Immortals of the End Times

"Crack!"

The moment Master Lin lost his composure, three Blood Gu Insect Kings suddenly flew out from Zhao Wuji's sleeve and burrowed into the wound on his chest like lightning.

"Ugh!!"

Master Lin's face contorted, veins bulging, and he was about to struggle when he saw Zhao Wuji's pupils suddenly turn into double blood moons, and his Netherworld Insight Technique instantly amplified along with his pupil technique.

Whoohoo!
The swirling, eerie wind transformed into streaks of pitch-black chains that pierced through the seven orifices.

"town!"

"Whoosh!"

Zhao Wuji flicked his wrist, and eighteen family heirloom golden needles, wrapped in talismanic water and spiritual light, precisely pierced his Tianling acupoint.

Master Lin's spirit was immediately subjected to immense pressure, forcibly bound by the Soul-Connecting Chain and the Gu worms of the talisman.

"Your Majesty"

He trembled violently, his pupils dilated and then focused, and finally he knelt on the ground, trembling all over, his forehead pressed against the cold stone bricks. The pain of being controlled by the evil spirit made his voice tremble.

Zhao Wuji stood with his hands behind his back, his double pupils sweeping over Lin Qi's trembling shoulders and back, and he understood.

Although this person inherited the mantle of Huo Yu, the array master who died at the end of his life, and cultivated for many years in the Wang family, which possessed a level four spiritual vein, he only had the cultivation level of the early stage of the Condensation Realm. Clearly, his temperament and aptitude were both mediocre.

The Wang family's decision to retain such a formation master, besides the fact that he inherited Huo Yu's mantle, is likely also due to their desire to make him easier to control.

As for bad temper and arrogance, that's even easier to explain.

Such people are often disliked and have few friends. They are only easier to control if they have the backing of their family.

"How many key points are there in the protective array of Balong Mountain? And who set up the array around the secret area?"

Zhao Wuji went straight to the point, asking questions with his hands behind his back.

"Reporting to the Lord!"

Master Lin hurriedly straightened up, but dared not raise his head. "Balong Mountain has three main array eyes and twelve auxiliary array eyes, all set up by Master Huo Yu a hundred years ago. As for the secret array..."

His Adam's apple bobbed, and his voice suddenly dropped: "That formation is actually a double-layered nested array. The outer layer is indeed maintained by the younger generation, but the inner core is said to have been personally inscribed by Ancestor Wang Wujiang!"

Zhao Wuji's eyes narrowed.

No wonder Wang Zheng had no detailed diagrams of the formation in his memory.

It turns out that the most crucial array patterns were actually created by Wang Wujiang.

This ancestor of the Wang family is probably even more skilled in array formations than Huo Yu, or perhaps he inherited it from a previous generation of Nascent Soul ancestor of the Wang family.

When is the secret area inspected each month? Do you have access to the inner layers?

"Inspections will be conducted at midnight on the first and fifteenth of each month."

Master Lin took out a bronze array key from his robes and presented it with both hands, saying, "This junior can only maintain the outer layer; the inner layer requires the joint efforts of three clan elders to open. But..."

He suddenly revealed a fawning smile and pointed to a tiny groove on the side of the array key: "If a Yin-patterned stone is embedded here, it can cause the outer array to be temporarily disrupted for half a moment."

The Wang family will surely summon their juniors for emergency handling; this is a secret passage left behind by Grandmaster Huo Yu!

Zhao Wuji took the array key, ran his fingertip over the dent that looked like natural wear, and sneered inwardly.

Huo Yu left behind this contingency plan before his death, which probably indicates that he had been preparing for the Wang family's move all along.

Unfortunately, the disciple who inherited his mantle was incompetent, which benefited him instead.

When is the next inspection?

"The full moon will be in three days!"

Master Lin reported the truth.

Zhao Wuji said calmly, "There's no need to act rashly for now. You continue to maintain the formation at Balong Mountain. If anyone dares to leak the news..."

"I wouldn't dare! My life and fortune are now entirely in your hands!"

Master Lin banged his head on the ground, and sweat immediately soaked into the blue bricks.

As dusk settled outside the window, it revealed the deep-seated fear and submission in his eyes.
Zhao Wuji snorted coldly, glanced at the boy who was still under the hypnosis of the Dream Marriage Technique, and said indifferently.

"Pick up the chess pieces yourself, tidy up the place, and don't let anyone notice anything amiss."

After saying this, he, as usual, confiscated half of Master Lin's wealth, especially the jade slip that recorded Huo Yu's array formation inheritance. With a flick of his sleeve, his figure vanished in a stream of light.

