Sage of Humanity
Chapter 838 - 836 Giant Armor is Very Angry

At that thought, Lan Ziyi no longer hesitated. She brought her twin sabers together, and the two long blades merged into one.

Lu Ye had his trump cards, and so did she.

Her twin sabers were exceptionally long, even longer than Lu Ye's Boulder Mountain Saber by a good thirty to forty percent. Such spiritual artifacts were difficult for ordinary cultivators to wield, and only someone as tall and agile as Lan Ziyi could handle them with ease.

Now with the two blades merged, the length remained unchanged, but the blade had significantly thickened and become heavier.

Seeing the strength of the Golden Corpse King's physique, she realized that ordinary slashes would be ineffective. She was preparing to enhance her spiritual artifact's lethality, even if it meant sacrificing some speed.

She took a gentle breath, her chest rising with the motion. The blade gleamed brilliantly, and she seemed to merge with the blade's light. With a powerful strike, she slashed at the Golden Corpse King.

The timing of this strike was perfect, right when Giant Armor was entangled with the Golden Corpse King, leaving the latter no time to react.

With a loud clang, the Golden Corpse King staggered under the blow. Lan Ziyi's eyes lit up as her strike finally wounded this formidable enemy!

Though the wound was not large, it had indeed inflicted damage on the Golden Corpse King.

That was enough. As long as she could injure him, there was a chance to kill him, unlike before when she saw no hope at all.

Giant Armor was sent flying again. A strong sense of danger enveloped Lan Ziyi as the injured Golden Corpse King, now furious, turned his gaze on her. He extended a claw straight at her chest.

Faced with such a fierce attack, Lan Ziyi did not retreat but advanced instead. Fearless, she took a step forward, raised her long saber, and slashed down again.

It wasn't that she wasn't afraid of death; she had already caught a glimpse of Lu Ye's actions from the corner of her eye. She believed Lu Ye would not disappoint her.

Just as the Golden Corpse King's sharp claw was only three inches away from her heart, a fiery red blade light slashed in from the side. The powerful force forcibly altered the trajectory of the Golden Corpse King's claw, making it skim past Lan Ziyi's clothes, tearing off a large piece of fabric, and revealing the dark golden soft armor she wore underneath.

The heavy long saber slashed down, directly landing on the shoulder armor of the Golden Corpse King, which enraged him. He raised his hand and struck at Lan Ziyi with a palm strike.

She didn't dare to be reckless and quickly retreated, but was still hit in the abdomen by the force of the palm, causing her to groan.

Before the Golden Corpse King could press the attack, Lu Ye's blade struck down again.

The Bloodstain Spirit Runes continued to enhance his momentum and strength step by step. Initially, he couldn't even withstand a single blow from the Golden Corpse King, but now he could barely manage it. Though still forced back, he no longer looked as pathetic as before.

In the midst of the fierce battle, Lu Ye cleared his mind, extending his senses to probe the surroundings.

The Golden Corpse King's strength was unnaturally powerful. When the Eight-member Squad of the Nine Provinces was surrounded by the corpse horde, he had briefly fought the Golden Corpse King. Back then, he felt the Golden Corpse King was strong but not to this extent.

If that were the case, he wouldn't have led only Giant Armor to kill the Golden Corpse King.

Had the Golden Corpse King shown such overwhelming strength at the time, apart from himself, the rest of the squad would have perished. Even he wouldn't have been confident of escaping, considering they faced an endless horde of corpses alongside the Golden Corpse King.

Through the intense battle, Lu Ye gradually sensed the root of the problem.

There had to be something here that significantly boosted the Golden Corpse King's strength.

Lan Ziyi had said the Golden Corpse King was waiting here for a king's finale, but that wasn't the case. Only here could the Golden Corpse King exert strength beyond his original level. If he left, he would still be powerful, but not to this extent.

What was it?

Even with his senses pushed to the limit, he couldn't figure it out. He only sensed a formless power continuously flowing into the Golden Corpse King's body.

A moment later, the light of hope in Lan Ziyi's eyes dimmed again.

Despite their best efforts, she, Lu Ye, and Giant Armor only managed to inflict minor wounds on the Golden Corpse King. Expecting to kill him with such injuries was wishful thinking.

Though she was unwilling to admit it, she had to acknowledge that she had underestimated the situation.

Initially, Lu Ye's increasing strength had made her believe in their inevitable victory. But now, she realized that Lu Ye's improvement had its limits.

Compared to the beginning, Lu Ye's strength had greatly improved; his speed and power were incomparable to before. However, even so, he could only barely contend with the Golden Corpse King, unable to secure victory.

Among the three, Lu Ye was the main force in killing the enemy. She couldn't do much, only manage to distract the Golden Corpse King occasionally. As for Giant Armor, he took the most beatings but always returned promptly to continue the assault.

