Chapter 1107 Starlight Awakening, Shadows Lurking
The hustle and bustle of the eastern part of the Great Thousand World was left far behind. Three days later, Mo Yu rode the lightning stream formed by the Thunder Emperor Palace, traversing the boundless sea of stars.
He did not make a big fuss when he went to the Annihilation Star Lightning Forbidden Zone. His only companions were Qing Yanjing, Qing Chen, and thirty-six carefully selected core experts of the Thunder Prison who were at least at the late stage of the Spirit Rank. Among them were eight Celestial Sovereigns of the Immortal Rank, who formed the "Thunder Gang Protection Formation" to accompany and protect him.
The Thunder Emperor Palace itself shrank to the size of an ordinary ship, its lightning contained within, yet its speed was extremely fast, like a fine electric trace tearing through the void, its trajectory unpredictable.
Qingchen stood beside her father, her little hands tightly gripping the hem of Moyu's clothes, her face tense, showing both nervousness about the unknown and a desire for power.
He wore a purple radiance talisman close to his chest, formed from the dissolved Purple Cloud Dao-Nourishing Pill, its gentle medicinal power continuously nourishing his entire body.
Qing Yanjing closed his eyes and concentrated, his fingertips occasionally tracing lines in the void, repeatedly deducing every detail of the "Chaotic Thunder Source Awakening Array" that was about to be set up, to ensure that nothing went wrong.
"Father, is it... dangerous there?" Qingchen asked softly, gazing at the increasingly dense thunder nebula ahead, its color gradually shifting from ordinary silver-white and blue-purple to a dark blackish-purple.
Mo Yu lowered her head, ruffled his hair, and said in a steady voice, "Dangerous, but it also contains great opportunities."
"Chen'er, remember, power itself is neither good nor evil; the key lies in the heart that controls it. Your constitution is destined to be extraordinary, and today is the beginning of your true understanding and mastery of it. With your father and mother here, you have nothing to fear."
Qing Yanjing also opened her eyes and looked at her son gently: "Chen'er, the great formation is ready. You only need to stay true to yourself and guide the lightning source in your body to resonate with the outside world. Leave everything else to us."
Qingchen nodded vigorously, his eyes shining with determination.
Several days later, the Thunder Emperor Palace hovered at the edge of a terrifying star field.
Before my eyes, there were no ordinary stars, but instead an endless, churning "sea of thunder".
The lightning here is no longer in the form of streaks or nets, but rather like a viscous liquid or a violent sandstorm, displaying an eerie mix of dark purple, deep black, and scarlet colors, silently roaring and tearing through space.
Every now and then, massive "annihilation lightning bolts" as thick as mountains would strike out from the sea of lightning, instantly turning star debris into nothingness wherever they passed, even distorting and swallowing up light.
Even Mo Yu could clearly sense the terrifying power contained within that destructive lightning, a power capable of severely injuring or even obliterating the essence of a Saint-grade Heavenly Sovereign.
The spiritual energy here is violent and chaotic. Even ordinary Heavenly Sovereigns would experience a significant reduction in strength here, and it would be extremely difficult for them to recover their spiritual power.
However, with Mo Yu's Saint-grade perception and Qing Yanjing's spirit array detection, they located a relatively special area deep within the Thunder Sea.
It was a constantly emerging and disappearing "thunder vortex," where countless annihilating star lightnings swirled, collided, and annihilated, yet strangely formed a temporarily stable "cavity" with a diameter of about a hundred miles at its center.
The void is not safe; it is filled with the ancient thunder essence, which is extremely pure, almost chaotic in color, and constantly evolving into the phantoms of earth, water, fire, and wind!
This is precisely the "Eye of the Thunder Vortex" they are looking for.
"That's it!"
Mo Yu's eyes blazed with lightning. He could feel the Heavenly Gang Thunder Body's origin within him trembling slightly, drawn by the attraction and challenge of a higher-level power of the same origin.
Qingchen, standing beside him, blushed deeply. The chaotic lightning source hidden within her body seemed to be strongly summoned and began to surge restlessly, with silver-purple electric sparks jumping uncontrollably across her body.
"Prepare to set up the formation!" Mo Yu gave the order, and the Thunder Emperor Palace burst forth with lightning, transforming into a solid lightning barrier that slowly moved toward the raging eye of the lightning vortex.
The thirty-six powerful guardians took their positions, their immense spiritual power forming an array to resist the impact of the annihilation lightning storm escaping from the outside.
Almost at the same time that Mo Yu and his group arrived at the edge of the Annihilation Star Lightning Forbidden Zone, the atmosphere was equally tense in the secret stronghold of the Eastern Region Autonomous Alliance, hundreds of millions of miles away.
The star chart in front of the astrologer spun wildly, and the star points representing Mo Yu's location suddenly became bright and fluctuated violently, pointing towards the desolate eastern borderland.
"They've gone in! Their target is the 'Eye of the Thunder Vortex' deep within the 'Annihilation Star Lightning'! The sensation of the young dragon's aura intertwined with the source of destructive lightning... is crystal clear!"
