Chapter 467: Spirit Armor!
Chapter 467: Spirit Armor!
As Azure Rock Peak drew closer and closer.
As a mid-tier Formation Master, Shi Qinxian couldn’t shake the feeling that something was amiss. “Strange.”
Qiao Baiyang, noticing her demeanor, asked in confusion, “What is it?”
Shi Qinxian furrowed her brows. “The baleful aura of this mountain has changed.”
Before they left last time, she had laid down an array known as the Mountain-Locking Spirit-Devouring Formation.
Drawing upon the mountain’s baleful aura, the Earth Vein’s spirit, and the lingering miasma, it shrouded the entire peak.
If an ordinary mortal were to wander inside, they would be hopelessly trapped.
If a cultivator possessing spiritual power or Magic Power entered, they would be violently attacked by the fierce baleful aura.
Hearing this, Qiao Baiyang’s eyes only lit up. “Doesn’t that mean my good disciple has nearly starved the Spirit Guardian Tree to death?!”Shi Qinxian paused. “Is that so?”
Qiao Baiyang urged her on, “Do not be overly suspicious. We are both Golden Core Perfected Masters, and you are a mid-tier Formation Master. What could possibly go wrong?”
The two had been staking out this cave dwelling for a long time, having finally uncovered a way inside.
Therefore, although the shift in the baleful aura had put Shi Qinxian on alert, Qiao Baiyang’s words caused her to lower her guard once more.
Ultimately, both were Golden Core Perfected Masters, granting them abundant confidence. Without further delay, they flew straight toward the waist of the mountain.
In the instant they entered, Jiang Chen, hidden in the shadows, willed it, simultaneously activating the jade stones buried in three separate locations.
Immediately, the original Mountain-Locking Formation morphed into a Three-Potentials Formation.
Stripped of all hindrances, Jiang Chen strolled right in. Not only did he avoid detection from the two ahead of him, but their every move was laid bare to his senses.
Qiao Baiyang, Shi Qinxian, Li Muyao, and Sun Shangxiang were all gathered near the waist of the mountain.
“These are the two new disciples you’ve taken in?”
“Indeed.”
“The little girl is quite excellent. But what about the one beside her?”
“This boy’s extraordinary nature lies not in his Spirit Root or physique, but in his Providence!”
“Then how long do you plan to nurture him?”
“If I fail to break through to the Nascent Soul realm, then he will be…”
The two elders stood further back, quietly conversing while sizing up the children.
Li Muyao and Sun Shangxiang could clearly hear the first few exchanges, but that final sentence had been frustratingly muted.
The conversation trailed off, coming to an abrupt end.
Even so, Li Muyao could distinctly feel the malicious weight of his Master’s gaze.
His heart tightened inexplicably, yet he was powerless to do anything about it.
At first, he had believed this was the glorious beginning of his Cultivation journey.
Now, it seemed he had been dragged down a path of no return.
After a moment, Qiao Baiyang stepped forward with a smile. “My dear disciples, is the Spirit Guardian Tree dead yet?”
Sun Shangxiang shrank deeper into her Senior Brother’s embrace. Perhaps she didn’t dare to speak, or perhaps she simply didn’t want to—or likely both.
Li Muyao hastily replied with deep respect, “Master, after Junior Sister’s ceaseless efforts these past few days, the tree is on the verge of withering completely.”
Instantly, Qiao Baiyang and Shi Qinxian exchanged a knowing smile.
The wait had been well worth it.
According to their estimations, this was the cave dwelling of at least a Golden Core Perfected Master.
Though they didn’t know exactly whose it was, they were absolutely certain the owner possessed a metal Spirit Root.
However, the presence of the Spirit Guardian Tree had prevented them from acting rashly.
If they forced their way inside, it would inevitably trigger the restrictive taboos within.
The miraculous nature of this tree lay in its root system, which bored deep into the mountain, anchoring the cave dwelling directly to the Earth Vein.
Destroying the tree by force would cause the Earth Vein to rupture and obliterate the cave dwelling. Everything inside would be reduced to ash, leaving not a single scrap behind.
To bypass it, there were only two methods.
Either one had to be a Nascent Soul cultivator, possessing the sheer might to suppress the backlash entirely.
