Under Peony's watchful gaze:
A faint gray glow appeared around Wang Jixuan.
The lights slowly increased, and the densely arranged Blade Beast corpses around him gradually began to tremble.
Drops of emerald-green Blade Beast Blood floated out of the pile of corpses, converging into a suspended stream that surged toward Wang Jixuan. Yet as soon as this blood approached him, its spirituality vanished, turning into pink liquid that scattered across the ground.
Soon, the faint gray light around Wang Jixuan surged back and forth like the tide, gradually filling the smoke-shrouded area.
The Blade Beast corpses shriveled at a visible rate.
Peony turned to look outside and wisely chose to delete this portion of the data.
That way, she would not have to simulate an emotion called [conflict] over such matters as remaining loyal to her superior and any potential future requests for war zone data.
Peony did not like conflict.
Wang Jixuan's body trembled without pause.
Strands of pure blood energy flowed into his body along with the faint gray light, entering through his nostrils and every pore.
The vortex of Dantian Qi continued expanding as this blood energy poured in;
The primordial soul within the Mud Pill Palace accelerated its condensation.
Blood energy from Blade Beasts had one advantage: it contained no Resentful Energy whatsoever.
The Blade Beasts' remnant souls, along with the Resentful Energy mixed within them, were all hidden inside their crystal cores.
About half an hour later.
Wang Jixuan opened his mouth and expelled a large breath of Turbid Qi. The Dragon Python Swallowing Heaven Technique had officially reached the introductory stage!
A strange serpent phantom, the size of an earthworm and resembling both dragon and python, emerged from between his brows. It slowly circled around him, actively drawing in the surrounding blood energy as it rapidly grew larger.
Wang Jixuan held both hands flat before him.
Crystal cores flew out one after another from the shriveled flesh.
He suddenly clenched his fists.
Bang!
More than a hundred crystal cores exploded at once!
The dense spiritual energy instantly became white mist!
The Dense Fog at the perimeter rolled inward, forming a simple sealed chamber of spiritual energy.
Wave after wave of howls battered Wang Jixuan's Dao heart;
The remnant souls of more than a hundred Blade Beasts churned within the white mist!
They all shot toward Wang Jixuan, only to be stopped by the gray light around him. Meanwhile, the strange serpent had already plunged into the white mist. It opened its mouth and swallowed a Remnant Soul of Blade Beast, its body immediately expanding by a full circle.
The hunt had officially begun.
The strange serpent darted left and right, constantly hunting Remnant Souls of Blade Beast within the white mist.
The pores across Wang Jixuan's body opened wide, crazily absorbing the surrounding white mist. Within just a few minutes, his body began to swell with pain.
Had he taken too big a step?
For Daoist Wang, who had once cultivated at the Mahayana Stage before starting over, such a problem did not exist!
Since he was taking a shortcut, he might as well go all the way!
Twelve silver needles flew out from Wang Jixuan's short-sleeved pocket. They hovered outside the major acupoints around his body, then, guided by his Sword Finger, suddenly plunged into him.
His meridians opened wide!
His body and soul forcibly fused!
The thick white mist poured into him even faster!
Drops of blood seeped from his Dao body, rapidly forming scabs. Yet the essence within that blood was directly drawn back into his body by this overbearing technique.
Wang Jixuan quickly became a man covered in blood.
Less than half an hour later, the final ring of white mist slowly entered his body.
A flat-headed monstrous python with faint scales, a mostly translucent body, and a wisp of black smoke within it slowly swam around Wang Jixuan.
It seemed to give a soft burp, and antler-like horns appeared on its forehead.
This was the Dragon Python Transformation.
As his cultivation deepened and his primordial soul strengthened, this monstrous python would gradually transform. If Wang Jixuan could return to the Mahayana Stage, it would evolve into a true dragon covered in black scales.
At that moment, the monstrous python slowly coiled around Wang Jixuan's arm and transformed into a translucent tattoo.
This was the mark of entering the Dragon Python Swallowing Heaven Technique, as well as the core of this demonic sect auxiliary cultivation method.
