Chapter 588: Chapter 587 You’re Here
The Meditation Fast ruin, with its walls mottled and tiles piled high, still bore patches of dark red bloodstains on some of its surfaces. These stains were distorted like ghost glyphs.
The entire building was shrouded in gloom, as if engulfed by an ominous aura.
Shi Xiaole stepped into the courtyard and immediately spotted the dry bones littering the ground.
Despite the frequent visits from high-level figures who were perverse enough to attempt taking the skeletons for research, the bones would fly back every time and would cause the would-be thieves to rot and die.
"A potent poison!"
As his mental power radiated out, Shi Xiaole easily discovered a layer of terrifying poison clinging to the skeleton. Could it have been poison that destroyed Meditation Fast all those years ago?
Revving up his protective Vigorous Air, Shi Xiaole walked on, floating.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
A chill wind suddenly blew from a distance, filled with sporadic sobbing, as if lost souls scrambling out of hell were wailing in grief.
"Spectral beings, all of you, get lost!"
A man in warrior’s attire roared as his iron mace swung out twenty times in a single breath, opening wide gaps in the chill wind.
Chirp!
In the cold wind, a crow as black as ink rushed towards the man. A mace capable of slaying a high lord of Tian State struck the crow but only made it retreat. It then charged at the man at an even faster pace.
"Dislocated Mace!"
With his hands bulging, the man swung his mace. The weapon seemed to defy the laws of space, landing accurately on the bird’s body.
Boom!
Sparks flew. The bird crashed to the ground, its skull shattered, and the blood that flowed was black.
It wasn’t until the man in warrior’s attire left that Shi Xiaole emerged from the shadows.
"Poison Crows."
Poison crows were mutated birds. According to Divine Strategy Academy, they evolved due to Meditation Fast continuously being shrouded by the potent poison. This led to some extraordinarily resilient birds being subtly influenced and transforming.
These birds were extremely tough and carried a potent poison. Even the slightest peck from them could claim the life of a high lord.
Those who dared to venture into Meditation Fast were surely high lords of Tian State. Unfortunately, many fell victim to these poison crows.
Chirp, Chirp!
Two poison crows rushed out of the tiles, attacking Shi Xiaole.
Stepping back, Shi Xiaole swung his sword. The sword light sent both poison crows flying, but after their cries, they fiercely lunged again.
"Fierce Wind Hundred Turns."
Wrapped in a layer of cyan-colored sword wind, Shi Xiaole was diligently grinding away. However, he only managed to knock off a bunch of feathers from the crows. The body armor of the crows gave Shi Xiaole a deep impression.
After swinging his sword repeatedly and failing to kill the poison crows, he saw two blades filled with strong illusionary breath shoot from his eyes when the crows got closer.
Shh. Shh.
The poison crows died quietly.
"Their bodies may have mutated, but their spiritual power is no different from that of ordinary birds."
Shi Xiaole nodded, visibly relaxed and continued deeper into the ruins.
"His strength appears to be at the lower spectrum of top-level Lords, but his mastery of spiritual techniques is superb."
In the shadows, two pairs of glowing eyes observed everything that happened earlier.
The Meditation Fast extended over several acres, and during his exploration, Shi Xiaole encountered many strange phenomena.
For instance, as he rounded a corner, he heard rhythmic brick and tile-knocking sounds. Despite his spiritual observation, he couldn’t pinpoint the sound’s origin.
In a Malayou well, he seemed to see a woman’s face, smiling up at him eerily from the water.
He also found a blood-stained, broken portrait. The person in the painting appeared to be moving their eyes. After Shi Xiaole slashed the painting with his sword, blood splattered out.
"Ah...."
A terrified scream rang out not too far away. The voice sounded like the man clad in warrior attire was definitely dead by the time Shi Xiaole arrived. The man’s eyes were wide open, and his mace was rammed into his chest.
He was a top-level Lord, his strength was not inferior to Xin Zhuliu, who hadn’t cultivated the Vajra Unbreakable Body. How did he mysteriously die like this?
Involuntarily, Shi Xiaole felt an urge to retreat.
Everything in this place was too far beyond the ordinary, bordering on supernatural. If he continued staying, who knows what might happen next. His skill exceeded the muscular man’s by only two levels, it did not mean he could be reckless.
