Primordial Killing Ground

Xiao Chen and his companions all changed color. This old Daoist, who seemed ethereal and harmless, with a plain and indifferent demeanor, could he be the Little Stone Emperor from before the Primordial Age? This was utterly unexpected. They had traveled with him the entire way without detecting anything unusual.

A chill ran down their spines. The old Daoist was a being of flesh and blood, not a Stone Man. If he truly was the Little Stone Emperor, that would mean… he had broken through on the Stone Man path!

That would be true flesh-and-blood rebirth, ascending another level, no longer a cold stone body, advancing simultaneously on the path of the Supreme Ancestral God and the Stone Man.

"Meow like a cat!" Sha Polang's face turned deathly pale. Along the way, he had not spared his slander against the Little Stone Emperor. Wasn't this like provoking a god, like pulling hairs from a monk's head?

"What are you saying?" the old Daoist asked, looking bewildered.

Stone Crow had already entered a combat state, flapping its wings like a black sun suspended in midair, its eyes flashing with golden light and flames blazing. "Little Stone Emperor, stop pretending. I would know your bones even if you were ground to ash!"

"Wait!" Old Bone Skull flew over to block Stone Crow. "He truly does not have that kind of power. His strength cannot compare to the Little Stone Emperor's."

"Infinite… Ancestor!" the old Daoist said calmly under this overwhelming pressure, patiently explaining, "I am truly not the Little Stone Emperor. He is my ancestor. That is our only connection."

"I would recognize you even if you were turned to ash!" Stone Crow sneered coldly. Its razor-sharp claws, capable of tearing a Stone Man King, clanged with metallic force and flashed with a sinister gleam as they reached down.

"Clang! Clang!"

Old Bone Skull endured the black stone claws, sparks flying, like metal striking stone. He blocked it and said, "Hold your hand. It likely really isn't him."

"Impossible!" Stone Crow shouted. "Look at the Seven Stars of the Big Dipper red moles on his left palm! Whose could they be if not the Little Stone Emperor's?"

Everyone looked closely. On the old Daoist's left palm, there were indeed seven red moles in the pattern of the Big Dipper. According to cultivation lore, those born with such extraordinary marks were definitely anomalies, destined to be kings wielding ultimate power.

Old Bone Skull also hesitated, but finally stopped him and said, "We can act after we clarify the situation."

The old Daoist looked helpless under interrogation. "I am merely a descendant of the Little Stone Emperor, not that mighty lord of the Primordial Age. If I possessed that kind of power, would you not have sensed it?"

Stone Crow grabbed the old Daoist and used a supreme divine technique to probe his entire body, every acupoint, even his hair, but found no trace of the Little Stone Emperor's aura, no evidence of his primordial spirit residing in this body.

Stone Crow stared at Old Bone Skull. "I know you once had ties with the Little Stone Emperor. Whether he is his descendant or himself, you will do your utmost to protect him."

Under Old Bone Skull repeated dissuasion, Stone Crow temporarily put away his killing intent.

The Heaven-Splitting Valley, the Little Stone Emperor's tomb—was there still any need to go? That was the question before them.

Now, with someone who closely resembled the Little Stone Emperor before them, doubts were inevitable.

Stone Crow and Old Bone Skull thought back to events of the Primordial Age and deduced a possibility. In the end, they decided they must make the journey to the Heaven-Splitting Valley. For even if the Little Stone Emperor's remains were not there, some terrible weapon was surely buried there that must be retrieved.

Of course, they could not charge in recklessly. They had to prepare.

After a brief rest of several days, with Old Bone Skull's help, Stone Crow recovered most of his vitality. His dried stone body gradually regained life force, though most of his black feathers had fallen away, leaving bare stone patches.

Under the cover of the Pangu Stone Token, Stone Crow and Old Bone Skull accompanied Xiao Chen to scout the location where Lu Zhan was hiding. They saw that this ancient relic was very patient, taking no action, sitting cross-legged on his demon mountain, motionless, merged with the mountain and earth, still as a rock.

"This old demon king knows the location, but he fears being ambushed at the Heaven-Splitting Valley. He is reluctant to act rashly. I wonder what plan he will devise."

