Forge a path to success.

Chapter 122 The Stone Demon

The battle entered a fierce stage, the atmosphere reaching its peak from the very first bullet fired. Nerves pounded, blood surged, and the sound of his heart pounding in his ears like a hammer blow. Chu Heng activated his Qi Thousand Autumns technique, accelerating his journey to the city. This battle was both familiar and strange; he understood the enemy's thought processes and methods, but was completely unaware of their tactics.

If they were still on Earth, the battle would have been over long ago. The sniper missed three shots in a row, and the assassin was hit in a vital spot by a specially designed bullet—this would have been enough to signify death, or at least defeat. But after becoming Ascended, the situation is completely different. Both sides' physical abilities are now vastly different, and the relics and abilities they possess are unknown.

Battles fought across thousands of meters, previously unimaginable, are now underway. Invulnerable bodies and even regenerative abilities offer martial artists far more opportunities than ever before. It is precisely because they understand this that they haven't revealed all their trump cards at the outset.

Mastering the rhythm of the battlefield, forcing the enemy to reveal their tactics in every second, incorporating analysis and simulating scenarios, until the crucial moment arrives to determine life or death. Currently, intelligence is paramount; the more you know, the greater your chances of victory.

Shakes reactivated the communication: (Hey, Wu He! Does your Longquan Township have any martial arts techniques for super-fast regeneration?)
(Super regeneration? You mean immortality?) Wu He found it hard to believe. (That's the true skill of the Yueque Palace—)
(What to do!)

(The true martial arts practitioners of Yueque Palace possess invincible physical bodies. As long as their spirit is strong enough, even their hearts and brains can regenerate. Don't even think about breaking through with your own methods!)
(Just use Ghost Body, right? Got it!)

Wu He visibly panicked: (Wait a minute! What are you fighting against?!)
Shakes tore off the communication talisman and stuffed it into his pocket, already having made up his mind. The back was bulletproof, and from other angles, there was super-regeneration of flesh; physically, there were no vital points. That man was even more monstrous than before. However, ultimately, he was still a martial arts practitioner, at a low-quality stage, and the lack of mid-to-long-range techniques wasn't so easily overcome.

In the blink of an eye, a green gale had swept across most of the hillside, and the enemy would be approaching the city in less than three seconds. Shax fired four shots in quick succession with his Black Ball, the bullets kicking up plumes of smoke as they hit the ground. He holstered his weapon, switched to another, and new equipment appeared one after another: a jetpack on the back of his combat suit. The legendary gunslinger was ready to pounce.

Chu Hengkong plunged into the smoke, sensing his surroundings with his spiritual energy. The Immortal Machine's analysis report appeared in white text on his retina. This time, the smoke screen was primarily composed of some kind of demonic ink and materials from various alien beasts. It couldn't reproduce bullets but could conceal one's presence. Considering the characteristics of the Illusory Demon, Shax might have powerful methods targeting the Ghost Body. Even with his immortality, he wasn't entirely foolproof.

He slowed his pace, conserving energy and suppressing the burning flames of ambition, leaving only a thin layer of fire on his tentacles. The demonic smoke diminished the effects of his spiritual perception, but his five senses remained constant. He sensed changes in airflow, unusual odors, and the subtle noises of the moving gun barrel—

He suddenly thrust out his white spear, the shaft whipping out a sharp white line. At the same time, three blue laser beams pierced the mist; two were neutralized by his inner energy, exploding into blinding flashes of light and fire, while the third broke through the blockade. Chu Heng spun in mid-air, turning his thrust into a slash to deflect the attack, the laser beams exploding at close range, a slight stinging pain shooting through his head.

A mixed attack of light and spirit elements is easy to get hit by if you attack it directly; you should use the Qi Armor to break through this attack.

Deep within the mist, Shax gripped a blue-painted three-barreled pistol in his left hand. The HT-1777 "Little Saburo," a best-selling product of the Shura Island military giant "Zhaizhu Heavy Industries," boasted a high rate of fire and immense maximum power, earning high praise in low-quality firefights. The gun's selling points were the satisfying feeling of rapid fire and the high cost-effectiveness of a level 2 relic, but its true advantage lay in its built-in light element converter. With this small component, one could easily convert light element bullets, and vice versa.

