Asura Emperor Venerable
Chapter 520 Encounter Battle

Chapter 520: Chapter 520 Encounter Battle

The second day, Shi Hao entered the Elemental Cave.

The academy had not specified that students must form teams to enter the grotto; after all, some people were accustomed to fighting alone. Forcing them into a team would only affect the performance of the entire group.

Shi Hao was indeed a lone warrior. After passing the identity verification, he re-entered the cave.

Here, many people were fully prepared and ready to move out.

Not just from Self-Observation, but also from Founding King Court and Supplement God Temple Level, as well as students from Soul Nurturing and Other Shore Realm. Next, everyone either acted individually or moved out in groups, choosing their preferred and customary ways of operation.

Shi Hao kept a low profile, wearing a cloak over his head as he quietly departed.

However, he still glanced around and noticed that neither in the Founding King Court nor in the ranks of Supplement God Temple could he see Xia Mengyin’s presence.

She should have been able to enter the Heavenly Palace Academy with her strength; why was she nowhere to be seen?

Not only was she missing, but Xiao Hei and Yue Feifei were also out of sight. Were they yet to arrive at South Wood Continent or had they been disqualified for lacking the necessary credentials?

After all, Xiao Hei is a Sword Body. In the Purple Green Secret Realm, he was ranked third on the Eternal Stone list, only pushed to fourth after Shi Hao’s appearance. How could he not be seen?

Strange!

As Shi Hao moved on, he kept pondering, and before he realized it, he had delved deep into the grotto.

The grotto was not only vast in territory but also astonishing in height, with the top being a thousand zhang from the ground!

According to what was said, the elemental invasion was discovered just over a year ago. Even if they had been developing before that, according to the estimates of the strong, the total time was just two or three years at most.

In such a short time, the Elemental Creatures had created such a large cave. If they were given another ten or eight years, would the entire continent be transformed?

What about a hundred and eighty years from now?

Would Yunding Star still be inhabitable?

No, no, no, if more Elemental Creatures arrive, the pace of transformation will accelerate. Perhaps it won’t even take a hundred and eighty years.

Shi Hao breathed slowly; at his level, his need for air had decreased significantly. Hence, despite the thin air here, he had no concern about suffocating to death.

Humans and Elemental Creatures were two entirely different forms of life, incapable of coexistence. Thus, it was a matter of life or death for either side.

There was only one word: kill!

Shi Hao reinforced his conviction. He truly had no personal grudges against Elemental Creatures, but this hostility was elevated to the level of the survival of the entire species, and he could not afford to show mercy.

In his mind’s eye emerged the distribution map of the Elemental Creatures that Zhang Feng had introduced to them.

It was simple, the deeper one went, the stronger the Elemental Creatures became. Creatures at the Sky Ladder level were stationed in the deepest parts of the cave, where the teleportation gates were located. For Elemental Creatures, that was the most critical area.

As long as the gates remained, they could continuously send their armies through. Otherwise, the Elemental Creatures here would become an isolated force, eventually facing eradication no matter how powerful they were.

Human strongholds had thought of a permanent solution, but in guarding the Teleportation Arrays, Elemental Creatures were brutally decisive. Both sides had lost at least ten Sky Ladder powerhouse as a result, so now, both had become much more restrained.

To someone from Self-Observation, a safe zone extended three hundred li deep; beyond that, one could encounter Elemental Creatures from Founding King Court. Usually, encountering such enemies meant certain death for Self-Observation members.

Shi Hao was quick, and soon he reached the three-hundred-li mark.

He did not rashly advance. Up until now, he hadn’t encountered any Elemental Creatures and needed to get a grasp of the situation first to test the depth of these beings.

He searched within the area for the traces of Elemental Creatures.

After half a day, he heard the sounds of combat and immediately followed the noise.

Soon, he saw a team of nine people battling over a dozen stone figures. Clearly, the team of nine was at a disadvantage, but it didn’t seem like they’d face any major problems in the short term.

These were the Elemental Creatures.

In appearance, the stone figures weren’t much different from humans, save for being larger in size, but one glance at their thick skin revealed an essential difference.

——They were entirely composed of stone.

With no conventional vital spots, one must shatter their chests to extract the Elemental Core to nullify their combat power.

It was precisely because they were so difficult to kill that the team of nine was losing. How difficult could it be to break open an opponent’s chest when the difference in combat power wasn’t significant?

Shi Hao immediately leapt into action, took out the Ninefold Mountain, and smashed it towards a stone figure.

The Ninefold Mountain was indeed a treasure. Although Shi Hao had obtained it a long time ago, it still served him well to this day, allowing him to exert tremendous power.

However, by the time he reached Self-Observation, he had almost extracted its limit; after he stepped into the Founding King Court, the Ninefold Mountain would truly become less useful.

Bang!

With a resounding crash, the Ninefold Mountain smashed through the stone figure’s chest. However, as Shi Hao retracted his hand, he saw that the stones around the wound were wriggling, attempting to mend the gap.

Shi Hao wouldn’t let it have its way. He reached in, plucked out a slightly glowing stone from the chest of the stone figure.

Suddenly, the stone figure collapsed to the ground and instantly fell apart.

Was this glowing stone the Elemental Core?

Shi Hao glanced at it. In fact, it couldn’t really be considered a stone. It was neither like jade nor like gold, semi-translucent, and within, one could see liquid moving. It was quite magical.

But the next moment, he stored the Elemental Core in the Black Spirit Ring.

"Nice!" At this point, the team of nine finally reacted, all applauding.

Shi Hao continued to advance, slashing again with his blade. Under the insight of his domain, he smashed the chest of a second stone figure in an instant and took another Elemental Core.

The team of nine was shocked; they hadn’t realized that Shi Hao’s strength was outrageously strong. How could he take down each with a single strike, so effortlessly?

Well, it must be because his blade was insanely powerful.

The others couldn’t think of another reason and attributed it to the Spiritual Artifact in Shi Hao’s hand.

Indeed, a good Spiritual Artifact could give a martial artist an incredible boost in strength, potentially more than doubling their power.

With Shi Hao’s powerful intervention, the team of nine quickly turned the tide of the battle.

However, the stone figures fought with reckless abandon, refusing to retreat and instead engaged in a fight to the death.

"Haha, I’ll be taking your Elemental Core!" A man forcibly split open the chest of a stone figure, intending to seize the Elemental Core, but the Elemental Core suddenly lit up and then exploded with a bang.

The explosion was terrifying, its force even surpassing that of a full-strength blow from an ordinary Ninefold Martial Artist, dazzling with brilliance.

A shockwave spread, and the man was immediately blown away. When he hit the ground, there was a gaping bloodied hole in his chest, at least seven ribs broken, and much of his internal organs damaged.