The Suddenly Descending Black Mist
The sect leaders of the Black Tiger Sect and the Fire Leopard Sect nodded in unison, both indicating that Heaven Dou and Star Luo Empire had never given them any pills.
Qian Xunji put the pills back into the porcelain bottle and said firmly, "You absolutely cannot eat these pills."
"No matter what conditions they offer you, if they bring out something like this, they're using your lives as pawns."
"A sudden surge in strength comes at the cost of being controlled as a puppet for life."
He paused, then scanned the crowd in the hall again. "To fight this force alone, you will only be defeated one by one. Gentlemen, it is time to make a choice."
After exchanging glances, the major powers began to ponder.
Qian Xunji did not urge them, giving them time to think.
Just as the hall was quiet, Ling Yuan flew straight in from outside, opening the door. Before she could even steady herself, she cried out urgently, "Brother-in-law, brother-in-law, something terrible has happened!"
Qian Xunji stood up from the main seat and said in a deep voice, "What happened?"
"Black Mist! Black Mist is surging in! The entire sky has turned black!"
"Could you explain the situation in detail?"
"At the time, Xiao Xi and I were on duty in the outer city when we noticed a cloud of Black Mist surging towards Spirit City from a distance."
"Several cavalrymen who went in to scout never came out again, and all their Soul-Guided Communicator were also lost."
"The Black Mist covers too large an area; conservatively speaking, it will spread to the outer city in about fifteen minutes at most."
Upon hearing this, Qian Xunji strode to the window and pulled back the heavy curtains.
It should have been the time of day when the sun was at its brightest, but the sky outside the window was already dark and gloomy. In the distance, billowing Black Mist was pressing towards Spirit City from four directions at the same time, with the fog wall reaching hundreds of meters high.
"Let's go take a look."
Qian Xunji pushed open the palace door, and his whole body seemed to soar into the sky.
Ling Yuan and Chrysanthemum Ghost Douluo followed closely behind. The sect leaders of the Lower Four Sects and the envoys of the two kingdoms exchanged glances and then followed as well.
Qian Xunji hovered above Spirit City, his gaze piercing through the dim light of the sky and sweeping across all directions.
The Black Mist surged and advanced like a living thing in the four directions: east, west, south, and north.
The dense dark energy rushed towards him, exactly the same as the Black Mist he had dispelled in the Nameless Village, but on a scale hundreds of times larger.
This dark calamity has already devoured everything in its path, advancing faster than he anticipated. In three or four minutes at most, the first wave of Black Mist will encroach upon the outer city.
"Dark Turmoil —came so suddenly?" He calculated the time rapidly in his mind.
Bibi Dong has only been in seclusion for five days. Based on the progress, it will take another day to complete the inheritance of the Asura Godhood.
The Dark Turmoil just happened to occur at this critical juncture.
Chrysanthemum Douluo and Ghost Douluo flew down to Qian Xunji's side. Yue Guan asked solemnly, "Your Majesty, shall we activate the Bright Lamp?"
"Activate! Turn off every single Bright Lamp in the city!"
Qian Xunji's gaze swept over the two, "Elder Ju Elder Ghost, guard the South Gate; Ghost Leopard, Magic Bear, guard the West Gate; She Long, guard the North Gate; Ci Xue, assisting."
"All Soul Guidance Cannon are to be mobilized, and all artillerymen are to be deployed to the city walls in shifts. No stopping is permitted without my order."
"Yes!"
The leaders of the Lower Four Sects and the two envoys followed from below. Huyan Zhen's face was ashen, and he asked in a low voice, "Your Majesty, can we still go back?"
"Going back is suicide. You will lead men to assist the four elders in defending the city."
"This matter is a matter of life and death."
The leaders of the Lower Four Sects looked at each other in bewilderment.
This was completely different from what they had expected. They thought they were coming to negotiate, but instead they were drawn into a life-or-death battle.
But looking back, the Black Mist was already pressing in from the horizon, and the area within a hundred miles of Spirit City was within Black Mist engulfing range.
No one hesitated any longer, and the four sect leaders nodded in unison.
Then, Qian Xunji took a deep breath, channeling his Soul Power into his voice, and his deep and resonant voice instantly spread throughout the entire Spirit City.
"All residents of Spirit City, listen to my command! Black Mist is approaching the outer city. All Spirit Hall personnel must immediately proceed to the outer city. Residents, return to your homes, keep your doors and windows tightly closed, and do not go out."
"I repeat myself: all bishops, knights, and Soul Master legions of the Spirit Hall, immediately proceed to the outer city to provide support! I repeat myself: all combat personnel, immediately proceed to the outer city!"
Qian Xunji's voice firmly suppressed the panic that had just begun to emerge in the city.
The people orderly retreated from the streets and alleys back into their homes, and the doors of the shops closed one after another. There was no looting or crying.
The bishops rushed out, and the knights mounted their horses.
Thump--
A deep, resonant chime emanated from the Light Tower behind the Spirit Hall.
At the top of the tower, the main Bright Lamp, a hundred meters in diameter, slowly lit up, its golden light exploding like a small sun above Spirit City.
When the main Bright Lamp is turned on, the auxiliary lights at the four corners of the city (east, west, south, and north) light up simultaneously.
The five Bright Lamp released the solar energy accumulated over decades in an instant, and the rich light spread in all directions like a tide.
The entire Spirit City was illuminated brightly, and even the area five miles outside the city walls was bathed in the golden light of the Bright Lamp.
The billowing Black Mist abruptly stopped two miles from the city wall, unable to advance even half a step further.
In an instant, all the Soul Guidance Cannon on the city wall were set up, and tens of thousands of Soul Master legions and cavalry were in formation.
Qian Xunji landed swiftly on the main gate wall, her gaze piercing through the Light Barrier and landing on the surging darkness ahead.
The Dark Turmoil has indeed begun, but I must hold this city firmly before Bibi Dong leaves the pass.
Just then Bibi Xi strode over, looking up at the churning Black Mist outside the city. "Brother-in-law, is this Black Mist the same kind you saw in the village last time?"
"Right."
"Be careful, there are unknown enemies lurking in this fog, and we don't know what level they are."
"I will." Bibi Xi didn't ask any more questions and turned to walk towards her assigned area.
He's no longer the carefree teenager he used to be.
At this moment, everyone fell silent.
Like the calm before a storm.
Every soldier's palms were sweating as they gripped their weapons. The muzzles of the Soul Guidance Cannon were aimed into the depths of the Black Mist, and the gunners had their fingers on the triggers, ready to fire at any moment.
Suddenly, a series of heavy footsteps came from the depths of the Black Mist.
The entire ground was trembling; it was the resonance that could only be produced by hundreds of thousands of people stepping in unison.
At the same time, the Black Mist that had been blocked by the Light Barrier began to slowly recede, as if it were being controlled from within by something.
As the fog lifted, the thing hidden behind it finally revealed its outline: an army that stretched as far as the eye could see.
The soldiers, clad in black armor and wielding spears and heavy shields, stood in a formidable array.
But their faces showed no human emotion—no tension, no anger, no fighting spirit. They were just pale faces with pairs of dark eyes, empty and hollow, without pupils.
This army stood lifelessly where the Black Mist met the light.
Qian Xunji stood at the forefront of the city wall, his Soul Power flowing into his voice, echoing across the entire battlefield. "The Heaven Dou Empire, and you... what do you want?"