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Chapter 228: Not Human
🕑 Added 2025-06-16 20:39:14 +0000 UTCAll Novels || Martial God
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Upon hearing He Yiming's question, which seemed tinged with fright, the human-shaped statue's eyes, shining with an unusual light like black gems, suddenly brightened...
This time, it delivered an even greater impact to He Yiming.
As Innate experts, when they concentrate their True Qi in their eyes, or when their entire body's True Qi surges to its peak, their eyes will naturally light up.
However, no matter how powerful Innate experts are, no matter how bright their eyes become, they cannot light up to such a monstrous degree as this statue.
Those eyes glowed like two small suns.
He Yiming's recently calmed emotions stirred again. If he could barely maintain composure just now, at this very moment, he could no longer remain calm.
His Clairaudient Ear skill had reached an extremely high level, but in his ears, he still couldn't hear any sound from the "person" in front of him.
No heartbeat, no sound of blood flowing, not even the slightest sense of body temperature.
Such a situation could never occur in a normal "person."
Even if this person's martial arts cultivation surpassed He Yiming's, it would be impossible for him to be mistaken in a face-to-face encounter.
However, although this human-shaped statue had no living characteristics, its head could still move, and its eyes could still emit such incredibly strong light.
At that instant, He Yiming even thought of the massive crystal hanging from the ceiling that he had seen upon first entering the cave.
Such light, perhaps only a crystal composed of unknown material could emit it.
Vaguely, He Yiming felt that there must be some incomprehensible connection between these two.
With a slight shift of his feet, He Yiming retreated fluidly to the entrance of the passage.
After experiencing such incredible supernatural events, He Yiming had completely abandoned the idea of continued exploration. At this moment, his only thought was to leave this place as quickly as possible.
Perhaps, after his mind completely settled down, he would come back to investigate, but definitely not now.
However, as soon as he retreated to the passage entrance, the statue moved completely.
In just an instant, He Yiming's eyes blurred. The figure had already appeared before him, extending an arm like marble, reaching for his chest...
Indeed, this arm, though incredibly fast and dazzling, showed no trace of killing intent. And He Yiming could clearly sense that the arm was not pointing at his chest, but at the silver ring hanging there.
His heart was greatly alarmed, and countless thoughts flashed through his mind.
Innumerable ghost stories he had heard as a child inexplicably surfaced at this moment.
He Yiming had never known that his memory was so good, not even forgetting such old events. But at this moment, he was not pleasantly surprised by it, but extremely resentful. Why did his memory have to be so good?
He took a deep breath, his mind once again gathering to its extreme in a trance. Then, he seemed to see the path of the wind at the end of the passage.
His body suddenly disappeared from its original spot, as if it had turned into the traceless wind, abruptly crossing the distance between those two points and arriving outside the passage.
As soon as He Yiming's feet touched the ground, he sprang up as if on springs, instantly appearing beside Yuan Lixun in the other stone room. He didn't bother to explain anything, reached out and took her hand, and shot out like an arrow.
Although Yuan Lixun didn't understand why He Yiming had suddenly become so frantic, and in her memory, she had never seen that peculiar look in He Yiming's eyes.
This, it seemed, was a look of fear.
In her memory, no matter who He Yiming encountered, even if it was an unparalleled expert of the Single-Line Sky Realm, he remained neither humble nor arrogant, without any timidity or fear.
However, at this moment, He Yiming exuded a terrifying aura that made it hard for her to believe. It was as if a child had been startled, and the first thought was to flee far away. The only difference was that He Yiming still remembered her, so he wanted to take her with him.
Yuan Lixun instantly thought of so much, and what made her even more uneasy was what kind of thing could make He Yiming feel like a stray dog.
However, she didn't know what He Yiming had encountered. If she had encountered such a legendary ghost, she would probably have lost even the courage to escape.
Suddenly, He Yiming's movements halted, as if a galloping horse at top speed had come to an instant stop.
Yuan Lixun, hiding behind He Yiming, peeked out. Before them, a person had appeared at some unknown time.
However, this person gave her a very strange feeling. Their movements were somewhat different from ordinary people, as if a wooden dummy had suddenly gained life, giving a very peculiar impression.
Of course, upon seeing this person, Yuan Lixun became even more surprised. Could it be that He Yiming was so flustered because of this person?
His heart suddenly constricted, and He Yiming calmed down. When this peculiar human figure suddenly moved and blocked his path, leaving him no escape, He Yiming finally completely regained his composure.
He released Yuan Lixun's tightly held hand and said softly, "Lixun, you go back first."
