Chapter 179: Encirclement

Just as Zhuge Qing captured the first fortress, the cultivators of Tianjiang Plain seized several more fortresses around the Five Great Demon Mountains. However, the fly in the ointment was that when the Corpse Refining Sect ambushed one of the fortresses, they inadvertently triggered a restriction, drawing the attention of the Five Great Demon Mountains.

In an instant, a squad of dozens of Demon Sect cultivators charged over, and the two sides engaged in a small-scale battle, which ultimately ended in the defeat of the Corpse Refining Sect, with the loss of two disciples.

Inside the fortresses of the Five Great Demon Mountains, there were basically only Foundation Establishment Stage disciples. In terms of individual strength, they were not very strong, but the fortresses were not too far apart from one another; as long as one fortress ran into trouble, the surrounding fortresses would come to help, which invisibly increased the combat power of the Demon Sect cultivators.

Early the next morning, four or five fortresses had already been occupied by the cultivators of Tianjiang Plain. Zhuge Qing stood at the highest point of the fortress, looking toward the direction of the Five Great Demon Mountains. Several dozen miles ahead of her, there was another fortress, with at least dozens of Demon Sect cultivators stationed inside.

A streak of light tore through the sky and landed in front of the young woman in the blink of an eye; it was none other than Zhuge An!

"Is there any movement ahead?"

Looking in the direction his daughter was gazing, Zhuge An asked in a low voice.

"No! But it looks like that fortress is the main gathering point! The elites of the Five Great Demon Mountains are inside it!"

With a thoughtful look on her face, Zhuge Qing's delicate brows furrowed slightly. The fortress under her feet was merely a small early-warning facility, and the cultivators within numbered no more than a dozen, with not very high cultivation levels, but the large fortress ahead was different.

"You stay stationed here and watch their movements. I will go discuss with the other three sects to see which one we should take out first! Be careful in everything; if the situation looks wrong, retreat quickly!"

Knowing his daughter's headstrong personality, Zhuge An instructed her deliberately.

"I know, Dad!"

Giving a casual reply, the young woman didn't take it to heart at all.

Two days later, the Sect Masters of the four major sects, including Zhuge An, arrived at the front line. After analyzing the current situation, they decided that the four of them would join forces that night to ambush one of the larger fortresses.

In the dead of night, four brilliant rainbows and countless streams of light streaked across the night sky, arriving in the blink of an eye at the largest fortress near Xianghuang Demon Mountain. Only when they launched their attack did they discover that there were at least two hundred Demon Sect cultivators inside this fortress, and every one of them had no weak cultivation.

Relying on the fortress's defenses, Zhuge An and the others were unable to take it down for a time. The battle lasted for half a stick of incense, and just then, five streaks of light flew over from Qingnian Demon Mountain; they were the Sect Leaders of the Five Great Demon Mountains. They soon joined the battle, marking the first time since the war began that both sides had committed so many cultivators to the fight.

On the Demon Sect side, there was one Golden Core Late Stage cultivator plus four Golden Core Middle Stage cultivators, while on the Tianjiang Plain side, there were only the Sect Masters of the four major sects. The two sides fought to a stalemate, and in the end, Zhuge An and the others even appeared unable to break free.

Zhuge Qing stood at the highest point of the fortress she was guarding, sensing the battle over there, a look of worry appearing on her pretty face. Just at this moment, dozens of streams of light suddenly appeared in the night sky, and their target was precisely her direction.

"Not good! Prepare to meet the enemy!"

Shouting at Chu Budong and the others below, everyone immediately prepared for battle. These dozens of streams of light landed in front of the fortress where Zhuge Qing was located, revealing the faces of the Demon Sect cultivators. Seeing these people with ferocious smiles on their faces, they moved in a flash and surrounded the cultivators of the Nanxuan Sect.

Various Magic Treasures attacked them in turns. Zhuge Qing only had eight cultivators with her; if not for the fortress they could rely on, they would have likely perished long ago under the group attack of dozens of Demon Sect cultivators.

Even so, Zhuge Qing and the others could not hold out for very long! If they tried to force a breakout, it was simply impossible; the number of Demon Sect cultivators was several times greater than theirs, and as soon as they left the fortress, they would be killed instantly!

Seeing the situation becoming increasingly dire, the young woman had no choice but to send a distress signal. Reaching into her Storage Bag, she took out dozens of Sound Transmission Talismans. After forming a seal with her hands and speaking a few words to the talismans, she infused them with Spirit Power and threw them into the sky. Instantly, the dozens of Sound Transmission Talismans turned into dozens of fireballs and flashed away into the night sky.

The moment these Sound Transmission Talismans were sent out, a yellow-faced Demon Sect cultivator below the fortress saw them, a smug sneer appearing on his face. As if he had calculated that the people in the fortress would call for help, he slapped his Storage Bag with one hand, and a large black net shot out. After circling in front of him, it charged toward the countless fireballs in mid-air.

"Whoosh!"

A sound of breaking air rang out. The black net fully expanded to a size of a hundred feet, and with a single sweep, it netted all of the Sound Transmission Talismans Zhuge Qing had sent out.

However, one Sound Transmission Talisman flew in a different direction than the others, and the net could not cover it in time, leaving them to watch helplessly as it flew away.

Zhuge Qing was shocked, her pretty face looking exceptionally ugly. It was clear the opponent had already calculated that she would call for help, so they had specifically prepared a Magic Treasure to deal with Sound Transmission Talismans.

The streak of fire that escaped was not heading in the direction of the distress call, but was speeding toward the direction of Tianjiang Plain! With a slight furrow of her brow, the young woman did not remember sending out such a Sound Transmission Talisman.

