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Chapter 168: Giant's labyrinth
Chu Xinghe, Luo Xianglong, and Ye Tianlang were all stunned.
What is happening? This bastard is cheating!
Otherwise how could this be happening!
"Weren't you all arrogant before? Why don't you come out of the cage now!" Nangong Yun made a face at the three of them and had a completely provoking appearance as she faced them.
Yun Xiao felt a little nervous, "Let them play with the cages! Let's leave quickly!"
If the cages were destroyed by them, then they would be facing a tragedy!
The three of them had very high cultivation bases, but the cages were strong enough to trap them for a while. So it did not leave them with much time and they should leave as soon as possible.
"Why so anxious?" Chu Tian's eyes flashed with a cunning glow as he revealed a bad smile, "If we all leave, wouldn't they feel lonely? We might as well find some friends to play with them!"
No one could understand what he said. What did this mean?
Where would he find some friends!
"It's them!" Chu Tian used his finger to point at the giant statues slowly being released from their seals, "We'll work together to attack this fellow and help him release his seal quicker!"
So he meant this.
They didn't know whether to laugh or cry at how bad he was! But since these guys acted so arrogantly, this was the punishment they deserved!
"Go!"
Yun Yao took out the Thunder Spirit Bead and the precious gem was covered in lightning. Countless snakes made of lightning lashed out, wildly bombarding the sealed stone giant. They could see countless pieces of stone falling from the giant's body.
The other six people did not hesitate to release their own attacks at another stone giant. When the attacks hit the stone giant, the rocks on its body began to fall off faster and its seal was clearly being released faster.
"They're about to awaken!"
"Run!"
The stone giants were existences at the peak of the Illustrious Soul Realm, their might was even close to the True Soul Realm.
In other words.
A single strike from the stone giant was as destructive as one from Yun Tianhe or Chen Bingyu!
It was enough to easily exterminate them, so why would they stay? After they had attacked the stone giant and accelerated the rate at which its seal was being released, the seven of them quickly ran off toward a corridor!
"Damn!"
Luo Xianglong was filled with a desire to kill as he angrily roared into the sky!
Ye Tianlang was so angry that he spat out blood. That fellow actually ran away again!
At this moment, a terrifying aura exploded forth and those two stone giants that had been attacked slowly stood up. An intense killing intent filled the air and a low roar rang out through the entire space!
Countless pieces of broken stones shot out from its body and landed on the floor like rain. This scene looked just like a landslide!
This is bad!
The two giants had awakened!
The two giants were over fifty meters tall and humans were no bigger than their large toe. There was no difference between humans and bugs to them!
After the seal had been removed from the two giants' bodies, incomparably thick armour was revealed that released a metallic glow. Those giant bodies were covered completely in iron like a can and all that was revealed were two blue glowing eyes.
"Trespassing on this forbidden ground!"
"Death!"
Their terrifying voices strongly rang out.
Even with Luo Xianglong and Ye Tianlang's cultivation bases, it stirred their blood and qi. The might of these giants was too terrifying!
While the two giants were shouting, they came out of the wall, gripping a two handed axe. Raising the ax high into the sky, a hurricane brewed around the ax blade and it slashed down at the three cages.
Luo Xianglong and Ye Tianlang's faces fell.
If this ax were allowed to fall, then they would be smashed to a pulp with the cages!
After all, this was an attack close to the True Soul Realm. Even if the Four Young Masters had terrifying talents, how could the block this attack?
At the most crucial moment!
"Sword intent turning into a dragon!"
"Break!"
Chu Xinghe gave a loud roar and the treasure sword in his hand turned into a wild golden flood dragon. It spun at high speeds around the cage and carved a hole in the cage itself.
"Go!"
Chu Xinghe directed his sword art with both hands.
The treasure sword began to turn in the air. It split into two different swords, then splitting into four different swords, then four swords turning into eight swords, and finally there were sixteen shining swords in the sky!
The sword intent soaring into the sky seemed to shake the heaven and earth.
Ye Tianlang and Luo Jinshi revealed shocked expressions, "Is this the «Imperial Sword Art»?"
The treasured sword turned into streaks of golden light, quickly surrounding the giants. When the giants raised their axes to defend themselves, the peerless might had already launched a strike.
"Cut!"
Chu Xinghe's hands gathered together.
The golden treasure sword bloomed with light, transforming into extremely sharp sword glows. Two treasure swords slashed the giants' ankles, severing their achilles tendons.
Several treasure sword charged out, turning into a single beam of golden light that slammed into a giant's chest.
Peng!
A terrifying explosion.
The giant that had been hit with Chu Xinghe's sword had been pierced through!
Those giants had incredible defenses and a higher cultivation base compared to Chu Xinghe, but even under this situation, Chu Xinghe still pierced through them.
It could be clearly seen just how strong he was!
The giant's body bent.
As if it were about to fall.
The giant ax also fell, falling right beside the three cages. The fierce shockwave hit the cages and weakened the barrier surrounding them.
This was a good chance!
Luo Xianglong and Ye Tianlang attacked the cages at the same time.
The cage could not handle this strength and was exploded to pieces!
"Kill!"
Luo Xianglong stomped on the ground and his golden hair began to stand up, just like a wild beast. Golden spirit energy surrounded his body and formed the figure of a giant beast.
This beast was half dragon and half tiger with a long and narrow body. It was covered in dragon scales, but it had a wild tiger's head as well as four tiger claws. It was like a union between a dragon and tiger with a terrifying might.
"Lion Tiger Double Phase!"
Luo Xianglong jumped with one hand in the shape of a lion head and the other in the shape of a tiger head. He was like a wild storm as he attacked the giant, going from his belly to his chest and finally from his chest to his head. In just a few seconds, he had actually sent out over a hundred punches.
Each fist caused a dent in the giant's thick iron armour!
Luo Xianglong was like a dragon ascending to the heavens as he charged dozens of meters into the sky. Then he was like a bomb as he fell heavily, landing right on the giant's head.
"Dragon Tiger Fall!"
A shockwave was sent out and then the sound of an explosion was heard. The giant suddenly kneeled down and crushed the floor. It could be seen just how strong this one attack was.
"Monster Wolf Transformation!"
"Enter my body!"
"Monstrous Wolf's Raid!"
Ye Tianlang turned into several evil wolves that all charged out at the giant. Finally they launched a single attack that pushed the giant's heavy body back two steps.
The two giants shook their heads and slowly stood up.
The cut achilles tendons had already healed. The armours dented by Luo Xianglong and Ye Tianlang slowly returned to their original state.
Only the wound from being pierced by Chu Xinghe could not be healed that quickly!
Ye Tianlang and Luo Xianglong were shocked.
These giants were too strong!
Even with their strength, it was impossible to defeat a single one of them. In the crossroads, there were over one hundred giants and if they were to all awaken, then it would be a disaster!
"Trespassing on forbidden ground!"
"Death!"
The two giants once again brandished their giant axes and slashed out with a heaven shattering attack. Before the attack even connected, a terrifying oppressive pressure filled the air making it impossible for them to dodge.
A faint light sparkled in Chu Xinghe's eyes.
His hands directed his sword art.
The sixteen golden treasure swords soaring in the sky once again turned into golden streaks, once again surrounding the giants' feet. The edge of the blades were cutting the giants' leg muscles as they moved up.
The two giants immediately lost their balance.
Another sword quickly flew out and cut one of the giants' wrists.
While the giant was losing his balance, the ax also fell from his grip and slammed into the giant beside him.
Hong, hong!
This one attack's might was too strong!
The three young masters were sent back several meters just by the wind coming from it!
That giant's chest that was hit exploded and the light coming from its eyes slowly disappeared. Finally its skin turned back to stone and it became a giant statue once again.
When the giant pulled his ax from its comrade's chest, this giant that had turned back into a statue turned into a giant pile of rocks.
"You have killed a giant puppet! You have awarded five trial points! You currently have ten trial points!"
A voice sounded out in Chu Xinghe's mind.
Ye Tianlang and Luo Xianglong revealed shocked expressions.
He really was Chu Xinghe. The giants were so strong, but it was a puppet so it was not perfect and they had very slow movements. It was impossible for the three of them to defeat a giant, but Chu Xinghe had used an indirect method to make a giant attack another giant.
Using the giant's strength to eliminate another giant!
Of course, this seemed very easy, but it was actually very hard to achieve!
The sword art Chu Xinghe displayed was not the Chu Family's «Soul Sword Secret Art», but rather it was his ancient inherited «Imperial Sword Art»!
What was the Imperial Sword Art?
It was a sword with imperial intent!
Killing an enemy from over a thousand li away!
This was an ancient and powerful sword art. The sword was controlled by Chu Xinghe like his arm, allowing him to be very flexible in controlling his attacks!
"There's still one left! Let's take care of him!"
"As long as we exterminate this roadblock, we can chase after them and chop them into pieces!"
Luo Xianglong and Ye Tianlang hated Chu Tian to the depths of their bones.
With the giant blocking them, the two of them did not dare to pass.
Chu Xinghe knit his brows and said, "With just our strength, would it be easy for us to defeat this being? We shouldn't waste too much spirit energy here and go on another path!"
Ye Tianlang was very unwilling as he angrily shouted, "We're going to let them go?"
Chu Xinghe coldly said, "Since we are in the giant's labyrinth, we will eventually run into them. If the other giants awaken, then we need to run if we don't want to be eliminated!"
