I Am Overlord c1-962

by Translator: Pokka; Author: 我本纯洁 (I Am Pure); Licensed From: Migu

  Seven Scorching Sun Claws!

  Without wasting any time, Xiang Shaoyun activated the power of Yun Flame and sent several claw attacks out. The surging flame clawed at the bats, causing them to wail in pain.

  "Damn it, this kid actually has such an annoying power? Don't approach him. Kill him from a distance instead!" The leader of the bats cursed and started releasing an odd sound wave with the other bats.

  The sound waves weren't loud, yet they were extremely penetrating. Even when one covered one's ears, one would still suffer the effect of these attacks. Xiang Shaoyun had a sensation the sound waves had directly entered his brain, causing him to be hit with a dizzy spell.

  Fortunately, the Nether Dragon Soul Headband displayed its defensive prowess yet again and isolated the sound waves, protecting Xiang Shaoyun's soul from suffering any damage.

  These sound waves are capable of harming one's soul, thought Xiang Shaoyun inwardly. Without the Nether Dragon Soul Headband, he would have been defeated.

  Thinking about what his fate would be if those sound attacks had managed to harm his soul, a sense of anger toward the Dragon Phoenix Academy surfaced in his heart. Banishing someone to the Back Graveyard was no different than a death sentence! Although he had been stubborn, did he deserve death? While he was distracted by his anger, several vampire bats with crimson eyes charged at him and bit at his vital spots. The dreadful fangs stabbed into his neck, waking him from his thoughts.

  "Piss off!" Xiang Shaoyun roared and erupted with the power of Yun Flame.

  Bang! Bang!

  The overbearing power of the dark red flame instantly ignited the vampire bats that were completely caught by surprise. They started wailing in pain and quickly flew away. Unfortunately, they had already been ignited by Yun Flame's power. Two of them were instantly turned into ash, while the others turned into fireballs that flew far away.

  Without any hesitation, Xiang Shaoyun chased after them. Perhaps only the lair of these bats would be a place he could stay safely. Unfortunately, before he could even catch up to the bats, a big-winged vicious bird appeared from the side and charged him.

  The bird was oddly shaped, possessing a pair of wings spanning 18 meters and a body that was less than two meters long. The contrast was large. Additionally, it had a massive beak, and with a pair of sinister eyes, it flew forward rapidly. With a flap of its massive wings, Xiang Shaoyun felt like he was caught in a hurricane as his body started spinning uncontrollably.

  Bang!

  He then crashed heavily on the ground, creating a cloud of dust. Blood dripped out at the corners of his lips, and he felt like his bones were going to fall apart. If it wasn't for his heavy armor blocking a majority of the impact, that one attack would have likely been enough to kill him.

  Without a doubt, the bird possessed a strength comparable to a peak Emperor. Otherwise, its attack wouldn't be so terrifying. The bird flew forward again, and before Xiang Shaoyun could react, he was caught in the bird's beak. He maintained his calm and was about to summon the nether prison devil puppet. However, he found that the bird was merely carrying him toward a certain direction, not directly swallowing him. Thus, he put the summoning on hold.

  Shortly after, Xiang Shaoyun was brought to a dry nest on a certain mountain ridge. The nest was dozens of meters in width, and it was the home of this bird. In the nest were three tiny birds that hadn't even opened their eyes. Even so, they were constantly crying out. Evidently, they were starving.

  Xiang Shaoyun finally realized that he was about to be served to the hatchlings. Without any hesitation, he summoned the nether prison devil puppet. The moment the puppet appeared, the bird cried out fiercely and tried to crush Xiang Shaoyun before doing anything else.

  However, the nether prison devil puppet did not give it a chance to do so. With three punches, the bird was blasted into smithereens. At this time, another massive bird flew back toward the nest. This bird was actually a Sovereign Realm bird. When it saw its mate dead, it attacked recklessly in fury.

