Longzang

Chapter 440: Too late?
The mountains and fields are filled with witches.

Hundreds of thousands of Wu tribe soldiers split into three groups and simultaneously charged into Qingming. Within their military aura, terrifying monsters the size of mountains could be vaguely discerned. Screams and roars of various tones enveloped the entire battlefield.

Several high-ranking shamans gathered together, looking at Ding'an City ahead, and all sneered: "With such low walls, any qualified warrior could jump over them. What's the point of building a city like this?"

Another high shaman, with a dozen eyes flashing with various lights, said, "The city's protective formation is quite ordinary. There are 20,000 garrison troops and 70,000 civilians in the city."

The high shaman in the center exhaled a cloud of white mist: "Take it down!"

Amidst the sound of horns, a large number of Wu tribe troops rushed past from below, heading towards Ding'an City.

As a plume of white smoke rose above Ding'an City, the roars instantly merged into a deafening roar, overwhelming all the howls and screams of the Wu tribe. Waves of Wu tribesmen fell in the front ranks, and plumes of white smoke rose intermittently from the army formation, blasting even Wu tribe captains, some several feet tall, into the sky.

The smoke grew thicker and thicker, almost enveloping the entire city of Ding'an. On the city walls, Dao Foundation cultivators gripped their flying sword launchers, desperately channeling their Dao power into them. Countless flying swords, their heads and tails almost forming a line, transformed into whips of Asura, mercilessly reaping lives.

A blood-red cloud suddenly appeared over Ding'an City, and blood rain fell, instantly activating the city's protective array. All the mortals in the city had already received special training and had taken refuge underground, with only those in their battle positions remaining to hold their ground.

The city's protective array flickered on and off, completely unable to withstand the attack of the blood curse. In an instant, almost all the Dao Foundation cultivators controlling the flying sword launchers died, but new cultivators immediately took their place.

Bao Yun was stationed in the city lord's mansion, overseeing the entire battle situation in Ding'an City. She mobilized squads of soldiers to reinforce weak points in the defensive line.

The other two groups of witch soldiers attempted to bypass the fortified area, but were constantly attacked by ranged flying swords. They retaliated with crossbows, but the defenders were sheltered in the fortresses. The witch tribe's heavy crossbows could penetrate steel plates, but were less effective against the earthen and wooden fortifications.

The third route of the Wu army advanced westward and then attacked the center of the territory, but was held back by Li Zhi's troops.

Above the Azure Battlefield, blood-red clouds appeared one after another, and more and more soldiers were cursed to death.

Wei Yuan estimated the size and duration of the blood cloud to gauge the energy expenditure of the Witch Clan in unleashing the great curse. The blood curse, weakened by the combined effects of Qingming and military energy, was still causing Qingming's casualties to skyrocket. Every moment, hundreds or even thousands of warriors were killed by the curse.

Wei Yuan waited patiently for the moment when Yu Jing of the Wu Clan would make his move.

On the land, Qingming was like an isolated island in the sea, being battered wave after wave by the tide of the Wu tribe. Giant waves crashed against the reefs and shattered, and then a new wave crashed down.

The Wu tribe's vanguard suffered heavy casualties, but they charged into the enemy lines despite the losses.

Li Zhi's Zhenshan Army only had Dao Foundation cultivators equipped with flying swords and spears. Although they were extremely powerful, their numbers were limited. They were the first to be charged into the formation by the Wu Clan, and a melee ensued.

The fortified formations also began to be attacked, with the Wu tribe army attacking from all directions, forcing the ground defenders to retreat underground.

Dingshan City faced the most enemies head-on, but the city walls were equipped with all the newly produced short-barreled cannons, and with Wei Yuan's carefully adjusted flying sword gun positions, the Wu tribe had already left behind tens of thousands of corpses, yet they still hadn't stormed the city walls.

Seeing that Li Zhi's troops had begun to engage the Wu tribe, Wei Yuan mobilized reserve troops, 10,000 sacrificial offerings and 10,000 Xu family youths, to press towards the Wu army from the left and right respectively.

