Chapter 1128: Chapter 1127: The Fall of an Unparalleled Genius?_1
Deep underground, an invisible will penetrated into the Fire Stiff at the center. In an instant, the fiery breath of the three Fire Stiffs was completely retracted, and from the surface, there was no longer any abnormality.
"That lad clearly only possesses the cultivation of the Void Origin Realm, yet his spiritual power is comparable to that of the Sky Origin Realm, even under the suppression of the world’s rules. In the era of yesteryear, he would have been an extraordinary talent that commanded the attention of the entire world, hahaha, that body is mine for the taking!"
The Fire Stiff in the middle let out a big laugh, and deep within its eyes, two streaks of crimson light could be seen.
Countless years ago, he suffered damage when his breakthrough to the Sky Origin Realm failed, and had no choice but to ask his father to create this underground palace for him. With the spiritual blood qi of the Fire Stiffs to nourish himself, he barely clung to life until now.
Why could only swordmasters of the Void Origin Realm open the doors to the tomb?
Why did the jade gates require the combined strength of three exceptional swordmasters of the Void Origin Realm?
Because only the ones filtered through this selection somewhat met his approval. When the time came, he would choose the best and possess the one with the finest talent, undergoing a complete transformation.
Over the years, the spiritual blood qi of the three great Fire Stiffs had been nearly drained by him. With his current spiritual state, he could last at most fifty more years before dissipating.
He had already given up hope, but who would have thought that at the brink of despair, the heavens would send him such a generous gift!
Although going all out would accelerate the consumption of his already limited spiritual power, as long as he could possess that lad in green, it would all be worth it. If he missed this opportunity, there would be no other, and he couldn’t accept quietly passing away!
The expression in the eyes of the Fire Stiff in the middle became fierce, and as it opened its hand, the secondary sword fell into its grasp. The other two Fire Stiffs seemed to be connected to the one in the middle; although stiff, they appeared slightly more lively.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh.
The three Fire Stiffs dashed out swiftly.
An extremely dangerous intuition caused Shi Xiaole’s hair to stand on end, as he felt goosebumps all over his body, as if a pair of malicious eyes were secretly watching him.
Running Vigorous Air to its limit, Shi Xiaole executed the "Ascending Immortal Step", pulling away from the Galan Sword Emperor and the Dustless Sword Emperor with the speed of the wind, startling both of them with his velocity.
But the sword qi from behind was even more vicious, as if concentrating its remaining power for one explosive burst.
Boom!
Shi Xiaole and the others spat out blood from their noses and mouths as they were flung upside down through the air.
"This is not the power of the Void Origin Realm, could it be the Sky Origin Realm?"
The Dustless Sword Emperor was greatly alarmed.
The Forbidden Martial Emperor was the pinnacle of the Void Origin Realm, but the power of this sword qi was clearly much stronger than that of the Forbidden Martial Emperor’s level; it was at least stronger than the Martial Emperor and the master of the Ghost Carriage.
Heavens, could it be that the master of the tomb is not dead after all?
The Galan Sword Emperor’s face turned ashen. He knew more than the Dustless Sword Emperor did; this tomb was likely one of the few strange ancient tombs, and it was hard to say whether something bizarre might occur.
At this moment, Shi Xiaole was in the most danger. Amidst the expanding sword qi, a beam of sword light suddenly shot towards him like a meteor, so fast that there wasn’t even time for a sonic boom.
Unable to dodge, Shi Xiaole, without turning his head, swung his most destructive "Returning Sword" with all his might.
When the two beams of sword light collided, the energy of the Returning Sword lasted only a fraction of an instant before it shattered completely. The oncoming sword light continued unabated, and that’s when Shi Xiaole finally got the chance to react, moving aside frantically.
Thump!
His left shoulder was pierced through as thousands of strands of sword qi attempted to infiltrate every limb of his body. Shi Xiaole had anticipated this and furiously activated his life-and-death martial arts.
