Time flowed quietly like water, and the Great Ascension Demon Cultivator almost turned over every inch of land near the Demon Palace, but he still could not find any trace of the peeper.
His face grew darker, and the anger in his eyes was like a suppressed volcano, ready to erupt at any moment.
The surrounding Demon Cultivator guards felt the terrifying pressure emanating from him, and they all lowered their heads and held their breath, not daring to make a sound.
"Who exactly is this person, to be able to hide so completely right under my nose?" the Great Ascension Demon Cultivator thought to himself, his brow tightly furrowed.
He prided himself on his Heaven-Defying cultivation, with his Divine Sense covering a thousand miles, yet he couldn't even capture a trace of abnormal Qi.
In his helplessness, the purple-robed Great Ascension Demon Cultivator had no choice but to temporarily give up the search.
He snorted coldly, and his figure flickered, returning to the majestic Demon Tower deep within the Demon Palace, personally taking charge.
However, what he never expected was that the peeper who had caused him so much trouble had already quietly infiltrated the Demon Palace.
Li Mu, with his superb skills and daring, took advantage of the lax security outside the Demon Palace, quietly made his move, killed a Nascent Soul Realm Demon Cultivator guard, and then used Chaos Dao to simulate his aura, disguising himself as that guard and blending into the Demon Palace.
Li Mu's purpose was very clear—he wanted to thoroughly understand the true background of this force, especially the real use of that Demon Tower.
The rank 9 divine object, the Nine-Order Earth Vein Divine Fire, was dormant in the volcano beneath this Demon Tower.
To seize the Earth Vein Divine Fire, Li Mu had to first understand the strength of the Demon Abyss forces and then find a way to completely eradicate them to eliminate future troubles.
Li Mu mingled among a team of Demon Cultivator guards, his expression calm and his demeanor natural, as if he were originally a member of the Demon Palace.
He wore a black robe, his face was stern, and a faint Devilish Qi emanated from his body.
This Devilish Qi was not a disguise, but rather the Blood Demon aura he had evolved using Chaos Dao, enough to pass off as real, making it difficult for even a Great Ascension Demon Cultivator to detect any abnormality.
For several days in a row, Li Mu acted discreetly, carefully avoiding the Advanced Cultivators in the Demon Palace, successfully deceiving the eyes and ears of many Demon Cultivators.
While silently observing, he mentally drew a layout map of the Demon Palace, gradually figuring out the guard routines and power distribution within the Demon Palace.
At the same time, he also gained a deeper understanding of the purpose of the Demon Tower deep within the Demon Palace.
The Demon Tower was a hundred zhang tall, completely black, and its body was covered with strange demonic runes.
Each rune seemed to writhe, emitting a terrifying aura that devoured living beings.
Above the tower, a huge black crystal floated, and countless distorted faces could be vaguely seen within the crystal, wailing silently, as if they were imprisoned Souls, forever unable to be freed.
Li Mu's heart trembled; the true function of this Demon Tower was far more terrifying than he had imagined—it was not just a sacrificial tower, but a Possession Tower!
Those imprisoned Human Race Cultivators were the "containers" used by these Demon Abyss Demon Spirits for Possession.
By sacrificing their Physical Bodies and Souls, the Demon Spirits of the Demon Abyss were injected into them, thereby acquiring new bodies and gaining new life.
"The Demon Abyss has actually mastered such a cruel Possession technique!" Li Mu was secretly shocked, and at the same time, he felt immense anger.
To enhance their power in the Spirit Realm and completely occupy it, the Demon Abyss forces resorted to such cruel methods against the Human Race Cultivators of the Spirit Realm, which was heinous.
Those Cultivators who were Possessed not only had their Physical Bodies destroyed but also had their Souls forever imprisoned, becoming tools for the Demon Spirits, never to be reborn.
Just as Li Mu was contemplating, a violent fluctuation suddenly came from within the sacrificial Demon Tower.
