Chapter 822: Chapter 821 Old Acquaintance from Qingxue State_1
A mountain spring cascaded down, splashing up thousands of silken threads like satin, swirling around the vine-covered cliff face.
Downstream, a young man with disheveled jet-black hair and white at his temples was sitting cross-legged, cultivating with an iron plaque in his left hand.
Opposite him, a breathtakingly beautiful girl with a melon seed-shaped face rested her cheeks on her hands, gazing at him with a complex expression.
After a long while.
The young man stopped cultivating.
"Qi Absorption Realm, triple peak."
The iron plaque in his hand was engraved with intricate patterns, but at that moment, those patterns seemed to have lost their charm, leaving only cold arcs. Just as Shi Xiaole had anticipated, this totem indeed helped him recover his Vigorous Air.
And it should not have been an illusion, the restored Vigorous Air seemed even more condensed than before. If he were to fully recover his power, wouldn’t his strength at the same tier be even stronger?
"Hey, how old are you exactly this year?"
An enchanting voice suddenly reached his ears.
Yu Yourong blushed and said, "We’re friends now, aren’t we? It wouldn’t do if I didn’t know the basics about you."
As she said, she was becoming increasingly curious about Shi Xiaole. Even though she wanted to dislike him, his astonishing deeds and repeated rescues made it impossible for her to do so.
The talent and brilliance of the man were the greatest she had ever seen, and yet he was modest in demeanor, like a dragon hidden amongst the clouds, mysterious and charismatic.
In Yu Yourong’s eyes, Shi Xiaole should only be in his forties. With such potential, it was quite possible for him to become a Void Origin Realm Sword Emperor in the future.
"Come on, tell me."
Seeing Shi Xiaole silent, Yu Yourong urged.
"I should be thirty-one."
After some thought, Shi Xiaole answered. There was no need to hide such things.
"Pfft... even if you’re exaggerating, at least make it believable. Thirty-one years old, an Eighth Tier Earth Immortal, do you really think I’m going to buy that?"
Yu Yourong couldn’t help but scoff.
What a joke, becoming an Eighth Tier Earth Immortal at forty was already a once-in-a-millennium genius. Officially, the entire Daxia Dynasty didn’t have three of them.
A thirty-one-year-old Eighth Tier Earth Immortal, why don’t you just say you’re a god descended?
"How old are you really? I’m serious!"
What irritated Yu Yourong the most was Shi Xiaole’s attitude; he never bothered to explain, as if others’ opinions of him had nothing to do with him. It wasn’t until years later that she realized what she had truly been upset about was his lack of concern for her!
"Let’s not talk about this, we have things to do."
Yu Yourong seemed to have an epiphany, "You want to seize the totem tokens?"
Having been so close to each other just now, she too had benefited, with her power recovering to the third tier of the Hidden Qi Realm.
Yu Yourong couldn’t help but express her concerns, "That tribe would probably have sent out the message by now, could it be dangerous?"
"If I can’t even handle this, then I would deserve to die if I did."
At this stage, Shi Xiaole had to obtain more sixth-tier totem tokens, so the quicker the better. He certainly hadn’t forgotten that his belongings were still with the Fire Rat Tribe.
"Always boasting, just show what you can do!"
Yu Yourong snorted, but couldn’t help laughing again.
...
Iron Mountain Clan, one of the sixth-tier clans, whose chieftain Iron Mountain was a peak master of the Qi Absorption Realm, his strength no less than that of the Water Witch. Since Iron Mountain Clan was far from the Water Witch Clan, news of Shi Xiaole had not yet reached them.
Bang.
"Outlander, spare me!"
Looking at the young man before him, Iron Mountain was sweating profusely.
The man made no effort to hide his tracks, fighting his way from the outside to the inside; tens of thousands of clan warriors dared not to engage in combat with him, including Iron Mountain himself, unable to withstand even a single move from the man.
"Hand over the Iron Mountain Totem, and I will spare you."
Shi Xiaole said.
