Blind Spot
Chapter 557 - 512 calamities, six

Chapter 557: 512 calamities, six

The martial arts competition ended, and Li Chengyi stepped down with a smile.

He had lost, but no one dared to underestimate him. After all, in terms of pure sword techniques, he was able to exchange many moves with the eldest senior brother.

It was only later, when it came to comparing cultivation, that he took the initiative to admit defeat. This meant that his Bai Lu was not much weaker than the eldest senior brother in the mastery of the Faceless Sword Technique.

After stepping down, Yuan Qi from the Suyue Sect raised his thumb in admiration.

"I’ll have someone send the Snow Lotus you won from me. How much do you want?"

"The more, the better," Li Chengyi said with a laugh.

"Go fart yourself, you really think Snow Lotus is easy to find?" Yuan Qi cursed laughingly, "Even in our Suyue Sect, that’s an absolute rarity."

"I don’t demand any specific age, just the blossomed ones will do," Li Chengyi added.

"Really?" Yuan Qi had thought Bai Lu was just being polite, but with the emphasis repeated, he suddenly became serious.

"For real."

"Then, how about a hundred flowers?"

"Deal!"

They quickly arranged the contact details, and Li Chengyi would send disciples from Holy Infant Volcano to the Suyue Sect to collect the goods.

The two confirmed the time and place.

On the other side, Zhao Yuan bit her lip tightly, her eyes interweaving with complex emotions as she looked at the now empty stage.

She knew the gap between her and Bai Lu was huge, but she hadn’t expected it to be this big.

Even the eldest senior brother, in terms of pure swordsmanship, couldn’t suppress the opponent, which was simply...

"Look... look..." Qiu Chen came over again, his baby-faced cheeks adorned with a vexing smile.

"Who here can’t accept reality~~ Who is it!~~ Seeing the strength of Brother Bai Lu acknowledged by the eldest senior brother must feel unpleasant, right? Tsk tsk tsk..."

"I’ve always said, you superficial woman who is only good at growing a pretty face, how could you understand the greatness and excellence of Brother Bai Lu?" Qiu Chen covered her mouth, emitting a strange laugh.

"What did you ugly woman say?! Who won in the end?! If Bai Lu was so capable, why didn’t he continue the fight, why did he voluntarily admit defeat!? There’s no excuse for being inferior!!" Zhao Yuan exploded, immediately spewing a tirade of denial.

"Nonsense! If Brother Bai Lu had been born three years earlier, he definitely wouldn’t be worse than the eldest senior brother! You don’t know shit!!" Qiu Chen also got angry, how dare she insult his idol.

"I don’t understand, I only know the eldest senior brother is the strongest! What’s the matter? Can’t accept it? If you can’t accept it, let your Brother Bai Lu win against the eldest senior brother!" Zhao Yuan said with a cold sneer.

The two immediately started tearing into each other on the spot.

A few minutes later, when the two women’s argument escalated to drawing swords for a duel, Bai He urgently intervened, trying to restrain one and persuade the other, working up a sweat before calming them down.

Huo Qingkong had no time to deal with this petty matter, as he was already accompanying some elders on a visit elsewhere.

The higher-ups had also mostly left, with only a few disciples wanting to watch the beauty fight staying at a distance.

Li Chengyi didn’t even look at Zhao Yuan; he turned and returned to his residence.

With a few swift movements, he was back at Kui Ling Pavilion, entering the bedroom to rest.

He casually hung the Dingyuan Sword on the wall and picked up the crystal jar on the table filled with yellow heart-shaped gems, gently shaking it.

The jar made a crisp clinking sound, extremely pleasing to the ear, and somewhat calmed his worried heart.

Sitting at the desk, Li Chengyi reviewed the exchange of moves from earlier.

’Purely in terms of sword moves, it’s hard to determine a winner between us, but in cultivation, he is far superior to me. And... that speed and composure... were a bit exaggerated...’

’If I were to fight with all my strength now, I’m afraid I wouldn’t be able to ensure a win. Even if I reveal my true body and use Floral Dress Flower Language Technique, it would be difficult... As long as the eldest senior brother has even a hint of the Faceless Scholar’s characteristics, it will be very tricky.’

