Chapter 153: The Formation Breaks, Anomaly Arises!
It wasn't long before Ye Tian had opened and inspected every room in the courtyard. Indeed, there were many items of interest. For instance, he found a longsword of a top-tier Yuan Force weapon, a level so high that in the Zhonghai Super Base, it was considered a divine weapon. Ye Tian surmised that in the ancient era, this sword would have been classified as an upper-tier divine weapon, though now it was only a mid-tier one. Unfortunately, this sword was of little use to Ye Tian.
In the end, Ye Tian chose a barely sub-tier divine blade, one that was on the verge of losing its classification. He currently wielded a high-tier Yuan Force blade, which was indeed a bit outdated, but this sub-tier divine blade, though inferior to the sword, suited Ye Tian better. With a bit more Yuan Force nourishment, it likely wouldn't degrade in rank. Securing a sub-tier divine blade was, after all, a decent gain.
With the sub-tier divine blade in hand, Ye Tian was suddenly transported away by a force. When he regained his senses, he found himself outside the courtyard's grand formation. He then continued his search for more buildings.
As days passed, Ye Tian did find several buildings, but he didn't find any golden-tier blade techniques or items to temper his spiritual force. The treasures he discovered were rather ordinary, mostly weapons, top-tier Yuan Force cultivation techniques, and spirit medicines that could assist in breaking through meridians. These spirit medicines, protected by special formations, were potent and valuable.
These treasures would have been significant to the old Ye Tian, but now, he barely gave them a second glance.
On the tenth day, Ye Tian suddenly saw a beam of light piercing the sky in the distance and quickly flew towards it. Soon, he came upon a massive palace, grander than any building he had encountered before, where some king-level martial artists were faintly visible.
Ye Tian surmised that the palace must contain worthwhile items and anticipated potential conflicts.
"It seems time to use my disguise talent," he thought.
Using his talent, Ye Tian changed his appearance and stature, turning into a pale-faced young man, and continued towards the palace. As he approached, he noticed numerous cracks in the palace and its partially broken formation.
At that moment, several king-level fighters were attacking the formation. The light he had seen was the result of breaking one of the formation's nodes, causing the formation's energy to leak out.
"Long River Super Base people..." Ye Tian frowned.
The people from Long River Super Base noticed him too, their expressions changing. They knew Ye Tian was attracted by the bright light.
Two king-level fighters charged at him, one wielding a spear technique that seemed to pierce through the void, and the other using a Fire Dragon talent, sending a massive dragon roaring towards Ye Tian.
In terms of strength, they were both four-star kings.
"Ants!" Ye Tian moved swiftly, vanishing in an instant and slashing with his blade. In the next moment, two corpses fell from the sky. In his disguise, he wasn't worried about revealing his identity. Since they dared to attack him, he had no reason to spare their lives.
"You killed them! Do you know who they were? They were the top talents of our Long River Base's Iron Dragon Fort!" a young man shouted at Ye Tian in anger.
Ye Tian stared at him. "If you're not satisfied, let's fight!"
The young man hesitated, not daring to speak.
Then, a leading youth stepped forward. "Friend from Zhonghai Super Base, why not join forces? We've been trying to break this palace's formation for generations, and now it's almost destroyed. If we break it, we can take as many treasures as we like, without the restriction of only taking one."
"Cooperate? Fine," Ye Tian agreed.
Ye Tian nodded in agreement and began to attack the formation as well. In secret, he assessed the talents of his temporary allies. The youth leading them, Sun Xinghe, possessed a Moonlight-level talent and three pseudo-mystic talents, making him one of the top talents of the Long River Super Base with a combat strength of a seven-star king.
Meanwhile, one of the youths whispered to Sun Xinghe, questioning why he didn't take action against Ye Tian, considering Sun's seven-star king-level strength. Sun Xinghe, however, responded with caution, noting that Ye Tian's strength didn't seem much weaker than his own. He saw no reason to risk a fight over two fools, especially when Ye Tian's strength could aid in breaking the formation. He proposed to wait and see what treasures would be revealed upon breaking the formation, suggesting a possible alliance then.
The others agreed, seeing the wisdom in Sun's approach. Ye Tian, although unable to hear their whispers, sensed that their intentions weren't entirely benevolent. Nevertheless, he found their cooperation convenient for the time being.
After a day and night of relentless bombardment, another node of the formation was breached. The formation now seemed on the brink of collapse, with just one more node left to break. Excitement surged among everyone at the prospect of uncovering the treasures inside the grand palace.
However, Ye Tian felt a sense of foreboding and hesitated to rush into the palace immediately.
Their efforts finally paid off the next day as another node was broken. The grand formation lost its glow and became dormant. With the formation inactive, they could now take as many treasures as they wished. One of the king-level warriors rushed in, followed eagerly by others, all hoping to be the first to claim the treasures.
Suddenly, a terrible scream echoed from within the palace. The first king-level warrior who had rushed in was now in agony. Following this, several king-level warriors fled out at full speed. Then, a shocking sight unfolded: hordes of golden-armored corpse puppets emerged from the palace, overwhelming and tearing apart the king-level warriors, turning them into a cloud of blood mist.
Sun Xinghe, with his seven-star king-level strength, transformed into an ancient war deity, unleashing a terrifying fist technique capable of dominating the stars. He managed to shatter several of these golden-armored puppets, showcasing his invincible prowess. However, when one of the puppets wielding a war blade sent him flying, Sun Xinghe's aura of dominance instantly dissipated, and he fled in terror, abandoning any thoughts of saving face or attaining treasure.
Staying would mean certain death at the hands of the overwhelming number of corpse puppets!
Yuan force, yuan energy, elemental energy, and yuan qi can be understood as the same concept. They're all the same thing for the purposes of the story. When the novel makes a clear distinction between them, I'll make another note.
Long River Super Base phonetically is Changhe Super Base.