Chapter 650

Unlike Ning Zhuo, Qing Chi, and the others were on edge the entire way.

They encountered not the slightest obstruction until they reached the depths of the cloud layer.

"Strange, why is there no interception?"

"Could it be that the Wangchuan Prefect has encountered a powerful enemy and his arrangements have been completely destroyed?"

The Old Man of Grey Bones had once guided Sun Lingtong, telling him that the Wangchuan Prefect was acting against the heavens and would inevitably be entangled and suppressed by fate, suffering countless man-made disasters, to the point that when the final confrontation arrived, the Wangchuan Prefect's combat strength would fall to the Nascent Soul level.

Unlike Ning Zhuo rubbed the mechanical ring on his finger.

Throughout the entire ascent, the mechanical ring showed no unusual activity.

Aside from this mechanical treasure, what gave him confidence was his mother.

"Mother would never harm me!"

"Since Mother told me to come here, there must be some guarantee."

"At most, it will just be a bit difficult."

"Perhaps the garrison here is already dead; I will lead the Qingjiao Army, with the support of military strength, to challenge the Wangchuan Prefect!"

As Unlike Ning Zhuo pondered, Lord Qing Yan, standing to the side, had already taken action.

He was a Jin Dan stage cultivator, and at this moment, he drew upon the army's strength to unleash a spell.

The spell's power was immense, making even him feel captivated and deeply satisfied.

However, this proud strike landed in the rolling black clouds, only dispelling a small amount of cloud cover; the gap revealed was tiny, almost negligible compared to the vast expanse of black clouds.

Within a few breaths, the small gap vanished, having already been filled back in.

Lord Qing Yan was stunned.

"What should we do now?" Many of the Qingjiao Army stopped and hovered high in the air.

"Let me!" Qing Chi took the lead, swinging her fists and erupting with clusters of cyan fist flames.

The fist flames struck the black clouds, with results similar to Lord Qing Yan's previous effort—laboring in vain.

"Mother didn't mention this hurdle before she left."

"It seems I must probe carefully to find a weakness and continue the advance!"

Just as she thought this, Qing Chi frowned, feeling somewhat angry: "I refuse to believe it!"

She charged toward the black clouds.

Lord Qing Yan hurriedly called out: "Don't be reckless... uh."

The next moment, he saw a dark light flicker around Qing Chi, and a sinister wind surged, carrying her like a drop of water into the ocean as she drilled directly into the black clouds.

Unlike Ning Zhuo's eyes suddenly lit up: "Could it be..."

Immediately after, Qing Chi drilled back out, shouting excitedly: "It's a divine art."

Unlike Ning Zhuo's guess was verified, and he couldn't help but feel excited: "Although the Night-Roaming God is a common deity, that one just now was very unusual. The divine art bestowed upon us actually has the ability to pierce through obstacles."

The father of Jiao Ma sighed: "Night-Roaming, Night-Roaming; just from this divine name alone, one can see that it possesses the divine power to roam the world freely and cross all kinds of obstacles."

This scene brought joy to the entire Qingjiao Army.

What were they waiting for?

Qing Chi was about to give the order, but Unlike Ning Zhuo reached out to stop her: "No rush."

He first called Qing Chi back, then dispatched a small team to penetrate deep into the black clouds for reconnaissance.

The defenders within the black clouds were in battle formation, waiting in full readiness.

The only two remaining Nascent Soul stage cultivators looked at each other and consulted urgently.

The Mother of Hundred Ghosts looked suspicious: "This cultivation army really is strange! The divine art bestowed upon the whole army can actually pierce through the boundary of the magic array so easily!"

"They have dispatched scouts; how should we respond?"

The Venerable Cold Mist looked grave: "Would a mouse actively provoke an elephant? This cultivation army is both reckless and cautious; I fear it is all a disguise."

"We should meet all changes with constancy and just wait in full readiness!"

The two were clearly frightened by the previous surprise attacks from powerful enemies.

