Chapter 1088: Pressure

For the top experts of the Glory Squad, a distance of ten thousand meters was insignificant. In less than two hours, the Black Pearl, operating at full throttle, successfully reached the target area.

"We've been longing for this moment for so long. When you think about it, we've already spent five years in this Endless Sea. The boss has finally reached our ultimate destination. If we can successfully land on the island and confront that peerless dragon, we'll undoubtedly be figures worthy of history books! Hahaha!"

Guggles patted his large belly, unable to suppress his laughter. The glory of landing on Dragon Island was destined to be remembered for a thousand years. Whether they gained any inheritance there was secondary. Simply surviving this expedition and returning to the Western Regions would make them coveted guests of every major power. They would instantly become top-tier celebrities in the Western Regions of the Yingzhou Continent, perhaps even earning direct invitations from the royal family. A cascade of honors would undoubtedly follow this momentous journey.

However, these supposed honors held little meaning for the members of the Glory Squad. They understood that Xu Yang would eventually find himself in opposition to the royal family. As the absolute leader of the Glory Squad, Xu Yang naturally commanded the unwavering support of every team member. This squad was destined to challenge the pinnacle of the entire Yingzhou Continent, and the battle on Dragon Island would serve as their final opportunity to enhance their individual strengths.

After mooring the Black Pearl along the shore of Dragon Island, the Glory Squad officially began their landing. However, the moment they stepped onto the edge of this peculiar island, they sensed an intensely chilling aura of slaughter.

"No, this can't be the legendary Eight-Strand Spirit Realm!" Xu Yang immediately recognized the danger. The so-called Eight-Strand Spirit Realm was a mysterious cultivation technique originating from ancient times. It had later been adapted into a formation system by a powerful lineage. Xu Yang's familiarity with the Eight-Strand Spirit Realm’s legacy stemmed from encountering this peculiar formation during a previous battle within the Western Emperor's Tomb.

A faint smile touched Xu Yang’s lips as he gazed upon the Eight-Strand Spirit Realm once more. This formation was clearly a contingency left by the three leaders of the Demonic Dragon Legion, initially intended to suppress intruders. Ironically, the Eight-Strand Spirit Realm persisted, but its three creators had already perished at Xu Yang’s hands.

The formation before them was remarkably intricate. The Eight-Strand Spirit Realm utilized eight incredibly potent spiritual energy sources as its core "eyes," upon which a series of complex cultivation techniques were established using these eight spirit stones as foundations. At this moment, spiritual lights of various colors intertwined and shifted around these eight spirit-stone-based core points, weaving a vast spiritual energy network that spanned nearly ten thousand meters. Any outsider entering the center of this Eight-Strand Spirit Realm formation would find their cultivation rhythm completely disrupted by the chaotic and intricate aura within.

In essence, anyone caught within this formation would rapidly lose the ability to harness their spiritual energy, rendering them unable to normally mobilize it. This made breaking the formation an incredibly difficult task. In terms of sheer power, this was considered one of the top-tier formations in the Western Regions of the Yingzhou Continent. Combined with the inherent might of the three leaders of the Demonic Dragon Legion, its sealing power would have been further amplified.

Unfortunately, Xu Yang was already familiar with this formation and, crucially, its fatal flaw: it offered no defense against exceptionally powerful divine artifacts. It could only suppress a cultivator's innate strength. Therefore, breaking this formation was hardly a challenge for the Glory Squad, a lavish team whose members each possessed a dozen or more magical artifacts.

Upon hearing Xu Yang’s explanation, everyone in the Glory Squad breathed a sigh of relief. They had initially expected the difficulty to ramp up immediately upon landing on Dragon Island, but it turned out to be merely a "homework assignment" deliberately left by the three old leaders of the Demonic Dragon Legion.

After confirming that the Eight-Strand Spirit Realm posed no significant threat to his team, Guggles immediately sprang into action, seizing the chance to prove himself. With a slight flick of his palm, a spherical bead materialized. Under his spiritual energy infusion, it rapidly transformed into the outline of a conical spike. This treasure bead, named the Ruyi Qian Baozhu (Wish-fulfilling Money Treasure Bead), was an artifact Guggles had discovered on the Black Pearl mobile city and kept for himself. It possessed the ability to transform into any desired artifact shape, responding to his will and the amount of spiritual energy he infused.

Swords, spears, halberds, axes, hooks, or forks—any artifact Guggles could envision with a complete outline, this bead could freely transform into. The intensity of its unleashed power was directly correlated with Guggles's spiritual energy purity and the amount he infused. For example, the form it took to break the Eight-Strand Spirit Realm at that moment was imbued with purple-level spiritual energy, evolved from over a third of the concentrated essence within his body. Consequently, the artifact in his hand had reached the strength level of a peak divine artifact.

Coupled with the hard-body cultivation technique Guggles had been diligently practicing, a light wave of his hand instantly unleashed incredibly powerful formation-breaking capabilities. He literally poked a large hole through the dazzling golden formation above their heads. In that instant, the entire formation immediately shattered, gently spreading outwards like a blooming lotus. The fractured patterns rapidly dispersed, and the rest of the Glory Squad members were all in high spirits.

After all, upon arriving at Dragon Island, everyone secretly harbored a degree of underlying pressure. Personally dismantling the obstacles before them was a crucial process for them to alleviate that stress. Witnessing Guggles's ability to clear a path forward with his own strength, everyone's internal pressure dissipated rapidly. Guggles himself was brimming with confidence, but at this critical moment, Little Mushroom suddenly detected another flaw, pointing Xu Yang towards the rapidly cracking central point above them.

Xu Yang sharply focused his gaze on that spot, two brilliant beams of light shooting from his pupils as he conducted a deeper examination of the Eight-Strand Spirit Realm's spell patterns. He highly trusted Little Mushroom's keen insight, after all. And indeed, Xu Yang's quick inspection immediately revealed a problem.