Chapter 261: Core Formation Attack (Seeking Monthly Tickets)
Chapter 261: Core Formation Attack (Seeking Monthly Tickets)
"Core Formation. . ."
Hearing this, Ruan Xing Ling could only offer a wry smile: "I don't have much confidence. . ."
Previously, there were rumors of a Core Formation opportunity within the Emerald Island ruins.
However, no cultivator has explicitly obtained it to this day.
For the Three Kingdoms cultivation world, while there's the Foundation Establishment Pill to help one reach Foundation Establishment, Core Formation opportunities are truly elusive, with no established precedents.
After all, this place is merely a corner of the South Barrens Cultivation World, and the South Barrens Cultivation World itself might just be a backwater of the entire cultivation world.
"If Xing Ling trusts me, you might be able to delay it for a while. . ."
Fang Xi spoke.
Though. . . the hope was quite slim.
An effect of less than half a success rate was indeed too low for the chasm that was Core Formation. . .
‘What a pity. . . the Shard World cannot transfer items, otherwise, whether it's me or Xing Ling attempting Core Formation, we'd have more confidence. . . ’
Fang Xi sighed inwardly.
"You. . ."
Ruan Xing Ling raised her head, her gaze like brilliant stars, then shook her head: "Why are you doing so much for Xing Ling?"
"After all, we are still friends."
Fang Xi smiled faintly, stretching out his hand to catch a falling peach blossom petal.
Peach blossoms danced through the air, falling like raindrops. . .
...
One month later.
Evergreen Pavilion.
"The Black Heaven Sect finally didn't go back on its word. Otherwise, once I could leave Dragon Fish Island, I would surely wipe out their entire sect. . ."
Fang Xi held a jade slip, within which were complex and profound hand seals and incantations.
After a moment of thought, his figure flickered and vanished.
Beneath the Demonic Tree.
Fang Xi took out the 'Thousand Mechanisms Box', pondered for a moment, then clapped his hands.
The withered-faced Song Qing puppet stepped forward, holding the Thousand Mechanisms Box, and walked to a distant spot.
"Opening it with a puppet inside a third-order array. . . even if there's a trap, what can it do to me?"
Fang Xi muttered to himself, his hands forming incantation seals.
The distant Song Qing, with a blank expression, performed the same actions.
Buzz!
A layer of spiritual power fluctuations emerged from his body, continuously flowing into the golden lock of the Thousand Mechanisms Box before him.
Click!
Click!
On the golden lock of the Thousand Mechanisms Box, streaks of restrictive light flickered incessantly, suddenly beginning to circulate.
The Song Qing puppet remained expressionless, continuously performing incantation gestures according to the jade slip's records, finally muttering incantations as streams of light flew into the golden lock.
Snap!
The first restriction was undone, and the Thousand Mechanisms Box trembled, but no other abnormality appeared.
"It seems. . . I was overthinking things."
Beneath the Demonic Tree, Fang Xi leaned against its trunk, continuously forming incantation seals.
Snap!
Snap, snap!
One by one, the restrictions shattered, and finally, with a click, the golden lock opened and fell to the ground.
The Song Qing puppet expressionlessly opened the 'Thousand Mechanisms Box', revealing a jade bottle containing a small amount of liquid.
In form, it was indeed identical to the 'Profound Water Liquid' Fang Xi had seen at the auction previously.
"What a pity, it's not 'Profound Water Quintessence', otherwise I would have used it myself. . . No, if it were 'Profound Water Quintessence', the Black Heaven Sect would have used it long ago. . ."
Fang Xi sighed, picked up the jade bottle, and went to Ruan Xing Ling's cave abode.
Last time, he had asked her to stay for a while precisely to give her the 'Profound Water Liquid'.
In any case, for his 'Wood Spirit Body', condensing a Golden Core was not difficult; even if he failed a few times, he would always succeed in the end.
Several hours later, watching Ruan Xing Ling's escaping light depart, Fang Xi remained silent for a long time, then suddenly chuckled to himself, returning to Evergreen Pavilion to continue seeking pleasure. . .
...
Late at night.
Fang Xi walked out of his fragrant chambers alone and ascended to the top of Evergreen Pavilion.
Gulp, gulp!
A bottle of Peach Blossom Brew was opened, and he drank heartily.
