Chương 61: War God’s : — Chapter 61

"If you use Butchering the Ox in the martial exam's real combat stage against those military-farmed beasts, it'd be child's play..." Wang Xian shook his head and drew a small knife. Leisurely, he began stripping the Ancient Cicada, a creature that had only appeared in Insect Valley Town a few months ago and hadn't been found by anyone yet. The nearly two-meter-long cicada molt was semi-transparent. Draped over the body, it felt weightless.

Besides the molt, the Ancient Cicada's corpse yielded plenty of other valuables after dissection. The insect glue, for instance. Consuming it granted temporary resistance to sonic attacks.

"If I run into the Crimson Blood Mountain Lord, I can swallow the insect glue. I won't be affected by sound-wave attacks like its tiger roar for a while, and I'll have room to escape." Mid-to-high-level beasts all possessed aura attacks that could immobilize martial artists. A single roar. For low-level martial artists, unless they wore extremely powerful combat gear, it meant instant death. With the insect glue, Wang Xian could temporarily resist such attacks. Escaping would be much easier.

"Done. Time to head to Tiger Roar Pool." After packing up, Wang Xian set out directly from Insect Valley Town. If he took the train, without a higher-level martial artist certification, it wouldn't stop to let him off at Tiger Roar Pool. But if he went on foot, life and death were up to fate. Nothing could be done about that. Most martial artists wouldn't dare what Wang Xian was doing: a mere First Realm Martial Artist running into a B-rank large-scale relic seeking death. Nor would they be as thoroughly prepared.

Tiger Roar Pool. The moment he entered, Wang Xian sensed the Malevolent Qi in the air, far exceeding other regions.

"Worthy of a B-rank relic!" His eyes lit up. Already draped in the cicada molt, he walked cautiously through the forest. As soon as he entered, countless pairs of dark gazes swept over him from all directions, paused for a few seconds, then moved on.

"The Ancient Cicada molt. No wonder it's such a troublesome thing even on the Alien Star Battlefield..."

"These Third and Fourth Realm beasts really can't detect me." Wang Xian took a deep breath. His plan had succeeded. Step by step, he advanced deeper. The Primordial Chaos Breathing Method had become instinct. His body carefully absorbed the free-floating Spirit Malevolence throughout the relic. He circulated the Spirit Malevolence through his Divine Meridians first, filtering out impurities, then absorbed it into the meridians. He couldn't absorb too quickly. Intense energy fluctuations would alert the beasts.

"Training here for 3 or 4 months, I could refine at least one Conception Vessel." But that was too long. Too dangerous. Wang Xian wasn't reckless enough for that yet. Time passed bit by bit. When he entered the core zone, the dark gazes vanished.

"No beasts in the core zone." Wang Xian wasn't surprised. The Crimson Blood Mountain Lord was a peak B-rank beast. The core zone was its territory. As a high-level beast with extreme territorial instincts, its domain wouldn't harbor other beasts. Unless it actively gathered them. This was actually good. Before long, Wang Xian reached the hinterland of Tiger Roar Pool. The crimson pool water wasn't murky. It was even somewhat clear.

"The water isn't crimson. Something at the bottom is reflecting, making it appear crimson." Wang Xian looked toward the deep pool at the lowest point. He didn't enter immediately. This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings. Instead, he searched the surrounding area for caves. This deep pool was the Crimson Blood Mountain Lord's home. Right now, it should be locked in combat with that Sixth Realm martial artist. But if it returned, he couldn't stay here.

He had to secure an escape route first. After searching for half a day, Wang Xian finally found an extremely hidden cave between the core and outer zones. The cave was tiny, able to fit two or three people at most.

"If the Tiger Roar Mountain Lord returns, I can drape the Ancient Cicada molt over myself, hide in this small cave, hold my breath, and wait for a chance to flee."

"If it roars, I'll swallow the insect glue." The Crimson Blood Mountain Lord would never imagine there'd be a blind spot right under its nose, within its own territory. Wang Xian was cautious at every step, guarding against all contingencies. It really did have that flavor from the old days on the Alien Star Battlefield, treading with extreme difficulty. After everything was ready, Wang Xian plunged headfirst into the pool.

The moment he entered the bottom, he felt his entire body being squeezed infinitely from all directions.

"Even more terrifying than a 10-times gravity chamber." Add to that the heavy water. Trying to swing a weapon was harder than climbing to the heavens. The heavy water clung like a bone-gnawing parasite, sticking to every part of his body. Only by continuously swinging a weapon in the water, feeling that layer upon layer of heavy water pressure, and then swinging out visible water waves, could he feed back into his body's neurons and accelerate fusion with the secret skill.

The deeper he sank, the heavier his hands became. But cultivation speed also increased. At the same time, physical pressure grew stronger. First and Second Realm martial artists would struggle to stay long in such an environment. But Wang Xian wasn't afraid.

"Divine Meridians, open!" Spirit Malevolence flooded his entire body. The mighty force of vast cosmic energy infused his four limbs. Here, Wang Xian had no worries about depleting Spirit Malevolence. This place could replenish it anytime. Unlike in the city. With the Divine Meridians' aid, only then could he smoothly cultivate the Stacked Waves Force.

