Second Form

Crack~

A sound came from ahead, followed by countless stones raining down. Zhou Yi looked up to see that the Buddha statue before him had collapsed. The snake that had been clutched in the statue's hand coiled atop the lotus pedestal, its bloody maw opening wide as it lunged to bite Zhou Yi.

Zhou Yi had just wanted to draw his saber to block it when he saw a pair of hands clamped tightly around the snake's head. It was the skeleton that had been sitting cross-legged on the prayer cushion. The bricks beneath its feet shattered one after another; clearly, it was about to fail under the impact of the snake's head.

Zhou Yi drew Han Guang and used the Wave Breaking Saber Technique to slash at the snake's body. A spray of sparks erupted, yet only a white mark remained on its scales. Han Guang, which had always cut through anything in its path, could not even break this snake's defense.

At that moment, the skeleton could no longer hold on either. It was smashed into the wall by the snake's head, and spiderweb-like cracks immediately spread across the wall.

Seeing the skeleton sent flying, Zhou Yi once again activated his movement technique and charged at the giant snake. This time, he slashed more than ten times in an instant, every strike landing on the same spot. A trace of blood appeared on Han Guang, and a wound nearly thirty centimeters long opened where he had struck. Yet to the enormous snake, such an injury was not worth mentioning.

The giant snake hissed at Zhou Yi, clearly enraged. This human, who was no more than an ant in its eyes, had actually injured it. It immediately lunged forward to tear Zhou Yi apart.

Zhou Yi flashed aside and dodged the snake head's bite. But he had not expected the snake's body to be so agile. Its tail whipped toward him like a lash. Unable to block in time, Zhou Yi could only hastily hold Han Guang across his chest. The tail struck Han Guang, but the tremendous force that traveled through the blade still forced Zhou Yi back several steps.

Just as the giant snake, having failed to land its blow, was about to attack again, it felt someone seize its tail. It was the skeleton that had just been sent flying. The skeleton clung desperately to the giant snake's tail, forcing the snake head that was about to bite Zhou Yi to retreat a step. Zhou Yi swiftly dodged to the side as well.

The giant snake swung its tail, sending the skeleton flying once more. This time, fine cracks appeared across the skeleton's chest.

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

Clang, clang, clang...

Zhou Yi did not know how many times he had struck. Every slash against the snake's head rang out with the sound of metal colliding.

The giant snake was also tied down by Zhou Yi's barrage. Finally, it stopped dodging. Its body twisted, and it lashed its tail at Zhou Yi like a whip.

Zhou Yi once again raised Han Guang before his chest and blocked the giant snake's attack. But after blocking it, he heard a sound from in front of his chest.

Clang~

Han Guang shattered into two halves. One half fell to the ground, finally unable to withstand such violent impacts any longer.

Lowering his head and looking at Han Guang on the ground, Zhou Yi froze. He had not expected Han Guang, which had accompanied him for so long, to meet the end of its lifespan like this.

But there was no time to dwell on it. Zhou Yi hurled the remaining half of Han Guang in his hand at the giant snake, but the snake merely tilted its head and avoided the strike.

Zhou Yi pushed his Vital Energy to its limit. His eyes turned blood-red, and the muscles across his body bulged. If Zhou Yi had previously looked like a refined young gentleman well-read in poetry and books, then he was now a humanoid monster covered in muscle. His height broke past two meters, and the width of his body was no less imposing than the giant snake before him. His clothes now hung from him like strips of rags.

Zhou Yi clenched his fists, and the sinews and bones throughout his body stood out. This was also the first time Zhou Yi had gone all out since advancing to the Vitality Realm. He had even pushed the Indestructible Golden Body, which had fused five Body Refining Techniques, to perfection.

Zhou Yi raised his head and looked at the giant snake before him. A trace of confusion appeared in its eyes as well. He had clearly been such a small human just moments ago—how had he suddenly become so huge? More importantly, it felt a faint threat from him.

The giant snake slowly retreated.

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

Zhou Yi roared and activated the Indestructible Golden Body, charging toward the giant snake. The snake was also enraged by Zhou Yi's attitude and opened its bloody maw to bite him.

"Good!"

