dmims Chapter 223 Fierce Battle Against Nascent Soul
Chapter 223 Fierce Battle Against Nascent Soul
Chapter 223 Fierce Battle Against Nascent Soul
Chen Yi's expression was solemn. He increased the speed of his hand seals by three points, and the Magnetic Thunder Altar continuously absorbed the remaining thunder slurry and the wisp of golden thunder spirit essence into his body.
At the same time, his divine sense was not idle either, with most of it spread outside the formation, closely watching the flow of mana during each attack by True Monarch Xuan Shui. After all, this was the first time he had faced a Nascent Soul cultivator's full-force attack, and he had to understand the opponent's strength and state.
With Ji Wuchen's telepathic reminder and having endured several surges of water-based magical power from True Monarch Xuan Shui, which felt like the Milky Way pouring down, Chen Yi gained a more direct understanding of the difference between "Nascent Soul" and "Core Formation":
It is by no means a simple accumulation of magical power, but a completely different dimension of control over the spiritual power of heaven and earth.
He could clearly sense that, centered on True Monarch Xuan Shui, the water-based spiritual energy within a radius of several miles seemed to have come alive.
It transformed into a visible pale blue stream of energy, flowing into her body along her sleeve.
It then transformed into an attack carrying a chilling aura, crashing down upon the formation.
Such methods of mobilizing the power of heaven and earth are a realm that even Core Formation cultivators cannot even begin to grasp.
Chen Yi quickly calculated in his mind, making a quantitative comparison between his own strength and that of his opponent:
With his mid-stage Golden Core cultivation level, if the power of an ordinary late-stage Core Formation cultivator is considered "one,"
The power level of the Xuan Shui Zhenjun before them was at least "ten".
This is not a difference in quantity, but a qualitative crushing. If they were to collide head-on, it would be like an egg hitting a red-hot rock, leaving no room for resistance.
Let's examine our own cards:
Having just advanced to the late stage of the third tier of body refinement, the strength of his physical attacks alone is roughly "two".
If all the lightning crystals and golden lightning crystals in one's body are detonated, and then amplified by the natal lightning talisman, one might be able to barely reach the threshold of "three or four".
As for defense and escape abilities, with the Thunder Crystal Scale Array defensive technique and "Star Thunder Escape," he believed he could reliably maintain a level of "five" or higher, roughly half the strength of the weakest Nascent Soul cultivator.
Of course, if you encounter a cultivator who has just broken through to the Nascent Soul stage and is not skilled in defense or escape techniques,
Once Chen Yi gets close in physical combat, and given that the Nascent Soul cultivator has exhausted their mana and has no defensive trump cards, a sneak attack might very well have a chance to severely injure the Nascent Soul cultivator's body.
Of course, Chen Yi currently has no way to deal with nascent soul spirits that can leave their bodies.
Overall, Chen Yi is currently being completely overwhelmed by Nascent Soul cultivators, even if the opponent is a newly promoted, injured Nascent Soul cultivator.
In this situation, without Ji Wuchen's fourth-order formation protecting him, he would have at most a 50% chance of escaping from Xuan Shui Zhenjun's clutches; he would either be killed or captured alive.
If it really comes to that, I'm afraid the only way to save my life is to reveal my relationship with Ning Bu'er and completely surrender to the Demonic Sect.
Fortunately, the formation provides a buffer, giving them a good chance to escape. The most important thing right now is to refine the Thunder Spirit's true meaning as soon as possible to replenish their own energy.
Behind him came the "click" sound of spirit stones being embedded into the array base. Chen Yi scanned the area with his divine sense and saw that Ji Wuchen had already replaced the second batch of four high-grade spirit stones into the array base grooves.
The spiritual light emanating from the four mid-grade magic treasures that served as the foundation of the array—the bronze shield, the silver sword, the jade disc, and the black banner—had dimmed considerably.
Clearly, after being repeatedly struck by the power of the Nascent Soul cultivator, it was nearing its limit. Even with new spirit stones providing energy, it was only barely keeping the formation from collapsing.
