Chapter 776: Boundary Battle (4)

Subscription: A Record of a Mortal's Journey to Immortality

Upon hearing Old Devil Hehuan's challenge, the withered old man frowned slightly, then calmly replied, "A battle with the three great cultivators of Tiannan is inevitable, sooner or later. However, I must remain here to direct the main battle, so I cannot accept the challenge personally. I'll have to trouble Sect Master Fang with this. I've long heard that your Heavenly Demon True Devil Arts have reached an exceptionally high realm, capable even of drawing upon the true demonic energy of the Heavenly Fiend True Devil for possession. Dealing with a single opponent should be effortless for you."

"Since we have an agreement, this Sect Master will naturally act. I also wish to witness the divine abilities of Tiannan's foremost demonic cultivator!" the black-robed man said coldly. A green light flashed in his eyes as he slowly ascended, enveloped in black mist, and flew towards the opposition.

Scholar Zhong and the short man surnamed Bi followed without a word, transforming into a silver rainbow and a streak of red light.

Seeing this, Reverend Zhiyang and his two companions on the other side simultaneously transformed into dazzling streaks of light and ascended into the high 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, leaving no trace.

Soon after, however, the nearby sky began to change dramatically, shifting between fiery red and pitch black. Explosive sounds, like thunderclaps, grew louder, and dazzling silver rainbows and colorful mists flashed past intermittently.

As the six great cultivators clashed in the heavens, the armies of cultivators and spell-masters on the ground and at lower altitudes also began their grand battle.

However, this was not like a duel between individual cultivators or a small group, where they would immediately take to the air and attack each other with magic treasures. Instead, from a considerable distance, amidst fluctuating incantations, both the cultivators' and spell-masters' armies simultaneously activated various defensive formations. Massive light shields slowly rose from both sides, enveloping their main forces.

Clearly, the cultivators completed their defenses first. This wasn't because the cultivators' Five Elements Dao Arts were faster to cast than the spell-masters' Spirit Arts. Rather, the defensive formations set up by the Tiannan cultivators were mostly composed of formation-laying tools. This naturally made their activation about thirty percent faster than the opponents' Spirit Arts.

Seeing this, Long Han, who was overseeing the battle, immediately gave the order to launch an attack ahead of the enemy.

The first to attack were over a dozen long-range area-of-effect exotic treasures, including the giant bronze gong that Han Li had seen earlier.

The frame holding the bronze gong had already been moved to the very front of the cultivator ranks and now floated lightly dozens of feet above the ground, guarded by only seven or eight burly men in yellow robes. The giant man who had been sitting cross-legged beside the gong had, at some point, stood up, holding a ten-foot-long iron hammer, silently positioned at the gong's side.

A bit further away, two individuals had erected a five or six-zhang tall triangular black banner, shimmering with dark light and adorned with a lifelike embroidered black flood dragon.

Nine maidens in red robes each held a tray covered with red brocade, bulging mysteriously. What treasures they held was unknown. These nine maidens formed a strange formation, floating lightly in the air.

Three elderly men in brocade robes, each carrying a half-human-sized gourd on their backs and with eyes half-closed, also moved to the very front of the formation.

The command to attack instantly reached the ears of the cultivators responsible for this first wave.

The burly man on the bronze frame immediately wide-eyed, emitting a foot-long yellow glow from his body. With both hands, he swung the iron hammer and struck the center of the bronze gong with great force. A blinding golden light burst forth, but strangely, only the light was visible; there was no sound. The moment the golden light appeared, it exploded into myriad golden specks that shot towards the opposing side. After flying only a dozen zhang, soft "poofing" sounds were heard, and the golden specks transformed into clusters of golden mist. The burly man continued to furiously strike with his hammer, causing dense golden specks to burst from the gong. The golden mist surged like waves towards the spell-master army.

As the two cultivators vigorously shook the triangular black banner, a black flood dragon materialized faintly from its surface. As the dragon opened its demonic eyes, gusts of greenish-black demonic wind gracefully spewed from its mouth. The wind howled loudly, and powerful gales transformed into a vast expanse of blackness, instantly stirring up dust and stones and obscuring vision.

The red-robed maidens simultaneously raised the red trays in their jade arms, uttering melodious incantations. With a flash of red light, nine brilliant red copper plates suddenly flew from the trays, converged in the air, and spun rapidly. A several-foot-wide fiery red ancient mirror appeared there, its surface shimmering with spiritual light. From the mirror, countless fist-sized firebirds burst forth, each enveloped in flames and spitting fire. After a series of clear cries, they shot out like arrows.

The three elderly men in brocade robes, forming a triangle, simultaneously summoned the large gourds from their backs. Bone-chilling white mist, mixed with countless snowflakes and hailstones, instantly transformed the area in front of them into a world of ice and snow, which then swept rapidly towards the opposing side.

