Chapter 2020: Heaven and Abyss Great Battle (3)

A Record of a Mortal's Journey to Immortality, Volume Ten: The War in the Demon Realm

"Of course, we will do our utmost in this battle. We dare not claim to live and die with Sky Abyss City, but as long as there's a sliver of a chance for victory, we will never give up," the black-robed demon cultivator said with a snort upon hearing this. The other elders of both races present also nodded repeatedly, their expressions becoming extremely solemn.

Seeing this, the silver-haired elder nodded in satisfaction, then turned and whispered a few words to Han Li. After listening, Han Li pondered for a moment, then nodded slightly. The silver-haired elder clapped his hands in delight. Immediately, a guard clad in golden armor flew up from beneath the stone tower. His light of escape vanished as he appeared before the group, bowing respectfully to the elder.

“Lead Fellow Daoist Han immediately,” the elder commanded with authority. “Everything is to be done according to the original arrangements; there must be no mistakes.”

“Understood, Senior Han. Please follow me,” the guard replied respectfully to Han Li. Han Li remained silent, but a flicker of green light enveloped his body, transforming him into a stunning rainbow that shot downwards.

The golden-armored guard quickly followed him down, and a moment later, led Han Li away from the palace and into a heavily guarded pavilion located not far from the city wall below. In the main hall on the ground floor of the pavilion, thirty-six male cultivators of varying heights sat cross-legged around a gigantic spell formation inscribed on the floor. These men wore identical azure combat robes and appeared to be in their thirties or forties. However, a faint trace of emerald green permeated their skin, a clear sign that they were cultivating the same peculiar technique. Their cultivation levels were not particularly high; all of them were merely at the Spirit Transformation stage. Han Li's divine sense swept over them, and he instinctively frowned. Their aura was highly unstable, clearly indicating that their current cultivation stage wasn't achieved through diligent practice but rather forcibly elevated through some external means.

“Greetings, Senior,” the cultivators said, rising and stepping forward to salute Han Li and the Void Refinement stage golden guard who had entered. Their expressions were quite aloof.

“This is Senior Han. He is the one you will be assisting in this great battle. All subsequent actions must be coordinated with Senior Han. Come and pay your respects,” the golden guard said sternly.

“The Thirty-Six Azure Cloud Guards pay respects to Senior Han,” the azure-robed men said. They seemed to have been expecting this news, as they showed no surprise.

“Rise,” Han Li said, scanning the male cultivators. “I hear you can form a grand formation that even a Demon Venerable, once trapped, cannot break in a short time. Is this true?”

“Reporting to Senior, since we embarked on the path of cultivation, we have diligently practiced specifically for this formation,” replied the leading azure-robed cultivator honestly. “While I dare not claim all thirty-six of us are perfectly uniform, when we work together, our mastery of this formation is absolutely flawless, leaving no weaknesses. This Azure True Glaze Light Formation is one of the ancient secret formations. Although its destructive power isn't outstanding, its ability to trap enemies is exceptionally profound. There will be no problem dealing with ordinary Demon Venerables.”

“Very good. In that case, I am relieved. When the time comes, simply follow my orders,” Han Li nodded, a hint of satisfaction on his face. The thirty-six cultivators naturally assented.

For the remaining time, Han Li did not go anywhere else. He sat down cross-legged directly in the center of the giant formation, waiting silently with an unreadable expression. The golden guard who had led him there quietly exited the hall.

Although the entire pavilion was obscured by a layer of restrictions, soon after, the sudden roar of beasts, like a tsunami, could be faintly heard. Then, a deafening rumble erupted. Countless fluctuations emanated from around Sky Abyss City. The pavilion was affected, and the ground even trembled slightly as if from an earthquake. Evidently, the demon beast army had begun its assault on the city, and the two-race guards on the city walls had commenced their desperate counterattack. The curtain of war had been drawn.

The thirty-six azure-robed male cultivators, eyes closed, remained motionless, seemingly oblivious to everything. Seeing this, Han Li's gaze shifted, and his formidable divine sense instantly pierced through the restrictions, taking in most of the outside situation. Given the strength of Han Li's divine sense, under normal circumstances, covering a range of over ten thousand miles would be effortless. However, with Sky Abyss City's various formations and restrictions fully activated, and chaotic fluctuations swirling across the battlefield, his perception range was severely limited, allowing him to sense only a few hundred miles. Yet, this vast area was sufficient for him to grasp the general situation of the unfolding battle.

Through Han Li's perception, he saw not only the demon beast army surging like a tide against the city walls, but also the high-tier, transformed demon beasts charging into the front lines, unleashing various divine abilities. These high-tier demon beasts had cultivation levels ranging from at least the Void Refinement stage, with a few even reaching the early Body Integration stage. With them coordinating and directing, the losses among ordinary demon beasts were significantly reduced. Meanwhile, the elite demon beasts, using the lower-tier demon beasts for cover, became exceptionally cunning. They even learned to group in fours or fives, mutually providing cover while launching attacks in rotation. As a result, the damage inflicted by Sky Abyss City upon them was minimal.