Just then, Xuan Shui Zhenjun's continuous "Ten Thousand Tides of Water" attack suddenly stopped.
The pale blue waves receded from her body like the receding tide, transforming into a suspended water sphere.
Chen Yi and Ji Wuchen could both see that such a high-intensity output of mana was a huge burden even for a Nascent Soul cultivator. Xuan Shui Zhenjun's aura was noticeably more sluggish than before, clearly indicating that he was taking the opportunity to adjust his breathing and recover his mana.
Seeing this, Ji Wuchen's lips curled into a cold sneer, and his voice traveled through the formation:
"As expected, your nascent soul was a poorly formed product!"
"A Nascent Soul cultivator of this caliber wouldn't even qualify as an elder guarding the storeroom in our area, yet they dare to break the rules and bully the weak?"
Upon hearing this, a flash of ferocity crossed Xuan Shui Zhenjun's beautiful face, and her eyes turned sinister.
She did indeed take a shortcut to barely achieve Nascent Soul formation; her Nascent Soul foundation was damaged by heavenly lightning during her tribulation several years ago.
This resulted in his mana reserves being far less than those of a normal Nascent Soul cultivator. The continuous attacks he had just launched had already depleted nearly 30% of his mana in the time it takes for an incense stick to burn.
Ji Wuchen's words struck a nerve, causing her to become uncontrollably angry and embarrassed.
But she was, after all, a Nascent Soul True Monarch. Even if her Nascent Soul was of low quality, she would never tolerate a junior Core Formation cultivator insulting her in public.
Xuan Shui Zhenjun's eyes suddenly turned cold, and she parted her red lips slightly, squeezing out two words through gritted teeth: "A Nascent Soul True Monarch cannot be insulted. You're courting death!"
Before she finished speaking, she suddenly flipped her hand, and the Nascent Soul power around her surged out like a dam that had been breached. Water-based energy, several times stronger than before, condensed in her palm!
A water sphere the size of a water tank quickly took shape, its surface gleaming with a dark, eerie light, and inside, something heavy seemed to be churning.
Before it had even fully separated from the body, it caused the surrounding air to hiss and crackle.
The entire cave seemed to be stuffed with an extremely heavy iron ball, and the rock strata on the ground could be faintly cracked. An invisible pressure instantly enveloped the entire area.
Ji Wuchen's expression changed, and he exclaimed in surprise, "Mysterious Nether Heavy Water?!"
He was filled with astonishment:
All things considered, True Monarch Xuan Shui has only been in the Nascent Soul stage for ten years, and he has always stayed in resource-scarce places like the Monster Mountain Range. How could he possibly have the opportunity to refine Xuanming Heavy Water?
This heavy water is a top-tier attack material for water-based cultivators. Even ordinary Nascent Soul cultivators might not be able to obtain it, let alone a newly promoted Nascent Soul cultivator who has barely formed a substandard product.
But there's no time to dwell on these things right now.
He could barely withstand the ordinary Nascent Soul attack from True Monarch Xuan Shui using his fourth-order formation.
However, this technique condensed from Xuanming Heavy Water is a killing move that only a senior Nascent Soul cultivator can control, and it is by no means something that a late-stage Golden Core cultivator like him can easily deal with.
Ji Wuchen's expression became extremely solemn, and he hurriedly transmitted his voice to Chen Yi:
"Brother Chen, I need to concentrate all the array's power on defense! You'll have to hold off the remaining lightning spirit attacks from the Thunder Pool on your own for now!"
After the telepathic transmission ended, Ji Wuchen dared not be negligent in the slightest. He quickly formed hand seals, gathering all the scattered energy from the fourth-tier defensive array.
The pale blue protective shield that had enveloped the entire area vanished instantly, while the mid-grade magic treasures at the four corners of the room suddenly shone with brilliant spiritual light.
