Chapter 1062: Chapter 1061: Cleansing Evil Sword_1
"What do we do, do we just sit here and wait for death?"
Among those escaping, aside from the Mandarin Duck Swordsmen and another two Martial Emperors of the Void Origin Realm, the rest were Earth Immortals of the Divine Barrier Realm and Lords of the Dragon Gate Realm.
The battle, from start to finish, would take a long time to describe, but in reality, it was over in just a short moment. Even the Burial Martial Artist, no matter how formidable, couldn’t possibly kill everyone; there would always be some fish that slip through the net.
The one asking was the Spirit Bridge Martial Emperor, who, after desperately trying and failing to resist the poison with his power, had completely given up. He seemed to be consulting the others, but his gaze turned to Ye Junlan.
During the previous escape, Shi Xiaole’s care for the Mandarin Duck Swordsmen had been noticed by many attentive people, and nobody dared to take it lightly.
For some reason, at such a desperate moment, if anyone could lead them out, the first name that came to mind was that of Shi Xiaole.
Only Shi Xiaole, it had to be Shi Xiaole!
This young man had created miracles along the way, turning the impossible into possible, to the point that it gave people the illusion that there was nothing in this world that could defeat him.
His escape from the hands of the Young Master of captivity was clear proof.
"Of course we can’t just wait for death. We people of the Martial World, even if we die by our opponent’s hand, we cannot die at the hands of a bunch of cowards!"
The one speaking was another Martial Emperor of the Void Origin Realm, the Cloud Wave Martial Emperor, who was showing a grimace of determination and fury.
Ye Junlan said with a bitter smile, "Gentlemen, matters have come to this point, I have made my decision. If the array system breaks through before we regain our strength, I will end it myself."
His wife, Shang Rong, clutched his hand tightly.
The Burial Martial Artist came with ill intent, and specifically didn’t kill any of the Void Origin Realm Martial Emperors, but this was no good news at all. It only meant they were targeting something bigger. Perhaps being captured would be a fate worse than death.
Shang Rong knew even better that with these words, her husband also meant to refuse these people on behalf of Shi Xiaole. It was always much simpler for one to escape than it is to escape with a group.
Despite what Shang Rong thought, even if it was Shi Xiaole, there was simply no way out. You see, even the Thunderbolt Emperor had to rely on the Tang Sect’s top ten hidden weapons to find a slim chance of survival, not to mention the distraction Shi Xiaole provided.
But now who could help him? This was a complete dead end.
"The Kirin Sword Emperor has gone to Jingyun Tower, we might as well go take a look. Haha, right, a lot of weapons will be sprayed out there, we can pick a few to boost our strength."
"I’ve heard there’s also a top-grade spiritual weapon that hasn’t appeared yet, wonder what it could be."
Given the choice between waiting for death and acting, the group headed towards Jingyun Tower in utter despair, as though they had nothing left to lose.
"We’ll go too."
Ye Junlan and Shang Rong exchanged a look and quickly followed.
In the face of despair, people often do the unthinkable. The couple was aware of how severely injured Shi Xiaole was and couldn’t help worrying that the others might harm him.
It wasn’t impossible - since they were going to die anyway, why not take the opportunity to torment the world-renowned Kirin before death?
When they arrived in front of Jingyun Tower and saw Shi Xiaole sitting cross-legged, adjusting himself, the crowd either shook their heads or showed disappointment. If meditation could expel the Hell Burial Souls Fragrance, they wouldn’t have been poisoned in the first place. It seemed that even the Kirin was out of options.
Utmost despair led to utmost madness.
Their eyes fell on Shi Xiaole’s twisted right arm and the blood-stained body, their eyes flickering, full of unspoken thoughts.
"Ten percent."
Two quarters of an hour later, Shi Xiaole successfully dissolved ten percent of the Hell Burial Souls Fragrance. As for the original Soul-burying Incense, it had already been merged with the Hell Burial Souls Fragrance.
