Chapter 179: "Is There Something You Can't Speak of?"

Chapter 179: "Is There Something You Can't Speak of?"

Quzhou, Jicheng.

Not long after the Heavenly Edict sounded, Feilong and the Scholar found Chen Qiu, with the Nascent Soul Power Ranking Realm ending a bit later than the others. The Golden Core Power Ranking Realm had finished early, but the Nascent Soul Power Ranking Realm took a little more time.

"Brother Qiu, we're back," Feilong and the Scholar went straight to Chen Qiu, who was at a street stall in Jicheng. Feilong, in particular, stood before Chen Qiu with a complex expression, unsure of how to begin. But he gritted his teeth and spoke in a hoarse voice.

"Brother Qiu, I've been wanting to talk to you about something. I want to resign from the position of Grand Elder of the Mock Heaven Sect. I'll just stay in the rear mountain of the sect from now on. After all, someone needs to take care of those brown bears, and I'll be responsible for that. Also, your Night Moon Wolf Demon needs someone to look after it regularly. The sect needs someone for this role, and I think I'm a good fit."

"You?"

Chen Qiu glanced at Feilong and waved his hand, saying, "Sit down and talk. Let's eat something first; it's still early in the morning."

"What's wrong? Were you bullied outside?"

"You're quitting as soon as you got back?"

"No one bullied me, it's just..." Feilong said in a weak voice, "I feel that with my strength and the contributions I've made to the sect, it's hard to convince everyone. Although Scholar's cultivation is still low, with his Golden Core Dao Cultivation Pill and his understanding of Sword Intent, he'll be able to soar soon."

"And I'll be completely useless in the future."

"I won't be able to dual cultivate anymore."

Feilong didn't waste any more words and showed Chen Qiu his third entry: "This is the entry I got after breaking through the Golden Core, and it was one of the three choices."

"Hmm."

Chen Qiu looked at the entry, "Ignore Barriers," in front of him. After a long while, he picked up a piece of dirt cake and put it in his mouth, "It's no big deal. You can still dual cultivate. This doesn't affect your nine-fold cultivation progress."

"But it will definitely result in pregnancy every time, whether it's a Demon Cultivator or a Human Cultivator."

"So what if I get pregnant?"

"You have to raise the children!"

"I can't have a bunch of kids following me around, can I?"

"Kill them all."

". . ."

Feilong fell silent.

"Alright."

Chen Qiu interrupted Feilong's thoughts and chuckled, "Since they've given you the position of Grand Elder, you can't just resign unless you die. Don't worry, I'll think of a solution. There must be a way. You and Scholar go to the rear mountain of the Mock Heaven Sect for now."

"Let Scholar keep you company so you don't feel too down."

Then, Chen Qiu stood up and took Feilong and the Scholar into his small world, heading towards the outskirts of Jicheng.

He had a very important task to attend to immediately.

It was to activate the Middle-grade Heavenly Wheel.

To find a place of good feng shui.

He had returned from the Heavenly Palace, where a third statue of him had been erected. It was hard to deny that the Heavenly Dao had given him a rather heavy filter and beautification effect.

The actual scene was—

He stood at the alley entrance, leaning on the Heavenly Clue Umbrella, gazing at the sunrise in the distance. It was an ordinary scene.

But in the Heavenly Palace, the scene was—

He stood in a black robe, his face impassive, in front of what seemed like a black hole that could devour one's heart and soul. The rays of the rising sun fell upon him, causing a soft glow to appear on his face.

Facing the light, with darkness at his back.

It seemed to evoke a certain feeling.

This statue still retained some residual power of heaven and earth, and one could vaguely sense this kind of artistic conception from it. The sculptor had used only a few strokes, yet the feeling it evoked was extraordinary.

After admiring his three statues in the Heavenly Palace for a while, he checked the other milestone tasks to see if there were any that could be completed quickly. Then, as usual, he peered out through the crack in the Heavenly Palace's door.

