Swallowed Star 2: Origin Continent: Volume 8: Chapter 20 (325): [Refining]

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Swallowed Star 2: Origin Continent
Volume 8: [The Battle of Yulan City]
Chapter (325): [Refining]
(20th of Volume 8)
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Luo Feng was quite surprised: "Despite being this close, I didn't even sense him?"

In terms of realm and spiritual sensing, Luo Feng felt that he was already good enough.

"I bought a secret treasure in the Dark Holy Realm to conceal myself," palace master Yuanxiang said, "it also hides my presence entirely, even from the detection of the Ultra-limit-level Heart-Bewitching Worm."

Palace Master Yuanxiang said solemnly, "Luo Feng, we're in a dire situation. That Ultra-limit-level Heart-Bewitching creature, along with a group of powerful leaders, is relentlessly attacking and killing our elders. You must quickly refine this 'City Builder Seal- now!"

A black seal appeared in the hand of palace master Yuanxiang.

Luo Feng's heart trembled.

One can earn military merits from killing low-level Hunyuan lifeforms... and those merits could be exchanged for powerful resources- such as world-class Hunyuan materials, rare lifeforms, even the corpses of high-level Hunyuan beings!

Ancient relics, secret artifacts... even treasures comparable to the legendary Star Tower or the Eye of Life and Death can also be exchanged.

According to Luo Feng's knowledge: Just to get the qualification and construct a city requires a staggering 2 million military merit points. But that wasn't all. You also need to gather enough powerful elders to assist in the construction.

And even at the base rate- 10,000 Hunyuan Crystals per military merit point- that meant a cost of 20 billion Hunyuan Crystals!

Let alone the fact that it was nearly impossible to actually acquire that much military merits.

To Luo Feng, this 'City Builder Seal' felt like holding a blazing hot coal- dangerous and overwhelming.

And normally, no city-builder would ever hand this seal to another practitioner.

"Don't hesitate!" palace master Yuanxiang urged. "While every second you delay, more elders are dying! If Yulan City is destroyed now, all our efforts will mean nothing!"

Upon hearing this, Without another thought, Luo Feng reached out and grabbed the black seal.

"Hurry and refine it!" Palace master Yuanxiang urged.

Luo Feng Clutched the seal tightly, and began to refine it.

The palace master Yuanxiang was relieved when he saw this, and felt as if a heavy burden had been lifted off his shoulders!

Palace Master Yuanxiang watched Luo Feng refining the City Builder Seal and said:

"Luo Feng, I have been cultivating all the way~ I have even stood at the top of the Dark Holy Realm. Over the countless years, I have accumulated a huge amount of military merits and secret treasures. But after the soul pollution... I had only one goal left~ to break free from the cage through my spiritual will!"

Only by transcending the shackles of spiritual will and jump out of the cage could one resist these soul pollution completely.

"When I Purchased the rights to build Yulan city... I attempted to change the course of my cultivation, and thought that it would help me find a way to strengthen my mind and will."

"But ever since the establishment of Yulan City, the mental pollution has worsened. Even maintaining the city's formation has become unbearable for me."

He turned to Luo Feng.

"Yet despite that, I grew attached to this city. And now- finally- I've found someone worthy to inherit it. You're more suited than I am to protect this place."

"I entrust Yulan City to you."

"I'll continue maintaining the formation until this battle is over. But once it ends, I'll withdraw completely- to fight the soul's pollution head-on."

"In the path of cultivation, as long as you're alive... there's always hope." Luo Feng, still focused, said calmly.

"Did you succeed in refining it?"

The palace master Yuanxiang's eyes lit up with satisfaction.

Luo Feng nodded slightly: "Now that I've refined the City Builder Seal, I can sense the vast power of Yulan City. And I feel that I can draw its energy for myself- it's incredible!"

"The city lord, palace masters, and elders can all tap into the city's energy," palace master Yuanxiang explained.

"But how they do it differs from standard techniques. For me, more than ninety percent of my power goes toward resisting soul pollution. Even maintaining the formation drains my energy. Drawing from the city's energy has become nearly impossible."

Now that Luo Feng had refined the seal, he naturally began learning the city's deeper secrets.

"Get used to the City Builder Seal quickly," the palace master Yuanxiang urged. "And create your own formation without delay!"

Luo Feng began to create his own formation!

At this moment, Luo Feng was in his peak after consuming the Hundred Calamities Heart Essence. His mind was sharp and focused. And with the seal now part of him, a single thought allowed him to seamlessly link with all of Yulan City.

Yulan City itself is not just a structure; it's a treasure of immense value, akin to a mighty fortress.

Its interior is filled with intricate secret patterns and powerful formations.

However, these formations are extremely complex- understanding and controlling them is also a daunting task.

Among the many formations, the Star Formation is one of the few formations that the elders of Yulan City can manage to operate.

"Buzz!"

The city naturally absorbs endless power from the heavens and earth, creating a massive reservoir of energy.

Not only does this energy sustain the city's defenses, but it also nourishes the countless practitioners residing within.

As the City Lord, Luo Feng can directly access up to one-tenth(10%) of the city's energy for his own use- especially for formation setup. But even with that access, utilizing such vast power places a heavy mental burden, particularly during combat.

In contrast:

A Palace Master can only tap into one two-thousandth(1/2000th{0.05%}) of the city's energy.

An Elder is limited to a mere one ten-thousandth(1/10000th{0.01%})!

This explains why each Elder Hall manages its own defensive system.

Yulan City's hundreds of defensive formations are perfectly synchronized- but independently operated. Luo Feng realized this while setting up his own formation.

The core formation diagram of Yulan City is designed with one thousand blank layers. Each layer is independent; they don't interfere with each other.

