Black Clouds Press upon the City, Standing Tall Against the Heavens

The lingering echoes of low, murderous horns seemed to still hang over Heavenly Phoenix City. The air had congealed like the viscous surface of the sea before a storm. Above and below the city walls, countless gazes collided fiercely in midair, nearly sparking invisible flames.

Li Yuanhui, Li Yunming, Dongyue Qing, and the other high-ranking figures stood atop the towering gatehouse, their robes snapping loudly in the rising wind. Their hawk-like eyes swept across the dark mass of allied forces beyond the city, swiftly counting and assessing the terrifying lineup that made one's heart tremble.

To the east, the Qiu Family camp radiated a murderous aura. At its head was not the family head, Qiu Miehun, but a tall, gaunt elder with a sinister face. His aura was like ten-thousand-year-old ice. He was none other than Qiu Qiansha, another Rank 99 Limit Douluo of the Qiu Family who had long remained out of sight! Judging by his deep and enduring aura, the injuries inflicted by the Tiger Emperor in Azure Jade Forest had clearly fully healed. He merely stood there, his cold gaze fixed on Li Yunming atop the gatehouse. An invisible spiritual pressure surged forward like a tide, only to silently dissipate as though it had struck an unseen wall when it came within several yards of Li Yunming.

At Qiu Qiansha's side stood Qiu Miehun, the Qiu Family head and a Rank 97 Super Douluo. His expression was calm, but his eyes were sharp as blades as they inspected the Li Family's wall defenses. Beside him stood the Second Elder, Qiu Wancheng, who had called out earlier, a Rank 98, along with the Third Elder, Qiu Qianlie, a Rank 97. There were also two elders with slightly weaker, yet still sea-like auras, both Rank 96 Super Douluo. Together with three ordinary Titled Douluo holding the line, the Qiu Family had deployed all its elites this time—a total of nine Titled Douluo! Compared to their previous night raid, their top-tier forces had not diminished but increased. They had clearly been truly enraged and were determined to wash away their humiliation.

To the west, the Five Poisons Valley camp was even more sinister. The dark green poisonous mist was not still; it slowly writhed like a living thing, obscuring the figures of dozens of soul masters. The two hunched elders at the front remained shrouded in large cloaks, as if they had merged with the poison mist around them. They emitted no oppressive Soul Power, yet they exuded an even more horrifying deathly stillness and chill, like two slabs of ten-thousand-year-old dark ice steeped in lethal poison. They were Five Poisons Valley's two infamous Rank 99 Limit Douluo—She Duyun and Xie Qiyan.

Behind these two "Poison Venerables" stood a middle-aged man with a proud expression and ruthless eyes. His aura was immense; he was actually a Rank 98 Super Douluo, Wu Xintong, head of Five Poisons Valley's Wu Family. At his side stood two Rank 97 Super Douluo, one Rank 95 Super Douluo, and four ordinary Titled Douluo with cold, sinister auras. Five Poisons Valley alone had a full ten Titled Douluo!

Together, the two factions had nearly twenty Titled Douluo-level experts, standing between heaven and earth like twenty towering mountains. Behind them, the backbone forces of Soul Douluo and Soul Sage ranks were packed densely together like a locust swarm. Their gathered Soul Power fluctuations stirred changes in the heavens, drawing together dark clouds overhead. Lightning writhed faintly within them, the sunlight was completely blocked out, and the entire world dimmed as though the end had arrived.

This force was enough to easily destroy the vast majority of cities and sects on the continent! Waves of powerful auras crashed one after another like surging tides, relentlessly battering Heavenly Phoenix City's defensive barrier and the minds of the clan members defending it. Some younger disciples with weaker Soul Power had already gone pale and struggled to breathe. They could only grip their weapons tightly, relying on the wall and their companions to keep themselves standing.

Oppressive! Suffocatingly oppressive!

"Hehehe..." From the Five Poisons Valley camp, the elder named She Duyun let out a string of grating, eerie laughter, breaking the deathly standoff. "Li Family brats, you've put on quite the display. What, do you think this turtle shell can stop us?"

His voice was not loud, yet it possessed a strange penetrative force. It ignored distance and rang directly in everyone's ears, carrying an eerie power that corroded the mind.

