Chapter 113: Spirit Origin Storm

The five Danyuan Realm cultivators at Yuqing Hall looked at the situation before them, each of them burning with anxiety yet powerless; after all, controlling the Array was more important, and once the great Array lost control, the scene would become even more tragic, and it was possible that all these hundreds of cultivators would be buried here today.

Once that happened, this Great Song Immortal World would never recover, and the outcome would rot to the point of no return.

Compared to the situation at Black Wind Ridge, Spirit Fox Valley looked much better.

Although there were only two hundred or so cultivators here, the speed at which the Black Wind erupted and the number of Soul Beasts appearing were much lower.

Although Soul Beasts were still constantly erupting from the Black Wind, under the full suppression of the five Danyuan Realm powerhouses, it had at least not yet reached the point of total chaos and loss of control, and in the nearly half-hour that had passed, there had not yet been any cultivator deaths; at most, a few had been injured, but all had been rescued.

However, Xu Chen, who had intended to watch the spectacle, no longer had any mood to do so; instead, he had become the main force in absolutely slaughtering the Soul Beasts, one man with two swords, chasing and hacking at the Soul Beasts like a god of slaughter amidst the billowing and churning Black Wind that filled the sky.

Supported by his Divine Sense at the True Essence Late Stage and his Yuan Qi strength, which was also approaching the True Essence Late Stage, his strength was not inferior to any cultivator at the True Essence Middle or Late Stage; aside from not being too proficient in high-damage Second-Tier Magic Spells, the two Flying Swords circling and whistling around his body were like two wheels of light, and not a single Soul Beast could withstand a single blow.

Within a range of nearly three hundred zhang around Xu Chen's body, wherever the sword light passed, one Soul Beast after another was slaughtered and shredded in mid-air, then their flesh and blood collapsed and drifted away as clumps of Black Mist, while the falling Soul Beads—the large ones were pocketed, and the small ones were simply ignored—his image was incredibly domineering.

Around him, aside from several senior brothers and sisters from Taiyuan Sect, there were also some acquaintances following him: Song Qingshi and Ouyang Ping from Wild Wolf Valley; Ma Xiuping, Ming Lang, and Su Xiaorou from Taihua Sect; and Zhou Ding from Five Thunder Sect; additionally, he had attracted a group of loose cultivators at the Kaiyuan Realm Initial Stage who followed him around to pick up the small Soul Beads he did not want.

A large group of people came whistling and went whistling, like a group of bandits in the churning Black Mist.

Especially Xu Chen, who was charging at the very front, was even more magnificent than anyone else.

"Who is that young little cultivator? He's too fierce!"

Not only were the ordinary loose cultivators who did not know Xu Chen astonished during the battle with the Soul Beasts, but even those cultivators at the True Essence Late Stage felt their scalps tingle.

This was no ordinary cultivator; he was completely a combat machine.

However, soon there were cultivators who had attended the Spirit Transformation Ceremony of Xuanchenzi last time who recognized Xu Chen, and so the news quickly spread that this was merely the youngest disciple with the lowest cultivation level from Taiyuan Sect, currently only at the Kaiyuan Realm Middle Stage.

"Damn it, are you kidding me? Is this the Kaiyuan Realm Middle Stage? Even the True Essence Middle Stage wouldn't be this fierce!"

Everyone was skeptical.

However, as the number of Soul Beasts increased and the scope of the slaughter grew larger, the team of cultivators also began to slowly disperse, and everyone buried their heads in slaughtering Soul Beasts, having no energy to pay attention to the movements of Xu Chen's group.

Among the cultivators chasing and killing Soul Beasts across the sky, the Danyuan Realm cultivators from several large and medium-sized Immortal Sects were the absolute main force; each was responsible for guarding one side, and they rarely used Flying Swords, all using large-scale Magic Treasures or Magic Spells to attack, striving to confine the Soul Beasts within the range of the Array.

Therefore, in the billowing black smoke above the Eight Extremes Array, one could see from time to time clumps of Magic Spell light and shadow like meteor showers or tornadoes exploding, covering an area of several hundred zhang.

Every time such a large-scale Magic Spell appeared, a large number of Soul Beasts would inevitably be crushed into powder while screaming, and Soul Beads of all sizes would bounce and fly across the sky.

Those True Essence Realm cultivators were scattered within a two-li radius around the Danyuan Realm cultivators, specifically dealing with those powerful Soul Beasts that were injured or had escaped, carrying out secondary interceptions.