But this was still too slow; Shi Xiaole’s power had now fallen to the first level of the Dragon Gate Realm, and that was only because his Vigorous Air was exceptionally thick. Otherwise, his status in the Spiritual-Passage Realm would have been questionable.
The Vigorous Air of the first level of the Dragon Gate Realm greatly limited the performance of the Illusion Martial Way. At this rate, before the Hell Burial Souls Fragrance could be dissolved, Shi Xiaole would end up disabled.
"I must speed up!"
After swallowing all the seeds of the Mutation Transformation Flowers, with no other options left, Shi Xiaole spurred on the three major martial ways at the same time, trying to provide energy to the Illusion Martial Way with the power of the Wind Sword Way and the Demon Martial Way.
Boom!
To his surprise, the speed of the Illusion Martial Way increased significantly, and the efficiency of the dissolution also climbed steadily.
Ten percent.
Twenty percent.
...
One fold.
Two folds.
When the speed of dissolution reached three times what it had been. the Illusion Martial Way finally stabilized. This meant that what had required two quarters of an hour to dissolve ten percent of the Hell Burial Souls Fragrance now took less than a quarter of an hour.
The immense excitement and agitation made Shi Xiaole’s body tremble slightly. He considered whether to truly summon back the Demon Martial Way and speed up even further?
But doing so would mean that the Demon Martial Way would leave the Ghost King Temple forever, and the increase in speed would certainly slow down.
A moment later, Shi Xiaole dismissed this thought.
Because he discovered that as the Hell Burial Souls Fragrance got dissolved, the reduction in his power was slowing down markedly. Two quarters of an hour later, as forty percent of the Hell Burial Souls Fragrance vanished, Shi Xiaole’s power had only regressed to the sixth level of the Spiritual-Passage Realm.
Another two quarters of an hour passed, and Shi Xiaole’s power had degraded to the third level of the Spiritual-Passage Realm, but sixty percent of the Hell Burial Souls Fragrance had been dissolved. It was at this point that the speed of dissolution and consumption finally reached a balance.
Taking a deep breath, Shi Xiaole’s spirits lifted, and as the Illusion Martial Way sensed its master’s elation, its speed unexpectedly increased further, subtly beginning to exceed its limits.
Seventy percent.
Eighty percent.
After dissolving eighty percent of the Hell Burial Souls Fragrance, the Taiji Yin-Yang Plate representing the Illusion Martial Way suddenly enlarged, and its speed started to surge dramatically.
"I’ve broken through, Life-and-Death Martial Way at eighty percent completion of the latter stage," he said.
The ancients said misfortune could lead to fortune, and perhaps that described this situation. With the Life-and-Death Martial Way reaching eighty percent of the latter stage, not only did the efficiency of his energy dissolution improve significantly, but Shi Xiaole’s power also began to rebound rapidly.
While he was desperately restoring his power, a great battle erupted nearby. The cause was Jingyun Tower emitting many high-quality weapons again.
"We’re all on the brink of death, so what’s the point of fighting? Listen to me, why don’t we just share them equally?"
"Share equally? Haha, sure, give me the weapon I have my eyes on."
Amidst the flashing blades and soaring sword shadows, a group of people, left with only Hidden Qi Realm cultivation, fought viciously over the weapons they coveted.
However, to Ye Junlan, it seemed more like they were fighting not so much for the weapons but to numb the despair and engage in one last act of madness.
They attacked without any thought of retreat, all employing desperate, life-for-life combat tactics. Ye Junlan and Shang Rong initially wanted to stay out of it but were dragged into the fray by some red-eyed combatants.
"Kirin, if we’re going to die, let’s die together."
Finally, someone couldn’t hold back and opened fire on Shi Xiaole. Hidden desires deep within their hearts revealed ghastly and terrifying smiles on the faces of the few martial artists who charged at him.
What if he was the number one talent of the Martial World? In the Hidden Qi Realm, let’s see how much stronger someone could be than others.
"Stop!"