The earthy yellow halo of the bronze shield, the golden light of the silver sword, the water patterns of the jade disc, and the wooden mist of the black banner intertwined to form a condensed pillar of energy, carrying a power comparable to a Nascent Soul cultivator's strike, and crashed into the Xuanming Heavy Water Sphere.
On Chen Yi's side, because Ji Wuchen removed the array protection in the Thunder Pool area, the remaining attacks from the Thunder Pool that were originally blocked by the array instantly fell on him, and the pressure increased sharply.
However, he was prepared. With his current abilities, he was not without ways to withstand the attack of a near-fourth-tier lightning spirit.
He thought for a moment,
A method that would not affect the refining progress was selected.
With a thought, fine lightning patterns appeared beneath his skin, and a layer of rough lightning crystal armor covering his entire body quickly emerged. The surface of the armor was covered with irregular protrusions, and the patterns were extremely similar to the scales of the lightning-armored beast he had killed years before.
This Thunder Crystal Armor not only has extremely strong defensive capabilities against physical impacts and magical attacks, but it is also capable of withstanding attacks that exceed its own level by one.
What's even more unique is that when facing attacks from similar lightning spirits, the array on the armor plates can selectively conduct energy.
It can both neutralize the destructive power of the lightning spirit's attack and guide the pure lightning spirit power into the body for direct refining.
In this way, he not only doesn't have to focus on defense, but his efficiency in refining the true meaning of the Thunder Spirit can also be increased, which is equivalent to using the attack from the Thunder Pool to nourish himself.
Moreover, as the power of the refined lightning pool continued to increase, the lightning crystals within Chen Yi's body, imbued with the aura of ancient lightning spirits, gradually became fuller.
The golden patterns on the surface of the lightning crystal core became increasingly clear, and it even began to emit a faint quasi-fourth-order lightning pressure, forming a subtle resonance with the residual energy in the lightning pool.
At the bottom of the Thunder Pool, several near-fourth-order lightning bolts, each as thick as an arm, crackled and slashed towards Chen Yi with blinding silver light.
Some lightning struck his shoulders, others his elbows, but when the lightning touched the rough crystal armor, it was instantly deflected by the patterns on the armor's surface.
With a "sizzle" sound, it flowed into Chen Yi's body through the gaps in the armor plates, leaving only faint scorch marks on the armor plates, not even allowing him to sway his body.
Chen Yi didn't even need to be distracted by controlling it; he remained focused on refining the true meaning of the Thunder Spirit, as if the lightning that could severely injure a Core Formation cultivator was nothing more than a gentle breeze brushing against his body.
Ji Wuchen caught a glimpse of this scene out of the corner of his eye. He was slightly surprised at first, then his expression changed to one of understanding. He thought to himself:
"As expected, Brother Chen's ability to defend against the power of thunder spirit has increased significantly compared to decades ago!"
Even without my fourth-tier defensive formation, he can now withstand the lightning pool's attack on his own and complete the refining process.
Thinking of this, Ji Wuchen breathed a sigh of relief, but also felt a slight sense of defeat.
When he first came to Leifeng to seek opportunities, he thought that the two of them would work together, with him as the main force in charge of the overall situation, and Chen Yi only needing to assist from the side.
So when Chen Yi made an outrageous demand for the cultivation method of the Spirit Eye Divine Power, Chen Yi felt the request was unfair and harbored some resentment.
But now it seems that if this Nascent Soul True Monarch hadn't suddenly appeared, even without him, Chen Yi could have refined that golden lightning spirit essence on his own.
In this way, his original role as the "main force" was greatly reduced, and when he thought back to the two compensation requests made by Chen Yi, they were indeed not excessive.
Fortunately, the appearance of the "fake Nascent Soul" Xuan Shui Zhenjun made him indispensable again.
Ji Wuchen secretly estimated that without his fourth-order formation to protect him, even if Brother Chen could block the Thunder Pool's attack, he would have a hard time withstanding the Nascent Soul cultivator's killing move and would most likely perish here.