Dongyue Qing frowned slightly and stepped forward. Gentle yet vast Soul Power spread out from him like spring rain, silently offsetting the corrosive effects of that strange sound wave. "Old ghost She Duyun, after all these years, you're still skulking about and relying on nothing but your tongue. If you have any tricks, use them."

"Dongyue Qing?" The gaze beneath She Duyun's cloak seemed to flicker. "Instead of guarding your old nest in Heavenly Heart City, you've come to this tiny Heavenly Phoenix City to die. That saves us some trouble."

Qiu Qiansha spoke coldly as well, his voice like grinding ice shards. "Li Yunming! The humiliation of the other night, the debt for my elder brother's severed arm—we will repay them a hundredfold today! If you kneel and beg for mercy now and cripple your own cultivation, I may consider giving your Li Family a swift death!"

Facing the threats of two Limit Douluo, Li Yunming remained calm. He slowly raised a hand, stopping Li Yuanhui and the others behind him, whose faces had darkened in anger at their opponents' insults. His gaze calmly swept over Qiu Qiansha and the two Poison Venerables of Five Poisons Valley before he finally spoke in a clear, resonant voice like a dragon's roar, instantly dispersing some of the gloom brought by the allied army:

"Qiu Qiansha, Qiu Qianchi lost his arm because his skills were lacking. As for you two from Five Poisons Valley..." His gaze shifted toward the two masses of writhing poison mist. "Hiding in poisonous miasma, not even daring to show your true faces—what right do you have to spout such nonsense here?"

His words paused, and an immense, righteous aura as vast as a sea of stars suddenly erupted from his body! The phantom of the Sky-Piercing Divine Spear flickered into view behind him. Platinum Purification Holy Light shot into the sky, forcibly dispersing a patch of dark clouds overhead and casting down a dazzling pillar of light that enveloped him and the gatehouse behind him. Under the radiance of that holy light, even the allied army's sea-like murderous aura seemed purified and weakened by several degrees.

"My Li Family has stood in Heavenly Phoenix City for four hundred years. Through wind and rain, we have never feared battle! You fiends and vermin, all crawling together, seek to crush us with your numbers and destroy our home..." Li Yunming's voice abruptly rose, booming like thunder with incomparable resolve and confidence. "Then step over our corpses!"

"Step over our corpses!" Behind him, Li Yuanhui, Chen Jianjun, Li Tian Wu, Dongyue Qing... all the experts of the Li Family and Dongyue Family roared in unison! Their voices converged like a mountain-shaking tsunami, merging with Li Yunming's spear intent that soared into the heavens and forcibly withstanding the terrifying pressure brought by twenty Titled Douluo!

On the city walls, the Li Family disciples who had been somewhat fearful saw the divine might of their First Elder and heard that resolute roar. The fear in their hearts was instantly replaced by burning blood. They raised their weapons and let out earth-shaking cries: "Fight! Fight! Fight!"

For a time, the Li Family's morale soared!

Qiu Qiansha's expression darkened further. He had not expected Li Yunming's momentum to remain undiminished despite being at such a disadvantage, even showing faint signs of overpowering them. He snorted coldly and said no more, but his killing intent had nearly solidified into substance.

She Duyun of Five Poisons Valley gave an eerie laugh. "Interesting. The struggles of trapped beasts are always the most entertaining. This old man would like to see how long you can hold out!"

Xie Qiyan remained silent throughout, but the gaze projecting from beneath his cloak was like the tongue of the most venomous serpent, fixed tightly upon Li Yunming as though searching for even the slightest flaw in his aura.

Neither side continued their meaningless taunts, yet the atmosphere grew even heavier. The auras of twenty Titled Douluo fused into one, like a volcano ready to erupt, while Heavenly Phoenix City was like an unyielding reef standing firm amid a storm.

The great battle was on the verge of erupting.

Li Yunming tilted his head slightly and spoke in a low voice to Li Yuanhui behind him. "Follow the plan. Activate the highest level of the Nine Heavens Phoenix Flame Formation. Their first attack will certainly be a probe, but it will also be earth-shattering."

Li Yuanhui nodded heavily and quietly crushed a communication jade talisman.

On the city walls, the light from every Soul Tool suddenly became dazzling. Complex Soul Power patterns lit up across the wall's surface, faintly forming the image of a fire phoenix spreading its wings to take flight. Vast energy gathered, and the air warped from the heat.

In the sky, the dark clouds sank even lower, while lightning raced madly through the cloud layer.

The storm was about to descend.