Chapter 172: Beast Tide, Population

Dongji Region.

At the border of Xingzhou Continent, a medium-sized city named Qingguang City is currently under attack by a horde of demonic beasts.

In the Dongji Region, human cultivators view demonic beasts as cultivation resources, while most demonic beasts feed on humans.

Between the two, the situation is almost like water and fire that cannot coexist.

Therefore, in the Dongji Region, it is quite common for human cultivators to launch encirclement and hunting campaigns against demonic beast clans, or for demonic beasts to launch beast tides against human cities.

Moreover, due to the lack of rules and constraints.

conflicts and mutual attacks between human factions in the Dongji Region also occur from time to time.

Thus, to establish a foothold in the Dongji Region, one must not only guard against demonic beast attacks but also be wary of the scrutiny of other human factions.

Under such circumstances, formidable strength is indispensable.

For instance, the city lord of Qingguang City, Zhou Qingguang, is a cultivator in the mid-stage of the Golden Core realm.

Zhou Qingguang, dressed in a refined manner, gives people the impression of being a gentleman.

At this moment, facing the surging tide of demonic beasts.

Zhou Qingguang stands in mid-air, personally presiding over the Fourth-Rank City-Protecting Great Array of Qingguang City, his gaze filled with worry as he looks deep into the rear of the beast tide.

There, Zhou Qingguang sensed several auras stronger than his own.

If those few demonic beasts hiding in the shadows make their move.

even with the aid of the Fourth-Rank City-Protecting Great Array, Zhou Qingguang is not confident that he can withstand the attacks of those few demonic beasts while defending against the assault of over ten thousand demonic beasts.

Thinking of this, Zhou Qingguang looked down at the three cultivators in the Purple Mansion realm and ordered:

"Heifeng, Qingyu, Xueyu, you three lead the guard units to accelerate the cleansing of the demonic beasts attacking the city."

"Yes, City Lord!"

Zhou Qingguang's move was intended to weaken the power of the beast tide as much as possible before the Fourth-Rank demonic beasts made their move.

The demonic beasts currently being driven to launch the first wave of attacks on Qingguang City are mostly First and Second-Rank beasts.

With the strength of the Qingguang City guard units, cleansing these demonic beasts is not difficult.

However, doing so will consume a large amount of their spiritual power, which is disadvantageous for later battles.

Nevertheless, at this point, facing the endless beast tide, Zhou Qingguang has no other choice.

Heifeng, Qingyu, and Xueyu are the three guard commanders of Qingguang City, each commanding one of the city's three cultivator guard units.

The three, who were just preparing to launch an attack, heard Zhou Qingguang's order and immediately responded without hesitation.

They began to lead their respective guard units, relying on the city-protecting array, to cleanse the demonic beasts that had already started attacking Qingguang City.

Seeing the Qingguang City guard units take action.

other cultivators within the city who did not belong to Qingguang City's command also, with great tacit understanding, began to take action, launching attacks against the demonic beasts outside the city walls.

When the nest is overturned, how can there be an intact egg?

These cultivators temporarily trapped in Qingguang City by the beast tide are not fools; they know they are now on the same string of grasshoppers as Qingguang City.

Without harming themselves, they are also very willing to strike at the horde of demonic beasts outside the city.

The sound of explosions instantly resounded across the entire sky, and spells of various colors emitted dazzling light, fiercely bombarding the horde of demonic beasts.

In an instant, they inflicted massive damage on the demonic beast horde.

Roar! The bloody stimulation made these city-attacking demonic beasts even more frenzied.

Various energy attacks, or the sharp claws and fangs of demonic beasts, fell heavily upon the barrier condensed by the City-Protecting Great Array.

Causing the barrier of the City-Protecting Great Array to continuously surge with violent waves.

Inside Qingguang City.

Sensing the commotion outside the city, many ordinary people within the city were praying with worry.

Praying that Qingguang City could survive this calamity, praying that they themselves and their loved ones could survive smoothly.

