Chapter Twenty-Two: Seriously Wounded?

The furious towering elephant was truly terrifying. The massive beast let out another roar, slammed its trunk down a few times, and then casually stomped several times, leaving the young demon completely sprawled on the ground. Of course, the demon youth, who claimed to be some kind of expert among the demons, still managed to cling to a shred of breath despite being so brutally suppressed by the towering elephant.

He was barely hanging on by a thread!

However, seeing the demon youth so easily defeated left Wu Shu somewhat puzzled.

Within the “All Are Mortals” formation, even though the demon youth had lost his spiritual attacks, demons naturally had an advantage in body refinement and an extraordinary talent for earth energy cultivation. Even if the towering elephant was incredibly powerful, reaching an unimaginable level for ordinary people, the demon youth shouldn’t have been so defenseless.

This guy must still have some hidden card, or perhaps some other scheme!

Of course, despite these suspicions, Wu Shu maintained a calm exterior.

After subduing the demon youth, the towering elephant’s entire body suddenly radiated a golden light, as if warning everyone to step aside: “Everyone, clear the way, it’s about to show off.”

Wu Shu sighed helplessly at the elephant, then summoned the stele spirit and said, “Xiao Ling, you will have three hours to heal my body from now.”

Having witnessed Wu Shu’s fierce battle with the demons over several rounds, culminating in Wu Shu’s overwhelming victory against a clone created by the demon ancestor, the stele spirit was extremely pleased upon hearing Wu Shu’s command. Wu Shu was so young yet possessed such formidable spiritual power. What had he been through? What secrets did he harbor? The stele spirit was deeply moved. Judging by Wu Shu’s physical cultivation, the stele spirit was convinced that this body held unlimited potential.

Yet, excitement aside, the stele spirit did not take Wu Shu’s injuries lightly. It immediately sensed the damage to Wu Shu’s internal organs and was stunned to find them on the verge of collapse.

What immense willpower must it take to endure such pain? And yet, Wu Shu’s expression showed no hint of suffering.

Seeing the severity of the wounds, the stele spirit looked at the towering elephant with urgency, “Little Elephant, our young master is gravely injured. This time, we may have to use…”

Mentioning the use of the Blood Soul Liquid brought the stele spirit deep hesitation.

After all, behind the War God Palace lay a colossal secret, and once enough Blood Soul Liquid was gathered, a certain great one could awaken.

Though that great one’s power was tremendous, the stele spirit had no special connection with him. Each drop of Blood Soul Liquid required countless guardian beasts from the Elephant Mountain Range to shed blood over a century to form. Even after ten thousand years, fewer than a hundred drops had been collected in the War God Palace.

Hearing the stele spirit call the human race “master” surprised the towering elephant greatly. Yet, since Wu Shu came from the Wu family and the stele spirit ultimately recognized the Wu family as its master, this pleased the towering elephant even more.

Upon hearing the request, the towering elephant calmly said, “This kid comes from the Wu family; then he is our young master. Using some of my essence blood should be no problem. Though I lack other treasures, I have plenty of essence blood.”

The stele spirit could hardly believe its ears when the towering elephant offered its own essence blood to heal Wu Shu.

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Given Wu Shu’s current injuries, relying solely on the elephant’s essence blood and the blood pool for healing would likely cause the elephant to lose too much blood and die on the spot. Not wanting to waste time, the stele spirit stepped aside as the elephant approached Wu Shu.

Though the towering elephant appeared unhurried on the surface, once it sensed Wu Shu’s condition, it was utterly at a loss.

The stele spirit understood the elephant’s difficulty and urged, “Stupid Elephant, even if your essence blood and blood pool can heal the young master, it will cost you most of your life. Don’t hesitate—make your decision quickly!”

After a moment’s hesitation, the elephant said with difficulty, “Divine Stele, are you suggesting using the Blood Soul Liquid?”

To condense a drop of Blood Soul Liquid, guardian beasts from the Elephant Mountain Range must sacrifice countless amounts of fresh blood over a hundred years. Even after millennia, fewer than a hundred drops had been amassed in the War God Palace.

