Longevity starts with choosing Hextech enhancement

Chapter 402 A Few Ants
"Boom!"

A giant golden hand descended, carrying an aura of suppressing everything, and pressed directly onto the island.

Whether it was the Pudu Temple array base located right below the palm of the hand, or an unlucky fourth-tier wrasse, both were instantly reduced to dust.

As a gentle breeze swept by, the giant hand formed from spiritual energy transformed into specks of golden light that scattered.

In the very center of the island, there was a giant palm print that was nearly a hundred feet deep and several hundred feet long and wide.

A nearby stream was cut off in the middle, and the babbling water cascaded down like a small waterfall.

From a distance, it looks like a masterpiece of nature.

If one hadn't seen it with their own eyes, they probably wouldn't have believed that such a scene could be the work of human beings.

Good news, since His Excellency had not yet broken through to the fifth rank, he ultimately could not withstand the attack and was destroyed on the spot.

This powerful predator, which came from the distant seas and roamed the lands for hundreds of years, once again proves a point.

Only a fifth-tier being can fight against a fifth-tier being!

The bad news is that, because the second strike clearly used more power than the first, the majestic phantom of the Buddha became increasingly dim.

Although it is very strong, so strong that it is estimated that there is no one in the entire Compassionate Sea who can match it.

But it is ultimately just a divine thought, and the power it consumes with every move actually comes from the sacrifice of Zen Master Jingxing.

Even if a Zen master were to offer up all of his true essence, all his vital energy, and his remaining lifespan, he simply could not withstand the high consumption of the fifth level.

After using the Buddha's light to cast a binding spell and launching two consecutive attacks.

It's clear that they're running out of steam and can't sustain it any longer.

The problem is that the battle has progressed to this point.

The fifth-order array below has had nearly half of its ordinary array bases and two very critical core array bases destroyed.

The suppression of the remaining sea monsters has been reduced to nearly 10% again.

Under such circumstances, although the fifth-order grand formation can still provide considerable defensive capabilities to the human cultivators through the remaining restrictions.

However, sea creatures, with their obvious numerical advantage, still pose a significant threat.

If nothing unexpected happens, another very difficult battle awaits everyone.

The sea creatures and demons clearly noticed this as well.

A sardine strained to lift its head and gaze at the sky, a hint of human-like cunning flashing in its round eyes.

A long-nosed snail quietly peeked out of its shell, discreetly peering outside.

They were all waiting, waiting for that majestic, illusory Buddha image to completely disappear.

At that time, they can continue to invade Pudu Temple and plunder its blood and food to replenish themselves.

Although the Venerable One could no longer deliver the reward for victory, the flesh and blood of the cultivators themselves were still quite attractive to them.

Especially in Buddhism, compared to Taoism, more emphasis is placed on cultivating qi and blood.

This also made them look even more delicious in the eyes of the great demon, making them look incredibly tempting.

To be honest, the chances of winning are really slim if we continue fighting.

Taking advantage of the continuous effect of Night's Edge, Xiao Chen hid in mid-air, surveying the entire battlefield. He could clearly sense that the situation was not very optimistic.

Fortunately, he wasn't the only one who noticed this.

Zen Master Fazhao also noticed this situation.

Therefore, he actually bowed to the illusory image in the air and said: "Disciple is willing to follow the example of the former master, give up this physical body to transform into boundless light, and ask the wise king to grant my request."

He had not practiced any related secret methods, but at this moment he was silently reciting the "Mingwang Dangmo Jing" in his heart.

Upon hearing this, many Buddhist disciples in the temple knelt down, kowtowed to the Wisdom King, and recited Buddhist verses.

Seeing this, the illusory image seemed to speak with satisfaction: "By having compassion in your hearts, you are sowing seeds of good fortune!"

"But a few ants, I can destroy them with a thought, there is no need to trouble living beings."

After saying that, he gently gestured downwards.

The golden statues of the Three Buddhas in the Mahavira Hall suddenly shone brightly with Buddhist light, and then transformed into a pillar of light that shot straight into the sky.

If this were anywhere else, even the mighty divine sense of a Mingwang would be powerless.

