Chapter 334: Chapter 333: Link of Fate
Thud!
A large swath of branches was broken, dust was soaring, a scaled tail of a snake scented with a foul smell swept past, its presence causing Shi Xiaole to feel momentarily dizzy.
With Shi Xiaole’s current body, he cannot be poisoned even by extremely toxic substances such as arsenic and Veratrum, one can just imagine how terrifying this variegated giant snake was.
If any other experts from the Spiritual-Passage Realm were here, they would not even be able to withstand its presence.
"Fire Scale Eclipse!"
Without turning his head, Shi Xiaole swung his Redfire Sword behind him, as radiant as a sun, the Qingyang Sword Qi trampled past, and a shower of sparks exploded on the body of the variegated giant snake.
Among the sparks, a pair of cruel eyes radiated from the snake’s elongated toxic eyes. With a shudder, the sparks disappeared, and the variegated giant snake was surprisingly unscathed, its defense as strong as that of a fourth or fifth tier of the Spiritual-Passage Realm.
As the variegated giant snake roared to the sky, the snake suddenly straightened its upper half, standing more than a dozen meters high, then bolted itself from the ground and sprang up like an arrow, instantly narrowing its distance to Shi Xiaole and spewing a sky full of toxins out of its mouth.
"Passing Breeze without a Trace."
The green fan-shaped Sword Qi protected Shi Xiaole. The surface of the Sword Qi was filled with corrosion spots and suddenly shattered. Shi Xiaole took this opportunity to rush into the sky and executed the Death Claiming Fifteenth Sword.
Tsst!
Blood sprayed, Shi Xiaole’s pupils contracted.
The Redfire Sword combined with the strongest killing move, but it only managed to break a few scales of the variegated giant snake. The flesh beneath the scales was intact and even emitted a silver light, has this snake gained spiritual consciousness?!
Having been severely hit twice, the variegated giant snake got utterly infuriated. Its eyes turned blood-red, and this time it spat out a meter-long red tongue.
The red tongue split into three prongs like a trident, and in the center, with a flash of light, a stream of red liquid shot out at a speed surpassing ordinary reactions. It surprisingly had no foul smell but exuded an intoxicating fragrance.
Shi Xiaole’s heartbeat ceased abruptly. The red liquid posed an enormous threat to him. As he strained every nerve to shift sideways, he even used up his internal power to execute the Death Claiming Fifteenth Sword.
Rumble...
The scent dispersed, and an appalling sight unfolded. Everywhere that the scent covered, flowers, grass, trees, and even the ground, were all corroded at a visible speed, producing smoke, and disappearing.
Merely in tens of breaths, dozens of massive trees were left with only half of their roots, and the ground within a radius of nearly ten zhangs (approximately 33.3 meters) had become half a zhang lower than the other parts, looking as if it had been scooped out.
"That was a close one!"
Shi Xiaole’s face turned pale.
In the face of this fragrance, his defensive true qi couldn’t even last for a breath of time. His green robe had long disintegrated, and even his silvery thread dress was ruined.
Fortunately, thanks to the silvery thread dress, which blocked for a few breaths of time, Shi Xiaole managed to escape in time.
The only consolation was that after spewing the red liquid, the aura of the variegated giant snake seemed to have become somewhat lackluster. It did not continue to use this move, but instead, it pounced horizontally with its body.
After a long fierce battle between a man and a snake, wherever they passed was devastated, scaring away all birds and animals in the vicinity.
In this battle, Shi Xiaole put forth all his strength, even using the ten Wind Thunder Bombs he got from Zhuo Yang. Gradually, he discovered that compared with the Death Claiming Fifteenth Sword, the Pupil Skill was more effective against the variegated giant snake.
It was precisely because of the Pupil Skill, aided by the 60 percent Enchanted Moon Intent Realm, Shi Xiaole had dodged the several killing moves of the variegated giant snake, and instead cornered it to retreat again and again.
Hiss, hiss, hiss.
After a long chase of several miles, probably having had enough of Shi Xiaole, the variegated giant snake retreated with several warning hisses, then turned and walked away.
Shi Xiaole heaved a sigh of relief, feeling almost drained of strength.
Repeatedly using the Pupil Skill imposed a great mental strain on him, and his internal power was exhausted by nearly 90 percent. Moreover, he couldn’t seriously injure the variegated giant snake. If the snake had persisted for another quarter of an hour, Shi Xiaole would have been in grave danger.
Having exhausted all his powerful martial arts skills capable of killing, now there are no such techniques left!
"It seems that I can’t go to the Cold Pool for the time being. Fortunately, after accummulating for more than ten days, my cultivation seems to have a hint of breakthrough. Let’s prioritize the breakthrough."
After casting a glance at the direction of the Cold Pool, Shi Xiaole turned around and left.
...
A graceful figure was frantically running through the dense forest, looking totally panicked. Her crystal clear left arm and right lower leg had been exposed, fresh blood was oozing out due to the bramble scratches, but she had no time to care about them.
At this moment, the face of Xia Yunxi was as red as a morning glow, and her breath was extremely rapid.
"Senior Sister, just stop, you’ve been affected by my ’Earthly Delights’. The more you resist, the less you can control it."
Gao Fei was relentlessly pursuing behind, with a mischievous grin on his face.
In these days, their group had lost their way in the dense forest. It was originally a desperate situation with complex terrains and no exit in sight, but when Gao Fei looked at Xia Yunxi’s face and body, he was suddenly struck by an exciting thought.
Right here, with the sky as their cover and the ground as their bed, he would possess Xia Yunxi completely.
After a meticulous plan, Gao Fei drugged Xia Yunxi with ’Earthly Delights’ that he carried with him, making her unable to exert even half of her usual strength. He then knocked out the others, preparing to take advantage of the situation.
