Chapter 131 – Hidden Dragon Rankings, Begins!
The Oblivionwind Flowinglight Sword Formation was bought by Chen Xi from the Treasure Heaven Pavilion. Although it was a profound-rank incomplete sword formation diagram, it still had cost 400,000 kgs of spirit liquids, and it could be said to be extremely expensive.
But the might of the Oblivionwind Flowinglight Sword Formation was indeed worthy of this price.
Cultivating the first level allowed one to annihilate ordinary Golden Hall Realm cultivators.
After cultivating it to the second level, it wasn’t a problem for one to battle a Golden Core Realm cultivator head on!
But with Chen Xi’s current cultivation, he was at most able to execute the Oblivionwind Flowinglight Sword Formation’s second level around three times. After these three times, his True Essence would be exhausted and dried up, and it was far from being able to support him permanently in battle.
If I’m able to attain the Golden Hall Realm, then I’ll be able to easily execute the second level of the sword formation. Chen Xi drew the talisman markings on the flying swords as he pondered.
After the time for an incense stick to burn, Chen Xi’s countenance was pale, and his entire body was extremely exhausted.
Using Blood Essence to draw talisman markings was an extremely great consumption of both the mind and body. Fortunately, he’d already advanced his body refinement cultivation to the 2nd level of the Violet Palace Realm now, he was full of vigor and vitality, and it wasn’t a moment before he recovered.
Actually, this wasn’t the only benefit after his body advanced into the Violet Palace Realm. When he didn’t circulate his cultivation, Chen Xi was indeed no different to an ordinary person, yet once he circulated his cultivation, his body tightened, his skin vibrated, and Shaman Energy instantly flowed within his body. This caused his body to be impenetrable to weapons, and even a yellow-rank flying sword was unable to harm him.
“Rise!”
Swish! Swish! Swish!
A wave of sword howls that were like the tide sounded out within the quiet room as the 64 flying swords floated up under Chen Xi’s control before every eight flying swords formed a small sword formation, and then all eight small sword formations linked together and crisscrossed around each other to form a large sword formation.
When looked at from afar, this large sword formation was like a moving tai chi diagram. Under the lead of the eight Netherezim Flying Swords, it was like a vast and mighty flying sword tide that flowed ceaselessly in midair.
“Oblivion wind as the surface, flowing light as the foundation, the eight poles remain unmoving, transform into one!” Chen Xi shouted with a clear voice, and the 64 flying swords in midair swished to revolve around him as they emitted a type of shapeless and fluttering sharp aura. Every flying sword glowed brightly with surging sword lights that fluctuated indeterminately, causing hissing sounds to be emitted from the air that was sliced by it. It was like a group of thoroughly tempered weapons that were accumulating force while waiting to be deployed, and it yearned to drink fresh blood to its satisfaction.
Little Ling Bai had his hands crossed before his chest as he watched, and he couldn’t help but nod to himself as his gaze revealed traces of surprise. This wasn’t the controlling of eight flying swords, but an entire 64 flying swords. With the quality of every flying sword at the top-grade yellow-rank or above, Chen Xi was still able to make them form a sword formation that contained a piercingly cold aura and control them freely, and this was already an extraordinary and magnificent feat. If it was another Violet Palace Realm cultivator, then not to mention forming a sword formation, it would even be difficult for the cultivator to control these flying swords.
Solely in terms of its might, the might of his sword formation now would probably even cause Golden Core Realm cultivators to be extremely fearful. Little Ling Bai was a sword soul that had lived for 10,000 years, and he himself had the inheritance of the Supreme Grand Nirvana Sword Dao. Thus his gaze was extremely discerning and he’d instantly determined the might of the second level of the Oblivionwind Flowinglight Sword Formation.
Fifteen minutes later.
Drops of sweat were faintly visible on Chen Xi’s forehead, and then he couldn’t hold on any longer, causing the 64 flying swords to emit a swish as they directly dropped to the ground. With my current cultivation, executing the second level of the sword formation is indeed too strenuous. I’m only able to execute it around four times when exerting all of my energy and my strength would probably fall short to execute it any more times after that…
“Chen Xi, this sword formation of yours made me recall a Thousand-Moon Oblivionwind Sword Formation from 10,000 years ago. That sword formation was formed from over 4,000 flying swords, and the instant it was activated, sword qi swept in all directions and shot into the sky, transforming into a thousand bright moons. On every full moon, it’s even able to activate the energy of the lunar tide, and its might is sufficient to rival a heaven-rank Magic Treasure and obliterate everything.” Ling Bai seemed to be lost in thought as he spoke. “I heard you say that this Oblivionwind Flowinglight Sword Formation is only an incomplete sword formation diagram, and it might be related to this formation.”
“Do you know the cultivation technique of that formation?” Chen Xi asked in surprise. He was truly extremely satisfied with the might of the Oblivionwind Flowinglight Sword Formation, and when he thought about how the second level’s might was already able to go head on with a Golden Core Realm cultivator, then what about the third level and the fourth level? Wouldn’t they be even more formidable?