The black crystal at the top of the tower suddenly burst out with dazzling light, and then a black shadow rushed out of the crystal, heading straight for a sacrificial altar below the tower.
The black shadow was extremely fast, and in the blink of an eye, it submerged into the body of a Human Race Cultivator on the altar.
"Ah—!" The Cultivator let out a tragic scream, his body trembling violently, as if enduring unimaginable pain.
A moment later, his scream abruptly stopped, and his body also ceased struggling, slowly standing up.
However, at this moment, his eyes had become cold and unfamiliar, and a strong Devilish Qi emanated from his body, clearly indicating he had been Possessed by a Demon Spirit.
Witnessing this scene again, Li Mu was incomparably shocked.
The Possession technique of the Demon Abyss forces had reached an extremely terrifying level.
If they were allowed to continue, the Human Race of the Spirit Realm would fall into endless darkness.
Li Mu frowned, his gaze solemn as he looked at the majestic Demon Tower.
By his strength alone, it was almost impossible to destroy this Demon Tower head-on.
This Demon Tower not only had a Great Ascension Demon Cultivator personally guarding it but also countless Restrictions and a large number of Demon Cultivator guards protecting it day and night.
A slight carelessness would lead to eternal damnation.
At present, relying solely on a direct confrontation was definitely not the best strategy.
He had to find another way, a method that could both destroy the Demon Tower and completely eradicate this Demon Abyss force.
Li Mu's Divine Thought quietly spread out, like invisible threads, slowly extending into the depths of the Demon Palace, penetrating layers of Restrictions, and finally locking onto the position of the Earth Vein Divine Fire slumbering at the bottom of the volcano.
Dozens of miles deep in the Earth Vein magma at the bottom of the volcano, that Divine Fire was like a sleeping giant beast.
Although it had not awakened, it already emitted a terrifying and heart-pounding aura.
Looking at this dormant Nine-Order Earth Vein Divine Fire, a bold idea vaguely emerged in Li Mu's mind.
If he could activate this Nine-Order Earth Vein Divine Fire, using its violent power to detonate the entire volcano and unleash the full force of the Earth Vein Flame Force, perhaps he could use this power to destroy the Demon Tower in one fell swoop, and even completely eradicate this Demon Abyss force!
The Nine-Order Earth Vein Divine Fire was the strongest Spiritual Fire nurtured by Heaven and Earth.
After being unsealed, it would plunder Advanced Spiritual Fires everywhere to repair its own spirituality.
Nearly a hundred years had passed, and now the Earth Vein Divine Fire had recovered more than half of its power.
Its power was strong enough to burn mountains and boil seas, so it would not be easy to seal it again.
If he could first activate the Earth Vein Divine Fire, use its power to destroy the Demon Tower and the Demon Abyss forces, and then seal it while its power was greatly consumed, the difficulty would be greatly reduced.
Killing three birds with one stone!
Thinking of this, Li Mu's heart fluttered.
However, if this plan were to be executed, there would be many problems to solve.
It was almost impossible to quietly set up the Chaos Sealing Spirit Grand Array for the Nine-Order Earth Vein Divine Fire throughout the entire Demon Palace.
The Demon Palace was heavily guarded both inside and out, especially near the sacrificial Demon Tower, where a large number of Void Refining and Body Integration Demon Cultivators patrolled day and night.
Any slight movement would alert the Great Ascension Demon Cultivator.
Once discovered, not only would the plan fail, but Li Mu himself would also fall into a desperate situation.
Unless! He could quickly set up a large Formation in advance, and then create a disturbance to plunge the entire Demon Palace into Chaos.
Taking advantage of this opportunity, he could find a way to draw out the Nine-Order Earth Vein Divine Fire, and use its power to destroy the Demon Tower and the Demon Abyss forces in one fell swoop...
How to quickly set up several large Formations?
Use Puppets to set up the Formation!
A gleam of light flashed in Li Mu's eyes, and a bold plan gradually emerged in his mind, which he steadily refined.
