第37章 想要龙骨吗?我有一根[为盟主燚龘amblowe加更一二!

Jiang Chen brought his sword down.

The old general was split in two amid shock and confusion.

Not only was his body cleaved apart, even his Golden Core was split open with a single strike.

Nearby, the black-clad man at Early Foundation Establishment realized he had encountered a monster. Terrified, he turned and fled.

Jiang Chen swiftly seized Chen's Storage Ring and heavy sword, then turned to pursue him.

A Qi Refining cultivator chasing a Foundation Establishment cultivator... If he were not the one giving chase, Jiang Chen would never have believed it.

Jiang Chen's sword-flying speed was slow at first.

But his blade came with the power of resonance.

It resonated with the howling sandstorm!

It resonated with the freezing wind!

It resonated with the thin spiritual energy!

With every resonance, an exceptionally faint burst rang out from the sword tip, propelling the blade forward.

At the same time, the tiny bullet holes in the disciple sword emitted an eerie whistle as it sped through the air.

Thus, amid layered resonant bursts and eerie whistles, his sword flight accelerated step by step.

For other cultivators, the cold wind, sandstorms, and even spiritual energy... were all obstacles to sword flight.

But to Jiang Chen, they were fuel for acceleration.

His speed quickly reached its limit—not only breaking the speed limit of the Qi Refining Realm, but surpassing the sword-flying speed of ordinary Early Foundation Establishment cultivators as he steadily closed the distance to the black-clad man.

The black-clad man had never heard such a sound from sword flight before. Terrified, he plunged headfirst into the sand and fled deep underground.

Jiang Chen suddenly breathed a sigh of relief.

Both being at Early Foundation Establishment, the black-clad man's combat strength was certainly greater than the merchants'. If they fought above ground, it would not only take considerable time, but might also expose his true strength and draw more black-clad men.

Once they entered the sand, however, it became his home ground.

Underground in the desert, Jiang Chen could conceal his presence to the fullest and wrap himself in a Sandworm shell, achieving the fastest possible pursuit.

He quickly caught up to the black-clad man.

If the black-clad man had been fully prepared and emotionally steady, this battle might still have been difficult.

But he had just watched Jiang Chen split a Golden Core Realm old general in two with one sword strike, then heard those eerie explosions and whistles. When Jiang Chen caught him, he immediately dropped to his knees and begged for mercy.

Jiang Chen split open his head with one sword strike and took his Storage Ring and steel saber, but did not damage his dantian.

"This is your reward for begging for mercy. Whether you live or die depends on your luck."

With that, Jiang Chen returned to Flame Mountain and reentered the Sword-Qi Domain that had broken the restriction.

Logically speaking, after Li Lingzhou's sword qi had saved his life, his trial should have been over.

Yet Li Lingzhou still had not come.

So he drove his sword into the center of the Sword-Qi Domain.

That woman still did not come.

Did she forget...?

Jiang Chen took a look. Li Lingzhou's Sword-Qi Domain was still there and offered at least some protection.

He took the opportunity to cultivate the Demi-Immortal's Book here, first raising his urgently lacking cultivation.

First, he took stock of his spoils.

First were the two Merfolk Women, crying out for help.

Jiang Chen patted the wooden railing and used Korean-drama-style lines to settle the two down for the time being.

As for spirit stones, the two merchants had carried more than three hundred in total, while the old general and the black-clad man combined had only brought a little over one hundred.

He did not know whether the old general had been too incorruptible or had spent all his spirit stones on cultivation.

As for pills and spiritual materials, they were mostly standard Rapid Spirit-Healing Pills, qi-nourishing, foundation-stabilizing, and spirit-cultivating pills, along with some rare medicinal herbs, beast cores and meat, spiritual water, spiritual grain, and seeds.

The more important items were the Merfolk Pearls, twenty-eight in total.

As for equipment, there were three swords, one steel saber, and various kinds of armor and talismans.

Without another word, Jiang Chen put on the merchant's double-layered Spirit-Guarding Armor. Whether it fit or not, an extra layer of defense came first.

Additionally, the merchant's Soul-Transfer Device was not completely broken yet. If he found an artifact shop to repair it later, it might still be usable.

Besides that, Chen's Storage Ring contained a mysterious jade slip.

A secret manual!

Jiang Chen opened it and saw Golden Spear Never-Falls.

Upon closer inspection, it was actually a bedroom technique for cultivators.

Perhaps it had been for the old general's own use, or perhaps he had prepared it to curry favor with the old emperor.

In any case, Jiang Chen had no need for such vulgar stuff.

