The Stone Kings Clash

At the stone tortoise's exaggerated shout, the aged Stone King was startled. The wolf-fang stone club in his hand froze in mid-air, and his stone eyes swept across the surroundings.

He felt as if a pair of eyes were truly watching him from the shadows, like a powerful beast staring down its prey.

Yet when he tried to sense it, he could detect nothing. It was a terrifying phenomenon. Even the old Stone King's petrified heart trembled slightly.

"What are you howling about, you old tortoise?" the aged Stone King said without changing expression, continuing to press toward the stone tortoise. The wolf-fang club pointed diagonally forward—black mist roiled, baleful aura pressed in. He was like a fiendish ghost.

The stone tortoise slanted its eyes at him, lying back in the human manner between two piles of rubble, legs crossed, leisurely swaying as it spoke. "Scared out of your wits? When you see the real deal, don't soil yourself. I advise you to run while you can."

The gods behind ground their teeth and glared. What was this stone tortoise's origin? Facing the peerless Stone King Ancestor without a shred of reverence, looking like a proper cheeky scoundrel—they simply could not fathom him.

"Where is he?" The aged Stone King's stony eyes shot cold lightning, scanning all directions. Around the wolf-fang club, evil mist swirled, emitting mournful wails.

"I was just making conversation, and you believed it? Fine, let me say something else then: the Otherworld is going to fall, and you're going to die right along with it." The old stone tortoise looked smugly delighted.

"You—" The aged Stone King's eyes blazed with murderous light. What eminence was he—a Stone King exalted above all, always looked up to by others. Since when had he met such a slippery old tortoise who dared to jest and tease him like this?

"Don't be so hot-tempered. You're at death's door, same as me—neither of us belongs among the living in this world." The old tortoise squinted at the Stone King. "Set a date. Let's go drink tea in hell together."

Xiao Chen, who had just arrived, was completely speechless. This old thing dared to tease a peerless king even to his face, suggesting an appointment in hell—wasn't that just talking about meeting after death? He really did treat the aged Stone King as already fallen.

The aged Stone King's eyes shot out two beams of eerie green light, like twin balls of ghostfire. His voice was as cold as the grave. "You slippery old tortoise—"

"What? Not happy about going to hell for tea? Just look at yourself—like a ghost wrapped in mist. Invite you to the Celestial Realm for tea, and wouldn't that draw a crowd of ten thousand onlookers? Your disciples and descendants are already plotting to invade the Death World. They've dug your grave for you. When the time comes, we'll have a merry reunion in hell."

The gods grew even more incensed. The old tortoise's attitude was an insult to the entire Otherworld.

"Weng!"

The aged Stone King swung his wolf-fang stone club, sweeping it forward to annihilate.

"Swoosh!"

The old tortoise leaped high, bounding over ten li like a sprightly rabbit—a far cry from his former doddering appearance.

"You old firewood—no etiquette at all! Striking without warning, no style befitting a peerless master! Come, come, let Old Tortoise teach you how to be a warrior of both virtue and skill..."

The old tortoise chattered on endlessly in the distance.

To this, the aged Stone King remained as still as an ancient well. The wolf-fang club swept across a thousand armies, crashing forward. Chaos collapsed, and the primordial demon city in front shook with a rumbling roar.

"There's someone behind you!" the old tortoise shouted.

"Less nonsense. Stalling is useless." The aged Stone King was unmoved; he had locked onto the stone tortoise.

"Grandpa Tortoise says: reject an elder's words, and suffering is what you'll get." The old stone tortoise flickered and vanished from before him.

But the aged Stone King did not pursue. The wolf-fang club expanded without limit, like a mountain ridge hammering down, smashing the chaos to pieces as it descended toward the primordial demon city ahead. That was his true target.

