English
Indonesia
Chinese (Simp)
Japanese
Korean
Spanish
Portuguese
French
German
ArabicThe Protagonists' Chat Group: Beyond the Boundaries — Chapter 338
Chapter 338: Arranging a Blind Date for Stone King; Immortal King Becomes Stronger by Having More Children and Blessings?
The woman’s beautiful face flushed with shyness upon hearing Xu Que’s bold (and utterly shameless) words.
Her voice was barely audible, a soft murmur.
“I’ll… I’ll treat you when we go back…”
Xu Que’s face broke into a wide, triumphant smile. ‘Success!’
…
Back in the Foreign Realm’s observation point…
Looking at the figures of “Ye Liangchen” (Lin Dong’s fake identity) and “Dugu Qiubai” (another Xu Que persona), the observing Foreign Realm Immortal King fell into deep thought.
Two Immortal King seeds, appearing seemingly out of nowhere? And both achieving victory so decisively?
This was very unusual.
Even more unusual was…
There were corresponding, equally monstrous geniuses who had appeared in the Nine Heavens and Ten Lands recently.
That Lin Dong… plus that ridiculously flashy Yang Jian from before…
Another two potential Immortal King seeds.
Although the great tribulation, the final epoch, was rumored to be approaching, and it was a time of unpredictable changes and burgeoning talent…
But for so many potential Immortal King seeds to suddenly appear, all at once, was too bizarre.
Moreover, all these individuals seemed to have achieved their power through unconventional paths, not following the standard cultivation routes.
‘Could it be…’ the Immortal King pondered, ‘that the future trend of cultivation, the path to true supremacy in the coming era, is to achieve Immortal Ascension through an unconventional path?’
The Immortal King was puzzled, a rare frown creasing his ancient brow.
The Immortal King pondered, considering the implications.
As he was thinking, another strong cultivator from the Nine Heavens and Ten Lands stepped onto the vast battlefield stage.
It was Xiao Yan, who had been waiting impatiently for a long time.
Fierce, multi-colored flames burned intensely on his body, exceptionally magnificent, painting the void with vibrant hues. His long hair was disheveled, flowing wildly like strands of fire, giving him the appearance of a peerless demonic god. His eyes were as cold and sharp as swords forged in stellar cores.
The flames on his body visibly burned the Void Realm itself, making sizzling sounds and distorting the fabric of space. This sight alone was astonishing.
“Xiao Yan! Cultivating for merely one hundred years! I have come to challenge! Who dares to accept?!”
After Xiao Yan ascended the stage, he stood unhurriedly, hands behind his back. Fierce Heavenly Flames burned around him, giving him an aura of absolute invincibility, as if he stood outside all Laws, untouchable.
After he issued his challenge, no one from the Foreign Realm dared to accept it for a long moment.
Clearly…
The geniuses from the Foreign Land were somewhat bewildered, perhaps even traumatized, by Lin Dong’s and Yang Jian’s (Xu Que’s) previous overwhelming performances.
The Foreign Immortal King frowned deeply when he saw Xiao Yan step onto the stage:
“Another one? Another monstrous genius who achieved such power through an unconventional path?”
He then looked towards the remaining geniuses of the Foreign Land gathered in the black mist.
Seeing that no one came forward, his frown deepened.
As if feeling the immense pressure of their King’s gaze, someone finally stood out from the crowd.
A genius from the Foreign Land, with vibrant purple hair flying wildly, descended like a fierce god, incomparably ferocious. He let out a long, defiant roar, his Saber Qi soaring to the sky, imbued with the intent to cleave through time itself and achieve eternal life!
As soon as he stepped onto the stage, he unleashed a devastating saber strike without preamble.
The long saber was covered in dense, complex runes, which emitted low, chanting sacrificial sounds as it cut through the air.
Such a sight was astonishing.
As soon as he appeared, he seemed unstoppable, his saber light stretching for tens of thousands of miles, threatening to cut the world in two!
Seeing someone finally accept the challenge, Xiao Yan remained unhurried. He casually waved his hand, and fierce, multi-colored flames surged forward, engulfing the endless saber light.
