The First Sage of Military Strategists

"Further words are useless. Let's enter the formation as soon as possible. Besides us, there are many other powerful forces vying for the treasures within the Panlong Immortal Realm. If we are slow, the benefits will fall into the hands of others," Luo Yue said in a deep voice.

"Brother Luo is right, let's enter the formation now!" Qian Feng nodded.

The ship suddenly soared into the air and disappeared into the abyss of thunderstorms.

Strands of lightning bombarded the ship, causing the silver shield on its exterior to tremble and crackle.

As they went deeper, the lightning became increasingly fierce and turbulent, and the ship seemed to be sailing through giant waves, as if it could capsize at any moment.

Even though the heads of the families were all highly knowledgeable and courageous, they were still terrified by the sight.

"Brother Luo, can your ship really withstand this? This lightning is too fierce. Once the ship's spiritual light is broken, we will all be in mortal danger." The speaker was a one-armed old man, a master of the Zhao family, named Zhao Wu.

Luo Yue also looked solemn: "With such a precious treasure before us, how can we back down? If we are afraid, we should retreat now. If this ship really capsizes later, then we'll have to rely on our own abilities."

The others exchanged glances, remaining silent, and none of them withdrew.

"Walk!"

With a low shout, Luo Yue poured even more immense magical power into the ship. In a flash, the ship transformed into a streak of light and soared deeper into the Thunderstorm Abyss at an even faster speed.

As they ventured deeper, the lightning grew increasingly intense, causing the ship to tremble violently. Eventually, unable to withstand the onslaught, cracks appeared one after another on its hull.

Everyone was terrified. Even magical artifacts have their limits. If they are subjected to too much external damage, they are very likely to collapse.

However, just as the group was thinking about how to escape, the situation suddenly changed. The ship suddenly entered a cloud of black mist, and the surrounding thunderstorms and turbulent currents disappeared without a trace.

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief as Luo Yue soared out and retrieved the ship.

"This is the depths of the sub-array, and the array's core is hidden within layers of black mist." Luo Yue's gaze swept back and forth.

The Luo family has ancient books, some of which contain records about the Azure Tortoise Formation. Each sub-formation has different levels of danger. The danger of this sub-formation is the Thunderstorm Abyss, and deeper inside is this Black Mist Maze.

These wisps of black mist, like viscous water, were constantly changing. When people tried to probe into them with their spiritual thoughts, it was like throwing a mud ox into the sea—it was difficult to gain anything.

"Brother Luo, what do we do now?" Zhao Wu asked again.

"There are two ways: either deduce and figure out the rules of this formation, or forcefully break through this black mist maze with tremendous force," Luo Yue said.

"Then let's try the second method first. The eight of us can work together to forcefully break through the black fog. If that doesn't work, then we'll try the second method," Qian Rong suggested.

"it is good!"

So, after a brief preparation, the eight of them attacked simultaneously. In an instant, spells bombarded the surrounding black mist, causing large swaths of black mist to collapse and dissipate.

However, at the moment of collapse, new black mist surged forth and quickly filled the empty area.

After going through this process repeatedly, Luo Yue finally gave up.

"With insufficient strength, at this rate of progress, it's uncertain when we'll actually reach the core of the formation," Luo Yue said in a deep voice.

"Why don't we split up and each explore a different direction? We're bound to find the key point of the formation," Qian Rong suddenly suggested.

"it is good!"

So the eight people split up and flew at high speed in different directions.

...

At this moment, Han Qing and his group were also in the black fog, facing the same predicament. The black fog was thick and ever-changing, making it difficult to find their whereabouts.

However, since the Palace Master of Zongheng Palace is the most outstanding array master in the world, Han Qing and the others were not entirely clueless.

"Give me some time. This formation, though complex, is not unbreakable," said the Palace Master of Zongheng Palace.

So everyone waited patiently, for there was no danger in the black fog, only an effect of trapping the enemy.

Thus, everyone waited for a full five or six hours. The Red Lotus Demoness couldn't wait any longer and called out loudly, "Old man, are you sure you can handle this?"

The Palace Master of Zongheng Palace had been deep in thought with her eyes closed, but she opened them at this moment and said loudly, "How can you be so impatient, you witch? If I say it's okay, then it's definitely okay."

"If we wait any longer, the treasure will have already been taken by someone else," the Crimson Lotus Demoness said irritably.

"It's done!" The Palace Master of Zongheng Palace suddenly opened his eyes. "From now on, everyone, listen to my command. Whichever direction I attack, you will follow me and attack together."

"Okay!" Everyone nodded.

The Palace Master of the Horizontal Palace soared into the air and suddenly made his move, his first strike heading straight for the southeast.

The crowd immediately joined him in attacking the black mist from the southeast.

boom!
A large portion of the black mist in this area immediately dissipated; however, the surrounding black mist surged forth, attempting to fill the empty area.

