Chapter 2430

The largest one stood over twenty-eight zhang tall. Excluding the Earth Mother herself, it was currently the undisputed largest entity on the battlefield, having just emerged from the icy realm of the Xiyu Heavenly Demon, and it was especially eye-catching.

Such colossal horned beasts were once difficult to remove from their sealed grounds; beneath Mount Xushan, only two were kept. When He Lingchuan caused havoc in the Heavenly Palace, they were released to pursue Zhu Xiuer, resulting in a back-and-forth battle with Ju Ju. Back then, moving these two horned beasts into Lingxu City required tremendous effort from the Heavenly Palace.

But times have changed.

This time, the Xiyu Heavenly Demon succeeded in a complete divine descent, bringing nearly all of its power to the mortal realm and finally able to open the Ice God Realm.

The temperature in the Ice Realm is astonishingly low—anything placed inside freezes into ice lumps, yet it does not completely extinguish vitality.

Yet this very fact makes it an ideal transport warehouse for the colossal horned beasts!

The Heavenly Demon froze them in the Ice Realm; these massive beings possess tenacious vitality, so they do not die from freezing but are forced into cold-induced hibernation.

When it's time to go to the battlefield, the Wuyao Heavenly Demon enters the Ice Realm to unseal them.

They quickly regain their strength, warm up, and then burst out of the Ice Realm to go fight.

Ling Jinbao understood all this, then looked at the battlefield before him, his thoughts heavy, making optimism truly difficult.

The complete divine descent of just two Heavenly Demons alone has already caused a drastic change in the rhythm and form of future warfare, exceeding everyone's expectations. If the plan of the Lingxu Holy Sovereign succeeds, allowing Heavenly Demons to descend en masse into the mortal realm, how would this war between immortals and demons be fought?

In the future, what will warfare actually become?

He hadn't even finished sighing when he felt something strange in his bosom; he reached in and pulled out a humanoid cloth doll.

It resembled the cloth dolls little girls hold—smaller than a palm, with two patches on its body. Yet in Ling Jinbao's palm, it suddenly sat upright with a jerk, raised its hand, and pointed diagonally forward!

Danger!

This is a sentinel doll; it detects danger immediately and reports it to its master.

Ling Jinbao followed the direction it pointed, and gasped—without looking, he wouldn't have known, but one look made him jump: suddenly, from beside the Du Zhi Mountain stream, a strange and ancient thing emerged.

It looked like several eyeballs glued together, yet also like a mass of giant frog eggs squeezed into one, each eyeball the size of a grinding stone.

Yet this seemingly incoherent thing could hover five feet above the ground, flying swiftly; the pupils on its eyeballs rolled about everywhere, and with each turn, it emitted a faint light like a flashlight tube.

Four pupils, each turning independently, each looking in its own direction.

"Magic Eye." Ling Jinbao had also heard prisoners mention it—within Yujing City, there are not only demon patrols, but also this strange living magical artifact, specialized in seeing through various disguise-type divine abilities, with an effective sight range of over a hundred zhang. Ling Jinbao disguised himself as a cyclops, though he used the Mirage Horn of the Zhenzhen True Person, but he had no confidence he could hide from this thing's eyes.

The most terrifying part is that behind the Magic Eye follows a horde of demon soldiers!

Hmm, better hide for now.

The wilderness was too open; he hastily slipped out of the Changfeng Valley garrison, plunged headfirst into the opposite alley.

The peculiar terrain of Yujing City guarantees countless hidden nooks and crannies, which can effectively block the Magic Eye's line of sight.

Fortunately, he hid quickly—because just as he slipped into the alley, he saw wave after wave of demon soldiers rushing in from all directions, charging into the Changfeng Valley garrison.

Several demon generals shouted: "Hurry, hurry! Must reach the foot of Du Zhi Mountain within fifteen minutes, or else Mother Sovereign my lord will fly into a rage, and we'll all be in trouble!"

Ling Jinbao felt his heart turn cold.

The Earth Mother is fighting on two fronts outside, her forces already stretched thin—why then must she gather so many demon soldiers to rush to Du Zhi Mountain?

Only one possibility: our side's intrusion into the Du Zhi Mountain Secret Realm has already been detected by the Earth Mother.

This is not a low-probability event; He Lingchuan and others had prepared before infiltrating, but the Earth Mother's actions still left Ling Jinbao with a heavy heart.

The road ahead is getting harder and harder.

Moreover, he clearly underestimated the Earth Mother's meticulousness.

Having entered the alley, Ling Jinbao only then noticed that there are far more Magic Eyes patrolling the city districts—on average, one every four or five alleys—and they specifically seek out dark, hidden corners. Had his legs not been nimble and he braked in time, Ling Jinbao would have nearly collided face-to-face with one of them.

If these ghostly things detect a suspicious target, they immediately sound an alarm. Thus, those who work alongside them are various kinds of demons and drifting, smoke-like ghostly apparitions.

Ling Jinbao even saw a giant lizard, four zhang tall, with a broad nose and short mouth, full of interlocking sharp teeth, its eyes yellow and clear.

Its four legs are much longer and straighter than those of ordinary crocodiles, making it highly adapted to land running. So don't judge it by its clumsy and heavy build—once it sprints, it moves like lightning, its four legs powerful and vigorous, quickly becoming a blur, and its tail behind is also full of power.

The Qingyang Sect once had a green lizard as its mountain guardian spirit beast, with five hundred years of Dao cultivation, yet it paled in comparison to this creature—this one is fat and strong, its face full of bandit aura.

Just how many demons has Yujing City taken in! Ling Jinbao muttered to himself: the Earth Mother is clearly handling two battlefronts—one against Ling Mountain, one searching the Panlong Secret Realm—so the city's defenses should be relatively empty, yet why are there still so many demon creatures!

Behind the giant lizard followed four or five other demons, obviously its attendants.

They patrol behind several Magic Eyes, and upon receiving an alarm, they immediately rush over.

Ling Jinbao stepped over a drainage ditch when suddenly he heard a faint, ethereal voice: "Stop, do not go forward."

The voice came too abruptly—Ling Jinbao's back hairs stood on end, his steps halted, and he looked left and right.

"You cannot see me." The voice said again, "Shrink against the wall base—there is a Magic Eye straight ahead!"

Its origin unknown, Ling Jinbao was unwilling to believe it—but at this moment, the cloth doll in his hand suddenly pointed forward as well!

Danger ahead—must dodge.

Before Ling Jinbao could react, the cloth doll swiftly pointed east, then west.

Those directions also had enemy forces searching in.

Now only the south side remains passable.

The voice repeated: "They have discovered you. Shrink against the wall base, or you will regret it."

Regret my foot. Ling Jinbao walked south without hesitation.

Yet before he even exited the alley, the voice prompted him again:

"Watch your head."

Ling Jinbao startled, immediately turned his steps, and hurriedly took shelter under the eaves.

Just as he hid, he heard a flapping sound from above—originally, a giant gull had landed on a treetop one zhang away, preening its feathers.

Two of its tail feathers were scorched, likely from injuries sustained in the battle against Ling Mountain, then it had sneakily returned to the city to loaf around.

Ling Jinbao had no intention of paying it any mind, but the voice said to him: "In this area, the cyclops clan rarely comes. Your appearance here will definitely draw close attention."

(End of Chapter)