034. A Unique Lifeform—The Mountain Rock!

In the audience, Lu Wu observed the Little Ape King closely. “Yi Ya, how many times stronger than an ordinary person do you think the Little Ape King is when he unleashes his power?”

Yi Ya pondered for a moment. “If you mean his usual combat strength, it should be about a hundred times the limit of a normal human.”

“That’s a level most ordinary cultivators at the Qi Gathering stage can’t reach.”

“If you mean a short burst, the Little Ape King could break through to four hundred times the strength of an ordinary person.”

Lu Wu calculated carefully. With his current maximum explosive strength, if he combined it with the Beast Dao rule of the ant’s three-hundred-fold burst, he could undoubtedly crush the Little Ape King.

But his own burst lasted only ten seconds.

Under normal circumstances, his soul’s conversion to blood energy was far less robust than the Little Ape King’s true blood and flesh.

“To deal with a little demon king of this level, it seems I’ll have to rely on swordsmanship, keep my distance, and look for a chance to unleash a devastating blow, overpowering him with overwhelming speed and force in an instant.”

Lu Wu’s battle experience was admittedly limited, so he paid close attention to this kind of high-level duel.

Onstage, Chu Xu moved with remarkable speed, ethereal and unpredictable, her agility enhanced by a special flexibility unique to female cultivators. Her movement was beautiful to behold.

But for the Little Ape King, Chu Xu’s movement was pure torment.

Her agility prevented the Little Ape King from engaging in close combat.

Meanwhile, Chu Xu’s shifting and swordplay allowed her to strike at the Little Ape King’s vital spots at any moment. Each time, he had to endure minor injuries to survive, avoiding mortal wounds.

When the Little Ape King tried to break through with his strongest explosive force, Chu Xu would immediately use the defensive secret technique of Feathered Small Cycle right where she stood, rendering his attack ineffective.

Moreover, Chu Xu possessed a Spirit Transformation technique, allowing her to absorb natural spiritual energy during battle to replenish herself, leaving her nearly invincible.

The Little Peng King asked the Little Jiao King, “Can you break through her defense?”

The Little Jiao King thought for a moment and nodded. “I can.”

“I’m different from the Little Ape King. I’m also skilled at close-range agility. With my naturally numerous joints, I can perform maneuvers impossible for the human race.”

“However, even in close combat, I might not inflict serious harm on her.”

The Little Peng King frowned. “We made the wrong choice from the start.”

Even Yi Ya had assumed the Little Jiao King would be the first to take the stage.

But unexpectedly, it was the Little Ape King who entered.

The Little Ape King’s strength lay in balance, betting that human cultivators at the Qi Gathering stage couldn’t be equally strong in all aspects.

No one anticipated that Chu Xu had no real weaknesses—a hexagonal warrior, encircling the Little Ape King completely.

That was tough.

If the Little Jiao King, whose attacks were fierce, had gone up, the outcome might have been uncertain.

But the balanced approach of the Little Ape King was thoroughly countered, guaranteeing defeat.

The Little Jiao King said, “No more fighting, brother!”

“Although she can beat Ape Brother, she doesn’t have the power to seriously injure him.”

“If we drag this out, Ape Brother’s minor wounds will become major ones, and when the armies face off, we’ll lose a top combatant.”

“Ape Brother may not be able to defeat Chu Xu, but against ordinary disciples of the Palace of the Void, he’s a deadly weapon!”

The Little Peng King nodded in agreement. “Indeed.”

He then announced loudly, “We concede the first round!”

Onstage, upon hearing the Little Peng King’s concession, the Little Ape King breathed a huge sigh of relief and hurriedly withdrew.

Meanwhile, Kong Cheng’s expression turned darker. “Damn Little Ape King, how can he lose to an obscure female disciple of the Palace of the Void?”

“Could it be that during the last contest for the Nine-Leaf Spirit Tea between our two races, we offended this bastard, and now he’s deliberately throwing the match to sabotage me?”

After Chu Xu returned, Yi Ya was delighted. “Junior Sister, amazing! Victory in your first battle—a perfect start!”

Chu Xu saluted toward Lu Wu in the air. “Uncle Master, this victory is entirely thanks to your guidance.”

Lu Wu conveyed in secret, “You did very well. A beautiful win. Watch the second round in peace.”

On the other side, the Little Ape King returned to his own side, his mood low.

The Little Peng King said, “Ape Brother, this win or loss isn’t on you—it was my arrangement. Rest and recover from your injuries.”

The Little Ape King gritted his teeth. “It’s not Brother’s fault. I lost this round.”

“I hope when the great battle begins, I can redeem myself!”

The Little Peng King said, “Shan Yan, take the stage.”

From behind the Little Jiao King, a figure as tall as a tower, with bronze skin and over ten feet in height, stepped forward.

He ascended the platform slowly, step by step.

Yi Ya said, “Uncle Master, it’s my turn.”

