pjbooks Chapter 70 Devouring Array
Chapter 70 Devouring Array
The Li Family Mansion.
It is located in the deepest part of the old city of Jiangcheng.
A vast mansion.
At this moment, deep beneath the ground of this mansion, a disaster capable of destroying the entire Jiangcheng is brewing.
A basement.
This is a secret space hidden 20 meters underground, with an area of several hundred square meters.
On the ground, a huge magic circle is slowly operating.
The patterns of the magic circle spread outwards like a spider web, each line flowing with an eerie crimson light.
In the center of the magic circle, a black bead the size of a fist floats.
The bead was like a miniature black hole, constantly absorbing the crimson mist that permeated the surrounding air.
The Heavenly Demon Clan's Devouring Array is 99% complete.
Just one last step!
Then a dark figure appeared.
……
The reception room of the Li family mansion.
Li Wanshan stood in the hall, hands behind his back, looking at Jiangcheng in the distance, his eyes filled with greed and fanaticism.
He is the head of the Li family, a half-step sixth-level expert, and the person in charge of the Jiangcheng family.
To ordinary people, he is a philanthropist and entrepreneur.
Every year, they donate a large sum of money for disaster relief.
His photos frequently appear in major media outlets in Jiangcheng.
The accompanying text is usually titled something like "philanthropic entrepreneur Li Wanshan donates another 10 million yuan" or "Li family wins the title of Jiangcheng Charity Star for ten consecutive years".
But only a very few people know what kind of face lies beneath that philanthropist's mask.
Beside him stood a middle-aged man dressed in a black robe.
The man was in his fifties, with a square face and an extraordinary demeanor.
Zao Wou-Ki.
Lord of Jiangcheng.
This job sounds impressive, but in reality...
The real power in Jiangcheng was in the hands of Cao Keyuan of the military and Director Zhou of the Night Watch.
Zhao Wuji, the city lord, is more of a symbolic figure.
Responsible for civil affairs, taxation, urban construction, and other related matters.
But Zhao Wuji's ambitions went far beyond that.
He wanted to be the true master of Jiangcheng.
Therefore, he and Li Wanshan got together.
"Patriarch Li." Zhao Wuji's voice was somewhat low, carrying a hint of barely perceptible unease.
"Do you think the envoy from the Heavenly Demon Clan is trustworthy?"
Li Wanshan turned around and glanced at Zhao Wuji.
"Lord Zhao, what makes you say that?"
"I always feel uneasy." Zhao Wuji frowned.
"The Demon Clan envoy suddenly activated the grand formation, far ahead of schedule. I originally thought we'd have to wait at least another month, but now..."
"Isn't it good now?" Li Wanshan laughed.
"A month earlier means we'll take control of Jiangcheng a month earlier. City Lord Zhao, haven't you been waiting for this day for a long time?"
"I've been waiting for a long time," Zhao Wuji said, "but the Heavenly Demon Clan is, after all, a different race."
"I don't know them very well. And I'm even less willing to trust them easily."
"Will they really keep their promise? After helping us take Jiangcheng, will they fight alongside us against the alien beasts?"
"Lord Zhao, you're overthinking it," Li Wanshan patted Zhao Wuji on the shoulder.
"My son, Li Mo, has been in contact with me these past few days. He hasn't sent me any bad news."
"How is Li Mo doing now?"
"Very good." Li Wanshan's face lit up with a proud smile as he mentioned his son. "He's already broken through to the fifth rank. Do you know how he did it?"
"How did you break through?"
"Absorbing the blood and qi of martial artists." Li Wanshan's voice was low, but his smugness was undisguised.
"The method taught to him by the Heavenly Demon Clan. As long as he absorbs enough martial artists' blood and energy, his strength will continuously increase."
"In the past few days, he and his men have killed many wilderness hunters and collected enough mental energy to open the spatial rift."
"And the flesh and blood of those hunters!"
"It all helped my son break through," Li Wanshan said casually, as if he were talking about something very ordinary.
"Lord Zhao, you must understand that those who achieve great things do not concern themselves with trifles. Those hunters are already worthless; what does it matter if a few die?"
Zhao Wuji remained silent for a few seconds.
"What about the rat swarm at Fortress Number One? Has Li Mo brought it under control?"
"It's under control," Li Wanshan said. "My son has taken control of the Rat King, and the entire rat swarm is under his command."
"Even if something goes wrong tonight, we can hide in Fortress One. Hundreds of thousands of mutated rats, who would dare to come in?"
Zhao Wuji finally smiled.
"Master Li, you've thought things through very well."
"Of course." Li Wanshan turned around and looked in the direction of the great formation.
