Chapter 427: City Falls

Blood flowed from the corner of Zenghai Guanwu's mouth; her reckless killing had exacted a price.

The Hundred Prisons Wind Chime could not fully withstand the power of the Five-stringed Celestial Music. Five shockwaves struck her, wounding her fragile body.

In the previous confrontation, Zenghai Guanwu had only a fraction of her power controlling the Thunderous Orb, allowing the Demonic Kingdom Prince to escape.

The Demonic Kingdom Prince used the Cloud-Veil Immortal Gate for close-range protection and the Star Immortal Gate for long-range defense. He then manipulated the Wind-Thunder Immortal Gate, slamming it towards the west side of Lingxiao City, hoping to force Zenghai Guanwu to abandon her fight against Lilongshu and Chihuan and rush to the city's rescue.

But he miscalculated!

Zenghai Guanwu refused to be led by his strategy; her resolve to kill Lilongshu and Chihuan was unwavering. If she did not eliminate the Transcendents one by one as much as possible, she simply couldn't manage multiple fronts.

Furthermore, if her composure were seen as a weakness by the enemy, the people within Lingxiao City would truly face utter catastrophe.

The Wind-Thunder Immortal Gate struck the west city wall, causing it to collapse for over twenty li.

In the three districts near the city wall, all defensive formations were shattered, and all buildings collapsed. Hundreds of thousands of citizens within the city, even Dao Seed Realm cultivators, died instantly on the spot.

With a full-power strike from an existence of the Demonic Kingdom Prince's caliber, its destructive power was immense, as one might expect.

Of course, if the city's grand defense formation had been intact, not breached by Luantai, and if Lintai had not been attacked, it could have withstood the assault. As for the secret confrontations before the battle, one could only say that victory and defeat were evenly split.

Without the efforts of Li Weiyi, the Nine Li Hidden Gate, the Zuoqiu Household, the West Sea Veteran Slaves, and Yao Qingxuan, the current situation would not exist at all.

The Wind-Thunder Immortal Gate, a hundred zhang tall, stood upon the shattered ruins of the west city, its roar of wind and thunder deafening the ears.

The wind was like a celestial blade, and the thunder transformed into a hundred beasts.

The power of wind and thunder, like a tsunami, spread into the city.

"Whoosh!"

The Imperial Court Transcendent Chen Su burst forth from concealment, appearing on the district path closest to the Wind-Thunder Immortal Gate in the west city. He carried the power of thirty-six earth veins to resist the overwhelming wind and thunder spreading into the city.

Above each district, all provincial governor seals flew towards the west city, forming a magnificent defensive embankment.

Zenghai Guanwu, using her spiritual power, drew upon the power of the shattered city defense formation. Immediately, countless formation patterns, auroras, and lightning bolts twisted into a tornado, descending with her and slamming directly towards Luantai.

The nine-hundred-zhang-tall Luantai was pierced through by a single blow, and large sections of the mountain collapsed.

Zenghai Guanwu intended to personally destroy this complex of palaces she had built herself.

The Second Palace Master on Luantai's summit had already broken free from the suppression of the Nine Heavens Beyond Formation and escaped before Luantai collapsed.

The Demonic Kingdom Prince, who was halfway up the mountain, carried two Immortal Gates and flew towards the west city.

The west city wall had collapsed for over twenty li, and the foundation of the city defense formation was severely damaged, creating a massive gap.

Zenghai Guanwu traversed space, pursuing him step by step, giving the Demonic Kingdom Prince no chance to kill Chen Su. The Ethereal Sword in her hand vibrated, its hum growing sharper with each tremor.

"Whoosh!"

"Rumble!"

The Second Palace Master and Madam Ye approached from left and right, diving down to pursue Zenghai Guanwu, forming a triangular formation with the Demonic Kingdom Prince.

"Master, you won't stand by and watch Lingxiao City become a dead city. You have compassion. You might fool everyone else, but you can't fool me."

The Second Palace Master's body was engulfed by a halo of Buddhist light and an Underworld River; only her two war swords could be seen in her hands. Her aura was mighty, cutting through all the formation power unleashed by Grand Historian and the Third Palace Master.

Madam Ye drove her carriage downwards, the sound of its wheels indistinguishable from thunder. The strings of the Reincarnation Zither played the sound of battlefield slaughter; although it was just one person and one carriage, they possessed the momentum of a million-strong army.

Zenghai Guanwu swung her left arm backward. From the center of the city defense formation's vortex, the Thunderous Orb flew out, carrying the might of the formation and the energy of a supreme artifact, transforming into a giant bracelet one li in diameter.