Suppressing his distracting thoughts, Ji Wuchen stopped paying attention to Chen Yi's refining progress behind him and focused all his attention on the Xuanming Heavy Water Sphere in front of him.
He rapidly formed hand seals, instantly bringing the fourth-order defensive array to its maximum operation.
"Pfft pfft pfft"
Three muffled thuds followed as three condensed near-fourth-order spiritual energy waves shot out from the formation, like three transparent light shields crashing into the heavy water sphere.
However, each wave of spiritual energy that struck the dark water sphere only caused it to pause slightly, creating a few ripples on its surface.
However, it could not stop the heavy water sphere from advancing slowly but steadily. The protective shield of the formation was instead shaken slightly by the residual power of the heavy water sphere.
Ji Wuchen was secretly anxious.
When True Monarch Xuan Shui unleashed this heavy water sphere, his breathing was somewhat sluggish, clearly indicating that he had expended considerable energy.
But this is the best way to deal with him.
Relying on the Nascent Soul's level suppression over the Core Formation stage, he crushed the opponent with pure power. Even with a fourth-order formation, he couldn't withstand this attack that overcame skill with brute force.
As the heavy water sphere drew closer and closer to the formation, Ji Wuchen gritted his teeth, a hint of heartache flashing in his eyes, and finally made his decision.
He held back no longer, slamming his hands together to draw out all the remaining energy from the formation and channeling it into the magic sword, one of the four formation bases.
The next moment, the silver magic sword suddenly burst forth with dazzling spiritual light, far surpassing its previous brilliance, unleashing a power exceeding that of an ordinary beginner at the fourth rank.
Fine golden patterns even appeared on the sword's surface, like a lit torch, as it shot out towards the Xuanming Heavy Water Sphere at the speed of an arrow.
"boom!"
The magic sword light sphere collided violently with the Xuanming Heavy Water sphere, followed by a deafening self-destruction sound.
The terrifying magical energy fluctuations spread out like a tsunami, and the entire Thunder-Attracting Peak was shaken slightly by the impact, with rocks tumbling down from the mountainside.
Inside the cave, all three were engulfed by the aftershocks of the explosion. Chen Yi barely managed to maintain his balance only after his lightning crystal armor shone brightly.
Xuan Shui Zhenjun had no choice but to retreat hundreds of feet until he crashed into the cave wall and barely managed to regain his balance.
Her face was slightly pale, and her once neatly combed white clothes were now covered in dust.
Looking in the direction where the magic sword exploded, his eyes were full of surprise and astonishment. He clearly hadn't expected Ji Wuchen to have such a self-destructing magic weapon as a weapon!
This Xuanming Heavy Water was a priceless treasure she obtained through a trade with a veteran Nascent Soul cultivator from the Demonic Sect.
They thought they could crush Core Formation cultivators with this heavy water, but they never expected that a junior in the late Golden Core stage would break through it by self-destructing a magic weapon.
She had only formed her Nascent Soul a few years ago, and her Nascent Soul had suffered hidden injuries during the tribulation of lightning. Her magical power was always unstable, and she hadn't even cultivated many decent Nascent Soul level spells. This Xuanming Heavy Water was almost the strongest trump card she could barely control at the moment.
Now that her trump card has been exposed, she was also shaken by the aftershocks of the explosion, causing her blood and qi to churn and her nascent soul to feel a slight stinging pain, suffering considerable damage from the backlash.
Compared to her minor injuries, Ji Wuchen's situation was far more dire.
He was at the very front of the explosion, with his late-stage Golden Core cultivation.
To withstand the explosive power comparable to a strike from a seasoned early-stage Nascent Soul cultivator.
In fact, with his abilities, he could have instantly escaped the explosion, but Chen Yi behind him was still focused on refining the Thunder Spirit True Meaning.
Once he dodges, the unsuspecting Chen Yi will inevitably be affected by the explosion, and his previous refining progress will be ruined.
In order to protect Chen Yi and allow him to continue refining, Ji Wuchen had no choice but to stay where he was and endure the hardship.
