Chapter 625

The yin wind swirls wildly, and ghostly shadows are layered thick.

Dense yin qi shrouds the city defenses, severely interfering with the spiritual senses of the defending cultivators and restricting their vision to within a mere ten feet in front of them.

Big-headed ghosts, small-headed ghosts, hanged ghosts, soul-hooking geckos, and others fly up with the wind or scale the city walls, continuously charging at the parapets.

"Hold the line, hold it for me!"

"Father!!"

"Go to hell—!"

"Don't charge too far forward!"

"Form up, form up!"

Shouts, commands, screams, and indignant roars intertwine, weaving a hymn of the living defending their homeland.

The endlessness, cruelty, and numbness of the ghost tide, alongside the courage, tragedy, and sacrifice of the living—two invisible forces clash through the bodies of the living and the ghosts, entangled in a struggle of life and death.

Tie Guzheng, as the commander of the City Guard, oversees the city's entire defensive line.

Reports of the battle situation from various sectors arrive one after another, leaving his face as cold as iron.

This ghost tide is comparable to the final stages of the past, reaching a scale that has set a historical record; had it not been for the White Paper City Lord's heavy bounty previously, which recruited almost all combat-capable individuals from the villages and towns around the Xiancheng, White Paper Xiancheng would have already fallen.

"Even so, our battle casualties are climbing sharply—"

"What's worse is that there is also a well-trained, strictly disciplined army of yin soldiers lurking on the outskirts of the battlefield!"

"And what about us?"

Even Tie Guzheng himself and the City Guard cannot be considered a true cultivation army.

The only one that can barely count as such in the entire city is the Qingjiao Army.

Comparing it this way, what the defenders can truly rely on is still White Paper Xiancheng itself!

Bang, bang, bang—

The earth trembles, and deep within the dense yin tide, a black shadow, darker than the night and as massive as a hill, gradually approaches.

It crashes through the curtain-like yin wind, trampling the low-level ghost mists that cannot dodge in time, and charges toward the city gate with its heavy, hulking body.

"Dead Bone Giant Spirit!" Tie Guzheng stands up abruptly, his entire body on high alert.

The alarm bells in White Paper Xiancheng ring out suddenly!

Countless black and dark gray skeletons intertwine and splice together to form a giant monster.

Every bone is quite thick, sturdy, and weathered, having endured the erosion of yin qi and the passage of time.

With every step it takes, the earth feels as if struck by a heavy hammer, the muffled thuds sounding like thunder.

Its stride is quite massive; although its movement is slow, it reaches the city wall in just over a dozen steps.

The tall city wall doesn't even reach its neck.

The cultivators standing on the wall are exactly level with its mouth and nose.

Boom!

The Dead Bone Giant Spirit raises its palm and slams it directly onto the city wall.

The wall, which had remained unmoved until now, shakes violently, followed by a sound like paper being torn.

Accompanying these sounds, cracks appear on the wall and spread rapidly.

Boom, boom.

The Dead Bone Giant Spirit strikes two more times.

The violent tremors spread along the city wall to the surroundings, shaking the defending soldiers until they lose their footing and sway violently.

The surrounding ghosts suffer even more, almost all of them having their souls scattered in the clash between the Dead Bone Giant Spirit and the White Paper Xiancheng wall.

It must not be allowed to continue its rampage like this.

Driven by determination, Tie Guzheng moves out personally, wielding an iron fan taller than a man, and charges at the Dead Bone Giant Spirit's face.

The two engage in a direct confrontation.

Although the Dead Bone Giant Spirit is only at the Jin Dan level, it displays combat power at the Nascent Soul level amidst the ghost tide.

Tie Guzheng is only at the Jin Dan level, but as the City Guard commander, he can borrow the power of White Paper Xiancheng with every move, thus possessing the strength to fight.

The two sides clash for nearly ten rounds, with neither gaining the upper hand.

"We're here!"

"Follow me and charge!!!"

The Qingjiao Army enters the fray, with Qing Chi still charging at the very front.

This army is like a whirlwind, sweeping across almost the entire wall; wherever they go, the ghosts are slaughtered and scattered, suffering heavy losses.

Qing Chi once again becomes the object of everyone's attention, stealing the spotlight.

She fights more fiercely as the battle progresses; the military rank promoted from the army's heart is right within her, allowing her to sense the entire state of the Qingjiao Army at all times.

"Paper Armor Art and Yin-Crossing Art are truly too practical."

"Little Ma is still the best; he chose the direction most suitable for us in one go."

"The Virility Pavilion is already in name only; when will he be able to return and fight side-by-side with me?"

In the midst of battle, Qing Chi's thoughts move like lightning, and she even begins to miss Jiao Ma (Unlike Ning Zhuo).

The vanguard general of the yin army, watching from afar, can no longer sit still.

The dense yin tide cannot block his gaze.

He perceives the entire battlefield: Tie Guzheng is holding off the Dead Bone Giant Spirit, Qing Chi is sweeping the surroundings, and White Paper Xiancheng has regained its footing through the efforts of the two and the one army.

The most intense part of the ghost tide is right here!

