Chapter 885: Metamorphosis
Chapter 885: Metamorphosis
“Senior Brother Xiao Chen already destroyed the Corpse Refining Pool. The Corpse Race is finished! Let’s give chase!” Jin Lin laughed loudly as he led the Inferior Grade Martial Sages of the Supreme Sky Sect to charge towards Black Patterned Island.
This suggestion immediately excited many people, prompting them to follow after the Supreme Sky Sect disciples. Now that Xia Feng and the other Vice Island Lord were locked up, the highest authority for the third line of defense was Qin Wu. He smiled faintly as he waved his hand to allow the troops to charge out as well.
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Below what used to be the Corpse Refining Pool on Black Patterned Island, Xiao Chen was in a somewhat sorry state. He had not at all expected such a shocking burst of energy to come from breaking the formation with such a method.
As he was at ground zero for the blast, he was the first one struck by the shock wave. The explosion reduced the Heavenly Sea Cloak that he wore to tatters. From the looks of it, it might be unrepairable.
Xiao Chen’s internal organs churned endlessly. He tasted something sweet in his mouth as he vomited out a mouthful of black blood; he was significantly injured.
His body tumbled twice in the air. As he took off the tattered cloak, he saw the four Corpse Race elders rushing over and thought bitterly to himself, I managed to destroy the Corpse Refining Pool. However, whether I can flee safely or not is still in question.
Still, without any pressure, his saber Dao would not be able to take form. If he could not comprehend it here, he would end up dying for this worthy cause. This was a desperate fight in the face of mortal danger.
“You are very courageous. Can you tell us why the death Qi in the Corpse Refining Pool did not turn you into a desiccated corpse?” the green-robed old man, who was the leader, asked out of curiosity.
The four elders each controlled a high-quality Sage Grade Demonic Corpse to hem in Xiao Chen. They were very calm and did not rush to take action against him.
Starlight shone down. The brilliant sky looked extremely beautiful. Amid the motes of radiance, Xiao Chen revealed a smile. He clasped his hands behind his back as his white robes fluttered and replied placidly, “That is a secret of this Xiao. It is not convenient to tell others about it. Sorry.”
The green-robed man smiled coldly and said, “Humph! You are rather calm. Well, I have my ways of making you speak. Attack!”
The three other Corpse Race elders charged in together with their Demonic Corpses. They each sent a Corpse Race Martial Technique with surging death Qi overhead. Soon, it covered up the brilliant night sky, blocking sight of everything.
Xiao Chen’s figure wavered, appearing like a treasured saber being unsheathed. A bright light came from his body and instantly scattered the black death Qi, bringing back the clear night sky.
“Bang! Bang! Bang!”
Xiao Chen threw six punches in rapid fire. His figure wavered again. Every time he punched, a saber light flashed. Winds blew and howled nonstop. He countered all the moves of the Corpse Race cultivators and Demonic Corpses.
Space shook. The six attacks failed to push him back. He still gave off that unparalleled sharpness, not displaying any weakness.
The green-robed old man frowned and shouted, “Don’t hold anything back. Beat him ruthlessly. I don’t believe that we cannot deal with this sharpness.”
When the other three elders heard the green-robed man shouting, they no longer held anything back. They sent out death Qi towards the heavens together with the Demonic Corpses. As they attacked, it looked like a black storm brewed in the sky.
Xiao Chen instantly felt the pressure mount. He brought out his will of thunder and ninety-percent-comprehended saber intent to their limits. Even so, he could not gain the initiative. He could only passively counter the torrent of ferocious attacks.
Blood leaked out of his mouth. However, a smile remained on his face. This grinding pressure served to further hone the sharpness in his heart.
Every technique and every move were like the tip of a saber stabbing into Xiao Chen’s opponents. Even if the clashing attacks were equally matched, his counter still inflicted intense pain like the tip of the saber stabbing into every part of their flesh.
Myriad Heaven Divine Fist, Lightning Tribulation Saber Technique, Four Season Saber Technique, Rushing Thunder Saber Technique, will, saber intent, Kun Peng Fist, Dragon Subduing Slash…
Under enormous pressure, Xiao Chen smoothly executed everything he learned. The injuries on his body grew increasingly severe. However, his thoughts gained greater clarity. His eyes were bright, eye-catching like gemstones and stars in the night sky.
At some point in time, Long Fei and Kui Dou arrived and stood quietly beside the green-robed old man. They were incredibly dazzled as they watched Xiao Chen and the three other elders fight.
The green-robed old man appeared somewhat embarrassed. The three Corpse Race Superior Grade Martial Sages and three Demonic Corpses were undoubtedly suppressing the injured Xiao Chen.
However, Xiao Chen’s sharpness did not seem to be weakening. Instead, the three Corpse Race cultivators seemed rather fearful and no longer dared to clash head-on with him. As they attacked, they clearly hesitated.
“Trash!” the green-robed old man scolded. His clothes fluttered as he prepared to leap out and personally make a move.
Long Fei extended his hand and placed his folding fan on the green-robed old man’s shoulder. He said, “Do you not see the starlight falling on him? He is obviously undergoing metamorphosis. Why are you going to help?”
These words stunned the green-robed old man. He looked up and saw the glorious stars in the vast night sky sending down specks of light on Xiao Chen for some reason. It was as if at this moment, Xiao Chen had a boundless charm that attracted all the light to himself.
“The Azure Emperor’s descendant truly lives up to his name. Unexpectedly, he dares to use this certain-death situation to comprehend his Dao. I, Long Fei, want to see how you undergo your metamorphosis, how you are worthy of the starlight falling for you.” Long Fei enunciated every word.
