Chapter 65: The First Defense Line
Chapter 65: The First Defense Line
Boom!
Bang!
Bang…
Monster Beasts kept landing, their terrifying shockwaves and overwhelming presence constant. Within Sector 112, the sixty-plus Cultivators felt like small boats about to capsize in a raging storm, gritting their teeth and holding on amidst overlapping shockwaves and beastly roars.
The situation wasn’t good.
Although the over twenty teams had clear divisions of labor, facing various unexpected events still led to significant casualties right from the start.
Three teams, after initiating attacks, were ambushed by Eighth and Ninth Grade Demon Beasts from several directions. The Cultivators with Defensive Magical Devices couldn’t draw all the fire; comrades beside them were immediately struck down.
In the blink of an eye, six perished.
Another team was also unlucky. The Xuanxin Sect’s True Disciple responsible for drawing aggro was in an area densely targeted by landing beasts. Instantly attracting dozens of monsters, he activated his Defensive Magical Device at full power but was still instantly shattered by a group of beasts. The three-man team was wiped out without question.
Casualties continued to climb.
The only good news was that Cheng Fei, Nangong Jun, and their teams had systematically cleared the beasts above them and were starting to aid nearby teams.
Teams led by two other Eighth Grade Cultivators were luckier. From start to finish, they only faced threats from over a dozen beasts, ended the fight quickly, rescued several nearby teams in no time.
Sweat beaded on Revered Qin’s forehead.
He had acted repeatedly moments earlier, expending tremendous Magic Power.
Near the Matrix Tower, Hu Bugui and his group of Cultivators weren’t idle either.
Accompanied by Sword Qi flying out from the Matrix Tower’s second floor from time to time, the Cultivators inside the tower worked hard to help, controlling Flying Swords at full speed to eliminate nearby beasts.
Miraculously, they stabilized the situation in the face of the powerful Beast Tide assault.
No one paid attention to the grievously wounded, dying, Seventh Grade Saw-Toothed Swine Demon.
Those with Defensive Magical Devices actively engaged the Ninth Grade Ghost-Faced Demon Wolves.
The rest focused solely on the Bull Demons, attacking with complete commitment. The number of living Bull Demons within the zone dwindled rapidly.
As Cheng Fei dismembered the last Bull Demon into two pieces, everyone unanimously shifted their focus and firepower onto the few remaining Ninth Grade Ghost-Faced Demon Wolves.
Stripped of their cover from numerous low-level beasts, the last few Ghost-Faced Demon Wolves were utterly exposed!
The battle ended.
The Matrix Tower remained unharmed;
The Sector’s defense line held!
In this battle, hundreds of Monster Beasts were slain, however…
Sector personnel losses were considerable:
In less than half a day, the initial eighty-six people had sharply reduced to sixty-four, and now down to forty. More than half were killed in action, breaching the Sector’s defense personnel minimum.
“All teams, collect loot and maintain vigilance independently.”
“Gather the bodies of fallen comrades nearby, bring them into the Matrix Tower. After the war, they will be returned to their respective sects.”
“The rest, restore your Magic Power at full speed!”
“I have already sent a request to the Reinforcement Department for more personnel. Until aid arrives, everyone remain alert, prevent Beast groups from breaking through from other Sectors.”
Mo Li announced loudly, delivering a series of calm, orderly commands, seemingly becoming accustomed to the life in the War Zone.
Everyone began conscientiously collecting beast materials from their respective areas.
Lu Hangzhi had a fruitful haul: fifteen Seventh and Eighth Grade Inner Cores alone, several bull horns, a number of saw-toothed tusks. His harvest was abundant, second only to a few Eighth Grade Cultivators.
Calmly stuffing his mouth with a handful of Spirit Honey to rapidly replenish his massive spent Magic Power, Lu Hangzhi picked out one Seventh Grade Inner Core from the spoils and tossed it to the paws of the now-awake Mirror Spirit Cat.
The Spirit Cat didn’t hesitate, hugging the Inner Core and sucking on it voraciously.
If anyone actually liked this place, Two Realms Mountain, it was probably only this Mirror Spirit Cat…
What made Lu Hangzhi envious was that the Mirror Spirit Cat absorbed the Magic Power inside the Inner Core without showing any sign of being overcharged.
