Chapter 178
This strange sight made Fang Xu feel quite novel.
Setting aside the cluttered thoughts in his mind, he began to carefully observe the characters emerging from the Nameless Immortal Scripture.
The surrounding scenery gradually changed; everything on the mountaintop slowly vanished, the sky gradually darkened, until finally, Fang Xu felt that the entire world had nothing left but the stone tablet before him, radiating endless light.
The strange characters emerging from the stone tablet slowly changed their forms—several, dozens, hundreds of these odd characters combined together, gradually forming light chains of varying lengths.
These light chains drifted continuously around Fang Xu, like mischievous children.
Fang Xu was somewhat curious; he did not know what these light chains were, nor did he understand what the manifestation of the Immortal Scripture meant.
His consciousness quietly observed the dancing of these light chains, time passing bit by bit.
Fang Xu sat quietly.
"Kid, your time is up—you still have two chances left. Want me to renew them?"
With the system's support, my mental attribute has already reached 140 points, far surpassing ordinary cultivators—it couldn't possibly be due to comprehension ability, could it?
But what is this higher-level thing?
As he walked, Fang Xu pondered in his mind.
Immersed in that wonderful epiphany, Fang Xu, having used up his three chances, was forcibly awakened by that aged voice.
Could it be...
Wasted!
The first chance was wasted just like that.
Why couldn't I dodge Liu Xin's axe strike? It must be related to some higher-level thing.
In the sect's main hall.
With regret in his eyes, Fang Xu decided that upon returning, he would definitely study the basic knowledge of every resource point on the Immortal Isle thoroughly, to avoid wasting time so foolishly again.
"Whether it's difficult or not, I don't know, but you brat, pick one to contemplate!"
The opportunity to contemplate the Immortal Scripture is so hard to obtain; each contemplation should yield some gain, right?
On the golden chain, there is some extremely unique charm, giving a sense of heaviness and grandeur.
Looking at the light chains flying wildly around, Fang Xu found it hard to believe as he made contact with one using his consciousness.
After Fang Xu sat cross-legged on the bed in the room, a miniature blood-red demon ape phantom gradually appeared behind him, followed by a blurred golden chain.
"This little fellow has decent talent, just a bit foolish..." the aged voice muttered, then vanished directly.
The four chief elders of the Immortal Isle gathered together at this time.
The two seemed to be attempting some kind of fusion.
But when the golden chain and the blood-red demon ape phantom drew close to a certain extent, a terrifying thunderclap suddenly came from the skies above the Immortal Isle!
In the next moment, countless black clouds appeared out of nowhere above the Immortal Isle, and terrifying thunder began to condense in the clouds!
The clouds grew thicker and thicker, the terrifying pressure enveloping the Immortal Isle, startling everyone on it.
If I had known earlier that those light chains required consciousness to capture in order to comprehend, I might now have gained deeper insight.
"Back already?"
The Nameless Immortal Scripture is the most important cultivation resource on the Immortal Isle, said to also be the foundation for the mysterious chairman of the Ascension Society's rise.
Upon hearing this, Fang Xu was completely dazed!
"Pick one to contemplate!"?
"Senior, is contemplating this Immortal Scripture difficult?" Fang Xu couldn't help but finally voiced the doubt in his heart.
Fang Xu felt somewhat lost, looking at the light chains still flying wildly in the sky, his heart inevitably grew restless.
"Time's almost up!"?
Under Fang Xu's control, the golden chain began to slowly approach the blood-red demon ape phantom.
In a flash of time, three days passed.
This isn't right!
At this moment, a voice echoed across everything in Fang Xu's sea of consciousness.
"Senior Brother, this is heavenly might—absolutely not an ordinary thunderstorm!"
Gazing at the stone tablet with lingering intent, Fang Xu helplessly rose to his feet.
How could I have wasted a chance for nothing, seeing only these light chains flying wildly, gaining nothing at all?
"Senior, help me renew my chances!"
At this moment, Fang Xu Fang Xu immersed himself in some wonderful realm, walking past Gu Qiu without hearing her words, straight back to his room, then sat cross-legged on the bed.
Unbeknownst to him, he had already returned to the valley where Gu Qiu lived.
Coming down from the mountain peak, Fang Xu combined what he had comprehended from the Nameless Immortal Scripture with what he had contemplated during his year-long seclusion, forming a rough guess in his heart.
Gu Qiu looked at him curiously, also understanding he might be contemplating something, quietly left the room and closed the door behind her.
Fang Xu shouted, then immediately began to contemplate the light chain in his mind.
Seeing Fang Xu, Gu Qiu spoke.
After the light chain made contact with his consciousness, it actually docilely drilled into his mind.
"You can activate nearly eighty percent of the Immortal Scripture's immortal characters—why have you just been sitting there idly without contemplating?"
Dressed in white, with a slender frame, Lian Miao gazed at the thunder-flashing sky outside the hall with a solemn expression.
Lian Yao said nothing.
He naturally also felt the sudden change in the skies above the Immortal Isle, which seemed to contain some will—perhaps this heaven and earth was rising in anger to punish some matter, some person.
But recently, no one on the Immortal Isle has done anything to provoke heaven's wrath and people's resentment—why would this heavenly will rage above the Immortal Isle?
"Senior Brother, what should we do now?"
"If the will of heaven and earth descends, the great formation of the Immortal Island will surely not be able to withstand it!"
"Once the great formation is broken, those who have long been eyeing the Immortal Island will surely rush to attack it at the first opportunity."
