This was the greatest characteristic of the Yunxiao Golden Dipper Formation. The sword light shone like celestial radiance from the heavens, filling the enclosed space with devastating high-density attacks.
This was the true mystery behind the Yunxiao Golden Dipper Formation.
That Xuanhuang Viper had sensed the approaching threat when Jiang Chen was still several thousand meters away. It had been disguising itself as a Xuanhuang Vine the entire time, hoping to deceive anyone who drew near before launching a lethal strike.
However, Jiang Chen was clearly far more cautious than the typical impulsive warrior. He possessed a thorough understanding of the Xuanhuang He Shouwu's various characteristics.
He was also fully prepared for the dangers lurking around it.
So rather than charging in blindly, he had deliberated carefully before making the most advantageous choice.
No matter how cunning the Xuanhuang Viper might be, it could only rely on instinctive craftiness and its innate talent for concealment. When it came to intelligence, its spiritual awareness had only just begun to awaken—it could never match a human cultivator's wits.
But on its own territory, as long as it maintained its disguise well enough, it was genuinely difficult for any human cultivator to pose a real threat.
Unfortunately for the Xuanhuang Viper, it had encountered Jiang Chen—a man who understood the Xuanhuang He Shouwu better than anyone.
The Yunxiao Golden Dipper Formation's assault struck the Xuanhuang Viper squarely in its vital spot. As the old saying went, when you strike a snake, you strike its vitals. That seven-inch mark was the weakness of all serpentine creatures.
The fearsome sword light unleashed its terrifying destructive force in a relentless, frenzied assault on the Xuanhuang Viper's vital area. The serpent was instantly slashed until blood streamed from its body.
Of course, the bloodiest wounds were not truly the most terrifying. External injuries, however savage they appeared, were merely cosmetic. The true devastation of the Yunxiao Golden Dipper Formation's strike lay in the fact that it had cleaved through the Xuanhuang Viper's qi sea and damaged its very life force.
Nothing was more terrifying than having one's vitality severed.
The Xuanhuang Viper wailed in agony, thrashing wildly among the Xuanhuang Vines. Its tremendous constriction force twisted and coiled around the vine wood in spasm.
The Xuanhuang Vine was already an exceedingly rare material. Seeing it snapped and shattered repeatedly by the viper's violent convulsions, Jiang Chen couldn't help but feel it was a tremendous waste.
However, the more the Xuanhuang Viper thrashed about like this, the more relaxed Jiang Chen became.
If his initial attack had missed the serpent's vital point, he might still have had quite a fight on his hands. But now that he had struck home, no matter how the Xuanhuang Viper struggled, it was nothing more than a death throe.
Jiang Chen felt not a shred of sympathy. His resolve was firm: "Keep attacking, slay the Xuanhuang Viper, claim the Xuanhuang He Shouwu, and take its gallbladder as an auxiliary ingredient along with its cold blood as a catalyst—this will be immensely beneficial for the refinement of the Xuanhuang He Shouwu."
Jiang Chen had no doubt about this whatsoever.
Every spiritual companion organism of the Xuanhuang He Shouwu—whether plant or animal—had essentially evolved in symbiosis around it.
So at this point, there was no reason for Jiang Chen to show any mercy.
The Xuanhuang Viper, subjected to Jiang Chen's relentless attacks, was thoroughly enraged and hissed continuously. For this type of venomous serpent, once its vital spot was struck, it typically lost ninety percent of its combat ability.
Originally, with the Xuanhuang Viper's agility, it could have caught even Jiang Chen off guard.
But Jiang Chen had struck first, pouring his full strength into attacking the viper's vital region.
"This Xuanhuang Viper is already at the end of its rope. However, those Xuanhuang Vines remain a truly fearsome obstacle."
Jiang Chen looked at the dying serpent, his mind sharp and clear. The Xuanhuang Viper was indeed beyond saving, but reaching the Xuanhuang He Shouwu still required overcoming one final challenge.
Figuring out how to deal with the Xuanhuang Vines was the real key.
Jiang Chen's own strength was clearly insufficient to break through the Xuanhuang Vines directly. After all, those vines were absurdly tough—their hardness and resilience were nothing short of extraordinary.
As his thoughts raced, Jiang Chen decided once again to outwit his opponent.
Ice Fire Demon Lotus!
It had been quite some time since Jiang Chen last employed the Ice Fire Demon Lotus. But its growth potential had been exceptional. The current iteration of the Ice Fire Demon Lotus was extremely tenacious in form.
"So it's a contest of who has more tendrils?" Jiang Chen didn't hesitate for a moment. His control over the Ice Fire Demon Lotus had long since surpassed what it had been in those early days.
In an instant, hundreds of Ice Fire Demon Lotus tendrils surged outward like countless tentacles, reaching ceaselessly toward the Xuanhuang He Shouwu.
Sure enough, the moment the Ice Fire Demon Lotus moved, it immediately drew the attention of the Xuanhuang Vines. Those vines had been knotted and entangled together, but upon detecting the Ice Fire Demon Lotus shooting toward them, they seemed to possess a rudimentary awareness of their own—rising up one after another and surging toward the Ice Fire Demon Lotus.
And so, the battle of tendrils between the Ice Fire Demon Lotus and the Xuanhuang Vines commenced.
The Xuanhuang Vines were indeed numerous, rising like the thousand arms of a bodhisattva, one after another endlessly pouring forth.
But Jiang Chen's control of the Ice Fire Demon Lotus now allowed him to command several thousand tendrils at a moment's notice. The scale was staggering.
For a time, no matter how many Xuanhuang Vines surged forward, the Ice Fire Demon Lotus always had reinforcements to throw into the fray. In the end, the sheer numbers of the Ice Fire Demon Lotus finally gained the upper hand.
Jiang Chen's heart stirred: "Now—the opportunity has arrived!"
He once again drove twenty or thirty Ice Fire Demon Lotus tendrils forward in rapid succession. His current control over them was as effortless as moving his own fingers—flawlessly practiced and precise.