But unexpectedly, the Iron Armor Steel Fang merely roared once before climbing to its feet, seemingly unharmed. It shook the jade fragments from its body and turned to scrutinize Mu Chen.
Mu Chen’s transformation wasn’t over yet. A circle of eerie black markings instantly materialized around his eyes. His shoulder-length black hair grew wildly, cascading down to his waist, then seemed to melt like snow, gradually turning Binglan. Behind him, a black Ice Crystal floated gently. The crystal was star-shaped, with diamond-like spikes extending from seven points. It had an incredibly bizarre appearance. The moment this Ice Crystal manifested, the temperature in the chamber plummeted drastically.
With that, Mu Chen’s transformation was complete. Seeing this from a distance, the Iron Armor Steel Fang naturally didn’t dare to advance rashly, but it didn’t retreat either. And so, they faced off, their eyes locked.
But just then, a red-and-blue droplet leaped from Mu Chen’s robes and whimpered at him a few times. It was the Sun and Moon Immortal Spirit.
It would have been better if it had stayed hidden. The moment it appeared, the once-serious Iron Armor Steel Fang’s expression twisted with greed. Completely ignoring the threat Mu Chen posed, it vanished in a flash and reappeared beside the Sun and Moon Immortal Spirit, opening its cavernous maw to devour it in a single gulp.
The Profound Old Ghost, controlling Mu Chen’s body, was shocked and bellowed, "You dare, vile beast!"
Before the words even faded, the Profound Old Ghost had Mu Chen’s body take a sudden step forward. Arcs of lightning flashed, and in an instant, he vanished. He reappeared in front of the Sun and Moon Immortal Spirit and, with a wave of his hand, unleashed a hurricane of vigorous Primordial Power. It formed a massive hand of energy that brutally slapped the Iron Armor Steel Fang on its lower jaw.
WHAM...
The blow was too sudden. The Iron Armor Steel Fang, confident in its attack, was utterly unprepared. The slap sent its body plummeting into the pool below, throwing up a massive wave.
The Profound Old Ghost didn’t stop there. He gathered Primordial Power at his fingertip and let out a low cry, "One-Finger Ice Seal, Profound Nether Finger!"
WHOOSH!
A blue Elemental Light Beam shot from Mu Chen’s fingertip into the pool. Immediately, a loud CRACKLING filled the air as the rippling water instantly froze solid, emitting a Binglan glow.
And yet, "Mu Chen’s" expression didn’t relax in the slightest. ’Humans are inherently much weaker than Magical Beasts in terms of both strength and physical bodies. Under normal circumstances, it’s incredibly difficult to kill a Magical Beast of the same level single-handedly. You’re either evenly matched, or it escapes and there’s nothing you can do.’
’Therefore, I don’t think I can permanently seal it within the Profound Ice with this one attack, especially not an Iron Armor Steel Fang, which is renowned for its offense and defense.’
ROAR!
SCREEEEE...
Just as he expected, a furious roar echoed from the depths, followed by a series of grinding sounds from beneath the ice. The noise grew louder and louder until a massive, violently spinning figure became visible through the ice, rocketing upward like a drill at a terrifying speed.
BANG!
The ice shattered, exploding into a cloud of drifting shards. The Iron Armor Steel Fang’s body, completely unscathed, floated gently in mid-air, its eyes completely bloodshot. The Profound Old Ghost knew the beast had now entered a berserk state.
ROAR! ROAR!
After two roars, the Iron Armor Steel Fang’s body began to tremble as a terrifying aura erupted from within. With a BOOM, the beast, originally only three meters long, suddenly expanded by dozens of times, returning to its true form and instantly filling the entire cavern.
Now enormous, the Iron Armor Steel Fang was no longer content with the cramped space. It couldn’t unleash its full power here, which was why this detestable human was able to suppress it. The more it thought, the hotter its fury burned. Its body coiled, revealing three massive, purple Martial Rings beneath it. Every scale on its body stood on end, transforming it into a sphere covered in sharp blades.
The sphere then began to spin at an astonishing rate, creating a powerful vortex that pulled in the surrounding air before it shot out with a WHOOSH.
The Profound Old Ghost’s expression turned grave. He couldn’t afford to be careless against a Magical Beast of this size. What he found strange, however, was that the Iron Armor Steel Fang’s attack wasn’t aimed at him, but at... the Jade Wall.
BOOM!
How could the fragile Jade Wall withstand the immense destructive power of a Royal Beast? It was instantly torn to shreds. But that wasn’t the end. The Iron Armor Steel Fang proceeded to attack all the surrounding walls in the same manner, filling the cavern with an incessant RUMBLE.
An hour later, the Iron Armor Steel Fang finally stopped. Its spinning body instantly unfurled, its jaws snapped open, and its Primordial Power coalesced into a silver sphere. It fired the sphere with a BOOM, directly blasting the already ruined rock wall. RUMBLE...
At last, the battered rock wall could no longer withstand the assault and collapsed with a tremendous crash. Just like that, in the Outer Realm, a mountaintop suddenly caved in, and the entire mountain shrank.
WHOOSH, WHOOSH...
Two figures leaped out from within the mountain, standing suspended in the sky. It was the Iron Armor Steel Fang and Mu Chen, who was possessed by the Profound Old Ghost. No words were exchanged; they immediately clashed the moment they appeared.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
As the sky filled with constant explosions, ripples of Primordial Power surged outward, forming swirling vortexes.
The Iron Armor Steel Fang was a Three-Ring Imperial Beast, while the Profound Old Ghost, possessing Mu Chen’s body, wielded the power of a Fourth-Ring Martial Emperor. If this were a fight between two humans, a Third-Ring Martial Emperor against a Fourth-Ring Martial Emperor, the victor would undoubtedly be the latter. A Fourth-Ring Martial Emperor was superior in both Primordial Power and physical prowess by a significant margin.