As dusk settled, on the blue stone path outside the Sword Rain Tower.

His dark blue robes swayed gently in the wind as Zhao Wuji slowly returned, his steps dappled with the shadows of the trees.

At this moment, his aura was restrained, and his expression was peaceful, making him seem like a completely different person from the ferocious god who had just controlled life and death.

"Fellow Daoist Zhao!"

In front of the cave next door, Wang Mingyang was packing his bags with a worried look on his face. When he saw him pass by, he shook his head and complained, "Sigh, you have it so easy. The family has issued another mission order, requiring me to go to the Northern Wilderness to carry out a patrol mission in three days. This is the second time."

"Oh? It's good to go out and see more of the scenery."

Zhao Wuji paused and chuckled.

As a formation master, no one dares to easily mobilize him unless he volunteers.

"Who wants to keep running around in places devoid of spiritual energy? The cultivation environment of a level four spiritual vein is the real treasure trove for cultivation." Wang Mingyang rolled his eyes.

"Take care, Fellow Daoist Wang. Be careful while traveling. If you come across any good brewing ingredients, don't forget to collect them."

Zhao Wuji bowed respectfully.

When they returned to the cave, the attendant Wang Yutang had already lit some calming sandalwood incense.

Amidst wisps of smoke, he sat cross-legged on a jade couch.

With a flick of his sleeve, twelve array flags fell like a galaxy, enveloping the entire Sword Rain Tower in an array of interwoven illusions and reality.

The stone door closed gently, and the restrictions flowed silently, separating the inside from the outside into two worlds.

A thought came to my mind.

The spiritual energy of the Wang family's fourth-level spiritual vein seeped in like a stream, flowing quietly through his meridians and subtly shifting towards his inner realm according to his will.

The inner golden core hovered in the dantian, slowly and steadily absorbing and releasing this pure spiritual energy.

This time, he absorbed spiritual energy into his body at a speed more than 50% faster than usual, but it was like a clay ox sinking into the sea, completely absorbed by his inner golden core.

The surface of the golden pill glowed with a faint golden light, and fine lines could be vaguely seen appearing and disappearing, indicating that it had been stabilized.

"The spiritual energy of a fourth-level spiritual vein can indeed effectively stabilize the golden core and even aid in cultivation."

Zhao Wuji's lips curled up almost imperceptibly.

The foundation of the Golden Elixir is quietly and steadily solidified through this subtle and gradual cultivation.

When the Gate of Mysterious Female is opened again in the future, and ancient spiritual power is drawn into the body, it will be used to strengthen and enhance the Golden Core.

In fact, with a level four spiritual vein, one could directly cultivate the Golden Core technique and strengthen the Golden Core.

However, that would inevitably cause a huge loss of spiritual energy, and such an anomaly would naturally attract the attention of the Wang family's Spirit Monitoring Hall.

However, he was already quite satisfied with being able to take advantage of the Wang family and use the spiritual energy of a fourth-level spiritual vein to stabilize his inner golden core.

"In this way, the spiritual energy I absorbed from the spiritual veins was used entirely to stabilize my golden core, and I was unable to absorb spiritual energy to cultivate myself. Otherwise, it would have attracted the attention of the Spirit Monitoring Hall as well."

After thinking it over, Zhao Wuji had another idea and a smile appeared on his lips.

He currently has three dedicated servants within the royal family.

The first is Lan Canghai, the second is Wang Zheng, and the third is Lin Qi.

The first two were both at the late or even perfect stage of the Condensation Realm, with Lin Qi being slightly inferior. Although Lan Canghai, like Wang Mingyang, often had to go out on family missions, he only needed to stay in his cave.
He can then use the other person's spiritual energy to cultivate.

The same applies to Wang Zheng and Lin Qi.

With these three people acting as cover, he could obtain more spiritual energy and cultivate normally without attracting the attention of the Spirit Monitoring Hall.

As for the three servants, it's enough for them to reserve a certain amount of spiritual energy each day to stabilize their cultivation levels.

What more could a servant possibly want to achieve? He should contribute more to his master.

"Perfect."

Zhao Wuji immediately got up, left the cave, and went to Lan Canghai's cave to start cultivating by absorbing spiritual energy.

"Today I'll piggyback on Lan Canghai's fame, tomorrow I'll piggyback on Wang Zheng's."

Time flies, and more than ten days have passed in the blink of an eye.

That morning, Zhao Wuji sat cross-legged in Lin Qi's cave, his spiritual energy circulating around him, slowly finishing his practice.

"call!"

He exhaled a long breath, flipped his hand and took out the jade slip that recorded Huo Yu's array inheritance, and began to discuss it with Lin Qi.

