Longevity starts with choosing Hextech enhancement

Chapter 432 Differential Treatment: The Demon-Suppressing Pillar

"Are you sure this is a sea creature array base?"

Xiao Chen glanced at the intricate patterns on the array bases from left to right.

Unfortunately, I didn't understand it.

"Although I don't have much talent in array formations, I've learned a bit about the unique array patterns of the sea race by following Senior Brother Gangyuan."

Lord Liekong explained very seriously: "Although my understanding is not comprehensive, and I don't know much about the specific principles."

"But I can be sure that the vast majority of these array bases come from the sea race."

Previously in the Shallow Sky Sea, a complete set of array bases was seized from the temporary defensive array set up by Haihong.

Initially, all of them were kept by True Lord Gangyuan and subjected to reverse engineering.

Later, when dividing the spoils, he and True Monarch Hanchuan gave up many fourth-tier spiritual items and took the vast majority of the sea race's array bases.

On the contrary, the other sects only kept two or three people.

Firstly, they serve as souvenirs; secondly, they expand the variety of items in the warehouse; and thirdly, they are for unforeseen circumstances.

Therefore, True Lord Rift Sky was the person who had the most contact with the sea race's array base on site and knew the most about it.

Since he made such a confident guarantee, it must be true.

Reminded by him, Xiao Chen re-examined the patterns.

He immediately felt that it did indeed have many similarities to the sea creature array bases he had seen in the Shallow Sky Sea before.

"Yes, judging from the timeline, the time when the first group of traitors who defected to the sea tribe appeared was indeed around the same time as the strange phenomena in the heavens and earth here."

Xiao Chen said with a hint of regret, "It seems the culprit is the sea race."

"If that's the case, then it's probably not going to be a good thing."

Although he had a vague feeling before that this place didn't seem like an ancient ruin.

However, upon realizing that it truly had nothing to do with ancient ruins, a sense of regret still welled up in my heart.

"If it's a sea creature array base, why are there strange demonic sounds coming from nearby?"

Thunderbolt Monarch was somewhat puzzled: "Could it be that the sea race and the remnants of the demonic path colluded to create this unusual situation?"

He heard it clearly; it really sounded like someone was calling out the name of 'Eternal Demon King'.

"I also find it strange. How could a high-level demonic cultivator suddenly appear out of nowhere?"

The Hundred Aperture True Lord was also very concerned about the strange whisper he had just heard: "It is clear that thanks to everyone's efforts over the years, the demonic path has been almost completely eradicated."

"Moreover, no demonic cultivators have been found on the front lines or among the captured human traitors."

"It doesn't seem quite plausible to say that they have already colluded in secret."

The "demonic cultivators" he refers to here, strictly speaking, are those cultivators who have completely fallen into the demonic path.

For example, the True Lord Jianying whom Xiao Chen had encountered before, although he secretly practiced some of the secret techniques of the demonic sect as a trump card in battle.

However, this does not include situations where he has not openly or has not yet had time to completely change his demonic cultivation methods.

Because the other Nascent Soul True Monarchs had also come into contact with demonic arts to varying degrees.

Some people only skim through it once and then put it aside, while others choose to try to improve it for their own use, and still others cannot resist the temptation to directly cultivate it so that they can prolong their lives.

Aside from the last case, it's actually difficult to define the first two as demonic cultivators.

"Hmph, I don't find that surprising at all."

True Lord Die Lang clearly had no good feelings towards demonic cultivators: "Whether it's the sea race or demonic cultivators, none of them are good people."

"As the saying goes, birds of a feather flock together; they probably just clicked because of their shared taste."

"As for why there is no frontal view, it is naturally because after years of demon-slaying operations, those treacherous insects have been terrified."

"Now we only dare to hide on a deserted island in the open sea and eke out a living, and dare not enter the area of ​​the Compassionate Sea to stir up trouble again."

It's not surprising that he has such thoughts.

For hundreds of thousands of years in the Sea of ​​Compassion, aside from a few righteous cultivators who accidentally went astray while practicing demonic arts, no demonic cultivator dared to openly show themselves.

At the same time, for this very reason, many righteous cultivators have not actually seen many demonic cultivators.

Most people have only a rough understanding of the special existence of demonic cultivators from books or the stories told by their predecessors.

Therefore, most people's attitude towards demonic cultivators is basically one of contempt mixed with a hint of disdain.

Only someone like Xiao Chen, who had personally come into contact with many demonic cultivators, understood that those true demonic cultivators never knew what fear was.

They won't be afraid of being suppressed by the righteous path.

Instead, driven by demonic powers or desires, they will try every means, even involuntarily, to bully the weak and harm the innocent in order to obtain the crucial essence for cultivation.

"Sigh, if there really is a high-level demonic cultivator later, I hope I don't run into someone I know."