What's even more troublesome is that after the self-destructing magic sword was used as a basic magic weapon, his fourth-tier defensive array had already collapsed on its own, and the remaining defensive power was not even enough to block the aftershocks.
In this critical moment, Ji Wuchen dared not hesitate for a moment. He immediately took out the clam pearl magic treasure that he usually used to store energy, and released all the residual energy of the array he had absorbed earlier, forming a light blue light shield that barely blocked part of the explosive power.
Immediately afterwards, he activated the special function of the clam pearl with all his might, causing the magic weapon to instantly enter a state of frenzied energy absorption, forcibly absorbing most of the power generated by the explosion into the pearl.
However, this pearl was only a mid-grade magic weapon, with a limited energy absorption capacity, and ultimately it could not withstand the entire impact.
The remaining less than one-tenth of the explosive force, like an invisible hammer, slammed heavily onto Ji Wuchen.
He withstood this impact almost entirely thanks to his own magical power and the several passive defensive magical artifacts he possessed.
Ji Wuchen looks terrible now.
His straw raincoat and bamboo hat had long since turned to ashes in the explosion, and most of his clothes were torn to shreds by the shockwave. The "old man in straw raincoat" image that he had deliberately maintained was completely destroyed, revealing his original appearance as a young gentleman.
His hair was disheveled and stuck to his face, and his body was covered with wounds of varying depths. Blood dripped down his arms and calves, staining the soil and stones beneath him red.
His internal magical power was almost depleted, and his dantian and meridians had suffered no fewer than dozens of injuries of varying sizes. He even needed to tremble slightly to support himself while standing.
Fortunately, he was wearing a magical vest made of high-level demon beast skin, which protected his internal organs at the critical moment, preventing him from suffering fatal injuries.
Looking at the clam pearl artifact again, a tiny crack had appeared on its surface, clearly because it had been instantly filled with an overwhelming amount of energy, causing irreversible damage.
In order to block Xuan Shui Zhenjun's Xuanming Heavy Water attack, Ji Wuchen not only detonated a magic sword, but also damaged the clam pearl, an important energy storage magic treasure. He was in a terrible state, almost at the point of exhaustion.
Fortunately, Ji Wuchen's all-out defense was not in vain. He managed to block the energy fluctuations from the explosion, and Chen Yi behind him was hardly affected.
At this moment, Chen Yi had already made full preparations. He was covered with three layers of tortoise puppet shells, and the layers of shells gleamed with a dark brown spiritual light, like a heavy fortress.
His entire body was completely covered by dense lightning crystal plates, with lightning flowing between the gaps in the plates, and not even his fingertips were visible.
The most powerful escape technique, "Star Lightning Escape," had been fully activated within his body, and starlight and lightning faintly emanated from his pores. With just a thought, he could transform into a beam of light and escape.
However, none of these preparations were of any use for the time being, as Ji Wuchen ultimately withstood the deadly explosion.
"Brother Chen, how are you? Can you still hold on?"
Ji Wuchen's voice was hoarse as he forced himself to endure the pain caused by his injuries and asked telepathically.
"It's alright for now. I'll almost finish refining the Thunder Spirit True Meaning. Ten more breaths should be enough!"
Chen Yi's voice came from the direction of Lei Chi, still calm and composed, without the slightest panic.
"Alright! I'll hold on a little longer. That woman was hit by the backlash earlier; she probably won't make it much longer!"
Ji Wuchen gritted his teeth and replied, but as soon as he finished speaking, his face suddenly froze, and a look of disbelief flashed in his eyes.
Hundreds of feet away, True Monarch Xuan Shui took out a bright red pill from his storage bag and swallowed it.
In a short while, her pale complexion began to regain its rosy hue, and the nascent soul spiritual pressure that had dropped sharply due to the explosion began to rise rapidly at a visible speed, even becoming stronger than before.
