142: Chapter 142 Special Department's Emergency Support: "This is a Declaration of War!"

Section 1 Stalemate at the Origin Pool: The Deterrence of the Spirit-Devouring Seven Absolutes Formation

When Chen Wu's team arrived at the Origin Pool of the Taiji Secret Realm, the setting sun shone through the Qi Energy skylights at the top of the Secret Realm, staining the pale golden water a warm red.

On the bluestone slabs by the pool, 10 Formation eyes glowing with black light were evenly distributed. Pale black Spirit-Devouring Energy flowed along the patterns of the Formation eyes, forming a massive "Spirit-Devouring Seven Absolutes Diagram" on the pool surface.

Lin Mo's tablet had just finished scanning when a "High-Risk Warning" popped up on the screen: "Detected 'Spirit-Devouring Seven Absolutes Formation', composed of 7 main Formation eyes and 3 auxiliary Formation eyes. The core Formation eye is hidden at the bottom of the Origin Pool. Once activated, it will release a 'Spirit-Devouring Storm', suppressing all Qi Energy at the Brute Force Late Stage and below. Furthermore, there is 'Qi Energy Linkage' between the Formation eyes; destroying any one will cause the others to simultaneously increase their defense. Breaking difficulty exceeds 90%!"

"It's more complex than expected!" Chen Wu's Four Symbols Qi Energy probed toward the nearest auxiliary Formation eye.

As soon as it touched the black pattern, the pale black Spirit-Devouring Energy spread like vines along the Qi Energy, attempting to invade his Dantian—fortunately, the petals of the inheritance grass on his chest turned red in time, and the life-force Qi Energy released by the dew blocked the Spirit-Devouring Energy, though it also caused the green light of the petals to dim slightly.

"The Spirit-Devouring Energy of this Formation eye has an 'active erosion' characteristic," he retracted his Qi Energy, his palm glowing with a faint black color, "Ordinary Qi Energy attacks are not only useless, but they will also be absorbed in turn, enhancing the power of the Formation eye."

Lu Feng attempted to use "Qi Energy Induction Thunder" to detonate the ground vein Qi Energy around the Formation eye—when the pale brown Xingyi Energy thunder exploded, intending to trigger a ground vein resonance to destroy the Formation eye, it was instantly swallowed by the Spirit-Devouring Energy instead.

The black patterns actually lit up a bit more, the rotation speed of the Spirit-Devouring Diagram on the pool surface accelerated, and even the surrounding ground vein Qi Energy began to be dyed black.

"It backfired!" Lu Feng's arm went slightly numb from the Qi Energy backlash, "This Formation can absorb all Qi Energy and convert it into Spirit-Devouring Energy. The stronger our attacks, the more powerful it becomes!"

On the global live broadcast's "Qi Energy Spectrum View", the black Spirit-Devouring patterns were expanding at a rate of 1% per minute, and the proportion of the Origin Pool's pure Origin Qi Energy that had been polluted had reached 30%.

The audience in the barrage comments went from "looking forward to breaking the Formation" to "worried": "What should we do? Attacks are actually strengthening the Formation!" "Teacher Chen, don't force it! Wait for support!"

Real-time analysis by the Technical Department showed that if it were not broken in time, the Spirit-Devouring Formation would be fully activated in 1 hour, the ground vein Qi Energy of the entire Secret Realm would be polluted, and even with anti-Spirit-Devouring medicine, the team would be plunged into a desperate situation due to their Qi Energy being suppressed.

Lin Mo's tablet suddenly received an emergency communication from Grandmaster Yang Mingyuan: "Support from the Special Incident Response Department has arrived! They are coming from the Secret Realm's secret emergency passage, bringing equipment specifically for breaking the Spirit-Devouring Formation, as well as key intelligence regarding the Spirit-Devouring Organization. They will be here immediately!"

Just as he finished speaking, a "click" sound suddenly came from the stone wall on the east side of the Origin Pool, a hidden door slowly opened, and five figures wearing black special combat uniforms walked out quickly.

The leader had broad shoulders and a thick back, with a silver "Special Incident Response Department" badge hanging from his waist, and his Qi Energy was as steady as a mountain; he was actually at the Brute Force Late Stage.

