Chapter 154: The Fallen Stone Statue

Brother Wei, do you need us to step in?

Bai Han roared. At this moment, he could clearly sense that after the teleportation array was destroyed, the remaining three blade-wind torrents were converging toward the area where Wei Cheng was located. At this time, even if they could help intercept just one of them, it would be immensely beneficial.

However,

There is no need. You do not need to worry about me. Four blade-wind torrents are no different from one to me. But you must thoroughly scout the surrounding area and search for the lair of these wind demons. If an opportunity for battle arises, strike decisively!

Wei Cheng had already calmed down by now. Truly, the moment the teleportation array was destroyed, his heart ached so much his liver trembled.

However, as the saying goes, destruction precedes construction. Instead, he suddenly saw the light and achieved a breakthrough.

Previously, while the teleportation array was still intact, they had to divide their forces to hold the line at all costs.

This was actually quite passive.

But now, without the teleportation array, although their retreat had been cut off, they had also gained the ultimate strategic mobility and freedom.

They could fight whenever they wanted and retreat whenever they wished.

They would never fall into such a passive predicament again.

Understood! Brother Wei, be careful!

Bai Han roared. At that moment, he also regained his composure and recognized the unexpected benefits brought by the destruction of the teleportation array.

Everyone, I will act as the commander-in-chief from now on, please cooperate.

Chen Ce, Liu Sui, Old Tang, the three of you form a group and scout ahead!

Xiaotang, Yu Liang, Old Mei, the three of you form a group to provide support from the center, ensuring that the distance between each other does not exceed one hundred and fifty meters.

Yang Xiushan, you five little guys, take responsibility for protecting Xu Shan.

Xu Shan, follow the main group and prioritize taking care of these newcomers. Their mental strength is below level six, and it is very likely—

Before Bai Han could finish speaking, a chorus of strange, echoing giggles, chuckles, cackles, and meows erupted one after another among the group of newcomers.

Not a single one was spared.

Mental strength below level six simply could not resist the pervasive curse aura of this place.

At that moment, even Xu Shan bristled with agitation. Too busy to complain about Bai Han's command, her hands danced rapidly as emerald-green needles drifted gracefully through the air. In just three seconds, she stabilized the situation.

Awesome!

Bai Han gave a thumbs up. Xu Shan truly seemed born to play the role of the Azure Wood healer; without even seeming to practice much, she had already attained sixty cycles of Azure Wood mastery.

With her around, he felt immensely at ease.

Can't you just slap a golden bell over them and make them stay obediently in one place?

Xu Shan rolled her eyes.

No, we cannot stay in one location for long. Move! Everyone, rally your spirits, move quickly!

At this moment, Bai Han was exceptionally calm and clear-headed. In truth, he was naturally a team leader with no lack of competence; it was just that his strength was far overshadowed by Wei Cheng's, so most of the time, even when he had his own insights, he had to keep them to himself.

Of course, things having reached this point, he would not complain. Instead, he admired Wei Cheng's pioneering boldness even more, because if it were him, he definitely wouldn't have been able to let go of those five hundred golden dragon coins.

Roar!

Ahead, Tang Yuanshan was using his roars to shatter the black fog blocking their path. Although his strength was still several Bai Hans away from Wei Cheng's, the majesty of this single roar was enough to scatter the black fog within a radius of five to six hundred meters.

It was enough for the entire team to pass through leisurely.

Can Old Tang handle this? Why don't you go replace him, Old Bai?

In the team, Xu Shan tossed her Azure Wood needles while gently coaxing Bai Han.

Clearly, she believed that Bai Han could provide her husband with better protection. Bai Han knew this very well, yet he patiently explained.

Old Tang can handle it! He desperately needs this kind of opportunity to stand on his own. He is about to ignite his mental fire.

That old Wei guy, though? I can't even see him anymore. Will we get separated? Will he be wiped out because he's isolated? Right now, I keep having this vivid image of Old Wei making a tragic last stand to give us a chance at survival, only to be sliced up like sashimi—

Xu Shan, that's enough! Old Wei is still alive and kicking. Without us dragging him down, there's no way he'll die.