Although the stone room where Lu Xinwen resided was not entirely safe, it was currently the only relatively secure place. He Yiming had no choice but to do this.
Yuan Lixun responded softly and turned back without hesitation, retracing her steps.
She did not delay because she understood that if He Yiming couldn't handle the situation, her presence would essentially be a burden.
Such a burden, during a fight between experts of the same level, was definitely the biggest reason that could cause someone to be restricted and ultimately fall in battle.
After rushing into the stone room, Yuan Lixun's eyes flashed with a determined light. After encountering Sima Yin and this inexplicable, suddenly appearing person blocking the way, Yuan Lixun's heart had been deeply stimulated. Inexplicably, a tear floated on her face.
Her heart silently screamed, "I don't want to be his burden, I don't want to drag him down, I don't want him to have to consider my existence every time..."
Her pearly teeth bit gently, but her heart was filled with confusion.
With her current understanding, although she had such thoughts and vaguely felt that if this continued, she would eventually leave He Yiming's side one day.
However, she had no suitable solution.
Suddenly, she turned her head, her gaze firmly fixed on the empty stone cabinet.
Inside, there had originally been some secret manuals and an Innate Golden Pill.
A never-before-felt strong urge suddenly surged within her. She wanted that Innate Golden Pill; she wanted to become an Innate expert.
Before following He Yiming, she had never had such a lavish hope. Even with He Yiming's help, her Inner Energy cultivation had advanced by leaps and bounds, but she had never thought that she would one day ascend to the Innate Realm.
Ever since the whip marks were left on her face, although she yearned to advance to the Innate Realm, it was mostly for the sake of restoring her facial scars to their original state.
However, at this moment, her thoughts underwent a drastic change.
Her eyes revealed an incredibly resolute light, and she possessed a fervent desire she had never had since the day she was born.
I...
want to advance to Innate!
Outside the stone cave, at the mouth of the passage, He Yiming's face was calm.
Even if the person he faced was ten times stranger, He Yiming was fearless now.
Behind him, there was someone he was willing to abandon everything to protect. At this moment, before him, let alone a ghost-like figure of unknown origin.
Even if gods came, he would slay them; if Buddhas came, he would cut them down, without mercy.
Inexplicably, He Yiming's blood began to boil.
His blood was hot, but his heart was cold.
Around him, a layer of white frost appeared. Facing such a strange enemy, although he had decided to fight, he would absolutely not hold back in this battle.
That person did not make a rash move this time. It was likely that He Yiming's unpredictable movement technique had also made him extremely wary. If He Yiming hadn't been concerned about Yuan Lixun and entered another stone room, then even this person wouldn't have been able to catch up with He Yiming's current speed.
Finally, He Yiming, in the standoff, took the initiative to attack. When he had completely calmed down, the confidence of a Single-Line Sky Realm expert naturally returned. His palm strike was upright and honorable, using powerful force and the ice-cold aura as if from a frozen wasteland, to deliver a straightforward, unembellished, strong assault.
The moment he unleashed this palm strike, he had firm confidence that he could defeat any obstacle in his path.
That person numbly raised a hand. He seemed not to have noticed the immense power contained within He Yiming's palm strike.
The two palms finally collided squarely in mid-air.
He Yiming's eyes instantly narrowed, revealing extreme surprise.
His True Qi encountered no resistance whatsoever on the opponent's palm, as if it had effortlessly surged into the opponent's arm.
However, what made him even more incredulous was that he couldn't feel the presence of meridians within the opponent's body.
It seemed as if the opponent's arm wasn't a human arm, but a genuine wooden one. However, the firmness of this wooden or metallic arm far exceeded He Yiming's imagination. Even his powerful cold-element True Qi couldn't achieve its intended effect at this moment.
He Yiming's heart tightened. Could it be that this person's body was even stronger than that of a Single-Line Sky Realm expert like Sima Yin?
That person met He Yiming's palm strike head-on. Neither the power contained within the strike nor the coldness that could freeze even Sima Yin had any effect on him.
Then, that person struck again. His target was still He Yiming's chest, as if in his eyes, only the silver ring around He Yiming's neck mattered.
A thought suddenly flashed through He Yiming's mind. He instantly confirmed that this strange person was not afraid of his cold-element True Qi. So, his True Qi circulated, and his hand instantly changed color. A faint metallic luster spread from his palm in an instant, and before He Yiming raised his arm to meet the opponent's outstretched hand, this metallic luster had already grown from faint to strong, becoming clearly visible.
