Chapter 468: Resolute Defense

After forming the Beast Seal, Lu Ye had a subtle feeling that he could draw strength from Amber. At the time, he was not in combat, so the feeling wasn't very clear. Now, fighting, he found it to be true.

This was the advantage of forming the Beast Seal. It wasn't just him; more than a dozen members of the Wanxiang Sect were doing the same. Their natal beast companions followed them, their vital energies intertwining, allowing them to borrow their beasts' power. This was how a beast-taming lineage should operate!

For Lu Ye, this was undoubtedly an improvement. Previously, when he fought, Amber would crouch on his shoulder, finding it difficult to intervene because Lu Ye's strength had always been significantly greater than hers. At best, Amber could let out a roar, her tiger's howl intimidating opponents. But now it was different. Even if Amber did nothing but follow Lu Ye, she could continuously provide assistance, giving him an unearned boost in strength.

Moreover, this wasn't the limit of drawing power. The true limit was when their vital energies merged to a certain extent, allowing Amber to fully integrate into Lu Ye's body. At that point, the person and the beast would become one, and Lu Ye himself would undergo a significant transformation.

As this was Lu Ye's first time experiencing the benefits of forming a Beast Seal, he naturally had no idea how to merge with his natal beast.

The Panshan Saber ignited with flames and struck down on the back of a demon beast's neck. Blood splattered, and the beast instantly died. A blood-stained figure crawled out from beneath the beast's corpse, adjusted his helmet, and nodded to Lu Ye. "Thank you, fellow Daoist. Where are you from?"

This person was clearly a local cultivator from the Myriad Beast Domain. Had Lu Ye not acted swiftly to save him, he would likely have perished under the demon beast's sharp claws.

"Wanxiang Sect!"

The man's eyes lit up. "So it's the esteemed members of the Wanxiang Sect! No wonder your strength is so formidable." He raised his arm and shouted, "Brothers, fellow Daoists from the Wanxiang Sect have come to assist us! Fight bravely and kill the enemy! We absolutely cannot let these beasts breach our defenses!"

"Yes!" From the city walls, numerous cultivators roared their agreement.

The man wiped blood from his face and said to Lu Ye, "This section of the city wall is defended by my Scarlet Flame Camp. I am Fang Zhun, general of the Scarlet Flame Camp. How should I address you, fellow Daoist?"

"Ye Liu."

"Brother Ye Liu! Time is short, so I won't exchange pleasantries. Since you've arrived here, I presume you received orders from the City Lord's Manor. I need you to lead your people to guard that position, protecting the Thunder Roar and the Scarlet Flame Camp brothers there. Can you do it?" Fang Zhun pointed.

Lu Ye looked in the direction he pointed, seeing a large formation operating at a certain spot on the city wall. At the core of the formation was an object resembling a demon beast's head, but it wasn't a real head; it gleamed with a metallic luster, crafted from unknown materials. If he wasn't mistaken, this was the "Thunder Roar" Fang Zhun mentioned.

At this moment, seven or eight Scarlet Flame Camp cultivators surrounded the Thunder Roar, desperately channeling power into the formation beneath their feet. Judging by the spiritual energy fluctuations, these cultivators included both Cloud River Realm and Spirit Stream Realm practitioners. As the cultivators poured in their spiritual energy, Lu Ye distinctly sensed an extremely dangerous aura emanating from the Thunder Roar! This was... an offensive spell formation with a spirit artifact as its core!

Lu Ye recognized the Thunder Roar's true nature at a glance. After all, he was somewhat of a formation master, possessing the necessary insight. The so-called Thunder Roar was very likely a top-tier magic artifact or even a spirit treasure. Such an item would be incredibly difficult for a single cultivator to activate. After all, the strongest cultivators in the entire Myriad Beast Domain were only at the Ninth-Layer Cloud River Realm.

While difficult for a single cultivator to activate, having multiple people activate it together was also unrealistic. Without special methods, coordinating everyone's power would be a challenge. Therefore, the best solution for this situation was to use a formation. By using the Thunder Roar as the core, a spell formation was set up, allowing numerous cultivators to channel their power into it, activating the formation's might, which in turn powered the Thunder Roar, unleashing immense destructive force!

Such an item was typically a powerful siege weapon, rarely encountered by cultivators fighting individually. Using it for defense now was also an excellent choice.

As Lu Ye observed, a massive amount of spiritual energy had already been channeled into the formation. The front of the Thunder Roar glowed brilliantly, and an indescribable spiritual might permeated the air. Even a Ninth-Layer Cloud River Realm cultivator like Xia Qianqian felt her hair stand on end and her skin tingle. This was an instinctive physical reaction to feeling threatened. In other words, the Thunder Roar now possessed enough power to threaten the life of a formidable cultivator like Xia Qianqian! As for Lu Ye, it went without saying. If the Thunder Roar hadn't been aimed elsewhere, he would probably have felt a sense of impending doom.

