The one who had arrived was Xiang Shaoyun's clone. With the Nether Dragon Soul Headband around his head, he wore an unassuming martial outfit that couldn't hide his heroic looks. He looked like a child of god, and he emanated boundless majesty, his august bearing capable of gripping the hearts of countless maidens.

"So strong, this big guy is too strong. It's hard to stop him. We better retreat for now," said Money.

He was sending numerous lightning bolts out as he clashed with the strong-ape repeatedly, but the ape was extraordinarily strong. The ape waved his arm around, smashing apart one lightning bolt after another while still attacking Money. His attack sent Money flying away. Fortunately, Money had an incredibly resilient body that was as tough as a mid-stage Sovereign. Thus, a late-stage Sovereign couldn't easily harm him.

"Withdraw," Xiang Shaoyun repeated.

Money knew Xiang Shaoyun had many tricks up his sleeve, so he streaked toward the three birds and retreated with them and said, "Boss, this big fellow is guarding some treasures. If you can defeat him, all the treasures will be ours."

"Don't worry. It's not my match," said Xiang Shaoyun confidently.

With his hands clasped behind his back, he stepped forth. His step was ethereal, akin to a child of god setting out on a long journey. When the strong-ape sensed Xiang Shaoyun's presence, he looked over. His sinister eyes were capable of causing one to shiver in fear, and he roared at Xiang Shaoyun, "A puny human dares to strut around in this Sovereign's territory? I'll tear you apart!"

Two terrifying beams shot out of the ape's eyes toward Xiang Shaoyun with unstoppable momentum, akin to two sharp blades. Instantly, the beams reached Xiang Shaoyun and pierced through him. However, they had only struck his afterimage before proceeding to hit the mountain behind him. With a world-shaking explosion, the mountain was leveled.

Still using the ethereal footwork, Xiang Shaoyun continued striding toward the strong-ape. The strong-ape saw the derision in Xiang Shaoyun's eyes and was instantly angered. In a fury, the strong-ape slammed the ground with his arms.

Numerous boulders were sent flying toward Xiang Shaoyun, and a massive gravity field covered the area, preventing flight in its active area. In fact, even standing would prove hard for some.

The gravity field was incredibly powerful and instantly caused Money and the three birds to drop from the sky. If it wasn't for the fact that they had fled quite far away, they would have probably remained stuck to the ground after falling.

Xiang Shaoyun felt as though several mountains were weighing down on his shoulders that were not exactly wide, causing his movements to turn somewhat sluggish. It was then that the boulders reached him.

His lips curled into a smile as his earth star stirred. A reverse gravity field burst out, and he lashed both his palms forward, smashing all the boulders into pieces.

Major Slab Palm!

Numerous massive slabs appeared and hovered in the air, crashing into the incoming boulders before crashing toward the strong-ape.

"Piss off!" The strong-ape lived up to his reputation as someone with boundless might. With each punch, a slab was destroyed.

At this point, Xiang Shaoyun arrived beside him. A total of 108 palm attacks were sent out in succession. With the profundity of earth, boundless earth energy converged around him, giving him an endless supply of energy. His palm attacks were enhanced, and the 108 palms were akin to 108 mountains that forcefully smashed the strong-ape into the ground.

"Roar! Roar!"

The strong-ape roared and erupted with all his strength. His body enlarged as he used his body transformation technique, which could trigger his hidden potential and unleash an even stronger combat prowess.

Using his technique, the strong-ape obtained the combat strength of a sixth-stage Demon Sovereign. With his unparalleled might, he could challenge even a seventh-stage Sovereign in a fight. Each punch of his now seemed capable of tearing the sky apart. He rained down punches at Xiang Shaoyun, smashing through Xiang Shaoyun's attacks with an overbearing power that made it hard for Xiang Shaoyun to harm him.

"That big guy is really scary. Looks like I need to reach the Sovereign Realm as soon as possible," said Money with a sigh.

"When we're at his level, we can easily tear him apart," said Vicious Three with a sinister glint in his eyes.

"That's right. He has been cultivating for over 1,000 years. How many years have we cultivated?" said Vicious Two.

"Give us 100 years, and we will be able to kill him!" said Vicious One.

"Our boss has been cultivating for less than 10 years, and he is already strong enough to deal with the ape. We can't keep holding the boss down," said Money.

Back on the battlefield, the fight between Xiang Shaoyun and the strong-ape was intensifying. About a dozen nearby mountains had already been leveled, and all demonic beasts in the area had fled far away.

Xiang Shaoyun's clone had the combat strength of a sixth-stage Sovereign, and combined with his ability to punch above his weight, he did not fear even eighth-stage Sovereigns.

With the profundity of earth, he summoned a boundless earth power which he used to face the strong-ape's punches.

The strong-ape had an astonishingly powerful fist technique that was powered by dreadful vicious earth energy. His combat prowess was dreadful, and if measured in terms of pure strength, Xiang Shaoyun would be somewhat weaker. If it wasn't for the higher realm of his soul, he wouldn't be able to match the strong-ape with only a single star.

"I cultivate nine powers, and I know the profundity of each power I cultivate. I can unleash the maximum potential of each power even with only a single star. Borrowing the unending energy of nature, I can fight the strongest among my peers." Xiang Shaoyun's confidence grew as the battle went on. His profundity of earth spread everywhere, forming numerous terrifying meteors in the sky. They rained down unendingly with a might nobody could hope to block.

The meteors pounded the strong-ape. He looked incredibly pitiful, his blood spraying everywhere. However, the ape still remained unyielding. He sent his eye beams out again and spat out a clump of terrifying vicious earth energy from his mouth, forcing Xiang Shaoyun to repeatedly dodge the barrage of attacks.

After some time, the strong-ape's transformation finally reached its limit, and his aura dropped. On the other hand, Xiang Shaoyun was still filled with strength. It was now obvious which of the two was stronger.

If Xiang Shaoyun had used his other powers as well, the strong-ape would have suffered a much earlier defeat. He was merely using the battle to get used to fighting using his soul clone.

Upon exhaustion, the strong-ape no longer wanted to fight. He turned and started fleeing toward his cave.