Bai Han was utterly speechless.

Don't yell at me! I'm just a bit nervous. Usually, with Old Wei around, it feels like nothing can go wrong. Now that he's gone, I—I—

Xu Shan gave a bitter laugh. Did they really think she was a lunatic who enjoyed babbling nonsense? Under these circumstances, only by talking nonsense could she keep herself from being too nervous and too terrified.

Hehe!

Hehe your mother's head!

An Azure Wood needle flew out and landed precisely. *Sigh*, who knew what was going through Big Idiot Wei's mind, dragging a bunch of newcomer babies here. They were of no use and still had to be taken care of.

Trouble ahead!

Bai Han suddenly shouted. At the same time, as Tang Yuanshan let out a loud roar ahead, the black fog directly in front of them parted, abruptly exposing a colossal stone statue standing a full hundred meters tall. This statue had seven heads and twelve arms.

The seven heads wore distinctly different expressions—joy, anger, sorrow, happiness, worry, fear, and shock—while the twelve arms each formed hand seals, resembling a demonic god.

Anyone who laid eyes on this statue for the first time would feel a chill shoot straight to the crown of their head, and the phantom image of the statue would vividly appear within their mind.

Aww!

This roar seemed to originate from the depths of their souls.

At this moment, the one bearing the brunt of it was Tang Yuanshan. That demonic shadow directly branded itself into his Mountain-Moving Visualization Diagram. With a single roar, it directly shattered his nine-group mountain range into smithereens.

Then it rushed further into his soul and his mind, striving to completely annihilate and destroy him!

Despair devoured his will, pushing him once to the brink of collapse!

Yet ultimately, after struggling for who knew how long—feeling as long as ten thousand years—Tang Yuanshan's will to survive and the convictions he had always upheld finally saved him.

Or to be more precise, the intensity of his level-seven mental strength gave him the ultimate chance to turn the tables against the wind. Otherwise, no matter how strong one's will or how steadfast one's conviction, there would be no opportunity for a turnaround.

Ah, ah, ah!

He cried out in agonizing pain, heart-rending, frantic, and terrifying. Whatever pain he had suffered before, he vented as anger now.

The Mountain-Moving Internal Energy circulated anew, and the Mountain-Moving Visualization Diagram recondensed. As a Mountain-Mover, he would not be so easily destroyed or knocked down.

Boom!

The illusions of the nine groups of mountain ranges unfolded, and the mental fire ignited. The erosion of the statue's demonic shadow paradoxically became the catalyst for his breakthrough.

Tang Yuanshan had finally condensed his mental seed as well.

At this moment, the sky was vast, the earth was boundless, and all things seemed different. It felt as if his entire life had taken on a brand-new luster.

Unyielding will, undying soul.

It was also at this moment that he suddenly understood, comprehended, and grasped Wei Cheng's persistence.

This Path of Mountain-Moving was about marching toward hardship, toward danger, and toward every perceived impossibility!

Moving mountains and filling seas, parting the clouds to see the sun!

Transforming the heavens and earth, reversing the cosmos!

Turning the tide when the heavens are falling, if not me, then who?!

Boom!

In that exact instant, Tang Yuanshan's Mountain-Moving Visualization Diagram surged wildly once more. The progress of its deep-level refinement directly broke through the seventy percent mark, and the illusions of his Mountain-Moving Visualization Diagram were slightly more magnificent than Bai Han's.

This was simply because he understood better and comprehended more profoundly what it truly meant to be a Mountain-Mover.

The moment he ignited his mental fire, the degree of resonance among his will, faith, and spirit was far more perfect!

While Tang Yuanshan was igniting his mental fire, the others were also attacked by the demonic shadow.

Liu Sui activated his mental barrier at the very first moment, exempting himself from the demonic shadow's attack.

