Chapter 390 - 23: Nine Heavens Responding Element Thunder Sound Universal Transformation Celestial Venerable
Fang Cheng walked out of Lingyan Mansion and gazed at the shimmering wards of the City Defense Array above the Demon City, a little lost in thought.
Ling Yan had a cold personality and was usually a woman of few words, but when she was introducing the Feather Divine Soldier to him just now, she spoke with eloquence, focus, and detail.
Fang Cheng used to think she was indifferent to everything in the world, but this time, he sensed a fervent passion in her for the Feather Divine Soldiers.
This woman... she craved strength.
More than anyone else in the Xuanyu Realm.
Fang Cheng withdrew his gaze and smiled faintly to himself.
’Then again, who didn’t?’
In his eyes, Ling Yan was just a passing figure—stunningly beautiful with decent cultivation talent, but nothing more. At his current Cultivation Realm, he no longer had the inclination to ponder the secrets deep within a woman’s heart.
In fact, he had already gained more than enough from his trip to the Xuanyu Realm.
The Resentment Demon Bead had accumulated a massive amount of Spiritual Power, enough for him to refine for a while and break through to the Mid-Life Soul Stage.
Coupled with the Tier Four Feather Divine Soldier, numerous Celestial Demon Relics, and various Demonic Magical Artifacts, this trip could be considered a massive haul.
It wouldn’t be out of the question to leave now.
However, he had just obtained the Feather Divine Soldier and still needed to collect more Tier Four Celestial Demon Relics to sustain the treasure’s consumption.
...
On an ancient icefield blanketed in ten-thousand-zhang-thick profound ice.
Snow fell thick and fast, and the world between heaven and earth was a vast expanse of white.
BOOM!
BOOM!
BOOM!
A violent tremor ran through the ground.
Through the heavy snow, a giant, eight-headed Celestial Demon slowly approached.
It had the body of a lion and the heads of flood dragons, was a hundred zhang long, and every step it took made a tremendous sound.
The Celestial Demon’s eight heads swayed from side to side, sixteen sinister gazes sweeping back and forth as an astonishing aura emanated from its body.
It was at the Tier Four realm!
The Eight-Headed Celestial Demon seemed to be patrolling the icefield. One of its cyan flood dragon heads turned toward the boundless snowstorm, and its sharp gaze suddenly froze.
ROAR!
The eight-headed monster threw its heads back and roared. From its eight cavernous mouths, it suddenly spewed eight immense bolts of cyan lightning.
The eight lightning bolts converged in the sky, then abruptly changed direction, striking down into the swirling snow.
BOOM!
The cyan thunderbolt seemed to hit something and abruptly disintegrated, spreading out in all directions.
Between heaven and earth, a colossal figure stood proudly, its silhouette partially revealed.
The Eight-Headed Celestial Demon’s sinister gaze fell upon this colossal figure, and a surprisingly human-like flicker of fear crossed its eyes.
A Feather Divine Soldier!
It had a phoenix’s beak and silver fangs, crimson hair and a blue body. Wings grew from under its arms, its eyes blazed with fire, and its hands and feet were all dragon claws.
Its indigo Profound Iron Body was clad in simple yet majestic golden armor covered in dense Profound Patterns that flowed with divine light. The twin wings on its back, like a thousand sharp swords, slowly unfurled.
Seeing this, a cold glint flashed in the Eight-Headed Celestial Demon’s eyes, and it charged fiercely toward the Feather Divine Soldier.
Its enormous body trampled the earth as its eight flood dragon heads suddenly shot out, scrambling over each other to bite at the Feather Divine Soldier.
The Feather Divine Soldier flapped its wings and shot into the sky, erupting with a heaven-shaking Thunder Light that instantly drained the color from the sky!
The Thunder Light exploded mid-air, and a hundred-mu-wide sea of thunder materialized in the sky.
The towering figures of twelve Immortal Capital Thunder Gods, coalescing from endless Thunder Light, slowly rose from the sea of thunder.
The Feather Divine Soldier swiped its claws downward!
In the sky, the twelve Immortal Capital Thunder Gods merged into one, forming a thousand-zhang-tall Thunder Giant that viciously clawed down at the Eight-Headed Celestial Demon.
The Thunder Light was like a tribulation—inescapable!
The Eight-Headed Celestial Demon abruptly looked up to meet the attack, firing cyan thunderbolts from its mouths that collided with the massive hand of Thunder Light in a mid-air explosion.
BOOM!
A violent explosion echoed through the sky.
Across the high heavens, invisible ripples spread out, and the raging blizzard instantly vanished, revealing the vast, boundless icefield and the churning, crimson demonic clouds.
