Chapter 1909: War Between Humans and Demons

Volume Ten: Battle in the Demon Realm

The golden light barrier remained unmoving amidst the explosions, but under the erosion of the green mist, it began to flicker wildly. Though exceptionally slow, the barrier's power was visibly diminishing.

But at this moment, the magical formation within the fortress was finally activated. With a flash, silver orbs vanished one after another from the center of the formation.

The next moment, dozens of yards above the fortress, space rippled, and the silver orbs reappeared. As they spun rapidly, loud crackling sounds erupted.

Streams of silver lightning arcs burst forth from them, transforming into massive electric nets that swept towards the opposing forces.

Whether fireballs, wind blades, or green mist, the moment they touched the electric nets, they were instantly torn to shreds by the electric light and vanished completely amidst the thunder.

Then, with a flash, they transformed into countless silver serpents that plunged into the demonic energy.

A continuous series of rumbling sounds echoed. The demonic energy and silver arcs intertwined, then exploded apart.

Although the two types of demonic beasts frantically dodged and evaded, they still suffered heavy casualties under such concentrated attacks. Many demonic lizards and venomous insects, the instant they were struck by the arcs, turned into charcoal.

However, there were several times more demonic beasts wounded by the arc explosions. Numerous mangled demonic beasts lay scattered in heaps within the demonic energy, their pained wails were incessant.

Although the remaining demonic beasts continued to launch wave after wave of frenzied attacks, they could do nothing against the golden light barrier in the short term.

Instead, the orbs of light floating above the fortress emitted silver arcs one after another, becoming increasingly fierce.

In the blink of an eye, nearly half of the two types of demonic beasts were annihilated.

Observing this scene from the distant sky, the purple-armored demon's face turned ashen. Without a word, he made a single-handed gesture.

Two of the small flags floating in front of him trembled and were seized in his hand. He rubbed them fiercely between his palms, and they vanished into two wisps of green smoke.

Then he flicked his finger again, and the other small flags hummed faintly. Nearly half of them began to tremble slightly!

Two colossal milky-white snails, lying prone within the demonic beast army, suddenly glowed with white light across their bodies. They then raised their two massive tentacles into the air and abruptly let out bull-like roars from their mouths. Two milky-white beams of light shot forth from them, and with a flash, struck the golden light barrier with tremendous force.

The light barrier, which had been as solid as a mountain, was like a calm lake surface into which two pebbles had been thrown. It rippled with circles of waves, and the next moment, it trembled and was pierced by the light beams.

Over a dozen fortresses behind the light barrier, along with the cultivators inside, were instantly reduced to dust as the light beams swept past in a flash. They were utterly unable to resist even slightly.

Not only that, the vast demonic beast horde that had been in the rear stirred, and finally, amidst roars, began to run, charging frantically towards Tianyuan City.

The demon individuals suspended high in the air also flashed with spiritual light on their bodies at this moment, slowly flying forward. At the same time, either clusters of dark light or surging demonic energy flew forth from them, creating an astonishing aura for a moment.

From the demonic energy even higher up, the sound of gongs and drums boomed. Over a hundred black, gleaming flying chariots flew out from it. Each chariot carried several or a dozen high-ranking demons clad in various demonic armors. They all looked ferocious and menacing, wielding long halberds and polearms, their faces filled with murderous intent.

A piercing shriek resounded. Behind the hundred-plus flying chariots, a giant flying chariot, a hundred yards long and pulled by two enormous monstrous beasts, also emerged menacingly from the demonic energy.

The two monstrous beasts in front of this giant chariot were entirely purple, resembling rhinoceroses, but their single horns on their noses shimmered with golden light, making them exceptionally fierce.

As for the giant chariot itself, hundreds of armored soldiers stood upon it. In the center stood the purple-armored demon and the green-robed elder.

Both had cold expressions!

After a careful round of probing, the demon race finally launched their true attack.

Elder Gu and the others, witnessing all this from the high platform, couldn't help but frown slightly.

The small number of demon elites appearing before them was truly far less than they had anticipated, and dramatically inconsistent with the rumored ferocity of the first wave of attacks in previous demonic tribulations.

Although those demonic beasts were indeed exceptionally fierce, to conquer Tianyuan City with just this much strength was naturally a pipe dream.

As they watched, the demonic beast army, braving the dense rain of silver electric serpents falling from the opposite side, charged towards the golden light barrier, completely disregarding casualties. They either activated their innate magical abilities to attack, or, with their thick hides, directly slammed their bodies into it.

The demon individuals in the sky, meanwhile, activated their demonic artifacts, transforming them into various demonic clouds to desperately block the falling electric arcs, thereby reducing casualties among the demonic beasts below.

The demon flying chariots carrying armored soldiers, however, stopped over ten miles away from the light barrier and began directly attacking by brandishing their weapons.

Immediately, streaks of dark long rainbows shot forth from the flying chariots, and in a few flashes, they reached the golden light barrier. For a time, shouts of battle shook the heavens in front of the barrier.

