allendalepharm Chapter 253 The Turtle Puppet Formation: A Plan to Repel the Black Serpent
Chapter 253 The Turtle Puppet Formation: A Plan to Repel the Black Serpent
Chapter 253 The Turtle Puppet Formation: A Plan to Repel the Black Serpent
In the days that followed, apart from passively absorbing a small amount of Star Moon Essence during dual cultivation, Chen Yi almost never actively absorbed the energy from the fusion of the two.
In addition, his own green wood attribute magic power has a nourishing property, and Yue Qingqiu's physical body, magic power and soul were all conditioned to the best state under this double blessing. His aura became more and more condensed and steady, and he was only one step away from the Nascent Soul realm.
More importantly, this period of spending every day with Chen Yi without any reservations was the most peaceful and happiest time Yue Qingqiu had experienced in nearly a hundred years.
Nearly a century ago, the gloom that had accumulated in her heart after breaking up with her former lover, Hirahoshino, was completely dispelled during this warm period, and her mind became clearer than ever before, which was exactly the "perfect state" required for Nascent Soul formation.
On this day, Yue Qingqiu leaned against Chen Yi's side, her tone filled with emotion and seriousness: "Junior brother, thank you."
My senior sister has felt incredibly peaceful during this time; her mind has never been so calm.
"I'm sorry you had to go through this difficult time, having to cooperate with my dual cultivation. Besides, your senior sister is no longer a virgin, so I'm sorry you had to suffer."
She paused, a determined glint in her eyes, and continued, "But don't worry, if I succeed in forming my Nascent Soul this time, I will use the power of the Nascent Soul to reshape my physical body and restore it to the pure state I had at twenty years old."
"At that time, your senior sister will definitely make it up to you with our first time, and she will also teach you the higher-level method of refining Moon Spirit Essence, as well as the deeper dual cultivation techniques of the Star Moon Sect."
After finishing her sentence, she changed the subject and got down to business: "I've had enough rest and recuperation during this period, and I feel that I've reached my peak condition."
In another half month, it will be the peak of the lunar cycle, and I plan to attempt to break through to the Nascent Soul stage at that time.
The location doesn't need to be changed; the fourth-tier spiritual vein above Star Peak will suffice—the spiritual energy there is abundant, which will help me stabilize my cultivation level to the greatest extent.
"At that time, junior brother, you will use my Star Moon Ring to protect the Dharma throughout the entire process. Anyone who dares to approach the spiritual vein area without permission will have the power of life and death over you, so there is no need to worry."
Furthermore, if that old bastard Black Serpent True Monarch dares to cause trouble, I hope you, Junior Brother, will preside over the sect's protective formation to hold him off and buy me time to form my Nascent Soul.
Upon hearing this, Chen Yi nodded earnestly and agreed: "Don't worry, Senior Sister, I will definitely handle this matter properly."
He knew in his heart that he had already helped Yue Qingqiu to form her Nascent Soul, and that he wouldn't miss this last step of protecting her.
As for whether he would offend Black Serpent True Lord, he didn't care much. The two sides had already clashed because of the Red Eagle True Man's matter, and now it was just another layer of entanglement.
Moreover, Chen Yi had enough confidence in his own abilities.
He estimated that with a little more time to cultivate, even if he faced the Black Serpent True Monarch head-on, he might not be at a disadvantage, so there was no need to be afraid.
In fact, although Chen Yi focused his main efforts on cooperating with Yue Qingqiu in dual cultivation over the past few months, he was not idle.
Aside from necessary spiritual practice, he spent most of his time crafting puppets in preparation for his duties as a protector of the Dharma.
Now, with the full support of the Star Moon Sect's resources, the three-headed, third-tier, high-grade turtle puppets he crafted have all been completed.
Chen Yi had already planted divine thoughts in each of the turtle puppets, so that he could simply activate the puppets to set up the "Three Turtle Defense Array".
This formation can multiply the defensive capabilities of the three-headed puppet several times. Combined with the Star Moon Sect's own mountain-protecting formation, it forms a double protection, sufficient to withstand sneak attacks from Nascent Soul cultivators and safeguard Yue Qingqiu's Nascent Soul formation.
