Array Formation

Hearing this,

the Old Dragon King's eyes lit up, and he immediately perked up. He eagerly asked, "So... Sovereign Yuanjun, you truly have a way to suppress this black water?"

Su Qing looked at the rift valley, nodded slightly, and said, "While I can't say it's absolutely certain, it's pretty much a sure thing."

Receiving Su Qing's answer, the Old Dragon King's hanging heart finally settled.

The Old Dragon King knew that Su Qing was not one to speak in absolutes, so he understood that if she said it was a sure thing, it was most likely secure... merely leaving herself a small margin for error.

"In that case, Sovereign Yuanjun, just do your best!" The North Sea Dragon King smiled, feeling relieved. He added, "Oh, right, do you need me to do anything?"

Although the North Sea Dragon King knew his strength probably wouldn't be much help, it was still necessary to offer. Moreover, if the other party truly needed him to do something, he wouldn't appear completely useless.

Su Qing saw the North Sea Dragon King's offer, thought for a moment, and nodded. She said, "You've hit the nail on the head. I do need you to do something. That is, help me find some people to assist me in setting up an array formation to better suppress the black water... Oh, and it would be best if those people were Earthly Immortals."

The array formation Su Qing intended to set up was of a relatively high level, so those in the Divine Immortal Realm or below couldn't help at all... Their magic power wouldn't even last for a quarter of an hour.

Therefore, only Earthly Immortals could be of assistance.

Hearing this, the North Sea Dragon King nodded without hesitation, saying, "That's only right... Sovereign Yuanjun, please wait a moment, I'll go find people now. How many people do you need, Sovereign Yuanjun?"

"Not many, about ten should be enough," Su Qing thought for a moment before replying. "However, if you can find more, that would also be fine... it would make things even more secure."

Hearing this, the North Sea Dragon King couldn't help but be stunned. He looked at Su Qing, silent for a moment, then sighed and said:

"Sovereign Yuanjun, your request is too high. If you only needed six or seven Earthly Immortals, I could find them, but ten or so is somewhat difficult—no, not difficult, but impossible. The Dragon Palace is not like the Heavenly Court; there aren't many Earthly Immortal realm experts... Currently in the Dragon Palace, including myself, there are barely six."

The North Sea Dragon King couldn't help but sigh inwardly. Su Qing's cultivation had advanced too quickly, achieving Heavenly Immortal status in just over a thousand years, and those around her were also exceptionally talented. Thus, she probably didn't fully grasp how difficult it was to become an Earthly Immortal.

One must know that even in the East Sea Dragon Palace, the wealthiest and strongest among the Four Seas, there were barely a dozen Earthly Immortal experts affiliated with it!

And the North Sea Dragon Palace was inherently inferior to the East Sea Dragon Palace... Let alone Earthly Immortals affiliated with the Dragon Palace, even counting guest Earthly Immortals, there were only a dozen or so in total.

Therefore, how could he suddenly find ten Earthly Immortals?

However... to say he truly couldn't find them, that wasn't entirely true...

The Old Dragon King could find them through connections and benefits, which wasn't too difficult... it was just that asking him to gather ten in such a short time was a bit much to ask.

The ones he could summon now were only those Earthly Immortals directly affiliated with the Dragon Palace.

Therefore... within a short period, the North Sea Dragon King could at most summon five Earthly Immortals, and even with himself, that would only be six.

So, he could only helplessly state that he couldn't do it.

Su Qing was a little surprised to hear the Old Dragon King's words; she hadn't expected such a vast Dragon Palace to not even have ten Earthly Immortals.

She couldn't help but turn her head to glance at the Old Dragon King.

She saw the Old Dragon King's face filled with a troubled and embarrassed expression.

After a brief silence, she nodded slightly... and did not press the North Sea Dragon King.

Because Su Qing could tell that the Old Dragon King wasn't lying to her... and had no reason to lie.

This matter directly concerned the interests of the North Sea and the North Sea Dragon Palace; even if the Old Dragon King were an idiot, he wouldn't lie to her.

After all, there was no benefit in it.

So... the Old Dragon King most likely genuinely couldn't find a dozen Earthly Immortals on short notice.

Su Qing's expression remained unchanged as she looked at the Old Dragon King and said, "It's fine if you don't have them... just bring as many as you can. I'm the main force anyway; others are just here to share a bit of my magic power consumption. A few more or a few less won't make much difference..."

