Chapter 1243: Chapter 1241: Three Dark Ages
Amid the vast sky, a figure flew swiftly by.
It has been several months since he left Divine Sword Villa, but alas, the world was vast; beyond the lands of East Victory, Miaojiang, and South Sea, there lay endless oceans.
To find the location of East Victory homeland through psychic sensing was like finding a needle in the sea, nearly an impossible feat.
Waves of the ocean surged with roaring sounds.
Out of the four seas, Shi Xiaole had been to three, having never set foot in the North Sea. Perhaps it was intuition or just a whim, but he suddenly felt an urge to try his luck in the North Sea.
Without chartering a ship, and with Shi Xiaole’s current martial prowess and the realm of life-and-death martial understanding, it wouldn’t be a problem for him to fly continuously for several years.
The weather over the ocean is fickle, calm one moment and stormy the next with lightning and deafening thunder, stirring up towering storms. Seagulls were engulfed by the waves, countless shrimps and fish were thrust out like dumplings falling back into the sea.
In the face of nature’s mighty power, what could human strength do to resist? Unless one could become so powerful that they break free of all restraints and truly shatter this world.
"Shatter the void!"
Shi Xiaole gained some enlightenment.
Creating a rift in space wasn’t truly shattering the void. True shattering of the void meant breaking even the endless void, entering another dimension.
Unfortunately, this was but legend. Has there ever been such an expert since ancient times?
Shi Xiaole continued to fly forward.
One month.
Two months.
He flew aimlessly over the North Sea. His cultivation did not slack; his mental fortitude increased from fifty percent to fifty-eight percent.
There were no significant changes in his sword realm or the power of the Heart Sword, let alone in the martial way. However, the "Purple Blood Great Method" was on the verge of perfection.
In addition, Shi Xiaole studied the possibility of combining the Wind Sword Way with the Illusion Martial Way. He aspired to create another marvel, to merge the two into one and elevate his swordsmanship to the supreme level!
Time moved into the fifth month.
On this day, five pearls in the system space suddenly trembled in unison.
Shi Xiaole did not ignore this anomaly and immediately took out the five pearls. Instantly, green, teal, blue, white, and yellow glows burst forth, each forming a light membrane extending thirty feet.
In the southeast direction of the North Sea, the light membrane was particularly brilliant. Shi Xiaole immediately rushed toward that direction.
He didn’t know what this signified, but it was an undoubtedly a discovery that could possibly lead to some treasure.
As he drew closer, the five layers of light membrane became more dazzling. By the sixth month, the light membrane expanded to a full hundred feet, and an extremely powerful aura surged out from an exit like ever-expanding ripples.
"Array System passage?"
To construct an Array System passage in the depths of space was no small feat, comparable to the guiding passage of the Meng Stone Ancestral Altar—the highest level of Sky Origin Array System.
And Shi Xiaole noticed that the light gate at the end of the Array System passage was forcibly blown open. Without hesitation, he rushed into it.
Soon, Shi Xiaole arrived in front of the light gate. Upon seeing the seven round holes, his pupils contracted. He placed his five pearls upon them, finding they fitted perfectly, and the light gate immediately burst out with dazzling radiance.
"What is the origin of these seven pearls?"
Seven holes, corresponding to seven pearls, it was hard for Shi Xiaole to believe his luck was that good, to have collected five pearls by himself. Wasn’t it too much of a coincidence?
Could there be a deeper reason he was unaware of?
Dwelling on it was of no use. Pushing aside all distractions, Shi Xiaole took up the five pearls and stepped through the light gate.
What appeared before him was a dim world with only shades of black and red. The blood-red land and the pitch-black sky presented a desolate and solemn view.
Suddenly!
Shouts of battle arose, and a battlefield appeared ahead with numerous Martial World experts fighting against Fire Stiffs, their garments vastly different from those of today, as if they were ancient ancestors.
The Fire Stiffs, as opponents, were extremely strong and numerous, seemingly endless, no matter how many were killed. More and more Martial World experts fell under their feet, blown to pieces.
