Chapter 39

The statue stood a hundred feet tall, towering majestically like a great mountain between heaven and earth. It was surrounded by a faint golden light, emitting a terrifying aura that pressed down on the surrounding dense forests, causing them to shatter like fragile glass, turning into a cloud of dust that scattered in the air.

The aura was extremely terrifying, the pressure overwhelming.

The Dharma Statue Realm!

Ye Tianming stared intently at Xiao Xue, who was two realms higher than him.

But so what?

With a single thought, the earth began to tremble violently. Then, the earth split open, and countless streams of earth energy surged out from the depths. These streams of earth energy did not enter Ye Tianming's body but instead formed a torrent that rushed toward Xiao Xue.

Seeing Ye Tianming able to mobilize the earth's energy, Xiao Xue's eyes flashed with shock. She knew that Ye Tianming was only at the Great Tribulation Realm, and that was precisely why she had come, intending to kill him to gain merit and elevate her status within the Xiao Clan.

However, she never expected that Ye Tianming could mobilize the earth's energy, something clearly beyond the capabilities of the Great Tribulation Realm.

She had no time to think further, as the continuous streams of earth energy were already upon her. She quickly gathered her thoughts, clenched her right hand, and almost simultaneously, the majestic Dharma Statue behind her mimicked her action, clenching its giant fist. As she slammed her fist forward, the Dharma Statue behind her also unleashed a powerful punch, the force of which shook the surrounding space violently.

The countless streams of earth energy collided fiercely with the punch, and at the point of impact, a terrifying shockwave erupted, spreading out over hundreds of feet. The shockwave devastated everything in its path, even the ground was torn apart, leaving a scene of utter chaos.

Xiao Xue's face changed instantly at the point of impact. She felt a massive force reverberate through her arm and into her body, the terrifying backlash almost tearing her apart, forcing her to retreat rapidly. The massive Dharma Statue behind her also trembled under the impact.

From a distance, the countless streams of earth energy did not retreat but surged forward like a tide, growing stronger. Under Ye Tianming's control, they rushed toward Xiao Xue again, this time even more powerful, like an endless torrent crushing down on her.

Seeing this, a fierce look flashed in Xiao Xue's eyes. She roared in anger, clenched her hands, and unleashed all her strength. The Dharma Statue behind her mirrored her actions, and the two seemed to merge into one. In the next moment, they both swung their fists, pouring all their power into the attack.

Boom...

The two terrifying forces collided in the air, instantly producing a series of deafening explosions. The powerful shockwave forced both of them to retreat rapidly. As Xiao Xue retreated, the Dharma Statue behind her began to shatter, turning into a cloud of golden fragments. As soon as she stopped, a sword of earth pierced through the air, impaling her chest and pinning her to a giant tree.

Xiao Xue looked at Ye Tianming, who was surrounded by the endless streams of earth energy, in disbelief. "How is this possible... You, a mere Great Tribulation Realm, how could you break my Dharma Statue..."

At this moment, Ye Tianming suddenly rushed forward, enveloped by the streams of earth energy, and grabbed Xiao Xue by the throat. "Dharma Statue Realm? Not much of a challenge."

Feeling the killing intent in Ye Tianming's eyes, fear welled up in Xiao Xue's heart. She quickly said, "If you spare me, I can give you spirit crystals, all of them, I..."

Ye Tianming suddenly punched her beautiful face.

Bang!

Xiao Xue's head exploded...

Ye Tianming glanced at Xiao Xue's headless body. "You think I'm stupid? Killing you, it's still mine."

He took Xiao Xue's storage ring and sat down nearby, feeling somewhat weak and exhausted. Mobilizing the earth's energy had consumed a great deal of his mental energy.

Fortunately, he had won!

He leaned against a large rock and examined Xiao Xue's storage ring. To his surprise, it contained over 36,000 spirit crystals.

Ye Tianming smiled. He looked at Xiao Xue's corpse. "Thank you."

Xiao Xue: "..."

In the storage ring, besides the spirit crystals, Ye Tianming also found some pills. He carefully examined them and found three bottles: Qi Accumulation Pills, Spirit Nourishment Pills, and Blood Healing Pills.

Each bottle contained five pills.

He didn't know their levels, as he had never encountered them before. He thought for a moment and then asked, "Grandfather Tower, can I take these pills?"

