Chapter 619: Chapter 618: Searching
Luoyu Knife Lord fell to the ground and struggled to stand back up. His abdomen was struck with a blow, sealing his internal energy, freezing his entire body including his limbs.
He lost. He had tragically lost to a top-tier Lord.
Even now, Luoyu Knife Lord couldn’t accept his defeat, it felt surreal as if he was experiencing a nightmare. He looked up at the young man in the purple robe, unable to stop his pupils from contracting in shock.
Who on earth was this man?
"What do you want?"
Luoyu Knife Lord was defiant till the end.
Since Shi Xiaole did not kill him, it was evident that he had some use for him. There was no need to lose his composure.
Spiritual knives darted from Shi Xiaole’s eyes, piercing into Luoyu Knife Lord’s spiritual sea. His spiritual sea was incredibly sturdy and it took dozens of strikes before it began to waver.
"Damn it!"
Luoyu Knife Lord cried out, trying to resist with all his strength using a spiritual defense technique.
But his spiritual power was far weaker than Shi Xiaole’s, and his spiritual defense technique was of the second-rate high-grade level and offered him no advantage. He resisted for a moment, but his defense crumbled.
Seizing the opportunity, Shi Xiaole executed the Soul Capturing Skill. Having ensnared Luoyu Knife Lord’s soul, he used all his strength to drag it into the abyss.
About a quarter of an hour later, Luoyu Knife Lord’s head hit the floor.
He couldn’t be controlled, and with his mind filled with wicked thoughts, it was dangerous to leave him alive. Killing him ended the problem once and for all.
"Master, you are formidable!"
Throughout this event, Shi Weiwei stood beside Shi Xiaole. Her loyal gaze now held a hint of admiration.
As a minor leader of the Ocean Whale Alliance, Shi Weiwei had seen a lot. Although there were unparalleled geniuses in the alliance, who could overpower an Invincible Lord as a top-tier Lord like her master?
The news of this battle would undoubtedly shake the South Sea!
Ignoring Shi Weiwei, Shi Xiaole crouched down and caressed the face of Luoyu Knife Lord. After a moment, he reduced him to nothing with a corpse removal technique, then quickly crafted a mask with a disguise kit from his system.
Once he put on the mask, besides his body size, Shi Xiaole looked exactly like Luoyu Knife Lord. He then covertly performed a bone changing technique. Amid the sound of crackling joints, his body shrunk and widened, transforming him entirely into Luoyu Knife Lord.
The bone-changing technique was an evolution of the bone-shrinking technique by Shi Xiaole. With his current understanding and realm, it was an effortless task.
Observing all this, Shi Weiwei was struck dumb. Her master’s powers were simply too astonishing.
"Let’s go."
Upon changing clothes, the two returned to Luoyu Island.
Shi Xiaole had learned from Luoyu Knife Lord’s mouth that the Ocean Whale Alliance indeed eyed the Ghost Killing Yama Order.
Since a few years ago, the senior members of the alliance started issuing orders to every sea area’s leader. They were to thoroughly investigate every island in their jurisdiction, leaving no stone unturned.
The South Sea coastal area was dotted with countless islands. Luoyu Knife Lord alone had jurisdiction over thousands of these islands. Despite thorough searches, they found nothing.
In the study room, Shi Xiaole found a scroll among Luoyu Knife Lord’s possessions. The scroll contained dense circles, a few of which bore extra symbols.
These marked locations were islands yet to be investigated by Luoyu Knife Lord’s trusted aides. He had made the markings to investigate them privately. Thus, Shi Xiaole reaped the benefits without having to invest any effort.
Ignoring the spies on the island, Shi Xiaole immediately set off by ship. As the marked islands were too far away, he couldn’t possibly get there using his Flying Skill. He didn’t care if the spies noticed him since he was not planning on keeping the new identity for long.
Half a month later, having scoured several small islands, Shi Xiaole found nothing.
Thinking that this area was adjacent to another Invincible Lord, the Red Leaf Sword Lord’s domain, Shi Xiaole decided about his losses and ventured into it.
"Hahaha, Brother Luoyu, what brings you here? And alone?"
Red Leaf Sword Lord was handsome and elegant. Seeing Shi Xiaole approach, he was not suspicious.
Among the twelve Invincible Lords, Luoyu Knife Lord ranked eleventh and he ranked twelfth. Probably due to their similar statuses, the two had a good relationship.
"I came... to ask you some questions."
He withdrew his sword aura and concentrated all his energy into a horrifyingly powerful finger strike.
Shi Xiaole’s strength was already a notch above Red Leaf Sword Lord, and they were only three feet apart. Red Leaf Sword Lord was caught off guard and only managed to stimulate his Vigorous Air in time, but he was still sent flying.
He tried shouting, but Shi Xiaole’s eye knives were faster. They pierced his spiritual sea instantly, leaving him blank-minded and momentarily disoriented.
Without wasting a second, Shi Xiaole pointed his finger at the powerless Red Leaf Sword Lord, managing to control him.
"You’re not Luoyu Knife Lord, who are you?"
Red Leaf Sword Lord roared in a hoarse voice. Unfortunately, his voice was blocked by Shi Xiaole’s Vigorous Air, and no sound escaped.
Not long after, Shi Xiaole nonchalantly left Red Leaf Island.
This time, he did not kill the Red Leaf Sword Lord, but instead used the Soul Capturing Skill to erase the other party’s related memories. Otherwise, if the other party were to have an accident, the entire Whale Alliance would receive the news, which would inevitably severely hinder his plan.
