Chapter 650: Chapter 649: Zhuolu Plain (Extra for ’Enchanting Demon Eyes’, please vote!)
"Truly, the world is full of capable people."
At the crack of dawn, Shi Xiaole put down the books in his hands with a reflective expression.
The books recorded sixty different methods of breakthrough, each one containing the profound insights of a Terrestrial Immortal, gifted to him by Mu Ling and the others.
Having just returned to the inn after the gathering, Shi Xiaole had eagerly begun reading, continuing until dawn. However, instead of feeling tired, he was bursting with energy.
From these sixty breakthrough methods, he’d learned a wealth of knowledge and even solved some of his previous doubts.
Back in the South Sea, using the Array System on the back of the Blue Whale, Shi Xiaole had already understood eighty percent of the breakthrough method. The remaining twenty percent was challenging to figure out.
Now, he felt an urge to begin sorting out the remaining details of the breakthrough method immediately.
"This place is not safe. I must find another place."
Looking at the sky outside, Shi Xiaole suppressed his impulse. Only after Qin Xiangyu and the others woke up did he quickly explain and then hurriedly departed.
"What’s happened to Brother Shi?"
The beautiful young girl looked puzzled.
"He said he wanted to go into seclusion. Could he have gained something new?"
Qin Xiangyu and Yu Zhao looked at each other in confusion.
They couldn’t figure out what else Shi Xiaole could possibly improve at his level?
In a dense mountain range, there was a man-made cave, blocked by a large pile of rocks. It was so well-hidden that even if a Lord Level individual passed by, they wouldn’t discover it.
Inside the pitch-black cave, Shi Xiaole sat quietly, deeply immersed in self-forgetful enlightenment.
"The Martial World often says a person can only walk one martial path, otherwise, they will suffer a mental breakdown and fall into madness. Should I challenge this rule?"
In Shi Xiaole’s heart, there were no limits that couldn’t be broken.
In the past, people said a warrior at the Dragon Gate Realm could not defeat a master at the False Divine Barrier Realm, yet he had done it.
Some also said it was impossible to combine mental power with martial arts, but his Heart Thunder Sword had shattered this belief.
So, should he keep pushing further and break the rule that a person can only grasp one form of martial arts?
The answer was affirmative.
Up to now, Shi Xiaole had understood four True Intents - Wind True Intent, Illusion True Intent, Demonic True Intent, and Life and Death True Intent.
Among them, Wind True Intent and Illusion True Intent were both top-level true intents. Demonic True Intent and Life and Death True Intent were Supreme True Intents. He couldn’t bear to give up any of them.
Perhaps he was a bit too greedy. However, without greed, how could one strive to obtain what they desired? Moreover, Shi Xiaole’s greed wasn’t blind.
The merger of his spirits from two lives had made his spirit power extraordinarily profound. He even suspected that the creation of his Heart Thunder Sword was closely related to his unique spirit power.
What was the purpose of climbing the Martial Path? It was nothing more than to become stronger, live freely, and explore the mysteries of the universe. Therefore, Shi Xiaole would never give up anything that could make him better!
Moreover, it was too late to regret now.
While experiencing the Array System on the back of the Blue Whale, Shi Xiaole had experimented with numerous possibilities of combining different martial paths. He wished to break everyone’s understanding and create a breakthrough method that had never been seen before.
If not for the highest level of comprehension that he possessed, he would have figured out all the horrifying breakthrough methods during those decades. He wouldn’t have dragged it until now.
The time had come to complete the final stage.
Humming sounds...
A layer of unnoticeable aura emanated from Shi Xiaole, spreading silently in all directions.
His Vigorous Air split into four streams. One carried the sharpness of the Wind Sword, another carried an illusionary aura, the third was filled with fierce flames, and the last one was chaotic and carried the aura of life and death.
If anyone were here, they would be frightened speechless. Shi Xiaole could actually use his mind to control four True Intents simultaneously. It was unheard of and unseen before.
Boom!
In the spiritual sea above, a small green sword representing the Wind Sword Way began to vibrate. After being injected with green Vigorous Air, it became more solid.
At the same time, three strands of entirely different Vigorous Air surged towards the spiritual sea. Under Shi Xiaole’s control, they compressed into three specks of light, arranged beside the green sword.
One of them turned into a fuzzy crystal phantom, giving people delusions at a glance.
The second was a black and red shadow, like a vague human figure, incredibly evil.
The third was a ring, half black and half white, circulating endlessly.
However, compared to the solid green sword, these three images were extremely fragile, like candles in the wind, ready to extinguish at a breath.
One day.
Two days.
As time passed, the images became clearer and clearer, with traces of martial aura beginning to spread.
"No!"
At the critical moment, Shi Xiaole opened his eyes and forcefully stopped.
Just now, he felt a terrifying pressure on his invincible spiritual sea, as though a human was facing the vast sky, impossible to resist.
It should be noted that the spiritual sea was not the same as mental power.
Shi Xiaole’s spiritual power, even though it made up only two or three percent of his Spirit Sea, was already equivalent to a moderate Divine Barrier Realm level. This provided a rough measure of how powerful his Spirit Sea was, possibly surpassing the Divine Barrier Realm!
However, despite this, there was still a faint indication that his Spirit Sea could not bear the accompanying strain.
What Shi Xiaole was unaware of was that his current actions were like he was wrapped in explosives; the slightest misstep could lead to his complete collapse.
