Chapter 266: Chapter 266: Lord Evil’s Means (Extra Update for the Reward of Charming- Ice Heart)
As soon as Shi Xiaole stepped out of the eerie bamboo forest, several people immediately turned their gaze towards him. Ignoring these people, Shi Xiaole focused on a thin middle-aged man with a pointed mouth.
It was this man’s instigation that led to Lin Laosan attacking him. The man was sitting on the Meditation Stone closest to the shore, Shi Xiaole wondered if it was the first time this man had managed to secure a spot in two months.
Seeing Shi Xiaole, the pointed-mouth man grinned at him.
With the presence of experts from various sects, he was not afraid that Shi Xiaole would do anything to him. Moreover, after several breakthrough challenges, he felt a great improvement in his combat skills. Perhaps another challenge would complete his transformation, and it was even less likely that he would leave.
Shi Xiaole also laughed.
"Something’s wrong."
The pointed-mouth middle-aged man suddenly felt confused and as if his soul had been forcibly ripped out of his body. The next moment, with a splash, he fell into the lake.
A scramble immediately began on the shore, and soon someone took his place on the Meditation Stone.
Resurfacing in the water, the pointed-mouth middle-aged man was livid and resentful. Pointing at Shi Xiaole, he shouted at the experts from the sect, "Esteemed swordsman, this man has broken the rules and attacked me unfairly!"
"What happened?"
A few experts from the sect approached.
Shi Xiaole shrugged, indicating that he had no knowledge of it.
The sect experts then started questioning people nearby.
No one there was a fool. Facing a young prodigy and a mediocre, unscrupulous Martial World rogue, they clearly knew whom to side with. Each of them claimed that they hadn’t seen anything.
"You are very good,"
The pointed-mouth middle-aged man fumed, blue veins popping on his forehead, but he dared not step onto the shore for fear that Shi Xiaole might harm him. But when he looked up, he found Shi Xiaole was no longer on the shore.
In the eyes of Shi Xiaole, he was just a clown to be discarded after one casual teaching session. A standing joke quickly forgotten.
....
Piaopiao City, one of the towns on the edge of the White Stone Domain.
In a room at an inn.
Shi Xiaole took out two bottles of medicinal pills that he had found on the masked man and the sword-bearing middle-aged man.
One bottle contained high-grade healing and blood replenishing pills, which accelerate wound healing and blood recovery, and were not commonly seen in the market.
The other bottle made Shi Xiaole’s breath even more hurried.
Xuanqi Pills.
Yes, these were Xuanqi Pills, capable of accelerating Qi Absorption Realm peak martial artists to break through to the Xuanqi Realm.
In the market, one Xuanqi Pill was worth at least five hundred thousand ounces of silver, and even if one had the money, it wasn’t necessarily available for purchase. Because once this type of pill appeared, it was basically bought up by famous sects, Martial World families, leaving no chance for ordinary wanderers to buy them.
Shi Xiaole did not know where the masked man had got the Xuanqi Pills from, but that was not important.
His current cultivation was precisely stuck at the peak of the Ninth Tier of the Qi Absorption Realm. Under normal circumstances, it would take at least three to four months to have a chance of a breakthrough. Now, with three Xuanqi Pills, this process would significantly speed up.
As far as Shi Xiaole knew, the record for the fastest breakthrough to the Xuanqi Realm in Qingxue State in the past several hundred years was initially held by the Carefree Master, who was ranked first on the current Fengchen List, at the age of twenty-five. The record was later broken by Xue Changqing, who was twenty-one at the time.
Now it seemed that Xue Changqing’s record would be broken by him ahead of time.
Believing the inn quarters too small, Shi Xiaole simply bought a courtyard in Piaopiao City. As for the money, there was quite a bit found on the bodies of the sword-bearing man and the masked man, enough to buy a courtyard.
In the courtyard, Shi Xiaole swallowed a Xuanqi Pill and felt his pores opening out, spewing out fog-like vapors mixed with black impurities from his body.
These were the impurities in his body.
The path of martial arts has three major stages, and the first major stage is the opening of the three Dantians, namely, the lower, middle and upper Dantians.