But this is, after all, Pudu Temple, a place that can be considered a sacred Buddhist site.

After receiving the power replenishment, the illusory image solidified by one-third.

Immediately, a golden light ignited from his heart, quickly setting his entire body ablaze.

At the same time, the eighteen fourth-order great demons closest to the Mingwang phantom also emitted golden flames.

Whether it was a sea fish that had just broken through to the Nascent Soul stage or a giant sea beast as powerful as a nautilus, they all let out painful cries amidst the blazing flames.

But no matter how hard they struggled, it was all in vain.

In the end, his demonic essence and the demonic infant within him were completely burned away, and his soul was scattered on the spot, leaving behind only lifeless remains that collapsed to the ground.

Although the illusory image of the King of Light ceased to exist after the flames had completely burned out.

However, those sea monsters that were lucky enough to survive at a slightly greater distance had lost all courage and had no will to fight.

They scrambled to change direction, using every ounce of their strength to flee backward.

They all regretted not having awakened speed-related bloodline spells, which prevented them from running fast enough.

"Hiss~, the power of the fifth rank is terrifying!"

It was only then that Zhang Shouquan realized what had happened, and he couldn't help but gasp.

A hint of envy, deep within his heart, also flickered in the eyes of Gangyuan Zhenjun.

If given the chance to break through, wouldn't he also want to ascend to the fifth-tier Venerable position?

Unfortunately, as he grew older, his hopes of breaking through to the Nascent Soul stage became increasingly slim.

Many times, when faced with sect affairs and considering the ancestors of the past, one can only suppress such unrealistic thoughts and not dwell on them.

However, witnessing the power of the fifth rank again today has stirred up the long-dormant desires of the Gangyuan True Monarch once more.

In particular, seeing that the Ming King regarded giant sea monsters as powerful as the Nautilus, which were almost like moving natural disasters, as nothing more than 'ants'.

This caused him great emotional turmoil, and he found it difficult to calm down for a long time.

Xiao Chen, however, was different. He noticed the mangled remains of the great demons on the ground.
He couldn't help but be slightly startled: "Huh?"

"Even though he was burned to the point of being completely destroyed by those flames, his flesh and scales were almost completely unharmed."

"Could it be that the last thing that the illusory King of Light used was some kind of offensive divine sense technique that could directly invade the sea of ​​consciousness and obliterate the soul?"

Xiao Chen had heard about it before.

Before breaking through to the Nascent Soul stage, it is best not to touch any secret techniques of divine consciousness, lest you damage your divine consciousness and affect your future breakthrough.

However, judging from this situation, it seems that there are no such restrictions after breaking through to the Nascent Soul stage.

At the very least, since that Mingwang was able to plant divine thoughts in Master Jingxing and activate that special flame that directly affects the soul, he must have undergone relevant cultivation.

"Tsk, if that's really the case, then it's going to be troublesome."

Xiao Chen's first thought was that this would make it very easy for Nascent Soul cultivators to suffer from a loss of spiritual sense when facing Deity Transformation cultivators.

There was already a huge gap in their cultivation levels, and on top of that, the other party was able to launch an attack from the level of divine sense.

This undoubtedly widened the gap between the fourth and fifth tiers once again.

Under normal circumstances, ordinary cultivators don't need to worry about this issue.

In any case, even without using their divine sense, they didn't intend to fight enemies of a higher level.

Besides, if we can't win, we can't win.

Anyway, the Nascent Soul Venerable is elusive, appearing and disappearing like a dragon. He doesn't go to places like the Three Mountains Grotto Heaven, so most of the time you can't find him.

If one were to offend a Nascent Soul cultivator in the outside world, it would be purely one's own bad luck.

The problem is, Xiao Chen is different!

He not only has to consider the compassionate ocean, but also the new spiritual realm.

It should be noted that, according to the Cai family's ancestral records and many rumors, Nascent Soul cultivators often appear near the Holy City.

As the old saying goes, if you stand by the river long enough, you're bound to get your shoes wet.

If you encounter too many Nascent Soul cultivators, you might just run into a lunatic.

This wasn't Xiao Chen being overly pessimistic; it was genuinely taking precautions.

