Chapter 654 - 661: Coordinated Combat

The Stone Man was swift, no slower than the Golden Small Sword and the others, and its movements were even more agile.

It constantly reformed itself, causing their attacks to miss again and again.

For a moment, they were actually evenly matched.

Song Wanning’s fists and feet relentlessly struck the Stone Man’s legs. Each impact sent a powerful shockwave back through her, making her very bones ache.

’The material this stone is made of is definitely an excellent material for Artifact Refining.’

Song Wanning couldn’t help but complain internally. ’Who knew a Stone Man would be this difficult to deal with?’

The surrounding Demonic Qi grew thicker and thicker, so dense she could barely make out the Stone Man’s expression.

She didn’t dare stop moving. She had a feeling the current situation was dire.

In the darkness, a pair of eyes seemed to be staring at her from the shadows. The feeling sent a chill down her spine.

No matter how she moved, that gaze followed her like a shadow, impossible to shake off.

Soon, the Stone Man kicked Song Wanning, injuring her and forcing her back several steps in pain.

Seeing this, the Golden Small Sword was furious.

They all attacked the Stone Man like mad, even using a pincer tactic they had developed themselves.

Under this high-frequency assault, the Stone Man’s speed finally slowed a little.

Song Wanning found an opening and charged the Stone Man again.

Just then, the Divine Nether Profound Fire suddenly appeared, lifting Song Wanning and flying her upward.

Although she was a bit unsteady the moment she got on, Song Wanning quickly adjusted. She swiftly followed the Divine Nether Profound Fire into the air, then sent a punch blasting toward the Stone Man’s head.

"BOOM—"

The Stone Man’s head was hit, and half of it instantly exploded.

Blood and gore splattered everywhere, and its body slowed for an instant.

Without dodging or evading, Song Wanning met it head-on, swinging another punch at its remaining half-head.

"BOOM—"

With another deafening boom, the other half of the Stone Man’s head also shattered.

Its once-agile body instantly lost control and froze in place.

Then, it rapidly crumbled to pieces, falling to the ground as a pile of useless rock.

The surroundings instantly fell silent.

The feeling of being watched also vanished.

But Song Wanning didn’t dare to relax in the slightest; her expression remained grave.

"Sister, Little Fire is the smart one! Why didn’t I ever think of lifting you up!?" the Golden Small Sword said, full of self-reproach. They had never encountered such a situation before and hadn’t known how to react.

"I didn’t think of it either."

Song Wanning coughed. ’To be honest, I forgot too. I was only thinking about how I couldn’t use my Immortal Qi... It never even crossed my mind. Thinking about it now, it really was just a matter of habit... From now on, I need to learn to rely on these little guys. It might lead to some unexpected results.’

She patted the Divine Nether Profound Fire. "Good job, Little Fire."

With just that one sentence, the Divine Nether Profound Fire flushed bright red and affectionately nuzzled against her palm.

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

"Let’s go. We’ll keep heading deeper."

The gaze from before had come from the depths. Only by going deeper could she figure out what was hiding back there!

Under the light of the Divine Nether Profound Fire, Song Wanning led her little companions and continued onward.

Because she couldn’t see very far ahead, Song Wanning moved slowly, advancing step by step with great caution.

However, she hadn’t gone far before another Stone Man blocked her path.

Song Wanning paused. She had already expected this.

"Little ones, with me!"

She gave a low shout, and the group of little companions instantly sprang into action.

They coordinated seamlessly. The Divine Nether Profound Fire once again lifted Song Wanning, and they took the initiative to attack the Stone Man.

With the Divine Nether Profound Fire’s help, her inability to fly was no longer a weakness, and the speed of Song Wanning’s attacks grew faster and faster.

Her thoughts became actions almost instantly. The Divine Nether Profound Fire worked with her in perfect sync, and soon they had the Stone Man stumbling all over the place.

"ROAR—"

The Stone Man let out an enraged roar. Its counterattacks grew wild and chaotic, as if it intended to take Song Wanning down with it.

Song Wanning was fearless. Disregarding her own injuries, she charged at it again and again, focusing her attacks on its head.

’As long as the head shatters, this Stone Man is finished!’

Under their relentless assault, this Stone Man also soon collapsed.

Only a pile of waste rock remained on the ground.

Song Wanning tested the rocks. Once the head was gone, they had reverted to ordinary stone with no special properties.

This showed just how formidable the person behind this was. To be able to enhance the properties of mere stone to such a degree, simply by giving it a "head," meant they must have an extremely high level of attainment in Artifact Refining.

Song Wanning lowered her head and stared at the stones, her mind racing with possibilities.

She gazed into the darkness, as if wanting to tear back the mysterious veil and drag out the person behind it all!

"Let’s go."

She kicked at the stones underfoot and continued deeper with her little companions.

This time, she moved much faster.

She now understood her opponent’s methods. The obstacles along this path were likely all Stone Men.

And her guess was correct. Soon, a third Stone Man appeared.

She wasted no time on words and attacked it directly.

...

At almost the same time, many strange phenomena appeared throughout the Spirit Realm.

Mountains and seas trembled, trees grew at a frenzied pace, demon beasts became restless and agitated, and even many cultivators felt a sense of unease in their hearts.

"What’s been going on lately?"

"Ever since last night, my heart has been pounding. I can’t seem to calm down!"

"You too? Me too!!"

"What in the world is happening?"

People gathered together, and after comparing their symptoms, the mood grew incredibly heavy.

A situation like this had never occurred before. It was truly bizarre!

Such discussions were happening in every corner of the Spirit Realm. Everyone seemed to sense that something was wrong.

The leaders of various major powers gathered, all wanting to understand the source of this situation.

Even during the initial monster outbreak, they hadn’t felt this much danger. The current situation was truly abnormal.

The Mahayana cultivators were even more disturbed. Because they could perceive some of the Heavenly Dao Rules, they knew this was clearly a warning from the Heavenly Dao.

’Something huge is about to happen!’

One by one, they came out of seclusion and summoned their disciples to discuss the matter.

With that, the entire Spirit Realm fell into a panic, sinking into a state of clueless tension and alarm.

Within the Ancient Cold Sect, Luo Hantian felt especially uneasy. He almost subconsciously thought of Song Wanning and hurriedly sent her a Communication Talisman.

Song Wanning’s existence had long since become the cornerstone of the Ancient Cold Sect, a role not even the Ancestor could fill.

Luo Hantian had even grown somewhat dependent on her, wanting to hear her opinion whenever something happened.

But this time, no matter how many Communication Talismans he sent, none returned. It was like dropping a stone into the ocean.

"What’s going on? Why can’t I reach her?"

"Could something have happened to Junior Sister Song?"