After pondering for a moment, Li Chengyi decided to find an opportunity to have a good talk with the eldest senior brother.

If the Seven Right Intentions Primordial Spirit Technique he had self-developed could be of help to Huo Qingkong, perhaps he could change the future of this blind spot.

Change the fate where Kui Ling and everyone else were bound to die.

By once again establishing his reputation as a top genius, the technique he shared with Huo Qingkong should also receive more attention.

Having decided, Li Chengyi immediately got up, put down the jar, and left the room.

In the afternoon.

The people from Suyue Sect finally left.

The members of the Sword Sect went back to their own affairs, some to rest, some to practice their swordsmanship.

A convoy transporting swords and tribute ores slowly entered the Sword Sect’s gates, and after Huo Qingkong instructed several stewards and disciples seeking guidance, his figure flashed, turning into a black line that flickered several times before disappearing.

He was already inside the interior of the entire Faceless Sword Sect mountain range.

The interior was a vast cavity.

There were no living creatures inside the pitch-dark cave, only faint trails of dark red smoke that flowed and hovered, faintly emitting some sort of sinister glow.

This was calamity qi.

Only those who had reached the level of the Seal Ring and above could perceive its existence and form.

All people and things would encounter calamity qi, which, when it accumulated, would form a calamity destiny.

Calamity destiny is unavoidable; it cannot be hidden from, so the best way is to dissolve the calamity qi before it condenses, preventing it from forming.

"You’re here? Qing Kong." At this moment, not far away in the void, the Holy Spirit Taoist, who had arrived at some point, stood floating in midair.

"The strength of the calamity qi is getting stronger, and by the qi eye..."

"This time, I will be the one to dissolve it, Master," Huo Qingkong said earnestly.

The qi eye was the strongest concentration of calamity qi, which had always been resolved personally by the Holy Spirit Taoist.

However, the Holy Spirit Taoist has already been gradually becoming unable to cope. After dissolving it the last time, he fell ill for several days and had not yet recovered.

Now that Huo Qingkong felt his strength had grown once again, he decided to help his master shoulder the heavy responsibility.

"If it were you... perhaps it could work..." The Holy Spirit wasn’t sure how strong his disciple had become, but the prospect of allowing him to try seemed acceptable.

He pondered for a moment then suddenly reached out his hand.

A pathway through the miasma of calamity instantly split open before them, leading to its deepest part.

"Cut through everything with the Sword of Wisdom, do not linger! Go quickly and return quickly!" The Holy Spirit instructed.

"Yes!" Huo Qingkong prepared the sword technique, his Sword Nurturing Pouch on his back ready to unleash the sword at any moment.

Leaping into the corridor, he quickly located the dark red vortex that his master had mentioned.

Right then, the Sword of Wisdom condensed, turning into a transparent beam of light, and he blasted it forward with a thunderous sound.

Hiss!

The sword light pierced the dark red vortex, instantly creating a hole in it. The hole rapidly healed, but the overall size of the vortex was somewhat reduced.

’Effective!’

Huo Qingkong continued to unleash the Sword of Wisdom with all his power, one stroke after another.

The moment he relaxed, the power of the Sword of Wisdom wasn’t enough to break through the calamitous nexus; there were even signs of it regathering and recovering.

This forced him to firm his mind and continuously maintain the emission of the Sword of Wisdom.

Not until half an hour later, when the nexus was thoroughly dispersed and vanished, did he breathe a sigh of relief and speedily retract his steps.

By this time, the calamitous miasma surrounding them had also faded significantly.

The Holy Spirit Taoist was still waiting in the same spot, and upon seeing his successful return, a relieved expression spread across his face.

"After the miasma is dispersed, it will take a year to gather again, so we must come here once every year to dissolve it. This time it has been resolved; next time it will be the other elders’ turn. You can go back and rest now."

"Yes." Huo Qingkong bowed and withdrew.

Leaving the inner cavity, he breathed out lightly, his brows tightly knit; no wonder his teacher had never dared to leave the Sword Sect for so many years. Besides the Faceless Divine Hall, another reason must be this calamitous miasma, right?

’Your teacher is deceiving you.’

