Chapter 74: Traces, Battle

Cowering within the cave would only lead to a slow death by starvation.

Since he had resolved to seek a path to survival, Dongbo Xueying quietly leapt into the cave that very morning to begin his exploration.

“Whoosh!” Dongbo Xueying was nimble and agile, aided by the power of heaven and earth, each of his movements silent and unnoticeable.

“I must not approach that mysterious palace dwelling. Its defenses are too strict. Even the weakest of the black-armored guards would be difficult to handle!” Dongbo Xueying mused. The black-armored guards appeared even stronger than Xiang Pangyun. Although Dongbo had now reached the ‘Myriad Things Realm’ and his strength had risen to an extremely high level, making it easy to defeat Xiang Pangyun, fighting against these black-armored guards was still uncertain—he might still lose!

If even the weakest guard was a challenge, how much more difficult would the stronger ones be?

“Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh.”

Silent and unseen, he stealthily moved away from the palace dwelling, cautiously exploring other parts of the Black Gale Abyss Valley.

The Black Gale Abyss Valley was vast. At its widest, it stretched over ten miles across, and even at its narrowest points, it remained seven or eight miles wide.

“All these are just weeds and moss. It must have been countless millennia since anyone last came here,” Dongbo Xueying observed as he walked, when suddenly he noticed ahead of him a massive fissure in the earth. Two fissures intersected each other. One was three to four meters wide and extended far into the distance. Its length was estimated to be twenty or thirty miles.

The other fissure was only one or two meters wide and about five or six miles long. Its end extended into the valley wall itself, tearing a massive wound into the mountainside. This wound was nearly a hundred meters deep, reaching upward beyond the Black Gale layer.

“These two fissures?” Dongbo Xueying felt a chill in his heart. Having reached the Myriad Things Realm, he could clearly sense the terrifying sharpness and killing aura emanating from these fissures.

“They were slashed open by weapons! These fissures were created by weapons!” Dongbo Xueying instantly confirmed.

He approached the edge of the fissure and peered down.

Looking down into the dark, bottomless chasm carved into the rocky ground, it was evident that the fissure widened deeper below.

“It was slashed from deep underground!” Dongbo Xueying immediately deduced from the traces. “Its power was boundless, piercing straight from beneath the earth up to the surface of the valley, leaving a fissure twenty or thirty miles long on the valley floor.”

The realization alone made Dongbo Xueying’s face pale.

Heaven!

This was merely the residual power of a strike launched from underground. Yet it had still created a fissure twenty or thirty miles long on the surface. How terrifying was such power? In other words, a towering mountain thousands of meters high could be split in two with a mere wave of the hand by such a powerful being. Even an entire human city might be utterly destroyed in a single strike!

Such strength was beyond comprehension. He and Xiang Pangyun had fought fiercely on Snowstone Peak for so long, only managing to destroy some large rocks, trees, and cliff edges. The peak itself remained largely undamaged.

This showed the vast difference.

Compared to such a mighty being, Dongbo Xueying felt as small as an ant compared to a dragon.

“Could this be the mark of a battle left by an Exalted Being?” Dongbo Xueying pondered. “No wonder in the legends, some powerful Exalted Beings could drink and feast with gods, with even deities fearing them.”

He and Xiang Pangyun’s level of strength was far from being worthy of a god’s attention.

False Exalteds were insignificant.

“Is this the true power of the Exalted?” Dongbo Xueying couldn’t believe it. His knowledge of Exalted Beings was extremely limited, mostly gathered from tales and legends. Even the “Dark Ice Spearplay” only briefly described the methods of becoming Exalted, without mentioning what came after achieving Exaltation.

What did it mean to become Exalted?

No one knew.

Because Exalted Beings were so rare, ordinary mortals rarely encountered them. If an Exalted Being ever appeared somewhere, even the Longshan Pavilion would immediately issue urgent warnings to all nearby factions, urging them to keep their heads down and avoid offending the Exalted at all costs—offending one might mean the total annihilation of an entire family. Even the Si Clan, or the Mo Yang Clan with their False Exalted, would tremble in fear before a true Exalted.

“This level of power must be among the highest ranks even among Exalted Beings,” Dongbo Xueying thought silently.