However, this logic didn’t apply to a battle between a Magical Beast and a human. The Three-Ring Imperial Beast, Iron Armor Steel Fang, could leverage its tyrannical physique and colossal size to gain the upper hand, allowing it to contend with the Profound Old Ghost, who was at the Fourth-Ring Martial Emperor Realm. In terms of stamina, the Iron Armor Steel Fang was easily more than twice as strong. Furthermore, since Mu Chen only had one arm, the Profound Old Ghost couldn’t unleash his full strength.
BOOM!
Another collision sent both combatants flying back a hundred meters. The Profound Old Ghost suddenly extended his left hand. The blue mist in the air instantly condensed toward it, and moments later, a Profound Ice Greatsword materialized in his grasp, glinting with a faint blue light under the sun.
ROAR!
Seeing the Profound Old Ghost conjure a weapon, the Iron Armor Steel Fang roared, its attacks growing even more frenzied and swift. Every bite, tail whip, spin, and volley from its Elemental Power Cannon was increasingly savage, and the spatial fluctuations it radiated grew more intense.
WHOOSH!
With another whip of its tail, the Iron Armor Steel Fang spun around. Rings of silver light pulsed from its giant tail, forcibly extending it from thirty to fifty meters as it came crashing down on the Profound Old Ghost.
Seeing this, the Profound Old Ghost’s expression changed. He charged the Profound Ice Greatsword in his hand for a moment, and a brilliant Sword Aura erupted from the blade, transforming into a blue Sword Qi that rampaged forth, crossing and slashing.
BOOM!
The Sword Qi and the tail whip collided with a deafening crash. The sky suddenly darkened, and a violent shockwave spread far, far into the distance...
At this moment, within a thousand-li radius of the battle, every Magical Beast had vanished without a trace, deathly afraid of every rustle in the grass. Their senses were far more acute than humans’. From the very first shockwave, they had clearly judged the power of the two combatants. The majesty of an Emperor was sacred and inviolable, so they all hid in their lairs, praying for the fight to end quickly.
Similarly, the Martial Artists throughout the Demon Beast Forest also felt the powerful waves of Primordial Power. The mere aftershocks were enough to make the blood of even Martial Spirit Level Martial Artists churn, forcing them to use their own Primordial Power to suppress the feeling. But this couldn’t stop human curiosity. The more cautious and timid Martial Artists, Martial Masters, and Grand Martial Masters chose to stay put. However, some of the more confident Martial Spirit experts rushed toward the source of the fluctuations, hoping to gain some insight. Even if they learned nothing, witnessing a battle between such powerful figures would be enough to boast about at the Mercenary Union for some time.
CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!
Three times in a row, the Profound Old Ghost struck the same spot on the Iron Armor Steel Fang with his Sword Blade. But aside from sending sparks flying and leaving a few shallow white scratches, he could barely inflict any real damage.
Each time the Profound Old Ghost’s attack landed, the Iron Armor Steel Fang only grew more ferocious. In response, the Profound Old Ghost relied on his Body Technique to constantly dodge, waiting for an opening.
’Dammit, this human fighting style is so annoying. Back in my day, I could have crushed this stupid turtle with a single claw.’
The Profound Old Ghost, controlling Mu Chen’s body, grew more frustrated the longer he fought. The more he used this possession technique, the more of his own Soul Power it consumed. The soul is a person’s very foundation, and the Profound Old Ghost was burning through his own Soul Power to battle the Iron Armor Steel Fang.
A cold light flashed in his purple eyes as the Profound Old Ghost instantly made his decision. ’I can’t drag this out. It’s never wise for a human to get into a battle of attrition with a Magical Beast.’
At this thought, the Profound Old Ghost clenched his left fist. The blue Profound Ice Greatsword shattered with a CRACK, breaking into countless pieces of Bingling that scattered and fell, only to completely evaporate in the sunlight mid-air. The scene was baffling; a Great Sword made of ice that could be melted by sunlight had actually managed to leave white slash marks on the Iron Armor Steel Fang’s body.
However, Mu Chen hadn’t lost consciousness from the Profound Old Ghost’s possession. On the contrary, everything happening in the Outer Realm was being transmitted to him from the Profound Old Ghost’s first-person perspective. In other words, what the Profound Old Ghost saw, Mu Chen saw.
Mu Chen was speechless, his face a mask of astonishment. A single thought repeated endlessly in his mind. ’This is my Master. This is the Residual Soul saved by the Extreme Spirit Pearl. He’s a complete enigma—no known origin, no known Cultivation Realm, no known race. And yet, just by borrowing my body—my one-armed body—he can fight a mountain-sized, Three-Ring Imperial Beast like the Iron Armor Steel Fang to a standstill... A Fourth-Ring Martial Emperor... what kind of power is that?’
In the Outer Realm, the corners of the Profound Old Ghost’s lips curled into a wicked smile. He whispered, "In my current state, using this twice in a row would put me into a long hibernation. But for this foolish kid’s sake, I suppose using it once is worth it."
The Iron Armor Steel Fang, just about to charge, suddenly sensed that something about the Profound Old Ghost was different, though it couldn’t pinpoint what. With an angry roar, it prepared to attack again.
The Profound Old Ghost stood his ground, his one hand a blur of changing seals. An overwhelming Tian Wei descended from the heavens. If Mu Chen were in the Outer Realm, he would have surely found it familiar, for this Tian Wei carried a dense and pure aura of Primordial Chaos—an aura no human could possibly emit.