Chapter 1267: Chapter 1265: The Second Vigorous Air Fission
Soul Losing Canyon.
Every now and then, the Demonic Vigorous Wind would strike from the end, and since the path was narrow, there was no escape; one could only endure it with sheer power.
What was most deadly was that as one ventured deeper, not only did the power of the Demonic Vigorous Wind dramatically increase, but its frequency did as well.
Within the first five kilometers, a Demonic Vigorous Wind would appear five times per one-thousandth of a breath.
From five to eight kilometers deep, there would be ten occurrences of Demonic Vigorous Wind per one-thousandth of a breath.
And from eight to ten kilometers deep, the number soared to a staggering twenty times.
Bang!
The Cleansing Evil Sword almost flew out of his hand; Shi Xiaole’s palm was bleeding. He swiftly retreated back within the five-kilometer mark. He dared not venture deeper recklessly, for any injury would only delay him further.
After a brief adjustment, Shi Xiaole charged out again. He attempted to weave through the gaps in the canyon, but it seemed as though it was deliberately designed with nowhere to hide.
There was no shortcut other than to force one’s way through with one’s own strength.
"Based on the current pattern, at the deepest part of the canyon, there will be at least a hundred Demonic Vigorous Winds at once. While relying on the life-and-death martial arts, I can unleash combos, but at most can only annihilate sixty to seventy Demonic Vigorous Winds, and once I execute them, there’s no follow-up strength, not even enough to rush out a hundred meters," he said to himself.
Shi Xiaole realized the gap.
He was unaware of the conditions 160,000 years ago, but at least in this era, his strength could rank within the top three in the world. Yet, judging by the measure of Demonic Vigorous Winds, it was clear he still had a long way to go to reach the Sky Origin Realm Supreme Lord.
No wonder the owner of the giant hand said that below the Sky Origin Realm Supreme Lord, no one could cross Soul Losing Canyon.
For Shi Xiaole to become a Sky Origin Realm Supreme Lord right now was clearly impossible.
However, if he could push the limits of the Fake Sky Origin Realm’s power and surpass his predecessors, surpassing any Fake Sky Origin Realm giant in history, could it be possible for him to cross?
After all, just because others had not crossed it before did not mean Shi Xiaole could not.
Thanks to the medium of the blood yang, the quality of his Vigorous Air was unparalleled at the same stage. His strength was tested in East Victory land and could have ranked within the top seventy even 160,000 years ago.
This meant that many Sky Origin Realm Supreme Lords were not his match! As for Fake Sky Origin Realm giants, they were far out of reach, several streets behind.
And in terms of the amount of Vigorous Air, the comparison was incomparable.
Not to mention, Shi Xiaole’s Vigorous Air Vortex system, after repeated refinements and optimizations, had absorbed the experiences and essence of the first generation Witch Queen, the third mightiest master from 160,000 years ago, and was already flawless.
During the same period, no one could possibly possess the understanding and opportunities that Shi Xiaole had.
If even with all this he couldn’t become invincible in the world and far outstrip his peers, even Shi Xiaole himself would feel embarrassed.
With a towering ambition surging in his heart, Shi Xiaole resisted the Demonic Vigorous Wind while preparing for his ultimate transformation, seizing hardship as an opportunity, and striving to soar to the skies right here!
"This tenacity is indeed commendable."
The owner of the giant hand watched Shi Xiaole’s every move. After observing for a while, there was a mix of helplessness and admiration.
For a Sky Origin Realm Supreme Lord, getting through Soul Losing Canyon was as easy as eating and drinking water; but for a warrior not of the Sky Origin Realm, it was as hard as reaching the heavens.
Indeed, Shi Xiaole’s strength among his peers could definitely rank in the top three over the past 160,000 years, and at worst, in the top five. If it were him at the same stage, the master of the giant hand felt that perhaps he could only venture eight kilometers deep at most.
Turning his head, the master of the giant hand looked in another direction, his voice growing cold, "Giant Demon Heavenly King, those hundred streams of Vigorous Air that attacked the boy earlier, was that your doing?"