After finding nothing, he left the Heavenly Palace.

The remaining milestone tasks were quite challenging.

For example, one of the milestone tasks required accumulating three hundred billion Virtue Points or three hundred billion Sin Points. It was a joke; he thought that perhaps no one on the Xuantian Continent could complete this task! Three hundred billion Virtue Points, what did that even mean? When he attained the Twelfth Stage Nascent Soul and proved his cultivation, he gained less than nine hundred billion Virtue Points. To reach three hundred billion, he would have to attain the Twelfth Stage Nascent Soul four times in a row.

There hadn't been a single Twelfth Stage Nascent Soul in the Xuantian Continent for so many years, and now they wanted him to do it four times.

Even if patching the sky could earn him over a hundred billion Virtue Points, it would still take three days.

That task wasn't something that could be completed in the mortal world, where you could break through and patch the sky multiple times.

And three hundred billion Sin Points was even more absurd. He had gained 2.9 billion Sin Points from destroying the Evil Province, and to reach three hundred billion Sin Points, he would probably have to destroy the entire Xuantian Continent.

He might still be far from reaching that number.

Chen Qiu looked at his 2.9 billion Sin Points on the Heavenly Way Ranking and sighed, feeling a bit helpless.

When he entered the seventh layer of the Golden Core, he randomly obtained an entry called "Virtue Ground."

-

"Entry Name": Virtue Ground

"Entry Level": Yellow

"Entry Effect": The more Sin Points you have, the faster your body movement speed will be.

-

The effect was simple: the more Sin Points, the faster his body movement speed. If he could combine this with his 2.9 billion Sin Points, the result would be unimaginable. His speed might even reach the maximum limit!

Within the same cultivation realm, no one would have a faster body movement speed than him! Even a Divine Transformation cultivator, if they were to purely compete in body movement without using other means, might not surpass him.

But...

He hadn't chosen this entry back then! He had never heard of Sin Points and didn't know where to obtain this entry. There was a better entry for him to choose, "Virtue Bodyguard," which had a simple effect: the more Virtue Points, the higher the success rate of passing the thunder tribulation.

At that time, he had nearly a hundred billion Virtue Points and chose this entry, even though he wasn't ready to face the thunder tribulation.

Now, thinking about "Virtue Ground," he still felt a twinge of pain. He hoped that he would randomly obtain this entry again in the future or find out if there was an Enchantment Scroll for this entry. But judging from the effect, it was unlikely that there would be an Enchantment Scroll for it.

There was a nearly completed milestone task.

"Being nominated for the Heavenly Edict 20 times."

He had already been nominated 15 times.

Just 5 more times would be enough.

The nominations here didn't require him to achieve anything astonishing, nor did he need to be at the top of the Heavenly Way Ranking. As long as his name appeared on the Heavenly Edict, regardless of its content, it would count.

As Chen Xiu's thoughts wandered, he transformed into a streak of flowing light and shot towards the outskirts of Jicheng.

At that moment—

Inside Zhongzhou's Buddhist Sect.

An elderly monk, clad in a kasaya, gazed at the heavily injured Kong Ming, who had just returned. After a long silence, he spoke softly, "Go back and recover first. I'll handle the rest."

"Master."

Although Kong Ming was severely injured, he didn't seem to mind. His face was ashen, but his eyes held a glimmer of hope. He raised his head, looking at the elder before him, and said in a trembling voice, "My Tenth Stage Primordial Soul... was dug out."

"My Millennium Stupa is also gone."

Tenth Stage Primordial Soul.

This was the culmination of the Buddhist Sect's accumulated resources over the years, formed for him.

He hadn't even had the chance to fully experience the effects of the Tenth Stage Primordial Soul, and before he could enjoy it for a few days, someone had dug it out, along with his Buddhist treasure, the Millennium Stupa.

He had just descended the mountain and now had to return.