[Item]:

Golden Spear Never-Falls Jade Slip ×1;

Jiang Chen glanced at the water tank. The Merfolk Women were not spirit beasts and could not be placed in a Storage Ring or the item inventory. He could only carry them with him.

So he grabbed the water tank and sank underground to hide it.

The two Merfolk Women were so frightened that they thought he was about to use the secret manual he had just learned.

Jiang Chen sat cross-legged in the sand and began cultivating while concealing his presence.

He took out the Demon Shrine and absorbed all the Heavenly Demon demonic qi within it.

As a single type of demonic qi entered his Qi Sea, the Abyss began to churn, and his soul descended along with it.

Under the assault of the demonic qi, Tian Mingye's dark yet bewitching figure unconsciously surfaced in Jiang Chen's sea of consciousness... He used that image to anchor his soul.

Only then did he discover that after cultivating Myriad Phenomena Resonance, his soul strength had greatly improved, and he felt much better.

Then, he swallowed all twenty-eight Merfolk Pearls, injecting demon qi into his Qi Sea.

The facts proved that Merfolk Pearls could be absorbed.

That meant half-demons were demons too.

However, the aura within the Merfolk Pearls was somewhat surging, and his bloodline began to boil along with it.

It felt somewhat similar to when he had taken the Dragonblood Qi-Refining Pill.

"Could merfolk be related to dragons and snakes too?"

After the demon qi and demonic qi reached equilibrium, the two powers tangled within the Qi Sea Abyss like twisted ropes.

Jiang Chen gritted his teeth and withstood the erosion of his soul caused by the entanglement, then began continuously swallowing spirit stones.

After consuming more than three hundred spirit stones, his spiritual power, demon qi, and demonic qi finally formed a dynamic three-tomoe spiral chasing end to end, reaching a delicate balance.

Then, the rotation grew faster and faster, and at the center of the vortex, a visible...

Deeper and darker Abyss than before gradually formed!

Boom—

This time, Jiang Chen did not dare take it head-on. He anchored his soul's attention on the system panel.

It felt as though even the system panel was trembling along with his brain, while his consciousness sank with it...

Jiang Chen's soul tendrils clutched the system panel tightly as he endured two agonizing hours.

Dawn broke.

Jiang Chen was soaked through. His spirit veins flowed freely, his Qi Sea surged, and his muscles were fair with a rosy tint. Both his spiritual pressure and physique had improved considerably.

He hurriedly looked at the system panel.

[Cultivation]: Qi Refining Ninth Layer!

Jiang Chen understood. This was an advancement method similar to a triple jump.

It seemed that if he wanted to establish his foundation, he could only rely on the empress dowager baby.

Li Lingzhou still had not come... That woman really was unreliable!

With no other choice, he could only leave alone for now.

Jiang Chen rummaged through the spoils and found several high-grade presence-concealing talismans. He took one and stuck it to the wooden railing of the water tank.

Afterward, Jiang Chen brought the water tank out from underground and left Flame Mountain, where he had cultivated for a full month.

Upon entering Xiyang City, he spent two spirit stones to buy a horse carriage.

He then hid the water tank inside the carriage and personally drove to the north gate of Peaceful Palace, informing a palace maid, "An old friend, Jiang Chen, has come to visit the empress dowager."

He entered Spirit-Calming Garden.

Jiang Chen parked the carriage in the garden and walked into Peaceful Palace.

The same story repeated itself.

"Men, drag this lecher out of the palace and beat him to death!"

"What are you doing?"

"Mm..."

This time, Jiang Chen lived from morning glow until sunset.

The setting sun was blood-red, and today's evening clouds were especially beautiful.

A day of cultivation came to an end.

Although Jiang Chen had not established his foundation, he had absorbed a great quantity of demon qi and stored it deep within the Qi Sea Abyss for later use. He had also healed the empress dowager until she was fair, plump, and soft as a spring silkworm.

The surging demon qi repeatedly tormented his nerves. He needed to forcibly resonate with it in order to subdue it.

"Where in the world is there a lecher as bold as you, doing such things in broad daylight!"

The empress dowager pounded Jiang Chen with her little fists and nearly beat him to death by accident. That would have made for a divine ending.

Jiang Chen coughed up blood, yet still said those words.

"After missing Senior Sister Liu, I don't want to miss the empress dowager too. Even if this is a dream now, I will make that dream come true."

Saying those words for the second time, Jiang Chen had made up his mind to choose this ending.

After a round of sweet talk, Jiang Chen asked again:

"Don't change the subject. Why are you involved in the palace struggle?"

"I am waiting for an opportunity to appear. I cannot know the details, but I am certain it is connected to something."