Instead of gambling that you'll only encounter good people and kind souls, you should think about what to do if a fight breaks out.
Even if he is really unlucky and encounters a dead end over there, he can still run back here to take refuge.

However, if a Nascent Soul Venerable places a divine sense mark on them, they will come to pursue them as soon as they are discovered.

That means Xiao Chen will be unable to travel to the new cultivation world for a very long time.

If that were to happen, wouldn't we suffer a huge loss?
Therefore, it is not difficult to identify two key points.

The first thing is to be cautious when interacting with Nascent Soul cultivators, especially those from the new cultivation world, and to try to avoid attracting their attention.

Secondly, one should consciously collect treasures similar to the Cleansing Dew, which can counteract divine sense tracking.

Of course, what Xiao Chen needed was a treasure that could be effective against fifth-order divine sense imprints.

This is definitely not an easy task.

Therefore, it is even more important to prepare early and pay more attention to relevant clues in daily life.

But now is not the time to think about these issues.

Xiao Chen quickly gathered his thoughts and looked down at the sea monsters who were busy escaping.

He had already quietly followed them the moment they fled.

The duration of Night's Edge is almost up, which means it's time to focus on reaping the rewards.

We finally defeated the sea creatures; we can't let these remaining powerful demons escape so easily.

These are all natural fourth-tier spiritual materials.

If you miss this opportunity, it won't be easy to collect it from other places again.

Thinking of this, Xiao Chen became even more focused, which made his escape speed increase by a fraction.

He spotted one of the megamouth sharks that was fleeing at full speed and used his superior speed to get directly above it.

He picked up and pinched three Azure Wave Penetrating Needles in his hand.

Then, targeting the location of the enemy's demon infant, they launched a fierce attack.

The megamouth shark was desperately trying to escape.

Although it was aware of its surroundings, in its consciousness, the human pursuers were busy intercepting the unfortunate ones who were running too slowly.

It has gradually left us far behind.

Because it's considered that running with a spiritual energy barrier isn't as fast as running without one.

Therefore, it did not waste its demonic energy on ineffective defense, but instead devoted all its energy to escaping.

Unbeknownst to him, Xiao Chen had already silently crept up to its side.

Therefore, when it realized that the three Azure Wave Penetrating Needles had suddenly appeared out of thin air less than ten feet away from it, it was as if...

Before it could react or resist at all, the demon infant was pierced directly by the merciless flying needle.

"Take it!"

Xiao Chen happily clenched his fist: "A near-perfect surprise attack!"

He seized the perfect moment, delivering a fatal blow without engaging in any unnecessary fighting.

This not only means that he completed the hunt with almost no damage to the giant mouth shark's body, allowing him to collect more and more complete spiritual materials afterward, but it also means that he didn't waste much time on the giant mouth shark.

Next, we can hurry up and capture other powerful sea monsters.

It should be noted that although the sea creatures had already suffered heavy losses and were almost all busy escaping, they were still in a state of panic.

However, it was not convenient for Pudu Temple to use the Dushi Puppet to pursue them.

Firstly, because those puppets are not particularly fast; they are slower than many of the great sea monsters.

Even if they participate in the pursuit, they can hardly play a significant role.

Secondly, it's also possible that the Pudu Temple's formation is severely damaged, and these fourth-tier puppets need to be kept to guard it in case of unforeseen circumstances.

In short, Zen Master Jingchen did not bring the Dushi Puppet with him during the pursuit.

This resulted in a severe shortage of manpower on the human side to pursue the remaining enemies and expand the gains of the war.

Even if each of them could restrain a sea monster, many would still slip through their net.

This is a bad thing, as it means that wild, fourth-tier demons might be hiding in some remote corner, attacking passing cultivators.

But from another perspective, it could also be a good thing.

At least for Xiao Chen, this means he has the opportunity to hunt down several powerful sea monsters on his own.

This will allow us to obtain more fourth-tier spiritual materials.

It is worth mentioning that, during the pursuit, True Lord Gangyuan did not forget to send out a telepathic message again via his spiritual sword.

Communicate promptly about the situation here and the direction the sea monster fled.

