Phoenix Spirit's words had also piqued Ye Chen's interest.
"A treasure as my opponent?"
"What kind of treasure? Can it really have battle strength equivalent to the Rotating Pill Realm and be able to fight?"
"Interested, Lady Phoenix Spirit? Of course, I'm interested in taking on the challenge."
Ye Chen was curious to see for himself the opponent that Phoenix Spirit said was more suitable than the giant spider in the secret cave.
Phoenix Spirit played coy and did not explain straight away, she smiled and said, "Come on, once we get there, you'll know when you see them."
After speaking, Phoenix Spirit led the way, with Ye Chen following her, moving through the corridors within the Azure Blue Mansion.
After passing through dozens of corridors, Phoenix Spirit stopped outside a side hall.
Ye Chen stopped behind Phoenix Spirit and looked at the side hall. The doors were tightly shut, and the plaque above bore three large characters—"Battle Spirit Hall."
"Battle Spirit Hall?"
"My opponent is inside this Battle Spirit Hall?"
A thought stirred in Ye Chen's heart. In that moment, Phoenix Spirit lightly tapped towards the doors of the Battle Spirit Hall with her feathered wings, and with a resounding "boom," the doors swung open.
Initially, Ye Chen thought the side hall would be just an ordinary great hall, but upon following Phoenix Spirit inside the Battle Spirit Hall, he was amazed to find that it was a place like no other!
Stepping into the Battle Spirit Hall was like stepping into a vast and immense world. Within this realm stood countless statues, each three to four meters tall and carved from giant Spirit Stones that radiated vast True Qi!
The ground of the Battle Spirit Hall was also paved with countless Spirit Stones, linked with the statues. The quantity of Spirit Stones within the entire hall was truly staggering!
The Spirit Stones were astonishing, and so was the number of statues. At a single glance, Ye Chen couldn't even begin to count how many there were. There must be thousands upon thousands!
At this point, Phoenix Spirit finally said with a smile, "Ye Chen, your opponents are these statues!"
These statues were the treasures that Phoenix Spirit said could battle him?
Phoenix Spirit's words made Ye Chen scrutinize the statues even more closely.
Ye Chen noticed that every single one of the numerous statues had a different face. And what was even more miraculous was that each statue had ice-blue Spiritual Patterns on their foreheads, identical to the Spiritual Patterns that appeared on Jiang Yao's forehead when activating her bloodline secret methods!
Could it be that these statues were all inscribed based on members of the Divine Phoenix Clan?
As Ye Chen was pondering, Phoenix Spirit began to explain, "Ye Chen, this 'Battle Spirit Hall' represents a battle sanctuary of our Divine Phoenix Clan. These statues, known as 'Battle Spirit Statues,' were placed here."
"Members of my Divine Phoenix Clan, when they cultivate to the utmost limit of each realm and wish to break through to the next realm, they will seek out the clan's great mystics. These mystics would engrave their combat techniques into the statutes, turning them into 'Battle Spirit Statues,' and placing them in numerous Azure Blue Mansions."
"With countless clan members of the Divine Phoenix Clan inscribing a Battle Spirit Statue at each realm, ultimately a multitude of Battle Spirit Statues are formed.
These statues possess battle strength across various realms, from the first to the twelfth layer of the True Qi Realm, to the early, middle, and late stages of the Spirit Sea Realm, the early, middle, and late stages of the Rotating Pill Realm, the early, middle, and late stages of the Heavenly Saint Realm, and there are even statues of Void Sky True Gods!"
"Countless statues, countless clan members' combat techniques from different stages; they are the best opponents you could ask for and provide an excellent means for our clan members to enhance their strength!"
"Ye Chen, what do you think? Are not these opponents perfect for testing your newly cultivated battle strength?"
Phoenix Spirit's words caused Ye Chen's eyes to brighten.
"Lady Phoenix Spirit, these statues are actually inscribed based on the Divine Phoenix Clan members' techniques!"
"Indeed, they make perfect opponents, simply ideal!"
The Battle Spirit Statues, representing the combat techniques of countless Divine Phoenix Clan members, were of course far superior opponents compared to the giant spider guarding the secret cave.
Ye Chen could hardly wait to witness the techniques of these Battle Spirit Statues and experience the Divine Phoenix Clan members' techniques!
Seeing Ye Chen's eagerness, Phoenix Spirit chuckled, "Each grand realm's Battle Spirit Statues are located in one great hall. Ye Chen, this great hall I've brought you into contains all the Rotating Pill level statues."
"From the early, to the middle, to the late stage of the Rotating Pill Realm, we have them all! The deeper you go into the hall, the more powerful the statues become. Try challenging the early-stage Rotating Pill Battle Spirit Statues here first, Ye Chen."
"But don't underestimate them; these Battle Spirit Statues are left by Divine Phoenix Clan members before their breakthroughs, representing their cultivation achievements of the time. Although they don't completely represent the person, having been inscribed by great mystics, they nearly possess the full battle strength of those individuals."
"Even the early-stage Rotating Pill Battle Spirit Statues are not to be taken lightly," Phoenix Spirit warned Ye Chen.
"Lady Phoenix Spirit, I will be cautious," Ye Chen nodded, then addressed Phoenix Spirit, "How are these Battle Spirit Statues activated?"
Phoenix Spirit explained, "Within the Divine Phoenix Clan, every member who contributes a Battle Spirit Statue receives a 'Battle Spirit Token.' By holding a Battle Spirit Token, one can enter the Battle Spirit Hall to challenge statues. One token allows for a challenge against ten different Battle Spirit Statues."