Xiao Chen sighed inwardly.

Throughout the entire Ocean of Compassion, there are only a handful of people who have the ability to cultivate demonic arts for a long time without being detected by others.

Only those who belong to the upper echelons of a major sect can perfectly erase the traces of their cultivation of demonic arts.

"I think I heard someone shouting again."

Mingxiao Zhenjun's ears twitched, and then he repeated, "He said that there is a secret on the island that can help one break through to the Nascent Soul stage."

"They said it was a rare opportunity, there was only one, and I must not tell you."

After he said that, everyone laughed.

This scam is just too fake.

They are just newly promoted True Lords, not three-year-olds; no one would believe such nonsense.

“I heard it too, but the content was different.”

Ziyang Zhenjun added, "He said that inside the island, there is a fifth-grade spiritual fruit and a secret transmission from an immortal."

"Let me find a way to get you all away, and then I'll find a gap to slip into the innermost part and receive the inheritance."

"Judging from this, it seems he's at the very bottom."

Upon hearing this, True Lord Die Lang laughed and said, "It sounds like this guy isn't very capable; he only dares to think about defeating them one by one."

"Let's go and meet him."

Everyone ignored this low-level scam and instead prepared to catch the guy hiding his true identity.

Along the way, Thunderbolt True Lord and Sky-Splitting True Lord also heard different whispers.

They were led to separate from the crowd and rush to the core of the island to seize the benefits.

Ok?
What's going on with this guy?

Xiao Chen watched as everyone else was gradually lured in, but he alone remained completely oblivious to the temptation.

Inside the water wall, although the sound was indistinct to him, it was at least there.

Since leaving, I haven't heard a single word from him.

No, why shouldn't you lie to me?
How can this be considered differential treatment?
You should at least give it a try. How will you know if you can succeed if you don't try to fool me?

What if I fall for it?

right?
It was obvious that he was being treated differently, so Xiao Chen was naturally a little resentful.

Are you targeting me? You're not going to talk to me, are you?

Okay, just you wait.

I'll come in right away and have a good chat with you.

The space behind the water wall wasn't very large. In just a few breaths, Xiao Chen landed on the island in the center, which was almost entirely made of iron pillars.

Upon entering this place, the stench of decay in the air reached its peak.

Without having to look down, one can clearly see that many of the exposed iron pillars are covered with a thick layer of rust.

It even dyed the seawater at the edge of the island reddish-brown.

The group stepped through the thick layer of rust and began to explore the island.

Xiao Chen soon noticed that something like a large explosion or earthquake had occurred here.

Only a few iron pillars on the outer perimeter were broken; most of them remained intact, only rusted from the seawater.

However, the closer to the center of the island, the more severe the damage.

More and more iron pillars began to break off from the middle, and there were even frequent cases where only a small part survived while the rest disappeared.

"Huh, there's a sea creature array base here too?"

Xiao Chen suddenly noticed that among the pile of iron pieces broken into several pieces, there was also a piece of array base that was also broken into several pieces.

It was clearly painted with the same sea creature array patterns as those on the outer fragments.

What's even stranger is that the further you go into the center of the island, the more numerous these array base fragments become.

Just what Xiao Chen can see right now is probably enough to reassemble hundreds of array bases.

It is conceivable that the actual number would be several times greater than these fragments.

Clearly, the sea creatures must have once set up a very, very large formation here.

Something's not right!
According to Xiao Chen's information, the sea race has not done a single good deed since they came to the Compassionate Sea.

Instead, they stirred up trouble everywhere, causing chaos and plotting numerous conspiracies and schemes.

Among the things he encountered and successfully stopped were two major incidents: using the new ruins to kill the true disciples of various sects and collecting evil energy from all over the place.

The former aims to eliminate promising young talents in the Compassionate Sea who are likely to break through to the Nascent Soul stage.

Although Xiao Chen intercepted two locations of malevolent energy with his own strength, the latter ultimately failed to succeed.

But it's probably not a good thing either; they might be trying to imitate demonic methods to artificially create demonic disasters.

Based on this situation, the sea creatures causing trouble here must have ill intentions.

"Fellow Daoist Zhang, you have a good understanding of the Dao of Formations."

The Hundred-Aperture True Lord inquired, "Could we try to deduce the approximate function of the array set up here by the sea race through these array bases?"

For those in the know, this request is not excessive.

However, upon hearing this, Zhang Shouquan frowned: "This... Although I have been studying array formations, I haven't yet delved into the array formations of the sea race."

Although he looks quite old, he actually spent his early years wandering the streets and markets, experiencing a life of hardship and displacement.

I've only really been involved in formations for a few years now.

Because the foundation was already weak, and because most of the previous energy had been focused on researching human formations and the fifth-order formation of Pudu Temple.

