txolops Chapter 66 Record of the Celestial Star Array
Chapter 66 Record of the Celestial Star Array
Xuan Ya relaxed, and the wariness in his eyes mostly disappeared, replaced by something indescribable. He tilted his head and looked at Zhang Tie, feeling a sense of closeness as if he were facing a leader of his own tribe.
At that moment, a golden light flashed in the Book of Cause and Effect in my mind:
[Spiritual contract established successfully, first spirit beast contracted: Black Crow (Level 2 demon beast/a trace of ancestral Moon-Devouring Dark Crow bloodline), Karma value +200]
Has this guy's bloodline reverted to its original form? Looks like those two Phoenix Essence Fruits weren't a waste after all!
Zhang Tie was overjoyed.
But this Moon-Swallowing Crow? The name is a bit unfamiliar. It doesn't seem to be recorded in the list of monsters in Spirit Beast Mountain. Could it be some kind of ancient, extinct monster?
Although Zhang Tie didn't know what level of demon beast the Moon-Swallowing Crow was, its name alone suggested it was extraordinary and probably not a minor demon beast.
"Black Crow, from now on you will be my spirit beast!"
The black crow let out a low cry, its voice much softer than before. It lowered its head and nuzzled Zhang Tie's palm with its beak.
Zhang Tie patted its head with satisfaction, took out a Spirit Feeding Pill from his storage bag, and put it into its mouth. The black crow swallowed the pill, squinted its eyes comfortably, and ran to the spirit spring, squatted there and began to refine the medicinal power.
These Spirit-Feeding Pills are indeed good stuff. There are more than a dozen bottles in my storage bag, all obtained from Xie Duanfeng and Xie Yunhe. They were probably used by the two of them to raise the Blood Lions, and now they've all benefited him.
With the Black Crow, his travels will be much more convenient. The speed of a level two flying demon beast is much faster than a flying boat, and the Black Crow's soul strength is comparable to that of the mid-Foundation Establishment stage, which can also be helpful in battle.
Next, I should focus on improving my skills. My cultivation level has just broken through, and without a major opportunity, it will probably take me eight to ten years to reach the late stage of Foundation Establishment.
Now, he has the Black Crow as a spirit beast, and he is not lacking in magical artifacts. He also has the Six Paths Demon-Slaying Golden Qi as a trump card. What he lacks is a trump card that can allow him to safely retreat from even late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators or Pseudo-Core cultivators.
Upon careful consideration, only the art of formations and talismans can withstand attacks from beyond one's level.
The demonic invasion is still a few years away, but the higher-ups of various sects should have already sensed something was wrong, and some have even clashed with the other side.
I need to hurry, and thinking of this piece of iron, I no longer hesitated.
He took out "An Introduction to the Five Elements Formation," a basic formation manual that had greatly benefited Zhang Tie. However, as his opponents grew stronger, he found it difficult to keep up. But Zhang Tie had another solution.
Although Spirit Beast Mountain is a spy for the demonic path, in the midst of a great battle, where swords and magic weapons fly indiscriminately, even Foundation Establishment cultivators are not entirely safe.
He had only recently broken through to the mid-stage of Foundation Establishment and was still a long way from the late stage. The only thing he could do was improve his trump cards and his methods of dealing with enemies.
Zhang Tie currently only possesses two Foundation Establishment level formations, namely second-tier formations: the Six Harmonies Sealing Formation and the Earthly Rock Formation. The former is very useful against early Foundation Establishment stages, but it is insufficient against mid-to-late Foundation Establishment stages. The latter is merely a defensive formation, which can only passively withstand attacks and cannot actively engage the enemy.
Therefore, Zhang Tie needs a stronger formation.
The "Introduction to the Five Elements Formation" in my hand was produced by the Heavenly Star Sect. If I could use it to deduce higher-level formation manuals...
Zhang Tie closed his eyes and sensed the Book of Cause and Effect in his sea of consciousness.
[Detected "Introduction to the Five Elements Formation". Consume 1000 Karma Points to perform deduction and upgrade to an intermediate-level formation manual?]
Current causality value: 3090
The deduction requires a thousand causal values? That's comparable to the "Mysterious Earth Containing Gold Technique" that Zhang Tie is currently cultivating.
However, if Zhang Tie could upgrade to the intermediate level, it would definitely be worthwhile.
"Confirm consumption!"
[Causality value -1000, Current causality value: 2090]
[Driving simulation in progress...]
Just like during the previous simulation, golden light flashed in his mind, and the array book in his hand was enveloped in golden light. The whole process lasted for half an hour.