Before long, in a secluded spot in the Demon Palace, Li Mu's figure flickered, and he hid in the Painting World Treasure Mansion, beginning to refine Formation Artifacts.
Inside the Painting World Treasure Mansion, the Spiritual Qi was rich, forming a Small World of its own.
Li Mu sat cross-legged, holding the storage ring he had obtained from Wan Gu Yu, and his Divine Sense entered the ring to check the spoils of war inside.
The space within the storage ring was vast, piled with various rare Materials, Medicinal Pills, and Magic Treasures.
Li Mu's Divine Sense swept across, and he secretly marveled in his heart.
Wan Gu Yu was indeed the mastermind behind Wanbao Pavilion; the spiritual items in his storage ring were enough to make any Advanced Cultivator envious.
Before the Three Realms Passage Seal Grand Formation collapsed, the branches of Wanbao Pavilion covered all four regions of the Spirit Realm, operating for thousands of years, with extremely deep foundations, accumulating a vast amount of Cultivation resources, far exceeding those large Sects.
As the mastermind behind Wanbao Pavilion, the Materials, Medicinal Pills, and Magic Treasures in Wan Gu Yu's storage ring were all extremely rare treasures.
Li Mu's Divine Sense meticulously explored the storage ring, and his heart grew even more shocked.
Not to mention low-grade spirit Materials, just the quantity and variety of those rank 6 and 7 spirit Materials were enough to make him speechless.
Among them, dozens of types were particularly precious, being indispensable rare items for setting up Formations.
The first thing that entered Li Mu's Sea of Consciousness was a fist-sized "Heaven Star Meteorite Crystal," its surface covered with dense star patterns, as if it had absorbed all the starlight from the night sky.
This was a top-grade eighth order spirit material, rumored to only form when extraterrestrial meteorites fell and were tempered by Earth Vein fire for a thousand years.
Heaven Star Meteorite Crystal was not only incredibly hard but also an excellent material for refining Formation Artifacts, capable of greatly enhancing the stability and power of a Formation.
Immediately after, Li Mu's gaze was drawn to a completely green "Nine-Turn Spirit Vine."
This Spirit Vine was about three feet long, with nine spiral patterns Entanglement around its body.
Each pattern seemed to contain infinite vitality.
The Nine-Turn Spirit Vine was a rare treasure among eighth order spirit materials.
It was said that it only grew one turn every thousand years, and after nine turns, it possessed Heaven-Defying spirituality, capable of absorbing Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi on its own.
It was a core material for setting up Advanced Formations such as Gathering Spirit Formation and Soul Nurturing Formation.
Next to the Nine-Turn Spirit Vine, Li Mu discovered ten bottles of eighth-order Profound Yin Dark Water.
The bottles were completely black, as if they could swallow all the surrounding light.
Profound Yin Dark Water was the most Yin substance among eighth-order water-attribute spirit Materials, only collectable from abysses in extremely cold places.
It could harmonize the Yin and Yang forces in a Formation, making the Formation operate more smoothly, especially suitable for setting up Yin-attribute Grand Formations.
...
In addition to a large number of rank 7 and 8 Formation spirit Materials, Li Mu also found many other rare spirit Materials, such as "Purple Thunder Wood," "Cold Jade Marrow," "Earth Vein Essence Gold," etc.
Each one was a top-tier Advanced Artifact Refining spirit material.
Purple Thunder Wood was purple all over, with faint lightning flashing on its surface, making it an excellent material for refining lightning-attribute Dao Artifacts.
Earth Vein Essence Gold was a metal essence extracted from deep within Earth Veins, incredibly hard, suitable for refining gold-attribute Dao Artifacts...
"Good! Good! Senior Wan, you won't die in vain.
I will make good use of these Advanced spirit Materials and make the Demon Abyss pay a heavy price!"
A cold light flashed in Li Mu's eyes, and he secretly made up his mind.
