Chapter Seventy-Two: The Master of the Severed Sword Pavilion

The two exchanged a glance, both catching sight of the shadow—clearly not belonging to either of them. It was an extra, a third shadow! Judging from its outline, the thing was a massive, motionless creature, with arms and legs, resembling a human. Like a sheer wall, it loomed behind them.

A cold chill crept up their spines as the monster spread its arms wide, fists clenched, and brought them crashing down toward the ground. Thankfully, the pair had noticed its movement through their shadows and dodged just in time.

Looking back, they saw that the ground had been smashed open by the creature’s blow, leaving a shallow crater. Turning around, they found themselves confronted by a colossal stone giant, complete with facial features and limbs, its entire form made of rock.

The stone giant moved slowly. As it raised its rocky arm to strike the ground again, the two darted beneath its legs, then sprinted desperately toward the camp.

Not to be outdone, the stone giant tore off two chunks from its own arm and hurled them at the fleeing pair. One managed to dodge, but the other was struck in the back, pitching forward and crashing to the ground.

Seeing his companion hit, the one who had evaded the blow seized a large stone from the ground and flung it at the giant’s head. The stone giant lifted its arm to block, and the rock seemed to fuse with its limb, absorbed the instant it made contact.

Moments later, the absorbed stone transformed into sharp, diamond-shaped spikes, which shot toward the two like a deadly rain.

The wounded man immediately jumped up, spreading his arms wide to shield his companion, taking the brunt of the spikes himself. His body became bristling with them, resembling a hedgehog, covered head to toe in cruel thorns.

“No…”

As the other turned to look, he saw his friend smile reassuringly before collapsing, relieved to see him unharmed. If not for that sacrifice, he would have been dead already.

Although regret lingered, finding a soulmate in his final moments was a rare and precious consolation.

Overwhelmed with grief, he reached out to grasp the embedded spikes, enduring excruciating pain as he tried to pull them out, wanting at least to ease his friend’s suffering. It was the only thing he could do for him.

As he was prying out the stone spikes, the stone giant attacked again, this time splitting off an even larger boulder and hurling it with both hands.

Grievously wounded, he had no strength left to evade. The life his companion had bought with his own sacrifice was now about to end as well.

But just then, as the boulder plummeted toward his head, it exploded with a thunderous crack. Fragments rained down, dust filling the air and choking him as he coughed violently, blinded by the haze.

When the dust finally settled, Li Hu stood behind him, a great blade in hand, radiating an imposing presence. At the critical moment, Li Hu had arrived, seized his blade, and with a mighty swing, sent a white arc of energy slicing through the air.

The massive boulder was shattered into pieces by Li Hu’s blow. The survivor, saved from certain death, turned to Li Hu, tears of gratitude streaming down his face.

He did not notice that Li Hu’s legs were trembling, though he tried to appear calm—inside, he was as terrified as anyone. This giant beast was nearly as formidable as the Ghost Mother Poison Spider he had once faced! At least the spider had a weakness: fire. This stone giant, however, he had no idea what it feared.

If only Li Pingyang were here; he would surely have discovered the creature’s weakness and a way to defeat it. Whenever he was present, there were always many solutions, and they were never so helpless.

With a roar, the stone giant dropped to all fours like a gorilla, lunging at Li Hu. It charged straight at him, raised its massive stone arm, and brought it down toward Li Hu’s face.

A blow like that could crush his features in an instant. Li Hu raised his blade to block, grimacing as he absorbed the full force.

A fine crack appeared on the blade’s surface from the impact’s tremendous power. A gust of wind whipped past, tearing the headband from his forehead, sending his long hair streaming behind him.

“Go! Warn everyone to leave this place!”

“Aaaaahhh!”

Li Hu bellowed, pushing forward with brute strength, driving his blade ahead and actually forcing the giant stone man to stagger backward. What an explosive surge of power! What incredible strength!

“Hurry! Go tell everyone to leave…”

Veins bulged on Li Hu’s forehead as he realized the stone giant was now pushing back, planting its massive feet like twin mountains, bringing its slide to a halt.

Then, seizing Li Hu, it flung him aside. He twisted midair, landing with his blade braced against the ground, barely avoiding wrenching his back, heart pounding with fear.

Seeing his companion had escaped, Li Hu’s purpose was fulfilled. There was no need to prolong the fight; he began looking for a way to slip away.

But the stone giant was not so honorable. With a piercing howl, it summoned a host of smaller stone men.

As the stone army closed in from all sides, Li Hu’s heart sank. As the saying goes, two fists are no match for four hands—but how many hands was he facing now?

“If I’m going to die anyway, I might as well go down fighting.”

Gripping his blade, Li Hu didn’t wait for them to attack. Gritting his teeth, he surged forward, ready to lay down his life, charging straight at the encircling stone men.

With an upward slash, he shattered one of the smaller stone men, then spun for another strike, knocking back another behind him.

As four stone men surrounded him, he swept his blade in a horizontal arc. A surge of energy formed a slicing wave, smashing all four stone men before him at once.

Having cleared the path, Li Hu seized the moment—before the stone men could reassemble or regroup—and charged at the giant.

But this time, he was caught off guard.

One of the stone men revived beneath the earth, and before he could reach the giant, stony hands seized his legs.

The giant stone man lunged, swinging a powerful punch that struck Li Hu’s face while he was pinned, sending him flying like a cannonball.

He crashed to the ground, tumbling and scraping along the earth several times before coming to rest, lying on his back, utterly spent, with no strength left to move.

At last, reinforcements arrived. The men Li Hu had brought, along with those from Tubo, encircled the stone giant from different directions, looping thick ropes around its massive body and pulling with all their might, faces flushed with exertion.

The ropes stretched taut, but with a sound of snapping fibers, all were flung away as the ropes broke.

The stone men Li Hu had just destroyed had reassembled by then, rising from the ground as good as new. The group was now completely surrounded, plunged into utter despair.

“Master, shall we help them?”

A sickly-looking young man, reclining on a lounge carried by four green serpents, happened to be passing by. He kept his eyes closed, but upon hearing the serpents speak, he finally opened them for a look.

“How many times must I remind you? Address me as Pavilion Master! Cough, cough…”

He frowned in annoyance, yet the expression only made him appear more delicately handsome, not at all unpleasant. In his impatience, he coughed a few more times.

“Yes, Young Master.”

“Understood, Young Master.”

The man was silent.

In his palm, he toyed with a floating miniature sword, arcs of lightning crackling around it, filling the air with a snapping sound.