Longzang

Chapter 280 Spend money

With the break of the causal thread, Wei Yuan's primordial spirit returned to its normal state, and he could no longer see the reality or illusion of the surrounding world.

On the vast landscape, the red lotus bodhi tree stopped swaying, seemingly somewhat withered. It appears that resolving this kind of hostile cause and effect is also a drain on it.

The surroundings fell silent for a moment, but the gloom remained. It seemed the monster's offensive had been thwarted, but it was unwilling to give up and lay dormant in the vicinity.

Wei Yuan felt a strange sensation twice more, as if the monster was still trying to lock onto him, but it inexplicably failed both times.

Taking advantage of this opening, Wei Yuan, relying on his luck, gave the order: "Assemble, form ranks, and break through the walls to enter the palace."

Inside the side hall, Ji Liuli's Demon-Suppressing Tower appeared and disappeared intermittently, his vigilance never wavering. The monster seemed to be in a special state; despite being within the tower's range, it remained unaffected, and Ji Liuli had no way to detect it through the tower. However, if it were to launch an attack, it would have to break free of its stealth, and its speed would instantly be reduced by at least 30-40% by the tower.

Zhang Sheng was surrounded by sword energy, holding a sword in one hand and taking a pill with the other. Ji Liuli silently handed Zhang Sheng a pill, then took away the one he was about to take.

Ji Liuli's medicine is about a hundred times more expensive than the one Zhang Sheng needs to take.

Zhang Sheng and Ji Liuli were on guard, and Wei Yuan wasn't idle either. He took out pieces of a square cauldron that could be used as building blocks and began constructing a low wall around the three of them. The monster was extremely fast, and these low walls could effectively restrict its movements.

Another scream echoed from outside the palace walls, clearly indicating the fall of a lone cultivator. At that moment, the sound of crunching and chewing filled the side hall, and the slime dripping from the ceiling turned crimson, a thick, pungent stench of blood spreading through the air. The monster's aura was slowly growing stronger.

Anger flared in Wei Yuan's chest. A significant portion of these Foundation Establishment cultivators had advanced within the Azure Netherworld, almost all contributing Azure Qi; their loyalty and devotion to the realm were beyond question. If they died on the battlefield against the Witch Clan, it would be a worthy death. But to be devoured by monsters here was something Wei Yuan found truly difficult to accept.

At this moment, the cultivators outside the palace had gathered in one place and began to form a military formation. In an instant, their military aura soared into the sky, and their killing intent was chilling!
Military formations are a means of gathering the masses, and also the only choice for the weak to rally together to resist the strong. Whether a military formation can be formed depends on two things: the commander-in-chief and whether the military spirit is cohesive. The commander-in-chief is the key to attack and defense, while military spirit is similar to the pure qi of the human realm, the yellow qi of the Liao realm, and the green qi of the witch realm, capable of altering the surrounding environment.

The cultivators Wei Yuan brought into the cave were not weak; there were over a hundred Foundation Establishment cultivators. The one currently in charge of the military formation was True Man Chuhe, and the army also included powerful Foundation Establishment cultivators such as Yu Zhizhuo, Sun Yu, and Feng Tingyu. Once the military aura was condensed, even powerful Dharma Aspects like True Man Fenhai would have to give way within a hundred feet, let alone ghosts and gods.

Since entering the cave heaven, Master Chuhe had encountered many misfortunes and had been holding back his anger. Now, provoked by the military spirit, his face was full of murderous intent. He pointed his immortal sword forward and shouted, "Form ranks and advance! Destroy that beast for this old Taoist!"

The crowd responded with a roar and strode forward. The high palace wall ahead, still more than ten feet away from the vanguard soldiers, was instantly reduced to dust by the force of their military aura.

Inside the side hall, Wei Yuan felt the soaring military aura and immediately breathed a sigh of relief. With this lineup, unless that monster was stupid, it shouldn't dare to confront it head-on.

The only drawback of the military formation is its lack of flexibility; catching up with a True Person of the Dharma Aspect is absolutely impossible. However, it is remarkably effective in both defensive positions and close-quarters combat. Back then, the Witch Clan army also used military aura to clear a path, forcefully charging into the realm constructed from immortal stones like Qingming. Before their military aura was exhausted, they were basically not weakened by Qingming.

