chili powder, starch, cooking wine…"

He continued working as he explained, picking up a dried branch and started stirring the bucket. "Stirring is a must after adding the secret ingredients, and the stirring itself must be just right and not excessive, to mix the ingredients evenly."

"…"

The faces of Wang Hou and the others were turning green.

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Chapter 381: Jiang He Refines Pellets

The upstanding Thunder Talisman Daoist finally could not bear to keep watching, and was unable to hold from asking, "Lord Jiang He, I know a little about item refinement even though I am no master—is this the recipe for quenching?"

"I have no idea either."

Jiang He explained even as he stirred the quenching mixture. "You know, it's only been less than three months since I studied immortal arts or item refinement, let alone the procedures or secret techniques of master craftsmen. That is why I had to develop it by myself."

The Thunder Talisman Daoist was left gaping, unsure how to respond to that right then.

Likewise, the Taixu Sect Chieftain was left dumbstruck.

So…

You came up with your so-called item-refinement method entirely on your own, and basically crapped it up?

What about pellet refinement then?

Item refinement was perfectly fine since the Chieftain did not have to fork out his own materials, and it would not matter even if Jiang He failed since Jiang He had helped him survived through his ninth retribution. However, his sect had gathered a lot of spirit medicine as ingredients for item refinement, and if Jiang He's pellet refinement method was no different…

However, just as he was thinking about how he should retrieve the medicinal ingredients, Jiang He was already done stirring the quenched mixture.

Nonchalantly throwing the tree branch aside, Jiang He took out a small spoon with a flip of his hand, and scooped out the mixture in the bucket for a taste. Then, he said, "It's a little sour—I must have put in too much vinegar. It's also a little lacking in salt, but it won't be a big deal."

Everyone was dumbstruck.

Then, Jiang He put the scoop away and a flame suddenly shot out of his palm, covering the pile of item crafting materials while a scorching heat rapidly engulfed his surroundings.

Having possessed the ability to control fires in the first place, his fire-type abilities naturally improved as his cultivation and spirit improved as well. Though Jiang He rarely used it, it would not be impossible for him to burn an eight or nine retribution cultivator to death.

Whoosh!

The fire grew bigger.

The pile of item-refinement materials hovered in the air. Engulfed by the searing flame, they started to melt around five minutes later.

"…"

Getting impatient, the Thunder Talisman Daoist exclaimed, "You can't refine items like that, Lord Jiang He. The melting point of those materials are different and they shouldn't be melted together."

Jiang He played dumb and made the fire hotter.

"Lord Jiang He, your item refinement is mistaken!"

The Thunder Talisman Daoist was almost tearing up as he kept exclaiming, "The material would not meld perfectly together if you refine them in this manner! The mystic item produced would certainly be inferior in grade, and it would be an utter waste…"

The Taixu Sect Chieftain promptly put a hand over the Thunder Talisman Daoist's mouth and said, "What are you doing, Brother Thunder Talisman?"

"Could your Ten Thousand Sword Sect survive Lord Jiang He's wrath?"

Coming to his senses, there was a look of lingering fear on the Thunder Talisman Daoist's face, and he offered the Taixu Sect Chieftain a fist-palm salute. "Thanks for your warning, Brother."

Beside them, however, Wang Hou was scowling.

What the hell.

That could be called item refinement too?

I still have load of stuff to deal with at the Martial Arts Department (MAD), but I'm not doing that just to watch you craft items… only to find you fooling around like a kid.

Meanwhile, Jiang He did not have the time to care about them at all.

Even as he melted the crafting materials, in his head, he was running through the procedures of the Jiang-Style item-refinement method, which he had developed himself.

"The quenching mixture is done, and now, I would melt the materials… after everything is melted, I would use my spirit to mold the materials in the style of the armor shown in the blueprint, and the fourth step is to harden it by quenching."

"Oh yes, I still have to inscribe arrays and infuse the item with mystic after quenching, although that is not that troublesome since I just have to write two words on it."

"Since armor is mainly for defense, I just have to write 'metal' and 'earth' on it to strengthen its hardness and defensive capacity."

Jiang He could not help praising his own wit at that thought.

Others aside, the step of infusing the mystics and inscribing arrays would take other master craftsmen days to complete… Moreover, there was no room for error, and the slightest of mishaps would ruin all progress up to that point. It was a trifle to start from scratch, but the main problem here was that the item refinement materials would be wasted.

"Reasonably speaking, the item is finished after the infusion is complete. Still, I could add in another step… strengthen by planting."

"It's a normal sage item anyway, so it would be done after planting it for two hours. It would both repair any flaws during the crafting, and the most important part is that it improves the quality of the item… Hmm?"

"What the hell!"

Suddenly, Jiang He cried out in surprise.

The Thunder Talisman Daoist, the Taixu Sect Chieftain, Elder Mo, and Wang Hou all turned toward him as he cursed, "Damn it, isn't there a problem with these crafting materials? I was forging the armor according to the blueprint… so why is it deformed?"

Gasp!

Wang Hou and the others could not help inhaling sharply after getting a clear look at the armor.

What do you even mean, deformed?

It is already ruined, please!

The entire armor… well, there was more or less the silhouette of an armor, but the trousers and sleeves were all twisted and bent. There was even a dent on the chest as if someone had punched it.

The worst part was the coloring.

Other armors would have a lively hue, and even the most average of armor was at least good-looking.

But this set that Jiang He made?

It was as if someone had splashed a bucket of paint on it.

Feeling embarrassed, Jiang He laughed out loud and asked, "What do you think about this armor, Brother? Unconventional fashion is all the rage for us modern folk these days… there's an abstract aesthetic when you wear it."

The Taixu Sect Chieftain's face went green, while Jiang He was sweating bullets.

He really lost face this time.

But it was fine… it would probably be alright after planting it.

He beckoned, drawing the armor to himself, and was about to put it in the water bucket… only to find that the bucket was too small to put in the armor. So, he had to pick up the bucket and splash the mixture he cooked before on the armor.

Right now, the armor was still heated. It sizzled and steamed once the mixture was splashed on it, and there was even a sharp sour scent from the mixture of condiments that struck the nose.

Pinching his nose, Jiang He could not help saying, "It seems that the quenching mixture needs a little improvement. There should be less soy sauce and vinegar, or it really hurts the brain if the smell is too strong during the quenching."

Holding the armor, he took out a pen from his pocket and inscribed the two words for 'mystic infusion' on the chest part of the armor, as well as added 'metal' and 'earth' underneath.

Oom.

A Dao luster flashed and the words quickly disappeared.

"It's done."

Jiang He appeared dejected after he felt out the Dao tones which the armor emanated, and said, "I spent so much effort, but the armor I crafted is only a superior-grade sage item… sigh, it seems that I need to practice more in the future."

He turned towards Wang Hou and the others who were gaping and said, "My control of the flame heat is quite good when I refined the items. How about this? We'll return inside my house, and I'll put the finishing touches on this set of armor before we proceed to pellet refinement."

Leaping up, he then flew back to his house.

Wang Hou and the others followed right behind him.

Slap!

The Taixu Sect chieftain suddenly raised his palm and slapped himself, his eyes losing all spirit as he muttered, "I do feel pain, so I'm not dreaming… is this not an illusion?"

The Thunder Talisman Daoist was dumbstruck as well.

It… it was done?

Jiang He's rubbish method had actually crafted the mystic treasure?

Most importantly…

Don't you have to inscribe arrays or infuse mystics?

All you did was use your pen to scrawl a little something on it, and it's done?

Even so, the Dao aura emanating from the combat armor could fool no one—the armor was crafted suceesfully.

After a long while, the Taixu Sect Chieftain and the Thunder Talisman Daoist traded glances. When they came to their senses, there was overflowing astonishment in their eyes.

Such an item refinement technique that was never heard of, observed, or even imagined was actually developed by Jiang He—someone who had never learned a thing about item refinement before this.

It was plenty sufficient to overturn the discipline of item refinement.

As the others quickly gave chase and reached the gates of Jiang He's house, Jiang He had already planted the armor and returned outside the gates, ready to refine pellets now.

Taking out the pellet recipe, Jiang He roughly studied and asked, "Brother, your grand-master wants me to help cook up a grade-eight soul pellet called the Soul Mold Pellet, right?"

The Taixu Sect Chieftain nodded, while the Thunder Talisman Daoist cried out in surprise and exclaimed, "Soul Mold Pellet? Lord Jiang He, you know how to prepare pellets too?"

Jiang He was taken aback. It was just a grade-eight soul pellet—did the Thunder Talisman Daoist need to be so dramatic?

The Thunder Talisman Daoist hence explained, "The main function of the Soul Mold Pellet is to mold spirit and soul. Even if those aspects of a person were maimed, one could use the Soul Mold Pellet to recover as long as they aren't completely destroyed."

"This medicinal pellet is extremely rare. Even if it is just grade-eight, it is rare and harder to make than more grade-eight soul pellets. Sufferance cultivators who have one of these pellets would have a shot at remolding their spirit and soul even if they fail to weather their retribution and have their physique and spiritual aspect maimed."

"Right now, among the many immortal sects, demonic sects, and daemon cultivators, there is only one rank-nine pellet refinement grandmaster. He resides at the Valley of Potions Lords, but even he had a hard time brewing Soul Mold Pellets, which is why for all cultivators now, the value of any Soul Mold Pellets is equal to a superior-grade sage item!"

"Oh?"

Jiang He's eyes lit up and he laughed out loud. "It would be better since it's harder to make. With this, I could test if my self-made pellet-refinement method is good."

"…"

Stunned, the Taixu Sect Chieftain promptly exclaimed, "Lord Jiang He… you made this pellet refinement method too? You wouldn't fail, right?"

"Didn't the Taixu Sect prepare two portions of ingredients for the Soul Mold Pellets? So that there is one more cauldron even if the other fails… Moreover, I have poured my heart and soul into developing this item refinement method, since it took me over an hour to write it… though I've only recently developed it, I personally find it more perfect than the item refinement method, and there definitely would not be a mistake."

The Taixu Sect Chieftain was bleeding in his heart right then!

A Soul Mold Pellet could match a superior-grade sage item in value.

However, the ingredients needed to cook one Soul Mold Pellet would be equal to five superior-grade sage items. If successful, one could cook a batch of ten Soul Mold Pellets, while it would be a major loss if one failed.

"I just hope that Jiang He could successfully brew the pellet…"

Inwardly, he was actually praying.

But even before he was done praying, he heard Jiang He asked, "Brother, do you know what each of these medicinal ingredients are? You gave me so much that I can't find the stuff I need for my pellet recipes."

There was a huge pile of medicine ingredients placed in front of Jiang He, as the Taixu Sect had really invested a major portion of their resources here.

Aside from the ingredients for the two portions of Soul Mold Pellets, Jiang He was also given medicine ingredients to refine other eight-grade pellets.

And right now, Jiang He had just thrown every last of those medicinal ingredients into a single pile.

Noting the weird look on the Taixu Sect chieftain's face, Jiang He braced himself and explained, "Like I said, I had only started to study the immortal arts recently. How would I have the chance of learning a profound job like refining pellets?"

"I don't know these spirit medicine because I have never seen them, and therefore can't differentiate them. Isn't that just common sense?"

What the f*ck!

The Taixu Sect chieftain was crying.

Who gave you the guts to refine pellets if you can't even recognize the medicinal ingredients?

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Chapter 382: Heavenly Thunderbolt Hand Grenade

All cultivators possessed some degree of knowledge of pellet refinement, item refinement, and arrays.

The Taixu Sect Chieftain was a pellet refinist and not a low-ranked one at that, having been able to brew grade-six pellets. As such, since he knew the pellet recipe of the Soul Mold Pellets, he promptly walked up and picked out the ingredients needed.

"That thing that looks a dog's tail is a soul medicine too?"

"What?"

"That's the scarlet dragon herb that grows at places of concentrated Yang Qi?"

"What's the name of this thing that looks like Sichuan Pepper?"

Meanwhile, Jiang He would ask about anything he did know, and afterwards could more or less name the eighteen medicinal ingredients needed for the Soul Mold Pellets.

Of course, cooking the Soul Mold Pellets was not an easy job. One would require a catalyst called the Spirit Rime Herb to regulate Ying and Yang aspects as well as medicinal effects of the other medicinal ingredients.

Moreover, there was a complete procedure for preparing the Soul Mold Pellet written on the pellet recipe, explaining in detail which medicinal ingredients should be melted, and the temperature of the fire to melt it… of course, as the Celsius system had yet to be invented in ancient times and Jiang He did not understand the calculation units.

"Whatever, if I don't get it, I don't get it. This is a pellet refinement method I invented myself, which revolves around simplicity. Complex stuff like that does not fit me."

Jiang He thought then and smiled. "Alright, I'm going to start preparing the pellets."

The Taixu Sect Chieftain was beside himself in apprehensiveness, even whispering, "Lord Jiang He, why don't we prepare some low-grade pellets as practice first? The discipline of pellet refinement is quite profound and does not afford mistakes."

"What?"

Displeased, Jiang He shot the Taixu Sect Chieftain a glare and coolly asked, "Are you teaching me pellet refining now?"

"No, no…."

The Taixu Sect Chieftain sweated over his forehead and quickly tried to change the topic. "By the way, since you had not refined pellets before, you probably wouldn't have a pellet cauldron, would you, Lord Jiang He?"

