Chapter 83: The Four-Network Node and the Illusion Array Trap
The dark blue fluorescent light of the four-layer nodes pulsed frantically. The four energy veins, like living creatures, intertwined and wrapped around each other on the rock walls, continuously transferring psychic power to one another. Three layers of illusions stacked upon each other, completely tangling reality and fantasy into a chaotic mess.
The scenes in each person's mind were different.
Some saw the bastion city fall, with their relatives and friends lying dead under the claws of scaled beasts; others saw themselves falling into endless darkness, their ears filled with mournful wails. The psychic erosion attached to the illusions continuously tore at their Seas of Consciousness. The squad members' psychic barriers trembled constantly; some had cold sweat seeping from their foreheads, their jaws clenched tightly.
The two secondary priests stood on the left and right sides of the karst cave, their bodies rising and falling slightly as they continuously injected their own psychic power into the node network. They were in no rush to engage in close combat; they were only responsible for maintaining the operation of the illusion array, leaving the surrounding high-tier scaled beasts to wait for the right moment to launch a charge.
"The four-node network backs each other up!" Lin Yan shouted loudly, fully deploying his third-tier Sea of Consciousness. Countless fine psychic threads shuttled through the overwhelming psychic torrent to probe, "It's different from the triangular nodes. The four nodes form a closed-loop cycle. If any single one is destroyed, the remaining three will immediately restructure the links, and the illusion array will not collapse! We must seize the moment of energy resonance among the four and sever all four veins at once!"
Jiang Tao's fourth-tier Sea of Consciousness exploded outward, expanding a heavy psychic barrier to share the illusion pressure for the two squad members beside him. His face turned pale, as continuous output of psychic power consumed a massive amount of energy: "I will restrain the two nodes on the left and suppress the psychic output of the priests!"
"Leave the right flank to me!" The instructor immediately activated his Sea of Consciousness, locking onto the two nodes on the right.
"The rest of you hold the formation, resist the scaled beasts, and don't let them scatter us!" Old Chen gripped his long knife horizontally, standing on the outer edge of the squad, his eyes fixed on the slowly approaching high-tier scaled beasts.
Over a dozen high-tier scaled beasts let out low roars, their thick scales scraping against the ground as they took step after step, compressing the squad's operating space. They were waiting for the illusion array to continuously drain the humans' mental power; once everyone's Sea of Consciousness was exhausted, they would rush up together to reap their lives.
Deep within the karst cave, the Ancient Progenitor's distant, icy thoughts descended once again:
"Futile struggle. The four-layer continuous illusion array was prepared specifically for your squad. Slowly drain your Seas of Consciousness dry. Lin Yan, your mind will stay here today."
A heavier psychic torrent surged into the nodes along the rock strata, and the intensity of the illusions skyrocketed once more.
One squad member's Sea of Consciousness was on the verge of collapse. The illusions before his eyes completely took over his perception. Roaring, he raised his long spear and nearly stabbed his nearby teammate, only to be stopped when the person next to him reached out and firmly held down his arm.
"Guard your minds! Do not be swept away by the illusions!" While continuously releasing psychic threads to probe the energy fluctuations of the nodes, Lin Yan circulated his ancient martial arts mind-guarding technique to stabilize himself. Countless illusions kept sprouting at the edge of his vision, but his mind remained as still as an ancient well, completely unaffected. The foundation built through years of meditative cultivation in ancient martial arts was now his greatest reliance in resisting the illusions.
He continuously tracked the energy flow of the four veins, observing the rhythm of the alternating light and dark fluorescence. The energy of the four nodes circulated endlessly. After a certain period, the four veins would vibrate synchronously in the exact same instant—that was the resonance window. This window was extremely brief and vanished in the blink of an eye.
"Jiang Tao, Instructor, stabilize the restraint force! Keep the nodes' energy at the same level and help me amplify the resonance window!" Lin Yan shouted a reminder.
Jiang Tao and the instructor immediately adjusted their Sea of Consciousness output. Instead of forcefully striking the nodes, they applied continuous, even pressure, pulling on the four energy veins in an attempt to synchronize their fluctuation frequencies.
