novelapdf Chapter 205 Is this some kind of monkey show?
Chapter 205 Is this some kind of monkey show?
Chapter 206 Are you trying to pull a monkey show here? (First Update)
After the medicine-pounding process is completed.
Jiang Mu stretched her body.
Even though he is now a fifth-realm orthodox star official with a body as strong as a demon, he is still exhausted after such high-intensity work.
"Speaking of which—"
Jiang Mu caught his breath and looked at the woman, "Shouldn't you fulfill your promise to me about the cultivation technique? I need it urgently right now."
Shangguan Luoxue's voice was somewhat hoarse: "What's the rush? It's not the right time yet. Once I've stabilized my cultivation, I'll naturally give it to you."
"I have a feeling you're going to renege on your debt."
Jiang Mu pursed her lips. "I desperately need a high-level sword technique. I've searched the entire treasury of the Demon Slayer Bureau, but there's not a single one that suits my taste. You must have a lot of good stuff hidden away, right?"
"fencing----"
Upon hearing this, Shangguan Luoxue frowned slightly.
She placed her hand weakly on her protruding belly, closed her eyes and pondered for a moment, then said in a cold tone, "If you want it, I can teach you a set right now."
"However, let me make this clear from the start: after giving you this sword technique, I won't give you anything else. That evens things out."
"It doesn't matter, just give me your swordsmanship first."
Jiang Mu stretched out his hand.
He himself didn't lack any special skills or supernatural abilities; this sword technique was specially prepared for that girl, Xiao Aqing.
Shangguan Luoxue gave a soft snort and slightly raised her fair wrist.
A jade slip emitting a luminous white glow emerged from the void and landed in Jiang Mu's palm.
"This sword technique is called the Taiyi Zhanchen Jue, which was left behind by an ancient sword master."
Shangguan Luoxue looked at Jiang Mu, a faint mockery flashing in her purple eyes, "However, this sword technique demands an extremely high level of mental discipline from its practitioners. Those who cultivate this sword must possess a pure and flawless sword heart, untouched by worldly concerns."
If one's mind is filled with distracting thoughts and desires for worldly pleasures, not only will one fail to even begin the path, but forcing oneself to cultivate will also lead to a backlash of sword energy, shattering one's own meridians.
With your dissolute nature, I'm afraid you'll have a hard time mastering it.
"There's no need for you to trouble yourself, Madam."
Jiang Mu happily put the jade slip away close to her body.
That's right. The more purity and innocence are required, the more suitable it is for Xiao Aqing's blank-slate mentality.
When the girl practices swordsmanship, I can lie in my rocking chair and gain free proficiency points through the "Forgotten River Sword".
It's practically a perfect closed loop of living off a woman.
Seeing Jiang Mu put away the jade slip, Shangguan Luoxue waved her hand, and a gentle breeze rose from the wide sleeves of her purple gauze robe.
"Get lost."
The next moment, Jiang Mu was sent back to her bedroom.
After driving Jiang Mu away, Shangguan Luoxue returned to the underground palace and lay alone on the Cold Jade Platform.
A cool breeze blew gently inside the underground palace.
She looked down at her lower abdomen, her fists slowly clenching.
"Next time—I'll definitely win!"
Shangguan Luoxue gritted her teeth, her purple eyes burning with fierce resentment.
She was exceptionally talented from a young age, surpassing her peers in both cultivation and combat, and possessed an extremely strong competitive spirit.
No matter what she does, she must be in control of the whole situation.
The one who is high and mighty.
Even in this kind of debate, she would never allow herself to be one of those who are unilaterally crushed and forced to beg for mercy!
"Once I recover from my injuries, I will add several more binding spirit and locking yang secret formations to this Daoist mansion."
"Next time, I'll definitely squeeze that brat dry of his arrogance and make him kneel down and beg for mercy!"
The female general secretly made a grand vow in her heart.
Silent all night.
