Chapter 1472: Unknown Error

Boom—!

One after another, massive explosions detonated continuously above the Heavenly Palace Academy, deafening and creating a somewhat stalemate situation.

Xuan Yuan Wanrong watched the spectacle from below, while Wang Chi did not dare approach easily, fearing Xu Que would again draw the fire onto him.

Helpless, Qilin Ancestor and Duan Qide were ultimately forced to lure out one of the stone carvings to alleviate the pressure on Xu Que.

But these two fellows remained extremely cowardly, striking once and then fleeing; initially, the stone carving was unwilling to pay them any mind, but fortunately, these two fellows maintained a stubbornness within their cowardice, turning back to strike the stone carving a few more times, successfully enraging it so that it began to hunt them down.

Xu Que's pressure was instantly relieved; the invisible killing move unleashed by the combined efforts of the Four Great Stone Carvings was exceptionally fast, but once one of the stone carvings was lured away, the attack frequency of the invisible killing move immediately dropped.

This gave Xu Que ample time to activate his Divine Movement Escape Talisman; moreover, he was no longer being injured, the half of his flesh body that had previously been blasted apart had now fully healed, and he ran with increasing vigor, even finding time to create several Avatars in an attempt to confuse their senses.

However, after creating only a few Avatars, he abandoned this tactic.

Clearly, Avatars were useless against those stone carvings.

The opponent had employed some unknown method, ensuring their attacking killing moves could always accurately lock onto his True Body without error.

"This is too bizarre; the strength of these four stone carvings is completely unfathomable, yet their method of attack is absolutely unprecedented. Could they also exist in the real world of Tianzhou?" Xu Que frowned tightly.

Now that the pressure had eased and the risk lowered, everything began to proceed smoothly.

He also found the leisure to ponder the existence of these four statues; if they existed in the real world as well, that would be somewhat terrifying, and resolving the matter upon his return might prove difficult.

Wait...

Could it be that Er Gouzi and the others were forced to reveal themselves and engage in battle precisely because of these four stone statues?

Xu Que suddenly recalled this point, but immediately shook his head to dismiss it.

In the previous scenes, there seemed to be no trace of four stone statues; those battling Er Gouzi and the others were clearly a group of Cultivators with unfamiliar clothing and appearances.

They looked more like Outsiders.

"Kid, are you done yet? This Divine Venerable is about to be beaten to death, ah..." At this moment, Qilin Ancestor's heart-rending voice echoed across the Arena.

Struck by the stone carving's Dharma Spell, a single fine strand of fur fell from him, startling him into a miserable scream.

"I'm also nearly finished; hurry up! We agreed on half a teacup's time; no exaggeration, no boasting, This Seat needs only an instant to drink half a teacup," Duan Qide also shouted.

He was in a worse state than Qilin Ancestor; dense, intricate Array Patterns filled the Void around his form, emitting brilliant Spiritual Light, and when the stone carving unleashed a Dharma Spell, he was shaken loose of two strands of hair.

"Trash, you need an instant to drink half a teacup? This Divine Venerable needs only half an instant," Qilin Ancestor sneered mockingly.

Duan Qide looked speechless; do you have to compete even over this?

Childish!

Nonsensical!

Duan Qide expressed his disdain, then fixed his gaze directly on that stone carving, condensed his palms, and shouted in a deep voice: "Qilin Ancestor, step aside; I can slay this Monster stone carving."

"What?" Qilin Ancestor looked utterly shocked, filled with Disbelief.

"You cannot do it, but I can; step aside, you are too weak," Duan Qide said without even glancing at Qilin Ancestor, shaking his head repeatedly while keeping his eyes tightly fixed on the stone carving.

"Oh damn, what the hell... have you been drinking?" Qilin Ancestor widened his eyes.

Duan Qide maintained an indifferent expression, paying no heed, as the Array Patterns beside him rotated, releasing bursts of Spiritual Light that wove together into a sheet in midair.

In the next moment, he erupted with a loud roar: "Lightning Five Consecutive Whips. He! Ha!"

Boom!

A massive explosion rang out in the air; Duan Qide had actually unleashed five consecutive strikes in the blink of an eye.

These five consecutive strikes were merely what was visible to the naked eye; in reality, each single strike contained over a hundred bolts of Thunder and Lightning.

