Dungeons of the Divine (Blue Phoenix Book 2) (33 page)

Hearing what Lan Feng said Hui Yue could not help but smile sheepishly. It was true that the energy which caused great changes and huge benefits to the white-haired young man were all gained from the Wu Wei which the phoenix spent a very long time painstakingly refining.

Just as it was with the spiritual energy as soon as the energy was used it would not automatically replenish itself as long as the body relaxed as there was no dantian. Everything which was refined floated in the soul itself. It was like the soul worked as a box to keep it trapped, yet as soon as it escaped it would not return.

There was no doubt about this and both of them knew it from the beginning, even so they agreed that fighting against the King ranked expert was the best solution. That way they would show everyone in the Demon Dwelling Cave that they were not to be trifled with.

While thinking about the battle the previous day, Hui Yue finally rinsed all the filth off his skin before he entered the warm bath and allowed for the hot water to massage his sore muscles.

Staying within the water the young man’s consciousness slowly made its way down to his dantian cave where he went towards the newly opened cave.

As of now, four out of the five caves had opened themselves. The first, the bloodlust, was definitely the largest of them all, and also a type of energy which Hui Yue did not understand, nor did he wish to understand it as he feared that the more he used it the more likely he was to completely lose control of himself.

The second cave was the tranquil cloud. This cloud was always a great assistance to the young man, and as if it had a mind of its own it would always help suppress the red mist. However recently, the tranquil cloud had started to behave in a bizarre way. In a way where it would take control of other cultivators who were within the cloud. Hui Yue did not have complete control over the cloud, and allowed for it to act on its own which put the owner of the body in a tight spot at times.

The third cave was no better. No matter what Hui Yue did, nothing seemed to have any effect onagainst it. The most beneficial of all the caves so far had to be this one because an orb which was capable of healing one’s wounds was something everyone would dream about, but, sadly, once more this phenomenon was something which he could not control and the orb only healed him whenever it felt like it gained something from it. At least, that was his theory.

Looking at the orb, it was currently back to usual size while it had been as small as a pea days back after healing the young man. After healing him it slowly grew in size and now it was the same size as before, yet it seemed as though it was still growing, something which puzzled Hui Yue greatly. The green pearl was in every aspect impossible to figure out.

After walking past the three known caves, his heartbeat quickened the closer he came to the fourth cave. The memories of flying into the sky, having wings on his back, was something which had felt incredible and also very empowering that Hui Yue had almost felt drunk.

Standing in front of the cave, his eyes widened in surprise as what he saw was two incredibly small wings floating in the middle of everything. These wings were so small that if he wore them on his back, no one would ever notice them. They seemed to be about the size of his finger as each was no longer than one centimeter.

‘They grow with Wu Wei,’ Lan Feng commented as he saw the puzzled expression on the other man’s face.

Hearing the one thing which Hui Yue had hoped not to hear. The feeling of flying in the air was one which he wanted to experience again soon, but now he knew that it was impossible without either Lan Feng’s help or reaching the upper dantian. Still, looking at the wings, a smile adorned his youthful face as the feeling still lingered in his body. Flying was definitely one of the better things he had experienced within this new world.

Returning his consciousness to his body, Hui Yue left the bath to start examining what exact physical changes occurred during the outburst of Wu Wei. The first thing he found was that removing the impurities caused the Qi and spiritual energy within his body to circulate far quicker than it had before. It had also made it much easier to fortify organs with Qi as less resistance was met during the process.

Secondly, moving his body around, he found that it was many times more resilient than it had been before. Each and every cell was reconstructed by Wu Wei, something which had made his raw strength and resilience far superior to that of a normal middle dantian cultivator.

Strength and resilience wereas not the only thing which changed and improved. Within the body was something called meridians. These meridians were the vessels through which Qi moved. The meridians of the body consisted of twelve ordinary vessels and eight extraordinary vessels.

These meridians made up a spiderweb system within the body linking different areas together and allowing for the Qi to move through every single part of one’s body at will.

Every person had twelve ordinary meridians, the ones used to move the Qi within the body, but behind these meridians were a set of eight closed meridians which could only be opened at specific times in one’s life, or if someone managed to forcefully open them.