Lian Yao's face darkened slightly as he lowered his head in thought for a moment, then said: "Junior brothers, do not panic; I will go ask Great Mountain Lord to see if he has any solution."
After saying this, Lian Yao's figure instantly turned into a stream of light and vanished into the main hall of the sect.
Elsewhere on the Immortal Island.
The disciples who had originally been in secluded cultivation were all startled awake at this moment.
The turmoil of the will of heaven and earth caused those in secluded cultivation to suffer considerable harm.
One by one, they emerged from their places of seclusion, gazing at the terrifying will of heaven and earth in the sky that seemed poised to destroy the entire Immortal Island, their eyes filled with shock.
They could feel that, under the pressure of this heavenly will, an instinctive tremor from the depths of their souls continuously affected their spirits, leaving them without even a thought of resistance.
In the valley, the pressure Fang Xu could feel at this moment far exceeded that of anyone else on the island.
At this moment, he clearly felt an invisible pair of hands tightly gripping his spirit, as if it would be crushed in the next instant!
Clang!
But just then, the dark clouds in the sky were suddenly torn open by another terrifying presence!
The black clouds were ripped apart, revealing a huge, colorful crack in the sky!
Within the crack, the figure wearing the twelve-beaded imperial crown reappeared.
After this figure appeared, it looked down upon this world, with faintly visible thousands of troops and horses behind it, banners fluttering.
A torrential killing intent swept in, swiftly dispersing the surrounding dark clouds!
The dispersed clouds gathered in the distance into a huge face, the giant face wearing an expression of anger, its mouth opening and closing as if shouting something.
Within the colorful crack, the figure wearing the twelve-beaded imperial crown silently listened to its roar, unmoved.
Whoosh!
At this moment, another stream of light shot forth from afar!
The stream of light transformed into a light-shadow that hovered silently between the giant face and the crack, as if trying to persuade something.
The anger on the giant face's face did not subside; within the dark clouds behind it, vast amounts of electric light rapidly condensed, the originally white electric light now completely turned gray.
Seeing this, the light-shadow also seemed angered, its body rapidly expanding as it stepped forward with one foot, directly chopping at the colorful crack, standing side by side with the figure wearing the twelve-beaded imperial crown.
Clearly, they were preparing to join forces.
"Rise!"
The figure wearing the twelve-beaded imperial crown lightly waved its long sword, and from the ranks of banners behind it, a figure clad in general's armor, entirely wrapped in endless killing intent, slowly stepped forward.
Upon appearing, everyone on the Immortal Island clearly felt the ground beneath them tremble slightly several times.
Moreover, the terrifying killing intent emanating from the armored figure caused the clouds in the sky to be covered with a thick layer of frost!
Immediately after, large snowflakes began to fall from the sky.
Pat!
The armored figure took a step forward, half its body already reaching outside the colorful crack!
At this moment, countless black thunderbolts suddenly appeared, striking toward the armored figure!
Boom!
Boom!
…
Endless black electric light exploded in the sky, the scattered energy indiscriminately falling upon the Immortal Island from all directions.
At this moment, the formations on the Immortal Island lit up with a pale blue shield, resisting the scattered terrifying thunderbolts.
Under the bombardment of the black thunderbolts, the armored figure was blocked and could not fully step out of the void crack.
At this time, the light-shadow made its move!
Behind the light-shadow, twelve massive stone gates slowly appeared!
As the stone gates slowly opened, twelve different silhouettes walked out from behind them!
These twelve silhouettes either burned with endless flames or radiated metallic light from their bodies……
After the twelve silhouettes appeared, they simultaneously waved their hands, unleashing chains of various colors that flew toward the giant face opposite!
Roar!
The giant face let out a tremendous roar, and the black thunderbolts in the clouds behind it continuously bombarded the twelve differently colored chains!
It seemed that, because a great amount of power had been gathered to target the twelve chains, the black thunderbolts blocking the armored figure had weakened considerably.
"Crack!"
The armored figure let out a furious shout, its endless killing intent suddenly erupting, repelling the black thunderbolts, and its long sword suddenly slashed out a terrifying sword light!
This sword light carved a terrifying rift across the entire sky, directly flying toward the giant face!
A flicker of panic appeared on the giant face's face, as it hastily formed a huge shield from endless black clouds, attempting to block this sword!
But the hastily formed shield only resisted for a moment before being split open by the sword light, its remaining force scraping past the giant face's forehead and directly slicing open a huge gap in the cloud-formed face!
Roar!
It let out a furious roar, then reluctantly dissipated into midair.
As the giant face faded, the light-shadow in the sky slowly turned, its gaze seemingly crossing endless space to see Fang Xu on the Immortal Island.
Then, the light-shadow bowed its hands toward the colorful crack and swiftly vanished above the Immortal Island.
Within the colorful crack, the imperial-like figure also slowly retreated; the void crack gradually healed, and everything returned to calm.
On the Immortal Island, the many disciples of the Ascension Assembly who witnessed this battle were all stunned.
Such a level of battle had completely exceeded their expectations.
Who was that imperial-like figure?
Still, that light and shadow...
As everyone was thinking, they suddenly discovered that the memories of the battle just now in their seas of consciousness were rapidly fading.
"No!"
"Such a battle is greatly beneficial to my future martial path; I don't want to forget it!"
"Why?!"
"My memories..."
Discovering that the memories of just now were fading, everyone who had witnessed this battle panicked!
