Chapter 358: Not Human

"Thirty-six... seventy-two. Including the Daoist soldier units, that makes seventy-two Jin Dan combatants."

Jiang Ding had counted them all.

Behind the tank army spanning two to three hundred kilometers, on the flanks of the Second, Third, and Fourth Army Groups, within the military formations of seventy-two either true transmission disciples or Brother Brother Xuanwu's Daoist soldier units, lava giants and beast-demon giant phantoms, each tens of zhang tall, rose up one by one.

They swept up the vast heavenly and earthly spiritual qi, condensing it into giant axes, flame-magma spheres, vine branches, and other attacks to smash through waves of armor-piercing shells, forcing their way into the immortal sect's tank force formations while enduring hundreds of millions of shells.

In an extremely short time, they tore open a huge section of the defensive line; countless tanks were crushed flat, and Qi Refining realm immortal sect cultivators turned to ash in the flames, leaving not even bones behind, with casualties surging by the hundreds of thousands.

At the same time, tens of thousands and even hundreds of thousands of armor-piercing shell groups roared in, blasting apart individual Jin Dan military formations; Foundation Establishment cultivator corpses were torn apart and flung about, proving that even Jin Dan cultivators were not invincible on such a battlefield.

The war between the two sides instantly plunged into a slaughter of extreme cruelty, where neither one's own life nor another's mattered anymore; only one side's total death could bring it to a stop.

In a short time, the number of Qi Refining cultivators killed by the immortal sect already exceeded five hundred thousand, while only seven Jin Dan battle formations had been blasted apart.

"They are no match..."

Jiang Ding gazed at the battlefield for a moment, then transformed into a majestic gray-blue sword-shaped escape light and surged toward the rear of the great army.

Theoretically, the 3.7 million-strong tank force could engage over a hundred Jin Dan cultivators head-on, possessing such combat power.

But theory is merely theory.

The thirty-kilometer shell interference range is the tank force's eternal pain; with numerous Jin Dan combatants gathered together and charging recklessly, the number of tank cannons capable of firing at them directly is only around a million, while the other shells are ordinary projectiles that cannot track enemies and can only be used to restrict movement and conduct area bombardment.

If left unchecked, the entire steel army would collapse in sequence.

"You all do your best to hold on."

Jiang Ding, forced to be drawn away by the enemy, left these words for Jin Jin Lingfeng and An Siyan.

Xiang Jia and the Treasure Cauldron Maitreya still had not appeared; they were certainly not sitting idly by, but rather hiding their tracks, concealed at an unknown distance, waiting to launch a surprise attack... or perhaps to first destroy the forces here.

"Please rest assured!"

Jin Jin Lingfeng said solemnly.

Boom!

A gray-blue sword light tore through the sky's cloud layers, carrying a vast sky of destructive sword intent, descending upon this battlefield shrouded by phantoms of giant figures, as the heavy sword Dao pressure spread outward.

Whoosh!

The foremost blue-gold sword light pierced through six Jin Dan battle formations; the heads of six Brother Brother Xuanwu Heavenly Palace true transmission disciples were shattered, while the rest, Foundation Establishment cultivators, perished amidst the pale blue sword qi blooming everywhere in the sky.

"The Great Sun Sword Disciple!"

The surrounding Brother Brother Xuanwu Heavenly Palace true transmission disciples' hearts and livers trembled.

Without hesitation, they abandoned the clusters of tank forces directly before them, along with the vast sky of armor-piercing shell groups, condensing golden knives, giant axes, magma giant clubs, and other objects tens of zhang in size to attack the sky; Jin Dan Fa-level attacks were visible everywhere.

"Twenty-five Jin Dan battle formations... Everyone is still not generous enough."

Jiang Ding murmured to himself.

Of the fifty-nine Jin Dan battle formations facing the Second, Third, and Fourth Army Groups head-on, a full twenty-five had suddenly split off to besiege him, while the remaining thirty-four Jin Dan battle formations, under the siege of over two million tank forces, were struggling on both fronts, barely surviving, and could no longer advance.

"Commander-in-Chief!"

Dong Xue Senior Qian, commander of the Third Army Group, looked up at the sky with some trepidation; amidst the difficulty, she once again directed over two hundred thousand tank cannon groups to bombard the enemies facing Jiang Ding, reducing his pressure by a little.

Clang!

A clear sword cry echoed throughout the entire battlefield, with the destructive sword intent spreading in all directions.

A sword-shaped Tianhe river appeared, surging ceaselessly; within the river, pure gold net-like patterns crisscrossed, rolling up massive Tianhe waves that crashed head-on into the torrent of spells from the twenty-five Jin Dan battle formations.

Boom!

As the Tianhe surged, flame giant clubs and golden knives and giant blades tens of zhang in size shattered; the attacks of numerous Jin Dan battle formations were pulverized within the river, their spiritual light diminished, and earth-shattering explosions occurred, the shockwaves of the aftermath shattering clouds and mist for hundreds of li.

"This is not human..."

