Yet even if they held resentment toward Song Yuan, they knew all too well the ultimate goal behind their descent to the lower realm.
If they failed to accomplish it, they would not be the only ones to die.
The factions, families, and friends behind them... not a single one would survive.
The cultivators gritted their teeth and charged instantly at the group!
Meng Wanshu was the first to speak: "Protect Ye Feng! Don't linger in battle! Fight as we retreat and buy time!!"
At this time, Long Hou was still in secluded cultivation, completely unaware of what was transpiring outside.
In the Six Domains of the outside world, several powerful figures darted ceaselessly back and forth.
Platform after platform of the Immortal Ascension Platforms was demolished; cultivator after cultivator was slain.
Hong Zhi and the others were burning with anxiety, yet they found that a substantial number of Immortal Ascension Platforms were still scattered throughout the outer world.
What was more, countless people had been blinded by the shattering of the Human-Immortal Realm Barrier.
Many cultivators were attempting to ascend without even using an Immortal Ascension Platform.
This caused Hong Zhi and her companions no small amount of trouble.
It got to the point where Yu Shan bluntly offered a solution.
"Second Sister, if this goes on, we'll never finish killing them all!!"
"Guanqi and the others are still waiting for us to return."
"There's only one way left!"
Hong Zhi raised her hand, completely shattering an Immortal Ascension Platform with a slash of her blade, and spoke with rapid urgency. "What way?"
"The few of us must completely seal off the Six Domains and the Misty Immortal Domain!!!"
The moment those words were spoken, the members of the Seven Generals were startled.
Xiang Huaizhi frowned. "With our strength, that's completely impossible! There are even old monsters of the Tribulation Transcendence realm biding their time among them!"
The moment his voice fell, Nangong Xuandu's voice abruptly sounded in their ears.
"Yu Shan... could you be thinking of..."
"*Hiss*... won't the price be too steep?"
Yu Shan chuckled freely and said softly, "Right now, the only thing I can count on is Guanqi's special ability. As for these avatars of mine... the time has come for them to show their worth."
Before anyone could stop him, Wu Mian let out a sigh and appeared beside Yu Shan in an instant.
Then, with Yu Shan as the primary host, the two merged into one!!!
Not only that, several cultivators in the Immortal Burial Realm's Third Domain suddenly vanished.
Across the Six Domains, the Misty Immortal Domain, the Ancient Clans, the Hidden Clans...
Hermetic ancestral masters who had shunned the world disappeared one after another.
Ordinary street peddlers in mundane marketplaces, masters of small, remote cities.
Sect geniuses, clan elders...
Every conceivable identity, different genders, different levels of strength, different names...
Thousands of avatars manifested across heaven and earth and surged toward Yu Shan.
The memories and pasts of every avatar formed a colossal torrent of information flooding into his mind.
For a moment, a splitting headache tore through Yu Shan's skull. He propped his hands against his knees, stooping forward and gasping for breath in great gulps.
As each avatar merged back into his body, Yu Shan's aura surged violently.
In the blink of an eye, he broke through to the mid stage of the pseudo–Tribulation Transcendence realm!!
In other words...
Though Yu Shan's cultivation realm had not yet truly broken into the Tribulation Transcendence realm, the instant all his avatars converged, he forcibly boosted his power to a terrifying level comparable to the mid Tribulation Transcendence realm.
Yu Shan formed hand seals with both hands, endless spiritual light flashing incessantly around him.
Immediately afterward, brilliant light sparkled across Hong Zhi, Chan Kongzi, and the others as well.
Through unique arts, Yu Shan linked himself with them, everyone mirroring the exact same hand seals.
*Boom!!!!!!*
Spiritual radiance of myriad hues erupted, actually forging terrifying barriers that each enveloped an entire domain!!
This barrier was virtually a simplified version of the Human-Immortal Realm Barrier.
As power poured in, the sealing barrier's potency grew stronger and stronger.
Under the barrier's rapid expansion, it was soon to enshroud the Six Domains and other regions.
Yet this process took time, and Hong Zhi and the others naturally had to guard the barrier until it was fully formed.
More and more cultivators rose in resistance; desires suppressed for so long erupted explosively at this very moment.
Hong Zhi was burning with inner anxiety, yet she could not split herself to be everywhere...
***
Fourth Domain.
The battle had reached a fever pitch.
