Immortal and Martial Dual Cultivation

Chapter 1605 (Raw 1587): Xiao Suo's Past

"The Scarlet Blood Pirate King?"

Upon hearing the black-clad old man say that name, Xiao Suo could no longer remain calm. "Old Gui, you better not be cheating me. That appraiser of the Purple Cloud Pavilion could not even appraise it, yet you could tell just by touching it?"

The black-clad old man looked at Xiao Suo in disdain. "There is a specialty in every skill. How long have I been in the Pirate Alliance? How many times have I ventured out? Those appraisers don't even know how many Pirate Kings the Pirate Alliance has raised. How can they compare to me?

"However, they definitely figured out that this pirate banner is extraordinary. It is just that they could not appraise it. Am I right?"

When seeing Xiao Suo's shocked appearance, Old Gui laughed, "I already know the answer, based on your expression. However, this thing is a hot potato. I recommend you hand it over to the Pirate Alliance. That way, you will be able to rise to a 3-Star captain directly. However, it is up to you to decide what to do."

Xiao Suo showed a complicated expression as he looked at Xiao Chen and said, "Big Brother, you should make the decision. After all, you are the one who paid for this pirate banner."

Xiao Chen felt a little confused on hearing all that. He held up his hand and said, "Wait a moment. First, tell me what exactly is going on."

The black-clad old man looked at Xiao Chen and said, "What's going on? Did you see those statues at the entrance to the Pirate Alliance?"

"I did. Xiao Suo told me that only the legends among Pirate Kings have the qualifications to have their statues placed in front of the Pirate Alliance."

Old Gui nodded and said, "That's right. However, what outsiders do not know is how hard this is to achieve. To ordinary pirates, a Pirate King is already a legendary person. However, having their own sculpture erected in front of the Pirate Alliance after they die, receiving the admiration and respect of the later generations, is the lifelong pursuit of every Pirate King.

"Just becoming a Pirate King is not enough. One needs to become a legend of legends to qualify. The Pirate Alliance was established not long after the rise of the Martial Epoch, but there have not even been one hundred legendary Pirate Kings!"

From the start of the Martial Epoch to now, there are less than one hundred legendary Pirate Kings…. This is truly difficult. 

Xiao Chen contemplated for a while before responding, "The Scarlet Blood Pirate King is one of them."

"Yes. He is the sculpture holding the scarlet war banner. Do you now understand how high his place is in the hearts of pirates? Furthermore, this is the banner under which he became famous. Unexpectedly, it resurfaced. Its immense value goes without saying."

Xiao Suo interjected, "Most importantly, just before every legendary Pirate King died, they would bury their treasures in the depths of the starry sea. Having the Scarlet Blood War Banner is equivalent to a chance to inherit the Scarlet Blood Pirate King's treasures. This is also why Old Gui suggests I hand it over to the Pirate Alliance.

"It is because its value is too great. Once news of it leaks out, it will spur the entire Purple Sun Region into action. Wait, that's not right. That should be the entire Grave Sea Cluster!"

When Xiao Chen heard this, he realized that he had to be cautious about this. On the other side, Luo Nan and Fei`er were somewhat frightened.

Xiao Suo smiled fatuously. "This is a surprise. Unexpectedly, my eyes are so sharp. A legendary Pirate King's war banner! Furthermore, it is the banner of the Scarlet Blood Pirate King, the pirate that I respect the most. According to legend, he ventured into all seven great forbidden starry seas. There was no part of the boundless Starry Heavens that his Scarlet Blood Pirate Group could not reach.

"I caught hold of a legend!"

The sloppy, black-clad Old Gui smiled coldly. "Stop dreaming. First, think of how to protect your own life. I do not believe that there is an impenetrable wall in the world."

After having his bubble burst, Xiao Suo was startled for a long time before he said, "Damn it! What should we do? Normally, I would be grinning from ear to ear in my dreams if I could become a 3-Star pirate. However, I would really feel dissatisfied at becoming a 3-Star captain at the cost of the Scarlet Blood War Banner."

Xiao Chen, who stood at the side, was calmer. After all, at this moment, this Scarlet Blood War Banner was merely a tattered relic.