Electric light illuminated the ten directions.

The Thunderous Orb spun and rolled outwards, flying upwards, crushing the sound of slaughter from the Reincarnation Zither, as if cutting heaven and earth in half.

"Boom! Boom..."

Inside her carriage, the twelve defensive formations Madam Ye had erected were all pierced through.

The carriage body was struck by the Thunderous Orb into the sky, shattering and exploding.

"Pfft!"

Madam Ye was a Spirit Master, and her physical body was relatively weak. After taking this blow, half of her body was shattered, leaving only her torso and above.

She held the Reincarnation Zither in her hands, looking at her lower half, which had turned into a bloody mist, and let out a sharp cry.

"Whoosh!"

The Ethereal Sword, like a white rainbow piercing the sun, flew up from below, splitting Madam Ye's upper body in two, and her spiritual realm in her glabella exploded.

This inner world, the spiritual realm, collapsed and was annihilated in space.

This powerful figure, a contemporary of Zenghai Guanwu, ultimately died in the Lingxiao Living Realm, leaving no trace of her remains.

The Demonic Kingdom Prince glanced skyward, his brow furrowed. He felt that Zenghai Guanwu's ferocity was simply overwhelming, and that she would stop at nothing to kill her opponents.

Facing such a person as an opponent greatly tested one's courage and mental fortitude.

The Demonic Kingdom Prince landed on the Wind-Thunder Immortal Gate, which stood amidst the city's ruins. With his back to the shattered city walls and the Cloud Heaven Immortal Plain, he turned to face Zenghai Guanwu, who had already caught up. "Without the Ethereal Sword and the Thunderous Orb," he taunted, "aren't you just walking to your death by chasing after me?"

Zenghai Guanwu did not hesitate for a moment.

"Cloud-Veil, Wind-Thunder, Star."

The Demonic Kingdom Prince immediately mobilized the power of the three Immortal Gates. He unleashed his Sacred Fist, which was fierce and domineering, possessing boundless divine might.

He didn't believe that Zenghai Guanwu's fragile body would dare to contend with him directly without the aid of a supreme artifact's power.

Zenghai Guanwu used the Hundred Prisons Wind Chime to protect her body and unleashed palm prints to clash with the Demonic Kingdom Prince, piercing through the three powers of the three Immortal Gates and attacking him at close range.

"Thud! Thud! Thud..."

Fists and palms clashed, their figures rapidly shifting.

Space itself vibrated, as if two demonic gods were battling.

Zenghai Guanwu's arms instantly shattered to expose white bone. Her right hand, reduced to five skeletal fingers, struck the Demonic Kingdom Prince's chest with a palm, like striking a divine bell, a metallic clang reverberating for a thousand li.

"Boom!"

The Demonic Kingdom Prince's Four-Colored Immortal Mist Armor was dented at the chest, and his body was sent flying several tens of li away, falling outside Lingxiao City.

After stabilizing himself, he sank his legs and spread his arms wide. The mystical energy within him surged like a rushing river, and layers of vast demonic clouds spread out from beneath his feet.

Zenghai Guanwu arrived again like a flash of red lightning. Her right arm, still bone, formed a sword with two fingers, piercing through the dented part of the Demonic Kingdom Prince's chest armor. She then withdrew her fingers, transforming her hand into a palm, and pressed out with another strike.

Too fast!

The Demonic Kingdom Prince could see her moves, but could not block them.

His soul and will were suppressed by her spiritual power.

With his reaction speed slowed, he naturally couldn't defend himself.

"Thud!"

The Demonic Kingdom Prince was sent flying back over three hundred li, plowing a canyon across the Immortal Plain. Blood spurted from his nose and mouth, and blood also gushed from the broken armor on his chest.

Earlier, Zenghai Guanwu's two fingers had pierced his chest.

Zenghai Guanwu was unable to pursue. As she struck the Demonic Kingdom Prince with her palm, she was also struck in the back by a sword from the Second Palace Master, who had arrived from behind.

Her red robe and the Hundred Prisons Wind Chime blocked this sword.

But they could not block the sword's shockwave.

Blood flowed from Zenghai Guanwu's seven orifices. Her chest and back were covered in bloody cracks, and the mystical energy throughout her body was in chaos.

The Second Palace Master was utterly decisive. Her other sword, carrying the power of lightning, directly slashed at Zenghai Guanwu's neck.

"Whoosh!"

