Chapter 382: Chapter 381: Laying Plans Within Plans
"Many secrets seem to be lurking within that boy. I still can’t figure out how he managed to launch that strike."
In a room somewhere in the Black Devil Palace, several individuals gathered around a table. The one speaking was the Black Darkness Elder.
"Without a doubt, it should be a secret technique. In the last few days that lad has stayed shut away, and the Lan and Huang families have been constantly sending medicine pills over. His expenditure must not have been light."
Another famous figure in the Devil Path, none other than ’The Lame Elder’ Kong Datong, said coldly.
Black Darkness Elder remained silent.
This should have been the only reasonable explanation. But why did it not feel right to him?
"Don’t get hung up on this. The performance of any powerful secret technique has a duration of effect, be it half a year at the shortest or several years at the longest. He can’t use it anymore. What we should be focusing on is how to get the Faceless Divine Skill."
Kong Datong’s face was grim.
The performance of Shi Xiaole a few days ago had placed immense pressure on them, making them eager to take action. However, they dared not lift a finger with the two half-blinded Elders keeping watch in the Black Devil Palace.
Black Darkness Elder paused, deep in thought. "Actually, we could secretly disseminate the staff allocation map of the Black Devil Palace, luring the pinnacle experts from the Righteous Path to come here. In the midst of chaos, we could seize the opportunity."
"Isn’t this a bad idea? Even our men are inside the palace. What if.."
"There’s nothing wrong. Time waits for no one! Those who achieve greatness don’t sweat the small stuff. As long as we have the Faceless Divine Skill, we all have the chance to enter a higher level. Those who sacrifice themselves for this cause, it will be worth their while."
A brief silence.
The Lame Elder slammed his hand down on the table, "It makes sense! That boy is advancing too quickly and we can’t procrastinate any longer!"
"We can agree to it, but as for the matter of spreading the palace map, it must be done cleanly and leave no trace."
The others glanced at each other and finally nodded in agreement.
"Rest assured."
Black Darkness Elder gave a sinister smile.
As for you, Xie Xiaofeng, enjoy your few remaining days of success.
...
"If I judge my current strength, it seems to fall just half a step short of Eldering Blood Buddha."
For the past few days, Shi Xiaole had been reflecting in his room on his combat gains during the previous battle.
Given their martial arts realm and understanding, he was a total misfit. Thanks to the combined application of the Faceless Divine Skill and the "Death Claiming Fifteen Swords," he had caught them off guard and managed to barely clinch victory.
With this battle, Shi Xiaole recognized the importance of the martial arts secret scriptures. To put it bluntly, this should be the most important external resource for cross-class battles.
This was because, even the martial arts realm and comprehension, in their initial development, were significantly related to the martial arts secret scriptures. The higher the level of the secret scriptures, closer they were to the essence, and they were naturally easier for a person to comprehend.
"I must complete the system task. If I can draw another top-level martial art, I may well be unmatched within the eight regions within five years!"
Days passed one by one.
For the time being, Shi Xiaole had hit a wall in improving his various abilities, so apart from practicing the martial arts he was allotted each month, he spent most of his time on the Faceless Divine Skill.
It’s worth noting that due to his physical improvement and the catalyzation of the Faceless Internal Power, Shi Xiaole had finally fully integrated the essence of the Black Devil Monarch’s evil path recently.
His cultivation level had also successfully broken through the early stages of the Spiritual-Passage Realm Level 9, with 80% of his Internal Power having been transformed into the Inborn Vigorous Air.
Two months had passed since his battle with Eldering Blood Buddha.
One day, Shi Xiaole suddenly became anxious, as if something big was about to happen.
People with a strong mental power often have very accurate intuition.
Almost at the same time, several figures stealthily infiltrated the Black Devil Palace.
The people inside the Black Devil Palace were all masters, yet they couldn’t stop these few who had a clear path, and had not alarmed anyone.
"Jade Fan Scholar, you’ve come again."
