Chapter 325 - 312: "Vajra Indestructible Body

There were over three thousand people in the square, but after the aptitude assessment, more than eighteen hundred were immediately eliminated, leaving fewer than twelve hundred.

As the thousand-plus people watched with anticipation, a grinding "KAKA" sound echoed from the cliff face on the square’s right side. A massive, ancient Stone Gate slid open, revealing five wide, deep alleys.

Inside the alleys stood a dense, seemingly random array of tall wooden men, leaving only extremely narrow paths between them.

Each of these wooden men was nearly two meters tall. Though called wooden men, their bodies were a dark cyan, appearing neither metal nor wood, seemingly refined from some peculiar material.

Some of the wooden men were empty-handed, some carried long wooden sabers, and others wielded spears. A few even held long chains tipped with enormous, spiked iron balls. The mere sight of them was enough to send a chill down one’s spine.

These wooden men were said to be special Puppets created through Artifact Refining by an Artifact Refining Master. They could sense people and other living beings without human intervention and execute a variety of attacks and defenses, making them unfathomably mystical.

Shen Lang and the others scanned the wooden men before their gazes drifted upward. A shimmering, rippling Barrier of light enclosed the top of the alleys. Outside the Barrier, many disciples of the Profound Dao Sect stood on either side, looking down as if watching a game.

Among them, Shen Lang could sense several auras that, though restrained, still felt incredibly powerful.

’There’s a Barrier overhead to stop anyone from cheating with a Flying Spiritual Artifact. But to hide so many Thunder Guards just for the Wooden Man Alley... The Profound Dao Sect is certainly cautious.’

’But with these Thunder Guards watching, I can’t exactly show my true strength. Still, getting through this Wooden Man Alley with the Cultivation of a Qi Martial Realm Fifth Heaven will be a real hassle.’

Seeing Shen Lang frown, Zheng Donghong patted him on the shoulder encouragingly. "Don’t worry! I saw how you took down those guys at the restaurant—fast and precise! In a real fight, I’d be no match for you. You’ll be fine! There may be a lot of wooden men, but I doubt they’re as agile as a real Martial Artist. Otherwise, why pack them in so tightly? We’ll get through if we’re careful!"

"Su Shi and his group aren’t with us, so now we have to rely on ourselves... But I’ve always believed in myself, in my own strength! I will become stronger!"

Zheng Donghong pumped himself up as he spoke, brandishing a fist, his eyes burning with determination.

"Hmph, you make it sound so simple!" The woman in green walked over to Zheng Donghong and snorted. "These wooden men might not be fast, but they’re incredibly powerful. A single blow will shatter your bones. Getting through is easier said than done. Are you sure you could even take two hits?"

Shen Lang said dismissively, "You give these wooden men too much credit. Let me tell you, I’m pretty formidable myself. When I was learning Artifact Refining back home, I made countless wooden men of my own. It won’t be so easy for these lumps of wood to hurt me!"

"Oh? So you’re an Artifact Refiner?" The woman in green glanced at Shen Lang. "Why give up such a promising profession to pursue Martial Arts? Without talent, hard work is useless. Why be so stubborn? The Wooden Man Alley is extremely dangerous. Be careful, or you might not even be able to crawl out!"

Sensing the tension between them, Zheng Donghong blushed, unsure of who to placate.

"You’re underestimating me, little miss..." Shen Lang said stubbornly.

The woman in green glared. "Who are you calling ’little miss’?!"

"Fine, Big Sis, I’m actually really powerful. I just haven’t had a chance to show it!" Shen Lang said with a frown.

"Who are you calling ’Big Sis’?!" The fury in her eyes intensified.

’Fine, women are so difficult. Can’t call her ’little miss,’ can’t call her ’Big Sis’...’ "How about Senior Sister, then? Senior Sister, I’m telling you, I have an incredible defensive Technique I haven’t even used yet!"

The woman in green took a deep breath to calm herself. "Don’t call me Senior Sister. If you can’t pass this Wooden Man Alley, you won’t get into the Profound Dao Sect. And if you don’t get into the sect, you have no right to call me that! Hmph. Su Shi and Zhan Wuji were put in another group; we probably won’t see them until the later stages. You two are on your own. Don’t expect any help from me. I can barely protect myself."

Zheng Donghong asked timidly, "Um... Your Cultivation is so much higher than ours. How could you be unable to protect yourself?"

The woman in green sighed. "It’s not that I don’t want to help you, it’s just... To be blunt, my enemies are after me. There are five alleys, and we’re all split into five groups. After a certain distance, the five alleys will merge into four—that’s the next stage. After the next, it’ll be three, then two, and finally, there will be only a single exit."

"In other words, even though we’re entering in five separate groups, we’ll all eventually cross paths. My enemies are spread out among the other four groups. I’m afraid I’ll run into them by the second stage."

As she spoke, her gaze turned icy as she glanced toward the other groups on the right. Following her line of sight, Shen Lang and Zheng Donghong did indeed see several vicious glares directed their way.

The moment his eyes met theirs, Zheng Donghong couldn’t help but shiver. "Y-You... how do you have so many enemies? They all look so powerful!"