Actually Chu Xinghe did not think that with just their power, they could survive in this trial space.
Putting himself in danger just to chase down those pieces of garbage was not sane behaviour.
There were several hundred giants all around them!
If the giants were to awaken, then it would be ten times harder for them to escape!
What could they do even if they passed the giant in front of them?
This giant would definitely chase after them and with Chu Tian's cunning, it was hard to guarantee that he would not awaken a few giants along the way. Once they got attacked from both sides, the three of them would be trapped. Then once the other giants awoke, the three of them would be completely eliminated!
"Alright! Let's go!"
Luo Xianglong and Ye Tianlang were not ordinary people.
Although they were very unwilling, they would not lose themselves because of anger. The three of them turned and charged forward in the other direction. The corridor was very long and with giants awakening around them and some even having different awakening times, some could awaken early and be a serious threat to them.
Chu Xinghe looked to the side and discovered something.
A treasure sword soared out to the dead giant's remains and pulled out a few things.
A map!
A key!
Chu Xinghe opened the map which had completely marked all the areas of the giant's labyrinth. But there was some ancient writing on it that Chu Xinghe could not understand.
But with this map, it would be much easier!
The three of them did not stay and rushed off in the opposite direction.
Too bad!
This was the true meaning behind the trial space!
When the participants entered the trial space, it would be impossible to face the giants that were at the True Soul Realm. Even if their cultivation bases reached the True Soul Realm, it would be hard to wipe out all the giants.
The giants' bodies were too big, so it was hard to release a fatal attack. As well, the giants had a self recovering ability and as long as a single strike could not kill a giant, it would quickly heal itself.
Surviving in this environment was too difficult!
Right now the trial was still in the lowest difficulty.
After the trial space was opened, it would constantly change and grow worse as time passed. In the end, more giants and monsters would awaken, as well as more traps being laid. The monsters in the trial space would slowly become stronger as more time passed.
In the end.
The giants' strength might surpass the True Soul Realm and they would no longer move this slowly, rather they would move like they were flying. They would have more and more moves as well as peerless extinguished skills that people would not be able to defend against!
In addition to the giants that would be ten times stronger, the environment of the space would slowly deteriorate until the trial could no longer continue!
Chapter 169: Dangerous trial space
Chu Tian and the other six ran as fast as possible.
"The crossroad is too long, we won't be able to cross it in such a short period of time." Yun Xiao shouted as he ran, "Those fellows wouldn't take the chance to chase us, right!"
"No!" Chu Tian was very certain with his answer, "They will definitely run in another direction. Stop slacking off and run faster, otherwise we'll run into some big trouble!"
The seven of them released their spirit energy to the limit and their bodies were covered in spirit energy. They ran as fast as they could to reach the pathway, but they were still too slow!
Dong, dong, dong, dong!
A burst of earth shaking footsteps.
A giant with thick armour in a riding position slowly stood up in front of them. His body was covered in a set of jet black armour just like a giant can. His helmet had a T shape in the middle, releasing a blue and white light, and he had a giant hammer in his hands.
Nangong Yun shouted in surprise, "How could there be anyone this big in the world?"
Feng Caidie, Yun Xiao, and the others were stunned.
This was too shocking, it surpassed a human's imagination!
Who else would be able to see a person as big as a dragon?
Even the heaviest boats in Central State City could not compare with these giants. They were big enough to match several houses placed side by side. A single finger was as large as a person's thigh and just standing in front of them, it was enough to completely block off their line of sight!
Just the cold armour around the giant would weigh several hundred tons. Melting it down and recasting it would be enough to arm an entire army.
"How do we fight this?" Yun Xiao shouted, "His fart could send up flying and he could squash us with his butt just by sitting down!"
This was not exaggerated at all!
This giant was incredibly heavy and had pressure that was like a mountain, even a 4th Awakened Soul Layer Cultivator would not be able to block him. This giant's body alone was incredibly strong!
Inside the pathway, there were large hands that were stretched out as more giants awoke. Soon this entire area would be surrounded by giants.
This was the first time participating for Lin Mu, Fang Han, and Feng Caidie.
Their faces turned pale in this moment.
This was the Central State Trial?
This difficulty was too big. It hadn't even been half an hour since the trial began and they were already in this kind of hard to survive situation. It was unknown what methods the people in the past had used to survive over one hundred hours in here!
This was already Yun Yao's second time participating and although it was very difficult, Yun Yao still showed a very calm expression, "Everyone, stop being upset! It is impossible for this kind of trial to not give us a chance to survive. Although these giants are very strong, they still move very slowly. As long as we do not force contact with them, we can easily dodge them."
Indeed.
Chu Tian had solved the cube lock puzzle very quickly and they had left the cages as fast as possible. Even with this kind of situation, they still encountered this hammer wielding giant.
The trial would not throw a person into a dead end right from the beginning.
Then there was only one possibility.
This giant hammer wield giant was a test for anyone trying to run away. No matter how fast they ran, they would still run into this giant. They could only truly run away after escaping this hammer giant's grasp.
"Trespassing on this forbidden ground!"
"Death!"
The sound waves poured over them.
The walls around them shook and the dust on the floor flew up into the air, completely decreasing their visibility. They could only see a heavy armoured giant wielding a giant hammer walking towards them with earth shaking steps.
A kind of visible violent power began to condense around the hammer!
Everyone felt like their chests were stuffed up and their qi and blood began to turn. This pressure was very overbearing, but they still forced their chests to relax.
It seemed like.
They weren't fast enough!
Whether it was their ability to act or their ability to gather their strength, it all seemed very slow and they couldn't react in time.
Violent thunder appeared around the Thunder Spirit Bead and it turned into a giant thunderbolt as it attacked the giant's head. Large sparks instantly flew out and the giant's helmet was melted.
Nangong Yun was filled with joy, "It's head has been exploded! It's dead!"
Yun Yao was worthy of being in the 4th Awakened Soul Layer. No one else here could possibly match this destructive might.
The Thunder Source Spirit was already very powerful, and with the amplification effect of the Thunder Spirit Bead, her one attack would be stronger than Luo Xianglong and Ye Tianlang's full power attack by three times. After the giant was hit by this attack, he was sent back several steps, but he did not fall.
Chu Tian's pupils contracted, "This is wrong! Be careful!"
Even though half of the giant's helmet had been melted, it seemed like nothing was wrong. The giant hammer was slowly raised and then heavily smashed down in front of him.
A terrifying shock wave was sent out!
The entire floor was shattered!
The horrifying impact completely overwhelmed the seven of them.
Giant cracks began to appear in Chu Tian and Nangong Yun's starlight gauzes and was about to be shattered to pieces. Feng Caidie, Yun Xiao, Lin Mu, and Fang Han all spat out blood. Even though Yun Yao had a deeper cultivation, she had used all her spirit energy in her attack, so she was caught off guard and was injured.
This fellow was too strong!
Although the hammer missed, just the shock wave was almost enough to kill them.
Yun Xiao crawled to his feet with great difficulty. It felt like all the bones in his body had been broken!
He could not help thinking about what would have happened if his elder sister had not pushed the giant back a few steps, causing the giant to miss his attack. What would the result have been like? Just the shock wave alone was enough to cause half of them to be near death.
This cold and silent armoured giant once again slowly raised his hammer. A pair of emotionless eyes stared at the tiny humans who were just like insects. The helmet that had been attacked by the Thunder Spirit Bead also slowly began to heal.
It seemed like he did not care about being hurt at all!
That vicious energy slowly began to condense once again.
"Quickly, run!"
Could they not run? This fellow had such thick skin that even Yun Yao couldn't deal with him, so how could the others do anything to him!
The seven of them quickly went beneath the giant's feet and ran as fast as they could past the giant. It was a good thing that the giant moved slowly and condensed his energy slowly. When the giant slowly turned around, the seven of them were already sixty meters away.
Hong!
The heaven shaking hammer fell once again!
The incomparably strong shock wave chased right after them.
"Fuck! How can a person even survive this! This trial is just too abnormal!"
The shock wave quickly caught up and a wild force pushed them from behind. It was like the seven of them was pushed forward by a wild wind, flying high up into the sky and being sent several meters away. The seven of them were thrown into the pathway.
It had sent them pretty far, which clearly meant that the shock wave was quite strong!
The armoured giant silently and slowly lifted the hammer once again, he was just like a cold killing machine without pity or emotions. If he didn't kill with a single strike, he would use two strikes. If two strikes didn't kill, he would use three strikes. Until the enemy died, it seemed like he would would continue to attack without stopping!
"He's chasing us!"
"Quickly, run!"
The seven of them quickly ran with the hammer wielding giant chasing after them. Every time the hammer fell, a terrifying wind storm would be sent forth. The seven of them were sent flying time after time, but they continued to rise up and run forward.
"This is bad!"
"It's catching up!"
"My bones are broken, I can't run anymore!"
Chu Tian lifted Yun Xiao who had broken his leg and continued to run, but continuing to run was not the right method. Several people had already been heavily injured and it was impossible to continue resisting the giant's attack!
A spiritual glow appeared!
"Fang Han, freeze the ground!"
Fang Han revealed an understanding look and released his Ice Giant Source Spirit. Wherever one could walk, the ground was covered in a thick and smooth ice.
That hammer wielding giant chased after them, but when his foot landed on the ice, he immediately lost his balance. Just like a giant mountain falling over, a large explosion rang out as he fell to the ground.
