Chapter 336: Military Formation

In a quiet room, a burly old man was slowly sipping tea when suddenly, his Star-Plucking Token lit up.

After just one glance, his brows furrowed slightly.

【"One of the three scouts from your Shadow Department has already died in battle? What about the other two, have they reported back?"】

【"My Lord, the other two scouts are still alive, but the child-mother jade tablets they carry for cross-star-domain communication are limited. According to the agreement, they conduct a routine communication three days after entering the star domain to confirm safety.

It's just that the Shadow Scout who entered this time died too quickly.

The three Shadow Scouts I sent to the Spring Thunder Star Domain this time are all battle-hardened and extremely experienced; they could safely go back and forth even in a sixth-tier star domain. But this time, in a fifth-tier star domain, less than half an hour after entering, one died in battle. I was somewhat puzzled, so I came to report."】

【"Have Feng Yi and the others arrived?"】

【"My Lord, they have already arrived."】

【"Tell him to be careful. The target this time might be a bit strange; be cautious.

Also, immediately erase all real identity relationships of these three Shadow Scouts.

No, change direction entirely; find a guild we secretly control and arrange their identities there."】 The old man put down his teacup and ordered.

【"My Lord, isn't the cost a bit too high? We have to clear out at least a dozen handlers? Should we wait another three days to confirm?"】

【"Prepare first; caution is never wrong. In my position, one must act as if walking on thin ice. After three days, look at the contact situation. Those willing can be sent directly to the star domains we control to serve; for those unwilling, provide generous compensation."】

【"Yes."】

Inside the Thunder Eagle Wang Cheng in the fifth-tier Spring Thunder Star Domain, the Lei Lei Yingwang was reorganizing his forces with the cooperation of the Lei Lei Lingwang.

Xu Jin, however, was there, racking his brains for one plan after another to leave the Star River passage alive, only to overturn them one by one.

The first plan that might succeed was to leave while invisible.

But there was a drawback: the moment one passed through the star gate and entered the Star River passage, it was impossible to be invisible.

Once discovered, even if Xu Jin went invisible again, seventh-tier powerhouses had many ways to force Xu Jin to appear.

Escaping the Star River passage at four times the Flowing Shimmer speed.

There was also a possibility of success, but also a possibility of failure. As long as he was intercepted once, what awaited Xu Jin would be death and soul destruction!

The success rate wasn't even half.

Open another star gate?

If one could shatter the space barrier of the star domain, it was possible to open another star gate, but unfortunately, Xu Jin didn't have this ability.

Moreover, even if he could open another star gate, where this star gate led was also an unknown.

If his luck was bad and he stepped into an unknown space, he might never return.

Opening a star gate was extremely complex; otherwise, it wouldn't be monopolized by the Sumeru Palace.

Suddenly, Xu Jin remembered Fairy Zuiyue, the little princess of the Sumeru Palace. If he could contact her, perhaps she could provide some solutions.

But now, he couldn't contact anyone.

Xu Jin even thought of the Star-Plucking Tower branch.

But it was useless.

It was just a branch of the Star-Plucking Tower; if it were set up in the current era, it could immediately serve as a contact point.

Inside the star domain, setting it up still left one isolated from the world.

"Senior Brother Qi, perhaps we can try bait. We take a portion of the alien races and rush out to divert their attention. At that time, as long as one of us can escape, we can pass on this emergency military situation and warn the Star River Marshal's Mansion."

Especially Ji Hongli had just finished speaking when she was given a flick on the forehead by Xu Jin, "Are you stupid? If we really play it like that, the one who dies will definitely be you! You rush out, you can only divert the enemy's attention, and then be killed.

The one who has a chance to live will definitely be me!"

Touching her flicked forehead, Especially Ji Hongli pouted aggrievedly.

However, Especially Ji Hongli's suggestion reminded Xu Jin.

Relying on his own strength, in the terrain of the Star River passage, he couldn't escape under the siege of seventh-tier powerhouses.

However, the power of the Spring Thunder Star Domain itself could be utilized.

This, perhaps, was the key point.

