Now that the Outer Region of the Secret Realm had been seized by the Demonic Path, they could completely bypass the west and use the Ice Plain to strike directly at the northern Forbidden Land where they were located.
After all, there was no bizarre environment here, nor was there a Ling Wang guarding it. It looked like a soft persimmon that was easy to squeeze.
If she weren’t worried about discouraging the cultivators around her, what Hua Jian really wanted to say was “we are the most likely place to be attacked.”
Linglong’s Thunder Forbidden Zone was the true rear. To detour south, the Demonic Path would have to consecutively attack the Jian Sect Forbidden Land and the Flower Sea Forbidden Zone before reaching Linglong.
On Hua Jian’s side, they only had to pass through one Tiandao Sect Forbidden Land, making the route much shorter.
Unless the Demonic Path’s leaders were incompetent, her location was the easiest to attack.
However, if the Demonic Path really were foolish enough to charge in, Hua Jian had a great Treasure waiting for them.
‘You think this is the easiest Forbidden Land to crack, but you don’t know I have a peak Ling Wang Realm Spirit Beast hidden in my hand!’
This was why Hua Jian dared to stand her ground here; a peak Ling King allowed for such boldness.
“As long as we block this attack, the Array can take shape. By then, the defensive pressure will decrease significantly.” Hua Jian’s gaze swept over the cultivators gathered around her, her voice deep. “Everyone, life and death depend on this battle!”
……
Dark clouds and mist had completely enveloped the Outer Region of the Secret Realm, shortening the daylight hours for the entire region.
The Sunlight disappeared nearly an hour earlier than in previous days, plunging the entire Secret Realm into deep, quiet darkness.
On the plains covered in a thin layer of snow, a faint red glow could be seen. It was a massive Stone Pillar and the ground around it, which had been melted into a liquid state.
Driven by an Array, the massive Stone Pillar emerged from the ground at an extremely slow pace.
As it slowly appeared, the environment that had only recently returned to normal became bizarre once again.
Waves of heat melted the ice and snow, and the crimson river of lava reappeared. The lava Forbidden Land Hua Jian was familiar with had returned.
It was in this deep night, illuminated only by firelight, that a large number of black-robed figures appeared from the northern Ice Plain, silently pouncing toward the lava Forbidden Land.
Just as Hua Jian had suspected, the Demonic Path had noticed this poorly defended Forbidden Land.
They detoured from the northern Ice Plain, bypassed the Tiandao Sect Forbidden Land, and directly attacked this node.
Unfortunately, this sneak attack was not successful. Before they could even step into the true boundaries of the Forbidden Land, the poisonous insects buried in the soil sensed the approach of living beings, triggering alarms and attacking by instinct.
The poison needles fired by the insects failed to harm the incoming Demonic Cultivators, but the alarm successfully reached the Forbidden Land.
Like a chain reaction, the insects hidden throughout the Forbidden Land formed an incredibly swift network, rapidly transmitting the news of the enemy invasion back to the center.
The time elapsed was only a few breaths.
“They’re here? Then activate the Array!” Hua Jian nodded to a Spirit Master under the Sword Hero who was proficient in Array Formations.
The Spirit Master immediately raised an Array Plate, and a layer of thick, snow-white mist descended upon the center of the Forbidden Land.
Then, strange colors mixed into the white mist, bit by bit becoming multicolored and iridescent, a sight that made one’s heart turn cold.
This was a method Hua Jian had devised with the Array Master. it allowed her to maintain considerable combat power while significantly reducing her Spiritual Power consumption.
In battle, Hua Jian’s goal with the mist was generally to interfere with the enemy’s vision and provide herself with opportunities for sneak attacks.
A standard Array of Bewilderment could provide that same effect.
Her multicolored mist simply added a hallucinogenic effect and a pretty color to the Array of Bewilderment; in essence, it was still just a Bewilderment Array.
Activating a grand array required a massive amount of Spiritual Power. Hua Jian was only a Spirit Master and didn’t have that much energy. Since there was a way to save it, she naturally would.
As the mist rose, the already alert cultivators hid in their chosen ambush spots, prepared to give the Demonic Cultivators a surprise.
Within the mist, Hua Jian removed the butterfly hair accessory from her hair and gently tossed it into the depths of the fog.
With the sound of the wind, the multicolored Butterfly vanished.
About a few minutes later, the sounds of intense fighting erupted in the distance.
Through her Soulforce connection, Hua Jian received firsthand intelligence from A Meng: the Demonic Path had sent three powerful Ling Kings to lead the team, and she had already intercepted all of them.
However, she couldn’t block the other Demonic Cultivators for Hua Jian.
“Three powerful Ling Kings? The Demonic Path is really willing to pay a high price…” Hua Jian muttered to herself before turning to shout at the others, “Look out, the enemy is coming!”
After shouting, she also donned a Spiritual Garment that could hide her presence and hid, quietly waiting for the Demonic Cultivators to arrive.
