Chapter 521: The Utmost Pill Battle (I)
Shen Qinghong hadn’t rushed to Jiang Chen’s residence at
first light after receiving the Skypeak Cauldron. He’d gone back to make his
preparations and adjust his condition to the most optimal state.
The next day, he brought a large retinue and set up camp on
Jiang Chen’s doorstep, ready to engage in a battle of the ages.
When he arrived, he found that Jiang Chen wasn’t even at
home. This left Shen Qinghong at a bit of a loss.
He’d sent out the challenge early yesterday morning! In his
eyes, Jiang Chen should’ve been here, waiting. However, he discovered that his
thoughts had been rather one sided. Compared to the other Rosy Valley geniuses,
Jiang Chen didn’t play by the book. If it’d been anyone else, they would’ve
long since waited patiently had they heard that Shen Qinghong was arriving.
“That little thief Jiang Chen is truly petty!” Rong Zifeng
had no place to vent his anger as he fumed.
Nie Chong called out to Shen Qinghong. “Senior brother Shen,
I’ll go cause a fuss.”
Shen Qinghong waved his hand, his face frosty. “Don’t be in
a rush; this kid is definitely playing a mind game and wants to mentally
exhaust me beforehand. How would I allow him to succeed?”
“Then we wait here?” Nie Chong asked with a bit of
uncertainty.
“We wait!” Shen Qinghong waved his hand. “Proclaim to the
entire Valley that I am waiting at his doorstep. If Jiang Chen doesn’t emerge,
then he has a guilty conscience and is afraid.”
Rong Zifeng was delighted. “Fantastic! Jiang Chen wants to
play mind games, but the senior brother’s move shoves all the pressure on his
side. Let’s see how he cowers in his shell then!”
Shen Qinghong smiled proudly and sat down cross legged,
growing quiet. He knew better than anyone present that Jiang Chen wasn’t an
easy target. He had to keep himself in peak form for this match.
Rong Zifeng had just sent out their proclamation when the
doors to Jiang Chen’s residence opened. Jiang Chen walked out, yawning and
stretching. The vestiges of sleep were apparent on his face as he peered
forward. “So early?”
Jiang Chen looked blearily at Shen Qinghong, astonishment
filling his tone. “Yo, isn’t this senior brother Shen?”
How would Shen Qinghong not know that Jiang Chen was doing
this on purpose?
“Cut the blather, Jiang Chen. You can’t avoid this match.”
Jiang Chen stretched again, and his tone took an
undercurrent of urgency. “Senior brother Shen, how many spirit stones did you
bring?”
Shen Qinghong’s face darkened. This Jiang Chen was just like
an old miser! Talking about spirit stones every other sentence, how was this
the kind of a bearing a genius disciple should have?
“I won’t keep you company if you don’t have the spirit
stones.” Jiang Chen complained. “Wait for me, I’ll go wash up. Although, I’ll
be blunt first. With senior brother Shen’s position, I’m not playing with you
if you don’t have at least ten thousand upper rank origin spirit stones.” Jiang
Chen plodded slowly back in after speaking.
When he saw Jiang Chen’s doors close once again, Shen
Qinghong was almost overwhelmed by the urge to go on a rampage and disregard
his mannerly demeanor. This Jiang Chen is simply too lazy! He’s treating me,
the first ranked genius, like dirt! He shows not even a speck of basic respect!
All he talks about are spirit stones, is he possessed by a destitute ghost?
It was a good thing that ten thousand spirit stones were
still but a mere hair from his leg. No matter what tricks Jiang Chen was going
to play, he wouldn’t give up! He was going to tear Jiang Chen’s facade into
shreds and thoroughly step on him!
Execute one as a warning to a hundred!
Jiang Chen trudged back into his sight an hour later.
“Senior brother Shen, show me the ten thousand stones first or I’m going back
inside.”
Shen Qinghong smirked dismissively and waved his hand,
having one of his followers lay out the ten thousand stones. “Jiang Chen, your
breadth of vision is only worth this bit of wealth. If you can win over me,
these stones will be yours.”
Jiang Chen chuckled. “I made a rough calculation. Senior
brother Shen is the first ranked genius, and it’ll be tough to defeat you. I
can at most come to a draw with you.”
How would Shen Qinghong know Jiang Chen’s words were a trap?
He snorted coldly. “If I can’t defeat you, these spirit stones will be yours
even if I lose.”
Jiang Chen’s eyes gleamed. “Really?? Everyone listen up! If
I can fight to a draw with senior brother Shen, he’ll gift me these stones as a
welcoming present!”
When Shen Qinghong saw how much Jiang Chen cared about the
stones, his opinion of his opponent dropped by another notch. “Did this
penniless Jiang Chen have the fear of being poor beaten into him from that poor
backwater region? His breadth of vision is so low, he only cares about spirit
stones. Even if this kind of person has some potential, his future is severely
limited. He’s probably even less than Jun Mobai! Ah forget it, I cannot pay
attention to this kind of drama in the future after today’s match. I must
concentrate on assailing the sage realm.”
Shen Qinghong’s contempt for Jiang Chen only grew the more
he thought about it.
Jiang Chen could naturally guess Shen Qinghong’s thoughts.
He didn’t bother enlightening the other about his mistaken assumptions. “Senior
brother Shen, you’ve waited so long already. Tell me, how would you like to
bet?”
Shen Qinghong almost sobbed when he heard these words. He’d
waited so long and arduously for them! He cut straight to the chase. “Jiang
Chen, the assessment of a pill master ultimately has to be done with pill
refining. I will bet on refining pills with you, with one match determining the
victor.”
Jiang Chen nodded and ask faintly. “We can bet on the speed
of refining pills, sure. What pill do you plan on refining?”
Shen Qinghong responded, “It’s not up to you or me to decide
what pill to refine. Let luck decide that.”
“How?”
“You come up with five recipes, and so will I. We’ll select
one at random from the ten of them. That’s the fairest.”
Shen Qinghong was different from Shen Trifire. He was proud
at heart and disdained using small tricks to try and put one over Jiang Chen.
Jiang Chen rather admired this straightforwardness of his.
He didn’t object to Shen Qinghong’s suggestion and smiled.
“What if the recipes we take out are quite obscure and the other hasn’t seen it
before?”
“So the recipes can’t be obscure, and whoever suggests the
recipe must also have the ingredients to refine the pill.”
Whoever offered up the recipe would have to bring the
ingredients. This was rather fair and would prevent someone from taking out a
very obscure recipe. Jiang Chen thought for a minute. It seemed that Shen
Qinghong had come prepared.
“Alright, we’ll go with that then.”
Jiang Chen didn’t care what pills they were refining. His
abilities in pill dao weren’t anything that Shen Qinghong could estimate.
Jiang Chen thought for a moment and wrote down five pill
recipes. Shen Qinghong also prepared five, and placed them all into wax balls
he’d prepared. Mu Gaoqi represented Jiang Chen, and Nie Chong represented Shen
Qinghong.
The two of them shook the bamboo container separately,
completely mixing up the ten wax balls. No one could possibly cheat by the time
the jumbling was done.
“Who will choose?” Shen Qinghong asked.
Jiang Chen smiled. “Doesn’t matter, you go.”
“You go.” Shen Qinghong frowned. He didn’t want to give
others the chance to say that he’d cheated.
The two of them were trying to hand off responsibility to
the other when a hearty laugh sounded from the side. “If the two of you trust
me, then let me!” The person speaking was standing a hundred meters away,
wearing the outfit of a Confucian scholar—Jun Mobai. He was waving a folding
fan and looked the very picture of an elegant gentleman.
“Junior sister Ling, since you’re here, why don’t you do
it.” Shen Qinghong suddenly directed his words to corner, refusing Jun Mobai’s
offer.
Ling Bi’er had been standing off to the corner when Shen
Qinghong called her out. She didn’t hide as she walked out from the shadows.
She was outfitted in a brilliant white robe that easily rivalled the delicate
snow. Her face was as frosty as ever as she greeted everyone. As she walked
forward, it was like a glacial peak descending on everyone present. Behind her came
a diminutive young girl who looked quite young, but had a pair of stunning
weapons on her chest. She was wearing a short, leopard skin skirt which
revealed a pair of snow-white thighs, full of the vigor of youth. The twin
peaks of fatal attraction shook as she walked, swaying and rocking with her
movement and dazzling the eyes. The girl behind Ling Bi’er was her twin young
sister, Ling Hui’er.
Of the pair, one had an icy bearing and gave others the
feeling of being inviolable. The other was young and sexy, full of the strength
of a young girl. They were obviously quite different in terms of bearing.
“Jiang Chen, you won’t mind if junior sister Ling selects
the recipe, won’t you?” It seemed that Shen Qinghong purposefully wanted to
suppress Jun Mobai as he ignored the latter’s offer to volunteer.
Jiang Chen smiled casually. “I didn’t mind when it was
senior brother Shen doing the picking, why would I mind senior sister Ling?”
Although Ling Bi’er had an indifferent nature, giving others
the feeling of an ice beauty, she was still a relatively dependable person. She
walked up with no change in expression or another word, reaching out her
jade-like hand into the container, fishing out a wax ball.
It was rather Ling Hui’er who cocked her head, looking at
Jiang Chen with a hint of a smile. “Jiang Chen, how did you know that my sister
is your senior sister? Are you younger than her?”
Jiang Chen hadn’t thought that Ling Hui’er would ask this
kind of question. He grinned at her as he responded. “Those who entered the
sect first are the seniors. With your sister’s strength and status, calling her
senior sister is only proper.”
Ling Hui’er chuckled. “You’ve got a sweet mouth alright. No
wonder my sister says you’re quite a character.”
Ling Bi’er’s face frosted over even more as she admonished
her sister. “Hui’er, be quiet! There’s no place for you to talk here.”
Ling Hui’er stuck her tongue out and made a funny face at
Jiang Chen, “Jiang Chen, I’m favoring you! Remember, if you win, you have to
teach me how to refine pills.”
She giggled and then retreated behind Ling Bi’er like a
little child who had made a mistake. She stayed docilely behind Ling Bi’er,
allowing her sister to berate her as she would.
“Aeonian Dream Pill!” The pill chosen was revealed when the
wax pill was crushed. Shen Qinghong smiled faintly. “Jiang Chen, it looks like
luck is on my side. This Aeonian Dream Pill is one of mine.”
Jiang Chen smiled faintly. “Luck has never been important in
the dao of pills. Your recipe is of a higher order and you need to prepare the
materials. This time, I’ve actually saved on the costs of the ingredients.”
Shen Qinghong smirked coldly. All Jiang Chen talked about
was the cost of this and that. In his eyes, Jiang Chen wasn’t fit to be
presented in public at all. Yet Jun Mobai and Ling Bi’er kept cool heads,
staying true to their role as bystanders.
They didn’t think that Jiang Chen’s attitude was one of
saving on ingredients. In contrast, they were taken aback by his self-possessed
attitude. The recipe was Shen Qinghong’s and this should’ve put Jiang Chen at a
great disadvantage, but the latter didn’t seem to think so at all! If it wasn’t
Jiang Chen missing a few screws in his head, then that meant that he didn’t
care what recipe was selected. To be so blithe was only something they’d expect
from someone who was completely confident of success, confident that they’d
worked everything out.
Had Jiang Chen’s pill dao potential already reached the
realm of firmly suppressing everyone else with ease?
Chapter 522: The Utmost Pill Battle (II)
Both of them had nine sets of ingredients. This Aeonian
Dream Pill wasn’t that obscure a pill recipe. It was primarily used to temper
consciousness and strength of heart. Alternatively, if one’s consciousness was
damaged from an attack of the mind or soul, one could use the Aeonian Dream
Pill to aid in recovery.
However, it was a highly difficult pill to successfully
refine. It required a very precise refining method. As a result, no one had
been able to refine a supreme rank version of the pill thus far in the Regal
Pill Palace. Apart from a few pill masters such as Elder Yun Nie, there were
few who could even manage an upper rank version.
The two had an hour to familiarize themselves with the
recipe and to consider how to refine it. For a pill masters, this was necessary
preparation time. Jiang Chen had never refined it before, so he was at a
disadvantage. Since it was Shen Qinghong’s recipe, he must have given it a go
before. His confident smile also betrayed that fact.
Shen Qinghong let out a long peal of laughter after an hour.
“Time’s up, let’s begin.”
Jiang Chen smiled. “Hold. How are we betting, what counts as
a draw, and what counts as a loss? Let’s lay out the rules first!”
“Naturally, the usual rules apply. We’ll compete on the
basis of the highest level pill from these nine sets of ingredients. If the
quality of the pill is the same, then whoever completed refinement first will
be the winner. If the quality is the same and we finish at the same time, then
it counts as a draw.”
Compared to winning, Jiang Chen cared much more about how to
tie. After all, his only mission in the bet was to finish in a draw, and not
actually win against Shen Qinghong.
The Skypeak Cauldron. The Skyweave Cauldron.
The two treasured cauldrons of the Regal Pill Palace
appeared in front of everyone. Even the stern Ling Bi’er’s eyes held a hint of
thoughtfulness. The five treasured cauldrons were the highest honor in the
Regal Pill Palace. They represented the utmost glory for a pill master.
All of their past masters had been tremendous personages of
great importance in sect history. Which one of them hadn’t achieved great
accomplishments for the sect in the past?
And which of these treasured cauldrons hadn’t had a
venerated history in the Regal Pill Palace?
