Battle Emperor - Chapter 31

Chapter 31

Under the setting sun’s light, the wooden box emitted a faint light. The patterns on it became vivid, but the remaining traces of the grayish-green color made it not look very pretty.

Examining the wooden box, there didn’t seem to be anything special about it.

Xie Ao Yu reached out his hand and grabbed the stone lock on the wooden box.

Qi flowed through, letting out a bit of a halo, Xie Ao Yu used strength and pinched. By his impression, even if it was a thicker piece of iron he should still be able to break it, but this lock remained intact.

“So hard.” Xie Ao Yu muttered. He knocked on the box.

“Dong! Dong!”

The wooden box was unaffected even by his qi.

This aroused Xie Ao Yu’s curiosity. He tested a few things, trying without using any power, pulling out the Lightning Spirit Holy Sword. Using it as a holy weapon, the Lightning Spirit Holy Sword was incomparably sharp.

Shua!

The Lightning Spirit cleaved at the stone lock.

“Clang!”

A ringing sound came out as the Lightning Spirit Holy Sword sprung back up.

An extremely tiny nick had appeared on the stone lock.

Xie Ao Yu was astounded. Putting all his qi into it, he stood up, he vigorously slashed with the Lightning Spirit Holy Sword, slashing at the stone lock more than ten times.

(TN: If I tried this, I would’ve hit missed the lock every single time. Unless it was as big as the box. Then maybe I’d hit it at least once)

After the eighteenth slash, the stone lock broke into pieces and fell to the ground.

“With this kind of lock, the thing it protected had to be something good right?” Xie Ao Yu muttered to himself. He reached out to open the wooden box. When his fingers touched the wooden box, he thought for a second, then shrank back. He changed to using the Lightning Spirit Holy Sword’s point to pry open the wooden box.

“Sou sou sou…”

The wooden box had just been opened when a row of cutlasses exploded out.

(TN: I think I would’ve died here. Yeah, I’d be a bad MC.)

Out of the place that the cutlasses struck appeared some grayish-green color. All the weeds and plants around it withered, and even the ground was corroding. There was actually toxin on them.

Seeing the toxin, Xie Ao Yu thought of the spirit beast.

The toxin and the spirit beast’s poison were very similar. Could it be that the spirit beast had gained its poisonous smoke ability due to the wooden box? Xie Ao Yu shook his head. This sort of question didn’t matter to him. It wasn’t important. He couldn’t be bothered to find out.

Only after determining there were no more traps, Xie Ao Yu looked into the wooden box.

The inside space was not very large, all it contained was a single scroll. Xie Ao Yu used the Lightning Spirit Holy Sword to poke the scroll. Seeing that there was no problem, he stuck his hand inside and grabbed the scroll.

He opened the scroll.

A bunch of words greeted his eyes. Xie Ao Yu’s eyes drifted to the top. On it was a row of characters: Earth attribute agility type fighting skill…Earth Escape Technique!

(TN: Any better names? 土遁术)

“Earth Escape Technique?” Xie Ao Yu said in surprise.

It was the first time he had heard of this agility type skill.

Since it was an earth-attribute skill, it was suitable for him. Xie Ao Yu had the earth, thunder, and wood attributes in him.  He grabbed the scroll, sat on the ground, and began to carefully read it.

Even if he hadn’t read the title, after reading the rest, his eyes lit up.

“It’s actually a miraculous fighting skill that allows you sneak underground!” Xie Ao Yu said with wide eyes. He could barely believe it.

The Earth Escape Technique could be used to attack, then hide, and sneak attack the injured people. It was definitely the best choice for assassinations; he could retreat by walking, then enter the ground and sneak. Who could stop him?

(TN: I don’t know how good of a translation this was. 进可攻，隐藏)

Xie Ao Yu burst out laughing: “This is a incomparable treasure, ah!

By cultivating this technique, Xie Ao Yu was hard-pressed to imagine all the benefits it could bring him.

He continued to read, learning that this fighting skill came from an earth attribute genius from hundreds of years ago who had come up with the idea after observing magic mice that could sneak up on other spirit beasts. In the end, before it had been used by anyone, he was plotted against, but before he died, he hid the scroll. It could be said that this Earth Escape Technique had never been seen before in this world. Xie Ao Yu was the first person to ever use this technique. This was an advantage!

If no one had heard of the Earth Escape Technique, who could prepare for it?

And who would have thought that a person could sneak underground?

After reading the scroll’s contents, Xie Ao Yu exhaled, calming his excited mood. According to what was written, in order to practice the Earth Escape Technique, there were two things required. One was Earth Core Grass and that the practitioner had the earth attribute.

(TN: Name suggestions? 地心草)

Xie Ao Yu actually had both of these things.