With their spells broken, numerous Brother Brother Xuanwu Heavenly Palace true transmission disciples turned pale, their dantian trembling; for the first time, they truly witnessed the scenes recorded in the jade slips, and their hearts churned like a raging storm.

"Kill!"

"Kill him!"

Then, a ruthless expression flashed across their faces; they frantically urged their magic power, surging into the military formations. Dozens of beast-demon phantoms in the battle formations, tens of zhang tall, roared, while lava giants bellowed; wild and cold killing intent spread everywhere as they once again unleashed attacks to ascend to the sky.

The Great Sun Sword Disciple of the Eastern Extreme Demon Sect!

Since this thief appeared, he has already slaughtered thousands of Heavenly Palace Foundation Establishment cultivators; if he does not die, everyone will die!

Although the Huangtong Small Realm is vast, there is nowhere to hide!

"Sever!"

Jiang Ding, expressionless, pointed forward.

The sword-shaped Tianhe shone brilliantly, the net-like pure gold veins becoming even clearer and sharper; once again, with a boom, it poured down, suppressing the twenty-five Jin Dan battle formations with the assistance of the vast sky of armor-piercing shell groups, as the several-kilometer-long sword river flowed on, unstoppable.

Boom!

Within the Tianhe, winter melon giant hammers, Fangtian halberds, tiger-head giant axes, earth-yellow giant clubs, and other objects, all tens of zhang in size, snapped with a crack; dense river water surged up, every drop bearing pure gold veins within its deep blue, breaking and extinguishing spells, dissolving these giant objects completely.

"Kill!"

"Kill, kill! Advance with no retreat!"

The numerous true transmission disciples of Brother Brother Xuanwu Heavenly Palace were greatly terrified, yet their killing intent grew even colder; they formed hand seals, stepped upon the positions of the Heavenly Stems, Earthly Branches, and the Eight Trigrams, their Jin Dan formation patterns densely covering the area, and once again surged out to meet the sword river in the sky.

Terrifying explosions occurred again and again.

The sword river, deep blue with golden net-like patterns, poured down and flowed freely, roaming at will; the phantoms of the twenty-five battle formation giants roared continuously, slashing and killing ceaselessly, fighting for life even as they themselves sustained constant injuries, refusing to retreat even a single step.

At the same time, several breaths after Jiang Ding left the central army and descended upon the rear battlefield, after the First Army Group under Jin Jin Lingfeng had successively fired constraining armor-piercing shell groups toward the rear, they all held their breath.

"Amitabha!"

Within a field of sacred and peaceful Buddha light, the Treasure Cauldron Maitreya, at some unknown time, appeared within ten kilometers of the great army; with a wave of his hand, two rotating golden wheels crashed toward the army.

As the golden wheels rotated, sharp Jin Chong Guang radiated in streams, piercing through the heads of Qi Refining realm cultivators one by one, causing tens of thousands of casualties.

"All you virtuous believers, why not take refuge in my Buddha?!"

He shouted, his voice like a great bell and loud drum, as golden ripples spread out in all directions.

"All that was once is now void!"

"Praise to my Buddha, the Supreme Precious Cauldron Maitreya!"

Tens of thousands of cultivation sect Qi Refining cultivators' eyes showed confusion; they even abandoned controlling the tanks, sat cross-legged on the spot, revealed expressions of profound enlightenment, and lost all desire.

"Fire!"

"Fire!"

"..."

Jin Jin Lingfeng's heart grew cold, and he shouted repeatedly.

Boom! Boom boom!

Under years of training, over a million people in all departments moved instinctively; second-tier Spirit Subparticle Radars locked on, cannon mouths roared, over a million tank armor-piercing shells were fired, white trails slashed through, and piercing sounds of tearing the air rose and fell in succession, surrounding this place.

This is the power capable of encircling and killing dozens of Jin Dan!

"You all must descend to the Eighteen Layers of Hell!"

The Precious Cauldron Maitreya's face changed; he pressed his palms together, pushed out a layer of Vajra Wall, waved four pairs of thick arms into blurs, and hurled two pairs of Zen staffs and two pairs of Precious Cauldrons accompanied by Sanskrit chants.

Boom!

Infinite explosions occurred beside the solemn Maitreya; only the sound of cracks constantly appearing was heard. The Vajra Wall shattered, the Zen staffs and Precious Cauldrons were pierced through, the body appeared with many holes, the aura dropped significantly, and it no longer resembled a majestic deity.

"Not that strong?"

Jin Jin Lingfeng was stunned, then immediately turned pale with shock.

On the other side, Brother Brother Xuanwu's candidate disciple, Xiang Jia, appeared.

Taking advantage of the previous artillery barrage, he successfully infiltrated into the army, wearing a turtle-shaped double-sided shield, while the embryo of the Vajra Ring treasure in his hand split into two, then two into four...

In the blink of an eye, they covered the sky and earth, shooting out in all directions at lightning speed, smashing through the skulls of cultivation sect Qi Refining cultivators one by one; in the blink of an eye, there were hundreds of thousands of casualties.

(End of this chapter)