Martial Peak

Chapter 2724, Dragon Blood Flower

Translator: Silavin & Raikov

Translation Checker: PewPewLazerGun

Editor and Proofreader: Leo of Zion Mountain & Dhael Ligerkeys

The pavilion was filled with the fragrant scent of tea as the three men sat talking with each other while enjoying themselves.

Li Jiao and Mi Qi's immaculate flattery put Ji Ying into a good mood, causing him to wave his hands constantly, laughing incessantly.

Who knew how long had passed, but a strange noise suddenly emerged somewhere in the medicine garden. Though the sound was soft, all three men were Emperor Realm Masters, so how could they not have noticed it?

Ji Ying rose all of a sudden and looked towards a certain direction in the medicine garden, a look of excitement on his face, "The spirit flower is about to bloom!"

Mi Qi and Li Jiao looked at each other, both of them able to see the excitement in each other's eyes as well.

Li Jiao quickly said, "Grandmaster Ji's vision is truly sharp. If not for Grandmaster Ji's appearance, this Li is afraid that we may not know that this spirit flower would soon bloom."

Mi Qi laughed, "Grandmaster Ji is an Emperor Alchemist, and even a Legacy Disciple of the Wondrous Pill Great Emperor, he knows all the spirit flowers and herbs under the Heavens like the back of his hand, how could a rough old man like you compare? If you were really to look after the spirit flower, then you'd most likely miss the optimal time when the flower blooms, wasting precious treasures for nothing."

"Yes, yes," Li Jiao nodded repeatedly, "Brother Mi Qi is right. If not for Grandmaster Ji's reminder, then such a precious spirit flower would really have been wasted. Since the spirit flower is about to blossom, why don't we go and take a look?"

"Good, good, good!" Ji Ying nodded excitedly and took the lead in walking over.

Mi Qi and Li Jiao looked at each other, secretly exchanging glances without a word.

Soon, the three of them arrived at a certain spot in the medicine garden where only a single spirit herb was cultivated. It was about half a metre high and had coiled roots and gnarled leaves. Strangely enough, a special aura was emanating from this spirit flower. If Zhu Qing or Yang Kai were here, they would definitely be able to tell at a glance that it was Dragon Qi.

Only, the Dragon Qi was quite weak, nowhere near as pure as the Dragon Qi emitted when the two of them used their Dragon Sources.

Even so, this was still quite amazing as this was just a spirit herb.

Quite strangely, the spirit flower not only emitted faint Dragon Qi, but it also resembled a dragon shrunken down countless times in appearance, stretched across the roots and stalk. Each of its tiny Dragon Scales could be vividly seen, along with all its claws and its tail. On top of the dragon's head, a blood-red flower bud was slightly unfolded, about to come into bloom, just like a fragile butterfly about to spread its wings and fly into the sky.

Ji Ying was standing ten metres in front of the spirit herb, holding his breath and watching the flower nervously.

From his appearance, rather than waiting for a spirit flower to bloom, it seemed more like his child was about to be born…

Li Jiao looked at the spirit flower that was about to bloom with a proud expression on his face as he silently made a glance at Mi Qi.

Mi Qi immediately said, "Grandmaster Ji, is this Dragon Blood Flower really that precious?"

"What do you know?" Ji Ying was looking ahead with rapt attention. When he heard Mi Qi speak, he subconsciously reprimanded him, but he quickly realized that the person who spoke was not one of his disciples, but rather the Sect Master of a top sect.

Slightly easing his tone, he explained, "Since you are not Alchemists, it is only natural that you don't know the rarity of this Dragon Blood Flower; however, as Palace Master Li has been cultivating this Dragon Blood Flower with Blood Essence all this time, I'm sure he has at least some inkling."

Li Jiao quickly said, "I am also muddled when it comes to this flower. I don't know the details too deeply, so if I may please ask Grandmaster Ji to explain…"

After devoting himself to taking care of this flower for a hundred years, how could he not know it well? Only, he naturally wanted to pretend to be ignorant at this moment in order to satisfy the other man's vanity.

