Primordial Era: Starting with slaughtering all the gods and Buddhas in the sky

After passing through the water-like array barrier, the view ahead suddenly opened up.

The dense poisonous miasma was completely kept out, replaced by fresh air and a faint fragrance of medicinal herbs.

Inside the valley, rows of neat wooden houses are built against the mountain, and several cultivated spiritual fields are covered with lush green crops.

On the open ground, several bonfires were burning brightly, and meat soup was simmering in a large pot on top.

The old man stood at the entrance of the valley, holding his granddaughter's hand, while the dozens of refugees behind him stared wide-eyed at the scene before them in disbelief.

In the heart of the Hundred Thousand Mountains, where monsters roam and human life is cheap, there is a hidden paradise.

"grown ups!"

A rough voice broke the silence.

Ashi, shirtless and carrying a bone knife, ran quickly out from behind a wooden house.

Closely following behind him was Lao Tie, a burly man with dark skin.

When the two saw the group of ragged, blood-stained refugees behind Huang Chen, they immediately understood what was going on.

"My lord, are you injured?" Ashi keenly smelled the lingering scent of blood on Huang Chen's body.

"It's alright, it's all the blood of demonic beasts." Huang Chen waved his hand and pointed to the old man and the others behind him.

"There are forty-two survivors from the Blackrock Tribe. Buddy, take your men and make arrangements."

Lao Tie immediately nodded and strode over to the old man.

"Old man, come with me. Have some hot soup first. The wounded should go to the third wooden house on the left."

The old man's lips trembled as he turned to look at Huang Chen, about to kneel again.

Huang Chen grabbed his arm.

"Here, humans do not kneel."

Huang Chen released his grip, his tone calm. "Go get something to eat, and get a good night's sleep."

The old man wiped away his tears, took his granddaughter's hand, and followed Lao Tie to the campfire.

The refugees helped each other up, and the light of life finally returned to their eyes.

Ashi stood beside Huang Chen and lowered his voice.

"My lord, the demonic beasts on the outskirts have become increasingly agitated these past few days. Our brothers have spotted several groups of powerful demon scouts thirty miles outside the valley."

"How much spirit stone is being consumed by strengthening the hidden sentries and the formation?" Huang Chen asked.

"It requires three hundred low-grade spirit stones every day."

Ashi answered.

Just as Huang Chen was about to speak, the ground beneath his feet suddenly trembled without warning.

At first, it was just a slight tremor, like a herd of beasts running in the distance. But after only two breaths, the tremor suddenly intensified.

Ash was falling from the roof of the wooden cabin. The iron pot by the campfire was shaken and overturned, spilling boiling meat soup all over the ground.

"What's going on?" Ashi looked around warily.

The refugees screamed in terror and crouched on the ground, covering their heads. The sense of security they had just established crumbled instantly.

Huang Chen suddenly looked up at the sky outside the valley.

The originally gray sky was now filled with thick, ink-like clouds.

A deep, rumbling sound came from the depths of the clouds, as if an ancient behemoth was tearing the sky apart.

stab-

A blinding bolt of lightning ripped through the clouds.

Immediately afterwards, a colossal object that blotted out the sky crashed through the dark clouds and suddenly appeared in the sky above the outer edge of the Ten Thousand Mountains.

It was a huge flying boat that was hundreds of feet long.

The entire ship is made of dark golden spirit wood, and the sides of the ship are covered with ferocious spirit cannons.

The bow of the flying boat is carved with a giant sword symbol pointing straight to the sky.

"Xuantian Sect?" Huang Chen frowned. That old bastard Zhao Wuji actually mobilized a war magic weapon of this level.

A terrifying pressure poured down from the airship, and several weak refugees fainted instantly.

"Ah Shi! Get everyone into the cave! Quickly!" Huang Chen shouted sternly.

Ashi realized the seriousness of the situation and shouted at the top of his lungs, "Everyone! Be quiet!"

Old Tie, along with several able-bodied men, dragged and pulled the refugees into the tunnel beneath the wooden hut.