In the Dongji Region, conflicts between demonic beasts and humans occur frequently.

For ordinary people to survive, they can only attach themselves to the banners of cultivators.

Cities or villages composed purely of ordinary people are not non-existent in the Dongji Region, but they are extremely rare.

The few such cities or villages that do exist are mostly far away from demonic beast gathering grounds, situated in places lacking spiritual energy.

Therefore, ordinary people in the Dongji Region are basically under the rule of cultivators.

Their living environment and lifestyle depend entirely on the rules or moods set by their rulers.

Although the foundation of cultivator factions all originates from ordinary people.

most factions are not too harsh on the ordinary people living under their command.

But among cultivators, there are inevitably some scum or unpredictable madmen.

Inevitably, some ordinary people will live in dire straits for their entire lives, or even for generations.

Therefore, for ordinary people, finding a city with stable order and lenient treatment to attach themselves to is an extremely fortunate thing.

And Zhou Qingguang, as the city lord of Qingguang City, did not set harsh rules for the ordinary people within the city.

So now that Qingguang City is facing a crisis, these ordinary people living within the city naturally hope that Qingguang City can pass through safely.

Only by giving them hope for survival in normal times will they pray for Qingguang City to have hope of surviving the calamity when danger arises.

"Grandpa, don't be afraid. When Yinyin grows up and can cultivate, Yinyin will protect Grandpa."

In a bungalow in Qingguang City, a little girl of about seven or eight years old was lying in her grandfather's arms, comforting him.

Tilting her small head, her two big eyes shone brightly as she looked at the cultivators flying above the city, feeling no fear at all.

Her grandfather merely gently stroked her small head with his hand and said nothing.

His gaze towards the outside of the city, though cloudy, revealed deep worry.

Suddenly.

Outside the city walls, three sharp, piercing beast roars echoed: "Moo!" "Howl!" "Screech!"

After the numerous cultivators in Qingguang City had spent vast amounts of spiritual power clearing out the beast horde attacking the city,

two fourth-rank late-stage demons and one fourth-rank peak demon, accompanied by a massive number of third-rank demons, suddenly descended outside Qingguang City.

They launched a fierce assault directly against the barrier of the city's great formation.

The two fourth-rank late-stage demons were a giant ox and a giant wolf.

The fourth-rank peak demon was a massive flying beast.

"Not good!"

Facing three fourth-rank demons far beyond his own cultivation base, along with thousands of first, second, and third-rank demons attacking together, Zhou Qingguang's face instantly changed drastically.

Instinctively, he poured a massive amount of spiritual power into the city's great formation to amplify its power.

Bang! Bang! Bang. Crack! Crack! Crack. As a series of dull booming sounds rang out, cracks began to appear on the barrier of Qingguang City's defense and gradually spread outward.

"Hmph!"

The city's great formation suffered an attack far exceeding its defensive capacity; Zhou Qingguang, who had been directly maintaining the formation, was immediately struck by backlash and let out a muffled groan.

After calming the surging qi and blood within his body,

Zhou Qingguang looked unwillingly at the two fourth-rank late-stage demons and the one fourth-rank peak demon outside the city walls and said bitterly:

"Could it be that all my efforts are about to be destroyed in an instant?"

Glancing at the millions of mortals within the city behind him who possessed no cultivation, Zhou Qingguang gritted his teeth and secretly transmitted a command: "Heifeng, Qingyu, Xueyu, lead the guard squad and prepare to break through!"

He still had a great grudge to avenge; he could only apologize to the city residents who relied on him.

Hearing this, Qingyu felt somewhat reluctant and could not help but speak up:

"City Lord, what about the people inside the city?"

"Abandon them. We cannot save them."

The only response to Qingyu was Zhou Qingguang's cold command.

The reality was indeed so; if they stayed, they would only perish alongside everyone in Qingguang City.