A small seven-inch tall pellet cauldron appeared over his palm then, and he said, "To tell the truth, I know a thing or two about pellet refinement as well. My master had rewarded me with this Purple Blazing Sun Cauldron when I first reach rank-four as a pellet refinist. It's a mediocre-grade sage item and draws upon earthen flames to ignite purple fire after it is activated. If you don't have any pellet cauldrons, Lord Jiang He, you may use this."

Jiang He then exclaimed in surprise, "Does pellet refining needs pellet cauldrons?"

The Taixu Sect Chieftain was dumbstruck.

Having lost all hope, he put away the Purple Blazing Sun Cauldron and backed off over twenty meters away without a word.

On the other hand, Jiang He took out a cooking pot and anchored it up in the air with his mystic energy. Then, he took out the golden cleaver that he planted and then threw all eighteen medicinal ingredients together, his cleaver leaving afterimages as it swished and grinded all the medicinal ingredients into powder.

The Taixu Sect Chieftain wanted to say something but stopped, eventually resorting holding his hand over his eyes because he could not bear to look.

The value of those eighteen medicinal ingredients put together was equal to five superior-grade sage items!

Nonetheless, Jiang He nodded contentedly and could not resist praising himself, saying, "I haven't cooked for a long time, but my chopping skills has strengthened instead."

After the ingredients were cut, the next procedure was to melt them.

The ingredients must not be burned directly since the temperatures would not be reached instantly. Instead, it would char the medicinal ingredients, which was why Jiang He had to use his fire-type powers to melt it.

Whoosh.

A jet of flames shot out from his palm and the medicinal ingredients in the cooking pot burned up instantly…

And were then reduced to ashes.

Jiang He did a double take.

Why was this a little different from what he had imagined?

Weren't these ingredients supposed to turn liquid instantly?

He turned to find the Taixu Sect Chieftain staring at the ashes in the cooking pot with agony and promptly smiled to set his mind at ease. "Don't worry, Brother. This is the first time I'm cooking pellets, so a little surprise is reasonable."

Taking out two bottles of Origin Fluid from his System Backpack, he then poured everything inside, before directing his fires to add heat to the pot. When the Origin Fluid in the wok boiled, he took out a sage-grade staff and started stirring.

As he stirred the Origin Fluid and the scraps of the medicinal ingredients, Jiang He smiled and asked, "By the way, what flavor of Soul Mold Pellets would you prefer? Butter? Chocolate? Mint? Or perhaps matcha… oh!"

"I forgot to prepare those flavoring ahead of time, but whatever. We won't add that today, so let's make you an original flavored Soul Mold Pellet."

That stuff, however, was clearly beyond the Taixu Sect Chieftain's knowledge…

Moreover, he had already lost heart towards Jiang He.

It would actually be weird if he could cook up actual pellets by doing that!

Nonetheless, Jiang He was soon done stirring the ashes of the medicinal ingredients and making it even—the mixture was now an extremely disgusting pitch-black color and was steaming with a stinking odor, and even the fresh aroma of the Origin Fluid was supplanted.

"It stinks so much?"

"How horrible would it be when it's cooked as a pellet?"

"Well, I did forget to prepare the flavoring so I would have to compromise. As the saying goes, good medicine is bitter, so we'll just have to deal with it."

Jiang He muttered, and took out the 'molds' which he had prepared beforehand.

He had three of these.

One was spherical, the standard shape of medicinal pellets.

The other was a squared shape for ice creams, while for the last one, Jiang He had taken inspiration from the Beijing Old Popsicles… and it was shaped like a popsicle.

Jiang He then took a look at the mixture and did the math mentally.

"Ten Soul Mold Pellets from one portion of medicinal ingredients?"

"The spherical mold and the ice cream mold are a little too small, and there would be more than ten pellets in the mixture…"

As such, he had to choose the popsicle shape.

Carefully pouring the medicinal mixture into the mold, Jiang He only noticed afterwards that he had not prepared sticks for the popsicles… but that was not a problem, since he just had to run inside his farm and pluck off ten spikes from the Cloudscraper Vine.

But as he pressed the spikes into the medicinal mixture, Jiang He realized another problem…

He did not know any frost techniques, and so had to ask for outside help.

Wang Hou walked up and said, "I have learned Frosting Palms, so allow me."

As he walked up and looked at the mold, the corner of his lips twitched violently.

How was this pellet refinement?

Wasn't it just preparing popsicles?

It was no wonder why Jiang He would ask about the flavor just now, about the butter, mint, matcha, and whatnot…

Nonetheless, he extended his palm and released an icy True Qi from it. The medicinal mixture froze into ice at once, and turned into… ten popsicles.

"Impressive."

Jiang He praised, "Minister Wang, please give me the manual for this palm technique after you're done. I should learn it, or it would be too troublesome to ask for help whenever I cook pellets."

"As long as you're pleased."

Wang Hou said. "I still have other matters to see to, so I'll be going. Remember to keep your phone switched on and I'll contact you right away if there's any developments with the Sky Demons."

He darted away, leaving an afterimage.

On the other hand, Jiang he took out the ten popsicles and passed them all to the Taixu Sect Chieftain… but because the ingredients had been burned to ashes, all ten popsicles were pitched black and extremely ugly.

He was unable to decide if he should laugh or cry, but just as he was about to say something, his expression stiffened and he stared at the popsicles in disbelief.

His divine mind extending, he carefully felt it out… and became even more astonished.

His hands started to shake as he stammered, "No way… impossible… the attributes of this stuff are actually identical to Soul Mold Pellets?"

"Of course. I was cooking Soul Mold Pellets, although the appearance is just a little different. Why would it not be identical?" Jiang He barked.

Still doubtful even then, the Taixu Sect Chieftain took a bite, and was left beside him in shock and could not help exclaiming, "Lord Jiang He! Did you really develop that pellet refinement method yourself? That… that method actually cooks up the Soul Mold Pellets?!"

What are you even saying?

Who do you think you are belittling here?

Slightly upset at that, Jiang He said indignantly, "I've even handed the Soul Mold Pellets to you. What is there to doubt? Alright, stop making a fuss—I'm going to start crafting items."

Ignoring the others, Jiang He promptly took out a water bucket, and once again put in salt, soy sauce, vinegar, and other condiments to prepare a quenching mixture. After that, he took out the crafting materials and melted them, ready to fashion into hand-carried thunderbolts.

Still, things did not go as he wished…

Perhaps because his hands were not as masterful, Jiang He ended up making a large pile of hand grenades.

Sizzle!

He splashed the quenching fluid on the new items, and infused them with mystics after he was done.

Jiang He wrote the words 'mystic infusion' on it as well, before adding the word 'explosion' on it after some thought…

He mused to himself repeatedly after that, before adding the word 'huge' in front of the word 'explosion'.

"Huge explosion…"

Jiang He muttered quietly, "I just hope this these things wouldn't disappoint me.

After that, he stuffed the heavenly thunderbolts he captured before and stuffed them into each of the 108 hand grenades.

Meanwhile, the Taixu Sect Chieftain, Elder Mo, and the Thunder Talisman Daoist were confused by what Jiang He was doing. They traded glances, assuming that Jiang He was creating some powerful concealed weapon.

Jiang He, however, could not be bothered to offer them an explanation.

It was now already past three hours and the armor he planted in his farm was already 'ripe'. Jiang He entered to find it now exceedingly cool even as it stood above the ground, and could not help exclaiming in surprise, "Tut, tut. It seems that I, Jiang He, am quite talented in item crafting—this is the first time I've refined an item and I've managed to produce such a flawless armor."

He hence 'plucked' the armor…

[Ding!]

[500,000 Farm Points.]

A System Notification jingled in his head.

It was a premium-grade sage armor!

He hence stepped out of his farm and nonchalantly threw the armor at the Taixu Sect Chieftain and said, "That's the armor I promise you. It's done, so just invoke it with a drop of blood. By the way, it has no name, so remember to name it… anyway, I have more business to see to, so I won't be joining your chat."

Jiang He returned inside his farm then and started to plant his self-made hand-grenades.

He was holding high hopes inwardly.

"I did spend quite a fortune on these hand grenades, even stuffing many heavenly thunderbolts of retribution inside. I hope that I could be surprised a little after I planted them."

He then looked up at the skies and could not help breathing a long sigh…

The Sky Demon legion consisted of almost a hundred Mahayana champions, hundreds of Sufferance champions, as well as innumerable Convergence and Yuan Spirit champions…

Surely he couldn't kill them one by one, could he?

When the time comes, he just had to fight the immortals. After all, wouldn't the combination of the Violet Sky Thunder Talisman and the Heavenly Thunderbolt Hand Grenade be enough to handle the small fry?

And to improve the power of the Heavenly Thunderbolt Hand Grenade, Jiang He steeled himself and redeemed 108 large packs of Living Soil, adding a pack each to the grenades he planted.

"One large pack of these Living Soil of the Nine Heavens costs three million, and 108 packs… costs 324 million!"

Feeling the pain, Jiang He gritted his teeth as he said, "What the hell… I can only hope that this stuff is powerful enough. Wouldn't it be a complete loss if it cannot even blow up a Mahayana champion?"

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Chapter 383: A Young Vixen Mount

At the Ten Thousand Swords Sect, the Mahayana elites of the eight sects whom Jiang He had demanded 'compensation for mental distress' from had delivered it to a huge temple here.

There were supposed to be nine factions, but because the Mahayana Daemon Bear of the Thousand Cavern Mountain had fled with the treasures of its own Holy Ground, there were only eight factions left. Still, Jin Sidao had already obtained an item the Daemon Bear left behind, with its aura still lingering upon it.

Jin Sidao had even personally witnessed Jiang He casting his spell…

Either way, the man simply took out the thunder talisman and threw it nonchalantly, after which he claimed the Daemon Bear was dead, though there was no telling if the beast had really been killed.

"Brother."

A demonic cultivator—the only surviving Mahayana elite of the Blood Demon Sect—was all smiles as he passed a Spatial Ring to Jin Sidao.

Nonetheless, Jin Sidao could not help frown after scanning the item with divine mind.

The demonic cultivator's heart raced and he promptly asked, "Did I made a mistake with the number, Brother Dragon Abyss?"

"The numbers are right."

Jin Sidao replied, "One demi-immortal item, three premium-grade sage items, 1000 superior-grade spirit stones… so why are there only 500 superior-grade spirit stones here?"

Unable to decide if he should laugh or cry, the demonic cultivator said, "Brother Dragon Abyss, you know that all sects do not have many spirit stones in store, and superior-grade spirit stones are even rarer. Didn't I put in 5000 mediocre-grade spirit stones as well? Those are equal in value to 500 spirit stones…"

"Even so, Lord Jiang He demands his superior-grade spirit stones.

Jin Sidao nonchalantly threw the spatial ring back at the demonic cultivator and flatly said, "You could trade for superior-grade spirit stones with other sects if you don't have enough, or trade mystic treasures, pellets, or medicine ingredients equal in value to those 500 superior-grade spirit stones."

The many Mahayana elites were all left very nervous then.

Trade?

Even though one superior-grade spirit stone is indeed equal in value to ten mediocre-grade spirit stones, who would be bothered to actually trade them without you?

On the other hand, the Mahayana cultivator of the Unbounded Demon Sect appeared quite composed.

After all, the Unbounded Demon Sect was the top demonic sect and possessed great wealth, and could naturally afford a thousand superior-grade spirit stones. As such, he promptly handed Jin Sidao his Spatial Ring while smiling at the others. "The Unbounded Demon Sect could still have over a thousand superior-grade spirit stones. If any of you needs it, Brothers, I'm willing to trade for it."

"How do we do that?" someone asked.

The Mahayana cultivator of the Unbounded Demon Sect answered, "Fifteen mediocre-grade spirit stones for one superior-grade spirit stone."

"What? Why don't you rob us instead?"

Someone cursed, while others appeared interested.

At the same time, Jin Sidao frowned, a hint of displeasure showing on his face just then.

What the hell! Were the mongrels of the Unbounded Demon Sect are actually doing business on the territory of the Ten Thousand Swords Sect?

While the Unbounded Demon Sect was indeed powerful with over six Mahyana elites, Jiang He had killed three of them consecutively, leaving just three… Moreover, Jin Sidao himself had obtained a demi-immortal armor, and would soon obtain another demi-immortal flying sword—he did not have to fear the Unbounded Demon Sect at all.

Sneering, Jin Sidao took out a communications jade charm and subtly sent word to Jiang He.

Then, he cleared his throat and said, "Brother from the Unbounded Demon Sect. Jiang He has just sent word that since the Unbounded Demon Sect was the mastermind behind you nine factions making an attempt for his life, and your sect had inflicted the most mental distress. That is why you would have to pay with 2,000 superior-grade demon stones."

"What?"

The demonic cultivator of the Unbounded Demon Sect become furious, Demonic Qi swirling around him as he roared, "Dragon Abyss, you dog! Do you have a death wish?"

Jin Sidao answered him flatly, "That is Lord Jiang He's will, Brother. And aren't you stepping out of line, raising your voice at me?"

Kaboom!

The raging Sword Will on Jin Sidao's body instantly erupted.