  Alas, it was only a first-stage Sovereign. It was not a match for the nether prison devil puppet and was killed off as well. Xiang Shaoyun had no mercy toward these birds. After all, they were planning to feed him to their hatchlings. There was no reason for him to spare them. In any case, he didn't even know if he could leave this place alive. He stood before the nest and looked at the three hatchlings whose eyes had yet to open. He raised his hand, intending to kill the three as well.

  But after some hesitation, he dropped his hand and sighed, "Forget it. You have not done anything wrong. Since I have murdered your parents, the grudge between us is settled."

  He then took out some dried meat and fed the three hatchlings. They did not seem to be picky about food, as they quickly devoured the dried meat. Not satiated with that much food, they continued crying for more food. Feeling helpless, Xiang Shaoyun took out more dried meat and fed them until they stopped crying.

  After the meal, the hatchlings fell asleep in the nest. Gazing at the silently sleeping hatchlings, a sense of pity rose in Xiang Shaoyun's heart. He then scanned his surroundings with his Nether Soul Domain. He found that there were no dangers in his immediate surroundings, but further away, he could sense some powerful auras.

  He then withdrew his own aura and thought, Looks like this mountain was the territory of those two birds. This is probably a rather safe location for now. That might not be the case if I leave. I better stay here for a bit and take some time increasing my strength before doing anything else.

  He knew very well the kind of situation he was in. This was merely the periphery of the evil spirit's part of Back Graveyard. Any deeper would be a place where even Emperors and Sovereigns would have a hard time surviving.

  Chapter 568: Vicious One, Vicious Two, Vicious Three

  At a certain secret location within the depths of Dragon Phoenix Academy, the grand guardians and the principal were gathered. They were looking at a white stone of about two meters in width. A certain scene was playing out on the surface of the stone.

  "This kid sure has a lot of tricks up his sleeve. He is actually able to fly, and he even has that nether prison devil puppet. Looks like he won't have much trouble surviving in the Back Graveyard," praised the purple-haired old man.

  "Old Purple, now is not the time to praise him. This kid won't submit without any suffering. I think we need to throw him deeper into the Back Graveyard and let him witness real evil spirits. What do you think?" suggested the old man in a gold outfit.

  At this time, the principal said, "Grand Guardian Gold, I don't think we should do that. Not even Sovereigns can survive against those evil spirits. Even if this kid has a flame of extreme yang in his possession, he won't be able to survive."

  "That's right. We should be patient. He won't be able to last long there. Furthermore, there are more than some vicious beasts around him. There are also some low-level evil spirits. Not even that nether prison devil puppet can do anything to those evil spirits. At that time, the kid will start his life of suffering," said the beautiful woman.

  Others voiced their agreements as well.

  "Since that is the case, we'll let him stay there for a bit. But be careful to not get him killed. Otherwise, it will be too much of a waste," said the purple-haired old man.

  "That's right. He has a freakish physique that can even destroy the saint-grade assessment stones. Perhaps he has even more secrets. Let's wait," said the heroic middle-aged man.

  Next, they all left, returning to their respective places of seclusion. It was unknown what Xiang Shaoyun would think if he knew everything he was doing was being observed. For now, he remained at the bird nest. He had the nether prison devil puppet standing guard outside the nest while he used a drop of lightning liquid to heal the injuries he had sustained under the big-winged vicious bird's attack. His injuries weren't as bad as he had imagined. The broken armor was truly incredible.

  Only now did Xiang Shaoyun feel that Ugly Gambler was actua
lly treating him quite nicely. At the very least, this broken armor was a treasure through and through. He had gradually gotten used to its weight. The day he took it off would be the day his speed reached a brand new level.

  However, he had decided to not take the armor off unless absolutely necessary. That was because he had always been extremely strict on himself. This was a way of maintaining his motivation to keep striving forward.

  After quickly healing up, Xiang Shaoyun started thinking about his next course of action. He had been dumped here, and it was unknown when he would regain his freedom. The level of danger was also not as simple as it appeared. Thus, he had to prepare himself thoroughly and grow in strength as best as he could. That would be the best way of protecting himself.

