Taking a bloodfish ganoderma had no side effects and could help one advance by a star directly. For any Martial Grandmaster, it was a fatal temptation. Therefore, when Yunxiao mentioned it, everyone was shocked. The temptation was even greater than the Purple Nine Neonate Flood Dragon!
Duan Yue breathed a heavy sigh of relief in his heart as he thought, ‘Fortunately, this lad is witty!’ But on second thought, he realized that he was worse than a boy, and that put a depressed look on his face. The change in his expression made everyone think that he had admitted it.
He sighed, and his eyes seemed to flicker with memory as he said with a heavy tone, “Seven of us went out to sea to get this bloodfish ganoderma, but I’m the only one who returned.”
Everyone’s face fell in an instant!
Although more than seven people went to the sea this time, only seven people were arranged to strike. Was this an ill omen?
Lord Coldcrow’s eyes gleamed with doubt as he said dubiously, “Old Freak Duan, you were a seven-stars Martial Grandmaster when I met you, and you still are. If you really found a bloodfish ganoderma, why didn’t you take it?”
His question gave everyone a pause, and they began to doubt it as well. No matter how valuable a bloodfish ganoderma was, no one would sell it, because it was a treasure that could make a Martial Grandmaster advance by a star!
At that moment, Duan Yue looked at Yunxiao with a warmth in his eyes and said, “It’s all because of this lad. I had given him the bloodfish ganoderma.”
“What!” Everyone was shocked. Tang Qiaoqiao snorted coldly and said, “Old Duan, don’t be ridiculous! With this lad’s cultivation base, if he really swallowed a bloodfish ganoderma, its power would have blown his dantian apart and killed him. Why is he still standing here, alive and kicking?”
“Aye!” Situ Xing said in a cold voice, “And who is this lad to you? Why would you give him a bloodfish ganoderma?”
Duan Yue roared with laughter in his heart. ‘See how I fix you this time!’ With an affectionate look on his face, he caressed Yunxiao’s head like an amiable senior and said gently, “Stop guessing my relationship with him. In short, I divided the bloodfish ganoderma into more than one thousand portions and gave him one portion every day. Otherwise, how is it possible for a fifteen-year-old lad like him to become a Great Martial Master? Tsk, tsk, which one of you can find such an outstanding disciple?”
When he saw Yunxiao’s face stiffen with anger, he laughed so hard in his heart that he could hardly contain it, but he still forced it down and maintained his amiable face.
A fifteen-year-old Great Martial Master…
The crowd fell silent. Apart from those superpowers, it was true that not many sects could cultivate such an outstanding disciple.
Ma Wendi’s eyes flickered. He had previously identified Yunxiao as Duan Yue’s illegitimate son, and he further confirmed that after hearing what Duan Yue just said. Otherwise, who would give up a bloodfish ganoderma to improve the strength of others? Everyone thought the same: they all identified Yunxiao as Duan Yue’s illegitimate son, and with that in mind, they thought that both of them looked really alike.
“What a pity!” Yan Feiyue said with a disappointed look, “After a bloodfish ganoderma is cut, a large amount of its energy will be lost. And this thing is very difficult to keep. By cutting it into over a thousand portions and only taking one every day, at least eighty to ninety percent of its effects were lost. What a pity… you’ve wasted such a precious herb!”
Duan Yue laughed joyfully in his heart. One of his hands kept pointing with Primordial Qi at the acupoints on his thigh, for he feared he might burst into laughter, and he had to pretend an amiable look at the same time. “In this world, there are many things more important than cultivation base, including family ties.”
“Don’t say anything more, bro!” Yunxiao gave a sudden cry. Then, with tears in his eyes and a sobbing tone, he said, “I’m only your half-brother from a different father, and yet you treat me like a brother of the same parent…Don’t say anything more, bro!”
Ah!
Everyone was startled. A half-brother from a different father? Duan Yue was at least one hundred years old, so how old was his mother? And at what age did she give him a fifteen-year-old little half-brother?
They all looked at the brothers in shock and amazement…
“Ugh!”
Duan Yue gave a muffled grunt. A mouthful of blood rushed up into his throat, but he forced it back down, causing it to swim into his internal organs and injure himself. Meanwhile, a stream of Primordial Qi shot into his head, turning his mind almost completely blank.
‘You are really vicious, boy! How am I going to make a living in Qinghai if this gets out?’
He gave Yunxiao a venomous look. He could taste blood when he breathed, and he felt his blood and Primordial Qi boiling inside him. Meanwhile, Yunxiao’s eyes flashed fiercely and grew extremely cold. ‘Hmph! You asked for it! Compared to my wits, yours are nothing!’
The two of them exchanged a glance and fell silent while everyone else had beads of cold sweat trickling down their foreheads. Ma Wendi laughed awkwardly and said, “Brothers should unite together to resist difficulties. I’m sure our operation will be smooth sailing with Senior Duan and your little brother working hand in hand.”
“Ugh!”
Duan Yue grunted again as he clutched his chest with one hand and swallowed back the blood in his mouth.
