Immortal and Martial Dual Cultivation

Chapter 1807 (Raw 1819): Broken in the Middle

After Yan Zhe left, Xiao Chen disappeared and reappeared in his cultivation room with a thought.

It had to be said that the many benefits from the merger of Xiao Chen’s essence blood and soul with the Immemorial Demon Soul Formation were indeed too wonderful for words.

Just this ability to appear at any place on the Black Cutlass on his whim made him feel like an overlord.

Xiao Chen calmed down and entered deep thought. He could not figure out why Yan Zhe was leaving.

However, there was no point in dwelling on the matter, so he shook his head and let it go for now.

For the sake of resting and recuperating, to make up for the damage to his soul from the merger, Xiao Chen had neglected his cultivation for the past half-month.

His cultivation and strength had not improved at all.

Cultivation was like a boat going against the current. If one did not improve, one would regress.

After Xiao Chen took out Spirit Jades and filled the Spirit Gathering Formation, he sat in the center of the formation. The Purple Thunder Divine Incantation circulated quickly, and countless strands of Spiritual Energy surged in.

The speed at which the Purple Thunder Divine Incantation’s eleventh layer, which was approaching consummation, absorbed Spiritual Energy was astonishingly quick.

After Xiao Chen completed a major cycle, the 9-Star Primal Core was full once more. It even lit up one more star.

Now, Xiao Chen had eight stars on the perfect 9-Star Primal Core lit.

Not only could the Primal Core contain more Veritable Essence Energy, but it also cleansed the Veritable Essence Energy a second time, making it purer and denser. The Veritable Essence Energy that Xiao Chen could explode forth with improved further, mightier than before.

At this moment, a casual strike from Xiao Chen could already rival an ordinary Star Venerate’s.

Even middle-stage Star Venerates might not be much stronger than Xiao Chen in terms of Veritable Essence Energy.

“Strange. Why are the Medial Grade Spirit Jades all drained already?”

When Xiao Chen lowered his head and looked around, he was shocked to discover that the hundreds of Medial Grade Spirit Jades in the Spirit Gathering Formation were already devoid of Spiritual Energy and nothing more than worthless rocks.

Even the eleventh layer of the Purple Thunder Divine Incantation should not draw so much Spiritual Energy.

Strange.

Could it be that after my essence blood and soul merged with the Immemorial Demon Soul Formation, my physique and bloodline changed?

Xiao Chen entered deep thought. During the Great Desolate Eon, those ancient ferocious beasts exhausted an astronomical amount of Spiritual Energy.

As those ferocious beasts breathed, the amount of Spiritual Energy they took in already reached a level that some cultivators could never achieve in their entire life.

The reason why those creatures were called ferocious beasts was actually not because they were evil and caused trouble. After all, they still ended up being exploited and killed by humans.

One of the main reasons was that the very existence of those ferocious beasts was a threat to other races since they could drain and exhaust the ambient Spiritual Energy if they lived in large numbers for decades or centuries.

This would form patches of dead zones. The other races had no choice but to kill those ferocious beasts even if they did not want to. Ultimately, this matter involved their own survival.

Now, the cultivation ideals of the Demonic Dao sects and cultivators also destined them to be separate from those of the Righteous Dao.

Demonic Dao cultivators are unrestrained. As long as they could strengthen themselves, they would do anything.

They believed only in themselves and not in fate. They had no morals or etiquette to restrain them. They did not have any qualms in cultivating and lived an even more carefree life.

Although the focus of cultivation for the people of the Righteous Dao was still themselves and they might do things like killing others for their treasures, as Demonic Dao cultivators did, they believed in fate and would have a layer of restraint that came from morals.

One could call it hypocrisy or fake benevolence and righteousness.

However, the world did indeed need such rules. If the Demonic Dao cultivators ruled the world, the ensuing chaos was easily imaginable.

Even without strong enemies, they would bring about their own destruction, as the ancient ferocious beasts had, due to their excessive greed.

Hence, since ancient times, evil never trumped over the righteous. Even if the Demonic Dao sects won, they would quickly decline.

Right now, Xiao Chen was wondering whether he had unknowingly fallen into the Demonic Dao.

He thought about it carefully. The various signs indicated that he had indeed fallen into the Demonic Dao.

This large number of exhausted Spirit Jades was the final nail in the coffin.

Demonic Dao cultivators consumed an exceptional amount of Spiritual Energy. This was the most basic characteristic of a Demonic Dao cultivator.

Xiao Chen did not get overly flustered and worried. In fact, he appeared rather calm at this expected result.

He took out the spent Spirit Jades from the Spirit Gathering Formation one by one, and Liu Ruyue’s image appeared in his head.

Everything that Xiao Chen had done—be it the nearly fatal egress from the Kunlun Realm or the many other difficulties that he experienced—brought him step by step to where he was. Even now, he was doing his best to obtain the Scarlet Blood Pirate King’s inheritance.

