Chapter 32: A Slight Show of Force

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Although Zhang Hu was tall and powerfully built, giving the impression of a simple brute, reality was quite different.

The cultivators from the Wuji Sect who had followed Elder Li here had all been selected through layer upon layer of scrutiny.

Zhang Fang was likewise a Core Formation cultivator, but her cultivation had been piled up with countless medicinal pills. Calling her a good-for-nothing would not have been an exaggeration.

Even so, Zhang Hu had somehow managed to bring her here, which showed that he was no ordinary man.

The moment he saw Fang Zhiyi and Wang Lin walk into the ice mountain without even frowning, he realized that the two of them must have concealed their cultivation.

To this day, he had not noticed that their cultivation was most likely even higher than his own.

In that case, they were...

Nascent Soul cultivators!

Zhang Hu hesitated for almost no time at all before following closely behind them.

Fang Zhiyi naturally noticed, but she said nothing.

Just as Fang Zhiyi had expected, they wandered around the ice mountain for a full half hour without eliciting any reaction from it.

But the moment that half hour passed, the ice mountain began to shake violently. The entire earth seemed to tremble along with it.

The massive chunks of ice came hurtling toward them as though they had grown eyes.

Unlike the others, Fang Zhiyi remained standing where she was. A huge block of ice was about to crash into her.

Yet Fang Zhiyi remained utterly calm. Wang Lin, however, felt his heart leap into his throat.

He rushed toward her, completely ignoring the giant block of ice pursuing him from behind.

Too slow. Too slow.

Unfortunately, Wang Lin was still too slow. The ice grazed past him, flying so close that it nearly brushed his hair and stirred up a frigid gust of wind before speeding straight toward Fang Zhiyi.

Wang Lin's heart lurched violently, and an intense sense of dread rose within him. At that moment, he could feel the back of his robes soaked through with cold sweat.

Fortunately, just before the ice struck Fang Zhiyi, she shifted aside and dodged it. The massive block slammed directly into the ice behind her and shattered in an instant.

The others, who had been busy dodging, froze for a moment. Then they began imitating Fang Zhiyi, evading the attacks of the giant stones in the same manner.

The method truly worked. The huge chunks of ice that had pursued them relentlessly shattered one after another, no longer posing any threat.

Wang Lin had no time to concern himself with anything else. He hurried to Fang Zhiyi's side and anxiously examined her from head to toe.

"Are you all right?"

Because the other two were present, he did not say the word "Master."

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Fang Zhiyi shook her head, her expression solemn.

"What we need to be careful of is what comes next."

The moment she finished speaking, a rumbling sound rang out.

Then, atop the summit of the ice mountain, an ice sculpture resembling a giant ape rose to its feet. It stood at least five meters tall and was enormous beyond comparison.

Zhang Fang turned deathly pale.

"What is that thing?"

Fang Zhiyi's gaze turned cold.

"It is the guardian deity of this mountain. The mountain itself was transformed from its body. If we want to leave this place alive, we must kill it."

As soon as Fang Zhiyi finished speaking, Wang Lin charged forward without the slightest hesitation. He had always trusted her words unconditionally. Raising his long sword, he rushed straight at the giant ape.

Even though his opponent stood five meters tall, Wang Lin showed no sign of retreat.

A cold, terrifying aura radiated from the ape's massive body. It roared furiously at Wang Lin, seemingly ready to tear him to pieces at any moment.

Wang Lin shot through the air toward it. The ape's fists were swift and vicious, each strike aimed directly at his vital points.

Fortunately, his reactions were exceedingly fast, and he successfully dodged every blow.

Seeing this, Zhang Hu and Zhang Fang were both stunned. Neither of them had known that Wang Lin's swordsmanship was so profound and unfathomable.

Fang Zhiyi frowned slightly.

"What are the two of you staring at?"

Only then did Zhang Hu recover. After giving Zhang Fang a few instructions, he hefted the axe in his hand and charged toward the ape.

Although he wielded an axe, its power was tremendous. Every blow contained his full strength, perfectly befitting his burly appearance.

Zhang Fang looked at Fang Zhiyi and gave an unhappy cold snort.

"You sent my brother to help, so why are you just standing there instead of joining the battle?"

Fang Zhiyi's brows drew together slightly, but she ignored Zhang Fang entirely.

The atmosphere gradually grew tense.

Wang Lin and Zhang Hu were no match for the ape. Every counterattack it launched was savage, and each movement went straight for their vital points.

Fang Zhiyi could now confirm that the ape possessed strength at the Nascent Soul level. As for why it had been able to kill cultivators who were likewise at the Nascent Soul stage, it was likely because of the ice mountain itself.

Fang Zhiyi flew forward and looked down at the ape. Her expression was calm and indifferent, as though she stood above everything and regarded none of it as worthy of concern.

"Move aside."

Her voice was cold—colder, it seemed, than the ice surrounding them.

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Wang Lin did not continue fighting. He immediately dodged away.

A trace of mockery flashed across Fang Zhiyi's face. Then she raised her hand and made a gesture in the air: all five fingers held flat, then slowly closing downward as though grasping something.

The ape had never taken Fang Zhiyi seriously. It had considered Wang Lin and Zhang Hu its opponents.

Now that Wang Lin had withdrawn, Zhang Hu became its sole target. While the two of them remained locked in combat, Fang Zhiyi's spiritual sense successfully entered the ape's true body.

Her five fingers curled ever so slightly, and the ape's movements immediately began to slow.

A flash of delight crossed Zhang Hu's heart. He raised his axe and chopped downward, but things did not go as he wished. The solid ice was not something he could shatter with ease.

A flicker of annoyance passed through Fang Zhiyi's eyes as she watched the scene before her. By then, Wang Lin had already flown eighty feet away. Once he had reached a distance where he would not be injured, he let out a sigh of relief.

He would never cause Fang Zhiyi trouble. Since she had told him to move aside, he had moved aside.

Fang Zhiyi had no concern whatsoever for the life or death of others. Her hand clenched into a fist, and with a muffled explosion, the ape shattered into pieces.

The fragments shot in every direction like razor-sharp arrows.

The sudden turn of events left Zhang Hu no time to react. A jagged shard of ice sliced across his cheek, and the blood stood out starkly against the white world around him.

There was nowhere left for him to hide. He was certain to be caught in the blast.

When he looked up, he saw that Wang Lin was already far away. Fang Zhiyi was still standing where she had been, yet the explosion had clearly not affected her in the slightest.

She was absolutely extraordinary.

If Wang Lin had been the strongest among them, then he would not have been the one told to flee. From the very beginning, they had been wrong...

Wrong beyond measure.

The next instant, Zhang Hu closed his eyes. He could not escape. He knew very well that with his Core Formation cultivation, all he could do was wait for death.

The only thing he was worried about was Zhang Fang.

Yet the agony he had imagined never came. Instead, Zhang Hu heard a muffled groan.

He opened his eyes, and the sight before him made him cry out.

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