Chapter 669: Chapter 668: Advance into the Divine Border (End)
As the acupuncture point at the base of his skull was opened, a fragment of his spirit was on the verge of being stripped away from his spirit sea.
Just then.
In the secret chamber, the air erupted violently, forming a wild cyclone, and a layer of power was drawn from it. This power followed Shi Xiaole’s spiritual sense into the acupuncture point, and then into his spirit sea.
He felt a wave of pain, like the waves in the sea, smoothed out by an invisible force. Shi Xiaole was drained of strength, blood trickled from the corner of his mouth, but he wore a hint of a smirk.
If human eyes could penetrate through, they would discover that his spirit sea, which was on the brink of collapse, was compressed together again by the mysterious force, and the cracks were healing quickly.
Huff! Huff! Huff!
In just a few breaths, the power in the air of the secret chamber was drained.
The secret chamber prepared by the Qin Family for Shi Xiaole was extremely secure. It was comprised of twenty layers extending hundreds of meters into the ground. After the power in the first layer was drained, the second and third layers followed...
The mysterious force in the air, unimpeded by the walls, rushed into Shi Xiaole’s mind. Because it was too urgent, a small cyclone was whipped up in the chamber where Shi Xiaole was.
A typical Divine Barrier Realm expert could absorb the mysterious force within a radius of about fifty meters during their breakthrough.
A stronger Divine Barrier Realm expert could reach a range of eighty meters.
Further still, it could surpass one hundred meters.
But to be able to absorbs the mysterious force within a few hundred meters like Shi Xiaole, draining it completely, was almost unprecedented in the Martial World.
Under the nourishment of the mysterious force, Shi Xiaole’s spirit sea not only recovered but also improved. It became roughly thirty percent stronger than before.
This led to an increase in his spiritual power, which was not far off from the strongest Divine Barrier Realm experts.
To his surprise, an even more pure power suddenly poured in from all directions, entering the one hundred and eighty thousand pores of Shi Xiaole.
His Vigorous Air made a sizzling sound upon contact with this force, constantly condensing and evaporating. By the time this force exited his body, only sixty percent of Shi Xiaole’s Vigorous Air remained.
But he still felt an unprecedented strength.
If his Vigorous Air was pure and profound before breaking through the Divine Barrier, then now, his Vigorous Air had turned into a rushing river, each droplet contained astonishing power.
"The power of heaven and earth, cleansing the Vigorous Air, so this is how it works."
Shi Xiaole took a deep breath.
The red strange stone he got in Kuangyun City could purify his Vigorous Air, but it couldn’t improve its quality.
The baptism just now clearly compressed his Vigorous Air many times over. A part of the heaven and earth power merged into his Vigorous Air, which in turn increased Shi Xiaole’s strength until his body reached saturation.
"Because my Vigorous Air exceeds the ordinary by a lot, its potential is much higher. Hence, I gained greater benefits during the baptism."
Filled with an ecstatic excitement, Shi Xiaole looked within himself.
Four distinct miniature worlds were clearly forming above his spirit sea.
On the far left was a swirling cyclone of blue wind strings. These strings entered the blue sword at their center and formed a ridge on the sword, occasionally flashing with a curious light. The sword was incredibly sharp.
The Wind Sword Way improved from the initial thirty percent to the late thirty percent.
The second from the left was a yin-yang diagram of Tai Chi that had stopped rotating after taking shape, similar to the human-shadow shaped illusion on the third left, which was distinct but motionless.
On the far right was a pond. Fog constantly emanated from the pond, obscuring the illusion droplet suspended above it. It seemed to absorb human souls.
This was the Illusion Martial Way. It had directly reached twenty percent, probably due to his increased spiritual power.
"Wind Sword Way at thirty percent, Illusion Martial Way at twenty percent, but the Life-Death Martial Way and Demon Martial Way haven’t even gotten off the ground yet."
Opening his eyes, Shi Xiaole smiled, not minding.
The Life-Death Martial Way and Demon Martial Way are considered Supreme Martial Arts after all. Plus, his comprehension isn’t deep. To be honest, being able to condense them this time was a great fortune.
Given time, once he has accumulated enough, he would naturally be able to improve the two martial arts.
Coming back to his senses, Shi Xiaole began to release his spiritual power to test the range of his detection.
Five hundred meters.
One thousand meters.
One thousand five hundred meters.
It wasn’t until he reached two thousand five hundred meters that his spiritual power finally reached its limit.
The round-faced man he met in the South Sea had a detection range of just over a thousand meters. In other words, Shi Xiaole’s current spiritual power was more than twice that of ordinary Terrestrial Immortals.
If he were to use the Heaven and Earth Changing Spirit Great Method now, it would be undoubtedly much more terrifying than before.
"I wonder what level my strength has reached now."
Satisfied with the progress of his spiritual power, Shi Xiaole became curious about his martial arts strength.
The Sky Crow Wanderer he encountered a few days ago probably couldn’t withstand his current sword strike. But the wanderer was only the weakest kind of Terrestrial Immortal and hardly a point of reference.
"Well, it’s useless to think about it so much, I’ll know when the time comes."
Shaking his head, Shi Xiaole left the secret chamber. Although he had only sequestered himself for less than a day, the energy he had consumed was immeasurable. He needed a good rest.
When he walked out of the secret chamber, the brilliant sunlight shone on him, brightening his mood. Looking down, he found a group of people standing opposite him.
