Chapter 1223: Chapter 1221: Tragic
The scorpion tail was intangible yet substantial, its hook flashing with a compelling chill of spiritual intensity as it instantly pierced into Shi Xiaole’s brow, aiming to shatter his spiritual sea.
The piercing chill was even enough to make Shi Xiaole somewhat solemn. Had his spiritual power not been unprecedentedly tempered, he might not have been able to withstand this strike.
But now.
Boom!
Without a second thought, Shi Xiaole unleashed the "Extreme Divine Tribulation."
The scorpion tail, once seemingly unstoppable, was as if it had slammed into an iron plate, abruptly halting before starting to crack and then recoiling back toward the Scorpion Lady.
In terms of spiritual tempering, the Scorpion Lady was not a match for Shi Xiaole, and even less so in the quality and quantity of the spiritual power, which doomed her spiritual sneak attack to failure.
"What?"
The Scorpion Lady’s face turned pale.
The scorpion tail was closely connected to her spiritual power, so when it was damaged, her own spiritual power was affected as well.
Just then, the Black Abyss Elder’s fist arrived. Fueled by full force, countless fist shadows surged like overturning seas and lands, charging at Shi Xiaole with a momentum that left no room for dodging.
However—
Just as the scorpion tail recoiled and before the Black Abyss Elder’s punch reached its apex, a powerful aura suddenly appeared out of nowhere, enveloping half of the sky.
Numerous sharp strands of Qi wove back and forth within it, weakening the punch’s force and causing the Black Abyss Elder’s build-up of power to slow by a hundredth of a blink of an eye.
With a hiss!
Shi Xiaole burst through a gap in the fist shadows, instantly freeing himself from the two great masters’ Qi lock, and dashed swiftly toward the distance.
"You won’t escape!"
A roar shook heaven and earth, disbelief smoldering in the Black Abyss Elder’s eyes. He was certain that Shi Xiaole had improved again—if this were in the land of Fate, Shi Xiaole would have never dodged his blow.
Shock was written all over the Scorpion Lady’s usually impassive face, now filled with intense killing intent; she chased after Shi Xiaole even faster than the Black Abyss Elder.
The commotion had been great; the eight counterfeit Sky Origin Realm experts couldn’t be kept in the dark. Realizing the situation—the chase between the three of them—they suddenly stopped at the brink of an outburst.
"What’s going on?"
The Chi Evil Great Witch was furious. The tactic of encirclement had failed to contain Shi Xiaole, and catching him again would not be easy.
Qin Elder and the other two were pleasantly surprised, clearly not expecting Shi Xiaole to possess such skill. Whether it was due to their oversight or his luck, the worst had been averted.
"If you’re really capable, then don’t run, World-Subduing Fist!"
The Black Abyss Elder threw a punch as fast as lightning, trailing black meteor streams across the sky, all made from his fist’s energy. The Earth shook wildly, even affecting the many towns around the outskirts of the Lingkong Mountain Range.
"Witch Curse!"
The Scorpion Lady’s martial arts were an extremely terrifying curse-based martial arts. She murmured spells and rapidly moved her hands. A small black figure appeared in her palms, bearing a striking resemblance to Shi Xiaole.
As the Scorpion Lady forcefully pinched, amidst the crisp sounds, the black figure exploded. At that moment, Shi Xiaole, who was in the distance, felt the space compress around him, his protective Vigorous Air shattered in the blink of an eye, and the chaotic forces cut through his body like knives and swords.
"Wind Sword Realm!"
In a critical moment, a Sword Realm embodying both attracting and repelling, spiral forces enveloped Shi Xiaole, deflecting most of the chaotic forces. Yet some still penetrated his body, causing blood to spill from his mouth and nose.
With the Life-Death Martial Dao activated, Shi Xiaole’s injuries rapidly healed. Without looking back, he unleashed two "Sky-shocking Swords" toward his pursuers.
Thump! Thump!
The Sword Qi exploded, and the Scorpion Lady and Black Abyss Elder emerged from it. One used deadly techniques while the other disrupted with spiritual tactics, complementing each other as if fighting for their lives.
