Chapter 168: Full-force War Preparations
Chapter 168: Full-force War Preparations
Time was pressing!
Lu Hangzhi instantly made the determination to fight to the death and defend to the end.
No matter the cost!
They had to guard the Barbarian Continent and stop the Great Fiend King and the Blood Demon Legion it led!
Situ stared blankly at Lu Hangzhi. She didn’t know whether to think he was fearless because he didn’t know better, or to silently admire his bravery and resolve. Her expression was extremely complex.
“Situ.”
“Eh?”
Hearing Lu Hangzhi’s call, her response was noticeably half a second late.
Lu Hangzhi didn’t mind. His eyes blazed as he said:
“I know you’ve always held back. But in the battle coming, I hope to have your full support.”
“What do you want me to do?”
Situ regained some clarity, her eyes sparkling. “It’s the final battle; I’ll give my all!”
“Good!”
Lu Hangzhi stated firmly, “I need you to protect me while I cultivate. I plan to attempt a breakthrough to the Life and Death Realm immediately.”
“Oh?”
Situ was startled, then her eyes flashed with strange brilliance.
“That is a good idea. You’re currently at the second layer of ‘The Path to Divinity’ and at the Epiphany Stage, thirteen grades. Once you break through to the Mystic Light of Life and Death, your strength will double, and your Divine Sense Cultivation will directly surpass that of Mystic Light late stage. By then, wielding both the Laws of Space and Time, you definitely could pose a threat to the Great Fiend King.”
“Once I break through to Mystic Light of Life and Death, my two Divine Thought Clones will also have their power unsealed, reaching Mystic Light Great Perfection. That adds another sliver of hope!”
“…”
Situ’s eyes brightened. She had forgotten about those mysterious couples’ soul cultivations.
Lu Hangzhi said:
“No time to delay. I need to start collecting the Life Essence from the Blood Fiends right now.”
“Alright! I’ll protect you!”
Situ regained some of her confidence.
Lu Hangzhi nodded and quickly sent a mental message to Honglian, instructing her to relay the news of the Great Fiend King’s imminent arrival on the Barbarian Continent to Immortal Lord Yuding and the other high-ranking members of the Seven Great Sects.
Without waiting for the deeply shocked Honglian to reply, he swiftly mentally contacted Immortal Lord Biluo.
Biluo’s face drastically changed, his expression turning grim!
“Creation Realm? It just never ends… Tell me, Sect Leader Lu, what do you need me to do?”
“Your Magical Artifact, the ‘Banner of Ten Thousand Souls’, is fully prepared. While it can’t fight a Creation Realm Great Fiend King, it can be used to entangle and delay the Blood Demon Legion following it into the Barbarian Continent. I hope you…”
“I understand! Don’t worry! Two Realms Mountain is humanity’s final line of defense. If we lose here, everything is lost. I will not desert in the face of battle, kid! Don’t underestimate this sect leader!” Biluo vowed resolutely.
“…”
Lu Hangzhi said no more. He quickly instructed Qin Huai, Luo Sen, and the others to remain highly vigilant. Then he decisively summoned forty-nine streaks of Arcane Light Sword Aura imbued with the Power of Years.
The sword energy surged into the Sky Passage!
The Spatial Rift Formation remained unmoved by the sword energy, even actively making way for it.
Lu Hangzhi concentrated fully, harvesting the Life Essence from Blood Fiends and Elite Blood Fiends that weren’t dead yet.
…
While Lu Hangzhi was immersed in collecting Life Essence, racing against time for his breakthrough to Mystic Light of Life and Death, the high-ranking members of the Seven Great Sects simultaneously received Honglian’s urgent mental warning.
Master Bitter Sea and Immortal Lord Jiuzao ascended the mountain again. The former presided over the great hall, solemnly clad in a golden kasaya robe and a sacred ring-like crown. He held a staff in one hand and supported a ten-faced Bodhisattva statue in the other, his expression profoundly serious.
Immortal Lord Jiuzao was even more extravagant! He tucked a giant gourd, the size of a grown man, under his arm. This drew cries of shock from the peak of Two Realms Mountain:
“The Imperial Wine Gourd!”
