Chapter 709: Chapter 708: Probe
Ten centenarian Earth Immortals from the Devil Path had jointly attacked but were beat back by one person, and this scene deeply struck the few people in the pavilion.
Especially for people like Xiao Yujian, Mo Wan, Han Sen, who were on the same level as Zong Yue, they felt as though this was an unreal dream. Momentarily astonished, they couldn’t believe it.
"What kind of demonic technique did you use to dominate?!"
With blood at the corner of his mouth, an incredulous and frenzied expression filled Helian Ba’s face. He was like a meteor on a collision course, with the light from his domineering fist illuminating the plaza. He didn’t believe that a Ghost Guard from the Left Sect could be this strong; it must be the effect of a hallucination technique.
"Go back."
The air surrounding Shi Xiaole once again swirled into a distorted whirl, diverting Helian Ba’s fist energy the moment it thrust in, before ricocheting it back towards him.
"Thump!"
Helian Ba was knocked back, rolling several times on the ground before finally stopping.
"Did I not strike hard enough just now?"
A black mist, followed by sword light, surged towards him. The attackers were Lin Ke and Zhu Tang. Shi Xiaole swiftly turned his head, causing the distorted space to rebound the onslaught once again.
Bang! Bang!
Shi Xiaole flew out, his two fists sending Lin Ke and Zhu Tang flying. They couldn’t get up for a while.
"Knowing your own weakness but still trying to show strength, is not bravery, but stupidity."
Looking at the other seven who were waiting for a chance to strike, Shi Xiaole asked, "What do you think?"
The man in black had a cold gaze like a knife, brimming with qi energy, calmly saying, "Your illusion technique is very clever, causing us to fight amongst ourselves just now. Once your illusion technique is broken, your power will be reduced by at least 50%."
"You’re quite right. But you just can’t break it."
At Shi Xiaole’s statement, the man in black turned ashen, wanting several times to swing his blade, but ultimately refrained. Seeing him stand still, the other four from the Dreamy Sect naturally did not move.
The two remaining Langyao Sect experts were stuck in a predicament, they were so embarrassed that they wished they could faint on the spot.
"Junior Brother Zong’s skills are impressive. May I know where you learned this illusion technique?"
At the critical moment, Helian Yong walked out from the pavilion, smiling and breaking the awkward silence.
His question seemed casual, but it hinted that Shi Xiaole’s illusion technique was not from the Left Sect, carrying an inexplicable implication.
Upon hearing this, Shi Xiaole chuckled. The Devil Path’s attitude towards martial arts inheritance was more open than the Righteous Path, and the disciples were not required to hand over the martial arts they learned, conversely, they could receive corresponding resources for doing so. He laughed, "This is the inheritance of Shadow Illusion King. I’ve only learned the basics."
The man in black wasn’t wrong. Just now, Shi Xiaole didn’t use force to repel the ten experts, in fact, even if he used all his strength he couldn’t have done so.
The real reason was that he used the Mountain Character Scripture to create illusions in advance. The ten experts seemed to strike at Shi Xiaole, but in reality, they struck at each other.
And because the air was distorted, even the onlookers could hardly see clearly.
Shi Xiaole dared to reveal the Mountain Character Scripture, on one hand because of the open-mindedness of the Devil Path. On the other hand, the Left Sect did not lack top-level martial arts, so they were unlikely to take stupid actions out of jealousy.
Besides, Shi Xiaole believed that the high-ranked figures of the Left Sect in hiding should understand that the reason his illusion technique was powerful was precisely because of his high spiritual quality.
In other words, he was a unique genius in terms of illusion techniques.
Perhaps after this incident, instead of being persecuted, Shi Xiaole would receive even more attention from the Left Sect!
"So that’s the case! With your aid, Junior Sister Yun is like a tiger with wings!"
Helian Yong praised while laughing.
