Chapter 373: Thunder Prison Array, Suppressing and Killing Wang Yuan

Inside the Jiushan.

Dark clouds swirled, gathering and dispersing, gloomy as if a black curtain were shrouding the land for a thousand miles around.

Silver snakes coiled, and thunderclaps exploded.

The thunderstorms that appeared from time to time became denser the deeper one went.

Even a Foundation Establishment cultivator, once struck, would suffer minor injuries.

If one encountered those continuous, large-scale thunderstorms, no matter how formidable a Foundation Establishment cultivator might be, they would perish within them.

Perhaps, only a Core Formation master could barely resist.

But that is merely a "perhaps."

This is the might of heaven and earth!

Even if not deliberately targeted at cultivators whose great power resides within themselves, it is not something an ordinary person can take lightly.

It is hard to imagine, if the legendary Nascent Soul tribulation were to occur and heaven and earth sent down thunder punishment, to what degree it would reach?

The tribulation lightning produced in such thunder punishment is entirely different from ordinary thunder and lightning; Foundation Establishment and Core Formation cultivators would die upon contact!

Swish!

On the mountainside, the sound of breaking through the air arrived.

Strong winds billowed, and gravel shot out.

A figure suddenly stopped, and the spiritual energy wings behind them slowly retracted.

As the misty airflow billowed, the cultivator's true appearance was revealed.

The facial features were well-defined, the lips were tightly pressed, and there was an unyielding chill in the sword-like brows and starry eyes.

"Blood Demon!"

"A False Core stage cultivator!"

"No wonder ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivators have not a single survivor after encountering him."

"His magic treasures are both offensive and defensive, and he even has the Blood Escape technique to accelerate flight; there are almost no flaws."

"If I hadn't used tactics to keep my distance from the start, laying down Vine Technique, Earth Mountain Technique, and Thousand-Fold Peak along the way to drag him down and suppress him, and then used the Profound Xuan Xuan Huo Jian to unleash the Blazing Sun Technique, I fear I wouldn't have been able to hurt him in the slightest."

Luo Chen opened his mouth and exhaled a long, turbid breath.

In that battle just now, he seemed to have the upper hand, suppressing the opponent from start to finish.

But that was merely an appearance.

The opponent's magic treasures and methods were not inferior to his, and because the gap in cultivation realms was too large, there was an insurmountable chasm between the two.

If they had fought head-on, without retreating or fleeing.

Even if Luo Chen had exhausted all his trump cards, after several hundred rounds, he certainly would no longer be the opponent's match.

His only advantage was probably his flight speed.

The speed he had just burst out with had not yet reached his limit; he had only used seventy percent.

In other words, if Luo Chen did not want to fight the opponent, he could have kept his distance from the start and shaken off the Blood Demon.

But that would have meant he would always have a pursuer behind him.

A bone-deep thorn, most disgusting!

That was why Luo Chen had laid down layers of killing moves, attempting to severely injure the opponent.

Killing him would naturally be best, but if he couldn't be killed, a deterrent would suffice.

Unfortunately, the opponent actually had a defensive magic treasure, the Red Silk.

It prevented Luo Chen from achieving complete success.

"But now, he shouldn't dare to pursue anymore!"

Standing on the mountainside, Luo Chen looked into the distance along the path he had come with his spiritual eyes.

Limited by the environment, his spiritual sense could not probe very far, only a few miles.

But his "thousand-mile eyes" did not have this limitation.

Even though the terrain and trees blocked his view, he could still estimate the general range.

Before long, under Luo Chen's focused gaze, he vaguely detected the opponent's tracks.

In the dense forest, a streak of light was flying close to the ground, gradually leaving the Jiushan.

Seeing this scene, Luo Chen finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Although he did not fear the opponent, provoking such an enemy for no reason was ultimately not good.

After all, he had important matters to attend to.

"Speaking of which, what is this person's background?"

"Appearance, voice, and even height and build were all disguised. A loose cultivator afraid of trouble is possible, but it looks more like a grand sect's true disciple!"

"An ordinary loose cultivator could not cultivate to the Great Perfection of Foundation Establishment, or even the temporary realm of False Core. If someone had such achievements, they would definitely be a famous existence within the Yuding Domain!"

"But if they were a grand sect's true disciple, they should only target one side, not provoke everyone equally."

"Could it be a feint?"

Luo Chen recalled the various methods the opponent had temporarily revealed just now.

For a moment, he had no clue.

The opponent did not reveal any iconic cultivation techniques or moves, and the magic treasure flying sword was also of a relatively common type.

The only conspicuous thing was that Red Silk defensive magic treasure.

But he had never heard of this item before.

"Right, just now under my continuous strong attacks, he revealed a flaw. If the thunderstorm hadn't descended, I could have at least injured him!"

"If a False Core stage cultivator had refined a defensive magic treasure for over a hundred years, such a flaw would absolutely not appear."

"In other words, the time he obtained this Red Silk defensive magic treasure probably wasn't too long, which is why he..."

