Chapter 346: The Battle of Qingzhou

These two Sacred Heart supreme treasures were both of the offensive type, appearing respectively as a pale yellow short sword and a purple pagoda.

The supreme treasures were wreathed in the radiance of the sun and moon, floating in the air without falling, as if they had merged with heaven and earth, shining brilliantly.

Upon obtaining the supreme treasures, Long Jueshen and Feng Lingxiao exchanged a glance, knowing that if they did not take down the Li Clan now, they would be unable to answer to the three Desolate Gods.

"I will break the array; you go and finish off that old dog!"

Feng Lingxiao said in a deep voice.

"After the array is broken, your Shenggong goes first," Long Jueshen merely said.

The two top demon forces had come out in full strength; although they were allied, they still calculated things between themselves with absolute clarity.

Feng Lingxiao did not haggle further; he was injured and unwilling to engage in a great battle with Li Muxiu, which would aggravate his wounds, so he could only let the Shenggong elders make up for it.

The two quickly submerged their spiritual senses into the Sacred Heart supreme treasures, merging with them, communicating with the Sacred Heart essence spirits within, and understanding the characteristics of the treasures.

Before long, a brilliant light erupted from their eyes as they absorbed and refined the treasures, suddenly soaring into the sky and issuing their commands.

The demon king elders of both sides received the orders and immediately understood that they were to forcefully break through this Qingzhou City.

Order after order was issued; within the demon tide, demon banners were raised one after another, and the vast, ancient horns sounded in their wake.

And at the same time the demon tide began to stir, the figures of Long Jueshen and Feng Lingxiao had already charged out first, killing their way to the top of Qingzhou City.

Boom!!

When the first ray of the rising morning sun shone upon Qingzhou City, accompanied by the light of dawn, a heaven-shaking, earth-shattering roar reverberated over the sky of Qingzhou City.

The violent tremors caused every household in the city to wake up from their uneasy sleep, terrified and pale, hurriedly pushing open their windows to peer out nervously through the cracks.

They saw that above Qingzhou City, a golden array had suddenly appeared, like an inverted divine bowl, blocking a terrifying purple-black radiance.

Countless divine runes flickered rapidly, appearing like butterflies flying in a frantic, chaotic dance.

This heaven-shaking sound startled the entire city wall.

Countless soldiers who were rotating shifts were all startled awake from the military camps built along the city walls.

On the city wall, Li Muxiu, who was taking medicine to regulate his breathing, suddenly opened his eyes; his spiritual sense spread rapidly out of the city, and he immediately saw two figures hovering in the air outside, who were none other than the leaders of the two great demon forces.

His pupils constricted as he noticed the treasures held in their hands.

"Sacred Heart Heavenly Treasures!"

Li Muxiu's expression changed drastically, and he suddenly charged out from the corner tower; his aged body soared into the sky, roaring, "Stop!"

At this moment, Feng Lingxiao, holding the supreme treasure, ignored him and exerted all his strength to drive the purple-black Profound Universe Heavy Building Pagoda to smash down fiercely.

The Sacred Heart essence spirit of this pagoda exerted its power, mobilizing the power of the treasure's one hundred thousand heavy profound waters; a single drop of heavy profound water weighed ten thousand catties, and at this moment, one hundred thousand drops fell together, possessing the force of billions, concentrated at a single point, so that with just one strike, the Qingzhou City array was nearly breached.

If it had been any other city, the array would have shattered on the spot.

This Qingzhou City array was not comparable to the arrays at Liangzhou's Heaven Gate Pass or the borders of various provinces; it was the provincial city where the headquarters of the Divine General Mansion was located, and its array power was the pinnacle of the Great Yu, second only to the Profound Heaven Divine Emperor Array of the Imperial Capital! Like other Divine General Mansion provincial cities, it was built more than three thousand years ago, at the beginning of the founding of the nation, by the first Grand Astrologer of the Astrological Bureau himself; its power was extremely strong, and even a full-force assault by a Martial Arts Realm expert could not destroy it! But at this moment, under Feng Lingxiao and the Sacred Heart supreme treasure, the power of the divine array was rapidly decaying.

Li Muxiu struck out in anger, but a figure suddenly charged over rapidly, blocking his path.

A pale yellow sword light slashed down suddenly, nearly splitting the void in front of Li Muxiu, and the power of the Dao Domain instantly condensed and enveloped Li Muxiu's body.

