vstars Chapter 649 Gu battle!
Chapter 649 Gu battle!
The battle of the Gu formations officially began at noon the following day.
The Gu Battle arena is located in a separate, enclosed area on the west side of the Gu Battle Plaza.
It was surrounded by black stone walls over ten zhang high, covered with Gu patterns and array formations that blocked divine sense. The top was covered by a semi-transparent dark green barrier, making it impossible for anyone outside to see anything inside the array.
This is to allow candidates to concentrate on setting up their formations without external interference, and also to prevent opponents from discovering the details of their formations.
Candidates entered one by one through a single entrance.
As Chen Fan reached the entrance, a Gu cultivator dressed in a blood-red leather robe passed by him. The man had a sinister face, with more than a dozen blood-red Gu patterns crisscrossing his face. He was at the early stage of the Nascent Soul realm, and a fist-sized blood-red insect cage hung from his waist, from which faint hissing sounds could be heard.
It was Blood Cicada of the Blood Gu Clan.
Xue Chanzi stopped in front of Chen Fan, glanced at him sideways, and a meaningful smile appeared on his lips: "Chen Fan, you were lucky in the Gu Insect Battle, getting a bye and making it into the top three. But the Gu Formation Battle isn't something you can just get by on luck. Setting up a Gu Formation requires an understanding of the Dao of Formations and control over the Gu Insects. These two things are not something a half-baked outsider cultivator can possess. Today, I will show you what a true Gu Formation is."
Chen Fan glanced at him indifferently, said nothing, and walked straight into the arena.
The area inside is an extremely spacious circular space, with the ground paved with black grassland stones, the stone surfaces engraved with base array patterns used to assist in setting up the formation.
Dozens of stone platforms were set up around the venue, on which array flags and array plates provided by the conference were arranged in categories, along with more than ten Gu worms of varying grades, ranging from Core Formation stage to early Nascent Soul stage.
There was a candidate standing in front of each stone platform, and there were at least thirty people.
Chen Fan stood in front of his stone platform, his gaze sweeping over the array flags and array plates on the platform.
These are all standard array flags commonly used on the grasslands, only of the fourth rank, and the array plates are just average, much inferior to the array flags he usually uses.
As for the few Gu worms available for the candidates, the highest grade was only at the early Nascent Soul stage, so they could only be used as supplementary ingredients for him.
"Three hours." The Gu cultivator in charge of the Gu formation battle stood on a high platform in the north of the arena and announced loudly, "Participants may freely take array flags, array plates, and Gu worms from the stone platform to set up a complete Gu formation. The higher the grade of the Gu formation, the stronger its power, and the higher the compatibility between the Gu worms and the formation, the higher the score. Those who fail to complete it within the time limit will be eliminated. Begin now."
As soon as he finished speaking, a flurry of activity erupted in the room.
The candidates picked up array flags and array plates and began to set up their respective Gu arrays.
Some used several Gu worms as the array's core to set up a Blood Gu Array, within which blood mist surged. Others used snake Gu as the array's spirit to set up a Poison Gu Array, within which poisonous gas permeated the air.
There were also several old Gu cultivators who had long been famous on the grasslands. They skillfully controlled four or five Gu worms at the same time to integrate them into the formation, and the formation patterns emitted a strong spiritual energy fluctuation as they flowed.
Chen Fan did not rush to make a move.
He stood with his hands behind his back in front of the stone platform, his gaze sweeping over the few Gu worms available for selection, and then looking at the standard array flags and array plates on the platform. He had already made up his mind.
These Gu worms are of too low a grade to be used as the core of the formation.
The Gu formation he wants to set up must use the golden cicada as its spirit!
It should be noted that the Golden Cicada is a peak-stage Nascent Soul level Soul-Devouring Gu embryo, and its Devouring Divine Power has been fully developed. Only by using it as the array spirit can the power of the Gu array be maximized.
However, the cicada's devouring properties do not completely align with the principles of conventional Gu formations.
