Chapter 887: 定式规则

Big Dog’s strength was naturally beyond doubt.

However, Xu Yang soon discovered a problem that could not be ignored: the area just covered and burned by Big Dog’s soul fire had recovered completely in the shortest time possible!

This meant that the ambush methods initially set up by the ancestral shamans in these restricted areas seemed to possess a very peculiar self-healing ability.

Xu Yang furrowed his brow slightly, contemplating the root cause of this phenomenon.

If it was merely a simple healing ability, then it must have a limit to the power it could withstand.

Thinking this, Xu Yang unleashed a sufficiently powerful sword aura without hesitation.

In an instant, a bright sword light descended from above, striking the area that had just been cleansed by Big Dog’s soul fire, without deviation.

As expected, the scene of destruction still appeared, but within this broken silence, all the destroyed formation glows began to regenerate.

Xu Yang and Yun Xiao exchanged unconscious glances; clearly, the situation before them exceeded their expectations.

“It seems this situation can no longer be measured by pure self-healing; it’s more like a fixed state.”

“Under the setting of a certain will, the corresponding area here will permanently maintain a fixed energy mode. No matter how powerful external forces are, even if it’s destroyed countless times, as long as this fixed rule exists, the destructive power of this place will never diminish.”

Clearly, Xu Yang's words left the Winter Goddess looking puzzled.

Although Big Dog and Yun Xiao had never encountered this form of power either, both of them came from the ends of desolation, the outer world, and naturally knew Xu Yang possessed a similar identity.

Therefore, regarding the origins of this form of power, they mostly chose to remain silent.

“My heavens, this fixed state is too bizarre! I've never heard of such a thing! According to you, Sir Xu Yang, no matter how we attack this place, we can't change its energy form. Why don't we just go around it?”

Xu Yang, however, shook his head: “If my judgment is correct, the fixed settings within the restricted areas are intricate and varied, capable of covering almost any location within the five major restricted areas.

Don't forget, the legacy of the five major restricted areas has been passed down for tens of thousands of years! During this time, very few have seen the full extent of its true power. Given their strength and potential, it’s not impossible for them to set up such fixed defenses against external enemies in every single part of this entire restricted zone.

Relying solely on evasion to avoid contact with these fixed states would mean we can avoid it for a while but not forever.

What's more, our goal for this journey is to delve deep into the core of the five major restricted areas. How could there not be similar fixed defenses there?”

Yun Xiao nodded in agreement with Xu Yang's point of view.

“Boss is right,” he said. “Simply hiding isn't a solution. Before we encounter stronger opponents from the five major restricted areas, we might as well dismantle these fixed states early. If we can find a pattern to break them, it would be a valuable gain.”

Big Dog and the Winter Goddess nodded solemnly upon hearing this. The three then followed Xu Yang’s lead, landing steadily and beginning to cautiously approach these fixed-state spaces.

“Uh, it doesn't seem as terrifying as it looked a moment ago,” the Winter Goddess muttered. “Although it’s surrounded by hidden fixed states, this space doesn't appear to have any excessively powerful lethality.”

The Winter Goddess scratched her head, looking bewildered. This woman was always rough around the edges, her somewhat reckless personality resembling that of a man.

As the undisputed leader of the team, Xu Yang calmly observed his surroundings, maintaining a degree of vigilance to prevent any sudden developments.

Sure enough, no more than ten seconds after the four entered this fixed-state area, the previously overgrown jungle ground beneath their feet suddenly underwent a drastic change; the earth began to sink wildly.

In an instant, it transformed into a swamp with extremely powerful engulfing force.

“See, this is the manifestation of the hidden fixed-state space starting to take effect! It can change all energy forms within the fixed-state area! Top-tier fixed states can even contend with and bind time and space!”

“Move closer to me, don't move around recklessly. No one is to act without my command!”

As soon as Xu Yang's command was given, the other three dared not disobey; after all, they were already facing real pressure.

At such a critical juncture, it was no time for them to be careless. More importantly, it was almost the first time these few had teamed up with Xu Yang for a mission, so none dared to act rashly in front of their leader.