There were originally five Nascent Soul stage cultivators, but only these two remained, and both were injured and had not yet had time to recover.

The key was that they had not truly participated in a head-on battle, having mostly been caught in the aftermath of clashes between powerful experts.

Moreover, the Wangchuan Prefect's true body had already issued an order for them to defend strictly and try their best to buy time.

Although the two did not know what had happened on the altar battlefield, from the Wangchuan Prefect's order, they knew their master must have been seriously injured.

Under these circumstances, they dared not take risks.

A small team of scouts drilled into the black clouds, saw the more than ten thousand imperial guards waiting in full readiness, and were immediately startled, hurriedly reporting back.

Upon receiving the military intelligence, Qing Chi, Unlike Ning Zhuo, and the others all changed color.

The Qingjiao Army consisted of only a few hundred people and was a newly formed army; it could not possibly be a match for the imperial guards.

Qing Chi couldn't make up her mind and looked at her lover.

Unlike Ning Zhuo frowned and thought.

"We must fight!" Lord Qing Yan suddenly said, clenching his fists, his expression spirited, "This is just a bluff by the enemy!"

"If they were truly this powerful, they would only need to spare a small force to sally out and intercept us halfway."

"Why are they holding their position here?"

"This must be because they are extremely weak, have suffered devastating losses, and have put up an illusion in an attempt to make us misjudge!"

"If we kill our way in, we can expose the false facade they have created!"

Qing Chi's eyes immediately lit up: "Father, it turns out you are also very capable!"

Lord Qing Yan puffed out his chest and snorted through his nose: "What are you saying! Your father has always been very strong."

Unlike Ning Zhuo rubbed the mechanical ring, his expression grave: "Mother entrusted me with this; this trip must be successful, otherwise, if the Wangchuan Prefect's century-long plan succeeds, it will inevitably lead to devastation."

"We kill our way in!"

Unlike Ning Zhuo made up his mind, and Qing Chi naturally followed.

The Qingjiao Army drilled into the black clouds together.

Seeing this scene, the Venerable Cold Mist and the Mother of Hundred Ghosts had their expressions sink.

"They have clearly already scouted! With the enemy strong and us weak, for them to still come to fight, they must have something to rely on!"

"This is clearly a lure! When we clash later, we must hold our ground firmly and not be impulsive, letting the enemy take advantage."

"First, activate the magic array to neutralize the divine power on them!"

The two communicated via spiritual sense and quickly decided on a battle strategy.

The magic array hummed into operation, releasing streaks of black light that illuminated the space within the clouds.

As soon as the Qingjiao Army drilled in, they were suppressed, falling down and eventually stepping onto the black clouds.

These black clouds were solidified by restrictions and magic arrays, and stepping on them felt like stepping on hard ground.

The two armies faced off.

The Qingjiao Army urgently adjusted their formation, while the Wangchuan defenders remained motionless.

Unlike Ning Zhuo focused his gaze and saw that the enemy troops were generally injured, with some soldiers even dragging their severely wounded bodies. Clearly, they had just experienced a great battle and had not yet had time to rest and heal.

His gaze fixed on the two commanders.

The one on the left was like a human-shaped cold mist, with facial details and the like all blurred, emitting a cold chill, with countless icicles floating around.

It was the Venerable Cold Mist.

The one on the right was hunched over, leaning on a cane, and the black robe she wore occasionally manifested pale human faces. There were countless human faces, all with expressions of painful wailing.

It was the Mother of Hundred Ghosts.

Both had Nascent Soul auras and were sitting in command of the center army.

Qing Chi was eager to move, but Lord Qing Yan stopped her: "We have already killed our way to the enemy's front; there is no need to rush for this moment."

"Let's probe first."

Unlike Ning Zhuo turned to look at him and nodded slightly.

He threw out a hand, taking out quite a few mechanical puppets, and controlled them to charge at the formation.