Chen Ce had a somewhat difficult time. Although he was not the primary target of the demonic shadow and his mental strength was also at level seven, his will was far inferior to Tang Yuanshan's and Bai Han's—as could easily be seen from his usual flippant attitude.

Thus, at this moment, black Qi billowed around his entire body, and with a loud thud, he collapsed to the ground, unconscious.

On the contrary, Tang Xiaojun, Yu Liang, and Mei Renli, who were a hundred and fifty meters away, possessed quite resilient wills. Facing the invasion of the demonic shadow, they did not back down in the least, meeting it head-on. Relying sheerly on their own willpower coupled with their respective level-6.5 mental strength, they managed to push through it.

Although they were all broken out in cold sweat by the end and their legs felt like jelly, they had to admit that this seemingly evil demonic shadow impact was immensely beneficial for tempering their own willpower.

So much so that they actually felt a lingering sense of reluctance to leave.

No, rather, it was a lingering aftertaste!

As for Bai Han and Xu Shan, stationed in the rear three hundred meters away, they were completely unaffected.

And those newcomers? What did it matter if they were affected or not?

First they would have to take it up with the long, thick Azure Wood divine needles in Auntie Xu's hands.

Getting hit with a needle every half minute made this arguably the most tragic newcomer trial in history.

This kind of high-level map was simply not a place they had any business coming to!

Crack, crack!

That massive stone statue suddenly came back to life. Its seven heads spun like a revolving lantern, changing expressions every single second.

The gaze of each expression would engender the exact same emotion within everyone's hearts:

Joy, anger, sorrow, happiness, worry, fear, and shock.

Even Liu Sui and Tang Yuanshan, who had already condensed their mental seeds, could not exempt themselves from this emotional pollution.

Not good! Fall back!

Tang Yuanshan roared, releasing an immovable golden bell in its ultimate form, attempting to trap the statue. But who would have thought that the statue's twelve arms would each form hand seals, and in the blink of an eye, twelve massive blade-winds would form, shattering the immovable golden bell in a single strike!

Fall back!

On the other side, Liu Sui was already dragging the unconscious Chen Ce as he retreated rapidly, while Xu Shan was already hurrying forward to meet them.

Waving her hands repeatedly, emerald-green needles flashed swiftly. First, she dispersed the accumulated emotions in Liu Sui's heart, and then, spinning around, she jabbed nine Azure Wood needles into Chen Ce.

Those seven emotions must never be allowed to accumulate successfully, wife, I'm counting on you!

Liu Sui shouted, turning around to plunge back into the fray.

In an instant, purple clouds scattered, half the firmament fluttered, and with an angry roar of a divine dragon, the nine heavens of clouds descended—Flying Dragon in the Sky!

However, the very moment his ultimate move was about to land on top of the statue's head, out of the statue's twelve arms came another twelve massive blade-winds. With a single strike, they blew his ultimate move into smithereens.

Yet Liu Sui showed neither anger nor panic. Instead, he rapidly formed hand seals. Out of the purple clouds transformed by the Purple Mist Visualization Diagram behind him, a short sword suddenly flew out, carrying purple smoke and lightning speed, and with a single sword stroke, it hacked off one of the statue's arms.

This was precisely the external martial arts technique matching ninety percent with the Purple Mist Heart Skill—[Drifting Dragon Sword Technique]. Thanks to the extra day or so Wei Cheng had secured for him earlier, allowing him to comprehend and master it, this sword technique immediately displayed extraordinary might once unleashed.

It was just a pity that after the sword strike, Liu Sui's Purple Mist internal energy was completely exhausted.

He could only rapidly flick a golden dragon coin to replenish his Purple Mist internal energy.

Yet the statue seemed unwilling to let it go at that. Its seven revolving-lantern-like heads suddenly stared at Liu Sui, while its remaining eleven arms pointed toward him. In a split second, massive blade-winds came smashing down toward Liu Sui.

Truly deserving of being the MVP taunter of the entire battlefield!

Aggro maxed out directly!