The Peerless King's Defeat

The Peerless King of the Ages, Meng Degang, was in a miserable state. His stone body had already been robbed of its lower half by three skeletons, and now he was under the most violent assault.

The Stone Man King puppet raised a single hand to the sky; the heavens split and collapsed, invincible wherever it went. At the first clash, it shattered Meng Degang's right arm.

"Back!" Meng Degang retreated swiftly. His severed arm shimmered and regrew in an instant. Having already lost the lower half of his stone body to the three skeletons, he dared not be careless again—if the upper half was also taken, it would be a mockery.

"Chi!"

Xiao Chen merged his body with the Divine Diagram, his entire form becoming as thin as a blade. He slashed down diagonally, turning into an unbreakable longsword.

Meng Degang's eyes were icy. He shifted position to dodge, and in the same instant flicked his finger. Ten beams of light shot forth like ten swords, tearing through the void to strike the Divine Diagram.

"Clang!"

The Divine Diagram trembled. Xiao Chen swayed, feeling the Peerless King's formidable combat power. He transformed into a hazy phantom, spinning past.

"Shua!"

Nine-colored radiance bloomed, divine rays cascaded, auspicious light streamed. Keke made her move. Though the little one appeared innocent, her divine abilities were astonishing. Seizing the moment as Meng Degang shifted and flicked his finger, she unleashed the powers she had comprehended after stepping onto the Upper Ancestral God path.

Like a rainbow spanning the ages, like auspicious splendor piercing the future, she enveloped Meng Degang in an instant.

Facing this delicate little creature, the Peerless King of the Ages had not taken her seriously at first. But the moment the nine-colored divine rainbows touched him, his expression changed. The nine beams of light bound him like nine ropes, and his divine power began to drain rapidly. In the blink of an eye, he had lost ten percent of his power!

"Bang!"

He shook his crippled body. The stone flesh blazed with brilliant light, breaking free of the bonds. His battle body emitted thunderous sounds as his mystical art cycled several times to restore that lost power.

"I underestimated you..." After they separated, Meng Degang stared at Xiao Chen and Keke, and became even more wary of the Stone Man King puppet.

"I told you, since this stone body of yours is already crippled, why not lend it to me?" Xiao Chen studied him like an appraising a piece of goods. He had roughly gauged the combat power of this stone body and was not overly concerned.

Meng Degang's stone body was indeed ruined, unable to exert its true combat strength. The only threat was his powerful divine sense.

Sure enough, in that moment Meng Degang unleashed his fearsome spiritual power. Twin beams of intense golden light blazed from his eyes like two divine fires—one aimed at Xiao Chen, the other at the Stone Man King puppet. He wanted not only to kill Xiao Chen with his mental power, but also to seize control of the Stone Man King puppet, having already recognized that this stone body was far stronger than his own crippled form—the perfect vessel.

"Hua la la!"

Light flashed as Xiao Chen shook out the Ancient Scroll to intercept the golden beam. The stone spear within the scroll burst out, and with a "clang" it met the golden light. This was a true stone spear, seized from the Daoist Xutian, originally one of the Five Kings' relics. Struck by the stone spear, Meng Degang's body trembled. He felt the Dao resonance of a Great Perfection Stone Man King, a powerful shock that destabilized his divine sense.

Affected by this, the golden beam shooting toward the Stone Man King puppet was severely wounded as well. The puppet spat out an even fiercer radiance that nearly scattered the attacking beam. The terrifying quintessence of a Stone Man King wreaked immense damage on the invading spirit.

Meng Degang cried out. His crippled body flew backward as he tried to retreat.

He feared Xiao Chen, but the threat of the Stone Man puppet was far greater. In his current state, he could absolutely not contend with it.

"Dong!"

Heaven and earth shook. The scenery before them transformed completely. The Peerless King of the Ages, Meng Degang, paled as he realized he had entered a strange world.

Xiao Chen had opened the Eight Aspect Worlds, trapping his powerful foe within. The Thunder Aspect raged with millions of mountain-thick purple lightning bolts; the Earth Aspect was heavy and solid; the Fire Aspect blazed with divine flames that swept across the sky; the Heaven Aspect towered vast and immense; the Water Aspect churned with boundless waves; the Marsh Aspect was shrouded in deep mist; the Wind Aspect howled with fierce gales; the Mountain Aspect rose in majestic grandeur.

"Dare to trap my stone body? I'll shatter your world and annihilate your soul!" He crossed his hands together, forming a seal, about to break the Eight Aspect Worlds.

But in that instant, the eight worlds began to rotate. A Stone Man King battle body suddenly appeared beside him, and a great hand reached down to grab him.

Meng Degang shouted, not daring to clash with the Stone Man puppet, and retreated.

At the same time, the eight worlds turned. The Divine Diagram, the Ancient Scroll, the three Heavenly Marks, the King's Divine City, the Stone Man King puppet, and Xiao Chen each occupied one aspect, pressing down on him simultaneously.

This was an unprecedented method. Within the Eight Aspect Worlds, each aspect held a supreme treasure, the gathered power reaching an extreme peak.

"Break for me!"

Meng Degang shouted again, forming hand seals and slamming them toward the Heaven Aspect, seeking a breakthrough there.

The Heavenly Mark that was pressing down on that aspect emerged, transforming into a giant Heavenly Stele that crashed forward. At the same time, the vast Heaven Aspect itself descended.

In that moment, the Peerless King was deeply shocked. This aspect had also condensed the power of the other seven worlds—the strength of the Eight Aspect rotation lay in the fusion of all eight. Each aspect carried the full force of all eight worlds. The iron fist of the Stone Man King, the giant stele of the Heavenly Mark, the Ancient Scroll, the Divine Diagram—all were fused with their respective aspects, grinding him from every direction.