Just as Jiang Mu had predicted, Yuan Aqing achieved a breakthrough the next day.
Moreover, the way this girl broke through was still so simple and unpretentious.
Last night I ate and drank my fill and had a good night's sleep. This morning, as soon as I opened my eyes, I smoothly crossed the bottleneck and entered the early stage of the third realm.
The morning sunlight streamed through the window and into the room.
Yuan Aqing was dressed in a simple training uniform and sat cross-legged on the futon.
Although the little girl is usually adorable, she knows that "attaining a star position" is a major event that concerns a cultivator's entire life. At this moment, her delicate little face is filled with tension, and her two little hands are clenched into fists and placed on her knees.
After teaching her the most basic Star-Guiding Breathing Technique in detail, Jiang Mu instructed her:
-
-
"Remember, don't be afraid or panic when your consciousness enters the sea of stars."
"With the master here, you don't need to worry about anyone trying to take your star position. You just need to focus on sensing your star position, understand?"
Hearing Jiang Mu's comforting words, the girl nodded her head vigorously: "Yes, Qing will remember!"
She took a deep breath, closed her eyes as instructed, and began to silently practice her cultivation technique.
Before long, the girl's breathing became long and steady, a faint spiritual light appeared between her brows, and her consciousness successfully broke out of her body and immersed itself in the vast and boundless sea of stars.
Seeing that the girl had completely entered a meditative state, Jiang Mu no longer hesitated and immediately summoned the demonic shadow.
"Strip!"
Jiang Mu's mind stirred.
Behind them, the third demonic figure trembled slightly.
Immediately afterwards, a star-like phantom radiating a thick light peeled off from the demonic body.
The authentic one, [Earthly Hidden Star]!
The moment the star left its body, it transformed into a shooting star that shot straight into the sky, returning to the boundless sea of stars.
Jiang Mu flipped her wrist.
The jet-black [Crimson Jade Egg], transformed by demonic energy, appeared in his palm.
"Buzz—!"
As if it possessed sentience, the Crimson Jade Egg immediately sensed the fluctuations of the Hidden Earth Star.
Rings of strange, dark patterns lit up from the eggshell, releasing an invisible force of rules that soared into the sky.
The Earth Concealed Star, which had just fallen into the sea of stars, was precisely locked in place.
"Done."
A smile appeared on Jiang Mu's lips as she gently placed the heated red jade egg into the girl's palm.
"Ah Qing, from now on, this Earthly Hidden Star is locked down by me. In the Sea of Stars, only you can take it. Just carefully sense it and lure it here."
Yuan Aqing gently grasped it with her small hand.
Sure enough, with the help of this cheating artifact, her divine sense seemed to have a clear lighthouse in the vast sea of stars, and she instantly established a mysterious connection with [Earth Concealment Star].
The girl began to fully circulate her cultivation technique, attempting to attain enlightenment.
Jiang Mu stood quietly by her side.
The matter of verifying the position of the stars cannot be rushed.
Jiang Mu himself seized the Star Position by directly killing someone of a higher level, so the process was extremely fast, simple, and brutal.
However, for ordinary cultivators, the formal process of attaining star status is actually quite lengthy, much like a tug-of-war.
It often takes anywhere from one or two hours to two or three days.
Especially for higher-level star positions, the trials of Heaven are more severe and take longer.
At the moment the Earthly Hidden Star returned, all pseudo-star-rank cultivators in the third or fourth realm, or those in the early third realm who had not yet acquired a star-rank, felt a sense of déjà vu.
Even many high-level experts have turned their attention to the Star Sea.
After all, this is a legitimate government job!
In this day and age, the orthodox star positions have long been divided up by various sects and the imperial court, one radish for every pit.
If even one hole becomes available, it will definitely attract a lot of attention.
"There are star positions now!"
"The true Earthly Hidden Star is unclaimed? Quick! Follow me to set up an array to attract the star!"
-
-
"This is a golden opportunity! Even if it costs me my old life, I will fight for it!"