As much as Luoyu Knife Lord had a personal agenda, so did the Red Leaf Sword Lord. However, after searching for the key islands targeted by the other party, they still had no gains.
In this manner, Shi Xiaole continued to strip away two more Invincible Lords in the same fashion, but regretfully to no avail. By this point, his odd behavior had finally caught the attention of the higher-ups in the Whale Alliance.
"Luoyu Knife Lord, what exactly are you up to?
One day, a large ship blocked Shi Xiaole’s vessel. At the head of the ship, a man coldly interrogated him.
This man’s aura was clearly that of an Invincible Lord, but he was far stronger than Luoyu Knife Lord or Red Leaf Sword Lord. Even with Shi Xiaole’s regular prowess, he had no confidence of being able to contend with this man.
"Haha, Xuanshui Brother, you finally came."
Judging from the man’s appearance, he should be the Xuanshui Lord, ranked sixth among the twelve Invincible Lords. This expanse of sea also happened to be his area of responsibility.
"What do you mean, you were waiting for me?"
Xuanshui Lord narrowed his eyes and leaped in front of Shi Xiaole with one step. He said, "Don’t bother playing tricks on me. I am under higher-up orders to bring you back for a serious inquiry."
As he spoke, a layer of delicate water patterns spread out, pushing down the sea level by three points. Shi Xiaole felt a blockage in his chest as if he had been thrust into a deep sea with an astonishing pressure, making it difficult for him to breathe.
Even among the Invincible Lords, there were strengths and weaknesses.
One of the most important rules was whether one had understood the truth of their final move or not.
According to the descriptions given by Luoyu Knife Lord and others, among the twelve Invincible Lords, six of them had developed a final move and all were of a high medium quality level.
This had essentially wiped out Shi Xiaole’s biggest advantage. Battling these six would surely be a bitter fight.
"Xuanshui Brother, you’ve put such a big green hat on the Sixteenth Elder, aren’t you afraid that he’ll find out?"
Shi Xiaole suddenly laughed and said something that made the Xuanshui Lord’s momentum falter. Xuanshui Lord’s face had a sudden change, first in surprise, and then flooded with murderous intent.
"The Sixteenth Elder’s concubine must be beautiful. I believe that once the news is out, a bit of torture on her part would reveal the truth."
Upon hearing this, Xuanshui Lord’s murderous look swiftly disappeared, but his fist inside his sleeve tightened
Damn it, how did the news leak out?!
The strength of Luoyu Knife Lord was indeed no match for him, but it would also be difficult to kill him. Any carelessness could risk harming him in return. The best approach now would be to pacify him first.
With that thought in mind, Xuanshui Lord snapped, "What nonsense are you spouting? I am upright and innocent, how can you slander me?"
Shi Xiaole simply smiled.
This man’s secret affair with the Sixteenth Elder’s concubine of the Whale Alliance was extremely secretive. Unbeknownst to him, the concubine was actually the childhood sweetheart of Red Leaf Sword Lord. Her act of seducing Xuanshui Lord was also incited by Red Leaf Sword Lord.
Thankfully, Shi Xiaole had used Soul Capturing Skill. Otherwise, even he would not be able to tell that the handsome and gentle Red Leaf Sword Lord was so cunning, and had been collecting the weaknesses of some of his colleagues for many years.
Apart from Xuanshui Lord, the weaknesses of three other Lords were also in Red Leaf Sword Lord’s hands.
"Xuanshui Brother, I swear on the heart of a martial artist that I will not divulge your secret. However, could you please do me a favor? I have a lifelong interest in searching for treasures. By some good fortune, I am very curious about the legendary Ghost Killing Yama Order. Do you happen to have any information on Demon Sound Elder?"
"You have quite the guts, thinking you’re entitled to seek such a wonder!"
Xuanshui Lord sneered non-stop. Seeing the somber expression on Luoyu Knife Lord’s face, he had a sudden thought, "As it turns out, I do have some information. Can you guarantee that you will not tarnish my reputation and Sixteenth Elder’s?"
"Of course."
"Good, make your vow and I will tell you."
Once Shi Xiaole made his vow, Xuanshui Lord hesitated for a bit, then, gritting his teeth, he leaned forward and whispered, "Demon Sound Elder, is in..."
Boom!
His pupils suddenly turned a strange green and began to rotate at a high speed. They reflected waves of intense mental fluctuations.
This was a spiritual technique that Xuanshui Lord had accidentally acquired many years ago, when he was wandering the Martial World. After years of hard training, even his closest companions were unaware of it.
Knowing his own weak point, how could Xuanshui Lord let Luoyu Knife Lord walk away? From his perspective, only the dead would not reveal secrets.
Xuanshui Lord’s ambush was sudden, but Shi Xiaole’s reaction was not slow either.
The moment Xuanshui Lord unleashed his spiritual technique, Shi Xiaole used the Eye Blade.
Clang Clang.
The bizarre green fluctuations shattered upon contact with the Eye Blade, while the latter showed no sign of stopping, brutally rushing into Xuanshui Lord’s mind.
Being limited by its level, the power of the Eye Blade was not that strong. However, Shi Xiaole’s mental strength compensated for this. Even if Xuanshui Lord had learned a low-tier, first-class spiritual technique, it would still be useless, let alone a middle-tier technique.
After one Eye Blade, many more followed, attacking Xuanshui Lord continuously, without giving him a chance to react.
Xuanshui Lord’s clever move to reduce the distance between them backfired. Instead of making things difficult for Shi Xiaole, he became Shi Xiaole’s mental target, unable to resist in the slightest.
