Divine Convenience Store-Chapter 539: Ancient Stone Ape
[Floor 4: The Stone Guardian’s Domain]
[Objective: Defeat the Ancient Stone Ape.]
Different from the first three floors, Lin Mo found himself on a rocky plateau, surrounded by a dense forest.
In the center stood the behemoth that Xiaoyu also faced.
The Ancient Stone Ape.
It was three times the height of a man, its body composed of living, moss-covered rock. Its eyes glowed with a dull, earthy yellow light. It radiated a pressure that was solidly in the mid Core Formation Stage, bordering on late.
"This feels like such a jump in difficulty. Is it because it’s a single boss fight?" Lin Mo mused.
He checked the details provided by the tower.
[Floor Guardian: Ancient Stone Ape]
[Threat Level: Late Core Formation Stage]
[Ability: Seismic Slam, Stone Skin, Earth Resonance]
Sure enough, it jumped a whole stage compared to the easier-to-dispatch Blood-Thorn Queen.
At this point, Lin Mo knew he was finally chasing the challenge. Most main characters in the novelkisss he read before, no matter how few, could jump ranks in fighting an opponent. Some could even jump two ranks and defeat their opponents with ease.
Those overpowered bastards were all the hype back then. Most likely, the trend had yet to change on Earth after his transmigration here in the Realm of Nine Heavens.
After all, they provide the satisfaction of seeing the underdog trample the elite.
"Well," Lin Mo muttered, tightening his grip on the [Starlit Dragon Spear] as the starlight qi within his dantian revved up like a high-performance engine. "I suppose I’m not any different now. A mere store owner with a cheat code against a rocky monkey in the form of the large list of store products made by the divine beings up in the Third Heaven. Let’s see if I can skip a grade too."
The Ancient Stone Ape didn’t wait for his monologue to finish. It roared, a sound like grinding tectonic plates, and slammed its massive fists into the ground.
The plateau shuddered violently. Jagged earth spikes erupted from the ground, racing towards Lin Mo like a subterranean shark fin.
"Mhm... It won’t even let me prepare myself, huh?"
Lin Mo calmed his head and once again spread his [Stellar Domain] open. Apart from slowing down those earth spikes, it fed him sensory data on the shift in the earth qi beneath his feet, a split second before the spikes burst through.
And with that information, he timed his move.
[Crimson Flow Phantom Steps].
His figure blurred, leaving behind a crimson afterimage that was instantly skewered by a three-meter stone spike.
Lin Mo reappeared in the air, using [Qi Solidification] to create a translucent platform under his boots. He kicked off to do a double jump before launching himself towards the Ape’s head.
He channeled his starlight qi into the spearhead, the silver light condensing into a drill.
[Starcoil Thrust]!
The ape roared, pounding its chest with a sound like boulders crashing together. And then, sensing his killing intent, it raised its arm to block his spear.
The spiraling starlight qi drilled into its arm but despite the grinding force of the thrust, the ape’s earth qi bound the rocks together, making it too sturdy to pierce.
Sparks of silver and yellow light flew as the spear tip screeched against the stone skin.
Lin Mo couldn’t help but frown as the feedback transmitted through the shaft told him everything. He could feel his arm go numb. The ape was so dense it felt like cheating.
It must be the Earth Resonance ability that’s reinforcing the stone constantly, repairing micro-fractures faster than he can create them.
"Tough bastard," Lin Mo muttered, using the recoil to flip backward, landing lightly a dozen meters away. "How did Xiaoyu take you down, I wonder?"
The Stone Ape didn’t give him time to strategize. It lunged, covering the distance with a terrifying speed for its size. It raised both fists high, gathering a dense, yellow aura around them.
[Seismic Slam]!
Lin Mo didn’t dodge this time. He couldn’t. The area of effect was too large.
The shockwave alone would disrupt his footing and leave him vulnerable. He had to meet it, or at least, redirect it.
He breathed in, his mind sinking into the profound calm of the [Everlasting Serenity Sutra].
The chaos of the impending impact faded into a manageable flow of vectors and energy densities.
He spun his spear, tracing a circle in the air.
[Flowing Star Combat Style: Stellar Vortex]!
A shimmering whirlpool of starlight materialized in front of him, rotating counterclockwise to the force of the ape’s descent.
