Chapter 304 - 281: Four Symbols and a Sudden Change

Chapter 304: Chapter 281: Four Symbols and a Sudden Change

Chu Mu began to walk, wandering aimlessly down the street.

Though he walked with a start-and-stop pace, seemingly browsing the wares at the surrounding stalls, his attention was actually focused on the pile of Spiritual Materials in his Storage Ring as he formulated his Artifact Refining plan.

While the previous transaction had consumed a large portion of his accumulated Spiritual Materials, it had also served as a form of indirect advertising for his Artifact Refining Skill.

This frontline encampment at Jingmen was clearly not something a mere Marketplace like the one at Water Heaven Workshop could compare to.

There were at least several hundred Foundation Establishment Cultivators stationed at Jingmen, and he had dealt with dozens of them.

Under such circumstances, his channels for acquiring resources had undoubtedly broadened significantly, and the rate at which he accumulated Spiritual Materials would naturally change as well.

To him, the slaughter on the front lines was undoubtedly an excellent opportunity.

As he was lost in thought, the Sound Transmission Order in his pocket suddenly vibrated. Chu Mu listened for a moment, then set off with purpose.

This time, he wasn’t wandering aimlessly, but heading straight for the central grand hall.

Before long, he was back in the grand hall. Besides housing some of the Righteous Alliance’s functional offices for this outpost, the back of the hall contained several Artifact Refining Rooms and Cultivation Quiet Chambers.

With the camp’s recent reconstruction, all the Foundation Establishment Cultivators of the Righteous Alliance stationed here were temporarily residing in this building.

Arriving before the door of a quiet chamber, Chu Mu knocked. When the wooden door opened, a tall, thin, middle-aged man with disheveled hair came into view.

Seeing Chu Mu, the tall, thin man forced a smile and gestured for him to enter the room.

After Chu Mu was seated, the man took out a set of Array Plates from his Storage Talisman and handed them to him.

"Fellow Daoist, this is the Four Symbols Prison Suppression Array you wanted."

The man was somewhat stern, and his words had a cold, detached feel to them.

Chu Mu didn’t mind. He had long heard of this man’s eccentricities.

The man before him was a Foundation Establishment Cultivator from the Righteous Alliance’s Array Hall named Chang Zhen. He was famously reclusive and not good at communicating with others.

But his skills with Arrays were truly impressive.

And this wasn’t something he had heard through the grapevine; he had seen it with his own eyes.

Artifact Refining and Arrays were not separate disciplines.

Strictly speaking, he could be considered half an Array Master, but his knowledge was limited to the Array Prohibition portion and didn’t cover the entire system of Arrays.

Since joining the Artifact Entrance Hall, it was inevitable that he would work with Chang Zhen.

Not long after joining the Artifact Entrance Hall, he had specifically sought out Chang Zhen and asked him to prepare an Array for him, which the man had readily agreed to.

And now, the result...

Chu Mu carefully examined the Four Symbols Formation in his hands. With his understanding of the Array Prohibition System, he could easily discern its quality.

"As you requested, Fellow Daoist, the Array is just a schematic. If you want to inscribe it onto a host, you’ll have to do it yourself."

"With your Artifact Refining Skill, it should be more than easy enough..."

"Also, the Four Symbols Formation is of the Earth Attribute. It must connect to the Earth Veins to unleash its greatest power."

"You’re probably thinking of augmenting a Puppet with this Formation, aren’t you, Fellow Daoist? In that case, it would be best to also inscribe an Array Prohibition on the Puppet to connect to the Earth Veins..."

"Alright. Thank you for your trouble, Fellow Daoist..."

Chu Mu stood up without further pleasantries. After being seen out by Chang Zhen, he left the room, rounded a corner, and walked straight into his own Secluded Meditation Chamber.

The door closed. He sat cross-legged, and with a wave of his hand, four Cyan Wolf Puppets appeared.

Although he had given one Cyan Wolf Puppet to Xu Yuan, he had recently refined a new one to bring the total back to four, corresponding to the Four Symbols Formation.

The idea of augmenting Puppets with an Array to create a combined force had taken root in his mind back in the East Lake Secret Realm, when he saw those Clan Cultivators battling the two-headed giant serpent.

