Second Form

Crack~

A sound came from in front of him, followed by the fall of countless stones. Zhou Yi looked up and saw that the Buddha statue before him had collapsed. A snake coiled on the lotus pedestal in the statue's hand, its gaping maw about to bite Zhou Yi.

Just as Zhou Yi was about to draw his saber to defend himself, he found a pair of hands tightly gripping the snake's head. It was the skeleton that had been sitting on the prayer mat. The bricks and stones beneath the skeleton's feet were shattering, clearly unable to withstand the snake's bite.

Zhou Yi drew Han Guang and used the Wave Breaking Saber Technique to slash at the snake's body. A string of sparks appeared, but only a white mark was left on the snake's body. Han Guang, which had always been effective, couldn't break through the snake's defenses.

At this moment, the skeleton could no longer resist. It was sent flying into the wall by the snake's head, and spiderweb-like cracks immediately appeared on the wall.

Seeing the skeleton sent flying, Zhou Yi once again channeled his footwork and slashed at the giant snake. This time, Zhou Yi instantly unleashed over a dozen strikes, each hitting the same spot. A trace of blood appeared on Han Guang, and a nearly thirty-centimeter-long wound appeared at the impact point. However, for the giant snake's body, this wound was insignificant.

The giant snake roared at Zhou Yi, clearly angered. This human, like an ant to it, had actually injured it. It immediately lunged to bite Zhou Yi.

Zhou Yi dodged the snake's bite with a flash, but unexpectedly, the snake's body was extremely agile. Its tail also whipped towards Zhou Yi like a whip. Zhou Yi couldn't defend in time and could only hastily hold Han Guang in front of him. The snake's tail struck Han Guang, but the immense force transmitted through Han Guang still forced Zhou Yi back a few steps.

Seeing that its attack had failed, the giant snake was about to strike again when it felt its tail being grabbed. It turned out to be the skeleton that had just been sent flying. The skeleton desperately held onto the giant snake's tail, causing the snake's head, which was about to bite Zhou Yi, to retreat a step. Zhou Yi also quickly dodged to the side.

The giant snake thrashed its tail, and the skeleton was once again flung away. This time, fine cracks appeared on the skeleton's chest.

Meanwhile, Zhou Yi seized the opportunity to slash Han Guang towards the snake's head.

Clang, clang, clang...

Zhou Yi didn't know how many times he had struck. Each blow to the snake's head produced a metallic clang.

The giant snake was also entangled by Zhou Yi's onslaught. Finally, the giant snake stopped dodging. It twisted its body and whipped its tail towards Zhou Yi like a whip.

Zhou Yi once again held Han Guang in front of his chest, blocking the giant snake's attack. However, after blocking, Zhou Yi heard a sound from his chest.

Clang~

Han Guang shattered into two halves, one falling to the ground. It could no longer withstand such violent attacks.

Looking down at Han Guang on the ground, Zhou Yi's expression froze. He never expected that Han Guang, which had accompanied him for so long, would finally meet its end.

However, there was no time to dwell on it. Zhou Yi threw the remaining half of Han Guang in his hand towards the giant snake. The giant snake dodged the attack with a sideways tilt of its head.

Zhou Yi activated his Vital Energy to its limit, his eyes turning red, and his muscles bulging. If the previous Zhou Yi looked like a refined scholar, then the current Zhou Yi was a muscular humanoid monster, exceeding two meters in height. His width was comparable to the giant snake before him, causing his clothes to hang like rags.

Zhou Yi clenched his fists, his muscles and bones bulging. This was Zhou Yi's first full-power attack after advancing to the Vitality Realm, and it had also elevated the Indestructible Golden Body, which integrated five Body Refining Techniques, to perfection.

Zhou Yi looked up at the giant snake. The giant snake's eyes now held a hint of confusion. How could this person who was so small just moments ago suddenly become so huge, even making it feel a sense of threat?

The giant snake slowly retreated.

"Oh, you know fear now? Too late!!!"

Zhou Yi roared, channeling the Indestructible Golden Body, and charged towards the giant snake. The giant snake, enraged by Zhou Yi's current state, also lunged with its gaping maw to bite Zhou Yi.

