Step Back, Let Me Handle This

Seeing the human cultivators' formation was formidable, the Purple Mansion Demon Wolf on the mountaintop could no longer sit still. The Purple-Spotted Wolf King let out a furious roar and charged over, accompanied by two other Purple Mansion demon beasts.

Following closely behind, over a hundred Tier 2 demon wolves soared into the air, launching an assault on the group's formation.

"Hold back the Tier 2 demon wolves."

Jiang Linglong left behind these words before transforming into a streak of sword light that shot into the sky. She faced the three Purple Mansion demon wolves alone, surprisingly holding the upper hand.

Below, the others channeled their formation flags and began to clash with the Foundation Establishment demon wolves. Although the number of demon beasts was vast, they relied on the power of the formation to maintain the advantage for the time being.

"Clang."

Chen Nianzhi activated his formation flags, his Western Extreme True Fire burning a Tier 2 demon wolf until it spat blood and retreated in defeat. He then unleashed his Mingxu Sword, which slashed through the air.

The power of this sword light was extraordinary; with a sharp clang, it decapitated the Tier 2 Low-grade demon wolf.

"Not bad."

Having finally slain a Tier 2 demon wolf, Chen Nianzhi revealed a faint smile. This was a genuine, hard-earned military merit.

Not far away, the old patriarch activated his Blazing Fire Soul-Burning Formation Flags, instantly encircling one of the Tier 2 Mid-grade demon wolves. Once the beast's mana was exhausted, he unleashed his Scarlet Flame Spirit Blade with a clang, severing the demon wolf's head.

Chen Changxuan retracted his Life-bound Magical Treasure and sighed with slight relief, smiling, "It seems this battle will not be too difficult."

"I truly never imagined Patriarch Jiang would be this strong."

The battle in the firmament continued. Jiang Linglong fought the three Purple Mansion demon wolves single-handedly and still held the upper hand, even destroying one of the demon wolves' Tier 3 magical artifacts.

It was precisely at this moment that thunder rumbled in the distant void, and seventy or eighty Cyan Great Rocs flew toward them.

"Oh no, it's the Thunder Rocs from Thunderclap Valley."

"How could this be?"

Someone could not help but exclaim, causing everyone's expressions to change drastically.

The Thunder Rocs were an extremely powerful branch of the demon race. This lineage was small in number, but their innate bloodline was incredibly potent; they reached the Foundation Establishment realm upon adulthood.

This group of Thunder Rocs from Thunderclap Valley included not only nearly a hundred Tier 2 Thunder Rocs but also three great demons at the Purple Mansion realm.

With over a hundred Thunder Rocs arriving now, it could be said that this entire lineage had mobilized in full force.

"There is a mole."

Chen Nianzhi's pupils constricted sharply, and this thought flashed through his mind instantly.

Thunderclap Valley was fifty thousand miles away. Logically, even if they received word, it would be impossible for them to provide reinforcements in such a short time.

Therefore, there was only one possibility: someone had taken advantage of the war preparations at Heavenly Ruins Mountain to leak information to the demon race in advance.

"Damn it!"

Lin Qianshu's eyes turned cold, and a murderous aura radiated from her instantly. Clearly, she had guessed this as well.

However, now was not the time for overthinking. She immediately unleashed a Golden Bracelet magical artifact, blasting it toward the Purple Mansion-stage demon wolf.

She had originally come to stabilize the formation and, if all went well, was meant to remain hidden as a trump card to catch the demon beasts off guard later.

But now that they had been ambushed by the demon race, she had no choice but to reveal herself early, hoping to gain an advantage before the Demon Roc clan could fully join the fray.

Her strike indeed caught the opponent off guard. The Golden Bracelet was a Tier 3 Mid-grade magical artifact forged by Jiang Linglong from Heavenly Water Essence Gold, and its power was quite extraordinary.

The demon wolf had no room to dodge in its haste and could only spit out its Demon Core to block the bracelet. But since Lin Qianshu had made her move, she had naturally prepared for every eventuality.

She raised her hand and unleashed the Divine Ability, Ice Jade Radiant Light Spell. This was a special ice-attribute Divine Ability that only cultivators with an Ice Spirit Root could manifest.