Stone Crow and the others also had their misgivings. Whoever appeared first at the Heaven-Splitting Valley would take the blame, be seen by the Floating Sky Ancestor as the villain who imprisoned his disciple.

"Let us use the Pangu Stone Token as cover and go take a look at the Heaven-Splitting Valley," Old Bone Skull suggested.

Besides these two ancients, only Xiao Chen accompanied them. The others did not follow.

Heaven-Splitting Valley was a deadly location, extremely treacherous. A colossal Primordial Mountain, over ten thousand zhang tall, had been split in two from the middle, forming a massive fissure that extended deep underground.

Around this sundered mountain, ancient trees towered to the sky, strange rocks stood in grotesque formations. As they neared the great canyon, clouds and mist grew thick, shrouding everything in obscurity, unfathomably deep. Even powerful cultivators were reluctant to venture in.

"This is the territory your demon race once ruled. Have you ever explored it?" Old Bone Skull asked Stone Crow.

"I did explore it once. Below is an extreme yin ground, but I found nothing," Stone Crow replied, scanning the surroundings for clues.

"Boom!"

At that moment, a monstrous demonic flame erupted from the great canyon, instantly blotting out the sky for a hundred li around, trapping Stone Crow, Old Bone Skull, and Xiao Chen within.

"This is the Demon-Refining Soul-Locking Formation!" Old Bone Skull exclaimed in shock.

Around the Heaven-Splitting Valley, baleful energy soared to the heavens, demonic light swirled like an endless sea of fire blazing. Stone Crow clearly felt something was wrong. "I feel this was specially set for us…"

Then, heaven and earth overturned, mountains shifted and valleys changed, rocks crumbled and pines withered, the stars rotated and moved. In an instant, it was as if they had traversed the endless ages.

Around them, white bone platforms emerged, and massive palaces pressed down from the sky, completely sealing and suppressing the region.

"In addition to the Demon-Refining Soul-Locking Formation, there is also the White Bone Absolute Palace Formation. Two Primordial Killing Formations combined—this was set to kill a Stone Man King!" Old Bone Skull's eye sockets shot two terrifying beams of light.

Stone Crow's expression was also extremely grim. They had never expected that as soon as they approached, without even penetrating deep into the canyon, they would be sealed in this place.

"Something is off!" Xiao Chen, Stone Crow, and Old Bone Skull all agreed.

"You guessed right. I set this specially for you!" Outside the Primordial Killing Formation, a demonic shadow materialized, standing in darkness with only a pair of eyes gleaming with a sinister light.

Black mist surged around his towering body, making him seem savage, powerful, and terrifying.

"You—Lu Zhan!" Stone Crow's heart sank. Earlier, Lu Zhan had tried to kill him, and now he had laid down an absolute formation to refine them. Stone Crow was enraged.

Xiao Chen and Old Bone Skull also sensed great trouble. This was definitely not the location of the Little Stone Emperor's tomb. It was a killing trap set in advance by Lu Zhan.

"Did you truly think I, Lu Zhan, was easy meat?" The towering demonic shadow, hidden within black clouds with only a vague outline, seemed even more demonic. He said with a sinister smile, "I had my suspicions that someone was spying on me, so I deliberately spoke the three words 'Heaven-Splitting Valley' and then set up a killing formation. I never thought I would actually lure you here. Perfect! You walked right into the trap!"

Hearing this, a chill ran through Xiao Chen's heart. This ancient relic was truly deep and terrifying in his scheming. Simply because he was suspicious by nature, he had laid down this Primordial Killing Formation, directly leading them into a desperate plight.

This also showed from the side that Lu Zhan had a sinister and unfathomable mind—truly a terrifying figure.

"Lu Zhan, you are very good!" Stone Crow ground his teeth. He had originally wanted to set up an absolute formation of his own to grind down his opponent, but instead he had been outwitted.

"Refining the two of you will surely let me break through my shackles and attain supreme creation. Then I will sweep the world!" Lu Zhan's voice was extremely cold. His towering demonic shadow was like a mountain, bringing overwhelming pressure. "Enjoy this Primordial Killing Ground!"