From here on, the ghost tide's offensive will only grow weaker.

"Flying Spear Ghost General," the vanguard general speaks suddenly.

Immediately, a ghost general steps out from the ranks under his left hand.

The ghost general bows: "This general is here!"

The vanguard general reaches out, picks three military tokens from the brush holder on the table, and tosses them to the Flying Spear Ghost General.

He orders: "I grant you three portions of military force; do your utmost to kill Tie Guzheng, or Qing Chi will also do."

"This general obeys."

The Flying Spear Ghost General reaches out, takes the three military tokens into his hand, immediately leaves the general's tent, and arrives at the high platform on the square outside.

He stands tall with his chest out, stares for a moment, then takes out a long spear magic treasure and strikes out against the wind!

Swish.

The long spear is sharp and unstoppable, easily piercing through the violent yin wind, and in the blink of an eye, it shoots toward the top of Tie Guzheng's head.

Tie Guzheng's eyes widen in anger, and he uses all his strength to raise the iron fan in his hand.

Clang!

Sparks and golden light burst forth together, the ear-piercing sound of metal clashing making the surrounding cultivators frown.

The ribs of the iron fan are pierced through by the long spear, and Tie Guzheng rolls backward, rolling three times before he stands up, shaken but having narrowly saved his life.

Seeing that Tie Guzheng is already on guard, the Flying Spear Ghost General sighs in regret and takes out another magic treasure long spear.

He infuses it with Jin Dan power, consumes a second military token, and under the reinforcement of military force, throws it with all his might again.

This time, the long spear is not aimed at Tie Guzheng, but at Qing Chi.

Tie Guzheng feels something is terribly wrong and thinks to himself: "Damn it, this flying spear is powerful and heavy, yet insidious and tricky.

It was only when it shot right in front of me that I noticed it."

"If there's a second strike, how are the others supposed to defend against it?"

Thinking of this, Tie Guzheng immediately orders: "Quick, have the Qingjiao Army retreat from the wall!"

But it is already too late.

The second flying spear has already crossed several miles and is about to reach the wall to pierce Qing Chi's head.

Qing Chi is completely unaware, still fighting fiercely!

Just as she is hanging by a thread, a gray-white bone club appears out of thin air and strikes the side of the flying spear.

The flying spear is knocked off course; by the time it reaches the city wall, it has deviated significantly, flying directly through the air, over White Paper Xiancheng, and disappearing into the horizon.

The collision between the club and the spear is so fierce that it directly explodes the surrounding yin qi, creating a massive commotion.

This makes many nearby cultivators look over.

Qing Chi, however, is still mindlessly slaughtering.

Qing Yan, who has been guarding her, looks up and gazes around nervously.

The Flying Spear Ghost General's pupils contract, and he immediately uses the last military token, infusing it into the third flying spear.

His throwing motion is faster than the previous two times.

This time, the target is still Qing Chi!

However, before the third spear has even flown a mile, it disappears inexplicably in mid-air.

It is as if it had never existed!

The Flying Spear Ghost General shows an expression of unbelievable shock.

Having failed to kill the enemy with all three spears, he has no choice but to bite the bullet and return to the main camp to report, his heart filled with frustration.

In the tent, the atmosphere is vastly different from before.

The vanguard general does not blame the Flying Spear Ghost General, his expression cold: "White Paper Xiancheng has received strong reinforcements; I will spare you this time."

He dismisses the Flying Spear Ghost General, telling him to rejoin the ranks, his attention primarily focused on the spot where the third flying spear mysteriously vanished.

The appearance of the bone club is one thing, but what the vanguard general cares about most is the reason for the third flying spear's disappearance.

Because the event happened too quickly, even the vanguard general could not discern any clues.

The Dead Bone Giant Spirit opens its massive mouth, erupting with a wave of death energy.

Tie Guzheng unfolds his iron fan, fanning out a gale of steel.

After the two collide, the death energy wave is weakened by eighty percent, yet it still surges over the wall.

Tie Guzheng is struck by the death energy wave, sent flying backward a dozen steps, and crashes into the city gate tower.

With no one to entangle it, the Dead Bone Giant Spirit suddenly bows its head and rams the city wall with its shoulder.

The White Paper city wall cannot withstand it; like a stack of thick paper being severely distorted, it bulges inward toward the city by a large margin.

Such a scene makes all the cultivators who see it tremble with fear.

The Dead Bone Giant Spirit pulls back, preparing for a second impact.

"No!" The cultivators realize the crisis, and many strike out frantically, but their attacks on the Dead Bone Giant Spirit have little effect, showing no results.

At the critical moment, a piece of calligraphy appears out of thin air, floating above the Dead Bone Giant Spirit, unfolding completely to reveal a large "Suppress" character inside.

The "Suppress" character detaches from the calligraphy, flies directly to the center of the Dead Bone Giant Spirit's forehead, and is deeply branded onto it.

The Dead Bone Giant Spirit's aura, combat power, and speed plummet, as if a giant were burdened by a mountain, its threat dropping sharply.

Subsequently, the bone club that had just appeared flies behind the Dead Bone Giant Spirit.

