Book 1, Chapter 24 - Three Battles

Immortal Soaring Blade

Looking at Zhao Jiuge walking away, Zheng Jie’s face changed between green and white. His eyes were sluggish—he had lost. He was filled with confidence at first, but he unexpectedly lost in just one move. He suddenly felt that there was no place for him in this world.

The expression of the dozens of guards around all changed—they felt like they were inferior. They felt shame but also a trace of respect. After all, strength was to be expected. Mo Longjie still had a smile on his face. Although he had never seen Zhao Jiuge fight, it seemed he knew what the result would be. He looked meaningfully at the other elders before silently walking away. Old Mo still had that kind smile on his face as followed Mo Longjie.

The expressions of the other elders changed after Mo Longjie’s gaze swept past them. They remained silent before looking at Zheng Jie and letting out sighs as they left.

Today, Mo Shouyi had a rare day of rest and was in complete shock. He had always known since their first meeting that Zhao Jiuge was strong, but he never expected Zhao Jiuge to beat Zheng Jie, who was also at the late stage of the Blood Movement Realm, in one move. His eyes were filled with admiration.

Only Mo Linger happily bounced around as she told her brother, Mo Shouyi, about Zhao Jiuge’s might. Due to her excitement, her face was red to her neck. Facing his excited sister, Mo Shouyi rolled his eyes and left, but Mo Linger followed. Zheng Jie was the only person left, but then he walked toward his room, disheartened, because he was never one to give up so easily. The only indication that a fight had occurred here was the blood splatter on the ground.

Inside his room, Zhao Jiuge sat down cross-legged on the bed.

Zhao Jiuge felt no excitement from winning that battle earlier, but instead felt the importance of strength even more. He thought about the battle and wager in a month and let out a sigh. Then fighting spirit filled his eyes and he began to cultivate for the battle next month. His eyes shined and he took out the jade bottle. He was ready to make a breakthrough!

He took out a Blue Spirit Pill that was emitting a light blue blow and inhaled its fragrance. Zhao Jiuge felt refreshed and the fragrance turned into spiritual energy that was refined into spirit force. Zhao Jiuge looked at the Blue Spirit Pill but didn’t devour it right away. He decided to cultivate a bit first and then use it.

He calmed his mind and withdrew his emotions as he closed his eyes. He felt the fluctuations of spirit force in his body, which was at the late stage of the Blood Movement Realm, but he hadn’t broken through yet. Zhao Jiuge decided to use the Blue Spirit Pill to break through to the Spirit Transformation Realm and nourish the golden dragon. Otherwise, he really wouldn't be confident about the battle in a month. After all, beside the Sanskrit Divine Body, he had nothing and no fighting experience. Zhao Jiuge decided that after he resolved this matter, it would be time to leave Dong Yang City.

As Zhao Jiuge cultivated, ripples spread in the surrounding air and spiritual energy rushed toward his body. His body continued to refine spiritual energy into spirit force, gradually making it more pure. Most of the spirit force went into his dantian to nourish the golden dragon, and only a smart part flowed through him, nourishing his own body.

The golden dragon was lazily absorbing spirit force like before, but it was a lot larger now. Zhao Jiuge felt the strength of his body change. The laughing buddha was still sitting in his dantian with its eyes closed just like Zhao Jiuge, and the golden dragon was coiled up beneath its feet. After cultivating for several days, Zhao Jiuge opened his eyes and was ready to take a Blue Spirit Pill.

The Blue Spirit Pill in his hand gave off a cool feeling. The light was not dazzling, but Zhao Jiuge knew that it contained a large amount of spiritual energy. It would not be easy to consume it, but he had been preparing the last few days. He let out a big breath and then put the Blue Spirit Pill into his mouth without any hesitation.