Runes burned within the flames, dazzling and blinding. The saber light was instantly consumed. Xiao Yan then unleashed a simple punch.
In an instant, he blew up that purple-haired genius from the Foreign Land, body and soul turning to ash within the Heavenly Flames.
Without exception…
It was another instant kill!
The cultivators from the Foreign Land were bewildered again, seeing such a depressingly familiar scene play out.
‘Damn it all!’
‘How could there possibly be so many heaven-defying prodigies in the declining Nine Heavens and Ten Lands?!’
However, this time their mood was not quite as dejected as before.
After all, in the previous two instances where a Nine Heavens genius won, they had also had geniuses emerge out of nowhere from their side to match them (Lin Dong and Xu Que’s personas).
‘This time, it shouldn’t be an exception, right? Someone else must be coming!’
Countless people from the Foreign Realm tacitly looked towards the Heavenly Abyss, expecting another figure to cross over.
They wanted to see another figure cross the Heavenly Abyss, another hidden card.
But clearly…
This time their hopes were dashed.
Xu Que had nothing left in his arsenal of disguises for this specific event.
Ye Liangchen, Yang Jian, and Dugu Qiubai—these Incarnations were cultivated by him through the Three Lives Emperor Scripture (or a System equivalent).
[Inorin’s Note: The Three Lives Emperor Scripture allows cultivating independent incarnations. Xu Que likely obtained a version via his System.]
They had a certain degree of independence, and their combat power was also very strong.
However, there were only these three suitable Incarnations prepared.
Other Incarnations split from other cultivation techniques lacked the independence or specific aura needed to deceive the Immortal King.
Silence.
A heavy, awkward silence descended upon the Foreign Realm’s side.
After a long silence…
The people of the Foreign Land finally began to feel deeply embarrassed.
It seemed… no one from their side could accept the challenge?
After a few more breaths of tense silence…
“No one accepts the challenge? Are you going to surrender voluntarily?”
Xiao Yan stood proudly on the stage and spoke calmly, though his eyes held a mocking glint.
“I haven’t even entered the arena yet, and you’ve already been defeated?”
Shi Hao also stood out from the crowd on the Nine Heavens’ side, expressing his utter dissatisfaction and looking at the Foreign Land geniuses with great disdain.
“So-called Imperial Clan geniuses… nothing more than this.”
His words were full of disdain, mixed with much personal regret.
Among the geniuses from the Foreign Land, many had revealed their true forms during the previous fights, which were various unique, powerful, and likely delicious beings.
Shi Hao was very curious about their taste.
He had originally planned to kill a few unique-looking people on the spot and make a stir-fry right there after entering the arena. A demonstration of power and culinary skill.
But…
Now he didn’t even have a chance to enter the arena. The buffet was closed before he could even grab a plate.
The people of the Foreign Land were enraged upon hearing Shi Hao’s blatant mockery.
More people rushed out, driven by fury.
However, all of them were swiftly, mercilessly killed by Xiao Yan’s overwhelming Heavenly Flames.
After winning several consecutive matches with contemptuous ease, Xiao Yan did not continue fighting. He magnanimously gave the stage to Shi Hao.
Shi Hao finally got his wish. He entered the arena, instantly killed his opponent, and then, right there on the battlefield, started making stir-fries and meatballs from the various unique creature parts.
The people of the Foreign Land were slaughtered to the point of complete mental collapse.
They were once again slaughtered to the point where absolutely no one dared to accept the challenge.
Even when Shi Hao stood there, holding a skewer of freshly grilled meat and openly mocking them, asking if anyone wanted a taste, no one voluntarily accepted the challenge. Their pride was shattered.
“It seems this time’s bet… you lost?”
Seeing the situation completely stalemate, Shi Jian finally stepped forward and spoke to the Foreign Immortal King across the void.
“The great tribulation is indeed about to begin… truly a time when geniuses emerge in droves like bamboo shoots after rain.”
That Immortal King was surprisingly not annoyed, only sighing about something profound, his gaze distant.
“This bet… indeed, you won. Within a hundred years, the Foreign Land will not invade the Nine Heavens and Ten Lands!”