Within the blinding Thunder Light, the Eight-Headed Celestial Demon’s cyan thunder was viciously scattered. A waterfall of ten thousand Thunderous Sword Auras slashed down, and a tide of cyan thunder-fire exploded across the icefield, instantly covering an area of a hundred baili.
Within the cyan thunder-fire, Demonic Light surged. Violent fluctuations rolled out, and the world trembled without end.
「A moment later.」
The Feather Divine Soldier was thrown backward, covered in pervasive Thunder Light, and landed on one knee upon the icefield.
Opposite it, amidst the thunder-fire, the Eight-Headed Celestial Demon’s body was covered in dense Sword Marks. Five of its eight heads had been severed, and its remaining three heads stared fearfully at the Feather Divine Soldier as it slowly retreated.
Within the Ancestral Acupoint at the brow of the Feather Divine Soldier, Fang Cheng sat, a feeling of exhilaration washing over him.
Piloting the Feather Divine Soldier in battle was no different from fighting himself. The flow of qi and the feedback during the fight were all clearly transmitted to him.
For him, this was an unprecedented experience of power.
He could battle a Tier Four Celestial Demon without having to rely on his Dream Spirit Incarnation!
From now on, the combination of his Dream Spirit Incarnation and the Tier Five Flying Sword could be his trump card, to be kept hidden unless absolutely necessary.
At this moment, his mind stirred.
Behind the colossal Feather Divine Soldier, the nineteen snowflake-shaped Spirit Flame vents flared with brilliant light. The Thunder Light on its wings surged, blanketing the sky.
What followed was an endless, overlapping torrent of sharp Thunderous Sword Auras!
The sword light was inhumanly fast and incomparably sharp. Seeing no way to escape, the Eight-Headed Celestial Demon’s savage nature was provoked. Its body erupted with lightning that shot to the heavens as it charged viciously into the endless Sword Auras.
The two battled for over a hundred more rounds before Fang Cheng finally seized an opportunity, a blinding sword light flashing three times in quick succession!
The Eight-Headed Celestial Demon’s three remaining heads were all severed!
BOOM!
The Celestial Demon’s massive body crashed to the ground, sending up a cloud of ice dust.
Fang Cheng piloted the Feather Divine Soldier over to the Celestial Demon, dug out its Celestial Demon Relic, and then collected its corpse before departing at a leisurely pace.
...
「Three months later.」
Fang Cheng had completely mastered this Feather Divine Soldier, named "Marshal Deng of the Fire Law Order."
He had also gained a much deeper understanding of the Feather Divine Soldiers.
Compared to the Mechanical Battle Armor of the Red Flame Immortal Palace, the Feather Divine Soldiers of the Xuanyu Realm were undoubtedly a level above.
Leaving aside their complex and profound construction, their Profound Iron Body, Thunder Pool Magical Power, and Profound City Talisman Soul—all comparable to a Dharma Cultivator—were enough to leave the many sects of the Red Profound Realm’s East Cyan Domain far behind.
This was especially true of the "Supreme Nine Heavens Jade Pure Great Brahman Purple Star Xuan Du Jade Talisman" hidden within the Feather Divine Soldier. The more Fang Cheng studied it, the more unfathomable he found it to be.
Although it was only a Fourth-rank Talisman, the Dao Foundation it contained was in no way inferior to the Tribulation Realm legacies he had witnessed!
This Fourth-rank Talisman acted as the Feather Divine Soldier’s "divine soul," controlling the massive and berserk Profound Iron Immortal Gold Giant Puppet and unleashing combat power in no way inferior to a Dharma Cultivator.
Piloting the Feather Divine Soldier was, in reality, piloting this Fourth-rank Talisman!
As for the fierce pressure erupting from the Thunder Pool within the Feather Divine Soldier, it became insignificant after he completely refined the Mystic City Jade Talisman.
In other words, as long as he had enough Celestial Demon Relics, Fang Cheng could pilot this Feather Divine Soldier and fight endlessly.
「On this day.」
Fang Cheng was piloting the Feather Divine Soldier through a dense Demon Tide, indiscriminately slaughtering the Low-Tier Celestial Demons before him.
Ling Yan’s Talisman Decree slowly lit up, and a few words materialized upon it.
"Trouble at the City Lord’s Mansion. Return at once."
Fang Cheng had no choice but to stop hunting Celestial Demons. The Feather Divine Soldier flapped its wings, transformed into a blinding streak of Thunder Light that tore across the sky, and vanished.
