Chapter 373: Chapter 372: Magic Desire Eight Forms (1st update, soliciting monthly tickets, soliciting monthly tickets!!)
The Devil Desire Divine Skill in operation, Diabolus Marquis’s Internal Power and Demon Desire Gloves seemed to resonate with each other. The black miasma on the surface of his palms became three times thicker, twirling and traversing up and down in empty air.
"Let me show you the real power of Diabolus Marquis, Desire Demon Death Claw!"
A spectacular blow by Diabolus Marquis shook the earth.
A black demonic claw suddenly appeared, more than 20 feet long. Spread out, it was as massive as a hand that could overshadow the sky. The nearby demonic clouds were drawn by it, creating a violent whirl, eventually forming a spiraling vortex that unsettled the whole universe, flipping heaven and earth upside down.
The numerous Devil Path masters standing behind Shi Xiaole saw this terrifying strike and were horrified, despite being hundreds of meters away. It seemed as if the demonic claw would smash them all to pieces.
Twenty meters.
Fifty meters.
They all retreated a full hundred meters before that oppressive fear finally dissipated. But by this time, the slow-moving demonic claw, which lent no place to hide, was just about three meters away from Shi Xiaole.
"Are you thinking of pressing me down with the force of heaven and earth? Your heaven and earth do not exist in my heart."
Holding the hilt with one hand, Shi Xiaole drew his sword.
He did not use the Red Dragon Sword. The features of the Red Dragon Sword were too conspicuous, and he would eventually have to use his real identity in the Martial World. What Shi Xiaole was using now was the sharpest and thinnest one among the other three low-grade spirit swords, called Destroying Star.
"Low-grade spirit sword!"
Many people exclaimed, envious and jealous, but considering Shi Xiaole’s identity, they quickly came to an understanding.
As soon as the Destroying Star sword emerged, the surrounding scarlet Sword Qi immediately issued a roar that seemed to overwhelm all directions, resembling a dragon and a tiger’s roar. The sword glow was not particularly dazzling, yet its simplicity was so compelling that it abruptly struck the demonic claw just above the center.
The precision of the location and the tricky angle startled Diabolus Marquis. He knew better than anyone that this was the crucial spot of the Desire Demon Death Claw. Had Shi Xiaole seen right through it right from the beginning?
As soon as the demonic claw was hit, it abruptly elongated backward, causing its dropping momentum to be even more drastic. When the elongated part reached ten meters, a sudden sharp sound ran through the air as it was broken apart. The surface of the demonic claw was shattered, loud cracks appearing everywhere.
Most of the power of the Destroying Star sword was offset, yet it still continued to assault Diabolus Marquis at an extremely fast speed, before being smashed into pieces by him.
"Destroying Star Flash!"
A stream of light sped away in the distance, Shi Xiaole, one with his sword, soared into the sky. In mid-air, he suddenly twisted his body impressively, seeming to be like a descending meteor from the sky, killing Diabolus Marquis with unprecedented momentum. The dazzling swordlight carved out an everlasting beam of light within the realms of black and red.
During the process of forging the low-grade spirit sword in Flame Cloud Mountain Range, Shi Xiaole had similarly accumulated lots of reserves. This sword strike he made was a killing move he had created after the Meteor from the Sky technique.
Inspired by the Desire Demon Death Claw, Shi Xiaole naturally executed it.
This time it was the masters standing behind Diabolus Marquis that were trembling with fear. Shi Xiaole’s sword strike was aimed at Diabolus Marquis, but they were also affected by the Sword Qi, making them shiver from head to toe and retreat in fear.
"Demonic desires reign supreme, get away from me!"
Diabolus Marquis roared, his hands outstretched, waves of Vigorous Air spreading around, causing the black and red realm to ripple violently, with each ripple, a loud bang echoed, eventually forming a net woven of explosives, trapping Shi Xiaole from all sides.
In this part of the world, Diabolus Marquis was the king. With a single thought, he could decide the fate of others. This move was called ’Demonic Desires Rule’.
