Chapter 852: Chapter 851 Comprehension_1
"The way back, is it gone?"
Enshrouded in a sea of blood, the figure murmured to himself, watching the night fall dissipate, the thrilling presence slowly fading away, his eyes gradually filled with madness.
This was a masterpiece created by the extraordinary experts from beyond the heavens working together, how could it be destroyed? Who had the power to do that, and what had just happened?
The figure surged forward at great speed, so fast that even the void twisted around him, trying to catch up with the nightfall. But at the crucial moment, a strong rejection force enveloped him, rendering all his struggles futile.
Bang!
The figure appeared on the periphery of the mysterious cave, the floating sea of blood imbuing the surrounding ten thousand meters with the stench of gore, causing the Earth Immortals nearby to tremble in terror, and before they could react, they exploded into clouds of blood mist.
After a long silence, the figure stepped away.
The one who could shatter the nightfall from beyond the heavens was definitely not someone he could contend with, so the Floating Blood Palace Master could only endure. Fortunately, there were still two nightfalls from beyond the heavens in the world, so he wasn’t without hope to return.
"When did such a character appear in Rainbow State?"
High in the sky, a figure embodying the ultimate grace of the world watched everything from beginning to end. Her voice was soft and low, carrying the fragrance of orchids.
Breaking the nightfall from beyond with pure strength was highly unlikely, unless the Ancient of Void Origin emerged. In fact, even the Ancient of Void Origin might not be capable of it, as no one knew his exact realm or the true extent of his power.
Breaking it with an array system suggests an array grandmaster with scholarly and celestial capabilities; in Rainbow State, no one could match that.
With Wuyuan Palace’s impending opening, such a bizarre event made the master of the Illusion Orchid Tower uneasy, sensing that something uncontrollable was about to happen.
"Woman, your people have killed my minions; don’t you think you owe me an explanation?"
As she was contemplating, a ghostly shadow, elusive and ever-changing, appeared on the horizon.
This ghostly shadow was tens of thousands of meters long, absorbing the surrounding light and airflow, plunging the ten thousand meters around it into pitch darkness, echoed by waves of ghostly wails piercing through the soul.
Were any lower-ranking Earth Immortals to enter at that moment, the mere sound would be enough to consign them to death.
"If your own skills are inadequate, are you still looking for justice? Ghost Emperor, to speak such words is beneath you," said the Illusion Orchid Tower Master lightly, though her eyes flashed with caution.
The new arrival was none other than the master of the Ghost King Ruins, the Ghost Emperor.
Among the four Martial Emperors of Rainbow State, the Ghost Emperor was acknowledged as the most difficult to handle. His methods, a blend of witchcraft and divination, had already gone beyond the conventional realm of martial arts. Hundreds of years ago, he had even nailed a powerful Martial Emperor to death with a wooden figure he had carved himself.
Dealing with him required extreme caution; otherwise, one wouldn’t even know how they died.
"So, you mean to say that if your subordinates are inferior and get killed, you wouldn’t harbor any complaints either?"
The Ghost Emperor’s voice was erratic, his face and emotions unknown.
"What do you mean?"
"You will know soon enough."
The Illusion Orchid Tower Master frowned, feeling there was more to the Ghost Emperor’s words, yet she was curious to see what he was implying.
Before long.
The Illusion Orchid Tower Master saw a group of people emerge from the cave, led by none other than Madam Xi, with An Rumei, Pei Qiuyan, Bai Ruiting, Qu Ni, and others following behind.
The Illusion Orchid Tower had a kind of orchid sachet that allowed them to sense each other within a certain distance, so gathering together wasn’t difficult. What made the master of the Illusion Orchid Tower secretly alarmed was that another group of people had rushed out—it was the experts of the Ghost King Ruins.
But their aura was too bizarre, each one terrifyingly strong as if they had been enhanced in a short period.
"Hehehe, woman, don’t make any rash moves. After all, having no complaints if you die because you’re inferior—it’s fate. I’ve divined for your people, and bloodshed is imminent," the Ghost Emperor laughed sinisterly.
...
Outside the cave,
Madam Xi suddenly stopped in her tracks.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh.
Shadows appeared before them, instantly filling the surrounding area with an eerie presence. As they revealed themselves, the region seemed to transform into a terrifying and chilling inferno of howling and ghostly fires.
"Ghost King Ruins, again it’s you?"
Madam Xi snorted coldly. Her gaze fell on the Ninth Void Ghost King, and her pupils suddenly narrowed.
Something was very wrong—his aura had surged, at least by thirty percent stronger than when they had clashed. Looking at the others, Madam Xi’s heart sank.
Based on the information she had, she could easily identify the key figures of the Ghost King Ruins, but the strength of the people before her clearly did not match the data.
Those who should have been top Eighth Tier Earth Immortals now had the aura of Ninth Tier Earth Immortals. Those who should have been higher-level Eighth Tier Earth Immortals were now no weaker than the top-notch Eighth Tier Earth Immortals.
An individual’s improvement was not strange, but everyone advancing at the same time was highly unusual.
"You filthy wench, bet you didn’t see that coming," the Ninth Void Ghost King jeered venomously, reveling in Madam Xi’s expression.
The demonic arts of the Ghost King Ruins were well-suited for nighttime operations. And after the dissolution of the nightfall from beyond, the stray energies were unexpectedly seized by them and transformed into their own power!
Just like that, the high echelons of the Ghost King Ruins had almost all been enhanced, and just as they were leaving, they detected the people from the Illusion Orchid Tower and couldn’t wait to rush out.