Section 2 The Special Department Appears: The Truth of the Declaration of War

"Mr. Chen Wu, I am Zhao Feng, leader of the Special Incident Response Department's action team, here under orders to provide support!" The leader stepped forward quickly and reached out to shake hands with Chen Wu—his palm carried a faint metallic Qi Energy, the effect of the "Qi Energy Enhancer" unique to the Special Department, "After we received the request for help from Sect Head Yang, we infiltrated the Secret Realm from the secret passage in the Taihang Mountains, bringing the 'Spirit-Devouring Formation Breaker' and 'Qi Energy Jammer', as well as the intelligence on the Spirit-Devouring Organization that we just intercepted."

Zhao Feng's team members immediately deployed their equipment: a silver instrument half a person tall, covered in Qi Energy interfaces, which was the "Spirit-Devouring Formation Breaker"; four portable black devices that could release "Anti-Spirit-Devouring Qi Energy Waves", which were the "Qi Energy Jammers"; and an encrypted electronic file projected onto Lin Mo's tablet—the screen showed that in the past three months, the Spirit-Devouring Organization had attacked the Secret Realms of 3 traditional martial arts schools globally (Wudang Zixiao Secret Realm, Shaolin Damo Secret Realm, Emei Jinding Secret Realm), seizing the "Origin Supreme Treasures" of each school, with the goal of collecting all 7 Supreme Treasures to activate the core of the "Artificial Qi Energy Warrior" to "overturn the global traditional martial arts order".

"This time they attacked the Taiji Secret Realm, not just for the fusion jade, but to test our response capabilities," Zhao Feng's finger swiped on the tablet, pulling up a piece of surveillance footage—in the image, inside the headquarters of the Spirit-Devouring Organization, a huge metal device was running, the interior glowing with black Spirit-Devouring Energy, and dozens of traditional martial arts Martial Artists whose Qi Energy had been extracted were lying around, "They are plundering traditional martial arts resources globally, kidnapping Martial Artists, and now they are openly attacking the Taiji Secret Realm, which is under the protection of the Special Department. This is not ordinary looting; this is a declaration of war against the global traditional martial arts world and the Special Department!"

"A declaration of war?" A trace of gravity flashed in Chen Wu's eyes, and the Four Symbols Qi Energy pill at his Dantian trembled slightly, "What exactly is their goal?"

Zhao Feng handed a paper document to Chen Wu, which contained the "Spirit-Devouring Organization Action Program" deciphered by the Special Department: "They want to control the global ground vein Qi Energy nodes through Artificial Qi Energy Warriors, causing all traditional martial arts Martial Artists to lose their source of Qi Energy, and finally, they want to monopolize traditional martial arts resources and establish a 'Spirit-Devouring Rule'—this Spirit-Devouring Seven Absolutes Formation is the first step of their 'Declaration of War Plan'. If they can successfully seize the fusion jade, the next step will be to attack the Kunlun Secret Realm and seize the last Supreme Treasure."

In the global live broadcast's barrage, the audience was shocked by the truth of the "declaration of war", and the comments went from "worried" to "angry": "How despicable! They actually want to monopolize traditional martial arts!" "Support Teacher Chen and the Special Department! Fight back!"

Amir from Egypt sent a "Statement from the Overseas traditional martial arts Alliance": "100 traditional martial arts schools globally have formed an Alliance to cooperate with the Special Department's actions!"

Data from the Technical Department showed that the topic "Spirit-Devouring Organization Declares War" rushed to the top of the global trending list within 10 minutes, with over 5 billion views. The support sent by global viewers through "Qi Energy Blessings" was converted into 500,000 points of life-force Qi Energy, and after being absorbed by the inheritance grass, the efficiency of purifying the Spirit-Devouring Energy increased to 60%.

Grandmaster Yang Mingyuan added through the communication jade: "The Special Department's breaker needs 'pure Origin Qi Energy' to drive it. Although the Qi Energy in the Origin Pool has been polluted, your Fusion Energy Technique can purify it, and combined with the life-force Qi Energy of the inheritance grass, you can activate the breaker and locate the core Formation eye!"