The astrologer's voice carried a hint of fatigue and excitement; the continuous high-intensity deduction of celestial secrets had taken a heavy toll on him.
Feng Yuanzi suddenly stood up, his eyes flashing with a blue light: "Good! It really is for his son! This is a golden opportunity! Brother Dongfang, we can send out the 'gift' we prepared!"
With a cold expression, Dongfang Changqing took out a shuttle-shaped magical artifact that was neither gold nor jade and was engraved with ancient runes: "This is the 'Void Concealment Shuttle,' a secret of my Dongfang family. It can not only travel through the vast world, but also, under certain chaotic energy environments, it can conceal and transmit a small number of inanimate objects or information streams over short distances. It has its unique features."
"Combining the 'Wind-Attracting Thunder Talisman' provided by the Wind Clan Chief and the relatively safe path marked by the Star Calculator Pavilion Master, we can send our prepared 'little gadget' near the Eye of the Thunder Vortex!"
The so-called "little gadgets" are several insidious methods devised by the alliance through brainstorming and combining some array formation knowledge obtained from the Maha Ancient Clan.
First is "Disruptive Spirit Dust," an extremely fine dust made from special minerals and pollen that disturbs spirits. It is colorless and odorless, and can spread with the wind. Once it adheres to a spiritual energy barrier or array node, it will slowly erode the stability of the spiritual energy and violently vibrate when subjected to high-intensity energy impacts, interfering with the operation of the array and energy guidance.
Secondly, there is the "pseudo-evil lightning seed," a rune lightning that simulates the aura of a certain lightning-attribute demon from an extraterrestrial evil race. When detonated, it can emit a thunderstorm with an evil aura. Although its power is not enough to cause substantial damage, it is enough to create chaos and disturb the mind at critical moments.
Finally, there is the "Reverse Flow Array Plate," a one-time-use array plate crafted from a fragment of an ancient array "gifted" by the Maha Ancient Clan. Once activated, it can disrupt the energy flow of specific attributes on a small scale, especially effective against Yang attributes such as lightning and fire, causing a slight shift or disorder in the energy convergence point.
Their plan was not to attack Mo Yu directly, but to use these covert means to interfere and disrupt the Awakening Array at the critical moment of its deployment or operation. Even if it only caused a momentary delay, distraction, or energy instability, it could trigger a chain reaction.
At best, it could cause Qingchen to fail to awaken and suffer a backlash; at worst, it could trigger the violent counterattack of the Annihilation Star Lightning, putting Moyu and his group in danger!
"Take action!" Feng Yuanzi shouted in a low voice.
Dongfang Changqing nodded and quickly activated the 'Void Stealth Shuttle', locking onto the complex path coordinates provided by the Star Calculator that bypassed the most dangerous thunderstorm zone, and then inserted several specially sealed capsules containing 'Chaotic Spirit Dust' into the shuttle.
With a flash of light, it silently merged into the void, stealthily heading towards the Annihilation Star Lightning Forbidden Zone billions of miles away…
Inside the Eye of Thunder, the environment is extremely harsh.
The chaotic, primordial lightning flowed like liquid, emitting a deep, soul-stirring roar.
The space is extremely unstable, constantly subjected to the tearing force of internal and external lightning pressure.
Even with the protection of the Thunder Emperor Palace and the Thunder Gang Protector Array, everyone still felt as if they were walking on thin ice.
Without the slightest hesitation, Qing Yanjing flew out and stood in the raging sea of lightning. With a wave of her hand, countless pre-refined array bases, array flags, and rune materials flew out like stars and landed precisely in their designated positions.
Her expression was focused, and her movements were fluid and graceful, as if she were not setting up a half-step saint-grade array that could evoke the power of heaven and earth, but rather painting an exquisite picture.
Countless crystalline spiritual imprints appeared around her, intertwining into profound patterns that surprisingly resonated harmoniously with the surrounding raging lightning.
The noble bloodline power and mastery of the Heaven-Reaching Spirit Array of the Futu Ancient Clan were on full display at this moment.
Mo Yu then fully extended his Saint-grade Domain, covering Qing Yanjing and the array area, thus isolating most of the direct impact of the annihilation lightning storm.
With its own celestial origin, it carefully guided and soothed the excessively violent lightning origin around it, creating a relatively stable environment for the construction of the great formation.
His gaze was sharp as lightning, and his consciousness was like the most sophisticated radar, scanning every inch of the surrounding space, guarding against any possible accidents.
The Eight-Character Demon-Suppressing Thunder Seal was currently hovering in front of Qing Yanjing, with eight lightning patterns slowly flowing around it, emitting a calming aura of pure Yang.
It not only helps stabilize the lightning domain around Qing Yanjing, but also subtly connects with the core of the emerging array, becoming one of the key hubs for guiding and suppressing the chaotic lightning source.
The construction of the grand array was extremely difficult. Each array pattern required Qing Yanjing to expend a great deal of mental energy and spiritual power, and it had to be in harmony with the surrounding violent lightning environment.
The progress is slower than expected.