Moreover, two years ago, the Star Moon Sect and Eagle Ridge Mountain had just fought a great battle at the Nascent Soul level, and both sides were severely weakened. There was absolutely no possibility of starting another war in the short term.
Chen Yi knew that even if there were Nascent Soul cultivators in Eagle Ridge Mountain who harbored resentment, they wouldn't dare to make too much of a commotion at this time.
Half a month passed in the blink of an eye.
As the day of Nascent Soul formation arrived, all the cultivators on the upper half of Star Peak had been cleared out, leaving only a chilling defensive aura in the entire area.
Chen Yi stood guard inside the array gate of the fourth-tier spiritual vein cave at the summit, holding the Star Moon Ring given to him by Yue Qingqiu.
He looked up at the night sky and saw that the moon was at the very center of the "nine stars aligned". The cool moonlight poured down like flowing water, and the concentration of moon spirit essence contained in it was the highest in ten years. It was the best time to break through to the Nascent Soul stage.
At this moment, Yue Qingqiu was sitting cross-legged at the core of the spiritual vein in the cave. She tilted her head back and swallowed the Nascent Soul Pill. The moment the pill entered her stomach, a powerful medicinal force erupted within her body.
"boom--"
Almost simultaneously, the fourth-order spiritual veins of the entire Star Peak suddenly trembled slightly, and the spiritual veins began to surge like a rising tide, converging into the cave.
Chen Yi, who was outside the door, immediately sensed the commotion and understood that Yue Qingqiu had officially begun her attempt to break through to the Nascent Soul stage.
He dared not slacken his efforts and immediately released the Crimson Soul Sparrow and two already-finished early-stage third-order flying puppets, which flew towards a range of a thousand miles outside Star Peak, forming an outer reconnaissance and defense line. Any cultivator or demon beast that approached could be detected immediately.
In the past six months, although Chen Yi has focused his main energy on cultivating with Yue Qingqiu and has not devoted himself to cultivation, he has still benefited greatly from the nourishment of the Star Moon Essence.
The fused energy not only completely repaired his previously damaged foundation, but also elevated it to a higher level;
Along with his magical cultivation, his level was passively pushed to the peak of the mid-stage of the Golden Core realm, just one step away from the late-stage of the Golden Core realm.
Chen Yi secretly calculated in his heart: If Yue Qingqiu could wait another year or two to break through to the Nascent Soul stage, with his current cultivation speed, he should be able to break through to the late Golden Core stage at that time, and the quality of his magic power would be significantly improved, and the safety of protecting her would be increased by another 10%.
However, not everyone is as cautious as him. Yue Qingqiu sensed that he had reached his peak condition and that the nine stars were aligned, so he decisively chose to break through at this moment.
Three days later, the spiritual energy of Xingfeng became increasingly violent, and began to actively stir up the spiritual energy between heaven and earth.
A vortex of spiritual energy, spanning hundreds of miles in radius, gradually condensed above the star peak. Within the vortex, spiritual energy surged like a raging sea, even drawing in the clouds above, creating a truly magnificent sight.
Such a commotion naturally attracted the attention of various powerful forces in the surrounding area.
The delegations from various sects and forces are already on their way to the ceremony.
Chen Yi stood inside the array gate, gazing at the vortex of spiritual energy above, secretly calculating in his heart: if True Monarch Black Serpent were to intervene, he would definitely choose to do so within the next day or two.
Later that evening, the Star Moon Sect was surrounded by the viewing teams of various forces. If he still dared to make a move against the will of the world, he probably wouldn't even be able to protect Eagle Bear Immortal City.
Sure enough, half a day later, the night gradually darkened.
Chen Yi's divine sense suddenly detected a cold and powerful streak of light rushing toward the Star Moon Sect from the southwest.
The streaking light was extremely fast, carrying undisguised hostility, and quickly broke through the outer perimeter of the Star Moon Sect, heading straight for Star Peak.
"Enemy attack! As planned, everyone in position!"