Therefore, they didn't have time to learn more about the sea creature's array base.

"I see. What about Fellow Daoist Rift Sky?"

The Hundred-Aperture True Lord turned and asked, "How much do you know about this?"

However, True Monarch Rift Scratched his head and said, "I'm really sorry, but I'm actually only a third-tier array master." "In the two years since my breakthrough, I've been busy refining my true essence and adapting to fourth-tier techniques, and I haven't started to take care of Dao arts yet."

In fact, it wasn't just him; the situation was the same for all the other newly promoted True Lords.

After all, they had neither Hextech nor Yin Five Elements Seal, and each strand of true essence had to be obtained through their own hard work and cultivation.

In fact, his actual progress in cultivation was not as good as that of Zhang Shouquan, who was a rogue cultivator.

"Alas, if only Fellow Daoist Gangyuan were here."

Thunderbolt True Monarch sighed softly: "He will definitely be able to discern the specific situation through the array patterns."

Ok?
If you can't handle it, just give up. There's no need to say such discouraging things.

Upon hearing this, Xiao Chen assumed that everyone was a bit anxious, so he wanted to take the lead and encourage them.

Before he could even open his mouth, he heard True Lord Die Lang echo, "Yes, it would be great if one of us knew about formations."

"Of course, I'm referring to the sea creature's formation."

Before he finished speaking, some of the others pursed their lips and remained silent, while others burst out laughing.

Although no names were mentioned, everyone glanced at Zhang Shouquan, whether intentionally or unintentionally.

It should be noted that when Zhang Shouquan first appeared, he deliberately held up a formation flag to demonstrate his mastery of formation techniques.

However, Lord Dielang not only put it very tactfully, but he also deliberately added a sentence to make amends for himself.

Although it sounds like he's gilding the lily, and even makes one wonder if he did it intentionally.

Faced with such veiled sarcasm, Zhang Shouquan's face turned ashen, and he clenched his fists in his sleeves.

However, he couldn't directly lose his temper, since True Lord Die Lang wasn't openly targeting him.

Semantically speaking, that statement wasn't entirely without problems, but at most it was just a momentary slip of the tongue and a lack of precision, and an explanation was provided promptly.

The key point is that everyone who heard it smiled knowingly.

But you can't get angry about this, since you can't exactly question someone about why they suddenly started laughing.

Then just say, "I remembered something happy."

It will only make him look even more embarrassed.

Xiao Chen didn't laugh, but he also understood the unspoken meaning behind Die Lang Zhenjun's words.

Tsk tsk tsk, if this continues, the dissatisfaction between the two sides will only grow stronger, and sooner or later they'll become enemies.

Although Zhang Shouquan's current strength is not yet strong, his future development potential may not be worse than that of others.

At that time, the Ocean of Compassion will likely be restless again.

No matter what happens, it certainly won't affect Xiao Chen.

However, he still managed to change the subject in time, which broke the awkward atmosphere: "The array formations of the sea race are completely different from those of our human race."

"Moreover, this is not the front line, so the formation set up here should be an unconventional and special formation."

"I estimate that even if Fellow Daoist Gangyuan really came, he might not be able to recognize him. It's quite normal that he would have difficulty distinguishing him."

"Let's go ahead and investigate the current situation here."

The Hundred Apertures True Lord immediately chimed in, "That's right. This is how it is most of the time when we go out to explore. Many situations are difficult to confirm at the beginning."

"Let's follow Fellow Daoist Xiao inside and take a look."

He had just had a sudden inspiration to try and obtain information through the array patterns.

If he had known things would turn out this way, he wouldn't have asked.

As the oldest person present, although he did not take the initiative to talk to Zhang Shouquan along the way, he was actually the only person besides Xiao Chen who did not laugh.

At this moment, he even gave Zhang Shouquan an apologetic look.

It's not for any other reason than to hope that if a conflict breaks out in the future, it won't be the first place they target.

Upon hearing this, the group said no more and set off for the very center of the island, where the damage was most severe.

Based on the extent of the damage to the iron pillars, it is now clear that an exceptionally violent explosion did indeed occur on the island.

"Everyone, come and look! There seem to be words here!"

Ziyang Zhenjun pointed to a broken stone tablet at his feet and exclaimed, "It looks like it's written in the Ancient Spirit Script."

Xiao Chen immediately came over to observe together.

With a wave of his hand, he used his true essence to pull the stone tablet out from the pile of rust and fragments, and he could see that it was indeed inscribed with a few short sentences in ancient spirit script.

Due to severe damage, most of the content can no longer be verified.

The few remaining sentences are all incomplete.

After carefully analyzing the situation for a while, Xiao Chen could only roughly summarize a few points.

This island is a forbidden area. All cultivators who have strayed here should leave immediately, otherwise...

