Chapter 826: A War That Bets Everything

The Wind Rises in Kyushu

With this, the members of the Kyushu team were reunited once more!

Apart from Yang Yuan and Ju Jia, who had just joined them, the rest of the team already knew the purpose of this mission, so there was no need for further elaboration.

Though the Fengyun brothers wanted to help, they knew their own strength was insufficient. If they followed Lu Ye and the others, they would only be a burden. At that point, not only would they be unable to assist, but avoiding becoming a liability would be a good outcome in itself.

“We wish all of you fellow cultivators a safe journey and invincible success!” The Fengyun brothers said solemnly, bowing with clasped fists.

Lu Ye nodded, “Go on.”

“Take care!” both Fengyun brothers exclaimed, before soaring into the sky.

Lu Ye turned, looking towards the location of the Primordial Heaven Sanctuary, and quietly said, “No one is thinking of backing down now, are they?”

Feng Rulie scoffed, “What are you talking about? Just kill them!”

Lu Qing also said, “Lu Yiye, though your strength is formidable, don’t underestimate others. I might not be able to defeat you, but killing corpse creatures is certainly not an issue.”

“Excellent!” Lu Ye nodded. “Then... let’s go!”

As he finished speaking, his figure transformed into a fiery red streak of light, darting towards the Primordial Heaven Sanctuary. The others followed closely, each employing their movement techniques.

Meanwhile, within a hundred miles of the Primordial Heaven Sanctuary, numerous corpse creatures were scattered, some in a dormant state cultivating their bodies, others training alone. Among them, a zombie with iron-colored skin was the most conspicuous, its aura the most formidable.

This was none other than Zhou Yun, the Iron Corpse Commander, one of the three Corpse Commanders under the Corpse Fiend.

Corpse creatures are also transformed from humans. Zhou Yun originated from a human outpost. As a human, he hadn't achieved much, and his cultivation wasn't high. However, after being transformed into a corpse creature, he rose dramatically, instantly becoming one of the three Corpse Commanders and the nightmare of humans across the Peerless Continent for the past few centuries.

More than ten days ago, humans had intruded into the Primordial Heaven Sanctuary's secret realm, enraging the Corpse Fiend. Therefore, defenses around the Sanctuary had been extremely tight these days, to prevent any audacious humans from disturbing the Golden Corpse King's slumber again.

The three Corpse Commanders were also patrolling the vicinity of the Primordial Heaven Sanctuary.

As a zombie, Zhou Yun differed from the rotting corpses that relied on hordes; his individual strength was incredibly powerful. Wherever he passed, numerous corpse creatures made way.

Suddenly, he sensed something. He turned his head and looked in one direction, his dim yellow eyes showing a look of surprise and uncertainty.

Soon, his pupils contracted slightly. In the direction he was looking, a distinct golden light was emanating, rapidly outlining the shape of a portal.

A secret realm portal!

Zhou Yun’s heart stirred, and he immediately understood what it was.

Since the great change, the corpse creatures had occupied many human secret realms, but there were three in particular that they had sought in vain. These three secret realms drifted in the void, without a fixed location, and their portals opened with extreme caution, making it difficult for the corpse creatures to detect them.

Unexpectedly, a portal had opened near the Primordial Heaven Sanctuary today!

Which secret realm was this, to be so careless?

Without time for further thought, Zhou Yun bravely charged towards the portal.

Regardless of which secret realm it belonged to, the portal was a heaven-sent opportunity for him. Something he couldn't find on normal days had appeared so openly right before his eyes; how could Zhou Yun miss it?

If he were still human, Zhou Yun would certainly not have acted so rashly. Even with his strength, boldly entering a human secret realm alone would not end well.

But after transforming into a corpse creature, his intellect seemed less complete. He only recognized this as a once-in-a-thousand-years opportunity, completely disregarding any potential dangers.

In an instant, he reached the portal.

However, before he could charge in, a slender, fair hand emerged from the portal, spiritual power surging in its palm.

Zhou Yun roared, throwing a punch.

As fist and palm met, a violent surge of spiritual energy erupted, and visible spiritual ripples spread out.

Zhou Yun was sent tumbling back over a hundred yards.

It wasn't that his strength was inferior to the owner of the fair hand; rather, one was prepared while the other met the attack hastily, so the former naturally had the advantage.

Stabilizing himself, he looked up again to see several powerful figures now standing before the opened portal. At the forefront was a woman dressed in men’s clothing.

“Pang Huanyin!”

Thoughts raced through Zhou Yun's mind, and he instantly recognized the woman. Although he had never seen her, he had heard her name.

He understood immediately: the portal opened here belonged to the Ziwei Dao Palace!

“Proceed as planned!” Pang Huanyin declared, joining forces with Elder Xiao, and both charged at Zhou Yun from either side.

While still in the secret realm, the Dao Palace had used the Sky-Illuminating Mirror and seen Zhou Yun's figure. The Iron Corpse Commander was a famous name, known to all.

Therefore, Pang Huanyin immediately made a decision: she and Elder Xiao would jointly restrain him, while the others would quickly emerge from the secret realm and form a battle array.

Only in this way could they gain a firm foothold and contend with the corpse creatures.

Their mission this time was simple: create the biggest possible commotion here and attract as much of the corpse creatures' attention as possible.

Only then would it be convenient for Lu Ye and his team to carry out their actions.

