324: Stone Mirror

A thunderous boom resounded!

The giant ape phantom stomped down again with the force of a thousand tons. The Golden Lion Shadow, its spiritual light already dim, was crushed directly into the deep earth. The soaring dust obscured the sun like dark clouds, and shattered stones flew through the air like meteors.

The ferocity in Wei Ling's eyes had not faded. Just as he was about to press his advantage and kill Chu Haotian in the crater, a palm-sized Stone Mirror suddenly appeared before him. Its surface was lustrous and smooth, as flawless as congealed fat. Before he could make out the patterns on it, the Stone Mirror suddenly erupted with ten thousand rays of radiant light, almost instantly engulfing him.

A majestic and peerless suction force suddenly pulled at him. Wei Ling's burly frame was firmly gripped as if by an invisible giant hand, leaving him no way to resist. He was forcibly drawn in by the light, turning into a streak of light that was sucked into the mirror and vanished instantly.

"Peak Master Chu, it's time to end this!"

Yan Shu stood in the air, his phantom sword tracing several cold glints. Four or five streaks of blue-green Sword Qi, like startled swans, slashed straight toward the deep pit.

But when the Sword Qi fell into the pit, it only kicked up a cloud of rubble; there wasn't even the slightest sound of impact.

"Something's not right. Why is there no sound at all?" The Great Demon beside him frowned, a hint of suspicion flashing in his cloudy eyes. With a wave of his hand, a gale swept out, instantly clearing the dust from the air.

As the dust settled, only a messy crater remained. The two massive golden phantoms—the lion and the ape—had both vanished.

"This... what happened? Did he take the opportunity to escape?"

The Great Demon turned to Yan Shu, his voice full of confusion.

Given Chu Haotian's injuries and the surrounding Entrapment Formation, it was impossible for him to escape silently, let alone with another person.

Yan Shu shook his head slowly, his expression growing more solemn. "The surrounding Entrapment Formation is intact. In such a desperate situation, he had no chance to escape. Moreover, Wei Ling disappeared with him; this is becoming increasingly strange."

He paused, reaching out his hand to grasp at the air. His fingertips sensed a faint ripple. He immediately frowned and said, "There are some residual spatial ripples here!"

"Look over there!"

Looking in the direction the Great Demon pointed, Yan Shu caught sight of a palm-sized Stone Mirror floating in mid-air not far away. Its radiance was fading, yet it still exuded a heart-palpitating pressure.

"A heaven-rank magic treasure?!"

Yan Shu's exclamation burst out as he identified the grade of the Stone Mirror at a glance.

He suddenly realized what had happened. "So that's it!" he said deeply. "It seems Wei Ling was dragged into the world within this mirror by Chu Haotian. He wants to use the advantage of the Magic Treasure to settle scores with Wei Ling alone!"

Hearing this, the Great Demon's face darkened, and he hurriedly asked, "Then what do we do next?"

Yan Shu glanced at the Stone Mirror again and said calmly, "We can only slowly look for a flaw in this heaven-rank magic treasure. Chu Haotian's injuries weren't light earlier; he certainly won't be able to do anything to Wei Ling in the short term. We don't need to rush."

"A single heaven-rank magic treasure alone won't be enough to turn the tide."

"However, this Stone Mirror is truly quite good. I didn't expect such an unexpected windfall."

On the other side of the battlefield, Master Qing Xuan brandished his brush rapidly. A Golden Rune instantly condensed into a shield, just barely blocking the sharp Sword Qi attacking from the front.

He shifted and dodged in the air, his sleeves fluttering as he continuously evaded the pursuit of seven miniature Flying Swords. Several bloody gashes from Sword Qi marked his body, and his grey robes were now soaked in blood. He looked extremely wretched.

Catching a glimpse of the Stone Mirror floating in the air, waves of shock crashed through Master Qing Xuan's heart. His face was filled with disbelief.

"When did Haotian hide a heaven-rank magic treasure?"

