Minutes and seconds ticked away. Silence filled the passage. Everyone slowed their breathing, waiting for Yuanshi Tianzun to finish his deductions. Ten-odd minutes later, the impatient Brother Red Chicken couldn't hold back any longer. He nudged the back of Sun Miaomiao's hand and lowered his voice.
"Does Stargazing take this much time?"
"This is nothing. When my grandfather gazes at the stars, he watches for an entire night." Sun Miaomiao's face was full of envy. "Stargazing is a Star Official's core skill. It lets one understand all things under heaven and turn calamity into good fortune, but it can only be performed at night. Who would have thought Yuanshi Tianzun possessed such a superb item?"
At the Star Official stage, Stargazing could only be carried out at night, without exception.
Only upon reaching the Day Wanderer stage could one assist Stargazing by drawing formation diagrams, freeing themselves from time constraints.
Thus, neither Sun Miaomiao nor Zhao Chenghuang had ever imagined he could deduce battle tactics through Stargazing—after all, night had not yet fallen.
An hour later, amid the rumbling of Brother Red Chicken's stomach, Zhang Yuanqing opened his eyes.
He held up a single finger toward the group, his tone deep and laden with weary gravity: "I saw fourteen million, six hundred and five possibilities for the future. And we have only one chance to win."
Guan Ya kicked him. "Stop memeing. Get to the point."
Her expression instantly relaxed. If that damn dog of a man had the leisure to joke around, it proved he was confident.
Zhang Yuanqing turned serious. "We must finish off the boss in the very first round. If it drags out into a second round, casualties will definitely occur among us. Next, I'm going to explain every detail of the battle process to you. Not a single step can go wrong. Make one mistake, and the entire game is lost. Understood?"
Both delighted and solemn, the team members sat down cross-legged one after another.
Half an hour later, Brother Red Chicken and World Returns to Fire carried the "Italian Cannon" assembled by Xiahou Aotian, bringing up the rear of the squad as they hurried into the mountain cavern.
With a clear objective, the group sprinted toward the central plaza. Numerous obstacles blocked the way; mounds of bricks, tiles, and debris severely hampered their progress.
Fortunately, the physique of a Saint was nothing to scoff at, especially for Fire Masters. Carrying the steel contraption that weighed over a ton, World Returns to Fire and Brother Red Chicken bounded back and forth through the ruins.
—According to Xiahou Aotian, this cannon was actually an automaton creation rather than an item in the strict sense.
Before long, they arrived at the metal-cast Bagua plaza.
*Thud!*
World Returns to Fire and Brother Red Chicken set down the steel cannon, letting out a heavy, dull crash.
Next, the two Fire Masters tossed fireballs into the rubble, setting ablaze the ruins of the wooden houses and plunging this section of the ancient city into roaring flames.
Sun Miaomiao, responsible for counting the seconds, immediately shouted, "Two minutes have passed! One minute left—get ready to face the automaton beasts!"
"No, you get ready to face the automaton beasts," Zhang Yuanqing said as he pulled out the Azure Emperor Jade Belt, wrapped it around his waist, and charged toward the mech perched proudly on the yin-yang fish.
As he moved, he activated his Beastification skill. Bulging muscles tore through his clothes; coarse, stiff black fur burst through his skin. Rounded ears sprouted atop his head, and his hands and feet swelled to enormous proportions, tipped with hard, sharp claws.
With a roar that sprayed saliva like rain, a black bear over two meters tall bounded toward the mech.
Sensing the enemy's approach, the mech adjusted its posture, turned toward the enraged black bear, and raised its right arm mounted with an arrow box.
Amid the clatter of internal gears, a swift silhouette shot toward the black bear and pierced right through its heart with a squelch.
Yet relying on this fearless disregard for death, the black bear charged right before the mech. Sweeping its right claw with all its might, it deflected the incoming strike of the cast-iron broadsword.
The next second, the steel monster was locked in the black bear's death grip.
The mech and the black bear silently locked horns. The former's body emitted a teeth-grating creak, while the black bear's arms were pried apart bit by bit.