Chen Yi made a decisive move, and a voice transmission resounded throughout the Star Peak. The voice was steady and powerful, carrying an unquestionable command.
Immediately, more than ten Core Formation cultivators from the sect rushed out of their respective residences and quickly took their positions according to the mountain-protecting formation that Chen Yi had arranged in advance.
Their magical power surged forth, like streams flowing into rivers, converging towards the array's core, preparing to activate the defensive array.
At the same time, the three-headed turtle puppets had moved to the three key nodes of the great formation, connected to each other by energy threads, and began to absorb the magical power injected by the Core Formation cultivators.
Chen Yi knew very well that his magic power had not yet broken through to the late stage of Core Formation. If he relied solely on himself to drive the three-headed puppet, its defensive capabilities would be no match for a Nascent Soul cultivator.
Even if he manages to block the attack by relying on his physical body, too many secrets will be exposed.
Now that I'm in a sect, it's natural to rely on the collective strength of the sect; this is the safest choice.
If Yue Qingqiu weren't at a crucial moment in her Nascent Soul formation, and the sect's protective array wasn't meant to absorb too much spiritual energy from the veins to avoid affecting the supply of spiritual energy, Chen Yi wouldn't have needed to go through all this trouble; he could have simply activated the array to resist.
Just as the energy of the formation was about to be fully condensed, a strange black energy wave suddenly surged from the shadows, attacking the Star Peak Spirit Vein Cave like a venomous snake.
The caster, clearly to avoid revealing their identity, did not use any signature spells, but instead released purified ordinary fourth-order spiritual energy fluctuations through a ranged attack artifact.
Even so, the attack intensity of this energy wave reached the Nascent Soul level, and its power should not be underestimated.
The opponent's intention was clear: either Chen Yi would use the mountain-protecting formation to resist the attack, in which case the fluctuations in the formation's operation would inevitably interfere with the spiritual energy supply of the spiritual vein, negatively impacting Yue Qingqiu who was forming her Nascent Soul.
If it cannot be blocked, the attack will land directly on the cave, interrupting Yue Qingqiu's Nascent Soul formation process.
The intruder was extremely malicious. He believed that the Star Moon Sect was at a critical moment when Yue Qingqiu was forming his Nascent Soul, and that no one could preside over the fourth-order mountain-protecting formation to resist him. That's why he dared to launch such a reckless surprise attack.
However, just as the black energy fluctuation was about to strike the Star Peak Spirit Vein Cave, a huge figure suddenly rushed out from the array node. It was the third-tier high-grade turtle puppet that Chen Yi had crafted.
Intricate array patterns instantly lit up on the tortoise shell behind the puppet, and the heavy magical energy fluctuations intertwined with the crackling magnetic lightning, forming a solid defensive barrier.
As the opponent's energy fluctuations approached, the magnetic lightning shield on the tortoise shell lit up first, and a crackling arc of lightning collided with the black energy, instantly weakening the fourth-order energy by 30%.
Immediately afterward, before the remaining energy could fully settle, the turtle puppet's shell suddenly tilted slightly, like a rotating shield, cleverly deflecting 40% of the remaining 70% of its mana to the side. That portion of energy grazed the edge of the star peak and eventually dissipated into the distant mountains and forests.
The remaining 30% of the energy struck the tortoise shell squarely, and the enormous impact was transmitted through the puppet to the ground.
At this moment, Chen Yi and the dozen or so Core Formation cultivators present all took a step back, dispersing the heavy energy pressure so they could share the burden.
A few breaths later, the energy completely dissipated, the Star Peak Spirit Vein remained stable, and the spiritual energy vortex inside the cave only fluctuated slightly before returning to normal.
In an instant, all the Core Formation cultivators present showed expressions of joy, their gazes towards Chen Yi filled with admiration: "Elder Chen actually led us to defend against a Nascent Soul level attack without even using a fourth-order sect formation!"
"Elder Chen's turtle puppet is too powerful! Its defensive techniques are simply divine!"