This command directed the reinforcements from the Taoist sect located on the outside to turn ahead and set up ambushes in places where encounters might occur, thus waiting for them to come to them.

To be honest, it was thanks to his brilliant command that things turned out so well.

The main force of the Taoist sect actually intercepted seven fleeing sea monsters in a very peripheral area.

Furthermore, since the battlefield was far from Pudu Temple, there was no need to consider the distribution of spoils.

Instead, the spoils were divided up on the spot according to the contributions of everyone on board who participated in the ambush.

Objectively speaking, this matter is slightly beneficial to Xiao Chen.

The advantage lies in the fact that he can exchange spiritual materials that he doesn't need but that other cultivators can use with them.

After all, this pursuit lasted for three days and three nights.

Xiao Chen single-handedly defeated a total of five sea monsters.

Even with a conservative estimate, we could obtain nearly twelve kinds of fourth-tier spiritual materials.

There will naturally be things he doesn't need, which he can then exchange.

"Sigh, what a pity, the rest should have already gone into hiding."

In an uninhabited sea area about 400,000 miles away from Pudu Temple, Xiao Chen looked at the sun that had already sunk below the sea level in the west and sighed softly.

He ran so far, hoping to catch a couple more.

But it seems that continuing would be a waste of effort.

Although this distance doesn't look very far on the nautical chart.

But in reality, there are countless places to hide in the ocean, which is more than 400,000 miles in diameter.

Even for a Nascent Soul True Monarch, searching such a large area would be akin to finding a needle in a haystack.

Not to mention that the great sea monsters who survived the human race's pursuit were no ordinary beings either.

They are either exceptionally quick-witted and have a very strong sense of danger.

They either possess special abilities that help them hide, making them quite difficult to detect once they lie in wait.

After all, if they didn't have some skills to rely on, they wouldn't have survived until now; they would have been captured and taken back long ago, just like the other great demons.

"Well, it's alright, at least we caught five."

Xiao Chen dragged a large piece of floating ice with one hand, on which were arranged five of the great sea monsters he had captured along the way.

He hadn't had time to deal with these demonic bodies because he was busy chasing them.

Three days and three nights have passed, and there is no longer any spiritual energy fluctuation from the battle between human True Monarchs in the rear.

Therefore, Xiao Chen estimated that it was about time to return.

Besides the megamouth shark at the beginning, he also caught a butterflyfish, a stingray, a hatchetfish, and a tiger prawn.

Furthermore, among the four great demons behind them, except for the butterfly fish whose cultivation level was slightly lower, they were all great demons comparable to the mid-stage of the Nascent Soul realm.

Among them, the stingray, which is adept at using poison, is the easiest to deal with.

The relatively hard-shelled tiger prawn is quite troublesome, but it is no match for Xiao Chen's Azure Wave Penetrating Needle, which is specifically designed to counter bone-shelled prawns.

The axefish was the most difficult to deal with.

It took Xiao Chen a lot of time to tidy it up, and there were almost some mishaps along the way.

This is mainly because this hatchetfish can use its unique pectoral fins to quickly leap and dodge incoming attacks over short distances.

At the same time, it also awakened a very special mutated bloodline.

While leaping, one can use oneself as a sharp sword to slash at enemies or objects along the way.

And it actually has 'sword intent'!

The actual combat difficulty is no less than fighting a fourth-level sword cultivator.

To be honest, Xiao Chen was quite surprised when he first realized this.

What kind of bloodline mutation could lead to such strange bloodline magic?
It is clearly a fish, yet it can evoke sword intent.

Is this even reasonable?

But the fact had already happened, and Xiao Chen could only deal with it in a rather tricky way while being amazed by what he had just witnessed.

It should be known that sword cultivators are renowned for their unparalleled offensive prowess.

Furthermore, the axefish was fighting for its life at this moment, giving it a sense of mutual destruction.

Of course, two days and one night had passed by then, and the Blade of Night had long since cooled down.

Meanwhile, Xiao Chen was protected by the Four Symbols Mountain Suppressor, so he wasn't particularly afraid of being affected.

But at that time, he already carried the demon bodies of the three great sea monsters in front of him.

