by Translator: BornToBe; Author: Ordinary Magician (平凡魔术师); Licensed From: 17k
Only after a long time did Long Chen slowly calm his thoughts down. Since he had three cyclones now, then according to the rest of the world’s tiers, he would be a weak beginner at the third Heavenstage of Qi Condensation.
But as for whether he truly was weak, that was something only Long Chen knew. This discovery filled him with both shock and excitement. With a touch of his spatial ring, an ancient beast hide appeared in his hand. That was what he had gained in exchange for bribing a Blood Condensation expert.
“Split the Heavens, Split the Heavens… hehe, let me see just what secrets are hidden within you.”
Chapter 27 Flamecloud Palm
Looking at the nine red dots on the beast hide page, Long Chen sunk into a deep contemplation. These nine dots didn’t have the slightest pattern.
There were no explanations, but this time, Long Chen carefully examined them and found that there really was an extremely faint line connecting them.
“These should be nine acupuncture points.”
Long Chen had to look at them for a great deal of time before coming to this conclusion. Within Long Chen’s mind was a map of countless meridians, and only after going down each and every single one of them did he come to such a conclusion. Other people might think about it until they died before figuring it out.
“Enter LiYao, merge into HuiMing… rush into QuChi, join LaoGong?”[1]
Long Chen quietly whispered the names of the nine points as he followed along their meridian paths. He paused, “This isn’t a fist or palm technique, but a weapon Battle Skill.”
“What a brilliant technique.”
Long Chen studied it and found that when qi flowed through these nine spots, it was as if a dammed river had burst forth. After passing through nine turns, it would definitely be terrifying to the extreme when released.
He had definitely gained a treasure this time, and although Long Chen didn’t know what class it was, it was definitely not low.
Under his urging, his Dantian’s qi flowed out towards the LiYao point, but when he tried to urge his spiritual energy to the second acupuncture point, he found out that he was unable to continue.
“Huh?”
After a brief pause, Long Chen understood that this technique must have very high requirements in terms of spiritual energy. Without enough spiritual energy, it was impossible to use it.
Giving up on his Dantian’s spiritual energy, he started to use his FengFu Star. As he expected, his FengFu Star was filled with much more power than his Dantian.
But when he arrived at the fourth acupuncture point, he began to stall. No matter how hard he tried, he was unable to reach the sixth point.
“I don’t believe I can’t do this!”
Long Chen clenched his jaw and sent a strand of spiritual energy from his FengFu Star into his Dantian’s cyclones. The cyclones immediately released a wild energy.
Controlling that energy, he quickly progressed.
The sixth…
The seventh…
The eighth…
“Crap…”
Long Chen suddenly stopped and hastily recalled his spiritual energy. Using his divine sense, he examined his meridians.
He was shocked to find that his meridians were already starting to break down from that terrifying energy, and tears had started to appear. If Long Chen had been a step too late in recalling his spiritual energy, his meridians would have completely exploded.
If the meridians really did explode, then it would require an extremely long time to recover. Sweat dripped down his back from fear.
“Crap, I can’t train in this for now.” Long Chen could only unwillingly give up on practicing Split the Heavens.
Swallowing a meridian nourishing pill, he quickly restored his slightly damaged meridians. Long Chen stood up and walked out.
Opening the door, he took a deep breath of fresh air, recovering from his fatigue from his continuous training.
At this time, the sun had just started to rise in the east. Long Chen made some inquiries with Bao-er. Their estate was completely fine. Wilde was also completely fine and eating till he was full every day.
This let Long Chen relax. He changed his clothes and prepared to go to the alchemist guild to request help from grandmaster Yun Qi.
But Long Chen was somewhat nervous. Ordinary alchemists focused on cultivating the Pill Flame and didn’t split their attention to Battle Skills. This was to concentrate all of one’s energy and effort, so that one could travel further on the pill path.
Alchemists were normally completely arrogant and didn’t care to bother with martial cultivation. That was also what grandmaster Yun Qi had reminded Long Chen of that day.
