"Whew!"

The earth attribute puppet’s earth attribute energy grew increasingly strong, whipping up waves of air and surrounding its body.

"Boom!"

Suddenly, the entire dueling arena shook violently once again.

With the sound of this massive tremor, cracks resembling spider webs appeared on the surface of the mountain peak already riddled with honeycomb-like holes, spreading outward from the center.

In those cracks, intense earth attribute light continually burst forth, and in the blink of an eye, earth attribute energy engulfed the entire dueling arena.

This earth attribute energy contained a powerful pressure, which affected even Xu Ran slightly, slowing his speed somewhat, but not significantly.

"Is this mountain about to split open?"

Xuan Ran was indifferent to the change in gravity, as the remaining innate qi circled around him. Even if the gravity increased a hundredfold, it would not affect him!

Xu Ran had always thought the mountain was extremely important to the earth attribute puppet.

But unexpectedly, it was about to crack open.

Even so, Xu Ran’s face showed no signs of relaxation.

In those cracks emitting yellow light, he sensed a heavy aura.

This aura was even stronger than the oppressive feeling the array had just given him!

"It seems I can’t underestimate this trial!" Xu Ran sighed, then focused intently on the mountain about to split open.

"Boom!"

"Boom!"

"Boom!"

...

As the dueling arena trembled more violently, the yellow light emanating from the mountain cracks grew more intense, and the earth attribute energy became even more concentrated.

"Bang!"

When the yellow light reached its peak, a roaring explosion sounded in the dueling arena. The mountain peak originally hundreds of meters high began to shatter, with explosions continuously occurring and debris scattered outward, causing considerable damage to the arena’s edges.

As the mountain exploded, a pressure capable of crushing everything suddenly appeared on Xu Ran, causing his body to bend slightly.

Despite this, Xu Ran endured the immense pressure, golden light surged from his body, his frame straightened once more, and the scene unfolded before his eyes.

Behold.

A giant, entirely yellow tripod hovered in the sky.

But this giant tripod was not hovering due to special abilities; it was bound by eight chains resembling rock dragons, preventing it from escaping.

Yellow light emanated from the tripod’s Taotie engravings, releasing a powerful ancient aura.

Upon closer inspection, the yellow tripod’s body had traces of dark red substances on it, uncertain whether it was blood or something else.

"This... this is... the Houtu Tripod!"

Second Junior Brother exclaimed in astonishment upon seeing the yellow tripod appear.

"Houtu Tripod!"

"Houtu Tripod!"

"Houtu Tripod!"

"Houtu Tripod!"

...

Upon hearing Second Junior Brother’s words, all soul bodies simultaneously stood up and exclaimed.

"Second Junior Brother, are you sure?" Little Junior Sister also looked surprised, though somewhat incredulous!

"Ahem!" Second Junior Brother coughed lightly, then sat down, returning to his previous demeanor.

"No mistake, this is the Houtu Tripod!"

As Second Junior Brother confirmed again, no one had any objections.

After all, this was indeed shocking.

The Houtu Tripod, a wonder born with the opening of the heavens and earth, containing all the power of the earth, deservedly the first earth attribute divine artifact.

The crowd knew of the Houtu Tripod only from ancient texts, a name without any preserved image.

Second Junior Brother knew it was the Houtu Tripod because during ancient times, a crack appeared and the Houtu Tripod briefly emerged at the horizon, then merged into the fissure.

Even though it was a fleeting appearance, the stunning image was vividly engraved in his memory, allowing for immediate recognition.

"Unbelievable, the long-missing Houtu Tripod appeared in the trial and is controlled by a puppet transformed from the earth attribute king!"

Second Junior Brother felt astonished, surprised that the long-missing Houtu Tripod would appear here, indeed unexpected!

"This is not the complete Houtu Tripod!"

As everyone was exclaiming, Eldest Senior Brother’s cold voice rang in their ears, speaking calmly.

Now, all soul bodies felt perplexed, what does it mean by ’not the complete Houtu Tripod’?

"Eldest Senior Brother, what does this mean?" Second Junior Brother asked, his mind recalling the previous image of the Houtu Tripod, "I remember the appearance and aura of the Houtu Tripod is just like this?"

After careful identification, Second Junior Brother confirmed once more.

The tripod was filled with the thick earth attribute aura, and the Taotie engravings on its body were indistinguishable from his prior sighting of the Houtu Tripod.

"To be precise, this Houtu Tripod merely has its appearance, but its core is missing!" Eldest Senior Brother continued.

Hmm?

The soul bodies felt puzzled by Eldest Senior Brother’s words.

What does this mean?

Core?

Does the Houtu Tripod have a core?

The group intensely wanted to know the secret, but after Eldest Senior Brother finished this sentence, he said no more.

Seeing this, all soul bodies could only relinquish their curiosity.

What Eldest Senior Brother wishes to say, or chooses not to, they cannot command. Given Eldest Senior Brother’s temperament, he would thoroughly disclose what could be known, but naturally obscure what is beyond their qualification.

The soul bodies understood this, thus did not pursue further, focusing again on Xu Ran and the Houtu Tripod in the mirror.

After all, they only knew of the Houtu Tripod from texts, never witnessing its functions, even Second Junior Brother was no exception.

...

"This giant tripod, its aura so dense, it’s heavier and numerous times more pressing than that mountain!"

Xu Ran’s eyes glowed golden as he fixed on the giant tripod emerging from the mountain, an unexplainable pressure enveloping his mind, hastening his breath, a sensation never felt before.

"This giant tripod seems to gather the power of the entire earth, not just the undermining power of the dueling arena, its contained strength even more enriched than the earth’s backdrop of the arena!"

After sensing for a moment, Xu Ran whispered to himself.

His perception ability was immensely strong and delicate, quickly discerning the giant tripod as distinct from any prior technique or divine technique.

Before him, this giant tripod seemed as if confronting an entire continent alone, a vast, overwhelming sense of depth striking forth.

"However..." Soon, Xu Ran perceived something amiss, "This giant tripod appears to lack something, despite the thick and massive aura, it fails to unify completely!"

Immediately, Xu Ran seemed to breathe a sigh of relief.

He confirmed the giant tripod lacked something important and thus was incomplete.

"If the complete giant tripod were here, my body would explode under its pressure in a breath, but now..."

Confidence once more flickered in Xu Ran’s eyes.

The earth attribute puppet jumped into the air, in an instant standing atop the giant tripod.

Upon landing, the Taotie engravings on the tripod radiated a bloody red light, and seeing this, the earth attribute puppet hesitated no more, yellow earth attribute qi flowing from its hands into the tripod.

The Taotie engravings on the tripod, feeling the endless earth attribute energy ceaselessly rushing in, formed a Taotie composed shadow behind the earth attribute puppet.

However, this shadow appeared strange; opening its gigantic mouth, it bit towards the invisible fine line connecting the earth attribute backdrop behind the puppet.