Under Zhang Tie's expectant gaze, the golden light faded.
[Deduction complete!]
[Obtained: "The Celestial Star Secret Array Record"]
[Rank: Mid-Tier Formation Manual (Contains detailed explanations of ten second-tier formations)]
Zhang Tie's breathing quickened for a moment.
Ten second-tier formations? Seven of them were unfamiliar to him, and many of them were used for combat: the Four Symbols Demon-Suppressing Formation, the Five Directions Yuan-Locking Formation, the Quicksand Life-Shattering Formation...
Zhang Tie quickly scanned the descriptions of each formation, his gaze finally settling on the last one.
The Yin-Yang Locking God Formation is a peak second-tier formation. It is based on the Yin-Yang principle. Once the formation is completed, it can release the power to lock the soul and also carries the power of corrupting the soul. It can seal the soul of cultivators. Cultivators below the Great Perfection of Foundation Establishment will be trapped and their souls will be destroyed as soon as they enter the formation.
If combined with array flags and array core spiritual objects, it can even kill a Foundation Establishment Great Perfection cultivator!
"To be able to kill a Foundation Establishment cultivator at the Great Perfection stage, how terrifying!" Zhang Tie muttered to himself, a hint of horror flashing in his eyes.
He had only ever seen one Foundation Establishment cultivator at the Great Perfection stage in Spirit Beast Mountain: Sect Leader Qiu Yue. This shows how rare cultivators at this level are, as they are all Foundation Establishment cultivators with the potential to form their Core!
However, this formation is exactly what Zhang Tie wanted. If he had this formation, he would be able to fight even enemies at the late Foundation Establishment stage or the Great Perfection stage in the great battles to come.
While a kill cannot be guaranteed, at least the opponent can be trapped, giving you time to escape or counterattack.
Zhang Tie started with the simplest auxiliary formations and quickly mastered the second-order illusion formation and the three-element spirit gathering formation. Most of these formations evolved from basic formations and were essentially the same.
Trying to do too much at once is counterproductive. Soon, Zhang Tie selected the Earthy Rock Formation and the Four Symbols Demon Suppression Formation as alternatives to the Six Harmonies Sealing Formation.
The Earth-Earth Rock Formation is, of course, primarily defensive.
The Four Symbols Demon-Suppressing Formation is based on the Four Symbols. The four formation flags correspond to the four sacred beasts: Azure Dragon, White Tiger, Vermilion Bird, and Black Tortoise. Once the formation is complete, it can release four beast shadows to attack enemies within the formation.
This formation can deal with cultivators in the mid-Foundation Establishment stage, but it struggles against cultivators in the late-Foundation Establishment stage.
Zhang Tie wasn't in a hurry to learn the Yin-Yang Locking God Formation. This formation was at the peak of the second tier, and the materials used to set up the Yin-Yang Locking God Formation were really expensive!
"Second-tier spiritual items: Mystic Silver, Purple Copper Essence, Soul-Stabilizing Wood, Sealing Stone... a total of nine kinds!!!"
"We also need a magic artifact that matches the formation's attributes to suppress it; its grade must be no lower than a high-grade magic artifact!!!"
"The array flags require silk cloth woven from spirit silkworm silk! That's a high-end item worth a full two hundred spirit stones!!!"
"Finally, we need a rare divine soul-type spiritual object to serve as the array's core!!!"
Zhang Tie's eyelids twitched as he looked at the Two Elements Locking God Formation. It was very powerful, but it required too many materials, and none of them were cheap. It almost made him give up the idea of setting up the formation.
The nine second-tier spiritual items alone are worth nearly five hundred spirit stones. Add the magic tools and silk cloth, and it's worth several hundred more spirit stones. This doesn't even include the soul-type spiritual items. He also has a soul-nourishing crystal that he can use as the array's core.
However, the Two Elements Locking God Formation requires a lot of spiritual items, which cannot be gathered in a short time.
"I should first thoroughly understand the Earth-Earth Rock Formation and the Four Symbols Demon-Suppressing Formation!" Zhang Tie thought to himself.
He got up and set up another layer of restrictions outside the cave, double insurance. Xuan Ya squatted by the spiritual spring, watching Zhang Tie busy himself, his eyes full of doubt.
"I'm going into seclusion, don't let anyone disturb me!!!"
The black crow let out a low cry, which was taken as an agreement.
In the following period, Zhang Tie immersed himself in the "Celestial Star Secret Array Record". The second-order array was more complex and profound, and required a longer time to comprehend.