Chapter 2754

Both of them felt their hearts sink suddenly—this was truly worse than the worst scenario they had imagined. Qing Shudi Jun cried out in alarm: "What's going on? Are you just going to sit by and watch it be taken?"

"We, the Night-Wanderers, cannot enter the Earth Mother's dream barrier."

"How could the enemy just..."

"Don't pursue it for now!" Mingke Xianren reached out to interrupt its continuation, urgently asking Pak Chi-hai: "Can we save the Earth Mother?"

"The enemy's dream is extraordinarily powerful, and its rules differ from those of the human world." Pak Chi-hai shook his head: "We are still trying to find a way to break in. Moreover, the enemy lured the Earth Mother into it, so I estimate it cannot hold the Earth Mother for too long."

How powerful is the Earth Mother? Even if its weakness lies in spiritual cultivation, that is relative to its physical Dao cultivation—actually, it remains stronger than ordinary immortals.

The last time it was ambushed by Shangguan Biao, it was because, during the ancient era, it had endured several earth-shattering great battles, leaving its spirit extremely weakened, allowing Shangguan Biao to take advantage; this time, the Earth Mother's spirit is merely fatigued, not injured—originally, it just needed a good sleep to recover, no healing required. Thus, this unfamiliar new enemy wishing to completely trap the Earth Mother must rely solely on its own divine power, a difficulty incomparable to what Shangguan Biao faced back then.

"What they are striving for is precisely this bit of time—the time when the Earth Mother Plains lose control! Open the Mirage Market to delay their advance." Mingke Xianren instructed the little stone figure, then turned to Qing Shudi Jun: "I'm going to find Elder Liu to request the Emergence of the Sovereign. You stay here and oversee the situation."

Qing Shudi Jun immediately asked: "They are ninety percent likely targeting the Panlong Secret Realm. Can't we hide the Panlong Secret Realm?"

The terrain and architecture on the Earth Mother Plains can be rearranged like building blocks. When he first witnessed it, he was also greatly shocked.

"Only the Earth Mother can do this. I suspect this is why it lost contact. The enemy first schemed against it, then attacked the Earth Mother Plains, reducing resistance." As Mingke Xianren spoke his final words, he had already departed.

He rushed out of Panlong Ancient City, sacrificed another evil spirit, and made contact with Liu Qingdao.

Upon hearing of the powerful enemy's invasion and the Earth Mother's loss of contact, Liu Qingdao was also greatly startled.

This was not something he could decide on his own: "It's of utmost importance—I'll go immediately to seek an audience with the Sovereign."

"Please, Elder Liu!" Mingke Xianren knew the Sovereign's secluded cultivation chamber was the most heavily guarded place in the Chixiao Golden Hall; even if the head of the Bingyuan Bureau went to request an audience, they would still have to pass through numerous checkpoints and might not even succeed.

Although the Sovereign dislikes excessive formalities, after all, that place is the Chixiao Golden Hall, and still the most rule-bound location in the entire Cangyan realm.

Disturbing the Sovereign's seclusion is a grave crime.

During this period before the Sovereign emerges from seclusion, the Earth Mother Plains' powerful enemy can only be dealt with by Mingke Xianren.

……

Outside the Kunlong Moat, the three armies clashed fiercely; Yang Sheng, commander of the Earth Mother Plains garrison, leading nine hundred troops, joined forces with He Yue, overwhelming the enemy by sheer numbers. Not to mention, Yang Sheng's Black Armor Corps and Panlong Army were far superior in quality to the opposing forces. In just two rounds, Zhao Shu's army was routed like flowers scattered by water, and a force of seven or eight hundred had its tail cut off, leaving only over five hundred remaining.

Seeing the situation turn unfavorable, Zhao Shu hastily fled toward the northeast.

How could Yang Sheng and He Yue let him go? They spurred their horses and pursued the fleeing enemy relentlessly.

