Chapter 450: Chapter 449: The Purple Extreme Dagger Displays Its Might
Half a 2-hour period later.
Out of the 27 people, three had become dried corpses and lay rigidly on the ground.
Of the remaining, some were skin and bones, others were huddled. Only a dozen or so people still looked normal, but they were also listless, lacking their original charm.
"Bone Transformation Array, suck for me!"
Shen Wumei swung his hands, and as a plethora of blood threads from the surging blood river flowed into the Jade Sword Pool, the suction force of the Jade Sword Pool became ten times stronger than it initially was.
Even Shi Xiaole’s greyish Demon Bone began to exude wisps of power.
"What should we do?"
The power of the Array System also stems from the power of heaven and earth, but differs from Internal Power and Vigorous Air, so they don’t interfere with each other. Unless one is proficient in the grand array of mysteries, there’s no way to prevent Shen Wumei.
Seeing that the power of the Demon Bone was gradually being absorbed and entering Shen Wumei’s body through the Jade Sword Pool, Shi Xiaole frowned.
"Should I say you’re calm in the face of danger, or should I fear your ruthlessness?"
Shen Wumei stared at Shi Xiaole and suddenly said coldly.
He believed that if he were in the other person’s place, he would never be this calm.
"A person who does evil will destroy himself. It’s best to stop in time."
Shi Xiaole said.
Shen Wumei burst into laughter: "With your talent, you actually utter such comforting words only uttered by the weak? Since ancient times, winners rule and losers obey, no matter what methods were used. The one who has the final laugh is the victor."
As he spoke, he ratcheted his skill up to the extreme, and made continuous gestures with both hands. The suction was so terrifying that it made a hissing noise in the void.
In that moment, a few more people were absorbed into dried corpses. The rich essence flowed into Shen Wumei’s body, causing him to moan with pleasure.
The entire Jade Sword Pavilion was filled with the intense Sword Qi at this moment.
These Sword Qi all pointed at Shen Wumei, who was driving the array. In the dark, everyone’s essence was refined by the Sword Qi, forming a mysterious bone fragment in his body.
A large amount of Devil Path energy flowed out of the Demon Bone, making Shi Xiaole feel as if a chunk of his body had been painfully gouged out, and he couldn’t stop it.
Turning his head to look around, the Silver Spear Marquis, who he was sure to kill, had become a skeleton, screamed miserably, died unnaturally. Others like the one-armed old man, scholarly decay, etc., turned into dry corpses one after another and died.
In the end, only a few people were struggling desperately.
Boom!
When most of the Devil Path power was absorbed, the grey Demon Bone in Shi Xiaole’s body suddenly turned dark gray. It was like a demon king unveiling some of its veil, bursting out with a terrifyingly large force.
With Shi Xiaole at the center, the entire force of the Jade Sword Pool began to reverse, and countless essences that should have flowed to Shen Wumei instead flowed into Shi Xiaole’s feet.
"What?!"
Shen Wumei’s triumphant expression froze, his eyes bulged, not minding the loss of essence and blood, increasing the array force desperately.
The two forces were like in a tug-of-war, locked in a stalemate.
The Demon Bone roared, and with a rumble, the force of the array seemed to be torn like a film, a large amount of essence rushed into Shi Xiaole’s body, and the surrounding Sword Qi also aimed at Shi Xiaole, forming a mysterious bone fragment in his body.
"Who are you exactly!"
As the sword bone collapsed, Shen Wumei who had his whole body bloody, screamed unwillingly.
Shi Xiaole didn’t even know who he was.
All he knew was that the Demon Bone in his body was different from any of the Demon Bones recorded in the Martial World, it was simply unheard of.
He was so calm before, partly because he relied on the Demon Bone. The Demon Bone’s dominance and horror, however, greatly exceeded Shi Xiaole’s expectations.
"You little brat, dare to cause trouble?"
Just then, a roar sounded from far away.
It turned out that the cloaked old man had charged into the Hidden Sword Pavilion in case something unexpected happened when the array was activated. After some searching, he happened to see this scene.
"Wumei, let your grandfather help you!"
The black cloak swelled, and the old man injected all his Vigorous Air into Shen Wumei’s body. The latter’s power greatly increased, and he laughed wildly, recklessly manipulating the array.
Hiss...
The void twisted continuously under the tearing of the two forces, and the essence that had flowed into Shi Xiaole’s body began to scatter.
The gray Demon Bone was, after all, just a Demon Bone. It represented potential rather than power itself. In fact, everything that just happened exceeded the normal abilities of the Demon Bone.
The upheaval didn’t stop.
Under the external stimulation, the gray Demon Bone seemed to undergo another transformation. A horrifyingly unimaginable power began to swell inside it.
But at the same time, Shi Xiaole more clearly felt that something stored in his system space was itching to make a move.
With a flicker of thought, a purple dagger appeared in Shi Xiaole’s hand.
Purple Extreme Dagger!
At the Devil Path convention on Mountain Cang many years ago, Shi Xiaole, in the name of Xie Xiaofeng, pulled out the Purple Extreme Dagger and briefly became the Lord of the Devil Path. However, since then, the Purple Extreme Dagger had remained quiet.
Unexpectedly, at this moment it began to react.
"After so many years, I finally see light again."
A voice that only Shi Xiaole could hear came from the dagger.
"Spirit Seed."
Ordinary people certainly couldn’t hide in a dagger. Shi Xiaole immediately discerned that it was the Spirit Seed hidden in the dagger that was causing mischief.
If a person’s spiritual power is strong enough, and they have learned similar methods, they can separate a spirit seed and lodge it in an object. For example, the Black Devil Divine Monarch who once tried to control Shi Xiaole using demon blood.