Now, two of them were in the hands of the younger
generation. Ling Bi’er had a high self assessment of herself in the area of
pills and felt that she was on par with Shen Qinghong. However, due to her
background and patron, she hadn’t been able to receive the legacy of one of the
five treasured cauldrons. Jiang Chen was but a newly ascended genius, but had
already received the gift of the Skyweave Cauldron from Palace Head Dan Chi!
Not only was this stunning, but it was also a bit jealousy inducing.
Pill refinement began!
All eyes were focused on this battle.
The Skyweave Cauldron versus the Skypeak Cauldron!
This was a battle destined to go down in history. It
represented the highest level of the younger generation and determined the
future direction of the sect.
Jiang Chen didn’t use any flashy techniques in preheating
the cauldron, merely using an ordinary method. After an hour spent
comprehending the Aeonian Dream Pill, he was already well versed in its
refinement method. With his current level of training, this level of a pill
didn’t stump him at all. The difficulty lay in that he wasn’t sure where Shen
Qinghong’s level was. What kind of level of pill should he refine to ensure
that he would end in a draw with his opponent?
“Whatever, I’ll try my best to make sure that I have a pill
from each level. That way, I’ll be able to respond accordingly no matter what
level pill he refines.” This laughable request of a tie was running Jiang Chen
ragged straight down to the bone. Even more difficult than grasping the level
of pill was making sure that they spent an equal amount of time refining. Jiang
Cheng had to split some of his attention to keep an eye on Shen Qinghong’s
progress. He had to match his speed to a degree of precision that ensured they finished
together. That alone imposed high requisites for his fire control. The
slightest deviation would cause a difference in time.
It was a good thing that the observation skills of Jiang
Chen’s “Psychic Head’s” were enough to parse the most minute of details. He
didn’t feel any pressure at all in observing his opponent’s progress in an
open-air environment like this.
In this regard, Jiang Chen’s method seemed too much on the
straight and narrow as he followed Shen Qinghong’s progress. He sped up if Shen
Qinghong was moving quickly, and slowed down if Shen Qinghong dragged. It was
just that he did all this extremely deftly so that no one else could see his
control. They were actually rather impressed by how focused Jiang Chen was.
After all, it was his first time refining the Aeonian Dream Pill. It was
already quite a feat to be on a similar level with Shen Qinghong.
There weren’t that many secrets to this pill for Jiang Chen.
He didn’t want to show off any elaborate moves, so he just strictly followed
the prescribed routine. As long as he did that and paid attention to all the
details, Jiang Chen firmly believed that the level of his completed pill
wouldn’t be that low.
A pill master’s foundations would be displayed in multiple
aspects. Jiang Chen quietly observed Shen Qinghong’s actions as he refined his
pills. In his opinion, Shen Qinghong’s methods focused overly on flashy
techniques. He still lacked a bit of reliability in the details. This was the
common fault of a young pill master.
Jiang Chen surmised, “It would be impressive if Shen
Qinghong’s cauldron could result in even an upper rank pill. However, it’s
impossible for him to refine a supreme rank. He’s already made some small
errors here and there.” The flaws weren’t large, but in Jiang Chen’s eyes, they
were enough to affect the final product.
After roughly two hours, Jiang Chen sensed the signs of a
pill forming in Shen Qinghong’s cauldron. As for Jiang Chen’s side, it was
about time as well. He adjusted his tempo to sync with Shen Qinghong’s rhythm.
Suddenly, the Skypeak Cauldron emitted a sound like a dragon’s croon or a
tiger’s howl, with the Skyweave Cauldron doing the same at almost the same
time.
This was a sign of a pill forming!
Everyone was taken aback. They’d formed a pill at the same
time! How could such a coincidence have happened?
Even the knowledgeable and widely read Ling Bi’er and Jun
Mobai looked at each other, incredulity shining in their eyes.
Ling Hui’er patted her surging chest. “That scared me, how
come the tone of a pill forming sounded at the same time? Did they plan for it
to happen at the same time?”
Ling Bi’er admonished her, “Don’t speak nonsense!”
Shen Qinghong was also looking over with a face of
disbelief. As the only one aware of the true undercurrent of the duel, Jiang
Chen naturally had to go through the full act now. He too put a look of
astonishment on his face. Even Mu Gaoqi was taken in. The two contestants then
looked at Ling Bi’er at the same time.
She said solemnly, “The two of you formed a pill at the same
time. Time will not determine the victor. As such, the result will depend on
the level of your pills.”
Jiang Chen smiled leisurely and looked at Shen Qinghong.
“Senior brother Shen, I’d like to keep everyone in suspense first. You’re the
guest, so you should take out your highest level pill first.”
It wasn’t that he didn’t want to take his out, it’s just
that he really didn’t know which pill to bring out. He’d just discovered a
supreme rank pill in the Skyweave Cauldron! This would instantly crush Shen
Qinghong if he took it out.
But could Jiang Chen bring it forth? Of course not!
He could only have Shen Qinghong show his pill first so that
he could respond accordingly. A draw, this has to be a draw.
Shen Qinghong smiled modestly, flipping over his hand to
reveal an upper rank Aeonian Dream Pill. “Jiang Chen, my highest pill is an
upper rank pill. Bring yours out. You’ll beat me if you can bring out a supreme
rank version.”
Everyone gasped in astonished, an upper rank Aeonian Dream
Pill! This was something that even only a few elders in the Herbal Hall could
manage! Even Ling Bi’er’s heart suddenly trembled. She’d never known the depths
of Shen Qinghong’s potential, but the questions in her heart had been swept
away after she saw the upper rank pill. His potential would absolutely not be
any worse than hers! Add to that his unique background, backer, and the Skypeak
Cauldron, his accomplishments in pill dao were only likely stronger than hers,
not weaker. Despondency filled her heart all of a sudden, and she looked
involuntarily over at Jiang Chen.
Everyone’s gaze flicked to Jiang Chen.
They all didn’t think much of Jiang Chen now. The Aeonian
Dream Pill wasn’t that easy to refine. Even the elder heavyweights of the sect
couldn’t refine a supreme rank. My ass he can refine a supreme rank version!
Even Mu Gaoqi was a bit nervous. His palms were sweaty as he
mutely looked at Jiang Chen. Nie Chong and Rong Zifeng had already started to
swell in arrogance. They were just waiting for the sight of Jiang Chen to make
a fool out of himself or see him outmatched.
Jiang Chen looked at each of them and laughed leisurely.
“What need do I have for a supreme rank? If I remember correctly, a draw works
just as well? I happen to have refined an upper rank Aeonian Dream Pill as
well! Please verify it.”
He stored all the other pills into a flask with a flourish
of his sleeve, and came up holding an upper rank pill in his hand. When those
assembled looked at his pill, they saw a pure, solidly upper rank pill. Even
Shen Qinghong was rendered completely speechless at the sight.
The proudly prancing Nie Chong and Rong Zifeng were
instantly petrified. As everyone froze, Jiang Chen swept away the ten thousand
stones. He grinned, “We did agree just now! Senior brother Shen didn't win, but
neither did he lose. If we tied, then the stones are all mine. Haha, I have no
choice but to accept them then!” Jiang Chen’s grating laughter and money hungry
style instantly changed the atmosphere.
What kind of person was this?
He cared about nothing in a match of pills but the ten
thousand upper rank stones. Is this fellow that possessed by an impoverished
ghost?
Shen Qinghong was speechless, but he also felt like he had
narrowly dodged a bullet as cold sweat poured down his back. Although he hadn’t
won, he hadn’t lost either. He’d retained face and found a way out of this
situation. He smiled faintly. “We already talked about this beforehand, Jiang
Chen. It’s no big deal to gift you the stones.” Without wasting any more time,
he waved his hand and left, trailed by a crowd of followers who had yet to
react.
Chapter 523: The Authority After One Battle
Although Shen Qinghong left in a heroic manner, inwardly he
was utterly shellshocked. When he calmed down and reflected over the battle, he
felt like there were too many suspicious points. But, he couldn’t pinpoint
anything in particular. The whole match had just felt... eerie. How likely was
it to finish refining a pill at the same time? Yet, it had happened in this
match!
Shen Qinghong would never believe that Jiang Chen had
purposefully thrown the match in his favor. But no matter what, Shen Qinghong
was certain that Jiang Chen’s pill dao potential was absolutely not inferior
his, but was possibly greater. This was because he’d more or less obtained what
he wanted with the least expense possible in refining the Aeonian Dream Pill.
He’d refined this pill before, but it was Jiang Chen’s first time coming in
contact with it.
It was because he had come to those conclusions that Shen
Qinghong had left without a fuss. He knew that taking the easy way out was the
best way to handle the situation given what had happened. Continued
entanglement would just invite humiliation upon himself. He also felt it odd
when he thought closely of Jiang Chen's greedy display. No matter how he looked
at it, this Jiang Chen didn’t have a reason to view wealth so highly, almost as
if it were his life. Could it be that all of this was an act?
Shen Qinghong didn’t dare keep thinking. The best of the
thirty six stratagems was to retreat!
And this was how a battle that was supposed to be a clash
between the greats concluded as a most bizarre tie.
Shen Qinghong naturally didn’t care about the ten thousand
spirit stones. This kind of loss to him was just a hair off his leg. It was Jun
Mobai who looked meaningfully at Shen Qinghong’s back and then at the
absolutely delighted Jiang Chen. He suddenly smiled, “Congratulations junior
brother Jiang Chen. There will be no more rascals who dare question your
position and results in the future.”
Jiang Chen smiled offhandedly. “Many thanks, many thanks.
Thank you all for coming out.”
His unspoken intent of refusing to entertain guests was
obvious. Jun Mobai had wanted to strike up a friendship with Jiang Chen, but
could tell from Jiang Chen’s tone that he had no intention of inviting anyone
in today. Jun Mobai smiled gallantly and raised a cupped fist salute to Jiang
Chen. “Junior brother Jiang Chen, I extend to you the same offer. Come by my
residence whenever you’re free, I’ll be waiting at any time.”
“Your invitation is quite generous.” Jiang Chen politely
responded with some pleasantries.
When Jun Mobai left, Ling Bi’er glided up to Jiang Chen as if
a jade tree piled high with snow. “Junior brother Jiang Chen, can I ask you a
question?”
Jiang Chen smiled. “What is it?”
“I’m just purely curious, can I take a look at your leftover
Aeonian Dream Pills?” Ling Bi’er’s tone was indifferent, the icy representative
of the broad, cold moon.
Jiang Chen’s thoughts raced. Has Ling Bi’er detected
something? He’d purposefully put away the remaining pills just now to avoid the
eyes and ears of others. He was deathly afraid of someone detecting the supreme
rank pill. The entire game would go up in flames if anyone discovered it, and
his goal of a tie would be a failure.
“Heh heh, I was lucky and refined an upper rank pill. All
the rest are low quality dregs and not fit for senior sister’s eyes.” Jiang
Chen chuckled as he glossed over the topic.
Ling Bi’er nodded slightly, a meaningful look in her
expressive eyes as she looked at Jiang Chen deeply. “Since this is the case, I
will take my leave now.” She turned to speak to Ling Hui’er, “Hui’er, we’re
going back.”
The baby-faced and well endowed Ling Hui’er bounded over to
Jiang Chen like a little deer on her vigorous legs. Combined with her leopard
skin miniskirt, she was overflowing with a youthful wildness. “Jiang Chen, even
senior brother Shen couldn’t beat you. It looks like I well deserved that loss
that time!”
“Heh he, junior sister Hui’er, your pill dao potential isn’t
low either. When you reach my age, your pill dao potential just might surpass
me!” Jiang Chen humored her.
Ling Hui’er chuckled. “You speak like you’re that much older
than me. I’m 17 this year, and my sister is 20. How old are you Jiang Chen?”
This girl was innocent and naive. Her baby face made it very
difficult for feelings of resistance to develop in one’s heart. Jiang Chen
smiled. “I’m 21, I guess.”
“What do you mean, you guess? Don’t you know how old you
are?” Ling Hui’er pouted, seeming to detect that Jiang Chen was only humoring
her.
Jiang Chen smiled ruefully. He really didn’t care much about
his age in this life. If he really put his mind to it, he seemed to be around
twenty one years old.
Ling Bi’er frowned slightly; she really was at a loss when
it came to her younger sister. She’d even revealed her age! “Hui’er, why aren’t
you leaving yet?”
Ling Hui’er stuck out her tongue again when she saw her
sister irritated. “Remember Jiang Chen! You have to teach me how to refine
pills when you have time! I’ll come find you next time!”
Mu Gaoqi sighed as he watched the sisters leave. “One is as
proudly aloof as the frosty moon, the other as enthusiastic as fire. Two
sisters from the same womb, and yet how come their personalities are so
different? They each have their own strengths as well. No wonder they’re the
most accomplished sisters in the Regal Pill Palace!”
Jiang Chen sent him flying with a kick. “Look at all you’re
good for!”
Mu Gaoqi flipped over and stood up, dusting off his butt as
he chuckled. “Brother Chen, don’t be like that! I have no intentions of taking
your woman from you. A gentle and graceful young woman is a gentleman’s best
mate. I feel that these sisters will be unable to escape from Brother’s Chen’s
grasp sooner or later… Ah!!”
Another kick sent him flying a dozen or so meters.
“Brother Chen, can you not be this harsh!” Mu Gaoqi clutched
his butt as his cry of agony came from far away.
…..
“Sister, why did you want to look at Jiang Chen’s leftover
Aeonian Dream Pills just now? Are you interested in failed pills?” Ling Hui’er
purposefully changed the topic because she was afraid her sister would grow
angry with her for speaking to Jiang Chen.
