CHAPTER 174: THE HERMIT WIND DRAGON'S CLEVER PLAN

"Little Lu, you're just one step away from merging it. All we need to do is guard the island and the divine chamber, so why don't we just—"

"Mm?" The Divine Psyche Incarnation lowered his gaze toward Wind Dragon below with a puzzled grunt. "You mean you have an idea? Speak, quickly."

"This hardly counts as an idea. It's just a message passed on from my clone," Wind Dragon replied as he carried Lu Chen out of the path of another strike. He continued, "Do you still remember that little planet, Eggy?"

"That little rascal? Didn't it overdraw its core spirit qi?" The Divine Psyche Incarnation drew the Hunyuan Greatsword and thrust it downward again. "Even if it's recovered somewhat, it can't help us. Eggy hasn't fully developed intelligence yet. It can't serve as the eye of the formation."

"I'm saying you should act as the eye of the formation while I control the Hunyuan Greatsword to block the chaos sphere," Wind Dragon sneered. "And you underestimate Eggy. Remember, it's a planet. Its abilities are far beyond what you can imagine."

"That's not what I meant," Seeing that Wind Dragon had misunderstood, the Divine Psyche Incarnation quickly clarified. "I can take the role of the formation's eye. But how do you plan to handle the Void spirit qi?"

"You don't need to worry about that. Just summon Eggy," Wind Dragon said with a smug grin. "Call me the hermit Wind Dragon. I have my own clever plan. You'll see."

The Divine Psyche Incarnation laughed. "Very well. Let's see what tricks you've got."

He formed a hand seal, opening a rift at his side, and dragged Eggy through it.

Eggy panicked after suddenly being pulled into a new space, flailing its tiny, newly sprouted hands in the air. When it saw Lu Chen, the flailing grew frantic.

"Creak... creak... hug..." The little hands stretched desperately toward the Divine Psyche Incarnation, but they were too short to reach. Anxious, it cried louder. "Creak... creak...

master... hug, hug!"

"You've learned so many words already. That's wonderful," the Divine Psyche Incarnation said warmly, stroking the flailing little planet as he set it on his shoulder. "But first, we have matters to settle. There'll be time for hugs later."

"It's been so long since I've seen Lu-gege smile like this," Nantian Wan'er whispered beside the divine chamber, her gaze fixed on the scene. "It seems Eggy's awakening has provided him with some comfort."

"Creak... wu..."

Hearing that it couldn't be hugged, Eggy's face turned gloomy. It tugged harder at the hair of Lu Chen's Divine Psyche Incarnation, flailing in protest.

"All right, all right. Once this is over, I'll take you out for a walk," the Divine Psyche Incarnation chuckled, patting its head. "Wind Dragon, I'll leave Eggy to you. Just go ahead with your plan."

Wind Dragon laughed. "Hahaha! Watch closely."

Taking on his human form, he stepped forward to stand beside Lu Chen and took Eggy from his hands. Cradling it in one arm, he cast a sly smile at the chaos sphere overhead. "Little rascal, look at that. Do you like it?"

"Creak..." Eggy looked up curiously. The moment it saw the sphere, it grew excited. "Creak, creak, creak, creak! Pearl... pearl... I want it..."

"How can this be? Could it—"

"Exactly," Wind Dragon cut in. "I was right. No matter how elusive temporal power may be, no matter how fierce the power of the Void, they remain within the bounds of law."

He shook Eggy gently, edging it closer to the sphere. At once, the Void energy swirling around the sphere surged toward Eggy. "Eggy is a planet by nature. Of course, it can contain these laws. Since it's currently depleted of its core power, this energy will help it recover."

Wind Dragon laughed again. "The outer layer is still strong. It can help replenish what Eggy burned through. If there's more, it may even push it to a higher level."

"So that was your plan all along. Not bad," the Divine Psyche Incarnation said with a hearty laugh as he descended. "I'll leave this to you and focus on establishing a proper defensive formation around the island."

"Go on, leave it to me."

Still laughing, Wind Dragon brought Eggy closer to the chaos sphere. "In a moment, I'll use the laws of wind to guide some of the Void energy into your body. This is a rare treasure on the continent. Do your best to merge it into your three meridian gates.

"With this power nourishing your Divine Psyche Incarnation, your Dao-Aligned Spirit Body, and your Golden Body, breaking through the Three Dantian Fields and Three Meridian Gates will be far easier. It may even help you touch the laws themselves when you ascend to immortality."

The Divine Psyche Incarnation smiled. "I understand."

He tossed the Hunyuan Greatsword back to Wind Dragon, then plunged downward at greater speed. "Dao Art, Yang Purifying Water!"

