Chapter 1312: Chapter 1310: A powerful being from the shattered void?
Amid the surging Vigorous Air, two figures too dreadful to behold were both sent flying backward at the same time.
After over a month of going all out, both the elder and Shi Xiaole had reached their limits, with their recovery abilities greatly diminished, neither dared to use their power recklessly anymore.
Both knew that the moment to decide the victor had arrived.
"Bewilderment!"
As he launched a punch that formed a power black hole, the elder roared. At his brow, another black hole of spiritual energy, shrunk a thousand times, appeared. Swelling, it ferociously absorbed Shi Xiaole’s spiritual sea.
To multitask in such a way, and to do so perfectly!
But Shi Xiaole was not to be outdone. As he swung his sword technique with both hands, exotic beasts emerged out of nowhere, summoning wind and rain, heading towards the elder through the spiritual black hole.
Bang bang bang...
Once again, there was no victor, and the two elders on the platforms below had already stood up.
"I did not expect you would push me to this point. You are indeed unparalleled in my life. However, I still have one move left. If you can withstand it, you’ll pass—how about that?"
The elder’s aura became restrained, and his whole body quieted down.
"I do not need anyone to go easy on me. To pass is to pass, to fail is to fail," Shi Xiaole said.
"I hope you won’t regret it."
As soon as the words fell, the space around the elder suddenly collapsed inward. The void was like a sponge being compressed until deformed, with waves of power being absorbed into his body, turning the world dark all at once.
The next instant!
The darkness was torn apart, but it was by a light even darker than the darkness itself, spiraling towards Shi Xiaole.
At the spearhead of the light was a black dot the size of a marble, its layers of power and spiritual force compressed to the extent that it was filled with a terrifying aura capable of trembling the stars, ready to explode at any moment!
Even the two elders on the platforms below, merely glancing at it once, felt a chilling coldness throughout their bodies, rendering their limbs weak.
"The perfect fusion of the Spiritual Path and martial arts, truly your strongest technique," Shi Xiaole acknowledged.
Many had attempted the fusion of the two paths before, such as the master of the Ghost Carriage of the past, but that was only a superficial integration. The elder’s fusion, however, was a perfect structural union, incomparable to the former.
Shi Xiaole’s heart remained calm, his expression composed as he watched the black dot shooting towards him.
In front of him appeared a three-foot-long glaive that alternated between black and white, unraveling the supreme mysteries of flourishing and declining, of life and death reversing. With streams of strong spiritual force pouring into it, the black and white glaive shot out like lightning with a swoosh.
It was the Heart Thunder One Sword!
Yet, the current Heart Thunder One Sword, whether in the realm of martial arts, the level of spiritual force, or the domain of swordsmanship, far surpassed its past self, beyond reckoning. Apart from the name, it was entirely different from before, even superior to the Saintly Spirit Sword Technique!
There was no earth-shattering noise, no blinding flash; as the black and white sword collided with the black dot, all things vanished, and the world was enveloped in dead silence.
Because their strongest strikes annihilated everything, leaving neither sound nor light.
It wasn’t until much later that the darkness dispersed, and the belated grand rumblings burst forth, shaking the sixteen worlds, merely the aftermath of that one strike.
"Who won?"
The black-haired elder tensed up.
On the highest platform.
Two figures stood ten thousand meters apart. To the east, Shi Xiaole swayed a few times, his body covered in countless cracks, blood bursting forth.
"Indeed, the elder is still one notch above."
The black-haired elder let out a sigh of relief, only then realizing that his whole body was drenched in sweat.
"Unexpected, truly unexpected; my strength has long reached the limit set by this universe for non-Supreme Lords. Yet you managed to push this limit out even further by a fraction, truly a prodigious talent!"
Bang!
The elder exploded into pieces.
"What?"
The black-haired elder’s eyes widened, his shock indescribable.
The white-haired elder’s chest heaved dozens of times, still struggling to calm down, shaken endlessly by what he’d just witnessed. Even when those two individuals passed the test in the past, he had not been this shocked.
Because the white-haired elder knew the value of the three battles was entirely different. Shi Xiaole had truly defeated the elder at his strongest state, rightfully earning the title of the first under the Supreme Lord.
Underneath the fluctuation of power, the third platform’s elder reappeared, returning to his unremarkable appearance. He stared at Shi Xiaole, who had also recovered, and after a long time, he finally sighed, "Congratulations, you’ve passed the test."
"Thank you for the instruction, senior," Shi Xiaole responded.
Having been so focused on his opponent during the fight, Shi Xiaole now appeared gently modest and gracefully courteous afterward.
"Now, you are ready to continue your climb. Once you cross the mountain peak, and walk a little further, you’ll reach the otherworldly realm you speak of. However, I do not go back on my word. Before the battle, I said I’d compensate you, and I shall not renege. Follow me."
With that, the elder led the way into the mists on the first level of the platform.
Shi Xiaole did not feel that the other party would harm him, so he followed closely and suddenly asked, "Elder, I heard earlier that someone from beyond the heavens crossed over into the East Victory world. Do you know what characteristics that person had?"
Among the insiders from the heavenly realm, not a single one could compare with Shi Xuanzhong, and if that person hadn’t died, it would mean that they were very likely still lurking in the East Victory world!