The moment the Blue Spirit Pill entered his mouth, it turned into a sweet and fragrant liquid that flowed into his body. Soon, he felt a cold pain that pierced his bones. Subtle crackling sounds could be heard in his veins and blood. If one took a closer look, they would see that his blood was showing signs of freezing and that there were even ice shards. Zhao Jiuge quickly accelerated the Sanskrit Heart Sutra to absorb the Blue Spirit Pill.

But then an even more terrifying, cold feeling rushed through his body, and his blood flow slowed down. Zhao Jiuge’s entire face became red. He didn’t expect the Blue Spirit Pill to be so potent. The Blue Spirit Pill was originally a pill for Spirit Transformation Realm cultivators, but Zhao Jiuge thought that with his Sanskrit Divine Body, he could handle it and break through to the Spirit Transformation Realm. However, he hadn’t expected himself to end up in this mess where the spiritual energy was too strong and his absorption too slow. Soon, it would freeze his blood and the spiritual energy would burst out from his body, causing his death. At this moment, Zhao Jiuge became anxious and began to panic a bit.

While he was panicking, the laughing buddha that always had its eyes closed suddenly opened its eyes and then closed them. It was so fast that Zhao Jiuge didn’t know if it was an illusion or not. The lazy golden dragon suddenly flew up and opened its mouth to absorb this large amount of cold spiritual energy.

As the golden dragon absorbed the cold spiritual energy, the slowly freezing blood began to move and Zhao Jiuge was secretly relieved as he accelerated the absorption of spiritual energy. Just like this, more than half a month passed by. During this time, Zhao Jiuge didn’t move at all, and if not for the small amount of breathing, you would think something had gone wrong.

During this time, Zhao Jiuge was like a rock. He allowed time to pass without any hint of impatience. His eyes were still closed and his mind was focused on the waves of spiritual energy inside his body.

Time slowly passed and the remaining effect of the pill slowly disappeared. As the last bit of Blue Spirit Pill was absorbed, the invisible pressure of the Spirit Transformation Realm spread out across the entire Mo mansion. Zhao Jiuge suddenly opened his eyes, and his gaze was profound. A ripple of light spread across his skin, and although his physical appearance hadn’t changed, his temperament had become more refined. He was no longer that skinny youth from the mountain village.

Zhao Jiuge was not the only person who was in closed door cultivation. As the pressure spread out, Mo Longjie, who was also cultivating, half-opened his eyes. A smile appeared on his originally heavy expression. He had finally confirmed that he was not wrong. Then he thought about how he didn’t have much time and quickly calmed himself to go back into a cultivation state.

Zhao Jiuge observed the golden dragon in his body and noticed that it had grown several fold. After it had absorbed all the spirit force it wanted, it lazily closed its eyes to rest. Zhao Jiuge looked at his own body filled with spirit force. There was now a layer of light around his body. He had a smile on his face like a child that was given candy.

He couldn’t wait, so he pushed open the door. Then he walked out of the Mo mansion. Dong Yang City was still as bustling as before. However, the moment he left the Mo mansion, he had that feeling of being tracked again. He looked around and couldn’t find anything, so he ended up forgetting about it. He rushed out of the city and headed toward the mountain. The moment he left the city, that feeling disappeared.

As the one month limit got closer and closer, the atmosphere of the entire Dong Yang City became tense. The battle between the Mo and Xiao families wouldn’t affect just them. All the smaller families and rogue cultivators would be affected, so they were all waiting for that day to arrive.

Several days passed and the day of the three battles finally arrived.

“Family Head, that child Jiuge has been gone for seven or eight days and still hasn't come back. Could he have ran off?” At this moment, Old Mo was no longer smiling like before, but had a serious expression. Today was the day of the battle against the Xiao family, but there was not a trace of Zhao Jiuge.

Mo Longjie’s expression was relaxed and he smiled faintly. “No, that child is not someone like that. Let’s go first and leave someone behind to wait for him. Once he comes back, they will bring him to the outskirts of the city.” Then Mo Longjie left with the people of the Mo family. Aside from Mo Longjie, everyone else had heavy expressions. Anything could happen today, and they had all made preparations for the worst.

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