Chapter 336: Ancestor
Translator: Radiant Translations Editor: Radiant Translations
Xue Ying didn't bother to enter the Mirage, as he knew Hunters, who had the Minute Deity Heart, could easily follow him. For them, there would be no difference between the Mirage and real world; the Mirage would not restrict them. As for speed, these Hunters could easily reach eight hundred kilometers per second, significantly faster than his speed.
Hong. The surrounding space faintly distorted due to an invisible gravitational force, frantically repelling the three Hunters.
Their bodies didn’t cast any shadows. This, along with their silent movements, made them seem like ghosts.
One of the lean and slender Hunters waved its claw. Its movement seemed so light, it didn’t make any space ripples or other undulations.
"Such a fine and detailed movement. It's indeed worthy of its name." Wielding his flame red spear, Xue Ying took the initiative to attack one of the Hunters. He steadily thrusted his spear. He had confidence in his spearmanship and in the destructive nature of his Star Meteor Annihilation.
Attacking? He was fearless in this!
Pu. The targeted Hunter immediately used its claws to defend. Even under the gravitational repulsion, the Hunter being attacked by Xue Ying still moved smoothly, making subtle, minute claw movements for defense.
Other than its rotation, this spear attack’s main aspect was its speed. Although Xue Ying was physically slower than his opponents, his spearmanship was still faster than their claws.
Dang. Its pair of claws still closed, successfully defending against Xue Ying spear attack.
The Hunters’ fighting style carried an aesthetic feeling. Their every move was so perfect that even if its movement speed decreased by a million or hundred thousand times, people would have difficulty finding any fault or flaw in their movements. Moreover, they could also finely utilize World Energy, with a rather astonishing control. These were the advantages of the True Meaning of Minute. Furthermore, these Hunters had also reached the Deity Heart realm.
Spear and claw clashed. The claws held an extremely reserved power that rapidly emerged. All forms of physical defense was useless in front of this pervasive power. The spear, containing the peak-offense Laws of Profound Mysteries of Destruction, also exuded an aura! This attack was a secret skill Xue Ying formed from the True Meaning of Star and of Extreme Penetration, with a destructive power even greater than Extreme Penetration. After eighty years perfecting this skill, it was comparable to the Extreme Penetration Deity Heart with a damage output naturally higher than its opponent’s.
The collision of Laws of Profound Mysteries destroyed the power in the claws instantly.
"Mn?" The targeted Hunter slightly vibrated to get rid of the impact.
By this time, the other two Hunters had already arrived.
Now! Xue Ying willed for his Mirage Avatars to appear. Thirty-six Xue Yings filled the surrounding area, while his real body disappeared.
"Mirage Avatar?" The three Hunters simultaneously released an undulation.
The undulation formed by the True Meaning of Minute enveloped the whole blood-colored battle platform.
The spatial dimension was affected everywhere by this invisible pervasive attack. Although it was merely a simple undulation of the Laws of Profound Mysteries, it was also not something Xue Ying’s Mirage Avatars could resist. One by one, the Mirage Avatars began collapsing… Since Xue Ying had only reached the stage three realm, his Mirage Avatars had been very difficult to fell with a large-scale attack.
Yet the Hunters could achieve this! They had attained grade two Deity Hearts, in addition to possessing the extraordinary True Meaning of Minute.
Only one Xue Ying remained, his real body. Hua! He thrust his spear at the Hunters. Faced with this sudden attack, the Hunters tried their hardest to defend, until one of their claws was finally able to block his spear.
"Kill!" The other two Hunters immediately made a counterattack.
Shua.
Xue Ying instantly dispersed, fusing with the Mirage.
Previously, there had been some distance between each Hunter, allowing him to ambush one. Now, however, the three of them were standing together. Combined with the speed granted by the Minute Deity Heart, a failed attack would leave him hard-pressed to flee. If he failed to do so, the Hunters could jointly attack and kill him.
The three Hunters’ yellow eyes gazed into the Mirage. "Fusing with the Mirage?"
Their complete Deity Heart allowed them to easily look into the Mirage; they could even spot the Mirage-fused Xue Ying.
The stage three realm ability of concealment was obtained from a Space Deity Heart, but it could also be gained from a Minute Deity Heart due to a similar specialization in scouting. If Xue Ying had concealed himself using the Star Deity Heart, however, it would have been another story. The Star Deity Heart would have obscured his presence from the detection of either of them.
"He’s able to fuse with the Mirage of the entire blood-colored platform?" The three Hunters looked at each other. "To successfully attack him, we need to attack the entire thousand square kilometers?"
Truthfully, Xue Ying was able to fuse with the Mirage for an area of five thousand kilometers. Unfortunately, the battle platform was not that big.
"Attack!" Without any hesitation, the three Hunters instantly attacked—because they had no other choice. Hong hong hong~ They madly attacked in every direction of the Mirage.
...
"It hurts." Xue Ying, still fused with the Mirage of the whole battle arena, could feel the damage caused by the three Hunters’ attacks.
His best defense was to fuse with the Mirage. His ability to fuse with the thousand square kilometers decreased the damage he received to only a thousandth of the original value. Even with this, however, he still received considerable damage due to how fast the Hunters’ attack was. Not long after an attack landed, another ten thousand attacks followed.