"Qingyu, listen to the City Lord! We are powerless."

Heifeng, standing nearby, could not help but speak up to persuade Qingyu.

Only Xueyu remained silent, offering no opinion. There was no right or wrong in this matter; staying would only be a futile sacrifice, and the people within the city had very few bonds with cultivators like them.

Ordinary emotions could no longer sway the hearts of cultivators or influence their final decisions.

Perhaps this choice did not align with humanitarianism, but in a situation where nothing could be done, it was the most rational choice.

In the end, Qingyu could only grit her teeth, looking at the residents within the city with a face full of shame.

Crack! Crack! Seeing the cracks on the barrier growing larger, Zhou Qingguang shouted loudly:

"Go!"

Immediately, Zhou Qingguang, Heifeng, Qingyu, Xueyu, and a few members of the guard squad fled toward the other side of Qingguang City.

That direction, although also inhabited by beast hordes, contained mostly low-rank demons.

Breaking through from there offered a much higher probability of success.

As Zhou Qingguang fled, the majority of the other cultivators in Qingguang City also cleverly followed suit.

As for the remaining majority of the Qingguang City guard squad members and a few other cultivators, they did not choose to flee immediately.

They were all natives of Qingguang City; these guards were not yet old, and there were still attachments within the city they could not abandon.

Therefore, they did not flee immediately but instead returned to their homes to prepare to take their families with them.

At this moment, the mortals within the city, witnessing the cultivators fleeing high above, fell directly into despair.

The cultivators could flee, but where could people like them escape to? Many, facing the threat of death, began to cry out for help loudly: "No! Don't go, City Lord, please take me with you!"

"Second Brother, Second Brother, I am your distant aunt! Save me, take me with you!"

"City Lord, please, take my daughter with you! City Lord!"

Many others, having lost all hope, began to curse without restraint:

"Zhou Qingguang, may you die a terrible death!"

"Die! All of you die! Why can't I possess a spiritual root? Why?"

"Hehehe, Zhou Qingguang, you cannot escape. I will wait for you down here!"

In an instant, the hundred forms of humanity and the hundred faces of all beings were fully displayed.

Facing the danger of death, the dark side hidden in many people's hearts was thoroughly unleashed.

Bang! With a crisp, loud crash, fragments of starlight began to rain down from above Qingguang City.

Amidst the chaos of Qingguang City, after Zhou Qingguang ceased maintaining the city's great formation,

facing the relentless attacks of the beast horde, it collapsed completely after merely sustaining itself for a moment.

"Grandpa, I'm scared, waaah!"

The little girl who had previously been comforting her grandpa completely lost her composure at this moment.

She buried her small face in her grandpa's embrace and cried in terror.

"Yinyin, be good, don't be afraid. Grandpa is here!"

Tears streamed down the old man's face; his son and daughter-in-law had died long ago, and his granddaughter Yinyin was his only attachment.

Could it be that this time, the two of them, grandfather and granddaughter, would perish in the mouths of demons?

Thinking of this, the old man hugged his granddaughter Yinyin tightly.

In his unwillingness, he struggled to his feet, closed the door, and searched the room for everything he could find to reinforce it.

Even without hope, for the sake of his granddaughter, he would struggle until the very end.

"Moo! Howl! Screech! Roar!"

As the city's great formation shattered, various beast roars rose and fell.

The beast horde, excited, trampled through the walls of Qingguang City, preparing to delve deep into the city and slaughter the humans within for a feast.

Within Qingguang City, screams of all kinds echoed through the sky.

At this critical moment, a faint yet powerful Daoic sound rang out: "Suppress the Realm!"

Instantly, a translucent, glass-colored pagoda phantom appeared above Qingguang City, directly suppressing the beast horde that sought to unleash a massacre.

Sensing this sudden change, Qingguang City fell instantly silent, and hope rekindled in the eyes of those within the city.

