Chapter 117: The Clash of Core Formations—Who’s Really Smashing Eggs Against Rocks?

Flames surged violently, and the ghostly wails echoed!

At first, the flames barely held the upper hand.

However, Gu Sanqiu was, after all, a peak-stage Core Formation cultivator, vastly more powerful than Shen Mo.

As the eerie ghostly aura surged out from the black Core Formation in greater amounts, the ghost-faced infants became more solid.

Their tiny, sharp teeth, resentful gazes, and twisted features appeared disturbingly real.

Just one glance could haunt someone with nightmares for days!

A horde of ghost-faced infants swarmed forward, gnawing at the wings of the Fire Phoenix.

The Fire Phoenix let out a mournful cry as its flames gradually dimmed, eventually dissipating into nothingness.

Shen Mo also suffered a backlash, groaning as he staggered back over ten steps before barely managing to stop.

Gu Sanqiu cackled wildly, “Kill him!”

Over twenty ghost-faced infants charged forward!

But, for some reason, Gu Sanqiu suddenly felt drowsy.

It wasn’t just him—everyone else started to experience varying degrees of sleepiness.

They were all very tired.

They just wanted to lie down and sleep.

Even their thoughts seemed to drift into slumber.

A question that would usually be answered in an instant now took several seconds of hard thinking.

Gu Sanqiu shook his head, struggling to keep his increasingly sluggish mind functioning.

“This seems like… the scent of Soul Calming Incense?”

He was both shocked and enraged.

Soul Calming Incense was a treasure he had prepared long ago to pacify the Blood-Swallowing Nascent Soul.

According to the Swallowing Blood Creation Technique, the Blood-Swallowing Nascent Soul was inherently unstable; the more blood it devoured, the more it would resist its master.

Every so often, it needed a soul-calming treasure to be soothed.

Soul Calming Incense was one such treasure mentioned in the Swallowing Blood Creation Technique.

“Damn it! Wasn’t the third stone chamber of the Heavenly Hall protected by an array? Where did this brat get the Soul Calming Incense?!” Gu Sanqiu cursed inwardly as he glared at Shen Mo.

Then his eyes widened in disbelief.

Because he saw Shen Mo pulling out a small brass bell from his storage ring!

The surface of the brass bell was engraved with strange and profound patterns, some of which depicted skulls and corpses, giving off an eerie vibe.

This small brass bell was known as the Soul Fixing Bell.

Gu Sanqiu had spent a fortune and leveraged all his connections to obtain this Earth-grade spiritual artifact.

Its purpose, similar to the Soul Calming Incense, was to soothe the Blood-Swallowing Nascent Soul.

“How did he…?!” Gu Sanqiu was utterly furious.

Shen Mo took a deep breath, infused his remaining spiritual power into the bell, and struck it hard.

Ding!

A gentle chime resonated.

It sounded like a mother’s lullaby.

Or perhaps like the soft rain of a spring night, silently nurturing everything as it fell with the wind.

Anyone who heard it would feel their heart calm, lose the will to fight, and stand quietly in place.

The combined power of the Soul Fixing Bell and the Soul Calming Incense was unleashed.

All the ghost-faced infants became serene in an instant.

Their twisted, ferocious expressions gradually softened.

It was as if they had returned to the womb, back to that warm embrace.

Gu Sanqiu’s eyes nearly burst with rage.

This was his ultimate killing move, and it had just been neutralized by this young brat!

“You… deserve… to die!”

Gu Sanqiu forced his mind to work at full capacity.

He commanded the black Core Formation in midair to smash toward Shen Mo!

The Core Formation attack.

This was the strongest combat technique of a Core Formation stage cultivator.

Shen Mo wiped his hand across the air, and a jade tablet suddenly appeared in his palm.

He mustered the last remnants of his spiritual power and infused it into the tablet.

Buzz!

An invisible wave rippled outward.

It was like a signal.

Something was quickly awakened.

Before Gu Sanqiu could react, five ferocious ghosts appeared from five directions simultaneously.

Each of them had a ghastly, menacing appearance, with blue faces and sharp fangs.