Shang Rong parried with her sword.
Immediately, four or five more people surrounded her, wielding their weapons wildly. The same mindset formed a united front; there were quite a few who wanted to bring down Shi Xiaole.
The difference between someone at the Hidden Qi Realm and an ordinary person wasn’t substantial, so facing the suicidal siege of seven or eight people, even Shang Rong found herself overwhelmed.
Ye Junlan split one person with his sword but also became mired in the chaos of battle. The Spirit Bridge Martial Emperor blocked his way, laughing heinously, "Sir, life is short and some opportunities only come once."
The Spirit Bridge Martial Emperor had thought it through. As a Martial Emperor of the Void Origin Realm, he believed the Burial Martial Artist wouldn’t kill him but would at most enslave him. With that in mind, what was there to hold back?
"Get the hell out of my way!"
Seeing his wife in danger, Ye Junlan roared with fury but struggled to break free from the Spirit Bridge Martial Emperor’s entanglement.
At that moment.
Shi Xiaole, who had been meditating quietly, opened his eyes, and a surge of sharp sword intent instantly subdued everyone present.
"What, what?"
"This is..."
Everyone was terrified to the core, including Ye Junlan and his wife, and everyone felt as if their souls had left their bodies, in sheer disbelief.
As Shi Xiaole made no move, the sword intent suddenly pressed down even heavier, and with a boom, a cloud of blood mist exploded on the spot.
"No, the Kirin Sword..."
The Spirit Bridge Martial Emperor, who had been so confident just a moment ago, turned pale. Before he could finish shouting, his body exploded first.
In the end, only the sword couple and a few scattered individuals who were fighting one another were left.
The Cloud Wave Martial Emperor felt his scalp tingle and gathered the courage to say, "Kirin Sword Emperor, I swear to the heavens that I’ve never harbored the intention of harming you."
Shi Xiaole didn’t answer but simply smiled at the sword couple.
The recent actions were but casual gestures for him. With Shi Xiaole’s current strength, dealing with them was no different than sweeping away a few ants. To be honest, as long as the others didn’t reveal any hostile intentions, he couldn’t be bothered to care.
"Young Hero Shi, have you, have you regained your strength?"
Ye Junlan still couldn’t believe it.
"Just luck."
Shi Xiaole responded with a smile.
At that moment, the survivors were all thoroughly convinced. Was there anything this guy couldn’t do?
Clang!
On the sixth floor of Jingyun Tower, a sound so sharp was emitted suddenly. Hearing this sound, everyone felt as if their hearts had been stabbed by a sword. Then, a pervasive killing aura swept over the heavens and earth, as if even the void itself had become extremely fragile.
A beam of light that seemed to pierce the sun and moon and dazzle the eyes shot out from the sixth floor of Jingyun Tower, streaking towards the distance. The Cloud Wave Martial Emperor believed that even if his power was restored to its peak, it would be tough to catch up unprepared.
But a figure was quicker, even faster than his neural response: he managed to intercept the divine light even before it appeared and pointed with his left hand, unleashing a sword finger.
Clang!
The sky shook violently, and the impact of the clash created an aura like countless intersecting swords, causing everyone pain on their skin. Before they could react, the figure quickly surged forward, his left hand already grabbing the divine light.
Humming...
The divine light tried to escape but couldn’t break free from the figure’s grasp. Under his suppression, it finally calmed down. As the light dimmed, the true nature of the object was revealed.
What a sword it was.
The sword was three feet three inches long, not of a bright snowy whiteness but made of golden material, though not a dazzling shade of gold but more of a dark gold. It was engraved with intricate patterns composed of countless twisted and overlapping characters for "Cleansing Evil."
The plain yellow hilt bore no garnishment, its lines crisp and effective, as if it embodied the most fearsome edge of a swordsman, resolute and unyielding, cutting through all resistance.
"Cleansing Evil Sword, it seems we were fated to meet after all," Shi Xiaole remarked as he gazed at the sword in his hand.
