234: Chapter 234 Mo Yuan's Defeat and Escape Hiding Trouble, the Chen Family's Future Awaits Prosperity

The night wind whipped sand against his face, and the railing of the Stargazing Platform shuddered.

Chen Wuwang opened his eyes.

His Mechanical Prosthetic Eye locked onto the east—three high-speed spiritual waves were tearing through the Spiritual Vein barrier, advancing in a triangular trajectory, heading straight for a weak point in the Main Peak's barrier.

Not a swarm of insects, not Yao Beasts, but humanoid targets, and they were approaching extremely fast.

"They are here," he said in a low voice, his fingers tapping onto his wrist-mounted control terminal.

The next second, the entire Family's alarm System was activated silently.

There were no gongs, no shouting, only red lights at each sentry post lighting up in succession, like blades buried in the dark being drawn one by one.

Beneath the East Ridge cliff, deep within the Artifact Refining Workshop, three garrison mechs activated simultaneously; their treads ground against the metal tracks, and their thrusters erupted with blue flames as they lifted off.

The patrol team spread out along the defense line, and the spiritual energy alarm on each person's wrist began to scan simultaneously.

The last door of the shelter in Medicinal Field Zone B closed, and the lights in the children's settlement area turned a dim red.

Chen Wuwang stood on the Stargazing Platform, unmoving.

He knew who it was.

Moyuan.

Those twelve Puppets had finally moved.

When the first impact struck the barrier, the entire Main Peak shuddered for half a breath.

The Spiritual Pressure reading in the southeast corner instantly spiked to 99.4%, and a crack became visible to the naked eye—a black mark spread along the rune chain, like a corroded blood vessel.

"Instability in the sector between A-7 and D-3!" a voice came through the communication channel, "Requesting support!"

"Hold position," Chen Wuwang said, "Wait for it to crack another half-inch."

"Family Head?"

"Let it come in a little further," he stared at the data stream, "This opening is exactly what we have been waiting for."

As his words fell, four black shadows broke through the air and entered, sparks of spiritual energy splashing as they landed.

Twelve Puppets, attacking in three waves; these four were the vanguard.

They didn't rush to charge the Formation; instead, they simultaneously raised their arms, shooting high-frequency spiritual waves from their palms, piercing toward the mech control frequency like needles.

The interference had arrived.

A garrison mech in the air suddenly swayed, its right arm lost control, and the cannon barrel fired a dud into the sky.

"Activate frequency stabilization device," Chen Wuwang pressed the command.

In the underground machine room, the newly installed "Spiritual Energy Frequency Stabilization Module" hummed into operation, pulling the originally chaotic spiritual wave frequency back to the baseline.

Three seconds later, the out-of-control mech regained control, its cannon turned, locking onto one of the Puppets.

"Sword Intent Rune Cannon, prepare," he said in a low voice.

Inside the mountain, a hidden turret slowly rose.

The cannon body was covered in sword patterns personally carved by Chen Xiaodao, emitting a low hum as energy gathered, like a sword trembling in its scabbard.

"Lock onto target number four."

"Fire."

Boom—!

A silvery-white beam tore through the night sky, accurately striking the chest of one of the Puppets.

The Puppet didn't even have time to react; its entire upper body exploded into fragments, and the severed limbs flew thirty zhang, smashing into the dense forest on the southern slope.

The remaining three immediately scattered, their movements eerie, as if they had anticipated the attack path in advance.

"They've certainly learned to be clever," Chen Wuwang sneered, "Starting to avoid high-threat areas."

He raised his hand, and a holographic tactical map unfolded. Red dots represented enemy units, green dots were our deployments, and yellow lines were preset interception paths.

"Notify the garrison Formation, execute the 'Net-Cutting' plan. Group Two press left, Group Three seal right; don't let them get close to the Spiritual Vein nodes."

As soon as the order was given, two mechs flanked from the sides, magnetic cables shot out, weaving into a net in the air.

One of the Puppets leaped to dodge, but was pierced by a third mech from underground; a drill penetrated its leg, dragging it back to the ground by force.

"Eliminate," Chen Wuwang ordered.

The garrison mechs stepped forward, detonating at close range, and all three Puppets were completely destroyed.

But his brow did not relax.

Because the real killing blow was still to come.

In the distance, six thicker streams of black Qi rose into the air, faster and with a heavier aura.

Moyuan's main force had arrived.

They didn't take the direct route, but advanced while hugging the shadows of the Spiritual Vein, their target clear—the Spiritual Vein core node three hundred zhang beneath the Main Peak.

"Want to blow up the vein?" Chen Wuwang scoffed, "I've already prepared for you."

He pressed the second button.

