Strong-Arming

With the heart-shaped stone in hand, Lu Li soon arrived at the Stone Forest, twenty li away.

This was an artificially carved stone forest, where over a thousand pieces of Black Steel Stone stood in all shapes and sizes.

Their shapes varied greatly.

Some had been carved into dragons, snakes, tigers, and leopards, so lifelike they seemed ready to leap out.

Others had been carved into all manner of strange flowers, birds, fish, and insects.

Most had been carved into all kinds of ferocious ghosts, asura, and yaksha.

At a glance, beneath the gloomy sky, it looked as if he had arrived in the eighteenth level of hell, and a chill of fear crept over anyone who saw it.

But Lu Li was excited and didn't care in the slightest. His eyes darted over the stone sculptures.

"This place is pretty good. Perfect for testing my palm techniques."

Lu Li muttered to himself.

Then he stepped forward, let out a shout, and slammed a palm into the Black Tiger statue in front of him.

Bang!

A deafening explosion rang out.

The incredibly hard Black Steel Stone burst into chunks of all sizes, which shot in every direction.

Of course, he was doing this to keep up appearances.

If he headed straight for the stone where the Spirit Ghost was hidden, people might become suspicious.

So Lu Li used practicing his palm techniques as an excuse, planning to smash every sculpture here before "accidentally" discovering a Low-grade Spirit Ghost.

This might seem like an unnecessary complication.

But he had already discovered a Low-grade Spirit Ghost not long ago. If he caught another one now, even a fool would get suspicious and wonder whether he had some treasure that could detect Spirit Ghosts.

The Demon Sect cultivators, always suspicious by nature, would be even more likely to doubt him!

To be safe, Lu Li decided to take it slow. There was no need to go straight for that Spirit Ghost.

So he began practicing his palm techniques, smashing one sculpture after another, while searching for the piece of Black Steel Stone concealing the Spirit Ghost.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The explosions of shattered stone rang out without pause.

Lu Li was like a stone-smashing machine. Wherever he went, sculptures exploded and fell apart.

In less than the time it took to drink a cup of tea, Lu Li had destroyed over a hundred sculptures.

But he still hadn't found the piece of Black Steel Stone with the Spirit Ghost inside.

Lu Li wasn't in a hurry.

His movements remained fierce and sharp. His great palms stirred up gusts of wind and slammed into the sculptures, shattering them outright.

The noise was enormous.

Lu Li was a little worried it might attract other Ghost Sect disciples.

Or that someone might come to stop him.

Fortunately, no one came to intervene.

Nor did any other Ghost Sect disciples appear.

Lu Li felt at ease and continued smashing sculptures as he searched.

There it is!

The piece of Black Steel Stone was in the far upper-left corner of the Stone Forest, right at the edge!

Lu Li's heart stirred with excitement.

But he kept his expression calm, only speeding up his movements a little.

One sculpture after another was smashed to pieces.

As if by chance, Lu Li gradually moved toward the upper-left corner.

At last, after the time it took to drink a cup of tea,

he reached the three-foot-high, square piece of Black Steel Stone. Without a word, he struck it with his palm.

Bang!

His palm left a three-inch-deep print in the Black Steel Stone.

Then the entire stone burst apart, sending fragments flying in every direction. All that remained was a fist-sized cloud of ghostly mist, shimmering with a faint golden light.

Looking closely, a tiny, curled-up Ghost Monkey was nestled inside the ghostly mist.

"Ha! A Spirit Ghost!"

Lu Li put on an expression of delight, reached out with his great hand, and grabbed for the Spirit Ghost.

"Hm? It's a Low-grade Spirit Ghost?"

Just then, a cold voice suddenly came from the side.

Along with it came a sharp whistle as a snowy-white gleam shot through the air, swift as lightning, and stabbed toward the Spirit Ghost.

If Lu Li kept reaching out, the gleam would strike his hand for sure!

Someone had ambushed him!

Lu Li was slightly startled, but didn't panic. He flipped and shook his great hand, and a small, pitch-black tower slipped out of his sleeve.

Without a word, he gripped the Ghost Raising Tower, poured his magic power into it, and swung it at the gleam.

Clang!

The Ghost Raising Tower struck the snowy-white gleam with a clear, ringing sound.

Sparks flew everywhere.

The gleam was knocked straight back, landing in the hand of a young man.

It turned out to be a three-inch-long silver Cold Needle.

