Chapter 179

The valley where Gu Qiu lived had only a few bamboo huts, clearly unable to accommodate ten Ghost Face Army members, so Fang Xu had no choice but to temporarily bring them to the newly built residence of Chang Long and Old Yuan.

Days passed, and in the blink of an eye, a month had gone by.

During this time, Fang Xu had been studying the bones of unknown creatures in the aperture aperture space.

The fact that the Stone Gate World harbored living beings behind it was something Fang Xu had never anticipated.

Through studying the bones of these unknown creatures, Fang Xu quickly discovered that the creatures themselves were extremely powerful.

So powerful that even a single fragment of bone contained unimaginable strength.

Fang Xu tried to comprehend this power, and soon felt a sensation similar to that of the Nameless Immortal Scripture emanating from it.

What is this?

Looking at the purplish-black qi separating from the bone, Fang Xu felt a bit curious.

But the purplish-black qi carried a very obvious evil aura, making him dare not act rashly.

After cautiously investigating for a long time, Fang Xu suddenly had a bold idea pop into his mind.

Fang Xu said, taking out more than ten Divine Servant shed skins from his Qiankun bag and handing them all to Gu Qiu.

Whoosh!

As the Shenyi flame approached, the qi flow immediately deviated from its original trajectory and fled toward the distance.

The purplish-black qi bore a breath somewhat similar to the golden chain Fang Xu had comprehended from the Nameless Immortal Scripture, but in terms of strength, the purplish-black qi was considerably weaker than the golden chain.

Others felt nothing toward the Shenyi flame, always fleeing, while I have no means at all.

"The Immortal Isle has been somewhat unsettled lately; you had best end your seclusion soon."

The protective formation of the Immortal Isle was shaken by the clash between heavenly will and the mysterious void existence during Fang Xu's previous seclusion, leaving it on the verge of collapse.

But this situation is like a sycophant chasing after a cold goddess.

He now has no way to control the purplish-black qi, and can only use his consciousness to control the Shenyi flame in pursuit.

"If the new Ghost Face Armor proves successful, please help me bring the remaining nine Ghost Face Army members to the Divine Weapon Hall so Elder Ou can forge their new armor as well."

But to avoid further mishaps, he first sought out Gu Qiu, who was also contemplating the bones, and told him he would need to seclude himself again this period, and that no matter what happened, he must not be disturbed.

Seeing this, Fang Xu couldn't help but feel a bit disappointed in his heart.

After all, only mutual affection makes it easier to come together.

The enemies surrounding the Immortal Isle discovered this issue and had already begun probing attacks on the Isle.

To scorn the love of a sycophant, turn away and become someone else's sycophant—how melodramatic!

Seeing this, Fang Xu felt both amused and exasperated.

Fang Xu nodded: "I'll do my best."

Since the two are already connected, there's no reason they cannot fuse with the Shenyi flame.

But the Shenyi flame and the giant sword are both completely obedient to him.

Fang Xu shook his head; he himself was unclear how long this seclusion would take.

In the sea of consciousness space, the Shenyi flame gradually condensed into a jumping flame.

After storing the Divine Servant shed skins into his Qiankun bag, Gu Qiu spoke up.

Helpless, he could only temporarily give up and try other methods.

Fang Xu discarded all distracting thoughts in his heart and began controlling this strand of Shenyi flame to enter the aperture space.

The purplish-black qi is not under my control.

Good, good, good!

So this thing likes this giant sword, huh?

In the aperture aperture space, mountain-like bones were scattered aside, and that strand of purplish-black qi was circling the giant sword in the center of the aperture aperture space.

This idea was not a sudden impulse on his part.

Under Fang Xu's conscious control, the Shenyi flame gradually approached the purplish-black qi, testing whether there would be any rejection between them.

"How long will this take?" Gu Qiu asked.

Although there has been no large-scale invasion yet, at least during this month of seclusion, the Immortal Isle disciples have already suffered several attacks and casualties.

"The Divine Weapon Hall has already finished crafting the new Ghost Face Armor; go take a look first."

The Shenyi flame remained motionless in a corner of the aperture aperture space; seeing that the other party wasn't pursuing, the purplish-black qi paused briefly before returning to the artifact in this aperture aperture space—beside the giant sword.

After all, Fang Xu's seclusions always seem to stir up strange disturbances.

Moreover, after this period of study, Fang Xu also discovered that this purplish-black qi seems highly compatible with the Shenyi flame.

In the dark, there is a feeling that if the Shenyi flame fuses with this purplish-black qi, it will definitely bring him unexpected benefits.

The purplish-black qi flew wildly within the aperture aperture space; Fang Xu tried repeatedly to encircle and intercept it, but still failed.

After careful consideration, Fang Xu made a decision in his heart.

Saying so, he returned to his room and began preparing for the fusion.

He intends to fuse this purplish-black substance with his Shenyi flame!

Gu Qiu felt somewhat worried.

After inwardly venting his frustrations, Fang Xu immediately decided to find a way to fulfill this trio.

You're aloof, unwilling to accept the Shenyi flame—then I'll first try to bring the Shenyi flame and the giant sword artifact together.

Thinking this, Fang Xu immediately controlled the Shenyi flame to move toward the giant sword.

Seeing this, the purplish-black qi predictably fled again.

But this time, Fang Xu did not control the Shenyi flame to pursue; instead, he directly attached the flame's spark to the giant sword.

Hiss!

The giant sword emitted a faint scorching sound, and then, under Fang Xu's control, the two began slowly fusing.

This scene left the purplish-black qi flow hiding in the distance stunned!

It seemed not to have expected this outcome!

Whoosh!

The purplish-black qi flow shot from a distance, wanting to approach the giant sword artifact, yet strongly resisting the Divine Flame fire.

