Bearing the blue sky

Chapter 294 War!

Three hundred li northwest of Xianyang City.

The air seemed to freeze, and even the wind avoided this area.

Not a blade of grass grows on the ground; the exposed loess is cracked into spiderweb-like patterns that stretch into the distance, where a dark hill stands at the end.

Qingqi Mountain.

Zhu Ge stood a hundred feet away at the foot of the mountain, looking up at it.

The mountain is not high, only a little over a hundred feet high. Its body is rounded and dark brown, resembling a lurking giant beast.

There were no trees, no moss, not even a loose pebble; the entire mountain was a single, seamless structure, as if it had grown directly from the ground.

"Master, I'm having trouble breathing," Liu Jianjian said in a low voice, her face pale.

"It's releasing its power." Zhu Ge gripped the Purgatory Star Staff tightly: "Although it's only in its nascent stage, it's already able to influence the surrounding environment."

He took steps forward, one step, two steps, three steps.

With each step, the air pressure increases.

When he reached a distance of fifty feet from the foot of the mountain, he felt as if he were carrying a small mountain on his shoulders, and the soil beneath his feet began to sink, leaving footprints three inches deep.

"Second Realm?" The mountain monster's voice came from within the mountain, deep and rumbling like thunder: "That good-for-nothing Jiang Fu only sent a Third Realm cultivator to his death?"

Zhu Ge did not answer and continued walking forward.

Forty zhang, thirty zhang, twenty zhang.

The pressure was mounting, and his bones began to creak slightly.

As the body-refining technique of the Great Sun Glazed Body was activated, pale golden dragon scale patterns appeared on the skin, distributing the pressure throughout the body.

"Body tempering?" The mountain monster's voice held a hint of surprise. "Interesting."

"More than just interesting." Zhu Ge stopped ten feet from the foot of the mountain, raising his Hellfire Star Staff: "Dawn!"

A burst of golden light erupted, and a club slammed into the mountainside.

"Bomb One"

The mountain shook, rocks flew everywhere, and a crack about ten feet long appeared on the mountain wall.

But the crack lasted only a moment before it healed at a speed visible to the naked eye, the broken stones reassembled, and the crack disappeared without a trace.

"Is that all the strength you have?" the mountain monster laughed. "Not even enough to tickle me."

Zhu Ge ignored its taunts and swung his stick again.

"Boom!" "Boom!" "Boom!"

One blow after another, each blow landing on the same spot.

Cracks appear, heal, reappear, and heal again.

However, the healing process was slightly slower than before.

"Are you testing me?" The mountain monster's voice was wary.

Zhu Ge slammed the stick down: "I'm just playing around."

He lightly touched the ground with his toes and retreated ten feet, avoiding a boulder that had rolled down from the mountaintop.

"You're lying!" the mountain monster roared, and the entire mountain began to tremble. "You're looking for my Exquisite Heart! My Exquisite Heart, which I've been gathering for so long! You despicable human!"

The ground cracked, and boulders fell from the mountain like raindrops, hurtling towards Zhuge.

Each of those pebbles was the size of a millstone, carrying an eerie, earthy-yellow aura, like falling meteors.

Zhu Ge lit incense and activated his movement technique, weaving through the rubble.

His body moved like a wisp of smoke, dodging left and right, using the edge of the rubble to spring back, traversing the cracks of death.

"puff--"

A piece of gravel the size of a millstone grazed his shoulder, and the dragon scale pattern lit up. Seventy percent of the impact of the gravel was dissipated, and the remaining thirty percent left a bruise on his shoulder.

"So hard." Zhu Ge landed and steadied herself, feeling a sharp pain in her shoulder.

He could now understand the suffering of those who opposed him.

It's too hard!

The mountain monster gave him no chance to catch his breath.

The surface of the mountain began to undulate, and a giant arm formed from solidified rock stretched out from the mountain, about ten zhang long and as thick as an ancient tree, and punched towards Zhu Ge.

Before the punch even landed, the wind pressure had already created a shallow crater in the ground.

"Waist and stance training!"

Zhu Ge planted his feet firmly on the ground, raised his Purgatory Star Staff horizontally, and took the punch head-on.

"clang"

Fists and sticks clashed, sparks flew.

Zhu Ge was smashed so hard that his feet sank into the ground, his knees and below were completely submerged in the soil, his hands were split open, and blood dripped down his wrists.

But he blocked that punch.

"What?" The mountain monster's voice was filled with disbelief: "Second Realm—you blocked my punch?"

