novelraw Chapter 201 - 198: Arrival (2)
Chapter 201 - 198: Arrival (2)
Shi Xiao nodded. Just as he was about to say something,
his expression froze, and he suddenly looked toward a corner of the room.
A figure had appeared there at some unknown time.
The person wore black and white casual clothes and had long, flowing golden hair. A red long saber was slung across their back, its sheath glowing with a faint red light and emitting a subtle Evil Energy.
At this moment, a pair of wine-red eyes calmly watched the two of them.
What surprised Shi Xiao was that this person had managed to slip past his senses and appear in the room.
"How bold. Who are you?"
Shi Xiao’s gaze turned cold.
Though he spoke those words,
two invisible sword shadows seemed to flash in his eyes, wrapped in a force of extreme sharpness, and slashed toward the figure.
He had directly used his Divine Technique: Intention Sword.
’This person was able to block my senses and appear in the room. Their strength is definitely not simple.’
Therefore, he had attacked with his full power from the very start.
However, to his surprise, when the sword shadow formed by his Divine Technique was a meter away from Hu Qi, it was as if something had nullified it, and it instantly vanished without a trace.
It was as if it had never existed at all!
"Weren’t you looking for me?"
Hu Qi’s expression was calm.
It was as if he hadn’t noticed Shi Xiao’s attack at all.
"You’re Helinta?"
With his Intention Sword nullified, Shi Xiao’s face paled, as if he had suffered a slight backlash.
As surprise filled his heart,
he couldn’t help but frown upon hearing Hu Qi’s words.
He had never met the man before, but he had seen his photograph.
Looking closely now, he was indeed the Helinta they had been searching for.
"I wonder what matter could have troubled two Venerables to grace my Shexin Sect with your presence!"
Hu Qi said flatly.
As he spoke, he took a step forward, and the powerful aura of a Refining God Venerable erupted from him, directly forcing back the aura emanating from his opponent.
Seeing this, it wasn’t just Shi Xiao.
Beside him, Li Xianyu, who had been indifferent until now, also had her expression change drastically.
Her gaze, filled with shock and uncertainty, fell upon Hu Qi.
"This is the Power of the Heart... You... you’re a Refining God Venerable? How is this possible?!"
A Refining God Venerable was different from a Qi Dao Grandmaster.
In the two hundred-plus years since the Heaven and Earth Primordial Energy had recovered, there were only a handful of them on all of Earth Star.
And every one of these Refining God Venerables
was a prodigy from the era two hundred years ago.
There were reasons for this.
Aptitude was one aspect.
On the other hand, they had been young at the time, and their cultivation had already reached the peak of a Martial Arts Family, with no further room for advancement.
They happened to be there for the Primordial Energy Tide, which provided the opportunity they needed to break through the Qi Barrier right away.
Afterward, they used their formidable strength to establish the Federation.
They seized all sorts of Spiritual Materials and Treasure Medicine, as well as the Treasure Lands on the surface of Earth Star,
Even with an accumulation of endless resources and the aid of perfect timing and location,
only the six of them had managed to achieve the Refining God Realm.
Everyone else had failed.
As for later, with the passage of time,
the Primordial Energy Tide stabilized.
For over a hundred years since, not a single person had reached the Refining God Realm.
But now, a Secret Martial Artist who, according to their files, should have only just broken through to become a Qi Dao Grandmaster, was displaying the strength of a Refining God Venerable. How could the two of them not be shocked?
Furthermore, judging by his incredibly stable aura, which showed no signs of being superficial,
and the powerful Power of the Heart that had forced them both back right from the start, this was clearly not something a newly promoted Refining God Venerable could possess.
’This man has probably been hiding his strength all along.’
It was no wonder the two of them thought this way.
After all, to go from an ordinary person to a Refining God Venerable in less than two years...
Even if someone told them, they would never believe it.
Compared to that possibility,
they were far more inclined to believe that Hu Qi had been hiding his strength all along.
"The two of us came here to ask about..."
As his thoughts raced, the coldness on Shi Xiao’s face receded, no longer as it was before.
He understood that regardless of whether the man had killed Changzhu, dwelling on the matter was now pointless.
Once his opponent displayed the strength of a Refining God Venerable,
everything changed.
A Refining God Venerable was an existence on the same level as them, giving them the chance for a fair dialogue.
For them, as long as it didn’t harm them personally, anything could be discussed and planned out.
However, before he could finish speaking, Li Xianyu at his side directly interrupted him.
"I never expected the Shexin Sect to have an expert like you.
I heard that you entered the Earth Core with Fa Ji, Wu Yu, and the others.
We came here today to find out if the deaths of Wu Yu and Changzhu are related to you?"
As she spoke, her eyes were fixed on Hu Qi.
It was as if she was afraid of missing the slightest detail on his face.
Hearing Li Xianyu’s blunt words, Shi Xiao frowned slightly but said nothing.
The Holy Rain Sect and the Sword Pavilion had been allied Schools for generations, dating back two hundred years. Moreover, among the Seven Upper-tier Schools, their strength was relatively in the middle to lower ranks.
Therefore, they were usually allies who helped each other out.
Now that she had acted this way, Shi Xiao was displeased, but he couldn’t say anything more.
’Besides, even though this man is a Refining God Venerable, we are two Refining God Venerables. If we really fight, it’s still uncertain who is stronger.’
"Those two idiots were killed by the Food Master from the Dense Forest Realm. You two can go ask Fa Ji, Guo Yi, and Lu Mei about that.
Besides, I had no grudge against them. Even if I really wanted to kill them, with my strength, I could have used a much more perfect method to absolve myself of any connection. Why would I leave such a gaping flaw?"
Hu Qi shook his head, his expression unchanged.