Furthermore, the aura of this Stone Mirror was extremely unfamiliar; it was definitely not an item of the Tianque Sect. Having been in the Sect for many years, he was very familiar with its two heaven-rank magic treasures.

If Chen Xuan were here and saw this palm-sized Stone Mirror, he would surely recognize its origin at a glance!

Inside the Stone Mirror!

A desolate scene, completely different from the outside world, rushed toward him. Under a hazy, grey sky lay rolling, barren mountains.

Wei Ling stood firmly atop the highest barren mountain. The Vajra Ape Phantom guarded him from behind, though it was much dimmer than before, and its originally violent aura had been significantly suppressed.

Ever since being swept into this strange world by that radiance, an invisible suppression followed him like a shadow, as if the heavens of this world were instinctively rejecting him.

"Senior Brother, I really didn't expect you to have such a trick up your sleeve."

Wei Ling slowly turned his neck, his gaze sweeping the surroundings like a hawk, alert for any possible movement.

"That Stone Mirror must be some kind of Magic Treasure, right? Earth Rank High Grade? No... this method of creating a small world of its own is definitely not something an Earth Rank could possess. It must be a heaven-rank magic treasure!"

"Why do you have a heaven-rank magic treasure?"

As soon as he finished speaking, a sudden change occurred!

The sky above suddenly darkened, and a towering mountain condensed out of thin air. Jagged rocks, carrying the weight of a thousand tons, smashed down like a meteor.

Wei Ling's pupils constricted. Without time to think, he threw his arms up to protect his head. The Vajra Ape Phantom surged instantly, its aura merging with his own, as he forcibly withstood the falling mountain.

Boom—!

With a deafening roar, the mountain smashed heavily onto the arms of the Vajra Ape Phantom. Under the transmission of the massive force, Wei Ling's legs sank deep into the rock layer. The peak of the barren mountain beneath him collapsed, and rubble cascaded down like a waterfall.

But before he could catch his breath, a sharp aura suddenly approached from behind!

Chu Haotian's figure appeared behind Wei Ling like a ghost. Although the golden spiritual light around him wasn't as brilliant as outside, it was more condensed. A palm print of spiritual energy, already prepared in his palm, slammed hard into Wei Ling's back while he was busy resisting the mountain.

Pfft!

The Spiritual Energy Palm Print hit home. Wei Ling's massive body staggered, stumbling forward several yards before crashing into a giant rock and shattering it.

The moment the rubble hit the ground, the collapsed Vajra Ape Phantom dissipated like green smoke, only to reform instantly atop another barren mountain not far away.

Wei Ling rubbed his slightly numb neck and wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth. Feeling the still-sluggish spiritual energy in his Meridians, he looked up at the approaching Chu Haotian with a hint of admiration in his voice:

"Senior Brother, your methods are impressive. To use the power of the world to attack your enemy—I admire your level of control."

Chu Haotian didn't stop. The spiritual light around him grew more condensed. The Laws of the small world within the mirror flowed slowly under his will. The surrounding air seemed to grow heavy, pressing down on Wei Ling.

"No need for words. You won't escape today, even if you had wings."

"Oh?"

Wei Ling raised an eyebrow. His body flickered, turning into an afterimage and narrowly avoiding an earthen spike that Chu Haotian had casually summoned.

"Senior Brother, don't be in such a hurry. Although this small world is mysterious and can use its power to suppress me, as I see it, your aura isn't very stable. I imagine you won't be able to maintain this for long, right?"

Chu Haotian's pupils constricted slightly. The other man had hit the nail on the head. With his current cultivation base, activating the Zhenxuan Mirror and forcibly maintaining this small world would last at most the time it takes for an incense stick to burn.

He formed a hand seal, and dozens of golden stone spikes instantly condensed in front of him, shooting toward Wei Ling like a swarm of bees. "You don't need to worry about how long I can maintain it. You only need to know that you will die here today!"