My strength increases by one percent every day; I can destroy stars with my bare hands.

The black-robed evil cultivator stood on the bluestone platform, looking at the trapped crowd, and laughed wildly.

"Struggling is futile. Today you will all perish here and become stepping stones for my cultivation technique."

The black-robed evil cultivator's face was a bloody mess, and his sinister grin was chilling.

Li Xuancang's eyes were sharp as an eagle's as he quickly scanned the entire blood array and soon discerned the key.

All evil spells, puppets, and blood mist are driven by the array eye and blood-colored runes on the bluestone platform. As long as the array eye is destroyed and the connection between the evil cultivator and the array is severed, the array will surely be broken.

"Commander Liu, lead the men to hold the line. I'm going to destroy the core of the formation."

Li Xuancang gave a stern order, his voice piercing through the cacophony of evil sounds and clearly reaching the ears of every soldier.

Passive defense leads only to certain death; only by taking the initiative and launching a strong attack to destroy the key points of the formation can one survive in dire straits.

"Here you go!"

Liu Qingyun and the others echoed in unison, their lives now entirely in Li Xuancang's hands.

Li Xuancang pushed his blood and qi to the limit, his bones emitted a slight crackling sound, his physical strength exploded, and his body was surrounded by dense blood qi, forcefully repelling the surrounding blood mist and vengeful spirits.

"kill!"

He charged straight towards the heart of the formation like a tiger descending a mountain, fearless.

The power of qi and blood surged, reaching the heavens. Any blood corpses or vengeful spirits that blocked the way were shattered, blood splattered everywhere, and blood mist dissipated.

"wishful thinking!"

The black-robed evil cultivator's face darkened, and he frantically activated the formation, causing more blood beasts and bone claws to surge out from the ground. The vengeful spirits within the soul-summoning banner surged, doing their utmost to block Li Xuancang.

Li Xuancang was now giving it his all, his steps unwavering, growing stronger with each battle.

He was so fast that even the evil cultivators couldn't keep up. He avoided all the pointless entanglements and headed straight for the core of the formation.

"Oh no, stop him!"

Seeing a blur approaching, the black-robed evil cultivator's expression changed drastically, and he hurriedly ordered the other evil cultivators to make their move.

"kill!"

The burly man and the scholar joined forces to attack Li Xuancang, preventing him from getting close to the center of the formation.

At this moment, Li Xuancang only had the core of the formation in his eyes and did not want to get entangled with them.

"Get out of my way."

Li Xuancang neither dodged nor evaded, but unleashed his full power, charging towards the two.

"Bang!"

His fist collided with the black iron broadsword, and blood splattered everywhere, bones shattering.

He endured the burly man's knife blow, suppressing the excruciating pain, and punched the burly man in the face.

"Bang!"

A powerful punch shattered the burly man's cheek, knocked out his teeth, splattered blood, and sent him flying.

"Bang!"

The burly man fell to the ground, his body convulsing. His soul seemed to have been ripped out of his body by Li Xuancang's punch, and he couldn't even get up.

As the scholar's icy arrows fell, Li Xuancang neither dodged nor evaded, but instead held his arm horizontally in front of him to block the falling arrows.

"Click, click click click..."

The arrow struck his arm, and the ice spread rapidly, threatening to freeze him solid.

"snort!"

Li Xuancang let out a cold snort, exerted all his strength, shattered the ice, and approached the array's core step by step.

Li Xuancang punched the burly man, leaving him lifeless, and his own icy arrows posed no threat to him. The scholar-evil cultivator was filled with fear.

He dared not make another move and hurriedly retreated.

With his retreat, no one could stop Li Xuancang anymore.

"What are you doing?"

The scholar hesitated to fight, and Li Xuancang swiftly attacked, enraging the black-robed evil cultivator.

After the anger came endless panic. He was now seriously injured and had no chance against Li Xuancang.

Facing Li Xuancang alone, he would likely be torn to pieces by the ruthless Li Xuancang.

"Explode!"