To his surprise, Xia Yunxi was extremely careful, and she discovered all this in advance. After repelling Gao Fei, she fled, which led to the current situation.
"Senior Sister, you will be mine sooner or later, surrender now. I know, you must be desiring it already."
Gao Fei was brimming with evil lust, confident as ever.
Most of Xia Yunxi’s power was spent on suppressing ’Earthly Delights’, and the remaining strength was simply not enough to fight Gao Fei. If she gave up suppressing it, she would lose her senses instantly and beg him to satisfy her.
As such, Xia Yunxi was only fighting with the desperation of a cornered beast.
Gao Fei was not in a hurry, the longer the chase, the greater the sense of conquest would be after he caught up with Xia Yunxi.
Two hundred meters.
One hundred meters.
The distance between them was closing rapidly. Xia Yunxi’s face was flushed, her mind a mushy mess, filled with thoughts that made her feel deeply embarrassed. In her daze, an image of a man in a blue shirt came to mind.
"You heartless man, are you living up to our master’s teachings by doing this?"
Xia Yunxi cried out in rare anger.
"Senior Sister, whatever I want, I will get. After this, I will treat you well."
As Gao Fei spoke, he pointed a finger, causing the arm Xia Yunxi wanted to use to end her own life to go numb. Her sword dropped to the ground, and she fell forward.
Deep despair filled Xia Yunxi’s eyes.
"Heh, heh, heh."
Gao Fei approached slowly, his blood pounding, his heart as though being scratched by a cat’s claws. He was so excited that his limbs were trembling. The woman he had been dreaming of was finally within his grasp.
He extended his arm, almost touching Xia Yunxi.
Suddenly, a disturbance came from afar, the ground shaking.
A large, bloody python slithered violently past them, scaring Gao Fei into striking it with his sword.
Clang!
Gao Fei’s all-out attack did not even cause a blemish on the python’s body. Instead, the counter shock caused his hand to go numb, and blood seeped from his hand.
"What?"
Shocked, Gao Fei did not bother with Xia Yunxi and immediately made a run for it.
Being the young master of Heavenly Wood Fortress, Gao Fei had many tools to save his life. Yet, the python caught up to him after a few hundred meters and bit him in half.
Crack!
Gao Fei was eaten in one gulp.
After releasing its pent-up anger on Shi Xiaole, the python slowly slithered towards the Cold Pool.
Having regained a bit of strength, Xia Yunxi stood up and chose to hide in a place where the light was dim. She was on the verge of breaking both physically and mentally. She couldn’t stand coming into contact with anyone, especially a man.
"Perhaps this is where I will lay down to die. Who will remember me years from now?"
Xia Yunxi was filled with sorrow. As she moved a few hundred meters away, her eyes widened in surprise.
Not far away, she saw a young man with his upper body bare, sitting cross-legged. He was athletically built with beautifully defined muscles. Although he wasn’t wearing his familiar blue robe, how could she mistake his unique face?
Seeing this strong and assertive figure caused Xia Yunxi’s will to shatter completely. A spark ignited from her heart, and she started to run towards him.
How sensitive were Shi Xiaole’s senses?
Not only did he notice Xia Yunxi, but he also realized something was wrong with her immediately. He sighed lightly and didn’t stop her.
If this sort of drug wasn’t dispelled from one’s system, at best it would cripple the body - at worst, cause one to go insane. Shi Xiaole couldn’t bear for a kind and cheerful girl like Xia Yunxi to meet such an unfortunate fate.
Xia Yunxi embraced Shi Xiaole, while Shi Xiaole, using his Sword Heart, eradicated his distracting thoughts, continuing to cultivate and increase his strength.
About fifteen minutes later.
The forest was filled with the sound of an intense explosion of Qi. The branches of the trees overhead shook, and leaves flew about in disarray.
"At last, my cultivation has reached the peak of the Ninth Tier of the Xuanqi Realm."
Shi Xiaole opened his eyes and looked spirited.
Though the difference between the late Ninth Tier and the peak of Ninth Tier was miniscule, this transition was a crucial step. Without a solid foundation or deep comprehension, one would not dare to take this step.
This step would determine whether one could successfully advance to the Spiritual-Passage Realm in the future, as well as how much energy would be required.
With the Qi from the Cold Pool and the essence of the Devil Path continuously being refined, Shi Xiaole had saved at least several months of rigorous practice. His internal power was extremely profound, and his strength had slightly risen from before.
He was even sure that if he could keep entering the Cold Pool, there was a great chance that he could break through to the Spiritual-Passage Realm in the short term.
"Every danger in this world hides a fortune. Is this what they call turning misfortune into fortune?"
Shi Xiaole looked up at the sky and deeply felt the profoundness of destiny.
If he weren’t involved in the Three Talents Association’s affairs, he wouldn’t have ended up in the bizarre sea region, let alone on the deserted island, and there would be no chance of entering the Cold Pool.
"Destiny is like a winding river, I hope one day, I can reach the shore, go to the end to see, what is it really."
If everything is determined by fate, then is Xia Yunxi, who is currently wrapping herself around him with an embarrassed look, also part of this destiny?
While he could still ignore it with his eyes closed, upon seeing her current state, Shi Xiaole couldn’t help but have his heart rate quicken. However, he held no malicious intent. After a moment of thought, he came up with a perfect solution.
Xia Yunxi had a dream, a mortifying one, then fell unconscious entirely.
Shi Xiaole smiled helplessly, took the blue robe from his system space, and covered her body. This woman had more curves than he had imagined, voluptuous but not fat, indeed the ideal type many men would dream of.
About two hours later, as the moon was slowly rising, Xia Yunxi woke up from her unconscious state.