Zhao Shu's army may not be formidable in battle, but their escape skills are top-notch—using various formations and speed talismans, they vanished in a puff of smoke ahead.

He Yue made up his mind: today, he would surely make Zhao Shu answer for this here. He buried his head in relentless pursuit, and Yang Sheng had no choice but to follow; fortunately, the Baoling Army's auxiliary methods were limited, and those formation talismans would eventually run out.

Who would have thought that after crossing a mountain hollow, the crowd suddenly faced a vast expanse of icy cold—nearly a thousand flying swords arriving in unison. The icy sword light turned Ling Jinbao's beard and hair white.

This is a large-scale sword formation.

Cultivators or immortals, even when controlling flying swords, usually command no more than dozens. Those numbering over a hundred are mostly small swords.

But the flying swords shooting toward them—each one a standard-sized fine gold sword, its tip coated either with icy poison or fire toxin—struck the Black Armor Corps' hard shields with terrifying force; even soldiers with spiritual energy protection were blown seven or eight feet away. Those shields would freeze solid within a few breaths, or burst into flames without fire.

Under the glow of spiritual energy, solid ice would take over ten breaths to begin melting, while flames would suddenly flare up and wrap around soldiers' wrists with a whoosh.

The restraining effect of spiritual energy on divine powers needs no elaboration—although the Black Armor Corps fought far from home, their spiritual energy level still surpassed that of the Baoling Army.

Everyone was startled—was there an ambush? And just after the first clash, they already faced such a grand formation?

Ling Jinbao stood beside Yang Sheng and He Yue, unable to simply dodge as usual; thus, he threw out a set of copper talismans, which, under heavenly allocation, stabilized into a six-pointed formation, transforming into a glowing, flickering round shield that, viewed from behind, resembled a turtle shell.

This shield blocked before them, deflecting all incoming flying swords.

However, two of the flying swords pierced the shield and instantly exploded, turning into over two hundred poisonous hornets the size of a little finger, seeking to bypass the talisman shield and swarm toward Ling Jinbao and the two others.

He seized the gourd, took a sip of wine, ignited a pinch of true fire at his fingertip, and brought it to his lips:

"Pfft——"

This mouthful of wine sprayed out, transforming into a fire dragon that utterly destroyed the incoming poison hornets.

But as he performed this move, his back was left exposed. Unknown where they came from, dozens of silver balls emerged, each no larger than a lychee, colliding with each other as they advanced, striking the soldiers' armor along the way—each impact increasing their speed, until only afterimages remained.

Their force also kept increasing.

At this moment, over ten of He Yue's personal guards fell dead beside him—pierced through the chest or waist and abdomen. Dozens of silver balls shot toward Ling Jinbao's back; Yang Sheng, sharp-eyed and quick-handed, raised his shield to block, only to hear a series of metallic clangs as the silver balls bounced off, then rebounded off nearby soldiers' armor, shooting in all directions at the three of them.

Suddenly, several rays of light flashed across He Yue's body—his protective artifacts activated.

Cultivators in the army successively unleashed their own means, striving to protect the three leaders' safety.

Ling Jinbao's talisman shield instantly dissolved, transforming into six steel plates that rotated around the three in flight, blocking the vast majority of silver balls.

Yet the rebound speed of the silver balls was too fast—two slipped through the gaps in the talisman formation, piercing his sleeve.

Fortunately, it narrowly missed piercing his kidney.

Danger arose from within his own ranks—He Yue had not yet grasped the situation before him. But he understood: this was ninety percent likely a trap set by the enemy.

"We've been ambushed!" Yang Sheng made a swift decision: "Change formation, full defense! Protect the Prince of Shen State!"

The Prince of Shen State is the younger brother of the Nine Abysses Great Emperor; Yang Sheng naturally prioritized protecting his safety.

Ling Jinbao glanced around and saw another dozen or so people rushing out from the forest.

This ambush force was small in number, but their strength was astonishingly formidable—they struck with killing intent from the very first move.