Chapter 144: Retrieving the Core (Congratulations to Elvin2016, Silver Grand Alliance Leader! )
Chapter 144: Retrieving the Core (Congratulations to Elvin2016, Silver Grand Alliance Leader! )
The Southern Barrens Cultivation World.
A desolate land, upon the gravel-like ground, not a single speck of green could be seen.
Within a hundred li radius, there were no traces of human life, nor any cultivator activity.
Fang Xi was currently using his Divine Consciousness to measure the land, burying array flags and other formation tools at regular intervals.
This was the monster-slaying ground he had specifically chosen.
Formations in the cultivation world, even without the support of spirit veins, could actually still be activated; they would just consume a large number of Spirit Stones.
But in Fang Xi's view, exchanging dozens, or even hundreds, of Spirit Stones for a single demon core was undoubtedly a very profitable trade.
His method was far too shocking and unorthodox; it was still best to prioritize secrecy, so wasting a few Spirit Stones was a small price to pay. . .
"Activate!"
After inserting enough Spirit Stones into the various array plates and formation eyes, Fang Xi struck a magic art into a forbidden token.
Rumble!
The next moment, streaks of green spiritual light emerged from the array flags, surging intensely and emitting dazzling electric light!
A large amount of electric light gathered, forming layers of dark clouds within a radius of several hundred meters, within which lightning flashed, and a vibrant sense of vitality permeated the air!
"This display is too grand. . . It would be best to set up a few more concealing formations nearby. . ."
As Fang Xi adjusted the array, his eye twitched uncontrollably.
He felt like he had been scammed by Ouyang Zhen.
This formation wasn't just a little incomplete; apart from the 'Death Gate', the rest of it was full of holes!
Even with repairs, it was like trying to extinguish a blazing cart with a cup of water!
"Once one steps out of the Death Gate, this formation basically can't trap a second-order demon beast. Even a Qi Refinement Perfected cultivator, as long as they have some knowledge of formations, might even be able to break out of the array. Its effective range is likely only within a hundred meters. . . Of course, this is assuming no one is controlling it."
Fang Xi, having studied the intricacies of the formation and being a formation master himself, could ensure that within the range of the Death Gate, a second-order demon beast would be unable to escape and would be forced to fully endure the grand array's power!
"Overall, others would have made a huge loss buying this, but for me, it's barely adequate for my needs. . ."
He felt a bit dejected. Given the characteristics of this formation, truly, only a fool would willingly enter the Death Gate.
...
Over the next three days, Fang Xi tirelessly set up several first-order formations outside the grand array to minimize the commotion and avoid attracting attention.
Then, he meditated and regulated his breath, restoring his magical power to its peak, and fully activated the grand array.
After completing all preparations, Fang Xi entered the Death Gate, and his figure abruptly vanished!
A moment later.
When he reappeared, a golden-furred demonic ape, three meters tall, had appeared beside him!
Vajra Ape King!
"Screech! Screech!"
This demon king had just transited and was truly bewildered, but soon let out a roar and continuously pounded its chest!
In the void, spiritual energy inexplicably gathered, forming a vortex!
It was advancing!
In fact, whether it was a demon beast or a cultivator, it was most suitable to advance on a spirit vein.
But Fang Xi wouldn't give it that condition; at most, he would bury some Spirit Stones to artificially create a slightly more spiritual energy-rich environment.
Even so, this demon king from the Da Liang world indeed had a profound accumulation and exceptional innate talent.
Once it transited and was no longer suppressed by the Da Liang world, it immediately began its advancement!
"Screech! Screech!"
The Vajra Ape King continuously pounded its chest as faint traces of blood seeped from its pores.
Its bones rapidly expanded, and its body suddenly grew taller. . .
In the blink of an eye, its size more than doubled, transforming into a gigantic demonic ape over six meters tall!
