Chapter 1048: Foundation Returning Ar
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Xiao Chen pushed off the air, and his body started whirling, executing Instant of Glory. Each turn he made, a world appeared.
As he moved, many brilliant and varied mysterious phenomena appeared, grand and majestic. As that saber light flashed in that instant, they turned into eternal glory.
The expression of the fleeing black-haired youth turned grave. He sent out three ancient shields, wanting to block this saber.
However, with Ao Jiao currently in the Lunar Shadow Saber, its might rivaled that of a Divine Weapon. How could a few peak King Grade shields block it?
Instant of Glory, an instant lasting for eternity, chopped the black-haired youth, along with the shields, in half.
Xiao Chen stretched out his hand and pulled over the spatial ring that remained behind. Then, he looked at the white-haired old man, who had already fled far away, not bothering to chase him.
Now, having already crossed the threshold of quasi-Emperor, he could hold his own against Small Perfection quasi-Emperors as long as a Great Perfection quasi-Emperor did not show up.
Xiao Chen swept his gaze around and found another desolate island. Then, it seemed like his body vanished from space as he landed on the island.
He infused in some of the Heavenly Laws, using the power of the world, into his Movement Technique, which allowed him to raise the limit on his speed by ten percent. This was something that he comprehended in the earlier battle.
Ao Jiao leaped out of the saber with a smile on her face. She spread her hands to reveal the spatial ring of the tall and skinny quasi-Emperor.
“I heard their conversation. They are from the Southern Sea Divine Dragon Palace. That is to say, they are from the Southern Sea King’s faction, one of the Sea Monarch’s old guards,” Ao Jiao said softly.
Xiao Chen frowned slightly. These people should have come for the Sea Monarch Crown.
Since coming in contact with the Seven Distinguished Dragon Marquises, he had felt that someone was hiding in the darkness like a venomous snake, plotting against him.
However, Xiao Chen knew nothing about this person. He did not even know his opponent’s true motive.
Never mind. As long as the other party’s plans did not succeed, there will always be an opportunity to capture him. Before this, I just have to continue increasing my strength.
Xiao Chen collected his thoughts and smiled faintly. Then, he handed the spatial ring in his hand to Ao Jiao. “This time, it is fortunate that you made a move.”
If she had not made a move, shielding Xiao Chen at the most crucial moment, he would have been in great danger.
Ao Jiao took the spatial ring and curled her lips up. “Hehe! And yet this is the reward you give me, not even letting me relax for a moment.”
This retort stunned Xiao Chen slightly. Then, he smiled and asked, “What do you want? I will help you to look for it.”
Ao Jiao was instantly rendered speechless. This fellow sure is as stupid as ever. As long as he lives, would I really need anything else? It was just a joke, and he treated it as real.
However, there was indeed something that Ao Jiao wanted. She wanted to ask Xiao Chen to help her look for it but hesitated.
In the end, she silently shook her head in her heart. Smiling, she replied, “Just messing with you. These are the treasures from Gao Yangyu, Chen Wenjun, and the two Sun Palace elite disciples. I already organized them.
“I placed all the Black Astral Coins in one spatial ring. There is not a lot of them. Added together, they came to just five million Black Astral Coins.”
Five million Black Astral Coins was already a hefty sum. After all, not everyone was like Xiao Chen, meeting with all sorts of fortuitous encounters.
Gao Yangyu was just a loose cultivator of the Cloud Sea Domain. If not for the two Sun Palace elite disciples, there would be even fewer Black Astral Coins.
Xiao Chen lowered his head and looked through the treasures, which Ao Jiao had organized. The categories were clear with one look: secret manuals, Medicinal Pills, Spirit Weapons, Secret Treasures, and several others.
After a quick look through, Xiao Chen shook his head slightly. Most of them did not catch his interest. After he left the Cloud Sea Domain, he would quickly sell them.
“Hey, this fan is rather exquisite.”
Xiao Chen discovered a white fan. The frame of the fan was made of many types of divine materials. It was firm and solid, having a substantial weight in his hands.