Zhao Feng immediately pushed the breaker to Chen Wu, the Qi Energy interface of the instrument glowing with pale green light: "Mr. Chen, we need you to inject your Brute Force Late Stage Fusion Energy Technique to purify the pure Origin Qi Energy in the pool and drive the 'Formation Eye Positioning System' of the breaker. Our jammers will simultaneously suppress the surrounding Spirit-Devouring Energy to buy you time!"

Section 3 Collaborative Formation Breaking: The Linkage of traditional martial arts and Modern Technology

Chen Wu walked to the side of the breaker and placed his palm on the Qi Energy interface—the Brute Force Late Stage Fusion Energy Technique was injected along the interface. The Four Symbols Qi Energy unfolded inside the instrument, the pale golden hard energy and the pale green soft energy intertwined like a filter, purifying the Qi Energy absorbed from the Origin Pool, separating the black Spirit-Devouring Energy, and leaving only the pure ground vein Qi Energy.

The screen of the breaker lit up instantly, and pale green light spots flickered on the screen, gradually outlining the complete map of the Spirit-Devouring Seven Absolutes Formation. The 7 main Formation eyes were marked in red, the 3 auxiliary Formation eyes were marked in yellow, and the core Formation eye was marked in blue at 10 meters deep at the bottom of the Origin Pool.

"The core Formation eye has been found!" Lin Mo's tablet synchronized the data from the breaker and projected the location of the core Formation eye onto the global live broadcast screen, "But the concentration of Spirit-Devouring Energy at the bottom of the pool reaches 95%. Ordinary diving equipment will be corroded, and there are 'Spirit-Devouring Puppets' guarding around the core Formation eye, made from the Qi Energy of controlled Martial Artists, with strength reaching the Brute Force Middle Stage!"

Zhao Feng's team members immediately took out "Qi Energy Diving Suits"—made of special "Anti-Spirit-Devouring Alloy", with a life-force coating extracted from the inheritance grass on the surface, which could maintain protection in the Spirit-Devouring Energy for 30 minutes: "I will take two team members to dive to the bottom of the pool and use the jammers to suppress the Puppets. Mr. Chen, you use the Fusion Energy Technique at the side of the pool to cooperate and destroy the core Formation eye!"

Lu Feng volunteered: "I'll go too! My Xingji Fist energy can help suppress the Puppets, and I can help you block surprise attacks!"

Zhao Feng nodded in agreement, and the three of them put on their Qi Energy diving suits, strapped on the jammers, and jumped into the Origin Pool.

The pale black pool water touched the life-force coating of the diving suits, creating tiny bubbles; the black Spirit-Devouring Energy was blocked by the coating and could not penetrate.

Visibility at the bottom of the pool was very low; only the core Formation eye could be seen emitting a rich black light, with three expressionless Spirit-Devouring Puppets standing around it, their eyes glowing with red light, holding long blades made of Spirit-Devouring Energy.

"Jammers, activate!" Zhao Feng pressed the button on the jammer, and a pale blue anti-Spirit-Devouring Qi Energy wave spread out. The Puppets' movements slowed down instantly, and the red light in their eyes dimmed.

Lu Feng's Xingji Fist energy expanded along the diving suit, and the pale brown Qi Energy pounced toward the nearest Puppet like a fierce tiger, striking the Puppet's chest with a punch—the Puppet's body rippled with black waves, but it wasn't knocked down; instead, it slashed at Lu Feng with its long blade, the Spirit-Devouring Energy on the blade causing the diving suit's coating to turn slightly red.

"Mr. Chen, I need you to use the Fusion Energy Technique to attack the Puppets' 'Qi Energy core'!" Zhao Feng's voice came through the communicator, "The Puppets' core is at the center of their brows; it's a black dot of light, and only pure Origin Qi can destroy it!"

Chen Wu immediately condensed his Fusion Energy Technique, and the Four Symbols Qi Energy formed a "Qi Energy needle" interwoven with pale gold and pale green in his palm—this was a Move that compressed hard energy to the extreme; it was as thin as a hair, yet could precisely penetrate Spirit-Devouring Energy.

He flicked it gently toward the surface of the pool, and the Qi Energy needle shot into the bottom of the pool like lightning, precisely hitting the center of the first Puppet's brow. The black dot of light shattered instantly, and the Puppet's body turned into black Qi Energy particles, which were absorbed by the jammer.