At the forefront was the Ancestor of the Qin Family, alongside Qin Xianghe and a host of other high-ranking members of the Qin Family. Qin Xiangyu was also in the crowd.
If their gazes could be materialized, then at that moment, the look in the eyes of the Qin family members as they stared at Shi Xiaole would surely be trembling, violently trembling.
For quite some time, no one spoke, the air was ominously still.
"Everyone, what is this..."
Shi Xiaole could roughly guess what it was about.
The Ancestor of the Qin family was the fastest to compose himself, his voice gruff and hoarse as he spoke out, "Little friend Shi, Little friend Shi, just now, were you... were you breaking through the Divine Barrier?
After saying this, even with nearly five centuries’ worth of cultivation, the ancestor of the Qin family couldn’t help but gasp, caught in an inexplicable maelstrom of emotions: nervousness, anticipation, yet a refusal to believe.
The chamber may be hidden, but the oddity was—and there was no other way to put it—Shi Xiaole had caused quite a ruckus earlier. If they failed to notice it, these Terrestrial Immortals of the Qin family might as well quit.
"I had some luck, pardon my display."
Shi Xiaole laughed lightly.
Without explicitly acknowledging it, his seemingly ordinary sentence detonated in the room like a heavy bomb, leaving everyone present dizzy, some older people even staggered.
A series of ragged breaths emanated from these figures, who were normally seen as lofty Terrestrial Immortals. Their lack of composure was humiliating, but who cared about composure now?
"Little friend Shi, honestly tell me, how old are you this year?"
An old man in the Qin family, his beard trembling, could barely articulate his words.
Shi Xiaole rubbed his nose, "If I remember correctly, I should be twenty-seven."
Twenty-seven?
Twenty-seven!
"You, you didn’t lie?"
Another Qin family expert called out, his facial muscles twitching.
This was something the people of the Qin family had known for a long time. However, they couldn’t help but want to ask again and again, as if doing so could dispel the shock in their hearts.
But it couldn’t.
The shock only grew stronger.
In the minds of the Qin family members, Shi Xiaole’s talent should not be inferior to any of the four notorious figures. Hence, they speculated he might break into the Divine Barrier Realm next year, at twenty-eight.
But who could have imagined that just as they finished speaking yesterday, today, Shi Xiaole had broken through directly.
The grand Divine Barrier Realm—the realm that has stopped countless geniuses and talents in their tracks—was so easily breached by him? As if stepping over a threshold, a feat he managed just by lifting his foot.
Everything fell into place.
A beam of sunlight fell between Shi Xiaole and the members of the Qin family. In a daze, they seemed to see a powerful figure, capable of controlling the wind and rain, rising before them.
"The Martial Emperor also broke through to the Divine Barrier Realm at the age of twenty-seven. Brother Shi, you’ve caught up with the Martial Emperor."
After a long silence, Qin Xiangyu forced herself to stay calm, speaking in a voice she believed to be calm.
In the past, people in the Martial World liked to compare the five notorious figures with the Martial Emperor. In fact, the language used was "catching up", meaning not quite there yet.
Today, Shi Xiaole accomplished a feat—breaking into the Divine Barrier at the age of twenty-seven. This was comparable to the Martial Emperor, and strictly speaking, he may have reached this stage earlier than the Emperor did, if only by a bit.
Impressive, very impressive.
Qin Xiangyu’s breath grew heavier and heavier. She knew she couldn’t let this happen, but she was simply unable to control it.
Just yesterday, she was certain that he, with his cultivation at the Dragon Gate Realm, had killed a Terrestrial Immortal. No matter what methods he used, it was still his personal accomplishment. And today, he made a great stride into the Divine Barrier. Qin Xiangyu could imagine the clamor that was about to descend upon the Martial World.
Looking at the calm and composed Shi Xiaole, she had a strong impulse to become one of his admirers.
"A talent blessed by the heavens!"
"The best amongst his peers!"
The people of the Qin family each began to heap praises upon him, some laughing heartily, some visibly excited. Invariably, they were all tremendously excited.
How could they not be excited?
With Shi Xiaole’s talents and progress, it wouldn’t be impossible for him to reach the Void Origin Realm in the future. As long as the Qin family managed their relationship with him well and didn’t deliberately make enemies, their strength would inevitably flourish.
Less than one 2-hour period had passed, the news of Shi Xiaole becoming a master of the Divine Barrier Realm had spread throughout the entire Qin family. Everyone was dumbstruck, unwilling to believe it.
"It’s impossible, absolutely impossible!"
"I don’t believe it either, but my grandfather personally confirmed it. I’ve already asked him several times. If you don’t believe me, you can ask the other elders. Would they lie?"
"This is too unbelievable. Isn’t Kirin only twenty-seven years old? He’s actually one year ahead of the other four notorious figures, and even caught up with the Martial Emperor’s record?"
"Let’s go. No matter what, I have to see Kirin this time, otherwise it would be a huge loss."
A group of young people rushed towards the courtyard where Shi Xiaole was temporarily residing, their faces flushed, as if they were embarking on a pilgrimage.
The elder youths of the Qin Family, the middle-aged, and even all the Martial World experts who had joined the Qin Family, couldn’t help but bring up the matter in their conversations with people they knew. Their words were filled with exclamation and shock, treating Shi Xiaole’s achievement as a great miracle.
Meanwhile, experts from the other three major families, under the leadership of a few eerily composed experts, secretly advanced towards the mountains where the Qin family resided, plotting their devastating scheme.