His voice rang out sharply, with such a strong killing intent that it almost halted the Demonic Vigorous Wind in the surroundings.
"Heavenly Demon, what do you mean by that?"
Another, softer voice chuckled in response, probably the Giant Demon Heavenly King Heavenly Demon was addressing.
"You know exactly what I mean. For all these years, regardless of what happened, even when we sensed the breath of an Outer Heaven Giant, you remained in slumber, cultivating. Why then did you suddenly wake up for no reason when this boy arrived, and why stir the Vigorous Air?"
Heavenly Demon spoke coldly.
"How ludicrous. Do you think I would harm him? Technically speaking, I should even address him as ’nephew student,’ considering what happened before was just a test of his mettle," the Giant Demon Heavenly King maintained his amiable tone.
Heavenly Demon was taken aback, and his expression eased a little.
Everyone knew that the Giant Demon Heavenly King was from the same lineage as the Holy Empress, and they were very close as senior brother and sister. Logically, he shouldn’t harm Shi Xiaole.
Moreover, if he had indeed intended harm, it wouldn’t have been just a hundred streams of Vigorous Air, but hundreds, even thousands, and Heavenly Demon himself would have been caught off-guard and unable to stop it.
"Quite a unique welcome gift you’ve offered as his master uncle. If he finds out what really happened, he’ll probably give you a good thrashing," said Heavenly Demon.
"Hehe, if he has the ability, I’d truly be more than willing; East Victory might even have some hope," replied the Giant Demon Heavenly King, still amused.
Heavenly Demon said no more.
The time left for Shi Xiaole was too short. He could already sense that the spiritual energy of heaven and earth outside was almost back to its peak from 160,000 years ago, and in two or three years at most, it would be able to accommodate a Sky Origin Realm Supreme Lord.
When that time came, old friends from the ten dangerous lands would emerge one after another, but it also meant that the second great heavenly and earthly battle would fully unfold.
Another cataclysmic bloodbath awaited, only this time, it promised to be more brutal and intense than the last. What the East Victory world would turn into was unpredictable to anyone.
Sighing at the wrong era, Heavenly Demon looked at the unyielding figure in green in the Soul Losing Canyon and heaved a silent sigh.
In another direction, atop a dark, soil mound piercing the sky, a middle-aged man of strikingly handsome features, yet with dangerous eyes, also cast his gaze towards Shi Xiaole.
He was the Giant Demon Heavenly King, the youngest and most astonishing of the four great devil kings 160,000 years ago. He had once single-handedly ruled over the southwestern territories of the East Victory world, his power and influence boundless, hailed as the number one prodigy in the history of the Devil Path.
In the era when the Holy Monarchs remained absent, the status of the Giant Demon Heavenly King was akin to Shi Xiaole’s today, his presence so overwhelming that his contemporaries remained in silence, not daring to challenge him.
"Indeed, a tiger does not father a dog. This level of strength among his peers, even if not quite on par with Shi Xuanzhong back in the day, far surpasses any average person. Unfortunately..."
The Giant Demon Heavenly King shook his head, the murderous intent in his eyes was clear, but it quickly vanished, his face regaining calmness, making it impossible to fathom his inner thoughts.
Shi Xiaole charged again and again, and finally, he advanced from the previous depth of 10,000 meters to 15,000 meters, but this was his limit.
No matter Vigorous Air or the Demon Martial Way, both remained on the brink of collapse, a precarious edge that if not careful, could result in weakened follow-through, leading to being severely wounded by the Demonic Vigorous Wind.
"Vigorous Air fission is a process that goes from quantitative change to qualitative change. The stimulus is not enough."
Shi Xiaole’s gaze was cold. He felt that he was still too conservative, wanting to break through smoothly without getting hurt, but things were not so simple.
Whoosh!
He charged headfirst, completely disregarding the increasingly violent and rapid Demonic Vigorous Wind.
At a depth of 11,000 meters, Shi Xiaole’s arms burst into blood.