Not only that, this demonic ape's aura also surged dramatically. The golden fur on its chest gathered, vaguely forming a certain pattern, its fangs protruded from its face, its monkey eyes were blood-red, and as it looked at Fang Xi, its 'original master', it actually carried a hint of ferocity!
"Indeed, once a demon beast reaches the second order, my original Divine Consciousness imprint is somewhat insufficient to control it anymore. . . It wants to bite back at me, its master? Heh heh. . ."
After sensing that the Vajra Ape King's aura had indeed broken through to the second order, Fang Xi revealed a sinister smile, and fiercely chanted a spell, detonating the Divine Consciousness restriction: "Die!"
"Screech! Screech!"
The second-order ape cried out in agony, clutching its head, as blood streamed from its nostrils!
Not only that, all throughout its body, the methods Fang Xi had embedded erupted!
Although some of the methods were directly destroyed by the powerful demonic energy during its advancement, others remained, causing the demonic ape to scream incessantly, and its aura to weaken considerably.
Meanwhile, Fang Xi, who had already retreated a significant distance, produced a small green flag in his hand and waved it vigorously: "Wood Spirit Divine Lightning Array. . . Activate!"
Rumble!
In the sky, dark clouds gathered, and a massive streak of green lightning suddenly descended, striking the demonic ape directly!
"Screech! Screech!"
With just this one strike, the second-order demonic ape was severely wounded!
The Ape King shrieked, the pattern on its chest flashed brightly, and amidst a burst of earthy yellow light, it actually grabbed the dirt from the ground, transformed it into a massive boulder, and savagely hurled it towards Fang Xi!
Bang!
Fang Xi neither dodged nor evaded; the massive boulder was blocked in mid-air by a five-colored restrictive light wall.
Had it been in other parts of the grand array, perhaps the formation wouldn't have been able to block this attack, but within the Death Gate, all the restrictions were quite intact!
"Again!"
His expression was calm, as he continued to wave the array flag, causing the second and third bolts of lightning to descend. . .
A moment later, the grand array dispersed, leaving only the massive corpse of the demonic ape on the ground.
It's entire body's fur was charred black, yet it still maintained the posture of roaring towards the sky; if its life force hadn't already vanished, it would seem as if it were still alive!"The fur and bones of a second-order demonic ape. . . these are all good things. "
Fang Xi waved his hand, and tendrils, like tentacles, extended from his sleeve into the demonic ape's body.
A moment later, his expression brightened. He took out the Golden Flood Dragon Shears and cut a bloody hole in the demonic ape's abdomen.
A tendril extended inside, and not long after, pulled out a walnut-sized, earthy yellow crystal with specks of gold.
"Demon Core? !"
Fang Xi was overjoyed: "It wasn't in vain that I specifically chose this one with the most outstanding talent; it actually produced a core on the very first try!"
He sealed this demon core, which would make even Foundation Establishment cultivators envious, into a jade box, then placed a talisman on it, before finally turning his gaze to the demonic ape's corpse.
He pondered for a moment, then took out a Demonic Tree seed and planted it.
Crackling and popping sounds. . .
After a series of teeth-grinding sounds, the Vajra Ape King stood up once more, making a few stiff movements.
"Hmm. . . Although it lacks agility, its defensive and offensive power are both at the second-order level. . . It can barely be considered a quasi-second-order puppet!"
Joy appeared on Fang Xi's face: "With the aid of this quasi-second-order puppet, the risks ahead have been reduced by a few more points. . ."
...
One year later.
Within the Wood Spirit Divine Lightning Array.
Countless streaks of green lightning gathered, descending ferociously like a green flood dragon, striking the head of a second-order python with a horn on its head.
The python was entirely black, broken into two halves, struggling on the ground, before finally slowly losing its life essence.
Not long after, a gigantic golden ape with stiff movements walked into the formation, and, ignoring the gore, rummaged through the python's severed body.
"There's actually nothing? !"
Outside the formation, Fang Xi sighed.
