’These ghostly things are just stalling for time, waiting for the Night Parade of Hundred Demons. Then they’ll join the other rampaging Evil Spirits to wipe us all out in one go. By then, even though we’ll be facing a tide of Evil Spirits—all sorts of special ones gathered together, making it extremely dangerous—they’ll have to converge to attack. That’s where our opportunity lies.’
Zhao Xuanqi thought to himself, abandoning his plan to immediately use the Dragon Gate Secret Technique.
Time was running out; the Night Parade of Hundred Demons was about to begin.
"Everyone, disengage from your opponents! Let’s regroup!"
Just then, a burst of Sound Waves spread out, and a woman’s clear, cold voice entered everyone’s ears. It was Zhuang Li.
Evidently, the others had realized the same problem. They no longer hesitated, enduring their opponents’ relentless harassment as they decisively pulled back to regroup.
The five guardian Evil Spirits—the defenders of this very city block—along with the Sword Soldier Ghosts and common Evil Spirits, all tightened the encirclement. From other city blocks, a continuous stream of Evil Spirits was still rushing over.
The common Evil Spirits were in a frenzy, wanting to continue their attack on instinct alone. However, the guardian Evil Spirits seemed to possess the ability to restrain them to some extent, making them linger around the perimeter of the encirclement. This created a situation where the heroes were surrounded but not under direct assault.
After the previous battle, everyone had consumed a great deal of their Primordial Qi, and now there was no chance to recover it.
"The abilities of those few Evil Spirits are very strange," Lu Dong said in a low voice. "Not only are they intelligent, but their powers are all designed to stall for time. This is a setup, a trap aimed specifically at us. These ghostly things in the Ghost City want to use this to wipe us all out here."
"The situation is getting worse," said Deng Mingsheng. "Once the Night Parade of Hundred Demons begins, even more Evil Spirits will converge here. That’s when they’ll launch their all-out assault."
SWISH!!
Just then, a figure shrouded in a faint glow suddenly appeared. It was Pu Xiangrong, who had returned using his Escape Technique.
"I couldn’t find the source of that ghostly thing. It’s hidden very deep, probably due to some ability. I took the opportunity to scout the surroundings. The Evil Spirits in the nearby blocks have all been alerted. Because they’re still far away, they’re only approaching unconsciously for now. But once the Night Parade of Hundred Demons begins, that unconscious approach will likely turn into a frenzied siege."
Pu Xiangrong’s expression was grim.
"By then, we’ll be facing at least eight special Evil Spirits, hundreds of Sword Soldier Ghosts, and common Evil Spirits. They could kill us through sheer attrition alone."
Li Zhilin glanced around at the disciples from the various sects; expressions of fear and unease were on every face. In a situation like this, some might survive in the end, but it would likely only be the most elite few.
"If they want to surround and kill us, then we should use this opportunity," Zhao Xuanqi suddenly said, his expression calm. "These ghostly things have been hiding and scattering, but now they’re gathering in one place. Once they launch their all-out attack, they’ll have nowhere to retreat. As long as we use this offensive to slay the most crucial few Evil Spirits, our situation will actually be safer afterward."
"That’s right. Let’s make it a decisive battle then," Chi Li said, a savage red light flashing in his eyes. "We’ve come this far, what else is there to say? We’ll just have to fight until the last shred of our Primordial Qi is spent and the last drop of our blood is spilled."
"What’s there to be afraid of? If they didn’t all gather together, it wouldn’t even be worth it for me, Ren Fei, to draw my sword!"
Ren Fei’s expression remained icy. The only reason the Three-Headed Child had survived their earlier fight was because he had anticipated this situation and hadn’t wanted to waste his true power on a single Evil Spirit.
"Everyone, we’ll have to fight for our lives now," Zhuang Li said softly. "Whatever trump cards you have, don’t hold anything back. We need to get through this first."
"The top experts from each sect will hold the perimeter. The rest of the disciples will split into two groups. One group will seize any chance to rest and recover their Primordial Qi, while the other defends. You’ll rotate!"
Everyone nodded, bracing for the fight.
Just then, everyone seemed to feel something simultaneously and looked up at the sky.
The Blood Moon had reached its zenith.
VMMMM!!
The Blood Moon hung at the zenith, its light instantly turning a deep crimson and bathing everyone below.
