Chapter 663: Chapter 662: Leaving
The red stone had always been lying quietly within the system space until the eighteenth day of basking in the divine stone’s radiance; suddenly, there was a movement, and it resonated with the external divine stone.
Due to the existence of the system space, only Shi Xiaole could feel this resonance.
Mysterious chants entered Shi Xiaole’s ears, exactly the same as the sounds he heard on the first day. Except this time, there was something else – joy and urgency?
Shi Xiaole always believed that everything in the world possesses a spirit. Even a tree or a blade of grass surely coexist and communicate in ways that humans cannot comprehend.
Moreover, this world is full of unfathomable mysteries, so coming across such an incident, apart from being initially startled, he quickly calmed down.
In the following days, the resonance between the divine stone and the red stone became even more intense.
The twenty-first day.
A certain palpitation arose in Shi Xiaole’s heart.
This was due to the energies of the divine stone and the red stone starting to oppose each other. The remnants of the resulting ripples stayed within the system space, giving him an unprecedented perception of the array system aura of the Yiling Barrier.
Vaguely, Shi Xiaole seemed to see a path.
His heart pounded relentlessly, but he carried on as if nothing was happening, spending six two-hour periods at the Spiritual Temple each day, then returning home to cultivate.
By the first month, Shi Xiaole’s spiritual quality had hardly improved, but his perception was becoming clearer. Perhaps he would be able to pinpoint the exact location of the path within five days.
"Brother Shi, you’ve been here for so long; do you have free time tomorrow? Why not introduce us to the local customs of the outside world to promote better communication?"
Qi Sina proposed with a smile during the evening hours, the first time she had come to visit.
Her proposition was very tactful, and the timing was just right, probably based on her experience, knowing that Shi Xiaole’s spiritual quality would be hard to improve at this point.
Truth be told, Qi Sina had put a lot of thought into dealing with him. Shi Xiaole responded with a smile, "I am greatly honored by your invitation, miss, but could it be postponed for a few days?"
"Alright, I will eagerly await your good news, Brother Shi."
There was no hint of displeasure as Qi Sina turned to leave with a smile. Her respectful conduct easily won people’s favor.
"If miss were a man, I would be willing to become friends with her."
Shi Xiaole said as if he was talking to himself, not avoiding the four girls at his side.
"Be friends with me?"
Late at night, Qi Sina scoffed and shook her head, burning the bamboo slip in her hand.
If Shi Xiaole were sincere, that would mean her actions had moved him. If he had said it deliberately for her to hear, he was at least willing to play along, which proved that the goodwill over these days had taken effect.
Therefore, Qi Sina was delighted.
"Tell Xiaodie and the others that, from now on, they are not to pass any messages to me."
Qi Sina suddenly said.
Standing by her side, Yage, the guard once defeated by Shi Xiaole, looked puzzled and couldn’t help asking, "Miss, why is that so?"
"He said that, perhaps wanting to express his own attitude."
When dealing with someone like Shi Xiaole, gentleness is always more effective than force. Sending the four girls earlier was partly to show goodwill, and partly for extra assurance.
Of course, all of these were predicated on Shi Xiaole discovering the girls’ identities.
Qi Sina would not underestimate Shi Xiaole, feeling that it was now time to move on to the second stage.
...
Days went by.
For the Yiling Clan, the ripples of the divine stone contest were gradually fading, but everyone, from the inner dwellings to the outer ones, knew about a youngster named Shi Xiaole.
However, nobody knew that this youngster was planning to leave the Yiling Barrier, to accomplish something unprecedented in the Yiling Clan.
Three days.
Four days.
The serene time arrived on the fifth day.
Ssssh!
Shi Xiaole’s brow moved slightly; the energy within the system space lit up like a lamp, cutting through the fog, allowing him to clearly ’see’ a road crossing the Yiling Barrier.
His intuition told him, that road led to the outside world.
As soon as the time arrived, Shi Xiaole calmly left the Spiritual Temple, not looking back.
The effect of the divine stone’s radiance had reached its pinnacle. Even if he stayed another five years, ten years, his spiritual quality might improve slightly, but that would be meaningless.
The Heaven and Earth Changing Spirit Great Method had also taken a step further, breaching the small accomplishment stage. Although it was still far from complete accomplishment, in terms of destructive power, it had already surpassed the Heart Thunder Sword.
Probably no one could imagine that in less than two months, Shi Xiaole had made a leap in the field of the Spiritual Path. Now he was no less than the weakest divine barrier realm master!
"Young master, you’re back."
Among the four maids, Lan Xiaodie, with her beautiful oval face and the most charming temperament, pounced on Shi Xiaole instantly as she saw him, offering a sweet kiss.
These days, to keep up appearances, Shi Xiaole inevitably made contact with the four girls. After a while, he smiled and asked, "Xiaodie, who do you prefer, me or your miss?"
Lan Xiaodie pouted, "Miss is the miss of the past, now Xiaodie only has young master." Her beautiful eyes were like water, looking up at him with infatuation.
Shi Xiaole laughed again, walked into the room, leaving the four girls looking at each other.