After another few minutes, Hua Jian heard rustling footsteps in the mist. Dark Spiritual Power gradually took shape within the fog.
The charging Demonic Cultivators seemed completely unafraid of death, each rushing forward with their heads down, slamming right into the pocket formation Hua Jian had prepared.
As they entered the Array, the ambushing cultivators immediately appeared, launching attacks with their strongest powers.
Various Spirit Techniques drew bright trails through the mist, surging like moths to a flame toward the group of black-robed invaders.
Continuous explosions echoed in the air. Just as some were about to cheer, the black-robed men stood firm in the center of the encirclement as if they hadn’t taken any damage at all.
“There are no Ling Kings, so how did they do it…” Even Hua Jian was startled by the defensive power of these black-robed figures.
The number of attacking cultivators was nearly 100, yet these men were completely unharmed?
These cultivators weren’t trash. They might not be the best at fighting, but they could certainly serve as turrets for releasing Spirit Techniques.
Spirit Techniques released with full power were definitely not something an enemy below the Ling Wang Realm could ignore.
Was it a Spirit Tool? Or something else? Hua Jian couldn’t figure it out for the moment, but there was no more time to think. Both sides had drawn their blades; next was hand-to-hand combat.
There were several dozen black-robed men invading the Forbidden Land, a number that made Hua Jian click her tongue.
The Saint Sect’s security was definitely flawed. How could they let so many Demonic Cultivators sneak in?
Complaining aside, she still had to fight. She pulled out her Ling Sword and led the charge toward the black-robed group. Following her lead, the other cultivators also rushed forward.
The combat power of these black-robed men was at the Spirit Master Realm, so Hua Jian’s other Spirit Beast could finally be useful again.
The Spiritual Civet hadn’t been able to help at all when fighting Ling Kings and could only loaf around.
Now that it finally had a chance to show off, the little fellow charged even faster than Hua Jian.
It swiped a paw at the black-robed man at the front of the line.
Its cold, glowing claws tore through the black clothing but were stopped by the dark red skin underneath, unable to advance even an inch.
Failing the strike, the Spiritual Civet spun nimbly, kicked its opponent, and quickly vanished into the thick mist, leaving the rest of the fight to Hua Jian.
It was a good cat and knew how to follow Hua Jian’s orders.
Just as the Spiritual Civet vanished, Hua Jian leaped out from the fog as if in a seamless transition, gripping her Ling Sword and slashing toward the black-robed man’s head.
The connection was so fast it was as if she were the human form of the Spiritual Civet, having looped around in the mist and returned.
The black-robed man immediately raised both arms to block Hua Jian’s strike.
This should have been a futile effort—how could the body of a Spirit Master block a Ling Wang Realm sword?
However, Hua Jian soon heard a crack. Her sword indeed bit into the black-robed man’s arms, but it only went in slightly before being wedged between the two limbs.
“What?” Hua Jian’s pupils shrank as she immediately looked at the arm the blade had struck.
There was no blood, no hint of life. The material looked like old, withered wood… Damn it, these black-robed men weren’t living people at all!
No wonder their bodies were so hard, no wonder they were unafraid of death, and no wonder so many could appear at once. They weren’t true living beings.
Hua Jian forced her blade out of the black-robed man’s arms and slashed at his black hood.
The black-robed figure didn’t dodge, charging straight at Hua Jian’s attack without any defense.
The blade transformed into a flexible silver snake in mid-air, wrapping around the figure’s neck. With a forceful tug from Hua Jian, the black hood was shredded.
A blank face appeared before her eyes. It had no human features, only a single thin line emitting black energy extending downward.
“Puppets!”
Hua Jian ducked to avoid the Puppet’s attack and shouted a warning to the other cultivators, “The enemies this time are Puppets!”
The way to fight living people was different from fighting Puppets. Humans had various vital points, but Puppets did not!
“Attack the joints! That’s the Puppet’s weakest point!” she shouted to the Spiritual Civet.
“Meow!”
The little cat, having charged out of the mist again, responded. The claws originally aimed at the thigh moved down, smashing into the Puppet’s knee.
Bang!
The effect of this strike was significant. Attacking from behind, the Spiritual Civet’s paw directly buckled the Puppet’s knee, nearly sending it to the ground.
Hua Jian took the chance to release vines to entangle the Puppet. Since the opponent wasn’t alive, some of her methods were now useful.
Roots grew out from the vines. Puppets at the Spirit Master level certainly wouldn’t be made of top-tier materials; the wood couldn’t block Hua Jian’s erosion.
Before long, her vines had completely occupied its body.
At the center of the Puppet’s chest, Hua Jian unsurprisingly found a ball of Spiritual Power emitting a dark energy.
This was the source of power that made the Puppet move.
For such a vile thing, Hua Jian had only one way to deal with it.
“I’ll eat you!”