Chapter 380: 354 Sky City

Pop—

In the Yunhai, a yellow sprout emerged.

That sprout looked very much like a bean sprout, crystal clear, but thicker and sturdier than a bean sprout, about the thickness of a person's arm. Very quickly, the strands coiled together, twisting into a torso, then arms grew from this torso, then legs, and finally, it became a humanoid figure with an upside-down head buried in the clouds.

Immediately after, the bean-sprout-like body began to move, using its hands to push against the ground, and with a 'shing' sound, it pulled its head out of the clouds.

The bean-sprout person's head was the same shape as the soybean that had been in the Time Jar earlier, only magnified to the size of a human head. The wrinkles of the bean skin were piled up to form facial features, looking ugly and terrifying. Combined with its four-foot-tall body, it looked like a malformed, grotesque dwarf.

Is this... a Sprout Soldier?

Tang Zhao watched as one Sprout Soldier after another was pulled out of the clouds, just like pulling radishes from the soil, and then they spontaneously lined up in a row, surprisingly disciplined. He felt both surprised and curious:

Just by scattering seeds in the soil, one could grow a soldier in a few breaths; this matter was truly miraculous.

But with this bean-sprout-like body and a height of only half a person, how much use could it really be?

If it couldn't adapt to combat, wouldn't it just be pure cannon fodder?

Besides here, the mountains and plains were already covered with these Sprout Soldiers. What on earth could they be used for? To make up the numbers, create the illusion of a vast sea of people, and scare off the enemy? To stall for time when running away?

Tang Zhao was curious while staring at yet another bean-sprout soldier crawling out.

He had been watching for a long time, not only because watching the Sprout Soldiers pull their heads out was inexplicably stress-relieving, but also because the argument behind him was too intense for him to interject.

"I said it can be blocked!"

"It can be done, it can be done! You are clearly just making excuses!"

"You just mentioned so many materials, and now I have found them all! Look, are these not them? What other excuses do you have? Elder Ou Ye, the offerings your family receives are not small at all; at a time like this, you say it's impossible?"

"The technique... you teach the technique! If you don't teach it, how will he know how?"

"Fool... who are you calling a fool? I think you look like... Alright, alright, there is no need to attack each other. I guarantee you, this person is absolutely a one-in-ten-thousand genius. He is no worse than any of your own disciples."

"What foundation? We are all Talisman Sword Masters, how different can the foundation be?"

"A unique secret method? Ou... what mixed superposition method?"

"Is it the Ouye Clan's Origin Angle Mixed Superposition Rune Law?"

"Yes, that's the one... hmm?"

Li Yijian was suddenly stunned; that last sentence had come from behind him. That is to say, it was spoken by Tang Zhao.

Elder Ou Ye, who had been arguing with him and wearing a look of disdain, was also stunned and said, "Could it be that you..."

"I know it."

After a moment of silence, Li Yijian said with pleasant surprise, "You really know that... thing?"

At the same time, Elder Ou Ye instead said, "How do you know it? This is my Ouye family's secret method."

Tang Zhao turned back and explained solemnly, "The Ouye Clan does not hide its secrets. You are even willing to publish the methods for making unique Dharma Artifacts. This student has dabbled in them slightly."

Most Talisman Sword Masters only need general rules to make Art Tools, mainly by mastering basic Rune Formulas and then learning to combine and apply them. As long as one has enough Inspiration, the rest is mostly a matter of hard work and proficiency, which is why many small families can produce qualified Art Tools.

However, at the level of Dharma Artifacts, the Rune Formulas change from two-dimensional to three-dimensional, and the complexity is more than ten times greater. Relying solely on building blocks according to basic rules is not enough; one needs various secret Talisman-making methods, utilizing complex structures, calculations, laws, and even formulas to produce a qualified Dharma Artifact.

At this point, complete instruction is required. Except for a small number of geniuses who learn without a teacher, most must receive a complete inheritance to learn. Most of these inheritances are in the hands of major forces in the Talisman Sword Master world, and outsiders can hardly learn them, so if a Talisman Sword Master lacks a good lineage, their ceiling is not high.

Only a small number of Talisman-making methods are circulated outside, such as the Ouye Clan, known as the founding masters of Talisman Sword Masters. They have at least seven or eight types of Talisman-making methods themselves, and perhaps due to a sense of responsibility to carry forward the lineage of Talisman Sword Masters, they actually published a few of them. Although they were published hundreds of years ago, they can still be found in some classics today.

Tang Zhao himself learned Xue Xianyun's exclusive secret Talisman-making method—don't look at Xue Xianyun as a lone wolf; he could independently produce Dharma Artifacts decades ago, so his upper limit was not low. His teaching can be considered a school of its own in the Talisman Sword Master world. After Tang Zhao learned it, he read many classics in his own library and the Longyuan library, which involved the Ouye family's secret methods.

Relying on his Glasses to scan books quickly, with annotations, and having his own foundation, he had no obstacles in learning other Talisman-making methods. Especially after becoming a Sword Guest, his horizons suddenly opened up, and learning Talisman-making methods became quite simple. The Ouye Clan's secret method was indeed exquisite; he kept it in his mind and had even tried it a few times, not expecting it to be useful at this moment.

In the Mirror, the withered-looking old man was speechless for the first time. After a while, he said, "Even if you know the method, there are only a few hours left now, and it might not be enough."

Tang Zhao had been silent, letting the more familiar Li Yijian coordinate, but since he had spoken, he simply straightened his expression, came to the Mirror, and said, "Mr. Ou Ye, if we cannot make it in time, then there is no help for it; it is Heaven's will. Before that, we only need to do our human duty."

