Chapter 623: Chapter 622: Deserted Island
When the parties were about 1,500 meters apart.
The round-faced man reached out his large hand. As he clenched his fingers, Shi Xiaole suddenly felt the air around him collapsing and compressing, finally forming an invisible sphere, imprisoning him in it.
The Wind True Intent felt suppressed, allowing only half of its usual potency. The Illusion True Intent was greatly affected, but the Life and Death True Intent remained active, ready to be mobilized at any moment.
"Is this...Martial Arts?!"
Shi Xiaole’s heart was shocked.
The Divine Barrier Realm is named so not just because the masters of this level have methods that are unimaginable to ordinary people, almost divine.
The more fundamental reason is that they’ve comprehended their own martial arts.
What is martial arts?
For martial artists below the Divine Barrier Realm, it’s just a general term for martial studies, a vague concept. But for masters of the Divine Barrier Realm, it is a real and concrete realm.
From the Nine-Colored Granny, and even the breakthrough methods given by Ji Morou to the ten masters of Pudu Peak, Shi Xiaole already knew that the key to breaking through the Divine Barrier Realm lies in the combination of the Vigorous Air and spirit energy, and their elevation.
The method of combination and elevation varies from person to person, and the results are naturally different. This result is martial arts!
Broadly speaking, martial arts includes Sword Way, Knife Way, Spear Way, Fist Way, and so on.
Each Way has its own categories.
Take Sword Way for example, of the ten masters of Pudu Peak that Shi Xiaole knew, three of them were swordsmen, each comprehending the Cutting Sword Way, Golden Sword Way, and Gravity Sword Way.
The Galan Sword Emperor, who ranks ninth among the ten masters of the Flying Horse Dynasty, for instance, has grasped the Merciful Sword Way.
In summary, there are thousands of paths, but from the Divine Barrier Realm onwards, everyone begins to follow their own path, so no two people’s martial arts are exactly the same.
The master of the Divine Barrier Realm who was hunting Shi Xiaole clearly had understood the Palm Way, although he did not know the level of the Palm Way, it definitely suppressed the True Intent.
As for why the Life and Death True Intent is unaffected, it is probably because its level is too high.
"From life into extinction."
Frantically activating the Life and Death True Intent and the Undying Seven Illusions, amidst the sound of erosion, the invisible sphere began to dissolve, transforming into Shi Xiaole’s Vigorous Air. However, the dissolution was at least ten times slower than before.
If the Vigorous Air of a martial artist in the Dragon Gate Realm is compared to wood, then the Vigorous Air of this master of Divine Barrier Realm is like steel, hard to shake.
But what Shi Xiaole didn’t know was how shocked the round-faced man was when he witnessed this.
Although his Grasping Martial Art was only a second-class martial art, it was not something a Dragon Gate Realm martial artist could resist. It was now partially dissolved by Shi Xiaole’s True Intent?
This was like a wolf being bitten by a kitten, it was not just anger, but also humiliation.
With thoughts flashing by like lightning, the distance between the two was reduced to a thousand meters.
The round-faced man’s speed wasn’t fast among the masters of the Divine Barrier Realm, but it was more than enough to catch up with Shi Xiaole. With another grab, the invisible sphere became stronger, and even if Shi Xiaole used the Undying Seven Illusions, it would not work in the short term.
But he had very little time left.
Sensing the gap between the two narrowed to 800 meters, the round-faced man laughed loudly, "Kirin, why exert so much effort, come to me, Palm Universe!"
A giant hand outline of a hundred feet appeared, obscuring the sky. The hand spread an indescribable aura, as if it could capture everything in the world, and nothing could escape from it.
Shi Xiaole felt cold all over. Under the restraint of the hand, even his Vigorous Air seemed to be concentrated together, effectively being immobilized. But to surrender without a fight was not an option for him.
With a single thought, the sword emitted a violent hum. Layers of wild wind wrapped around it, spreading all around.
Heart Thunder Sword!
If he could, Shi Xiaole would certainly not want to expose this technique. However, his life was hanging by a thread, and he couldn’t care less about preserving it. After all, what use is a trump card if he loses his life?
Just as the sword was about to fly out, a loud laugh came from a distance, and another earth-shattering power directly shattered the hand shade.
"Who’s that?!"
The round-faced man roared angrily.
"Who I am is not important, what’s important is that I want this kid."
The robed elder of the Ghost Lethal Sect caught up and said with a grin.
He had heard the word ’Kirin’ from behind, and looking at Shi Xiaole’s cultivation and rather exaggerated strength, he quickly guessed that this was the fifth monster who had recently shocked the dynasty.
All monsters are people of great aptitude and destiny and are bound to have astonishing Fortunate Fate.
Normally, if you don’t meet one, it’s not a big deal. But now that he had found one, there was no reason to let him go easily.
You have to know, a person like Shi Xiaole, as per the usual practice of the Righteous Path, the Intelligence organization will no longer sell his whereabouts and information.
This makes it difficult to find him again.
The Devil Path naturally has its own intelligence organization.
