Longevity starts with choosing Hextech enhancement

Chapter 379 Cleaning the Formation: What do you think they're after?

To be honest, this was the first time Xiao Chen had encountered a monster like the Seven-Star Flowing Light Snapper.

It's astonishing that he can possess seven completely different abilities at the same time; just hearing this description makes him seem incredibly powerful.

Although he hadn't encountered many monsters before.

But don't forget, he has already read through a huge collection of books, which mention at least tens of thousands of different kinds of monsters.

Most of these monsters possess only one innate ability.

Mutant monsters often possess an additional bloodline ability.

Only a small number of demonic beasts possess a third, more powerful ability; those beyond that are extremely rare.

Before today, the most powerful demonic beast Xiao Chen knew was a special bird called the Five-Colored Spirit Feather Sparrow.

It has tail feathers of five colors, each of which can be used to control the five elements of spiritual power to fight enemies.

However, this thing is extremely rare. Apart from the fact that there is one in the Three Mountains Grotto Heaven, it cannot be found in the outside world at all.

Xiao Chen had once thought that if he ever entered the Three Mountains Grotto Heaven in the future, he would like to take some time to visit it and broaden his horizons.

I never expected to encounter the Seven Star Streamer here today.

It truly lives up to its name as the Endless Sea; who knows how many sea fish live there, or how many unique species have evolved within it.

After hearing the introduction, everyone's expressions turned serious.

Facing a special mutated demon whose exact strength is currently unknown but possesses numerous abilities, theoretically, its actual combat power is likely no weaker than that of a late-stage Nascent Soul cultivator.

We must be vigilant and treat this matter with utmost care.

This is not only crucial to the outcome of the battle, but also a matter of taking responsibility for one's own life.

"In that case, we should work together to try to prevent anyone from encountering the Seven Star Streamer alone."

Gangyuan Zhenjun said, "Before I came here, I heard that because the Shallow Sky Sea is so vast, the sea race has set up many formations here to block safe routes."

"Fellow Daoist Iron Fan also mentioned in her letter the day before yesterday that they seem to have retreated to the great formation."

"Then let's proceed cautiously and steadily."

"First, we need to find out the sea creatures' defenses, and then we can clear out the weaker formations one by one."

"Let's leave this most troublesome seven-star shimmering sea bream for last."

His suggestion immediately received unanimous praise.

There are two main reasons.

Firstly, since the start of the war, the sea creatures have been attacking the human race from all sides.

This is the first time that the human race has taken the initiative to counterattack the sea race.

Although there were counterattacks on the western front, the main force they faced at that time was actually the Zhaokong faction, and most of the formations were set up by the Zhaokong faction, making it more like a civil war between humans.

But this time it's completely different.

The other side of the Shallow Sky Sea is now occupied by pure sea creatures, and the formations they have set up are all sea creature formations that are very unfamiliar to everyone.

Faced with this entirely new situation, everyone's attitude naturally tends to be more conservative.

Secondly, while the human race appears to have a strong and well-equipped army, they are actually more capable of defense than offense.

For example, there were nine Nascent Soul True Monarchs present.

However, aside from Xiao Chen, there are still three newly promoted Nascent Soul cultivators.

If you ask them to defend themselves within their own protective mountain formation, using the power of the formation, then it might not be a big problem.

However, if they were to leave the great formation, or even actively attack the sea race's great formation, it would be a big question mark how much combat power they could still exert.

The impact of this difference between the increase and the decrease is already very serious.

However, in addition to these issues, they also have to face problems such as a shortage of true essence and insufficient proficiency in spells.

To put it bluntly, these newly promoted Nascent Soul cultivators are unlikely to play a significant role in the offensive endeavors; in fact, they could be treated as if they didn't exist.

As a result, the number of available human personnel suddenly decreased significantly.

On the other hand, it is still unknown whether any new reinforcements have arrived from the sea tribes.

If it were only the original four great demons, the human race would still have a numerical advantage.

If a few more come, the situation could really be hard to predict.

Even for Xiao Chen, he hoped that the sea race's formation wouldn't be too troublesome.

Although he brought a reinforced array-breaking cone with him this time.