These 20,000 infantrymen, all clad in heavy armor and large shields, formed a dense formation, resembling two massive, spiked steel blocks, slowly pressing towards the witch army. Although their numbers were small, their exceptionally disciplined array and pace caused some disarray within the witch army.

Most of the crossbow bolts fired by the Wu army were blocked by their large shields and thick armor. When they got close enough to be fired, the two forces began to bombard the Wu army continuously, with one volley firing and another following. They advanced and fired in this way, and soon they caused huge casualties to the Wu army, greatly reducing the pressure on Li Zhi's troops.

As the battle intensified, Wei Yuan continuously deployed troops to the battlefield, and the flames of war gradually spread.

Below, nearly a million troops were locked in a life-or-death struggle when the sky suddenly darkened, revealing several towering figures. The terrifying pressure instantly rendered countless human warriors powerless, and they were swiftly slaughtered by the enemy.

Seeing the situation was dire, Wei Yuan immediately activated the Instantaneous All Beings skill, which stabilized the front line, and then used the power of his domain to resist the oppressive force.

The nurturing power of Qingming began to decline rapidly. Even a boundary stone, let alone a celestial stone, would find it extremely difficult to withstand the impact of several Yujing.

The Witch Clan's Imperial View has finally appeared.

Whoever strikes first will be more vulnerable to being targeted. At this moment, the Witch Clan army suffered unexpectedly heavy casualties, forcing several Nether Witches to reveal themselves ahead of schedule.

Suddenly, an elderly man in flowing robes appeared in the air and threw out a large seal. The seal was golden in color, and after being thrown, it grew to the size of a small mountain, smashing fiercely towards several ghostly sorcerers. One of the sorcerers sneered, blocked the seal, and then disappeared along with the old man.

This is the senior from the Four Saints Academy whom Li Zhi invited.

They had just disappeared when a red shadow flashed and followed. But another sorcerer let out a cold laugh and vanished as well. The dark clouds in the sky suddenly surged faster, and a strange, dangerous aura appeared.

At this moment, an old man, a middle-aged scholar, and a young monk were walking side by side. The two were leisurely, and with each step they took, the scenery around them changed. They had already crossed thousands of mountains and rivers.

The old man was none other than the seventh elder of the Bao family. He said, "When we arrive at the destination, Master Qiuyue should first spar with that boy, and Mr. Chenzhou should observe his style first."

The scholar, with a hint of arrogance on his face, slowly said, "I want to see carefully what kind of person could come up with such an unorthodox game."

The young monk said, "I have long heard that Qingming governs well and its strength is growing day by day. This time, while playing chess, I also want to take a good look around. The people of this world have suffered for far too long."

The Seventh Elder laughed and said, "I also want to see how well he governs his territory. However, once we start playing chess, I can't figure out his tactics. But with the two of you here this time, we'll be able to force out that kid's true strength. With two of the top three masters of Wu Kingdom here, that kid has some face."

The young monk said, "With this step taken, we're almost there. I'm getting more and more excited."

The three exchanged a smile, took a step forward in unison, and then the mountains and rivers before them transformed, revealing three enormous, terrifyingly ferocious ghostly sorcerers. Without a word, they unleashed a spell powerful enough to split mountains and boil seas!
The Seventh Elder was both shocked and furious, the scholar's face was as cold as frost, and the monk also showed signs of anger. The three powerful figures remained calm in the face of chaos and attacked together, fighting the three sorcerers to the heavens.

Wei Yuan looked up at the sky, astonished. He didn't know why three powerful human beings had suddenly appeared, or whose doing it was.

With all the sorcerers of the Wu tribe captured, Wei Yuan was immediately invigorated. The Longxiang Army finally set out to encircle and attack the rear of Li Zhi's sorcerer army.

At this moment, the military aura of the Wu tribe army suddenly changed, and several enormous beasts, as large as small mountains, appeared. They had thick hides and flesh, so ordinary bullets didn't hurt them at all, and even flying swords and spears could only barely pierce their skin.