"This is a good opportunity!"
"Quickly, quickly, run!"
This was taking advantage of the giant's low intelligence!
Chu Tian could only think of this method for now!
In terms of its destructive might, it was already encroaching the True Soul Realm!
They were this distressed just by having the hammer land beside them. If the hammer ever landed on them, they would be instantly eliminated!
Even though Chu Tian had heaven defying knowledge, against this kind of iron giant and in this kind of situation, he had no other methods of dealing with him.
Fang Han ran as he created mirror like ice right behind him. The giant did not get to to take two steps before falling down again.
After falling several times.
The seven of them had already disappeared.
"Fuck, we're saved!" Yun Xiao supported himself with a pillar as he spat out a large mouthful of blood onto the ground. Then he coughed a few times, "It hurts so much! My lung feels like it's been shattered into several pieces already!"
Feng Caidie's face was also pale and she gently coughed while covering her mouth. Blood was flowing from the gaps between her fingers, showing that she was clearly heavily injured.
Lin Mu and Fang Han were not much better off compared to Yun Xiao, they almost had no more strength to run with anymore.
Yun Yao gave a serious frown, "This year's smelting trial seems even more difficult than before!"
Only Yun Yao with a higher cultivation base, and Nangong Yun and Chu Tian who had a strong defense were not heavily injured. It was all because they were lucky that the giant was stupid, slow, and predictable, otherwise not a single person would have escaped.
"My condition…..I'm afraid I can't walk anymore!" Feng Caidie held her chest and revealed a pained look, "I don't want to drag you down, just don't mind me!"
Chu Tian knit his brows.
This is bad!
The problem was that several of them had suffered heavy injuries and could no longer run away if they were chased again. The most terrifying thing was that the trial had just started, so if they ran into the giants once again, they would be faster and smarter this time, and had could possibly use martial arts or cultivation techniques.
With several people heavily injured, could they go on like this?
Chu Tian took out a jade bottle from his chest. This was the Bottle of Life that he had brought out of the ancient tomb and could gather Water of Life that could heal their injuries, but there were too many people injured and a single bottle was not enough.
Yun Xiao spoke with a bitter look on his face, "I'm not playing anymore! This is not a place human can set foot in! Old sister, elder sister, boss, you three don't need to worry about me! Go by yourselves!"
Yun Yao gave a bitter laugh.
She could not blame him.
The trial this time was too abnormal!
Lin Mu suddenly said, "I have a method to heal us. Everyone stand beside me."
Fang Han walked up beside Lin Mu. Yun Xiao and Feng Caidie were stunned for a few seconds, but they also walked over. Lin Mu released his source spirit and a giant willow tree quickly grew behind him, releasing a green light that shined onto their injuries.
Something incredible happened.
The four of them felt their injuries quickly healing.
Lin Mu's willow tree source spirit was full of vitality, but it slowly began to wither. After their injuries had been healed, the entire willow tree had become dried up.
Yun Xiao said with a surprised tone, "Brother! You're quite good! Your source spirit can even heal people!"
"It's not healing, rather it's absorbing injuries!" Lin Mu had consumed too much spirit energy and his head was currently covered in sweat. When the willow tree was bare, he revealed a bitter smile and said, "My source spirit has been temporarily sealed and it'll be two-four hours before I can use it again. Everyone should try as hard as they can to not get injured during this time."
Not being injured for two-four hours?
This was very hard to do!
A little furry head popped out of Chu Tian's chest and used its claw to point to the left as it let out a warning sound.
"There's something there!"
A black mass came running right at them.
Looking at it, there seemed to be around fifty-eighty of them. These fellows were not incredibly tall giants, but they were still around three meters tall with builds three times bigger than those of normal humans. They were only wearing shorts and completely revealed their chests. There were hammers, long blades, and even bows in their hands as they charged over.
"It's cyclopes!"
There were too many of these monsters, they basically formed a little army. They were charging forth incredibly fast like a wolf hunting down its prey.
Chapter 170: The giant's hard work
This kind of one eyed human shaped giant monster had reddish brown skin with a rough rock like texture. Their muscles were very bulky and seemed incredibly strong, and they were wearing cooking apron like armour on their lower bodies. Their giant feet only had three toes and most of them had weapons in their hands.
In the era Chu Tian had lived in.
These kinds of monsters had been exterminated over ten thousand years ago.
Cyclopes were known as cave dwelling people who had beast like intelligence while being in human form. They had low intelligence, but they still had special capabilities. Because of their cruel natures, they were very aggressive!
Chu Tian shouted, "Be careful of their eyes!"
It was too late because the cyclopes had already released a strong cold light from their eyes. Nangong Yun and Yun Yao were prepared to fight back, but once the light shined on them, they felt a kind of spirit energy fill their minds that froze their bodies, almost as if they had been petrified.
"This is bad!"
"I can't move!"
This was one of the innate skills of the cyclopes, they could release a paralyzing ray. The paralyzing effect did not come from them, but rather their spirit energy, which would make a person lose control of their own body. But this power was transferred through light, so if one closed their eyes and did not look at the light, they would not be paralyzed.
No other way!
He could only fight!
The little fox spat out a red needle that pierced through a cyclops' head, instantly killing him.
The netherworld sword was enveloped in blue and white flames, which turned into a streak of flaming sword glow that shot at the cyclopes. It instantly chopped off a cyclops' head.
There were a lot of cyclopes, but their strength was quite normal.
They had strength around the 3rd Awakened Soul Layer and had no cultivation techniques. They could only use their innate skills to fight, so they were not very strong.
Sou!
A cyclops' arrow flew by.
Dang!
This arrow slammed into Chu Tian's shoulder and pulled him out of his concealed state!
The cyclopes' eyes were very special, not only could they release a special attack, they could also see through illusion techniques. With Chu Tian's current cultivation base, he could not trick the cyclopes' eyes.
It was a good thing he had the Immortal Body.
Otherwise Chu Tian would have been heavily injured!
With two more cyclopes charging forward, Chu Tian quickly raised his sword to block them. The moment the hammer smashed down, the surrounding ground sunk down and formed a hole.
It was a good thing this was a normal soldier.
Otherwise he would have been destroyed in just two hits.
"Scram!"
The Demon God's Sword was released into the sky and a fierce aura forced the cyclopes back two steps. The sword glow increased in intensity by several folds and two cyclopes' head fell to the ground.
Nangong Yun and Yun Yao felt their bodies slowly recover, "Let's go together!"
Nangong Yun also released her Immortal Body and charges forward with closed eyes, like a blazing fireball, she knocked aside three-four cyclopes. She grabbed a cyclops with both hands and threw him several meters away, smashing a giant hole in the ground.
Yun Yao and Feng Caidie attacked from a distance, providing cover with ranged attacks.
Yun Xiao, Lin Mu, and Fang Han were very weak, so they did not dare to rashly charge into the fierce cyclopes, so they could only guard Yun Yao and Feng Caidie, helping them block the cyclopes' arrows. When a cyclops charged forward, the three of them grouped up against it.
The seven of them fought against the cyclopes that outnumbered them ten to one.
Although it was very tiring, they still managed to hang on.
At this moment, from the passageway in front of them, there was the scream of cyclopes once again. There were several cyclopes charging over like hungry wolves, preparing to join the battle.
Nangong Yun knocked down a cyclops and sat down on him, turning his head to paste.
A burst of wind shot forth and a hammer hit Nangong Yun's back.
The starlight layer shattered and Nangong Yun was sent flying several meters. The four-five cyclopes wanted to charge forward, but a large mass of sword qi and lightning shot out and knocked the cyclopes flying back. Nangong Yun seized this chance and restored most of the starlight barrier. She jumped up and kicked out, sending a cyclops' head into his chest.
"We can't kill them all! There are too many of them!"
When she saw the reinforcement cyclopes come forth, she revealed a helpless look.
These fierce cyclopes were too strong and it was already hard for them to deal with a ten to one scenario. Now that there was another group coming over, how could they deal with them?
But.
They had no path of escape either.
They were completely surrounded by cyclopes and they definitely could not retreat. There were giants waiting behind them, each one as fierce as a hundred cyclopes!
"Zhi, zhi!"
The little fox stood up and jumped out. Turning into mist in the air, it suddenly disappeared. Almost at the same moment, the little fox appeared in front of the cyclopes support team that just came, and its four claws slashed the face of the cyclops standing in the front.
The cyclops roared wildly as he slapped at his face, resulting in him slapping himself and knocking himself to the ground. The little fox turned into mist again and then appeared on the face of a second cyclops, using its claw to stab his eye.
"Ao!"
The cyclops was enraged and attacked it with a palm.
Pa!
His head began to bleed!
Another cyclops had knocked itself to the ground.
The little fox used this strange movement technique to harass each of the cyclopes once. Immediately, the cyclopes were all filled with rage and brandished their weapons as they chased the little fox around.
"Zhi, zhi!"
The little fox led the large group of cyclopes as it danced around the large space. While it was dancing around, it gave Chu Tian a look telling him to hurry it up.
Chu Tian gave a laugh, "Little fellow, good job! Help me distract them for a minute!"
The others did not think that this little fox would be able to distract these cyclopes at the most crucial moment, giving them this precious chance to catch their breaths. They were lucky that the cyclopes had low intelligence. If they were even a little smarter, they wouldn't be paying any attention to this little fellow.