When in doubt, ask Grandfather Tower.

Little Tower said, "Take the Spirit Nourishment Pill."

Ye Tianming nodded. "Okay."

He took a Spirit Nourishment Pill and swallowed it. At first, he felt nothing, but soon his eyes widened as he realized the fatigue had vanished, and he felt fully rejuvenated.

Ye Tianming was greatly shocked. "This... This is like a divine medicine."

Little Tower: "..."

Ye Tianming whispered, "It's hard to imagine the kind of life the children of noble families lead."

While he was shocked, he was also a bit afraid. If he hadn't decisively killed Xiao Xue, and she had taken a pill, she would have had the strength to fight again, but he had no pills.

In life-and-death battles, pills and equipment are very important.

Ye Tianming carefully wrapped the bottles of pills and then asked, "Grandfather Tower, do you know what level these divine medicines are?"

Little Tower said, "I don't know."

Ye Tianming was curious. "You don't know?"

Little Tower said, "They are too low-level, I haven't encountered them."

Ye Tianming's expression froze.

After a moment, he buried Xiao Xue's body, not out of kindness, but to cover his tracks.

Xiao Xue's storage ring was over ten times larger than his, but he didn't use it. It wasn't that he was afraid of the Xiao Clan, but he didn't want to cause trouble for his teacher and the headmaster. You can suspect me, but you need evidence.

He had to be cautious and not act rashly, and he couldn't easily cause trouble for the headmaster and his teacher.

After cleaning up, he continued on his journey.

He was now more vigilant and understood the true meaning of the headmaster's words. His real enemy was not this secret realm but the Xiao Clan.

The Xiao Clan definitely knew he was here, and they would not miss this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. In this place, experts above the Immortal Realm could not enter, so the Xiao Clan would definitely send Immortal Realm experts...

Surviving the hands of the Xiao Clan!

That was the true test from the headmaster!

The Immortal Realm was three realms higher than him, and the Xiao Clan might send more than one Immortal Realm expert, perhaps many. This was unfair, but he understood that there was no absolute fairness in the world.

If he, Ye Tianming, couldn't even defeat the young generation of the Xiao Clan, how could he compete for the top spot in the Ten Thousand States?

After all, the Xiao Clan was only a second-tier noble family, while the Ten Thousand States competition included geniuses from first-tier noble families.

Ye Tianming collected his thoughts and began to review the previous battle. He now had a better understanding of his true strength. Using his strongest killing move, he could defeat a Dharma Statue Realm expert, but for him, the limit was likely the Dharma Statue Realm.

If he used the Dao Sword and the Heaven-Splitting Sword Technique, he might be able to match an Immortal Realm expert, but that was just a guess. He had rarely used the Dao Sword and was not clear about its true power.

Even if the Dao Sword could match an Immortal Realm expert, it was the power of the Dao Sword, not his own. Therefore, he would not place all his hopes on the Dao Sword. Strengthening himself was the key, and external aids could only be supplementary, not the main focus.

Dharma Statue!

Ye Tianming suddenly said, "Grandfather Tower, do you think I can use the earth's energy to form my own Dharma Statue?"

Little Tower was silent for a moment and then said, "You can try."

It had noticed that this young man had unique ideas, not only daring to think but also to try. It supported him because it hoped he would take a different path.

Ye Tianming nodded. "The Dharma Statue Realm is about communicating with the energy of heaven and earth, transforming the soul into a hundred-foot Dharma Statue that can gather and disperse, with immense power, capable of hardening any spiritual weapon, even a Dharma weapon, which is extremely terrifying... Since it can be formed using the energy of heaven and earth, it should also be possible to form it using the earth's energy. Unfortunately, I don't have the cultivation method..."

Cultivation method!

It was essentially a cultivation technique. To form a Dharma Statue, you couldn't just think about it; you needed a method, and this method was only found in some special cultivation techniques. Unfortunately, he had never seen other cultivation techniques, or he might have been able to draw inspiration and add this function to his 'Fate Decision.'

He needed to find a way to learn some advanced cultivation techniques!

As he was thinking, a sudden change occurred. A dense forest in the distance suddenly collapsed, and a figure flew toward him, crashing heavily into the ground not far from him, creating a large, deep crater...

Seeing the person, Ye Tianming was startled. "It's you..."

...