Chapter 1228: Chapter 1226: Candidates for the Three-Way Battle (Part 2)
South Sea.
The bamboo forest behind the Xuanyuan Clan’s mountain.
A solitary figure was sitting quietly in meditation, surrounded by an ever-changing array of different scenes when viewed from various angles.
Some showed withered bamboo, others sprouting bamboo shoots, some with leaves falling like rain, and still others lush with branches and foliage... All these scenes constituted a complete cycle of reincarnation.
The bamboo forest likewise underwent noticeable changes in this sequence, round and round in an endless cycle.
Until a certain moment.
The air of reincarnation surged into the person’s body, and everything appeared as if nothing had happened. The Xuanyuan Clan experts guarding outside the bamboo forest felt as though they had lived through thousands of lifetimes, their Heart Martial Realm even declining!
"Di, how goes it?"
Ripples spread through the void, as Xuanyuan Lang appeared in front of the figure.
He, whose arms and left leg had been severed, now seemed to be fully recovered, limbs intact, but only Xuanyuan Lang himself knew by how much his strength had regressed.
Despite having incredible means to graft limbs from others, they were ultimately not his own. Although he seemed unchanged in realm, in reality, his reactions in combat were far from what they used to be.
And all of this was thanks to the Three Elders of the Dust!
Thinking of this, Xuanyuan Lang’s eyes became cold enough to devour a person.
"The Reincarnation Martial Way, still at eleven tenths in the mid-phase, but I’ve mastered the final move of the Reincarnation Fist Seal," Xuanyuan Di said blandly.
Having emerged from the Supreme Pool, he accumulated a wealth of insights, and after training for many days at the Divine Martial Peak, his foundation was solid. Thus, his progress over the past few years was significant.
"Good! With your current power, you’re perhaps only half a level behind the likes of Scorpion Lady. In the upcoming battle, remember, when you encounter experts from East Victory, hit them hard, show no mercy!" Xuanyuan Lang said sternly.
In Xuanyuan Di’s slightly lowered eyes flickered a sharp light as he spoke, "My only opponent is Shi Xiaole. Only he can bring out all of my power."
Xuanyuan Lang chuckled, "I understand your heart, I’m just afraid that the boy won’t have the chance."
...
In the midst of towering mountains stood several hundred-feet-high wooden towers. Amid their mottled appearance, they carried a sense of profound history—the foremost power of the South Sea, the Hundred Battles Tower.
The Battle Secret Realm, the most terrifying training ground of the Hundred Battles Tower.
A young man in white robes with blue edges was practicing his spear skills. Around him, countless spheres of power sped toward him, their speed and lethal force comparing to the full-force strike of a top Heaven Realm Martial Emperor.
Bang bang bang...
The young man defended himself with only his spear skills. Many of the light spheres destroyed the nearby mountains and rivers, yet some escaped, occasionally slamming into the young man, causing his mouth and nose to bleed, his chest to cave in.
"Shi Xiaole, Xuanyuan Di, whatever I do, I’m always the first, from childhood until now it has been so, this time I want everyone to know that in terms of cultivation, I am still the first," Qi Muchu’s eyes grew colder and calmer.
In his vision, the countless power spheres slowed down, and within their chaotic trajectories, a common point emerged.
Boom!
The spear thrust out, like a dragon soaring in the sky, and a spark could vaguely be seen at its tip.
A string of power spheres were struck in succession, then hurtled toward other power spheres, like a chain reaction of dominoes. In the end, all the power spheres were dispersed, their aftermath spreading far and wide, yet miraculously none hit Qi Muchu.
Crackle and pop.
In the void, the sound of flames burning could be heard.
"This spear throw, this is a sure-kill strike, not just in its trajectory, but in its power too. I shall call it, Hell’s Double Kill!" Qi Muchu looked into the distance, bloodied but with a high fighting spirit.
...
Amid the flashing lightning and roaring thunder, a storm raged, here in the depths of the South Sea, where tsunamis surged, rising tens of thousands of meters, seemingly capable of shattering the clouds in the sky.
Even a Forbidden Martial Emperor would be put in a sorry state here, unable to withstand nature’s threat. Yet within this harsh environment, six people walked leisurely, as if strolling in a courtyard.
"Brother Xuanyuan, are you alright?" asked a handsome man with a circular beard. He was none other than the Great Battles Emperor, one of the six legends of the South Sea.
Xuanyuan Lang replied, "There’s no need for concern, Yue brother. I’m quite well. One day, I’ll make my enemies pay a painful price!"
The others remained silent, not wanting to speak out of turn, and of course, they each had their own schemes—after all, there was a competitive relationship among the six.
Xuanyuan Lang observed everything and sneered inwardly.
"This three-way battle, East Victory’s strength is the weakest. I thought there would be no surprises, but unexpectedly, a divine weapon appeared. Truly, man plans and God laughs," he mused.
Seeing this, the Great Battles Emperor changed the subject.
"Just a Forbidden Martial Emperor meddling with a divine weapon, it can only be used a few times at most, and it’s not the pure Sky Origin Power, unable to crush us. It might wound at best, and we only need to withstand the initial onslaught," the Black White Master from the Water and Fire Dao Manor, with a kind and benevolent face, said with a smile, his eyes filled with meaning as he looked at the Great Battles Emperor, "But Brother Yue, your aura has become even more unfathomable. With you leading us, how can we fail to win?"
Upon hearing this, the others looked towards the Great Battles Emperor, each with a different expression.
At their level, progressing even slightly was extremely difficult; hence, despite being just a step away from the Sky Origin Realm, that very step might forever be out of reach.
Correspondingly, any bit of progress would result in a highly exaggerated increase in power.
