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Was this the Core Circuit?

Wang Jixuan looked at the Dark Red Flame wrapped in spiritual power in his palm, his brows knitting slightly.

This thing... was strange.

It should not have been alive. It had no consciousness whatsoever and seemed to be a tiny fragment of some rule.

If Wang Jixuan had to describe it, it was somewhat like the Dao Seed left behind by a senior cultivator after death, something that could help a sect rapidly nurture an expert.

Yes, something along those lines.

Daoist Wang carefully turned it over in his hand as he walked before the others. The Psionicists here could not help staring intently at the flame.

The manifestations of those giant Buddhas still persisted, filling the top floor of the spire with golden light.

"This is it?" Wang Jixuan looked at Number Five.

The Fifth Spiritual Practitioner studied the Dark Red Flame for a few moments, then muttered softly, "Strange. Why isn't it rejecting you?"

"Rejecting me? What do you mean?"

"It's such a hassle to explain. Just hand it to someone and try it."

"Alright." Wang Jixuan directly handed it to Wu Man in front of him. Wu Man received it with both hands, but the Dark Red Flame suddenly flickered lightly and vanished without a sound, only to reappear in Wang Jixuan's palm.

Everyone exclaimed in amazement.

Though they did not know what exactly they were amazed by.

The Daoist found himself in a difficult position.

He could not keep holding this thing forever, could he?

Besides, this was a Spiritual Practitioner's Core Circuit. There were only six on the entire planet. It was an extremely rare resource of the Spiritual Cultivation Civilization and something the Blade Beast Civilization was determined to destroy. As a cultivator, aside from trying to comprehend it and seeing whether it might offer some inspiration for his own cultivation, he had no other use for it...

If this thing decided to cling to him, that would be truly troublesome.

As Wang Jixuan was struggling with this, Peony reminded him, "Sir, we must leave immediately! Just now, the Fourth Spiritual Practitioner's spirit servants suddenly died, and their souls were drawn here! The Blade Beast Swarm has already charged over. They'll arrive in five minutes!"

"Move!"

Wang Jixuan swept his hand, holding the flame aloft in his left hand as he said seriously, "Withdraw from here first. Let them deal with the Blade Beast Tide!"

Zheng Shiduo hurriedly asked, "Can't this spire be recovered?"

"Just leave it here. I'll shut the spire down."

The Fifth Spiritual Practitioner said calmly:

"The spire and the Core Circuit are a matched set. Only when this flame finds a host again and a new Spiritual Practitioner is born can the spire be opened again... Old Sophie extracted the souls of all her spirit servants.

"Otherwise, I could have seized a new batch of subordinates."

Wang Jixuan nodded.

He understood the implication behind the Fifth Spiritual Practitioner's words.

Nothing more than the fact that she had gained nothing, while this Core Circuit seemed to have already chosen a master, and so on.

The Daoist was generous enough to her.

"You've worked hard. I'll give you a hundred Soul Nurturing Pills when we get back."

Number Five blinked. Her somewhat pale and pretty face lifted slightly before she transformed into a beam of inky light and slipped into the bangle around the battle puppet's wrist.

No one dared delay. They rapidly withdrew from the spire.

Before leaving, Wang Jixuan had planned to leave behind the Strategic High-Yield Nuclear Warhead he carried with him. But after thinking it over repeatedly, he decided against it.

There were quite a few treasures in the spire, but the Core Circuit had to recognize a master before the various areas within could be opened.

There might still be some old spirit servants left inside.

Especially the three spirit servants on the second floor of the spire, who appeared very young. Their souls seemed to have been extracted before, yet also seemed not to have been completely extracted.

That phenomenon was somewhat strange.

Let Shen Qionglin study it later.

Wang Jixuan yawned, suppressing both his exhaustion and the weakness transmitted by the foreign soul as he led everyone away from Snow Mountain Base.

They had barely reached the surface when dense crystal core fluctuations erupted underground.

That Blade Beast Tide had still charged over.

However, it was destined to come up empty-handed.

Old Sophie's spire was enormous after fully unfolding, firmly embedded in the dense rock strata, while human military firepower continued pouring downward.

As long as no King-Class Blade Beast came charging over afterward, there was no need to worry for the time being about the Blade Beasts carrying the spire away.

On the plane, Wang Jixuan appeared to be meditating, but the exhaustion transmitted by the foreign soul gradually put him to sleep.