A sound like clashing metal exploded between them as their two stone-hard arms collided heavily.
A large amount of Metal Element power surged out, but it couldn't cause any damage to that person's arm.
He Yiming felt as if he had clashed several times with an equally powerful expert skilled in Metal Element power, and even his arm felt faintly numb.
Fortunately, although He Yiming's attack did not injure his opponent, it did deflect the opponent's arm, thwarting his desire to seize the silver necklace.
Their exchange was as swift as lightning, these two offensive and defensive moves passed in an instant, both wary of each other.
He Yiming retreated a step, re-blocking the backward cave entrance.
After the lesson from Sima Yin, He Yiming valued Yuan Lixun's safety more than anything else. And this current master, who was not human and whose depth was immeasurable, made He Yiming feel anxious. Naturally, he would not leave Yuan Lixun, this weakness, for this person.
However, to He Yiming's surprise, after two quick probing exchanges, this person did not continue to attack. Instead, he stopped and gazed over with eyes devoid of emotion, like those of a dead person.
Of course, if he truly were dead, his eyes could never be so bright.
"You... are... strong!"
The words came out of this person's mouth, one by one, distinct.
He Yiming's hair stood on end in an instant. He forced a smile, unable to tell himself whether the expression on his face was one of tears or laughter.
In his ears, he still heard no sound from this person.
Breathing, heartbeat, blood flow...
Aside from the sounds he made when walking, moving, or speaking, He Yiming had never heard any sounds from within his body.
It seemed as if his body was not composed of flesh and blood organs, but a vast, unified whole.
Of course, with He Yiming's current knowledge, he could absolutely not imagine what kind of life in this world could reach such an incredible stage.
Taking a deep breath, He Yiming put aside his indescribable complex emotions and said, "Thank you for the compliment, your Excellency's strength is equally formidable."
That person seemed to ponder for a moment, then finally said, "You are stronger than that person; he is not as good as you."
He Yiming was slightly stunned, then immediately understood that he was referring to Lu Xinwen.
Thinking of this Innate expert, He Yiming was both amused and secretly cursing.
He finally understood why Lu Xinwen had left this cave undeveloped and spoke of powerful mechanisms and the like.
In fact, the so-called mechanism here should be the guy who didn't look human at all.
That Lu Xinwen, even at the last minute, was so ambiguous, it was simply deliberately misleading people...
He then thought of how he had just wanted to put this guy into the Spatial World, and a chill sweat immediately ran down his spine. Fortunately, this guy moved on his own before that. If he had entered the Spatial World without a sound, who knows what uncontrollable changes would have occurred.
The person's mouth opened and closed as he slowly said, "You are very powerful. My current self doesn't have a high chance of defeating you."
He Yiming frowned slightly, but a great weight was lifted from his heart.
Did the opponent's words mean that he no longer wanted to be an enemy?
Clenching his fists, He Yiming said amicably, "Brother, I also stumbled upon this cave by accident, and I had no intention of desecrating or disturbing you. If you would let us go, then my companion and I will leave immediately and never return to bother you."
His expression was exceptionally sincere, because his words came entirely from his heart.
There were many more fun places in this world, and even if this cave was mysterious, it had nothing to do with him.
Unexpectedly, that person tilted his head and considered for a moment, then finally said, "I want to make a deal with you."
He Yiming looked at him in surprise, then his expression changed slightly and he said, "Your Excellency, I know you want my Spatial World, but I'm sorry, I will not part with this item no matter what price you offer."
"Spatial World?" That person was startled, his face expressionless. "Respected expert, you are mistaken. I do not want your Spatial World. Even if you gave it to me, I would not take it, because this thing has no meaning or use to me."
He Yiming scoffed inwardly, "Anyone can talk big. If you don't want this treasure, then why did you attack his chest repeatedly?"
The person's eyes suddenly flickered several times strangely, and then gradually calmed down.
From this moment on, this person actually seemed a bit more like a normal person.
He pointed to He Yiming's chest and said, "I merely wish to acquire an Energy Stone from your personal space."
"Energy Stone?" He Yiming's eyes widened slightly. "Do I have such a thing?"
"Yes, it's that white stone."
He Yiming's face finally changed completely. At this moment, he finally believed it.
This person was not after his Spatial World, but for that white peculiar stone.
That huge white stone possessed extremely miraculous functions.
No matter how much He Yiming had read, he had never found the name or function of this object in any ancient texts.
And at this moment, when this person uttered those words, He Yiming even felt a surging excitement. Perhaps, he was about to unravel the mystery of the White Stone...
