Chapter 382: Terrifying as it is to the Fairy
Yu Qingtan walked to the center of the grand hall, faced the crowd, and smiled gracefully before continuing, "Ladies and gentlemen, aren't you curious about what I've been up to during my seclusion? Just look at these, and you'll know what I've been doing!"
As she spoke, Yu Qingtan waved her jade-like hand lightly, and a pile of Sea Clan inner cores of various sizes appeared on the ground, forming a small mountain that emitted a strong aura of spiritual power, leaving every cultivator present utterly shocked.
Each of these cores, without exception, represented the essence left by a powerful member of the Sea Clan after death, containing a vast amount of spiritual power. Only members of the Sea Clan of the Third Stage or higher could form such cores.
Here, there were over a thousand Third Stage cores, and one hundred fifty-eight Fourth Stage cores.
Those present were top figures from major sects, and it wasn't that they hadn't seen so many Sea Clan inner cores before, but the implication behind Yu Qingtan displaying so many at once was crystal clear.
"Fairy Qingtan, these inner cores…are they really all from the Sea Clan members you've slain during these days? How come there has been no movement at the Sea Clan's side?" The voice of the True Lord Jiahuan quivered slightly, unable to believe that a single person could kill so many powerful beings of the Sea Clan in such a short period.
To know, Fourth Stage beings were already incredibly difficult to kill, and it was only freaks like Yu Qingtan and Invincible True Lord who far surpassed their peers both in power and with strong methods to prevent enemies from escaping or self-destructing that could possibly kill those at the Fourth Stage.
Even so, this many was absolutely outrageous. It was already heaven-defying to take on ten opponents of the same stage at the Fourth Stage, yet Yu Qingtan had gone straight for over a hundred and fifty of her peers.
"I must apologize, the truth is that my seclusion was a lie. In fact, I've secretly infiltrated Oujiang Immortal City, Ruzhao Immortal City, and Yuhai Immortal City these past days, repaired the Ten Extremes Protective Array around the city fortifications, and then not long ago, I slaughtered the Sea Clan within the three cities.
I hope my fellow Daoists do not blame Qingtan. I didn't intend to deceive anyone, I just feared that word might get out, leading to the failure of the mission," Yu Qingtan said lightly, bending over to apologize with utmost sincerity.
In reality, repairing and even enhancing the Ten Extremes Protective Array to Fourth Stage superiority was not enough to annihilate the Sea Clan within the city.
You must know, within each Immortal City, there were over fifty Fourth Stage late-phase Sea Kings, and if they all attacked simultaneously, even a Ten Extremes Protective Array of Fourth Stage superior quality might not hold.
Hence, after repairing the formations for the three cities, Yu Qingtan first infiltrated Oujiang Immortal City, activated the Ten Extremes Protective Array, and then brought out Hundred Beasts Mountain.
Under the leadership of Qing Shuang, the Demon King and Artifact Spirit, and Xiaqing, a majestic army of nearly ten million Spiritual Beasts swept through Oujiang Immortal City, among which there were two hundred at the Fourth Stage and five thousand at the Third Stage. Explore more at My Virtual Library Empire
Within Hundred Beasts Mountain lived a hundred million Spiritual Beasts, and this time, they had mobilized all the Third and Fourth Stage ones, as well as ten percent of the lower ranks.
Yu Qingtan presided over the Ten Extremes Protective Array and used the Mind Immobilizing Spell to immobilize the members of the Sea Clan attempting to self-destruct.
Consequently, in just a quarter of an hour, millions of Sea Clan members within Oujiang Immortal City were slaughtered, leaving only the inner cores handed over to Yu Qingtan and some space equipment from the high-ranking members of the Sea Clan, as all their bodies went into the bellies of the Spiritual Beasts.
They had not feasted so heartily for a long time, so they were extremely eager.
The main role of the Ten Extremes Protective Array that Yu Qingtan presided over was to prevent the Sea Clan from escaping and being discovered by those outside. If those from outside the city were to discover what was happening and then tip off the other two cities, it would have been problematic.