  "It's time I start my cultivation of wood, water, earth, light, and darkness. Which should I start with? Or perhaps I should focus on my soul?" Xiang Shaoyun contemplated.

  After some hesitation, he finally decided to start with the power of darkness. He had a feeling the power of darkness would have a high degree of resonance with his devil blood, able to increase the time he could keep the Nether Shadow Evanescence active. That way, he would be able to better protect himself.

  At the fort above the Devil Domain, Xiang Shaoyun had purchased several items with unique elements. They were respectively a 3,000-year-old root essence, a 1,000-year-old congealed liquid ball, an earthstone heart, a radiant meteorite, and a dark heart.

  The dark heart was an item that would only form in a unique environment of absolute darkness. It looked completely black and had a glossy surface. Occasionally, it would throb, as if it was a living heart, and it gave off an eerie sensation.

  Xiang Shaoyun directly refined the dark heart in his astral cosmos sea, channeling all the energy he drew from the dark heart into his dark star. The power contained within the dark heart was no weaker than the power contained within an emperor medicine. In fact, an ordinary Emperor would be able to directly refine it to obtain a great increase in strength.

  Xiang Shaoyun was only a fresh eighth-stage King. Thus, it was impossible for his strength to stay the same after absorbing the power of the dark heart. Fortunately, his stars had recently expanded, allowing him to store as much energy as a late-stage Emperor.

  Because of that, after compressing his newly gained energy, a large amount of remnant energy was left for him to expand his astral cosmos sea. His bloodline power had also absorbed some of the remnant energy.

  The heavy armor had also played a great role in helping to suppress the energy, making his newly gained energy thick and solid. Thus, after absorbing all the energy in the dark heart, Xiang Shaoyun's cultivation base had only increased by a little. In other words, his cultivation level had only increased from fresh eighth-stage to mid eighth-stage.

  If anyone else found out about this, they would be greatly shocked. The dark heart contained enough energy to allow any King to advance by two or three stages. Even an Emperor would benefit greatly from absorbing its power. And yet Xiang Shaoyun's cultivation base had only increased by a tiny bit. It was evident how excessive the amount of energy his body could contain. Not even regular Emperors were comparable to him in terms of storage capacity.

  Of course, a big part of the small growth in cultivation level was due to his bloodline. The devilish power within the bloodline of the Imperial Nether Clan was in essence pure power of darkness. Therefore, more than half of the energy he had gotten from the dark heart had actually been absorbed by his bloodline. After his bloodline absorbed the energy of the dark heart, his vitality and physical body had further enhanced.

  Xiang Shaoyun was still in meditation when the three birds started crying again, waking him up. Evidently, they were hungry again. He quickly took out some food. It was at this time that he noticed one of them opening its eyes and looking at him with a bright gaze. This particular bird had obviously hatched earlier than the other two. Two days later, the other two birds also opened their eyes one after another.

  "Looks like I will have no choice but to bring you along in the future. Time to name all of you. It will be easier for me to greet you guys in the future," said Xiang Shaoyun. After some thought, he said, "Since I have Little White and Money, you will respectively be Vicious One, Vicious Two, and Vicious Three. Yes, that's it. You three will definitely grow up into vicious birds."

  The three birds seemed to have sensed Xiang Shaoyun talking to them. Thus, they started chirping one after another. Xiang Shaoyun nonchalantly pushed a pile of dried meat to them before he refocused on refining the earthstone heart he was working on.

  Chapter 569: Evil Spirit

  The earthstone heart was different from the dark heart. It was a piece of brownish stone. Those without a good pair of eyes would assume that it was a regular piece of stone that was somewhat shiny, whereas those with a good pair of eyes would be able to judge that it was an earthstone heart from its markings and the energy it exuded.

  An earthstone heart was essentially a stone formed amid ancient soil, mountain, or stone through absorbing the essence of the earth. This particular earthstone heart was much larger than the one Xiang Shaoyun had previously snatched from the cannibals for Liang Zhuangmin.

