Chapter 244 Hong Shaoling's Purpose
Even after the collapse of the Sword Net, the light of the first arrow had not yet faded.
The second and third arrows, which followed immediately, were even faster, and in an instant they were right in front of the couple!
Both the man and woman looked surprised.
However, the next two arrows struck the two men almost simultaneously!
At that moment, both of them fell backward and lost their lives.
A large ball of flame erupted from the arrow's light, engulfing the two of them.
In just a few breaths, they were all burned to ashes.
All that remained were two precious swords, the very treasures that the man and woman had kept together.
At that moment, another arrow was shot!
The arrow struck the pair of swords, and they burst into flames once more.
Faintly, two faint screams seemed to emanate from the sword—
·
The young man in brocade casually put away his large bow.
The onlookers on the stone seat understood perfectly well that the first three arrows severed the physical bodies of the man and woman, while the last arrow burned away their primordial souls that had not yet merged into the sword.
The swords were both of low-grade sixth-level quality, indicating that the couple possessed low-grade Xuan-level aptitude.
Perhaps the two swords were originally a good match, so when the two of them wielded them, their power was amplified.
The two individuals were at the initial stage of fusion—one who had just fused a wisp of primordial soul was at the early stage of fusion, and the other who had fused 30% of primordial soul was also at the early stage of fusion.
Apart from the primordial spirits that have already merged into the accompanying treasure, if a cultivator is reduced to only the accompanying treasure, most of the remaining primordial spirits will also be exposed... and are extremely easy to destroy.
·
As everyone's spiritual senses swept over, they could see that the man and woman had clearly only fused with less than 10% of each other's primordial spirits, so after that arrow, more than 90% of them were destroyed!
Under such circumstances, it would be extremely difficult for the two of them to come back to life.
At the very least, they should use their remaining primordial spirits as a foundation, replenishing their primordial spirits with a large amount of rare and precious materials, and then using a large amount of precious medicines to reshape their physical bodies.
And if we ignore them...
Then the remaining fragments of primordial spirit will completely dissipate in less than a month.
If the young man in brocade robes were to take the two swords and then use some medicine or other methods to wear down the primordial spirit, it would take even less time.
Everyone's eyes were fixed on the young man in brocade robes—who knew what his reaction would be?
·
The young man in brocade robes ignored the two swords.
In other words, they did not intend to wear down the last bit of their primordial spirit, leaving them with a final glimmer of hope.
He was extremely ruthless when he made his move, yet he still left himself a little room for maneuver.
As for this sliver of leeway... it's hard to say whether it's better to leave it or not.
·
Off the field.
Hong Shaoling gripped the armrest of the stone seat tightly in anger, his fingers so strong that they cracked the stone.
He gritted his teeth and forced out the words.
"The second trial is over." Hong Shaoling was in a very bad mood, but he still said, "Go and retrieve that sword. There will be compensation later."
The next moment, a shadow flashed out and appeared opposite the young man in brocade robes in an instant. It also quickly picked up the two swords and carefully put them away.
This was a stunningly beautiful woman in the mid-stage of the Fusion Realm, dressed in a fiery red robe. The moment she saw the young man in brocade robes, she revealed a charming smile.
Faintly, the figure of a young man dressed in red also appeared on her body—the man's appearance was somewhat similar to the woman's, also gentle and charming, with a dreamy look that seemed to be able to bewitch souls.
The beautiful woman and the young man extended their palms together, their fingers flying and weaving many fancy handprints.
Almost simultaneously, an invisible and strange power emanated from these hand seals, carrying an indescribable rhythm that made people's vision blur and become indistinct, as if strange images were appearing.
Undoubtedly, this is a lingering spirit attached to the woman, working together to cast illusions.
·
This woman must be naturally suited to illusion magic to attract a soul with the same obsessive spirit who is also skilled in this art.
Now that the woman is a fusion cultivator, when she works in this way with her obsessive primordial spirit, she amplifies the illusion.
