Neither of them dared to face the stone sword head-on. As the statue swung down, Mo Tiange and Daoist Fangzheng dodged in opposite directions. With a thunderous crash, the stone floor tiles immediately caved in and shattered.
Both Mo Tiange and Daoist Fangzheng paled at the sight. They both knew that the materials used in a Nascent Soul cultivator's cave abode were bound to be reinforced, yet this stone statue's swing, which seemed to use little effort, had effortlessly pierced through these stone tiles! They asked themselves, neither could achieve such a feat.
There was no time to think further. The stone statue swung down another blow. The force of this strike was equally ferocious.
However, just as they had guessed earlier, while this stone statue possessed immense strength and a bulky form, its speed was extremely slow. And speed was precisely what she excelled at.
Stepping on her White Silk Handkerchief, Mo Tiange darted away, not letting the stone statue touch her in the slightest.
Daoist Fangzheng also assessed the situation in an instant. After evading the statue's second attack, he flicked the horsetail whisk in his hand. The dust threads transformed into thousands of long lines, shooting straight toward the stone statue.
In Mo Tiange's view, Daoist Fangzheng's whisk was not a high-grade magical tool, but she didn't know how he had refined it, for its power was immense. This technique of transforming dust threads into lines was similar to the flying needles she often used for ambushes. Moreover, while flying needles had form, these dust threads were formless; what expanded was only Spiritual Qi.
The thousands of dust threads shot forth with astonishing speed. The stone statue was too slow to dodge, or perhaps it simply didn't bother, and its entire body fell within the range of the dust threads.
Spiritual Qi surged, raising countless clouds of dust. Mo Tiange and Daoist Fangzheng were both startled, then each retreated, holding their breath and waving their sleeves—this cave abode had been sealed for who knew how many years, and the stone statue was long covered in dust. Daoist Fangzheng's attack sent all that dust flying!
The two of them felt a mix of amusement and exasperation, creating such a farce with their first move. Looking back at the stone statue, however, it was completely undamaged! Their expressions turned serious.
"Fellow Daoist Ye!" Daoist Fangzheng's face darkened. "This thing's defense is astonishing. We can't damage it." Mo Tiange didn't know, but he was clear in his heart: his Dust Thread Transformation technique, painstakingly practiced for over a hundred years, could break through the defensive shield of a Foundation Establishment late-stage cultivator if it landed solidly. Yet this stone statue was completely unaffected!
As soon as Daoist Fangzheng spoke, the stone statue paused, as if listening. The next moment, it adjusted its direction and swung its sword fiercely down at Daoist Fangzheng.
The force of this blow was truly terrifying. Although Daoist Fangzheng dodged in time, he was still injured by the sword energy, letting out a muffled grunt.
Mo Tiange acted promptly. Her Flying Sky Shuttle transformed into several golden rays, descending upon the stone statue's head.
After a series of *puchi puchi* sounds, Mo Tiange's expression darkened. The golden rays of the Flying Sky Shuttle hadn't left even a single mark on the stone statue.
Since obtaining the Flying Sky Shuttle, Mo Tiange had always relied heavily on this magical tool. She later heard from Dao Lord Jinghe that its main material was millennium gold essence, infused with Heaven-Transforming Stone, making it comparable to a treasure. It was something he had specially crafted for Qin Shoujing when he established his Foundation. Millennium gold essence was typically used on flying swords to increase their sharpness, so although the Flying Sky Shuttle had no blade, it was extremely keen. Until today, she had never encountered anything its golden rays couldn't cut.
Yet facing this stone statue, the Flying Sky Shuttle was completely useless!
Mo Tiange's expression was grim. For a moment, she didn't know what to do, but then she heard Daoist Fangzheng, struggling under the statue's attacks, shout, "Use spells! Attack with spells!"
Hearing this, Mo Tiange was momentarily stunned, then immediately reacted. She withdrew the Flying Sky Shuttle, formed a hand seal, and released a Cold Wind Art.
