Chapter 073: "No Way"

The Sky-Stepping Demon Elephant was not some beast mutated from an ordinary elephant infected by the Beast Spirit Demon Worm. According to the records, the Sky-Stepping Demon Elephant had a history on Earthstar that stretched back tens of thousands of years to ancient times. It was a true anomalous species of heaven and earth—not simply an elephant transformed by external forces.

A true Sky-Stepping Demon Elephant was born with innate supernatural abilities, including complete immunity to physical attacks. Once fully grown, reaching a height of ten meters, it became immune to everything: physical and energy assaults, the tangible and the intangible, wind and rain, thunder and lightning, water, fire, light, poison—all rendered powerless. And even that was not the sum of its might.

Beyond its absolute immunity, the Sky-Stepping Demon Elephant could also defy gravity and walk through the air—each step as steady as if treading solid ground. Finally, it could enter a berserk state, transforming into a colossal demon elephant a hundred meters tall. That was its true pinnacle—a harbinger of death and destruction. To raze cities and annihilate nations would be mere child’s play; it could even crack continental plates beneath its feet.

In the face of such a beast, even a first-rank martial artist had no option but to flee.

Of course, heaven and earth are balanced and fair. This ancient and unparalleled species faced extreme difficulty in reproduction. Although its lifespan was remarkably long—lasting over a millennium—even after nine hundred years of companionship, a pair of male and female Sky-Stepping Demon Elephants might not conceive. If they did, it would be but a single offspring. Thus, since antiquity, their numbers remained exceedingly scarce, and even fewer people had witnessed one.

The Wei clan’s ancestor was one of the fortunate few. This prodigious talent from the Wei family, after observing the Sky-Stepping Demon Elephant, created a martial art based on its power: “Nine Steps to the Heavens.”

Every internal qi cultivation art possessed its own unique attribute—some blazed like fire, some chilled like frost, some were sharp as a blade, others as solid as a mountain. There were those impervious to poison, resplendent and magnificent, tyrannical without peer, upright and balanced, or insidiously bone-chilling…

“Nine Steps to the Heavens” was no different; its attribute was weight.

Simply put, the Sky-Stepping True Qi cultivated from this art was unimaginably heavy. But this heaviness was not just the steadiness of earth. Earth-attributed arts were solid and restrained, with strength that ultimately had limits. In theory, the Sky-Stepping True Qi had no upper bound, for it emulated the Sky-Stepping Demon Elephant, whose strength could be endlessly stacked. The only characteristic of this true qi was that it could continue to grow heavier.

The more true qi one possessed, the more weight could be amassed. A punch empowered by such qi—even without special techniques—could effortlessly crush a car, collapse a house, or shatter a human body.

Naturally, cultivating Sky-Stepping True Qi was no simple feat. First, one required an exceptionally robust physique; otherwise, it was not even worth considering. Second, one must possess great natural strength, whether innate or acquired. Lastly, when drawing in the very first wisp of world energy, it had to be at the exact moment of predawn when yin and yang meet; miss that, and you would have to wait again. None of these three conditions could be omitted.

Su Jingxing already met the first two requirements. The third—concerning timing—was not a significant obstacle.

“Nine Steps to the Heavens” was a peerless art capable of reaching the third rank. Not every internal qi technique could do that; most would, at best, allow a martial artist to attain the fourth rank. As Su Jingxing carefully read through the manual, he realized “Nine Steps to the Heavens” could go straight to the third rank—saving him a considerable ordeal.

When he turned to the last few pages, Su Jingxing was even more astonished. The Wei clan’s ancestor was truly formidable. At the end of the “Nine Steps to the Heavens” manual, two secret techniques were included.

The first was “Demon Elephant Stomp.” By visualizing the “Demon Elephant Treading the Heavens” diagram, one could manifest a Sky-Stepping Demon Elephant in the sea of consciousness to suppress all things—even the Martial Dao Will.

Martial Dao Will was a formidable power that only third-rank elites could wield, able to influence reality through sheer spirit. That “Demon Elephant Stomp” could suppress it was almost unbelievable—perhaps an exaggeration. This secret technique was primarily defensive, but if one's soul was strong enough, it could be unleashed to crush another’s spirit.

Indeed, the secret technique was powerful, yet its cultivation was tremendously difficult, requiring an exceptionally strong soul. Night vision and far sight could be activated by consuming internal energy, but “Demon Elephant Stomp” consumed soul power instead.

The other secret technique was slightly more attainable, focused on the physical body: the “Demon Elephant Physique.” As its name implied, this technique would transform the body’s constitution. Once activated, the body would instantly double in size, and strength could increase up to tenfold. In this state, one’s defense became nearly invincible. While not as exaggerated as the colossal demon elephant’s immunity to everything, it was enough to withstand magical weapons and most true qi attacks.

However, activating this technique was still no small feat; the body had to reach the absolute human limit. If one attempted to use “Demon Elephant Physique” without such strength, the body would explode on the spot. Even at the human limit, after transformation, one would need to consume at least ten Essence Pills, or else suffer extreme weakness for three days.

Su Jingxing had no fear of this. He had already reached the human limit. As for Essence Pills, a type of body-refining medicine, they were different from other elixirs; Essence Pills were gentle, slowly tempering the body and increasing strength. This effect could also be achieved by the Great Strength Pills. Therefore, if Su Jingxing wished to transform into the “Demon Elephant Physique,” he could do so now. He just needed to determine how many Great Strength Pills were equivalent to one Essence Pill. He would need to experiment after returning; otherwise, suffering three days of extreme weakness would leave him vulnerable even to a child’s attack.

Compared to “Nine Steps to the Heavens,” the “Demon Elephant Physique” was an unexpected windfall—a trump card he could immediately use. As for “Demon Elephant Stomp,” the visualization of the “Demon Elephant Treading the Heavens” diagram was just too difficult. Even if Su Jingxing could enhance his soul power with Soul-Nourishing Pills, Soul-Calming Cards were still exceedingly rare. How long it would take before he could manifest the Sky-Stepping Demon Elephant in his mind was unknown. For now, he put this secret technique aside.

Upon returning, his priority was to cultivate the Sky-Stepping True Qi.

In these thoughts, he flipped to the final page of the “Nine Steps to the Heavens” manual.

“Hm?”

Suddenly, Su Jingxing’s gaze sharpened.

Blank?

The last page of the manual was also blank—just like the “Eight Steps Ascending Dragon” manual, with nothing recorded.

“No way…”

His heartbeat quickened uncontrollably.

“Could this really be true?”

The last page of the “Eight Steps Ascending Dragon” manual had revealed the hiding place of “Nine Steps to the Heavens.” Now, the final page of “Nine Steps to the Heavens” was blank as well. Could it, too, conceal some secret?

The possibility was overwhelming.

How could Su Jingxing not speculate? “Nine Steps to the Heavens” had already given him third-rank internal qi and two powerful secret techniques. If there was a secret hidden in the last page, could it be even more extraordinary than the manual and the secret arts themselves?

“That Wei clan ancestor was truly a master of concealment. ‘Seven Steps Long Fist,’ ‘Eight Steps Ascending Dragon,’ ‘Nine Steps to the Heavens’—and still there is more to come!”