nyslfriends Chapter 156 The Crack Reappears
Chapter 156 The Crack Reappears
On the walls of Qingfeng City, the runes grew denser day by day.
Yan Chixia worked from dawn till dusk every day, carving intricate patterns on every brick and stone of the city wall.
The patterns meandered like vines, extending from the city gate to the corner of the city, and from the corner of the city to the top of the city tower.
The runes glowed with a faint golden light, appearing and disappearing in the sunlight, while at night they shone like a starry river, enveloping the entire city in a warm glow.
Standing on the city wall, Zhou Ning watched his master's busy figure and felt a surge of admiration.
Yan Chixia has been working continuously for more than 20 days, only resting for two or three hours each day.
His face was somewhat pale, and his eyes were bloodshot, but his hands moved steadily, and each rune was carved with perfect precision.
Occasionally, a guard would bring him food, but he would only eat a few bites quickly before continuing to work.
"Master, please take a rest."
Zhou Ning carried a bowl of hot soup over and handed it to him.
Yan Chixia took the soup bowl, took a sip, and handed it back to him.
His gaze never left the runes on the city wall, his brows furrowed slightly, as if he were pondering something.
"The core of the formation still needs adjustment. The power of the Heavenly Demon is stronger than I imagined. With just these runes, I'm afraid it won't be able to stop a Nascent Soul stage clone."
Yan Chixia took out a jade slip from his sleeve and handed it to Zhou Ning.
"Go to the square in the city center and bury these nine spirit stones according to the diagram in the jade slip. The positions must be correct and the depth must be consistent."
Zhou Ning took the jade slip and probed it with his divine sense.
A detailed map unfolded in his mind, marking nine locations, each requiring the burial of a spirit stone.
The spirit stones come in various colors, including gold, silver, cyan, red, and yellow...
They correspond to the five elements of metal, wood, water, fire, and earth, and four variants of wind, thunder, light, and darkness.
"Disciple understands."
Zhou Ning arrived at the city center square with nine spirit stones.
The square is the highest point in Qingfeng City, offering a panoramic view of the entire city.
Following the diagram in the jade slip, he used his Qingfeng sword to dig nine pits in the ground, each three feet deep and one foot wide.
He placed the spirit stones one by one into the pit, adjusted their orientation, covered them with soil, and then tamped them down with his true essence.
The moment the nine spirit stones were buried, the ground of the entire city trembled slightly.
The runes on the city wall lit up with a dazzling golden light, resonating with the spirit stone in the city center.
Golden light spread from the city walls to the streets, and from the streets to the houses, enveloping the entire Qingfeng City in a golden glow.
"It's a success!" Zhou Ning was overjoyed.
He quickly climbed the city wall and reported to Yan Chixia.
Yan Chixia was inscribing the last rune on the top of the city tower when he heard Zhou Ning's words and nodded slightly.
"The basic form of the formation is complete. However, it needs to be nurtured for forty-nine days before it can truly function."
Yan Chixia jumped down from the city wall and dusted off his robes.
"There can be no interference during this period. Otherwise, all our previous efforts will be in vain."
Zhou Ning said, "This disciple will guard Qingfeng City and prevent the Heavenly Demon from interfering with the nurturing of the formation."
Yan Chixia glanced at him and said, "The Heavenly Demon won't stand idly by. It will definitely launch an attack before the formation is complete. The next twenty days or so are crucial."
He took out a jade talisman from his sleeve and handed it to Zhou Ning.
"This is the control core of the formation. Once you pledge your blood allegiance, you will gain control of the entire formation. In times of crisis, you can activate the formation's defensive functions."
Zhou Ning took the jade talisman, bit his fingertip, and dripped a drop of blood onto the talisman.
Blood mingled with the jade talisman, and a golden light shot out from the talisman, connecting with his brow.
He could feel that the entire Qingfeng City was within his perception; every rune on the city wall and every spirit stone in the city center was connected to his mind.
"Thank you, Master."
Yan Chixia waved his hand, turned around, and walked down the city wall.
In the following days, the fog in the north began to thicken again.
The black fog rolled endlessly, stretching from the horizon to the sky, merging the sky and the earth into one.
In the mist, countless dark shadows could be vaguely seen writhing and emitting low growls.
They no longer scurried about as they had before, but instead gathered together, forming a vast, dark mass, like a dark cloud looming over the city.
On the city wall, the guards stood ready.
Han Wei stood at the front, holding a long sword in his hand, his face solemn.
Behind him were three hundred guards from the Demon Suppression Division and one hundred righteous disciples.
Everyone gripped their weapons tightly, their gazes fixed firmly on the north.
"Young Master Zhou, they're coming," Han Wei said.
Zhou Ning nodded and gripped the Qingfeng sword tightly.
His divine sense had already spread out, covering an area of tens of thousands of feet in radius.
He could sense that behind those dark figures, a huge crack was slowly opening.
Within the crack, an extremely powerful evil aura was surging, several times stronger than the previous clone.
"A clone at the Nascent Soul stage." Zhou Ning took a deep breath.
Yan Chixia walked to his side, holding the ancient longsword in her hand.
His expression was calm, but there was a hint of seriousness in his eyes.
"Zhou Ning, you hold the city wall. I'll deal with that clone."
Zhou Ning shook his head: "Master, I will go with you."
Yan Chixia glanced at him and said, "Your injuries haven't fully healed yet; you can't take any risks."
Zhou Ning said, "My injuries have healed. Besides, I can't always hide behind Master. I also want to fight."
Yan Chixia was silent for a moment, then nodded and said, "Alright. Be careful then."
The two leaped off the city wall and sped toward the group of dark figures to the north.
The shadowy figures seemed to sense their presence, letting out sharp hisses as they surged forward like a tide.
They had no fixed shape; some resembled humans, some beasts, and some a cloud of smoke, baring their fangs and claws as they lunged at Zhou Ning and Yan Chixia.
Zhou Ning drew his Qingfeng sword and slashed out.
A purplish-gold sword aura shot out from the sword tip, like a giant purplish-gold dragon, heading straight for the group of black shadows.
Wherever the sword energy passed, the dark figures screamed in agony and vanished into black smoke.
Yan Chixia also drew his longsword, its light flashing, and killed the approaching black shadows one by one.
His swordsmanship was incredibly fierce, each strike carrying a devastating power; the shadowy figures beneath his sword were like paper.
The two fought their way through, carving a bloody path, until they reached the rift.
Deep within the crevice, a huge dark figure is slowly emerging.
The dark figure was about five zhang tall, completely black, with no facial features, only a pair of blood-red eyes that gleamed eerily in the darkness.
In its hand, it held a giant black axe, the blade engraved with strange runes and emitting a faint black light.
It exuded a suffocating pressure, several times stronger than the previous clone.
"A clone at the Nascent Soul stage." Yan Chixia's voice was low and solemn.