Chapter 147

However, at this critical juncture, it remained unusually calm, simply standing there, staring intently at Ye Lu Fan. The electric light swirling around it seemed about to dissipate.

"Boom boom boom!"

Lu Fan waved the Yin Evil Dark Hammer in his hand, and streaks of thunder and lightning rosy light shot out once again. A tremendous roar split the void, shaking hearts and souls.

"Oh no! This Four-Eyed Giant Ape isn't afraid of thunder strikes at all; Lu Fan is in big trouble now!"

Zhan Xiao's voice trembled slightly, unsure whether it was from being frightened by the Dragon Ape's overwhelming strength or due to some other thought.

"Wrong!" Wang Wu shook his head heavily, with a strange look, saying: "Just now, the thunder control used to restrain and bind the giant ape was a marvelous divine ability. This monster clearly had no way to resist; if Lu Fan just does that again, he could probably trap this thing for a while, so there's no need to expend such energy, firing off so much thunder."

Although the might of thunder was overwhelming, the Dragon Ape was enveloped in a tightly guarded purple qi light curtain. That earlier thunder strike never broke the defense; instead, it used clever means to trap and bind the Dragon Ape.

But at this moment, Lu Fan was laboring without reward, continuously smashing with the thunder hammer in his hand, his energy surging, his momentum stern. Though it seemed to have the vigor of a phoenix soaring and a dragon flying, or a river cascading down a valley, in reality it was merely brute force.

"Bang bang bang!"

Streaks of thunder bombarded the Dragon Ape's body, all bursting open, with electric fire and lightning wandering and surging, turning the area within three zhang around the Dragon Ape into a sea of thunder.

The overwhelming might caused the onlookers' faces to change in shock. However, the purple qi light curtain protecting the Dragon Ape remained condensed and did not disperse, at most swaying a bit, with no further change.

At the same time, the edge of this thunder sea had gathered dragon essence purple qi into a ring-shaped mist, encircling the thunder sea's exterior. Where they met, amid the turbulent and intense energy, the electric might gradually weakened, while the purple qi mist seemed to become more viscous.

Amidst the heavy thunder, fire, and electric light, the Dragon Ape gave a mocking smile, looking disdainfully at Lu Fan, having already felt the attraction of the surrounding overwhelming energy. Those thick strands of dragon essence purple qi were constantly clashing with the thunder's mighty killing force; a flash of thunder-fire-electric light would surely draw it in, allowing it to absorb.

This is why, after breaking free from its bonds, it did not go berserk and attack Lu Fan. Compared to its hatred for Lu Fan, the overwhelming dragon essence purple qi attracted it more.

This is also its own judgment after gaining spiritual intelligence, with the Dragon Ape's bloodline awakening and shedding its mundane beastly body.

"So thunder-fire-electric light can refine the dragon essence power of this void—could this be the reason he can himself refine dragon essence purple qi?"

Nalan Qiusha's gaze was solemn, as she murmured a low speculation, feeling somewhat doubtful.

"Zhan Xiao, no need to wait; let's both attack together and subdue Lu Fan!"

At this moment, Wang Wu let out a startled cry; before his words faded, his figure rose and spun. A pair of ice rings appeared, and with a slight tremor, cold icy light burst forth.

Two streaks of cold light silk shot toward Lu Fan; along the way, a 'shasha' sound fell, and the spiritual qi mist turned into countless ice crystals that fell to the ground.

It seemed that this cold air stimulated the surroundings, which became clear; faintly, several blurred figures appeared to lurk in the dark, watching.

"You can't even hold your patience; then I'm somewhat disappointed!"

Only then did Lu Fan lower the momentum of smashing with the thunder hammer in his hand, slowly turn his head, and slightly shake it, evidently dissatisfied with Wang Wu's conduct.

It wasn't that Wang Wu wanted to attack him out of anger or resentment; rather, the situation around was unclear, and even if Wang Wu could subdue him, it would consume considerable energy, merely benefiting others for free.

"Hmph! The Dragon Pagoda's true treasure—I don't care a bit; as long as I capture you, I'll retreat immediately!"

