Chapter 2441: Internal and External Assault

He wanted to go report to Li Yun.

Behind him, Shangguan Biao stared at the cellar exit, then looked at the mud on his own feet, lost in thought for a very long time.

From the red thread under his feet to the cellar exit, it was only fifteen steps.

Yet this was the distance between him and freedom, and also the distance between eternal sinking into mire and boundless future.

Retreat one step to hell, advance one step to heaven. Did he have any other choice?

……

In Yujing City, another earth-shaking long whistle rang out once again.

A disciple behind Sihai True Person pointed far into the distance and exclaimed: "Master, look, the waistline of the Chi Pa Plateau has an anomaly!"

The original black-red confrontation line resting at the waist of the Chi Pa Plateau suddenly surged upward rapidly.

From this distance, one could clearly see that the spreading speed was actually faster than a galloping horse.

In other words, the Earth Mother's ravaging of the Chi Pa Plateau had fiercely added fuel to the fire!

Sihai True Person knew, however, that the Earth Mother's darkening process had always been relatively slow; it originally intended to first seize the guardian spirit of the Panlong Secret Realm before launching a large-scale invasion.

This was the most economical and thrifty method.

But the Earth Mother suddenly changed its mind, preparing to advance violently.

Why? Could the Earth Mother truly have accomplished what the heavenly demons had failed to do for over a hundred years—breaking the Panlong Secret Realm?

However, Sihai True Person momentarily had no particularly good solution; the people of Ling Mountain were already doing their utmost to attack, making it difficult to increase firepower further.

Merely half an hour later, the Chi Pa Plateau at the foot of the Panlong ruins was also darkened.

The Earth Mother launched a fierce assault without regard for cost, successfully seizing this land as well.

Immediately afterward, the myriad demons and heavenly demons feinted a few shots, then swiftly retreated to the city. Those who couldn't keep up or were too slow were all abandoned without exception.

The gates of Yujing City closed accordingly, the surrounding ground began to tremble, and dust rose once again.

Sihai True Person watched, his face changing color: "It's going to submerge again!"

Every time Yujing City relocates, it does so with great grandeur, and of course the consumption is enormous, so it does not move lightly.

But now, what it intends to do is clear to all observers present:

It wants to swallow the Panlong ruins!

At this moment, the Yin Shan Immortal suddenly sent him a mental transmission:

"Quickly look at the eastern part of Yujing City—Mingyao Supreme One has made a move!"

In the east of Yujing City lies a vast expanse of peaks and valleys, from dangerous cliffs to earth fissures, with almost no transition in between, the terrain extremely steep.

According to the last message sent back by Mingyao Supreme One, he led his team into the deep strata here, to explore the legendary White House.

As expected, it was a trap.

When they were about to try approaching the White House, monsters surged out from all directions, and there were several great demons among them.

Fortunately, Mingyao Supreme One and his companions had prepared in advance, tested lightly and then stopped, and had also reserved retreat divine abilities, thus avoiding being wrapped like dumplings by the Earth Mother.

However, above Yujing City there is a thick layer of barrier, which is the obstacle to their escape to safety.

Sihai True Person lowered his gaze and saw a conspicuous red dot on the barrier. This is the signal that Mingyao Supreme One and his companions sent out while fighting, striking the barrier.

They need Ling Mountain's support!

"Everyone gather, concentrate attack on that red dot on the barrier!" Sihai True Person roared, his voice echoing in every Ling Mountain person's ear, "Prepare divine abilities, three——"

"Two!"

"One!"

Hundreds of divine abilities struck that single point—the splendor and ferocity of it made even the sunset clouds at dusk pale in comparison.

At the same time, deep in the earth valley, something grew rapidly, shooting straight upward toward the red dot on the barrier.

Judging by its shape, it was a needle.

But this needle's diameter reached an astonishing three zhang, becoming finer and steeper the higher it went, its tip still thinner than a human's index finger.