The black-robed evil cultivator roared, and the evil power in the formation reached its peak, all rushing towards Li Xuancang.

"Hurry up and go."

After doing all this, the black-robed evil cultivator carried the immobilized strong man on his back and quickly fled.

Li Xuancang was doing his best to resist the attack of the great formation, but he was powerless to pursue the evil cultivators and could only watch them escape.

"Bang!"

"boom!"

"puff!"

"..."

After the outbreak, the mountains and forests gradually returned to calm.

The once lush and verdant forests are now reduced to ruins.

Thick trees snapped in half, their trunks cracked, and wood chips flew everywhere.

The ground was torn open by evil forces, creating countless deep and shallow ravines. Blood gushed through the ravines, mixed with the broken bodies of puppets and fragments of shattered evil artifacts.

The forest mist completely dissipated, only to be shrouded in billowing dust. As far as the eye could see, there were broken trees, rubble, scorched earth, and mottled bloodstains.

Even the distant mountains were cut in half, with landslides and soil and rocks cascading down.

The entire forest was completely destroyed, leaving it in chaos and devastation.

Smoke and dust filled the air, and the stench of fish, burnt food, and blood mingled together, creating a pungent and unpleasant odor.

The violent power gradually subsided, leaving only dust scattered throughout the sky and a desolate, lifeless scene.

Li Xuancang was dressed in rags, with countless wounds on his body.

But his physical body was too strong; some of his wounds were actually healing on their own.

"Is it over?"

The soldiers stood up in a disheveled state, covered in dust and wounded. They looked at the completely destroyed forest with horror on their faces.

"Treat the wounded and collect the bodies of fallen soldiers."

Li Xuancang gave the order in a deep voice, and everyone acted swiftly.

The three evil cultivators escaped a great distance before daring to stop and rest.

"Damn it, damn it!"

The black-robed evil cultivator's face was twisted. He thought that by scheming and wiping out this army, he could collect enough blood.

Unexpectedly, not only did the plan fail, but the blood they had collected was also destroyed.

The puppet army he painstakingly created was completely wiped out, and the three of them were severely injured, losing only one-tenth of their strength, and needing time to recover.

"Where did this vicious person come from? Why hasn't there been any news about them?"

This plan was a sure thing, but Li Xuancang was the variable that caused them to fail at the last minute.

There are many forces in Anzhou City that collude with evil cultivators and provide them with information. Li Xuancang is so terrifying, yet no one informed them. This is truly hateful.

"The plan has completely failed. We are seriously injured and cannot stay here any longer. Let's leave immediately!"

The scholar-cultivator has calmed down; they cannot make another move now, or it will be very dangerous.

The three were seriously injured, especially the burly man who had already fainted. If Li Xuancang discovered their whereabouts, they wouldn't be able to leave even if they wanted to.

"I will avenge this grudge!"

Despite their reluctance, the black-robed evil cultivator knew that things were beyond saving, and the three of them immediately left Huifeng County.

As the sun sets, it paints the ruins of the Blackwood Forest red.

Li Xuancang watched as the bodies of the fallen soldiers were carefully collected and the wounded were placed on makeshift stretchers.

The remaining 400-plus soldiers were all wounded and covered in dust and blood.

"Go back to Huifeng County."

Li Xuancang gave the order in a deep voice, and the team slowly set off.

The wounded with minor injuries helped each other, and the soldiers marched in formation along the rugged mountain road toward Huifeng County.

The messenger returned to the county seat first and informed the county officials of the news.

When Li Xuancang led his army to the end of the official road, the area in front of the city gate instantly erupted in excitement.

The people, seeing the border soldiers covered in blood but walking steadily, instantly transformed their pent-up fear and unease into ecstasy and gratitude.

"It's Lord Li! They won! The evil cultivators have been driven away."

"We're saved! Huifeng County is finally safe."

"That's great, we won't have to live in fear anymore."

"..."

Cheers surged like a tidal wave, and the people had tears in their eyes. The gloom that had previously shrouded the entire city had completely vanished, and the long-suppressed county town had finally regained its vitality.