Countless sword lights within the Dao Domain erupted in a killing frenzy, and a dragon's roar echoed; the power of the deterrent rules fell upon Li Muxiu, causing his whole body to tremble, his flesh and power all forced to cower and retract, constantly decaying.

Li Muxiu was shocked and angry, suddenly throwing a punch; the extreme invincibility state of his Half-Step Invincible Fist made him briefly invincible; if he were merely a standard Martial Arts Realm expert, he would not have been able to step into the extreme invincibility under these Dao Domain rules, but as he revealed the extreme invincibility, a Dao Domain also emerged around his body, shrouding him and resisting the erosion of Long Jueshen's Dao Domain.

A Half-Step Dao Domain is weaker in terms of offense compared to the Great Peace Dao Realm, the reason being that the speed at which the Dao Domain expands is too slow.

But in terms of self-protection, one only needs to shroud oneself, so the speed of the Dao Domain's extension is actually not much slower.

"Ten Extremes Sword Shadow!"

Long Jueshen also suddenly mobilized the power of this Ten Extremes Sword supreme treasure; the Sacred Heart essence spirit revealed its pressure, and ten extreme sword lights split from the short sword, whistling out one by one, slashing rapidly toward Li Muxiu.

Li Muxiu's expression changed drastically, and a jade-green ribbon suddenly appeared in his palm; this ribbon changed rapidly, as if it had a spirit, wrapping around his fist.

Subsequently, facing those extreme sword lights slashing toward him, he threw punches one after another to smash them.

Bang, bang, bang! The sword lights shattered, and Li Muxiu stepped forward one after another like a dragon walking and a tiger striding, but each step he took was not large, his body as steady as a mountain.

The jade light in his hand flickered, and his invincible fist momentum carried terrifying destructive power, actually pushing forward and reversing in Long Jueshen's Dao Domain, constantly tearing through the sword lights while killing toward Long Jueshen.

Long Jueshen's expression changed slightly; this old dog actually still had hidden cards, and that ribbon was also a Sacred Heart supreme treasure.

However, he did not feel too surprised; after all, this Divine General Mansion had been passed down for thousands of years, and it would be unreasonable if there weren't a few Sacred Heart supreme treasures in the mansion.

His expression was cold and stern, and he repeatedly exerted Dao Domain pressure to suppress and kill, as if countless dragon roars were echoing in Li Muxiu's eardrums, causing his face to flush red; although he appeared to be advancing, his internal blood and Qi were churning, being forcibly suppressed.

At the same time, a violent tremor came, and not far away, Feng Lingxiao picked up the Profound Universe Heavy Building Pagoda and smashed it again; the dazzling purple-black radiance fell, as if a great mountain were crashing down.

"Stop!"

"Block him!"

Inside the city, figure after figure flew over, led by Li Xiaoran.

The heaven-shaking sound from before not only startled all the citizens of the city, but also alerted everyone in the Divine General Mansion; they all projected their spiritual senses, roaming out to observe the movement outside Qingzhou City, and saw the scene of Li Muxiu and Long Jueshen fighting fiercely, as well as the Palace Master of the Shenggong attacking the array.

With a hum, a blade light as brilliant as a galaxy tore through the sky, fiercely killing toward Feng Lingxiao.

Feng Lingxiao's eyes were cold, merely sneering slightly as he expanded his Dao Domain; before this blade light could reach him, it was burned and annihilated within the Dao Domain, while he still held the heavy pagoda, carrying the pressure of the Dao Domain, and smashed it fiercely onto the array.

The array trembled violently, and the divine runes flickered non-stop, becoming a blur.

This meant that the attacks being endured were about to exceed the limit of the divine array.

Whoosh! Another green figure flew out, silently slashing out a sword light; the sword light penetrated the divine array and landed on the heavy pagoda; under the burning of the Dao Domain, this sword light actually did not weaken at all, shaking the heavy pagoda, which also delayed the offensive by a few moments.

Feng Lingxiao's expression changed slightly, and he looked gloomily at the few figures flying over; the one who had struck was a woman.

This woman was none other than Ji Qingqing; although she was in the Martial Arts Realm, she practiced the Ji Clan's cultivation techniques, and among her peers, she was even slightly stronger than the imperial clan of the Great Yu Divine Dynasty.

And when she was expelled from the Ji Clan, although Ji Tianchao and the others were angry at her choice and hated or even loathed this niece, under the pleading of Ji Qingqing's father, that old thirteenth, they still secretly brought out many good things for Ji Qingqing, among which was the Sacred Heart Heavenly Treasure weapon she was holding now, the Taiyuan Sword.