Shua shua shua—

Divine radiance bloomed. Green vines shot skyward. Nine crystalline verdant rattans, like nine jade-green Ancestral Dragons, burst from the primordial demon city. Each stretched dozens of li, like endless mountain ranges, piercing the chaos to meet the descending wolf-fang club.

"BOOM!"

A world-shaking explosion. The power of the entire world seemed to drain away. All the chaos scattered to the four directions, exposing the great earth around the primordial demon city.

The nine divine vines clashed violently with the wolf-fang stone club, both shrouded in divine mist, impossible to see through.

"Crack!"

The nine vines nearly snapped, retreating back into the primordial demon city. But within the city, they quickly healed, restored as before.

Just as the aged Stone King took a step forward to act again, the old stone tortoise's voice came from behind.

"It seems I have no choice but to fight to the death," he said.

He stood upright, like a man carrying a turtle shell on his back, slowly advancing toward the aged Stone King.

The aged Stone King turned abruptly to face the old stone tortoise and swept out with his wolf-fang club. He had no time to waste.

"Swoosh!"

Though the old tortoise had spoken valiantly, when the blow came, he retreated again.

"Dong!"

The aged Stone King swung the club, changing direction to smash into the primordial demon city.

"Grandpa Tortoise says: Overlord Fist of the Ages!"

At this moment, the old stone tortoise struck. His voice shook heaven and earth. His massive fist swelled to the size of a mountain as it came crashing down, divine power shaking the myriad realms.

The gods all changed color. They had not expected the old tortoise's combat power to rise to such a terrifying degree.

Only Xiao Chen grumbled inwardly: what Overlord Fist of the Ages? It was clearly a turtle fist.

"Weng!"

The aged Stone King vanished like a specter in the surging black mist. The wolf-fang club thrust up to meet the sky.

"CRANG!"

A deafening sound, like a thunder god striking iron. The gods' ears rang and buzzed.

The old tortoise's massive fist knocked the wolf-fang stone club high into the air, and an instant later, his second strike—the palm blade—shot out as he shouted: "Grandpa Tortoise says: Peerless Heavenly Palm!"

His tortoise claw was like a rainbow, like a blade, slipping under the rising stone club toward the aged Stone King's chest—accurate and ruthless.

No one had expected that this old tortoise, who claimed to be only a remnant imprint, would possess such terrifying combat power, rivaling a peerless Stone King and forcing the Otherworld Ancestor onto the defensive.

"HOO!"

The palm wind shook heaven and earth. The violent gale blew away all the surrounding chaos. In an instant, the two tortoise claws pressed against the aged Stone King's chest.

At that level of cultivation, the aged Stone King could destroy a great world with a raise of his hand—naturally, he had reached the pinnacle that pierced past and present. Eons of divine principles and countless curses condensed on his chest.

"BAM!"

Fine cracks spread across the aged Stone King's chest. He staggered backward.

"Ow, ow, ow—it hurts so much!" the old stone tortoise yelped, shaking his tortoise claw violently.

The gods felt a bit dizzy. Such a mighty, unparalleled warrior, and he acted like this? He was actually crying out in pain! It was beyond outrageous—where was the majesty of a king?

The old stone tortoise hopped around on the spot for a moment before calming down. "It hurts so much—my gums hurt!"

Everyone was left speechless. This old thing was too arrogant. He was already petrified, yet he had the nerve to blame his teeth. Infuriating and hateful.

"DONG!"

The aged Stone King swung his wolf-fang club forward in a killing strike. No words were spoken, but the killing intent was cold enough to freeze a man to the bone.

This time, the old tortoise did not meet the blow. He shot into the sky, his face solemn. From his mouth came ancient syllables.

"O call across the ages—the one I raised—descend!"

Only the last fragment of that sentence could be understood by the crowd. His tortoise claw tore through space, raising an endless mist.

"BAM!"

A stone arm, fist clenched, burst from the dark hole. It struck the wolf-fang club with savage force, knocking the aged Stone King back a dozen paces.

