All living things in this world had spirituality. Mystical Wood was able to gather this spirituality. Thus, any place where Mystical Wood grew would become spiritual ground, which was precious, sacred ground most suitable for the cultivation of martial artists.

Many of the mighty Nobles’ mansions and Martial Art Sects of the Yulan Empire would search all over for Mystical Wood, in order to improve their luck. With the wood, they could set up a sacred ground for cultivation and harness the flow of fortune from all directions.

Marquis Jiange’s Residence had a gold-grained rosewood tree. Apparently, it had been growing for over eight centuries and was the principal inheritance of Marquis Jiange’s Residence.

According to rumors, the gold-grained rosewood was planted in Jiange.

However, no one within the Marquis’ Residence knew where Jiange was.

From this, one could see how valuable a living Mystical Wood tree was. It was definitely ten times, a hundred times more expensive than a piece of Mystical Wood. It was a sacred object that countless major clans would go insane for.

Ning Xiaochuan spent half the day before managing to dig out the Blood-toad Wood with all of its roots intact. The longest root was seventeen meters long.

He carried the Blood-toad Tree, which weighed a few thousand pounds, and strenuously climbed up the cliff, panting with exhaustion. If his Cultivation had not advanced to Stage Eight Qi, he might have no other option than to break the Blood-toad Wood into pieces so that he could bring it to the top of the cliff.

It would be a shame if that was the case. The value of the Blood-toad Tree would decrease by at least ten times.

At the top of the cliff, Murong Wushuang was cultivating the Tortoise-breath Still Technique. His body was sprawled on the ground like a Mystical Tortoise. He was motionless, and rings of Qi flowed around his body, forming a gigantic Qi force field.

The wound on his neck had closed. It was already healed.

Being Tortoise-breath Still meant that one had to breathe, move and rest, ingest and excrete like a Mystical Tortoise. In that manner, the practitioner would become one with the world, linking the Qi between heaven and earth. This caused the Qi to flow into one’s body even quicker, which would transform into one’s own Combat Qi.

More than a century ago, the army of Marquis Jiange’s Residence stormed a major shrine that had plans of rebellion. All the experts of that shrine were annihilated, and their gold coins, Magnetite, treasure, techniques, and books were taken to Marquis Jiange’s Residence’s treasury.

The Tortoise-breath Still Technique was one of those techniques. It was the cultivation technique of a first-rate expert from that shrine.

Ning Xiaochuan watched Murong Wushuang, thinking to himself that the guy truly had exceptional talent. He could get a grasp of the Tortoise-breath Still Technique so quickly. If he were to consume Heart-nourishing Liquid and Blood-increasing Liquid every day, it would be a piece of cake for him to break through to Stage Nine Qi within three months.

Just by cultivating a low-level cultivation manual like Heaven and Earth Qi, Murong Wushuang was able to reach Stage Seven Qi when he was fifteen. This was a shocking phenomenon.

If he had not hidden his Cultivation all this while, he would have been roped in by one of the Nobles’ mansions and become a Noble disciple or martial arts saint.

Murong Wushuang sensed Ning Xiaochuan’s presence and opened his eyes. When he spotted the gigantic Blood-toad Wood beside Ning Xiaochuan, he was indescribably astonished and said excitedly, “Such a huge piece of Blood-toad Wood. How much can you sell it for?”

Ning Xiaochuan said, “A living Mystical Wood is a priceless treasure. It can’t even be bought with money. It’s able to transform the fortune of a large area of land, converting it into sacred ground. Let’s go! We’d better leave this place soon. The shopkeeper of Xuanye Emporium tracked us here, which means that there must be others from Xuanye Emporium who know about this. If they notice that Cui Buping hasn’t returned after a long time, they might send their other experts here.”

Just as Ning Xiaochuan and Murong Wushuang were deciding to leave, a dragon’s roar boomed from above!

“Howl!”

This dragon’s roar shook heaven and earth as if it was an explosion of thunder. Even the clouds were scattered.

It was only a roar, yet it caused Ning Xiaochuan and Murong Wushuang to go completely limp. They fell down to one knee, and could only brace themselves against the ground to prevent their body from collapsing.

“Swoosh swoosh!”

The entire sky darkened as dark clouds converged. Over a hundred bolts of lightning pierced through the clouds.

One could vaguely see a colossal dragon flying amongst the clouds. Lightning constantly flashed from its mouth as it attacked a person dressed in black who was also swooping through the clouds.

That black-clothed person was riding a serpent with wings. The winged serpent’s body was over a hundred meters long. It was a massive creature that could spit flames and poison fog!

This was a battle between two dominant powerhouses. The power that dissipated from their battle was enough to cause a Qi Realm monk to be unable to stand up straight.

It was as if two immortal beings were exchanging blows in the sky, witnessed by the mortals below.

“Yue Wuyang, I didn’t expect you to have attained this realm.” The black-clothed person atop the winged serpent appeared to be injured. A pair of black eyes glared at the gigantic dragon in the clouds. No, to be accurate, they were glaring at the stalwart figure standing on the dragon’s head.

It was a young man who stood upon the dragon’s head.