Chu Tian and Nangong Yun rushed into the cyclopes' ranks.
Feng Caidie and Yun Yao attacked from a distance while Yun Xiao and the other two supported them.
The cyclopes fell one by one to the ground and the pressure on them slowly faded. They combined their power to take care of the other cyclopes.
At this moment, the little fox was dancing around the cyclopes and there were several that were bleeding, with some being heavily injured. They didn't know whether to laugh or cry because those that had been heavily injured did that to themselves.
"Let's go!"
After a few rounds of fighting.
The cyclopes all fell to the ground.
"You have successfully destroyed a giant hard labour team! You have been awarded three trial points! You currently have one hundred and forty eight trial points!"
"You have successfully destroyed a giant hard labour team! You have been awarded two trial points! You currently have one hundred and fifty trial points!"
On everyone's trial necklaces, the glowing number began to change and they all increased a bit.
The two cyclopes teams had been completely destroyed and Chu Tian gained five points, Nangong Yun gained four points, Yun Yao and Feng Caidie gained three points, and Yun Xiao and the others all gained twenty points.
How stingy! A single cube puzzle gave twenty points!
Of course to the designer of the trial, solving the cube puzzle was harder than defeating one of the armoured giants! In this trial, everything they did could earn them trial points, but how much they gained all depended on the difficulty of the task!
Yun Xiao said with a surprised voice, "Look! The cyclopes' bodies are disappearing!"
The cyclopes' bodies turned transparent as they began to slowly disappear.
This was not strange at all.
For this kind of trial space, it was impossible for it to be real. It was a mix of illusions and reality, meaning the cyclopes and giants were all illusions created by the trial space's illusion array.
"Yi! They seemed to have left something good!" Yun Xiao walked to where the giants disappeared and picked up a bronze key.
"There's another one here!" Nangong Yun went to where the second group of cyclopes had come from and picked up another bronze key.
Yun Yao was not surprised as she explained, "Those are spoils of war! After a fight in the trial space, there is a certain chance to obtain a spoil of war. It could be Elixirs, weapons, or an item that could be used in the trial space."
"What use does this key have?"
"There will be random treasure chests that appear in the trial space and that key will open a corresponding treasure chest."
Nangong Yun held the key with a curious look on her face. This seemed a little interesting! She never thought that the person who designed the trial space would have this kind of talent for fun!
"We shouldn't stay here long, let's quickly leave this area."
There were two pathways.
One was where the cyclopes came from and the other led to an unknown place. After discussing it, they decided that it would be better to go down the path the cyclopes came from.
The cyclopes were tough, but that did not mean they couldn't be dealt with.
The cyclopes were regarded by the trial space as "giant hard labour," which meant that in this trial space, the cyclopes were the lowest grade monsters. There was no safe area in the trial space and there were too many unknown passages, so they might as well enter the den of the giant's hard labour force.
When they passed through the long corridor, a large palace appeared in front of them.
This palace was around the size of the Central State City's square and the floor was covered in rocks and wood. There were hundreds of cyclopes transporting the materials to the center, where they seemed to be constructing some sort of tall tower.
The tower was already half complete.
When Chu Tian looked over, he suddenly revealed a look of pleasant surprise.
"It's Starlight Stones!"
"There are several large Starlight Stones embedded to the top of the tower!"
Nangong Yun noted the gems at the top of the tower that seemed to glow like stars. This starlight energy was very familiar because she had extracted it from the Meteor Grass before.
Only the starlight energy extracted from the Meteor Grass was very weak.
"The starlight energy contained within this Starlight Stone is around the amount in about a hundred thousand pieces of Meteor Grass!" Chu Tian's eyes suddenly started to burn, "These stones would be enough to increase our «Starlight Immortal Body» from the Small Success Glass Body Realm to the Diamond Body Realm!"
Nangong Yun's body trembled.
If it really were like this, those stones were priceless treasures for them. Even if they obtained nothing else from the trial, just getting these Starlight Stones would mean that this trip was not wasted!
Chapter 171: Escaping in a secret passage
The countless cyclopes were wearing iron apron armours as they transported large blocks of stone and wood around. There were some smashing rocks and some cutting wood, the iron hammers in their hands rang out and it was very bustling. They had not noticed the hidden intruders that had infiltrated the hall at all.
The dim copper lamps and the Starlight Stones on the tall tower were enough to light up the entire hall.
There were quite a few labourers here. It would be hard to fight them, so they had to secretly take the Starlight Stones.
The little fox looked at Chu Tian and volunteered.
Chu Tian half believed in it, "Are you sure?"
The little fox proudly raised its head. For a smart fox like it, this was a piece of cake! After that, its sparkling eyes flashed a few times and it rubbed its claws together a few times. It used a finger to point at its mouth and his face revealed a look of anticipation.
Nangong Yun could not understand this at all, "What is it saying?"
"This fellow is running out of things to eat, so if he helps us with this, he wants us to refill his stocks."
It was discussing conditions with its master?
This little fox's intelligence was incredible!
"You can relax!" Chu Tian rubbed the little fellow's furry head, "When have I ever mistreated you!"
The little fox rolled his eyes in a human like way.
Yun Xiao said from the side, "Boss, you normally aren't that great to it at all."
"Bullshit!" Chu Tian turned around to hit his head, "You think this little thing is something good? Father's savings has almost been completely eaten by it"
He had brought a large quantity of corpse cores back from the ten thousand ancient corpse tomb, and what was the result? There was nothing left!
There were corpse cores of thousand year old Corpse Monsters, which were existences surpassing the Awakened Soul Realm. The corpse core of a Corpse Monster would be incredibly valuable and other than the ones he used to trade with the Flame Ghost brothers, the rest had all entered this little fellow's stomach.
Who knew what kind of species this fellow belonged to.
Everything went into its mouth, not knowing anything other than eating!
Chu Tian knocked down on the little fox's head, "Go already!"
The little fox whined twice before suddenly jumping out and turning into a mass of mist, disappearing from Chu Tian's hand.
It instantly appeared a hundred meters away, falling onto the ground. Jumping up once again, it turned into grey mist and moved another hundred meters.
Yun Yao and the others were all shocked, "It's an instant movement technique! Its battle strength is not that high, but its movement techniques are so powerful!"
The little fox did have its uses.
Even Chu Tian did not fully understand it.
The little fox's battle strength was close to zero and other than being able to secretly spitting out a needle, it had no battle value, but the little fox had a strong sensing ability. Many things that Chu Tian could not sense, the little fox could discover them. Other than that, although the little fox was born from yin energy, it was still the mortal enemy of evil spirits and demons. When fighting demonic cultivators, its demon restraining abilities were quite useful to Chu Tian.
The little fox poked out at the big cyclops labourer's single eye.
The labourer was carrying some iron and did not expect to encounter this kind of sneak attack. When he unconsciously went to protect his eye, the iron block fell onto his foot. Giving a painful cry as he jumped up and down, it seemed like he was performing a funny dance.
The second one, the third one, the fourth one...
The little fox always aimed for the eye, and in a short period of time, it had already angered several cyclopes. Every one of them had suffered in some way and they were all roaring.
"Ao, ao, ao!"
How could these violent cyclopes tolerate this arrogant little fellow? They all put down what they were holding and angrily chased after it. The little fox saw that this situation was bad and began to run away.
In the end.
Several hundred giant and bulky human figures formed a long line with giant hammers and large blades. Their killing intent spilled out as they chased after this little fox that was around the size of a rabbit.
The little fox ran as it waved at Chu Tian with its claw.
"The cyclopes have been led away!"
"Let's go!"
Chu Tian jumped onto the tall tower with the Starlight Stones. Not bad, there were six-seven pieces. Everything moved incredibly smoothly, they had never thought it would be this easy. They had to move fast!
At this moment, an angry roar sounded.
Their expressions all changed, "What's wrong? Did one escape from the net!"
From behind the tower, two cold and sinister glows appeared. Nangong Yun and Chu Tian dodged out of the way and two holes were made on the ground.
Two cyclopes who were different from the others charged out. They were bulkier with thick armour equipped. They even had stronger weapons, both wielding a wolf fang falling star hammer!
Yun Xiao knit his brows together and said, "Such a strong aura! They should be in the Illustrious Soul Realm! Their realm should be even higher than me by a bit!"
"Ao!"
Their skin began to turn red as if they were using a kind of wild cultivation technique. Their right foot stomped down creating a hole in the ground and they turned into shadows as they charged out. Their speed did not match their bulky builds at all!
"So fast! We can't run away!"
Yun Yao's Thunder Spirit Bead began to shine as lightning surged out around her. When the cyclops met that lightning, it looked like it had just been blown up. Chu Tian had just raised his sword, but a falling star hammer fell at him.
That falling star hammer was also covered in a red glow and it was like a heavy bomb as it exploded out at Chu Tian.
Hong!
The air itself trembled!
Before the falling star hammer even hit Chu Tian, a visible shockwave sent him flying. Not to mention others, even Yun Yao at the 4th Awakened Soul Layer would not have been able to defend against this.
The Netherworld Sword absorbed a portion of this, but the majority still flowed through!
Chu Tian's starlight barrier was cracked and he felt several bones breaking. He was sent several meters away and was placed in a very bad situation!
"Don't worry about it!"
