Although the giant axe and halberd fiends had been burned to ashes, this was clearly insufficient to deter the others. Countless weapon fiends surged forward as though the very concept of life and death held no meaning in their minds. Evolved from the metallic spiritual energy of the Yuan Magnetic Gold Mountain, these fiends had never awakened any genuine spiritual awareness in the first place — they were fearless by nature.
Tens of thousands of weapon fiends continuously sprang from the chasm, their numbers swelling by the moment. Before long, they had sealed off every path of advance and retreat
His speed was already formidable, but it could not outpace the rate at which these fiends multiplied.
Gazing upon the countless weapon fiends filling his field of vision, Jiang Chen cursed inwardly in dismay. He hastily summoned all six fire lotuses to his side.
There was no way around it — he would have to fight a bitter battle.
But watching the weapon fiends surge toward him like an endless tide, even his scalp went numb. This was no contest between equals. It was a shameless, all-out gang beating.
One or two weapon fiends posed no real threat.
Even ten or eight were not particularly fearsome.
But when hundreds, thousands, or even tens of thousands of them gathered together, the killing aura they radiated was absolutely terrifying. That momentum — like an army of iron cavalry charging across the battlefield, condensing into a heaven-and-earth killing pressure — was something only Jiang Chen, shielded by his six fire lotuses, could barely endure.
Any ordinary martial artist would have been reduced to scattered bones and flesh by now.
"I can't keep fighting like this. There's no end to it. Besides endless consumption of energy, it accomplishes nothing. These weapon fiends are inexhaustible. If I let myself get drawn into their swarm tactics, I'm dead for certain."
Though Jiang Chen's life was not yet in immediate danger, anxiety gnawed at his heart.
Bang! Bang!
His nameless blade swept up a ferocious arc of sword energy, smashing several weapon fiends to pieces.
But such attacks were a mere drop in the bucket. For the seemingly infinite horde of weapon fiends, killing two or three was no more effective than scratching an itch — utterly insignificant.
"What do I do?" Jiang Chen's mind raced, desperately searching for a way out.
He had only reached the second trial of the tenth layer and had not even encountered the Gold Seal Lord the little golden cicada had spoken of, yet things were already this dire. If that Gold Seal Lord had awakened truly powerful strength, wouldn't one finger be enough to obliterate him?
The thought only deepened his urgency.
He could not afford to waste any more time. If he dallied much longer, he would be kicked out by the ten-day deadline before ever laying eyes on the Gold Seal Lord.
At that very moment, the Gold-Munching Mouse King's body streaked toward him like a bolt of lightning, shouting—
"Chen Shao, let my children and grandchildren out!"
That cry sparked an idea in Jiang Chen's mind. A flash of inspiration blazed through his thoughts, as though ideas that had been completely exhausted suddenly came swirling back like a flurry of snow.
Of course!
The weapon fiends were numerous, but could they possibly outnumber the Gold-Munching Mouse clan?
Once the entire Gold-Munching Mouse clan was released, their numbers would be counted in the billions.
And what the Gold-Munching Mouse clan loved most was gnawing on all manner of metallic substances — metallic spiritual entities were their absolute favorite delicacy!
Without a moment's hesitation, Jiang Chen began releasing the Wanhao Stone Nests one after another.
The Gold-Munching Mouse descendants had been cooped up inside the Wanhao Stone Nests for far too long. Now, pouring out in full force, their berserk energy was unimaginable.
If the chasm had previously been an ocean of weapon fiends, then within the span of a quarter hour, the situation had completely reversed.
The ocean of weapon fiends was gradually broken apart, partitioned, and devoured piece by piece.
In their place rose an ocean of Gold-Munching Mice. The entire chasm was filled with their silhouettes, layer upon layer, until the whole gorge was packed from end to end.
What followed was so effortless it was almost hard for Jiang Chen to believe.
He strolled across the chasm as casually as if he were taking a leisurely walk, retrieved his fire lotuses, and then watched with a carefree air as the Gold-Munching Mouse clan ruthlessly decimated the weapon fiends.
After roughly half an hour, the chasm lay perfectly flat — leveled entirely by the paws of the Gold-Munching Mice.
Not a single bone of the weapon fiends remained. Every last one had been devoured into the stomachs of the mouse clan.
Even so, the Gold-Munching Mice seemed somewhat unsatisfied, looking for all the world as though they intended to gnaw the entire Yuan Magnetic Gold Mountain clean.
Fortunately, the Gold-Munching Mouse King exercised strict control. With a single display of his dominating aura, every last mouse obediently returned to the Wanhao Stone Nests.
"How about that, Chen Shao?" The Gold-Munching Mouse King wore an eager, fawning expression, a wide, shameless grin plastered across his face as he stepped forward to claim his reward.
"Not bad, not bad. After devouring so many weapon fiends, your descendants are likely to see quite a few breakthroughs in strength. If fortune favors them, a few might even undergo a bloodline evolution — it's not impossible. That will depend on their individual luck."
At a time like this, Jiang Chen naturally had to offer a few words of praise. After all, compliments cost nothing.
The Gold-Munching Mouse King seemed to take great pleasure in Jiang Chen's praise, smugly twitching the six golden whiskers at the corners of his mouth, his face beaming with delight.
Jiang Chen's gaze turned resolute as he looked upward.
He had traversed two-thirds of the tenth layer's space now. Only the final stretch remained before he could reach the summit.
At this moment, Jiang Chen had long since forgotten that he had only come to participate in a potential assessment. His mind was consumed entirely by one goal — conquer the peak and refine the Yuan Magnetic Gold Mountain!
"Old Jin, let's go!"
Recalling the little golden cicada's earlier words, Jiang Chen recalled all the Gold-Munching Mice back into the Wanhao Stone Nests.