"Ah!"

A scream from beside the young woman interrupted her thoughts. She saw a Nanxuan Sect disciple struck in the chest by a black Flying Sword, blood gushing out; it looked like they would not survive!

Zhuge Qing was so angry that her willow eyebrows stood on end. The death of her fellow sect member ignited her fury, and she no longer thought about the Sound Transmission Talisman. With a movement of the Moonlight Wheel in front of her, it bloomed with five-colored light and slashed down toward the bottom of the fortress.

The missed Sound Transmission Talisman flashed across the sky above Tianjiang Plain and vanished, flying like a shooting star into the Nanxuan Sect, then passing over countless houses and into the room where Zhang Nuo was located.

At this time, Zhang Nuo was meditating and resting with a sweet smile on his face. His Divine Sense suddenly stirred, sensing that something had entered. He opened his eyes and saw a streak of fire floating in front of him.

Furrowing his brow slightly, he beckoned with one hand, and the fireball landed in his hand. With a forceful squeeze of his five fingers, the fire burst with a soft 'bang', and a hurried voice entered his ears.

Hearing that voice, it seemed to be Zhuge Qing's. Zhang Nuo jumped off the bed at once, his expression exceptionally grave. This Sound Transmission Talisman was one he had let Zhuge Qing keep when she was in seclusion at the Trial Ground; other than that, Zhang Nuo had not given a Sound Transmission Talisman to anyone else.

Since the young woman had even used this Sound Transmission Talisman, it seemed the matter must be very urgent! Flashing out of the room, Zhang Nuo arrived in the courtyard and called out the two women, Bai Xiu and Xun Zhen. Upon asking, he learned that Tianjiang Plain had joined forces with the surrounding sects and had officially started a war with the Five Great Demon Mountains.

He had been in seclusion during this time and had no idea that such a major event had happened in the outside world. After a brief moment of thought, Zhang Nuo shouted, "Not good!"

He immediately leaped high into the air, piloting his Flying Magic Tool, and charged toward Zhuge Qing's direction at extreme speed. Bai Xiu and Xun Zhen had not yet figured out what was going on when they suddenly saw Zhang Nuo fly away, leaving them both somewhat confused.

Just at this moment, Xun Zhen's small face changed slightly as she said:

"Sister Xiu, haven't you noticed that Senior Brother is different from before?"

"What's wrong?"

Bai Xiu looked blankly in the direction Zhang Nuo had flown, then shook her head lightly.

"The Spiritual Pressure on him is different! So powerful! If I'm not mistaken, Senior Brother has now advanced to the Foundation Establishment Late Stage!"

"That's impossible! How long has it been since Senior Brother just advanced to the middle stage? How could he have had another breakthrough?"

Bai Xiu said, disbelieving. Zhang Nuo's seclusion this time had only lasted a little over three years. To be able to advance again in such a short time was simply a genius among geniuses, but looking at Zhang Nuo's usual demeanor, he was not that kind of genius at all, so Bai Xiu would not believe it no matter what.

A streak of light cut across the night sky over Tianjiang Plain, its speed no slower than the light of a Golden Core Stage cultivator. Zhang Nuo was on his Flying Magic Tool, his eyes fixed on the distance, an inexplicable anxiety in his heart!

"Kid Zhang! How does the Three Spirit Seas feel?"

From the Sword Box behind him came the voice of Chunyangzi!

"Very good! I feel like I have endless Spiritual Qi in my body now. With the Three Spirit Seas activated simultaneously, even my flight speed is much faster!"

With an expressionless face, Zhang Nuo said in a deep voice.

Zhang Nuo had originally taken the first 'Nine-Turn Heaven-Returning Pill' to attempt the late stage, but he failed three days later. However, with the experience from the first time, he took the second pill a few days later. This time, Zhang Nuo had smooth sailing and basically didn't expend much effort, successfully advancing to the Foundation Establishment Late Stage two months ago.

Moreover, the Third Divine Sea had also been opened. Through two months of stabilizing his cultivation, Zhang Nuo's cultivation had now reached a new level. The fourth layer of the 'Shangqing Sword Art' gave him a hundredfold increase in confidence.

Now that his flight speed had greatly increased, he piloted his Flying Magic Tool like a rogue star streaking across the horizon, leaving a gradually fading trail of light behind him in a flash.

Recalling the direction Zhuge Qing had mentioned in the Sound Transmission Talisman, Zhang Nuo activated his Three Spirit Seas with almost full force. His body was also deformed by the immense pressure brought on by the high-speed flight; fortunately, he had tempered his physical body with Red Glow Fire, otherwise, this high-speed flight alone would have torn his body to shreds!

On the other hand, the battle involving Zhuge An, Xiao Zhengxing, and the others was in full swing. They exhausted all their Magic Treasures and divine abilities, but more and more Demon Sect cultivators charged up, as if they were not afraid of death, tightly surrounding the four of them. Wang Ji and the other Sect Leaders of the Five Great Demon Mountains had cultivation levels that could not be underestimated. After several major battles, the cultivators of Tianjiang Plain were still unable to break free.

Zhuge An, who was in the midst of a fierce battle, would never have imagined that Zhuge Qing's situation at this time was no better than his own. Two more cultivators had fallen by her side, and now there were only five cultivators left in the entire fortress. Chu Budong was also injured, and the speed at which his Golden Great Hammer danced was clearly much slower than before.

It was only a matter of time before the Demon Sect cultivators below the fortress broke in! At this very moment, Zhuge Qing had a feeling of calling to heaven with no response and calling to earth with no answer! The aura of death loomed over the hearts of everyone in the Nanxuan Sect.