In the mountains, a middle-aged man holding an oil-paper umbrella suddenly turned, raised the closed umbrella sharply, and a wisp of inner demon flames surged up, striking heavily at Lin Zhujie. The rain and dew in the forest were instantly evaporated by the scorching energy.
"Seeking death?"
Lin Zhujie let out a roar, drew his sword, and unleashed a strike in one fluid motion. The sword light swept across, crushing the umbrella-holding inner demon, whose power was comparable to the eleventh realm, into oblivion.
Within the sword light, wisps of black mist drifted away.
In the wind, the voice of the umbrella-holding inner demon was heard: "Yo, so it's a twelfth-realm sword cultivator. I misjudged, farewell, farewell, oh no... I hope we don't meet again!"
"..."
Lin Zhujie frowned. Just as he was about to pursue, he found that the inner demon had turned into green smoke and vanished into the deep mountains and old forests, leaving no trace.
Strange, it was truly too strange!
He knitted his brows. His journey to the demon realm to the north would end here. It was time to return to the mountain and inform the Teacher and the Mountain Lord of the situation here, which might bring some benefit to this world.
...
White Egret Lake, the ruins of Zhong Bailu.
After a day and a night of observation and comprehension, Chen Ben gained the most, acquiring seventeen fist intents. When he fully integrated these fist intents into the foundation of his Great Dao, the Farmer's Nine Fists, under Chen Ben's operation, displayed a different kind of grandeur.
Next was Yu Wannning. She refined seven fist intents, which, though less than Chen Ben's, far surpassed others. Following her was Chu Yu, who refined three fist intents and also benefited greatly. The bottleneck of the eleventh realm martial artist seemed to be within reach.
After them was Mu Ya. In one day and one night, this rough man, through sheer perseverance, finally acquired one fist intent and refined it, benefiting immensely. Although he couldn't see the threshold of the Rebirth Realm, his unwavering martial spirit had brought about significant improvement.
Zhuang Yirong was too young, and her comprehension was not exceptionally heaven-defying, so she did not acquire any fist intents. However, nourished by the fist intents in White Egret Lake, the benefits were naturally not small.
The most awkward situation was Lin Zhao. As the Mountain Lord and an eighth-realm martial artist, he, like Zhuang Yirong, gained nothing. Zhong Bailu's fist intents, whenever they reached Lin Zhao, seemed to avoid him like a plague, refusing to approach.
In the sky, the radiance of the ruins grew dimmer. Soon, the scattered and chaotic fist intents throughout White Egret Lake dissipated. The ruins of Zhong Bailu turned into a brilliant light and disappeared into the sky, seemingly entering the flow of time again. Its next manifestation was unknown when and where.
"Yoho~~~~" Big Wind Novels
Huang Tingyu, carrying the immortal sword Amber, squinted at the Mountain Lord and said, "Mountain Lord, you're acting strange. In terms of martial artist comprehension, you, Lin Zhao, are definitely one of the top in our Mountaintop Villa. How come you didn't acquire even a single fist intent?"
He said this, placing one hand on his hip and pointing at the sky: "Zhong Bailu, I advise you not to be ungrateful!"
"Enough, enough!"
Lin Zhao kicked him and said, "Since things here are concluded, let's take our swords and return to the Snow Domain Heavenly Pool. This place is a place of trouble; don't linger."
"Mhm!"
Xuan Zhi smiled and nodded, then readied his sword.
Lin Zhao stood in the sword light, quickly returning to the Snow Domain Heavenly Pool, his brows furrowed. He was indeed pondering why he hadn't received the recognition of any fist intent. Logically, it shouldn't be the case!
At this moment, within Lin Zhao's body, the Fire Dragon Seal transformed into a small, flame-wreathed fire dragon, racing through his meridians, constantly forging and refining the foundation of Lin Zhao's physical body, and further solidifying his peak realm. In his dantian, a wisp of chaotic fist intent shone with golden light, appearing supremely dominant.
In fact, when Mr. Bai gifted Lin Zhao a wisp of chaotic fist intent, it became the "origin" of Lin Zhao's fist techniques. And Mr. Bai was the progenitor of martial arts in the world. With a wisp of his fist intent residing in his dantian, Zhong Bailu's chaotic and杂乱 fist intents were like seeing a deity; how could they not be like avoiding a plague?
...
Snow Domain Heavenly Pool, Mountaintop Villa.
Dong Cang and Liu Liying had prepared a sumptuous banquet to welcome the martial artists. Tang Guangjun, Su Shanjun, and Han Buyu were also invited to the mountain for a meal and drinks.
After everyone had dispersed following the meal, Lin Zhujie returned.
He did not immediately return to the academy to see Teacher Gu Lingyu. After all, Lin Zhao was the master of the Snow Domain Heavenly Pool. When Gu Lingyu, carrying his sword, returned to the Mountaintop Villa and saw Dong Cang and Liu Liying about to clean the dishes, he suddenly looked like a hungry ghost: "Is there still something to eat? I, your offering, have been traveling for a long time and am hungry..."
"Mhm."
Lin Zhao nodded. "Dong Cang, stir-fry some cured meat with bamboo shoots, and add some stir-fried sheep offal with green garlic. Bring two bowls of the remaining rice and fish soup from the pot for Lin Zhujie to eat his fill."
"Yes, Young Master!"
