Chapter 858: Confrontation
Chapter 858: Confrontation
Dong! Dong!
The bells chimed with increasing urgency, their sound even piercing into the various Grotto-heavens and the secluded cultivation chambers of the cultivators.
Streaks of escape light involuntarily emerged from the numerous immortal abodes, revealing cultivators of high cultivation. Some rode magic treasures, some stepped upon spirit birds, and others floated on the wind, their expressions exceptionally solemn.
Fang Xi looked up and saw, not far away, a beacon tower suspended in mid-air suddenly ignite, a plume of smoke soaring straight into the sky.
Nearby, another beacon tower appeared.
Streaks of smoke rose in succession, forming a continuous line, like a great wall.
"The Myriad Calamity Beacon Great Array! This is the outermost formation of Tianyuan City, serving as an alarm!"
Having discussed the Dao with Ji Feixue for many days, Fang Xi was thoroughly familiar with Tianyuan City's defensive system.
With a flash of golden light, Jin Gangzi appeared beside Fang Xi. "Fellow Daoist Qing Hezi. . . the demon army has arrived. It is time for us to fulfill our duties."
Fang Xi nodded slightly, bade farewell to Huo Cangzi, and then soared into the sky with Jin Gangzi.
At the highest point of Tianyuan City, a colossal chessboard, spanning nineteen lines, stood majestically.
At the central 'tianyuan' position of the chessboard lay a massive white piece, resembling a grand white jade platform.
On this white jade platform, two figures stood with hands clasped behind their backs, overlooking the entire chessboard. They were none other than Mo Yunzi and Wu Xingzi!
Fang Xi and Jin Gangzi arrived on the white jade platform and swept their Divine Consciousness.
Within each of the chess pieces, a wealth of information and images emerged, showing a corner of the battlefield.
This chessboard artifact was, surprisingly, the overall monitoring system for the entire battlefield!
'It seems there are benefits to being one of the Human Race Five Sons. . . '
'At least, I'm the commander-in-chief now. . . '
Fang Xi gazed at this scene, feeling a sense of familiarity and emotion.
When he was in the lower realm, he had also experienced a great war between humans and demons, but back then, he was merely a part of the main force, not involved in command.
As his cultivation continued to rise, so did his status.
Clack!
Just then, a crisp sound of a piece being placed echoed from the outermost edge of the chessboard.
A black piece appeared.
Fang Xi's Divine Consciousness swept over it, revealing a vast, dark expanse of the demon army.
Unfortunately, he could only vaguely discern their formidable military formations and countless demon cultivators. . . As for what lay hidden within, it was utterly impossible to probe.
This was vastly different from the white pieces, which provided all intelligence information.
Chirp! Chirp!
In the high heavens, numerous flying beasts gathered like clouds, completely obscuring the seven great suns of the Earthly Immortal World.
Strands of demonic qi emerged, transforming into a demon god with a human body and a bird's head, ceaselessly roaring and bellowing.
On the ground, rhino-like demon beasts roared, carrying towering battlements on their backs.
Within these battlements stood rows of demon cultivators, all with exceedingly grave expressions.
In a racial war of this caliber, even Soul Transformation and Void Amalgamation cultivators could die at any moment. Even Mahayana cultivators might perish!
Only those with Mahayana cultivation could truly ensure their survival.
This cruelty applied equally to both the Human Race and the Demon Race.
"They are War Beasts!"
Jin Gangzi looked at the nineteen mountain-sized giant beasts, each no smaller than Lvxing Great Sage's true form, and warned, "These are ancient beasts specially tamed by the Demon Race using secret techniques. Judging by their aura, they have likely reached the quasi-seventh stage. . ."
"They must have been fed some secret medicine to stimulate their potential. After this great war, these ancient beasts will certainly be severely weakened. The Demon Race is quite extravagant. . ."
Mo Yunzi sneered.
Fang Xi's gaze fell upon the front of a military formation.
This was clearly a high-level military formation, with all demon cultivators being at or above the fourth stage, having taken human form.