Above in the Firmament, the Beast Tide continued pouring in relentlessly.
After the bulk landed, most beasts passing through the Sky Passage plummeted towards already chaotic or beast-controlled War Zones.
No blind beasts air-dropped anywhere near here.
“Miss Nangong, I meant to ask earlier – you have a way to quickly recover Magic Power, correct?” Cheng Fei approached Nangong Jun and asked.
“I do.”
Nangong Jun nodded.
Only two of the Xuanxin Sect’s True Disciples hadn’t entered the Matrix Tower: Nangong Jun and Zi Ying.
A little observation revealed that from start to finish, Nangong Jun’s Magic Power always stayed at peak capacity.
Nangong Jun knew it couldn’t be hidden, so she admitted frankly.
By this point in the battle, even Cheng Fei, the Eighth Grade Sword Cultivator best at conserving strength, had his Magic Power drop below half. Yet she, a Seventh Grade peak Cultivator, was still vibrant and alert. If others didn’t notice something unusual, they would be deliberately ignoring it.
“Miss Nangong, instant Magic Power recovery items carry extraordinary value here at Two Realms Mountain. I’d like to acquire some as a precaution.”
Cheng Fei was direct.
Nangong Jun shook her head warily:
“I don’t have much.”
Unaware of her Honeycomb stores, Cheng Fei gritted his teeth and offered:
“If you agree, I’m willing to trade a Ninth Grade Monster Core for any amount, doesn’t need to be too much, just enough to instantly restore me to full strength.”
A Ninth Grade Monster Core?!
That was a sky-high price!
Everyone gasped in astonishment.
Nangong Jun’s heart also skipped a beat.
Though Zi Ying also had plenty of Spirit Honey, she had already used some, and chose preserving her resources over the core. She kept silent.
Nangong Jun ultimately chose to trade.
She took out one hundred golden Spirit Honey pellets from a porcelain bottle and handed them to Cheng Fei.
The Spirit Honey was fragrant, exuding thick Spiritual Energy.
Cheng Fei grabbed one pellet and tossed it into his mouth.
The next second, his gaze burned with intensity!
He stared at Nangong Jun for a moment, then, satisfied, tossed her a Monster Core before turning and leaving without another word.
The others felt frustrated.
Though they also wanted to trade for some, Cheng Fei’s asking price loomed large. Unless they happened to possess a Ninth Grade Inner Core, no one felt comfortable bringing it up.
At that moment.
Revered Qin spoke up:
“Had I known your treasure was this cheap, why would I have struggled so much… Here!”
As he spoke, he threw over a Qiankun Pouch.
Lu Hangzhi noticed Nangong Jun immediately displayed a look of profound shock upon receiving it. The contents must be incredibly valuable.
Under everyone’s gaze, Nangong Jun took out a heavy porcelain bottle and respectfully handed it to Revered Qin.
“Good.”
Revered Qin stored it into his storage ring with satisfaction.
Inside the Matrix Tower, Mo Li gritted his teeth:
“Chen Ji taught a fine disciple. When having good things, she doesn’t even think to offer them first to the Ancestral Master.”
Luckily, Nangong Jun was sensible. Knowing that after the Spirit Honey was revealed, she couldn’t avoid giving a share to the Ancestral Master, she hurriedly sent two bottles of Spirit Honey as compensation.
Lu Hangzhi remained unmoved from start to finish, calm as if he had no connection with the Spirit Honey.
In his mind, he calculated secretly:
Spirit Honey was more popular than expected—it was practically a huge profit.
The cost of a hundred portions of Spirit Honey was only a few Mid-grade Spirit Stones. How many high-grade Spirit Stones was a Ninth-Grade Monster Core worth in comparison?
They were totally incomparable, weren’t they?
Boom!
Boom boom!
While Lu Hangzhi was frantically calculating, Two Realms Mountain once again echoed with the violent roars of Matrix Towers self-destructing, one after another.
Everyone instinctively stood up and strained to see into the distance.
“Self-destruction!”
“Another Matrix Tower has started to self-destruct.”
