Chapter 857: Beginning of War (Monthly Ticket Request at Month's End)
Chapter 857: Beginning of War (Monthly Ticket Request at Month's End)
The Demon Race's grand encampment.
Within a cave-heaven.
Tiny, fragmented white bones paved the ground, faintly revealing a finger bone or two from either humans or demons, forming a small path of bones.
At the end of this bone path stood a massive bronze palace.
Within the palace, grotesque demon god statues were scattered throughout, and at its very center, a cluster of eerie flames burned with a verdant light.
Roar!
Suddenly, the eerie flames surged, and crisscrossing lines of fire delineated a sandbox map.
At the map's center, astonishingly, was the outline of Tian Yuan City!
A sinister voice drifted over.
Two points of green light emerged from the darkness, followed by a short, squat old man in a black robe.
His eyes seemed no larger than green beans, his figure was stooped, his face shriveled and gaunt, and he sported a goatee, making him resemble a giant rat.
"We are all Seven Great Sages. . . Lu Xing's death is truly a disgrace to us. It's said that the human who killed him has officially become one of the Human Race Five Sons, with the Daoist title 'Qing Hezi'. . ."
From within the darkness, a golden light appeared, followed by the sight of a set of golden chainmail.
A hairy "person" walked out, declaring, "Brother Wei. . . when the great battle begins, you can leave that Qing Hezi to me."
"Tongbei, if you're willing to make a move, that would naturally be excellent."
Brother Wei chuckled, "Thinking back to those days, when we Seven Great Sages gathered, how unrestrained and exhilarating it was? Alas, after that gathering, Senior Sister Hunyuan was the first to attempt to break through to the True Spirit realm, but she failed to pass the Immortal Lightning Tribulation. . . After that came the chaotic war of the four races. . . Lu Xing was the first to fall, and that 'Qing Hezi' is not quite right; Tongbei, you must be careful."
"Great Sage Tongbei is known as the foremost in battle, how could he possibly fail to defeat a mere mid-stage Integration human cultivator?"
As a fragrant breeze wafted through, a captivating woman with one shoulder bared entered the grand hall, her nine tails swaying wildly behind her.
In her jade-like hand, adorned with vermillion-painted nails, she held a red jade-mouthed dry tobacco pipe, a type commonly used by human old farmers. From time to time, she would take a puff, exhaling a cloud of smoke.
This smoke, however, was not pale white, but rather faintly pink, dreamlike and illusory, transforming into tiny foxes that scurried about.
"Nine-Tails. . . you don't need to provoke me with words. One can never be too careful when dealing with the human who killed Great Sage Lu Xing. . . I will naturally go all out, and I will also bring that item."
Great Sage Tongbei chuckled mischievously.
"Since that's the case, this concubine can rest at ease."
The Nine-Tails Great Sage elegantly sat down, crossing her pale white legs. "The human Mahayana cultivators will naturally be handled by the various seniors. . . Currently, four of the Human Race Five Sons have gathered in Tian Yuan City. Qing Hezi will be dealt with by Great Sage Tongbei, and this concubine would like to meet with that sister, Mo Yunzi. . ."
"As for Jin Gangzi, this old man's Profound Earth Cave Art should be able to hold him back somewhat, so he won't disturb your refined interests. . ."
The short, squat Brother Wei chuckled, "There's still Five Elements Child left; he'll be given to the 'Profound Scale Great Sage' of the Five Elements Lin Clan. Those two are old rivals."
Within the hall, two more figures appeared, seemingly out of nowhere.
One of them, clad in multicolored armor, nodded in silence. "How can Five Elements Child's Five Elements Cultivation Art compare to my Five Elements Lin Clan's innate Five Elements Divine Ability?"
"And then there's Brother Ao. He can freely kill those human Integration stage cultivators and be responsible for mobile support. . . primarily targeting formation masters."
Brother Wei said to the other figure with dragon horns.
"Agreed!"
Brother Ao assented lightly. "However, the human race's mastery of the hundred arts of immortal cultivation is profound, far surpassing our own. . . That Tian Yuan City's protective grand formation is indeed quite troublesome."