At that moment, all five malevolent spirits fixed their ten ghostly eyes on Shen Mo, as if awaiting his command.

“Attack his true body!”

Shen Mo wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, pointing straight at Gu Sanqiu.

Roar!

The five ghosts let out a satisfying howl, charging directly at Gu Sanqiu!

Their sharp claws, razor-like teeth, and the eerie ghostly aura immediately enveloped Gu Sanqiu’s vital points.

Gu Sanqiu’s pupils shrank rapidly as he forced out a few words, “The Five Ghosts Life Seizing Array! Why is it in… your hands?!”

The flags for the Five Ghosts Life Seizing Array were something he had exchanged for with three Taiyi Soul Nourishing Pills from a Nascent Soul stage rogue cultivator.

He knew the array flags were damaged, but he still decided to make the trade due to the array’s incredible power.

These array flags were crafted by a Divine Transformation stage cultivator, who had sealed five murderous ghosts within them.

Even in their damaged state, they could unleash power comparable to a Nascent Soul stage cultivator.

Moreover, after training in the Swallowing Blood Creation Technique, Gu Sanqiu had gained enough insight to understand how to repair the array flags.

He had been waiting to step into the Nascent Soul stage before starting the repair process.

Once repaired, even a perfected Nascent Soul stage cultivator would find him difficult to deal with and would likely avoid him!

He had hidden the array flags in a secret compartment, where no one should have been able to find them.

Yet now, this array had somehow fallen into his opponent’s hands?!

Gu Sanqiu was utterly perplexed.

Too strange!

Too unbelievable!

“Damn it! I’m your master! Don’t attack me!”

Gu Sanqiu screamed in agony.

These five ghosts were far more powerful than the ghost-faced infants.

With one bite, large chunks of his flesh vanished.

The body he had formed after absorbing five or six Core Formation stage cultivators was torn apart by these five ghosts in less than ten seconds!

“Damn it, I’ll drag you all down with me!”

Gu Sanqiu cursed venomously.

In the air, the black Golden Core began to swell ominously.

The ghost-faced infants, who had been immobilized, slowly awakened, their eyes once again filled with resentment.

The power of the Soul Fixing Bell and the Soul Calming Incense was waning.

The peaceful expressions on the faces of the surrounding cultivators, including Murong Yue and Pang Longxiang, began to change as they seemed to be on the verge of waking up.

Facing the black Golden Core, Shen Mo did not dodge or evade but instead opened his mouth.

Buzz!

A crimson Inferno Core shot out from his mouth.

Although Shen Mo was only at the early stage of Core Formation, while Gu Sanqiu was at the peak stage, their Golden Cores were nearly the same size!

Gu Sanqiu was momentarily stunned, then burst into mad laughter, “So you also have a special Golden Core, no wonder you’re so strong.”

“But you actually think you can pit your Golden Core against mine? You’re dreaming!”

Shen Mo controlled the Inferno Core with his mind, sending it hurtling forward.

His expression remained as calm as still water, “The one dreaming is you.”

In the next moment, the Inferno Core collided with the black Golden Core!

A piercing explosion reverberated through the air!

Everyone’s ears began to bleed.

Boom!

The explosion followed immediately.

All the ghost-faced infants let out a mournful wail.

Those closest to the blast were instantly reduced to faint wisps of ghostly aura, barely visible.

Even those farthest away became extremely dim.

In the blink of an eye, the smoke cleared.

The black Golden Core had shrunk by an entire size.

Meanwhile, Shen Mo’s Inferno Core had shattered into dozens of pieces.

At this moment, Gu Sanqiu, who was being torn apart by the five ghosts, was covered in blood.

But seeing this, he still laughed maniacally.

“See that?! That’s what it means to smash an egg against a rock! This is smashing eggs against rocks!”

Shen Mo’s expression remained unchanged, a slight smile tugging at the corner of his mouth, “Oh? Do you really think this is over?”

Gu Sanqiu was taken aback.

He, too, sensed something amiss.

This person’s Golden Core had clearly shattered into dozens of pieces, so why hadn’t his aura weakened at all?

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Source: Webnovel.com, updated by Madara Web Novel