Chapter 383: Chapter 382: One-line Gorge
Everyone burst into loud laughter.
When Yi Wentian and his company appeared, Xiao Qian and Chen Da intended to position themselves strategically, effectively blocking Shi Xiaole’s two escape routes and trapping him in the middle, making escape futile.
"Hand over the Faceless Divine Skill, or we have ways to make you suffer."
Looking at Shi Xiaole who was trapped like a turtle in a jar and no longer a threat, Kong Datong yelled harshly, his face twisted.
"Young man, he who understands the times is a great man. You certainly wouldn’t want to taste a fate worse than death."
A fat old man smiled slightly, his appearance mild and kind. But he was Zhang He, infamously known as ’Heart-eating Ghost’ in the Devil Path decades ago.
This man had a perverse obsession. Before he killed someone, he liked to gouge out his victim’s heart, then bite it chunk by chunk in front of the dying victim. He would even use rare and valuable medicinal materials to keep his victims alive long enough.
People in the Martial World recognizing him, even those righteous martial artists who were as powerful as he was, would feel cold and dared not to meet his eyes.
But Zhang He noticed that Shi Xiaole was completely calm and seemed unafraid at all.
"I dare to bet that you won’t be able to kill me today."
Shi Xiaole held his ancient sword with a yellow tassel, and said lightly.
"What?"
Including Xiao Qian and Chen Da, all six notorious figures of the Devil Path froze and their laughter ceased.
"Heart-eating Finger!"
Zhang He struck out with a finger, his unpredictable fingering energy aimed precisely at Shi Xiaole’s chest, like an invisible sword.
Bo!
Shi Xiaole didn’t move.
The fingering energy shattered three feet away from him.
Two figures floated down and landed not far from Xiao Qian and Chen Da before they could react, which shocked them and made them retreat hastily.
The two newly arrived individuals were of the same height and appearance. If thrown into a crowd, they would be drowned in a second, but now they gave an unprecedented pressure to the six notorious figures of the Devil Path.
"Who are you?"
Kong Datong asked in a deep voice.
Neither of them answered, because they were both mute.
Shi Xiaole spoke for them: "They are disciples of the Two Elders with Damaged Eyes."
"What?! When did the Two Elders with Damaged Eyes start accepting disciples?"
The six notorious figures of the Devil Path were all shaken and disbelieving.
Despite their extensive sources and well-informed network, they had never heard that the Two Elders with Damaged Eyes had taken two disciples; probably the whole Devil Path was unaware of it.
Shi Xiaole looked at the corpse of Yi Wentian on the ground and slowly sighed.
He didn’t expect that Chen Da and Xiao Qian would attack Yi Wentian, and they did so quickly that not even the two disciples of the Two Elders with damaged eyes could react to it.
"Even though you have killed countless righteous martial experts, you died because of me in the end. I will avenge you."
Mumbling to himself, Shi Xiaole memorized the faces of the six people in front of him.
"There’s no way out for us now. Let’s attack together."
The Black Darkness Elder shouted. The six figures hesitated, then attacked from different directions, all employing their full strength and impressive martial arts.
The air was dyed in various colors, even the sunlight seemed to be pushed away.
Boundless power burst forth, although the distance was still ten zhang, Shi Xiaole already felt his chest being crushed. He knew that if he was alone today, he would surely die, unable to withstand the several attacks of the six great masters.
Bang! Bang!
The two disciples of the Two Elders with Damaged Eyes made their move. One swung his palm, and the other punched, tearing two gaps in the riot of colors, and their blasts of internal power spreading out, causing the ground to crack and the vast forest in the distance to split apart into bits of wood debris.
Swoosh!
With his Wind God Leg, Shi Xiaole rushed out from the nearest gap, looking back and saying, "Take care, elders."
The two men said nothing. Their ordinary bodies were like two moving walls, stubbornly blocking the joint attack of the six notorious figures of the Devil Path.
"Netherworld Divine Palm!"
The Black Darkness Elder, his face ashen, didn’t care about the depletion of his internal power and made palm strikes one after another, each imbued with a deadly aura, coming down like mountains to suppress the man on the left.
The man on the left dodged with his internal power. Just as he steadied himself, a series of shadows emerged out of nowhere and launched thirty-nine attacks, covering all the vital points of his body.
This was the unique skill of Chen Da, the ’Hundred-turn Devil’, known as Hundred-turns and Thousand-returns.
Puh Puh Puh Puh...
The man on the left didn’t change his expression, his hands striking out with a speed not inferior to Chen Da, perfectly blocking all thirty-nine strikes.
"Heavenly Demon Slaying Hand!"
At the moment when he was drained of energy, Xiao Qian, who had been waiting for the opportunity, made his move.
He reached out with a palm as wide as a winnowing basket as if cutting off the air, drilling into the shadows left by Chen Da, and attacking the gap exposed by the man on the left.
Xiao Qian and Chen Da had lived together for many years and knew each other’s moves inside and out, coordinating flawlessly.
Even Yi Wentian had a disadvantage when facing the joint attack of the two.
Thud!
The man on the left was actually staggered backward, enduring the blow with his left shoulder. Almost at the same time, the man on the right was also pushed back by the other three famous Devil Path seniors.
"Chase!"
Black Darkness Elder and Kong Datong reacted the quickest. Capitalizing on the prime opportunity created as the other four were engaged in combat with the blinded disciples, they lunged forward in pursuit of Shi Xiaole.
From the moment that Shi Xiaole fled to the chase led by the two elders, it may seem like a long story but in reality, it was only a matter of ten seconds. They followed the trail of Shi Xiaole’s residual energy, relentlessly pursuing him as if their lives depended on it.
