Chapter 306 - 151: Xiao Mingli in Her Prime, the Spear Intent of a Martial Saint’s Ultimate Skill! A Spiritual Communion and a Great Boost

The scrolls depicted scenes of battlefield slaughter, Martial Dao battle arrays, portraits of various figures, and even the outlines of weapons and armor.

Without exception, they all radiated a potent Martial Dao Will!

For nearly ninety percent of them, the moment Ji Xiu roused his Divine Soul to observe, he was immediately crushed by a Martial Dao pressure as vast as an abyss, as deep as the sea. It was so much stronger than his own that his consciousness was shattered before he could last a single breath.

"Hah... hah..."

Cold sweat trickled down Ji Xiu's forehead as he gasped for breath.

'How am I supposed to train with this!'

How could he possibly contend with this level of Martial Dao Will?

'They had to be at the Dragon and Tiger realm, at the very least! Perhaps even higher!'

'How could a mere Martial Artist like him, who hadn't even reached the level of a Grandmaster, withstand scrolls carrying their Martial Dao Will?'

The moment he stepped inside and roused his Divine Soul, Ji Xiu's consciousness was battered into a daze by the potent Martial Dao Will.

However...

As he continuously endured this immense pressure, Ji Xiu could tangibly feel his Divine Thoughts strengthening at an impressive rate...

'Is this place not a Martial Arts Holy Land, but a Daoist Sacred Land? Is it meant for me to first obtain the Divine Talisman Fire, and then cause my Dao Skill to soar to new peaks?'

Ji Xiu began to question everything.

'If I keep going at this speed...'

'...after a few months of secluded cultivation here, after being tempered and having my consciousness shattered by the Martial Dao Will from these scrolls hundreds, even thousands, of times...'

'...even without any knowledge of how to ascend to the realm of Daoist Skills, I'm confident I could completely master the Three Gates of Dao Skill!'

'I might even pull ahead, surpassing my progress as a Martial Artist on the Human Immortal Martial Dao path and achieving the rank of Daoist High Merit!'

Just as this thought arose in Ji Xiu's mind.

On a scroll displayed on the desk to his right,

the phantom image of a woman clad in Silver Armor and wielding a Jiao Patterned Long Spear seemed to leap off the page.

The plates of her Silver Armor were layered like jiao scales. From her shoulders, two ferocious Dragon Heads jutted out, their pupils seemingly holding eerie blue flames.

The woman's dark hair was tied back in a ponytail. Her sharp eyebrows swept up toward her temples, and her gaze was as sharp as lightning, making her look like a Female Martial Deity who had just walked out of a Corpse Mountain and Blood Sea.

And...

her face was extremely familiar.

'Is this... Xiao Mingli?'

Ji Xiu's pupils contracted in shock.

This heroic visage, compared to the frail woman in reality who sat in a wheelchair and could hardly move...

...they seemed like two completely different people.

The Xiao Mingli in the portrait wore Silver Armor, and the potent Martial Dao Will preserved within this Martial Domain was comparable even to those of the 'Great Portraits'.

And yet, her age and Cultivation were far, far lower than theirs!

'So this was Xiao Mingli in her prime...'

He watched the woman standing on the deck of a Vast Sea Battleship. Clad in full armor, she cut a valiant and heroic figure, her presence alone enough to suppress the 'Overseas Demon Tide'.

Ji Xiu narrowed his eyes, focused his Divine Soul, and pushed against the pressure to stare directly at the scroll.

As he watched...

The phantom image inscribed on the scroll suddenly raised its spear and pointed it at Ji Xiu. Her eyes flickered with challenge, and in that instant, a cold gleam seemed to flash through the room.

At that moment, even though no spear force had been unleashed,

Ji Xiu felt as if his Divine Thoughts had been struck by lightning!

But!

Unlike with the previous, overwhelmingly powerful scrolls, Ji Xiu's Divine Thoughts had grown more solid after enduring so many trials.

Furthermore, while Xiao Mingli had been in her prime when she left this imprint, she had still been young, after all!

All these factors combined allowed him to withstand the blow; he wasn't immediately shattered by the Spear Intent!

At the same time.

Ji Xiu had never personally experienced or witnessed the figures, armored soldiers, and scenes from the other scroll imprints.

But he *had* interacted with Xiao Mingli in reality. So at this moment, as the Spear Intent she had left behind in her prime came crashing down on him like an overwhelming tide, it instantly ignited the competitive spirit deep in his bones.

Immediately, a faint flicker of Saber Intent rose from within Ji Xiu...

Across the distance, the spear's force collided with the Saber Intent!

At this moment.

Xiao Mingli, in her prime, crossed the river of time. Relying on the wisp of her true form left behind in the imprint, she came to spar with Ji Xiu in a spiritual duel, guiding his moves!

Through their Divine Thoughts and the True Intent of saber and spear, they engaged in an invisible battle!

[Tutor clashes Divine Souls with 'Xiao Mingli' at her peak. The Great Five Decline Celestial Saber is used to counter her Spear Intent. Advance progress increasing!]

[Progress +13...]

[Progress +17...]

[Progress +15...]

The young Female Martial Deity tilted her head slightly, as if treading upon the Canglang River. The aftershock of a single spear thrust could shatter miles of reefs and cause the sea to surge backward.

