439: One wrong step

The blazing firebird dragged the flaming barrier, moving slowly but surely toward Sacred Emperor Mountain.

The Puppet made of jade bone guarded the outside of the Grand Array, constantly colliding with the incoming wind blades, sound waves, and massive mountains.

Inside the Formation, Li Changfeng and the other Cultivators continuously channeled spiritual energy to maintain the Puppet and the Grand Array. Their foreheads were long since drenched in sweat, and their spiritual energy showed signs of depletion.

The gap in strength between the Nascent Soul and Golden Core stages was simply too vast.

True Lord Feng Chuan was merely using minor tricks, playing with them like a cat with a mouse, yet it was enough to make them feel suffocated under the pressure.

"Fortunately, the Puppet held on..."

Li Changfeng looked at the jade bone Puppet and clicked his tongue, his eyes filled with wonder.

Under the sunlight and the flickering red light of the searing Formation, the jade bone shone brilliantly, like an exquisite work of art that one could not look away from.

This jade bone of a Third-Rank Expert who had fallen countless years ago had not undergone much processing, nor had there been time to integrate Heaven And Earth Treasures like spirit ores or Spirit Medicine.

Relying solely on its own material, it could easily withstand Feng Chuan's attacks, remaining as immovable as a mountain and seemingly indestructible.

Li Changfeng and the others were all shocked.

At first, they thought the jade bone's limit would be to withstand a few attacks, after which everyone would have to stall for time with their lives.

But as Feng Chuan employed various methods, even closing in to strike with a Magic Treasure,

The jade bone remained completely unmoved.

Only then did everyone realize how absurd this thing truly was.

The jade bone of a Third-Rank Expert, even without refinement, was already the strongest Treasure Artifact the players could produce.

Li Changfeng even wondered: if the third rank was already this ridiculous, what would it be like further up?

Would there be experts who fought using the skulls of ancient powerhouses?

Just thinking about it made his scalp tingle.

The Xuanhuan World was too bizarre; every part of a powerhouse was a treasure.

'Good, by relying on the third-rank jade bone, we can finally withstand Feng Chuan's attacks and even keep him on a leash...'

Li Changfeng looked in Feng Chuan's direction, the corners of his mouth curling up.

Not only was the third-rank jade bone incredibly tough, but under the enhancement of the Grand Array, the Dao Cultivation of the expert within was stimulated, causing sharp fist winds to roar out continuously.

Although these fist winds weren't as absurd as the Sword Intent the players had activated in the Ancient Battlefield, and Feng Chuan wasn't as weak as a player, he was still entangled and had failed to seize the jade bone after all this time.

As a result, the distance between him and Sacred Emperor Mountain was constantly closing. Unknowingly, he had arrived thirty miles outside Sacred Emperor Mountain; it was already close at hand.

It's going to succeed!

The players inside the Grand Array all smiled, their movements becoming much lighter. They felt that all their previous efforts were worth it.

However, just at that moment.

Feng Chuan, who had been pressing forward step by step, suddenly stopped and hovered in mid-air.

He stood with his hands behind his back, chest out and head held high. Wild winds swirled around him, radiating an Aura that made one afraid to approach.

"You want to lure me to Sacred Emperor Mountain?"

Feng Chuan looked toward the Grand Array, his gaze seemingly piercing through the searing firebird to lock directly onto Li Changfeng and the others.

The corners of his mouth curled up as if he were laughing.

The expressions of the players froze, and a chill rose within them.

"Damn it, Feng Chuan knows!"

"I knew this secret couldn't be kept!"

"It's over, the plan failed!"

Hearing the panicked voices around him, Li Changfeng's expression did not change in the slightest.

He just looked calmly at Feng Chuan and said:

"Since you are a True Lord, why do you fear Sacred Emperor Mountain?"

Feng Chuan sneered. "A place left behind by ancient powerhouses—even if I am a True Lord, I should not rush in blindly."

Having said that, he scanned the surroundings to confirm the terrain.

This area was mostly plains, but there was still a mountain range, and by pure coincidence, it was only three miles away—very close.

So Feng Chuan drifted down, his toes landing on a mountain peak, looking extremely ethereal.

At the same time, his Aura suddenly surged. Every mountain in the range vibrated as if activated by him.

Li Changfeng narrowed his eyes, having already guessed what was happening.

Of Feng Chuan's five Divine Abilities, three should be wind-based, likely classified under the Wood Virtue.

Their names were unknown, but their practical applications were roughly: attacking with wind blades, controlling sound for attacks, and accumulating or erupting power.

The other two Divine Abilities should be earth-based.

The first was controlling mountains and using them as a base to manipulate the momentum of the earth's veins. This was a terrifying offensive method that had caused the players endless suffering.

The second should be the technique he was using now.

The effect was unknown, but it appeared to establish some sort of connection between Feng Chuan himself and the local earth veins, continuously replenishing his spiritual energy.

In other words, as long as the connection between the earth veins and him was not severed, his spiritual energy reserves could be called infinite.

With such a Divine Ability, he was invincible, whether through a war of attrition or a relay battle, no matter how many lives were thrown at him.

No wonder Feng Chuan was so confident.

'Three Wood and two Earth—he's following the path of mutual generation. Although he's not a Great Immortal Master with all five elements, this path is decent and stable. Many players will probably choose it.'

Li Changfeng was already calculating the gains and losses after defeating Feng Chuan.

The more he thought about it, the more excited he became.

Because his greatest fear was that Feng Chuan had taken an unorthodox path and hadn't achieved Nascent Soul through five Divine Abilities.

But from the opponent's performance, he was a True Lord who genuinely possessed five Divine Abilities.

His strength went without saying; it was enough to drive the players to despair.

These five Divine Abilities provided offense, defense, and stamina, and the consumption of his Innate Divine Power was extremely low, so he didn't have to worry about exhaustion at all.

In a direct confrontation, it would be impossible for all the players combined to defeat Feng Chuan.

But similarly, this also meant that Feng Chuan truly possessed a proper Nascent Soul Method.

This was enough to drive the players crazy.

And... "The time is about right."

Li Changfeng looked toward Feng Chuan and suddenly said this seemingly nonsensical sentence.

The other players around him looked at him in surprise, thinking he meant that this operation was going to be a miserable failure.

Feng Chuan raised an eyebrow. A True Lord's instinct told him something was wrong, but he didn't know what.

Just as he opened his mouth to utter a mockery,

His expression changed drastically.

The connection with the earth veins was suddenly severed.

The surrounding scenery spun violently.

The originally unremarkable mountain range vanished.

In its place was the mass of Sacred Emperor Mountain.

Feng Chuan appeared at the foot of Sacred Emperor Mountain, already finding himself within the Trial Grounds.

This process happened too quickly, giving him no chance to react.

Cold sweat was already trickling down Feng Chuan's forehead; he knew he had fallen into a trap.

There was more than one entrance to the Sacred Emperor Mountain Trial Grounds.

The mountain range where he had been standing was also an entrance, it just wasn't usually open, and combined with the concealment left by the Sacred Emperor, he hadn't been able to detect it.

Just now, a ripple of the Great Void must have erupted, instantly shifting his position. This method of forcibly pulling someone across the Great Void required at least the Second-Rank Void Return stage.

Feng Chuan swallowed hard, his first instinct being to leave.

At that moment, the jade bone Puppet suddenly came charging at him, accompanied by the sky-covering flames driven by the full power of the Grand Array.

Feng Chuan's brow twitched. Unwilling to waste spiritual energy on defense, he subconsciously dodged backward.

In the next instant, a heavy pressure slammed down, nearly knocking him over completely.

"Oh no!"