It could only spin anxiously on the outskirts.

Fang Xu quietly watched this scene, his consciousness urging the Divine Flame fire and the giant sword to speed up their fusion.

Seeing the giant sword itself already covered in a large amount of purplish-black flames, with flame patterns forming on its surface one after another, the purplish-black qi flow could not hold back.

Whoosh!

It directly projected onto the lower half of the giant sword's blade, automatically beginning to fuse with the giant sword.

Fang Xu saw this and smiled.

The fusion of the three was proceeding slowly.

Although the purplish-black qi flow strongly resisted the Divine Flame fire, once it chose to fuse with the giant sword, its fate was no longer under its own control.

Under the pressure of Fang Xu's consciousness, the Divine Flame fire on the upper half of the giant sword began to gradually merge into the purplish-black qi flow.

In an instant, a torrent of evil and foul aura rushed into Fang Xu's consciousness!

At this moment, Fang Xu's body was enveloped by a thick purplish-black mist, turning him into the source of evil.

Gu Qiu, who had been staying in the adjacent room, sensed this aura, worry rising in her heart, and immediately ran to Fang Xu's door.

But recalling Fang Xu's earlier instructions, she ultimately restrained the impulse to push open the door, standing guard quietly at the doorway.

Inside the room, the purplish-black mist on Fang Xu's body grew denser, and his entire aura changed.

Fortunately, this evil aura seemed to be controlled by some power and did not dissipate outward.

Otherwise, it would likely have disturbed the high-ranking members of the Ascension Assembly on the Immortal Isle again.

Controlling the Divine Flame fire to gradually merge into the purplish-black qi flow, Fang Xu discovered that these two powers actually fused perfectly with his artifact, the giant sword.

This was somewhat beyond his expectations.

Originally, he had only intended to use the artifact giant sword to bring together the Divine Flame fire and the purplish-black qi flow, but carelessly let them three fuse harmoniously.

After some hesitation, Fang Xu suddenly felt that the three-way fusion might not be so bad after all.

So he simply stopped obstructing it, letting them three coordinate on their own.

Under the control of consciousness, the three began to fuse and transform in an uncontrolled direction.

Time passed bit by bit, this fusion speed was extremely slow, and it also consumed a great deal of consciousness.

Although the specifics of the fusion did not require Fang Xu to control the direction, his consciousness had to constantly participate, acting as a catalyst and driving force.

Once his consciousness slackened even slightly, the three-way fusion would stall, and even show signs of separation.

……

Outside.

Immortal Isle Sect Main Hall.

Lian Yao and four other chief elders, along with many other elders of the Immortal Isle, had all gathered here.

The enemy outside the island had been attacking more and more frequently during this period.

If this continued, once they discovered other loopholes in the island-protecting formation and exploited them to break it, they would likely launch a full-scale attack immediately.

While everyone was discussing how to respond, an Immortal Isle disciple came running in, flustered.

"Reporting to the Chief, urgent intelligence from Yu State!"

Upon hearing this, Lian Yao suddenly felt a bad premonition in his heart, then sharply waved his hand, snatching the intelligence from the disciple's hand.

After glancing at the intelligence for a few moments, Lian Yao handed the letter to Lian Miao beside him.

"Indeed, as I had predicted."

Lian Miao took the letter, and together with Lian Yan and Lian Sen, they glanced at it.

"The Yu State royal family actually dared to act against our Ascension Assembly!?"

Lian Yao coldly laughed: "Li Cangwu is a man of immense ambition; back then, he clearly knew our Ascension Assembly had intentions to absorb Mu Yun State, yet still dared to openly send troops to destroy Mu Yun State."

"Isn't what he did just the method for breaking through the Elemental Martial Realm passed down in Mu Yun State?"

After scanning the crowd, Lian Yao continued: "Now he has broken through, and it is said that the human butcher Zhao Wuji of Yu State also broke through with the aid of an extraterrestrial meteorite."

"Having two Elemental Martial Realm warriors is absolutely not the confidence Li Cangwu dares to challenge our Ascension Assembly with."

"Does the Chief mean that Yu State's open rebellion against our Ascension Assembly this time involves other forces behind the scenes?"

The urgent intelligence sent by Jiang Feng did not mention the matter of Ming Hun Dao.

Because he knew clearly that the Immortal Isle now could barely take care of itself, informing his master of the existence of Ming Hun Dao was merely him being anxious.

Ming Hun Dao's power to restrain Yuan, combined with Li Cangwu and Zhao Wuji, he has confidence in dealing with it.

Moreover, having served as the Chief of Yu State's Ascension Assembly for so many years, he has his own arrangements on Huayang Mountain; repelling Yu State's counterattack this time should not be a problem.

"Chief Brother, Jiang Feng's junior disciple did not request reinforcements in the urgent report—could we be overthinking?"

Lian Sen said curiously.

Jiang Feng's strength is late Elemental Martial Realm, with the Yang God just emerging.

With his strength, if no external enemies intervene, dealing with Li Cangwu and Zhao Wuji, who have just broken through the Elemental Martial Realm not long ago, would be no problem.

"Perhaps."

Lian Yao thought for a moment and spoke.

Jiang Feng is his disciple; he knows Jiang Feng's temperament well.

Steady, patient, and very careful in his actions.

This time, he did not seek aid from the Immortal Isle, surely because he felt the situation was under his control.

"What is the purpose of that Junior Nephew Jiang delivering this urgent report?" Lian Yan suddenly spoke.

Everyone hearing this felt somewhat doubtful.

"It is to remind us that those fellows around the Immortal Island are likely also planning to attack," said Xing Ming, Elder of the Law Enforcement Hall, speaking in the hall.

