Volume 1, Chapter 254 – The Xianwu Yin-Yang Grand Array

“What is this…”

Shi Lan’s expression changed, and the faces of the several commanders of a thousand following close behind her also turned grave in an instant.

Fortunately, the drill-ground camp was not far from the city wall. In less than the time it took to drink half a cup of tea, the group arrived in force at the western wall.

“Hiss…”

“Good heavens…”

“Boundless… Heavenly Worthy…”

Once they climbed the wall and saw the scene outside the city clearly, waves of commotion broke out among the crowd.

Shi Lan took several deep breaths before steadying her legs, which had gone slightly weak.

The Xianwu Yin-Yang Grand Array covered the area within ten miles around Xianwu City. At this moment, everything beyond those ten miles had been completely covered by beasts of every kind, like a vast ocean whose bounds could not be seen.

Figures flickered among them. Clearly, they were all demon clansmen who had already taken human form. At a glance, there were no fewer than a hundred.

There was no need to sense the soaring demon qi. The demon clouds that nearly covered the entire sky were enough to fill one’s heart with despair.

The mountain gate of the Sacred Martial Immortal Sect, once located not far from Xianwu City, had also been completely swallowed by the beast tide, with none of its former grandeur left.

The Xianwu Yin-Yang Grand Array had originally been a composite grand formation, integrating killing formations, trapping formations, defensive formations, and many others into one.

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At this moment, the killing formations had already been fully activated. The ground within ten miles outside Xianwu City had already been covered with a layer of bloody mire mixed with bones, showing that quite a few demon beasts had already died there.

Radiant array patterns wrapped around the entire city, and the demon clouds could not advance a single inch, which reassured everyone somewhat.

A breeze brushed against their faces, carrying with it a thick smell of blood mixed with the stench of demon beasts, so foul it turned the stomach.

“Roar!”

“Chirp, chirp!”

“Awooo!”

The sounds of roaring rose once more. The beast tide stirred restlessly, sending forth nearly a hundred thousand beasts charging toward Xianwu City.

At the same time, nearly ten thousand demon birds dove down from the sky. Their shrill cries, mixed with the whistling sound of breaking air, nearly pierced people’s eardrums.

Buzz!

The shining array patterns suddenly flared with brilliant light. Countless strands of yin and yang qi were drawn from the void and, in the blink of an eye, condensed into a gigantic millstone that almost covered a whole stretch of heaven and earth as it crushed down from the void.

The void itself was ground apart by the yin-yang millstone, erupting in thunderous booms.

The flying birds in the air bore the brunt of it. In an instant, they were crushed to pieces before even a single scream could escape them. Gorgeous feathers spread across the sky, mingling with flesh and bone as they rained down, sketching a magnificent blood-colored tableau.

That horrifying pressure, enough to chill the heart, bore down across the sky. The charging beast horde faltered, as if intending to retreat.

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But the yin-yang millstone, unstained by even a trace of blood or remains, gave them no chance to regret it. Its momentum did not diminish in the slightest. Instead, it swelled larger and larger, like a falling star, before crashing down with a deafening force.

Boom!

Amid that thunderous explosion, the nearly one hundred thousand beasts had not the slightest power to resist. In the blink of an eye, they were crushed into dust by the force of the formation. Fragments of flesh and bone made the bloody mire already coating the ground even thicker, while a towering tide of blood qi surged straight upward, forming a thin mist of blood in the air.

The beast tide fell quiet again, and cheers erupted along the city wall.

Shi Lan’s eyes were full of shock. Among the batch of beasts that had just charged forward, there had been no shortage of Heavenly Astral Realm creatures. She had even seen a shape-shifted Demon King hidden among them, yet beneath the Xianwu Yin-Yang Grand Array, that Demon King had not even had the chance to reveal its true form before it was directly suppressed and killed, utterly unable to resist.

As thoughts raced through her mind, Shi Lan’s gaze shifted to the blood mist suspended in the air, and she unconsciously swallowed. That blood qi was no different from a supreme tonic to her. It would be of enormous benefit to her cultivation.

…

Within a temporary command tent erected on the city wall, several Demon-Suppressing Marshals sat facing one another. Unlike the excitement shown by most of the people on the wall, their faces were filled with gravity.

“The energy consumed by the Xianwu Yin-Yang Grand Array is simply too terrifying. Just now, only part of the killing formations were activated, yet in those few short breaths nearly a million spirit crystals were burned away. With our current reserves, I fear we cannot hold out for long.”

“I roughly calculated it just now. If the grand array is run at full strength, the remaining spirit crystals in the army can support it for at most twenty days.”

“With so many factions and unaffiliated martial artists in the city, they should be able to produce some spirit crystals as well.”

“Even if we add all of those martial artists’ spirit crystals together, a month is likely the limit.”

“And we still have to keep some spirit crystals in reserve for recovery.”

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“We expended too many spirit crystals when we went out earlier to rescue the women’s camp. Even Ruiyu was buried here…”

“The demon race is obviously planning a war of attrition. These spirit crystals must be saved for that Demon Emperor. Without the Xianwu Yin-Yang Grand Array, in front of a Demon Emperor, we would not have the slightest power to fight back!”

“The killing formations cannot be used lightly. We can only activate part of the defensive formations and fight the beast tide in close combat…”

As soon as those words were spoken, the Demon-Suppressing Marshals fell silent.

This was the only option, but it would certainly come with heavy casualties. That was unavoidable.

…

Shi Lan stared at that cloud of blood mist, licked her lips, then reluctantly forced herself to look away and turned to arrange for her subordinates to make camp.

Her Black Domain could cover at most a radius of several hundred zhang, nowhere near enough to reach that blood mist. She could only watch helplessly.

The city wall of Xianwu City was extremely broad, enough to station several million troops. Shi Lan’s force was not especially conspicuous among them.

Because they had just witnessed the Xianwu Yin-Yang Grand Array effortlessly crush a wave of demon beasts, the atmosphere on the wall was much more relaxed than before.

Two hours later, just as Shi Lan had finished arranging her men and establishing camp, a supply detachment of the Demon-Suppressing Army arrived outside.

Large quantities of bows, crossbows, and arrows were distributed to the Demon-Suppressing Army soldiers and the martial artists alike. Among them were many magical artifacts, and even some magic treasures.

The moment she received this batch of supplies, Shi Lan understood inwardly that the Xianwu Yin-Yang Grand Array clearly could not keep operating the way it had just now indefinitely.

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Close combat was unavoidable.

…

“Sacred Venerable, have you found the person you are looking for?”

Less than fifteen miles from Xianwu City, in an inconspicuous corner of the beast tide, Lan Die’er stood respectfully behind the old man. Beside them stood several great demons. It was as if a layer of barrier surrounded them, sealing off all their auras. Not a single person within Xianwu City had noticed their presence.

“Perhaps…”

The old man looked toward the city wall. His gaze flickered uncertainly as he spoke leisurely, while the deathly aura around him grew a little denser.

“Then may I ask, Sacred Venerable, do you have a way to break the formation?”

“Even at my peak, I did not have that ability.” The old man laughed at himself. His cultivation was still far from enough to roam unhindered across the Vast Land of Shenzhou. If not for these unusual circumstances, with his level of cultivation, he likely would not even have had the chance to cross the border between the two races.

“If the Xianwu Yin-Yang Grand Array cannot be broken, then if you wish to take revenge, I fear…” Lan Die’er looked somewhat disappointed.

“Killing one person is not that difficult…”

The old man shook his head slightly and said meaningfully, “The formation will not remain activated forever…”