In an instant, all over the world, countless cultivators, like hungry wolves eyeing blood, immediately probed the starry sea with their divine senses and began a fierce struggle for it.
Divine Sword Sect.
Deep within the Sword Tomb.
Inside the cave, a churning pool of blood was bubbling with dark red bubbles.
He Qingyang, the patriarch of the Divine Sword Sect, who was sitting cross-legged on the stone platform, suddenly raised his head, his eyes seemingly piercing through the thick rock layers, staring straight at the sky.
"This is----"
A glint of light flashed in He Qingyang's eyes. "The Hidden Earth Star? It's actually returned to the Sea of Stars?!"
【Earthly Hidden Star】was once the exclusive star position passed down through generations of their Divine Sword Sect.
As a result, it was snatched away by Jiang Mu.
The Divine Sword Sect suffered a tremendous loss that it could not speak of, becoming a laughing stock in the martial arts world.
Later, upon learning that Jiang Mu had broken through to the fifth realm, He Qingyang was thinking of finding a way to get back the low-level star position when Jiang Mu no longer wanted it.
As a result, nothing happened despite waiting and waiting.
He even suspected that the Daqing court might have used some secret treasure to secretly take this star position into the national treasury.
Unexpectedly, it suddenly appeared on its own today.
He Qingyang's eyes flickered: "This Earthly Hidden Star Position originally belonged to my Divine Sword Sect. Although it is now out of control, if I were to use the sect's secret techniques to seize it, it would be a hundred times easier for me than for outsiders."
Without hesitation, he immediately shouted in a deep voice, "Shan'er, come to the Sword Tomb at once!"
Before long, the voluptuous and charming He Shan'er hurriedly stepped into the Sword Tomb.
"Father, did you call me?"
He Shan'er bowed gracefully.
He Qingyang coldly ordered, "The Hidden Earth Star has appeared. Go to the sect immediately and select five core disciples with the most solid foundations, currently stuck at the early stage of the Third Realm. Have them set up an array within this Sword Tomb to prove their Star-level abilities!"
Upon hearing this, He Shan'er's beautiful eyes flashed with a hint of wild joy, but she immediately frowned: "But last time, Jiang Mu snatched it away, and our Divine Sword Sect lost control of this star position. Can we get it back?"
He Qingyang's withered fingers formed a hand seal: "I will personally use the blood pool's malevolent energy and the stellar connection left behind to help them forcibly pull this star down. No one can lay a finger on anything belonging to my Divine Sword Sect!"
"Yes, Shan'er, you can take care of it."
He Shan'er dared not delay and hurriedly left, lifting her skirt.
And so, a fierce competition targeting the Hidden Earth Star began to brew in the shadows across the world.
Time passed slowly.
In the blink of an eye, two hours had passed.
Yuan Aqing, sitting cross-legged on the futon, still hadn't managed to attract the star position.
Jiang Mu stood to the side, her brows gradually furrowing.
That shouldn't be the case.
Logically speaking, Ah Qing's breakthrough was so smooth, and she was born with a sword heart, possessing excellent talent and aptitude.
In addition, there are red jade eggs as props.
All she had to do was naturally bring the star down.
Why has it been taking so long and there's still no movement?
"Will she be alright?"
Duanmu Li, who had been standing quietly in the corner, showed a hint of worry on her pretty face.
Jiang Mu shook her head: "Don't worry, with me here, she'll be fine."
He turned to look at the aloof girl and suddenly asked, "By the way, Ah Li, do you want me to get you a legitimate star position too?"
Duanmu Li shook her head expressionlessly: "No. I am a demonic cultivator."
"Although I still have a pseudo-star position, because I devoured demon blood and embarked on the demonic path, this pseudo-star position will be gradually eroded by demonic energy."
Over time, this star position naturally crumbled. From now on, I won't need any star positions anymore.
"That's true."
