As the giant stone statue slowly rose from the ground, the first mountain monster rushed towards him.
Xie Lian remembered what Hua Cheng had said about how he had been chased by these three mountains on Tonglu Mountain. Naturally, he didn't dare to underestimate them. He subconsciously planned to do a mid-air flip over its head, but after all, he had never tried to control such a tall statue to perform such a complex movement. Unavoidably, he was in a panic and failed to jump up. Instead, he was knocked down again.
Rumble, rumble, the earth shook. The giant stone statue crashed near Wuyong Imperial City, flattening a street. Every slight movement was followed by a "crackling" sound, the sound of magnificent houses and palaces being crushed by the giant stone statue. In the jolt, Xie Lian nearly got thrown off again, but Hua Cheng firmly grasped his hand and said, "Follow me!"
He took Xie Lian with him and leaped onto the top of the giant stone statue in a few steps. It turned out that the flower-crowned war god used a small jade crown to tie his hair, like a small terrace. After the two of them jumped onto the jade crown, they finally had a place to stand, which was much more stable than standing on the shoulders and palms of the statue. Before they could breathe a sigh of relief, the mountain monster came again, knocking the giant stone statue back a few steps. Fortunately, Xie Lian was prepared this time and was not pushed over. However, his foot accidentally crushed a bunch of houses. Xie Lian couldn't help but feel heartbroken, thinking to himself, what a sin. Controlling the statue, he tiptoed around the houses and slipped out. Xie Lian wondered, "Why are they chasing me? What did I do?"
Hua Cheng said, "They're not chasing you, brother. They're chasing and beating everyone, and you look particularly eye-catching right now, brother."
Xie Lian said, “Such a large one, it’s quite eye-catching…”
Before he could finish his words, the three mountain monsters attacked in unison, surrounding the giant stone statue and exerting constant pressure towards the center, as if trying to crush it. The statue couldn't move, and neither could Xie Lian. He pushed with all his might, but it wouldn't budge. Perhaps it was powerless to resist!
He was thinking about whether there was another way to escape when he accidentally took a step back and leaned against a chest. Turning back, Hua Cheng supported his shoulders and said, "Go ahead and fight! It's okay, none of them are your match. Nothing in this world can stop you!"
His chest seemed to be the most solid backing. Suddenly, Xie Lian's determination and confidence increased a hundredfold. His body was filled with a stream of clear water. He made a mighty effort and finally broke through the encirclement!
With a roar, the three mountain monsters were pushed nearly a mile away, sending clouds of dust and flying sand and rocks. However, they retreated only slightly before attacking again. Xie Lian's hands quickly switched between five or six magical seals, saying, "Don't block my way!"
The giant stone statue rose into the air, stepped on the tops of the two mountain monsters, and at the same time, put his hand on the hilt of the sword at his waist - drew the sword!
This series of movements flowed like flowing clouds and water, and the giant stone statue executed them with incredible fluidity, its momentum like a rainbow, without a single sluggishness, completely indistinguishable from a real person. With one swift movement, Xie Lian shouted, "I'll kill... uh, not yet, wait a minute???"
He was ready to unleash a magnificent sword strike, splitting mountains and severing peaks, but as soon as he drew his sword, he felt something was wrong. He glanced upwards, his face flushed with shame. The giant stone statue had indeed drawn its sword, but... why was it only holding a hilt?
Where's the blade???
Xie Lian was bewildered. Hua Cheng stood by, two fingers pressed to his forehead, saying, "...Brother. Sorry, I forgot to tell you that I didn't carve the blade for this statue. My mistake."
“…”
Of course! Huacheng carved the statue into the rock within the bronze furnace. The massive stone statue was covered in layers of clothing, and the sword at its waist was hidden beneath the sleeves and hem, never revealing it. Therefore, only the hilt was carved. After the statue was imbued with magical power and animated, since the blade wasn't specifically carved, it naturally couldn't appear out of thin air.
Hua Cheng frowned slightly and said solemnly, "I miscalculated. It's still not detailed enough. Next time I will carve out every detail."
“…” Xie Lian sensed he was serious and said hurriedly, “No, no, no, it’s already very detailed. Really!”
After all, without a sword, there was no way to split the mountain. So, Xie Lian immediately changed his strategy—he ran!
He quickly maneuvered the giant stone statue down from above the two mountain monsters, tossing the useless stone hilt behind him and continuing his run. The two of them stood atop the jade crown atop the statue, the wind howling in their faces, their black hair, white clothes, and red sleeves fluttering. Even as they were running, the scene was breathtaking. A silver butterfly flew to Xie Lian's ear, and several voices rang out from within. He quickly grabbed it and said, "Is that Feng Xin Muqing over there? And Master Yu and General Pei?"
Sure enough, a familiar voice came from Yindie's side. Pei Ming said, "I say, Your Highness, there's no need to be so loud when asking a question."
Xie Lian said, “Ah, sorry, I have too much mana right now. Let me control it.”
“…”
Mu Qing's voice was also heard: "What? You said you have too much mana? You?"
Xie Lian asked, “You guys have reunited, right? Where are you now?”
Mu Qing said, "We have reunited with General Pei, Little General Pei and the others. Now everyone is in the forest near the Wuyong River, preparing to evacuate together."
Feng Xin's voice said, "What's going on over there? There seemed to be a strong movement coming from the copper furnace just now! Do you want us to go back and help?"
