Lin Yu took the jade slip and probed it with his divine sense. His expression instantly turned icy cold. The jade slip contained information about the array formations discovered in various places.
Some formations have even been set up in the Yangtze River Yellow River basins, with the vain intention of polluting the waterways and spreading diseases.
Some were placed in famous mountains and rivers, where the World-Destroying Grand Formation had just been dealt with and the earth's energy had not yet recovered.
If the Japanese pirates are allowed to continue like this, the Dragon Nation Kingdom will likely lose all its spiritual energy and become a dead land.
The insidious nature of their methods and the cunning timing of their actions are utterly outrageous!
"These demons and monsters! We are risking our lives to protect the common people at the front, and they dare to do such despicable things from behind!" An elder with a fiery temper slammed his fist on the table, furious.
The atmosphere inside the hall became incredibly heavy.
Having just dispelled the gloom that had enveloped the world, and before we could even catch our breath, we are about to face opportunistic attacks from foreign enemies. This is even more infuriating and frustrating than facing the end of the world.
Just then, the three Heavenly Masters of Maoshan suddenly stood up. The leading Celestial Heavenly Master's gaze swept across the tired yet resolute faces of everyone present, and his voice, like a booming bell, reverberated throughout the hall:
"We are indeed exhausted, but precisely because we have just risked our lives to protect this land, we cannot afford to fall now."
"It is our unfulfilled duty to eradicate these scourges and restore complete order to the world!"
The voices of the three Heavenly Master carried an undeniable power and determination, like igniting the first beacon fire in the dull Nightscape.
With someone taking the lead, the morale of the crowd was instantly ignited!
Heavenly Master Zhang rose and disappeared from the council hall, reappearing at Dragon Tiger Mountain. He flicked his whisk, his eyes flashing with a sharp light.
"Where are the disciples of Dragon Tiger Mountain? Follow me to slay demons and vanquish evil!"
"Disciples of Gezao Mountain, form ranks and set off!"
"Disciples of Mount Qingcheng, follow me as I draw my flying sword!"
"Disciples of Mount Lao..."
In an instant, voices of response rose and fell.
Exhaustion was forcibly suppressed, and anger transformed into a boundless fighting spirit.
Those chief disciples and elders who had just been seriously injured in the great battle stepped forward and quickly gathered the disciples who still had fighting strength under their command.
Streaks of light began to rise into the sky from the main peak of Maoshan, and even from the remaining Daoist temples, monasteries, and caves throughout the country!
The patriarchs and elders of various sects displayed their supernatural powers, rode flying swords, Cloud Soaring and Mist Riding, or transformed into streaks of light, carrying their elite disciples, cutting through the sky and rushing to the battlefield.
At this moment, people all over the Dragon Nation felt it and looked up at the sky above.
They saw, beside the rising sun, streaks of brilliant shooting stars, trailing long, luminous tails, streaking across the pristine sky and heading in all directions.
While cultivators from all over the Dragon Nation were rushing to various places, fierce battles had already broken out in the areas threatened by the evil formations.
When Heavenly Master Zhang of Dragon Tiger Mountain arrived with his disciples at a water vein at the Mouth of Poyang Lake...
The lake surface was churning with turbid waves, and a blood-red evil array was frantically drawing out the water's spiritual energy, turning it into filthy black water.
Several low-level cultivators dressed in the robes of Daoist temples from various regions were desperately resisting the attacks of the Japan cultivators and the water ghosts surging from the formation, relying on a rudimentary defensive array.
Seven or eight young cultivators lay dead on the ground, their blood staining the shore.
The remaining few were all injured and their Spiritual Power was almost exhausted, but they still stood firmly between the formation and the town behind them, refusing to retreat an inch.
A young Daoist priest, whose left arm had been severed at the shoulder, gripped his magic weapon tightly with his remaining right hand and roared as he stabbed at an evil cultivator.
"Haha... Are Chinese cultivators like ants, impossible to kill completely?" A black-clad Onmyoji chuckled, controlling a water demon to spew out poisonous water.
When Heavenly Master Zhang arrived, he witnessed this scene that made his eyes widen in horror.
He roared angrily, "You wretch, how dare you!"
The whisk in his hand transformed into countless silver threads, instantly shredding the group of water ghosts spewing poisonous water. The three evil cultivators were also sent flying backward by the force of the aura.
Then, in a flash, he appeared beside the young Daoist priest with the missing arm. A stream of pure primordial Genki flowed into the priest's body, stabilizing his life force which was on the verge of collapse. His voice was filled with barely suppressed sorrow. "Child, you've done enough. Go to the back and heal your wounds. Leave this to me."
The young Daoist priest's face was ashen, yet he shook his head violently, his only remaining right hand gripping Heavenly Master Zhang's sleeve tightly. His eyes were filled with tears of blood and boundless hatred. "Heavenly Master! I cannot retreat! My senior brothers... they are all dead!"
"They died right before my eyes, but I'll avenge them! I can still fight!" He struggled to stand up, but staggered due to excessive blood loss.
Looking into his eyes, which burned with the flames of revenge yet remained utterly resolute, Heavenly Master Zhang felt a pang of sadness, knowing he couldn't persuade him otherwise.
He nodded emphatically, his voice hoarse yet resolute. "Very well! Then follow me to annihilate this sect and avenge your senior and junior brothers!"
Similar horrific scenes are unfolding in various places.
In response to the World-Destroying Grand Formation, almost all the elite forces and high-level combat power of each sect were mobilized. Those left behind were mostly young disciples with shallow cultivation or independent cultivators from the local areas.
Knowing they were outnumbered, not one of them retreated. They used their lives to buy precious time for reinforcements to arrive, protecting their homes and people behind them.
These scenes spread rapidly through magic and the words of the arriving reinforcements.
All the righteous cultivators who rushed to the battlefield had their anger and killing intent ignited to the extreme.
Kill! Leave no one alive!
"Avenge our fallen comrades!"
"Sweep away the Japanese pirates and protect our land!"
The Yellow River's waters surged and roared, and a chilling wind howled across its surface.
Three sinister-looking Onmyoji stood in mid-air in a triangular formation, their hands forming strange and complex hand seals as they chanted incantations.
With their incantation, a massive, scarlet magic circle, exuding a thick stench of blood and resentment, slowly rotated on the surface of the Yellow River, frantically drawing spiritual energy from its veins and transforming it into a viscous, inky filth, intending to pollute the entire Mother River!
Around the magic circle, black energy condensed into countless twisted ghostly figures and kappa-like monsters, emitting piercing screams as they continuously assaulted a crumbling golden barrier on the shore.
Behind the barrier were seven or eight local Zhengzhou cultivators who remained behind.
Their robes were torn, and blood trickled from the corners of their mouths; they were clearly at their last gasp.
The elderly Daoist priest at the head of the group held a cracked peach wood sword, struggling to support the barrier. Each impact from the ghostly figures caused him to tremble violently, and his face grew paler.
"Heh heh... Chinese magic is nothing more than this! Before my god, they are all ants!" The leading Onmyoji let out a wild, sinister laugh, his hand seals changed, and a huge ghostly claw formed from filthy blood and resentment suddenly emerged from the magic circle.
With a whooshing sound, it fiercely grabbed at the golden barrier!
The old Daoist priest's eyes showed despair, yet he still stood tall, ready to burn his life in a final desperate struggle!
At this critical moment!
"The profound origin of Heaven and Earth, the root of all Qi! Through countless eons of cultivation, I will attain divine power!"
A clear and resonant imperial edict, like a thunderclap from the heavens, suddenly exploded!