Chapter 1175: Chapter 1173: The Three Gentlemen of the Yellow Springs_1
Boom, boom, boom.
In the midst of the gray storm, a Martial Arts Light Body was struck down consecutively, its Wind Martial Way clearly at the initial stage of 120% mastery.
After hundreds of grindings, the Martial Arts Light Body shattered completely.
"How come there’s still no Sword Talisman?"
Bai Ruiting stomped her feet in frustration.
Shi Xiaole flew out from the gray storm and laughed, "This is normal."
After leaving the sea of flowers, Shi Xiaole and his companions encountered many more phantasms and five more Martial Arts Light Bodies, with the strongest of them being even more powerful than the master of Illusion Orchid Tower after her breakthrough.
Unfortunately, after spending a great deal of effort to defeat them, none of the five Martial Arts Light Bodies produced a Light Talisman.
"The chance of finding a Light Talisman within a Martial Arts Light Body is about one in thirty, you could say your first time was just good luck."
The words of the master of Illusion Orchid Tower made the women nervous for Shi Xiaole.
Three months had passed since they entered Fate’s creation, encountering six Martial Arts Light Bodies and obtaining one Sword Talisman. Following this pattern, it would take six years to gather twenty-four Sword Talismans.
But that was impossible.
At a ratio of thirty to one, under normal circumstances, one would have to defeat thirty Martial Arts Light Bodies to possibly gain a Light Talisman, but in one year, you might not be able to find all thirty Martial Arts Light Bodies.
Moreover, keep in mind that after you defeat a Martial Arts Light Body, what you obtain is only a Light Talisman, which might not be a Sword Talisman, but could also be a Blade Talisman, a Halberd Talisman, a Martial Talisman, etc.
Only after understanding all this did the women realize how difficult it was to collect twenty Sword Talismans. If it really took six years, or if Nineteen Peaks opened early, then...
Bai Ruiting grit her teeth and said, "Shi Big Brother, you don’t have to worry about us. We might as well split up and act independently."
If it weren’t for their relationship, with Shi Big Brother’s speed, he would definitely have explored more places and had a greater chance of obtaining Sword Talismans.
The other girls looked at each other and immediately expressed the same sentiment.
Indeed, it was safer with Shi Xiaole around, but since they had insisted on coming in, they could not let their presence slow him down. If their actions caused him to miss the opportunity at Heavenly Sword Peak, that would be an unforgivable offense.
Shi Xiaole said, "There’s no need for that, we still have plenty of time, let’s just go along and see."
To abandon friends for an illusory possibility was something Shi Xiaole couldn’t do. With the strength of this group of women, it was not that he looked down on them, but they might very well die in a couple of days. Even the master of Illusion Orchid Tower wouldn’t be able to protect them against a true expert.
Furthermore, even if he was alone, would he really get more Sword Talismans? Not necessarily.
Seeing his firm stance, the women were touched. Although they were inclined to leave, they couldn’t bear to refuse his kindness, and the group continued exploring together.
Over the next three months, they didn’t encounter any Martial World phantasms that reached the peak of 120% mastery. They did, however, see a few at the late and mid-stages of 120%.
Among them were two Wind phantasms, and after fully comprehending them, Shi Xiaole’s Wind Sword Way subtly showed signs of breakthrough.
Additionally, they encountered three Martial Arts Light Bodies. Perhaps luck was on their side; one of them contained a Blade Talisman, which Shi Xiaole kept in his possession.
"The aura of a Sword Talisman?"
One day, a white-bearded old man reached near Shi Xiaole and his companions. In his hand, a Sword Talisman gleamed, pointing toward a certain direction, inciting a greedy gleam in the old man’s eyes.
Light Talismans bear a mutual awareness, and the range is much farther than that of mental sensing.
At the same time, the Sword Talisman on Shi Xiaole also lit up, remotely indicating the direction where the white-bearded old man was.
Whoosh, whoosh.
As soon as they sensed each other’s presence, the old man’s first reaction was to flee. What the hell, his strength was only comparable to Lonely Lance Emperor; how could he dare to rob Shi Xiaole’s property?
"Stop there."
The Cleansing Evil Sword was drawn, and Shi Xiaole’s first move was the "Returning Sword," with an azure sword light that cut through the sky, striking at the back of the white-haired old man.
"Shi Xiaole, we have no quarrel, why must you deliberately make things difficult?"
The white-haired old man drew his sword to meet the attack. Despite the distance between them, he was still shaken by Shi Xiaole’s Sword Qi until his arms were numb, almost causing his sword to slip from his grip. This brought alarm to the old man, who firmly decided to flee.
Without wasting words, Shi Xiaole knew full well why the other man had come to this place - it was no secret. Wielding the Cleansing Evil Sword repeatedly, the rainbow-like Sword Qi swiftly closed the distance between them, causing the old man’s arms to become a mangled mess.
Clang!
At last, the old man could hold on no longer and threw out the Sword Talisman he carried, choosing to escape for his life.
Without pursuing the man, Shi Xiaole simply secured his second Sword Talisman. In essence, there was no deep-seated hatred between them, and there was no need to annihilate him.
"The sword force of the first Sword Talisman has already been comprehended by me, and now I can comprehend the second one."
The force within the Sword Talisman doesn’t disappear just because it’s been comprehended by someone. Shi Xiaole didn’t know if the white-bearded old man had comprehended it, but he only knew that with his own acute understanding, the forces of two Sword Talismans would bring him significant gains.
...
"That bastard!"
Having barely escaped with his life, the white-bearded old man’s face was full of resentment. But what could he do? In the domain of Fate, power is everything; if he had been stronger, Shi Xiaole would have been the one robbed.
"You had the aura of a Sword Talisman on you, but unfortunately, you lost it, wasting my time. You truly deserve to die."