However, since he couldn’t find a suitable Array Master, the idea had been shelved.

But now...

Chu Mu waved his hand, and the Four Symbols Array Prohibition he had commissioned from Chang Zhen floated before him.

The Four Symbols Prison Suppression Formation gathers the Power of the Earth Veins from four directions. If fully prepared, it’s powerful enough to suppress a Tier Two Late Stage opponent!

Of course, an ordinary Tier Two Late Stage opponent, unless it was a Demon Beast without Spiritual Wisdom, wouldn’t be foolish enough to walk right into a Formation. Besides, a Late Stage of Foundation Establishment Cultivator would surely possess extraordinary methods.

But... when inscribed on Puppets, the Formation gained immense flexibility. Even if its Mighty Power was somewhat weakened as a result, in a true battle of life and death, a moment’s opening could be fatal!

He studied the four Cyan Wolf Puppets and the Four Symbols Formation before him.

After a long moment of contemplation, a rough structural outline slowly took shape in his mind.

’Spiritual Radiance!’

He chanted the name in his mind. From the ether, a mysterious power descended, causing his thoughts and wisdom to leap to a higher level. Countless ideas and inspirations swirled through his mind, completing what had been just a rough structural outline at an almost unimaginable speed.

Lost in concentration, he lost all concept of time.

Outside the door, Xie Ning stopped several times and knocked, but with the isolation from the Array Prohibition, the deeply engrossed Chu Mu didn’t notice a thing.

"Fellow Daoist Chu must be in seclusion."

"I saw him go into his room earlier, and he hasn’t come out since..."

"In that case, Ning’Er, leave a sound transmission for Fellow Daoist Chu. We’ll contact him after he comes out of seclusion."

A Foundation Establishment Cultivator from the Artifact Hall said slowly from the side. Xie Ning nodded, left a sound transmission, and then departed with the other Cultivators from the Artifact Hall.

Inside the room, Earth Fire was already roaring forth. Infused with his Great Sun True Flame, the surging Earth Fire burned with an even more intense heat.

Illuminated by the firelight was Chu Mu’s intensely focused face. The modification of the Cyan Wolf Puppets continued, bit by bit.

Four Cyan Wolf Puppets, Four Symbols Prison Suppression, Earth Vein connection...

In the blink of an eye, more than half a month passed.

In that time, the outpost had become fully operational.

Cultivators came and went, and the camp, like a small town, bustled with activity.

Inside the room, the Earth Fire had been extinguished. The four Cyan Wolf Puppets stood in the formation of the Four Symbols. Under his Divine Sense Perception, the Mighty Power of the Four Symbols Formation was already faintly discernible.

’It can completely suppress an opponent in the Early Stage of Foundation Establishment, and maybe even the Middle Stage. Against the Late Stage of Foundation Establishment, as long as they don’t have any powerful trump cards, it can suppress and restrain them for a period of time...’

Sensing the combined Mighty Power of the four Cyan Wolf Puppets under the Four Symbols Formation, Chu Mu silently made his assessment, simultaneously envisioning how to use these four Puppets in battle.

’Perhaps I can enhance the self-destruct effect?’

Staring at the four Cyan Wolf Puppets, Chu Mu was lost in thought.

’If it comes to a desperate situation, I could have the Cyan Wolf Puppets form the Four Symbols Formation to trap a powerful enemy, then use the Four Symbols as the core to detonate the Puppets directly...’

’The power of such a self-detonation would be several tiers higher than that of a simple Puppet’s explosion!’

’Trap the enemy, self-destruct, and annihilate them completely!’

’And I could also add...’

Just a little brainstorming brought forth an unstoppable stream of ideas, and Chu Mu quickly suppressed them.

’Too many tempting ideas, but none of them are very realistic.’

The reason was simple: the cost was too high. It wasn’t worth it.

After all, a Puppet’s potential Mighty Power was largely fixed at the moment of its creation.

Any subsequent modifications were just building on its existing foundation; it was extremely difficult to achieve a qualitative transformation.

’Too many modifications, and it would be better to just refine a new, higher-level Puppet.’

With a wave of his hand, he put the four Puppets into his Storage Ring. Then, the door that had been shut for more than half a month finally opened.