The death of every single Immortal Realm cultivator demanded a massive price from the group.
Everyone's injuries grew increasingly severe, and their movements slowed further and further.
*Spurt!!!*
A longsword pierced right through Cao Yan's shoulder, and he spat out a mouthful of blood.
He threw a punch, only for his opponent to easily dodge it.
Xiao Chen shoved Cao Yan without a word toward the Nirvana Pagoda inside the sword coffin.
"Don't—"
Cao Yan tried to say something, but Xiao Chen tossed him in roughly.
Having lost an arm, Cao Yan's combat prowess had plummeted drastically; if this went on, he would surely die!!
Yet with one fewer person, the pressure on the rest grew even heavier.
By now, even Meng Wanshu's body was marked with numerous gruesome wounds.
Cultivators wielding fire-attribute primal energy targeted her specifically.
*Boom! Boom!! Clang! Clang!!*
The fierce roars of battle clanged and boomed without end.
Xiao Chen and Meng Wanshu shifted positions constantly, shielding Ye Feng's left and right.
With his God-Shooting Spear forcibly seized by the enemy, the flame spears Xiao Chen condensed would shatter before long, drastically reducing his combat strength.
*Squelch! Squelch!!*
A saber and a sword plunged ruthlessly into Xiao Chen's body. Xiao Chen formed a hand seal with his left hand, and flames flared violently!!
The Great Sky Haze Flame detonated in an instant, trapping the two of them within as towering flames scorched the heavens!!
The blistering heat warped the void. The two figures let out curdling shrieks, failing to break free in the end as they were reduced to ashes.
Xiao Chen yanked out the blade and sword impaling his body, his frame stumbling.
Meng Wanshu commanded without brook of argument, "Go back inside!!"
Xiao Chen glanced across the twenty-odd remaining enemies before them. His gaze was dazed, yet still resolute.
"No! If I leave, the two of you won't be able to hold out at all! If I really can't take it anymore, I'll go in myself!"
Xiao Chen refused Meng Wanshu's kind intentions. The wound at his waist ruptured again, his intestines nearly spilling out.
Gritting his teeth, Xiao Chen tore off a strip of his robe as he fell back and bound it tightly around his waist.
In a single breath, blood soaked through the cloth wrapped around his midsection.
Yet Xiao Chen continued to thrust his spear without pause!!
The three fought as they retreated, unaware that Li Guanqi, burning with anxiety, had already plunged in consciousness into a raging ocean of lightning!!!
According to the sword spirit, within the lightning sea lay the true core of law—that very sliver of life.
*Rumble!!*
Thunderclouds churned across the firmament, and thunder roared and bellowed as though the heavenly tribulation would strike down at any second.
*Spurt!!!*
"Ugh!"
Xiao Chen's right leg was sliced off by a sneak sword light from behind, and his left wrist was likewise pierced and shredded by a longsword!!
That split-second pause gave many attackers their opening.
Several cold-gleaming weapons lunged instantly toward Xiao Chen.
Ye Feng and Meng Wanshu repelled the foes around them and struck at the same time!!
Flanking him on the left and right, they bore the brunt of the onslaught.
Grabbing Xiao Chen by the hair, Ye Feng flung him straight into the Nirvana Pagoda.
Gruesome...
Meng Wanshu's figure swayed; she was clearly reaching her limit.
From the corner of her eye, she looked at Ye Feng's unwavering gaze, unable to comprehend it.
His cultivation and talent were undeniably inferior to hers, and his reserves of primal energy were not as profound as her own.
How could he endure until now?
Though Ye Feng had not lost limbs, his injuries were just as catastrophic.
In her eyes, his wounds were even more severe than Xiao Chen's.
Yet Ye Feng's gaze remained as calm and untroubled as ever, as though he were honoring a solemn promise.
This sight moved her deeply.
Only at this moment did she truly begin to understand why Li Guanqi valued Ye Feng so much.
And she finally understood why Ye Feng was the second brother among the sworn brothers.
Because Ye Feng...
was a man wholly worthy of trust and reliance!!
A cold gleam struck toward Li Guanqi. Ye Feng spun in an instant to put himself in front of the sword light. A sword sheared through his collarbone, yet his brow did not even twitch.
He merely cast a backward glance at the man behind him, who sat with eyes closed, preparing for his breakthrough.
Chapter 1307