Chapter 136 - 104: Don’t Fight a Prepared Wizard!

Chapter 136: Chapter 104: Don’t Fight a Prepared Wizard!

She had constructed four Teleportation Arrays, distributing them in different directions. They were spaced far enough apart to ensure that if one was discovered, the others wouldn’t be compromised.

Evelyn followed Chen Shang. Under his guidance, she buried Detonating Runes at the pivot points of the underground Fire Veins in the Fallen Land. These pivot points were located deep underground. There was no need to dig; she only had to use her Spiritual Power to remotely engrave the runes into the energy rifts of the Earth Veins.

Chen Shang’s Eye of True Sight clearly marked the location, size, and energy flow of each pivot point. Evelyn handled the execution, calibrating the energy thresholds of the Detonating Runes to match the natural vibrational frequencies of the pivot points.

In total, they rigged seven pivot points spread in a fan shape around the basin. If detonated simultaneously, they would trigger a massive explosion covering a radius of several miles, temporarily dispersing the dense concentration of Fire Elements within the basin.

Ella left early and returned late every day, roaming the Fallen Land with her teddy bear in her arms. She was collecting Spiritual Power Fragments that had lingered since the ancient battlefield. She stored the fragments one by one into the bear’s stomach, which slowly began to bulge. Its button eyes started to emit a dim purple glow.

On the evening of the fifth day, she returned to the cave and placed the bear on the ground.

The bear opened its mouth, and an ash-white mass—formed by countless entangled fragments of Spiritual Power—floated out. It hovered in the center of the cave, spinning slowly like a tangled ball of yarn.

"Once activated, it’s enough for a single use," Ella said. "But it won’t distinguish friend from foe, and it won’t be able to stall the Lord for too long."

Chen Shang looked at the mass and nodded. "That’s enough."

On the sixth day, it was time to make their move.

Ella moved first. Crouching at the cave entrance, she closed her eyes with the bear resting on her lap. A Spiritual Force Field silently rippled outward, washing over the consciousness of the Low Tier Fire Elemental Spirits on the outskirts of the basin like a wave of water. The bodies of those spirits trembled slightly. They slowly stood up and began walking toward the outer edges of the basin, as if drawn by some unseen force.

The perimeter of the basin emptied significantly. However, the Tier Three Individuals near the Lord remained motionless. Their consciousness was much stronger, and Ella’s Spiritual Force Field wasn’t powerful enough to deceive them. But Chen Shang was satisfied. Removing those Low Tier Elemental Bodies that occasionally woke up was enough to ensure their operation wouldn’t be exposed.

Next, he released a Huowa from his Space Book.

This wasn’t an ordinary model. He had engraved a layer of elemental spirit disguise runes onto the Huowa, altering its energy fluctuations to mimic those of a Low Tier Fire Elemental Spirit. The Huowa darted forward silently. Its pace was measured and its posture natural, perfectly resembling an elemental creature wandering past by chance.

The Lord sniffed the air but didn’t move. The Huowa paused briefly before continuing, bypassing a Tier Three Individual and slipping through the basin’s entrance.

Thirty paces... Twenty paces... Ten paces...

It drew closer and closer to the spot where the sword was embedded.

Suddenly, the Lord opened its eyes. There was no grogginess from recently waking up; instead, its gaze was sharp with a hint of cunning. The flames wreathing its body flickered.

"You wretches, do you take me for one of those brainless idiots? Trying to fool me with such a fake?" Its deep voice caused the entire basin to tremble.

A massive palm slammed down immediately after. The Huowa’s body was smashed into the vitrified ground. Its Rune Circuits snapped, and its disguised flames were extinguished.

Cold sweat slid down Chen Shang’s forehead. It was a good thing they hadn’t followed the original plan to retrieve the sword themselves. While Low Tier Fire Elemental Spirits were undoubtedly mindless, once they reached a certain level, they were bound to develop intelligence.

Ella swiftly released the Spiritual Power mass she had spent five days collecting from the bear’s mouth.

Ash-white light surged from the cave, condensing in the center of the basin into a massive, translucent monster. It was twice the size of the Lord, though its imposing aura was noticeably weaker. The monster unleashed a shriek on the level of Spiritual Power, piercing the Sea of Consciousness of everyone present and leaving them reeling. It lunged at the Lord.

The Lord stood up, its body expanding as deep purple flames surged across its surface. It charged at the mass in retaliation.

"You think this thing is enough to challenge me?"

The mass was instantly torn open by the Lord’s flames, but it quickly knitted itself back together, wrapping its incorporeal arms around the giant elemental. The flames seared the mass, producing a loud HISS.

Ella’s face was as pale as a sheet. "I’m losing control! In a moment, it’s going to attack indiscriminately, unable to tell friend from foe!"

Chen Shang didn’t move. His eyes remained fixed on the spot where the Huowa had been smashed to pieces, a sudden gleam flashing in his gaze.

Then, the flattened Huowa twitched. Even though its body had been pulverized into a mangled, paper-thin husk of debris, its Rune Circuits existed in a decentralized state. Chen Shang had implanted over a dozen independent nodes of Spiritual Wisdom within this specific Huowa, each designed to control different limbs and functions. As long as a single node remained operational, it wasn’t completely dead.

A faint, pale gold light at the very edge of the Huowa’s wreckage began to move sluggishly across the vitrified ground. Hugging the depressions in the earth, it inched its way toward the embedded sword.

The Lord was still entangled with the mass, entirely oblivious to the tiny speck of light on the ground. The Tier Three Individuals didn’t notice it either; their attention was wholly captivated by the dissipating, ash-white monstrosity.

The Huowa’s remains crept up beside the weapon and extended a metallic tentacle as thin as a strand of hair, wrapping it securely around the hilt.

The blade slid smoothly out of the ground. A dual flash of cyan and crimson light illuminated the sword before being promptly masked by the runes on the Huowa.

The sword was teleported away!

The Fire Elemental Lord’s body violently stiffened. It had felt the spatial fluctuation this time. Turning its head, it saw the empty hole left behind by the drawn sword and instantly flew into a blind rage.

"Bastards, you dare play me for a fool!"

Chen Shang chuckled and stepped onto the Teleportation Array. "It seems you aren’t that different from those brainless idiots after all. Farewell!"