Ling Bi’er suddenly halted in her tracks. Only when she
looked at her younger sister would her chilly gaze have some hints of warmth to
it. “Hui’er, could you bother using your brain sometimes?”
Ling Hui’er felt quite aggrieved. “Sister, what did Hui’er
do now? Why are you lecturing me again?”
“Why did you tell him our ages?” Ling Bi’er asked.
Ling Hui’er giggled. “Sis, are you angry because of that?
Anyone who really wants to would easily be able to find out our ages. I don’t
think senior brother Jiang Chen is a bad person!”
Ling Bi’er sighed lightly and shook her head slightly,
saying nothing more. She was both fond of and exasperated by her younger
sister, and no idea what to do with her at all.
When she saw her sister ignore her again and start walking,
Ling Hui’er laughed lightly and scampered up, tugging on Ling Bi’er’s arm,
“Sis, you still haven’t told me why you wanted to look at the failed pills? Or
do you actually like Jiang Chen and trying these crude methods to get close to
him?”
Ling Bi’er was completely petrified. This thick headed
sister of mine will say anything! “Ling. Hui’er.” The elder sister’s face
darkened. “You won’t be calling me sister anymore if you keep spouting this
kind of nonsense.”
“Hehe, it’s just that I think it’s weird. Everyone says
you’re a frigid beauty, but the frigid beauty asked a boy to look at his trash
pills today, then…”
Ling Bi’er suddenly asked, “Hui’er, do you think the pills
left over really are trash ones?”
Ling Hui’er could hear the oddness in her sister’s tone. She
lifted her small face and asked quizzically, “Didn’t Jiang Chen say so himself?
He said they were all dregs.”
“And this is why I say you’re too naive.” Ling Bi’er exhaled
a breath as fragrant as orchids, her tone profound. “I was standing quite close
after he took out the upper rank Aeonian Dream Pill, and I subtly sensed that
the spirit power pulses from his Skyweave Cauldron were far more concentrated
than from Shen Qinghong’s Skypeak Cauldron.”
“So what of that?” Ling Hui’er blinked her large eyes, her
curly eyelashes fluttering and dancing with the motion.
“I suspect that he even had a supreme rank pill hidden
within his cauldron! There’s no explanation for the strengthened spirit pulses
otherwise. He also concealed it very quickly, as if afraid that someone would
see and hastily stood up after putting away all the Aeonian Dream Pills.”
There were no outsiders here apart from her own sister, so
Ling Bi’er spoke freely of her suspicions.
However, Ling Hui’er seemed to be acting as if she was
listening to a myth. Her skepticism showed in her words as she asked, “This
can’t be, sis? If I’m Jiang Chen and Shen Qinghong bullied me that badly, to
the point of creating rumors to slander me, there’s no way I wouldn’t take out
a supreme rank pill to slap his face!” She shook her head like shaking a rattle
drum, continuing, “Even the elders of our sect are unable to refine a supreme
rank pill! Although I know that Jiang Chen is quite amazing, but is he stronger
than Elder Yun Nie? And, he could’ve thoroughly crushed Shen Qinghong if he’d
taken it out and replaced Shen Qinghong as first in the Rosy Valley. What
reason would he have had to not do so?”
Her multitude of reasons made quite a bit of sense. Ling
Bi’er had naturally thought of this as well, but she still stuck to her
original convictions in her heart. Perhaps it was a misconception, but she felt
deep down that Jiang Chen was still holding something back, that his mysteries
hadn’t been fully brought to the surface. If he really had done what she’d
thought, then his pill dao potential and cultivation level was… monstrous.
This was more frightening than winning over Shen Qinghong!
Everyone knew that it was easy to win in a pill competition,
but it was rather difficult to create a tie. Only when one had a complete
advantage and absolute certainty would they be able to do with such ease.
A sliver of doubt circled around Ling Bi’er’s heart.
Although things weren’t as full blown as Ling Hui’er had said, she was indeed a
bit curious about Jiang Chen and a trace of an investigative desire had sprung
up in her mind. This was a new development to the icy beauty Ling Bi’er.
……
News of the tie quickly spread throughout the Rosy Valley
and Regal Pill Palace. Then, the Palace Head, Hallmaster of the Hall of Might
and the Hallmaster of the Herbal Hall jointly issued a statement asking for all
disciples to stop propagating rumors. It also named and complimented Jiang Chen
and Mu Gaoqi’s pill dao potential, as well as made reference to the legendary
battle between the Skyweave and Skypeak Cauldron. It also encouraged the
youngsters of the Regal Pill Palace to interact more and to oppose each other
less.
When this statement was made, it squashed all the rumors.
Everyone grew truly conscious of the fact that Jiang Chen and Mu Gaoqi’s rise
were out of solid, real ability, and it became an incontrovertible fact. Even
Shen Qinghong’s martial dao master had publicly admitted to this.
Jiang Chen didn’t actually care about slander from the
outside world; he cared much more about Elder Lian Cheng’s word. The elder was
a man of his word, and his conditions were secretly delivered the next day,
along with three thousand upper rank Origin Fostering Pills.
“I’m rich!” Jiang Chen was just about capering inside when
he saw his war trophies piled in front of him.
Chapter 524: Formation Preparations
The various matches that Jiang Chen had accepted in the ring
had already brought in thirty thousand spirit stones for Jiang Chen. The five
thousand each from Palace Head Dan Chi and Elder Yun Nie made for ten thousand.
Elder Lian Cheng had sent over another ten thousand, and Jiang Chen had fleeced
another ten thousand from the fat target that was Shen Qinghong when they tied.
Add all that to Jiang Chen’s store of spirit stores brought him to a sum total
of close to sixty thousand upper rank origin spirit stones—a full threefold
increase over his original expectations.
“These sixty thousand stones can power fifty to sixty
percent of the formation. Once it’s set up properly, it can be maintained for
ten years.” Jiang Chen made a couple of quick mental calculations. According to
his initial plan, roughly twenty thousand stones would’ve been enough for
thirty percent of the formation. There was great hope for sixty thousand stones
to bring forth fifty to sixty percent of its power.
“When it comes to formations, naturally the more powerful
the better. If I can activate all of the power behind the Nine Gates Formation,
then even an emperor realm expert will be hard pressed to break through it.
Even fifty to sixty percent of its power will be enough to defend against a sky
sage realm expert.” It wasn’t that Jiang Chen didn’t trust those of the Regal
Pill Palace, but that the wood spirit spring was of such importance that he
didn’t wish for its existence to be revealed.
If its existence was leaked, it would incite mass chaos
across the Myriad Domain and even attract attention from still stronger powers
to come seize it. While this formation may look like it was preventing those
from the Regal Pill Palace from intruding, it was also protecting the sect from
the disaster that could strike if the wrong news was spread.
After he’d obtained his newest ingredients, Jiang Chen had
collected everything he needed for the formation. But of course, when it came
to formations, especially such a big one, it wasn’t something that could be
completed in two or three days.
Jiang Chen was in no hurry. The first step was to refine the
flag formation. The fifty kilograms of aubergine gold he’d gathered from Elder
Lian Cheng had been for the flag formation. This material wasn’t the optimal
material for the formation flag, but it was already an exceedingly good
material in the Myriad Domain. He would likely unable to find better here, or
not in the Regal Pill Palace.
The starcloud dust and vermillion cinnabar were all
materials needed to set up the formation and to carve the runes. A formation
would cover a broad area, but it was made up of many small details. It had to
be completely flawless, since a slightly weaker link in the chain would affect
the quality of the entire formation.
Since Jiang Chen had gone to so much effort and cost for all
this, he naturally wouldn’t allow any errors to develop. This formation would
be one of his guardians for at least the next decade. But of course, his goal
wasn’t satisfied by simply stopping here. This formation could be continuously
improved, and his aim was to deploy the full power of this formation so that it
could truly defend against an emperor realm cultivator. This would naturally be
a long term endeavor and not something to be completed overnight.
Refining a flag formation would require specialized
equipment. He didn’t have any such facility in his residence. It was a good
thing that there was a Hall of Refining that specialized in all matters of
weapon forging. It ranked sixth amongst the nine halls of the Regal Pill
Palace.
A minimum of eighty one flags would be needed to have the
formation realize its maximal potential. Since Jiang Chen didn’t have such high
aspirations at the moment, he was looking to refine only thirty six flags. This
would only decrease the formation’s power and range.
He had made a promise with the little Cicada last time that
he would let it bathe in the waters of the spring after ten days. There were
still a few days left until the promised time, so Jiang Chen decided to refine
the flags first. Since time was of the essence, he didn’t linger and headed
straight for the Hall of Refining.
With his current reputation, no one dared treat him lightly
when he arrived. Who didn’t know that he was the favorite of Palace Head Dan
Chi and Elder Yun Nie? Even Hallmaster Lian Cheng of the Hall of Might had
accepted Jiang Chen’s current position. Therefore, although Jiang Chen didn’t
command the same treatment and prestige as Shen Qinghong, he wasn’t far off.
Although the Hall of Refining was an important organization,
there was still quite a difference between it and the Hall of Might or Herbal
Hall. When an administrator saw Jiang Chen, he used an almost fawning tone to
ask, “What pleasant wind has blown you to our hall, junior brother Jiang Chen?
Do you need to refine some sort of weapon? Our Hall of Refining specializes in
solving these kinds of problems for sect geniuses!”
Jiang Chen smiled and looked at the administrator. “Is it
possible for me to borrow your refining room?”
An awkward expression appeared on the administrator’s face.
“Borrow the refining room? Junior brother Jiang Chen, there… there is a strict
rule that no one outside of the Hall of Refining can borrow our facilities.”
“Please make an exception in my favor.” Jiang Chen reached
out his hand and shook the administrator’s hand, handing over a pill flask.
The administrator clutched a pill flask and beamed at him.
“Junior brother Jiang Chen is the premier genius of our Regal Pill Palace.
There are always some exceptions to the rule! I’ll go make the request for you
in a bit. There will be no problem at all if the Hallmaster nods in assent.”
“Then I’ll ask the senior brother to speak a few more good
words on my behalf.”
The administrator understood completely, smiling, “Of
course, of course. It’s also the honor of our Hall of Refining to put forth
some effort on behalf of junior brother Jiang Chen!”
The administrator knew that Jiang Chen was a genius at pill
refining. The items that he gifted would certainly be uncommon. How would the
administrator not put forth some effort on Jiang Chen’s behalf now that he had
received some benefits? He gave an order, “Treat junior brother Jiang Chen
well, I will go discuss with the Hallmaster.”
When the administrator entered the inner hall, he
surreptitiously took out the pill flask and peeked inside. It was ten upper
rank Origin Fostering Pills! His heart rate doubled at the sight. One had to
know that an administrator like him only received a stipend of roughly thirty
Origin Fostering Pill a month, and all of them at lower rank at that. These ten
upper rank pills were the same as thousands of lower rank pills! This was a
good ten months of his stipend!
“Tsk tsk, he who has wealth speaks louder than others! He’s
a pill refining genius alright! It looks like growing close to one is the only
way forward!” The administrator was delighted and even more resolute that he
had to handle this properly for Jiang Chen. If he could use this opportunity to
build a relationship with Jiang Chen, he’d have no end of good benefits if
Jiang Chen randomly bestowed some pills on him in the future.
Hallmaster Lu Duan personally came over after a short while.
This hallmaster was a big fatty, resembling a rolling meat ball as he walked
over with quick steps. “Jiang Chen, I am so ashamed that I didn’t come welcome
you!”
It was the first time that Jiang Chen had met this
hallmaster, so he was rather surprised by this hearty greeting. A fleshy hand
grasped Jiang Chen’s and shook it vigorously. “Jiang Chen, my Hall of Refining
rarely sees an honored guest like you. Come come come, come sit, come sit. Your
presence graces my hall, and I will personally prepare a cup of tea for you.”
Jiang Chen was rather embarrassed by Fatty Lu’s fervor. “How
is Jiang Chen worthy of Hallmaster Lu’s hospitality?”
“Haha, worthy indeed, quite worthy!” Lu Duan grinned and
tugged Jiang Chen into walking inside. Jiang Chen could only follow him inside
out of resignation. Jiang Chen was a bit at a loss for words to have a fatty,
and a male fatty nonetheless, holding onto his hand.
It was a good thing that Fatty Lu went off to brew tea after
heading inside. Jiang Chen sat down, attended by the administrator.
“Come Jiang Chen, have some tea. Our Hall of Refining is a
bit crude and there’s nothing particularly good here. Don’t mind our weak tea,
I hope you don't mind.” Fatty Lu had come back bearing tea. He was
enthusiastically offering Jiang Chen high quality tea, but describing it as
weak tea.
“Hallmaster Lu, I’m here to borrow the refining facilities
of the Hall of Refining. This request may be a bit out of line, so if it’s
possible, I’d like to make some reparations.” Jiang Chen wasn’t willing to
stand on pleasantries as he once again explained his intentions.
Fatty Lu chuckled so much that his cheeks and jowls jiggled.
“The rules don’t allow it, but Jiang Chen, you’re an utmost genius of the Regal
Pill Palace, so you should naturally be treated as an exception.”
“Then I must thank Hallmaster Lu for helping me achieve my
aims. Consider this as a small token of appreciation from me, I hope the
hallmaster doesn’t look down on it.” Jiang Chen naturally wouldn’t be miserly
since Lu Duan had agreed so forthrightly. He pushed a flask of pills to
Hallmaster Lu.
The fatty chuckled but didn’t accept the flask. He pushed it
back to Jiang Chen. “Jiang Chen, if you really want to thank me, I have a favor
to ask.”