Huang Chen's figure flashed, turning into a blur, and headed straight for the center of the formation.

There must be some powerful figure on the Sky-Hunting Flying Ship. The current level of concealment of the Fire-Burning Array might not be able to withstand that kind of unbridled divine sense sweep.

Once discovered, the entire shelter will be blasted to dust by the spirit cannon on the airship.

Huang Chen rushed into a hidden cave and ran wildly down the stone steps.

Deep underground, the core of the earth vein stone was emitting a soft, earthy yellow glow. The low-grade spirit stones piled around it were visibly dimming and turning into powder.

Huang Chen stood beside the array's core and immediately summoned the system panel. He had been pondering and deducing countless ways to strengthen the array, and finally focused his attention on a special auxiliary item. However, the process of forcibly fusing the two sources could easily backfire if not handled carefully. He did not want to take this risky step unless it was a matter of life and death.

But at this moment, the Xuan Tian Sect's Sky-Hunting Flying Boat was already hovering overhead, and there was no time to weigh the pros and cons!

"System, exchange for the [Spirit Fusion Talisman]!"

[Ding! 5000 Karma Points deducted, [Spirit Fusion Talisman] successfully redeemed.]

Accompanied by a faint yet solemn spatial fluctuation, a strange talisman made of neither gold nor wood appeared out of thin air in Huang Chen's hand. The talisman paper had a hazy, dark yellow color, and its surface was densely covered with intricate and eerie dark red runes drawn with the true blood of an unknown demon beast.

It possesses no offensive or defensive power; its only extraordinary effect is its ability to disregard the attribute repulsion of the laws of heaven and earth, acting as an absolute buffer that can forcibly extract, strip away, and perfectly fuse two completely different spiritual energy sources.

At this moment, the surface of the talisman paper shimmered with a strange luster, and the dark red runes seemed to have a life of their own, emitting an ancient and domineering aura, quietly awaiting the impending violent impact.

Huang Chen reached back and touched the storage ring, and a fist-sized, crimson bead fell into his palm.

The moment the demon core appeared, the temperature in the entire underground cave instantly soared.

The air was scorched and distorted, and a violent, bloodthirsty fire-type spiritual power raged against Huang Chen's palm.

A surge of violent blood energy burst forth from his body, forcefully suppressing the restlessness of the demon core. Then, without hesitation, he slapped the Spirit Fusion Talisman onto the Crimson Flame Demon Core.

hum-

The dark red runes instantly came to life, like countless tentacles, tightly binding the demon core.

The raging fire elemental energy was forcibly extracted and tamed by the runes, transforming into an extremely pure torrent of energy.

"go!"

Huang Chen formed hand seals and forcefully pressed the demon core wrapped in runes into the array eye groove above the earth vein stone core.

boom!

The earth's core trembled violently.

The earthy yellow aura collided violently with the crimson demonic power, erupting with a blinding light.

"melt!"

With a low roar from Huang Chen, the Spirit Fusion Talisman unleashed its final burst of light.

The Crimson Flame Demon Core completely melted, turning into a pool of scalding red liquid that seeped into the core of the earth vein stone.

Above ground.

The transparent light curtain covering the entire valley suddenly stopped.

Immediately afterwards, wisps of dark red lines spread out from the ground, quickly covering the entire array barrier.

The originally purely defensive light barrier was instantly stained with a thick layer of blood.

This crimson light barrier no longer repels the poisonous miasma from the outside world; instead, it acts like a sponge, frantically absorbing the surrounding miasma and blood mist.

In just a few breaths, the appearance of the Firework Array underwent a dramatic transformation.

From the outside, the outline of the valley has completely disappeared.

Instead, there was a dark red miasma that was even denser and more turbulent than the surrounding area.

The moment the great formation completed its transformation.

On the Sky-Hunting Flying Boat, a cold, vast, and emotionless divine consciousness, like a sharp sword falling from the heavens, pierced fiercely into the outer perimeter of the Hundred Thousand Mountains.

