Upon hearing the challenge from the Joyful Demon, the gaunt old man frowned slightly but then spoke as if nothing had happened, “A battle with the three great cultivators of Tiannan is inevitable sooner or later. However, I must remain here to oversee the grand battle and cannot engage. I must trouble Sect Master Fang for this task. I have long heard that your Heavenly Demon True Devil Art has reached an extremely high realm, even capable of channeling the true devil energy of the Heavenly Demon. Dealing with one opponent should be a trivial matter for you.”
“Since we have agreed, I will naturally take action. I, too, wish to witness the prowess of Tiannan’s top demonic cultivator!” the black-robed man said coldly, his eyes flashing with green light as he slowly rose into the air, shrouded in black mist, and flew toward the opposite side. The Confucian scholar surnamed Zhong and the dwarf surnamed Bi transformed into a silver streak and a red glow, following closely behind without a word.
Seeing this, the three Transcendents on the opposite side—Zhiyang, Shangren, and another—simultaneously transformed into dazzling streaks of light and soared into the sky. The black-robed man and the two Mulan Divine Masters pursued them closely. In the blink of an eye, the six figures vanished into the clouds, disappearing without a trace.
Soon after, the sky nearby began to change colors—now fiery red, now pitch black—accompanied by thunderous explosions and flashes of blinding silver streaks and colorful lights.
As the six mighty cultivators clashed in the sky, the armies of cultivators and spellcasters below also began their grand battle. Unlike individual or small-scale duels, where combatants would immediately take to the skies and engage with magical treasures, this battle unfolded at a distance. Amidst the rise and fall of incantations, both sides simultaneously activated various protective barriers. Massive glowing domes slowly rose from their ranks, enveloping their main forces.
Clearly, the cultivators completed their defenses first. This wasn’t because their Five Elements Daoist Arts were faster than the spellcasters’ spiritual techniques, but because most of the protective formations deployed by the Tiannan cultivators were pre-arranged with formation tools, making their activation naturally quicker by a third.
Seeing this, Long Han, who was overseeing the battle, immediately gave the order to launch the first wave of attacks.
The initial assault came from over a dozen long-range group-attack treasures, including the massive bronze gong Han Li had seen earlier.
The gong’s frame had already been moved to the forefront of the cultivator ranks and now floated lightly in the air, hovering about a hundred feet above the ground. Only eight or nine burly men in yellow robes stood guard around it. The giant who had been sitting cross-legged beside the gong had risen at some point, holding a ten-foot-long iron hammer, silently standing by its side.
A short distance away, two men erected a black triangular banner, about fifty to sixty feet tall, shimmering with dark light and embroidered with a lifelike black flood dragon. Nine red-robed young women, each holding a red silk-covered tray with bulging contents—unknown treasures—floated in the air, arranged in an odd formation.
Three elderly men in brocade robes, each carrying a half-man-high gourd, walked to the front of the ranks with half-closed eyes. The attack order reached these first-wave attackers in an instant.
The giant on the bronze frame widened his eyes, his body radiating yellow light as he swung the hammer with both hands, striking the center of the gong with full force. A blinding golden light burst forth, but strangely, there was no sound—only the flash of light. The golden light exploded into countless golden stars, shooting toward the enemy. After flying a short distance, the stars transformed into golden mist, spreading like waves toward the spellcaster army.
Under the frenzied shaking of the two cultivators, the black flood dragon on the banner seemed to materialize, its demonic eyes opening as it exhaled gusts of dark green demonic wind. The howling winds turned into a black tempest, instantly whipping up sand and stones, obscuring vision.
The red-robed young women raised their trays in unison, chanting melodious incantations. Red light flashed as nine copper plates flew from the trays, merging in mid-air and spinning rapidly to form a fiery ancient mirror several feet wide. From the mirror’s glowing surface, countless fist-sized firebirds emerged, each wreathed in flames and spitting fire, before shooting forward like arrows with clear cries.