"Black Heaven Sect, Green Wood Sect. . . Ethereal Valley Sect. . ."
Fang Xi gazed southward, his expression utterly solemn, even bearing an unprecedented trace of gravity!
Before You Chong was beheaded, Fang Xi had refined him into a wooden puppet, and with the secret arts from the Withered Glory Chant, he managed to obtain a large amount of the man's memories and intelligence.
Given You Chong's status, he was definitely a high-ranking member of the Ethereal Valley Sect, privy to many secrets.
What Fang Xi cared about most was undoubtedly the full story behind this war.
"The Ethereal Valley Sect has always maintained neutrality, its lineage unbroken. . . Why did it suddenly enter the fray personally?"
"Because the Yuan Kingdom has changed!"
The Yuan Kingdom was located south of the Three Kingdoms, its territory immensely vast, with Nascent Soul sects overseeing it.
The Ethereal Valley Sect was originally founded by a Nascent Soul disciple of the Hunyuan Sect in the Yuan Kingdom, but as that Nascent Soul True Monarch passed away, their relationship gradually weakened. By now, it was hard to say how much of that old connection remained.
However, things took a turn about ten years ago!
A Core Formation Elder of the Hunyuan Sect, whose foundation was damaged in a great war between the Hunyuan Sect and another major sect, found his cultivation stagnated. Disheartened, he decided to return to his homeland to retire.
Surprisingly, this person's homeland was actually in the Three Kingdoms cultivation world!
After all, if Fang Xi himself had no confidence in forming a Core, he would also take advantage of his youth, venturing out after Foundation Establishment to temper himself.
Although, the path from the Three Kingdoms cultivation world to the Yuan Kingdom cultivation world was truly quite perilous for Foundation Establishment cultivators; even Core Formation cultivators might take several years to traverse it.
Upon hearing this, the Ethereal Valley Sect was naturally overjoyed and carefully arranged matters, guaranteeing to secure at least a territory the size of a kingdom for that Core Formation Elder, where he could establish a sect or family.
It just so happened that True Monarch Baifeng had passed away, and White Peace Immortal City was in turmoil.
The Ethereal Valley Sect immediately made arrangements, instigating tensions between the Black Heaven Sect and the Green Wood Sect.
As for which sect made the first move, it naturally didn't matter.
In any case, the Ethereal Valley Sect would secretly aid the weaker side to maintain a certain balance, preferably letting the two great sects bleed each other dry on the battlefield.
When both sides had expended too much strength, the Ethereal Valley Sect would naturally enter the fray itself.
With the strength of the You family's Grand Elder, combined with that 'Yan Laozu' from the Hunyuan Sect, who was rumored to be at the mid-stage Core Formation realm, the Core Formation cultivators of the Black Heaven Sect and Green Wood Sect were simply no match.
‘According to You Chong's memories, this plan was originally quite good. . . ’
‘But during its execution, there were still slight deviations. . . The most regrettable thing was the failure to keep Zhang Laozu or Qing Laozu in White Peace Immortal City. . . In fact, when Yan Laozu launched a sneak attack with his sword, he could have almost instantly killed Zhang Laozu on the spot, but alas. . . ’
‘After all, Core Formation cultivators, when determined to flee for their lives, are also patriarchs who have accumulated resources, and who knows how many life-saving trump cards they've secretly prepared. . . ’
‘But in a two-on-two situation, it was inevitable that the two Golden Cores of Black Heaven and Green Wood would be severely injured. . . According to the intelligence obtained by the Ethereal Valley Sect, they would need at least several decades to recover. . . The injuries were far more severe than rumored. ’
‘Unexpectedly, the situation has become this difficult. ’
Originally, Fang Xi had thought those two Golden Cores, by joining forces, could resist the Ethereal Valley Sect's invasion!
He hadn't expected that Zhang Laozu was now barely clinging to life. No wonder he'd resort to such desperate measures, even giving away 'Profound Water Liquid' as a last resort.
"This matter. . . is a bit unfavorable!"
With the two enemy Core Formation Old Ancestors unchecked, Fang Xi felt that even though Myriad Islands Lake was in the rear, it was still somewhat dangerous.
Perhaps a large army of cultivators would find it difficult to break through the border blockade, but with the divine abilities of Core Formation Old Ancestors, it would be quite easy for them to stealthily infiltrate the rear of the Yue Kingdom—as long as they weren't intercepted by Zhang Laozu and his forces.
