Chapter 180: Cannot Hold On For Long

Xuanhe Zhenren was severely wounded and already in a semi-comatose state, but aside from his soul aura being quite chaotic, his breathing remained steady.

Xu Chen could not help but heave a sigh of relief.

Although a Danyuan Realm powerhouse could not withstand the soul impact of this Soul Beast, at least their soul strength could resist the backlash; if it had been a Foundation Establishment cultivator at the True Essence Late Stage, the outcome would likely have been even more miserable than Xu Wen's last time, and their soul would probably have been instantly shattered by the impact.

Xu Chen pressed his fingers against Xuanhe Zhenren's forehead and circulated the Grand Void Demon Refining Art, sending a stream of white light into Xuanhe Zhenren's Sea of Consciousness, then used his Divine Sense to issue a command to the Spirit Sparrow, which flapped its tattered, oversized wings and struggled to take flight toward him.

At this moment, the Spirit Sparrow no longer had the desperate, bare-knuckled fighting spirit it had at the start; instead, it appeared terrified and panicked, constantly letting out cooing cries, its sounds feeling completely chaotic.

Xu Chen placed Xuanhe Zhenren on the bird's back and patted its head, ordering it to take Xuanhe Zhenren and leave first.

The Spirit Sparrow let out a strange, cooing cry, flapped its wings violently a few times, and turned into a streak of spirit light, charging into the billowing black mist that filled the sky.

Only then did Xu Chen turn his head, his face pale, to discover that four of the six Spectral Mirrors had vanished, with only two shadows remaining to resist the Soul Beast's tentacles; but within the few breaths it took for him to turn and look, those two mirror surfaces also collapsed one after another, the cyan shadows disappearing as cyan light under the attack of the tentacles.

"Roar—!"

The Soul Beast was covered in wounds and billowing black smoke, its several thick, black tentacles dancing wildly in the air, clawing and snapping, emitting a low, angry roar at Xu Chen, yet it did not charge forward, likely having sensed that Xu Chen was not easy to deal with.

Xu Chen was in no rush to launch another attack, instead raising his hand to summon the Thunder Fire Pestle, which was hovering several dozen feet away, into his hand, while simultaneously storing the Qinglan Light-Splitting Mirror above his head into his Storage Bracelet.

Although the Qinglan Light-Splitting Mirror was powerful, he could not currently unleash its full might, and it consumed too much energy, making it unsuitable for the current war of attrition.

The situation was clear: although the Soul Beast's physical and soul attacks were both powerful, it could not pose a lethal threat to Xu Chen.

For physical attacks, Xu Chen still had the Cloud Flow Technique, which he had not yet deployed; although it was also a heavy drain on his soul and True Essence, it would pose no problem for saving his life in a crisis.

As for soul backlash, Xu Chen had the Blue Light Treasure Bottle to protect his soul, so there would be no issues there; at most, every time he suffered a backlash, he would experience a moment of soul paralysis leading to scattered Divine Sense, but after slowly getting used to it, he could hold on.

Right now, Xu Chen had to contain the Soul Beast and not let it continue to destroy the breach in the Array.

As long as he could hold it for half a day or a full day, once a Spirit Realm Great Cultivator rushed back, this battle to defend the Sealing Array would be considered a victory.

As for the remaining Soul Beasts that kept appearing, they were not in Xu Chen's considerations.

As long as the Five Elements Array did not break, the vast majority of Soul Beasts would be trapped in the core area of the Array, and even if some escaped, the cultivators on the perimeter would do their best to slaughter them, so it would absolutely not spiral out of control like last time.

It was just that within this Black Wind, the Soul Beast's recovery speed was very fast.

The man and beast had been in a standoff for less than half a quarter of an hour; Xu Chen had already replenished about thirty percent of his True Essence through Spirit Liquid, while the large number of wounds on the Soul Beast's body had already begun to heal, and the black smoke it emitted was becoming less and less.

However, the four severed tentacles were not recovering as quickly, still looking like several giant chimneys, billowing black smoke and appearing incredibly eerie.

Another half an incense stick of time passed, and with his physical strength replenished and his True Essence restored to fifty percent, Xu Chen raised the Thunder Fire Pestle and launched another attack on the Soul Beast.

And so, amidst the roars of the Soul Beast, the man and beast fought together once more.

