Chapter 33: Array Enhancement! Let's See Who Can Break My Tortoise Shell!

Boom—

The heavy footsteps mixed with a suffocating pressure, like an invisible giant wave, wave after wave slamming against the thin light shield over the Wang Family Old Residence.

The air inside the courtyard walls seemed to solidify, even breathing carried a tang of rust.

The Wang Family Descendants' palms sweated as they gripped their weapons, their teeth involuntarily chattering.

Wan Hong, he's really here! That aura of Body Refining Ninth Layer Peak—no mistake!

Wang Shan stood beneath the old pagoda tree, his spine ramrod straight, but the hand inside his sleeve clenched tight. Time! He needed time!

Just then, a voice suddenly rang in his mind, practically heavenly music!

【Ding! Host, please note, your cultivated 'Condense Spirit Flower' has finished batch ripening, harvesting a total of 1350 plants, gaining 472 Spirit Plant Points.】

Wang Shan's heart leapt!

Success!

He instantly glanced at the system panel, the number in the 'Spirit Plant Points' column suddenly became—3572!

Enough! 【Obstacle-Breaking Pill】!

"System, exchange for 【Obstacle-Breaking Pill】!" Wang Shan shouted in his mind.

【Ding! Exchange for 【Obstacle-Breaking Pill】 (requires 3500 points) failed. Detected that the host currently faces an urgent threat; defense demand is highest priority, recommended to prioritize use of the already exchanged 【Array Core Enhancement Module】 (value 2000 points, already paid). Confirm immediate use of this module to strengthen the 【Misty Spirit Gathering Array】?

"Huh?" Wang Shan blinked, then suddenly remembered, "Right! I almost forgot this! Preserving life comes first!"

He had indeed exchanged this enhancement module earlier as a precaution, never bringing himself to use it, and had embedded it in a recess of the artificial hill in the rear courtyard.

"Use! Use it now! Fuse the 【Array Core Enhancement Module】 into the array eye!" Wang Shan ordered without hesitation.

As the command fell, Wang Shan felt the ground beneath his feet tremble slightly.

Toward the rear courtyard's artificial hill, that inconspicuous gray stone-like module instantly turned into a blinding golden stream of light, with a 'whoosh' it dove underground, racing straight for the array core!

The next moment, the light shield of the 【Misty Spirit Gathering Array】 enveloping the entire Wang Family Courtyard burst forth with a brilliant radiance! The originally pale cyan shield's surface saw countless fine, intricate golden runes—so complex they made one dizzy—spontaneously float into existence, as if coming alive, swiftly wandering, interlacing, and combining!

A mighty, heavy aura, seemingly capable of blocking any impact, many times stronger than before, burst outward, making all the Wang Family Descendants inside the courtyard feel their chests loosen, as if a huge stone weighing on them had been shifted halfway aside.

But this astonishing phenomenon lasted less than a single breath.

The light and runes swiftly retracted, the golden light vanished, and the shield returned to its previous pale cyan hue, even looking somewhat duller than before, utterly unremarkable, as if a light touch would shatter it.

Yet Wang Shan could clearly feel that the array's defensive power had increased at least threefold!

This makeshift enhancement module took effect instantly!

It was practically like slapping a thickened, reinforced iron tortoise shell onto the Wang Family!

"Good! Good!" Wang Shan's clenched fist relaxed a bit, the corners of his mouth involuntarily turning up, revealing a hint of a fierce smile, "Come on, Wan Hong, you old dog! Let this old man see how you break my tortoise shell!"

That suffocating frustration and anxiety in his heart were finally eased somewhat.

……

"Thud!"

A heavy thud sounded, and outside the Wang Family's weathered vermilion lacquered gate, the ground was stepped into a shallow pit.

Wan Hong has arrived.

He stood with his hands behind his back, behind him a black mass of Wan Family Descendants and hired offerings and guest officials, killing intent surging.

Those four close aides of his, at Body Refining Seventh and Eighth Layers, followed closely, their eyes fierce as they stared ahead.

Wan Hong lifted his gaze, looking at that pale cyan light shield enveloping the entire Wang Family estate. Hmm? Seems unchanged? Or still that half-dead appearance.

He curled the corner of his mouth, revealing a hint of disdain.

"Hmph, playing at spirits and ghosts!" Wan Hong let out a cold snort, his voice not loud but clearly audible to everyone, "This petty trick—do you think it can stop my Wan Family?"

He couldn't even be bothered to act himself, waving a hand at his four aides behind him: "You few, go up first and test the hardness of this tortoise shell. Blast it, drain its energy!"

"Yes! Family Head!"

The four cultivators replied in unison, their eyes flashing with ruthless light.

They were eager to put on a good performance before the Family Head.

The four immediately spread out, occupying the four directions before the Wang Family gate, each circulating their cultivation arts.

One had bulging muscles all over, his fists wrapped in earth-yellow light, obviously practicing some earth-system Body Refining technique.

Another had a drifting silhouette, hands forming seals, with pale blue vapor condensing at his fingertips.

The other two: one was a swordsman who drew the long blade on his back, the blade humming; the other was a palm striker whose palms turned crimson, the air slightly warping.

They did not attack immediately, but were gathering strength, preparing to launch a combined strike to give the Wang Family's tortoise shell a shocking first blow, and to pave the way for their master's ensuing thunderous strike.

Inside the Wang Family courtyard.

Wang Shan looked at those four arrogant fellows outside, his heart slightly relaxed, but soon it tensed again.

The enhancement module is one‑time use; its energy diminishes with each bit spent, and it won't last long.

He again sank his consciousness into the system, staring at the number 【Spirit Plant Points: 3572】.

Damn it! Just a little bit short!

The 【Obstacle-Breaking Pill】 still needs to be exchanged! Only by breaking through to Body Refining Eighth Layer, or even higher, can I truly have the confidence to face that old scoundrel Wan Hong head‑on!

"We must gather enough points before the array's energy runs out!"

His focus once again gathered in the spirit‑plant space, urging the last small patch of not‑yet‑fully‑matured basic spirit plants to grow quickly.

Time, still not enough!

……

Meanwhile, outside Luo Bay County, in a dense forest more than ten li away.

Qian Bo leaned against a thick old tree, panting, sweat dripping from his head.

He poked his head out, cautiously gazing toward the county seat.

All he saw was that, above the county town, a huge black airship loomed like an ominous shadow, hovering there and exuding a palpitation‑inducing aura.

Faintly, it seemed one could still hear the shouts of battle and the dull thuds of Spiritual Power colliding coming from the southern direction of the city.

Qian Bo's face grew even paler, he was anxious as fire.

"It's started! The Wan family really moved in!" He clutched the hard object wrapped in layers of oilcloth in his bosom—that was the Righteous Qi Talisman entrusted to him by Young Master Wang Xuanqing!

"Quick! We must be faster! We must get this life-saving Talisman to its destination before the Wang Family can't hold out any longer!"

He gritted his teeth, no longer resting, hunched his body, quickened his pace once more, and desperately slipped toward the extremely secret contact point that Wang Mingyuan had told him about in his memory.