Chapter 2756

He's got a thick skull, and he doesn't mind offering up his hair as sacrifice.

The demon beasts sneered, No way! Nothing comes that cheap.

Ling Jinbao swung his blade and sliced off his own left ear, tossing it to the horde.

Green qi coiled around it as they tore the ear apart and ate it, then they told him, Not enough!

Look at how stingy he is.

Ling Jinbao, helpless, chopped off his own left pinky and ring finger, bloody stumps flung at them:

"As long as you help me stall my mortal enemy, by this time tomorrow I'll offer you an immortal's corpse!"

He saw through their greed, knew they had him over a barrel, and figured even if he chopped off his own hands and feet, these fiends would still try to lion's share him. Better to set terms now, sacrifice later.

In other words, he was writing a bad check.

If he can't stall the enemy, what right does he have to enjoy an immortal's corpse?

"Fine… then." The horde gulped down his two fingers, and the deal was sealed.

This wasn't just idle talk. At this time tomorrow, Ling Jinbao must come here to cash that check, offering up an immortal's corpse. If he can't secure another immortal's, he'll have to sacrifice himself.

Thereafter, even denser green qi poured from the gourd, condensing in midair into hundreds of strands, each shooting off in different directions toward the Spiral Shell Dao Field.

Upon landing, they would transform into over three hundred large and small assorted demons, each guarding a different sector of the Spiral Shell Dao Field, intercepting any immortals or demons passing through.

This gourd seals the beast spirits collected by his sect through the ages—originally at least several thousand. His sect's forebears were no slouches, and the sealed beasts weren't weak either; inside the gourd they devoured each other until only over three hundred remained. They haven't burst forth because, over endless time, they've gradually assimilated into the gourd's artifact spirit, becoming part of this magic item.

Without this number, how could he possibly delay those ten-plus days of demonic onslaught?

Ling Jinbao also inferred that among the demons dispatched to snipe the Black Armor Army and capture He Yue, there should be no true gods or great demon kings, or it would truly be overkill. These three hundred-plus beast spirits can't kill them, but combined with the thick fog and the Spiral Shell labyrinth, they can still slightly impede them.

Just as he finished setting this up, the front fog roiled. Ling Jinbao knew: immortals and demons had already crashed in.

He turned and fled, ducking deep into the Spiral Shell Dao Field, preparing to ambush among the demons and give the enemy a little surprise.

Just three or five breaths later, those ten-plus immortals charged in, looking left and right. Hmm, this terrain doesn't quite match what we saw from above earlier?

Ghost Wall? Petty trick.

The rear demon king felt the fog ahead roil, and within two or three breaths his companions vanished—no sound at all.

"Hey!" He strode forward a few steps, saw a blurry shape, thought it was a comrade's back, and was about to take two steps to catch up when that person suddenly whipped their head around.

The demon king couldn't see his face, because this person suddenly opened their mouth wide and sucked in a deep breath.

With a whoosh, they caught fire.

The flames raged violently inside their body, finally bursting uncontrollably from nostrils and ears. At the same time, their physique kept swelling—from ordinary human size to over three zhang tall, flames erupting all over, features twisting into something ferocious, original features unrecognizable.

It backhanded a slap straight at him.

This is the gourd's beast spirit, the Thousand-Arbor Fire Spirit.

The battle in the fog has begun.

￥￥￥￥￥

Outside the Spiral Shell Dao Field, Yang Sheng and He Yue were spurring their horses into a gallop.

He Yue wasn't stupid either; recalling the past few days' combat, the more he thought, the more off it felt.

On his pursuit of Zhao Shuo, why was there an ambush of over ten immortals? Such a luxurious lineup—really just for him?

"Commander Yang, are those immortals coming for you?"

Deploying this many immortals can only mean they're calculating against an evenly matched foe.

Yang Sheng glanced at him: "They want to take you down, then scheme against the Earth Mother Plains and the Great Emperor."

"And my son's death…" He Yue clenched his jaw, "Could it also be part of the demon's plan?"

He is the Crown Prince of Shen State, his old man a master of political machinations; at this moment of realization, he immediately caught the thick scent of conspiracy.

Could it be that the demons set up today's trap, using his son's death as bait, orchestrating this whole chain of events?

Otherwise, how could everything be so tightly interlocked?

But Yu'er was killed two months ago. Back then, could the demons have calculated that the Earth Mother would appear two months later at the Confined Dragon Moat?

"I only handle getting you back." Yang Sheng said quickly, "The rest, we'll talk after returning to the plains. Now swap the Godstride Talismans, hurry!"

The Black Armor Army's Godstride Talismans don't last long—only a few dozen breaths—but they boost speed immensely; combined with everyone's Windrush effect, they'll definitely fling the enemy far behind.

Their mission: return to the Earth Mother Plains as fast as possible and guard the Coiled Dragon Secret Realm.

The real fierce battle hasn't even started yet!

￥￥￥￥￥

Twenty years ago, Ming Sha Lin was just a sparsely vegetated mountain valley, as He Lingchuan saw in the Void of the Great Fang Hu. But today, with heaven and earth's spiritual energy ever more abundant, vegetation has grown thick.

Whether it's the Red General or He Lingchuan, the reason they hold this place is Chen En Cliff behind Ming Sha Lin.

It's a geological fault line; viewed from above, it looks like a steamed bun split in half, that uneven fracture being Chen En Cliff.

Ming Sha Lin lies in the valley below the cliff.

In the Void of the Coiled Dragon Secret Realm, He Lingchuan didn't recognize Mist Valley as Ming Sha Lin precisely because there's no Chen En Cliff there.

But here, Chen En Cliff is a natural high ground, its layered, uneven fracture a natural watchtower, advantageous for archers and cultivators to attack from high ground.

This unique terrain, combined with the Coiled Dragon Army's toughness, has already kept the Between Between Between Beijia Army at bay outside the forest for over half a month.

During this half month, Gao Huaiyuan tried every trick, yet still couldn't breach Ming Sha Lin's defenses.

Tonight, Zhong Shengguang and He Lingchuan just want to see what new tricks the enemy has.

He Lingchuan walked into the spirit rain, inhaled deeply to the heavens, and the fragrance of Imperial Flow Jiang rushed straight to his celestial crown.

Gazing out at Ming Sha Lin beyond, the heavy rain and night nearly smothered the torchlight, but everyone knew the Between Between Between Beijia Grand Army was there, tiger-eyed and watchful.

The Immortal God won't give up, Gao Huaiyuan won't give up, the crisis of Coiled Dragon is imminent.

Personal guards came running from the rear, reporting in a low voice: "General, the Shu Min Academy has connected via Water Mirror Technique to find you……"

Shu Min Academy?

He Lingchuan immediately glanced toward Chen Enya. From his angle, he could see Dean Xu Shichu of the academy standing on the cliff—who would bother contacting him at a time like this?

The atmosphere at the front was too tense; the guards swallowed their saliva before continuing: "It's Master Sun..."