Chapter 347 - Focusing On Cultivation
Long Chen had lost count of the number of places he had stayed in so far. However, due to Dongfang Xuanxiao and the rest, he felt like this was home.
Once he entered his quarters and closed the door, Ling Xi emerged excitedly from the Ling Xi Sword. The tiny girl appeared in front of Long Chen, prancing around. It had been a long time since Long Chen had experienced this.
He placed the unconscious Xiaolang gently on the soft bed while Ling Xi watched quietly.
“Brother Chen, I want you to hold me while I fall asleep ...” Ling Xi complained. She had gotten used to that. Now that she had returned to her miniature size, she felt miserable.
“Don’t worry. I will storm the Biyang Imperial Capital in three months. And I will get the Nine Heavens Immortal Fruit.”
Long Chen held out his palm so she could stand on it.
“Mhm!” She nodded hard. “Brother Chen, I’ll be fine, actually. I’m just missing the feeling of having a body. Plus, I have a lot of soul power right now, and there are many soul-nourishing herbs in the Heavenly Demon Palace, so I don’t need to worry about fading away. And I can help you a lot too! Don’t you like it better when I’m like this? Unlike before, I’m not a mere burden.”
“It doesn’t matter how you are; I like you all the same. However, I don’t like other people making my decisions for me. Lin Zichen forced you to abandon the Profound Heavenly Jade Lotus, so I must kill him,” said Long Chen, gazing at the shining stars outside the window.
“Brother Chen, I think your master is right. On the journey of cultivation, one’s mindset is very important. If you let go a little, it might be better,” she said gently, sitting on his shoulder.
He nodded.
“But I must not waste the Rhino King’s carcass. I am now at the Fourth River Stage, which is nothing in the Heavenly Demon Palace. If someone harasses me, I might even need to stand there and endure the humiliation.”
The Rhino King carcass was a welcome gift given to him by Zhao Qingyun. Long Chen used Blood Transmutation to absorb its blood. The Category Seven Earth-tier beast allowed him to return to the Fifth River Stage, but that was still a distance away from his peak at the Sixth River Stage.
“Blood Sacrifice is truly an extraordinarily powerful divine technique, but I need to use it less in the future, or my cultivation level will keep decreasing. That’s not the way to do it. I shouldn’t use it unless my life is at risk,” Long Chen grumbled.
“This time, I must cultivate in a stable and proper manner. Let’s see if I can reach the Sixth River Stage. I also condensed my Heavenly Rivers too quickly, so I need to find a place with adequate starlight in order to slowly fortify my cultivation.”
“Isn’t the peak of Demon Emperor Mountain the closest you can get to starlight?” Ling Xi cocked her head in thought.
“Xiao Xi, you’re so smart! I’ll ask Master tomorrow if I can cultivate up there. From today onwards, I shall focus my mind on cultivation until I become strong enough to defeat Lin Zichen, and maybe until I become the strongest cultivator in the Cangyang Kingdom.”
Long Chen’s heart was filled with passion.
Time passed while he cultivated. Close to dawn, Long Chen noticed that Xiaolang had regained consciousness. He was overjoyed to see that Xiaolang was waking up. Ling Xi also treated Xiaolang like a younger brother, so she was ecstatic to see him wake up. The two communicated telepathically for a while as she told Xiaolang everything that had happened ever since he had fainted. That was how he had learned why he was here.
From Ling Xi’s explanation, Long Chen learned that Xiaolang burning his life fire had resulted in many negative consequences. His strength had even plummeted from Category Five Earth-tier to Category Four.
Long Chen and Xiaolang were very similar in many aspects. The combination of Blood Transmutation and Blood Sacrifice were similar to Xiaolang’s life fire and ability to swallow flames to strengthen himself. However, Long Chen’s method was superior because when he used Blood Sacrifice to increase his strength, it only cost him his cultivation level, while Xiaolang was risking his life.
“If you burn your life fire again in the future, you will no longer be a brother to me.” Afraid that Xiaolang would make an impulsive, rash decision again, Long Chen had no choice but to give him a stern warning.
Xiaolang nodded awkwardly.
“These Fire Essences are all yours. I also have some good news for you. Soon, we will be going to a place called the Pyro Passageways. There will be a lot of Fire Essence there, as well as many high-tier fire elemental demonic beasts. Xiaolang, the chance for your cultivation to skyrocket and even surpass me is here!” Long Chen announced excitedly.
Xiaolang’s eyes widened, visibly excited. The Fire Essences in Long Chen’s hand excited him even more.
If a place like the Pyro Passageways existed, then it would be heaven for him.
“But the catch is that my cultivation level must be among the top ten disciples of the Heavenly Demon Palace,” said Long Chen.
