Chapter 2373: Great Battle

“So it’s the External Incarnation Technique, truly profound indeed. However, I find it rather odd—given your current state, how much of your original divine abilities have you managed to retain?” The giant ape’s pupils suddenly flared with blue light as it scrutinized the Immaculate Ancestor up and down, a hint of curiosity flashing across its face.

“You… what do you mean by that?” The Immaculate Ancestor’s gaze abruptly narrowed, speaking for the first time. His voice was hoarse, as if he hadn’t spoken in countless years, yet his expression remained utterly wooden.

“Fellow Daoist, you may not know this, but when I fully activate these Spirit Eyes of mine, I can see everything clearly within a radius of ten thousand miles, even beyond the highest heavens. Though you’ve concealed your corpse aura with a secret treasure and can move as freely as an ordinary person, the necrotic muscles on your body cannot escape my notice. I’m simply curious—how did you end up in this state? Was it voluntary, or were you placed under a restriction?” The giant ape’s thunderous words caused the Immaculate Ancestor’s pupils to contract once more, and his hands, previously hidden in his sleeves, clenched tightly without him realizing it.

The giant ape’s loud voice ensured that all the nearby Great Ascension cultivators heard every word clearly. The others wore expressions of shock, but Fairy Huaxi’s face paled drastically. She suddenly let out a sharp cry, “Immaculate, what are you doing? Don’t listen to his nonsense—just kill him already!”

Then, employing some unknown divine ability, the massive ring encircling the mountain peak suddenly blazed with radiant light, transforming into a dense swarm of crystalline sand. In an instant, it engulfed the mountain completely, forming an enormous, translucent sphere that hovered motionlessly in midair.

With a twist of her waist, Fairy Huaxi shot forward like a streak of light, reappearing beside the Immaculate Ancestor in a flash. She glared fiercely at the giant ape, her willow-like brows furrowed.

“Don’t worry. His petty attempts at provocation won’t sway me. Heh, I’m afraid you’ll be disappointed. The reason I’ve become this half-human, half-corpse state isn’t due to anyone’s malice—it was a mistake in my cultivation. To preserve my life, I had no choice but to take this form. Enough talk—let’s fight!” The Immaculate Ancestor shot a glance at Fairy Huaxi, his eyes flickering with a trace of mockery, though his tone remained utterly emotionless.

As the last word left his lips, he took a sudden step forward. His figure blurred, splitting into two, then four… In the blink of an eye, over a dozen identical shadows materialized around the giant ape. With another flash, even more shadows appeared, all lunging toward the center.

In that moment, it seemed as though a hundred figures were charging at the giant ape simultaneously.

Seeing this, Fairy Huaxi’s eyes gleamed. Without hesitation, she reached out with one hand, summoning countless specks of crystalline light from her body. They coalesced in her palm, forming an ancient-looking, ten-foot-long sand blade. With a sharp cry, she slashed it through the air toward Han Li.

Instantly, the giant ape felt the space around it tighten, an unimaginable weight pressing down on its body. Even in its transformed state, its movements slowed, and its evasion techniques failed.

At the same time, the countless gray shadows of the Immaculate Ancestor closed in on the giant ape. Their arms blurred, and with a series of sharp “shhh” sounds, countless green claw streaks materialized, aiming for the ape’s vital points.

Yet, instead of panicking, the giant ape let out a low roar. Its body erupted with purple-gold light as countless silver runes surged from within, swirling and condensing into intricate silver arrays. With a resonant hum, they transformed into a suit of silver runic armor that covered its entire body.

The green claw streaks struck the armor with a series of metallic clangs, bouncing off harmlessly.

Simultaneously, the giant ape’s body swelled several times larger. Its face twisted into a snarl as purple-gold scales emerged across its skin. A short golden horn sprouted from its forehead, and its arms, now encased in golden scales, strained outward with immense force.

A deafening boom echoed as the surrounding space distorted and shattered, as if the giant ape had physically torn through some invisible restraint. At the same time, the massive sand blade in Fairy Huaxi’s hand exploded into grains with a loud “bang.”

The woman gasped, her face filled with horror.

The giant ape formed a single-handed seal, and thunder roared across its body. Thick arcs of golden lightning coiled around it, lashing out in all directions.

In an instant, the space within an acre around the giant ape was filled with flashing lightning and writhing golden arcs.