From the darkness in the distance, the hidden Black Serpent True Monarch frowned upon seeing this, his tone full of surprise and dissatisfaction: "What is that? It's just a mere third-tier high-grade puppet, yet it can block my attack?"
He snorted coldly, clearly unwilling to let the matter rest.
The next moment, three jet-black magical energy waves suddenly shot out from the shadows, each carrying the pressure of a Nascent Soul level cultivator, and moving even faster than before. They were actually a rapid-fire attack launched from a snake-shaped crossbow magic weapon.
"Let's see how you stop now?!" Black Serpent True Monarch's voice was tinged with malice, clearly believing that the Star Moon Sect was utterly powerless to resist this time.
However, to his surprise, three turtle puppets suddenly rushed out from Xingfeng's side, each responding to one of the three attacks.
As before, the puppets first weakened the energy with magnetic lightning shields, then deflected the force with the tortoise shells, and finally Chen Yi and the Core Formation cultivator shared the remaining impact, actually withstanding three Nascent Soul level attacks at the same time.
The only cost was that nearly half of the mana of all the Core Formation cultivators present was consumed in that instant, and everyone was shaken back several steps, their faces turning slightly pale.
However, the attack was successfully blocked, and Yue Qingqiu's Nascent Soul formation process was unaffected. What follows is what comes next.
After the defense was completed, cheers rang out again on Star Peak. The cultivators' morale soared, and their gazes into the darkness became more confident.
"A three-headed, third-tier, high-grade defensive puppet? Hmph, so Elder Chen of the Star Moon Sect is actually an old turtle hiding behind its shell!"
From the darkness in the distance, a sinister voice echoed, filled with undisguised mockery and discontent.
He did not back down after his two attacks were blocked. Instead, he secretly pondered how to completely disrupt Yue Qingqiu's Nascent Soul formation process without revealing his own identity.
A sliver of cool moonlight shone down from the sky, enveloping the spiritual energy vortex spanning hundreds of miles above Star Peak.
Thanks to Chen Yi's defensive arrangements, the spiritual veins remained unaffected, and the vortex continued to steadily deliver pure spiritual energy to the cave.
Just then, a voice came from the top of the star peak, imbued with magical power, and spread towards the umbrella-shaped area from which the black energy fluctuations originated, covering an area of dozens of miles: "It is impolite not to reciprocate!"
"Black Serpent True Lord, you dare to violate the rules of Qingyun Cave Heaven, bullying the weak once again. As a Nascent Soul True Lord, you attacked my Star Moon Sect, hindering my cultivators from forming their Nascent Souls. Qingyun Cave Heaven will never forgive you for this! Fourth-Order Star Radiance Attack Array, follow me!"
As Chen Yi's voice fell, he waved his hand sharply, issuing the order to counterattack.
In an instant, hundreds of dazzling magical lights lit up the entire Star Peak, which was the energy jointly generated by more than ten Core Formation cultivators and the array nodes.
These lights twinkled like stars in the night sky, and under the guidance of the formation, they gradually converged into a powerful force.
At the same time, the fourth-order pressure of the Star Peak Formation suddenly erupted. The heavy energy aura was like a giant beast awakening, causing the spiritual energy of heaven and earth within a radius of hundreds of miles to tremble. All the cultivators who sensed this pressure couldn't help but feel a tightness in their hearts.
The next moment, hundreds of beams of magical light suddenly merged into one at the core of the formation, transforming into a dazzling beam of light several meters in diameter. The beam contained the sharpness of stellar power and the weight of the formation's energy. Like a meteor falling from the sky, it carried a world-destroying momentum and shot towards the hiding place of the True Lord in the darkness!
In the darkness, the Black Serpent True Lord's expression suddenly changed, and he could no longer maintain his previous composure.
He looked at the dazzling beam of light rushing towards him, his voice tinged with panic and a hint of defiance: "Your Star Moon Sect dares to launch such a powerful array attack!"
Aren't you afraid that drawing a large amount of spiritual vein power will affect Fairy Moon's Nascent Soul formation?
You guys deliberately ruined this; it has nothing to do with me!