If any demonic cultivators are discovered on the island, they must be... all killed...

If the outer demon-suppressing pillars are damaged, you should immediately send help to the nearest...

Never do this... otherwise, all the consequences will be...

Apart from these four sentences, the remaining, already limited content is completely incapable of being pieced together to form any meaningful conclusion.

"Hiss~, the outer Demon-Suppressing Pillars?"

Xiao Chen keenly noticed this crucial clue.

So he found a relatively intact iron pillar nearby.

Then, by gripping it tightly with both hands, he pulled it out directly.

Then, use your true energy to wash away the rust and carefully examine the patterns on it.

Sure enough, several unfamiliar symbols were found on the surface of the pillar, and the words 'Demon Suppression' were also found on the bottom edge.

There are also the number 'eighteen' written directly in archaic script and the ordinary capital number sixty-seven, which look like some kind of serial number.

But we don't yet know exactly what it means.

However, one thing is certain: since these iron pillars have serial numbers, it means that they were not placed randomly, but should have followed some specific pattern.

Considering the name 'Demon-Suppressing Pillar', its function should not be hard to guess.

It was probably specially created to suppress a certain demonic cultivator, or rather, a group of demonic cultivators.

"So, this place is actually a prison?"

Xiao Chen looked around at the densely packed demon-suppressing pillars: "A man-made prison specifically for imprisoning demonic cultivators?"

To be honest, as soon as the idea came to him, even he himself felt it was a bit outrageous.

Is this really necessary?

Why bother imprisoning demonic cultivators? It's a waste of manpower and resources.

Shouldn't the correct approach be to kill each one caught, and then display their bodies in the marketplace as a warning to other rogue cultivators not to go astray?

Or perhaps the situation was different at some point in the past?
The other True Lords also felt something was amiss.

They either stared at the stone tablet, trying to guess what the rest of the sentences meant.

Or they might begin a detailed search of the surrounding area, hoping to find fragments of the stone tablet or the rest of the tablet.

Unfortunately, after searching the surrounding area, no second stone tablet was found.

At the same time, no flying debris was found; instead, a lot of gravel and stone dust were observed.

It is estimated that most of the inscriptions were damaged in the explosion.

It is worth mentioning that Zhang Shouquan felt out of place standing in front of the stone tablet.

He was actually the only person present who couldn't understand the ancient script.

This is not surprising. Before Xiao Chen went to the Tiangang Sect to borrow books, he was also completely ignorant of the Ancient Spirit Script.

The problem was that Zhang Shouquan was too embarrassed to ask at the beginning.

However, it turned out that everyone was watching silently, and no one spoke up to read the inscription aloud.

After they finished, they didn't even discuss the contents of the record, so he was immediately embarrassed.

In the end, I had no choice but to bite the bullet and pretend that I was thinking about the specific details.

While secretly cursing in his heart—it's all because of these damned major sects that control and even monopolize all kinds of advanced cultivation techniques and rare ancient books.

As a result, unless a rogue cultivator like him actively joins a sect to serve, he is essentially treated like a slave.

Otherwise, not only will they be unable to access advanced techniques, but they will also have no way to acquire even basic common knowledge.

The more Zhang Shouquan thought about it, the more frustrated he became.

He became increasingly dissatisfied with the people around him.

"Young friend, there is hatred in your heart!"

A strange voice suddenly rang in Zhang Shouquan's ears: "You have seen this unfair world, you have seen those ugly sect cultivators."

"Do you really want to humbly follow them around and expect them to give you scraps?"

"Do you really intend to endure humiliation and hardship just to obtain a substandard spiritual item that others despise and choose to leave to you?"

"I know you don't want to, I can see the hatred hidden in your heart!"

"Come, follow those broken cracks to the deepest part of the island to find me."

"I can help you gain immense power, enough to crush everyone under your feet!"

"With my help, you will be completely transformed, becoming the most powerful cultivator and possessing the strongest authority!"

"But you have to be quick, you have to come find me before I do!"

"You absolutely cannot fall behind them, otherwise those despicable guys won't give you a chance to turn things around."

"What they fear most is your growth; what they fear most is that you will become stronger and gain power greater than theirs."

"So you have to disguise yourself well and not let them notice anything unusual."

"You need to find a reason to get them out of here. I know you know what you should do!"

"Young friend, I'll be waiting for you in the center of the island!"

Zhang Shouquan had heard simple advice before, but he didn't take it seriously.

This time, however, was different; the unfamiliar voice spoke many words in succession.

And most importantly, his words seemed to possess a strange, magical power.

The more I listened, the more I felt an inexplicable sense of warmth, as if a kind and approachable elder was giving me advice.

The more I listened, the more sense it made, just like a teacher in a school instructing young children.

(End of this chapter)