Some clever people began to quickly draw their weapons, and on the nearby mountain rocks and earth, they hastily carved the memories that had not yet dissipated from their minds, hoping that later, upon seeing them, they could still recall something.
But this memory faded too quickly; before they could leave much useful information, all memories of this great battle had completely vanished from their minds.
In the sect's main hall.
Lian Yao and the four others gathered again in the main hall.
"Senior Brother, the protective grand formation of the Immortal Isle has suffered an attack from an unknown force, severely damaged, with many places already showing cracks."
Lian Miao said with a solemn expression.
Obviously, beings of their realm also had the memories of that great battle erased from their seas of consciousness.
Elder Lian Miao only knew that the Immortal Isle had suffered an attack from an unknown force, and the island-protecting grand formation was now on the verge of collapse.
Lian Yao said nothing.
The island-protecting grand formation is the capital that allows the Immortal Isle to remain so composed despite being surrounded by numerous enemies; now that the grand formation has actually suffered damage, those people surrounding the Immortal Isle will likely attack soon.
"Junior brothers and sisters, do not panic; I will go see Lord Dashan to see if he has any solution."
Lian Yao hesitated for a moment and said this.
But as soon as these words left his mouth, he felt something was off.
It seemed... he had said these words before, and also seemed to have just met Lord Dashan...
But no matter how Lian Yao tried to recall, his sea of consciousness held no related memories.
Could it be that I am having an illusion?
Lian Yao shook his head, did not take this to heart, and his body turned into a flowing light, disappearing into the sect's main hall.
In the valley, Fang Xu's memories were not erased; at this moment, his heart was filled with doubt.
The will of heaven and earth has appeared again!
It seems to be preventing me from fusing that golden chain with the Magic Ape Three Transformations divine ability...
His expression shifted slightly, and a phrase inexplicably popped into Fang Xu's mind.
Whatever the enemies oppose, we must firmly uphold!
The will of this heaven and earth has been eager to obliterate me since the moment I opened the Twelve Star Charts.
Between the two, it can be said they are mortal enemies.
If not for the mysterious existence from the void repeatedly stopping me, I would very likely have already been obliterated by the will of heaven and earth.
Now, since the will of heaven and earth wants to prevent me from fusing the golden chain and the Magic Ape Three Transformations divine ability, it must be because this fusion violates some taboo.
Taboo, how good!
The power to break taboos is the strongest power.
Suppressing the thoughts in his heart, Fang Xu again sat cross-legged, summoned the Magic Ape phantom and that golden chain he had comprehended from the Nameless Immortal Scripture, and attempted to fuse the two.
The golden chain and the Magic Ape phantom continually drew near, and Fang Xu could feel an inexplicable sense of surveillance appearing around him.
This surveillance carried a certain anger, resentment, and a hint of apprehension.
Fang Xu sneered coldly in his heart.
This surveillance is undoubtedly the omnipresent will of heaven and earth.
At this very moment, he had already mentally constructed an amusing story scene.
When I was opening the Twelve Star Charts, I seemed to have violated this heaven and earth's taboo, and the will of heaven and earth came forward to try to obliterate me.
But the mysterious existence in the void and that mysterious person from deep within Cyan Blue Mountain joined forces and reached some kind of deal with the will of heaven and earth.
The general content of the deal might be that the will of heaven and earth can prohibit him from absorbing the energy of this heaven and earth, but cannot obliterate him.
This time, I again attempted to fuse the golden chain and the Magic Ape Three Transformations divine ability, inadvertently violating this heaven and earth's taboo once more, thus drawing the wrath of the will of heaven and earth.
The mysterious existence in the void and that mysterious person from Cyan Blue Mountain both rushed over.
In the end, the will of heaven and earth tore apart its face, openly violating the original agreement made, and tried to obliterate me.
The mysterious person from deep within Cyan Blue Mountain and the existence in the void joined forces to heavily wound the will of heaven and earth.
Now, although the will of heaven and earth has again seen me preparing to fuse the golden chain and the Magic Ape Three Transformations divine ability, it also does not dare to act rashly.
Because it has just witnessed the power of the two mysterious strong beings joining forces, and it fears.
These things are what Fang Xu mentally constructed, but they should be roughly accurate.
Without paying heed to the surveillance of the will of heaven and earth, he continued to control the golden chain and the Magic Ape Three Transformations divine ability to fuse.
The distance between them grew ever closer.
Continuing to control their approach, Fang Xu's consciousness felt a strong force of resistance.
It seems that their fusion is an extremely difficult thing!
"Fuse for me!"
The resistance grew ever greater, and Fang Xu could sense that the illusory golden chain seemed to be straining desperately to break free from his control.
With a roar in his heart, Fang Xu's consciousness suddenly exerted force, directly and forcibly fusing the two together!
Boom!
In the instant of their fusion, Fang Xu suddenly found his consciousness appearing on a barren land, with shattered mountain ranges everywhere and magma surging forth.
This is...
Looking at everything around him, Fang Xu suddenly felt a sense of familiarity.
This scene seemed familiar, as if he had seen it somewhere before.
Roar!
At that moment, on the shattered earth, a massive figure drenched in blood let out a furious roar!
Demon Ape!?
Seeing this massive figure, he finally understood where he had seen this scene before.
The ruins of Chilan Mountain!
When he first comprehended the Three Transformations of the Demon Ape, what he saw was exactly this scene.
At this moment, on the earth, the massive blood-drenched Demon Ape roared toward the sky, while in the heavens, enormous golden chains stretched across above his head!