For a time, streaks of cyan lightning exploded on the Soul Beast, while the Soul Beast also lashed out with its tentacles in a fierce attack against Xu Chen; terrifying energy rolled out in all directions, sweeping away the black mist for hundreds of feet around, and the fluctuations generated by the explosions rumbled and shook throughout the entire Array.

The cultivators staying on the surrounding mountain ridges outside the Array slowly began to calm their terrified hearts.

The battle was still continuing, which at least indicated that the expert who had gone in possessed formidable strength and was able to fight this Soul Beast to a standstill.

As long as someone could hold this giant beast, the other small and medium-sized Soul Beasts would not be particularly dangerous.

And so, under the constant voice-transmitted calls from the Yuqing Hall and the cultivators responsible for leading the defense of the Five Elements Array, many True Essence Realm cultivators with decent strength began to enter the Array again to exterminate the Soul Beasts.

And under the temptation of Soul Beads, some Kaiyuan Realm cultivators slowly followed and joined in as well.

Soon, around the Black Wind Ridge Array, using the five Array Eye Qishan as passages, groups of cultivators gradually launched a cleanup operation toward the core area of the Array.

At this moment, there were at least three thousand Soul Beasts within the Array.

And in the Black Wind of the breach, Soul Beasts were constantly being spewed out by the Black Wind, only to be restrained and suppressed by the Array's light and shadow to below a hundred feet in the air, running and crashing everywhere within the Illusion Array manifested by the battle, unable to find a path to break out of the Array for the time being.

Fifty miles away from Black Wind Ridge, on a mountain peak to the southwest, there stood a simple Taoist temple.

The stronghold for the cultivators stationed at Black Wind Ridge was right here.

A group of Yuqing Hall Disciples escorted Yiyun Zhenren back to the stronghold; they all stood on the high mountain ridge, watching the thick black wind in the core area of the Array and the cyan lightning and rumbling vibrations that flashed within it from time to time, each of them watching with fear and trepidation.

This group of disciples had been the first batch to follow Yiyun Zhenren into the core of the Array and had seen with their own eyes that giant Soul Beast, which was at least thirty feet in size from head to tail.

Moreover, they had been defeated almost at the first touch; Yiyun Zhenren had released a Magic Treasure, only to scream and fall after a single strike, and if it hadn't been for the Seventh Senior Brother Xu Wen, who was quick-witted and grabbed Yiyun Zhenren to order everyone to retreat, it would be unknown how many could have come out alive.

Everyone had seen Xu Chen go in.

But they had not expected that he would be able to fight the Soul Beast to a standstill inside.

Looking at the movements of the Array and the constant roars of the Soul Beast, it was clear that the Soul Beast should not have the upper hand at the moment.

The two sides had been fighting for nearly two quarters of an hour, but the aura of the battle's fluctuations had not weakened in the slightest, remaining just as fierce.

"Look, the Spirit Sparrow is coming out!"

Someone watching suddenly pointed at the edge of the Black Wind and exclaimed.

Everyone hurriedly took to the air to watch, and sure enough, a giant seven-colored bird was staggering out of the Black Wind, its large wings disheveled and powerless, appearing as if it would fall at any moment, and there seemed to be a person slumped on its back.

"Quick, summon the Spirit Sparrow over!"

Although Yiyun Zhenren felt dizzy and his vision was going black in waves, his Divine Sense completely unable to be gathered or used, he could still see that the Spirit Sparrow was in a very bad state, and the person on its back also seemed to be unconscious.

The Spirit Sparrow was originally a riding Spirit Beast of the Yuqing Hall, so many disciples of the sect knew the method to summon it; soon, a streak of spirit light shot into the sky, and the bewildered Spirit Sparrow immediately let out a cry, flapping its wings with all its might to head toward the stronghold mountain peak.

Not long after, the Spirit Sparrow flew crookedly over everyone's heads and crashed with a thud into the courtyard of the Taoist temple, its wings unable to fold, its feathers disheveled as if it had been plucked, looking incredibly miserable.

The person slumped on the bird's back was also thrown off, rolling over ten feet before lying on the ground.

"It's Xuanhe Zhenren!"

A group of Yuqing Hall Disciples swarmed over, some exclaiming as they helped Xuanhe Zhenren up.

Xuanhe Zhenren was able to open his eyes by now, but his soul remained incredibly chaotic, and he could not even stand, so he was supported by a group of Yuqing Hall Disciples and carried into a room.

