Chapter 252: Chapter 171: Void Spirit_1
Translator: 549690339
“Who is this demon daring to offend our Green Jade Sect!”
A stern shout rang out as the Azure Dragon raised its head, roaring from within Green Jade Mountain.
It was indeed the spirit of the Green Jade Earth Veins, the Azure Dragon Spirit.
Although the Green Jade Sect’s Golden Core Cultivators had emerged en masse, with the Green Jade Earth Veins’ dragon formation that possessed an Earth Spirit, they could fend off most Golden Core Cultivators.
Regrettably, the intruder was not among them.
Command Flags fell from the sky, instantly establishing another formation outside, quickly assuming a posture to trap the dragon.
“Roar!!!”
The Azure Dragon, infuriated, roared as it tried to break through the formation surrounding the mountain.
Formations are versatile, yet they have one flaw – they lack mobility. Often, they’re powerless against external forces.
But as the tier of the formation rises, this flaw gradually fades. Some higher-tier formations not only exert force outwardly but can also change postures, move, and expand, even encompassing an entire world within them.
Although the Azure Dragon formation didn’t possess such abilities, it could still dominate hundred miles of rivers and mountains – beyond that, it was powerless.
Now, with the enemy’s formation right at the doorstep, the Azure Dragon, drawing from the Green Jade Spiritual Vein, struck mightily, ready to shatter mountains and crumble peaks.
Yet, unexpectedly…
“Boom!”
A thunderous roar, lightning from the heavens combined with descending sword light, forcefully penetrated the formation.
“Roar!!!”
The Azure Dragon cried in agony, plummeting. Pinned down like a serpent skewered at its vital seven-inch point, it writhed in pain, and the power of the great formation immediately weakened by thirty percent.
But this was just the beginning.
“Boom! Boom! Boom!”
The booms continued in succession, thunder fell from the sky, and sword light rained down like a deluge, each strike hitting the formation’s foundation and the nodes of its Yuan Spirit.
“Roar!!!”
The Azure Dragon wept bitterly, its body contorted as Green Jade Mountain shook along with it, but it was powerless to resist or retaliate. It could only watch helplessly as the enemy hammered one thunder sword after another into the mountain, into its body.
“How can this be, how can this be?”
“Is the grand formation truly useless?”
“Who is this sacred being that has come?”
“Quick, summon the Supreme Elder!”
“Hurry, go!”
Inside the mountain gate, all was chaos.
Watching the thunderous sword rain covering the sky, the youth was dumbstruck and at a loss for what to do.
Fortunately, a stern shout in his mind brought him back to his senses.
“You bunch of idiots, what are you dawdling for? This broken formation is only third-tier and there’s no Formation Master in control – it operates solely on the Earth Spirit’s instinctive movements. In front of that old ghost, it’s as defenseless as a naked courtesan in a brothel, easy to break through. Move quickly according to my instructions, or if he kills his way in here and finds out there’s something wrong with you, both of us are done for!”
“Oh, oh, oh!”
Upon hearing this, the youth finally snapped out of his daze, turning to run in a panic.
Looking again outside the mountain, amidst the pervasive Yang Yun clouds, Xu Yang sat alone, simultaneously unleashing thunderous sword rain to break the Azure Dragon’s formation and absorbing the energy of Spirit Stones to replenish his own consumption.
The Heavenly Sword’s might is incredibly strong, and its consumption equally severe.
For an ordinary Golden Core Cultivator, after using the Heavenly Sword, they would become completely drained. If they didn’t recuperate in time, at best their Yuan Qi would suffer greatly and their cultivation level would plummet. At worst, their foundation would be damaged and long-term issues deeply embedded, their entire cultivation dissipating like water flowing eastward.
However, Xu Yang was no ordinary Golden Core Cultivator.
His current body was not one of flesh and blood, but rather a Spirit-Treasure Ten Thousand Artifact Body.
The wear and tear and consumption of the Heavenly Sword on him could be entirely compensated by the “Sprit-stone infusing” means.
Xu Yang sat among the clouds, robe gleaming with Spirit Light beneath it. Countless Spirit Stones poured from his Storage Bag, all absorbed by the Spirit-Treasure Ten Thousand Artifact Body, turning into Mecha energy to make up for the battle consumption.
This is consumption, and there’s also wear and tear!
