Chapter 944: Chapter 943 Ghost Prison Blade Emperor and Dwarf Emperor_1
Half a 2-hour period passed in the blink of an eye.
The crack expanded to hundreds of meters, just as everyone had anticipated, and even the escaping aura began to wane, stabilizing at a certain point.
"Let’s go!"
"Get in!"
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh.
One after another, silhouettes leaped into the fissure. It’s worth mentioning that people entering from different heavenly gates bore the unique characteristics of their respective gates’ aura.
In the blink of an eye, the third layer of Mist Rain Town became desolate, with only the crack above remaining.
...
Shi Xiaole found himself deep within a labyrinth.
The roads in the maze were thousands of meters wide, and what was strangest was that in the distance seen by one’s eyes, the roads did not narrow but remained parallel, seemingly not adhering to the principle of perspective.
As a result, be it the torches on the walls near or far, all appeared to be of the exact same size, causing Shi Xiaole to lose his sense of space.
"Though the Tortoise Shell of Swordsmanship could help me break through all this, there is no need for me to do so. Rather, I should immerse myself within and unravel it with my own abilities."
For Shi Xiaole, cultivation was everywhere. Relying too much on external objects was less desirable than depending on oneself.
He walked step by step, moving slowly. Sometimes he would fall, sometimes he would bump into walls, and the path he took was twisty and turned.
But as time passed, Shi Xiaole not only walked faster but also became more stable. After an unknown period, his field of vision suddenly cleared and his sense of space fully returned.
"The aura of Dream Heaven’s Gate truly benefits my Illusion Martial Way greatly. Perhaps I could use this to make a breakthrough to a perfect state."
Eagerly absorbing the aura around him, Shi Xiaole traversed the maze and arrived inside a large stone temple.
The temple was about thousands of zhang in length and breadth, with no ceiling. Starting from the middle, stone steps rose upwards, the end enshrouded in mist that spiritual power couldn’t penetrate, shrouded in mystery.
After a moment of hesitation, Shi Xiaole began climbing up the stone steps.
One 2-hour period.
Two 2-hour periods.
"This isn’t right!"
Shi Xiaole’s expression changed as he discovered that each time he almost reached the peak, the staircase seemed to extend mysteriously, and he took it for granted. It was only a strange intuition that made him stop just now.
Unaware of the dream while dreaming.
Shi Xiaole suddenly walked downwards, but no matter how he walked, he could never return to the stone temple.
Unable to ascend nor descend, he could only climb endlessly on the stairs, similar to his experience in the jewelry store on the first layer, but even more terrifying.
For the simpler the element, the more directly it targeted the heart. This was not a struggle against one’s own will, but against the will of this space.
"I cannot even trap myself, how could others influence me? All external matters are but a projection of the mind. If I do not see them, they do not exist."
Shi Xiaole closed his eyes and cut off his six senses with his sword intent. When he opened his eyes again, he stood before the mist, not hesitating as he stepped inside.
Another stone temple appeared, but much smaller than the previous one. The temple also had several stone-engraved murals, but whether it was due to the passage of time or manmade destruction, they had long since become vague and indistinct.
For some reason, Shi Xiaole suddenly remembered the stone temple he had entered with Demon Marquis and others in Bajou (Chapter 355) back in those days. It was also there that he had received the Flying Immortal Mark and successfully resolved the catastrophe of Wuyuan Palace.
The murals here were of the exact same style as those in that temple.
"Eh?"
Glancing over, Shi Xiaole immediately noticed the recess on the opposite wall, within which sat a seven-foot-tall humanoid sculpture. Half of the sculpture was weathered away, but the silk garment it wore was unusually new, yet it gave off an old and simple feeling.
He moved closer swiftly and after checking several times with his spiritual power, confirming there were no dangers, Shi Xiaole stretched out his hand and peeled off the silk garment, flicking it with a finger.
Thud!
No trace appeared on the surface of the silk garment, but in the next moment, the force of the flick rebounded towards Shi Xiaole’s eyes. He sidestepped, avoiding it and watched as it disappeared into the opposite stone wall.
