Chapter 240: One Sword (Seeking Subscriptions)
Chapter 240: One Sword (Seeking Subscriptions)
'This woman. . . I find myself unable to see through her. . . '
Fang Xi meticulously recalled her tone, her manner of speech, even her figure. . .
Though aided by the Nine-Nethers Profound Wood Grand Array, he could only perceive a hazy illusion of her, and everything she displayed was likely a disguise, her true self revealing not even a hint.
But then, a flash of inspiration, like a sudden whim, struck him.
"Could it be. . . Situ Qing Qing?"
"This woman acted as if she was very familiar with the State of Mu, and Situ Qing Qing is indeed in the State of Mu!"
"The Situ Clan has always coveted Myriad Islands Lake, and it seems they also made discoveries in the Purple Mystical Mountain mystic realm. Perhaps they even have knowledge of the ancient ruins on Emerald Cliff. . ."
"Taking advantage of the current chaos and mixture of good and bad elements in Myriad Islands Lake, it's easy for her to slip in. . . But to think she wants to drag me, a formation master, along to explore secrets, hehe. . ."
"Never mind. . ."
Fang Xi stepped out of his cultivation chamber and saw Ouyang Zhen and Yuan Feihong off.
After the large number of Foundation Establishment cultivators departed, only Ruan Xing Ling and Liu San Qi remained.
"Seniors," Fang Xi said to the two, "outside Dragon Fish Island is likely quite dangerous now. Perhaps you should both stay on Dragon Fish Island for a while before deciding."
As the manager of this exchange fair, he could only maintain order on Dragon Fish Island; outside of it, he truly was powerless.
"Hmm, I also just happened to acquire a bottle of pills highly beneficial for cultivation, and I intend to enter seclusion for a period."
Liu San Qi said, obligingly.
"I also wish to enter seclusion to refine a spirit artifact. " Ruan Xing Ling smiled faintly, then departed with Liu San Qi, one after the other.
The formerly bustling exchange hall suddenly became much quieter.
Fang Xi remained expressionless, seated in the main chair, his eyes slightly unfocused, as if his soul had drifted beyond the heavens.
After a long while, a voice finally broke the silence: "Why haven't you made your move yet?"
In the shadows, something inexplicable seemed to writhe.
Suddenly.
A streak of black light shot out, astonishingly swift, sweeping past Fang Xi's figure with lightning speed.
Within that black light was a tiny, obsidian needle, but just as it was about to touch Fang Xi, it was enveloped by a silver restriction and vanished instantly without a trace.
"You can actually see through this Old Ancestor's escape art? !"
A voice, tinged with surprise, emerged from the shadows, then coalesced into a human figure that stepped forth.
This person, clad in jade robes with a clear, ringing voice, was precisely the jade-robed old demon who had previously sold the Flying Yaksha!
His eyes erupted with a bloody gleam, staring at Fang Xi with wavering suspicion: "Just now. . . how did you evade this old man's 'Black Blood Needle'?"
This needle was formed during his demonic cultivation, refined from the grievances and blood-qi of countless slain cultivators, mixed with baleful venom from the earth, and condensed through immense effort. It specialized in piercing cultivators' protective spiritual shields, and also carried a strange poison, adept at defiling the physical body.
Even late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators would avoid it as if their lives depended on it.
Yet, he hadn't expected the attack to be utterly ineffective.
'I've even prepared contingency plans for a Core Formation Old Ancestor's assault, so what good are you, a mere Perfected Foundation Establishment cultivator? '
Indeed, this old demon's previous late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivation was merely a disguise; his true realm had already reached the Perfected Foundation Establishment stage!
Fang Xi sneered inwardly, then suddenly waved his hand.
The next instant, heaven and earth instantly transformed.
The sky grew dim, and dense black mist enveloped the surroundings in layers.
"Spatial displacement? A third-order array?"
The jade-robed old demon shrieked, "You Chong has led me astray! ! !"
"Too much nonsense!"