At this moment, he looked much more weathered than a year ago; after all, he was already fifty-seven years old.
His Green Bamboo cultivation robe was also tattered, yet with every gesture, he carried an indescribable, mysterious aura of malevolence!
Recalling the madness of this period, even Fang Xi couldn't help but let out a long breath.
Over the past year, he continuously brought demon kings from Da Liang into the formation, waiting for them to break through to the second order, and then slaying them to retrieve their cores.
After many attempts, Fang Xi also discovered that not every demon beast that appeared exceptionally talented or had a powerful bloodline would necessarily produce a demon core.
For example, the python in the formation had also activated a trace of flood dragon bloodline, comparable to the previous snake-dragon, yet it still didn't yield a core.
Conversely, he once slaughtered a demon beast that was a white chunk of flesh like the Taisui, but with countless eyes growing on its surface, and its strength was very weak; a single Wood Spirit Divine Lightning strike killed it, yet from its belly, he retrieved a grayish-white inner core!
And throughout these numerous monster-slaying expeditions, there were times when Fang Xi also encountered mishaps.
For instance, there was once a second-order demon insect that awakened an extremely bizarre innate demonic art, which was a form of disguise and feigned death.
Even Fang Xi was deceived, and it only burst forth to harm him when he entered the formation!
At that time, it left a deep, bone-visible wound on Fang Xi's chest. If he hadn't been a Martial God, with a formidable physical body, he would probably have perished on the spot!
It was after that incident that Fang Xi became even more cautious, even entrusting the task of retrieving demon cores to his puppet.
"By now, all the renowned demon kings of Da Liang have been slaughtered by me; it's time to stop. . ."
Fang Xi touched his storage bag, and within it, were ten jade boxes filled with demon cores!
This was a fortune that would drive even the Black Heaven Sect mad!
He dared not entrust them to any alchemy master for refinement.
"I still have to put in the hard work myself. . ."
Fang Xi sighed mournfully, then went to collect the second-order python's corpse, and had the Vajra Ape and other puppets pull out the array flags of the Wood Spirit Divine Lightning Array one by one.
After the formation was completely dismantled, he once again thoroughly cleaned up all traces, and then left without hesitation, riding his artifact.
...
Tannan City.
This city was a renowned metropolis in the State of Yue, with flourishing commerce and countless taverns and pleasure houses.
Fang Xi plunged into it, transforming into a wealthy young master. He rested and recuperated for three full months, only then crawling out from his haven of soft delights and emerging outside the city.
Most cultivators seclude themselves from the mundane world, reportedly to prevent their Dao heart from being sullied.
After all, the mortal world is vast and boundless; love, hate, and grievances all have the potential to obstruct the path to Dao.
Fang Xi did not entirely agree with this viewpoint.
However, the infrequent presence of cultivators in the mortal world was precisely his opportunity.
Outside Tannan City, he found a place of beautiful mountains and clear waters, where he set up an illusion array on the outer layer to deter mortals, then opened a cave abode and set up the 'Wood Spirit Divine Lightning Array' for defense.
After completing all of this, Fang Xi then set up a 'Fire Control Formation' within the cave abode. After a period of adjustment, he nodded with reasonable satisfaction, and in the alchemy chamber, took out a jade slip containing the Foundation Establishment Pill formula and read it carefully.
He had already thoroughly studied this pill formula countless times, even buying another Foundation Establishment Pill formula in White Peace Immortal City for comparison, just to be safe, and had simulated pill refinement many times, convinced that there wouldn't be many issues.
Of course, some true difficulties could only be encountered during actual pill refinement and thus overcome one by one.
For many alchemists, there were simply not many chances for trial and error when refining a Foundation Establishment Pill.
But Fang Xi did!
Many thanks to the Big Boss, Silver Grand Alliance Leader, wuwuwu. . . I still owe the Big Boss 29 chapters, Wencao will not forget, wuwuwu. . .
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