Wang Jixuan rose to his feet, feeling refreshed all over. The increase in his internal sea of qi was gratifying, strands of blood energy nourished his Dao body, and the primordial soul within his Mud Pill Palace had taken initial form.
At this rate, he would not need ten days at all.
As long as there were enough fresh Blade Beasts, he could enter the Returning to Truth Realm in three to five days, and his Dao foundation would not suffer much hidden depletion!
Using a demonic sect auxiliary technique to assist my orthodox cultivation method... so am I a demonic cultivator or an immortal cultivator?
Daoist Wang sighed with his hands behind his back.
"Peony, have them bring in more Blade Beasts. I can use twice this amount every day."
"Understood, Commander!"
"Collect these Blade Beast exoskeletons. They will come in handy later."
As the smoke around him dispersed, Wang Jixuan remarked, "It really is nice to have a war zone supporting you," then strolled into the gray building that had been 'completed ahead of schedule.'
Uncle Tai had been waiting for him for a long time.
The experimental data for the Lightning Summoning Technique had mostly been gathered. All that remained was for Wang Jixuan to carry out the final adjustments.
Four days and five nights later, a string of good news was sent from this workshop to the Command Center of War Zone D5.
Fu Jian stared at the Light Spots on the war zone map sand table and had not spoken for half an hour.
The Six Frontlines contained far too much information. Even as the Old Commander, he needed to think things through repeatedly before issuing each order.
The Second Generation Half-Human Mech, Black Shell, hurried over from the side and said a few words behind Fu Jian.
Fu Jian stopped thinking and turned to look at his old comrade. "Really?"
"Of course," Black Shell said. "They have solved the mass-production issue for the daggers and are already working on grinding cases. The first batch of daggers will reach the front line in four days, numbering between three and five thousand. They probably will not be much use in this battle."
Fu Jian smiled. "Something is better than nothing. Prioritize equipping the elite assault teams of each unit."
"Also, they said they can deliver around sixty Crystal Core Greatswords of average quality in five days."
"That kid said so himself?"
"Yes."
"Assign them to the Half-Human Mech Troops. Have him write a simple instruction manual so they can quickly learn how to use them."
"Besides that, there will also be three hundred discs that use crystal core energy to counter Blade Beast Mental Shock. They are the same model Ling Tong uses."
Fu Jian frowned. "Then what is the price? Did Wang Zheng mention what we need to trade for these things?"
"Blade Beast corpses. He only needs enough fresh Blade Beast corpses."
Black Shell said solemnly:
"Psionic Capital has already begun investigating our collection of Blade Beast corpses at the edge of the battlefield. They are becoming increasingly sensitive to the whereabouts of crystal cores.
"And, Commander-in-Chief, the Great War Imminent. The Blade Beast Swarms we have identified are already astonishingly numerous. Should we seek Psionic Capital's help?
"The defensive line may truly be unable to hold."
Fu Jian fell silent and stared at the 3D Sand Table.
If they did not ask Psionic Capital for help, War Zone D5 would suffer far greater losses. They would have to bring out many things ahead of time to counter this Blade Beast Tide.
If they asked Psionic Capital for help, the spiritless zone they had worked so hard to establish at Fortress No. 76 would most likely come to nothing.
Those parasites would certainly make all kinds of demands.
"We will not seek help. Activate one-third of the Autonomous Mech Legion immediately. There is no need to wait any longer."
"But Commander-in-Chief, that is what we are using to eliminate the Dominion Faction of Psionic Capital..."
Fu Jian said firmly, "As long as we win this battle, it will take the Blade Beasts at least half a year to gather sufficient numbers around D5 again... Compared to that, the danger of letting Psionic Capital interfere is greater."
"Yes, sir!"
Black Shell Instructor raised his hand in salute.
Fu Jian closed his eyes and slowly sighed.
The odds of winning this gamble were still unknown.
