Chapter 773: Border Battle (1)

Volume 5: Becoming Famous

“If they were the original restriction-breaking pearls, they certainly couldn’t affect high-level restrictions. But Brother Long, you might not know that the restriction-breaking pearls circulating outside are actually incomplete, mere half-finished products. True restriction-breaking pearls require the addition of several extremely rare materials and are difficult to refine, but they have remarkable effects in breaking high-level restrictions. Of course, their uses are limited, which is why our sect hasn’t refined many of them. However, now, for the sake of the fellow Daoists participating in the wager battles, our sect has managed to gather ten. As long as they carry these pearls, they can immediately activate one to break free from any restriction if the situation turns unfavorable. This way, they’ll have no worries.” Reverend Zhiyang said confidently.

“I was wondering why Reverend Zhiyang wasn’t worried about tomorrow’s wager battles, even though he knew the risks. So, you had a backup plan. With the restriction-breaking pearls, there’s no need to fear any tricks from the opponents. However, to be safe, our Demonic Dao’s Heavenly Fiend Sect has a secret elixir called the ‘Fiend-Returning Pill.’ Taking it can stimulate one’s True Essence, restoring most depleted magical power and temporarily boosting cultivation. Of course, there will be some damage to one’s vitality after the effect wears off. We can have each of these Daoists carry one. If the situation becomes truly critical, they can suddenly consume it as a surprise move,” Old Devil Huanhe added, glancing at Reverend Zhiyang.

“Excellent! With these two backup plans, I, Long Han, am reassured about the wager battles,” Long Han chuckled lightly. Then, changing the subject, he continued:

“Next, I should consider how to deal with those black-robed individuals. These people cultivate demonic arts. It would be best for the Righteous Alliance to select a group of Daoists to confront these demonic cultivators. After all, several sects within the Tai Zhen Sect possess numerous spells specifically designed to counter demonic arts. They should be equally effective against these demonic cultivators.”

Long Han glanced at Reverend Zhiyang as he spoke, watching for his reply.

“No problem, leave these demonic cultivators to our Righteous Alliance. However, you’ll have to largely deal with the Grandmasters among the spellcasters,” Reverend Zhiyang agreed immediately, without any hesitation.

“Of course! We, the three major powers, will handle the spellcasters. Specifically...”

Seeing Reverend Zhiyang’s unhesitating agreement to confront the demonic cultivators from the Jin Kingdom, the others were very satisfied. They discussed for a long time in the hall, finally dispersing with peace of mind as the sun set.

Following the results of their discussion, everyone returned to make their separate preparations.

Early that morning, the patrolling cultivators observed a phenomenon from the opposing spellcaster camp. First, a shimmering glow appeared, followed by deafening drums rumbling. Teams of spellcasters calmly flew out of their camp, riding their artifacts, and headed towards the center of the border.

Upon this sight, the prepared cultivators immediately sent back messenger talismans.

Moments later, a long bell toll echoed from the Southern Sky’s main camp. Following this, numerous cultivators, who had long been conserving their energy, emerged from the camp, transforming into countless streaks of light that soared into the sky, heading overwhelmingly towards the same location.

At once, various spiritual lights filled the sky, accompanied by clear calls and long roars. Compared to the imposing spellcaster army approaching from the other direction, it was as if two colossal tidal waves were surging towards each other. However, when they were about ten miles apart, both sides abruptly halted.

Both spellcasters and cultivators, upon reaching a distance where they could vaguely discern each other, simultaneously stopped their escape lights. Then, they gazed at each other from afar with hostility.

One side had no retreat, forced to fight with their backs to the wall to carve out a path for their entire race. The other side had long resided in their homeland, tolerating no foreign invaders, and their morale was equally sky-high.

Though neither side had yet engaged, a terrifying killing intent permeated the space between the two formations.

At this moment, Han Li floated above a formation of over a thousand cultivators, coldly observing the distant spellcaster army.

A glance revealed shimmering lights across the opposing side. Each patch of light contained hundreds of spellcasters gathered there, and these shimmering lights extended for more than ten miles.

Clearly, both sides had deployed their full forces. While the exact numbers couldn’t be estimated, at least sixty to seventy thousand cultivators had gathered here.

High-level cultivators, rarely seen under normal circumstances, were abundant at this moment.

However, despite roughly equal numbers, the differences between the two sides were apparent.

Although the spellcasters wore diverse attire, their low-level artifacts were limited to a few simple types: luminous round bowls, fist-sized spherical beads, and most commonly, various colored spell flags. Blade and sword-type artifacts were very rare among them.

In contrast, the cultivators’ low-level artifacts were diverse and varied, with blade and sword types being the most common. These artifacts gleamed and pulsed with spiritual energy; in terms of quality alone, they visibly surpassed those of the spellcasters.

While the spellcasters’ artifacts were vastly inferior to those of the Southern Sky cultivators, their army was well-ordered. Even while flying, they maintained intricate formations, remaining silent and only staring with hostile gazes.