It was not until a few dozen breaths later that the two half-blinded elders sensed a terrifyingly powerful presence. It was then that the entire Black Devil Palace sounded a loud emergency alarm.
"Have your injuries healed? I have come to teach you a lesson."
With a flip of his hand, the Jade Fan Scholar opened his fan and lunged towards the two half-blinded elders.
The other unparalleled experts of the Righteous Path began to clash with the demon elders who had hurried over. More and more demons gathered around, forming a battle circle with threatening aura.
Just then, a distant howl was heard. The high-ranking demons guarding the palace were shocked to find that a huge wave of black figures was rushing over from the far horizon.
"The Righteous Path is attacking!"
There was a burst of chaos inside and outside the Demon Palace.
The bustle caused by the battle of the venerable high-ranking individuals naturally created a monumental ruckus. A series of vigorous air bursts, like a multi-coloured water surface, covered the square while countless green stone slabs flew up and were immediately blasted into dust.
The numerous demons were filled with fear as they fled far away, but they also spontaneously organized to face the large army of the Righteous Path charging from outside the palace.
The sound of fierce fighting was earth-shattering, and even in Haoyuan City tens of miles away, it could be heard clearly.
"What happened?"
"It seems to be coming from the Black Devil Palace?"
In Haoyuan City, countless martial artists bore astonished expressions, looking towards the direction from which the sound came.
"Xie Xiaofeng, let’s see what you do this time."
Black Darkness Elder’s focus had always been on Shi Xiaole. Seeing him trying to escape, he quickly followed. At the same time, Kong Datong and several other elders also used their Flying Skills to closely follow.
They didn’t care about the lives of other demons. Today’s incident was a conspiracy between them and the Righteous Path. Both sides took what they needed and naturally agreed immediately.
Some neutral demon elders also had their eyes on Shi Xiaole, and when they saw him leaving, they immediately abandoned their opponents.
"We should go and help them."
But as soon as they acted, several seniors close to the Lan and Huang families rushed up. It seemed like they were lending a hand, but they also brought their own opponents, making the chaotic battle even more chaotic and leaving the neutral seniors unable to escape, gnashing their teeth in frustration.
"Don’t bother to fight, let’s go."
In the midst of the fierce battle, the Demon Marquis shouted to the Demon Sky Sect experts.
His high-ranking agent in the Righteous Path was exposed last time, but unfortunately, no one knew that he still had one last secret agent who had not yet acted.
This time, the Demon Marquis got the news early, but didn’t share it with anyone. Such a perfect opportunity to leave the Demon Alliance was too good to miss.
In fact, most of the Demon Sky Sect experts had left on various pretexts days ago, leaving only a few like the Red Charm Demon behind, so escaping was easy.
"We should also retreat."
Unexpectedly, the elites of the Lan and Huang families who remained here made the same decision.
"I really don’t understand why the Holy Young Master allowed this to happen even though he knew someone betrayed the Divine Palace."
Among the Lan family experts, a young woman with wheat-colored skin pouted. It was Lan Zizhi, the young expert who had faced Shi Xiaole before.
"I think it’s a good thing. Now the hearts of the Devil Path are disarrayed, we can take this opportunity to eliminate some unnecessary tumors with the help of the Righteous Path. When the Holy Young Master returns, he will truly unify the Devil Path."
Lan Ye, the head of the Lan family, was fervent.
"Yes, I believe that within twenty years, the Holy Young Master will be able to complete the feat that the Divine Monarch achieved years ago."
Huang Huan, the head of the Huang family, was full of confidence.
Twenty years?
Lan Tian and Huang Rong looked at each other, inexplicably expectant.
...
As they flew along, with the blessing of the Wind God Leg, the Black Darkness Elder and his party behind them could never catch up to Shi Xiaole. They yelled, "Xie Xiaofeng, your running skills are top-notch, but I wonder how long you can hold on."