When the three Dantians are connected simultaneously, a complete Heavenly Cycle will form within the martial artist’s body, allowing the Internal Power to surge unprecedentedly and enhancing the martial artist’s strength dramatically.
The Xuanqi Realm corresponds to the upper Dantian.
An endless surge of power welled up from Shi Xiaole’s abdomen. Under the control of the Brahma-I Unity, it orderly charged towards a certain tough barrier within his body.
Boom, boom, boom...
Shi Xiaole’s body trembled as he heard violent rumbling noises.
By the time the power of the first Xuanqi Pill was exhausted, tiny cracks began to appear on the surface of the barrier.
By the time the second pill was consumed, the cracks on the barrier had become larger.
Shi Xiaole swallowed the third pill, summoning all his strength to continue the onslaught.
At this moment, the advantage of his Internal Power level became evident.
Most of the Xuanqi Realm masters still cultivate a third-rate top-tier Internal Power. These masters have the weakest foundation. Unless they have incredible talents, it would take them more than a decade to make a breakthrough.
If they cultivate a second-rate lower-tier Internal Power, the time required for a breakthrough will significantly reduce. Furthermore, their power after the breakthrough will be much stronger. The situation will be even better for those who cultivate a second-rate mid-tier Internal Power.
If one practices a second-rate top-tier Internal Power, the situation will be different.
For those who lack talent, the effect will be worse than that of the second-rate lower-tier Internal Power. But for those with enough talent, the time required will not merely decrease significantly but multiply instead.
Shi Xiaole’s talent was extraordinarily amazing.
"Break for me!"
Clenching his teeth, Shi Xiaole shouted as he completed his three hundred and sixty-fifth Heavenly Cycle. A hole appeared in the barrier, and his Internal Power immediately gushed through it. The hole grew larger, and finally, the barrier shattered completely.
Boom!
His Internal Power flowed rapidly through his meridians in an instant. A wild wind rose around, rushing into his body through his pores.
This is the Qi of the universe.
Martial artists absorb this Qi, transforming it into their own internal power to strengthen themselves.
The internal power visibly thickens and grows, for a full half an hour before it stops. Shi Xiaole checks and finds that his internal power is now nearly twice as thick as it was before the breakthrough.
With a mere thought, the internal power circulates through the three Dantians formed within him. Its recovery speed is fifty percent faster than it was before.
What a tremendous progress.
Shi Xiaole takes a deep breath, opens his clear eyes, radiating sharpness. This incomparable sense of fulfillment and power causes him to sink deep into it, unable to pull himself out.
Before the breakthrough, without the Lower Spirit Sword, Shi Xiaole was barely stronger than the Masked Man. It would take all he had to determine a clear winner.
But now, he is confident he can defeat him within dozens of moves.
In other words, his early stage of Xuanqi Realm cultivation can effortlessly annihilate ordinary Fourth or Fifth Tier masters. Even against a Fourth Tier master who has mastered the peak realm of ’In One with the Weapon’, he can achieve a stable victory.
Looking up at the sky, Shi Xiaole is emotionally moved, feeling as if even the sky has become broader.
...
As expected, the news of Shi Xiaole defeating Guan Fei amid the strange bamboo forest indeed spread throughout the Martial World.
For a time, countless people of the Martial World marvel at the news. It hasn’t been long since he defeated Xue Changqing, and now he has defeated another rising star, Guan Fei. Is he planning on sweeping through all the talents in Qingxue state who are under forty years old?
"Shi Xiaole is no match for Guan Fei without the Lower Spirit Sword."
"True as it may be, don’t forget, he is nearly a decade younger than Guan Fei. This is indeed a prodigy worth looking up to."
"Hmph, it’s too early to say any of this. Who knows what will happen in the future? Some prodigies rise quickly, and fall even quicker."
In the midst of these flattering words, there were also some dissenting voices. But these voices were quickly drowned in the tide, incapable of making any waves.
Within the vast mountain range, there is a ravine that is invisible to the naked eye, filled with white mist. On this day, someone sneakily arrives and leaps in.
Mid-air, the person throws a smoke bomb, and a large net immediately flies out, securing him against the cliff.
"What mountain is this?"
"Broken Soul Mountain."
"Who is the person?"
"A Protector of the Tao."