The hundred or so gray shadows near the ape were caught off guard, disintegrating into nothingness amid the thunderous onslaught. Only a dozen or so managed to escape, hastily regrouping to reform the Immaculate Ancestor’s true body.

The giant ape sneered at the sight. With another hand seal, it spat out a silver fireball the size of a house.

As the fireball rolled forward, a clear cry rang out from within, and it transformed into a silver firebird over a hundred feet long.

The massive firebird spread its wings, faint golden threads shimmering within, and shot toward Fairy Huaxi in the distance.

As for the Immaculate Ancestor, the giant ape reached out with one massive hand, and the space around him tightened abruptly, as if gripped by an invisible force.

The Immaculate Ancestor’s heart skipped a beat. With a flick of his sleeve, a green-tinged orb shot into the air, swelling rapidly to the size of a wagon wheel before smashing into the descending force.

A deafening explosion shook the earth.

A green sun erupted above the Immaculate Ancestor, its shockwaves spreading like a hurricane.

The green orb, now radiating blinding light, was covered in faint golden inscriptions. It had shattered the giant ape’s grip with sheer force.

Han Li was momentarily surprised but immediately lashed out with his other furry hand.

This time, golden lightning crackled in the space above the Immaculate Ancestor, coalescing into a massive purple-gold hand that struck down like thunder, hitting the orb squarely.

The orb was instantly engulfed in golden lightning. The inscriptions on its surface flickered before shattering under the relentless arcs. The orb itself trembled violently, slowly descending.

The Immaculate Ancestor snorted coldly and pointed upward.

The shrinking orb emitted a clear chime, its light shifting to a pale gold as a faint barrier formed around it.

Despite the relentless golden lightning, the orb remained suspended firmly in midair.

Meanwhile, the giant ape took a massive stride, crossing a hundred yards in an instant to appear right before the Immaculate Ancestor. Its arm blurred, and a massive fist covered in silver runes smashed downward.

A deafening explosion erupted above the Immaculate Ancestor as a force twice as strong as before surged down. The orb below flickered wildly, forced to descend once more.

Seeing this, the Immaculate Ancestor’s eyes gleamed with determination. He raised his arm, preparing to counter with another technique.

But at that moment, Fairy Huaxi’s desperate cry for help rang out from afar.

“Immaculate, hurry! I can’t hold on any longer!”

Her voice was shrill and urgent, filled with unmistakable terror.

The Immaculate Ancestor’s heart lurched. Despite the urgency of his own situation, he turned his head to look.

Fairy Huaxi was now engulfed in a sea of silver flames, with the firebird flitting around her menacingly. She had taken refuge behind an incredibly thick crystalline sand shield, but under the relentless silver flames, it was rapidly melting into droplets.

The power of these silver flames far exceeded her expectations. Not only could her innate defensive techniques not withstand their scorching heat, but even the seven or eight treasures she had summoned were dissolving and burning away after mere moments.

Even more bizarrely, as the silver firebird danced around her, faint ripples of restriction energy filled the air, as if the surrounding space had been sealed. She dared not attempt to teleport away and could only stand her ground.

Now, with her sand shield on the verge of collapse, she had no choice but to cry out for help.

The Immaculate Ancestor took one look at the situation, hesitated for a fraction of a second, then made his decision.

With a loud shout, his body exploded into a hundred shadows that scattered in all directions.

Though the giant ape’s expression changed and it lashed out with a massive claw, it only managed to crush a small fraction of the shadows. The majority flickered several times before reappearing near the silver flames, merging back into the Immaculate Ancestor’s true form.

He formed a quick hand seal, and golden flames erupted around his body. Without hesitation, he plunged into the silver inferno.

Within the flames, a golden fireball darted about like a ghost before materializing beside Fairy Huaxi with a soft “poof.”

Overjoyed, Fairy Huaxi pointed at the sand shield, creating an opening.

The Immaculate Ancestor flashed inside, appearing at her side.

“Hurry! My Star Sand won’t last much longer. Only your innate true flames can counter his spirit flames!” Fairy Huaxi urged, her eyes fixed on the massive firebird battering against the shield.

The giant ape, meanwhile, was stomping toward them with earth-shaking steps, adding to her anxiety.

“Fine. Withdraw your Star Sand. I’ll release my true flames now,” the Immaculate Ancestor replied flatly.

With a flip of his hand, a golden flame erupted, engulfing his entire arm. But in the next instant, with unimaginable speed, his hand shot toward Fairy Huaxi—who was standing mere inches away.