Chapter 704: Battle in the Formation's Key Point

Chapter 698: Fighting in the Formation Eye

Of course, He Lingchuan didn't know that the genuine formation eye was actually an ancient magical artifact called the "Radiant Orb." Deities had guided the Heavenly Palace to modify it, using it as the formation eye to contain the Spider Immortal's remains and reflect the star map.

This was a unique item.

The backup formation eye, on the other hand, was a replica of the Radiant Orb created by the Heavenly Palace. Although its appearance and functions were quite similar, it ultimately lacked the Radiant Orb's most crucial characteristics.

Using the Swallow's Return movement technique, his speed within the crevice was no slower than an ape's. At this point, the fire spirit on his shoulder also came to its senses, understanding what he was doing, and constantly urged him on: "Faster, faster! I can already see the Suspended Rock!"

Speaking nonsense with eyes wide open. He Lingchuan shot it a scornful glance.

However, the crevice created by Zuju's dozens of fireballs earlier was indeed very deep. After climbing about thirty feet further, he saw a large, grayish-white boulder.

"That's the Suspended Rock!" Zuju exclaimed in surprise. "Dig it out... oh, wait!"

It jumped onto the Suspended Rock ahead of him and felt it twice, as if perceiving something, then told He Lingchuan, "Up, go up! There's more space above this!"

Up?

He Lingchuan continued climbing up and indeed saw something within the glazed rock.

He drew his Drifting Life Blade and vigorously hacked away. Glazed fragments clattered down, and the object hidden inside became increasingly clear.

"Floating Stones?" He Lingchuan was overjoyed, never expecting to find the storage compartment for Floating Stones.

These crystals emitted beautiful light—purple, blue, red, and green—looking particularly dreamlike at night.

But He Lingchuan knew that once these things were dug out, they would be anything but romantic.

Both the formation eye of the Spirit Gathering Array and the floating islands relied on Floating Stones to replenish the energy of the Suspended Rocks, allowing them to remain suspended in the sky. Therefore, every hovering device had a storage compartment for Floating Stones on its Suspended Rock.

Extracting these was much simpler than digging out the Suspended Rock.

He Lingchuan first pulled out a few of the largest ones and threw them into his storage ring, then started to scrape the rest out.

The Floating Stones tumbled down.

These objects themselves did not float; they only became effective when injected into the Suspended Rock.

The Floating Stones, painstakingly retrieved by the heroes of Lingxu City after fierce battles in the Void Realm, were now being carelessly wasted by him.

Just then, the little fire spirit suddenly shrieked, "Watch out behind you!"

Behind? He Lingchuan darted aside, catching a glimpse of a dark shadow from the corner of his eye.

He immediately shifted his body again, feeling a faint breeze by his ear, brushing past his cheek.

Huh, how is it that monster?

No, wait, its size was two whole dimensions smaller, roughly the same height as He Lingchuan.

The larger *Gui* beast stood over ten feet tall when upright and couldn't possibly fit into such a narrow space. Besides, it was probably engaged in a heated battle with the Spider Immortal right now, so how could it come down to find him?

Hmm, it seemed there were two monsters, one large and one small, with largely identical appearances.

No wonder he thought the previous monster had two tails; it turned out the smaller one was riding on the larger one's back.

This creature changed direction incredibly fast. After missing its lunge, it twisted back, just as He Lingchuan raised his left hand, sending a sleeve arrow directly at its left eye!

However, the creature recognized the danger and dodged again.

He Lingchuan inwardly cursed the missed opportunity. Although it was a refined gold sleeve arrow meticulously crafted by Songyang Manor, its attack power couldn't be fully unleashed at such a short distance of only about two feet.

Nevertheless, he seized the chance, raising his foot and kicking it in the shoulder, making it stumble. Such exceptionally agile opponents often lacked great strength and could be easily thrown off balance by him.

In such moments, He Lingchuan held nothing back; even a large boulder would be cracked by his kick. Yet, when he kicked this monster, he felt a faint pain in his toes.

Damn, so hard! Was this guy's body made of refined steel?

At that moment, the monster's tail rose with the momentum, thrusting directly at He Lingchuan's chest.

Compared to humans, it had five limbs for combat, and its tail could surprisingly open up, shooting out a black needle with a *swish*, which struck directly onto the mirror.

It made a "ding" sound.

He Lingchuan's prediction was remarkably accurate. Instead of dodging, he swung his blade backhanded and chopped off its tail!

It was fortunate that the Drifting Life Blade's edge was irresistibly sharp; an ordinary sword would likely not even leave a white mark on the monster.

It let out a pained hiss.

He Lingchuan also cried out in pain.

It turned out that the monster's pustules would suddenly burst during combat, sending pale green pus splattering outwards. A few drops penetrated his protective *qi* and landed on him, while the rest dissipated into the air, injuring anyone they touched.

His clothes were immediately corroded with several holes, but fortunately, the spider silk inner armor beneath prevented further spread.

However, his exposed skin was not so lucky; a bloody hole was corroded into the back of his hand, its edges blackened and deep enough to reveal bone.

If it corroded further, he wouldn't be able to hold his blade at all.

Fighting such an agile opponent in such a confined space was extremely difficult.

He Lingchuan gritted his teeth, flicked his wrist, and threw a scented pellet at the monster.

Unsure what it was, the monster cautiously dodged it. But the pellet burst open on the glazed rock next to it, and an indescribably foul odor immediately filled the entire space!

Generally, creatures with keen senses of smell could not be immune to such a stench attack. Even though He Lingchuan held his breath in advance, his eyes still stung slightly.

Yet, the monster seemed completely unfazed. Instead, it paused to take two deep sniffs, even baring its mouth...