Currently, the number of sixth-tier powerhouses directly controlled had reached eight, and through the Lei Lei Yingwang and Lei Lei Lingwang, there were six more sixth-tier beings indirectly controlled. If they could be brought out.

Fourteen sixth-tier beings, even if there were two or three seventh-tier ones, would be enough to give them a headache.

Unfortunately, the restriction of the star domain star gate was there, and they couldn't be brought out.

He could only settle for the next best thing: fifth-tier!

Bring fifth-tier alien race elites out of the Star River passage to fight for a chance for himself.

At that moment, Xu Jin and Especially Ji Hongli began to deduce.

But half an hour later, both of them looked defeated.

Especially Ji Hongli led over a hundred fifth-tier beings, Xu Jin played the role of the ambushing seventh-tier powerhouse, and all deductions failed.

If it were a peak fifth-tier, ninth-layer powerhouse of the human race from the current era, they might be able to last a few moves under a mid-to-late seventh-tier powerhouse, but a peak fifth-tier, ninth-layer alien race against a peak seventh-tier, ninth-layer powerhouse would definitely be instantly killed.

In the blink of an eye, morale would collapse, and they would scatter in a panic.

This wouldn't work, that wouldn't work. Xu Jin became more anxious and angry the more he thought about it.

He hated the mastermind behind this ambush so much that his teeth itched!

Xu Jin also understood that this mastermind behind the ambush was inseparable from the person who sold him the world's star will of the Spring Thunder Star Domain that day, and that person might even be the mastermind.

And they held a high position, not a low one.

Otherwise, how could they possibly command seventh-tier powerhouses?

And there was even a dedicated Shadow Department for intelligence gathering.

If it weren't for the Saint Clan messenger colluding with the Ancestral Cave Heaven, it would be fine.

At worst, Xu Jin could cultivate here for a few months.

Xu Jin didn't believe that a few seventh-tier powerhouses could just sit idle and guard him at the Star River passage for months?

Are there seventh-tier beings that idle?

But now...

"Senior Brother Qi, don't be too anxious. In this matter, being anxious is useless."

Just as he was anxious, Especially Ji Hongli handed him a bowl of water.

Only then did Xu Jin discover that in just this half an hour, under his burning anxiety, blisters had already formed on the corners of his mouth.

While Xu Jin was drinking water, Especially Ji Hongli added, "Besides, the Star River battlefield has experienced countless storms and waves since it started from nothing. Facing alien races, it has its own operating procedures. Although the Saint Clan messenger matter is a huge conspiracy, being anxious is useless.

We still have to plan slowly."

Being told this by Especially Ji Hongli, Xu Jin suddenly didn't feel so anxious anymore.

That's right, when the sky falls, there are tall people to hold it up.

There's no need to consider himself a savior.

Don't take yourself too seriously, and don't underestimate the capabilities of the high-level officials on the Star River battlefield.

"Senior Brother Qi, if you're not so anxious, if we spend some time, I do have a relatively safer method," Especially Ji Hongli said.

"Oh, I just thought of it too. How about we write it down?"

"Okay," Especially Ji Hongli smiled.

The next instant, both of them wrote two words at the same time.

Xu Jin wrote: Concentrated Fire.

Especially Ji Hongli wrote: Military Formation.

The words were different, but the idea was the same.

This idea required time.

A mob wouldn't work.

It required training the fifth-tier powerhouses of the Spring Thunder Star Domain.

Moreover, a small number wouldn't work.

And it couldn't be purely offensive.

Fifth-tier alien races also feel fear and fear death.

If they couldn't be killed instantly by a surprise attack, they would be finished immediately.

Coincidentally, the fifth-tier alien races of the Spring Thunder Star Domain were extremely suitable for being organized into an army. Their thunder-type star techniques were swift and fast, with a long range of up to two hundred meters, making long-range concentrated fire most suitable.

And water-type star techniques could be used for defense.

Very quickly, Xu Jin and Especially Ji Hongli laid out a cone-shaped military formation.