Xiu. Xue Ying suddenly appeared beside one of the Hunters and attacked.
Dang.
Blocked?
Still under siege, Xue Ying quickly fused back with the Mirage.
******
Above the blood-colored battle platform, the green-haired Xi Wei and a ruddy, white-haired old man looked on. Their strength enabled them to observe the battle below with clarity.
The old man commented, "This brat, nothing short of obsession would bring him success. Even when facing a life-death situation, he could still keep his composure." The ruddy, white-haired old man looked down, chuckling as he said, "Look, his life force continues to decrease. Most cultivators, at this point, would go berserk when under the pressure of death, fighting hysterically. Sometimes, their potential would explode, possibly bringing about a fluke win. If they’re lucky...possibly two wins, but not three! Only genuine strength can be relied on. He picked the lesser of two evils and is allowing this life force to diminish while searching for an opportunity to mount a sneak attack."
Xue Ying actually didn’t like this situation where he needed to risk everything in a life-death situation. Although he got lucky last time and broke through in his True Meaning of Star while besieged by eight-tentacled Mirage Creatures, causing his secret skill to become more powerful, he truthfully didn’t like this breakthrough method.
He preferred watching the Creation of Heaven and Earth and pondering over it. Plus, that bottleneck had simply been a small one. It really wasn’t comparable to the large bottleneck of breaking through into the Deity Heart realm. Under the pressure of a life-death situation, the possibility of breaking through truly was rather high. But even with this likelihood, Xue Ying hated being forced under such circumstances. He preferred the common cultivation methods, as success would be delivered slowly through accumulated knowledge. When the conditions were right, success would naturally follow—therefore breaking through.
"Ancestor is correct," Xi Wei agreed.
The distinguished Xi Wei was very respectful toward this old man. In fact, it was not just her; all of Crimson Rock Mountain’s residents were very respectful toward him.
"Ancestor, do you think this young one could win? Right now, he only has about seventy percent of his life energy left. After a while, he will only be left with half of his life force," Xi Wei inquired.
The Hunters; frantic and quick attacks ate away at Xue Ying’s life force.
"What do you think, little Xi Wei?" The ruddy, white-haired old man look down at the platform. "Such a good seedling. From the start, this brat had been calmly looking for an opportunity. I estimate that he has only been cultivating for two hundred years. So young, yet he already has such power and determination. Whether he wins or not…"
Before he finished his speech, down in the battle platform, Xue Ying once again mounted a sneak attack.
Pu! Unexpectedly, Xue Ying once again attacked the same Hunter. Sensing a stealth attack from behind, the Hunter automatically tried to defend. To his misfortune, Xue Ying's attack was faster. With only a hairbreadth difference between life and death, the attack successfully entered the Hunter's slim body.
Under the Laws of Profound Mysteries in this destructive attack, the Hunter's body started to disintegrate.
Since he already lost around half of his life force, Xue Ying’s complexion was abnormally pale. Despite this, he still felt elated at being able to eliminate one of the Hunters. He calculated that his spearmanship was fast enough to launch sudden attacks while abruptly switching positions with his Mirage Avatars. By thrusting his spear faster and more abruptly while seeking even more opportunities, he succeeded.
He launched stealth attacks while the Hunters attacked the mirage. After numerous failures, he finally succeeded.
"It's a success." The ruddy old man smiled. "After he got one, the next will be easier."
Although he eliminated one, two Hunters still surrounded him; Xue Ying was still in extreme danger. Every time he launch a sneak attack, he had to suffer numerous counterattacks from the Hunters before he could once again merge with the Mirage. He was only able to kill another Hunter after he lost another tenth of his life force. As for the last Hunter? He no longer needed to flee, since he could now fight it directly.
"Ancestor, do you think he can pass the fifth leaf world?" Xi Wei asked.
"No one can accurately predict the future," the white-haired old man murmured. His voice was tinged with disappointment.
Xi Wei agreed. True, before the Sacred Master’s death, who would have thought that such a supreme being like the Sacred Master could die? The past was set, but future had many possibilities.
Pu! Xue Ying’s spear struck the abdomen of the last Hunter. With reluctance in its eyes, the Hunter stared at Xue Ying moments before it dissipated.
"Win! Hahaha! I won! Finally, I won! I knew I could win. I could!" Spear in hand, Xue Ying stood on the blood-colored battle platform as he exclaimed ecstatically. His eyes emitted a maniacal aura. Moments before, his life force had been declining steadily. He had felt the presence of death approach closer, pressuring him even more. He could only try his hardest to maintain his composure by believing in himself and his method.
This method was the only method he felt he could succeed with. He could only seek better opportunities and try his hardest to unleash a more perfected spear attack. In the end, he succeeded and passed the fourth vine leaf world!
Xi Wei and the old man couldn’t help but smile as they looked down and saw a white-clothed youth shouting excitedly.
"Nevertheless, he is still a brat, a young one." The ruddy, white-haired old man laughed. He then turned around, and, with a step, he tore apart the sky, leaving the space above the platform.