Iron Mountain’s complexion changed multiple times before he finally gritted his teeth and respectfully handed over the iron plaque on his body.
The extraction of totem power indeed would hinder the development of the clan, but it was better than being exterminated. In history, there were not a few clans conquered by outsiders.
The power from the Iron Mountain Totem was clearly stronger than that of the Water Witch Totem. Using it, Shi Xiaole’s power recovered in one fell swoop to the sixth tier of the Qi Absorption Realm.
Without stopping for a breather, Shi Xiaole continued to attack other sixth-tier clans. In just one month, he fought and won continuously, subjugating nine sixth-tier clans, all of which submitted to him.
And Shi Xiaole’s cultivation base had also successfully recovered to the first tier of the Xuanqi Realm.
However, at this point, the effect of the sixth-tier totems had markedly decreased.
In fact, six sixth-tier totems had stimulated a breakthrough to the Xuanqi Realm, with the last three barely improving his cultivation by a minor realm.
"Iron Mountain, list all the sixth-tier clans you know."
Now, without being fully confident against the Fire Rat Tribe, Shi Xiaole planned to continue targeting the sixth-tier clans. To increase efficiency, he simply had Iron Mountain make a sand table and was preparing to launch a ’sweeping operation’.
The chieftains of the ten big clans looked at each other, their faces flushing red, well, the Commander was preparing to catch them all in one sweep.
"Commander, I have received news that the Fire Rat Tribe has been deploying troops in the past few days, intending to join forces with other clans to besiege our Heavenly Stone Clan."
After consolidating the ten big clans, of course, a new name was needed. Knowing the Commander’s surname was Shi, Iron Mountain sycophantically suggested the Heavenly Stone Clan, which sounded agreeable enough, so Shi Xiaole gave his consent.
"Don’t mind them, just focus on attacking the sixth-tier clans."
Shi Xiaole’s dismissive attitude made the ten chieftains frown secretly.
That was the Fire Rat Tribe, rumored to have several high-level masters at the peak of Xuanqi Realm; from where did the Commander draw such confidence?
"Commander, perhaps we should..."
"Less nonsensical talk."
The ten chieftains had no choice but to bite their tongues, yet their hearts were filled with scornful laughter, thinking Shi Xiaole excessively arrogant and utterly ignorant of his own limits.
Following the plan, the Heavenly Stone Clan began to expand their territory, attacking more distant sixth-tier tribes. As each tribe was conquered, Shi Xiaole’s cultivation surged like the rising tide, gradually reaching the early stages of the third level of the Xuanqi Realm.
At this point, the effect of possessing the sixth-tier totems had further diminished, and the thought of recovering to the Spiritual-Passage Realm through their power seemed an eternity away.
Shi Xiaole simply handed over the remaining sixth-tier totems to Yu Yourong.
"Commander, we’re surrounded," came the urgent voice.
On that day, the ten chieftains hurried in, with Iron Mountain’s complexion pale and his panic barely concealed.
Shi Xiaole surveyed the ten faces and, without saying a word, stepped out of the tent.
Outside the tent, a dense crowd stood, but the most prominent were a few individuals in the center, among whom Shi Xiaole immediately spotted the elderly chieftain of the Fire Rat Tribe whom he had once held hostage.
"Wretched foreigner, your misdeeds are legion, and today shall be your doom!"
Upon seeing Shi Xiaole, the experts from the Fire Rat Tribe burst into mocking laughter, their hearts aflame with the desire to carve him into pieces, thinking of the humiliation he had brought upon them.
"You’ve finally come," said Shi Xiaole.
"Still playing mysterious at death’s door. Do you think I would still fear you?" the elderly chieftain retorted. Due to his old age and injuries from his early years, his strength was only at the lower echelons of the Xuanqi Realm. He wasn’t particularly shocked by Shi Xiaole’s ability to grab him.
In fact, based on the analysis of the tribe’s experts, Shi Xiaole’s strength was at most at the higher levels of the Xuanqi Realm. But if that was the case, how had he been captured?
