Chapter 366: Leaping Into The Final Level
After battling with the two top experts, the mysterious man wearing the silver mask remained calm and composed. Without lifting his head, he casually raised his right hand. However, nothing fell down.
"Come!" said the man. His fingertip glowed, and the light spread out into the sky. He didn't think the other five top experts had any reason to compete with him for this tattered beast skin. However, the sky remained eerily silent.
"Hmm?" the man sounded.
Something was amiss.
Nothing had fallen down?!
He looked up and was shocked. He never expected that the torn and hole-ridden beast skin thrown into the air would encounter an accident. A transparent thread slowly floated down and its hook hung on the pale gold beast skin as it quietly accelerated upwards.
Even that is workable?
Daring to rob him of something that he had obtained was like stealing large chunks of meat from a tiger's mouth. It was audacious!
He reacted swiftly and leapt up. His palm glowed as strands of light intersected, attempting to intercept the beast skin ahead. However, just like a delivery, the beast skin was thrown near the barrier. It was too far from him, and the person outside was blatantly pulling the fishing line. The person was frantically reeling it in!
The man wearing the silver mask's eyes turned icy cold. He smacked the barrier with all his might and gave his all to intercept the beast skin. If he couldn't stop it, he'd destroy it.
It wasn't just about getting back the item, it was more than that. Someone was undermining him right above his head. Fishing for his belongings in public.
Is this a silent contempt towards me?
The barrier shook violently. Blurred by his slap, it left a palm imprint that protruded and distorted the light screen as if it were about to burst. The barrier was sturdy. He couldn't break through it alone. The man wearing the silver mask landed on the ground without a sound. The other five top experts all showed different expressions.
Who dared to rob a top expert?
A few of them trembled lightly as they suppressed their laughter. Without a doubt, the man wearing the silver mask must be in an extremely foul mood.
What the heck was going on? The source of this content nov(el)bi((n))
Someone on the barrier snatched the beast skin from right under his nose. It was a humiliating act, and it left him dumbfounded. He was unable to utter a word.
The hands of the man shimmered with a faint silver light. If he could break out of the barrier, he would undoubtedly go on a killing spree immediately. It was outrageous! Outside the barrier, the two individuals wearing silver masks looked down coldly.
"This belongs to me, how dare you lay your hands on them, impostor?" Wang Xuan said calmly.
Enough was enough. The real silver masked man inside the barrier raised his eyebrows. He wanted to crush those two so badly as it was a blatant provocation.
"Hand it over!" Outside the barrier, Wang Xuan spoke again. He mirrored the rightful owner's calm demeanor. He stood there confidently and raised his right hand towards the sky.
Chen Yongjie tightly tossed it over to him, and with a swoosh, the pale golden beast skin landed in Wang Xuan's hand. It vibrated twice and some ashes drifted out. Cracking sounds were heard coming out from the mask of the man and several cracks started appearing. His eyes sharpened and stared at the two figures outside. In the end, he didn't say a word as it was meaningless. He couldn't get close to them, talking more would only harm his status. Naturally, he knew who it was. The identity was revealed the moment the fishing hook was cast. The other party was having their revenge on him, and he didn't care how strong the other was, because he was deemed a mortal enemy.
"Friend, I was the one who first discovered that beast skin. There's no need for you to be angry," said the fake Patriarch of Hades Blood Sect that was within the radiant blood wheel, adding fuel to fire.
The man wearing the silver mask turned away, ignoring him. The pent-up frustration could only be suppressed in his heart for now. He was unable to vent it temporarily. He glanced at Wang Xuan and Chen Yongjie for one last time before ignoring them altogether.
"He's like a silent dog. Be careful next time we encounter him. This guy is extremely cunning." Outside the barrier, the two whispered to each other. Although they let off some steam, they knew they had earned the enmity of the mysterious person wearing the silver mask.
"It doesn't matter. We've been at odds with him for a long time anyway. Whether we slap him or show him a smile, it has the same effect. Instead of that, let's find another opportunity to bait him!"
Wang Xuan and Chen Yongjie ran to the side and hid in the clouds. They started to study the stolen beast skin. It truly felt ancient, and they wondered how many years had passed since it was made. It measured one square foot, with two holes burnt through it. Touching it felt like stroking through a thick history. It was a profound sensation.
Currently, the ruin at the tenth-level was unknown. Without truly opening its gates and activating it, it’ll remain perpetually blurred and silent, with everything seen and felt being questionable. The six experts advanced together, once again joining forces. They hoped to use the decay of transcendence and this unrestricted period to open the way. This time they struggled. They used a lot of their spiritual light to vigorously shake the gate that stood in the void, but it simply wouldn't budge.
"Countless ages have passed, yet it remains so sturdy. It should have fallen into the void," remarked one.