The Dark Red Flame floated on its own, circling his body as though waiting for him to bind it to himself with blood.

Ling Tong sat in the fighter jet, looking at the message box that had appeared before her.

[The battle has been won. All units are returning in an orderly manner.]

For some reason, Ling Tong felt slightly disappointed.

This had been her first battle since returning to the battlefield. She had prepared thoroughly, and the enemy had been mysterious and unpredictable, yet she had not been able to do much. She had merely dropped bombs from the air.

More precisely, none of the Half-Human Mechs had been able to exercise much initiative. The previous black clouds and the Black Energy permeating the mountains had posed a deadly threat to the Half-Human Mechs.

Half-Human Mechs still have an irreplaceable role in fighting Blade Beast Swarms.

Thinking this, Ling Tong quickly adjusted herself out of that sensitive state. Complaints from her teammates also came through her headset.

"The black clouds below have dispersed."

"Damn, it's already been dealt with?"

"Teacher Wang is on his way back. Our mission is to cover Teacher Wang, so don't let D2 cause us any trouble."

"Sigh," Deep Sea lamented, "our Half-Human Mech Group is supposed to stand alongside the Buddhist Hall Squad and the Peak Maid Group. Who would've thought that in a battle this big, all we could do was loaf around on the outskirts?"

Ling Tong said calmly, "Isn't it a good thing to win without expending resources?"

"Of course it is," Deep Sea clicked his tongue. "If all the Blade Beasts suddenly die tomorrow and every Psionicist becomes a saint overnight, I'll retire immediately and roam the world with my wife."

"Alright, stop complaining. Keep the intelligence confidential. Dealing with Spiritual Practitioners is not our specialty."

Ling Tong encouraged her teammates:

"Psionics and machinery each have their own focus.

"We were indeed lacking in psionics before, but Teacher Wang's arrival made up for that. By now, we have even surpassed Psionic Capital in Psionic Technology.

"If Weapon Systems combining psionics and Mechanical Technology emerge later, I'll recommend that everyone try them whenever I have the chance."

The dejected Half-Human Mechs were immediately reinvigorated.

"Is it the Psionic Mecha project? I heard Professor Shen, who defected from Psionic Capital, is developing it!"

"Speaking of which, Professor Shen is so beautiful. Even I, a woman, want to try asking her out."

"Girl, is it possible that you just like women?"

"Get lost!"

"Hey, why did I hear that Professor Shen defected because of Teacher Wang's personal charm? And Professor Shen is some strange genius whose brain was developed. I wonder how exactly her brain was developed... No, why are you tugging me? Did I say something wrong? What did I say wrong? Stop winking at me. Didn't I just say that Professor Shen was drawn in by Teacher Wang's personal charm... Uh, Tongtong, just pretend I didn't say anything. Hahaha, hahaha."

Ling Tong smiled indifferently.

She had always kept her distance from such topics.

They only wasted her energy for nothing.

Still, Ling Tong glanced out the window. Looking at the helmet reflected in the cockpit glass, she knew that officers in love would inevitably have stronger feelings in their hearts.

Ding ding ding!

A string of orders popped up on Ling Tong's control panel.

In three seconds, she suppressed her stray thoughts and returned to combat readiness, issuing orders rapidly:

"A mission has come in.

"All Half-Human Mechs who can receive my transmission, immediately switch to blade combat loadouts. Our group will locate our Supply Team at once and equip our Exclusive Mecha.

"The Commander-in-Chief has issued a mutual defense mission.

"At the D2 border, a Blade Beast force from the Main Force Blade Beast Swarm has fully mobilized. There is a Super King-Class Blade Beast among them, far stronger than ordinary King-Class Blade Beasts. We must help D2 hold out until reinforcements arrive."

Deep Sea asked, "Those Blade Beasts didn't retreat? Didn't Teacher Wang take out the Fourth Spiritual Practitioner in the snow mountains?"

"The Blade Beasts show no signs of retreating, and they are mobilizing other King-Class Blade Beast Swarms. The pressure on our D5 side has actually decreased considerably," Ling Tong said simply. "Do not speculate recklessly. Execute the order."

"Yes!"

The communications channel immediately fell silent, and fighter jets shot rapidly toward nearby fortress bases.

Before leaving, Ling Tong turned to look at the snow mountains again.

Because of all the earlier back-and-forth turmoil, the outline of the snow mountains had changed slightly. At this moment, they basked in golden sunlight, and the faint phantom of a Seated Buddha could vaguely be seen, gradually fading away.

