When the seat finally collapsed, the force there instantly reversed direction, and the focal point shifted. Linghu Tian was now able to move freely. He stared in disbelief at his aged body and exclaimed, "It's hard to believe—you really are this powerful."
"My soul is different from others—it's been tempered through many trials, so of course I could break through," Evan Yang replied with a smile.
Lance Linghu laughed, "So that's how it is. In any case, thank you."
"No need to thank me," Evan Yang smiled.
"I apologize for everything I did before," Lance Linghu said, thinking of how he had repeatedly blocked Evan Yang earlier.
Evan Yang accepted the apology with a smile. "It's fine, really."
"I can finally leave this place!" Lance Linghu laughed heartily.
Evan Yang glanced around and said, "It's a pity about this place."
"Oh, right. Now that you mention it, I almost forgot. I've been trapped here for years, always hearing a strange sound, but I could never figure out where it came from. Maybe you can check it out," Lance Linghu said curiously after hearing Evan Yang's comment.
Evan Yang let out an "Oh" and looked around for a while before saying, "I don't hear anything for now."
Evan Yang searched his memory, then suddenly exclaimed in surprise, "Black Tortoise? That realm!"
Back then, when Evan Yang rescued Gavin White and accidentally teleported into that realm, he found a treasure map among a group of people. On it, he discovered seven massive rocks—the material was exactly the same as these.
To confirm his suspicion, Evan Yang moved the seat, left it, entered his artifact space, and examined those seven giant stones. Sure enough, they were made of the same material.
After carefully calculating the positions and distances of the stones, Evan Yang cut eighteen smaller pieces from the seven rocks and arranged them in a scaled-down version of the array.
Once the arrangement was complete, Evan Yang stood at the center of the eighteen small stones and could clearly sense the power they generated.
This ability allowed him to control a certain spatial range. With a single thought, the eighteen stones formed a massive invisible barrier—a barrier that could move, not just centered on Evan Yang, but following him wherever he went.
Evan Yang exclaimed in delight, "A movable barrier?"
He thought to himself, if his Colorless Flame could be used within this invisible, movable barrier, it would be incredible. This needed more research, so Evan Yang became deeply interested and began to study the stones.
Inside the Sky-Piercing Tower, fifty years passed for every year outside. Evan Yang spent over a hundred years studying the stones, and finally, one day, he stepped out of his artifact with a peculiar smile. When he appeared again, he was outside the Stonevoid Trials domain.
He sought out the Nether Sky Demon King and Jalon Drake again. The two had been waiting outside for five years, growing increasingly anxious about Evan Yang's fate and waiting day after day without knowing what would happen.
When Evan Yang appeared before them, they stared at him in disbelief.
Evan Yang smiled, "What's wrong? Not happy to see me?"
"Not at all! We're more than happy to welcome you back!" Jalon Drake replied with a broad smile.
"That's right—we've been waiting for you a long time," the Nether Sky Demon King said, smiling.
Evan Yang smiled apologetically, "Sorry for making you wait so long."
"It's fine—as long as you're back," Jalon Drake replied with a reassuring smile.
The Nether Sky Demon King, seeing Evan Yang return safely, asked curiously, "What should we do now?" Evan Yang looked at the two and said, "Find the Twin Rakshas."
"Are you really going?" Jalon Drake had heard of the Twin Rakshas and was worried Evan Yang might not be able to defeat them.
"Don't worry. I'm not that fragile," Evan Yang replied with a confident smile.
"That's good," Jalon Drake nodded in support.
Evan Yang looked at the two of them and said, "You still have a choice. Think it over."
"What do you mean? Since we've chosen to follow you, we won't cling to life or fear death," Jalon Drake said firmly.
The Nether Sky Demon King agreed, "That's right. When we say yes, we mean yes; when we say no, we mean no. We're not weaklings."