Like a giant comb, it plows inch by inch across the mountains, rivers, and dense forests below.

All the low-level demonic beasts that were scanned by the divine sense lay on the ground trembling, defecating and urinating indiscriminately.

Inside the underground cave, Huang Chen held his breath, clearly sensing that terrifying divine sense was approaching Blazing Fire Ridge.

Closer, closer.

Divine consciousness, like icy seawater, swept across the sky above the valley.

Huang Chen clenched his fists. If the formation couldn't withstand the attack, he would have no choice but to abandon everything and run away, leaving behind his life.

The divine sense paused for half a second above the dark red poisonous miasma, then swept across the miasma as if it had been thrown into the sea, finding no trace of any array fluctuations, nor capturing any sign of life from the living.

In the perception of divine sense, the area below was merely a dead zone where poisonous gas gathered, where even the most venomous insects could not survive.

The cold divine sense slowly moved away, continuing to scan the depths of the Hundred Thousand Mountains.

The roar high in the sky gradually faded into the distance. The massive hull of the Sky-Hunting Flying Ship crushed the clouds and disappeared into the horizon.

The crimson light on the earth vein stone core gradually stabilized. After being infused with a top-grade demon core, the Firewood Array not only underwent a qualitative change in its concealment ability, but its defensive power also increased several levels.

Stepping out of the cave, the valley was quiet. Most of the tribespeople, who had just experienced a life-or-death ordeal, were still hiding in their simple wooden houses and caves, their shock unsettled.

"grown ups!"

Ah Shi's face showed relief at surviving a disaster.

"What...what was that just now? It was like the sky was falling down," an old man asked, still shaken, his cloudy eyes filled with fear.

Huang Chen shook his head, indicating that they could rest assured.

"It's alright now, we're safe for the time being."

His voice carried a calming power, and upon hearing him say this, Ashi and the other elders visibly breathed a sigh of relief.

Huang Chen looked up at the sky.

After being transformed by the grand formation, the sky above the valley was no longer a transparent defensive shield, but a dark red miasma that blended into the surrounding environment, churning and surging, with no trace of the formation visible.

That airship must have already gone far away. The moment this thought flashed through my mind, a sense of alarm suddenly arose in my heart.

An indescribable chill ran up my spine to the top of my head.

No! That deadly sense of threat not only didn't disappear, but became even sharper, like the fangs of a venomous snake pressed against the back of the heart.

Huang Chen suddenly looked up, his gaze piercing through the layers of miasma, looking towards the sky.

There, above the clouds, a colossal vessel hovered silently.

The Sky-Hunting Flying Ship never left!

It was like an ancient ferocious beast lurking in the sea of ​​clouds, hovering above a cliff a hundred miles away from the shelter, its cold hull gleaming with a metallic gleam.

On the bow deck, Zhao Wuji stood with his hands behind his back, his face ashen, his eyes showing no sign of frustration at his fruitless search, only indifference.

"Scanning with my divine sense, there was no sign of life, not even poisonous insects."

A deacon behind him bowed and said, his tone tinged with a hint of confusion.

"Elder of Punishments, the poisonous miasma in that area seems several times denser than elsewhere. Could there be something strange about it?"

Zhao Wuji did not answer, but slowly raised his right hand, palm facing upward.

An ancient bronze mirror, three feet in diameter, appeared out of thin air and hovered above the palm of the hand. The mirror's surface was as smooth as water, and its edges were engraved with intricate and mysterious patterns of the sun, moon, and stars.

The Heavenly Mirror!

One of the most important artifacts of the Xuantian Sect, it possesses the supreme power to see through illusions and understand the origins of things.

"You think you can fool me with mere miasma?"

Zhao Wuji pointed his fingers like a knife and slashed across the tip of his left finger. A drop of crimson blood tinged with a faint gold slowly seeped from the wound.

This drop of essence blood contained the original power of his cultivation at the Refining Void and Merging Dao stage. As soon as it appeared, the surrounding space rippled.

"go!"

