Your Formation Seems to Be Made of Sha Qi Too?

Deep in the Myriad Sha Abyss.

Lu Yuan was bound fast by thousands of black-and-red chains.

Every chain was connected to a Sha Vein within the abyss, which supplied it with a constant flow of power.

From afar, the enormous beast, a hundred thousand li long, looked as though it had been completely trapped beneath a black net of heaven.

The vicious beasts in the Sha Sea gradually grew bolder.

They poked their heads out of caves and deep passages.

Pairs of scarlet eyes all settled on Lu Yuan.

They had been hiding everywhere just moments ago.

Now that they saw the Heaven-Locking Sha Formation had successfully suppressed him, they had clearly regained their confidence.

The Taiyi vicious beast king even ventured a little closer.

Clear reverence appeared on its face.

"His Majesty the Beast Emperor has personally made his move."

The Golden Immortal vicious beast beside it said in a low voice, "No matter how formidable that giant beast is, there's no way he can contend with the entire Myriad Sha Abyss."

The Taiyi vicious beast king nodded.

It had great confidence in the Heaven-Locking Sha Formation.

Many years ago, it had seen a Taiyi Peak vicious beast king suppressed by this formation with its own eyes.

That beast had struggled for hundreds of years.

In the end, it had failed to break even a single chain.

Although Lu Yuan's physical body was powerful, the formation could strengthen itself in response to his power.

The stronger he was, the harder it would be to break free.

Lu Yuan naturally noticed this as well.

So he stopped pulling against the chains by force.

Shen Ni, meanwhile, sensed Lu Yuan's condition through the formation.

Seeing that Lu Yuan had finally quieted down, he spoke in a slightly gentler tone.

"This emperor admires your bloodline, and your strength as well."

"Qiongqi already gave you a chance."

"You did not accept."

Lu Yuan listened without interrupting.

Shen Ni continued, "Now this emperor is making the offer personally. As long as you join the Imperial Court, everything that happened in the Myriad Sha Abyss today will be wiped clean."

"This emperor can continue to provide you with the Fierce Sha Qi you want."

"Your status will be second only to this emperor's."

"Even the kings of the Northern Land will have to show you deference."

The terms this time were clearly better than those Qiongqi had offered.

All the vicious beasts inside the Myriad Sha Abyss that could hear Shen Ni's voice were stunned.

The Taiyi vicious beast king jerked its head up.

"Second only to the Beast Emperor?"

Its eyes were filled with obvious disbelief.

What kind of status was that?

True vicious beast giants like Qiongqi and Taowu already held extremely high positions in the Imperial Court.

The treatment Shen Ni was now offering Lu Yuan surpassed that of the vast majority of vicious beast experts.

The Golden Immortal vicious beast beside it could not help letting out a low growl.

"His Majesty actually values him so highly!"

"If he agrees, who in the Northern Land would dare provoke him afterward?"

The looks in the eyes of the vicious beasts all changed.

Envy, shock, and apprehension mingled together.

Inside the Beast Emperor Palace, Qiongqi and the others likewise waited in silence.

They all understood.

Shen Ni had already shown ample sincerity.

If Lu Yuan still refused, the matter would be different.

In the Myriad Sha Abyss, Lu Yuan did give it serious thought.

The terms were quite good.

More lenient than what Qiongqi had described.

Plenty of resources.

High status.

The only problem remained unchanged.

Once he joined, he would have to work.

If Shen Ni really went to conquer the Primordial World in the future, Lu Yuan could not possibly continue eating and sleeping in peace.

Lu Yuan slowly spoke. "The terms are good."

Shen Ni's eyes flickered.

The vicious beasts nearby also pricked up their ears.

Lu Yuan continued, "But I'm still not interested in joining the Imperial Court."

As soon as those words fell, the area around the Sha Sea fell silent.

The Taiyi vicious beast king nearly thought it had misheard.

"He refused again?"

"He even refused terms like those?"

The eyes of the vicious beast beside it widened.

"What on earth does he want?!"

Inside the Beast Emperor Palace, the black-armored giant's face immediately darkened.

"His Majesty has already given him more than enough face."

Qiongqi said nothing.

It had long expected that Lu Yuan might give the same answer again.

It had already questioned him thoroughly last time.

Lu Yuan really had no interest in contending for supremacy over the Primordial World.

After hearing the refusal, Shen Ni did not immediately grow angry either.

"Is your reason still that it's too much trouble?"

Lu Yuan answered frankly, "More or less."

"If I need resources, I can find them myself, even if it takes longer."

