Chapter 854: From Conflict to Acquaintance

"Brother Li, you..." Shi Chuankong started to say something upon seeing Han Li's transformation, then stopped.

Chen Yang raised an eyebrow, a hint of appreciative smile curling at the corner of his mouth as he beckoned Han Li with his finger.

"Roar!"

A sharp glint flashed in the golden giant ape's eyes. With a low roar, its fists blazed with golden light, then suddenly blurred as it punched repeatedly into the void.

Dense golden fist shadows emerged like rain, hurtling toward Chen Yang like meteors, the void roaring with each impact.

Seeing this, Chen Yang shook his head with a smile and slapped his left hand, as large as a palm-leaf fan, into the void.

The dense golden fist shadows stopped before him as if hitting an insurmountable wall, all frozen in place.

Then an invisible tremor surged, and all the golden fist shadows exploded, turning into rolling waves that swept over the surrounding hundreds of feet, the void buzzing incessantly.

But the golden giant ape had already vanished from its original spot.

The next moment, a golden shadow flickered behind Chen Yang. The golden giant ape appeared like a ghost, its two millstone-sized golden fists smashing fiercely toward Chen Yang's back.

Chen Yang's eyebrow twitched; he reacted swiftly, spinning his body and swinging his right arm, radiant with treasure light, to sweep toward the ape's fists.

But the light of the acupoints on the golden giant ape's chest and abdomen suddenly flashed. With a "crack," its massive body abruptly shrank several times to the size of an ordinary man, and it crouched down.

This change was extremely abrupt; the giant ape's body shrank without any time interval.

Chen Yang hadn't anticipated this, and his right arm swung through empty air, causing his body to wobble involuntarily.

Seizing the moment, Han Li, now crouched, shot forward like an incredibly agile monkey, slipping out from under Chen Yang's arm, pouncing on the Crab Daoist beside him, and scooping him up.

"You brat dare toy with me? You're asking for death!"

Seeing this, a hint of anger flashed in Chen Yang's eyes. With a slight shake, he steadied himself and shot out both arms like lightning.

With a "crack," his arms suddenly lengthened by half, instantly reaching Han Li's waist, his razor-sharp fingers grabbing down.

White finger rays burst from his fingertips, especially the five rays from his right hand, dazzlingly bright, carving five visible ripples in the void as they passed.

The spatial pressure within the Scale Accumulation Void Realm was immense, making the space extremely stable, far more so than outside, and difficult to shake. Yet Chen Yang's right hand could create spatial ripples.

At that moment, a layer of True Extreme Membrane also appeared around Han Li, but it was useless against Chen Yang's indestructible claws. With a "rip," it was easily pierced.

But just then, Han Li's body burst with various colors: projections of True Dragons, True Phoenixes, Azure Luan, Black Tortoises, and seven or eight other true spirits appeared, and his body surface also shimmered with seven or eight layers of multicolored light, flickering wildly.

Chen Yang's ten fingers grabbed Han Li's waist, only to feel his skin tremble and become incredibly slippery, causing his razor-sharp fingers to slide off.

Han Li twisted his body, escaping from under Chen Yang's fingers, darting dozens of feet away, then turned sharply, watching Chen Yang warily.

The multicolored light on his body had now vanished, and he had returned to human form, his face somewhat pale.

The Twelve Transformations of the Awakening was originally a divine ability that required the simultaneous operation of spiritual power and blood energy.

Now, unable to use immortal spiritual power, he could only forcibly activate the blood energy within his body to perform the Awakening Transformation, which consumed a great deal.

Chen Yang stood still, not pursuing, his eyes scanning Han Li up and down, a strange glint in his gaze.

"Brother Li, are you alright?" Shi Chuankong flew sideways to Han Li's side, a hint of shame in his eyes.

Relying on the boundless resources of the demon clan's royal family, he had opened over forty acupoints, surpassing Han Li, but his will to fight was far inferior.

"It's nothing." Han Li touched his waist, and his palm came away stained with blood.

Five long wounds had appeared on his waist, blood gushing out; he had ultimately been injured by Chen Yang.

"I didn't expect these prisoners to be so formidable. What do we do now? If it comes to it, let me use the trump card Third Brother gave me to kill this man outright," Shi Chuankong transmitted, a fierce glint flashing in his eyes.

Han Li's eyebrow twitched; he also had the Divine Refining Art as a trump card unused, so he wasn't necessarily afraid of Chen Yang.

"You two, are you newcomers from outside?" Chen Yang suddenly asked, the light from his acupoints quickly dimming until it disappeared, as if he had no intention of continuing the fight.

Han Li and the other exchanged glances.

"That's right, we were just thrown into the Scale Accumulation Void Realm by the Night Yang Dynasty. Who are you, and why did you attack us?" Han Li asked solemnly, his mind stirring.