Although Shi Xiaole’s Internal Power was strong, it was precisely because it was too strong that it couldn’t last long, and they were bound to catch up to him eventually.
Shi Xiaole didn’t say a word, his momentum suddenly exploded, making him a lot faster.
"He’s reached the ninth level of the Spiritual-Passage Realm? This kid has broken through to the ninth level of the Spiritual-Passage Realm?"
The people behind him were horrified and disgruntled. Now they felt the same as the Demon Marquis; this Xie Xiaofeng made significant progress every time he made a move, and it was maddening!
"Even if you’ve made a breakthrough, you still can’t get rid of us."
Kong Datong and his party calmed down again. As long as they didn’t lose sight of Shi Xiaole and it came down to endurance, they would be the winners.
"You old men."
Shi Xiaole looked indifferent.
Since he received the news that the Righteous Path was preparing to launch a major offensive on the Black Devil Divine Palace, he had been planning for today.
For him, apart from the Lan and Huang families and their allies, he didn’t care how the rest of the demons died. On one hand, it saved him energy, and on the other, it facilitated his next move to take all of them in and turn them into his own power!
As the two sides pursued each other, when they reached a hill, Shi Xiaole suddenly stopped.
"What, you know you can’t escape, so you’re not running?"
Kong Datong sneered relentlessly.
"The three seniors, please reveal yourselves."
While Shi Xiaole was replenishing his depleted Internal Power, he smiled and spoke.
As soon as his words fell, three human figures appeared in the field. It turned out to be ’Flying Demon’ Yi Wentian, ’Slaughter Demon Hand’ Xiao Qian, and ’Hundred-turn Devil’ Chen Da.
"It’s you. Weren’t you guys out? When did you come back?"
The Black Darkness Elder squinted his eyes.
"A month ago, we received a letter from the Holy Young Master and secretly snuck back. It’s unimaginable that you’d be so selfish as to strike against the Holy Young Master."
Yi Wentian had a disappointed expression on his face.
While he was a devil head despised by everyone in the Righteous Path, with countless murders and bloody hands, he also harbored a great ambition to revive the Devil Path. What he despised most were those who disregarded the interests of the Devil Path for their own selfish gains.
Kong Datong tried to persuade him: "Brother Yi, you should have a broader perspective. Let’s work together. As long as we get the Faceless Divine Skill, the Martial World won’t be able to hold us anymore. We can join forces to eliminate Jade Fan Scholar and the others, and still be able to revive the Devil Path!"
"Yes, the so-called Holy Young Master you mentioned is the real selfish villain. He could increase the strength of our Devil Path just by contributing the Faceless Divine Skill, but he refuses to do so!"
A few of them tried hard to persuade Yi Wentian and his party.
"There’s no need to say any more, the Lan and Huang families have been kind to me, and I’m not one to repay kindness with ingratitude."
Yi Wentian shook his head, looking at the Black Darkness Elder and his party, and exuding an irresistible momentum. His strength was indeed among the strongest in the Devil Path seniors.
Pff!
A spray of fresh blood splattered out.
Yi Wentian gave a miserable cry, looking at the Bloody Hand that had pierced his left chest, and then at ’Hundred-turn Devil’ Chen Da, who had acted indifferently, he looked shocked, resentful and grieved.
"Brother Chen, we’ve been friends for a hundred years. I didn’t expect this."
Chen Da pulled back his hand and said regretfully, "Brother Yi, you’re too stubborn. Your martial arts skills are too high, leaving me with no choice but to resort to this. Don’t blame me, brother."
Yi Wentian looked at Xiao Qian again, who was unmoved and didn’t even lift his eyes, clearly knowing about this beforehand.
"Alas, Brother Yi, we did warn you."
The Black Darkness Elder shook his head regretfully, watching Yi Wentian fall to the ground. He then looked at Shi Xiaole and taunted him, "You think we don’t know that the Lan and Huang families have spies in the Righteous Path? Hehe, we’ve just been using your plan against you. Kid, you’re still too green to fight us."