Seeing the giant snake about to bite him, Zhou Yi lowered his legs and stomped the bricks beneath his feet until they cracked. Then he leaped, appearing above the snake's head. He brought one foot down, driving the snake's head straight into the ground. A pit nearly a meter deep even appeared where it had landed.

A huge crash rang out. The giant snake pulled its head from the pit and shook it, as if it had yet to regain its senses.

"Strike while it's sick—take its life."

Zhou Yi understood the art of war well at this moment. He followed with another punch that knocked the giant snake to the ground, then pounced on it and rained punch after punch onto its head. Unwilling to accept this, the giant snake lashed Zhou Yi's body again and again with its tail.

Zhou Yi had already entered a berserk state. He completely ignored the pain of the tail striking his body, doing nothing but hammering his fists down at the giant snake beneath him again and again.

No one knew how long he punched. Even with Zhou Yi's current body, he felt a trace of fatigue. Gradually, the giant snake's struggles beneath him grew weaker and weaker. Yet Zhou Yi did not let down his guard. He continued swinging his fists with all his strength until the giant snake beneath him stopped struggling entirely.

Looking down, Zhou Yi saw that the giant snake had stopped moving. Its body was covered in deep craters smashed out by his fists, while threads of blood flowed between its scales. Zhou Yi's hands were covered in blood as well—some belonged to the giant snake, and some belonged to himself. The sensation of his fists nearly splitting apart flooded his mind.

Crack~ Crack~

Zhou Yi pressed his hands together and twisted them a few times, producing several crisp cracks from his bones. He stepped off the snake's corpse, his hands hanging at his sides as blood dripped onto the ground drop by drop. Zhou Yi felt exhausted as well. He picked up a strip of cloth from the ground and wiped the blood from his hands clean. Torn wounds covered both of his hands.

Looking around, Zhou Yi saw the skeleton, whose bones were nearly falling apart, staggering toward him. Suddenly, the skeleton waved both hands at Zhou Yi and accelerated, running in his direction.

Before Zhou Yi could even turn around, he heard a cracking sound. Only then did Zhou Yi turn back. The giant snake, which had supposedly died, had opened its huge mouth wide, and a skeleton was clenched between its jaws. That crack had come from the skeleton's body.

Zhou Yi's eyes turned bloodshot once more. He rushed forward, raised both hands, and gripped the giant snake's jaws apart. A foul, fishy stench assaulted him.

"Open!"

Zhou Yi roared in fury. Veins bulged along his arms as he used every ounce of strength to force the giant snake's mouth open. With a tearing sound, the snake's jaws could no longer close. Zhou Yi pulled the skeleton from its mouth and released his grip on the snake's jaws.

Rumble~

The giant snake's enormous body crashed to the ground. As it fell, Zhou Yi heard the sound of the panel.

"Yin Energy +600"

Zhou Yi looked at the skeleton he had placed on the ground. It was clearly no longer capable of moving, merely pointing at the prayer cushion before the Buddha statue. Zhou Yi walked over and placed the cushion on the skeleton's body. The skeleton propped itself up with its hands and sat up, then leaned against the wall. It tore open the cushion before its chest with force, revealing a tiny Buddha statue in its hands.

The skeleton handed the Buddha statue to Zhou Yi. The moment Zhou Yi touched it, he heard the panel's voice.

"Divine Ability discovered—Dragon-Elephant Prajna Skill recorded."

Zhou Yi was startled. He had actually encountered a divine ability. Looking at the skeleton, he saw that after watching him accept the Buddha statue, it seemed extremely satisfied and nodded at Zhou Yi. Then it pressed its hands together, and its skull gradually lowered. It had lost all signs of life.

Zhou Yi stood up as well and bowed to the skeleton. Then he picked up the skeleton and walked out of the temple. The moment Zhou Yi stepped over the threshold, the temple behind him collapsed with a thunderous crash, sending up an enormous cloud of dust.

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

Looking again, grass had begun sprouting from where the temple had collapsed. It soon covered the temple's ruins, then grew wildly. Before long, every final trace of the temple was buried beneath grass and vegetation.

Looking at the bulging muscles on his body, Zhou Yi gradually withdrew his Vital Energy, and his body returned to normal. He tore off the strips of cloth hanging from him, took his luggage from the horse's back, and changed into a complete set of clothes before setting off once more.