Just as he was about to head back to rest, on the return path, a familiar voice that he had heard countless times resurfaced in his mind.

It was the Demon Emperor!

’What do you mean?’ Huo Qingkong’s eyes grew cold.

’What do I mean? Do you really think that the miasma and its nexus are so easily resolved?’ The Demon Emperor chuckled. ’My Demon Race has similar afflictions, but every time we disperse the calamitous miasma, it costs the lives of at least three Seal Ring experts to dissolve it. Just now, you made it look as easy as a leisurely stroll. Too naive.’

’The reason?’ Huo Qingkong had learned to largely ignore the Demon Emperor’s rambling and focus on the essential points.

’The reason, of course, is that the Holy Spirit Taoist only assigned you a tiny bit of calamity to get accustomed to and feel out the difficulty,’ explained the Demon Emperor.

’.....’ Huo Qingkong fell silent.

’Actually, do you want to completely and permanently resolve the calamity?’ The Demon Emperor started again.

His words were sometimes true, sometimes false, but most of the time, they were useful.

’You have a way?’ Huo Qingkong asked, expressionless.

’I can help you find the true calamitous nexus. My clan’s research on calamitous miasma is far more profound than yours. I’m telling you clearly, to truly resolve the calamity, dispersing the nexus is merely a temporary measure.’

’The true solution, you are willing to tell me?’ Huo Qingkong frowned.

’Why not?’ The Demon Emperor laughed. ’By now, you should also have guessed something, right? Such as my relationship with you...’

’We have no relationship.’ Huo Qingkong said indifferently.

’Heh... the great calamity is approaching, do you really think that the Faceless Sword Sect just coincidentally stumbled upon a boy with terrifying talent like you while wandering aimlessly outside??’ The Demon Emperor laughed. ’The coincidences in this world are not merely coincidences... The great calamity is not only the calamity of your Faceless Sword Sect. Do you remember my warning?’

’....’ Huo Qingkong had his suspicions all along. The consciousness of the Demon Emperor was always attached to him, no matter where he went, capable of communicating constantly and without delay.

What this meant became increasingly clear to him now.

But precisely because he understood, he also knew that his current strength was not yet sufficient to direct the future along his will.

’I can lead you to the source of the nexus, but you must first achieve the Good-Evil Fusion; otherwise, your strength will not be able to shatter the source,’ the Demon Emperor continued.

’Must I ignite the True Fire?’ Huo Qingkong asked, his voice grave.

’To achieve transcendence, that is the minimum. Moreover, it can’t be the weak True Fire like your master’s. You must become stronger, much stronger! Strong enough that no one in this world can stand against you. Strong enough that you live when all other beings die! Only then can you glimpse that final shred of hope,’ the Demon Emperor said, his voice carrying the merest hint of seduction.

’Good-Evil Fusion...’ Huo Qingkong muttered to himself, looking up at the sky. For a while, he stood motionless, a strange and elusive aura surfacing around him before swiftly vanishing again.

In the distance, in midair.

Li Chengyi floated in the air, heading towards him. Far away and about to greet him with a bow, his psyche suddenly trembled, his consciousness that had been stabilized by the Snow Lotus, at this moment, violently agitated as if pulled by some inexplicable power.

He clearly saw the queer aura that flickered momentarily over Huo Qingkong.

At the instant of the aura’s manifestation, a tremendous sense of threat flooded into his mind like a tsunami.

’Danger danger danger danger!!’

Li Chengyi’s body halted, no longer advancing, and after a moment of contemplation, his expression unchanged, he turned around and quietly left.

’Indeed... it’s not just a backlash from the techniques! Now... it’s really troublesome...’ Li Chengyi, who had also suffered from technique backlash, quickly recognized that the aura he’d just sensed was not from backlash.

It was a completely alien, peculiar aura he had never seen before.

No... not that he had never seen it.

Suddenly, in the depths of his memory, he recalled the horror he felt the first time he met the Faceless Scholar.

Back then, the Faceless Scholar seemed to have the same kind of aura...

But it seems that the aura on the Faceless Scholar was not as intense... at least, not as intense as what he had just felt from Huo Qingkong.