New concept of the mysterious way to ascend to immortality

Chapter 182 The Battle for Constellations

Cold, shivering!
Main Quest: Battle for Constellations

[One of the Seven Western Mansions was deposited into the Astral Bank through unknown means. This information was accidentally leaked to an evil force, and the Buddhist evil forces are planning to abduct it. Mission objective: Correct history, maintain the sacred timeline, reclaim the Seven Mansions, and return them to the Ocean Faction.]

[Timeline has been blocked, countdown 3:00:00.]

[Side quest, please trigger it yourself.]

As a piece of information suddenly appeared in their minds, the four veterans opened their eyes at the same time, exchanged glances, and then began to look around.

They then discovered that they were in a bank vault, with four unconscious newcomers lying at their feet.

"The Seven Mansions of the West, what are those?"

Standing at 1.8 meters tall, with well-developed yet not bulky streamlined muscles, slightly exaggerated pectoral muscles, a Western face with a red beard, and long red hair tied up in a bun, he looked at his three teammates and asked in confusion.

At this moment, the giant black man standing to his right, with dark skin, a height of 2.1 meters, and an extremely exaggerated black physique with sharp protruding eye sockets and brow bones, shook his head and said in a muffled voice, "I don't know."

Then, the red-haired devil, dressed in classical Eastern attire, looked at his two other teammates.

The head is shaped like an orange pumpkin, but beneath the pumpkin's plant skin, vascular protrusions are clearly visible; at the same time, on the front of the pumpkin head, there are a pair of human-like fleshy eyeballs, a pair of hole-like nostrils, and a smiling mouth full of sharp fangs.

Opposite the pumpkin head was a short figure, only 1.6 meters tall, whose head was completely covered by a metal helmet and who wore a cloak that covered his entire body.

Seeing everyone looking at him, a voice came from under the metal helmet: "The Western Seven Mansions are the supreme crystallization of alchemy flowing from the Industrial Universe on the planet Duling. Designed and led by the Crimson Dragon Empire, the plan covers the entire planet Duling and is an 'artificial source' comparable to the Mechanical Magic Network, known as the Four Symbols Cycle Project."

"The Four Symbols Project took shape at the end of the Second Era and was completed in the middle of the Third Era. Subsequently, it expanded into the derived Twenty-Eight Mansions of the Four Directions, further increasing the influence of the Four Symbols Cycle and extending towards the Astral Sphere. The timeline we are currently in is the stage of 'the initial formation of the Four Symbols and the emergence of the Seven Mansions'."

"According to historical records, the historical content about the [Western Seven Mansions] has always been shielded, interfered with by the Great Power, and is unclear. It was not until the 'Ocean Faction' raised the first [Seven Mansions] in the waters near Taixi that the advancement plan of the [Twenty-Eight Mansions] was fully exposed."

"According to the main quest prompts, our timeline has changed. The seed of one of the Seven Mansions has appeared in this bank and has been targeted and kidnapped by the 'Buddhist forces' in advance. However, judging from later historical events, there is no trace of the 'Buddhist forces' in the Western Seven Mansions or even the Twenty-Eight Mansions of the Four Directions."

The red-haired devil said, "So, this mission is to kill the 'monk' who's entrenched in this bank, steal that so-called [Star Constellation], and then return it to Haiyang? Three hours probably won't be enough."

The pumpkin-headed member of the squad spoke up: "It's alright. This is the [Astral Bank]. There are many descendants of the plant race here. I can control a group of them and have them deliver things to the ocean."

The enormous, black, ostentatious mountain of flesh spoke up: "Time is limited, so let's begin!"

"There are four new recruits here. I'll wake them up first."

……

In the entrance passage at the other end of the [Astral Bank], Meng Xiyue expressed her desire to explore the bank further, but she still took off the 'mouse charm' from her backpack and rushed towards the mist outside the passage.

A-Miao glanced at the strange mouse covered in insect-like limbs and exclaimed, "What an adorable mouse! Where did you buy it?"

Yuan Zhu: "It was a gift from a senior colleague; it's not for sale."

"what?"

Meng Xiyue looked at the mist outside the passage and frowned, saying, "I suddenly lost contact with Shushu and can no longer sense anything. There's something strange outside this passage, everyone please be careful."

Yuan Zhu then released his own bird, which explored the bank's interior in the opposite direction. Along the way, he encountered no customers or service personnel.

The tunnel was empty until the mouse reached the end and entered a business hall. Only then, through the mouse's perspective, did he see several figures, like walking corpses, swaying and moving slowly in the hall.

Then, through the eyes of the rat, Yuan Zhu saw corpses lying motionless on the ground.

Yuan Zhu: "In the front of the business hall, there were only a few people moving; the rest were dead!"

Ah Miao immediately perked up and said hopefully, "Could it really be a bank robbery?!"

Meng Xiyue: "Let's go, let's follow them and take a look."