Therefore, the challenge she faces is extremely difficult to overcome—many cultivators who have tried to conquer the eighteen challenges of the Hong family have failed or even perished in this challenge!
and……
Illusions and the like can remind people of the people or things they are most attached to or deeply love.
The young man in brocade robes often caresses the small portrait in his hand, suggesting he is currently consumed by longing and obsession, and should be the most vulnerable to illusions.
This time, however, the young man in brocade robes, who had been expressionless until now, let out a cold laugh, and a look of disgust appeared on his face.
Instead of dodging several times as before, he directly drew back the bowstring.
·
Both the beautiful woman's and the man's souls frowned.
At this moment, in the eyes of their opponents, they should have already transformed into the boy in that portrait. Why is this person actually using a bow and arrow to fight back?
Could it be that he would actually shoot his beloved?
Or perhaps...
The obsessive primordial spirit's expression changed drastically. It immediately grabbed the beautiful woman's neck and urged, "Quick, dodge!"
·
While people in the world are easily swayed by illusions and become fixated on their obsessions, there are also those whose obsessions are so pure or so distorted that they are simply unshakable—because in their eyes and hearts, their obsessions are "exactly clear."
Such "exquisite detail" is not only about every extremely minute detail of appearance and temperament being clearly and firmly engraved in their minds, but also includes an intuition—that is, no matter how similar, a one-to-one replica, with no difference in appearance or expression, their instincts will tell them that something is not right.
Thus, their dedication remains unchanged throughout the ages.
Right now, I've clearly encountered just such a person.
Throughout his long life, the Obsessive Soul had encountered no more than a handful of people like him, and in the end, he died at the hands of such a person.
After attaching itself to a host, the obsessive spirit never encountered anyone like it again, and the woman's illusions were always successful...
But unexpectedly, the boat capsized here.
·
Unfortunately, although the woman reacted the instant she heard the warning, she was too slow.
She had just turned her body when the long arrow came flying, its sharp sound piercing through the air and blowing her head off!
The woman collapsed to the ground with a thud.
Following in the footsteps of the couple before her—or rather, she died even faster and was burned to ashes by the force of the arrow much sooner!
The primordial spirit of obsession is far more fragile than a companion treasure of the Xuan-type.
After the flames consumed the woman's body, they also stained the obsessive primordial spirit and the woman's primordial spirit that had not yet merged.
Continue burning.
The obsessive soul could hold on for a while, but the woman's soul was also quickly burned away by more than half—she and the obsessive soul were really compatible, and although they were both in the early stage of fusion, she had already fused more than 25%!
Now, even the lingering spirit is gradually beginning to decay...
·
Hong Shaoling's face was ashen as he watched this scene, then he waved his hand again.
Another figure flashed by and landed directly in the battlefield.
It was a tall, thin man who spewed out a torrent of icy mist from his palm, extinguishing the flames instantly.
With another wave of his hand, he collected the obsessive primordial spirit into a soul-nourishing bottle.
Then, without saying a word, an ice shield suddenly appeared in front of the tall, thin man!
He then pushed off with his feet and instantly closed in on the young man in brocade!
The young man in brocade robes once again became expressionless.
This time he didn't dodge, but instead raised his arm directly.
A tearing sound rang out.
The slender bowstring easily shattered the ice spikes thrust out by the tall, thin man. As it flipped, it generated tremendous inertia, and the sharp tip of the hard bow used the force to rotate, shattering the ice shield as well.
In the blink of an eye, the tall, thin man's series of attacks were all neutralized.
The tall, thin man reacted quickly, retreating swiftly.
However, the young man in brocade robes was like a ghost, and he caught up quickly, keeping the distance between him and the tall, thin man unchanged. During this process, he suddenly swung his hard bow and smashed it hard on the tall, thin man's head!
The tall, thin man was not unaware of the danger; he even covered his body with a thick layer of solid ice as he retreated.
