Chapter 260: Chapter 259: Thousand Gadget Box (Please Subscribe)_1
You Chong and the three advanced Foundation Establishment cultivators were fiercely battling, with Zhong Hongyu and the other three Foundation Establishment cultivators constantly harassing him from the periphery. He had long been trapped in a predicament.
Whoosh!
A sonic wave flew towards him, only to be shattered by his protective Sword Qi.
But the very next moment, You Chong seemed to catch a whiff of a refreshing herbal fragrance that made people unwittingly intoxicated, wanting to take several more breaths.
His face changed rapidly as he hurriedly took out an Antidote Spiritual Pill from his Storage Bag and stuffed it into his mouth without a second glance.
However, before long, a ghastly green shade appeared on his face. "Poison? No... why is my Antidote Spiritual Pill... useless?"
He looked towards Liu Sanqi, his tone filled with dread.
"Hehe... actually, the herbal fragrance released by yours truly earlier can only be said to have strong penetration, it’s actually non-toxic and even beneficial to the body..."
Liu Sanqi said with a smile, "It’s just that this fragrance, when combined with several herbs in the Yiling Valley Antidote Spiritual Pill, will produce a strange poison that corrodes Spiritual Power... My fellow cultivators, this man is now lacking in Magic Power, try to deplete him a bit more."
As he spoke, Liu Sanqi fiercely spurred his jade Medicine Hoe, completely disregarding the consumption of Spiritual Instruments, clashing with the Purple Cloud Sword several times.
Yuan Feihong let out a long howl as a mass of pitch-black mist suddenly appeared on his dark flying knife.
A ghost creature with a green face and fangs reached out from the mist, opening its gaping maw and clamping down on a sword shadow, holding it tight.
Seeing this, Ruan Xingling fiercely played a musical note on her flute.
The invisible soundwave grazed past You Chong’s protective Sword Qi, barely leaving a trail of blood on his chest.
Though You Chong was a core disciple of a Golden Core Sect, the attackers surrounding him were not weak.
Liu Sanqi possessed a Spirit Body and had clawed his way up from the bottom to the top, with an exceedingly rich experience in battling with magic.
Yuan Feihong, from Baize Immortal City, was also a direct descendant of a Golden Core force.
Ruan Xingling’s cultivation of the ’Mysterious Sound Skills’ was also a superior method.
Not to mention, there were also several Foundation Establishment cultivators like Zhong Hongyu tying him down.
If the three of them had exerted their full strength, You Chong would have likely already been defeated.
At this moment, they only saw him desperately defending within the Array, afraid of making a last-ditch effort, so they were taking their time.
Even so, You Chong was gradually revealing signs of defeat.
"Ah! You are forcing my hand!"
A flash of Purple Qi appeared on You Chong’s hand; he covered his wound, rapidly stopping the blood flow, and the flesh on either side began to heal quickly.
He bellowed angrily, reaching into his chest and scattering a dozen or so pitch-black Thunder Pearls around him.
"It’s the Yin Thunder of Mother-Child Link!"
Liu Sanqi’s face changed, "Is he planning to take us all down with him?"
The several Foundation Establishment cultivators swiftly channelled their Magic Power into their protective barriers, bracing for the coming storm.
But... nothing happened!
The explosion of the Yin Thunder of Mother-Child Link seemed to vanish into thin air, as if it was transported to another space altogether.
"Is this... the power of an Array?"
"The Island Master has finally taken action."
Yan Dongqing wiped the cold sweat from his face.
With his cultivation, if he were caught in the midst of that Yin Thunder of Mother-Child Link, he would have likely perished both in body and spirit.
"Where’s the Island Master?"
Zhong Hongyu swept the area with her Divine Consciousness, but only saw the Azure horn Fish Dragon staring dumbly at Zhan Tu and Situ Qingqing; Fang Xi, who had been standing on top of the Fish Dragon’s head, was nowhere to be seen.