"Hiss!"

Qilin Ancestor immediately inhaled a sharp breath of cold air.

So powerful!

The killing intent erupted by those Lightning Five Consecutive Whips actually made him feel his scalp go numb and his chest tighten with suffocation.

In contrast, the stone carving not far away initially perceived no danger, but was genuinely startled by Duan Qide's momentum and Qilin Ancestor's reaction, its expression inevitably turning grave.

However, as several bolts of Lightning struck before it, the stone carving merely unleashed a seal-like Dharma Spell, causing that patch of Lightning to vanish instantly.

And then... nothing else happened.

"???"

The stone carving momentarily stood stunned on the spot.

Just this?

Lightning Five Consecutive Whips?

It suddenly glared furiously at Qilin Ancestor: Did you damn well just inhale a sharp breath of cold air?

Yet Qilin Ancestor assumed an air of profound calmness and said indifferently: "Hmph, it seems Fellow Daoist Duan is nothing special after all; although the Lightning Five Consecutive Whips are strong, they are merely a minor Celestial Path. Step aside; now watch This Divine Venerable. This Divine Venerable once possessed an ancestral secret technique: Receive, Transform, Release. Known as the Three-Character Secret Technique, once this move is executed, no one can approach close enough to strike This Divine Venerable."

"Is that true?" Duan Qide asked in surprise.

"Heh, just watch," Qilin Ancestor smiled faintly, facing the stone carving with immense momentum, and shouted loudly: "Come forth and fight!"

The stone carving, already brimming with anger, saw Qilin Ancestor's demeanor and, without the slightest hesitation, immediately raised its stone arm and punched forward.

This was the first time the stone carving had made any movement up until now.

Previously, the invisible killing moves they employed required no use of their Flesh Bodies, leading everyone to believe their stone forms were immobile; but now, this stone carving had moved, its stone fist punching through the air from a distance, actually surging forth a beam of light that reached before Qilin Ancestor in the blink of an eye.

Thud!

A muffled sound resonated through the Void, and immediately afterward, the Void within the beam of light was completely annihilated.

Qilin Ancestor instantly fell from the sky, crashing heavily onto the ground, unconscious.

"..."

In an instant, the scene entered a period of stillness.

Duan Qide stood stunned on the spot.

That stone carving also seemed unable to react immediately.

Even the other three stone statues pursuing Xu Que were monitoring the situation here; they instantly froze in bewilderment, causing their killing move against Xu Que to pause for a moment.

Xu Que also felt dumbfounded, filled with disbelief.

Wasn't this Qilin Ancestor supposed to be slightly smarter than Er Gouzi?

Why did he now feel... even dumber than Er Gouzi?

Receive, Transform, Release?

You received it, so why didn't you transform? Why didn't you release? What's the deal with you lying on the ground?

"Damn it, how is This Seat supposed to fight? Originally, if we joined forces, we could have delayed for half an incense stick's worth of time, but now that it has been knocked unconscious, This Seat cannot delay that long!" Duan Qide recovered his senses and cursed loudly.

"Letting you bluster nonsense..." Xu Que shook his head, then continued, "However, from just now until now, it's almost been half an incense stick's worth of time; just hold on for a few more breaths!"

"I can't hold on anymore." Duan Qide's face was full of bitterness as he looked at the stone statue: "Can we temporarily cease hostilities? Let me prepare myself, and then I will be able to slay you."

The stone statue: "..."

The other three stone statues, however, spoke up: "End this quickly; they have been stalling the entire time. Do not pay them any heed."

"No need to mind them; cooperate with all your might to kill this Xu Que."

"Fourth Brother, if you hadn't been lured away by them just now, this brat would already be dead."

As the three stone statues spoke, they had already launched a surrounding slaughter against Xu Que.

This time, they were no longer simply employing that Invisible Killing Move; it seemed they were getting serious, as they actually activated their forms and flew toward Xu Que.

Xu Que instantly felt something was amiss; operating the Knowledge of Calamity, amidst various shifting choices, he had already foreseen ten outcomes, all of which were death.

"Damn it, I knew it wouldn't be this simple."

