Chapter 416: Chapter 415: Scaring Away Qu Buping
"My internal power has improved, but its purity has diminished somewhat. I don’t know whether to be happy or worried."
In front of the hut, Shi Xiaole sat on a maple leaf, sighing at the sight of the red-covered ground.
Thanks to the Golden Puppet Liquid, his internal power had increased by nearly 30%, but the direct consequence was that his previous 98% Inborn Gang Qi was diluted to 97%.
It may seem like a small change, but to purify it back to 98% again would require a lot of effort.
Fortunately, overall, his power was steadily increasing.
Looking at the Vigorous Air Fruit in front of him, Shi Xiaole appeared hesitant.
Had his internal power purity reached 99%, the chances of achieving a breakthrough to the Dragon Gate Realm after taking this fruit would be over 70%, but at present, it might be less than even 10%.
It would take at least several years to reach from 97% to 99%.
"I don’t need to wait until then to consume the fruit. In the Martial World, every bit of strength is an extra bit of security. Besides, who knows if I can get another Vigorous Air Fruit in the future."
Once decided, Shi Xiaole picked up the Vigorous Air Fruit from the maple leaf and swallowed it.
Although the Vigorous Air Fruit seemed hard, it melted in his mouth, like a warmth flowing into Shi Xiaole’s organs and soaking into his meridians. At once, microscopic gas began to seep out from his pores.
This was the impurity in his internal power, which, after being refined, became the purest Vigorous Air. The conversion efficiency was exponentially greater than Shi Xiaole’s usual practice.
One quarter-hour.
Two quarter-hours.
About half a 2-hour period later, the Vigorous Air Fruit’s effects finally disappeared.
Shi Xiaole found, to his surprise, that more than 98% of his internal power had become Inborn Gang Qi, only a small gap away from 99%.
Taking the opportunity to strike while the iron was hot, Shi Xiaole continued to sit in meditation. When he felt hungry, he would eat some dry food and drink a bit of water he had stored in his system space. Time seemed to slip away as he pushed himself to his limits.
Three days later.
The Inborn Gang Qi in Shi Xiaole’s body had startlingly reached 99%.
At this moment, his internal power had increased by nearly 40% compared to before he entered the Maple Forest Cottage. With a gentle push of his palm, he shattered the red maple leaves in the sky, transforming them into a red mist that obscured the distant sunset.
The sunset was illusory and elusive, blurring the lines between reality and dream.
In an instant, a realization struck Shi Xiaole.
"The Enchanted Moon Intent Realm, the key is not the moon, but the word ’enchanted’. The sun and the moon, both are polar opposites and share similar orbits."
Because of the Array System, the Maple Forest Cottage had no night, the time was always frozen at the moment of the sunset. Shi Xiaole got up and strolled around the maple forest, admiring different views of the sunset from various angles.
"Enchanted is the result, illusion is the cause. The sunset itself does not change. It’s just different angles that make people think it is changing."
In the maple leaf forest, there was a small lake.
No matter where Shi Xiaole went, there was always the same shimmering wave of light on the same area of the lake, as if he had never moved from that spot.
"Change is an illusion, unchanging is an illusion, falsehood is also a truth, and truth is also false."
As his steps paused, Shi Xiaole felt as if a layer of fog in his mind was lifted. The distant sunset reflected in his left pupil, while a streak of faint moonlight appeared in his right pupil. The illusion of sun and moon appeared simultaneously.
A couple of birds about ten meters away, touched by the enchanting aura, suddenly plunged into the lake. Only after swimming a few meters did they realize they had fallen into the water. They flew out quickly and began to screech.
"Enchanted Moon Intent Realm, from sixty percent, has now increased to ninety percent."
Back in the Heavenly Treasure Ruins, the Enchanted Moon Intent Realm had already reached sixty percent, and although it had not progressed in the subsequent years, it did not mean Shi Xiaole was not accumulating knowledge.
Today’s burst of insight was simply the result of years of accumulation, a classic case of reaching a saturation point and then overflowing.