Zhu Ge did not reply.

With a flick of his arms, he pulled the Purgatory Star Staff from under his fist, and his figure slid backward several feet like smoke, plowing two deep furrows in the ground.

The blood from the tiger's mouth dripped down the stick, onto the cracked yellow earth, and was instantly absorbed by the parched land.

"Your fists are nothing special." Zhu Ge shook his numb wrist, but the fighting spirit in his eyes was even stronger than before.

The mountain monster was silent for a moment, then let out a deafening roar.

"Arrogant!"

The entire mountain began to tremble violently.

The rocks on the mountain surface move, roll, and recombine as if they were alive.

The rubble that was originally attached to the mountain wall peeled off, revealing the dark brown rock layer below.

The rock strata stretched and deformed as they crawled, producing a teeth-grinding crunching sound.

That was the sound of rocks twisting and deforming under pressure.

"Transformation?" Zhu Ge frowned.

The Qingqi Mountain before him was rising up.

The lower part of the mountain contracted and coalesced, transforming into two incredibly thick rock legs.

The upper part rises and extends, forming broad shoulders and a head carved from a single piece of dark brown rock.

The rubble that was originally scattered around the mountain flew back like iron filings attracted by a magnet, attached itself to the giant's body, and turned into a rough armor.

A mountain giant, hundreds of feet tall, stands on the wasteland.

Its head was lowered, and where its eyes were were two bottomless caverns, from which a ghostly yellow light flickered.

Its arms hung down at its sides, its ten fingers spread out, each finger resembling a stone pillar.

Its breath caused the entire earth to undulate, and the ground within a radius of tens of feet surged like waves.

"This is my true form."

The mountain monster's voice no longer came from inside the mountain, but came out of the giant's mouth, with a rough texture like rocks rubbing together.

Zhu Ge looked up at the giant who was a hundred feet tall, her throat dry.

too big!

It was bigger than any monster he had ever seen.

The fisherman in his straw raincoat, the Red River python, and even the plague bird all pale in comparison to its size.

The giant stood there like a moving mountain, casting a shadow that covered the entire area.

"We can't win." Liu Jianjian's voice came from behind, trembling noticeably: "Master, let's run."

He took a deep breath and gripped the Purgatory Star Staff tightly: "Perfect for some practice."

The giant mountain monster moved.

It raised its right foot and stomped down on the blessing song.

That kick blocked out the sky, and Zhu Ge's vision was completely obscured by the rocks.

Before his feet even touched the ground, the wind pressure had already created a dent in the ground beneath his feet.

"Light incense!"

Zhu Ge retreated rapidly, weaving between the giant's toes, sliding out from between the two pillar-like toes, and rolling twice on the ground before regaining his balance.

"boom--"

The giant missed his foot and slammed it into the ground, causing the entire earth to tremble violently as if struck on a drumhead.

Zhu Ge was so shocked that her feet left the ground, and she staggered half a step when she landed.

The giant gave him no chance to catch his breath. Its other foot was already raised, stomping down on him with the same destructive force.

Not slow at all — Zhu Ge dodged again, weaving through the gaps in her landing.

The ground was trampled into deep pits, mud flew everywhere, and gravel scattered in all directions.

His robes were torn even more tattered by the blast wave, and his face and arms were covered with tiny scratches from stone chips.

"This won't do," he thought, dodging and observing simultaneously. "It's too big!"

"Pointy! Attract its attention!" Zhu Ge shouted.

"I'll do my best—" Liu Jianjian gritted her teeth, leaped off the snow wolf's back, made hand seals, and a thick stream of demonic fire shot out from her fingertips, transforming into a fire snake that lunged at the giant's head.

The demonic fire scorched the rocks, making a hissing sound, but only melted a thin layer of the surface.

The giant's head turned slightly, its eerie yellow "eyes" looking in the direction of Liu Jianjian.

"Little bug." It raised its right hand and slapped the willow tip.

"Damn mountain monster!" Liu Jianjian screamed, her body plummeting as she landed on the snow wolf's back. The snow wolf pushed off with its four hooves and charged forward just before the slap landed.

"boom--"

The palm slammed into the ground, creating a shallow crater.

But this momentary lapse in attention gave Zhu Ge an opportunity.

He lightly touched the ground with his toes, fully activating his incense-lighting movement technique, and shot towards the giant's abdomen like an arrow.

The golden light on the Purgatory Star Staff shone brightly, and the power of dawn was fully concentrated.