A headless stone man stepped forth. His formidable combat power made the surrounding chaos automatically surge aside.

He was very strange—not only was he headless, but he also lacked a left arm.

Yet he could not be underestimated!

The aged Stone King's expression turned grave. "You are the king who once shook the Ninety-Nine Stone Steps in ancient times, then split into nine parts and scattered between heaven and earth to escape calamity..."

The gods behind him were shaken. How could they forget this great enemy? In years past, he had terrified the Otherworld gods, sweeping all before him with none able to match him. If he had not gone to shake the Ninety-Nine Stone Steps and inexplicably split apart, the Otherworld might have been in danger.

"...Boy, the head," the old tortoise called to Xiao Chen.

Xiao Chen raised his hand and sent the half of the Stone Man skull flying.

His heart was deeply shaken. The one the old stone tortoise had raised was none other than a king of a past age, once the invincible dominator of the world. He had split into nine parts, becoming the supreme treasure that experts of every generation had sought to collect.

"BAM!"

The half-skull descended onto the broken stone body, emitting a sound that seized the soul. Though a remnant, it exuded an uncanny, terrifying aura that made the gods all sense something was wrong.

"Mind-force, take form! Judgment shall slay the human king, annihilate the god king, extinguish the demon king—kill, kill, kill, kill, kill!"

The aged Stone King shouted, simultaneously swinging his wolf-fang club forward in a killing strike.

With both hands, he attacked. It was clear he placed great importance on this broken stone man before him.

The headless stone man did not seem fully conscious, but his combat instinct was extremely powerful.

His single arm swept across the sky, simultaneously opposing divine principles and the stone club. It crossed the firmament, and chaos rose and fell, shattering and reforming.

"HUM—"

Like a deathly demon note, it shook the gods into blackness before their eyes; all sense was lost.

No one knew what had happened. When their vision cleared again, the aged Stone King's body was mostly shattered—though most of it was old wounds reopened.

Ahead, the broken stone man had also split into several parts, all along the original crack lines.

"RUSTLE."

The aged Stone King re-formed his body. He stared coldly at the broken stone man, then at the old stone tortoise not far away. "Though you are of the same realm as I, you are only a remnant body. How can you contend with me? If this is all you have, no one here today can stop me from waging a war of annihilation!"

"You old firewood, dare to despise us? Today we'll tear you apart!" the old stone tortoise shouted.

Across from him, the broken stone man did not speak a single word. He appeared directly before the aged Stone King. His single arm blazed with ten thousand divine lights, unleashing countless divine principles, while his massive fist came crashing down.

A terrible fluctuation erupted again. In the next instant, the gods lost all sense once more. This was the clash of kings—power so vast that ordinary beings could not look upon it directly.

When the crowd could perceive again, they saw that both stone bodies had split open, having just re-formed.

"If his body were complete, even two of you would be beaten to scrap!" the old stone tortoise called out.

At that moment, the primordial demon city shook, bursting with sky-piercing divine radiance. Keke's grand ancestor was finally about to take the final step completely.

The Otherworld cultivators all changed color.

"A pity. Since I am here, how can I allow such a thing to happen?" The aged Stone King was not at all anxious, unfathomably deep.

The old stone tortoise showed a look of surprise and stepped forward, blocking the front of the divine city. At the same time, Keke's father appeared ahead.

At the same moment, the sound of a zither rang out sharp and clear, a killing tone that shook the heavens. The Human Demon Ge Qian manifested before the divine city, sitting cross-legged.

"A pity, a pity. Even if you all join hands, it is useless. There is only one Stone King—and a remnant body at that. The rest of you have never reached this realm. You cannot change anything."

He did not hurry to strike, standing quietly ahead, gazing at the several great experts and the divinely radiant city.

The more he acted this way, the more uneasy the old stone tortoise felt. "You are a king past your prime, your stone body already cracked and crumbling. What right do you have to bluster so?"