Ji Ying nodded, "The Dragon Blood Flower is a natural resource from Dragon Island, and it is something only found on Dragon Island in this world. How precious is that, do you say?"

Mi Qi was shocked, "Truly?" He turned to Li Jiao, "Then where did Brother Li get this Dragon Blood Flower from?"

Li Jiao laughed, "Years ago, when I ventured out, I thought that this must be something extraordinary, so I brought it back. Who could have guessed that it would gradually begin to wither when I transplanted it here, so I tried to nourish it with my Blood Essence and fortunately brought it back to life. I have been cultivating it all these years using Blood Essence since then."

"So it was simply by chance?" Mi Qi pondered.

Ji Ying nodded, "What Palace Master Li did was correct. The reason why this Dragon Blood Flower is a special product of Dragon Island is that only Dragon Blood can nurture it! Looking around the world, where else can you find Dragon Clan members if not on Dragon Island? So, the Dragon Blood Flower cannot survive even if it appeared anywhere else. Palace Master Li shares the Dragon Clan's bloodline, so watering it with his Blood Essence was the correct course of action."

Li Jiao was not just a pure human, but rather half Monster, said to be the descendent of a Human and a Dragon. Though not many people know this secret in the Northern Territory, Ji Ying and Mi Qi did.

Dragon Blood Flowers needed to be nourished with Dragon Blood, and even though Li Jiao's Dragon Clan bloodline was quite thin, it was still present. As such, after many years of devoted care, the Dragon Blood Flower really did grow until the blossoming stage.

"I assume a Dragon Clan member fell at the place where Palace Master Li found this Dragon Blood Flower. If not, there is no way that a Dragon Blood Flower would grow there," Ji Ying quickly said.

Li Jiao praised in admiration, "Grandmaster Ji is wise. When I found the Dragon Blood Flower, I did find the bones of a Dragon Clan member. Only, I have no idea how long it had been dead for, but it had already decayed and broken down a long time ago."

"The bones of the Dragon Clan are indestructible, how could it so easily have broken down? It must be because the Dragon Blood Flower drew the nutrients from the skeleton."

"So that's how it is!" Li Jiao nodded his head incessantly as if he were an ignorant child.

Ji Ying said with enthusiasm, "With the Dragon Blood Flower, the Dragon Blood Pill can be refined. This pill will be very useful to Palace Master Li."

"Why so?" Li Jiao held back the excitement in his heart and asked modestly.

Ji Ying smiled, "The reason the Dragon Clan on Dragon Island devours Dragon Blood Flowers is mainly to temper their bloodline, purifying their Bloodline Power. You should have heard that the Dragon Clan's bloodline is separated into many different levels. Higher-order bloodlines have strong suppressive powers over lower bloodlines, so even if two Dragon Clan members are close in strength but differ too much in terms of bloodline, the one with the lower bloodline will be powerless against the one with the purer bloodline."

Mi Qi and Li Jiao both nodded their heads.

Naturally, this was something they knew.

"The Dragon Clan is born powerful and can easily cultivate to the Emperor Realm. Without much effort, they can even achieve power on par with a Third-Order Emperor. Their main goal in cultivation though is to purify their bloodline. The higher the purity, the higher their strength becomes! The current Great Elder of the Dragon Clan is said to be an Eighth-Order Azure Dragon, whose strength is on par with even a Great Emperor. And above him, there are even legendary Ninth-Order and Tenth-Order bloodlines! The Dragon Blood Flower is said to be the most important resource to them.

Li Jiao said excitedly, "Does Grandmaster Ji mean that I can also…"

"Indeed!" Ji Ying nodded, "Though the Dragon Clan bloodline in Palace Master Li's body is quite thin, it can indeed be enhanced by consuming the Dragon Blood Flower. Of course, the effects will be even better if it is refined into a Dragon Blood Pill."

