MTLNOVEL Chapter 296: Fist!
Chapter 296: Fist!
“I’ve already given you the treasure. Can you let me go now?”
The old sea demon’s neck was being held by the divine bone in Xu Lian’s left hand, and it was clearly uncomfortable.
Xu Lian said, “Don’t rush. I have some questions that need to be answered.”
The old sea demon replied, “Go ahead and ask.”
Xu Lian asked, “From what I just heard, it seems like the entire Ten Thousand Peaks Stone Sea is under the jurisdiction of your Sea Tribe. But when I came here, I heard that this place is unclaimed. Why is that? If it’s your territory, why do so many people come here to gather spirit herbs without your sea tribe intervening? Also, why are the powerful beings of your sea tribe in a deep slumber?”
The old sea demon gave him a strange look. It seemed that Xu Lian hadn’t done his homework before coming here. “The Ten Thousand Peaks Stone Sea is indeed under the jurisdiction of our Sea Tribe. There’s no doubt about it. The reason why you humans consider it unclaimed is mainly because our powerful sea tribe members have been in a deep slumber in the central region.
They haven’t had time to manage the entire Ten Thousand Peaks Stone Sea, so control over most areas has been lax. As a result, you humans were able to come and go as you pleased and gather spirit herbs. Over time, it has been mistakenly regarded as an unclaimed territory.
As for why our powerful sea tribe members have been in deep slumber, it’s related to the cultivation techniques they practice. They cultivate while in slumber, and this state also slows down the depletion of their life span, allowing them to maintain their youth for a long time.”
At this point, the old sea demon spoke with a hint of pride, “Among the top forces in the world, our sea tribe in the Ten Thousand Peaks Stone Sea has a long history, and our powerful members have maintained their youthful appearance, unlike the elders of your human forces who grow old and frail.”
Xu Lian asked, “Then why do you look so old and frail?”
The old sea demon was momentarily speechless, then grumbled, “Because I was already old when I reached the Origin Tracing Realm.”
Xu Lian asked a few more questions about the sea tribe, and then let the old sea demon go without killing her. Although the sea tribe’s sages and supreme beings were in slumber, it was hard to tell if their consciousness might occasionally sweep through the area. So, Xu Lian decided not to push his luck. It was always better to leave some room for future encounters.
Xu Lian then used a water technique to leave the area marked with red text and moved to another similarly marked area. To be cautious, he used the Sacred Spirit Record’s secret techniques to change his appearance, build, cultivation level, and aura once again. He even swapped out his hair crown and clothes.
After completing these preparations, he continued his search for Spirit Herbs.
He had already obtained a significant amount of king-grade black lotus seeds, which would be enough for the women in his life. Each of them could extend their lifespan by over a thousand years, allowing him to focus on advancing his own cultivation without worry.
However, spirit herbs that could extend one’s life span were always valuable, and it was better to have more than less. Since he was already in the Ten Thousand Peaks Stone Sea, he decided to gather as many spirit herbs as possible to prepare for any future needs.
This new area, also marked with red text, was similar to the previous one. The sea was filled with towering stone peaks that resembled stalagmites, obstructing vision and making it impossible to scan large areas at once.
Xu Lian released his spiritual sense to test the area and found that it was also compressed, limiting his ability to search for Spirit Herbs over a wide range.
“It seems the entire Ten Thousand Peaks Stone Sea is like this—naturally obstructing vision and suppressing spiritual sense.”
This was definitely a fascinating place.
After all, with his cultivation at the seventh level of Origin Tracing, his vision and spiritual sense were incredibly powerful. He could see through the earth and sense vast areas, but here he was reduced to the level of an ordinary cultivator, only able to see and sense within a radius of about ten zhang.
“Whoosh…”
He slowed down his water technique, moving like an arrow fish as he carefully searched for spirit herbs. He didn’t want to move too fast and accidentally stumble into the sleeping grounds of the Sea Tribe’s powerful beings.
After searching for about an hour, he sensed a disturbance in the water. Clearly, something was happening in the distance.
“A disturbance means there’s a conflict between a powerful human and a member of the Sea Tribe. They must have found a spirit herb.”
After a moment’s thought, Xu Lian headed towards the source of the disturbance.
Sure enough, he saw an elderly human cultivator, whose life span was nearly exhausted, engaged in a fierce battle with a sea tribe demon over a spirit herb that resembled a lingzhi mushroom.
The spirit herb was pure white, like snow, and clearly of extraordinary quality. After all, this was a red text area, so the spirit herbs here were all of high quality.
Just like the spirit herb Xu Lian had picked earlier after tossing aside the octopus, this one wasn’t at the king-grade level of Black Lotus, but it was still a treasure-grade herb capable of extending one’s lifespan by several hundred years.
The sea tribe demon was a sea dragon with a cultivation level at the eighth stage of Origin Tracing Realm, one level higher than the elderly human cultivator. The old man was already covered in wounds and in a terrible situation.
If nothing unexpected happened, the old man would likely die here, buried in the depths of the Ten Thousand Peaks Stone Sea.
