I established the Eternal Immortal Clan by taming beasts.

"Chen Mingfei, head of the Chen family, and Zhao Wenxuan, head of the Zhao family, have come to pay a special visit to Lin Che, head of the Lin family, to discuss plans for the future stability of Chuyang City!"

With the clan leader's permission, Chen Mingyi channeled his magic power, his voice booming and clear, echoing in the air in front of the Lin family's gate.

However, the only response he received was the gentle breeze blowing from Shattered Star Lake and the silent flow of the pale yellow light curtain.

The area was completely silent, as if no one was on duty.

Liu Qingxue, who was in charge of presiding over the formation and sitting in the central hub, was currently in a hidden control room of the formation on the island in the middle of the lake.

Through the light screen projected by the array, she could clearly see the actions of the Chen family members outside the array and hear their shouts.

Her beautiful, aloof face remained completely expressionless, her eyes as calm as ice.

She silently adjusted the subtle distribution of the array's spiritual energy, keeping in mind her husband's core strategy of "delaying time."

After waiting for a moment and seeing no response, Chen Mingyi turned his gaze to his elder brother, Chen Mingfei.

Chen Mingfei's expression darkened slightly, and he gently shook his head at him.

Chen Mingyi understood, took a deep breath, and gathered his magical power again, his voice becoming even more authoritative and imposing:

"Fellow Daoist Lin! My Chen family patriarch has come in person to pay a sincere visit and discuss important matters! To refuse to let him in is hardly the way to treat a guest! Please quickly open the formation and show yourself for a discussion!"

The sound surged again, even causing ripples to spread across the nearby lake.

The result was still silence.

Seeing this, Chen Mingyi gritted his teeth and spoke for the third time, his voice now carrying obvious impatience and coldness:

"Lin family! Don't refuse a toast only to be forced to drink a forfeit! If you don't activate your formation in response, don't blame us..."

This time, before the words were finished, a clear and calm female voice finally came from within the formation, faintly echoing through the array's amplification effect:

"Fellow Daoists, please forgive me. My clan patriarch went to Burning Bone City yesterday to purchase the high-quality spiritual herb seeds needed for the next season's spiritual herb garden, and has not yet returned."

"Before the clan chief departed, he decreed that the clan should temporarily close its gates and refuse all visitors until his return. If you have other matters to attend to, please come back in a few days."

This response was like adding fuel to the fire!

Chen Mingfei's previously composed expression instantly turned ashen, a hint of anger at being fooled flashing in his eyes.

Should I go to Burning Bone City to buy medicinal herb seeds?

That's an absolute joke!

Which family would keep their defensive array running continuously, burning precious spirit stones every second, just to wait for the family head to buy the seeds back?

This is clearly treating Chen Mingfei and the entire Chen family like fools, making a fool of them!

"What exactly is the Lin family relying on? How dare they be so ungrateful and mock me to my face?!"

Chen Mingfei felt a surge of anger, but even more so, he was filled with surprise and doubt.

What gives the Lin family the right?

Based on this seemingly sturdy second-tier high-grade defensive array in front of us?

In the face of a Golden Core family, this is nothing more than a slightly thicker tortoise shell!

He suppressed his anger, and for the sake of caution, immediately used the communication stone in his bosom to briefly report the situation to his father, Chen Dai, who was at the city lord's mansion.

Soon, the communication stone vibrated slightly, and a brief thought came through:

"Take action if necessary, but quickly, and avoid causing major chaos."

With his father's approval, Chen Mingfei's last lingering concerns vanished, and a cold glint shone brightly in his eyes!

Seeing this, Zhao Wenxuan, who had been observing the situation closely, immediately stepped forward, his face bearing a fawning and inciting smile:

"Patriarch Chen, the Lin family is so ungrateful! They simply don't respect you and the newly promoted Golden Core cultivator Chen family! It seems that kind words are useless; we must teach them a lesson!"

He paused, then said confidently:

"This protective formation of the Lin family is called the 'Five Directions Thick Earth Formation.' It is a fairly common second-tier high-grade defensive formation, which focuses on stability and durability but lacks versatility."

"My family, the Zhao family, has extensive knowledge of this formation. Breaking it is not difficult; we only need to spend some time identifying the key points in the flow of the five elements and weaken them layer by layer, and we will surely succeed..."

Zhao Wenxuan spoke eloquently, his eyes gleaming with excitement.

The Lin family suddenly appeared out of nowhere and seized the Shattered Star Lake spiritual land that the Zhao family had been plotting for a long time. He has always kept this grudge in his heart.

Now that he can take advantage of the Chen family's influence to break through the Lin family's shell and wipe away his shame, how could he not be excited?

Chen Mingfei listened to Zhao Wenxuan's analysis and nodded slightly, his anger subsiding somewhat.

If the formation can be broken at a relatively low cost, that would naturally be the best strategy.

"very good."

"Since the Lin family is so stubborn and courting death, then they cannot blame the Chen family! Patriarch Zhao, thank you for your trouble, begin breaking the formation!"

"Yes, sir!"

