Chapter 606: Wind and Rain Fortress Battle

Pure Nine-Lotus Lantern

At the very heart of the Cloud Dream Lake, the water shimmered and glinted, veiled in a misty haze, resembling an ethereal scroll painting. A series of strangely shaped islands were crisscrossed and arrayed across the lakebed. This was the place where a Fourth-Tier poisonous dragon was sealed, imbued with the mighty power of three Nascent Soul cultivators. Misty clouds swirled like silken ribbons across the lake's surface, as if draped with a sheer veil. From afar, it appeared as a secluded paradise, mysterious as a fairy realm.

Yet, every cultivator in Cloud Dream Lake knew that to enter it meant certain death. These mists were toxic fumes seeping from the poisonous dragon's seal; even Core Formation cultivators who touched them would find their bodies wasting away, their spiritual energy dissipating.

Several dozen miles to the east of this sealed area, three islands rose above the lake's surface. One island was large, flanked by two smaller ones, forming a triangular arrangement. The largest island directly faced the sealed location. The islands were lush with trees and beautiful scenery. Wooden structures ascended the slopes in stepped tiers, arranged along a mysterious trajectory, forming a massive array that enveloped the main island. The other two smaller islands also featured similar formations. These three formations were interlinked, collectively forming an even grander array that encompassed all three islands and nearly half of the waters on the eastern side of the sealed boundary.

This was the renowned "Skyfall Wind and Rain Tri-Elemental Array," a mid-grade Fourth-Tier formation. Across the entire Eastern Desolation, its power was second only to the Profound Mechanism Five Elements Array of Primal Chaos Immortal City, comparable to the Myriad Trees Grand Array at full power. For this very reason, the Wind and Rain Dock absolutely could not fall.

However, today, this formation was in grave peril. A massive cloud of mist surged from above the Grand Unity True Seal Realm, carrying dazzling multicolored light, like a burning brush sketching across the sky, transforming into a vibrant cloud dragon. The cloud dragon was lifelike, its empty eyes resembling two swirling vortices, breathing forth wind, rain, and thunder.

In an instant, violent roars erupted, and thunder boomed. As multicolored mist extended from the cloud dragon's body, a colossal, slender cloud-mist dragon claw stretched from mid-air, pressing down towards the Skyfall light shield that enveloped the Wind and Rain Dock. The most crucial spiritual nexus of the "Skyfall Wind and Rain Tri-Elemental Array" lay on the main island, but the two flanking smaller islands were also vital, serving as core nodes of the array's boundary. That single claw strike tied up half the power of the "Skyfall Wind and Rain Tri-Elemental Array"!

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! After the poisonous dragon's claw pressed down from the sky, suppressing part of the Wind and Rain Dock's grand array, the Skyfall light shield, which was originally supposed to encompass the other two smaller islands, suddenly weakened significantly. Below the islands, thousands of mortals began to show faces of despair, their eyes tightly shut, seemingly awaiting the arrival of death.

But this was merely the beginning! At that very moment, the shores were swarming with impatient demonic beasts, rushing forth in droves! Above the islands, White Plague Birds blanketed the sky. Beneath the water's surface, massive monster fish and demonic tortoises leaped out, spraying jets of dark water at the grand array's light shield. The demonic beasts, having long awaited this day, roared as they surged towards the two islands.

A deep blue spiritual light belonged to Nujiang, while a fiery red spiritual light, naturally, came from Che Yuanxi, a True Person of the Five Elements Sect's Fire Vein. These two spiritual lights stood above the two smaller islands, wielding the remaining mobilizable power of the grand array's Skyfall to resist the onslaught of tens of thousands of strangely shaped demonic beasts from outside. Two streaks of green-white and crimson-white demonic qi also erupted with terrifying might in mid-air—these were the two Third-Tier demonic beasts leading the charge.

Che Yuanxi had a slightly plump figure, yet she exuded an air of authority without needing to be angry, her eyes brimming with a fierce killing intent. As her fiery red daoist robe billowed in the wind, a strange circular blade spun rapidly around her like a disc, unleashing a ring of brilliant scarlet flames, like an arc of fire, slashing towards the overwhelming swarm of demonic beasts descending upon the island from above. Inside the Wind and Rain Dock, numerous attacks like sword lights, fireballs, and ice swords also flew out through the grand array. Some precisely struck monster fish leaping from the water or brought down large white birds soaring across the sky, but many more were blocked by the numerous demonic tortoises.