The global live stream's "pool bottom view" (via the diving suit's camera) recorded this scene, and the comments section was instantly flooded with messages like "So accurate!" and "The Qi Energy needle is too powerful!"

Chen Wu continued to condense the Qi Energy needle, and with the cooperation of the three people at the bottom of the pool, the second and third Puppets were destroyed one after another. The core Formation eye lost its protection and was completely exposed to the positioning of the cracking device.

Zhao Feng immediately attached a "Qi Energy bomb" (made of pure Origin Qi, capable of destroying Spirit-Devouring Formation eyes) to the core Formation eye and pressed the timer: "Detonating in 10 seconds, everyone evacuate the pool bottom!"

Sudden Crisis: Remote Counterattack by the Spirit-Devouring Organization

Just as the three were preparing to evacuate, the core Formation eye suddenly emitted a blinding black light—Lin Mo's tablet suddenly popped up an "Emergency Warning": "High-intensity signal detected from overseas, remotely activating the Spirit-Devouring Formation's 'self-destruct program'! The power of the core Formation eye will increase 10 times; after detonation, it will destroy the entire Origin Pool and even affect the entrance to the Secret Realm!"

Zhao Feng's communicator received the arrogant voice of the Spirit-Devouring Organization: "You think you can crack the Seven Absolutes Formation? Too naive! The self-destruct program is activated, and everyone will die!"

"Speed up the evacuation!" Zhao Feng shouted. The three swam rapidly toward the surface of the pool, but found that the Spirit-Devouring Energy at the bottom of the pool had suddenly become violent, surging toward them like a tide. The life-force coating of the diving suits was being consumed at a visible rate; the pale green coating gradually turned black, and the protective effect plummeted from 90% to 40%.

Seeing this, Chen Wu immediately threw the petals of the inheritance grass into the pool—the eight-colored petals bloomed on the pool surface, and the life-force Qi Energy released by the dew spread along the pool water, forming a pale green protective circle, temporarily blocking the violent Spirit-Devouring Energy and buying time for the three to evacuate.

"5 seconds left!" Zhao Feng's finger pressed on the "Emergency Detonation" button of the Qi Energy bomb, "Mr. Chen, I need you to use the Fusion Energy Technique to guide the power of the bomb and limit the self-destruction to the range of the core Formation eye, otherwise the entire Origin Pool will collapse!"

Chen Wu took a deep breath, and the Fusion Energy Technique of the Brute Force Late Stage exploded completely. The Four Symbols Qi Energy formed a huge "Yin and Yang Taiji diagram" on the surface of the pool, with pale gold hard energy and pale green soft energy interwoven, covering the core Formation eye like a huge dome.

"Detonate!" Zhao Feng pressed the button. The Qi Energy bomb exploded at the bottom of the pool, and the pale green pure Origin Qi collided violently with the black Spirit-Devouring Energy—Chen Wu's Taiji diagram tightened instantly, completely limiting the explosion's power to a diameter of 5 meters. The black Spirit-Devouring Energy was neutralized by the pure Origin Qi, the black patterns of the core Formation eye gradually dissipated, and the water of the Origin Pool also began to recover its pale gold pure Origin Qi.

When the last trace of Spirit-Devouring Energy was purified, a "click" sound suddenly came from the bottom of the pool, and a secret door leading underground slowly opened, glowing with pale gold light, with the plaque of the "Pavilion of Supreme Treasures" vaguely visible.

"Success!" Lu Feng and Zhao Feng's team members surfaced. Although the coating of their diving suits was damaged, there were no casualties. Zhao Feng looked at the secret door at the bottom of the pool, his eyes full of relief: "The core Formation eye has been destroyed, and the Spirit-Devouring Seven Absolutes Formation has been cracked. This is our first major victory against the Spirit-Devouring Organization!"

He also revealed that the Special Incident Response Department had launched operations globally, freezing the Spirit-Devouring Organization's overseas assets and arresting relevant members: "We have accepted this declaration of war! Now, it is time for us to fight back!"

