Daqin Zhentiansi

Chapter 698 Lei Peng, Lightning-Attracting Golden Needle

The painting's brilliance shifts, and the cozy courtyard fades into the distance.

Zhang Yuan's figure stepped out of the quiet room and reappeared on the command platform of the Zhenhai Ship.

Yin Jiuyou and the others, who had been waiting, immediately bowed.

Zhang Yuan glanced over and handed the scroll "The Essentials of Adapting the Strangulation Formation," which Zhao Yu had carefully considered and revised in light of the new situation in the East China Sea, to Yu Wanjun.

"Commander Yu, based on this, and combining it with the new changes in Demon Eye, Black Dragon, and Pei Lie's Sword Prison, you must master the new version of the strangulation formation within three days!"

"All members of the new army, the Sword Sect, and all accompanying personnel must integrate this formation into their very being!"

"Yes, sir!" Yu Wanjun accepted the jade slip and solemnly received the order.

Zhang Yuan said no more, his gaze fixed on the sea area where the coordinates of the sunken island reported by Yin Jiuyou were located, a deep and unfathomable place.

"Fleet, turn! Target: 'Guixu Sunken Reef' area! Full speed ahead!"

"boom--"

The massive Zhenhai Ship roared and cleaved through the vast waves, like a giant spear brimming with potential energy, speeding towards the deeper, more mysterious, and more dangerous hinterland of the East China Sea!

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After leaving Fire River Island, the fleet sailed towards the unknown sea area where the sunken ruins were located, following the coordinates obtained by Yin Jiuyou.

After traveling tens of thousands of miles, the fleet slowed down and proceeded cautiously.

Ahead of the fleet, a shadowy octopus, scouting ahead, left faint watermarks in the seawater.

Beside the Zhenhai Ship, the bodies of enormous demonic beasts surged with the waves.

These are soldiers who have already transformed into demonic beasts.

"Boom, boom, boom——"

Above the sky, thick, leaden clouds had gathered and churned, resembling an inverted sea of ​​ink.

A muffled rumble of thunder accumulated deep within the clouds, brewing an aura of destruction.

"My lord, the weather ahead is unusually stormy, with spiritual energy in a chaotic and turbulent state, which may indicate the presence of a primordial evil spirit."

The golden-winged roc beneath the feet of the Spirit Array Master Zhen Xuan cried out uneasily, and the lightning runes on the octagonal star-fixing disc flashed intensely, pointing directly at the huge vortex cloud churning with blinding electric snakes in front of the fleet.

Zhang Yuan stood at the bow of the Zhenhai ship, his black robe clinging to his body in the low-pressure airflow. He looked up, his gaze calm and undisturbed.

"Can't get around it?"

"Reporting to the Marquis," Zhen Xuan quickly deduced, "the celestial phenomena have become a cage. Forcing our way in could very likely trigger an even more intense celestial wrath, affecting the fleet."

"Although the flanks are covered with thick clouds and gathered thunder, the spiritual pressure indicates that it is the nest of some kind of gregarious raptor, so the danger is relatively controllable."

No sooner had the words been spoken than the long-brewing thunder finally erupted!

"Click——!!!"

A pale white lightning dragon, stretching across the sky, tore through the darkness and slashed straight at the sea, creating a hundred-foot-high wave!

Immediately following, millions of bolts of lightning, like the wrathful lashes of the gods, crashed down on the sea, turning the entire area into a boiling inferno of lightning!

The blinding light temporarily blinded the new soldiers, and the violent energy pounded against the fleet's shields, producing a teeth-grinding hissing sound.

Zhang Yuan looked at the surging thunder and nodded to the people standing in front of him.

Yu Wanjun waved his hand, and flags on the flagship waved, signaling the arrival of the flags.

The entire fleet slowly turned.

"Screech—" Just as the fleet was forced to turn and cut into the flanking sea area where the thunderstorm had eased but lightning was still raging, a screech that pierced through the thunder and carried endless wild fury tore through the continuous thunder!

