Shocking the Nine Heavens With My Sword
Chapter 284 - 272: Stone Man (3/3)

Chapter 284: Chapter 272: Stone Man (3/3)

So huge!

This shadow was at least thirty meters tall, with an immensely burly physique; no wonder his footsteps made such heavy sounds.

Upon seeing this, Zhou Heng couldn’t help but reveal a look of surprise.

It was actually a Stone Man!

Its body was covered in gray-black skin, and because it was a Stone Man, its body lines naturally had clearly defined contours as if carved, making anyone believe it was the work of a skilled craftsman if it remained still.

Zhou Heng had heard about the magical creatures in the Dark Forest before, among them the Stone Man, but he never thought he would be so lucky as to encounter one!

This Stone Man was tremendously large, especially its blood-red, fierce eyes which made Ying Mengfan involuntarily feel a sense of fear, causing her to move closer to Zhou Heng.

"You go inside the tower first!" Zhou Heng said, and with a thought, he had already sent Ying Mengfan into the Nine Mystic Trial Tower.

This Stone Man was in the Mountains and Rivers Realm, specifically at the Third Layer Heaven, its power frightfully immense, putting far greater pressure on him than Ying Haihuang or Ying Dongyun could.

Boom!

The Stone Man never stopped its steps and quickly arrived in front of Zhou Heng, lifting its stone spear high and stabbing fiercely towards him.

Zhou Heng, after all, was young with a defiant air about him, and was suddenly seized with a desire to clash with his opponent’s strength. He did not use any Martial Arts Techniques but just condensed his right hand into a fist of golden color and launched it forward.

The speed of their strikes was exceedingly fast, a bit of dark light and the brilliant golden light instantly collided!

Boom!

Two diversely colored lights instantly filled the entire canyon, partitioning into two starkly opposite spaces, confronting each other, with neither prevailing!

Zhou Heng’s right fist met the tip of the spear, his robust physique allowing him to withstand this sharp weapon. He suddenly let out a fierce shout, his right fist radiating a burst of golden light, pushing forward fiercely.

In an instant, the golden light completely overwhelmed the dark light, filling the entire canyon!

Zhou Heng advanced sharply, raising his right hand high and smashing it down towards the Stone Man’s head.

Bang!

His fist fell, and the entire ground trembled tremendously. The Stone Man was actually pounded into the ground by him, sending shockwaves radiating out in all directions, and stones continually fell off the mountain walls.

Zhou Heng was somewhat surprised, as he initially thought that a punch would break the Stone Man’s neck, but he didn’t expect the Stone Man’s body to be terrifyingly resilient as well. Instead of breaking its neck, the entire body absorbed the formidable force and was driven into the ground.

His physical strength was even more tenacious than that of a Mountains and Rivers Realm Magic Artifact, and the Stone Man was no less formidable, its physique ferociously strong!

With a rumbling from beneath the ground, a tremendous shadow suddenly burst out, tearing through the sky, its gray-black body like a demonic deity, emitting a terrifying aura.

Whoosh!

The Stone Man didn’t seem to intend to speak, or perhaps it had no ability to speak at all, but its eyes glowed an even brighter red, thrusting its spear which pierced through space and actually formed multiple black spatial vortices.

Completely uninjured!

With a heroic spirit surging within, Zhou Heng let out a long howl as he too soared into the air, swinging his right fist again.

His eyes narrowed and his whole being was filled with an unstoppable, invincible aura. His Spiritual Power erupted completely in an instant.

Bang!

Fist and spear collided once again; Zhou Heng’s figure halted momentarily, but he immediately swung his fist directly out, stirring up a shockwave. The Stone Man was immediately sent rebounding back like a sharp arrow, incredibly fast.

Boom, it crashed into the mountain wall, creating a huge cavity, its entire form no longer visible.

Still uninjured!

Zhou Heng’s eyes were as sharp as swords, his presence intimidating. His Divine Sense had been locked on the Stone Man until it was out of range, but he was certain that the Stone Man was uninjured.

Although it careened about, it was like two iron blocks colliding—no matter how loud the noise, only sparks might fly off, but the substance itself remained undamaged.

That was only natural, they both had the body strength of Heaven-Opening Realm Magic Artifacts, and without thousands, or even tens of thousands, of direct collisions, it wouldn’t be possible to determine a victor.

Zhou Heng finally tasted the frustration other Mountains and Rivers Realm Experts felt when facing him!

But he was not just about strength and resilience; he also possessed more lethal Martial Arts Techniques.

Boom!

The Stone Man charged out again, the red glow in its eyes shooting out three meters, seemingly expressing its anger in this manner. It leapt from the cliff, thrusting its spear with a bright red glow intertwined around the tip.

Zhou Heng instinctively sensed a danger, feeling an overwhelming fear of being touched by this red light.

Domain!

With a thought from him, boom, the Purple Flame ignited, enveloping the entire Stone Man.

Roar!

The Stone Man couldn’t make a sound, but its Divine Sense emitted an extremely piercing scream, waves of it reverberating through the canyon.

Being in control of a Domain didn’t guarantee invincibility. If two people were of equal realms and strength, and one had mastery over a Domain while the other did not, it didn’t necessarily mean that the one with the Domain would win. Because a Domain merely expanded the range of the attack, making the Martial Artist’s strikes more flexible.

Of course, if the person controlling the Domain was significantly more powerful, then unleashing the Domain would mean an absolute crushing advantage!