"Hehe. . . this concubine has already taken over the task of refining the 'Myriad Spirit Blood Pearls' from Lu Xing's subordinates. They should have some effect."
The Nine-Tails Great Sage said, blowing out smoke.
"Humans are cunning. Although Myriad Spirit Blood Pearls are a sharp tool for breaking formations, they might not necessarily work."
Brother Wei stroked his goatee, a green glint flashing in his eyes as he reminded.
"This concubine has naturally considered that, and should give them some surprises."
The Nine-Tails Great Sage replied indifferently.
"That's excellent then. . . As for the Demon Race's army, the main force this time consists of the Horned Dragons and the Five Elements Lin Clan. We still need to communicate with a few Integration stage cultivators from the Heavenly Phoenix Clan. . ."
Brother Wei gazed at the sandbox map, casually tapping open one small flag after another, revealing more detailed information. "As for the Ancient War Beasts, how are the preparations?"
"Nineteen have already been tamed, and all have been fed 'Nirvana-Burning Pills'. . ."
The 'Profound Scale Great Sage' of the Five Elements Lin Clan replied in a booming, muffled voice. "Once they enter the battlefield, they can immediately burn their last shred of potential. . . Their strength will definitely surge by nearly fifty percent."
"Excellent. . . As for the 'Heavenly Demon Guards' and 'Flying Ox Army'. . ."
Brother Wei continued for a few more sentences before finally saying, "As for the alien races, we still need to communicate with them. For this, we'll still have to trouble you, Nine-Tails. . ."
"This concubine truly has a toiling fate."
The Nine-Tails Great Sage frowned, not opposing, but merely saying, "Those alien races hide too deeply. The Jiuchi Race is ambitious and not weak in strength. . . Even if we win, we still need to carefully consider how we will 'seek the tiger's hide' later on. . . The main force of the Alien Alliance isn't here this time, so I hope no unexpected variables appear. . ."
"Alas. . . the rise and fall of our race, we Great Sages bear the responsibility."
Brother Wei sighed faintly, "If we exterminate both the human and demon races, how many rare resource points can our Demon Race occupy? At that time, there will be many more seventh-tier existences. . . Perhaps even you and I can hope to reach the True Spirit realm or even ascend!"
"The True Spirit realm, ah. . ."
The five Great Sages of the Demon Race fell into a moment of silence and longing. . .
...
Tian Yuan City.
Inside Huo Cangzi's cave-dwelling.
"Rise!"
A massive tripod cauldron with two ears and three legs opened, and flames coiled around Huo Cangzi's body, while ten thousand rays of crimson light shimmered.
He formed hand seals with both hands, and a cyan rod-shaped object flew out from the cauldron.
Upon this cyan rod, there were also complex and profound patterns.
"This Immortal Abode Spiritual Root has finally been refined. . ."
Fang Xi, holding a formation flag, couldn't help but sigh when he witnessed this scene from nearby.
What he had previously given to Huo Cangzi was naturally a section of the 'Ginseng Fruit Tree' trunk.
This Immortal Abode Spiritual Root was originally the greatest benefit within an overseas immortal abode, obtained by the Fangxian Dao Lord, and later, after many turns, fell into Fang Xi's hands.
According to Fang Xi's thoughts, it should be inextricably linked to that grand immortal abode formation.
Moreover, its material itself was astonishing, making it the best material for refining a flagstaff!
Of course, to protect the spiritual root, Fang Xi did not take its main trunk, but instead chose a thick branch.
Even so, the Ginseng Fruit Tree appeared quite withered and dispirited after its branch was broken off.
Fortunately, for Fang Xi, replenishing the vital energy of a spiritual plant was a minor matter.
After the materials were gathered, he resided in Huo Cangzi's cave-dwelling, assisting him in refining the 'Netherworld Banner', and personally witnessed Huo Cangzi's miraculous artifact refining skills.
One had to admit, there truly was specialization in every field.
Drip!
