Chapter 207 Breaking the Formation
On the other side.
Broken Dragon Gorge, with its sheer cliffs on both sides, was so deep that no light reached its bottom. The turbulent currents crashed against jagged rocks, producing a thunderous roar.
Xiao Chen, dressed in white, stood with his hands behind his back at the edge of the gorge, his gaze indifferent as he looked into the water. Ji Lingxiu stood beside him, her black hair fluttering in the wind, her eyes filled with eagerness.
"Senior Brother, is that bald donkey really in here?"
She lightly caressed the hilt of her sword, her tone laced with disdain.
Xiao Chen gave a slight nod:
"The aura is correct."
Before his words faded, the water surface suddenly exploded with a splash!
A monk in a gray cassock emerged from the water, landing steadily on a large rock by the gorge.
He had a grim face and held a string of pitch-black Buddhist beads in his hand—it was Miao Qing!
"Amitabha—"
Miao Qing clasped his hands together, but a flash of ruthlessness passed through his eyes.
"Two benefactors, for trespassing on my Buddhist sanctuary, you must pay the price."
Ji Lingxiu sneered:
"A Buddhist sanctuary? This gloomy, ghostly place?"
Xiao Chen couldn't be bothered with nonsense and stepped forward directly. His sword was still in its scabbard, but faint lightning already circulated around him. The air seemed to be compressed by an invisible force, emitting subtle cracking sounds.
Monk Miao Qing strode out on the waves, his gray robe billowing, and the pitch-black Buddhist beads in his hand emanated a chilling blood light.
He gave a sinister smile:
"Such a strong killing intent, benefactor. Why not lay down your butcher's knife—"
"Annoying."
Xiao Chen interrupted coldly, his right hand pressing on the hilt—
Then—
The sword flashed out like a startled swan goose, a blinding ray of lightning bursting from the scabbard, tearing apart the dim sky in an instant! Miao Qing's pupils contracted sharply. He hastily raised the Buddhist beads to block his chest, the blood light surging to form a barrier.
"Boom!"
The thunder sword struck down, and the blood light barrier shattered in response! Miao Qing was sent flying back over ten zhang, a trace of dark red escaping from the corner of his mouth. Three of his Buddhist beads had shattered.
"The might of Heavenly Tribulation?!"
He exclaimed in horror.
Xiao Chen gave him no chance to speak, lightly turning his sword tip. Nine bolts of lightning crashed down from the clouds, weaving into a ferocious thunder dragon in mid-air, which swooped down with bared fangs and claws! Miao Qing roared as he formed hand seals, and eighteen blood-colored skull phantoms appeared around him, only to be shattered one after another by the thunder dragon's impact.
"Pfft—"
He sprayed a mist of blood as he flew backward, his gray robe charred and tattered. A large patch of blackness appeared on his chest, and the air was filled with the smell of roasted meat.
Xiao Chen stepped through the air, the lightning around him spinning wildly, forming a vortex that converged at his sword tip.
"Nine Heavens Thunder Move—Divine Firmament."
A snow-bright sword light, like a white rainbow piercing the sun, instantly penetrated Miao Qing's chest!
Miao Qing didn't even have time to react. He looked down at the hole in his chest, his face full of disbelief:
"You…"
Xiao Chen sheathed his sword.
"Thud!"
Miao Qing's body collapsed to the ground, his blood flowing into the gorge through the cracks in the rocks, quickly dispersed by the rushing current.
Ji Lingxiu pouted:
"Senior Brother, you were too fast. I didn't even get to draw my sword."
Xiao Chen glanced at her:
"There's still the array core underwater. That should be enough for you, Junior Sister, to stretch your muscles."
Ji Lingxiu's eyes lit up:
"Then what are we waiting for?"
She leaped, swooping into the gorge like a green swallow. Xiao Chen shook his head and followed her into the water.
—
The bottom of the gorge was even darker than imagined, with turbulent currents and hidden reefs everywhere. But under the protection of their spiritual light, these were not problems for the two.
Soon, they discovered a massive black stone tablet at the very bottom of the gorge, its surface covered in blood-colored runes, emitting a nauseatingly sinister aura.
"Since Senior Brother has already killed that bald donkey,"
Ji Lingxiu lightly caressed the hilt of her sword, her eyes burning with fighting spirit,
"why not let your Junior Sister contribute as well?"
Xiao Chen took a step back and made a
"Please"
gesture.
Ji Lingxiu smiled sweetly, her long sword leaving its scabbard—
"Four Symbols Sword Formation—Rise!"
With a flick of her wrist, her long sword divided in mid-air, instantly transforming into four sword lights: the Azure Dragon, White Tiger, Vermilion Bird, and Black Tortoise, each guarding a direction! The phantoms of the Four Symbols looked up to the sky and roared, their terrifying sword energy stirring the entire body of water into a boil!
"Annihilate!"
The Four Symbols' sword lights struck down simultaneously. The stone tablet couldn't even hold on for a single breath before shattering into pieces in the brilliant sword light! The blood-colored runes let out mournful shrieks, as if countless resentful souls were being purified, before finally being completely annihilated.
The water returned to its clarity, and even the perennial gloom shrouding Broken Dragon Gorge seemed to dissipate somewhat.
