Immortal and Martial Dual Cultivation
Page 914Chapter 914: Greatly Prestigious Heroes’ Convention
Xiao Chen instantly felt somewhat confused. If the Azure Emperor had not cultivated this, then why had he hidden it in the Azure Emperor Drawing the Saber painting?
Xiao Chen thought about the Azure Emperor’s life. He had advanced to Martial Emperor before the age of one hundred. Then, he had become unrivaled in his time; even the older-generation experts had not been his match.
Then, Xiao Chen thought about the stories about the Azure Emperor. When the Sovereign Noble Clans or the ancient races were unsatisfied with him, he would just uproot them entirely.
This behavior was precisely the reason for his reputation as an absolute tyrant. Although he was called tyrannical, it was more accurate to describe him as vicious.
Killing was evil. Destroying entire sects and clans was a great evil.
When considering everything together, Xiao Chen felt somewhat disappointed. It looked like the Azure Emperor really had cultivated this Good and Evil Beneficence Art.
“Boom! Boom!”
Suddenly, wind shrilled, resounding on the surface of the sea. The wind was like a knife slicing the seawater in half. Then a mixed-gender group appeared on the beach.
Someone is here.
Xiao Chen turned his head to take a look. These people did not appear to be people from the five Domains. They were dressed like cultivators of the sea. All of them had deep and heavy auras, all Superior Grade Martial Sages radiating strong pride.
“Xiao Chen!”
One of the men recognized Xiao Chen and shouted his name in shock.
“Haha! Unexpectedly, you still have not left, even after killing the top true inheritor of the Profound Water Sect.” This person was no more than thirty years old. He had a long spear slung behind his back. When he looked at Xiao Chen, he smiled. “The Profound Water Sect’s Sect Master is offering a peak King Grade Secret Treasure and a Peak Spirit Vein for your head. How surprising that you are just a Medial Grade Martial Sage!”
One of the girls at his side smiled tenderly and said, “Senior Brother, you just received Di Wuque’s invitation to discuss the Heroes’ Convention. Coincidentally, we met with this fellow. If you can kill this fellow, not only will you obtain the reward from the Profound Water Sect’s Sect Master, but you can also be more confident when speaking with Di Wuque.”
Xiao Chen felt astonished in his heart. The prestige of Di Wuque’s Heroes’ Convention actually extended to the Heavenly Starry Ocean.
He did not know where these five people came from, but their tone of voice was very overbearing as if he was already dead.
Xiao Chen looked carefully. The man leading the group had decent cultivation, apparently cultivating a fantastic Divine Art. Acupoints all over his body opened and closed, absorbing the Astral Energy of the universe.
This person’s body gave off faint starlight, making him appear more charming.
The four people beside that man also cultivated Astral Energy. However, the amount of Astral Energy they released was far inferior to what their leader exuded.
Xiao Chen was no stranger to Astral Energy. Long Fei’s Nine Heavens Astral Arts was one such Cultivation Technique. However, Long Fei also cultivated the White Bones Dharmic Arts. His cultivation of Astral Energy was not comparable to these people’s.
“What sect are the few of you from?”
“We are from the Heavenly Starry Ocean’s Big Dipper Palace. This is our senior brother Ye Qing. Today, we will be borrowing your head. We will be able to benefit twice from you. You can consider your death worthwhile.” The female disciple beside Ye Qing looked very gentle and demure. However, when she spoke, her words were incredibly vicious.
“The rest of you, don’t make a move. Let me test him out. Let’s see how capable a fellow who dares to be unbridled before a Martial Emperor is.”
Ye Qing smiled as he unslung the spear behind his back. Then, a banner floated out.
I saw wrong. This is not a spear but an Astral Banner with four stars embroidered on it. The starlight pouring out from it is resplendent.
“This is my Big Dipper Banner. I still have three more stars to refine. Coincidentally, after I kill you, I can obtain the resources to continue refining it. Die!”
Ye Qing swung the banner, and starlight flooded out. Four stars—Dubhe, Merak, Phecda, and Megrez—flew out. They hung high in the air, forming the bowl of the Big Dipper. Adding another three stars to delineate the handle would complete the Big Dipper.