He opened the fan. The front of the fan had a night scene with a bright moon, a river, a bridge, and a person admiring the moon. It possessed a gentle beauty. The back had a poem.
Ao Jiao said, “This fan is pretty good. However, the fan is not a common weapon. Not many people use it. It is mostly purchased by pretentious or cultured people and cannot fetch a good price.”
Xiao Chen entered deep thought. Then, he put the fan away, saying, “I will hold on to this first. I might have some use for it.”
“Acting mysterious,” Ao Jiao muttered when she saw Xiao Chen keeping her in suspense. Then, she took out a secret manual that he overlooked. “You should be able to use this. Back then, Gao Yangyu used this to hide his strength.”
“Foundation Returning Art,” Xiao Chen softly read out the words on the cover of the secret manual. After he flipped through a few pages, his eyes lit up.
This Cultivation Technique was not complicated. After a quick look through, he understood most of it. It was not of high rank, but it would be very useful to him.
As long as Xiao Chen learned this Cultivation Technique, he would be able to hide his true strength at any time. Unless it was someone who far surpassed his strength, no one would discover him.
Back then, Gao Yangyu used this Cultivation Technique to hide his strength from everyone.
Xiao Chen carefully put away the Foundation Returning Art. Then, he placed the rest of the treasures into a spatial ring. After he left the Cloud Sea Domain, he would sell them.
“Hey, it’s empty. This is empty too.”
Ao Jiao’s expression changed slightly. The spaces within the two quasi-Emperors’ rings were chaotic; there was nothing inside.
When Xiao Chen heard this, he could not help but be startled. He was looking forward to the treasures of two quasi-Emperors. How could there be nothing in the spatial rings?
“What is going on?” Xiao Chen took a look for himself. There was indeed nothing in the spatial rings; they were completely empty.
Ao Jiao lowered her head in thought. Since these were the spatial rings of quasi-Emperors, it did not make sense for them not to have anything.
After a while, she said in understanding, “I recall now. It should be a certain Secret Treasure in the spatial ring. When its master died, the imprint in the Secret Treasure would disappear. Then, it would explode and destroy the space in the spatial ring.”
“There is such a Secret Treasure?” Xiao Chen was quite surprised, feeling disappointed.
The large amount of treasure that he anticipated all disappeared. Anyone would be upset with this and feel depressed.
Ao Jiao smiled and said, “Secret Treasures that can destroy space are extremely rare, but they exist. An ancient faction like the Divine Dragon Palace should have many of them. They should be able to give one to every expert at the quasi-Emperor realm and above.”
This is really ruthless. Even if they die, they do not let others benefit.
Xiao Chen thought to himself, In the future, when defeating quasi-Emperors, I cannot kill them on the spot. I have to knock them out first.
He put this thought aside for now. He received many benefits from this trip to the treasure mountain. The ten jade strips were already sufficient.
So what if the belongings of two quasi-Emperors were gone? He still had things he needed to do.
Xiao Chen took out the Multiflora Rose Pendant and revealed a reminiscent look. Then, he took out the Cycle Banner.
He held them in his hand, preparing to infuse the Grief Throne into the Cycle Banner.
“Oh, right, Ao Jiao, help me out. Go to Starry Cloud Island and check on the Mo Clan’s situation.”
Two months had passed. Mo Chen should have already gathered back the Mo Clan. Now that the eight City Lords were dead, the Cloud Sea Domain would be in chaos for a long time.
This situation would give Mo Chen a great opportunity. Her talent and gifts had been suppressed all the while.
Now that Mo Chen had the Book of Heavenly Works, and since Xiao Chen had killed Shattered Cloud City’s City Lord, who had suppressed her, her future path would be much smoother.
Ao Jiao nodded, and her figure flashed, flying towards Starry Cloud Island.
She was now as strong as a quasi-Emperor. No one in the Cloud Sea Domain could pose a threat to her.
