Qingyan's Scheme
Unable to withstand the immense pressure, Qingyan nun, who had already collapsed to her knees, gritted her teeth in hatred.
"Su Gan, you despicable scoundrel! I traveled thousands of miles to lend you a hand, and you actually disregarded our years of friendship and schemed against me."
Su Gan smiled smugly.
"The Cultivation World is inherently full of deceit and hypocrisy. Your excessive reliance on past friendships and your gullibility towards others are simply foolish. I allowed you to enter the eastern section of the <Devouring Essence Array> and control the auxiliary Formation Plate, yet you didn't doubt it at all."
"Hahaha..."
Su Gan wildly, but he didn't forget to control the formation.
Under his control, the Blood Serpent slithered toward the Daoist nun Qingyan.
Just as the Blood Serpent was about to touch Qingyan Daoist, not far outside the <Devouring Essence Array>, a huge black figure broke through the soil and crawled up from the ground.
It was a giant tortoise, over two zhang in size!
The giant tortoise has a thick, sturdy, and indestructible shell; its limbs are covered with sharp claws; its wide-open mouth is filled with sharp fangs; and its tail, which protrudes from behind, is thick and covered with barbs, resembling a large mace.
The giant tortoise shook off the mud, and with all four limbs exerting force, it charged straight at Su Gan, the center of the formation, like a high-speed cannonball.
The sudden appearance of the giant tortoise threw Su Gan into a panic, leaving him somewhat incredulous.
He had witnessed the power of this giant tortoise before. The giant tortoise was called the Ironback Turtle, a spirit beast that Qingyan Daoist nun had raised for many years. The last time he saw the giant tortoise, it was only at the peak of the second tier. He didn't know when, but it had formed a demon core and grown into a third-tier spirit beast.
Su Gan quickly leaped into the air, dodging the Ironback Turtle's charge. At the same time, he didn't stop controlling the Formation Plate; the Blood Serpent was already swimming along the array patterns towards Qingyan Daoist.
Once Qingyan Daogu dies, the Ironback Turtle will become a masterless spirit beast, and the threat will disappear.
The Ironback Turtle did not continue its attack on Su Gan; speed was not its advantage. It then landed beside Qingyan Daogu.
The Ironback Turtle used its thick shell to protect Qingyan, instantly dispelling the immense pressure that had been enveloping her and transferring it to the tortoise itself.
The Ironback Turtle's thick limbs trembled slightly, but it was not crushed. Its heavy feet firmly supported the ground, as if it wanted to crush the ground.
"Roar!"
As the Blood Serpent was about to touch its forelimbs, the Ironback Turtle let out a deafening roar.
Its forelimbs hastily retreated half a step, but it did not attempt to defeat the Blood Serpent.
The pressure on Qingyan Daoist nun lessened abruptly. She stood up, gripped the edge of the tortoise shell with her hand, and gave the order.
"Walk!"
The Ironback Turtle retreated step by step with heavy strides, quickly moving out of the range of the Devouring Essence Array.
Su Gan, suspended in mid-air, could only watch helplessly as the Ironback Turtle, leading the Qingyan, stepped out of the formation.
He worried that attacking Qingyan would cause irreparable damage to the Devouring Essence Array, ruining his more than ten years of planning.
"Qingyan, I underestimated you. I always thought you were a straightforward person who wasn't good at planning, but I never expected you to be so cunning," Su Gan said through gritted teeth.
Qingyan Daoist nun used the Ironback Turtle's powerful breathing technique to hide underground not far from the formation, clearly with some ulterior motive.
Finally freed from the formation, Qingyan breathed a long sigh of relief.
She was already seriously injured, and the suppression from the formation just now aggravated her injuries.
However, it was all worth it.
Just as Su Gan said, she came for the <Devouring Essence Array> from the very beginning.
Back then, after she and Su Gan emerged from the High Antiquity secret Longevity Hall, she copied the contents of a 'Longevity Token'.
Her previous statement to Su Gan that she hadn't even grasped the basics of the Jade Slip was a lie.
Although she was not as proficient as Su Gan in fully comprehending and setting up the Devouring Essence Array, she still managed to glean some of its secrets from the Jade Slip.
She knew that the Devouring Essence Array could both prolong life and help people improve their cultivation.
More than a month ago, when she encountered three Su Clan cultivators who were arresting Song Wen outside East Birch Market, she learned from them that Su Gan had set up the <Devouring Essence Array>. Qingyan Daoist then had a thought: she wanted to take over the Devouring Essence Array and use it to improve her cultivation.
Therefore, when she received a message from the Su Clan asking her to come and help Su Gan Essence-Devouring Longevity, she agreed without hesitation.
Two days ago, when she arrived at the Su Clan and saw the Devouring Essence Array, Su Gan explained the method of controlling the Devouring Essence Array to her and asked her to enter the eastern area of the array to assist Su Gan in controlling the array. At that moment, she knew that Su Gan had ulterior motives towards her.
She admitted that she was not as skilled as Su Gan in controlling the Devouring Essence Array. In order for the Devouring Essence Array to be activated smoothly and to plunder the flesh and life force of the Rogue Cultivators, she pretended to know nothing about it and cooperated with Su Gan in putting on a show.
She secretly hid the spirit beast Ironback Turtle underground next to the Devouring Essence Array, and successfully avoided Su Gan's perception by relying on the Ironback Turtle's talent for concealing its aura.
"Su Gan, if you surrender and enter the formation so I can absorb your cultivation, I can guarantee the Su Clan's peace for a hundred years. Otherwise, after I capture you and plunder your cultivation, it will be the time of your Su Clan's destruction."
"Wishful thinking! Who will win or lose is still uncertain!" Su Gan glared angrily.
As soon as he finished speaking, a flying sword was spat out of Su Gan's mouth. The Sword Qi as a rainbow and slashed down towards Qingyan Daogu.
Although Qingyan Daoist was aided by Early Third Rank spirit beast, she was seriously injured, and Su Gan believed he still had the strength to fight back.
Seeing the fierce flying sword, Qingyan Daoist nun hid under the Ironback Turtle.
"Clang!"
The flying sword struck the tortoise's back, leaving a shallow mark on its thick shell. However, the sword seemed unable to withstand the force of the shell's recoil and let out a mournful cry.
Su Gan's expression turned very ugly. The Ironback Turtle's defense was far beyond his expectations, and it was not something that Golden Core Early Stage cultivator like him could easily break through.
If you can't defeat them by force, then you have to outsmart them.
Su Gan's eyes darted around, and after a moment, he seemed to have come up with a plan.
He cast several Method Formula towards the main Formation Plate, temporarily sealing the <Devouring Essence Array> to prevent the life force contained in the Blood Serpent from being lost. He then placed the Formation Plate into the array and turned to fly out of the array's sky.
He did this because he was worried that the upcoming battle might damage the <Devouring Essence Array>.
Su Gan controlled the flying sword, slashing at the Ironback Turtle's four limbs that were exposed outside its shell.
At the same time, he transmitted his voice to Su Wenshi, who was not far away.
"Control the <Four Symbols Reversal Formation> and trap this beast within."
The Four Symbols Reversal Formation, arranged in the valley, can be activated in the forward direction to resist external attacks and prevent enemy invasion; when activated in the reverse direction, it can shrink the formation's range and trap or kill enemies inside.