Chapter 178: Mutation Domain Invades the City

"Alright, we now have a method to counter the Mutation Domain; let me explain the plan I have formulated!"

Yan Pojun swept his powerful aura around the crowd before continuing, "My method is simple: the moment Shi Haojun appears, we waste no words, swallow the Poison Pills immediately, and rush forward together."

"All Gu Kings must activate their Spirit Armor at full power, endure the Mutation Domain, and kill him with the utmost speed!"

"However!" Yan Pojun's tone suddenly shifted as he glared fiercely at the crowd, "We must prepare for the worst in all things; we must consider what to do if we cannot defeat him!"

"Although I am confident in this battle, Black Stone City lies directly behind us; this fight determines the destiny of every person in the entire city, so we simply cannot afford to gamble."

"Therefore, we must make thorough preparations, consider every possibility, and absolutely must not be blindly overconfident."

"Correct!" Long Yuan spoke up at this moment, "Anything is possible in this world, and any accident may occur; we must definitely consider the scenario of defeat, and even if we have a ninety-nine percent chance of victory in this battle, we absolutely cannot gamble!"

Everyone nodded in unison, signifying their acceptance of both men's proposals.

"City Lord, if you have any ideas, just speak them plainly; as long as the method is reasonable, we people from outside the city will comply," Cai Xuan said at this point.

Yan Pojun nodded and continued, "My method is very simple: we will place the battlefield on the edge of Black Stone City."

"If we truly cannot win, we can retreat into Black Stone City's City-Protecting Great Array at any time; even if we are defeated, the vast majority of people can thus escape disaster."

"But there is one detail you must all pay attention to!"

Yan Pojun looked solemnly at the assembled Gu Kings and said, "Once we are defeated and return to the city, our bodies will be covered in tiny insects invisible to the naked eye; if we enter the city in that state, we will bring the Plague inside, thereby causing a catastrophe that destroys the entire city."

"Therefore, at the exact moment of entering the city, I will set fire to burn you all, incinerating every Micro Insect on everyone's Spirit Armor."

"For the safety of the entire city's population, I will unleash the greatest fire possible, using full power."

"It is certain that some Gu Kings with insufficient defense will be burned to death by me; this is unavoidable."

"I require everyone present to sign a Life-and-Death Agreement; should anyone be burned to death by my flames, their backing forces must not hold a grudge, nor may they seek revenge."

Everyone nodded; the City Lord's words were reasonable, and they could not refute them. Moreover, it seemed all the Gu Kings had already been brainwashed by Yan Pojun, truly believing Shi Haojun was unable to withstand a single blow, that the combined force of many Gu Kings could easily destroy him, and that there was absolutely no possibility of defeat.

Believing they had no chance of being burned by the flames at all, they all readily agreed to this proposal.

Just as all the Gu Kings began signing the Life-and-Death Agreement, and the uncultured Yao Chen was also smiling broadly while distributing Poison Pills, a sudden commotion erupted at the city gate.

The Gu Kings were startled and collectively moved toward the city gate.

"A bolt from the blue! Truly a bolt from the blue!"

Several elderly Gu Kings at the city gate cried out loudly, tears streaming down their aged faces.

"Which ruthless villain, harboring such wolfish ambition, took advantage of our departure from Black Iron City to massacre Black Iron City? Over five hundred thousand people in the entire city—not a single survivor!"

"What?" Upon hearing this, everyone in the crowd was greatly shocked and turned pale.

The Gu Kings of Black Stone City looked at each other in dismay, their expressions turning ugly; matters were indeed unfolding exactly as they had suspected.

Populations are mobile; people from Black Stone City would scatter to surrounding cities, yet Shi Haojun, too lazy to filter them out, had actually carried out indiscriminate massacres in the surrounding cities, preferring to kill a thousand innocent people rather than let one guilty person escape.

Yan Pojun clenched his fists, his eyes turning red with uncontrollable rage as he shouted, "This wolf cub! How dare he!"