But you should know that the sea creatures have more than one defensive formation!
The most crucial trump card should, of course, be used where it is most important.

For example, the sea creatures' last and most complex formation.

Therefore, the tactic proposed by Gangyuan Zhenjun of "first probing and eliminating those relatively weak formations" is quite good.

The only downside is that it takes a little more time.

As Nascent Soul True Monarchs, we have plenty of time; there's no need to rush.

After agreeing on the battle strategy, everyone also discussed some details.

Then, they deployed scouts to confirm that the sea creatures had completely given up their harassment and had all retreated to defense before meeting up with the Thousand Machine Valley.

Of course, he also sat at the same table with True Lord Qian Shu and True Lord Bai Qiao, and chatted amiably.

They exchanged more pleasantries and compliments.

For the next ten days or so, the human race simply split into two groups.

One group, led by Xiao Chen, Gang Yuan Zhenjun, Tie Shan Zhenjun, and Yin Hao Zhenjun, was responsible for clearing the formation from bottom to top.

Another group, led by True Lord Hanchuan, True Lord Qianshu, True Lord Heming, and True Lord Yunwo, was responsible for clearing the formation from top to bottom.

As for the newly promoted True Lords of each family.

They would remain within the formation to guard the center and monitor the movements of the great sea monster.

One person could actually handle this job, but the others weren't completely idle either.

Instead, he led his disciples to build the array base, refine the array flags, and coordinate logistical supplies, making full preparations in advance for the fierce attack that followed.

The entire setup prioritizes safety, leaving no opportunity for the sea creatures to take advantage.

However, a small accident occurred on the first day of the operation.

"Something's not right. Why is there a defensive formation here?"

Gangyuan Zhenjun stood at the bow of the ship, looking at the fourth-order array shimmering with spiritual light in front of him, his face showing obvious doubt and confusion.

He looked down at the map of Shallow Sea in his hand, his confusion growing stronger.

"Have we gone astray?"

Gangyuan Zhenjun couldn't understand, so he shouted, "Fellow Daoist Iron Fan, please come over here."

"There seem to be some errors or omissions on this map."

"You know this sea area better than I do. Do you know exactly what's ahead?"

Their main purpose in coming out this time was to investigate the situation and clear out the secondary formations, so the four of them traveled together on the same spirit ship.

Although Iron Fan Zhenjun was inside the pavilion, he immediately heard the call and came out: "Hmm? This is the latest sea chart."

"It was updated five years ago, so I can guarantee that the location of even a small island will be accurate."

Xiao Chen, who was standing to the side, was also very curious upon hearing this.

He was very familiar with the quality of the internal sea charts of the Cangming Immortal Sect; he was indeed meticulous in every detail.

Although five years have passed, the geographical environment is not something that changes easily. It shouldn't be surprising if there were significant errors even after several decades or hundreds of years.

"Let me think, Moon Spring Island is just ahead."

Iron Fan True Lord examined the map: "The name comes from the fact that the island is shaped like a crescent moon, and there is a spiritual spring in the very center."

"Look, this is the abyss we just passed. If you follow it, this is the place. The map is accurate."

Gangyuan Zhenjun looked up and gazed into the distance.

Indeed, one can vaguely see through the formation that the island behind is curved at both ends, resembling a crescent moon.

But he was even more bewildered: "That's really strange!"

“This place has neither spiritual veins nor any important resources.”

"What is the purpose of the sea creatures setting up a fourth-tier defensive formation here?"

It's important to know that setting up a large array and its subsequent maintenance both come at a cost, and continuous operation also consumes a considerable amount of spirit stones.

Especially in places without spiritual veins, the consumption of spirit stones is even more intense.

In such remote waterways, normally adding a surveillance array to detect enemy movements would be sufficient.

However, the sea creatures treated it as an important stronghold and defended it with great seriousness.

This unusual situation made True Lord Gangyuan subconsciously suspect that there might be something wrong here.

So he immediately commanded, "Stop the boat!"

"Send a pair of spiritual eyes over there."

Immediately, Golden Core cultivators piloted two small boats equipped with reconnaissance arrays into the sea to directly approach and assist in the reconnaissance.

The detailed investigation revealed even more bizarre results.