Stone belongs to earth, wood overcomes earth, wind follows wood, water gives birth to wood.
This Cold Wind Art was a composite Five Elements spell, containing both water and wood elements. Water governs restraint, wood overcomes earth. The stone statue was already slow, and the Cold Wind Art precisely targeted its weakness.
As the Cold Wind Art was released, the stone statue's movements slowed further, becoming even more sluggish. Although its strength and sword energy were formidable, its speed was bizarrely slow, making it impossible to land a hit. Daoist Fangzheng finally managed to extricate himself.
"Fellow Daoist Ye," Daoist Fangzheng breathed heavily, clearly seriously injured, "Earth overcomes water. Why not use a wood-element binding spell directly to entangle it! I just tested it; its sword energy travels in a straight line. We just need to avoid it."
Hearing this, Mo Tiange said nothing, simply nodded. She stopped using the Cold Wind Art, instead clasping her palms together, gathering Spiritual Qi, and began using a high-level wood-element spell: Falling Leaves Rustle.
Countless withered leaves swirled up, the wind howled, and numerous vines sprouted from the ground, entangling the stone statue. Wood-element Spiritual Qi shot forth, striking the statue.
Under the sky filled with azure light (azure light filling the sky), the stone statue, entangled by the vines, was immobilized. It tried to swing its sword, but more vines coiled up, directly binding its sword-holding hand. The stone statue, which neither the whisk nor the Flying Sky Shuttle could break, was finally firmly restrained under the binding of wood-element Spiritual Qi.
But this wasn't the end. Although the stone statue was countered by wood-element Spiritual Qi, Mo Tiange's cultivation level was insufficient to directly defeat it; she could only entangle it. Yet this stone statue possessed terrifying strength, and even entangling it required considerable effort.
"Daoist Fangzheng!" Mo Tiange, feeling the Spiritual Qi within her body draining wildly, couldn't help but frown. "The Spiritual Qi consumption is too great! I can't sustain this for long!"
Daoist Fangzheng also clasped his palms together and began casting wood-element spells.
With Daoist Fangzheng's support, Mo Tiange finally breathed a sigh of relief. She had never encountered an opponent that relied so directly on sheer brute force like this. Even though it was just a stone statue with no intelligence, it was extremely troublesome. Recalling the past, during the Demon Beast Rebellion, she had encountered a fifth-rank two-headed eagle when her cultivation was even lower than today's, yet she hadn't felt this helpless. No wonder the ancients said, 'overwhelming force defeats ten skills'—the hardest technique to counter was the absence of technique.
Amidst the sky filled with azure light (azure light filling the sky), the stone statue turned again, listening, as if searching for the source of the Spiritual Qi.
A thought struck Mo Tiange. With a wave of her hand, she threw out the Flying Sky Shuttle again, but this time it transformed into a long golden thread, shooting toward the stone statue's two ears!
This time, the golden thread met no resistance as it drilled into the statue's ears. A soft *cila* sound was heard, and the stone statue's form grew heavy, coming to a halt. Mo Tiange stopped her spell, focusing entirely on controlling the Flying Sky Shuttle.
The sound of *guangdang* echoed incessantly. Moments later, the imposing aura around the stone statue completely dissipated, and it finally stopped moving. Yet, in that instant, it released a strange surge of Spiritual Qi.
Catching his breath, Daoist Fangzheng asked, "Fellow Daoist Ye, how did you know its weakness was in its ears?"
Mo Tiange also wiped the sweat from her face and replied, "Did you notice, Fellow Daoist? Whenever it was about to make a move, it always listened first."
"...So that's it." Daoist Fangzheng sighed in admiration, thinking to himself that indeed women were more meticulous. Although he had sensed something was off, he hadn't thought it would be the weakness.
Putting away the Flying Sky Shuttle and the White Silk Handkerchief, Mo Tiange looked at Daoist Fangzheng. "How is your injury, Fellow Daoist?"
