Although they had foiled the demonic beasts' ambush, Lin Hong could not relax.
The granaries had been destroyed. With no food left in the city, panic was inevitable. This, presumably, had been the demonic beasts' true objective.
Sure enough, news of the granaries' destruction spread without wings, and Ninghai City abruptly fell into enormous panic. The people scrambled to buy up the remaining grain. Grain prices soared in an instant, yet that still could not deter the crowds from rushing to purchase it.
"This can't go on. Even the soldiers' morale has already fallen."
Lin Hong sought out Feng Yang, hoping to ask for his help and have the Immortal Academy provide some supplies. Feng Yang agreed. Though he usually loved money as dearly as his life, he was never vague when it came to matters of great right and wrong.
Roar!
A beastly roar that shook the heavens rang out once more. The demonic beast army advanced again, and mist blanketed the battlefield. The expressions of the three Golden Core Cultivators turned grave. At last, the Demon Race's powerful experts were making their move.
A terrifying aura rose into the air. A Great Strength Giant Ape, massive as a mountain, appeared behind the beast horde. An Azure Giant Python coiled around its shoulders, its crimson tongue flicking as it bared a pair of venomous fangs. The Azure Giant Python suddenly opened its jaws and inhaled all the mist from the battlefield into its belly.
The cultivators within Ninghai City all went pale. More than a hundred fourth-rank demonic beasts and dozens of fifth-rank demonic beasts had suddenly appeared on the battlefield. Some were humanoid, others beast-shaped, but all radiated terrifying pressure. As they advanced step by step, the earth shook and the mountains trembled, striking terror into every heart.
"How could this happen?"
"They're all demonic beasts above the third rank!"
"This force is enough to destroy an entire great province!"
Although Lin Hong and the others were equally alarmed, their expressions did not change. Their eyes remained fixed on the ape and python standing far in the rear. Sixth-rank demonic beasts were enough to leave all living things in the mortal world devastated.
The Azure Giant Python exhaled, spewing the mist in its belly toward the city. It became a bizarre gale, sending sand flying and stones rolling, corroding everything in its path. Feng Yang raised a hand, and an enormous palm appeared in the void. It actually seized the gale in one grasp. With a fierce exertion of strength, the gale dispersed. Golden light shimmered from his palm, neutralizing the venom carried within the wind.
Seeing the Green Python thwarted, the giant ape roared in fury. It grabbed a small mountain beside it and hurled it toward them with all its might. Rocks whistled through the air, filling everyone with fear. Lin Hong snorted coldly, stepped forward, and viciously threw the Pear Blossom Spear from his hand. A thunderous boom echoed through the sky. In an instant, rocks crashed down and dust filled the air.
Feng Yang and Lin Hong exchanged a glance, then each went to meet his opponent. Chen Chong led the remaining cultivators and charged into battle against the demonic beasts.
For a time, battle cries and miserable wails resounded everywhere. The battlefield plunged into chaos. Before long, it became a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood. The stench of blood stimulated the senses of humans and demonic beasts alike, driving them into an even greater frenzy.
Shen Yi's Spirit Wings fluttered, and he streaked across the sky like a black meteor. Ninghai City was already close at hand.
He saw Feng Yang entangled in battle with the Azure Giant Python, while Lin Hong fought the giant ape in a deadly clash. Their battle was fierce, and they had gradually moved away from the main battlefield. At the center of the battlefield, the sight was even more harrowing. Even ordinary soldiers had joined the fray, hoping to fight with their lives on the line. Before the demonic beasts, however, they were merely throwing their lives away.
Shen Yi's eyes nearly split apart in rage. With a sharp whistle, he dove down, gripping the Coiled Dragon Halberd as he landed in the center of the battlefield.
The Coiled Dragon Halberd radiated an aura of death. Every swing took the life of a demonic beast. Black qi emanated from Shen Yi's body, making him seem like a demon god. Bathed in blood, he left splattering gore everywhere he passed.
Elsewhere, Chen Chong led the Foundation Establishment cultivators against the fifth-rank demonic beasts. When they saw Shen Yi appear and effortlessly slaughter third-rank demonic beasts, they all marveled at his formidable strength.