Having said this, Phoenix Spirit sighed faintly, "However, now this Azure Blue Mansion has fallen to the lower realm. No clan members come here to challenge these Battle Spirit Statues anymore, so there's no need to follow the previous challenge rules. Ye Chen, I've already unlocked the battle restrictions of this Battle Spirit Hall for you, feel free to challenge any of the statues here."
"Challenge as many as you like, there are no limits."
"As for how to activate these Battle Spirit Statues, you only need to use your Divine Sense to completely envelop the statue you wish to battle, and the Battle Spirit Statue will release a Battle Spirit to fight against you,"
"Once the battle begins, the protective prohibition below will be activated, and your battle area will be above the statue, in the sky."
"Ye Chen, start selecting your combatant and challenge them!" Finally, Phoenix Spirit turned to Ye Chen and spoke.
Ye Chen took a deep breath and set his gaze upon the statues.
He didn't overestimate himself, the first opponent he chose was the Battle Spirit Statue placed on the outermost area.
When Ye Chen's Divine Sense completely enveloped this particular Battle Spirit Statue, it began to shine brightly, and the Earth Spirit Stone beneath it also lit up.
Then, with a "boom", immense True Qi was poured forth, and a figure burst out from the Battle Spirit Statue, flying directly into the sky.
This figure was handsome and well-built, as lifelike as any real person, and was the Battle Spirit of a male warrior from the Divine Phoenix Clan. Once it took to the sky, its eyes immediately found Ye Chen below.
Seeing this, Ye Chen no longer hesitated. His figure shifted, and instantly, he was also in the sky.
Phoenix Spirit also flew up and stood at a distance in the sky.
After both Ye Chen and the Battle Spirit reached the sky, the Battle Spirit actually launched the first attack, its vast True Qi bursting forth, while the Spiritual Patterns on its forehead shone with a mysterious divine brilliance.
Next, the size of the Battle Spirit rapidly expanded, and in an instant, it transformed into a colossal figure over eighty zhang tall, its entire form pulsating with endless earth elemental laws' aura.
As the elemental law aura flickered, the Battle Spirit, now swollen in size like a colossal beast, charged straight toward Ye Chen.
Clearly, the Battle Spirit had directly employed its Rotating Pill level abilities, using a tremendously powerful Cultivation Technique to confront Ye Chen.
"Rotating Pill level combat skills, indeed exceptional!"
Watching the approaching Battle Spirit, and seeing the enormous figure that had grown to over eighty zhang, Ye Chen also inhaled deeply.
He had never seen this kind of fighting method!
This was his first time battling someone of the Rotating Pill level, and moreover, a member of the Divine Phoenix Clan at that level, which caused Ye Chen's battle spirit to surge.
In an instant, Ye Chen's surging True Qi was also unleashed, and the newly cultivated, extraordinarily unique Primordial True Liquid immediately turned into billowing black smoke, rolling out to envelop an area several hundred zhang around him.
Although Ye Chen's stature was smaller than that of the expanding Battle Spirit, his aura in no way felt inferior.
On one side was the Battle Spirit hurtling crazily towards him, its forceful impact even causing a violent gale to ripple through the sky.
On the other side, Ye Chen, shrouded in billowing black smoke, also unleashed his technique at once. The Nine Transformation Fighting Body was activated, and Ye Chen's whole body shimmered with the Nine Transformation Golden Body Talisman Pattern. His strength rapidly increasing, he too shot toward the Battle Spirit.
When these two powers collided, the entire sky burst forth with a tremendous light of explosion, and endless shockwaves even rolled out for thousands of zhang. If it weren't for the protective prohibition guarding the other Battle Spirit Statues below, that explosive shockwave could have blown away all the unactivated statues!
Phoenix Spirit, observing the battle, remained unmoved amidst the billowing shockwaves, but her gaze worriedly turned towards the collision point of the two forces.
This was Ye Chen's first time battling a power of the Rotating Pill level. Though Ye Chen was confident, she still worried that he might be injured.
In Phoenix Spirit's gaze, amid the massive light of the explosion, both figures in the sky were not knocked away but instead, rose up again.
In this first exchange, Ye Chen indeed withstood the impact of the Battle Spirit!
The Battle Spirit, finding that one move hadn't been enough to suppress Ye Chen, underwent another transformation. Amidst the flickering of the Spiritual Patterns on its forehead, its stature soared again, reaching an imposing height of more than a hundred zhang, turning into an astounding giant!
At the same time, its body turned a greyish-brown color, which was the furious stimulation of the earth elemental laws. The Battle Spirit at this moment was nothing short of a powerful, surging mountain!
Seeing the Battle Spirit's body enlarge again, Ye Chen, who was in combat with it, revealed a trace of solemnity in his eyes.
The previous exchange, though not losing ground, had nevertheless given Ye Chen a sense of the Battle Spirit's terror; the power of the Rotating Pill level was indeed astonishing.
If it weren't for the fact that his newly cultivated Primordial True Liquid could rival Rotating Pill level True Qi, and he had the technique of the Nine Transformation Fighting Body's Fourth Transformation, he might well have been eliminated by the Battle Spirit on that crash!
And now, as the Battle Spirit's aura soared once more, it was clear that he couldn't counter with the same moves as before.
Realizing this, as the Battle Spirit changed its strategy, Ye Chen varied his tactics as well.
Almost instantly, the billowing black True Qi around Ye Chen transformed into a dazzling blue light, and at the same time, a gigantic Black Tortoise Physique phantom emerged outside his body.
Upon the emergence of the Black Tortoise Physique phantom, it enshrouded an area of several hundred zhang, and with a heavenward roar, Ye Chen's surrounding blue light immediately turned into myriad blue droplets, encircling his entire body.
Each blue droplet seemed to contain a tremendous force, and the myriad droplets radiated a power that stirred heaven and earth.
This was clearly the grand divine technique of the Black Tortoise power!