Firmament Sword

”Damn it... Why is it still wrong?” Tang Xiao mumbled, holding the Sound Transmission Stone. ’Maybe I should ask the boss for help? I wonder if he knows.’

With that, Tang Xiao activated the Sound Transmission Stone, only to be dumbfounded. He discovered the stone... couldn’t send any message out!

”Fuck!” Tang Xiao couldn’t help but curse. The corner of his mouth twitched as he sighed. ”I can’t even use the Sound Transmission Stone here... Is this supposed to prevent cheating?”

He was in a small, square, sealed chamber, about ten feet wide.

Inside the chamber stood an Iron Doll. It was about as tall as Tang Xiao, its entire body covered in brown steel armor. It wore a knight’s helmet, and its eyes were two blue gems that now flickered with a bright light, seemingly fixed on Tang Xiao.

”Between the first year and year 66,097 of the Ancient Era, who was the strongest Cultivator in the world? The three possible answers are Duriba, Copperbeard, or Odo. You have already answered incorrectly once. If you are wrong again, you will fail this trial. Your only remaining option will be to defeat me to pass.”

’Damn it... What kind of bullshit names are these? Were these ruins left behind by people from the Celestial Ocean Province?’

Tang Xiao looked utterly dejected. He’d passed the previous trial with ease, as the puppet’s question had been about a Spirit Medicine that was now famous throughout the Divine Domain.

The puppet had described the herb’s appearance and asked Tang Xiao to name it.

Even though Tang Xiao wasn’t a disciple of the Medicine Garden, he still knew of such a well-known Top-Grade Medicinal Material.

He had been quite pleased with himself at the time, thinking the question was ridiculously easy. Before choosing to enter the second trial, he had even used the Sound Transmission Stone to leave a message for Xu Luo.

He never expected to get stuck here on the second trial.

He had never even heard the names the Iron Doll mentioned.

’Duriba, Copperbeard... Odo... These names sounded a lot like the ones from the Celestial Ocean Province. But in Xi Hezhou or the Blazing Flame Province, no one had names like that.’

How was he supposed to answer?

”Please answer. You have half an hourglass of time left.” The light in the Iron Doll’s sapphire eyes flashed as it issued the reminder.

”Um... How long is half an hourglass?” Tang Xiao asked with a pained grin.

”Look here.” The puppet suddenly raised an arm and pointed. A finger-sized hourglass materialized in the air.

The most infuriating part was that the sand in this hourglass was flowing... incredibly fast!

It was several times faster than an ordinary hourglass!

”This is just bullying!” Tang Xiao rolled his eyes and asked, ”If I answer wrong and have to fight you, what happens if I can’t win?”

”You either kill me... or I kill you.” The puppet’s voice was devoid of emotion, sounding completely mechanical.

Still, one couldn’t help but admire the expert who had created this puppet. They must have been incredibly powerful to grant a lifeless, emotionless object a degree of intelligence.

Otherwise, how could it possibly converse with Tang Xiao like a normal person?

”So... can I ask about your strength...?” By now, Tang Xiao no longer dared to treat this puppet as some mindless machine.

”Peak... of the Great Saint Realm,” the puppet said.

Phew!

Tang Xiao finally let out a long sigh of relief. He patted his chest and mumbled, ”You scared me to death. I thought you were at the Venerable Peak...”

With that, Tang Xiao suddenly found his confidence and declared, ”I choose the second answer!”

He had just chosen Duriba and been wrong. But now that he knew the puppet’s strength was only at the Peak of the Great Saint Realm, Tang Xiao’s spirits lifted. He casually picked the second answer: the one named Copperbeard.

”Incorrect. You will now challenge me. Kill me... or you will be trapped here forever. Do you agree?”

Even though he knew he might not get it right, out of three choices... guessing two of them wrong was just plain bad luck.

Tang Xiao pouted. ’Wrong is wrong, no big deal. It’s just a puppet at the Peak of the Great Saint Realm. I’ll take you apart in minutes!’

With that thought, Tang Xiao declared heroically, ”I agree! Come on, little puppet, watch me take you apart!”

WHOOSH!

The instant he agreed, the Steel Armor Puppet across from him shot toward him like a meteor.

It erupted with a terrifying aura, like a torrent of steel!

It was like a flash flood, capable of instantly overwhelming and destroying everything in its path!

”We’re starting already?” Tang Xiao was still mumbling, but his movements were not the least bit slow. He raised a fist and threw a punch straight at the charging puppet.

At the same time, the Great Wilderness Scripture appeared above his head, stabilizing his body and shielding him from the Steel Armor Puppet’s aura.

RUMBLE!

Tang Xiao’s fist collided violently with the fist of the Steel Armor Puppet!

”AARGH!” Tang Xiao let out a blood-curdling scream as his body was flung backward.

The skin on his fist was split open, and blood was pouring from the wound!

”Damn it... You said you were at the Peak of the Great Saint Realm! This is the Peak of the Great Saint Realm?” Tang Xiao couldn’t help but roar. The searing pain nearly brought tears to his eyes. It wasn’t that he wanted to cry—it was just too painful to bear!

”This is the combat strength of the Peak of the Great Saint Realm,” the Steel Armor Puppet replied as it continued its assault.

BOOM!

BOOM!

As the attacks from the Steel Armor Puppet—which looked mechanical but was actually more agile than a human—grew more intense...

