Chapter 1231 Dark Tortoise
Seboxiasm's cultivation demanded a substantial amount of life force.
Cultivators in the Grandmaster Realm were already rare in the outside world, and those in the God Realm were even scarcer.
In this particular place, God Realm cultivators were a dime a dozen, while Grandmaster Realm cultivators were considered of
lesser importance and were not highly regarded.
Therefore, for a deity like Seboxia that required the absorption of a significant amount of life force in its cultivation, this place was
like a paradise.
Furthermore, in Mountain Village, Seboxia revealed his sinister plan to Jonathan, outlining his intention to ruthlessly slaughter
every inhabitant of the village.
Jonathan firmly believed that Seboxia's words were not idle threats or mere intentions. The deity was probably dead serious
about carrying out a horrifying massacre in Mountain Village.
Seboxia had refrained from taking action because of Jonathan's obstruction. Now that Jonathan had spoken, Seboxia had no
further reason to hold back or show restraint.
Within a matter of moments, all six individuals, except for Abraham, met their demise, their bodies completely crushed and
trapped within the confines of the rocks.
Both Jonathan and Stellario proceeded to retrieve the emerald badges from the cultivator's storage bags.
“Abraham, with this, I've repaid you for saving my life,” Jonathan uttered indifferently.
“Remain here and refrain from entertaining any thoughts of retaliation. If you dare to make a move, I won't hesitate to end your
life,” he warned.
“Softie,” Seboxia grumbled, dissatisfied.
At this point, with their symbiotic connection and Jonathan's newfound method to counter Seboxia's divine realm, the threat
Seboxia posed to Jonathan had greatly diminished.
While Seboxia could still use his own life as a threat against Jonathan, it was considered a last resort.
In fact, excessive use of such threats would ultimately backfire on him.
Hence, their relationship at the moment was rather peculiar, and the deity was also willing to take Jonathan's advice on many
matters. As if reflecting this, Seboxia, with evident reluctance, could only shoot Jonathan a contemptuous glance before
retreating once again into the coffin within Jonathan's elixir field.
“Let's go!”
Jonathan and Stellario, holding the emerald badges, made their way to the portal formation in the depths of the cave.
Following the method they had obtained through interrogation, Jonathan and Stellario inserted the spirit stone into the grooves
surrounding the portal formation. The spirit stone provided the necessary energy, gradually lighting up the portal formation.
“Such intricate formations. I wonder,” Stellario mused with curiosity, standing within the formation, “if we could successfully
replicate these markings, would we be able to recreate the entire formation?”
Jonathan, although not well-versed in formations, had come across information about them in the records of the Ancient Sacred
Dragon Technique.
He retorted, “Stop daydreaming. If formations could simply be copied and pasted, then why would formation experts be so rare?
The arrangement of formations is not something formulaic; it's akin to concocting poison. Even though everyone knows the basic
ingredients of a poison, the precise proportions can greatly affect its efficacy.”
He then proceeded to elaborate, “The size, orientation, materials, and even the depth of each rune in the formation beneath our
feet determines the speed and amount of spiritual energy flowing within it. If you try to imitate the markings without
understanding the principles, you'll only be wasting your time and effort. Moreover, there's a high chance you might be killed by
the explosion of spiritual energy.”
Listening to Jonathan's words, Stellario squatted down on the ground, his curiosity piqued. “You have such a clear understanding
of this. Don't tell me you're secretly an expert at formations!” he joked.
As he spoke, Stellario reached out to touch the formation beneath his feet. However, before his hand could make contact with
the ground, Jonathan swiftly grabbed him.
Jonathan chided the man, “Didn't I tell you earlier? Even a slight disruption to the formation can pose an irreversible danger to
the portal. I'm tempted to chop off your hand, I swear!”
Stellario flashed a placating smile as Jonathan grabbed him by the back of his neck and lifted him off the ground. “Oh... I didn't
realize that... My mistake.”
Boom!
As a loud explosion reverberated throughout the cave, Jonathan swiftly tossed Stellario aside.
“The entrance has been opened!” Jonathan exclaimed as he looked down at the portal formation beneath his feet, which, to his
surprise, was only seventy percent activated.
The portal formation was supposed to produce quick results, but the casting technique demanded a profound understanding of
the intricate formation itself.
Jonathan, having limited knowledge about formations, and Stellario, a complete novice in this field, were completely ill-prepared
to handle its intricacies.
The two men were clearly not among those capable of effortlessly activating arcane arrays.
Jonathan swiftly leaped out of the formation and pressed his hands against the cave wall. Using his Elemental Extrication
Technique, he effortlessly tore off a sizable portion of the cave wall, as if ripping apart a blanket.
However, despite his efforts, one silhouette in the cave seemed unaffected and broke through the stone wall, lunging toward
Jonathan with great force.
Clang!
As the resounding toll of a bell filled the air, Jonathan's silhouette streaked past Stellario's sight before forcefully colliding with the
rock wall behind him.
“D*mn it!”
At once, blood gushed out of Jonathan's nose and mouth.
The mysterious figure who had emerged was none other than the village chief who had been behaving strangely earlier.
Surprisingly, the elderly man had delivered that blow using pure physical strength alone, without employing any spiritual energy.
Yet, it had been enough to inflict serious injuries on Jonathan.
Stellario promptly positioned himself in front of Jonathan, and as he raised his hand, countless small insects converged to form a
thin, sharp blade. “You'd better let us go.”
“Sure.” The old sage stood with his hands behind his back, a sly smile on his face. “Leave your storage rings behind, and I will let
you go.”
Slowly, Jonathan got to his feet and wielded Heaven Sword in his hand.
“You're after this sword, right, old man?”
A spark of excitement ignited in the old sage's gaze when he lay eyes on Heaven Sword, and he demanded, “Hehe, since you're
already aware of that, then hand it over. A sacred item of this caliber is beyond your grasp!”
Jonathan traced a graceful pattern in the air with the sword before pointing it directly at the old sage's forehead. “If you want my
sword, you'll have to take it from me!” he declared firmly.
With a powerful stomp, Jonathan propelled himself forward, transforming into a blur of motion as he charged straight at the old
sage.
“You're courting death!”
The old sage's shoulders trembled slightly as a mighty surge of spiritual energy emanated from him, forming a force field that
enveloped Jonathan and Stellario.
There was something fishy about the elderly man's force field, and Jonathan had already experienced its power firsthand during
the daytime.
Hence, he was, of course, on guard.
Jonathan, too, unleashed his spiritual energy to form a force field that encompassed a radius of ten meters, covering the entire
area within its grasp.
The old sage's force field was powerful, and Jonathan could not resist it even after exerting all his strength.
However, fortunately, Jonathan's force field was large enough, and the old sage would need a brief moment to fully suppress
him.
With a distance of only about ten meters between them, a moment's time was more than sufficient for Jonathan.
“Take this!”
Jonathan swung Heaven Sword forcefully toward the old sage's head, but to his surprise, the old sage made no attempt to evade
the powerful attack.
The old sage simply tilted his head slightly, allowing Heaven Sword to strike his shoulder.
Following that strike, a faint blue silhouette emerged on him, revealing the majestic form of a giant, black tortoise.