He did all this for only one reason, to seek the moon.

[TL Note: As a reminder, seeking the moon refers to Xiao Chen’s search for Liu Ruyue as one of the characters in Liu Ruyue’s name means moon.]

As long as Xiao Chen could get what he wanted, there was nothing to fear, not even falling into the Demonic Dao.

Everything was worth it for one’s loved one.

By the time Xiao Chen took out all of the spent Spirit Jades, he was already completely calm like still water.

“Since my bloodline already changed, I should figure out what exactly changed.

“After I break through to the Starry Sky Stage, I have to ask the Blood-Soaked Dragon Emperor about it.”

After replacing the Medial Grade Spirit Jades, Xiao Chen cultivated the Ice Feather Divine Incantation.

Ice and lightning, he juggled both at the same time. He already comprehended the Thunder Great Dao, so he could not let the Ice Domain lag too far behind.

------

When Xiao Chen came out of closed-door cultivation for the first time in half a month, the Myriad Star Mountain was already within sight in the distance. Although there were still millions of kilometers to go, the vague silhouette of the one hundred thousand peaks was already visible over the sea.

At the ship’s bow, the entire crew looked into the distance, feeling incredibly shocked.

“Big Brother, we will reach the Myriad Star Mountain’s vicinity soon. It will become extremely chaotic. The Demonic Dao sects are moving about, and there is a mess of pirates. This is a place where the strongest fist has the right of way. There will be ships getting destroyed nearly every day. It will not be easy to make it to the Myriad Star Mountain.”

Xiao Suo actually did a good job explaining the Myriad Star Mountain’s information to Xiao Chen.

The Iron Hand Yama said, “It feels like a filter, screening out the factions and cultivators that are not strong enough.”

“I hope that we will not end up getting filtered out,” Elder Tang whispered. Now that they were near the Myriad Star Mountain and the danger increased by the day, the atmosphere became heavier.

Xiao Chen said indifferently, “Only others will get filtered by us and not us by them.”

---

Three days later, the environment of the sea region turned even harsher.

An unending clump of demonic clouds appeared in the sky, blocking the sight of the sky and the sun. Strong winds and lightning blew and flashed relentlessly. As the waves surged, the Ash Gray Sea seemed to have turned into a gargantuan sinister beast.

Fortunately, the Black Cutlass had already completed its transformation into a demonic ship. Otherwise, when traveling under such conditions, it would be in danger of getting swallowed up. If that happened, everything would be over.

“Tut-tut-tut! Even knowing that the Myriad Star Mountain is a trap, every year, there are fearless people coming to risk their lives. To think that a 5-Star pirate ship now dares to appear here.”

“Haha! This piece of meat is too small. There is no point in eating it.”

“It is able to endure the waves without capsizing. There should be some value to it.”

After entering the sea region near the Myriad Star Mountain, the Black Cutlass was like a lamb among a pack of wolves, a piece of meat that could get gobbled up at any moment.

Many pirates and cultivators on demonic ships revealed strange gazes when they saw the Black Cutlass.

However, no one made a move.

This meat was too small. Not many people were interested. Hence, they gave the Black Cutlass a miss.

The crew of the Black Cutlass did not know whether to be happy or upset.

However, no matter how small a mosquito was, it was still meat.

There would always be hungry wolves that had nothing better to do and did not mind having a toothpick to pick their teeth with.

Amid lightning and thunder, a six-hundred-meter-long, red pirate ship with sails of oceanic ferocious beasts’ beast skins leaped off a huge wave and flew over the Black Cutlass.

The shadow that it cast covered the whole Black Cutlass.

“You are just an insignificant 5-Star pirate ship, and you think that you can travel freely in this stormy sea region?”

A ferocious-looking, middle-aged man on a throne in the red pirate ship’s crow’s-nest glanced at the Black Cutlass and waved his hand.

The six-hundred-meter-long ship turned slightly in the sea, presenting its broadside to the Black Cutlass and blocking it.

The Iron Hand Yama and Elder Tang appeared at the Black Cutlass’s bow one after another. They eyed at that red pirate ship cautiously.

“Call out to them. Tell them to abandon their ship now. Otherwise, kill without mercy,” the ferocious-looking, scarlet-clad, middle-aged man said indifferently.

An expert at the red ship’s bow promptly shouted, “Quickly abandon your ship. Otherwise—”

Before that person could finish his words, that insignificant black pirate ship suddenly released a clump of blood mist. Then, the blood mist coalesced and spread to every corner of the ship.

In the next moment, the Black Cutlass shone with an even more splendorous scarlet light than the ship in front of it.

Then, like a sharp blade, it broke right through the middle of that six-hundred-meter-long ship.