After Chen Xia's slaying of the dragon, the Eight Great Forces of Qing Province convened a meeting with their respective clan leaders in attendance.
On the side of Little Cinnabar Hall, it was apparent that Chen Xia would not be attending, as it held little interest for him. Therefore, the Master of Little Cinnabar Hall went in his place.
This situation left the Master of Little Cinnabar Hall with mixed feelings. On one hand, he was delighted to participate in the meeting of the Eight Great Forces. On the other hand, he worried about saying something wrong and offending the leaders of the other forces, which could hinder Chen Xia's actions.
Concerned about this, the Master of Little Cinnabar Hall respectfully asked Chen Xia for guidance.
Chen Xia reclined in his chair and casually waved his hand, saying, "You go ahead. Even if you jump on the table and reward yourself, they wouldn't dare say anything."
The Master of Little Cinnabar Hall didn't know the exact meaning of "reward," but it should be a good thing. Still worried, he asked again, "Is it really okay for me to go? What if I say something foolish and offend those clan leaders?"
"That's not a problem you should worry about," Chen Xia shook his head and picked up the teacup beside him, taking a sip before continuing, "It's a problem those clan leaders should worry about."
Chen Xia's words were full of confidence, and they were indeed the truth.
The Master of Little Cinnabar Hall was momentarily stunned. After careful consideration, he seemed to agree with Chen Xia. He rubbed his head, pondered for a while, and then respectfully took his leave from Chen Xia.
Sitting in his chair by the door, Chen Xia didn't care about these matters. Instead, he focused his spiritual energy inward and began to refine his supernatural techniques.
Since arriving in Qing Province, he had been allocating his points to his mana. Currently, his mana had reached three hundred points, but it was of little use for comprehending powerful supernatural techniques.
For example, the Ignite Blood Extinguish Soul Method still had significant limitations. It could only torment old men, and describing it as cutting flesh with a scalpel was not quite accurate; it was at most a needle prick to draw blood.
Rong Granny was quite knowledgeable in this regard.
However, allocating points to mana facilitated the understanding of ordinary magical techniques.
Chen Xia had now mastered the Five Elements Mystic Arts, effortlessly wielding the power of both ice and fire.
Nevertheless, the Five Elements Mystic Arts were indeed the simplest magical techniques among cultivators. Many Foundation Establishment cultivators initially learned these techniques. The entry barrier was low, but mastery was difficult.
Because the Five Elements Mystic Arts could also produce immortal techniques, and some cultivators achieved the status of Great Emperor by solely cultivating the Five Elements Fire Technique, condensing several world-devouring flames into an immortal technique called... I can't quite remember.
Was it the Furious Fire Lotus?
Chen Xia couldn't recall it clearly.
In any case, the Five Elements Mystic Arts held the potential for achieving the status of an Emperor and became formidable once mastered.
Chen Xia was currently on the path to mastery. When he created a combined technique, such as the Lightning Whirlwind Slash, he would probably be considered a master.
Apart from these magical techniques, Chen Xia also possessed the Profound Obscurity Dao Chapter. However, he hadn't devoted much time to studying it and had only inscribed the Reincarnation Abyss Dao Chapter so far.
Chen Xia didn't want to inscribe other Dao Chapters; he simply hoped to optimize the Reincarnation Abyss Dao Chapter and add some beneficial effects for himself.
For example, critical hits, bleeding, armor penetration, and so on.
He was the owner, so having some privileges was normal, right?
Apart from the Dao Zhang, Chen Xia also had the Celestial Dragon Imprint, which was one of his trump cards. With the Celestial Dragon Imprint, he could contend against the Heaven-Replenishing Realm. He had no problem dealing with cultivators at the First Heaven of the Heaven-Replenishing Realm, like the Third Elder, at least it was a fifty-fifty chance.
Moreover, the Third Elder should be stronger than ordinary cultivators at the First Heaven of the Heaven-Replenishing Realm because of the Blue Sky Sword Sea's blessing.
Rounding it off, Chen Xia was equivalent to being stronger than a cultivator at the First Heaven of the Heaven-Replenishing Realm.
In addition to this, Chen Xia had three million sword intents and the tip of a Fairy Sword.
The three million sword intents were already under his flexible control and had long recognized him as their master.
As for the tip of the Fairy Sword, it hadn't revealed its power or acknowledged its master yet.
Even the Fishing Old Man at the Saint Realm found it difficult to use this Fairy Sword, let alone Chen Xia at the Fifth Layer of the Reversing Sea Realm.
He only hoped that when a crisis of life and death arrived, this Fairy Sword would exert some strength in return for the care he had given it for so long.
The last trump card was the book "Life Technique" that Chen Xia obtained from the Great Profound Capital. It recorded various techniques related to lifespan and time.
However, Chen Xia's cultivation level and spiritual power were not enough to see the specific contents of the "Life Technique," let alone learn it.
These things couldn't be rushed; he could only wait and slowly accumulate points and improve his cultivation level before learning it.
Chen Xia shook his head gently, raised his head slightly, and looked at the moonlight of the night.
It was transparent and bright.
If there were more stars decorating it, it would be an exceptionally beautiful moonlight.
Unfortunately...
Chen Xia stood up from his chair, left the pavilion, and walked a few hundred steps forward, arriving at a pond.
There was a bright moon in the water as well.
He rolled up his sleeves, gently scooped it up from the water, and held a handful of moonlight.
The moon disappeared from the water and appeared in his hand.
However, the moon in his hand was different from the moon in the sky.
It wasn't as round and bright.
Chen Xia stared at the moon in his hand, lost in thought.
It was like thousands of years ago when he stood in the fields of Weixi Town, secretly stealing watermelons from other people's homes, and saw the moon just like this.
At that time, there was a cool breeze and loud frog croaking.
The dogs on the roadside were also looking at him and laughing, as if saying, "You're just a dog."
Chen Xia snapped back to reality, returned the moon in his hand to the water, and stood still in the night.
A cool breeze blew through the Little Cinnabar Hall.
But it was still different.
In this small world...
A group of Nascent Soul cultivators appeared, looking at the pitch-black sky in surprise. The previously bright moon had suddenly disappeared and couldn't be seen even with their divine abilities penetrating the clouds.
They were still speculating in surprise, but not long after, the moon reappeared in the sky.
"It's really strange how the moon suddenly disappeared and reappeared."
"Perhaps it's the unpredictable nature of the heavens. Don't think too much about it, let's focus on our cultivation. Now that everyone has reached the peak of the Nascent Soul stage, there might be a chance for ascension when we break through to the Great Perfection stage."
"In ancient times, only the Dao Ancestor ascended. However, those were events from thousands of years ago. I wonder if there is still a path to ascension in the present day."
One of the Nascent Soul cultivators sighed.
"The Dao Ancestor, as the supreme existence closely connected to the world, possesses abundant spiritual energy and opportunities. It is through the means of the Dao Ancestor that we, as long as we exert enough effort, might be bestowed with unparalleled opportunities, allowing us to ascend and soar."
Several Nascent Soul peak cultivators immersed themselves in imagination, feeling a sense of fulfillment as if they were about to ascend imminently.
They even envisioned how to conduct themselves and speak when they meet the Dao Ancestor, aiming to ensure the Dao Ancestor's happiness and satisfaction.
Their eyes turned towards the center of the world.
There stood a towering divine statue, which had taken the efforts of a hundred thousand cultivators and a century to build.
The features of the statue were indistinct, with its garments gently fluttering. Every movement exuded an air of casual and unassuming charm.
This was the appearance of the Dao Ancestor recorded in historical texts.
He also had another name, known as...
The Grand Celestial Venerable!