Chapter 1476 (Raw 1456):
Western Sea Divine Dragon Palace!
With the words "Western Sea Divine Dragon Palace" echoing in his mind, Xiao Chen silently left Heavenly Star Island. Then, he casually arrived at an island in the Western Sea.
This island was known as Starry Universe Island. It was not really famous locally, but it was one of the few islands that chose to be neutral.
It had not chosen to envassal itself to the Dragon's Gate or the Blood Clad Sect. Due to the island's poor location and lack of resources, the Blood Clad Sect did not make a move on it.
In recent times, the traffic in Starry Universe City on Starry Universe Island had clearly increased.
The reason was obvious: its neutrality.
Now, the Blood Clad Sect was flourishing. There were many factions that chose to envassal themselves to the Blood Clad Sect. Most of the Western Sea was filled with the Blood Clad Sect's factions. Finding a peaceful place was extremely hard.
The factions destroyed by the Blood Clad Sect and the cultivators headed to the Western Sea would choose to stop here.
Xiao Chen came here to find news about Mo Chen and the other Dragon's Gate Elders.
The best source of information was naturally an information broker. As long as one had money, one could find out anything. However, there was also the risk of exposing his identity.
Hence, Xiao Chen could only seek out other avenues.
Restaurants naturally became Xiao Chen's target. The restaurants of any city would always be where people from all walks of life gathered. The people idly chatting there would definitely discuss the latest news from the Dragon's Gate's destruction.
After entering the largest restaurant in the city, Xiao Chen looked for a table in a quiet corner and called over a waiter. Then, he ordered a flask of wine and started to drink casually.
All sorts of discussions rang out in the large hall, adding a lot of noise to the lively atmosphere.
This was how restaurants were normally like. If one preferred peace and quiet, one would have to go to a teahouse.
[TL Note: The word for "restaurant" here includes the character for wine. So it is basically a wine house. However, it does not make sense to sell wine without food. Think of this place as something like a bar and grill but one that serves all sorts of dishes aside from grilled food.]
As Xiao Chen expected, the main topic of discussion in the restaurant was the Dragon's Gate's destruction.
Xiao Chen already knew how the Dragon's Gate was destroyed. He pricked his ears up and listened for information about Mo Chen and the others.
"I heard that the Blood Clad Sect already announced that if the Azure Dragon King still does not appear within half a month, they will start executing people in Western Dragon City. They will kill one person every day until Xiao Chen appears."
"How ruthless! The Blood Clad Sect is actually using such unscrupulous means to force Xiao Chen out, even doing something that shameless."
"However, this Xiao Chen is also another matter. Why did he not appear? If he had, the Dragon's Gate would not have been destroyed and reduced to such a sorry state."
"How is he going to appear? From the moment he jumped off the Emperor's Road, the Azure Dragon King was already lost. If he appears, he will just end up getting humiliated and killed. Do you think Xiao Chen is still the Xiao Chen of the past?!"
"Hey, everyone knows that this is just an excuse. A mountain cannot contain two tigers. Even without Xiao Chen in the picture, the Blood Clad Sect would still attack the Dragon's Gate. If anyone is to blame, it's the Dragon's Gate for being too lenient, not eliminating this potential danger early on."
Xiao Chen raised his winecup and drained it in one go, remaining silent.
It was like the cultivators in the restaurant said: by doing this, the Blood Clad Sect was clearly forcing Xiao Chen to show himself. This method was truly shameless, but it had to be said that this method was rather effective.
After leaving money on the table as payment, Xiao Chen got up and turned around to leave. Just at this moment, he heard another piece of information.
"I heard that the Holy Daughter Yue Bingyun issued a Hero's Invitation today, inviting the Heavenly Starry Ocean's outstanding talents to head to Western Dragon City to rescue Dragon's Gate's people."
"Yue Bingyun is truly worthy of the Holy Daughter title. She is indeed loyal to her friends. Rumor has it that she knelt before the Lunar Palace's Palace Master for seven days and seven nights for the sake of getting the Lunar Palace to make a move. However, for some reason, the Bright Moon Empress still did not agree."
"The Blood Clad Sect is now a large faction. Even the Bright Moon Empress had no choice but to evaluate the situation carefully. However, logically speaking, the Lunar Palace should not fear the Blood Clad Sect. Perhaps there are circumstances that others are not aware of."
"Who knows? In any case, the Lunar Palace did not make a move. Hence, Yue Bingyun has no other choice but to use her own influence to send out a Hero's Invitation. I wonder how effective it will be."
When Xiao Chen heard this, he was stunned for a moment. After a short pause, he shook his head and still left in the end.