Han Li sighed, and turning to Zen Master Jinyue and the others, he said with a slight frown:

"Fellow Daoists, it seems the demon race has changed its usual practice this time. This attack is merely a pure probing effort. In that case, I shall return first. I am currently refining a treasure, and it's at a critical stage. Once completed, it should be of some assistance in resisting the demon race."

"This wave of attacks is indeed far less formidable than anticipated. We were perhaps overly alarmed due to past rumors. Since Fellow Daoist Han has pressing matters, please feel free to attend to them first. The demon race seems to be taking a cautious, step-by-step approach, so it appears we Integration Stage cultivators won't need to act for a while." Zen Master Jinyue sighed and nodded to Han Li as he spoke, seemingly without any joy despite the unfavorable turn for the demon race's attack.

"Indeed! If the demon race had launched a full-scale assault on our city from the outset, I would be more at ease. Given the current situation, we must be extra cautious. We are the city's highest combat power, but we also have our own matters to attend to. We cannot be entirely tied down here and waste time simply because of the demon race's harassing attacks. How about this? As long as the demon race isn't launching a full-scale assault on our city, we'll take turns, two by two, to manage these harassing attacks. Fellow Daoist Han, you are not a member of the city's Elder Council and are not very familiar with the city's personnel and defenses, so you don't need to participate in the rotations. However, should our city face a true crisis, we hope for your strong assistance." Elder Gu pondered for a moment before devising this countermeasure.

"Brother Gu, this strategy is excellent!"

"I have no objections either!"

The others, hearing this, readily agreed.

Han Li also nodded in agreement.

Thus, even as the demonic beast attacks in the distance remained exceptionally fierce, Han Li cupped his hands in salute and transformed into a streak of green light, departing.

Not long after, Zen Master Jinyue, Silverlight Immortal, and the others also left the white jade palace one after another.

In the blink of an eye, only Elder Gu and the large man in the leather robe, the two Tianyuan City Elders, remained in the palace:

"Brother Gu, are we just going to stand by and watch like this? This is far too passive. Furthermore, the defense formed by the Golden Sun Mirror is enduring such fierce attacks, and the spiritual stones consumed are simply too many." The large man in the black robe, who had remained silent until now, gazed at the distant battlefield where rumbling sounds echoed, and asked coldly.

"Hmph, Fellow Daoist Bao, don't worry. Since these demons are using their demonic beasts as cannon fodder to test our city's defensive capabilities, I, this elder, cannot let them be too disappointed. We'll activate the Seven Stars Essence Fire Great Formation and show them a bit of our strength. It will also serve to dampen their morale." Elder Gu's eyes flashed as he heard this, and he snorted before speaking.

"The Seven Stars Essence Fire Formation! If we're really going to use this formation, it's one of our city's trump cards. Wouldn't it be too soon to expose it now?" This time, it was the black-robed man's turn to be surprised, and he hesitated slightly.

"It's fine, I'll only activate one-tenth of this grand formation's power. This way, we can both give the demon race a taste of our strength without exposing the formation's true might. Perhaps it will even cause the leading demons to make a misjudgment, leading to a favorable outcome." Elder Gu, however, waved his hand and spoke with confidence.

"Hmm, Brother Gu's words make sense. We'll follow your suggestion then." After a brief moment of contemplation, the black-robed man also felt there was no issue, and gravely nodded in agreement.

With the two Integration Stage cultivators remaining to oversee reaching a consensus, naturally, once the command was given, there was no further obstruction.

In a secret chamber deep beneath a crimson giant tower in Tianyuan City, seven white-haired elders in crimson robes were seated cross-legged at various nodal points of a pale golden formation diagram, meditating with their eyes closed.

Fiery energy surged unpredictably around all seven of them. They were all cultivators specializing in fire techniques, and judging by the spiritual pressure emanating from them, they all possessed astonishing Void Refinement stage cultivation.

From the elder who appeared to be the most ancient, a sudden clear chime like a bronze bell rang out.

As the wrinkles on this elder's face shifted, he immediately opened his eyes. His pupils were entirely crimson, as if flames churned within them.

With a single-handed flip, a white magical disk suddenly appeared in the elder's hand. After lowering his head and glancing at it, his eyelid twitched involuntarily.

"Begin activating the grand formation. We only need to draw forth one-tenth of the Seven Stars' essence fire power." The elder said grimly.

"Yes, Elder Brother!" The other six elders, hearing this, also opened their eyes and replied in unison.

Then, the seven of them formed hand seals with both hands, and brilliant crimson firelight immediately blazed forth from their bodies. Then, abruptly, each slapped their own crown with one hand.

Several "puffs" sounded. The crowns of the seven individuals suddenly opened, and seven crimson nascent souls eerily emerged.

The faces of these nascent souls were identical to those of the seven elders. Furthermore, each held a gleaming red treasure in their hands, consisting of seven completely different types of magic treasures: a ring, a banner, a sword, a saber, a pagoda, a plaque, and a bead.

Red light surged across their surfaces, emitting scorching waves of heat. Evidently, they were extremely pure fire-attribute exotic treasures.