At the center of the Spiritual Vein defense array, the "Cursor Sensing Layer" delivered yesterday by Ling Zhenzi was instantly activated.

Just as the six enemy shadows stepped into the minefield, red alarm lights flashed, the array automatically overloaded, and the dome shield suddenly expanded, like a giant inverted bell, completely covering the Spiritual Vein core area.

Rumble—!

The six Puppets simultaneously detonated the shadow bombs within them, the shockwave hitting the shield and stirring up thousands of layers of spiritual pattern ripples.

The shield cracked in three places, but it did not break.

"It held," Chen Wuwang exhaled.

But just at this moment, the last two Puppets leaped out from a Void Realm fissure, charging straight for the weakest northwest corner of the shield.

They didn't carry bombs, but instead plunged their hands into the ground, black runes spreading along the Spiritual Vein, as if to disintegrate the Formation from the inside.

"Want to pollute the Spiritual Vein?" Chen Wuwang's eyes turned cold, "You forgot we have 'Listen, Discern, Sever'."

He turned around and grabbed the communicator: "Xiao Dao, it's your turn."

From the direction of the Martial Arts Platform, a sword light shot into the sky.

Chen Xiaodao piloted the "Swift Falcon" and ascended, twelve Flying Swords ejected, forming an energy net, but this time he didn't rush to kill; instead, he let the sword Formation sweep at low altitude, the sword tips lightly touching the ground.

Every Spiritual Vein node eroded by black runes was accurately marked by Sword Intent.

"Lock confirmed," his voice was calm, "You can clear it."

"I leave it to you," Chen Wuwang said.

The next instant, the Flying Swords retracted, turning into twelve thin lines, speeding along the marked route; wherever they passed, the purple-black mist was severed in one stroke.

The last two Puppets had just looked up when their chests were already pierced with twelve holes.

They froze in place, then crashed to the ground, exploding into black smoke.

The battlefield went silent for a moment.

All Puppets, completely eliminated.

Only in the distance, a faint spatial ripple spread out, as if someone had forcibly torn a fissure and fled.

"They ran," Chen Wuwang stared at the data screen, his mouth twitching slightly, "Two remnants fled into the abandoned Star Domain three thousand li outside the Eastern Wasteland."

No one cheered.

The on-duty clansmen silently collected their equipment, craftsmen began to repair the barrier cracks, and the medical team cleaned up the battlefield debris.

The Artifact Refining Workshop was brightly lit, and the three garrison mechs were replacing their parts.

Chen Wuwang did not leave the Stargazing Platform.

He stood in place, watching the eastern horizon turn a shade of greyish-white.

They had won.

But he knew clearly in his heart that this was not the end.

Moyuan had fled too cleanly, too quietly. No roars, no curses, not even a single provocation.

Only in the final moment did he leave behind a twisted whisper, a few words that seemed to crawl out from the abyss:

"The root is not severed... the fire is about to extinguish."

What did it mean?

Was it a threat? A prophecy? Or a trap?

He pulled up the battle damage report: seven places in the barrier were damaged, all repaired; two mechs were damaged, no casualties; Spiritual Vein nodes were stable, unpolluted.

On the surface, a complete victory.

But the more it seemed this way, the more uneasy he felt.

Because Moyuan was not a reckless fool.

He was an assassin, a schemer.

This attack was more like a test—testing the Chen Family's new defense System, testing the mech reaction speed, testing the Spirit Array stability.

He was collecting data.

"Pass down the order," he pressed the communication key, "Seal all Void Realm fissure entrances, increase patrols to double shifts. The logistics team must thoroughly investigate the battlefield remnants, pay special attention to whether there is any unknown substance attachment or spiritual energy mutation."

"Yes!" the response came quickly.

He turned off all channels and stood alone.

The wind blew from the east, carrying the smell of ash, and also a certain indescribable chill.

He lowered his head and glanced at the dagger at his waist.

The three scratches on the handle were still there.

Left behind when he first killed an enemy.

At that time, he had no System, no mechs, no allies, only one thought: survive.

Now he had a Family, had power, had the path of Fusion between technology and cultivation.

But the enemy had also become stronger.

Moyuan would not die. As long as he lived for one more day, he would find a way to come back.

Next time, it might not be Puppets, it might be an inside traitor, it might be more sinister means.

He looked up at the brightening sky.

Dawn was coming.

But he knew that true darkness often hides before the light appears.

He touched his Mechanical Prosthetic Eye and said in a low voice: "Winning does not mean being safe."

His fingers tapped lightly on the railing.

Thump.

Thump.

Thump.

Three sounds.

Like a heartbeat.

Like a countdown.

Like war drums, beating once more in a place no one could hear.