Chapter 1299: Spy

A moment later.

Everyone quickly descended the mountain. This time, their expressions showed confidence and joy as they employed various techniques to conceal their presence and hide their forms, swiftly heading towards Yucheng.

Their route appeared chaotic and without pattern, yet they proceeded smoothly, not alerting anyone until they neared Yucheng.

Outside Yucheng.

Qin Sang and the others emerged from the shadows, observing the large city. Seeing the chaos within, they made no attempt to conceal themselves and charged into the Lotus Grand Formation!

Among the three Nascent Soul cultivators guarding Yucheng, one, surnamed Qi, had connections with both True Man Canghong and Old Man Tianzheng, two highly esteemed righteous cultivators, and was greatly valued. At this moment, cultivator Qi was on the city wall, personally overseeing and directing the city's defense.

Although the enemy army had not yet arrived, the Nascent Soul cultivators of the Two Domains Alliance were mostly present. Even with the power of the city's defensive formation, the situation remained extremely perilous. Concerned about the battle, cultivator Qi's brows were deeply furrowed.

Unexpectedly, his recent words had come true. The Two Domains Alliance's intelligence was far beyond their expectations; they had arrived so quickly, like divine soldiers descending from the sky, catching them completely off guard.

He stared intently at the figures outside the city, not daring to relax for a moment.

Fortunately, the soldiers of Sin Abyss were seasoned in battle and cooperated with great synergy. At a single command, a torrent of attacks immediately surged forth, entering the grand formation.

Although Qin Sang and the others possessed Nascent Soul cultivation, being within the enemy's grand formation and subjected to concentrated fire from countless individuals, they dared not be careless. They dodged one after another, imperceptibly slowing down their pace of breaking the formation.

Seeing this scene, cultivator Qi's face showed little joy.

True Man Canghong had gone to pursue Old Devil Ye and had not returned, making this Yucheng's most vulnerable moment. Due to the lack of high-level cultivators, all they could do was defend and delay. They couldn't charge out to fight the enemy and lacked means to threaten the enemy's lives, which meant the enemy had few inhibitions and dared to rampage through the formation.

At this rate, the city's defensive formation would be broken sooner or later.

Just then, an urgent voice came from afar.

"Fellow Daoist Qi, the situation is dire. The previous city defense formation was built to complement the Ethereal Crystal Pagoda. With the pagoda destroyed, the city's defensive formation has also been affected, revealing weaknesses. They arrived too quickly, and there's no time to repair the formation! Only three of us remain in the city, and we don't have the ability to plug all the loopholes. Once they realize this, Yucheng will be in grave danger!"

The voice drew closer.

The next moment, a figure flew onto the city wall. It was Qu Huan, another Nascent Soul cultivator guarding Yucheng.

Seeing the critical battle situation, Qu Huan quickly came to consult with cultivator Qi.

Landing beside cultivator Qi, Qu Huan glanced at the nearby remains of the Ethereal Crystal Pagoda and sighed softly.

The base of the Ethereal Crystal Pagoda was intact, but its body was in ruins; some parts were covered in cracks, others had simply turned into a pile of rubble, and the crystal orb at the spire had vanished, all taken by Old Devil Ye.

Cultivator Qi frowned deeply. He naturally understood this, but at the moment, he couldn't think of any good strategy and could only hold his ground. Seeing that Qu Huan seemed to have a plan, he quickly asked, "Fellow Daoist Qu, what good strategy do you have?"

"Abandon the outer city!"

Qu Huan stated firmly, "When necessary, sacrifices must be made. If we wait until the outer city is breached to try and consolidate our forces, it will be too late. Please make a decision quickly, Fellow Daoist! The inner city is the original site of Yucheng, and its defensive formation was left by our ancestors, having stood the test of time. Even if the Two Domains Alliance unleashes all its forces, they won't be able to break through it quickly. It will be enough to hold out until True Man and the others return."