Zenghai Guanwu's figure shifted, and she blinked away, her steps faltering. With her back to the ruins of Lingxiao City's west district behind her, she flicked a finger, using spiritual power to activate thirty-six earth veins, causing them to twist into thirty-six earth dragons, which slammed into the Second Palace Master.

The Second Palace Master slashed with one sword and defended with the other.

She couldn't block it!

"Boom!"

The Second Palace Master was struck by the power of the thirty-six earth veins, shattering her defenses completely and sending her flying backward. Her flesh and blood were constantly eroded, her bones breaking one by one, as she slid across the ground for a thousand li to the south.

Lord Lan descended from the sky, holding a lamp, and stomped, breaking the attack of the thirty-six earth veins.

The Second Palace Master, holding her two swords, slowly stood up, having become a bloodied figure. After swallowing an Emperor's Medicine, she said, "Her bones are those of the former Martial Dao Heavenly Emperor, but her flesh, blood, and Qi Sea are newly regenerated. This is her greatest weakness."

"Additionally, the time she acquired her Senior Sister's two Other Shore Heavenly Pills must have been short; she hasn't fully integrated them yet, and the mystical energy within her body is not entirely under her control."

"Attack her internal organs and Ancestral Field. Shatter her new body and disrupt her mystical energy."

Zenghai Guanwu stood beneath the collapsed west city wall, retrieving the Thunderous Orb and the Ethereal Sword. She secretly circulated her cultivation technique to regulate her breathing, as in her ears, she could already hear the cry of the Azure Luan from the western horizon.

Using her spiritual power, she transmitted a message to Grand Historian and the Third Palace Master: "Open the north gate; let as many as possible leave. I will intercept all enemies in the south. The Northern Heavenly Gate is guarded by Snow Sword Tang Ting; it is the only way out."

"Xiao Zhang, you remain in the city and fully focus on repairing the formations. Cong'er, go help Huo Di; together, take charge of the Immortal Plain Grand Formation and hold out for as long as you can."

To the east of the Cloud Heaven Immortal Plain.

The sun gradually rose.

Sunlight shone on the three-thousand-zhang-tall cliffs of the Immortal Plain, causing the formation's light barrier to reflect a golden radiance.

The county town undergoing the blood sacrifice was two hundred eighty li from the Immortal Plain cliffs.

Marquis Shenyi stood atop the highest watchtower in the county town, gazing one hundred fifty li into the distance. His golden eyes gleamed with fierce killing intent.

In the distance.

The young man in purple official robes, holding a strange long spear, intercepted Luo Tian.

Three Blood-Winged Clan elders holding formation flags were forced to turn back and attack.

The Wind-Chasing Beast flew into the city, heavily wounded. It immediately collapsed onto an open space and reported its recent experience to Marquis Shenyi using spiritual power.

Marquis Shenyi was furious. He took out his two-meter-long Thousand-Character Artifact, the Ice Soul Bow.

There was no arrow!

He locked his will onto Li Weiyi, drew the bowstring, and the Immortal mystical energy within him gathered on the bowstring, forming an ice arrow.

"Thwang!"

The air above the entire county town vibrated.

The ice arrow left a long tail behind it, flying out across one hundred fifty li.

The moment Li Weiyi was targeted by the opponent's will, he perceived the danger and immediately teleported away to dodge. The ice arrow, controlled by Marquis Shenyi's will, did not fly in a straight line, but constantly targeted Li Weiyi.

At the last moment, Li Weiyi transformed into a cluster of purple mist, traversed space, and hid inside the formation plate held by the three Blood-Winged Clan elders.

"Boom!"

The ice arrow flew past the formation plate and struck the ground.

In the mountain forest, a ten-plus-li long path of ice crystals, carved by the arrow, appeared.

Even though it only flew past, the energy unleashed by the arrow tore the formation plate to shreds.

"Swish! Swish!"

Seizing this opportunity, Li Weiyi unleashed three immobilization talismans, which landed on the three Blood-Winged Clan elders, who were at the sixth level of the Dao Seed Realm.

He summoned the Yellow Dragon Sword, his figure shifting and transforming into a series of afterimages. In front of that Demonic Kingdom Everlasting Realm powerhouse, in just the span of a single breath, he severed the heads of all three elders.

Li Weiyi stood on the snow, which came up to his knees, holding a spear in one hand and a blood-soaked sword in the other. He looked towards the distant county town shrouded in blood mist and shouted loudly, "At a distance of one hundred fifty li, you cannot kill me."

In the next instant, Li Weiyi pursued Little Marquis Luo Tian, who was one li away.