Shamans carpeted the mountains and plains as far as the eye could see.
Several hundred thousand Shamans advanced into Qingming in three separate columns. Within their churning military qi, monstrous silhouettes as colossal as hills faintly loomed. Howls, shrieks, and roars in every pitch enveloped the entire battlefield.
Several Great Shamans gathered together, looking ahead at Ding'an City with cold sneers. "With walls this low, even our ordinary warriors can leap right over them. What is the point of building such a city?"
Another Great Shaman, whose more than a dozen eyes gleamed with shifting lights, said, "Its defensive formation is mediocre at best. Twenty thousand defenders, seventy thousand civilians inside."
The Great Shaman in the center exhaled a puff of white mist. "Take it directly!"
Amid blaring war horns, a massive horde of Shaman troops surged below, charging straight toward Ding'an City.
A plume of white smoke rose from the battlements of Ding'an City, and an instant later, a continuous roar of thunderous detonations swallowed all the howls and roars of the Shamans. The front ranks collapsed in great swathes. Plumes of white smoke billowed constantly through their formations, blasting even zhang-tall Shaman captains skyward.
Gunpowder smoke grew denser and denser, almost blanketing the skies above Ding'an City. Along the ramparts, Dao Foundation cultivators gripped flying-sword launchers and poured Dao power into them with everything they had. Flying swords streaked out head to tail in near-solid beams of light, transforming into scourges of slaughter that harvested lives without mercy.
Suddenly, a cloud of blood gathered over Ding'an City. A torrential blood-rain fell, instantly triggering the defensive formation into full activation. Every mortal in the city had undergone rigorous drill and had already sheltered underground; only those stationed at combat posts stood fast.
The city's barrier began to flicker violently, unable to withstand the assault of the blood curse. In an instant, nearly all the Dao Foundation cultivators operating the flying-sword launchers dropped dead, but more cultivators rushed forward to take their places immediately.
Inside the city lord's manor, Bao Yun oversaw the entire defense of Ding'an City, dispatching unit after unit of warriors to reinforce vulnerable stretches of the perimeter.
Of the other two Shaman columns, one attempted to bypass the network of earthen redoubts, only to suffer continuous long-range flying-sword strikes along the way. They returned fire with heavy crossbows, but the defenders remained entrenched inside the bunkers. Shaman heavy crossbows could pierce steel plate, yet their effectiveness was severely blunted against earthen and timber fieldworks.
The third column drove straight to the west before wheeling toward the heart of the domain, but Li Zhi's forces held the line with unyielding tenacity.
In the sky above the Qingming battlefield, one blood cloud appeared after another, claiming an increasing number of soldiers through deadly curses.
Wei Yuan gauged the size and duration of the blood clouds, calculating the Shamans' expenditure in maintaining such grand curses. Weakened as they were by the twin dampening effects of Qingming and the army's military qi, the falling blood curses still inflicted a devastating toll. With every passing moment, hundreds—even thousands—of warriors were cursed to death.
Wei Yuan waited patiently for the moment the Shaman Scenery Command experts revealed themselves.
Down on the earth, Qingming stood like a solitary reef in an ocean, battered wave after wave by the Shaman tide. Great swells crashed against the stone, shattering to foam, only for fresh breakers to come crashing down once more.
The Shaman vanguard suffered terrible casualties, yet through reckless disregard for losses, they forced their way into the defensive lines.
Only the Dao Foundation cultivators in Li Zhi's Zhenshan Army were equipped with flying-sword guns. Formidable as those weapons were, their numbers were limited, and Li Zhi's formation was the first to be breached, degenerating into chaotic melee.
The redoubt network also came under assault. Shaman forces pressed in from all sides, forcing the surface defenders to withdraw into the underground tunnels.
Ding'an City faced the heaviest enemy assault, yet its battlements bristled with all the newly produced short-barrel antipersonnel cannons. Combined with the flying-sword gun emplacements that Wei Yuan had meticulously configured, the Shamans had already abandoned over ten thousand corpses without managing to set foot on the walls.
Seeing that Li Zhi's troops were locked in close combat, Wei Yuan deployed his reserves: ten thousand sacrificial troops and ten thousand Xu family youths, who advanced from the left and right flanks to squeeze the Shaman forces.
