Chapter 224: Immortal
The Sword Spirit ahead didn’t even spare Qu Shicai a glance as he attacked. It simply raised its sword and parried with a gentle, upward motion.
In an instant, the light enveloping Qu Shicai vanished. His imposing strike was effortlessly parried.
And then, that was it.
A brilliant flash of light flared. Before anyone could even see how the Sword Spirit moved...
a long gash had already appeared on Qu Shicai’s neck. A Blood Arrow immediately spurted forth, and he collapsed, his eyes wide in disbelief.
"GASP!"
Everyone gasped. ’Even Qu Shicai couldn’t withstand a single move?’
The entire area fell deathly silent.
No one else dared to step forward and issue a challenge.
After a long, long time, a few more daring geniuses stepped forward. Each was on par with Qu Shicai, but all of them, without exception, met with crushing defeat.
The strongest among them only lasted ten moves, to say nothing of defeating the Sword Spirit within the time limit.
Everyone was aghast. ’This fifth level is just too ridiculous,’ they thought. ’It’s completely impassable.’
What they forgot, however, was that without Shen Daoxing, they wouldn’t have even reached the fifth level in the first place.
While everyone else was stuck here...
Shen Daoxing remained seated cross-legged. The surging Spiritual Power in his body rushed forth like a tidal wave, chasing down and cornering the specks of white light rampaging within him.
As the white specks of light surged, a storm raged within Shen Daoxing’s body, as if rivers were being overturned and seas churned.
After an unknown amount of time, the two specks of white light seemed to tire. They finally calmed down, their movements growing slower and slower.
Shen Daoxing seized the opportunity, mustering the Spiritual Power in his body to block their escape.
Black arcs of electricity then flickered across his Seven-Colored Profound Platform. Sizzling streams of Venerable Power flowed out, moving toward the fleeing specks of white light.
Finally, guided by the Venerable Power, the two specks of white light drifted slowly back to Shen Daoxing’s Dantian and burrowed into the Seven-Colored Profound Platform.
"RUMBLE!"
A sudden clap of black thunder erupted within Shen Daoxing’s Dantian.
Lightning flashed and thunder roared as a gale raged. Countless black arcs of electricity flickered nonstop within the tempest.
The Seven-Colored Profound Platform erupted with black light. The black electrical arcs upon it grew even thicker. SIZZLE... The arcs flickered, seeming powerful enough to warp space itself.
Shen Daoxing felt an incredibly dense power concealed within his body—a power capable of destroying anything.
Shen Daoxing’s eyes snapped open, black electrical arcs flashing within. He raised a finger, and a tiny black arc materialized on its tip.
Shen Daoxing gently pointed forward. Space seemed to distort for an instant, and a slender, bottomless hole appeared in the rock wall before him.
’You’ve already mastered all the Venerable Power in your body. Next, you just need to find the right opportunity and patiently fuse the Venerable Power with yourself completely. Then you will form your Venerable Grotto Heaven and step into the Spirit Transformation realm in a single leap.’
The Blood Dragon’s voice echoed in Shen Daoxing’s mind, offering a reminder.
Shen Daoxing nodded, then turned and walked toward the Celestial Ladder leading to the fifth level.
He reached the Celestial Ladder and ascended, step by step. As he climbed higher, the surrounding scenery grew increasingly blurred.
When he reached the top, his surroundings flared with brilliant light, and a sheet of white filled his vision. By the time the light faded, Shen Daoxing had arrived on the fifth level.
At that moment, the crowd on the fifth level was at their wits’ end, staring at the Sword Spirit. After more than a dozen young prodigies had challenged it and failed, no one else dared to try.
Just then, Shen Daoxing arrived.
Everyone turned to look, stunned. They realized that in the short time he’d been gone, Shen Daoxing’s aura had undergone a massive change. It had become profound and reserved, as if he were a different person entirely.
Shen Daoxing glanced around, took in the situation, and wasted no time, walking directly up to the Sword Spirit.
A small hourglass to the side was flipped, its sand beginning to trickle down. The challenge had begun.
Light flashed in the eyes of the impassive Sword Spirit as it turned its head to gaze coolly at Shen Daoxing.
Someone at the side shouted a hasty warning, "Be careful! That Sword Spirit is terrifying! More than a dozen of our most talented masters have already fallen to it!"
The words had barely left his mouth when a Light Saber flashed, seeming to span heaven and earth, capable of annihilating all in its path.
Instantly, the Sword Spirit was sliced from shoulder to hip, splitting in two before shattering completely.
At the same time, Shen Daoxing’s figure appeared on the far side, slowly retracting the Great Ming Demon Sparrow from his hand.
"???"
"???"
"???"
Everyone was dumbfounded.
’Just one strike?’
’A single strike?’
’The Sword Spirit that nobody could handle was felled in a single blow by him?’
Everyone stared at Shen Daoxing, their eyes filled with utter disbelief. They suddenly realized that in the brief time he had been away, the young man’s power had soared to a whole new level.
Shen Daoxing now stood in the center of the room, before a Treasure Sword that shimmered with iridescent light and exuded an ancient, profound aura.
The Treasure Sword was simple and archaic, yet its light was dazzling. Its profound aura marked it as an extraordinary item at a single glance. On the hilt, the character for "Huang" was inscribed in an ancient East Continent script.
’This Treasure Sword must be the one once wielded by the Huangliang Immortal.’
Everyone watching from the side wore looks of unconcealed envy. ’With one of the Immortal Divine Soldiers,’ they thought, ’one could surely dominate the East Continent in the future.’
And now, this Divine Soldier belonged to Shen Daoxing.
"Sir, how about I give you two hundred Spirit Stones for that Divine Soldier in your hand?"
Someone suddenly shouted.
Instantly, someone else retorted in dissatisfaction, "What? You think a paltry two hundred Spirit Stones is enough to buy a Divine Soldier? Hai Youfu, you’re way too stingy! I’ll offer four hundred Spirit Stones."
"Heh heh heh, and you think four hundred Spirit Stones is a lot?"
Someone else scoffed, "I’ll offer one thousand Spirit Stones!"
"Then I’ll add another four hundred Spirit Stones, for a total of fourteen hundred!"
The group immediately broke into a heated argument, each trying to outbid the other for the Divine Soldier in Shen Daoxing’s hand. As they argued themselves red in the face...
Shen Daoxing simply shook his head at their bickering.
Then, he gripped the sword’s tip in one hand and its hilt in the other. With a rapid circulation of Spiritual Power, he forcefully snapped it.
"SNAP!"
With a crisp crack,
the Immortal Treasure Sword shattered, breaking in two.
"What!!!"
The three bidders were utterly stunned. ’That’s a Divine Soldier left by an Immortal! Even if it’s slightly damaged, it’s still a genuine Divine Soldier, and this guy just destroyed it!’
The others standing by also stared wide-eyed, looking at Shen Daoxing in disbelief.
Shen Daoxing paid no mind to their stares. With a slight beckoning gesture, a speck of white light flew out from within the Immortal Treasure Sword, entered his body, and merged with his Seven-Colored Profound Platform.
’Compared to the Venerable Power, this Immortal Treasure Sword is nothing special.’
"WHOOSH!"
Just then, a beam of light shot down from the sky, and a majestic Celestial Ladder slowly descended.
Everyone’s attention was immediately drawn to it.
"It’s the path to the next level!"
someone exclaimed.
No longer paying any mind to Shen Daoxing, the crowd surged forward, scrambling to be the first to climb the Celestial Ladder.