However, what he didn't expect was that the hard bow was too powerful.
The solid ice was completely unable to withstand the attack of the hard bow!
So, even though the ice shattered, he still... got his head blown off.
Another headshot.
The young man in brocade robes appeared to be very calm, but it was precisely because of this calmness that every move he made was a massacre, and his killing moves were exceptionally ferocious, which made him seem particularly strange and gave people the creeps.
After smashing the tall, thin man to death, the young man in brocade casually drew his bow.
Several beams of light shot out from the bow and arrow, landing on the corpse, which was still burning fiercely.
The tall, thin man possessed a level seven Icewind Grass, which, despite having fused with a portion of his primordial spirit, had been consumed by flames along with itself.
If it is not stopped, the consequences will be even more dire than those of the previous victims.
Because such plant-based things are inherently easier to ignite—even if they have an "ice attribute," they are not purely ice-based, so they are still extremely fragile at this moment.
It will burn out very soon!
But clearly, Hong Shaoling's behavior off the field did not dishearten his subordinates.
He waved again.
The cultivators from the fourth level stormed into the arena and used their abilities to extinguish the raging fire.
However, the burning speed was still too fast. Although the reaction outside the field was very quick and the cultivator immediately used all his strength, by the time he rescued the Icewind Grass, only a small section of it remained—the original foot-long stem was now only an inch long.
They look very pitiful.
Fortunately, the point where the tall, thin man's soul merged with the Icewind Grass still existed, so there was still a chance to save him.
·
Soon, the cultivator in the fourth round was also defeated, and his primordial soul was burned.
Then the fifth, sixth, seventh...
Although the Hong family's eighteen passes sounded so imposing when mentioned, when actually facing the young master in brocade robes, they always seemed to have a "much ado about nothing" feeling.
It doesn't seem so imposing.
Because as of now, we've already completed half of the journey.
Nine games in total!
Every single fighter was a Fusion cultivator, with strength ranging from the early to late stages of Fusion.
Without exception, every cultivator in each of these battles died at the hands of the young master in brocade robes.
Moreover, only the primordial spirits fused within the accompanying treasures remained; the rest were all burned.
What surprised many of the gatekeepers even more was that the raging fire that burned the primordial soul was not simply of the fire attribute, but of the yang attribute. It had its own burning power, but its destructive power to the primordial soul far surpassed that of ordinary flames.
It looks even more terrifying.
The young man in brocade remained calm and composed.
Every move he makes is so unpredictable that no one can fathom his limits.
Just how powerful is it?
Countless onlookers were stunned at this moment.
They were all very perceptive and did not think that the so-called Hong Family Eighteen Trials would be easy to deal with. They even put themselves in the shoes of others—if they were to actually join the battle and try to pass those eighteen trials, how would they cope?
The answer is, it's unmanageable.
They couldn't possibly pass through that checkpoint as easily as the young master in brocade robes, and even if they put in a lot of effort, they still couldn't get through it!
Therefore, it wasn't that the Hong family's eighteen trials were too easy, but rather that the young master in brocade robes himself was too formidable.
Because of the repeated setbacks at these eighteen levels, many cultivators who knew the ins and outs of the matter couldn't help but glance at the stone seat at the very front of the stands from time to time... glancing at Hong Shaoling a few times.
It seemed that Hong Shaoling's complexion was becoming increasingly grim as the gatekeepers continued to fall.
The number of cultivators with impressive auras who had originally surrounded Hong Shaoling was decreasing.
The gatekeepers were originally among them... now almost half of them are dead...
·
Hong Shaoling's face was cold and gloomy.
A servant whispered, "Young master, why don't we stop at this checkpoint?"
He wasn't the gatekeeper, but seeing his young master's men being killed one after another, he felt sorry for him and couldn't help but make this suggestion.
Hong Shaoling said coldly, "I can't afford to lose face like this, and the Hong family can't afford to lose face like this either!"
The attendant felt embarrassed but said nothing more.
