Chapter 396

The vibration alert of the "Zhu Que Army Roster" let Hua Changxi know that a major accident had occurred in the Zhu Que Army, which made her mood very irritable.

But now, she could not get out of this egg-shaped chaotic space at all, and coupled with the fact that the two super hidden dangers, Chu Junshan and Zhu Yan, had not been resolved, it made her even more troubled.

Hua Changxi tried hard to calm her mood, and her gaze turned to the other end of the space, where Chu Junshan and Zhu Yan were healing and recovering.

'Solve these two first, then find a way to get out.'

Hua Changxi quickly made a decision and immediately began to execute it, immediately casting the "Law Heaven Earth" divine ability.

After the manifestation of nearly a thousand zhang appeared, she began to walk in large strides toward the direction where Chu Junshan and Zhu Yan were, swinging the fire axe to hack at the spatial barrier as she walked.

"Bang, bang, bang~"

The boundary wall was vibrating violently due to the hacking of the fire axe; the interior of the chaotic space was also trembling due to the movement of Hua Changxi's manifestation.

Zhu Yan and Chu Junshan felt the vibration of the space, and their expressions were extremely solemn.

Chu Junshan snorted coldly: "We haven't gone to find Hua Changxi for revenge, yet Hua Changxi has taken the initiative to launch an attack on us." As he spoke, he turned to look at Zhu Yan, whose expression was unclear.

"You and I have no way out."

Just as Hua Changxi was crossing the egg-shaped chaotic space, preparing to resolve Chu Junshan and Zhu Yan, the outside Nanxiang County was experiencing changing winds and clouds, with undercurrents surging.

The appearance of the Wutong Forest attracted too many cultivators.

Even though the existence of spatial rifts kept most people outside the Wutong Forest, every day, countless people who were not afraid of death risked being cut to death by the spatial rifts to go deep into the Wutong Forest, wanting to go in and try their luck.

Even though no one came out alive, it failed to dampen everyone's enthusiasm.

Although the Wutong Forest attracted the vast majority of people's attention, in other areas that were not paid attention to, wars and chaos occurred no less frequently.

Of course, there was no large-scale turmoil on the surface, but in the dark, cultivators died or were injured every day, and the number was not small.

Among them, the Zhu Que Army, which shouldered the responsibility of maintaining order in Nanxiang County, suffered the most serious hostility.

There was no other reason; all parties did not want to see the Zhu Que Army develop and grow too quickly.

The Zhu Que Army was the most legitimate army governing Nanxiang City. Once the overall strength of the Zhu Que Army improved and with the garrison and maintenance of the Zhu Que Army, it would be no easy task for all parties to seek resources and territory in Nanxiang City again.

Among the top ten forces in the Central Continent, the five great holy lands had long been monopolized by top noble families, and it was difficult for other forces to get involved. Nowadays, what they could reach were only Xuanyuan City and the Four Elephant Cities.

And Xuanyuan City had the five Xuanyuan generals sitting in town, so all parties dared not act rashly.

In this way, only the Four Elephant Cities were left to choose from.

Among the Four Elephant Cities, Nanxiang City had the most obvious signs of recovery.

Consequently, the eyes of all cultivators were cast here, and in order to obtain cultivation resources and seize a piece of territory belonging to themselves, most cultivators were determined to win.

Although on the surface, all cultivators would not confront the Zhu Que Army head-on, they would unanimously choose to strike in the dark.

Preventing the Zhu Que Army from continuing to grow had almost become a tacit understanding among cultivators of all parties.

Striking in the dark was a conspiracy of all parties against the Zhu Que Army, and they also had an open plot to deal with the Zhu Que Army.

That was to use the excuse that "the Zhu Que Army is the most regular garrison force in Nanxiang County" to demand that the Zhu Que Army fully resist the Phoenix clan of the demon race.

The Wutong Forest was one of the many blessed lands in Nanxiang City. Now that the Phoenix clan wanted to get involved, the Zhu Que Army would resist even without outsiders inciting them.

Therefore, after the Wutong Forest appeared, the Zhu Que Army often broke out into great battles with the Phoenix clan because they were driving away the demons of the Phoenix clan.