The team discovered residual traces of spiritual energy around the formation, which were left behind when the fourth-order formation was fully activated.

This indicates that the sea creatures set up this formation not long ago, at most no more than half a year ago.

This puzzled even Iron Fan Zhenjun.

As the saying goes, when things go wrong, there must be a monster.

If our side fails to see the problem, it means the other side has hidden it well.

"Do we have a way to find out if there's a powerful sea monster hiding inside?"

Xiao Chen became interested. Since there was a fourth-order defensive array here, could there be a powerful demon guarding the array inside?
You should know that this place is relatively remote.

In other words, if there really is a powerful demon inside, then it's essentially alone.

Xiao Chen could almost see new spiritual materials beckoning to him.

Unfortunately, True Monarch Gangyuan shook his head: "The spiritual eye did not detect any powerful spiritual pressure, and there is probably no fourth-order great demon guarding this location."

After all, the sea creatures aren't stupid; they probably wouldn't leave a single monster to die on the outskirts.

"That's it."

Xiao Chen was slightly disappointed: "Then let the disciples retreat. I'll go see what's going on."

Everything has two sides.

Since there's probably no powerful demon guarding the island, what's there to be afraid of?

Before he finished speaking, Xiao Chen took the lead and charged directly into the formation in front of him.

Instantly, a powerful array force enveloped him.

Immediately, streams of water appeared out of thin air around them, weaving together like silk threads to form several layers of a dense net.

"Croak! Croak! Croak!"

From the spiritual spring below, three sea frogs with the cultivation level of the Golden Core Great Perfection jumped out one after another.

Two blue and white banners were hung on their backs.

At this moment, all of them flashed with spiritual light, and then each of them emitted a blue spiritual energy that merged together to form a phantom of a sea frog that was six hundred feet tall.

Although it was a phantom, it exuded an aura of power comparable to that of a fourth-tier great demon.

"Croak~!"

The moment the illusory image of the sea frog took shape, it let out a loud cry and immediately opened its large mouth, sticking out its powerful tongue. Judging from its posture, it clearly intended to curl up Xiao Chen like a flying insect and swallow him whole.

"Hey, you're trying to fool me with a fake monster."

Xiao Chen's eyes narrowed, and he raised his hand to strike out with a palm.

The moment the true essence left his hand, it immediately transformed into raging flames and crashed directly into it.

He was clearly using a palm technique, but it was as if he were using a sword. In an instant, he cut the tongue in half, and the momentum of his attack did not diminish.

With a loud "BOOM!", the exploding sparks ignited the entire phantom of the sea frog.

The reason it had such a noticeable effect was twofold: firstly, it was enhanced by Hextech technology, and secondly, the other party was, after all, a counterfeit product.

Although with the help of the formation, it is barely equivalent to a fourth-tier great demon.

However, it was still clearly insufficient against Xiao Chen's attack strength, which far exceeded that of ordinary early-stage Nascent Soul cultivators.

He was already crippled after just one move.

"Quack! Quack! Quack!"

The three sea frogs below immediately became anxious, their cries becoming much more rapid. They hurriedly activated the array flags on their backs, summoning another phantom of a sea frog.

At the same time, the first illusory sea frog was not affected.

It continued to struggle in the fire, still retaining some ability to resist.

"Oh, that's interesting."

Xiao Chen wasn't in a hurry. He could easily take down ten of these fakes, let alone two.

In contrast, he was more interested in the tactics themselves.

Normally, such spirit-controlling formations can only summon one fourth-tier phantom at a time to assist in battle.

However, the sea creatures' great formation can summon two illusory images at the same time.

Keep in mind that this was achieved without a fourth-tier demon presiding over the event, yet two Nascent Soul level combatants were obtained.

If those Golden Core families knew about this, they would probably be green with envy.

This also reflects that the sea race's expertise in formations is not simple, at least they seem to be very good at spirit-controlling formations.

"Don't say I didn't give you a chance, bring on all your tricks."

Xiao Chen calmly activated the Four Symbols Mountain-Suppressing Shield and looked down at the three-headed sea frogs: "With your current abilities, you can't save us."

He's deliberately letting the opponent win here.