"So that's it. It was a misunderstanding. Just now, seeing your unfamiliar faces and the puppet, I thought you were from Puppet City, so I attacked," Chen Yang said, his expression softening slightly.

Han Li and Shi Chuankong exchanged a look but did not let down their guard.

"Don't worry, you two. Since you're newcomers, we're not enemies," Chen Yang said with a smile, seemingly intending to turn foes into friends.

"Since it was a misunderstanding, and we're not ones to hold grudges, let's let bygones be bygones," Han Li said, cupping his fist after a brief telepathic exchange with Shi Chuankong.

Having finally encountered prisoners within the Scale Accumulation Void Realm, he didn't want to fight to the death; resolving the conflict was best.

"I am Chen Yang. May I ask your esteemed names?" Chen Yang returned the gesture and asked.

"Li Feiyu."

"Shi Kong."

The two gave their names; due to his identity, Shi Chuankong used a pseudonym.

"So it's Brother Li and Brother Shi. Pleased to meet you. We can say we became friends through conflict, haha!" Chen Yang laughed heartily.

After exchanging names, the previously tense atmosphere greatly eased.

"Brother Chen, what is this Puppet City you mentioned?" Han Li changed the subject.

"It's a long story. In short, we survivors in the Scale Accumulation Void Realm are divided into two major forces. I, and the few you saw earlier, belong to the Mysterious City faction, while Puppet City represents the other force. Relations between the two aren't good, which is why I attacked you earlier," Chen Yang explained with a smile.

"I see." Han Li nodded thoughtfully.

"Mysterious City and Puppet City—those names seem to have some significance?" Shi Chuankong raised an eyebrow.

"Brother Shi is right. As you've probably noticed, in the Scale Accumulation Void Realm, neither demonic qi nor other elemental forces can be used. To fight the various scale beasts here, one must either practice body refinement or rely on external forces like puppets. Our Mysterious City specializes in body refinement, while Puppet City, as the name suggests, excels in controlling puppets," Chen Yang said with a smile.

"So that's it." Shi Chuankong nodded in understanding.

"The environment in the Scale Accumulation Void Realm is harsh. Besides scale beasts, there are many other dangers. It's hard for a few individuals to survive alone. Are you two interested in joining Mysterious City? I see you've both opened many acupoints; you're good material for body refinement. Joining Mysterious City would be just right," Chen Yang unexpectedly extended an invitation.

"Join Mysterious City?" Han Li felt secretly pleased.

Having heard about the situation in the Scale Accumulation Void Realm, he was considering how to enter Mysterious City or Puppet City to inquire about Violet Spirit's whereabouts. It was like a pillow when he was drowsy.

Though pleased, he showed no emotion on his face, pretending to ponder while secretly signaling Shi Chuankong.

"We are newcomers. Could you, Brother Chen, give us an introduction to Mysterious City?" Shi Chuankong asked noncommittally after a brief hesitation.

"As I said, Mysterious City focuses on body refinement. The city lord is Lord E Kuai. His body refinement has reached the pinnacle, having opened over a thousand acupoints. It's thanks to Lord E Kuai's protection that we can survive safely in this Scale Accumulation Void Realm," Chen Yang said, his face showing reverence when mentioning E Kuai.

"Over a thousand acupoints!" Han Li gasped.

Shi Chuankong also changed color, his shock even greater than Han Li's.

Body refinement was extremely difficult. Those in the Holy Domain had a natural advantage in physical form and abundant resources, yet even so, those who could open eight hundred acupoints were rare. As for those who opened over a thousand, he had never heard of any.

"Heh, Lord E Kuai is a genius. In our lifetimes, we probably won't achieve even half his accomplishments. But I see you two have great talent in body refinement and have already achieved considerable skill. Joining Mysterious City would allow you to further your studies," Chen Yang said with a faint smile, seeing their reactions.

"This is a significant matter. Could you give us some time to consider?" Han Li asked after a moment's thought, but received no response.

Puzzled, Han Li looked up and was slightly taken aback.

Chen Yang was now staring at the sky, his expression indescribably grave.

Han Li followed his gaze, his eyes flickering.

The previously clear sky had somehow become dim, as if covered with dark clouds.

"Brother Chen, is there something wrong with the sky?" Shi Chuankong also noticed the change.

"What's going on... it's come so early this year," Chen Yang muttered to himself, ignoring Shi Chuankong's question.

"Brother Chen, are you alright?" Han Li raised his voice.

"What?" Chen Yang gave a slight start, snapping back to reality.

Seeing Chen Yang like this, Han Li frowned and repeated his question.

"Of course, take your time. But this place is not safe. You'd better come with me and leave here first," Chen Yang said, his expression unsettled, seeming anxious.

"What do you mean, Brother Chen? Is there something wrong with the black clouds in the sky?" Shi Chuankong asked, frowning.