Moreover, the time this person crossed over predates Shi Xuanzhong by far, so how strong is their strength? Why didn’t they make a move when the heavenly forces attacked East Victory City?
If they have left the East Victory world, that would be for the best, but if not... Shi Xiaole suddenly felt a shiver down his spine, as if, by chance, he had stumbled upon some enormous secret.
The elder glanced at Shi Xiaole and said, "A very distinctive young man, probably only a few hundred years old. Right, his martial path is the same as mine—it’s also a path of strength."
He suddenly realized that, given Shi Xiaole’s astonishing strength and the fact that his life force appeared to be only around a hundred years old, wasn’t he far surpassing the previous two?
"Path of strength?"
Among the people Shi Xiaole knew, only Qi Muchu from the South Sea was proficient in the path of strength, but his age and power didn’t match.
Putting aside his doubts for the moment, Shi Xiaole suddenly discovered that a stone path had appeared in the mist at some point, and at the end of the stone path, stood a square stone chamber measuring a hundred feet in length and width and about ten feet high.
"Inside are things the master left behind before he departed. He instructed me that only the most extraordinarily talented are allowed to enter. Now, you qualify," said the elder.
After he finished speaking, the elder turned and walked back, paying no mind to Shi Xiaole’s reaction.
What a joke, who the master was, and how he cherished these items, who could resist?
Shi Xiaole hesitated outside the stone chamber for a moment. Being a decisive and free-spirited person, he gave a faint smile and, without further hesitation, stepped forward and gently pushed the doors.
The stone door opened in response.
Sunlight poured inside, revealing rows of bookshelves on the walls of the stone chamber, neatly filled with dense books. As Shi Xiaole entered, the stone doors closed automatically behind him.
Whoosh.
At that moment, something extraordinary happened!
An indescribable beam of light shot down from above the stone chamber, instantly causing Shi Xiaole’s eyes to sting. Tiny particles of light danced within it, coalescing into an immensely tall figure.
Shi Xiaole could not see the figure’s features, but he could feel an overbearing presence, as if it alone reigned supreme between heaven and earth. Its appearance seemed to even suppress the Great Dao itself, causing it to tremble at its feet.
Taken by surprise, Shi Xiaole felt an urge to kneel, an entirely subconscious notion. Fortunately, his will was strong, and he forcefully dispelled it.
Looking up, the figure remained blurry, but Shi Xiaole felt as though he saw a pair of eyes, eyes that were a hundred times deeper than the starry night sky. In their gaze, it was as if his very soul had been ensnared.
The stone chamber was silent, so quiet that one could hear a pin drop.
After a whole half of a 2-hour period, the figure said, "Little one, you’re quite tenacious," with a hint of an imperceptible smile.
"Not to make a joke of it, Elder, but I almost lost my composure just now."
What had appeared to be a calm moment was actually a contest of wills between the two. Shi Xiaole truly couldn’t imagine someone having a stronger willpower than his own.
What was even more astounding was that Shi Xiaole could not help but see that the person in front of him was merely an artificial projection, not the real body. How formidable must the real person be—simply unimaginable!
Perhaps they had broken through the limits of this universe!
Unconsciously, such a thought arose in Shi Xiaole’s mind, and his complexion subtly changed.
"You needn’t be disheartened. When you reach my realm, you might well be my equal," said the figure slowly.
"Since Zhuo Da has allowed you to come here, it proves you are the most outstanding individual in this place. Just now, I have personally confirmed it. With your form, you will unlikely bring shame upon the good karma I’ve left behind!"
Although he didn’t know what the Elder’s good karma entailed, Shi Xiaole guessed it was no trivial matter. He bowed and said, "Thank you, Elder. May I know your esteemed name so that if we meet in the future, Shi Xiaole can repay your kindness."
The figure laughed and said, "You are quite confident! Do you know that to see me, you must first break free from the shackles of this universe? It has been millions of years since anyone has accomplished that."
Boom!
It was as if a thunderbolt had struck Shi Xiaole’s head, confirming his suspicions and leaving him in disbelief.
This was the legendary figure who had shattered the bounds of space?
"Excellent, excellent, your self-restraint is far better than mine was back in the day. You have a bright future ahead of you, and perhaps, there will indeed come a day when you and I will meet," the figure remarked admiringly, with some disappointment for not seeing Shi Xiaole lose his composure.
"Elder, what is the world beyond the shattered void like? Once one reaches that level, how long will a person live?" Shi Xiaole couldn’t help but be curious.
He only knew that the lifespan of a Sky Origin Realm Supreme Lord was generally about 200,000 years. According to Shi Xuanzhong, even the most celestial Supreme Lord could not break this ultimate limit.
To live even longer, one had to shatter the void.
Unfortunately, this was an insurmountable chasm. For a million years, the most brilliant and dazzling Supreme Lords under the stars had failed.
"You want to know? Well, I’m not going to tell you. If you have the ability, you’ll naturally find out in the future. If you don’t have the ability, my telling you would only bring you sorrow," said the figure.
"Alright, now that you’re not going to besmirch this place’s items, it’s time for me to go. Little one, strive hard! This world is a million times more marvelous than you can imagine. If you don’t leap out of the narrow pond, you’ll never experience its beauty. Remember, live up to what’s in your mind..."
Seeming to realize he had spoken out of turn, the voice abruptly cut off, and the figure swiftly dissolved.
