Chapter 1178: Chapter 1176: The Land of Light Talisman Eruption_1
PS: The title of the previous Chapter was incorrect and has been amended!
The shadow of the palm was not large, yet it commanded the storm around it to give way. As the palm force passed, space came to a standstill and the sound of the wind ceased momentarily. Even the brown-clothed man and the old crone, standing ten thousand meters away, felt a chilling sensation of being locked in and unable to escape.
"The peak of twelve parts charm of the wind martial arts!"
The old crone exclaimed in her heart.
Being infinitesimally close to the peak of twelve parts and actually reaching it may only differ by two words, but the display of power was undeniably distinct—not quite as disparate as heaven and earth, but the difference was clear as day.
With just that one palm strike from Demon Charm Ancestor, the old crone knew that the opponent had advanced greatly in strength. Even if she joined forces with the brown-clothed man, they would either die or be gravely injured by that palm strike without a second possibility.
When the palm force was but three zhang away from Shi Xiaole and looked set to shatter him, the unmoving Shi Xiaole suddenly drew out the Cleansing Evil Sword which had been lying horizontally in front of him.
With one stroke of the sword, fine green strands of sword silk clung to the storm, transforming into a sky-reaching rainbow as it struck out. Accompanied by a hiss, the palm force was ruthlessly torn apart. The residual force of the Sword Qi storm surged back towards Demon Charm Ancestor and was dispersed by the latter’s palm strike.
"Impossible, your strength?"
Demon Charm Ancestor was utterly shocked.
Although he was breaking through earlier, his awareness of the outside world remained intact. He knew Shi Xiaole was injured, but even without injuries, he was confident he could suppress the opposition.
How could it be that not only had Shi Xiaole’s injuries healed, but he had also turned the tables, suppressing even the further-advanced him? What a joke?!
"Charm Shadow Divine Palm!"
Disbelieving in evil, Demon Charm Ancestor quickly struck with both hands. With the aid of his superior gloves, a vast expanse of palm shadows filled the center of the storm. These palm shadows were real, yet they created an illusion of void to the enemy’s spirit, rendering them unpredictable and indefensible.
If it were anyone else, even those of similar level to Demon Charm Ancestor would suffer from this move. Unfortunately, Demon Charm Ancestor had chosen the wrong target.
"Old Ox’s Broken Cart!"
Without moving his body, Shi Xiaole slowly thrust out a sword.
Pop. Pop. Pop...
Lots of palm shadows disintegrated. This time, Demon Charm Ancestor saw it clearly: Shi Xiaole was able to connect with the storm by using the Way of the Wind as a medium and the Way of the Sword to harness it, practically turning the external storm into his ally.
This shocking and unconventional method made Demon Charm Ancestor’s heart turn cold with fear, scarcely daring to believe his own eyes.
"Kid, you’re ruthless."
Demon Charm Ancestor resolved to cease his efforts. At least within the center of the storm, he definitely couldn’t beat Shi Xiaole.
"Take another one of my swords, ’Destruction of All’."
The sword momentum not only continued but grew stronger. Shi Xiaole slashed casually.
As the lengthy blade light passed, the three people on the periphery felt a flash before their eyes, such pain that they could hardly keep them open. The next moment, the Demon Charm Ancestor was swept away like a leaf in the wind, a nine-inch-long gash bleeding profusely appeared on his chest.
Hiss!
The brown-clothed man, the old crone, and even the man who hadn’t taken action earlier, all changed colour in horror.
It had only been seven days. In just seven days, Shi Xiaole’s strength had grown to such an extent. While the enhancement from the storm played a part, without sufficient personal strength, it would not be possible to display such dominance.
"You..."
Demon Charm Ancestor’s face turned an ashen hue with anger.
But that last sword really left him with no escape. He had to swallow his anger and retreat to the perimeter of the storm, clearly indicating he would wait for Shi Xiaole outside.
Shi Xiaole smiled without saying a word.
He had used only eighty percent of his strength for that sword. Even without the boost from the storm, going all out wouldn’t be any less effective than what had just happened; if the opponent was looking for death, he would be more than happy to oblige.
"With my current strength, I should be able to kill the likes of Purple Jade Great Emperor in an instant."
