Welcome to Ability Store-Chapter 116 - 115: A Master Born of Talent

In an instant, the demon fiends pouring in from the breach in the line were ignited, their entire bodies emitting blue flames, and their flesh producing sizzling sounds.

The flames were not real fire but the effect of converted spiritual energy. Even when the demon fiends and humans were crowded together, the flames wouldn’t harm the allied forces. The flames seemed to have eyes, only appearing on the enemies drenched in alcohol who charged into the formation.

Yet their lethality was very real.

The high temperatures from the flames caused the demon fiends to struggle painfully, rolling around, but they couldn’t extinguish them. Their shells visibly changed from green to red, then from red to white, finally burning into pieces of cracked gray stone-like fragments, and their flesh turned into a bubbling blue puddle after death, leaving the ground covered.

The dissipating spiritual energy was absorbed by the cultivators to replenish their consumption and nourish themselves.

The cultivators of the Ascension Platform were skilled in formations, and Chen Xuan suddenly remembered this saying.

The Drunken Brocade Breaking Formation set by Xu Yuanqing almost covered an area of about a hundred meters in radius. With his own power, he blocked the demon fiends’ offensive on the flanks, while the cultivators and the French Army could come and go freely within the formation, without fear of being accidentally harmed by the flames. This is the greatest advantage of formations—combining offense and defense with lasting effects.

Although Xu Xuanling’s Thousand Machine Lock Moon also used an array talisman, its form was completely different from this formation. If one had to carry a wine pot to set the Drunken Brocade Breaking Formation, then his daughter certainly wouldn’t inherit her father’s skills.

And that prodigy cultivator from Celestial Derivation Tower, his sound-based spells were clearly self-created, which is why he caught Xu Xuanling off guard.

He vaguely began to understand this world’s cultivation methods.

Each sect had one or two specialized directions, and disciples would gain experience and training from them, learning some basic, common spells. During this process, some cultivators would have epiphanies, developing their unique spells and combat styles. It’s precisely due to these epiphanies that differences arise among cultivators.

This is why the Immortal Alliance periodically hosts sect competitions, allowing everyone to showcase their special skills, verifying if these new spells are useful, and giving other observing cultivators a chance for sudden inspiration.

The Lotus Cloud Sect was noticeably more formal in education, with disciples trained in identical cultivation techniques, such as Liu Zhidong and Liu Shuyue, whose heart methods and demon-slaying techniques were exactly the same. More differences arose from their experiences after leaving the mountain.

But now wasn’t the time to dwell on this, as Chen Xuan saw the giant crab monster’s cannon being reloaded again, slowly aiming at Xu Yuanqing’s position.

Oh well, let them see the methods of the Lotus Cloud Sect then.

Chen Xuan took out a Wind Riding Talisman and shot up from the crowd—as long as he didn’t truly fly and used it as a booster for height, he could still use it skillfully.

At the moment he leaped into mid-air, Chen Xuan suddenly activated the Divine Eye Technique, and everything around him seemed to freeze.

The French cavalry, under the leadership of Joan, was striking the main formations of the demon fiends, the Sword Qi in her hand still dazzling, her cloak on her back stained with the enemies’ blue blood.

Following alongside Joan were the witches from the assembly, pulling various spell-casting materials from their waist pouches to fend off attacks from the half-human demon fiends.

Xu Yuanqing also noticed the enemy’s movements and took out a new talisman from his bosom.

Some cultivators and soldiers noticed him leaping into mid-air and were looking up to track his figure.

All of these were like frames of a stop-motion animation, flipping back frame by frame.

As Chen Xuan’s thoughts arrived, four Qi Swords immediately appeared behind him.

Then he cast his gaze onto the demon fiends turning their massive bodies, focusing on the bull’s-eye hidden under their shells—this spot was only palm-sized and protected by giant pincers and head armor, nearly impossible to hit from the front.

In less than a second, Chen Xuan scanned over seven or eight Iron Armored Demon Fiends.

The Thousand Thoughts Sword is a sword controlled by will; his will is the command!

The moment the Divine Eye Technique ended, the four Qi Swords shot out like lightning, directly targeting four different opponents!

All anyone could see was a subtle white silhouette soaring over the demon fiends’ heads, then suddenly diving, bypassing obstructing enemies and those pincers, and stabbing upward from a diagonal angle, directly hitting the unarmored spot between the two small eyes of the iron-armored crab. With its unmatched sharp blade, it pierced through the demon fiend’s brain like butter.

The latter immediately convulsed non-stop, then its auxiliary legs collapsed, and its body fell with a thud.

Its back cannon had already been ignited.