When the Sound Transmission Order chimed, Chu Mu finally snapped out of it.

He frowned but didn’t worry too much. His relationship with the Artifact Hall was merely one of employment. There was no Monthly Stipend; he simply earned contribution points based on the amount of work he did.

Compared to before his seclusion, the once-empty grand hall was now clearly much more lively.

Over the past half-month, the Righteous Alliance had evidently re-established its full range of functions in the camp.

Cultivators moved in an endless stream through the hall, and without exception, they all wore the black and white Magic Robes of the Righteous Alliance.

As soon as he stepped out of his room, a Foundation Establishment Cultivator stationed at the camp came to greet him. After a bit of small talk, Chu Mu was escorted out of the central grand hall by this Cultivator.

Just outside the hall, Chu Mu seemed to think of something. He stopped, and with a swipe of his hand, the Blood Killing Order appeared in his palm.

Three messages, like sound transmissions, were stored inside the Blood Killing Order.

He didn’t have many dealings with the Blood Killing Pavilion.

The only one was the recent bounty.

The bounty on Zhao Hong’s friends and family.

Three messages meant that three bounties had been completed. It meant that three of Zhao Hong’s friends or relatives had been killed by someone who then claimed the reward.

’Three...’

Chu Mu pursed his lips and looked toward the Longevity Sect’s main camp, his expression contemplative.

’My troubles are not small.’

Ever since the incident with Zhao Hong, the Longevity Sect’s wanted bounty on him had steadily increased, becoming quite tempting.

If not for his status as an Artifact Refiner, which allowed him to stay long-term in a heavily guarded, safe area despite being on the front lines...

...he would never be as secure as he was now.

’People’s hearts are unpredictable. There will always be stubborn fools.’

’Besides, Zhao Hong’s friends and family aren’t without their own Foundation Establishment Cultivators...’

’Should I stay here a while longer and then return to Water Heaven Workshop, or... should I just go to the rear and find a peaceful place?’

Chu Mu mulled it over. To him, while the front lines were good, they were ultimately a place of conflict and trouble.

And... most importantly, he could use his Artifact Refining Skill to gather resources and wealth. He didn’t need to risk his life for the Righteous Alliance to earn resources like other ordinary Foundation Establishment Cultivators.

The only difference between the front lines and the rear was the abundance of resources.

As he contemplated this, his Divine Sense delved into his Storage Ring, taking stock of his accumulated assets.

BOOM!

Just as he was lost in deep thought, a sudden explosion roared. The blast shook the heavens and the earth, and in that instant, a violent wave of Spiritual Qi swept out like a tempest.

Chu Mu’s body tensed instinctively, and his gaze instantly locked onto the direction of the explosion.

In the sky, as if the heavens themselves were ablaze, a light shield wreathed in flames was trembling violently. It had clearly been struck by some powerful attack!

He was naturally familiar with the camp’s structure.

All of the outpost’s defenses and attacks were built around the Earth Vein Fire Qi beneath the camp.

This Guardian Array was no exception.

It was a Tier Two Upper Grade Earth Fire Formation constructed with the Earth Vein Fire Qi as its source.

It was strong enough to withstand most attacks below the Golden Core Realm, and with a limitless supply of Earth Fire, there was no need to worry about it being worn down by repeated assaults.

As long as it was properly maintained, unless it was broken in an instant by a force exceeding Tier Two, it would be impossible to wear it down through attrition.

’But this attack... seems to have exceeded the Grand Array’s tolerance... limit?’

Through the roaring flames, several pristine white Flying Boats could be seen hovering in the sky. Their cannon muzzles were brazenly unleashing a fiery barrage upon the camp.

The explosions were incessant, and the Grand Array shuddered.

The pristine white Flying Boats made the identity of the attackers unmistakably clear.

The Longevity Sect revered the color white.

Magic Robes, Flying Boats... all their equipment, for the most part, was pure, immaculate white.

From the central grand hall, several beams of light shot into the sky. Clearly, the Righteous Alliance’s Foundation Establishment Cultivators stationed here had already reacted.

On the streets below, calm instantly turned to chaos!

Faced with this sudden assault, the entire camp seemed to be spiraling out of control...

...