The Stone Ape’s fists slammed into the vortex.
BOOM!
The ground beneath Lin Mo cracked and sank a foot deep with dust billowing outwards.
The impact was immense.
His arms trembled from pain and his meridians burned from channeling the massive influx of kinetic energy.
The [Stillwater Body] worked overtime, absorbing the excess shock, converting the pain into a warm buzz of stamina.
Luckily for him, the vortex held. It caught the raw, crushing force of the earth qi and spun it, forcing the ape’s momentum to the side.
The behemoth stumbled, its massive weight carrying it past Lin Mo. It crashed shoulder-first into the rocky ground, carving a deep furrow.
"An opening," Lin Mo’s eyes narrowed.
He didn’t waste the opportunity. Dismissing the vortex, he flowed seamlessly into an offensive stance.
His spear became blades of silver light.
Although he wanted to aim for a single killshot, he still lacked the strength to pierce through the ape’s body completely. And so, he unleashed a flurry of rapid, precise strikes.
Thrust. Thrust. Sweep. Thrust.
Clang! Clang! Crunch!
He targeted the joints – the elbows, the knees and the neck.
Each strike chipped away at the mossy stone, creating cracks in the armor.
He infused each blow with [Psionic-Tempered Starlight Qi], hoping the soul shock effect would disrupt the creature’s connection to the earth.
The Stone Ape roared in annoyance, sweeping its arm back blindly to swat the gnat buzzing around it.
Lin Mo ducked under the massive limb, the wind of its passage rustling his hair.
He rolled between the ape’s legs, coming up behind it.
He saw it.
A faint, pulsing yellow light at the base of its spine. A core? Or a nexus point for its Earth Resonance?
"Let’s find out."
He reached into his inventory for a talisman. Instead of throwing it, he slapped the [Windstrike Talisman] directly onto the glowing spot on the ape’s back, using a sliver of [Qi Solidification] to glue it in place.
Following that, he slid away before willing his spiritual energy to activate the talisman.
WHOOSH!
The talisman detonated point-blank. A concentrated blade of wind erupted, sawing into the stone.
It failed to penetrate deep but the explosion of force right on its energy nexus made the ape shriek. Its yellow aura flickered and sure enough, its Earth Resonance got momentarily disrupted.
The stone skin on its back cracked, revealing a glimpse of its thick hide and flesh.
"Gotcha."
The Stone Ape spun around angrily as it looked at him with genuine fury.
It slammed its foot down and the ground beneath Lin Mo erupted.
RUMBLE!
A pillar of stone shot up, aiming to impale him.
He dodged, but another pillar shot up where he landed. Then another.
The ape was manipulating the terrain, turning the entire plateau into a weapon.
Its resonance might be disrupted but it could still use its earth qi to manipulate the terrain.
Lin Mo danced through the erupting forest of stone, his [Crimson Flow Phantom Steps] leaving a trail of red afterimages that were smashed to dust seconds later.
"What a smart monkey. How I wish I could have Xiaoyu’s supernatural strength to smash this guy instead of stabbing and slashing." Lin Mo gritted his teeth.
The dust was obscuring his vision, and the constant tremors were making it hard to maintain his footing.
His [Stellar Domain] was pushing back the earth qi, but the sheer volume of it was taxing his reserves.
He needed to end this.
The ’chip damage’ strategy was too slow against a regenerating tank. He needed a heavy hit.
He glanced at his revolver. The [Stellar Flare] could probably do it, but he wanted to hone his spear arts here.
And so, instead of using it, he pulled out his ’transformation device’. The Decanus Set could give him that necessary boost.
He retrieved the silver cube from his inventory.
He pressed the cube and slapped it against his chest. As soon as that happened, it hummed with Aetheric resonance, before exploding into ten distinct components of silver light. The plates sought him out, magnetically snapping onto his limbs and torso with a series of heavy, satisfying mechanical clicks. The helmet descended last, sealing his vision momentarily before giving him a more streamlined view of the dusty battlefield.
"I can never get used to this. But it’s cool. Good thing I don’t need to do some kind of unique pose before shouting a trigger word." He wryly smiled before gripping his spear once again.
As his vision focused on the stone ape, he switched his stance to charge straight through that bulky form.