"Bang!"

Meng Degang bore the combined assault of the Stone Man King and all eight aspects. His stone arms shattered on the spot, his divine sense was crushed, and he was sent flying.

But within this eight-aspect space, no matter where he fled, he could not break out. Everywhere was within attack range.

"Rumble!"

The eight aspects shook in unison, the eight worlds turned, grinding toward him again.

This was Xiao Chen's original divine ability, now at last fully matured. Millions of purple lightning bolts, each as thick as a mountain, raged down from the Thunder Aspect like heavenly punishment, causing even the sun and moon to pale. Endless divine fire poured from the Fire Aspect, melting all things, burning into an ocean of flame with no shore in sight. Towering peaks rose in endless ranges, each scraping the sky, appearing as if they had crossed the ages from the primordial era, manifesting in the Mountain Aspect to press down...

Eight worlds, eight primordial forces, all incarnated as tangible forms. Combined with the various supreme treasures, they battered the Peerless King of the Ages until he felt the urge to vomit blood. His stone body was completely shattered.

"Indestructible and immortal, stone man reborn!" Meng Degang shouted, gathering his shattered remains and charging toward the Marsh Aspect where Xiao Chen was. He had to break out or he would be in real danger.

"Eight Aspects, Unite!"

Though the enemy was crippled, he was still called the Peerless King of the Ages. Xiao Chen unleashed his ultimate power. After the Eight Aspects cycled, he brought them together as one.

Heavy as earth, vast as heaven, boundless as the sea, towering as mountains—the eight worlds merged behind Xiao Chen into a chaotic, hazy mass of divine power, shaking the eight extremes.

"Pu!"

Xiao Chen stood tall. The stone spear in his hand tore through the void and shattered the heavens, plunging with irresistible force into the crumbling stone body. It was the fusion of the Eight Aspect Worlds' essence, the transmission of power from the Divine Diagram, the Ancient Scroll, and the Heavenly Marks—a gathered force vast as an ocean. The stone spear pierced through Meng Degang's head, emerging from the back of his skull with half the spear's length.

Meng Degang's face, which had just been reforming, was filled with stunned disbelief. He had not expected such an outcome. The stone spear had pierced his forehead, its length protruding from the back of his head!

"Ah..."

In that moment, Meng Degang roared. His immense divine sense erupted from his stone body without reserve, sweeping out like a sky-covering tide to kill Xiao Chen.

"Hōng!"

Behind him, within the hazy chaos, a stone giant's hand reached out, grasping for that boundless spirit. At the same time, the Divine Diagram and the Ancient Scroll spun and slashed toward it.

Meng Degang let out a furious, despairing shriek, turned, and fled. He did not have the courage to withstand a second combined strike from the Stone Man King puppet and the other treasures.

With Meng Degang's stone body skewered on his stone spear, Xiao Chen gave chase. Throughout, the Eight Aspects remained united, with the Stone Man King, the Divine Diagram, and the Heavenly Marks arrayed beside him, almost merging with him, transmitting boundless power.

Eight Aspect Extreme—Unrivaled Under Heaven!

Xiao Chen's body blazed with divine flames, his presence dominating the eight wastelands. His overwhelming aura scattered the deathly leaden clouds for tens of thousands of miles.

"Dong!"

He thrust the stone spear forward mercilessly. The indestructible stone weapon traced a terrible arc and pierced through the mass of fleeing divine sense ahead.

"Rumble!"

Space collapsed. Time was thrown into chaos. This world seemed to undergo a great cataclysm. Meng Degang shrieked incessantly as his vast divine sense suffered a terrible wound.

Xiao Chen concentrated the power of the Eight Aspect Worlds into the battle spear, unifying both, and charged straight through the sea-like spirit, piercing out the other side.

"I will not let you go!" The Peerless King screamed in agony as his colossal divine sense fled into the distance.

With the half of the stone body impaled on his spear, Xiao Chen shouted, "You're welcome! Thank you for the stone body!"

Upon hearing this, Meng Degang's rage nearly set the nine heavens ablaze. But he did not stop, plunging into the distant battlefield and disappearing into the giant city that was being besieged by seven Stone Men, returning to his nirvana ground.

To have his stone body seized twice by different opponents—this was a huge joke. For a man with the title "Peerless King of the Ages," these brief experiences felt utterly unreal, driving him to the edge of madness.

Xiao Chen instantly teleported tens of thousands of miles away, then withdrew his Eight Aspect Worlds. He set down the stone body still pierced on the stone spear and, without any delay, began the Sacred Sacrifice on the spot.

At that same moment, deep in the distant Death World, three skeletons were racing at full speed. They had already traveled hundreds of thousands of miles, evading all manner of dangerous terrain. The three creatures looked quite comical, each carrying a stone leg or a stone torso on their shoulders, sneaking glances behind them every so often.

They moved with great caution, clearly familiar with this path, avoiding every perilous area. After another hundred thousand miles or so, they reached their destination. Carefully, they entered a dead forest and stopped in a swamp. Clearing away the mud and sludge, they revealed a massive stone platform beneath, engraved with an ancient summoning formation.

Together, they sent their divine power into the formation, activating it. Light flashed, and before them materialized a graceful silhouette.

It was a young maiden—ethereal and transcendent, her brows filled with spiritual essence, her eyes like an autumn poem. Her red lips were soft and charming, her white teeth like crystalline jade. She seemed free of worldly dust, not of the mundane world. Petals drifted down around her, crystalline and fragrant.

Yet on closer inspection, this was not a true body of flesh and blood, but something condensed from divine radiance. She nodded at the three skeletons, received the stone body of the Peerless King of the Ages, and then vanished in a flash of light.