"The night is long, and dreams abound, Ninth Void, let’s join forces to cripple this woman. As for the remaining top ten disciples, leave them to Cheng Luo and the others. Today, the Illusion Orchid Tower must suffer a crippling blow."
A blond man, whose aura was not weaker than that of the Ninth Void Ghost King, let out a subdued laugh. As soon as he finished speaking, his body dispersed into countless ghost fires, surrounding Madam Xi in their midst.
"Devouring Ghosts!"
The Ninth Void Ghost King was only a half step slower. He struck with his great hand, and a massive ghost face appeared in mid-air, its mouth opening wide to vehemently suck away Madam Xi’s vital essence.
After his power had increased, the Ninth Void Ghost King, while still far from reaching the level of an Invincible Earth Immortal, was nevertheless one step stronger than before. One-on-one, he was confident he would not be weaker than Madam Xi; two-on-one, defeating her was just a matter of time.
"Last time, the battle was unresolved. Let’s finish it this time."
The Ugly Ghost King’s mouth split open, revealing a row of yellow teeth, as he took the initiative to strike at An Rumei with his palm energy, unleashing the Heaven and Earth No Ghost Hand once more. Last time, he had used this technique to escape; this time, he intended to use it to claim victory and wash away the shame of the past.
"A clown in triumph."
An Rumei’s face was as cold as a block of ice. Her long sword quivered as she went all out with her killing moves right from the start.
Bang Bang Bang!
The Ghost Hand was shredded to pieces by the Sword Qi, with only a small part still charging towards An Rumei, sealing off all her space to dodge. In the rush, An Rumei almost instinctively turned her body into a beam of sword light, easily breaking free from the Ghost Hand.
She remembered Shi Xiaole’s Star Stab vividly and had secretly developed another move based on it. While it was not as profound as the latter, it proved to be very useful.
When the first move did not succeed, the Ugly Ghost King’s offensive became even more ferocious, and both parties immediately tangled in a fight.
An Rumei grew more and more alarmed as the battle continued.
It wasn’t that the Ugly Ghost King was stronger than her—he might not even be able to beat her—but she was worried about the others. Her gaze swept unintentionally, and saw that Pei Qiuyan, Qu Ni, and the other three Junior Sisters had already formed the Four Bodies Sword Array.
However, this time they were facing a bombardment by no less than five top Eighth-Tier Earth Immortals. Indeed, after a few moves, the operation of the Four Bodies Sword Array began to run into problems.
No matter how strong the Sword Array was, it had its limits of endurance, and the four Junior Sisters’ powers were slightly inadequate, preventing them from unleashing the true power of the Sword Array.
Junior Sister Bai Ruiting, whose talent was no less than her own and who was the youngest, was almost immediately overwhelmed under the assault of two higher-ranking Eighth-Tier Earth Immortals.
If things continued this way, they would face a complete defeat in just a few moves!
As An Rumei was feeling desperate, whiffs of fragrance wafted over, and her eyes instantly lit up with joy—it was the other masters of the Illusion Orchid Tower rushing over.
However, it wasn’t long before other masters from the Ghost King Ruins also surged out, each one as fierce as tigers, quickly gaining the absolute upper hand.
Many Earth Immortals who had left the stone caves saw the two major forces clashing and dared not intervene.
As for the Martial Emperors of the Void Origin Realm, they similarly did not want to invite trouble, and they couldn’t muster any excitement for a battle of this level. Without even a glance, they streaked away.
Only the Floating Blood Palace and Four Directions City joined the battle. But since their strengths were comparable, Four Directions City found it difficult to free up forces to aid the Illusion Orchid Tower. Defeat seemed to be the inevitable outcome.
...
The night shattered, and Shi Xiaole found himself standing in an ordinary great hall. What had just happened felt like an elaborate dream, unreal and illusory.
But his Life and Death Martial Path had improved to the late stage of thirty percent, and half of his Demon Bone had turned into pure silver. So, what exactly had happened?
"This is not something I can ponder over."
Compared to the night sky beyond, Shi Xiaole was more concerned about his own failure.
Yes, in his view, he had already been defeated by a sculpture. His supposed invincibility was merely a lack of stronger opponents!
If the sculpture was created by the beings beyond the heavens, then how terrifying must the people from beyond the heavens be?
What did he count for then?
"I need to work harder, utilize every possible way to enhance myself."
Failure had not left Shi Xiaole despondent or caused him to lose confidence. On the contrary, he found a stronger motivation.
Without an opponent, no matter how hard one tries, it’s impossible to push oneself to the true limit. Now Shi Xiaole had a definite goal—at the Eighth-Tier level, he aimed to reach the level of that sculpture!
Perhaps stimulated by the events, Shi Xiaole’s mind was bursting with inspiration, and he was continuously struck by numerous ingenious ideas. Not wanting to delay, and realizing that he was alone, he simply started practicing on the spot.
In a short time, the great hall was filled with Sword Qi.
"The Ocean of Wind is ninety percent complete, but I still can’t grasp the variation in speed, nor can I switch as I please. What am I missing?"
Shi Xiaole was both anxious and excited as he kept squeezing his inspiration.
The Red Left Sword reflected his face, and inexplicably, Shi Xiaole recalled the claw technique used by the sculpture, meticulously remembering every detail as if it were a movie.
Time slowly passed, and the air inside the great hall froze and tensed.
It seemed like a long time, and yet it felt like only an instant.
"I understand now, the rhythm of fast and slow should not be controlled by me, but should evolve autonomously in the technique. Only then can it be unpredictable—one stroke unknown even to myself."
Wasn’t the claw force stimulated by the sculpture based on this very principle?
It was as if a point in a thin membrane had been punctured, and endless inspiration gushed forth, flooding over Shi Xiaole.