Suddenly, an earth-shattering roar erupted, like a furious bellow. As the entire Section A3 city wall violently trembled, the light from the Thunder Roar's front transformed into a straight beam of light that pierced several miles, slamming ferociously into the demon beast horde. Thunderous light spread out from both sides of the beam, accompanied by constant crackling sounds. Anything in the path of the light beam, whether ordinary demon beasts or demon generals, instantly disintegrated into nothingness.

The light beam persisted for a full ten breaths before slowly fading away, leaving a complete vacuum in the several miles where it had extended. Lu Ye watched in stunned silence. Such power was truly beyond the resistance of Cloud River Realm cultivators. This single strike annihilated hundreds of demon beasts, and it was powered by the combined efforts of only seven or eight cultivators.

Furthermore, there was more than one such arrangement like the Thunder Roar on Bilateral City's walls. Every section of the wall had similar setups, though the treasures at their cores differed, resulting in varied unleashed powers. The only constant was their immense might and terrifying destructive force.

After a single strike, the cultivators responsible for activating the Thunder Roar immediately sat cross-legged to urgently recover, as such activation was extremely draining for them. Whether activating the Thunder Roar or recuperating afterward, they needed others to guard them. Fang Zhun's assignment for Lu Ye was to lead people to protect these cultivators.

"Understood. I will ensure their safety!" Lu Ye nodded.

"I'm counting on you!" Fang Zhun earnestly clasped his fists, then brandished his spirit artifact and charged towards another section.

At this moment, more than a dozen Cloud River Realm cultivators from the Wanxiang Sect had arrived at Section A3 of the city wall, joining the Scarlet Flame Camp cultivators in defense. Lu Ye called out to Xia Qianqian and the other two women, then flashed over to the Thunder Roar, replacing the cultivators who had been guarding it. His weapon box hummed, and the flow of light from his artifacts swirled around him. With the Panshan Saber in hand, any demon beast daring to climb the city wall met its demise under his blade. Occasionally, Lu Ye also cast his Fire Phoenix technique, blasting down the flying demon beasts attempting to soar over the wall.

Comparatively, among the four, Xia Qianqian undoubtedly performed the best. After all, she had the highest cultivation and was a spell cultivator. Her powerful spells often annihilated large groups of demon beasts. She even took time to check her identity token to see how much her military achievements had increased. Just seeing her smiling eyes, it was clear her achievements were rapidly rising.

For the cultivators of the Myriad Beast Domain, this was a battle for survival, a desperate defense of the city. But for cultivators from Kyushu, this was an excellent place to earn military achievements. Facing such a perilous situation, most Kyushu cultivators eagerly participated, accumulating achievements that could then be exchanged for spiritual tokens at the quartermaster's office—a valuable resource for rapidly increasing strength.

Compared to Xia Qianqian, Lu Ye's speed in eliminating enemies was undeniably much slower, a clear difference due to their cultivation levels. However, Lu Ye possessed many methods: sometimes activating artifacts, sometimes casting spells, and sometimes using the Panshan Saber to slay demon beasts that got too close.

Lan Ziyi was also quite capable. Although she only had one artifact, its destructive power was formidable. Coupled with her wide-sweeping twin swords, demon beasts were almost constantly falling by her hand. This left Shen Xiaomao feeling somewhat bewildered... Lu Ye was one thing; Shen Xiaomao knew a bit about his abilities. He was someone who dared to single-handedly infiltrate a spiritual land and couldn't be judged by conventional standards. In Shen Xiaomao's perception, when Lu Ye was in the Spirit Stream Realm, he was definitely a top-ranked individual on the Spirit Stream list, and even at the second layer, he was no worse than ordinary cultivators at the fourth or fifth layer. But what about Lan Ziyi? Are Cloud River Realm cultivators at the second layer really so formidable now? She, a fifth-layer cultivator, was putting all her strength into killing enemies, yet could only match the pace of two second-layer cultivators. She felt a sudden sense of discouragement. She'd done quite well in the Spirit Stream Realm, at least ranking among the top fifty on the Spirit Stream list...

Along the vast stretch of the city wall, the cultivators of the Wanxiang Sect and the Scarlet Flame Camp worked together wholeheartedly to defend against the attacking demon beasts. In just a short time, everyone was drenched in blood from the slaughter. Piles of demon beast corpses on the city wall formed small mountains, and the stench of blood was almost tangible. However, even such widespread slaughter could not deter the demon beasts' determination to assault the city. New beasts continuously climbed the walls or flew over, these maddened creatures seemingly oblivious to what death was. They had only one goal: to kill every living person in this world.

As this world was originally centered around beast-taming, the number of demon beasts in the entire Myriad Beast Domain was enormous before the changes occurred. Consequently, after the madness spread, the cultivators' strength proved insufficient to withstand the onslaught of the demon beast army, gradually leading to the tragic situation where Bilateral City was the last remaining stronghold in the entire world. The situation on Section A3 of the city wall was similar to that on other parts of the wall. Although demon beasts from across the Myriad Beast Domain were frantically assailing it, Bilateral City now gathered all surviving cultivators. At this critical juncture, with humanity facing extinction, cultivators who once belonged to different sects and factions could set aside their prejudices and work together wholeheartedly to overcome the crisis. Therefore, Bilateral City could certainly hold out for a while.