...
"Where is this...?"
You Chong was plastered with a Talisman of immense Spiritual Power, which formed a layer of Golden Light around him for protection. The expected lightning storm did not come, leaving him baffled.
It seemed like in just a blink of an eye, he had arrived at a completely different place.
"Such power to move through the Void..."
He was startled, feeling as though the nearly third-tier Array on Dragon Fish Island was somewhat similar to the forbidden Great Array in his own Yiling Valley set up by the Mixed Origin Sect, a Nascent Soul great school?
At the same time, You Chong felt that the Void around him was off, as if he had been teleported into a crimson space.
The chilling sensation accompanied by the smell of Flesh and Blood drastically changed his expression, "A Demon Array?!"
Rustle!
A wind blew, causing You Chong to look towards the center of the space with a slight shift in his expression.
Immediately, he saw... a Monster Tree that blocked the sky and covered the sun, with dark tree trunks streaked with blood-red patterns, the vast canopy like the dome of heaven, with countless Qi Roots hanging down, dangling second-order or higher Monster beasts, and even... people!
Wu wu!
An elderly Demon Cultivator turned around, and as his face became clear, You Chong’s expression drastically shifted: "Old Ling?!"
The last time he had sent someone to notify this person to take action, but he had received no response and thought Old Ling had been lost on Jade Island.
But he had not expected that Old Ling was killed by Dragon Fish Island’s Master, and even turned into a mummified corpse hanging from the tree!
"Dragon Fish Island’s Master... Fang Xi!"
"You’ve kept yourself well hidden!"
Hatred filled You Chong’s eyes.
"What a lot of nonsense!"
Fang Xi waved the small black flag in his hand, and a thick column of pitch-black light fell straight down, enveloping You Chong within, countless dark beams like a myriad of fine needles incessantly shooting out!
Clang clang!
The Golden Light on You Chong’s shield flowed, and faint chanting sounds emitted from it, blocking all the black needles outside.
"Not bad... it’s actually a third-tier defense Talisman! It seems you really were favored in Yiling Valley!"
Fang Xi saw this scene, but his face showed little emotion, "Is this your trump card? If you want to survive... it’s still far from enough!"
He chuckled softly and continued to wave the small flag.
One after another, pitch-black flames emerged from the void, incessantly burning the golden light shield.
You Chong, watching the golden light shield thinning, was already covered in cold sweat.
Although a third-level talisman is powerful, how could it contend with the power of a third-level array?
Once the magic power stored in the talisman was exhausted, it would be the moment of his demise!
"Mr. Fang, we can talk this over... Yiling Valley is also willing to offer Core Formation spiritual objects..."
You Chong immediately softened his stance: "As long as you spare me, everything is negotiable..."
"Boring!"
Fang Xi’s expression unchanged, he saw the pitch-black flames burn through the golden light shield, falling onto You Chong’s Purple Cloud Sword and causing it to emit a mournful cry.
"No, you can’t kill me, I’m a direct descendant of the Supreme Elder... I know many secrets of our sect..."
You Chong’s face contorted into an extremely vicious expression upon seeing this scene.
He was supposed to form his Golden Core in the future and become a renowned Sword Immortal, how could he die here?
"No need, I’ll find out for myself!"
With Fang Xi’s final waving of the flag, a pitch-black flame scorched the Purple Cloud Sword into scrap metal.
His life-bound spirit sword damaged, You Chong immediately began vomiting blood profusely, and even suffered from the backlash of his magic power, causing his protective sword qi to become unstable.
Hiss!
At the same time, one by one pitch-black chains emerged from the void, piercing through this man’s limbs and his dantian!
Casually, Fang Xi walked up to You Chong and stuffed a seed into his mouth.
"Ah!"
You Chong immediately began to scream in agony, his bones cracking throughout his body, but to no avail...