But Long Chen had his own thoughts on the subject. He had been bullied for too long, and without powerful martial strength, he simply didn’t feel safe.
No matter what status or position, it was all nothing to Long Chen. In the face of true power, such things were as weak as a piece of paper.
Long Chen didn’t know just how grandmaster Yun Qi would react when he saw him.
“Long Chen!” Long Chen had already walked several blocks in his nervousness when a sudden warm shout rang out. Turning his head, he saw a carriage had stopped in the distance.
Opening the cover was a young woman who happily looked at Long Chen. It was the imperial princess Chu Yao.
“Chu Yao.” Long Chen couldn’t help being a bit alarmed to see Chu Yao, but for some reason, after a moment of looking at her, most of his anxiousness disappeared.
Chu Yao looked around. Seeing that no one was around due to how early it was, she beckoned. “Quick, get in.”
Long Chen hadn’t expected Chu Yao to actually invite him to share a carriage. Seeing her bright smile, Long Chen’s heart jumped slightly and he leaped into the carriage.
The inside of the carriage was exceptionally spacious. Other than a bench, it also had a tea table with cloths laid out.
“How coincidental to see you here. How about you come with me to Sunset Mountain?”
Chu Yao’s pretty gaze at Long Chen was filled with joy, a complete opposite to her original ruthless and crafty one when she had first captured him.
“With such a beautiful woman inviting me, I’m afraid I’d be struck by heavenly lightning if I refused,” laughed Long Chen.
Chu Yao’s charming face reddened; within the palace, she had many rules and restrictions she had to follow. She truly enjoyed Long Chen’s carefree and unfettered way of talking.
The carriage slowly left the city towards Sunset Mountain.
“Chu Yao, why are you going to Sunset Mountain?” asked Long Chen.
“I… I just want to play around.” For some reason, Chu Yao’s face became extremely red, confusing Long Chen.
“I’m not taking you away from something important am I?” probed Chu Yao.
“Me? I just came out for a stroll. For me to encounter your carriage and come out to have fun is perfect,” smiled Long Chen. “Right, is your little brother ok? I really am sorry about what happened last time.” Long Chen still felt a bit embarrassed about what had happened with the seventh prince.
“He’s fine. Scaring him a bit is good too; it’ll keep him better behaved,” laughed Chu Yao.
In just a short time, they arrived at the foot of Sunset Mountain. Chu Yao got off and ordered her bodyguard to drive the carriage back.
“Accompany me. I really like the scenery around here.” Chu Yao pointed to the small path in front of them. “When I was young, I frequently came here to climb this mountain. But ever since my father entered seclusion, I haven’t had many such opportunities.”
A pitiful trace of loneliness appeared on her face when she said this. Long Chen couldn’t help but sigh. No matter where you were born, there was always much to be desired.
“Long Chen, what’s wrong?” Chu Yao asked when she saw that Long Chen seemed moody.
His heart warmed due to Chu Yao’s concern. He didn’t know why, but although he
had only met Chu Yao once, he still felt a complicated emotion upon seeing her. Perhaps, it stemmed from not knowing if she was an enemy.
But she gave him a very trustworthy feeling that he couldn’t explain.
“I did run into a bit of trouble recently. I was hoping to cultivate a higher grade Battle Skill.”
“If you want to cultivate Battle Skills, then just come find me. I won’t even charge tuition fees,” joked Chu Yao, her eyes brightening. “I’m already proficient in thirty types of Battle Skills. They say that I’m a peak talent.”
Proficient in thirty Battle Skills? And then using only one attack the same way over and over again? Long Chen couldn’t help being a bit doubtful.
“Hey, what kind of look is that! You doubt me?” A hint of anger appeared on Chu Yao’s face.
“No, I don’t doubt you. I don’t believe it at all!” joked Long Chen.
“You scoundrel, look!” With a cute cry, Chu Yao sent a palm towards Long Chen.
Chu Yao’s palm landed on Long Chen’s stomach. Although she hadn’t used any spiritual energy, the force behind it wasn’t small. When it landed on his body, it still emitted a loud bang.