The three worked together seamlessly, with Yuan Zhu charging headlong at the forefront; Meng Xiyue in the middle, simply patting her backpack and activating [Skull Servo] before preparing for battle; and A Miao at the rear, wielding dual pistols with the muzzles pointing downwards, while casting [Stealth] on her two teammates.

...

The three of them dashed through the empty corridor, pushed open the door, and entered the spacious hall. The overhead lighting was still functioning normally, illuminating the room as if it were daytime.

At this moment, dozens of bodies lay scattered on the hall floor. But unlike the 'corpses' Yuan Zhu had reported, they were all alive, their breaths faint.

In contrast, the few who were still struggling to stand were all wrapped in green wooden armor, their expressions were crazy, and their eyes were bloodshot.

After Yuan Zhu and his two companions entered, they immediately turned their heads to look at the three who had been "hidden." At this moment, there were a total of nine strange figures wearing plant armor in the hall, all of them devoid of consciousness, their eyes cloudy, their pupils darting around unfocused.

But all nine heads were strangely and precisely 'looking' at the three of them.

Meng Xiyue: "Huh? Are they watching us?"

Yuan Zhu turned to look at A Miao: "Has your 'concealment technique' stopped working?"

Ah Miao remained calm and said, "These are bank security guards. Their armor should be contractually bound to the lobby, allowing them to automatically lock onto 'enemies.' It's not that my skills are lacking, but rather that we triggered some kind of anti-theft mechanism."

"Roar!"

Before A-Miao could finish speaking, one of the plant-armored guards roared and charged towards them.

During the run, the security guard's head shook uncontrollably, and his pupils moved back and forth as if he were mentally challenged. Clearly, his body was not under his conscious control and was entirely controlled by the armor.

As he charged, a wooden spear materialized in his palm, its tip enveloped in a faint starlight, making it look somewhat similar to the 'Eggplant Clan' from before.

Snapped!
Before the armored security guard could even get close, the opponent's head exploded out of thin air, splattering red, white, and green liquid all over the ground. In addition to human blood and brain tissue, the opponent also had a 'green' fluid.

At this moment, Ah Miao, holding a pistol, disdainfully commented, "Trash!" Awooooo!
Spurred on, more security guards conjured bows, swords, and other weapons in their hands and charged at the three. They were easily dealt with by 'Mechanical Model.Spell,' holy light barriers, guns, grenades, and more.

Yuan Zhu: "So weak!"

shhhhhh!
Suddenly, three afterimages shot out from the distant passage.

Three more exquisite 'emerald green spears', carved with openwork patterns, flew out of the darkness, carrying a sharp and terrifying aura.

One of them vanished into thin air in front of A-Miao. The next second, the emerald green spear reappeared, emitting a terrifying explosion that sent a shower of rocks flying behind her before embedding itself deeply into the thick wall.

The emerald spear, for reasons unknown, suddenly vanished from her sight and then teleported behind her. Ah Miao didn't move, dodge, or even transform into any elemental form; instead, the emerald spear seemed to 'spatially invisible,' avoiding her and piercing straight into the wall behind her, before falling silent.

At the same time, two other spears shot towards Yuan Zhu and Meng Xiyue's heads and hearts respectively.

...

Faced with the attack that was as fast as a blur, the pink-haired girl only had time to let out a delicate shout before a series of [Mechanical Model. Spell] passive effects were triggered around her. Pure mechanical fields, palm prints, fist prints... were continuously unleashed.

The clashing of the emerald spear with the spear was like needles meeting wheat awns. Then, the 'mechanical magic' in front of her was pierced, broken, and shattered one after another, emitting continuous explosions and dissipating.

The spear, weakened by layers of 'mechanical magic', lost its attack power and momentum, gradually decreasing in speed and being deflected, piercing the roof from bottom to top.

Immediately afterwards, as if summoned by an invisible force, the spear shot back from the rooftop and disappeared into the darkness, never launching a second attack.

The final spear aimed straight at Yuan Zhu's head triggered the [Soul Crystal]'s warning system just before the attack landed.

He didn't even need to switch to Tiger Demon form to withstand the attack; the holy marks on his wrists spontaneously burned with intense pain, and holy light surged forth from his body.

A small shrine, the size of a telephone booth, formed on his body, heavily protecting [Yuan Tianzun]. He stood immovable, withstanding the starlight spear head-on.

Bang!
With a muffled thud, the emerald green spear pierced deeply into the outer perimeter of the [Sanctuary], automatically ejecting three layers of [Holy Light Field].

The spearhead, carrying extremely sharp kinetic energy, easily tore through the first layer of holy light field, then pierced through the second layer, and finally penetrated the third layer with full force.

Each time the spearhead pierced through a layer of holy light field, it failed to completely shatter the [Holy Light Barrier]. Instead, its kinetic energy was significantly slowed down and weakened, and it was firmly locked in place by the force field that displayed an octagonal holy light effect.

After the spear tore through the triple force field, it was finally completely stopped when it struck the [Sanctuary]. At the same time, the body of the emerald spear was also imprisoned in mid-air by the triple holy light barrier, unable to move an inch.

