Chapter 121: Critical Responsibility

Zhao Qian had been considerate all along, matching Lu Hangzhi’s pace. After passing through the Third War Zone, he actively expanded the range of his Spiritual Sense detection and proactively eliminated any potential Monster Beasts nearby. Their journey proceeded quite smoothly.

Lu Hangzhi noticed this understanding. He knew the man was helping him better adjust to the pressure of entering the Two Realms Mountain alone as a Spirit Coalescence Elder.

“The war zone we’re reinforcing is Combat Zone 619. It’s a Core Battle Zone, right under the Sky Passage and near the Two Realms Mountain’s peak. Ambushes by Two Realms Mountain Lightning Monster Beasts can happen anytime. The danger level is extremely high, so we must be incredibly careful at every moment,” Zhao Qian explained.

As they ventured deeper, the intensity of nearby battles noticeably increased. Soul-Concentrating Demon Beasts appeared frequently. At such times, both Lu Hangzhi and Zhao Qian instinctively opted for detours without discussion.

These war zones naturally had their own assigned personnel to handle the threats…

Their mission was to rush reinforcements to Combat Zone 619 as fast as possible. Unnecessary stops would only waste critical moments and endanger the war zone they needed to save—especially since Soul-Concentrating Demon Beasts were normally very difficult to kill quickly.

“Brother Zhao! This is my first time entering a Core Battle Zone for a mission. If there’s anything I need to pay special attention to, you must tell me beforehand,” Lu Hangzhi pressed.

Zhao Qian laughed heartily. “Combat in the Core Battle Zone is unpredictable! Any advice I give will be full of holes. The only crucial thing to remember is to adapt on the spot! Also, deal with the beast in front of you as quickly as possible! Don’t give the beasts hidden higher up the mountain a chance to strike.”

“…”

“If the beasts near the Two Realms Mountain’s peak intervene, it’s very likely the Core Battle Zone can’t hold. And reclaiming it afterward is tough,” Zhao Qian’s tone grew serious. “I’ve been to the core three times. On my first trip, out of five Spirit Coalescence Elders, only two made it out alive. The second time, I barely survived thanks to Lord Baimei stepping in, but the other four Elders fell. The last time… I made it out safely, but shortly after I left, that war zone fell. All five Elders perished.”

“…”

Lu Hangzhi felt a chill run through him. Twelve Spirit Coalescence Elders dead over three visits? That casualty rate was horrific… No wonder the Special Operations Team always looked so disheveled upon return.

Huh?

Wait…

Lu Hangzhi suddenly sensed something strange beneath his feet and instinctively slowed his pace. The ground underfoot had turned a muddy, unsettling red!

Seeing his reaction, Zhao Qian explained, “This is the Two Realms Mountain’s Blood-Soaked Earth. Too much Monster Beast blood has saturated and permanently stained it. This… also marks our entry into the Core Battle Zone.”

Lu Hangzhi tensed, focusing his mind. Instinctively, he unsheathed the Tianji Umbrella, snapping into immediate combat readiness.

“Just ahead! Combat Zone 619!”

Suddenly.

An overwhelming sense of danger seized them simultaneously.

Familiar, devastating energy pulsed violently from the direction ahead. A vast surge of annihilating power slammed towards them from the distance.

“Oh! Damn it!”

“Fall back! Hangzhi! Now!!”

Stepping into the Core Battle Zone, they had stumbled right into the attack radius of a Matrix Tower’s self-destruction.

Zhao Qian roared. His Spirit Artifacts and Magical Artifacts lit up instantly, their protective radiance stretched to the absolute limit before him.

Lu Hangzhi didn’t need the warning; he sensed the peril instantly. He halted abruptly and threw himself backward, landing desperately on the war zone’s perimeter.

A tide of deadly destruction swept forward violently, utterly annihilating everything within a radius of three miles!

Lu Hangzhi and Zhao Qian stared, hearts still pounding, at the scorched expanse now emitting the bitter scent of ashes. Nothing recognizable remained. Their expressions hardened drastically.