Luo Chen's train of thought broke.

This discovery still could not help him judge the opponent's specific identity.

Shaking his head, Luo Chen tossed a high-grade Dragon-Rising Pill into his mouth.

He used a sword pellet to open a cave in the mountain wall, but just as he was about to drill in, he frowned and backed out.

The Jiushan's body actually contained extraordinary thunder power, which was not suitable for quiet cultivation.

Shaking his head, Luo Chen took out a cloud-mist illusion array to conceal his figure.

He sat cross-legged on the rock platform on the mountainside to regulate his breath.

His spiritual power reserves were indeed incomparably thick, not inferior to any great Foundation Establishment late-stage cultivator; even when facing a False Core stage cultivator, he dared to fight.

But that did not mean he would charge around recklessly, running wild in the Jiushan.

He had to maintain his state at its peak at all times.

Only then could he face any enemy without any worries!

Time flowed slowly.

Merely refining pills, without involving the inhalation of heaven and earth spiritual energy, naturally made time pass quickly.

After only the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, Luo Chen opened his eyes with satisfaction.

In such time, he naturally could not fully refine the massive medicinal power of the high-grade Dragon-Rising Pill, but he had absorbed seven or eight tenths of it.

As he began to open his apertures, this physical body became increasingly formidable.

The number of high-grade pills he could refine daily had also broken through to two, which could be considered a disguised increase in his cultivation speed.

If such news were released, it would surely drop jaws everywhere.

An ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivator would need at least a day or two to refine a second-tier low-grade pill. If it were high-grade, it would take three to five days!

Considering the lingering harm of pill toxins, they would also have to leave a certain amount of time to slowly eliminate the toxins.

But for Luo Chen, these were not major issues at all.

He was an alchemist and had the most profound insights into how to quickly absorb the spiritual energy contained in pills.

Coupled with the "Clear Source Wonderful Pill Method," a toxin-cleansing pill technique, he had completely removed the worry of lingering pill toxins.

"No wonder the Green Pill Valley had the most Foundation Establishment cultivators and once dominated the Yuding Domain. Even if not everyone is like me, at least sixty or seventy percent of that level could pile up a large batch of Foundation Establishment cultivators!"

Sighing with emotion, Luo Chen's heart suddenly stirred.

He reached for his waist, and a jade pendant appeared before him.

Spiritual light flickered upon it!

Luo Chen knew very well what this meant!

"Nearby!"

Luo Chen's eyes lit up; he put away the cloud-mist illusion array and leaped into the deeper parts of the Jiushan.

Inside a mountain valley.

Two figures stood opposite each other, each occupying a position.

Both pairs of eyes flickered, staring fixedly at the valley below.

Inside, lightning flashed and thunder roared, as if thunderstorms were intersecting.

But looking closely, it was not a thunderstorm, but a second-tier array temporarily constructed!

Inside, there were two more figures.

One sat cross-legged, continuously casting small flags, seemingly presiding over the array.

The other figure flashed, continuously charging at the array, occasionally blasting out a palm, the surging energy shaking the array.

Occasionally, thunder fell, but it was all washed away by the massive blood-colored airflow coiling around him.

Looking at his momentum, this array seemed unable to trap him!

Ku Chan's expression was gloomy.

"This person's attainments in body refining are actually this terrifying!"

"When we first met, he was only at the Great Perfection of Dark Energy; after several months of pursuit, he has actually mastered Transformation Energy. Even Fellow Daoist Yang's Thunder Prison cannot suppress him!"

He saw it clearly.

Those thunder chains extending from the array, every time they went to bind Wang Yuan.

They were all calmly neutralized by the blood-colored airflow coiling around him.

Even though he had tricked him into the array, for a while, he had no way to deal with him.

It could even be said that the opponent was still constantly trying to crash through the array.

The Transformation Energy level in the second realm of body refining is comparable to the eighth layer of the Qi Refining and Foundation Establishment realms!

Especially since the opponent was a dual cultivator of magic and body!

Suddenly!

Inside the array, Yang Wei's anxious voice came.

"This person is no mindless brute; he seems to understand the principles of the array and is heading straight for the array eye."

"Ku Chan, Fellow Daoist Yan Leizi, quickly enter the array to assist me!"

Almost at the moment his words fell.

Inside the array.

A low, deep roar like a bull's bellow or a tiger's howl erupted.

Wang Yuan's figure began to rapidly grow.

Initially only seven feet tall, in the blink of an eye, it broke through one zhang, then two zhang.

In just two breaths, his entire person was three zhang tall!

Terrifying blood-colored airflow coiled around him.

His rock-like muscles were exposed, showing a bronze luster.

Veins like coiling dragons were knotted on his body.

With every breath he took, he whipped up howling wild winds.

With a wave of his millstone-sized palms, large swaths of thunder chains derived from the array were torn down.

As his size grew, he took steps, charging toward Yang Wei, who was sitting cross-legged in the void.