Blast!
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Sword Qi and palm energy repeatedly clashed, sparkles scattered across the sky like fireworks. As they moved around, the realms of black and red were dyed into a spectacular yet highly dangerous fantastical land.
A gliding gesture and Diabolus Marquis quickly closed the distance with Shi Xiaole, launching another ’Demonic Desires Rule’.
Under the full patronage of demonic cloud demeanor and the round palm intent, the rolling waves were indeed fierce like a tsunami, bursting onshore and flooding as far as the eye could see.
The emptiness seemed to be a lake, distorted by the demonic energy. The grass and trees along its path turned into floating fragments and were immediately pressed into the ground, crushed into ashes.
"Astonishing Soaring Rainbow!"
Immediately following the Destroying Star Flash, Shi Xiaole soared and danced in the sky and the sword circle made another turn. It was a new killing move he had come up with.
His fancy clothes fluttered with the demonic energy, the ink-black hair flared wildly, brushing past the corners of his stern eyes as he struck out a sword towards the encroach invading demonic energy.
Instantly, the black and red colors behind him began to peel off, the Scarlet Sword Qi stood out, rapidly closing up from top to bottom along this line with only one line left in the middle.
This line transformed into a white rainbow, perfectly aligning with the direction of Shi Xiaole’s sword slash.
Earlier, even before he left Qingxue State, Shi Xiaole had used the startling and perilous demeanor to create a move called ’Cliff Peaks’, which was later followed by ’Sea and Sky Line’. Now, the third move, Astonishing Soaring Rainbow, had completely taken shape.
This move was of utmost peculiar and utmost dangerous. The sword maneuvered in a curving trajectory, smashing the demonic Desire waves, and penetrated through.
The demonic Desire waves were split into two, passing by Shi Xiaole’s body, shaking the huge rock wall behind into parts, cracks appearing everywhere. And the rainbow Sword Qi also successfully broke through the waves, attacking Diabolus Marquis but was dispersed by his punch.
"I don’t believe, I can’t restrain you, Desire Peaks and Ravines!"
Diabolus Marquis did not expect Shi Xiaole to be so obstinate, being capable of fighting him to such an extent. Both surprised and angry yet extremely excited.
What’s the point of an easy victory? His opponent was indeed a descendant of Divine Monarch, and it was only by defeating such a person could he truly prove his strength.
Human desires have no limits, just like Diabolus Marquis’s palm, his palms were inexhaustible. The palm energies layered one atop another, piling up into a huge palm mountain.
It felt like a moment and an eternity at the same time. People suddenly realized that Shi Xiaole was being buried layer by layer within a mountain of palms.
Desire always creeps up silently, and by the time you notice, it’s too late. Shi Xiaole could create deadly techniques based on his estate of mind, and so could the Demon Marquis.
This palm encapsulated the essence of demonic desire. Even from their adversarial perspective, people like Lan Tian had to admit how incredibly talented the Demon Marquis was.
After several vivid, palm-shaped mountains rose from the Demon Marquis’s continuous slaps, it wasn’t Shi Xiaole’s physical body that was being suppressed, but his spirit.
At some moment, countless beams of sword light burst forth from the mountain of palms, shredding it apart like a luminous hedgehog. Shi Xiaole, with a long sword in hand, leisurely walked out.
"Do you have no desires or are they so deep that even my palm technique can’t stir them up?"
The Demon Marquis roared loudly as he continued with his palm strikes.
On the other side, Shi Xiaole didn’t say a word. He angled his long sword, pushed his ferocious true intent to the extreme, letting the fiery red sword qi erupted like a volcanic eruption, overpowering the demonic intent.
With Shi Xiaole’s sword thrust, the sword qi condensed, chillingly murderous, threatening the heart and soul of those present, causing a sudden drop in temperature around them.
He finally unleashed the fourteenth stroke of the Death Claiming Sword Technique.
Of course, due to the support of the ferocious true intent, the appearance and form of this stroke had significantly changed. Even those who had seen Shi Xiaole’s swordsmanship in the past would not link it to Xie Xiaofeng.