Jiang Chen started, then said, “Please feel free to speak
frankly, Hallmaster Lu. If it’s something that Jiang Chen can do, then I will
surely try my best!”
“The matter is this. My cultivation level has dithered at
the peak of the origin realm for two decades. Whenever I start to sense the
sage realm, I’ve always been afraid to try because I lack that bit of skill. It
all comes down to missing a Hexarune Dragon Pill. I’ve heard that you helped
Elder Yun Nie refine that pill, but don’t know if…”
Jiang Chen knew what the other meant when he heard these
words. He took a glance at Lu Duan. This fatty truly had halted at the peak of
the origin realm and was lacking that final step.
Lu Duan sighed dejectedly. “Jiang Chen ah, I am 160 years
old this year and past the prime age to break through. Once a young man like
you enters the peak of the origin realm, it wouldn’t be too farfetched for you
to break through to the sage realm, even with the tribulations from some
internal demons. But for someone like me with immense internal demons, I’m
afraid that the tribulations will be too strong when I attempt to break
through. If only I had a Hexarune Dragon Pill, my chances would be so much greater.
I’m not afraid of death with this fat body of mine, but my poor eight year old
daughter and five year old son…”
As the fatty poured out his heart amidst sobs, his style and
acting skills reminded Jiang Chen of an old acquaintance in the Eastern Kingdom,
Fatty Xuan.
Two fatties, similar styles and the same acts.
“Hallmaster Lu, the Hexarune Dragon Pill belongs to Elder
Yun Nie. I really don’t have any, but if you can collect all its ingredients
one day, I can help refine it for you. I can’t promise a supreme rank, but
certainly a mid rank version.”
Fatty Lu’s eyes gleamed. “Do you mean that?”
Jiang Chen laughed. “I am a disciple of the Regal Pill
Palace and my words carry weight.”
Fatty Lu laughed heartily. “Good, great! In that case, the
facilities of my Hall of Refining are always open to you. Use them as long as
you’d like, however you’d like! Let me know if there’s anything you need me
for!”
Chapter 525: Assimilating the Golden Cicada’s Bloodline
It actually wasn’t that Jiang Chen didn’t want Fatty Lu to
get his hands dirty, because to be honest, as the hallmaster, he was certain to
be more skilled than Jiang Chen in the area of refining items. The reason Jiang
Chen decided to do it himself in the end was while he had been familiar with
refining in his past life, he’d rarely had a chance to practice in this life.
If he had a few chances for practical application, he’d be a first rate
refiner, if not a top master refiner. Also, something like refining a formation
flag was best done personally. Even if he could, he wouldn’t be at ease handing
it over to anyone else either. It was a good thing that he’d received more than
enough aubergine gold from Elder Lian Cheng, so he had the materials to waste
if need be.
He successfully refined the required thirty six formation
flags after seven days. He’d actually refined more than fifty, but he wasn’t
quite satisfied with the initial ones and destroyed them all. The ones who
remained were the finest of his creations.
With the formation flags completed, Jiang Chen didn’t linger
and prepared to leave the Hall of Refinement.
Fatty Lu made several attempts to keep him back. “Jiang
Chen, it’s rare for you to visit; let me play host this time. Come, let’s have
a few drinks.”
Jiang Chen really didn’t have the time to stay and drink.
“Hallmaster Lu, if you don’t think it beneath you, please come stay as a guest
at my residence next time. I’m rather short on time these days and need to make
many preparations for the soon to come Pill Battles.”
Fatty Lu nodded and sighed. “I won’t be keeping you since
this is the case then. Come by as much as you like when you have the time. You
can treat the Hall of Refining as half a home too.”
The fatty’s socialization skills were nothing to laugh at,
and he had quite the glib tongue. He’d managed to quickly struck up a
brotherhood with Jiang Chen. His behavior was easily explained though. Whenever
Sovereign Area geniuses came by the Hall of Refining, they weren’t entirely
enthused at the sights. After all, since this hall was neither the Hall of
Might or Herbal Hall, it was of little value to them and destined to not have
much in common with them. Therefore, even though Fatty Lu was an honorable
hallmaster, very few of those top geniuses was willing to open their hearts and
be friends with him.
Jiang Chen was the first, and that was why he was so highly
valued.
To put it bluntly, Fatty Lu’s position as the Hallmaster of
the Hall of Refinement wasn’t even necessarily on par with the top five elders
of the Hall of Might or Herbal Hall.
“Hallmaster Lu, please come find me at my residence any time
when you’ve collected all of the ingredients for the Hexarune Dragon Pill.”
Jiang Chen wasn’t the sort to be ungrateful and burn a bridge after he’d
crossed it.
“I will, I will.” Fatty Lu was utterly delighted. He’d
wanted to ask Elder Yun Nie to refine the pill for him, but his position was
far too distant from the master of the Herbal Hall, so he hadn’t dared make the
request. After all, Elder Yun Nie was a venerated elder and one of the three
heavyweights of the Regal Pill Palace.
When he returned to his residence, it was time for Jiang
Chen to make good on his agreement with the Golden Cicada. He didn’t go back on
his words, summoning the Cicada and sending it to the wood spirit spring. When
the Cicada saw the spring, it was wholeheartedly convinced of Jiang Chen’s
words and joyously hopped into the waters.
The Cicada was different from any other spirit creature. It
was the type that dined on the wind and supped on dew. Not only would this
spring baptize its body, but it would also serve as the Cicada’s food.
Absorbing its waters would naturally give it an edge for reforming its
bloodlines. And of course, it wasn’t that other spirit creatures couldn’t drink
the waters, but that the effects of them drinking the waters was vastly
inferior to the little Cicada’s.
The Cicada’s baptism was destined to be a long process, and
Jiang Chen didn’t want to watch over it every second of the day. He spent his
days setting up the formation, and his nights in training.
The little Cicada completed its bloodline evolution after
roughly a month, and its form had undergone great changes. It had changed from
the size of a fist to the size of a watermelon. It was a full meter when it
extended its wings. “The little Golden Cicada greets the master.”
According to their previous agreement, the Cicada had to
submit to Jiang Chen after completing its bloodline evolution and take Jiang
Chen to be its master.
“No need to call me master, little Cicada. I’m called Jiang
Chen, so you can call me young master Chen like the others.”
“Then I’ll call you big brother Chen.” The little Cicada had
spent a long time with Jiang Chen and was familiar with his personality. It
knew that this human master wasn’t one of those immensely evil and violent
villains. It also knew how lucky it was to have such a master.
Although the Golden Cicadas possessed a noble bloodline,
their attack strength was limited, so they had to seek succor from other races
throughout the harsh worlds. Of those who offered shelter, humans were a race
that the Cicadas turned to more often than not. In taking Jiang Chen for his
master, the Cicada had found a great backer and didn’t have to spend his days
in fear and apprehension anymore.
“Haha, call me whatever you like.” Jiang Chen was in a great
mood as he asked, “Now that your bloodline evolution is complete, have any of your
heritage of memories awakened?”
The little Cicada was also incredibly astonished when they
spoke of this. “It’s just like you said, big brother Chen. We are indeed
impervious to all poisons and lightning.”
As for the arts of the Cicada Wing and Cicada’s Counterfeit,
it had long since known of those two abilities. For Jiang Chen, his memories
from his past life had laid out the little Cicada’s abilities in crystal clear
fashion. But to the little Cicada, all of this was quite wondrous. Big brother
Chen had known of all this before his heritage of memories had awoken. Does he
have the ability to see the future?
“Don’t look at me like that, little Cicada. Actually, if
your memories fully awaken, you’ll know that the arts of metamorphosis that
your tribe possesses are even more amazing. When you train them to their peak,
you’ll have the ability to transform into all sorts of shapes. This is
something that’s even more incredible than what you see now.”
The Golden Cicadas’ combat ability was indeed pretty much
trash. But in return, they were talented in almost every other field. In
particular, their metamorphosis arts could bewilder anyone, shifting into any
shape and form imaginable. This was how this race had survived in the worlds
despite their poor battle strength. However, these methods were equally useful
for the other stronger races.
The Cicada tittered. “Big brother Chen, you’ll have to wait
until I enter the sage realm to get the art of metamorphosis! Do you want to
learn it?”
Jiang Chen was indeed a bit green eyed with desire for this
particular art. But although the little Cicada had awakened its memories and
had its bloodline improve rapidly, this rapid advancement of its cultivation
had only brought it to the level of the human minor origin realm. There was
still a long way to go if it wanted to enter the sage realm.
“Teehee, big brother Chen, I’m teasing you. I’ll now give to
you the drop of blood I promised! When I learn the art of metamorphosis and
shift into human form, I’ll give you another drop of blood essence so you also
have the chance to train this art.”
Such were the Golden Cicadas. They were very opposed to
humans before they took a master, but once they did, they were the epitome of loyalty.
Every decision they made from that point on would place their master as their
highest consideration, carefully taking in all aspects.
The little Cicada squeezed out a drop of essence blood as it
spoke. A drop of rain, filled with an ethereal spirituality, landed in front of
Jiang Chen. He opened up his hand and absorbed this drop of blood, assimilating
into his own blood.
It was a common thing for a human cultivator to absorb beast
blood, but this drop of blood from the Cicada bloodline was extraordinary. To
Jiang Chen, it was temporarily more valuable than even dragon blood!
After all, the bloodline of the dragons could strengthen
one’s energy and blood, increase the purity of the human bloodline, enhance the
cultivator’s aura, and help the cultivator practice many more stronger arts.
However, the bloodline of the Cicada could help Jiang Chen receive the heritage
of the entire Cicada race. Arts such as the Cicada Wing, and Cicada’s
Counterfeit, as well as inherent abilities such as immunity to all poisons, and
a defense that could withstand ten thousand strikes of lightning were all
things that the dragon bloodline couldn’t possibly supply.
Of course, this wasn’t to say that the bloodline of the
Golden Cicada was more noble than the dragon’s, it was just that the Cicada’s
bloodline was more suited for Jiang Chen. The dragon bloodline could help him
obtain more battle power, but that wouldn’t occur overnight. Jiang Chen also
had many ways to increase his battle strength, so he wasn’t limited to just
using the dragon bloodline, but the arts available through the Cicada’s were
irreplaceable.
If Jiang Chen’s bloodline would show a high degree of fusion
with the Cicada’s and his powers of comprehension were high, he’d be able to
grasp all of the arts of this race. The only pity was that the little Cicada
itself still couldn’t train the arts of metamorphosis. Otherwise, this drop of
blood would’ve been even more valuable.
“Little Cicada, train near this wood spirit spring in the
future. I’ll plant the Thundercloud Tree next to the spring, and it’ll surely
grow into a patch of Thundercloud Trees in the future.”
Jiang Chen needed a certain amount of time to assimilate the
drop of blood after absorbing it from the Cicada. How this process went would
directly determine how much of the Cicada’s legacy he’d be able to obtain.
Jiang Chen didn’t dare treat it lightly and immediately announced a seven day
seclusion.
It was a commonplace occurrence for cultivators to go into
closed door cultivation. There was someone doing so every two or three days in
Jiang Chen’s residence. Because Jiang Chen had understood much of the Golden
Cicadas in his past life and had his own unique views on assimilating
bloodlines, he made enormous gains during this time and used an almost perfect
way to meld this bloodline with his.
Having done so, Jiang Chen noticeably felt the additional
attributes of his body. “My body is truly impervious to all poisons and durable
to the point of repeated lightning strikes. I finally don’t have to worry about
becoming scorched and burned when I met a strong thunder genius in the future,
or anyone who specializes in the thunder attribute.”
Boundless confidence suddenly rose in Jiang Chen’s heart.
He’d already had a certain immunity to thunder ever since he’d refined the
stick of Thundercloud Tree, but now that he’d refined the bloodline of the
Cicada, his immunity to the arts of thunder had risen by more than tenfold!
Ordinary arts of thunder posed absolutely no threat to him now.
As for poison, he was a master of poison to begin with, and
his immunity to poison had been extremely high even before assimilating the
Cicada’s bloodline. Now that he had this additional inherent defense, it acted
as an extra layer of insurance. Jiang Chen could now no longer think of any
poison that could harm him in all the planes beneath the heavens. As for
Cicada’s Wing and Cicada’s Counterfeit, those arts couldn’t be obtained
overnight, but they were the two arts that he’d yearned for the most.
Particularly Cicada’s Wing, the temptation of flight was greater than anything
else in Jiang Chen’s heart. If he was able to fly during the origin realm, that
would absolutely be a great advantage!
Chapter 526: Successful Formation Setup
The Pill Battles of Mt. Rippling Mirage drew closer and
closer as time went on.
Having assimilated the Golden Cicada’s bloodline, Jiang Chen
spent his days either cultivating or setting up the Nine Gates Formation. If he
concentrated wholeheartedly on setting up the formation, it would only take a
month or so. But doing so while training on the side meant that it would take
him at least three months to complete it. It’d been two months since he’d
started setting up the formation, and there was still two months more to the
Pill Battles. There was still plenty of time.
Gouyu, Ye Chonglou and the others didn’t understand the way
of formations, and could only guess randomly when they saw Jiang Chen busying
himself day in and out.
One fine day, Tang Hong’s hearty laughter rang out from the
rear mountain. He had broken through to the origin realm! He seemed to have set
off a chain reaction as Gouyu also broke through not long after, followed
closely by Xue Tong. They had both finally grasped their respective dao.
