Having been inexplicably spat on by the monster, Wei Yuan was naturally far from pleased. But with no trace of the beast to be found, he could only slaughter the sand wolves to vent his anger.
Another mouthful of black liquid plummeted from the sky, penetrating straight into the Ten Thousand Li of Rivers and Mountains and leaving behind another scorched swath of a hundred li.
Within the Ten Thousand Li of Rivers and Mountains, the area surrounding Jade Mountain was now brimming with vitality, and much of the ground had turned into fertile soil, but even at its fullest extent, it spanned merely a dozen-odd li across. Compared to the Ten Thousand Li of Rivers and Mountains, it was no more than a tiny speck; hitting it would require a great deal of luck.
Evidently, luck was entirely on Wei Yuan's side.
Having taken two hits of venom in a row, Wei Yuan acted as if nothing had happened, though a sharp throb twinged through his mind.
This venom that directly struck one's Dao Foundation and dharma idol clearly came at no small cost; after spitting twice, the monster made no further move. Instead, Wei Yuan felt a sudden chill. If it wasn't here targeting him, wasn't it going after someone else?
Aside from Ji Liuli and Yu Zhizhuo, fearfully no one else could withstand the monster's venom. If the Dao Foundation cultivators under his command had also been separated, it would likely be difficult for them to even protect themselves; meeting the monster would leave them as nothing more than nourishing prey.
He had to break the array as fast as possible!
Fortunately, the array had been abandoned for a long time, and the monster did not seem like someone capable of presiding over and controlling it, leaving many of the grand array's built-in killing techniques unused. Wei Yuan recalled what he had learned when studying arrays: breaking this formation came down to a war of attrition. Otherwise, one would either need methods above the dharma idol level, or be an array prodigy like Ji Liuli with a dharma idol cultivation to match.
It seemed a war of attrition was his only option. Fortunately, with the grotto-heaven shattered, the grand array had no source of replenishing spiritual qi, and much of its originally stored qi had been drained over the years. It was by no means hopeless.
A radiant ring of light bloomed before Wei Yuan, and a jet of water laced with flecks of golden light shot forth, instantly blasting two sand wolves that failed to dodge into a bloody mist. The water jet then slammed into the cliffside, sending shattered stone flying in all directions and blasting open a massive crater in the rock face that bored deeper at a visible rate.
The water jet moved rather clumsily. Agile and nimble, most of the sand wolves managed to evade it, but while the wolves could dodge, the cliff face could not. Destroying the environment was also a way to damage the array. Back when his instructor taught class, he had mentioned that with True Monarch cultivation, a full-power palm strike could obliterate over a dozen pocket domains, and a dozen or so such strikes could smash the entire formation—the fastest method of all.
Though Wei Yuan's Golden Light Water Blade Art lacked agility, its power was immense, carrying the force of a dharma idol strike. It could not be more suitable for tearing apart the array's scenery.
The sand wolves were numerous and possessed spirit nature, having been condensed through a vast expenditure of spiritual power by the array, so naturally they could not be spared either. Wei Yuan pointed a finger, and a faceless warrior bearing a saber and shield materialized before him. Raising its shield, it slammed several sand wolves flying; the blade edge along the shield tore gruesome wounds into them. Clearly fatal, the beasts dissolved into light upon hitting the ground.
Seeing the method effective, Wei Yuan swept his hand, materializing dozens more faceless warriors. Each held a square cauldron used as a shield in one hand and gripped an immortal sword White Silk in the other, all possessing the combat strength of the Dao Foundation realm.
The dozens of faceless warriors went on a rampage the moment they appeared. Fearing neither wound nor pain, they littered the ground with sand wolf corpses in the blink of an eye. Though the wolves were numerous, the faceless warriors were plenty as well. At first, they fought individually, but as the clash went on, Wei Yuan grew increasingly adept at directing them, gradually coordinating their efforts. In this way, the slaughter grew even swifter.
Meanwhile, the Golden Light Water Blade Art never stopped, beginning to sweep sideways. It carved a deep trench several zhang deep and ten zhang wide into the cliff face. Unable to bear its own weight, the cliff began collapsing in massive swathes.
During this past period, Wei Yuan had spent every day digging underground alongside Yu Zhizhuo, learning a great deal about the physical properties of matter. One glance at this cliff showed it had weathered for ages—loose, brittle, and exceptionally easy to demolish.
The worlds within the array did not materialize out of thin air; to function smoothly, they fundamentally had to follow the existing rules of heaven and earth. Since this cliff also obeyed the physical properties of the world, it fell entirely under Wei Yuan's grasp. Having made a great start, Wei Yuan's spirits rose, and he turned to tear down the cliff face on the other side.
As one cliff face collapsed, Wei Yuan sensed the spiritual qi of this pocket domain plummet by thirty percent. The faceless warriors slaughtering over a hundred sand wolves had only reduced it by five percent.
