Want It All

The most important thing when playing the role of the Oriole is to position yourself correctly.

When you need to appear, you must be able to show up on the scene on time; When you need to hide, you must accurately avoid the enemy's surveillance.

Wang Jixuan looked at the terrain map before him. After his careful consideration, meticulous planning, and decisive action... he handed the tactical planning task to Ling Tong and Deep Sea.

He wasn't good at this, so it was better to let the professionals handle it.

Daoist Wang found a corner to meditate and took stock of his combat reserves.

Before he knew it, his talismans had reached the intermediate level, and he had dozens of pills for healing, restoring vital energy, strengthening the foundation, and nourishing the soul. He also had three or five magic tools, two or three weapons, and a batch of rare minerals he carried with him.

He could be considered to have some wealth.

Wang Jixuan pondered methods to counter demonic qi.

The best way to counter demonic qi is Buddhist Dharma.

Wang Jixuan had only briefly organized Buddhist Dharma and taught it to Wu Man and the others before. He hadn't delved deeply into it himself. Buddhist cultivation methods are vast and profound, not just mind-control techniques.

He recalled carefully;

There were indeed a few Buddhist methods that could be used directly.

For example, the Dragon Subduing Demon Scripture, and its accompanying Tiger Subduing True Words.

Buddhism also excels in physical cultivation methods, such as the Kasaya Golden Body Technique and the Great Vajra Scripture.

Unfortunately, having already entered the Core Formation Realm, completed Foundation Establishment, and gained some magic power, Daoist Wang completely disdained these physical cultivation methods.

If one can cast spells, why engage in close combat?

Before, it was because his magic power was low that he had to use weapons for close-quarters combat. This way, he could utilize the sharpness of the weapon itself and save magic power, wishing he could stretch one unit of magic power into three.

Now, he had the Dao Realm, and more importantly, the War Puppets.

--Actually, it was mainly the War Puppets.

Wang Jixuan repeatedly deliberated and devised a set of methods for using Buddhist Dharma to subdue demons. He summoned the Buddha Hall Squad to his side and taught them two new scriptures.

Wu Man, Ji Xiao, and the others chanted in unison, and faint golden light appeared on their bodies.

"This scripture can be recited silently," Wang Jixuan said. "Memorize it as quickly as possible. If we need to enter an area with demonic qi later, just reciting this scripture will protect you from its influence."

The group agreed and went to a nearby corner, sitting in a circle. Team leader Wu Man led them in repeated practice.

Wang Jixuan took out the dozens of King-Class Blade Beast bones he carried with him. These were specially selected bones from near the Blade Beast Crystal Cores. He took a magic tool carving knife and began carving on these bones.

Daoist Wang had only been busy for a few minutes...

Rumble.

The ground suddenly shook slightly, and a muffled sound came from deep within the earth.

"They're fighting!"

Zheng Shiduo shouted excitedly.

Wang Jixuan glanced at Ling Tong and Deep Sea, who were still discussing.

Since they hadn't called him, Daoist Wang wasn't in a hurry and continued his work.

These muffled sounds came one after another.

It was as if a colossal creature was constantly colliding deep underground.

Wang Jixuan hadn't played the role of the Oriole much, and he was a little unaccustomed to it, feeling a bit curious about the situation here.

He picked up the simple magic tools he had just made, took a deep breath, and exhaled vital energy onto them. The magic tools immediately lit up with a faint golden light, and swastika symbols appeared on them.

It's quite easy to refine Buddhist artifacts.

A cultivator who could blow up basic pill refining found a bit of confidence in artifact refining again.

Daoist Wang stood up and walked towards the holographic map.

"Commander!" Peony immediately said, "The King-Class Blade Beast swarm has encountered powerful psionic sniping! Six or seven S-Class psionic reactions have been detected underground. They are very unfamiliar; preliminary judgment is that they are Awakened Psionicists!"

