Chapter 155: Chapter 136: Celestial Wolf Island, Purifying Aperture Spring
Su Huazheng’s face turned blue and pale, evidently he was far from calm inside.
How precious a Spiritual Artifact is. During Su Jingming’s battle against the Jade Water Fire-Eyed Ape, if not for relying on the Cyan Simurgh Mirror, he would have already met his demise.
This is something that can preserve life.
Although the Primordial Magnetic Treasure Mirror is only a middle-grade Spiritual Artifact and cannot compare to the Cyan Simurgh Treasure Mirror, it restrains all metal treasures under heaven, even holding the Sword Seal for a moment. If confronting Gu Yuan in the future, this treasure will surely prove useful. It was painstakingly acquired from the family, and even though he hails from a Golden Core Family, he is only given one such item. After all, the Su Family has many Foundation Establishment cultivators and cannot concentrate all resources on him.
He initially intended to use this as bait, borrowing a sword to kill.
Unexpectedly, the big fish, Gu Yuan, not only devoured the Demon Ape but now seeks to consume his Treasure Mirror.
With the loss of the Treasure Mirror, the path of conquest along the Red Moon River is fraught with even greater risk.
"Why does Senior Brother Su look so troubled? Could it be that he intends to break his word? Was his prior generosity merely to entice fellow disciples and lure Senior Brother Gu to his death, not truly gifting a treasure from the heart?"
Ma Wu, seeing the situation, quickly turned his eyes and loudly asked.
This utterance drew everyone’s attention back to Su Huazheng.
Some matters are understood by all, but face must be maintained, lest one truly no longer wishes to be human; otherwise, continuous pointing and whispering would drive even a Foundation Establishment cultivator to breakdown.
"How could that be!"
"I just lament for Senior Brother Ji, had Senior Brother Gu acted sooner, Senior Brother Ji would not have died so tragically."
Su Huazheng forced a smile, then sighed deeply.
"Junior Brother Ji killed a demon, achieving the first victory for our Nanpo Water Realm, earning primary merit, naturally to be succeeded by his family descendants."
"As for his death, it was due to Soul Rhinoceros Beast affecting his mind, rashly accepting battle, thus being inferior in skill, cannot blame others!"
On the Dharma Boat, Yinn Xingchao, who had not spoken for long, suddenly said.
This statement caused Su Huazheng’s face to pale further.
He did not understand why Yinn Xingchao was speaking for Gu Yuan, but it was too late to salvage the situation.
"Senior Brother Gu, since I’ve spoken, naturally I won’t break my word; I also ask you to cherish this treasure well!"
Su Huazheng managed a smile, then resolutely removed his imprint on the Jade Mirror, and presented the Primordial Magnetic Treasure Mirror to Gu Yuan.
"Rest assured, Junior Brother Su, this mirror, in my hands, will not be wasted!"
Gu Yuan smiled slightly, accepting the treasure without reservation.
The group then held a brief ritual for Ji Fenghua’s remains, followed by his friends arranging for Qi Refining disciples to convey them back to the Daoist School. Then everyone sat on the Spirit Disc in turn, commanding the spiritual mechanisms and wearing down the Grand Array.
This wear-down lasted seven days.
The Demon Race showed no signs of challenge again.
Yet on the eighth day, the Grand Array of the Demon Race below suddenly roared and collapsed on its own.
...
...
"Boom!"
Countless demon qi surged forth, explosively bursting, endless earth vein waterpower also fanned out, blanketing the heavens and obscuring the sun, even the Flying Smoke Dharma Boat wobbled incessantly, its inner array flickering unceasingly, the mana within the bodies of all shook and quivered.
Numerous demon clouds drifted, shrouding heaven and earth, making it hard to discern what was happening.
Amidst boundless demon qi, countless figures transformed into streams of light, swiftly fleeing toward various islands in the Great River.
"Attempting escape?!"
On the Flying Smoke Dharma Boat, Yinn Xingchao’s eyes were sharp as lightning, piercing through the scene before him. He promptly urged the spiritual mechanism, causing the boat to shoot nearly ten rays of golden light instantly, powerfully piercing several of the fleeing figures.
But more figures, under the shelter of extensive demon qi and residual shockwaves from the Grand Array, scattered and fled, plunging into the Great River.
Yinn Xingchao wanted to urge the spiritual mechanism again, but found only an empty expanse ahead, with just an enormous, barren island.
The Earth Evil Water Heaven Array also dissipated into invisibility.
In its place, above the Great River, among the countless star-scattered islands, dotted rays of formation light sparkled continuously like starlight.
"Divide and conquer, quite clever!"
Witnessing this, Yinn Xingchao snorted coldly, understanding that the true trial by combat was imminent.
He surveyed everyone aboard the ship, then spoke loudly:
"These Demon Race, learning from Thundering Mountain Range’s Six-Winged Purple Gold Carving’s Scattering Mountain Technique, have divided themselves, no longer rousing the entire Nanpo Territory’s water veins, but setting up numerous Tier Two Spirit Arrays, centered around dozens of Spirit Islands, to guard them, watching each other’s backs."