Jiang Mu tugged at the girl's ponytail. "However, the path of demonic cultivation is very difficult. If one wants to ascend in the future, the difficulty is several times greater than that of ordinary cultivators. It's basically impossible."
Duanmu Li turned her head away and said coldly, "I never thought about ascending to immortality. Living a good life and killing all the enemies I should kill is enough."
99
She paused, then turned her gaze to Yuan Aqing on the prayer mat.
His previously cold gaze softened: "But I will help Ah Qing cultivate and ascend to immortality. She will definitely reach the end. If anyone dares to stand in her way, I will kill them!"
Jiang Mu grinned: "What about me? What if I get in her way?"
The girl remained silent.
"say."
Jiang Mu tugged hard at the other person's ponytail.
I must say, this girl's hair is so soft and smooth, it feels surprisingly heavy in your hand, and it has an unusually good feel to it.
Duanmu Li puffed out her cheeks and glared at him coldly: "Don't touch my hair!"
"Hey, you little brat, you dare glare at me?"
Jiang Mu loosened her ponytail and used both hands to pinch Duanmu Li's fair and delicate cheeks.
With a little force from his thumb and forefinger, he kneaded and flattened the girl's cool little face, sometimes pulling it into a bun face, sometimes squeezing it into a goldfish mouth.
"Ugh—let go—"
Duanmu Li's speech was slurred as she was pinched, her cold almond-shaped eyes seeming to spit fire.
She struggled for a moment, then reached for the hilt of the knife behind her back with her right hand.
But out of the corner of her eye, she caught sight of Yuan Aqing, who was still trying to draw stars with her eyes closed. Afraid of disturbing her, she could only loosen her grip on the hilt of her sword and continue glaring at Jiang Mu.
After Jiang Mu had pinched her enough, she covered her reddened cheeks and took two steps back angrily.
After a moment, the girl mumbled, "I'll help you."
"Haha, that's more like it."
Jiang Mu stepped forward and patted the girl's head with a smile.
The sky gradually darkened.
On the prayer mat, Yuan Aqing still hadn't attracted the star position.
The girl was soaked in sweat.
Her once rosy lips now appeared somewhat pale.
In the end, even her divine sense could no longer steadily sink into the sea of stars. The more anxious the girl became, the less she could sense anything.
-
Worse.
The dark patterns on the surface of the [Crimson Jade Egg] she held in her hand had begun to flicker erratically.
This means that the time limit for locking the star position is about to expire.
"Alright, Ah Qing, let's rest for a night before getting the certificate."
Jiang Mu said.
Yuan Aqing trembled and opened her eyes.
Her clear, large eyes were bloodshot, tears welling up, her voice filled with self-reproach and sobs, "I'm sorry, sir—Ah Qing is so useless—Ah Qing can't pull it down, it just won't come down—"
"It's not your fault, proving your star position is never that simple."
Jiang Mu pressed down on the girl's shoulders and injected a gentle stream of star power into her body to help calm her chaotic blood and emotions.
He gently comforted her, "Take a rest, we'll see about the results tomorrow. Even if the sky falls, the master will hold it up."
With Jiang Mu's comforting words, Yuan Aqing's emotions calmed down considerably.
Jiang Mu took the Crimson Jade Egg and activated the Disguise skill of the demonic shadow within her body, transforming herself into someone with the aura of an early-stage third realm cultivator without any star-level enhancement.
Immediately afterwards, he sat cross-legged and held the red jade egg in his palm.
It only took the time it takes to burn half an incense stick.
"boom!"
A dazzling starlight descended from the sky, piercing through the roof and disappearing into Jiang Mu's brow.
It incorporates the fourth Shadow Demon.
Jiang Mu opened her eyes and murmured, "Recycling is quite easy."
Divine Sword Sect, Sword Tomb.
Five carefully selected disciples at the early stage of the third realm were lined up and sitting cross-legged.
Their eyes were all closed, and veins were bulging on their foreheads.