Ling Tong quickly explained, "By studying the trajectories of these mysterious psionicists, we can discover their origin point, which basically matches the area of the Spire Tower marked by the Fourth Spiritual Practitioner and indicated by Number Five Spiritual Practitioner."

Deep Sea was also mentally excited, "They're starting to fight amongst themselves! Reinforcements from the Psionic Capital are already accelerating their support here at all costs!"

"The Six Elders just contacted the Commander-in-Chief," Ling Tong said with a hint of thought in her eyes. "Taisheng Steel, one of the Six Elders, said that we must maintain restraint and not cause any further complications. This is a battle for the survival of Human Civilization."

Wang Jixuan asked, "They didn't say it clearly?"

"No, but we can infer that they already know Old Sophie is hiding deep underground in the Snow Mountain."

Ling Tong glanced at the milky white stone slab wall floating not far away.

Wang Jixuan nodded.

It was reasonable that Number Five would share the intelligence about Old Sophie being attacked by blade beasts.

In a way, the six of them were in this together.

If the Twelve Pillars-class blade beasts awakened prematurely, it would be an extinction-level disaster for the human world and for these spiritual practitioners.

'Wouldn't awakening behind the Twelve Pillars be a disaster of extinction?'

Daoist Wang teased inwardly.

Ling Tong brought up a holographic map and introduced it concisely:

"From their movement trajectories, these seven S-Class Psionicists ambushed them intentionally.

"The two King-Class Blade Beast hordes had already slowed their advance and merged underground, likely intending to open a pseudo-stargate. Suddenly, they were ambushed.

"It's still uncertain if Old Sophie's Spirit Slaves managed to seize the pseudo-stargate."

Daoist Wang stroked his chin and suddenly asked, "Where's Dragonfly Aunt?"

"Near the Snow Mountain Base," Peony replied quickly. "I've called her several times to come back, but she insisted on going over to install some sensors, which is why we have a clear understanding of the situation there. She didn't get close to the Demonic Qi and is currently monitoring Meng Jin and the others' actions remotely."

"What's Meng Jin's reaction?"

"They're waiting too, not rushing to act. Their emotional readings are very stable."

Peony pouted slightly:

"It's obvious they also want to be the oriole."

"If we're not in a hurry, then let's play a game of patience with them. We won't lose anything by not acting, and if we can secure this fortress, it'll be a small victory."

Wang Jixuan handed the Buddhist magic tool he had just finished making to Ling Tong, asking her to distribute it to the Half-Human Mechs.

Daoist Wang cautioned, "We're still a hundred miles away from them. We need to be more precise in controlling the timing of our entry, lest Meng Jin and the others snatch all the benefits... Meng Jin is also an enemy we prioritize eliminating."

"Yes!" Deep Sea and Peony replied in unison.

Ah, another new pseudo-stargate.

Wang Jixuan's Dao Heart rippled slightly.

Fleeing after seizing the gate, what a beautiful thing.

As soon as the underground ambush battle between Spirit Slaves and Blade Beasts began, battlefield information converged at an accelerated rate.

The battle underground was extremely fierce.

Within ten minutes of combat, the signals of one Blade Beast and two awakened old Spirit Slaves simultaneously disappeared, suggesting a mutual destruction. The remaining five awakened old Spirit Slaves, cooperating with over ten newly arrived Spirit Slaves, began to besiege the remaining King-Class Blade Beast.

The intense battle underground had already caused slight ground subsidence in localized areas on the surface.

Avalanches continuously occurred on the snow mountain.

Various factions of humanity were observing.

Just as Peony predicted that another King-Class Blade Beast would be unable to hold its ground and was about to be besieged and killed by Old Sophie's Spirit Slaves, a strong energy reaction suddenly appeared underground.

Spatial teleportation!

The pseudo-stargate unfolded within the body of the King-Class Blade Beast that had been previously besieged and killed!