The cultivators, on the other hand, were clearly not as well-trained. Although they loosely maintained their formations, they were disorganized, with constant murmuring and individuals frequently breaking ranks to do their own things.

This forced the high-level cultivators to descend and reprimand them.

Seeing this, Han Li frowned.

It was no wonder! How could so many unruly cultivators be properly trained in just a few months?

Simply getting these cultivators to form ranks was a major headache for the high-level cultivators.

The opposing spellcaster army, however, was different. Although it was also composed of allied forces from various Mulan tribes, they frequently fought against the Tuwu people. For their various tribes to form allied armies was common, and they would become well-trained with minimal adjustment. The leading high-level cultivators on the Southern Sky side were well aware of these facts but could do nothing about it. Fortunately, they were cultivators, not a secular army, and the key to victory wasn’t determined by such factors, so they turned a blind eye.

As Han Li thought this, he cast a few more glances at the spellcaster army.

What was most striking on the opposing side was not the Mulan spellcasters themselves, but rather over a dozen abnormally large savage beasts interspersed within the spellcaster army.

Mixed among the spellcaster formations, their forms were like small mountains, incredibly eye-catching.

Many cultivators from the Nine-Nation Alliance had witnessed the might of these giant beasts. Consequently, many gazes were directed towards them, revealing a hint of fear.

Han Li looked up at the sky, which was clear and cloudless for thousands of miles, then lowered his gaze to the disorganized cultivator formations below, sighing and shaking his head.

Then, with a flip of his hand, two small items appeared in his palm.

One was a thumb-sized, pitch-black spherical bead, and the other was a fiery-red, pungent, four-sided elixir, about the size of an almond.

These two items had been sent by Reverend Zhiyang’s people last night, along with explanations of their effects and uses. It was said that every cultivator participating in the wager battles received them.

Han Li was slightly surprised but accepted them without hesitation.

It seemed that to defeat the spellcaster army, the three major cultivator powers had truly brought out all their treasures. Many items previously hidden away were now being revealed.

However, it wasn’t just the three major powers acting this way!

Thinking this, Han Li couldn’t help but look towards another adjacent cultivator team below.

This team consisted of about a thousand cultivators, with sixteen male and sixteen female cultivators dressed in red and green robes among them.

They were carrying two huge coffins, one black and one white, arranged side by side.

The coffins were covered with dozens of various talismans, large and small, making them appear extremely eerie.

Han Li recognized these male and female cultivators as disciples of the Joyous Union Sect, the foremost demonic sect. This sparked great curiosity in him regarding the two coffins.

Unfortunately, although he had probed them with his spiritual sense midway, the coffins were clearly imbued with extremely powerful restrictions, making them impossible to penetrate.

Besides these two coffins, other strange and eye-catching items appeared within the other cultivator formations.

For instance, cultivators from a certain righteous sect on the other side surrounded a bronze platform about sixty to seventy feet tall, upon which rested a gigantic bronze gong, approximately ten feet in diameter.

The surface of the gong shimmered with golden light, and white runes periodically floated into appearance. Nearby, a bare-chested giant sat cross-legged with his eyes closed.

Further back in the ranks, there were over a dozen pitch-black statues, thirty to forty feet tall. They appeared somewhat dilapidated and depicted ancient ferocious beasts, suspended lifelike in the air by flying chariots, their purpose unknown.

As for the cultivator teams further away, equally strange and unusual items were appearing.

Seeing all this, Han Li felt significantly more at ease.

This indicated that all sects understood the gravity of this battle and had brought out some of their most prized treasures.

This naturally increased their chances of victory considerably.

Moreover, beyond these visible treasures, countless other formidable artifacts were likely concealed in the cultivators’ storage bags, unseen.

In the spellcaster army, apart from the giant beasts, there were no other unusual items.

Han Li naturally didn’t believe the spellcasters’ tactics were limited to this; they surely had powerful hidden trump cards.

It was truly difficult to predict whether this grand battle would end in victory or defeat!

At this point, the continuous streams of flying cultivators and spellcaster armies had finally all arrived.

Then, with the exception of a few individuals, most people simultaneously descended to the ground, falling into a profound silence.

At that moment, after a stir in the opposing spellcaster army, three figures flew out:

A withered old man, a dwarf, and a middle-aged scholar – these were the three Grandmasters of Mulan.

From the cultivators’ side, three streaks of dazzling light also shot forth: Reverend Zhiyang, Wei Wuya, and Old Devil Huanhe.

Both parties, when dozens of feet apart, retracted their escape lights and halted.

“Well, how about it? It’s not too late for you fellow Daoists to reconsider now. As long as you yield half of Southern Sky to our Mulan race, we can cease hostilities and become friends. Otherwise, regardless of the outcome of this battle, your Southern Sky cultivation world will likely suffer severe damage,” the scholar named Zhong said coldly, looking at Wei Wuya and the others across from him.

“Ridiculous,” Wei Wuya retorted blandly, lifting his chin. “It’s true that our Southern Sky cultivation world might suffer severe damage, but if you Mulan people lose this battle, it will be the end of your entire race. I think it is you spellcasters who should be more cautious!”