Chapter 202: The City Falls

"What's going on?!"

Qin Ming and Xu Zhanglao quickly rushed out of the shop; when they reached the street and saw the scene beyond Yunze Xiancheng, they were stunned into silence.

"A third-rank beast king!!!"

And countless beast beasts were continuously slamming against the outer walls of the Immortal City's grand array.

More worrying still, Yunze Xiancheng's third-rank superior array, under the lead assault of the Shi Tian Shu Beast King,

was beginning to emit black smoke from its blue-hued barrier, with signs of imminent rupture appearing.

Zzzz! The city defenders began relentlessly hurling massive quantities of spirit stones into the array's core to amplify its power.

The section of the array previously corroded by the Rat King's demonic energy now flared with blue runes, instantly beginning to heal.

Just then.

A sharp whistling sound came from beside Qin Ming; two familiar figures hurried past, rushing outward.

"Comrade Lv!" he called out.

No sooner had the words left his mouth than the two figures in midair paused—Master and disciple Lv Liang and Lu Wanjun stopped.

Lv Liang turned to Qin Ming. "Comrade Qin, what are you doing here?"

"Sigh! You've come at the worst possible time!"

"Comrade Lv, the outer city is extremely dangerous—how can you still…" Qin Ming saw their determined posture and realized they were heading into a death trap, barely enough to feed the Beast King's teeth.

Lv Liang chuckled bitterly. "Heh! This is the bread I eat—I've enjoyed all the benefits Yunze Xiancheng has offered."

"Now that disaster has struck, I cannot retreat. Even if it means death, I must stand my ground."

"Enough—time is critical. I'll go ahead first. Comrade Qin, be careful."

With that, Lv Liang carried Lu Wanjun, using the array's power to instantly teleport out of the core zone toward the outer city's defenses.

Boom—! Suddenly! Above the sky of Yunze Xiancheng,

a vast shadow suddenly blotted out the heavens, plunging all light into darkness; everyone instinctively looked upward.

There, a massive fireball, like a miniature sun, grew larger and larger in the eyes of the cultivators below—by the time it reached the city's zenith, its diameter had exceeded a hundred zhang! Simultaneously, countless fireballs, like meteorites trailing long fiery tails, tore across the sky and rained down upon the Immortal City.

Qin Ming, witnessing this apocalyptic spectacle, nearly lost his composure.

'Damn bad luck!'

'What a terrible time to show up!'

'I hope Yunze Xiancheng's third-rank array holds!'

Even Xu Laozhang, the pseudo-Jin Dan cultivator from Xuanxi Valley beside him, turned pale as he stared at the colossal fireball above.

If the third-rank array broke, Yunze Xiancheng would lose all defensive capability—consequences unimaginable.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Two terrifyingly potent aura trails shot up from Canghai Peak, hovering in midair.

Qin Ming squinted—there stood Nanlan Xi, the Canghai True Person, and another unknown Jin Dan Laozu.

The latter wore a gray robe, with white hair and a youthful face, eyes gleaming with sharp light; his magic power fluctuated at the peak of early Jin Dan.

"It's our sect's Xuan Yu Laozu!"

The Xu Laozhang beside Qin Ming recognized the Jin Dan Laozu who had appeared alongside Nanlan Xi.

Clearly, Xuan Yu Laozu was one of the two Jin Dans sent by Liang's Xuanxi Valley to aid Wei.

As the colossal fireball in the sky neared its fall,

in the blink of an eye—

Nanlan Xi pulled forth a array disc and swiftly formed a complex arcane hand seal.

Zzzz! The heavens trembled; the spirit energy of Canghai Peak's third-rank superior spirit vein surged forth as visible five-colored light, endlessly pouring into the Immortal City's array.

"This is the Canghai True Person channeling the power of Heaven and Earth, Xumi Shanhe, to forcibly amplify the third-rank array's strength!"

Qin Ming exclaimed in awe.

Then—

Countless runes of terrifying power flashed across the array's barrier, weaving through the glowing shield.

The once pale-blue veil enveloping the city suddenly expanded, deepening into a denser, more solid hue.

Boom—Boom—! As the fireball rain from the sky crashed onto the third-rank array's barrier,

deafening explosions echoed through the heavens.

