Chapter 510 - 220: Giant Tree
Layers of spear shadows stacked upon each other, forming the phantom of a solid, massive mountain before him. With its heavy Mountainous Momentum, it attempted to block the earth-shattering punch head-on.
BOOM—!!!
The Fist Gang and spear shadows collided violently!
Like a meteor crashing into the earth, a deafening explosion instantly filled the entire stone chamber!
A violent wave of qi exploded outward in a ring, slamming against the surrounding walls and creating a muffled echo.
Chen Qing felt an indescribable, colossal force surge madly up the shaft of his spear, far surpassing the combined power of the three Puppets from the twenty-seventh layer!
The mountain phantom trembled violently before shattering with a bang!
The Diancang Spear was struck so hard it bent dramatically, letting out a groan as if overwhelmed!
Each of his steps left a deep footprint on the specially-made stone slabs, and his spear-wielding arms grew numb and sore.
His Eight Extremes Vajra Body had absorbed most of the impact.
The Puppet’s body also shuddered, but it felt no pain. Without the slightest pause, its form flickered and shadowed him, unleashing a continuous chain of punches!
The Fist Momentum was like a torrential storm. Each punch was wrapped in condensed Gold Attribute True Astral, shining with a brilliant golden light and carrying immense force. It completely enveloped the space around Chen Qing, giving him no room to breathe!
Chen Qing pushed his Body Technique to its absolute limit, dodging and weaving within the cramped stone chamber. His Diancang Spear transformed into streaks of flashing lightning, sometimes blocking with Mountainous Momentum, other times counter-attacking with the swift thrusts of Thunderous Momentum.
CLANG CLANG CLANG! RUMBLE!
The sounds of their clashes were as dense as a thousand war drums beating at once!
Overflowing Qi Force left countless deep marks on the floor and walls.
Relying on his dual Spear Momentum, Chen Qing didn’t fall behind in the slightest. He even managed to gain a slight advantage.
Just then, the Puppet threw a ferocious straight punch, a direct strike aimed at his center.
Chen Qing didn’t dodge. He unleashed his Eight Extremes Vajra Body to its full extent!
HUM!
A brilliant bronze luster erupted from his skin, his muscles coiling like dragons. He took the punch head-on with his chest!
DONG!
A muffled sound, like the striking of a bronze bell!
Chen Qing’s body shook violently, but thanks to his powerful Primordial physique, he endured the blow that was strong enough to shatter stone. His feet remained rooted to the spot as if they had grown into the ground!
And in exchange, he had created a perfect opportunity for himself!
The True Astral within Chen Qing’s body surged at an unprecedented speed, all of it pouring into the Diancang Spear!
The Momentum of Mountain and Thunder blended perfectly, condensing at the tip of the spear into an infinitesimally small point of brilliant, cold light!
He thrust his spear!
Fast! Precise! Vicious!
Like a bolt of lightning tearing through the darkness, it stabbed with absolute precision toward the Puppet’s core, exposed by its punch!
The Puppet seemed to sense the mortal danger. It was too late to defend. The faint golden True Astral around its body flared up instantly in an attempt to block the attack head-on!
SCREEECH—!
The tip of the Diancang Spear scraped violently against the Body-Protecting True Astral, emitting a piercing, cringe-worthy sound!
The lightning-like Spear Force spun madly, tearing and piercing through!
Finally!
After a momentary stalemate, the tough Body-Protecting True Astral was forcefully drilled through!
The spear tip, with unstoppable momentum, struck hard against the core protected by the Dark Gold Armor!
KRAK!
A crisp cracking sound rang out! The starlight in the Puppet’s eyes froze for an instant, then quickly dimmed.
Its forward momentum froze abruptly, and its raised fist fell limply.
CLATTER... The components making up its body fell to the floor in a heap.
Twenty-eighth layer, cleared!
Chen Qing took a deep breath. Taking that punch head-on had still caused him some damage.
After all, it was a punch from an expert at the Outer Astral Realm!
...
「Outside the Celestial Treasure Tower.」
The square was buzzing with voices, and most people’s gazes were focused on the few names at the very top.
Suddenly, someone with sharp eyes cried out in alarm, "Look! Chen Qing! His name is moving!"
This immediately drew the attention of many people nearby.
Countless gazes shot in unison toward the middle section of the stone tablet.
They saw the layer number next to Chen Qing’s name jump from twenty-seven to twenty-eight!
And his ranking shot up like a rocket, instantly surpassing more than a dozen people ahead of him. It broke into the top twenty and finally settled at—sixteenth place!
Silence! A brief silence!
It was as if time had frozen for a moment.
Then, a tremendous uproar erupted like a tsunami!
"The twe... twenty-eighth layer?! He passed the twenty-eighth layer?!"
"How is that possible?! He’s only at the Early-stage Astral Force... No, he must have broken through to the Mid-stage Astral Force."