In this way, Tang Hong could rightfully take up residence in
the Rosy Valley, and Jiang Chen decided to have a serious chat with his
followers, Gouyu and Xue Tong. “Gouyu, Xue Tong, now that you have broken
through to the origin realm, you’re qualified to become a core disciple in the
Regal Pill Palace. If you remain my follower, you won’t be able to have your
own residence. If you join the Regal Pill Palace, you can become a core
disciple and have your own place.”
Xue Tong immediately understood Jiang Chen’s meaning. He
shook his head and spoke with a resolute tone. “I, Xue Tong, will only follow
the young master in my life. Talk of being a sect disciple is nowhere as
attractive as following the young master.”
Gouyu flicked a disapproving look over. “Jiang Chen, have
you been considering how to get rid of me all this time? Even if I can’t be
your woman, I’m still going to follow you. That so-called identity of a sect
disciple is completely meaningless to me.”
Jiang Chen laughed ruefully as he looked at the steadfast
duo. At least for the time being, he knew that they wouldn’t turn their backs
on him no matter what.
Gouyu glared at him, “If you give us this choice again in
the future, we won’t let you off this easily! Hmmph!”
Amongst Jiang Chen’s followers, Gouyu was one who had the
bearing of a boss sister. As long as she was in the right, she would even dare
shout at Jiang Chen. Hers was a forthright personality.
The other followers, provoked by Gouyu and Xue Tong’s
breakthroughs, increased their efforts at cultivating. As a result, their
strength improved rapidly as they all entered the peak of the spirit realm.
This sent the outside world into an uproar. When Jiang Chen
had arrived, the strongest of his followers had only been earth spirit realm.
But now, two of them had reached the origin realm, and the rest had firmly
consolidated themselves at the peak of the ninth level spirit realm! That such
miraculous changes had occurred in them in such a short amount of time left the
entire Regal Pill Palace astonished and motivated by the pressure. The martial
dao potential of those from the sixteen kingdoms were all so frightening, so
what reason did the rest of the others from the Precious Tree Sect have to rest
on their laurels? One had to say, Jiang Chen’s appearance had brought an
unexpected momentum to the Regal Pill Palace overall, encouraging the younger
generation to take their training more seriously.
Jiang Chen finally finished setting up the formation with a
month to go until the Pill Battles. With that done, he too breathed out a long
sigh of relief. He had ensured that the formation possessed at least sixty
percent of its full strength and would be enough to block all those at sky sage
realm and below when activated.
He refined another five formation jade tokens, giving one to
Ye Chonglou, Gouyu, Xue Tong, and Huang’er, leaving one for himself. The first
three were his own people and didn’t need further instructions. When Huang'er
received the token, she smiled slightly. “Huang'er will certainly look after
the formation carefully given such trust from Sir Jiang.”
Huang'er spent much time inside and rarely ventured out
during her days, occasionally visiting Gouyu and Wen Ziqi. She lived an
exceedingly simple yet content life, and was entirely happy. Therefore, she had
long since regarded this place as half her home in the depths of her heart, and
viewed it as a place worth defending.
“Miss Huang’er, the wood spirit spring will be highly
beneficial for you if you bathe in it monthly. It’s just that knowledge of the
spring’s existence is of utmost importance and cannot be revealed, which is why
I’ve spent enormous time and effort to set up such a formation and enclose all
of the inner residence into its defenses.
Huang'er spoke sweetly. “Sir Jiang is highly talented; this
formation is surely extraordinary.”
Jiang Chen chuckled. “It’s merely a small thing, but can be
activated in times of danger. It will just remain so in normal times. Miss
Huang’er, please remember to go to the spring every month. If you like it and
wish to go when you have nothing else to do, that’s just as well.”
“Many thanks to Sir Jiang’s generous care. Huang'er will
remember this well.” Huang'er was indeed touched. She’d purposefully
masqueraded an ugly appearance because she hadn't wanted to show her true form
to others, but she now felt that her gesture had been rather superfluous.
Jiang Chen was an open and straightforward person. He was
striving his best to take care of her due to Elder Shun’s charge and didn’t
keep her away from something as important as the wood spirit spring, allowing
her to use it as she would. He had never ostracized or ignored her for her
looks. It was apparent that he wasn’t one who judged people on the basis of
their appearance.
Now that she gave it some thought, Huang'er grew deeply
ashamed of her move to conceal her features. She wasn’t a girl who put on such
airs to begin with, but had disguised herself with ugliness thanks to a stray
fancy. But now, she didn’t know how to deal with the situation.
“Ai, let’s have things develop naturally. It’s just that my
actions are a bit untoward given how sincerely everyone is treating me.” As
Huang’er watched Jiang Chen’s retreating back, there were some soft ripples
stirring her heart. For some reason, she always felt quite relaxed when
interacting with Jiang Chen, and felt none of the repulsion she usually did
when facing the young men of her homeland.
It boiled down to the fact that although those young men
were exemplary and accomplished, they always felt a bit too forced, as if they
were putting on an act. It was difficult to feel close to them, whereas Jiang
Chen was open and stood in the light. He neither withheld favors to elicit
gratitude or judged others by their looks, nor did he pretend to be elegant or
dashing in front of her.
Once he settled everything in the residence, there were only
a few concerns hanging over Jiang Chen’s heart.
When he finished up everything, Palace Head Dan Chi sent
over a message glyph, inviting him to come over. The palace head had done him
many favors and helped him a great deal, so Jiang Chen naturally didn’t drag
his heels and immediately got up, making his way over to Dan Chi’s residence.
“Jiang Chen, you’ve been rather busy these days hmm? Not bad
at all kid, it looks like you’re going to break through fifth level origin
realm!” Dan Chi could see with a glance that Jiang Chen was at the peak of
fourth level origin realm.
“I’m going to strive to break through to the fifth level
before the Pill Battles.” Jiang Chen didn’t need to put on a facade in front of
the palace head.
“What an incredibly insane genius!” Palace head Dan Chi
sighed. “I feel absolutely no sense of superiority about my cultivation speed
in front of you. I spent two years to ascend from first level to fifth level
origin realm, but you’ve spent less than a year! I daresay that even the
geniuses of the Upper Eight Realms are barely capable of matching that.”
Jiang Chen laughed. “It comes down to the Regal Pill Palace
possessing superior resources, and that is wholly thanks to you, Palace Head!
If you hadn’t brought me here, where would I have gotten so many resources?”
The vast quantity of Origin Fostering Pills had indeed been
of great use to Jiang Chen.
“Oh pfft. Although those pills can induce faster
cultivation, they’re not nearly as incredible as to produce this speed. You
must’ve had some other fortuitous encounters. Never mind, I won’t keep asking.
I’ve called you here because I want to ask you; where did you get your Nine
Magnificence Dew Wine?” Dan Chi chuckled.
“The Nine Magnificence Wine?” Jiang Chen was startled, but
spoke honestly. “I was once taught by an extraordinary expert when I was small
and learned some tricks from him. This was when I learned how to craft the
Wine.”
“Oh? You know how to craft it?” A hint of something else
crept into Dan Chi’s tone.
“Yes.” Jiang Chen didn’t deny it. It wasn’t that difficult
to refine this wine, and with his current cultivation level, it was a remarkably
easy task that he didn’t need to expend much effort on at all. His abilities
had been limited in the Skylaurel Kingdom because of limited resources, but now
in the Regal Pill Palace, he almost didn’t think much of a spirit rank Nine
Magnificence Dew Wine.
“Good, wonderful! Jiang Chen, the Myriad Domain has a
particular tradition of wine tasting whenever we meet up. Ever since my Regal
Pill Palace has been founded, we’ve yet to have taken out a decent wine.
Instead, the Walkabout Sect has claimed the limelight in this area. I feel that
if we can take out the Nine Magnificence Wine in the Pill Battles, we’ll be
able to beat down their proud stance a bit. It certainly helps that the
Walkabout Sect has always been our greatest opponent in pill competitions.”
Jiang Chen smiled as he immediately understood the palace
head’s meaning. The Nine Magnificence Wine wasn’t any sort of secret that
couldn’t be passed on, so he had no reason to keep it to himself. “Palace Head,
there are ranks to this wine as well. Those would be mortal, spirit, origin,
saint, earth, and sky rank. Which one would you like? Let’s set aside the earth
and sky rank, I don’t know how to craft those.”
But he actually did. It was just that these two levels were
too frightening—the Regal Pill Palace probably couldn’t even prepare all of the
materials.
“I tasted the spirit rank last time, correct? Then we can
taste the origin rank.”
“No problem. We can try even the saint rank as long as we
have enough materials.” Jiang Chen thought, since you want to use wine to make
a stand, then I’ll give you a saint rank version so that the Regal Pill Palace
can really bask in glory.
The Regal Pill Palace had treated him well, so this bit of
payback was only right.
Palace Head Dan Chi was delighted. The spirit rank had been
so stunning already, and the saint rank was a full two ranks ahead of that.
This would certainly be a heavenly brew that the Myriad Domain had never seen
before in all its history. “Alright! What materials do you need? I’ll collect
them all for you even if I have to dig through all ten thousand miles of the
Regal Pill Palace.”
Jiang Chen smiled. “We don’t have to go quite that far. I’m
sure the Regal Pill Palace can prepare them all. Please take out brush and ink,
I’ll write down the recipe for you.”
“Good, good! Jiang Chen, I owe you one!” Dan Chi was in
great spirits. Although he wasn’t one who lusted after the delights of a cup,
infusing wine with spirit herbs was still a genteel pastime in the world of
martial dao. Almost every cultivator liked the pleasures of a cup, it was just
a matter of how much they did.
The palace head often crafted wine for himself and tried
adding all sorts of spirit herbs into it, but he’d never had great gains. It
was either too much medicine and mediocre wine, or good wine but a simple
product. The Nine Magnificence Dew Wine tasted sublime and was hailed as an
ethereal brew. Dan Chi could only imagine how much of an impact they would have
throughout the Myriad Domain as soon as they brought it out.
Using wine to spread their name and gain profit to enhance
the Regal Pill Palace’s influence was also setting the foundation for
rebuilding the Myriad Empire in the future!
Chapter 527: The Ling Family Sisters
Jiang Chen casually handed over the recipe for the sage rank
Nine Magnificence Dew Wine to Palace Head Dan Chi. As for actually crafting the
wine himself, when he saw how eager the palace head was to try, Jiang Chen knew
that he probably didn’t have to do that himself.
“Haha, Jiang Chen, this recipe is worth cities!” Joy danced
on Palace Head Dan Chi’s brows as he became fired up with high spirits.
Jiang Chen teased, “Surely Elder Lian Cheng wouldn’t think
so.”
Palace Head Dan Chi laughed heartily when he heard this.
“You kid! You make even Elder Lian Cheng the butt of your jokes. However, your
words only goes to show that you don’t know Elder Lian Cheng well. He’s the
number one alcohol fiend of our Regal Pill Palace. When it comes to drinking
wine, the elder will surely be the biggest fan of the saint rank Nine
Magnificence Wine. Perhaps he’ll even become your fan after he hears about it.”
Jiang Chen hastily said, “Palace Head, this recipe is just a
small thing, please don’t out me. The glorious results from this kind of
achievement is only appropriate when attributed to you, Palace Head.”
It wasn’t that he didn’t want the credit to his name, but
that there was no need for so many halos around him right then. He also didn’t
want everyone to come asking for him to craft this saint rank wine for them
wherever he went. That would bring no end of trouble onto his head.
Palace Head Dan Chi started, but immediately understood
Jiang Chen’s conscientiousness. “Jiang Chen, it is truly rare that one at your
age is not vainglorious and greedy for adoration. This is your biggest
difference when compared to Shen Qinghong.”
Jiang Chen smiled faintly and didn’t compliment himself.
“Palace Head, I will head back to my residence now.”
“Go on, I await your stunning accomplishments at the Pill
Battles.” Dan Chi encouraged.
When Jiang Chen left, Dan Chi looked at this recipe with
astonishment. If this recipe was in the Upper Eight Realms, it would be
fiercely fought over by many people, to say nothing of the Myriad Domain. And
Jiang Chen had taken it out just like this, with no dithering at all.
This action alone was excellent evidence of his bearing and
charisma. He had taken out such a precious recipe with no expectation of
gratitude or favors in return, and hadn’t even mentioned payback.
“Ai, it seems like allying with the Precious Tree Sect and
inducting him into the Regal Pill Palace wasn’t just a fortuitous occurrence
for him, but also a stroke of fortune for me as well.” Dan Chi sighed in his
heart, recalling Elder Shun’s reminders and his pointers. Only a few short days
had been enough for him to cast off his shackles and see rapid improvement in
his cultivation. He was now in sixth level sage realm and was fully qualified
to assail the sky saint level. Once he did, he would become a premier existence
in the Myriad Domain.
Dan Chi was an ambitious person with great plans, and he saw
the hope to realize his goals in Jiang Chen!
“What a pity that Elder Shun only taught me for a few days.
If I could’ve benefited from his pointers for half a year or even longer, I
might even have the right to make for the emperor realm.”
……
Back in his residence, Jiang Chen once again tried assailing
the fifth level origin realm. With so many Origin Fostering Pills at his
disposal, he had no reason not to try. According to his calculations, there was
still roughly a month until they had to set out for Mt. Rippling Mirage.
“A month’s time is plenty!”
Just as Jiang Chen entered closed door cultivation, news
came from the Herbal Hall that the list of the eight participating in the Pill
Battles had finally been decided.
From the senior generation were: Hallmaster Yun Nie, Vice
Hallmaster Wang Yue, Second Vicemaster Ouyang De, and a regular elder of the
Herbal Hall, Che Ziwu.
