Chapter 1266: Chapter 1264: Tests and Opportunities
The aftermath of the explosion lasted a long time before it finally dissipated, revealing the shocked and extremely cold face of the Ice Polar Sword Emperor.
He could never have imagined, even at this time, that Shi Xiaole still had a trump card in hand, but with the opponent’s strength, how could he possibly execute the killing move just now.
Not to mention, Shi Xiaole’s condition was not even one ten-thousandth of his peak.
"Ice Polar Sword Emperor, how did it go?"
After half a 2-hour period, Nine Peaks Axe Emperor and the other two Outer Heaven Giants arrived. Seeing the expression on the Ice Polar Sword Emperor’s face, they immediately felt a sense of foreboding.
"I did not manage to kill him with my own hands, he escaped into Soul Losing Hill."
The Ice Polar Sword Emperor said.
"Even this did not kill him?"
The Nine Peaks Axe Emperor and the others were greatly shocked and subconsciously wanted to question the Ice Polar Sword Emperor, but thinking of his strength and status, they forcefully held back.
"Inside Soul Losing Hill, there must be old monsters from the past of East Victory hidden. If this kid isn’t dead for sure, those old monsters might not sit by and watch."
The Nine Peaks Axe Emperor gritted his teeth in anger.
His premonitions were always very accurate, and failing to kill Shi Xiaole this time, he was afraid they would never have another chance.
"That isn’t necessarily the case."
The Ice Polar Sword Emperor shook his head and suddenly conveyed through a secret message, "Back then, the Demon Ruler almost helped the East Victory world achieve total victory with his own power but then there was a sudden reversal, you should know the reason why."
"Of course, because there were traitors within the East Victory world."
"To my knowledge, among those traitors, there are several hiding in Soul Losing Hill."
Upon hearing this, the Nine Peaks Axe Emperor and the others were first stunned, then simultaneously revealed looks of joy. So that’s how it was. Given Shi Xiaole’s current condition, if those people were willing to make a move, he would undoubtedly die.
"We should immediately report this matter to the Nine Heavens Master. He should be able to get in touch with those old monsters."
After glancing at Soul Losing Hill, the Ice Polar Sword Emperor turned to leave. There was something he did not say, had they known how abnormal Shi Xiaole was, the Nine Heavens Ancestor should have taken action himself.
Unfortunately, the enemy did not consider Shi Xiaole a threat at all.
Normally speaking, this was indeed the case.
With at most two or three years left before the full-scale invasion of the East Victory world, not even the heaven-defying could break through to become a Sky Origin Realm Supreme Lord. Without becoming a Sky Origin Realm Supreme Lord, one could never be an enemy to a Supreme Lord.
However, for some reason, the Ice Polar Sword Emperor felt subtly uneasy.
Shaking his head, he mocked himself for being too worried. Could it be that he had been scared by Shi Xiaole?
...
Soul Losing Hill was not a singular mound, but a desolate land composed of countless mounds.
These mounds were large and small, the largest ones were like mountains reaching into the sky, with heights of tens of thousands of meters, and the smallest were just a few meters tall, like triangular pyramids.
Threads of hatred, violence, and murderous negative emotions surged from the ground and slopes, making this world extraordinarily evil.
Here in the depths of Soul Losing Hill, the negative atmosphere was particularly intense. Even a Forbidden Martial Emperor visiting here would quickly be influenced by the negative emotions, becoming their slave.
Shi Xiaole, or more accurately, a head, lay in front of a small mound, eyes tightly closed. It took three days and nights before he reluctantly opened his eyes.
That was a close call!
Since embarking on his journey, Shi Xiaole had been through countless moments of life and death, but never had he been so heart-poundingly close as this time; he was almost killed.
"Eleven giants, such grand audacity."
Burying hatred deep within his heart, Shi Xiaole swallowed a healing pill. Once his Vigorous Air gradually recovered, he immediately began operating the Life-and-Death Martial Way.
Half a month passed like this.