He himself was not afraid of the axefish's attack, which was comparable to a 'fish and sword combined'.

However, the spoils of war that the Four Symbols Mountain-Suppressing Shield behind them could not cover could not withstand the fierce slashes.

Especially shortly after the fight, the axefish noticed this temporary 'weakness' of his.

Therefore, every move was aimed at destroying the spiritual materials.

Xiao Chen was in a flurry of activity: "If you have the guts, come at me! Don't touch my spiritual materials!"

However, his shout only emboldened the axefish: "Unless you let me go, I will destroy your spoils even if I can't beat you!"

"If you keep pushing me like this, you might end up with nothing."

The two fought and ran, entangled in a battle for about two hours.

Fortunately, Xiao Chen was ultimately more skilled and, while protecting the spiritual materials, finally caught the axefish in a moment of carelessness caused by the long battle.

He first attacked and injured him with the Soaring Palm, then switched to the Azure Wave Penetrating Needle to win the victory.

"Hmph, you little brat, threatening me? Do you really think I'm easily scared?"

After catching this special axefish, Xiao Chen froze it in the very center of the ice block, using the bodies of the other great demons to block it from the outside.

He had a premonition that he might be able to obtain special spiritual materials from the other party after returning.

After all, it is extremely strange and rare for a hatchetfish to be able to unleash sword intent.

It's likely that some special organ or structure formed inside the body.

Although Xiao Chen hadn't used a flying sword in combat for quite some time.

However, he always remembered that he could also be considered half a 'sword cultivator'.

Well, this identity is quite crucial in a certain sense.

There's a saying that goes, "Riding the wind on a sword, vanquishing demons across the land!"

For cultivators, having a flying sword is the only way to look cool.

Moreover, Xiao Chen wasn't just doing it for show; he was a true sword cultivator with his own natal flying sword.

I reckon by the time he gets back this time, he'll have accumulated enough knowledge and experience.

It's time to start preparing for a breakthrough in physical cultivation.

When he opens up all the major acupoints in his body, his natal flying sword will also be upgraded in sync.

Who knows, we might be able to use the spiritual items obtained from this axefish.

With this in mind, Xiao Chen made up his mind that if he really obtained the relevant spiritual items, he would keep them for himself and not exchange them.

Although the chase took quite a long time.

However, the return journey was much faster, and he returned to Pudu Temple in less than half a day.

"Master Xiao, I'm relieved to see that you're really alright!"

Zen Master Fazhao seemed to have been deliberately stationed on the outer edge of the island, waving and greeting him from afar: "Thanks to your timely intervention at the crucial moment."

"That's why His Excellency didn't escape."

"We haven't seen you before, which has made my fellow disciples and I very worried."

"Fortunately, I heard from Master Gangyuan and the others that they saw you chasing the sea creatures with their own eyes."

"Now that we see that Mr. Xiao's complexion is rosy and he is full of vitality, we can rest assured that he is indeed alright."

Upon hearing this, Xiao Chen quickly waved his hand.

He immediately denied it, saying, "You can't say that. I was just doing my bit."

"This victory was entirely due to Abbot Jingxing's compassion and willingness to sacrifice himself for righteousness."

"Sigh, there are so many things I want to say, but I don't know how to begin."

"In short, I hope that all the masters can take it easy and not be too sad."

If this had happened before, Xiao Chen wouldn't have refused so decisively.

Firstly, he deserves the greatest credit for his role in the previous series of battles.

Secondly, in many cases, people are just being polite and flattering each other, so there's no need to take it too seriously or believe it all.

Praising each other after a victory is also a way to strengthen relationships.

But this time it's completely different.

Although Zen Master Jingxing spoke with good intentions and claimed to be acting for the sake of all living beings.

It's really quite annoying.

But he doesn't just talk the talk; he really takes action when it comes to real matters!
At critical moments, he was willing to sacrifice himself as fuel to ignite the divine will left behind by the Ming King.

Whether it was for the preservation of Pudu Temple or for the great cause of the compassionate sea people, he is worthy of respect and admiration!

Anyway, Xiao Chen has changed his mind now.

I have developed a deep and heartfelt respect for Zen Master Jingxing!

(End of this chapter)