The bone club suddenly grows larger; in the blink of an eye, it is taller than the city wall and thicker than a main pillar.

Bang, bang, bang.

The bone club strikes the Dead Bone Giant Spirit's back, each blow shattering a large amount of dead bone. The third blow directly smashes its spine, causing the Dead Bone Giant Spirit to fold in half and collapse on the spot.

Tie Guzheng and the others, seeing this scene, are overjoyed, knowing that strong reinforcements have arrived.

The next moment, the bone club shrinks and falls into the hands of a gray-robed cultivator.

He wears a bone mask, his eye sockets are deeply sunken, and there are no pupils, only two points of ghostly blue fire; he is the Bone Grave Daoist of the Soul-Devouring Sect.

Near the blank calligraphy, a cultivator is revealed.

He has a gaunt face, three long wisps of beard, eyes like lightning, and exudes a scholarly aura. He is the Confucian cultivator Zhou Wenyan from the All-Book Tower.

The last one appears directly beside Qing Chi.

He is dressed in a dark green Daoist robe, his posture as straight as a pine, his hands behind his back, standing proudly on the city wall.

"Ghosts, how dare you invade my Xiancheng!"

His face is like jade, a vertical mark between his brows is tightly closed, and his eyes are filled with undisguised contempt and anger.

Top-tier talent—looking down on everything!

The next moment, the vertical mark between his brows suddenly splits open, revealing a vertical pupil.

The pupil radiates white light, pure, hard, and magnificent.

Wherever the white gaze shines, everything is erased and disappears from the spot. No ghost can escape its fate; the only difference is that those with higher cultivation can resist for a few breaths before disappearing into thin air!

The vertical pupil on the three-eyed cultivator's forehead sweeps once, and all the ghosts on this section of the wall vanish into smoke.

He turns his head and sweeps again, and all the ghosts and yin wind on the city wall defense line to his left disappear.

"Yang Sanyan of the Myriad Phenomena Sect and the Evil-Slaying Hall is here," the young cultivator speaks suddenly, his voice cold and filled with arrogance.

The cultivators on the city wall all cast their gazes over, filled with surprise, shock, and worship. In an instant, morale skyrockets!

Qing Chi also stares at Yang Sanyan, who is close at hand, her eyes filled with curiosity.

In the distance, the vanguard general of the yin army ponders for a moment, sighs, and orders: "Retreat."

These three cultivators have astonishing strength, each at the Jin Dan level. And Yang Sanyan is even more exaggerated, the combat power he displayed directly showing Nascent Soul phenomena!

Yang Sanyan's vertical pupil closes tightly; he turns slightly, extends his right hand, and without a word, grabs directly at Qing Chi.

Qing Chi's hair stands on end, and she subconsciously explodes backward, wanting to create distance.

But the next moment, her shoulder is locked by Yang Sanyan's hand.

"Little girl of the ghost race, don't run around!"

Qing Yan is shocked, hurriedly kneeling on one knee to indicate that they are on the same side.

Yang Sanyan snorts coldly: "If not for that, you would have already lost your lives. My younger brother mentioned you in his letters, along with someone named Jiao Ma."

"He told me he had already defected to Jiao Ma."

"Now he is dead!"

"How did Jiao Ma protect my brother? You have a close relationship with him; go call him over. He must bear the heavy responsibility for my brother's death!"

Qing Chi struggles, but in the blink of an eye, she is completely suppressed by Yang Sanyan.

Qing Chi widens her eyes, showing disbelief, all because she is currently reinforced by military force, yet she is completely unable to resist Yang Sanyan!

Qing Yan has no choice but to grit his teeth: "Please wait a moment, my lord; I will go invite Young Master Jiao Ma over right away."

"Tell him to come see me immediately." Yang Sanyan carries Qing Chi away.

He is tall, and Qing Chi is petite; being carried by him is like being carried like a small cat.

Yang Sanyan arrives at the city gate tower, directly drives away the presiding cultivator, and sits in the main seat with a grand air.

He tosses Qing Chi to his feet casually.

He no longer strikes, while Zhou Wenyan of the All-Book Tower and the Bone Grave Daoist of the Soul-Devouring Sect continue to strike, quickly sweeping away the remaining ghosts.

Tie Guzheng, seeing the battle situation settled, thanks Zhou Wenyan and the Bone Grave Daoist, and then comes to Yang Sanyan to pay his respects.

"Incompetent fool, go tidy up the city defenses properly; don't come disturb me." Yang Sanyan refuses to see him.

The only person he wants to see right now is Jiao Ma.

Soon, led by Qing Yan, Unlike Ning Zhuo arrives at the city gate tower.

Qing Yan does not forget to transmit a message via spiritual sense, reminding him carefully: "Jiao Ma, watch your attitude. Yang Sanyan is from the Myriad Phenomena Sect; his strength and status are extraordinary. More importantly, Qing Chi is still in his hands."

"Hmph, so you are Jiao Ma? Give me—" Yang Sanyan snorts coldly, but before he can finish.

Boom!

The next moment, Unlike Ning Zhuo pushes with both palms, directly blowing the roof off the city gate tower.