The Earth Core Grass wasn’t something rare. In the Heng Duan Mountain Range, it could be found everywhere. On the way here he had already collected some. Other than the ones intended to nurture the Medical Spirit Finger, there were still a few left.

Xie Ao Yu first cultivated his qi for a while, returning to his peak condition. When he started to practice Earth Escape Technique, the moon had already come out.

According to the scroll’s contents, to practice Earth Escape Technique, the practitioner first had to be infinitely close with the ground. To get that close, one needed to use the Earth Core Grass. In addition, the person need a very strong earth attribute. The two together could make a person’s breath become infinitely close tothat of the the earth’s, and thus blend with the earth.

After that, the person was supposed to bury his whole body into the ground.

Xie Ao Yu first dug a hole, then pulled out the Earth Core Grass, tore a piece of the grass, and stuffed it into his mouth. Once it entered his mouth, Xie Ao Yu made an “ah” sound, almost spitting it out.

The Earth Core Grass was actually several times more bitter than herbal medicine.

With one hand to forcefully pinching his leg, he used that pain to resist the unimaginable Earth Core Grass. Xie Ao Yu wondered if he could become the first person to have died from the Earth Core Grass’ bitterness.

The moon had reached the middle of the sky by the time Xie Ao Yu finally managed to swallow the Earth Core Grass.

Then, he laid down in the hole, letting Xiao Bai bury him.

Xiao Bai’s actions were very swift.

Once Xie Ao Yu was buried, he felt very uncomfortable. Xie Ao Yu needed to use qi to resist the pressure. At the same time, following the method of cultivating Earth Escape Technique, he used his spirit to feel the earth, becoming one with the earth.

Time went by like this minute by minute.

One day, two days, three days…

From the time he had starting cultivating Earth Escape Technique, Xie Ao Yu spent most of his day buried in the dirt, using his spirit to communicate with the earth, using his body to sense it.

The Earth Core Grass’ usefulness was steadily revealed.

Xie Ao Yu felt bored until the fifth day, when he finally began to feel that the Earth Core Grass’ bitterness that made him want to kill himself emit a hint of a sienna-colored halo that covered his entire body. As the Earth Core Grass halo formed, Xie Ao Yu felt a curious connection form between his body and the earth.

In the beginning, the feeling was very weak.

As time went by, Xie Ao Yu’s mind and body connected more with the feeling.

Gradually, strange feelings that he had never had before began to come. Sincerity, universal love, and desolation. Every breath he took felt like it was ancient, as if it included the entire planet’s strength, and entered his body(?). He felt incredibly powerful.

(TN: I’m gonna need some help translating what this means: 仿佛亘古便存在的气息如同大地所包容的那些力量统统的汇聚到了他的身上一般)

Xie Ao Yu was delighted. This was the what the Earth Escape Technique had described, the evidence he had connected with the earth.

He immediately remembered what the scroll had said about how to release his self, and the method to be compatible with the earth. Operate all of his qi while in contact with the earth, and exchange it, understand it, and then integrate it.   

Since then, Xie Ao Yu did not leave the earth.

He seemed to not know hunger.

He just lay there.

Until the ninth day.

It seemed as if Xie Ao Yu had really become one with the earth, becoming a part of the small valley. His eyes emitted a soft light. When he intended it to move, his body’s pale sienna-colored light rippled. The color’s light was very close to the color of the ground. Next, his figure disappeared into thin air.

Then he appeared three meters away from a small stream.

“Haha, success!” Xie Ao Yu finally couldn’t suppress his happiness anymore, bursting out laughing. He had made a step forward in the method of cultivating the Earth Escape Technique fighting skill.

His body went up two meters into the air, and when he landed, once his feet touched the ground, he immediately became like the earth. The earth was like his home. With one foot on the ground, the ground seemed to become like water, and he could become one within it.

His entire person went below the ground.

He wanted to test his ability to see what his strength was like now. To what extent could the Earth Escape Technique be used. In his mind, he could charge ahead underground like an arrow without any barriers.  

Shua!

The feeling only lasted for a moment.

Very quickly, after Xie Ao Yu had the feeling of power, he only had to come out of the ground. He looked back. He had traveled ten meters.

Although Xie Ao Yu thought he had travelled further than that, this distance was still pretty good. After all, what supported the Earth Escape Technique was qi. His strength right now was limited.

“Haha…”

Xie Ao Yu laughed and entered the ground again.

When he appeared, he had moved to the left by ten meters.

Soon he was popping up all over the place within the small valley, doing it with ease. There were no obstacles. Even rocks underneath the ground could not stop his movements.

“Peng!”

In the midst of his happiness, Xie Ao Yu tunneled and wound up crashing into water. He dragged his body out of the stream, self-ridiculing himself said: “The Earth Escape Technique cannot escape water, ah.”