"Even for the Mid-stage Astral Force, the twenty-eighth layer is just unbelievable!"
"What’s this Chen Qing’s background? I heard he’s not even thirty yet!?"
"A monster! Another monster! How are there so many prodigies in this batch of the Hundred Sects’ selection!"
The sounds of discussion, exclamation, and incredulous doubt instantly flooded the area around the Celestial Treasure Tower.
Everyone’s face was etched with shock.
A disciple not yet thirty had come from behind to break into the ranks of the top echelon!
This was simply incredible!
Shen Xiuyong, Qiao Hongyun, and the others were dumbfounded, their mouths agape, unable to speak for a long moment.
The composure on Shang Lujing’s face vanished instantly, replaced by a grave expression. "The twenty-eighth layer..."
’Chen Qing actually caught up to the top echelon!?’
How could he not be astonished!?
An unprecedented light burst forth from Zhuo Xiaoyun’s cool eyes. She stared at the stone tablet as if she were truly seeing this seemingly low-key young man for the first time.
Xiao Bieli felt as if a basin of cold water had been dumped over him.
He had thought he was closing the distance, only to find that the other person had already left him far behind. A helpless feeling of defeat began to spread through him.
"The twenty-eighth layer... He’s actually become this strong..."
he muttered, his gaze fixed on the stone tablet with a complex expression.
Further away, those Inner Sect Elites of the Celestial Treasure Upper Sect who had been watching casually—especially the few "True Successor Candidates"—now turned their gazes to the stone tablet, then to the entrance of the Celestial Treasure Tower.
’The twenty-eighth layer!?’
’Not even thirty years old!?’
Either of these facts alone would not have been enough to move them, but the two combined were an entirely different matter.
At this moment, top-ten disciples like Luo Qianjue and Qiu Qixing also looked over.
A name they had never paid any mind to before.
Qiu Qixing said in a grave tone, "Chen Qing!? Is he regulating his breath to recover and prepare to challenge the twenty-ninth layer?"
His name had appeared on the tablet, but he hadn’t come out, which meant he was clearly still inside the Treasure Tower.
In one of the pavilions, Elder Huo’en, who had been in the middle of giving commentary, suddenly stopped talking. When he saw the name "Chen Qing" followed by "twenty-eight," his heart skipped a beat.
"Chen Qing? Bring me his file, let me see!"
He asked the person beside him.
Another disciple had entered the top echelon. The significance of this was completely different!
This was very likely a rising star with immense potential!
The young woman was also full of surprise and hurriedly flipped through the file in her hands. "Yunlin Prefecture, Wutai Sect... Selection ranking: twenty-ninth..."
"Twenty-ninth?"
Huo’en muttered to himself, "In just a few short months, from twenty-ninth to sixteenth, and clearing the twenty-eighth layer... This child has hidden his strength well! His potential is likely no less than that of Tian Pingning, or even..."
He looked at the Celestial Treasure Tower, his eyes burning. "He still hasn’t come out!"
Almost simultaneously, in another pavilion, Deng Ziheng, Gong Nansong, and Elder Feng also noticed the commotion below and the change on the stone tablet.
Elder Feng’s hand, holding his wine cup, paused slightly. His gaze fell on Chen Qing’s name, and he raised an eyebrow. "Oh? Another one has broken through to the twenty-eighth layer? This child seems a few years younger than that Tian Pingning, doesn’t he?"
Deng Ziheng looked over. "It’s him? Chen Qing from the Wutai Sect! I remember him. He only just passed the twenty-sixth layer a month ago. Back then, I thought his foundation was solid and his potential was good, but I never expected him to progress so quickly!"
One had to understand that the gap between the twenty-sixth and twenty-eighth layers represented the span of a minor realm.
Unless one had a major breakthrough in Cultivation, it was very difficult to go from the twenty-sixth layer to the twenty-eighth all at once.
Gong Nansong also put down his wine cup and said in a deep voice, "Mid-stage Astral Force... It seems he broke through recently. But even with a breakthrough, being able to cross the twenty-eighth layer in one go means he’s no ordinary Middle Stage cultivator."
Deng Ziheng walked to the edge of the pavilion, his gaze locked on the entrance of the Celestial Treasure Tower. He said, "He still hasn’t come out! Could it be... he wants to attempt the twenty-ninth layer?!"
At these words, both Gong Nansong and Elder Feng’s expressions shifted.
’Attempt the twenty-ninth layer?’
That was currently the highest level achieved among the Xu Wang Mountain disciples, second only to Wu Anren and He Shuang!
If he could actually succeed, it would mean that this Chen Qing possessed the qualifications to truly stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the top geniuses and compete for the position of "True Successor Candidate"!
The three Elders’ gazes changed instantly. All their attention shifted from their previous idle chatter and focused entirely on the towering stone pagoda.
In that moment, it seemed as if the gazes of the entire square had all converged on the Celestial Treasure Tower.
......