Immortal and Martial Dual Cultivation
chapter-764

Trapped

Xiao Chen looked at the stone door made of Heavenly Cloud Stone. He did not move immediately but instead said calmly, “You can give me the Breaking Sage Pill’s Alchemic Recipe already, right?”

Strange. Is this lady’s charm really not comparable to that little fox’s?

Naturally, Nangong Qiong did not care about the Breaking Sage Pill. She merely felt somewhat displeased at Xiao Chen risking offending Yan Shisan for the sake of Xiao Bai, not caring about the consequences.

Nangong Qiong wanted to test Xiao Chen. Who would have imagined that he would not fall for her charms? However, this was just a common thought of a girl; it did not mean that she liked him.

Xiao Chen’s heart thumped loudly as he received the Breaking Sage Pill’s Alchemic Recipe. However, his expression did not change, not letting Nangong Qiong suspect its importance.

He walked up to the Heavenly Cloud Stone door and directly burned his Vital Qi. His bones gave off crackling sounds as he tightly clenched his right fist.

When Xiao Chen felt the energy gather in his fist, he shouted a warcry and threw a punch.

A fist wind howled like the roar of thunder. When he hit the Heavenly Cloud Stone, it gave off a loud ‘boom’ and shattered into countless shards flying everywhere. A strange light lit in Nangong Qiong’s eyes as she casually waved her hand, blowing the stones rushing at her to one side.

“Chi! Chi!”

The moment the stone door crumbled, a piercing buzz came from inside. The sharp sound contained a heavy Emperor’s Might, which directly infiltrated the sea of consciousness.

The strength of this Emperor’s Might was in no way comparable to what the painting pieces contained. Caught off guard, Xiao Chen could not help taking a few steps back.

Only after circulating his Mental Energy did he manage to block the Emperor’s Might and return to normal.

On the other hand, Nangong Qiong seemed like she had expected it. While Xiao Chen retreated, she had advanced, entering the central control hall behind the stone door.

“Haha! A man who is never content is like a snake trying to swallow an elephant. I knew that this would be the ending.”

Nangong Qiong’s unfeeling voice came from inside. Xiao Chen stepped forward to take a look and discovered a corpse lying by the wall of this control hall filled with all sorts of formations. The blood on the corpse’s lips had not dried yet, and the corpse’s eyes were opened wide in apparent dissatisfaction.

A good look at the corpse’s face revealed it was actually the Heavenly Roc Race’s Young Race Chief, Ming Yu!

A Heavenly Roc made from the core painting piece flew around the room, circling as it flapped its wings. It gave off a faint radiance as Emperor's Might flooded the entire hall.

If Xiao Chen guessed correctly, Ming Yu had died as a result of not having enough strength when he tried to subdue the core painting piece.

“Young Master Xiao Chen, will you help me subdue this core painting piece?” Nangong Qiong smiled embarrassedly as she walked over to Xiao Chen.

However, Xiao Chen had never said that he would let Nangong Qiong have the core painting piece.

The deal between them ended when Nangong Qiong handed over the Breaking Sage Pill’s Alchemic Recipe and Xiao Chen broke open the Heavenly Cloud Stone door.

“Pu ci!”

Right after Nangong Qiong said that, she arrived before Xiao Chen and suddenly attacked. The Sage Grade umbrella’s Heavenly Sage Laws danced around wildly.

Boundless Spiritual Energy rushed into the umbrella and turned into surging Quintessence, giving off a dazzling red glow.

Nangong Qiong attacked without warning. There was no killing Qi or Quintessence fluctuation. She was fast, ruthless, and accurate, and did not hold back at all. She wanted to deal a fatal blow and severely injure Xiao Chen.

However, along the way, Xiao Chen had always kept his guard up against her. As long as she got within ten meters of him, he would circulate his Quintessence in anticipation of a move from her.

The instant she attacked, he reacted practically simultaneously, quickly retreating. He stomped on the ground, producing horrible crunching sounds and leaving behind afterimages.

Nangong Qiong used her umbrella like a sword and thrust it forward, scattering all the afterimages. She had a cold expression as she chased tightly after Xiao Chen. With the wall right behind him, he would not be able to keep moving back for long.

Indeed, Xiao Chen could not retreat any farther. However, he never intended to. He merely wanted to put some distance between them and tempt Nangong Qiong to continue in pursuit.

The rebound from the Taiji Yinyang Flame Diagram would not be easy to bear.

Xiao Chen’s eyes glowed, one white and one purple. Two beams of light flew out and chased each other. Suddenly, they formed a Taiji Diagram.

Yinyang, four divisions, eight trigrams appeared around the Taiji Yinyang Flame Diagram, and a world was contained within it.

“Bang!”

The umbrella crashed violently against the Taiji Yinyang Flame Diagram. Suddenly, a golden light shone, and vast energy surged out, reducing several of the decorations in the central control hall to dust.

Above them, the Heavenly Roc filled with spirituality sensed a dangerous aura. It spread its wings and flew out the stone doorway.

An even greater surge of Quintessence bounced back from the Taiji Diagram. Nangong Qiong’s pupils constricted, and blood leaked out of her mouth as she flew back with a pale face.

Her feet pushed against a wall as she opened up her umbrella. With a wan complexion, she stared at the slowly fading Taiji Yinyang Flame Diagram, clearly shocked.

“Young Master Xiao is so insensitive. To think you are willing to be this ruthless with a frail girl like me! You really hurt this lady’s heart.”

Nangong Qiong wiped the blood off her lips and revealed a wretched smile on her pretty face.