His Dragon Abyss Sword appeared over his head while his demi-immortal armor materialized over his body then, and he glared coldly at the demonic cultivator of the Unbounded Demon Sect with an icy smile. "Moreover… do you think the Unbounded Demon Sect has what it takes to kill me?"

The crowd was left stunned inwardly.

A demi-immortal armor?

Jin Sidao's ability had been overwhelming in the first place. Moreover, he was a swordsman cultivator, and there was no cultivator who could match him in a one-on-one duel. Still, he had held himself discreetly since he was the only Mahayana elite of the Ten Thousand Swords Sect.

But now that he had that demi-immortal armor, he was an even more difficult opponent.

Even if the remaining three Mahayana cultivators of the Unbounded Demon Sect worked together, defeating Jin Sidao would be easy, but killing him was utterly impossible.

Hence, the Unbounded Demon Sect's demonic cultivator glowered as he seethed, "Jin Sidao, the immortals would soon return and Jiang He would be reduced to a maggot, and won't strut for a day more. Does the Ten Thousand Swords Sect really intend to provoke the nine factions?"

"When that happens and the immortals of every sect attack you, would the Ten Thousand Swords Sect be able to stop them?'

Jin Sidao, however, was not at all bothered, and he even smiled. "Would you lot spare us even if I don't help Jiang He now? And does the Ten Thousand Swords Sect not have our own immortals, or is that limited to you nine factions?"

Of course, most importantly…

With Jiang He's attitude, every immortal of the nine sects would have to face Jiang He's wrath… with how demonic Jiang He's cultivation progress was, who would know how frightening his combat power become?

Hence, the cultivator of the Unbounded Demon Sect was forced to endure it.

His heart was bleeding even as he handed out the remaining 1,000 superior-grade spirit stones.

Just when he thought he could make a profit… he had suffered a total loss!

On the other hand, Jin Sidao promptly left his sect after receiving the eight Spatial Rings and rushed to Jiang He's house.

Jiang He happened to be having dinner: premium-grade Dragontooth Rice with a dish of green peppers over stir-fried beef, which overflowed with a sweet aroma.

Jin Sidao quickly refused even though Jiang He invited him to dine with him, and he left after passing Jiang He the eight Spatial Rings.

After eating three large bowls of rice at a single go and the entire plate of beef, he felt out his body after he had his fill, and exclaimed in surprise, "What's going on? After I finished the peppers, I definitely felt my mystic energy surging and combat strength increasing… but why is the side effect gone?"

"Am I too powerful for that side effect to work on me?"

Jiang He mused to himself for a while, and then turned to find Hu Mei, having put on the same maid costume as Sora's, cleaning the table. As he watched her tails sway and her well-rounded posterior, he quickly said, "Hu Mei, come upstairs with me."

Hu Mei put down the kitchenware and went upstairs with Jiang He. After some 'instructions', she moaned, "Master…"

What happened next should not be described at all.

Two hours later, Jiang He took a bath and actually wore some clothes before musing to himself, "It seems that the side effects of the pepper does not work against me now. My reaction just now was the standard reaction of a healthy man after seeing a woman, so this means I could use the peppers without restraint."

He calculated it mentally—his current abilities, combined with the Sword Array of Ten Realms and Infinity casted by using his three immortal flying swords and his seven demi-immortal flying swords, meant that he could fight an average immortal. After eating a pepper, which buffed his combat ability by half, he could even fight a Heavenly Immortal who was at the intermediate level.

"The power of the Sword Array of Ten Realms and Infinity would also increase significantly if I could use ten immortal swords to cast it. With that, and every other move in my disposal, I could even kill said Heavenly Immortal-intermediate."

Jiang He thought then, and Hu Mei's figure appeared in his mind unwittingly then…

Others aside, that vixen was quite something.

Her figure was wonderful and her technique superior, and no other woman would have that alluring charm unique to her body.

Stepping out of the mansion, Jiang He headed straight to the farm.

Over four hours had passed now, and the Heavenly Thunderbolt Hand Grenade were all ripe. On a single glance, one would see three-feet tall metal trees growing out of the ground, with three hand grenades dangling from each tree.

After being strengthened by planting, the hand grenades were beautified as well, and much prettier than the iron pimples that he crafted just now.

Jiang He then reached out to pluck one.

[Ding!]

[2 million Farm Points.]

Jiang He was dumbstruck.

He was at first surprised, but soon delighted…. If one Heavenly Thunderbolt Hand Grenade earned him two million Farm Points, wouldn't that mean the three Heavenly Thunderbolt Hand Grenades on each tree would earn him a total of 6 million Farm points each?

There was also a total of 108 steel trees…

In other words, he did not suffer a loss even if the Living Soil of the Nine Heavens had cost him 324 million Farm Points, and he even earned that same amount in return!

"But earning Farm Points isn't that important. The key here is that the more Farm Points rewarded, the more valuable an item would be… Since one hand grenade is worth two million Farm Points, that means it is more powerful than the Violet Sky Thunder Talisman!"

Jiang He looked at the hand grenade he was holding then, and a cluster of data popped up.

[Heavenly Thunderbolt Hand Grenade]

[A hand grenade infused with heavenly thunderbolts. Carries a profound power that could kill immortals and Buddhas alike—a necessary item when you leave your house.]

[Usage: Throw it firmly.]

Jiang He, however, was rather dispirited after reading the information.

After all, there was no information about any absolute guard such as dropping to a crouch and clutching his head.

Most items without such reminders would be lacking in power, but that was not for certain—he had to test it to know.

[Ding!]

[2 million Farm Points.]

[Ding!]

[2 million Farm Points.]

[Ding…]

Jiang He hence plucked every grenade and placed them inside his Void Storage before leaving the farm to find a vast space to test it…

But just as he stepped out, Wang Hou's phone call reached him.

He sounded absolutely distressed, saying, "Things aren't looking food, Jiang He. Another Sky Demon Champion has arrived on Mars and he is very powerful—he could be above Heavenly Immortal."

"And judging from their movements, I'm afraid the Sky Demons would assault Earth at any moment.

Jiang He's face twitched at that.

He had a few more exchanges before hanging up…

Almost a hundred Mahayana champions, hundreds of Sufferance champions, four Heavenly Immortals and one suspect to be beyond that…

Even if they excluded the uncountable ranks of their legion consisting of Convergence, Yuan Spirit and True Child champions, those four Heavenly Immortals and the one suspected to be even stronger was enough to overwhelm Earth.

Jiang He took a deep breath, a look of resolve flashing in his eyes then…

"We must not let the Sky Demons reach Earth!"

"Otherwise, they would warp around randomly and split apart. Even with our many elites, or even the immortal sects, demonic sects, and daemon cultivators working together, it would be a difficult fight…"

Looking up at the skies, he quietly said, "That is why I must attack preemptively and cull their forces as much as possible before the Sky Demon legion reach Earth… but how do I get to Mars?"

After all, Mars was 55 million kilometers away when it was closest to Earth, and 400 million kilometers when it was further…

It would take too long to physically get there, and it would be bad if they used the warp portals to reach Earth while he was journeying there.

"Should I use the warp portals?" Jiang He mused.

According to Jin Sidao, the various immortal sects, demonic sects and daemon cultivators had built warp portals linked directly to Mars… But with the Sky Demon legions of infinite champions on Mars, how was suicide different from directly teleporting into the middle of their encampment?

"The Sky Demons have too many champions that even champions above Heavenly Immortal showed up, making it hopeless for a direct confrontation… I could only afford a guerilla attack on them and cut down their forces as much as I could, so it would be best if I could reach Mars from space."

Whipping out his phone, Jiang He dialed Wang Hou's number and asked, "Wang Hou, could you control the Star Map and send me near Mars?"

"I can't."

Wang Hou smiled bitterly. "I only control the Star Map partially, and it is a very powerful object… If I could fully control it, I would have had it cover all of Mars and kill every Sky Demon champion… why worry?"

"Jiang He, could you be thinking about charging into Mars?"

"No, you absolutely mustn't…"

Wang Hou was still stalking, but Jiang He had already hung up.

That was when Hu Mei approached Jiang He. She had come to bring him tea, but she ended up hearing his conversation with Wang Hou, and so offered, "Master, do you wish to go to the Star of Dazzle and Confusion?"

"I could take you there!"

"I'm a full-fledged Heavenly Immortal, and while I did not assume the Dao of Spatiality and is unable to cast warping skills, I could fly rapidly in space, and can reach the other star in half an hour."

Delighted, Jiang He hugged Hu Mei and gave her a kiss, exclaiming, "You really are my lucky star, Hu Mei! Alright, let's not delay and depart right away."

Clang!

Hu Mei had thrown the teapot she was holding and dropped to the ground, prone.

She slapped her own posterior and curvaceous hips, offering alluringly, "Get on, Master."

Jiang He was dumbstruck.

Is this…

A young vixen mount?

To be fair, Hu Mei was a Nine Tailed Fox and it would not be a problem having her as a mount…

But right now, you are in human form! How am I supposed to ride you in his appearance?

Hmmm…

Yes, I could ride you, but is this type of 'riding' and that type of riding the same?

Jiang He shuddered even as he imagined himself riding a young fox maid and advancing rapidly through the endlessness of space, and said, "Please revert to your true form."

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Chapter 384: We've Been Spotted!

Hu Mei shot Jiang He a look of grief and complained cutely, "You're horrible, Master!"

Still, she reverted to her true form right away: it was a hundred-meter-long white fox whose fur was white as the drive snow, her nine tails gently wagging.

Damn it.

What is good or horrible about having you assume your true form as my mount?

I'm a seven-feet tall healthy man straighter than a ruler—what, am I going to do indescribable stuff to your true form?

Jiang He complained inwardly, but went up to stroke Hu Mie's fur which felt silky and tender. After that, he leapt up and sat over her back, feeling a soft sensation on her rump which was especially comfortable.

Most importantly, her back was wide enough for him to lie down on and sleep.

"Shall we go right now, Master?"

Hu Mei asked in human speech, while Jiang He nodded and instructed, "Remember to keep us hidden so that the Sky Demons won't notice us. I'm going there for a guerilla strike and my goal is to kill as many as possible without a direct confrontation."

"Hehe."

Hu Mei giggled in reply. "Don't worry, Master! I'm most adept at hiding auras, and even True Immortals would have a hard time finding me if they were not looking for me deliberately."

Whoosh!

With a single leap, she turned into a white flash as she shot toward the skies.

Jiang He looked down and watched as his own house became smaller in his vision, and soon, all of Lingzhou City, the Hua Nation, as well as Earth shrunk as well—in the space of a dozen breaths, Hu Mei had rushed out of the atmosphere and arrived in space.

However, Jiang He could not help feeling shocked when he turned back to look at Earth, and promptly called out, "Hu Mei, stop!"

Hu Mei promptly stopped, while Jiang He directed his mystic energy into his eyes and studied Earth again. He could now see that many illusory mountains and islands had now shown up upon the beautiful blue planet, though most were shrouded by arrays of Spirit Qi, and even Jiang He could not see through it despite his vision.

Of course, the main reason was that the distant was too great.

Seemingly able to see through Jiang He's uncertainty, Hu Mei then said, "Master, Earth is known by the other races of space as the humans' home planet… naturally, it is not just this huge. There are many blessed grounds and grotto-heavens hidden in space, spanning over hundreds, even thousands of miles, most of which are hidden by superior beings."

"Thousands of miles? The Earth's radius is only over 6,000 kilometers—doesn't that mean some of those blessed grounds and grotto-heavens are as large as Earth?"

"And once those places reveal themselves, wouldn't Earth's surface expand violently?"

Jiang He was rather astonished.

He had thought that the immortal sects, demonic sects, and daemon cultivators was all the secrets Earth had to offer… but those prove to merely be small fries now.

"Earth is the home planet and the birthplace of human civilization, after all. It has also been claimed to be the heart of all worlds, and the countless human elites born here could overwhelmed every other world in the universe. It is natural that things aren't as simple as they look."

"Rumor has it that there is a profound secret hidden on Earth as well," Hu Mei then added. "Whoever claims it first could claim transcendence, which is why the Hundred Races mounted an invasion on Earth in the past."

Puzzled, Jiang He asked, "You just told me that countless human elites once roamed Earth, but where had they gone when the Hundred Races invaded? Did they not return to defend Earth?"

Hu Mei shook her head, gesturing that she did not know the answer.

As such, Jiang He stared at the blue planet a little longer before saying, "Alright, let's keep going."

However, he was extremely interested in the secrets of Earth, and could not help wanting to return immediately and investigate those grotto-heavens and blessed grounds. Even so, it was more important that he deal with the threat of the Sky Demons right away.

Hu Mei nodded and reverted to her true form before heading deeper into space.

Jiang He, riding on top of her, turned back to look at Earth again, and could not help thinking, 'Are there cultivators or elites still alive at those grotto-heavens and blessed grounds? If there were, would they act if the Sky Demons reached Earth?'

Hah!

Jiang He was amused by his own thought.

He had already gotten an idea or two by the reaction shown by the immortal sects, demonic sects, and daemon cultivators in the previous invasion of the Sky Demons.

They were heartless.

Even if there were surviving elites residing in those grotto-heavens and blessed grounds which the superior beings left, they would not care if others lived.

Therefore, it would be better to not hold hope toward them.