…

As Dongbo Xueying carefully observed the fissure and sensed its terrifying sharpness and killing aura, black mist began to surge across nearly every part of the valley floor, one every ten miles. Then, these mists rapidly condensed into black-armored soldiers.

Similarly, in the sky just five or six miles away from Dongbo Xueying, black mist gathered and formed into a black-armored soldier.

The black-armored soldier wore a mask, its eyes glowing red, scanning its surroundings indifferently.

Every day, the entire valley floor was patrolled thoroughly. This was a rule set by the master of the palace dwelling long ago. Though the palace master had perished countless millennia ago, the valley had remained unchanged ever since.

“An intruder?” The moment the black-armored soldier solidified, its eyes always glowing red, it still managed to spot Dongbo Xueying standing in the distance despite its blurred vision.

Whoosh!

The black-armored soldier drifted down and then shot forward like a streak of light toward Dongbo Xueying.

Dongbo Xueying was observing the fissure, his heavenly power spreading around him as he remained vigilant toward the palace dwelling. At the slightest stir, he would flee like a startled bird.

“Hm?” Dongbo Xueying suddenly turned his head as his ears twitched.

A black-armored soldier was rushing toward him from behind, already less than a mile away. At their level, a distance of three or four hundred meters was practically nothing.

“How could a black-armored soldier suddenly appear?” Dongbo Xueying was alarmed. “I knew this Exalted place would have strange things, and I’ve been so careful.”

It was already too late to hide now.

“I must kill it quickly. If the battle drags on, more black-armored soldiers, or even stronger guards, will come,” Dongbo Xueying thought, as he summoned his Snowflame Divine Spear into his hand, standing still and watching the black-armored soldier charge toward him.

Boom!

The spear shot out like a flaming meteor. Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! A series of flaming spear shadows lashed toward the black-armored soldier. However, the soldier blocked effortlessly, holding a black blade in one hand, clanging! Clang! Clang! It deflected multiple strikes in an instant. The soldier’s entire body was shrouded in black mist, its arm seemingly formed from condensed mist. Its movements were elusive and intangible, easily countering the attacks.

“Too fast!” Dongbo Xueying instantly changed tactics, shifting from speed to brute force!

Boom! The previously thrusting spear suddenly swept sideways, unleashing his full strength. His bloodline power surged, and the spear, imbued with the might of flame, traced a massive arc, accumulating power as it swung. The black-armored soldier coldly raised its blade to block.

A deafening crash rang out.

The black-armored soldier’s body trembled violently, much of its black mist scattering, its form becoming blurred.

Seeing this, Dongbo Xueying immediately struck twice more, the spear landing successive blows. With two “pops,” the black-armored soldier finally shattered completely, dispersing into black mist and vanishing.

…

Before the palace dwelling, apart from the numerous black-armored soldiers, there were other powerful guards. One of them, clad in ornate armor and leaning on a massive sword, suddenly opened its eyes. Silver light gleamed in its gaze.

Boom!

In an instant, it transformed into a streak of black light, tearing across the sky at terrifying speed toward Dongbo Xueying.

Although nearly a hundred miles separated them, the black streak moved so fast that it crossed over ten miles in the blink of an eye, rapidly approaching.

Dongbo Xueying had been closely watching the palace dwelling direction all along. After defeating the black-armored soldier, he immediately noticed the fast-approaching black streak.

Flight through air and earth?

Among humans, only Exalted Beings could truly fly and move through the earth. As for those relying on the power of heaven and earth as Titleholders, or mages using spells, their flight speeds were far too slow, unable to match the speed of aerial magical beasts. Only the flight speed of Exalted Beings could be truly terrifying.

Seeing that black streak, Dongbo Xueying felt fear—it was simply not in the same league.

“No place to run!” Dongbo Xueying looked down at the massive fissure beneath his feet. Earlier, he had been curious—if an Exalted Being had slashed open such a massive fissure from deep underground, then there must be a battlefield hidden deep below. He had previously been contemplating carefully how to explore it.

“No time to think!” Holding his Snowflame Divine Spear, Dongbo Xueying leapt straight down into the fissure!