This situation clearly exceeded Old Sophie's side's expectations as well;

The Spirit Slaves turned to attack the gate, but it was too late. Dense Blade Beast Crystal Core reactions appeared underground, and waves of High-Tier Blade Beasts, led by General-Class Blade Beasts and Sub-King Class Blade Beasts, rushed out of the gate.

Not obvious ground subsidences appeared continuously in various places on the surface.

The Spirit Slaves were caught in the Blade Beast Tide, like candles in the wind, easily blown away.

Daoist Wang was actually a little nervous at this moment.

When the snipe and the clam fight, the fisherman benefits. This kind of event presupposes that the snipe and the clam can reach a certain balance, unwilling to yield to each other while continuously depleting their strength.

If Old Sophie was easily annihilated by the Blade Beasts, wouldn't he have come here for nothing?

The human world would fall into crisis because of this!

However, the Daoist's nervousness soon turned into concern for the Blade Beasts.

The latest satellite detection information showed a dark figure leaving the depths of the Snow Mountain underground and heading towards the location of the pseudo-stargate.

It was that S-Class material, the clone without a name, only a number.

However, according to the current detection information, this person who entered the demonic state already had an SS-Class psionic reaction.

The one who entered the demonic state arrived at the site of the recent battle extremely quickly, and then... began to harvest the remnant souls of the Blade Beasts that had died in the previous battle.

The Spiritual Cultivation Civilization certainly possessed the technology to control Blade Beast Crystal Cores.

In the past, cultivators merely used Crystal Cores as psionic energy batteries. This time, what Fourth Spiritual Practitioner Old Sophie wanted was the remnant souls within the Blade Beasts.

The remnant souls were refined and absorbed by the one who entered the demonic state, and a large amount of Demonic Qi was supplied to the Spire Tower out of thin air.

Inside the Spire Tower, Spirit Slaves began to be infected by the Demonic Qi, awakening, rapidly recovering their strength by relying on the Demonic Qi, falling into the demonic path, and then charging towards the Blade Beast Tide.

The Blade Beast Tide would also be restricted by terrain underground;

They could only travel through the tunnels dug by King-Class Blade Beasts or Drill Worms;

The battle situation gradually developed in the direction Wang Jixuan had hoped for—

The two sides were engaging in a war of attrition underground!

Dozens of newly opened underground passages were filled with Blade Beasts and endless Spirit Slaves pushing forward.

The more Blade Beasts died, the more remnant souls of Blade Beasts that demonized person collected, and the more Demonic Qi they refined. Meanwhile, Old Sophie in the Spire could absorb Demonic Qi out of thin air.

During this process…

"Old Sophie's strength is constantly recovering, but his injuries have worsened."

Number Five transmitted this to Wang Jixuan.

She hid in the stone slab, preparing for the upcoming battle. If necessary, she would also intervene to prevent Old Sophie's core circuit from being destroyed by Blade Beasts.

He can't resolve the Demonic Qi; he just discovered some of its uses.

Wang Jixuan felt a slight stir in his heart.

He simply lowered his head, sat in meditation, and recited the Heart Calming Incantation, maintaining his highest level of rationality and calmness.

The number of Spirit Slaves in Old Sophie's Spire was limited;

The Blade Beasts could definitely outlast his Spirit Slaves.

According to what Number Five had said earlier, Old Sophie had escaped his subspace using spatial teleportation. His Spire's base required a long time to recharge, or a sufficient number of high-tier Crystal Cores, to perform another teleportation.

Old Sophie would definitely not sit and wait for death;

Old Sophie now had only two options: either unleash a burst of power using Demonic Qi, or temporarily withstand the Blade Beast Tide and then use the Crystal Cores plundered by his subordinates to teleport away again.

Based on Wang Jixuan's estimation of Old Sophie's personality…

The former was far less likely than the latter.

Oh, right, Old Sophie had a third option.

Requesting aid from other Spiritual Practitioners.

Wang Jixuan's brow suddenly twitched slightly. He looked up in the direction of the Snow Mountain and vaguely saw a large mass of dark clouds appearing between heaven and earth.

