"After my body underwent a metamorphosis when my Turtle Breath Technique reached the 11th realm and nurtured a pseudo Divine Skill, it became capable of using three drops of the Mysterious Turtle True Essence as a base to absorb external forces. When it reached the limit and couldn’t absorb any more, it would split and form a new Mysterious Turtle True Essence."
Su Changkong thought to himself.
After refining 1000 strands of Innate Qi, Su Changkong’s body had already undergone a metamorphosis. It was no longer dependent on Innate Qi to produce Mysterious Turtle True Essence!
It was like the body producing blood, whether by eating rice or consuming meat, blood would be generated. In the same way, as long as he was nourished sufficiently, Mysterious Turtle True Essence would be produced - as naturally as blood flowed in Su Changkong’s veins!
What Su Changkong wanted to do now was to increase the amount of his Mysterious Turtle True Essence as much as possible. Only then could he sustain the usage of Mysterious Turtle True Essence as a driving force for his super liminal bursts!
"Tomorrow, I’ll make a trip to Feiyun City and have Cangyun Pavilion help me exchange some Spiritual Medicine..."
Su Changkong, who had been in seclusion for nearly half a year, had a large quantity of Spirit Grass and Spiritual Medicine on him. However, many of them were of no use to him, and he couldn’t afford to consume his resources without replenishment. He needed to exchange them for Spiritual Medicine to maintain a balance of income and expenses.
Even with a wealth as vast as his, supplying a hundred Innate Martial Artists by himself would eventually lead to depletion.
The next morning, after preparing himself, Su Changkong made his way to Cangyun Pavilion and met with the person in charge, Tang Ming, presenting his request to buy certain Spiritual Medicines necessary for refining Refining Qi Pills, which he would acquire by exchanging some that he didn’t need.
As a distinguished guest held in high esteem by even the Sect Master of Cangyun Sect, Tang Ming naturally agreed. With the resources and connections of the Cangyun Sect, even if they didn’t have it on hand, they could help Su Changkong acquire what he needed through other channels.
Having agreed on their transaction, Su Changkong set off to leave.
"Hmm?"
Upon leaving Cangyun Pavilion, Su Changkong’s gaze shifted slightly. As he walked down a street, he keenly sensed someone’s gaze on him. Looking up, he saw someone poking their head out from the window of a second-floor tavern, frantically waving at him.
"Is that Lian Tianlu?"
Seeing the person, Su Changkong recognized him as Lian Tianlu, the Vice Master of the Demon Suppressing Department. Lian Tianlu was clearly waiting here for him, knowing that he would occasionally appear in Feiyun City.
Wondering what Lian Tianlu wanted, but motivated by curiosity, Su Changkong proceeded to the second-floor private room of the tavern where he met the broad-shouldered Lian Tianlu.
"Vice Master Lian, have you been waiting here long? What important matter brings you looking for me?" Su Changkong asked, sitting opposite Lian Tianlu.
Lian Tianlu cleared his throat, "Not too long..."
Without a way to contact Su Changkong, Lian Tianlu had no choice but to stay here and wait for him to show up.
Lian Tianlu then turned serious and got straight to the point, "Brother Blade, I have come on the orders of the Lord. We need your help with something..."
This made Su Changkong frown slightly. He was currently quite content quietly cultivating and amassing strength, and he wasn’t looking to court trouble.
Lian Tianlu sighed before continuing, "Lately, the Great Flame Empire has been quite chaotic... It’s not just in Central State, but other states among the Nine States have also started to act up. The Black Lotus Sect has initiated uprisings in some impoverished areas, igniting a series of wars. They are suspected to have the support of noble clans behind them...
And the Life Extinguishing Association, even the Monster Martial Alliance, have started making moves as well. Many Warrior Sects and Martial Artist families have suffered; even the three neighboring nations to the Great Flame Empire seem to be marshaling troops."
Lian Tianlu shared some information with Su Changkong.
The entire Great Flame Empire was already in a state of panic, and with the coming of a great tide, all sorts of powers were becoming restless. The emergence of the Black Lotus Sect conspiring and possibly aligning with some noble clans, along with moves made by the Monster Martial Alliance and Life Extinguishing Association, were contributing to the turmoil.
Even the other countries were getting ready for war, whether to defend themselves from aggression or to launch offensives of their own.
The Great Flame Empire now faced the greatest challenge since its founding, and without careful navigation, a change of dynasty could occur!
"But what does this have to do with me?" Su Changkong retorted.
Su Changkong was no fool. Lian Tianlu wanted to recruit him into the ranks of the Great Flame Royal Family, but Su Changkong had no desire to get involved in the heart of this turmoil. Furthermore, the Yan Imperial Family of the Great Flame Empire was a top-tier, millennium-old noble clan with deep foundations, possessing Cave Heaven and Blessed Lands, and thus replete with experts and able persons.
They didn’t lack for one Great Grandmaster like him.
They refrained from taking action themselves, preserving their strength, and used external martial artists like Duanmu Tao as soldiers to lead the charge. Su Changkong didn’t appreciate being used as a pawn by others.
Lian Tianlu earnestly said, "Brother Blade, if you’re willing to lend us a hand, let alone other things... there’s a chance you could obtain fragments of a Divine Seed, or even a true Divine Seed itself."
Facing tremendous pressure from all sides, the Great Flame Royal Family had started to recruit various experts.
Without a doubt, Su Changkong was one of the most valuable masters they aimed to recruit. Just half a year ago, he had single-handedly plundered four Evil Sects of the Demon Gate and even killed Superior Xuanming, an eminent demon master. Even among Great Grandmasters, he wielded formidable combat power!
The Great Flame Royal Family had naturally investigated this mysterious and powerful figure ’Dao Wufeng,’ emerging from nowhere, and had gathered lots of astonishing news!
This Dao Wufeng was unassuming, already having had contact with the Great Flame Royal Family. Previously, when he faced the Vice Master of the Life Extinguishing Association, Pang Shengwu, Pang Shengwu had called out his name ’Su Tailai.’ Lian Tianlu, Duanmu Tao, and others had heard it and noted it, proceeding to investigate.
Following the name, they actually discovered the past of this ’Dao Wufeng.’
Once, under the name ’Su Tailai,’ he had appeared in Dafeng State City and formed a close relationship with the City Lord of Dafeng State City, Pei Yang.