"Oh?" Lian Yao, upon hearing this, looked toward Xing Ming and said: "How do you know?"

Xing Ming clasped his hands and said: "This person, Li Cangwu, this Junior Nephew of his has had dealings with him."

"He is extremely scheming, adept at plotting and deciding."

"The Junior Nephew speculates that he must have learned of the news that our Immortal Island is besieged, and even has some unknown connection with those people observing the Immortal Island."

Upon hearing Xing Ming's analysis, many in the hall furrowed their brows.

They did not quite believe that the remote state of Yu would have the opportunity to ally with other powers.

After all, these years, the Immortal Island has maintained strict surveillance over states within its sphere of influence, and has not detected any forces of equal strength entering.

Moreover, even if we concede ten thousand steps, if the Yu Emperor Li Cangwu truly had contact with those besieging the Immortal Island, the Immortal Island has already been besieged for years—why would he wait until now to emerge and rebel against the Ascension Immortal Association?

"Alright, for now, let's not worry about whether the Yu Emperor and those besieging the Immortal Island have made contact. Xing Ming Junior Nephew, please continue."

Lian Yao spoke.

Xing Ming clasped his hands and continued: "If I were Li Cangwu, knowing full well that the Immortal Island is besieged, I would not rashly emerge."

"After all, the Immortal Island is merely besieged, not yet destroyed."

"Only upon receiving definite news, confirming that the Immortal Island will have no energy to intervene in Yu's branch affairs, would he act."

"From this, we can infer that only when the Immortal Island itself is also under attack, overwhelmed and unable to cope, would it have no spare energy to attend to Yu's branch."

Upon hearing his words, Lian Yao nodded slightly.

From an emotional and rational standpoint, this makes sense.

"In that case, Xing Ming Junior Nephew, immediately take some disciples to inspect the surroundings of the Immortal Island."

"The other elders should also strengthen vigilance, awaken some of the core disciples in seclusion and the mountain lords of our Immortal Island to prepare for defense."

"Three junior brothers, let us try to contact the sect leader."

As the senior brother among the Immortal Island's overseeing elders, Lian Yao directly made the decision.

Lian Sen and the three others hesitated for a moment after hearing this, then all agreed.

Although Xing Ming's speculation lacks much basis, at least making thorough preparations will not be wrong.

For once those fellows outside the Immortal Island truly intend to launch a full-scale assault on the Immortal Island, and if the Immortal Island is unprepared, it is highly likely to suffer utter destruction.

……

In the valley, Fang Xu continued his seclusion.

The notice of the Immortal Island entering a state of alert had already been delivered to every core disciple.

Gu Qiu came to Fang Xu's door, intending to forcibly wake him.

Because once the Immortal Island is attacked, Fang Xu in this state would have absolutely no self-defense capability and would easily be slain.

"Autumn girl."

When Gu Qiu was hesitating, Elder Ou arrived at the valley.

Looking at Gu Qiu behind him with the tightly closed door, Elder Ou wondered: "Is Fang Xu in seclusion?"

Gu Qiu nodded.

Elder Ou said nothing, a flash of light in his hand, and directly produced a set of handsome dark-gold armor.

However, this armor is extremely miniature, appearing only palm-sized.

"Elder Ou, has the Ghost Face Armor been completed?" Gu Qiu asked.

"Ghost Face Armor?" Elder Ou said curiously: "Why is it called that?"

"It was named by Fang Xu." Gu Qiu explained: "Those who wear this armor are the Ghost Face Army, and they are now Fang Xu's subordinates."

"Ghost Face Army!?"

Elder Ou's expression trembled, then he said excitedly: "Then they have mastered the cultivation method of the Ghost Face?"

Gu Qiu said uncertainly: "Probably, otherwise Fang Xu would not value them so highly, keeping them by his side."

The cultivation of all soldiers in the Ghost Face Army is only at the Warrior level; for Fang Xu now, if they do not master the cultivation method of the Ghost Face, they are hardly different from ordinary people.

It is absolutely impossible to painstakingly bring them to the Immortal Island.

"Ghost Face Army!" Elder Ou excitedly rubbed his hands, then hurriedly looked toward Gu Qiu and said: "Autumn girl, hurry and wake Fang Xu—I have a new idea I want to discuss with him!"

Gu Qiu felt somewhat embarrassed upon hearing this.

Fang Xu had instructed that this seclusion should not be disturbed.

"Elder Ou, this..."

"Ah, never mind that—hurry up and go!" Elder Ou urged.

Gu Qiu hesitated repeatedly but still shook his head: "No, Fang Xu said, must not disturb him."

"Elder Ou should wait until he wakes to speak again."

Upon hearing this, Elder Ou said anxiously: "I can't wait—if my idea can be realized, this batch of Ghost Face Army will play an enormous role in the upcoming Immortal Island great battle!"

"That also won't do!" Gu Qiu firmly refused.

"Autumn girl, why are you so stubborn?" Elder Ou said angrily.

"Squeak—"

Just as the two were arguing without resolution, the door behind them suddenly opened, and Fang Xu's figure appeared before them.

Seeing Fang Xu, Elder Ou reacted first: "Fang Xu, you've come out at just the right time—quickly follow me."

He grabbed Fang Xu's hand and immediately brought him rushing toward the Divine Weapons Hall.

"Elder Ou, your words have been heard by the disciple—should the disciple also summon the soldiers of the Ghost Face Army to go together?"

On the way, Fang Xu laughed and said.

Elder Ou then realized that his plan indeed required the cooperation of the Ghost-Faced Army soldiers.

The two of them brought ten Ghost-Faced Army soldiers from the dwellings of the Old Ape and the Long Dragon.

After personally witnessing the Ghost-Faced Army soldiers display the power of the Ghost Face, Elder Ou was deeply moved inside.