Thus, after clearing Oujiang Immortal City, Yu Qingtan put away Hundred Beasts Mountain and, without taking a break, arrived at Ruzhao Immortal City using the Innate Divine Power Shadow Clone, applying the same method to eradicate the Sea Clan within the Inner City.
And then, Yuhai Immortal City was next. By the time the Sea Clan realized something was amiss, all three cities had already been enveloped by the Great Arrays, with no trace of the Sea Clan's aura left inside them.
In the hall, as Yu Qingtan's words came to an end, it was as if the crowd had been struck by lightning; silence fell instantly. The expression on everyone's faces was one of astonishment and disbelief.
Household Joy, the True Immortal, slightly opened her mouth as if she wanted to say something, but then felt that words were so pale and powerless at this moment.
The shock in her eyes surged like waves, a deep reverence for Yu Qingtan's strength and an admiration for her courage and determination.
The other cultivators around were also briefly lost in astonishment. Their minds couldn't help but go back to Yu Qingtan's words as they looked at the pile of inner cores on the ground.
She alone had infiltrated three Immortal Cities, repaired the Protective City Formations, and slaughtered so many of the Sea Clan's strong. This was simply an incredible feat that filled them with marvel and awe.
"Fairy Qingtan, how on earth did you do it?" Inviting Moon, the True Immortal from Star Moon Sect, subconsciously used an honorific title.
"I'm sorry, fellow Daoist Inviting Moon, it involves my privacy, so I'm not at liberty to tell. However, I can heal your disciple's wounds!" Yu Qingtan said.
Fairy Chunzhen, after having been caught by Yu Qingtan and having her appearance assumed to sneak into Star Moon Sect for the Three Lights Divine Water, and then taught by Inviting Moon, the True Immortal, had changed a lot.
This time, she was genuinely injured for the sake of the Wendao Sect, and Yu Qingtan was naturally willing to help. With her proficiency in the Life-Death Manipulation Technique and the treasures from her System Space, healing Fairy Chunzhen should be no problem at all.
"I'm sorry, Fairy Qingtan, it was reckless of me. Thank you for being willing to rescue my unworthy disciple!" Inviting Moon, the True Immortal, said sheepishly.
After the previous restoration battle for Yuhai Immortal City, Yu Qingtan had displayed her medical skills, and Fairy Chunzhen's injuries were not as serious as she had claimed. With some precious treasures, they could also be healed.
It was at this time Feng Buji came to seek an audience outside the hall. Upon entering, he found the situation inside somewhat surprising, but he still quickly said, "Fairy Qingtan, Uncle Star River, fellow Daoists, the Sea Clan army outside the city has retreated!"
Since the Sea Clan had been besieging Yuhai Immortal City, most of the cultivators were actually on the city walls defending. Only a few were resting on rotation.
Household Joy, the True Immortal, Inviting Moon, the True Immortal, and others had come to seek an explanation from the True Immortal Star River during their rotation period.
"It must be that the Sea Clan has discovered the situation of the three cities and are preparing to go back and break the formations with full force!" Qi Xun, the Fairy, said, her respect for Qingtan growing even more.
"What's the situation?" Feng Buji was still a bit unclear on the circumstances. Although seeing Yu Qingtan and the inner cores on the ground, he had some guesses.
"Feng Buji, here's what happened..." Star River, the True Immortal, having just snapped out of his shock, recounted the whole story to Feng Buji.
After listening, Feng Buji stood there, stunned, his eyes filled with disbelief. He had thought of many possibilities, but never would he have imagined that things were actually like this.
"Fairy Qingtan, you really are... truly someone I admire from the bottom of my heart!" Feng Buji said half-jokingly, half-seriously.
At first, when he at Skyscraping Ridge severely wounded the Third Stage Heavenly Demon Eagle, Jiu Kong, it was picked off by the then Foundation Establishment Stage Yu Qingtan.
Now, although he, Feng Buji, was still at the Golden Core Stage, Yu Qingtan was not only at the Mid-Nascent Stage, her strength was so terrifying that even the word terrifying didn't seem adequate to describe it.
You can imagine the tumult in Feng Buji's heart.