The Palace Master ignored him and immediately changed direction, this time to due north, and a large part of the black mist was dissipated again.

After changing directions six times in succession, suddenly, the magic array seemed to be hit in a vital spot. Large swathes of black mist collapsed and broke down, revealing a large blank area.

"go!"

The Palace Master of the Palace flew rapidly westward, with everyone following closely behind.

Next, he repeated the same method, dispersing the black mist in multiple areas.

As the black mist continued to collapse, at a certain moment, a huge tortoise-shell shield suddenly appeared in front of them, with a length and width of more than ten zhang.

"This is the core of the formation. As long as we can control this magic treasure, we can also control this sub-formation, and then discover the entrance to the Panlong Immortal Realm and truly step into it," the Palace Master of Zongheng said loudly.

While everyone was observing, You Songchuan was the first to make a move. A stream of light shot out and struck the tortoise shell, attempting to capture it. Unexpectedly, the tortoise shell emitted a bright light, directly shattering the magical thought.

Han Qing was the second to make a move, directly activating the Boundless Stele. A beam of profound light shot out and instantly swallowed the tortoise-shell shield. The shield then emitted a bright blue light. The two forces collided and eroded each other, and the tortoise-shell shield was unable to break free.

As the tortoise-shell shield was suppressed, the entire magic circle began to change, and large swaths of black mist dissipated.

Because the magic weapon at the core of the formation was suppressed, the formation could not exert its power, and the black mist naturally dissipated in large swaths.

Han Qing frowned: "Everyone be careful. The black mist has dissipated. If anyone else has also landed here, they might come looking for the commotion."

Before he finished speaking, a golden streak of light shot in from afar. Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be a copper coin.

The copper coin flew at an extremely fast speed, leaving a golden streak in the air, and arrived in front of Han Qing in an instant. Han Qing reacted just as quickly, raising his hand and thrusting out with his spear, the tip of which accurately struck the copper coin.

Ding!
With a muffled thud, Han Qing's spear trembled. He felt an immense force flowing from the spear into his arms, but fortunately, his physique was now incredibly strong, so he easily caught the force.

The copper coin was also knocked away by the spear, and then flew back to the hand of a middle-aged man not far away. Han Qing raised an eyebrow, while the Palace Master of Zongheng secretly transmitted his thoughts: "This is the old ghost of the Qian family of Dayu, named Qian Rong, who is the founder of the money way."

Han Qing narrowed his eyes slightly. He had interacted with the Qian family before, and their relationship wasn't bad. However, he didn't know that the Qian family had such a top expert hidden in their possession. He thought to himself, "As expected, no one from this thousand-year-old family is easy to deal with."

The Crimson Lotus Demoness proclaimed loudly, "Old ghost Qian Rong, you're still alive?"

"If you, this vixen, are not dead, how could I possibly be?"

Qian Rong fiddled with the coins in his hand, his gaze sweeping back and forth, first landing on the tortoise-shell shield not far away, then turning to Han Qing.

"This tortoise shell shield must be the key to this formation. Put the magic weapon down, and everything will be fine!"

"Several members of your Qian family are quite reasonable and have left a very good impression on me. I just didn't expect to find an old devil like you who overestimates himself," Han Qing sneered.

Qian Rong's gaze turned brooding, then he suddenly burst into laughter: "You ignorant brat, when I was ruling the world, you weren't even born yet, how dare you speak to me like that? Are you courting death?"

As he spoke, he suddenly made a move, waving his hand. In an instant, no less than eighteen streams of light shot out from his palm, drawing golden lines in the air and flying towards Han Qing from all directions.

Each gold thread represents a copper coin. Previously, one copper coin was no match for Han Qing, so this time, Qian Rong unleashed eighteen coins at once, aiming to kill Han Qing.

Just as the Red Lotus Demoness and the others were about to lend a hand, Han Qing suddenly said, "Wait! Don't interfere. Today I'll make this old ghost understand that times have changed, and those who should be buried should have died long ago."

The Red Lotus Demoness and the others stopped fighting. They understood that Han Qing must be extremely confident that the old ghost was going to be in trouble.

The next instant, Han Qing leaped forward and took the initiative to meet the eighteen copper coins.

He thrust his spear forward suddenly, unleashing eighteen strikes in quick succession, each one precisely hitting the flying copper coin.

With a series of crackling sounds, eighteen copper coins were thrown into the air one after another, posing no obstacle to Han Qing. Without even pausing, he soared up again and pounced on Qian Rong.

Qian Rong was shocked. These eighteen copper coins were the Qian family's secret treasure, called the Great Coin Treasure. Each coin contained a strong magical power and was extremely lethal. However, he did not expect that Han Qing would easily knock them away. Moreover, he did not feel any magical power surging. In other words, Han Qing blocked the move entirely with his physical strength. What does this mean? Han Qing is likely a mid-level Martial Saint.