Sensing their intentions, the two secondary priests immediately adjusted their psychic transmission, attempting to disrupt the energy balance of the nodes. A heavy psychic impact headed straight for Lin Yan's Sea of Consciousness.
"Careful!" Jiang Tao diverted a portion of his Sea of Consciousness power to intercept it horizontally. The invisible collision exploded, and Jiang Tao let out a muffled groan, his shoulder trembling slightly.
Taking advantage of the brief moment when the priests were distracted adjusting the nodes' energy, Lin Yan finally captured that fleeting resonance point.
"Now!"
Lin Yan focused his mind, and all his psychic threads burst forth simultaneously. Like four sharp threads, they pierced precisely into the intersection of the four fluorescent veins.
Chi! Chi! Chi! Chi!
The four links were severed simultaneously.
The blue light of the four nodes flickered violently. The three-layered illusions within the karst cave instantly began to collapse, and the tragic scenes before their eyes gradually faded and dissipated. The heavy psychic pressure shrouding everyone suddenly diminished.
"The illusion array has failed!" A squad member couldn't suppress the joy in his heart.
Seeing this, the two secondary priests flew into a rage. Abandoning the maintenance of the nodes, they simultaneously unleashed psychic spears directly toward Lin Yan's Sea of Consciousness. The high-tier scaled beasts surrounding them received the command and roared in unison, launching a charge.
"Old Chen, left flank! The rest of you, form a formation to face the enemy!" the instructor ordered loudly.
Old Chen drew his long knife. The blade whistled through the air as he slashed directly at the first high-tier scaled beast that charged in. Dark green blood sprayed onto the rocky ground, and a foul stench rushed toward their faces. Jiang Tao operated his Sea of Consciousness, continuously intercepting the two psychic spears rushing toward Lin Yan.
Lin Yan did not rest. His Sea of Consciousness quickly swept over the four nodes that had already become unstable: "The nodes are only temporarily paralyzed; the priests can still repair the links! We must destroy the physical nodes themselves!"
The two secondary priests released psychic attacks while moving toward the nodes, attempting to reconnect the severed veins. Once they repaired the network, the illusion array would activate again.
On one side were the endless waves of high-tier scaled beasts pouncing forward; on the other were the two secondary priests who could restart the illusion array at any moment. The squad was attacked from both front and rear; this grueling battle was far from over.
End of Chapter.
The scenes in each person's mind were different.
Some saw the bastion city fall, with their relatives and friends lying dead under the claws of scaled beasts; others saw themselves falling into endless darkness, their ears filled with mournful wails. The psychic erosion attached to the illusions continuously tore at their Seas of Consciousness. The squad members' psychic barriers trembled constantly; some had cold sweat seeping from their foreheads, their jaws clenched tightly.
The two secondary priests stood on the left and right sides of the karst cave, their bodies rising and falling slightly as they continuously injected their own psychic power into the node network. They were in no rush to engage in close combat; they were only responsible for maintaining the operation of the illusion array, leaving the surrounding high-tier scaled beasts to wait for the right moment to launch a charge.
"The four-node network backs each other up!" Lin Yan shouted loudly, fully deploying his third-tier Sea of Consciousness. Countless fine psychic threads shuttled through the overwhelming psychic torrent to probe, "It's different from the triangular nodes. The four nodes form a closed-loop cycle. If any single one is destroyed, the remaining three will immediately restructure the links, and the illusion array will not collapse! We must seize the moment of energy resonance among the four and sever all four veins at once!"
Jiang Tao's fourth-tier Sea of Consciousness exploded outward, expanding a heavy psychic barrier to share the illusion pressure for the two squad members beside him. His face turned pale, as continuous output of psychic power consumed a massive amount of energy: "I will restrain the two nodes on the left and suppress the psychic output of the priests!"
"Leave the right flank to me!" The instructor immediately activated his Sea of Consciousness, locking onto the two nodes on the right.
"The rest of you hold the formation, resist the scaled beasts, and don't let them scatter us!" Old Chen gripped his long knife horizontally, standing on the outer edge of the squad, his eyes fixed on the slowly approaching high-tier scaled beasts.
Over a dozen high-tier scaled beasts let out low roars, their thick scales scraping against the ground as they took step after step, compressing the squad's operating space. They were waiting for the illusion array to continuously drain the humans' mental power; once everyone's Sea of Consciousness was exhausted, they would rush up together to reap their lives.