The words had barely left his mouth when one of the four—a man with a ghastly scar across his face—grinned at him. He then drew a hand across his own neck in a slitting motion. Zheng Donghong’s heart leaped into his throat, and cold sweat dripped down his face.

"Every one of them is at least as strong as I am, and there are four in total," the woman in green said with a cold laugh. "Against one, I might not lose. Against two, defeat is certain. Against three, I wouldn’t even have a chance to escape. It would be certain death."

Zheng Donghong was on the verge of tears. ’You said you couldn’t help us, and that’s fine! We wouldn’t have blamed you! So why did you have to come over and chat?!’

’Now that you’ve talked to us, your enemies think we’re your allies!’

’What if we run into them inside and they decide to just kill us for convenience?’

’Dealing with the wooden men and all the other hostile people is already a huge headache. Now we have to deal with a few Spirit Martial Realm masters, too? Give me a break!’

"This journey is indeed fraught with peril. It seems I can no longer hide my strength," Shen Lang suddenly declared in a low voice.

"Hm?"

The woman in green and Zheng Donghong both froze, staring at Shen Lang without blinking.

Shen Lang stood with his hands clasped behind his back, his gaze turned to the sky, as deep and profound as the stars.

’This presence... It’s like he’s a completely different person. Could it be that he...’ The woman in green stared, dumbfounded.

Shen Lang then turned his head and announced, "I won’t hide it from you. I possess a family Secret Skill: the Vajra Indestructible Body. What are a few pathetic Spirit Martial Realm weaklings even worth mentioning?"

As he spoke, Shen Lang’s hands became a blur, forming a series of complex and inscrutable Spells. He began to chant incomprehensibly, "Have you not seen the waters of the Yellow River, descending from the heavens, rushing to the sea, never to return... Hum-ha-hee-ya!"

As they stared, utterly dumbfounded, he waved his arms and legs around for a good while before calmly pulling three Talismans from his robes. He twirled one between his fingers, then slapped it onto his forehead.

The Talisman instantly dissolved into motes of light that cascaded down like water, forming a translucent golden light screen that enveloped Shen Lang’s entire body.

Afterward, Shen Lang handed the remaining two Talismans to Zheng Donghong and the woman in green.

"My Vajra Indestructible Body will last for about an hour. Its Energy can block at least eight or ten of the wooden men’s attacks. What do you think? Impressed, aren’t you?"

Zheng Donghong stood with his mouth agape, utterly speechless.

For once, the woman in green rolled her eyes. "What ’Vajra Indestructible Body’? This is just a Gold Defense Talisman. You have the nerve to... Huh? It’s a Tier Four Talisman!"

A Tier Four Defense Talisman! A Talisman that could withstand at least two full-powered strikes from a master at the Spirit Martial Realm Fifth Heaven!

’This guy actually has several of them, and he just gave them away without a second thought!’

’With a Defense Talisman like this, the danger for the next hour will be drastically reduced!’

"Heavens, it really is a Tier Four Talisman! I never would have guessed you were such a big spen—er, such a good person!"

Overjoyed, the woman in green put the Talisman away, her gaze now fixed on Shen Lang with fiery intensity.

"You flatter me," Shen Lang said proudly.

"Fine. Since you were generous enough to give me such a valuable Talisman, I’ll tell you my name..." The woman in green said, her face flushing slightly as she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. Her attitude was completely different from before.

Shen Lang seemed to not hear her at all. He patted the still-dazed Zheng Donghong on the shoulder and said, "It’s starting. Let’s get a move on."

With that, he immediately moved with the crowd toward the entrance.

"..." The woman stood frozen for a moment, then stomped her foot in frustration. She hurried to catch up, got right next to Shen Lang’s ear, and yelled, "My name is Shang... Xiao... ran!"

"What the hell, are you crazy?!"

Shen Lang clutched his ears, a pained expression on his face, and scrambled a few steps away from her.

As he moved away, Shen Lang’s gaze casually swept over Shang Xiaoran’s four enemies.

’Three men, one woman. All at the Spirit Martial Realm First Heaven. The woman has practiced a Charm Technique, but her primary Cultivation Attribute is Wind Element. Of the other three, one practices a Gold Element Skill and has the strongest physical body. The other two both practice an Earth Element Technique; their Power is exceptionally refined.’

’This Shang Xiaoran is a strange one, too. For a woman, she actually possesses Emperor Killing Qi! It’s rather odd for a successor of the Emperor’s Killing Fist to show up at the Profound Dao Sect. What’s her real reason for coming here? The excuse of hiding from enemies sounds plausible, but it’s a bit of a stretch. If she were to go all out, those four wouldn’t still be alive.’

’The Wooden Man Alley has five stages, and it looks like these four plan to ambush and kill us somewhere within them. They’re all seasoned fighters. Dealing with them under the watchful eyes of the Thunder Guards is going to be a huge pain. To avoid drawing the Thunder Guards’ attention, I’ll have to keep my physical power under tight control. But I also have to protect Zheng Donghong and handle these four hostile characters at the same time. This is shaping up to be quite a challenge...’