The extraordinary meridians have the job of strengthening the twelve ordinary meridians along with storing extra Qi within This allows the body to have a constant Qi flow from the meridians

Of these extraordinary meridians Hui Yue had managed to open two. The first was the Chong Mai meridian which allowed for Qi to move from the meridian into the body itself, to fortify one’s organs with Qi.

The second was the Du Mai meridian, called the governing vessel. Lan Feng had previously told Hui Yue that this vessel was of utmost importance as it bound all the yang meridians together, something which would be important when he reached the King rank, but for now the meridian was used to store excess Qi.

Having his body remade, the Wu Wei opened not one, nor two, but a total of three extraordinary meridians shocking the young man. He noticed the sudden change in the speed at which his Qi rushed throughout his body, not to mention the suction force which was drawing in the essence of the heavens and the earth many times faster, refining more Qi as it flooded into the new pathways.

The first meridian which wasere opened was Ren Mai, the conception vessel. Much like Du Mai was the main vessel for all the yang meridians, Ren Mai was the main vessel of the yin meridians. Ren Mai was also the same as Du Mai when it came to storing Qi. He felt that a large suction force appeared from the meridian, sucking in the energies from his dantian cave.

The second and third meridians which were opened was the yin and yang heel vessels. The Yin and the Yang Qiao Mai. Having opened these two vessels, Hui Yue felt shocked when he realized that his speed of refinement  rapidly increased. Not only had his speed increased, but testing it Hui Yue activated Velocity Flow and unlike before, the moment he thought of activating the skill, it was active. His activation speed was now so quick that Hui Yue had full trust in his abilities to flee from even a King ranked expert.

Another benefit of the two vessels was that Hui Yue no longer needed sleep. His Qi was now capable of rushing through his body in a way it had never done before, and these Qi flows kept his body and mind constantly refreshed and filled with energy replenishing his entire body.

Not only did his body undergo a great change in strength and resilience, and  he opened three extraordinary meridians, but his skin had been renewed allowing for no old wounds or scars to remain. His usually pale skin was now shining with a strange golden glow.

Leaving the bathroom, Hui Yue was clearly very pleased with the changes of his body; however, a few things troubled him especially the fact that he had used the majority of the Wu Wei Lan Feng had spent years refining, but ultimately he knew that there was no way he could have won unless he used that much energy to create the palm.

Hui Yue was lucky to have witnessed Xu Piao using his golden palm, as otherwise he was not sure if he would have been capable of coming up with any ability to use against the golden Wu Wei halberd of the opponent.

Returning to the room from the bathroom, everyone wasere still deep asleep and after writing a small note to tell them where he disappeared to Hui Yue quietly left the room and made his way towards the Mercenary Guild office.

Walking out of the house in which they were residing, everyone who glanced at the boy would instantly show deep respect, most of them either bowing or turning around to take another path. Those who tried to ignore him dared not look in his eyes.

Making his way into the office, the guards dared not stop him, instead, they respectfully opened the door bowing slightly as they would for the Guild Master.

Hui Yue had not previously realized just how much people’s view of him would change upon winning the match in the arena, but much had changed.

Although there were many King ranked experts within the Demon Dwelling Cave, Emperor ranks were nonexistent because as soon as one reached that rank the family would usually migrate to the next cave where their living standards would be much better. For the Mercenary Guild having such a young man, presumably a King ranked expert who was hiding his cultivation base, was something greatly astonishing.

In a world where strength determined who would prevail having good connections with such a genius was incredibly important. This caused every major family within the capital to send messengers to request an audience with him, only to be declined by the Guild Master.

It was yet another day like that where a long queue of people were standing in front of the Guild Master’s office patiently waiting for their turn. Everyone in line looked as though they knew the answer they would get, but the families still sent them day after day, hoping that one day the news would be different.

Seeing the queue, Hui Yue was taken aback as he strode forward with a steady pace. His skin was still slightly golden after his body remade by the Wu Wei, his head was held high, his blue eyes shining with intelligence and his white hair neatly tied up at the top of his head.

No matter who looked at the young man, everyone was shocked as they saw how young he truly was, his aura once again seemed to be that of a Master ranked cultivator. But the golden hue which surrounded his body made him seem as though he was an angel sent to the world of mortals.

Truthfully the golden hue was small traces of Wu Wei stuck within his body, in organs especially his skin. Slowly they would vanish but until they did, Hui Yue would be a golden child someone who shone light by just being there.

