Chapter 812: Chapter 811 Entry_1
Within the dantian, the three types of Vigorous Air swirled around, with the Dragon Gate Vigorous Air being the strongest, and both the Great Achiever Energy and the Enduring Humiliation Vigorous Air not even amounting to one-tenth of it, therefore, in less than half a 2-hour period, they were successively tempered to completion.
If one could see through it, they would discover that the already bizarre Great Achiever Energy appeared even more elusive at this moment, moving as if it had no substance, yet capable of suppressing that which is substantial.
The Enduring Humiliation Vigorous Air, on the other hand, condensed into a mass with no dead angles or gaps, giving off an indestructible feeling.
The hardest was the Dragon Gate Vigorous Air, but the gains were also the greatest.
As time passed, more and more impurities were refined, and Shi Xiaole felt the Dragon Gate Vigorous Air like a flood on the verge of bursting its levee, about to become uncontrollable.
One 2-hour period.
Two 2-hour periods.
The medicinal power of the Heavenly Pattern Tempering Gang Pill was clearly weakening, which significantly slowed down the tempering process, but the quality of the Dragon Gate Vigorous Air still continued to improve.
Sizzle.
Sizzle, sizzle...
When the medicinal power was completely exhausted, the Dragon Gate Vigorous Air erupted with a magnificent booming sound, like the mighty celestial river, wildly rushing through the meridians in the body, unspeakably powerful, unstoppable.
At that moment, Shi Xiaole’s cultivation skyrocketed, going from the mid-phase of the Fourth Tier of Divine Barrier Realm straight to the peak, and then smoothly breaking through the invisible barrier.
Boom!
In the midst of the raging wind, Shi Xiaole successfully advanced to the Fifth Tier Earth Immortal of the Divine Barrier Realm.
His floating black hair gently fell to his temples again, and Shi Xiaole slowly opened his eyes. For an instant, two sharp swords appeared briefly in the void, their cold light daunting. Only after a while did they fade away.
"I didn’t expect the effects of the Heavenly Pattern Tempering Gang Pill to be so good."
As a rare elixir in the world, Shi Xiaole had still underestimated the Heavenly Pattern Tempering Gang Pill.
Frankly speaking, the quality of his Vigorous Air now had surpassed that of the Heavenly Concealment Energy, although only by a small margin. Yet, at his level, even the slightest improvements were incredibly astonishing.
Shi Xiaole suspected that if it were not for the high quality of his own Vigorous Air, the refining effect might have been even more terrifying.
Of course, no matter how terrifying, there were limits; it was not possible to turn an average martial artist into an unparalleled genius, so whether in terms of preciousness or effect, the Heavenly Pattern Tempering Gang Pill couldn’t be compared to the Heavenly Hidden Fruit.
With the quality of Vigorous Air improved and his cultivation level increased, Shi Xiaole naturally encountered his first acupoint spring, acquiring the strength of Eighth Tier!
This meant that even without using the 45 strands of Heart Sword, he could fight against a lower Eighth Tier Earth Immortal. And with his combat strength, most of the lower Eighth Tier Earth Immortals would not be his match.
Seeing that the Fire Stiff hadn’t arrived yet, Shi Xiaole was not in a hurry. Adjusting his mood, he began to look over the insights of the Sword Controlling Skill again.
This essay was authored by an ancient swordsman known as the Spirit Sword Mountain Man. It not only detailed his own opinions and methods of cultivation for the Sword Controlling Skill but also recorded the experiences of other swordsmen he was acquainted with. Spanning nearly ten thousand words without a single superfluous one.
This time, Shi Xiaole was even more focused than before, investing all his heart and soul into the bamboo scroll, carefully savoring each word and phrase.
It was as if his soul had left his body, traversing the river of time to that splendid and exciting ancient era where the Spirit Sword Mountain Man and other unparalleled swordsmen of their time discussed and shared their wisdom and insights.
In front of these individuals, he was merely a latecomer, a seeker on the path of swordsmanship.
Time passed by, minute by minute.
Shi Xiaole indulged in the sword waves woven by the words, comprehending their artistic conception, untiring, unaware of the passage of time in the mundane world.
He would sometimes close his eyes in contemplation, sometimes wave his arms as if wielding a sword, sometimes get excited upon validating a thought, and sometimes frown with puzzlement at further questions...
In these depths of concentration, he was opening a wider door of opportunity. Eagerly absorbing, his half-baked theory of Controlling Sword with Qi Skill was rapidly filling up and improving.
Indeterminate time passed.
Shi Xiaole put down the bamboo scroll, with his eyebrows revealing a hint of exhaustion, but more so the joy from his sudden enlightenment.
"So that’s how it is. In the past, I only knew that the power of the Controlling Sword with Qi Skill depended on the strength of one’s will and that the origin was spiritual power, but I ignored the sword’s reaction on the person."
"Force is always two-way. Only by mastering these two entirely different forces and integrating them into one, can the Sword Controlling Skill be truly mastered."
Understanding the theory was one thing, but to truly achieve it required a lot of effort, yet Shi Xiaole relished the challenge.
After all, compared to others, he was extremely fortunate. What did it matter if he had to endure some hardship, when compared to the prospect of mastering the Sword Controlling Skill and emulating the grandeur of the ancient swordsmen?
With devoted focus, Shi Xiaole began to test out the cultivation methods described in the bamboo scroll, capturing the Red Left Sword’s spiritual counter force every time he sent it out, and clarifying its trajectory and patterns.
While simple to speak of, it was difficult to do, especially since Shi Xiaole could not project his spiritual power outward, he was virtually blind and could only rely on the sense provided by Sword Heart Enlightenment.
One day.
Two days.
Three days.