Therefore, they unanimously believed that there was something suspicious about him. To apprehend Shi Xiaole, they had not only mustered their own strength but also allied with another fifth-tier tribe—the Xuantu Tribe.
Determined that not even a host of dozens of high-level Xuanqi Realm experts, or even those at the pinnacle, could let this youngster slip through their grasp.
Shi Xiaole smiled.
The Small Abandoned Wife Capture Hand had a distinctive feature; no matter how strong it was, it wasn’t obvious, which likely failed to intimidate them. Nonetheless, it saved him the trouble.
"Come at me all at once," he beckoned.
Taking a step forward, Shi Xiaole uttered the words that dumbfounded everyone present.
"You’re too arrogant, foreigner! I alone am enough to deal with you," roared a brawny figure, dashing forward, his fists blazing like flames, a high-level Xuanqi Realm warrior.
Bang!
With one palm.
Shi Xiaole sent him flying, spewing blood from his mouth, wailing as though he had seen a ghost.
It wasn’t just him; experts from the Fire Rat Tribe, Xuantu Tribe, and other allied sixth-tier tribes who had come to help were all dumbstruck.
Those from the Heavenly Stone Clan at the back were so shocked they nearly dislocated their jaws.
What was going on?!
The eyes of the ten chieftains bulged wider than the others, bordering on madness.
Yu Yourong bit her lip.
Time and again, Shi Xiaole shattered her understanding of what a genius could be. She wondered where his limits lay, rueing her earlier concerns for him.
Without waiting for the experts from the two major tribes to act, Shi Xiaole took the initiative. His Sword Qi soared like a rainbow, cutting through an army with ease.
High-level Xuanqi Realm warriors couldn’t withstand his inscrutable sword techniques, and peak Xuanqi Realm warriors, despite their strength, couldn’t even pin down his location.
Averaging three moves per person, after nearly a hundred strikes, the ground was littered with bodies, and Shi Xiaole proclaimed, "Submit or die."
"Even if you kill us, others will not spare you..."
Shh!
Before one could finish his threat, a Sword Qi pierced through his throat.
"Anybody else seeking death?" inquired Shi Xiaole.
Demon, harbinger of death!
That’s what people screamed in their hearts, yet they had no solutions.
"I submit, please spare me," yelled the chieftain of the Xuantu Tribe, too scared to look Shi Xiaole in the eyes.
With the power of the totems gone, one could always collect them again; life, however, had only one chance, and he was not yet ready to die.
The aged chieftain of the Fire Rat Tribe offered a wry smile and committed suicide, in a vain attempt to spur the bloodliness of his tribe. Unfortunately, under the direction of the other experts, the warriors from the tribes were quickly pacified.
Effortlessly acquiring the Fire Rat and Xuantu totems, Shi Xiaole absorbed them for three days.
Boom!
His cultivation level soared, smoothly progressing from the third level of the Xuanqi Realm to the eighth.
He continued his triumphant advancement, and in the following months, he conquered fifth-tier tribes, fourth-tier tribes, and even third-tier tribes without fail.
Many foreigners, hearing the news, flocked to his cause and received the protection they deserved.
Gradually, the prestige of the Heavenly Stone Clan spread far and wide, and the name Commander Shi became taboo, his reputation unchallenged for tens of thousands of miles around, no one daring to provoke him.
...
"Senior Sister, do you think the Heavenly Stone Clan will agree to help us?"
In the mountains, a group of silhouettes swiftly sprinted forward. Leading them were two women, one dressed in red and the other in yellow, like a plum blossom beside an autumn chrysanthemum. The question came from the chilly red-clad woman.
"The Commander has been good to us; we must give it our best shot," said the red-clad woman.
Scenes flashed through Wang Zuying’s mind, from Qingxue State to Rainbow Island, her mood heavy. Glancing at Xu Nianxue, who had clearly matured a great deal, she sighed internally.