Once this technique was cast, a white light descended from the sky, pinning the demon wolf's inner core in the void.

Taking this opportunity, she channeled the Golden Bracelet to descend, firmly locking onto the Tier 3 inner core and stowing it away into her Storage Bag.

Having secured a gain with her first strike, Lin Qianshu breathed a sigh of relief and unleashed her Life-Bound Immortal Sword, the Ice-Soul Cold Light Sword, to slash through the air.

She had broken through to the Purple Mansion realm nearly sixty years ago and was now a cultivator at the Third Layer of the Purple Mansion realm. She was a notch stronger than that Purple Mansion demon wolf, and her magical treasures and artifacts were also far superior.

In a one-on-one fight, this Purple Mansion demon wolf was no match for her to begin with. Furthermore, having lost its inner core, the wolf's mana was reduced by more than fifty percent, so it was naturally suppressed.

In less than ten breaths, the Purple Mansion demon wolf had already suffered significant injuries, clearly having taken a heavy loss.

However, it was only those ten breaths; in an instant, the Thunder Roc clan had arrived at the front lines.

On the spot, two Purple Mansion Mid-stage Great Rocs rushed up to surround and attack Jiang Linglong, for she was currently displaying such might that she had already severely wounded the Purple Mansion Mid-stage demon wolf.

Purple Mansion demon beasts possessed intelligence approaching that of ordinary people. They knew very well that if they did not intervene, Jiang Linglong would likely slay their kin and break the current stalemate in one fell swoop.

The remaining Purple Mansion Early-stage Great Roc led the Tier 2 Thunder Rocs and charged directly toward Lin Qianshu, clearly intending to slay this unexpected Purple Mansion cultivator first before turning to surround Jiang Linglong.

"Not good."

Facing the siege of two demon beasts of the same rank and nearly a hundred Tier 2 Thunder Rocs, even a Purple Mansion cultivator could not hold them off.

Lin Qianshu's expression changed abruptly, and she hurriedly shouted, "Stop these Tier 2 demon beasts for me!"

With only the strength of Heavenly Ruins Mountain, they could hold the upper hand against Demon Wolf Mountain by utilizing the formation. But with the addition of the Thunder Roc clan from Thunderclap Valley, the battle had become somewhat difficult.

However, at this point, everyone knew clearly that if they could not help the two Purple Mansion patriarchs stabilize the situation, the patriarchs might still be able to escape, but they, the Foundation Establishment and Qi Refining cultivators, would likely find it impossible to evade the pursuit of the Purple Mansion demon beasts.

Helpless, everyone had no choice but to desperately channel the formation to block the nearly one hundred Tier 2 Thunder Rocs, fighting them to the death.

Yet, facing the combined siege of the Demon Wolf clan and the Demon Roc clan, the group was clearly under immense pressure. One by one, their formations began to break, and the cultivators within were slaughtered by the demon race, resulting in heavy casualties.

At the critical moment, the old patriarch and several other Foundation Establishment Late Stage Cultivators stepped up, each of them confronting multiple Foundation Establishment demonic beasts and barely managing to stall the enemy's advance.

Even so, it was not enough; the number of Tier 2 demonic beasts was simply too great, with nearly two hundred Foundation Establishment Realm beasts in total.

Coupled with the frantic assault of tens of thousands of Tier 1 demonic beasts, even with the aid of the formation, the group was forced into a steady retreat.

"Die!"

The old patriarch channeled the Scarlet Flame Spirit Blade to slay the Tier 2 demonic roc before him, then raised his eyes to survey the surroundings.

Seeing the situation gradually deteriorating, his hair and beard danced wildly as he leaped into the sky and let out a long, thunderous roar.

"Fall back, all of you; leave this to me!"

He unfurled the Blazing Fire Soul-Burning Formation Flags, and a torrential Blazing Fire shrouded the firmament, actually encircling more than thirty Foundation Establishment demonic rocs within it.

Inside the Blazing Fire Soul-Burning Grand Formation, with the Ancient Bronze Treasure Pagoda hovering above his head for defense, he fought thirty Foundation Establishment Realm demonic beasts alone, preventing them from breaking through the formation for the time being.