Chapter 1168: Glorious Painting
Only my saber retains eternal glory in that instant. Thousands of mysterious phenomena layered over each other, ten thousand kinds of light, one instant of glory, the rivers and mountains like a painting!
In one breath, Xiao Chen executed his strongest Profound Martial Technique, Instant of Glory.
In that instant, all sorts of mysterious phenomena from various Martial Techniques suddenly manifested with this one saber strike.
Peach blossoms drifted everywhere for fifty kilometers around. The summer sun hung high in the sky. Dead leaves fell off with the autumn wind. A bright moon like fire soared up. Many Azure Dragons flew around and swung their tails…
All sorts of mysterious phenomena appeared in that instant, forming a painting of glory and freezing space. Jiang Liangqi and the other three Consummation quasi-Emperors in this painting looked like they were locked down in there, unable to move, not even blink.
"Ka ca!"
Xiao Chen sheathed his saber, and the glorious painting instantly shattered like glass, continuously producing tinkling sounds.
Jin Liangqi and the other three suddenly fell to the ground, all of them vomiting large mouthfuls of blood, horror filling their eyes.
Earlier, they suffered three heavy strikes. Then, they were frozen into a painting, undergoing a baptism of fire as a result of the various mysterious phenomena.
However, this was not the source of the fatal damage. Given their cultivation as Consummation quasi-Emperors, Jin Liangqi and the other three would not sustain a fatal injury from such damage .
The horrifying part was when the painting shattered. It felt like space shattering. Although it was far from comparable to the true shattering of space, the principle was similar.
The instant the painting shattered, they felt like their bodies had torn into several pieces.
With their tough physical bodies, they were still fine, but horrifying ruptures appeared in their internal organs.
Then, there was the third fold of damage, which came from the rebound from the interruption of their own Martial Techniques.
With this threefold damage, they lost all combat prowess. Even a Martial Monarch could finish them off.
"You'd best know what is good for yourselves!" Xiao Chen said indifferently as he coldly eyed the four people sprawled on the ground in sorry states. Then, he let go of Yue Bingyun.
After that, Xiao Chen took flight to leave this place entirely. Bing Xuejian and Fei Lengyi would soon receive news of this incident. He needed to get away from Black Water Island fast.
Yue Bingyun, who followed closely after, felt dazzled like she was dreaming.
No bladesman had ever managed to earn her heartfelt admiration—until now. The tyrannical yet elegant Saber Techniques that were not the least bit negligent. The icy indifference that did not sink into the depravity of massacre. Xiao Chen's character never changed.
---
Jin Liangqi and the others remained speechless for a long time. As they watched Xiao Chen and Yue Bingyun leave, their emotions were extremely complicated.
"This youth will definitely be famous for eternity, becoming an authoritative figure of this generation of bladesmen!"
"That was really scary. Unexpectedly, he did not kill us."
"He probably does not even care about us. He does not see us old folks as a threat to him." Jin Liangqi smiled self-mockingly. The earlier experience was like a dream.
However, it was a nightmare. He definitely did not wish to experience it again.
---
The Blood Sword Sovereign's cave was already a mess with everything collapsed. It was also fortunate that the various restrictions no longer existed. Using his explosive power, Xiao Chen blasted a hole in the roof of the cave and directly broke out of the ground.
Then, he took in the fresh air, which he had not smelled in a long time, in deep breaths. Finally, he waved his hand and summoned out the flood dragon war chariot.
Yue Bingyun exclaimed in surprise, "The flood dragon war chariot! Isn't this the war chariot of the Eastern Sea Divine Dragon Palace's Leng Shaofan?"
Xiao Chen smiled and said, "Come on aboard. It now has the family name Xiao."
Yue Bingyun smiled. Clearly, she asked a nonsensical question. For some reason, Xiao Chen snatched this flood dragon war chariot.
The four flood dragons worked hard in pulling the chariot. Soon, they tore through the dark clouds of the sky and galloped forward.
Under the dark clouds, it was constantly dim without sunlight all year round. However, above the dark clouds, it was all golden. The sky looked boundless, and the sea of clouds shimmered with a golden glow, looking like heaven.
"Where are you going? I'm heading to Dark City first before traveling straight to the Human-Demon Sea," Xiao Chen said.
He wanted to meet Ba Tu in Dark City, to see if he could examine that corpse and improve his Dragon Seeking Art a little.
After that, he intended to rush to the Human-Demon Sea, to where the Thunder Emperor's inheritance, which Ao Jiao mentioned, was. At the same time, he would take the opportunity to find the Flower of Life.
When Yue Bingyun heard Xiao Chen's itinerary, she started laughing gently. Xiao Chen found this strange. He asked, "What are you laughing at?"
"It looks like we will be traveling together for quite a while. Your planned journey is exactly the same as mine. My final destination on this trip is the Human-Demon Sea as well."
Xiao Chen could not make out Yue Bingyun's veracity from her expression. He did not discern whether she was telling the truth or not, whether she said that on purpose for the sake of traveling with him.
"Don't be surprised. My purpose in this journey is experiential training. I already told you this at the very start. I'm not lying to you. The affair at the Jadeite Mountain Manor was just a matter of convenience. Even if I had not done anything there, it would have been resolved perfectly."
Xiao Chen asked suspiciously, "What do you mean? Could it be that there is more to Fei Lengyi's attempt to advance the Heavenly Cloud Jadeite Sword into a Transcendent Divine Weapon?"