Lord Coldcrow said hurriedly, “Enough of family affairs! Come, let us study the marine map and the combat plan. Brother Duan, what kind of danger did you encounter here last time? Tell us about it.”
Duan Yue took some time to calm himself down while murmuring in his heart, ‘Rainbow fog, rainbow fog…For the sake of the rainbow fog, I won’t quarrel with this boy for the time being!’
“Nothing special, we just encountered an underwater whirlpool. I was lucky enough to escape alone. Fortunately, I didn’t meet the Purple Nine Neonate Flood Dragon. Otherwise, I wouldn’t be able to come back.” He said moodily. The rest of the people froze for a moment, and then they all looked enlightened.
An underwater whirlpool was a force of nature. It could be large or small, and could be strong enough to pull even a Martial Sovereign into it. Legend had it that the center of the East Sea was a huge whirlpool, which was larger than the entire Skyfragrance Empire. No one knew where such a large amount of water was drained to.
“I see! Then, it is beyond human control.” Ma Wendi said lightly, “We will use the Seven Stars Array to deal with that Purple Nine Neonate Flood Dragon. I’m sure you all are very familiar with the array, and what you lack is cooperation. Since it will take at least one day to arrive at our destination, why don’t we practice a few times here?”
The Seven Stars Array was a very common joint array, one of the few arrays frequently used by the hunting groups in Qinghai. It was simple but powerful enough, and with good teamwork, there was absolutely no problem in trapping a sea monster that was one realm higher than them.
But, the people on the chariot now were all Martial Grandmasters, who normally held themselves aloft and always acted alone. So, they were not as good as common people when it came to working with others. However, at the thought of their target of the trip, the Purple Nine Neonate Flood Dragon, none of them felt confident, so they began to practice under Ma Wendi’s arrangement.
Yunxiao was not interested in their practice, so he stayed alone in the cabin next door to meditate. Since he broke through to become a one-star Great Martial Master, he had been very busy, and his cultivation base had not moved at all. This was the first time he meditated in seclusion.
He took out a few superior-grade Primordial Stones and crushed them all. A large amount of Primordial Qi spread out in the air and was trapped by him with an incantation seal as he took a deep breath, sucking all of it into his body. It then turned into streams of energy and circled over and over through his meridians.
Throughout the whole process, a large amount of Primordial Qi was lost in the circulation, but it was absorbed by his flesh and bones. The rest repeated the cycle, over and over again, until it gradually sunk into his dantian, turning into his own energy.
After absorbing the Primordial Qi, his flesh began to turn glossy and transparent, until his bones and blood vessels could be clearly seen. When the Tyrant Body Tempering Technique reached the first level, which is called the Glazed Body, it could be cultivated together with energy, and they would not interrupt each other.
…
A day later, the chariot flew into the target range, hovering over the boundless sea. Beneath it was a vast expanse of blue, quiet and serene. The crowd stood at the front of the chariot, wantonly releasing their divine senses across the vast expanse of sea. Apart from some ordinary fishes, they found nothing else. Even Yunxiao could not sense the aura of any sea beast.
“Ma Wendi, are you sure this is the place?” Lord Coldcrow could not help but ask. “Could it be that the Purple Nine Neonate Flood Dragon has swum away?”
Situ Xing shook his head and said, “No, sea beasts, like demon beasts, have their own fixed nests, that is, their territorial waters. Since the Purple Nine Neonate Flood Dragon is in this area, unless it was driven away by some stronger sea beast or dead, it will not leave easily.”
“What Brother Situ said is correct!” Ma Wendi smiled and clapped his hands.
Out of the chariot came six men in identical attire, each with a tattoo of a flying sword on his arm, and all at the level of Martial Lords.
“Greetings, Elder Ma!” they cried out in unison.
Ma Wendi said lightly, “Let’s begin!”
“Understood!”
The six men walked to the front of the chariot and each threw out an object, which expanded rapidly in the air. Surprisingly, the object was a hoverboard. Then, they jumped to their own boards and flew out in six different directions.
These hoverboards were a kind of simple flying artifact. They could travel far, but were ineffective during combat.
After flying for several hundred meters, the six men stopped and stood on the boards with a serious look as each took out a small bottle and poured a pale green liquid into the sea.
Those small bottles were actually storage space. A large amount of green liquid flowed out of them, spreading out rapidly as soon as it touched the seawater. About ten minutes later, the seawater within hundreds of miles around had turned pale green, emitting a strange smell.
Yunxiao said in surprise, “The raw juice of snake grass?”
Ma Wendi paused and looked at Yunxiao in amazement, “You’re amazing, Young Master Yun! I can’t believe you can identify such a rare spirit herb.”
The rest of the people looked surprised too. Normally, only alchemists would purposely practice the ability to identify spirit herbs. Could this lad be an alchemist as well? Duan Yue was the only person with a disdainful look as he thought, ‘This is nothing. If you knew how talented this lad is, you would want to kill yourself by slamming into a wall!’