A verdant light bloomed in Fang Xi's hand, and a three-foot-long sword, entirely jade-green with specks of golden streaks, emerged and settled into his grip.
Within him, his Dantian and Qi Sea roared. Dozens of drops of liquid spiritual power instantly transformed into a vast azure river, surging entirely into the 'Green Reaping Sword'.
Inside this sword, the 'Immortal Slaying Treasure Markings' flashed wildly, and streaks of Immortal Slaying Sword Qi caused the surrounding void to tremble incessantly.
"Late-stage Foundation Establishment? ! A third-order spirit artifact? !"
The jade-robed old demon let out a shriek, beads of blood erupting all over his body as he frantically fled from Fang Xi.
As he fled, a small black banner also appeared. The banner was entirely black, and faintly, the roar of ten thousand souls could be heard from it. At its top, several skull heads were stacked in a triangular shape.
This was a demonic artifact — the Thousand Fiend Banner!
When this demonic artifact was first refined, it was only a low-grade spirit artifact. However, as it continuously devoured souls, its power would steadily rise, even reaching the peak-grade spirit artifact level without issue.
The jade-robed old demon's 'Thousand Fiend Banner' was clearly one that had feasted on human souls; its demonic aura was as black as ink, unleashing a streak of black profound light dozens of yards long that tightly enveloped the old demon.
However, the next moment. . .
As Fang Xi wielded his sword and slashed, a heaven-piercing azure sword light suddenly flashed, illuminating the entire space.
Pfft!
The dozens of yards of profound light shattered instantly. The Thousand Fiend Banner let out a mournful wail and was cleaved in two by a single sword strike!
Dazzling Immortal Slaying Sword Qi flared, piercing through several layers of demonic art defenses in the jade-robed old demon's horrified eyes, cleaving the old demon in two with a single strike!
Pfft!
Two severed corpses fell to the ground, but Fang Xi did not stop. Instead, he frowned and withdrew the Green Reaping Sword.
'Though this sword's power is indeed extraordinary, it truly consumes too much spiritual power. . . '
He reached back, retrieved a black array plate from his storage ring, and cast a spell formula upon it.
"Nine Nethers rise, Profound Wood emerge. . ."
The endless black mist churned around him, as if driven by an unseen force, sweeping across the entire space in waves.
In a remote corner, black light suddenly flared, revealing an old man with a very large head but sparse hair, and skin so pale it seemed he hadn't seen sunlight in a long time.
At this moment, the old man clutched a severed arm, staring at Fang Xi with a face full of despair.
"This is your true form, isn't it? Let me see. . ."
Fang Xi gazed at the man's appearance, swiftly comparing it to the information he had reviewed in his memory, and drew a conclusion: "The old demon Ling from the State of Wu? ! A Perfected Foundation Establishment devil, able to survive one of my sword strikes without dying—indeed, not bad!"
"A third-order array, truly a third-order array? !"
Old Demon Ling surveyed the surrounding black qi and the void, his heart filled with bitterness.
If it were merely a second-order array, after he had used his secret art of self-disintegration to substitute for the tribulation, sacrificing an arm to escape certain death, he would surely have been able to flee using his escape techniques.
Alas. . . this third-order array was completely different. It possessed the power to seal the void, making it impossible for him to escape this space, no matter how he ran, thereby revealing his true form during Fang Xi's thorough search.
"A third-order array and a third-order spirit artifact. . . Damn it, they're even stronger than the Song Clan Ancestor!"
"How could such a figure exist in the State of Yue?"
Old Demon Ling cursed his fellow sect members and that You Chong eight hundred times in his mind.
If he had known there was a third-order grand array on Dragon Fish Island, he would have been insane to come assassinate Fang Xi, delivering himself to his death!
"You cried out that You Chong misled you earlier. Was You Chong instigating you from behind, or were you intentionally framing him?"
Fang Xi, enveloped by a layer of 'Wood Divine Light Shield', calmly looked at Old Demon Ling.