The "Little Saburo" in Shakes's hands was smaller than the common models on the market. His modifications enhanced its portability and added mixed mental damage to the lasers, raising its rating to level 3. The trigger of this gun was completely removed, and a charging pipe ran directly from the back of the gun to Shakes's combat helmet. Without pulling the trigger, the nervous system issued commands, and three lasers were fired in succession, the electric light flashing like fireworks in the depths of the mist.

A burning, spirited throwing knife flew against the laser beam, narrowly grazing the gunman's long hair. Ignoring the spreading flames of ambition, he maintained his firing stance and retreated rapidly. A countdown, measured in microseconds, ticked through his mind. In the instant the distant air currents rippled, Shax raised his right hand to his medium shotgun. Countless transparent bullets, propelled by the powerful recoil, struck the assassin emerging from the mist!
VV375, commonly known as "The Salesman," is a compact weapon with extremely low recoil. It fires 3000 miniature magic bullets in a single shot, requiring only mental energy to recharge without physical ammunition. Its name consists only of the designer's initials and a number, clearly indicating it's a product of the Dustless Grounds headquarters. Its design is ingenious but overly idealistic. The lack of recharge sounds convenient, but most point masses would be drained of energy after just three shots.

Therefore, during the modification, Shax filled the energy storage crystal at the cost of greatly increasing recoil, and increased the bullet capacity and attack range. The shotgun is mainly for wide-area damage. At this moment, transparent bullets rained down on Chu Heng. Most of them were deflected by the Qi Armor, but one-tenth of the bullets hit the unarmored abdomen and legs.

The barrage of attacks from the ghostly figures brought Chu Hengkong to a sudden halt, causing him to cough up a mouthful of blood. Simultaneously, Shax used the strong recoil to create further distance. However, Chu Hengkong remained firmly planted on his feet. As he coughed up blood, he thrust his spear forward, the powerful strike grazing Shax's right leg! Both attacks struck simultaneously!

Chu Hengkong holstered his gun and returned to defense, his vision reeling from the shockwaves, forcing him to pause and calm the turmoil in his mind. Shax, his right leg broken, activated his modified jetpack and flew backward through the smoke.

"It's rare that you underestimate people," the sniper sneered. "Take out your knife!"

Chu Hengkong did not reply, silently activating his communication artifact: (Fande, I've been affected by the Ghost Body attack, what should I do?)
The Eye Demon displayed the demeanor of a master of the Ghost Body: (How exactly did he injure himself? Could the Qi Armor reflect the damage?)
(Transparent shotgun shells that ricochet; when hit, it feels like bugs are gnawing at my brain.)
(That means the bullet is still inside your body. Use the minimum output of the Annihilation Field to cover it, the smaller the better.)
Chu Hengkong did as instructed. A golden light flashed on his back, and a second later he coughed up blood, staining an entire wall red. Vande's solution was simple and effective; the bullets were indeed dealt with, but he himself was also severely struck by the force field. Fortunately, this force was relatively gentle compared to the attack from the Immortal Machine at the time, and with his upgraded Steel Bones, he could withstand it completely.

He wiped away the blood, sprinted forward, and chased after the gunman's figure in the fog. The laughter of the madmen echoed between the buildings, and the smoke-filled streets were occasionally illuminated by lasers and flames. The residents dared not step out of their homes, trembling with fear at the terrifying atmosphere outside.

Among these pitiful souls was the utterly demoralized Iceman Sethlen, who hid under a skybridge, weeping and praying to avoid being caught in the monsters' clutches. Qingye, who had followed him, wandered through the mist, utterly stunned before the blood-stained wall.

She gazed into the depths of the mist and saw the menacingly smiling tentacled man and the long-haired man laughing maniacally. Qingye was so shocked by this deadly battle that her mind went completely blank.

"That person...could it be the sniper? Mayor Jin Ye?" Qingye murmured to herself, "The tentacle man and Jin Ye are fighting...what exactly happened?"
"Holy crap, he injured the ghost's body? Was his opponent that strong?"