Of course, the Enchanted Moon Intent Realm he was now in was no longer the Enchanted Moon Intent Realm. Perhaps a more appropriate name would be, the Illusion Intent Realm!
The sunset and the faint moon were merely agents of change. In the vast world, isn’t everything in existence somewhere between truth and illusion?
"The Illusion Intent Realm is definitely one of the most advanced and profound realms. To some extent, it’s even more terrifying than the Wind Intent Realm."
As he understood the essence of the Illusion Intent Realm, Shi Xiaole’s eyes sparkled with light. Occasionally, bursts of illusionary aura exuded, always causing the birds in the sky to behave in all manner of bizarre ways.
In the following days, Shi Xiaole alternated between practicing his internal strength and honing his Illusion Intent Realm and Pupil Skill.
In his spare time, he thoroughly searched the Maple Forest Cottage again but found no trace of his parents. About half a month later, Shi Xiaole began considering leaving.
...
"Hahaha, I found it, I finally found the Maple Forest Cottage."
At a certain street corner, ’Iron Cloud Hand’ Qu Buping laughed heartily as he watched the ripples of the Array System ahead.
Now he was only 89 years old, considering the 300-year lifespan of a Dragon Gate Realm martial artist, he was equivalent to a regular martial artist of about 45 years old, still having a lot of potential to tap.
If he had enough opportunities in the future, he could probably break through to the seventh level of the Dragon Gate Realm or even higher. At that time, he would be able to walk sideways in the martial arts world of Mirror State.
For Qu Buping, entering the Maple Forest Cottage was the biggest opportunity in nearly sixty years, equivalent to decades of hard work.
Just as he was about to shoot the Maple Forest Red Leaves into the center of the Array System ripples, the ripples of the Array System suddenly intensified, and a figure clad in green emerged.
With Shi Xiaole’s current mental strength, the mind-altering array inside Maple Forest Cottage was naturally ineffective. He walked back along the original path and quickly came out.
"Boy, it’s you!"
Qu Buping’s eyes bulged, and then he burst into guffaws.
"Are you happy?"
Shi Xiaole asked.
"Boy, I must say your luck is really terrible, just as you make progress in your cultivation, you’re about to die."
Qu Buping backed up ten steps, not giving Shi Xiaole a chance to speak. He expanded his robe, transforming into a violent wind rushing towards him.
These days, he had been worried about not being able to find Shi Xiaole, certainly a future threat. Yet, surprisingly, the opportunity to eliminate this scourge had now presented itself. Truly, the heavens were on his side.
However, Qu Buping was not rash but decided to assess Shi Xiaole’s progress first. If anything seemed off, he could adjust his plans accordingly.
Facing the violent Vigorous Air winds, Shi Xiaole neither retreated nor evaded, instead, he swung out with his sword.
Amid the metallic slicing sounds, the winds were cleaved into two halves by the Hidden Edge Sword. The upper half shattered the wall behind, while the lower half, like a bulldozer, churned up both the bluestone slabs and the earth, tossing them into mid-air.
"His internal power has greatly increased?"
Qu Buping was taken aback. Just thinking about the significant progress Shi Xiaole had made over a few short months intensified his murderous intent.
On the other hand, he also sensed that Shi Xiaole hadn’t broken through to the Dragon Gate Realm, which put his mind at ease.
After all, even with the miraculous instructions of the Maple Forest Shelter Master, it was impossible for anyone to transform overnight.
Unaware of the circumstances surrounding the Maple Forest Cottage, Qu Buping subconsciously assumed that Shi Xiaole had just entered it the day before and coincidentally emerged today, just in time for his encounter.
"Flowing Cloud Iron Sleeve!"
Vigorous Air exploding out, Qu Buping waved his long sleeves which morphed into a thick, gray whip, launching directly at Shi Xiaole’s abdomen.
Months ago when facing this move, Shi Xiaole had no choice but to flee. But now, he stood his ground, with his hands gripping the sword, and swiftly slashed down.
Zing!
Upon impact, the Sword Qi and the Vigorous Air clashed like two fierce torrents, continuously canceling each other out, continuously devouring each other. The walls on both sides couldn’t withstand the force and crumbled into rubble.
