Chapter 698: Breaking the Ice

Chapter 692: Breaking the Ice

With no other options, he faced a death more stifling and humiliating than a trapped turtle.

At this moment, Su Ju's clone also roared from his shoulder, "Shatter the glass dome! Don't you have a way?"

The ringing bells were tormenting it. If this surprise attack failed again, the Heavenly Palace would surely punish it severely! Normally, Su Ju might immediately betray him, handing He Lingchuan over to the Heavenly Palace to save itself. But now, bound by chains of oaths, it could only pray that He Lingchuan truly had a way to disable this formation's core. Until the formation's core was damaged, it couldn't lay a finger on any building in Mount Xu. In this chaotic situation, it could only stare, fuming with impatience, unable to exert any strength.

"I'm thinking!" He Lingchuan ground his molars. "You're so knowledgeable, can't you offer any advice?"

"If I weren't suppressed, I could smash this wretched dome with one slap!"

"Nonsense! Can't you say something..." He Lingchuan dodged another monster's sneak attack. "...useful!"

The Assistant Director of the Imperial Manufactory, Zai Fu Kua, had only mentioned the extreme hardness of the glass dome but hadn't mentioned such a difficult barrier outside the spider's exuviae. He Lingchuan suspected it was added later. Over ten years ago, before the Spirit Gathering Grand Formation was completed, a small "oversight" occurred: the formation's core couldn't vanish into the void during autumn and winter, posing a risk of exposure. Perhaps the Heavenly God had later devised many new methods to enhance the core's security level.

Of course, He Lingchuan knew very well that even with thorough preparations, absolute safety was not guaranteed. Surprises could arise at any moment.

Normally, the way to open this transparent dome was with a mother-child orb. This large dome itself was the mother orb, and Chief Supervisor Du Yun held the child orb, which acted as the key. Whenever the formation's core needed maintenance, Chief Supervisor Du Yun would personally come up to open the dome. He Lingchuan couldn't obtain the key, so he could only attempt a forceful breach.

Just then, a glass monster suddenly sprang from the star-ring's surface and lunged at He Lingchuan. It seemed to understand the principle of 'catching the leader first to catch the bandits'. The Spider Guard sprang back and dodged. This glass monster pounced onto the dome but wasn't bounced off or shattered by electricity; instead, it melted directly into it.

"Huh? Are these two things made of the same material?" He Lingchuan's gaze sharpened. He pulled out a Frost Talisman, secretly activating its incantation, and the patterns on the talisman glowed faint blue. Li Qingge had said that if used properly, even this single Frost Talisman could easily freeze half a mountain.

At this moment, the Spider Guard beneath him trembled constantly, its body shrinking – it was about to collapse. Although the other Spider Guards fought valiantly, the enemies were simply too numerous, and they were disappearing one by one. He Lingchuan knew that in ten breaths at most, they would all vanish. This was also his life's countdown. He had swapped himself in using the Ghost Shadow Cicada Exuviae, and this divine ability could not be used again in a short period. To him, the formation's core was a sealed space. If he couldn't find a way to break the dome, this day next year would be his death anniversary.

Especially when He Lingchuan saw red light flashing in the distance as several Lamp Keepers rushed in, each clutching a burning candle. White candles, sprinkled with faint gold. He had seen them in Bai Ziqi's hands; they were the Candle Spirits of the Ever-Burning Lamp. If these things joined the fight, what chance of victory did he have?

Another small glass shark leapt from the star-ring and lunged at him. These monsters were simple-minded, with monotonous attack patterns, but their numbers were terrifying. Even ants can kill an elephant, let alone these massive, high-temperature creatures?

This time, He Lingchuan didn't dodge. He swung out the Mirror Shield in his left hand, shouting twice, "Enlarge, enlarge!" and forcibly jammed it into the mouth of the charging glass shark. After fully digesting the Imperial Fluid, the Mirror Shield had evolved further in form. It could now transform into a four-cornered heavy shield, more than half a person's height. It could be wielded while mounted or used to block attacks on foot, offering more comprehensive protection to its master.

It expanded inside the glass shark's mouth, instantly choking it. Before the glass shark could shake its head, He Lingchuan, with his other hand, grabbed a Frost Talisman and slapped it onto its teeth with a *snap*. A blast of cold air surged forth, and He Lingchuan quickly withdrew his hand. He saw the glass shark's large mouth freeze into an ice sculpture, no longer able to grind its teeth with a *crunch-crunch*. This icy transformation spread from inside out, from mouth to tail. In just two breaths, its thrashing fins were frozen solid.

The Mirror Shield also shrieked from inside the shark's mouth, "Ah, it's so cold! Hurry up, I can't hold on much longer!" A layer of solid ice formed on the shield's surface, but the cold didn't spread behind the shield, not harming its master's arm. This was the result of its strenuous resistance.

He Lingchuan once again gripped the handle behind the shield, channeled power into a single arm, and with a grunt, he actually lifted the glass shark! This thing must have weighed seven or eight hundred pounds. It was fortunate that he usually wrestled with Jiao Yu; a fierce tiger weighed about as much as this thing. He Lingchuan forcibly shoved the glass shark's tail into the dome. Being of the same glass material, the two merged as before. Moreover, the Frost Talisman in its mouth wasn't repelled or shattered. The Frost Talisman then unleashed its power, the icy transformation spreading all the way to the shark's tail, and then—it transferred onto the dome.

The transparent dome became covered in white frost, and He Lingchuan watched as hexagonal ice formed, growing thicker and thicker. It's working!

