<h4>Chapter 412: The Mantis Stalks the Cicada, Unaware of the Oriole Behind</h4>


    Bai Lixi’s anxious voice rang out. Xiao Chen thought quickly and made a decision. He jumped on.


    “Xiu!”


    The huge axe rose from the ground and flew up, carrying Xiao Chen as it rose into the sky. Under Bai Lixi’s control, the axe flew out while carrying Xiao Chen.


    After Xiao Chen exited the stone forest, he jumped off the axe. Bai Lixi stretched his hand out, and the massive weapon returned to him.


    When Bai Lixi saw Xiao Chen’s appearance, he immediatelyughed and said, “Brat! What happened to you? Did you smash your face into a wall?”


    Xiao Chen felt embarrassed. Bai Lixi had guessed the truth. However, even if he were beaten to death, Xiao Chen would not admit to it.


    “Didn’t you go chasing after those half-step Martial Monarchs? Why did youe here?” Xiao Chen changed the topic.


    Bai Lixi was somewhat embarrassed as he said, “I’m sorry; I did actually cheat you. Many people know about the Medial Grade Secret Treasure in the stone forest. However, aside from some neers, no one dares to barge in. You probably can figure out why.”


    Xiao Chen revealed an enlightened expression. Actually, he had reached this conclusion long ago. He said indifferently, “I know what you mean; you don’t have to say more. Since you obtained the Firmament Body Tempering Art and I obtained the Medial Grade Secret Treasure, let’s consider it even. After all, you pulled me out, so I will not seek trouble for you.”


    When Bai Lixi heard this, he quickly said, “White Robed Brat, you misunderstood this old man. Although I was nning to cheat you with the stone forest initially, along the way, I discovered that we get along well, especially after you gave me the rest of the secret manual.


    “At that time, I was nning to tell you the truth. However, you ran too fast. I could not even call you back. The moment I reached the forest, I rushed over here, but I ran into some trouble along the way. I did not expect to arrivete. Even so, I managed to pull you out at least.”


    Xiao Chen remained silent, there was nothing wrong with Bai Lixi’s words. He had treated Xiao Chen fairly.


    Furthermore, Xiao Chen was not a narrow-minded person. Thinking about it, he had cheated Bai Lixi quite a bit. It was reasonable that Bai Lixi would do this.


    Regardless of the situation, Bai Lixi had pulled Xiao Chen out. Thinking of this, Xiao Chen said, “Very well, I’ll believe you once. Tell me about the situation inside the stone forest behind us? How is it strange?”


    Seeing that Xiao Chen did not me him, Bai Lixi felt like a load had been lifted. He replied, “I don’t really know either. Anyway, it is very sinister. Once, a half-step Martial Monarch entered but could not escape. In the end, two Demons killed him.


    “You are pretty capable of killing those Demons.” Bai Lixi said, somewhat astonished. He paused for a moment before taking out a small book. He said, “This is for you.”


    Xiao Chen received it and asked, “What is this?”


    Bai Lixiughed, “Naturally, it is something good. These are the insights I have gained over my several decades of cultivating the physical body. Take a look. Not that I am praising myself, but I have traveled all over the continent and still have not seen anyone who has a stronger physical body than mine.”


    Bai Lixi’s cultivation insights, this was really valuable. He clearly had great talent. Otherwise, he could not have practiced the Heaven Ranked Cultivation Technique to the fourthyer in two months.


    Xiao Chen casually flipped through the small book. Then, he stored it in his Universe Ring. “Thank you. Coincidentally, I have hit a bottleneck in cultivating my physical body.”


    Bai Lixi waved it off and said, “No need to thank me. Take it as my apologies for my previous behavior. I will leave first. This time, that group has really stirred up a ho’s nest.”


    About ten kilometers in the distance, Xiao Chen felt a strong aura equivalent to a Martial Monarch.


    The aura did not show any signs of diminishing. Instead, it became more berserk. The aura came from where Bai Lixi talked about.


    Ten-odd half-step Martial Monarchs, peak Martial King experts, fought against one Martial Monarch leveled Blood Demon.


    A fight of this intensity would not resolve in a short time. It could evenst one or two days. It was not strange that the results were not out yet.


    As Xiao Chen watched Bai Lixi leave, Xiao Chen contemted taking a look.


    Xiao Chen did not fear anyone under half-step Martial Monarch. However, if he ran into a half-step Martial monarch, he did not stand any chance at victory.


    Xiao Chen’s previous odds of fleeing had not exceeded ten percent. Hence, Xiao Chen decisively chose not to take part in the excitement.


    However, now that Xiao Chen had the Blood me Shoes, he became fifty percent confident of fleeing unscathed from a half-step Martial Monarch. He might be able to join in the excitement now.


    That Blood Demon was likely a peak high-rank Blood Demon. Not only would there be an extremely valuable Demon Core, but there would also be some worthwhile Secret Treasures.


    Xiao Chen’s gaze turned resolute. He grabbed his saber hilt with his right hand and said softly, “I should prepare. Actually, there is still a big chance for me.”


    Snatching something from the hands of half-step Martial Monarch was akin to snatching food from the tiger’s mouth. Merely relying on one pair of Blood me Shoes would not be sufficient.


    Xiao Chen thought for a while and took out a one-meter-long tree branch. It was as thick as the width of a finger, and its Spiritual Energy felt overwhelming.


    It was the Wutong Tree Branch Xiao Chen had obtained on the Heaven Ascending tform, the Wutong Tree that the phoenix had perched on. The Wutong Tree was said to be second only to the three great divine Spiritual Trees.