Shi Xiaole snickered inwardly, thinking, ’Is he trying to drive a wedge between me and the other Ghost Guards now?’ He smiled and said, "I also think so."
Helian Yong choked.
In the pavilion, Ren Mengzhen started to chuckle, her beautiful eyes twinkling, her thoughts not known.
Helian Ba and the others stood up from the ground, their eyes flaming, but knowing they were not Shi Xiaole’s opponents, they said nothing more embarassing.
A small exchange meeting of the three represented sects of the Demon Door came to an end unexpectedly.
"Zong Wei, you’ve made great contributions this time, these three things all belong to you."
Perhaps acknowledging Shi Xiaole’s value, Yun Chuoxi waved her hand generously after they returned to the main hall and said, her beautiful face cold as moonlight yet exuding a rare gentle smile.
"Thank you for your reward, Miss. I, Zong Yue, am willing to serve you with all my might, unto death."
Of course, Shi Xiaole wouldn’t be foolish enough to refuse. Who knows when he would leave the Left Sect, so he’d grab whatever benefits he could. Moreover, these three items were indeed to his liking.
In the mix of loyalty pledges, encouragement, and complex, unexplained looks from the five Ghost Guards, the three spoils of war were brought back to Shi Xiaole’s room by a Left Sect disciple.
Then under Yun Chuoxi’s lead, they met up with the people from Langyao Sect and Dreamy Sect again, threw a banquet to entertain them, and had plenty of fun amid the mixing of wine cups.
As expected, Shi Xiaole became the target, with the two sects’ experts channeling their anger at being defeated into their drinks, trying to outdrink him.
Not until Shi Xiaole pretended to be so drunk he collapsed onto the ground did they laugh heartily, feeling much better.
After being taken back to his room, Shi Xiaole sobered up. Looking around, he immediately picked up the white pearl on the table and inspected it carefully.
This white pearl, like the green one he got from Meihua Village, the blue one gifted by Shangguan Yan, and the cyan one found in the ruins of Xuanwu State, was identical to the others.
It was late at night. Shi Xiaole blew out the lantern in his room, lined up the four beads, and the moonlight beaming through the window quickly projected a complex but fragmented landscape on the opposite wall.
Shi Xiaole recalled when he was in Peach Forest Town and how using the two green beads in combination had led him to Lotus Peak and subsequently the ancient inheritance of Gu Danchen. He then tried pairing the white bead with each of the other three.
His attempts were fruitless. He also tried grouping the three beads together, but the resulting pattern was still incomplete, so he gave up.
Moreover, given his current strength, opportunities of Gu Danchen level no longer aroused his interest.
"Perhaps once I have all the beads of every color, the full landscape will be revealed."
Shi Xiaole shook his head and chuckled bitterly.
The origin of the beads was mysterious and even the Langyao Sect couldn’t investigate it. How would he know how many there were in total? And even if he did, gathering them all would be as difficult as ascending to heaven.
Having put away the four beads, he turned to pick up the Autumn Water Sword. He drew the sword lightly, its chilly light causing the room’s temperature to drop slightly.
This was indeed a top ranked lower-grade spiritual weapon, which probably wasn’t any inferior to the Red Dragon Sword in terms of quality.
More than 80 percent of Earth Immortals in the Martial World have their own unique spiritual weapons, even masters of hand-to-hand combat would wear some form of gauntlets.
Only a small proportion of these Earth Immortals possess a top notch lower-grade spiritual weapon, and most of them are from top-tier forces.
Such elite lower-grade spiritual weapons are rare, only found in large-scale ruins or tombs. The items from these places are mostly occupied by the top-tier forces.
It is not impossible, but rather difficult for a commoner Earth Immortal to obtain one.
The Autumn Water Sword he was holding could increase Shi Xiaole’s attack strength by at least 10%.
But knowing Ren Mengzhen, there was no way she would use the Autumn Water Sword as a prize at such an exchange meeting. Could it be ... she deliberately gave it to him?
