Troops at the City Gates

Amidst the dense, snow-white, feather-like rice stalks of magical energy, a dazzling sword light flew past Li Weiyi and headed straight for Chu Yutian.

"Bang!"

Li Weiyi pressed down with his palm, slamming the tip of his spear towards the ground.

Then, Smoke and Cloud Bridge appeared beneath their feet, and they were blasted back more than twenty feet.

The Purple Sky Lei Seal and the Golden Sky Lei Seal flew out from the ancestral field at the same time, revolving around his body within the One Hundred and Eight Lightning Strike Arrays.

The sound of thunder was deafening, and purple and gold electric sparks crawled all over the earth like earthworms.

Unable to pursue Li Weiyi, Chu Yutian raised his left arm, and a seven-layered circular shield emerged from his palm, blocking the Sword Qi flying from afar.

"Boom!"

The phoenix cried, and the sound of wheels rang out.

A magnificent silver carriage, accompanied by a surge of magical energy, sped out from the shadows of the ruins and stopped opposite Chu Yutian.

The entire ground was crushed by the vehicle frame, leaving many cracks.

Standing at the center of the 108 lightning pillars, Li Weiyi saw that behind the phoenix, the one driving the chariot was Zhuang Yue, whom he hadn't seen in a long time. He knew perfectly well who had slashed at Chu Yutian with that sword at the most critical moment.

With this sword strike, Li Weiyi will be even more determined to make that decision she made before.

Chu Yutian, still holding the nine-foot-long spear, looked at Li Weiyi at the center of the lightning and said, "Just now, your magical energy, strength, and speed were noticeably enhanced. Otherwise, even with her sword strike from a distance, you definitely wouldn't have been able to withstand or dodge it."

Li Weiyi, severely injured, pressed down hard, saying, "If I were you, I would regret it terribly. You were too confident. If you hadn't used Huangfu Song's spear, but your own strongest magic weapon, I might not have had the chance to break through that step in my cultivation realm."

"Do you think I'll regret this, and then become agitated, giving you an opportunity to take advantage of me?"

Chu Yutian pointed out Li Weiyi's intentions, then looked at the phoenix-shaped carriage opposite him. "Are you trying to make an enemy of me?"

"True Disciple Chu is too ignorant. She doesn't want to be your enemy; she's come specifically to help me kill you. Because she's my confidante," Li Weiyi introduced in a very formal tone.

Inside the silver carriage, Dao Palace Shinichi's voice rang out. "You can shut up for now! Chu Yutian's spirits and the undead are opposed, which is the greatest contradiction on the Yingzhou land. Dao Palace is not like the Demon Kingdom, who cannot distinguish between what is important and what is urgent."

Zhuang Yue was extremely cold, not even glancing at Li Weiyi.

Wenren Tinghai, Huo Tingye, and several powerful border troops appeared nearby and stood at a distance.

At the top of the city wall, a masked figure in Black Robe stood proudly, a Yin Yang Gong floating above his head, and said in a deep voice, "Chu Yutian's life is mine."

Everyone's eyes turned upwards.

Previously, Jingzhen attempted to capture Nangong, but was attacked by Yin Yang Gong and repelled.

Chu Yutian laughed and said, "Old Mo, you are supposed to be the number one young expert in the Imperial Capital, why are you hiding your true self like a virgin? Are you so ashamed to show your face?"

The two-meter-tall figure in Black Robe removed his mask, revealing Mo Duanfeng's thick eyebrows and fierce eyes, a resolute face, but his eyes were filled with bitterness. "I just find it hard to face Nangong and Li Weiyi, and even harder to face Bai Chuan's body."

"I pride myself on my unparalleled intelligence and exceptional martial arts talent, and I am even more capable of facing the Taiyin Sect and the Netherworld of the Departed. However, upon entering the Ancient Kingdom of the Years Ruin, I nearly died at your hands, losing both my whistle and my battle sword. I only managed to survive by relying on methods of self-preservation."

"I originally intended to scheme against you, believing that everything was going according to plan. However, it was precisely because of my stubbornness that the Lesser Yang Division split, giving Jingzhen and nearly causing everyone's annihilation."

