A chill ran through Zhang Yuanqing's heart, and he shouted urgently, "Xiahou Aotian, watch out above!"
At the same time, Xiahou Aotian received a warning from the old man in his ring: "There is something wrong with that statue..."
Just as both voices sounded in his head and ears, Xiahou Aotian had already instinctively looked up. He saw the statue's stiff, lifeless face looking down at him with two rolling eyeballs.
A rigid, dead object was actually looking at him.
Well-traveled and experienced as he was, his scalp still tingled with dread.
The instant their gazes met, the female statue slashed downward with her rust-pitted iron sword at lightning speed.
A streak of sword light flashed through the hall.
With no way to dodge, Xiahou Aotian crossed his arms before him. Flames ignited from his two red fingerless gloves, forming a fiery vortex a meter wide like a spinning shield of fire.
Simultaneously, mud surged upward from the clay boots on his feet, encasing him like a terracotta warrior.
Finally, a dark green barrier sprang automatically from the rattan armor he wore.
The vortex of fire failed to grind down the sword light and collapsed first. Next went the dark green barrier, shattering into glass-like fragments. Then came a dull thud as a deep crack split across the clay shell covering Xiahou Aotian.
The next second, array runes lit beneath his feet, teleporting him directly to the entrance of the grand hall.
"Three props couldn't even block it—be careful!" he roared.
A wound faint to the bone opened across his chest, though the bleeding had already stopped and it was slowly knitting shut.
Once one reached the Dominator stage, regardless of profession, their vitality saw an enormous leap to an inhuman degree.
With a sharp crack, the stiff-faced female statue twisted its head like a wooden puppet to stare at the group, swinging the rust-pitted iron sword in a wide horizontal arc.
Fu Qingyang took a sharp breath. "Get down!"
The four humans and one corpse ducked in unison. A deafening roar slammed into their ears as the sword light severed the pillars, walls, and hall doors, surging right out of the building before shooting away and vanishing into the horizon.
*Fuck! Such terrifying sword aura from a mere casual swing?* Zhang Yuanqing snapped his fingers and used Star Escape to vanish outside.
Commandery Princess Yinyao, Fu Qingyang, Heavenly King Demonic Eye, and Xiahou Aotian fled outside one after another.
Rumble!
Yaoguang Hall collapsed in a storm of flying tiles and splintered beams, kicking up a thick, hazy cloud of dust.
Boom!
A towering figure burst out of the crumbling ruins. Over two meters tall and carved from solid stone, her heavy body was nevertheless lighter than a kite. In a flash, she darted in front of Zhang Yuanqing and swung her sword straight down.
In the nick of time, Zhang Yuanqing raised his short blade horizontally to parry.
Clang!
The rust-pitted iron sword collided with the short blade. Sword aura scattered from the blade in a rapid chime of clinks, stopped only by the purple-gold armor.
The webbing between Zhang Yuanqing's thumb and index finger tore open. His short blade was pressed down hard against his shoulder, his knees buckled, and he dropped to the ground.
The golden dragon illusion coiling around him also shattered into specks of golden light under that single strike.
The female statue's physical strength utterly overwhelmed him.
A golden-red beam shot from the side, striking the female statue's torso dead center.
It froze abruptly, turning back into a lifeless object.
By this point, Fu Qingyang had already donned a black cloak embroidered with golden cloud patterns. He drew a gleaming dragon-headed sword and, cloak snapping in the wind, stabbed the female statue directly in the forehead.
Crack!
An exaggerated fissure burst across the statue's skull.
Having landed his strike, Fu Qingyang pulled back his blade and retreated instantly. At the same moment, Zhang Yuanqing switched to his White Blade stance and activated Sever Form, ignoring defenses to violently gouge into the crack-riddled brow of the statue.
With a loud bang, a crater appeared in the center of its brow, sending stone chips flying.
Even Sever Form, which ignored physical defenses, failed to pierce through the statue's head. That only proved the statue possessed no active defense at all; the hardness was simply its natural material.