One should resolve the problems that one was capable of resolving.

At this very moment, Jiang He had a dark look on his face.

Meanwhile, back on Earth, at he Martial Arts Department (MAD) headquarters in Jingdu City, the Hua Nation, Wang Hou had been constantly keeping an eye on outer space in his office. His face twitched just then, and he promptly diverted some of his focus through the Star Map, sensing…

And moments later…

Wang Hou held his forehead and laughed sourly, saying, "The brat really charged up to Mars…"

Was he supposed to stop him?

Persuade him to return?

Jiang He was already in the depths of outer space, and there was no way Wang Hou could catch up and contact him. Even if he could reach out to Jiang He, would the brat return, given his usual attitude?

"Still, since he has the guts to go, he must have some degree of confidence… at the very least, his fox spirit maid is powerful, and keeping Jiang He alive during a vital moment would not be an issue."

Wang Hou hence left his office, and stood above thin air above Jingdu City, looking up at the skies for a long time.

A sense of feebleness arose inside him.

He felt that he was not catching up with the times.

There was once a time when he thought that his cultivation progress and luck was unmatched. So why did he feel like everything was going wrong from him when that devil named Jiang He popped up?

Hah!

He breathed another sigh.

Landed back within Jingdu City, he muttered to himself, "I can only hope that Jiang He's preemptive strike would work. Otherwise, even with the Taixu Sect and the Ten Thousand Swords Sect backing us, the possibility of stopping the Sky Demon legion would be near zero."

The ancient planet Mars was dried, barren and without much signs of life.

The many warp portals buried beneath yellow sand were dug out, and the Sky Demon legion of three million had gathered around it.

Of those three million, there were almost 2.7 million Golden Pellet individuals—in other words, almost ninety percent of the legion.

There were also 200,000 True Child soldiers and almost 100,000 Yuan Spirit soldiers, while there were a lot fewer Convergence champions at around 20,000…

However, this was every Convergence-tier champion from the hundreds of living planets that the Sky Demons conquered.

Moreover, there were almost a thousand Sufferance-tier champions and over eighty Mahayana-tier champions, the most eye catching among the latter being the Demon Lord himself. Dressed in black armor, Demonic Qi swirled around him and his aura was unmatched, with even hints of an immortal's power lingering on his body, meaning that he was not far from reaching Heavenly Immortal.

Even so, the Demon Lord had lowered his head and there was a reverent look on his face.

Opposite him stood four Heavenly Immortal-tier Sky Demon champions.

All four of them were bowing and greeting in one voice, "Welcome, Lord Molona!"

The rest of the entire three-million strong legion greeted him as one as well, "Welcome, Lord Molona!"

In the encampment, a towering Demonic Qi shot to the skies, inside of which the power of an immortal stirred. After that, a burly man standing 2.5 meters tall and wearing a set of blood-colored armor strode out.

He had a giant blood-hued war blade slung over his back, and he surveyed the legion coldly before abruptly drawing his blade, and declaring sonorously, "Warriors, the time to avenge our ancestors has come…"

Then came a sonorous wave of cheers.

Every soldier in the Sky Demon legion could feel their blood boiling, and dropped to their knees as they breathed resounding battle-cries.

"Tut, tut…"

In the atmosphere of Mars, Jiang He clicked his tongue, unable to resist a retort, "No wonder anyone the Sky Demons sent could create a Sky Demon Cult on Earth… the Sky Demons are simply terrific at dishing out poisoned chicken soup (1)."

"Master, what does 'poisoned chicken soup' means?"

At the moment, Hu Mei had assumed human form, and had snuggled closely to Jiang He.

It was to ensure that she could hide Jiang He's aura and keep them from being noticed by the Sky Demons' True Immortal.

"I can't be bothered to explain," Jiang He replied. "Anyway, how much closer could we get to the Sky Demons without the True Immortal noticing us?"

Hu Mei thought abut it, and said, "If he doesn't scan the air on purpose, I could bring you within five kilometers away without him noticing, Master."

Five kilometers.

Jiang He groaned but said nothing.

Hu Mei thought that Jiang He was dissatisfied, and so puckered her lips and mouthed through gritted teeth, "I could get even closer if I went by myself, Master."

"No need."

Jiang He waved her off and said, "Actually, five kilometers is already too close, so just get me closer. After I throw my hand grenades, ignore everything else and pick me up, then fly high above the skies so that we won't caught in the blast."

Hand grenade?

It was an absolutely unfamiliar word for Hu Mei, but since Jiang He had spoken, she naturally would do as told.

Ooom!

Without a word or sound, Hu Mei dived downwards while carrying Jiang He, and stopped around 1,500 meters above the True Immortal.

Jiang He then took out one Heavenly Thunderbolt Hand Grenade… but after some thought and find that insecure, he took out ninety-nine more to make an even number.

He then found an inferior-grade sage-tier rope to tie around the 100 hand grenades, but just as he was about to throw them, he heard Hu Mei cry out, "Oh no, we've been spotted!"

"What?"

Jiang He shuddered, and accidentally dropped all 100 Heavenly Thunderbolt Hand Grenade down from the skies.

Translator's Note:

Poisoned chicken soup: A reference to demotivational memes or sayings, as opposed to the Chicken Soup for the Soul book series.

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Chapter 385: Mars Is Gone?

Jiang He was left ashen faced.

Was his psychological endurance that weak?

Hu Mei had merely cried out in surprise once, and his hand slipped?

"Well, it's not my fault. If anything, it's Hu Mei's fault for suddenly crying out…" Jiang He watched as the 100 Heavenly Thunderbolt Hand Grenades that were tied together dropped out of the skies, before growling, "Move!"

Whoosh!

In virtually the same instant when he spoke, Hu Mei had already picked him up and was dashing to outer space.

While it appeared to have been a long process, it merely took several instances… and even if Jiang He had the ability to retrieve the hand grenades, how could he be bothered then?

At almost the same instant they dashed for outer space, he turned to look at the bundle of hand grenades dropping out of the sky, and could not help sighing…

His plan had failed.

If he had thrown the bombs, the hand grenades would have landed in the middle of the Sky Demon legion. However, for their champions, a free-falling object was too slow, and they definitely had the ability to detonate it from the distance.

On Mars, the True Immortal Sky Demon named Molona frowned slightly as he looked up at the skies.

He had been giving a speech when he sensed an unprecedented threat.

His profound immortal will promptly swept out… and he soon saw a daemon fox fleeing while carrying a full-fledged Mahayana human.

"A full-fledged Heavenly Immortal? That fox is really quick, too… With the Star Map still sealing the space outside the humans' homeworld, I can't cast warp techniques here and would have a hard time catching up."

As that thought flashed in his mind, Molona gave up on a pursuit.

His eyes then fell upon the 100 Heavenly Thunderbolt Hand Grenades that were tied together.

"What is that?"

That was his first thought.

"A concealed weapon?"

"Blast it!"

That was Molona's second thought.

Still, he quickly resisted the second thought, sneered, and clasped his hands behind his back. He stared straight at the bundle of grenades as it dropped out of the sky, and declared loudly, "Warriors, you need not panic—it's just two interlopers!"

"Now is the time to serve your forebears!"

"Assume formation and advance upon Earth!"

His voice resounded, and he did not even glance as the skies as he grasped from the distance and seized the bundle of hand grenades. He had intended to use that for a demonstration of power by directly crushing it, and telling the many warriors of the Sky Demon legion…

That all that was left on the homeworld of humans right now was a bunch of cannon fodders!

Therefore, after he caught the Heavenly Thunderbolt Hand Grenades, Molona laughed coldly and pressed his fingers firmly…

In the next instant, time seemed to have frozen.

A terrible flash of thunder erupted out of the 100 Heavenly Thunderbolt Hand Grenades he crushed.

The flash instantly consumed Molona, the Sky Demon Lord, and the four Heavenly Immortal-tier Sky Demons who had been closest to him as it quaked heaven and earth… then, it was the dozens of Mahayana champions and hundreds of Sufferance champions…

The Sky Demons' champions were naturally standing next Molona as he gave his speech, and that was why they were all consumed by that flash even before they could react.

They had no idea what happened even after they had died.

What was actually going on?

The horrific explosive flash did not stop either, and in several seconds, the entire Sky Demon legion was consumed… and the eruption continued to unfurl across every direction.

Kaboom!

All of Mars quaked.

"What the f*ck!"

As he was being carried over Hu Mei's back in outer space, Jiang He turned around to look back at Mars, and could not help mouthing an expletive right away.

Naturally, his voice could not conduct since there was no air in space.

Only the corner of his lips moved as he mouthed the expletive, and there was no sound to be heard. Likewise, he could not hear the planet-shattering rumble after the Heavenly Thunderbolt Hand Grenades detonated, and could only observe the sight of the frightening explosion.

But in Jiang He's mind, a rumble still could be heard.

Because he was standing in outer space, Mars was naturally a giant spherical body in Jiang He's vision.

Even so, at that very moment, that massive spherical body was quaking violently… there were earthquakes and volcanos erupting violently, and minutes later…

Boom!

With a violent quaking, Mars split into pieces, and its debris were sent flying across every direction.

"Did… Did I…"

"Did I just blow up Mars?"

As if thunderstruck, Jiang He stared dumbly at the sight of the planet exploding, feeling as if he was caught in a dreamworld.

He flipped his palm and took out one Heavenly Thunderbolt Hand Grenade.

Gulp.

His Adam's apple bobbed as he gulped.

Is this thing really that powerful?

It was just something I made up, but it is still that powerful?

But come to think of it, since he had blown up Mars, would the Sky Demons' True Immortal Champion be blown up as well?

What a shame.

Since there were so many Sky Demon champions, they must have carried inestimable hoards of treasures… and he was getting no spoils with that explosion.

"Master, Star Core! Mars has actually birthed a Star Core!" Hu Mei suddenly cried out in surprise, and her body was gone from Jiang He's vision in a silver flash. When she appeared again, she was already arrived close to one of the pieces of debris left after Mars exploded.

Roar!

The hundred-meter long Nine Tailed Fox reared its head and bellowed in rage, and the silhouette of an even larger white fox appeared. It quickly widened its jaw and inhaled, drawing a flashing 'pearl' that was hidden behind the debris.

Jiang He did not even react in time.

Star Core?

What Star Core?

Even before he could think further, Hu Mei had returned to him. However, her aura had now withered a little, clearly because the godly technique she used just now had taken an exceeding toll upon her.

She then opened her mouth and exhaled, breathing out the shining pearl which expanded up to fifty kilometers. Hovering like a cosmic body before Jiang He, it crashed over every direction as it struggled to fly away, but was restrained tightly by Hu Mei's profound immortal strength and will.

"Master!"

"Quick, suppress the Star Core!"

Why me?

Jiang He's mystic energy surged as it pressed towards the Star Core, only to find that his mystic energy was firmly deflected by the Star Core, sending Jiang He flying backwards for fifty kilometers and making him vomit blood.

"What the hell!"

That thing could fight back?

"Doggone it! I already blew up a True Immortal! Do you think I would let you walk all over me?!"

As he cursed, he flew forward and whipped out five Heavenly Thunderbolt Hand Grenades, aiming it straight at the Star Core as he warned, "Move, or I'll blow you up too."

Oom!

The Star Core shuddered as if it understood Jiang He's words, and quieted right then.

Hu Mei gaped.

The exchange left her astonished… fearful that Jiang He would really blow up the Star Core. However, she quickly said, "No, Master! Do not blow it up!"

After all, the Star Core was too valuable.

Each was worth a premium-grade immortal item, and would only grow in living planets… Logically speaking, there should be countless Star Cores since there were countless living planets around the universe, but life existed on most living planets.

Once the Star Core was removed, the entire planet would rapidly wither before dying off completely, which was equal to massacring all living beings on it.

And the stronger one was, the more concerned they would be about the bad karma that heinous actions would invoke.

Killing every being on a living planet was indeed too evil, and so much so that rarely would anyone target the Star Core of a living planet.

But Mars was different, since it was a dried-up dead planet…

No, it was not dead planet since it had birthed a Star Core, and life might appear there in the future… but now, Mars was gone, which was why the potential existence of any being and civilization in the future would merely be a dream.

Meanwhile, Jiang He put away the Heavenly Thunderbolt Hand Grenades when he saw that the Star Core had calmed down, sneering, "Good, nothing is better since you know how to listen… by the way, what is that Star Core thing, Hu Mei?"

Hu Mei, having assumed human form, offered Jiang He an explanation, leaving him frowning and at a loss for words. "You've been telling me how valuable and how it is born… but what good is it?"

"Master, the Star Core is the cradle of life, birthed in the planet itself. If studied, the Dao which gestated within would greatly rewards even True Immortals."

Hu Mei answered. "Moreover, Star Cores are a vital material in refining soul treasures."

"Oh? Soul treasures, huh?"

Soul treasures were superior to immortal items, although those were extremely rare. Innate soul treasures spoke off in myths were forged during Creation and wielded by ancient superior beings… afterwards, soul treasures became extremely difficult to craft, and not even Golden Immortals would possess acquired soul treasures.

"Master, you're a grandmaster in item crating. You might be able to forge an acquired soul treasure for yourself in the future with this Star Core!"

Excitement showed all over Hu Mei's face, while Jiang He said, "That thing seemed intelligent and it understood my threat. Wouldn't forging it as an item be too cruel?"

