Chapter 1040: Chapter 1039: Sudden Destruction_1
"If they can escape, let them come ask me."
Having decided to kill, Shi Xiaole could not possibly leave any survivors; otherwise, once the news spread, others might not guess the "murder technique", but they would definitely have their suspicions.
With a long howl, Shi Xiaole took the lead in pursuing the Divine Might Great Emperor. His Spring Fury Sword turned into a heavy thunderbolt that shot out.
It was the "Heart Thunder One Sword".
"Get lost!"
Without looking back, the Divine Might Great Emperor swung a punch behind him, easily sending the Spring Fury Sword flying.
By now, the subtleties of "Heart Thunder One Sword" had long been unable to keep up with Shi Xiaole’s pace. After all, this was an early creation of his, and seen from his current standpoint, the combination of mental power and Wind Sword Way was quite crude and far from unleashing their full potential.
After this, he must find an opportunity to study it thoroughly.
Luckily, Shi Xiaole had never intended to kill his adversary with "Heart Thunder One Sword"; he just wanted to delay him. With frequent use, the distance between them kept closing.
The Divine Might Great Emperor sensed danger and his face turned deathly pale. "Kirin Sword Emperor, don’t be rash. There are things you shouldn’t push to the extreme—offending..."
Bang!
His blood churned inside him, giving the Divine Might Great Emperor the illusion that he might explode. The next moment, he realized his blood was inexplicably being drained and screamed, "You damn mutt Shi, I’ll fight you to the death!"
The Divine Might Great Emperor, who knew he couldn’t escape, madly entangled with Shi Xiaole in a battle where each move was meant to ensure mutual destruction. Unfortunately, with similar strengths, Shi Xiaole could easily overpower his opponents, not to mention the Divine Might Great Emperor, who was weaker than him.
Not long after, the Divine Might Great Emperor’s head hit the ground.
"Just one last one."
Shi Xiaole rushed in another direction.
At this moment, the Hanguang Emperor was fiercely battling the Heavenly Divine Eagle, or more precisely, he was pummeling the Heavenly Divine Eagle, his palm strikes causing it to bleed profusely, its golden feathers falling and a segment of its wing broken.
The damned thing was, despite such severe injuries, this flat-feathered beast stubbornly did not retreat a single step, severely hindering his escape plan.
Thinking that Shi Xiaole might catch up, the Hanguang Emperor’s face suddenly turned exceptionally ferocious. "You’re seeking death, you beast!" He threw caution to the wind, expending his power recklessly, unleashing killing move after move.
The Heavenly Divine Eagle let out pitiful cries. Under the Hanguang Emperor’s assault, its left wing, right belly, head... almost every part ripped open, even its three-foot-long hard beak was chipped in half.
This was after the Heavenly Divine Eagle had been trained by Uncle Wang not long ago, and its body had been continuously strengthened; otherwise, it would have long become a pile of mushy flesh.
Another heavy palm strike came down, but this time it was pierced by Sword Qi.
The Heavenly Divine Eagle sang to the sky, its owner had arrived!
"Shi Xiaole, what did you do to the Divine Might Great Emperor?"
The Hanguang Emperor, his head crowned in gold, bore the aspect of a majestic middle-aged man, but at that moment, his eyes clearly betrayed unspeakable horror.
"What do you think? On my first day at Nine Heavens Mountain, you tried to show me who’s boss. If not for the Nine Profound array, you would’ve been playing lord. So, go to hell."
In this battle, Shi Xiaole still unleashed every trick he had, and in the end, amidst the Hanguang Emperor’s pleading screams, he was cut in two.
With this, all six Heaven Realm Martial Emperors who had besieged him were dead.
Phew!
Shi Xiaole gently landed on the peak where everything began, below him were clouds soft as cotton. Petals of yellow flowers swayed in the mountain breeze, dancing and falling onto his hair and shoulders, while the setting sun dyed the place with a crimson hue.
Shi Xiaole looked somewhat fatigued.
Despite his Vigorous Air being robust and his vortex system far superior to others, allowing faster absorption, even he couldn’t withstand using his killing moves so frequently.
At this moment, he had less than twenty percent of his full Vigorous Air. He wouldn’t just struggle against a Heaven Realm Martial Emperor— even another Earthly Realm Martial Emperor would pose a serious challenge.
"Although the Evil Blood Tribulation is powerful, like the Eye-catching Tribulation, it can only exert its power at an appropriate distance and also depletes my own vitality. It’s not suitable for frequent use. I must study other techniques in the future."
A low hum suddenly sounded beside him, waking Shi Xiaole. He stepped forward and touched the injuries of the Heavenly Divine Eagle, whispering, "Gold Thunder, once we’re in a place with no people around, I’ll heal you. You went through a lot this time."
The Heavenly Divine Eagle uttered a few low cries, proudly raising its head and flapping its wings as if to say thanks.
Previously, to train it, that mad old man beat it bloody every day. Each time, it was its master who healed it. To be honest, the wounds of today were nothing to it.
After resting for a moment, the man and the eagle departed, vanishing into the clouds.
Shortly after, two figures emerged from another peak, their faces still unable to calm from the shock.
Chen Kang carefully swallowed and said, "Kirin’s strength now is feared to be on par with the strongest second-tier Heaven Realm Martial Emperors."
He and the Grand Elder had witnessed the process of him killing the likes of the Xueluo Emperor firsthand. To kill the Xueluo Emperor so effortlessly was something not even the strongest second-tier Heaven Realm Martial Emperors could achieve.