[TL Note: Dubhe, Merak, Phecda, and Megrez are stars of the Big Dipper constellation. They are also known as Alpha Ursae Majoris, Beta Ursae Majoris, Gamma Ursae Majoris, and Delta Ursae Majoris, respectively.]
Bathed in starlight, acupoints all over Ye Qing’s body opened up and shone, intensifying the radiance. His entire person glowed with health and vigor. As he walked, he looked like a Star Lord.
“Kill!”
Above the starlight, Ye Qing’s banner trembled, and the starlight converged. A red banner spread out, covering the sky and sun, wanting to wrap up Xiao Chen.
This simple move appeared very mighty, diving down from the starlight-filled sky.
“Senior Brother Ye has actually condensed four stars of the Big Dipper, forming half of it. When did this happen?”
“Haha! Senior Brother succeeded just half a month ago. Aside from First Senior Brother, who already completed his Astral Banner, only Senior Brother Ye, among the younger generation in our sect, has condensed half the Big Dipper already,” that gentle-looking girl said proudly with starlight flickering in her eyes.
“Senior Brother Ye has the Ye Clan to support him. Indeed, he is rich and imposing. We latter-generation disciples had to work hard for several years to condense just one star.”
“With half the Big Dipper, he can already complete a minor cycle. This is a totally different level compared to an Astral Banner with just one or two stars. Senior Brother Ye will need only ten moves to take down this Xiao Chen.”
“Of course, that is natural. I heard that Xiao Chen once humiliated Di Wuque. After Senior Brother kills him, he will definitely be able to gain many benefits from Di Wuque.”
The spectating Big Dipper Palace disciples chattered excitedly when they saw the starlight-filled sky and the comparatively insignificant Xiao Chen.
He entered deep thought and moved the vague form of his saber soul. Using his fingers as a saber, he gently slashed at the approaching banner.
“Creak…!”
Applying fifty percent of his strength, he actually only managed to mark the banner and failed to tear it. He could not help feeling surprised.
However, this result startled Ye Qing. This Big Dipper Banner was the life Secret Treasure of the Big Dipper Palace. His spirit was connected to it. When Xiao Chen gently slashed the banner, it was like a saber slashed his mind, inflicting incredible pain.
Ye Qing quickly retreated, and when he inspected his banner, he felt heartache. The banner that he used more than a hundred materials to refine had almost broken at Xiao Chen’s casual attack.
He raised his head and stared at Xiao Chen in astonishment despite himself. What kind of monster is this fellow?
Ye Qing no longer dared to leave his banner unfurled. He shook his right hand, and the banner rolled up. Now, he used the Astral Banner as a spear and charged at Xiao Chen.
This was Xiao Chen’s first time meeting a cultivator who focused on cultivating Astral Energy, so he was not in a hurry to deal with this person, wanting to see what such a cultivator was capable of.
After fighting for a while, Xiao Chen was somewhat disappointed. He could deal with this Ye Qing easily using just half his strength. He did not feel any pressure at all. He had a hunch that this Big Dipper Palace was probably not a major sect in the Heavenly Starry Ocean.
In fact, Xiao Chen’s guess was correct. The Big Dipper Palace was only a branch of the Cyclic Astral Palace. In the Cyclic Astral Palace, there were the Rosette Star Palace, the Nine Luminaries Palace, the Seven Malefic Star Palace, the Sun Palace, the Moon Palace, and many others for a total of twenty-four branches.
The Big Dipper Palace was the bottom-ranking branch. When the seven stars were all condensed, they would be somewhat mighty. However, just half the Big Dipper was far from sufficient to deal with Xiao Chen.
Just when Xiao Chen decided to stop playing around, Ye Qing realized that he could not take down Xiao Chen. He roared furiously and pointed with his banner. The stars spiraling in the sky fell straight towards Xiao Chen.
Xiao Chen’s eyes lit up, and a bright moon rose in the sky behind him. Flawless Bright Moon! He thrust his hand forward, and the radiant full moon headed for these stars.
“Bang!”