These exotic treasures launched their attacks almost simultaneously. The spell-masters on the other side had barely managed to form their protective light shields and, under the withered old man's command, had no time to counterattack; they could only brace themselves for the incoming assault. The moment the attacks made contact, the golden mist, black winds, and other effects simultaneously exploded upon the cultivators' protective light shield. For a moment, multicolored lights flashed, and the spell-masters' shield trembled slightly.

Witnessing this, Long Han immediately issued another command without hesitation. The cultivators who received the order launched their second wave of attack even before the first round concluded. This attack consisted of large-scale offensive secret arts jointly unleashed by various sects. Pillars of various colored light and towering demonic flames were continuously unleashed from the cultivator ranks, instantly combining with the first wave of exotic treasure attacks to engulf the entire spell-master formation. The spell-masters' protective light shield was completely besieged by these relentless, continuous attacks.

The withered old man's expression darkened. He never imagined that a mere slight delay in activating their spirit arts would immediately put them on the defensive. The opponent's offensive was so fierce that he couldn't immediately withdraw spell-masters to counterattack. Under such a terrifying assault, even Nascent Soul stage cultivators would never dare to directly withstand these attacks without the protection of a magic formation. "Madam Lu! It seems we must deploy your giant beasts. Otherwise, we won't be able to seize the initiative," the old man suddenly said to the black-robed woman beside him.

"Since the Sect Master has lent those giant beasts to fellow Daoist, you may use them as you see fit. There's no need to specially inform this concubine," the black-robed woman said with a slight smile, appearing unconcerned.

The old man nodded in satisfaction upon hearing this and immediately issued orders. After a series of earth-shattering roars, over a dozen massive figures, enduring various attacks, burst out from the spell-masters' protective shield. These were the armored savage beasts. As soon as these behemoths emerged, they immediately charged furiously towards the cultivators' main camp. Naturally, some of the cultivators' attacks shifted direction, now targeting these giant beasts. The spells attacking the spell-master formation inevitably slowed down slightly.

Seizing this opportunity, dozens of high-ranking spell-masters quickly flew out, simultaneously conjuring dozens of varied colored pellet-like objects while murmuring incantations. An incredible sight unfolded. Some of these pellets fell directly to the ground and disappeared. Others spun wildly, enveloped in green light, while some coalesced into a mass of clear water, or burst forth with fire, encased in blazing flames. Then, from the ground, from the green light, from water, and from fire, various forms of demonic beasts materialized out of thin air. There were yellow earth pythons over ten zhang long, giant fiery wolves seven or eight zhang tall, ethereal green monstrous birds, and blue demonic turtles enveloped in mist.

As soon as these demonic beasts appeared, they immediately followed the savage beasts, charging towards the opposing cultivator army. Due to their naturally tough hides and thick flesh, coupled with their battle armor and various defensive spells cast upon them, the giant beasts miraculously did not fall, even though they roared strangely and were quickly covered in wounds from various spell attacks. However, the materialized monstrous beasts behind them did not fare as well. Although they also appeared formidable, after just one attack, most of their bodies disintegrated, transforming into specks of spiritual light and vanishing without a trace. The pellets, having lost much of their spiritual energy, simply fell to the dust. But the high-ranking spell-masters paid no heed. Simultaneously, they raised their hands again, and another batch of pellets was thrown. After chanting incantations, more monstrous beasts materialized, charging forward fearlessly. At this, many cultivators' expressions changed slightly. The spells targeting these monstrous beasts instinctively intensified, while the pressure on the spell-master formation significantly decreased.

Seeing this situation, Long Han's expression subtly darkened, and he hastily tried to issue a command. But it was already a little too late. The withered old man finally seized the opportunity and issued an order. A significant portion of the spell-masters had already switched to offensive spirit arts, and instantly, various colored spiritual lights flared. Amidst the incantations, massive fireballs, each about a zhang in diameter, and ice spears as thick as small trees began to condense in the sky.

"Spirit Art Formation!" Long Han muttered to himself, seeing this scene. Knowing that they could no longer suppress the opponent, he quickly transmitted a message with a slight movement of his lips.

Immediately, the exotic treasures ceased their attacks, and their masters swiftly retreated with their treasures into the ranks, re-entering the protection of the formation. Simultaneously, over a thousand cultivators of considerable cultivation levels flew out from above the cultivator ranks. Each holding a several-foot-long formation flag, they swiftly formed a magnificent and awe-inspiring grand formation. Then, each person threw their formation flag into the air. A five-colored light barrier appeared above the cultivator ranks, like a giant shield, adding another layer of protection to the cultivator army.

At this moment, hundreds of massive fireballs shot from the opposing side, followed by over a thousand colossal ice spears. Instantly, waves of fire and icy mist enveloped the entire cultivator army from above. Meanwhile, the giant beasts and the demonic beasts materialized from the pellets had already covered more than half the distance, surviving several rounds of spell attacks, and were now completely upon the cultivators' front lines. Out of over a dozen giant beasts, only the strongest seven or eight remained, and more than half of the second wave of materialized demonic beasts had been lost. Nevertheless, facing the dense ranks of cultivators, these demonic beasts showed no fear of death, still charging forward with menacing momentum.