He hadn't expected to return so soon, mainly because Chen Xiu had met him with two full-power attacks from Divine Transformation Stage cultivators, leaving no room for retaliation. Moreover, the attacks had ignored his Exorcism Spell, and the effect of the Self-Destruct Entry on the platform was far greater than he had imagined.

Damn it!

Why would there be a platform in the Inner Core Realm!

If it weren't for being confined to such a cramped platform, he wouldn't have lost. Even if he did lose, it wouldn't have resulted in his Primordial Soul and Stupa being taken. In an open small world, he could have employed countless methods.

That full-power attack from a Fifth Stage Soul Transformation cultivator shouldn't have been able to hit him so easily!

"Mmm."

The elder in the kasaya nodded, his palms pressed together. He turned his head towards the direction of Quzhou and said softly, "I understand. I'll take care of this matter. You go to the back mountain to recover."

Zhongzhou, Sanchun Tower.

At this time, several heads of small families in Zhongzhou were gathered in the reception hall of Sanchun Tower, complaining bitterly.

"Young Master, my son followed your sister to flatter Chen Xiu, but he was killed by Chen Xiu along with your sister. You must avenge us!"

"That's right, Young Master. Our family has always supported you wholeheartedly. When other top-tier forces were in seclusion, we followed you without hesitation, hoping that Sanchun Tower would grow into the next top-tier force in Zhongzhou during the turbulent times."

"Now, someone from our family has died. We can't swallow this humiliation!"

"After all, Chen Xiu is just a Fifth Level Primordial Soul. He was lucky to have used the Self-Destruct Entry to sneak attack and kill a Soul Transformation cultivator. But as long as a powerful Soul Transformation cultivator takes action, Chen Xiu will surely be defeated!"

"Moreover, Chen Xiu must have many valuable items on him. If we can get our hands on them, it would greatly enhance our family's foundation."

"Yes, indeed."

Although the heads of these small families spoke with sorrow and pain, their expressions didn't show much grief. After all, as a family, they had many children, and the loss of a few was not a significant blow.

As family heads, they had many responsibilities and didn't have much time to seclude themselves.

For those who had been in seclusion for a long time, it was normal to forget they even had children upon leaving seclusion.

". . ."

The young master of Sanchun Tower, sitting in the main seat, had slightly lowered eyelids and was leaning back in his chair. His face looked young but had distinct features. His finger joints were rhythmically tapping on the table.

After a while, the tapping stopped.

The young master of Sanchun Tower raised his head, his eyes slightly red, and scanned the crowd. "Chen Xiu killed my sister, my only sister. My hatred towards him is greater than all of yours combined."

"We must kill him!"

"Each of you, summon your family's Soul Transformation Stage ancestors from their secluded cultivation. Our family's late Soul Transformation Stage Third Young Master, the 'Deputy Young Master,' will lead the team personally to kill Chen Xiu!"

"Ah?"

The remaining family heads were slightly taken aback. They saw the reluctance in each other's eyes, clearly unwilling to let their Soul Transformation ancestors take action. What if Chen Xiu detonated more Self-Destruct Entries and injured or even killed their ancestors?

With the coming chaos, the absence of their Soul Transformation ancestors would mean a loss of security for their families.

They didn't want their ancestors to be injured before the arrival of the chaotic times.

But the conversation had reached this point.

Seeing the young master's reddened eyes, they knew that his emotions were on the verge of erupting. Refusing at this point would be disastrous, so they could only agree and stood up to leave.

After the small family members left, the young master of Sanchun Tower, sitting in the main seat, finally breathed a sigh of relief. He leaned back in his chair, his expression slightly dazed.

This should ensure success.

By having the Deputy Young Master lead the team, taking these families' Soul Transformation experts on a detour far from Quzhou, they would temporarily avoid direct conflict with Chen Xiu.

Chen Xiu.

He wasn't sure about this person. Even with a late Soul Transformation cultivator leading a team of early Soul Transformation cultivators, a formidable force, he had no confidence in their ability to kill Chen Xiu.