Just as the great array was halfway completed and entered the most critical stage of connecting the core array patterns, a sudden change occurred!
Several faint, almost imperceptible points of light, under the cover of the roaring thunder and turbulent energy around them, quietly penetrated the outer perimeter of the Thunder Emperor Palace and appeared at the edge of the Thunder Vortex Eye!
They did not directly attack the formation, but rather exploded silently as if they were alive.
The "Chaotic Spirit Dust" transformed into invisible and intangible dust, quietly attaching itself to the energy flow of the Thunder Emperor Palace's defensive barrier and beginning to penetrate the large array nodes that were being constructed inside.
The "Pseudo-Evil Lightning Seed" detonated in the thunderstorm zone some distance from the eye of the thunder vortex, bursting out several dark red lightning balls with a distinctly evil and filthy aura.
Although these lightning orbs were quickly swallowed up by the surrounding annihilation star lightning, the evil energy that burst forth in that instant was like a drop of water thrown into boiling oil, making the already raging sea of lightning even more agitated, and instantly attracting some of the attention of Mo Yu and the guardian powerhouses!
"There's something evil about it?!" a Celestial-level guardian exclaimed in surprise.
Although rationally it was known that the possibility of the extraterrestrial evil race venturing deep into this place was extremely low, the aura was too real to ignore.
Almost simultaneously, the "Reverse Flow Array" was unexpectedly activated prematurely by energy turbulence at a closer location.
A distorted interference wave targeting lightning-attribute energy spread out. Although the range was small and the intensity was not enough to shake Mo Yu's domain, it just happened to sweep across an important array node that Qing Yanjing was inscribing!
Qing Yanjing let out a muffled groan, his fingers trembled, and the light of the array pattern that was about to be completed suddenly became disordered, and the connection with the surrounding lightning source broke and clashed for a moment!
The entire core of the formation, which was still taking shape, trembled violently!
"Xiao Jing!" Mo Yu's eyes flashed like lightning, instantly locking onto the source of the interference.
Those fleeting, unusual energy ripples, and the sinister lightning fading away further away.
He immediately realized that this was not an accident, but a deliberate and premeditated interference!
"How dare you, you scoundrel!" Mo Yu's anger surged, and his eyes revealed murderous intent.
But he forcibly suppressed the urge to immediately go out and find the mastermind. At this moment, the most important thing was to stabilize the formation and protect Qing Yanjing and Qing Chen!
He suddenly activated his Saint-grade Domain, forcibly suppressing the chaotic array node. The vast and boundless Heavenly Thunder Emperor's essence surged forth, mending the cracks in the array.
At the same time, an even more powerful divine sense swept out, like the most precise sieve, filtering out all abnormal energy in the surroundings, searching for and locking onto those hidden "dirty things".
Qing Yanjing reacted extremely quickly, enduring the stinging pain in her soul caused by the backlash from the array patterns. She moved her hands rapidly, sending countless spiritual seals to fill in the gaps and stabilize the core array patterns.
The Eight-Character Demon-Suppressing Thunder Seal hummed, and eight lightning patterns shone brightly, actively releasing the power of suppression and purification to help calm the vibrations of the formation and directly disperse and purify the small amount of "chaotic spirit dust" that tried to penetrate.
“It’s ‘Chaotic Spirit Dust’ and a one-time interference array! And a fake evil race lightning technique!” Qing Yanjing quickly identified the interference methods, her voice icy cold.
"Someone doesn't want us to succeed! Moreover, they have considerable knowledge of thunder formations and use insidious methods!"
Mo Yu's face was ashen; he was almost certain who was behind it all.
The Wind Spirit Clan, the Eastern Family... and that damned Maha Ancient Clan!
They actually dared to reach here, trying to sabotage Chen'er's path to awakening!
"Father! Mother!" Qingchen's face turned pale when he saw his parents' solemn expressions and the tremors of the formation, but the tension in his eyes was quickly replaced by a stubbornness. The purple amulet on his chest shone even brighter, nourishing his body and mind.
"Chen'er, don't be afraid. He's just a clown." Mo Yu gave his son a reassuring smile, but the coldness in his eyes was enough to freeze the stars.
He transmitted his voice to the thirty-six guardians: "Strengthen vigilance and activate the highest alert level! Kill anyone who shows any abnormality!"
"Lei Dong, notify the Thunder Punishment Army waiting on the perimeter to seal off all possible secret routes in and out of the Annihilation Star Thunder Forbidden Zone. Entry is permitted, but exit is not! Once I've finished with my affairs here, I'll settle the score with them properly!"
"Yes!" The guardians responded solemnly, and the Thunder Gang Guardian Array shone even brighter, filled with killing intent.
After a brief disturbance, the grand formation returned to normal under the full stabilization efforts of Mo Yu and Qing Yanjing, and became even more stable because the hidden dangers had been eliminated.
This interference undoubtedly cast a deeper shadow over the already risky awakening process and thoroughly enraged Mo Yu.
"Continue setting up the formation!" Mo Yu's voice was cold and firm, like ancient black iron.
"I'd like to see which other fools dare to provoke me!"