Clang!
Clang!
Golden chains appeared one after another!
With each appearance, the sky above the Demon Ape's head was pierced by the chains, great spatial rifts appeared, and misty chaotic qi seeped out from the spatial rifts!
The Demon Ape fiercely pounded his chest with both arms, then suddenly surged upward, charging toward the sky sealed by the golden iron chains!
Boom!
The massive fist slammed heavily onto one of the golden chains!
The Demon Ape's body was bounced back to the ground at a speed faster than his upward charge!
The originally cracked earth beneath was struck hard by the Demon Ape's body, and the cracks multiplied!
Large amounts of magma surged up from underground, splashing onto the Demon Ape's massive body.
Hiss!
Hiss!
As the magma contacted the Demon Ape's body, it emitted a series of hissing sounds.
Roar!
Gazing at the ever-increasing golden chains above, the Demon Ape let out a furious roar, then turned and lunged toward the scorching magma!
His fur-covered palm plunged into the magma, and the Demon Ape seemed to feel nothing at all.
Only after his entire arm was submerged in the magma did the Demon Ape violently haul out a heavy object from within.
It was a staff formed from magma!
Once the staff left the magma, it rapidly cooled and turned black, forming a weapon similar to the black iron staff Fang Xu held in his hand.
But this staff was much larger than the one Fang Xu held!
Gripping the magma staff, the Demon Ape's aura surged violently, his form shot upward again, and he charged straight at the golden chains in the sky!
Clang!
Clang!
One after another, violent impact sounds echoed through heaven and earth, and Fang Xu, like a bystander, silently watched everything before him.
After an unknown amount of time, the dense golden chains above were finally shattered by the Demon Ape in one strike!
After this golden chain broke, it directly transformed into a stream of light that merged into the Demon Ape's body.
The Demon Ape stood on the earth, silently digesting the stream of light formed from the golden chain, and the aura on his body grew even more substantial.
Boom!
After digesting the stream of light formed from the golden chain, he surged upward once again!
After another difficult assault, another golden chain was shattered once more.
In this endless cycle, the Demon Ape seemed to treat the golden chains above as some kind of nutrient, constantly striking, absorbing, and then striking again.
As an observer, Fang Xu could clearly sense the changes in the Demon Ape's aura.
From his earlier ferocity, he gradually became calm and heavy; his movements appeared light and cloud-like, yet carried an unmatchable momentum of a collapsing mountain.
Hmm?
Watching the Demon Ape constantly attack and constantly transform, Fang Xu suddenly noticed a hint of familiar rhythm.
This wonderful rhythm seemed like...
On the barren land, Fang Xu gradually replaced the Demon Ape's image with that of Liuxin.
He replaced that magma staff with an axe.
The golden chains above became one tree after another.
Exactly!
This is exactly it!
Fang Xu suddenly understood!
Isn't this feeling exactly what he had comprehended after half a year of painstaking contemplation from Liuxin's move?
Thinking that Liuxin must have comprehended the Nameless Immortal Scripture and then created that move, Fang Xu felt his guess was certainly correct.
But what he is now very curious about is what these golden chains actually are?
When he comprehended it, he seemed not to have understood it too thoroughly.
While he was pondering this question, the Demon Ape had already shattered and absorbed all the golden chains in the sky into his own body.
At this moment, Fang Xu felt that the demon ape before him had grown stronger!
The demon ape is the manifestation of his divine ability; his becoming stronger means his divine ability has grown stronger.
The barren land gradually dissipated, consciousness returned to his body, and Fang Xu immediately sensed his Three Transformations of the Demon Ape divine ability, discovering that at this moment, the Three Transformations of the Demon Ape had already touched the threshold of the third transformation, and it seemed that not long would pass before he could master the complete Three Transformations of the Demon Ape.
Having cultivated to this point could also be considered an end.
But as Fang Xu was preparing to rise, he suddenly recalled the previous appearance of the Heaven and Earth Will, and his consciousness once again came to the aperture space.
The twelve star charts within his body slowly circulated, and a large amount of primordial energy was continuously transported to the Dao Foundation Platform through the circulation of the twelve star charts.
The current third-layer Dao Foundation had already grown to six inches in size; Fang Xu did not pay attention to these, and his consciousness directly came to one of the aperture spaces within a star chart.
Of the twelve star charts, only the aperture stone gates in seven of them had been opened.
The remaining five star charts were forcibly opened by him with the aid of external force.
The punishment of the Heaven and Earth Will prevented him from drawing any energy from this heaven and earth; the energy he normally consumed in battle and cultivation was supplied by the seven stone gate worlds.
Fang Xu felt that his strength had greatly increased now, and it was necessary to try to open a few more stone gates.
In the aperture space, he stared at the giant sword floating in the space, and Fang Xu slowly reached out.
The giant sword flew directly into his hand.
This giant sword is one of the swords in that sword case; now, the three long swords in the sword case are all being nurtured by him as life-bound weapons.
Gripping the giant sword, Fang Xu's gaze turned toward the stone gate.
Let this stone gate be broken today!
The power of the consciousness body condensed, Fang Xu gripped the sword hilt with both hands, and suddenly slashed out a heaven-piercing sword gleam toward the stone gate before him.
Boom!
The hard stone gate trembled violently under this sword of his, and then numerous cracks appeared!
At the same time, a torrential killing aura suddenly burst forth from within the stone gate!
This killing aura quickly permeated the entire aperture space!