The engulfing vortex beneath their feet grew increasingly solid. Both Big Dog and the Winter Goddess felt their bodies becoming heavier and heavier. The engulfing force, initially locked onto their ankles, had now spread to their calves, and it continued to intensify.

In fact, a fixed state of this level was entirely ineffective against Xu Yang.

The reason he hadn't made a move for so long was to perceive as much of the fixed state's full scope within the space as possible, and to try and grasp the energy circulation system of this fixed state setting, to fundamentally dismantle it and find weaknesses in its rules.

However, the opponent seemed to have been prepared, not giving Xu Yang more opportunities to calmly observe his surroundings. As the fixed state at the corresponding location intensified, dozens of specters emitting purple flames rapidly appeared above the four.

“Holy cow, is it really this exaggerated? Even these undead warriors can hide within the fixed-state space! Once the fixed state is activated, these warriors appearing out of nowhere is just terrifying. If this tactic were used on a battlefield, it could truly annihilate enemies invisibly, leaving no defense possible!”

The Winter Goddess couldn't help but gasp. Once, in the Western Emperor's Tomb, she believed that with her team of Ice Crystal warriors and her own formidable strength, she would fearlessly face the strongest forces in the entire Eastern Region.

But now, after entering these five major restricted areas, the Winter Goddess suddenly realized her understanding was too narrow. Compared to the truly terrifying levels in this world, she was merely a naive existence.

Xu Yang snorted coldly, instantly revealing the domineering demeanor befitting a team leader.

With a mere snap of his fingers, the dozens of purple-flame specters above were all intimidated by an incredibly powerful mental pressure. Little did they know, this was Xu Yang's violent mental power from his spiritual world, continuously compressed in a short time, creating mental oppression for these specters.

Chapter 889: Fearless of Traps

These specters, being sealed and hidden within the fixed state, did not possess true physical forms. They merely relied on their soul body outlines to launch mental attacks on their targets.

Xu Yang's combat experience was vast; he immediately discerned that the specters' most vulnerable point was their souls. Suppressing them with mental attacks would often yield twice the results with half the effort.

Indeed, as Xu Yang's mental suppression continuously intensified, the dozens of purple-flame specters before him let out whimpers and cries of pain. Even their normal soul attack methods were forcibly interrupted.

“You trash, how dare you act so brazenly in front of me? All of you, perish!”

Xu Yang said coldly, his words seemingly directed more at the controllers hidden behind the fixed state.

As his voice fell, two materialized beams of soul light instantly shot from Xu Yang's pupils, piercing through the heads of the dozens of purple-flame specters before him and instantly obliterating their soul bodies.

After eliminating the threat from above, Xu Yang unhesitatingly unleashed the Law of Earth. A massive rock materialized beneath their feet, forcefully pulling their continuously sinking bodies out of the fixed-state area.

Immediately after, having broken free from the engulfing force, the four shot into the air, leaping hundreds of meters away in a single bound, finally escaping the fixed-state area they had just been in.

“My heavens, Boss, how did you just do that? I had no idea there was such a large rock beneath our feet.”

The Winter Goddess looked at Xu Yang with admiration. At that moment, she finally understood that the methods Xu Yang had employed during his conquest of the Western Emperor's Tomb were merely a drop in the ocean compared to his true power.

This man possessed even more unknown and terrifying trump cards.

“This isn't the time to flatter me. All of you, stay focused.”

“If my judgment is correct, this outer jungle region is a necessary gateway to the five major restricted areas. Therefore, the fixed states present here will be extremely complex and dense. Let's speed up our advance and break through this jungle region as quickly as possible; that way, we'll have more room to maneuver.”

Xu Yang's words were not without reason. These fixed states often had a more pronounced advantage in narrow jungle areas. The ancient trees that obscured the sky greatly reduced their maneuverability, making it far from an ideal combat location.

As soon as he finished speaking, led by Xu Yang, Yun Xiao and Big Dog immediately increased their movement speed, covering several kilometers. Every time the corresponding fixed rule under their feet began to take effect, the three were able to perfectly break free, thus successively avoiding over a dozen fixed traps.