Using sixty fifth-tier Water Spirits as the vanguard and flanks, mainly for defense; as long as someone attacked, they would focus on defense.

Using at least a hundred fifth-tier Thunder Spirits and Thunder Eagles as the core, for long-range concentrated fire.

A hundred mid-to-late fifth-tier Thunder Spirits, firing in a concentrated burst, would be something even a seventh-tier powerhouse would likely find hard to endure.

Even if they couldn't kill them, injury would be inevitable, and the possibility of serious injury would also be very high.

Very quickly, Xu Jin handed this matter over to the Lei Lei Lingwang and Lei Lei Yingwang as their top priority.

First, assemble the mid-to-late fifth-tier powerhouses of the three tribes, then set up the formation and conduct military training!

Finally, Xu Jin would control a few fifth-tier generals to achieve control.

To get this done well, Xu Jin offered heavy rewards.

If done well, each person would get two Long Turtle Soul-Forging Pills, the three-essence kind.

The Lei Lei Lingwang knew the benefits of those pills, so immediately, the two of them, with a few subordinates, went all out to do this.

Xu Jin and Especially Ji Hongli were not idle while waiting for the military formation training to be completed.

First, they had a huge harvest.

The treasuries of the Thunder Spirit Wang Cheng and the Thunder Eagle Wang Cheng, as well as the secret treasuries of these two, were all swept through by Xu Jin and Especially Ji Hongli.

However, with these two having already surrendered.

Xu Jin didn't sweep them clean, but left a small portion for these two.

But even so, it still added thousands of wisps of starlight to the Arena, and at the same time, Xu Jin harvested over two thousand fifth-tier star jade tablets, thirty-two sixth-tier star jade tablets, and seven portions of Purple Thunder Bamboo.

This was a specialty of the back mountain of the Thunder Spirit tribe's ancestral land, a heaven-and-earth treasure that could be used to strengthen thunder-type star patterns, but unfortunately, most of it had been used by the Lei Lei Lingwang.

But from now on, it belonged to Xu Jin.

A day later, Xu Jin and Especially Ji Hongli found the production site of the Water Spirit tribe's Clear Bi Shui Ling Sui, which was an underground karst cave.

This underground karst cave produced fourth-tier and fifth-tier water-type star jade tablets, and occasionally sixth-tier star jade tablets would appear, but in the forbidden area at the deepest part, one drop of Clear Bi Shui Ling Sui could be collected every month.

This thing had astonishing value.

A stable production of one drop per month, plus that Purple Thunder Bamboo, made the value of the Spring Thunder Star Domain skyrocket!

Not only that, the concentration of star power in the depths of this underground karst cave almost reached the extreme of any star power concentration Xu Jin had ever seen.

It was even one or two percent thicker than the star power concentration Xu Jin obtained by using the fifth-tier Star-Gathering Array to draw from fifth-tier star jade tablets.

It was definitely a sacred place for cultivation.

The key was, there was no cost.

Training the military formation took time, so Xu Jin and Especially Ji Hongli simply stayed in the depths of this karst cave to cultivate in seclusion.

Because Xu Jin had to pay attention to and urge the progress of the military formation training, he had to go out once a day, but Especially Ji Hongli spent the whole day soaking here in seclusion.

Of course, she wasn't cultivating all day long.

Xu Jin passed the Great Star-Gathering Pattern of the seventh tier and the Flowing Star Pattern of the eighth tier to Especially Ji Hongli, letting Especially Ji Hongli comprehend and cultivate while improving her cultivation, as Especially Ji Hongli's strength had to be improved.

However, besides cultivating, Xu Jin had many things to do.

For example, obtaining the secret technique for concealing aura from the captured so-called Shadow Department scouts.

This point was very important.

The remaining two scouts definitely also had divine soul restrictions, so normal interrogation wouldn't work.

So Xu Jin thought of another method.

He released one of the scouts who had been in a state of unconscious illusion.

Then Xu Jin went invisible nearby and observed in the first instance.

Xu Jin was also quite cunning.

This scout woke up and was also extremely surprised.