Finally, after dozens of breaths and with the dissipating sword qi being rootless and much weakened, Shi Xiaole managed to erase it by the skin of his teeth. But upon introspection, many of his meridians had been scorched, obviously not something that could be easily healed.
"So strong!"
This was just one sword strike; if there were a few more, Shi Xiaole doubted he could hold on. Gritting his teeth, he continued to rush forward in spite of his injuries.
Far behind, the three Fire Stiffs were running wildly at an even faster speed than Shi Xiaole’s.
"This lad really is extraordinary; it’s a pity that my sword strike wasn’t even one-tenth as powerful as in my prime, and my spiritual power has been depleted too severely otherwise, you would not have any chance of survival."
The Fire Stiff in the middle couldn’t stop sneering. Failing to kill Shi Xiaole with a single blow was within his expectations; if the latter had been that weak, he would have been disappointed.
"Heavenly Fire March!"
Fearing any delays would lead to complications, the Fire Stiff in the middle suddenly burst into flames, transforming into a being of fire. His speed increased dramatically in the blink of an eye, and he rapidly caught up within a thousand meters behind Shi Xiaole and the others.
"Dustless Purity!"
The Dustless Sword Emperor drew his sword back, and with the strongest momentum he had ever mustered, he thrust out a transparent sword light.
"Galan’s Fury!"
The Galan Sword Emperor was even faster, swinging his sword and casting a deep blue sword radiance that illuminated the entire cave while the sounds of clashing swords echoed everywhere.
"Returning Sword!"
Finally, it was Shi Xiaole, his sword intent proud and transcendent, condensed into a bundle and repelling the attack from behind.
"A bunch of weaklings, thinking to change their fate. Just stay obediently," said the Fire Stiff, his eyes turning crimson, his body shining bright like a dazzling ruby, and the secondary sword in his hand also ignited at this moment, burning the three great swordmasters’ sword qi into one mass, with a hissing sound.
This terrifying power turned the Dustless Sword Emperor pale.
"Is its power weakening?"
Shocked as he was, Shi Xiaole was not easily intimidated. He keenly noticed that the power of the opponent’s sword technique was waning, not as strong as the previous one. And at this moment, the Sword Qi filling the graveyard, like a receding tide, was gradually subsiding, albeit only slightly.
Putting together everything that had happened before, Shi Xiaole had a guess: the opponent was likely at the end of his tether and wanted to end it all in one fell swoop, to slay them before they could escape the graveyard.
Since that was the case, he would have to wear him down! Multitasking, Shi Xiaole directly exchanged the top martial arts he had just obtained for assassination techniques, exploiting any opportunity.
The second time, he exploited another opportunity.
By the third time, he finally made a gain and immediately spent fifty thousand rewards to acquire an assassination technique.
"You can’t escape, the Sword of Heavenly Fire and Earthly Thunder, kill!"
The Fire Stiff struck again, the rolling crimson Sword Qi this time formed into a series of dragon and snake-like lightning bolts, striking forward with explosive force. The air, like fabric, was torn apart massively, surpassing the degree of mere severe cracks. Even before it was close, it shattered the protective Vigorous Air around Shi Xiaole and the others substantially.
"Heavenless Extinction Sword!"
This sword was irresistible. Shi Xiaole had no choice but to immediately use the assassination technique he had just obtained, the Heavenless Extinction Sword, from the mythical nameless figure of the martial world.
Clang!
The entire graveyard shook, and the Sky Origin Realm Array System flickered unstably, averting the danger of the graveyard’s destruction.
"How could my sword be blocked? How is that possible?"
The Fire Stiff’s expression was wooden, but the spiritual will controlling him fell into unprecedented rage and anxiety.
From the launch of the Sword Qi pursuit to the three consecutive strikes, he had expended more than half of his spiritual power. If he couldn’t finish off the boy now, and the latter escaped, all his efforts would have been in vain.
He couldn’t imagine how Shi Xiaole, with his ability, could have executed that sword strike.
"Puh..."
