City Under Siege

The Abyss Ruins. At this moment, the tremors rocking the Abyss Ruins were at their most violent, and not a single soul was in sight. A blood-red escape light barged into the Abyss Ruins, swift as lightning, plunging straight into a vast sea of mist. Before long, four more streaks of escape light arrived in succession—Daoist Canghong, Fairy Qiuzhi, and their companions. The blood-red streak ahead was none other than Old Demon Ye, who had fled all the way here. "His target is the Sin God Palace!" The entrance to the Sin God Palace lay deep within this sea of mist. "Hurry!" The four dared not hesitate and plunged into the mist. Suddenly, a deafening roar like rolling thunder erupted from deep within the haze, violently rattling their minds and spirits. Immediately following, a terrifying wave swept outward, accompanied by an overwhelming aura of crushing might. Rumble... The sea of mist was thrown into absolute chaos. Countless turbulent currents rampaged in every direction, each carrying staggering power. This was the very source of the Abyss Ruins' tremors. Right now, the tremors grew ever more violent. Though all four were top-tier experts, they felt a pang of suffocation, struggling with all their might to steady themselves lest they be swept away by the churning mist and lost within its depths. Just then, the four stopped abruptly, staring blankly ahead. Through the haze, deep within the dense vapor, the phantom silhouette of an immortal gate faintly emerged. The immortal gate was immense, soaring between heaven and earth. The moment it manifested, myriad anomalous phenomena erupted around it. However, these apparitions bore not the slightest resemblance to an immortal realm. Instead, they were lingering visions comparable to the ultimate tortures of the eighteen levels of hell: mountains of blades, seas of fire, heavenly thunder, pools of blood—every dreadful punishment imaginable appeared in turn. Those condemned to punishment writhed in agony, sinking into eternal damnation. Even knowing these were mere illusions, it was enough to strike terror into any heart. The immortal gate was tightly shut, and in its very center was an ancient, blood-red character: "Sin"! Surrounded by all those ominous phenomena, the blood-red character glowed with a terrifying crimson brilliance. In the next instant, the gate trembled. Under their shocked gazes, it slowly opened a sliver. But it was not yet time for the Sin God Palace to emerge into the world, and with a booming crash, the gate snapped shut. Yet in that split second, an inconspicuous bloody shadow flashed straight through the gap into the gate. "Old Demon Ye got inside!" Cultivator Shan cried out in disbelief. The group was left stunned. Only now did they understand why Old Demon Ye had dared to defy the entire world—he had long since secured an escape route, an absolutely secure sanctuary! Since ancient times, such a thing had never occurred. Only when the Ziwei Palace appeared would the Sin God Palace's immortal gate open; no one had ever been able to open it on their own. Old Demon Ye was the first! Until the Ziwei Palace appeared again, no one could enter to hunt him down. The phantom gate gradually faded into illusion. The four cursed inwardly and rushed to where the gate had stood. By the time they arrived, it had already vanished, leaving only an enormous vortex of mist before their eyes. Standing at the edge of the vortex, each wore a different expression, but none dared venture inside. The vortex was filled with turbulent currents that could easily rip any intruder to shreds. The entrance to the Sin God Palace—that very immortal gate—was usually concealed deep within this vortex. Only when the Ziwei Palace appeared, triggering the ancient restrictions, would the gate manifest and open. "How did Old Demon Ye pull this off?" Daoist Canghong muttered to himself, unable to believe his eyes. They tried to provoke the immortal gate into appearing, but no matter what methods they exhausted, the vortex of mist gave no response, showing not a trace of the gate. All four felt dejected. Old Demon Ye was stained with countless debts of blood, yet they could do nothing against him. "Old Demon Ye's intentions remain unclear, so we must guard against his return. However, the battle at Yucheng is critical; Fellow Daoist Qi and the others are no match for Daoist Zhenyi on their own." A hint of exhaustion crept across Daoist Canghong's brow. This was truly internal strife coupled with external peril. Old