The rule power contained in the Sacred Heart essence spirit of this sword could allow Ji Qingqing's attacks to be unaffected by other rules; it was an extremely rare and powerful supreme treasure that could allow her to injure a Great Peace Dao Realm expert while in the Martial Arts Realm!

Of course, if they were in a head-on confrontation in the wild, a Great Peace Dao Realm expert would only need to seize the opportunity to get close and shroud her in a Dao Domain; even this sword could not protect her, and she could be refined in an instant.

But now that she had the protection of the array, she could strike without any scruples.

"Damn it!"

Feng Lingxiao's eyes were filled with anger as he exerted his cultivation again to drive the Profound Universe Heavy Building Pagoda to bombard the array.

Ji Qingqing also struck repeatedly, her sword technique exquisite and peerless, constantly slashing at the heavy pagoda, reducing its power, but the power of the one hundred thousand heavy profound waters of this Profound Universe Heavy Building Pagoda, under extreme concentration, still caused the divine array to consume its energy rapidly.

"Quick, block him!"

Li Tiangang's body soared into the air, his hand tightly gripping an ancient bronze battle blade; this was his ancestor's Sacred Heart supreme treasure, and at this moment, as he exerted all his strength, the blade light penetrated the divine array and killed outward.

But the rule power brought by this battle blade was different from the Taiyuan Sword; it could not ignore Feng Lingxiao's Dao Domain, and the blade light quickly dissipated.

Li Tiangang's expression was ugly; at the same time, he heard a vast horn sounding from outside the city, as if it had come from the distant ancient times, and following it, the city walls of Qingzhou City began to tremble slightly.

This vibration was felt by all the citizens of the city; the ground beneath their houses was trembling slightly, as if ten thousand horses were galloping.

And at this moment outside the city, those demons stationed and besieging were far more than ten thousand horses; their numbers reached as many as several million, and they were all demon elites who had fought their way here.

At this moment, as the horns sounded, they all charged forward in unison.

Li Tiangang's expression changed; these demons finally could not hold back and intended to attack in one go.

"Quick! Prepare for battle, vanguard team to the city walls!"

Seeing that he was useless against Feng Lingxiao, Li Tiangang could not afford to stay here and rushed rapidly toward the city walls; he transmitted his voice rapidly, calling his subordinates and ordering them to form a counter-attacking military array.

On the city walls, the soldiers who had been on standby were already shooting volleys of talisman arrows from the arrow towers and artillery towers as the demon tide approached.

Millions of arrows, dark and dense, fell into the demon tide.

Within the demon tide, however, figure after figure with imposing momentum surged out, revealing their massive original demon forms; while blocking some of the long-range attacks from the soldiers on the city walls, they brandished divine weapons and bombarded the array outside the city.

These were all demon king elders of the two great forces, and at this moment, they were all revealed, numbering more than a dozen.

Each demon king was in the Four Standing Realms, and among them were many great demon kings in the Martial Arts Realm, their attacks sharp and cold, shaking the divine runes on the array like butterflies flying in chaos.

Seeing this scene, Li Tiangang felt his blood run cold; although he knew that the top combat power of both sides in this battle was vastly different, he did not expect it to be this much.

Seeing the tottering divine array, his eye sockets turned red, and he gritted his teeth, roaring, "Quick, activate the Divine Array Life Wheel!!"

This divine array of Qingzhou City was one of the ten great divine arrays in the world, named the Sun-Shining Life Wheel Array.

This array not only sealed powerful demon king spirits within the divine array to fight for it, but more importantly, the divine array could absorb the essence of the sun and moon to repair itself.

Furthermore, its Life Wheel power could briefly absorb a portion of the lifespan of all living beings within the array, transforming it into the power of the divine array.

This array no longer belonged to the level that ordinary Four Standing Realm experts could easily destroy; it contained the Great Dao within it.

Following Li Tiangang's order, the divine array reversed, and the Life Wheel power was activated; within countless buildings in the city, golden, thread-like lifespans seemed to drift up and surge into the divine array, including Li Tiangang and others, as well as all the soldiers in the city. However, everyone within the Divine General Mansion was isolated by the Divine General Mansion's own array and remained unaffected.

But deep within the Divine General Mansion, in the ancestral hall standing by the great mountain, all the candle flames before the spirit tablets suddenly flickered, nearly extinguishing.

