487: Chapter 487 Jade Dragon

Liu Xuan was purely bragging!

Although he possessed the Sword Heart Clarity talent, he hadn't practiced the Dao of the Sword much; at most, he had barely touched its threshold, far inferior to his Rank Four peak Alchemy and Artifact Refining paths.

The reason he caused such a stir and was so intimidating was mainly because his natal flying sword, the heavenly origin sword, had fused with the Hunyuan Great Dao, and the Thousand Star Unity Sword had directly recognized him as its master, allowing him to easily wield a portion of its power.

"Senior Brother Chen, trust me this once. You aren't gambling on restoring your previous path, but on a grand Dao that leads to the heavens!"

Chen Beiming fell silent. After a few breaths, he looked directly at Liu Xuan and said, "I will not do anything that goes against my principles; otherwise, I would rather self-detonate my Divine Soul."

"No matter! I, Liu Xuan, am a man of great principle—everyone knows this."

Chen Beiming nodded, no longer hesitating once he had made his decision. "Come then!" He looked at the spider Gu insect in Liu Xuan's hand.

Just as Liu Xuan said, once the Gu insect entered his Divine Soul, if anything went wrong, the worst-case scenario was self-detonating his Divine Soul. It was simply a gamble with his life!

"A wise choice!"

Liu Xuan waved his hand, and the Puppet Gu flew into the center of Chen Beiming's brow, then entered his Sea of Consciousness to take up residence.

To control a high-level Cultivator with a Puppet Gu, the other party had to be completely willing and non-resistant. Deceptive methods would not work, especially against a Nascent Soul Sword Cultivator like Chen Beiming.

From the beginning, Liu Xuan had no intention of letting the Puppet Gu devour his Divine Soul; it truly served only as a contractual constraint.

Should he have a change of heart, although the Puppet Gu did not forcibly control him, it could destroy his Sea of Consciousness.

Exchanging a Rank Four Low Grade thousand star sword for a Nascent Soul Sword Cultivator subordinate whose life and death he could control for a hundred years was an extremely good deal.

The Puppet Gu did not devour the Divine Soul, so it couldn't guarantee one hundred percent loyalty, but it could monitor Chen Beiming's actions through the Sea of Consciousness, basically ensuring he wouldn't escape his control.

"Senior Brother Chen, from now on we are on the same side. In the future, you will surely feel incredibly fortunate for today's decision!"

The sword domain dissipated, and the sky full of sword light fused into Liu Xuan's body, leaving behind a Rank Four Low Grade thousand star sword that flew into Chen Beiming's hand.

Picking up the Flying Sword, Chen Beiming carefully stroked and inspected it. He nodded with satisfaction and looked at Liu Xuan.

"Speak. Who do you want me to kill?"

"Kill who?" Liu Xuan's mind went blank. "What do you mean 'kill who'?"

"Go back and properly refine the thousand star flying sword first. Then, go to the Liu Clan School to teach sword Dao courses and occasionally step in to resolve disputes for the Liu Clan Merchant Alliance."

"Is it that simple?"

"It's that simple!"

"Fine!"

Chen Beiming put away the Flying Sword and began to walk out. Halfway there, he felt uneasy, so he stopped and turned back to say, "Once I have refined it into my natal flying sword, I will come to see you again."

Liu Xuan waved his hand dismissively and picked up the picture album sent by Song Shulian from the table to appreciate it again.

...

Taking Chen Beiming under his wing was just a chance encounter; Liu Xuan currently had no important tasks to give him.

After he refined the thousand star flying sword into his natal flying sword, he really would just go to the Liu Clan School to teach the basics of the sword Dao and occasionally act as a bodyguard for the Liu Clan disciples in the Merchant Alliance.

It wasn't until Chen Beiming truly integrated into the Liu Clan forces that he slowly began to realize Liu Xuan's terrifying influence.

Before, he had always thought that Liu Xuan and the entire Liu Family were only flourishing by borrowing the prestige of the Peach Blossom Demon Lord.

But after staying in the Peach Blossom Palace for a long time, he gradually realized that Liu Xuan did not seem like the Peach Blossom Demon Lord's chess piece, but rather the master of the Peach Blossom Palace. Everyone in the entire palace revolved around Liu Xuan, even including the Peach Blossom Demon Lord herself.