"How could Star Cores be intelligent? Since it contains Dao, it would be a alert against certain dangers. It knows that you would blow it up, which is why it turned quiet, Master." Hu Mei explained.

Delighted at that, Jiang He laughed. "That's better… but forget item crafting. Let's use plant it!"

Would he get a planet from panting a Star Core?

What a coincidence. He had a sun and a moon in his farm, and only lacks stars.

Meanwhile, at the Martial Arts Department(MAD) in Jingdu City, Wang Hou suddenly froze just as returned to his office and was about to call for another emergency conference.

"What is it, Minister Wang?"

Lin Tianzheng's heart raced while his face twitched, and he promptly asked, "Are the Sky Demons invading already?"

Wang Hou said nothing and remained stunned.

After the other leaders of the MAD continued pressing him, Wang Hou finally came to his senses. Rubbing his temples, he flashed a pained smile and said, "Send word to cancel our previous arrangements… Everyone can now take a break and do whatever they want."

Noting the confusion on the others' faces, Wang Hou then said, "Mars is gone."

"Huh?"

Lin Tianzheng did a double take, while everyone else was left stunned.

"Jiang He had blown up Mars… directly. The Sky Demons' legion of millions and their champions are all… most likely dead!"

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Chapter 386: The Returning Immortals Would Not Run into Any Accidents, Would They?

There was silence in the vast office.

Thud.

A divine-tier elite had dropped his thermal cup to the floor, splashing wolfberries and tea leaves all over the floor, but that elite seemed to not realize it.

Wang Hou's lips twitched at the sight of the wolfberries strewn all over the floor.

These morons… they could not imitate else? Did they have to imitate me brewing wolfberries in a thermal cup?

Meanwhile, deep within outer space, Jiang He felt a little confused even as he stared at the fifty-kilometer Star Core.

How was he supposed to plant that thing?

His farm was just 100 Mu…

"Whatever, I'll store it in my System Backpack for now and think of a way to plant it later." Jiang He extended his hand and grasped, his mystic energy surging towards the Star Core… only for an energy to surge out of the Star Core, and it struggled, attempting to fly away from Jiang He's control.

Having no choice, Jiang He took out his Heavenly Thunderbolt Hand Grenades once more.

Though that thing did not have intelligence, it was something born from a world, and the Dao within it held a certain extent of awareness. Therefore, it went still at once when Jiang He threatened it again, and whirled for a while before transforming to the size of a basketball.

"Oh?"

Jiang He's eyes lit up as he grinned. "That thing could shrink or expand? If it's crafted into a mystic item… hmmm?"

As he spoke, Jiang He had extended his hand at the Star Core.

However, his expression changed at that.

The Star Core did not move at all.

Jiang He directed the flow his mystic energy while his qi burst out as he grasped again, but the Star Core only shook a little.

"How heavy is that thing? I could uproot Mount Everest at full strength, or is that thing heavier than Mount Everest?"

There was no helping it.

He would not be keeping it in his System Backpack since he could not pick it up, so he would have to leave it with Hu Mei for now.

Being a full-fledged Heavenly Immortal daemon, Hu Mei possessed a vast Void Storage that could easily hold the Star Core even if it was in its fifty-kilometer form, let alone its basketball-size form.

With the Star Core retrieved, Jiang He turned to look at the countless debris of Mars. They were wafting in space, and would either be crushed into powder by space storms or cause widespread destruction as they crashed into other planets.

Of course… such things were no within Jiang He's consideration.

Sighing softly, he then laughed, "The Sky Demons legion of millions and their many champions are vaporized along with Mars, with their True Immortal, Demon Lord and four Heavenly Immortals all blown up by me… now, I don't have to worry about them being a threat."

"You must not be careless, Master."

Hu Mei said beside him then, "The Sky Demons might not be a powerhouse, but they are still among the top hundred in this universe, controlling an entire star system along with hundreds of living planets. Their pioneers were quasi-Sages and their kind boast countless champions. Even if hundreds of Sufferance champions and almost a hundred Mahayana champions of theirs died by your hand, Master, it would merely be a flesh wound. The races in this universe could groom another batch of Mahayana and Sufferance champions in less than a thousand years, after all."

"Moreover, it isn't Mahayana or Sufferance champions that decide a race's power, but their most pinnacle forces."

"Since the Sky Demons have received word that the Star Map array has opened, the Hundred Races that formerly invaded would target Earth once more."

Jiang He's face stiffened at that, and countless thoughts flashed in his mind just then.

He almost wanted to curse at someone's mother.

Sh*t!

Was there no end to these extraterrestrials' business?

Does this mean that there would still be trouble in the future?

"All I want to do is be a neet, sleep in peace, farm and have tea, as well as enjoy the seven fairy maidens' entertainment, have Boa Hancock massage my limbs and ride my fox from time to time… why is such a tiny wish so impossible?"

There was a fearsome flash in Jiang He's eyes and he clenched his teeth. "Hu Mei, which were races were the ones that invaded Earth before? Why don't we take some time to blow up those b*stards?"

Still, he soon found that too risky after some thought.

The Sky Demons, even though they were alleged to be bottom feeders among the Hundred Races, boasted countless champions and quasi-Sages. In other words, wouldn't other powerful races be overflowing with immortals?

They would have Sages as well, would they not?

"It seems the expansion of my world view is not what I've expected… I thought that the immortal sects, demonic sects and daemon cultivators would reveal themselves after the Revival of Qi, and the world would progress towards a revival of myths and ancient legends… Now, the world has expanded so much it is not limited to that."

Jiang He rubbed his temples a little worriedly.

Ancient divine myths, huh…

Grand Luo, Quasi-Sages, Sages…

"Such a shame. I had not started cultivated that long—it has only been four months, at best. I really do fall short in comparison to those ancient superior beings whose ages are counted in epochs, but if I just had a few decades more and gained the power to kill them, I could do whatever I want!"

And if he wants that sort of power, cultivation alone would not work.

Moreover…

Cultivation was impossible for him in this life. It is only through farming that he stayed alive.

At that thought, Jiang He remembered that he had yet to plant the spirit stones and mystic treasures which the nine factions had paid him, and hurriedly said, "Alright, let's go home, Hu Mei."

"Got it, Master."

Hu Mei sprawled herself over thin air, hoisting her sexy posterior and flirting, "Come, ride me, Master."

Jiang He was dumbstruck.

What the hell!

Revert to your true form!

How was he supposed to ride her like this?

Hence, after Jiang He demanded it with righteous justification, Hu Mei turned into a hundred-meter daemon fox with a face full of grief.

She cheekily moaned 'Ah~~~' as Jiang He flew and landed on her back, which left him gritting his teeth. He could not wait to hand her some stick disciplining later.

Before he left, Jiang He turned to look in the direction of Mars as a thought struck him, "I was told that Mars is a relay station, a path that the cultivators must take as their traveled through outer space or returned to Earth in ancient times… but now that I have blown it up, would the returning immortals be able to find their way back?"

"Huh!"

"Aren't I getting paranoid?"

"They are immortals, so physically crossing the stars would not be impossible. It would not take long for them to fly back from Mars to Earth either."

And yet, Jiang He suddenly thought that something was not right.

He pondered, and only remembered when he got home…

"Since I blew up Mars, the ancient portals there would be gone as well… but the immortals teleporting from distant stars to Earth wouldn't run into any accidents, would they?"

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Chapter 387: My Homecooked Bombs

Jiang He stared at the skies distractedly.

He was at first worried for the returning immortals… but in three minutes, he suddenly remembered that he had been unpleasant with the legacies that those immortals left.

"Others aside, the immortals of the Penglai Sect, Green Hill, or the nine factions would try to cut me down if they returned. It would be best if they did not come back!"

"Still…"

Being a paranoid person, Jiang he was especially afraid of problems, which is why he would try to resolve anything that troubled him or could potentially cause trouble for him.

Once he remembered that the immortals of the Penglai Sect, Green Hill or the nine factions might try to kill him even if it meant their lives, he could not help feeling a major headache!

"Those sects and factions are no trifle, and according to Hu Mei, any sect that could leave behind a Dao faction back then would at least have one Golden Immortal, or even Grand Luo… of course, those characters might not return since they would be fighting in another realm, but I'm going to be in trouble if even one Golden Immortal returns."

"Even if a handful of True Immortals returned while Golden Immortals don't, wouldn't there still be dozens of them wanting to get back at me? Even if my Heavenly Thunderbolt Hand Grenade could easily kill them, that thing has such frightening power that it must not be used on Earth, since it could be vaporized entirely."

Jiang He kept pondering, and eventually realized that there was only one solution to resolving all these troubles.

He would have to hide in outer space to ambush the returning immortals.

"I must plan this ahead. Wouldn't it be terrible if I mistakenly kill the elites of other sects by mistake, since I don't know which immortals belong to which sect?"

Even as Jiang He pondered, Wang Hou flew toward him from the distance. As he landed, he gave Jiang He a weird look, and asked hoarsely, "How did you do that, Jiang He?"

"How?"

Jiang He repeated, and only realized what had happened then… Wang Hou had loaned a bit of the Star Map's power and probably knew about Mars. Hence, feeling a little embarrassed, Jiang He laughed and answered, "Minister Wang, that was an accident."

The corner of Wang Hou's mouth twitched…

He was feeling dazed right now.

An accident?

You blew up Mars by accident?

Why do I feel an impulse to hit someone at those words?

Wang Hou shrugged and spread his hands when he saw Wang Hou's look, and feebly said, "I was worried that the Sky Demons would lay waste to life on Earth when they invade, which was why I made some homecooked bombs and went to Mars for a bit. I would wage a guerilla warfare against the Sky Demon legion, and kill however many Sky Demons I could… I just didn't expect that…"

Homecooked bombs?

Wang Hou remained impassive.

What homecooked bombs? How many times had you used this excuse?

At first, your homecooked bombs were still within the limits of everyone's comprehension, since it only blew up Ferals and martial artists reaching up to rank-six. But then you eventually progressed to blowing up high-ranked martial artists, the Sky Demon Cult's base, the Penglai Sect… and now, Mars.

And you are still claiming that those were homecooked bombs?

Who would believe you?

On the other hand, Jiang He remembered how the True Immortal Sky Demon had noticed him and still felt fear from that. It registered on his face even as he flashed a pained smile. "Minister Wang, you wouldn't know… but I really barely escaped death this time."

Wang Hou's expression stiffened.

He was already shocked by Jiang He blowing up Mars, but did not consider what enemies Jiang He would be facing when he went there. After all, that was a legion of three million Sky Demons, and among their ranked champions were hundreds of Sufferance, eighty Mahayana, four Heavenly Immortal, and one True Immortal.

But just as Wang Hou was about to voice his concern, Jiang He said, "I was riding my fox maid at the time…"

"Ride?"

Wang Hou could not help asking, but Jiang He directly ignored him and said, "When I rode my foxy to Mars, the True Immortal Sky Demon was giving their legion poisoned chicken soup to boost morale."

"My foxy and I had stayed hidden in the atmosphere, but just as I was about to take out 100 Heavenly Thunderbolt… I mean, homecooked bombs, to ambush them, the True Immortal noticed us even before I could do a thing!"

Wang Hou's heart was strung up right then.

Jiang He breathed a long sigh then. "I was so startled I shuddered and dropped all those homecooked bombs I was holding. Luckily, that True Immortal Sky Demon ignored me even though I quickly ran away with my foxy, and just dumbly reached out to catch the falling bombs."

Jiang He stopped at that and added nothing further.

Wang Hou could not help pressing him, "Then, what?"

"What are you talking about?"

"I'm asking you: what happened afterwards?"

"What else?"

Jiang He held his stomach as he laughed out loud. "Don't you think that True Immortal Sky Demon is a moron? A high and mighty Sky Demon, getting bombed by my 100 Heavenly Thunderbolt Hand Grenades? What else could happen?"

"That idiot even used his own hands to catch it and detonated the bombs, so they all ended up dead."

Wang Hou was dumbstruck.

What the hell!

You call it barely escaping death?

He held back his impulse to retort, but ultimately could not resist his curiosity to ask tentatively, "I'm sorry, Jiang He… but could you tell me what are these homecooked bombs you made?"

Jiang He took out one of the Heavenly Thunderbolt Hand Grenades with a flip of his palm.

Wang Hou carefully accepted it and looked at it closely, realizing that it was no different from the hand grenades usually shown in second world war dramas. The was even a fuse on its butt, meaning that it was one of those that you bite to pull the fuse and throw it out before it exploded.

The only difference was that the material of this grenade is unique, since it looked like metal but wasn't, and was even inscribed with the two words, 'huge explosion'.

"Is that…"

"A hand grenade?"

Wang Hou's lips twitched and he could not help asking, "How much power would a tiny hand grenade contain? Even if you threw a hundred of these… would Mars break so easily?"

Jiang He looked at Wang Hou as one would look at an imbecile with concern, and snatched the Heavenly Thunderbolt Hand Grenade back while scolding, "You know nothing. I call this the Heavenly Thunderbolt Hand Grenade, otherwise known as the Heavenly Thunderbolt Huge Explosion Hand Grenade. I made it with my mystic treasure refinement technique, infusing compressed eighth or ninth-retribution heavenly thunderbolts within. Once they detonate, there would be rolling thunder, and it would blow up hundreds of targets, even if they are Paragon martial artists like you."

