Immortal and Martial Dual Cultivation

Chapter 2087 (Raw 2192): Never Giving Up

As Xiao Chen looked at the Azure Dragon statue surrounded by mountains, he thought, This Azure Dragon statue probably appeared because the totem absorbed my Veritable Essence Energy earlier.

The appearance of this Azure Dragon statue seems somewhat strange; there should be some tricks to it.

Standing on the vast Dao Platform, Xiao Chen felt extremely insignificant.

As he pondered this, he did not change his expression or move at all. Nevertheless, his emotions fluctuated from the extreme shock.

Xiao Chen had long wanted to return to the Kunlun Realm. However, the road back stretched quite a distance, which would take him a minimum of four years, and possibly as much as ten years.

The Great Thousand Realms was incredibly vast.

It would be hard to say how much an unexpected danger along the way would delay him.

Xiao Chen had cultivated in the land of the blood moon for four years. Now, he no longer feared the peak Sovereign Personages of the outer realms.

However, his strength was nothing before the Golden Dragon bloodline.

Strength. Xiao Chen urgently needed to grow stronger. Not just so he could become the Dragon Emperor, but also so he could survive.

Right now, the mysterious Dao Platform of this ancient dragon city could allow him to return quickly to the Kunlun Realm.

How could Xiao Chen not get excited?

“I have to think of a way to make use of this Dao Platform. Otherwise, who knows whether I can enter again.”

Xiao Chen always preferred holding the initiative. He did not like being passive.

He had passively entered the dragon city, able to go in for some unknown reason.

He was not confident of entering the next time and did not like such a feeling.

Hence, he ended up pacing the Dao Platform as he tried to think of a way.

As Xiao Chen pondered the method, he searched the Blood-Soaked Dragon Emperor’s memories for any information related to the ancient Azure Dragon city, this Dao Platform, and trans-realm transportation formations.

Without him realizing it, time passed.

--

The war in the land of the blood moon between the army of the dead, led by the Desolate Slave Soul Reaper, and the golden-armored army reached its most intense moment.

The huge sun was slowly sinking into the golden sea.

Now, it was no longer a question of whether the golden-armored army could break into the dragon city, but whether it could retreat safely.

Clearly, the Desolate Slave Soul Reaper did not want to miss this opportunity. It led the army of the dead to prevent the setting sun from sinking into the sea.

There was a fiery space made up of extreme Yang-attributed flames in the huge setting sun, a space that was broader and vaster.

Soul Reaper entered deep into that space and started another fight with the blazing golden-armored giant, who revived in the blazing sun.

Although the blazing golden giant was on its home ground, after being killed once, it found it challenging to match Soul Reaper.

However, the blazing golden giant did not need to defeat Soul Reaper.

The blazing golden giant just needed to hold its own and wait for the blazing sun to sink into the sea. After that, Soul Reaper would naturally retreat.

This huge war was even more intense than when the golden-armored army tried to break into the city.

--

Xiao Chen, who was on the Dao Platform deep in the ancient city, could feel the entire land of the blood moon shaking.

However, he could not care at this moment. He was still thinking of how to activate this Dao Platform to return to this place next time.

The amount of information about the Space Dao and trans-realm transportation formations in the Blood-Soaked Dragon Emperor’s memories was shockingly vast.

It was extremely troublesome to filter out the useless information.

Furthermore, Xiao Chen personally knew very little about the Space Dao, trans-realm transportation formations, and Dao Platforms.

He felt somewhat anxious amid the disarray. He did not know how much longer he could remain in this ancient city.

Divine Universe Stele!

Just as Xiao Chen was about to give up in helplessness and shift his attention to checking out the Azure Dragon statue, a piece of information from the Blood-Soaked Dragon Emperor’s memories flashed in his mind like inspiration. He quickly grabbed hold of this inspiration.

Divine Universe Steles are the most profound treasures of the world, born of the Cosmos Divine Stone’s fragments. After countless epochs’ birth and destruction, the Divine Eternity Steles’ fragments are already lost, completely destroyed. Only the Divine Universe Steles still exist in the world. Even True Gods would be tempted by them, would risk their lives for one.

There were many speculations about the Divine Universe Stele’s origins. However, they were mostly the same.

The common point was that when the Primal Chaos broke, and the world was born, it birthed many miraculous items. One of them could change time and space, and it later broke due to the competition for it.

This item’s ability to control time and space split. A portion of the fragments contained the ultimate mysteries of the Space Dao, and a portion of the fragments contained the ultimate mysteries of the Time Dao.

Divine Universe Steles were spatial treasures forged from the Cosmos Divine Stone fragments that contained the Space Dao’s ultimate mysteries.

That was the gist of it. After all, it had been through too many epochs, and no one could pinpoint the true origins.

However, that did not matter.

Xiao Chen was not concerned about this at the moment. He was more interested in the information in the Blood-Soaked Dragon Emperor’s memories about the Divine Universe Stele being able to control the Dao Platform—this mysterious item could hack trans-realm transportation formations.

Xiao Chen knew long ago that the Divine Universe Stele had other uses. However, he was too weak.

The Space Dao was also overly profound. So, he had never bothered much with the Divine Universe Stele, only using it as a sizable spatial ring.

“Knowing now is not too late.”

Xiao Chen revealed a smile on his somewhat fatigued face, filled with ambition as he looked at this Dao Platform.

Then, he stopped hesitating.