They wore dark green armor, and their demonic qi surged skyward, faintly carrying an aura that Fang Xi found exceptionally familiar.
"Celestial Demon Extermination Manual. . ."
"It seems these must be the Demon Race's elite 'Heavenly Demon Guards,' right?"
He muttered, recalling what he had read in ancient texts.
Among the Demon Race, various clans had their unique cultivation methods, but there were also some common techniques that were not restricted by lineage, allowing all demons to cultivate them!
The Celestial Demon Extermination Manual was the most renowned among them!
Precisely for this reason, it became the first choice for cultivators from lower-ranked clans!
After all, their bloodline inheritances were weak, unlike the powerful cultivation methods of the four great royal clans.
The grade of the Celestial Demon Extermination Manual was already sufficient!
This demon cultivation technique was widely spread throughout the Demon Race.
Demon cultivators who practiced the same technique could more easily combine their magical power, unleashing the greatest power of their battle formations!
This 'Heavenly Demon Guard's' 'Heavenly Demon God Battle Formation' held a fearsome reputation among both the Human and Demonic Races, having once caused rivers of blood to flow from countless humans!
The next moment, in front of the Heavenly Demon Guards, dark green lotus platforms rose one after another, radiating a faint green glow.
Within the glow, five figures distinctly appeared.
Their appearances varied, but all were peak Void Amalgamation existences.
One of them, a stunning woman with a bared shoulder, leisurely puffed on a tobacco pipe, her beautiful eyes seeming to pierce directly through the formation, gazing at Fang Xi and the others on the chessboard.
"The Five Great Saints of the Demon Race!"
Fang Xi murmured, his gaze lingering on a golden-armored ape for a few more moments.
After all, this 'Tongbei Great Sage' was reputed to be the foremost in combat among all the Great Sages, and his spell-casting ability was remarkably outstanding.
He was one of the Demon Race Great Sages that Fang Xi intended to avoid as much as possible.
"With all five Great Saints of the Demon Race present, it's a bit troublesome. . . Long Qingzi shouldn't have stayed to defend the Po Suo Twin Cities."
Mo Yunzi murmured.
"Heh heh. . . Fellow Daoist Qing Hezi, this time we'll have to rely heavily on your strength. Although the Great Sages of the Demon Race appear harmonious on the surface, they harbor many hidden schemes. As long as Fellow Daoist can unleash the power that annihilated Lvxing Great Sage before, unexpectedly crippling or killing one of them, the remaining four will surely grow wary and even stab each other in the back. . ."
Wu Xingzi chuckled.
Fang Xi glanced at this unseemly old man and shook his head in reply, "My ability to annihilate Lvxing Great Sage was merely a stroke of luck. To do it again would be far beyond my current capabilities. . . In terms of strength, I can at most hold off one Demon Race Great Sage. . . The rest will depend on you fellow Daoists."
He felt that Wu Xingzi might be probing him, but he clearly wouldn't agree to such a thing for the sake of some grand human cause, needlessly exposing his trump cards.
"We will each face one Demon Race Great Sage, but we're still short one. . ."
Upon hearing this, Jin Gangzi's brow furrowed.
"If there's no other way, we can only entrust it to the three Gao brothers. They have awakened a spirit body specializing in combined attack techniques. I will then give them the 'Three Immortals Ring. ' With their cultivation, holding off one Demon Race Great Sage shouldn't be much of a problem."
Mo Yunzi said.
"Amitabha, that's the only way. . ."
Jin Gangzi said, feeling somewhat helpless.
The Human Race was at a disadvantage in this city defense from the start.
Fortunately, by relying on geographical advantage for defense, they could offset some of the Demon Race's advantages, making it a relatively even match.
If there was no hope of victory, it was truly hard to say whether cultivators, given their nature, would flee the battlefield.
Fang Xi remained silent, merely raising his head thoughtfully.
...
Above the Nine Heavens Astral Winds.
This place was exceptionally high in the Earthly Immortal World, a height many demon beasts found difficult to reach. Thus, the seven great suns blazed fiercely, unobscured in the slightest.