Although his current mastery of formations has already surpassed that of Lin Qi and even Huo Yu.

However, the art of formations is as vast as an abyss, and even he has yet to explore its depths.
For example, this "Ancient Teleportation Formation"!
"Back then, the Wang family was able to teleport the Xuanjia cultivators directly into the Tiannan Secret Realm by setting up this formation with the help of Hua Lengyun."

Zhao Wuji tapped the jade slip lightly with his finger, seemingly lost in thought: "However, this formation consumes a great deal of resources. The farther the teleportation distance and the higher the cultivation level of the target, the more spirit stones are required."

"Your Majesty is wise; indeed it is so."

Lin Qi smiled wryly, "Such a formation can only be afforded when spiritual energy is abundant and resources are plentiful."

Nowadays, long-distance communication arrays derived from this formation are used more frequently.

Zhao Wuji's eyes flickered slightly, and he had already made up his mind.

If the technique of shifting perspectives is used as a supplement, anchor points should be set up in advance.
Perhaps by using the mysteries of magic, we can minimize the consumption of spirit stones!
At that time, he set up a teleportation array in the Supreme Cave Heaven and another in the Luminous Cave Heaven.

In the future, by setting up teleportation arrays on other continents, or even within the Sword Tomb, one can travel over extremely long distances to other regions.

It's very useful whether you're gathering resources or running away to escape.

Just then, a communication jade token from the Affairs Hall was suddenly delivered.

"Guest Zhao, now that the Minglong Mountain formation has been repaired, the clan has decided to transfer you to assist in repairing the ancient formations of the other five immortal mountains."

Specific arrangements will be made by the array masters of each mountain, and any necessary spiritual materials can be obtained from the Affairs Hall.

"My new assignment has also been given."

Zhao Wuji lightly tapped the jade talisman with his finger, a slight smile playing on his lips.

This was just what he wanted.

Since the formation of Minglong Mountain was repaired, he has been idle for more than a month.

These days, without any excuse to withhold spiritual materials, he's been itching to do so.

Now, however, opportunity has come knocking.
"Finally, we can legitimately fleece the Wang family again."

He smiled slightly and looked at Lin Qi: "Since the Affairs Department has given you this task, go and ask for my assistance in repairing the Tyrant Dragon Mountain formation." "Yes, Master!" Lin Qi respectfully accepted the order.

For the next few months, Zhao Wuji traveled between several of the Wang family's sacred mountains.

Sometimes he repaired the "Two Elements Sealing Dust Array" on Yunlong Mountain, and sometimes he adjusted the "Earth Vein Sealing Spirit Array" on Balong Mountain.

Each time he took over a new formation, he would deliberately slow down the progress under the pretext of "striving for perfection," and secretly withhold 30% of the spiritual materials.

The rare items such as Yin Pattern Stone and Dragon Blood Sand that were intercepted all fell into the Pot Heaven Space, either nourishing the Yin Sha Spring or expanding the spiritual veins.

Occasionally, when the Affairs Department sent people to inspect, he would brush them off with the excuse that "the ancient formation has been in disrepair for many years and needs repeated adjustments."

The Wang family's half-baked array masters couldn't even discern the direction of the array patterns. The only one with some ability, Lin Qi, was still his servant. How could he possibly see through his methods?

This went on for several months.

He had thoroughly figured out the outer formations and terrain of Balong Mountain.

He had thoroughly figured out the location of the secluded cultivation place where the peak master had sealed Xiang Yu's head, but he lacked the opportunity to enter and investigate.

On this day, Zhao Wuji had just returned from Balong Mountain when he saw Wang Mingyang, who had already returned from the neighboring cave, leaning against the courtyard gate, holding a jar of spirit wine and waving at him.

"Fellow Daoist Zhao! Come and taste my newly brewed 'Cold Jade Wine'!"

Zhao Wuji concealed the glint in his eyes and approached with a smile.

Several plates of spiritual fruits were already laid out on the stone table in the courtyard. Wang Mingyang waved his sleeve and said proudly, "This is brewed with 'Xuanzhu Hancui,' a specialty of Beiyun Dizhou. It's a subsidy that the Affairs Hall just issued!"

Tsk tsk, I went on a trip to the snowy plains of Tianmeng Prefecture, and I almost froze my old bones to pieces..."

He complained, but couldn't hide the smugness in his eyes, and deliberately shook the bulging storage bag at his waist.

Zhao Wuji feigned envy: "Brother Wang, this trip must have earned you enough cultivation resources for a year, right?"

"Where there!"