A loud boom was heard as the lowered cannon barrel fired a large amount of shot into the congested crowd of low-level demon fiends nearby, with blue flesh flying and severed limbs flailing everywhere!

The Qi Swords, however, seemed conscious, quickly retreating and heading towards the next target.

In the blink of an eye, more than half of the armored crab fiends were dead.

"What formidable techniques!" Xu Yuanqing was stunned, never before had he heard of such graceful and agile flying sword techniques!

To him, Chen Xuan seemed to merely leap into the air, casually wave his hand, and several flying swords flew out from behind him, beginning to massacre the enemy as if the sword tips had eyes.

Within the Immortal Alliance, there are sects that excel in using flying swords, but none could wield them with such freedom.

This freedom meant it was indefensible, extremely efficient when launching attacks.

Xu Yuanqing thought for a moment, imagining if he were to face Chen Xuan in the sect’s grand competition, he would be drenched in sweat instantly. He truly couldn’t figure out how he could block these strangely routed, elusive flying swords in the blink of an eye.

Other cultivators were equally shocked.

To take the enemy’s head from hundreds of meters away, such a spell they had only dreamt of.

Meanwhile, Joan also reached the battlefield’s center.

She raised the banner high, green light illuminating the entire army, guiding the soldiers in successive assaults against the demon fiends, driving the enemy into retreat. Even if someone was wounded and fell, there would immediately be a replacement to fill the gap. This was not only a contest of techniques but also a battle of courage, not only spells could eliminate them; guns and long swords could also inflict lethal damage.

As the French Army advanced to the remaining armored crab demon fiends, Joan handed the banner decisively to her lieutenant and raised her long sword with both hands, her expression as reverent as if she were praying to her deity. A beam of light then fell from the gloomy clouds, making her armor shimmer brilliantly. Within this holy light, she delivered a powerful and forceful strike.

The sword light not only shattered the crab demon fiend’s massive shell but also cleaved the dragon keel of the warship behind it! The fractured ship hull collapsed layer by layer, and the flying debris significantly boosted the army’s morale, with cries of "Long live France" echoing across the beach.

Chen Xuan was very skeptical about whether the opponent was really using the Spiritual Energy Sword he had traded over... at least it already seemed completely unlike a white rare ability.

After over two hours of battle, it finally ended in the demon fiends’ total retreat.

The beach was strewn with blue blood and shattered shells, the stench spreading far with the sea breeze.

Despite being a victory, the French forces paid a price of over a hundred casualties, with soldiers’ bodies gathered together, ready for cremation and burial. According to Joan’s words, this had already been the least costly great victory in recent times; the deceased could not be transported back to Paris City, and there weren’t enough coffins, so cremation on-site was the only feasible solution to prevent the spread of plagues.

Six cultivators also perished.

However, they would be taken back to Chang’an City, handed over to their respective sects for settlement.

Upon departure, everyone’s faces no longer bore the ease and eagerness from when they first arrived. This was different from sect cultivation; there would be no master and senior brother to protect them, and at any moment, a slight misstep could lead to eternal damnation. Even if one remained cautious at all times in facing new enemy attack methods, escaping death was equally difficult.

But Chen Xuan could sense that these people’s Spiritual Qi intensity had slightly increased compared to when they arrived.

The demon fiend army was indeed terrifying, yet opportunities also truly existed.

He believed that when the news spread, the cultivators willing to risk coming here would definitely not just be around a hundred.

In fact, at this moment, five cultivators had already decided not to return to Chang’an City but to stay on the front line, providing combat support for the French Army.

After sending everyone off, Chen Xuan met with Joan again. Now with Eastern reinforcements, the witch’s burden on her shoulders could be slightly eased, so he specifically asked Joan whether there were any witches particularly skilled in finding people at the assembly place.

"Finding people?" She thought for a moment, "Marina is quite good; she used to serve as a scout in the army, adept in spells related to searching and tracking."

So there was an expert in finding people within his own team?

Speaking of which, lately Marina had been learning Immortal Spells from Liu Shuyue, and he wondered whether she had succeeded in her studies.

Just before saying goodbye, Chen Xuan suddenly remembered a matter he had been suspicious about, "By the way... can I see your ability again?"

Joan nodded, agreeing readily.

The two came to the shop’s entrance, Chen Xuan took out a scanning gun, aiming it at Joan.

The S-level Spirit Sword Technique appeared prominently before his eyes.

"Super-tier Spirit Sword Technique" Level 2, purple.

"Sword Qi attaches to external objects, plucking flowers and leaves can injure others; the thicker the sword Qi, the stronger the power. Don’t ask how it reached this level, it’s simply natural talent."