However, the Devil Path has always been frowned upon by the world. Trying to establish such an organization is undoubtedly challenging, often getting destroyed due to leaked information just after formation. So, in terms of scale and efficiency, it is far from the intelligence organization of the Righteous Path.
"I want to see what ability you have to say this."
The round-faced man’s heart was heavy, but his momentum was no less powerful. Seeing that the robed elder had been tracking him for so long without his knowledge, this old man was sure to be tricky.
Boom!
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Behind him, a horrifying noise cracked the sky. The sound waves hit him, rocking the Vigorous Air around Shi Xiaole.
The sky turned blue-gray. Every time the two giant palms clashed, the sea within a thousand miles stirred up hundred-meter-high waves, again and again till all was engulfed in mist.
PuT!
Shi Xiaole nearly tumbled into the sea, his face ashen.
The aftereffects of two Divine Barrier Realm Terrestrial Immortals’ fights were not easy to withstand. Fortunately, they both seemed to want to capture him alive and hence were holding back.
The blockade line of the Sea Whale Alliance appeared in the distance.
But sensing the commotion here, the people on the ships were terrified. No longer daring to show off their might, they didn’t even have time to turn their heads. They dashed off in fear, fleeing or jumping into the sea.
Rumble!
Looking down from the sky, a broad, snow-white misty belt extended for tens of thousands of meters, spreading everywhere. The nearby ships, once obscured by the mist, were instantly reduced to countless splinters and swallowed by the waves.
Even with Life and Death True Intent, Shi Xiaole was on the edge. For the speed of his injuries was far faster than healing. Faced with the martial strength of the Terrestrial Immortals, Life and Death True Intent was insufficient.
"Either die or get captured by them?"
Shi Xiaole couldn’t help but smirk.
Based on his observations during these times, he was clear that the Heart Thunder Sword was not enough to hurt either of them.
As for the killing skills, those exchanged with first-level mid-grade martial arts, still remained at the Dragon Gate Realm level and were powerless to threaten the Divine Barrier Realm Terrestrial Immortals.
In other words, his current opponents were too strong for him to resist.
Woosh!
Catching something in his peripheral vision, suddenly, within the boiling sea, the sea surface bulged, and a mysterious shadow popped up. The endless water flow parted from both sides, revealing a colossal object.
The shockwaves from the two Terrestrial Immortals hit it and were stopped by an invisible force. Instead of destroying the object, they broke it apart, plunging into the mist.
It was a solitary island!
Strangely, the island surface was blue with mounds of dirt accumulating and forming not-so-tall mountains. The seawater around it flowed into the gaps between the mountains, creating rivers.
On the blue island surface, there were also three human-sized yellow stone statues, each in a different posture, emanating an inexplicable essence that somehow enticed people’s souls.
How could a solitary island rise from the sea, and how could it move so swiftly?
The next instant, Shi Xiaole saw it clearly. Despite being in such a dangerous situation, he couldn’t help but widen his eyes.
What he thought was an island was actually a hundred-meter-long blue whale! The portion visible above the surface was its back, while the lower half was submerged in the sea bed.
"Mountain Opening Hand!"
The robed elder had grasped the martial path of palm, the Mountain Opening. With a single swing of his palm, it clashed with the rotund man’s palm shadow, and a wave of whitewater surged forth, shattering the mist.
Shi Xiaole was the first to be flung away, spraying a trail of blood mist. Ironically, his body landed precisely on the back of the blue whale.
At the same moment, a soothing sound, which tranquilized the soul, came from the mouth of the blue whale. It seemed oblivious to the danger and continued its lonely journey. The shockwaves hitting its massive body were automatically deflected, doing it no harm.
"What?!"
Both Terrestrial Immortals were stunned.
"It’s something on its back!"
Quickly, the robed elder’s eyes revealed a strong craving.
Of course, a blue whale couldn’t have developed spiritual awareness. However, something on its back radiated a profound and mysterious martial aura, directly dissolving their attacks.
"Beast, die!"
The robed elder sneered and forcefully slapped the back of the blue whale, intending to probe.
The huge palm shadow obscured the sun and the moon. When it was still a hundred meters above the sea, it already pressed a ten-meter-deep imprint on the sea. The overwhelming gravity was almost suffocating Shi Xiaole below.
Thud!
When the palm shadow was fifty meters away from the back of the blue whale, that bizarre aura surged forth again. Like a protective shield, it indented under the impact of the palm shadow. When the indentation reached five meters deep, it disappeared.
The robed elder’s pupils constricted.
He exerted 80% of his strength in that strike, yet it didn’t even raise a tiny wave.
The lightly wounded, round-faced man was also alert. Seeing Shi Xiaole, an idea struck him. He descended towards the back of the blue whale, withdrawing all his vigor as he drew near.
This time the protective layer didn’t appear, and he landed smoothly on the back.
Seeing this, the robed elder didn’t hesitate and did the same.
However, their excitement didn’t last long and was soon replaced by gloom. They realized they were caught in a mysterious large array.
The several hundred-meter whale’s back turned into a boundless island surface, and the mounds of dirt tens of meters high had become insurmountable mountains. Due to different landing points, the distance between each other increased infinitely. They were isolated from each other.