"breaking Dawn!"

With a single blow, golden light exploded, carving a crater over ten feet deep into the giant's abdomen.

Gravel flew everywhere, revealing the dark brown rock layer below.

But it is still a long way from the core.

"What are you looking for?" The giant's voice came from above, tinged with mockery.

The song of blessing rises high.

The giant's right hand had somehow retracted and was now hovering above his head, its five fingers clasped together like an inverted hill.

"not good!!"

Before Zhu Ge could dodge, the giant's fist had already slammed down.

"boom"

The ground exploded, and smoke and dust billowed into the sky.

Just before the fist landed, Zhu Ge held the Purgatory Star Staff above his head, but the force was too great. He was slammed into the ground, his feet sinking deep into the mud, and a sharp pain shot through his leg bones below the knees.

"puff-

—

He spat out a mouthful of blood, staining his robes red on his chest.

Despite spitting out blood, Zhu Ge's expression was somewhat speechless.

It's too hard!

"Master, be careful!" Liu Jianjian exclaimed, riding her snow wolf and rushing over. Her demonic fire transformed into countless fireballs, bombarding the giant's arm in an attempt to force it to loosen its fist.

But the demonic fire could only leave shallow scorch marks on the surface of the rock, and could not shake the giant in the slightest.

"Insects." The giant raised his fist, glanced at Zhu Ge, and said, "You—are too weak!"

It clenched its fist again.

This time, it didn't hit Zhu Ge, but Liu Jianjian.

"Jianjian! Run!" Zhu Ge leaped out of the pit, pushing his incense-lighting movement technique to its limit, and rushed towards Liu Jianjian.

Just before his fist landed, he grabbed Liu Jianjian by the collar and pulled her off the snow wolf's back, causing them both to fall to the ground.

"boom"

The fists grazed their backs and slammed into the ground, the shockwave sending them flying several meters away, rolling onto the cracked earth.

Zhu Ge struggled to get up and discovered that her left leg had completely lost sensation.

He looked down and saw that his robe was torn at his calves, revealing bluish-purple skin underneath. Dragon scale patterns flickered on his skin, and the outline of bones was vaguely visible.

Too bad!

This is the first time Zhu Ge has suffered such a serious injury!

"The bone is fractured," he said expressionlessly.

Although the body-refining technique of the Great Sun Glass Body is strong, it still cannot withstand the full-force attack of a monster of the highest level.

He gritted his teeth, used the Purgatory Star Staff to support himself on the ground, and tried to stand up.

A sharp, piercing pain shot through my left leg, but the bone wasn't completely broken; it was just cracked.

With the recovery ability of a martial artist who has conquered mountains, he can heal in a few days.

But the problem is, he doesn't have many days left!

The giant slowly turned around and looked down at them.

"Your body is quite nice. You can come inside me and be my toy," the mountain giant taunted. "I'm stronger than Jiang Fuqiang; I can protect you."

Zhu Ge expressionlessly took out a small, emerald-green porcelain bottle from her inner world, then poured out a pill and swallowed it.

Within seconds, his aura became powerful again.

Top-grade Yuan-level pill—the Unending Pill!

This is a bottle of pills he obtained by selling courses; one pill can restore all injuries to those below the Great Realm.

"Medicines!" The mountain monster seemed angry. "I hate humans the most!"

"Again!" Zhu Ge charged forward, his fighting spirit boiling.

War! War! War!

He finally found someone who could withstand a beating, and one with high defense and low damage, so he had to put up a good fight.

After all, normally speaking, the beings Zhu Ge had encountered before who were at a higher level than him, especially those at the Great Realm, were almost all much stronger than him.

There was no battle in that situation; it was a complete rout.

This mountain monster is fast and its attack power is not high, making it perfect for him.

"The 36-Road Giant Swing!"

Zhu Ge spun around, and the Purgatory Star Staff transformed into a silver-red whirlwind, carrying the golden light of dawn, and slammed hard into the giant's raised rock forearm.

"Clang clang clang clang clang"

A series of loud, metallic clanging sounds echoed through the mountains and fields, sending sparks flying and rocks scattering everywhere.

A spiderweb-like crack appeared on the giant's forearm, but it healed instantly.

"Xu Family Swift Fist!"

With a flick of his wrist, Zhu Ge sent the tip of the Purgatory Star Staff gliding across the giant's knee like a swallow skimming the water, leaving a faint white mark.

The white mark extended half a foot across the rock surface before stopping, unable to go any further.