As a result, before they had even charged a hundred paces, they were blasted into slag by the enemy's spells and the like.

The Wangchuan defenders only attacked from a distance, still standing motionless in their original positions.

Unlike Ning Zhuo frowned, thoughts surging in his spiritual sea: "Is it a disguise of the magic array, or is there some unspeakable hidden trouble?"

"It's a pity that the Qingjiao Army's troop type is singular and cannot yet accept my mechanical army."

"Otherwise, I could have recreated the advantage from the time of the Two-Note Kingdom."

The Qingjiao Army had just been newly formed, and its troop type was that of the Paper Money Underworld Soldiers. The gap between Unlike Ning Zhuo's mechanical puppets and the Paper Money Underworld Soldiers was too great, and they could not be recognized by the troop type.

Added to the fact that there were no treasures like a military register among the military equipment, there was no way to think of a solution.

Lord Qing Yan suddenly said: "Given the current situation, it would be better for us commanders to take the initiative to attack, probe out the reality, and then call for the whole army to attack. Otherwise, it is also possible to have them provide military strength for us to be bolstered."

Unlike Ning Zhuo nodded: "That is the only way."

Qing Chi struck her palm with her fist, her eyes bright and full of energy: "Good, I will pick that old woman as my opponent first."

"Father, you try attacking that cold mist person."

Lord Qing Yan waved his hand: "No, you are the commander, stay behind first. I will go with Jiao Ma's father."

Unlike Ning Zhuo shook his head: "As a great general, Qing Chi indeed cannot easily move, but I can go first."

Jiao Ma's father spoke up, wanting to request battle, but was stopped by Unlike Ning Zhuo's firm expression and a single sentence: "It's settled!"

Unlike Ning Zhuo and Lord Qing Yan walked out of the army and, in the open space between the two armies, challenged the generals.

"There is something strange."

"The enemy army is luring us again. What kind of means do they actually have?"

The Venerable Cold Mist and the Mother of Hundred Ghosts communicated via spiritual sense, their doubts reborn.

"Currently, there are only the two of us as commanders of the imperial guards. I will go out to fight, and you stay in command of the army. If I have any accident, we won't fall into the predicament of having soldiers but no generals," said the Venerable Cold Mist.

The Mother of Hundred Ghosts nodded: "My injuries are indeed more severe than yours; you try your best to buy time, and I will secretly try my best to recover!"

The two discussed and agreed, and the Venerable Cold Mist walked out of the battle formation, shouting: "One Jin Dan, one Foundation Establishment; I alone am enough to satisfy the two of you's desire for death."

"Come, hand over your lives!"

Lord Qing Yan and Unlike Ning Zhuo looked at each other, and without hesitation, they both attacked at the same time.

The Venerable Cold Mist aimed his gaze at Ning and Qing, and with a thought, the icicles floating around him shot out.

Flying into mid-air, the speed of these icicles surged, turning into several streaks of extremely cold ice light, their power suddenly rising more than ten times.

Unlike Ning Zhuo had long been in full readiness and reacted quickly, unleashing an earth-element spell, mobilizing the Earth-Element Spleen Temple for reinforcement, and using military strength to make a thick wall of Wutu earth rise from the ground, blocking in front of him.

Lord Qing Yan relied on the earth wall for defense, did not dodge, held a long spear, and shook out spear flowers.

Clusters of cyan spear flowers flew out like a rain of flowers, covering the charging Venerable Cold Mist.

The Venerable Cold Mist had a thought, and more than a dozen icicles flew out, turning into sheets of frost shields, intercepting the cyan spear flowers halfway.

The earth wall was pierced by the ice lines!

The thick earth wall only blocked for a breath before being passed through.

Unlike Ning Zhuo and Lord Qing Yan reacted in time and dodged.

The remaining earth wall was instantly frozen into a lump of ice.

Bang bang bang...

A series of muffled sounds, all the spear flowers were blocked by the frost shields, powerless and helpless, heading toward the end of annihilation.

