Chapter 1088: Chapter 1087: The Opportunity of the Dual Martial Paths_1
Unheeding the commotion behind him, the old master had already successfully reached the first level of the boat tower. Only by gathering fifty people could the Color Crossing Ship be activated, so those twenty Divine Barrier Realm Earth Immortals were nothing but cannon fodder.
The others were unaware of this fact, and all their faces turned ugly. They hadn’t even encountered a Ferrying Warrior yet, and nearly half of them were already dead, casting an ominous premonition over everyone’s hearts.
The first floor of the boat tower was only a zhang higher than the deck. All, including Shi Xiaole, had to exert all their strength to jump up against the oppressive force.
Watching the few people in front of him breathing heavily, Shi Xiaole guessed that the intensity of this oppression changed according to the different levels of strength of each individual. And to suppress him to this extent, only a Sky Origin Realm Array System could be capable!
Under the old master’s leadership, the group didn’t stop for a moment, quickly rushing into the main hall of the first level.
"Everyone stop hiding, use all your strength, and quickly make your way to the second level!"
With a loud shout, the old master drew his treasured sword and a powerful Sword Qi slashed forward. Amid the thudding sounds, shadowy figures dressed in various colored clothing and expressionless faces were sent flying back.
"Ferrying Warriors!"
Without asking, everyone already guessed the identity of these people. What shocked them the most was that even though these Ferrying Warriors were only of Divine Border Realm strength, they didn’t die under the old master’s sword.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh...
Sword lights, blade shadows, fist energy, palm winds, various kinds of Vigorous Air bombarded the Ferrying Warriors rushing in from all directions, like a bowling ball striking pins, knocking them down in droves.
The tremendous aftermath of the Vigorous Air hit the inner walls of the hall and was immediately dispelled by a layer of Sky Origin Realm Array System. More Ferrying Warriors surged forward like rolling tides, rapidly engulfing the forward-expanding void.
Now, everyone finally understood the terrifying nature of the Ferrying Warriors; you couldn’t kill them or beat them back, and there was a Sky Origin Realm Array System as a barrier behind them. The entire hall was almost filled to the brim.
Once completely surrounded, and when everyone’s strength was exhausted, the only outcome would be death by random blades. No wonder the old master was so anxious to use all his strength from the start!
Void Origin Realm Martial Emperors on both sides cast deadly moves like madmen, and finally, before the wooden stairs were blocked, they successfully rushed up. In an instant, all Ferrying Warriors froze in place.
"That was close!"
A woman wiped the cold sweat from her forehead, her cheeks red with exertion.
They had listened to the old master’s briefing before, but the actual danger was ten times greater than what he had described. If they had been just two breaths slower, at least ten people would have been trapped on the first level.
"Now you see how serious it is. We must work together. If anyone has ulterior motives or slacks off, it might end up dooming us all!"
The old master turned back and said coldly, giving Shi Xiaole a pointed look, as if he had become the leader of the team: "Now, let’s rush to the second level." He led the way.
The Ferrying Warriors on the first level all had cultivation at the eight layers of Divine Border Realm, but on the second level, they had reached the ninth layer. They appeared even faster, and almost as soon as the old master showed up on the second level, a large group of shadowy figures surrounded him.
"Sword of Judgment!"
The old master swung his long sword forcefully, carving out a pathway ahead.
The people behind him successively brought out their ultimate skills, those who had held back before no longer dared to be careless. However, Shi Xiaole, bringing up the rear, was actually the most relaxed, simply needing to watch for gaps in others’ attacks and fill them in.
The third level of the boat tower.
The Ferrying Warriors had become peak Earth Immortals. Following the same method, the group once again made their way through without mishap. Because they had repeatedly used their deadly moves and were greatly exhausted, they rested on the wooden stairs leading to the fourth level for half a 2-hour period.
Watching the people below, the old master sneered secretly.
The fourth level.