As it flew straight upward, the needle tip emitted bright, dazzling golden light, like a midnight sunrise.

Yin Shan True Person exclaimed involuntarily: "Golden Crow Needle!"

This is the sect-protecting supreme treasure of the Qingfeng Sect, the Golden Crow Needle. The needle shaft is taken from the main spine of the great demon "Steel Bone," while the needle tip is inlaid with the sharp beak of the great Golden Crow, specially designed to break all kinds of evil obstacles and barriers.

But this treasure charges energy too slowly; after each use, one must re-collect and refine thirty years of solar true fire before it can be activated again for the next attack.

To break the barrier of Yujing City, Mingyao Supreme One actually sacrificed this treasure as well, showing how dire the situation below truly is.

The attack of the Ling Mountain immortals came from outside to inside, from top to bottom;

The突围 (breakout) of the Golden Crow Needle came from inside to outside, from bottom to top.

In the blink of an eye, both sides converged on the red dot on the barrier.

Then, heavenly fireworks burst forth!

The ground around Yujing City trembled as well.

The buildings in the city collapsed in large swaths with a clatter.

"Go!" Sihai True Person summoned his flying sword, stabbing straight into Yujing City.

Originally it would have been blocked outside the barrier, but this time it was as if entering an uninhabited realm, and in the blink of an eye it vanished into the city's streets and alleys!

"The barrier is broken!" Sihai True Person's spirit soared, he pointed downward, "Fellow Daoists, follow me to meet Mingyao Supreme One!"

This was also the plan pre-arranged by Ling Mountain: the Mingyao and Mingke teams would infiltrate Yujing City, and if they failed to find the Stone Heart, they would not make the trip in vain, but instead coordinate with Sihai True Person from inside and outside.

The barrier of Yujing City was extraordinarily strong, but the Earth Mother now had several things to focus on, not as fully absorbed as when the war began, so the immortals could seize its moment of negligence.

Moreover, the strongest defense can often be broken from within.

Sure enough, with both sides attacking simultaneously from inside and outside, the Earth Mother's barrier shattered with a sound!

Instantly, several rainbows shot up into the sky from within the city.

That was when Mingyao Supreme Venerable and the others seized the opportunity to break through.

Behind them, the bird demons clamored, their divine powers flashing—they were all in pursuit.

Clearly, the demons of Yujing City were reluctant to let them escape.

The True Person of Sihai led the crowd downward, rushing to rendezvous.

Soon, the two sides successfully linked up, and they scattered the pursuing troops.

Upon seeing this, the True Person of Sihai noticed that several people were missing behind Mingyao Supreme Venerable.

Yujing City is a perilous place—breaking through comes at a cost.

"Any news on Shixin?"

Mingyao Supreme Venerable shook his head: "I can't reach Mingke; I estimate they're still in the Secret Realm."

"So Duzhishan has a Secret Realm?" The True Person of Sihai looked toward the northern part of Yujing City below, "This is good news—they might have found a clue. Let's go, we'll join the fun too!"

During the process when the immortals coordinated inside and out to break the barrier, Yujing City did not cease sinking.

For a city, its sinking speed is quite fast. If it sinks underground and doesn't come out, even the immortals can do nothing about it.

So now is the opportunity.

With a command from the True Person of Sihai, rainbow light interlaced in the sky as cultivators rode their flying artifacts, mighty and mighty, charging toward the north of Yujing City!

Countless bird demons surged forward to block them.

The True Person of Sihai snorted coldly, raised his hand, and unleashed a massive fire dragon.

This is the bane of all furred bird demons.

As the bird demons of Yujing City seemed poised to follow the blood-sparrow flock into oblivion, a colossal human face condensed from the smoke above the city—rough but ferocious, exactly the embodiment of the Earth Mother.

The fire dragon chased dozens of bird demons, and this face opened its mouth—the fire dragon plunged straight into the great mouth.

Then, there was nothing more—only clouds of black smoke billowing in midair.