Outside the Bagua diagram, from inside Commandery Princess Yinyao's waist pouch, a woman's resolute cry rang out: "Commander, fire the cannon! Don't make me look down on you!"
Xiahou Aotian stepped on the trigger without hesitation.
*Boom!*
A miniature sun burst from the muzzle, engulfing the intertwined mech and black bear.
Step one of the battle plan: Break the armor!
In Stargazing's deductions, the interior of the mech possessed special defenses countering mental attacks; illusions, Mental Strikes, dreams, and spirit servants passing through walls were all ineffective against it.
Therefore, to kill the living organism inside the mech, they had to break the armor first.
Under the bombardment of Dominator-level power, the black bear's body cracked inch by inch and collapsed. Zhang Yuanqing's true body emerged, blown away by the explosion's shockwave.
He tumbled more than a dozen times across the ground, every bone in his body fractured, skin charred black, coughing up great mouthfuls of blood.
The mech's heavy frame staggered backward several steps. White smoke billowed from its forged metal body like a machine whose circuits had burned out. The war blade in its hand was glowing red and twisted, yet its outer shell remained completely unscathed.
A Dominator-level attack had failed to break the armor...
Zhang Yuanqing and the others were not surprised. Although the mech had not reached the Dominator stage, withstanding a single strike of Dominator caliber was certainly well within its capabilities.
Otherwise, what would be the point of that massive frame?
Sun Miaomiao shouted, "Twelve seconds!"
Heavily wounded, Zhang Yuanqing felt his heart tighten. Without hesitation, he activated the Longevity Technique of the Azure Emperor Jade Belt. Bathed in soft green light, his body rapidly repaired itself.
Quickly retrieving the Yinyang Robe, Sliding Tackle Shoes, and Purple Gold Shield, he sprang up and went into a slide tackle. Just then, the mech came pounding forward with thundering strides, hacking down fiercely with its glowing cast-iron broadsword.
The two crossed paths.
Zhang Yuanqing scrambled to his feet as if rehearsed countless times, spun around, and raised the shield—just in time to block the mech's ferocious reverse slash.
*Clang!*
Exaggerated cracks spiderwebbed across the Purple Gold Shield. The newly healed bone of Zhang Yuanqing's right arm snapped once again under the massive recoil.
Before flying backward, he hurled a compressed fireball at the mech and bellowed, "Non-Aggression has passed!"
The fireball hit the mech squarely on the chest and detonated with a boom. Out from the expanding flames emerged World Returns to Fire and Brother Red Chicken.
Flames spouted from World Returns to Fire's palms, condensing into a searing flame blade that slashed upward with ferocity.
The curved fiery blade struck the mech's chest with a sizzle, worsening the state of the already heated and brittle bronze chestplate.
Immediately following, Brother Red Chicken's fists ignited in blazing fire as he unleashed a vicious punch.
Amid a resounding clash mingled the sharp crunch of fracturing knuckles.
The surface of the ancient bronze plate warped and buckled.
Paying no heed to the pain, the two Fire Masters quickly retreated to the left and right the moment their strikes landed.
*Buzz...*
Right on cue, the propeller-like whirring of wings sounded. Xiao Yuan swooped through the air clutching Asano Ryo. Arriving directly above the mech, she released her grip, letting the Japanese girl plunge in free fall.
Asano Ryo held the Ice Soul Blade level above her head and chanted loudly: "Frost Descent!"
The blade, covered in icy crystal patterns, crunched and crackled as a layer of ice frosted over it, radiating visible cold air.
At the same time, Asano Ryo's skin turned a dreamlike ice-blue. The long hair cascading down her back lifted without any wind, splaying outward strand by strand, shimmering with starlike ice crystals.
Overwhelming chill swept down, freezing the moisture in the air and blanketing the metal-paved Bagua diagram below in a thin sheet of ice.
The mech thrust its long blade into the air, impaling the unavoidable girl, only for a burst of water to splash outward.
On the other side, Guan Ya charged forward with her long legs, wielding the Han Eight-Sided Ancient Sword, as agile and graceful as a leopardess.