The reason for doing this was to take advantage of the absence of the fourth-tier great demon and help Gangyuan Zhenjun gather more information about the sea race's grand formation.

As mentioned earlier, the human race is not familiar with the sea race's grand formations.

Now that we've encountered a wild Tier 4 defensive array, it's a good opportunity to study it.

At this moment, it wasn't just Xiao Chen fighting within the formation.

The True Lord Gangyuan and True Lord Iron Fan outside were not idle either; they had already begun to analyze the structure and patterns of the formation using secret techniques.

These accumulated experiences will all come in handy in subsequent battles.

Therefore, Xiao Chen was not in a hurry to break the formation, nor was he in a hurry to use the mechanical grappling hook to grab a sea frog and deal with it.

Instead, it gave them the opportunity to resist.

Of course, there are also hidden dangers in doing this. For example, what if a great sea monster is ambushed in the formation?
However, while others might worry about this issue, Xiao Chen has nothing to fear.

He has both the newly upgraded Four Symbols Mountain Suppressing Shield and the Night's Edge to cover his weaknesses, so he is very safe.

The three sea frogs below were already sentient, so they could fully understand Xiao Chen's meaning.

Upon hearing this, he immediately commanded the two giant sea frog phantoms to attack again.

However, it seems that this is all the tricks they have up their sleeves.

Aside from using its tongue to capture enemies, the giant sea frog phantom only knew how to unleash water tornadoes in an attempt to destroy the Four Symbols Mountain-Suppressing Shield.

However, both of these attack methods are mediocre and pose no threat whatsoever.

If it weren't for the fact that the manipulator's cultivation level was insufficient.

That just means that while the sea race's spirit-controlling formation looks powerful, it's actually not that effective.

It should be noted that the human race's spirit summoning formations, starting from the third tier, have been researching how to make the summoned spirits as indistinguishable from real people as possible.

They are often able to cast several spells and will try to prepare a powerful finishing move.

Xiao Chen initially thought that the sea race would have a clear advantage in array formations.

But now it seems more like a difference in development paths.

This side prioritizes quality, while the other side prioritizes quantity, but there is no difference in overall technical level.

This is also good news.

Firstly, it means that the counterattack against the sea creatures will be easier, and secondly, it means that the enhanced formation-breaking cone will still maintain its leading position in terms of skill.

"Fellow Daoist Xiao, this formation has been almost completely analyzed."

Holding a compass, True Lord Gangyuan confidently charged in: "Next, please let me try to see if I can break the formation directly from the inside."

Xiao Chen naturally wouldn't object: "Fellow Daoist, please go ahead, no need to be polite."

There was no issue of them vying for credit or taking credit for each other.

Besides, there are no powerful demons or spiritual materials here, so there's nothing to fight over.

Three hours later.

Gangyuan Zhenjun threw his head back and laughed three times: "Hahaha, it's nothing special!"

He made hand seals, and his feet seemed to move with the wind, freely traversing the formation and treating the layers of restrictions as nothing.

He actually walked straight to the core array base and reached out to take down the spirit stones on it.

Without the supply of spiritual energy, the entire formation collapsed on its own.

At the same time, apart from a few array bases that were damaged due to sudden loss of spiritual power, the vast majority of array bases were preserved intact.

"That's fantastic! It's a great start!"

Gangyuan Zhenjun carefully dug all the array bases out of the ground in one go, and checked them twice to make sure nothing was missing.

Then he happily returned to the spirit ship: "With these things, as long as I study them in more depth for a while, I am 90% confident that I can restore this great formation."

Iron Fan True Lord was equally pleased: "Fellow Daoist Gang Yuan, why be so modest?"

"What's the point of restoring it? Once we have this batch of complete core array bases, we can start to reverse-decipher the sea race's array channels."

"I believe that with your expertise in formations, it won't be long before you make some progress."

Upon hearing this, True Monarch Gangyuan quickly waved his hand and said, "Fellow Daoist Iron Fan, please don't tease me. The difficulty of reverse deciphering is still too high."

"Unless we can obtain more samples, even a thousand years wouldn't be enough."

The two acquaintances were joking with each other when they suddenly smelled a delicious aroma.

