Chapter 1124: Chapter 1123: Purple Blood Great Method Complete_1
"First, let’s find a place to settle down,"
Breaking through inner strength was a matter of great importance, different from the breakthrough of combat techniques, which could be done during a battle. Shi Xiaole suppressed his boiling blood and this time, he used the sword controlling skill, which mainly consumed his mental power.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!
Sword Qi soared like a rainbow and shone like lightning, repeatedly blasting the fire stiff swordsmen away. Seizing the opening, Shi Xiaole quickly broke through their ranks, relied on his mental power to sense the sword intent deep underground, and charged into a chosen passageway.
He ran at full speed.
It was only when Shi Xiaole’s vigorous air had been consumed by a whopping 70% that he finally stopped.
"This place must be related to the fire stiff palace. The tomb master, could they be a master of the fire stiff palace?"
To command Heavenly Realm fire stiffs, there had to be even higher-level fire stiffs. Judging from the sword intent, the tomb master was at least a Forbidden Martial Emperor, stronger than the Martial Emperor and the Ghost Carriage’s master. This time, trouble was at hand!
A group of Heavenly Realm fire stiffs had nearly driven Shi Xiaole and the others to a dead end. If a top-tier Heavenly Realm fire stiff were to appear, what then?
Shi Xiaole couldn’t help but wonder how powerful the Fire Stiff Palace of old must have been, no wonder it was called the first great terror in human history!
He released his mental power and found no movement. The cave walls around him were protected by Sky Origin Realm array systems. Shi Xiaole, having no other choice, sat down right there.
"The breakthrough will need at least half a 2-hour period. Once it starts, it cannot be stopped. If I’m disturbed during the process..."
Shi Xiaole immediately discarded the idea of breaking through on the spot. If he were discovered by a fire stiff, he wouldn’t even know how he died. But unless he turned back, no place was safe.
The problem was, the jade gate had already closed. There was no way to retreat now!
His blood and Qi continued to boil tumultuously, each surge paining and damaging his severely injured meridians and organs, causing Shi Xiaole to wince in agony as huge beads of sweat rolled down his forehead.
Shi Xiaole knew he couldn’t suppress it much longer. Continuing to delay would force a breakthrough, and the consequences would be even more dire!
While circulating the Life-and-Death Martial Path to heal his injuries, Shi Xiaole surveyed his surroundings. When he noticed the Sky Origin Realm array system on the cave wall’s surface, his eyes lit up.
"My mental power has already surpassed the Void Origin Realm. Perhaps I can try to break the Sky Origin Realm array system."
No sooner had this thought emerged than Shi Xiaole’s heart began to thud wildly.
Over the years, aside from Nine Heavens Mountain, some super sects had also encountered Sky Origin Realm array systems. Some were left from ancient times, activated to deal with the current crises, while others were discovered in secret realms and set up following ancient instructions.
In this grand era, only the Sky Origin Realm array systems could provide super sects with peace of mind.
Shi Xiaole was uncertain whether anyone in the world could break a Sky Origin Realm array system, but he was apprehensive. At least from the people he had met, there seemed to be those who were beyond the Void Origin Realm!
Take Shui Lingping, for example; if she could lay out a Sky Origin Realm array system, could she not break it?
Shi Xiaole had never shown such worries, but it didn’t mean he wasn’t concerned. If he possessed the ability to break a Sky Origin Realm array system, it would give him more confidence in his future actions.
"This is the only way now."
No sooner had he thought it than he did it. Shi Xiaole’s mental power condensed into a beam, infiltrating the Sky Origin Realm array system in the cave wall, striking out occasionally.
Shi Xiaole had thorough knowledge of the Nine Profound Great Array, which made conjecturing redundant; this was his first serious attempt.
Initially, the force of the array came at him relentlessly, but foreseeing the attacks allowed him to dodge them—about half the time. His chest was caved in on several occasions.
Once, his sword-armed right arm was nearly severed, and although he luckily avoided that, a large swath of flesh was shorn off, leaving the limb in an eerie twist.
Worse still, sensing the commotion here, dozens of Heavenly Realm level fire stiffs came rushing in. At this point, Shi Xiaole had no choice but to resort to the Controlling Sword with Qi Skill, making evasion his priority.
As he dodged attacks, he had to probe the array system and heal his injuries, all while desperately suppressing his "Purple Blood Great Method" that yearned to break through, dividing his focus in four directions, making the situation perilously dire.
Only Shi Xiaole, had it been anyone else, would have been overwhelmed and slain by the fire stiffs.
Huff, huff, huff!
Over a dozen fiery Sword Qi strikes charged at him like raging fire dragons; Shi Xiaole burst out from an opening. His scattered focus and injuries significantly weakened his combat ability. Barely dodging one wave, he was immediately cornered by another, with more fire stiffs rushing in recklessly.
Crack.
Shi Xiaole’s right leg was broken, a chunk of flesh was seared off his back, and the smell of charred flesh filled the air. His neck, left shoulder, lower back, and all his limbs sustained varying degrees of impact. Not only were they torn and bleeding, with exposed white bone, but plumes of white smoke also rose, snuffing out the vitality of his muscle and bone.
The most perilous were Shi Xiaole’s internal organs. Under the repeated assaults of scorching power and Sword Qi, the Life-and-Death Martial Path’s transformations couldn’t keep up and were on the verge of collapsing.
At that point, no matter how strong Shi Xiaole’s vitality was, it would be beyond recovery.
"Emperor’s Fury Thunder!"
Blocked once again by over twenty fire stiff swordsmen, a terrifying ice power that could freeze the void suddenly appeared on Shi Xiaole’s skin, significantly reducing the heat of the fire stiff swordsmen.