"Good timing!"

Seeing the giant snake about to bite him, Zhou Yi sank his legs, cracking the bricks and stones on the ground. Then, with a leap, he appeared above the snake's head. He stomped down, and the snake's head was immediately forced into the ground, creating a nearly one-meter-deep pit.

With a loud sound, the giant snake pulled its head out of the pit, shaking it as if it hadn't woken up yet.

"Strike while the iron is hot."

Zhou Yi, well-versed in military strategy, then punched the giant snake to the ground again. He closed in and rained punches down on the giant snake's head. The giant snake, pinned beneath him, unwilling to give up, whipped its tail against Zhou Yi's body repeatedly.

Zhou Yi was now in a state of rage, completely ignoring the pain of the tail whipping him. He just kept punching the giant snake beneath him, again and again.

He didn't know how long he fought. Even Zhou Yi, in his current state, felt a hint of fatigue. Gradually, the giant snake's struggles weakened. However, Zhou Yi didn't let his guard down and continued to punch with all his might until the giant snake beneath him stopped struggling.

Looking down, the giant snake was no longer moving. Its body was covered in deep pits from Zhou Yi's punches. Blood flowed between its scales. Zhou Yi's hands were also covered in blood, both the giant snake's and his own. His fists felt like they were about to split open.

Crack~ Crack~

Zhou Yi twisted his hands together, and his bones let out a few crisp cracks. He pulled his hands away from the snake's corpse. Zhou Yi's hands hung down, blood dripping onto the ground. He felt exhausted and picked up a strip of cloth from the ground to wipe the blood from his hands. Some torn wounds covered his hands.

Looking around, Zhou Yi saw the skeleton, whose bones were about to fall apart, staggering towards him. Suddenly, the skeleton waved its hands towards Zhou Yi and accelerated its pace towards him.

Before Zhou Yi could turn around, he heard a cracking sound. Zhou Yi turned around and saw that the dead giant snake had its mouth wide open, with a skeleton in its jaws. The cracking sound had come from the skeleton.

Zhou Yi's eyes turned red again. He rushed forward, raised his hands, and pried open the giant snake's mouth. Zhou Yi felt a gust of foul wind.

"Open!"

Zhou Yi roared, veins bulging on his arms. He used all his strength to force the giant snake's mouth open. With a tearing sound, the giant snake's mouth could no longer close. Zhou Yi took the skeleton out of the giant snake's mouth and released his grip on the snake.

Rumble~

The giant snake's massive body fell to the ground. As its body fell, Zhou Yi also heard a system notification.

"Yin Energy +600"

Zhou Yi looked at the skeleton he had placed on the ground. The skeleton was clearly no longer able to move. It merely pointed its finger at the prayer mat in front of the Buddha statue. Zhou Yi walked over and placed the prayer mat near the skeleton. The skeleton propped itself up with its hands and sat up, then leaned against the wall. It tore open the prayer mat in front of it, revealing a tiny Buddha statue in its hands.

The skeleton handed the Buddha statue to Zhou Yi. As soon as Zhou Yi touched the statue, he heard a system notification.

"Discovered Divine Ability - Dragon-Elephant Prajna Skill, recorded."

Zhou Yi was shocked. He had actually encountered a Divine Ability. He looked at the skeleton. The skeleton, seeing that he had accepted the Buddha statue, seemed extremely satisfied and nodded at Zhou Yi. It then clasped its hands together, its head gradually lowered, and it was lifeless once more.

Zhou Yi stood up, bowed to the skeleton, then picked up the skeleton and walked out of the temple. As soon as Zhou Yi stepped over the threshold, the temple behind him collapsed with a roar, raising a huge cloud of dust.

At the same time, the skeleton in Zhou Yi's arms turned into specks of starlight and dissipated.

Looking again, green grass began to sprout from where the temple had collapsed, quickly covering the ruins of the entire temple. Then, the grass began to grow wildly, and soon, the last trace of the temple's existence was covered by vegetation.

Looking at the bulging muscles on his body, Zhou Yi gradually dispersed his Vital Energy, and his body returned to its original state. He tore off the rags on his body, took his luggage from his horse, changed into a clean set of clothes, and then set off again.