Shen Yi's bravery finally drew the attention of a fourth-rank demonic beast. With one swipe of its paw, it sent the Foundation Establishment cultivator before it flying, then leaped toward Shen Yi. Ferocity gleamed in its eyes as it lunged to kill him.
Shen Yi tore apart a third-rank demonic beast with one halberd strike, only then noticing that the fourth-rank Void Leopard's attack had already reached him. The Indestructible Scripture circulated, and light shone around Shen Yi's body. Even the Void Leopard's strike could leave only a pale mark on his skin.
"Die!"
So many innocent people had died tragically. Shen Yi was truly enraged. The Coiled Dragon Halberd slashed down, dragon patterns flashing across it. The Void Leopard was caught off guard and struck by the halberd, its aura immediately weakening considerably. Yet it still refused to retreat, and its baleful aura grew several times fiercer.
The Void Leopard roared in fury, its body expanding rapidly. In the blink of an eye, it stood three to five meters tall. With ferocious light in its eyes, it looked down upon the tiny human before it and slammed down with a claw. It moved as swiftly as wind and lightning, carrying the force of a thousand jun. Shen Yi rolled aside, and an enormous crater appeared where he had just stood. The might of the Void Leopard's blow was plain to see.
"I underestimated you."
Shen Yi sneered. Spirit Wings unfolded from his back, and in an instant, he appeared behind the Void Leopard. The Coiled Dragon Halberd crashed down heavily. Everything happened in a flash of lightning and spark of flint. The massive Void Leopard collapsed with a boom, severed at the waist.
Though it was on its last breath, the Void Leopard still let out one final howl, filled with sorrow. Shen Yi sensed that something was wrong and swiftly flew into the air.
Boom!
The Void Leopard's blood and bones exploded, setting off a violent shockwave that swept outward and killed many Qi Refining cultivators on the spot.
Shen Yi frowned, unable to understand why the demonic beasts before him were so fearless of death.
With the Void Leopard as an example, explosions soon rang out one after another across the battlefield. The Human Race cultivators suffered grievous losses, and the pressure upon them sharply increased.
Fortunately, Feng Yang and Lin Hong had restrained those two sixth-rank demonic beasts. With Chen Chong holding the battlefield, as long as they could hold out until reinforcements arrived, everything would be resolved with ease.
Suddenly, a bird's cry came from afar, and Shen Yi's face darkened.
"Nine Nether Sparrow!"
Overwhelming baleful flames swept toward them, filling everyone present with horror. The Nine Nether Sparrow glowed with a ghostly radiance, its wings beating as they blotted out the sky and covered the earth. In its sharp talons, it clutched a bloody human head. After circling once above the battlefield, it threw the head down.
"That is Commander Li Yao. Could it be that the reinforcements have already been..."
"Impossible! Commander Li Yao was at the fourth level of the Golden Core Stage. How could the Nine Nether Sparrow have slain him?"
"This is too terrifying. Another sixth-rank demonic beast! How are we supposed to fight this battle?"
Many soldiers recognized that head as Li Yao's, the commander of the reinforcements they had been desperately awaiting. A Golden Core Stage cultivator had fallen; one could imagine what had become of those reinforcements. In an instant, the morale of the Human Race cultivators on the battlefield fell to its lowest point.
The demonic beast army's morale surged wave after wave. The once-stalemated battle changed in an instant. With the addition of the sixth-rank demonic beast Nine Nether Sparrow, the human cultivators showed faint signs of collapse.
Chen Chong let out a long howl, abandoning the fifth-rank demonic beast beside him. He leaped into the air and met the Nine Nether Sparrow in battle. Without Chen Chong holding the line, the pressure on the battlefield surged at once. Many Foundation Establishment cultivators fell in rapid succession, and Shen Yi's heart burned with anxiety at the sight.
Unfortunately, he too was unable to divide himself, surrounded and attacked by three demonic beasts, including a fourth-rank demonic beast.
Were they about to lose?
Before you continue