Deep within the karst cave, the Ancient Progenitor's distant, icy thoughts descended once again:
"Futile struggle. The four-layer continuous illusion array was prepared specifically for your squad. Slowly drain your Seas of Consciousness dry. Lin Yan, your mind will stay here today."
A heavier psychic torrent surged into the nodes along the rock strata, and the intensity of the illusions skyrocketed once more.
One squad member's Sea of Consciousness was on the verge of collapse. The illusions before his eyes completely took over his perception. Roaring, he raised his long spear and nearly stabbed his nearby teammate, only to be stopped when the person next to him reached out and firmly held down his arm.
"Guard your minds! Do not be swept away by the illusions!" While continuously releasing psychic threads to probe the energy fluctuations of the nodes, Lin Yan circulated his ancient martial arts mind-guarding technique to stabilize himself. Countless illusions kept sprouting at the edge of his vision, but his mind remained as still as an ancient well, completely unaffected. The foundation built through years of meditative cultivation in ancient martial arts was now his greatest reliance in resisting the illusions.
He continuously tracked the energy flow of the four veins, observing the rhythm of the alternating light and dark fluorescence. The energy of the four nodes circulated endlessly. After a certain period, the four veins would vibrate synchronously in the exact same instant—that was the resonance window. This window was extremely brief and vanished in the blink of an eye.
"Jiang Tao, Instructor, stabilize the restraint force! Keep the nodes' energy at the same level and help me amplify the resonance window!" Lin Yan shouted a reminder.
Jiang Tao and the instructor immediately adjusted their Sea of Consciousness output. Instead of forcefully striking the nodes, they applied continuous, even pressure, pulling on the four energy veins in an attempt to synchronize their fluctuation frequencies.
Sensing their intentions, the two secondary priests immediately adjusted their psychic transmission, attempting to disrupt the energy balance of the nodes. A heavy psychic impact headed straight for Lin Yan's Sea of Consciousness.
"Careful!" Jiang Tao diverted a portion of his Sea of Consciousness power to intercept it horizontally. The invisible collision exploded, and Jiang Tao let out a muffled groan, his shoulder trembling slightly.
Taking advantage of the brief moment when the priests were distracted adjusting the nodes' energy, Lin Yan finally captured that fleeting resonance point.
"Now!"
Lin Yan focused his mind, and all his psychic threads burst forth simultaneously. Like four sharp threads, they pierced precisely into the intersection of the four fluorescent veins.
Chi! Chi! Chi! Chi!
The four links were severed simultaneously.
The blue light of the four nodes flickered violently. The three-layered illusions within the karst cave instantly began to collapse, and the tragic scenes before their eyes gradually faded and dissipated. The heavy psychic pressure shrouding everyone suddenly diminished.
"The illusion array has failed!" A squad member couldn't suppress the joy in his heart.
Seeing this, the two secondary priests flew into a rage. Abandoning the maintenance of the nodes, they simultaneously unleashed psychic spears directly toward Lin Yan's Sea of Consciousness. The high-tier scaled beasts surrounding them received the command and roared in unison, launching a charge.
"Old Chen, left flank! The rest of you, form a formation to face the enemy!" the instructor ordered loudly.
Old Chen drew his long knife. The blade whistled through the air as he slashed directly at the first high-tier scaled beast that charged in. Dark green blood sprayed onto the rocky ground, and a foul stench rushed toward their faces. Jiang Tao operated his Sea of Consciousness, continuously intercepting the two psychic spears rushing toward Lin Yan.
Lin Yan did not rest. His Sea of Consciousness quickly swept over the four nodes that had already become unstable: "The nodes are only temporarily paralyzed; the priests can still repair the links! We must destroy the physical nodes themselves!"
The two secondary priests released psychic attacks while moving toward the nodes, attempting to reconnect the severed veins. Once they repaired the network, the illusion array would activate again.
On one side were the endless waves of high-tier scaled beasts pouncing forward; on the other were the two secondary priests who could restart the illusion array at any moment. The squad was attacked from both front and rear; this grueling battle was far from over.
End of Chapter.