Sure enough, after a short while, hundreds of black dots suddenly appeared in the distant sky, swiftly flying toward them. The strange screeching sounds came from these dots.
The humans on the city walls quickly reacted. Amid the blaring of horns, they took up defensive positions under the command of their officers, standing ready for battle.
Almost simultaneously, over a hundred beams of multicolored light shot out from a tall structure at the city center, streaking toward the section of the wall where the black dots had appeared.
These were the city’s cultivators.
Most of these cultivators were at the Foundation Establishment stage, and their flight speed on their magical tools was quite fast. In moments, they arrived at the wall first, transforming into clusters of spiritual light hovering high in the air.
At the forefront were two individuals—one a bald, burly man standing on a circular disk, and the other the golden-robed man from the Golden Jade Sect.
Both were at the late Foundation Establishment stage, the False Core realm, making them the strongest among the airborne cultivators.
The black dots in the distance had already flown to within a few miles of the city walls but suddenly halted, circling restlessly in the low sky.
From the wall, the true forms of these black dots could now be seen clearly—they were demonic birds with leopard heads and eagle bodies, sporting yellow-and-white feathered wings, purple-red glowing eyes, and strikingly colorful plumage.
These demonic birds were only a few feet in size, their forms delicate and elegant. At first glance, they didn’t seem particularly fearsome.
Yet the cultivators above the wall wore grave expressions, not daring to underestimate them in the slightest.
A series of short, sharp screeches erupted from the distant demonic birds. Suddenly, from the empty ground below, a cacophony of hissing arose, and clouds of dust billowed up as if from nowhere.
One after another, crimson serpents emerged from the earth, raising their heads and flicking their tongues. In the blink of an eye, a sea of serpents formed, an endless expanse of undulating crimson.
The newly arrived defenders on the wall gasped at the sight.
It seemed they had drawn the short straw this time—no sooner had they arrived to reinforce the defenses than they encountered a joint attack by the Leopard-Eagle Beasts and the Crimson Serpent Beasts. Fortunately, the troublesome demonic birds were being handled by the cultivators; otherwise, they would have had no chance against the simultaneous assault of both beast hordes.
Just as the martial artists on the wall were feeling somewhat relieved, the distant flock of demonic birds abruptly split into two, and two birds—one large, one small—flew out from within.
The smaller one was only about a foot long, its body enveloped in a shimmering blue light. With each beat of its wings, faint thunderclaps could be heard. The larger one was several times the size of an ordinary Leopard-Eagle Beast, but aside from its size, it appeared unremarkable—except for its pair of purple eyes, which gleamed with an indescribable malevolence.
As these two demonic birds appeared, the serpent horde below also churned, and three strange serpents emerged—two large and one small.
One was over a dozen zhang long, covered in thick scales the size of bowls, with a pair of blood-coral-like horns on its head, bearing an uncanny resemblance to a Flood Dragon. Another was seven or eight zhang long, pitch-black and scaleless, but with three identical triangular heads, exuding an aura of extreme venom.
The smallest one had a human head and a serpent’s body, with a pair of arms, each holding a bone spear—it was the same serpent demon that had attacked Han Li in the Green Silk Desert.
Though these five beasts were clearly the highest-ranking among the horde, they merely glanced toward the city walls, exchanged a few chirps and hisses as if conversing intelligently, then retreated back into their respective groups and vanished.
Immediately afterward, both the airborne demonic birds and the ground-based Crimson Serpent army seemed to receive a simultaneous command. With a thunderous roar, they surged toward the city walls.
The Leopard-Eagle Beasts, far faster than the serpents, naturally reached Anyuan City first.
Their eerie screeches filled the air as their bodies began to emit faint green demonic mist. At first, it was just a thin layer, but it quickly thickened into dense clouds, obscuring the birds within.
A vast expanse of green demonic mist, covering several acres, rolled menacingly toward the city walls, a terrifying sight.
“Demonic scum, seeking death!”
At the bald man’s furious roar, the human cultivators wasted no time charging forward, with the others following closely, driving their magical tools.
