Chapter 1105: Sword Dao Abilities (I)

“Senior, it is our honor to receive help from you,” said Yuan Shuo. “The commander has said that if the senior can help us open one dao meridian, you will be compensated with ten million mysterious power stones. Opening three dao meridians will be repaid with fifty million mysterious power stones...

“The Skystar Commander Office and Silver Moon martial world cannot let the senior endure too much of a loss for your aid! In addition, the commander has said that the senior will be compensated an additional five thousand drops of Water of Life if we are able to open five dao meridians or more! That means to say that it will be fifty million mysterious power stones and five thousand drops of Water of Life if we are able to open five dao meridians!”

Earthflare couldn’t help but raise his eyebrows at the sound of this. These were very generous terms! He was well aware of the current state of the world. And as he surmised, the scarlet cloak was no more.

The Red Moon powerhouse viewed this confirmation gravely. He could not afford to be careless! Even though scarlet cloak’s physical body had been damaged that year and he was hale and hearty in contrast, it was still troublesome that Li Hao’s side had killed the scarlet cloak. Not to mention, entities such as the bramble rose had betrayed their side.

Earthflare wouldn’t be concerned if it was a simple murder of the scarlet cloak. Compared to that one, he held the advantage of still possessing his physical body. The scarlet cloak did not. All the same, this could be a very thorny matter.

Various thoughts flashed through his mind. He could seek to control these people through their desires, but it was slightly difficult to keep them all under control. These pawns that’d presented themselves on a silver platter were all favored geniuses of this age. There were ten of them!

He’d limited the number of spots partially to avoid expending too much of his resources and partially so that Li Hao would be forced to pick and choose through his people. He would send only the most premier geniuses into the ruins.

“The commander is too polite, there’s no need for so much...” chuckled Earthflare.

“A favor is a favor, how can we enjoy so many benefits with peace of mind given the price that the senior has to pay?” Yuan Shuo insisted. “If this operation helps us ascend and set foot into mid Sun and Moon, then all will be worth it!”

Mid Sun and Moon—even fourth level Sun and Moon—required at least nineteen dao meridians. This level placed one on par with some initial Immortals, the kind that had fully revitalized. Without origin dao supporting them, that was all they amounted to. They might be slightly stronger, but not by much.

Earthflare raised an eyebrow. That... was quite the ask. Someone as strong as Yuan Shuo had only opened thirteen dao meridians—and just reached this number at that. He barely counted as second level Sun and Moon.

“I’ll try my best,” laughed the Red Moon powerhouse. “Clearing acupoints is a small matter and easy according to what you say. The hard part is energy recoiling onto you after the meridian is opened. That might shatter your body, so we need to strengthen it while we open dao meridians. That is the hard part.

“You guys count as having set foot into the Apex cultivation level of this era. It is easy to enhance your strength within the Apex band, but when you reach Immortal... the demands on the body are high!

“I will do my utmost to raise you guys to third level Sun and Moon or even its peak!” Earthflare summarized with gusto. “Fourth level... will really be difficult. Let’s leave that up to fate!”

It was true, yet also falsehood. The truth was that it would be very, very hard to attain fourth level. That process was the equivalent of transforming from Apex to Immortal. He would have to pay such an enormous price that it would not be worth it.

The falsehood was that he actually was considering enhancing them to fourth level Sun and Moon. There might be unexpected surprises as a result. Would the gains outweigh the price? Of course, there was no need to be so frank about his intentions.

In the same vein, Li Hao certainly didn’t have honorable ones despite coming as a supplicant! The young man might even be aware of the existence of Red Moon’s power. Earthflare could tell that Li Hao wanted to fortify his people to potentially use them against the Red Moon powerhouse. The process would weaken Earthflare as well. However, there was no choice but to proceed in this vein.

If not, Li Hao would still come for him one day—there was no way out of this. Meanwhile, there might be an opportunity to turn the tables if Earthflare accepted this proposal.

He could only react passively at the moment as he could not leave the ruins and Li Hao knew his location. He could only sit and wait.

In that case, he might as well create some opportunities for himself. It didn’t matter if Li Hao was confident in his course of action or not. Being prepared for any eventuality was never a mistake.

Earthflare glanced at the trio out of the corner of his eye and smiled once more.

“Then let us begin. I’ll need some Water of Life before we start so I can ensure the integrity of your bodies...”

Yuan Shuo took out a storage ring without a second word. “This ring contains eight thousand drops. Is that enough? If not, we can procure more later...”

“That’s enough for now!” Earthflare understood how important Li Hao’s teacher was when he saw the old man bring out thousands of drops without even blinking. This teacher plainly enjoyed a very high status in Li Hao’s camp.

Zhao Shuguang couldn’t offer eight hundred drops of Water of Life, much less eight thousand. This was good!

Off to the side, Gan Wuliang looked on with admiration and some envy. His desires reared their head again.

Earthflare’s smile deepened. How interesting! This person was more interesting than Zhao Shuguang.

Such pure desire...

Gan Wuliang’s desire was purer than Zhao Shuguang’s wariness or Yuan Shuo’s alertness.

Earthflare could detect and read desire. This was one of his unique abilities. He regarded Gan Wuliang with a look of increasing fondness. The man smiled radiantly back at the Red Moon powerhouse.

This level of greed and desire...

Gan Wuliang’s heart palpitated, but he quickly regained his composure.

