Chapter 735: Statue Puppet

Chapter 735: Chapter 736: Statue Puppet

“Tens of thousands of years?” Zhan Shang scoffed. “If I had only been sealed for ten thousand years, do you think I’d be left with such a trivial amount of power? To tell you the truth, I… Huh? Exactly how long was I sealed for? Dammit, why can’t I even remember that!”

Zhan Shang spoke with a hint of madness.

Ye Xuan shook his head slightly. He had hoped to get some information out of Zhan Shang, but he hadn’t expected the guy to be so unreliable, unable to remember a thing.

“Zhan Shang, you may not remember when you were sealed, but you couldn’t possibly be ignorant of this place, right?” Ye Xuan’s tone shifted as he suddenly sent a voice transmission.

“Nonsense! How could I not know this place? This is the Land of Ancient Demons, from the ancient… Huh? You brat, you’re trying to trick me.”

Zhan Shang wasn’t a complete idiot. He had said a little before he suddenly realized and raged, “You human brat, you’re truly cunning.”

“Trick you?” Ye Xuan sneered. “Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten again? Tsk tsk, and you call yourself a member of the great Soul-devouring Race. I think your race should be called the Senile Dementia Race.”

“You’re courting death, brat!” Zhan Shang flew into a rage. BOOM! A terrifying black mist involuntarily erupted from his body.

“Hm? Young Hero Qi Cheng, what is this?”

The three were currently flying through the passageway, and Zhan Shang’s outburst immediately alerted the Blood Sword Martial Emperor, who frowned.

“I…” Zhan Shang froze. He quickly suppressed the rage in his heart and retracted his power, but he didn’t know how to explain himself.

Ye Xuan smiled faintly. “Qi Cheng, you truly are diligent. Trying to surpass me by cultivating at every possible moment. However, you must be mindful of your surroundings. It wouldn’t be good to disturb something in this underground palace.”

“Oh?” A hint of suspicion crossed the Blood Sword Martial Emperor’s face. His eyes darted about for a moment, and then he gave a slight smile. “So Young Hero Qi Cheng was cultivating. But this Cultivation Technique seems rather cold and sinister. As far as I know, Infinite Mountain doesn’t have such a technique, does it?”

Every sect’s Cultivation Techniques had a specific style. While this might not hold true for ordinary disciples, those who became seed disciples would absolutely cultivate their sect’s top core techniques.

But the aura coming from Qi Cheng was incredibly cold and sinister, a far cry from the Infinite Mountain Cultivation Techniques he knew of.

Ye Xuan smiled and said, “Lord Blood Sword Martial Emperor, there’s something you don’t know. Qi Cheng originally cultivated the Infinite Void Skill, one of the three great ultimate skills of my Infinite Mountain. His strength was extraordinary and his talent astonishing. However, he repeatedly lost to me in the competition for the Young Lord position. He grew disheartened and switched to a demonic art he once obtained in a secret realm in the Celestial Demon Ridge. That’s how he developed this cold and sinister Profound Energy.”

“Oh? Young Hero Qi Cheng’s Cultivation Technique is from the Celestial Demon Ridge, one of the continent’s seven great forbidden lands?”

The Blood Sword Martial Emperor was secretly moved. The Celestial Demon Ridge, one of the Celestial Profound Continent’s seven great forbidden lands, was an absolutely terrifying place. Even a Martial Emperor like him wouldn’t dare venture deep into such a forbidden land. For Qi Cheng, a mere Tier Eight Martial Sovereign, to dare enter such a place and even obtain a Cultivation Technique… how could he not be shocked?

“Hmph, that’s right. I… am cultivating the Soul-Devouring Rebirth Skill from the Celestial Demon Ridge. Sooner or later, I will take back what is rightfully mine,” Zhan Shang said coldly.

After getting used to it for a while, he was quickly slipping into character.

“Then I’ll be waiting for that day to come. But you don’t have much time left.” Ye Xuan smiled faintly before explaining to the Blood Sword Martial Emperor, “According to the rules of my Infinite Mountain, seed disciples who fail to become the Young Lord are not without a second chance. If he can break into the Nine Heavens Martial Emperor realm before the age of forty, he can still become the Young Lord.”

“Breaking into the Nine Heavens Martial Emperor realm before forty!” The Blood Sword Martial Emperor was completely stunned, murmuring, “Infinite Mountain is truly worthy of being a top power in the Profound Domain. Their methods of cultivating disciples… I, Blood Sword, can’t help but be impressed.”

He said, filled with great feeling.

Whether it was Infinite Mountain letting a Young Lord like Ye Xuan venture into this mysterious land without protection, or letting a seed disciple like Qi Cheng go to the Celestial Demon Ridge, where the survival rate was less than ten percent—both left the Blood Sword Martial Emperor deeply shaken.

However, if he knew this was all a lie concocted by Ye Xuan to gain his trust, one could only wonder how he would feel.

Next, the three of them continued walking through the passageway, making conversation along the way.

Although Ye Xuan hadn’t walked the continent for a hundred years, the position he once held gave him a far greater understanding of the Profound Domain than a Martial Emperor like Blood Sword, who muddled about in the bottom Third Heaven of the Profound Domain. He naturally bluffed the Blood Sword Martial Emperor into a daze, dispelling any remaining doubts about his identity.

The passageway was pitch-black and seemed bottomless. There was no telling where it led. It was like a labyrinth—extremely strange and endlessly long.