The little girl, who had buried her head in her grandfather's arms, now looked up at him, sobbing and choking, and asked in confusion:

"Grandpa, why haven't I died yet?"

"Shh!"

Her grandfather hurriedly covered the little girl's mouth, looking warily at the sky above Qingguang City.

At this moment.

The projection of Ye Qingxuan's external avatar, Gui Xuanzi, had already appeared above Qingguang City. His gaze, cold as ice, fixed upon the beast horde below: "A pack of wicked beasts, seeking death!"

With hand seals formed, the Realm-Suppressing Pagoda, nurtured within his dantian, automatically flew out, expanded, and overlapped with the glass-colored pagoda phantom in the void above.

The Realm-Suppressing power pressing down upon the demon beast horde surged violently.

Demon beasts below the Fourth Rank, under this surging Realm-Suppressing power, perished instantly.

"Moo!" "Howl!" "Screech!"

Three Fourth-Rank demon beasts roared continuously under the suppression. The ferocious flying beast was now lying on the ground, struggling incessantly.

Fourth-Rank energy slowly fluctuated and gathered as the three Fourth-Rank demon beasts attempted to condense energy for a counterattack.

But the moment they condensed that energy, Ye Qingxuan, with a mere thought, used the Realm-Suppressing power to scatter it directly.

"Die!"

Without further words, Ye Qingxuan drew out another flying sword.

Under the control of his spiritual sense, the flying sword sliced through the long sky, becoming a streak of light that pierced through the bodies of the three Fourth-Rank demon beasts.

Boom! The three Fourth-Rank demon beasts, which had been struggling, collapsed with a thunderous crash, kicking up a cloud of dust.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Just as Ye Qingxuan had finished exterminating all the demon beasts, Zhou Qingguang, who had previously fled, sensed the change in Qingguang City and returned with members of his guard unit.

Looking at the demon beast carcasses littering the ground, Zhou Qingguang cautiously approached not far before Ye Qingxuan. With a smile on his face, he spoke respectfully:

"Junior Zhou Qingguang thanks the senior for the grace of rescue!"

Upon hearing this, Ye Qingxuan glanced at Zhou Qingguang and said playfully: "You need not thank me. Since the city and its people were saved by me, naturally, this city and its inhabitants shall henceforth belong to my command."

"This?"

The smile on Zhou Qingguang's face froze, and he hesitated slightly.

"What? Do you have an objection?"

Ye Qingxuan glanced coldly at Zhou Qingguang, frightening him into immediately bowing his head and saying: "Junior dares not, junior dares not! All shall be according to the senior's orders!"

Although he spoke thus, Zhou Qingguang felt extremely depressed in his heart.

He had originally been unwilling to submit to another's command, which was why he had built this city on the border of the Star Fall Continent, specifically to avoid the powers in the core regions of the Star Fall Continent.

He never expected that, just as the city was developing well, it would suddenly encounter a beast tide and face the crisis of destruction.

Later, a senior unexpectedly appeared to save the situation, only for this senior to take a liking to his city.

Facing this outcome, although Zhou Qingguang felt somewhat unwilling, he held no resentment in his heart.

After all, in the beginning, it was he himself who had chosen to abandon the entire city.

"Perhaps this is for the best!"

Zhou Qingguang looked at the residents of Qingguang City below, who had been reborn. His eyes were somewhat dim, and he seemed to feel relieved in his heart.

Ye Qingxuan paid no attention to the change in Zhou Qingguang's expression.

Standing in mid-air above Qingguang City, he circulated his spiritual power and spoke loudly:

"I am Gui Xuanzi. From today on, this city and its people shall belong to my command."

"If anyone is unwilling, they may leave the city within three days."

The Earth Mystery Realm is different from the Profound Wood Realm. To build a city in the Earth Mystery Realm and develop it for the long term, population is indispensable.

Therefore, what Ye Qingxuan desired was not the city itself, but the population within it.

The people within this city, Ye Qingxuan claimed them.

(End of this chapter)