They were truly on the verge of madness.
They had gone to great lengths to ally with the Righteous Path and create such a major disturbance. They were on the precipice of success when the operation fell through, disastrously.
What worried them even more was that, with the appearance of the disciples of the two blinded seniors, it was evident that they were privy to everything from the beginning. Once the two disciples return, the day’s events would certainly be leaked. How would they survive in the Devil Path then?
Despite their usual disregard for Xie Xiaofeng, the nominal head of the Demon Alliance, betraying him was a completely different matter. Even in the deceit-ridden Devil Path, such action would court universal disdain.
"We must obtain the Faceless Divine Skill, otherwise, we’d have incurred a huge loss!"
Black Darkness Elder was gritting his teeth with the corners of his eyes twitching incessantly.
"That cunning Shi Xiaole, when I catch him, I am going to skin him alive and cut him to pieces!"
Kong Datong also issued profanities, his chest heaving with anger.
Both of them had gone crazy, pursuing him fiercely.
"They are persistent."
Shi Xiaole glanced back to find the two little dots in the distance stubbornly chasing him but he didn’t panic. He continued to flee forward.
Unknowingly, an hour had passed.
To avoid utilizing his inner power excessively, Shi Xiaole had slowed his speed early. As a result, the distance between two elders and him was gradually closing from the initial three miles to a single mile.
"Only 30% of internal power remains."
Exercising the Flying Skill without ceasing made Shi Xiaole somewhat weary. It was fortunate that he had achieved the Spiritual-Passage Realm Ninth level, otherwise, he wouldn’t have been able to persevere.
"Hahaha, this child is getting slower. His inner power must have been depleted by more than half."
Both Black Darkness Elder and Kong Datong were kindling with anticipation. At least 60% of their inner power was still intact. Judging by Shi Xiaole’s state, this was more than enough to catch up with him.
Now they were actually grateful to the blinded seniors for holding back the other four famous Devil Path seniors. Who would want to share a top-notch martial art such as the Faceless Divine Skill with others?
Even Black Darkness Elder and Kong Datong have been casting covetous eyes at each other entertaining the possibility of claiming it for themselves.
After another half hour, Shi Xiaole’s internal power was reduced to 10%.
And the distance between them had shrunk to a mere hundred meters.
"Shi Xiaole, you still can’t escape from the palms of our hands."
Kong Datong let out a grim laugh. He didn’t attack Shi Xiaole to avoid slowing down his pursuit speed which would hurt their odds. After all, they could intercept him sooner or later.
Black Darkness Elder was also laughing, his blood boiling with anticipation.
"Only 5% of my inner power is left."
Throughout, Shi Xiaole’s expression stayed solemn. On spotting the massive gorge up ahead, he suddenly sped up, swiftly skimming over the mirror-like lake surface.
"As expected of an animal in the face of death."
The elders also sped up. Even though Shi Xiaole increased the distance between them, they believed this to be his final show of insanity. It was absolutely meaningless.
However, as the full view of the grand gorge came into sight accompanied by loud whooshing sounds, the elders’ expressions finally hardened.
Black Darkness Elder stared at Shi Xiaole charging midway into the gorge, and roared, "This can’t be One-Line Gorge, damned."
The One-Line Gorge, the most famous strange place in Great Cold State. Because of its deep and long terrain, the central sides of the gorge were almost stuck together, allowing only one person to pass, hence its name One-Line Gorge.
Fierce gales blew here throughout the year, constantly stirring the waves of the lake. Not just people, even hundred-foot ships if ventured would be blown away, vanishing without a trace.
The elders certainly did not expect this to be Shi Xiaole’s plan.
He had already checked the location of the One-Line Gorge and secretly conducted trials. He calculated the distance from the Black Devil’s Palace to the One-Line Gorge, confident that it was an escape path from the high-ranking masters!
Otherwise, why would he be so reckless?
The two sides of the One-Line Gorge were hundreds of meters high and a large amount of sunlight was blocked from outside. As one ventured deeper, the light only grew dimmer. Coupled with the uneven rock walls, the elders chasing Shi Xiaole witnessed a notable increase in difficulty.
"Netherworld Divine Palm!"
"Five Ghost Legs!"
With the flurry of palm and leg shadows, a large number of rocks shattered and fell into the lake several hundred meters below, stirring up numerous waves. But Shi Xiaole always managed to evade them at the last moment.
After hundreds of meters, Shi Xiaole’s inner power was almost exhausted. He finally arrived at the narrowest point. A dark, violent typhoon was blowing towards him. The ferocious suction immediately swept him, who was almost out of energy, into it.
The two elders also rushed into the wind.
However, the speed of the typhoon was astonishingly quick. After a few rolls, even the two elders were separated from each other. They were involuntarily moving up and down. In the end, they were flung against a rocky wall, feeling dizzy, barely avoiding falling into the lake.
"Scumbag!"
Black Darkness Elder destroyed the giant rock on the wall with a palm strike. He took a few breaths and was unwilling to give up. He continued to search within the gorge.
At this time, Shi Xiaole had already reached the depths of the lake. Using a bit of restored inner power, he executed the Breath-Holding Technique and dove into the water.
Inside the gorge, the left and right sides intersected, and people therein could easily lose their way. Occasionally, the typhoon would pass by causing intense whirlpools in the lake.
Enduring dizziness and weakness, Shi Xiaole jumped out of the lake soon and landed on the flat ground on the left side of the gorge. He found a concealed recess in a rock, sat inside, and began to recuperate.
About two hours later, his strength was fully restored.
