Heavenly Jewel Change
chapter-248-2

In addition, Zhou Weiqing had only Devoured a tiny part of her energy. He hadn’t actually affected Dreamwake’s core essence. Dreamwake would only need a few days to recover, as her core essence would allow her to quickly reach her normal peak power.

If he truly managed to devour a Heavenly Emperor’s Heavenly Energy and core essence then convert it into Saint Energy, Zhou Weiqing’s cultivation base would probably instantly skyrocket into the Heavenly King stage.

But of course, this was a virtually impossible task. First of all, his body might not be able to endure it, and more importantly there was no way he could resist a Heavenly Emperor powerhouse.

Even so, he had benefited enormously from today’s battle. After completely transforming the Heavenly Energy he had Devoured from Dreamwake into Saint Energy and then fusing it into his own Saint Energy, Zhou Weiqing realized that he had saved at least three months worth of hard cultivation.

In truth, if Dreamwake had immediately acted to employ her Heavenly Emperor energy to resist Zhou Weiqing, the latter would’ve only been able to employ his Devour skill for a brief instant. However, she had a bet with Zhou Weiqing! She had also been thoroughly shocked by the perverted Zhou Little Fatty using his ‘Something Something’ Dragon Claws. Not only had this resulted in her ‘allowing’ him to Devour her energies for an extended period of time, she had nearly lost control over herself from the provocations to her body. She had wanted to take revenge on Zhou Weiqing by challenging him to this fight, but instead the one who came out the worse was herself, a Heavenly Emperor.

After this day, Zhou Weiqing didn’t see Dreamwake for the next month. It was for the best. That way, he wouldn’t be beaten again. He had to suppress his energy when he fought her and he couldn’t even use his Saint Energy, which was a miserable feeling. He thus chose to instead stay in his room and continue to cultivate alongside Shangguan Bing’er.

Although it wasn’t as effective as when he cultivated with Tian’er, the Saint Energy in his body had after all already formed a complete circuit. He still improved quite quickly… but after reaching the nine-Jeweled stage, each breakthrough required an enormous amount of Heavenly Energy. To break through from the thirty-seventh level to the thirty-eighth level required an enormous accumulation of energy.

Zhou Weiqing also obliquely scouted about for information. Ever since they had met and spoken with the Tenebrous Demon Dragon, the entire Xuantian Palace had been in a state of bustling preparation. All ships that had been preparing to go out to sea were temporarily grounded, as the entire Xuantian Palace leapt into high gear.

“Consecrated Zhou.” A familiar voice rang out from outside. It wasn’t Dreamwake’s voice.

Zhou Weiqing opened his door, welcoming in his fellow God Tier Consolidating Equipment Master, ‘Nie Han’.

Nie Han glanced at Zhou Weiqing, then chuckled. “Consecrated Zhou, you are very good at enduring boredom! Ever since you entered Xuantian Palace, you have yet to leave a single time. You usually don’t even go outside. It is rare for young people like yourself to be able to endure boredom and train so hard. No wonder you’ve reached your current level of accomplishments.”

Zhou Weiqing smiled. “Compared to yourself and the various Elders, I’m still far from being a match. How can I not train hard?” But in his heart, he actually thought something different. What’s the point of leaving? To simply make Xuantian Palace’s people follow and spy on me? Compared to the Boundless Mainland, the Xuantian Continent is quite lacking. If it wasn’t for the Spatial Teleportation Gem, who would be willing to come to this place? Besides, I might end up needing to fight these powerhouses of Xuantian Palace at a moment’s notice. If I don’t train hard, how am I going to be able to safely survive all these dangers?

“Consecrated Nie, are you prepared to go hunt the Terror Sea Dragon? I’ve been eagerly looking forward to it. We’ve been preparing for quite some time,” Zhou Weiqing said.

Nie Han said, “I’ve come to notify you that five days from now, we’ll head out to hunt down that Terror Sea Dragon. The Palace Lord’s opinion is that it is best for you to stand guard at home.” Although Nie Han didn’t say it aloud, Zhou Weiqing could tell that they were worried that he was too weak.

Zhou Weiqing chuckled. “Chances like this come once in a lifetime. That senior, the Tenebrous Demon Dragon, promised to protect me. If I chose to retreat at a time like this, how would that senior view me? I’m definitely going to go. Don’t try to dissuade me, Consecrated Nie. However, my humble wife won’t be accompanying us.”

Nie Han nodded. “Very well. I came to notify you of what is about to happen. Since you have made up your mind, make your preparations. We are heading out in five days. I need to go discuss our strategies with the other Grand Elders.”

Zhou Weiqing watched as Nie Han left, then closed to door. His eyes then flickered briefly. Finally. They had waited for so long, but the day had finally come.

Shangguan Bing’er walked over to Zhou Weiqing. She took his large hand into her own, then sent mentally, “They seem to think very little of you. They aren’t even inviting you into their discussion as to how to handle the Terror Sea Dragon. Little Fatty, I keep on having a bad feeling about this. I think you shouldn’t go with them.”

Zhou Weiqing wrapped his arms around her, placing a tender kiss upon her red lips. “Silly girl. So many powerhouses will be present. If push comes to shove, I’ll just avoid taking part. Do you really think that your husband isn’t even strong enough to protect himself?”

Shangguan Bing’er raised her head, staring at him earnestly. “Little Fatty, I need you to remember something. If you die, I definitely won’t live on by myself.”

