Immortal and Martial Dual Cultivation

Chapter 1924 (Raw 2025): Heavenly Dragon Palace’s Main Peak

Here on orders of Vice Hall Master Li? It looks like the seal on the cuboid crystal has been removed, and it can be opened.

“Whoosh!”

Xiao Chen turned into a flash of lightning. After traveling through layers of formations, he appeared outside his residence.

The person who came was a twenty-something inner palace disciple. When he saw Xiao Chen, he felt slightly shocked, and a trace of reverence appeared in his eyes.

Xiao Chen glanced at him and found this person’s expression rather strange.

“Senior Brother, Vice Hall Master Li told me to bring this crystal to you. He said that it could be opened already, but he had not done anything to it. He also asked me to remind you that there might still be some restrictions inside there, so you should be cautious,” the inner palace disciple said respectfully to Xiao Chen.

Xiao Chen received the cuboid crystal. Vice Hall Master Li had carefully thought about it, fearing that he lacked experience.

However, these worries were for naught. Xiao Chen had encountered similar things many times and was very experienced.

“Oh, right, Vice Hall Master Li also asked me to tell you not to be careless in the competition for the heaven-class core disciple slot. According to the information he received, there is only one slot this time. All the disciples that are capable enough to compete for the heaven-class core disciple slot are cultivating crazily. Xiao Jinyu, Qin Yan, and the other core disciples with heaven-class Elders as their masters are rapidly growing stronger.”

When Xiao Chen betrayed some slight agitation at this news, the inner disciple’s voice trembled slightly.

One slot?

Among the outer palaces, the Heavenly Dragon Palace had the most core disciples, more than ten thousand.

Making these ten-thousand-odd people fight for one heaven-class core disciple slot was somewhat cruel.

No wonder Wei Hongfei said that the Heavenly Dragon Palace’s heaven-class core disciples were not weak, despite not being of a Divine Dragon palace.

Xiao Chen nodded. “Convey my thanks to Big Brother Li. I will definitely do my best to fight for the heaven-class core disciple slot and not let him down.”

“Haha! I believe that Senior Brother Xiao will succeed. Now, everyone in the Heavenly Dragon Palace knows that Senior Brother Xiao defeated and killed Demonic Venerate Mu Yun. Then, you chopped down Rakshasa Tian’s clone with one saber strike in the Abyssal Underworld’s first layer before saving the entire Flame Dragon Legion single-handedly.

“This news has spread throughout the seven outer palaces. Brother Xiao has helped our Heavenly Dragon Palace gain face. You managed to outdo those Divine Dragon palace disciples, truly delightful!” The inner palace disciple spoke a lot in one go in his excitement.

It had been many years since a mixed-blood dragon gained so much attention.

The mixed-blood dragons had always had a rather low status. They were looked down on by the Six Colored Divine Dragons and even those with slightly better True Dragon bloodlines.

Now, Xiao Chen suddenly appeared and outdid the disciples from the Divine Dragon palaces in two missions. This truly aroused excitement.

Xiao Chen finally understood. No wonder he felt that this inner disciple looked at him with such a strange expression at their first meeting.

News traveled fast.

“However, Senior Brother Xiao Chen, do be careful. Those rich clan disciples that took heaven-class Elders as their Masters and some of the veteran core disciples cannot be underestimated. That Yi Qianyun finally broke through to middle-stage Holy Venerate,” the inner palace disciple said, analyzing things objectively and speaking about the opponents that Xiao Chen needed to pay attention to.

Xiao Chen smiled and said, “Many thanks.”

“You are too polite. Too polite.” The inner palace appeared elated to receive Xiao Chen’s thanks. “I will take my leave first, then.”

Xiao Chen sent that person off with his eyes. Then, he looked at the cuboid crystal in his hand as he entered his residence.

Honestly speaking, after opening General Feng’s brocade box and obtaining two great gifts, Xiao Chen no longer had any anticipation for the cuboid crystal’s contents. He did not believe that the Demonic Cloud Mountain Eighteen Great Bandits could give him any pleasant surprises.

He had been spoiled. Naturally, he set his sights higher.

After thinking for a while, Xiao Chen casually put the cuboid crystal away, not planning to check it out for now.

Having just absorbed ten thousand Primeval Heavenly Pills, he was in no need to rush to cultivate. He called out the Demon Blood Vulture and went to the lake in his residence.

The surface of the lake was as smooth as a mirror. The willow trees at the shore cast shadows on it. White mists veiled the tall mountains in the distance, and the blue sky looked very clear as if it had been washed.

When coming to this place, one immediately felt a serene and peaceful atmosphere that calmed one’s heart unknowingly.

Since his time was free, Xiao Chen might as well stroll around.

He relaxed at the lakeside, not thinking about the competition for the heaven-class core disciple slot or advancing his cultivation.

Xiao Chen just meandered about, without any destination in mind, moving as his heart pleased.

He glanced at his surroundings and suddenly felt stunned.

The mirror-like lake surface was reflecting a dragon. This dragon image was very clear, looking realistic.

For an instant, it was hard to tell whether the image was real or fake. It was like there really was a dragon hidden in the lake.

Xiao Chen raised his head and looked into the distance. It turned out that the image was the reflection of the gigantic Heavenly Dragon statue towering over the Heavenly Dragon Palace’s main peak.