These behemoths moved with incredible speed on their dozens of short, thick legs, charging into the fortified area with a thunderous roar. The surface defenses appeared extremely fragile in the face of their massive bodies, crumbling at the slightest touch.

As they charged into the center of the fortified area, the giant beasts spewed endless streams of black water from their mouths, pouring it down into the underground passage! This black water hissed and emitted white smoke upon contact with anything, possessing extremely strong corrosive properties. Warriors who were on high alert in the tunnels were instantly killed upon being hit by the black water; those below the Bone Forging Realm collapsed and died instantly, while even warriors at the Great Body Forging Realm felt dizzy and their life force rapidly declined.

Seeing that the black water was extremely poisonous, the commander in the underground passage immediately ordered his soldiers to retreat, but a large number of soldiers in the front ranks had already fallen.

Some soldiers were running when they suddenly felt a sharp pain in their feet. They then realized that their combat boots had stepped into black water, and the entire soles of the boots had been corroded away, beginning to erode the flesh on their feet.

The giant beasts continued to pour out black water, as if their bellies contained a vast ocean, the black water they spewed far exceeding their own size.

At this time, the Wu tribe finally breached the walls of Ding'an City, and the two sides engaged in fierce fighting on the walls.

Seeing the critical situation, Wei Yuan immediately rushed towards a giant beast in the pit area. A white shadow flashed beside another giant beast, and the flying sable ran onto the beast's body. Where it ran, the beast's body cracked open, creating a deep trench.

The giant beast roared in pain, shaking its body in an attempt to shake off the flying sable. But how could it possibly shake off the flying sable? In the blink of an eye, it had already run several times around the giant beast, leaving behind huge cuts, each a foot deep. Even for a beast of its size, this was a serious injury.

A powerful shaman with two sword-like arms rushed forward to intercept the flying sable, but a cat descended from the sky and blocked his path. Two other powerful shamans appeared before Wei Yuan; in the blink of an eye, one was severely injured, and the other fled in disarray.

Ignoring the fleeing shaman, Wei Yuan unleashed water blades from his fingertips, piercing the body of a giant beast. The beast roared deafeningly, writhing and struggling desperately as the water blades sliced ​​through its body; any pause left a gaping hole.

As the high priests joined the battle, the witch army preparing in the rear also began to advance, and the great battle finally reached its climax.

Suddenly, a colossal tree appeared! The tree was rooted in the earth, its roots covering a radius of a hundred miles, its trunk, which was more than ten miles thick, reached straight to the sky, and its canopy was beyond the clouds!

With the appearance of the giant tree, the power of the Azure Netherworld Realm increased dramatically, and the vitality of all humans surged. The injuries of the warriors underground who had been poisoned by the black water also improved rapidly.

Countless members of the witch clan were as if they had been doused with boiling oil, and they screamed in agony.

The giant tree phantom vanished in a few breaths, and in a short time, the battle had shifted dramatically in favor of the human race. Huang Yun Zhenjun appeared in the sky, nodded to Wei Yuan, and then disappeared, heading beyond the heavens to find Youwu for a decisive battle.

At this moment, a point of moonlight, the color of water, suddenly appeared on the distant horizon, and then a beam of moonlight, like a rainbow, streaked across the sky and instantly traversed the vast land!
The figure of Xuan Yue Zhenjun appeared in the sky above Qingming. His aura was fluctuating, his Taoist robe was tattered and missing a sleeve, and the Taoist crown that bound his hair was nowhere to be found. It was clear that he had just experienced a great battle and had rushed over in a hurry without even having time to change his Taoist robe.

Upon arriving at the battlefield, Xuan Yue Zhenjun was filled with murderous intent, his divine eyes flashing like lightning. He instantly swept across the entire battlefield and was astonished to find that all the Youwu were fighting, and the human race even had the upper hand in terms of numbers.

Xuan Yue Zhenjun was taken aback. Had he arrived too late?

(End of this chapter)