The swarm of bats reached the skies above the Inner Court, and Wu Zhengfang led thirty soldiers in firing upward. Having learned from their earlier encounter, the bats already knew how to counter them: they flew beyond the range of the Tiger Standard Battalion's soldiers. More and more bats gathered, forming a black cloud that circled above the Inner Court and continued to swell.
Hu Xiaotian swung down from his mount and entrusted Little Gray to Xiong Tianba, telling him and Zhou Mo to remain on guard in the Outer Court. He went into the Inner Court to see how things were progressing. Dong Tianjiang also led his soldiers there to join the others. Gazing at the bats overhead, he knitted his thick brows and shouted, "Protect the princess's remains at all costs!"
At last, the bats in the sky began their attack. The center of the black cloud plunged downward, looking from a distance like an enormous black arrowhead as it hurtled toward the chamber containing Princess Anping's remains at astonishing speed.
Dong Tianjiang roared, "Give them the Firecloud Arrows!" In an instant, nearly a hundred Firecloud Arrows shot into the sky. Most struck the swarm, setting the enormous black arrowhead ablaze. The flames spread rapidly upward, forming a towering pillar of fire in midair. Rather than slowing, the plunging pillar accelerated, falling straight down like a comet.
Hu Xiaotian inwardly cried out in alarm. If that pillar of fire crashes into the chamber, what then? Won't Xi Yan's corpse be blasted into ashes? Although he knew that the scene before him had most likely been orchestrated by Xi Yan herself, he still worried about her safety.
Dong Tianjiang's expression changed, and he was the first to move. Like a hunting leopard, he shot forward as swiftly as an