Furthermore, I am not some Black Serpent True Lord at all! Your attack will not hit me!
Black Serpent True Lord activated his escape light in the darkness, his figure flashing like a ghost as he tried to evade the dazzling array beam.
However, when the beam of light approached to within ten miles, he suddenly sensed something was wrong, his brow furrowing: "Huh? This attack power is only at the peak of the third rank, not even the fourth rank? Oh no, what is that?!"
Before he could finish speaking, something unexpected happened.
The seemingly weak beam of light suddenly exploded when it reached a radius of thirty miles around where the Black Serpent True Monarch was located!
Countless tiny starlight points fell like stars from the sky, instantly illuminating the area as if it were daytime, revealing every blade of grass, every tree, every stone, and every speck of dust in the world.
The black mist surrounding the Black Serpent True Lord was completely exposed under the bright light, his figure appearing and disappearing in the starlight.
His heart tightened, and he hurriedly cast another spell, increasing the density of the black mist around him in an attempt to completely conceal his figure: "Hmph! This mere brat surnamed Chen has plenty of tricks up his sleeve, but he thinks he can catch this old man? No way!"
Black Serpent True Monarch had already sensed that there were at least twenty recording stones secretly recording him, but he was not flustered. As long as the other party did not have concrete evidence to prove that he was Black Serpent True Monarch, even if the recordings were presented to Qingyun Cave Heaven, they would not be able to convict him.
However, the changes did not end there.
The scattered starlight and magical light in the air suddenly changed again after exploding, transforming into hundreds of magical imprints of different shapes and colors.
These markings, as if possessing a life of their own, circled in the air before encircling the Black Serpent True Lord at the center, forming an impenetrable net of light.
Black Serpent True Monarch's expression changed completely. He knew very well that these magical imprints carried unique energy markers. Once they were affixed, no matter how he tried to explain, he would find it difficult to clear his name once he arrived at Qingyun Cave.
But right now he's on the defensive, surrounded, and it's almost impossible for him to completely avoid all the marks.
"How dare you, you brat!"
He finally couldn't help but let out a low growl and spat out a mouthful of black flame.
Flames, carrying a pungent, acrid smell, spewed towards the surrounding starlight marks as if they were alive. Wherever they passed, the marks were burned to ashes, turning into sparks that dissipated into the air.
However, there were hundreds of those starlight imprints, and they flew at extremely high speeds. Even though the Black Serpent True Lord's black flames burned fiercely, there were always a few that slipped through the net.
Nearly a dozen or so star-like specks, like a leech, landed on the black mist of the Black Serpent True Lord.
Even after being burned to ashes by the black fire, fine specks of stardust remained firmly imprinted on the surface of the mist. With his Nascent Soul cultivator's power, he was unable to completely wash away these specks of stardust in a short time.
"What the hell is this thing? It's disgusting!"
Black Serpent True Lord looked at the lingering stardust on his body, his face showing disgust and confusion, his tone full of irritation.
On the peak of the star, Chen Yi's voice rang out again, carrying an undeniable majesty: "Beast Refining Black Flame, and you still say you're not the Black Serpent True Monarch!"
You have been marked by Star Gray. You must stop immediately.
Our Star Moon Sect has already reported this situation to Azure Cloud Grotto. You'd better stay put and cooperate with the Grotto's subsequent investigation!
Black Serpent True Monarch's expression changed drastically, and his tone instantly became fierce: "You brat surnamed Chen, how dare you be so disrespectful to a Nascent Soul senior!"
Even if I kill you today, I'll have my reasons when we reach Qingyun Cave Heaven!
Although his voice was stern, he was extremely anxious. The Star Ash Mark was like a time bomb; if it were discovered by Qingyun Cave Heaven, the consequences would be unimaginable.
Without further hesitation, he unleashed three condensed black magical attacks in quick succession, like three black venomous snakes, shooting towards Chen Yi's location on Star Peak, roaring, "You brat who ruined my plans, I'll cripple you today!"
However, just as the black magic was about to reach Star Peak, the three large turtle puppets in front of Chen Yi suddenly moved.