Besides that, after the attention of all parties was drawn away by the Wutong Forest, Prince Shou, who was eager to seize the Ghost Fire Well, began to reach out to the Zhu Que Army secretly again.

There was the Phoenix clan to resist on the surface, all parties striking hard in the dark, and the occasional sneak attacks by Prince Shou, which led to heavy casualties in the Zhu Que Army.

"Has the Hall Master still not returned any news?"

In Lingguang Hall, the managers and battalion commanders gathered together, and everyone's face was very solemn.

"It's been ten years, and the Hall Master hasn't appeared for ten years."

Seeing Yun You looked around at the worried crowd and thought for a moment: "The Hall Master wouldn't not appear without reason; she must have been delayed by something."

Duan Jishan took over the conversation: "We don't know when the Hall Master will appear. We have to rely on ourselves to resolve the chaotic situation in Nanxiang County."

Yang Zhaoye looked over: "More and more Zhu Que soldiers have gone missing recently. Should we temporarily slow down sending people out to patrol?"

Duan Jishan shook his head: "No, there are too many cultivators lingering in Nanxiang County. If the Zhu Que Army doesn't come forward to maintain order, who knows how much turmoil they will cause? By then, ordinary people will suffer again."

Seeing Yun You: "The missing Zhu Que soldiers must be related to the mass grave in the southeast region. That mass grave is suspected to be related to the Ghost clan."

"The Ghost clan sneaking into the human world is a major taboo. I think we can ask the Heaven Department and the Xuanyuan Prefecture for help."

Yang Zhaoye immediately snorted coldly: "Ask the Heaven Department and the Xuanyuan Prefecture for help? I think we should forget it."

"Over the years, all parties have secretly struck hard at the Zhu Que Army, causing heavy casualties. I don't believe the Heaven Department and the Xuanyuan Prefecture don't know anything about it, but have they come forward to stop it?"

Hearing this, Seeing Yun You fell silent.

After a moment, Duan Jishan looked at Yang Zhaoye: "How about this, next, I will be responsible for dealing with the Phoenix clan outside the Wutong Forest; you will be responsible for patrolling Nanxiang County."

"Given the high frequency of missing Zhu Que soldiers, from now on, every patrol team going out will consist of five thousand people. No one is allowed to separate. We would rather have longer patrol times than give the Ghost clan another chance to sneak attack."

Seeing Yun You followed up: "There are only a few dozen brand-new Zhu Que tokens left. From now on, when going out to patrol, each patrol team must carry at least three."

The Hall Master brought back a total of five thousand Zhu Que tokens. In these ten years, because the Zhu Que Army suffered too many attacks, most of the distributed Zhu Que tokens were scrapped.

Yang Zhaoye nodded helplessly: "That's all we can do for now."

Just at this moment, Xie Hanzhang's One-Thought Connection vibrated. She picked it up and looked at it, her expression sinking immediately: "Three fire phoenixes are wantonly attacking villages and towns in the southeast region. Several villages have been eaten up by them."

Upon hearing this, Yang Zhaoye stood up immediately and pointed to five battalion commanders: "Assemble the team, we will go over immediately and slaughter those three beasts."

"Wait a moment."

Xie Hanzhang called out to the people with a solemn expression: "The southeast region is adjacent to the mass grave. The Phoenix clan is wantonly eating people there. I'm afraid there might be some conspiracy."

Yang Zhaoye: "....... Even if there is a conspiracy, we have to go. We can't just let the demons of the Phoenix clan eat up the people there."

Soon, the team was assembled, and Yang Zhaoye led five thousand Zhu Que soldiers to leave Lingguang Hall quickly.

Just in case, Duan Jishan also took the battalion commanders to the Wutong Forest to join the twenty thousand Zhu Que soldiers stationed there, to prevent the Phoenix clan from taking the opportunity to cause trouble.

When Yang Zhaoye led the Zhu Que Army to find the tracks of the three fire phoenixes, the village they were in had already been submerged in a sea of fire. On the threshing floor outside the village, the three fire phoenixes were picking and choosing to eat the villagers who were screaming in the pool of blood.

"Kill these three wicked beasts!"

Looking at the five thousand Zhu Que soldiers rushing over, the three fire phoenixes showed a look of mockery in their eyes.