In fact, he was more inclined to believe they would fail.

It was always difficult to kill these Heaven's Pride individuals, as he knew. Therefore, he had to find a foolproof method to kill him. What did foolproof mean?

It was pure realm suppression!

Couldn't even a Soul Transformation cultivator suppress him?

Simple!

Could a cultivator above the Soul Transformation Stage suppress him?

The Divine Transformation Stage peak ancestor of the "Sanchun Tower" had been preparing for a breakthrough for years, waiting for the perfect opportunity. Now, the most important task for Sanchun Tower was to maintain a peaceful environment, so that their ancestor could successfully break through.

As for Chen Qiu, he could be easily dealt with.

However, he was concerned that the Divine Transformation Stage cultivators from the small families might find Chen Qiu and trace him back to Sanchun Tower, leading to a battle within their territory and potentially disrupting their ancestor's seclusion.

So, he sent the deputy leader with the Divine Transformation Stage cultivators from these families to roam far away from Quzhou, not to kill them, but to temporarily stall them. This would prevent the conflict from escalating, and as long as Sanchun Tower didn't take the initiative to hunt them down, he believed Chen Qiu wouldn't dare to come to Sanchun Tower first.

Although he was saddened by his sister's death, he knew that the dead couldn't be brought back to life, and one should focus on things that could be changed rather than those that couldn't.

At a mountain outside of Qicheng, Quzhou, two people were enjoying tea while facing the morning sun.

Chen Qiu sat calmly on a tea table made from Malevolent Wood, his spirit energy controlling a rootless flame from the boundless desert of Daxia to brew tea.

On the tea tray beside him, there were a few remaining tea leaves.

He used melted ancient ice as tea water, cleaning the two cups thoroughly before using a tea clip to place one cup in front of the middle-aged man across from him. Then, he rolled up his sleeves and filled the man's cup halfway with the fair cup.

With a gentle smile, he said, "Try it. It's tea from my hometown, and it's quite good as a daily drink."

The middle-aged man before him claimed to be Ao Tian, the leader of the Dragon Clan.

He had come to this mountain, believing it to be a blessed place where the first purple qi of the east had touched down. However, before he could even start the Heavenly Wheel, this man appeared.

The man's Divine Transformation Stage cultivation was suffocating, and if he had introduced himself any slower, he would have already retreated into his small world.

Since he was from the Dragon Clan, and the Dragon Clan owed him a favor, he wouldn't act rashly.

Nevertheless, he discreetly took out the Virtue Defense Token from his Heavenly Dao Ring and tucked it into his clothes, ensuring he could activate it at the fastest speed if danger arose.

This was slightly faster than establishing a connection with the storage ring, taking out the Virtue Defense Token, and then activating it.

"Good," he said.

The middle-aged man sitting across from Chen Qiu had a complex expression as he gazed at the tea set with slightly reddened eyes.

The tea tray, teapot, teacups, and fair cup were all there.

The tea scoop, tea needle, tea clip, tea scraper, tea strainer, and tea tube were all present.

It was a complete set, and most astonishingly, it was all made of Heavenly Dao artifacts. He didn't have a set like this, and he couldn't help but feel a bit envious, wanting this set of Heavenly Dao artifact tea utensils.

The Dragon Clan's innate collecting nature was on full display.

He lifted the teacup to his lips and inhaled the aroma.

It had a pure fragrance, and despite being a rolled tea, it gave off a noticeable chill, creating a unique sensation of ice and fire.

The tea was brewed with water from melted ancient ice, and although he couldn't identify the tea leaves, they were undoubtedly of high quality.

Ao Tian drank the half-cup of tea in one go.

It had a slightly bitter taste, followed by a sweet aftertaste and an intense cold sensation.

Even as a rolled tea, it left a cold feeling in the mouth, providing an instant refreshing feeling.

Moreover, the tea contained a hint of heavenly power!