This ‘senior’ likes me so much that he’s almost drooling!

This is good!

He’d only been a Nova when Li Hao captured him and thus, much weaker than everyone else. Even now, he remained a lower cultivation than the rest of the group. If he could make full use of this opportunity and rise to third level, or even fourth level Sun and Moon... his standing at the Skystar Commander Office would shift greatly.

Gan Wuliang knew that many people disliked him, but Li Hao didn’t. The commander needed him; that was enough! Much could change if his strength rose to the occasion.

Therefore, Gan Wuliang fully displayed all of his greed and ambitions to their utmost. He felt that he might share the same thoughts as this Red Moon powerhouse! The only question was if Li Hao would be able to resolve the drawbacks of being strengthened in this manner.

The young man hadn’t said anything, and neither had Gan Wuliang asked. Since Li Hao had dared send Yuan Shuo into the ruins, that meant they were supposed to survive this transaction. If it was otherwise, the rest of the group would enter the ruins, but the old man would not.

Gan Wuliang was very clear on one fact, and that was following Yuan Shuo ensured that he wouldn’t suffer grave losses. Li Hao might sacrifice everyone else, but he would not sacrifice Yuan Shuo.

“Then let us begin,” Earthflare decided. “I do not know much about the new martial dao and can only proceed according to your requests. We will clear acupoints, open dao meridians, and strengthen the body. I can do nothing if energy rages out of hand. My hands will also be tied if the new dao imposes stringent requirements on cultivation levels.”

He could enhance their strength, but there would be nothing he could do if the new dao’s requirements were too high.

“Senior can make your attempt with peace of mind,” Yuan Shuo rumbled. “There is no problem when it comes to cultivation levels. For us, they are not important because we are pure martial masters. Our auras are very strong and define our cultivation level!”

Earthflare nodded, having a plan in mind already. This group of martial masters with supreme auras... might be the last of their kind. If the new martial dao continued to develop and cultivation of unattributed dao meridians advertised, there might not be any more auras explored in the future. Martial masters with auras would have a much higher base foundation than the rest.

Apprehension crept into Gan Wuliang’s eyes. He lacked the aura; what if this was a problem?

Earthflare naturally sensed his concern.

Everyone knew to dwell less on their fears in front of powerhouses. Their thoughts were easily detected, but they also knew that so long as they hid their thoughts well, no one would be able to detect anything.

“Everyone sit down cross-legged and operate your cultivation methods!” Earthflare summoned energy from the ruins with a wave of his hand.

The three did as they were told and operated the Breakthrough Incantation. They had cleared different numbers of acupoints. Director General Zhao held the highest number since he’d already reached second level Earth and Moon. This time, he aimed to set foot into fourth level Sun and Moon.

Yuan Shuo had barely crossed into second level, and that was thanks to making use of the scarlet shadow energy that the Hao Cosmos had expelled from his body. He’d been peak first level before that.

Gan Wuliang was even worse off. He’d just managed to open ten meridians. While he seemed to be only a few meridians off from the rest, it would be very hard for him to progress further.

The world at present was more lenient toward local cultivators. As a local, Li Hao had opened more than twenty dao meridians. Those with connate dao constitutions would have higher limits and it was no problem for them to advance to fourth level Sun and Moon.

The key was, the process would be extremely difficult.

The world was more rigorous toward New Martial cultivators, making it so that those of New Martial had more curtailed limits than native Silver Moon denizens. Those limitations were not apparent yet because no one had reached the extremity of what the new martial dao was capable of.

Earthflare permeated their bodies with a massive amount of energy. This kind of enhancement required a deep amount of trust as it permitted the one in charge to fully plumb the depths of whoever they were helping.

Not only did Earthflare help the group clear acupoints, but he also studied their body layout at the same time. The more he saw, the more astonished he was. These people had connate dao meridians...

He knew of supernatural locks, but no one back in the day had thought that supernatural locks would be dao meridians! Transforming the former into dao meridians was a feat that astounded even him. Such innovation!

Dense energy wormed through Gan Wuliang’s body. The man cleared an acupoint with amazing speed. He lit an acupoint in the blink of an eye, an action imitated by the other two.

Earthflare directed a steady current of energy into the trio, also utilizing immense mental strength to stabilize their physical bodies and even sending out vitality to further aid them. The life force of a Saint-level existence enhanced their physical bodies to another level.

Acupoints popped open one by one. Being the weakest, Gan Wuliang progressed the fastest. He’d opened a dao meridian before long and set foot into the ranks of eleven dao meridians. The other two were yet to accomplish that feat.

Earthflare continued to meld Water of Life, life force, unique energies, and a faint trace of red into the three. The last component was exceedingly weak, so weak that the trio did not sense anything amiss. They simply dwelled a bit more on their own thoughts.

Yuan Shuo wanted to absorb more energy to clear more acupoints, open more dao meridians, and infinitely strengthen himself.

Director General Zhao wondered if he could set foot into fifth level Sun and Moon with the combination of his replica. That would require at least twenty-two dao meridians. How many had Li Hao opened?

The young man last mentioned twenty-four meridians, which made him peak fifth level.

A variety of thoughts abounded in the group’s minds. These were their true thoughts, not planted by anyone else. The only thing unusual about such thoughts was that they were appearing unbidden during cultivation.

Mirth deepened in Earthflare’s eyes.