“Bang! Bang! Bang!”
Amidst flashes of Spirit Light, piece by piece of Magic Artifact fell down, many battered and severely damaged.
Uniting three techniques to wield the Heavenly Sword not only consumed a tremendous amount of mana, but also placed an enormous burden on the body.
Without an extremely resilient physique, one would end up with completely shattered meridians and broken bodies after using such a technique, ending only in mutual destruction with the enemy. This would be the same as when Xu Yang previously cut down Pudu Cihang with his sword.
After all, that’s the Heavenly Sword, the might of heaven and earth. How can mere mortals wield it lightly?
Even with the Spirit-Treasure Ten Thousand Artifact Body and the Heavenly Crafts Natural Creation Technique, with a hundred thousand artifacts sharing and bearing the load, a large number of components still suffered damage.
The rate of loss reached a terrifying thirty percent, which was thirty thousand damaged Magic Artifacts.
Eighty percent of these thirty thousand Magic Artifacts were beyond repair and required replacement to continue fighting.
With the destruction of Magic Artifacts and prior energy consumption combined, this battle alone cost Xu Yang at least twenty million Spirit Stones.
The gains from Purple Cloud Mountain had vanished at once.
Thus, it’s no wonder Xu Yang moved so swiftly and made his way directly to the gates of the Green Jade Sect.
With such a deficit, how could he continue contending with the Three Sects?
The Spirit-Treasure Mech Armor was excellent in all respects except for its terrifying consumption, waging a war of resources.
Spirit Stones were an absolute necessity!
“Bang! Bang! Bang!”
Spirit Light flashed, lightning and fire rained down, with one damaged Magic Artifact after another falling down, swiftly being replaced by brand-new spares. In just a moment, the Mecha was fully repaired, and its combat power restored to its peak.
The 30,000 replaced Magic Artifacts were not discarded by Xu Yang as trash, but were all collected into his Storage Bag.
Twenty years of development had brought the “Great Artifact Refining” plan of Fish and Dragon Island to a resounding success. A complete production system had now been established: material sourcing, manufacturing, recycling, repairing, disassembling… every aspect was well-covered.
The damaged Magic Artifacts, once brought back to Fish and Dragon Island and processed through the Artifact Refining workshop, would be repaired or recycled. Every useful and valuable material would be utilized, shining brightly until it completely vanished, leaving not a trace of worth.
This is logistics!
Without a complete production system as support, who could play around with something as gold-thirsty as the Spirit-Treasure Mech Armor?
The repair of the Spirit-Treasure Mech Armor was complete, and the spirit of the Azure Dragon was also dispelled by the thunderous lightning sword.
The Green Jade Formation was thus broken.
Xu Yang didn’t waste words; he directly activated “The technique to Drag Thousand Mountains,” subduing every single person in the Green Jade Sect.
Then, he threw out the Beast Taming Bag and streams of Spirit Light spewed forth, as each Spirit Beast flew out and transformed into human form after landing and rolling on the ground.
The Beast Taming Bag can nurture Spirit Beasts and also contain living people; it is the signature Magic Artifact of a Beast Tamer.
However, nurturing Spirit Beasts is difficult; their growth is far slower than that of Human Clan Cultivators and requires a lot of resources, which ordinary people can hardly afford. Only large forces can nourish a few to guard their sect entrances.
Luckily, Xu Yang possessed the Supreme Yin Body Training Skill, which could aid Spirit Monsters in Transformation, cultivating Human Clan Cultivation Techniques, along with Beast Taming skills and the Enlightening Transmutation of the Earth Deity Cultivation Method. The number of Spirit Beasts under his command was enough to shock the Demon Race.
Although time had been short and he hadn’t accumulated enough experience, these Spirit Monsters were not yet ready for major tasks, but they were more than sufficient for menial work.
“Caw caw caw!”
“My boys, follow me to capture people!”
A cormorant soared into the sky, transforming into a robust man, leading a group of smaller transformed brethren into the mountains, using Beast Taming Bags to capture the defenseless Green Jade Sect Disciples.
“Be gentle over there; that’s the Spirit Medicine Garden. Don’t damage our master’s Spiritual Medicines!”
“Go on, get lost; the Spirit Rice isn’t ripe yet. How can it be harvested? Don’t mess things up.”