Rarely, that Immortal King actually conceded defeat so readily.
He casually threw something across the Heavenly Abyss—a spatial ring containing agreed-upon resources.
Then he threw the True Immortal who had been previously imprisoned during Wushang’s attempt, now sealed, into the Heavenly Abyss towards Immortal King Shi.
“This is one of the bets, given to you.”
“What I said before still stands, whether it’s Stone King or you, this junior of the Stone Clan… If you are willing to enter my Foreign Land, you can call yourselves an Imperial Clan! My offer is genuine.”
That Immortal King was very straightforward.
After speaking, he directly turned and led his people away, the black mist receding.
A great battle, a potentially epoch-ending confrontation, thus came to an anticlimactic end!
…
Shi Jian was bewildered. ‘So straightforward? Is this really the style of the Foreign Land?’
No crying foul, no tantrums, no last-minute threats.
Only a clean and decisive acceptance of defeat?
Could this really be the Immortal King of the Foreign Land he read about? The one who orchestrated epoch-long schemes?
Immortal King Shi’s (Stone King’s) figure also appeared beside Shi Jian, materializing from the void.
His face was solemn: “This is very unusual. The Foreign Land should not retreat so easily. Several Immortal Kings attacked simultaneously, some valuable geniuses died, yet they just… retreated.”
Stone King, who had dealt with the Foreign Land for countless ages, immediately became vigilant. Something felt wrong.
“No matter!” Shi Jian declared, his confidence unwavering.
“When soldiers come, we block them. When water comes, we cover it with earth! Let them scheme.”
Shi Jian was not flustered.
No matter what conspiracy the Foreign Land had, as long as it was delaying time, giving him time to grow stronger, he would not suffer a loss.
“Alas… it can only be so.”
Stone King sighed, still uneasy.
The more trustworthy and honorable that Foreign Immortal King acted, the more uneasy he felt.
If a habitual defaulter suddenly pays you back, can he be genuinely kind? Or is it part of a larger scam?
Stone King grabbed with a large hand, and the imprisoned, sealed True Immortal appeared in his hand.
“This person carries an extremely terrifying Origin of dark matter within him… If an Immortal King Rank cultivator were contaminated by this, it would probably take significant effort to expel. This should be the Immortal King’s backup plan!”
“You can become stronger by devouring dark matter, and that Immortal King specifically sent this ‘pure’ dark source over. This might be a scheme targeting you specifically!”
“He bets that you cannot withstand this level of dark matter Origin!”
“He bets that you… cannot bear to part with this level of dark matter Origin! It’s bait!”
“I don’t know your specific situation or the limits of your technique, so you must make your own decision. If you are confident in devouring it safely, then keep it. If not, I will throw him into the Sea of Laws within the Heavenly Abyss to be annihilated!” Stone King said gravely.
Shi Jian felt a hint of immense joy upon hearing his words.
‘Are you saying… that Immortal King thinks I didn’t get stuffed to death before simply because the quantity wasn’t enough?’
‘Now he’s bringing more, larger, and higher-quality quantities to try and stuff me to death again?’
Hiss…
Shi Jian instantly felt that everyone in the Foreign Land, especially their Immortal Kings, were truly good people! So considerate!
“Keep it! I’ll make plans after I break through a few more times!”
This True Immortal sent by the Immortal King was originally only at the standard True Immortal Rank.
However, the Immortal King had clearly added a little “something extra” into his body.
The energy rank of the dark matter Origin within this True Immortal’s body had reached the Quasi-Immortal King rank!
Quasi-Immortal King rank dark matter.
It can be saved for a few transformations after the ninth transformation of his new technique.
Nine transformations to become Immortal…
Each transformation is more terrifying, more fundamental than the last.
Correspondingly…
The resources required for each transformation are also astonishingly vast.
Quasi-Immortal King rank dark matter… used in the first few transformations, is clearly a bit wasteful.
That Immortal King…
What a good person!!! So thoughtful!
Stone King nodded upon hearing Shi Jian’s confident reply, and without further ado, directly put away the sealed True Immortal.