He tapped the dome and found that the frozen parts no longer repelled attacks. So he immediately took out several more Frost Talismans and directly affixed them to the glass shark's tail to enhance the effect. As he lightly tapped the dome, its surface continued to flicker with lightning, but it couldn't shock him down. He Lingchuan carried a lightning-dispelling medallion. It was made from the hide of a Thunderous Colossus. That lord-level beast could unleash immense lightning yet remained unharmed itself, due to the powerful insulating properties of its skin. Although the formation's core's "Thunder Pool" restriction was powerful, compared to the innate abilities of a lord-level Thunderous Colossus, it was ultimately a notch weaker. Otherwise, He Lingchuan would have long been reduced to charcoal.

Those observing from before the Landscape Tapestry were all in disbelief. In just a few breaths, the large section of the dome before He Lingchuan had solidified into ice. Furthermore, due to the extremely rapid freezing, cracks had appeared on the dome's surface. Though the cracks were very fine, to He Lingchuan, they represented immense hope! It's working.

As is well known, glass easily cracks when subjected to rapid cooling. He Lingchuan decided to give it another push. He pulled a large forging hammer from his storage ring and slammed it against the ice-covered dome. *Clang*— The formation's counterattack still didn't appear; perhaps it had been frozen along with the dome? Relieved, he unleashed a furious barrage of blows.

*Clang, clang, clang, clang*, he struck seven more times consecutively, each blow more powerful and forceful than the last, making the entire formation's core tremble. This iron hammer was also a magical artifact found for him by Fang Canran. It could amplify its wielder's attack power threefold within fifteen breaths, making it an excellent aid for short bursts of powerful assault. At this critical moment of life and death, both of his Dantian operated simultaneously, true energy violently surged through his meridians, no less intensely than when He Lingchuan had refined the Imperial Fluid in Sanxin Yuan. He had conserved his energy for over a month; wasn't it all for this single explosive moment? More than half a year ago, when he struck the water in the Han River, he could even draw his blade to cut seven raindrops consecutively; now, striking seven heavy hammer blows within a single breath was nothing difficult.

All seven hammer blows landed on the same ice crack. At this very moment, he unleashed an unprecedented surge of power. On the seventh strike, the hammerhead sank in, getting stuck. He had actually punched through the dome! He Lingchuan was overjoyed; the sound of shattering glass was music to his ears.

At this point, the last two Spider Guards had been crippled and, with a *plop*, turned into two drops of blood that fell. There was no longer any obstruction between He Lingchuan and all his enemies. Two arrows flew towards him, one aiming for his left eye, the other for his heart, moving like meteors. Clearly, his actions were unforgivable. He Lingchuan didn't turn his head but blocked with the shield in one hand, while frantically swinging the hammer with the other, delivering three more forceful blows. In this life-or-death situation, he had to give his all, holding nothing back. Fortunately, there was already a hole in the dome, making further destruction much easier. With three *clang-clang-clangs*, glass ice shards clattered down, and the widest part of the hole measured over a foot. The large iron hammer also snapped, its handle breaking with a *clank*.

At that moment, the multitude of enemies swarmed him. The situation of dozens against one was now set!

In this critical moment, He Lingchuan grabbed something and threw it forward. All the Heavenly Palace Guards suddenly felt a blinding flash before their eyes, like staring directly into the midday sun, an intensity so strong that even closing their eyes was useless. In this instant, all flesh-and-blood creatures either became dizzy or found themselves overcome with disorienting shock, unable to control themselves, and all halted their attacks. The Soul-Shocking Thunder, which he had extorted from Fang Canran, had the effect of stunning enemies' souls, causing them to freeze instantly.

These one or two stolen breaths were too precious to He Lingchuan. He grabbed the great shield, channeled all his true energy, and slammed it directly onto the edge of the hole. Once, twice. The hole widened from one foot to over two feet.

Suddenly, a Lantern Spirit flew in, arriving ahead of the others. It had manifested into some unknown monster, whose face could open like petals, and two long tongues shot out, like a frog hunting. He Lingchuan had already experienced its power in Baishajue, and at this moment, he absolutely did not want to face it head-on. He slapped his mount, and this last Spider Guard sprayed a web at the Lantern Spirit, blocking its mouth, then reared up and lunged at it, barely resisting the Lantern Spirit's first attack. In just two clashes, the Spider Guard transformed into drops of blood and fell. It had exhausted its energy and met its end. But it had perfectly completed its mission, because He Lingchuan seized the opening and, *whoosh*, squeezed through the hole in the dome!

The enemies outside were swarming, but the gap in the dome was only so big. Apart from the glass monsters, how many could possibly squeeze inside? At this moment, Su Ju's stone golem also strode forward, crouched down, and directly blocked the opening in the dome. It dared not touch the Thunder Pool and couldn't actively attack opponents, but acting as a roadblock to stop most of the pursuers was not a problem. At this point, the Thunder Pool restriction on the dome had, ironically, become He Lingchuan's good helper. Two of the guards outside were instantly scorched; the rest dared not force their attacks on the dome again and could only shove and attack the stone golem with force.

Seizing this opportunity, He Lingchuan pulled out the ocarina and began playing it, racing against time! Madam Zhu'er's hairy chelicerae were just a mere *zhang* away, almost poking his face. With the distance so close, don't tell me playing the ocarina couldn't summon reinforcements! A *hissing* sound echoed throughout the entire formation's core.

(End of Chapter)