Suffering two consecutive deadly strikes allowed the female statue to break free of Demonic Eye's control. She raised her head and released a soul-shaking shriek, then swept her iron sword outward.
A sharp ache ripped through Fu Qingyang's brain, inducing slight dizziness.
If even a Puppeteer with iron will was affected like this, Xiahou Aotian, Heavenly King Demonic Eye, and Commandery Princess Yinyao fared even worse, collectively falling into a disoriented stupor.
Suddenly, a gentle and powerful surge of energy flowed into their minds, soothing the vertigo and pain. Yuanshi Tianzun's urgent cry rang out in their ears:
"Get down!"
The crowd ducked once more, narrowly dodging the earth-shattering slash.
The tall wall behind them was sheared clean off by a whole section. Shrubs, trees, and vines collapsed in unison, cut cleanly along a flat plane.
The crown atop Fu Qingyang's head lit up. The surrounding trees sprang to life in an instant, sending roots and vines wrapping around the female statue like tentacles to bind her tight.
*Pfft, pfft...* Countless bursts of sword aura erupted from within the female statue, shredding everything entangling her to pieces.
Activating his Blazing Sun skill, Zhang Yuanqing nullified the rules and appeared abruptly before her. Channeling the power of the Purple Thunder Hammer, his right fist, studded with knuckle spikes, slammed straight toward the statue's face.
From the distance came a thunderous boom as the ground caved in. Relying on raw speed, the three-headed, eight-armed Heavenly King Demonic Eye closed in behind the female statue like a phantom, spreading all eight arms to lock her in a crushing bear hug.
Fu Qingyang crossed over a dozen meters in a single stride, hoisting the Golden Dragon Sword high.
Commandery Princess Yinyao transformed into starlight, appearing at the statue's right flank. Billowing Yin Qi surged around her as spirit-sealing talismans formed rapidly.
The female statue gently tossed the weathered yellow gourd from her right hand, letting it land steadily atop her head. Freeing her hand, she seized Zhang Yuanqing's wrist with lightning speed and hurled him backward.
Thud!
Clad in purple-gold armor, Zhang Yuanqing slammed hard into Heavenly King Demonic Eye's chest, sending the latter stumbling backward.
With a sharp twist of her neck, the female statue turned toward Commandery Princess Yinyao and unleashed an ear-splitting screech audible only to yin spirits, while her right hand raised the rust-pitted iron sword horizontally to block the sky.
Amid a piercing shriek of clashing metal, Fu Qingyang was flung backward. The female statue's knees sank slightly, nearly dropping to a kneel.
Caught in the screech, Commandery Princess Yinyao froze into total paralysis, standing dull and motionless.
The female statue spun her sinking body around, swinging the rusted iron sword straight toward Commandery Princess Yinyao's neck.
She possessed terrifying swordsmanship and close-quarters prowess.
Mid-retreat, Fu Qingyang flung out the Golden Dragon Sword. With a majestic roar, the divine weapon transformed into an awe-inspiring golden dragon that slammed into the female statue.
The statue pulled back her sword and spun around to parry.
Clang!
The rust-pitted iron sword struck the dragon's head, throwing off blinding sparks.
The golden dragon circled around the female statue, diving at intervals to strike like a flying sword. Yet the statue's swordsmanship was so peerless that every dive was deflected by a precise slash.
Just then, another golden dragon came roaring in, opening its cavernous jaws to spew molten golden dragon flame directly over the female statue.
The molten flame gushed for a full dozen seconds or more.
Reining in its dragon breath, the Five-Clawed Golden Dragon twisted its body and flew off to the side, dozing off into a deep slumber.
Viscous molten slag dripped from the two-meter-tall female statue, whose stony body was now scorched pitch-black. Once again, it seemed to turn into a dead object, standing rigid where it was.
The pure dragon flame of the Five-Clawed Golden Dragon was exceptionally effective against yin creatures, and it affected only the target bathed in fire without suppressing allies.
It was not as tyrannical as Sunrise.