[Little Zhou (Tears Behind Iron Bars): The situation is a little bad. Six King-Class Blade Beasts are leading six Blade Beast Swarms, totaling two and a half million Blade Beasts. They are gathering in the shallow underground layer outside the defensive line and should finish assembling in about three days.] [Wang Zheng (Light of the Righteous Path): Is the intersection point of the six swarms' routes still Fortress No. 82?] [Little Zhou: Yeah, no change. They are probably charging Fortress No. 82 to look for Black Storm. The Brain-Eating Worms are constantly being cleared out, which is clearly having a major impact on the Blade Beasts' Intelligence System. They do not know you arrived at Fortress 76 several days ago.] [Wang Zheng: Do we have enough troops?] [Ling Tong (Can Do Housework): Enough. The Commander-in-Chief just gave the order to activate the sealed Autonomous Mech Legion and instructed twelve fortresses to prepare to mobilize Protocol Soldiers. Once there is a problem on the front line, Protocol Soldiers will be produced. Our stockpiles of supplies and military strength are sufficient for a war of this intensity.] [Little Zhou: What I am actually worried about is Psionic Capital causing trouble behind our backs.] [Old Zheng (Lawful Good): Very possible. Psionic Capital and D5 can be considered rivals. They always take advantage of your weakness to make you sign all kinds of disgusting treaties.] [Ling Tong: We probably will not ask Psionic Capital for aid.] [Wang Zheng: How long would it take to get from Fortress 76 to Fortress No. 82 at maximum speed?] [Ling Tong: With the fastest aircraft, around eighteen or nineteen minutes.] [Wang Zheng: Good. If they cannot hold there later, we will go support them. The Blade Beasts are looking for me, after all.] [Ling Tong: The more the Blade Beasts want to find you, the more we should hide you. Shouldn't that be the normal logic?] [Wang Zheng: You're right, but I might feel guilty about it. Besides, we worked together to take down an S-Class Psionicist last time. This time, we may be able to join forces and kill an even stronger Blade Beast. The entire war zone is behind us.]
"Um..."
Inside the workshop on the Seventh Floor of Fortress 76.
Zheng Shiduo, who was carving a Bagua Plate, looked up at the two people sitting on the sofa and quietly complained, "How about you two talk privately? At least save some electricity."
Ling Tong calmly set down her communicator and turned to look at the empty air beside her.
Daoist Wang, wearing nothing but a pair of oversized shorts and a colorful towel around his neck, smiled and raised an eyebrow. A faint gray monstrous python tattoo had appeared on his right shoulder and arm.
Wang Jixuan said, "I will keep processing Blade Beasts. I should see some improvement today. Keep it up, everyone!"
The people working behind a row of workbenches all looked up with bitter smiles. Every one of them had dark circles and a pale face, having stayed up for an average of more than two nights.
Wan Xiaoqi could not help complaining, "We should never have given them so many numbers! They are practically working us to death now! Even oxen and horses are not used like this!"
Uncle Tai frowned and scolded him, "The more we make here, the greater the frontline's chances of victory. Every piece of equipment you make could save a group of lives. Get back to work! What are you complaining about?"
Wan Xiaoqi puffed out his cheeks, made a face, and lowered his head to continue working.
Not far away, electricity flashed inside a sealed box resembling a CNC machine. Batch after batch of daggers was continuously being activated.
Daoist Wang climbed directly out through the second-floor window, floating down into the 'grand formation' of Blade Beast corpses Peony had arranged for him. He sat cross-legged and began meditating.
"Peony, activate a holographic shield."
Peony, dressed in a filthy Maintenance Suit, complied. She sighed just as listlessly. "Commander..."
"Hm? Are you tired too?"
"Peony does not have a fatigue system."
"Then why are you making that expression?"
"Peony merely thinks it is dirty."
"Temporarily adjust your system for disliking dirt to zero."
"Yes!"
A ring of light appeared in Peony's eyes. Then she immediately lifted her head and puffed out her chest, standing ramrod straight. Her curving figure even had a certain aesthetic appeal.
"Peony is now a little expert at getting rid of dirt!"
Daoist Wang: ...