Under the invasion of this terrifying killing aura, the consciousness body experienced numerous hallucinations.
Countless wailing evil spirits bared their fangs and brandished their claws, rushing to kill the consciousness body, among which were not a few existences with heaven-shaking aura!
Fang Xu gripped the giant sword and continuously waved it, attempting to slash down the surging evil spirits!
But all this was in vain!
These evil spirits had no physical form; after being chopped to pieces by the giant sword, they quickly turned into a mass of gray airflow, and in the next moment, they formed new bodies elsewhere, continuing to rush to kill the consciousness body!
Seeing this, Fang Xu showed no trace of panic.
This ghostly thing is like the demon-voiced shark people he saw on the fourth layer of the Ti Lan Mountain relics at first; they seem to be illusory bodies.
Thinking of this, a bronze light suddenly burst forth from behind the consciousness body!
An exquisite and solemn bronze treasure vase appeared behind him!
Whoosh!
After the bronze treasure vase appeared, a terrifying suction force came, and all the terrifying killing aura within the aperture space was sucked into the vase like a whale swallowing!
The treasure vase seemed like a bottomless pit, continuously absorbing the killing aura.
Behind the cracked stone gate, the terrifying killing aura surged forth as if endless and inexhaustible!
In a short time, the two sides actually maintained a kind of balance!
Crack!
Crack!
As large amounts of killing aura were continuously devoured by the treasure vase, the existence behind the stone gate seemed to lose patience, began to prepare to forcibly break through the stone gate, and act personally.
Seeing the terrifying hand stretching out from the crack in the stone gate, Fang Xu for the first time sensed the seriousness of the problem.
The stone gate world within his aperture space actually had living beings!?
Crack!
Crack!
Accompanied by the continuous exertion of the giant palm, the cracks in the stone gate also grew larger and larger!
Boom!
Finally, the entire stone gate was instantly shattered!
In the great vortex, purple-black breath surged, and those two large hands struggled to emerge from within the vortex!
First the palm, then the arm, then the shoulder!
Seeing the huge arm filled with evil aura stretching out from the vortex, Fang Xu narrowed his eyes slightly, and immediately raised the giant sword in his hand to slash at that arm!
Pfft!
The life-bound weapon could unleash unimaginable power in this aperture space!
One sword strike down, that arm as thick as a mountain was directly severed!
Boom!
The arm fell within the aperture space, and a large amount of purple blood surged out within the gray arm!
These purple blood seemed to contain some strange energy; after flowing out, they corroded the entire aperture space into a thousand holes!
The aperture space is Fang Xu's body; the intense pain came, causing his consciousness body to tremble uncontrollably!
Soon, the purple blood corroded the aperture space through and through, seeped out from the aperture space, and surged toward other parts of the body!
Evil, strange, filthy, decayed, and a series of negative auras spread along Fang Xu's body to the surroundings!
In the neighboring room, Gu Qiu was cultivating, and suddenly sensed this strange aura, his expression changed greatly!
She originally thought it was her holy body erupting!
After sensing that these strange auras were coming from Fang Xu's room, Gu Qiu hurriedly ran to Fang Xu's room.
At this moment, Fang Xu, sitting cross-legged on the bed, was completely enveloped by this strange aura, and the flesh on his body was constantly being corroded!
Seeing this, Gu Qiu was directly frightened into a daze!
She could feel that the thing emanating from Fang Xu's body was far more terrifying than the outbreak of her own Ten Thousand Poisons Sacred Body.
Fortunately, as someone with the Stubborn Sacred Body, she had a certain resistance to this.
If it were anyone else, they would have already been corroded into a pool of thick liquid by these negative auras by now!
"Fang Xu!"
Having pushed her Sacred Body to its limit, Gu Qiu came to Fang Xu's side, preparing to wake him up.
But at this moment, Fang Xu's consciousness was in the Aperture Aperture space.
Looking at the purple blood continuously oozing from the severed arm, his expression was somewhat grim.
The condition of his body was already extremely critical; if he allowed these purple blood to seep into his body, it would not be long before his body would be completely corroded clean.
Thinking of this, he immediately began trying to summon the golden thunder within the Aperture Aperture space.
In the past, when opening the stone gate and encountering the erosive force behind it, the golden thunder would come to help.
This time, for some unknown reason, the golden thunder did not appear immediately.
His consciousness in the Aperture Aperture space called out again and again, but the golden thunder seemed unable to hear him at all, never appearing.
At this moment, Fang Xu knew that the golden thunder could not be relied upon.
He immediately began to use the Twelve Star Charts, trying one after another, to see if any could resolve this arm.
Buzz!
Just as he tried several star charts with no response, a blood-colored beetle suddenly drilled into the hollow corroded out in the Aperture Aperture world!
After this blood-colored beetle drilled in, it crawled straight toward that enormous arm, as massive as a mountain range!
Immediately after, large numbers of blood-colored beetles drilled in from the hollow, swarming toward that arm to crawl!
After countless blood-colored beetles crawled onto the enormous arm, they began to frenziedly gnaw on it!
Like a locust plague passing through, wherever the blood-colored beetle swarm went, the gray flesh on that enormous arm, as massive as a mountain range, was directly gnawed clean, leaving only some purple bones.
The blood-colored beetles gnawed on that arm while constantly molting.
From blood-red turning black, from black turning purple, and finally turning purple-gold.
When the entire arm had been gnawed clean, together with that purple blood also swept clean, Fang Xu's consciousness suddenly received a strong consciousness fluctuation.