Brilliant light blazed violently in midair, blinding all who looked.

The entire Immortal City shuddered violently under this earth-shattering impact, causing several buildings to collapse.

"Is this really an attack from a third-rank beast king?"

"I'd believe it's a fourth-rank transformed demon! Cough! Cough! Cough! Oh my god! How are these beasts back?!"

"Weren't they all driven back into Beiming Mountain Range?"

"This was clearly premeditated!"

Outside the Immortal City, dust cleared.

Three towering black shadows, each dozens of zhang tall, appeared before everyone's eyes! Besides the Shi Tian Shu Beast King, there was also the Xiong Wang and a deer-shaped great beast—all radiating power beyond ordinary beast kings.

"Two more third-rank early peak beast kings!"

Qin Ming finally made out the two beast kings clearly.

As the violent shaking of the ground gradually subsided,

the cultivators within the city, seeing the third-rank array still standing firm despite the assault, let out a collective sigh of relief.

Qin Ming himself had been terrified by the apocalyptic force—had nearly activated Blood Flight to flee.

Fortunately, the Canghai True Person had appeared to stabilize the array.

Had anyone else been guarding it, the array would have shattered under the meteor-like assault.

At the same time, True Person Nalan Xi and Xuan Yu Laozu also spotted the three third-rank Demon Kings, and upon seeing the third-rank antlered Demon King in particular, their expressions changed drastically.

It was not hard to guess that the heaven-destroying, earth-annihilating attack from beyond the sky just now was precisely their handiwork! In the next instant.

The three Demon Kings moved again, each unleashing their heaven-reaching demonic power to bombard the formation of Yunze Xiancheng wildly.

In particular, the black light spewed from the mouth of the Shi Tian Shu Demon King seemed to possess an astonishing destructive force even against high-grade prohibitions.

With every mouthful of black light spewed, the light curtain at the point of impact dimmed by a fraction.

Crack!

Finally, a crack appeared on the surface of the third-rank great formation.

Crack-crack-crack! A series of dense shattering sounds rang out.

The blue light curtain in the northwest corner shattered like glazed glass.

Boom! Squelch!

After the familiar sounds passed, a large hole had been blasted open in the blue light curtain at the northwest corner of the outer city.

Canghai Xiancheng, which had stood unshaken for hundreds of years, at this moment, under the combined assault of the three Demon Kings, revealed a flaw.

In an instant, countless demonic beasts surged in through the hole like a tide.

And the cultivators defending the city, at this moment, could hold on no longer, being trampled and ravaged by the massive influx of demonic beasts.

"Ah! Disaster strikes! The city formation has been broken!"

"Run for your lives!"

"Ah!"

"..."

The rogue cultivators gathered in the outer city were thrown into complete chaos.

The two True Persons of Canghai Xiancheng were now locked in battle with the three Demon Kings outside.

Various heaven-destroying, earth-annihilating spells exploded outside, and the resulting backlash instantly engulfed nearby cultivators and demonic beasts, turning them to ash.

Qin Ming's scalp went numb; he was already having second thoughts and preparing to flee at any moment.

Xu Zhanglao and the others also took out their teleportation talismans, ready to retreat immediately if the situation turned dire.

"Qin Xiaoyou, if Yunze Xiancheng falls completely and the situation looks grim, come with us and use the city's teleportation array to escape!"

Xu Zhanglao said to Qin Ming with an extremely grave expression.

"That's right! With three third-rank Demon Kings launching a surprise attack, I fear... even the two True Persons may not be able to hold them off," Xu Jing also said to him, his face pale.

Hearing this, Qin Ming decisively nodded and said gratefully, "Then Qin Mou thanks Xu Zhanglao and Fellow Daoist Xu!"

In these times, those who think of others even while running away are truly few and far between.

Truly commendable! Moreover, relying on Canghai Xiancheng's teleportation array should allow them to teleport far away, out of the range of the beast tide, making it relatively safer.

With a way out secured, Qin Ming's wildly pounding heart settled down slightly.

Inside Yunze Xiancheng, as massive numbers of demonic beasts poured in.

Heart-rending screams of agony filled the air without cease.

Within Yunze Xiancheng, wave after wave of cultivators threw themselves into the battle.

(End of Chapter)