Strong fighting spirit flickered in the scholarly, white-faced Long Fei’s eyes. It seemed like he released a light from his body that also drew the starlight falling in the night.
The night looked gorgeous as the glittering starlight fell to the ground.
As the starlight fell, the battle between Xiao Chen and the three Superior Grade Martial Sage Corpse Race cultivators intensified.
Xiao Chen’s white robes became dyed with blood and incredibly tattered. Death Qi spread around his wounds, leaving them mottled with black shadows. He tottered like he was on the verge of collapse.
However, his eyes were as bright as gemstones. Starlight limned his body as the sharpness in him got honed to a hundred times—a thousand times—sharper than the sharpest saber.
Xiao Chen pointed, and a biting cold wind blew. One of the Corpse Race old men that he faced felt an electric energy surge in his body. The energy sliced into his body; the intense pain was difficult to endure.
That old man simply did not wish to suffer this for too long. So he quickly pulled himself out and left the others to deal with this.
Xiao Chen spat out some blood and immediately felt much more comfortable. My body is the saber, my thoughts are the saber; I am the saber, and the saber is me. My sharpness will not die out. My keen spirit will clash with the heavens, breaking with the beaten paths and wiping out the side paths.
For my saber Dao, will does not matter, brilliance does not matter. In the end, it lies in sharpness and keenness.
What kind of saber could cause one to fear from the bottom of his heart, deterring one from clashing head-on? Only a sharp and keen one. The sharpness to slice through iron like mud and through gold like water. Naturally, the keenness to be destructive and unblockable.
Xiao Chen’s thoughts became increasingly clearer. The starlight from the heavens seemed to solidify, turning into motes of light showering down from the sky. His eyes were as resplendent as stars, as bright as a saber. No one dared to underestimate him.
Xiao Chen had pushed back a Corpse Race old man with one point. Shortly after, the other two men also grew fearful of this sharpness, daunted from clashing head-on with him. So they now sent only their Demonic Corpses forward.
Seeing Xiao Chen dripping with blood, a plan sprouted in the hearts of the three old men. This Xiao Chen was already injured. He had relied on a large amount of death Qi to blow up the Corpse Refining Formation and had sustained severe injuries.
Now, Xiao Chen suffered from endless attacks that aggravated his injuries, although he remained spirited. Clearly, he was on the verge of death.
The three old men wanted to dispose of Xiao Chen quickly. However, whenever they clashed, a sharp electric light pierced their body, inflicting intense pain that penetrated deep into their hearts, into the depths of their souls. How could they dare to continue clashing head-on?
After all, this was a person who was about to die. These old men did not want to strain themselves and suffer so much. So they started to entertain thoughts of using only the Demonic Corpses to attack Xiao Chen and now limited themselves to superficial attacks.
When the green-robed old man saw this scene, he could not help but become even angrier. He roared furiously a few times. The other three old men pretended not to hear, continuing what they were doing. They did not seek to overwhelm their enemy or diminish his sharpness, slowly wearing Xiao Chen down.
When Xiao Chen saw this, he laughed heartily, his laughter containing an inexhaustible insouciance. His direction was indeed correct; he was just a single inspiration short of something for his saber Dao to reach completion.
At some point, many warships gathered in the skies above Black Patterned Island. Wei Hua, who was the first to arrive, was stunned for a long time when he saw this scene of starlight falling.
Starlight rained down, looking like a deluge of heavenly flowers. Auspicious Signs filled the sky. Such a mysterious phenomenon normally occurred only for major characters or someone who could become one.
The night sky was ink-black spangled with stars. This would just be an ordinary scene. However, with the stars in the sky suddenly lavishing motes of light on one person, this became an extraordinary scene.
The ones that followed after were the troops led by Jin Lin. After that, the Martial God Palace’s main camp’s Huangpu Feng and his group, as well as the Muddy Sky Gate’s people, also arrived. All the major factions on Dragon Wood Star had gathered.
All attention focused on the wobbly Xiao Chen, whose sharpness was growing even sharper.
“It’s raining starlight! Why would there be starlight falling?!”
“What’s going on? Xiao Chen cannot hold on any longer. What is Lord Huangpu Feng doing? Why is he not giving orders to help?!”
When the Supreme Sky Sect disciples on the Dragon’s Gate’s warship saw the bloodstained Xiao Chen, they could not help but panic.
However, based on what the seniors said, this was Xiao Chen’s opportunity. He had to endure this by himself. The Supreme Sky Sect disciples could only stop and continue watching worriedly after they found out. Xiao Chen’s current appearance made it hard for them to relax.
If Xiao Chen’s body could not last until he finished his comprehension and underwent metamorphosis, only death awaited him. If he fell here, the world would never hear of Xiao Chen’s name again.
The scholarly, white-faced Long Fei gently fanned himself with his folding fan. He said expressionlessly, “He can’t waste this great opportunity. Comprehending a Dao through mortal peril is indeed grasping one’s own death. Could it be that he has not figured out the final bit?”
Kui Dou could tell the extraordinariness of this event. He said sullenly, “This looks very mysterious. I think this fellow wants to walk a path that no one has ever walked before—to use his body as a saber, to use his thoughts as a saber. However, he cannot find the point for the breakthrough, the point that can truly ignite the cultivation of the entire body.”
That was right. These two people were talking about Xiao Chen’s current predicament. He had already figured out that the key to his saber Dao lay in sharpness and keenness. However, the ultimate purpose of this saber Dao was very vague. He needed this point to bring everything together.
Simply put, Xiao Chen had to give his saber Dao a name. In more complicated terms, this name had to contain its various meanings. Once established, it was immutable. It would be forever locked in the depths of his soul, merged with the entire Heavenly Dao.