“That’s a secret sword formation of a great sword cultivating sect of 10,000 years ago. My Master originally wanted to exchange for it with his Ten-Directional Nirvana Sword Formation, but unfortunately, he was refused.” Ling Bai shook his head as he spoke.
Chen Xi was slightly disappointed, but he shook his head and didn’t think more about it. He was still content. After all, merely the second level of the Oblivionwind Flowinglight Sword Formation was sufficient for him to use for an extremely long period of time.
“Chen Xi, no matter how strong the might of the sword formation is, it has diverged from the true path of the Sword Dao in the end. Only by being single-minded and persistent when cultivating the sword would one be able to walk future on the path of the Grand Dao of the sword. When the Sword Dao is cultivated to a higher realm, it’s even able to destroy all techniques with a single strike, killing gods and annihilating demons with extremely formidable might.” Ling Bai reminded him with good intentions.
“I know this.” Chen Xi nodded. He recalled the scene when he saw Chen Hao last night, he recalled how Daoist Wen Xuan said that to cultivate the sword, one must first cultivate the heart; that was the principle behind the Enlightened Sword Heart. Now when he combined it with what Ling Bai said, it instantly allowed him to have a deeper level of knowledge towards the Grand Dao of the Sword.
A sword cultivator only needed a single sword to sweep through the universe without restraint. Why was this so? Because a sword cultivator was persistent and single-minded, without fear of anything, so a sword cultivator was naturally extremely formidable!
In the following half a month, Chen Xi stayed indoors. Besides his daily cultivation and exchanging views on sword techniques with Ling Bai, he stayed silently in his own quiet room all day as he cleared his mind and comprehended the essence and profundity of the second level of the Oblivionwind Flowinglight Sword Formation.
Executing the sword formation was extremely easy, yet how to exert the full might of the sword formation instead required diligent and bitter cultivation, and it required careful contemplation and comprehension.
During this half month of time, although Chen Xi’s cultivation advanced slowly, his cultivation in the Martial Dao instead advanced by leaps and bounds. This was naturally because of Ling Bai’s guidance, as the little fellow’s understanding of the Sword Dao had surpassed the scope that Chen Xi was able to understand long ago. He was usually able to help Chen Xi understand and clear up Chen Xi’s doubts with a few words, causing Chen Xi to become instantly enlightened and clear his thoughts.
The time until the Hidden Dragon Rankings grew closer and closer.
That day the weather suddenly became icy cold, and the cold wind whistled through the sky all night long. Large snowflakes drifted down in the heaven and earth in copious amounts, causing all of Dragon Lake City to be dressed in white and become a world of ice and snow.
“What heavy snow!” Chen Xi walked in the courtyard while only wearing a thin long gown, yet he didn’t feel cold in the slightest. The snow on the ground was already 30cm thick, causing a crunching sound to be emitted when stepped on. The icy cold air assaulted him while the sight of cold snow gladdened the heart and refreshed the mind, causing his spirits to become refreshed and invigorated because of this.
“Hey, monster, quickly allow yourself to be captured without putting up a resistance!” At the side, Ling Bai shouted as he chased after Bai Kui, and they played in the world of ice and snow with extreme delight.
Chen Xi smiled lightly, yet unexpectedly, a snowball swooshed as it shot towards his face, and at the time he was caught off guard, it smashed into his face with a pop. For a time, snow fluttered in the air, splattering all over his body and causing him to be in an extremely sorry state.
“Hahaha…” Ling Bai clapped and laughed loudly in the distance.
“Hmph! I’ll bury you!” Chen Xi stuck out his hand and grabbed a snowball the size of a millstone, and he swung his hand towards Ling Bai, smashing it towards Ling Bai.
Ling Bai wouldn’t sit there helplessly to be struck, his figure flashed, dodging right away. Unexpectedly, it was at this moment that the courtyard door was abruptly pushed open by someone and Duanmu Ze walked in excitedly. He opened his mouth and was just about to say something when he saw a white colored thing fly straight towards his face, and with a bang, the snowball shattered, burying Duanmu Ze’s entire body within it.
“Eh, where’s Duanmu?” Du Qingxi and Song Lin, who entered after Duanmu Ze, were stunned, and they raised their heads to look around.
Chen Xi couldn’t endure it any longer and started laughing loudly when he saw this scene.
“Ptooey! Ptooey! Ptooey!” Duanmu Ze stuck out his head from the pile of snow and fiercely spat out the snow on his mouth, and then he cried out. “Alright, Chen Xi, you actually dare launch a sneak attack at me, I’m going to kick your ass.”
Bang! Bang! Bang!
For a time, snowballs flew out within the courtyard, and dragons of snow howled as an intense snowball fight unfolded between Duanmu Ze and Chen Xi.
But due to the courtyard being too small, the battlefield quickly spread onto Du Qingxi and Song Lin. The two of them were already extremely envious since long ago, and they didn’t hesitate to immediately join the battle. One fighting side by side with Chen Xi, the other forming an alliance with Duanmu Ze, and they fought to the point they were reluctant to stop, they fought merrily and without restraint.