The number of Ferrying Warriors had sharply dropped to only fifteen, but their cultivation had astonishingly reached the Void Origin Realm level. They blocked the stairway entrance, forming some kind of array formation.
Some people even shrieked in alarm because they recognized that some of the Ferrying Warriors had once been masters of the Colorless Realm who had participated in the ship capturing actions!
Boom!
The old master’s sword move forced the Ferrying Warriors back six steps, but unfortunately, the remaining force was neutralized by the Sky Origin Realm Array Systems on either side.
Clang, clang, bang.
In the nick of time, Void Origin Realm Martial Emperors from behind unleashed their killing moves, converging into a torrent that finally scattered the array formed by the fifteen Ferrying Warriors.
In terms of direct attacks, even twenty or so Human Realm Martial Emperors combined were stronger than a single top Heaven Realm Martial Emperor, not to mention that among the crowd, there were also Earthly Realm Martial Emperors.
It’s like the combined strength of twenty or so strong men was definitely stronger than a boxing champion. But the results of an actual fight were a different story altogether.
Before they could feel relieved, a commotion erupted from the staircase behind them, as numerous Ferrying Warriors charged up.
And in front, the old master who could have taken advantage of the situation to carve out a path, inexplicably slowed down by half a beat. Thus six more Void Origin Realm Ferrying Warriors joined hands, missing the opportunity, while everyone else’s new strength had not yet emerged, and they were about to be surrounded.
"Formless Sword!"
Shi Xiaole, at the rear and without looking back, pulled out the Cleansing Evil Sword from his waist and made a cut backward with his left hand.
Crackling.
The shadowy figures flew out like bouncing balls, crashing into the hall’s inner walls in disarray, their assault momentarily halted.
"Good!"
The crowd cheered loudly, and before they had time to act, something that enraged them happened.
Just as the old master had repelled the Ferrying Warriors in front, he suddenly swung his sword towards them. A powerful, strange Sword Qi was everywhere, obviously exerting his full strength.
The crowd had no choice but to defend themselves.
"Have fun, you bunch of fools!"
Using the momentum from the assault, the old schemer successfully ascended the wooden staircase, his gaze falling on Shi Xiaole, filled with undisguised mockery and triumph.
This was the strategy he had been plotting for a long time.
Having boarded the Color Crossing Ship once before, he was well aware that the dangers of the last two floors came from two aspects, first, the Ferrying Warriors of the last two floors. Second, and most lethal, the endless stream of Ferrying Warriors surging up from the floors below.
With the old schemer’s strength, given ample time, he could have made it up the wooden staircase and grabbed the Color Crossing Command amidst the entanglement of Ferrying Warriors, but if the warriors from the floors below were added to the equation, it would be the end of him.
Apart from the Forbidden Martial Emperor, no one could extricate themselves from this kind of encirclement.
So right from the start, the old schemer had resolved to let Shi Xiaole and others block the Ferrying Warriors from below. By the time they could no longer hold on, he would have the Color Crossing Command and take control of the entire Color Crossing Ship.
By then, even the Cleansing Evil Sword would be his, hahaha!
With a loud laugh, the old schemer rushed up to the fifth floor.
"This damn old bastard, we’ve been schemed against!"
Zhan Renxiong was both anxious and angry, but now was not the time to worry about that, because the fifteen Void Origin Realm Ferrying Warriors had regrouped and opted to each fight on their own. But with their undying attribute, they were even harder to deal with than fighting in formation.
"Gentlemen, take care of the rear!"
With a flash, before anyone could react, Shi Xiaole charged to the front and extended two fingers, drawing a light stroke in the air.
It was incomprehensible how this sword was wielded, seeming straight yet curved, and with one stroke, the path of the Sword Qi actually encompassed all fifteen Ferrying Warriors.
Pfft, pfft, pfft, pfft, pfft...
The next moment, the fifteen Ferrying Warriors were sent flying in various poses and directions, smashing heavily into the inner walls.
Hiss!