Xiao Chen smiled coldly. If not for his Taiji Yinyang Flame Diagram, even if he used the Sage Grade Pagoda, that earlier strike would have inflicted severe damage to his strong physical body.

That umbrella strike would have turned other people into dust.

He raised his eyebrows slightly and smiled. “Miss Nangong’s mental state is exceptional. After all your schemes, you failed to obtain anything. Now, not only did you not obtain the core painting piece, you even suffered injuries. I really wonder, how are you still able to smile?”

Nangong Qiong revealed a very charming smile on her face. Together with her pale complexion, it looked like the most eye-catching plum blossom in a vast snowy land; it was gorgeous.

“Young Master Xiao, don’t you feel that something is wrong with where you are standing?”

This rejoinder stunned Xiao Chen a little. He quickly looked around. Not counting the narrow parts of the hall, because he dodged Nangong Qiong’s attack earlier, he had ended up in the deepest part of the hall.

The Taiji Yinyang Flame Diagram had knocked Nangong Qiong, who was originally in close pursuit, to the area above the stone doorway. Xiao Chen’s expression immediately changed as he realized the problem.

“Haha! It is already too late to figure it out!”

Nangong Qiong laughed loudly and put away her umbrella. She pushed off with the leg against the wall and performed a somersault, going through the doorway.

After she landed, a jade strip appeared in her hand as she formed hand seals.

“Bang!”

Xiao Chen quickly charged over, arriving before the stone passageway. However, a barrier appeared, and he ran into it with a loud report.

Nangong Qiong put away the jade strip. As she watched Xiao Chen get knocked back, she placed the umbrella on her shoulder and smiled faintly. “Young Master Xiao, if fate dictates it, we should be able to meet each other again. Let’s get together and do bad deeds together again.

“Now, I have to go and subdue the core painting piece. Young Master Xiao, stay in there and cultivate properly. See if you can break this barrier that an Inferior Grade Martial Sage could not break in a hundred years.

“Remember, this lady is called Ying Qiong and not Nangong Qiong!”

Ying Qiong’s bell-like laughter sounded like clear water tumbling down a high mountain. She opened her umbrella and gently pushed off the ground, disappearing from Xiao Chen’s vision.

Ao Jiao, who was in the Immortal Spirit Ring, giggled weakly. It took her some time before she could speak. Idiot Master, I just knew that you would end up getting betrayed by this woman.

“It’s not really that bad.”

Xiao Chen’s face still felt somewhat sore. He had been moving too fast when he crashed into that barrier earlier. He touched the invisible barrier before the doorway and said indifferently, “Schemes are also part of one’s skills. If I’m not as good as she is, I’m in no position to complain.”

Xiao Chen did not feel much hatred over Nangong Qiong’s action. He had known from the start that this girl was not someone to offend or someone nice.

He had made preparations, so he had not expected that he would still fall into the hands of this woman and let her take away the core painting piece.

However, the green mountains never changed, and the spring river flowed on. Sooner or later, Xiao Chen would find this girl and recoup his losses.

[TL Note: However, the green mountains never changed, and the spring river flowed on: This means that life will move on regardless.]

The most crucial thing now was to figure out how to get out. He pulled his hand back with a grave expression on his face.

Myriad Heaven Divine Fist, ten times combat prowess, Deities Descending!

Suddenly, Xiao Chen stood up and gave off a bright radiance. A divine light poured into his body, and his aura soared endlessly as if he were a deity walking in the mortal realm. All creation seemed to want to worship him.

“Bang!”

This punch that Deities Descending enhanced tenfold struck the faint light barrier. A loud explosion resounded, and blood leaked out of Xiao Chen’s lips.

He went flying back in an even more grievous fashion. Ripples appeared on the barrier for a moment before it turned calm again.

Xiao Chen’s Qi and blood surged endlessly. The rebound nearly caused him internal injuries.

He finally experienced how others felt when facing the Taiji Yinyang Flame Diagram.

Young Master Xiao, stay in there and cultivate properly. See if you can break this barrier that an Inferior Grade Martial Sage could not break in a hundred years.

Ying Qiong’s voice resounded in his mind. He could not help but feel some despair. His punch, which was strengthened tenfold, had not even shaken the barrier. Could it be that he had to use the Strength Character Formula?

The Strength Character Formula could multiply his combat prowess by thirty-three times. If he did not shatter the barrier, the rebound would kill him.

Considering the consequences, Xiao Chen immediately gave up the notion.

Since ancient times, geniuses died in all sorts of manner. However, there had not been any stories of one killing themself by accident. He did not wish to be the first.

Xiao Chen treated his injuries and said, “It looks like I will really have to stay here for a long time.”

Ao Jiao smiled gently and said, You are such an optimist. Do you truly believe that you can break through to Martial Sage before starving to death?

“There is no such thing as an absolute dead end; there will always be a way out. Furthermore, I might not need to cultivate to Martial Sage. When executing Deities Descending, reaching half-Sage should be enough.”

Xiao Chen stepped back and took out a prayer mat and a few Superior Grade Spirit Gathering Pearls from his Universe Ring and started cultivating.

Previously, he had consumed a thousand-year-old White Nascent Fruit, and remnant Medicinal Energy lingered in the depths of his blood vessels. As long as he cultivated, it would slowly take effect.

The energy was no longer as berserk as it was previously. However, it allowed Xiao Chen to achieve more with less effort when cultivating normally, allowing his cultivation to soar rapidly.

His cultivation had already reached late-stage Superior Grade Martial Monarch. By the time he finished using all the Medicinal Energy, he should be able to advance successfully to peak late-stage Superior Grade Martial Monarch.

Then, Xiao Chen should be able to break through to half-Sage after using the thirty-odd painting pieces.