Although it was weak, he keenly noticed it. This set of Heavenly Dao artifact tea utensils was among the top-tier ones.

"Hmm," Ao Tian muttered, feeling the heavenly power in his mouth. His eyes flashed with astonishment, as none of these items were ordinary. They were essentially useless, neither enhancing combat power nor cultivation.

However, this very fact showcased a person's wealth!

Chen Qiu was no ordinary cultivator.

As the saying goes, wealth is the foundation of cultivation. Chen Qiu, with his recent fame, wouldn't lack in wealth. Throughout history, no Supreme Celestial Pride had ever lacked this, and without it, one couldn't become a Supreme Celestial Pride.

Ao Tian slowly put down his teacup, his expression complex as he looked at the young man before him.

Although he had heard of Chen Qiu's name, this was the first time he had met him in person.

Ao Tian was at the peak of the Divine Transformation Stage, while Chen Qiu was only at the fifth level of the Nascent Soul Stage. Yet, when facing him, Chen Qiu didn't even activate his defensive aura, appearing completely natural and without any sense of deference.

This could only mean one thing: Chen Qiu was confident that even if Ao Tian suddenly attacked, he could survive.

The human race was an overly formidable race, with a rapid reproduction rate and the ability to produce Celestial Pride individuals from time to time.

Most races didn't have the same propensity for internal strife as the human race, and yet they managed to maintain a thriving population, seemingly impossible to eradicate.

Oh, and there was also the demon race.

The demon race was even more mysterious, constantly splitting and engaging in internal conflicts, yet they managed to preserve their lineage. The Dragon Clan, on the other hand, was extremely cautious, and yet they were on the brink of extinction.

Ao Tian sighed and, without further thought, looked at Chen Qiu with a serious expression.

"You saved the Black Dragon," he said.

"This is a great favor. According to the Dragon Clan's rules, the Black Dragon has left you a reverse scale. In the future, you can take this scale to the Dragon Clan and make any request, or the Dragon Clan can send someone with a valuable treasure to exchange it for the scale."

"Today, I'm here for this very reason."

Although he had lived for thousands of years, most of his time had been spent on Dragon Island, and it had been a long while since he last interacted with humans. He felt a little out of practice with human etiquette.

He had almost forgotten what human social customs were.

"Hmm."

"That day, I merely helped because I couldn't stand by and watch. Black Dragon was a good kid, and it's a pity he died in the secret realm."

"It was nothing much."

Chen Qiu lightly smiled and nodded, not saying much. He took out the reverse scale from his pocket and placed it on the table, using a tea clip to pick up Ao Tian's teacup. He cleaned the cup while pondering.

After finishing the cleaning, he pushed the cup back towards Ao Tian.

He poured tea into a fair cup and said calmly, "It's no problem to exchange the reverse scale for treasures of sufficient value, such as the Primordial Soul Dao Cultivation Pill."

Before he could finish his sentence, Ao Tian's eyes lit up, "My savior, you need the Primordial Soul Dao Cultivation Pill? That's easy, 1000 is enough, right?"

". . ."

Chen Qiu poured the tea without a tremble in his hand or a skip in his heart. After pouring, he sat back down and continued in a calm tone.

"The Primordial Soul Dao Cultivation Pill, such a thing... is naturally not feasible."

He then looked up at Ao Tian and asked casually, "Do you lack the Primordial Soul Dao Cultivation Pill?"

"I don't lack it." Ao Tian shook his head.

"Then do you think I lack it?"

Ao Tian thought for a moment and shook his head seriously, "My savior, you managed to cultivate from the first layer to the fifth layer of the Nascent Soul in just a few days. Naturally, you wouldn't lack it, and the Primordial Soul Dao Cultivation Pill alone wouldn't be enough to achieve such a rapid cultivation speed. So, my savior, you must have other more powerful methods."

"That's right."

Chen Qiu lightly smiled and poured himself a cup of tea, "Who would lack the Primordial Soul Dao Cultivation Pill?"