“What now?” Lu Hangzhi asked.

“The tower that self-destructed belonged to… let me see, Combat Zone 618. It’s adjacent to Combat Zone 619.” Zhao Qian recited, his face grim as he mechanically recalled regulations, “According to the Two Realms Mountain Defense and Aid Protocol, Zone 618 will be managed by others. Our assigned task remains Combat Zone 619… But!” His voice sharpened with urgency. “With Zone 618 lost, Combat Zone 619 becomes an isolated stronghold, vulnerable from both front and rear. The pressure will be immense!” He took a deep breath. “I suggest: I stay here to build a new Matrix Tower to share the pressure. You proceed alone to reinforce Combat Zone 619!”

“Agreed!”

Before Zhao Qian could even finish his sentence, Lu Hangzhi accelerated past him. Without a moment’s hesitation, he charged past the devastated area of the now fallen Zone 618 and straight into the chaos of Combat Zone 619.

Zhao Qian stood speechless, mouth agape, a distinctly abandoned and crestfallen look on his face as he surveyed the barren wasteland.

“I… I was just throwing the idea out there! Now I’m really left alone to defend this zone?”

“Hold tight, Brother Zhao!” Lu Hangzhi’s words drifted back urgently. “I’ll handle things over there and come support you! You must hold on!”

…

“We can’t hold!”

Inside Combat Zone 619, thirteen Soul-Concentrating Demon Beasts raged unchecked. Snouts and claws were slick with the gore and dismembered remains of human Cultivators.

The Matrix Tower stood with its Defensive Barrier completely drained, its light flickering weakly. Before it, three Spirit Coalescence Elders desperately stood their ground, battered, bleeding, and cursing.

“Damnit! What are those useless fools at the Reinforcement Department doing?!” one yelled. “Where are the reinforcements?”

“I knew we couldn’t trust that woman Honglian! This proves it…!” spat another.

The three Spirit Coalescence Elders comprised: an elderly man evidently at the Concentrated Spirit Peak Stage, a younger white-robed monk with clean scars on his head and eyes blazing with eerie energy yet emitting serene aura, and a female Cultivator.

The old man, Elder Lu, projected an imposing presence despite fatigue etching his worn face. A massive White Tiger and an agile Spirit Ape, both radiating the power of the Late Concentration Stage, flanked him like fierce guardians, attacking and defending in perfect synch. Even under the ferocious assault, he held his ground and moved with surprising agility.

The youthful monk looked delicate, with a fair complexion and a noticeable seam-like scar running down the center of his forehead like a mystical third eye. Though clearly only at the Mid Soul-Concentrating Stage, he radiated an unnerving calmness amidst the battle’s hellish roar. Not even a speck of dust marred his pristine robes. Before him unfurled a scroll of shimmering golden silk; radiant Buddhist light poured forth, accompanied by the resonant hum of sacred chants. Lines of dense, dark characters continuously flaked off the scroll, coalescing mid-air into invisible cords of power that ensnared any beast attempting to close in.

The woman, Sister Xiangxiang, seemed to be channeling the vast majority of her power into maintaining an immense illusory Magic Formation. Every time a Monster Beast charged towards them, it would suddenly veer away as if blind to their presence and wander off disoriented. Without this effect constantly turning away the attackers, the three would have been instantly overwhelmed by over a dozen Monster Beasts whose power was immense – even the weakest among them was equivalent to a Mid Soul-Concentrating Stage Cultivator.

“Sister Xiangxiang! Elder Lu! The adjacent war zone has fallen!” the monk cried out.

“Curses!” Elder Lu snarled, directing the White Tiger and Spirit Ape to fiercely harry the Nightmare Wolf – the supremely powerful Dark Nightmare Wolf that stood out among the beasts as arguably the most dangerous attacker. The massive wolf’s aura radiated near overwhelming power. “To think this old man, who roamed the Barbarian Continent for centuries, might meet his end on these wretched slopes!” His voice held fierce defiance. “But… but I consulted the divinations before leaving! My stars foretold this journey held survival! Neither of you is permitted to give up! Hold! Hold the line!”