As soon as Hui Yue stepped into the main hall of the Mercenary Guild everyone’s eyes were drawn towards the white-haired young man who was walking with steady steps towards Xu Piao’s office.

While he tried his best to completely ignore the many people who were waiting in line, he could not help but feel slightly uncomfortable at the stares coming his way. It was obvious that he was the reason for everyone to be here and it seemed as if everyone was contemplating whether or not to talk with him.

To avoid any uncomfortable situations and embarrassing conversations, Hui Yue sped up rushing towards the office where he knocked quickly and then entered without waiting for a reply.

Heaving a heavy sigh of relief as soon as he had entered the room, Hui Yue finally looked around only to turn rigid as he saw Xu Piao standing at the round table with four other men. Four men whom he had never seen before.

“Uhh, sorry,” Hui Yue said quite embarrassed as he looked at the many men present, “Please ignore my disturbance.” He continued as he made his way towards one of the windows where he jumped agilely through the window.  Finding himself behind the main hall of the Mercenary Guild, he left behind five stunned men staring agape at the window which had just been used as an escape route.

“That was the youngster Hui Yue right?” One of the men suddenly asked, his head throbbing slightly as he massaged his temple. Hearing the question, Xu Piao nodded his head with a wry smile on his face. The youngster had truly shown up at the most beneficial time.

“That young man was definitely a Master,” Another man said, “Even if he tries to hide it clues will be left behind for us Water cultivators to sense, but nothing was emitting out from him. Therefore, he is either a Saint ranked expert, or he has other means to access Wu Wei.”

That comment instantly sparked a long discussion at the table. The four men started discussing whether or not he was likely to be a Saint ranked expert, or if he had an item that allowed him access to Wu Wei even at such a low rank.

It did not take long before greed shone within the eyes of the four men as they discussed which kind of legendary item would be capable of providing a Master ranked cultivator with Wu Wei, but before they managed to do anything Xu Piao slammed his fist onto the table, stopping all conversation.

“Let me remind you of a few things,” He stated with an ice-cold voice and the four men could not help but shiver. “Hui Yue is a member of my Mercenary Guild, a place where you are the elders at. Are you seriously planning on acting against our own members?”

“Not only is Hui Yue a member of the Mercenary Guild, he is currently someone taking on a mission for the Dragon Corps. Do you dare start a battle against them?” As this was spoken , the faces of the four men turned from sour to pale and from pale to frightened.

“Hui Yue is a friend of ours and we will benefit the most if we are to befriend him rather than rob him. I will be travelling with him to the central cave, the Dragon Core, and help him finish the mission he has undertaken. While I am away find someone to become a temporary Guild Master. I don’t mind either. The only one I will be bringing with me is Xie Lan.”

Having finished talking, Xu Piao did not wait for the people to reply, instead, he waved his hand before he moved to the window. He looked down at the young white-haired man who was seated below, leaning against the wall with his eyes closed.

Although his eyes were closed, Xu Piao was completely certain that he had heard everything which had was said, a small smile appearing on the Guild Master’s face along with a shake of his head.

“Eavesdropping is not nice,” He said with a cheerful voice as he reached out an arm, gesturing to help the friend inside through the window, and his cheerfulness was repaid by a gentle smile on the face of the young man.

“Thank you for standing up for me,” Hui Yue said smilingly while looking at his surroundings before he ensured that no one was around. After doing so, he accepted the stretched out hand, allowing for the older man to drag him into the room.

Being seated in the room together none of the two men said anything, instead, they just sat there looking at their surroundings both sighing at random times. Both of them felt spent in a way they had not previously.

Hui Yue went through a life and death battle and gained multiple benefits, but his body was still somewhat exhausted and he was still replenishing his Qi and spiritual energy. While although Xu Piao had not participated in the match itself he was left alone to deal with the aftermath, dealing with every family who sent a request to meet the young genius within the city. Even the City Lord’s mansion sent someone to get into contact with the newly arrived genius.

“So how did you get everyone to leave when they came to see me?” Hui Yue asked curiously, and shivered as he remembered the long queue of people outside the door who eyed him the same way a tiger eyes its prey.

“Oh yeah, about that.” Xu Piao started, “I convinced them that you are a young master from the capital who is here on a mission to learn about the outside world. I told them that since your mission is now finished you are getting ready to return to the capital, and you have no interest to meet with commoners in this Demon Dwelling Cave.”