  A thick earth power was contained within it, and it was much harder to refine compared to the dark heart. Thus, it would take longer. However, Xiang Shaoyun understood how much the three little birds longed for the power within the earthstone heart. Thus, while he was refining the stone, he also channeled some of the stone's power over to the three birds.

  That action allowed the three birds to greatly transform their bodies, building them solid foundations. Through absorbing the power of the earthstone heart, apart from a growth in strength, Xiang Shaoyun also comprehended the power of earth, which was his greatest gain.

  He comprehended the thickness, toughness, and tolerance of earth, which in turn further improved his mental state again and again. The past events that had caused him joy, love, hatred, worry, and other emotions were replayed in his mind with greater clarity.

  He gained a deeper understanding of karma, and his wisdom seemed to have increased as well. Perhaps that was the essence of earth, to have a heart as wide as the earth, and through having such a heart, one would be able to undertake greater responsibilities and pressure.

  Unknowingly, one month passed.

  During this period, flying beasts would occasionally attack, but the nether prison devil puppet killed them all. Xiang Shaoyun had gotten a month of rest, during which he had refined the earthstone heart. After refining the earthstone heart, his cultivation level had similarly only increased by a tiny bit, reaching late eighth-stage Skysoar Realm.

  That was a result of him compressing and splitting off the power he gained from the earthstone heart. Nurtured by the power of the earthstone heart, the three little birds had evidently grown much larger. His astral cosmos sea had also expanded greatly, and it now also contained a certain thick and heavy aura.

  Apart from that, Xiang Shaoyun's flesh had also become much tougher as well. That was the great transformation the power of earth had brought him. At present, he was seated in the nest, madly absorbing the natural earth energy from his surroundings, constantly growing in strength. The speed in which he was growing was rather astonishing.

  Xiang Shaoyun wasn't content with his present situation. Although he did not continue refining the other unique items he had, he did not idle around. He started focusing on his battle techniques instead. This time, his battle technique cultivation was done with an emphasis on the powers of earth and darkness.

  Without corresponding battle techniques to use alongside his two newly gained powers, it would be a waste. Unfortunately, he had only started cultivating his battle techniques for a few days when he was finally attacked by evil spirits.

  The so-called evil spirits were actually remnant soul bodies. They were once extremely powerful and evil existences, and although they were no longer as strong as they once were, the
y could still easily take on regular Emperors.

  The evil spirits currently before Xiang Shaoyun were roaming around mindlessly. Drifting together with the wind, they arrived near the nest. When they arrived, they seemed to have transformed into demons, and immediately bared their fangs at Xiang Shaoyun.

  These low-level evil spirits were capable of dealing large damage to one's soul. The moment one's soul was corroded, one would be assaulted by madness, eventually losing one's mind completely. This was the scariest aspect of the Back Graveyard.

  The reason why Xiang Shaoyun hadn't met these evil spirits before this was due to the location he was hiding at. Apart from that, he had also been lucky. Now, with wind blowing in the nest's direction, the evil spirits were brought over as well. They appeared like a violent tide, one that Xiang Shaoyun couldn't escape even if he wanted to.

  Initially, he wrapped Yun Flame's power around himself and the three little birds. It discouraged the evil spirits from approaching, and some who dared approach were immediately ignited and killed. But there were too many evil spirits, enough to flood the entire mountain they were on. If he couldn't set the entire mountain aflame, he wouldn't be able to avoid their endless tide.

  To make matters worse, Xiang Shaoyun could sense that there were even more terrifying evil spirits in the depths of the Back Graveyard. Perhaps those powerful evil spirits would suddenly come out as well. At that time, he wouldn't be able to hold on anymore.

  "No, I can't allow this to continue. I need to think of something," muttered Xiang Shaoyun as he sank into thought.

  He was contemplating releasing all the ghostrunes. The ghostrunes would have no trouble dealing with these evil spirits. However, he ultimately decided against it. The ghostrunes were one of his trump cards. Unless absolutely necessary, he wasn't willing to show them.

  "Since I can't release them, I should just let these evil spirits in instead," decided Xiang Shaoyun as he withdrew Yun Flame's power.