    Just one branch naturally contained an overwhelming Spiritual Energy. It was truly a Spiritual Wood. This was perfect material for the Life Bestowal Spell.


    Xiao Chen used a knife to cut it into half before putting back half in the Universe Ring. Then, he gave some thought to what he would carve.


    The strongest people Xiao Chen had ever met were the Supreme Elder of the Supreme Sky Sect and Xiao Bai’s father. However, Xiao Chen hesitated to carve a Martial Sage for the Life Bestowal Spell.


    A Martial Sage held tremendous power. Xiao Chen feared that the Wutong Spiritual Wood could not handle it. Furthermore, if he were not able to reflect their charms in his carving, their strength would be greatly weakened.


    Secondly, Martial Sages had already plundered some of the Heavenly Daos. He feared that if he used sculptures of these people, it would attract their attention. That could be dangerous.


    I should still use Ying Yue. Ying Yue is currently a half-step Martial Monarch as well. I am familiar with carving her and can grasp her charms.


    Xiao Chen made up his mind and cut off a quarter from that half-meter-long Spiritual Wood. Then, he used his carving knife to create Ying Yue’s figure.


    “Shua! Shua!”


    Wooden shavings fell slowly. After an hour, a sculpture of Ying Yue wearing Battle Armor appeared.


    The sculpture depicted Ying Yue’s beautiful face, revealing a faint smile. She held a spear in her hands, which looked like it was ready to fly out at any moment.


    Xiao Chen would use this sculpture inbat. Naturally, he could not handle it as roughly as those one-time-use sculptures. Xiao Chen spent ten more minutes processing it further before he was thoroughly satisfied.


    Xiao Chen dropped his blood onto the sculpture,pleting this sculpture for the Life Bestowal Spell perfectly.


    The remaining Spiritual Wood could be used to carve another three sculptures.


    Xiao Chen thought for a while and decided to carve his own likeness. After that, he dripped blood each. These took another two hours toplete.


    Although Xiao Chen had used a lot of time, he felt that it was worth it. He had never fought a half-step Martial Monarch before. One could never underestimate their enemies; it would behoove him to prepare thoroughly.


    Although Xiao Chen had trump cards he could use to deal with half-step Martial Monarchs, they were only good for one use. It was best not to rely on them.


    “Boom! Boom! Boom!”


    Loud sounds came from the distance again. The sound of wind followed. The wind seemed to contain the shrieks of resentful spirits. It sounded extremely horrifying.


    It’s time to move. Xiao Chen pushed off the ground and headed for the center of that battlefield, traveling swiftly.


    In an instant, Xiao Chen moved like a roaming dragon. From a distance, he looked like an azure dragon, leaping across the ground.


    As Xiao Chen neared the battlefield, the overwhelming baleful aura from the high-rank Blood Demon became clearer. He also felt a mild pressure on his mind.


    Xiao Chen stopped about two thousand meters from the center of the battlefield. Countless cultivators had already arrived long ago.


    Xiao Chen moved quietly, hiding himself in an inconspicuous corner.


    “Hu! Hu!”


    Dust filled the area ahead. Strong winds blew, and sand flew everywhere. The area looked blurry. No one could clearly see the situation inside.


    They could only see some faint figures giving off light, moving up and down in the sky. A horrifying energy came from within.


    Ferocious shouts resounded endlessly from within. asionally, fire, ice, rain, and even lightning appeared. The ten-odd half-step Martial Monarchs hadprehended various states and executed them to their limits.


    “After fighting for such a long time, someone has to have died already. I seemed to have heard the miserable cry of a human earlier.”


    “Indeed, I heard it as well. The opponent is a peak high-rank Blood Demon. Normally, they only appeared in the core region. It’s odd that it appeared in the inner area.”


    “A peak high-rank Blood Demon is about as strong as an Inferior Grade Martial Monarch. These people are only half-step Martial Monarchs. There is a great difference in strength; there will certainly be injuries.”


    Some of the stronger and bolder people wanted to go in and join the excitement. If they were lucky, they might be able to snatch the body of a half-step Martial Monarch. Any losses they suffered would be worth the prize.


    “Bang! Bang! Bang!”


    This group had only walked forward a hundred meters, and miserable cries rang out. They were immediately thrown back.


    When they moved forward, they were in perfect states. Now, nothing was the same. Wounds covered some. Others had been struck by lightning, and only piles of ash remained.


    Some of them had their upper bodies frozen, and their lower bodies burned to a crisp. Clearly, they suffered from the attacks of ice and fire.


    Some were petrified, transforming into stone. When they fell to the ground, they shattered into pieces.


    The surrounding cultivators were all shocked. Although they had known that these people would not have a good ending, they had not expected such a miserable conclusion.


    Xiao Chen also revealed a shocked expression. Earlier, he used his Spiritual Sense to examine the situation inside clearly.


    These cultivators had been Superior Grade Martial Kings. When they moved forward by a hundred meters, the half-step Martial Monarchs inside noticed them immediately.


    The ten-odd half-step Martial Monarchs had a tacit understanding. Half worked to hold back the Blood Demon’s attacks, while the remainingunched all sorts of killing moves.


    These Superior Grade Martial Kings had no means to resist. They were immediately sted back, and the result was clear for all to see.


    It looked like these half-step Martial Monarch were pretty cunning. They did not mind people involving themselves with their prey. However, if people wanted to take advantage of the situation, they would show no mercy.