*
*
*
「Profound Celestial Demon City.」
「City Lord’s Mansion.」
Fang Cheng entered the City Lord’s Mansion and was led by a Spirit Servant to the main hall.
The person waiting for him in the hall was not Madam Qi, but Ling Yan.
Ling Yan’s gaze fell upon him. "Have you gotten used to it?" she asked.
Fang Cheng nodded.
Ling Yan said, "The Madam is two steps away from completing the Tier Five Feather Divine Soldier. The first is opening the Thunder Pool, and the second is refining the Mystic City Jade Talisman. We will need your assistance to activate the Profound City Five Spirits Grand Array to refine this treasure."
Fang Cheng replied in a deep voice, "It is my great fortune to be able to participate in such a grand event. I must thank Spirit Friend Ling for this opportunity."
Ling Yan nodded lightly, her voice cool as she said, "When the time comes, you will preside over the Dou Shu Array Hub."
As she spoke, she took out a jade tablet. With a surge of Magical Power, a dim yellow Profound Light spread out.
The space in the hall rippled like water, and the surroundings blurred.
Fang Cheng stood perfectly still, sensing the profound and astonishing spatial fluctuations, a faint guess forming in his mind.
’The Mysterious Secret Realm!’
A short time later, the rippling, water-like space before them settled. He and Ling Yan were now standing in a strange Secret Realm.
In the sky was a great sun made of golden runes.
In the distance was a mountain-sized Jade Toad. A magnificent waterfall gushed from the toad’s mouth, forming a great, surging river that meandered downward.
Within the great river were two islands. One was covered with a dense cluster of palaces.
The other island was scenic, with green mountains and clear waters, and had no buildings at all.
Fang Cheng and Ling Yan had appeared on the second island.
He looked out from the island and saw the great river surging. A mysterious power seemed to be churning restlessly within the water, making one’s heart palpitate and not dare to act rashly.
"The entrance to the other island is in Xuanchen Palace. The flow of time here is three times faster than in the outside world... As for how this Secret Realm was formed, that remains an unsolved mystery."
Ling Yan said softly, her words carrying a hint that Fang Cheng should focus his mind.
Fang Cheng looked toward the center of the island, where a great Thunder Array was clearly visible.
In the center of the Grand Array stood a Feather Divine Soldier that was three hundred zhang tall.
It had the majestic image of a Daoist, like a Divine Spirit who commanded the thunder between heaven and earth, the sovereign of a billion lightning bolts.
Its two sleeves were enormous, trailing down like clouds obscuring the sky. Before it, Fang Cheng’s Feather Divine Soldier looked like a mere child.
The Tier Five Feather Divine Soldier, Nine Heavens Responding Element Thunder Sound Universal Transformation Celestial Venerable.
Within the Thunder Array, there were already three vast and majestic auras.
Madam Qi was there, of course; Fang Cheng recognized the graceful and charming beautiful woman at a glance.
Beside her was a terrifying old man whose aura was no weaker than Madam Qi’s.
He had white hair and wrinkled skin, his face weathered by time. A pair of grayish-white wings grew from his back, and his eyes, bright and sharp, were quietly sizing up Fang Cheng.
’A member of the Feather Race... a Dharma Master!’
Fang Cheng’s heart stirred.
The last person was the incomparably handsome youth, Lingyi, dressed in white robes and wearing a jade crown.
Fang Cheng had seen him before, back when he had followed Ling Yan during the assault on the Black Jade Demon City. Lingyi was one of the three masters in Profound Celestial Demon City who piloted a Tier Four Feather Divine Soldier.
Fang Cheng stepped forward to greet the three of them. Afterward, Madam Qi pointed to an array hub in the Grand Array and said, "Fangcheng, you will preside over the Five Thunders Array Hub!"
Fang Cheng accepted the command and departed, then summoned his Feather Divine Soldier and stepped into a hub at the edge of the Thunder Array.
Instantly, a torrent of endless Thunder Power surged into the Thunder Pool in the Feather Divine Soldier’s chest, and the nineteen snowflake-shaped Spirit Flame vents on its back flared with brilliant light.
This Profound City Five Spirits Grand Array had five major array hubs: Taiyi, Yushu, Five Thunders, Dou Shu, and Shi Yang.
Now, with five Cultivators possessing Dharma Level abilities each entering one of the five major array hubs, the Grand Array instantly erupted with a world-shaking momentum.
On the chest of the Celestial Venerable-level Feather Divine Soldier in the center of the Grand Array, a thunder vortex slowly appeared, and a heart-pounding fluctuation of thunder power began to emanate from it.
...