If they were doubtful before, now, they were almost certain that Shi Xiaole must be aware of their conspiracy with their miss.
"Young master won’t mind our previous deception, right? No wonder he was never willing to truly touch us."
"He surely will. But it doesn’t matter, we only need to treat him twice as well with sincerity and tenderness."
"Yes, we still have a long life ahead, and I believe the Young Master will understand our intentions."
The four women were brimming with hope for the future, their pretty faces adorned with smiles.
On the sixth day, Shi Xiaole didn’t go to the Spiritual Temple again. Instead, he faithfully told Qi Sina and others about the situation outside and even voluntarily wrote down a few martial arts secrets.
He didn’t rush to leave because the path from the inner to the outer was fraught with masters. A single misstep could not only result in his inability to escape but also possibly cost him his freedom.
Shi Xiaole didn’t wait for long.
A few days later, Qi Sina led her clansmen to train in the outer forest again, and happily brought Shi Xiaole along.
Until one morning, someone suddenly found that the extraordinarily talented Shi Xiaole was nowhere to be found.
"Find him!"
Qi Sina roared in anger.
Unfortunately, no matter how many people she sent out, she could no longer find any trace of the young man. Even when the news reached the Yiling Clan’s inner residence and large numbers of experts were dispatched, they still returned empty-handed.
The Yiling Clan was in an uproar.
"Could that kid have been assassinated?"
The Ninth Elder’s face darkened, and he strongly suspected that it was the Seventh Elder who had done it.
"It should not be. The Chief has already given the order that no one can harm Shi Xiaole. The Seventh Elder does not have the nerve."
Qi Sina said with a solemn voice.
"Then how could he disappear without a trace?"
"Father, have you thought, Shi Xiaole might not be dead, but... he has left the Yiling Barrier?"
On the slope.
An emaciated old man looked up to the sky with a face full of wrinkles displaying joy that had not appeared for a long time. He mumbled, "You said that path needs to be taken by an outsider first. Now that there is one, it’s time for us to come out in the open."
The old man held a delicate staff in his hand, matching his frail appearance.
"Chief, we should go home," someone in the distance said.
In a palace with rigid lines.
"Shi Xiaole, I know you are not dead and no one will kill you. So, you left? I have a premonition that we will meet again in my lifetime. At that time, I will repay you for that sword. Wait for me!"
Gao Kun sat alone in the center, his face resolute. The surrounding flames flickered, illuminating his figure.
At some point, the flames suddenly solidified into a line of fire, drilling into his pores before exploding into countless sparks. Each spark seemed like a spiritual flower, containing thousands of scenes.
If anyone were here, they would be dumbstruck. Because this scene was eerily similar to the eighth level of the Qiankun Eye—Qiankun Flame.
...
Shi Xiaole walked through an empty corridor and soon reached the end.
He saw that strands of essence were flowing in from the Yiling Barrier, gathering here before dispersing and shooting out. These essences either disappeared on the spot or penetrated into the clefts of the Array System, integrating into some stones of the outside world.
Over time, these stones should turn into Essence Stones!
"As soon as the next batch of Essence Stones appear in Zhuolu Plain, the Martial World is going to be engulfed in bloody chaos again."
Sensing that the energy in the system space was almost exhausted, Shi Xiaole took a step forward.
The world spun around him, presenting a dusk view and an endless landscape.
Zhuolu Plain.
After nearly three months, Shi Xiaole finally returned to the outside world. Thinking about how he managed to leave the Yiling Barrier in such a manner, he felt disoriented and infinitely fearful.
If he hadn’t had that red stone, his future would be tough indeed.
But luckily, he was finally out.
"In the next few days, I will first adjust my condition. Yu Zhao and others must be waiting anxiously, so I might as well rush to the Qin Family first, then find a place to close up and break through to the Divine Barrier Realm!"
With a newfound determination, Shi Xiaole left the setting sun behind him, along with all his doubts and distractions.
...
"Sir Messenger, there’s news."
In a room in an inn, a man was panting, his face flushed with excitement.
"Speak."
Sky Crow Wanderer replied impatiently.
He had been tracking Shi Xiaole to Lingnan, only to find he had vanished. His frustration was understandably simmering.
With all leads exhausted, Sky Crow Wanderer simply stayed in Yuanling, reasoning if he couldn’t find the person, he would simply report back to the Sea Whale Alliance. At worst, he would be reprimanded.
"According to the feedback from our covert line, a Kirin was reportedly spotted on the outskirts of Zhuolu Plain, thirty miles away. And he was alone."
As soon as the words were spoken, the air in the room became thick with tension.
"Is that true?"
The man was hoisted up, and under Sky Crow Wanderer’s scrutiny, he found it incredibly difficult to breathe. He hastily replied, "Yes, it’s true. Our contacts are at designated locations, ready to provide information to the Messenger at any time."
"If you misidentified the person, you’ll pay!"
Leaving behind a chilling remark, Sky Crow Wanderer leaped out of the window and disappeared in an instant, leaving a quaking man soaked in cold sweat, panting heavily on the floor.