Ordinary Gu formations primarily aim to trap and kill, using the Gu worms' toxins or biting abilities as their attack methods.
The cicada's strength lies in devouring spiritual power. If Chen Fan wants to use it as a formation spirit, he must set up a formation that can maximize its devouring ability.
He quickly deduced a plan in his mind in a short while.
Chen Fan picked up the array flags and array plates on the stone platform and used the Fixed Character Technique to dissect the structure of the base array patterns one by one in his sea of consciousness.
His fingers flew like lightning, and a flag flew from his hand, precisely inserting into each node of the base array pattern, so fast it was dazzling.
Each array flag was placed precisely in the right spot, and the connections between the array patterns were as smooth as flowing water, without the slightest unnecessary adjustment.
The other Gu cultivators nearby were stunned for a moment when they saw how quickly he set up the formation, and then they all showed disdain.
"So fast? Is he just randomly sticking them in? Setting up a Gu formation is about the harmony between the formation and the Gu worms, not just about how fast you can stick them in." A Gu cultivator from the Snake Gu Clan whispered to his companion beside him.
"Hmph! Can a Gu formation be the same as an ordinary formation? The Gu worms in a Gu formation are alive, not inanimate objects on the formation platform. He didn't establish a spiritual connection with the Gu worms, yet he thinks he can set up a Gu formation based solely on his formation skills. What a fool." Another Gu cultivator from the Insect Gu Clan sneered in agreement.
"Just wait and see. When his Gu worms and the formation repel each other and the formation explodes, that will be a real spectacle."
Chen Fan ignored these taunts.
He summoned the golden cicada from his sleeve with his divine sense and placed it at the center of the formation. The golden cicada flapped its wings and landed on the eye of the formation, its dark golden glassy shell gleaming faintly in the light of the formation patterns.
Chen Fan's divine sense was like an invisible hand, weaving every array pattern of the formation together with the insect spirit power within the Golden Cicada's body.
When ordinary Gu cultivators set up Gu formations, the Gu worms are passively embedded into the formation's core; the relationship between the formation and the Gu worms is merely a loose superposition.
But Chen Fan is different.
He used the Fixed Character Technique to precisely control every intersection of the array patterns and the power of the insect spirit, directly integrating the Golden Cicada's Devouring Divine Power into the core structure of the array.
In other words, his Gu formation is not "a formation containing Gu worms," but rather "the formation itself is a Gu worm." Those who enter the formation are not facing a trapping and killing formation, but a Soul-Devouring Gu that uses the entire formation as its shell.
Half an hour later, Chen Fan's Gu formation was complete.
As the formation was completed, the spiritual energy within the entire enclosed area was stirred up. A faint, almost imperceptible, devouring force emanated from the formation. Several Gu cultivators who were setting up formations nearby felt the spiritual energy on their formation flags and plates being slowly drawn away by a strange force, and they all looked at Chen Fan in horror.
On the high platform, the Gu cultivator in charge of the event frowned slightly as he scanned Chen Fan's Gu array with his divine sense. After a moment, an expression of disbelief appeared on his face.
A sixth-grade Gu formation.
In half an hour, a Nascent Soul cultivator at the Great Perfection stage set up a genuine Grade 6 Gu Array using standard array flags, array plates, and a mid-Nascent Soul Gu worm.
The presiding Gu cultivator remained silent for a moment, then wrote something down on the jade slip in his hand without making a sound.
Chen Fan connected and locked the last array pattern with the Golden Cicada's divine sense. After confirming that the array was operating without hindrance, he cupped his hands in greeting to the presiding Gu cultivator and turned to walk out of the arena.
Outside the arena, the sun was already setting, casting golden rays onto the ring.
The three-hour formation period was not yet over, and the cultivators waiting outside were bored. Some were meditating and regulating their breathing, some were whispering to each other, and some simply closed their eyes to rest.
When Chen Fan emerged from the entrance of the closed area, the noise in the square suddenly stopped.