Zhou Weiqing’s heart clenched hard. His grip around Shangguan Bing’er instantly grew a bit tighter as well.

Five days passed in the blink of an eye. On the morning of the sixth day, Nie Han personally came to summon Zhou Weiqing. All of them headed to the cliffs outside Xuantian Palace.

Shangguan Bing’er came to send them off as well. Often times, men would make decisions that their women couldn’t stop. Even though she felt rather uncomfortable about this, she didn’t try to dissuade him any further. She too believed that given Zhou Weiqing’s cultivation, it wouldn’t be too hard for him to extricate himself.

The others who had appeared at the cliff included the powerhouses of Xuantian Palace, including Palace Lord Dong Fang, the four Grand Elders, and the twelve Elders. Dreamwake, who Zhou Weiqing hadn’t seen for many days, naturally was present as well. However, Dreamwake didn’t even seem to recognize him. She didn’t so much as look at him. Given how many people were present, Zhou Weiqing couldn’t exactly run up to her and greet her either.

After seeing that everyone was ready, the Palace Lord said in a low voice, “Give the signal.”

The Water Elder lifted up his hand, unleashing a streak of black light that bound into the depths. Moments later a low draconic roar rang out from below them, then began to rise upwards. The atmospheric energies around them instantly began to grow restless.

The Elders of Xuantian Palace all grew solemn, their faces filled with respect. Less than ten seconds later, the Tenebrous Demon Dragon’s vast body suddenly shot into the skies above them. Its vast wings looked like giant black stormclouds, propelling its great body into the skies. It circled around the people present, then gradually descended before them.

The Xuantian Palace Lord led everyone in calling out loudly, “Greetings, Lord Demon Dragon.”

“Mm.” The Tenebrous Demon Dragon let out a snort, its enormous draconic eyes actually focusing on Zhou Weiqing. It nodded at him briefly, then said in a thunderous voice, “All of you, climb aboard.”

“Understood,” the Xuantian Palace Lord said, then led the others in vaulting onto the Tenebrous Demon Dragon’s back.

Zhou Weiqing, however, discovered that not all the Elders boarded the dragon. Only six of the twelve Heavenly Kings boarded, with the other six remaining in front of Xuantian Palace. Clearly, they were going to stay behind and stand guard.

Although Zhou Weiqing felt surprised, he didn’t reveal it. He just turned to glance at Shangguan Bing’er, giving her a look.

Zhou Weiqing had originally judged that given how powerful the Terror Sea Dragon was, Xuantian Palace would send out all of its forces to fight it. Xuantian Palace didn’t have any foes in the Xuantian Continent, after all; it didn’t need too many powerhouses to defend its home. If this was the case, then once Zhou Weiqing acquired the Spatial Teleportation Gem he would immediately notify Shangguan Bing’er. If she wanted to leave, the remaining guards would be hard-pressed to stop her. However, now the situation was different. There were six Heavenly King powerhouses standing guard. Given her cultivation base, even with her Wings of the Wind God it would still be rather hard for her to escape. Zhou Weiqing’s glance was meant to tell her to be careful.

Shangguan Bing’er nodded casually.

Although Xuantian Palace hadn’t fully mobilized, they had definitely unleashed the brunt of their power. Xuantian Palace Lord Dong Fang led this squad, which included three God Tier Consolidating Equipment Masters (including Zhou Weiqing), four Grand Elders, and six ordinary Elders. The fourteen of them, when matched with the Heavenly God Tenebrous Demon Dragon, definitely constituted over 90% of Xuantian Palace’s full power.

The Tenebrous Demon Dragon’s body was more than large enough to seat ten-plus people without anyone feeling cramped for space. It beat its enormous wings, instantly sending itself soaring into the western skies.

Although this wasn’t the first time Zhou Weiqing had seen a great dragon, this was his first time riding on a great dragon’s back. The Tenebrous Demon Dragon’s back was covered with many protruding ridges, with just enough space for each of them to sit between the ridges. Given their respective cultivation bases, they were able to remain seated quite stably atop the Tenebrous Demon Dragon’s back.

This was the first time Zhou Weiqing had been in such close proximity to a Heavenly God powerhouse. As the Tenebrous Demon Dragon soared into the skies, his heart was filled with awe.

As the Tenebrous Demon Dragon soared upwards, it became surrounded with many dark storm clouds. Zhou Weiqing was able to use the powerful sensing abilities granted by his Saint Energy to clearly discern that the clouds were naturally generated within the atmosphere, rather than summoned by the Tenebrous Demon Dragon’s power.

Of course, these were not real ‘storm clouds’. Instead, it was pure Darkness Attribute energy mixed with Evil Attribute energy, which formed Tenebrous Demon Clouds which materialized due to the Tenebrous Demon Dragon’s natural energies. It was as though this vast dragon had become the absolute hegemon of the world around it.

As for the wind? They could only support the Tenebrous Demon Dragon’s great bulk, not resist it or blow against it in the slightest.

This was what truly mighty power was like! Even though the Tenebrous Demon Dragon was carrying at least six Heavenly Emperors on its back, Dreamwake included, Zhou Weiqing could clearly sense that before a Heavenly God, Heavenly Emperors were like children who had just learned how to walk. All of them combined wouldn’t be a match for this Tenebrous Demon Dragon.