A sudden thought made Shi Xiaole shudder, then he couldn’t help but laugh wryly.
"What is Young Master laughing about?"
A heavenly voice sounded. Shi Xiaole looked up to see a person walking out from the main hall in the room on the right. This person walked past the light-colored screen and elegantly appeared in front of Shi Xiaole.
Wrapped in black gauze, her twin peaks were erect. Her willowy waist was slender, but she had a disproportionate plump buttocks. If it wasn’t Ren Mengzhen, then who else could it be?
"What brings the Saintess here at this late hour? I am a Ghost Guard from the Left Sect, it’s not appropriate for you to visit me at night, is it?"
Shi Xiaole put down the Autumn Water Sword, his face a mixture of confusion and alertness.
"I heard that Young Master has a fondness for women, so I, as a woman, have come to offer myself."
Ren Mengzhen blinked her eyes. Her extremely alluring face bloomed brighter than a hundred flowers. Her enchanting voice caused Shi Xiaole’s chest to heat up, evoking an uncontrollable desire.
She approached with a smile. Her starry eyes were like two clusters of fire behind a thin veil, filled with affectionate intimacy. A wave of virgin fragrance flooded into Shi Xiaole’s nostrils, adding fuel to the fire.
Known as one of the ten most beautiful women in the world, Ren Mengzhen, with her deliberate seduction, captivated Shi Xiaole, such that every pore of his body was burning, urging him to throw himself at her.
Everything had fallen into place perfectly.
Outside the courtyard, the gong of the night watchman rang out in time, snapping Shi Xiaole back to reality.
Danger!
Using the Heavenly Sword to eliminate all distractions, Shi Xiaole barely regained his sanity, and said coldly, "The Saintess has some tricks!"
"Huh?"
Surprise and annoyance flashed across Ren Mengzhen’s face.
Her individual application of the Heavenly Charm magic technique might not have been enough to gain control over this young man with deep mental fortitude, but its failure when combined with the Blood Yang catalyst within him was somewhat terrifying.
"Shi Xiaole, are you even a man?" Ren Mengzhen asked him through a transmission of thoughts.
"Whether I am a man or not is none of your business, and it doesn’t concern you. Leave if you have nothing else to do."
The Blood Yang catalyst within him was more active than ever before; simply looking at the upright Ren Mengzhen was torture, forcing Shi Xiaole to close his eyes.
He was certain that if he surrendered, he would certainly be met with Ren Mengzhen’s merciless mockery and ridicule, and she would surely use this mental vulnerability to take the initiative further.
However, Shi Xiaole failed to notice the blush that had spread across Ren Mengzhen’s pretty cheeks.
Just as he had predicted, Ren Mengzhen came with the intention of exploiting Shi Xiaole’s mental gap in order to gradually conquer him, in order to get the maximum benefit from the Blood Yang catalyst.
But she realized that things were going off track.
The Blood Yang catalyst, a double-edged sword, didn’t give an absolute advantage to either the person who cast it or the person who was under its effect, the situation could be reversed at any time. There were only three possible outcomes: either one would conquer the other, or they would be conquered, or one of them would die first!
The person before her who was inflicted with the spell was terrifyingly stubborn and persistent.
A strong desire for battle sparked in her eyes. Ren Mengzhen laughed, "Young Master Shi, we will meet again. Watch out." Her footsteps gradually faded away, leaving only a trace of her fragrance.
As the Blood Yang catalyst within him was slowly suppressed, Shi Xiaole let out a sigh of relief. He did not take Ren Mengzhen’s words to heart, and after regaining his senses, he practiced for another 2-hour period before falling asleep.
The next day, after bidding farewell to the people from the Langyao Sect and the Dreamy Sect, Yun Chuoxi also announced that they would be setting off. Half a month later, seven of them successfully returned to the headquarters of the Left Sect via a secret route.