He only remembered that he seemed to have been ambushed, but it seemed like he was caught in the crossfire, and before losing consciousness, he found a safe place and hid.

Such a memory was reinforced by Xu Jin in the dream realm.

The first moment he confirmed he was safe, this scout instinctively used the secret technique to conceal his aura again.

If he didn't conceal his aura, there would be an endless stream of alien races killing their way toward his direction, and that would really be the end.

He had no idea and couldn't imagine that Xu Jin would be invisible on the side, silently observing.

It was the kind of observation where he pushed the Bright Era Star Pattern to the extreme.

Although he couldn't observe the so-called secret technique, he could observe seven or eight out of ten.

The concealment method wasn't difficult.

It was just drawing out the star power within the alien star core, pouring it into a mass of alien blood, and then this mass of blood would emit an aura similar to an alien race, covering oneself, thereby achieving the purpose of concealing one's own aura.

The process was very simple, and the method within it wasn't difficult.

The star core used was a normal star core.

The key point was in that mass of alien blood essence.

That mass of blood essence had been refined using special methods.

From the interrogation, he learned that this mass of blood essence was issued by the Shadow Department.

It should have been refined into some kind of formation or star pattern.

This wasn't difficult.

Professional matters are handled by professional people. Xu Jin captured a total of fifteen such blood essence beads from the three captives, and one could last for three days.

When he brings them back, he can just hand them to the Grand Master to find someone to analyze and imitate.

The probability of cracking it was still quite high.

What surprised Xu Jin even more was that the Lei Lei Lingwang and Lei Lei Yingwang worked extremely hard.

Within just three days, they actually gathered eighty-two mid-to-late fifth-tier Water Spirits and one hundred and eighty mid-to-late fifth-tier Thunder Spirits and Thunder Eagles.

Xu Jin redesigned the military formation for them, and while letting the Lei Lei Lingwang and Lei Lei Yingwang lead these people in bitter training of the military formation day and night, Xu Jin himself also began bitter cultivation.

On January 2nd, Especially Ji Hongli's divine soul cultivation broke through to the fourth tier, second layer; this was the effect of one three-essence Long Turtle Soul-Forging Pill morning and evening.

Xu Jin's Origin Spirit Yuanling Taiguang reached 7.2 meters.

In three days, it grew by 0.2 meters, doubling the original speed.

Because it wasn't just the growth speed of the initial movement itself, for these three days, Xu Jin also took one three-essence Long Turtle Soul-Forging Pill morning and evening.

Previously, just from his teacher Kou Jing, he had received sixty pills.

It was better to convert them into strength sooner.

On January 5th, Xu Jin's Middle Shang Xinggong cultivation broke through to the early stage of the fourth tier, fifth layer, and his Origin Spirit Yuanling Taiguang reached 7.4 meters.

On January 8th, Especially Ji Hongli's divine soul cultivation broke through to the fourth tier, third layer, and her star power cultivation broke through to the fourth tier, fourth layer. Xu Jin's Origin Spirit Yuanling Taiguang reached 7.6 meters.

Don't look at the fact that Especially Ji Hongli's star power cultivation broke through to the fourth tier, fourth layer, but in reality, Especially Ji Hongli only had her Middle Shang Xinggong break through to the fourth tier, fourth layer; her Lower Shang Xinggong was still at the peak of the third tier, ninth layer.

On January 11th, Xu Jin's Lower Shang Xinggong cultivation also broke through to the early stage of the fourth tier, fifth layer, and the number of Bright Era Star Patterns became six.

On January 14th, Xu Jin's Origin Spirit Yuanling Taiguang reached 8 meters, his Middle Shang Xinggong cultivation improved to the late stage of the fourth tier, fifth layer, and when Especially Ji Hongli's Lower Shang Xinggong cultivation successfully broke through to the fourth tier, first layer, outside the Clear Bi Shui Ling Sui karst cave, the voices of the Lei Lei Lingwang and Lei Lei Yingwang suddenly sounded.

"Master, the military formation training is complete, please inspect it, Master!"

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 337 =====