"Guess? !"
Old Demon Ling revealed a mocking expression, then his face turned incredibly solemn: "Dragon Fish Island Master. . . this old man admits defeat. I beg you, spare me. I swear I will tell you everything, and offer all my accumulated wealth to the Island Master. . . I will keep silent about today's events, and even. . . become your servant or slave!"
"All this. . . I can take myself."
Fang Xi, however, felt a bit listless.
After all, he had prepared for the assault of a Core Formation Old Ancestor, only for a mere Perfected Foundation Establishment cultivator to show up.
Nevertheless, even a Perfected Foundation Establishment cultivator should not be underestimated.
He was only at the late-stage Foundation Establishment himself, but fortunately, with the enhancement of a third-order array, he stood on invincible ground.
"Go!"
Fang Xi flicked his fingers like startling thunder, and streaks of Wood Divine Light flew out, transforming into nineteen 'Wood Divine Swords' that spread in all directions, completely surrounding Old Demon Ling.
"Wood Divine Thunder Sword Array, activate!"
Against Li Ru Jian, Fang Xi could afford to be a bit presumptuous, deploying only twelve flying swords. But facing an old Foundation Establishment demon who was but a step away from Core Formation, he considered it a full-strength effort.
Boom!
A thick streak of azure lightning descended, met by a demonic light that Old Demon Ling sent flying forth to resist it.
However, this demonic light appeared to struggle greatly, as divine thunder, by its very nature, tends to suppress demonic arts.
'This person. . . even if his cultivation is only late-stage Foundation Establishment, this sword array can suppress a Perfected cultivator. . . '
Old Demon Ling dared not be negligent. A blood-red talisman treasure appeared in his hand, and he frantically poured spiritual power into it.
Before long, a black-red long saber was gripped in his hand, and he roared with a fierce voice: "Dragon Fish Island Master, do you truly wish for a fight to the death? !"
"The fish will die, but the net will not break," Fang Xi retorted with a sneer.
Even a Core Formation Old Ancestor, trapped within a third-order array, would find themselves in an extremely perilous situation.
A talisman treasure only possesses two or three tenths of a Core Formation artifact's power, so what good is it?
"Ahhh!"
Old Demon Ling watched as streaks of divine thunder descended, his demonic light defense teetering. He couldn't help but bite the tip of his tongue, spraying a large amount of vital blood onto the black-red long saber.
This talisman treasure seemed to be a remnant left behind by a demonic Core Formation cultivator. After devouring Old Demon Ling's vital blood, its black-red light surged, easily tearing through the lightning.
If the black-red long saber in his hand previously only possessed two or three tenths of a spirit artifact's power, it now wielded at least three or four tenths!
"Oh? That saber looks decent. I'll take it!"
Fang Xi's eyes lit up as he watched Old Demon Ling display great might, shattering the Wood Divine Swords one by one.
But as long as his spiritual power was inexhaustible, he could conjure as much Wood Divine Light as he pleased, without the slightest hint of regret.
This Old Demon Ling's spiritual power and divine abilities were astounding, making him the perfect test subject for Fang Xi to experiment with his own sword array.
'With Old Demon Ling's 'assistance,' I can test my various concepts one by one. . . '
'Perhaps. . . the rank of the Wood Divine Thunder Array can be elevated to high-grade second-order! '
Fang Xi's eyes glimmered. He continuously flicked his fingers, sending out streaks of Wood Divine Light that transformed into azure flying swords, quickly filling the gaps.
Old Demon Ling gazed at this scene, his eyes filling with despair.
Unable to defeat him, unable to escape. . .
Indeed, even his desire to harm Fang Xi was powerless.
Fang Xi seemed to be right before him, yet in reality, due to the protective 'Forbidden Grand Array', countless layers of space separated them.
Unless he first destroyed the 'Nine-Nethers Profound Wood Grand Array', no matter what methods he employed, he would be unable to harm Fang Xi in the slightest!
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