“Huh, there’s a stone chamber up ahead.”

Finally, after walking for a full half-hour, they suddenly saw a stone chamber appear on one side of the passageway.

On either side of the stone chamber stood two statues, just like the ones in the great hall before—primitive and ancient.

On the stone door of the chamber were layers of complex Restrictions. Although these Restrictions were ancient and emanated an old aura, they were still perfectly intact.

‘There must be treasure in this stone chamber.’

Ye Xuan’s and Zhan Shang’s eyes lit up. The Blood Sword Martial Emperor’s eyes also gleamed with excitement. The three of them shot towards the stone chamber in unison.

But they had barely flown any distance before they abruptly stopped. A terrifying aura emanated from the two statues up ahead, giving Ye Xuan an extremely dangerous feeling.

KACHA! KACHA!

Under the three’s astonished gazes, the two statues standing at the entrance to the stone chamber suddenly seemed to come to life. VWOOM! Two beams of red light shot out from the statues’ eyes as a terrifying aura spread out.

BOOM!

As soon as the two statues awakened, their red, glowing eyes locked onto the three men. The next moment, the two monsters—covered in Scale Armor, with horns on their heads and pitch-black bodies—burst forth and charged madly at Ye Xuan’s group.

“Courting death.”

A cold glint flashed in the Blood Sword Martial Emperor’s eyes, a disdainful sneer on his lips. He swung out a large hand, which abruptly collided with the sharp claws of one of the black monsters.

BAM!

The might of a Nine Heavens Martial Emperor was extraordinary. The black monster was instantly sent flying like a cannonball, crashing heavily into the nearby wall. DONG! Cracks spread across the wall, but the black monster, without any pause, charged at the Blood Sword Martial Emperor again.

“Huh.” The Blood Sword Martial Emperor’s gaze turned grave. “Such powerful Defense Power.”

‘Not good!’

Meanwhile, Ye Xuan was in trouble. One of the statues had chosen the Blood Sword Martial Emperor as its target, while the other had locked onto him.

With no time to hesitate, Ye Xuan unsheathed the Sword of Judgment and viciously slashed at the pitch-black monster.

BANG!

The ferocious strike from the Sword of Judgment only left a faint, almost invisible mark on the black monster’s body. It failed to even cut through a single piece of its Scale Armor. The statue monster, as if provoked, swiped out a claw like lightning.

Fast, fast as lightning!

The black monster looked clumsy, but its attacks were incredibly swift. Ye Xuan only had time to raise the Sword of Judgment to defend himself before he was sent flying by a heavy blow.

“Hmph!”

He let out a muffled grunt, a look of horror on his face. ‘That was terrifying. If my Nine Transformations Sacred Body hadn’t already reached the Sixth Transformation, that last blow would have either killed me or left me severely injured.’

Before Ye Xuan could recover from his shock, the black monster pounced again. SWISH! SWISH! SWISH! Its sharp claws transformed into streaks of black light, crazily enveloping him from every angle, leaving no room to dodge.

Ye Xuan’s gaze focused. He activated his Divine Spirit Gaze, caught a gap in his opponent’s attack, and swung the Sword of Judgment again. DANG! The black monster’s movements slowed for an instant, revealing an opening. Ye Xuan seized the opportunity and zipped out of the way.

“You two hold on for a bit! This black monster’s attack power isn’t strong, but its defense is simply monstrous! I’ll need a little time to subdue it,” the Blood Sword Martial Emperor boomed from the side, continuously attacking his own monster.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Dents quickly appeared on the black monster’s body. Pieces of Scale Armor flew everywhere, but no blood spattered out—only chunks of metal-like material.

Apparently, this black monster was some kind of special puppet, so it had no fatal weaknesses. It had to be completely shattered to be destroyed.

“Qi Cheng, what are you waiting for? Get over here and help!” Hearing the Blood Sword Martial Emperor’s words, Ye Xuan immediately barked at Zhan Shang, who was watching from the sidelines.

Zhan Shang had been enjoying the show. He was startled when Ye Xuan yelled at him, but remembering his current identity, he could only charge forward helplessly.

BOOM!

Taking advantage of the opportunity while Zhan Shang fought the black monster, Ye Xuan retreated. He silently activated his Life Martial Soul, and his injuries healed in an instant. Then he just stood to the side.

“Qi Cheng, I’ll leave this little matter to you. Once Lord Blood Sword Martial Emperor takes care of the other monster, he’ll naturally come help you.”

Ye Xuan said nonchalantly as he began to rest at the side.

*Pfft!*

Zhan Shang was so angry he almost spat out a mouthful of old blood; his lungs were about to explode. ‘That black monster was clearly targeting that brat Xuan Ye! Why should *I* be the one to risk my life?’

But his current identity was effectively that of Ye Xuan’s subordinate. He couldn’t even refuse the order, so he could only swallow his anger and get entangled with the black monster.

WHOOSH! WHOOSH!

Wisps of black mist swirled around him. It had to be said, Zhan Shang’s strength was astounding; he wasn’t losing any ground under the black monster’s attacks.

At the side, after a dozen or so breaths’ time, the Blood Sword Martial Emperor finally smashed one of the black monsters to pieces. He then freed himself up to help Zhan Shang. With a few quick POUNDS, the other black monster also exploded into countless fragments and fell to the ground.