"…"

Wang Hou's expression darkened.

How did I suddenly become a unit of measurement?

As the two men conversed on, they suddenly looked up towards the distant horizon where dozens of figures were darting toward them. There were over a dozen Mahayana elites, while Sufferance and convergence elites numbered up to 200.

"Lord Jiang He, Minister Wang!"

Jin Sidao had flown the quickest and offered a fist-palm salute to both Jiang He and Wang Hou when he landed. "Lord Jiang He, I have reached out to the other factions, and many including the Jiuhua Sect, the Scale Dragons of Shennongjia, the Taixu Sect, and my Ten Thousand Swords Sect are willing to fight with you and repel the Sky Demon legion."

Soon, many other elites reached them as well.

The Green Scale Dragon King of Shennongjia even quickly came forward, holding fist to palm and bowing as he greeted, "Lord Jiang He…"

He was fearing Jiang He right then.

Back then, he was not complicit when the nine factions tried to gang up on Jiang He in outer space. However, he did not assist Jiang He either, and even secretly communicated with Jin Sidao and told him not to 'make a mistake'… but contrary to what he had expected, Jiang He was not afraid of the prospect of returning immortals, and even made the nine factions pay for their misdeeds in blood within the blink of an eye, subjugating them entirely.

It was even said that the Mahayana cultivators of the Thousand Cavern Mountain were both slain. With their remaining Sufferance and Convergence cultivators all fleeing afterwards, it was no different from a sect destroyed.

Still, Jiang He was not concerned.

He smiled. "Brothers, I accept your sincerity but this really is unnecessary. I have wiped out every last champion and legionnaire of the Sky Demons on Mars."

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Chapter 388: The Exploding Soul Plates

The cultivators who rushed to the scene looked as if they had seen a ghost.

Jin Sidao was especially baffled, and muttered, "When did that happen, Lord Jiang He? Didn't the Sky Demons gather a legion of millions, led by hundreds of Sufferance champions, dozens of Mahayana champions as well as Heavenly Immortals?"

How could he not be baffled?

Just this morning, I brought you the 'mental distress compensations' from the nine factions… and after I returned to contact the other factions as soon as possible, you're telling me that the threat was pacified just half a day later?

Moreover… you actually wiped out the entire Sky Demon legion and their champions?

Does that mean that in half a day, you went to Mars and destroyed their legion, including their hundreds of Sufferance champions, eighty Mahayana champions as well as handful of Heavenly Immortals?

Hence, Jiang He had no choice but to explain. "Just before, I learned that a True Immortal Sky Demon might come, and they might lay waste to Earth after they arrive. That is why I had to strike preemptively by heading to Mars and use the bombs I made myself to blow them all to hell."

Every cultivator present was even more stunned at his words.

They were aware of how Jiang He had wiped out the Penglai Sect and the 'weapons of technology' that commoners invented—the most prominent ones being the nuclear weapons that could wipe out the world, and not even Mahayana elites could afford to underestimate.

It was even likely that Jiang He had used such weapons when he wiped out the Penglai Sect.

However…

These weapons could kill even True Immortals?

If this was true, the cultivators would have to review their perspective about the strength of the commoners… It might not be even be necessary to be overly cautious toward the return of the immortals now!

Jiang He could tell what they were thinking, but was not bothered to elaborate.

After some idle chatter, the Green Scale Dragon King was the first to leave. Then, the cultivators of Jiuhua Sect and other sects also excused themselves, bidding their leave with fist-palm salutes.

Meanwhile, Jin Sidao and Wang Hou huddled together to discuss about promoting Dao.

Wang Hou smiled. "Brother Jin, the cultivation techniques of the Ten Thousand Swords Sect have been taught far and wide in the Hua Nation. We even intend to build a cultivation academy, even selecting a group of talented youths with impressive enlightenment and are suitable for cultivation to be groomed in the academy. However, the country has only recently started to introduce immortal cultivation, which is why we simply don't have enough instructors, so we hope that the Ten Thousand Swords Sect could assist us in this respect."

Jin Sidao was very agreeable, and said, "That would be easy. There are some disciples and elders in our sect who could assume that role, even though their cultivation is merely True Child or Yuan Spirit. We, the Ten Thousand Swords Sect, also possess some secret manuals that require certain treasures, and while we don't have much, we could still offer you some."

"There is also a Sword Cave in the Ten Thousand Swords Sect that helps hone a person's Sword Will, and twelve people could enter to cultivate each year."

By now, the Ten Thousand Swords Sect was not holding anything back.

In return, Wang Hou also permitted the Ten Thousand Swords Sect to open their doors and accept new disciples, and it was said that the Ten Thousand Swords Sect had already picked their first batch of recruits, with hundreds going up their mountains to cultivate… of course, the condition for that was for those recruits to contribute their strength if the Hua Nation was at risk.

"By the way, Brother Jin—where do you think we should build the cultivator academy?"

"Eh? You should be the one to decide on this matter, Minister Wang."

As they continued their courteous exchange, Jiang He butted in and said, "Isn't Green Hill vacated? The scenery there is fantastic and Spirit Qi concentration is high, so the new cultivator academy could be built there."

Wang Hou shook his head and smiled bitterly. "If the Immortal Foxes of Green Hill return and see that, they would immediately destroy the academy. Moreover, I am sure that there would be a second Revival of Spirit Qi, since it is getting more concentrated around the world and now that the Star Map is unsealed. When the time comes, Yuan Qi concentration would not lose out to how it was in the ancient era of Qi Refinists, with Spirit Qi overflowing everywhere—that is why we could build the cultivator academy anywhere."

After some thought, Jiang He nodded in agreement.

Meanwhile, the Taixu Sect cultivator did not leave even though Wang Hou and Jin Sidao had gone off to another corner to discuss their plans. Envy and jealously filled his face at the sight, and he eventually gritted his teeth and approached them, smiling. "Minister Wang, I'm Dustless Child of the Taixu Sect… May I have a discussion with you as well?

"Dustless, you old thug. What are you trying?"

Furious, Jin Sidao drew his sword and was about to fight Dustless Child while warning him coldly, "Are you trying to steal our thunder now that the Ten Thousand Swords Sect had spread our teachings in the Hua Nation?"

"Calm down, Brother Dragon Abyss… The Hua Nation is vast and boasts a population of one billion. How many cultivators could the Ten Thousand Swords Sect groom even if you poured out all our resources? Why don't we make an agreement…?"

Jiang He could not help laughing out loud.

Were these two mongrels going to start fighting now?

Still, come to think of it, these sects had stood for several thousand years. Now that they had revealed themselves, they would naturally open their doors to recruit new disciples and spread their teachings… otherwise, if something unexpected happened and their continuity was disrupted, it was no different from having their sect destroyed.

So, it was a good thing that the Taixu Sect and the Ten Thousand Swords Sect were competing to spread their teachings. Otherwise, if the Ten Thousand Swords Sect maintained a monopoly and was the only one to grow, Wang Hou might not be able to stop them if they wanted to start a journey amongst the stars as well.

"By the way, Minister Wang…"

Jiang He interrupted at that thought, saying, "Any of the sects who have come here today may spread their teachings, and the conditions that the Ten Thousand Swords Sect has followed before applies… of course, the most important part is to observe the rules of the Hua Nation. As for any other sect, they are absolutely not permitted to spread their teachings in the Hua Nation, and they must not blame me if I wipe out their sect should they open their doors and recruit disciples in the Hua Nation without seeking approval first."

With those words, Jiang He ignored them all and headed inside his farm.

A thought occurred to him then…

Those other sects would head to other countries to recruit disciples since they couldn't do so in the Hua Nation.

Still, it would be interesting when that happens, and they accepted those foreigners who only seemed capable of saying 'what' and 'f*ck'…

Shaking his head and throwing away the random thoughts in his head, Jiang He took out the 'compensation for mental distress' that nine sects had paid him and started to planted them.

At the same time, in a massive living planet, faraway from Earth…blocks of soul plates were exploding.

The Sky Demon champion who was guarding the Throne of Requiem, almost lost his wits.

He had never seen such a 'grand' sight… there was no telling how many soul plates exploded in the Throne in a single breath, and the cracking and bursting only stopped after several minutes.

Panic ensued after his initial shock.

Crawling and dashing, the Sky Demon champion rushed inside a luxurious palace and wailed, "It's a tragedy! It's a tragedy! The soul plates are shattering, all of them… the Supreme Venerable Elder! I want to see him!"

Soon enough, a Sky Demon royal champion with pale-white hair rushed into the Throne of Requiem, dumbstruck when he found it filled with shattered soul plates.

Nonetheless, he came to his senses soon enough. Immortal might then swirled around him as he roared, "No, this is impossible! The homeworld of the humans has been sealed for over two thousand years and almost all of their immortals had left for the stars before that. No elite would have been left in the planet, not to mention that our legion is led by our sovereign, four Supreme Venerable Elders and Lord Molona, who had just returned from the galactic battlegrounds… how could they have been defeated at the humans' homeworld?"

"Moreover, even if it was a Grand Luo, they could not have instantly wiped out our legion of millions…"

Roar and confusion aside, facts were facts. Eventually, the Supreme Venerable Elder, a Heavenly Immortal and a royalty among Sky Demons, eventually had to accept that truth.

He growled, "Prepare the altar. I will contact the former emperor."

The sentinel of the Throne of Requiem paled at that and quickly said, "But, Supreme Venerable Elder, the former emperor is engaged in the galactic battlefield…"

"Our sovereign has fallen and Lord Molona had fallen too. The former emperor, and even the pioneers, must be informed of this as soon as possible, or once the human immortals return to their homeworld, we would have to align ourselves with the Hundred Races like we did before if we want conquer Earth!"

Meanwhile, at a location out in distant space untold light years away from Earth, an elderly person shrouded in sacred radiance who sat atop a massive continent-sized boulder opened his eyes, pinching his fingers and smiled. "Oh? The Star Map has been unlocked?"

"I'm afraid those Hundred Races would not let these chance slip by… well, we could let our little ones go back for a bit."

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Chapter 389: Thunder Dao Fruit

[Ding!]

[100 Farm Points.]

In his farm, a crisp System Notification jingled in Jiang He's head when he reached out to pluck a jadelike superior-grade spirit stone from a spirit stone tree.

"Sigh."

"Just as I've thought."

"One superior-grade spirit stone would have earned me a thousand Farm Points before my farm leveled up, but it's now just one hundred… even in total, the entire spirit stone tree would only earn me ten thousand points."

Of the nine factions, only the Unbounded Demon Sect compensated Jiang He with one demi-immortal item, three premium-grade sage items, and two thousand superior-grade spirit stones. The other seven factions each paid him one demi-immortal item, three premium-grade sage items, and one thousand superior-grade spirit stones, making it a total of eight demi-immortal items, twenty-four premium-grade sage items, and nine thousand superior-grade spirit stones.

"Hmmm!"

"If we count it that way, doesn't mean that even if I plant all these superior-grade spirit stones, demi-immortal items, and premium-grade sage items, I would only earn a total of one hundred million Farm Points?"

Rubbing his temples, Jiang He could feel the profound hatred that the world held against him.

He had been farming so difficulty, and only earn this much Farm Points?

Right now, he only had a total of 1.6 billion Farm Points. When on earth would he gather the 10 billion Farm Points he needed to cultivate up to full-fledged Heavenly Immortal?

"Becoming immortal is too difficult."

After Jiang He's farm had leveled up, the farm area had expanded up to 100 Mu. If he relocated the mansion, courtyard, and sheds to only occupy several Mu, he would easily plant 9,000 superior-grade spirit stones at once, although harvesting them would be a little troublesome.

Jiang He had plucked them for over two hours and the sky had darkened by the time he was finished.

Right now, he had more than a million superior-grade spirit stones alone, and countless mediocre-grade and inferior-grade spirit stones. In fact, he might also possess more sage items, demi-immortal items and immortal items than any immortal sects, demonic sects, and daemon cultivators on Earth.

"These guys probably can't gather more wealth now… I would have to think of something solution to gather 10 billion Farm Points."

Jiang He returned to his mansion, where Sora had already prepared dinner.

She had a lot free time lately.

Back when she was the only maid, she had to cook, wash the dishes, and clean the house every day, as well as massage Jiang He and warm his bed. Now, however, those tasks were shared between her, Boa Hancock, Hu Mei, and the seven fairy maidens.

Aromatic dishes were served when Jiang He took his seat at the dinner table, and Hu Mei flirted when she saw the worried look on Jiang He's face. "Master, are you feeling under the weather? Should I entertain you after dinner?"

Jiang He looked up at Hu Mei, who was winking at him coquettishly… her maid outfit really suited her charm too, as it exuded a special devilish charm.

Still…

Entertainment?

Do you really have that many tricks?

"By the way, could the immortals return after I blew up Mars and the warp portals on it?"

"Of course."

Hu Mei replied, "Still, their return would be affected to a certain extent—while they would have come out from the warp portals on Mars before, they would now randomly teleport to locations where Mars had been."

"In other words, the best position for ambushing them is near Mars?"