Streaks of 'Nine Heavens Divine Soaring Thunder Astral Qi' and 'Three Profound Xun Wind Fiery Astral Qi' swept across wantonly. Even high-level cultivators might not dare to fly to such an altitude.
Therefore, the two factions, on the verge of battle below, had not noticed that at an extremely high point in the sky, a multicolored phoenix and a mountain-like Xuanwu were suspended in mid-air.
Countless astral winds raged, yet they were automatically repelled by an unknown aura, unable to intrude even a fraction of an inch.
Beside the two True Spirits of the Demon Race stood a man in yellow robes.
His head was as large as a bucket, his forehead rugged, and his hair sparse.
Yet, in terms of aura, he subtly outmatched the two True Spirits beside him.
"Di Jiang!"
Opposite the two True Spirits, four streaks of escape light flashed, revealing the figures of four Mahayana cultivators of the Human Race.
The Mahayana cultivator surnamed Bu stood with a sword on his back, the Mahayana cultivator surnamed Meng was surrounded by five-colored lightning, and the Mahayana cultivator surnamed Che held a silver-white treasure mirror in his hand.
At this moment, it was Qing Xu Tong Zi, who carried a large fan on his back, who spoke first: "The Jiuchi Race has always resided deep within the barren lands. Why bother with all this now?"
"Fellow Daoist Qing Xu, why do you bother trying to deceive this old man?"
The Mahayana cultivator of the Jiuchi Race named Di Jiang sneered, "Although the Earthly Immortal World is vast, it's always better to occupy more. . . Back in the Immortal World, there was a 'Immortal Family Jade Book' circulating, thoroughly describing the mysteries of the Earthly Immortal World. . . This realm prioritizes the earth's essence. If one can occupy the vastest lands, one can gather clan destiny and give birth to True Immortals. . . The Human, Demon, and Monster Races previously occupied the core essence of the Earthly Immortal World, their luck unceasing, producing Mahayana cultivators generation after generation, and even predecessors who ascended to higher realms. . ."
"My Jiuchi Race lives in a remote corner. Now, if we wish to develop, we cannot bypass the three races. . ."
"What's more. . . as the Human, Demon, and Monster Races expand, they will eventually border my Jiuchi Race. Given your dispositions, how could you possibly spare my Jiuchi Race? Rather than being displaced and suffering the fate of alien races like the Wangyue, it's better to launch an offensive now. . ."
"Our cultivations are similar. Although this old man was fortunate enough to survive six Mahayana tribulations, I cannot defeat a fellow Daoist who possesses an Immortal Abode Rare Treasure. . ."
Di Jiang said indifferently, "What do you think of my previous proposal? As long as you Mahayana and Void Amalgamation and above cultivators swear an oath on the Grand Dao to stay confined within the Nine Domains for the next hundred thousand years, my Jiuchi Race can immediately cease hostilities and retreat. . ."
"Confined to the Nine Domains?"
Qing Xu Tong Zi laughed out of extreme anger, "Even if my Human Race's Tianyuan City were to be utterly defeated now, we would only lose half of our territory, which is but fifty domains. . . You expect my Human Race to abandon the vast majority of our territory with a single word? Don't you think that's excessive?"
"Fine, it seems we must still fight a battle. . ."
Di Jiang's body swirled with chaotic qi, revealing the true form of the Jiuchi Race: yellow like a pouch, red like cinnabar fire, with six legs and four wings. "Very well, then let us proceed according to our original agreement and confirm the ownership based on the outcome of the war below. . ."
The two True Spirits of the Demon Race also had looks of amusement in their eyes.
Among Mahayana cultivators, the difference in strength was actually not significant.
Unless one encountered an overwhelmingly powerful opponent, or was besieged by cultivators of the same realm wielding Immortal Abode Rare Treasures, or trapped in a place of certain death, it was extremely difficult for them to perish.
Even last time, when the Demon Race turned on them, the three Mahayana cultivators of the Human Race managed to escape after paying a certain price.
This time's battle of spells was clearly no different.
Both sides were almost equally matched, capable of suppressing but not defeating each other.
The true key to the great war still lay with the armies below!
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