Chapter Eleven: Diamond Fist

“Stone Skin Technique is about taming earth-elemental substances, making them form a stone armor to protect your body,” Lu Ze explained. “If you master Stone Skin Technique deeply, it’s said you can condense armor so hard that neither blade nor spear can pierce it. But we can’t conjure earth-elemental materials out of thin air; we need raw materials first before we can create the stone armor.”

Lu Ze grabbed a handful of dirt from the ground and used Stone Skin Technique. The soil obediently flowed over her arm, forming a shell of earth. “This is red soil—not the best material, not easy to control—but sand is different.” She bent down to pick up some sand, and again used Stone Skin Technique. The sand transformed into a dense shell, covering her body.

“Sand is harder than dirt, so the resulting stone armor is tougher. But I never use these two in my regular practice. Instead, I use stone shards I’ve been nurturing with my demon power for years.”

Lu Ze let the earth and sand armor fall from her arms and used Stone Skin Technique once more. This time, shards of stone grew directly from her body, covering her entire form until she resembled an armadillo.

“Can I punch you?” Xu Wenshan suddenly asked Lu Ze.

Lu Ze hesitated. “If you’re really angry, go ahead.” She thought Xu Wenshan was still upset about the matter with the demon cultivators.

Looking at the tiny figure before him, Xu Wenshan’s heart softened. “I’m not angry. I just want to test the strength of your Stone Skin Technique.”

Once he explained, Lu Ze understood and even kindly reminded him to be careful, lest he hurt himself. She was very confident in her armor.

Xu Wenshan gathered his demon power, pushing his muscles to their utmost. Demon energy surged around him, giving him a menacing aura.

His physical abilities now exceeded human limits—this was the power of a demon, enough to rival a Qi Refining cultivator.

With a loud crack, his formidable punch landed squarely on Lu Ze’s stone armor—but it didn’t budge an inch.

Xu Wenshan withdrew his demon energy; the aura faded. He glanced at his fist—his knuckles were flushed red, aching a little.

Even after becoming a demon cultivator at the Body Tempering stage, his physical strength couldn’t match solid stone.

Lu Ze said, “These stones are the hardest I’ve found in two hundred years of cultivation. They’re nearly impossible to break. I suggest you find some earth-elemental materials that suit you, nurture them within your body for decades—then you too can forge armor that nothing can pierce.”

Xu Wenshan smiled. The human body could never be as hard as stone, and the notion of “invulnerable” was a myth.

He noticed that Lu Ze’s stone armor was granite. Granite is extremely hard, rated about 7 on the Mohs scale—harder than steel.

But that didn’t mean it was truly invincible. When faced with something harder, it would shatter.

According to Lu Ze, the principle of Stone Skin Technique was to absorb nearby earth-elemental materials and cover one’s body, thus reinforcing it.

But then a question arose: What exactly are earth-elemental substances?

The ancients divided the world into five basic elements: gold, wood, water, fire, and earth, believing that all things were composed of these.

However, Xu Wenshan knew there were at least 118 elements on the periodic table. Back in middle school, he’d memorized them: hydrogen, helium, lithium, beryllium, boron, carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, fluorine, neon…

And then there are compounds—together they make up the endlessly varied world.

The sand Lu Ze had grabbed earlier was mostly silicon and silicon compounds, while the soil had a different composition—iron, aluminum, calcium, even some organic matter and moisture.

The two were fundamentally different substances, yet in the world of earth-elemental demons, they were all considered earth.

Xu Wenshan concluded that earth-elemental demons didn’t truly control “earth” or “stone,” but a multitude of inorganic compounds, such as silicon and its compounds. Red soil, with its high aluminum content, was harder to control—perhaps because aluminum oxide isn’t considered an earth-elemental substance.

So, what exactly counts as an earth-elemental material? It required ongoing exploration.

What Xu Wenshan cared most about was whether “carbon” and its compounds counted as earth-elemental.

Carbon is a lively element, forming all organic matter—wood, the human body, all contain carbon. If carbon or certain carbon compounds were considered earth-elemental, it would be a game-changer for Xu Wenshan.

If he could use Stone Skin Technique to condense materials of especially high hardness, the effect would far surpass sand or rock.

He and Lu Ze spent two days searching the mountains, amassing a considerable haul.

He found a variety of minerals: tin ore, brass, chalcopyrite, malachite, some diorite, hematite, and most importantly, some diamonds.

He experimented and discovered that tin and copper ores couldn’t be controlled, but silicon-rich rocks could be manipulated fluidly.

The crucial question remained—could he control diamond?

Xu Wenshan picked up a diamond, cautiously probing with Stone Skin Technique. Soon, the diamond responded.

Lu Ze watched, eyes wide in disbelief. She’d never seen anything like this.

Diamond is a crystal formed from four carbon atoms—each a giant molecule, making it very difficult to restructure with Stone Skin Technique.

Its atomic structure forms a regular tetrahedron, stable and hard, nearly impossible to dissociate. For this reason, Lu Ze had never considered it an earth-elemental material.

But apparently, it was; it just had an extraordinarily stubborn chemical nature.

The diamond dissociated, breaking into countless fine particles. The impurities within began to separate and fall away, leaving behind pure, transparent diamond.

Diamond, though extremely hard, is brittle. If used directly to cover his fists for attack, it would most likely shatter in his own hand. So he gathered the diamonds together, forming four sharp, conical protrusions, and added a layer of softer sand beneath them as shock absorption. He’d never studied structural engineering, so this was the best he could do.

Thus, a faceted, light-refracting armored fist appeared.

Xu Wenshan raised his fist. “With this, I can break through your defense.”

Lu Ze eyed his glittering fist with curiosity, but doubted it could really breach her armor.

Stone Skin Technique was a basic spell for Body Tempering, but she herself was a demon at the Yin Refining stage—a match for Foundation Establishment cultivators.

A difference of one major realm was enough to shatter any illusion.

Moreover, Stone Skin Technique was her most practiced art; she knew all its strengths and weaknesses. While it could cover one’s fists to enhance attack power, that was not its true strength.

Its strength lay in defense, not offense.

Besides, Xu Wenshan’s sparkling armor didn’t look formidable; in fact, it seemed fragile.

She estimated that the moment his fist struck her armor, it would shatter.

She worried a little for Xu Wenshan’s pride and hesitated.

Xu Wenshan tilted his head. “What’s wrong? Are you scared?”

Lu Ze pouted—a sign of her displeasure.

She tilted her head in reply. “Then come on.”

As soon as the words left her lips, Xu Wenshan moved.

Demon energy surged within him. He swung his dazzling fist, striking Lu Ze.

It was a beautiful fist, but not just showy technique.

The moment the angular diamond armor met the granite shell, it cut through like a plow. The granite’s defense relied on its hard surface, but diamond easily broke through, and with the force behind the punch, the armor shattered.

Diamond is indeed brittle, but since Xu Wenshan could reconstruct it, he wasn’t afraid to waste it.

Lu Ze’s expression changed dramatically—she hadn’t expected such power. She could feel her defense breached; had her body taken the full blow, she might have been seriously hurt.

But Xu Wenshan stopped at the last moment, leaving only a deep, shocking crack in the stone armor.

The result was unmistakable: Lu Ze’s prized armor had been completely breached.

“What is this?” Lu Ze asked in astonishment.

Xu Wenshan himself was surprised by the power of his punch. Looking at his sparkling fist, a wave of childish pride surged within him. “This is… Diamond Stardust Fist!”