"Floating Light Path Point 3, nobody would believe it without some kind of mental attack method." Vande quickly flipped through the manuscript on the ground, stuffing whatever looked valuable into Ji Huaisu's bag. "This time, Chu Hengkong has met his match."

Ji Huaisu pointed to the towering flames outside: "Do you even need to look at that? Stop dawdling and hurry up and provide support. If you don't leave, I'll go myself!"

Before they knew it, they had reached the city center, but this one-eyed monster was still dawdling around in Jinye's mansion, searching for materials. Captain Ji was getting increasingly anxious. They say true friendship is revealed in times of trouble, and this time, brothers were showing their true colors in times of need. This guy was really slacking off. If it weren't for his weak fighting ability and the fact that having only one eye could easily cause trouble, she would have rushed into the war zone to provide support long ago.

Van Der, however, was still looking at the manuscript, speaking slowly and deliberately: "So what do you plan to do? You open your shield, carry me in, and I'll just cast a hypnotic spell on the other side to force a ceasefire?"

"...Yes, yes!" Ji Huaisu felt a little guilty. What she actually wanted was for the three of them to gang up on her after the hypnosis was over.

"First of all, the fact that they can fight Chu Hengkong in a real battle shows they're incredibly powerful, probably a Legendary Point 3. If the two of us went over there, we'd have a hard time keeping up." Vande raised two short tentacles. "Secondly, you can tell from the commotion that this is a feud between the two of them. No one else is allowed to interfere, nor should anyone else. It's like two men signing a death pact, agreeing to fight to the death; in the end, whoever lives or dies won't be responsible. At this point, for a contestant's family member to run up and say, 'Stop fighting! Stop fighting!' is that appropriate?"

“I’m not his family member!” Ji Huaisu blushed.

"To put it simply, it's all the same." Vande waved his tentacle. "Both sides are full of super-strong men, and this fight might not be a clear winner. What we can do now is gather intelligence and prepare. I think there's more than one strange thing in this city..."

It held up Jin Ye's diary, gesturing for Ji Huaisu to gather his materials and prepare to retreat. With its other hand, it took the diary and slowly began to read it.

Their gazes froze instantly. It was a withered, thin stone hand. The ugly statue, which should have been smashed to dust, had somehow returned to its original state. They had been talking for so long without noticing its presence, like a stone ghost.

"I forgot, I forgot. In a moment of shock, I lost my identity and my ability to think. After being petrified for days, I finally awoke and realized that I was who I was..."

The ugly stone sculpture closed its diary.

"My territory is not to be allowed to be run rampant by others."

The statue's surface cracked layer by layer, then suddenly shattered from within, turning into a cloud of colorful dust. The dust drifted like the wind towards the city and towards the distant battlefield. Vande trembled as if thawing, grabbing Ji Huaisu's arm tightly: "Go and provide support! Go and provide support! Quickly!"

Ji Huaisu was still in shock: "Who the hell just said we weren't allowed in?!"

"This isn't a duel anymore, it's a disaster movie!!" Vandal screamed hoarsely. "That thing is... a catastrophic species!!"

The ugly statue turned to dust and dissipated, drifting into the city like a colorful gust of wind. The Dust of No Destiny is a wavering, confused being, yet also a free spirit without constraints; thus, its speed is incredibly fast, arriving at the center of the battlefield in the blink of an eye.

It spread its arms and whispered, swallowing up the tiny particles in the air like a whale, instantly dispelling the smoke that had been concealing its presence. In mid-air, it transformed into a human form, revealing its bizarre appearance: withered and slender stone limbs, layers of crystal like scales covering its body, and a large head without facial features, consisting only of a circular cavity occupying nearly half its surface.

Its aura wasn't terrifying like a monster, but rather eerie and demonic. The stone demon's body dissipated and reformed, flashing between the battlefields of the two assassins. It punched the earth, and a deafening roar echoed from the bottom of Golden Leaf City, like the roar of a slumbering dragon from the depths.

"Earthquake," it said.

(End of this chapter)