“Survival? Is that all?” Sister Xiangxiang retorted, sweat beading on her brow, her voice strained from exertion. “The old man is hallucinating again… Wait… Actually… He sensed the arrival of new life force!” She paused, a flicker of renewed determination in her eyes despite her exhaustion. “And not just one, but two distinct sources of power! They split their approach: one is staying behind at what used to be Combat Zone 618 to secure its position, while the other is charging directly here to aid us! Whoever is coming isn’t foolish. It seems… at least in the short term… we won’t have to endure the crushing pressure of defending against beasts from two fallen zones!”

“Friend! We welcome your arrival! Hurry!” the young monk shouted desperately towards the direction the new power emanated from. “We struggle to endure!”

His words barely faded when the three all witnessed a figure swiftly emerge from the swirling dust of the devastated zone they had just proclaimed as lost – Combat Zone 618.

The boy…

He held a large, immaculate white umbrella almost casually as if it wasn’t one of the most potent relics Lu Hangzhi possessed and navigated the chaotic scene with shocking speed.

Elder Lu’s jaw slackened. A surge of furious incredulity boiled through him, a bitter taste flooding his throat. What kind of trick is this?! Had the Reinforcement Department completely lost its mind? Sending a child still wet behind the ears, barely shedding his baby fat, into the Core Battle Zone?! Utter madness! Were they completely out of qualified personnel? Were they truly so desperate?!

Sister Xiangxiang and the young monk gaped, faces etched with astonishment reaching even deeper than Elder Lu’s initial fury…

The Epiphany Stage?!

What madness was this?!

Even the rampaging Soul-Concentrating Demon Beasts seemed momentarily stunned by the surreal sight. One of them, a powerful serpent-demon whose upper half was a twisted mockery of captivating feminine curves and whose lower body writhed snakelike, locked its cold, reptilian eyes on the smooth-faced youth skipping towards battle wielding… an umbrella?

Its pupils dilated with cruel anticipation. Twisting its lithe torso, it slithered forward rapidly, abandoning its cautious circling for a swift assault on this seemingly vulnerable prize.

“Careful!” Several voices cried out simultaneously – but too late.

Lu Hangzhi’s attention had already snapped onto the Mid Soul-Concentrating Stage Snake Demon closing in.

Its form might boast impressive, unnervingly feminine contours – generously curved upper body, impossibly slender waist, a face eerily beautiful yet utterly inhuman. However, the grotesque visage – the nightmarish mouth and the long, forked, flickering tongue…

Despite perceiving Lu Hangzhi almost as easy prey due to his weak aura, the serpent-demon didn’t lower its guard entirely against any Cultivator foolish enough to enter the Core Battle Zone. It instantly expelled three streams of viscous, jet-black poison, accompanied by an invisible cloud of paralyzing venom mist potent enough to kill even a Cultivator at the Concentrated Spirit Peak Stage instantly.

“Ahhh…” Sister Xiangxiang sighed under her breath, regret thick in her tone.

“Such a waste…” the monk murmured, helpless to intervene as the serpent-demon closed the distance with terrifying speed. There was simply nothing they could do while concentrating on maintaining their desperate defenses against their own immediate attackers.

Lu Hangzhi noted the pitying resignation in their quick glances.

“…Underestimated?” A fleeting smile touched Lu Hangzhi’s lips, quickly replaced by intense focus. His free hand snapped upward.

Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!…

A series of sharp, crisp qingyue metallic cries pierced the air! Seven brilliant streaks of light erupted from the umbrella’s frame! Unsettling Power of Heaven and Earth burst forth, concentrated and searing—blindingly sudden and unexpected to all watching.

Seven Motions with One Thought!

One Sword Seven Kills!

Sword Qi swept across the battlefield!