"Perfect chance to gain insights into the Flowing Water Blade Technique." Return to simplicity. This realm required re-comprehending a blade technique, reaching the level of Dao enlightenment. The manifestation of that comprehension: creating a single exquisite move that encompassed the entire martial art. Once that move was deepened, mastered, and thoroughly understood, it could be considered true return to simplicity. Everyone's enlightenment from a martial art was different.

So the final return to simplicity, the move created, was also different. This was the ultimate secret of returning to simplicity. Everyone had their own 'truth.' This was also why the realm was so difficult to reach. Not everyone could find their own 'truth' within a martial art. Wang Xian possessed countless experiences fighting strong opponents, martial concepts far beyond the current era, especially in the Old Martial Arts lineage. Finding his own 'truth' within a basic blade technique wasn't difficult.

Comprehend for a while, train for a while, and it would be done. Add to that the cultivation of Stacked Waves Force and the terrain advantage of Tiger Roar Pool. Uniquely blessed! No one else could create such cultivation conditions! In just a few days.

"Wave after wave is water."

"Slanted wind and fine rain is water."

"A sky-filling tsunami is water."

"Water can be me, can be him, can be you, can be mountains and rivers, can be grass and trees, can be wind, can be clouds..."

"Warfare has no constant momentum; water has no constant form."

"The softness of liquid, the hardness of solid, the illusion of gas..."

"Endlessly renewing, infinitely changing." Amidst layer upon layer of water waves, Wang Xian's figure shifted, sometimes like a fish swimming in all directions, sometimes like a turtle unmoving, sometimes like a shark radiating killing intent. As if merging completely with the pool water. Until a certain moment, Wang Xian suddenly opened his eyes, as if comprehending myriad truths:"Form severed but intent unbroken, blade hidden yet qi connected!"

"Can borrow the timing of heaven and terrain as the blade, can also transform all things' offensive momentum into the source!"

"The cut is not cut by the edge; the stop is not stopped by appearance!"

"This is the truth I've comprehended!"

"The ultimate secret of the Flowing Water Blade Technique!"

"Three Thousand Water Phases!" As the words settled in his heart, Wang Xian swung his blade. Like ten thousand rivers returning to the sea, the pool water fused onto the demon blade. Shrouded by ten thousand waters, with one slash unleashed, it transformed into a waterfall cage imprisoning heaven and earth! Within the cage, boundless water phases turned into blade waves of infinite variation, enough to trap, kill, and shred all things to death.

"The move has been comprehended." A trace of satisfaction crossed Wang Xian's face. This move contained all the characteristics of the Flowing Water Blade Technique. On that foundation, it could also trap enemies, executing infinitely variable blade-wave transformations to shred them to death.

"Next, I just need to refine and deepen it, and I'll reach return to simplicity." Wang Xian exhaled. The Stacked Waves Force had already reached 1 or 2 percent progress. In just a few days, to have this much progress. Even if he couldn't max it out in 2 months, it wouldn't be far off. And even if the Stacked Waves Force wasn't maxed out, it still grew stronger as progress increased.

"Oh, right. What's that glowing crimson thing down below?" Wang Xian suddenly looked downward. He sank a bit deeper.

"Looks like a pile of remains..." His expression grew focused. Beast remains? In the center of the remains, there was also a glowing round object. No energy fluctuations. It was simply emitting light.

"This thing isn't simple..." Wang Xian pondered for a moment, planning to push aside that massive pile of beast remains to get a clear look. The moment he sank down and touched the remains, a violent roar echoed from afar. The roar carried extreme fury. The kind of towering rage of having one's home robbed.

"Uh, wait. The Crimson Blood Mountain Lord should be tangled in battle with that Sixth Realm Martial Honor right now..."

"It couldn't have sensed it, could it?" Wang Xian's heart stirred. That pile of remains and that glowing object really were peculiar. There was no time to figure it out now. His expression changed. He could only immediately float upward. However, before Wang Xian could fully surface, a splash was heard! Something had crashed into the bottom of the pool. Like a boulder sinking into water, it brushed past Wang Xian's side and sank toward the bottom. Wang Xian focused his gaze.

It was a graceful woman holding a Blue Frost longsword, her face dust-white as snow. The woman's eyes were dazed. She wore a form-fitting, entirely pitch-black martial robe. On her right shoulder was a clear claw mark that had torn the robe, revealing a large expanse of snowy white. One person rising, one person sinking. Their gazes met in the water. In an instant, both were stunned. Wang Xian was stunned because...

"Wait. This person couldn't be that Sixth Realm Martial Honor, could she?" His heart thumped hard. Knocked down by the rampaging Crimson Blood Mountain Lord? The woman was stunned because... What the hell. At the bottom of this pool, the Crimson Blood Mountain Lord's lair, the most core and dangerous zone of Tiger Roar Pool, where had this man popped out from? ➤ Next: Are You a Post-2000s Kid?