Under the impact of the aftermath, Shi Xiaole spat blood, his injuries far from light, and even his movement speed had significantly slowed. Not only Xiaole, but the Galan Sword Emperor and the Dustless Sword Emperor were also devastated. Especially the Dustless Sword Emperor, who was drenched in blood, not a single part of him unscathed.
There was no time for either of them to be amazed by Shi Xiaole’s sword technique, because as their speed decreased, the other two Fire Stiffs also caught up.
"Extreme Divine Tribulation!"
When the distance between them narrowed to about a hundred meters, Shi Xiaole boldly initiated a spiritual attack. He had long noticed that within the middle Fire Stiff lay an extremely strong but unstable spiritual fluctuation, and he was waiting for this very moment.
It was like a hammer strike, but the Fire Stiff only hesitated for an instant before swinging its sword again, nearly chopping Shi Xiaole and his companions into pieces.
"A very strong spiritual attack, I have underestimated you. Unfortunately, the quality of my spiritual power has long reached the level of the Sky Origin Realm, unlike you, who have never tempered yours. Unified trinity, attack!"
The exit of the graveyard was not far away. The Fire Stiff slashed relentlessly, and the other two Fire Stiffs performed the exact same actions, their power only slightly less.
Just as it seemed Shi Xiaole and the others were about to perish under this strike, a layer of the Sky Origin Realm Array System light screen suddenly protected them, sparing them from this calamity.
"What, activating the Sky Origin Realm Array System?"
The Fire Stiff was shocked yet again. If previously he merely thought Shi Xiaole was decent, now he felt an imperative need to acquire him. Seeing through an Array System and operating it were not the same. With his current remaining spiritual power, he was not capable of activating the grand Array System of the Sky Origin Realm.
"No, I can’t delay any longer; you’ve forced my hand!"
This consumption made the Fire Stiff realize that he wouldn’t live another twenty years. To find a suitable body for possession within twenty years was almost impossible. This was his last chance.
A deep red luminescence radiated from inside the Fire Stiff, and a strand of spiritual power from each of the other two Fire Stiffs was pulled toward it, merging into one.
The next moment.
A spiritual rocket shot out, before the Galan Sword Emperor and the Dustless Sword Emperor could even sense it, it rushed into Shi Xiaole’s sea of consciousness, directly piercing his spiritual power.
Bang...
With the world spinning before his eyes, Shi Xiaole bled from all seven orifices, his head as if pierced by an arrow, oblivious to his whereabouts, his body slammed heavily into the edge of the graveyard, triggering layers of Array Systems before falling to the ground, his fate unknown.
"Shi Xiaole, my friend!"
The Galan Sword Emperor and his companion swiftly approached and picked up Shi Xiaole to flee, fortunate that the three Fire Stiffs behind them had fallen to the ground, incapacitated.
Earlier, for convenience, Shi Xiaole had already broken through the Sky Origin Realm great Array System, and the two of them rushed out of the graveyard, bolting tens of thousands of meters before they finally stopped, gasping for breath.
The first thing they did was to check Shi Xiaole’s injuries, and the results made them sad and regretful.
Leaving aside his physical injuries, Shi Xiaole’s spiritual power had suffered extremely severe damage.
Spiritual power is the foundation of a martial artist, and even a slight injury is hard to mend. With the extent of Shi Xiaole’s injuries, whether he could even wake up was uncertain, and even if he were lucky enough to do so, his perceptiveness would likely be greatly reduced. Unluckily, there was the possibility he might become a simpleton.
"Such a peerless genius, he..."
The Dustless Sword Emperor looked at the Galan Sword Emperor.
The Galan Sword Emperor said, "Without Shi Xiaole, we definitely wouldn’t have made it out. So let’s not spread word of this, take him to my dwelling first, and try to help him. Perhaps... perhaps Shi Xiaole will wake up soon and recover completely."
By the end, even the Galan Sword Emperor found his own words hard to believe, looking blankly at the unconscious Shi Xiaole, his expression stunned.