As for the Kaiyuan Realm cultivators, they formed small teams of three or five, scattered near the edge of the Array, dealing with those weak Soul Beasts that were fleeing in all directions.

Although the entire operation was coordinated by orders and the cultivator formation from inside to outside was maintained well, in reality, the killing was not easy, and many cultivators were instead forced into a sorry state by the Soul Beasts that appeared in an endless stream.

After all, everyone was unfamiliar with Soul Beasts; not to mention having never seen them before, they had never fought them.

These Soul Beasts appeared to have physical bodies, but in reality, after being hacked to death, they would quickly turn into Black Mist and merge into the Black Wind, and injured Soul Beasts recovered very quickly; even if hacked half to death, as long as they escaped back to the smoke pillar, they would appear again shortly, whole and jumping about, and even more ferocious, and they were even very vengeful, remembering which cultivator had injured them.

Therefore, in this chaotic battle, those cultivators who were not strong, whose Magic Treasure and Magic Spell damage was insufficient, and who hacked here and exploded there, slowly discovered that the situation was wrong, because several Soul Beasts with familiar appearances began to surround and attack them.

Thus, this chaotic battle became more and more chaotic; although more and more Soul Beasts were killed, more and more cultivators were surrounded and injured, and after half an hour, the first case of a cultivator death finally appeared.

Watching this loose cultivator being torn into pieces in mid-air by several brutal Soul Beasts, the screams stopped abruptly, and the surrounding cultivators who could not save them in time could only scatter and retreat; the atmosphere of the entire battlefield became even more tense, and even many timid cultivators or those who had exhausted their Yuan Qi, pills, or even lost their Magic Treasures began to gradually move away from the Array area and retreat to further places.

The leading Danyuan Realm cultivators had no way to completely restrain this; after continuously releasing large-scale Magic Spells, their Yuan Qi also began to feel insufficient, and they had to start swallowing Spirit Pills to replenish their Yuan Qi. While holding the gaps and intercepting the powerful Soul Beasts, they ordered the True Essence Realm cultivators to retreat to the edge of the Array to set up a second line of defense, while the Kaiyuan Realm ones retreated directly to three li away to block and intercept those fish that slipped through the net.

And as the team continued to disperse, although the situation looked much more stable, the efficiency of intercepting Soul Beasts decreased significantly; some fast Soul Beasts could not be blocked or intercepted at all, and they could only watch as plumes of black smoke flew out of the encirclement, roaring and screaming as they entered the vast mountains and wilderness in all directions and disappeared.

Where these Soul Beasts would go after escaping, or what consequences they would cause, no one could care anymore.

The priority now was still to guard the Array and wait for it to be resealed; only after the Array Eye gap stabilized could they think of ways to pursue and kill them.

Of course, whether they could catch up was another matter.

Many low-level cultivators could not even save their own lives right now; who had the mood to care about the life or death of mortals?

And when Black Wind Ridge began to change the Array to delay time, the situation at Black Wind Ridge was already in complete chaos.

……

Within a radius of three hundred li of Black Wind Ridge, it had basically become a piece of darkness.

How many Soul Beasts were inside was already impossible to count or tally; according to a rough estimate by the five Danyuan Realm cultivators of Yuqing Hall who were controlling the Array, at least ten thousand Soul Beasts had erupted from the underground cave.

And the number slaughtered should be less than two thousand.

More than ten cultivators participating in the siege had died, and there was no heart to count the injured.

The several Danyuan Realm powerhouses responsible for leading the teams also had their Yuan Qi bottomed out, not daring to continue releasing large-scale attack Magic Spells, but instead sacrificing their protective Magic Treasures and beginning to gather the teams to fight in coordination.

As for those large numbers of middle and low-level cultivators at the True Essence and Kaiyuan Realms, many had their Yuan Qi completely exhausted, and taking pills could not keep up with the replenishment; they landed on the ground with pale and panicked faces, huddling together for self-preservation.

Especially those small Immortal Sects and loose cultivators, whose cultivation levels were not high, whose Magic Treasures were mediocre, and whose pill reserves were pitifully small.

Therefore, this chaotic battle directly exhausted their family foundations; in the black smoke, one could hear panicked cries for help everywhere.

That is to say, from the moment the Five Elements Array was opened, the situation at Black Wind Ridge had already begun to lose control.

"Daoist Friends, please temporarily withdraw from the ten-li core area of the Black Wind Ridge Array. This old man will first temporarily take action to clear a wave of Soul Beasts to reduce the pressure on the defense, but subsequently, I will still need everyone to work together and hold the line until the Array is sealed again..."

