Translator: Cinder Translations
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Xuan Ye's face showed a hint of astonishment as he glanced at Song Wen with admiration and said softly, "Brother Guo Tao's innate talent is indeed extraordinary, possessing such powerful spiritual strength."
Ignoring Xuan Ye's envious words, Song Wen continued, "But since this task requires me to refine the array flags, I wonder if it will affect your operation of the array."
Xuan Ye shook his head and produced an array plate about the size of a washbasin, saying, "That's not a problem. You only need to preliminarily refine the array flags. Once the flags are inserted into their positions, the true control of the array is handled by this array plate. As long as you don't move the flags with your spiritual power or interfere with my operation, it won't affect the array's function."
Song Wen nodded, "That sounds good."
Xuan Ye said, "Brother Guo Tao, please follow me. I will teach you the diagram of the Raging Inferno Array so you can arrange it."
Song Wen agreed, "Alright, let's proceed as you say."
The next day, the two, having completed their preparations, began their operation.
The headless ghost suddenly appeared at the edge of the snake pit, its head thrown back as it let out a piercing scream.
The scream was sharp and ear-piercing, like some kind of demonic sound.
The sudden disturbance caused the black vipers, accustomed to the dark and quiet environment, to become agitated.
Smaller black vipers began to dart around, while the more intelligent ones slithered into the snake holes nearby.
Larger black vipers opened their mouths wide, revealing their long, sharp fangs. Their crimson tongues flicked in the air, restless and agitated.
The large vipers coiled their tails and then shot towards the headless ghost like arrows, determined to annihilate this intruding spirit.
More large snakes crawled out of the snake holes.
At this moment, eight array flags fell from the sky. The black vipers were all drawn to the headless ghost's distraction, and before they could react, the flags had already been inserted into various corners of the snake pit.
"Array, activate!"
Xuan Ye's face turned serious as he repeatedly formed hand seals. The array plate floated in front of him, its surface glowing with dazzling light.
Eight spirit stones, each the size of an infant's fist, emitted dense spiritual energy, continuously feeding into the array plate, causing its brilliance to intensify.
Song Wen, standing beside him, looked on with surprise.
Eight medium-grade spirit stones!
Xuan Ye had indeed invested heavily for this task. Not only did he employ someone to craft the expensive array, but he also used eight medium-grade spirit stones to power it, equivalent to eight hundred low-grade spirit stones.
Song Wen realized that everyone who came with him to the ancient battlefield's underground cave seemed to be of notable background, with each person possessing an excessive amount of spirit stones.
However, like him, these individuals also had reasons to venture into dangerous depths.
It seemed that, like him, they had exhausted their resources and were taking desperate measures.
...
Above the snake pit, a layer of fire-red transparent shield suddenly enveloped the area.
Countless flames erupted from the ground, and the temperature within the array began to rise rapidly.
The black vipers fled in all directions, with some of the weaker ones burned to cinders.
The Raging Inferno Array trapped the black vipers that were originally on the ground within the array, while those underground sensed the terrifyingly high temperature of the array and, due to their innate fear of fire and light, fled deeper into the cave.
Only a few large snakes, thick as bowls, could barely withstand the intense heat, though their scales were scorched and falling off.
These large snakes battered against the edge of the array with all their might.
Each impact caused the shield to sway and flicker, as if it might shatter at any moment.
Each collision worsened the injuries of the black vipers, with the areas directly striking the shield becoming charred black.
In addition to the black vipers, the fire of the array also scorched the snake scale tree and the headless ghost.
The headless ghost, originally solid, now appeared somewhat ethereal.
It had been sprayed with venom by the black vipers, dispersing much of its dark aura. However, since the array was activated in time, it avoided a disaster.
As soon as the array was activated, the headless ghost advanced rather than retreating, charging directly towards the snake scale fruit tree at the center of the snake pit.
The temperature in the array was so high that it could potentially damage the medicinal properties of the snake scale fruit if left for too long.
When the headless ghost reached the fruit tree, the leaves of the tree had already turned yellow and those closer to the ground were beginning to burn.
However, the three snake scale fruits at the top of the tree were still relatively unaffected.
The headless ghost struck the fruit tree in half with a palm, then used its ghostly aura to carry the severed tree into the air.
Seeing the precious snake scale fruit tree destroyed, the surviving black vipers went into a frenzy. They ignored their injuries and leaped from the ground towards the flying headless ghost.
As the headless ghost reached the top of the array, a gap suddenly opened in the shield, allowing the ghost to escape through it.
The gap then quickly closed, blocking the black vipers that followed.
Xuan Ye, who controlled the shield to provide an escape route for the headless ghost, appeared unaffected, but his face suddenly turned pale, beads of sweat dripping down his forehead, showing signs of excessive spiritual exhaustion.
Song Wen, on the other hand, was busy as well.
A black viper, as large as a bowl and with strength comparable to a seventh-level Qi Cultivator, had escaped the array and was charging towards the two of them.
Song Wen glanced at Xuan Ye, who was fully focused on controlling the array plate, and suppressed the urge to flee for now.
He still needed Xuan Ye to lead the way.
Song Wen tapped his waist pouch, releasing a corpse puppet.
The corpse puppet strode forward, heading straight for the large snake.
Seeing the corpse puppet attack with claws and fangs, the black viper had to slow down, coiling its tail and then snapping it forward.
The corpse puppet was immediately sent flying, but its tough hide meant it wasn't badly hurt.
Just as the corpse puppet was being thrown, a long iron spike shot towards the black viper's left eye.
The black viper's head jerked to avoid the vulnerable eye, then its head slammed into the iron spike.
"Clang!"
The Soul-Breaking Awl and the snake head clashed, producing a metallic sound.
The Soul-Breaking Awl was deflected.
A portion of the scales on the black viper's head shattered, revealing the bloodied flesh underneath.
At this moment, the corpse puppet wrapped itself around the large snake again, grabbing its tail and tensing its muscles, trying to throw the snake.
The large snake, unwilling to be thrown, coiled its body around the corpse puppet's waist.
It opened its gaping maw and spat out a stream of venom.
The venom splashed onto the corpse puppet's head, hissing as it corroded. The already hideous face of the puppet became even more distorted and terrifying.
The corpse puppet went berserk, sinking its teeth into the snake's most vulnerable belly.
Blood splattered everywhere.
The sharp fangs pierced the snake's skin, causing the large snake to thrash wildly in pain. Its body began to flail.
After a difficult struggle, the snake finally managed to throw off the corpse puppet, but a large piece of flesh was bitten off from its belly.
The corpse puppet swallowed the snake meat and was about to attack again when it suddenly halted and turned to flee.
It turned out that the headless ghost had already retrieved the snake scale fruit.
(End of the Chapter)