The thought of this filled Qian Rong with intense fear.

"Disaster! So young, not only is he a Golden Body Realm Third Stage Refiner, but he's also a Mid-Level Martial Saint. How can anyone in this world have such a terrifying growth rate?"

Qian Rong dodged and retreated, not daring to let Han Qing get close. The close combat ability of a mid-level Martial Saint was too terrifying; once he got close, he would be powerless to resist.

However, Han Qing was too fast, and the distance between the two closed rapidly. Qian Rong waved his hand, and several fist-sized pearls, glowing with lightning, flew out from his palm. These were called Wind and Thunder Pearls and had the effect of immobilizing the user.

However, when the pearl was halfway there, Han Qing suddenly opened his mouth and spat out a stream of crimson light, which was the Righteous Qi Technique.

Under the sweep of crimson light, several Wind and Thunder Pearls lost power and hovered in the air.

Han Qing leaped forward in a flash, passing over the several Wind and Thunder Pearls, and continued forward at an extremely fast speed, once again shortening the distance between him and Qian Rong.

Qian Rong suddenly turned around, reached out and grabbed at the air. Countless magical thoughts surged and transformed into copper coins. Many copper coins flew upward and converged into a huge copper coin hand, which slammed down on Han Qing below.

"Golden Light Great Capture!"

Han Qing's response was still simple and brutal. In a flash, he raised his hand and fired a spear. The spearhead pierced through the copper coin-shaped hand and suddenly burst out with a dazzling enhancement, directly tearing the copper coin-shaped hand apart.

"not good!"

Qian Rong was shocked. These moves were almost all his signature skills, but he didn't expect them to be ineffective against Han Qing.

He understood that the difference in their strength was too great; Han Qing was even more terrifying than he had imagined.

"Damn it! That scoundrel Luo Yue's intelligence was wrong!" Qian Rong cursed inwardly.

Suddenly, he felt the world darken, and a black lotus appeared abruptly, sealing him inside.

Qian Rong, the old monster of the Qian family, was dealt with by Han Qing in such a casual manner.

The Palace Master and others behind him all looked surprised; Han Qing's strength this time was clearly much greater.

"Intermediate Martial Saint!" You Songchuan whispered.

"Hehe, my judgment was right after all," the Red Lotus Demoness laughed.

"Han Qing's strength has reached an unfathomable level," the Palace Master of Zongheng thought to himself.

At this moment, Han Qing waved his hand, intending to take back the black lotus.

Suddenly, a roar came from afar.

"Be bold!"

Suddenly, a figure charged forward, clad in heavy brass armor and wielding a giant axe. He cleaved down heavily towards the Yin-Yang True Realm. At the same moment, several other figures behind him also attacked.

In an instant, various spells bombarded the Yin-Yang True Realm, and Qian Feng, who was sealed within it, also exerted his power at the same time. Several powerful forces intertwined and broke through this spatial barrier in one fell swoop.

Click!

The barrier suddenly collapsed and shattered, turning into specks of light that scattered between heaven and earth.

Qian Rong escaped immediately, but his face was quite pale, and his aura and momentum plummeted.

He hurriedly retreated, away from Han Qing, and returned to Luo Yue and the others.

Luo Yue was wearing brass armor and carrying a giant axe.

Qian Rong immediately transmitted his voice: "Everyone be careful, this boy is already a mid-level Martial Saint, with powerful combat strength. If it were a one-on-one fight, I'm afraid none of us would be his match!"

These words immediately shook Luo Yue and the others, and their expressions became even more solemn.

At this moment, Han Qing glanced around and recognized the identities of several of them. They were all top experts from various ancient families, either family heads or elders.

These ancient families are also a very powerful force in the Great Yu Dynasty. Although they are not as active as the martial arts holy lands, they should not be underestimated.

These people were clearly led by the man in the brass armor in the very center, so Han Qing's gaze also fell on this man.

"I am Luo Yue. I never imagined that you would grow to the point of threatening the patriarch in such a short time. From the Middle Ages to the present, there have been few people in the Great Yu Dynasty who can match your talent!" Luo Yue said in a deep voice.

"Another good dog of the Luo family!" Han Qing cursed. He had no goodwill towards the Luo family or the Han family and had always been extremely impolite to them.

Luo Yue's face darkened: "Han Qing, with the experts from our eight great families joining forces, you still dare to be so arrogant? Don't you know that arrogance will eventually be punished by Heaven?"

Han Qing's expression remained calm as his gaze slowly shifted from Luo Yue to the other family heads. He suddenly said in a deep voice, "Luo Yue must die. My hatred for the Luo family runs deep. You all must leave immediately. I don't want to implicate the innocent. Don't think that eight people working together can kill me. In my eyes, you are nothing but a rabble."

Han Qing's words were very impolite, because he had no goodwill towards these ancient families. (End of Chapter)