Chapter 3324: 3306 Race War Begins (None Today)

As soon as a miniature Nascent Soul left the body, it was enveloped by a red spiritual light, drawn into a red jade bottle. The red jade bottle then flew towards Liu Hongxue and disappeared into her sleeve.

Liu Hongxue performed soul-searching on Xiong Hao's Nascent Soul, unearthing a significant amount of valuable information.

"Yuan Lei, the leader of the Beastmen, has advanced to the late Integration stage," she said, frowning. "There are no fewer than fifteen Integration-stage cultivators among the Beastmen."

It was not surprising that the Wang family had expanded, as the Beastmen had also grown in strength. However, Yuan Lei's advancement to the late Integration stage truly posed a problem.

With Xiong Hao and his companion eliminated, the remaining Beastmen were no match for the five cultivators and were swiftly wiped out.

Wang Yingjie played a significant role in this victory. Had he not held back Xiong Hao, preventing him from fully controlling the formation, Wang Yidao and his two companions would not have been able to breach it so quickly.

Of course, Wang Xiuyan and Wang Shenxiong's contributions were also substantial. Without their control over Meng Gang and Yuan Xin, they wouldn't have been able to use the Golden Wolf Mountain Range strongholds to teleport to the Five-Colored Mountain Range, thus enabling a pincer attack. A direct assault on the Five-Colored Mountain Range would not have yielded such a swift victory.

Wang Yidao sheathed his long saber and declared, "Set up a formation and hold this position."

Zhenhai Palace had promised that any territory the Wang family seized in this initial battle would belong to them; otherwise, the Wang family would not have exerted such effort. Their immediate task was to secure the area and simultaneously inform the main forces to dismantle the Beastmen's strongholds along the route.

Wang Lihe and Wang Huayue retrieved their formation flags and disks and began establishing a defensive array. Wang Yingjie dispatched Wang Chuanming to notify the main forces at the rear to launch a full-scale offensive, eliminating the smaller Beastmen strongholds and consolidating all seized positions into a continuous front. This would facilitate both reinforcements and the transport of supplies.

The Tiankun Mountain Range, stretching for tens of millions of li, contained a medium-sized Kuntu Stone mine, which belonged to the Beastmen. The Kuntu Stone mine and the Five-Colored Jade mine were two newly acquired Tier-7 mineral veins for the Beastmen, both heavily garrisoned.

Hu Ao and Hu Yun were stationed in the Tiankun Mountain Range. Hu Ao was a mid-Integration stage cultivator, and Hu Yun was in the early Integration stage.

Deep within the Tiankun Mountain Range, numerous buildings were engulfed in flames, and countless Beastmen lay fallen in pools of blood.

Wang Yuanwei, Wang Zongyun, and Wang Jiye jointly assaulted a large, green-robed man with a tiger head and human body. He was bleeding profusely, his right arm was missing, and his aura was significantly weakened.

While these five were not as powerful as Wang Yidao's group, Wang Qingcheng had equipped them with several potent artifacts, including the Illusion Moon Treasure Mirror.

Wang Shenfeng and other Void Refinement cultivators attacked the Beastmen's strongholds, seizing two of them. They deliberately allowed some Beastmen to flee, then captured and controlled one Void Refinement cultivator, forcing him to lead them into the Tiankun Mountain Range. The captured Void Refinement cultivator requested an audience with Hu Ao. When Hu Ao appeared, they launched a sudden sneak attack, forcing him to expend a life-saving artifact.

Wang Zongyun formed a hand seal, and the female phantom hovering above his head struck the void with her right hand. The space vibrated and twisted as countless crimson flames materialized, followed by a hazy red volcano that appeared out of thin air and hurtled towards Hu Ao. Wang Yuanwei held a blue pipa, her fingers sweeping across its strings. A dark blue sound wave surged forth, directly targeting Hu Ao. Wang Jiye formed a hand seal, and the five small, golden-red mirrors hovering above his head each unleashed a thick golden-red lightning bolt. The bolts converged and struck Hu Ao.