He cautiously retraced his steps. But this time, in a flower garden, Shi Xiaole saw a herb that instantly made his heart race, and his feet stopped in his tracks.
Aside from its roots and stems, there were countless branches around the herb. It was pale gray in color, yet the edge was naturally embedded with a ring of gold thread that was especially eye-catching in this dim environment.
Wanhua Jinsi Grass!
"Strange, why didn’t I see it earlier?"
Shi Xiaole remembered a rumor.
Wanhua Jinsi Grass grows only once every three hundred years, but during its growth period, its roots are not visible. In other words, unless it’s the time of appearance, you wouldn’t know where Wanhua Jinsi Grass grows.
Could it be, the three-hundred-year growth period just ended?
After cautiously probing for a while, finding no danger, Shi Xiaole gritted his teeth and slowly walked toward the Wanhua Jinsi Grass.
Lately, he had had enough of the torment from the blood yang token, often producing fantasies that were too embarrassing to mention. Particularly when walking down the street, whenever he saw women with beautiful figures, he would almost lose control.
He feared that if this went on, he would eventually make irrational actions. He had to get rid of this damned blood yang token.
Thwack!
A whip lashed viciously toward Shi Xiaole from above, stirring up a fierce breeze. Shi Xiaole flicked it away with his fingers, and the whip flew back into the hands of a shaggy-haired man licking his lips.
"Leave, kid, this herb is ours."
The shaggy-haired man smirked. Besides him, there was a short man walking toward the Wanhua Jinsi Grass, intending to pick it.
They had been following Shi Xiaole for a while, and after several crises, confirmed that his strength was at the lower top-level Lord. Therefore, they didn’t take him seriously.
Such a young man with impressive strength must undoubtedly be a disciple of a major school. Regardless of whether they got the Wanhua Jinsi Grass or not, they would sooner or later make a move on him.
With his hand around his sword, Shi Xiaole slashed toward the short man.
"Overestimating your abilities."
The short man sneered and countered the coming sword glare with his fist. Under his punch, the air was compressed into a blurred shadow of a fist, suggesting an astonishing force.
Mid-level top lord.
The number of lords in Tian State vastly exceeded that of Xuanwu State, but weren’t common either. It was primarily because Meditation Fast was too daunting. Except for the powerful ones, ordinary people wouldn’t dare to come.
Clang!
The collision of the sword qi and punching strength, to the surprise of the two men, was the punch that collapsed first. The seemingly soft sword qi had endless strength, and even after part of its force was neutralized, it slashed forward with even more momentum than before. The shape of the new moon indicated its astonishing density and explosive power.
Fell into a trap!
The short man realized at a glance that he and his partner had greatly underestimated this young man in blue. He was not a lower top-level Lord but at least a mid-level top-level Lord.
"Shattered Sea Divine Fist!"
The right hand wrapped in deep blue light, the short man punched. Numerous splashes in the air collided with the sword glare, significantly reducing the destructiveness of the sword qi.
"Wind of Lingxi."
Before the short man could sigh in relief, Shi Xiaole gently waved his right hand, and the sword qi, as faint as it may, pierced through the liquid punch glare.
"No..."
Before the short man could block, his body was pierced by the sword qi, his front and back fully penetrated, and he turned into a pile of dust and disappeared.
The other shaggy-haired man was terrified.
Luckily, he was cautious and had fled away as soon as the short man’s attack proved ineffective. When the short man was killed, he had already gotten hundreds of meters away.
"Think you could escape?"
With ten percent of Illusion True Intent activated, an illusionary aura spread out from Shi Xiaole as the core, covering the shaggy-haired man in a blink of an eye and slightly slowing down his movements. Taking this opportunity, Shi Xiaole stabbed outwards with his sword.
"You are here."
However, just then, from the area covered by the illusionary aura, a ripple spread outwards. Amidst the ripples, walked out a middle-aged man in white with sagacious eyes, looking at Shi Xiaole and revealing a gentle smile.
"Run!"
As the illusionary aura greatly diminished, the shaggy-haired man didn’t care about what had happened and fled. He hastily urged his blood qi, triggered his flying skill, and fled. His figure disappeared soon.