If even Lu Ye's capabilities were limited, how could they possibly kill the Golden Corpse King?

"Lu Yiye, we can't win!"

In the midst of the clash, Lan Ziyi gritted her teeth and whispered. Since it was impossible to kill the Golden Corpse King, they should retreat early before the situation worsened.

Lu Ye, however, seemed not to hear her, continuing his agile maneuvers and clashes with the Golden Corpse King.

The benefits of the Bloodstain Spirit Runes had reached their peak. Lan Ziyi's perception was correct; this rune could no longer provide further enhancement to Lu Ye.

But he had another, even more powerful trump card that he could use at any time. This prolonged battle had given him enough time to gather strength, and Amber, silently perched on his shoulder and fused with his blood Qi spirit force, was also ready.

However, without knowing the source of the Golden Corpse King's immense strength, he dared not use it lightly. The Bloodstain Spirit Runes' benefits came at a cost, consuming his stamina and spirit force rapidly. Even with the spirit energy-storing ring to replenish his spirit force, his stamina could not be restored.

At that point, they would need to kill the Golden Corpse King in the shortest time possible to end the battle; otherwise, there would be significant risks.

So he had been searching for the reason behind the Golden Corpse King's strength, hoping to unleash his full power once he found it, deciding the battle's outcome in one move.

But now it seemed he had been overly optimistic!

Just as Lu Ye was about to heed Lan Ziyi's advice and prepare to retreat, the Golden Corpse King suddenly spoke.

"Mere ants! How dare you be so presumptuous!"

Fighting against Lu Ye and the others for so long without killing a single one had left the Golden Corpse King furious.

He knew well the strength of the cultivators from the Unparalleled Continent. Before encountering the Eight-member Squad of the Nine Provinces, he never imagined there could be so many powerful cultivators in the world.

For a moment, he was somewhat dazed. Perhaps he had slept too long, and the world outside had changed?

Whatever the reason, the battle he thought would be an easy victory had turned into torment, fueling his boundless rage.

With that, he roared.

"Roar!"

"Roar!"

A more resonant roar immediately followed, as the Giant Armor, who had been sent flying earlier, crazily charged back. At this moment, his entire being was enveloped in dense blood Qi, and his spirit force surged violently. His already burly frame swelled, becoming even larger and more robust.

Amid his wild hair, invisible thunderbolts seemed to dance, each strand standing upright. Even his normally honest and steady eyes were now filled with bloodlust.

Like an ancient ferocious beast breaking free, venting its inner rage.

Lu Ye, who had been preparing to strike again after blocking a blow from the Golden Corpse King, was momentarily stunned. He had never seen Giant Armor like this and didn't know what had caused it, frowning as he glanced over.

This guy... was he angry?

Giant Armor was furious!

Not from pain but from the rage of being a physique cultivator, repeatedly sent flying by the enemy.

As a physique cultivator, the head may fall and blood may flow, but the body must not retreat!

This was the greatest pride of Nine Provinces' physique cultivators and their most fundamental tenet.

Physique cultivators faced the most dangerous enemies head-on. If they retreated, what would happen to their companions behind them?

Though Giant Armor didn't have many interactions with others, when he used to follow Sima Yang, Sima had taught him this principle more than once.

Giant Armor had always adhered to this, being the most reliable shield for his companions in battle.

Though Sima Yang's character wasn't good, always leeching off Giant Armor for cultivation resources, he had instilled this important lesson in him.

Now, facing the immensely strong Golden Corpse King, he was repeatedly sent flying!

He didn't possess Lu Ye's sharp offensive skills or Lan Ziyi's agility. If he couldn't even utilize his greatest strength, what was the point of all his years of persistence and cultivation?

He asked himself this question, burning with fury.

As he strode forward, the ruined palace began to quake.

Each step he took caused the ground to tremor and the ruins to shake.

At that moment, he seemed not a man but a mountain, bearing immense weight.

Lu Ye's eyes gleamed with a strange light; he didn't know what had happened to Giant Armor but sensed that he had comprehended some extraordinary skill in his anger.

He could clearly feel Giant Armor's spirit force merging rapidly with the surrounding nature's spiritual energy, making him appear exceedingly heavy.

It wasn't that Giant Armor had genuinely become as heavy as a mountain; it was an effect achieved by harmonizing with the Spiritual Energy around.

This was an extremely mystical secret technique!

It was similar to the Heaven's Augury Pillar he had placed in the Silver Snake Valley's Five Prime City. Once it merged with the Earth Vein, the cultivators of the Five Great Families couldn't pull it out. Not because the Heaven's Augury Pillar was unmovable, but because removing it required shifting the entire Earth Vein connected to it.