Chapter 1341: Vigilance

Chapter 1341: Chapter 1341: Vigilance

"Such exquisite technique!" Pei Yan marveled at the black mist image that was being magnified continuously. The mist wasn’t a living entity but rather composed of a mechanical puppet insect, about the size of an adult’s index finger. These insects seemed indistinguishable from living creatures in appearance and movement. However, upon closer inspection, traces of their mechanical crafting were visible. Inscriptions on their carapace extended from the outside inward. When the image was enlarged enough to see all details, Pei Yan noticed that the tiny legs of these bugs were covered with densely inscribed array patterns. Each insect’s patterns were similar, with only subtle differences that would be unnoticed without a deliberate comparison by Pei Yan.

This likely stemmed from the variations in individual engravings. Pei Yan couldn’t help but admire the people who managed to carve such intricate patterns, finer than strands of hair, onto these tiny mechanical insects—especially without sophisticated instruments in this era. If not for the limitations imposed by the Heavenly Dao which rejected technological creations, this world would undoubtedly have developed more advanced technology than the Daoist Plane. Perhaps the Heavenly Dao maintains balance by granting extraordinary abilities to one aspect while imposing severe restrictions on another. But now that supernatural abilities are rising in the Daoist Plane, does this mean the balance has been disrupted?

If this is indeed the case, by comparing the time differential across several planes and deliberately gathering useful data from the Daoist Plane, the other planes could quickly catch up to the Daoist Plane’s technological level. It’s worth noting that industrial civilization has only developed for about three hundred years, whereas over three hundred years have passed here during just ten years in the Daoist Plane. If Pei Yan remembered correctly, Instructor Hu once mentioned that there have been attempts to introduce Daoist Plane technology into other planes, which always ended in failure due to rejection by the Heavenly Dao of those planes. But what if this limit no longer exists!

What started as a spontaneous thought grew deeper with his stray musings, and Pei Yan felt a deep sense of fear. Had Lin Ruxue also considered this, which is why she sent her disciple to study in the Daoist Plane? Damn it! He knew those old foxes wouldn’t give something for free without a hidden agenda! His strategy of showcasing technological prowess to intimidate other planes—was it a mistake?

Regardless, Gu Chu should be alerted to this. Every now and then, it’s important to bring technology products, unaffected by his supernatural abilities, into various planes to see if they can be used. If such a balance shift really occurs, the Daoist Plane would be wise to prepare and defend against it.

"Pei Yan, what’s wrong? Are you alright?" Long Jin asked, puzzled by Pei Yan’s sudden change in complexion and the cold sweat on his forehead. She didn’t understand what could have happened on the battlefield to provoke such an intense reaction.

"Oh! Nothing! Nothing! Just a sudden twitch from the seal on my eyes causing me a headache, that’s all." Pei Yan rubbed his forehead and hastily dismissed his thoughts with a random excuse.

This matter wasn’t urgent. Once Pei Yan calmed his mind, he shifted his gaze back to the battlefield. A momentary and eerie silence had settled over the scene. The mechanical puppet insects vanished into the ground and didn’t reappear, and the Immortal Palace army hadn’t launched further attacks.

Was there really no change? Pei Yan furrowed his brow, intently observing the battlefield below. Suddenly, he realized that during his idle thoughts, the glow of the protective arrays on the mountain walls seemed dimmer than before. Upon careful comparison, he confirmed it wasn’t just his imagination. Curiosity piqued, he immediately extended his energy along the mountain walls, seeking to uncover the mystery.

Though the array’s defense greatly hindered Pei Yan’s probing, by concentrating a bit of purification origin power at the forefront of his energy, he managed to breach a small crack in the array, allowing his energy to slip through for a glimpse.

Just as Jin He Xuan and he had discussed, these two natural barriers erected with relocation techniques were not merely ordinary mountains. Inside these mountains, stones in each crevice were infused with talismans, and these stones lined with talismans were orderly linked together by array patterns, forming an impregnable mountain protection array. Ordinary physical strikes or magic focuses had no effect on it.

Hold on! What’s that? As Pei Yan was marveling at the diverse techniques in the Daoist Plane, he sensed a commotion within the mountain. Swiftly, he directed his energy towards the source of the disturbance and discovered the reason behind the chaos: those vanished mechanical puppet insects. When his energy attempted to approach and investigate these puppet insects, Pei Yan was shocked to find these insects voraciously devouring his energy that lacked specific traits.

"Oh! They’re actually gnawing at the source energy lines composing the array?"

"What?" Long Jin queried, confused by Pei Yan’s mixed reactions and spontaneous utterance.

"Those mechanical puppet insects released by the Mo Sect have burrowed into the mountain from below, devouring the array pattern links between the protective arrays of the two mountains." Retracting his energy, Pei Yan recounted the recent event with a lingering sense of dread.

Long Jin nodded dismissively, "We have similar techniques in the Dragon Realm. The Insect Race, although not highly intelligent like the Beast Race, holds a place in our world. It’s just... why don’t they directly devour the talismans? Wouldn’t that be more effective?"

"The complexity of talisman structures and their innate defensive properties mean that consuming mountains composed largely of talismans would require significant time. So, these mechanical puppet insects first erode the mountain protection array patterns linking the talisman-laden mountains, thereby weakening the stability and defense power of the mountain protection array significantly. Then launching an attack becomes much easier." Jin He Xuan, as seasoned as he is, immediately pinpointed the issue and explained.

"Hmm! That seems to be the reason. I noticed that those mechanical beetles weren’t just consuming—their tails were excreting clumps of dirt infused with special source energy as they consumed the array patterns. This dirt covered the original array patterns, leaving no space for the array’s self-repair. I’m guessing this dirt will produce additional effects later on."

As soon as he finished speaking, the attack by the puppet insects within the mountains began to take effect. In coordination with their assault, two individuals emerged from the Six Guards Army — not the Hongjun Sword Furnace but the Sect Leader from the Clear Wind Talisman Transformation Sect and the elder from the other institute, Fu Wentian and Wentian brothers.

Seizing the oddities in the protective arrays, the White Deer Institute side also took action. Suddenly, lightning flashed and thunder roared in the sky shrouded by battle clouds, a terrifying and overwhelming aura emanated from within the clouds.