Unlike Ning Zhuo and Lord Qing Yan both showed a look of surprise.

Not just the two of them, but Qing Chi and the others watching from behind were also shocked.

Just a probing attack, and the Venerable Cold Mist had already displayed powerful combat strength.

Unlike Ning Zhuo and Lord Qing Yan had military strength reinforcement, and the Venerable Cold Mist possessed it as well. On this point, the Venerable Cold Mist, possessing the imperial guard's military strength, had even more of an advantage!

Unlike Ning Zhuo and Lord Qing Yan could leverage more powerful combat strength through various means. But the Venerable Cold Mist himself possessed Nascent Soul level cultivation and combat strength!

The Venerable Cold Mist killed his way to close range and launched an offensive.

A wave of his sleeve could stir up a large wave of Profound Yin cold tide.

With a flick of his finger, countless sharp Profound Ice prisms on the ground grew violently like bamboo shoots.

With a cover of his palm, countless Ice Soul Needles condensed in the sky and covered them from above.

Once the battle officially started, the Venerable Cold Mist firmly occupied the upper hand; Unlike Ning Zhuo and Lord Qing Yan dodged frantically, occasionally counterattacking, in a state of extreme embarrassment.

Unlike Ning Zhuo took turns unleashing five-element spells, each strike inevitably mobilizing the Five Viscera Spirit Gods for reinforcement while consuming military strength; otherwise, he wouldn't be qualified to participate in such a battle at all.

In the past, sharp gold-element spells could take lives. At this moment, they could only break ice barriers. The surging water-element spells were frozen in place as soon as they were unleashed. The scorching fire-element spells soon died down under the ice. The earth-element spells often used by Unlike Ning Zhuo for defense were as thin as paper. The forests and vines of the wood-element spells grew with difficulty and were soon frozen to death.

It was the same for Lord Qing Yan on the other side.

His various magic tools were consumed rapidly, cracks appeared on his life-bound magic treasure, and he vomited blood while fighting.

Qing Chi watched with wide, angry eyes, feeling anxious, wanting to join the battle, but was strongly dissuaded by Unlike Ning Zhuo and Lord Qing Yan through spiritual sense transmission.

The enemy army had only dispatched one person; if their own main generals joined the battle, they would be even more passive.

The Venerable Cold Mist sneered: "Two little mice, how overestimating your own strength. Go to hell."

Ice Spell—Freeze-Kill Line!

The Venerable Cold Mist's cold energy condensed into a finger, and a pale blue ice line shot out from the fingertip.

The ice line emitted white light and shot out silently.

However, wherever the ice line passed, even space was affected, leaving behind a trail of ice-blue frozen marks!

"Oh no!" Lord Qing Yan's hair stood on end, feeling a fatal crisis.

He erupted with all his strength to dodge, but the surrounding cold energy quickly struck, wrapping around him and causing his movements to slow down suddenly.

He could only mobilize his magic treasure shield to block in front of him.

The ice line cut through the shield as easily as a sharp blade cutting through tofu.

Lord Qing Yan suffered a backlash, vomited a mouthful of blood, and took the opportunity to change his body posture, avoiding his vital points.

The result was that the ice line directly cut off a forearm and half a leg.

The wound did not bleed but was instantly frozen into an ice surface. The terrifying cold energy quickly followed the limb and drilled into his internal organs.

The Venerable Cold Mist flicked his finger, and the pale blue ice line swept toward Unlike Ning Zhuo.

Unlike Ning Zhuo gave a light shout, mobilized his magic power, and raised a thick barrier of earth and wood elements.

It only blocked for three breaths before being completely pierced by the ice line.

Brother Ning Zhong-Armored Blood Ape · Dasheng!

At the critical moment of life and death, Unlike Ning Zhuo released a trump card.

Yuan Dasheng protected Unlike Ning Zhuo and pushed the latter away with force.