Half a month. He had only half a month left. From here on, he could not stop for even a moment.
After sending Jiang Tian a message, Xiao Chen rented a courtyard in the city.
—
It was now late at night. The moon was like a silver disk hanging high in the sky.
Xiao Chen sat on a stone platform under a towering tree in the courtyard. He took out the Universe Origin Fruit that he had not had a chance to use yet.
This was the Dao Fruit that even Immortals would seek out during the Immortal Epoch, a priceless treasure.
According to legend, after one consumed and refined this fruit, one's cultivation would increase by one thousand years, directly reaching Prime.
However, Xiao Chen did not believe this.
Reaching Prime was not as simple as just increasing one's cultivation. It was a kind of breakthrough, surpassing the limits of a Ninth Heaven Martial Emperor. However, the rules of the Heavenly Dao of this abandoned land obstructed them, preventing them from improving further.
Primes were already clearly no longer Martial Emperors but still fell within the boundaries of Martial Emperors. It was a cultivation realm that was filled with pain and contradictions.
However, Xiao Chen now clung to the hope that this rumor was true. If he could advance to Prime just by consuming the Universe Origin Fruit, he would not have to fear the Blood Clad Sect at all.
He opened his palm with some anticipation. Then, he refined the Universe Origin Fruit into a golden liquid filled with Spiritual Energy before swallowing it.
After the Universe Origin Fruit was refined into a liquid, it was like fresh spring water, devoid of any strange taste.
A moment later, the liquified Universe Origin Fruit permeated into all his internal organs, limbs, and bones.
A strange feeling pervaded Xiao Chen's entire body. Before he could react, light suddenly shot out of his body, emitting vast Immortal Qi.
Xiao Chen's body became like an instrument giving off Immortal music inaudible in the mortal world. The music contained the sound of the Great Dao.
The towering tree behind him was like a fairy, waving and dancing to the music.
The entire courtyard instantly came to life. Amid this ethereal Immortal music, it became filled with Spiritual Energy and danced along to the music.
Such a strange change caught Xiao Chen off guard. He had consumed many natural treasures before. However, there had never been one that could produce such a profound mysterious phenomenon.
The Immortal music did not require one to listen on purpose. It was like the sound of the Great Dao playing beside the ear, like one heard the supreme Great Dao itself.
The Cycle Heart aside, the will of ice, the Innate Thunder Crystal, and the Saber Energy in the sea of consciousness grew restless, incredibly agitated by this Immortal music.
Dao!
Xiao Chen was startled to his senses. The Universe Origin Fruit was indeed as he expected—it was a fruit for attaining the Dao.
It was allowing him to choose which Dao to obtain: the Thunder Dao, the Ice Dao, or the Saber Dao.
Unfortunately, the Cycle Dao seemed too strong. Even the Universe Origin Fruit could not move it.
Given that pursuit of the Cycle Dao was not an option, of the three Great Dao, Xiao Chen naturally chose the Saber Dao without hesitation.
With a thought, the Saber Energy in his sea of consciousness flourished with great brilliance, overshadowing the lights of the will of ice and the Innate Thunder Crystal.
The initially somewhat discordant Immortal music changed tunes, turning into one single pure melody.
All the spiritual liquid refined from the Universe Origin Fruit turned into music notes entering the sea of consciousness. His cultivation in the way of the saber greedily absorbed this Great Dao music, slowly growing stronger.
The number of spots of Saber Energy in his sea of consciousness multiplied, more than a hundred times faster than when he cultivated Saber Energy himself.
Xiao Chen's mind turned clear. His understanding of Saber Techniques expanded as if he had opened a large door.
All sorts of wondrous thoughts poured in, enlightening him. Such a feeling was indescribable.
Three days. It took a total of three days for him to fully absorb the Universe Origin Fruit.
Now, a hundred spots of Saber Energy gathered in his sea of consciousness. Then, they formed a complete Great Dao.
The Saber Great Dao that Qing Yun, the Item Spirit of the Saber Medallion, mentioned was comprehended by Xiao Chen like this. When Pan Huang comprehended the Saber Great Dao, he was already a hundred years old. Xiao Chen was only thirty-five years old now. By the Kunlun Realm's standards, he was genuinely a junior.
There was none before and none after this that could comprehend the complete Saber Dao before the age of hundred as a result of a fortuitous encounter.
Xiao Chen opened his eyes and muttered, "Dao!" The Great Dao Energy behind him turned into a faint disk of light as it appeared.
"Ka ca!"
At this moment, the sabers of more than ten thousand bladesmen in Starry Universe City felt an invisible pressure and shattered at the same time.
"What's going on?"
The bladesmen were all flustered, afraid.
