Cultivation Starts from Farming-Chapter 809 - 367: Repair and Upgrade of the Puppet Array; Peril of the Evil Qi (Part 2)
Xu Ping closed his eyes and focused, operating his Cultivation Technique, as the ebb and flow of azure light around him flickered like an ancient tree rejuvenated in spring. He slowly absorbed the Spiritual Qi from the earth veins, repairing a decade’s worth of toil.
Within the cave abode, only the long and steady sound of breathing remained.
...
...
Three years later.
On this day, the sky was as clear as a wash, and the sea breeze was slightly salty.
In the calm sea ahead, a spiritual ship about a hundred yards long was plowing through the waves.
Rumble.
Without warning.
The deep blue waters below exploded suddenly.
A massive tail as thick as a temple pillar, covered in eerie blue scales, lashed out with the power of the vast sea and a tearing shriek, striking the side of the spiritual ship like the whip of divine retribution.
If it weren’t for the robust materials and Arrays of the quasi-Fourth Rank spiritual ship, this strike would have been enough to shatter it into pieces.
Roar!
Along with a deafening dragon roar full of ferocity and greed, a colossal creature broke through the sea surface, revealing its terrifying true form.
Its body was nearly a hundred yards long, entirely covered in deep, eerie blue scales shimmering with a metallic cold light, and it had four hideously clawed limbs covered with membranes under its belly.
The violent, Fourth Rank Lower Grade peak Demon Qi swept out like a tsunami, making it hard for all the cultivators on the spiritual ship to breathe.
"It’s over... it’s the Thunder Flood Dragon!"
"The defensive Array is damaged by thirty percent, it can’t hold on!"
"Patriarch, save us!"
The desperate cries echoed on the ship.
Two elder cultivators at Golden Core Perfection glared with wide eyes, desperately channeling the remnants of their Mana into the ship’s core, trying to stabilize the vessel and activate the remaining defensive light screen.
But against the absolute power and rank suppression of the Thunder Flood Dragon, their resistance was like a mantis trying to stop a chariot.
The Thunder Flood Dragon’s crimson vertical pupils locked onto the spiritual ship, as if eyeing a sumptuous blood feast.
Its enormous mouth opened, and deep within its throat, the eerie blue lightning rapidly converged, emitting a wave of destructive energy.
The next blow would completely reduce this unsightly iron shell and the ants within to ashes.
The people on the ship looked ashen, as if facing death.
At this critical juncture.
"Beast, how dare you act so wildly?"
A voice so calm it was almost indifferent seemed to come from beyond the nine heavens, clearly overpowering the roar of the sea wind and the bellowing of the Thunder Flood Dragon, resonating in the ears of each despairing cultivator.
Before the voice faded, an unremarkable azure figure appeared suddenly and ghost-like in the void between the spiritual ship and the Thunder Flood Dragon.
The newcomer wore a dark robe, with ordinary features and a restrained aura; it was Xu Ping.
He appeared so abruptly, yet so naturally, as if he had always been meant to be there.
The lightning that the Thunder Flood Dragon had gathered paused abruptly, and its crimson vertical pupils instantly locked onto this insignificant, uninvited guest.
However, an indescribable Evil Qi, like a cold venomous snake, seized its heart in an instant.
"How dare you slay so many of my Demon Race, have you no desire to live!?"
The Thunder Flood Dragon glared at Xu Ping, though it was sharply questioning, a trace of fear inevitably flickered in its crimson eyes.
In truth, it was not surprising that it would be so unsettled.
For the density of Evil Qi on this seemingly ordinary human cultivator was something it had rarely seen in its life.
Such Evil Qi usually only appeared on cultivators who had slain a large number of fellow-rank Demon Beasts in a short period, and it had to be in a very short period.
Who knows how many Fourth Rank Demon Beasts this man had slain.
"How do you know I’ve slain many Demon Beasts?"
Xu Ping’s previously calm face showed a hint of genuine surprise.
His brow furrowed slightly, and a thoughtful gleam passed through his eyes.
In recent years, he had been hunting Demon Beasts alone in this endless sea, his movements secret, with no witnesses.
Every strike was chosen in remote seas, ensuring no other cultivators or Demon Beasts would notice.
How did this dragon know?
Could it be that the Demon Race had some special means of communication?
Yet, the Thunder Flood Dragon clearly had no intention of answering, instead raising monstrous waves to hinder Xu Ping, then attempting to dive into the sea to escape.
Seeing the Thunder Flood Dragon fleeing, Xu Ping remained unhurried, for the Water Spirit Rat was already lurking in the sea.
Rumble!
A booming sound came from beneath the water; the sea surface exploded, and waves surged skyward as if lifted by a divine hand.
The Thunder Flood Dragon’s mountain-like body was hurled out of the sea by a tremendous force, rolling in the air, roaring in fury and dread.
"Strike!"
Azure light flashed in Xu Ping’s eyes, and with a touch of his finger.
Seventy-three Magic Swords appeared out of thin air, instantly forming a vast Sword Array. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺
Countless azure Sword Qi enveloped the Thunder Flood Dragon densely.
The Thunder Flood Dragon’s proudly robust defensive power, those eerie blue scales, were as fragile as paper before these Sword Qi.
Quickly, they were torn open, blood gushing like a spring, dyeing the surrounding sea red as blood.
"Explain how you knew I slew many Demon Beasts, and satisfy me, and I might spare your life."
Xu Ping did not deliver a fatal blow to the Thunder Flood Dragon; the Sword Array’s attacks, though fierce, all avoided critical areas.
For this question must be clarified, or he feared there would be great trouble in the future.
However, the Thunder Flood Dragon remained silent, a gleam of despair and madness flashing in its crimson eyes as it began a final, desperate struggle.
Its body started to emit a dangerous glow, a sign of self-destructing its Essence Soul Pill.
This person had slain so many Fourth Rank Demon Beasts, the Evil Qi so dense that even if it told the truth, it feared it might still not escape death.
Given this, only a desperate fight offered a slender chance of survival.