Man Tianzheng had yet to recover from severe wounds, and Canghong could not be in two places at once. After a brief pause, Daoist Canghong instructed, "Fellow Daoist Shan, you two stay behind for now and keep a close watch here. Fairy, if I recall correctly, your sect's Heavenly Net Essence-Locking Array possesses trapping capabilities. Set it up here to prevent Old Demon Ye from barging out. It will serve as an emergency measure. Once we untangle this chaotic mess, we can make further arrangements." Fairy Qiuzhi nodded. "I shall go retrieve the array disk for the Heavenly Net Essence-Locking Array at once. Daoist Canghong, return swiftly to Yucheng to stabilize our forces. The turmoil inside the city cannot escape the eyes and ears of the Two Domains Alliance; they certainly won't let such a once-in-a-millennium opportunity slip away..." Seasoned by countless trials, they did not panic even in the face of this unprecedented crisis, carefully untangling the myriad threads and prioritizing what was most urgent. As Daoist Canghong and Fairy Qiuzhi flew out of the Abyss Ruins, they saw a young man at the Core Formation stage pacing in circles like an ant on a hot pan, his face drenched in anxiety. "Seniors, disaster has struck..." Seeing them, the youth hurried over and whispered several urgent words. Daoist Canghong's expression changed drastically, his earlier composure vanishing entirely. *** Yucheng. The lotus had vanished. The city-defending formation was broken! Cultivator Qi had led his forces to withdraw like turtles into the inner city. By now, having undergone the baptism of war, the outer city was reduced to ruins, devoid of any sign of its former prosperity. The armies of the Two Domains Alliance were arriving one after another, massing here. An overwhelming force bore down upon the city! The inner city was the original Yucheng; it possessed a complete ancient defensive array, which Cultivator Qi had already activated. At this moment, golden light shimmered above the inner city. The formation took the form of a golden hemispherical barrier overturned atop the city like a tortoise shell, firmly sheltering the inner city. The Two Domains Alliance was in no rush to attack. The Nascent Soul experts gathered together to deliberate their next move. Internal strife in the Sin Abyss had resulted in more than half of their experts killed or wounded. Defeating them was only a matter of time, but they still had to guard against the Sin Abyss lashing out like a cornered dog; no one wanted to perish on the eve of victory. Inside the inner city. The Nascent Soul cultivators of the Sin Abyss were likewise gathered in a grand hall, but unlike the high-spirited Two Domains Alliance, the atmosphere in this hall was suffocatingly grim. Particularly those who had taken the Withered Yuan Pill and suffered its backlash—their essence, qi, and spirit were still slowly withering away. Thinking of how the future of both themselves and their sects hung in the balance, they sat dark-faced, without uttering a word. Cultivator Qi silently observed everyone's expressions. He knew full well that morale on their side had plummeted to rock bottom, and he could easily guess what was on their minds. Previously, it was to refine the Withered Yuan Pill that they had been willing to make enemies and personally take to the battlefield. Now that they knew the pill was a trap, what benefit was there in continuing the fight? However, the tables had turned, and the Two Domains Alliance held overwhelming power. Put in their shoes, had they been suppressed and beaten for over a century, they too would want to vent their pent-up fury. Whether this war could be halted was no longer up to them. The reason no one had taken a stance yet was that they were all awaiting news from Daoist Canghong. In their hearts, they still harbored a sliver of hope that Daoist Canghong might capture or kill Old Demon Ye, and that there might still be room to salvage the situation—a way to resolve the hidden dangers of the Withered Yuan Pill. Naturally, capturing Old Demon Ye alive and wringing out his scheme would be even better. Old Demon Ye had laid his plans for centuries, scheming against all living beings beneath the heavens. Plotting so deeply, he surely aimed for something grand—most likely an unimaginable treasure, or perhaps an opportunity to break through into the late Nascent Soul stage or an even higher realm. Compared to such things, the outcome of this war had ironically become far less important.