His hands were behind his back, and he exuded a bold aura that seemed to look down upon the whole world. He appeared very young and wore a long, white robe, looking like a banished immortal amongst the clouds.

Yue Wuyang!

Could he be the youngest Martial Supreme of the Yulan Imperial Palace – the Cloud Marquis, Yue Wuyang!

Ning Xiaochuan and Murong Wushuang were stunned. They sat on the ground and stared up at the sky, their eyes fixed upon that colossal dragon. The man standing on the dragon’s back was actually the Yulan Imperial Palace’s most legendary character, a goal that countless youths worked towards, a godlike figure that countless women adored.

The Cloud Marquis!

“So Yue Wuyang is a Divine Dragon Warrior.” Murong Wushuang looked up to Divine Dragon Warriors greatly. He had always felt that each Divine Dragon Warrior was a legendary character, a truly supreme hero.

In the sky, Yue Wuyang stared at the black-robed man with an arrogant gaze. “Official Tian, you’d better surrender! The Southern Mountain Division of your Dark Emperor City has been uprooted by the Dragon Elephant Divine and Crimson-armored Camps. Just tell me where the main division of Dark Emperor City is, and I’ll personally vouch for you before the Lord Emperor. You’ll have a chance to provide a service that’ll make up for your past.”

Ning Xiaochuan was astounded. It turned out that one of the Dark Emperor City’s divisions was located in Southpearl Mountain. It looked like the Dragon Elephant Divine Soldiers and the Crimson-armored Army, which he had noticed in the Southern Mountain Cluster Bazaar, were all heading to wipe out a division of the Dark Emperor City, not its headquarters.

Official Tian laughed icily. “Yue Wuyang, are you kidding me? You want me to betray the Phantom Mayor? If anyone goes against the Phantom Mayor, even someone like you, they’re a goner.”

“Really? I don’t believe that. Since you’re being so stubborn, I’ll send you on your way.” Yue Wuyang stretched out a hand. Surging Earthly Martial Qi formed a gigantic palm print, a hand as large as a cloud, which flew towards Official Tian.

This was a power that scorned all else. The air was rapidly compressed and the currents clashed against each other, resulting in a sharp “cracking” sound that warned of an explosion.

The whole Southpearl Mountain was quaking as if it was going to sink down under the force of this palm.

Under Yue Wuyang’s tremendous power, Official Tian did not even have the ability to retaliate. With a blood-curdling shriek, he fell from the sky.

“Bang!”

As for Official Tian’s mount, the winged serpent was immediately crushed into a bloody mist by that gigantic palm print. A sprinkle of blood rained down, and not even an intact piece of bone was left.

In the instant that Official Tian fell from the sky, an old, frail voice rang out in Ning Xiaochuan’s mind. “Save… Me…”

This voice sounded as if it was right beside his ear.

Ning Xiaochuan was feebly paralyzed on the ground and turned around with great difficulty to stare at Murong Wushuang. “What did you say just now?”

Murong Wushuang was also paralyzed on the ground and replied dazedly, “I didn’t say anything!”

Amongst the younger generation, their Cultivations were considered to be quite decent. Nonetheless, the force that exploded from the palm print of a character like Yue Wuyang would still force them to the ground. They could not move a muscle.

“That’s strange. Whose voice was that? Could it be Official Tian? Or some specter of the mountain?” Ning Xiaochuan stared at the gigantic dragon in the sky. Only half of its head was exposed amongst the clouds, but it still filled the sky, intimidating all living creatures of Southpearl Mountain into prostrating themselves.

Yue Wuyang stood on the dragon’s head. Endless Earthly Martial Qi was absorbed back into his body like a river. He did not even glance at the ground. “Official Tian is dead, and the Dark Emperor City has lost one of its generals. Let’s go to the Southern Mountain Division and see if the battle’s over.”

The giant dragon seemed to understand his words. With a flap of its wings, it tore through the clouds and swiftly flew away.

Ning Xiaochuan and Murong Wushuang were still sprawled on the ground. They were disoriented from the shock, forever unable to forget that terrifying, massive palm print just now.

That was true power which was able to suppress everything in this world.

Under the might of that massive hand, everything appeared minuscule.

“I want to be a Divine Dragon Warrior too. I want to be honored as a Marquis, a Supreme.” Murong Wushuang was unusually stirred up. The ambition to be strong had been ignited in his heart. As he clenched his fists tightly, his eyes turned increasingly determined.

Murong Wushuang and Ning Xiaochuan spent only one day to exit Southpearl Mountain. Once again, they returned to the village at the bottom of Southpearl Mountain.

In one day’s time, Murong Wushuang had completely memorized the Tortoise-breath Still Technique. After that, he destroyed the slab on which the Tortoise-breath Still Technique was inscribed, ensuring that the technique would not be leaked.

As they were leaving the village, Ning Xiaochuan turned back and gazed at the enormous mountain behind him. A strange glint came into his eyes as he recalled the old voice that had rung in his ear.

“Save me, save me…”

That voice echoed incessantly in Ning Xiaochuan’s mind.

“Master, what are you thinking about? We’re returning to Begonia Manor.” Yu Yan stood beside the Green Deerhorse carriage. Her graceful figure turned around and noticed that Ning Xiaochuan was lost in thought, so she called out to him.