Traveling through time to cultivate immortality: a life and death test

In the blink of an eye, Liu Xing arrived at the formation. He looked at the fourth-level monster trapped in the formation. It was ten feet long, with thick skin and flesh, and immense strength. Its eight tentacles were thirty feet long, densely packed with round suction cups and sharp barbs like fishhooks. If you were entangled in such tentacles, it would be impossible to escape. Even if you tried your best to break free, the barbs would still tear off a large piece of your flesh. Liu Xing was horrified by the sight. Fortunately, it was trapped by the formation, otherwise he would have no chance of defeating it. The squid was struggling desperately, its eight tentacles clinging to the light shield and shaking it vigorously. The Blue Sea Tide Formation was swaying from side to side, and it looked like it could not hold up for much longer.

Liu Xing, horrified, didn't hesitate. He immediately released five puppets and ordered them to attack the fish monster within the formation. Jiao Jiao, on the other side, also continuously released blue fireballs to attack the fish monster itself. The Xi Moyu was instantly surrounded by various attack beams, finally unable to attack the restriction and could only scramble to defend. Seizing this opportunity, Liu Xing hurriedly activated the Ten Thousand Swords Returning to the Origin Killing Formation. The spirit stone in the center of the formation was instantly drained of its spiritual power, and a massive energy ball emerged at the center of the formation. The pressure it radiated was like the full force of a late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator. The Xi Moyu instinctively sensed the threat, its large, gong-like eyes fixed on the flying sword gestating within the energy ball.

In a moment, a flying sword materialized, launching itself at the Xi Mothfish monster with overwhelming force. Trapped in the confined space, the Xi Mothfish instinctively dodged to the side as its massive tentacle clung to the flying sword. Though small, the flying sword was incredibly sharp, severing the tentacle. The Xi Mothfish let out a roar of agony, shaking the entire formation. Dark green blood shot up into the air, instantly staining the reef green.

Liu Xing was delighted by the significant success of the Ten Thousand Swords Returning to the Origin formation, and immediately replaced the core spirit stone to nurture a second flying sword. While the killing formation was replacing spirit stones, Jiao Jiao and the puppets continued to attack the fish monster. The wooden ape's black iron staff was particularly striking, striking down on the cuttlefish with each blow, drawing blood and forcing it to expend all its mana to resist. Jiao Jiao also took advantage of the cuttlefish's panic to bite off another of its tentacle.

In just a quarter of an hour of attack, the Xi cuttlefish lost two tentacles, suffering severe injuries and nearly half its mana. Liu Xing orchestrated various attacks to appease the fish monster while also preventing it from going berserk and launching any counterattacks.

The fish monster didn't have a chance to catch its breath before the second flying sword from the killing array launched towards it. Having suffered a setback the first time, the fish monster became more cunning this time. Instead of using its tentacles to entangle the flying sword, it opened its mouth and spitted a black stream of air towards the flying sword. While it didn't completely block the flying sword, it did consume most of its power, and then used its tentacles to fling it away. This time, apart from sapping some of the fish monster's mana, it achieved no substantial results. After all, the inkfish was a Level 4 demonic beast, roaming these seas for centuries. How could it be slaughtered by anyone?

Liu Xing replaced another spirit stone in the killing array. This time, instead of a single sword strike of vital energy, he unleashed a volley of arrows, leaving the cuttlefish monster covered in dirt and wounds. Finally, amidst the chaos, the wooden ape's black iron staff caught the enemy off guard and broke one of its tentacles. The battle then entered a stalemate. The constant attacks prevented the cuttlefish from breaking the Bi Hai Chao Sheng trap, leaving it trapped and passively vulnerable.

Liu Xing was worried that if the fight dragged on too long, it would attract other cultivators or even more powerful monsters, so he wanted to end the fight quickly. Seeing that Xi Moyu's mana had been mostly depleted, he stopped waiting and prepared to use his talisman to deliver a fatal blow. He ordered Jiao Jiao to increase the intensity of his attack and to protect him. He sat nearby, took out the Mountain-Shaking Knife talisman, and slowly poured spiritual energy into it. The talisman instantly emitted a huge suction force, sucking Liu Xing's mana like a bottomless pit. Liu Xing had experience using talismans many times, and his mana far exceeded that of his peers. So it only took him half a quarter of an hour to fill the talisman, consuming a quarter of his mana. He raised the Mountain-Shaking Knife high, its power ten times greater than the previous sword strike of the energy nurtured by the killing formation.

Under the overwhelming pressure of the Mountain-Shaking Knife, the Xi Moyu trembled with fear. The threat of death finally unleashed its fury. Mobilizing all its magical power, it slammed fiercely into the Blue Sea Tide Formation, making a last-ditch effort. The formation finally shattered with a humming sound. Having broken through the formation, the Xi Moyu's magical power was depleted to a tenth of its remaining strength. Seeing a glimmer of hope for escape, it attempted to take flight again. However, it was too late.

"Cut!" Liu Xing shouted, and slashed down with the Mountain-Shaking Knife. Xi Moyu's body was split in half, and it was deader than dead.

Liu Xing was overjoyed. With a wave of his hand, he put away his talisman. Without a moment's rest, he immediately stepped forward, took out the Yin Gathering Bowl, and muttered something to himself. A miniature Xi cuttlefish spirit timidly flew towards the bowl. This was a valuable item; it would be very useful for refining puppets later. He then extracted the Xi cuttlefish's demon pill. It was only the size of a thumb, yet it contained immense spiritual power. Liu Xing pulled out a jade box and carefully stored it. He had risked everything just for this tiny demon pill.

Next, he began to process the Xi cuttlefish's corpse. He used a large jade bottle to remove all the Xi ink from the ink sac. The thick and dense black ink was a key ingredient in refining puppet joints, so a large bottle like this could last for a long time.

At the same time, he used another large jade bottle to fill it with dark green blood essence. The blood essence was full of spiritual energy and had a wide range of uses.

He then cut off Ximo's eight tentacles and peeled off the cuttlefish's skin, both of which were excellent materials for refining top-grade magical instruments. Finally, he took out the cuttlefish's bones, which were excellent materials for refining healing pills.

Finally, the remaining cuttlefish meat was an extremely delicious ingredient, brimming with spiritual energy. For other monsters, devouring it could also boost their cultivation. Liu Xing rinsed it with seawater and tossed it to Jiao Jiao, who opened her bloody mouth and swallowed it in one gulp, savoring it with gusto and even letting out a full burp.

After collecting Xi Moyu's remains, he checked the five puppets, finding them undamaged. He replaced their spirit stones with new ones and stored them away for future use. Of the three formations, the Azure Sea Tide Formation's disk and flags were damaged and unusable. The Ten Thousand Swords Returning to the Origin Formation and the Hidden Trace Formation were still intact, so he stored them away.

He then asked Jiaojiao if she was injured. Jiaojiao rolled in the sea, confirming she was unharmed. She had played a crucial role in luring the cuttlefish into the trap. She was thrilled to have helped her master accomplish such a great feat.