These twenty thousand infantrymen were heavily armored and carried towering shields, advancing in dense, interlocking ranks like two massive, bristling slabs of steel. Though not vast in number, their unyielding alignment and synchronized stride threw the Shamans into momentary disarray.
Most of the crossbow bolts loosed by the Shamans clattered harmlessly off the heavy armor and shields. Once they closed into effective range, the two formations unleashed rolling volleys, one rank firing while the next prepared. This steady, creeping advance with continuous fire inflicted staggering casualties on the Shamans, significantly easing the pressure on Li Zhi's army.
As the fighting intensified, Wei Yuan committed one unit after another, and the flames of war spread across the plains.
While nearly a million soldiers clashed in life-and-death struggle below, the sky suddenly dimmed. Several towering, majestic silhouettes emerged overhead. Their terrifying aura instantly drained the strength from countless human warriors, leaving them helpless as enemy blades cut them down in the blink of an eye.
Sensing danger, Wei Yuan immediately unleashed Ephemeral Multitude to stabilize the front lines before channeling the power of the domain to resist the crushing aura.
Qingming's reservoir of cultivated energy began to deplete at an accelerated rate. For a single boundary stone—even an immortal stone—to withstand the brunt of multiple Scenery Command masters was an immense strain.
The Shaman Scenery Command experts had finally shown themselves.
Among grand cultivators, whichever side struck first risked exposing itself to targeted counterplay. With the Shaman forces suffering unexpectedly brutal casualties, their Nether Shamans had no choice but to intervene ahead of schedule.
Suddenly, an elderly man in broad robes and flowing sleeves materialized in the sky, hurling forth a massive golden seal. The moment it left his hand, it expanded to the size of a hill and crashed down violently toward the Nether Shamans. One Nether Shaman sneered, raised a hand to block the seal, and in an instant, both he and the old man vanished from sight.
This was the senior expert from the Four Sages Academy whom Li Zhi had invited.
Scarcely had they disappeared when a streak of red light flashed, following them into the void. Another Nether Shaman sneered and vanished in pursuit.
The churning of dark clouds accelerated across the sky, infusing the air with an inexplicable sense of peril.
At that moment, an old man, a middle-aged scholar, and a young Buddhist monk were strolling side by side. They moved with unhurried ease, the landscape transforming around them with every step as they traversed thousands of mountains and rivers.
The elderly man was none other than the Seventh Elder of the Bao family. He said, "Once we arrive, Master Qiuyue will test the boy's skills first, while Mister Chenzhou observes his style."
A faint pride showed on the scholar's face as he remarked coolly, "I would very much like to see what kind of person can play a game of Go so thoroughly heterodox."
The young monk said, "I have long heard that Qingming is well-governed and flourishing in strength. Aside from our game, this humble monk would also like to travel and observe. The common people of this world have suffered for far too long."
The Seventh Elder chuckled. "I too wish to see how well his domain is governed. But we shall play first. I still cannot make sense of his moves, but with the two of you present, we will surely force the lad to reveal his true depth. With two of the top three grandmasters in the State of Wu arriving in person, he should consider himself well honored."
The young monk smiled. "One more step, and we arrive. This humble monk grows more eager by the moment."
The three exchanged knowing smiles and stepped forward together. The surrounding scenery shifted—and straight before their eyes stood three colossal Nether Shamans radiating terrifying, sinister power. Without a single word, the Shamans unleashed a storm of spells potent enough to shatter mountains and boil the seas!
The Seventh Elder was both shocked and enraged. The scholar's face turned icy, and even the young monk's expression hardened with wrath. Unfazed by the sudden chaos, all three grand cultivators struck at once, carrying their battle with the three Nether Shamans into the boundless void.
Down below, Wei Yuan tilted his head toward the heavens in utter astonishment. He had no idea where these three human powerhouses had come from, nor whose hand had arranged it.
With all the Nether Shamans tied down, Wei Yuan's spirits soared. The Dragon Gallop Army finally mobilized, sweeping out to envelop the rear of the Shaman force besieging Li Zhi.