The stele spirit replied firmly, “Little Elephant, I know you want to save that great one. His power far surpasses what Wu Shu can reach now. But don’t forget, Wu Shu is still very young, and I see endless potential in him. To heal that great one, at least a thousand drops are needed to restore his consciousness. More importantly, Wu Shu is a descendant of the Wu family, and you know better than anyone the relationship between him and that great one. Now, we only need a single drop of Blood Soul Liquid, and soon the Wu family will have another legendary ancestor-level powerhouse.”

From Wu Shu’s earlier display of strength, even a fool could see that despite his youth, he was already shining brilliantly. Given time, he would possess power that would overshadow all others. Although the stele spirit’s reasoning was sound, the thought of using Blood Soul Liquid deeply troubled the towering elephant.

Losing even a little Blood Soul Liquid could delay the great one’s awakening by a hundred years or more.

Though Wu Shu came from the Wu family and was intricately linked to that great one, in the elephant’s heart, nothing seemed more important than that great one.

After much hesitation, the elephant said with difficulty, “This concerns the great one’s future. Every drop of Blood Soul Liquid in the War God Palace is tied to his life. It’s not that I don’t want to help our young master, but to use even one drop I must first consult with the Swallowing Heaven Great Ape.”

Unable to decide between Wu Shu and the great one, the towering elephant passed this thorny dilemma directly to the Great Ape.

Not getting the answer it wanted, the stele spirit scoffed, “Little Elephant, I never expected that outside, you are the War God Palace’s guardian beast, but when it matters most, you lose your backbone. I still don’t understand why that great one entrusted you with guarding the War God Palace.”

Seeing the elephant wanted to retort, the stele spirit said, “I don’t want to argue. Since you’ve handed this matter to the Great Ape, then shut your mouth.”

Being reprimanded, the elephant grumbled, “Stele Spirit… you…”

The stele spirit refused to continue the dispute and called toward the back courtyard, “Great Ape, stop sneaking around eavesdropping and give us your answer.”

The Swallowing Heaven Great Ape possessed the innate ability to hear a hundred miles away and had clearly overheard the conversation in the War God Palace. It was also reluctant to spend a drop of Blood Soul Liquid.

No one on the Thick Earth Continent had a closer relationship with that great one than the Great Ape. They had risked their lives together for thousands of years, and that great one regarded the Great Ape as an extension of himself.

Just as the Great Ape struggled to decide, a familiar and long-awaited voice echoed in its ears.

“Save him…”

Though the great one’s voice sounded weak, he had indeed awakened—for the first time in ten thousand years.

With that order, the Great Ape raised no objections.

Soon, it arrived before Wu Shu and immediately examined his condition. The Great Ape said gravely, “Little Elephant, Wu Shu is a descendant of the old master. His current condition is dire. Without the Blood Soul Liquid, even if most injuries are healed, it will likely sever the young master’s future in physical cultivation.”

The Great Ape’s words took the towering elephant by surprise, though the elephant did not know the Great Ape had the great one’s direct command.

The towering elephant remained silent, standing aside to await the Great Ape’s decision.

Knowing Wu Shu’s wounds could not be delayed, the Great Ape said, “Little Elephant, open the gate to the resting place of the great one. We need to bring the young master there to use the Blood Soul Liquid for healing.”

Hearing the Great Ape mention using the Blood Soul Liquid, the towering elephant was dumbfounded. The elephant was well aware of the Great Ape’s relationship with the great one, so seeing such decisiveness to save Wu Shu was startling.

Sensing the elephant’s hesitation, the Great Ape continued sternly, “Little Elephant, stop standing there foolishly and come help me open the gate to the resting place.”

Wu Shu had been curious from the start about the story behind this War God Palace.

Wasn’t the Great Ape supposed to be a subordinate of the demon ancestor?

Wasn’t the demon ancestor sealed beneath the War God Palace?

Yet, no matter how he looked at it, he couldn’t understand why the Great Ape and the towering elephant could coexist so harmoniously.

When the Great Ape and the towering elephant reached the throne at the hall’s center, they bowed simultaneously to the throne above. Golden and black array patterns radiated outward from the two of them at the center.

The ancient power of the War God Palace stirred once more.