Li Qingzheng, who was sitting at the entrance of the ancestral hall, had white hair and an aged body, looking into the distance with a face full of worry.

Seeing the golden, thread-like life-force rising from within the city, his body trembled slightly; as if realizing something, he suddenly turned his head to look at the solemn ancestral hall behind him.

He saw that on those originally silent spirit tablets, golden divine light emerged, drifting out from the tablets one after another, revealing heroic spirits.

The ancestors of the Li Clan who had not perished were, at this moment, all revealing their heroic spirits.

Figure after figure, with outstanding bearing, once peerless and stunning the martial arts world for sixty years, stood upon their respective spirit tablets.

"The Life Wheel has appeared; it seems Qingzhou City has reached its final moment."

"I never expected to see the Life Wheel Array activated in my lifetime."

"The seventeenth ancestor sacrificed his remnant soul first to guide the bloodline; it seems not much time has passed, so it seems we must build the final path of return for these children."

"We stand before billions of commoners; we must never let the commoners stand before us. Everyone, it is time for us to strike!"

"The Life Wheel Array is out; what are we waiting for? Don my remnant soul, kill!!"

One by one, the heroic spirits of the Li Clan's past ancestors charged out at this moment, stepping out of this solemn ancestral hall that had stood for thousands of years and received incense offerings.

Li Qingzheng, standing at the entrance of the ancestral hall, looked at these ancestors who were determined to go to battle, his face already covered in tears.

"You don't need to guard this place anymore."

An ancestor passed by Li Qingzheng's side and said calmly, then soared into the sky and charged toward the Divine General Mansion in front.

"Thank you for your hard work."

Other ancestors passed by and also said softly to Li Qingzheng, then stepped out of the ancestral hall and flew toward the distance.

The passing heroic spirits of the ancestors made Li Qingzheng's old tears flow; the burden he had shouldered for decades was lifted at this moment, but he could no longer lift himself up.

"Fifth brother, don't cry. Are you willing to join hands with us brothers again for a great battle?"

The remnant soul of the Li Clan's third master, Li Xuanli, flew before Li Qingzheng, his eyes gentle as he spoke.

He appeared as a young man—one old, one young—but he was the older one.

Li Qingzheng looked up at his third brother, who had died in his youth and still appeared as a spirited young man; countless memories flooded into his mind. He suppressed the grief in his heart, wiped the tears from the corners of his eyes, and revealed a smile of relief: "This time, I can accompany you!"

Li Xuanli smiled slightly, and then his remnant soul suddenly bloomed with golden light, draping over Li Qingzheng's body like a feather garment.

"Brothers of one heart!"

"Their sharpness can cut through metal!"

Li Qingzheng's bones rattled; this aged body that had sat in the ancestral hall for decades straightened its spine at this moment. He still had white hair flying, but his eyes seemed to have recovered the youthful vigor of his youth, returning to the time when he had carved out a great reputation on the border.

"Go!"

He took a step, soared into the sky from the ancestral hall, transformed into a golden stream of light, and rushed toward the battlefield in front.

And the other heroic spirits of the ancestors who stepped out of the ancestral hall bid farewell to the Li Clan's first ancestor, whose image appeared on the golden statue in the center, then flew out of the ancestral hall one by one and charged toward various parts of the Divine General Mansion.

Li Tianyuan sat upright on the golden statue; there was no obvious sadness in his eyes, but they revealed an extreme desolation—the grief of having witnessed countless bloodlines fall and countless soldiers perish.

He was waiting, waiting for those Li Clan bloodlines to return, to use their bloodline to cast bones and his remnant soul as clothing, to fight one more time for these descendants of a thousand generations! And the other heroic spirits of the ancestors rushed toward the many Li Clan bloodline descendants within the Divine General Mansion.

Streaks of golden light streaked across the sky; everyone in the various courtyards of the Divine General Mansion looked up at the sky, some stunned.

When they worshipped their ancestors, they had all seen the portraits of these ancestors, and at this moment, they all recognized that these were the remnant souls of the Li Clan's past ancestors.

"Ancestors..."

In the various courtyards, He Jianlan, Gao Qingqing, and others all looked up at the sky, watching the remnant souls of the ancestors flying out from the ancestral hall, all stunned.

But what followed was a massive sense of grief surging into their hearts.

"Child, are you willing to don my soul clothing, inherit my Dao ambition, and exterminate those demons?"

