Chapter 587: Chapter 586: Ruins of Meditation Fast (Added for ’poonlo’)
The Blood Yang Mediation was said to be incurable, as reflected in Ji Morou’s killing intent towards him, and yet Shui Lingping proposed a solution, effectively upturning the martial arts world’s belief.
Ironically, Shi Xiaole chose to believe in her.
He never believed in so-called authority nor did believe that there is something in the world that is insolvable; every issue was just a matter of finding the right method.
Even if Shui Lingping’s method turned out to be incorrect, he must at least try to find out.
...
Tian State was huge, at least ten times the size of Xuanwu State. The most astonishing thing was that a river surrounds the entire Tian State, with its widest part stretching for several thousand kilometers and the narrowest part also spanning several hundred kilometers.
It was said to be the Huzhou River created over decades by the first Emperor of the former Black Water Dynasty, with his iron-fisted methods, summoning tens of millions of people at the time, to ensure the permanent stability of the Black Water Dynasty!
Legends were just legends, but there is no doubt that the Huzhou River is one of the greatest miracles of the entire Flying Horse Dynasty.
Standing in front of the Huzhou River, Shi Xiaole was reminded of Qingxue State.
Wasn’t there a river around Qingxue State too? That river was more dangerous than the Huzhou River, and martial artists who got a touch of it would be reduced to ashes.
Last time when Shi Xiaole returned, he gave it a try, and while the river could no longer hurt him, there seemed to be a mysterious force in the river repelling his mental power, making it impossible for him to sense anything.
"Young lord, can I offer you a boat ride?"
The voice interrupted Shi Xiaole’s train of thought.
Given that a large number of people travel to Tian State daily, including martial artists and merchants, hundreds of years ago, the Royal Family of the Flying Horse Dynasty established numerous docks on the Huzhou River.
Each dock was equipped with a fixed number of boats for carrying people.
Of course, the owners of these boats were not ordinary people; either they had deep connections with the government or they were part of local major factions. After all, the dock was lucrative beyond imagination. Countless people are racking their brains to get a piece of the action.
The one who asked the question was Li Wangcai, a person with connections.
He had seen many people in his life, but he had never seen such a handsome and extraordinary young man before, so he took the liberty to ask himself.
"Thank you."
Shi Xiaole smiled.
As the dock’s fare was fixed, he did not need to ask more.
Guided by Li Wangcai, him, and his horse quickly boarded a three-story pleasure boat, which was already filled with people of all kinds. The journey would not last long, so Shi Xiaole chose to stay on the deck, taking this opportunity to observe the martial artists around him.
The martial artists travelling to Tian State were naturally extraordinary.
On this boat alone, there were thirty-two martial artists at the Dragon Gate Realm, two of which were advanced practitioners of the Dragon Gate Realm. The remaining martial artists at the Spiritual-Passage Realm appeared to be attendants and disciples and did not travel alone.
This was normal as Tian State was far away from other states, with numerous robbers along the way and emerging elites from the green forest. The weak would probably have died halfway through the journey.
As the boat approached the shore, a line of merchants moved forward under the protection of Dragon Gate Realm masters. But not long after, an explosion rang out from a distance.
Shi Xiaole and a few masters flew towards the noise. When they arrived at the scene, they found bodies everywhere. All members of the merchant group, including the previous masters of the Dragon Gate Realm, were all dead.
"Killed with one stroke, with a red line in the middle of the forehead, this is the handiwork of ’One Blade Zhao’ Zhao Fusheng!"
"I’ve heard Zhao Fusheng has an aversion to the color blue. The blue flag of this merchant group must have angered him, causing this disastrous calamity."
The faces of several masters who frequently travel nearby were filled with fear.
’One Blade Zhao’ Fusheng, was a top level Dragon Gate Realm master of the nearby area, also a Lord. But in Tian State, the title Lord is a taboo, unless you are an invincible master of the Dragon Gate Realm, otherwise no one dares to use this title.
You should know that the Martial World in Tian State categorizes the tiers of masters more intricately and strictly than anywhere else, because there are numerous masters here. Even with the same cultivation level, their strengths could vary greatly.
The so-called top-tier Lord in Xuanwu State, would be at most a high-tier Lord when arriving in Tian State. As for people like Xin Zhuliu, they are merely the weakest among the top-tier Lords in Tian State.
Above them are middle-ranking top-tier Lords, high-ranking top-tier Lords, Ultimate Lords, and Invincible Lords.
The so-called Invincible Lords, are extremely rare in Tian State because there are too few people who can meet the requirements.
Only when one has perfected a top-tier martial arts skill, reached the pinnacle of Heavenly Martial Realm, and understood at least one perfectly top-tier True Meaning, can he be qualified to be an Invincible Lord.
Such individuals are truly invincible below the Divine Border Realm. It can be said that anyone who can become an Invincible Lord is a prominent person in any era. They are top talents with great potential to advance to the Divine Barrier Realm in the future.
It’s said that there were only 122 Invincible Lords in Tian State today. They are ranked by Divine Strategy Academy and admired by countless martial artists.
All of this was too far away from him, Shi Xiaole didn’t think too much and was about to mount his horse and leave, when a figure appeared in front of him, pointing at Qingfeng and said, "This is a good horse, I’ll take it."