Hu Mei appeared stunned at that, and quickly said, "Are you going to ambush the immortals, Master? Absolute not! This time, the immortals would return in groups. Moreover, as there are twenty-four factions of immortal sects, demonic sects, and daemon cultivators, the immortals returning might number up to a hundred, and there would definitely be Heavenly Immortals and Golden Immortals among them."

"It's fine."

Jiang He waved her off and said, "The immortals would not return immediately. Would my ability not improve by the time they return? I'm just trying to preparing against any possible outcomes."

"True, you are an outstanding prodigy—how would the mediocre ever compare?"

Hu Mei flatted, and added after some thought, "According to what I have observed of the Star Map, the spatial seal would not be fully unsealed even after three years. The immortals would not be able to teleport and return inside Earth even if they returned, and they must return by physically journeying across the star. Master, you could set up an ambush on Earth if you intend to do so."

"No way."

Jiang He shook his head in refusal without thinking. "The Moon and Mars are different, since Mars is far away from Earth and blowing it up wouldn't affect Earth. If the Moon blew up, however, Earth would be affected severely."

"Even if Earth isn't affected… it hurts to imagine that you wouldn't see a moon anymore when you look up at night."

Musing to herself for a while, Hu Mei then suggested, "You could consider hiding in the Star Map, Master."

"Oh?"

Jiang He's eyes lit up at the suggestions. The Star Map overlapped with outer space in real time and it also covered a wide range. With Wang Hou having gained some extent of authority over that device, he could control more of the Star Map if his ability improved. If that happens, Jiang He would be able to hide in the Star Map and set up an ambush against the immortals… in fact, he could borrow Wang Hou's power and use the Star Map to subjugate them if necessary.

"Right now, Wang Hou is a Paragon martial artist. According to what I've seen, his cultivation progress only loses out to mine… I could help him a little."

There were only too many ways to help Wang Hou cultivate as well… leaving aside the fact that Jiang He was a master at refining pellets, he could have Wang Hou mediate Dao beneath the Elder Tea Tree of Enlightenment, and his cultivation would definitely improve by leaps and bounds.

"Still, I could discuss this matter with Wang Hou…"

"But there's no hurry. Over the next two days, Wang Hou would be discussing the promotion of immortal arts and the establishment of a cultivator academy with the Ten Thousand Swords Sect over the next couple of days… When he's done with the work at hand, I could give him a good lesson… eh?"

Even as Jiang He pondered, he suddenly felt a breeziness at his lower body.

While he was thinking, Hu Mei had handily taken of his pants and half-knelt on the floor…

"What are you doing?"

Gasp!

Jiang He inhaled sharply and pressed his hands over Hu Mei's head.

This…

…Is killing me!

After a night of strenuous activities, Jiang He had a rare moment of waking up early.

He headed downstairs and had his breakfast before going out into the farm.

Immortal radiance shone within, with various immortal items and demi-immortal items hovering up in thin air.

After strengthening his loot from the eight factions by planting the eight demi-immortal items and twenty-four premium-grade sage items, Jiang He had gained eight immortal items and twenty-four demi-immortal items. It was worth further celebration too that the three of the eight immortal items were swords!

Now, Jiang He had six immortal flying swords, and around eighteen items altogether, including the Clear Sky Mirror and the White Jade Tower.

"Jin Sidao has done quite well. I could give him two demi-immortal items as reward after this…"

Jiang He hence plucked the many immortal and demi-immortal items, earning another wave of Farm Points and EXP.

"I think I've probably planted everything that could be planted… now, I would have to come up with a new method for earning Farm Points." Jiang He thought as he turned to look over at another corner.

There were over forty little trees sparkling with thunderbolts. Those were the heavenly thunderbolts that Jiang He had planted—they had been sprouting with the energy extending from his farm's leveling, and they were now bearing fruit, with heavy fruits dangling off the tips of the branches.

The thunderbolts were not only flashing over those tree branches and leaves, but also over the fruits.

Each were around the size of a fist and shaped like peaches, although it was entirely violet in hue. There were also thunderbolt patterns marked over the fruits, and there were ten fruits on each of the forty-five thunder trees.

"Are the fruits grown from thunderbolts edible?"

Jiang He was quite surprise.

It seems that fruits would grow out of anything he planted in his farm.

If he tried to make some farm fertilizer… ahem. He was digressing.

Gathering his thoughts, Jiang He reached out and plucked a thunder fruit—

[Ding!]

[500,000 Farm Points.]

Woah!

Jiang He's eyes promptly lit up and he laughed out loud. "Wonderful! One fruit for 500,000… that would mean one tree earns me 5 million, and over 200 million with forty-five trees."

He then looked at the fruit on his palm curiously.

What was the effect of this thing?

Since each one earned him 500,000 Farm Points, that value would not lose out to premium-grade sage items.

Lines of information appeared before his eyes then.

[Thunder Dao Fruit]

[Effect: Rich with the power of thunderbolts and the containing Thunder Dao, long term consumption of this fruit improves physique and Thunder Dao enlightenment.]

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Chapter 390: Thunder Dao Form

"Improve physique?"

"Thunder Dao enlightenment?"

Right now, Jiang He's physique and qi were so overwhelming he could match full-fledged Mahayana. Moreover, eating Dragoontooth Rice every day helped clear his body from any excesses, which is why he believed his body needs no improvement.

As for Thunder Dao enlightenment?

What a coincidence.

He had cultivated the Ninefold Thunderblades and grasped Thunder Will before, which counted as dabbling in Thunder Dao.

Still, that stuff didn't really improve his combat ability.

Nonetheless, Jiang He took a bite of the Thunder Dao Form.

He had a lot of these anyway, and he could test the flavor first.

Crack!

A thunderbolt actually erupted when he bit down on the fruit and the energy flowed along his mouth into his stomach, instantly turning into pure energy surging in his body. The energy eventually infused itself into his limbs and bones, and everything from his skin, muscles, to cells were improved by that energy.

The fruit actually turned out not to be a physical object, but the crystallization of lightning energy.

Oom!

As Jiang He's body moved, a thunderbolt flashed for an instant over his head, and another thunderbolt shot out from his fingers when he flicked them.

He stepped out of the farm and punched out toward the horizon. With a loud rumble, the white clouds up in the skies split apart, while the air rumbled restlessly—bolts of lightning sparked from the force of the punch as well.

Jiang He was at first taken aback, before erupting in delight and laughing out loud. "I see! So this Thunder Dao Fruit actually infuses the power of thunder in my physical body and strengthens its combat ability… Most importantly, my enlightenment toward Thunder Dao has become more profound after eating the Thunder Dao Fruit. If I keep eating these…"

"I could use this to condense my cultivation up to Heavenly Immortal!"

Having understood that, Jiang He's eyes lit up at the many Thunder Dao Fruit Trees.

There were ten Thunder Dao Fruits on each of the forty-five Thunder Dao Fruit Trees.

"450 Thunder Dao Fruits… this would definitely be enough for me to condense my cultivation… with the Revival of Qi, Spirit Qi has become more concentrated with each passing Day on Earth. Therefore, becoming immortal would not affect the Spirit Qi on Earth by much."

Hence, Jiang He reached out to pluck all the Thunder Dao Fruits.

[Ding!]

[500,000 Farm Points.]

[Ding!]

[500,000 Farm Points.]

After he finished plucking the Thunder Dao Fruits, Jiang He sat cross-legged in meditation beneath the Elder Tea Tree of Enlightenment and began eating Thunder Dao Fruits.

One must say that the Elder Tea Tree of Enlightenment was quite awesome—Jiang He's Thunder Dao enlightenment was much more profound, even reaching the next level just by eating Thunder Dao Fruits under its shade.

It took him around an hour to fully cultivate and consume each Thunder Dao Fruit.

After he had fully absorbed and cultivated from the first, he quickly ate a second. Soon, it was night, but Jiang He seemed not to notice it even as the farm's moon slowly rose tot the skies, and he continued eating Thunder Dao Fruits without having dinner.

Around him, thunderbolts were cracking and flashing without rest, just as Thunder Dao over his head slowly solidified.

One does not take time into account when cultivating.

It was soon noon the next day and the end of December. The skies of Xibei had gotten much frostier and cold winds buffeted the outside world, and a sudden thick snow almost dyed all of Xibei white.

Oom!

Suddenly, Jiang He's body shuddered. Around him, flashes of thunderbolts raged, and everything, from his skin to his bone, were sparkling with lightning.

Still, the flashes died off in no time at all, and Jiang He slowly opened his eyes.

He stood up and felt around his body. Surprised, he exclaimed, "My body… why does it feel like it is going to turn into thunderbolts as well?"

A term appeared in Jiang He's mind then—Thunder Dao Form.

It was rumored that once a person born with Thunder Dao Form mastered their Dao Form, they would be able to physically turn into thunderbolts… He only ate around thirty Thunder Dao Fruits, and the same is happening to him already?

Jiang He could not help becoming worried.

"I'm no married yet and have no descendants yet… I wonder if my physical body's ability to procreate would be affected after it turns to energy…"

At that thought, he did not even bother to check what other influence cultivating with Thunder Dao Fruit had on his body, and panickily left the Farm, dragging both Hu Mei and Boa Hancock into his bedroom.

Over two hours later…

"Phew!"

Jiang He breathed a long sigh, the look of worry on his face fading to some extent then as he smiled. "Luckily, it's still quite normal right now… well, I could keep cultivating with Thunder Dao Fruits."

"At this rate, I could cultivate Thunder Dao Form with another twenty Thunder Dao Fruits, and should be able to increase my combat power by several folds… I wouldn't even have to use mystic treasures or mystic energy if I am up against full-fledged Mahayana cultivators, just a single punch could kill them!"

"Moreover, my Thunder Dao enlightenment is becoming even more profound. Another hundred Thunder Dao Fruits and I would reach Heavenly Immortal in Thunder Dao, thereby gaining Heavenly Immortal cultivation."

He then headed downstairs, and found that Sora had already prepared lunch.

After Jiang He ate, he returned inside his farm to continue cultivating.

He kept at it for three days straight, and Wang Hou came to visit him on New Year's Day.

Jiang He stepped out to greet him, and Wang Hou's gaze twitched when he saw Jiang he. "Did your cultivation ascend again, Jiang He?"

"Just a little."

Jiang He did not hide it, while Wang hou exclaimed in shock, "You were already a full-fledged Mahayana… if you keep ascending, does that mean you would become Heavenly immortal?"

Jiang He shook his head. "Not yet, but I would probably get there tonight… Oh!"

He breathed a long sigh emotionally, exclaiming, "It's already 2021, and four months since I've been cultivating since I started out with martial arts. But even though I would ascend as an immortal soon, why don't have a single hint of joy in ascension?"

Wang Hou was dumbstruck.

He took a long look at Jiang He, and eventually could not hold back and ranted with his hometown dialect. Jiang He did not hear it clearly, but took no concern and smiled instead. "Let's talk inside, Minister Wang."

Hu Mei was about to brew some tea when Jiang He turned to her and said, "Hu Mei, go to the yard and get me a tea leaf."

Hu Mei hence headed to the farm and plucked a tea leaf off the Elder Tea Tree of Enlightenment. Jiang He then personally brew it for Wang Hou, who was still scowling and at a loss for words. "Aren't you being stingy, Jiang He? I heard you have genuine Big Red Robe tea leaves, and you only brew tea leaves that you planted yourself for a rare guest like me?"

Jiang He simply pushed the tea cup to Wang Hou and said, "I'm blessing you with good fortune today, Minister Wang."

Wang Hou's expression changed at that.

In that tea cup, a single tea leaf floated on the boiled water, its textures clear and visible. Wang Hou's body shuddered when he saw that texture—a Dao aura swirled and extended out of his body then, and he promptly closed his eyes.

Jiang He was speechless.

???

Instant enlightenment, just like that?

A look of envy appeared in his eyes.

"I envy Minister Wang so much… he could gain instant enlightenment and cultivate, while I can't. Even if I cultivated with Thunder Dao Fruit and gained Thunder Dao Form, it does not count as personal cultivating… and doping at best!"

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Chapter 391: Immortal Arts Academy

An hour later, Wang Hou slowly opened his eyes to find a face that was so handsome one could not help feeling jealous of.

"You're awake, Minister Wang?"

Jiang He grinned. "Your talent is really enviable—you've gained instant enlightenment just from a look at the tea leaves of the Elder Tree of Enlightenment. Your aura has changed a lot as well, and it seems that you've gained a lot of good out of this."

"Quite."

Wang Hou replied humbly, having almost been embarrassed from the flattery. Still, the shock on his face was hardly concealable, and he turned to look at the tea leaf again and asked, "Jiang He, is that the Tea of Enlightenment? It is truly extraordinary that a single tea leaf contains the essence of martial arts."

He rose to his feet, offering Jiang He a fist-palm salute and bowing so deeply he almost touched ground.

Jiang He quickly stopped him. "What are you doing, Minister Wang? This is really unnecessary…"

Even so, Wang Hou directed his qi to knock Jiang He away, and only got up a dozen seconds later. "Thank you, Jiang He," he said. "I may have cultivated in the Star Map for a hundred years to reach Paragon in martial arts, but the path beyond is a mystery. This enlightenment, however, has revealed to me how I should proceed on the path of martial arts."

"Oh?"

Jiang He's eyes lit up, and he could not help ask, "Does that mean you could become immortal through the martial path?"