No matter what, he certainly wasn’t going to admit to something like that.
Hearing Hu Qi call her disciple an idiot, Li Xianyu’s face darkened.
But she was relentless, continuing, "Since you are a Refining God Venerable, you must have known that Wu Yu and Changzhu were being attacked. So why didn’t you save them? If you had acted, they might not have died!"
This time, Hu Qi didn’t answer right away. Instead, his gaze fell upon Li Xianyu, the Sect Leader of the Holy Rain Sect, and he looked her up and down.
He let out a soft chuckle.
The chuckle was thick with mockery.
"Didn’t save them? You two came to the Shexin Sect.
You attacked a disciple of my Shexin Sect over a disagreement, and I haven’t even settled the score with you for that. Instead, you come here to question me? Do you really think I’m a pushover?"
As he finished, Hu Qi’s tone turned icy, and a murderous intent so tangible it was almost physical billowed from him.
The surrounding temperature plummeted, and a thin layer of frost even formed on the walls and tabletop.
For a Refining God Venerable, emotional changes could stir the Power of the Heart, allowing it to interfere with reality to a certain extent.
After speaking, Hu Qi looked at Li Xianyu and Shi Xiao and sneered.
"Enough with this nonsense. I’ve shown you respect, but you’ve refused it. If you have the guts, let’s fight!"
Hearing this, Li Xianyu’s expression also turned cold.
"Since you feel that way, then I will certainly entertain you to the end! However, you’d better think this through. Once we fight here, your junior brother and sister, and even the entire Anshan City, will be caught in the crossfire! They might even be destroyed."
As the Sect Leader of the Holy Rain Sect, she had never been insulted so bluntly.
However, the man before her was also a Refining God Venerable with unfathomable strength, so she was reluctant to act rashly.
Her previous words were merely an attempt to extort some benefits.
But she hadn’t expected him to refuse to play by the rules.
"Heh! You don’t need to worry about that. You’d better hope you can kill me here today. Otherwise, I will personally pay a visit to the Sword Pavilion and the Holy Rain Sect and make sure not even a chicken or dog is left alive!"
Hu Qi gave a sinister smile.
As he spoke, his hand gripped the hilt of his Red Mirror Saber and drew it.
The moment the blade appeared, a shocking Evil Energy spread out, and the space seemed to instantly fill with the choking stench of blood.
The uneven, bumpy surface of the Red Mirror Saber reflected Hu Qi’s flat, emotionless eyes.
Seeing this, Li Xianyu’s face turned grim, and Shi Xiao’s expression grew ugly as well.
’They hadn’t expected this guy to attack just like that. This madman... how does he dare?’
One must understand that after a Secret Martial Artist opened all three Divine Treasures and advanced to the Refining God Realm, their Life Force would reach an extremely exaggerated level.
Unless absolutely necessary, they would never fight to the death.
After all, defeating another Refining God Venerable was simple, but killing one was extremely difficult unless one had absolutely overwhelming power.
If the opponent escaped, a Refining God Venerable hiding in the shadows, shamelessly launching sneak attacks...
...then a devastating disaster would await the Sword Pavilion and the Holy Rain Sect.
Unless they could stay within their sects forever and keep all their disciples from leaving.
But how was that possible?
Li Xianyu was already starting to feel some regret.
She hadn’t expected Hu Qi’s killing intent to be so immense.
This left the two of them in an awkward, untenable position.
They couldn’t attack, but they couldn’t not attack either.
Just at this critical moment, when the atmosphere was incredibly tense, a clear light suddenly flashed across the sky.
In the next moment, the surrounding space seemed to freeze, as if by a mysterious power. The entire Anshan City was as if under an Immobilization Spell; everything came to a standstill in an instant.
The pedestrians on the streets, the moving vehicles, the falling leaves—all were motionless. Time itself seemed to have stopped flowing.
However, in this strange silence, only Hu Qi, Shi Xiao, and Li Xianyu were completely unaffected.
Just then, a phantasmal figure slowly emerged from the floor-to-ceiling window to the side.
It was a person wearing a Daoist Robe, which fluttered gently in a nonexistent breeze, seeming to merge with the surrounding space.
The person’s face was blurry and indistinct, as if shrouded in a mysterious fog that prevented anyone from seeing their true appearance.
He strode forward slowly, like a Banished Immortal descending to the Mortal Realm.
"Lord Xuanqing! What brings you here?"
The moment they saw this figure, Shi Xiao and Li Xianyu’s expressions froze, and they spoke in low, respectful tones.
"You three are all Refining God Venerables, the future hope of the Human Race. Why must you draw swords against each other? Please, give this humble Daoist some face. How about we let this matter rest for today?"
The figure in the Daoist Robe, Xuanqing, spoke.
His voice was level and neutral, as if it possessed a power that could soothe all emotions.
It made one involuntarily calm down.
This was clearly an extremely advanced application of the Power of the Heart.
Hu Qi’s eyes flickered, and he silently sheathed his long saber.
’I had already sensed that someone was spying on this place. The spying was extremely subtle; if not for my Three-Eyed Primordial Snake Bloodline,’
’I truly would not have been able to detect it with only the cultivation of someone who had just entered the Refining God Realm.’
’The owner of this spying gaze gave me an extremely dangerous feeling.’
’And everything I had just done was merely a deliberate act.’
’My goal was to lure out this very person.’
’Otherwise, I would have already attacked. Why would I stand here bickering endlessly with these two?’
This wasn’t the first time Hu Qi had seen the person before him.
Two months ago, when the gray fog descended upon Anshan City, the Food Master had faced that giant face that blotted out the entire sky.
The name it had called out at the time seemed to be Xuanqing.