"After joining the Imperial Court, I'd have to follow you around and fight everywhere. That kind of life doesn't suit me."

Shen Ni's voice grew deep.

"Do you think you can stay out of it forever?"

"The Primordial World's resources are limited."

"The more experts there are, the fiercer the competition."

"If you want to grow stronger, you will inevitably come into conflict with other living beings."

Lu Yuan agreed with that.

"If someone really stands in my way, I'll fight them then."

Shen Ni fell silent.

Those words sounded casual.

But they did fit the character Lu Yuan had displayed during this time.

He did not seek out conflict.

Nor was he afraid of it.

Shen Ni gradually lost the patience to keep persuading him.

"In that case, this emperor will let you cool your head first."

As his words fell, the Heaven-Locking Sha Formation began to operate in earnest.

Boom!

Thousands of black-and-red chains tightened at once.

A suppressive force far greater than before descended upon Lu Yuan.

A distinct scraping sound even came from the surface of his scales.

The space within the abyss completely solidified.

When Lu Yuan moved even slightly, more Sha Qi poured madly into the chains.

The vicious beasts in the distance immediately grew excited at the sight.

"His Majesty is getting serious!"

"Let's see how he struggles now!"

The Taiyi vicious beast king stared without blinking.

Lu Yuan was also feeling out the structure of the formation.

Pulling against it by force was indeed becoming increasingly difficult.

Space was suppressed as well.

Using his enormous body to smash his way out would be far too inefficient.

However...

Lu Yuan suddenly sensed something familiar.

The power within the chains.

It smelled delicious.

All his attention had been focused on the restraints just now.

Now that he had calmed down, he realized that the core source of power for this so-called Heaven-Locking Sha Formation was still Sha Qi.

He could not eat the formation patterns themselves.

But for the formation patterns to exert their power, they had to keep consuming Sha Qi.

The look in Lu Yuan's eyes gradually changed.

"Shen Ni."

Shen Ni replied through the formation, "Well?"

Lu Yuan looked down at the chains wrapped around him.

"This formation of yours..."

Shen Ni waited for him to continue.

Lu Yuan's tone grew a little strange.

"Seems to be powered by Sha Qi too?"

Inside the Beast Emperor Palace, Qiongqi's expression changed instantly.

The black-armored giant had yet to understand.

"What does he mean?"

The next moment, the image in the water mirror abruptly changed.

Lu Yuan opened his enormous mouth.

Whoosh—!

The familiar, terrifying suction appeared once again!

The dozen or so black-and-red chains closest to him shook violently on the spot.

The fierce Sha power flowing inside the chains was forcibly drawn out.

Streams of black-and-red light left the formation patterns and poured into Lu Yuan's mouth like rivers.

After losing their supply of power, the light on those chains rapidly dimmed.

The ferocious beasts in the distance all stared dumbfounded.

The Taiyi ferocious beast king even took two steps forward.

"What's he doing?"

The voice of the Golden Immortal ferocious beast beside him changed.

"He... he's eating the Heaven-Locking Sha Formation?"

The Taiyi ferocious beast king instinctively retorted, "How do you eat a formation?"

The moment the words left his mouth.

Crack.

The first chain broke.

The Taiyi ferocious beast king's entire face instantly froze.

Right after that.

The second.

The third.

As their energy was drained away, more and more chains began to lose their power.

The pressure on Lu Yuan eased noticeably.

The more he ate, the easier it became.

The energy of the formation had been highly compressed.

Its quality was even higher than that of ordinary Sha liquid.

It actually tasted good.

Inside the Beast Emperor Palace.

The black-armored giant finally realized what was happening.

He abruptly stepped forward.

"He's drained the formation's energy source!"

Qiongqi's eyelids twitched wildly.

He already knew what would happen next.

For the first time, Shen Ni's expression visibly darkened.

He had considered that Lu Yuan might break free by force.

He had considered that Lu Yuan might look for the formation's core.

He had even considered that Lu Yuan might possess some special Divine Ability that could break the formation.

But this guy didn't play by the usual rules at all.

The formation trapped him.

So he ate its energy.

Lu Yuan felt the chains' power growing weaker and weaker.

His mood improved along with it.

"Shen Ni, how about adding a little more?"

The Beast Emperor Palace fell silent.

The black-armored giant's mouth twitched.

Qiongqi simply turned his head away.

Those words really struck a nerve.

Shen Ni's gaze darkened little by little.

"You can eat a lot?"

Lu Yuan didn't sense the change in his mood.

"Not bad."

Shen Ni took a deep breath.

"Fine."

"I, the emperor, will let you eat your fill."