“You… why didn’t you dodge?” She hadn’t expected him to just take the blow.
“If I dodged, you wouldn’t have hit me. That’d be boring,” laughed Long Chen. Although the hand was separated from him by a layer of clothing, he could still feel a peculiar feeling from it.
“Long Chen…”
Seeing his straightforward smile, she felt a burst of warmth. She actually gently laid her head on Long Chen’s chest.
Long Chen’s body immediately went rigid. What kind of situation was this? Long Chen didn’t dare move an inch, turning into a stump of wood.
Chu Yao’s face suddenly turned warm, and seeing his nervous expression, she covered a smile. “You bad person, back then when you were fighting, you were like a tiger baring its fangs. How come you’ve become a little kitten now?”
Long Chen immediately felt awkward and changed the subject, “Chu Yao, I don’t want to treat you like a stranger. I really do feel that you need to learn a few higher grade Battle Skills.”
Chu Yao’s face reddened, and she blankly stared at Long Chen. If he didn’t want to treat her as a stranger, then what did he want to treat her as? She clearly had misunderstood Long Chen’s meaning.
But in response to Long Chen’s seriousness, Chu Yao was also resolute. “I wasn’t joking. I really am proficient in many Battle Skills. Look.”
She extended a hand and a scorching air rose out. A faint red light appeared over her hand.
She sent her palm into a tree over a foot thick and it trembled, its leaves flying. When she removed her palm, a faint handprint could be seen on it.
“Did you see? This is a high Mortal class Battle Skill, Flamecloud Palm. How is it? Are you scared?”
Chu Yao was pleased with Long Chen’s stupefied expression.
Long Chen truly was shocked. This kind of power could still be considered a Battle Skill? Even without a Battle Skill, Long Chen could easily topple such a tree in one blow.
“Uh-huh, it really was good to look at,” quickly replied Long Chen. Chu Yao’s movements had been very fluid and smooth, which really were pleasing to look at.
Chu Yao didn’t appear to catch his other meaning and thought that he meant she had shocked him. She very patiently explained to Long Chen the main points of her attack.
But when Long Chen heard her explanation on how to use the Flamecloud Palm, Long Chen was truly shocked. Based on what she said, then in theory, it was clearly an extremely powerful palm technique!
“Let me try it.”
“So quickly?” Chu Yao asked in disbelief.
Long Chen smiled slightly. Battle Skills were just a way to use spiritual energy. Through the superposition within the meridians, they could emit a powerful strength, that was all.
Long Chen was already as familiar as possible with his body’s meridians, so hearing her explain it once was enough for him.
His Dantian’s spiritual energy circulated and a dense fiery energy erupted out. Long Chen shouted out and sent a palm crashing forward.
BOOM!
A huge tree, which would require several people to wrap around it, snapped, its crown whistling as it fell.
The huge tree smashed into the ground, sending dirt flying. Chu Yao was staring blankly; was this really the same Flamecloud Palm as hers?
The spot where the tree had broken was completely scorched, a specific mark of the Flamecloud Palm. Long Chen nodded inside; it truly was worthy of being a high Mortal class Battle Skill. Its power was extremely great.
But seeing Chu Yao beside him filled with shock, Long Chen’s heart shook and he grabbed Chu Yao’s hand.
“Chu Yao, let me examine your body.”
[1] I was unable to find much about these acupuncture points, especially the first two. The third one is located on the elbow and the last one is located in the center of the palm. Their names don’t really translate so I just kept their pronunciation.
Chapter 28 The Secret Behind the Princess
Having her slender hand suddenly grabbed by Long Chen, Chu Yao’s pretty body shook and two red spots appeared on her cheeks.
A bit of panic flashed over her eyes, but she didn’t take her hand away. She secretly glanced at Long Chen and realized that he was actually a bit puzzled.
When Long Chen glanced up at Chu Yao’s face, he momentarily forgot what he was doing. She was like a blooming flower with eyes like sparkling jewels, and it was simply impossible not to be moved by her beauty.