Ji Lingxiu sheathed her sword and winked proudly at Xiao Chen:
"How was that?"
Xiao Chen showed a hint of a smile:
"Acceptable."
At the same time—
The bottom of the Black Water Pool was as dark as ink.
Jiang Che formed the Water Avoidance Seal, a layer of faint golden spiritual light surrounding him, keeping the viscous pool water at bay. Han Yu followed behind him, holding a green jade array plate in his hand, vigilantly scanning their surroundings.
"The array core should be just ahead."
Han Yu transmitted his voice,
"Be careful, there's something strange about this pool water."
Jiang Che nodded, his gaze fixed ahead—in the center of the pool's bottom, a massive black stone tablet stood in the silt. Its surface was covered in blood-colored runes, emitting a suffocatingly cold aura. The water flow around the stone tablet was unusually slow, as if frozen by some power. Even the waterweed was twisted into bizarre shapes, not daring to approach.
"As expected, it's the array core of the Nine Nether Spirit Guiding Array."
Jiang Che sneered,
"Senior Brother, step back."
Han Yu raised an eyebrow:
"You're going to handle it alone?"
"The Great Day Burning Heaven Technique is supremely yang and firm, perfectly suited to suppress this sinister object."
A fervent fighting spirit ignited in Jiang Che's eyes,
"Let me test my hand."
Han Yu said no more, retreating a few steps. The array plate in his hand lit up with a faint glow, ready to provide support at any moment.
Jiang Che took a deep breath, formed seals with his hands, and the spiritual power within him boiled like a volcano. The golden light around him surged, actually reflecting a virtual scorching sun at the bottom of the Black Water Pool!
"Great Day Burning Heaven—Flame Dragon's Break!"
He fiercely pushed his palms forward, and a golden fire dragon roared out from his palms, carrying a heat that could incinerate all things, heading straight for the black stone tablet!
Wherever the fire dragon passed, the pool water instantly vaporized, forming a vacuum channel. The twisted waterweed, upon the slightest contact with the residual heat of the fire dragon, turned to ash and dissipated.
"Boom—!"
The fire dragon violently smashed against the stone tablet, letting out a deafening roar. The blood-colored runes on the tablet flickered wildly, attempting to resist, but under the scorching of the supreme yang fire, the runes shattered one by one, turning into black smoke and dissipating.
"Not enough!"
A gleam flashed in Jiang Che's eyes, and he formed seals with his hands again,
"Again!"
"Great Day Burning Heaven—Nine Suns Illuminate the World!"
This time, nine golden scorching suns appeared behind him, each emitting terrifyingly high temperatures.
With a point of his sword finger, Jiang Che sent the nine suns crashing down towards the stone tablet like meteors!
"Bang, bang, bang—!"
With nine consecutive explosions, the stone tablet trembled violently, and cracks spread across its surface like a spiderweb. Finally—
"Crack!"
The stone tablet completely shattered, turning into countless black fragments that were burned to ashes by the golden flames.
The deathly aura at the bottom of the pool vanished like snow meeting a scorching sun.
The water began to flow again, and the gloomy atmosphere of the Black Water Pool was swept away, even revealing a hint of clarity.
Han Yu put away the array plate and smiled, patting Jiang Che on the shoulder:
"Not bad, your use of the Great Day Burning Heaven Technique is getting more and more proficient."
Jiang Che exhaled a turbid breath and said with a smile:
"Just so, just so."
But at this very moment—
"Boom—!"
A blinding column of blood-colored light suddenly shot up from the wreckage of the shattered array core, instantly piercing through the pool water and shooting straight into the nine heavens!
Han Yu and Jiang Che were forced back several steps by the sudden turn of events. The pool water around the light column boiled furiously, evaporating into large patches of white mist.
"What's going on?!"
Jiang Che raised a hand to shield his eyes from the blinding light, his voice filled with shock,
"Wasn't the array core already destroyed?"
Han Yu's face changed drastically as he stared intently at the light column.
At the same time, the same thing was happening before Chen Chang'an and Xiao Chen.
Three massive columns of light, from three different directions on the border of Qingzhou, vanished into the firmament in an instant.
The originally clear night sky was being gradually covered by a thick, viscous darkness, as if thousands of invisible hands were tearing open cracks in the celestial canopy.
This darkness was not purely black; dark red veins flowed within it, and occasionally, twisted human faces would bulge out, only to be quickly pulled back into the abyss.
...
Outside the Immortal Spirit City—
On a muddy mountain path, a figure in a tattered cloak suddenly stopped.
He slowly raised his head, revealing half a face covered in scars.
His dry lips trembled slightly, and in his murky pupils, the strange phenomenon in the nine heavens was reflected—
"Hehe..."
The beggar chuckled lowly and suddenly tore off his cloak.
It was Wang Shouzhi.
Underneath his ragged clothes, a huge wound could be vaguely seen on his chest, oozing pus and blood as the darkness in the sky churned.
"Finally... it's coming..."
He spread his arms, letting the mountain wind fill his tattered sleeves, his hoarse voice mixing with the wind:
"My Buddha... is compassionate..."
"Save me... to become a demon..."
...
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