A voice filled with indignation rang out beside the ears of the white-bearded elder. As soon as the voice faded, three men dressed in yellow, looking exactly alike, appeared before the white-bearded elder.
The white-bearded elder was certain that when the voice reached his ears, these three men were definitely not present, and with his level of skill, he didn’t even notice when they had arrived.
"The Yellow Spring Three Gentlemen!"
Thinking of something, the white-bearded elder’s face turned deathly pale, three times more frightened than when he saw Shi Xiaole.
The Yellow Spring Three Gentlemen, old monsters of the South Sea martial arts world, became famous 1,500 years ago. Even on their own, their strength almost swept across the Martial World. Perversely, the three always acted together and with a united mind, they could exert more than three times their power.
In that era, even some Forbidden Martial Emperors who encountered them felt a headache, as they might defeat them but were afraid of getting entangled.
This time, the Yellow Spring Three Gentlemen making a comeback really shocked many, and the white-bearded elder couldn’t believe his luck was so bad that he actually ran into these three scourges.
Seeing that one of the Yellow Spring Three Gentlemen on the left was about to make a move, the white-bearded elder hurriedly said, "Seniors, spare my life! I know of someone, he is in the easterly direction, and he shouldn’t have gone far, it is he who stole my Sword Talisman."
The middle gentleman nodded, "Thank you."
The white-bearded elder felt a release in his chest, but then the second gentleman on the left covered with his hand, his palm strength directly crushing the white-bearded elder as he spoke indifferently, "The crime does not warrant the punishment, but the fact that you made us come here in vain is true."
"Don’t let him get away."
This is the Three Gentlemen.
The figures of the three disappeared into the sky and reappeared a hundred thousand meters away; they flickered several times in succession, as if shifting through the void.
"You all go."
In an instant, Shi Xiaole, who was seen as the target, felt a numbness all over his body and yelled at the women.
"Brother Shi, you..."
Bai Ruiting wanted to say something more, but the master of Illusion Orchid Tower had already used the "Orchid Realm," taking the women with her to relocate.
The master of Illusion Orchid Tower’s intuition was only second to Shi Xiaole’s. In that instant, she almost felt a terrifying powerlessness, well aware that a great crisis was approaching, and staying would only drag Shi Xiaole down.
At the same time, Shi Xiaole pushed his power to the max, changed direction, and darted towards the distance with the "Ascending Immortal Step."
"Gentlemen act with their hands, not their mouths. Do you think you can escape?"
However, that sense of crisis not only did not weaken but grew stronger. The distance between them was closing rapidly, and just when Shi Xiaole couldn’t help but draw the Cleansing Evil Sword, a dusky palm shadow already loomed over him.
Clang...
An invisible Sword Qi realm spread out, causing the dusky palm shadow’s speed to slow as though caught in a swamp. Meanwhile, Shi Xiaole’s sword was primed and ready, chopping down with force.
Thump!
The middle of the dusky palm shadow caved in, but as the Sword Qi penetrated, it was enveloped by the palm strength, constantly eroded and digested.
"This kid’s sword technique is a bit peculiar."
"Hmph, they’re making us exert extra effort, on top of the time wasted in the chase, I’m going to cook this kid until he’s well done and eat him up."
"Agreed!"
Three yellow-clad figures struck out at the same time, and the void, like a placid lake struck by a giant stone, began collapsing wildly inward, while around it, bursts of transparent ripples dissipated outward, shaking in all directions.
The Sword Qi realm created by "Old Ox’s Broken Cart" was almost instantly shattered, and endless suction enveloped Shi Xiaole’s entire body, intent on dragging him backwards. The protective Vigorous Air emitted a continuous crunching sound, disintegrating in moments.
"Destruction of All!"
Without a second thought, Shi Xiaole unleashed the best offensive move among the Four Great Sword Techniques, "Destruction of All."
This stroke of the sword was like a dragon flying in the sky, a gazelle hanging by its horn, the Sword Qi somehow piercing through the cavity in the void. The Yellow Spring Three Gentlemen simultaneously snorted coldly, swiping their palms to strike, but still, the Sword Qi evaded them first, continuing its unstoppable assault.
"You scoundrel, you dare to deceive a gentleman!"
The Yellow Spring Three Gentlemen roared in anger, and quickly around their bodies, a circular light shield appeared, with layers of moving stripes on its surface. The Sword Qi struck upon it, and after multiple defenses, by the time it reached the core, its power had already diminished greatly, easily crushed.
"Big brother, I want to eat this kid’s heart."
"I want his liver."
"Kill him first, then divide."
The annular stripes of the light shield suddenly spread outwards, shifting from defense to offense, like waters of the Yellow Spring surging from hell, fiercely and swiftly catching up with Shi Xiaole.
Whoosh!
Without looking back, Shi Xiaole’s right arm swept a straight line behind him, executing the best defensive move among the Four Great Sword Techniques, "A Line Between Heaven and Sea."
Coincidentally, Shi Xiaole had once created a sword technique of the same name, "A Line Between Heaven and Sea," but the subtlety of the two was vastly different. With such a simple stroke, Shi Xiaole left no room for attack, and the Yellow Spring waters were automatically delivered to the location of the sword mark.
Splat!
A mouthful of blood spurted from Shi Xiaole’s mouth, his complexion immediately turned pale.
Though "A Line Between Heaven and Sea" blocked the attack from the Yellow Spring Three Gentlemen, their absolute combined strength was too strong. One on one, Shi Xiaole might have been able to block, but when faced with their united strength, he couldn’t withstand them at all.
What he didn’t know was that his repeated breaking of their offense had thoroughly infuriated the Yellow Spring Three Gentlemen. Their momentum surged, and amidst their roars, they launched their killing moves consecutively.