From the younger generation: Jiang Chen, Mu Gaoqi, Ling
Bi’er, and Shen Qinghong.
Jun Mobai and Shen Trifire, as well as Ouyang De’s grandson
Ouyang Chao had all been passed over.
Those from the older generation were all elders with noble
character and immense prestige. The others naturally had no objections to this
outcome. Although Ouyang De and Che Ziwu’s cultivation weren’t as high as
Palace Head Dan Chi or Elder Lian Cheng, it wouldn’t do for the two
heavyweights of the Regal Pill Palace, the palace head and hallmaster of the
Hall of Might to participate in the Pill Battles themselves.
It was rather the younger generation that would always
suffer controversy no matter who made the cut. Jiang Chen was actually the
subject of the least protests now. After all, his performance in repeated pill
challenges had been perfect, and the three heavyweights within the sect had all
affirmed Jiang Chen’s pill dao potential. There could be no wrong about that.
In the same vein, Mu Gaoqi’s innate wood constitution of
high order was enough to shut down all speculation. Even if he wasn’t a
representative of the highest level of pill dao, considering the sect was
cultivating him as the long term premier genius in pill dao left his appearance
on the Pill Battle list without question.
As for Ling Bi’er, she had been the first in pill dao in
name long before the Sovereign Area had recruited Jiang Chen and Mu Gaoqi, but
even so, there were still those who didn’t accept her placement. Because she
usually remained in the Sovereign Area, she didn’t have many opportunities to
display her abilities.
As for Shen Qinghong, the top genius amongst the younger
generation, although his pill dao potential was unknown, enough could be
gathered from his draw with Jiang Chen. But apart from that, he hadn’t had any
convincing displays of prowess. Therefore, there were also those who privately
felt that he was going based of his background and martial dao potential, and
that Ling Bi’er had been chosen for her pretty face.
Of course, these speculations were all whispered behind
closed doors. No one dared come out to publicly accuse anyone. To be honest,
those speculating didn’t have the slightest confidence that their level of pill
dao could be better than Shen Qinghong or Ling Bi’er’s.
Regardless, Jiang Chen wasn’t affected by the list’s
publication. He wasn’t that surprised when he learned of the results, and was
prepared to enter closed door cultivation when guests came knocking outside his
residence.
“Oh it’s you?” Jiang Chen was slightly surprised to see his
guests, the Ling sisters.
“Senior brother Jiang Chen, do you not welcome us?” Ling
Hui’er widened her eyes as her long lashes danced, exuding a playful demeanor.
It wasn’t that Jiang Chen didn’t welcome guests, but that he
really didn’t have time to cater to guests when he was about to go into
seclusion. However, he had a good impression of these girls, so he had no
reason to keep them at arm’s length. He chuckled and said, “Come in, come in!”
Gouyu was also slightly astonished to see these sisters
visit. “What a pair of dazzling sisters!”
Ling Bi’er was as flawless as white jade and as radiant as
the jewel of a frozen mountain. Ling Hui’er was the picture of youth and as
beguiling as a dancing flame. Even one as confident as Gouyu felt that she
paled slightly when compared to Ling Bi’er’s looks. Of all the girls she’d ever
seen, likely only Dan Fei of the Skylaurel Kingdom could compare to them. Ling
Hui’er’s youthful radiance and her surging chest that seemed like it would
break through her clothes at any moment made even the sexy Gouyu feel that she
didn’t measure up to the little girl.
Jiang Chen remained serene as usual, showing no sign of
entrancement by this pair of bedazzling sisters. It wasn’t that he was putting
on an aloof act, but that he’d seen too many beauties beneath the heavens in
his past life and had long since developed an immunity to them. He’d even
tactfully declined to share his bed with the most stunning of them.
Gouyu didn’t linger after serving tea.
“Senior sister Ling, what insights might you have to impart
with your visit this time?” Jiang Chen asked courteously.
It was Ling Hui’er who grew unhappy with this line of
questioning as she pouted, “Senior brother Jiang, you’re too much! I’m
obviously here with my sister, but you only ask after her and not me!”
Jiang Chen laughed ruefully and rubbed his nose. “Alright,
that’s my fault. It won’t happen again.”
Ling Bi’er’s delicately arched eyebrows wrinkled slightly
and she spoke to Ling Hui’er, “Hui’er, you promised me before we came that you
wouldn’t joke around and take this lightly. This is why I let you come. We’ll
go straight back if you continue to behave like this.”
Ling Hui’er was obviously quite spoiled by her sister as she
tittered and leaned back on the chair. She was supported by a pair of slender,
jade-like arms as her legs swung to and fro. She began swaying leisurely.
“Junior brother Jiang Chen, please forgive our intrusion
from this visit.” Although Ling Bi’er looked the part of a frosty beauty, she
still understood the social niceties of the world.
“Not at all, please feel free to speak frankly if senior
sister Ling has anything to ask.”
Ling Bi’er nodded. “I was lucky enough to obtain a spot in
the Pill Battles, but I still have some questions with regards to pill dao and
would like to discuss the dao with junior brother Jiang Chen, to verify our
thoughts and help each other improve.”
So she’s here to discuss thoughts on pill dao. Normally,
Jiang Chen wouldn’t be opposed to this, but since he was preparing to go into
seclusion to assail the next rank of martial dao, how would he have the time to
do so now?
Ling Hui’er was slightly surprised to see Jiang Chen not
immediately respond. “Junior brother Jiang Chen, are there any difficulties?”
Jiang Chen didn’t beat around the bush as he smiled wryly,
“I was planning on going into closed door cultivation to assail the shackles of
martial dao. Senior sister Bi’er’s timing is a bit unfortunate, but what area
would the senior sister like to discuss about?”
Ling Bi’er bit her lip slightly to hear this, a bit
disappointed, but she wasn’t the sort to force what she wanted on others.
Regret tinged her tone as she said, “Martial dao cultivation is an important
matter. In that case, I will not disturb you, junior brother. I’ll come call
upon you at the next opportunity then.”
“You flatter me greatly.” Jiang Chen hastily responded. “I’d
be more than delighted to engage in a discourse of pill dao reflection.”
Ling Hui’er couldn’t bear to hear them be so polite to each
other and spoke loudly, “Are you serious, senior brother Jiang Chen? A beauty
like my sister has come knocking to share thoughts with you, but you turn her
down! Are you a man or not?!”
Ling Bi’er flushed red when these words rang out as she
snapped, “Hui’er, what are you going on about?!”
Even Jiang Chen was feeling a bit awkward at these words.
“What, sis?? You speak bluntly to even Shen Qinghong. Don’t
think I don’t know that you rejected his invitation to be his dao partner!
Senior brother Jiang Chen, in my seventeen years of living, this is the first
time I’ve seen my sister speak to a boy first…”
“Ling Hui’er, Shut. Your. Mouth!” Ling Bi’er’s face had
frozen into a crimson mask as she looked like she wanted to crawl into a hole
in the ground.
This younger sister of hers, who wasn’t good enough to
accomplish anything but was more than enough to spoil things, was such a
buffoon! Ling Bi’er was experiencing the height of embarrassment.
“I won’t shut up! You always say I’m young and too small for
things. I’m 17 already! How am I too small!” Ling Hui’er grew more agitated as
she started to really feel her speech, and leaped up, sticking out her
impressive assets. “I’m even bigger than you in some areas!” She puffed out her
surging chest again.
Jiang Chen was instantly speechless. This Ling Hui’er really
dares to speak of anything!
Ling Bi’er just wanted to die in that moment. She had really
humiliated herself this time! Her idiot of a sister was trying to compare
chests with her in front of a young man!
Chapter 528: Ling Bi’er’s Trouble
Jiang Chen’s involuntary glance at Ling Bi’er’s chest when he
heard these words almost made her want to faint in shame.
Oh heavens!
She flushed crimson as she suppressed the urge to unsheathe
her sword and fall on it. Although Jiang Chen hadn’t meant to act frivolously
towards her, and his actions had been a natural reaction to her sister’s words,
she still felt like her body had been completely seen through by that look.
Jiang Chen coughed lightly when he saw how awkward the
situation was. “Please wait momentarily, I’ll be back with some snacks.”
He was a smart man, and knew that if he didn’t duck out of
sight at that moment, Ling Bi’er would be hard pressed to resolve things. She
held onto a chair for dear life after Jiang Chen left, slowly patting her chest
as she glared at her sister. “Hui’er, do you want to anger your sister to
death?”
Ling Hui’er thought nothing of it. “Sister, this senior
brother Jiang Chen is too wicked! When a beauty like you comes knocking at his
door, that’s such fortune that he’s spent several lifetimes cultivating for!
How dare he not give you face! Hmph! This kind of man deserves to be single for
his entire life!”
Ling Bi’er was completely speechless. She’d honestly only
come to trade reflections on pill dao, but now her sister had twisted her
intentions into seducing a man! How would the proud Ling Bi’er be willing to
accept this? “Ling Hui’er, if you spread any more groundless rumors, I’ll
ground you for three years of closed door cultivation after we get back!”
This was Ling Bi’er’s ultimate move, and it had the desired
effect. Ling Hui’er’s face changed drastically as she clapped one hand over her
mouth, a look of horrified panic on her face. “I won’t say anymore, sis! Hui’er
just thought that you felt something for senior brother Jiang Chen and so
wanted to give the two of you a push. It’s a perfect match; what’s not good
about it?”
Ling Hui’er hastily waved her hands with an ashen face as
her sister leveled a look that could kill at her. “I won’t say a single word
more, I promise!”
Ling Bi’er clutched her chest with her hands as her gentle,
tender face began to drain of color. Tears began to pool in her eyes. “Hui’er,
mama passed away early and papa ventured into all sorts of strange places to
support the two of us. Then he was afflicted with an exotic poison when I was
seven and you five. He grasped my hand on his sickbed and reminded me to bring
you up well and take good care of you. After we entered the Regal Pill Palace,
even the elders of the Herbal Hall were powerless in the face of this strange
poison. Do you truly understand the burden on our shoulders? I wanted to gain
some inspiration from Jiang Chen after observing that he is a rare genius in
pill dao, but you keep leading the conversation astray and speaking nonsense.
Do you think I don’t know senior brother Shen’s thoughts? Do you think I still
have any time for the follies between men and women? I will not marry as long
as papa is still afflicted with his poison. What would it matter if I were to
dedicate the rest of my life to whoever can cure papa? Hui’er, my reputation is
one thing when you start sprouting nonsense, but won’t that cause junior
brother Jiang Chen to think less of us? Won’t that make papa suffer some more?”
Ling Hui’er wasn’t a heartless person as her tears started
plopping down her face the more her sister talked. She grabbed onto her sister
as Ling Bi’er started sobbing. “Sister, I was wrong! Don’t cry, please? It’s
Hui’er who did wrong, Hui’er who acted poorly. I’ll listen carefully to you
from now on sister! I love papa too, Hui’er will be just like you! Hui’er will
dedicate the rest of her life to whoever can cure papa’s poison too!”
The two sisters hugged each other tightly and cried
together.
It was Ling Bi’er who came back to her senses first as she
suddenly realized how unseemly it was to be bawling like this in Jiang Chen’s
territory. She wrested her emotions under control with great effort and wiped
away the tear tracks that trailed down her cheeks before helping her younger
sister. “Don’t cry, Hui’er. No matter what, I’ll find the spirit herb that’s
the antidote to papa’s poison on Mt. Rippling Mirage this time.”
The two sisters were both a bit embarrassed for a while.
After all, this was Jiang Chen’s residence, and although he wasn’t with them at
the moment, it was still rather embarrassing for the two of them to have
engaged in a crying session like this. It was a good thing that it took a while
for Jiang Chen to return with some spirit fruits. The time had given the two
the chance to grasp some degree of equanimity.
“My apologies, junior brother Jiang Chen. Please excuse our
behavior.” Ling Bi’er’s voice was a bit subdued, whereas Ling Hui’er hid behind
her sister and looked at Jiang Chen with bright eyes.
“Junior sister Hui’er is cute and innocent, with a deeply endearing
temperament. Why would I have to excuse her behavior?”
Ling Bi’er’s clear eyes snuck a glance at Jiang Chen as she
sighed dejectedly. “Since junior brother Jiang Chen is about to go into closed
door cultivation, us two sisters will take our leave first.”
Ling Hui’er suddenly stepped out from behind her sister to
walk in front of Jiang Chen. “Senior brother Jiang Chen, since everyone says
you have the highest pill dao potential in the younger generation, do you dare
let me quiz you?”
Jiang Chen laughed heartily. “What would junior sister
Hui’er like to test me with?”
“Do you know of an unparalleled poison amongst the list of
rare and exotic poisons in the world called Divine Befuddlement Miasma?”
Jiang Chen started. Why would Ling Hui’er suddenly raise
this poison as a topic? He caught a sudden tremor running through Ling Bi’er’s
body in his peripheral vision as her sister brought it up. It seemed that she
was equally interested in this topic, but was just too embarrassed to bring it
up. He thought briefly, “I once heard a learned expert speak of all the rare
and exotic poisons in the world, and the Divine Befuddlement Miasma is hard
pressed even to rank in the top 100 out of all poisons that exist. It’s not a
particularly strong poison, so it seems a bit over the top to call it an
unparalleled poison, no?”
Ling Bi’er’s body shook again when these words were spoken,
barely managing to stay on her feet. Ling Hui’er however, had an incredulous
expression. “Not even in the top hundred? Senior brother Jiang Chen, are you
making stuff up? I’ve heard that no one can cure this Divine Befuddlement
Miasma!”
