127: The stone tablet was shattered! The elder's face turned green!

The peak of Myriad Beast Mountain was swirling with wind and clouds.

As Gu Yang dragged that menacing star shattering hammer, rushing past the last step of the Heaven Ascending Ladder in a posture akin to a "jog," the entire mountain range seemed to fall into a deathly silence.

Above the Heaven Ascending Ladder, hundreds of young talents who prided themselves on being Geniuses were currently lying on the stone steps in various postures.

Some were frantically activating defensive talisman treasures, while others were burning their vital blood to endure the struggle.

In their line of sight, Gu Yang's broad back looked like a moving iron tower, easily tearing through the blockade of this ten-thousand-fold gravity.

"Is... is this really just a 'Protector'?"

A Saint-level figure with a face full of sweat muttered to himself.

He had just seen with his own eyes that the Star-Sinking Rock where Gu Yang set his foot had been crushed into powder, not cracked due to the resonance of Law.

This meant that this dark-skinned man had not taken any shortcuts by comprehending the Law of Gravity; he was using pure bone density and blood vitality to go head-to-head with the physical rules of this world!

"Hoo—"

Gu Yang stood on the platform at the end of the Heaven Ascending Ladder, exhaling a long breath of white, turbid Qi.

The airflow shot out several meters like an arrow, striking the defensive barrier in the distance and making a dull thud.

At this moment, he felt every cell in his body becoming exceptionally excited under the "kneading" of the ten-thousand-fold gravity.

The blood Qi of his Divine Demon Golden Body Second Turn (Nascent Soul Mid-Stage) inside him was as thick as mercury, roaring and charging through his blood vessels.

"The pressure in this place is actually more satisfying than that elephant meat from before."

Gu Yang twisted his neck, his eyes sweeping toward the center of the platform.

There stood a giant stone stele that was ten zhang tall, deep purple throughout, and engraved with countless reliefs of ancient Vicious Beasts on its surface.

The Mountain-Suppressing Stele.

This was a supreme treasure that Myriad Beast Mountain had inherited for ten thousand years.

It contained a tiny amount of "Star Core residue," and its hardness was sufficient to withstand the full-force bombardment of a Peak God Transformation Stage powerhouse without being damaged.

"The second test, Force Test."

An Elder of Myriad Beast Mountain responsible for proctoring walked slowly down from the high platform.

He was draped in a crimson robe, his cultivation had reached the Late-stage Spirit Transformation, and every gesture he made was accompanied by the Laws of Wind and Fire.

He had originally been resting his eyes, but the moment he saw Gu Yang reach the top, a flash of extremely rare shock and doubt crossed his murky eyes, which was immediately replaced by a sense of majesty.

"The rules are simple.

Regardless of cultivation or methods, as long as one can leave a mark of over three inches on the Mountain-Suppressing Stele, one can obtain the final qualification to enter the 'Myriad Beast Blood Pool'."

The Elder coldly scanned the dozen or so Geniuses who had already reached the top one after another, his gaze finally lingering for a moment on the star shattering hammer behind Gu Yang.

"If one can leave a six-inch mark, one will be bestowed with a 'Beast King Blood Essence'."

"If one can leave a nine-inch mark... Myriad Beast Mountain will regard them as core sequence Disciples and focus on nurturing them."

Upon hearing "Beast King Blood Essence," the eyes of many Prodigies who had reached the top burned with heat.

That was a High Grade supplement that could instantly replenish one's Origin!

"I'll go first!"

A Yao Race Saint with golden wings on his back and eyes like lightning stepped out first.

He was the Young Lord of the "Golden Roc Race," and his cultivation was incredibly overbearing.

"Slash!"

The Golden Roc Saint flapped his wings, his entire body's mana frantically gathering on his arms.

At that moment, his arms vaguely transformed into two brilliant golden feather blades, and accompanied by the resonance of Law, he slashed fiercely at the stone stele.

Clang————!

A piercing metallic clashing sound rang out, and sparks flew everywhere.

The runes on the stone stele flashed frantically, neutralizing most of the force.

The Golden Roc Saint was knocked back three steps by the recoil, and on the stone stele, a deep mark about five inches deep was clearly left behind.

"Young Lord of the Golden Roc Race, five inches and three points! High Grade!"

The Elder nodded slightly, a hint of approval appearing in his eyes.

Next, more than a dozen Geniuses took turns.

Some used High Grade ancient treasures, others unleashed forbidden secret techniques, but most people's results hovered between three and four inches.

That stone stele seemed like an insurmountable mountain, standing proudly in the wind.

"Hey, big guy, it's your turn."

That Heavenly Phoenix Sect Disciple who had been "saved" by Gu Yang whispered a reminder.

His eyes looking at Gu Yang had changed from contempt to awe.

Gu Yang walked slowly to the stone stele.

He looked at the marks of varying depths on the stele, then looked at the thick, shocking texture on the side of the stele, and the corners of his mouth turned up slightly.

"To avoid attracting the attention of the old monsters at the Void Refinement Stage, I should play it safe."

Gu Yang thought to himself, and he began to deliberately suppress the roaring Divine Demon Qi and blood in his body.

He forcibly locked the savage power that was almost overflowing from his entire body deep into his bone marrow, intending only to use about thirty percent of his Physical Body power and casually slap it to finish.

He did not want to appear too shocking; he just wanted to quietly go in and have some soup.