“Isn’t that the legendary treasure passed down for millennia by the Imperial Wine Sect?”
“What’s happening?! Why are Master Bitter Sea and Immortal Lord Jiuzao bringing out their most prized possessions?!”
“…”
“Immortal Lord Biluo isn’t acting right either. Did you notice? He stopped collecting materials a while ago and started feeding the Banner of Ten Thousand Souls with Blood Fiend flesh…”
Elsewhere.
Luo Sen was busy feeding his group of Blood Slaves blood from Blood Fiends and Elite Blood Fiends.
With ample Mystic Light demon blood, the Blood Slaves’ bodies rapidly developed a layer of magnificent, hard armor, making them resemble crimson generals. Imposing and more powerful, they advanced to the Mystic Light level.
Even so…
Luo Sen showed no trace of joy. Instead, he started trying to stitch together new undead creatures using the corpses of Blood Fiends and Monster Beasts.
Above!
Lu Hangzhi stood in mid-air. Before him floated the Canon of Time, radiating the Temporal Law.
Under the Canon of Time’s temporal effect, Lu Hangzhi could meticulously inspect every scrap of Blood Fiend remnant within the Sky Passage for lingering Blood Fiend consciousness. Nothing could escape his sight.
Fragments containing residual Blood Fiend consciousness held the bulk of the Blood Fiend’s Life Essence. As the sword energy swept past, the Power of Years clung like maggots to bone, forcibly extracting this Life Essence and sealing it within the Canon of Time.
As time went on, the amount of Life Essence sealed within the Canon of Time grew larger!
Lu Hangzhi had long lost count of how many Blood Fiend consciousness remnants he had destroyed…
A thousand?
Two thousand?
The Canon of Time seemed endlessly hungry, devouring voraciously, yet showed no sign of releasing the Life Essence for his use.
Lu Hangzhi gritted his teeth:
Continue!
Situ watched, her heart filled with anxiety.
Though the Great Fiend King hadn’t appeared in the Sky Passage yet, the bloody river within it now showed distinctly abnormal ripples and turbulence, proving large numbers of the Blood Demon Legion were entering.
Lu Hangzhi still hadn’t even begun to attract his Heavenly Tribulation. He might not make it in time.
“…”
One hour later.
Immortal Lord Yuding arrived at the peak of Two Realms Mountain with fifteen Mystic Light Stage Immortal Lords from the Seven Great Sects.
Two Realms Mountain instantly stirred!
At this moment.
Even the slowest cultivators realized the gravity of the situation:
With the demon army already under control, suddenly adding nearly twenty Mystic Light Immortal Lords, all assuming a posture ready for severe battle – the coming fight would surely be unprecedented in its ferocity.
Many cultivators became highly vigilant!
An overwhelming atmosphere of impending storm enveloped Two Realms Mountain.
“To witness a Demonic Fiend of Creation Realm cultivation in my lifetime…” Immortal Lord Yuding sighed, neither startled nor delighted, only filled with emotion and a thread of worry for the Barbarian Continent.
“Neither did I expect there would come a day when I fight alongside all the Mystic Light experts of the Seven Great Sects.” Immortal Lord Biluo said.
“Amituofo!”
Master Bitter Sea recited the Buddhist invocation loudly:
“The Buddha once said, ‘If not me, then who else will enter Hell?’ It’s my honor to sing and face death with all of you.”
“You old smelly monk, who says we must die in this fight? With so many of us and the defense line at Two Realms Mountain backing us, I refuse to believe we can’t destroy just one Great Fiend King.” Immortal Lord Jiuzao spoke with great displeasure.
Immortal Lord Yuding sighed softly:
“Creation’s power is divine; the formation at Two Realms Mountain might not restrict that Great Fiend King at all.”
“But we still have the Spatial Rift Formation ready, right?”
Someone else said.
Immortal Lord Yuding smiled bitterly again but spoke no more. He raised his head to gaze at the sky, focusing his spirit on the black dots near the Sky Passage, muttering to himself:
“The Codex of Time is a precious treasure with remarkable spirit. It suddenly warned Sect Leader Lu, probably for good reason. The Barbarian Continent… holds a sliver of hope.”