Li Jiao's breathing suddenly quickened. Even though he had already secretly inquired about this news, he still felt that he had not wasted the past hundred years after receiving Ji Ying's confirmation.

This Dragon Blood Flower had been obtained by him a hundred years ago, and he had been cultivating it with his own Blood Essence ever since, causing his strength to remain stagnant for many years. Even though both he and Mi Qi were Third-Order Emperor Realms, Li Jiao was undoubtedly a bit stronger thanks to his bloodline.

But if he could take this Dragon Blood Flower and refine it, then Li Jiao's power would completely eclipse Mi Qi's in one fell swoop.

"It's just a pity…" Ji Ying suddenly changed the topic, frowning.

"What's a pity?" Li Jiao's heart was clenched in fear that he would hear bad news from Ji Ying.

Ji Ying smiled, "No need to be nervous, Palace Master Li. I just wanted to say that not only is the bloodline of the Dragon Clan separated into different levels, so too are the grades of Dragon Blood Flowers. Even if this Dragon Blood Flower really blooms, I'm afraid it will only be the lowest grade possible."

For a Dragon Blood Flower of such a grade, perhaps no True Dragon would even spare it a glance if it were to be found on Dragon Island. However, it was already the most valuable thing here in Flame Dragon Sect's medicine garden.

Only because it was rare and hard to find.

It was precisely because of this Dragon Blood Flower that Ji Ying stayed at Fire Dragon Palace. Otherwise, he would have gone to Ice Heart Valley and High Heaven Palace himself to collect all the spirit herbs for the ten-year agreement. He wanted to stay behind to watch the Dragon Blood Flower Bloom, which was a rare opportunity for an Alchemist.

Even though Ji Ying had been learning Alchemy for many years by Wondrous Pill Great Emperor's side, it was the first time he had ever seen the Dragon Blood Flower. Naturally, faced with a spirit flower he was seeing for the first time, his desire as an Emperor Alchemist was thoroughly stimulated.

Mi Qi stood to the side, asking, "Grandmaster Ji, other than being useful to Brother Li, is this Dragon Blood Pill useless for Human cultivators?"

Ji Ying smiled, "How could it possibly be useless? Enhancing strength, refining cultivation, tempering the body… The Dragon Blood Pill has infinite uses."

After a pause, he said, "Palace Master Li, if you are willing to trust this Ji, how about allowing me to refine this Dragon Blood Flower into a Spirit Pill when it blooms?"

Li Jiao was overjoyed at his words and cupped his fists, "I was just thinking of making such a request. It could not be better if Grandmaster Ji could help."

He was completely overjoyed. Even though he was Fire Dragon Palace's Palace Master, it was not such a simple thing for him to get Ji Ying to refine a pill for him even with his status. Several times before, he had gone to Medicine Pill Valley in order to ask for help refining pills, but for which pill did he not have to pay a hefty sum and be forced to wait a long time?

But this time, Ji Ying actually took the initiative to offer his services. What's more, he did not ask for payment.

It seemed that this Dragon Blood Flower was quite an attractive resource to Ji Ying too.

"I'm not sure how many pills can be refined if Grandmaster Ji takes action?" Li Jiao asked cautiously.

Ji Ying had a solemn look on his face, "I dare not say for sure, but three should not be a problem."

Every time Ji Ying refined pills, not only would he collect a generous remuneration, but he would also keep a third of the refined pills. These were his standard rules.

So, that was the reason why Li Jiao asked how many Yi Jing could refine. Now that he heard that he could refine three, Li Jiao was ecstatic. In this case, he would be able to get at least two Dragon Blood Pills, which would be an enormous help to improving his strength!

"Congratulations, Brother Li! What a joyous occasion!" Mi Qi cupped his fists at the side to congratulate him, but he was feeling slightly displeased in his heart.