Or, one had to find an ordinary mortal devoid of spiritual or Magic Power, yet possessing a highly unique physique.
As fate would have it, Sun Shangxiang was exactly such a mortal.
Qiao Baiyang had always been obsessed with Providence and karmic luck. In his early years, he had served under a Nascent Soul True Lord from the Sky-Gazing Sect, acquiring a sliver of knowledge regarding celestial divination.
He firmly believed that after centuries of hardship, his luck was finally about to turn.
…
…
Time flew by, and three more days passed.
During this period, Qiao Baiyang relentlessly forced Sun Shangxiang to touch the Spirit Guardian Tree, drastically cutting down her time to sleep.
Crying was utterly useless.
The desperate pleas of his eldest disciple, Li Muyao, were equally futile.
Both Qiao Baiyang and Shi Qinxian were desperate to see the results.
Fortunately, as Sun Shangxiang’s prolonged exposure took its toll, the Spirit Guardian Tree—which normally could have held on much longer—finally withered away completely before the eyes of the four.
Once towering and robust, it now hung dry and lifeless.
Immediately after, the entire mountain began to quake, as if setting off a violent chain reaction.
As the tremors intensified, a sudden fissure split the solid rock wall behind the Spirit Guardian Tree, revealing a hidden entrance.
A plume of golden mist billowed out from within. Wherever it drifted, even the solid rock became riddled with corroded holes.
Qiao Baiyang hastily yanked his two disciples back, narrowly avoiding the lethal golden mist.
Shi Qinxian was trembling with excitement. “Just as we speculated! It truly is the cave dwelling of a Golden Core Perfected Master, and they undoubtedly possessed a metal Spirit Root!”
Qiao Baiyang called out, “Come, let’s take a look inside.”
The group of four flew through the entrance.
However, not long after they vanished, a figure materialized out of thin air.
Jiang Chen rubbed his chin. “My true body cannot enter. I’ll have to use another disguise. This is the perfect opportunity to test the Thunder Gold Kui’s power.”
He had been nurturing this spirit insect for nearly five years now, yet he had never put it to the test.
Now was the ideal time to see just how formidable it had become.
Without hesitation, he summoned the Thunder Gold Kui.
With a sharp crackle of lightning, the spirit insect manifested and launched itself fiercely toward Jiang Chen.
Yet at the very moment of impact, it shattered into millions of fine, fragmented lightning arcs, coiling around his limbs and torso like living serpents.
His Magic Power rapidly drained. Jiang Chen’s body and the intertwining lightning fused to form a semi-transparent cocoon of light.
From within the cocoon came the harsh grinding of interlocking metal and the intense, buzzing hum of rapidly vibrating wings.
When the cocoon of light shattered, a suit of ‘insect armor’ crackling with lightning was fused to his body.
His head was encased in a silver-white helm. The forehead guard resembled the Thunder Gold Kui’s horn, though it had been elongated from its originally short, thick shape into a half-foot spire with a triangular tip. Spiral lightning patterns were carved into its surface, with arcs of energy coursing through every groove like a conductive spear.
The eye sockets were shielded by a layer of semi-transparent black membrane, composing large, insectoid compound eyes.
The chest plate mirrored the Thunder Gold Kui’s layered carapace. Curved armored plates overlapped consecutively from his collarbone all the way down to his waist and abdomen. The edges of each plate flared with serrated spines, enveloped in halos of crackling lightning.
From his shoulder blades, two scaled-down carapace wings unfurled backward. Two semi-transparent wing membranes trailed from their tips. The steady hum of the vibrating membranes synchronized perfectly with Jiang Chen’s heartbeat.
His forearms were clad in silver bracers. Three raised ridges ran along the outer edges, bristling with half-inch-long barbs. Whenever he raised his hands, they would automatically fan out, their tips channeling energy to form three-inch-long blades of lightning.
His thighs were protected by curved silver guards, lined with two rows of protruding spines.
Skirt-like armor of the same color draped down from his waist, offering secondary protection over his knees and calves.
His feet were encased in heavy greaves, ending in sharp, claw-like sabatons that glinted menacingly.
Swoosh!
Fully clad in his spirit armor, Jiang Chen instantly darted into the immortal cave, leaving behind nothing but a fading afterimage!