Cultivator Qi's expression turned solemn, and a look of struggle appeared in his eyes.

Abandoning the outer city was not merely about losing territory.

The treasuries in the outer city, currently filled with resources prepared for the war, would all fall into enemy hands.

Furthermore, the city's defensive formation, which Sin Abyss had spent vast resources to establish, would be rendered ineffective without the outer city as a barrier. They would have no path of retreat!

"Fellow Daoist Qu..."

After a moment of hesitation, cultivator Qi opened his mouth, about to speak, when suddenly a strong premonition of danger arose within him. A cold light flashed, shooting directly towards his face.

Immediately, a sharp pain pierced his glabella.

"It's you!"

Cultivator Qi's face changed drastically. With an enraged shout, he retreated swiftly, then his entire body burst forth with a brilliant green light.

Within the green light, the phantom of a treasure armor appeared.

This treasure armor was robust and ancient. To put it bluntly, it could be described as old and dilapidated, seemingly cobbled together from pieces of old tree bark.

The seemingly tattered armor rapidly spun around cultivator Qi, its surface flickering with countless mysterious runes, emanating a rich, heavy green light.

'Clang!'

A thumb-sized dark golden flying sword pierced through the green light, striking the armor, but only produced the sound of metal clashing.

Seeing that it couldn't penetrate the armor, Qu Huan recalled his golden sword, a hint of surprise flashing across his face. He hadn't expected cultivator Qi to block his sneak attack so easily.

"Shameless scoundrel! Have you forgotten the nurturing grace of your sect? How dare you betray Sin Abyss and willingly become a lackey of the Heaven-Treading Alliance!"

Cultivator Qi was furious and incredulous.

Qu Huan originated from Haotian Manor, a major righteous sect in Sin Abyss. His current status was second only to the Grand Elder, placing him above ten thousand people, with boundless prospects for the future. Yet, he was a spy.

"Lackey? I, Qu, am from the Heaven-Treading Alliance. My previous actions were merely a facade. When I was young, my talent was mediocre and I wasn't valued. To achieve what I have today, I owe it to the Heaven-Treading Alliance's secret support, combined with my own efforts. Haotian Manor was merely icing on the cake; it didn't truly bestow much favor upon me..."

Qu Huan spoke nonchalantly, showing no trace of shame on his face.

"What? You were sent to Haotian Manor by the Heaven-Treading Alliance?" Cultivator Qi was stunned.

Both the Heaven-Treading Alliance and Sin Abyss knew well that there were spies from the opposing side within their ranks, but it was truly rare for a spy to achieve Qu Huan's level of success.

"Impossible! If you had been controlled by the Heaven-Treading Alliance long ago, there's no way you could have remained hidden until now!"

Qu Huan sneered, "Control? Old Man Zhenyi did try to control me with his methods, but unfortunately, I secretly broke free. Before today, even when armies were raised to attack the Heaven-Treading Alliance back then, I never sent a single piece of information to the Heaven-Treading Alliance, nor did I do anything to betray Sin Abyss. Of course, you wouldn't find anything on me! Which side I lean towards depends entirely on my mood. Naturally, I placed bets on both sides. With today's events, the situation has become clear, and I, Qu, assessed the circumstances before deciding to take a gamble. I just didn't expect, Fellow Daoist Qi, that you would possess such capabilities. You were hit by my Formless Poison, yet your true essence remained completely unaffected, and you could even block my Dustfall Sword. With these two methods, I have slain a great demon in its transformation stage!"

Hearing this, cultivator Qi no longer feigned ignorance and coldly stated: "Do you truly think you are peerlessly wise and that everyone can only be manipulated by you? You and Old Freak Feng volunteered to stay and help me guard the city, so of course I would take some precautions, just in case. No matter how potent your Formless Poison is, it's useless if it can't invade my body. However, I was more wary of Old Freak Feng, suspecting he was intentionally acting this way. I never expected that it would be you who caused trouble!"