“So you made me look like a real twat, huh?” Hui Yue answered while laughing. Anything that Xu Piao came up with as an excuse would have been good, but this one was great. Not only did it explain why Hui Yue was unheard of, it also explained why he had such strength and why he appeared within this relatively small cave. On top of that it even made it possible for Hui Yue to take a mission heading towards the capital with no one questioning is.

Nodding his head in approval, the white-haired boy found a chair and sat down after which silence descended upon the room. A thick atmosphere pressed down on him as he saw that Xu Piao was fidgeting.

Seeing the Guild Master seemingly unsure whether or not he should say what was on his mind, Hui Yue could not help but laugh out loud.

“You want to know how I can wield the Wood element and Wu Wei when neither belong to me?” Hui Yue asked instead of waiting for the older friend of his to finally decide.

Hearing that the subject had been raised, and not by himself, Xu Piao was slightly taken aback, but he did not waste time and instead nodded his head urgently. “I would very much like to know,” He said with an eagerness much like he showed when he found out about the world above.

“On the surface world if you are from a large family you can have your soul merged together with a high-leveled expert, allowing you to use their powers from time to time.” Hui Yue lied fluently.

Although it was a lie, it was as close to the truth as he dared say, “I have my soul merged with such an expert who can feel when I am in a desperate situation, and he can lend his Wu Wei to me.”

Hearing this news about soul merging, the eyes of Xu Piao’s eyes shone fiercely with excitement. “How can I merge my soul with someone?” He asked curiously but Hui Yue shook his head, “To merge with someone is not a good idea. You basically have someone who can at will steal away your power, even if you are against it.”

“The ritual also require a lot of things which I do not have with me, nor do I know the entire process. High Priestesses from the cities are the ones who can create a soul-merge.”

Although Hui Yue disliked lying to his friend, he had not spent enough time with Xu Piao to tell him the truth when it came to his merged soul and Lan Feng; however, he managed to escape the subject in a graceful way.

….

After just a few days had gone by since the battle, Hui Yue’s name rose to prominence. So much so that even the Mercenary City had gotten news of the fight.

Memory stones filled with the recordings of the battle were sold cheaply everywhere within the capital, and not before long they also appeared in other cities such as Mercenary City.

Zhou Long was the first to purchase one of these recordings and seeing the battle, even he was left deeply shocked.

At first when he had heard about the life and death battle between Hui Yue and a King ranked expert, the captain of the Dragon Corps was filled with dread because he feared Hui Yue might have perished.

Zhou Long was not worrying for Hui Yue sake, but rather he was focused on the reward for his mission; on that he would not get if Hui Yue died. Considering that he was given items which had Wu Wei stored within, Zhou Long was more certain than ever that the two of them were related by blood.

The only thing which annoyed Zhou Long was that he had the task of reducing the amount of people accompanying the young man, but all the assassins which had been sent all died at the hands of Xu Piao. Finding assassins skilled enough to deal with two King ranked experts, but at the same time leave Hui Yue alone was definitely no easy task.

Sighing deeply, Zhou Long took the memory stone which contained the battle against the King ranked expert and stood up going towards a cage. Within the cage was a black and blue raven, the inner feathers black while the tips were a deep blue.

These ravens were known as the messengers of death; they were the ones whom the Dragon Corps used when they had very important news to be sent. Due to this, the birds were known as messengers of death.

Zhou Long did not want the judges opinion right now, instead he released his raven with a memory stone wrapped in parchment on which was written only one name, the Frozen General.

These black and blue ravens, the messengers of death, were chosen as messengers because of their speed. No other demon beast was even half as fast as this particular bird. It took only a month for the raven to travel the trip to the capital which would take humans years, and right on time as soon as a month passed the bird arrived at the capital.

“Look!” The guard who took the memory stone from the leg of the raven was instantly shocked as soon as he saw that it was meant for the Frozen General. Anything which came up to the surface was treated with extra care.

Rushing into the main office for the Dragon Corps, the guard shielded the memory stone with both his hands, his heart racing as he feared that he might possibly break it.

“Commander! Commander!” He called, his voice hoarse and his eyes wide with fear. “Commander, I have a message for the Frozen General!”