Monstrous Chaos at the City Gates

Flowing Cloud Immortal City was administered by the Twin Crane Sect, which had built its sect against the mountains, with the city's markets at their foot.

On the surface, the city appeared prosperous, but the truth was another matter. Not only was a deadly hunt between fellow disciples playing out on the mountain, but dark undercurrents also swirled within Cloudwatch Tower below.

Cloudwatch Tower housed the City Guard, who maintained order within Flowing Cloud Immortal City, and also served as the Formation Eye controlling the Mountain-Guarding Grand Formation.

On the top floor of Cloudwatch Tower, three cultivators in luxurious magical robes sat facing one another, feasting and chatting about everything under the sun. Now they raised their cups to the breeze and moon, now they traded anecdotes about the Twin Crane Sect, enjoying themselves immensely.

"Ah, Fellow Daoist Zhang, do finish this cup!" urged a cultivator in loose brocade magical robes patterned with auspicious clouds, his tipsy eyes narrowed.

"Come, come! With such hospitality from Fellow Daoist Huang, how could I refuse?"

"If you ask me, serving in the City Guard is sheer comfort. We don't even need to patrol the streets ourselves. Just tell those cultivators under us to watch the gates, and you and I need only sit here in this grand tower, drinking beneath the moon, free and happy!"

The cultivator surnamed Huang laughed smugly.

"Quite right, Fellow Daoist Huang! I must have enjoyed eight lifetimes of tremendous fortune to land such a cushy post!" The cultivator surnamed Guan hurried to agree, raising his cup in a toast.

"Still, Fellow Daoist Huang is only half right. There are always a few blind fools in the city who dare to fight privately. When that happens, we still have to step in to maintain order and administer a little punishment."

"Oh, that's nothing!" Cultivator Huang waved dismissively and drained the fine liquor in his cup with relish. "The mere mention of the City Guard scares their souls out of their bodies and sends them pissing and shitting themselves! Hahaha!"

Before Cultivator Huang's laughter faded, a low-ranking cultivator rushed into the private room, his expression frantic, and reported urgently, "Report! My lords! Large numbers of demonic beasts have suddenly been sighted ten li outside the city!"

The three had been basking in their own importance when this subordinate suddenly barged in and spoiled their enjoyment. Feeling humiliated, Cultivator Huang deliberately threw his weight around before his two colleagues and the junior, smashing his wine cup on the floor as he cursed.

"What are you doing?! What are you doing?! What are you doing?!"

Cultivator Huang roared three times, inadvertently releasing his Foundation Establishment Realm pressure. The Qi Refining cultivator who had come to report turned pale with fright and began to stammer.

"R-reporting to my three lords... all... all the nearby scout posts have sent urgent voice-transmission talismans! Several hundred demonic beasts have suddenly flown in from the south, including a few equivalent to Foundation Establishment Realm cultivators. They're flying extremely fast and will soon strike the southern gate!"

Demonic beasts were attacking!

How could they allow this?

At the news, the three City Guard officers at the table instantly lost every trace of their drunkenness.

Cultivator Zhang regained his composure first and barked in a low voice, "Why are you panicking? Give us a detailed report of the enemy at once. Leave nothing unclear!"

Cold sweat streamed down the messenger as he hurriedly added, "R-reporting to Lord Zhang! This disciple's cultivation is low, and I couldn't see clearly even with the Spirit Eye Art. But according to the scouts who returned to the city, these demonic beasts have heads like eagles and bodies like leopards. They also like tearing out cultivators' organs and sharing them among themselves. The scouting teams have already suffered over thirty casualties!"

"What?" Cultivator Zhang's expression changed drastically. "Send the order at once! Reinforce the City-Guarding Grand Formation immediately!"

Before his words had faded, Cultivator Zhang tossed a token into the messenger's arms.

"Fellow Daoist Guan! Fellow Daoist Huang! With this Monster Uprising upon us, we must go to the walls immediately to oversee the defense and steady people's hearts! Everything outside the city must already be in chaos!"

"Agreed! Zhang is absolutely right. We are duty-bound!" Cultivator Guan concurred.