In fact, the whole thing was orchestrated by Hong Shaoling. He was the one who initiated the Hong Family's Eighteen Trials to make things difficult for that man in brocade robes. Now that the man has successfully passed through all the trials, he still wants to stop him... That would truly be trampling on his and the Hong Family's reputation.
But if we don't cut our losses in time, who knows if that man in brocade robes will eventually destroy all the remaining levels?
If all the guards of the eighteen passes were to die at the hands of the men in brocade robes, each one of them would suffer a tragic fate... and the young master and the Hong family would not be able to save face either.
Comparing the two, I'm afraid we really have no choice but to grit our teeth and continue doing things this way.
Now all we can do is hope that the remaining levels will be able to restrain the Jinyi people.
·
Hong Shaoling stared intently at the man in brocade robes, without uttering a sound.
A beautiful woman who had remained silent until now saw Hong Shaoling's clenched fingers turning white and sighed softly. She gently took Hong Shaoling's fingers in her hand and carefully pressed them.
She knew very well that this time, the young master was probably really going to end up doing all the work for someone else.
·
The Hong family is not from Haiyue Continent, but a large family from another continent, Chiyan Continent, which is separated by a central continent.
Hong Shaoling is forty years old this year and is a cultivator in the early stage of the Fusion Realm. This is not a particularly young age, but generally many young cultivators start to make a name for themselves in their thirties or forties.
Furthermore, they are preparing to climb the Little Sky Ranking.
The true Sky Ranking is based on the automatic capture of top-tier continental rules, and the rankings are projected onto the celestial canopy. It involves some battle records but is not absolute. It's just that such prodigies often have many experiences—but there are only one hundred of them.
Such a vast and top-tier continent, with countless cultivators, and only one hundred people at each realm—how could that be enough?
Does that mean that cultivators who haven't made it onto the Sky Ranking can't be considered top geniuses?
Naturally, rankings of young geniuses will emerge in different regions, providing them with a ranking as a reference.
Generally speaking, these rankings are determined by many large and powerful forces, and after the determination is made, they will provide corroboration from multiple sources—the forces that can participate in the determination are all related to the sale of information.
As time went on, the most convincing ranking was unanimously recognized as the Little Sky Ranking.
This involves the names of up to a thousand people.
However, if we broaden the scope to all counties, large and small, it's possible that not even one person could emerge from each county.
The number of people is actually not that many.
The ranking is based on factors such as performance record, reputation, and public persona.
At the same time, cultivators at the Fusion Realm who can make it onto the Lesser Heavenly Ranking cannot be over fifty years old.
·
Hong Shaoling is one of the few young geniuses that the Hong family has produced in this generation.
He and his other cousins were all between the ages of thirty and forty-five, and each of them was accompanied by a powerful Nirvana Dharma Protector whose potential had been exhausted but had been stimulated by special means.
What these members of the Hong family need to do is find a place to build their reputation.
Everyone has a sense of shame, and although many people do this kind of reputation-building, it is usually not done in their own state.
Most of the time, a small domain is randomly selected.
Hong Shaoling chose Haiyue Island.
·
However, Hong Shaoling was very unlucky.
He had already decided to come and made many preparations along the way, challenging and defeating many Fusion Realm experts, sweeping all the way—but when he arrived deep in Haiyue Continent, he found that there was another person who had already gained a higher reputation.
The opponent has an impressive track record.
For example, as long as a level seven doesn't intervene, a level six can hold their own, and a level five can slaughter at will...
For example, any roadblock can be easily cleared...
For example, someone might casually save a life only to disappear without a trace...
There are also unique and genius-like labels such as "holding a statue," "arrogant," and "doing whatever one pleases," all of which have already made a name for themselves.
If Hong Shaoling continues to proceed step by step in the short term, he will have no way to compete with this person.
Building a reputation on Haiyue Island is already considered cheating; you'd have to create even more trouble to succeed, and in the end, you could only produce one genius at most... But then this extra person comes along, pretending to guard the beach, adding to the sense of "being unconventional."
