Chapter 1889: Overwhelm

Their small bodies somehow contained immense power.

A giant elephant was sent sprawling, knocking down two large wolves that hadn't managed to dodge in time.

He Lingchuan watched the battle from the rear. Ling Guang peeled an orange into two segments, and He Lingchuan casually took one, giving his positive assessment: "These woolly mammoths are quite formidable, impressive indeed."

Their sheer size and bulk made them look like moving walls. When the woolly mammoths went on a rampage, charging headlong, even Illusion Sect cultivators had to retreat a significant distance. Moreover, when this herd of elephants charged together, they formed an invisible yet formidable qi wall between them!

This was likely a unique ability of the woolly mammoths. Any unprepared enemy who encountered it was like hitting a solid wall head-on, either being flung backward or crushed, often resulting in severe injuries.

This was still in the dense forest, where there were too many obstacles. In an open battlefield, their power would be even greater.

Lu Jing, the cultivator leading the charge, suffered from this very phenomenon. Unprepared, he was immediately overwhelmed by the qi wall. Though his skin was tough enough to prevent a gushing nosebleed, a woolly mammoth promptly stepped on his left arm, and everyone heard a crisp "snap."

Lu Jing cried out in pain.

The giant elephant's hind leg then came down again, intending to crush his skull.

Just then, a figure darted in from the side, stabbing a sword into the elephant's leg.

The woolly mammoth recoiled its leg, and the figure seized Lu Jing, pulling him clear!

The elephant's next stomp missed, making the ground tremble.

It was Luo Xie who had arrived. Riding his blood-red great ram, Ingtai, he bent down, scooped up Lu Jing, and placed him on the ram's back.

Just then, two giant elephants turned sideways, blocking both their forward and backward escape routes with the qi wall.

Luo Xie reached out and hooked a hand around Ingtai's neck. The ram leaped straight up as if on springs, clearing over three zang in height and easily escaping the qi wall's perimeter.

In the Inverted Sea, they could pull large carts while scaling walls and rooftops; leaping two or three zang was nothing to them now.

The Illusion Sect cultivators fanned out, forming hand seals and setting up an array.

While armies typically feared such rampaging giants, cultivators from immortal sects were well-versed in battling these tough, powerful monsters. The Nine-Star Seal Battle Array they formed made the very air so viscous it seemed to stretch like taffy. After just two or three charges, the giant elephants' speed drastically slowed, and they trumpeted in frustration.

After extensive discussions with Madam Zhu, the Illusion Sect cultivators had also integrated the formidable spider silk of the Cave Spider Queen into their formations, achieving excellent results with minimal effort.

Furthermore, the more the giant elephants trampled, the softer the ground beneath their feet became, resembling mud after a flood, with each step creating a deep pit. They didn't notice it during the initial stages of the battle, but later, when their legs became too heavy to lift, they realized they were deeply mired.

Pang Sen was both shocked and enraged. "How is this possible?" he exclaimed.

They were the lords of this forest, also serving as local nature spirits, able to wield many privileges of the land. The "Ground-Trapping" technique, in particular, was supposed to be a divine ability only they could employ.

The scene was too chaotic for anyone to notice a small squirrel dart out from under Ingtai the great ram's hooves. It shook the mud from its tiny feet and then scurried onto Dong Rui's shoulder.

Madam Zhu's shell was too hard and spiky; a human shoulder was much more comfortable to perch on.

The Ghost Ape casually handed it two iron-shelled walnuts. The squirrel immediately embraced them and began to gnaw, crunching loudly and spitting out bits, as if it were chewing on hard cardboard.

Nearby was a puddle. Pang Sen inhaled deeply, sucking the puddle dry, then unleashed a furious spray of water toward He Lingchuan and the others.

Madam Zhu, who had been observing from the side, instantly moved, placing herself in front of He Lingchuan and Dong Rui.

The column of water sprayed by the giant elephant struck directly against her hard shell.

A faint, greenish vapor hissed from her black spider carapace, and nearby individuals could smell a sour, pungent odor that made them nauseous.

Acid!

Woolly mammoths possessed this ability to compensate for their lack of ranged attacks; they could spray highly corrosive acid, which most enemies' protective qi barriers could not withstand.

Dong Rui's expression changed. He quickly touched his face, realizing he had narrowly avoided another disfigurement.

Protecting his face was proving to be quite a challenge.

Naturally, the woolly mammoth herd was now beyond saving, and the remainder of the battle held no suspense.

The chaotic melee finally ended with Xutuo decisively overpowering Pang Sen.

Despite being mired in mud, the old elephant still refused to yield, sending several Illusion Sect cultivators flying with a flick of its trunk. The usually reserved Green Ox, meanwhile, had grown addicted to the fight, its body swelling to four times its original size as if inflated.

The two behemoths clashed with such ferocity that the world seemed to spin, and the surrounding onlookers scattered.

Madam Zhu came to a conclusion: "Xutuo is sure to win."

Because the old elephant's hind legs were gradually giving out.

No sooner had she spoken than Xutuo, with a powerful diagonal shove, wrestled the old elephant to the ground. He then swiftly moved to pin his opponent down with his immense weight.

Pang Sen thrashed all four legs wildly, sending mud and water flying, but he truly couldn't get back up.

The battle finally concluded, though it had lasted longer than He Lingchuan had anticipated.

Three of the elephant spirits lay toppled on the ground, their bellies heaving. One had an injured front leg and could only remain half-kneeling, unable to stand; the other two were pinned at vital points, their large ears merely twitching, too afraid to move further.

The northern wolf pack fared even worse. The ground was littered with wolf corpses, with only thirteen survivors remaining, all huddled with their tails tucked, not daring to move.

As Ling Guang was setting Lu Jing's bones and tending to his injuries, He Lingchuan asked him:

"How did it feel, your first battle on land?"

This was the first battle for hundreds of Illusion Sect cultivators since their arrival in the human realm, and it must have been vastly different from fighting in the Inverted Sea.

"Very unaccustomed," Lu Jing replied, shaking his head with a hint of shame. "I felt constrained, unable to fight freely."

As a direct disciple of an Illusion Sect immortal, he had survived the epic war between immortals and demons, only to be injured by a few 'country elephants' shortly after returning to the human realm. He was utterly mortified.

Other Illusion Sect cultivators shared his sentiment, feeling they had performed poorly in this skirmish, and consequently kicked the captives with a little more force.

But He Lingchuan knew exactly why.

Previously in the Inverted Sea, the Illusion Sect had grown accustomed to abundant spiritual energy, allowing them to freely cast divine abilities and spells. Here in the human realm, however, the spiritual energy concentration was too low. They were like fish out of water, struggling even to breathe, let alone carefully calculate every spell to avoid excessive energy consumption.

All these changes would require time to adjust to.

In contrast, Luo Xie and the other introductory disciples adapted more quickly and had already integrated well with the benevolent local population.

"The fighting style of human realm cultivators is vastly different from yours," He Lingchuan said, lightly patting Lu Jing's shoulder. "Don't worry, in a few months, when the Emperor's Nectar erupts, the spiritual energy concentration between heaven and earth will increase significantly, which will be much more beneficial for you."

Their actions in the Inverted Sea would soon bring blessings to the human realm.

Xutuo still held the giant elephant firmly pinned. He Lingchuan walked over to the forcibly subdued Pang Sen, looking down at him.

"Do you yield?"

Daring to say 'no' would have severe consequences.

The giant elephant's belly heaved a few times, and a low, regretful voice rumbled, "You win."