Hearing Li Chen’s arrogant words, Wui Batian, Jinjian, Mu Tong, and Tamu all flew into a rage.
"Hmph, Immortal Master Li, since you are so intent on courting death, then we shall fulfill your wish!"
Wui Batian roared furiously, lifted the Mystic Iron Mad Saber like a Fierce Tiger pouncing from a mountain, and charged at Li Chen with a fierce momentum.
Jinjian, Mu Tong, and Tamu exchanged a look and also brandished their weapons from three different directions to encircle Li Chen.
"Hmph, a bunch of ants!"
Li Chen snorted disdainfully, his fingers slicing through the air like a blade, slashing at Wui Batian.
The sound of collision echoed through the air as sparks flew, resembling the brilliant fireworks of the Lantern Festival.
Having repelled Wui Batian with a flick of his fingers, Li Chen feinted and then slashed towards Mu Tong, who was at his flank.
Caught off guard by Li Chen’s attack, Mu Tong was forced to retreat in disarray.
Seeing the situation, Jinjian and Tamu hurriedly came to his aid.
At that moment, Wui Batian also swung his blade again.
Facing the combined assault of Wui Batian, Jinjian, and Tamu, Li Chen let out a cold laugh, spread his arms like a White Crane spreading its wings, and leaped into mid-air.
Wui Batian looked up at Li Chen hovering in the sky and raised his Mystic Iron Mad Saber, slashing through the air with a lightning-fast Sky Breaking Slash.
Li Chen performed an aerial somersault and quickly formed a Sealing Technique with his hands, launching a Great Brahma Wisdom Palm attack.
Jinjian took a white bone jade flute from his sleeve and began to play.
The flute’s tune was mournful and longing, weeping and plaintive, as if thousands of wronged souls were crying and demanding their lives.
Upon hearing the flute, Li Chen’s heart trembled. Was this the Soul Summoning Song?
The so-called Soul Summoning Song used a special Magic Artifact to gather all the lonely ghosts and spirits within a radius of dozens of miles, a common tactic used by the corpse drivers from Xiangxi.
However, the Miao Territory bordered Xiangxi, so it was no surprise to see the Yin Ghost Sect’s Elder Council deploying this soul summoning technique.
"Immortal Master Li, we in the Miao Territory don’t have many specialties, but we invite you to taste the flavor of Ten Thousand Ghosts Devouring Heart!" said Jinjian as he intensified his play of the Soul Summoning Song.
Instantly, headless wild ghosts, disheveled female ghosts, red-clad ferocious spirits, and all sorts of chaotic entities such as Ghost Babies, resembling wolves scenting fat, converged with their ghastly green and blood-red eyes, baring their fangs and claws, lunging at Li Chen.
"Hmph, a bunch of evil spirits daring to act wildly before me?"
Li Chen snorted in disdain, spread the palm of his hand, and tossed the Soul-devouring Pearl above his head.
The Soul-devouring Pearl hovered over Li Chen’s head, and under the command of his will, it formed a rapidly spinning Death Vortex.
All the approaching vengeful spirits and fierce ghosts were sucked into it without exception.
In an instant, all sorts of devils, beauties with Huapi, were terrified and desperate, retreating far away.
"Is that the Soul-devouring Pearl?" Jinjian recognized the object in Li Chen’s hand and cried out in surprise.
"Immortal Master Li, you don’t think you’re the only one with a Soul-devouring Pearl, do you?" This time, the speaker was Wui Batian.
Li Chen glanced sideways and was slightly startled. Wui Batian too had a Soul-devouring Pearl in his hands.
There are a total of five Soul-devouring Pearls, corresponding to Gold, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth elements.
The one in his hand belonged to the Wood element, and the one in Wui Batian’s hand seemed to be of the Earth element.
Wui Batian turned to face Jinjian, Mu Tong, and Tamu, "Gentlemen, lend me your strength, summon the Mountain Puppet!"