Black clouds on that scale had actually evaporated in just a few dozen minutes.

How did he even do that?

A few traces of a smile appeared in Ling Tong's eyes.

To save time, she began running a self-check on the Mechanical Arms aboard the plane, ensuring she could enter direct combat at any moment.

The fighter jet's engines continued roaring.

Ling Tong suddenly fell into a brief daze. The curved cockpit window before her became the viewing port of her Exclusive Mecha's cockpit. Outside it, a gigantic Blade Beast, covered in wounds, roared continuously as it unleashed indiscriminate Mental Shock.

Ling Tong's smile swiftly vanished. The Bagua Plates before her shoulders and on her chest vibrated in unison. Her delicate brows rose sharply, and her face, once immersed in sweetness, returned to resolute strength.

"Reform the formation! Third transformation!"

Seven fifteen-meter-class mechas lunged forward simultaneously. The eight-meter Crystal Core Greatswords in their hands flashed with light, and the arcs of green radiance they unleashed instantly submerged the giant beast ahead!

Slash!

Within a fortress in the D2 Comprehensive War Zone, the closest one to D5.

The transport plane carrying Wang Jixuan was parked on the tarmac. Nearby were squads of Autonomous Mech guards on patrol, while two teams of personnel could be seen moving freely in the distance.

Wang Jixuan slept peacefully against the soft seatback, the Dark Red Flame circling his arm.

Whenever the flame touched the seat, distorted light appeared, yet the two never truly made contact.

Wang Jixuan's brows twitched lightly.

Senior Brother, what do you think we cultivate for? To become the strongest cultivators in the Cultivation World, so no rules can restrain us? Or to reach three thousand years of life?

Ah, pill refining, pill refining. What use is it? Can you swallow an immortal pill and ascend to the Upper Realm right away?

Ji Xuan, pills, formations, talismans—you must choose at least one more to learn. Focusing on artifact refining alone is far from enough. You can't possibly have to seek out fellow disciples to refine pills as rewards for your future disciples, can you? Would that leave any dignity for a master?

Junior Brother Wang, are you free tonight? I prepared some wine in the warm pavilion. They say the moon is especially beautiful tonight. Why don't we enjoy it together?

"Sir... Sir?"

"Mm?"

"Have something to eat. You've been asleep for ten hours, and there's nothing abnormal in your physical data."

Wang Jixuan groggily opened his eyes. The scenes from his dreams scattered with the wind, and Peony's pretty, concerned face entered his sight.

Peony held a bowl of steaming noodles.

The fact that she still thought to prepare food for me means the situation outside hasn't worsened.

The Daoist immediately sat up straight, closed his eyes, and took a deep breath to restore clarity to his mind.

"How long did I sleep? Oh, right, ten hours."

Wang Jixuan skillfully opened the small table, picked up his chopsticks, and looked at the glossy white noodles. His appetite immediately surged.

He slurped up a huge mouthful of noodles.

Mm... this was the satisfaction brought by real starch...

"How is it? Any problems outside?"

Peony said softly, "Two pieces of good news and six pieces of bad news."

Wang Jixuan coughed with his head lowered, then looked up and glared at Peony. "Six? Isn't that ratio a little off?"

"It is! See for yourself. I've arranged the information by importance."

Peony sat properly before Wang Jixuan and opened a projection panel for him to review while eating.

Wang Jixuan instinctively glanced at the Dark Red Flame circling his arm, then at the long box in the corner. The battle puppet inside was unharmed, though only a faint trace of the foreign soul remained and needed to be nurtured again.

Number Five's slate was still inside the bangle around the battle puppet's wrist. Number Five seemed to be sleeping as well, with no signs of activity.

The problem with this flame might prove extremely troublesome, and it had to be resolved as soon as possible.

Wang Jixuan focused on the projection panel. His expression stiffened for an instant, and the chopsticks lifting noodles paused in midair for two seconds before he lowered his head, brought the noodles to his mouth, and forcefully slurped them in.

Those damned Blade Beasts—couldn't they just settle down for once?!

The first line of information on the panel read:

[The Sixth Pillar Blade Beast's awakening level has reached 60%; the Ninth Pillar Blade Beast's awakening level has reached 47%.]

The numbers above were still updating in real time. Before Wang Jixuan could read the second item, the "60" flickered slightly and became a dark red "61."