"No."

Wang Hou shook his head and replied, "The martial path is the martial path. Why become immortal? Moreover, the martial path is not weaker than immortal arts, and I believe that one could move heaven and earth when they cultivate martial arts to its limits."

"Bold!"

Jiang He laughed and said, "Have a cup of tea, Minister Wang."

The tea had cooled, but the water had not been changed.

It was tea brewed from the Tea Leaf of Enlightenment, after all—would it not be a waste to change it?

Wang Hou hence downed the entire cup of tea, glugging as he finished it in a single breath. Dao aura began swirling around him after he was done drinking and he appeared to be gaining another instant enlightenment soon, but he quickly repressed that profound sensation to smile apologetically at Jiang He, saying, "Sorry. Ever since I returned from the Star Map, gaining instant enlightenment has become much easier.'

"…"

Is he showing off in front of me now?

Jiang He appeared perplexed and asked, "Why don't you reach enlightenment first? We could talk later."

"Doesn't matter."

"Let's talk business, and I'll seek my enlightenment later."

Wang Hou waved him off.

That tone…

It was as if to him, 'instant enlightenment' was just like having a meal, when other average Joes could hardly gain twice of those in a lifetime.

In truth, Wang Hou was thinking…

Since he could gain instant enlightenment easily in the first place, wouldn't he be able to do so at a whim with Jiang He's tea leaves?

As such, he carefully retrieved the tea leave in the bottom of the teacup, a scene reminiscent of Cheng Dongfeng collecting empty bottles. Unable to help laughing, Jiang He said, "Hu Mei, go get some more leave leaves for Minister Wang."

"No, Jiang He."

Minister Wang quickly refused, saying, "I should only be afforded just one, since it's such valuable item…"

Still, even before he finished, he heard Jiang He said, "By the way, Hu Mei, get more leaves to brew one big kettle of tea for Dumbo and the others."

With that, he turned towards Wang Hou and smiled, "What were you saying, Minister Wang?"

Wang Hou was dumbstruck.

Shifting the topic, he said, "We have come to a decision regarding the Immortal Arts Academy. Also, it seems that the Jiuhua Sect intends to spread their teachings as well. So, I discussed things with the Jiuhua Sect, the Taixu Sect and the Ten Thousand Swords Sect, and all of them agreed that we should build the academy in Lingzhou City."

"Eh?"

Jiang He exclaimed in surprise. "Is there a place in Lingzhou City to build an Immortal Arts Academy?"

"We intend to build it at Mount Dadong. It's not far from Lingzhou City, and the roads linked to it are quite smooth without serious damage. We just have to repair a road connecting Mount Dadong to Yuzhen, and with help from the military and the three immortal sects, we could finish construction of the Immortal Arts Academy in half a month."

"Also, I intend to rebuild Yuzhen—for one, it would allow the disciples and families of the Immortal Arts Academy to have a place to rest. Secondly, the soil near Yuzhen is quite fertile. Even if hills surround it and we can't direct the rivers to water the soil, we don't have to worry about it since the Immortal Arts Academy is built on Mount Dadong… in times of famine, we just need the elites of the three sects to summon rain."

Wang Hou slowly revealed all his plans to Jiang He.

Clearly, he was planning for the long term.

Jiang He nodded in agreement. "I could contribute to building the Immortal Arts Academy as well. I'll be donating 500,000 spirit stones to the academy, and one immortal item with a primary function of training disciples. It could be kept at the Immortal Arts Academy during normal days and help the disciples ascend and cultivate."

Jiang He was referring to the White Jade Tower.

Delighted, Wang Hou offered his thanks and said, "By the way, there's another thing—you are definitely going to take the post of the Immortal Arts Academy's director."

Before Jiang He could refuse, Wang Hou added, "The Hua Nation has only recently promoted immortal arts, and we don't even have a Golden Pellet disciple. Moreover, you're just taking the post nominally, since there would be people who handle the trifle stuff."

"Alright."

Jiang He agreed with a pained smile. "I just think that having a newbie cultivator like me is quite embarrassing."

"What the heck?"

Wang Hou shot him a glare, while Jiang He groaned, "I'm just speaking facts. It's been less than four months since I studied immortal arts, so wouldn't I be a newbie from the perspective of time?"

Hah!

Wang Hou laughed weirdly but said nothing.

Inwardly, however, he was cursing…

Newbie cultivator?

Are you really that shameless?

After that, Jiang He and Wang Hou discussed the Star Map.

Wang Hou held nothing back, and revealed truthfully, "Right now, I can only activate a part of the Star Map's function… moreover, I have the feeling that the Star Map has a owner, and it was not controlled solely because the owner is too far from the Star Map. I'm afraid that the owner might be an ancient superior being with a frightening cultivation, which is why completely controlling the Star Map is a little impossible."

"Still, it's not exactly impossible…."

Jiang He mused to himself and asked, "Minister Wang, could you shrink the Star Map?"

Wang Hou shook his head and said, "Not right now… unless I improve to the next level and controlled more of the Star Map's authority."

"That's a pity."

If the Star Map could be shrunk, Jiang He could try planting it in his farm. That might free the Star Map from the former owner's control, although that Star Map would become his instead of Wang Hou's.

"Minister Wang, I know that Mars was an ancient space relay station with many warp portals built on it. Now that I've accidentally blown up Mars, the immortals could show up where that planet once was, so I hope you could keep an eye out and give me a heads up if you notice that the immortals have returned."

"Of course."

Wang Hou smiled. "The immortals should be welcomed when they return."

Welcomed?

Jiang He blinked.

I think you misunderstood me—I want to ambush them, striking preemptively to kill the immortals who have a grudge against me…

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Chapter 392: Jiang He Becomes Immortal!

Jiang He and Wang Hou chatted for around an hour when Dao aura swirled around Wang Hou's body, and he quickly said, "Let's talk next time, Jiang He. I'll constantly keep an eye out on outer space through the Star Map."

"Alright. See you, Minister Wang."

There was a weird look on Jiang He's face. He studied Wang Hou from head to toe a few times before walking out with him.

Whoosh!

Wang Hou took to the skies at once.

Damn it!

Jiang He only cursed and complained after Wang Hou was gone. "Why do I have the feeling that Wang Hou is trying to annoy me on purpose? He knew I can't enjoy the pleasures of cultivation… is that why he is deliberately acting like that in my face?"

From the looks of it, Wang Hou was going through yet another instant enlightenment, and he was in a hurry to leave because there was no holding it back.

Going back inside his house, Jiang He poured himself some Elder Tea of Enlightenment, savoring it. By the time he finished a cup, he finally gained instant enlightenment as well.

Dao aura surged and thunderbolts sparked around him, and he even caused a phenomenon up in the skies: It was clear and bright, and yet thunderbolts were flickering for over two hours. It was quite the unusual sight for the citizens of Lingzhou City, but they were not actually shocked.

After all, they had seen it happen one too many times.

With Jiang He causing various phenomena and thunderclouds at his house every other day, they had gotten tired of even looking.

Meanwhile, after two hours, Jiang He slowly opened his eyes with a look of delight in his face. "My enlightenment toward Thunder Dao is almost complete. I have also accomplished my Thunder Dao Form and attained a full-fledged divine mind…"

At that very moment, Jiang He gained an epiphany—

As he is now, he could become immortal at any moment.

Taking out a Thunder Dao Fruit with a flip of his palm, Jiang He was about to eat it to condense his Heavenly Immortal Dao and complete his final metamorphosis, but Hu Mei came to him right after he took a bite, asking, "Master, is your enlightenment complete?"

"What is it?"

Crunch.

Jiang He took a bite of the Thunder Dao Fruit. Inside his mouth, the pure fruit of energy turned into thunderbolts that erupted and surged into his belly, before extending to his limbs and bones.

Having completed his Thunder Dao Form, the energy of the thunderbolts would not cause discomfort to him, and instead felt fresh and sweet.

"Jin Sidao is asking for you." Hu Mei said then.

"Oh? He's here?'

"He had been here for a while, but I had him wait outside since you were gaining instant enlightenment."

"Alright. Let him in."

Soon, Jin Sidao entered the mansion, and found Jiang He sitting on his sofa, eating a Thunder Dao Fruit.

"Lord Jiang He."

"Sit."

Gesturing for Jin Sidao to be seated, Jiang He took another bite of the Thunder Dao Fruit and smiled. "I just spoke with Minister Wang, but wouldn't the Ten Thousand Swords Sect be affected, with both the Taixu Sect and Jiuhua Sect starting to spread their teachings in the country as well?"

"It wouldn't."

Jin Sidao smiled. "It's actually a good thing, since the Ten Thousand Swords Sect doesn't have that many people, while the Hua Nation has a great population, which is why our sect alone could hardly provide too many resources. Moreover, Minister Wang has already make an exception in order for our sect to recruit 300 disciples, so the old thugs from the Taixu Sect and the Jiuhua Sect were green-eyed from envy."

The two then made some small talk, while Jiang He was almost finishing the Thunder Dao Fruit he was holding.

Jiang He suddenly came to realization when he saw that Jin Sidao was simply stuttering but never making his point. Taking out a demi-immortal flying sword, he said, "Brother Jin, thanks for helping me collected the compensation for mental distress from the eight sects before… eh?"

But before Jiang He could finish, his entire body shuddered and Dao auras extended around him. Hence, he quietly said, "We'll talk later… I'm ascending."

Whoosh!

In a flash, he had rushed towards the horizon.

Jin Sidao's eyes narrowed. He could guess what Jiang He meant by 'ascending' but hesitated to believe it, and muttered, "Ascending? What's ascending? Could Jiang He have cultivated some ultimate move again?"

Hu Mei shook her head and replied, "It is neither my master's Dao nor his godly techniques. His cultivation is ascending."

Cultivation?

So, that would mean…

Jiang He was becoming immortal?

Jin Sidao shivered all over and left the mansion. He stood outside to look up at the skies to find Jiang He's body surrounded with violent thunderbolts—in fact, his entire body had become pure thunder energy, even as Spirit Qi raged and surged towards him.

At first, Jiang He only absorbed the Spirit Qi within several dozen miles, but his area of soon expanded to hundreds, even thousands of miles, with every Spirit Qi hence pouring towards Jiang He.

At that very moment, all living beings within the area were startled.

Wang Hou, who had just flown back to Jingdu City and did not even have the time for his instant enlightenment, jumped from the surprise. That irrepressible sense of awakening gone entirely, he observed Earth through the Star Map to find that there was a hurricane of Spirit Qi near Lingzhou City, and the eye of the storm was Jiang He's house.

"What is that brat doing?"

Wang Hou scowled.

What was with the commotion?

Was he becoming immortal?

What the hell…

Just one hour ago you were insisting that you were a newbie in immortal arts, having less than four months of experience… and here you are, becoming immortal in the blink of an eye. How would other people live with themselves now?

"Still, it's great that Jiang He is becoming immortal, since we would have a certain extent of authority when the immortals returned… but why did that brat cause such a major ruckus with his ascension? It's fortunate that it was becoming concentrated across the world, or every drop of Spirit Qi on Earth would have been drained dry."

Wang Hou turned, and flew back towards Lingzhou City once more.

Meanwhile, immortal radiance shone within Jiang He's body.

The first Immortal Dao was slowly taking shape.

In that instant, his body, which had become pure thunder energy, appeared ready to be converted to Immortal Yuan Strength. Likewise, his mystic energy and divine mind were all rapidly morphing.

Heavenly Immortals were undying bodies in the first place.

Even if their body was destroyed, they could revive from a single drop of blood…

Of course, the condition for that was for their psyche and soul to remain.

For example, when the 100 Heavenly Thunderbolt Hand Grenades dropped on Mars, the entire plane was wiped out. Moreover, there was nothing left of the Heavenly Immortals or the True Immortal after the thunderbolts erupted so violently, and they naturally had no way of reviving.

Right now, Jiang He had fallen to state that was profoundly mystical.

There was no telling how long had passed—it could have been an instant, or several days and nights….

Oom!

The first Immortal Dao had in his body had formed. His divine mind had hence successfully converted to immortal will, and his abundant mystic energy into Immortal Yuan Strength. At the same time, Jiang He was charging the eighth cultivation technique of the Three Thousand Calamities, and his Immortal Yuan Strength was hence altered to the Immortal Swordsman Yuan Strength, which was unique to immortal swordsmen.

His psyche dived within his body then. There, he found thick, massive thunderbolts flashing around the Heavenly Immortal Dao inside his Qi Ocean and Cinnabar Fields, and another Heavenly Immortal Dao soon took shape as well.

"I'll have to keep eating the Thunder Dao Fruit, and try to reach Heavenly Immortal-intermediate or even Heavenly Immortal-advanced in a single stroke!"

With that thought, Jiang He took out all the Thunder Dao Fruit he still had with a wave of his hand and began using them.

At the same time, superior-grade spirit stones began materializing out of thin air. There were several hundred thousand of them and they shattered at the same time, turning into pure Spirit Qi that surge inside his body.

The elites from the various sects, who had been drawn to the commotion Jiang He caused when he become immortal… were all dumbstruck!

At the same time, fifteen hundred kilometers away from Lingzhou City, a grotto-heaven that spanned several thousand kilometers appeared and disappeared, with a horrific immortal will stretching out from within…

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