Chapter 1429: Hell Soul Bell

The lightning sword extinguished the red beam and, without losing momentum, fiercely struck into the throng of hell creatures.

Under the power of the lightning, the hell creatures were utterly defenseless. Their bodies, stripped of all dark aura, exploded amidst the thunder. In an instant, an entire section of hell creatures was cleared away.

The nine-orifice Nascent Soul hell creature that had launched the sneak attack was also scorched by the lightning sword, retreating with a scream.

Everyone looked behind them in surprise. "Isn't that the Undying Blade of the Myriad Tribulations Sacred Temple? Could it be that someone from the Myriad Tribulations Sacred Temple has come to assist?"

Song Lingyu also turned her head in surprise and delight, but what met her eyes was the face of an unfamiliar middle-aged man.

"You are?" Song Lingyu asked, astonished. This particular Undying Blade technique had been cultivated to the perfected level, and not many in the Myriad Tribulations Sacred Temple had reached this stage.

Jiang Fan said in a low, serious voice, "Don't get distracted; the hell creatures are still multiplying!"

In that brief moment, the void created by the Undying Blade was immediately filled by other hell creatures. He decisively swung his Snow Listening Sword. With a single strike, astonishing cold air froze a section of hell creatures, and then sword energy crisscrossed, shattering them into ice fragments.

Next, Purple Lightning emerged, carrying unstoppable violet electric light, sweeping another area clean. Finally, the Azure Frost Sword was unsheathed, unleashing dense, root-like azure afterimages that pierced through one hell beast after another.

With all three swords unleashed simultaneously, the thousand-zhang area in front of Taicang Great State was astonishingly cleared. This scene left everyone from Taicang Great State dumbfounded.

Song Lingyu looked as if her understanding of life was being questioned: "He's an eight-orifice Nascent Soul, so what am I?" All the eight-orifice Nascent Souls present also looked bewildered. "We're all eight-orifice Nascent Souls, but how can the gap be wider than that between a human and a dog?" They mused that even their entire combined strength wouldn't be enough to contend with these three swords.

Jiang Wuya couldn't help but exclaim in surprise, "Three top-grade spirit swords, and all with artifact spirits? When did Taicang Great State gain such an expert?"

This sight also caught the attention of the powerful individuals from the surrounding states. The three swords, acting like a crushing machine, pushed through everything, literally clearing the hell creatures from in front of Taicang Great State.

"Who was spreading rumors that Taicang Great State had no strong cultivators?""If an eight-orifice Nascent Soul is so fierce, wouldn't a Soul Transformation Realm cultivator be defying the heavens?"

Hearing this, Jiang Wuya felt a pang of shame. His gaze sharpened, and he declared, "With such a strong cultivator assisting Taicang Great State, how can I retreat?" He leaped forward, charging into the fray with his sword caddy, his sword intents streaking through the beast horde like a meteor shower. Song Lingyu and the others were also invigorated, steeling their resolve, and followed Jiang Wuya and Jiang Fan in slaughtering the hell creatures.

For a time, the defensive line held by Taicang Great State surprisingly advanced!

However, their advancement alone was meaningless. This was because once a gap appeared behind them, hell creatures from both sides would seize the opportunity to surge through. Some would encircle Jiang Fan and his companions from behind, while others would assault the flanks of the other two states' defensive lines. Ultimately, this would lead to the collapse of the entire defensive line.

Even more troublesome was that as the Young Emperor continued to push northwards from the south, more and more hell creatures surged forth.

An hour later, Jiang Fan had less than 30% of his Nascent Soul power remaining, and his physical strength was also rapidly depleting. His body was stained with black blood, making him look like a figure of gore. He had lost count of how many hell creatures he had killed, knowing only that the overall defensive line had not advanced; instead, it was retreating.

His personal strength was indeed formidable. But in a battle of such magnitude, it was merely a drop in the ocean. Even a Great Venerable of the Five Heavenly Decay would find it difficult to stop this with personal strength alone; what could Jiang Fan possibly do?

Yet, all he could do now was resist as much as possible. He hoped that the Great Wine Sacrifice and the three Great Venerables would seal the gap soon.

"Be careful! There's a Soul Transformation Realm cultivator... *bang*..."

To the right were the demonic cultivators from Dahong State, led by the Red Dust Venerable, who was at the second stage of Heavenly Decay. She was struggling to maintain their position with the demonic cultivators. A terrifying Soul Transformation Realm hell creature had surprisingly infiltrated the beast horde and reached the front line. By the time Red Dust Venerable discovered it, she had already been ambushed. Her right shoulder blade, along with her entire arm, had been completely severed by sharp claws.

A seemingly ordinary two-headed hell hound, with a mocking glint in its eyes, stepped forward, gurgling in the language of hell. "Finally, that terrifying woman has been diverted! Now, we can leave the underground world!"

Jiang Fan's heart jolted. It turned out that the Soul Transformation Realm aura detected by Ice Heart Great Venerable earlier was a diversionary tactic. Its purpose was to create an opportunity for this two-headed hell hound to break out from underground. Its ability to wound the Red Dust Venerable, who was at the second stage of Heavenly Decay, left no doubt about its power! It was at least at the Heavenly Decay's second stage level!

Red Dust Venerable also realized the immense danger and urgently cried out: "We can't hold on! People of Dahong State, retreat! Don't make unnecessary sacrifices!"

Upon hearing this, the expressions on the faces of people from all states changed. If Dahong State retreated, their continued resistance would lead to them being encircled by the hell creatures from behind. They were here to support Myriad Demon Great State, not to risk their lives! Consequently, the strong cultivators from various states began to waver.

Jiang Fan inwardly thought, *This is bad.* While it was easy for them to retreat, if such a massive number of hell creatures burst out from underground, the operations on the western and southern routes would be declared a failure. The plan to force back the hell creatures would completely fall apart. The direct consequence would be that the gap in the interlayer world could no longer be sealed. An endless stream of hell creatures would pour out, eventually occupying the entire Myriad Demon Great State. Even before the Ancient Giants arrived, the Central Continent would lose a state! Not to mention these, Ling Shu and Liuli, whose whereabouts were already unknown, would fall into even greater danger.

"Our Taicang Great State will also retreat!" Despite Jiang Wuya's extreme reluctance, he had to consider the strong cultivators from the Three Divine Sects and Seven Great Cults he had brought with him. If other states retreated, Taicang Great State remaining would be akin to hitting a rock with an egg.

Jiang Fan's gaze flickered rapidly. What should he do? Looking at the hell creatures surging like a mighty tide, despair welled up in his heart. Even if a Great Venerable were present, they likely couldn't hold them back. What could he, a single person, do? These hell creatures were ferocious, unintelligent, and fearless of death...

Jiang Fan suddenly paused. The hell creatures were indeed fearless, but there was one item brought from the underground world of the Heavenly Secret Pavilion that they should fear, right? That was the Hell Soul Bell, an artifact belonging to a Hell Realm Master! Previously, when that Nascent Soul Realm two-headed hell hound tried to devour Jiang Fan, it had fearfully bowed down and recognized him as its master upon seeing this bell.

Thinking of this, Jiang Fan decisively took out the Hell Soul Bell. However, the hell creatures in front of him seemed unaware of the bell's presence and continued to surge forward. After a moment's thought, he shook the bell. A jarring, piercing ring emanated, spreading in all directions. Upon hearing this sound, the ferocious hell creatures all halted, their eyes revealing terror. Their massive bodies trembled uncontrollably as they continuously looked around, searching for the source of the sound.

The vast battlefield, with its countless beast hordes, instantly calmed down as the bell's sound spread, like ice poured into boiling water.