The Stone Colossus Rises

Two mighty Qi-Refiners were struck by the stone swords. In an instant, their forms and souls were extinguished, leaving only two trails of blood mist drifting in the air.

Plop.

The colossal stone sword plunged into the azure sea, stirring up towering waves.

The result was earth-shattering!

The five strongest Qi-Refiners of the eastern coastal region, representatives of the Cultivation World, had just lost two men. The distant cultivators watched, stunned and dumbfounded.

The resurrected stone giant possessed heaven-shaking might—there was simply no contending with it. Everyone fled as fast as they could, observing the giant in the sea from far in the sky.

The vast ocean churned, waves leaping toward the heavens.

The colossal stone statue towered into the clouds like a demon mountain. Every gesture seemed capable of rending heaven and earth. It slowly strode through the sea, kicking up enormous breakers.

This was a titan standing between heaven and earth, beyond human strength. All hearts trembled. Fortunately, its movements were sluggish; otherwise, far more would have been slaughtered just now.

"What happened?"

"Why is this stone statue moving?"…

Once safe, many cultivators hovered in midair, watching the leviathan in the sea and wondering what had happened.

Many felt a dark foreboding. After all, this stone statue had an extraordinary origin—it was the effigy of a madman who had once slaughtered his way across the world. For many sects, that was an age of darkness.

How could the stone statue of someone who had fallen years ago become animate?

Could that person be about to revive from the dead?… Some harbored this ominous premonition. If so, it was truly terrifying.

At this moment, Xiao Chen's heart surged with emotion. He had never imagined he would possess the giant stone statue and actually move its body.

Long ago, pierced by twenty-four War Swords to seal an Ancestral God, he had escaped with the help of the shattered Stone Man—but a fragment of his soul had remained behind.

When the illusory world collapsed and the Four Realms shrank countless times, many great cities, divine mountain ranges, wastelands, and sacred islands descended into the mortal world. This colossal stone statue had thereby entered the vast sea.

As soon as Xiao Chen entered this sea region, he was drawn by a strange undulation and vanished into the stone statue. Now he felt a sensation of flesh being reborn—though it was a stone body, it possessed a feeling of regeneration.

Yet even though he sensed the aura he had left behind that year, he did not find that fragment of his soul.

After years trapped in the abyss of death, walking through the world of the dead on a skeletal body, struggling to survive—now, suddenly seeing hope of life, recalling the myriad events of the mortal world—how could his heart not surge?

Great waves crashed heavenward. Xiao Chen slowly paced forward. The azure sea only reached his thighs. Such a towering giant, when moving, possessed heaven-shaking, earth-shattering power.

He bent down, picked up the enormous stone sword from the sea, and pointed it at the distant crowd.

The Nine-Headed Serpent, Ye Jiuzhong, and other experts had been observing. They now roughly understood: though this giant was terrifyingly imposing, its movements were sluggish and did not pose an immediate extinction threat.

Many sects that Xiao Chen had once suppressed also saw the situation clearly. They gradually relaxed and surrounded the giant from all directions.

Of course, they dared not approach—only confronted it from afar, ready to launch a sudden assault.

Back then, the Cultivation World had suffered great losses. Now, seeing Xiao Chen's stone statue come to life stirred their fiercest anger and fear. Some bold cultivators released flying swords from the distant sky, hacking at the stone statue in an attempt to shatter it.

Xiao Chen, possessing the stone statue, moved slowly—far less agile than a flesh-and-blood body.

The Little Defiant Dragon was about to block for him, but sensed a mental fluctuation and stopped.

"Leave them be. They cannot break this stone body."

Clang! Clang!

The immortal swords struck the stone statue, sending out sparks, but could not harm it in the least.

Xiao Chen turned his body in the sea, facing the crowd of cultivators behind him. He raised the enormous stone sword and pushed it forward—slowly, but with irresistible force.

Suddenly, the sky filled with converging clouds, and the sea erupted in monstrous waves, as if Pangu himself were opening heaven and earth. As the heavy stone sword pushed forward, a great rift of darkness appeared in the sky, tearing directly toward that group of cultivators.

An unparalleled pressure made hearts quail and souls tremble. Though far away, a heaven-toppling power exploded around those people.

Many were torn apart on the spot and fell into the sea. Even more were smashed backward, coughing blood under the inexplicable, overwhelming energy fluctuation.

How could such might not shake heaven and earth?

If the stone statue's slow-stabbing sword could have such power from such a distance, who could withstand it head-on?

At this, those who had thought the statue slow and vulnerable fled in panic to even farther ground, watching in terror.

Is this Xiao Chen or not? That was everyone's doubt. If so, many would not sleep at night. A fallen powerhouse resurrected—for certain sects, the impact was too great.