A pitch-black jade bottle appeared in Huo Cangzi's hand. He poured out a drop and flicked his finger.
A single drop of 'Heavenly Passage Liquid' from the jade bottle fell onto the flagstaff and was instantly absorbed.
Fang Xi had witnessed this scene many times before.
Huo Cangzi did not choose to apply the Heavenly Passage Liquid after the artifact was completely refined; instead, he chose to add this spiritual liquid at different stages of the refining process, forcibly elevating the quality of various precious materials by half a step.
"The flagstaff is complete, where is the banner?"
Huo Cangzi struck numerous hand seals onto the flagstaff and let out a loud shout.
Seeing this, Fang Xi immediately took out the Netherworld Banner's flag surface, which had been previously refined.
The main material for this banner was refined from the hide of 'Great Sage Lu Xing'. The Six-Tusk Heavenly Sandalwood Elephant was immensely large; its hide, after being tanned, was vast enough to cover the sky and earth. It was only after various restrictions were imprinted upon it that it was condensed into a normal-sized, profound black banner.
Upon the banner, Fang Xi personally carved a large number of formation runes, refining into it the 'Nine Serene Sand River Grand Array', a formation he and Ji Feixue had discussed numerous times, finally discarding the dross, extracting the essence, and creating something new!
Buzz!
The banner swelled against the wind, mutually attracted to the cyan flagstaff, and merged into one.
Witnessing this, Fang Xi immediately bit the tip of his tongue, formed a strange hand seal with both hands, and spat out a mouthful of vital blood.
This vital blood, mixed with the last few drops of Heavenly Passage Liquid, landed on the Netherworld Banner and was easily absorbed by its surface.
Buzz!
A black light flashed upon the Netherworld Banner, and then all its various auras and spiritual pressures swiftly stabilized.
"It's done. . ."
Huo Cangzi smiled faintly, sending out a hand seal.
A layer of ink-black liquid enveloped the Netherworld Banner, forming a black sphere. "Fellow Daoist's magical treasure is largely complete. Now, you only need to immerse it in this 'Myriad Ages Liquid' for a period of time, nurturing it day and night with your magic power, and it will become as easy to control as an arm guiding a finger. . ."
"This 'Netherworld Banner' is a treasure of the formation dao. It can form a formation on its own, or serve as the core eye of a grand formation. . . Its rank is as high as 'quasi-eighth tier'. If, in the future, Fellow Daoist advances to the Mahayana realm and nurtures it with your magic power, its formal promotion to the eighth tier will be a natural progression."
Huo Cangzi caressed the black sphere containing the Netherworld Banner, then reluctantly handed it to Fang Xi. "This old man specifically added a layer of restriction according to Fellow Daoist's request. . . As long as a large amount of Immortal Jade is consumed, temporarily boosting this treasure's power to the eighth-tier level will be no problem at all. And because the materials are so excellent, this action will not cause any damage to the treasure itself."
"Many thanks!"
Fang Xi put away the black sphere, feeling extremely satisfied.
'The Netherworld Banner has reached quasi-eighth tier; at all costs, it can unleash eighth-tier power. . . '
'And on Ji Feixue's side, the formation tools acquired from various Return to Void sects and the Starry Sky Sect have all been deployed. . . '
'In this way, if the 'Netherworld Banner' is used as the main formation eye, the power of this immortal formation might recover by nearly half? '
This was truly terrifying.
After all, it was a ninth-tier immortal formation, capable of greatly affecting even Mahayana cultivators!
'Quasi-ninth tier immortal formation? Or a true ninth-tier immortal formation? One must know that there are differences even among immortal formations. . . '
As for the formation's power, Fang Xi was quite confident.
After all, he had restored many of the immortal formations' original deployment tools, and with the addition of the Netherworld Banner, and even sparing no expense in consuming Immortal Jade. . .
The power of this immortal formation was enough to give the Demon Race and the alien races a grand surprise.
Fang Xi was about to say something more when a piercing chime suddenly resounded throughout the cave-dwelling!
Huo Cangzi's expression changed. "The Demon Race has begun to attack the city!"
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