Rumble...

The array was unstable!

Ku Chan's expression changed drastically.

Opposite him, another young man dressed in black and red tight-fitting clothes had glowing eyes.

"Let me go meet him!"

"Fellow Daoist Yan Leizi, wait!" Ku Chan hurriedly spoke.

Yan Leizi was puzzled and looked at him.

Ku Chan took a deep breath and pointed to the sky.

Yan Leizi suddenly realized.

"Fine, you go alone. If small thunderstorms occur, I will naturally neutralize them for you. However, are you sure you can deal with him?"

Ku Chan's expression turned ferocious.

"I am at the seventh layer of Foundation Establishment, assisted by Fellow Daoist Yang, who is also at the seventh layer, and we have this Thunder Prison Array constructed by combining the terrain of the Trap-Empty Valley."

"If this still cannot suppress and kill him, then what revenge am I seeking?"

Yan Leizi raised an eyebrow and said no more.

Ku Chan took a deep breath, his spiritual power surging and spreading throughout his body.

A jade ruler appeared in his hand.

Then, he leaped and entered the array.

Before long.

Inside the array, the sound of wind and thunder howling came.

The jade ruler, flashing with white jade light, continuously magnified, reaching several tens of zhang in size, like a giant door panel, continuously slamming toward Wang Yuan, who was also huge in size.

Yan Leizi watched this scene, unable to help but be exuberant.

He was shocked by the enemy Wang Yuan's body-refining attainments, and also marveled at the trump card methods of great Foundation Establishment late-stage cultivators like Ku Chan and Yang Wei.

If he hadn't relied on the special environment of the Nine Accumulated Thunder Mountains.

Being merely at the sixth layer of Foundation Establishment, he wouldn't have dared to stand on equal footing with them.

However!

As long as he waited for this war to end, by relying on accumulated merits, he could advance to the late stage of Foundation Establishment after returning to the sect.

By then, there would be no more shortfalls in cultivation realm.

He could even, with his father's support, contend for the position of Daoist Son of the Flame Alliance!

"Currently, I am not inferior to you all. In the future, I can even leave you far behind."

Yan Leizi watched the great battle in the array, his heart filled with passion.

He saw it clearly.

After Ku Chan entered to restrain him, Yang Wei, presiding over the array, finally breathed a sigh of relief, and more thunder chains emerged from above the array to bind Wang Yuan.

Now, three chains had already pierced the opponent's feet and abdomen.

As long as seven chains pierced his body, the pattern of "Seven Thunders Suppressing the Prison" could be formed.

By then, Wang Yuan would only be able to surrender and await execution!

"The way of arrays is still strong. With preparation, suppressing those of the same rank is easy, and killing enemies across ranks is also simple."

"If Yang Wei had been by my side back then, we wouldn't have been obstructed by that Lei Zhenzi, and I wouldn't have been in such a sorry state, almost perishing under the Five Thunders Bombardment."

Just as he was sighing at the methods of the people in the array.

He suddenly felt something was wrong.

He looked around; it was quiet.

He looked up at the sky; although dark clouds were gathering, no thunderstorm was born.

Trap-Empty Valley was a peculiar terrain in the Jiushan.

It had thick dark clouds covering a hundred miles all year round, but rarely had thunderstorms.

Then, where did that feeling of something being wrong come from?

Yan Leizi frowned tightly, his sharp eyes frantically scanning all directions.

"Who is it? Get out here!"

A loud shout, but there was no response.

But it was precisely this lack of response that made him feel the dangerous aura becoming even thicker.

Suddenly.

He looked down at the ground; a small pebble rolled inexplicably.

"Hmm?"

Just as he was puzzled.

The next moment!

The ground began to tremble violently, and countless rocks shook.

As the shaking intensified, larger rocks fell from the cliffs on both sides toward the Trap-Empty Valley.

"An earthquake?"

Yan Leizi was surprised and uncertain.

Suddenly!

He looked down into the Trap-Empty Valley.

The earthquake and the collapse of the mountains brought about the flow of earth energy and changes in the terrain.

In this way, Yang Wei's Thunder Prison trap array would inevitably be affected.

If Wang Yuan were to break free, relying on the opponent's formidable abilities, the three of them would fear they couldn't keep him.

"No!"

"Must finish this quickly!"

"I must enter the array and join forces with Ku Chan to suppress Wang Yuan!"

Just as he was about to take a step.

A hearty laugh came from outside the mountain.

"Fellow Daoist, please stay your step!"

Yan Leizi turned his head suddenly.

A man wearing a red-cloud Daoist robe stepped out from the void, dragging the Profound Xuan Xuan Huo Jian behind him. Streaks of red airflow were spitting and swallowing at the tip of the sword, and as they did, the aura permeated several miles around.

It seemed that the sword was pulling on the entire world!

As he approached step by step, the shaking of the earth became even more obvious.

Vaguely, a great terror was slowly descending.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 374 =====