Chapter 775: If you have the guts, fight me one-on-one!

The sea of clouds before her eyes shifted and surged. To Ban Ban Ban Jie, it was just like the situation within the Profound Armor Cave—changing too rapidly, making it difficult to control.

She furrowed her brows, deep in thought, exerting all her effort to analyze the current situation.

"The three Jin Dan cultivators are still brawling. Ever since the clash began, Lu Zeng has been on the defensive, and his situation is becoming increasingly dire."

"If he has no trump card to change this status quo, I fear the result will be him being eliminated first."

Regarding this expected outcome, Ban Ban Ban Jie was not surprised; she understood it quite well.

The Profound Armor Cave's Rising Cloud Trial had the purpose of promoting Profound Armor to the best of their ability!

Therefore, the content of their Rising Cloud Trial had rarely changed since it was finalized. The Profound Armor Cave's Rising Cloud Trial was merely a three-layered sieve, filtering out the cultivators most suitable for refining Profound Armor.

To a certain extent, this was an investment.

Investing in these suitable cultivators—if they achieved success in the future, they might look back and provide feedback to the Profound Armor Cave. Even without feedback, the mere fact that these cultivators gained benefits from using Profound Armor was a gain in reputation for the Profound Armor Cave.

In fact, the vast majority of cultivators, once they gained a little, would quickly return to provide positive feedback to the Profound Armor Cave.

There were two main reasons for this.

First, Profound Armor was not durable; to repair them, one needed Green Flow Copper. And this type of man-made precious material was quite rare; only the Profound Armor Cave possessed the unique formula and the means to refine it.

Second, the Profound Armor Cave had more cooperative content for the cultivators who provided feedback. For example, selling other Profound Armors. Once cultivators felt the practicality and benefits of Profound Armor, they would naturally have a stronger desire to purchase other Profound Armors, and at the same time, be more willing to pay the price.

Who was suitable for Profound Armor?

According to the usage method of Profound Armor, it was martial cultivators, body cultivators, and mechanism cultivators. This corresponded exactly to Tie Zheng, Ao Pan, and Lu Zeng.

The former two were almost all adept at close-quarters combat, so these Profound Armors were very suitable for them. As for the final mechanism cultivator, they could use their spiritual sense to remotely control them. Profound Armor itself had the ability to fight on its own, equivalent to a type of mechanism creation, which was also very practical for mechanism cultivators.

The origin and design of Profound Armor itself came from the ancient sect, the Mechanism Pivot Sect.

The force of the Profound Armor Cave itself was also the descendants left behind by the Mechanism Pivot Sect, passed down to this day.

Ban Ban Ban Jie had read the detailed intelligence on the Profound Armor Cave and knew of many precedents. She clearly discovered: judging from the results of various Rising Cloud Trials, martial cultivators and body cultivators had obvious advantages; if a mechanism cultivator was not adept at close-quarters combat, the Profound Armor Cave's trial was very unfriendly to them.

"Once Lu Zeng is defeated and eliminated, what choice will the remaining Ao Pan and Tie Zheng make?"

These two Jin Dan cultivators had gone through a battle, so their combat power must have declined. Inside the Profound Armor Cave, there was a great formation suppressing them; although Jin Dan cultivators had an advantage when dealing with Foundation Establishment, it was not as massive as it was outside the cave.

Ban Ban Ban Jie estimated that since Ao Pan and Tie Zheng had already cooperated once, they would inevitably follow their successful experience and continue to join forces to clear out all the Foundation Establishment cultivators first.

Ban Ban Ban Jie had reviewed the relevant intelligence and found that in the Rising Cloud Trial within the Profound Armor Cave, whenever a situation similar to the current one occurred, the probability of Jin Dan cultivators joining forces to set a trap was very high.

"I must do my utmost to let Ban Ji secure the top spot."

"In this trial, the real obstacle is not Unlike Ning Zhuo, but these three Jin Dan cultivators. I must try my best to make them exhaust each other to the limit!"

Ban Ban Ban Jie was also prepared in this regard.

"Ban Ji, fight well. First, try your best to defeat the Foundation Establishment cultivators and accumulate the Profound Armor in your hands. This kind of thing is not durable in the third stage; the more you have, the better!"

Ban Ban Ban Jie cheered for Ban Ji in her heart.

In her view, Ban Ji calmly retreating and not getting entangled with the Rust Disaster Craftsman and Unlike Ning Zhuo was the most correct choice.