Xiao Chen was going to leave the Cloud Sea Domain soon. If Ao Jiao went to check up on the Mo Clan, he would feel much assured.
He took out the Dragon Phoenix Cauldron, then the Solar True Flame. The surface of the Golden Crow egg was already covered in cracks. In another two or three months, it should hatch successfully.
What kind of existence would it be? The thought filled him with anticipation.
Xiao Chen took out the Golden Crow Egg and placed it to one side. Then, he put the Multiflora Rose Pendant in the cauldron and started to use the Lunar True Flame to melt it.
Having experienced infusing thrones a few times before, he was very familiar with the process. By the time the sky turned dark, he had already successfully infused the Grief Throne into the Cycle Banner.
Massacre, Death, Ruin, and Grief—of the seven thrones, Xiao Chen already had four with three remaining undiscovered. However, he had information about the Despair Throne.
As for the Pain Throne and Destruction Throne, he did not know when he would be able to find word of them.
“Hu chi!”
Xiao Chen held up the Cycle Banner and gently waved it, unfurling the banner. Starlight of four colors mixed, raising the might of the Cycle Banner by another level.
The characters for “Massacre,” “Death,” “Ruin,” and “Grief” all came out together. Confronted with this, even a quasi-Emperor would have to make a strategic retreat.
Unfortunately, before Xiao Chen gathered all seven thrones, the “Cycle” in the banner’s name would remain empty.
The will of thunder was weaker than the will of primal chaos in the end. Even with the immortal attribute, he would have difficulty clashing with Chu Chaoyun.
Xiao Chen also did not know how the outstanding talents were doing in the Astral Battlefield. How strong were the same-generation experts of the Deep Abyss Demon Races?
Would Chu Chaoyun be at the Astral Battlefield?
Xiao Chen stopped thinking about all this for now. Then, he put away the Cycle Banner and started on the next task: having the Solar True Flame swallow up the Purple Thunder True Fire to strengthen further.
The Solar True Flame that Mo Chen gave him was much weaker than his Lunar True Flame. Only by swallowing the Purple Thunder True Fire could it balance the Lunar True Flame and create a true Taiji Yinyang Flame Diagram.
The Purple Thunder True Fire was an extreme Yang flame. However, it was not the strongest one. Its quality was much lesser than the Lunar True Flame’s.
Xiao Chen stretched his hands open, and the Origin Flames of the Solar True Flame and Purple Thunder True Fire appeared in his palms at the same time.
Then, he gently pushed them together. The two clumps of light—one large and one small—quickly mingled and tried to swallow each other up.
The Origin Flame of the Purple Thunder True Fire was deeply rooted, connected with the Purple Thunder Divine Incantation. It stubbornly resisted the Solar True Flame and even tried to swallow the Solar True Flame, instead.
This time, Xiao Chen needed to suppress the Purple Thunder True Fire. The process of swallowing did not go smoothly; there were even many hiccups.
After spending the entire night, Xiao Chen released his bated breath. The Solar True Flame finally swallowed up the Purple Thunder True Fire.
The results differed from his expectations. The Purple Thunder True Fire’s Origin Flame did not seem to have disappeared entirely. When he circulated the Purple Thunder Divine Incantation, he could feel a connection to the Solar True Flame.
From the looks of this, when Xiao Chen advanced the Purple Thunder Divine Incantation to the eighth layer in the future, the Solar True Flame would improve further due to its fusion with the Purple Thunder True Fire.
So it seemed like some of his initial worries were unnecessary.
Xiao Chen calmed himself down and dealt with the many things he needed to do.
Then, he started practicing the saber on the desolate island, studying the Profound Saber Technique Thousand Frost Battle Snow.
If Xiao Chen learned this Saber Technique, his repertoire would include four different Profound Martial Techniques—Instant of Glory, Subduing Dragon Profound Slash, the Palm Technique Thousand Year Flame, and the Thousand Frost Battle Snow.
Every one of these moves was a powerful killing move. If executed with his quasi-Emperor strength, their might would be even more horrifying.