"Desicaciousness manifest!"
The Demon Marquis didn’t retreat or dodge, he made a palm strike. He also used his secret technique—the Magic Desire Eight Forms martial art merge with his Heartless Demon Desire.
Hazy apparitions of ghosts and monsters danced around the Demon Marquis to form a human shield against this sword stroke. As the Demon Marquis’s body flickered between reality and illusion, he suddenly appeared twenty feet to the left, then another shift brought him twenty feet forward.
Shi Xiaole realized that each time the Demon Marquis flickered between reality and illusion, his speed increased slightly. It was as if the moment the Death Claiming sword stroke shattered the illusion, he was already ahead.
This was the second form of the Magic Desire Eight Forms, Desire Is Empty.
"Desire rules all!"
Head down, feet up, the Demon Marquis embraced with his two hands, eliciting a highly concentrated whirlwind. The force was so powerful that it dissipated some of the scattered fiery red sword qi.
With the Wind God Leg Technique and his spiritual power spread to its utmost, Shi Xiaole continuously swung out Death Claiming sword qi, entwining with the Demon Marquis in a duel.
The two of them fought from the ground up to a stone wall, then along the wall to the summit of Mountain Cang. The boundary between black and red moved likewise, looking like a rising red sun from afar.
"Let’s go!"
A large group of martial artists on the Devil Path followed from far behind, worried they’d miss this pinnacle battle that comes once in decades in the Martial World.
"Who do you think will win?"
"The Holy Young Master’s true intent and swordsmanship are both strong, but he seems to have a lower cultivation level. In a drawn-out battle, the Demon Marquis is likely to have the upper hand."
"I think so too, for a sure win, he’d have to win quickly. However, the Demon Marquis’s overall abilities are not inferior to those of the Holy Young Master. Defeating him quickly is just not feasible, so the Demon Marquis has a greater chance of winning."
As they flew forward in pursuit, a heated discussion broke out amongst them.
"Hmph, you never know how strong the Marquis is. He’s invincible!"
Among the crowd from the Demon Sky Sect, Qi’s three brothers were sneering with unwavering faith in the Demon Marquis. They had served him the longest and knew all too well how terrifying he was.
"Given his performance so far, the Holy Young Master has already far exceeded our expectations. When I give the order, if he shows signs of defeat, everyone attack at once. We cannot let him be injured by the Demon Marquis!"
In the midst of the blue and yellow sects, Lan Tian began to send his instructions to his followers.
The blindsiding strength that Shi Xiaole displayed instilled an enormous amount of confidence in the fighters of both the Blue and Yellow Sects. Even if he lost today, he had already proved himself and shown that he was worth their loyalty.
"Rest assured, Left Chancellor!"
The group responded in unison.
"Who’s fighting who with this kind of ferocity?"
Aside from the followers of the Devil Path, many masters of the Righteous Path also kept a close watch on the battle between Shi Xiaole and the Demon Marquis. After all, whoever established dominance over the Devil Path would theoretically be the greatest enemy of the Righteous Path. There was no way they could afford to ignore it.
"Based on the information we have, one of them is the Demon Marquis. This damn fellow found out about our plans and caused us significant losses."
The speaker was Gu Nanfeng, head of the Gu Family, father of the Sunset Little Sword Marquis and the Broken Sun Blade Marquis.
They had planned to launch a surprise attack on the Mountain Cang. However, their plans had been leaked, and they were ambushed instead. Now, they could do nothing but watch as the Devil Path ran rampant. Their faces were gloomy.
"Who’s the other one? When did a person mighty enough to contend with the Demon Marquis emerge in the Devil Path’s generation?"
Lady Bizan seemed perturbed.
She was already struggling with one Demon Marquis—if another one showed up, she wouldn’t know what to do.
In the middle of the crowd, Lan Xiaodie and Ge Ruyuan were lost in thought, looking unnerved. The reason? Both girls were thinking about the same person—Xie Xiaofeng.