The remnant soul of a heroic female general flew down before He Jianlan, the heroic spirit between her brows proud, but her eyes looking at He Jianlan very gently.

He Jianlan was stunned and hurriedly tried to bow, but was supported by a wisp of the heroic spirit's power.

"Ancestor, but I do not have the Li Clan bloodline..."

He Jianlan recognized that this was the 32nd ancestor, a female general who had once dominated the battlefield and had carved out a fierce reputation more than two thousand years ago.

"It doesn't matter."

The female general smiled: "Those who enter my Li Clan are Li Clan members."

Hearing this, He Jianlan's eye sockets immediately moistened, and she nodded vigorously.

The female general's figure flickered, her whole body seeming to burn with flames, transforming into golden light that covered her body, turning into a golden battle skirt.

The power and Dao intent of her remnant soul also merged with He Jianlan's spiritual sense, causing He Jianlan, who was in the early stage of the Three Imperishable Realms, to suddenly erupt with the momentum of the Dao Heart Realm.

In other courtyards, the situation was the same.

In the Feihua Courtyard, Wang Xiangru looked at the remnant soul elder inviting her, her eyes changing slightly, her face somewhat pale, and she said: "I, I..."

Her footsteps retreated.

The remnant soul elder was slightly stunned, looked at her deeply, then said nothing, suddenly soaring into the sky and flying elsewhere.

Passing by the Shuihua Courtyard, many ancestor remnant souls saw that there was a prohibition outside this courtyard, and inside should be someone imprisoned for wrongdoing, so they passed by directly.

In the Linglong Courtyard, two golden heroic spirits flew over and landed in the courtyard.

"Child, are you willing to follow me to the battlefield to kill demons?"

A young man looked at Li Yuanzhao; although he appeared as a young man, his voice was very aged.

Li Yuanzhao was stunned and said timidly: "I, can I do it?"

"Are you willing?"

"Of course I am willing!"

"Then that's fine."

The young man smiled slightly, then transformed into divine light, covering Li Yuanzhao's body.

A violent aura climbed; Li Yuanzhao was only in the Shenyou Realm, but at this moment, he erupted with the momentum of the Three Imperishable Realms.

"Just hand your body over to me," the young man said softly: "You might die, are you afraid?"

Li Yuanzhao's expression changed; in his mind, he suddenly thought of the young figure who had always walked in front of him in his childhood, and a resolute light suddenly shot from his eyes: "I'm not afraid!"

"Good!"

The young man's carefree laughter rang out, then he soared into the sky and charged toward the battlefield in front.

"Yuanzhao..."

Xiao Yujing watched blankly, tears flowing from her eye sockets; she still had many worries in her heart, and she had never truly invested much emotion in Li Yuanzhao before, but at this moment, with the Li Clan about to perish, at this moment of life and death, seeing Li Yuanzhao's resolute figure going to his death, she felt a heartache she couldn't believe.

"Madam, are you willing to go to battle with me?" The elder beside her invited with a smile.

Xiao Yujing looked at him and took a deep breath: "Marrying into the Li Clan was a mistake."

The elder was slightly stunned.

"But I don't regret it," Xiao Yujing said, gritting her teeth.

Her husband had died in battle shortly after their wedding, which had also caused her to harbor some indescribable hatred toward the Li Clan, but at this moment, she seemed to be able to understand a bit of her husband's mood when he went on that expedition.

The elder stared at her, then said softly: "The Li Clan protects the border and is respected by the commoners, but it has made it bitter for you women who married into the Li Clan; it is the Li Clan that owes you."

Saying this, he bowed slightly, which counted as a salute to her.

Seeing the actions of this Li Clan ancestor, Xiao Yujing was somewhat stunned.

The hatred accumulated in her heart for many years was suddenly struck as if by thunder; her tears suddenly gushed out, and she sobbed uncontrollably.

Compared to the Li Clan ancestor remnant souls searching for people in the various courtyards, some remnant souls had more violent temperaments; some charged directly out of the Divine General Mansion to catch up with the Li Clan members on the battlefield, while others stood above the Divine General Mansion and shouted loudly:

"My Li Clan bloodline, is there anyone willing to go to battle and die with me?!"

"I!"

"I!!"

In the various courtyards, figure after figure charged out, among whom were some strong members of the Li Clan's collateral branches.

Subsequently, these figures, draped in the remnant souls of their ancestors, all rushed toward the battlefield like shooting stars to support the demon tide that was sweeping in.

(End of chapter)