But as time went on, their expressions grew darker and darker.
Truth be told, Shi Xiaole was too difficult to kill. His spiritual power was stronger, his healing abilities were among the best in the world, and his Flying Skill was fast. He was only behind in the realm of martial arts, otherwise even a stronger Martial Emperor would not find it so difficult to kill him.
"This lad, if not dead, will be a curse for thousands of years!"
Due to the continuous onslaught, the two opponents’ power was reduced to just thirty percent of their peak. In contrast, Shi Xiaole, although severely wounded, was constantly recovering, clearly with more energy than them, and the distance between them was growing.
"Take action now, or this boy will truly escape!"
The Scorpion Lady suddenly screamed at the void.
At this moment, Shi Xiaole felt all the hairs on his body stand on end. Perhaps it was instinct that made him gather all his strength and head towards the upper right, like a meteor moving against its usual path.
Almost simultaneously!
Bang...
Where Shi Xiaole had been just a moment before, a cataclysmic explosion thundered, and a black chasm hundreds of feet wide stood between heaven and earth like a dark scar.
At the edges of the fissure, chaotic forces surged, and Shi Xiaole, who was already heavily struck, suffered a gaping hole in his chest. Now brushed by the chaotic forces, he was nearly shredded to pieces, with half of his body ground away.
A suppressed groan of extreme pain echoed in all directions. Given Shi Xiaole’s resilience and determination, one could hardly imagine the intensity of pain that would elicit such a response from him!
Warriors in the distant fields and pedestrians in the towns all looked up in shock at the scene.
"Even this couldn’t take you down. If you do not die, the heavens and earth cannot bear it."
A rulishly dressed, elegantly aged man stepped out from the void, his face showing a trace of astonishment.
For a master of the Fake Sky Origin Realm to launch a sneak attack with killing intent and still fail to land a fatal strike on Shi Xiaole was an inconceivable event.
At first, he had cursed the Scorpion Lady and the Black Abyss Elder for their incompetence, forcing him to expose himself; now it seemed that Shi Xiaole was just too difficult to deal with.
Yet the more this was the case, the less he held back, the boy had to die.
"Xuanyuan Lang, you’re courting death!"
A mad shout rang out, and the Qin Elder’s white hair stood on end as he glared with eyes sharp as swords, no longer caring about the five great masters of Miaojiang in front of him, rapidly plucking the strings. Countless shadows of swords and saber flooded out, submerging all directions of heaven and earth.
The faint sound of an Erhu, lighter than the sound of the Qin, but reaching farther, coalesced into a beam aimed at the Scorpion Lady and Black Abyss Elder tens of thousands of miles away, who were in pursuit of Shi Xiaole. They felt a chill on their backs and hurriedly swung their weapons in defense.
"Blind old ghost, how dare you!"
The five great masters from Miaojiang were furious. How could they allow anything to happen to the Scorpion Lady and the Black Abyss Elder, the mainstays of their strength?
"If you can play the first move, I can play the fifteenth. Miaojiang, South Sea, hahaha, I swear not to stop until I’ve killed all the geniuses under your tutelage!"
The Blind Elder’s empty eye sockets burst forth with two piercing red lights, his bone-chilling killing intent causing even the five great Miaojiang masters and the distant Xuanyuan Lang to shudder to their core.
An array disk appeared in mid-air, suddenly expanding, with eight circles of grid rapidly rotating, forming a kaleidoscope of colored sections that simultaneously blocked the five great Miaojiang masters.
The Qin Elder and the Blind Elder seized the opportunity to burst forth, their murderous intent filling the sky.
"If you two dare to leave, aren’t you afraid I’ll kill the Heavenly Destiny Divine Fortune Teller?"
The Chi Evil Great Witch was both anxious and furious.
The technique of Heavenly Destiny involves Array Systems, which are notoriously difficult to defend against and hard to break in a short time. During this period, it was enough for the Qin Elder and the Blind Elder to make their move to kill.