Fang Xi’s one eye erupted in a withered yellow light, the other possessing a bluish green color, as he grabbed You Chong’s head and activated the Soul-Searching Secret Skill found within the ’Kuyong Skills’.
...
"Is this array really a quasi-third-level one?"
Zhan Tu gave a greeting to Zhong Hongyu and others before whispering to Situ Qingqing.
"How should I know?"
Situ Qingqing rolled her eyes: "But to move through the void with such ease... I’m afraid..."
Before she could finish speaking, she saw a flash of light, and Fang Xi’s figure emerged from the void, tossing over a wooden box.
"This is..."
She caught it and instinctively opened it, only to see a ferocious head inside.
"You Chong..."
Zhan Tu by her side sighed quietly.
This pride of Yiling Valley was several times more famous than him, a member of the Mysterious Seven.
He had been regarded as a Core Formation Seed, a future Sword Immortal, but a dead Sword Immortal is nothing at all.
Fang Xi did not completely refine You Chong into a wooden puppet, after all, he had to take this man’s head back to vouch for his deeds to Mysterious Heaven Sect.
Recently, by killing a true inheritor of Yiling Valley, he had made a definitive choice.
But actually, in his view, it was all inconsequential.
"Take this back; it should be enough for you to settle the matter, right?"
Fang Xi said with a smile.
His smile, in Zhan Tu’s eyes, was exceedingly terrifying.
The man immediately bowed with great reverence and handed a strangely constructed box to Fang Xi: "This is what we promised..."
Fang Xi took it, noticing that the box was made of neither gold nor jade. Its surface had a strange golden lock with what seemed to be several prohibitions forming a complex puzzle lock.
"This... seems to be the rumored ’Thousand Gadget Box’?"
Ruan Xingling examined it curiously: "It’s said that the talisman forgers capable of making such a box don’t exist in the three nations. I didn’t expect your sect to present such a precious item... If the Thousand Gadget Box is forced open or if the prohibitions are activated in the wrong order, the box will self-destruct immediately, destroying everything inside it... It’s indeed a rare treasure."
"We don’t have a talisman forger who can make the ’Thousand Gadget Box’, but, fortunately, there was one empty ’Thousand Gadget Box’ left in the warehouse..."
Zhan Tu added: "Now that the Island Master has slain You Chong, I’m sure Xuan Xuanzi, the sect head, will be very pleased and will soon send the decryption jade slip..."
"If that’s the case, the two of you may go..."
With a flick of his sleeve from Fang Xi, the two were instantly gone from the array.
He then glanced at Ruan Xingling, who seemed to want to follow them, and spoke lightly: "Fairy Ruan might as well stay... I happen to have some matters I wish to discuss with you..."
"Oh?"
Ruan Xingling looked up at the sky, only to see that at some point, they had arrived in front of the Evergreen Pavilion, and she couldn’t help but admire Fang Xi’s mastery of arrays even more.
Especially Yuan Feihong and Liu Sanqi, whose foreheads were beaded with sweat: ’So the arrays we’ve been passing through so carelessly... harboured such danger. Had the Island Master had malicious intent, he could have killed us anytime...’
’With such a great array, it’s no wonder the Island Master dares to remain neutral and still seeks Core Formation spiritual objects...’
’Wonder when the Island Master set up the quasi-third-level Great Array... Is there enough reserve of Spirit Stones?’
...
With different thoughts in mind, Ruan Xingling followed Fang Xi outside for a walk, arriving beneath a Peach Blossom Forest.
This forest, located near the Evergreen Pavilion, had been transplanted under Fang Xi’s orders, with even a second-level Spirit Peach Tree among them—a Clan Treasure of another Cultivation clan, which had been offered up after the entire clan relocated to Dragon Fish Island.
"What is it you wish to ask, Sir?"
Ruan Xingling asked calmly.
"You... you’ve concealed your cultivation base, haven’t you? You’re also at the peak of Foundation Establishment now..."
Fang Xi sighed: "When do you plan to take the plunge?"