716 The Martian Battle Begins! (2/2)

Things had changed. Wang Baole didn't have the luxury of time now. He couldn't wait any longer. In addition, he had become more powerful, which had strengthened his resolve and resulted in his decision to make this gamble. Besides, he had done his calculations. He had gathered plenty of materials, but they were still a long way away from fully restoring the Dark Artifact.

We should be able to restore it to fifty percent of its full functionality… my current level of cultivation should be sufficient to activate another function of the Dark Artifact.

Wang Baole narrowed his eyes and extended his spiritual senses. They enveloped the entire Dark Artifact, extending over the Dark Robe, the Dark Sampan, and both the staff and lantern of the Lantern Oar. He relaxed and allowed his mind to maintain a constant state of fusion with these three Dark Artifacts.

That would speed up the souls' repair of the Dark Artifact. In addition, based on what he remembered from the Dark Dream, Wang Baole knew that he should be able to form an avatar of his own consciousness.

That had been beyond his abilities in the past. Now though, Wang Baole felt it was something he should be capable of achieving.

Amidst Wang Baole's furious formation of hand seals, an illusory figure gradually materialized before him. His eyes were shut, and he looked like the exact twin of Wang Baole. What differentiated them was their attire.

The avatar was dressed in black robes. Beneath his feet was a Dark Sampan, in his hand a Dark Staff, at the end of which hung a Dark Lantern. The avatar wasn't exactly an illusion, yet he wasn't real either. He appeared as if formed from a cloud of black mist that exuded a chilly aura in waves. He was like a messenger of death who had descended upon the living world.

His eyes suddenly opened. Twin ghostly lights flickered in those eyes, making Wang Baole's avatar look inhuman. Wang Baole extended his senses and assessed his avatar's level of fighting capability, then sighed.

Next to none. It's a more convenient way of controlling the Dark Artifact though, at least when compared to using my own true form. Wang Baole fell into a bout of contemplation. Then, his avatar suddenly lifted his right hand and raised his Dark Staff. A vortex suddenly appeared where the two Star Fang Beast corpses had been placed, swallowing the two corpses. Vast Dark Qi suddenly appeared out of nowhere and entered the corpses.

The Dark Artifact will be my go-to weapon. Next, I still have to use the power of the Dark Artifact to refine the two beast corpses into puppets. They will become my second go-to weapon. Determination flashed in Wang Baole's eyes. He steered his avatar into maneuvering the Dark Artifact and began refining the beast corpses.

Puppets were another type of Dharmic treasure, and Wang Baole had a talent that surpassed the ordinary cultivator in this particular area. The experiences he had accumulated in his early years had led to his realization that he had a gift when it came to refining puppets.

During his time as the Grand Supreme Elder in the Dao Palace, he had gone through volumes of Dao Palace records and documents. That had helped him in refining Dharmic Armaments and strengthened his overall mastery of puppets.

Besides puppets, I'll also have to refine and enhance some Dharmic Armaments. With a wave of his hand, Wang Baole summoned a huge black bow. It entered the vortex. His hands came together in a flurry of hand seals as he began the urgent business of refining Dharmic Armaments.

While he was busy with refinement, Mars was also busy preparing for war after the mass teleportation had ended. The Martian Colony Governor's instructions were being carried out dutifully. Time… passed steadily.

Seven days went by. There was an inspection of the Solar System Array Formation, an alarm system was set up across the entire planet, and all Dharmic Artifacts were activated. Then, the Martian Colony Governor gave the orders. The Dharmic Artifacts unleashed their powers simultaneously, transforming into countless beams of light that blasted into the cosmos beyond Mars.

An enormous vortex appeared in space at that exact moment, and the Never-Ending Clan battleship charged out from within!

The Dharmic Artifacts' attacks landed directly on the battleship, but they barely caused a scratch. As the Dharmic Artifacts disintegrated amidst their self-destructive attacks, a figure appeared on the battleship. It was… Daoist You Ran.

”Wang Baole!” There was a stormy look on Daoist You Ran's face, and murder colored his eyes. His right hand rose, then pointed at Mars. The vast fleet of Dao Palace battleships appeared behind him. The remaining survivors of the Dao Palace and a hundred thousand Never-Ending Clan puppets appeared as well and made a charge towards the planet.

The Martian Colony Governor barked out her orders decisively, without any hesitation!

”Deploy the Solar System Array Formation's first wave of offense!”