Chapter 394: Battle of the Cities

Lin Xuan stood before the rift in the Kunlun Mountains, directing the Practitioners to resist the Void Creatures pouring out in an endless stream. Although the Life Essence energy coordinated by Xiao Yuan had temporarily stabilized the situation, the rift was still continuously expanding.

"We must change our strategy," Lin Xuan said into his communicator, "simple defense is not enough."

Xiao Yuan's voice sounded somewhat weary: "Teacher Lin, according to information transmitted by the Earth Consciousness, the rift in the Kunlun Mountains is only a superficial phenomenon. The true crisis is spreading within the cities."

Lin Xuan's brows locked tight: "What do you mean?"

"The Void Devourer has long since dispatched infiltrators to penetrate human society, especially in densely populated major cities. Yage's six-hour ultimatum was merely a smokescreen; their true goal is to utilize energy nodes in the metropolises to establish permanent Void portals."

Lin Xuan made a decision immediately: "Notify the other Guardians at once! We need to extend the front line to the major cities. Xu Hao, you are responsible for the defense here; Xiao Yuan and I are heading to Beijing immediately!"

Beijing, a mega-city that fuses ancient civilization with the modern metropolis, was usually brightly lit, but now it was shrouded under a strange haze. Purplish-black cloud clusters hovered in the sky, appearing and disappearing; streetlights flickered on and off, and pedestrians looked hurried, as if they all felt some kind of invisible pressure.

When Lin Xuan and Xiao Yuan arrived over Beijing in an energy aircraft, they could already clearly see the center of the city—the sky above the Forbidden City showed subtle distortions, as if the air were being stretched and deformed by some kind of force.

"Gugong is the energy core of Huaxia civilization, and also one of the city nodes where Five Elements Energy is most active," Lin Xuan explained. "If the Void Devourer controls this place, it will be able to use the historical energy accumulated within to open a lasting portal."

He and Xiao Yuan landed on the plaza outside Gugong and were immediately surrounded by a group of personnel wearing black suits and sunglasses.

"Guardian Lin, we are the National Special Action Group," the middle-aged man in the lead flashed his credentials, "we have received notification from the Five Elements Academy; leave the handling of this place to us."

Lin Xuan frowned: "You cannot fight the Void Creatures; ordinary weapons are ineffective against them."

The middle-aged man revealed a mysterious smile, took off his sunglasses, and exposed a pair of eyes flickering with golden light: "Who said we only have ordinary weapons?"

Lin Xuan was surprised to discover that this seemingly ordinary security team was actually entirely composed of Awakened; although their cultivation was not high, they had all mastered the basic application of elemental energy.

"Outside of the Five Elements Academy, the nation has also been cultivating its own team of Practitioners," the middle-aged man explained, "but now is not the time for explanations. Please follow me; our experts have already located five Void activity points within Gugong."

Inside Gugong, the tourists had all been evacuated, leaving only members of the Special Action Group patrolling between the various palaces. Lin Xuan and Xiao Yuan followed the middle-aged man—who introduced himself as Zhou Zhuo—to a secret room beneath the Taihe Hall.

"This is the Secret Star Observation Platform built during the Qing Dynasty," Zhou Zhuo explained, "and it is also the most active Void energy point we have monitored."

In the center of the basement was a massive stone disc, carved full of ancient star charts and characters, with various bronze implements hanging on the surrounding walls. However, right now, the entire basement was filled with a thin layer of purplish-black mist, and the patterns on the stone disc were being corroded and deformed bit by bit.

"It's starting," Xiao Yuan said suddenly, alert, "something is coming out!"

Lin Xuan immediately entered combat state, Wood Element energy forming a shield around his body. Zhou Zhuo and the other agents also quickly drew their special weapons—these weapons were entirely silver-white, with five-colored Runes flickering on the blades.

A crack suddenly split open in the center of the stone disc, and a humanoid creature crawled out slowly—it looked like an ordinary middle-aged man in a suit and leather shoes, but its eyes were completely pitch-black, its fingers unnaturally elongated, and its fingertips presented sharp black points.

"Welcome, Wood Element Guardian," the newcomer said in a strange tone, "I am the Xukong Shangren Feng Wei, here to seek... cooperation."

Lin Xuan asked vigilantly: "What kind of cooperation?"

Feng Wei elegantly straightened his tie: "You are too obsessed with fighting, but the Void Devourer does not only know how to destroy. We offer... trade. Cities are the crystallization of human civilization and also the concentration points of energy. If you allow us to establish small nodes in every major city, we can provide unprecedented power and technology."

"That sounds nice," Lin Xuan sneered, "but what is the price of your 'trade'?"

Feng Wei revealed an overly brilliant smile: "Just a small amount of Life Energy; for an Earth with a population of billions, this price is insignificant."

Xiao Yuan suddenly stepped forward: "What is your true form?"

Feng Wei's smile stiffened, and his facial muscles began to twitch unnaturally: "Clever girl... since you refuse to cooperate, then don't blame me for being impolite!"

His body suddenly expanded and deformed, his suit tearing to reveal a torso covered in black scales underneath. His limbs elongated and twisted, and his head deformed into a monster filled with sharp teeth.

"Mu Yuan Teng Man Chan Rao!" Lin Xuan gave a light shout, and dozens of thick vines broke through the ground, entangling toward the Void Creature.

"Metal Element: Sharp Metal Blade!" Zhou Zhuo also struck, the weapon in his hand extending into a golden, gleaming Black Long Blade, aiming straight for the monster's throat.

Xiao Yuan stood in the rear, guiding the energy of the surrounding Practitioners to form a Five Elements Resonance Array, restricting the Void Creature's movements.

This fierce battle in the basement was only the beginning. At the same time, similar Void invaders appeared at the other four nodes in Beijing. And major cities across the globe—Shanghai, New York, London, Tokyo, Moscow—were likewise facing the lurking invasion of Void Creatures.

Lin Xuan and Zhou Zhuo joined forces and finally subdued the Xukong Shangren Feng Wei. However, this Void Creature did not die, but instead transformed into a mass of black mist, burrowed into the cracks of the stone disc, and disappeared.

"This isn't right," Lin Xuan frowned, "it didn't seem to really want to fight; it was more like it was... testing our reaction."

Zhou Zhuo put away his weapon: "This kind of 'Xukong Shangren' has appeared in major cities all over the world; they appear in human form and offer trades to people with power and influence."

Xiao Yuan said softly: "They are the advance force of the Void Devourer, and their goal is to corrode the interior of human society."

Lin Xuan immediately contacted the other Guardians and learned that similar situations had already appeared in multiple cities across the globe. At the same time, the intelligence network of the Five Elements Academy also sent news—some high-ranking government officials and business magnates had already begun secret contact with these "Xukong Shangren."