Wang Mingyang waved his hand dismissively, but couldn't help lowering his voice, "To be honest, this trip to 'Mysterious Bamboo and Frosty Green' is equivalent to half a year of hard training! At this rate, I'll definitely be able to break through to the Perfection of the Spirit Condensation Realm in three years at most!"

"Congratulations, fellow Daoist."

Zhao Wuji raised his cup and took a sip. The wine turned into a chill as it entered his throat; it was indeed a rare and fine brew.

His gaze swept over the weariness on Wang Mingyang's brow, and he chuckled inwardly.

Although the subsidies for these visiting retainers were generous, they were still less than the value of the spiritual materials he embezzled in a month.

Moreover, cultivating in a level four spiritual vein for one day is equivalent to ten days of hard work in the outside world.

While other retainers were busy running around, he remained calm and collected, steadily improving himself by leveraging the resources of the royal family.

While they were chatting, a streak of azure light suddenly pierced through the clouds and landed in front of the cave not far away.

Lan Canghai landed, covered in dust, his black robe still stained with unmelted snowflakes.

Zhao Wuji's divine sense stirred slightly as he quietly sensed the residual aura in the storage bag.

A few wisps of decaying seal fluctuations were exactly the same as what he had encountered in the place where Xinghe Daoren's primordial spirit was sealed.

"It seems that the Wang family has been sending these guest elders out to mark some places where old monsters might be slumbering..."

He calmly withdrew his divine sense from observing Lan Canghai, his servant.

Playing with the wine cup in his hand, he listened to Wang Mingyang's endless stories of his travels.

He would occasionally raise his glass and offer a few words of agreement, but his mind was already elsewhere.

"The Wang family has sent so many guest advisors to mark those places that are suspected to be sealed by old monsters."

A glint of light flashed in his eyes. "This is laying the groundwork for the revival of spiritual energy, so that we can observe the movements and monitor trends as soon as possible in the future."

He memorized all the important locations that Lan Canghai explored on this trip.

However, these are not the main concerns at the moment.

What he truly cared about was the old fox Wang Wujiang's real scheme, the mysterious array within the Balong Mountain secret realm, and even more so...
That sealed head of Xiang Yu!

"The Qilin Sword Sect entrusted me with three tasks," Zhao Wuji said, taking a sip of his spirit wine. "The weaknesses of the outer array of the secret realm at Tyrant Dragon Mountain have been identified; the rest..."

This was Wang Wujiang's scheme.

And the stance of the Hua family.

To understand the Hua family's stance, one would inevitably need to meet with Hua Feng, the matriarch of the Hua family, or Hua Lengyun, the currently prominent leader known as "Overlord Sword."

However, he had already completed a task for the Sword Sect in just two years since joining the Wang family.

This progress isn't too slow.

He has five years to plan at his own pace; there's no need to rush.

Right now, there's an even more pressing matter waiting for him to handle.

After finishing the remaining wine in his cup, Zhao Wuji bid farewell to Wang Mingyang and took out a pot of Renbao wine that had been prepared beforehand.

"This..." Wang Mingyang's eyes lit up, his hands trembling as he held the wine pot. "Hehe, Fellow Daoist Zhao, how can I accept this?"

"Fellow Daoist Wang, you've been talking on and on for so long, isn't it all for this? I'm not going to chat anymore, I need to go back to my cultivation."

Zhao Wuji chuckled and shook his head, then turned and left, returning to Jianyu Tower in the blink of an eye.

As soon as he entered, a thought stirred within him.
"Shh!"

In the blink of an eye, his figure vanished from the spot and disappeared into the secret realm of the Pot Heaven.

The gray mist parted like a veil to both sides, and the view suddenly opened up before us.

The world, now over 280 feet in size, unfolds like a scroll painting, with star-like halos flowing across the crystal dome, and gray mist still churning at the edges, slowly expanding outwards.

The Yin Sha Spring is located in the northeast corner. Black water gurgles from the springhead, and cold air condenses into frost flowers that float on the surface of the water.

A nascent Yin marrow, the size of a soybean, lay at the bottom of the spring, its surface covered with spiderweb-like dark blue patterns, greedily devouring the Yin Soul Wood remnants piled up beside the spring.

"With the addition of some Yin-attribute spiritual materials, it should take shape within a month..."

Zhao Wuji flicked his sleeve.

Another piece of the Yin Soul Wood transformed into a stream of light and disappeared into the spring.

The black water immediately boiled as if being cooked, and the nascent Yin marrow trembled violently, its patterns visibly spreading outwards.

In the distance, the mountains rise and fall, and the newly acquired spiritual vein of Haishan Cave Heaven is like a green dragon coiled up, echoing the remnant vein of Baigu Cave Heaven.