He pressed his hand against the Mirror and said earnestly, "If we do not try, and the final result of the disaster occurs, I will stay here and die, and that will be the end of it. You might feel remorseful about it over there. Even if you don't remember it all the time, one day in the future, at some moment, if you occasionally think of it, it will be hard to avoid feeling unhappy. Why add to your own troubles in life?"

"You try your best to teach, and I will try my best to learn. If we can succeed, save the common people from fire and water, and turn the tide when it is collapsing, that is naturally a great joy. If we cannot turn the tide, then we have done our best, and we will have no regrets when we look back. To have no resentment and no regrets, isn't that the best state for a person? I believe you think so too."

"You just do what you want to do; whether it can be done or not, leave it to me. Whether it succeeds or fails—"

He pointed his finger at the sky, "Leave it to Heaven's will."

The other side was silent for a moment, and Elder Ou Ye finally said, "You speak quite pleasantly, much better than that Li fellow. As expected of us Talisman Sword Masters, we are cultured. Then I will try. But if you learn it, you don't need to tell a second person. Also, you must call me Mr. Ou Ye, and you must come to my Ouye City to pay me a visit."

"Very well, Mr. Ou Ye. As long as I am alive, I will definitely pay a visit."

"The seventh intersection of the Origin Angles, at the Li position..."

On a platform temporarily pieced together from Yuan Stone Slabs, Tang Zhao held a Talisman brush, quickly placing various materials and carving various Rune Formulas.

Li Yijian stood beside him, holding the Mirror, his ears filled with "gibberish" sounds, like a cow listening to music. His figure appeared particularly upright, his expression particularly solemn; he was numb.

Suddenly, he caught a glimpse of the Yunhai churning abnormally.

But the void in the center of the Yunhai was no different; compared to half an hour ago, it had expanded by another two zhang in radius. Through the Boundary Membrane, one could still only vaguely see that city...

A City?

Li Yijian was suddenly startled and looked up at the sky.

In the sky above, adjacent to the newly risen red sun, there was a Shadow, vaguely in the shape of a city.

That is... Xiuluo City!

"This is bad, Xiuluo City has projected over!" Li Yijian could not control himself for a moment and blurted out, "Xiuluo City does not need to wait for the Boundary Gap to fully open; as long as light can pass through, the projection can appear out of thin air. We must prepare for battle..." He held the Mirror in one hand and reached for his sword with the other.

Tang Zhao was burying his head in his work, and at this moment he looked up and said, "The Commandant should go and make arrangements; just leave the Mirror on the ground."

Li Yijian took a deep breath, knowing that now was not the time to argue about these things. He was just idle here anyway, so he placed the Mirror on the ground with the old man's face up and said, "I will go report to the Pixiu Sword." After saying this, he jumped onto the Fire Seed Carriage parked on the side and drove toward the podium.

With him gone, Tang Zhao just kept his head down and worked, but the old man Ou Ye said, "Hey, did you hear that? Xiuluo City is here."

Tang Zhao lowered his head and said, "Yes."

Elder Ou Ye said repeatedly, "It's ruined. Xiuluo City only has one entity, which is the ground city, but it will project into the sky and the underground. Now its main body has not crossed the boundary, but it can already project directly through the Boundary Gap. And the projection can turn from virtual to real, equivalent to opening a branch base here directly. This is to bloodbath the Suiyu in advance."

Tang Zhao continued his work while saying, "Although it is only a projection, it is connected to the main body, right? As long as we seal the Boundary Gap, the projection will naturally dissipate."

Elder Ou Ye shook his head and said, "You make it sound easy; I am afraid you won't have enough time. You have only done half, and I still have half left to explain. For example, the core part of this Gap Mending Artifact is ten times harder than before."

Tang Zhao said, "Then could you speed up a bit?"

Elder Ou Ye sneered, "You say it lightly; don't think I don't know where your limits are. You were pretending to be very relaxed just now; could it be that you really didn't feel any strain at all while learning?"

Tang Zhao took a deep breath. Just as Elder Ou Ye said, he had been learning new skills at high intensity for a short time. Not only did his ears have to understand and his brain have to understand, but his hands had to understand as well. The pressure was immense. It was only thanks to his rich experience and solid foundation that he could avoid making mistakes, but if the pace were to increase now, I'm afraid...

"I have no problem."

Elder Ou Ye was so angered he laughed, saying, "Fine, I will accelerate. Let's see if you can handle it—"

As he spoke, he continued in one breath. Not only was his speaking speed doubled, but some knowledge points were skimmed over so quickly it was practically like he was acting out of spite.

Tang Zhao took a deep breath—it had finally arrived.

Originally, I wanted to use my own strength to learn the Rune Formula, but the situation does not allow it.

Glasses, give me—a cheat!

Tang Zhao flicked his sleeve and, with the smallest of movements, took out the Glasses and put them on the bridge of his nose.

Thanks to years of experience, his movement of putting on the Glasses in front of others was small and concealed enough to ensure that outsiders who could not see the Glasses would not notice what he was doing, or even develop any strange ideas.

In fact, as his knowledge accumulated and grew richer, especially after forging his own sword, he had used the Glasses in front of others less and less. He only used them in special circumstances when he needed to simulate holding something, or when he had to learn something urgently.

He had never worn the Glasses in Suiyu before.

Putting them on this time, besides racing against time, he also wanted to see what Suiyu looked like in the field of vision of the Glasses.

As soon as he put them on, the lenses of the Glasses lit up.

A vast expanse of brilliance flashed by, and characters like a waterfall flowed down from above.

Is the screen being flooded?