"If I were to drive the Dharma Boat to attack an island, the demons on the island would scatter at once. As soon as I leave, they would return. The only plan for now is for you all to disembark and enter the river. Together, we will attack the archipelago and eliminate the demons one by one. Only then can we completely take over the Nanpo Territory."
"Above the Nanpo Water Realm, there’s still a powerful old demon at the Late Stage of Earth Demon. I will remain on the Dharma Boat to provide support for you all."
"Victory or defeat in this battle lies in your hands. Do you have the confidence?"
Yinn Xingchao’s gaze swept across everyone.
The Red Moon River is not a small territory, stretching for thousands of miles, vast and boundless. Above the Nanpo Water Realm, there are countless swampy water caves of unknown size, housing any number of Demon Race members within.
If the Demon Race marshals their entire force for a fierce battle, the Flying Smoke Dharma Boat will surely be put to great use.
But if the demons scatter across the vast river, each occupying mountaintops, spreading out, then the Flying Smoke Dharma Boat would be ineffective.
It would be like using anti-aircraft artillery to shoot mosquitoes.
Unless the Daoist School does not care for the Spirit Meridians and ore fields on the islands and directly unites the power of the Dharma Boats to obliterate all the islands.
However, this expedition by the Daoist School intends not only to acquire mineral Spirit Meridians but also to train the disciples of the school, so they will naturally not take such actions.
Yinn Xingchao’s previous thought was to wear down the Earth Evil Water Heaven Array and then unite the power of the Dharma Boats to slay multiple Earth Demons, thus reducing the pressure on everyone.
But now it seems that the Demon Race is not stupid and is determined to fight the Daoist School in this Nanpo Water Realm.
Everyone exchanged glances. Although there was some helplessness, they had anticipated this day long ago, so they could only respond at the moment:
"We will definitely eliminate the Demon Race and reclaim the Nanpo Water Realm!"
"Good!"
"However, the Nanpo Water Realm has countless islands, and it is difficult to conquer them all at once. We must proceed gradually. Let’s use these seven islands as a whetstone and first take Half Moon Bay!"
Yinn Xingchao pointed with his hand and marked out seven islands on the Map.
These seven islands are all Tier Two Spirit Islands, surrounded by scattered small islands, forming a large archipelago that resembles a half-moon, thus it is called Half Moon Bay.
At this moment, each of the islands in Half Moon Bay had formations of light shining on them, with Demon Qi lingering, clearly indicating the presence of Earth Demons. However, the number is unknown.
"Each of you shall use your own forces as formation and immediately enter the river to seize the Spirit Islands!"
Yinn Xingchao formulated the plan and then looked towards everyone, waiting for their decision.
Everyone turned their gaze to Gu Yuan.
In the affairs of the Daoist School, they always emphasize that the capable come first. With Gu Yuan demonstrating his strength, it was natural for him to choose his target first, with the rest following.
Conquering Spirit Islands involves certain nuances.
Because it is not only hard work but also has the potential for opportunities.
After all, each Spirit Island represents resources.
The Red Moon River is vast and boundless, with a mix of fish and dragons within, housing countless Demon Race members, making it almost impossible for the Human Race to enter. Therefore, everyone has little information about the Spirit Islands in the Red Moon River, especially in the depths of the Nanpo Territory. Which Spirit Island has an abundance of Spirit Grass or hidden Spirit Ore is unknown to all.
However, these seven Spirit Islands are the gateway to the Nanpo Territory, which everyone is still familiar with.
The richest among them is naturally Celestial Wolf Island. This island has a Spiritual Spring named "Purifying Aperture Spring," with the miraculous ability to remove Pill Poison.
It is important to know that the greatest challenge before cultivators worldwide is not Technique, but the Dao, which is Mana, realm, and cultivation level.
Countless brilliant cultivators ultimately fall before the chasm of Realm-Breaking, watching helplessly as their lifespan dwindles away to no avail.
No matter how unrivaled your Dharma Seal, how supreme your combat ability, if you cannot break through your cultivation, you will ultimately be nothing but a desolate grave.
Therefore, the ultimate goal of all cultivators is to enhance their Mana and continuously break through realms, climbing to higher stages.
But cultivation differs from cultivation of Techniques. If one cannot learn a particular Technique, they can switch to cultivating other methods. Among the myriad of Techniques, there will always be one that can be mastered, but Mana requires constant diligent cultivation, remaining consistent through all changes, needing nightly refinement.
It is an art of slowly grinding down over time, consuming great amounts of time without guaranteeing achievement.
Thus, pills are widely used, and even talents amongst the heavens take countless pills.
The more pills consumed, the more Pill Poison there is, and the lower the effect of the pills. So things that can remove Pill Poison become extremely precious.
The Demon Race on Celestial Wolf Island often secretly conducts business with the Human Race by leveraging this spring.
The rarity of this spring is unmatched among the seven Spirit Islands.
People watched Gu Yuan nervously.
But Gu Yuan chuckled lightly and directly pressed his hand onto the Map of this island.
Everyone sighed at once.