“Go move the Spirit Stones, Magic Artifacts, medicinal pills, and Talismans that can be taken away directly.”
“You guys go to the scripture repository, you others to the Alchemy Room, and you to the Artifact Refining Workshop…”
“Those mansions, towers, and Cave Mansions, don’t miss a single one. Gather all the Spirit Stones, Magical Artifacts, medicinal pills, Talismans, and anything else you can carry.”
“Eh, who buried something here? Oh my, so many Storage Bags…”
The Spirit Beasts were set loose, raiding Green Jade, packing everything except the still-growing Spirit Plants to transport back to Fish and Dragon Island, to be thrust into the vigorous “Great Production” campaign to support Xu Yang’s next moves.
Xu Yang sat in the clouds, not participating in the joyous post-battle loot gathering.
Because there was something more important than all that.
And that was…
Xu Yang took out a Hundred Ghosts Banner and shook out a soul, which faintly exuded a golden radiance.
It was the soul of a Golden Core Cultivator!
Supreme Elder of the Tianshu Sect—Li Longpeng!
Under the Heavenly Sword, even Nascent Souls fall; how could Li Longpeng, with only Golden Core Cultivation, escape his fate?
He had perished under the sword, and his soul had been captured by Xu Yang.
The soul of a Golden Core Cultivator is an extremely precious material, perfect for practicing ghost-subjugating techniques.
But Xu Yang wasn’t planning to use this Underworld Soul for cultivation right now.
Instead, he was about to…
“Hum!!!”
A concentration of Spirit Light gathered at his forehead, shaping into an eye, and as it opened, it shot out a ray of divine light that illuminated the soul.
Spirit Eyes Mysterious Light, penetrating the soul!
The Righteous Path’s version of soul searching.
Under the Heavenly Eye and within the beam of Spirit Light, the soul had no power to resist, and memories flowed out, displaying everything before Xu Yang’s eyes.
After some time, when the Heavenly Eye closed and the Mysterious Light faded away, it left behind a weak and listless Underworld Soul.
“So that’s how it is, that’s how it is!”
Xu Yang paid it no mind and quickly put away the soul of Li Longpeng. He then opened his Spirit Eyes again, allowing the Mysterious Light to shine towards the heavens, uncovering the secrets of this world.
This time, it was no longer chaos and darkness; amidst the turbulent shadows, snippets of information surfaced.
The Void Spirit Realm!
Legend had it that in the Northern Region Cultivation World, after the Great Return to Void Cultivator known as “Void Spirit True Monarch” perished, his Purple Mansion Primordial Spirit and his Immortal Artifact fell within the Barbaric Wastes of the Northern Domain, turning into a small world, a Cave Heaven Blessed Land. The Purple Mansion Immortal Treasure was hidden inside, accumulating the power of myriad Yuan Spirits to seek a chance for rebirth or to await a successor’s inheritance.
This was only rumor, its truth unknown until later when “Three Friends of Bright Moon” discovered this Cave Heaven and confirmed the legends.
The Three Friends of Bright Moon were sworn brothers, cultivators, with “True Monarch Tianshu” as the eldest, “Green Jade Venerable” and “Bright Moon Pill King” as the younger brothers.
True Monarch Tianshu, a Great Return to Void Cultivator, was the head of the Tianshu lineage of the Big Dipper Immortal Sect, with Green Jade Venerable and Bright Moon Pill King as the founders of Green Jade Mountain and Medicine King Valley respectively.
After discovering this place, the three attempted to enter the Cave Heaven to see if they could retrieve the Immortal Treasure left by Void Spirit True Monarch. However, they met with resistance from the world of the Cave Heaven.
Unwilling to give up, after years of research, they finally devised a method to open a channel to this realm, sending their Disciples to search for the remnants of the True Monarch’s Immortal Mansion’s treasure.
Once inside, the Disciples found that the Cave Heaven was vast, already hosting mortal kingdoms and colossal mountain ranges that harbored countless Demon Beasts.
Given the vastness of the Cave Heaven and the Purple Mansion Immortal Treasure’s ability to hide and elude detection, locating it with just the disciples of the three was as difficult as finding a needle in a haystack.
Therefore, the three ordered their Disciples to establish three Sect branches there to oversee the world and search for the Immortal Mansion!