Chapter 279: The Higher You Fly, The Heavier You Fall
Chapter 279: The Higher You Fly, The Heavier You Fall
Mu Chengxue’s sword was tightly clutched, he was not able to dodge the incoming saber. His body was struck by the saber and turned into a gentle moonlight with a bang, vanishing into the air.
The strange space disappeared and the strong wind calmed. Mu Chengxue landed on the ground with a pale complexion. He received a significant rebound when the small realm he had created using the Holy Weapon was broken by Xiao Chen.
Mu Chengxue received such an injury in front of so many people. There was now an incredibly sullen expression on his face.
“Die for me! Nine Flashes of the Sword!”
Mu Chengxue shouted angrily and the strong wind and the lightning appeared again. The Holy Weapon, Moonlight Beauty, appeared in his hands once again. Using the might of the strong wind, he quickly appeared before Xiao Chen.
The sword was giving off a golden glow that changed continuously. Xiao Chen’s surroundings became filled with sword images.
This sword clearly only has one blade yet it attacked from nine different directions. It was unclear which was the real and which were the illusions; perhaps, they were all real.
Xiao Chen shouted, “Lonely Peak's Fatal Blow!”
A mountain rose up from the ground. In the past, the mountain descended from the sky but for the sake of dealing with the situation before him, Xiao Chen made it happen this way.
“Roaming Dragon’s Nine Transformations!”
The instant the Lonely Peak's Fatal Blow was executed, Xiao Chen quickly circulated his Essence and executed the Roaming Dragon’s Nine Transformations within a short amount of time.
The illusion of nine mountains appeared. They all looked very real, it was impossible to distinguish from reality.
“Dang! Dang! Dang...”
Nine metallic clangs sounded out at the same time. In the next moment, the mountains merged back together and so did Mu Chengxue’s figure. Xiao Chen and Mu Chengxue both shouted and their auras flared up as they exchanged another blow.
Two bolts of lightning flashed in the sky at the same time, making the dark sky as bright as a sunny day. A moment after this, there were two loud crackles of thunder. They both took nine steps back at the same time.
“Ka ca!”
Mu Chengxue sheathed his sword. The splendor of the Moonlight Beauty vanished as he said indifferently, “Leave!”
Like before, Xiao Chen had an incredibly calm expression, there were no ripples at all as he sheathed the Lunar Shadow Saber. Then, he slowly walked forward.
The two of them had roughly equal strength. Without revealing their true abilities, there would not be a victor even after a hundred moves.
Obviously, the two of them would not use their full strengths in complete view of everyone present. This would only reveal their trump cards to others.
“Who exactly is this person, he actually managed to pull a draw with Mu Chengxue. Since when did such a young expert appear in the Heavenly Saber Pavilion?”
“I recall that he had injured the second son of the Shi Clan Head three days ago. Even the Shi Clan’s Fourth Elder could not do anything to him.”
“So, it is him. This person is very courageous. It is not good to mess around with Mu Chengxue and the Shi Clan.”
“He used the Qingyun Peak’s Secret Technique. It must be Qingyun Peak, he must be a Qingyun Peak disciple. However, I’ve heard that Qingyun Peak has been on the decline for many years already.”
“However, this person is really low key. He did not even leave his name. After he managed to force a draw with Mu Chengxue, his name will at the very least be known throughout the Xihe Province.”
When the cultivators in the surroundings saw that Xiao Chen was not at a disadvantage when fighting with Mu Chengxue, they were incomparably astonished.
A Night Spirit Palace disciple walked over to Mu Chengxue and asked in confusion, “First Senior Brother, why did you let him go?”
A copper mirror was giving off a faint radiance in the boundless space within Mu Chengxue’s right eye. It was as though he could see through everything fake in the entire world.
Xiao Chen’s true appearance showed up in the copper mirror. Mu Chengxue committed this image to heart as killing intent was revealed in his eyes. He said indifferently, “The higher he flies, the heavier he will fall. I shall let him fly for a little longer.”
------
Back at the Yun Residence in Xihe City, Xiao Chen immediately went to look for Liu Suifeng after he concluded the fight with Mu Chengxue.
Xiao Chen said, “Suifeng, you should head back alone first. You can travel through the Devil Savanna with the Yun Clan merchants. There should not be any danger.”
Liu Suifeng felt it was strange, so he asked, “Why? Do you still have some other matters to deal with?”
Xiao Chen looked up at the boundless sky. When he fought with Mu Chengxue, he felt that indistinct killing intent again.
This proved that there was a mysterious cultivator who had followed them since the Devil Savanna, a cultivator who was extremely patient.
Xiao Chen withdrew his gaze and nodded, “That person’s target is me. You should be safe alone. I have decided to stay at the Yun Clan a little longer.”
“Liu Suifeng remembered something and said, “Then you should be careful. Don’t risk your life unnecessarily.”
Xiao Chen laughed and said, “I am not afraid of this person, I just want to cultivate for a period of time before capturing them. I want to know who is the person behind them.”
Liu Suifeng did not say anything else to Xiao Chen. He communicated directly with the Yun Clan and left with their merchants in the afternoon.
Xiao Chen asked the Yun Clan for a quiet courtyard. You Youji was happy when he heard this, this was exactly what he had hoped for.
Along the way, he heard that Xiao Chen had managed to force a draw with Mu Chengxue in a fight. This made Yun Youji value Xiao Chen’s potential even more.
------
Late in the night, the full moon hung high in the sky.
Xiao Chen sat cross-legged on the bed in his room. He took out two Essence Gathering Pills and held them in his hands.