"It’s Zhao Fusheng!"
The faces of several martial arts masters turned white with horror.
Zhao Fusheng was a top-tier Lord, rumored to let no one survive under his blade. Had they known this guy hadn’t left, they would never have come here no matter what.
"Die."
Zhao Fusheng had no patience. In his opinion, drawing his sword was easier than talking. The instant his long sword was unsheathed, a very thin light flashed in the air and he seemed to see the young man’s head falling to the ground.
This kid, maybe just set foot on the land of Tian State, before he got the chance to make a name for himself, had to die by his hand. But who would care?
If anyone was to blame, it was the cruel Martial World.
Clang!
Riding his horse, Shi Xiaole drew his sword and then sheathed it again. All was done in an instant. As the sound died down, man and horse had already passed Zhao Fusheng, disappearing at the end of the road.
Several masters were so intimidated by Zhao Fusheng’s ferocity that they dared not to leave. It wasn’t until quite a while later did a spray of fresh blood suddenly burst from Zhao Fusheng’s neck and he collapsed onto the ground, devoid of life.
"What?!"
The group cried out in disbelief.
"My God, Zhao Fusheng is dead. It must have been that young man."
"Impossible. He didn’t even draw his sword."
"I heard the sword’s ring. Maybe that young man drew his sword so fast that we thought he didn’t."
Tian State attracted talents from all walks of life every moment. In their eyes, Shi Xiaole was certainly one of them. Yet to gain fame, he still needed to depend on his future encounters.
There are far too many talents in Tian State, each more powerful than the next. Just like many pieces of gold piled together, the gold also becomes sand. Only real exceptional pearls and legendary talents can, riding on the countless talents, achieve their supreme glory.
"How was the man?"
"Decent swordsmanship. Based on his strength, he must be a high-level supreme lord."
In the distant jungle, two figures stood. One was a young man with ordinary looks but exceptionally thick eyebrows. The other was a beautiful nun with an impressive figure.
The question just now was raised by the beautiful nun.
"Let’s go. In a few days, it will be the day of our appointment. We cannot be late."
The young man stretched lazily.
"This is your third challenge against Gui Zhihang, the ’Mysterious Sparrow’. Are you confident?"
The beautiful nun asked.
Upon hearing the three words "Gui Zhihang", the lazy look on the young man’s face disappeared, and he replied solemnly: "I don’t know. Who can say with certainty that they can win against Gui Zhihang."
The beautiful nun let out a sigh.
Yes, that Gui Zhihang, after all, had created the top record of Celestial Phenomenon Mountain. He was bestowed one of the four demons by the Celestial Phenomenon Elder himself, and it was said that his talent was on par with the Martial Emperor.
Just the meaning and weight that these three words represented were enough to make countless young talents in Tian State keep their heads down.
The one beside her, despite his universally acknowledged talent and buzz in the Martial World, was still a grade below the four demons.
...
Having passed through over a dozen towns in Tian State, Shi Xiaole got a real glimpse of the high level of martial arts in Tian State. The great masters at Dragon Gate Realm, although not common as vegetables at the market, could often be seen there.
Fortunately, with more experiences, the shock in his heart lessened considerably and he got used to it quickly.
About half a month later, Shi Xiaole arrived outside a vast and remote forest. Centuries ago, this place was the location of a Martial World sect known as Meditation Fast.
The head of the Meditation Fast was an amazing martial artist. Legend has it that he was a super master at the Divine Barrier Realm. Under his leadership, Meditation Fast also once thrived.
Unfortunately, good times did not last. No one knew who the sect leader had offended. All they knew was that overnight, the Meditation Fast had vanished without a trace, leaving only ruins.
Shi Xiaole found out that hundreds of years ago, a Wanhua Jinsi Grass had been discovered here. Wanhua Jinsi Grass was the main ingredient in the antidote to the Blood Sun venom, as told by Shui Lingping.
"Hopefully I’ll have some luck."
Given how precious Wanhua Jinsi Grass is, even surpassing the rarity of first-rate martial arts techniques, it was unlikely to be found for sale. Therefore, Shi Xiaole could only follow small leads and hope to get lucky in various places.
The forest was very quiet with occasional sunlight casting dappled shadows through the gaps in the leaves.
Soon, Shi Xiaole saw the ruins in the distance, occasionally catching the faded image of a sword-wielding figure.
The Meditation Fast ruins were a bizarre and even terrifying place.
Reports had it that some people had fallen unconscious there, seeing the ghosts of the dead in dreams. When they woke up, a broken weapon had mysteriously appeared in their hand.
Others claimed to have experienced fights as if they were in the scene of Meditation Fast’s destruction. Afterward, they found new martial arts techniques in their minds, lost techniques of the Meditation Fast.
And many more people became mentally disoriented while exploring the Meditation Fast ruins and even if they managed to escape, met with a mysterious death soon after.
So, for fighters in Tian State, the Meditation Fast ruins were considered a place of ill-omen. Only the desperate or those with a keen sense of adventure dared to venture here.
Being extremely curious, and needing to find the Wanhua Jinsi Grass, Shi Xiaole wanted to see what was so mysterious about this place. Of course, he’d retreat at any signs of trouble.