"Too hard." Zhu Ge landed, slightly out of breath, but her eyes gleamed with excitement: "But it's just right."

He hadn't encountered such a suitable opponent for practice in a long time.

The enemies in the past were either too weak, and could be killed in a few blows, so we couldn't have our fill of fighting.

"You're using me as a practice subject?!" The mountain monster's voice was filled with rage as the giant's fists slammed down like meteorites: "You're asking for death!"

""

Zhu Ge lightly touched the ground with her toes, her figure drifting out of the giant's attack range like smoke.

"boom""

He slammed his fists into the ground, creating two craters about ten feet deep, sending mud and gravel flying into the air.

"That was close." Zhu Ge landed ten feet away, looking at the two large craters, and clicked his tongue in amazement: "With your strength, it would take two punches to kill someone at the second realm. You're too weak."

"You say I'm weak?!" The giant straightened up, the rock on his chest heaving violently, as if he was extremely angry.

"That's right." Zhu Ge nodded, his face serious. "You, a mighty monster, are fighting me, a mere second-realm cultivator, for so long and you still haven't killed me. What else can you call yourself but weak?"

The giant was silent for a moment, then let out a deafening roar.

"I'm going to crush you!"

Instead of pounding it with its fists, the entire mountain pressed down on Zhuge.

The towering mountain, hundreds of feet high, collapsed with a deafening roar, as if a real mountain were crashing down upon Zhuge.

"Are you serious?" Zhu Ge's pupils contracted, and he activated the Incense Lighting Movement Technique at full power, shooting out like an arrow.

But instead of fleeing far, he charged toward the giant's chest.

"breaking Dawn!"

With a single blow, golden light exploded, carving a crater over ten feet deep into the giant's chest.

The giant's collapse was slightly halted, and he seized the opportunity to leap out from the edge of the pit, rolling twice upon landing to avoid the aftershocks of the giant's fall.

"Boom—"

The giant crashed to the ground, and the entire earth trembled violently three times before it subsided, as if struck by a giant hammer.

Zhu Ge stood up several hundred feet away, turned around to look at the mountain giant lying on the ground, and wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth.

"good."

"Again."

He rushed forward again.

This time, he didn't use the Dawn's Might, but instead used the Light of Return to Origin.

The four forces completely merged, condensing into a chaotic light on the Purgatory Star Staff.

"Return to the Origin!"

The blow produced no explosive golden light, no deafening roar, only a soft sound.

"Pop!"

Like a stone falling into water, a three-foot-diameter hole was smashed into the giant's chest.

The edges of the round hole are as smooth as a mirror, and the surrounding rocks show signs of being melted by high temperatures and then rapidly cooled and solidified.

"Hiss—!" The mountain monster gasped, its voice filled with pain, "What the hell is that?!"

"Return to the Origin." Zhu Ge chuckled. "I just figured it out."

He looked down at the Purgatory Star Staff in his hand, the chaotic light on the staff slowly dissipating.

The giant got up from the ground, the round hole in his chest slowly healing, but much slower than before.

"Your attack can hurt me?!" The mountain monster's voice was filled with disbelief and anger.

"Otherwise what?" Zhu Ge slammed his stick into its knee. "I've been beating you for so long, there should be some effect, right?"

The giant stumbled and looked down at his left knee.

A crack about an inch deep was smashed there, and although it is healing, the healing speed is obviously slower than before.

It began to feel wary.

"Human, what is your name?" the mountain monster asked loudly.

"Zhu Ge." Zhu Ge didn't shy away from revealing her real name directly.

"Zhu Ge—" the mountain monster repeated the name, then let out a cold laugh: "I'll remember you. Now, die."

Before the words were even finished, the giant's body began to shrink and collapse.

The hundred-zhang-high mountain shrank at a visible speed, the rocks re-aggregated, compressed, and condensed, eventually transforming into a six-zhang-tall human figure standing in front of Zhu Ge.

Its aura is stronger than before.

All the power dispersed throughout the hundred-zhang mountain was now compressed into this six-zhang-tall body.

Seeing this, Zhu Ge frowned.

The mountain monster was already very strong and difficult to deal with, but the condensed version of the mountain monster looks even stronger.

Sure enough, a great monster is a great monster; it's not something that can be easily dealt with.

"Since you're already like this, I'm going to give it my all."

Zhu Ge responded with a cold laugh.

The next moment, he lit the incense and ran away in a flash.

See you another day!