Chapter 1181: Chapter 1179: Finally Found_1
Two 2-hour periods later.
Unable to sense any pursuers, Shi Xiaole stopped.
He took out the twenty-four Light Talismans he had just obtained from the system space. Shi Xiaole was in luck. Among them were seven Sword Talismans, six Martial Talismans, five Blade Talismans, three Spear Talismans, one Mace Talisman, one Halberd Talisman, and one Axe Talisman.
The proportions roughly matched those of the Light Talismans from the land of Fate.
You should know that the number of each type of Light Talisman is different. Sword Talismans, Blade Talismans, and Martial Talismans make up the majority, perhaps due to the greater numbers of swordsmen, bladesmen, and martial artists.
Spear Talismans, Mace Talismans, and so on, follow thereafter, and then come the even less common weapon Light Talismans.
For this reason, the number of Light Talismans each martial artist needs to collect also varies. For the likes of Halberd Talismans and Axe Talismans, one only needs to obtain ten to enter the corresponding peak.
Adding the Talismans he had obtained before, Shi Xiaole now had nine Sword Talismans. Of course, half of them were supposed to be given to the Flying Snow Sword Emperor, so now, he was temporarily holding onto them for the other party.
If he could encounter such eruption sites every time, perhaps Shi Xiaole wouldn’t need long to collect twenty Sword Talismans. However, he knew that was impossible.
A typical eruption site would be good to have five or six Light Talismans. The lesser ones would have only two or three, and they would never exceed ten.
After stowing away the Light Talismans, Shi Xiaole continued on his way, searching for new eruption sites.
Because he was carrying too many Light Talismans, which the system space couldn’t completely shield, Shi Xiaole had become a target for many talented fighters. As you can imagine, most of them ended up becoming the targets of Shi Xiaole’s strikes instead.
Thanks to this, in less than half a year, Shi Xiaole had acquired eighteen Sword Talismans, eight Blade Talismans, and so on.
Sometimes, when he sensed a presence, he would also take the initiative to exchange with others. In this way, after another three months, he had an astonishing twenty-two Sword Talismans in his possession.
And by this time, only two years had passed since Shi Xiaole entered the land of Fate.
In addition to collecting Light Talismans, Shi Xiaole did not slack off in his martial arts training.
At this moment, his body’s qi and blood were boiling. With a slight exertion of his strength, the blood inside his body would turn deep purple, a clear sign that the "Purple Blood Great Method" was nearing perfection.
Beyond that, having already perfected the Four Great Sword Techniques, Shi Xiaole also tried to integrate the essence of the four techniques. Gradually, he deciphered an awe-inspiring sword technique that could cause ghosts to cry and gods to weep, "Sky-shocking Sword"!
Although it was still in its rudimentary form, with a foundation laid, the journey ahead was believed not to be too difficult.
The tempering of his mental strength proceeded at a steady pace, increasing from fifteen percent to twenty-two percent.
It could be said that Shi Xiaole, possessing superior intuition, was making progress at an astonishing speed even under normal circumstances, compared to the average person.
Just as Shi Xiaole was about to search for the eight ladies and the Flying Snow Sword Emperor, in the land of Fate, two figures encountered each other.
"Brother Xuanyuan, I guessed correctly. The Xuanyuan Clan discovered the Supreme Lord’s image in the last few sessions. It seems this chance has fallen into your hands."
Clothed in white, with twisting blue patterns signifying rust, just a smile from him was enough to mesmerize any woman. He was none other than "The Number One Young Master" Qi Muchu.
Opposite him, Xuanyuan Di faced him coldly. The sense of loneliness about him had intensified from the past, and a chilling pressure seemed to emanate from him.
Hearing Qi Muchu’s words, Xuanyuan Di said indifferently, "You are no different, having broken through to the early stages of eleven percent of the Supreme Martial Arts. I hope you won’t disappoint me."
Objectively speaking, among the people of this session, Qi Muchu might be the only one who could excite Xuanyuan Di.