Moments later, the opposite cliff face caved in, leaving the pocket domain teetering on the verge of collapse. Wei Yuan closely examined the flow of the rock earth-veins exposed by the peeling cliff, then unleashed the Golden Light Water Blade Art again, punching deep holes into several key points.
Instantly, the pocket domain quaked and trembled. The cliff collapsed with several times its prior fury—this time sliding down in its entirety, bearing a touch of heaven and earth's raw majesty!
This pocket domain shattered right then and there, without Wei Yuan ever catching a glimpse of its formation core. It had presumably been hidden somewhere within the cliff face and collapsed along with it.
In the next pocket domain, a solitary peak stood right in the center!
And so, while directing the faceless warriors to cut down the guards, Wei Yuan circled halfway around the solitary peak. A moment later, the peak collapsed with a thunderous roar and the pocket domain shattered. Wei Yuan still never saw the formation core.
The third pocket domain turned out to be a poisonous swamp. Wei Yuan's good luck seemed to have finally run out.
Mud and quagmires lay everywhere, and thin mists hovered over the ground, clearly saturated with deadly poison. Figures soon emerged in the surrounding fog: common swamp beasts like marsh crocodiles and giant monitor lizards, as well as heavily armored warriors bearing weapons. Far deeper in the marsh, a formidable aura lingered.
Evidently, such a domain was designed to keep Wei Yuan from demolishing it further; the monster had already grown a bit terrified of him.
Wei Yuan sneered inwardly. Who said a swamp couldn't be excavated? In Yu Zhizhuo's eyes, as long as it was ground, it could be dug—even lava and quicksand were no exception. The method was simple enough: whatever was done to reinforce a mine shaft, just do the exact opposite. Swamps often had subterranean undercurrents, which saved Wei Yuan quite a bit of effort.
A short while later, the swamp convulsed. The ground suddenly sank continuously, and stagnant water drained into the depths below, leaving behind a churned mire where countless fish and shrimp flopped in the muck.
This domain promptly shattered. The formidable presence in the distance might have been the formation core, but Wei Yuan never saw it.
In another pocket domain, lush forest trees were snapped and bent as though battered by a tempest. Above the woods, a nine-tiered pagoda blazed with brilliant light, casting faint golden radiance below to form a Demon-Suppressing and Evil-Slaying Barrier.
Surrounding Ji Liuli were countless half-human, half-beast monstrosities, currently dragging their feet forward with great difficulty toward her. Ji Liuli repeatedly flicked out sheets of golden light, slaying the abominations one by one.
Only after the hundreds of abominations were finally eradicated did this domain shatter.
In yet another domain, the forest was exceptionally dense, filled everywhere with ancient trees dozens of zhang tall. A clearing appeared abruptly amid the dense woods—not only had the ancient trees vanished, but a giant crater over ten zhang deep now pitted the ground.
Zhang Sheng stood in midair. With a beckoning wave of his hand, an immortal sword flew back into the space between his brows on its own.
Zhang Sheng stood motionless. Sure enough, the earth trembled, and this domain began to collapse. But then he coughed violently several times, a trace of blood seeping from the corner of his lips.
Zhang Sheng's brows knitted slightly. This was only the second domain, and there was no telling how many more lay ahead. Yet if he acted too slowly, the others might face mortal danger—especially Wei Yuan, who seemed to have already been targeted by the monster.
In the blink of an eye, the surroundings shifted, and Zhang Sheng appeared in a new domain. Without even looking at what domain it was, four immortal swords materialized around him and descended slowly. Below, countless guards shuddered in terror, completely paralyzed; they could only watch helplessly as the immortal swords struck the ground, before losing consciousness.
At the moment the domain crumbled, a streak of crimson seemed to flash past.
When the next domain formed before Wei Yuan's eyes, he found himself standing upon a land of solid rock, surrounded by countless warriors. This domain had no superfluous scenery—just a rocky plain, clearly meant to serve purely as a slaughtering ground.
Yet to Wei Yuan, nothing felt more familiar and welcoming than rocky ground. The ignorant masses assumed all rock was identical. In truth, rock came in many varieties, each possessing distinct physical properties and following its own principles of earth-vein extension. Handled properly, carving through it took hardly any extra effort.
However, forming a rocky domain required far more spiritual power than an ordinary one. In terms of expenditure, Wei Yuan would have welcomed several more of these rock domains; breaking one was worth three ordinary ones.
And so, with a wave of his hand, Wei Yuan deployed his faceless warriors to guard the perimeter, while a ring of light bloomed in his grasp as he began digging into the earth. This time, he infused the water stream with a wisp of the Red Lotus Bodhi's aura. The rock instantly turned as soft as bean curd and silt, and a diagonal shaft opened up, plunging rapidly deep underground.
Unable to bear watching any longer, the monster spat on Wei Yuan once more.
Chapter 280