"Let me see the war banner."

Xiao Chen took the war banner from Old Gui's hands. He found it heavy, much heavier than he expected.

Following that, a boundless, venerable aura spread from his hands to his entire body.

It was like a distant age appeared in his mind—scenes of the Scarlet Blood Pirate King sweeping through all places in an unruly manner.

A strong desire to fight spread through Xiao Chen's entire body. The blood in his body boiled restlessly.

Xiao Chen entered deep thought. No wonder when Xiao Suo fought with the Ice-Snow Sword, he had held the upper hand and easily defeated the other party. There definitely was a tight connection to the war banner.

This is a good treasure. If this war banner could be fixed, just considering it as a weapon, how strong would it be?

"Big Brother…what do you think?" Even now, Xiao Suo was still nervous and excited, his speech losing fluency.

Xiao Chen handed the war banner to Xiao Suo. Then, he looked calmly at the black-clad old man and asked, "Senior Gui, how confident are you of restoring this war banner to its peak?"

The sloppy old man shook his head and said, "I'm not that capable. At best, I can restore it to twenty percent of its peak might. However, the greatest use of this pirate war banner is in boosting the strength of a pirate ship."

Xiao Chen smiled and said, "Senior Gui is really humble. Being able to restore it to twenty percent is quite incredible already. I would like to conduct business with you."

From the first moment Xiao Chen saw Senior Gui, he felt that the other party was extraordinary. When the other party appraised the Scarlet Blood War Banner, Xiao Chen was already sure of him.

"Hehe! I only deal with large transactions."

"That's good. What I want to do is a large transaction. One million Medial Grade Spirit Jades. Is that large enough?!"

The moment Xiao Chen said that, Senior Gui withdrew his smile, and his expression slowly turned grave. His eyes glinted with a sharp light as if he was trying to see through Xiao Chen.

Unfortunately, he failed. His aura and gaze did not put any pressure on Xiao Chen.

Senior Gui said, "One million Medial Grade Spirit Jades. Xiao Chen, the White Robed Xiao Chen, who exactly are you?!"

At first, Senior Gui had thought that Xiao Chen was just an elite disciple of a Rank 3 sect. However, it seemed that he was not that simple.

Quietly, Xiao Chen released a little of the Azure Dragon bloodline that the Buddhist pendant was suppressing. Then, his Great Desolate Divine Eyes suddenly appeared.

The resplendent, dazzling golden light in Xiao Chen's eyes flashed momentarily, so fast that the others did not notice.

The Great Desolate Divine Eyes!

Senior Gui took a step back as he looked at Xiao Chen, his eyes full of shock. After a long time, he said, "I'll do it. However, if it is just restoring the Scarlet Blood War Banner, there is no need for such a large sum of Medial Grade Spirit Jades, right?"

Xiao Chen nodded. Then, he waved his hand, and the Cycle Throne appeared, "I also need you to help me upgrade this Cycle Throne. I would like you to add the advantages of a pirate ship to my throne. Also, Xiao Suo's pirate ship needs refitting. It should be at least a peak 2-Star pirate ship."

"This throne…"

With a thought, the Cycle Throne changed into its war chariot form before the black-clad old man's shocked gaze, directly stunning him.

Senior Gui moved around the Cycle Throne, staring at it fixedly. He praised, "Exquisite. It is truly exquisite. I can see the shadow of an Immortal Epoch Magic Treasure in it. The skills required to refine this and the formations all show extremely high mastery."

This Old Gui's eyes were indeed sharp. The refining and formations were a result of Mo Chen using her Book of Heavenly Works. Naturally, they were extraordinary.

However, back then, she had not taken the spatial construct and level of the Great Thousand Realms into consideration. Hence, the Cycle Throne was lacking now and needed to be upgraded.

Old Gui revealed a somewhat awkward expression. "However, private modification of a pirate ship is not really in keeping with the Pirate Alliance's rules."

"Otherwise, why would it be a large transaction?" Xiao Chen smiled.