He was clearly pushing his divine sense to its limit.
He Qingyang, the patriarch of the Divine Sword Sect, stood to one side, his gray robe fluttering even without wind.
He rapidly formed hand seals, and with a low shout, five strands of dark red energy, almost tangible, were drawn from the blood pool and wrapped around the five disciples.
-
They enhanced their spiritual perception, helping them rush into the sea of stars to compete for the rightful [Hidden Earth Star] of the present world.
However, as time passed, no one successfully sensed anything, and He Qingyang's expression turned grim.
"What's going on? Could it be that these five good-for-nothings are just too incompetent?"
He Qingyang was completely baffled.
Logically speaking, once an unclaimed star position falls into the sea of stars, it is like an unobstructed treasure, and all cultivators in the world are qualified to vie for it.
This is like a stunningly beautiful goddess openly throwing out her embroidered ball.
Everyone relies on their own abilities; whoever has the most resources will be able to bring the goddess back to their own bed.
But the current situation is very strange.
That [Hidden Earth Star] is clearly suspended high in the sea of stars, yet it just won't throw out its embroidered ball.
You can see it, but you can't touch it.
No matter how open and honest you are, revealing all your secrets, she won't even give you a glance.
Just as He Qingyang was filled with surprise and doubt, the star positions in the star sea disappeared.
He Qingyang's noodles twitched, and he sighed deeply: "Oh well, it's a failure. In the end, someone else got the certificate."
The old man was feeling very depressed.
In order to reclaim the star position that originally belonged to the Divine Sword Sect, he not only consumed some of the pure baleful energy accumulated in the blood pool, but also used a forbidden technique that greatly depleted his own essence.
If he had known this would happen, why would he have bothered with all this trouble?
Of course, at this moment, He Qingyang was not the only one in the cultivation world who was frustrated.
Countless cultivators who had been eagerly watching and preparing to seize the star position were filled with regret and despair as they watched it disappear.
To help Yuan Aqing relax, Jiang Mu made sure she got a good night's sleep.
The next day, Jiang Mu once again separated the [Earth Concealed Star] from the demonic shadow and threw it back into the sea of stars.
Immediately afterwards, he took out the [Crimson Jade Egg] to lock the star position.
Then he put the egg into Yuan Aqing's hand and told her to continue trying to prove it.
As the [Earthly Hidden Star] lit up again in the sea of stars, the cultivators outside, who were immersed in grief, were all dumbfounded.
"What's going on? Are the star positions being vacated so frequently?"
When they discovered that this star position was actually the same [Hidden Earth Star] from yesterday, their jaws nearly dropped.
"Wait, wasn't he just taken away as a witness yesterday? How come he's back today?"
"Could it be that unlucky guy who got his star rank yesterday was killed by his enemies right after receiving it?"
-
"Definitely. 'A common man is innocent, but possessing a treasure is a crime.'"
Despite making all sorts of guesses and claiming confusion, who can remain rational in the face of such an irresistible temptation as a "formal government job"?
With their eyes reddening once more, everyone eagerly urged their divine senses toward the sea of stars.
Inside the Sword Tomb.
He Qingyang looked at the familiar starlight that had lit up the sea of stars again, feeling somewhat bewildered.
"It's appeared again?"
After a brief moment of confusion, He Qingyang immediately instructed He Shan'er to find several more disciples of the third realm to begin the struggle.
It was evening.
[Earth Concealment Star] flashed with light and disappeared from the spot again.
Obviously, it was certified by someone else again.
He Qingyang's lips twitched.
Having wasted two days' worth of energy and blood pool energy, without even getting a glimpse of a star level, the old man was so angry he wanted to curse.
But by noon on the third day—
Damn it, this [Earth Concealed Star] is like clocking in for work on time, it has lit up again in the sea of stars!
At this moment, all the cultivators of the three realms in the world were numb.
No, bro, are you putting on a show here?
Is this some kind of disposable star position?