At a depth of 12,000 meters, in a fraction of a breath, thirty streaks of Demonic Vigorous Wind appeared; his body was slashed with tens of thousands of wounds, a densely packed sight too gruesome to behold.
At 15,000 meters deep, forty streaks of Demonic Vigorous Wind appeared all at once, and with a bang, half of Shi Xiaole’s body burst open, and he rapidly retreated in agony.
He spent three days healing with the Demon Martial Way before continuing to charge in.
Without madness, one cannot survive.
To chase after the opportunity for Vigorous Air fission, later on, Shi Xiaole even stopped using martial arts, solely relying on his Vigorous Air to confront the Demonic Vigorous Wind.
The result of this was that every time he charged less than 5,000 meters, he would be torn to shreds by the Vigorous Wind. This was nothing; what was truly terrifying was that the Demonic Vigorous Wind could also tear apart his spirit sea.
Even though Shi Xiaole defended in advance with mental techniques, the sensation of being torn was still unimaginable to ordinary people. Even the Heavenly Demon and the Giant Demon Heavenly King were somewhat alarmed by the sight.
They had encountered countless individuals in their lifetimes, but someone with talents as high as Shi Xiaole and also so resolute was something they had only seen once before. As for the Holy Monarch, he was peerless from the beginning, and few knew how he cultivated.
Boom!
Inside, a roar that only Shi Xiaole could hear echoed.
After countless charges, while the Vigorous Air had not yet fissioned, his Demon Martial Way had taken the lead, breaking through from the early stages of 110 percent to the mid-stage of 110 percent; and it kept rising, approaching the late stages of 110 percent before stopping.
At this moment, the figure of the demonic Shi Xiaole was indistinguishable from his real self, down to the density of his eyelashes, with the sole difference being that it was shrunk by hundreds of times.
Boundless demonic energy burst forth from within the demonic Shi Xiaole, deeply touching the nearby Yin-Yang Wheel, causing it to rotate rapidly.
Luckily, Shi Xiaole was cautious and suppressed the Demon Martial Way in the nick of time, or else his secret was bound to be discovered by the Heavenly Demon and the Giant Demon Heavenly King.
"The latter moves of the Saintly Spirit Sword Technique, when driven by the Demon Martial Way, likely possess even greater power than the Demon Martial Way. My current strength is at least on par with the Great Battles Emperor."
But it was still not enough!
In Shi Xiaole’s heart, apart from the nine Outer Heaven Giants, Chi Evil Great Witch, Xuanyuan Lang, and the other seven were also mortal enemies. Without the strength to crush them, how could he speak of revenge or turning the tides?
Thus, he had to go further, breaking through to the absolute limits of his own capabilities!
Repeatedly tortured by the Vigorous Wind, and enduring the boundless pain of his spirit sea being torn apart, Shi Xiaole bit his lips until they bled, forcing himself to feel the tremors of the Vigorous Air, focusing his strength, intending to blast open the invisible door that blocked his path.
Thump, thump, thump...
He saw the door and bombarded it furiously, uncountable attempts made, numb to the pain, his body like a ragged sack, battered and torn.
And on that door, crisscrossing cracks began to appear, just a final blow away from shattering.
"Break!"
After what felt like an eternity of inner shouting, Shi Xiaole slashed with his sword toward the Demonic Vigorous Wind in front of him, simultaneously breaking through the invisible door.
Clang!!
As if connecting to some ultimate realm, a profound sense of power surged through Shi Xiaole’s entire body. Streams of vortex light emerged from within him.
Fifty, one hundred, two hundred... four hundred and fifty-six. These were the number of Vigorous Air Vortices Shi Xiaole possessed at the first fission, far surpassing ordinary people.
At this time, new Vigorous Air Vortices began to emerge from other parts of his body as well.
Four hundred sixty.
Four hundred seventy.
...
Five hundred.
Five hundred ten.
When the count of Vigorous Air Vortices reached five hundred sixteen, the fission finally came to a precarious halt.