Shi Xiaole’s body was completely restored to its original state.
Concerned about the situation in East Victory world, he hastily set off to return but found that he could not locate the exit of Soul Losing Hill.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh...
Swarms of black storms swept in, tearing apart Shi Xiaole’s mental strength.
These were Demonic Vigorous Wind.
The Ruthless Gang Wind of Bee Island was composed of Supreme Martial Way energy.
Meanwhile, the Demonic Vigorous Wind was composed of Supreme Demon Martial Way energy and was a type of Ruthless Gang Wind, yet its power was terrifyingly immense, capable of destroying even spirits.
It was said that Soul Losing Hill was a burial ground for demons, harboring the topmost tier of Demon Martial Way giants over countless years. Even in Martial World of nearly a thousand years, many masters of the Devil Path would rush here when close to death.
Shi Xiaole knew well that the rumors were not unfounded.
With his experience in the Life-and-Death Unfounded Cave, he boldly guessed, could each of the ten dangerous territories be hiding a group of Sky Origin Realm Supreme Lords? And was Soul Losing Hill hiding the Demon Martial Way Supreme Lords?
It was precisely because of the presence of the Demon Martial Way Supreme Lords that there was such an attraction to endless waves of Demon Martial Way masters. Some hoped for a breakthrough and ultimately died here, while others knew they did not have long to live but still wished to give it their all, leading to the current situation.
Shi Xiaole did not give up searching for a way out, but he was never able to find any clues, wandering aimlessly as if he were a headless fly.
However, during this process, the long-dormant Demon Martial Way, as if it had come upon a paradise, opened its mouth and desperately swallowed the surrounding negative energies, as if drinking fine wine.
Visible to the naked eye, the evil shadow of Shi Xiaole became more and more lifelike. Under the reflection of the Life-and-Death Martial Way, a black shadow appeared, as if it were a physical entity.
Boom!
In the first month of entering Soul Losing Hill, the Demon Martial Way broke through from ninety percent at its peak to ten percent at its initial stage. Yet this progress did not stop there.
The aura of the Demon Martial Way emitted here contained the essence of the most topnotch Demon Martial Way masters over the past 160,000 years – the pinnacle of their lifetime of martial arts.
If it had been before, even Shi Xiaole would not have dared to delve deep, for with insufficient mental strength, he could have become a madman who only knew how to kill.
As Shi Xiaole delved deeper, the demonic energy in the void grew denser, like varying demonic masks with bared fangs and claws, seeping into the depths of one’s soul.
Another half a month passed.
The Demon Martial Way had broken through from the early stage of the ten levels of perfection to the mid-stage with increasing speed.
Late stage of ten levels of perfection.
The peak of ten levels of perfection.
The initial stage of eleven levels of perfection.
On the third month at Soul Losing Hill, Shi Xiaole’s Demon Martial Way was infinitely close to the mid-stage of eleven levels of perfection, nearly catching up to the realm of the Martial Way of Life and Death!
By this time, not only had Shi Xiaole’s recent injuries healed, but even the old wounds from the dozen or so previous battles had all vanished. His condition had recovered to a true peak!
More importantly, thanks to the stimulation he had previously received, Shi Xiaole faintly sensed that he was only half a step away from the second Vigorous Air split, and he would soon reach it.
At that time, his power would surely take another leap forward!
The world became dim, not visually, but spiritually. The omnipresent Demonic Vigorous Wind seemed to be the only thing left, making this place a hundred times more brutal than Infinite Hell.
This was near the deepest part of Soul Losing Hill.
Even with Shi Xiaole’s mental state, he could not help but feel a sliver of a violent urge to destroy the world, and it took him a great deal of effort to suppress it.
Hiss...
In an instant, dozens of thick Demonic Vigorous Winds attacked Shi Xiaole.
The long sword was unsheathed, and the azure sword light illuminated the heavens and earth, yet it only managed to cut through more than twenty Demonic Vigorous Winds. The rest, undiminished in speed, were dangerously avoided by Shi Xiaole.