According to the combat power Unlike Ning Zhuo was currently displaying, the best result for a battle between Ban Ji and Unlike Ning Zhuo would be a pyrrhic victory.

But if that were the case, how would Ban Ji deal with the victorious Jin Dan cultivator?

If he couldn't win in the end, how could he compete for the top spot this time?

"It's just that this Unlike Ning Zhuo is indeed troublesome—"

Although Ban Ban Ban Jie hadn't seen it with her own eyes, the intelligence in her hands was detailed, allowing her to see Unlike Ning Zhuo's skillful and seasoned righteous path methods.

"The Rust Disaster Craftsman has always been a demonic path rogue cultivator; in terms of debate, he is simply no match for Unlike Ning Zhuo."

"Regardless of whether he accepts the challenge, Unlike Ning Zhuo can take advantage. Ban Ji taking the Rust Disaster Craftsman away also achieved Unlike Ning Zhuo's goal."

"But he can gather so many outsiders to help him; what benefits did he secretly promise these people?"

Thinking of this, Ban Ban Ban Jie couldn't help but let her expression darken slightly.

"I had the Profound Armor Cave's informant secretly take action to frame Zhang Dadan, causing the latter to be eliminated in the first stage—"

"I didn't expect that although I clipped Unlike Ning Zhuo's wings, his eloquence is truly remarkable. Whether Zhang Dadan is there or not is completely unimportant!"

"Unlike Ning Zhuo, I'll let you be smug for a little while first. I don't just have this group of people like Zhang Wangxing."

Ban Ban Ban Jie was not too worried about Ban Ji.

Because she still had reinforcements that hadn't appeared yet.

Once Ban Ji was on the verge of elimination, the reinforcements would take action.

For now, don't use them!

"Wang Ming needs setbacks and pressure to be stimulated."

"If Ban Ji's momentum is too great, it's very likely to make the Jin Dan cultivators feel threatened and join forces in advance!"

Ban Ban Ban Jie could mobilize massive resources. This was because the extent to which the Ban family pampered Ban Ji far exceeded what ordinary people expected.

A mountain breeze blew past, refreshing the heart, and Ban Ban Ban Jie's furrowed brows relaxed slightly.

It was not easy for her to sit in command here.

The situation she faced was quite complex, and outsiders simply didn't understand it. Just the matter of Wang Ming's eruption alone was enough to give one a headache, and the sense of proportion was difficult to grasp. Now, the chaotic battle in the Profound Armor Cave involved too many factors; the rapid thinking just now had killed most of the thoughts in Ban Ban Ban Jie's sea of consciousness.

Taking a deep breath, Ban Ban Ban Jie began to silently operate her profound art to replenish the thoughts in her lower dantian.

Profound Armor Cave.

Gusts of wind blew, and the sound of metal clashing was deafening.

Ban Ji and the Rust Disaster Craftsman had already suffered multiple injuries, and under the dazzling flight of the bronze weapons, they were retreating steadily.

Ban Ji gritted his teeth and shouted at Unlike Ning Zhuo: "Unlike Ning Zhuo, you rely on your glib tongue to incite the masses to besiege us; even if you win, so what?"

"If you have the guts, fight me one-on-one!"

Unlike Ning Zhuo sneered: "Just now, when you had the numbers and besieged me together, why didn't you say that?"

"Ban Ji, although you come from a righteous sect, you have willingly fallen to become a demonic cultivator. You seize private gains and poison your peers; today, I will avenge those innocent cultivators who died unjustly at your hands!"

Ban Ji sneered and continued to provoke: "Hehe, Unlike Ning Zhuo, you're afraid!"

Unlike Ning Zhuo interrupted him directly and shouted aloud: "Acting on behalf of Heaven to punish evil and uphold the law! Everyone, follow me to break the enemy!"

Unlike Ning Zhuo's voice was like a booming bell, filled with righteous indignation, as he continuously urged the bronze weapons to launch an offensive.

Ban Ji's expression was so gloomy it could drip water. While blocking left and right, he didn't pay attention, allowing one of Unlike Ning Zhuo's bronze weapons to pierce through the defense and charge right before his eyes.

It was precisely the blank Green Flow Copper that Unlike Ning Zhuo had refined, which he had forged into an "Old Cold Leg."

If one were to ask what martial art he was most adept at?

That would inevitably be the Bitter Cold Scripture he accidentally obtained while at the Ten Thousand Medicines Gate.

The Old Cold Leg was precisely one of the martial arts within it. Unlike Ning Zhuo had once used a mechanism leg to execute this method. Now, replaced by Profound Armor, its power was only stronger, not weaker.

