The Buddha Saves No One; Only I, the Demon, Deliver Them - A First Test of Strength (Part One)

The bolts of lightning did not strike the crystal wall directly, and everyone's heart sank. The current flowed through the slime into the body of the giant python-like worm king. Hua Shiwei dared not delay. "Attack the Head Worm with everything you've got!" she ordered. "Don't worry, the Earth-Piercing Crystal won't block attacks from inside."

No one dared hold back. They unleashed their strongest spells; to keep anything in reserve now would be digging their own graves. The Yin-Yang Daoist's sharply divided black-and-white hair stood on end, a sign that he had driven his power to its limit. His hands swept through three overlapping seals. "Appear!" An Eight-Ridged Jin Melon Hammer materialized in his hand. He hurled it upward, and with a thunderclap, it turned into a streak of golden light that shot through the crystal wall.

Old Seventeen spread a Beast Hide before him, leaving it floating in midair. Though his eyes were closed, he knew it intimately. He reached out and drew a steel needle as thick as an iron pestle from the Beast Hide. Luo Qian looked closer. Needles of every length and thickness covered it. This one was the thickest, while the smallest truly resembled embroidery needles.

Golden patterns covered the Iron Pestle Needle, though Luo Qian could not tell what they were for. Old Seventeen's ears were so keen that he sensed Luo Qian watching him. He turned and smiled. "I may have to trouble you to lend a hand later, young friend." Luo Qian smiled back—he believed Old Seventeen could "see" it.

What happened next left Luo Qian dumbstruck. Old Seventeen raised the iron-pestle-thick needle and thrust it into his own ear. Luo Qian cried out, drawing an irritated rebuke from the Yin-Yang Daoist. "What are you howling about? That's just how Old Seventeen