Chapter 992: The Odd Stone Platform
Translator: EndlessFantasy TranslationEditor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Ten breaths were neither that long of a time nor was it entirely short.
When Duan Ling Tian was lost in his thoughts, ten breaths passed by just like that.
After ten breaths had passed, Duan Ling Tian noticed all the mirror images that were made by the Mirror Image Illusory Formation had disappeared.
At the same time, he appeared in another corridor again.
In comparison to the corridor on the Qing Feng Palace's first level, the corridor on the second level seemed to be more narrow.
Apart from that, there were wooden figures standing in the Qing Feng Palace's second level corridor. Their presence was quite conspicuous.
These wooden figures were paired up in twos and threes. They were either standing on the ground or hovering in mid-air, effectively blocking the path that led to the other end of the corridor completely. Nobody could pass through it at all.
The group of wooden figures in the corridor looked extra stiff, they did not move at all since Duan Ling Tian saw them.
'So this is the Nine-Nine Wooden Figure Stage?' Duan Ling Tian thought to himself as he raised his eyebrows.
When he extended his Spiritual Energy out, he soon found out what the wooden figures were.
These wooden figures were no different from those human and beast sculptures with Inscription Formation on their bodies on the Qing Feng Palace's first level.
Similarly, there were also Origin Stones and Concept Fragments in their bodies.
Although Duan Ling Tian's Spiritual Energy could not detect how powerful the Concept Fragments were in these wooden figures' bodies, it was not difficult for him to guess these wooden figures' abilities. It would definitely be a lot more powerful than those human and beast sculptures on the Qing Feng Palace's first level.
If that was not the case, it was unnecessary to divide them into two levels!
"Also, the wood that they're made of… It's not like the usual material."
Soon after, the Spiritual Energy that Duan Ling Tian extended out detected the density of the wood the wooden figures were made from was far more powerful than usual rocks.
"I get it now... Although these fellows are made of wood, their bodies are much more powerful than those sculptures on the Qing Feng Palace's first level! Their bodies' movements are more agile when they move." Duan Ling Tian took a deep breath, he did not dare to underestimate these wooden figures anymore.
"Oh, yes! Martial Emperor Qing Feng mentioned… Only the first person who breaks through the Nine-Nine Wooden Figure Stage will get the bronze key to enter the third level of Qing Feng Palace!"
As the thought flashed through his mind, Duan Ling Tian's facial expression changed all of a sudden as he recalled the content of the message that Martial Emperor Qing Feng left earlier.
"Damn it! How can I forget about this!"
Duan Ling Tian panicked as he recalled how much time he had wasted earlier.
How could he be distracted by these wooden figures during such a critical time?
Moreover, him using his Spiritual Energy to investigate what the wooden figures were made of was completely unnecessary and showed that he had no sense of urgency.
To him, the most important thing now was to break through this Nine-Nine Wooden Figure Stage before him, obtain the thing called the bronze key, and head to the Qing Feng Palace's third level.
'Whirlwind!'
Duan Ling Tian did not dare to delay any further and dashed in. It seemed as though his entire being was transformed into a hurricane as he dashed to the other end of the corridor.
Just as Duan Ling Tian dashed like a purple lightning across the corridor, something happened when he was tens of meters away from the three wooden figures that stood in front.
'Krak! Krak! Krak!'
…
Three wooden figures' stiff bodies shook suddenly and a clear sound reverberated. It was as if they were activated at that moment.
However, Duan Ling Tian did not find that surprising.
As he was getting closer to the wooden figures, his sensitive Spiritual Energy noticed that he had unintentionally activated an Inscription Formation.
Moreover, he had activated all the Inscription Formations in the wooden figures along the corridor!
'Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!'
The three wooden figures closest to Duan Ling Tian attacked him almost simultaneously. They looked menacing.
The Origin Energies in their bodies ran rampant and quickly integrated with their Concepts. They demonstrated their powerful strengths and charged at Duan Ling Tian without mercy.
'Fwah! Fwah! Fwah!'
At the same time, five hundred ancient horned dragons' silhouettes appeared above the three wooden figures' heads. They charged toward Duan Ling Tian ferociously.
Even a First Level Void Transformation martial artist who had comprehended the First Level Void Transformation Concept only had a strength equivalent to four hundred ancient horned dragons without using any spirit weapons.
The three wooden figures with five hundred ancient horned dragons' strength charged quickly as they attacked, the air current trembled in the space followed by an ear-piercing sound of air explosion.
The noise from the air explosion swept through like an airwave continuously as they transformed into a strong gust of wind that caused the purple robe on Duan Ling Tian to flap noisily.
Faced with the three wooden figures' attacks, Duan Ling Tian's face remained unchanged. He did not even look them straight in their eyes.
"Die!" A cold voice came out of Duan Ling Tian's mouth.
Without knowing when, a three-foot-long blade that was formed completely from khaki energy appeared in his hand that was slightly lifted. He shook all of a sudden.
'Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!'
…
As soon as Duan Ling Tian spoke, a series of quick sword whistling sound came like pouring rain. They came continuously and did not stop at all.
'Whoosh!'
When the sword whistling sound died down, Duan Ling Tian extended his other arm into the air and caught tens of mid-grade Origin Stones and three Concept Fragments that appeared out of thin air.
Soon after, Duan Ling Tian dashed toward the next group of wooden figures.
As soon as Duan Ling Tian moved, the three wooden figures that were rushing at him were fiercely blasted in the air and turned into pieces of broken wood. They fell onto the ground like rain.
"Pa! Pa! Pa! Pa! Pa!'
…
As soon as the three wooden figures turned into hundreds, possibly even thousands, of broken wood that fell on the ground, a shower of wood began to fall nearby. The same thing happened for a long time without stopping.
'Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!'
…
The quick purple silhouette would vanish from where he was in an instant and appear deeper into the corridor in the next second.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!'
…
There would be gusts of ear-piercing sword whistling sound without fail whenever he appeared, and it would be followed by a shower of wooden pieces.
There would also be countless broken wood pieces all over the place wherever he went.
"I've killed 78 of them… There are three more! Nine-Nine Wooden Figure Stage, nine multiplied by nine equals to 81… So, that's how it is!"
Duan Ling Tian's eyes gleamed when he figured it out. He quickly dashed toward the last three wooden figures like a bolt of purple lightning.
The three wooden figures with eight hundred ancient horned dragons' silhouettes above each of their heads had rampant energies that combined the Origin Energies and Concepts in their bodies. They were attacking Duan Ling Tian simultaneously like thunders.
"Right on time!"
This time, Duan Ling Tian did not fight them with the three-foot-long blade formed from khaki energy. Instead, he used the most direct way and welcomed them with both his fists.
'Whoosh! Whoosh!'
As he punched both his fists out with all his might, two waves of khaki energy with green energy and purple lightning entwined in it swept toward the wooden figures. In between, there were waves of sharp aura that came from the Sword Concept.
'Bang!!' A loud 'bang' exploded and echoed clearly in the narrow corridor.
'Victory favors the bold!'
In the meantime, the energy that was flowing out of Duan Ling Tian's fists swept toward the three wooden figures without any reservation. The attack to destroy the three wooden figures was earth shaking.
The three wooden figures' attacks were suppressed entirely by the energy. It smashed the three wooden figures into powder, and they vanished from this world completely.
'Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!'
…
As the last three wooden figures were smashed into powder, gusts of deafening air explosions resounded. The entire Qing Feng Palace seemed to shake as though the earth was falling apart.
'Hoo! Hoo! Hoo! Hoo! Hoo!'
…
The air current that was rolling in from all directions created gusts of maniacal wind that lifted the broken wood pieces in the corridor. A shower of broken wooden fell, and this time it lasted longer than before.
A purple silhouette stood at the end of the corridor as the purple robe on him billowed in the wind.
It was a purple-clad young man who stood with a cold stare like an undefeated God of War!
"The bronze key!" Duan Ling Tian's eyes landed on a stone platform outside the corridor in an instant. The stone platform stood there alone, looking rather pathetic.
Just like the stone platform, a solitary bronze key lay on the stone platform.
The bronze key was crescent-shaped, and the material used to refine it was unknown. It was completely different from the average keys.
Time did not seem to have left its mark on the keys.
"The third level… Do I go up from here?" Duan Ling Tian looked above the platform at the same time.
The ceiling was similar to the one he saw in the One-in-Four Room on Qing Feng Palace's first level earlier. It was not sealed and could clearly be moved.
'How come it's not opened yet? Could it be that the ceiling would only open the path to Qing Feng Palace's third floor after I take the bronze key away?'
As that thought popped into Duan Ling Tian's mind, he did not delay any further and flew like a goshawk as he landed stably on the stone platform.
He grabbed the bronze key with a casual lift of his arm.
"It's not opened yet?" Duan Ling Tian lifted his head to look at the ceiling. However, he realized nothing was happening to the ceiling. Instead, the stone platform beneath his feet began to tremble.
"What's this?" Duan Ling Tian's eyes narrowed as he looked at the stone platform beneath his feet in shock.
At this moment, he realized that an Inscription Formation was activated in the stone platform under his feet. Apart from that, there was an odd energy coming out of the Inscription Formation that swept toward the corridor he came from.
'Whoosh!'
Right at this moment, Duan Ling Tian felt as though he was stepping on air. He was surprised to see the stone platform moved after it detached from the ground. As soon as it detached under his feet, it floated to the corridor he came from and hovered there.
"What…"
Soon after, Duan Ling Tian saw the hundreds of thousands of broken wood pieces in the corridor began to fly as though they were being summoned by something. They flew toward the stone platform that was hovering in midair at an alarming rate.