Chapter 631: Chapter 630: Receiving the Reward
After nearly two months of drifting, Shi Xiaole’s second move of Life and Death Sword Technique was still not perfected, but he was not in a hurry. Slow and steady wins the race; this sword technique was extremely powerful and could not be achieved overnight.
The sound of the surging waves was constant. The shoreline in the distance became gradually clearer. They were finally about to reach the mainland.
"Little Blue, I have to go."
Shi Xiaole stood up from the back of the blue whale and said with a smile.
The speed of the blue whale slowed down, and it made a soft sound from its mouth. If you listened closely, it sounded a little sad and mournful. Its eyes also grew moist.
From birth, it had been drifting aimlessly in the sea, never knowing what loneliness was, taking life as it came. Once, three old men had come onto its back, but they only stayed for half a day, then they disappeared without a trace.
It had never been with another creature for such a long time. But this experience made it suddenly realize that there was such a thing as companionship in life.
It finally understood what loneliness was. Its usually cold heart had never felt this warm and hot, but now, he was leaving again.
Shi Xiaole sighed silently, stroking the body of the blue whale gently.
This blue whale was different from the others. The frequency of the sound it made could not be received by other blue whales, dooming it to a life of solitude, migrating aimlessly through the sea every year accompanied only by the stars and the moon.
However, Shi Xiaole was powerless to change this.
"Little Blue, maybe we’ll meet again someday."
Shi Xiaole whispered, trying to comfort it, but his heart ached.
The life span of a blue whale was usually only a few decades, rarely exceeding a hundred years. This blue whale’s life essence was already more than halfway depleted. Leaving the South Sea today, Shi Xiaole did not know when he would return. Even if he did, the chance of them crossing paths in the vast sea was virtually zero.
So, this farewell was also a farewell forever.
The blue whale cried out as if it was pleading Shi Xiaole not to leave. Its massive body didn’t make any daring moves either.
Shi Xiaole was reluctant to leave but he knew he must. After thinking for a moment, streams of Vigorous Air, under his guidance, input into the body of the blue whale.
This Vigorous Air contained the essence of life, healing the wounds on the blue whale’s body at an extremely fast rate. The remaining energy stayed in its body, forming a resonant connection with Shi Xiaole’s vigorous air.
Knowing it was a permanent farewell, but at least they left a thought for each other.
"Little Blue, if there’s a chance in the future, I’ll find you."
Without giving it another glance, Shi Xiaole leaped into the air, flying towards the distant shoreline.
Sad cries came from behind, followed by the sound of splashing water. Without turning his head, Shi Xiaole knew that the blue whale must be chasing him. However, there was no way its speed could keep up with his. After a short while, the sounds became fainter until he couldn’t hear them anymore.
Upon reaching the shore, Shi Xiaole turned back to see. The whale was leaping out of the sea, sending splashes all around. Its body blocked the sunlight, and the cry from its mouth seemed to be blessing him. He couldn’t help but smile, waved at it, and started walking away.
...
Southern Star City, a city to the southwest of Tian State, was only several dozen miles away from the South Sea. The city had a permanent population of about five million, not too large nor too small.
Upon entering Southern Star City, Shi Xiaole’s first reaction was to buy a manor. But when he checked his savings, he realized he didn’t have enough money. Plus, several mansions were being built on Nine Heavens Mountain, and he didn’t have the option to withdraw money from the bank. Reluctantly, he had to stay at an inn.
The first thing he did was to contact the Tian State Demon Alliance as Wind Evil, conveying that the task had been completed.
About a few days later, in front of a dilapidated temple in Southern Star City.
"Where’s the person?"
This time, there were three people present for the task handover. All of them wore gold powder masks and gold powder robes. Bathed in the moonlight, they looked as if countless gold scales were blooming on them, radiating grandeur and dignity.
Different ranks in the Demon Alliance corresponded to different attire. The three people present, with their grand outfits, were clearly leaders. The ambiguous strength that emanated from them was even stronger than the robed elder and the round-faced man.
Having deployed such forces for the task transfer suggested that the Demon Alliance greatly valued this mission!
Shi Xiaole did not appear directly. Instead, he was standing on a distant mountain that overlooked the ruined temple. This was an observation spot he had found after spending a lot of time searching upon learning of the handover location.
The weight of the Ghost Killing Yama Order was considerable, so much so that Shi Xiaole didn’t have to guess to know that the Demon Alliance would surely send important figures, and those people usually possessed superior strength, so much so that he couldn’t resist them.
Furthermore, the reward he had received for this task was also substantial. What if they were tempted?
The thought of doing harm to others may not exist, but the thought of self-protection must.
Shi Xiaole had always been careful, so he did not show up directly. Instead, he had made other arrangements.
"Strange, the appointed time has passed. Why haven’t we seen anyone?"
The man in the golden robe on the left looked around, furrowing his brow under the mask.
Every handover of the Demon Alliance tasks had a strict time limit. Once the time had passed, it would be considered as task failure.
The news of someone completing the task to find the Demon Sound Elder had shaken the entire upper echelons of the Demon Alliance. Should it end up being a misunderstanding, the joke would indeed be on them.
The man in the golden robe in the middle was more composed. Suddenly, he looked up to see a white pigeon flying over. A rolled-up note was tied to the pigeon’s leg. With a stir of his heart, he swiftly beckoned and seized the pigeon.