The aqua-blue protective light shield continuously developed cracks. Inside the formation, Che Yuanxi had unleashed an unknown amount of true fire, killing countless White Plague Birds and demonic tortoises. Amidst a rumbling sound, dozens of White Plague Birds, unable to evade, shrieked and transformed into fiery orbs. Just as the arc of fire seemed unstoppable, about to cleave through the cloud-like swarm of White Plague Birds in the sky, a tortoise taller than two men surged forth, raising colossal waves. Its dark shell, adorned with green and white spirit patterns, directly blocked the fire blade. Che Yuanxi's full-power fire blade only left a scorch mark on the tortoise shell, causing no actual injury.

"Damn it, this Third-Tier demonic tortoise is truly a bane to me!" Che Yuanxi thought. "Its water attribute and powerful innate talent... I doubt anyone in the entire Eastern Desolation, except for that fellow Zhou Ye, could break its defense with Earth elemental True Qi!"

At that moment, the opposing demonic tortoise emitted a dull, thunderous sound. Its claw suddenly clenched, firmly gripping the Heavenly Round Fire True Ring that had cut into its palm, then opened its mouth to condense a ball of ghostly white water light. The water light, like thunder, was incredibly swift, erupting the instant it condensed and blasting towards Che Yuanxi's forehead. A clear jade light flickered as the hairpin on Che Yuanxi's head lit up with spiritual radiance, blocking the Dark Water Yin Thunder at the crucial moment. However, a tortoise claw, shimmering with dark white dragon-like clouds, extended and directly seized the hairpin. Even with a bloody hole pierced through its palm by the hairpin, the Third-Tier demonic tortoise remained unyielding. "To be able to break my defense, you should be proud, human!" it roared.

Che Yuanxi's expression subtly changed. Her eyes blazed with fury. She took a pill and pushed Che Yuanyan's Fire Art to its limit, causing her Natal Artifact, the Heavenly Round Fire True Ring, to erupt with blazing scarlet light. As it rotated within the demonic tortoise's palm, it counteracted the pure white dragon-like clouds while slowly cutting into its claw. The defensive power of this demonic tortoise was so formidable that it was likely at the peak of the Third-Tier. Her Heavenly Round Fire True Ring was a top-grade Third-Tier magical artifact, among the strongest three artifacts in the entire Eastern Desolation. It could cut through and break any Third-Tier defensive spell. Yet, now, even at full power, it could only pierce the outermost hide of this demonic tortoise.

Che Yuanxi had already figured out the details of these two Third-Tier demonic beasts through their exchanges. The White Plague Bird was manageable; she felt confident she could kill it in a one-on-one fight. But this water-attribute demonic tortoise, with its astonishing defense, left her utterly helpless!

Che Yuanxi gritted her teeth, painfully making a choice: she abandoned her two magical artifacts and retreated into the shrunken "Skyfall Wind and Rain Tri-Elemental Array."

At the same time, the sky suddenly dimmed! Under the command of the Third-Tier demonic beasts, the white storm clouds in the sky wielded heavenly winds like blades and thunder, while the demonic tortoises in the water manipulated endless amounts of water, stirring up towering waves like mountains, ceaselessly battering the "Skyfall Divine Light" in wave after wave. It was as if a rain of green blades was falling from the sky, rattling and clanging as they struck the grand array's protective shield, causing the Skyfall Divine Light, already somewhat unstable from the Third-Tier thunder attacks, to flicker incessantly.