"Good fellow, it’s a top mid-grade Spiritual Armor, and it’s the rumored No Gang Spiritual Armor!"
Shi Xiaole was overjoyed, his heartbeat even quickening a few beats.
As many people know, as a defensive type of Spiritual Weapon, a Spirit Armor requires the cultivation of Vigorous Air from the warrior to operate, but in doing so, it inevitably places a burden on the warrior, especially when facing a siege, where one could possibly be worn down to death.
But one type of Spirit Armor was exempt from this, the No Gang Spiritual Armor.
This Spiritual Armor needed no warrior’s Vigorous Air to automatically defend and even counter opponents’ attacks. It was a treasured item that every martial artist coveted.
However, No Gang Spiritual Armors were exceedingly rare; out of a hundred Spirit Armors crafted, one might not encounter a single No Gang Spiritual Armor.
In the market, a top low-grade No Gang Spiritual Armor could even be worth as much as a high-grade martial art, and still, it was hard to find a buyer at any price, which shows how precious it was!
This soft, skin-tight silk garment in front of him was clearly at the top mid-grade level, meaning that even Martial Emperors at the Human Realm’s Void Origin Realm would not be able to break through it, its value far surpassing that of the Spring Fury Sword!
With Shi Xiaole’s understanding of the Martial Way of Life and Death, coupled with this No Gang Spiritual Armor, his survival ability would greatly increase by several times, potentially saving his life at a critical moment!
"Hahaha, No Gang Spiritual Armor, truly heaven is helping me."
A shrill laugh rose, and at the other end of the stone temple, a man with a narrow face and missing his right ear entered. His eyes were fixated on the silk garment in Shi Xiaole’s hand, shining with a fervent glow.
"Sir, your luck is really bad. I, the Ghost Prison Blade Emperor, have said in the outside world that if I saw you again, I would surely kill you! Hand over the item, and you can have a whole corpse."
The Ghost Prison Blade Emperor crossed his arms over his chest, a cruel smile on his face.
Swish!
Without thinking, Shi Xiaole lashed out with his sword toward the other party while simultaneously using Crossing the River with a Single Reed to retreat backward, charging towards an exit of the stone temple.
The man gave him a terrifying feeling, his strength was at least a level above that of the Joyful Martial Emperor.
"You can’t escape, Fierce Ghost Asks the Knife!"
Leisurely drawing the blade from his back, the Ghost Prison Blade Emperor faced the incoming Sword Qi with a slash, but the series of phantoms in the void told Shi Xiaole it wasn’t the opponent’s slowness but rather his extreme speed, so fast that it caused a temporal illusion.
Shi Xiaole swiftly sidestepped, and at almost the exact moment, a slash of blade light passed through where he had just stood, resulting in a continuous series of explosive sounds in the void.
Before Shi Xiaole could steady himself, several successive waves of blade light came at him, sealing off all his possible escape routes. Longsword in hand, Shi Xiaole calmly swung his sword to meet the attacks, moving closer to the exit amidst the disruptive blade light.
"Hmph, you refuse a toast only to be forced to drink a forfeit, Dao Emperor Questions Heaven Slash!"
The Ghost Prison Blade Emperor clearly did not expect Shi Xiaole’s swordplay to be so exquisite. Fearing his quarry might slip away, he suddenly condensed his blade intent before explosively unleashing it again, transforming into a ghastly and fierce ghost shadow charging at Shi Xiaole.
"Illusion Foam!"
Countless beautiful bubbles surged towards the fierce ghost shadow, which upon approaching were swallowed whole by it. The momentum unabated, the ghost shadow suddenly split into countless black blades, each moving even faster than before.
Ding ding ding...
Amidst the clashing sounds, Shi Xiaole’s body was marked with dozens of new wounds.
"Human Realm technique!"
