Song Shuhang’s life-bound magical treasure, which was mainly composed of Eighth Stage materials, wasn’t restricted inside this ‘illusory reality’.

This gave Song Shuhang great confidence.

In fact, even without the Combined Magical Treasure, Song Shuhang with his three cores and his physique would still be terrifying.

Song Shuhang had already practiced the (Holy Ape Dragon Power Technique) to the level of having 21 Holy Apes. Under normal circumstances, even Fifth Stage beast cultivators in the Beast Realm would only have 10 Holy Apes at most. A physique that allowed 21 Holy Apes was already approaching the Sixth Stage.

Moreover, Song Shuhang didn’t only have those 21 Holy Apes, he also had the 21 Scholarly Scriptures and the variant (Steel Hands Technique).

After the three body-tempering techniques were united, the result was truly scary.

In front of him, the big bald ape had a complicated expression on its face.

The bald ape said, “Benefactor, are you certain that you want to face the 17 protectors all at once? My strength is the lowest among the protectors…”

It felt that the young benefactor before its eyes was a tad too full of himself.

The bald ape continued, “Furthermore, if you were to face the remaining protectors all at once, they can form a battle formation, one that a practitioner at the Fifth Stage Realm will definitely not be able to handle. Benefactor, please think about this carefully.”

Song Shuhang blurted out, “The 18 Bronzemen Formation?”

Having heard the number 18 together with Buddhism and battle formation, he immediately remembered the famous 18 Bronzemen Formation which he had once read about in a light novel.

“The 18 Bronzemen Formation?” The ape looked puzzled, but it simply kindly continued to explain to Song Shuhang, “What we can do is a combined attack of the Stars Temple, and it doesn’t have a name. The greater the number of people performing the combined attack, the greater the attack’s power.”

“I understand.” Song Shuhang nodded.

“Then, I ask that Benefactor head to the next stage of the challenge.” The bald ape smiled kindly.

Song Shuhang shook his head firmly, and said, “It’s fine. You can all come at me at once.”

The bald ape looked at Song Shuhang, sighed lightly, and shook his head.

It was as if it could already see Song Shuhang being surrounded and beaten up by the 17 protectors while spilling blood all over the place.

I hope that this young benefactor won’t end up having too big of a trauma.

At this time, that voice prompted, (The challenge’s content has been changed. 1 versus 17 mode activated.]

In the next moment, the figure of the bald ape disappeared.

The scenery around Song Shuhang began to change once again.

It changed from the prairie to an attic and a plaza.

From the attic, 17 deep voices sounded out. “Benefactor, please guide us!” Afterward, 17 Fifth Stage Realm figures jumped out from the attic.

There was an orangutan, a big monkey, a baboon…

Similar to the bald ape from before, the tops of the heads of all of these figures were bald.

When the 17 figures descended from the air, they were already in their battle formation.

Song Shuhang asked, “By the way, I have a question to ask. After I pass the challenge, are there any rewards?”

I was pulled into this space for no rhyme or reason, and the tests aren’t easy. As such, will there be a reward?

The 17 figures landed opposite Song Shuhang. The gorilla among them nodded, and said, “According to the rules of the Stars Temple, every disciple and person who passes the challenge will get a corresponding reward.” There is really a reward? I was just asking for the sake of it! If there is a reward, then I’ll definitely get it. If the reward is good, I could go back and bring Sixteen, Soft Feather, and the seniors of the Nine Provinces Number One Group over to have them go through this challenge as well.

The gorilla added, “The reward given depends on the time that the challenger takes to pass the challenge.”

The big monkey said, “The more levels that you’re able to pass, the greater the reward will be. Therefore, if Benefactor wants to challenge us 17 protectors all at once, we don’t mind, because even if Benefactor fails, Benefactor will still acquire the consolation prize from having passed the first level.”

The baboon showed a bashful smile, and said, “Anyway, the shorter it takes Benefactor to pass the trial, the better the reward. As such, if Benefactor wishes to, we can chat with you a little. We can talk about anything, be it astronomy, geography, anything.”

“…” Song Shuhang.

No wonder these bald apes were all willing to chat with me.

Song Shuhang said, “If that’s the case, then I’ll deal with all of you at once.”

“Does Benefactor not want to chat a bit more? We are all quite knowledgeable. In fact, the reward is merely an item, is it really more valuable than chatting with us?” The gorilla revealed a kind smile.

Song Shuhang laughed, and said, “There’s no hurry. If you really want to chat, I can get some fellow daoists to chat with you all.”

As long as the reward wasn’t bad, he could get everyone from the Nine Provinces Number One Group to chat with them a bit.

The gorilla said, “That’s a pity, it’s rare for us to be able to come out like this. I was planning on chatting a bit more. However, this is also fine.”

As soon as its voice fell, the 17 figures suddenly attacked Song Shuhang. Starlight covered their entire bodies, and everyone’s starlight resonated with each other, forming a combined attack.

Afterward, a demon-subduing vajra formed from starlight slammed fiercely towards Song Shuhang.

The power of this vajra had already reached the Sixth Stage.

In fact, this combined attack of the 17 protectors needed some time to prepare… Them chatting with Song Shuhang wasn’t merely a way to stall for time for the reward.