"After I recovered from my injuries, I rushed back to Fanye Valley. I saw the devastated battlefield and the fallen Lesser Yang Guard. I was devastated. Fortunately, it wasn't the worst outcome. Most of you managed to break through. Otherwise, I can't even imagine if I could have rekindled my fighting spirit. Perhaps I would have given up and killed myself!"

His words were naturally meant for Nangong and Li Weiyi, and had nothing to do with anyone else.

The reason why Mo Duanfeng felt such intense pain and guilt was that the Taixu Camp was responsible for monitoring the Taiyin Realm, had the most dealings with the Taiyin Sect, and knew the most about Chu Yutian.

Moreover, before setting off, he had the highest cultivation and combat power, and was the de facto leader of the Lesser Yang Guard, while Tang Wanzhou at that time only had the cultivation of the Second Realm.

He also devised the plan.

How could he not bear the greatest responsibility?

Nangong appeared below the crenellation where Mo Duanfeng stood, her face pale, yet still breathtakingly beautiful. "I also bear responsibility; the fault doesn't lie solely with you."

Mo Duanfeng took a deep breath, composed himself, and his eyes hardened. "I swore that I would never remove my mask until I killed you. Now that I have removed it, you will not live to see tomorrow. Chu Yutian, do you dare to fight me to the death?"

"What are the benefits?" Chu Yutian asked.

Mo Duanfeng raised his arm, and the Yin Yang Gong fell, hovering in his palm. "Don't you want to take back this Myriad-character Artifact?"

"Forgive my bluntness, but with Gangang Saber in hand, you do have a 30-40% chance of winning. Although the Yin Yang Gong is Myriad-character Artifact and even more powerful, if you use it against me, your chances of winning... are at most 20%." Chu Yutian, "You should know that, even though we are both at the Peak Third Realm, my combat strength has improved compared to when I first entered the Ancient Kingdom of the Years Ruin."

Those who practice swordsmanship value momentum above all else.

The stronger the momentum, the greater the combat power.

Chu Yutian was definitely wary of Mo Duanfeng's reckless, death-defying mentality. At this moment, he wanted to undermine Mo Duanfeng's confidence and make him doubt his own strength.

"True Disciple Chu's algorithm is flawed! Didn't you realize that the situation has subtly changed? You're now surrounded by the Sentinel Spirit Army, the Dao Palace, and the Demon Kingdom. This isn't a one-on-one battle; it's a group of us against you. Right, Brother Wenren?"

After Li Weiyi finished speaking, he looked at Wenren Tinghai.

Wenren Tinghai naturally saw this as an excellent opportunity to kill Chu Yutian, and with Mo Duanfeng leading the charge, he could easily reap the credit and fame.

Conversely, if we were to strike Li Weiyi first at this time, Mo Duanfeng would definitely return to the Holy Capital to spread the word, and the Sacred Dynasty would then send diplomatic envoys to the Demon Kingdom to put pressure on him. As a disciple of the Son of Heaven's Disciple would be over!

A thousand thoughts flashed through his mind, Wenren Tinghai stood firm with righteous indignation. "The Taiyin Sect that everyone should kill, so personal grudges should naturally be put aside for now."

Chu Yutian laughed loudly, "Wenren Tinghai, if you don't kill Li Weiyi today, you will surely die at his hands. I rarely evaluate someone so highly after only meeting them once. That's all I have to say. Everyone, I'll take my leave now!"

Chu Yutian took off and flew away in the direction of Wenren Tinghai of the Chu Yutian.

Wenren Tinghai never expected that Chu Yutian would not fight Mo Duanfeng or kill Li Weiyi, but instead came towards him. He was speechless and had no choice but to use Shenyu Furnace.

At the top of the city wall, Mo Duanfeng struck the Yin Yang Gong and his figure, like a shadow, chased downwards.

"Catch the knife!"

Li Weiyi threw the Blood Pool Silver Sea.

Mo Duanfeng caught the flying silver battle blade mid-air. Although it didn't give him the same bloodline connection as the Gangang Saber, it still possessed an imperial Aura, clearly indicating it was no ordinary weapon. "Thank you."

Chu Yutian was extremely skilled; he treated the original power of the two Myriad-character Artifacts, one in front and one behind, as nothing more than a trivial matter.

He swung his nine-foot-long spear, knocking Shenyu Furnace away and causing various scriptures to explode, forcing Wenren Tinghai to retreat.