This scene was startling.
One must know that with Shi Xiaole’s current strength, he was even stronger than before he was being hunted, perhaps only slightly inferior to the Great Battles Emperor. Yet he was still no match for the several dozen Demonic Vigorous Winds.
If there were a hundred of them, Shi Xiaole would be either dead or crippled.
Hiss! Hiss! Hiss!
As if jinxing himself, perhaps coincidentally, hundreds of scattered Demonic Vigorous Winds suddenly converged and surged towards him with a momentum that could rip the sky and land apart.
Shi Xiaole retreated quickly, but he was still caught up. After he consecutively executed killing moves and destroyed dozens of Vigorous Winds, the remaining winds seemed about to swallow him whole.
All of a sudden!
A large hand appeared out of nowhere and smoothed out all the Vigorous Winds.
"Thank you, senior, for lending a hand."
Shi Xiaole had already guessed that a Sky Origin Realm Supreme Lord was hidden here and was still immensely shocked by this revelation. The aura emitted by this large hand definitely surpassed the Void Origin Realm.
"Holy Monarch, who are you?"
The vicissitudes of a voice came from the deepest part, as though separated by a world of distance.
Shi Xiaole did not speak.
With his personality, it was difficult for him to tell others, "The Holy Monarch is my father."
"Your bloodline is identical to the Holy Monarch’s. I have seen his true face before, and I thought it was him who had come."
The owner of the large hand obviously knew Shi Xuanzhong, with a tone filled with emotion, and asked, "Why have you come to this place?"
"I was driven here by being chased. Senior, do you know how I might get out?"
Shi Xiaole was concerned about the battle situation in the outside world and did not wish to delay a moment longer.
"To leave Soul Losing Hill, one must pass through Soul Losing Canyon, but... with your current strength, I fear you cannot leave smoothly. I could have escorted you part of the way, but Soul Losing Canyon connects to the outside world. If I were to act, it would be detected by the will of the heavens and I would be injured."
The second great battle between the heavens and the earth could begin at any moment. His enemies would be of the same caliber, or even higher, Sky Origin Realm Supreme Lords. He had to remain in peak condition at all times.
If he were to be injured while escorting Shi Xiaole out and the great battle began right after, it would indeed be a spit-blood-worthy situation.
Mainly because Shi Xiaole was not in life-threatening danger if he did not leave. Otherwise, given the other party’s status, he would risk injury to send the other away.
"The great battle in the outside world has already begun, please grant me this favor, senior."
Shi Xiaole pleaded.
"That’s not crucial. The outcome of the top combatants is what can truly turn the tide."
The owner of the large hand spoke indifferently.
Shi Xiaole was taken aback, then said, "Then I ask the senior to point the way for me."
"Ah, why must you do this?"
Despite his words, with a sweep of the large hand, Shi Xiaole suddenly found himself in a different place—the outline of a canyon appeared before him, with a narrow path in the middle where Demonic Vigorous Winds burst out from time to time.
This was the Soul Losing Canyon.
Without hesitation, Shi Xiaole stepped in, but a quarter of an hour later, he retreated.
The Demonic Vigorous Winds in the Soul Losing Canyon came at him one at a time, but their high frequency was unrelenting. After continuous assaults, Shi Xiaole had only penetrated nearly ten thousand meters.
And the entire Soul Losing Canyon was fifty thousand meters long.
"I told you, it is impossible for you to get through. To be precise, below the Sky Origin Realm Supreme Lords, no one can get through. This is, in essence, a dead end."
The owner of the large hand shook his head.
His vision was extraordinary, and he could see that Shi Xiaole’s talent was frighteningly high. But what of it? Soul Losing Canyon was intended for Sky Origin Realm Supreme Lords.
Shi Xiaole continued to rush in.
With his current strength, of course, he couldn’t get through the Soul Losing Canyon. But what if he allowed the Vigorous Air to split for the second time? This was a test, but wasn’t it also an opportunity?