Turning around, I saw Xiao Chen sitting by the stove at the bow of the boat, taking the spirit wine down and replacing it in a large basin.

Inside, a pot of snow-white meat broth was simmering, and the silhouettes of the three sea frogs could be vaguely seen.

"Mmm, it smells so good!"

Gangyuan Zhenjun leaned closer and took a deep breath: "Fellow Daoist Xiao, your soup-making skills are quite remarkable. There must be a secret to it."

"Where did you learn that? Teach me!"

These tips for eating and drinking are different from martial arts techniques; they are more inclined towards enjoyment.

Therefore, as long as you are not facing a stranger or a spiritual chef who makes a living from this, it is not too presumptuous to ask directly.

Moreover, since True Lord Gangyuan and Xiao Chen were already acquainted, there was naturally no need for him to pay attention to such things.

"You guessed right. My method for making soup was actually learned from... well, a friend."

Xiao Chen smiled and said, "However, this is a closely guarded secret, so it's definitely not something I can teach."

"I'll give you a few more bowls later, so you can try them yourself."

Iron Fan True Monarch also sat down beside him: "Since Fellow Daoist Xiao has said so, then I will drink a few more bowls later and I must try out your secret technique."

Amidst laughter and conversation, the spirit ship passed Moon Spring Island and continued sailing deeper into the region.

Strange to say.

After traveling for about a day and a half, they encountered another fourth-order defensive formation.

Moreover, it was also in a strange location, without any powerful demons guarding it, and the setup time was just like the previous one, within the last six months.

This is very strange. What is the point of setting up such a formation?

Filled with curiosity, Xiao Chen and the others, just like before, first conducted tests and then dismantled the formation from the inside.

Another batch of sea creature core array bases were collected.

"Hey, this isn't a coincidence."

Iron Fan True Monarch spoke again: "We've only been out for three days, and there's already another batch of array bases."

"Since the sea creatures are cooperating so much, Fellow Daoist Gangyuan, shouldn't you prepare a surprise for them?"

Gangyuan Zhenjun was also a little confused: "Why do I feel like something's not right?"

"By doing this, the sea creatures are practically giving us the array bases for free. These things are not cheap to manufacture."

"What do you think they're after?"

Refining the core array base requires fourth-tier spiritual materials, which is indeed quite costly.

Unfortunately, the spiritual materials inside cannot be fully recovered; they are only fragments after being disassembled.

It's not that it has no value, but it can only be reused as scrap.

On the fifth day, they encountered another fourth-tier defensive array, and the situation was exactly the same as before.

This time, neither Gangyuan Zhenjun nor Tieshan Zhenjun could laugh anymore.

Even the most oblivious among them had clearly sensed that something was wrong.

However, based solely on the current situation, we cannot analyze the root of the problem.

"There must be some conspiracy involved. No, I have to ask Junior Brother Hanchuan what's going on."

Gangyuan Zhenjun activated his telepathic sword, wanting to gather more information.

Iron Fan True Lord was also completely baffled: "What could be wrong with this? Could it be that there's a hidden trick inside those array bases?"

Yinhao Zhenjun suggested, "Senior brother, to be on the safe side, should we dismantle another one and see?"

They had already dismantled one of the core array bases, but unfortunately, they found nothing.

Then they randomly selected a second one, but still didn't get any useful clues.

Continuing to disassemble it would be somewhat wasteful.

While the three were discussing, Xiao Chen was not idle either.

I carefully sliced ​​the freshly arrived thunder tuna into thin slices.

Then a fair distribution was carried out: "Fellow Daoist Gangyuan, one jin, I'll take one jin; Fellow Daoist Tieshan, one jin, I'll take one jin; Fellow Daoist Yinhao, one jin, I'll take one jin..."

"No matter what schemes or tricks they may have, let's finish eating first and then talk."

"It won't be fresh in a little while."

Seeing Xiao Chen's composure, Yinhao Zhenjun's anxiety was greatly relieved: "Yes, yes, senior brother, let's eat first, it won't take much time."

Gangyuan Zhenjun sighed inwardly, thinking that Fellow Daoist Xiao was indeed composed and calm in the face of adversity.

(End of this chapter)