The Old Cold Leg kicked Ban Ji right in the chest, knocking him down directly. The force was so powerful that Ban Ji even bounced once on the stone ground.

Seeing Ban Ji knocked down, the Rust Disaster Craftsman hurriedly rushed over to block for him.

Innate Talent—Gold Calamity!

He activated his innate talent, waving his hands, and streaks of dark golden baleful energy sprayed everywhere. Wherever it passed, the air was filled with the heavy smell of metal rusting.

Many bronze weapons were contaminated by the Gold Calamity, losing their luster at a speed visible to the naked eye, beginning to show large amounts of copper rust, becoming thin and brittle.

The Rust Disaster Craftsman's weapons collided, and every Profound Armor hit by the Gold Calamity was damaged and then quickly teleported out of the battlefield by the great formation.

For a time, the cultivators besieging the two of them suffered heavy losses.

Unlike Ning Zhuo's pupils also shrank slightly: "Gold Calamity innate talent, this is a restraint to any metal! Within this range, Profound Armor is restrained to death."

The Rust Disaster Craftsman gained the upper hand, successfully helping Ban Ji buy time. Ban Ji stood up and rejoined the battle.

Ban Ji's face was full of resentment: "Unlike Ning Zhuo is the core; let's join forces and take him out directly! At the critical moment, use all the methods you have; don't hold back!"

After saying this, Ban Ji rushed out, shouting wildly, holding a bronze wolf-tooth club high.

He came with great momentum, truly fighting for his life, like a trapped beast forced into a desperate situation!

The cultivators besieging the two of them had just been hit by a wave of Gold Calamity, and the many Profound Armors in their hands had been damaged; the vast majority reached the standard of being broken and were taken away by the formation.

The cultivators were feeling the pinch, and seeing Ban Ji charging recklessly, their resolve was naturally intimidated, and they retreated one after another.

Their mindset was different from Ban Ji and the Rust Disaster Craftsman.

They had been incited by Unlike Ning Zhuo to come over; on one hand, they felt Ban Ji's pressure and felt their own situation was dangerous, but on the other hand, they were eyeing Unlike Ning Zhuo's reward and were here to take advantage.

Now, Ban Ji and the Rust Disaster Craftsman were both beaten until they were covered in injuries, and some wounds were even bloody and mangled, causing the pressure in everyone's hearts to plummet. More importantly, they had just suffered a heavy loss under the Gold Calamity innate talent.

As a result, the cultivators' belief in fighting to the death became quite weak, and they were unwilling to charge to the front.

The Rust Disaster Craftsman followed Ban Ji in a counter-charge, and without meeting much resistance, they successfully rushed to Unlike Ning Zhuo's front.

Clang, clang, clang—

Unlike Ning Zhuo held his shield high, steadily blocking Ban Ji's wolf-tooth club, which was almost swung into a blur.

The Rust Disaster Craftsman sneered: "Relying on your shield, are you? I'll destroy it for you right now!"

Before the words were finished, he waved a palm, releasing a large amount of Metal Element baleful energy.

Unlike Ning Zhuo wanted to retreat, but Ban Ji attacked wildly from the side, temporarily entangling Unlike Ning Zhuo's footsteps.

The surrounding cultivators could have taken action to rescue him, but they all slowed down by a beat.

Hearts were not united!

In the entire arena, only Unlike Ning Zhuo possessed the only shield; this was a visible advantage.

Others had to hold bronze weapons to attack instead of defending, but Unlike Ning Zhuo could use a shield to defend himself without a single drop of water leaking through.

Everyone was here to participate in the Rising Cloud Trial; now that Ban Ji appeared weak and Unlike Ning Zhuo appeared strong, their other thoughts began to surge.

Seeing that Unlike Ning Zhuo's shield was about to be stained with Gold Calamity, the people from the Profound Armor Cave who had been watching the battle were not worried at all.

The next moment, Unlike Ning Zhuo flicked his long sleeve, throwing out a piece of Profound Armor. The latter instantly took shape above Unlike Ning Zhuo's head, turning into a bronze fan.

It was precisely Unlike Ning Zhuo's sixth Profound Armor!

The fan fanned continuously, releasing a dozen wind blades, sweeping away the Gold Calamity.

It then shook violently, triggering surging waves of fire, forcing Ban Ji back.

Ban Ji shouted unwillingly, his eyes filled with bloodshot veins from the stimulation.