Suddenly, countless enormous figures burst forth from the thunderclouds that blotted out the sky!
Their wingspans all exceed ten zhang, and their plumage is a steely indigo color, with fine blue arcs of electricity leaping along the edge of each feather!
With each flap of its wings, it not only stirred up a gale, but also brought with it crackling ball lightning!
“That is, the Thunder Roc.” Lu Tianshu looked up, his eyes flashing with a sharp light.

Behind him, golden chains swirled around the Demon-Suppressing Tower.

Everyone else was looking at the massive figure that was rushing towards them.

It is none other than the ruler of this Thunder Domain, the Thunder Roc!
Their goal is extremely clear—

The fleet's towering masts!

Those peaks, gathering faint sparks of electricity, stood like lighthouses in the darkness of the thunderstorm, attracting the raging lightning.

"Screech—!"

Several exceptionally large Thunder Roc leaders, their feathers tinged with dark purple, locked their crimson pupils on the highest mast of the Zhenhai Ship and swooped down, accompanied by wind and thunder!

Its speed was as fast as lightning itself tearing through space!

Their sharp, steel-hook-like claws flashed with dangerous arcs of electricity, as if they wanted to tear the mast and the observation array on it to shreds!
"Defend against the enemy! Protect the ships!"

"Shield up—!"

The new army reacted extremely quickly, slamming the Xuan Turtle Shield heavily onto the deck, and the layers of blood and qi barriers instantly connected with the Xuanwu cloud pattern on the ship's hull.

However, the Thunder Roc's impact not only possessed formidable physical strength, but its accompanying lightning bloodline divine power also caused the defensive light shield to fluctuate violently.

"boom--"

Lightning exploded.

On the giant ship, the shield-wielding soldiers felt their arms go numb and their blood churn.

If they hadn't been training in the East China Sea, they would have dared to face the sea monsters head-on. In this situation, their fighting spirit would probably have collapsed.

The Nine Yang Sword Sect's flying swords intercepted most of the dives, but the Thunder Rocs had extremely high speed and lightning resistance. When the sword light cut into them, sparks flew everywhere and electric arcs scattered, only slightly slowing them down!

Just as the Thunder Roc King, at the peak of the Cave Profound Realm, was about to crash into the mainmast, a strange device operated by several craftsmen from the Ministry of Works suddenly activated on one side of the ship!
"Lightning-summoning needles, rise—!"

Several long metal rods, engraved with complex and mysterious runes and with sharp, thorn-like tips, suddenly shot out from the specially made crossbows, not towards the Peng King, but towards the sky!

"call out--"

The tail of the gold needle is connected to a thick cable, as thick as a child's arm, wrapped with bluish-purple insulating material, which extends all the way to the depths of the ship.

A wonderful scene happened!

The natural lightning that violently struck the ship, especially the powerful arc of electricity that spilled out along the path of the Roc King's dive, seemed to be attracted by an invisible force. The strands and even the thick currents that converged actively deviated from their direction and surged wildly toward the few lightning needles pointing to the sky!

"Swoosh—Boom!"

A blinding ball of lightning instantly erupted from the tip of the golden needle!

The powerful lightning energy did not ravage the ship's hull, but was instead rapidly guided to the energy storage core in the ship's belly through those specially designed cables.

Several enormous "lightning-bearing furnaces" were encased in insulating material with demonic patterns and filled with liquid stardust mercury!
The mysterious runes on the surface of the furnace wall lit up, and the violent lightning power was forcibly restrained, compressed and transformed, emitting a deep hum. The blazing white light inside the furnace almost pierced through the furnace!

The surging energy is being efficiently absorbed and converted!

The impact of the Xuanpeng King was also affected by the sudden change in the direction of the lightning current. The protective lightning aura around its body dimmed slightly, and its figure sluggishly!

"Good! Golden needles attract lightning, conversion achieved!" Master craftsman Li Yu of the Ministry of Works roared excitedly from behind the protective shield, recording the valuable data. "The lightning-bearing furnace array is operating normally, energy storage is increasing! Effective!"

(End of this chapter)