“Tch tch, no wonder the Moon Flower Sect dares to stand up to the Heavenly King Sect. They actually have such a powerful expert holding the fort!”
“Heh heh, seeing the Heavenly King Sect humiliated is so satisfying.”
“Exactly. Didn’t you see how arrogant that old man Sikong Xuan was just now, saying that if the Moon Flower Sect didn’t leave, they wouldn’t get to leave? But now, they’re the ones fleeing with their tails between their legs.”
“It looks like the structure of the twelve sects is really going to change drastically!”
“Let’s go. There’s nothing more to see here!”
“Yeah, better be careful not to get ourselves caught up in this.”
“The people from the Jade Water Divine Palace, head to the Holy City!”
“The people from the Mysterious Fire Sect, let’s move!”
“The people from the Beast King Palace, set off for the Holy City to prepare for the upcoming Martial Arts Festival.”
…
Seeing the Heavenly King Sect leave, the other sects also chose to withdraw. The black tornado had closed, and the preliminary round was officially over.
Next up was the final round of the Holy Dynasty Martial Arts Festival.
There, one could witness even more extraordinary talents than here.
Only the three southern sects, the Sword King Sect, and the Moon Flower Sect remained.
“What should we do with these people?”
The Moon Lady glanced at Ling Xiao and asked.
“Kill all the Heaven Human realm warriors. Let the rest go.”
Catching fish means releasing the small ones.
Moreover, many of the disciples from these four sects were coerced by their leaders to act. Killing them would be meaningless.
Sparing them wouldn’t cause any trouble either. Ling Xiao wasn’t afraid at all.
“Do it!”
With the Moon Lady’s intervention, along with Wu Xiang and the others, in an instant, all the Heaven Human realm warriors from the four sects were killed. The spoils naturally all went to the Moon Flower Sect.
“Get lost. We’re sparing your lives today. If you dare cause trouble for our Moon Flower Sect again, we’ll kill you without mercy!”
Wu Xiang coldly waved his hand, and the disciples of the four sects fled in panic.
Even with a hundred times more courage, they wouldn’t dare trouble the Moon Flower Sect again.
Some even planned to leave their sects entirely. With so many dead, they likely wouldn’t be welcomed back anyway.
Of course, these were no longer concerns for the Moon Flower Sect. As long as these people didn’t target them, they could do whatever they wanted.
“Next, we should head to the Holy City. Ling Xiao, Lan Yuer, Dai Yuling, and Leng Hao are all qualified to participate in the final round.”
Having dealt with the four sects, Wu Xiang ordered the bodies of the fallen Moon Flower Sect disciples to be collected for proper burial back at the sect. Next, they would head to the Holy City to participate in the final round of the Holy Dynasty Martial Arts Festival.
On the way, Ling Xiao sorted through his gains from the True Demon Forbidden Land.
The Heavenly Vein Pill, Fusion Stone, and these were his biggest harvests.
The rest, he handed over to the Moon Flower Sect, though he made copies of things like martial arts manuals to give to the Divine Sword Sect.
The items he turned in could be exchanged for spirit stone rewards.
Along with the spirit stones he obtained from the True Demon Forbidden Land, he was truly a super wealthy man now.
He had 20 million low grade spirit stones.
He also had 3 million mid grade spirit stones.
And even 10,000 high grade spirit stones.
To put it in perspective, 10 million low grade spirit stones equaled the Moon Flower Sect’s annual income. For a country like the Northern Han, their annual spirit stone income was even less.
It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say Ling Xiao was rich enough to rival a nation.
With so many low grade and mid grade spirit stones, Ling Xiao wouldn’t lack resources for purchasing items or cultivating for the time being.
After all, starting from the Mortal realm, cultivation required spirit stones.
Below the seventh stage of the Mortal realm, an average person consumed one low grade spirit stone every seven days. For Ling Xiao, whose consumption was ten times that of others, it meant ten low grade spirit stones every seven days.
From the seventh stage of the Mortal realm and above, low grade spirit stones had almost no effect, so mid grade spirit stones were needed.
From the seventh stage of the Mortal realm to the Half Step Heavenly Sovereign realm, an ordinary warrior consumed one mid grade spirit stone every seven days, while Ling Xiao, again, consumed ten times that amount.
There was no helping it. His cultivation progressed quickly, and his true essence was robust, naturally requiring more spirit stones.
At the Heavenly Vein warrior realm, an ordinary person consumed one mid grade spirit stone every three days. Ling Xiao, still ten times that, meant ten stones every three days, averaging over three mid grade spirit stones per day, or nearly 100 per month.
Add to that the spirit stones needed for crafting formations and refining pills, and the actual monthly consumption was close to 200 mid grade spirit stones.
With his previous spirit stone reserves, his mid grade spirit stones might have only lasted him a year or two of cultivation.
But now, with 3 million mid grade spirit stones, he could cultivate recklessly without worry.
As for purchasing items, all shops and auctions nowadays required spirit stones, not gold or silver.
While 20 million low grade spirit stones wasn’t an enormous amount, if he encountered something he desired, he wouldn’t be able to afford it without this wealth.
During the journey, Ling Xiao directly consumed the Heavenly Vein Pill. The sooner he used it, the better, as the enemies he’d face in the future would only grow stronger, and the Moon Lady and Wu Xiang couldn’t always be by his side.
He could only rely on his own strength.
From the True Demon Forbidden Land to the Holy City was about a day’s journey.
With the Moon Lady overseeing things, nothing should happen on the way.
Ling Xiao could relax and cultivate aboard the Moonlight Treasure Ship.
In his room, Ling Xiao not only consumed the Heavenly Vein Pill but also began cultivating, as the two complemented each other.
He sat cross legged on a cushion, hands resting on his knees, eyes closed, his body surrounded by black and gold flames.
The strong wind howling outside the window passed by but couldn’t affect him in the slightest.
It was a special technique with no grade, its sole purpose being to condense Heavenly Essence Power, helping warriors at the Heavenly Vein stage to mature and grow stronger.
But cultivating it was still extremely difficult, even harder than jade grade martial arts.
The path of true essence circulation was incredibly complex. A slight misstep could lead to a dead end or even a wrong turn.
Fortunately, Ling Xiao had the Mountain River Martial Soul. After careful analysis and calculation, he finally completed his first perfect cycle.
The effect was clear. The Heavenly Vein Pill’s medicinal power was activated, and the embryonic form of his Heavenly Vein began to grow slowly.
With each cycle, that trace of Heavenly Essence Power seemed to increase slightly.
The amount was so small it could almost be ignored.
But Ling Xiao wasn’t discouraged. He was accustomed to seeking breakthroughs through diligent cultivation. This small matter was nothing to him.
Sweat had already begun to evaporate from his forehead, leaving his hair damp.
His back and chest were soaked with large patches of sweat.
Yet Ling Xiao remained oblivious, eyes still closed, carefully guiding that trace of Heavenly Essence Power through his body’s cycle.
Phew!
After an unknown amount of time, he let out a long breath of turbid air, slowly opening his eyes, visibly fatigued.