The spiritual spring water cascades down from the mountaintop, nourishing the vast medicinal fields below, where several Soul-Nourishing Flowers have already sprouted blade-shaped leaves.

On the other side, numerous star-shaped wine jars sat quietly in the wine cellar, their mouths shrouded in a misty haze.

Zhao Wuji made a grasping motion with his five fingers, and three wine worms flew out in response.

The insect king, its shell gleaming with a metallic sheen, flapped its wings and buzzed, transforming into three golden threads that burrowed into his dantian.

"Gudu!"

The inner golden core suddenly accelerated its rotation, absorbing spiritual energy at a rate that increased by 30%.

The pure spiritual energy of a level four spiritual vein does not require further purification.

However, after being swallowed and expelled by the wine worm, it condensed into a thick, honey-like liquid in his meridians, which helped to improve his cultivation speed, increasing his ability to condense 15 strands of spiritual power per day to 19 strands.

After months of arduous training, his cultivation in the immortal path has now reached the level of perfect spiritual concentration (2183/19999).

The inner golden core also grew stronger under the blessing of the ancient spiritual power behind the Gate of Mysterious Female.

Only his cultivation in the Martial Immortal Path did not improve much.

Even with the spiritual materials deducted by the formation and the assistance of True Meaning Pills, he has only reached the early stage of Martial Courage (2240/3000).

"After breaking through to the Martial Courage stage, the True Intent Pill is no longer of much use to me. Even after consuming all of them and using the Stone-Boiling Technique to refine spiritual materials, I only increased my cultivation progress by a thousand."

Zhao Wuji pondered, "It requires the blood of a powerful demon beast, or..."

Suddenly sensing something, he formed the Marriage Dream Incantation with his hands, and his divine sense pierced through the void like a thread, remotely sensing the auras of Wang Zheng and Wei Ding, the master of the White Bone Cave.

"It seems that Wang Zheng should be finishing my arrangements soon."

A month ago, he handed over the many array-setting materials he had collected to Wang Zheng.

He then ordered the other party to discreetly and secretly travel to Lingtai Mountain in Xichu Prefecture to investigate the situation there.

At the same time, following his instructions, a long-distance teleportation array was set up.

Once everything is ready, he will personally use the teleportation technique to travel there, investigate the situation at Lingtai Mountain, and search for clues and resources related to the martial arts lineage left by his family.

At this moment, Wang Zheng sensed that he had quietly arrived at Lingtai Mountain, but he did not rashly touch the restriction that trapped Wei Ding. Instead, he carefully set up an array in the nearby mountains and forests.

"That's a safe bet."

Zhao Wuji gave his approval, then scanned the entire Pot Heaven space with his divine sense. After confirming that there was nothing unusual, he nodded slightly.

Xiao Yue and Xiao Ya, those two girls, were released from the Pot Heaven by him three days ago, and are now having a blast in the market of Xuanming Capital.

With his Xuanjia-armored cultivator puppets secretly protecting him, there's no need to worry.

"Shh!"

He immediately made a hand seal and touched the space between his eyebrows with his fingers.

In an instant, the dream world connected, and everything Wang Zheng saw and heard was reflected in his heart.

"I will personally control the next array patterns."

His divine sense surged like a tide over the mountains, and the exact location of each array flag was clearly visible in his mind.

“I will obey the Lord’s command!”

Wang Zheng's voice came from the depths of the dream, respectful and courteous.

The next moment, Wang Zheng felt a jolt in his sea of ​​consciousness as the master's divine thoughts surged in like a tidal wave.

He dared not delay and immediately followed that mysterious thought, beginning to lay out array patterns in the mountains and forests.

The teleportation array set up by Zhao Wuji is no ordinary one!
In this degenerate age, even if ordinary teleportation arrays were to exhaust all spirit stones, it would be difficult to teleport across two continents, let alone carry a cultivator of his level of perfect spiritual cultivation.

But Zhao Wuji had already made plans.

The art of shifting scenery is extremely profound, and the method of "setting up scenery" can complement this formation perfectly.

By setting up anchor points in advance and using spirit stones to sustain the journey, the chances of traversing the void will increase by 70%.

"If we can succeed."

Zhao Wuji's mind stirred slightly, and he was already planning what to do next.

First, he explored Lingtai Mountain as a martial arts practitioner, seeking the legacy of Huangfu Mi of the Western Jin Dynasty.

Then, he should go to the Seven Clouds Sect to fulfill the three-year agreement as the Ancestor of Tiannan.
(End of this chapter)