The spirit seed in the Purple Extreme Dagger is clearly much stronger than the spirit seed of the Black Devil Divine Monarch, probably due to the combined impacts of the Demon Bone and array system, which stimulated it to emerge.
"Are you the successor my younger sworn brother helped me find?"
The voice asked.
Younger sworn brother? Successor?
Shi Xiaole had initially assumed the Purple Extreme Dagger belonged to the Black Devil Divine Monarch. Hearing these words, however, intense suspicion arose within him. He replied, "Senior, I haven’t met your younger sworn brother, nor do I know anything about this matter of apprenticeship."
"Oh? It seems my sworn brother must’ve been drunk again, delaying my important matters."
The voice sounded somewhat helpless and continued, "Since the Purple Extreme Dagger has fallen into your hands, it means we are fated to meet. Well, my spirit seed will eventually deplete once it’s activated. I will aid you through this trial. However, I hope you can promise me something."
Shi Xiaole was not a pretentious man. Hearing these words, he said, "Please speak, Senior."
"I loathe owing anyone favors in my life! Unfortunately, I once received help from a merchant surnamed Luo while passing by the Blooming Flower State. The person declined my attempts to repay them. Coincidentally, I had to leave due to urgent matters, which has been a great regret throughout my life. After this is over, I hope you can find the Luo Family in Blue Sea City and take care of them."
"I promise, Senior."
"Good."
Suddenly, a burst of purple light sprang from the Purple Extreme Dagger.
In the next instant.
The elderly man in a black cloak cried out, his temples bulging. Before he could speak, he exploded into a cloud of blood. With him gone, Shen Wumei’s power greatly weakened, and the center of the entire array system completely shifted towards Shi Xiaole.
"So, it’s the Jade Sword Bone Transformation Array. Despite being an evil array, it’s indeed wonderfully made."
The voice commented faintly.
"Senior, can this array be broken?"
Shi Xiaole’s question made the master of the voice pause before replying, "You probably don’t know this, but the sword bone formed by the Bone Transformation Array can turn an ordinary person into an extraordinary swordsman. Since you already have remarkable talent, with the addition of this sword bone, you will undoubtedly become even more powerful. Becoming one of the top warriors in Shuntian Capital won’t be difficult."
Shaking his head, Shi Xiaole said, "I know this is very beneficial, but I don’t want it."
"Why?"
The voice sounded genuinely surprised.
"Some of these essences belong to innocent people, and others belong to my friends. How could Shi Xiaole do something that profits at others’ expense? Besides, even without this sword bone, I’m still capable of reaching the top."
Long silence.
"Ha ha ha... Interesting, really interesting! You’re quite ambitious, young one, to dare to belittle everyone else in the world. But I like it."
The voice laughed heartily, revealing rare admiration.
Truthfully, if Shi Xiaole willingly accepted all these essences from everyone, the voice wouldn’t say anything, but it would inevitably cast doubt on Shi Xiaole’s character.
Whoosh!
The purple light shot up, suddenly splitting into dozens of strands pointing in different directions. It seemed that the master of the voice was quite familiar with the Jade Sword Bone Transformation Array. Before long, the entire array ceased to operate.
The bloody mist faded away, and the Jade Sword Pool reverted back to a lawn.
A potent essence broke into pieces, as though with a sense of spirituality, and returned to all bodies respectively.
The survivors fell to the ground, as if drained, dripping with cold sweat and panting heavily, but at least the disaster was finally over.
"Why, why does heaven treat me so?"
Shen Wumei’s face bore an expression of madness. Her hair was disheveled, eyes unfocused. Then, as if remembering something, she turned to Shi Xiaole with a grim smile, "You’ve won. You must be feeling proud."
Shi Xiaole replied, "Only winning a fair fight against a worthy opponent can make me feel proud."
At these words, even Shen Wumei’s grim smile disappeared.
Perhaps the only consolation was that most of the treasures in the Jade Sword Pavilion had been removed beforehand. To prevent others from pumping information, only her master and grandfather knew the exact location.
Without any hesitation, Shi Xiaole’s sword slit the throat of his opponent.
With this, the conspiracy that had been in planning for years, came to an end as the masterminds died one by one.
Tuning in a bit, Shi Xiaole found the Demon Bone had turned back to medium gray, neither gaining nor losing any power. The Purple Extreme Dagger had also returned to its original state, leaving him wondering about the current status of the spirit seed.
"That was really close."
After what seemed like ages, Crown Sword Marquis, Yang Feng, Fan Donglai, Yu Meiren, and two other powerful fighters woke up one after another. The speaker was Fan Donglai.
Gazing at the dry corpses on the ground, a cold shiver ran down everyone’s spine.
If they had known the Jade Sword Pavilion hid such a conspiracy behind it, they would never have come here even if it killed them.
Yang Feng suddenly turned to look at Shi Xiaole and asked, "Brother Shi, was it you who saved us just now?"
Everyone turned to look at Shi Xiaole.
Previously, they were all so preoccupied that, combined with the fact that Shi Xiaole communicated with the Purple Extreme Dagger through a voice transmission, they only saw a flash of purple light and were not aware of the twists and turns.
Anticipating that denying it would only raise suspicion, Shi Xiaole bluntly answered, "Sort of."
Everyone’s gaze fluctuated.
This Shi Xiaole was really unpredictable, not only his strength, but also the treasures he possessed. They had no idea what other abilities he might have.
"Not good. There must be many people waiting outside the Jade Sword Pavilion. As soon as we step out, they’ll..."
Just as they had dealt with the disaster, a high-level fighter suddenly furrowed his brows.