Xu Que cursed loudly, suddenly changed direction, and came to a direct halt in his original spot.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

In an instant, explosions erupted in the Void simultaneously from the front, back, left, and right positions; conversely, Xu Que's original location remained completely unharmed.

This time, it was entirely thanks to the Knowledge of Calamity; otherwise, he would have died.

"This child must be eliminated."

"He can foresee the locations of our attacks."

"It must be a Divine Ability Technique!"

"A mere Great Luo Golden Immortal Realm cultivator actually mastering a Divine Ability Technique; he is not ordinary."

While they were speaking, the stone statue that had originally been pursuing Duan Qide suddenly returned and converged with the other three stone statues.

"Damn it, Duan Qide, come over and hold him off; I'll be ready immediately." Xu Que's eyelids twitched continuously, his brow center throbbed with pain, and an unprecedented sense of crisis swept through his entire body.

"I can't, I can't; my methods are only this much. If I drag this out any longer, I'll die too." Duan Qide shook his head; he had already lost an arm.

At the same time, Xuan Yuan Wanrong spoke up to remind them: "The Qilin Ancestor is pretending to be unconscious."

"Bullshit; This Divine Venerable is truly unconscious," the Qilin Ancestor said with his eyes tightly shut.

"..."

Xu Que's brows were tightly locked; he was too lazy to waste any more breath arguing with the Qilin Ancestor and the others.

Regardless, those two fellows had indeed delayed quite a bit of time.

Currently, the progress of the Ten Thousand Methods Unification had reached 97%; only 3% remained to complete it.

Stall, must stall a bit longer; as long as he could dodge two killing moves from the four statues, everything would be different.

"It seems I can only try bluffing them!"

Xu Que's eyes brightened; he looked at the four stone statues and shouted: "Four of you, stop for a moment; I have something to say."

Within the Knowledge of Calamity, this move would be effective at this moment.

It seemed that because they now knew he possessed a Divine Ability Technique, they actually did stop their attacks.

"I can transmit a Divine Ability Technique to you, but you must first kill Wang Chi before coming to kill me," Xu Que shouted.

The four stone statues fell silent.

In the distance, Wang Chi also froze for a moment, then laughed.

"Haha, Xu Que, at a time like this, what kind of wild fantasy are you still indulging in? Although a Divine Ability Technique is precious, using it as the price for the Four Venerables to act against me is far from enough," Wang Chi said with a mocking smile, extremely confident.

The fact that he could deal with these four stone statues meant he naturally held some leverage over them.

"He is right; a Divine Ability Technique is far from enough," one of the stone statues said indifferently.

"Stop struggling; it is useless. In the end, you cannot escape death."

"However, before you die, we do have a question we wish to ask you. Just now, you seemed to mention terms like 'Memory World.' Do you know of the Imperial Physician Heavenly Stone?" One stone statue stared straight at Xu Que and asked this question.

Xu Que was overjoyed in his heart and shouted: "Of course I know! Xuan Yuan Wanrong is the Chosen One, selected by the Imperial Physician Heavenly Stone, and I am her Dao Companion; I have also been recorded into the Imperial Physician Heavenly Stone."

"Impossible!"

One stone statue immediately shouted, "If there were any changes to the Imperial Physician Heavenly Stone, we would absolutely be the first to know. There is fundamentally no second person appearing on it, unless..."

Speaking to this point, that stone statue suddenly froze, a trace of shock bursting forth in its eyes.

"Memory World, could it be..." The other stone statues also seemed to realize something; they all trembled with shock.

"Answer us: could it be that this Heaven and Earth we currently inhabit is inside the Imperial Physician Heavenly Stone, within what you call the Memory World?" The stone statue stared at Xu Que, its tone becoming solemn.

In the distance, the smile on Wang Chi's face suddenly stiffened.

However, Xu Que did not respond this time; his entire person hung suspended in mid-air, motionless.

At the same time, the system notification sound was echoing in his mind.

"Ding, Ten Thousand Methods Unification completed, generating 'Unknown Dharma Spell'; transmitting to Host, transmission complete."

"Ding, Warning, Warning, 'Unknown Dharma Spell' and Host cannot compat... compat... compatible..."

"Ding, Unknown error occurred, please... please... please Hos... t..."

Zzzt...

The system's prompt sound vanished entirely, replaced by a chaotic crackle of lightning.

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