177: Chapter 178 Golden Armored General vs. Heart Monkey True Form

It was The Woodcutter.

To be precise, it was his Soul form.

The Golden-Armored Divine General watched Lin Ye's True Form of the Heart Ape, complex emotions flashing through his eyes.

Among them were shock, confusion, and a hint of... wariness.

In fact, The Woodcutter had already sensed Lin Ye from the moment he stepped onto the stairs.

He just hadn't paid it any mind at the time.

For this Spiritual Artifact's mental trial, even he had to rely on the power of a Formation to barely climb it; how could a mere Eighth-Grade Martial Artist possibly make it up?

He had expected Lin Ye to be blown away in the next second.

However, the other party had actually advanced like a hot knife through butter, taking only a few short days to rush from the first level to the ninety-seventh; this had truly exceeded his expectations.

Those impacts, which were enough to cause a normal Martial Artist's mind to collapse, seemed as if they didn't exist to Lin Ye.

It wasn't until he saw this Heart Ape with his own eyes that he understood why the other party was able to achieve this level!

Martial Intent!

And it was a materialized Martial Intent!

Materialized Intent was the Fusion of heart and intent, an external manifestation after the Soul had reached its ultimate sublimation.

As for his Golden-Armored Divine General, to put it plainly, it was just a Protector Divine General condensed by borrowing the power of the Formation; it was a special method of using Mental Energy, fundamentally different from Lin Ye's True Form of the Heart Ape!

Therefore, he had to personally step forward to stop him.

If he really let Lin Ye successfully reach the top and leave a Soul imprint on the sundial, then all his planning over these years would be completely wasted!

"You shouldn't have come!" the Golden-Armored Divine General spoke slowly, his voice carrying a unique metallic texture.

Hearing this, the Heart Ape slowly raised its head, its crimson-gold eyes meeting those of the Golden-Armored Divine General.

An invisible Mental Energy pressure erupted between the two.

"Get lost."

Lin Ye's voice came from the Heart Ape's mouth, his tone hoarse and low, carrying a wildness like that of a beast.

"Arrogant!"

"Is this Spiritual Artifact something just anyone can lay their hands on?"

The Golden-Armored Divine General's voice carried a hint of mockery.

"I might as well tell you, even if you have condensed Martial Intent, it is impossible for you to refine it."

"You have no idea how powerful this Spiritual Artifact is. Refining it requires more than just Mental Energy; it also requires..."

"Noisy!"

Old Man Shen's life or death was still unknown, and Lin Ye had no interest in listening to The Woodcutter spout nonsense here. He kicked off with both legs and charged toward the Golden-Armored Divine General.

The dark golden figure left an afterimage on the stairs, its ten-foot-tall body erupting with unimaginable speed in that instant.

The Heart Ape clenched its right fist, dark golden light condensing upon it like a falling miniature star.

However, the Golden-Armored Divine General's reaction was not slow either.

A pair of golden maces were held horizontally in front of him, blocking the Heart Ape's fist.

"Clang!"

A loud noise, like a great bell tolling, shook the surrounding stairs, making them tremble slightly.

Golden sparks splattered, scorching the gray-white mist that permeated the stairs.

The Golden-Armored Divine General stepped back, a flash of surprise in his eyes.

He hadn't expected Lin Ye's True Form of the Heart Ape to possess such terrifying power.

One must know, this was the mental world; all power here was manifested by Mental Energy.

In other words, in terms of Mental Energy alone, he might not even compare to this kid whose martial cultivation was only at the eighth rank.

How could this be allowed?

The Golden-Armored Divine General steadied his figure, and the runes on his body lit up one by one.

This was him borrowing the power of the Formation to replenish the Mental Energy he had consumed.

He admitted that his Mental Energy might not be as profound as his opponent's, but this was his home turf.

For ten years, this Formation had already accumulated a massive amount of Mental Energy.