“Cough.” Chu Yao became even redder when Long Chen just foolishly looked at her. But within her beautiful eyes was happiness as well. With a cough, she turned her head down and didn’t dare to look at Long Chen again. Only the gentle warmth transmitted from his hand continued to warm her heart.
Taking a deep breath, Long Chen calmed himself back down. She had an air of being too high to reach, and yet, also the contradicting gentle softness of a woman.
The Chu Yao who had arrogantly captured him in a net and the current gentle and shy Chu Yao were completely different.
Suppressing his wildly jumping heart, Long Chen used his Spiritual Strength to follow along the meridians within Chu Yao’s hand and slowly enter her Dantian.
Actually, with Long Chen’s strength, at such proximity, it was entirely possible for him to examine Chu Yao without touching her.
But doing so would mean that Chu Yao would be essentially naked in front of Long Chen. Maybe Long Chen wasn’t against that, but he was afraid that afterward, she might once again capture him inside a net.
Long Chen’s Spiritual Strength gently entered her Dantian. But when he saw what was going on, even with his self-control, he couldn’t help having his expression turn ugly.
“What is it?” Chu Yao was alarmed at his dark gaze.
Long Chen’s anger was due to the fact that nine types of foreign spiritual energy were currently locked and fixed within her Dantian.
Those nine foreign spiritual energies were like nine saplings planted into a fertile farm; they were incessantly absorbing Chu Yao’s spiritual energy, leaving her with only a fraction for her own use.
No wonder her spiritual energy was so frail and disorderly! So she was just like Long Chen and had been schemed against by others.
Even more infuriating was that there was a Spirit Root that released a dense qi. Although he wasn’t sure what level she was at, Long Chen knew she was definitely a rare genius seen only once in a thousand years.
Such a genius had been wasted away like this. But just this wouldn’t have aroused Long Chen’s killing intent.
Long Chen had found that those nine foreign spiritual energies were following along her Spirit Root, and in the future, when she married and lost her virginity, the spiritual energy that had been absorbed by them for years would be silently snatched away!
That was the most
hateful thing. A princess of this generation, a beauty that could topple cities, had been used by someone as a chess piece. This was clearly the result of some sort of scheme.
And as for Chu Yao, she didn’t seem to know anything about it! Long Chen couldn’t help feeling empathy for this beautiful woman.
“Long Chen, what’s going on?” His expression was complicated, and Chu Yao was somewhat alarmed by it.
“Chu Yao, do you trust me?” Long Chen hesitated for a moment before solemnly asking her this.
Seeing his extremely serious manner, Chu Yao also sensed something. But she didn’t hesitate. Looking Long Chen in the eyes, she said, “You are the person I trust the most.”
Long Chen heart warmed. “Your Dantian has been altered by others.”
But what surprised Long Chen was that Chu Yao didn’t have that great of a reaction. Helplessness appeared in her sad eyes.
Looking at the distant mountain peaks, her jade hands gently brushed back her hair that was blown wild by the wind. She quietly said, “If you say this secret out loud, you might be implicated with the people from my family. Are you not afraid?”
“You already knew?”
“Can you answer me first?” asked Chu Yao.
Long Chen bitterly smiled. “Since we’ve chosen to trust each other, then even if I were to lose my life, it would be worth it.”
“Trust? Trust?”
Chu Yao mumbled that word over and over. She suddenly threw herself at Long Chen’s chest and began to weep loudly. Her tears flowed out as if a dam had been broken, as if she wanted all her grievances to be swept away.
Despite having such a beautiful woman in his arms, Long Chen didn’t have the slightest intention of being charming. Instead, his heart was also filled with a kind of mourning.
Long Chen had been even worse off than Chu Yao. His Spirit Root, Spirit Bone, and Spirit Blood had all been stolen. If he hadn’t suddenly fused with a Pill Sovereign’s soul, he would perhaps still be completely in the dark.
At some point, his arms had wrapped around her slender waist and tightly hugged her. Smelling the scent of her hair, it felt as if they were the last two people on earth.