Moreover, if the stone statue displayed Xiao Chen's Eight-Aspect Worlds and other divine arts, its power would be unimaginable.

"Who are you?"

"Are you… that murderous demon from back then?"

The heaven-towering stone statue's eyes actually had light flowing within them. Ignoring the crowd's words, it once again raised the great stone sword toward the shouting throng, slowly tracing—and a Taiji diagram was clearly carved into the air.

In that moment, the wind and clouds shifted, the sky and earth lost their color, as if ghosts wailed and gods howled. When the stone sword finished the last two yin-yang eyes, a vast energy wave erupted. The sea spawned a tsunami, billowing and surging.

Boom!

In the distant sky, a bolt of purple lightning descended from ten thousand zhang high, engulfing all the cultivators in that patch of sky. Screams sounded incessantly as charred bodies plunged into the waves.

Many cultivators felt their souls flee in terror. A stone statue possessing such power—so fearsome and dreadful—no one dared to shout any longer. All flew away.

If they did not leave, they were simply asking for punishment. The stone statue's might was unfathomable, its attack range far exceeding even various cultivation treasures by many times.

Just then, Xiao Chen felt a sudden emptiness inside, and the scenery around him began to blur. He knew he was about to be dragged back to the world of the dead.

As he was about to vanish, he sent a mental fluctuation to the Little Defiant Dragon: "Guard the stone statue. I will return and resurrect in another form."

The Little Defiant Dragon was already hot with tears and nodded repeatedly.

With a violent motion, the huge stone statue swung its stone sword, raising it to the sky. A terrifying pressure radiated outward, startling the distant cultivators into trembling.

But then—the wind calmed, the waves settled, the sea and sky were vast. The stone statue stood there quietly, its long hair flying, its sword pointing to the sky, no longer sending out any fluctuation. Only its lifelike aura still made hearts fearful.

The news of the stone statue rising from the sea spread across the Nine Provinces in a single day, immediately stirring a huge commotion.

That fallen powerhouse, who had once fought across the Nine Provinces and stirred endless storms—the dust of ages could not conceal that history.

The name Xiao Chen was once again on everyone's lips. Many changed color. Even experts who had only recently emerged soon learned from others of the name that held a strange, demonic power. Many paled at the mere mention of Chen.

Even some old enemies had to admit that to still have such renown after falling so many years, Xiao Chen—even in death—had been worth it.

Like a dream passing through layer upon layer of crystalline, multicolored worlds, Xiao Chen's consciousness returned to the bone well. His crystalline red-drill bone body trembled. He had fully returned. He sat up.

The bottom of the well was not dark. All kinds of colored drill bones were piled up like mountains, multicolored light blazing like a most splendid treasury.

Recalling this journey to the mortal world was like a dream—he had actually struck out in person. The moment he possessed the stone statue, it felt as if his flesh were being reborn. That sensation was truly nostalgic.

But he had left too hastily and had not told the Little Defiant Dragon many things. Xiao Chen wanted to go back immediately, but no matter how hard he tried, he could not. What was this? He was greatly surprised—was there a time limit?

A full day and night passed before Xiao Chen once again sensed the aura of the Nine Provinces.

The Nine Provinces had long been stirred into an uproar by the appearance of his stone statue. Many were discussing whether it was a lingering spirit acting up or some great power deliberately confusing the masses.

After manifesting his phantom before the Dead City, Xiao Chen did not linger for a moment. He flew swiftly toward the eastern sea of the Nine Provinces.

From far away, he sensed a violent disturbance. Mushroom clouds were rising one after another. That fearful power made even someone like him, a mere phantom, feel a dread beyond comparison.

What kind of power was this? Truly chilling.

The sea was nearly boiling. Countless marine creatures died unnaturally. A wave of radioactive, fearful energy surged across heaven and earth, the breath of death permeating these waters.

Xiao Chen was shocked. What attribute of power was this? He had once fought Half-Ancestors but had never seen such strange energy fluctuations.

He rushed rapidly toward the location of the stone statue. He saw a large group of cultivators using flying swords to bind some strange weapons and ram them into the giant stone statue. The fearful energy waves were exactly from those strikes.

Though mushroom clouds rose continuously, the stone statue was not damaged in the slightest. The twenty-four stone swords around it formed twenty-four great black holes, constantly absorbing that power.

Those cultivators were all wiping cold sweat. One of them said with a trembling voice: "This is too uncanny—these are one of Her Majesty's ultimate weapons! How can they not even budge the stone statue?"

Xiao Chen was furious. It was Zhao Lin'er again, trying to destroy the stone statue with these mysterious, unknown weapons. Though it had little effect on him, it still enraged him.