The murderous voice of the Farmer Chuhe Zhenren carried far into the side hall. Wei Yuan felt that the word "beast" seemed to be directed at him, but he had no proof.

The army swept through the enemy lines with overwhelming force, leveling several palaces along the way, crossing the square, and marching towards the side hall.

Without the roof to shield them, the palace was now devoid of shadows, and the monster might no longer be able to hide. Just then, the entire palace suddenly began to tremble, the ground cracked, and countless starlight flew out. Several cracks also suddenly appeared in the sky, and a fragment fell, revealing the deep void behind it.

Wei Yuan was shocked. What kind of formation was this? It looked incredibly powerful, even the shattered cave couldn't withstand it, and it accelerated the collapse process.

Before Wei Yuan could react, the scenery around him changed, and he suddenly appeared in a canyon.

The canyon is only a hundred feet wide, with sheer cliffs on both sides, and the sky hangs low, like a large bowl over the top.

Seeing this scene, and recalling the various strange phenomena that occurred when the formation was activated, Wei Yuan thought of a famous formation: the Mysterious Heaven Star Shifting Formation.

This array forms its own world, which can be divided into numerous independent worlds. When the array is activated, those whose primordial spirit exceeds a certain limit within the array will be relocated and placed into various independent worlds. During the relocation, because it is not a direct attack and there is no immediate threat to life, and because this array is of extremely high status, even those who have just become True Monarchs will be affected. Only True Monarchs of the Imperial Realm, whose mental world can already be manifested externally, are unaffected by this array.

This formation excels at dispersing large groups of enemies and defeating them one by one. With meticulous planning, it can also create various extreme environments within the formation, allowing designated enemies to be deployed and then annihilated.

For example, the area where Wei Yuan is located has no moisture at all. If a cultivator who practices water-based techniques or a powerful member of the Witch Clan were thrown in, their combat strength would be reduced by 30%.

Having deciphered the formation, Wei Yuan felt fortunate. Generally, such formations would contain perilous terrains like lava fields, oceans, or poisonous swamps. Being thrown into this canyon was rather fortunate.

To break this formation, you must kill the guards stationed in each space, then destroy the spiritual object at the formation's core. This will break one small world, allowing you to enter another, and so on, until all the small worlds are destroyed or the formation's spiritual energy is exhausted.

This formation is renowned for its ability to deal with numerous powerful enemies. If manipulated properly, even if the number of invading enemies is three or four times that of the guarding cultivators, they can likely be divided and defeated one by one within the formation. However, such a large formation consumes a great deal of resources to set up, and even powerful clans cannot set it up casually; they can only place one or two in their most important family territories.

Wei Yuan hadn't expected the Xu family to be so willing to spend so much, actually setting up such a grand formation within the cave. Even more unexpected was that, despite the cave being shattered, this formation could still be used.

At this moment, countless armored sand wolves emerged from both sides of the canyon, fixing their gaze on Wei Yuan. These sand wolves were the guardians of this realm, only their numbers were quite large. Normally, armored sand wolves are equivalent to cultivators at the Great Perfection of Blood Fusion, but the sand wolves appearing in the canyon were noticeably larger than normal, their auras were also much more powerful, and each one possessed the strength of a Great Perfection of Body Forging.

Looking at the numerous approaching sand wolves, Wei Yuan understood the strategy of the defenders of this pass: use these sand wolves, which are not weak and are extremely fast, to wear down the invading enemy. Even if they cannot kill them, they can still consume a lot of Dao power. At that time, the defenders can concentrate their forces to launch a surprise attack and win.

However, exhausting Wei Yuan's Dao power would likely be quite difficult.

Wei Yuan remained calm, casually slaying the first sand wolf that charged at him with a single sword stroke, and composed himself to devise a countermeasure. However, at that moment, a shadow suddenly appeared above the canyon, followed by a jet of black water that sprayed onto Wei Yuan!

The black liquid seeped into his body, entering his sea of ​​consciousness and transforming into a torrent of black rain that rained down on Wei Yuan's Dao Foundation. This venom was incredibly potent; even a True Person of the Dharma Aspect stage could perish from its effects. The falling poisonous rain scorched the barren land within a hundred miles of Wei Yuan's Dao Foundation, turning it into a wasteland.

(End of this chapter)