It truly was difficult for this poison to rank in the top
100, but perhaps it was a more obscure and hard to cure poison in the Divine
Abyss Continent. Jiang Chen smiled carelessly and nodded. “I only heard the
expert speak of it casually. Its rank may not be accurate.”
He naturally didn’t want to argue with a little girl.
Indeed, the slight expression that had appeared on Ling Bi’er’s face dimmed
immediately after he spoke these words, and Ling Hui’er hopped from foot to
foot in her anger. “How can you speak so firmly of things you’ve only heard
of?!”
Jiang Chen only smiled at Ling Hui’er’s censure. Arguing
with a little girl was a futile and exhaustive effort. He would never do
something so pointless.
Ling Bi’er however, was someone intelligent within and
beautiful without. When she saw Jiang Chen act thus, she guessed without a
doubt that there was something that he wasn’t speaking of. When she came to
this conclusion, she was struck by an impulse and blurted out, “Junior brother
Jiang Chen, did the expert you spoke of ever say if there was a way to cure
this poison?”
She was deathly afraid that Jiang Chen would think that she
wasn’t being sincere, so she solemnly performed the curtsy of one asking for
tutelage. “Junior brother Jiang Chen, Bi’er sincerely requests your knowledge
and will be gratified if I receive any pointers.”
Ling Bi’er was different from Ling Hui’er. If it’d been Ling
Hui’er, Jiang Chen certainly wouldn’t taken her seriously and just waved the
matter away. But Ling Bi’er wasn’t one to easily ask for help, and thus if she
did, it was a serious matter indeed.
Although Jiang Chen didn’t want the spotlight, Ling Bi’er
had come knocking and was requesting his aid so sincerely that he wasn’t at
liberty to continue to playing the fool. “I suppose one could identify the
Divine Befuddlement Miasma as an exotic poison. The crux of the poison’s
complexity lies in the fact that it’s an amalgamation of many poisonous gases.
There are even instances of various Miasmas coming together to form a unique
one. As such, the antidotes and cures required for each Miasma is also unique.
This complexity is why it is listed among the rare poisons. Those afflicted
with it will see their consciousness sink into a foggy state, spending their
days in a coma. If one has ways to extend life, then the patient can hang on.
But If the patient is poor and without such methods, then they are
unfortunately destined for death.”
Jiang Chen was familiar with the Miasma, and his words were
only the shallowest theories behind it. Yet these words were enough to send
Ling Bi’er’s chest heaving with feeling. If it wasn’t for the fact that she was
used to controlling her own emotions, she probably would’ve already burst into
tears.
In all these years, she had broken her heart with worry over
her father’s matter. She’d flipped through almost all of the tomes in the Regal
Pill Palace, but had never found an inkling of the cure to the Miasma. All
these years, she had held onto her belief in the cure, but her hopes had been
dashed year after year. She’d visited all of the elders in the Herbal Hall in
search of aid, and even Elder Yun Nie, one who had made slight study of the
Miasma, was helpless after seeing her father’s symptoms.
In the entire Myriad Domain, the sect most adept at poison
was the Walkabout Sect. She’d visited them in person once when she was 17.
However, no one had paid any attention to her there. There were a few elders
who seemed a bit interested, but placed the condition of taking Ling Bi’er to
be their dao partner and have her offer up her body first before coming to the
Regal Pill Palace for a look.
They only said they would take a look, and had left the
matter of whether or not they could cure her father untouched.
Ling Bi’er was the type who rather die to preserve her
chastity. Even a foreign man touching her hand would elicit a vehement reaction
from her strong personality, much less offering up her body. How would she ever
agree to using her body in exchange for a promise to come evaluate her father?
Of course, she never agreed to anything of the sort.
But from then on, she swore that she would even be willing
to become the servant of the one who could cure her father’s Miasma, and if no
one did, then she would remain chaste her entire life.
That vow was also a signal to those old men with lewd
thoughts in their heads that although she could sacrifice herself for her
father, she wasn’t a girl that anyone could easily philander. You will never
hoodwink me with a promise!
And now, she had received information about the Miasma from
a newly inducted disciple. Although it was just a few words, it was more
dependable than anyone she’d met before since Jiang Chen’s description of the
symptoms were an exact match for her father’s. It was as if he’d seen her
father with his own eyes. She was certain that Jiang Chen had absolutely not
known of her father’s matter before this.
The spark of hope that had been extinguished again and again
involuntarily flickered to life in her heart. She wasn’t willing to give up
even the slightest bit of hope. Her voice shook slightly as the anxiety for a
favor and worry of losing hope again warred in her expressive eyes. “Junior
brother Jiang Chen, according to what you say, is there a cure for the Miasma?”
She felt her entire body grow weak after asking this, barely
able to remain standing. The storm of emotions roiling through her made her
both anxious to know the results, and also deathly afraid that Jiang Chen would
say that there was no cure possible.
Chapter 529: A Crazy Ling Hui’er
Jiang Chen’s God’s Eye had long caught the hints that Ling
Bi’er had betrayed with her reactions. He quickly came to the conclusion that
someone related to her was afflicted with the Miasma. He naturally wouldn’t ask
who, but anyone who could cause a cold, reserved beauty such as her to lose her
composure would absolutely be someone she loved deeply.
Jiang Chen was a smart man and didn’t want to force the
situation, so he thought for a bit and nodded. “The Miasma is hard to cure. Ah,
to be more accurate, it’s not difficult to cure, but difficult to diagnose. If
one can come to a precise diagnosis, then the antidote is not hard to
engineer.”
A light flickered in Ling Bi’er’s eyes as her heart was awash
with roiling emotions. Indeed, Elder Yun Nie had said something of that nature
before, but he hadn’t been this clear about it. He'd only said that he was
unable to give a proper diagnosis for the Miasma. If he could, perhaps he could
come up with an antidote according to the symptoms.
Although the elder hadn’t been as straightforward as Jiang
Chen, their meaning was similar in that this was hard to diagnose. Conversely,
there was more hope in being able to come up with a cure if they were able to
pinpoint the causes.
Ling Bi’er stared blankly for a moment. She actually didn’t
know how to raise the question now that it was staring at her in the face. Beg
Jiang Chen to heal her father? Pledge to marry herself to him? These were
things that Ling Bi’er would be willing to swear to, but voicing such
embarrassing words in front of a young man was something she’d never be able to
do. One as young and handsome as Jiang Chen made it even more difficult for her
to broach the subject.
It was rather Ling Hui’er with her happy obliviousness who
looked at Jiang Chen up and down with a bit of an assessing gaze. “Senior
brother Jiang Chen, speak honestly, do you know of the vow that my sister once
swore?”
Jiang Chen was completely baffled, and had no idea what she
was talking about. “What vow?”
Ling Hui’er’s jaw dropped. She wasn’t sure if Jiang Chen was
acting, or that he really didn’t know. But she came up with another brilliant
idea with a cock of her head. She smiled mischievously and flashed an
exceedingly cute smile. “Senior brother Jiang Chen, do you think Hui’er is
cute?”
Jiang Chen rubbed his nose, completely unused to Ling
Hui’er’s style. Why is she suddenly asking whether she’s cute or not? Of
course, he was well aware of how disastrous it’d be for him if he dared say
that a girl wasn’t cute. He could only nod, “Junior sister Hui’er is innocent
and cute, the epitome of a child’s heart. Naturally you are very cute.”
“Then would you smile even in your dreams if such a cute
Hui’er became a maid for you to order about?” Ling Hui’er giggled but her eyes
were fixed intently on Jiang Chen’s face. “You’re not allowed to change the
topic; this is a very serious question! You must answer!”
Jiang Chen didn’t know whether to laugh and cry. “Junior
sister Hui’er has immense potential and is doing just fine in the sect. Why
would you want to be my maid? If I order you about as my maid, how many
geniuses would come fight me to the death for doing so?”
Ling Hui’er became even prouder when she heard Jiang Chen’s
words and puffed out her chest. “What business is it of theirs? What can they
do if I’m doing what I like?” She then flashed what she thought was a crafty
smile. “Senior brother Jiang Chen, if you help me, Hui’er will be your maid in
the future! You can have me warm the bed if you want, or ask me to serve you in
bed too. You can do whatever you want~”
Ling Bi’er was aghast at these words. “Hui’er, what are you
blathering on about!?”
Ling Hui’er wasn’t willing to back down. “Sister, do you
think you’re the only one who’s worried about papa? Can’t Hui’er do something
for papa? Being a maid for senior brother Jiang Chen is so much better than
serving those gross, old bats!”
Jiang Chen couldn’t bear to listen any longer as he smiled
ruefully. “Hold on, junior sister Hui’er. Please, what favor is it that you’d
like of me? I’ll help you if I can, but speak no more of being a maid. I don’t
want to lose years off my life!”
Please. If I have the most popular sisters in the Regal Pill
Palace serve as my maids, I’d become public enemy number one!
Ling Hui’er smiled charmingly and flashed a proud smirk at
her sister. “Do you see that, sis? You twisted and turned and beat around the
bush so much, but none of that was as useful as Hui’er’s direct honeypot! I
told you senior brother Jiang Chen is a good man and he’d help! You should’ve
just spoken directly.”
Ling Bi’er sighed lightly. If this was an ordinary matter,
she would’ve shut Ling Hui’er down by now for speaking like thus. It wasn’t
that she didn’t want to cut straight to the heart of the matter, but that her
personality destined her to be unable to speak as wildly as her younger sister,
completely carefree. “Junior brother Jiang Chen, I’m sure you’ve guessed some
of what’s at hand here. My father mistakenly ventured into a taboo zone when I
was young and happened to be struck by the Divine Befuddlement Miasma. He slept
groggily for a few days after he returned and has since been lost in a coma.
More than a decade has passed now and us two sisters have been completely
powerless after trying all the ideas we had. If junior brother Jiang Chen has
any ideas, Bi’er will be happy to repay you even if I am to be a cow or horse
for the rest of my life.”
Ling Bi’er immediately flushed crimson after speaking these
words. The scarlet shade crept all the way to the back of her ears and even
down to the nape of her neck.
Jiang Chen could tell that these two sisters weren’t putting
on a show. One was sincere, and the other direct. He could tell from the looks
in their eyes that they had indeed tried everything over these years. Jiang
Chen wasn’t the sort to leave someone in the lurch, not to mention they were of
his sect. “Senior sister Ling, the Miasma is indeed hard to diagnose, and I
don’t dare make any guarantees. However, I will pay a visit after my seclusion
to make plans after assessing your father’s condition. I promise that I will
try my best as long as I am able to.”
The Divine Befuddlement Miasma wasn’t a typical poison, so
Jiang Chen didn’t quite promise he’d heal the patient before seeing him.
Ling Bi’er was overjoyed at hearing these words and nodded
rapidly. “Mmhmm! We will be deeply grateful as long as junior brother Jiang
Chen goes to take a look, even if you cannot heal our father.”
Jiang Chen waved his hand. “Speak not so gravely; it’s but a
small matter.”
Ling Bi’er knew that Jiang Chen was going into closed door
cultivation and politely took her leave with her sister.
Jiang Chen was in no mood to keep entertaining guests as
he’d set his goal of reaching fifth level origin realm before the Pill Battles.
After all, an additional bit of strength in the Pill Battles would entail a
greater chance of winning.
After seeing the Ling sisters out, he was about to turn
around when he heard the patter of footsteps behind him and saw that Ling
Hui’er had snuck back. Her face was red with exertion and she had a somewhat
odd expression on her face. The beautiful scenery on her chest trembled as she
jogged, giving others the impression of great motion. “Senior brother Jiang
Chen, can I talk to you?”
Jiang Chen was puzzled as Ling Hui’er dragged him behind a
patch of trees before he could open his mouth. “What is it, junior sister
Hui’er?”
Ling Hui’er bit her thin lip lightly as tears swam in her
large eyes, seemingly conflicted. She suddenly grabbed Jiang Chen’s hand and
pressed it onto her full chest. “Senior brother Jiang Chen, take a good feel.
Hui’er is the real deal! If you can cure my papa, Hui’er will let senior
brother Jiang Chen feel whenever you’d like in the future.”
Jiang Chen wasn’t a sanctimonious person, but as his hand
was pressed into Hui’er’s well rounded chest and he felt how springy it was, he
felt that he was committing a crime as he looked into her still young face at
seventeen years old. His expression shifted as he snatched his hand back like he’d
stuck it into lightning. “Junior sister Hui’er, you don’t need to be thus.”
Ling Hui’er didn’t understand as a somewhat lost expression
appeared on her face. She seemed to be frightened to the point of tears by
Jiang Chen’s move. “Senior brother Jiang Chen, when I listened in on the other
senior brothers, they all say that they like this part of a girl. Don’t you
like it?”
Jiang Chen laughed ruefully. If one were to describe this
girl as clever and someone to think out of the box, then alright, that was
indeed her. But when she behaved naively… she was simple almost to the point of
being idiotic.
“Senior brother Jiang Chen, do you think Hui’er is being too
easy? It’s not like that! Apart from Hui’er, no one else has touched me here!
This is just paying interest up front. Senior brother Jiang Chen will try your
best to cure papa only after you’ve tried the goods. Hui’er promises that no
matter who it is in the future, Hui’er won’t let anyone else touch me here…”
She then seemed to think that her words weren’t solemn
enough as she then added on, “Only a senior brother Jiang Chen who’s cured my
papa can do so.”
Jiang Chen wasn’t a saint. He’d had some normal reactions
after Ling Hui’er had said so much, but reason still won out in the end. He
paused, focused his attentions, and spoke seriously, “Since I’ve promised you,
junior sister Hui’er, then I will surely try my best. Hurry and go back; don’t
let senior sister Bi’er worry.” He was worried that Ling Hui’er would do more
crazy things and hurriedly turned to walk away after saying thing.