Members of the Yan Clan were distributed across the cities surrounding Black Stone City; with Shi Hao's indiscriminate mass slaughter, who knew how many Yan clansmen would be implicated and killed to death—how could he not be furious!

"City Lord, a large group of refugees has suddenly arrived from the south, numbering at least fifty thousand; according to them, a Plague suddenly broke out in Black Tiger City, killing countless people within a single day, and they have come here to seek shelter."

A Spirit Sea Stage Gu Cultivator suddenly ran up before Yan Pojun and spoke respectfully.

Upon hearing this, Yan Pojun's expression changed once again; he hurriedly roared aloud, "Listen to my command! Effective immediately, Black Stone City is officially sealed; those inside may leave but not return, and not a single person from outside shall be allowed entry!"

"If even one person from outside brings the Plague in, everyone in our entire city will have to be buried alongside them!"

Everyone in the crowd displayed looks of alarm; they knew all too well what this decision meant.

It meant the City Lord was completely abandoning those fifty thousand people; once rejected outside the city gates, their fate was imaginable.

Thus, a female Gu Cultivator of the Dan clan immediately raised an objection, hurriedly speaking out, "City Lord, please reconsider; since Shi Haojun intends to massacre the city, he must be using the Plague with the fastest lethality."

"There is at least a ten-day journey between Black Stone City and Black Tiger City; if they walked for ten days without showing any issues, they certainly are not carrying the Plague, so we should not stand by and watch them die without offering aid..."

"Enough!" Yan Pojun suddenly exploded in fury, "Do you wish to become a second Shi Rui?"

"Even if they are not carrying the Plague, so what? Do you understand that the Black River outside the city has become a massive source of infection? To be on the safe side, no one may go to fetch water anymore; the water and food inside the city are limited now, so how can we allow fifty thousand people to enter and consume freely?"

"Moreover, do you know how many cities and villages the downstream section of the Black River flows through? How many more refugees will that create?"

"These fifty thousand refugees are just the beginning, a small fraction; who knows how many more refugees will follow continuously? Can we save them all?"

"With so many people, can you truly guarantee that not a single one carries the Plague!"

Once these words were spoken, the entire crowd fell silent; indeed, they not only had to guard against the possibility of those people carrying the Plague but also had to consider the shortage of water and food; under such circumstances, the people outside the city simply could not be allowed in under any conditions.

Most people are selfish; in such a situation, when their own food is barely enough to eat, who would be willing to share food with those outside? Furthermore, who would dare gamble that everyone entering the city is one hundred percent free of the Plague.

At that moment, the young woman was covered mouth by her own clansmen, then dragged to the back of the crowd.

Seeing that no one in the crowd opposed him any longer, Yan Pojun swept his gaze around once more and shouted loudly again, "Now heed my command: tightly close the four city gates—east, south, west, and north—and forbid anyone from entering or exiting."

"Simultaneously activate the City-Protecting Great Array; it must run uninterrupted day and night; do not try to save Spirit Stones for me, this is not the time to save Spirit Stones!"

As the City Lord's commands were transmitted one by one, the entire city immediately sprang into action; a solemn atmosphere pervaded the whole city, carrying the flavor of an approaching storm.

The four city gates of Black Stone City—east, south, west, and north—suddenly slammed shut, blocking everyone attempting to enter the city.

These people outside included not only those from the Outer City but also residents of Black Stone City itself; having gone out and only just returned today, they did not yet know what had happened, yet they were blocked by their own city gates; no matter how hoarse their throats became from shouting, the gates would not open.

Countless people frantically pounded on the city gates; curses, pleas, and wails rang out continuously, yet the gates remained unmoved.

The people inside the gates watched with hearts of iron and stone; under the City Lord's tyrannical gaze, not a single person dared to open the gate and let their own clansmen in.

At this moment, the City Protection Barrier inside the city also suddenly activated; a full three layers of Barriers firmly protected Black Stone City.

The innermost layer of the Barrier covered all four city walls, also halting the Gu Cultivators who were currently climbing up the walls.

The moment this Barrier appeared, flying into the city became impossible for them; eyes of everyone outside filled with despair.