Those nine masters, though strong, had deliberately avoided the six legends in their eras, showing a performance that is inherently cowardly. With an aura naturally inferior, they only earned Xuanyuan Di’s disdain and were not worth fearing.
Once he defeated Qi Muchu, then he would achieve true invincibility among his peers, and only wait for the future to transcend the six legends and claim the title of the number one figure of the age!
Noticing the fleeting intensity in Xuanyuan Di’s eyes, Qi Muchu remained smiling and took the initiative, "Brother Xuanyuan, did you come here intending to enter Divine Martial Peak? Why don’t we go together?"
Without a reply, Xuanyuan Di leaped ahead, with Qi Muchu following closely behind.
Soon, the two entered the rolling mist on the east side, also known as the barrier of Fate.
Boom! Boom!
The barrier of Fate opened, and Xuanyuan Di rushed towards Divine Martial Peak, while Qi Muchu headed for Divine Spear Peak—his weapon of expertise was the spear.
Divine Martial Peak.
A figure opened his eyes, with a look that seemed to contain infinite punches and kicks.
"A person not three hundred years old has actually managed to force through the barrier. The descendant of Xuanyuan Lang is indeed not bad."
Divine Spear Peak.
Another figure, surrounded as if by thunder, had a long spear lying horizontally before him. Just by glancing at the climbing Qi Muchu, he then withdrew his gaze.
His opponents were only a few other old fellows. The geniuses of today are certainly brilliant, but having accumulated too little time, they were not enough to draw his attention.
Time passed day by day.
Shi Xiaole’s collection of Sword Talismans had reached an astonishing twenty-six.
During this period, he discovered the center of a twelve percent peak storm. After perceiving it and combining his long-term transformations of the Four Great Martial Arts, the Wind Sword Way progressed rapidly, and he was only half a step away from the next breakthrough!
As for the legendary Supreme Lord’s image, it remained elusive.
Such images were extremely rare throughout the entire land of Fate. With average luck, you might not come across one in a hundred years.
"I wonder how Illusion Orchid Tower and the others are doing."
In the land of fate, every step was fraught with killing intent. Shi Xiaole was very worried that by the time he saw his acquaintances again, a few would be missing. For this reason, he would extend his mental energy to its limits every day, hoping against hope for a miracle to occur.
In the third year of entering the land of fate, Shi Xiaole’s "Purple Blood Great Method" had made a breakthrough, and he smoothly entered the realm of perfection.
The breakthrough of inner power, as opposed to that of fighting techniques, had a different effect, and the former was more fearsome than the latter. While fighting techniques were mere methods used to maximize the power of Vigorous Air, inner power enhanced Vigorous Air, providing a strong foundation.
At the thought, purple qi centered around Shi Xiaole filled the heavens and earth in all eight directions. Paying close attention, each thread of purple qi carried an extremely rich power, unimaginable in strength – one could only wonder what kind of might an outburst would bring.
"With my current strength, I should be able to easily defeat Iron Mad Sky. I just don’t know how many moves it would take."
Previously, in the East Victory continent, Shi Xiaole had always thought that the powers of the Forbidden Martial Emperors were very close, but now he realized his mistake; different realms of Supreme Martial Arts displayed vastly different strengths.
"Strong qi indeed, but it doesn’t belong to a Forbidden Martial Emperor."
Not long after Shi Xiaole left his original spot, a man in a white robe passed by, furrowing his brows in surprise.
As the foremost among the six Forbidden Martial Emperors of the Hundred Battles Tower, the strength of the White Cloud Emperor had already reached unfathomable depths. Before the old monsters reemerged, he was known as the strongest under the six legends!
For him to acknowledge the strength meant the person who left this qi was powerful, but this was not what made the White Cloud Emperor wary. After all, the owner of the qi was by no means his match.
What truly made the White Cloud Emperor wary was that there was a mutual awareness between realms of Supreme Martial Arts, but clearly, the owner of this qi had not comprehended the Supreme Martial Arts.
This meant that the other party was not a Forbidden Martial Emperor, yet their foundational strength surpassed many Forbidden Martial Emperors. This was unprecedented in the history of the Martial World – it had never happened before.