Unfolding the note to read it, the man in the golden robe sighed bitterly, "Wind Evil really... He wants us to place the reward at a designated spot, and then he will instruct us to collect the item."
"What does that mean... Could he be suspecting us of harboring malicious intentions towards him?"
The golden-robed men sitting on either side all exclaimed in extreme infuriation, as if they felt their dignity had been insulted.
"Never mind, the task this time is of no small significance, it’s no wonder he is being so cautious."
The golden-robed man in the middle crumbled the note into powder. Despite feeling helplessness, he couldn’t help but admire him.
He had looked into the man’s history before coming and found that while he hadn’t taken on many tasks, his success rate was a hundred percent. This time, especially, he claimed to have found an artifact of the Demon Sound Elder which made people marvel at his heavenly luck.
But now it seemed that Wind Evil was much more than just lucky. His deep-seated strategies and attention to detail were likewise extraordinary.
Per the instructions on the note, the three golden-robed men placed a wooden box at a specified location in a ruined temple and then proceeded to wait in an abandoned house.
Upon senses reaching out and confirming the three men had walked far away, Shi Xiaole entered the ruined temple. He opened the box and discovered, indeed, a Twinkling Star Stone and a Stone Touching Skill scroll. He quickly took the box and left.
This time he went to a place several kilometers away from the abandoned house and released a second white pigeon.
Such pigeons, trained by humans, had excellent memories. They would not fly the wrong way to places they had been before, a fact which Shi Xiaole had already tested.
After much thought, Shi Xiaole decided to hand over the Ghost Killing Yama Order.
For some, the Ghost Killing Yama Order represented immense power, but Shi Xiaole was well aware that without strength, even if he did have the order, the Ghost Lethal Sect members would not obey him. He might instead end up trapping himself.
Moreover, if he didn’t hand over the Ghost Killing Yama Order, he wouldn’t technically have completed the task, and therefore wouldn’t receive the Twinkling Star Stone and the Stone Touching Skill scroll.
After reading the note on the second pigeon, the three golden-robed men rushed to the centre of the abandoned house. The man in the middle pressed down with his palm, reducing the stone slab to rubble. Two meters below emerged a terrifyingly ferocious token.
Heavy breathing could be heard.
Picking up the token, the central golden-robed man hastily incited his Divine Barrier Realm Vigorous Air to squeeze the token. However, it remained unscathed. Instead, a bout of demonic energy emanated from it, shocking him into quickly defending himself.
"Haha, good! The Yama Order, sought by countless people, could end up in our possession in the Demon Alliance! Haha, Wind Evil has contributed greatly!"
The man in the middle laughed uproariously, revealing indescribable excitement and disbelief. The other two were also profoundly shaken, feeling a surreal sense of being in a dream.
Honestly, a significant portion of the Demon Alliance’s upper echelons didn’t believe that Wind Evil could complete the task. After all, with his vision and knowledge, he might have just retrieved a counterfeit of the Ghost Killing Yama Order.
During the past conflict between the two factions of the Ghost Lethal Sect, such a farce had occurred before.
Who could have anticipated that happiness would come so suddenly, and that the token would actually be genuine!
"With the Ghost Killing Yama Order, our Demon Alliance plant within the Ghost Lethal Sect will gain the upper hand. Perhaps we can take this chance to truly control the Ghost Lethal Sect."
The right-hand golden-robed man excitedly said.
"It’s not that simple, but with this token, things would indeed become much easier."
The chest of the golden-robed man in the middle heaved with emotion. Given his disposition, he was at a loss for words for a while. After a long time, he managed to compose himself and said, "We must act swiftly and head back to headquarters."
"Upon completion of this task, Wind Evil, by rights, should be promoted to Master. However, given that he seems reluctant to meet us, we’ll let the Sanctuary Master in this area deliver his Master’s robes and the reward."
Upon mentioning Wind Evil, the three golden-robed men felt both exasperated and amused. However, it was undeniable that they each remembered him.
...
The Twinkling Star Stone, said to weigh three catties was in actuality only the size of a fingernail piece. It was silvery-white, and upon close examination, one could see faint light radiating from within, piercing the eye.
Taking out the Red Dragon Sword, Shi Xiaole attempted to slice the Twinkling Star Stone with it, but got nothing aside from the sword being bounced back.
"Indeed, the main ingredient for refining an Intermediate-level Spiritual Weapon is impressively solid."
Shi Xiaole had used eighty percent of his strength in that slash. Not only did he not damage the Twinkling Star Stone, but he even had the feeling that if he continued like this, the Red Dragon Sword might get damaged first.
Satisfied, Shi Xiaole stored the Twinkling Star Stone and started reading the Stone Touching Skill scroll.
However powerful an Intermediate-level Spiritual Weapon, it was still an external object. Given the same conditions, he naturally chose to focus on the Stone Touching Skill first. Once he had honed this, his mental powers and comprehension would both improve.
A first-tier low-quality Stone Touching Skill was as difficult to cultivate as a first-tier intermediate-level martial art. However, Shi Xiaole had the system space, which allowed him to ignore any damage to his mental power caused by the Stone Touching Qi Cyclone going out of control, and hence he could make any number of attempts.
With this significant advantage, Shi Xiaole was able to fully master this Stone Touching Skill, known as the Qi Lock Heart Sutra, in just seven days. Ten days after that, he successfully reached the state of perfection.