Divine Attendant!
These blood-colored beetles are actually Divine Attendants!
Looking at the dense swarm of beetles before him, his consciousness body somewhat astonished, Fang Xu felt somewhat unbelievable.
The Divine Attendants have been residing in his body since he first set foot on the martial path.
He never expected that the true form of these little cuties would be like this.
Looking at these fist-sized purple-gold beetles, their bodies emitting a heavy metallic luster, Fang Xu felt it was very miraculous.
The spiritual fluctuation transmitted by the Divine Attendants told Fang Xu to quickly let them out.
Although Fang Xu was somewhat puzzled, he still mobilized the Blood Qi Power within his body to drive these beetles out of his body!
In the room, Gu Qiu was thinking about how to wake Fang Xu when she suddenly noticed that the strange aura on Fang Xu's body was weakening.
Just as she slightly relaxed her breath, she suddenly discovered a huge black vortex appearing on Fang Xu's chest!
Immediately after, large numbers of purple-gold beetles drilled out from the vortex!
Gu Qiu was greatly startled, her body instinctively retreating several steps!
Squeak squeak squeak!
Squeak squeak squeak!
After these purple-gold beetles drilled out from Fang Xu's body, they quickly filled the entire room!
Gu Qiu was even directly driven out of the room!
Through the window, seeing large numbers of purple-gold beetles filling the entire room, then all lying motionless on the spot, Gu Qiu's eyes showed a hint of doubt.
As someone with the Ten Thousand Poisons Sacred Body, she could feel that these beetles were a kind of ancient poisonous insect.
But how could there be so many poisonous insects in Fang Xu's body?
In Gu Qiu's doubtful gaze, the aura on these purple-gold beetles gradually weakened, until finally, each fist-sized beetle's body gradually cracked open, and one after another, a smaller blood-colored beetle drilled out from the purple-gold shell, then quickly returned into Fang Xu's body.
The room was left with a large amount of purple-gold shed skins.
At this moment, Fang Xu also slowly woke up.
Looking at the room full of purple-gold beetle shells, he smiled and waved his hand, collecting all these beetle shells.
"Fang Xu?"
Outside the door, Gu Qiu, seeing this, slowly walked in, looking at Fang Xu with some doubt.
"I'm fine." Fang Xu said with a smile as he stood up.
But Gu Qiu cautiously retreated a step and said: "Let me check you."
Speaking, she took out a small jade bottle, then poured out a black pill from it.
"Take it."
Fang Xu glanced at the black pill, didn't think much, and directly swallowed it.
The black pill dissolved upon entry, a strange energy surging toward his sea of consciousness.
Then it slowly dissipated.
Seeing Fang Xu take the pill with no reaction, Gu Qiu finally breathed a sigh of relief and said: "You scared me to death!"
"Fang Xu, what's going on with the parasitic insects inside your body?"
Those blood-red beetles are an extremely ancient type of parasitic insect, and Gu Qiu isn't even sure whether they pose any danger to Fang Xu.
"They are divine attendants."
As for Gu Qiu, he has no secrets from her.
"These little cuties were gifted by Master Lu back then, and they've saved my life many times."
The divine attendants parasitize inside his body, and whenever he encounters danger, they always emerge at critical moments to save his life.
"Divine attendants?" Gu Qiu frowned, as if she had seen this term mentioned in some ancient text.
But the specific details have slipped her memory.
"Then what is that strange aura emanating from your body just now?" Gu Qiu asked again.
Fang Xu is certainly no Ten Thousand Parasites Sacred Body, nor does he cultivate the path of poisonous insects, so it's impossible for him to harbor such evil toxic substances.
"It's this..."
A flash of light appeared in Fang Xu's hand, and he directly pulled out a finger bone from that enormous arm.
The enormous arm was terrifyingly large within the aperture space, but once Fang Xu took it out, it underwent some changes.
This finger bone looks like the thigh bone of an adult, less than two feet in length, overall deep purple, emitting a faint evil aura.
"What is this!?"
Feeling the strange aura on this bone in Fang Xu's hand, Gu Qiu was greatly surprised.
"I obtained this broken arm by chance back then, and this time I intended to study it properly, but I almost got played to death upon taking it."
Fang Xu made up an excuse to get past it.
The matters of the aperture space are too shocking to be spoken of, and even if he trusted Gu Qiu more, he still isn't prepared to reveal them.
"Let me take a look."
Upon receiving that finger bone fragment, Gu Qiu was instantly stunned.
This thing is nothing short of a supreme treasure to me!
Bearing the Ten Thousand Parasites Sacred Body, the moment she grasped this finger bone, she could feel the agitation of her sacred body subside.
It seems the Ten Thousand Parasites Sacred Body is directly suppressed in the presence of this finger bone.
Moreover, Gu Qiu also sensed a wonderful fluctuation from this finger bone, as if it contains some kind of inheritance.
"Fang Xu..."
Gu Qiu looked at Fang Xu in a coquettish manner.
"Want it?"
"Mm!"
"Then I'll give it to you." Fang Xu spoke directly.
He has plenty of these, and there are still two arm bones in the aperture space.
"By the way, do you know the elder of the Divine Arms Hall on the island?" Fang Xu suddenly spoke.
Divine Arms Hall?
Gu Qiu looked at Fang Xu curiously and said: "Are you preparing to forge weapons?"
Fang Xu nodded: "Something like that."
"Then I'll take you there!"