The dark clouds began to swirl continuously.

This…

A Great Demon is born?

Daoist Wang's lips twitched slightly. He continued to close his eyes, concentrate, and meditate quietly, still not in a hurry.

Suddenly.

Shen Qionglin, who had been hiding in a corner watching these battle-crazed individuals busy themselves, suddenly turned pale. She lowered her head, coughed twice, and called out, "Wang… Zheng…"

Dozens of mysterious tadpole script marks appeared on her body, flashing continuously.

Wang Jixuan immediately flashed in front of her, his Sword Finger rapidly pointing at Shen Qionglin's head and neck.

On Shen Qionglin's neck, a faint gray mysterious symbol slowly dissipated. Two wisps of gray energy shot out from the top of Shen Qionglin's head, flashing slightly and transforming into Old Sophie's phantom image.

However, this phantom image's eyes were hollow at the moment, as if it had been activated unintentionally.

Shen Qionglin's condition rapidly recovered.

She said with lingering fear, "Number Four secretly placed a mark on me."

"When you were dealing with him, he also left a contingency. It's better that it's revealed now than being attacked during combat."

Wang Jixuan asked in confusion:

"Then why didn't he directly control you at that time?"

Shen Qionglin stared at Old Sophie's phantom image. "He wasn't afraid of me, nor did he want to control me. It's just that you never fell for his trap."

Everyone quickly gathered around.

Number Five emerged from the stone slab, snapped her fingers, and the stone slab vanished with a whoosh. She looked at Old Sophie's phantom image with a complex gaze.

Number Five formed a delicate orchid finger gesture and gently waved it.

Old Sophie's phantom image trembled a few times, then began to convulse.

The phantom image and the main body began to synchronize.

Pain… so much pain… it hurts so much…

The phantom image's voice echoed in everyone's minds, eerie and half-insane.

I want to go back… I want to go back… My planet… my slaves… Damn Blade Beasts, these damn Blade Beasts!

No, the most damnable is that devil!

Power, this kind of power, power like never before… It's devouring me… Hehehe, Hahaha! I've gained new power!

Revive! My Spirit Slaves! Kill them, kill them!

More, I want more power! Bring me the souls of the Blade Beasts, bring me the souls of humans, bring me all souls! Give them to me!

Snap.

Number Five snapped her fingers again, and Old Sophie's phantom image exploded like a bubble.

She frowned and urged, "Aren't you going to act? Whether Old Sophie lives or dies doesn't matter, his core circuit must be recovered!"

"No rush," Wang Jixuan asked Ling Tong, "How much longer until reinforcements from the Psionic Capital arrive?"

"Over an hour still."

Peony suddenly reported, "Sir! Meng Jin and the others are moving! Dragonfly Aunt sent back photos. There's a middle-aged man among them, emitting milky white light all over his body. Demonic Qi is avoiding this light. They've rushed into Rainbow Town's underground passage and are moving at high speed, approaching Old Sophie's area!"

"Oh?"

Daoist Wang raised an eyebrow, the corners of his mouth turning up slightly.

Finally.

"Let's go!"

Crackling sounds emanated from Wang Jixuan's body, and a wave of spiritual energy rippled out like the wind.

A long case beside him opened, and a War Puppet wearing an alloy mask and full-body armor stepped out, its eyes emitting a divine blue light.

Just as everyone thought Wang Jixuan would order them to flank Meng Jin and the others, Daoist Wang gave them an unexpected command.

"Wu Man, Buddha Hall Squad, lock onto that material that's entering a demonic state! Find a way to lure it to the surface! If you can surround and kill it, do so. If not, just stall it! Professor Shen, you go there too!"

"Ling Tong, Deep Sea! Lead the Half-Human Mech combat power to the Snow Mountain air, seize air superiority. Be careful not to get close to that dark cloud!"

"The rest of you, cover me and Number Five. Our target is that Pseudo Stargate!"

The opportunities in this place... He wanted them all!