"Hahaha, even if I die, I’ve lived enough. You shouldn’t have crossed the bottom line of us three brothers."
The Heavenly Destiny Divine Fortune Teller bled from his mouth and nose. Each time the five great masters struck the surface of the light array, it caused his chest to cave in and worsened his injuries, but he refused to step back an inch.
In his eyes lay deep guilt and killing intent. If the Young Master were to meet with disaster, he would become a devil against the whole world if necessary, in order to kill all those involved.
"Bastards! If you dare to kill, I will make you regret it for life!"
The Chi Evil Great Witch was livid with rage.
He didn’t care about the others, but the Scorpion Lady was his direct descendant, raised with countless resources to lead the next generation of the clan. How could he allow anything to happen to her?
Only now did the Chi Evil Great Witch realize that he had truly underestimated how much Shi Xiaole meant to the three elders, including the Qin Elder. For Shi Xiaole, they were capable of anything.
"If you kill Shi Xiaole, I will kill Xuanyuan Di and everyone from the Xuanyuan Clan!"
Still in transit, the Qin Elder plucked the fifth string, his playing as delicate as silk, cutting toward the distant Xuanyuan Lang.
"Hmph!"
Xuanyuan Lang paused for a moment, but then a stronger assault followed, attacking Shi Xiaole, who was struggling to escape with the last of his strength, causing his already battered half body to nearly fall apart.
"How could you possibly breach the Xuanyuan Clan? Do you think the others from the South Sea will just stand by? Moreover, in a few years, when Di’s power has fully matured, how could he fear you old fools? He will personally cut you down!"
Xuanyuan Lang laughed coldly, his heart filled with trepidation.
Miaojiang had contacted them from the South Sea to join forces against Shi Xiaole, and in the end, only he agreed. At the root of it all, it was still the fear of the three old elders, including the Qin Elder.
If they truly went mad, it would spell a great disaster. After all, one cannot expect the entire clan to hide at home and never venture into the Martial World again, right?
His agreement was not actually because Shi Xiaole took away the opportunity from Xuanyuan Di, but due to a more important, deeper reason.
His face flushed red, the Qin Elder’s speed increased dramatically, the music he played dense like waves, covering Xuanyuan Lang like a mountain of swords and seas of sabers.
"Extreme Fusion Unity!"
Xuanyuan Lang slowed down, and as he swung his sword, a gigantic circular light shield hundreds of feet in diameter materialized in front of him. The piercing sounds of swords and zither music struck it, creating a loud crackling noise.
"For the sake of that boy, you’d actually go as far as to employ a secret technique, sacrificing your already limited lifespan?"
Xuanyuan Lang was shocked beyond measure, then his face twisted with killing intent as he coldly laughed, "After using the secret technique, you will be very weak, won’t you? Hahaha..." He began to move elusively, while attacking Shi Xiaole and draining the Qin Elder’s strength.
His strength might not match that of the Qin Elder, but the gap of tens of thousands of miles was enough to bridge this gap.
"Life-Death Zheng Domain!"
The Qin strings trembled incessantly as the Qin Elder plucked the sixth string, an action that appeared to drain his strength, causing both his life force and momentum to plummet to their limits.
The next moment!
Boundless spatial fluctuations swept over Xuanyuan Lang, easily shattering his light shield and continuing unabated, striking Xuanyuan Lang fiercely.
Blood rained down like a torrential downpour, mixed with Xuanyuan Lang’s extreme cries of terror.
"If I do not avenge this, I swear I am no human, ah..."
Amidst the turbulent spatial fluctuations, a figure soaked in blood scrambled out, his right arm and left leg severed, with numerous through-and-through wounds all over his body—if not Xuanyuan Lang, who else could it be?
No longer concerned with killing Shi Xiaole, Xuanyuan Lang fled in a panic.
Hisss!
His left arm, which wielded the sword, was also severed.
It turned out the Erhu sound had transformed into a blade and had it not been for Xuanyuan Lang’s timely evasion, his entire body would have been sliced open.