Jinjian, Tamu, and Mu Tong exchanged a look and all firmly nodded their heads.
After agreeing in unison, the three of them positioned themselves to the left, center, and right respectively, and slapped Wui Batian’s back, channeling their True Yuan into him without cessation.
Receiving the infusion of True Yuan from the three Grandmasters, Wui Batian immediately felt his blood boiling and a wildly violent power coursing back and forth within him.
He gritted his teeth and concentrated this turbulent True Yuan in the palm of his hand, activating the circulation of the Earth Element Soul-devouring Pearl.
"Soul Eater emerges, Mountain Puppet assembles!"
Along with his thunderous shout, falling rocks tumbled and gathered, coalescing into a giant Stone Monster, approximately eighteen meters tall and three meters wide.
The mountain monster let out furious roars, much like a chimpanzee on a rampage, crazily beating its own body as it advanced towards Li Chen.
With each step it took, the ground would tremble, as if an earthquake was occurring.
Seeing this, Li Chen slightly furrowed his brows. He looked at the Wood Element Soul-devouring Pearl in his hand, then around him. The place was completely barren with not even a single tree in sight, making it impossible to utilize the pearl to summon a wood puppet.
With no other options, Li Chen put away the Soul-devouring Pearl and stepped up to the challenge himself.
Facing the gigantic stone monster, Li Chen neither dodged nor evaded, and he didn’t intend to rely on any external force. He clenched his Iron Fist and hurled it with great force.
That punch, like a heavy bomb, blasted a huge hole right through the mountain puppet.
Seeing this, Li Chen shook his fist and sneered coldly, "So much for your big size, is that all you’ve got?"
Wui Batian sneered back, "Oh, really? Gather for me!"
Before his sentence even finished, the recently shattered mountain puppet began to reassemble itself.
Li Chen rubbed his nose and hurled his Iron Fist once more.
The mountain puppet shattered again!
"Hmph, this mountain puppet is indestructible. I want to see how many more punches you can throw!" Wui Batian grumbled resentfully, once again pulling the mountain puppet back together.
"Beat it until it collapses!"
As he spoke, Li Chen tightened his fist and threw another heavy punch.
Li Chen launched thirty-six consecutive punches, causing the mountain puppet to break apart thirty-six times.
By then, Wui Batian, Jin Jian, Mu Tong, and Tamu—the four Grandmasters—were already drenched in sweat and panting heavily.
They were now forcefully depleting their True Yuan to the last, utterly exhausted.
If Li Chen kept hammering down , they wouldn’t be able to put the mountain puppet back together for more than three punches.
In contrast, Li Chen remained relaxed and at ease, not even a bead of sweat trickling down.
Li Chen grinned at them and said coldly, "Brace yourselves for the thirty-seventh punch!"
The thirty-seventh punch had just been thrown when, without any hesitation, Li Chen followed with two more.
"The thirty-eighth punch!"
"The thirty-ninth punch!"
The three waves of fist energy superimposed on one another, like ocean waves, repeatedly crashing down with overwhelming power.
By the time the thirty-seventh punch came, Wui Batian and the others could barely hold their ground.
With the thirty-eighth, they were completely spent, feeling as if their bones were falling apart.
The thirty-ninth punch naturally became the final straw that broke the mountain puppet.
The explosion, like that of a cannonball, resounded as the mountain-sized monster completely shattered and could not come back together again.
The four Great Grandmasters—Wui Batian, Jin Jian, Mu Tong, and Tamu—were struck by an explosive backlash of True Yuan and violently thrown outwards.
The uncontrolled Earth Element Soul-devouring Pearl floated aimlessly in mid-air like a dandelion without a stem.
Li Chen saw the opportunity and reached out to grab it.
However, he was a fraction too slow.
In his desperation to prevent the Earth Element Soul-devouring Pearl from falling into Li Chen’s hands, Wui Batian, like a starving dog that does not choose its food, wildly snatched the Soul-devouring Pearl and threw it into his mouth, swallowing it whole.