They understood that the people inside the city had completely abandoned them; what awaited them, no one knew.

Coincidentally, just shortly after this City Protection Barrier was activated, the sky was suddenly enveloped by a patch of red light.

The red light rapidly swallowed the entirety of Black Stone City.

Within the area covered by the red light, the air seemed to undergo some kind of riot; countless cracking sounds emanated from the Barrier, as if innumerable things were gnawing at it, making one's scalp tingle with numbness.

Yet the abnormalities outside ultimately failed to penetrate inside the Barrier; the unknown danger was isolated outside by the City-Protecting Great Array, while inside the Barrier, all was quiet.

At the same time, countless people outside who had not yet entered the city frantically pounded on the city gates and walls, letting out hair-raising screams.

Those screaming displayed expressions of extreme agony, crazily clawing at their own faces and skin, tearing their flesh until blood flowed, as if something lay beneath their skin that they desperately wanted to dig out, even through self-mutilation.

The hands pounding the gates and walls were covered in blood; soon, the gates and walls were plastered with bloody handprints, creating a scene of utter horror, while the area below the walls instantly became a living hell on earth.

Everyone standing atop the walls was terrified, their faces turning deathly pale as they scrambled backward, their eyes filled with dread.

All were shocked by this sight; the Gu Kings watched the scene below the walls with grave expressions, some looking heavy-hearted, others revealing looks of inability to bear the view.

"Is this the Mutation Domain? How terrifying!" countless people murmured softly.

At this moment, everyone within the city felt a surge of lingering fear; it had been a close call—the Barrier had risen only moments before the Mutation Domain descended.

Had they been even one step slower, they dared not imagine what would have happened.

Presumably, the interior of the city would have turned into a living hell on earth just like the exterior, everyone thought with lingering terror.

Long Xuan, filled with lingering fear, glanced at Yan Pojun standing on the city wall and secretly sighed that a City Lord truly needed to be ruthless and cruel.

If they had listened to that Saint Mother just now and let those people enter the city, causing the City Protection Barrier to activate even a moment slower, the consequences would have been unimaginable.

They had been merely an instant away from the peril of the entire city being slaughtered; everything hung on the City Lord's single thought. If Yan Pojun had not decisively activated the City-Protecting Great Array regardless of the Spirit Stone cost, or if he had reacted even a step slower, Black Stone City would now be finished.

Suddenly, a cry came from the sky, belonging to something that was definitely not human; it resembled the shriek of a Fierce Ghost, piercing and hair-raising.

The sound approached from afar, growing clearer and increasingly deafening, as if some great terror was drawing near.

Everyone in the city turned pale, their eyes revealing tension.

"Is this the sound transmitted by the Plague Demon Gu? Is Shi Haojun approaching?" someone in the crowd murmured softly.

On the city wall, Yan Pojun clenched his fists, gazing at the figure approaching from the direction of Black Moon City, his expression growing ever more gloomy; he decisively shouted to the Gu Kings behind him, "Everyone, get off the wall immediately! Do not speak to him, and do not give him any opportunity to overhear our thoughts!"

As soon as he finished speaking, he leaped down from the wall first, having no intention of wasting words with Shi Haojun.

The others now remembered that Shi Haojun possessed the Seven Orifices Exquisite Heart and the ability to overhear their thoughts; their expressions changed instantly, and they hurriedly jumped down from the wall as well, not even daring to waste time using the stairs.

In truth, few people remained on the city wall at this point; the scene below was too tragic, and many, unable to bear looking any longer, had already fled to the ground below.

Those still standing on the wall now consisted of the many Gu Kings and a portion of the Spirit Sea Stage Gu Cultivators.

No! There was also one audacious individual, Long Xuan, who had been secretly watching from a distant tower.

However, he too was now frightened out of his wits and hurriedly jumped down from the tower as well.

Shi Haojun's ability to overhear thoughts was truly too terrifying; up to now, it remained the capability Long Xuan feared most, and he had long resolved to stay as far away from this person as possible.

(End of Chapter)