Luckily it was him, the strength of his Spirit Sea was unreasonable. If it had been anyone else, they wouldn’t have dared to concurrently condense four types of martial arts, not even having the chance to regret as they would have met their demise already.
"The quality of my spirit is a little lacking."
Shi Xiaole looked very grim.
He was confident that he was on the verge of perfecting the breakthough method. According to his calculations, everything should proceed smoothly to the last step. However, despite all his calculations, he hadn’t expected that his spirit’s quality was not high enough. He had the theoretical knowledge but found himself unable to execute it into practice.
"It seems that I must find a way to obtain the Essence Stone."
The only way to enhance the quality of the spirit was through the Essence Stone.
Cold sweat broke out on Shi Xiaole’s body, as he violently recalled; what if even after enhancing his spirit’s quality, he still couldn’t bear the combined force of the four martial arts?
After all, as per the Martial World’s saying, the Essence Stone can only increase the spirit’s quality by one level.
"Let’s take it one step at a time. Why worry too much? I should get the Essence Stone first."
Shi Xiaole started laughing again. He was not one to worry unnecessarily. Rather than being distressed, it was better to take action. Things would naturally work themselves out.
Leaving the cave, Shi Xiaole returned to Windhearing City’s inn, where Qin Xiangyu and the others were indeed still waiting for him.
"The breakthrough was not successful."
Shi Xiaole shrugged his shoulders.
The others gaped in surprise.
From his tone, does that mean that Shi Xiaole had planned to break through to the Divine Barrier Realm? If they weren’t mistaken, he was only twenty-six years old, even younger than the Martial Emperor was at the time.
"Brother Shi, this is a serious matter, don’t rush!"
Yu Zhao quickly advised.
Once the martial arts force forms in a person’s Spirit Sea, even if it is incomplete, it cannot be removed again, and a person’s Spirit Sea can only bear one kind of martial art. Therefore, if the breakthrough fails, it equates to losing the chance of reaching the Divine Barrier Realm for the rest of one’s life.
Of course, theoretically speaking, if one’s spiritual quality is high enough, then they should be able to bear more martial energy, and could try again even if they fail.
But the reality is, in the thousands of years of Martial World history, there has never been such a person. Besides, if the spirit’s quality was high enough, they wouldn’t have failed in the first place.
Some people say that this is determined by the nature of a person’s soul!
No matter how high the quality of your spirit is, a person’s soul determines that it can only bear one kind of martial art. It’s just like how a normal person, no matter how robust, can only have two hands.
Yu Zhao didn’t want Shi Xiaole to take such a big risk just to break a record.
Qin Xiangyu and the pretty young girl were also a bit worried, repeatedly emphasizing the importance of the matter.
"Thank you for your concern, I will be careful."
Shi Xiaole laughed.
In the following days, he started investigating the Essence Stone, and after analyzing various bits of information, Shi Xiaole targeted a place called Zhuolu Plain.
Zhuolu Plain used to be famous because Essence Stones were discovered there.
Unfortunately, after the news leaked, the whole world was shaken, and countless masters rushed there, leading to a world-shaking battle.
It was said that the slaughter at that time was unprecedentedly tragic. The entire plain was shrouded in blood, and the blood had seeped three inches into the ground - it couldn’t be washed away.
Nearly a thousand years had passed since that battle, and the Essence Stones in Zhuolu Plain had long since been exhausted. However, in recent years, it was said that occasionally, one or two Essence Stones could be found there.
There was also news that all the major forces had sent people to inspect the site painstakingly after that event, spending several years and only found just over a dozen Essence Stones.
For martial artists, a dozen or so Essence Stones were not even enough to fill the gaps between their teeth, and they contributed little to enhancing spiritual quality. That’s why few martial artists visit there.
With that time and energy spent seeking for it, it would be more worthwhile to practice martial arts conscientiously.
As for sending people to look for them, after being scavenged by all the major forces, the probability of finding Essence Stones in Zhuolu Plain is almost nil, and it would just be a waste of manpower and resources.
"Brother Shi, I happen to need to go home for a while, and Zhuolu Plain is in Yuanling’s territory. Why don’t you come with me?"
Seeing that Shi Xiaole was interested in obtaining the Essence Stone, Qin Xiangyu boldly extended an invitation. After finishing her words, she looked elsewhere, her face slightly red.
It wasn’t that she had any romantic feelings for Shi Xiaole, but each time she consulted him about the sword art, she would always gain something, so she wanted to continue to "sponge" off him.
In addition, while there were no romantic feelings, the so-called attraction between men and women exists. Faced with a wonderful man like Shi Xiaole, Qin Xiangyu would inevitably develop some likings towards him.
Yu Zhao and the pretty young girl also looked at Shi Xiaole, their faces full of expectation.
"Since you all don’t mind, I will take you up on your offer."
Zhuolu Plain was the only place where Essence Stones have appeared in large quantities. There wasn’t much else to do at the moment, so why not go to have a look?
Qin Xiangyu and the others were overjoyed. That day, the four of them left Windhearing City together, heading towards Yuanling. The group became more familiar with each other as the journey progressed.
About a month later, a slightly gloomy plain appeared in front of Shi Xiaole.
He didn’t know if it was an illusion, but the air above the plain was a little red, as if a countless amount of blood after being diluted had been blown to mid-air.
That was Zhuolu Plain.
