Proud Sword Soaring Clouds

Chapter 397: Chapter 289: Treasure and Crisis

When Ling Xiao saw those words, his first reaction was to laugh.

’A Compendium of Sword Techniques? The Shushan Library Pavilion has tens of thousands of different sword techniques, and not one Shushan Sect Leader in history ever dared to claim that the Shushan Sword Sect had collected every sword technique in the world!’

’And this palm-thick ancient tome... dares to call itself a compendium of sword techniques?’

Ling Xiao immediately lost interest in the book. He had originally thought it might be a book of ancient Magic. While Ling Xiao knew that Magic was how Mages controlled and recombined the various elements of the world to form immensely powerful attacks, he had no idea how it was actually done.

It was true that Cultivators could also manipulate Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi to form various attacks—water, fire, wind, lightning... Ling Xiao could technically use all of them. However, as a Cultivator who followed the Sword Dao, his knowledge in this area was limited. The only exception was the True Flame created from his True Essence Power, which he needed for Refining Elixirs and Spiritual Artifacts, so he was much more proficient in wielding fire.

Ling Xiao casually tossed the "Compendium of Sword Techniques" into his ring. ’I’ll flip through it when I have time,’ he thought. ’I’m curious if people from the Ancient Era were also prone to such wild boasting.’ In Ling Xiao’s eyes, this thick, classical-looking tome wasn’t nearly as valuable as the nine hundred and ninety-nine Cold Iron Short Swords.

Once Ling Xiao’s strength reached the Mid-Golden Core Stage, he would be able to command those nine hundred and ninety-nine Cold Iron Short Swords at will, forming an autonomous Sword Array! Even when facing an opponent stronger than himself, he would still have the power to put up a fight!

As it was, Ling Xiao’s cultivation had, without him realizing it, already reached the Peak Realm of the Early Golden Core Stage. He was confident that with just one more suitable opportunity, he could break through to the Mid-Golden Core Stage.

And upon entering the Mid-Golden Core Stage, the True Essence in Ling Xiao’s body would multiply.

For Cultivators, the higher their realm of cultivation, the more difficult each advancement became. But the rewards brought by every step forward were equally astonishing.

For example, the difference between the Early and Mid-Golden Core stages was immense, not just a minor gap. Even though Ling Xiao was at the peak of the Early Golden Core Stage, as long as he hadn’t broken through to the Mid-Golden Core Stage, his True Essence would never see significant growth.

Once he broke through to the Mid-Golden Core Stage, his meridians would become incomparably unobstructed. To put it simply, if before they could let one car pass through, at the Mid-Golden Core Stage, they could accommodate five cars. At the Late Golden Core Stage... they could accommodate fifteen!

This was how a Cultivator’s power grew. Even within the same major stage, the disparity in strength between different minor realms was immense.

Ling Xiao continued his search for a way to open the second room. He suddenly had a thought. ’The original master of this place must have been an interesting person. And a ruthless one, too.’

’If a formidable person came here, they would treat it as a game—a contest between the two of them, a battle of wits and courage spanning millennia and transcending time itself.’

’But if a weak person came here, they would never see the light of another day. Every room here must be fraught with deadly peril.’

With a loud RUMBLE, the second Stone Gate opened. And this room... was lit!

Ling Xiao froze for a moment, then his eyes lit up. His gaze flickered, locking onto the set of armor on the table in the center of the room and... the enormous monster with a savage expression squatting behind the table, staring right at him!

Out of nowhere, a chill ran down Ling Xiao’s spine, a cold draft shooting straight up from his tailbone to the back of his head. The Demon Blood Red Lotus Sword flew from its sheath with a sound like a dragon’s roar.

’What tier is this monster?’ Ling Xiao wondered instinctively. ’And more importantly, how has it stayed alive for so many years?’

’These Ancient Ruins seem to be at least ten thousand years old. How could this beast possibly have stayed alive here all this time?’

The beast before him was the size of a tiger, its hide covered in mottled patterns of green, white, red, black, and yellow. Its head was like that of a lion but with three eyes, their pupils a bloody red. Two fangs, each over half a foot long and exceedingly sharp, protruded from its upper jaw. Its limbs were powerful, built for running and leaping, and its tail—like a leopard’s but longer than its body—made it even more agile as it moved. It just squatted there, staring at Ling Xiao with a cold and savage gaze, but it did not roar.

At the same time, the powerful aura emanating from it was so intense that Ling Xiao dared not make a single rash move.

Ling Xiao wouldn’t be this tense even if he were facing a Low-Tier Sword Emperor. ’This monster... it must be a Tier Seven Peak Magical Beast!’

Ling Xiao pointed his sword at it and said in a low voice, "If you don’t attack me, I’ll take you out of this place. I’ll set you free. You’re a High-Tier Magical Beast; even if you can’t speak, you should be able to understand what I’m saying, right?"

The monster suddenly stood up, an even more intense aura erupting from its body. A frigid killing intent slammed directly into Ling Xiao’s Sea of Consciousness.

’What an ungrateful beast!’ Ling Xiao lamented inwardly. But then he suddenly noticed a fleeting trace of struggle deep within the monster’s eyes. His heart skipped a beat as a possibility dawned on him. He sighed to himself. ’It looks like a fight to the death is inevitable!’

’A Puppet Beast!’

’That’s right. Its soul must have been suppressed, and its consciousness forcibly branded with its master’s mark. Whether human or beast, as long as someone’s mark is imprinted upon your Divine Sense, you become their puppet.’