Amidst the chaos, the solemn and clear voice of True Monarch Xuanchen rang in the minds of all the cultivators.

This was no less than an Immortal sound, so before the leading Danyuan Realm powerhouses could issue orders, all the cultivators flew away in all directions like birds and beasts; in the blink of an eye, no light from any Magic Treasure or Magic Spell or sound of battle could be seen around Black Wind Ridge.

Of course, it was inevitable that some cultivators with weak strength and exhausted Yuan Qi who flew too slowly were torn apart by those powerful Soul Beasts before they could escape, leaving only a scream echoing.

A moment later, near the smoke pillar whistling and erupting above Black Wind Ridge, a cyan figure appeared out of thin air, and instantly a terrifying pressure descended from the sky; clumps of colorful spirit light exploded in mid-air, transforming into phantom images of flowers, birds, insects, and fish wandering the sky.

And with the appearance of this terrifying aura, the Black Wind, which was like a fountain of ink, was suddenly as if someone had covered its exit; the whistling and shaking sound disappeared instantly, the whole world seemed to be frozen, and the thick, ink-like Black Mist filling the sky was also stirred and pushed away for several li by this Spirit Qi, and the situation within the entire Black Wind Ridge range was suddenly clear at a glance.

Thousands of strange-looking black Soul Beasts in the sky and on the ground were all revealed.

"Spirit Origin Storm!"

Accompanied by the faint voice of True Monarch Xuanchen ringing in the air, he was seen pinching a spell with both hands and pressing forward lightly, as if bowing; suddenly, a violent wind appeared out of thin air with his body as the center, and then transformed into dense Wind Blades that whistled in all directions, covering the sky and the earth. As the distance increased, this storm became more violent; the Wind Blades multiplied from one to ten, ten to a hundred, a hundred to a thousand, and then the cyan light filled the sky, rolling and sweeping in all directions like a tide.

Wherever the cyan light passed, the heavens and earth changed color; whether it was mountain rocks, trees, or thousands of Soul Beasts, all were ground into fly ash in this overwhelming Spirit Origin Storm.

It took no more than ten breaths of time; when the cyan light filling the sky dissipated, not a single Soul Beast could be seen in the entire Black Wind Ridge range.

And this strike seemed to have exhausted all of True Monarch Xuanchen's Spirit Qi; with a pale face, he raised his hand and grabbed, and dense black Soul Beads transformed into black light from the mud and rocks on the ground and were pocketed by him.

Ten li away, all the cultivators were dumbfounded.

And the five True Essence Realm Elders of Yuqing Hall who were hovering above Black Wind Ridge presiding over the Array, having personally experienced this Spirit Origin Storm, were even more shocked to the point of no return, and even almost lost their composure, letting the Array lose control.

Although Danchenzi's Spirit Transformation was the greatest grand event in the Great Song Immortal World in decades.

Yet for a super sect that possessed one True Spirit Realm and two Spirit Realm Great Cultivator experts, the strength of the Taiyuan Sect was still far from sufficient to be considered.

As for the strength of Xuanchen Zhenjun, they were also not very clear; although they were respectful on the surface, in reality, they still despised him in their hearts, and some even disapproved of him.

But today, this Spirit Origin Storm from Xuanchenzi completely shocked everyone.

"Fellow Daoist friends, you all still need to continue exerting effort for the remaining matters; this old man must return to the mountain to rest for a while!"

Amidst the lingering sound of his voice, the figure of Xuanchen Zhenjun had already vanished from the sky.

"Boom~"

Within the gap opened in the Five Elements Great Array that had lost its Spirit Qi suppression, violent Black Wind erupted once more, transforming into a pillar of smoke that shot straight ten thousand zhang into the high sky; the Black Wind billowed and churned, and a large number of Soul Beasts were once again spewed out along with the Black Wind.

"Fellow Daoist friends, Xuanchen Zhenjun's Magic Spell reaches the heavens, and the Soul Beasts are vulnerable; what are you still waiting for? Follow this poor Daoist and kill!"

"Kill~~"

Amidst roars echoing with surging vital energy, hundreds of cultivators once again mustered their courage, shouting one after another as they charged toward the Soul Beasts spewing out in all directions from the smoke pillar.

A great battle, after a brief moment of tranquility, unfolded once again.

And this time, all the cultivators were as if injected with chicken blood; everyone fought bravely forward, each one fearless of death, and for a time, the Escape Light and the light and shadows of Magic Treasures and Magic Spells across the sky exploded like fireworks and thunder.

(End of this chapter)