"I will not tell you the inside story; it is of no importance. Right now, I just want to sleep in comfort. You don't mind sitting outside alone, right?!"
Yue Bingyun smiled gently. Not giving Xiao Chen a chance to reply, she entered the chariot and closed the curtains, then lay down on the large, comfortable bed in there alone.
Xiao Chen smiled bitterly, unable to say anything. He could not just go in and interrupt when she was sleeping.
Bathed in golden sunlight, the flood dragon war chariot raced through the sea of clouds.
---
At this moment, back on Black Water Island, Fei Lengyi and Bing Xuejian received the news and rushed over. However, they only found Jin Liangqi and the other three nursing their wounds still at the same spot.
The two were angered into trembling. They wished that they could rush in front of Xiao Chen and immediately tear him into pieces.
The struggle for the Life and Death Art had ended. However, the story that the White Robed Bladesman left behind still set the place abuzz and would linger for a long time.
The White Robed Bladesman had snatched the Life and Death Art from the hands of two half-step Martial Emperors at great risk. However, Xiao Chen was just a Great Perfection quasi-Emperor.
Afterwards, when Xiao Chen's identity circulated, everyone was even more shocked. Unexpectedly, such a bladesman was actually the Azure Dragon King that the Martial God Palace's Thunder Sovereign favored, a descendant of the famous Azure Emperor.
---
After getting far away from Black Water City, Xiao Chen put away the flood dragon war chariot. He walked on the vast sea and started to use his Dragon Seeking Art in search of Holy Spirit Veins in this resource-rich Black Sea.
He was pretty lucky, or perhaps it was because the Black Sea was richer in resources.
In the process of making his way to the Dark Sea, he discovered several hidden Holy Spirit Veins. However, Jiang Tian's warning lingered in his mind.
Xiao Chen could not casually mess around with the things underground. If he was not careful, he would cause an ominous dragon to emerge and bury him at the bottom of the sea.
Hence, he was extremely careful. He would make a move only if he was absolutely sure that it was an auspicious land. After eliminating a large portion of his discoveries, he only managed to obtain four Holy Spirit Veins.
Even so, such actions flabbergasted and shocked Yue Bingyun, who traveled with him.
The Lunar Palace had some extremely skilled Geomasters, so she had some understanding of this occupation. Xiao Chen's Dragon Seeking Art was decidedly better than that of the Geomasters that the Lunar Palace brought in.
His skill at subduing the dragons was much higher as well. With the Dragon Fixing Needle and Dragon Revealing Mirror, he could subdue a Holy Spirit Vein by himself. Just this point alone made him far superior to those Geomasters.
"In the future, when I'm in charge of the Lunar Palace, I will definitely get you to help me obtain Spirit Veins," Yue Bingyun said seriously.
Xiao Chen smiled and said, "Sure, provided that I can live until then. Of course, it will be expensive to hire me."
Yue Bingyun joked, "The Holy Daughter invites you to seek dragons and fix veins, and you are still putting on such airs. You should be saying that you would be delighted to do it, that anything the Holy Daughter says is great."
"Right, I would be delighted to do it. Anything the Holy Daughter says is great."
"You are just echoing me; there is no sincerity at all. However, I'll remember what you said. I'll definitely come and look for you in the future."
After interacting with each other for some time, the two had grown closer to each other. As Xiao Chen subdued dragons, Yue Bingyun provided significant help.
There was also the comprehension of the Life and Death Art. Yue Bingyun, who already finished reading the secret manual, generously shared what she understood with Xiao Chen, helping him grasp this abstruse Secret Technique.
As the two joked with each other, they moved at a fast pace, quickly heading for Dark City.
When the two entered the Dark Sea, Xiao Chen stopped looking for Spirit Veins.
As they traveled deeper into the Dark Sea, the sights drove home how extraordinary this region was.
They saw Consummation quasi-Emperors everywhere as well as half-step Martial Emperors and even Martial Emperors rushing around.
As the Dark Sea was the core of the Black Sea, the number of experts there was clearly on a whole new level compared to Black Water City.
The destination of the two was the core of the core. Countless strong quasi-Emperors and outstanding youths were in this city as well.
After half a day, the two reached Dark Island, a landmass much vaster than Black Water Island. When standing at the shore of the island, one could see the majestic and domineering silhouette of Dark City.
According to Yue Bingyun, this was an ancient Holy City that could compare to Bright Moon City. Xiao Chen was filled with anticipation, hoping that Dark City would bring him a pleasant surprise.
The two increased their pace, rushing towards the city.
The city wall was like a black dragon coiled on the ground. The wall's black stones looked like dragon scales, gleaming with a metallic sheen and radiating strong might.
When the two arrived before the city gates, they quietly joined the queue of people waiting to enter the city. Xiao Chen discovered many Consummation quasi-Emperors and even one half-step Martial Emperor standing in line.
This scene was somewhat flabbergasting. Before the might of Dark City, even half-step Martial Emperors did not dare to fly in directly.
"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!"
Just at this moment, two nimble figures flew overhead directly into the city without any fear, drawing the attention of the people in the queue.
"Where do those youths come from? How could they even dare to barge directly into Dark City?!" Some people were shocked to discover that the city guard did not stop those two, merely silently acknowledged the pair. They could not help finding this response strange.
"Haha! This must be your first time to come to Dark City, right? Those are famous outstanding talents of Dark City or the descendants of the Great Bandits. They are incredibly strong and possess the Outstanding Talent Token bestowed by the City Lord, which allows them to enter and leave the city as they please."