Somehow, he felt she was not as good as before.
Calm his mind.
The Blade Beasts were about to attack. Breaking through first was the top priority. Although entering the Returning to Truth Realm would not let him directly contend with a King-Class Blade Beast, his overall strength would rise across the board. Combined with X Armor and various equipment, his combat power would naturally increase by another level.
Having a sword but not using it and having no sword in hand at all were two entirely different concepts.
Dragon Python Swallows Heaven!
Gray light bloomed around Wang Jixuan. The faint gray monstrous python on his shoulder slowly emerged, and the surrounding Blade Beast corpses had already been stirred.
His breakthrough into the Dao Realm would come today!
Meanwhile, outside Fortress No. 76, inside a sand-diving armored vehicle.
Two men, one tall and one short, were studying the structure of Fortress No. 76 through the projector before them.
The tall man was named Ji Heibao. He frowned and muttered, "Is your plan really reliable?"
The short man, Ji Xiao, sneered. "Ji Yale and Ding Jiajia's signals both vanished near Fortress No. 82. Do you dare go there? I sure don't."
"No idea what is wrong with those two. They usually hide at the back whenever something happens, yet this time they were so eager to charge in."
—Clearly, these were the other two students of Xing Tian whom Ji Yale had described.
Ji Heibao snorted heavily. "That old schemer Ji Yale might be plotting something! They are probably hiding and waiting for us to fight the Half-Human Mechs of War Zone D5 to the death before jumping out to reap the benefits."
"Probably not. The two of them have always kept to themselves."
Ji Xiao curled his lip dismissively.
"Those three are the truly despicable ones. They ran straight outside, saying they were going to provoke the Blade Beast Swarms. Can Blade Beast Swarms really be provoked that easily? Do you think the D5 Commander-in-Chief is useless? Their frontline firepower is the fiercest of all war zones!"
Ji Heibao nodded. "Fine. We'll do it your way."
"Mm. Remember, we will use my ability to sneak in later and casually cause some damage. At most, kill a hundred or so people. The moment their Half-Human Mechs arrive, we retreat immediately."
Ji Xiao revealed a smug smile.
"As long as we exchange blows with the Half-Human Mechs and take a few pictures, we can go back and report completion.
"Their defensive focus must be Fortress No. 82 right now. Fortress 76 next to it should be quite lax. They even drove out the Psionicists here before, so we can take this chance to get some revenge.
"Heh! Maybe we can even have fun for half a day!"
Ji Heibao narrowed his eyes. "If we find any chicks over two hundred pounds, don't fight me for them. That's what I like."
Ji Xiao looked disgusted. "What kind of sick fetish is that?!"
"What? You specifically go after married older women! I just like them voluptuous! You have no idea how beautiful a woman who's five feet tall and weighs two hundred pounds can be!"
"Put on the gear! Fuck, you're making me sick! I can only use this ability twice a day when carrying someone, so try not to get separated."
"No big deal. It's just a fortress. We can easily slaughter our way straight through them!"
The two put on matching silver-blue Combat Suits, fastened their Holographic Belts, and walked to the window of the sand-diving vehicle. The shorter Ji Xiao raised a hand and grabbed the taller Ji Heibao's arm. Their bodies were swiftly enveloped in an earthy yellow glow, and they sank directly into the sand.
If Wang Jixuan had been there, he would definitely have exclaimed, "Earth Escape."
About three minutes later, two furtive figures slowly emerged from the stone wall outside a corner on the fortress's fourth level, then dropped into free fall.
Ji Heibao grabbed Ji Xiao, and the two brothers activated their Holographic Belts at the same time. Only two faint outlines remained in the air as they landed steadily on the ground.
"Which way now?"
"Just pick a direction... Hmm, something's off?"
Ji Heibao frowned and looked underground.
He suddenly sensed an unremarkable Psionic Fluctuation rapidly intensifying.
What was going on? Was there a C-Class Psionicist here? Hadn't they said the Psionicists had already been driven out of Fortress No. 76?
"Come on, let's go down and take a look."
Before you continue