Just like this, four fellows that hadn’t been young since long ago had started playing a childish snowball fight. In their hands, the snow transformed into flying cranes, old apes, enormous dragons, white tigers, swords, sabers, spears, halberds… All of them were lifelike and possessed shocking might, and they played with extreme delight.
“I quit! This fellow Chen Xi’s movement technique is too swift, and Qingxi deliberately helps him. The two of us can only take a beating, it’s too unfair!” After a long time, Duanmu Ze, whose face was covered in snow, resentfully withdrew from the battle. Song Lin was alone and helpless, and he could only admit defeat after Duanmu Ze. Up to this point, Chen Xi and Du Qingxi had become the final winners.
“Why aren’t you playing any longer? Let’s go again, again.” Du Qingxi pursed her lips in dissatisfaction as she enthusiastically wanted to continue. At this moment, she was simply like a playful little girl, and she didn’t have a trace of her elegant disposition that was chilly and quiet any longer.
Duanmu Ze’s eyes revolved as he grinned and said, “No, unless you’re on the same team as me.”
“You wish!” Du Qingxi rolled her eyes at Duanmu Ze.
“Childish, the two of you are truly childish.” Song Lin muttered from the side.
“Right, why did all of you come looking for me today?” Chen Xi felt his actions earlier were slightly childish as well. At this moment, when he thought about it, he felt amused and embarrassed at the same time, and he hurriedly changed the topic of conversation.
“Of course it’s to participate in the Hidden Dragon Rankings,” said Duanmu Ze casually, then his face went grim as he cried out. “Shit! We’ve wasted so much time, let’s go quickly, if we’re any later then we won’t make it.”
The Hidden Dragon Ranking competition is today? Chen Xi silently counted the time in his heart and was instantly shocked, and he hurriedly dashed out with Du Qingxi’s group of three.
Dong! Dong! Dong!
Amongst the large snowflakes that covered the sky, a wave of bell rings sounded out abruptly in the air of the entire Dragon Lake City for a long time.
When Chen Xi’s group walked out of the courtyard, they saw the people on the streets were all swiftly hurrying towards the center of Dragon Lake City. If one were to look down from the sky, one would notice that streams of human-shaped currents were gathering towards the center of Dragon Lake City from all directions.
Most of these people didn’t possess the qualifications to participate in the Hidden Dragon Rankings. They either lacked strength or their ages exceeded the rules, yet they were able to head to the Buddha’s Trail Pagoda to watch carefully and use this to improve their own cultivation, various battle techniques, and live battle experience.
“I heard that the amount of people participating in the Hidden Dragon Rankings this time is the most over the past few years, over 10,000 people, and amongst them are innumerable genius figures who have possessed great reputations since long ago. Such a grand event is simply rare to see in a thousand years, and missing it would be too much of a pity.”
“Yeah, I heard that practically all the outstanding figures in the younger generation of the eight great sects, three great institutions, and six great clans are participating, and it can be said to be an assembly of distinguished figures where geniuses are numerous as the clouds.”
“The Darchu Dynasty’s Assembly of Stars is in another few years. After the Hidden Dragon Rankings this time, some of the most outstanding talents will supposedly be selected to represent the entire cultivation world of our southern territory and participate in the Darchu Dynasty’s Assembly of Stars. I wonder who will be fortunate to participate in it and compete with the experts in the world?”
“Have all of you heard? Chen Xi, who annihilated six Golden Hall Realm cultivators and one Golden Core Realm cultivator of the Su Clan a while ago, will be participating in the Hidden Dragon Rankings as well. The way I see it, there’s surely a space for him in the top 10.”
“Cheh, your information is already outdated. Half a month ago, Chen Xi defeated an 8th star Violet Palace Realm genius at the Immortal Assembling Pavilion before using a profound sword technique to annihilate an expert of the School of Fiendgod Body Refinement right after that. His strength is so formidable that even the Xie Clan’s Xie Zhan wasn’t willing to go against him.”
“No wonder. In this way, Chen Xi does indeed have the potential to advance into the top ten.”
“Hmph! Top ten? He probably can’t even keep his life! This person stirs up trouble everywhere. He had already completely offended the Su Clan and has now contracted enmity with the Xie Clan’s Little Genius. There are 100 plus disciples of the Su Clan that are participating in the Hidden Dragon Rankins this time, do you really think would they let him off?”
“I’ve heard of this as well. The Su Clan has already spread the word that whoever is able to force Chen Xi to admit defeat in the Buddha’s Trial Pagoda will be able to the generous rewards of 500,000 kgs of spirit liquid and three top-grade yellow-rank Magic Treasures!”
…
In the crowd of people that ran quickly on the streets, a variety of animated discussions gushed into Chen Xi’s ears, yet his expression remained unchanged. There was no happiness nor sadness in his heart; it was pure and cold like the ice and snow.
From afar, he saw a tall pagoda that pierced into the sky and stood tall at the center of Dragon Lake City. The pagoda was entirely pure white, as if it was made from jadestone. Under the heavy snow that fluttered about in the entire sky, it seemed exceedingly extraordinary and divine.