Chapter 2075: The City Falls, Devastation Among the Living!
Chapter 2075: Chapter 2075: The City Falls, Devastation Among the Living!
Above the Heavenly Seal Sect, the dark red blood curtain that had shrouded the sky for many days shattered inch by inch like broken colored glaze; the long-lost daylight pierced through the evil miasma and spilled down.
However, among the crowd standing on the ruined plaza, there was not the slightest joy that should follow the breaking of a formation on their faces.
Ning Chenxin withdrew the divine radiance he had projected; his aura was slightly unstable. The power of the Heavenly Jade Treasure Tree was indeed mighty, but driving it consumed an immense amount of his mind and spirit.
Following everyone’s gaze, he looked toward the direction of the Banan Border, and his pupils abruptly contracted.
At the very edge of the sky, where there should have been the outlines of cities and verdant mountain ranges, everything was now covered by an endless expanse of scarlet.
That red was not the glow of sunset, but thick, congealed blood light and resentment, like an overturned giant bowl, covering the entire core region of the Banan Border.
Within the blood light, twisted runes could vaguely be seen circulating, forming a colossal six-pointed star pattern, at least a hundred times larger than the formation within the Heavenly Seal Sect. It rotated slowly, and with every pulse, the distant space trembled along with it.
Even separated by such a distance, a dreadful aura of evil, despair, and devouring still surged faintly toward them like a tide.
"That... that is the real Evil Formation..." The Mystic Armor General’s face was deathly pale, his voice trembling. "The Heavenly Seal Sect... was indeed just a decoy, one of the array foundations..."
The habitual laziness on Han Shouyi’s face had long vanished without a trace, replaced by an unprecedented gravity.
Feeling that overwhelming evil aura in the distance, he said in a deep voice, "What a fine move, sneaking past under cover. Using six sects as sacrifice to carve the six-pointed star lines—Heavenly Seal Sect is the final corner, also the trigger point.
When all of our attention, including the main force of the Guardians, was drawn to the Heavenly Seal Sect, they had already, at the border’s core, activated the true, complete grand formation."
Lu Mingyuan also frowned and said, "The Holy Sect has made a grand move indeed. Clearly, this last corner of the array foundation could have been arranged anywhere, yet they had to let us discover it, just to stall us? Could it be... they have some other objective?"
"Who has the leisure to care about all that now?" Jiang Yi clenched his fists, his nails almost digging into his flesh, bloodshot veins covering his eyes. "The border cities... Huo Xiedao and the others..."
He did not dare imagine, under the shroud of a formation of such scale, what kind of fate awaited the Guardians and border troops left behind, as well as the countless cultivators and civilians who had been unable to evacuate.
Ba Xiyue’s delicate body swayed slightly. "With Huo Xiedao sitting in command, the city gates shouldn’t have been breached; there should still be room to turn things around..."
Yet Ba Xiyue was indeed a Princess of the Banan Divine Kingdom; she quickly steadied herself. Her voice carried an icy killing intent and a faint, almost imperceptible tremor. "Transmit a message to the Imperial City at once! Request immediate aid from the Imperial Preceptor and the Sacrificial Hall! Commander Jiang, gather all Guardians still able to move and ride with me to reinforce the border!
Mystic Armor General, you will lead the Moon Shadow Guards to escort the survivors of the Heavenly Seal Sect in their retreat, and contact all surrounding sects and clans. Raise the alert to the highest level, build defensive lines—we must not allow the evil aura to spread any further!"
"Yes!" Jiang Yi and the Mystic Armor General answered solemnly.
Qin Zhao and Yang Shao exchanged a glance, each seeing the terror in the other’s eyes.
Even within the intelligence of the Supervisory Temple, there had never been any record of an Evil Formation of such terrifying scale.
Qin Zhao said coldly, "This matter is no longer something that concerns only the Banan Divine Kingdom. It must be reported to the Supervisory Temple immediately."
At this moment, Chu Ran also put away all his arrogance and disdain, his expression turning extremely grim.
The gray-robed old man said in a low voice, "Second young master, this place has become the eye of the storm. This old servant suggests that..."
Chu Ran shot the gray-robed old man a look and said in a deep voice, "You think I can’t handle this, don’t you?"