Heavenly King Demonic Eye curled his lip. Flaunting his eight arms, he charged arrogantly at the female statue. His eight fists rained down like a tempest, hammering her head from different angles.
*Bang, bang, bang...* The fists blurred into afterimages, battering her body lopsided and forcing her to stumble backward.
Zhang Yuanqing, clad in purple-gold armor, leaped out over Demonic Eye's head. "Her body is too tough! Fall back and let me!"
The female statue halted her retreating steps abruptly. Twisting her wrist, she flicked the rusted iron sword upward.
Right then, a swirl of tricolored flame shot forth, wrapping around the rust-pitted iron sword and blazing fiercely.
At once, the iron sword grew as heavy as mountains, impossible to lift, and burned cherry-red as though on the verge of melting.
Having observed from the sidelines for so long, Xiahou Aotian had finally seized the opportunity to unleash Samadhi True Fire, the bane of all tools and weapons.
Seizing the opening, Zhang Yuanqing flexed his right arm so hard the muscles bulged against his sleeve. Infused with the power of the Purple Thunder Hammer, his fist slammed down brutally.
Boom!
The fissure on the female statue's forehead widened rapidly, and the right half of her face shattered.
Suffering what should have been a fatal blow, the female statue chose to abandon her iron sword, using her rock-hard body itself as a weapon to retaliate.
At this moment, the vertical eye on Demonic Eye's forehead fired another golden-red beam, striking the female statue and locking her in place once more.
Zhang Yuanqing's eyes gleamed. His second punch followed immediately. No matter how hard the statue's head was, with half of it already broken, he was confident he could completely destroy it within three strikes.
Yet boundlessly thick black smoke surged in from all directions, swallowing his vision entirely.
Ten minutes had passed.
The muscles across Zhang Yuanqing's back exploded with power, driving his fist forward. Having his vision obscured did not stop him from attacking—the enemy was right in front of him, after all.
Yet this straight punch struck only thin air.
The female statue, which should have still been paralyzed by the Bewitching Demon, was gone.
*Fuck!* Zhang Yuanqing's heart sank, his nerves tightening instantly. He roared, "Where is it?"
Fu Qingyang spoke at rapid-fire speed: "At my nine o'clock!"
Zhang Yuanqing immediately raised his left hand, the dark muzzle in his palm opening wide as a Thunderstorm Cannon blast shot out.
Just as the pale-purple ball of lightning whistled through the air, Fu Qingyang's tone shifted: "At my twelve o'clock!"
Boom!
The Thunderstorm Cannon missed, kicking up a terrifying shockwave and dense arcs of lightning.
Xiahou Aotian and Heavenly King Demonic Eye rushed toward twelve o'clock simultaneously, only to hear Fu Qingyang again: "At my three o'clock... It keeps moving."
"No, it's not moving. It's an escape technique. Likely Star Escape," Fu Qingyang added with cool composure.
Xiahou Aotian fumed, "Why would a statue of the Scout profession know Star Escape?"
"Cut the crap! The black smoke granted her that ability—don't you even have that much discernment?" Demonic Eye snapped.
"If you're so smart, tell me how we fight it! The footsteps are about to arrive!" Just as Xiahou Aotian finished speaking, everyone heard the rhythmic, heavy thuds of footsteps.
"Ten o'clock, fifty meters; eight o'clock, sixty meters..."
Fu Qingyang continuously called out the enemy's positions, his voice growing faster and more urgent by the second.
Even he was panicking.
The female statue was constantly shifting positions.
Only now did they realize how laughable it was to think they could hunt the enemy down by following the footsteps.
The black smoke was the female statue's protective umbrella and their greatest peril; their only real window to eliminate the enemy was during the ten-minute intervals.
If they failed to kill the enemy within those ten minutes, they could only wait for death.
Now, their crisis had arrived.
The Palace Master of Halting Slaughter had already been taken out of commission, leaving no one to save them. Aside from Zhang Yuanqing, who was a Day Wanderer, none of the Ancient Gods of War, Puppeteers, or Artifact Refiners could survive having their heads cut off.
Chapter 897