The group arrived at the Divine Armaments Hall, and Elder Ou, without any hesitation, directly brought them to the deepest core area of the Divine Armaments Hall.

"Fang Xu, what cultivation method do the Ghost-Faced Army practice?" Elder Ou asked.

Fang Xu hesitated for a moment, then slowly spoke: "Ten Phases Great Exorcism."

"Indeed!"

Elder Ou's face showed an expression of having long anticipated this, and then he took an ancient bamboo slip from a nearby bookshelf.

"Take a look." Fang Xu received the bamboo slip, carefully examined it, and a hint of surprise appeared on his face.

"Does Elder Ou have research on this?"

The bamboo slip records exactly a hypothesis concerning exorcism techniques.

"This was left by my master in his later years." Elder Ou said, with a hint of regret on his face: "My master back then opposed Iron Mountain Junior Brother's crazy idea."

"But in his later years, he indeed saw these things in some ancient texts."

"He speculated that ancient exorcism should be able to combine with artifact forging, but this combination seemed to lack certain key elements, causing the treasures to be unable to undergo exorcism."

"I have always thought his speculation was wrong, until..."

Elder Ou said, as a flash of light appeared in his hand, and he took out the modified Ghost-Faced Armor.

"Until the appearance of this Ghost-Faced Armor, I suddenly realized that the key to perfectly combining exorcism and artifact forging is the purple-gold insect molt you produced."

"Is this the molt of some kind of poison insect?"

Elder Ou asked.

Fang Xu nodded: "It is the molt of the ancient divine servant poison insect."

Elder Ou somewhat did not understand, turned and looked at the disciple beside him: "Go invite Elder Lian Sen."

The disciple hurriedly ran out.

"Elder Ou, is your idea to realize the hypothesis on this bamboo slip?" Taking the opportunity while that disciple went to find Lian Sen, Fang Xu asked.

Elder Ou nodded: "This is the last wish of my master in his later years; if it can be achieved, it will not only fulfill his last wish, but also be a great breakthrough in the history of artifact forging."

"I, Ou Zhang, might be able to become the progenitor of the new artifact forging in the entire Tianxuan Realm."

Elder Ou became more and more excited as he spoke.

Fang Xu could understand his feelings.

Such an epoch-making creation would absolutely leave a name in history, be revered by all future artifact forgers as the founding progenitor of great achievements, and no one could resist this temptation.

"Old Ou, why did you hastily summon me?"

Lian Sen Elder strode into the Divine Armaments Hall and immediately shouted.

"Fang Xu!" Elder Ou extended his hand; Fang Xu knew he wanted the divine servant insect molt, and immediately took one out from his Qiankun bag.

"Old fellow, take a look at this."

Handing the divine servant insect molt to Lian Sen, Elder Ou looked at him with full anticipation.

After receiving the divine servant insect molt, Lian Sen Elder was stunned for a moment, then curiously asked: "Is this the shell of a poison insect?"

"It is the divine servant poison insect, have you heard of it?" Elder Ou quickly said.

"Divine servant!?"

Lian Sen, in his excitement, the purple-gold insect shell in his hand directly fell to the ground, making a clanging sound.

Afterwards, he hurriedly picked up the insect shell and lovingly wiped off the dirt on it.

"Is this really the divine servant!?"

This time he looked toward Fang Xu.

Because when he just came in, he saw that this insect shell was given by Fang Xu to Ou Zhang.

Fang Xu nodded, and then his mind stirred slightly, and a blood-colored insect immediately drilled out from his chest.

The divine servant inside his body is in a tiny, invisible state, but once it appears outside the body, it immediately becomes fist-sized.

Squeak squeak squeak!

After the blood-colored insect appeared, it affectionately chirped twice on Fang Xu's body, then crouched on his shoulder.

Seeing this, Lian Sen was completely dazed!

"You have a divine servant inside you!?"

Fang Xu nodded, somewhat not understanding why he was making such a big fuss.

"No!"

"This is not right!"

Lian Sen examined Fang Xu's shoulder's blood-colored insect, shook his head and said: "The divine servant grows extremely slowly, may not molt once even in a thousand years."

"Your divine servant looks like it has molted at least ten or more times, which is absolutely impossible."

"A divine servant acknowledges only one master in its lifetime; if the host dies, all divine servants will die immediately."

After hearing this, Fang Xu turned his head to look at the blood-colored insect on his shoulder.

He also did not know whether what Lian Sen said was true, but these divine servants were indeed raised by him from childhood.

When Lu Zhiyuan gave the divine servant pills to him back then, these little fellows could not even handle a few Blood Qi Pills, and were almost burst to death.

Afterwards, with continuous growth, they became increasingly powerful.

"Old fellow, just say whether this thing is a divine servant or not." Elder Ou said.

He also did not want to pursue the growth process of the divine servant.

"Is……" Lian Sen hesitated for a long time, but still gave a definite answer.

In practicing the way of medical poison, he had seen descriptions of divine servant poison in ancient texts more than once.

He had thought such ancient divine poisons were already extinct, never expecting to see a living divine servant poison today.

"Can you cultivate it?" Elder Ou asked again.

After hearing this, Lian Sen rolled his eyes at him: "Cultivate a fart, the divine servant poison on Fang Xu's body is the only one I've seen in my lifetime!"

Upon hearing this, Elder Ou's face was instantly filled with despair.

His idea was to use the divine servant poison to combine sorcery and artifact forging, then fulfill his master's last wish, so that the crafted treasures or spiritual tools would fully merge with the martial artist's body, achieving unity of tool and life, dual cultivation of tool and life.

But now Lian Sen cannot cultivate the divine servant poison, so this method seems unfeasible.