As if oblivious to the others’ abnormal behavior, the Great Battles Emperor chuckled, "Even when a lion fights a rabbit, it uses all its might. All the more when our true opponent is Miaojiang! A thousand years ago, we discovered a divine artifact and agreed that only the one who could command respect from the rest could retrieve it. This time, for victory, we have no choice but to break the rule."
A divine artifact, naturally formed and nurtured, embodied the aura of the Supreme Great Path. Ordinary Forbidden Martial Emperors couldn’t activate it; only those who had reached the mid-stage of eleven percent in the Supreme Martial Arts Realm could barely muster its power.
The divine artifact found by the six was named Shark Tooth Whip, born 180,000 meters beneath the South Sea. Even a minor eruption of its power had once caused the biggest tsunami in the South Sea in a thousand years.
The three major heads of this war were the Great Battles Emperor, the Black White Master, and the Wind Wave Ancestor, with the Great Battles Emperor expert in wielding the whip.
Such a lineup was considered invincible under the heavens, and no one dared to object.
...
Simultaneously, the depths of Miaojiang were anything but peaceful.
"Chi Evil Great Witch, what do you mean by this?"
In a deep and wide cave, a group of women dressed in black garments and with black symbols on their faces looked angrily at the five great witches of Miaojiang.
There were very few in the whole world who dared to speak against these five great witches so directly, and even fewer who could anger them and not face consequences.
Yet here, the great witches were uncharacteristically deferential, with the Chi Evil Great Witch even saying with a smile, "My envoys, please accommodate us. This great war concerns the future of Miaojiang, and we need to borrow the Witch God Sun-drawing Bow to ensure a complete victory."
Unlike East Victory and the South Sea, in Miaojiang, everyone worshiped the Witch God, and the Witch God Palace was a transcendent existence above all.
Hence, even those who were not superb masters still held a status in the hearts of the Miaojiang people above the five great witches.
Even the great witches themselves were extremely cautious in the face of the Witch God Palace, driven not only by respect but also by the fact that the Witch God Palace was ingeniously crafted, rumored to contain the spiritual will of the first Witch Queen!
"Nonsense! The Witch God Moon Attraction Palace is a divine artifact of the first Witch Queen and the most cherished treasure of Miaojiang. How dare you defile and covet it?"
A woman rebuked without any reservation.
A cold light flashed in the eyes of the five great witches, and the Chi Evil Great Witch said, "Please report to the Witch Queen and ask for her judgment."
"No need for further words, get out!"
Neither side willing to give in, they were at a standoff when a woman clad in black suddenly darted out from the cave, looking resentful, but still recited, "By the divine command of the Witch Queen, in light of the great war that matters for generations to come, the Chi Evil Great Witch is hereby allowed to participate in the battle with the divine artifact. We hope you live up to our expectations and return victoriously."
"How can this be?"
The group of women was shocked.
The five great witches, on the other hand, were overjoyed. They bowed from afar toward the depths of the cave, thanking the Witch Queen for her wise and martial decision.
At the end of the deep cave, within an ancient hall built of black bricks, a woman lying languidly on a couch withdrew her gaze. In the dim candlelight, she lightly veiled her face, her beautiful eyes shifting, captivating. Anyone from Nine Heavens Mountain who saw her would be shocked.
Because this woman’s facial features and even her graceful figure were identical to Xi Xianglei, considered the world’s most beautiful woman, except for a different aura.
Xi Xianglei was cold and noble, whereas this woman was enchanting and seductive, making anyone’s soul flip with her every frown and smile.
"With your assets, as long as you want, you can definitely obtain his Yuan Yang essence blood, which is the only way to cultivate the Supreme Witch Soul."
"I can’t, I cannot do this..."
"You witness the cycle of generations and the impending chaos of the world. Do you want to let the Witch God Palace fall on our watch?"
A more eerie scene unfolded; the woman on the couch alternated between being standoffish, rejecting others from miles away, and being enticing, speaking in a seductive tone, raising doubts of multiple personalities.
And Xi Xianglei, far away at Nine Heavens Mountain, was at that exact moment going through a similar ordeal.
...
In the recent days, the rise in spiritual energy of heaven and earth had begun to slow down, each day more sluggish than the last. Towards the end, the change was almost imperceptible, and when it stopped completely, it signified the start of the war between the three parties.
Everyone in the world was anxiously waiting.
In a location unknown to anyone, deep underground.
Shi Xiaole was immersed in his cultivation, engaged in his final push. The death qi emanating from the dirt mound was so dense that, despite the absorption speed of his Life and Death Martial Way, it took him a full two years.
Of course, his progress was terrifying, having nearly approached the mid-phase of eleven percent from the early stage of eleven percent before.
"Just a bit more," he thought.
In his spiritual sea, the Yin-Yang Wheel spun at breakneck speeds, threatening to spin out of control.
Boom!
With a crisp sound, as if breaking through some limit, the rotation speed of the Yin-Yang Wheel suddenly surged, its black and white colors becoming more clear and sparkling, exuding an intriguing beauty.
At this moment, Shi Xiaole’s Life and Death Martial Way officially broke through to the mid-phase of eleven percent.
Still in a sitting position, his entire being was transformed; he seemed to exude an air of control over death itself. Only when all signs of his aura were retracted did he appear normal again.
"How long have I been in seclusion? Oh no, I hope I haven’t missed the three-party war."
After joyfully assessing his greatly increased strength and suddenly recalling something, Shi Xiaole burst forth from the ground, shooting towards the distance like a shooting star, arriving at a town millions of miles away in the blink of an eye.
Upon learning that the three-party war had not yet begun, Shi Xiaole finally breathed a sigh of relief.