Yet Cultivator Huang remained seated, eating and drinking as he waved a hand. "Oh, Brother Zhang, why be so nervous? Our Flowing Cloud City's City-Guarding Grand Formation cost a fortune to set up. How could it be breached at full power? Those below us will handle such menial work. You and I can sit here and watch how things unfold, eating as we watch. Wouldn't that be delightful?"

"Huang Yi!" Cultivator Zhang flew into a rage. "As members of the City Guard, we draw salaries from the sect and receive offerings from the entire city. How can we cower here in a crisis, watching monsters run rampant and treating the safety of every cultivator in the city as nothing?"

Seeing the atmosphere turn sour, Cultivator Guan hurried to smooth things over and give Huang Yi a way out. "Brother Zhang, this is urgent. You and I should go ahead and make arrangements. Fellow Daoist Huang... can follow shortly."

"Hmph! Huang Yi, I only hope to see you on the walls later! Otherwise, don't blame me for disregarding our ties as colleagues!" Having delivered his rebuke, Cultivator Zhang flung his sleeve sharply and shot out as a streak of light.

Cultivator Guan sighed and followed close behind.

"Demonic beasts are attacking! Reinforce the Array Formation at once!"

Voice-transmission talismans rang out through the formation eye and formation hub, but the city's cultivators and mortals heard them too. News of the beast attack quickly spread throughout the markets.

By now, fear had already gripped Flowing Cloud City, and chaos sprang up everywhere.

Low-level cultivators and the mortals who ran stalls or worked on the outskirts poured into the city, seeking the protection of the City-Guarding Grand Formation.

Meanwhile, some cultivators with higher cultivation packed up their valuables and used every means at their disposal to flee the city, desperate to get away from this troubled place.

The streets were in chicken-flapping, dog-leaping chaos, shouts mingling with cries and wails. Of course, some people remained confident in the Mountain-Guarding Grand Formation, watching the spectacle like spectators observing a fire from across the river.

But far more people had lost their heads at the news of the Demon Beast assault. In no time, the stalls selling Magic Artifacts and Talismans were packed so tightly that not even water could pass through.

"Shopkeeper! Hurry! Give me five Explosive Flame Talismans! The most powerful kind!"

"Shopkeeper! I was here first! Three Earth-Escape Talismans! Quickly!"

"Everyone, move aside! Shopkeeper, a dozen Water Arrow Talismans, plus a dozen Golden Radiance Talismans! I'll take them all!"

"Hey! A Flying Sword! Just give me any First-Tier Flying Sword! As long as it works!"

"Boss! Boss! Defensive Magic Artifacts! Do you have any ready-made defensive Magic Artifacts? I'll pay double! No haggling!"

The shopkeepers selling Magic Artifacts and Talismans beamed, their faces blossoming with smiles. "Don't rush, don't rush! Take your time, fellow Daoists, and form a line! We have ample stock and everything you need. One at a time, no crowding!"

Yet with demand outstripping supply, the city's major shops began raising their prices on the spot.

"Shopkeeper, two Fire Serpent Talismans. Get them quickly!"

"Certainly! A bargain at twenty-five Low-Grade Spirit Stones."

"What?! Weren't they ten Spirit Stones each just a moment ago?"

"Shopkeeper, what is the meaning of this?"

"Looting a burning house! This is outrageous!"

"Exactly! Your shop usually has such a fine reputation. How can you be so unscrupulous?"

"Black-hearted! Utterly black-hearted!"

Faced with their accusations, the shopkeeper hardened his expression, planted his hands on his hips, and snapped, "Hmph! That's the price. Take it or leave it! If you aren't buying, get lost and stop blocking the fellow Daoists behind you!"

While the cultivators were condemning the various shopkeepers for hiking their prices, they suddenly noticed the Array Formation's light barrier flare overhead, illuminating the night sky.

In the light of the Array Formation barrier, the silhouettes of the Demon Beasts flying toward the city in flocks became perfectly clear.

These Demon Beasts had wings on their backs and flew extremely fast. Judging by the distance, the beast tide would strike Flowing Cloud Immortal City head-on in only half an incense stick's time.

The sight instantly sparked an uproar that spread from the city's edge all the way to its heart.