If Purple Jade Great Emperor were in the East Victory Continent, his strength probably wouldn’t be inferior to the Northern Liang Martial Emperor, and the difference would be negligible. Being able to kill the Purple Jade Great Emperor with one sword strike made Shi Xiaole suspect that his own strength no longer fell short of that of the Forbidden Martial Emperor.
Of course, that was theoretically speaking. In reality, with even strength, the Forbidden Martial Emperor, with the aid of Supreme Martial Arts, would still be able to crush an opponent, unless your foundational strength was a notch above.
This was also why so many doubted Shi Xiaole in the first place—because the Wind Sword Way was only a semi-Supreme Martial Arts and had no chance of transformation.
"The top forces of the South Sea have at least one or two Forbidden Martial Emperors. There are nearly a hundred Forbidden Martial Emperors openly, and based on this estimate, my current strength should be around the top hundred."
Shi Xiaole shook his head.
That’s not the right calculation. Among the masters who have re-entered the Martial World recently, there are no small number of Forbidden Martial Emperors, and together with the previous ones, the total exceeds two hundred. Perhaps some have foundational strength not as good as his own, but he believed that wouldn’t be many. Including the invincible masters just below the Forbidden Martial Emperors, a conservative estimate would place Shi Xiaole’s strength also around the top two hundred, and the actual ranking could be even further back.
If he were to contend for the position of Sword Master now, he would have no chance at all.
"Should I reveal the Supreme Martial Arts? Or, should I improve my foundational strength and suppress the Supreme Martial Arts with the semi-Supreme Martial Arts?"
After a moment, Shi Xiaole smiled lightly.
Why worry about so much? The boat will straighten itself when it reaches the bridge, plus what he was considering right now wasn’t about whether to reveal the Supreme Martial Arts or not; even if it was revealed, it would be of no use since his realm was too low.
Looking over at the center of the storm, at another man who had just made a breakthrough but had not taken action, Shi Xiaole continued to absorb the essence of the wind.
"The younger generation is to be feared indeed."
The Demon Wind Sword Emperor’s heart skipped a beat.
If it hadn’t been for Demon Charm Ancestor stepping in first, he might have been the one making a fool of himself just now. Perhaps it was a swordsman’s intuition, but Demon Wind Sword Emperor had no intention of bothering Shi Xiaole. Seeing that the other party was not driving him away, he was happy to continue his comprehensions.
One day.
Two days.
As time slowly passed, the Flying Snow Sword Emperor had left at some point.
Half a month later, Shi Xiaole had completely absorbed the essence of the wind. Although his Wind Sword Way had not reached the peak of eleven parts, it was not far off.
Compared to half a month ago, there was no doubt that Shi Xiaole’s strength had increased once more.
The storm on the grassland began to subside, and the Martial World aura fell from its peak of twelve levels to the later stage of twelve levels. To return to twelve-level peak, who knew how many years it would take again.
"Boy, prepare to die!"
After waiting for half a month, seeing the opportunity ripe, Demon Charm Ancestor rushed towards Shi Xiaole with a sinister laugh. From mid-air, countless palm shadows had already covered him. The storm was like hemp thread, twisted into a single mass.
Demon Wind Sword Emperor didn’t leave but watched the scene intently.
With one sword!
A cyan Sword Qi that seemed capable of splitting the heavens sliced through numerous palm shadows and, under the horrified gaze of Demon Charm Ancestor, landed precisely on him.
Blood mist sprayed out like a red sickle.
Demon Charm Ancestor’s eyes bulged, filled with regretful light. If possible, he would’ve preferred never to provoke Shi Xiaole in his life, but there were no ifs.
Pfft!
The body split in two, Demon Charm Ancestor paid with his life for his recklessness.
Taking a deep breath, the Demon Wind Sword Emperor’s scalp tingled, and he felt a chill throughout his body. He clasped his fist and said, "Young Hero Shi’s swordsmanship is unparalleled, I admire you, I take my leave." Then he turned and ran, disappearing without a trace.
As for the brown-robed man and the old crone, they had chosen to flee when Shi Xiaole first overwhelmed Demon Charm Ancestor, but before leaving, Shi Xiaole casually rewarded them with his sword.