“Ouch!”

Just as Xu Yang and the other two were rapidly advancing, the Winter Goddess slipped, stumbling, and was finally caught within that area just before the corresponding fixed rule activated.

Once its energy output was activated, the fixed-state area became wildly overgrown with countless thorny vines. The fixed state that ensnared the Winter Goddess was a thorny formation possessing extremely powerful jungle binding properties.

In an instant, the girl's entire body, hands, and feet were entangled by countless vines. Moreover, the structure of these vines was incredibly strange; no matter how the Winter Goddess tried to suppress them with her frost-attributed powers, she couldn't stop their continuous, rampant spreading.

At this rate, it wouldn't be long before the girl was torn to shreds in that spot.

Xu Yang and the other two quickly stopped and looked back, but the fixed state under their feet also activated, temporarily dragging them into a frantic forward momentum.

“You two continue forward, I'll go save her.”

As Xu Yang's cold voice rang out, Yun Xiao and Big Dog exchanged a glance and unhesitatingly continued to charge forward.

Xu Yang, meanwhile, soared into the air, further accelerating his movement speed atop the Jade Bone Divine Sword. In a mere moment, he returned to the fixed-state area where the Winter Goddess was trapped.

“Boss, save me!”

Xu Yang pointed his sword to the sky, and in an instant, countless ethereal sword auras rained down, their sharp edges striking the myriad vines.

Clang, clang, clang!

The crisp clang of sword auras sounded as if they were striking extraterrestrial meteor iron. The hardness of these vines far exceeded Xu Yang's imagination, undoubtedly increasing the difficulty of the rescue.

Xu Yang's lips curved upward slightly, showing no trace of panic. Instead, his eyes brightened a few shades.

“So that’s it,” he mused. “The closer we get to the interior of the five major restricted areas within this deep jungle, the greater the energy intensity within the fixed rules. This indicates that the core system controlling the energy flow of these fixed states must be hidden in the central region of the five major restricted areas—perhaps it’s the ancestral shaman altar mentioned by the alliance leaders!”

Thinking this, Xu Yang suddenly stopped striking the vines with his sword aura. Instead, he stared intently at the vines, focusing on the source of their continuously increasing tearing power.

“I have a plan. Use your frost-attributed power to seal your own meridians and body. Leave the rest to me!”

Upon hearing Xu Yang's instruction, the Winter Goddess did not hesitate for a moment, immediately releasing her immensely powerful frost-attributed aura.

In an instant, her entire body, limbs, and bones were sealed by sharp frost. She stood like an ice sculpture, horizontally positioned in the central area where the endless vines were intertwined.

At the same moment, Xu Yang simultaneously activated the five qi cyclones within his body. The primal power that erupted was exceedingly formidable, and the spreading energy fluctuations even caused the precise locations where each vine extended within the entire fixed-state space to tremble.

Concurrently, two flames of primal power rapidly condensed in Xu Yang's palms. The flame in his left hand was dark blue, and the one in his right was fiery red. The two flame auras merged, sealing the Winter Goddess's ice-bound body.

In an instant, the power of the flames rapidly erupted. Amidst the furious burning, while simultaneously interacting with the frost-attributed aura on the Winter Goddess, this merged ice-fire power also spread towards the surrounding vines.

As the subsequent tearing force of the vines continuously strengthened, the source of this merged ice-fire power also began to rapidly penetrate deep into the ground where these vines originated.

When this engulfing force tightened to its limit, the Winter Goddess let out a cry of pain. Xu Yang immediately unleashed the Law of Earth, forcefully pushing the Winter Goddess's body upwards.

Along with the taut vines on her body, they simultaneously burst apart.

It turned out that Xu Yang had used this method of ice and fire fusion to infiltrate this external force into the internal branches of the vines.

Then, by unleashing the two diametrically opposed attributes of ice and fire, the repulsive energy generated multiplied the explosive force. This method also allowed him to avoid harming the Winter Goddess, who was trapped by the vines.