Wait, How Did My Digital Girlfriend Become a Sword Immortal? Chapter 675: Sword Sound

Chen Huaian's private interaction with Li Qingran is a matter for another time.

In the basin's heart, Chen Niu backed away from the grand formation, his expression clouded with fury.

He had exhausted various techniques to dismantle the barrier, yet it remained entirely beyond his comprehension.

While the formation lacked the lethality to strike him down, it left him feeling like a tiger attempting to bite the heavens—utterly without a point of attack.

What rankled most was that the cunning Hua Jin had preemptively established this array within the basin.

The formation perfectly encompassed the entire zone where the Celestial Jade Marrow was set to emerge.

Shameful! Truly despicable!

He had never realized just how brazenly opportunistic Hua Jin the True One could be.

"If breaching the grand formation is impossible, my only option is to find a way to seize the premium Celestial Jade Marrow from outside its boundaries..."

Chen Niu's eyes narrowed as a plan began to take shape.

...

Meanwhile, the mood at the Kunlun Immortal Palace camp was celebratory.

"My congratulations, Your Eminence! You have secured a piece of premium Celestial Jade Marrow at last!" Wang Shouyi bowed with cupped hands, his joy for Hua Jin's success genuine.

With the premium Celestial Jade Marrow in their possession, the future growth of Kunlun Immortal Palace would surely accelerate.

Resources would be plentiful, disciple loyalty would strengthen, and their collective power would soar.

In contrast, the Great Thunder Temple had gained nothing and suffered a defeat, leaving them in a pathetic state.

They were destined to be overshadowed by Kunlun Immortal Palace, eventually facing total subjugation until Earth Star was ruled by Kunlun Immortal Palace alone.

Hua Jin the True One was also in high spirits as she returned to her stone seat to wait.

"It is premature to celebrate," she remarked, shaking her head even as a faint smile touched her lips. "Three waves of Celestial Jade Marrow remain. We shall rejoice only after those three waves are safely in our hands."

Wang Shouyi nodded emphatically. "Your Eminence speaks the truth; one should not pop the cork before the battle is won."

As Hua Jin the True One watched the purple Qi begin to reconvene at the basin's center, she couldn't help but think of the two premium pieces stolen by that mysterious girl earlier. Though irritated, she could only internally mourn the loss.

She intended to reclaim those two premium Celestial Jade Marrow pieces eventually.

However, she doubted the thief would dare a second attempt after succeeding once.

The first theft from the tiger's jaws had only worked because they had underestimated a Nascent Soul mid-stage Cultivation level.

Now, both she and Chen Niu were hyper-vigilant. Forget a Nascent Soul mid-stage cultivator—even a fly entering the basin's center would be obliterated!

The seconds ticked by.

Chen Niu and Hua Jin the True One occasionally traded looks, both harboring their own hidden agendas.

Suddenly, the Qi of heaven and earth erupted with violence.

A low thrum vibrated from the depths of the earth veins, and a thick purple-gold aurora began to pool above the basin.

Hua Jin the True One’s eyes sharpened—the second wave of Celestial Jade Marrow was manifesting! She sat in a cross-legged position, appearing composed, yet her spirit was pulled taut like a bowstring.

The folding fan shifted slightly between her fingers, her piercing gaze fixed like a hawk on Chen Niu outside the barrier.

She analyzed the situation: "That demonic monk was thwarted by the grand formation and knows he cannot force his way in. He will surely seek an alternative... he won't retreat easily. He will either try to pull the treasure from afar or attempt to lure the Celestial Jade Marrow out of the formation's reach. I must prevent him from using any spatial manipulation."

Beyond the formation, Chen Niu’s rage cooled as he regained his composure.

However, the frigid aura surrounding him had grown even more oppressive.

Where his Buddhist and demonic powers had once been in equilibrium, the demonic Qi now clearly held the upper hand.

Though he still bore the likeness of a Buddha, demonic traits were surfacing on his frame, resulting in a grotesque half-Buddha, half-demon appearance.

Staring fixedly at the swirling purple Qi, he slowly pressed his palms together and began to mutter low, cryptic Sanskrit mantras.

"Om! Ma! Ni! Padme! Hum—!"

These Sanskrit chants grated against his demonic aura, yet they merged in a bizarre harmony, creating visible ripples that distorted space and rolled toward the grand formation like waves on a pond.

"Sanskrit Mantra Space Manipulation? Does he intend to destabilize space to snatch the treasure from a distance?"

Hua Jin the True One’s heart skipped a beat. Her folding fan shimmered with light, instantly manifesting a translucent blue shield before her. Her divine sense expanded, ready to strike at the first sign of a spatial breach.

But for the monk Chen Niu, the Sanskrit chanting was a mere feint.

Just as the spatial ripples reached the formation's boundary—

Chen Niu’s joined hands suddenly tore apart with violence.

"Roar—!"

A primal, beast-like howl tore from his throat.

The turbulent demonic power surrounding him surged into his massive right arm.

Rip—!

The arm, encrusted with purple-black scales, swelled with knotted muscle.

A jagged crack split the surface of his skin.

Pfft! A manifestation of pure demonic Qi, dark purple and lined with strange suckers like the tentacle of a monstrous octopus, lunged out from the wound.

This demonic limb ignored the constraints of distance.

Its velocity exceeded the reaction time of divine sense.

It bypassed the formation and Hua Jin entirely.

Like a serpent striking from the shadows.

It dove straight into the heart of the basin—the very source of the earth vein where the purple-gold light was crowning.

Squelch—!

The tip of the tentacle pierced the swirling purple-gold light, coiling tightly around a piece of premium Celestial Jade Marrow that had just emerged from the earth, glowing with blinding intensity.

"This is bad!" Hua Jin the True One’s face paled instantly.

She had not anticipated Chen Niu possessing such a grotesque technique.

To think he could forge his demonic power into a physical, adhesive tentacle of such strength.

She acted immediately, her folding fan turning into a streak of blue light that slashed at the tentacle, while Zhang Yibai channeled the formation's power from within the earth veins to suppress the intrusion.

They were, however, a moment too slow.

A cruel, victorious grin spread across the monk Chen Niu’s face.

His arm muscles flexed once more as he pulled back with all his might.

"Come to This Venerable One!"

The demonic tentacle exerted a massive gravitational force.

Tearing through the fabric of space, it held the premium Celestial Jade Marrow in a vice grip.

It yanked the treasure from the forming pillar of light with brutal efficiency, dragging it toward the edge of the formation and toward Chen Niu.

If the premium Celestial Jade Marrow crossed the formation's boundary...

Then the suppression of the Burial Sword Array would be useless against Chen Niu.

"Do not even dream of it!" Hua Jin the True One screamed in fury.

The blue sword Qi slammed into the tentacle, spraying purple-black demonic energy everywhere, but it failed to sever the limb. Just as the jade marrow reached the very edge of the array—

In that split second, the situation shifted entirely.

Clang—!

The ringing of a sword echoed through the air.

A faint but incredibly sharp sword intent, enough to make one's soul shiver, exploded without warning!

This sword intent originated neither from Hua Jin nor the earth vein array.

It manifested out of the void, right beneath the retreating Celestial Jade Marrow.

Swift! Lethal! Precise!

There was no grand display of power.

Only the flash of a nearly invisible silver thread cutting through the air.

...