In the global live stream's comments, the audience cheered for the successful breaking of the Formation. Messages like "Chen Wu is the GOAT!" and "The Special Incident Response Department is amazing!" flooded the screen. Technical Department data showed that the global viewership of this Formation-breaking live stream exceeded 115 billion, and the clip of "traditional martial arts + Special Incident Response Department collaborative Formation-breaking" exceeded 15 billion views within half an hour, setting a record for collaboration between traditional martial arts and the authorities.

The Flower Girl's inheritance grass bloomed again by the pool, its eight-colored petals glowing with rich green light, and dew rolled on the leaves, purifying the last trace of Spirit-Devouring Energy remaining on the pool surface, and the Origin Pool was completely restored to purity.

Prelude to the Pavilion of Supreme Treasures: The Prologue to a Global Counterattack

After successfully breaking the Formation, Chen Wu's team and the Special Incident Response Department held a "temporary combat meeting" by the Origin Pool. Zhao Feng projected the "Spirit-Devouring Organization Global Stronghold Distribution Map" on the stone wall, with red dots marking 50 strongholds covering Europe, America, the Middle East, Southeast Asia, and other places: "We have united with global Special Incident Response Departments and plan to launch a 'Global Clearing Operation' in 3 days to destroy these strongholds and rescue the kidnapped Martial Artists."

He pointed to a red dot in the Middle East: "According to intelligence, the Spirit-Devouring Organization's headquarters is likely here, hidden in an underground base near the pyramids. We need the cooperation of traditional martial arts schools to break through their Qi Energy defense."

Chen Wu nodded in agreement: "Once we obtain the fusion jade, the Fusion Energy Technique of the Xingji Fist can be further improved, and we can cooperate with your clearing operation by then." He looked at the secret door at the bottom of the pool, "The Pavilion of Supreme Treasures should be down there, and the fusion jade is likely hidden inside. We should go down as soon as possible to avoid any complications."

Zhao Feng left two team members to assist Grandmaster Yang Mingyuan in guarding the entrance to the Secret Realm, while he took two other team members and prepared to enter the Pavilion of Supreme Treasures with Chen Wu: "Our Qi Energy jammers can handle possible Spirit-Devouring traps inside and help you crack electronic locks to ensure safety."

Lin Mo's tablet showed that the System's Legacy point System had recorded the achievement of "Cracking the Spirit-Devouring Seven Absolutes Formation," obtaining 50,000 basic points, which doubled to 100,000, bringing the total points to over 17.386 million, just 2.614 million points away from redeeming the "Taiji Xingji Fusion Module"—as long as they obtained the fusion jade, they could gather enough points to complete the ultimate upgrade of the Xingji Fist.

Lu Feng checked his Qi Energy armor-piercing gun and distributed anti-Spirit-Devouring potions to everyone: "The Spirit-Devouring Energy in the Pavilion of Supreme Treasures might be even stronger. We must stay vigilant and be ready to fight at any time."

The final scene of the global live stream stayed on Chen Wu's team and the Special Incident Response Department standing in front of the secret door at the bottom of the pool—Chen Wu walked at the forefront, holding Qi Energy stones in his hand, and the Four Symbols Qi Energy pill at his Dantian glowing with pale gold light; Zhao Feng and his team members followed closely behind, with jammers and cracking devices ready at any time; on Lin Mo's tablet screen, the internal structure of the Pavilion of Supreme Treasures had been scanned through the crack in the secret door, with the core area marked as "Possible Location of fusion jade."

The comments section was finally flooded with a neat row of text: "Special support breaks the crisis, the truth of the declaration of war shakes the world; waiting for exploration before the Pavilion of Supreme Treasures, the traditional martial arts counterattack begins a new chapter!"

This message was lit up by 120 billion viewers at the same time, like a river of light interwoven with pale gold and pale blue, illuminating the secret door at the bottom of the Origin Pool. Chen Wu knew that cracking the Spirit-Devouring Seven Absolutes Formation was just the beginning of the counterattack, the fusion jade in the Pavilion of Supreme Treasures was the key, and the Global Clearing Operation was a major battle concerning the future of traditional martial arts; but with the cooperation of the Special Incident Response Department, the support of global traditional martial arts practitioners, and the Fusion Energy Technique of the Brute Force Late Stage, he was confident in capturing the fusion jade and thwarting the conspiracy of the Spirit-Devouring Organization—the counterattack of traditional martial arts and justice had officially begun.