The crowd’s eyes widened in disbelief.
From this one stroke, everyone was sure that Shi Xiaole was far stronger than the old schemer, not by a small margin. The breakthrough he had achieved at the Ten Sword Sect was probably even more terrifying than they had imagined.
There was nothing to hesitate about, everyone exerted all their might to attack the Ferrying Warriors behind them. Perhaps because the Ferrying Warriors had filled up the floors below, their mountain-splitting and sea-overturning attacks couldn’t shake them off; instead, they were moving forward rapidly.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh.
Seeing the entrance to the wooden staircase exposed, some Void Origin Realm Martial Emperors immediately abandoned the rear and pressed forward. Just as Shi Xiaole sent the fifteen Ferrying Warriors flying once more, they successfully charged up.
"Brother Shi, move quickly!"
Zhan Liye turned and yelled.
Shi Xiaole said, "You go ahead, I’ll cover the rear."
No one was worried about Shi Xiaole, and in an instant, twenty-nine people were reduced to just him. Strangely enough, Shi Xiaole didn’t move and allowed the Ferrying Warriors to surround him.
The Illusion Martial Way swiftly rotated, and a wondrous thing happened—as strands of black air were pulled out of the Ferrying Warriors’ bodies and flowed toward Shi Xiaole.
As the black air disappeared, the movements of the Ferrying Warriors began to slow, like marionettes that had lost their strings.
"It’s as I thought, these Ferrying Warriors aren’t living beings; what drives them is merely the death energy and resentment within their bodies."
The moment he stepped onto the ship’s building, Shi Xiaole had noticed its eerie nature, but he didn’t want to expose himself in front of others, unless he was willing to kill them all.
So for others, the Color Crossing Ship was a deathtrap, but for him, it was an excellent opportunity.
"At the Ghost King Temple, the Demon Martial Way can’t improve much—it’s time to fully recall it."
With a thought, in a place far away, within a temple filled with evil, a green-clothed, white-haired demonic figure suddenly transformed into a ray of light and vanished in an instant.
Boom!
In the depths of the Ghost Lethal Sect, several old monsters woke up in astonishment.
"Something’s happening in the Ghost King Temple."
"Could it be that kid Zong Yue?"
More than a decade ago, Zong Yue, portrayed by Shi Xiaole, entered the Ghost King Temple and is still harbored with high hopes by some. Especially as the great era progresses, apart from Saintess Yun Chuoxi, the Ghost King Temple needed other geniuses to hold the fort.
On the fourth level of the Color Crossing Ship.
Shrunken down by tens of times, the green-clothed, white-haired phantom figure sat peacefully in the sea of Shi Xiaole’s consciousness, adjacent to the Illusion Martial Way, with the Demon Martial Way to the left.
As the phantom figure inhaled, another stream of grey air was yanked out of the Ferrying Warriors’ bodies, continually being absorbed by him, his face revealing an expression of enjoyment.
"Relying on death energy and resentment to drive the Ferrying Warriors, and doing it so that no one notices, just who is the creator of the Color Crossing Ship?"
Shi Xiaole didn’t believe the Forbidden Martial Emperor had such capabilities. What was even more terrifying was that from the absorbed death energy and resentment, he sensed something close to the Dao, and by combining it with the Sky Origin Array System on the ship, it was easy to deduce an answer.
The owner of the Color Crossing Ship was very likely one of the legendary Sky Origin Realm experts who should not exist!
In the past, this realm was pure conjecture, but as his knowledge expanded, Shi Xiaole had long since stepped out of his preconceived notions and found it not hard to accept.
As the Ferrying Warriors collapsed one by one, Shi Xiaole’s Illusion Martial Way and Demon Martial Way were rapidly advancing.
When the absorption was complete, the Illusion Martial Way smoothly advanced to the late 80 percent stage, while the Demon Martial Way went from the late 90 percent stage and neared the peak of 90 percent.
Shi Xiaole stepped up the stairs.