Ling Xi and Xiaolang communicated for a while, then Ling Xi said threateningly to Long Chen, “Brother Chen, Xiaolang wants you to work hard. If he doesn’t get to go to the Pyro Passageways, you will no longer be a brother to him.”
Long Chen did not know whether to laugh or cry, because Xiaolang was using his own words against him.
But it felt good to work hard together as a team ...
Seeing as Ling Xi was much livelier and happier, Long Chen suddenly realized that his previous insistence that she should keep her Profound Heavenly Jade Lotus body might have been the wrong move. Right now, Ling Xi could truly offer Long Chen assistance, and this made her a lot happier. She did not want to be a useless person who only burdened Long Chen.
“Xiao Xi, I’m sorry. I haven’t been considerate of your feelings,” he said sincerely.
“What? I don’t know what you’re talking about. Xiaolang, let’s go play. Let him cultivate on his own.”
***
Life at the Heavenly Demon Palace was quiet. His life became much simpler because after obtaining Zhao Qingyun’s permission, he never returned to the Azure Cloud Residence. Instead, he stayed at the peak of Demon Emperor Mountain and worked all night and day. He mostly cultivated at the peak, but he occasionally descended to visit Dongfang Xuanxiao and Xuanming. He would keep Dongfang Xuanxiao company for a while, passing his days without worry.
Other than that, he never visited any other place in the Heavenly Demon Palace. Despite his shocking arrival at the Demon Hall, like Zhao Qingyun, his public appearances were infrequent and unpredictable. He had basically disappeared from sight. After some time, other than the occasional nepotism-related joke, the people of the Heavenly Demon Palace almost forgot about him.
As for Long Chen’s attitude towards these insults, he had once overheard a conversation about it, and he did not know whether to cry or laugh about it. He was the real Long Chen, but he couldn’t believe that the others thought he was pretending to be Long Chen, relying on his relationship with Dongfang Xuanxiao to become the Palace Lord’s direct disciple. He was speechless. However, recently, he had deliberately worked on calming his mind and suppressing the killing intent inside him. Zhao Qingyun had inadvertently taught him to open his heart. He gained many insights when his heart was open, learning to smile and let go when he heard criticisms like that.
There were many things that did not require explanation. Once Long Chen truly soared, everyone would be blinded by his shining light.
He cultivated at the peak where he was closest to starlight. Days and nights passed, and the eighteen Heavenly Rivers took turns appearing above Long Chen. His cultivation continued to grow towards the Sixth River Stage while he solidified the Heavenly Rivers in his body from the previous five stages to make his foundation more stable.
Clouds and mist enveloped Demon Emperor Mountain’s peak, and not an inch of grass grew. When he looked down, he could see as far as five hundred kilometers. Even Lake City was only the size of his palm from there. That was how high up he was.
He immersed himself in cultivation day and night while Ling Xi stayed by his side as always. Xiaolang no longer needed to cultivate because after consuming the twenty tiny balls of Fire Essence, he was once again a Category Five Earth-tier beast. He was now on the same level as Long Chen at the Fifth River Stage, and like Long Chen, he was also very close to Category Six.
Long Chen looked out at the group of mountains in front.
He stood up on the peak amidst strong wind, his clothes flapping around him.
One month had passed. At this moment, he had a more reserved look. Faint starlight flowed beneath his skin while the blood color slowly faded from his eyes, returning to their original clarity.
After experiencing the tumultuous escape, coupled with focused cultivation on Demon Emperor Mountain, Long Chen’s mind had strengthened greatly.
“Not bad. You finally understand. At this rate, you’ll soon reach the Sixth River Stage.” This was Zhao Qingyun’s comment for him.
On this day, Long Chen completed his cultivation task and returned to the Heavenly Demon Palace. He first met up with Dongfang Xuanxiao, then he reported to Zhao Qingyun and decided to return to the peak.
He was not afraid of getting tired or bored. With Xiaolang and Ling Xi around, fatigue and boredom did not exist.
After he left the Heavenly Demon Palace, he had not walked for long when he noticed some people up ahead. He wanted to mind his own business, but what they did was getting unreasonable.
“You brat, lick it all! Lick them one by one! Stick your butt up! Lick it now! If you don’t lick it clean, I’ll spank your bottom!”
“Yes! If you make your big brother feel good and make us happy, we might reward you with some Heavenly River Pills!”
Long Chen’s gaze fell on a row of Heavenly Demon Palace disciples. Kneeling in front of them was a teenager who was dressed like one of the errand boys. He was crying hard, begging them for mercy. But based on the rudeness of their tone, begging was probably not going to work ...