"Senior brother, the core area has been thoroughly scouted. It's a spherical space, three and a half li in size, protected by an extremely powerful defensive formation that we cannot even shake with our full might. Furthermore, our divine sense cannot penetrate this area at all. The moment we extend our divine sense, it's immediately swallowed by a peculiar force, leaving no trace."
A group of ninth-tier Buddhist cultivators circled the core area, which spanned a hundred li, and quickly retreated. It wasn't that they couldn't withstand the extreme cold of the core region, but rather the seal where Yang Hong was located had terrified them. The three-and-a-half-li sphere, even with their combined attacks, couldn't cause even the slightest ripple in that space. In any other area, such an assault would have been enough to shatter space and create a spatial rift. However, all their attacks served only to reinforce the seal.
Pu Ji Bodhisattva had considered every possibility. Knowing that someone would surely come to rescue Yang Hong, she designed the seal to react to attacks by strengthening itself. Simply put, any attempt to attack the seal was essentially recharging it.
"There must be a hidden strong cultivator within, or perhaps some treasure is being protected. Regardless of the possibility, it presents a danger to us. We should report this to the Upper Realm."
"I agree. With so many of us at the ninth-tier Great Vehicle realm, not only is our mana being devoured, but even our divine sense is completely blocked. There must be a great terror within."
"Then let's transmit the news to the Upper Realm and let the Arhats and Bodhisattvas handle it."
After a brief discussion, the group of monks prepared to depart.
"What about these demon races?"
Just as the monks were about to leave, an eighth-tier monk suddenly pointed at the twenty-one demon kings.
"Kill them. The sixth and seventh-tier demon kings can still yield some materials for refining artifacts."
"No—we surrender—we convert—"
Upon hearing that the monks, who appeared benevolent, had decided their fate so readily, the twenty-one demon kings instinctively knelt and begged for mercy.
"Noisy—"
With a wave of his hand from the white-browed old monk, the heads of the twenty-one demon kings all fell. With another flick of his sleeve, twenty-one Nascent Souls and twenty-one demon cores appeared above his palm.
"Good demon souls. With these, I can refine several more sentient Buddhist artifacts. Amitabha—"
The white-browed old monk spoke with the most compassionate tone while uttering the most heinous words. Refining the Nascent Souls of demons or humans into artifacts meant they would never be reincarnated, a cruel act second only to complete soul annihilation. Some cultivators even preferred soul annihilation to being forged into an artifact and becoming a spirit or soul of the item. The fact that the benevolent-looking white-browed old monk spoke so casually and matter-of-factly indicated that he had likely refined human or demon Nascent Souls into artifacts many times before.
"Martial Uncle, what about this island?"
"This island that flew from the heavens has a karmic connection with our Buddhist sect. It shall serve as the new base for Budong Temple in the Great Snow Mountain."
Although he knew that there was a magical formation between the island and the snow mountain, he still couldn't bear to give up this lucrative opportunity. Entering the central region of the snow mountain, the spiritual energy concentration reached the eighth grade, and the innermost three-and-a-half-li area boasted a ninth-grade spiritual energy concentration. This was the limit achievable in the mortal realm. Although they couldn't enter the space between the island and the snow mountain, the area above the island, the island's cross-section, was unrestricted. Moreover, the island had been severed very cleanly during its teleportation, creating a flat plain as smooth as a mirror, ideal for construction and development. The Buddhist sect immediately contacted their superiors and began constructing a new branch of their sect on this island, which spanned eight hundred li and was perfectly intact. They discovered it promptly and brought in numerous formation masters, quickly transforming the island into a human paradise. The ice-attribute spiritual energy could be converted into other attributes with sufficient materials. Once the spiritual energy attributes were properly converted, the dense spiritual energy here would become the best sustenance for cultivation.
Because the Buddhist sect had directly set up teleportation arrays on the edge of the island, Yang Hong could not see their comings and goings. However, this did not diminish his wariness and resentment towards the Buddhist sect.
"Damn Buddhist sect, they really won't let me off."
Yang Hong retracted his divine sense, which could only extend ninety zhang beyond the seal, and silently cursed the eighteenth generations of the monks' ancestors in his heart. When the overseas island was teleported over, Yang Hong's divine sense could still extend one hundred and sixty-five zhang. However, after the probing monks' assault, Yang Hong's divine sense was nearly halved, now only able to extend ninety zhang. This would greatly hinder Yang Hong's research and exploration speed, and significantly slow down his various construction efforts. Especially the cultivation of spiritual plants outside the seal, which would see its efficiency reduced by at least half.
"This has essentially thrown all my plans into disarray."
Yang Hong detested the feeling of his plans being disrupted the most. After spending over twenty years painstakingly designing and cultivating the spiritual plant teleportation array, it hadn't sent him away. An island from the heavens had appeared, and the bald donkeys of the Buddhist sect had further strengthened the seal, leaving him feeling a sense of despair. However, Yang Hong, having experienced all sorts of accidents and messy affairs, possessed a resilient heart and strong psychological fortitude. He quickly adjusted and turned to comfort Zhu Yuyan and the others.
"Don't be disappointed or worried, everyone. At least our spiritual plant teleportation array hasn't been destroyed. From now on, we just need to cultivate the Ice Willow while fine-tuning the formation, and we'll be able to leave soon."
"Husband, do we still have a chance to leave? The spiritual energy concentration within the seal has dropped to the level of a first-grade spiritual land. How long will it take for the Ice Willow to be fully charged with spiritual energy again and activate the teleportation array?" Zhu Yuyan, on the verge of collapse, asked with a tearful voice.
"Hehe—don't worry. With one hundred and twenty stalks of ninth-grade spiritual plants returning to their original forms and continuously producing spiritual energy, the spiritual energy here will recover quickly. It's just the Ice Willow, have you forgotten my abilities?"
"Husband, you intend to fully imbue these Ice Willows with energy?"
"Mm—but I need to find some helpers to adjust the formation, that's the most difficult part."
"Husband, I can help too—and me."
"Good—let's all do it together."
Having his wives accompany him, Yang Hong felt greatly gratified. He directly transmitted all the formation knowledge he possessed to everyone, humans and demons alike, using "Spiritual Light Imparting," so that they could collectively research and adjust the "Teleportation Array." The issue of the Ice Willow accumulating spiritual energy, which Li Lizhi worried about, was actually the simplest. There were 2836 Ice Willows, all fourth-grade spiritual plants. Although Yang Hong was currently in the Golden Core realm, his Golden Core was extraordinary. Each Ice Willow only required three to five imbues to be fully charged. After six years of experimentation, and successfully sending away a flower demon, Yang Hong finally decided to reactivate the teleportation array. The gray spatial energy, after a year and a half of accumulation, had reached a threshold. If they didn't leave soon, another island might be teleported over.
"Li Fangmao, Tao Caifang, this secret realm is entrusted to you. In the future, you will continuously adjust this teleportation array. Cultivation matters can begin once the spiritual energy is abundant. The rest of you are to follow the management of Li Fangmao and Tao Caifang."
"Yes—"
Under the watchful eyes of a group of flower and tree demons, the spiritual plant teleportation array once again erupted with silver-white light.