He carefully studied the methods of how to use the Divine Universe Stele. Although he did not grasp the Space Dao, he could still use the Divine Universe Stele to control the mysteries of space.

Four hours later, Xiao Chen revealed a brilliant light in his eyes and a cautious expression.

Previously, he had not cared. Now, he knew just how extraordinary this Divine Universe Stele was.

If this got revealed, some Faux God old monsters might even come to fight him for it.

The Heavenly Fragrance’s Holy Daughter once said that there were not just three grades of Soul Tools. Besides Inferior Grade, Medial Grade, and Superior Grade, there was also Transcendent Grade. However, the only known example was the Wings of Time.

Although Xiao Chen’s Divine Universe Stele did not possess strong offensive power, unable to kill his enemies directly, its mysteries were at least comparable to a Superior Grade Soul Tool, something infinitely close to the Wings of Time.

With a thought, the Divine Universe Stele appeared in his hand.

Xiao Chen eyed the Azure Dragon totem cautiously, feeling somewhat anxious and nervous. He did not feel confident.

Even with the Divine Universe Stele in hand and grasping some of its mysteries, he did not dare say he could hack this Dao Platform.

However, as long as he succeeded, it would be as good as controlling this Dao Platform with some other method.

In the future, he would be able to come here using the Divine Universe Stele at any time.

Xiao Chen would no longer have to rely on Soul Reaper’s strength or the rules governing this ancient city. He would come and go freely by relying on himself.

The benefits would be immeasurable.

With this Dao Platform, he could control all the transportation formations in the Divine Dragon Empire. He could even enter many secret realms.

The significance of this ability was simply incalculable.

What did it mean?

It meant that for the first time, Xiao Chen would have the resources to fight the Purple Gold Dragon Emperor, who ruled the Divine Dragon Empire.

“Whoosh!”

Xiao Chen gently relaxed his hand, and the Divine Universe Stele slowly soared into the air, hovering above the Dao Platform.

“Success or failure depends on this.”

Following the method in the Blood-Soaked Dragon Emperor’s memories, Xiao Chen formed hand seals with both hands as he merged his Veritable Essence Energy and Soul Energy and sent beams of light into the Divine Universe Stele.

The ancient patterns on the Divine Universe Stele flowed like blood. In that instant, it gave off a bright light. Mysterious and unfathomable texts appeared on the Divine Universe Stele, forming a passage of ancient scripture.

Xiao Chen found this somewhat exhausting, but he did not dare to relax. With a moment of carelessness, he could suffer a rebound from the Divine Universe Stele. The spatial energy would instantly tear his physical body apart.

However, as long as an opportunity presented itself, he would not give up.

Furthermore, this opportunity could allow him to return to the Kunlun Realm and give him the resources to fight the Purple Gold Dragon Emperor.

Since Xiao Chen had decided, he would continue on this path without looking back, without hesitating.

“Boom!”

When all of the stele texts appeared, the Divine Universe Stele drew in the light in its surroundings.

In the next moment, mysterious water-like energy manifested as ripples radiating from the Divine Universe Stele in all directions.

Gentle ripples in space spread out as the water-like energy slowly covered the Dao Platform.

“Whoosh!”

Mysterious talisman scripts of light and shadow flowed out of the entire ancient Dao Platform and into the Divine Universe Stele.

Everything proceeded orderly. Xiao Chen executed this secret method extremely smoothly, showing shocking talent.

However, it was tiring, remarkably tiring.

The drain on Xiao Chen’s Soul Energy and Veritable Essence Energy was relentless. However, it was much more relaxing than when he checked out the Azure Dragon Totem.

Had this been an ordinary Dao Platform, he would have succeeded already. However, this Dao Platform below him was mysterious, ancient, and boundlessly vast.

He had hacked only a third of this Dao Platform and already found it strenuous. However, he could only grit his teeth and endure.

Xiao Chen could not give up here. He might not have a second chance. Perhaps he might end up getting kicked out in the next moment. He could not give up on this chance.

When one felt fatigued and pressured, it was easy for doubts to appear in one’s heart, inspiring all sorts of excuses to give up.

Such a mental block—a heart demon—was very normal and unavoidable.

It was the same for Xiao Chen. However, he persevered, knowing the importance of hacking this Dao Platform.

No matter how this heart demon tempted Xiao Chen to give up, his will would immediately crush it.

However, every time it was crushed, the heart demon soon reappeared, putting increasingly assertive pressure on Xiao Chen as he got more fatigued. Each time, the heart demon became stronger, charging in even more ferociously and berserkly.

The heart demon wreaked havoc, arrogant and despotic, disturbing Xiao Chen’s mind and disrupting his calm. How did he deal with it?

By never doubting, never panicking, never fearing.

Stomp on it! Crush it! Smash it to death!

No one could stop Xiao Chen from hacking the Dao Platform below him. He missed his old friends in the Kunlun Realm. He desired the resources to fight the Purple Gold Dragon Emperor. He anticipated returning to the Divine Dragon Empire; he no longer wanted to be chased away and forced to hide.

His willpower was like the grim reaper. It retaliated with stronger and more brutal methods, never letting anything go wrong, no matter how strong the heart demon was.

Determination flashed in Xiao Chen’s eyes, looking like stars and gems. Besides determination, there was nothing else.

Xiao Chen could excuse losing to anyone in the world. Only losing to himself was unforgivable.