Li Mu quickly sorted and organized these rare spirit Materials, his gaze sharp, carefully selecting the most suitable Materials for refining Formation Artifacts.
Heaven Star Meteorite Crystal, Nine-Turn Spirit Vine, space boundary stone, and other rare spirit Materials were placed before him one by one, each emitting a unique aura, as if containing infinite power.
Although Li Mu already had the Chaos Zhenyuan Disk, and the help of the Crimson Refining Fire Phoenix and Azure Moon True Dragon's Natal Dao Artifacts, he could easily control and set up the Chaos Sealing Spirit Formation, which was sufficient to suppress and Seal the Nine-Order Earth Vein Divine Fire.
However, the environment for driving the Chaos Sealing Spirit Grand Array this time was completely different from before.
Li Mu not only had to activate the Nine-Order Earth Vein Divine Fire, causing its spirituality to riot and using its violent Spiritual Qi to completely eliminate the Demon Abyss forces, but also had to Seal it at the critical moment to prevent it from completely losing control and causing irreparable disaster.
This task was extremely arduous, and a slight carelessness could lead to devastating consequences.
Li Mu took a deep breath, formed hand seals, and as Spiritual Qi surged, Chaos Fire rose in his palm, quickly condensing into a Chaos Artifact Refining Furnace.
Soon, the Heaven Star Meteorite Crystal gradually melted under the scorching of the Chaos furnace fire, turning into a ball of silver liquid, as dazzling as a galaxy.
Then, other Advanced spirit Materials put into it were also refined one by one under the action of the Chaos Fire, merging into the silver liquid.
Li Mu performed the Artifact Refining Divine Ability - Divine Refining Method, meticulously controlling this liquid, condensing the embryo of the Formation Artifact, shaping it into small Formation Flags.
Each Formation Flag condensed dozens of complex artifact patterns, faintly emitting starlight, containing endless Star Power.
These Formation Flag artifact embryos rapidly took shape in the Artifact Refining furnace formed by Chaos Fire; they would become the core components of the "Star Array."
The Star Array not only had to serve as the energy to guide the Earth Vein Divine Fire but also to Seal its violent Divine Fire power, preventing the Earth Vein Divine Fire from escaping.
Li Mu knew that the success or failure of this Grand Array would directly determine the life and death of this operation.
Next, Li Mu took out the Nine-Turn Spirit Vine.
This Spirit Vine was completely green, with nine spiral patterns Entanglement around its body.
Each pattern seemed to contain infinite vitality.
He cut the Spirit Vine into several sections, each section carefully processed and integrated into the core of the Formation.
The Nine-Turn Spirit Vine had extremely strong spirituality and could absorb Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi on its own, providing continuous energy support for the Formation.
Li Mu refined it into a Formation Diagram, serving as the core hub of the Grand Array, ensuring that the Formation could operate stably at critical moments, maintaining Spiritual Qi output even when the Earth Vein Divine Fire erupted and the fire elemental power became violent and surged.
In addition, Li Mu obtained a large number of rank 5 star wood, rank 6 Star Essence Cores, and other rare spirit Materials, and began to refine a batch of special Puppets.
These Puppets were not ordinary Battle Puppets, but "Formation Puppets" specifically used for setting up Formations.
There were a total of three hundred and sixty Formation Puppets, all possessing rank 6 power.
Under the control of the Puppet Spirit - Bright Moon, they would, according to Li Mu's instructions, arrange the Formation Flags, Formation Plates, and other Formation Artifacts at their designated positions, ensuring that the Star Array could take shape in the shortest possible time.
Each Formation Puppet was meticulously designed by Li Mu, with complex Formation patterns and Puppet patterns carved inside, enabling them to perfectly integrate with the Star Array.
Li Mu's movements were skilled and fluid, as if he had practiced them thousands of times.
As the rank 6 Puppets gradually took shape, a hint of satisfaction flashed in his eyes.
(End of Chapter)
