Immortality Through Array Formations Chapter 1969 - 953: Flesh Effigy

"Just what in the world... is this thing..."

Mr. Hui’s voice shook with visible terror as he spoke.

He had suspected that a "big thing" might be concealed within such a massive copper coffin before opening it.

However, the reality surpassed his expectations; it was a terrifying flesh colossus of immense proportions. Woven together from a countless number of corpses and gore, the creature stood tall with a sinister presence.

This monstrosity of flesh towered over the height of ten men. Its aura was fully unleashed, radiating a foul, bone-chilling stench that struck dread into the hearts of everyone watching.

Corpses are naturally driven by a hunger for flesh.

A flesh colossus of this magnitude was no different.

Detecting the presence of living beings nearby, two jagged slits ripped open on the colossus's grotesquely large head. Resembling deep crimson, jet-black eyes, they fixed their gaze upon Mr. Hui and his companions.

Simultaneously, its massive frame began to writhe. With a sudden, violent swing of its fleshy limbs, it conjured a gale of blood that swept toward the assembled group.

Though shocked, Mr. Hui did not turn to run.

He knew that when confronting a powerful foe—especially when positioned closest—the faster one attempts to flee, the sooner death arrives.

Furthermore, because of his proximity, escaping was already an impossibility.

"Everyone, attack at once! Subdue this monstrosity!"

Mr. Hui roared the command while gritting his teeth in desperation. He immediately pulled out a full bottle of precious Blood Wine and drenched his Formation with it. Biting his finger to draw blood, he pressed it against his forehead and began chanting a cryptic incantation with fervor. This activated the ancient Taoist Array Plate he had prepared—a device that was neither purely a formation nor strictly a talisman.

A blinding radiance instantly erupted from the Array Plate.

Profound and ancient script patterns manifested one after another, weaving together to form a protective screen of light.

The crimson storm unleashed by the flesh colossus slammed into the light screen like a rising tide of blood.

A thunderous roar echoed through the chamber, sending powerful shockwaves rippling outward.

While the light of the Array Plate faded slightly, the bloody tide of the colossus began to dissipate into vapor.

The first assault of the flesh colossus was neutralized. However, in the span of a heartbeat, the creature let out a roar filled with the stench of rot and raised its massive arm to strike once more.

The gargantuan limb, thick with the forms of ghastly zombies, cast a shadow over Mr. Hui as it descended.

Mr. Hui was occupied with maintaining the Array Plate and had no way to dodge. Seeing the swarm-covered arm and the suffocating aura of death closing in to claim his life, he gritted his teeth and detonated his Yellow Jade Talisman.

The Yellow Jade Blood Pattern Talisman exploded, sending pillars of golden light surging toward the ceiling and blowing the colossus’s arm into fragments.

A rain of shredded flesh fell like a localized storm.

Mr. Hui quickly called forth his personal Magic Treasure, an Earth Series shield, to ensure his body remained untainted by the falling gore.

Yet, the arm of the flesh colossus that had been obliterated by the Yellow Jade Talisman began to reform immediately.

Broken limbs and clumps of flesh converged in an instant, reconstructing a new arm.

This new limb was even thicker, laced with a malevolent black hue and dripping with bloody water.

Before Mr. Hui could find a way to respond, the arm—fueled by rage, black Qi, and blood—pressed down toward him.

Mr. Hui had nearly exhausted all his defensive maneuvers.

Should he attempt to endure this blow through sheer stubbornness, his shield would surely shatter, and he would lose his life on the spot.

"Help me, hurry!"

Mr. Hui turned his head, screaming with frantic rage.

Stone moved quickly to Mr. Hui’s side. With a loud shout, he channeled his Golden Core power to coat himself in a thick armor of earth and stone, intending to help Mr. Hui tank the colossus’s strike.

Mouse merely cast a brief glance and chose not to act, instead retreating several paces.

The four black-robed cultivators, however, decided to intervene.

Recognizing that Mr. Hui still possessed some utility, they were unwilling to let him perish just yet.

The young black-robed cultivator lashed out with a longsword, releasing arcs of bloody light.

The elderly black-robed cultivator produced a strangely shaped short knife, its blade shimmering with a dark, eerie light.

The two burly men appeared to be specialists in Body Cultivation. Eschewing the use of Spiritual Artifacts or Magic Treasures, they launched a direct assault against the flesh colossus using only their physical might.

A deafening explosion followed, tearing flesh away from the beast.

Severed zombie limbs even flew over Mo Hua’s position.

Mo Hua had already finished drawing a Second Grade Nineteen Patterns Gold Stone Formation on the ground, hunkering down within it to avoid the chaos.

Although a Second Grade Nineteen Patterns Formation was one pattern short of the Twenty Patterns threshold and could not withstand a direct Golden Core level attack, it was more than sufficient to block the shockwaves of the battle.

Aware of his own "frailty," Mo Hua had taken refuge inside the formation early on.

The tremors of the fight reached him soon after.

Violent waves of energy slammed into his Formation, causing the light to waver and the Formation Patterns to show signs of cracking as if they might collapse at any moment.

Nevertheless, the Gold Stone Formation lived up to Mo Hua’s hopes and remained intact.

As the intensity of the storm began to fade, Mo Hua looked up. He saw Mr. Hui standing before the massive, bright yellow copper coffin, looking battered and disheveled, his shield now dim and weakened.

Stone’s armor of earth and stone was riddled with deep cracks.

Mouse stood nearby, his face pale, though he seemed to have avoided any injury.

The two burly black-robed men had their robes shredded, revealing the powerful muscles beneath, though their faces remained hidden.

The young and old black-robed cultivators, who had controlled their sword and knife from a distance, remained largely unaffected.

Facing the combined might of six or seven Golden Core experts, the massive flesh colossus had its arms rendered completely useless.

Mo Hua felt a secret sense of alarm.

The flesh colossus was undeniably powerful, yet these Golden Core cultivators—especially the ones in black robes—appeared to be quite formidable themselves.