By all accounts, the other party seems more special and has a higher level of sophistication.
Hong Shaoling didn't want to give up easily, because the Hong family would only give him one chance for such an action.
Only those Hong family members who successfully climb the Lesser Heavenly Ranking will receive more resources and be actively promoted to the Heavenly Ranking... thus increasing their chances of obtaining more rewards from the mainland.
Therefore, Hong Shaoling only has one choice.
Defeat the competitors!
However, when he only met the man in brocade robes once, he realized that he was no match for him. If they were to fight head-on, the man would most likely defeat him, and no one would remember the losers.
Ultimately, Hong Shaoling chose to activate the Hong Family Eighteen Passes.
This was one of the foundations he seized from the Hong family, and the Hong family's eighteen trials could help him. Even if he defeated the man in brocade robes through these eighteen trials... in the end, the man in brocade robes would still be forgotten.
There is no such thing as "glorious defeat".
·
Hong Shaoling now clearly realizes that he has miscalculated.
Even if the Eighteen Trials of the Hong Family were employed, it would ultimately only become a stepping stone for the enemy...
So Hong Shaoling had no choice but to hold on.
Success or failure, that's all that can be done now.
In the end, all I could do was worry about saving face.
·
Meanwhile, the flying boat traversed towering mountains and countless cities before finally arriving at Tianhe City.
The flying boat landed in front of the city gate and was immediately captured by Zhong Cai.
At the same time, the other armored soldiers also landed and stood behind him and Duan Xingchen.
Zhong Cai took a deep breath.
Duan Xingchen suggested from the side, "Why don't we send the armored soldiers to gather information first?"
Zhong Cai nodded: "That's fine."
The current situation is unknown, and we are also unclear about Lao Wu's current condition...
Let the soldiers find out the details. If there's anything that needs to be done secretly, or even if they need to cooperate with Lao Wu, they can do it promptly.
·
Zhong Cai and Duan Xingchen entered the city gate.
The armored soldiers dispersed into the city, and once inside, they quickly scattered to gather information about the situation.
Zhong Cai and Duan Xingchen sat in a private room of a restaurant.
Despite her burning anxiety, Zhong Cai patiently waited.
Before long, the armored soldiers rushed over and quickly reported in hushed tones.
·
As Zhong Cai listened, her brows furrowed.
The news had already spread throughout Tianhe City. Just ask around and you'll find out that the innocent poor old Wu was forced to take on a challenge while waiting for someone by the sea, and he had to pass the Hong family's eighteen trials while being watched by the entire city!
Meanwhile, the soldiers also inquired about the Hong family.
The Hong family is an eighth-level power. While not considered top-tier in the Crimson Flame Continent, they are certainly not to be underestimated.
Among the clan's ancestors, several have already reached the peak of Nirvana. As long as they find the right opportunity, they can attempt to advance to the Heavenly Realm.
The only problem is that this opportunity is extremely hard to find, and even if it is found, it often leads to a quicker demise, so people are hesitant to try it...
The Hong family has many Nirvana cultivators, especially those in the early Nirvana stage. They seem to have special methods to accelerate their Nirvana process—this must come at a considerable cost. But a strong person is a strong person; even if it's just a bunch of early Nirvana cultivators, their power is still terrifying.
The Hong family's eighteen gatekeepers were usually composed of confidants and guest advisors.
Very difficult to deal with.
Furthermore, each realm has eighteen levels composed of such cultivators…
·
Zhong Cai pondered, feeling utterly disgusted with Hong Shaoling.
He lowered his voice and said a few more words to the soldiers.
"Now, you may all leave. You don't need to worry about what happens after that."
Duan Xingchen wasn't stupid. Upon hearing this, he immediately understood that Young Master Zhong felt the Hong family was too powerful, and that he would inevitably meet up with his Daoist partner on this trip, not knowing what might happen. He also felt that White Fish Island's influence was too small and didn't want to implicate them.