"Elder Lian Sen, if I can provide adult divine servant poison worms, do you have a way to raise them?" Fang Xu suddenly spoke.

He was also very moved by Elder Ou Zhang's idea.

If this could be achieved, the strength of the Three Thousand Ghost Face Army would greatly increase, and with this artifact forging technique, the strength of the Immortal Island would also greatly increase.

For both public and private reasons, he wanted to try it.

Lian Sen hesitated for a moment and said: "As far as I know, the divine servant poison exists in a group manner, similar to ants, with only one queen per group, the rest being males. If you have the queen, I might try."

Upon hearing his words, Fang Xu did not immediately respond, but directly sank his mind into his body.

Looking at the dense divine servant poison worms inside his body, his consciousness sent out an inquiry.

Soon after, the worms on his five viscera and six bowels began to stir.

After a moment, several divine servant poison worms carried tiny particles glowing with blood-red light and emerged from his chest.

These tiny blood-red particles, once outside, immediately turned into crystal the size of rice grains.

Fang Xu curiously placed these crystals in his hand.

Lian Sen glanced at them and was instantly stunned.

"This is…… eggs?!"

He had thought Fang Xu's body contained at most one divine servant poison queen, and he would still need to find a way to induce the queen to lay eggs.

Never expecting Fang Xu's divine servant poison queen to directly send out several poison eggs.

After the several poison eggs were sent out, Fang Xu again received a subtle spiritual fluctuation.

This spiritual fluctuation came from the queen.

Upon sensing the information in the spiritual fluctuation, Fang Xu was overjoyed.

"Elder Ou, the queen said, my body's divine servant poison can be directly used, combined with the Ghost Face Armor, and integrated into the bodies of the Ghost Face Army soldiers."

"These few poison eggs will also grow into new queens in the future."

Upon hearing this, Lian Sen and Ou Zhang were both shocked, and immediately bowed to Fang Xu in thanks.

Fang Xu hastily dodged.

"Little Fang, I have nothing else to repay you with, so I'm giving you all the contribution points I've accumulated over the years."

Ou Zhang said, taking out his identity token and handing it directly to Fang Xu.

"And mine too." Lian Sen also took out his identity token and handed it to Fang Xu, saying: "Besides, if you need anything of mine in the future, just say the word."

"I know about you and Qiu Xiaotou, we're not outsiders."

Fang Xu originally wanted to refuse, but thinking he still wanted to comprehend the Nameless Immortal Scripture recently and needed many contribution points,

with the Immortal Island under siege and himself unable to carry out missions, he simply accepted the two identity tokens and transferred the contribution points from them.

Three million!

The contribution points of Lian Sen and Ou Zhang combined amounted to a full three million, enough for him to comprehend the Nameless Immortal Scripture several times.

"Fang Xu, quickly summon the remaining Ghost Face Army soldiers. With adult divine servant poison, I have ninety percent confidence in accomplishing this!"

Fang Xu nodded and directly left the Immortal Island, heading for the small island where the Ghost Face Army resided.

The Immortal Island's protective grand formation was already on the verge of collapse, and the small island where the Ghost Face Army lived was no longer safe either.

Once the enemies besieging the Immortal Island launch an attack, the Ghost Face Army and Sha Tianrui and others on the island will likely all be in danger.

After all, with the Ghost Face Army's current strength, they cannot possibly match the existence of the Elemental Martial Realm.

On the small island, when Fang Xu arrived, Princess Yan Yang had already successfully given birth to a daughter for Sha Tianrui.

After presenting some gifts, Fang Xu informed Sha Tianrui of the relocation plan.

Sha Tianrui had no objections, knowing Fang Xu's decision must have been made after deep consideration.

Thus, the Ghost Face Army on the sea island, under their orders, directly abandoned the hard-won utopia they had built and moved directly to the Immortal Island.

At this time, the disciples of the Ascension Society guarding the Immortal Island had already received Lian Sen's order, offered no obstruction, and directly let the Ghost Face Army members enter the island.

Under Ou Zhang's arrangement, these Ghost Face Army soldiers temporarily settled in the back mountain of the Divine Weapon Hall.

Fang Xu then summoned three thousand divine servant poison worms from his body, allowing Ou Zhang to begin researching a new method combining artifact forging, sorcery, and poison techniques.

After losing three thousand divine servant poison worms, the number of such worms in Fang Xu's body did not noticeably decrease, appearing to be unharmed.

This reassured him greatly.

Ten days passed in the blink of an eye.

On this day, Fang Xu was just coming out of the valley, preparing to comprehend the Nameless Immortal Scripture.

A core disciple of the Divine Weapon Hall came to the outside of the valley.

"Junior Brother Fang, the master requests your presence."

Upon hearing this, Fang Xu's face showed a hint of joy: "Has it succeeded?"

That disciple also could not hide the excitement on his face, bowing and saying: "Judging from the master's expression, it should have succeeded."

Following this disciple to the Divine Weapon Hall, Fang Xu saw Ou Zhang standing at the gate, his expression somewhat exhausted.

It seemed the over ten days of research had taken a great toll on him, his entire spirit and energy having noticeably waned.

Fang Xu.

"Elder Ou." Fang Xu cupped his hands.

Ou Zhang didn't say much, directly pulling Fang Xu to the most core area of the Divine Armaments Hall.

At this moment, three soldiers of the Ghost-Faced Army were standing inside.

Upon seeing Fang Xu, the three hastily cupped their hands: "Greetings, Young Master."

Fang Xu nodded slightly, feeling somewhat surprised inside.

Previously, due to the Ten Phases Great Exorcism, he had some connections with the Ghost-Faced Army.

But that connection wasn't very close.

But now, he could clearly feel that this connection had changed.

