The Great Battle, Setting Out

The One-Month Appointment

The month-long wait passed in the blink of an eye.

The stone doors of the secret chamber in the back mountains of the Xiao Clan in Wutan City rumbled open.

Lin Hai stepped out at an unhurried pace. Compared to a month ago, his aura had grown deeper and more restrained. As his eyes opened and closed, an extreme, dusky gleam flickered faintly within them, seeming to swallow all light and making anyone who looked at him feel a chill in their heart.

Though Mysterious Underworld Heaven-Covering Seal had yet to reach great mastery, he had gained an initial grasp of it, and its might was peerless.

Space rippled faintly, and four figures appeared behind him without a sound. They were the four human-shaped Spirit Saints transformed from the Heaven-Burning Crocodile, Blazing Earth Lizard, Flowing Fire Sky Owl, and Lava Giant Ape.

After a month of further consolidation, their auras as seven-star Spirit Saints had become perfectly integrated, and their combat strength surpassed what it had been before.

"The time has come." Lin Hai spoke calmly. With a wave of his sleeve, spatial power enveloped him and the four beasts, and they tore through the void, fleeing toward the Ancient Realm.

Outside the entrance to the Ancient Realm, the atmosphere that day was utterly different from usual.

A murderous air filled the heavens and earth. Space churned without pause, and one formidable aura after another surged skyward from within the Ancient Realm, stirring the winds and clouds.

When the five of them arrived, the sight before them was truly spectacular.

Led by Gu Yuan, the Ancient Clan had sent out all its strongest fighters!

At Gu Yuan's side stood the Ancient Clan's Three Immortals, their auras deep as the abyss—Gu Dao, Gu Zhen, and Gu Yang, three veteran powerhouses at the late stage of the seven-star Spirit Saint realm.

Behind them stood a burly man clad in black armor, his face cold and his killing intent fierce. He was Gu Lie, the commander-in-chief of the Ancient Clan's Black Annihilation Army, whose strength had reached the early stage of the eight-star Spirit Saint realm!

Farther back were three six-star Spirit Saint elders with imposing auras, four five-star Spirit Saint commanders, and five elite fighters at the four-star Spirit Saint level!

Including Gu Yuan, the Ancient Clan had deployed one peak nine-star Spirit Saint, one eight-star Spirit Saint, three seven-star Spirit Saints, three six-star Spirit Saints, four five-star Spirit Saints, and five four-star Spirit Saints.

It was an extraordinarily powerful lineup!

Almost at the same time, the skies in two other directions were torn open.

Boom!

Scorching waves of fire swept across half the sky as the Flame Clan's experts arrived!

At their head was their clan leader, Yan Jin, whose late-stage eight-star Spirit Saint pressure was on full display.

Behind him followed an old man with red hair and a crimson beard, fire runes dancing across his body. He was one of the Flame Clan's Supreme Elders, a mid-stage seven-star Spirit Saint!

After him came two six-star Spirit Saints with ferocious auras, four five-star Spirit Saints, and six four-star Spirit Saints!

The Flame Clan had deployed one eight-star Spirit Saint, one seven-star Spirit Saint, two six-star Spirit Saints, four five-star Spirit Saints, and six four-star Spirit Saints.

Crack!

Thunder roared deafeningly as lightning snakes danced wildly, and the Thunder Clan's army tore through the air!

Their clan leader, Lei Ying, stood with his hair and beard bristling, lightning flashing around him. He, too, was a mighty late-stage eight-star Spirit Saint.

Beside him stood a tall, thin old man with thunderbolts in his eyes, one of the Thunder Clan's powerful ancestors, a mid-stage seven-star Spirit Saint!

Behind them were also two six-star Spirit Saints, four five-star Spirit Saints, and six four-star Spirit Saints!

The Thunder Clan had deployed one eight-star Spirit Saint, one seven-star Spirit Saint, two six-star Spirit Saints, four five-star Spirit Saints, and six four-star Spirit Saints.

The experts of the three clans gathered, their terrifying pressure merging into a tangible force that changed the color of the heavens and earth. Space let out a continuous groan, as if it could barely bear the strain. Their energy surged like an ocean, their might reaching straight into the heavens!

When everyone's gaze turned to Lin Hai, the last to arrive, and the four silent attendants behind him, whose vast auras were no weaker than those of the Ancient Clan's Three Immortals, even the three clan leaders—Gu Yuan, Yan Jin, and Lei Ying—couldn't help their eyelids twitching.

Four seven-star Spirit Saints! And one of them had clearly reached the late stage of the seven-star realm!

On top of that, Lin Hai himself was a peak nine-star Spirit Saint, so unfathomable that even Gu Yuan admitted he couldn't see through him.

Lin Hai's side: one peak nine-star Spirit Saint and four seven-star Spirit Saints, one of them at the late stage!

At that moment, the alliance army's total strength was as follows:

- Peak nine-star Spirit Saints: 2 (Lin Hai and Gu Yuan)

- Eight-star Spirit Saints: 3 (Gu Lie, Yan Jin, and Lei Ying)

- Seven-star Spirit Saints: 8 (3 from the Ancient Clan's Three Immortals + 1 from the Flame Clan + 1 from the Thunder Clan + 3 early- to mid-stage seven-star Spirit Saints under Lin Hai's command + the Lava Giant Ape at the late stage of the seven-star realm)

- Six-star Spirit Saints: 7 (3 from the Ancient Clan + 2 from the Flame Clan + 2 from the Thunder Clan)

- Five-star Spirit Saints: 12 (4 from the Ancient Clan + 4 from the Flame Clan + 4 from the Thunder Clan)

- Four-star Spirit Saints: 17 (5 from the Ancient Clan + 6 from the Flame Clan + 6 from the Thunder Clan)

This force was enough to sweep aside every faction in the world today, save for the Soul Clan!

Gu Yuan's gaze swept across the assembled forces. A sharp glint flashed in his eyes, and his voice rang in the ears of every expert like a great bell:

"Everyone! The Soul Clan has defied the natural order and plunged the continent into chaos. Today is the day we uphold Heaven's will!"

"Our target is the Soul Clan's largest outer branch beyond the Soul Realm—their headquarters in the Heaven-Burial Mountain Range! Move out!"

"Move out!" The crowd roared with fervor, their cries of slaughter shaking the heavens!

The vast alliance army tore through space, transforming into streaks of light and charging straight for the Heaven-Burial Mountain Range in the Central Plains, bearing a terrifying momentum that seemed capable of crushing everything in its path!

(Note: They are not attacking the Soul Clan's headquarters because it is protected by a clan formation that serves as both a shield and a weapon. Its power is enough to kill a nine-star Spirit Saint. So they will attack the Soul Hall first, drawing out the Soul Clan's forces before annihilating them.)