"I won't die! You guys be careful!" Chu Tian held his chest as he stood up, "They use shockwave attacks! Yun Yao, use the Thunder Spirit Bead to keep them ten meters away from us! Do not let an attack hit you within three meters! You'll be finished if you get hit!"
With the might the cyclopes possessed, they would be able to instantly kill anyone here. Chu Tian was lucky enough to avoid being hit head on, otherwise he would have been sent out of the trial tower.
"You guys help me!"
Yun Yao had the highest cultivation and the greatest strength. For this kind of monster at the Illustrious Soul Realm, of course they still needed her to make a move, otherwise even if it were Nangong Yun, they would still be unable to stop them. Nangong Yun and Chu Tian could fight enemies at the 4th Awakened Soul Layer and even if they were strong, they still had the confidence to put up a fight.
As for the 4th and 3rd Awakened Soul Layer, it was only a single level but it was actually the difference between heaven and earth!
"Thunder!"
Yun Yao summoned ten thousand bolts of purple lightning. When one cyclops raised its falling star hammer and prepared to attack the others, Yun Yao threw the Thunder Spirit Bead into the air and struck it with a palm. This precious gem was filled with powerful lightning and was like a meteor as it shot out.
Hong!
The Thunder Spirit Bead and the falling star hammer collided.
Purple lightning followed the contour of the falling star hammer and was transmitted to the cyclops. The terrifying lightning flowed forth and the cyclops was sent flying, landing several meters away.
Yun Yao's cultivation innate talent was not weak and she has been trained by the Yun Family. She would rarely find a match in the same level and with the Thunder Spirit Bead's strength, this one attack was enough to heavily injure the cyclops.
The other cyclops prepared to attack.
Lin Mu and Fan Hang attacked at the same time. One summoned roots to trap the cyclops' foot, and the other summoned a cold current to try to freeze the cyclops. Although they had strong cultivation bases, they could not possibly control it, but they could still restrain it for a bit.
Nangong Yun seized this chance to kick the cyclops' armour to pieces, and he was sent flying like a rubber ball. Yun Yao took this opportunity to call back the Thunder Spirit Bead and concentrate her strength once again. She then turned around to attack the other cyclops.
Another cyclops was sent to the ground.
Instantly, the two cyclopes were both heavily injured!
The cyclopes attack power was very strong, but they had weak defenses. The Thunder Spirit Bead was a Soul Contracting Weapon like the Netherworld Sword and in the Purple Lightning Young Master Yun Yao's hand, its power was increased. With two heavy attacks, their battle strength was greatly diminished!
"Kill!"
They took advantage of this chance and finally killed these two strong monsters.
Chu Tian supported himself with his sword and took out a jade bottle from his chest. After drinking half of the Life Essence Water, his wound quickly healed and no longer bothered him.
"We've received a prompt from the trial jade token. These monsters are known as labourer supervisors and should be the leaders of the labourers!"
"Is that so? God damn, no wonder they're so strong! Father's waist was almost shattered by them!"
After the two labourer supervisors disappeared, they left behind a scroll and some loot! They all looked over and found it was a map.
"It's a map of the giant's labyrinth!"
Everyone was excited!
The entire layout of the giant's labyrinth had been drawn and from what they could see from the map, the giant's labyrinth was actually very complex. There were over two hundred different pathways, each one having branching paths. There were even several palaces marked out. The entire layout had been clearly drawn on the map!
Nangong Yun took it and looked over it, "What words are these? I can't understand them at all!"
"A map? Give it to me!" Chu Tian took it and looked it over, "These are ancient Heaven Race characters, an uncultured person like you will not be able to understand them!"
If anyone else said that Nangong Yun was uncultured, they would have received a fist to the face already, but if it were Chu Tian saying it, then she was not angry at all, "What is the Heaven Race?"
"It is a very ancient race. When the Heaven Race ruled the continent, there were no traces of elves, not to mention spirit beasts. As for the humans, I think they were still in some desolate mountain caves dancing around bonfires."
The Heaven Race is a legendary race. It was said that its members were descendants from the great ancient era and were survivors of when the great ancient continent broke apart. They possessed inheritances from the great ancient era, but most of it was not passed down, which was a great shame!
"You're saying that this trial tower has connections with the Heaven Race."
"Not necessarily. The Heaven Race is too ancient and not many things from that era would last this long. This trial tower is to train young people and to the Heaven Race, this wouldn't be considered a high level trial. It could be that some other race dug up a part of the Heaven Race trial tower as well as a diagram of this low level trial and restored it with a large amount of work and resources."
"None of this is important!" Nangong Yun asked, "Look at the map! Which way is safe to go? We have been in this tower for around two-three hours and the monsters will begin to increase in strength! If it's like this, we won't even be able to kill the labourers!"
She was right.
While Chu Tian was carefully looking at the map, angry roars came from the passageway!
"What is that fellow doing, coming back so quickly? We still haven't taken the stones out yet!"
Yun Xiao looked around them and was instantly shocked, "Damn, this palace is actually a dead end! We will definitely be discovered!"
The little fox charged into the main hall, being fiercely pursued!
This was strange. These were just labourers, so wasn't it easy to deal with them? Why would it be in such distress! When the seven of them looked over, they revealed shocked expressions!
The several hundred labourers had all changed their appearances. They were only wearing aprons before, but now they were covered in leather armour wielding shields and bows, making them look like a proper army! There were falling star hammers, pumpkin hammers, large blades, long spears, and bows all aimed at the little fox, creating explosions of dirt all around it. If it weren't for the fact that the little face was so fast, it would have been destroyed already!
Damn!
They all turned into supervisors?!
These guys were still labourers a few minutes ago, but after being dragged out by the little fox on a chase, they had all turned into supervisors! Isn't this being promoted too quickly? If they are all being promoted, then who would be left to do work? How can all of the labourers become managers! This is not a good concept!
Chu Tian did not have time to question the theory of evolution of the trial designer. With four-five hundred labourers turning into supervisors and all of them charging at them now, the two they met already were already that strong, so how could they even fight them!
The palace only had a single exit!
There was nowhere for them to run!
"Wait a minute!" Chu Tian found their current position on the map and immediately noticed something, "At the back of this hall, there is a pathway marked with a dotted line. Dotted line...why isn't it a solid line? That means it could be a hidden passage! Quickly, find it!"
Chapter 172: Hidden map
The trial space's monsters would become stronger over time, but this should be a gradual increase. These labourers seemed like they had taken steroids and instantly promoted their strength. Who could accept this!
Or was this the price of stealing the Starlight Stones?
The Starlight Stones were very precious, and precious things required one to pay a large price. So was the trial space set up in a way that if the Starlight Stones were taken, the labourers' levels would increase?
Right now, it didn't matter what the reason was!
These labourers had broken through to the 3rd Awakened Soul Layer and were getting close to the 4th Awakened Soul Layer and the Illustrious Realm. Moreover, they had comprehended basic level martial arts and cultivation techniques, so their battle potential could not be compared to what it was before.
There were around four-five hundred cyclopes in the group. They were all around four meters tall, weighing around one-two tons. They were like giant and fast tanks, being equivalent to an army of several tens of thousands of people. If they were surrounded, they would have no chance of escaping!
Nangong Yun shouted in a voice full of pleasant surprise, "I've found it!"
On the wall of the main hall, there was a giant metal book that was like a giant steel mosaic on the wall. It would be hard to distinguish it from afar, and only by getting close would one be able to observe the slits created by the thick metal edge.
So this should be a door.
Nangong Yun summoned her strength and attacked it. The result was, the door did not open and she was knocked back.
"How dumb. Brute force won't open it, this is a secret lock door!" Chu Tian walked over to inspect it and found that there were small pieces in the shape of a square on the door. Each piece had a complex rune engraved on it, "A jigsaw puzzle? You guys cover me!"
Feng Caidie looked at the wild cyclopes troop charging at them, "I'm afraid we won't have enough time!"
"Ten seconds is enough!"
Chu Tian controlled the metal pieces with his spirit energy, and the pieces moved up and down. The rules of the door were very simple, as long as one could complete the source energy array in a certain amount of moves, then the door would open.
The rules were simple.
But doing it was very hard.
First, no one knew what the original array looked like. So even with it being a jigsaw puzzle, how could one do it without the original as a reference? There was no reference at all and compared to a picture, the runes and arrays were much more difficult, so it was hard to discover what the array was.
The worst part was this puzzle had a set number of moves one could make. If one surpassed the limit, the pieces would reset and the person would have to do it all over again.
Even if this puzzle were taken to the Central State City Yun Sect, it would take them ten days to half a month before being able to solve it.
Chu Tian not only needed to solve it in a short period of time, he also had to face the threat of the labourer group.
Was he performing magic?
How could this possibly be done?
The giant labourers were only a few dozen meters away from the secret door. There were even a few that were loading their bows.
"Stop them!"
Nangong Yun's spirit energy turned into fist wind that knocked away the arrows.
Streaks of purple lightning shot into the sky. The Thunder Spirit Bead turned into a shadow as it flew around in the sky. It continued to release bolts of lightning, weaving a dense electrical net. When the giants came close, they were sent flying by the electrical net.
"Wind and Cloud Sword Song!"
Feng Caidie summoned dozens of streaks of sword qi that surged forward like a blue wave, slamming into the labourers charging over.
They tried their best to stop them, but the monsters were too big and too vicious. They had no way of blocking them with just their strength.
The short range soldiers would reach them soon.
Once those cyclopes came within ten meters, they would be able to kill anyone with just one attack!