The guard in charge nods, presses the mechanism, revealing a cave entrance on the cliff. Once the cliff jumper enters, the cliff closes up again, and the guard hides back among the rocks.
Behind the cliff, there is a field of black fog.
The cliff jumper drips a drop of blood onto a certain groove, the black fog parts, revealing a continuous black stone building inside. One glance gives a chilling, oppressive feeling.
"Suzerain, this is the latest major news in the Martial World."
In the largest black-stone palace, a youth dressed in a black and purple scholar’s robe, with a soft and sinister face, reads the letter and smiles.
"It seems that the plan is going well. Many sects have already planted our spies from Sky Evil Sect."
The sinister scholar sits in the middle chair, blows a puff of air, and the letter turns into shreds.
The cliff jumper doesn’t have the qualifications to enter the hall. Responsible for delivering the letter is the Left Protector of the Sky Evil Sect. He responds with admiration, "All thanks to the Suzerain’s meticulous planning. I believe it won’t be long before the whole of Qingxue State will be under our control."
Lord Evil chuckles, neither affirming nor denying the claim. He suddenly mentions, "That Shi Xiaole is not bad."
The Left Protector ponders for a moment, then says, "That young man’s talent is indeed astonishing. I heard that he’s only eighteen years old but he’s already grasped at least eighty-five percent of the sword heart. If he continues to grow, he might pose a trouble. However, because of the agreement, we can’t act."
The Righteous Path and Devil Path have come to an agreement not to take action against talents under twenty-five from the other side. Normally, those in the Devil Path wouldn’t regard such an agreement, but the problem is that the Righteous Path is very cunning. Over the years, they’ve planted many spies among the forces of the Devil Path. If they were to take action, it could force the Righteous Path to act desperately which wouldn’t be good.
If it weren’t for this, the upper echelons of the Sky Evil Sect would never tolerate Shi Xiaole’s arrogance.
"Just because we can’t act now doesn’t mean there’s nothing we can do."
Lord Evil suddenly says.
"Does Suzerain mean to mobilize those chess pieces that have replaced the masters of the Righteous Path?"
"No! Those people are critical to the grand plan of restoring the Devil Path. They absolutely shouldn’t be moved lightly before the plan kicks off. If there are any unexpected complications and they’re detected by the Righteous Path, it would be bad."
Lord Evil laughs, "Not long ago, didn’t our Sky Evil Sect discover the relics of Heavenly Treasure Sword Marquis? It’s about time to reveal it to the world."
The Left Protector initially is shocked, then reveals a deep look of admiration, "The Suzerain is truly wise. I understand."
Heavenly Treasure Sword Marquis was a supreme master ranked 297 on the list of Qingxue State’s talents hundreds of years ago. It is said that throughout his life he practiced thousands of sword techniques. Not only was he a great master of swordsmanship, he also collected countless precious treasures.
In the Martial World, there have always been rumors about the relics of Heavenly Treasure — after the death of Heavenly Treasure Sword Marquis, all his antiques, secret books, and treasures were hidden in a place scarcely known to people, waiting for the destined one.
People of the Righteous Path don’t know that recently the Sky Evil Sect found this place. What’s even more amazing is that they found the Demon Heart relic in it.
The Demon Heart relic, like the Demon Bone relic, is an item left behind by the Demon Bone Emperor, and it’s also the essence of the Demon Bone Emperor. Its demonic energy is hidden, undetectable to those not in the Devil Path, so it’s estimated that the Heavenly Treasure Taoist himself didn’t know.
The things within the Heavenly Treasure relics, due to the long accumulation and erosion of the Demon Heart relic, have already been stained with demonic energy. Thus, Lord Evil ordered people to take away prime treasures, leaving a batch behind for people of the Righteous Path.
The so-called long line catches big fish.
When news of the Heavenly Treasure relics surfaces, no swordmaster will be able to stay indifferent. Even other martial artists would flock in, creating a brutal massacre.
Little do they know, even if they do get the treasure, their bodies would be influenced by the aura of the Demon Heart relic. By the time they realise, it would already be too late, greatly benefiting the grand plan of restoring the Devil Path.
Lord Evil’s plan targets the whole Qingxue State Martial World on the Righteous Path. As for Shi Xiaole, it just so happens to include him.