Xuan Shui Zhenjun floated slowly forward through the void, his icy gaze landing on Ji Wuchen as if it were a tangible object, a sinister smile curling at the corner of his lips:
"Who do you think you are? It turns out to be one of the heirs of the Ji family!"
No wonder it can possess so many high-level magic treasures at the same time, and can even block my Xuanming Heavy Water.
However, now that we know your identity, we can't let you go.
Today, even if it costs me a little, I will keep you here!
As soon as he finished speaking, True Monarch Xuan Shui stopped in mid-air, an unnatural flush rising on his face, clearly indicating that the effects of the elixir had activated his potential.
Then, the water-based nascent soul power around her began to surge wildly, spreading outwards like a boiling wave.
The next moment, the temperature in the entire cave plummeted below freezing, and the moisture in the air instantly condensed into frost. More than ten ice spikes, each as thick as an arm, slowly condensed around her.
Each ice spike gleamed with a cold, eerie blue light, its surface shrouded in fine ice patterns. The energy fluctuations it emitted were comparable to the full power of a fourth-tier spell, clearly her trump card.
Ji Wuchen's expression changed repeatedly. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Chen Yi behind him fully refining the golden light at the bottom of the Thunder Pool, which was about to be completely refined. He knew that he could not stop now.
He gritted his teeth again, took out the porcelain bottle containing the millennium-old spiritual milk from his storage bracelet, uncorked it, poured out three drops of the pure white spiritual milk, and swallowed it without hesitation.
The moment the spiritual milk entered the body, the gentle energy transformed into a violent nourishing property, instantly restoring the previously depleted magical power to its peak state, and even the wounds on the body surface healed slightly at a speed visible to the naked eye.
But this peak performance only lasted for a moment.
His magical power instantly decreased by more than half, and the two magical treasures were once again filled with spiritual power and floated up from the ground:
A short black ruler, about a foot long, with intricate and mysterious patterns engraved on its surface;
A bronze shield about half a person's height was one of the four bases for the formation that was set up earlier.
"go!"
Ji Wuchen let out a low shout, and the black short ruler instantly transformed into a dense black light, carrying a sharp whistling sound that tore through the air, and shot towards the direction of Xuan Shui Zhenjun.
Almost simultaneously, the bronze shield suddenly enlarged to about ten feet in size, and the dark blue patterns on its surface glowed with a heavy spiritual light, steadily blocking him and Chen Yi, forming a new defensive barrier.
However, Ji Wuchen was only at the late Golden Core stage, and even when using a mid-grade magic weapon at full power, he could only unleash the power of a near-fourth-tier weapon at most.
This attack from the short, dark ruler was ultimately no match for True Monarch Xuan Shui.
She stood in mid-air, neither dodging nor avoiding the dark light shooting towards her. She simply raised her delicate hand and flicked it lightly, a faint icy blue light emanating from her fingertips.
"Clang clang clang!"
Four crisp impacts rang out in succession as four dark blue ice spikes shot out from in front of her like lightning, striking the dark light short ruler precisely.
When the first ice spike hit, the speed of the black light suddenly decreased, and the surface of the ruler was instantly covered with a layer of white frost. The power of blue ice seeped inward along the patterns on the ruler.
The second ice spike followed immediately, and the dark light stopped in mid-air, its brightness dimming considerably.
When the third ice spike struck, Wu Guang was forced to retreat.
The fourth ice spike was completely enveloped in dense blue icy magic, freezing the short ruler and sending it flying back.
"Bang!"
The frozen ruler slammed heavily onto the golden shield, producing a deafening metallic clang. The shield's surface rippled with aura, and ice shards flew everywhere.
The moment the magic weapon was destroyed, Ji Wuchen felt a sharp pain in his mind.
The connection between the divine consciousness and the magical artifact was forcibly severed, causing a strong backlash injury.
His lips turned deathly pale instantly, and he even stopped breathing for a moment. His soul seemed to be enveloped by an extremely cold force, almost freezing him to death on the spot. He even needed to hold onto the rock wall beside him to maintain his stance.
(End of this chapter)