Before even making contact with the green mist, they flung out talismans with both hands.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Countless bursts of multicolored thunderfire appeared in the air, plunging into the green mist and exploding violently.
The explosions sent large portions of the mist scattering into nothingness.
Without hesitation, the cultivators summoned their spiritual tools—flying swords, sabers, dharma beads, staffs, short halberds, and other assorted weapons—launching a dense barrage at the green mist.
At the same time, the green mist churned, and countless demonic feathers shot out, transforming into a sky full of green streaks that clashed fiercely with the spiritual tools, showing no sign of weakness.
The cultivators naturally began forming hand seals and chanting incantations, their spiritual tools swiftly shredding the green streaks. Yet the feathers seemed endless, and the cultivators, wary of the green mist, kept their distance. Thus, the battle reached a stalemate in the air.
Meanwhile, on the ground, the Crimson Serpents finally reached the base of the wall.
Groups of a dozen serpents linked together, biting each other’s tails to form chains over a dozen zhang long. Then, with a powerful arch, they launched themselves like giant arrows toward the top of the wall. Mid-flight, they released their holds, twisting their bodies to pounce on the human soldiers.
In this way, the towering walls were rendered useless against the serpents.
Though most of the newly arrived reinforcements had slain Crimson Serpents before, few had witnessed such an unorthodox attack.
Chaos ensued as they scrambled to react.
In contrast, the ordinary soldiers of Anyuan City seemed well-prepared. They gathered in groups, some firing crossbows while others raised shields overhead, slashing at any serpents that got too close.
For the moment, their defense held firm.
The giant crossbows on the walls also roared to life, launching massive arrows with terrifying speed.
Amid flashes of cold light, the linked serpents were pierced mid-air and sent crashing to the ground, their bodies mangled beyond recognition.
After some initial panic, the martial artists regained their footing, their weapons flashing as they effortlessly sliced through the serpents.
Their superhuman strength and resilience made short work of the ordinary serpents.
Han Li stood at a crenel, unmoving. With each flicker of cold light from his blade, the attacking serpents were sent flying, chopped into pieces.
Blood rained down.
With his mastery of the “Vajra Art” and the “Blink Sword Technique” from his mortal days, Han Li wielded an ordinary thick-backed blade with peerless skill.
Each swing was lightning-fast, silent, and imbued with monstrous strength. Even a low-grade spiritual tool would likely shunder under such force, let alone mere serpents.
Thus, Han Li paid little attention to the serpents raining down around him. Instead, he narrowed his eyes, scanning the distant serpent horde.
Those three serpent demons still intrigued him.
But just then, a thunderous crash erupted nearby, followed by several human screams.
Han Li frowned and turned his gaze.
About ten zhang away, an enormous mutated serpent had slipped past the defenses, landing on the wall amidst the chaos. The moment it touched down, it bit a soldier in half, then lashed its tail, sending a martial artist flying into a crumbling section of the wall.
The man’s chest caved in—he wouldn’t survive.
The serpent’s cold green eyes flickered as it turned its gaze toward Han Li.
Han Li met its stare coldly, then strode forward without hesitation.
Sensing his threat, the serpent coiled and struck like lightning, aiming for his head.
Han Li remained expressionless. With a slight movement of his blade, countless cold streaks materialized with a hum, enveloping the serpent’s head before vanishing.
The serpent froze. Thin red lines appeared across its head before it exploded into a bloody mist.
Han Li’s seemingly casual swing had diced the beast’s head into oblivion.
He glanced indifferently at the headless corpse, sheathing his blade as he turned to leave.
But then—unexpectedly—the serpent’s tail lashed out with terrifying speed, whipping toward his torso like a colossal iron rod.
Nearby soldiers and martial artists gasped.
Thud!
Han Li’s golden fist smashed through the tail, sending it flying with a gaping hole. Yet the headless front half of the serpent twisted unnaturally, hurling itself at him.
His expression darkened. Blade horizontal, he blurred forward, leaving afterimages in his wake.
A brilliant flash of light—and he reappeared behind the serpent, turning slowly.
The serpent’s body split into seven or eight segments, crashing to the ground.
This time, even its tenacious vitality couldn’t save it. It was well and truly dead.
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