Projected from the scroll, her image clashed with him for dozens of exchanges, causing Ji Xiu's advance progress for the 'Great Five Decline Celestial Saber' to rise rapidly...

'Her Spear Intent... back then, she must have at least mastered a True Sect Level Martial Art!'

The pressure crashed down on him like a tsunami, and Ji Xiu felt his Divine Soul being suppressed as if shrouded in gloom. As they sparred mentally, he began to grasp the tip of the iceberg of Xiao Mingli's former power, and he couldn't help but feel a deep sense of admiration.

'To have achieved so much at that age... and her Spear Intent is so decisive and lethal. That's definitely not something one could learn through quiet meditation!'

'As expected of the former "Chosen of Heaven"!'

Just as Ji Xiu's heart was filled with admiration...

A wave of Spear Intent, far more magnificent than any of the spear forces before it, suddenly shot forth!

BANG!

Ji Xiu's vision immediately went black. His Saber Intent dissipated, and his Divine Soul was shattered, just as it had been by the other scrolls.

[Tutor witnesses a Martial Saint's Ultimate Skill. By resisting with the Five Declines Saber Intent, advance progress has greatly increased!!]

[Great Five Decline Celestial Saber's First Decline—Tribulation Fire Burning Robe, Progress +133!!]

'A Martial Saint's Ultimate Skill!'

'Totally worth it!'

In the final moment, as his Divine Soul was damaged and his vision went black,

a final thought surfaced in Ji Xiu's mind, and he felt utterly content.

'Even though I didn't win a single time...'

'...I've already won big time!'

[Great Five Decline Celestial Saber 'Tribulation Fire Burning Robe': (511/1000)!]

The advance progress for a True Sect Level Martial Art was more than halfway complete!

...

Days turned into nights, and nights into days.

Jiangyin, Beicang Marquis's Mansion.

For more than half a month,

Ji Xiu seemed to have become addicted. After receiving Xiao Mingli's permission, he practically lived in the Scripture Pavilion, never once setting foot outside.

Even when people like Zhao Jiu and Cai Ling'Er sent visiting cards, the messages were simply passed on to him; they never even got to see his face.

They were simply told by a handmaiden of the Marquis's Mansion that the Young Master Ji they were looking for was in secluded Cultivation.

The Beicang Marquis's Mansion was home to the once-noble Young Lady Heir. Now that Marquis Beicang was established as the lord of a state's vassal town and at the height of his power, if that Young Lady Heir did not permit you to enter the mansion, there was nothing you could do, not even if you were from a Grand Lineage.

So, they could only wait for news, hoping to meet up after Ji Xiu saw their cards.

And so...

More than a dozen days and nights passed.

The Scripture Pavilion, inside the Divine Soul Martial Domain!

Ji Xiu once again clashed with the phantom of Xiao Mingli, the one who roiled the angry seas while clad in Silver Armor!

When that brilliant spear force, imbued with a 'Martial Saint's Ultimate Skill', parted the river waves and shot toward him...

...a 'True Fire Divine Talisman' within Ji Xiu's Divine Soul suddenly exploded. It first stripped away a third of the spear's imposing form, and then...

...his saber strike transformed into a fiery cloud, vaporizing the waters of the Canglang River projected from the scroll's scene as it slashed down to meet the attack!

Finally...

He didn't black out and collapse unconscious!

[Tutor has withstood a trace of the form and intent of a 'Martial Saint's Ultimate Skill'. Progress for the Great Five Decline Celestial Saber's First Decline, 'Tribulation Fire Burning Robe', has greatly increased!]

[Current: Tribulation Fire Burning Robe (1000/1000)!]

[Tutor has successfully mastered the 'True Sect Level' Martial Art, the First Decline of the Great Five Decline Celestial Saber!]

[Henceforth, with a single slash of the saber, no Powerful Martial Artist will be able to withstand it!]

[It can even injure those who have broken the Three Limits, as well as Qi Sea Grandmasters—whether they are protected by the Gods and Ghosts Avoidance of a Purple Ribbon Immortal Robe or have formed a Dantian Qi Sea with their True Qi!!]

After more than half a month of secluded cultivation,

his progress had advanced by leaps and bounds!

When Ji Xiu walked out of the Scripture Pavilion,

He touched the 'Long Day' Spiritual Saber at his waist. The moment 'Tribulation Fire Burning Robe' reached complete Perfection, bringing that chapter of his training to a close—

—a phantom pattern appeared on the Spiritual Saber, faint and indistinct:

[Great Five Decline Celestial Saber 'Second Decline'—Treasure Crown Bowing Head!]

[Does the Tutor wish to advance?]

'Just as I thought!'

Seeing this line of small text, Ji Xiu's heart pounded with excitement!

'It's... exactly as Senior Master said.'

'This Spiritual Saber contains the next part of the Great Five Decline Celestial Saber—the 'Second Decline'!'

Ji Xiu gripped the saber's hilt tightly.

At that same moment,

Li Xuanyi, having received an order from Xiao Mingli, came to find him.

"Young Master Ji."

"Your younger sister, Ji Wei, has arrived in the city. I hear that for now, she is staying at the Flying Immortal Temple."

"After my Senior Sister heard, she sent me to ask if you would like to have her brought to the Marquis's Mansion?"