In comparison to Helian Duba’s heaven and earth Xuanwu, Shi Xiaole now understood what a true Human Realm technique was from the Ghost Prison Blade Emperor’s Dao Emperor Questions Heaven Slash.
The difference was not just in their power, but also in their understanding and application of the techniques.
"This move of mine is ranked thirty-second on the Human List, you can’t block it."
The Ghost Prison Blade Emperor licked his lips.
Being ranked thirty-second on the Human List did not mean that the Ghost Prison Blade Emperor was the thirty-second strongest among Human Realm Martial Emperors, because the list recorded the rankings of the killer moves of all the Void Origin Realm Martial Emperors from the past thousand years.
Among the existing Human Realm Void Origin Realm Martial Emperors, not counting the unknown ones, the Ghost Prison Blade Emperor was confident he could rank within the top fifteen. Thus, from the beginning till the end, he never really took Shi Xiaole seriously.
Without saying a word, Shi Xiaole continued to weave through the net of blades, charging towards the entrance.
If the opponent were an Earthly Realm Martial Emperor, there would be no question, but as long as there was a glimmer of hope, Shi Xiaole would not easily give up his No Gang Spiritual Armor.
"Overconfident fool, then go to your death."
Raising his hands high, the Ghost Prison Blade Emperor’s figure appeared far and near, large and small, the change followed by three continuous and daunting blade lights splitting the heavens and earth.
Three consecutive Dao Emperor Questions Heaven Slash!
Hiss hiss hiss...
Even while using the Great Illusionary Formless Sword to defend, in just an instant, Shi Xiaole’s body was covered with hundreds of new cuts, a few of which were so deep they reached the bone and nearly cut him in half at the waist.
The Ghost Prison Blade Emperor let out a brutal laugh, taking the opportunity to press closer. When they were a few hundred meters apart, a powerful and unrivaled spiritual force suddenly emanated from Shi Xiaole’s weakened eyes.
In a split second, the Ghost Prison Blade Emperor felt as though his soul was about to be pulled from his body, causing him to involuntarily come to a halt.
"Illusion Foam!"
Seizing the chance, Shi Xiaole mustered all his strength and swept out with his sword, surrounding the Ghost Prison Blade Emperor with hundreds of bubbles.
Boom!!
Amidst a spray of blood mist, the Ghost Prison Blade Emperor was sent flying backward. Shi Xiaole did not look back as he rushed toward the exit, but just as he was about to break free, he suddenly shuddered and hurriedly retreated back.
A nauseating odor wafted over, accompanied by a sickening sound of corrosion. Even from hundreds of meters away and with the temple’s Array System weakening it, Shi Xiaole still felt dizzy and nauseous.
Ordinary second-rate poisons couldn’t affect Shi Xiaole at all, which could only mean the gas from before was far more dangerous than an ordinary second-rate poison.
"Ghost Prison Blade Emperor, you can’t even take care of a Terrestrial Immortal, I really feel ashamed for you."
Amid laughter reminiscent of a drake’s call, a Dwarf Emperor with a head twice the size of a normal person walked in, his gaze firmly glued to the silk garment in Shi Xiaole’s hand.
"Dwarf Emperor!"
Stabilizing himself, the bloodied Ghost Prison Blade Emperor frowned deeply.
Like him, the Dwarf Emperor was also a Human Realm Martial Emperor, whose killer move ranked twenty-ninth on the Human List, even three places above his own. Moreover, this person was proficient in poisons, making him one of the most troublesome individuals to deal with among the present Human Realm Martial Emperors.
"Ghost Prison Blade Emperor, let’s finish off this eyesore first, then we can distribute the No Gang Spiritual Armor."
The Dwarf Emperor said cheerfully.
"Fine."
Wielding his ghost blade, the Ghost Prison Blade Emperor advanced toward Shi Xiaole with blood-red eyes.
Halfway through their charge, both men suddenly turned around and simultaneously aimed at each other.
Clang!
The sky trembled, and under the shock of the afterwaves, Shi Xiaole’s back crashed against the stone wall, breaking sixteen of his ribs.