“Immortal Lord, where do you think that slim chance lies?” Bitter Sea asked.
“I have no idea about that,”
Immortal Lord Yuding answered. He stayed silent, his gaze still fixed intently on the high sky.
The group all sensed it, and everyone looked up accordingly.
…
In the Sky Passage, the Crimson River flowed.
The Six-Winged Black Flame Great Fiend King swiftly flew forward and finally entered Lu Hangzhi’s Divine Sense Range. At the same time, Situ detected it too…
Meow!
The Mirror Spirit Cat bristled instantly, staring deep into the Sky Passage. It let out a powerful cry filled with awe and fear.
It was here!
Situ’s expression turned serious. He subtly tightened his grip on the trident, slowly clashing and scraping it without pause.
Sound Wave Law!
Wave after wave of invisible ripples continuously surged into the Sky Passage like an ocean tide.
Shwoosh!
The sound waves crashed like a tide.
Lu Hangzhi suddenly sensed Situ’s true strength under full power.
The Sonic Surge!
It pushed the Crimson River in the Sky Passage backward rapidly. Tens of thousands of Blood Fiend remains, and the thick, mountain-like blood river, were swept wave after wave toward the back under the tide of Law Power. This forced the Great Fiend King, now within Divine Sense Range, and the countless Blood Demon Legion behind it to squeeze closer.
Inside the Sky Passage, the Great Fiend King and Blood Fiends dared not wield Law Power. Under the push of the sonic surge, only the Great Fiend King stayed unaffected, while the entire Blood Demon Legion stalled and even slowly drifted backward.
That move clearly drained a lot of energy. Within mere seconds, Situ’s face paled, and his Magic Power plummeted badly.
But the effect was truly remarkable!
The Great Fiend King and the Blood Demon Legion had already been a distance apart…
Situ’s action suddenly widened the gap between the Blood Demon Legion and the Great Fiend King significantly.
“Hmph!”
The Great Fiend King’s gaze turned cold and cruel, brimming with disdain.
Being dispatched to the Lower Realm was a waste of talent to begin with. Since it couldn’t return to Green Maple Continent ever, rage bubbled inside it. Why would it care about the Blood Demon Legion slipping farther away? It maintained its speed and rushed forward swiftly, charging toward the exit of the Sky Passage.
Situ firmly stopped his attack, took out some Spirit Honey, and quickly restored his magic power.
Once his magic power was back to full, he would strike again, continuing to hold back the Blood Demon Legion’s advance… In the meantime, the Great Fiend King became a lone, deep-riding force.
The only concern was that Lu Hangzhi’s side still showed no signs of movement. The Codex of Time remained completely silent, failing to absorb enough Life Essence and give any feedback to its master…
Lu Hangzhi frowned deeply!
But in times like this, one could only try for a miracle.
Break through if possible; if not, there was no choice but to push on with courage.
In short, as long as there was even a tiny chance, he had to grasp it firmly.
Lu Hangzhi gritted his teeth and held on. His Arcane Light Sword Aura constantly collected Life Essence from Blood Fiends in the Crimson River. The Great Fiend King drew closer and closer! Before it arrived, the aura of a Creation Realm Demonic Fiend had already spread over everyone like a flood. The once scarlet and searing Firmament became dark with storm clouds, plunging instantly into a night-like gloom. The Firmament lost all light completely. An invisible pressure and the threat from the Great Fiend King descended upon every heart like a shadow.
After several breaths. Boom rumble rumble! With a thunderous, rolling noise, a huge ghostly face slowly formed near the Sky Passage. As this ghostly face took shape, countless Blood Fiend minds inside the Sky Passage, maddened by Immortal Liquid, suddenly woke up. The people’s faces changed dramatically. They saw countless Blood Fiends wail excitedly, one after another rebuilding their bodies in the Crimson River. Under the pressure of the Great Fiend King’s aura, the effect of the Immortal Liquid faded away steadily. Endless Blood Fiends and Elite Blood Fiends all reconstructed themselves, then launched an even wilder and fearless attack on the Barbarian Continent. In that moment, it was filled with ghostly wails and screams; demons danced wildly everywhere!