Chu Tian was completely concentrated on the door, ignoring everything happening around him. The array on the square was slowly coming back to life as it floated in the air, connecting piece by piece to form a whole.
Shua, shua, shua, shua!
Chu Tian continued to move the pieces, connecting them one by one. A complex complete image was being formed, and when Chu Tian moved the final piece.
A loud noise sounded!
The source energy array began to glow!
Countless runes began to appear as they spread across the giant door. Finally the sound of the door opening was heard and with a 'ka' sound, the seams of the metal door appeared.
A sound rang out in his mind.
"You have successfully opened the secret puppet door! You have been awarded twenty points! You currently have one hundred and seventy points!"
"It''s open!"
Yun Xiao, Lin Mu, and Fang Han immediately drew back when the heavy door had opened a little.
Chu Tian turned back and shouted, "Come quickly!"
The seven of them quickly entered the giant door.
Countless labourers charged over and prepared to smash open the hidden door. Yun Yao's Thunder Spirit Bead began to glow, and countless streaks of lightning appeared, forcing back all the labourers.
Yun Xiao, Lin Mu, and Fang Han began to push the incomparably heavy door, trying to close it once again.
This was truly terrifying!
The little fox appeared back on Chu Tian's shoulder. It licked its claw and had an embarrassed look on its face.
"It's been hard on you!" Chu Tian patted the little fellow's head, "You'll be awarded for your work!"
The little fox nodded in satisfaction. He had not wasted his effort.
Yun Xiao was very serious as he said, "The trial monsters are already becoming stronger. At this rate, we won't be able to last that long. It'll be too hard to survive for three days!"
Everyone looked depressed.
The trial space could be opened for over three days, and right now, not even three hours had passed. If the monsters grew at this rate, then wouldn't those labourers become divine beings by then?!
Not to mention the other terrifyingly strong monsters!
Then those dozen meter tall giants in three days would have bodies as hard as diamond, while being as fast as a swallow. They would be incomparably strong!
"The person who designed this place really had no brains!" Nangong Yun was very angry, "This trial tower only allows people under thirty in the Awakened Soul Realm to enter. I don't believe that there would be True Soul experts that participated back in ancient times! Even if there were True Soul experts, it would still be hard for them to survive here! Those giants at the beginning already had strength at the True Soul Realm, so after a few hours, wouldn't they turn into flying celestials!"
"You're all wrong." Chu Tian said, "The difficulty of the trial is based on the strength of all the participants. The Four Young Masters are stronger compared to the previous Central State City participants, so they've increased the difficulty. In other words, even if ten True Soul experts came in, it would not be as easy as it was for us. It would be more troublesome, or else the trial would lose its meaning."
"What do we do now?"
If we just stay here, the trial space will just summon more monsters around us, so we must keep moving." Chu Tian carefully looked over the map, "Strange..."
"What is it?"
Chu Tian showed the map to everyone, "The dashed lines are secret passages and the location it leads to is not marked on the map. There is no name for the location either."
"Does that mean that there's a part of the map that is hidden?"
"It doesn't matter since we can't go back anyway!"
Chu Tian put away the map, and they began to walk down the long passage!
Hong, hong, hong!
Their surroundings began to shake!
Yun Xiao looked around them and immediately cursed, "Fuck! It's another pathway filled with giants!"
This corridor was exactly the same as the corridor they went in at the beginning of the giant's maze. On the left and right sides, there were many arched holes in the way with sealed giants standing there.
Once they approached.
The giants would awaken!
In this corridor, the speed at which the giants would awaken was much faster than the speed they could run at!
"Run!"
This was no joke, this would be enough to completely eliminate their team. Other than running, they had no other options, so the seven of them ran as fast as they could.
The corridor began to shake.
Giant pieces of broken stone fell all around them.
When the seven of them reached the center of the hall, the giants at the beginning walked out. They were fifty meters tall with giant muscled bodies releasing a terrifying aura that shocked everyone.
"Fuck! They're awake!"
"Run faster!"
Behind the seven of them, more and more giants began to walk out, chasing after them with earthshaking steps. Although the seven of them were over halfway through the corridor, the giants were much faster than them. A single step was much longer than their steps, and with their running speed, they would quickly catch up to them.
Chu Tian quickly ordered, "Make ice! Make ice!"
Fang Han was running at the back of the team. He summoned his Ice Giant Source Spirit and a white spirit energy was consistently released. Wherever Fang Han passed, a thick layer of solid ice appeared behind him.
Five, ten, twenty!
There were more and more giants awakening in the hall!
The seven of them charged as fast as they could. Yun Xiao and the others had low cultivation bases, so they were already starting to weaken. At the most crucial moment, a giant opened door appeared in front of them. The inside of the door was glowing as if there was a passageway inside.
"We're finally here!"
"Yun Yao, Caidie, go in first! Close the door!"
The corridor was not long for the giants, but it was a different story for humans. The seven of them had ran like crazy for several minutes before finally reaching the end of the pathway.
Feng Caidie and Yun Xiao were much quicker than everyone else, so they charged in front of everyone and then, using all their strength, they tried to slowly close the giant metal door.
This giant metal door was about to close.
The other five came right on time and jumped out at the same time, landing in the final slit left.
Dong, dong!
Several deep sounds rang out.
The entire space began to shake as the giants slammed the door. The good thing was that the door was very thick. Once it closed, it wouldn't open again no matter how many giants there were.
The seven of them were about to collapse.
Chu Tian finally realized something.
In fact, the one taboo thing in the trial was internal strife. The tests set by the trial were based on a team's strength, so it was necessary for the team to work together to pass the trial.
They had grudges with Chu Xinghe and the others, so the team had been split. Chu Tian's group was weaker, so they had been at a disadvantage from the beginning.
"We are finally safe!"
"The problem is, where are we?"
Everyone looked around and saw that the passage had just completely ended here. In front of them there was actually a bottomless abyss.
It was completely dark and they could not see the bottom at all. They could not help feeling a chill fill their heart.
"Look at the map!"
Chu Tian opened the map and after walking through the hidden passage, the map that was not drawn in now had an island type of terrain drawn in now.
There were some Heaven Race characters naming it, the "Giant's Hive"!
"Giant's Hive? What is this!"
Lin Mu shouted, "There's a stone bridge over there!"
Everyone sluggishly looked over.
This was a bridge stretching over the void. In this cold and dark abyss that was devoid of anything and was completely lonely, there was a single bridge spanning across the void. It gave them a strange lonely feeling and it also filled their hearts with doubt.
Chapter 173: The life stealing bridge
They could not see the other side of the stone bridge at all!
They knew the bridge was dangerous, but they had no choice but to move forward because other than this, there was no other way for them to go.
"We can't go back anyway. I don't want to be turned into a meat patty by those giants!" Nangong Yun had a disposition that never feared challenges, and she bravely walked onto the bridge. "Let's go! I'll lead the way!"
"Wait a minute!" Chu Tian stood in front of the bridge and inspected it, "There is a problem with the bridge. Trouble will appear if you walk on it so carelessly."
Those incredibly strong armoured giants and the rapidly evolving cyclopes were all fine!
But would this bridge not have a problem? Isn't that a huge joke!
If Chu Tian said there was a problem, there definitely would be a problem! Everyone stopped moving to look around. The stone bridge was very small compared to the black void, but for humans, it was actually quite big.
It was ten meters wide and was smoothly paved with crystal stone. There were source energy arrays engraved on the crystal stone that were sending out strong source energy fluctuations.
Lin Mu was a mercenary, so he was quite sensitive to stuff like this, "This bridge seems to be covered in traps. If we make a single mistake, the consequences would be unimaginable."
"That's right, we can't activate the traps at all." Chu Tian carefully observed the stone bridge for a few minutes, "The stone floor's runes will not constantly change. As long as you follow closely in my footsteps, you should be able to safely cross the bridge."
Yun Yao swept her gaze over it.
The fine crystals were covered in runes, but even with her experience and knowledge, she could not understand it at all. It was clearly an ancient rune from an ancient civilization.
Chu Tian did not dare to say he understood it all, but he understood enough to know where the traps were.
"Focus your mind and don't make any mistakes."
Chu Tian stepped on one stone plate, and it began to light up, but Chu Tian ignored it and stepped onto the second plate, the third, and the fourth...The plates Chu Tian stepped on lit up, but nothing came from them.
The other six were overjoyed in their hearts.
It was a good thing they had Chu Tian, otherwise it would be incredibly hard for them to even take a small step forward in this trial space!
The six of them carefully followed Chu Tian. Whichever stone plate he stepped on, they would follow right behind him. They did not meet any trouble on the way and they slowly began to move faster.
After half an hour, they had safely traversed over half of the stone plates.
But something that no one expected happened!
Weng, weng, weng!
The sound of wings flapping at high speed came from all around them!
Around the stone bridge, floating above the abyss were three meter tall giant monsters! These monsters had black and yellow bodies, looking like insects. Not only did they have sickles on their hands, they also had long black needles attached to their abdomens.
There were too many of them!
There were over a hundred tightly packed together!
Yun Xiao let out a surprised cry, "Fuck! I finally understand why this place is called the giant's hive! This is a place where the giants raise their bees! We've run head into a hornet's nest! What do we do!"
Nangong Yun hit his head, "Stop shouting! You're embarrassing! It's just a few insects!"