The leading Spirit Platform Realm fire phoenix said to a piece of ground where black energy was dissipating: "This time we have lured thousands of Zhu Que soldiers for you. You must help send ten more fire phoenixes into the Wutong Forest."

The black energy surged, and a voice came out: "Ten is not possible, at most one."

Fire Phoenix: "One is too few, at least three, otherwise......"

Black energy: "Fine, three it is."

Fire Phoenix: "Alright, stop talking nonsense. The Zhu Que Army is rushing over. The three of us will attack head-on, and you strike in the dark. Let's finish this quickly."

After speaking, the three fire phoenixes spread their wings and rushed toward Yang Zhaoye and his party quickly.

"Form the formation!"

Knowing there was a Spirit Platform Realm great demon, Yang Zhaoye dared not resist hard and immediately ordered the Zhu Que Army behind him to form a military formation: "Everyone, do not separate."

They carried three Zhu Que tokens, which could resist nine attacks from Spirit Platform Realm demons. As long as they exhausted the leading Spirit Platform Realm fire phoenix, the remaining two Infant Transformation Realm fire phoenixes would be nothing to worry about.

However, the combat power of this fire phoenix was much higher than what they had encountered in the past.

After more than ten years of entanglement with the Zhu Que Army, the Phoenix clan had almost figured out the attack range of the Zhu Que tokens. The three fire phoenixes did not attack at close range but circled high in the sky, scattering sky-filling flowing fire with every flap of their wings.

Balls of fire kept smashing toward the Zhu Que Army.

Even with many people, the Zhu Que Army could not withstand the impact of the fireballs.

The Spirit Platform Realm fire phoenix would also launch soul attacks. When it roared to the sky, the sound waves made the mountains tremble. When it fully spread its wings, the wingspan actually covered the entire battlefield.

The Zhu Que soldiers with cultivation at the Golden Core Realm and below simply could not hold on. In a short while, it was difficult to even maintain the military formation.

"Humph, the bullshit Zhu Que Army doesn't even have a decent weapon. If it weren't for the Demon Saint not agreeing, the Phoenix clan would have wanted to occupy Lingguang Hall."

"Are you still not going to strike!"

As soon as these words were spoken, a large amount of black energy immediately seeped out from the ground. The black energy boiled and surged, turning into a black skull.

The skull opened its big mouth, about to bite toward the Zhu Que Army.

"Boom~"

Just at this moment, a earth-shattering loud noise came out, directly resounding in the ears of all living beings in Nanxiang County.

Immediately after, in the Nanxiang County area, a muffled roar came from deep within the earth, as if a giant beast that had slept for billions of years was about to wake up.

The distant mountain ranges began to tremble slightly, and rocks rolled down.

Lingguang Hall, Wutong Forest, Nanxiang City, and all villages and towns—anyone who was in the Nanxiang County area was attracted by this movement.

The black skull and the three fire phoenixes were both startled and couldn't care about the Zhu Que Army anymore; they all stared blankly at the sky.

The void in the southwest region of Nanxiang County began to twist and ripple, spewing out a large amount of blood-red gas.

In the area covered by the blood-red gas, humans clearly felt that their bodies were strengthened. The old, weak, sick, and disabled who were lacking in vitality inhaled the blood-red gas, and their bodies felt an unprecedented lightness and were full of vitality.

At the same time, the beasts in the mountains and forests, after inhaling the blood-red gas, had their bodies growing crazily. Some demon beasts that had opened their wisdom roared to the sky, as if the ancient memories in their bloodlines had been awakened, looking at the center of the mutation with both fear and longing.

On the threshing floor outside the village, the villagers who had been burned to a bloody mess by the three fire phoenixes looked with horror as their wounds were repaired at a speed visible to the naked eye.

In the center where the blood-red gas was thickest, a chaotic black egg-shaped space grew from small to large, slowly manifesting in the air bit by bit.

In the egg-shaped space, there was no light, no sound, only boundless gray darkness.

Deep in that dead gray darkness, suddenly, a ball of light emerged and began to burn.

At first, it was just a spark, then the firelight erupted with a bang, dispelling all the chaos and reflecting a fiery red, heaven-supporting figure holding a fire axe.