The puppets quickly stacked into a triangle, their energy threads intertwining to form a stable defensive formation.
The dozen or so Core Formation cultivators behind immediately poured their remaining mana into the array's core, and the array patterns on the puppet tortoise shell instantly lit up, unfolding a near-fourth-tier defensive light array like a transparent barrier.
"Puff puff puff—"
Three streams of black magic power crashed into the defensive light array one after another. The array rippled, but it remained unbroken and eventually blocked all the attacks. The aftershocks of the magic power dissipated into the air.
Chen Yi shouted angrily, "Black Serpent True Lord, the Star Gray Mark is irrefutable proof! Aren't you going to stop? Do you want your Eagle Bear City to be completely erased from the Qingyun Cave Heaven's list?!"
"Damn turtle shell!"
Black Serpent True Lord looked at the unmoving defensive light array and felt both angry and anxious.
He knew very well that without using his innate divine power, he had no way of breaking through the defense formed by the three-headed tortoise puppet and more than a dozen Core Formation cultivators.
As long as this defense exists, he will be unable to hinder Yue Qingqiu, who is in the process of forming her Nascent Soul.
As for using his innate supernatural powers or performing the secret technique of human-snake fusion, that would be irrefutable evidence. At that point, not only would he be at risk, but even the Eagle Bear City behind him would likely be in jeopardy.
That's it.
"I am not the Black Serpent True Lord at all, do not slander me!"
"I'll spare you this time. I want to see if your Star Moon Sect can really achieve Nascent Soul formation so easily!"
Black Serpent True Monarch roared towards Star Peak, attempting to salvage some face, then turned his wrath upon Chen Yi, his tone vicious, "And you, you brat surnamed Chen, just you wait! If you dare step out of the Star Moon Sect, I will take your life!"
After uttering those harsh words, he didn't linger any longer. If he delayed any longer, and Nascent Soul cultivators from other forces arrived upon hearing the news, or if law enforcers from Qingyun Cave Heaven arrived, he would be completely cornered, and he would probably be skinned alive.
Black Serpent True Lord then transformed into a streak of black light, shooting off into the distance like an arrow, and instantly disappeared into the night.
"That damned brat, how dare he ruin my plans!"
Within the escaping light, the Black Serpent True Monarch's heart was filled with resentment. For the first time, his hatred for Chen Yi was deeply imprinted in his heart. Today, not only had he failed to stop Yue Qingqiu from forming her Nascent Soul, but he had also been marked by Xinghui, losing all face. He would never let this score go.
On the summit, sensing that the Black Serpent True Monarch's escape light had completely vanished without a trace, the cultivators present erupted in enthusiastic cheers, their excitement overflowing: "Elder Chen is too strong! He actually managed to block a Nascent Soul True Monarch's sneak attack without even using the sect's core formation!"
Previously, Chen Yin was able to be promoted to the position of elder, perhaps more because of his superb puppet-making skills and spiritual cooking abilities, which made many people look down on him.
But the defensive deployment and command capabilities he displayed today are enough to convince everyone. In the entire Star Moon Sect, apart from Yue Qingqiu who has not yet formed her Nascent Soul, he is second to none.
In an instant, all the cultivators of the Star Moon Sect were in high spirits, and their eyes were full of admiration and respect when they looked at Chen Yi. The cohesion of the sect was greatly enhanced because of this victory.
Only Ping Dong stood in the corner of the crowd, his heart filled with bitterness.
He looked at Chen Yi, who was surrounded by the crowd, and a trace of resentment and helplessness flashed in his eyes. That Chen's strength had become so strong that he had actually created three third-grade high-quality turtle puppets. He must have stolen a lot of treasures and materials from the sect!
I want to catch up with him, crush him, and crush him, but I don't know when that will be.
What worries him even more is that, given how things are developing, by the time he has the ability to contend with Chen Yi, Junior Sister Qingqiu will probably have already fallen completely in love with him, and may even have already taken his form.
By then, the Star Moon Sect's accumulated wealth of thousands of years will surely be completely drained by this kid.