"I also happen to be preparing to find Elder Ou to have this finger bone forged into a handy weapon." Gu Qiu spoke.
"Still need to wait a bit, I'm preparing to pick up someone." Fang Xu thought for a moment and spoke.
……
Outside the Immortal Island.
Fang Xu and Gu Qiu arrived at the small island where the Ghost Face Army people live.
Jiang Feng had initially sent people to deliver many supplies to the Ghost Face Army, and adding to that, the soldiers of the Ghost Face Army had previously lived in the lower strata; among the three thousand people, those skilled in fishing, farming, and similar crafts are no longer few.
After over a year of reclamation and construction, the entire small island has now taken initial shape, appearing leisurely and content.
"Young master."
Upon seeing Fang Xu approach, Sha Tianrui and Yan Yang hurried forward to greet him.
Seeing Yan Yang princess's swollen belly, Fang Xu expressed surprise: "General Sha is going to become a father!?"
Sha Tianrui hehe laughed: "She's due in two months."
"Young master, please come inside."
They brought Fang Xu to a refined wooden house facing the sea, and Sha Tianrui reported to him the situation of the Ghost Face Army during this period.
After over a year of cultivation and familiarization, plus mastery of the two battle formations, the overall strength of the Ghost Face Army has slightly increased again.
According to Sha Tianrui's estimate, the current Ghost Face Army, divided into hundred-man formations according to battle formations, with three thousand people, is sufficient to defeat a ninth-level Martial Venerable, and even able to contend with a perfected Martial Venerable powerhouse.
After saying this, Sha Tianrui silently gazed at Fang Xu, as if awaiting his praise.
But Fang Xu merely smiled faintly and nodded: "General, you've worked hard, but this is still not enough."
"I came here with an idea; if this idea succeeds, the Ghost Face Army's strength is very likely to increase significantly."
Upon hearing this, Sha Tianrui's expression trembled, and then his voice quivered: "Young master, are your words truly sincere!?"
Fang Xu nodded: "This is still just a speculation; specifics depend on whether it can be achieved."
"General Sha, go select a few soldiers from the Ghost Face Army, ten people."
Sha Tianrui clasped his hands and soon brought ten Ghost Face Army soldiers forward.
Fang Xu glanced at them; these ten people generally have cultivation around the seventh level of Martial Master, with both men and women, plus two elders.
"Greetings, Young master!"
Ten people bowed and paid respects to Fang Xu, then stood respectfully to the side.
Fang Xu nodded and stood up, saying: "I will first take them to the Immortal Island. If it succeeds, I will have someone send a message to the general, and then the general will bring everyone else to the Immortal Island."
Sha Tianrui clasped his hands: "I respectfully obey the young master's command!"
Leading the ten ghost-faced military soldiers back to the Immortal Island, the disciples guarding the island originally did not intend to let them pass, but Fang Xu had already submitted an application in advance to Lian Yao.
The disciples guarding the Immortal Island saw Lian Yao's order, and only then did they allow them to enter.
"Fang Xu, what exactly are you trying to do?" Gu Qiu was very curious.
Fang Xu pretended to be mysterious: "You'll know when you get there."
Under Gu Qiu's guidance, they quickly arrived at the Divine Arms Hall of the Immortal Island.
"Elder Ou!"
Upon entering the gate of the Divine Arms Hall, Gu Qiu began to shout.
"Elder Ou!"
Inside the Divine Arms Hall, a stout old man walked out slowly. Seeing Gu Qiu, he smiled and said: "Ah, little girl Qiu, what brings you to my humble Divine Arms Hall today?"
Gu Qiu narrowed her eyes, smiling as she approached Elder Ou: "Can't I come visit you if there's nothing wrong?"
Elder Ou obviously did not believe her words.
"Speak up, what do you want me to help you with?"
Gu Qiu laughed and took out the bone fragment Fang Xu had given her.
Upon seeing this bone fragment, Elder Ou's expression changed instantly!
"How evil, how strange this thing is!"
"What kind of demon beast's bone is this?"
Gu Qiu shook her head: "I happened to obtain it by chance, Elder Ou. Please help me forge it into a treasure."
Forge a treasure?
Elder Ou took the bone, examined it for a moment, and said: "If this thing were used to forge a treasure, it would be a waste."
Gu Qiu asked curiously: "If not forging a treasure, then are we going to stew it into soup?"
Upon hearing this, Elder Ou gave her a look: "Stewing it would be even more wasteful!"
"This thing should be able to be forged into a spiritual artifact."
As he spoke, he looked at Gu Qiu and smiled: "I just don't know if this girl can afford the contribution points."
Fang Xu, standing nearby, asked curiously upon hearing this: "What is a spiritual artifact?"
Elder Ou glanced at him and said calmly: "You are Fang Xu, right?"
Fang Xu clasped his hands: "Disciple pays respects to Elder Ou."
Elder Ou nodded, rubbing the bone in his hand, and said: "So-called spiritual artifacts are actually a higher level of artifact refinement compared to treasures."
"Although forging them is difficult, spiritual artifacts possess greater power than treasures of the same kind."
Fang Xu nodded and asked again: "May I ask Elder Ou, how many contribution points are needed to forge a spiritual artifact?"
Elder Ou pondered and said: "Like this bone fragment of Ah Qiu, it is very suitable for forging into a long whip, using the bone as the whip handle and matching materials for the whip body. If all materials can be provided, forging requires one hundred thousand contribution points."
One hundred thousand!?