With that, he sat cross-legged in the sky, motionless, and began to activate the absolute formation.

"Wuwu…"

A chilling wind howled. One hundred and eight white bone platforms spun wildly. A blood-colored hell emerged, a mountain of blades and a sea of swords appeared, an Asura killing field manifested… A full one hundred and eight kinds of vicious absolute domains interwove, creating endless variations.

Stone Crow's half-bald body spread his black wings, blazing flames soaring to the sky as he propped up a black light screen to block the lethal formation.

But the changes of the Primordial Killing Formation were beyond human power. It had been made to deal with Stone Man Kings. How could it be resisted?

In the sky above, there were also one hundred and eight heavenly palaces! Each was bathed in sacred radiance, with a Lu Zhan seated inside each one.

One hundred and eight heavenly palaces, one hundred and eight Lu Zhans!

They pressed down mightily from the heavens, sending down tremendous pressure, sweeping down beams of divine light that interwove into an endless net, thin but inescapable—the tangible order of the Great Dao!

"Chi, chi, chi…"

Even a being as powerful as Stone Crow had his black feathers burst into flame. Pressed between one hundred and eight hells and one hundred and eight heavenly palaces, he endured immense pressure, his body on the verge of shattering.

Old Bone Skull also let out a long roar, displaying his divine might to resist this Primordial Killing Formation.

But this was only the beginning of the ordeal. Besides the White Bone Absolute Palace Formation, there was also the Demon-Refining Soul-Locking Formation to assist. Countless demons and ancient gods appeared, wailing like ghosts and howling like gods, making everything even more terrifying.

Although Xiao Chen wore the Ancient Scroll, he was not a Stone Man King after all. He still felt as if he were about to be destroyed, strands of life essence departing from his body.

Stone Crow, Old Bone Skull, and Xiao Chen underwent life-and-death trials. The two Primordial Killing Formations were stripping their life essence, refining them within the formation.

Lu Zhan's true body sat cross-legged in the sky, motionless, his demonic body surrounded by endless streams of life essence.

"Stripping is only the beginning. Your lives will come to an end, helping me ascend to the ultimate peak!" His aura grew even more powerful.

An absolute formation to seal and kill a Stone Man King—its power against heaven was immense. It was very difficult to reverse such a deadly situation.

At this point, nothing could be held back. Xiao Chen wrapped the Ancient Scroll around his body, held a King-level Divine City over his head, merged with the Divine Diagram, arranged several Heavenly Marks beside him, cradled a Heavenly Stele in his arms, and finally even offered up the Stone Man King puppet. He raised his fist to strike the heavens, shaking the Primordial Killing Ground, trying to force a breakthrough.

Stone Crow and Old Bone Skull stared wide-eyed. With so many powerful battle treasures, even in this critical moment, they couldn't help but swallow their saliva.

"Such luxury! Shameful waste!"

"Boy, focus your mind! Offer up these battle treasures. We will assist you in turning the tide and breaking out!"

"No! We will reverse-refine him!" Stone Crow seemed filled with confidence. "United, these sacred relics are enough to defy heaven!"

So many sacred objects combined were no trivial matter. Their power was earth-shattering, surpassing past and present, an unmatched divine force!

They immediately shook the Primordial Killing Ground, startling Lu Zhan's true body outside the formation.

"Boom!"

At that moment, a devastating aura suddenly erupted from the Heaven-Splitting Valley. Seven black stars rushed out, instantly expanding and fixing themselves in the sky.

An unimaginable power flooded heaven and earth, drowning the area. The seven black stars were colossal, slowly rotating in the sky.

Another supreme grand formation had emerged!

It covered not only Stone Crow, Xiao Chen, and the others but also Lu Zhan and the two Primordial Killing Formations, enveloping them in an even more terrifying absolute formation.

"The seven demon stars that the Little Stone Emperor was born with in his palm!" Lu Zhan ground his teeth, muttering, "His tomb is not located in this region—how did his power manifest here?!"

"Lu Zhan, you sinister, poisonous bastard! You brought harm to us and played yourself to death as well!" Stone Crow shouted.