Yun Xiao shouted out in an exaggerated manner, "Insects? Please elder sister, how can you even consider these insects! Have you ever seen an insect weighing several hundred pounds! Ever since we've entered this labyrinth, we've become the insects!"
Everyone revealed a bitter look.
The giant bees did not look friendly, and this bridge was covered in traps, so they had no way to do anything. If they had to fight back the bees in this situation, it would be a task harder than ascending to heaven!
Yun Yao instantly clenched her hands, and the Thunder Spirit Bead floated around her body.
As the buzzing sound rang out.
Countless giant bees began to charge at the stone bridge!
"Take care of them!" Chu Tian's sword qi slashed out at a giant bee, dividing it in half. When he saw that the bee's strength was not as great as he imagined, Chu Tian let out a sigh of relief.
Who would have thought that the two halves of the bee corpse would fall right on the stone bridge. A piece landed on one of the thirty meter wide stone plates.
Hong!
A trap had been activated!
Lightning fell from the sky, instantly turning the bee corpse to ashes…..That's right, it had been turned to ashes. A gentle breeze blew past, and the crystal stone plate was as smooth as before, not leaving a single mark behind!
The other piece of the corpse fell down on another trap. Energy was released as the other half was turned to stone before breaking down into powder.
Too terrifying!
The entire bridge was covered in death traps!
Under the attack of the giant bees, they could not make a single mistake or else they would be instantly killed by the traps!
The Thunder Spirit Bead floated in the sky and released a giant thunder net, instantly covering the seven of them. When the giant bees hit the net, they were immediately sent flying by the lightning with no way to attack.
"My spirit energy is limited and with this kind of large defense, I won't be able to hold on for long!" Yun Yao shouted while knitting her brows, "Eliminate them quickly and don't let them come close, otherwise we're finished!"
"Wind and Cloud Sword Song!"
In this kind of dangerous moment, it was time for Feng Caidie to display her skills. She was a wind attributed cultivator and could attack from afar with quick attacks. With how intense the Wind and Cloud Sword Song was, facing this kind of large scale monster attack, she was the best candidate!
Countless streaks of blue sword qi surged forward in waves, cutting down the giant bees one by one.
This did not solve the problem. The giant bees were too far away, and other than Feng Caidie, no one had a way of attacking the giant bees. The giant bees' numbers far exceeded their expectations, and densely surrounding the bridge like this, they completely slowed down their advancing speed.
Rows of jet black needles were raised.
Each needle tail was releasing a green glow, just like the colour of poison.
Yun Xiao wiped away his sweat, "Not like this!"
Su, su, su, su...Several hundred needles fell like raindrops, shooting at the stone bridge. The speed of each needle was as fast as sound itself, completely invisible to the naked eye, forming a dense black shadow.
A bean frying sound came from the thunder net around them.
It was the sound of stingers being sent back by the thunder net.
Yun Yao's face turned ugly, "This is bad, there are too many poisonous needles. My thunder net is not a complete defense and cannot stop this kind of dense and high frequency attack!"
Thunder and fire were not substances.
So after a defense was formed, it wasn't as solid as one formed from gold, earth, or ice.
Each needle that fell on the thunder net was sent flying back by the thunder energy. This consumed a lot of energy, and the defenses had to be replenished constantly, so with this kind of dense attack, it was impossible to keep the thunder net up.
Finally a poisonous needle passed through the thunder net, shooting at them!
"Ice Mountain Shield!"
A white aura came from Fang Han, and a large shield condensed in the air. When the poison needle met the shield, it became deeply embedded, but it could not destroy the shield.
"Go!"
Fang Han's giant shield flew at the rain of needles.
"Ice Explosion!"
The giant shield exploded, and countless pieces of ice flew in all directions. Many giant bees did not dodge in time and were sent to the ground after being hit by the ice.
However, it wasn't strong enough!
Fang Han's cultivation was not high and he had no way of dealing serious injuries, so another batch of poison needles flew at them. Everyone quickly raised their own defenses.
There was one poison needle that fell onto the stone plate beside them.
The crystal stone plate was activated, and a green poisonous mist was released from the trap array. It was like a cloud as it enveloped them.
Everyone's face fell!
Damn!
The stingers could activate the traps on the ground. Not only did they have to stop the stingers from hitting them, they had to make sure that the stingers did not fall on any of the terrifying traps near them!
"Absorb!"
Lin Mu summoned out his Willow Tree Source Spirit. It had been a long time since it was last used, and the Willow Tree Source Spirit had restored most of its energy. The willow leaves touched poison and completely absorbed all the poison the trap released.
Chu Tian saw this and shouted, "Do not defend! Go full attack! Destroy them!"
If they continued fighting like this, it was a matter of time before the enemy took them out. They had to go all out and destroy the giant bees as quickly as possible.
"There's no other choice!"
"Thunder Bird!"
Yun Yao put her hands together and the thunder net gathered together with the Thunder Spirit Bead as the focal point. It changed into a seven-eight meter long giant bird that charged at the giant bees.
After Yun Yao attacked, Feng Caidie's dozens of sword qi followed after. Since the others did not have strong long range attacks, they would only use their powers to create shields.
Yun Yao was worthy of being an Illustrious Soul Realm cultivator. Wherever the Thunder Bird went, the giant bees were swept away.
In just a little while, she had killed several dozens of them.
"Good!"
Nangong Yun loudly cheered. With the speed they were being killed at, it wouldn't take long before all the giant bees were taken care of!
However, at this moment.
A jet black bee suddenly appeared. This giant bee was clearly different than the others, as its body released a metallic glow. It was like a meteor as it launched a sneak attack against them. It's foreleg's scythes swept out, and streaks of sword qi were sent at the stone bridge.
"Damn!"
If this attack landed, it would trigger at least five-six traps. Moreover, it was incredibly close to them, so who knew what would happen.
Nangong Yun quickly punched out.
Peng!
The red spirit energy broke the sword qi and slammed into the giant bee's body. Nangong Yun was pushed back several steps and she stepped on the edge of the stone plate she was on.
If she moved another centimeter!
She would step on another stone plate!
Nangong Yun was covered in cold sweat. She had thought that she was safe, but that black giant bee she sent flying suddenly raised its butt and sent out a black poison stinger.
Nangong Yun unconsciously avoided it, but that stinger landed on the stone plate and countless runes began to shine.
"This is bad!"
A wild energy burst forth.
Yun Xiao wanted to grab onto her.
"Go away!"
Nangong Yun shouted, but it was too late.
A shock wave was sent out with Nangong Yun, Yun Xiao, and Feng Caidie being close by. Bearing the brunt of the attack, they were sent flying twelve to fifteen meters from the stone bridge and fell into the bottomless abyss.
Several giant bees charged after them, catching the injured people. They then dived head first into the bottomless abyss.
"Damn, save me..."
Yun Xiao's pitiful cry vanished into the darkness.
The giant bees could no longer take fight back and were suffering heavy casualties, so they had no choice but to retreat.
"Damn!" Yun Yao knit her brows as she looked over the devastated stone bridge. Her eyes filled with anger as she tightly clenched her fist, "Those three have been captured by the giant bees, it seems like they're dead for sure!"
Lin Mu and Fang Han's hearts filled with fear, "This kind of trial is impossible to pass!"
This was too harsh!
This bridge was not something a normal person could cross!
In all of Central State City, perhaps only Chu Tian had the ability to see through these traps. If anyone else met this stone bridge, they could only try their luck and would not have the chance to reach this far.
Who would have known that not only did this trial space have a dangerous bridge like this, it also had several hundred large monsters blocking the way. This kind of difficulty was just too harsh!
How many hours had passed so far?
Nangong Yun and the others were already dead!
How long would the remaining people survive for?
"It's too early for that conclusion!" Chu Tian looked at the black void and said, "These bees are demon beasts that live in a crowd, so they will not immediately kill their prey. They will probably store them away in their lair. As long as we can catch up to them, perhaps we can still save the three of them."
"Lair?" Lin Mu spoke with a bitter smile, "Several hundred of them were already this strong, it probably would not be good for us to charge into their lair."
Fang Han also nodded, "The ones sent out to catch food would be the lowest rank beasts. Inside the lair, there could be a queen bee or a higher ranked existence!"
With their current situation, not to mention reaching the honeycomb, if they were attacked on the road with their current strength, they might not be able to successfully survive this attack.
"I have a way!"
"Bring a few giant bee corpses over!"
Lin Mu and Fang Han carefully gathered two intact giant bee corpses.
"This is a demon beast called the giant bee. It has very basic senses and does not have high intelligence." Chu Tian spoke as he used his sword to cut open the giant bee corpses. He pulled out a dark yellow waxy liquid that had a strange smell, "This is called beeswax. As long as we cover ourselves in this, the giant bees will not attack us!"
Lin Mu and Fang Han revealed looks of awe.
They were mercenaries so they knew nothing about this area, but Chu Tian had once again shown how erudite he was. If they could use this method to avoid being attacked, then it wouldn't be certain that they would be killed in the giant bees' lair!
They couldn't just leave the three of them, right?
Even if they knew it was very dangerous, they still had no choice but to go!
Chapter 174: Honeycomb
It was probably because the giant bees' individual strength was weaker than the labourers' that killing the giant bees yielded no points at all. These were monsters that had no value in killing!
Safely passing through the hive was the right decision, but Nangong Yun and Feng Caidie had been captured, so Chu Tian could not just ignore them. Even if he knew it would be filled with danger, he still had to rush into the giant bees' hive.