Tang Xiao finally understood. Its version of the Peak of the Great Saint Realm and his own understanding of it were on completely different levels!

A thought suddenly flashed through his mind: ’Maybe... only a freak of nature like the boss could easily defeat this puppet?’

Tang Xiao no longer dared to clash head-on with the Steel Armor Puppet. Instead, he began using his techniques to attack.

”Beyond the Northwest Sea, in a corner of the Great Wilderness!”

”A mountain stands sundered, called Buzhou Fuzi, guarded by two yellow beasts.”

Ptooey!

Reciting these two lines in one breath was his absolute limit, and he couldn’t help but spit out a mouthful of fresh blood.

But the power of the Great Wilderness Scripture was absolutely astonishing. A vast ocean, the immense Great Wilderness, a sundered mountain, and two ferocious, giant yellow beasts all materialized together inside the tiny, sealed chamber.

What was astonishing was that even under the impact of this terrifying power, the chamber remained incredibly stable, not shaking in the slightest!

CRACK!

One of the Steel Armor Puppet’s arms was finally ripped off by the immense pressure of the Great Wilderness.

Immediately after, a Long Sword gleaming with cold light appeared in Tang Xiao’s hand. He thrust it through the Steel Armor Puppet’s head and twisted forcefully!

CLANG! CRASH!

Sparks flew everywhere!

This war puppet from the Ancient Era had finally fulfilled its duty, collapsing into a pile of scrap iron.

Tang Xiao collapsed onto the floor, his forehead drenched in cold sweat. After a long moment, he staggered to his feet, muttering, ”Fucking hell... that scared the shit out of me! What the hell was that thing? A war puppet from the Ancient Times? So terrifying... What if the next trial... has another one of these? What am I going to do? No... I need to rest for a bit...”

As he spoke, a beam of light shot down into the chamber. Floating within it was an old tome, and an icy voice rang out.

”Trial cleared. Please accept your reward.”

Tang Xiao burst out laughing. Ignoring his disheveled state, he scrambled up from the floor and snatched the ancient tome. Written on it in three ancient characters were the words: Dragon-Catching Hand!

”It sounds incredibly powerful!” Tang Xiao praised.

Just then, the voice rang out again. ”Challenger, prepare yourself. Entering the next trial now!”

Tang Xiao was instantly stunned. ”Hey!” he yelled. ”I’m not ready! You have to give me some time to rest...”

A beam of light struck him, and the icy voice announced, ”Commencing teleport!”

”Hey! Wait... Fuck!”

...

Du Qingteng stared at the black-robed man across from him and said coldly, ”Gao Ping, are you deliberately trying to pick a fight with me?”

The black-robed man gave a cold smile. ”Du Qingteng, cut the crap. I found this stalk of Dragon Beard Grass first. You’re the one trying to steal it, yet you’re acting this arrogant. Who’s really picking a fight with whom?”

”Piss off!” Du Qingteng roared. ”I never thought a successor of the Eternal River could be so shameless! You know damn well who found it first! If you won’t admit it, then let’s fight for it. The winner takes the Dragon Beard Grass!”

The black-robed man, Gao Ping, sneered. ”A loser like you still dares to act so arrogant? If you want a fight, you’ll get one. Make your move!”

Du Qingteng let out a furious roar and immediately unleashed his Golden Finger, clawing at Gao Ping.

Gao Ping snorted in disdain. With a flick of his Divine Thought, an ancient sword on his back shot out of its sheath and flew toward Du Qingteng!

BOOM!

A terrifying boom erupted where the two clashed. The sky filled with light as waves of destructive energy radiated from the spot.

This black-robed man was from the Eternal River, one of the three great Holy Lands, and was one of its successors for the current generation.

He and Du Qingteng had known each other for a long time, but their relationship was marked by frequent clashes.

Both were successors to a Holy Land, young and powerful figures standing at the pinnacle of their generation, and they couldn’t stand the sight of each other.

Their past battles had ended with victories and defeats on both sides, but overall, the black-robed Gao Ping held a slight advantage.

When these ancient ruins were discovered at the border of Xi Hezhou and the Blazing Flame Province, they had attracted not only Du Qingteng but also Gao Ping.

However, he was far more low-key than Du Qingteng. Almost no one knew that a successor of the Eternal River was among those exploring the ruins.

The two of them had discovered this stalk of Dragon Beard Grass at almost the exact same time. The Dragon Beard Grass was a Top-Grade Spirit Medicine, but even if it had been an ordinary herb, a fight would have been inevitable the moment these two met.

In the blink of an eye, they had already exchanged dozens of blows.

Gao Ping said coldly, ”You’re no match for me!”

Du Qingteng cursed, ”Screw you! Beat me first, then you can talk!”

”The Dragon Beard Grass is mine!” Gao Ping said coldly, his body erupting with endless killing intent, making him look like a God of Slaughter.

”In your dreams!” As Du Qingteng spoke, he summoned his Square Ancient Inkstone. The ink within it instantly transformed into a pitch-black giant hundreds of feet tall. Wielding an Ink-Colored Greatsword, it slashed down at Gao Ping.

Gao Ping summoned a three-inch-tall jade vial. The red vial was exquisitely crafted, carved with images of the sun, moon, mountains, and rivers. Though only three inches tall, it radiated a boundless light!

The vial flew high into the air, its mouth aimed at Du Qingteng.

Gao Ping shouted coldly, ”Absorb!”