Fang Xu was somewhat stunned!
He had originally thought that if spiritual artifacts weren't too expensive, he would equip the entire ghost-faced army with spiritual artifact weapons.
He never expected that even with him providing the materials, one hundred thousand contribution points would still be needed.
This is simply outrageous.
"Elder Ou, I don't have suitable materials for making the whip body." Gu Qiu spoke up.
"I happen to have a flood dragon's tendon here, which is very suitable for the whip body." Elder Ou said accordingly.
Gu Qiu hurriedly asked: "Elder, are you giving this to me?"
Seeing her eager expression, Elder Ou replied displeased: "You little girl really dare to ask for it."
"A flood dragon tendon is worth several hundred thousand contribution points—how dare you open your mouth?"
Gu Qiu gave an embarrassed smile: "Can it be put on credit?"
Elder Ou shook his head again.
Seeing this, Gu Qiu angrily snatched the bone fragment back:
"Stingy..."
"If we're not forging it, I'll just use it as a club to smash people!"
Hearing this, Elder Ou became somewhat anxious: "Such a fine thing, using it as a club is simply a waste of heaven's bounty!"
Gu Qiu pouted: "I'm poor, and I'm happy with it!"
Saying this, she was about to put the bone fragment away.
"On credit!"
"Old man, letting you buy on credit isn't acceptable?"
Finally, he relented.
As an artifact refiner, Elder Ou naturally felt itchy-handed upon seeing such fine material, unwilling to let a piece of uncarved jade be used as a brick.
In the end, Gu Qiu paid one hundred thousand contribution points as labor fees, while the cost of the flood dragon tendon would be owed for now.
After taking the bone fragment from Gu Qiu's hand, Elder Ou immediately prepared to return to research the specific forging method.
"Elder, please wait a moment."
Fang Xu called out to stop him.
Elder Ou turned around, looking curiously at Fang Xu and said: "You also want to forge something?"
Fang Xu nodded, then a flash of light appeared in his hand as he took out a divine servant's shed skin and handed it to Elder Ou.
"This..."
Seeing the divine servant's shed skin and sensing a trace of aura on it that was extremely similar to the bone in his hand, he froze.
He hurriedly took one of the divine servant's shed skins to examine it for a moment, then compared it with the bone in his hand, Elder Ou murmured: "This isn't right either."
"Fang Xu, where did you get this thing?"
Fang Xu glanced at Gu Qiu, then cupped his hands toward Elder Ou and said:
"Found together with this bone."
"Elder Ou, can this thing be used to forge armor?"
Elder Ou was about to refuse when Fang Xu summoned a ghost-faced soldier, then had him summon his armor.
"Elder, if we fuse this thing with his armor, what do you think?"
Seeing the armor on the ghost-faced soldier, Elder Ou was stunned again, then after careful study he said: "Is this the technique of Junior Brother Tieshan?"
Fang Xu nodded and said: "Exactly, it was crafted with the help of Steward Tieshan."
Elder Ou felt the armor on the ghost-faced soldier and instantly realized its general function.
"Madman!"
"That madman Tieshan really achieved this step!"
"Although it's not yet perfect, at least he truly achieved the result he wanted back then."
After hearing this, Fang Xu asked curiously: "Is there something wrong with Steward Tieshan's method?"
Elder Ou did not answer, only sighed softly and said: "Back then on the Immortal Island, I and Tieshan both followed our master in studying the art of refining artifacts."
"Tieshan junior brother somehow saw a method saying that artifact refining could be fused into a martial artist's flesh and blood, and became obsessed with this path."
"Our master advised him, but he wouldn't listen."
"Later he learned that deep sea there is a kind of demon beast's skeleton that can be integrated into a martial artist's flesh and blood without rejection, so he went there single-mindedly."
"It was that time when he lost a leg."
"After going to Yu State, I thought he should have given up this crazy idea, never expecting..."
After his sighs, Elder Ou looked at that ghost-faced soldier and said: "Can you take off this armor?"
The ghost-faced soldier looked at Fang Xu, saw him nod, then took off his armor.
However, taking off the armor seemed somewhat painful for the ghost-faced soldier.
After all, this armor has already fused into his flesh and blood; taking it off now is no different than flaying him.
"Still somewhat immature." Seeing the ghost-faced soldier's pained expression, Elder Ou felt some regret: "This insect shed skin seems to contain some kind of extremely special power; if I really can fuse it with this armor, perhaps I could truly achieve what Tieshan junior brother originally envisioned."
"Leave the things here, I'll study them later."
Fang Xu nodded, then took out several more divine servant's shed skins from his Qiankun bag.
"I'll say this first: fusion may not succeed, but I'll try my best to preserve this armor."
"If it succeeds, I'll give you a quote later."
He saw Fang Xu bring ten ghost-faced soldiers, knowing Fang Xu definitely needs more than one set of this armor.
Fang Xu nodded, then asked again: "Elder Ou, do you have standard weapons here?"
"No need for spiritual artifacts, even ninth-grade treasures are fine."
The ghost-faced soldiers currently lack weapons; he needs to prepare some.
"We have them, but you'll have to wait a while; I don't have time now."
"Alright, you may go back first; I have to get busy."
Having received two challenging tasks at once, Elder Ou now has no patience to chat with them, eager to test his hypothesis.
Fang Xu helplessly could only leave the Divine Weapons Hall with Gu Qiu and the ten ghost-faced soldiers.
(End of chapter)
End of Chapter