Fang Xu knew this connection came from the Divine Servant Worms.

The Divine Servant Worms Ou Zhang used to forge new armor for the Ghost-Faced Army were all from within him.

The first master of these Divine Servant Worms was him.

"Quick, demonstrate." Ou Zhang spoke.

The three Ghost-Faced Army soldiers looked at Fang Xu.

Fang Xu nodded.

The qi and blood on the three individuals' bodies immediately surged.

In the next moment, pieces of armor in alternating black-gold and red instantly appeared on their body surfaces!

This set of armor, fused with the ghost-faced visages cultivated from the Ten Phases Great Exorcism, looked extremely harmonious!

Moreover, the armor's elbows extended two sharp spikes, and a black long spear appeared in their palms!

At the moment the new Ghost-Faced Armor was fully formed, the three individuals' bodies instantly filled with a fierce and murderous aura, an evil killing intent—just a glance was enough to make ordinary Martial Master realm cultivators lose their will to fight!

"Fang Xu, how is it?" Ou Zhang spoke: "I remember you mentioned before that the Ghost-Faced Army had no weapons, so I simply forged weapons along with the armor for them."

"The full set of armor and weapons has already surpassed the realm of treasures, reaching the level of spiritual artifacts."

"And due to the existence of the Divine Servant Worms, this armor will grow alongside the Ghost-Faced Army soldiers' advancement."

"If a Ghost-Faced Army soldier unfortunately dies in battle, this armor will return to your side through your connection with the Divine Servant Worms, brought back directly by the Divine Servant Worms."

Ou Zhang excitedly introduced the main functions of the Ghost-Faced Armor to Fang Xu.

Fang Xu listened and felt great joy inside.

This was practically the ideal warrior he had envisioned.

"Elder Ou, have you already mastered this technique thoroughly?"

Ou Zhang excitedly nodded, then afterward showed a troubled expression: "Technically, there's no problem, but the materials are severely insufficient."

"To forge this armor for these three people, I have used many precious materials."

"Many of these are top-grade materials, and I don't have much stock left."

"Overall, calculating it down, I estimate at most I can forge another hundred or so sets."

Upon hearing his words, Fang Xu furrowed his brow slightly.

He knew this armor shouldn't be so easy to forge.

"Elder Ou, is this armor formed in one go?" Fang Xu asked.

Ou Zhang didn't quite understand his meaning.

Fang Xu explained: "Meaning, if we now use some lower-grade materials to forge it, can we later reforge it again?"

Ou Zhang listened and shook his head: "Armor forged with this technique has already completely fused with the Ghost-Faced Army's lives and bodies."

"Later forging would be no different than remolding their foundations—it would inevitably ruin their entire cultivation, and there's great risk."

Upon hearing this, Fang Xu immediately dismissed the idea.

He hesitated for a moment, then spoke: "Then what materials are needed to forge this armor? Please inform me, Elder Ou, and I, as a disciple, will think of a way."

Ou Zhang nodded, directly producing a detailed list.

"Actually, this method could still be simplified, but I currently lack the energy to do these things."

"Moreover, these materials can mutually supplement each other from various aspects; after simplification, although it might not differ much from this Ghost-Faced Armor, the potential would absolutely not match that of this Ghost-Faced Armor."

Fang Xu slightly nodded: "If we do it, we do the best."

"Elder Ou, thank you for the trouble."

Ou Zhang waved his hand: "I haven't had a chance to thank you yet. When I eventually simplify this method, perhaps I can create a new cultivation system."

"I've already thought of the name: Armor Transformation."

Fang Xu smiled upon hearing this.

Armor Transformation, a very vivid name.

To forge weapons in tandem with a martial artist's life—this indeed counts as a new cultivation system.

This is somewhat similar to the life-bound artifact in my aperture space.

A martial artist's cultivation can nourish weapons, and weapon growth can greatly enhance the martial artist's strength—they complement each other.

After leaving the Divine Armaments Hall, Fang Xu came to the Affairs Hall.

Spending many contribution points, he investigated the approximate origins of each material on the list provided by Ou Zhang.

Currently, the Immortal Island cannot be left; to seek these things, one can only wait until the Immortal Island's crisis is resolved before finding a way.

Leaving the Affairs Hall, he directly went to the peak of the Immortal Mountain in the island's interior, spending a million contribution points, and again contemplated the Nameless Immortal Scripture.

Although the golden chain he previously contemplated successfully fused with the Three Transformations of the Magic Ape, Fang Xu discovered that golden chain was not complete—it seemed merely a beginning.

This time, he came prepared to continue perfecting this thing.

After entering the mountain peak where the Immortal Scripture stele is located, Fang Xu directly placed his identity token before the stele, then sat cross-legged on the futon.

The immortal scripture stone tablet began to glow, and a large number of characters reassembled into hundreds of chains of varying lengths.

Having learned from the previous experience, Fang Xu had no hesitation this time; his consciousness directly seized one segment whose aura matched the golden chain he had previously comprehended, and began to comprehend it.

Hum!

The golden chain was seized, and directly behind it appeared a crimson demon ape phantom.

As Fang Xu comprehended the golden chain, specks of golden light occasionally emerged and merged into the body of the crimson demon ape.

With the infusion of these golden light specks, Fang Xu could sense that the aura on the crimson demon ape phantom was slowly increasing.

At a certain moment, he suddenly opened his eyes with a thoughtful expression.

"Power..."

As his comprehension of the golden chain deepened, he realized that what he had grasped was a sublimation of power!

Lifting the heavy as if light, lifting the light as if heavy...

Various techniques for wielding power presented themselves in Fang Xu's mind with a feeling of being nearly Dao, art approaching the divine.

Is this the Dao?

No!