Chu Tian, Yun Yao, Lin Mu, and Fang Han smothered their bodies in the beeswax. This thing would not last long, so they had to be quick, otherwise they would be in trouble.
Yun Yao was doubtful at first, but that changed when she met a few bees on the bridge while following behind Chu Tian. These giant bees were clearly right beside them, but they had ignored the four of them. It was at this point that she was convinced.
Not only was Chu Tian very accomplished in terms of the great subjects, he was even skilled in miscellaneous topics...How old was he now? Even if he started studying in the womb, it still wouldn't be enough!
They had found the hive!
When Lin Mu and Fang Han looked at it, their eyes almost popped out. The two were mercenaries, travelling everywhere, putting their lives at risk. Even stealing an egg from a demon beast's nest was considered a normal thing for them to do. But even with their previous experiences, it all seemed like child's play compared to what was happening now!
The end of the stone bridge was the same as the beginning, with a cliff looming over them. There was a door to reenter the giant's labyrinth in front of them that was surrounded by giant bees, with all kinds of secretions all over the ground.
The door to the labyrinth was halfway up the cliff.
At the top of the cliff, there was a tumour like giant thing. It was dark gold in colour and seemed to be made of metal. There were thousands of hexagonal comb like cells densely packed together. Standing on the summit, it was like a grand and abstract building!
How many giant bees were in this thing?
Yun Yao was creeped out looking at it!
Ordinary bee hives were generally found on trees, hanging from their branches. These giants bees were even better. They occupied the summit and transformed the area into a hive.
"Let's not waste time. Let's go!"
Chu Tian called out while the three of them were in a daze.
"Even if we're saving people, how do we accomplish this?" Yun Yao was a little worried, "Look at this hive, there are thousands of cells just on the surface, so there might be tens of thousands inside. Extending in all directions, it might even be more complicated than the giant's labyrinth, it'll be very difficult for us to find where they're being held. If we spend too much time looking for them, who knows if they'll still be alive. Not to mention that the giant bees will be evolving as time passes."
With a sou sound.
A white figure appeared on Chu Tian's shoulder with its hands crossed at its chest, with a very clear meaning. It was saying, it seems like it's this fox's turn!
Yun Yao seemed to understand something, "Fox?"
"This fellow does not have any other skills, but it is quite skilled in tracking. It should be no problem finding them."
What do you mean by no problem?
There's definitely no problem!
The fox was dissatisfied with its master's words and was preparing to protest. Chu Tian grabbed its tail and held it up.
"Go!"
This master really doesn't understand manners!
This fox hasn't even discussed the conditions yet!
The little fox had no other choice but to make its way through the hive.
The hive was very wet with various secretions all around them. There were cocoons and young bees everywhere, and the air was filled with the smell of monsters. It was a good thing that the giant bees were so big because humans could pass through wherever the giant bees went.
The little fox had also covered itself in a layer of beeswax. It was sniffing while walking through the hive, with the four of them following behind the little fox.
They met a large number of giant bees on the way. There were a few places that were quite open with several hundred bees densely packed together, leaving almost no place to stand at all.
Just this intensity was enough to creep anyone out!
It was a good thing they had Chu Tian's method and could avoid being attacked by the bees. Otherwise, with their strength, it wouldn't would be weird for them to be ripped to shreds!
The little fox suddenly called out.
Chu Tian revealed a happy expression, "We've found them. Let's go!"
The four of them entered a large cell which should have been the food storage room for the giant bees. It was very large and a fragrant smell hit their nose when they entered.
Lin Mu and Fang Han asked in a surprised voice, "What is that smell? Why is it so fragrant?"
There were giant pools in this room itself. There were a few dozen pools that were filled with a golden liquid. There were a few strange worker bees bustling about, throwing a variety of items in.
"This is the bees' brewing room! Inside of a normal hive, the bees would bring back pollen to the brewing room where it is made into honey." Chu Tian said this and then his voice changed, "Those giant bees are that big, so they will not just gather normal flower pollen. Rather, they will bring all kinds of life forms, medicines, and Elixirs. After extracting the spiritual energy from these, they will be able to ferment it with a special array. This kind of thing is used by giants to make the wine that they love the most, so it is called the giant's honey!"
The little fox gave an excited cry.
It jumped into a pool of honey that had not been fermented yet and began to drink it all!
Chu Tian eyes lit up when he saw this, "It can't be? Is this not something the trial space created and is actual spiritual honey?"
The little fox's performance made it clear to Chu Tian.
The surface of the honey pool turned into a vortex and the honey in the pool quickly disappeared. In around ten seconds, the entire pool was completely gone!
Yun Yao's eyes almost popped out, "It can't be! How did it do that!"
This pool could be treated as a swimming pool to humans. It was four-five meters deep, so it could be imagined just how much honey was in the pool itself.
The little fox had drunk all of it in less than a minute!
How did it even do this?
Chu Tian said to them, "The giant bee honey is quite a good thing and is comparable to high grade Elixirs, but these pools are filled with half finished products and contain the giant bees' poison. We can't drink it, so let's just give it to this little fellow! Let's go, it's more important to find the others!"
There was another room at the back of the brewing room that was a storage room. There were Elixirs all around the room and in the center, there several figures being wrapped up in a gelatinous cover, unable to move at all.
"Found them!"
Chu Tian's Netherworld Sword ignited with blue and white flames and he looked at them for a bit. When the blue and white flames fell onto the gelatinous cover, it slowly began to melt it away.
"Wa!" Nangong Yun was finally freed, "That was so uncomfortable! What is this disgusting thing!"
Feng Caidie had never been this embarrassed before. She, who always paid attention to her image, was now being covered in this jelly.
Yun Xiao shouted in an exaggerated manner, "I don't have any strength at all!"
"This a substance secreted by the giant bees that slowly drains spirit energy from your bodies, transforming it into a layer that seals your ability to control your body. You will slowly die in this material while your vital energy and spirit energy fuses with the material, finally being used by the giant bees to make honey with."
"Boss, you're too loyal! I thought I was done for!"
Nangong Yun expressed her gratitude to Chu Tian with a big hug.
Chu Tian had no time to take advantage of this witch, "There is something important we have to do! Let's go!"
"What?"
"We have to kill the queen bee!"
"Ah, kill the queen bee!"
Everyone's eyes opened wide in panic. Inside the giant bees' nest, there were over a hundred thousand giant bees, so killing the queen bee was being too wild!
"Actually I don't want to waste my time, but since I'm here, I cannot miss this chance." Chu Tian revealed a mysterious expression, "The highest grade honey is fermented by the queen bee and it is very useful for increasing cultivation bases. Once you eat it, it will immediately have effect!"
"It's that strong?"
"The giant bees' honey is formed using Elixirs and Life Essence. After being in this trial space for all these years, the honey has been fermented for a long time and should be comparable to being fermented for ten thousand years. It should be able to increase a person's bones and increase their lifespan by several years!"
It was this good?
They were all thoroughly shocked!
Yun Yao's heart skipped a beat. Her grandfather was already this old, so if she could bring some ten thousand year old honey back for him and increase his lifespan, then the Yun Family would gain a lot!
She asked, "Is the queen bee that hard to deal with?"
"One needs to be prepared for life and death. The queen bee has a spiritual attack and will attack as soon as we come close."
"What do we do?"
"You don't need to worry about the queen bee. I will place an array on you that will decrease the spiritual energy you release. That way, the queen bee will focus her attacks on me."
Nangong Yun said, "Can do you it? If it's dangerous, you should let me go! You are our leader, we are counting on you to lead us!"
"You can be assured, in terms of spiritual attacks...there is no way of beating me. Otherwise, I wouldn't be so assured. I wouldn't put myself in danger for no reason!"
Everyone had a confused look on their faces.
Yun Yao and Feng Caidie's heart skipped a beat as they remembered something. Back in the Central State City Great Games, Ye Hen had used his spiritual attack on Chu Tian, but he had been sent to his knees instead.
Could it be that Chu Tian had a secret talent that allowed him to reflect spiritual attacks?
"While the queen bee is being dealt with by me, it doesn't mean you can just stand on the side and watch." Chu Tian had a serious look on his face as he gave instructions, "There will be a king beside the queen bee. While the queen bee can only use spiritual attacks, the king bee is very different. The king bee has high attack and defenses, so it will be very difficult to deal with! While I am fighting the queen bee, you have to block the king bee, otherwise everything will be for nothing!"
"Alright!"
"If the biggest problem, the queen bee is being dealt by you, then what does a king bee count for!"
When the seven of them finished discussing and walked out, they saw the little fox on the ground rubbing its fat belly. It was like a balloon filled with air as it lay on the ground gasping for air.
Nangong Yun said in a shocked voice, "What happened to it?"
Chu Tian rolled his eyes, "What else could it be? It ate too much!"
But, it was quite strange. This was the first time he had seen this little fellow actually being full!
Yun Yao, Lin Mu, and Fang Han looked on with gazes of amazement. All the pools in the room had been completely emptied by this little fox? This was precious spiritual honey brewed with a countless amount of Life Essence and Elixirs!
How strong would the energy contained be?
Even if it were the Divine Wind Marquis, he wouldn't be able to withstand even a tenth of it.
This little fox had drunk all of it and it just had a full belly!
Monster!
Both the master and pet were monsters!