As long as the Formation was not broken, his Mental Energy would not run dry.

"I underestimated you!" The Golden-Armored Divine General sneered, raising his golden maces high and smashing them fiercely toward the Heart Ape's head.

"You think only you have a weapon?"

The Heart Ape gripped with its right hand, and a phantom image of an iron staff, dark gold from end to end, manifested out of thin air.

The staff was about a zhang long, covered in ancient patterns.

At this moment, those patterns flowed along the staff like living creatures; with every cycle they completed, the Aura of the iron staff became a fraction heavier.

ruyi jingu bang!

Although it was only a phantom image, that domineering Aura that suppressed the heavens and earth was enough to make any existence tremble.

The moment the Heart Ape grasped the ruyi jingu bang, its surrounding Aura surged violently!

"Boom!"

The instant the two weapons collided, a visible shockwave spread in all directions, completely tearing the surrounding gray-white mist to shreds.

The golden maces in the Golden-Armored Divine General's hands trembled violently, and cracks spread from the point of impact.

Immediately afterward, his entire body was sent flying backward, sliding dozens of zhang along the stairs before he could barely steady himself.

He looked down at the cracks on the golden maces, and his pupils constricted sharply.

These golden maces were mental weapons he had spent years condensing; how could they be so vulnerable?

"What kind of weapon is that..." For the first time, there was fear in the Golden-Armored Divine General's voice.

At the same time, the runes on his golden armor flickered faster and faster, as streams of Mental Energy poured frantically into the golden maces to repair the cracks.

Lin Ye, in his Heart Ape form, did not reply, only blindly brandishing the staff in his hand.

If they were in the outside world, Lin Ye really wouldn't be confident in dealing with The Woodcutter.

After all, the other party was at least a half-step Fifth-Rank existence; even with the blessing of his peerless under heaven combat power, he couldn't achieve the feat of an Eighth-Grade Martial Artist defeating a half-step Fifth-Rank Martial Artist.

But if it was just a contest of Mental Energy, Lin Ye had something to say.

With a spirit attribute as high as 300 points, he asked, were you convinced yet?

The Heart Ape's figure moved rapidly on the stairs, the ruyi jingu bang in its hand almost swinging into an afterimage.

Slashing left, sweeping right, thrusting up, smashing down—every strike seemed to carry the power to destroy the heavens and earth.

The Golden-Armored Divine General desperately urged the golden maces to block, but he couldn't stop them at all.

"Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang—"

A series of dense clashing sounds exploded on the stairs.

With every collision, another crack appeared on the golden maces, and the runes on the golden armor dimmed by a fraction.

This meant that the Formation's replenishment could no longer keep up with the consumption of the battle.

Finally, after hard-tanking thirty strikes, the golden maces shattered completely and could no longer be repaired.

"Bang!"

Without his weapons, the Golden-Armored Divine General could only raise his left arm to try and block, but it was smashed by the ruyi jingu bang, causing it to cave in immediately, and the runes on it instantly became dim and lusterless.

"Bang!"

Another strike smashed down, and the Golden-Armored Divine General's left arm was shattered directly; golden fragments scattered onto the stairs, turning into specks of light and dissipating.

The True Form of the Heart Ape had been suppressing the Golden-Armored Divine General from start to finish.

This was no longer a battle; it was a one-sided crushing.

The Woodcutter's Protector Divine General was indeed sturdy with the blessing of the Formation, but facing the True Form of the Heart Ape wielding the phantom of the ruyi jingu bang, it was truly a case of 'a graze meant injury, a hit meant death'.

After all, the opponent's power was borrowed in the end, not as pure as that of the True Form of the Heart Ape.

Every one of Lin Ye's strikes contained his Martial Intent.

If Mental Energy were seen as water, then Martial Intent was the ice condensed from that water; the destructive power was simply not on the same level.

Therefore, even with the Formation's blessing, The Woodcutter was still beaten until he had absolutely no power to fight back.