For two full days, the six experts either tried to break it with spells, studied ancient formations, or brute forcing it. The results were not significant. They encountered difficulties and were stuck.
Chen Yongjie stared at the man with the silver mask and whispered, "He's very strong, even more formidable than we estimated. It seems he didn't intend to kill you directly in the desert last time. He's eyeing your body, he’s craving it."
Wang Xuan was speechless.
What nonsense was this?
"Could it be Zheng Yuantian?" he pondered. Currently, this guy had the greatest interest in his physical body and he invested quite a lot in him. He gave him heavenly herbs, the Five-Colored Soil from Mount Bu Zhou, and even celestial nectar, all at once. Moreover, he learned from the Zheng family that Zheng Yuantian seemed to be raising so-called pigs. Whether it was Zheng Wu or Wang Xuan, it didn't matter who controlled this body. In this case, it was highly probable that the peerless master Zheng Yuantian would eventually make an appearance to harvest the crops and slaughter the pig!
"Yuantian you pig! Just you wait, I'll kill you sooner or later!" Wang Xuan muttered to himself.
These two days, they had been strengthening their realms because their recent breakthroughs had been too rapid. Both of them were reciting scriptures, studying the scrolls of their predecessors, and solidifying their cultivation.
For this purpose, they had opened a can of immortal bones. They sat within the inner landscape, not to enhance themselves with the rich mystery genome, but purely to let time settle for a while.
Of course, the so-called time was illusory. They had successively used two pieces of Ascension True Bones, and it pushed their mental and spiritual senses to the limit. They gained insight of themselves, studied Taoist scriptures, recited bamboo slips, and read Buddhist scriptures. In a trance, they seemed to have borrowed ten years of time. This kind of luxurious enlightenment, coupled with the opening of the inner landscape with Immortal Bones, made their mind operate at an alarming speed. It was indeed terrifyingly efficient, and the benefits to them were immense.
"The eighth stage has already been completed. My foundation is solid and not superficial. I will name it—Pioneering," Wang Xuan reflected on his cultivation process in the ethereal realm.
He had brought heavenly herbs to the ethereal realm, and it was bursting with vitality. He even opened up meteorites along the way. It truly resembled a pioneer, as he seemed like a diligent miner. For several consecutive days, Wang Xuan and Chen Yongjie had been cultivating, strengthening their foundations to an extremely solid level. They even resorted to opening the third piece of Ascension True Bone.
"These Immortal Bones that corresponded to the inner landscape were indeed accelerating the decay. The mystery genomes are becoming thinner, and cracks are appearing everywhere inside. Perhaps in a few months, they will no longer be usable," Chen Yongjie said solemnly. This meant that the myth was truly about to vanish, and it was irreversible.
"Right, now that you've stabilized your realm, you should try to take that new path again, and shake down the idiot with the silver mask. Otherwise, it could be very disastrous if we get blocked by him again next time. His actual combat power is extremely terrifying!" Chen Yongjie urged Wang Xuan to cut off the enemy at the roots. Since they couldn't win directly, they needed to find another way to bring the enemy down from above.
"That makes sense," Wang Xuan nodded. Coincidence after coincidence had made him wonder with suspicion. He felt that there was indeed a big problem in all of this.
He had been pondering. Perhaps it was because of his cultivation that shook the Life Essence Furnace in his life soil, which inexplicably triggered the Roaming Ark and the Ascension Banner. With several treasures appearing together, they resonated violently and caused those with weak foundations to fall.
"A whale falls, giving rise to all things. With new paths come decay in the old world. Perhaps it's a kind of balance that is being broken, and is in transition now," Chen Yongjie said.
"Maybe it's not these situations," Wang Xuan shook his head.
A deafening sound erupted, causing even the treasures in Wang Xuan's life soil to tremble slightly. In the real world, those whose cultivation wasn't stable were shaking. Their life soil roared, and some were about to drop in the levels of their realm.
"Are there truly various variables and different layers of reasons?!" Chen Yongjie was shocked when he realized this wasn't caused by Wang Xuan this time.
Wang Xuan's blood boiled.
Were they reversing the situation and shaking me instead?
The treasures within him were trembling and roaring.
"It's because they opened the tenth layer of spiritual ruins!" shouted Wang Xuan as he stared at the barrier. The six top experts were all shaken and pushed back. Each of them was coughing up their spirit’s blood as they fell to the ground.
Even Fang Yuzhu and the red-clothed demoness were no exception. Despite their formidable strength, they were heavily injured. They lay on the ground and their bodies were radiating light mist.
The gate of the void opened, revealing the final level of the ruins. Within the gate, powerful spiritual marks resonated with them, and substance that was close to the truth surged out like a flood.
"It’s the final path, it’s the true source! Let’s leap to immortality!" exclaimed one of the experts.