’A puppet can generally retain seventy to eighty percent of its original strength. At the same time, its consciousness is sealed, leaving it with no thoughts of its own, only able to follow orders. And the greatest advantage of a puppet is that it can exist for thousands, even millions of years! It doesn’t need to eat or drink, and it will not die. In fact, from the moment they are made, puppets—be they human or beast—are no different from machines.’

’This creature must have been turned into a puppet by some powerful individual to stand guard here. It likely has only one command—kill all intruders.’

Ling Xiao gave a wry smile and brandished his longsword. Instantly, the stone chamber filled with a sky full of sword afterimages. Wisps of Sword Qi hissed from the Demon Blood Red Lotus Sword, stabbing viciously toward the Puppet Magical Beast.

At that moment, the magical beast suddenly opened its mouth wide. A chill swept through the stone chamber as the temperature plummeted. A suit of Ice Armor, shimmering with a faint blue light, instantly materialized around the Puppet Magical Beast’s body. Ling Xiao’s immensely powerful Sword Qi struck it but failed to leave even a single scratch.

Ling Xiao was shocked. ’It seems that before this Puppet Beast was sealed, its strength might have been even greater than Tier Eight! To be able to block Sword Qi formed from True Essence, this magical beast must now possess power approaching Tier Eight!’

Ling Xiao cursed his luck. ’The master of this place was a complete deviant,’ he thought, ’to set up an ambush like this, one countless times more wicked than any simple trap!’

’And it seems so blatant, too. I guess when you trespass somewhere, you have to be prepared to bear the risks. It’s just that this particular risk is a bit too high!’

After encasing itself in the incomparably hard ice armor, the Puppet Magical Beast opened its vast, bloody maw toward Ling Xiao. It let out a silent roar, then lunged. At the same time, an overwhelming wave of Spiritual Power crashed down upon him.

Anyone with weaker Spiritual Power would have been crushed to death by the pressure before they could even lift a finger. It was just like how Ling Xiao had used his own aura, infused with Spiritual Power, to attack the Grand Elder and Second Elder of Lengning Palace. When a higher-ranked being used the might of their Spiritual Power to oppress a lower-ranked one... well, it was nothing short of bullying.

Ling Xiao viciously slashed his sword down upon the Puppet Magical Beast’s head. To his surprise, its unprotected skull was even harder than the Ice Armor!

THUD! Ling Xiao was sent flying, crashing into the wall behind him. The puppet monster’s attacks weren’t particularly sharp, but its strength and defense were just too overwhelming.

After knocking Ling Xiao away, the Puppet Magical Beast pressed its advantage relentlessly. It opened its great maw wide—the green, white, red, black, and yellow of its hide looking bewitchingly vibrant under the light. Its blood-red pupils now glowed an even deeper crimson.

The third eye on its forehead, which had been shut the entire time, suddenly snapped open. It looked just like a vertical human eye and was incredibly eerie.

Ling Xiao roared, "Fleeting Light, Glancing Shadow!"

The Demon Blood Red Lotus Sword erupted with a powerful aura. This was Ling Xiao’s strongest attack, and it still had a potent effect. The three-eyed Puppet Magical Beast was sent flying by the sword strike, and at the same time, the armor on its body shattered, sending shards flying in all directions.

The Puppet Magical Beast’s body slammed into the rear wall with a tremendous CRASH!

At the same time, Ling Xiao rode the Demon Blood Red Lotus Sword, performing Sword Flight. The Fine Willow Enchanted Sword suddenly appeared in his hand. He charged toward the Puppet Beast at extreme speed, the sharp tip of his blade aimed directly at the three-eyed monster’s third eye!

The three-eyed monster’s two thick hind legs suddenly kicked off the rear wall. Its third eye instantly shot out an azure beam of light, which flared brightly as it lanced toward Ling Xiao’s torso.

Ling Xiao deftly glided through the air and snatched the seemingly soft suit of armor from the table. The moment it was in his hands, he felt a sudden, strange connection to it, as if their very essences were linked.

The armor felt as if it were sentient, strangely comfortable in his grasp. Meanwhile, the three-eyed Puppet Magical Beast, which had been silent until now, suddenly let out an earth-shattering roar of fury.

Ling Xiao quickly stored the armor in his ring just as his opponent’s attack arrived. Once again, he was slammed into the rear wall without suspense, and the entire stone chamber trembled slightly.

A trickle of blood seeped from the corner of Ling Xiao’s mouth from the impact. The True Essence inside him was circulating rapidly. He hadn’t used his full True Essence for the "Fleeting Light, Glancing Shadow" attack earlier.

Now that he had the armor, facing this relentless Puppet Magical Beast, Ling Xiao suddenly smiled. Just as the beast shot another beam from its third eye and lunged toward him...

...an incomparably frigid, treasured cauldron appeared, its mouth wide open and facing the Puppet Magical Beast. The three-eyed monster plunged headfirst right inside!

Ling Xiao burst out laughing. "A puppet is a puppet, after all. If I were facing a real Tier Eight Magical Beast, it would never have been this easy. To think that I, Ling Xiao, would one day get into the business of vanquishing monsters! In that case, I shall refine you! For you, I imagine this will be a kind of release!" (To be continued. If you wish to know what happens next, please log in to www.qidian.com. More Chapters, support the author, and support legitimate reading!)

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