“There was also a crippled True Immortal cultivator that I previously imprisoned. If you need it, you can come to me…”
After another admonition to be careful, Stone King disappeared.
Shi Jian was delighted again to hear this.
A crippled True Immortal… almost enough pure energy to support his early transformations.
He had now completed one transformation, and there was still the essence of a half-crippled True Immortal left in his body from before.
After digesting the essence of this half-crippled True Immortal, he estimated he would be able to complete his second transformation.
Then he would use the essence of the crippled True Immortal provided by Stone King for the third transformation.
Shi Jian quickly calculated. After three transformations, he should have the stable combat power of a peak True Immortal.
At that time, he would hunt down and use the essence of complete True Immortals for the fourth and fifth transformations.
Then become invincible in the True Immortal Realm.
Then use the Quasi-Immortal King rank dark matter for the sixth transformation…
He would definitely gain Quasi-Immortal King combat power.
Then perhaps kill a real Quasi-Immortal King from the Immortal Realm for the seventh transformation.
Become Quasi-Immortal King invincible.
Calculating this way…
After his nine transformations to Immortal Ascension… wouldn’t he be able to directly confront an actual Immortal King?
Shi Jian felt wonderful just thinking about his planned cultivation path.
As he was contemplating his bright future, thunderous cheers erupted around him.
“We won! We won again!”
Countless people in Imperial Pass cheered loudly, their voices shaking the city walls.
Having repelled the Foreign Land again, everyone was clearly ecstatic.
And more importantly…
This time they also won a hundred years of guaranteed peace.
A hundred years of time…
Normally, for cultivators at their level, it would be almost useless, a blink of an eye.
Especially for the cultivators stationed at Imperial Pass.
One must know that the lowest rank of cultivator qualified to even come to Imperial Pass was the Heavenly God Realm.
For beings in the Heavenly God Realm…
A hundred years was just a short seclusion.
However, with the presence of monstrous geniuses like Shi Jian, Shi Hao, Xiao Yan, Lin Dong, and Xu Que…
A hundred years of time suddenly became incredibly significant.
This group of people achieved peak human Dao combat power (Supreme) in less than a hundred years.
After another hundred years…
No matter what, they should be able to achieve True Immortal Ascension, right?
Although they still couldn’t compare to the vast foundation of the Foreign Land…
But this was a kind of hope. A tangible hope for the future.
Countless people cheered and celebrated wildly.
Shi Jian looked at Xiao Yan, Lin Dong, Shi Hao, and Xu Que, and they exchanged knowing smiles.
Then they also blended into the jubilant atmosphere.
And began to celebrate.
Shi Jian grabbed Xu Que by the shoulder: “You must have gained quite a bit of pretense value (Acting Tough Points) this time… Shouldn’t you thank us properly? Treat us?”
Xu Que’s face was smiling like a blooming chrysanthemum, overflowing with joy, but he repeatedly denied it, feigning modesty: “Not much, not much at all! Small business, small business!”
“Hmph hmph… Get some good food out, then?” Xiao Yan chimed in, equally shameless.
The others also came over and surrounded Xu Que, their intentions clear.
Being stared at by so many powerful big shots, Xu Que scratched his butt nervously…
“Let’s talk, let’s talk! Fine! I didn’t say I’d eat it all alone!”
As he spoke, he unzipped his pants and started pulling various items out from inside his crotch storage space…
“Enlightenment Spicy Strips!”
“Strengthening Milk Tea!”
“Spiritual Root Ice Cream!”
All sorts of strange, yet incredibly potent, System-produced items were pulled out by him.
While pulling them out…
He had a look of extreme reluctance, as if cutting his own flesh.
…
“Damn it! When you buy things from the System, can’t you just take them out normally from an inventory? Why there?”
Shi Jian asked, a bit disgusted by Xu Que’s method.
“I don’t want to either! But the System said it would give me a discount if I stored things… unconventionally!”
Xu Que replied with a helpless, aggrieved expression.
Shi Jian watched him for a long time but couldn’t tell if he was telling the truth or just being deliberately weird.