Its face couldn't form expressions, but He Lingchuan still felt it was quite absorbed in pleasure.

Seizing this opportunity, he swiftly swallowed a Flying Head Gu worm.

He had obtained this type of Gu worm from Sun Fuping, who had once used it against He Lingchuan in the Panlong Ruins. Flying Head Gu worms would drain a person's vital essence from their heart and brain, but after two months of being fully sated and digested, they would transform into a highly nourishing substance that could be consumed, particularly effective at rapidly restoring vitality.

He Lingchuan rarely used it, but now his right hand, which held the blade, was injured, severely affecting his performance.

The monster remained entranced for less than two breaths before remembering its mission. It lunged at He Lingchuan again, its speed absolutely astonishing.

Ever since he mastered the Swallow's Return movement technique and received the blessing of true power, He Lingchuan rarely encountered opponents faster or more agile than himself.

But this creature was so fast it seemed unearthly.

Clearly, it and the large monster above were likely a mother-child pair of fiends, captured by the Celestial Gods and jointly refined into *Gui* beasts.

The little fire spirit on He Lingchuan's shoulder scratched its ears and cheeks in frustration: "Hurry and clear out the Floating Stones, quick, quick!"

Success was within reach, but it simply couldn't get to them!

He Lingchuan struggled in the fight, even finding it hard to speak: "Why don't you do it yourself?" The terrain in this narrow crack was terrible. The opponent's occasional rapid attacks were like a woodpecker's frequency, an unknown talent. He was already cunning enough not to have several bloody holes ripped into him.

"If I could extract them, what would I need you for!" the little fire spirit grumbled bitterly.

After the Spirit Gathering Array restarted, it was again unable to destroy the Ruins Mountain structures. Otherwise, it would have long since smashed the formation eye, making He Lingchuan's extraction efforts unnecessary.

The monster lunged again.

Meeting speed with speed, He Lingchuan began to adapt to its rhythm. He raised his shield preemptively as soon as he saw its shoulder joint move. The blow landed squarely on its jaw, knocking its head aside.

The monster became enraged, leaping back and forth within the rock crevices, searching for a suitable angle to attack.

When it lunged again, He Lingchuan shifted his shield to a different angle, and its smooth, mirror-like surface perfectly reflected the monster's entire body.

The monster stared at its reflection in the mirror, stunned.

In the mirror, there seemed to be many other creatures like it, three, four, five, six... standing densely in a row, all constantly calling out to it.

The Soul-Snatching Mirror's "Soul-Snatching" ability finally found an opportunity to activate. It called out to He Lingchuan, "Hurry! I can't hold it for long!" Confused or simple-minded creatures were the mirror's preferred targets.

The Drifting Life Blade then swept in, glinting with a chilling light.

The monster instinctively recoiled two steps.

The Drifting Life Blade sliced off half of its skull above the ear, sending black blood splattering.

At this moment, several long howls suddenly echoed from above.

It was the mother monster's roar of distress; it couldn't defeat the demon immortal.

The small monster fighting He Lingchuan, despite missing half its head, did not immediately collapse. Instead, it shrieked and scrambled upwards.

The bond between mother and child (or father and child?) surpassed the forced directives issued to it by the Heavenly Palace.

This creature had remarkably strong vitality. He Lingchuan didn't pursue it; instead, he turned back and vigorously cleared out the Floating Stones. This was his primary objective.

Ten more pieces...

Five pieces...

Gone.

As the last Floating Stone left its compartment, He Lingchuan felt his body lighten.

With its energy completely depleted, the formation eye immediately plummeted without a sound.

As it fell, it spun around, completing at least two full 360-degree rotations.

"Success!" the little fire spirit exclaimed with a joyful shout. "I knew you could do it, I knew you could! I certainly didn't misjudge you!"

It didn't believe the Heavenly Palace could possibly have a third or fourth backup formation eye.

They wouldn't keep making nesting dolls like that.

He Lingchuan gasped, "I'm going to crash and die!"

He was spinning wildly with the formation eye, about to plunge into a deep chasm.

Zhu Erniang would surely be fine, but as for him, it was hard to say.

The little fire spirit burst into laughter: "With me here, you won't die even if you want to!"

Suddenly, a great red light flared below, and a giant palm rose up, steadily seizing the formation eye.

Zuju had arrived and manifested its true form.

Zhu Erniang's demon immortal body was already about forty feet tall, but compared to the enormous monster below, she seemed tiny, like a toy.

Seizing the opportunity, He Lingchuan quickly climbed out of the crevice to find Zhu Erniang.

He saw that the *Gui* beast was already entangled in seven layers of spider silk inside and three layers outside, almost completely immobilized.

The small *Gui* beast frantically attacked Zhu Erniang in desperation, but it couldn't do anything against her demon immortal body.

It simply couldn't break through her defenses.

Finally, Zhu Erniang quickly rolled the large *Gui* beast several times, wrapping it into a continuously wriggling, large cocoon. This was a spider demon's specialty, executed with extreme proficiency.

The small *Gui* beast was hissing frantically in distress. It turned its head, saw He Lingchuan, and lunged directly at him again.

Its modified brain was already impaired, and now in a panic, it charged forward to bite and tear at any living thing it saw.

This time, He Lingchuan remained unhurried and threw a stone sphere at it.

A dark, egg-shaped stone sphere, its surface covered in dark red cracks.

The monster casually caught it and was about to toss it away when the stone sphere suddenly burst open, transforming into a fire snake that coiled around its arm.

It was a true fire snake, entirely composed of molten lava. Magma even flowed from its body, and when it touched the ground, it sizzled, melting a hole.

The monster tried to shake it off, but how could it?

(End of Chapter)