Soon, the dishes were served. Lin Zhujie picked up his chopsticks and began to devour them, praising as he ate, "Miss Dong Cang's cooking is truly unparalleled in the world. If the heavens had eyes, they should have bestowed upon Miss Dong Cang a celestial decree as a culinary saint."
Dong Cang smiled, dimples appearing on her cheeks.
Lin Zhao, meanwhile, calmly practiced the Farmer's Nine Fists by the doorway, continuing to increase his martial artist breakthrough progress.
"Mountain Lord!"
After eating his fill, Lin Zhujie sat on the steps not far from Lin Zhao and said, "There's something I want to tell you."
"Mhm," Lin Zhao nodded.
Dong Cang turned and busied herself. The matter Lin Zhujie wanted to discuss was undoubtedly important, and she dared not overstep, even overhearing it unintentionally would be improper. Liu Liying, however, gracefully floated away to the mountaintop to gather spiritual energy for the Natural Dwelling.
Lin Zhujie's brows were tightly furrowed, his expression grave. "When I was traveling in the demon realm, I seemed to have encountered the legendary inner demon. He wielded an oil-paper umbrella and was skilled at inciting discord, causing continuous civil wars in the demon realm. When I killed him with a sword, there was no corpse, only a wisp of black smoke drifting away."
"It's the umbrella-holding inner demon."
Lin Zhao frowned. "It's a relatively basic type of inner demon, and also the most numerous among them. You're not the only one who encountered it. When we were cultivating at the ruins of Zhong Bailu in White Egret Lake, we also met an umbrella-holding inner demon, which was eventually killed by Old Huang with a sword."
"Ah?"
Lin Zhujie was astonished. "Brother Huang could kill an umbrella-holding inner demon?"
"Mhm."
Lin Zhao nodded. "He is in the thirteenth realm. Once one steps into the Ascended Realm, their perspective is different. Therefore, it was easier for Old Huang to kill the umbrella-holding inner demon."
"Understood."
Lin Zhujie stood up, cupped his fists, and said, "I just wanted to inform the Mountain Lord that this has already happened in the demon realm. As for other schemes, I, Lin Zhujie, am not very proficient. I'll take my leave; it's time to pay my respects to the Teacher."
"Go."
Watching Lin Zhujie depart, Lin Zhao frowned. The umbrella-holding inner demon had appeared in both the human realm and the demon realm. The signs of an impending storm were becoming more evident. The great tribulation was approaching, yet there was so little he knew.
...
Not long after, sweating profusely from practicing his fists and having exhausted much of his physical strength, Lin Zhao sat by the lotus pond, enveloped in spiritual energy, and began cultivating the Eternal Sword Scripture.
While cultivating the sword scripture, Lin Zhao already exuded a certain sword immortal aura. Wisps of ethereal sword intent coiled around him, and layers of sword qi moved without wind. Even the Dragon Slaying Sword and the Zhan Lu Sword on his back seemed to respond. As the sword intent grew sufficiently dense, the three inches of flowing time emitted a radiant light.
Lin Zhao frowned. He did not reject this opportune phenomenon, so he continued to cultivate the Eternal Sword Scripture while also refining the three inches of flowing time.
Although this flowing time was only three inches long, it contained such profound rules of the Great Dao that it seemed impossible to refine completely. Each time Lin Zhao refined it, it was like gazing into an abyss, always uncovering a large amount of unexploited rule power.
In a short while, his forehead was covered in sweat, and his mind was fully immersed in the flowing time.
Vaguely, Lin Zhao saw a mountain. That mountain was vast and continuous, immense. This was not the first time Lin Zhao had seen this mountain in the deductions of the flowing time, but this time, he could see it more clearly.
He narrowed his eyes, wanting to see more clearly. Instantly, his mind trembled, "buzzing." Soon, as far as his eyes could see, the veins of this divine mountain were revealed one by one. Lin Zhao could even see the mountain roots deeply buried beneath the earth.
Each mountain root contained a rich mountain aura. And at this moment, these mountain roots seemed to be eroded by something. From the eroded parts, black water droplets were dripping, falling like fine rain into the human world.
Suddenly, one of the black water droplets transformed. From the droplet appeared an old man holding an oil-paper umbrella. His eyes were fixed on Lin Zhao, and he sneered, "What lowly creature dares to spy on the secrets of heaven?!"
Lin Zhao's mind trembled, and he withdrew from the flowing time.
His heart pounded incessantly. He felt as if he had directly confronted an umbrella-holding inner demon. He felt extremely oppressed. At the eroded holes of the divine mountain, each black water droplet represented an umbrella-holding inner demon. Now, these umbrella-holding inner demons were continuously falling into the human world.
Moreover, these were merely the harbingers of a great tribulation.
...
Under the moonlight, in the Ghost Realm, in the vast wilderness of the western regions.
"Swish!"
A wisp of blazing light descended from the sky and landed at the foot of a cluster of towering mountains. It transformed into a young man wearing a fiery red short shirt. Between his brows was a very beautiful flame imprint. When he smiled, a half-inch long tusk appeared at the corner of his mouth. He chuckled, "It's about to begin, isn't it? After waiting for so long, the prelude is finally about to be unveiled."
As he spoke, his body suddenly sank, and he was filled with a surging demon aura. The flame imprint between his brows buzzed and chirped, and behind him, a colossal beast dharma image, reaching from heaven to earth, unfurled. The beast was engulfed in flames, resembling a rhinoceros – a legendary fire rhinoceros.
And this young man was a thirteenth-realm demon king from Mount Wuwang.