Hu Ao's expression darkened. He produced a palm-sized green horn, which shimmered with spiritual light — evidently a mid-grade Heaven-Reaching Spirit Treasure — and lightly blew into it. A loud horn blast reverberated through the heavens and earth, unleashing a hazy green sound wave. The green sound wave, surging with power, shattered the red volcano, the blue sound wave, and the golden-red lightning.

A brilliant golden light shot forth. Just as Hu Ao prepared to dodge, a deafening roar echoed through the heavens, the Spirit-Suppressing Roar. Hu Ao felt a slight discomfort, his head swimming. By the time he regained his senses, the golden light had already enveloped him, blurring his surroundings.

"No, an illusion!" Hu Ao exclaimed in alarm.

While Hu Ao was trapped in the illusion, Wang Jiye formed a hand seal. The surfaces of the five red mirrors flared brightly, each unleashing a thick golden-red lightning bolt that struck Hu Ao. With a tremendous roar, the golden-red lightning engulfed Hu Ao, and a pained shriek could be heard.

A red light flashed, and a giant red peak, hundreds of zhang tall, materialized and crashed down upon Hu Ao. The beastman phantom hovering above Hu Ao extended its arms, supporting the massive red peak. Wang Zongyun altered his hand seal, and a surge of crimson flames erupted from the surface of the red peak, engulfing the beastman phantom. The red peak's spiritual light intensified and it pressed downwards. The beastman phantom shrieked in agony, then dissolved into scattered points of spiritual light and vanished. Hu Ao braced his arms above his head, supporting the descending red peak. A dark blue sound wave swept over him. As it passed through Hu Ao's body, his face flushed crimson before he spat out a large mouthful of blood and turned pale.

A crimson fire phoenix, over a hundred zhang in size, flew towards him. Before it even drew near, a shocking heatwave washed over them. Hu Ao let out a deafening tiger roar, unleashing a hazy green sound wave to meet the attack. The green sound wave collided with the crimson fire phoenix, causing the phoenix's body to explode into countless crimson flames. From these flames, three faint red lights shot out, speeding directly towards Hu Ao. With a scream, Hu Ao's eyes were struck by two of the red lights, bleeding profusely. The red peak, its spiritual light surging, crashed down, shaking the very earth.

As soon as a miniature Nascent Soul left the body, it was enveloped by a red light, drawn into a red jade bottle, and vanished.

Wang Yuanwei and her two companions collectively breathed a sigh of relief. Two streaks of light then flew in from the distance, revealing Wang Yuanjiang and Long Yifei.

"How was it? Did you catch up?" Wang Jiye inquired.

Wang Yuanjiang nodded. "We caught her," he replied, "but her Nascent Soul self-destructed."

"It's alright," said Wang Jiye. "Send a message to the main forces at the rear, and simultaneously contact Yidao and his group to establish a teleportation array for easy reinforcement."

Wang Yuanwei and Wang Yuanjiang acknowledged the order and departed to make the necessary arrangements.

The race war officially commenced. The Wang family achieved an initial victory, pushing deep into Beastmen territory and seizing two crucial strongholds. The main human forces launched a massive offensive, advancing with unstoppable momentum. The smaller Beastmen strongholds were utterly incapable of resisting the human cultivators and were systematically eradicated.

The Myriad Beast Mountain Range, the ancestral land of the Beastmen. Heavenly Beast Peak, a forbidden area for the Beastmen, was accessible only to a select few tribal elders.

Inside the Heavenly Beast Hall, an elderly man with an ape head and human body sat grim-faced on the main seat, while a dozen Beastmen were seated on either side. The yellow-robed elder was Yuan Lei, the leader of the Beastmen.

"The human race has initiated a full-scale war," Yuan Lei announced with a heavy tone. "The Azure Lotus Wang family has swiftly seized two of our crucial strongholds. Xiaofeng, Baosheng, Hulang, Langhao, you must immediately lead your teams to the front lines. You absolutely must halt the human advance. I have already dispatched a messenger to the Fiery Essence Tribe; I expect them to send reinforcements shortly."

Losing two vital strongholds so suddenly was heartbreaking for him. With the situation already set, his immediate priority was to repel the human assault; a future counterattack might allow them to reclaim lost territory.

"Yes, Chieftain," the Beastmen responded, accepting their orders. The Beastmen, having received their orders, mustered their elites and rushed to the front lines.