Wang Wu let out a cold snort, as if he had seen through Lu Fan's thoughts, and spoke coldly.

"Oh? I see, your eyesight isn't bad!" Lu Fan blinked slightly, then gave a hehe laugh, strangely remarking: "My eyesight isn't bad either!"

His words were somewhat funny and strange, yet he wasted no time; he lightly kicked off the ground with both legs, rose into the air, and at the same time, with a single hand gesture, he pointed toward the earthen wall blocking the Dragon Ape's attack.

The cold light silk came crashing in. A layer of ice instantly formed on the earthen wall, then with a 'crack' it shattered. There was hardly any resistance; the cold light silk blasted through it, reducing it to powder.

The earthen wall of spiritual qi that had been blocking the Dragon Ape's ferocious attack was so easily crushed by the cold light silk, exceeding Wang Wu's expectations and everyone's.

Lu Fan, however, seemed not to have noticed at all, as if this scene ought to be so. He gave a light chuckle and swiftly retreated. The cold light silk was right before his eyes; even the hem of his clothes had already frosted over, and the stray hairs drifting from his brow gained a strand of white light.

At the instant Wang Wu made his move, Zhan Xiao also reacted, flying out with his sword. Almost immediately after the cold light silk, he pointed with his hand as if it were a sword.

"Shla!" A sword light from his feet shot out following the momentum, directly surpassing the cold light silk and about to blast Lu Fan's chest.

Lu Fan's expression unchanged, his feet trembling, he retreated rapidly, about to burst out of the spiritual qi mist and enter the clear void several hundred paces before the Dragon Pagoda.

"Roar!"

At this moment, the Dragon Ape let out a howl, enduring the surrounding thunder-fire-electric light, and charged toward Lu Fan's back.

Beneath its swift, dust‑raising sprint, it also carried the force of thunderous myriad jun; Lu Fan had already fallen into a front‑and‑rear pincer attack.

"What a show to watch! This Lu fellow has extraordinary methods; I want to see how he escapes now!"

"Hahaha! Under such might, even the most marvelous divine abilities would have no time to be deployed."

"The Earth Mystic Pearl is strong, able to block an extremely fierce assault, but it cannot withstand the might of Wang Wu's ice rings. I think he's about to take a big fall—how satisfying!"

When the water recedes and the stones appear, when the map is exhausted and the dagger shows, the few hidden figures lurking in the dark, seeing Lu Fan's perilous situation and feeling delighted, slowly emerged.

At this very moment, as Lu Fan kept kicking back and retreating, his body suddenly paused, twisted in midair, and flipped his front and back.

"This is..."

The nearest Zhan Xiao stared, unable to figure out what Lu Fan intended. Unlike those skulking villains who hoped to reap benefits from the shadows, although he had moved against Lu Fan, he did not think this single strike could stop Lu Fan; at most, it would cause some trouble.

In his original intention, he wanted to use this strike to probe Lu Fan's true strength and see the gap between them. The imagined profound divine abilities never appeared; instead, this bewildering act almost knocked out his teeth.

"Hehe! The timing is actually not bad; I really almost underestimated you!"

A familiar figure's voice sounded in his ear, but Zhan Xiao could be absolutely certain that those words were not meant for him.

"Return to Origin, One Qi!"

A loud shout rang out, and Lu Fan suddenly opened his mouth and drew in a fierce breath. Though there was still several chi of vital-energy mist before him, this time it seemed like an ox drinking and a whale swallowing, transforming into a swirling vortex that surged toward Lu Fan.

Every pore and orifice on his body opened up, turning into countless swallowing vents; the vital-energy mist surrounding him all poured into the meridians where his true qi circulated.

In an instant, his aura surged—like mountains and rivers, like seas and peaks, commanding the rivers and hills, treading the eight wildernesses. Yet it was not over; the dragon ape that had launched a sneak attack was already ten zhang away, the thunderous gang sha that encircled it now seemed to become aiding arms, blasting toward Lu Fan.

Just as it seemed about to suppress Lu Fan's entire body, the purple qi dragon essence on the outer side of the Thunder Sea surged, following that suction, suddenly accelerated, and in an instant engulfed Lu Fan's surroundings.