The mech immediately raised its left arm and fired arrows at her. Simultaneously, the hatch on its abdomen slid open to reveal rows of pitch-black gun barrels, spitting fire and unleashing an expansive barrage of bullets.
Yet Guan Ya had anticipated its attacks. Weaving and darting through the barrage, she surged forward amid the blazing explosions and thrust her sword forward, sword qi howling like a dragon's roar.
*Crack!*
The heavy bronze chestplate on the mech split open—and shattering alongside it was Guan Ya's Han Eight-Sided Ancient Sword.
At that moment, Zhao Chenghuang called out from outside the arena: "Forty-seven seconds! Retreat!"
World Returns to Fire and Brother Red Chicken executed Fire Traveling simultaneously. Crimson streaming flames flared up around them, enveloping their bodies, and they instantly materialized within the burning ruins.
This was precisely why they had set the ruins on fire.
The mech discarded its cast-iron broadsword and threw open both arms, aiming at Asano Ryo and Guan Ya as they fled toward the edge of the plaza.
Its left arm fired a half-meter-long arrow; the sliding panel on its right palm parted, revealing a dark muzzle. With a flash of fire, the arrow and bullets hurtled toward the backs of Asano Ryo and Guan Ya.
At the critical moment, Xiao Yuan swooped down like a hunting hawk and snatched Asano Ryo away.
The arrow grazed past them.
On the other side, dazzling starlight flared behind Guan Ya. Holding a round shield, Zhang Yuanqing materialized from the light.
*Boom!*
The shield intercepted the bullets, but the explosive force made him stagger.
Stumbling back, Zhang Yuanqing produced a washbasin-sized dial—neither metal, iron, nor jade—and hurled it forcefully.
Whirling through the air, the dial landed by the mech's feet, its needle spinning rapidly.
The instant he threw the dial, Zhang Yuanqing snapped his fingers and used Star Escape to vanish from the hundred-meter-wide Bagua plaza.
Fifty seconds were up. Universal Love triggered its penalty right on time, but the plaza was completely deserted.
The mech stood there in bewilderment.
Zhang Yuanqing counted one, two, three, then snapped his fingers with a click. Starlight flared right before the mech.
Gripping the thirty-centimeter-long, large-caliber Thunderstorm Cannon, he aimed at the cracked chestplate and pulled the trigger.
Purple lightning gathered rapidly, and a ball of lightning shot forth.
Meanwhile, the sliding panels on the mech's chest retracted, and rows of gun barrels aimed at Zhang Yuanqing, triggers pulled in unison.
*Pfft, pfft, pfft!*
A dense volley of bullets tore straight through his body, splashing into water. The Water Ghost passive granted by the Yinyang Robe nullified the bullet hits.
*Boom!* The ball lightning struck the mech at the exact same moment, completely tearing apart the crack-covered bronze chestplate.
Inside the mech's chest was a white-haired elder. His eyes were tightly shut, and finger-thick metal tubes were plugged into the nape of his neck and chest, connected to the mechanisms inside the mech.
Shattered shards of bronze sliced across his cheeks and body, drawing streams of dark-red blood, yet his eyes remained closed, devoid of any reaction.
The needle of the Yin-Yang Dial stopped at this moment, pointing to the black sector.
All of this had been within Zhang Yuanqing's expectations; because he wore the Lucky Necklace around his neck, the needle was bound to land on black.
Above the Yin-Yang Dial, a dialogue box visible only to Spirit Realm walkers materialized:
[Pointer: Black]
[Remark 1: Answer the dial's question. A correct answer grants a re-spin. Accumulate three whites to break the seal.]
[Remark 2: An incorrect answer results in death!]
At the same time, the clicking of mechanical gears echoed. From the holes in the left rock wall glided out drones, while from the holes on the right leaped various automaton creations.
Added together, their numbers exceeded a hundred—far more than any previous wave.
Sun Miaomiao cried out in alarm, "This is bad! There are way too many automaton beasts this time!"
Chapter 543