After his conversation with the old sea demon, Xu Lian had a clearer understanding of the situation in the Ten Thousand Peaks Stone Sea. The spirit herbs of the sea tribe weren’t easy to obtain. The easily accessible ones had already been picked, and the remaining ones were guarded by powerful Sea Tribe demons.
In addition, the Sea Tribe demons had years of experience in dealing with herb gatherers from all over. Even human cultivators of the same level would find it difficult to defeat them, let alone those with lower levels of cultivation.
“Boom!”
“Boom!”
“Boom!
The battle between the Sea Spirit and the elderly human cultivator was intense. If this were happening outside, the space would have already collapsed, affecting a vast area. But in the mysterious Ten Thousand Peaks Stone Sea, the battle only stirred up some water. It was clear that this place had a stabilizing effect on both space and water.
“Fellow Daoist, could you lend a hand?”
Upon noticing Xu Lian’s arrival, the elder cultivator was overjoyed and quickly asked for help.
However, he might have been too quick to celebrate… Xu Lian had no intention of helping. “You two go ahead. I’m just here to watch.”
The elderly cultivator became worried, “Please, fellow Daoist, help me. If we work together to drive out the Sea Dragon, I’ll only take a small portion of the spirit herb. You can have the majority.”
Xu Lian replied, “You can’t even save your own life, yet you still want a portion of the spirit herb?”
Seeing that Xu Lian had figured him out, the elderly cultivator said, “Then let’s work together to drive out this Sea Dragon. The spirit herb will be yours. I just want to save my life.”
Xu Lian chuckled, “I don’t think we need to work together. I can handle this Sea Dragon by myself and take the spirit herb… Your only use is to help me wear down the Sea Dragon’s stamina, nothing more.”
The elderly cultivator was furious.
The Sea Dragon also gave Xu Lian a cold look, but didn’t say anything. Instead, it intensified its attacks on the elderly cultivator, clearly aiming to finish him off quickly before dealing with the other “old man” whose life span was nearly exhausted.
Indeed, Xu Lian had transformed himself into an old man, complete with a bamboo cane and a frail demeanor. He looked like someone who had come to the Ten Thousand Peaks Stone Sea in a desperate attempt to extend his life span.
“Fellow Daoists, what will it take for you to help me?”
The elderly cultivator’s voice was urgent. He was on the verge of collapse and desperately needed Xu Lian’s help.
Xu Lian joked, “Introduce me to your wife.”
The elderly cultivator was stunned for a moment. He hadn’t expected the old man to say such a thing. In that brief moment of distraction, the Sea Dragon seized the opportunity to press its attack, causing the elderly cultivator to cough up blood.
The elderly cultivator was on the verge of tears, “I’m in mortal danger here, fellow Daoist. Please don’t joke with me. My wife passed away a long time ago. Even if you were my rival in love when I was young, that’s all in the past. As soon as I get over this, I’ll apologize to you properly.”
Xu Lian could see that the elderly cultivator was truly at his limit and was about to be killed by the Sea Dragon. He stopped joking and said seriously, “If you want my help, it’s not impossible. Give me some Origin Tracing Light.”
The elderly cultivator quickly replied, “The holy land just granted me two strands of Origin Tracing Light to help me break through and extend my lifespan. I haven’t used them yet. You can have them.”
Only two? What a poor guy… Xu Lian thought about it and realized that most Origin Tracing cultivators had to wait hundreds of years to receive one or two strands of Origin Tracing Light from their holy lands. Someone like him, who had a fixed quota of one hundred strands from the Nine Heavenly Sacred Lands, was extremely rare.
Only those who were considered “supreme talents” by the holy lands received such preferential treatment and access to cultivation resources.
“Boom!”
Xu Lian made his move. He tossed his bamboo cane aside, and his frail old man demeanor instantly transformed. He lunged forward like a primordial beast, throwing punch after punch at the Sea Dragon!
“Boom!”
“Boom!”
“Boom!”…
Each punch’s force stacked onto the next, creating a cascading effect!
In an instant, his fists shone like two suns, radiating a light that seemed capable of piercing through anything in the world!
This was a fist technique recorded in the Sacred Spirit Record, known as the Tyrant Fist.
As the name suggested, it was all about dominance.
The intent of the fist was overwhelming, as if nothing in the world could stand in its way!
The Sea Dragon at the eighth level of Origin Tracing Realm was able to block the first six punches. But from the seventh punch onward, the stacked force began to overwhelm it, forcing it to retreat.
This shocked and enraged the Sea Dragon. This old man, who looked like he was on the verge of death, had suddenly erupted with such ferocity, like a true dragon with an ocean of vitality.
The elderly cultivator was also stunned. The old man hadn’t been boasting earlier. He really was capable of suppressing the sea dragon on his own.
“Boom! Boom! Boom!”…
When the fist force reached its peak, each of Xu Lian’s punches tore through the sea dragon’s body, shattering its scales and sending blood and flesh flying, dyeing the surrounding seawater red.
The sea dragon groaned in pain and finally couldn’t take it anymore. It turned and fled!