Taking advantage of the opening, Lu Li snatched the Low-grade Spirit Ghost with his other hand before it could escape.

Then he drew back the Ghost Raising Tower and examined it, his expression changing slightly.

A small hole had been pierced in the tower, and its Lingguang had dimmed.

It had clearly been damaged.

"Who are you?"

Lu Li's expression turned cold. His gaze grew icy as he stared at the blue-robed man six zhang away.

The man looked to be around twenty-two. He had a hooked nose, long hair draped over his shoulders, and a sinister face that made him look downright menacing.

The aura he gave off was powerful too. He was at the peak of Qi Refining!

The silver Cold Needle in his hand was definitely a high-grade magical artifact!

"Kid, hand over the Spirit Ghost."

The blue-robed man fixed his eyes on the Spirit Ghost in Lu Li's hand and spoke in a sinister voice.

"Why should I? I found this Spirit Ghost."

Lu Li narrowed his eyes.

"Ridiculous!"

The blue-robed man looked disdainful. "This Spirit Ghost is mine! I've been waiting here in the Stone Forest for who knows how long, waiting for it to emerge!"

"Is that so? Then why didn't you come out earlier? Why did you only appear after I smashed this piece of Black Steel Stone and found the Spirit Ghost?"

Lu Li shot back.

The man was obviously lying!

He must have been wandering nearby, heard the noise, then hidden himself and watched Lu Li practice.

But when the Spirit Ghost appeared, he couldn't hold back any longer and revealed himself to snatch it.

"Kid, don't be so ungrateful! You're only at the fifth level of Qi Refining, yet you dare question me? Do you even know who I am?"

The blue-robed man's gaze turned icy, and his words carried a distinct threat.

"Hell if I know who you are."

Lu Li wasn't afraid in the slightest. He replied coldly.

"Hmph!"

The blue-robed man snorted, his face full of pride as he looked down on Lu Li. "I'm a Core Disciple of True Person Blood-Transforming, and my older brother is a personal disciple of True Lord Yellow Spring! If you refuse the easy way and insist on the hard way, don't blame my Soul Breaking Needle for showing no mercy!"

Hm?

So they were planning to take it by force?

Lu Li's gaze turned cold. "Senior Brother, fighting among fellow disciples is a grave offense. Do you really dare attack me?"

"I don't. But..."

Hearing this, the blue-robed man put away his silver needle, gave a crooked smile, and looked toward the west.

Lu Li frowned at this and raised his eyes as well.

Just then, a golden light shot into the sky from the western forest. It flashed and darted across dozens of li, appearing in the sky after just a few blinks.

A young man dressed entirely in gold had arrived on a flying sword. He was tall and slender, with sharp brows and bright eyes, and looked incredibly dashing.

His appearance was strikingly similar to the blue-robed man's.

His cultivation was formidable!

He was about on par with Green Lotus, who was at the Foundation Establishment Late Stage!

"I'm a patrol disciple. What happened?" The golden-robed man swept his gaze over them and asked coldly.

"Senior Brother, this man destroyed my Stone Forest, stole the Spirit Ghost I raised, and even attacked and injured me! You have to give me justice!"

The blue-robed man eyed Lu Li sidelong and spoke in a sinister, spiteful tone.

His gaze was full of ill intent.

This guy... he was twisting the truth and making the first accusation!

Lu Li was just about to protest.

"Hm? Something like that happened?"

The golden-robed man spoke, his sharp, sword-like gaze sweeping over.

Then, without another word, he flicked his sleeve. A huge ghostly hand formed out of thin air, growing as large as a house before grabbing down at Lu Li.

Lu Li's expression changed.

These two were in cahoots!

Without the slightest hesitation, Lu Li's figure blurred, leaving behind six afterimages.

Bang!

The ghostly hand crashed down, smashing all six afterimages before slamming heavily into the stone ground of the Stone Forest with a thunderous, mountain-splitting boom.

By then, Lu Li's figure had just appeared twenty zhang away.

"Hm? You still dare dodge?"

The golden-robed man saw this, a vicious glint flashing in his eyes. He flicked his thumb, and the golden flying sword beneath his feet blazed with light, brilliant as Hao Sun, ready to shoot forth.

The sword's cry rang out loud and clear!

Just then, Lu Li drew a deep breath and shouted at the top of his lungs:

"Help! The Dao Alliance is invading!"