The serpent-demon let out a shrill scream of disbelief and terror. It reacted with desperate speed, summoning immense Qi and Blood Power to conjure a potent defensive shield around itself.

The shield shattered instantly under the barrage—lasting less than half a second—vanishing like fragile glass slammed by a relentless storm. Countless invisible blades found their mark. The serpent-demon’s body was explosively severed into numerous pieces.

Elder Lu, Sister Xiangxiang, and the monk stood paralyzed. Shock rooted them to the spot.

The remaining dozen-plus Soul-Concentrating Demon Beasts recoiled instinctively at the abrupt, brutal demise of their comrade. Confusion warred with primal unease: how could this flimsy-looking Epiphany Stage wretch unleash such concentrated, terrifying Heaven and Earth Power?!

The seven Flying Swords, having completed their brutal task on the serpent-demon, whistled through the air and embedded themselves purposefully into the earth – forming a precise semicircle now separating the group of stunned beasts from the three embattled defenders.

Sister Xiangxiang, whose expertise centered deeply on Formations, instantly discerned the specific, calculated positioning of the seven swords. A flash of profound insight and sudden hope ignited in her eyes. She murmured, a reluctant smile touching her lips, “Elder Lu… it appears the Reinforcement Department has… surprisingly… sent us an extraordinary reinforcement.”

“A Sword Formation,” Elder Lu grumbled, his earlier fury tempered by dawning comprehension and reluctant acknowledgment. Seeing the fundamental pattern laid out, he understood. Such elementary Superior-Grade Spell Technique tricks couldn’t fool someone who had weathered several centuries.

The young monk gasped, relief washing over him. “Amazing skill!”

“The Two Realms Mountain… truly where dragons and tigers lie hidden!” he marveled aloud.

While the brief exchange passed between the defenders, a collective growl of rage erupted from the chaotic ranks of beasts. Two more monsters, both radiating the unmistakable aura of the Mid Soul-Concentrating Stage – one resembling a giant, spiky insectoid horror and the other a shadowy panther-like beast – broke away from their attacks on the Matrix Tower’s shields. They lunged forward with terrifying speed, aiming to crush this unsettling newcomer before he could unleash more chaos.

Twin roars shook the ground! Two distinct forms blurred forward – one a bristling hulk covered in sharpened bone-protrusions, the other a sleek feline beast melting seamlessly through the shadows – both radiating the concentrated malice of Mid Soul-Concentrating Stage power. They were determined to shred the anomaly before its threat could expand further.

Lu Hangzhi’s gaze remained fixed ahead. Calmly, decisively, he focused the immense power coursing through him. A single, clear command sliced through the battlefield din:

“Sword Formation… Arise!”

The seven embedded swords vibrated intensely! In that instant, forty-Nine distinct rays of Mind-Concentrating Sword Qi materialized overhead not from the swords embedded before but seemed to converge from the very air around the two charging beasts! Forty-Nine blades of pure, concentrated Power of Heaven and Earth screamed into existence. The air itself, previously undisturbed, became a furious vortex seething with energy. Layer upon layer of destructive force interweaved, condensing instantly into an intricate, lethaly woven net – one designed solely for annihilation.

It fell upon the two charging Mid Soul-Concentrating Demon Beasts like a hammer blow forged in celestial ire. The sword energy formed countless intricate threads impossible to escape or deflect.

Caught mid-lunge, the two beasts shrieked in primal horror! Survival instincts screamed. Desperately, they channeled every shred of physical power they possessed – their furious Vital Qi Power flared crimson around them – summoning a desperate shield directly in front of them to withstand the impossible assault!

BOOM! CRACK! The clash echoed brutally. Splintering fractures snaked across their hastily conjured shield…

Frantically pouring their remaining strength into reinforcing it, they strained…

…only for utter, soul-crushing despair to grip their monstrous hearts.

Another wave… Another volley… The relentless onslaught had barely paused.

The second storm of killing blades descended immediately, mercilessly hammering their shattered defenses! They possessed no remaining power to sustain a barrier against such ferocity twice in succession.