"Let's not rush the matter of the reverse scale. Whether there's a reward or not doesn't matter. When I helped that day, I wasn't expecting a reward. It was mainly because Black Dragon looked cute and was worth helping."

"Nonsense." Ao Tian shook his head with a hint of anger in his voice, "This kid doesn't listen at all. He's almost driven me crazy. I told him to get out of the secret realm immediately, but he just wouldn't listen."

"If it weren't for you, my savior..."

"I can't even imagine what would have happened."

"It's normal for kids to be mischievous when they're young." Chen Qiu smiled and finished the tea in his cup before putting away the Heavenly Dao Artifact Tea Set. He then took out two jars of Spirit Wine, "Speaking of which, I've had quite a few troubles lately, and I've been wanting to find someone to drink with, but it's hard to find a kindred spirit."

"Wine is something that's hard to swallow when you drink alone or are forced to drink with someone you don't like."

"But when you find a kindred spirit, a thousand cups are not enough."

"Today, we've met by chance, so why don't we have a drink together?"

"This..."

After hesitating for a moment, Ao Tian used his Divine Sense to inspect the wine for poison and said, "Since my savior is in the mood, I'll accompany you!"

An hour later, Ao Tian was already tipsy, his eyes red and his body reeking of alcohol. He leaned on Chen Qiu's shoulder, speaking with a slur in his voice, "Really, brother."

"In all these years, only you understand me."

"No one understands me. No one knows how much pain I've endured these past few thousand years."

"They only know that the Dragon Clan has long lifespans and powerful combat strength, but they can't understand the feeling of watching the Dragon Clan march towards extinction."

"This matter has been weighing on my chest for years."

"But there's no one to talk to. Brother, do you know what it's like to not have a single person to confide in for thousands of years? Within the Dragon Clan, there are only youngsters, and no one understands me. Everyone on Xuantian Continent wants to kill me, and I dare not set foot there."

"So many years have passed."

"Brother, I—"

Ao Tian's eyes reddened as he slapped his chest, "Brother, I'm so anxious and suffocated here! I'm suffering!"

"I'm suffering!"

"In these thousands of years, only you, brother, understand me!"

At this moment, Chen Qiu also broke his usual demeanor, leaning on Ao Tian's shoulder, his speech slurred and his head nodding, "Bro, I understand you. Others don't understand you, but I do."

"Bro, you've suffered these years. From now on, if you have any grievances, come to your brother. Don't look down on me just because I'm only at the fifth layer of the Nascent Soul."

"Wait until I reach the peak of Divine Transformation, then you can come to Xuantian Continent whenever you want. If anyone dares to stop you, I'll wipe out their entire family!"

"Good! That's the spirit!"

Ao Tian excitedly patted Chen Qiu's shoulder and picked up the wine jar, preparing to drink from it. But he found it was already empty. He tossed the empty jar aside and took out two more jars of Spirit Wine from his storage ring.

Even before he opened the seal, the aroma filled the air.

The rich Spirit Energy emanating from the wine was almost tangible.

It was top-grade Spirit Wine.

"Brother, your tea is indeed good, but your wine is truly terrible. Have a taste of my wine and see how it compares."

"Taste it!"

Chen Qiu boldly opened the wine jar with one hand and drank directly from it. As soon as the wine entered his throat, his intoxication lessened slightly. The rich Spirit Energy contained in the wine actually increased his cultivation progress by 1%.

Damn, and that was just one mouthful.

He gulped down several more mouthfuls before putting down the jar, continuing to lean on Ao Tian's shoulder, and saying drunkenly, "Brother, tell me what's going on with the Dragon Clan. Don't they have lifespans of at least a few thousand years?"

"Why have they fallen to the brink of extinction?"

"Is there some hidden reason?"

"Brother, see if there's anything I can help with."

PS: There will be two more chapters later, probably tomorrow morning.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end