Fang Xu immediately rejected the thought in his mind.

Although this thing surpassing technique is quite profound, it should still not reach the realm of Dao.

But for now, he cannot ponder these matters; the time for comprehending the immortal scripture is nearly over, and he must seize the moment.

"Another little brat has comprehended this far..."

"How strange, how strange!"

"In the past, a genius like this would appear only once every thousand years, yet in just ten years, two have emerged..."

"That dull-witted little brat was like this, and now another has come—could it be that a chaotic age is truly upon us?"

At a certain spot beneath the immortal scripture stone tablet, an aged voice murmured.

Fang Xu did not hear this voice; he was simply focused on comprehending that segment of the golden chain.

Soon, he had finished comprehending this segment of the golden chain once again.

"Still incomplete..."

Muttering this, Fang Xu opened his eyes somewhat bewildered.

He found that the information contained in this segment of the golden chain he had just comprehended, combined with what he had grasped previously, was still not complete.

But there was nothing to be done.

He could only wait and gradually comprehend it later.

After leaving the Immortal Mountain, Fang Xu was preparing to return to the valley to deeply contemplate the introductory chapter of the Nameless Immortal Scripture, hoping to gain further insights from it, when a heaven-piercing sword aura suddenly appeared in the sky above the Immortal Island!

The next moment!

The blue protective shield above the Immortal Island suddenly flared bright!

Clang!

The heaven-piercing long sword directly tore open the clouds in the sky and fiercely bombarded the Immortal Island's protective grand formation!

The blue protective shield trembled, and visible cracks appeared around it.

"The flaw has been revealed—attack swiftly!"

A resonant voice echoed from the sky, and the next moment, countless attacks descended directly onto the positions where cracks had appeared in the blue protective shield!

Swish!

Swish!

At the same time, countless streams of light within the Immortal Island shot up into the sky!

"All core disciples of the Immortal Island, prepare to meet the enemy!"

At this moment, a massive phantom of Lian Yao appeared in the sky above the Immortal Island!

Seeing this, Fang Xu narrowed his eyes slightly!

He could sense that the enormous phantom of Lian Yao emitted an extremely terrifying aura.

"Fang Xu, hurry and leave!"

A stream of light passed by Fang Xu's side, shouting at him.

Fang Xu quickly chased after it: "Uncle Master, what technique is the Chief Elder using?"

Xing Ming glanced at the distant massive phantom, a flicker of envy flashing in his eyes: "Dharma Aspect."

"Above the Martial Warrior Realm lies the Dharma Aspect Realm; Uncle Master will explain this to you later—now focus on resisting the enemy."

Fang Xu nodded and followed Xing Ming to the edge of the Immortal Island.

At this moment, above the sea, countless cultivators either stood silently on the sea surface or flew directly through the air, completely encircling the Immortal Island.

Among them, many terrifying existences were fiercely attacking the blue light shield formed by the Immortal Island's protective grand formation.

Boom!

Boom!

Massive fist imprints, heaven-piercing sword auras, blade lights carrying the momentum to destroy heaven and earth, and various colorful attacks continuously assaulted the blue protective shield!

Cracks on the Immortal Island's protective grand formation increased more and more.

Finally, under countless attacks, it shattered inch by inch, transforming into heavenly and earthly energy that dissipated into the air.

"Old Lian Yao, your Immortal Island's turtle shell is gone—surrender obediently!"

In the sky, a bald man wearing a gilded long robe and holding a strange long blade shouted loudly.

"Defeated underlings, don't be arrogant!"

On the immortal island, Lian Yao's huge phantom suddenly shot up into the sky!

He slapped out a palm toward the bald man's figure!

"Dharma Aspect, I have one too!"

The bald man shouted, and a huge phantom suddenly burst out from his body, colliding with the giant palm Lian Yao slapped out!

Boom!

The aftershock of their clash directly shook back the surrounding sea for dozens of miles!

The Martial Sovereigns beside the bald man were all shaken into blood mist by this blow!

"Lian Yao, you're so despicable!"

Seeing his subordinates tragically die beside him, the bald man shouted angrily.

Lian Yao didn't reply; his Dharma Aspect flashed, and he instantly transformed into a stream of light, appearing above the heads of the immortal island disciples.

White clothes, white hair, standing in the void.

If this scene were seen by the common people of Yu State, they would definitely kneel and shout for immortals!

"Gui Lin, you people of the Ming Hun Dao, crossing the entire Tian Xuan Realm to besiege my Ascension Assembly's immortal island—what exactly are you after?"

Bald Gui Lin chuckled: "Naturally, it's for the good things of your Ascension Assembly."

"Gui Lin, cut the nonsense, make a move quickly."

"Kill them, the souls are yours, the things the elder wants belong to this true self."

As Gui Lin's words fell, a figure suddenly walked out from behind him.

It was a youth holding a sword, appearing only a few years older than Fang Xu, but his aura was indeed extremely terrifying.

Seeing this person, Lian Yao's expression instantly turned solemn.

"Who exactly are you, sir?"

"My Ascension Assembly has been secluded in a corner, never harboring any ambition—when have we ever offended you, sir?"

So young, yet possessing strength not inferior to his own, Lian Yao knew this youth's background must be an extremely terrifying power!

And such a power could only come from the Central Continent of the Tian Xuan Realm.

"What, want to know the power behind this true self?"

The youth sneered: "This true self knows your Ascension Assembly's president is currently in the Tian Xuan Realm, but so what?"

"Alright, cut the nonsense."

After speaking, he waved his hand: "Kill everyone on the island, except for the benefits I promised you—these wrecks of the Ascension Assembly, whoever grabs them gets them."

As his words fell, the people behind him instantly went mad.

The youth has a great teaching behind him, not caring about the immortal island's resources.

