89: Chapter 89 Night Raid

1:00 AM on Sunday.

Chen Zhen opened his eyes from Cultivating.

[Fragment Perception] was sounding an alarm like crazy—the point of light in the southwest had suddenly increased its speed drastically.

1,200 kilometers.

1,000 kilometers.

800 kilometers.

Not right.

It's not coming here?

600 kilometers.

400 kilometers.

200 kilometers.

It is coming here!

Chen Zhen stood up, his expression calm.

He had known it would come long ago.

Three hundred Talismans were glowing faintly on the wall, six pots of spiritual plants were growing quietly within the array, and three simplified Celestial Star Array were stuck in the most conspicuous positions.

He had been waiting for this moment for two days.

He pushed open the door and walked out.

Outside, the night was deep, and the city lights flickered in the distance.

In the open space, a blood-red light descended from the sky, slamming into the ground and blasting out a shockwave.

That thing stood in the crater.

Tattered clothes, grayish-white skin, blood-red eyes.

Qi Refining Level 6, its aura chaotic and violent, at least twice as strong as an ordinary Qi Refining Level 6.

The Out-of-Controls.

It looked at Chen Zhen and let out a hoarse voice: "Fragment... give... to me..."

Chen Zhen didn't speak; he simply raised his right hand.

On the wall, one hundred Attack Talismans lit up simultaneously.

The thing froze for a moment; before it could react, one hundred Talismans had already flown above its head, arranging themselves into a massive Talisman Array.

Thunder Fire Talisman, Gold Blade Talisman, Ice Spike Talisman, Wind Blade Talisman.

Various colors of light intertwined, shrouding a fifty-meter radius.

Chen Zhen snapped his fingers.

Boom—

One hundred Attack Talismans erupted at the same time.

Lightning, gold blades, ice spikes, and wind blades poured down like a rainstorm, all smashing into the thing.

The thing let out a shrill scream, its blood-red light flickering wildly as it tried to resist.

But one hundred Talismans were too many.

Its protective light held for three seconds before shattering.

The attacks landed directly on it.

Boom, boom, boom, boom—

The explosions were earth-shattering, and the entire open space was swallowed by the various colors of light.

Chen Zhen stood at the edge of the light, his expression calm.

Ten seconds later, the attacks ceased.

The light dissipated.

The thing knelt on the ground, charred all over, emitting smoke.

Its left arm was gone, a large hole opened in its chest, and blood-red light gushed from the wound as if it were bleeding.

It raised its head, its blood-red eyes filled with disbelief.

"How... is... it possible..."

Chen Zhen didn't answer.

Flipping his right hand, three Thunder Fire Talismans appeared in his palm.

Purple lightning descended from the sky, striking the thing again.

It screamed and fell to the ground, the blood-red light on its body fluctuating violently, growing weaker and weaker.

But it wasn't dead yet.

It struggled to crawl up, staring at Chen Zhen; for the first time, fear appeared in its eyes.

"Wait... wait..."

Chen Zhen stopped.

The thing gasped for air, saying intermittently: "I... I can... tell you... who sent... me..."

Chen Zhen looked at it.

"Who?"

The thing opened its mouth, wanting to say something.

But at that exact moment, the blood-red light on its chest exploded violently, a blinding red beam shooting straight into the sky.

Then, its entire body turned into a cloud of blood mist and vanished.

In its place, only a dark red star core fragment remained, lying on the ground and emitting a faint glow.

Chen Zhen walked over and picked up that fragment.

The fifth one.

He held it in his palm, sensing the chaotic aura remaining inside.

Someone was controlling it.

Someone had silenced it at the last moment.

He looked up at the night sky.

The eastern sky was faintly glowing red, flashing on and off, as if mocking him.

He withdrew his gaze and put the fragment into his Storage Space.

He turned around and walked back to the Secret Base.

Behind him, the open space was a mess, but there was no trace of the enemy.

He had won.

Unharmed.

3:00 AM, Secret Base.

Chen Zhen sat cross-legged in the center of the Eight-Talisman Chain Array, taking stock of the battle damage.

Three hundred Talismans; one hundred and fifty were used, leaving one hundred and fifty.

The six pots of spiritual plants were intact.

As for himself, he hadn't even broken skin.

He glanced at the system panel.

[Cultivation: Qi Refining Level 4 638/1800]

After one battle, it had increased by 30 points.

Experience is not bad.

He took out the dark red star core fragment and examined it carefully.

It was a size smaller than a normal star core fragment, the color was a dark red, and there were faint blood-colored patterns on the surface.

Using [Internal Vision], he could see that the aura of violent chaos remaining inside the fragment was identical to that of The Out-of-Controls.

[star core fragment (Polluted Version)]

[Status: Eroded by malicious power, cannot be used for direct Fusion]

[Suggestion: Use after purification, or use as a tracking clue]

Purification?

How to purify?

He didn't know.

But he knew that behind this fragment, there was a greater mastermind.

He put away the fragment, walked to the workbench, and took out the stack of blank Talisman paper.

He continued to draw Talismans.

One hundred and fifty had been used, so he had to replenish them.

One after another, purple light flickered in the base.

5:00 AM, the phone vibrated.

Yun Xi's message: "I felt it. Did he go to find you?"

Chen Zhen replied: "Yes."

Yun Xi replied instantly: "Still alive?"

Chen Zhen replied: "Alive. He is dead."

Silence for a few seconds.

Yun Xi: "I will arrive at dawn."

Chen Zhen looked at this message and did not reply.

He put the phone away and continued to draw Talismans.

Outside the window, the sky was about to brighten.