The wind blew and clouds drifted about, revealing the Heavenly Dragon statue, which was reflected in the lake.

“I did not notice this scene previously. How mysterious,” Xiao Chen muttered to himself. Soon, this scene disappeared.

The Heavenly Dragon statue in the distance disappeared behind the clouds and mist once more. However, the reflection in the water looked like a Heavenly Dragon gently swimming away. It vanished without a ripple.

Heavenly Dragon! Heavenly Dragon!

As Xiao Chen looked at the smooth and calm water, he felt a sense of disappointment and frustration for some reason, like he lost something.

It was as if a Heavenly Dragon really slipped by right under his nose.

The Heavenly Dragon was an existence above the Divine Dragon. It held a high and respected place in every mixed-blood dragon’s heart, like it was a divine being.

On this point, it was rather interesting that only lowly, mixed-blood dragons could break out of the cocoon and become a butterfly, turning into a Heavenly Dragon.

Once one comprehended the Dao and transformed into a Heavenly Dragon, one would be able to rise above the Six Colored Divine Dragons, becoming a transcendent existence.

Every mixed-blood dragon probably fantasized about this happening to them, hoping that they would become a Heavenly Dragon one day.

This moment engraved the Heavenly Dragon’s image deep in Xiao Chen’s heart with just one glance.

If Xiao Chen could become a Heavenly Dragon, he would be even more confident of obtaining the Dragon Emperor position.

“I’ll go take a look!”

With a thought, Xiao Chen turned into a flash of lightning and entered the clouds.

After a while, that extremely distant main peak appeared before his eyes.

The interesting thing was that when he approached, he could no longer see the full figure of the Heavenly Dragon statue. What he saw became vague.

Furthermore, he could feel heavy restrictions around the main peak and layers of Dragon Might.

These kept him outside, preventing him from getting close.

“I am a core disciple, yet I still can’t approach the main peak?”

Xiao Chen knew that it was an issue of his identity. The vast Heavenly Dragon Palace was covered in restrictions.

However, with his core disciple identity token, he could travel unhindered to many places without any restriction whatsoever.

“I don’t care anymore.”

It was rare for something to spark Xiao Chen’s interest. How could he just return in defeat? So, he decided to barge in.

“Boom!”

Xiao Chen became like a saber, giving off an incredibly sharp light. This allowed him to withstand the vast Dragon Might and barge through three layers of restrictions.

The immense pressure felt unbearable for Xiao Chen. The compression of his bones produced audible crackling.

“Divine Dragon War Body!” Xiao Chen shouted, materializing the Divine Dragon War Body. His Dragon Might merged with every cell of his physical body. The surface of his body became like an armor made of Dragon Might.

“Bang! Bang! Bang!”

Just like that, Xiao Chen continued breaking through another three layers of restrictions, charging towards the peak.

Unknown to Xiao Chen, when he barged through the first restriction, many hidden old men on the main peak noticed him and opened their eyes.

However, when these old men saw who it was, they were not bothered. They just caressed their beards with smiles, watching Xiao Chen barge through the restrictions with much difficulty.

This was not an unusual occurrence for these old men.

Every year, there would be new core disciples who tried to barge in, attracted by the Heavenly Dragon statue’s Dragon Might.

“It’s a new face. I wonder how many layers of restrictions he can get through?”

“It looks like he does not know the rules. Aside from the sect Elders, only the heaven-class core disciples may cultivate on the Heavenly Dragon Palace’s main peak.”

“Old Liu, let’s gamble on how many layers he can get through. One hundred Sub-Divine Crystals. What do you think?”

“Haha! This old man shall take part, as well. I bet that he will realize the difficulty and retreat after fifty layers.”

“His physical body cultivation is pretty good. He should be able to break through eighty layers!”

“It is not just his physical body cultivation. His saber intent is also quite incredible. I bet ninety layers.”

These old men even communicate with each other in secret, betting on how many layers Xiao Chen could breach.

The Heavenly Dragon Palace’s main peak had a total of three hundred and eight layers of restrictions.

Normally, the suppressive might of the restrictions did not operate at full power. The maximum would be activated only when an enemy attacked.

Otherwise, Xiao Chen would have been blasted away at the first layer of restrictions.

After ten layers of restrictions, his sharp Spiritual Sense discovered that while the main peak’s aura blended with the Dragon Might, making it imposing and boundless, the Dragon Might seemed to be intelligent. It moved about and did not merge completely with the main peak’s aura.

This peculiarity was almost indiscernible. However, Xiao Chen’s Spiritual Sense was extremely sensitive. Furthermore, he was meticulous in his thought. In the end, he managed to discover this unusual feature.

“So, that is what’s happening!”

Xiao Chen’s eyes lit up. Since that is the case, as long as I am fast enough, I can avoid the Dragon Might.

Given this, the pressure he faced would be significantly smaller.

Xiao Chen immediately acted on his thoughts. He scattered the Veritable Essence Energy protecting his body and executed Thunder Dragon Steps at full power.

His figure flickered like lightning. With incredible speed, he skillfully cleared many restrictions.

“Oh no! He is going to break through one hundred layers!”

Merry banter aside, once a person broke through one hundred layers, while one would not be able to climb to the peak, one would have crossed the periphery’s barriers and could land on the main peak.

For the past thousands of years, no core disciple had managed to land on the main peak.