The three brocade-robed elders formed a triangle and simultaneously activated their giant gourds. A bone-chilling white mist, mixed with snow and hail, instantly transformed the area before them into a frozen wasteland, rapidly advancing toward the enemy.
These attacks were launched almost simultaneously. The spellcasters, having barely erected their protective barriers, had no time to counterattack. Under the gaunt old man’s command, they could only brace for the onslaught. The golden mist, black winds, and other attacks exploded against the cultivators’ barriers, causing the spellcasters’ shields to tremble slightly under the dazzling lights.
Seeing this, Long Han immediately issued another order. Without waiting for the first wave to end, the cultivators launched their second assault.
This time, it was a coordinated large-scale offensive from various sects. Beams of light and waves of demonic fire surged from the cultivator ranks, merging seamlessly with the first wave to blanket the entire spellcaster army. Their protective barriers were now under relentless assault.
The gaunt old man’s expression darkened. He hadn’t expected that being slightly slower in activating their spiritual techniques would immediately put them on the defensive. The enemy’s ferocity left him no room to counterattack. Under such overwhelming force, even Core Formation cultivators wouldn’t dare face it head-on without protective formations.
“Lady Lu! It seems we must deploy your giant beasts, or we’ll lose the initiative,” the old man suddenly said to the black-robed woman beside him.
“The sect master has already lent those beasts to you. Use them as you see fit. There’s no need to inform me,” she replied indifferently with a faint smile.
Nodding in satisfaction, the old man issued the order. With earth-shaking roars, over a dozen massive armored beasts charged through the spellcasters’ barrier, shrugging off attacks as they barreled toward the cultivator camp.
Naturally, some of the cultivators redirected their attacks toward the beasts, easing the pressure on the spellcaster ranks. Seizing the opportunity, dozens of high-ranking spellcasters flew out, tossing dozens of colored pellets while chanting incantations.
An incredible scene unfolded: some pellets sank into the ground, others spun wildly before being enveloped in green light, while others burst into flames or condensed into water. From these elements, various monstrous beasts materialized—yellow earth pythons over a hundred feet long, giant fire wolves seventy to eighty feet tall, ethereal green birds, and blue demonic turtles shrouded in mist.
These beasts followed the giant armored creatures, charging toward the cultivator army. Though the armored beasts, protected by their thick hides, armor, and spells, endured the attacks with roars of pain and injuries, none fell. The summoned beasts, however, fared worse. Despite their fearsome appearances, most were shattered into motes of light after one wave of attacks, their pellets losing all spiritual energy and falling to the ground.
Unfazed, the high-ranking spellcasters tossed another batch of pellets, summoning more beasts to charge recklessly forward. This forced the cultivators to divert more spells toward them, further easing the pressure on the spellcaster ranks.
Seeing this, Long Han’s expression darkened as he hurriedly tried to issue new orders, but it was too late. The gaunt old man, seizing the opportunity, commanded a shift to offensive spiritual techniques. Under the incantations, massive fireballs and tree-thick ice spears began forming in the sky.
“Spiritual Technique Formation!” Long Han muttered, realizing they could no longer suppress the enemy. He quickly relayed orders through mental transmission. The exotic treasures ceased their attacks, and their wielders retreated behind the protective barriers.
Meanwhile, over a thousand mid-to-high-level cultivators flew out from the ranks, each holding a formation flag several feet long. They swiftly arranged themselves into an awe-inspiring grand formation before tossing their flags into the air. A vast five-colored light screen appeared above the cultivator army, adding another layer of defense like a giant shield.
At that moment, hundreds of fireballs and thousands of ice spears shot from the enemy’s side, engulfing the cultivator army in flames and frost. The remaining giant beasts and summoned monsters, having survived several waves of attacks, finally reached the cultivator lines. Only seven or eight of the strongest armored beasts remained, and the summoned creatures had been halved.
Yet, undaunted by the sea of cultivators, these beasts charged forward with reckless fury.
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