Xiao Suo felt extremely excited when he heard that. He immediately complained, "Old Gui, stop playing dumb. You have done many such private modifications. Back then, you were also the one who worked on my ship. Stop pretending."

Hearing that his pirate ship would be modified, Xiao Suo was naturally happy. He had long wanted to do this but lacked Spirit Jades.

"You son of a bitch. Never mind, I give up. However, I'll say this now. Hand me the one million Medial Grade Spirit Jades first. I will not advance the cost, nor am I capable of doing so." Then, Senior Gui sank into deep thought. "Upgrading the throne, altering the pirate ship, and also restoring the war banner, why do I feel that I'm losing out?" he muttered to himself as he calculated the cost, wondering whether he was blinded by the one million Spirit Jades and thinking unclearly.

Brat, you know why I'm working with you. The Great Desolate Divine Eyes. I really underestimated you from the start. However, in all honesty, no one dares to privately modify a pirate ship, especially to the 2-Star level. I'm taking this risk just once on account of Wang Suo and your Great Desolate bloodline. Senior Gui's voice rang out in Xiao Chen's mind.

Many thanks, Senior.

"Hah! I'm not even sure if I earned or lost out in this transaction. Never mind, I'll take it as making a friend," Old Gui sighed.

Xiao Chen smiled and said, "Senior Gui, thank you for granting me this. Then, let me tell Senior more about my thoughts on how to upgrade the throne."

Just at this moment, a group of people walked into Senior Gui's shop with heavy footsteps.

The leader was dressed magnificently in the standard captain's getup. His clothes glittered with resplendent gems. He was clean-shaven and looked proud, radiating an aura that stood out from the crowd.

When Xiao Suo turned his head and saw this person, his expression changed radically. He was stunned for a moment; then, a green vein bulged on his forehead, and he had to force back his rage.

When the middle-aged captain saw Xiao Suo, he revealed a surprised expression. After being stunned for a while, he sized up Xiao Suo with a smile. "I heard that you've fallen on hard times, but I didn't expect it to be this bad. You've actually dropped to the point of being someone's flagbearer."

Seeing the extraordinary air of this person, Fei`er walked over to Old Gui and whispered, "Old Sir, who is this?"

"Bai Yan, the captain of the Golden Setting Sun Pirate Group, a 3-Star captain, the light of the Purple Sun Region's pirates. He used to be Xiao Suo's second-in-command," Old Gui muttered with a complicated expression.

Fei`er gaped, clearly surprised. She did not expect this at all. To think that the leader of the Golden Setting Sun Pirate Group, which the entire city cheered on, was once Xiao Suo's second-in-command!

"However, you really have a strong resolve. You'd rather carry a banner for another person than come to my Golden Setting Sun Pirate Group," Bai Yan mocked slowly, with a very natural tone, as he looked down on Xiao Suo.

"How despicable!"

Xiao Suo, who had been repressing his rage, could no longer endure it. So, he cursed and tossed the war banner aside. Then, he charged forward and grabbed Bai Yan by the collar and lifted him.

"You bastard, you do not deserve to wear these clothes. You are simply not worthy of being a captain. Even if I'm worth nothing and have no dignity, falling to the point of begging, I'm still better than a shameless person like you!"

The expressions of the four behind Bai Yan changed slightly as they unleashed killing Qi.

These four were actually late-stage Minor Primal Core experts who had experienced hundreds of battles. With one look, it was clear that they were not weak at all.

Bai Yan waved his hand, stopping the four behind him from moving forward. Then, he smiled faintly and said, "I just like seeing your enraged but helpless appearance!"

"Boom!"

Bai Yan suddenly unleashed a strong aura, and Xiao Suo flew back, vomiting blood.

Bai Yan tidied his clothes and said calmly, "You should be thanking me. If my subordinates attacked, you would be dead. I will properly wear these clothes. Occasionally, I will return to Purple Sun City and tell you that not only can I be captain, but I am also better than trash like you, going even further!"

"You…" Xiao Suo was so frustrated that he vomited another mouthful of blood. Rage burned in his eyes.

Just as Xiao Suo was about to charge forward, a hand on his shoulder stopped him.