But they are all powers similar to the Ascension Assembly, even including some pirates, naturally eyeing the Ascension Assembly's many treasures.

Especially the nameless immortal scripture on the immortal island.

"Kill!"

Someone could no longer suppress their greed, directly charging toward the immortal island!

Seeing this, Lian Yao didn't hold back, directly swinging his palm fiercely, slapping at those martial artists charging forward!

"Old fogey, this true self will play with you."

Seeing this, the youth flashed his body; his long sword didn't even show how it was drawn, a golden long sword radiating cold light directly stabbed toward Lian Yao's body!

Lian Yao also didn't fear the youth, flying up to meet him.

The two gradually flew toward the deep sea.

Soldier against soldier, general against general.

The people besieging the immortal island began to each choose their opponents.

Until now, Fang Xu discovered that besides the four elders in charge on the immortal island, there were also more than ten mountain lords with cultivation surpassing the Elemental Martial Realm.

These powerful beings who had reached the Dharma Aspect Realm each chose their opponents and then dispersed from the battlefield.

Because everyone knew, with their strength, if they fought before the multitude of Martial Sovereigns and Elemental Martial Realm martial artists, the aftershocks they emitted would be enough to cause utter disaster to both sides' martial artists.

"Kill!"

Behind Fang Xu, the immortal island disciples at this moment also used various methods, killing toward the overwhelming enemies.

"Fang Xu!"

Behind him, Gu Qiu's voice came.

Fang Xu turned to look at her, just about to say something, when he suddenly glanced at the approaching ghost-faced soldiers.

"Kill the general, besides those hundred, take the rest back."

Fang Xu flashed forward and spoke.

Before him, the lowest cultivation in the battle were Martial Sovereign Fifth Realm and above, besides the hundred ghost-faced soldiers with armor-transformation ability, the other ghost-faced soldiers charging up were no different from cannon fodder.

Killing Tian Rui nodded, directly bringing the remaining ghost-faced soldiers back into the immortal island.

"You hundred, follow her!"

Fang Xu directly ordered the hundred ghost-faced soldiers with armor-transformation ability to follow Gu Qiu.

Gu Qiu is a poison master, skilled in nothing but controlling beasts, poison, and toxins, and close-combat killing ability is poor.

The hundred ghost-faced soldiers with armor-transformation ability, under the support of the battle formation, have strong strength; protecting Gu Qiu should be no problem.

Fang Xu himself also didn't plan to stay far from Gu Qiu, to prevent any sudden situation.

"Yes!"

After the hundred ghost-faced soldiers responded, their bodies rapidly armored!

Fang Xu glanced at Gu Qiu: "Be careful, don't act recklessly."

Gu Qiu nodded, and under the leadership of a hundred ghost-faced soldiers, he charged directly toward the many martial artists ahead.

On Fang Xu's side, his figure flashed as he rushed toward another group of martial venerables.

The number of enemies far exceeded that of the Immortal Island disciples.

From their attire, it could be seen that many of the martial artists besieging the island were pirates from nearby seas, making a living by plundering in daily life.

Fang Xu held a long staff, charging into this group of martial venerables like a tiger among sheep; each strike of his staff would crush many initial-realm martial venerables to death on the spot, and even high-realm martial venerables who failed to dodge in time would be instantly slain!

Among the opposing martial artists, some Yuan Wu realm cultivators quickly noticed Fang Xu's abnormal presence.

"Hmph!"

"The Ascension Immortal Society members are indeed forced — a Yuan Wu realm cultivator disguising himself as a third-realm Martial Venerable to slaughter Martial Venerables, truly shameless!"

A middle-aged woman wielding two curved blades, short in stature and her face covered in pockmarks, saw Fang Xu madly harvesting the lives of those Martial Venerables and immediately flashed forward to attack!

"Huh?"

"Yuan Wu realm?"

Sensing the aura on the middle-aged woman, Fang Xu immediately swung his staff at her!

Seeing this, the middle-aged woman did not dare be careless; after all, in her understanding, Fang Xu was nothing but a shameless Yuan Wu realm martial artist who, unknown by what secret technique, had disguised himself as a third-realm Martial Venerable to slaughter their side's Martial Venerables.

Clang!

The middle-aged woman raised the two curved blades in her hands, preparing to block Fang Xu's descending black iron staff.

Boom!

At the instant the curved blades contacted the staff, a flash of shock suddenly crossed the middle-aged woman's face!

"Not good!"

She hastily flashed her body, trying to dodge!

But the force of Fang Xu's staff was too strong — so strong that she didn't even have a chance to dodge; the curved blades in her hands were directly shattered, and the staff's momentum did not diminish, smashing directly into her body!

Pfft!

Half of the middle-aged woman's body was directly blown apart by Fang Xu's staff; the remaining half of her body did not die immediately.

"Big sister!"

The middle-aged woman's miserable state was caught in the corner of the eye by a burly Yuan Wu realm martial artist wielding double axes not far away; he directly flung aside his opponent and charged toward Fang Xu, preparing to rescue his big sister.

At that moment, the remaining half of the middle-aged woman's body instantly emitted a phantom, preparing to fly off into the distance.

This was her soul.

After undergoing Luohun, a Yuan Wu realm cultivator's soul can temporarily detach from the body and exist for a period of time.

During this time, if a suitable flesh body can be found, there is a certain probability of seizing it and being reborn.

Although this soul-seizing is not as successful as reaching the Yang God realm, at least it offers a chance to survive.

Seeing this, Fang Xu's mouth curled into a cold smile!

Want to run?

A cluster of eerie purple flames flickered in his eyes; opposite, the middle-aged woman's soul had just emerged, and instantly it was engulfed by the purple flames!

(End of Chapter)