"Lord Zhao, the envoy has begun activating the Devouring Array."
"As agreed, you should gather experts to guard the Li family mansion and ensure that no one disturbs the envoy."
"It's all arranged," Zhao Wuji said. "Four or five hundred experts are already outside. They're all from our aristocratic families, loyal and reliable."
"Okay." Li Wanshan nodded. "After tonight, Jiangcheng will be under our control."
……
Deep in the basement of the Li family mansion.
At this moment, a humanoid creature covered in black scales was squatting on the ground, carving an array on the ground with a black carving knife.
Heavenly Demon Messenger.
Its left arm was broken, and the cut was wrapped with black bandages, from which blood was still seeping.
Ye Feng's strike severed its entire left arm and half of its shoulder. Even a sixth-level expert would need a long time to recover from such an injury.
But it couldn't wait any longer.
It must activate the Devouring Array as soon as possible.
Once the grand formation is activated, the entire Jiangcheng will become its nourishment. At that time, not only will severed limbs be revived, but even the dead can be brought back to life.
The demon messenger's eyes were blood red, filled with rage and hatred.
"Damn Ye Feng!" it cursed through gritted teeth as it inscribed the formation.
"The hatred of losing an arm is irreconcilable! Just wait, once I activate the grand formation, you'll be the first one I deal with!"
The carving knife in its hand drew lines on the ground, and with each line it carved, the array base would light up with a faint dark red glow.
The carving knife is made of a special material; it is not metal, but a translucent crystal that emits a faint glow.
If you look closely, you'll see something flowing inside the crystal, like smoke or liquid.
That's mental power.
The spiritual power of the human race.
The material the Heavenly Demon Messenger used to inscribe the array was actually spiritual energy extracted from humans.
Each line carved requires the mental energy of dozens of people.
In order for this devouring array to take shape, the Heavenly Demon Envoy and Li Mo had killed hundreds of wilderness hunters and extracted enough spiritual energy from them.
"It'll be soon, it'll be soon."
As the demon envoy watched the formation gradually take shape on the ground, the hatred in his eyes was slowly replaced by excitement.
The moment the last rune was inscribed, the entire formation suddenly lit up.
Dark red light surged from the base of the array, flowing along the patterns like blood, and quickly filled the entire array.
"It's done!"
The Demon Messenger stood up, looked at the enormous devouring array before him, and let out a piercing laugh.
"Ye Feng, you severed my arm, I'll make you pay with your entire Jiangcheng!"
It walked to the center of the formation and injected a drop of its essence blood into the black bead.
The moment the black bead came into contact with the essence blood, it immediately began to operate wildly.
It was like a bottomless pit, frantically absorbing the blood-red mist that permeated the surrounding air.
"Phase One, Initiation."
The demon messenger formed hand seals and chanted a string of obscure and difficult-to-understand incantations.
The Devouring Array trembled violently.
An invisible force spread out from the center of the formation, extending in all directions from the formation's core.
The area is 500 meters in radius.
This is the area engulfed in the first stage.
Within this range, the life force and spiritual energy of all living beings will be forcibly extracted by the great formation.
"Hahaha!" The Demon Messenger laughed wildly, "So comfortable! So comfortable!"
It could sense that the great formation was frantically absorbing the blood and spiritual energy, and then, through the transmission array, continuously gathering it into the black bead at the array's core.
The black beads grew larger and brighter, and the aura they emitted became increasingly terrifying.
This is not just the energy that opens spatial rifts.
This is also the nourishment for the Heavenly Demon Envoy's breakthrough.
When the Heavenly Demon Messenger told Li Wanshan and Zhao Wuji that this formation was used to "open a spatial rift to summon the Heavenly Demon army".
He wasn't telling the truth.
Or rather, he didn't tell the whole truth.
Opening a spatial rift does indeed require a massive amount of energy.
However, most of that energy will be absorbed by the Heavenly Demon Envoy and used to break through his cultivation level.
Li Wanshan and Zhao Wuji believed that they were using the Heavenly Demon Clan.
In reality, it was the Heavenly Demon Clan who were using them.
Once the Devouring Array is fully activated, millions of people in Jiangcheng will become nourishment.
At that point, not only Li Wanshan and Zhao Wuji, but even the Heavenly Demon Envoy himself might not be able to control the situation.
But the Heavenly Demon Messenger didn't care.
Whether Jiangcheng is destroyed or not, whether Li Wanshan and Zhao Wuji live or die, it doesn't care.
It only cares about one thing.
Breakthrough to the late stage of the sixth rank.
Then, he sought revenge on Ye Feng.