Ju Hua and the Yellow-Haired Great Bear arrived outside the War God Hall. It was a seemingly endless expanse of land, its surface stained crimson with blood. Scattered ruins and broken walls filled the area with an overwhelming aura of slaughter.
Not far from them stood a towering pagoda, its entrance shimmering with a faint white light.
"Go on in," the Yellow-Haired Great Bear said gravely.
.
Ju Hua nodded. Then he walked up to the towering pagoda and placed his hand on the entrance, which was still shimmering with white light.
Whoosh!
Ju Hua's figure abruptly vanished. When he appeared again, he was inside a pure white space.
"Human, are you my opponent?" A grating voice rang in Ju Hua's ears. He turned to look to one side, where a creature resembling an ape, holding a long staff, came into view.
"A puppet?" Ju Hua asked.
"Sharp eyes. Too bad you're going to die!" As the Ape Puppet finished speaking, it vanished from in front of Ju Hua.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Countless staff shadows suddenly appeared beside Ju Hua, crashing down toward him like a storm.
At the critical moment, nine immortal swords abruptly appeared around Ju Hua.
Sword Intent tore through the air, tangling with the countless staff shadows overhead in an instant. Taking advantage of this, Ju Hua retreated rapidly into the distance.
"Don't run!"
The Ape Puppet's furious shout rang out, and the staff shadows in the air more than doubled.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Even more violent power erupted one wave after another. In an instant, the nine immortal swords were knocked back one by one. Ju Hua, standing at a distance and controlling the flying swords, couldn't help but frown.
"Though the Ape Puppet's realm is low, its strength and speed are frightening. It definitely has the strength of an ordinary Celestial Immortal! I can't meet it head-on!" This thought flashed through Ju Hua's mind, and the magic power within him surged forth.
Whoosh!
In the blink of an eye, the nine flying swords that had been circling the Ape Puppet disappeared into the air.
"What trick are you playing?"
The Ape Puppet warily studied its surroundings, but it found nothing.
"Heh, then come at me!"
The Ape Puppet glanced at Ju Hua in the distance. Then it moved, charging toward him at full speed.
Ju Hua remained calm. The instant the Ape Puppet charged, a Three Talents Sword Formation formed from three immortal swords abruptly appeared behind it.
"Intercepting Kill Style!" Ju Hua called out. A gigantic beam of sword light cleaved through space and crashed into the Ape Puppet.
Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack!
The violent attack sent the Ape Puppet flying hard through the air. But when the sword light faded, the Ape Puppet, who had looked somewhat battered just moments before, simply stood back up as if nothing had happened. There wasn't even the slightest trace of injury on its body.
"What?"
Ju Hua's expression changed slightly at the sight.
Intercepting Kill Style was the fifth move of the Great Sorrow Sword Art. After his Great Dao of the Sword had fused with the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth, its power had increased dramatically. Ju Hua was confident that this move was nearly as powerful as the sixth move of the Great Sorrow Sword Art. What was more, the Three Talents Sword Formation just now had incorporated the complete Way of Rainwater, Way of Blazing Fire, and Way of Gale, further increasing its power!
This sword strike wasn't quite Ju Hua's strongest attack, but it came close. And yet the Ape Puppet had only been sent flying. It didn't have so much as a scratch!
"You've made me angry!" the Ape Puppet roared. Its body turned into a black blur as it charged straight toward Ju Hua.
However, not long after the Ape Puppet charged, another Three Talents Sword Formation appeared behind it.
This time, though, the Ape Puppet seemed to have been prepared. The instant the gigantic sword light appeared, it swung its long staff with all its might.
Boom!
A thunderous collision rang out. The Ape Puppet didn't budge, while the Three Talents Sword Formation was abruptly sent flying a short distance.
At that very moment, two more Three Talents Sword Formations appeared. Each transformed into a gigantic sword light and attacked the Ape Puppet from a different direction.
Boom! Boom!
The Ape Puppet swung its staff with lightning speed to block the attacks, grinning as it said, "You've only got nine immortal swords. I've been watching for this all along!"
Ju Hua said nothing. He simply flew much farther away.
Ju Hua knew several sword formations more powerful than the Three Talents Sword Formation, but even those were only twenty or thirty percent stronger. The Three Talents Sword Formation couldn't hurt the Ape Puppet at all, so using another formation would be pointless.
In the end, Ju Hua gave up on trying the others and continued to keep the Ape Puppet at bay with the Three Talents Sword Formation.
The puppet's body was unnaturally tough. Ju Hua didn't believe he had to defeat it outright to pass the eighth level of the War God Hall. If that were truly the case, even a genuine Celestial Immortal would have little chance.
The Ape Puppet seemed to realize that Ju Hua intended to stall for time, and it grew anxious. Several times, it deliberately left obvious openings, allowing the Three Talents Sword Formation to send it flying so it could use the opportunity to close in on Ju Hua.
For now, Ju Hua's combat strength on the God-Fiend Path was far inferior to his Qi Refining Path. He also lacked any powerful protective treasures. If the Ape Puppet got close, defeat was all but certain. So Ju Hua remained on guard against it from beginning to end. Every time it advanced, he immediately retreated, giving it no opportunity whatsoever!
After a quarter of an hour, the Ape Puppet, which had been roaring ferociously, suddenly stopped moving. Seeing this, Ju Hua also temporarily ceased his attacks.
"You win," the Ape Puppet said calmly. Then it vanished from in front of Ju Hua with a whoosh.
"Just as I thought!"
Ju Hua waved his hand and collected the immortal swords nearby. He, too, breathed a small sigh of relief. It seemed his guess had been right: the condition for passing this trial wasn't to defeat the Ape Puppet!
"Still, this battle has completely tested my strength. A million-year Loose Immortal comparable to a Celestial Immortal—that's what I've become! The truth of Desolate Era has also been verified for now. I can't say anything about higher levels, but at least the information is accurate at my level!"
After silently reflecting for a moment, Ju Hua activated the Message Token he had brought with him. Soon, his figure vanished from the pure white space.