And now, Zhang Laozu's condition seemed off; he might not even dare to leave the Black Heaven Sect's sect-protecting grand array!
"Should I run?"
"No. . . I've managed Dragon Fish Island for many years; I won't give it up just for a possible attack from a Core Formation Old Ancestor. . ."
"Furthermore. . . I also want to test the power of the 'Nine-Nethers Profound Wood Grand Array'."
This array, with the Demonic Tree as its core, was different from other third-order arrays!
Not only did it have lower requirements for spirit veins, but the array's power would continuously increase as the Demonic Tree grew!
By now, Fang Xi had cultivated the tree for nearly a century!
The full power of the 'Nine-Nethers Profound Wood Grand Array' had yet to be fully unleashed!
"First, I'll rely on the grand array to resist. . . If it becomes irreparable in the end, I'll just escape with my golden finger. . ."
Fang Xi was quite open-minded about this.
With the 'All-Heavens Precious Mirror' in hand, his life-saving ability was top-notch; he wasn't afraid at all.
In fact, he felt that even the 'Golden Light Earth-Traversing Boots' on his feet could guarantee his survival.
This pair of single-use spirit artifacts had not been used since they were refined.
By now, Fang Xi was a quasi-third-order talisman master, capable of crafting 'Golden Light Earth-Traversing Talismans'.
"I must first resolve this trouble. . . otherwise, I won't be able to peacefully attempt Core Formation."
After finishing his last sip of wine, Fang Xi went to his secluded cultivation chamber, sat cross-legged, and introspected.
Within him, the three hundred sixty-five drops of liquid spiritual power from the 'Withered Glory Chant' were gradually transforming under the influence of the 'Wood Spirit Body', becoming incredibly viscous.
"Hmm?"
While performing his daily meditation and recovering his spiritual power, Fang Xi sensed something amiss again.
As his liquid spiritual power grew increasingly viscous, with each breath he took, the Demonic Tree tattoo on his back became even more vibrant.
Traces of black mist gradually appeared around him, making the space around him seem dreamlike and illusory.
"This is. . . a domain? A barrier?"
Fang Xi's expression was somewhat strange: "After achieving Foundation Establishment Perfected. . . I seem to be able to wield some of the Demonic Tree's power, forming a domain or array space similar to a demonic realm myself?"
"In Zhan Tu's 'Core Formation Insights', it was also mentioned that Core Formation cultivators possess peculiar characteristics around them, with highly concentrated spiritual energy vaguely forming a kind of field, known as a 'Core Formation Dharma Domain'. . . It has a miraculous effect on suppressing lower-stage cultivators!"
"Am I. . . pre-emptively possessing a nascent form of this ability? Is it thanks to the Demonic Tree? Or the 'Wood Spirit Body'? Or only through the combined effort of both?"
...
One month later.
Outside Dragon Fish Island.
With a flash of firelight, the figure of a young man in purple robes emerged.
This person was exceptionally handsome, yet his entire body was enveloped in terrifyingly powerful fire spiritual energy, vaguely on the verge of forming something.
"Is this the island?"
He gazed at Dragon Fish Island, shrouded in black mist, purple light flashing in his eyes: "Heh. . . even shallow waters can indeed produce flood dragons. It's actually a third-order array; no wonder Chong'er perished here."
"Now that Zhang Laozu is severely injured and unable to leave, I can seize this opportune moment to first eliminate this Dragon Fish Island Master and reduce variables!"
Killing intent flashed across You Kun's face. With a flicker, he appeared atop Dragon Fish Island. With a wave of his hand, nine fire dragons formed from concentrated heaven and earth spiritual energy coiled around his body, exuding terrifying Core Formation level might!
"Dragon Fish Island Master, come forth and face death!"
His words were like rolling thunder, crushing down upon Dragon Fish Island, causing many meditating cultivators to drastically change their expressions and spit out mouthfuls of essence blood, while mortals trembled in unease.
"Core Formation attack? !"
Fang Xi's expression was extremely solemn. Transforming into a streak of light, he didn't greet Yuan Feihong and the others but immediately arrived at the edge of the array, seeing the Core Formation True Person surrounded by nine fire dragons: "You family's Old Ancestor?"
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