On the seemingly endless city wall, dense spiritual light rained down like a torrential storm. From time to time, formations on the wall would flash with dazzling brilliance, and large-scale spells would ascend into the air, then violently smash down onto the most concentrated areas of demon beasts. The intensity of Sky Abyss City's counterattack was clearly several times stronger than during the previous demon race's probing harassments.

However, the sheer number of demon beasts was overwhelming, and many were of the thick-skinned, coarse-fleshed type. Even after enduring several blows and being covered in wounds, they stubbornly continued to ram against the restrictions outside the city wall. In moments, the area below the city wall was covered in a thick layer of demon beast carcasses, yet it still seemed as if they couldn't be killed fast enough. As more and more demon beasts surged towards the vicinity of the restrictions, Sky Abyss City's defensive light barrier finally began to waver, flickering wildly as it struggled to hold.

However, neither the blood-robed youth on the beast carriage within the demon army nor the silver-haired elder and others observing from the flying palace in the city showed much expression regarding this. Only when the city wall's light barrier emitted crisp cracking sounds and subsequent fissures appeared, did the silver-haired elder's face darken. He abruptly issued a cold command to the formation disk in his hand: “Activate the formation! Initiate the Four Heavenly River Treasures, sparing no spirit stones!” The several communicating cultivators who had been on standby by the formation disk immediately issued the same command without hesitation.

Immediately, figures flickered on the white jade altars, and a high-tier cultivator appeared within each formation. After executing several incantations, all the altars began to hum. Simultaneously, these cultivators chanted incantations and solemnly pointed a finger at the treasures on their respective altars. The next moment, the four treasures—the calabash, screen, flying sword, and alms bowl—rose with a clear chime. Immediately, five-colored light rays flickered within the formations, and an astonishing surge of spiritual energy erupted, then rushed like a tide towards the four treasures.

After a shimmering of crystal-clear spiritual light around their surfaces, the four treasures slowly ascended into the sky. Their sizes fluctuated as they displayed their immense power in succession. The blue alms bowl and the jet-black calabash spun in the air before abruptly tilting downwards. From their mouths, they unleashed a misty blue crystalline sand and a stream of dark, strange water, respectively. When the blue crystalline sand scattered downwards, each particle blurred and surprisingly multiplied, one into a hundred, a hundred into ten thousand. In an instant, it transformed into an endless blue sand cloud. As it surged downwards, tens of thousands of demon beasts were immediately engulfed. As the countless crystalline particles within the sand cloud slightly rolled and circulated, the demon beasts felt as if countless sharp blades were tearing into them. In an instant, they were ground into pulp by the sand cloud; not even a shred of their souls escaped, leaving no possibility of their continued existence in the world. As for the strange black water ejected from the calabash, the moment it spewed forth, it transformed into a towering waterfall. When the rolling black water surged into the beast horde, thousands of demon beasts in its path shrieked in agony as their flesh and bones melted, vanishing into thin air in an instant. This black water was incredibly poisonous; ordinary demon beasts couldn't even survive in it for a moment.

On the other side, the silver flying sword expanded ceaselessly, transforming in moments into a towering blade over a thousand zhang tall, reaching up to the sky. Then, with a roar, it blurred and disintegrated into thousands of silver sword shadows that appeared above the demon beasts. After a piercing shriek, they turned into waves of silver sword mountains, unleashing a massive slaughter among the beast horde. Wherever the colossal waves formed by the silver sword shadows passed, all demon beasts were effortlessly cut into several pieces, like tofu, with no means of resistance. A storm of blood and gore immediately enveloped a significant portion of the beast horde. As for the misty white screen, it appeared remarkably unremarkable. After expanding to several acres in size, it silently pressed down upon the beast horde. Strangely, when the screen rose and flew up again, the demon beasts previously enveloped by its white light had vanished without a trace, their fates unknown. The screen merely darted erratically through the beast horde a few times, and thousands of demon beasts were swept away by its white light, vanishing without a trace. The nearby demon beasts were terrified and fled in disarray, not daring to approach even an inch.

In just a short moment after the appearance of these Four Heavenly River Treasures, hundreds of thousands of demon beasts were utterly annihilated. Their power was truly astounding. However, the appearance of these treasures made it impossible for the demon race's high-ranking officials to remain still. Immediately following several shrill howls, a black cloud, a peculiar yellow wind, and two streaks of crimson light flashed into the sky from behind the demon beasts, heading straight for where the four treasures were wreaking havoc.

Seeing this, Han Li's expression shifted, and he retracted his divine sense. There was no need for him to continue observing what came next with his divine sense. While the Four Heavenly River Treasures were undoubtedly potent, the demon race would certainly find a way to counter them. The ensuing struggle would simply be a test of both sides' true strength. Initially, the high-ranking members of both sides would certainly not engage in direct combat. Most likely, a true high-tier battle would only occur after one side—either the demon beasts or the defenses of Sky Abyss City—was completely eradicated or destroyed. During this period, he only needed to conserve his energy and wait. When the time came to face the Blood-Light Sacred Ancestor's avatar, he would certainly not allow it to leave this place alive. Han Li pondered with a cold resolve in his heart.