"What thing?"

"Dragon Bone."

"You held court from behind the curtain back then and held great power. Why did you not find clues to the Dragon Bone?"

A so-called opportunity can only be awaited. Deliberately forcing it will only alter the future I divined."

"What exactly did you divine?"

Mu Rong's gaze settled. She glanced at Jiang Chen and slowly said:

"I saw that the Dragon Bone was connected to the Twin Mermaids.

"However, all these years, I have cultivated by taking herbal medicines and never deliberately sought out Merfolk Women or consumed Merfolk Pearls for cultivation.

"Instead, my son secretly collected Merfolk Women for cultivation.

"I did not stop him, nor did I expect him to form a core through this and cultivate to Peak Golden Core. He did not hesitate to form a Pseudo-Nascent Soul and seize my real power, which caused his constitution to weaken and his appearance to rapidly age.

"Now, only Dragon Bone can save his life."

He had formed a Pseudo-Nascent Soul to seize power at any cost?

Forming a Pseudo-Nascent Soul was a method of forcibly burning oneself out to break through a bottleneck, using Golden Core cultivation to imitate the spiritual pressure of a Nascent Soul. It severely shortened one's lifespan.

For the elderly, forming a Pseudo-Nascent Soul was equivalent to committing suicide on the spot.

For the young, forming a Pseudo-Nascent Soul was equivalent to ruining their own future.

"That is strange... Why would Yu Wenshu risk forming a Pseudo-Nascent Soul just to reclaim imperial power?"

The empress dowager sighed.

"I want to know as well. Unfortunately, my true cultivation has long remained below my son's, so I could not search his soul. Even secret surveillance failed to uncover the slightest clue.

"I have cultivated year-round by consuming rare herbs. Some herbs inevitably carry poison, causing deep accumulations in both my dantian and womb. Now, all I can do is wait.

"Until you brought a pair of Twin Mermaids...

"Normally, half-demons cannot produce offspring, much less twin Merfolk Women.

"Therefore, the cultivation world has always had a legend that the merfolk possess Dragon Clan bloodlines."

Hearing this, Jiang Chen thought that it was no wonder swallowing Merfolk Pearls and taking the Dragonblood Qi-Refining Pill produced similar sensations of boiling blood.

Perhaps the merfolk and the Snake Clan that made Dragonblood Qi-Refining Pills were both branch descendants of the Dragon Clan.

"So you divined the Merfolk Women and inferred from that that Fireburn Kingdom has Dragon Bone?"

The empress dowager nodded.

"What is interesting is that the opportunity I divined happened to be connected to the Twin Mermaids. Could it be that you are a reincarnated dragon, and your bones are the legendary Dragon Bone?"

No, no, I was joking. Don't make wild associations.

"Want it? I happen to have one. I'll give it to you."

Jiang Chen said generously as he started again.

The empress dowager frowned.

"You're bad..."

Only after night fell did the two leave the bedchamber. Wearing nightclothes, they entered the secret passage of the inner hall and arrived at the empress dowager's underground cultivation chamber.

There were formation cushions here, a pill furnace for alchemy, and a hot spring in the corner. The arrangement was somewhat similar to Liu Ruyan's cave dwelling, only far more luxurious.

The empress dowager had already sent someone to unlock the two Merfolk Women Jiang Chen had brought and place them in the hot spring to rest and recover.

At the moment, the two Merfolk Women were asleep against the edge of the pool. Their complexions looked rosy, and they slept very peacefully.

"Come to think of it, merfolk are considered a specialty of Fireburn Kingdom. They are nearly extinct. The remaining Merfolk Women have probably all been imprisoned by that old emperor and forced to weep. Where could there be such lively twin girls?"

Jiang Chen asked curiously.

"Why not ask the two Merfolk Women?"

Mu Rong wore a thin, translucent white gauze nightgown. She bent down beside the pool, extended her jade-like arms, and pressed both palms onto the Baihui acupoints atop the two Merfolk Women's heads.

Soul search!

A half-demon's soul was not easy to distinguish.

After a long while, Mu Rong slowly opened her eyes.

"They were artificially bred and raised to adulthood by a young beast tamer. When his temperament changed drastically, they ran away, only to be captured by merchants in the end..."

A beast tamer?

Jiang Chen's heart skipped a beat.

In the original plot this time, after the black-clad man at the Foundation Establishment Mid-Stage gave the two Merfolk Women to the old general, he had rambled on at the underground hideout about how the princess was betrothed to some prodigy from the Beast Taming Sect, and how he no longer had a chance.

This matter involved the princess too?

Things were becoming more and more complicated.