After discovering that the [Sanctuary] had only withstood less than 30% of the attack, Yuan Zhu raised his hand to cancel the [Holy Seal], then stretched out his palm and grabbed the tip of the emerald green spear.

No matter how much this spear trembled and struggled, it could not escape unscathed like the one that attacked Meng Xiyue.

At this moment, he looked down and observed that the spear itself was made of an unknown type of wood, but its surface reflected a metallic luster and had complex, intricate, and gorgeous openwork patterns, as if it had grown naturally and was not carved.

More like a magnificent and expensive work of art than a weapon.

Besides the 'emerald green spear' struggling in his hand, the spear that attacked A-Miao was now like a broken wire, quietly stuck to the wall without moving.

A-Miao didn't turn around to pick up the spoils of war. Instead, she looked at the violently trembling spear in Yuan Zhu's palm and exclaimed in realization, "Oh? So it's a flying sword! No wonder it's so fast and sharp."

"This thing is a flying sword?!"

Yuan Zhu was also taken aback when he saw the two-meter-long jade spear. He had thought it was some kind of long-range spear-throwing attack from a super centaur, but it turned out to be a flying sword?
The only flying sword he could remember was a pipe wrench wrapped in an ordinary cloth bag, which was completely different from this work of art!
Sure enough, after being reminded by A-Miao, he noticed that his palm, which was gripping the spear tightly, was being subjected to a dense and sharp counterattack of 'sword energy'.

However, his Holy Light had formed a thin film of Holy Light Force Field on the surface of his palm, which naturally possessed a pseudo-space effect, effectively isolating and protecting his palm. At the same time, the imprisonment, suppression, and purification effects of the Sanctuary countered and neutralized the sword energy on the surface of the spear (flying sword).

Upon hearing the words "flying sword," Meng Xiyue immediately ran to the wall and pulled out the "silent" jade spear.

It didn't want the one that had escaped, nor the one struggling in Yuan Zhu's hand; it was more like it had been 'shut down'. Meng Xiyue tapped the floor with her spear, producing a crisp, metallic sound.

Then she scanned the hall and analyzed, "Something really happened here! These out-of-control individuals in wooden armor are probably ordinary bank security guards, responsible for suppressing bullies of ordinary people, and they have no combat power. As for those who fired the flying swords and spears, they should be elite security guards, capable of dealing with ordinary troublemakers, but I don't know why they haven't shown up? They also seem to have a problem, indiscriminately attacking passersby like us."

Yuan Zhu: "Hey, are you in such a hurry to explain to cover up your embarrassment? After all, both A Miao and I got the spoils, but you were the only one who got completely crushed. You're so lame! Yueyue is just so weak!"

Then, Yuan Zhu looked at the young lady next to him and asked, "Miaomiao, can this thing be sold for money?"

The young woman rolled her eyes at him, holstered her pistol, and took her spoils from Meng Xiyue's hand: "Have some boundaries, okay? Call me Sister Miao!"

She continued, "These kinds of flying swords are excellent equipment that have been repeatedly refined by sword energy. The deeper the refinement, the better the quality and the higher the price. These two flying swords are of very good quality, having been nurtured for at least several years. In addition to the most basic sword energy nurturing, they have also been infused with starlight power, which has formed a passive attribute. The specific effects are unknown, and the user just now was unable to bring them out."

"For sword cultivators who have the need, these two spears are top-quality items. In addition, any sword cultivator who obtains these kinds of long-refined flying swords, even if they cannot 100% match and tame them, can simply refine them and detonate them as a one-time extraordinary bomb. The power is very strong, and your [Holy Seal] cannot withstand it at all."

Yuan Zhu couldn't believe it: "Sword cultivators are terrifyingly powerful?!"

A Miao: "What sword cultivators pursue is the ultimate killing effect. In particular, the self-destructive strike that abandons everything is one of the most powerful among all extraordinary systems."

Different extraordinary systems each have their own underlying logic.

The [Law System] pursues 'unification + artificial heavenly order', constraining and commanding all polluting systems. The [Anti-Law System] pursues 'capital appreciation and extraordinary lending'. The [Holy Light System] focuses more on the burning of life and soul, releasing [Holy Light] to repel and purify heretical pollution.

Combat or lethality are merely byproducts of different "sources of pollution" pursuing their own goals.

However, the fundamental goal of sword cultivators, from beginning to end, is simple and brutal—extreme damage, harming both others and themselves. Especially in order to maximize 'damage,' they have developed the 'self-destructing flying sword,' which destroys both others and themselves.

Thus, the [Sword Cultivator] almost truly achieved the goal of being invincible in combat against opponents of the same level, trading one for one.

Yuan Zhu: "So, this thing is actually a [Sword Qi Missile]?"

A-Miao gave a thumbs up and nodded vigorously: "Well said! Very apt. Sword Immortals are a very pathetic profession. Nowadays, they are being brainwashed and mass-produced by the military, and have long forgotten their original intentions. They see themselves as 'humanoid super missile launchers' and rely on numbers to conduct military deterrence against the enemy."

(End of this chapter)