With the provision of food from the system space, Shi Xiaole wasn’t worried about survival issues. Those two Fire Stiffs hadn’t returned, perhaps they had died in the Demonic Vigorous Wind.
Time flew, and in the blink of an eye, a month had passed.
In the vast stone chamber, Shi Xiaole waved his right hand and casually pointed forward, the sheathed Red Left Sword suddenly turned into a streak of red light, directly hitting the stone wall fifty yards away.
Clang!
A rebound – the sword passed by Shi Xiaole’s face at an even greater speed without a trace of air movement or Sword Qi, indicating that the power had been compressed to the utmost, with no energy wasted.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh.
As Shi Xiaole directed with his right arm, the Red Left Sword gained speed every moment. When the speed stabilized, not even its red glow could be seen—only the sound of it piercing the void rang out crisply.
"With my current ability, only after employing the Controlling Sword with Qi Skill for the span of three breaths can I grasp the sword’s power and make use of it–I’m barely at the entry level," he muttered to himself.
With a thought, the Red Left Sword was sheathed, and Shi Xiaole shook his head.
Practicing the Controlling Sword with Qi Skill was tougher than he had imagined; perhaps due to excessive mental exertion, a few more strands of white hair appeared at his temples, lending him the air of an aloof, wise hermit.
But hard as it was, the results were indeed significant. At this moment, if Shi Xiaole were to exert his Sword Controlling Skill to its fullest, not to mention its force, its lethality would undoubtedly surpass that of Wind’s Calamity, even leaving the Heart Thunder Sword behind.
Even if Shi Xiaole were to face his own Sword Controlling Skill, he would have only a fifty percent confidence in avoiding it, which meant he wasn’t sure at all!
Of course, not being able to dodge didn’t mean he couldn’t block it. With the protective Vigorous Air of many peak Earth Immortals, the Sword Controlling Skill might not necessarily break through.
Regardless, this marked a brand new trump card for Shi Xiaole, proving that his strength had advanced another level.
"To further improve the Sword Controlling Skill is not something that can be achieved overnight; it’s time for me to leave."
Opportunities weren’t limited to just the palace. Now that he had the capability to protect himself, Shi Xiaole had no intention of lingering any longer and the thought of setting out arose in his mind.
Standing up from the ground, he glanced at the coffin in the center. Finally, following his intuition, he chose the middle tunnel from among the three and swiftly entered.
...
He found himself in a broad hall, with a ten-yard-wide corridor on the south side, and a pair of massive stone doors, each thirty yards high, on the north.
In front of the stone doors, two distinct groups of martial artists sat clearly divided, totaling more than twenty individuals.
On the left, a larger group with fourteen people including Sun Wei, Xu Fang, and Su Yichen.
And on the right, six people led by a figure in red robes with hair tied up, exuding intense heat – none other than Fire Kylin Real Person.
Both groups looked bedraggled—some with tattered clothes, others with diminished energy—clearly, they had all suffered heavy blows.
"Junior Sister, if you keep staring at that old guy, I’m afraid he might not be able to resist coming over and killing you," a beautiful woman with an up-swept hairstyle teased the white-robed woman beside her.
"Let him come and try."
Bai Ruiting responded with a cold snort.
"Good Junior Sister, you and Fire Kylin Real Person don’t have deep-seated hatred, but just because he has hurt someone, you vow to kill him. It seems that the person he harmed is very important to you?"
Yu Yourong gazed at Bai Ruiting, not missing any expression that crossed her face.
As one of the seven Saintesses of the Longevity Sect, Bai Ruiting’s reputation and status in the Daxia dynasty were not the absolute best of her peers, but certainly among the top tier.
Additionally, among the seven sisters, despite Bai Ruiting’s playful and active nature, her temperament was considered the highest. In the eyes of most, the remarkable young men were not only unforgettable to her but didn’t even qualify to catch her extra glance.
Yu Yourong had been curious about what made Shi Xiaole so special. After hearing that he had defeated Young Master Evil, she understood Bai Ruiting’s attention but felt a pang of regret.
It would be a shame if such a prodigy met an early demise.
"Senior Sister, you’ve misunderstood. Brother Shi once saved me, and since I couldn’t save him, the least I can do is kill Fire Kylin Real Person to avenge him," Bai Ruiting spoke seriously, the intent to kill unabashedly present in her eyes.
"Killing him won’t be simple," Yu Yourong thought to herself, shaking her head internally.
Fire Kylin Real Person’s strength was formidable even among early Eighth Tier Earth Immortals. Even if Yu Yourong and Bai Ruiting joined forces, they would still be at a disadvantage. They would need the help of three or four more fighters of the same caliber, and the battle would need to take place in an enclosed space to prevent him from fleeing.
Now, they had the enclosed space, but not enough fighters; only Su Yichen and Sikong Cheng, who teamed up with her, were up to the mark.
Not to mention, even if all conditions were met, they currently could not kill Fire Kylin Real Person!
Therefore, from any perspective, Bai Ruiting’s ambition was nothing more than a hypothetical scenario.
While the two women plotted against Fire Kylin Real Person, he, in turn, stealthily observed Bai Ruiting, his aged face occasionally flashing with ruthlessness.
You wretched girl, had your reinforcement not arrived unexpectedly and had I not been wary of those creatures, you would have been dead by my hand. Do you think I would still tolerate your jumping around?
Fire Kylin Real Person disliked having someone after his life, so he secretly decided that should an opportunity to leave the palace present itself, he would kill Bai Ruiting, even at a significant cost, to eliminate future trouble.
Besides Bai Ruiting and her sister along with Fire Kylin Real Person, each person in both parties harbored their own thoughts. Amidst this eerie atmosphere, a series of footsteps echoed from afar.
"Damn these monsters, they’re coming again!"
An Earth Immortal exclaimed in a mix of anger and helplessness.