The Stone Man’s physique and strength were only slightly inferior to Zhou Heng’s, and under normal circumstances, being bombarded by the Domain would at most cause it more injuries. But the mutated Purple Flame possessed the power of Earth Fire, something even those in the Spirit Sea Realm would be wary of!

Under the scorching of such Exotic Fire, even a Mountains and Rivers Realm Magic Artifact would melt!

The Stone Man’s breath became extremely violent, yet no matter how it manipulated its movement technique, a domain is an extension of divine sense where a mere thought leads to an attack, naturally far surpassing the speed of any physical movement.

It only had to sit and wait for death!

Zhou Heng’s expression was solemn, as he summoned the Black Sword and traced a path with his figure. He intended to end this battle now.

Just at this moment, a gust of wind stormed toward Zhou Heng!

With a splatter, a spray of blood flashed across his shoulder, even piercing through the scapula, shattering the bones and sending them flying like golden fragments.

Spirit Sea Realm! No, it might be even stronger!

Zhou Heng only had a glimpse and immediately shifted his thoughts, swiftly retreating into the Nine Mystic Trial Tower.

Blood flowed like a stream, turning him instantly into a bloodied figure.

"Zhou Heng!"

"Zhou, Heng!"

"Master!"

The women rushed over, each of them showing a shocked expression.

"I’m fine!" Zhou Heng forcibly circulated his spiritual power to seal the wound, slowing down the squirt of fresh blood—only slowing it down, not stopping it.

He still had at least Spirit Sea Realm level exotic spiritual power residing in his body. If he didn’t remove it first, his injuries wouldn’t heal!

"I need to regulate my breathing for a while!"

What was meant to be a short while turned out to be two full days before Zhou Heng eliminated the exotic spiritual power from his body. Amidst the flow of golden light, his injuries immediately healed. However, his physique was formed from devouring metal essence, and the bones that were blown away were a true loss!

Now the bones seemed healed but were replaced by extracting essence from other areas, overall there was still a loss!

To reach his current level of physical strength, even losing a bit of bone would require him to absorb millions of grams of regular metals to retrieve it!

Such a loss!

Zhou Heng recalled the fleeting shadow he had glimpsed. Even now, just thinking about it sent shivers down his spine.

It was also a Stone Man, yet smaller than the first one, almost indistinguishable from a normal person, but it only had half of its body, the wound showing no bones or internal organs but just dull grey stone with faint black light flickering over it.

It was this second Stone Man that struck him, heavily injuring him!

This happened even though Zhou Heng dodged with all his might using Swift Cloud Radiant Step. Otherwise, that strike would not have hit his shoulder, but his heart, killing him instantly!

Moreover, this Stone Man did not utilize a domain; it attacked directly, not mentally leading to an attack, otherwise he would not have had any chance to deploy the Swift Cloud Radiant Step.

Such a terrifying power!

When Ying Cheng’en struck him, he had merely cracked his bones, not like now where the bones were outright shattered and broken!

Who is Ying Cheng’en? A Quasi Peerless Expert with one foot in the Nascent Soul Realm. To say there was power capable of crushing him, there was only one possibility—Nascent Soul Realm!

Such ill luck, to encounter such a fearsome monster even before venturing deep into the Death Forest!

Left with only half a body yet still alive and with astonishing battle power!

Zhou Heng thought about it; how could the situation of humans be applicable to Stone Men when their structures are wholly different though they might appear similar in shape. From the broken parts, the Stone Man was truly made of stone, with no organs or brains. Could such an entity have a vital spot?

How could such a being be killed?

However, who was the expert that had dealt such a blow, leaving the second Stone Man with just half a body?

A Nascent Soul Realm Stone Man’s bodily strength was likely comparable to a Nascent Soul Realm Peerless Magical Instrument, so to cleave its body so thoroughly in two would require incredibly terrifying power!

At least not something nascent Soul Realm could achieve!

Indeed, befitting of the Death Forest!

After observing through the Nine Mystic Trial Tower, Zhou Heng identified a gap and exited the Nine Mystic Trial Tower, pushing the Swift Cloud Radiant Step to its limits. Swiftly, after crossing just several dozen ridges, he passed through the canyon.

An immensely strong presence lingered behind him, only retreating after he moved far way from the canyon.

Zhou Heng knew that it must be the second Stone Man’s divine sense!

Why didn’t it use a domain to directly finish him off?

Zhou Heng didn’t believe the Stone Man had any reservations. Perhaps... this Stone Man couldn’t use a domain?

But wasn’t a domain a prerequisite to stepping into the Nascent Soul Realm? That Stone Man was definitely in the Nascent Soul Realm! Could it be that mastering a domain to advance is only applicable to humans?

According to Zhao Duotian, Nascent Soul Realm’s divine sense transforms into deities, enabling thought to lead to attacks, which truly unleashes the full power of domains.

Or perhaps, was the Stone Man too severely injured, even its deity was destroyed?

All of these were questions Zhou Heng could not clarify at the moment.

The Death Forest certainly lived up to its name!

Zhou Heng discarded any last semblance of carelessness, becoming even more cautious and vigilant as he moved towards his intended destination.

Out of a hundred people venturing in, could even one safely reach it? (To be continued. If you like this work, welcome to vote for recommendations and monthly tickets at qidian.com. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users please go to m.qidian.com to read.)