Xie Lian hurriedly said, “No need! You guys just stay where you are. We’ll pick you up right away. We’ll talk when we meet! Ah, we’re already here!”
Ahead lay the dried-up Wuyong River. The giant stone statue crossed the ravine and crouched down at the edge of the dense forest. Coincidentally, Xie Lian saw Feng Xin and Mu Qing also emerging from the forest, looking around as if searching for someone. But they were looking in the wrong direction, and hadn't thought to glance upward, so they didn't see Xie Lian or Hua Cheng at all. Feng Xin said to Yin Die, "Your Highness, you haven't arrived yet? Where are you?"
Xie Lian cupped his hands to his mouth and shouted directly to the people below, "I'm already here, up there, look up there, right above you!"
“…”
The two men then realized that they were shrouded in a huge shadow and slowly looked up at the same time.
Then, they simultaneously saw an enormous "Xie Lian" squatting at the edge of the forest, looking down at them, with a kind smile that was very Xie Lian on his face.
Hua Cheng didn't bother to glance at the two people below, standing to the side with his arms folded, a lazy look on his face. Xie Lian, on the other hand, waved down and said, "See? Here!"
However, because the visual impact of this giant "Xie Lian" was so overwhelming, it was difficult to notice anything else when first glimpsing it. Mu Qing's entire field of vision was completely taken up by this face, and he muttered, "...I'm afraid I've gone crazy..."
Feng Xin's eyes were also filled with this face, and he murmured: "...Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, what the hell is this???"
Xie Lian: “Uh…”
Hua Cheng raised an eyebrow, seemingly restraining himself from laughing. Honestly, no one had ever seen a statue this large, yet so lifelike. The largest statue before was Jun Wu's, but it was only half the size of this giant stone statue...
Feng Xin and Mu Qing were so shocked that Xie Lian had to yell several times before he noticed the statue itself. The others also began to emerge from the forest. When they looked up, they were almost all so frightened by the giant statue that they nearly twisted their necks and sprained their ankles. Xie Lian, feeling both amused and helpless, asked the giant statue to place its hand on the ground, open its palm, and said, "The Tonglu volcano has erupted. I'm afraid the fire will soon reach here. And there are three more mountain monsters who'll catch up anytime soon. Come on up, I'll lead you!"
Everyone climbed up the statue's hand, each finding their own spot. Xie Lian, perched on the crown, smelled the pungent stench of sulfur in the air. Looking back, he saw black smoke and ash spreading rapidly. He retracted the giant statue's hand, rose, and continued striding forward.
Pei Ming and the others were surprised but recovered. Feng Xin and Mu Qing, however, were still in shock. Perhaps because they were so familiar with the face, demeanor, and figure of the giant stone statue, the magnification was so powerful that it had a particularly strong impact. Feng Xin was already standing on the statue's shoulder, still in disbelief: "Who did this? Who carved it? How come I've never seen this thing before? I've never even heard of it?"
Hua Cheng smirked and said, "There are so many things you haven't seen."
Although no one said it explicitly, almost everyone, especially Feng Xin and Mu Qing, agreed on the answer:
This is the person who did it!
Mu Qing said, "I can't believe it... How did you make it move? How much mana does it take? Do you have enough? Don't you have no mana at all?"
This time Hua Cheng didn’t answer. Xie Lian glanced at him, put his fist to his mouth, and mumbled, “Uh, well…”
Pei Ming said, "If you don't have any, you can borrow it, right? It's such a simple thing."
“Hahahaha, yes…”
The demons and monsters along the way saw the lava pouring back and the flames erupting wildly, and realized that something was wrong. Seeing many people climbing up the giant stone statue, they hurriedly said, "Wait for me too!"
"Me, me, me, I'm coming too!"
"Pick us up, pick us up!"
Hua Cheng shouted, "Get out!" A wave of silver butterflies flew out, flashing with cold light, and a scene of ghosts and wolves howling. Yin Yu, holding the soundly sleeping Gu Zi, said from below, "City Lord! Your Highness the Crown Prince! Just now, those hollow men and corpse-eating rats suddenly rioted, moving in swarms, as if they were heading out of Tonglu Mountain!"
The Rain Master, riding a black ox, gazed intently at the sky and said, "The things in the black clouds seem to want to fly away as well."
That was true. Those struggling within the black cloud were all vengeful spirits, craving fresh, living flesh to possess, becoming the human-faced plague. Copper Furnace Mountain was devoid of living beings, either demons or priests they couldn't penetrate, so naturally they wanted to escape. Thousands of distorted human faces, trailing long tails of black smoke, swirled through the sky like deformed snakes and insects. Xie Lian's hands trembled slightly, but he continued, "Copper Furnace Mountain has boundaries. Those outside can't enter, and those inside can't leave. Those vengeful spirits probably can't escape for the time being..."
Unexpectedly, before he could finish his words, Hua Cheng suddenly grabbed his hand. Xie Lian's heart tightened, and he hurriedly grabbed him and said, "What's wrong? Did I consume too much? Sorry, sorry, I really should be more frugal..."
Hua Cheng covered his right eye with one hand and said, "No. Brother, don't worry about that. It's the boundary of Tonglu Mountain that's broken."
Xie Lian was stunned: “What? Broken?” He had just said there was a boundary and nothing to worry about, so why was he doing this???
Hua Chengdao: "It's broken. I'm afraid it was Bai Wuxiang who opened it. Those things are about to fly out."
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