Not leaving immediately and waiting on the spot for three days, Flying Snow Sword Emperor returned, unsurprised to see only Shi Xiaole. She opened her mouth and said, "I just found out some news, to obtain the Light Talisman, one must find the Light Talisman Eruption Land."
Shi Xiaole raised his eyebrows.
He noticed that the Sword Talismans on Flying Snow Sword Emperor had increased from three to four, and there were two other kinds of aura, probably other Light Talismans.
"Fate Land is so vast, finding places one by one, it’s hard to collect twenty Sword Talismans; previous experts ultimately mostly went to Nineteen Peaks because they found the Light Talisman Eruption Land."
After listening to Flying Snow Sword Emperor’s description, Shi Xiaole learned that in addition to the Martial Arts Light Body containing Light Talismans, some special places would also have Light Talismans appear, and in clusters of several at a time.
Thinking about it, if one had to rely on luck to find the Light Talismans, the strongest might not be guaranteed to gather them all. However, according to the practice of past events, almost no experts would miss the battle at Nineteen Peaks.
The key lies in the Light Talisman Eruption Land.
However, those who knew about such places did not spread the word, as fewer people knowing meant less competition. Unless one was a disciple of a top force or the like.
Shi Xiaole guessed that the Ling Family must know, but unfortunately, he didn’t return to the Ling Family last time and thus cut off this channel of information.
Seeming to understand Shi Xiaole’s train of thought, Flying Snow Sword Emperor said, "Earlier I discovered an eruption site, hence the slight gain."
"I now have four Sword Talismans, one Spear Talisman, and one Martial Talisman on me, and you have two Sword Talismans and one Blade Talisman. In total, we have nine Light Talismans. The probability of sensing the Light Talisman Eruption Land is greater if we act together."
Flying Snow Sword Emperor said.
"Then I’ll be troubling my senior."
If he could collect Sword Talismans quicker, Shi Xiaole naturally would not refuse. The image of the eight women flashed through his mind; he wasn’t unconcerned, but since they had separated, there was no point in worrying.
Afterward, the two set off, choosing a random direction and sweeping through Fate Land at high speed.
Days passed.
Beyond sensing the Light Talisman Eruption Land, the two also paid attention to the Martial Arts Imagery.
Unfortunately, given their realms, they only stopped if they saw the top-tier Martial Arts Imagery of twelve-level peak or Supreme Imagery, which was destined to be elusive and not so easily found.
That day.
The Light Talismans on their bodies became restless.
A godly light reaching the sky rose from the west and suddenly exploded, revealing six Light Talismans.
"Everyone out of my way!"
"This is mine!"
"Anyone who blocks me dies!"
Several experts with red eyes began to fight fiercely with one another.
A cyan Sword Qi fell from a distance, its aftermath blew several people away. Clearly, the person who made the move had not intended to kill; otherwise, with the sharpness of this sword, all of them would be reduced to a mist of blood.
"One Sword Talisman, three Blade Talismans, two Mace Talismans."
With a beckon of his hand, Shi Xiaole took the three Blade Talismans. The rest he pushed to Flying Snow Sword Emperor.
Although it was his move, even if it wasn’t for him, Flying Snow Sword Emperor would have gotten them; splitting them in half was most fair. As for giving the Sword Talisman to the other party, it was an action done subconsciously by Shi Xiaole.
Flying Snow Sword Emperor rarely smiled, "Don’t worry, although we need Sword Talismans, the other Light Talismans are also useful for trading with others."
Time flew by.
In nearly a year’s time, Shi Xiaole and his companion discovered three eruption sites. Aside from the first time when they obtained six Light Talismans, the remaining two times they got two and three respectively.
On average, the two had found nearly six Light Talismans a year, a rate far surpassing the past, but still not enough. There were too many strong contenders in this event, and if everyone collected fast, the battle at Nineteen Peaks could start early.
One year and three months in.
That day.
An immensely thick divine light shot into the sky. It was another Light Talisman Eruption Land, and vaguely within the divine light, there appeared to be more than twenty Light Talismans.
"Boss, we’re set with this wave."
With hearty laughter, the Yellow Springs Triad was brimming with excitement.