Lu Wu replied, “Go ahead.”

Yi Ya grinned, “If I win two in a row, Uncle Master won’t need to appear.”

Yi Ya performed a forward flip, crossing fifty meters and landing steadily in the arena.

The tower-like figure continued to walk forward, unhurried.

Yi Ya held his sword. “I am Yi Ya, chief disciple of this generation from the Palace of the Void.”

“Who are you?”

Yi Ya glanced behind him and called out loudly, “Little Peng King, Little Jiao King, do you not dare to appear?”

The Little Jiao King, with his explosive temper, bellowed to the heavens and transformed into his true form: a seventy-foot-long snake body, two dragon horns black as ink, and two whiskers floating in the air. “Yi Ya!”

“Don’t get cocky. Defeat Shan Yan first, then you’ll be qualified to challenge us.”

Yi Ya shrugged and turned back.

At that moment, Shan Yan finally reached a spot two yards in front of Yi Ya. “Ten-Thousand Demon Mountain, Shan Yan.”

Yi Ya examined Shan Yan with interest. “What kind of demon are you? Let me see.”

Two golden rays shot from Yi Ya’s eyes, using a minor technique of Qi Observation to lock onto the demon energy on Shan Yan.

But there was no demon energy on Shan Yan.

“A human? No, humans aren’t ten feet tall.” Yi Ya said, “A special life form?”

Shan Yan’s face was expressionless. “Stop guessing.”

With that, he began to transform.

A small hill, three yards high, appeared on the stage.

“A stone life form?” Yi Ya asked. “Non-flesh life? The current generation of Ten-Thousand Demon Mountain has produced such a master?”

The hill quaked, and a voice emerged. “I am a Divine Essence Stone, born in Ten-Thousand Demon Mountain, bathed in moonlight for years, and awakened to intelligence.”

“I do not cultivate origin power, only flesh and soul.”

“If you can injure me, you win. Let’s begin.”

Yi Ya frowned.

“A stone-type life form that doesn’t cultivate origin power?”

Yi Ya had only read in the cultivation logs of seniors that special life forms are always formidable.

But Shan Yan made it clear—he’s a turtle king, only defending, not attacking.

Yi Ya didn’t go all out to probe; instead, his sword transformed into a three-yard-long blade aura, slashing downward.

A crisp clang echoed.

The blade aura struck the hill but made no progress.

Lu Wu, below the stage, remarked, “Tsk tsk, this fellow would make a fine ornamental rock, twisted and odd, with a kind of contorted beauty typical of garden stones.”

Chu Xu added, “Senior Brother faces big trouble now.”

Onstage, Yi Ya, unconvinced, increased his sword aura to five inches, leapt high, and brought it down from above.

Still no progress.

Yi Ya knew that swords weren’t ideal for chopping, but he wanted to test his hand.

Seeing no success, he unleashed a five-yard sword aura from the front, thrusting directly forward.

Clang!

This time, the hill was forced to retreat by an inch.

Shan Yan said, “If you can push me out of the ring, bit by bit, you’ll be considered the winner.”

Yi Ya wouldn’t be so foolish.

A full-force sword pushed the hill back an inch; with fifteen yards to go, it would take a thousand swings to push him out.

Even a hundred swings at full power in the Qi Gathering stage would be impressive.

By then, Yi Ya would be exhausted, and Shan Yan, even if he knew nothing of attacking, could transform and end him with a single punch.

Lu Wu calculated carefully below. Shan Yan’s true form was ten meters tall, effectively a block of stone with a base area of twenty-five square meters.

That amounted to about two hundred fifty-five cubic meters of stone.

At least six hundred tons.

He sent a message, “Yi Ya, don’t be fooled. This fellow weighs about one point two million catties. Walking is hard enough for him. Pushing him out is pure fantasy.”

Yi Ya replied, “Uncle Master, I understand. What should I do now? It looks like I can’t break his defense.”

Lu Wu asked, “Do you know any wood-element secret techniques? If you do, there’s a chance.”

Cultivators at the Qi Gathering stage can’t be strong in all areas, so vulnerabilities are obvious, especially in elemental attributes.

Wood overcomes earth, fire overcomes metal.

Wood boosts fire, while earth and metal are stone.

If you specialize in wood and fire techniques and your cultivation matches Shan Yan’s, victory is possible.

Yi Ya answered bluntly, “No.”

Lu Wu said, “Then you’ll have to figure it out yourself.”

Onstage, Yi Ya put away his sword and sat cross-legged.

Both sides were stunned.

Everyone thought Yi Ya was preparing a big move, so they held their breath and dared not speak.

After half a stick of incense, the Little Peng King finally realized what Yi Ya was up to and coughed. “Fellow Daoist Yi Ya, aren’t you going to attack?”

Yi Ya responded loudly, “Ha, I’m defending with all my might, waiting for Shan Yan to make his move against me.”