They were preparing to deal with Song Shuhang with a single attack.

Song Shuhang stretched his hands forward. “The walls of the four kings!”

The Golden Lion King’s Wall, the White Tiger King’s Wall, the Ice Shark King’s Wall, and the Thunder Falcon King’s Wall of the Thirty-Three Divine Beasts’ Combined Magical Treasure appeared in front of Song Shuhang.

The four walls combined into one and landed in front of Song Shuhang, providing cover.

“Boom!”

The demon-subduing vajra struck the four kings’ walls, causing a deafening ringing of explosions.

The four walls only shook slightly, not sustaining even the slightest damage.

Song Shuhang said, “I’ve wanted to use these for a long time now. I finally got the chance to use them today.” In fact, he could also add the Immortal Fairy Monster Cat’s Divine Gate to this combo, which would definitely make it look a lot cooler. However, he was worried that if he also summoned the divine gate, the four walls and the gate would descend behind him, shutting him out.

And so, he only summoned the four walls this time.

Besides… summoning the Tyrant King Expert’s Shield would have been the best move in terms of setting up a defense, but it was not cool enough.

“What is this?” The gorilla’s eyes widened.

They felt a terrifying pressure coming from these four wall-shaped magical treasures. This kind of thing wasn’t something that a Fifth Stage practitioner could possess.

“All at once.” Behind the walls, Song Shuhang waved his hand gently.

The Dolphin’s Giant Sound Cannon, the Great Deer’s Bow, the Nine-Tailed Heavenly Fox’s Crossbow, the Mangling Wolftooth Arrow, the Colorful Stone Marten’s Pagoda, and the Tyrant Wild Boar’s Ram all appeared one after the other.

At this time, these Eighth Stage magical treasures were in a sealed state, possessing power only at the Fifth Stage Realm.

The Tyrant Wild Boar’s Ram suddenly began to rush forward.

The giant cannon, divine bow, and crossbow opened fire.

The colorful pagoda burst out with rays of lights…

It was simply bullying.

After the bombardment of the Combined Magical Treasure ended, most of the 17 protectors had fallen.

“…Are these all life-bound magical treasures?” The gorilla didn’t dare to believe what it was seeing. With its strength at the peak of the Fifth Stage with nine dragon patterns, it forcibly resisted the charge of the Tyrant Wild Boar’s Ram.

When it touched the ram, it could sense the uniqueness of the magical treasure.

“How can a person have so many life-bound magical treasures? Unless…” It thought of a possibility.

…Unless these magical treasures were ‘parts’ of a larger and more terrifying combined magical treasure.

Song Shuhang said, “You’ve guessed right.”

At this time, the Divine Lobster’s Chariot appeared below him.

All 33 magical treasures were summoned. They then instantly combined into their first formThe Impregnable Holy City!

The huge holy city had a powerful visual impact.

The gorilla smiled bitterly, and said, “Such a magical treasure is simply cheating.” Song Shuhang said, “Yeah. When I look at it, I also feel as if I was still in a dream.”

Whenever he recalled the past, he felt incredible that he was able to create a complete set of the Thirty-Three Divine Beasts’ Combined Magical Treasure!

“Boom!!!”

The Tyrant Wild Boar’s Ram launched another charge.

The war drums, the zither, and the horn all sounded.

The Divine Lobster’s Chariot followed closely behind.

At the backmost, the terrifying Impregnable Holy City followed to launch its own offensive.

The gorilla gave up on resisting.

Such a terrifying and huge thing was simply impossible to block. There was no point in running, either. This map was the lattic and plaza’, and it was only so big. There were limited places where they could evade.

Moreover, they were the protectors, targets that belonged to the challenge.

In the end, the gorilla and the remaining apes were crushed by the Impregnable Holy City.

On this day… the 17 great apes of the Stars Temple lost entirely.

I hope that these 17 great apes won’t end up having a trauma.

The 17 protectors disappeared.

(Challenge end.] The voice sounded.

“Then, the reward can be distributed,” Song Shuhang said.

(Challenge Performance: Excellent. Challenge Level: Fifth Stage.]

Excellent was already the highest grade that this system could award. In fact, with Song Shuhang’s performance, if there was a higher score, he would have definitely gotten it, a grade that was at least three times higher than ‘Excellent’.

[Rewards: Stars Kasaya, a Fifth Stage defensive vestment that has great memorial significance.]

“…” Song Shuhang. Can I change the reward? A Fifth Stage defensive vestment is indeed really good, but the problem is that I’ve no need for such a thing!

Song Shuhang asked, “Can I change the reward?”

However, he did not receive a reply for a good while.

Moreover, the Fifth Stage defensive vestment hadn’t been sent out.

Song Shuhang’s heart thumped, and he thought of the worst-case scenario. The Stars Temple had already fallen into ruin. Everything inside it was taken away, including the statues.

Since that was so, could the ‘reward’ be gone as well?

Actually, it wasn’t that complicated. Song Shuhang could think of the answer to his question even with his toes. With the temple empty, how could there be any rewards left?

[The current number of reward items is zero, reward change commencing.]

(Searching for new reward items.]

(Located new reward item: kidney stone of a senior monk. Issuing the reward.]