In the end, ordinary people, who were protected by Martial World experts, became prey to the Fire Stiffs, slaughtered en masse; blood flowed like rivers, screams of agony and cries of pain filled the air incessantly, creating a scene too difficult to witness.
Children were crushed, women had their bellies pierced and viscera torn out by sharp claws, writhing in agony; men tried to resist but were reduced to mists of blood with a single kick from the Fire Stiffs.
The elderly could only lie on the ground, helplessly crying and begging for the heavens to notice.
Shi Xiaole, rarely enraged, drew his sword, and countless sword strands wove through the crowd, slaughtering a swath of Fire Stiffs. He charged into the battlefield, his sword strikes as swift as lightning; the Fire Stiffs fell like straw under his blade.
"Young hero, save us!"
"Thank you, for saving my daughter."
"Young Master, my wife is still far away, please save her..."
Eventually, Shi Xiaole leaped into the air, and the sky was filled with Sword Qi pouring down like rain, annihilating countless Fire Stiffs. He stood like a god of swords, alone at the forefront, buying time for the Martial World experts and ordinary people to retreat.
Roar!
Amid a ferocious battle cry, a humanoid Fire Stiff charged at him, leaving three clear claw marks in the air, each containing terrifying energy.
Without looking, Shi Xiaole swung his sword.
With a clang, the claws were sliced in half, but Shi Xiaole was inwardly shocked. His strike should have been capable of slaying the Forbidden Martial Emperor, but it failed to kill the attacker.
Legend had it that during the dark era when the Fire Stiff palace ruled the world, the highest-ranking Fire Stiffs would often regain their human-like appearance. Was this one of them?
Where exactly was this place?
His power having increased to eighty percent, Shi Xiaole slew this subordinate with a single strike and continued onward.
Soon after, he encountered five more attacks from Fire Stiffs, all with human appearances, the strongest of which rivaled the might of Xuanyuan Di and Qi Muchu.
Shi Xiaole concluded one battlefield after another, but the number of humanoid Fire Stiffs attacking him also increased, from appearing alone to appearing in groups, and Shi Xiaole fell into a hard fight.
Without resorting to the Illusion Martial Way, he fought continuously for two days, killing a total of eighty-nine humanoid Fire Stiffs.
If such achievements were to be known, they would surely shock the world.
It should be noted that these Fire Stiffs, even in the first dark era, were domineering lords whose match could only be found in an extremely small number of people in the world.
The third day.
A more powerful humanoid Fire Stiff appeared on the battlefield, its strength catching up to the level of giants.
Shi Xiaole resisted fiercely, barely blocking nine moves, but by the tenth, he had to use the Illusion Martial Way to heal, and afterward he held on for another twenty moves.
Just as that humanoid Fire Stiff launched an attack, suddenly, the scenery changed in an instant. The blood-red ground remained the same, but the sky turned white, a ghostly and despair-inducing white.
People kept falling, with masters dying.
Whoosh!
A blade light flashed into existence, and in place of the humanoid Fire Stiff was a blade wielder from the Blade Slaves Sect, whose strength astonishingly reached the level of the Forbidden Martial Emperor.
Shi Xiaole, gravely injured with only a tenth of his power remaining, couldn’t possibly withstand, and he was immediately cut down, losing nearly half of his body.
He adopted hit-and-run tactics, dodging while healing with the Illusion Martial Way, and after struggling for half a day, he finally slew his opponent with a sword strike.
It was like a cycle. More Blade Slaves kept appearing, each one stronger than the last, and finally, one as powerful as the giants emerged, causing Shi Xiaole to retreat step by step.
"Was the first dark era dominated by Fire Stiffs and now the second dominated by the Blade Slaves Sect? Is this a journey through history to experience the struggles of my ancestors?"
Shi Xiaole had an epiphany and began to doubt this place even more.