The Liu Clan School seemed simple, with the highest disciples only having Foundation Establishment cultivation, but the Cultivation Techniques they studied were not simple at all.

The Primordial Chaos Geng Metal Sword Art was something even a Nascent Soul Sword Cultivator like him could gain insights from; it was definitely not an ordinary sword Dao technique, but a top-tier Legacy.

The words Liu Xuan said when he gave him the thousand star flying sword often surfaced in his mind—perhaps it wasn't bragging after all.

More than half a year later.

What Peach Blossom worried about really happened. The White Tiger Saintess, Shuang Xue, was about to give birth, yet her own belly still showed no reaction.

[Ding! Congratulations to the Host on the birth of his 788th child. Rank Five peak Chi Tiger Bloodline. Obtained Rank Four High Grade Acquired Spirit Treasure: insightful brightening heart lamp.]

[insightful brightening heart lamp: A special auxiliary cultivation Magic Treasure. Its light shines upon the Divine Soul to amplify Divine Sense insights, helping to understand Cultivation Techniques, learn spells, and gain insights into the Great Dao. It can also block Divine Sense probes and defend against Divine Sense attacks.]

Good stuff! In a way, treasures that aid cultivation are far more valuable than treasures like Flying Swords or warships.

The insightful brightening heart lamp assisted in cultivation while also being a Divine Soul defense Acquired Spirit Treasure, belonging to the High Grade of its Rank.

It was a good item, but Liu Xuan couldn't bring himself to be happy. Back then, Tong Xiao had a Rank Six peak Bloodline. The difference in cultivation between Shuang Xue and Yun Yao was only slight, yet the child's Bloodline Rank was a full major grade lower.

"Husband! It seems Shuang Xue didn't advance her Bloodline because of the child's birth!"

Peach Blossom valued this child even more than Liu Xuan did. She had come early to accompany Shuang Xue as soon as she went into labor.

Although she did feel the Bloodline feedback strengthen Shuang Xue when the child was born, it was nowhere near what Yun Yao had experienced back then; it was still a bit short of a Rank Four Bloodline.

She picked up the wailing infant to check; the Bloodline Rank wasn't as exaggerated as Tong Xiao's, only at the Rank Five peak level.

"This was an accident, listen to my explanation..."

Liu Xuan was just about to comfort Peach Blossom when he saw her happily holding the child and coming before him.

"Rank Five peak Bloodline!"

"It's a full two major grades higher than Shuang Xue's. I knew you wouldn't lie to me, Husband."

Although Shuang Xue's child wasn't as exaggerated as Yun Yao's, it had already met Peach Blossom's expectations.

As long as she had a child with Liu Xuan, she would definitely receive Bloodline feedback from the child; it was just a matter of how much.

Shuang Xue's Bloodline didn't advance this time, but as long as she had another one, she would surely reach Rank Four.

Peach Blossom didn't have a System. She also hoped every one of Liu Xuan's Yao Race children would be like Tong Xiao, but her psychological expectations weren't actually as high as Liu Xuan's.

The Spiritual Roots and Bloodline inheritance of high-level Cultivators and Yao Race offspring naturally varied, with a large element of luck involved. For Liu Xuan's two consecutive Yao Race children to be at least two major grades higher than their mothers was already extremely terrifying.

Liu Xuan had intended to comfort Peach Blossom, but her words ended up comforting him instead.

"Waaa, waaa~"

Shuang Xue's child was similar to an ordinary human infant; she wasn't like Tong Xiao, who could run and jump as soon as he was born. She had to cry for a while first.

After crying for a bit and seeing that no one was paying attention to her as they were all chatting, the little one struggled out of Peach Blossom's arms and stumbled over to her mother, Shuang Xue.

Among the three people in the room, her mother's aura felt the most familiar. Most importantly, she was hungry, and only here was there the fragrance of food.

"Wuuu, wuuu~"

The little one was hungry but couldn't speak yet. In her anxiety, she let out a flurry of garbled cries and reached out with her small hands to tug at Shuang Xue's clothes.

Liu Xuan transformed his dharmic power into a soft, large hand and pulled her over, laughing. "Chi Tiger Bloodline... then I shall call you... Liu Yu Chi!"