The gray-robed old man’s expression stiffened.
Though he said nothing, anyone could tell that this was indeed what he thought.
Chu Ran flicked his sleeve with a cold snort. "Send the message back to the clan and tell them I alone can settle this!"
As his words fell.
Chu Ran turned into a fiery meteor and rushed straight toward that blood curtain!
The gray-robed old man shook his head with a sigh. While transmitting the message back, he followed after him.
The others, seeing this, also followed closely behind.
The closer they drew to the border, the more shocking the scene became.
The once prosperous border cities were now mostly shrouded beneath the blood curtain.
The city walls lay in ruins, their runes dim.
Ba Xiyue’s expression changed drastically. "The city’s been breached? What is Huo Xiedao doing?!"
At the edge of the blood curtain, the earth was cracked and desiccated, vegetation withered, life extinct; only the thick stench of blood and lingering resentment drifted through the air. Here and there, some cultivators and commoners who had escaped beyond the blood curtain’s range could be seen, all with fear etched on their faces, covered in wounds, fleeing for their lives away from the border.
From time to time, scattered squads of Guardians or cultivators were engaged in battle around the blood curtain’s perimeter with some Black Robe evil cultivators or Demon Beasts driven mad by the evil aura. But they were clearly at a disadvantage, being pushed back again and again.
"Bastards!" Jiang Yi’s eyes nearly split open. Seeing several Guardians besieged and slain by evil cultivators, he let out a furious roar and was about to charge down.
"Commander Jiang, calm yourself!" Yang Shao pressed him down with one hand. "Saving people is important, yes, but if we don’t break the core formation, killing however many evil cultivators will be useless—we’ll just be mired in a quagmire! Look there—"
Everyone followed the direction Yang Shao pointed.
In the center of the blood-colored firmament, the vague outline of a towering mountain could be seen—that was the border’s hub, Zhenyue Mountain, where the Guardian Mansion was located.
At this moment, the blood light at the mountain’s summit was the most intense, as though it were the energy hub and eye of the array for the entire Evil Formation.
Countless streams of blood-colored energy, like vascular meridians, converged there from all parts of the border—that is, from the sects previously covered by the six-pointed star—while an even denser blood-colored evil aura erupted from the mountaintop, sustaining and expanding this terrifying blood curtain that covered hundreds of miles.
In the high skies around the mountain, dozens of Black Robe figures with powerful auras could faintly be seen suspended in midair. They held Bone Staffs or Evil Flags, chanting obscure Spells as they presided over the operation of the grand formation.
Among them, the leading few possessed such formidable auras that even Han Shouyi felt a faint chill in his heart.
"Peak of Formless Realm... and more than one." Han Shouyi’s voice was low. "With such a lineup, their aim is by no means merely slaughtering a single city or region."
Qin Zhao added from the side, "According to the records in the Supervisory Temple concerning the Holy Sect, when the Holy Sect takes large-scale action, it is rarely just for slaughter or cultivating some Evil Technique."
At this point, everyone turned their gaze toward Ba Xiyue and Jiang Yi.
Han Shouyi asked in a deep voice, "What exactly is hidden in the Banan Border?"
Ba Xiyue was at a loss.
Jiang Yi’s brows knitted tightly, his expression grave. After hesitating for a long while, he finally said, "This matter concerns the secrets of the Banan Divine Kingdom. Without His Majesty’s permission, I cannot reveal it."
Chu Ran sneered. "As expected, the problem lies with your Banan Divine Kingdom. Even at a time like this you still won’t speak. Seems the Banan Divine Kingdom doesn’t want our support either."
Jiang Yi let out a sigh. "I only know a little of this matter as well. When the current ruler is willing to speak, he will naturally tell you."
Ba Xiyue frowned.
Even she did not know?
At this moment.
Ning Chenxin frowned and shouted, "For now, we must first resolve this matter; otherwise, more people will die."
Lu Mingyuan and Han Shouyi exchanged glances.
They now understood why Ning Chenxin’s righteousness was so pure.
It was not only because of his talent, nor merely because of that book.
It was because Ning Chenxin’s heart was purer than any of theirs.