With their steps mismatched, Shi Xiaole was forced ten steps back. His palm tingled, nearly losing grip of his sword.
Despite his enhanced strength, he was still quite lacking compared to a real first level Dragon Gate Realm master.
Yet he didn’t realise that the sight of him remaining uninjured had astonished Qu Buping and the nearby experts who had hurried over upon hearing the commotion.
"Who is this young man that he managed to withstand Iron Cloud Hand’s move unscathed?"
"I’ve heard that a few months ago, a mysterious young man in a green shirt on Heavenly Jade Mountain defeated two young masters in the blink of an eye. His strength was unparalleled. Could it be him?"
"They always say that only Young Master Xuanmu can be his match. What a joke! Even three Young Master Xuanmu couldn’t block a single strike from Iron Cloud Hand."
Everyone hiding in the distance was astounded.
"Iron Hand Turns Weapons!"
Qu Buping attacked ruthlessly, striking out with a huge, forbidding black palm imprint. This realistic palm imprint, with its creases and veins, exuded a steel-like lustre, seemingly capable of destroying anything.
"Three-tenths of Iron Intent."
Shi Xiaole continuously retreated, realising he had underestimated the Dragon Gate Realm master.
The Iron Intent was undoubtedly a top-tier profound intent. And three-tenths of Iron Intent was enough to instantly kill an opponent with four or even five-tenths of ordinary intent.
Previously, Qu Buping had not used Iron Intent.
"Do you think you can escape?"
Under the influence of Vigorous Air, Qu Buping’s speed was no slower than Shi Xiaole’s. In a blink of an eye, he was right before Shi Xiaole and, lifting his hand, used Iron Cloud Hand again, providing Shi Xiaole with no chance to escape.
In a critical moment.
Shi Xiaole’s eyes twitched slightly, as two invisible blade intents shot out.
Puff. Puff.
The body-protecting Vigorous Air vibrated.
"What?"
Qu Buping paused mid-motion in disbelief. With his keen sense, he was baffled as to how Shi Xiaole had launched those two blades.
"I can only draw upon three-tenths of my internal power at the moment."
Using Eye Knife to release internal power was indeed unexpected. Such a pity that this could only utilise three-tenths of his internal power, which was insufficient to break Qu Buping’s protective Vigorous Air.
But that was not a problem.
Almost at the same time, two streams of invisible yet far deadlier blade intents shot out from Shi Xiaole’s eyes, causing Qu Buping’s body to sway and a scream to escape his lips.
With the same three-tenths power, the blade intent carrying Shi Xiaole’s three-tenths spiritual power was much stronger than the internal power blade intent. Even a first-level Dragon Gate Realm master would find it hard to withstand this strike.
The Eye Knife was not the end. The next moment, day and night reflections flickered in Shi Xiaole’s eyes and an Illusion Intent atmosphere began to pervade, enveloping Qu Buping.
Boom boom boom...
Qu Buping screamed as if mad, attacked, and then suddenly snapped back to consciousness. When he looked at Shi Xiaole as if seeing a ghost, a rare hint of fear had crept onto his face.
How is it possible that this kid has such terrifying Pupil Skill and spiritual power?
"Still not quite there."
Shi Xiaole shook his head, understanding the capabilities of the Illusion Intent Realm.
Soul Capturing Skill combined with eight-tenths of Illusion Intent, executed by him with his level of spiritual power, was enough to cause most Spiritual Passage Realm masters to lose their senses. However, for a first-level Dragon Gate Realm master, they would only be dazed in a moment, with insufficient time to kill them.
But that was enough.
Shi Xiaole advanced instead of retreating, heading to kill Qu Buping. One moment he was using Eye Knife, the next he was using Soul Capturing Skill, leaving Qu Buping unable to advance or retreat, unable to guard, and only able to scream frantically.
Swoosh!
After dozens of moves, Shi Xiaole slashed off Qu Buping’s right hand with his sword.
"Kid, I’ll remember you!"
Ignoring the splattered blood and his severed arm, Qu Buping fled for his life, his face deathly pale.
