Midnight Raid on the Camp!

"How dare you block the Ancestor's carriage! Stand aside!"

Sun Bo'an bellowed sternly, his Qi Refining Eighth Layer spiritual power surging out.

He was brimming with confidence now. Lying inside the carriage was a great demon comparable to the Foundation Establishment Middle Stage. How could he allow a mere Qi Refining cultivator to run wild?

The gatekeeper cultivator sneered and put a hand on the iron ruler at his waist, just about to lash out.

A low, cold snort came from inside the carriage.

Without another word, a dense wave of Yao Qi belonging to the Foundation Establishment Middle Stage erupted and slammed straight into the gatekeeper's chest.

The man staggered back seven or eight steps, his knees buckled, and he fell onto his backside, his face deathly pale. The surrounding clamor fell silent in an instant, and countless gazes turned toward the beast-drawn carriage with its blue canopy.

In the cultivation world, strength was the rule.

"What's going on?"

An elder of the White Cloud Temple in charge of affairs hurried over. He glanced at the gatekeeper sprawled on the ground, then sensed the violent Yao Qi pouring openly from the carriage, and his expression changed at once...

He put on a smile and cupped his hands. "So it's Fellow Daoist Shi of Hongtian City. My subordinate doesn't know the rules. Please don't take offense."

"I am Yun He, the elder in charge of deploying the defenses. The camp for the Sun Clan of Hongtian City has already been prepared. Please follow me, Fellow Daoist."

A corner of the carriage curtain lifted, and Shi Jian poked out his enormous black bear head. He grinned, baring a mouthful of fangs. "Think nothing of it, think nothing of it."

"I, Old Shi, am a rough bear who doesn't know the rules. Lead the way, Elder."

The corner of Elder Yun He's eye twitched, and he turned to lead the way. After all, this was the great demon the temple master had wanted to recruit.

A subordinate offending a superior was one of the great taboos of the cultivation world.

Naturally, he would not offend a level-three great demon comparable to the Foundation Establishment Middle Stage for the sake of a lowly gatekeeper cultivator. After all, strength reigned supreme.

Never mind that mere Qi Refining cultivator-even his own cultivation was inferior to Shi Jian's.

He had no idea who had given that lowly cultivator the nerve to stop just anyone. The man had gone mad trying to squeeze out benefits; he was lucky he hadn't been crushed to death.

The Sun Clan's camp was then assigned to the middle section of the left flank of the valley entrance's defensive line. It was not a cannon-fodder position at the very front, but neither was it in the absolutely safe rear.

It could only be called an average position. At least they hadn't been given a hard time because of Shi Jian's identity.

Once the camp was set up, Sun Bo'an entered the main tent and lowered his voice. "Ancestor, something feels off about the atmosphere in this camp."

"I went to collect supplies just now and saw that several elders of the White Cloud Temple looked grim. I heard that over in Pingyang County, not even a few survivors managed to escape."

Shi Jian lay on a thick animal-hide mat and grabbed a spirit fruit, stuffing it into his mouth. He mumbled, "If the sky falls, the tall ones will hold it up."

"Remember, if fighting breaks out, have the clansmen and immortal slaves all hang back. Send the Spirit-Seeking Rats out as a warning perimeter, and just throw your Law Techniques as far as you can. If anyone dares charge to the front and play the hero, I'll slap him to death myself."

Sun Bo'an nodded hard. He had lived fifty years himself and knew all about staying out of harm's way.

In a battle of this scale, it would be hard enough for minor cultivators like them to hide obediently and cling to life.

Night fell.

The wind in Cangshi Valley carried a heavy stench of blood.

At midnight.

The ground suddenly began to shake. At first it was only a slight tremor, but after a few breaths, it became a violent shudder...

Loose stones outside the tents bounced wildly across the ground. The beast tide was attacking the camp!

"Enemy attack!"

The piercing alarm tore through the night sky.

Shi Jian had sensed it coming. With a flicker of his figure, he rushed out of the tent.

On the plain beyond the valley entrance, a vast, dark army of Demon Beasts was bearing down on them. There was no firelight, only countless pairs of beast eyes glinting with bloodlust, packed so densely that no end was in sight.

The formation's protective barrier along the first defensive line lit up.

Boom!

Hundreds of Iron-Armored Rhinoceroses lined up abreast, lowered their horns, and slammed into the barrier.

The barrier warped violently and even made cracking sounds as it strained under the impact.

Immediately afterward, wind blades, fireballs, and venom came hurtling from the rear of the Demon Beast army, blotting out the sky as they all crashed into the defensive line...

"Hold them off! Formation masters, stabilize the formation cores!"

The White Cloud Temple cultivator overseeing the battle roared at the top of his lungs, but the defensive line held for less than half an hour.

The barrier shattered, and the Demon Beasts charged into the camp!

Screams, the shattering of Law Artifacts, and the roars of Demon Beasts merged into a single din.

The Rogue Cultivators' defensive line at the very front collapsed in an instant. The Qi Refining cultivators were utterly unable to fight back against the onslaught of Demon Beasts, and severed limbs flew through the air.

"Left flank, meet the enemy!"

The assault reached the Sun Clan's position.

Hundreds of level-one Demon Beasts, mixed with several level-two and level-three great demons, charged straight at them.

"Form up! Send out the Spirit-Seeking Rats!"

Sun Bo'an summoned his flying sword and shouted orders. The immortal slaves hurriedly took cover behind the barricades, relying on their connection with the Spirit-Seeking Rats.

They were able to strike with precision every time, and their Fire Bullet Techniques and Water Arrow Techniques hardly ever missed.

But just then, a giant wolf as sturdy as an ox, with a blue-gray hide, crossed the line of fire and set its sights on the Sun Clan's position!

Its enormous jaws opened, and a huge ball of cyan light shot straight toward Sun Bo'an...

Sun Bo'an's scalp went numb. If that hit squarely, half the Sun Clan's defensive line would be gone, and he'd be dead too!

Is this the end?

I never thought I'd die so suddenly...

Despair filled Sun Bo'an's heart. He hadn't even been hit yet, and his life was already flashing before his eyes...