As he descended, he rapidly formed a series of hand seals. A smaller Innate Bagua Diagram flared beneath his feet, and over a dozen streams of Yang Purifying Water burst forth, pouring down as he wove seal after seal.

"Lu Qing, have them get ready," Lu Chen's Divine Psyche Incarnation called out, pouring his full strength into the Yang Purifying Water to reinforce the eastern barrier. "Once I land, we'll fuse the two Dao Arts. Our goal is to forge an eternal barrier within the mindscape, one that will never collapse."

All three avatars answered in unison: "Yes, Original! We'll begin condensing the Dao Art now."

A small Bagua Diagram formed beneath their feet.

"Let's do this!"

The Divine Psyche Incarnation landed with a heavy stomp. The diagram beneath him reversed its spin, instantly aligning the Yang Purifying Water at the northern Kan position with the divine chamber.[1]

Just then, a beam of fiery radiance shot from the east toward the divine chamber. Chanting their incantations, the three avatars aligned their respective Bagua positions toward the center.

Each of the four took their appointed places—the northern Kun, southern Qian, western Kan, and eastern Li—spinning the Bagua beneath their feet at full speed until the diagrams blazed with light and linked with the divine chamber.

Lu Chen's Divine Psyche Incarnation shouted, "The Innate is formed, and the Acquired is born. The Innate acts as the body, while the Acquired acts as the function."

His hands moved faster and faster as he formed seal after seal. The barrier of Yang Purifying Water solidified across the island, while the Green Sovereign Divine Tree coiling around the chamber grew sturdier. "Wind Dragon, we're ready. You may start now."

"Understood..."

"Slot and Strike, Planetary Jade Token mode!" Wind Dragon's voice rang out clear and commanding as he summoned Lu Chen's long-unused Spirit Awaken Technique. At his call, Eggy gave a faint creak and reverted into a jade token.

Wind Dragon caught it with his slender right hand and, with a twist of his wrist, pressed it onto the sword hilt. "Little Lu, brace yourself. The void's power is about to erupt in full. This time, you'll be the one to take it all."

The instant the planetary jade token locked into the slot of the Hunyuan Greatsword, the massive sword began to transform. The whole process mirrored the one from before. The sword once again gained access to the five-element attack buttons.

The first three buttons had already been unlocked, while the other five remained bound by the Spirit Light Chains. Unlike before, all eight buttons and their streams of light had dimmed, looking gray and dull.

Wind Dragon pressed several buttons, each one flashing faint blue, yet the teleportation function still failed to activate.

"We've delayed long enough. Let's begin," the Divine Psyche Incarnation's voice rang out as he, along with the three avatars, poured spirit qi from their respective small Innate Bagua Diagrams into the massive Innate Bagua Diagram and the Green Sovereign Divine Tree. "The Innate acts as the body, while the Acquired acts as the function."

Runes lit up across the barrier of Yang Purifying Water. The Green Sovereign Divine Tree unfurled tens of thousands of vines, wrapping tightly around the barrier's inner circle.

Beside the tree, Nantian Wan'er drew fiery spirit qi from the Heavenly Pool and released a glowing sphere of spirit qi before her, casting light throughout the sealed barrier's interior.

Outside the barrier, Wind Dragon gripped the Hunyuan Greatsword, glanced down, and chuckled. "Sealed so tightly... it seems you still don't understand the might of a planet itself.

"Little rascal, are you ready?" He laid the massive sword across his front and looked at the planetary jade token set in the hilt. "Once we begin, this power will be a great boon for you. Absorb it well."

Eggy's excited squeaks echoed from within the Heavenly Pool, urging Wind Dragon to start.

"Can't you be a little more patient? Fine then, let's begin." Wind Dragon's smile vanished, replaced by a solemn expression. "Wind, I am the envoy of your power! Gather and come to me!"

The purest wind elements from the outside world, the Heavenly Pool, and the small world surged across every boundary, gathering into Wind Dragon's left palm.

"Little Lu, here we go. This run may seem steady, but we must still prepare for danger."

"I know. The barrier is complete. We'll hold no matter what comes," Lu Chen answered with a light smile, channeling the barrier to its peak.

"Converge!"

Wind Dragon's roar shook the air as he drove the Hunyuan Greatsword into the chaos sphere's core. The surrounding power of Void surged into the blade, and the planetary jade token absorbed it greedily. Each time the void poured in, the Hunyuan Greatsword flared with savage black light, rending it apart as it was drawn in. It seemed born to sever the void itself.

1. Water corresponds to the northern Kan position of the Bagua Diagram. ☜