This was also something she and Lu Ye had planned long ago.

The portal's expansion didn't stop; it continuously grew larger. From within the radiant golden portal, streams of cultivators emerged, gathering into pre-arranged teams. These teams interconnected, forming a vast battle array.

Large numbers of corpse creatures were alerted and surged towards them, and the flames of war between humans and corpse creatures ignited instantly!

Violent spiritual energy surged chaotically, and multi-colored lights crisscrossed. Corpse creatures that charged forward were constantly struck down from the air, plummeting to the ground.

Immediately after the many cultivators of the Dao Palace, the figure of a colossal and formidable Soaring Dragon Boat slowly emerged from the portal, looming in the void.

One boat was followed by a second.

Then came a third!

The three Soaring Dragon Boats quickly formed a triangular formation in mid-air, protecting the numerous cultivators of the Dao Palace within.

A humming sound arose as the formations on the Soaring Dragon Boats vibrated. Massive beams of light, like wandering lightning dragons, crashed into the densest parts of the corpse horde, instantly carving out a vacuum zone within them.

The humming continued unabated, and vast numbers of corpse creatures were annihilated before they even got close. The few that managed to charge forward were mercilessly cut down by the Dao Palace cultivators.

However, no one rejoiced at the temporary advantage, for looking towards the Primordial Heaven Sanctuary, countless dense masses of corpse creatures surged towards them like a mountain collapse and a tsunami.

Even from within the Primordial Heaven Sanctuary's secret realm, large numbers of corpse creatures emerged upon hearing the commotion.

Every Dao Palace cultivator felt their heart tighten, yet their fighting spirit soared.

Everyone knew this was the Dao Palace’s all-out battle. If this battle was won, there would be peace throughout the land. If it was lost, the Ziwei Dao Palace would cease to exist.

This was a war where everyone risked everything!

On the other side of the battlefield, Pang Huanyin and Elder Xiao jointly restrained the Iron Corpse Commander, handling him with ease.

Although the Iron Corpse Commander was powerful, Pang Huanyin was no pushover, and with Elder Xiao assisting, restraining him for a while was not an issue.

While engaging in combat, Pang Huanyin even had enough余裕 to observe the situation.

Looking around, she saw no trace of cultivators from the other two secret realms, and couldn't help but feel a little disappointed.

After she decided to ally with Lu Ye and the others, she had already ordered someone to send messages to the other two factions, informing them of the Ziwei Dao Palace’s actions today.

If the other two factions truly cared, they would surely come to their aid.

But now, it seemed she shouldn’t have held any hope for them. These two secret realms had rotted from their very core.

However, just as she was thinking this, she suddenly saw figures of cultivators soaring through the air from afar...

“Is that...?” Pang Huanyin paused, initially thinking she had misjudged the two secret realms. But upon closer inspection, she realized that the figures rapidly approaching from a distance, having sensed the commotion, were not from the two major secret realms.

They were outpost cultivators!

Teams, ranging from a few individuals to dozens, came rushing from all directions. Initially, there weren't many, but moments later, more and more figures appeared in view.

As they drew closer, these teams gradually converged, like small streams forming a river, which continued to grow, eventually transforming into an immense and undeniable force.

While informing the other two secret realms about today’s operation, the Dao Palace had also subtly revealed some information to a few human outposts. However, the number of outposts that received news directly from the Dao Palace cultivators was not actually very high.

Yet at this moment, numerous outpost cultivators were rushing to reinforce them from all directions. Clearly, information had been passed between the outposts, and all of them had been waiting in advance, swiftly appearing to offer support once the Dao Palace initiated its attack.

There were likely even more outpost cultivators still en route, as the timing had been too sudden, and those from very distant outposts simply couldn't make it in time.

Pang Huanyin couldn't help but smile, suddenly feeling that the Dao Palace’s persistence over so many years, and everything they had done, had truly been meaningful.

In this world, even if the other two secret realms had become corrupt, there were still many more people worth saving!

“Palace Master!” Elder Xiao called out, his voice filled with excitement.

Originally, relying solely on the Dao Palace’s strength to fight the corpse creatures was somewhat insufficient. After all, there were only so many Dao Palace cultivators; what difference would it make even if all of them were deployed?

With the defensive line formed by the three Soaring Dragon Boats, the Dao Palace cultivators could hold out for a while, but over an extended period, they would inevitably be unable to sustain it.

But now, with so much reinforcement, things looked much more promising.

“Mm.” Pang Huanyin nodded, collecting her thoughts. She looked at her opponent, her eyes brimming with murderous intent that was almost tangible, and uttered a cold word: “Kill!”

The battle was fiercely intense from the very beginning. The earth-shattering roars from the Soaring Dragon Boats never ceased. All Dao Palace cultivators adhered strictly to their original plan, not initiating attacks but holding their ground, aiming to tie down as much of the corpse creatures’ energy as possible.

Incoming corpse creatures were constantly being pulverized.

From afar, it looked as if a rain of corpses was falling from the sky. More and more shattered bodies and rotting flesh accumulated on the ground, and a nauseating stench filled the air.

But even with such heavy casualties, the corpse creatures showed no fear or retreat. They continued to charge the Dao Palace's defensive line, utterly unafraid of death, at one point pressing so close that they almost broke through the defenses.

Fortunately, numerous outpost cultivators arrived to provide support, barely managing to stabilize the situation.