After all, both this person and his System were utterly shameless characters.
The things Xu Que took out seemed ordinary, like common snacks, but as the saying goes, System products are always high-quality.
Any single one of his items…
If taken out to the wider world, would be comparable to a top-tier Heaven And Earth Treasure.
Pulling out such a large pile at once, Xu Que clearly paid a lot of Acting Tough Points.
Of course…
He likely earned even more Acting Tough Points from his recent performances.
After a burst of celebration and feasting on System snacks, Imperial Pass finally quieted down again, returning to a state of watchful peace.
After this battle…
The entire Imperial Pass, and arguably the entire Nine Heavens and Ten Lands, completely transformed into Shi Jian’s shape. His word was law.
Now, if he said one…
Absolutely no one dared to say two.
He possessed absolute, unchallengeable status.
However, high status also came with the troubles of high status!
Those major forces were too good at flattering.
Their verbal flattery was fine, and Shi Jian quite liked it when they sent precious treasures and rare cultivation resources.
However…
When they started sending their Goddesses, their Saintesses, their most beautiful female disciples…
This was not good.
Shi Jian, Shi Hao, Xiao Yan, Lin Dong… Every day, Goddesses and Saintesses from various major forces would “coincidentally” wander before their eyes, trying to catch their attention.
Hoping to form a “good relationship” (a Dao Companion bond) with these supreme prodigies.
This really troubled them.
Xiao Yan and Lin Dong were already married men with established harems.
Shi Hao also had someone he liked (Huo Ling’er, Yue Chan, Qing Yi…).
Shi Jian was also interested in beauty, but he was really not interested in this kind of ‘sowing machine’ beauty, sent purely for political alliance.
Just playing around for fun?
He might as well play in the various Heaven And Earth Realm instances provided by the chat group.
With so many instances and so many famous beauties in the Myriad Worlds available virtually…
Wasn’t that better than just a few local Goddesses and Saintesses?
The famous beauties in the Myriad Worlds might not actually be able to compare to the Goddesses and Saintesses of the Perfect World in terms of cultivation or raw beauty…
But they had halos. Nostalgia…
Attack speed and critical hit bonuses, alright. It was different.
…
All in all, the few of them were a bit miserable, constantly fending off advances.
If an unwelcome guest came, they could just be driven away forcefully. But in this situation, dealing with beautiful women sent with “good intentions,” they couldn’t handle it too easily or risk offending powerful factions.
A few days later, Shi Jian got some mischievous inspiration from Xiao Yan’s own experiences dealing with multiple women.
Then…
He went to find Immortal King Shi (Stone King).
“What? You said someone wants to introduce a Dao Companion… to me? Who is so bold?”
Stone King was utterly bewildered, almost sputtering.
Introducing a Dao Companion to an Immortal King? Is that something a mere human can even suggest?
Shi Jian’s face showed a bright, innocent smile: “I was also very surprised when I heard them say that, Old Ancestor.”
“Then you must have refused for me immediately!” Stone King asked, expecting the obvious answer.
“Of course…” Shi Jian spoke with utmost seriousness.
Just as Stone King breathed a sigh of relief, Shi Jian made a sharp turn.
“…I didn’t refuse!”
“Didn’t refuse?!” Stone King was bewildered again.
Shi Jian nodded seriously: “Of course not! Old Ancestor, you’re not young anymore. The Stone Clan’s bloodline in the Upper Realm is currently dwindling. It’s time for you, as the Old Ancestor, to lead by example for the Stone Clan!”
“If you don’t first spread your branches and leaves, how can the younger clansmen be motivated to spread their branches and leaves?”
“I specifically told those factions to go back and make a detailed list of suitable candidates for you to choose from carefully. Photos included.”
“Now that you have cultivated the Great Bloodline Art, remember? The more you spread your branches and leaves, the stronger your cultivation becomes, and the stronger the entire clan becomes through resonance!”
“You literally become stronger by having more children and blessings! Go out and ask! Which Immortal King in any realm has such wonderful treatment as you? It’s cultivation!”
Stone King was completely, utterly bewildered. Was this kid serious?