Just then, the military qi of the Shaman army convulsed. Several gargantuan beasts, each the size of a hill, trundled forward. Their hides were thick and leathery; ordinary bullets bounced off them harmlessly, and even flying-sword guns could barely pierce their skin.
Scuttling on dozens of stubby legs, the colossal beasts moved with startling speed, thundering straight into the redoubt zone. The surface fortifications crumpled like dry twigs before their immense bulk.
Reaching the heart of the redoubts, the beasts spewed inexhaustible torrents of black water from their maws, pouring it down the entrances to the subterranean passages! The moment the liquid touched anything, it hissed into plumes of white smoke, proving violently corrosive. Washed over by the foul flood, warriors below the Bone Tempering realm collapsed and died instantly, while even those who had attained completion in Body Casting grew dizzy and rapidly lost vitality.
Recognizing the lethal toxicity of the black water, underground commanders immediately ordered their troops to retreat, but a large number in the forward ranks had already fallen.
Some warriors stumbled as they ran, crying out in agony as excruciating pain flared from their feet. Looking down, they discovered the soles of their boots had completely dissolved, and the corrosive fluid was already eating through their flesh and bone.
The beasts continued to disgorge their toxic deluge without pause, as if harboring an entire ocean within their bellies, vomiting an amount of black water far exceeding their own size.
Meanwhile, Shaman warriors finally scaled the ramparts of Ding'an City, and savage hand-to-hand combat erupted atop the walls.
Seeing the dire turn of events, Wei Yuan charged directly toward one of the beasts in the redoubts. Beside another beast, a flash of white streaked through the air as the flying sable darted onto its back. Wherever the creature ran, deep fissures tore open in the monster's hide.
The beast let out a bellow of pain, shaking violently to dislodge the sable. But how could it throw off such a nimble creature? In the blink of an eye, the sable had circled it several times, carving out massive gashes a zhang deep—wounds severe enough to cripple even a monster of its proportions.
A Great Shaman with blade-like mantis arms dashed forward to intercept the sable, but a cat dropped from the sky, blocking the Shaman's path. Two other Great Shamans appeared before Wei Yuan, only for one to be grievously wounded and the other to flee in panic in an instant.
Leaving the fleeing Shaman aside, Wei Yuan shot water blades from his fingertips, plunging them into the bulk of a nearby beast. The creature shrieked, rolling and thrashing wildly as the blades shredded its flesh; every brief hesitation carved out a gaping crater in its body.
As more Great Shamans joined the fray, the reserve Shaman armies in the rear launched a general assault, driving the battle into a fever pitch.
Suddenly, a colossal tree that seemed to bridge heaven and earth manifested! It rooted itself into the soil, its vast root system sprawling over a radius of a hundred li. Its trunk, more than ten li thick, pierced the heavens, and its canopy stretched beyond the clouds!
The moment the giant tree appeared, the strength of the Qingming Domain surged exponentially. The vitality of every human defender skyrocketed, and the warriors suffering from the black water's poison underground saw their condition rapidly improve.
Conversely, countless Shamans felt as though boiling oil had been poured over their skins, and cries of agony rang out across their ranks.
The phantom image of the giant tree lasted only a few breaths before fading, yet in that brief span, the momentum shifted decisively in favor of humanity. True Monarch Huangyun appeared in the sky, offered Wei Yuan a nod, and vanished into the void to seek out Nether Shamans for combat.
Just then, a faint gleam of water-bright moonlight ignited on the far horizon, followed by a brilliant lunar arc spanning the sky like a rainbow, traversing tens of thousands of li in an instant!
The silhouette of True Monarch Xuanyue coalesced in the sky above Qingming. His breathing was ragged, his Daoist robe was torn and missing a sleeve, and his topknot cap had vanished entirely. Clearly, he had just emerged from a fierce battle and had rushed over in desperate haste without even pausing to change his robes.
The moment he arrived, True Monarch Xuanyue stood bathed in murderous aura, his gaze sweeping over the battlefield like lightning. To his astonishment, he found that every Nether Shaman was already locked in combat—and the human side actually held the upper hand in numbers.
True Monarch Xuanyue froze in bewilderment. Had he arrived too late?
Chapter 438