Gu Yang stood in front of the stone stele, neither striking a fighting pose nor guiding any Laws.

He was like an old man doing morning exercises in a park, casually raising his right hand and slapping it toward that cold, hard stone stele.

"What is he doing?

He isn't even putting up a fighting stance?"

"Heh, I guess he exhausted his strength climbing the Heaven Ascending Ladder just now, and now he's just putting on a show..."

The taunts from below had not yet faded.

Gu Yang's palm had already lightly touched the surface of the stone stele.

"Hum..."

At this moment, time seemed to produce an extremely strange pause.

That Late-stage Spirit Transformation Elder sitting on the high platform, whose expression had been calm, suddenly froze, and the hairs on his back stood up in an instant!

As a high-level Cultivator, he keenly sensed that at the tiny point of contact where Gu Yang's palm touched the stele, the thousand-fold gravity within a radius of ten zhang... had actually shattered in an instant!

That was the physical collapse caused by the collision of absolute high-quality, high-density matter!

Boom————!!!

A terrifying, completely unreasonable explosion resounded across the peak of Myriad Beast Mountain.

There were no so-called "few-inch marks."

The moment that thirty percent force fell, the rune structure inside the entire Mountain-Suppressing Stele did not even have time to react or sound an alarm before it was directly stirred into powder by a violently indescribable shock force.

Under the gaze of everyone who was terrified and even doubting their own worldview, that Mountain-Suppressing Stele, which had been inherited for ten thousand years and claimed to be indestructible, first had a clear palm print appear in the middle, and then that palm print quickly turned into spiderweb-like black cracks.

Bang!

The ten-zhang-tall purple giant stele, like a crisp biscuit hit by a heavy hydraulic press, exploded on the spot into powder filling the sky!

The violent physical aftermath turned into circles of substantial white air waves, sweeping across the entire scene.

"Thump!"

Those Geniuses who had just reached the top were directly knocked to the ground by the remaining power of this fist force.

And that magnificent examiner's seat collapsed by more than half with a crash under this shock.

The whole scene was dead silent, with only the sound of rubble hitting the ground.

Gu Yang looked at his palm that was still smoking, then looked at the pile of powder in front of him that had formed a small hill, and his old face blushed for a rare moment.

He turned his head and looked at the Elder whose face had turned the color of pig liver, innocently spreading his hands:

"Um... Elder, is your stele in need of repair due to age?

I just touched it lightly, why did it self-destruct?"

The Elder pointed at Gu Yang, his finger trembling violently, a wheezing sound coming from his throat, unable to say a complete sentence for a long time.

At this moment, only one sentence was frantically scrolling through his mind:

"Touched it lightly?

You call this touching it lightly?!"

"My stone stele!

That thing was mixed with Star Core residue left by the Old Ancestor!"

...

"Interesting, truly very interesting."

Just at this moment, a voice carrying a bit of playfulness and filled with indescribable majesty drifted down slowly from higher up on Myriad Beast Mountain.

The Void Realm distorted.

An old man wearing a short animal-skin robe with bare feet appeared in the Void Realm.

Although he did not make any movements, the surrounding space became solidified in that instant, as if he were the Dominator of this world.

Void Refinement Stage powerhouse—Deputy Mountain Master of Myriad Beast Mountain, Man Lie!

His eyes, like those of a hawk, stared fixedly at Gu Yang.

From the perspective of the Void Refinement Stage, where was there any Physical Body in Gu Yang's burly frame?

It was clearly a living volcano that had been compressed to the extreme and was beating frantically!

"Saintess, is this the new 'Protector' recruited by your Heavenly Phoenix Sect?"

Man Lie looked at Saintess Feng Ni, who had arrived shortly after, his tone carrying a trace of scrutiny, "A Body Cultivator of this level... has never been heard of in Qingzhou."

Feng Ni was also full of shock at this time.

She suppressed the waves in her heart, a certain determination flowing in her beautiful eyes, and bowed slightly to Man Lie:

"Returning to the Mountain Master, this person is named 'Tie Niu,' a Body Cultivator inheritor I saved in the far north of the wilderness several years ago.

He has been hiding and cultivating in the Sect's Forbidden Ground.

Now that the Blood Pool is open, I brought him out for some training."

This excuse was full of loopholes, but with the backing of Feng Ni's status as a Saintess, it could barely be covered up.

Man Lie withdrew his gaze, a flash of deep, sharp light crossing his eyes.

"Since he is from the Heavenly Phoenix Sect, he naturally has the qualifications.

However..."

He turned his head to look at Gu Yang, the corners of his mouth curling into a meaningful smile.

"Kid, since you smashed the test stele, the reward originally intended for the first place is gone.

You, have no objections, right?"

Gu Yang was staring at a faint, extremely rich aroma coming from deep within Myriad Beast Mountain, the "meat soup smell" wafting from the direction of the Blood Pool.

He waved his hand absentmindedly: "No objections, no objections.

As long as I can eat my fill, that's fine."

Man Lie was stunned, then laughed loudly, flicking his sleeve.

"Everyone, listen to my command!

The Myriad Beast Blood Pool selection is over!

The ceremony officially begins!"

Following that command, in the valley in the distance, a pillar of bloody light shot up into the sky.

Gu Yang suddenly raised his head, his throat moving involuntarily.

In that bloody pillar of light, he smelled—the concentrated essence of ancient Divine Beasts, True Dragon, Qilin, and countless extinct ancient beasts!

"Finally... time to eat."