"Good. Let's go," Evan Yang said with a smile, then led the two away. Their target was the usual haunt of the Twin Rakshas—Stone-Fragment Mountain, a chaotic pile of stones topped with a large stone house said to be their residence.
Lady Raksha had sensed Evan Yang's emergence long ago and noticed him approaching with his companions. She stood up and said, "Kid, I don't have time to play with you right now, but I'll leave you a nice gift."
With that, Lady Raksha took her key people and important items and left, abandoning the stone house, which had little value. Meanwhile, Evan Yang and his companions were still at the foot of the mountain, looking up at the stone house.
"They've probably already noticed us," Jalon Drake muttered.
Evan Yang asked curiously, "Why?"
"Haven't you noticed how quiet it is?" Jalon Drake asked. Evan Yang smiled, "So being quiet means they've noticed us?"
"It's intuition—a master's intuition. If someone equal to or stronger than me were nearby, I'd sense them. But there's nothing here, which means those two aren't present," Jalon Drake explained to Evan Yang.
Hearing this, Evan Yang nodded, "If that's the case, let's just go in and take a look."
With that, the three headed up. Sure enough, the house was empty. Evan Yang and his companions slowly walked inside. The door closed automatically behind them, plunging the room into darkness.
Suddenly, the room was lit up by lamps, and Evan Yang and the others raised their eyebrows. At that moment, a voice echoed through the space: "Evan Yang, you've got guts, coming to the Twin Rakshas' place."
"Lady Raksha?" Evan Yang asked, hearing the woman's voice and feeling suspicious.
"That's right. But I'm not here anymore, so don't bother looking for me. This is just a message I left behind. As for where you are now, it's an artifact I prepared—this treasure has its own consciousness. If you want to leave, you'll have to defeat it," Lady Raksha said with a smile.
Evan Yang was stunned. "What?"
"Enough talk. Enjoy yourselves—until we meet again." Lady Raksha's voice faded away. At that moment, rumbling sounds filled the air. When the three saw where the noise was coming from, Evan Yang remained calm, but Jalon Drake was shocked. "What! Stone monsters!"
"Stone monsters?" Evan Yang only saw five stone-like creatures slowly approaching.
"These stone monsters are one of Stonevoid World's three most fearsome native beings. It's not that they're overwhelmingly strong, but their bodies are pure stone, making them almost impossible to break. I once heard rumors someone could control them, but I never believed it—until now," Jalon Drake exclaimed.
Evan Yang smiled, "Got it."
"You still have the mood to smile?" Jalon Drake said, feeling frustrated at Evan Yang's calmness.
Evan Yang sighed, "What? Should I be crying instead?"
"Not exactly, but don't underestimate them. Their attacks may not be high, but you'll understand soon enough," Jalon Drake sighed.
Evan Yang really didn't get it at first, but soon he understood. The five stone monsters suddenly broke apart into countless stone blocks, forming a cage that trapped all three of them. Not only that, but the cage kept shrinking, as if trying to crush them alive.
"What do we do?" Jalon Drake asked.
"Don't panic, let me think," Evan Yang said.
The three stood together as the space grew smaller and smaller. No matter how they attacked, nothing worked—until Evan Yang took out the Limitless Spear and shouted, "Lengthen!"
The Limitless Spear extended, bracing the stone cage at a fixed size and preventing it from shrinking any further.
"What kind of artifact is that?" Jalon Drake asked curiously.
"He should recognize it," Evan Yang said, glancing at the Nether Sky Demon King. The Demon King replied, "The Five God Spear."
"So that's it! No wonder—it's a Heavenly Dao artifact, said to be incredibly powerful. I've heard about it, but seeing it in action is something else. So, what now?" Jalon Drake asked.
"Watch this," Evan Yang said. He began manipulating the Limitless Spear, commanding it to grow even longer. The cage expanded with it, growing larger and larger until it returned to its original size. The stone blocks could no longer maintain their structure and instantly collapsed, breaking the prison completely.