She was the main force of the array formation; as long as she was there, she would have a ninety percent chance of suppressing the black water.

The other Earthly Immortals would merely help her alleviate the pressure.

So, a few more or a few less wouldn't be too much of an issue.

Even having no one wouldn't be a huge problem...

It was just that having more people would make it more secure, save her effort, and allow her to conserve more strength.

This way, even if something unexpected happened midway, she could free up her hands to deal with it.

Hearing Su Qing's answer, the North Sea Dragon King also breathed a sigh of relief... The words he had been pondering were swallowed back down.

He nodded and said, "In that case, I will gather everyone I can find to assist Sovereign Yuanjun and share your burden."

Su Qing nodded slightly and said, "Alright, I'll wait for you here... I hope Senior Dragon King can be quick. This black water pollutes the seawater; for every hour we delay, the situation in the North Sea will become more difficult."

Su Qing's words made the North Sea Dragon King's expression tighten slightly, then he hastily nodded and said, "Sovereign Yuanjun, rest assured, I will be as quick as possible."

With that, the North Sea Dragon King said no more, turned, and swam away.

Leaving Su Qing alone in place.

And Su Qing wasn't idle while standing there...

Her hands continuously formed incantations, preparing to set up the array.

During this process, both Leng Xiang and Yudie were exceptionally quiet, showing no intention of disturbing Su Qing.

While Yudie was indeed quite noisy, she was also relatively obedient; she could be quiet when she needed to be... especially when she understood the gravity of the situation.

Thus, Su Qing's preparations proceeded very smoothly.

In just a short while, she had already completed some basic preparations.

"Next are the materials..." Su Qing raised an eyebrow, then calculated in her mind how many materials would be needed to suppress the black water in this place.

As Su Qing pondered, time slowly passed.

Approximately the time it takes for an incense stick to burn...

The North Sea Dragon King finally returned with his people.

"Sovereign Yuanjun, I've kept you waiting..." The North Sea Dragon King took a deep breath and said, "One Earthly Immortal went to resolve a demon calamity in the sea, which caused some delay. However, everyone is finally here..."

The North Sea Dragon King took this matter extremely seriously, so he personally summoned everyone... to ensure no one was missed and to expedite the process.

After all, no matter how fast servants relayed messages, they couldn't be that quick... Their cultivation limited their speed, which couldn't possibly surpass the North Sea Dragon King's.

Su Qing heard the North Sea Dragon King's voice and slightly came back to her senses.

She turned to glance at the North Sea Dragon King and the other few Earthly Immortal realm dragon kin, then nodded slightly and said, "Later, I'll trouble you all to help me set up the array formation..."

Hearing this, the few individuals also quickly nodded.

They were all Earthly Immortals, and to some extent, they had heard of Su Qing's existence.

Even if they hadn't heard of Su Qing, once they knew she was a Heavenly Immortal, they dared not show the slightest disrespect.

Moreover, Su Qing was here to help them solve the troubles in the great sea...

"Then, Sovereign Yuanjun, when shall we begin?" asked the North Sea Dragon King.

Su Qing looked up at the rift valley and said, "We can start now... While you were calling people, I already prepared most of the things."

The North Sea Dragon King nodded, then asked, "Alright, what should we do?"

"I'll give instructions when we start... For now, come with me to the edge of the rift valley."

Su Qing seemed to have become serious, her demeanor turning somewhat aloof, as if devoid of emotion.

"Won't it be too dangerous to get so close to the rift valley, near where the black water gushes out?"

"Don't worry, we won't get that close directly." Su Qing said calmly, "Also, while the black water does affect one's mind, you are all Earthly Immortal realm experts; short-term exposure won't be a problem."

"Understood." After a moment of silence, the North Sea Dragon King nodded.

Whatever Su Qing said, he would follow.

Even if their minds were truly affected by the black water, it was better than letting it continue to spread.

Thus, the few people followed Su Qing to the side of the rift valley.

Although there was still a considerable distance from where the black water gushed out, strange sounds still appeared in their ears.

Fortunately, their strength was sufficient; they merely recited the Heart-Clearing Incantation silently, temporarily dispelling the sounds.

Su Qing stood on the edge, and with a turn of her hand, took out several array flags.