Unlike Ning Zhuo reorganized his formation and shouted aloud: "Fellow Daoists, let's take down this powder-thrower together first!"

If it were other weapons, they might have to engage in close-quarters combat and be restrained by the Gold Calamity. But Unlike Ning Zhuo's bronze fan was better at long-range attacks, avoiding contact, which caused the Rust Disaster Craftsman's threat to be compressed significantly.

Seeing Unlike Ning Zhuo take the lead again and charge at the very front, the cultivators immediately became active again.

The Hao-surnamed cultivator watched with arms crossed. Seeing this moment, his eyes flashed with brilliance, and his evaluation of Unlike Ning Zhuo continued to rise: "This junior Unlike Ning Zhuo is truly formidable; not only is his comprehension extremely high, but his methods on the righteous path are also extremely seasoned."

Unlike Ning Zhuo keenly sensed the change in people's hearts, so he wisely abandoned Ban Ji and went to deal with the Rust Disaster Craftsman.

In everyone's eyes, Unlike Ning Zhuo and Ban Ji were both children of great clans, the faces of geniuses, and the cost of offending them was very high. But the Rust Disaster Craftsman was different; he was a demonic cultivator, a lone wolf.

And on the other hand, the Rust Disaster Craftsman's Gold Calamity innate talent was indeed too restraining to Profound Armor. Outside, cultivators would still have other means to supplement and alleviate this restraining relationship. But in the cave trial, everyone relied most on Profound Armor.

The Rust Disaster Craftsman's handful of gold powder could cause the vast majority of bronze weapons to be rusted and eliminated.

This threat was too great!

To deal with Ban Ji, others would hesitate, worried that it would make Unlike Ning Zhuo too powerful to control, becoming the final threat. Dealing with the Rust Disaster Craftsman was what everyone wanted!

Swish! Swish!

Two wind blades took advantage of the Rust Disaster Craftsman being left and right, piercing through the defense and hitting the Rust Disaster Craftsman's arm, cutting off one of his arms on the spot.

There was no blood, and the wound was not flesh and blood, but a metal cross-section.

But this was enough!

"No!" Ban Ji roared, but he himself was in a dangerous situation and could only watch helplessly as the Rust Disaster Craftsman was submerged by the subsequent wave of attacks.

The Rust Disaster Craftsman endured for a few breaths before being judged as eliminated and teleported out by the great formation.

"It's your turn!" Unlike Ning Zhuo's gaze was bright, staring at Ban Ji with righteous indignation.

Ban Ji's face turned pale.

Lu Zeng was retreating steadily.

His weapons had already been exhausted, leaving only two, and the disadvantage was truly too great.

"Although I'm very unwilling, this time there's no way to turn the tide." Lu Zeng sighed helplessly in his heart.

Just as he wanted to open his mouth to admit defeat, a mysterious voice was conveyed to him, informing him about his own performance in the second stage.

"Who are you? What do you want to do?" Lu Zeng instantly regained hope; he keenly sensed the conspiracy and chaos. And this change in the situation was exactly the opportunity he had been longing for.

The mysterious voice responded quickly: "I must first prove to you that I have the ability to detect the intelligence of everyone in the second stage."

"Now, I will tell you a key piece of information—among the three of you Jin Dan, Tie Zheng has the strongest strength, exceeding you by a notch. All because he possesses a Blade Beast, which was modified using Profound Armor!"

Lu Zeng responded with a bitter smile: "Tell me, how strong Tie Zheng is, what's the use? Hurry and tell me his weakness!"

"I'm about to collapse!"

The mysterious voice chuckled.

Lu Zeng reacted quickly: "Wait a minute—"

He immediately understood the intention of the mysterious disruptor!

At this moment, he saw the hope of breaking the situation!

He immediately secretly sent a spiritual sense message to Ao Pan.

Ao Pan's expression remained unchanged, but there was a shock in his heart. Just a moment ago, he was also informed by the mysterious voice about his performance in the second stage and the major trump card of Tie Zheng possessing a Blade Beast.

This gave Ao Pan a brand-new judgment of the situation.

He only hesitated slightly before agreeing to Lu Zeng's suggestion to join forces.

Slap.

A bronze long whip launched a surprise attack on Tie Zheng, and Lu Zeng took the opportunity to swing his sword, slashing open Tie Zheng's chest, blood spraying.

Tie Zheng exploded backward, staring fixedly at Ao Pan: "You betrayed me too?!" ===== CHAPTER 776 =====