At this moment, Duan Xingchen felt a sense of comfort.
He truly deserves to be called a benefactor who was willing to lend him a helping hand at sea; he is so kind.
But he didn't want to give up just like that... He had finally gotten to this point, and if he left now, wouldn't all the friendship he had built up be for nothing?
At that moment, Duan Xingchen gritted his teeth and said, "I will order the soldiers to leave first, but I still want to join in the fun."
Zhong Cai looked up.
Duan Xingchen lowered his voice and continued, "This time, my father gave me a level six teleportation talisman to save my life. Once activated, it can send me directly to an island. I will ask Uncle Li to stay with me, and I will also give the talisman to Uncle Li so that he can take me away smoothly."
Zhong Cai did not agree to this, but said, "Just tell me what you want."
Duan Xingchen was taken aback, not expecting Young Master Zhong to be so straightforward.
He wanted to say something, but he didn't seem to know how to say it.
Zhong Cai said impatiently, "I'm going to find him."
Duan Xingchen snapped out of his daze and dared not delay any longer. Even though he felt embarrassed, he immediately said, "I would like to ask Young Master Zhong for a way to buy level four longevity drugs."
—His mother was just a cultivator of the Suspended Illumination Realm.
Zhong Cai: "That's it?"
Duan Xingchen was taken aback again, then overjoyed, and asked, "Does Young Master Zhong mean that it's possible—"
Zhong took out three small bottles and said, "Take a look for yourself, see which one is still usable."
Duan Xingchen's eyes widened immediately.
He quickly reached out to take it and check it, fearing that if he was a little slow the other person would regret it, and that wasting the other person's time would make them unwilling to help anymore.
Upon closer inspection, he suddenly realized that these were two level-four longevity pills and one level-five similar pill.
Duan Xingchen was very familiar with the medicines his mother had taken. He was somewhat disappointed that one of the fourth-grade pills had been used, but two others had not! Since Young Master Zhong had taken out the fifth-grade pill, it meant that it could also be given to cultivators of the Suspended Illumination Realm.
He took a deep breath, his fingers trembling slightly, and pushed a bottle back.
Commander Li, who had been standing guard nearby, immediately handed over a small pouch. Duan Jin still held some hope, hoping that if Young Master Zhong possessed such a longevity-extending item, he could at least afford to buy it with Xuan Stones. However, since it wasn't safe for Duan Xingchen to keep it, he entrusted it to his trusted confidant.
Zhong Caihun scanned the mustard seed bag with his soul, counted out about the same number of mystic stones, and then threw the rest back.
His meaning was clear: he didn't want more.
·
Duan Xingchen carefully put away the two bottles of pills.
Zhong Cai stood up and said, "The situation is complicated; there's no need for us to go together."
After saying that, he summoned Qinghui, leaped onto it, and left.
Duan Xingchen was left behind, but he understood the other party's good intentions perfectly.
But……
Duan Xingchen couldn't help but look at Commander Li.
Commander Li knew the child he had raised, so he said, "Let the other soldiers leave."
Duan Xingchen nodded solemnly, and then quickly gave instructions to the other commanders.
One of the secret guards was responsible for bringing back the two bottles of life-extending pills.
Then, the armored soldiers quickly left.
Duan Xingchen and Commander Li changed their clothes slightly before quietly leaving.
They mingled with many cultivators who wanted to join in the fun and headed to the battlefield together... Although they weren't sure if they could be of any help, they still needed to observe and decide what to do.
·
Zhong Cai drove Qinghui like a silver lightning bolt, and soon arrived outside the battlefield, then put Qinghui away.
At this moment, the jade pendant, the bell, and even the ancient city itself are all reacting strongly.
That's right, Old Wu really is here!
·
Zhong Cai took a deep breath and stepped into the battlefield.
At first glance, he saw the person he had been longing for.
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