The purple qi circulated, pouring into every pore and orifice, sweeping through the limbs and bones, reaching the five viscera and six bowels, filling his entire body with qi. A purple qi shield gradually condensed around Lu Fan, identical to the shield surrounding the dragon essence, but denser and more viscous, like a suit of purple armor.

"Dang"

"Bang bang"

"Boom"

Three distinct sounds of aura rang out almost simultaneously. The Ice Cloud Sword stabbed Lu Fan's back, producing only a metallic clang before shooting back. Two ribbons of cold light slammed into his back, exploding outward, sealing the surrounding void with boundless chill, yet unable to penetrate the purple qi shield, merely condensing into a blade of ice.

As for the last one, it was tremendous and heavy, shocking Shi Potian. The dragon ape's mighty strike, its energy rushing to the stars, smashed onto the ice. Ice patterns flowed across it, like a dense spiderweb.

Subsequently, the surrounding thunderous gang sha burst through the ice cracks, exploding open, directly shattering the ice and pouring down onto the purple qi shield.

Under that blow, Lu Fan didn't even move half a step, at most swaying slightly. Not only was he unharmed, he also snatched away the purple qi dragon essence that ought to have belonged to the ferocious ape before him—quite the advantage.

Zhan Xiao froze, Wang Wu stood dumbfounded, and the other onlookers were silent as cicadas in winter, unable to believe it. Originally they thought Lu Fan would be executed in a good show, but it turned into this scene, divine skill, wondrous beyond compare, simply breathtaking.

At this moment, the Dragon Ape, however, had its mouth slightly open, standing blankly in front of Lu Fan, even the posture of its outgoing thunderous punch not yet retracted, as if it were a statue.

Lu Fan smiled faintly, slowly patted his surroundings, shaking off the ice crystals on the Purple Qi Shield. He then stepped forward, surprisingly walking around the Dragon Ape in front of him to its rear, his body suddenly twisting, and he struck the ground before him with a palm.

A wave of disturbance struck the ground, the surrounding solid soil surprisingly began to sway, twisting and changing like flowing water, surging toward the Dragon Tower to encircle it.

A thunderous boom suddenly rang out, erupting from the earth beneath their feet; the water and soil waves surged forth, wave after wave. They overlapped and combined, finally forming a huge wave about thirty zhang high, about to engulf the Dragon Tower.

On the Dragon Tower, it seemed to sense this momentum. From within the sword mark, endless purple qi surged out, slowly condensing, forming a purple crystal stele about three chi square, which crashed down.

This stele, before the massive soil waves, was almost insignificant; even a small boat on the vast sea could not attract a shred of attention.

However, a strange thing happened: the matchless huge wave came to an abrupt halt before this stele, as if its strength were exhausted, and directly collapsed under gravity, scattering into streaks of yellow light.

Purple qi poured down upon the stele. In the void, the originally thin purple qi dragon essence, which would require thunderous power to refine and condense, now drifted apart in waves, pouring into this entire clear space.

"Earth Spirit Stele!"

Zhan Xiao felt a moment of astonishment, both surprised and delighted, with a hint of strangeness. He seemed to know something about this stele, yet deep down he also found it hard to believe. At this time and place, the appearance of this stele was clearly untimely.

Everyone present had their mouths wide open, unable to believe it, yet also extraordinarily delighted.

"This time the Dragon Tower Secret Realm has opened, and the Earth Spirit Stele has appeared so early; our opportunity has surely arrived!"

"Haha, it really is the Earth Spirit Stele. I heard that in previous occasions this thing only possibly appeared at the end; in the earlier Dragon Tower Secret Realms, no one even got to see this treasure."

"Excellent! Excellent! With this stele here, even if the secret realm trials lose some glory, our gains should still be considerable; now we need not worry."

Lu Fan's gaze wandered, fixed intently on the three‑chi stele, feeling very curious. He heard the discussion behind him, but the concrete effect of this thing before him remained unclear.

"Go!"

Lu Fan raised his hand and pointed forward; a burst of purple‑qi essence light shot out, covering a distance of hundreds of zhang in the blink of an eye, instantly sinking into the stele.