“Damn it! Didn’t we just send Spirit Condensation Stage experts from the Reinforcement Department over there? Why is it in chaos again?!”
Everyone chattered anxiously, their eyes full of worry and unease.
Revered Qin looked expressionless, as if he wasn’t surprised at all, and said:
“Three Spirit Condensation Stage Venerable Ones grouped together can usually stabilize the situation in one war zone easily. But faced with the current situation, three people are clearly too few.”
Lu Hangzhi nodded secretly:
His own war zone had two Spirit Condensation Stage experts, plus so many high Epiphany Stage cultivators around—this lineup was stronger than three Venerable Ones, yet they had almost been wiped out in one wave by the Monster Beasts, hadn’t they?
As they spoke, two more Matrix Towers self-destructed far away. The soaring flames and the sense of earthquake gave people the illusion that Two Realms Mountain was crumbling and could be breached at any moment.
“Can we really be this unlucky?”
“We just arrived to take over defense, and now Two Realms Mountain is about to fall?”
Zi Ying gathered with several other True Disciples of Xuanxin Sect, their faces filled with bitterness and disbelief.
Revered Qin said calmly:
“All of you, set your hearts at ease. Even if the Matrix Tower in our Sector 112 self-destructs and explodes, Two Realms Mountain will not fall.”
“…”
A group of people were speechless.
Who the hell was this comforting?
Lu Hangzhi almost spat a mouthful of blood onto the Saw-Toothed Swine Demon’s thigh bone.
“Exactly.”
Cheng Fei then took over the conversation, saying:
“Ever since the Firmament cracked and the Demon Realm invaded the Barbarian Continent, Human Cultivators have been guarding Two Realms Mountain for centuries. We’ve experienced countless more dangerous battles than this without falling—how could it collapse now? Our place here is only the First Defense Line of Two Realms Mountain.”
“First Defense Line? You mean besides the war zone Matrix Tower defenses, Two Realms Mountain has other, tighter defense lines?”
“Of course.”
Cheng Fei replied noncommittally:
“Did you really think the safety and future of the Human Race depended on us low-level Epiphany Stage cultivators?”
Lu Hangzhi felt an inexplicable sense of relief.
At the same time, he thought to himself: The Human Race has stood firm at Two Realms Mountain for centuries, firmly guarding this defense line; they must have made ample preparations and countermeasures indeed.
After Revered Qin started the conversation, he began analyzing the composition of the Spirit Honey, paying little attention to the disciples’ subsequent talk.
Cheng Fei began revealing more information about Two Realms Mountain:
“Everyone, rest assured. As long as we can hold out in the Two Realms Mountain war zone for more than a month, those who remain will be added to the Reinforcement Department’s supplementary list. They will participate in the formation of the Second Defense Line and receive focused training from Two Realms Mountain!”
“…”
Except for the veterans, the Xuanxin Sect disciples all looked shocked.
Cheng Fei continued:
“I’ve been at Two Realms Mountain for six months now and am one of the Reinforcement Department’s reserve members!”
“What I want to tell everyone is that once we are on the Reinforcement Department’s supplementary list, we gain access to the Dual-Realm Mountains Market.”
“Supplementary members of the Reinforcement Department can enjoy the treatment of defending for one month and resting for one month! In the Marketplace, we can trade resources obtained from the war zone, exchange with other large and medium sects for more resources and technique manuals they share; and of course… we can also find advanced Training Rooms to cultivate and digest what we gained in the Two Realms Mountain war zone.”
Lu Hangzhi suddenly asked:
“What rank was Brother Cheng’s cultivation when he came to Two Realms Mountain?”
“The same as you all—Sixth Rank.”
Cheng Fei smiled and winked, saying: “As long as everyone can survive two or three defense rotations at Two Realms Mountain, you should all reach my current level, maybe even surpass me.” At the end, Lu Hangzhi felt Cheng Fei’s gaze linger on him briefly.
The timing of Cheng Fei revealing this information was quite subtle.
At a moment when the war zone personnel had fallen below the alert level and combat strength and morale were at their lowest, this news undoubtedly gave everyone a morale boost and reassurance. It offered a glimmer of hope in their despair, even pointing out a future direction.