Zhao Wuji flicked his finger, and the drop of essence blood transformed into a bloodline, precisely dripping into the center of the Sky-Gazing Mirror.

boom!

The precious mirror seemed to be infused with boundless energy, instantly bursting forth with a dazzling golden light. A massive golden beam, as thick as a pillar supporting the sky, shot into the heavens, tearing apart the clouds within a hundred miles.

A terrifying pressure, like the sky collapsing, enveloped the entire land.

The golden beam of light paused slightly in the air, then, like an indestructible divine sword, it slashed fiercely down towards the dark red miasma area below!

Inside the valley, Huang Chen's face instantly turned extremely ugly.

"not good!"

Before he finished speaking, the entire valley suddenly trembled.

Stab it--!

A tooth-grinding, scraping sound, as if metal was being forcibly torn apart, came from the edge of the array's light barrier.

The dark red miasma, which had blended seamlessly with the environment, churned and melted violently under the golden light, like snow that had been doused with hot oil.

Beneath the miasma, the true form of the array's light barrier, interwoven with crimson and earthen yellow hues, was fully revealed.

The golden light, like a giant branding iron, pressed down firmly on the light screen, burning out a blinding spot of light.

Countless mysterious array runes flickered wildly around the light spot, their brightness constantly shifting.

"what!"

"What's going on!"

The tribespeople inside the shelter gasped in alarm, the ground beneath their feet trembling violently as if it were about to crumble at any moment.

Ashi's face turned pale, and he instinctively grabbed Huang Chen's sleeve.

"My lord... this... this is..."

Huang Chen didn't look at him; he just stared intently at the sky.

He could clearly feel that the spiritual power of the Firewood Array was being consumed rapidly. The energy within the Earth Vein Stone was pouring out like a flood, struggling to maintain the stability of the light barrier.

This is only from the continuous illumination of the Heavenly Mirror!

Once the enemy locks onto the main body of the formation, the main cannon formation on the Sky-Hunting Flying Ship, capable of leveling mountains, will unleash a thunderous attack.

At that time, let alone this newly transformed formation, even if it were ten times stronger, it would be instantly reduced to ashes.

Passive defense is tantamount to waiting to die!

The thought flashed through Huang Chen's mind.

He took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down.

The Sky-Hunting Flying Boat was a hundred miles away, a distance beyond the range of most of his attack methods.

Should we charge out and fight head-on?

That would be suicidal. Zhao Wuji, a mere cultivator at the Void Refinement and Dao Integration stage, could be annihilated with a single breath.

We must find a way to distract them and prevent them from continuing to scan with the Heavenly Mirror in peace.

Huang Chen's gaze swept around and finally landed on the area outside the valley, where the miasma had been forcibly dispelled by the golden light.

Wherever the golden light passed, neither the centuries-old monsters hiding in tree hollows nor the spirits lurking in mountain streams could escape its sight.

Immediately afterwards, thinner golden beams shot out from the hull of the Sky Hunter Flying Boat, accurately hitting the exposed targets.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

A series of explosions rang out in the distance, and one after another, demonic beasts comparable to those in the Foundation Establishment and Golden Core stages were blasted into charred remains before they could even let out a scream.

Zhao Wuji's purpose was very clear.

He wanted to use this unreasonable method to plow through this area inch by inch, forcing out and crushing everything hidden there.

Seeing this, Huang Chen knew he couldn't just sit and wait to die.

Since the other party wants to clear the area, let's stir things up even more!

Huang Chen turned around and said in a deep voice to A Shi, whose face was ashen.

"Ashi, relay my order: everyone must retreat to the most secure cave and take refuge. No matter what happens, do not come out!"

"My lord, you need..."

Ashi's heart skipped a beat.

"Execute the command!"

Huang Chen's voice was devoid of any emotion.

"yes!"

Ashi dared not ask any more questions, nodded heavily, turned and ran towards the crowd, loudly conveying Huang Chen's orders.

Huang Chen quickly walked back to the underground entrance he had just come out of and went back in without hesitation.

Passive defense is a dead end, but a grand formation is not only for defense!