"Brother Xuanhe, how do you feel? What is the situation inside?" Yiyun Zhenren asked impatiently.

Xuanhe Zhenren was confused for a long time before finally regaining a sliver of clarity, staring blankly at Yiyun Zhenren for a full dozen breaths before asking vaguely: "Are you Brother Yiyun?"

Yiyun Zhenren didn't even have time for a bitter smile, nodding hurriedly: "That's right, I am the Sixth Elder of Yuqing Hall, Yiyun Zhenren. Brother, you just entered the center of the Array; did you see that Soul Beast, and who is currently fighting the Soul Beast in the Array?"

Xuanhe Zhenren remained blank for another dozen breaths, his mind seemingly clearing a bit more, before he clutched his brow and said: "It is my little disciple Xu Chen in the Array. Although I saw that Soul Beast, I only had time to cast one Magic Spell before my soul suffered a heavy blow and I lost consciousness. By the way, where is this? How... how did I get here?"

Seeing Xuanhe Zhenren's completely bewildered and unclear state, Yiyun Zhenren hurriedly explained a few things briefly. Xuanhe Zhenren remained silent and dazed for a long time before sighing heavily: "So that's how it is. This Soul Beast's strength is incredibly eerie and formidable. My disciple has only just reached Foundation Establishment; even if he can temporarily resist this giant Soul Beast, I fear he cannot hold on for long. Brother Yiyun, you must quickly notify the several True Monarchs and other sects' Danyuan Realm powerhouses to come and reinforce us, otherwise, I fear the Array will not hold."

Yiyun Zhenren had no choice but to smile bitterly this time, enduring the waves of dizziness and soul discomfort: "My Divine Sense is scattered right now, and I am completely unable to cast long-distance voice-transmission Magic Spells. Just a moment ago, I already had someone send a Jade Slip transmission to the Third Elder of Longmen Mountain, Xuanyunzi, who is guarding Spirit Fox Valley. He said that the Array breach at Spirit Fox Valley is also restless, the scale of the Black Wind has suddenly increased, and a large number of Soul Beasts are pouring out, so he cannot come to assist. As for Yuqing Hall and other Immortal Sects, there are no powerhouses guarding them at the moment; they have all been summoned by the several True Monarchs to the border of the Song Kingdom to guard and exterminate Soul Beasts, so there is no way to notify them, and it is too late for them to rush back."

Xuanhe Zhenren's expression changed drastically, and he clutched his head, groaning hoarsely: "Does this mean we can only rely on us people this time?"

Yiyun Zhenren could only nod and say, "As it appears now, that is indeed the case."

Xuanhe Zhenren's heart sank to the bottom of the ice in an instant, and he suddenly felt as if his whole body had frozen stiff.

Two of the three Danyuan Realm cultivators were injured, and although he felt he was recovering, he would need at least two or three days to fully recover.

Furthermore, even if he did recover, he had no confidence at all to go back in and face that terrifying Soul Beast.

With that Magic Spell just now, he had used nearly eighty percent of his strength, hoping to severely wound the Soul Beast in one blow, but he had not expected that the moment the Wind Blade landed on the Soul Beast, he felt as if his soul had been violently split open by a blade; that Magic Spell felt exactly as if it had struck his own Soul, and caught completely off guard, he had instantly fallen unconscious.

As for the subsequent process of being rescued by Xu Chen, receiving treatment, and being sent out, he knew absolutely nothing.

When he opened his eyes, he was lying on the bed.

The room was extremely quiet.

Yiyun Zhenren and a group of Zhenyuan Realm Disciples were all in extremely low spirits.

Xuanhe Zhenren sat up and said, "The situation is critical right now; Daoist Friend Yiyun, you should still arrange for people to carefully look after the grand formation, and it would be best to arrange for some people to go in and check on the situation of my disciple's battle with the Soul Beast. I need to rest and recover as quickly as possible."

"Very well, Daoist Friend, rest well. I will personally arrange for people to enter the formation to scout the situation, and I will notify you, Daoist Friend, immediately if there is any news!"

Yiyun Zhenren nodded and led a group of Yuqing Hall Disciples out of the room.

Meanwhile, the skylark was still lying in the courtyard panting, its feathers disheveled, looking just like a plucked rooster.

By the way, calling for guaranteed monthly tickets.

(End of this chapter)