"A billion years ago, I fought all under heaven without a single rival. Even a few giants of the Celestial Realm had to yield before me. When I fought alongside several kings of the Nine Provinces' origin lands, I fell, yet I could revive. Now, though my vitality has not recovered, that is no reason for you to slight me."

The aged Stone King truly had grounds for arrogance. In ancient times, he had swept the world, one of the pinnacle figures among Stone Kings, hard pressed to find an equal.

"I will sacrifice part of my vitality to manifest the divine principles of yore. Let you know what it means to have no equal under heaven and earth!" This withered, rail-thin aged Stone King's words were filled with a demonic quality. "No matter how many come, it will all be useless!"

"Grandpa Tortoise says: stop your yammering, you toothache!" The old stone tortoise sensed danger but still stood at the very front.

Keke's father and Ge Qian also pushed their combat power to the limit, ready to unleash their most supreme divine principles. Xiao Chen, concealed by the Pangu Stone Token, also prepared to unleash his divine diagram.

"A thousand divine principles, ten thousand divine abilities, undying battle power—all will be buried. Heaven and earth are a great tomb. When the world is born, men are buried." The aged Stone King's words were very low and terrifying. Divine principles surged out, instantly shattering chaos and re-creating heaven and earth. He was opening a new world in this chaotic sea to bury everyone!

The aged Stone King instantly opened a world, prepared to bury them all. This heaven-defying method was truly horrifying, making one's hair stand on end.

"When the world is born, men are buried." Like thunder from the Nine Heavens, the words boomed and echoed, shaking this newly opened killing realm.

The primordial demon city ahead was also shaken by the sound, about to crack. He intended to settle everything in one fell blow.

At this moment, the old stone tortoise, Keke's father, Ge Qian, and the broken stone man all struggled with all their might, but their forms began to blur.

Xiao Chen was in the same situation. Even with the divine diagram and ancient scroll, he could barely hold on.

"DONG!"

Suddenly, from the distant Eternal Unknown, a world-shaking explosion rang out, clearly transmitted through the great world barrier into this realm.

"How dare you—!" The aged Stone King changed color instantly. His stony eyes shot two beams of green light, piercing through the world barrier to see at a glance what was happening at the Ninety-Nine Stone Steps.

A majestic figure was wielding a stone blade, hacking at the Ninety-Nine Stone Steps!

Additionally, a massive light source, like a sun, shook the heavens.

Moreover, a single stone arm, shaking heaven and earth, smashed at the mountain-like stone steps.

The gods recognized the figure at once—it was the Martial Ancestor. And that single arm seemed to be another part of the broken stone man before them.

Xiao Chen recognized the light source as the Eternal Light, with Yan Huang likely within it.

The aged Stone King shook with rage. "I will destroy you all first, then go to kill them!"

"When the world is born, men are buried!"

These six words shook the myriad heavens. The several mighty experts ahead could barely hold on, on the verge of destruction. The divine city was also about to crack.

"Grandpa Tortoise says: bring out everything you've got! Don't hold back—we can't take much more!" the old stone tortoise shouted.

From within the divine city, a beam of divine light shot out, condensing into a majestic figure who wielded a gargantuan stone axe and split down!

"WRRR—"

That aura was unparalleled, completely unstoppable!

The great axe split heaven and earth, cleaving the great tomb in a single stroke, turning the dead burial ground back into the grand world.

"Pangu—it is you!"

The aged Stone King was both shocked and furious. He had never expected to meet his ancient mortal enemy from a billion years ago here.

"WENG!"

The heaven-and-earth-opening stone axe emitted a series of terrible snaps as it struck toward the aged Stone King. The majestic figure swooped down with it.

"CRANG!"

The great axe and stone club clashed, deafening.

"CRACK!"

Both of the aged Stone King's arms shattered. He was furious, his eyes shooting two terrible beams of light as he roared, "No!"