The arduous battles followed one after another. If it had been someone else of comparable strength to Shi Xiaole, they might have long died at the hands of the Blade Slave.
But relying on the Illusion Martial Way, Shi Xiaole fought more and more courageously. When he faced the giant-level Blade Slave, he had almost recovered his peak combat strength. After taking thirty-two moves, Shi Xiaole finally turned and fled.
The scene changed again.
The ground, as if stained red with blood, matched the sky, which also turned red, obscuring even the brilliant hue of the setting sun under its heavy scent of blood.
"Outer Heaven Demons, you deserve to die a thousand deaths!"
"Kill, kill all these invaders!"
These were the cries of countless people.
But those deemed invaders by them, people from Outer Heaven, revealed ferocious smiles, and an overwhelming Vigorous Air, like a surging flood, almost crushed the void.
East Victory’s world was not short of unparalleled masters, but the outer beings had even more, and were stronger. Each collision between the two sides caused the heavens and earth to lose color, and large swaths of combatants exploded into blood mist.
Shi Xiaole saw the ancestors of the Meng and Shi clans, Meng Dong and Shi Zheng, leading their clansmen. They did not collude with the Outer Heaven Demons but instead helped East Victory’s world to resist the invasion.
Reflecting on the final fate of both clans, Shi Xiaole felt both sad and angry.
He also saw the heads of the Murong Clan, the Ge Clan, and the Dongguo Family. One unleashed palm techniques, another wielded a sword, and another shot arrows, fighting fiercely with Meng Dong and Shi Zheng. The scene was exactly the same as what he had witnessed at the Zrin Kingdom’s Ancestral Altar, only ten times clearer.
In the sky, several battle groups erupted destructive auras.
In a certain direction, Shi Xiaole saw a familiar figure, ethereal as an immortal, supremely powerful, alone holding back as many as three unparalleled masters, overpowering everyone!
At one moment, the man showed his face, handsome and exuding an admirably serene and elegant aura, bearing an eight-point resemblance to Shi Xiaole, but with softer eyes.
Clang!
Wielding the Cleansing Evil Sword, Shi Xiaole charged towards that man, but too many masters stood in his way. Despite his near-giant strength, he couldn’t even reach the edge of the sky-bound battles.
That was the battlefield of Sky Origin realm!
"Pff..."
Shi Xiaole cut down more than a dozen invincible combatants just below the level of giants, finally attracting the attention of the Outer Heaven Demons. One of the Outer Heaven Giants, taking advantage of an opponent’s defense, severely wounded Shi Xiaole with a palm strike.
"Die!"
Taking no prisoners, that Outer Heaven Giant, clearly outmatching the opposition, struck again at Shi Xiaole with a punch while having the upper hand.
Crack!
A wave of palm force shattered the punch before it could land and continued forward, safely whisking Shi Xiaole away.
At the critical moment, the ethereal man intervened. He glanced at Shi Xiaole, his eyes filled with a different kind of warmth.
"Father!"
Shi Xiaole was overwhelmed with emotion. He no longer fixated on getting close to the top-level battlefield and instead fought in the secondary battlefield, his sword seemingly unstoppable.
Among the Outer Heaven people, there were also young geniuses of unparalleled ability, sweeping through all directions in the secondary battlefield and slaying many of East Victory’s prodigies. They soon took notice of Shi Xiaole and rushed at him eagerly.
The result was predictable. Shi Xiaole, intent on killing, was like a killing machine, leaving no trace of his path. One after another, the young Outer Heaven geniuses were destroyed, powerless to fight back, and even the strongest of them couldn’t escape a tragic defeat.
So he fought for an unknown time, until the surroundings quieted down.
All the scenes washed away like the tide, and Shi Xiaole was shocked to find himself in a misty space. Everything he had experienced before seemed like an illusion.
"Fateful one, very good. You are the most gifted person I have ever seen, bar none! East Victory has hope now. Next, you only need to pass several rounds of trials to obtain the chance of East Victory’s land!"
A burst of laughter echoed.