Zhao Wenxuan's spirits lifted, and he immediately turned around, shouting to the Zhao family's array masters who were already prepared behind him:

"Use the Sky-Gazing and Earth-Probing Array to lock onto the flow of spiritual energy within this array! Prepare the Barrier-Breaking Cones, and on my command, attack its 'Earth' and 'Earth' nodes!"

The Zhao family cultivators were well-trained and immediately sprang into action.

Several uniquely shaped array plates were thrown out, hovering in mid-air, emitting beams of spiritual light, attempting to scan and analyze the spiritual energy structure of the array.

Several others held sharp, long metal cone-shaped magical artifacts with inscribed spirit-breaking runes at their tips, ready to unleash their power.

However, as time went by...

The confidence on Zhao Wenxuan's face was gradually replaced by doubt and a hint of barely perceptible panic.

The scene he had envisioned—where the spiritual energy nodes of the formation were clearly revealed and analyzed layer by layer—did not occur.

The pale yellow light curtain appeared calm.

However, the flow of spiritual energy within it seemed to be shrouded in a layer of ever-changing mist.

It appears and disappears intermittently, its location uncertain, and it also gives a subtle feeling of being perfectly integrated and invincible.

The probing spiritual light emitted by the Zhao family's array plate often disappeared without a trace, or was distorted and deflected by that invisible "cloud," making it impossible to accurately lock onto the core.

"What's going on? This formation...something's not right!"

A senior formation master from the Zhao family, sweat beading on his forehead, said in a low voice.

"Patriarch, this...this doesn't seem to be a simple 'Five Directions Earth Formation'!"

"Those clouds... seem to be actively interfering with our reconnaissance, and even... even changing their formation on their own!" another person exclaimed.

Zhao Wenxuan's expression grew increasingly grim as he personally manipulated a main array panel.

He tried to penetrate the area with all his might, but it felt as if he were trapped in a vast sea of ​​clouds, unable to discern directions or understand the principles of the formation.

This was completely beyond his understanding of the Lin family's formations!

Inside the control room, Liu Qingxue's usually cool and aloof face finally revealed a confident smile.

The "Nine Heavens Cloud Realm Array" that my husband set up only showed a slight effect on ordinary days, distorting external detection.

Now the hidden transformations and protective power of the third-order formation are truly revealed!

Outside the formation, Chen Mingfei waited for a long time, but saw no sign of the formation loosening.

Instead, seeing the Zhao family members scrambling around and sweating profusely, his expression darkened.

"Patriarch Zhao!" His voice carried obvious displeasure.

"What's going on with you all? You swore it wouldn't be difficult to break through, but now you can't even find the door? Is this the Zhao family's skill in array formations?"

Zhao Wenxuan's face flushed red and then turned pale, both anxious and ashamed. He quickly tried to explain:

"Patriarch Chen, please calm your anger! There's something strange about the Lin family's formation! That concealment formation is quite peculiar; the combination of the two creates endless variations, far beyond a simple 'Five Directions Thick Earth Formation'! We... need more time..."

"More time?"

Chen Mingfei snorted coldly, his patience finally running out.

He felt he had come with a large group of people, making a great fuss, but he couldn't even get through the gate.

They were even tricked by the excuse of "buying seeds," and now they can't even break through the formation. They're just like clowns!

He ignored Zhao Wenxuan's unpleasant expression, waved his hand, and his voice turned stern, echoing throughout the room:

"No need to waste any more effort breaking it! Since the Lin family is so shameless, let them see what the power of a Golden Core family is all about!"

His gaze was cold and menacing as he stared at the shimmering array, his killing intent palpable.

"Everyone, listen up! Forget about the key nodes! Concentrate all firepower and launch a full-scale attack on this formation! Spells, magical artifacts, talismans, formation plates... use whatever you have, and unleash a devastating barrage!"

"I'd like to see how long your Lin family's tortoise shell can hold out! I'd also like to see just how much wealth your Lin family has to withstand such a drain on spirit stones!"

"Yes!" The cultivators from the Chen and Zhao families responded in unison, their anger already seething inside them.

In an instant, multicolored magical light shot into the sky!

Fireballs, ice spikes, wind blades, golden spears... rained down on the pale blue light screen;

Various magical artifacts, accompanied by sharp whistling sounds, crashed violently against the array barrier, unleashing bursts of spiritual light ripples.

One after another, attack talismans were activated, transforming into lightning, sword shadows, and poisonous mist, covering a large area;

The Zhao family cultivators disregarded breaking the formation and activated their offensive array plates, releasing condensed beams of flame or Gengjin sword energy to join the bombardment.

"Boom! Boom boom boom—!!"

The deafening explosions, collisions, and the hissing sounds of spells annihilating each other instantly shattered the tranquility of Shattered Star Lake in the early morning!

The pale yellow array light screen fluctuated violently, and the starlight on its surface flickered rapidly, like a lake surface enduring a storm.

The entire Lin family's territory was shrouded in various violent spiritual energy turbulences and explosive light, creating a terrifying scene!

Chen Mingfei stood with his hands behind his back in front of the formation, coldly watching the ferocious attack, a cruel sneer playing on his lips.

He simply couldn't believe that the Lin family, with at most two or three Foundation Establishment cultivators and limited resources, could withstand such high-intensity and continuous array consumption!