When the bright moon rose, Dubhe shattered into countless beams of starlight and returned to the Big Dipper Banner.
Ye Qing vomited a mouthful of blood as the Big Dipper Banner fluttered wildly. The remaining Merak, Phecda, and Megrez continued falling.
The Magic Energy in Xiao Chen’s sea of consciousness drained as he executed Moon Bright Like Fire. The sky turned resplendent, and the three stars shattered.
The starlight dispersed, and only a bright full moon remained. The mysterious phenomenon created by Ye Qing’s Big Dipper Banner dissipated completely.
Electric light flashed under Xiao Chen’s feet as he flew forward. He snatched away the other party’s Big Dipper Banner and casually punched, knocking his opponent back.
The large banner unfurled, and Xiao Chen’s strong Spiritual Sense instantly destroyed the Spiritual Mark Ye Qing left on it. Now, this Big Dipper Banner was ownerless.
“My Big Dipper Banner!” Ye Qing exclaimed in extreme pain. For the sake of refining this Big Dipper Banner, he had spent a significant amount of his clan’s resources. If he lost it just like that, he would be utterly embarrassed.
“This is not bad. I can barely use this,” Xiao Chen evaluated. He raised his head and looked at the others. “You all have Big Dipper Banners as well, right? Bring them all out, and I will not kill you all.”
It had taken only a few breaths of time for Ye Qing to lose his banner, so the others had not reacted to the loss yet.
“What’s wrong? You don’t understand me?”
Xiao Chen’s expression turned cold. He circulated his Flawless saber Dao, and the bright moon in the sky turned into a bright saber light that streaked by like it appeared out of nowhere.
The others could not understand what was going on nor did they detect anything strange going on.
Only Ye Qing, who was at the side, trembled in fear. He had to point a shaky finger at them before the others realized that thin saber wounds had appeared on their necks at some point in time, so fine that the cuts were hard to see.
Instantly, the others all felt their hearts turn cold. Their hands and backs broke out in cold sweat.
The other four all had bitter expressions as they erased their Spiritual Marks and handed their Big Dipper Banners to Xiao Chen. They all had only one or two stars on their Big Dipper Banners, incomparable to Ye Qing’s.
Xiao Chen put away the Big Dipper Banners with a smile. Then he consoled them, saying, “When traveling the world, you will suffer many setbacks. The Kunlun Continent is very dangerous. Don’t come back here in the future. Forget about participating in whatever Heroes’ Convention. It is not something for you kids.”
“Don’t get too pleased. Our First Senior Brother is already with the Deity Race as a guest. He has condensed all seven stars and formed the complete Big Dipper. He can kill you as easily as killing a dog,” that gentle-looking female disciple said viciously.
When Ye Qing heard that, he was startled. He quickly pulled the girl back and stepped forward to say, “Big Brother Xiao Chen, don’t mind her. My junior sister is just a little unruly and headstrong. She does not mean what she says. Here is the refining method for the Big Dipper Banner. Big Brother Xiao Chen, if you do not have the refining method, you will not be able to upgrade it to seven stars.”
Xiao Chen unceremoniously received the secret manual that Ye Qing proffered him. Then, he glanced at that girl before turning and leaving.
Only when Xiao Chen’s figure completely disappeared did Ye Qing heave a sigh of relief. With a dark expression, he faced the girl and said, “Junior Sister Liu, be careful of what you say in the future. It’s one thing if you cause your own death, but don’t drag us into it.”
Clearly, that girl was very dissatisfied. She argued, “Senior Brother, you must have been beaten silly. After your Big Dipper Banner got taken away, you still handed over the refining method of the Big Dipper Banner. We should quickly go and report to First Senior Brother, have him avenge us and snatch back our Big Dipper Banners.”
Ye Qing smiled coldly and retorted, “I am not as foolish as you. Look at your own strength first before saying such vicious words. When this person fought me, he did not use even half his strength. Not to mention First Senior Brother, even the seniors of our Big Dipper Palace might not be a match for him.
“The ones that can block him are probably only those ridiculously powerful disciples from the Sun Palace, the Moon Palace, and the Rosette Star Palace.”