"Could it be... you’re the Chosen One?" The massive stone-faced Xu Fu was visibly terrified.
Tang Zhong heard these words and furrowed his brow. The Chosen One again. The first time he heard this term was when Zhang Changgong mentioned it to him.
A heavenly stele had descended, inscribed with a prophecy of a Chosen One who would appear. However, Zhang Changgong didn’t seem to know much about it at the time. His claim that Tang Zhong might be the Chosen One was just speculation. Yet now, Xu Fu had outright declared it, indicating he seemed to know far more about what the Chosen One truly was.
Tang Zhong recalled the stele describing the Chosen One, which was said to be deep within the Xuanguan Sea. He made a mental note to visit it someday to study it if he ever had the chance.
But now, the priority was to eliminate this stone-faced Xu Fu first.
After his initial terror, Xu Fu quickly recovered and let out a ferocious roar: "All the Holy Stones on you... they’ll all belong to me!"
But just as the words fell, Tang Zhong unleashed his Heaven-Burning Slash without hesitation.
In an instant, the attack struck Xu Fu’s massive stone face head-on.
The powerful Knife Qi cleaved downward from above.
The strike carved a deep chasm into the stone wall, sending fragments flying.
Xu Fu’s stone face split apart instantly. The stone wall in front completely collapsed, and boulders tumbled down into the river below.
Tang Zhong sheathed his Tang Sword but kept his eyes fixed ahead, sensing that Xu Fu’s power hadn’t disappeared. In other words, Xu Fu wasn’t dead yet.
"Is he dead?" Azure Dragon asked from the side.
"No!" Tang Zhong shook his head.
The Azure Dragon frowned as well, and the two of them kept their gazes locked on the ruined stone wall ahead.
Suddenly, a thunderous laugh echoed out.
"Two reckless juniors think they can kill me?" Xu Fu’s voice boomed.
The next moment, a figure burst out from the rubble. Anyone paying close attention would notice this figure wasn’t made of flesh and blood—it was entirely stone. But it mimicked human form perfectly, featuring a lifelike appearance and dressed in the attire of a Qin Dynasty geomancer. In its hand, it gripped a sword.
Azure Dragon’s face turned ashen as he murmured, "I never expected... after all these years, Xu Fu’s true form still exists. This stone body must be the essence condensed after his death, and the stone used for this formation is..."
"Raw Stone!" Tang Zhong muttered as he stared at Xu Fu, cutting Azure Dragon off.
"Yes, Raw Stone! The power of Raw Stone is immense. This lunatic actually used Raw Stone to forge his body. These Yin Yang Masters are truly insane when they go mad!" Azure Dragon exclaimed.
The stone-bodied Xu Fu stood in mid-air, his eyes glowing with a menacing red light. "Chosen One carrying the Holy Stones, hand over the stones, and I’ll spare your life."
His voice resonated, shaking the entire area.
"If you want them, come and take them!" Tang Zhong shot back without hesitation.
These stones were his treasures; he needed them to revive Weiwei. He couldn’t let anyone take them away. Clenching his Tang Sword tightly, his determination was clear.
"Such arrogance!" Xu Fu snarled coldly.
He immediately swung the longsword in his hand, aiming it towards the sky, summoning lightning from above.
"Bow before your Emperor!"
"You dare call yourself Emperor? The true Emperor is the First Emperor of Qin—what kind of bastard are you?" Tang Zhong cursed aloud.
Xu Fu’s expression twisted in fury as his crimson eyes burned brighter. "The First Emperor? He was nothing! His entire life relied on me. I am the real Emperor!"
"Die!" Xu Fu roared, unleashing the lightning in his sword as he slashed horizontally toward Tang Zhong.
Tang Zhong quickly raised his Tang Sword, intercepting the incoming lightning.
Blinding Thunder Light illuminated his face as the impact forced him to retreat several steps.
"Hand over the Holy Stones, or die!" Xu Fu bellowed.
He swung his sword fiercely again, sending a crescent-shaped Thunder Sword Blade crackling toward Tang Zhong.
Both Tang Zhong and Azure Dragon dodged quickly.
The blade struck the stone wall behind them.
The massive mountain split in half instantly, and the fallen rocks plunged into the river below, creating towering waves.
Xu Fu followed with another sweeping strike toward Tang Zhong.
Though missing his target again, the sheer power of the Thunder Sword Qi parted the river itself, sending water surging skyward.
The entire canyon turned into a torrential downpour.
The riverbed was now completely exposed.
"Look! Raw Stones!" Azure Dragon suddenly shouted, pointing toward the riverbed.
Tang Zhong spun around and saw countless crystal-like stones beneath the riverbed. They were transparent but emitted a faint green glow.
Upon closer inspection, there were many of them.
The energy emanating from these stones was undoubtedly that of Raw Stone!
So that’s why the river water was green.
The strange fish leaping out of the river must have once been ordinary fish. Blessed by the vitality of the Raw Stones, they had transformed into the bizarre creatures they were now.
It made perfect sense that Xu Fu had built his tomb here, knowing the Raw Stones were present.
The water that had surged into the air began falling down like rain, completely submerging the Raw Stones once more.
Before Tang Zhong and Azure Dragon could react, Xu Fu charged toward them again.
The Stone Sword in his hand swung continuously, emitting relentless lightning strikes that roared menacingly.
Tang Zhong blocked whenever he could, but when he couldn’t, he had no choice but to evade. Xu Fu’s strength was overwhelming.
Even someone at the peak of Martial Arts was no match for him—there was simply no comparison.
As Tang Zhong dodged, his eyes remained fixed on Xu Fu. From Xu Fu’s stone body, the energy of Raw Stone surged wildly, proving that Xu Fu’s current form drew its power entirely from the Raw Stones. However, Xu Fu’s body seemed to have reached its limit and couldn’t absorb any more energy.
The power of Raw Stone was something Tang Zhong knew all too well.
"What now? This guy is too strong!" Azure Dragon exclaimed.
Tang Zhong remained silent, his gaze locked on Xu Fu. Small bursts of lightning crackled across Xu Fu’s stone body.
Every movement Xu Fu made unleashed more energy from the Raw Stones within him.
Azure Dragon continued, "This lunatic has been absorbing Raw Stone energy for years—doesn’t he fear it might kill him?"
As soon as the words left his mouth, Tang Zhong’s eyes lit up.
"I’ve got a plan!" Tang Zhong suddenly announced.
"What plan?" Azure Dragon asked eagerly.
"It’s simple. Overload him. Don’t forget, there’s an entire Raw Stone mine in this river, and all those Raw Stones contain immense power. If we direct all that power into his body, think about what would happen..." Tang Zhong explained.
Azure Dragon burst into laughter. "Right! That’s a great idea!"
"But how do we force the power into his body?"
"Simple. We feed it to him!" Tang Zhong replied, narrowing his eyes with a sharp grin.
(Someone get ready to turn this into a movie!)