The next moment, the ice power transformed into thunder and lightning, striking fiercely.
Boom, boom, boom...
Over a dozen fire stiff swordsmen were blasted to pieces, the rest staggered about. Shi Xiaole hastily dragged his grievously injured body and fled.
"Emperor’s Fury Thunder," the strongest move among the Sacred Heart Four Technique, driven by both ice and thunder attributes, was precisely the assassination skill Shi Xiaole obtained last time, now thoroughly depleted.
However, the number of Fire Stiffs was not infinite, which at last bought Shi Xiaole some time.
"I must exert all my strength, to succeed or to die trying!"
Once again sacrificing top-level martial arts skills in an attempt to acquire an assassination technique, Shi Xiaole’s face turned white as he drained his energy reserves, suddenly becoming resolute.
Instead of spreading his energy thin in four directions, it was better to focus it all on breaking the Array System before the Fire Stiffs arrived, requiring bold resolve. Of course, before that, he had some inkling of what to do; otherwise, he would not dare to act recklessly.
Focusing his mental energy, Shi Xiaole forced himself to calm down amidst the perilous Death Without Life situation, quickly entering a state of utter self-forgetfulness.
One quarter of a 2-hour period.
Two quarters of a 2-hour period.
Nearing three quarters of a 2-hour period.
There was a noise ahead, and layers of heat rushed in. Just by the sound, Shi Xiaole knew that there were no fewer than twenty Fire Stiffs approaching. At this moment, Shi Xiaole was also nearing success.
"A Sky Origin Realm Array System can’t stop me."
The many nodes of the Array System flickered in and out of his perception. The heavy footsteps and sense of crisis catalyzed Shi Xiaole’s potential like never before, and at last, the numerous Array nodes fused into one!
Raising his left hand, Shi Xiaole pointed with his sword finger.
Pop.
An impassable Sky Origin Realm Array System now showed a breach, which Shi Xiaole, drawing upon what little energy he had left, punctured three times, turning the wall of the cave into a hundred-meter-deep hole that he leaped into.
The Sky Origin Realm Array System closed on its own, shielding his aura. The very next moment, the sea of fire and Sword Qi engulfed the area.
Dozens of Fire Stiffs searched back and forth, then ferociously chased forward.
Inside the chiseled-out hole.
Shi Xiaole slumped to the ground, panting heavily, but there was no time for him to recuperate. His blood surged to its limit, threatening to burst out of his body, startling Shi Xiaole into hastily employing the "Purple Blood Great Method."
Boom!
The long-suppressed breakthrough, once it found an opening, was like a violent river pouring into the sea, overwhelmingly tumultuous.
His already shattered veins and bones were hit by a powerful impact, almost completely shattered, but Shi Xiaole finally managed to muster the energy to operate the life and death martial technique, just barely holding on.
Half a 2-hour period later.
Overwhelming Vigorous Air burst out, forcibly expanding the lengthy tunnel into a massive space over five hundred meters in length and width.
When the purple aura had dissipated from his body, Shi Xiaole’s face was pale, exhaling more than inhaling. He had not died at the hands of the Fire Stiffs, but his breakthrough process had nearly killed him. To die like that would be a complete joke.
Three more 2-hour periods passed.
The surge in Vigorous Air maximized the efficiency of the life and death martial technique. With no need for divided attention, Shi Xiaole’s injuries recovered by 20%, allowing him to finally get up.
Five 2-hour periods.
Seven 2-hour periods.
And after a full day and night.
Shi Xiaole’s injuries had fully healed.
This injury, though it seemed dangerous, was far less severe compared to the time at Endless Risky Peak. After all, the attacks of the Fire Stiffs were nowhere near as powerful as those high-ranking experts on the Emperor List, by several magnitudes, except maybe in numbers.
What was most crucial was the process of the breakthrough, which had caused immense damage to himself; otherwise, it wouldn’t have been so serious.
"Is this what fully mastered top-level internal energy is like?"
Upon introspecting, Shi Xiaole found that as long as he willed it, his blood would immediately turn purple, and his momentum would rise again and again, as if his body was brimming with inexhaustible strength.
In terms of Vigorous Air, he was a full 30% stronger than before!
For a Void Origin Realm Martial Emperor, a 10% increase in strength was extraordinary, let alone 30%. Shi Xiaole seriously doubted that even facing the top forty on the Emperor List would faze him now.
As for the top thirty, it was hard to say, some fully perfected not only their techniques but also their internal energy, and the difference in Vigorous Air might not be enough to bridge the gap.
Beyond the increase in Vigorous Air, the fully mastered "Purple Blood Great Method" had also taken Shi Xiaole’s vitality to an extremely terrifying level. Vitality was closely related to physical condition; an increase in vitality meant a strengthened physique, capable of sustaining more Vigorous Air Vortexes, which was an unexpected boon.
"My endurance now far surpasses what it used to be. If I continue to make good use of the life and death martial way, I fear I could surpass my peers by several times over."
Standing up, Shi Xiaole began to walk out of the cave.
The previous encirclement of dozens of Heavenly Realm Fire Stiffs had broken his balance of energy, but now, he needed that number to double to be concerned; he didn’t need to worry at all. Moreover, if necessary, he could always hide in here again.
He just didn’t know how the Galan Sword Emperor and the Dustless Sword Emperor were faring.
Shi Xiaole was not aware that these two great experts were in a dire situation.
Unable to break the Sky Origin Realm Array System and exhausting more and more Vigorous Air in their joint efforts to repel the enemy, they had experienced numerous life-and-death crises. Now each bearing nearly a hundred wounds and their auras falling below first-rate Heavenly Realm levels, they were stretched to their limits.