The flags were only palm-sized, but their material was very peculiar, and their cost was quite considerable.

After taking out the array flags, Su Qing turned to the Dragon King and said, "Remember to reimburse me!"

The Dragon King was startled, then nodded and said, "Naturally, naturally."

Hearing this, Su Qing chuckled, then tossed the array flags in her hand to the Old Dragon King and his subordinates, saying, "Take these array flags and follow my magic light... Stand firm where my magic light stops, then just listen to my commands."

After speaking, Su Qing didn't wait for them to reply. She merely formed an incantation with her hand, conjuring several golden rays of light to guide the individuals to their designated positions.

The Old Dragon King said nothing, simply following the magic light.

Soon, he arrived at his spot and stood firm.

After standing firm, the Old Dragon King looked at the small array flag in his hand, exhaled a turbid breath, and said, "The quality of this array flag is not low... I'm afraid that just reimbursing Sovereign Yuanjun for these array flags and materials will cost a fortune."

Then he chuckled again, shaking his head. "Never mind, a huge expense is fine, as long as the North Sea can return to normal."

As the North Sea Dragon King pondered, he suddenly heard a voice emanating from the magic light beside him, saying, "Everyone, pour your magic power into the array flags..."

Hearing this, the Old Dragon King moved almost without hesitation.

As magic power was poured in,

Su Qing transmitted a secret incantation.

The few individuals also obediently followed and cast it.

Soon,

streaks of light rose in the sea.

A majestic surge of magic power began to manifest above the entire rift valley.

At the same time, the magic power intertwined, forming a complete Lapis Lazuli Barrier, like a giant inverted bowl, descending over the rift valley.

However, this was not all...

Outside this Lapis Lazuli Barrier, several more layers of array formation imprints began to appear.

Each one descended towards the rift valley.

Su Qing's array formation had nothing particularly powerful or miraculous about it; its main principle was brute force.

And as the array formation was cast...

the black water's counterattack began.

The black water began to thicken... tentacles gradually condensed and attacked the array formation, attempting to break through it.

For a moment,

the array formation continuously trembled.

And the few people supporting the array formation also felt immense pressure.

However, they dared not be negligent and could only continue to pour in magic power.

If they were to retreat now, all their efforts would be in vain.

On the other side,

unlike the difficulties faced by the North Sea Dragon King and his companions,

Su Qing's demeanor remained relatively calm.

Her hands moved swiftly, while her gaze was fixed on the black water and the rift valley... observing what lay within the rift.

Just then,

Su Qing suddenly felt the resistance encountered by the array formation increase sharply.

Su Qing raised an eyebrow, seeing more black water beginning to emerge from the bottom of the rift valley.

And as the black water gushed out, its counterattack grew stronger, and its forms became more diverse, even mimicking marine animals, attempting to break through Su Qing and her companions' suppression with different shapes.

"It's futile. Even if you don't want to be suppressed today, you will be."

Su Qing snorted lightly, then her hands moved faster, concentrating even more on suppressing the black water.

Su Qing was not proficient in array formations; the one she was currently using to suppress the black water was not particularly intricate. Its main principle was brute force, relying on her Heavenly Immortal realm strength to forcibly suppress it.

Therefore, with such a fierce counterattack from the black water, Su Qing had to become more serious in suppressing it.

As a result, she had no mind to pay too much attention to her surroundings.

She could only entrust the task of vigilance to Leng Xiang and Yudie.

Lest she be too focused on suppressing and miss any other tricks the black water might have.

However, at this moment, the surroundings were very quiet, with only the sound of Su Qing casting spells; there was nothing else, as if there was no danger at all.

But was that truly the case?

Evidently, it was not.

And in a place Su Qing couldn't perceive,

demon creatures, affected by the black water, continuously surged towards Su Qing from all directions.

Unfortunately...

At this moment, they couldn't even get close to the Dragon Palace... In fact, they were stopped by someone dozens of miles away from it.

One could see.

Above the North Sea,

a colossal tortoise stood there.

The shadow cast by the gigantic tortoise formed an immense array formation.

It perfectly enveloped both the rift valley and the Dragon Palace, and also perfectly blocked those demons outside.

"Hahaha! This move of mine can't stop the truly powerful, but blocking you lot of trash is no problem at all!"