The City Lord, Palace Masters, and Elders each chooses one blank layer to set up their own formation.

No physical materials are needed- just inscribe the formation, and Yulan City will naturally activate and channel its power!

Because the elders set up their own formations, so naturally they can control them effortlessly.

Likewise, Luo Feng, with his deep insights into the Dao of Life and Death and the Daos of Life and Destruction, was quickly and effectively constructing his formation.

His mastery, especially in the Dao of Life and Death, had already approached the late-stage God Emperor Realm, giving his formations incredible power.

Across Yulan City, hundreds of formations were set by various Palace Masters and Elders.

Among them, the formation of Palace Master Yuanxiang is the strongest.

But now, the situation had changed.

Since Luo Feng refined the City Builder Seal, he gained visibility into every layer of the city's formation system. And he realized something: the formation laid by the palace master Yuanxiang was even more powerful than those of Palace Master Weiyang or Palace Master Gaitao.

However, due to his deteriorating condition, the palace master Yuanxiang could no longer unleash the full strength of his formation. He could barely control a small fraction of it, rendering him less effective- even compared to palace master Weiyang.

In fact, among all the city's God Emperors, Palace Master Weiyang currently ranked at the top.

'My soul pollution has reached its limits," palace master Yuanxiang sighed. "Those low-level spiritual, leader-level Hunyuan beings... can probably sense the corruption festering within me just by looking from afar."

Now palace master Yuanxiang felt like a he was drowning man on the verge of death, barely hanging on.

Meanwhile, Palace Master Weiyang was already preparing to claim the City Builder's Authority.

This weakness, sadly, attracted the newly born Ultra-limit-level Heart-Bewitching Worm to Yulan City. They saw it as the easiest city to conquer.

Looking out over the millions of practitioners in the city, Palace Master Yuanxiang spoke with deep conviction:

"I've chosen Luo Feng as your City Lord. His growth is rapid- he's far more suitable than I am to lead and protect this place."

In his fading consciousness, Palace Master Yuanxiang saw a vision- a golden-scaled woman, a high-level Hunyuan lifeform, breaking through to a higher realm in front of him. Her pollution seeped into the deepest recesses of his soul. He could do nothing to stop it.

"The gap between us and high-level Hunyuan beings is vast," he thought to himself. "No matter how many God Emperors we have- millions, billions, even trillions- they would all be crushed like ants under the foot of one true higher-level Hunyuan being."

There are some powerful Hunyuan entities currently imprisoned in the Dark Holy Realm, unable to use their strength or spread soul pollution. That's why they're valuable for study, observation- even dissection.

But if they were ever released- if even one could exert their full power- then every God Emperor would face an unstoppable nightmare.

"Hmm?"

The face of the Palace Master Yuanxiang suddenly changed.

Although he had already handed over the City-Builder Seal to Luo Feng, thus reducing his own authority, he wasn't gone yet. A clone of his still held the residual authority of palace master, allowing him to monitor and act within the city until the war concluded. Only then would he leave completely.

Thanks to the authority of the Palace Master and the formations still under his control, Palace Master Yuanxiang could still perceive everything- both within and beyond the city walls.

"Another low-level Hunyuan lifeforms army has arrived!"

He sensed it clearly- a massive, terrifying army had appeared outside the southern city gate.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Multiple new legions struck Yulan City in coordinated waves, causing enormous pressure to mount across every front.

"Yuan Yan, you're here!"

Within the dense encirclement laid by these low-level Hunyuan lifeforms, three terrifying auras emerged at the center- focused entirely on a new arrival.

"I knew the operation had begun early, so I rushed at full speed and just barely made it in time."

A massive black figure descended from the sky. Shaped like a monstrous dragonfly, it blazed with intense flame and radiated oppressive heat. Its mere presence twisted the air around it.

"However, the other kings might not be able to arrive so quickly."

"This attack was rushed," Yuan Yan admitted.

"But the king is already leading the Heart-Bewitching Worm Clan and Soul-Devouring Serpent Clan to launch a full-scale spiritual will attack on the elders inside the city. Yulan City's resistance is crumbling. At this rate, it'll fall soon."

A grin curled across his jagged face.

"It's been ages since I've breached a city!"

Standing among the peaks outside, the figure known as Yuan Yan narrowed his eyes, gazing at Yulan City with fiery anticipation.

Around him, the other three king-level entities, along with countless low-tier Hunyuan beings, surged with bloodlust.

They all thirsted for the moment of breach- when they could slaughter, devour, evolve, and finally earn their freedom.

Inside the city, the palace master Yuanxiang clenched his fists.

"One more army, means one more king," he muttered grimly.

"The pressure is overwhelming, and our elders are falling one after another. We've already lost thirty-five!"

He turned toward Luo Feng, standing silently at his side.

"Even with Luo Feng's help... we won't last long."

The latest invading legion alone required the combined force of dozens of elders to hold off- completely offsetting any reinforcement Luo Feng could provide.

"Although, many elders and elite practitioners had grouped up to hunt down the infiltrators within the city... but their efforts can only slow down the deterioration of the situation!"

"At this pace, we won't last half a day."

The palace master Yuanxiang felt a surge of helplessness and fury. He had tried everything- every tactic, every possibility- but the outcome seemed fixed.

Yulan City... was destined to fall.

And Luo Feng could feel it too.

While finalizing his formation, he could sense the chaos inside the city, the rising death, and the tightening siege outside. His anxiety deepened.

But just then-

"It's done!"

His eyes lit up.

He had finally completed the complex Life-and-Death Grand Formation, engraving it perfectly into one of Yulan City's core formation layers.

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END OF CHAPTER

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