"Why hasn't the array activated yet!" Nujiang sharply shouted to a Foundation Establishment cultivator overseeing the situation below. This cultivator, along with two other Foundation Establishment cultivators, their faces flushed, held high-grade spirit stones and poured their spiritual energy into a central array disc. Blue-green water waves immediately rippled out from the array disc, spreading in all directions, swiftly enveloping all cultivators and mortals on the island. Then seventeen Foundation Establishment cultivators flew up, along with eight hundred elite Qi Condensation cultivators. At the same time, they all took out pieces of scarlet red jade from their storage bags. The jade pieces were fist-sized, their surfaces carved with fiery patterns, resembling talismans yet also scripts. After absorbing the cultivators' spiritual energy, they were swiftly launched in all directions. Scarlet firelight, accompanying the rotating circular blade, erupted with dazzling, brilliant sparks.

Amidst a violent roar, two colossal fireballs appeared in the sky, instantly incinerating dozens of demonic beasts in their vicinity. This demonstrated the potency of the Fire Vein's "Divine Thunder Orb Fire Cloud Dream Lake," which, according to a cultivator's mastery, could be categorized from First to Third-Tier. *Rip!* Looking up, she saw the Third-Tier demonic tortoise, its body emitting wisps of scorched white smoke, charge out of the divine thunder fireball in mid-air. With a ferocious expression, it brandished its sharp claws, which shimmered with pure white dragon-like clouds, descending towards Che Yuanxi's head as if swatting a fly! The green thunder and the formation's light shield collided, erupting in blindingly dazzling spiritual light in an instant.

At that moment, the other Third-Tier White Plague Bird also broke free from the divine thunder fireball, though it was in a much more pitiful state; almost all its feathers were burned away, exposing scorched red flesh. It seemed incredibly enraged. Amidst a sharp shriek, a fist-sized green inner core shot out from its mouth. This was the demonic beast's desperate move. The jade-colored hairpin on Che Yuanxi's head flew out, its spiritual light pushed to the extreme, attempting to block the inner core from afar. Seeing the green inner core already hurtling towards her, Che Yuanxi’s expression subtly changed. Because before she could retrieve her Natal Artifact, the green inner core could have killed her more than a dozen times over.

However, as the formation's light shield expanded towards the shore, it was resisted by a number of massive demonic tortoises. With the poisonous dragon's claw pressing down on the Wind and Rain Dock's island formation, the demonic beasts concentrated their power, aiming to break through the two smaller islands behind it. Demonic tortoises, scorched and burning from the divine thunder, continuously enveloped their bodies with an endless supply of water. Amidst rising steam, they endured the true fire, each displaying a ferocious expression as they trampled wooden houses and other structures on the shore, rumbly towards the cultivators and mortals at the center.

Che Yuanxi even took out two treasured Third-Tier divine thunder orbs and launched them towards the two Third-Tier demonic beasts charging at her after they breached the formation. However, among the demonic tortoises, only a few dozen at the very center of the Divine Thunder's blast radius were reduced to mangled flesh. Waves like mountains surged forth, accompanied by the sweeping winds from the sky, emitting violent roars. They heavily crashed against the grand array, producing dull, rumbling impacts that made the cultivators' hearts pound and tremble. At the same time, the Third-Tier tortoise also called out to its tribal demonic beasts. All the demonic beasts' heads surfaced, collectively casting water manipulation techniques, stirring up a colossal wave that swept across the sky.

But as time passed, the cracks in the formation grew larger and larger. Finally, on the first day, as if reaching its limit, it completely shattered with a thunderous roar! A sound like something tearing apart made Che Yuanxi's expression change slightly. She turned to look at the source of the sound. On the side covered by the grand array, unable to withstand the continuous bombardment of heavenly winds and waves from the demonic beasts, a half-meter long fissure had appeared. This was a result of the Profound Light's power being damaged, allowing some of the Fourth-Tier poisonous dragon's demonic qi to seep through. It was also for this reason that the powerful demonic beasts, originally sealed within the Grand Unity True Seal Realm, were now being sent out one by one by the poisonous dragon. They began to cause havoc outside, attempting to extract the source of the Profound Light's power from the exterior.

Once breached, the entire formation's power would be reduced by more than 80%. At that point, it was uncertain whether it would be completely breached under the continuous attacks of the poisonous dragon's claw and the demonic beast tide. Without the Wind and Rain Dock holding its ground, these demonic beasts could freely break the seal nodes left by the three Nascent Soul cultivators and release the Fourth-Tier poisonous dragon.