But Shi Xiaole’s strength was indeed at the level of a second-rate Heaven Realm Martial Emperor. One could only say that, at any rank, in any realm, the Kirin always maintained a consistent style, leading the world by a class on its own.
For him, being in the same realm meant overwhelming dominance, a phrase that had now spread throughout the Martial World.
"Grand Elder, how did he kill the three people of the Hidden Dragon Emperor?" Chen Kang couldn’t help but ask.
When the two arrived, the three people of the Hidden Dragon Emperor had already been killed, with only their lingering aura left in the air.
The Grand Elder pondered for a moment and sighed, "Have you forgotten that rumor? The Kirin has an exceptionally close relationship with Master Shenzong, the mad old man of the present day. Since that Heavenly Divine Eagle appeared, in my opinion, Master Shenzong must be protecting him secretly."
In the past, if one had to say what Shi Xiaole lacked, it was probably a powerful backer. But now, with the famously renowned Master Shenzong’s protection, the Grand Elder really could not think of any reason for Shi Xiaole not to rise.
They say that in great eras, heroes emerge in large numbers. Although it had just begun, the Grand Elder was already utterly convinced that Shi Xiaole would definitely be one of the most dazzling stars.
This time, increasing their friendship with the Sword Evaluation Elegant Mountain had proven to be hugely beneficial! In high spirits, the Grand Elder couldn’t help but burst into hearty laughter.
...
Under the operation of the life and death martial path, in just a few days, the Heavenly Divine Eagle’s injuries had completely healed. Even the fallen golden feathers and the beak, which had been broken into two pieces, had regrown.
And Shi Xiaole had also adjusted himself to his best state.
A man and an eagle flying above the clouds, Shi Xiaole suddenly had an epiphany, looked down, and commanded, "Gold Thunder, let’s go down."
Whoosh!
The Heavenly Divine Eagle turned into a golden arrow, diving down, and in the blink of an eye, landed on the ground.
This was a seemingly boundless desolate land, where occasionally, amidst the rolling black mud, one could find fragments of flower petals that hadn’t been burned. In the distance, the peaks of mountains, the hills, and even the rocks, were all charred black. Many figures could be seen moving about, appearing to search for something.
Shi Xiaole’s steps seemed slow, but in reality, he covered kilometers in a single stride, and yet it was difficult for others to notice, as if it was just natural for him. At most, someone would glance his way, assuming he was also there to search for treasures among the ruins.
"Uncle, what are you looking for?" Shi Xiaole approached a man in his forties from the Martial World and asked.
The man replied heartily, "A few days ago, there was a huge fire here that almost pierced the sky. They say abnormal occurrences often signify the presence of demons, so lately, people from around here have come to try their luck at treasure hunting. But it seems, this place is not as special as it’s made out to be."
After thanking him, Shi Xiaole walked on.
The man continued his treasure hunt, and it was only after a long while that he suddenly slapped his forehead and muttered, "Strange, I didn’t even get a clear look at that young fella’s face. Wait, why do I even know he’s a young man?"
Walking along the earth, some people seem to have found something, immediately causing a fight among a group, with blades drawn and blood spilt. Shi Xiaole did not interfere.
The Martial World has its own rules. Those who dare to come here are no innocents. There is no right or wrong, often it is just a struggle for interests, and everyone relies on their own abilities.
Actually, Shi Xiaole was enveloped by a great unease.
Only he knew that this place used to be the Boundless Flower Prison, filled with Transformation Flowers that could cause martial artists to lose all their prowess. How could it have burned down to ruins?
Soon, Shi Xiaole arrived in the Divine Transformation City, and just as expected, it had become a wasteland. Not even a broken wood or a fragment of a wall was left, as if someone had deliberately erased all traces.
Were all those people he had settled in Divine Transformation City burned to death?
Shi Xiaole spread out his spiritual sense, not finding any bones, and there was very little scent of death or resentment. Fortunately, those people should not be dead, but where had they gone?
He had thought about taking them out, but due to various reasons, he had given up.
Shi Xiaole flashed over to the outside of the Divine Transformation Cave, but where was there any cave? It had been completely filled in. Some people from different sects in the Martial World were searching carefully, but seeing no gains, they quickly moved on to other places.
"The Witch Queen statue, the mysterious man, and the Mutation Transformation Flower."
Shi Xiaole thought of the scene he had seen under the Divine Transformation Tree, and he intuitively felt that the calamity of the Boundless Flower Prison was related to them!
With his current cultivation, he naturally was not afraid of the Transformation Flower. But if that mysterious man had really researched a way to plant the Mutation Transformation Flower anywhere, it would be a huge disaster for all martial artists in the world.
After checking other places again, even taking a trip to Spring Wind Hell, but with Zi Xiangbo and Bai Xueying becoming Ren Mengzhen’s maids, Spring Wind Hell had long dissolved.
Not finding any clues, Shi Xiaole sighed and had to mount the Heavenly Divine Eagle and fly away.
Take each challenge as it comes, cover when met with adversity; there’s no use in unnecessary worry before the event has even occurred.
Next, Shi Xiaole sat on the back of the Divine Eagle, casting aside stray thoughts and continuing his daily cultivation.
The Divine Eagle flew westward, crossing the vast ocean. Sometimes, when it was really tired, it would stop on the small islands in the ocean to rest before continuing to fly.
In just under a month, the Divine Eagle had brought Shi Xiaole to the Thousand Darkness Poison Palace in the West Sea Islands.