When a Martial Monarch or below used the Essence Gathering Pill, they would have at the least an additional twenty percent chance of succeeding when making their breakthrough.
Xiao Chen was currently an Inferior Grade Martial Saint. One Essence Gathering Pill could increase his odds of success by forty percent. Two pills meant eighty percent. In addition to his own experiences, there should be no problems breaking through to Medial Grade Martial Saint.
Xiao Chen popped the two Essence Gathering Pills into his mouth. The pills dissolved and turned into a refreshing liquid. Then, it flowed down his throat and entered his blood vessels, mingling with his blood.
Xiao Chen slowly circulated the Purple Thunder Divine Incantation to increase the rate of absorption. When the Purple Thunder Divine Incantation completed a small cycle, the Medicinal Energy of the pills was completely absorbed.
“Bang!”
Xiao Chen felt a strong energy come out from the Qi whirlpool in his dantian. The translucent crystalline purple Qi whirlpool started to spin frantically.
Is this the energy of the Essence Gathering Pill? Xiao Chen thought to himself, How horrifying, it is close to the amount of energy I can absorb in one month.
Although such great energy was incredibly berserk, it was still quite stable. It continuously tested Xiao Chen’s limits. This way, it could guarantee Xiao Chen a safe advancement with the best odds.
It was just like a bottle containing water. Xiao Chen’s body was the bottle and the Essence was the water inside.
When Xiao Chen made a breakthrough, it was to increase the volume and quality of the water to expand the bottle.
This was a dangerous process. However, the Essence Gathering Pill added a formless and gentle barrier to Xiao Chen’s energy. This guaranteed that it would not be forcibly broken by Xiao Chen.
With the protection of the Essence Gathering Pill, Xiao Chen circulated the Purple Thunder Divine Incantation without any care. A pure lightning-attributed Spiritual Energy poured into Xiao Chen’s body like water.
The room was filled with a purple light. Xiao Chen’s heart was as calm as still water, like an unchanging ancient well.
One great cycle…two great cycles…in the end, the Purple Thunder Divine Incantation circulated for 72 great cycles.
“Bang!”
A cracking sound came from Xiao Chen’s body. The bottle had shattered and after a while, it reformed into a new bottle. The quantity and quality of the Essence in the bottle were increased by twenty percent.
Xiao Chen opened his eyes and two beams of purple light shot out from his eyes. When he saw the remnant purple energy in the room, he said excitedly, “I succeeded. It was worth spending so many Spirit Stones to purchase these Essence Gathering Pills. It is truly effective.”
“Hu chi!”
Xiao Chen waved his hand and all the remnant lightning-attributed energy gathered and formed a purple whirlpool. Then, it flew into Xiao Chen’s right hand.
Xiao Chen’s right hand immediately turn translucent and crystalline, gaining a gloss like that of glass. With a thought from Xiao Chen, the energy turned into a purple flame above his forefinger, spinning continuously.
“Sou!”
Xiao Chen flicked out the purple flame onto the wooden table. The wooden table immediately turned into a pile of ash soundlessly.
Xiao Chen got up and muttered, “Now that I am a Medial Grade Martial Saint, a casual use of my Purple Thunder True Fire has to be taken seriously by a regular Inferior Grade Martial Saint. This can be considered one of my trump cards.
“I should go out first and test out the Secret Treasures that I bought at the auction. When my Essence is completely stable, I will use the Medial Grade Spirit Stones.”
When Xiao Chen pushed the door open, the sunlight shined into the room. He squinted and whispered, “It is noon already. I completely lost all sense of time while cultivating.”
Xiao Chen shook his head and went out to wash up. Then, he went to the courtyard in great spirits and took out the Windwalk Shoes from the Universe Ring.
The instant he wore them, Xiao Chen could immediately feel a strange energy flowing from the meridians in his feet and connecting with his mind quickly.
Xiao Chen would be able to activate the Secret Treasure with just a thought. As he looked at the Windwalk Shoes on his feet, Xiao Chen smiled and said, “I did not expect a complete Secret Treasure to be so convenient to use. The formations in them are definitely not damaged at all.”
“I should not think about this for now. Let's test the speed of the Windwalk Shoes first. How fast can it be?”
Xiao Chen’s gaze swept through the entire courtyard. The Essence in his body circulated quickly through the pathways needed for the Azure Dragon Cloud Soaring Art. In the next instant, his body turned into a purple streak of light, dashing around the courtyard quickly.
“Pu ci! Pu ci!”
Xiao Chen raised his speed to the limits of his body. At this time, he was already very close to the speed of sound. The friction between his body and the air gave off intense sonic booms.
The air was like water. Under the influence of the sonic booms, it rippled continuously and created horrifying shockwaves.
A strong wind blew in the courtyard immediately and sand flew everywhere. Small trees were pushed into a tilted position, like they would be pulled out at any moment.
Xiao Chen thought to himself, The Azure Dragon Cloud Soaring Art is the Azure Dragon’s exclusive Movement Technique. It’s at the very least Medial Grade Heaven Ranked.
I have reached the Small Perfection a long time ago. Unfortunately, I was unable to break through the bottleneck. My speed has been stuck at this stage, unable to reach the speed of sound.
Let’s see if the Windwalk Shoes is able to help me make a breakthrough. With a thought from Xiao Chen, the formations in the Windwalk Shoes started to work.
In the next moment, Xiao Chen felt his body became lighter. The piercing sonic booms vanished, the strong winds stopped, and everything became calm.