"Could it be a misperception on my part?"
The White Cloud Emperor shook his head.
No, not a mistake, if anything, he had underestimated the other party, as qi dissipated with time. They say this generation of elites was filled with freaks, and the White Cloud Emperor had finally come to truly appreciate that.
Just a few months ago, he had personally witnessed Xuanyuan Di and Qi Muchu entering the barrier of fate, never to emerge again, which showed that their strength had already surpassed his own.
Then there were those old monsters, each more perverse than the last. Aside from those nine masters, there were at least five others who posed a serious threat to the White Cloud Emperor.
"Stride to compete for the master of fate is certainly out of the question, but in an era where heroes stand side by side, I am nevertheless eager to vie for brilliance and leave my name in this glorious age!"
With soaring ambition swelling in his chest, the White Cloud Emperor swiftly took to the air and departed.
...
"What is that?"
Seven days later, Shi Xiaole’s face showed a moved expression; from afar, he finally sensed a few familiar qi! Among them were the master of Illusion Orchid Tower, Fairy Yunni, Bai Ruiting, and others, as well as elite members from the Ling Family, Ling Cunyi, and Ling Cunwei.
But there were also a few qi that were very weak, almost dissipating, clearly indicating that some had been severely injured and were close to death.
"Senior Sister Pei, Senior Sister Su, wake up, please, don’t let anything happen to you!"
Amidst a sea of flames, Qu Ni cried rivers of tears, holding a woman covered in blood in her arms. The woman breathed more out than in and had a faint pulse, showing clear signs she wouldn’t survive – it was Su Bi from the eight disciples of Illusion Orchid Tower.
And in An Rumei’s arms lay another female disciple, with a gaping hole in her chest, her breath almost ceased – it was indeed Pei Qiuyan.
An Rumei, usually as indifferent as ice, now had red-rimmed eyes, her eyebrows inverted in distress, struggling to keep the tears from rolling down.
On the other side, Bai Ruiting, Zhang Xiaoting, and even Fairy Yunni were all steeped in sorrow and unspeakable rage.
No one could describe the bond between the women, especially after becoming slaves of Wuyuan Palace and sharing adversity for over a dozen years. They had faced life and death together many times and joked that they would marry the same man in the future so they could never be separated.
Who would have thought that fate could be so cruel, that on this very day it would claim the lives of two of them!
The master of Illusion Orchid Tower had disheveled hair, a couple of bloodstains across her beautiful face, and a slightly twisted left arm dangling as if broken. Her age-old eyes, colder and more detached than ever before.
"Swordsman Ling, we have dragged you down."
A staggering force slowly surged within the master of Illusion Orchid Tower, propelling her aura ever upwards.
The Decomposition Technique!
The women said nothing, for they knew that today they were bound to die. Even as the master of Illusion Orchid Tower prompted the Decomposition Technique, Bai Ruiting, among others, followed suit.
Even in death, they could not fall into the hands of their enemies!
The situation for the Ling Family was also dire.
The numerous experts were either torn apart or decapitated – from their injuries, it was clear they had been brutally tortured to death.
The encounter to the confrontation was over in an instant. The strength of their opponent far exceeded the imagination of all present; resistance was a luxury.
"Heh heh, you want to fight for your lives? Do you think you’re worthy in front of Blade-back Old Ancestor?"
This was an elder who appeared kind at first glance, with a smile that would squeeze his eyes together, emitting a very sinister light.
Blade-back Old Ancestor, a rather unrefined name, but no one dared to mock it because this man was the number one expert of the Seeking Pleasure Sect, a notorious Forbidden Martial Emperor.
As Blade-back Old Ancestor released his presence, everyone felt an overwhelming pressure. The women’s Vigorous Air was obstructed, making it difficult to properly perform the Decomposition Technique.
"It’s been such a long time since I’ve savored flesh. You brought this upon yourselves by resisting."
Reveling in the despondent looks of desperation on everyone’s faces, Blade-back Old Ancestor laughed triumphantly, his long blade flashed as he moved towards the Ling Family members, ready to put an end to them.