And at that moment, he was once again drawn by a mysterious power and possessed the stone statue.

A force of life flowed through his limbs and hundred meridians. The stone statue was revived once more.

Though mushroom clouds continued to rise around it, they could not harm the stone statue. Xiao Chen slowly raised the war sword in his hand, then violently thrust it into the sea.

Boom!

Heaven and earth shook. Thousand-meter waves rose from the ocean, like giant sword beams, smashing most of the cultivators in the distant sky to pieces. Not even a fragment of their remains was left—only trails of blood mist swirled, as if to prove they had once existed.

Xiao Chen knew he could not stay long in this world. He wasted not a moment, striding forward. As he swung his war sword, heaven and earth trembled.

Boom!

A vast stretch of distant sky completely collapsed. The cultivators who had just attacked could not escape—all annihilated, body and soul.

Such terrifying power! The news reached the Nine Provinces instantly, shocking the entire realm.

It was no secret that Zhao Lin'er possessed weapons from a lost civilization, a fact that many strong cultivators deeply dreaded. But no one had expected that even they could not harm the stone statue.

The stone statue had displayed world-overwhelming divine might—far beyond what human power could oppose.

Moreover, the giant stone statue was actually advancing toward the continent!

Though the stone statue moved slowly, it was extraordinarily tall. If it pressed toward the continent, it would take little time.

Boundless breakers surged in the sea. All the cultivators of the Nine Provinces were stunned. Zhao Lin'er also sensed that something was badly wrong. If such a giant entered the Nine Provinces, the destruction would be unimaginable.

But Xiao Chen's time in this world was limited. He could not enter the Nine Provinces in a single trip. However, this time he was truly furious. Even after being pulled back by the power of the dead world, he would return again a day later.

And so he pressed directly to the edge of the continent, standing in the sea, overlooking the entire land.

Yet at that point, he stopped. If he truly entered the Nine Provinces with such a colossal body, he would likely destroy countless innocent people.

In the end, Xiao Chen faced the Nine Provinces. He extended his enormous stone sword into the continent, pointing it far away toward the direction of the imperial capital. Then he stood fixed at the coast, his presence solemn, as if a terrifying killing intent were surging.

This truly frightened Zhao Lin'er. She had never imagined such a thing would happen.

The whole realm was shocked. Many cultivators discussed amongst themselves—could it be that the fallen Xiao Chen's lingering spirit was not extinguished? This made many restless.

A single stone statue held the entire Nine Provinces' cultivators in awe.

At the same time, rumors ran rampant across the Nine Provinces: the Empress had lost virtue; a divine king had descended in the Eastern Sea, sword pointed at the capital to warn the world. Unless Zhao Lin'er abdicated, disaster would surely befall the Nine Provinces.

Cultivators did not believe in gods, but the common people absolutely did. When this news reached the imperial palace, it made Zhao Lin'er gnash her teeth in fury.

Xiao Chen discovered something: cracks had appeared inside the stone statue. It seemed it would shatter before long.

But he was not worried. His path to resurrection lay in the world of the dead. Even if he could pilot the stone statue, he would eventually be pulled back to the abyss. Only by resurrecting in that deathly world would he truly return to life.

"Hurry up and come back," the Little Defiant Dragon said, both excited and happy after roughly learning the situation in the world of the dead.

"I want to come back soon, too. But it probably won't be possible in the short term. However, from now on I can often travel between the two worlds. The deepest depths of the world of the dead hold a great secret—I must investigate."

The Little Defiant Dragon said: "The Nine Provinces are not as simple as they appear on the surface, either. Dragon Island, the Dead City, the great desert, the divine valleys, and many other mysterious regions descended from other worlds but have not yet produced true powerhouses. But everyone knows that the mighty War Clan, the nearly ancient-divine Li race, the true Divine race, the Dragon race, and others are about to emerge. When that happens, the world will surely fall into chaos, and the balance of power will be completely rewritten."

"Something to look forward to… a hundred races emerging together, all powerhouses taking the field—this is the age true experts long for. Only in such times can genuine masters be tempered. It will surely be a glorious era where talents shine forth."

Xiao Chen parted from the Little Defiant Dragon and returned to the world of the dead.

The future of the Nine Provinces would be rich and varied. He could not wait to return at once.

But for now, he could only gather strength in this world of death. He needed to become stronger—far stronger.

He wondered if the red-drill king had found a buyer. Could that gleaming yellow skull bring him a purple-drill fire seed? Xiao Chen felt he must press forward. Perhaps when he reached the purple-drill realm, he would truly need to attack and seize cities. Only by holding vast resources could he grow stronger more quickly.