Ling Hui’er hurried to catch up and spoke a bit urgently,
“Senior brother Jiang Chen, do you not like Hui’er? Even if you don’t, my
sister made a vow that if you can cure papa, she‘ll serve you for the rest of
her life as well!”
What in absolute tarnation! Jiang Chen couldn’t hold up
beneath this onslaught anymore and formed a wall of air with a sweep of his
hand, blocking Ling Hui’er from advancing. “Go back first, junior sister
Hui’er. Let’s talk about this in the future.” Jiang Chen was now truly afraid
of this thickheaded girl. She was really willing to say just about anything!
Ling Hui’er immediately halted and cocked her head to the
side, bursting out in a giggle, “What are you being shy for, senior brother?
Let me tell you something, although sis isn’t as big as me there, she’s not
small either. Hehe, she never let me bathe with her, but I’ve taken a peek
before. Sis’ body…”
Her expression suddenly changed as her words tumbled out of
her mouth, and she clapped a hand over her mouth. Her smile froze as she smiled
in a way that was uglier than crying, “When did you come back, sis?”
If it’d been any ordinary time, Ling Bi’er would’ve grounded
her for three months of seclusion for spouting all this crazy nonsense. But
already weary from everything that’d happened, she only sighed. “Hui’er, junior
brother Jiang Chen is going into closed door cultivation. Stop bothering him
and come back to the residence with me.” She didn’t care if her sister had
agreed or not after she spoke and grabbed Ling Hui’er’s belt, drifting away
like she was picking up a chick.
It was odd. Had it been in normal times, Ling Bi’er would’ve
been the personification of rage and embarrassment had she heard her younger
sister speak to other young men of her chest and sneaking peeks at her bathing.
But now, she was uncharacteristically calm.
She’d actually seen all of her sister’s actions, and had
clearly seen Jiang Chen’s reactions. She’d borne clear witness to how he hadn’t
taken advantage of the situation. In her heart of hearts, Ling Bi’er had to
admit that Jiang Chen was a true gentleman. He wasn’t expecting something for
his help, and wasn’t making use of the situation to scheme and lay claim to their
bodies like those lecherous old men.
However—
A woman’s personality was just so odd sometimes.
The more Jiang Chen acted thus, the more Ling Bi’er pitied
herself. She only felt that despite others venerating herself and her sister,
the two of them were nothing more than ordinary fellow disciples in his eyes.
His promise and words had only been because they were of the same sect. It was
not because of any other reason or any thoughts about them that he’d agreed to
take a look at their papa.
Chapter 530: Fifth Level Origin Realm
Thanks to this pair of sisters, one as cold as frost and the
other as innocent as a newborn, Jiang Chen was now a bit worse for the wear. He
cleared his mind before raising his head with a rueful smile, lifting a foot
and preparing to enter closed door cultivation. His ears suddenly twitched as
he shot a look towards the dense forest. “Who is it?”
Scattered yet leisurely footsteps sounded from the trees as
a slender, pale arm lightly lifted aside a tree branch and revealed a charming
figure.
“Miss Huang’er?”
The slender girl was wearing a pale green robe, and her
other arm was hooked into a bamboo woven basket. It was obvious that she’d been
picking something in the woods.
The current Huang'er was wearing a mask that neatly hid her
face. The faint mist of the woods wreathed around her lithe body as if
unfurling from her very being, subtly hinting at an ethereal, celestial
bearing.
Jiang Chen was stunned. He’d seen everything beneath the
heavens in his past life and had made the acquaintance of many wondrous girls
in this life as well. The sexy and direct Gouyu, the demure and noble Dan Fei,
the gentle and shy Wen Ziqi, the icily removed Ling Bi’er from earlier and the
innocent and naive Ling Hui’er were all examples of stunning, rare beauties of
this world. Yet, it was this exceedingly ugly, young girl hiding behind her
mask who was now causing Jiang Chen to lose his composure.
He lost himself to thought. The people of the world liked to
compare girls with unusual bearing to deities, but Jiang Chen had to admit that
if it came to one who seemed like a god, the current Huang'er was the most
perfect representative he could think of.
If one set aside the matter of her features, Huang’er’s
refreshing and otherworldly demeanor made her seem like she’d walked out of a
painting. Her refined and tasteful behavior, along with her charming manner and
grace, truly make her seem like a fairy. A portion of her pure, white arm was
currently revealed as she floated over on dainty footsteps that seemed to be
unsullied by dust. It was incredibly difficult to describe her, as if one
really had set foot into a painting. “Sir Jiang, there are some flora within
the woods that Huang'er likes very much. I’d like to take some back to plant,
but seemed to have alarmed you instead.”
Huang’er’s voice was gracious and suffused with a sense of
compassion, lifting the mood of those who heard up to a happy lightheartedness.
Jiang Chen was feeling a bit guilty at the moment as he
chuckled, “Then I won’t disturb Miss Huang’er.” He waved his hand as he
finished speaking and strode back in.
Huang’er dimpled, focusing her gaze on the somewhat
bedraggled Jiang Chen. Hints of a kind smile appeared in her eyes, as if
thinking this version of Jiang Chen was more interesting. “Sir Jiang is a
rather honest gentleman. The Ling sisters each have their own strengths, and to
see them is to love them. It’s quite rare that Sir Jiang can treat them with
such courtesy.”
She’d actually seen all of Ling Hui’er’s actions from far
away, and for some reason, a trace of emotion had rippled through her serene
heart in that moment. But when she saw Jiang Chen jerk his hand away and not act
with abandon like an ordinary, frivolous man, a hint of happiness actually
flashed through her heart. She didn’t think this was her bearing any feelings
for Jiang Chen, but more a sense of admiration for his actions. However, these
were all just thoughts in her mind. With how empathetic she was and her bearing
as a girl from a cultured family, she would never tease Jiang Chen with this.
If it’d been Dan Fei, she would’ve absolutely grown jealous
and spoken a few noncommittal words in teasing jest.
If it’d been Gouyu, she would’ve formed some biases against
Ling Hui’er even if she hadn’t said anything.
Only Huang'er had ever so kindly changed the topic, saying
that she was here picking spirit herbs. It was plain to see that she was afraid
that Jiang Chen would worry that she’d seen something and would be embarrassed
because of the misunderstanding. One had to say, her sympathetic gesture had
given Jiang Chen an opportunity to resolve the situation without having to
leave awkwardly.
……
After returning to his training grounds, Jiang Chen sat down
cross legged and meditated for a while before clearing out all of the random
thoughts in his heart. After all of his beautiful emotions had been dispelled,
what left the deepest impression on Jiang Chen’s heart wasn’t Ling Hui’er’s
full, buoyant chest, but Huang'er's stunningly elegant image.
He’d actually felt his heart pound with emotion then.
It was as if that feeling had always been there, a stirring
of the heart that had seemed destined to happen in that moment and
circumstance. However, Jiang Chen wasn’t the sort to lose himself in a
daydream. The experiences of two lifetimes had long since left him in control
of his emotions.
“My task at hand is to assail the fifth level origin realm. I
can’t be distracted any longer. The Pill Battles of Mt. Rippling Mirage will be
a meeting of masters, and it is certain that strong experts will arrive en
masse. Each additional increase in strength is one additional bit of ability to
my name.” As Jiang Chen’s thoughts reached its natural end, he fished out some
Origin Fostering Pills and origin spirit stones to begin his training.
Assimilating the Firelizard core had filled him with
abundant spirit energy. Add to that the pills and stones, he had no need to
make use of the dragon crystals at all. To be honest, when it came to origin
qi, the dragon crystals were by far superior to the stones and pills. However,
he didn’t want to use them for now. It would be a waste of such supreme
material if one were to refine it for the fifth level origin realm. It wouldn’t
be too late to use the crystals when he was at sixth level origin realm and
attempting to reach the sky origin realm. To Jiang Chen, breaking through to
the fifth level after biding his time and efforts for so long was only a matter
of time.
He successfully broke through to fifth level origin realm
after roughly twenty days and could feel the noticeable increase of origin
spirit power in his body. He believed that if he faced off against the eighth
level Rong Zifeng in his current state, he would have at least a fifty to sixty
percent chance of winning.
Jiang Chen spent another three days consolidating his new
level and enhancing all of his techniques and methods. As one’s cultivation
level increased, all of one’s techniques would absolutely improve as well. What
Jiang Chen hadn’t thought would happen was that he seemed to sense the pulses
of the Golden Cicada bloodline. It seemed as if the Cicada Wing was about to
appear.
“Haha, it looks like I perfectly assimilated the Cicada
bloodline! If all goes to plan, I’ll be able to utilize the Cicada Wing when I
break through to sixth level origin realm. If I can make it into the sky origin
realm, the Cicada Wing would add to my abilities as if giving wings to a tiger,
allowing me to fly. What fear would I have of mortal sage realm cultivators
then?”
If human cultivators wanted to fly, the sage realm was the
starting point. Those at the mortal sage realm could fly for a short time, and
even longer in the earth sage realm. At that point, even aerial fighting was
possible. True freedom in the skies would come upon reaching the sky sage
realm. However, no matter what stage one was at, flying was an activity that
posed an excessive drain on origin power.
The Cicada Wing would grant him a pair of invisible wings on
his back, making flight one of his own abilities. Being his own ability, it
would not consume any origin power at all. This would be an absolutely lethal
trump card up Jiang Chen’s sleeve.
“The sky origin realm!” When Jiang Chen thought of the
benefits of entering the sky origin realm, he could only shiver in
anticipation. Once he entered that realm, not only would he be able to train
the Cicada Wing, he’d also be able to refine the magnetic golden mountain and
truly turn it into a treasure for his own use.
He thought about how suddenly summoning a mountain in the
midst of battle would result in an unforgettably lethal effect when he
challenged those greater than him, not to mention his peers, given the strong
magnetic power of this treasure and the mountain’s own weight. And if he could
summon the Lord of the Golden Seal in its strongest form, his battle strength
would be even more astonishing!
Even Jiang Chen himself didn’t know how much potential lay
within the Lord of the Golden Seal, and how frightening his final form would
be. But he could predict that the potential of the mountain would only be
equal, if not greater, to the potential of the Lord of the Golden Seal.
Jiang Chen was inwardly brimming with expectation.
He took a look around after emerging from closed door
cultivation and noticed that those around him had also drastically improved
their cultivation during his closed door session. Gouyu and Xue Tong had
consolidated their cultivation in the first level origin realm, whereas a new
flower had bloomed on the old tree that was Ye Chonglou. After receiving so
much attention and help from Jiang Chen, his cultivation had risen greatly as
well, making him a fourth level origin realm cultivator.
The others such as Guo Jin and the Qiao brothers were also
showing signs of breaking through to the origin realm. It was truly a scene of
prosperity and growth.
There were only seven days left until the retinue set out
for the Pill Battles. Jiang Chen didn’t forget his promise to the Ling sisters,
and sent a message glyph over to Ling Bi’er’s residence.
She quickly appeared at the door to welcome him in, but Ling
Hui’er was nowhere to be found this time. “Junior brother Jiang Chen, Hui’er is
young and has committed many ludicrous acts. Please forgive her nonsensical
words. I’ve shut her in for half a year’s worth of closed door cultivation, and
she’s not allowed to set one foot out of the residence before I come back from
Mt. Rippling Mirage.” Ling Bi’er displayed the air of a stern sister.
Circumstances change with the passage of time, and Jiang
Chen was an easy going person who’d long since forgotten the matters of that
day. He smiled slightly. “Junior sister Hui’er still retains the heart of a
child. It’s not a major concern if she makes the occasional startling
statement. Please go ahead, senior sister.”
Ling Bi’er nodded slightly and took the lead, showing Jiang
Chen the way into her residence. She was obviously one of those who cared a
great deal about her reputation, as she kept a certain distance even when
walking with Jiang Chen. It wasn’t that she was predisposed against Jiang Chen;
it was simply her natural personality.
Ling Bi’er’s residence was different from Jiang Chen’s grand
style. It was much more exquisite, the mood as quiet and beautiful as a fairy
realm.
The two sister’s father was named Ling Su, and he looked to
be around forty years old. However, his long coma had left him with a wan
complexion, making him appear as haggard as the withered branches of a tree. If
it wasn’t for the faint hint of breath about him, one would almost wonder if
this was a corpse.
Jiang Chen took out a set of silver needles from his storage
ring and placed them into Ling Su’s body, then sent his consciousness to probe
the patient.
“Don’t do that junior brother Jiang Chen! The Miasma is
within my father’s consciousness. It could infect you.”
If it was any other pill master or alchemist, they never
would’ve dared to rashly probe the patient with their consciousness, because
the Miasma was highly infectious. It would spread as soon as another
consciousness touched it.
However, Jiang Chen was prepared. The Cicada’s bloodline
would render him impervious to all poisons, and that didn’t account for all the
methods at his disposal for avoiding poison in the first place. The Miasma
wouldn’t find an opening from him.
The greatest barrier to curing Ling Su was the inability to
probe his body with consciousness. No great pill master, including even Elder
Yun Nie, was willing to risk their consciousness in a probe. This was why they
hadn’t been able to suggest a treatment of the symptoms.
Jiang Chen smiled slightly and spread out his hands. “Senior
sister Bi’er has no need to worry about me, I have my own methods to avoid the
poison. There can be no cure for your father if we cannot inspect him with our
consciousness.”