The aura of the living was drawn out from each person by the moonlight. Since there were so many of them, their auras converged into a massive pillar of light that shot toward the heavens.
The Evil Spirits in the surrounding city blocks could all sense this concentrated aura of life.
A frenzy erupted instantly. The many Evil Spirits that had been approaching unconsciously now surged forward in a mad rush.
The hordes of Evil Spirits surrounding the group could no longer conceal their lust for flesh and blood under the crimson moonlight. They suddenly launched their attack.
However, to everyone’s surprise, the few intelligent Evil Spirits seemed able to resist the bloodlust triggered by the crimson moon. Though they advanced with the army of Evil Spirits, they didn’t charge forward mindlessly. Instead, they hid among the horde, continuing to harass the group with ranged attacks.
It seemed they intended to use the common Evil Spirits to exhaust the humans’ strength before making their own move.
This development caused the group’s faces to fall.
Just then, Zhao Xuanqi stepped forward, his expression calm. "Everyone, I’ll make the first move and break their formation. You follow up after me."
’The time has come,’ he thought. He had to shoulder more of the burden. After all, he had a way to restore his Primordial Qi.
’Besides, so many Evil Spirits... they were all walking Merit points!!’
"You..."
Hearing this, everyone turned to look at Zhao Xuanqi, about to say something.
In a situation like this, with a tide of Evil Spirits, how could they let one person charge in alone? What was the difference between that and suicide?
But before they could say more...
The next moment.
BOOM!!
CRACK! CRACK!
The terrifying sound of bulging muscles, of bones dislocating and stretching, of organs rumbling, and of Qi and Blood surging erupted from Zhao Xuanqi’s body.
Before everyone’s stunned eyes, his body grew taller inch by inch. His arms lengthened until they hung to the ground, his chest and back arched, and his muscles bulged like boulders. His powerful back muscles flared out slightly, resembling the shell of a divine tortoise or a pair of unfurled wings.
Elephant legs, bear torso, ape arms, tiger back!!
Tortoise Form, Crane Intent!!
Dragon Gate Secret Technique, activate!!
At that moment, Zhao Xuanqi seemed to have transformed from a human into a Fierce Beast. While maintaining a humanoid frame, he had incorporated the strengths of other creatures to forge a body perfectly suited for combat.
It was a kind of mesmerizing, utterly savage beauty!!
But that was not all.
His body trembled slightly, and his eyes shone so brightly they seemed to radiate light. His Spirit and Physical Ability simultaneously surged to a new peak.
Profound Water Yin Sha, activate!!
With the Double Secret Technique stacked, even as he endured a horrifying backlash, his Physical Ability was pushed to an even greater height.
Under the stunned gazes of the crowd, Zhao Xuanqi’s hands, which had been hanging to the ground, suddenly clenched into fists.
Vast Blood Qi burst forth from the complex Technique on his palms.
BOOM!!
Golden Fire erupted, flaring thirty feet into the air. Vaguely, it seemed to coalesce into the shape of a massive Holy Beast Form.
He stomped one of his elephant-thick legs down violently.
VMMMM!!
The others felt the ground around them tremble violently.
BOOM!!
Wreathed in erupting Golden Fire, Zhao Xuanqi’s body shot out like an exploding cannonball, meeting the oncoming charge of Evil Spirits in an instant.
He crossed his thick arms in front of him, forming a massive shield.
At the same time, the skin and muscles all over his body produced a Vibration, stirring the air. Accompanied by the erupting Golden Fire, this caused the air within a one-foot radius of his body to detonate.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
Zhao Xuanqi crashed head-on into the tide of Evil Spirits. Everywhere he passed, the creatures were sent flying by his sheer Force, unable to halt his advance.
Just like that, he carved a path right through the tide of Evil Spirits, charging toward the few special Evil Spirits hidden within the horde!!
The others stared, their expressions dazed. Even in such a perilous situation, they couldn’t immediately snap out of their shock.
’He’s actually this powerful!!’
Zhuang Li’s mouth hung slightly open. The next moment, she heard that voice ring out in her mind. But unlike its usual, eternally unchanging coldness, this time the voice seemed to have confirmed something, and it carried a tone of indescribable surprise:
"A practitioner of the Infinite Dao?!"