At the same time, from the central spring on his back, soul mist surged out and condensed into a humanoid phantom, making him seem to have two heads and four arms. The humanoid phantom drew circles with both hands, condensing into a Taiyin Seal, which deflected the flying Yin Yang Gong to the side and smashed it towards Wenren Tinghai.

"Boom!"

"Boom!"

The two Myriad-character Artifacts, Shenyu Furnace and Yin Yang Gong, fell and crashed onto the ground in front of Wenren Tinghai.

Flames burst forth in all directions, and the sound of gongs was deafening.

Wenren Tinghai stumbled and dodged repeatedly, covered in dust and dirt, in grave danger. They had clearly agreed that a group of people would beat Chu Yutian, but now he felt like he was being beaten by a group of people.

Li Weiyi did not intercept Chu Yutian because he had already pushed himself to the limit.

Seeing that Wenren Tinghai been drawn into the situation, Chu Yutian was frightened away. He could no longer suppress the mouthful of blood and spat it into his sleeve. He quickly put away the Purple Gold Twin Seals and the One Hundred and Eight Lightning Strike Arrays, and circulated the liquid magic power in his Divine Palace to heal his injuries.

"He was just bluffing."

The Jingzhen, standing in the shadows, returned, flew to the top of the city wall, and attacked the Southern Palace once more.

The reason he chose Nangong instead of the seemingly weaker Li Weiyi was that he couldn't judge what Dao Palace's true attitude was.

"Jingzhen, you really have no sense of mortality."

With a thought from Li Weiyi, the sound of ice crystals shattering echoed from the top of the city wall.

The four Battle Corpse Puppet had absorbed Li Weiyi's blood opened their eyes, transformed into awakened corpses, and broke free of the ice as their internal magical energy circulated.

They were all desiccated corpses, with disheveled hair and wielding magical weapons, and they all attacked Jingzhen together.

Li Weiyi noticed several powerful border guards from the Demon Kingdom cautiously surrounding him. After protecting his injuries with liquid magic, he roared, unleashed the Yellow Dragon Ascends to Heaven to Heaven technique, flew onto the city wall, and charged towards Jingzhen.

Sitting on the phoenix-shaped carriage, Zhuang Yue snorted, clearly extremely dissatisfied with Li Weiyi's decision to go to rescue Nangong despite being seriously injured.

As soon as Jingzhen came into contact with the four Battle Corpse Puppet, she realized how powerful they were.

The four corpses seemed to have developed sentience and possessed independent fighting spirit.

"Splash! Splash..."

Li Weiyi also released Seven Phoenix Wing Moth Emperors, seemingly poised to surround and kill Jingzhen.

After unleashing two long rivers of Sword Qi, which repelled the two Battle Corpse Puppet, Jingzhen quickly jumped off the city wall and fled towards the outside of the city.

Don't chase them.

Li Weiyi stopped Nangong, who was about to give chase, and pointed to the horizon. "Look!"

The entire horizon was shrouded in dark, ghostly clouds and mist, which surged in from all directions.

Some of these massive figures were rapidly heading towards Chun City.

The thunderous sound of iron hooves made the city walls tremble slightly. The roars of the mounts of the Departed Spirit Army and fell, and loud horns echoed through the ruins for hundreds of miles.

The Departed Spirit Army marched on Chun City and was about to besiege the city.

"Jingzhen has rushed over. Will Mo Duanfeng fall into Chu Yutian's trap again? Chu Yutian's cunning is even more impressive than his martial arts." Nangong felt that it was difficult to maintain his usual wisdom in such an extreme situation, so he looked to Li Weiyi for advice.

"Since the Departed Spirit Army has already reached outside the city, Tang Wanzhou and the others must have returned beforehand."

Li Weiyi looked down from the city wall and quickly addressed the group of border troops gathered by the Demon Kingdom's Great Longevity King: "Let's go! In our current state, we'll face another fierce battle once we enter the city."

Beneath the city walls, along the banks of a stretch of water several miles wide, a large number of Departed Spirit Marquis gathered, led by the Four-eared Ghost Monkey Marquis and the Golden Giant Skeleton, creating a scene of a myriad of undead figures reflected on the water's edge.