Daoist Fangzheng hastily swallowed a pill and shook his head. "It's nothing, a minor injury."
Mo Tiange didn't inquire further. She stepped forward, crouched down, and examined the stone statue.
While controlling the Flying Sky Shuttle, she had sensed that the statue's interior was not solid stone like its exterior. But... from the outside, it looked like a single block of stone with no seams.
After taking the pill, Daoist Fangzheng also came over. "Strange. This stone is so hard. How do we open it?"
Mo Tiange tilted her head in thought, then began feeling around the statue's head.
There were no connecting seams, but there were traces of casting. So, this stone statue could be melted? Such a hard stone—what kind of true fire would be needed to melt it?
"Could this be Mechanist Arts?" she murmured to herself.
In the current cultivation world, Mechanist Arts had long been lost. One only heard of people being able to make Qi Refining stage puppets to guard residences or serve tea, but their combat ability was weak.
This stone statue before them clearly had no external Spiritual Qi support, yet possessed Foundation Establishment Peak cultivation. If this was Mechanist Arts, hadn't it been lost long ago?
"Does Fellow Daoist Ye also know of Mechanist Arts?" Hearing her mutter, Daoist Fangzheng asked curiously.
Mo Tiange looked up. "I've read about it in books. Does Daoist Fangzheng understand this art?"
Daoist Fangzheng smiled wryly. "Where would I? Mechanist Arts are long lost nowadays. As a loose cultivator, where would I learn it? It's just that I'm an old man, I've lived a long time and heard many things. I've heard a bit about Mechanist Arts."
"Oh? Then what does Fellow Daoist think? Is this stone statue Mechanist Arts?"
"It seems like it." Daoist Fangzheng nodded. "Cultivators can also use Spiritual Qi to control puppets, but that's not Mechanist Arts. Yet this thing can move freely without an owner. It should indeed be Mechanist Arts."
Mo Tiange thought the same. So, did the master of this place truly understand genuine Mechanist Arts?
After gazing at the stone statue for a long while, Mo Tiange said, "Daoist Fangzheng, I want this thing. For whatever comes next, you can choose first. How about that?"
"This..." Daoist Fangzheng hesitated. He naturally wanted the stone statue too. If he took this thing out, he could sell it to a cultivation family or sect to those interested in researching Mechanist Arts. A Foundation Establishment Peak puppet would surely be worth several thousand Spirit Stones, right? However, seeing Mo Tiange's determined expression, on one hand he didn't want to offend her, and on the other, she had offered a benefit. He was only losing some Spirit Stones, so he readily nodded. "Alright. This thing isn't of much use to me either. Since Fellow Daoist Ye wants it, it's yours."
Mo Tiange smiled slightly and stored the stone statue in her Qiankun Bag. "Thank you. I will keep this promise. If there are any treasures later, Fellow Daoist may take more."
Daoist Fangzheng smiled and was about to say something polite when his expression suddenly changed drastically. He looked behind Mo Tiange. "Fellow Daoist Ye, look!"
Hearing Daoist Fangzheng's exclamation, Mo Tiange turned her head, and her expression also changed!
They saw several other stone statues suddenly begin to move together!
One, two, three, four, five! Five stone statues!
Both of their faces turned deathly pale. Even though they now knew the statues' weakness, there were simply too many!
There was no time to think. Mo Tiange flew up, hovering in mid-air in the hall. The Flying Sky Shuttle transformed into golden rays, aiming straight for the ears of one of them.
The stone statue paused, raised its sword, and a surge of sword energy shot upward, blocking the golden rays.
Mo Tiange gritted her teeth. Earlier, she had used the Flying Sky Shuttle while the statue was trapped by wood-element spells; it hadn't been able to react. But now it was different. However slow these statues reacted, their sword energy was formidable. With a single lift, they could block.
What to do? Her mind raced, but for a moment, she couldn't think of a solution.