Upon hearing Wang Ping’s command, a wry smile flashed across Zhong Tong’s face. He cupped his fist toward Wang Ping, slapped his storage bag, and ford a Spell with his hand. A golden stream of light flickered, and more than a dozen colorful tal cones materialized, circling around him.
The next mont, he shot forward like a sharp blade.
BANG!
With a dull thud, the palace in the Demon Race city below collapsed. Zhong Tong’s speed was so incredible that even the Nether Qi encircling the palace had no ti to react.
Having landed his blow, Zhong Tong transford into a streak of golden light, shot up from the still-collapsing ruins, and hovered above the city. Then, his dozen or so tal cones sliced through space. Amidst a screech of grinding tal, a swath of space, including the palace ruins, was severed by the Gold Spirit Qi. The tal cones then descended again, pulverizing the debris into fine powder.
This was the specialty of a Gold Spirit Cultivator: slicing and pulverizing physical objects.
A huge cloud of dust instantly billowed through the city. Just as it threatened to engulf everything, Water Spirit Qi materialized around Yu Lian, flowed up into the sky over the city, and settled the spreading dust.
In the rear, Yue Zong was well-versed in handling such situations. He personally went to the front of the Demon Race’s Military Array to stabilize morale, continuously issuing commands to his Order Officer. The chaotic formation was quickly brought under control as the soldiers used nearby buildings to form a formation suitable for both offense and defense.
anwhile, the Foundation Establishnt Cultivators and Qi Cultivators from Nanlin Road who had accompanied Wang Ping stood calmly on the city walls in groups of five, observing for an opportune mont to act.
At the site of the palace ruins, once the dust had been settled by the Water Spirit Qi, a pitch-black, artificially smoothed cave entrance was revealed.
It was utterly silent within, seemingly deserted.
After a few monts of silence, Zhong Tong frowned slightly. The Spell ford by his left hand shifted rapidly, and the dozen-plus cones orbiting him spun together, forming a spear over twenty feet long. By the looks of it, Zhong Tong intended to tear the very peak off Crescent Mountain.
BUZZ—
A resonant tallic hum rang out as the spear pierced through the main body of Crescent Mountain. The Gold Spirit Qi it carried split the peak in two. As the ground trembled, a powerful force pushed the severed halves apart. Then, with a great flash of golden light, the mountaintop disintegrated into countless pieces of rubble.
Once again, Yu Lian released her Water Spirit Qi to settle the rising dust.
As the rubble rained down, a perfectly clean-cut surface was revealed where the peak had been. Below this cut, the mountain’s interior was a honeycomb of tunnels, like the inside of a log that had been hollowed out by termites. Everywhere, there were signs of excavation.
Zhong Tong’s strike had been incredibly precise, showing that he knew the interior of Crescent Mountain like the back of his hand.
"After all that, Young Master Ming is still holding back? That’s not the usual style for an Evil Cultivator," Zuo Xuan said in confusion, staring into the still-silent interior of Crescent Mountain.
"It ans whatever they’re doing is at a critical juncture!" Hu Qianqian said, her expression grim.
Wang Ping’s gaze swept over the Qi Cultivators on the wall. ’They already made a fortune in yesterday’s battle. If I send them in to scout now, they’ll probably just go through the motions. That only leaves the Demon Race army as a viable option.’
He then turned to Hu Qianqian and said, "Go negotiate with the Demon Race’s Mountain Monarchs. Have them send people in to investigate. Whoever finds a trace of Young Master Ming can have Crescent Mountain!"
"Yes!"
Just then, Zhong Tong returned, a look of frustration on his face. He watched Hu Qianqian go to negotiate with the Demon Race and said, "If I keep destroying things, I’ll destroy the Corpse Soldiers inside, so..."
Wang Ping couldn’t be bothered to waste another word on him.
...
The five Demon Race Mountain Monarchs agreed readily. It wasn’t their lives on the line, after all, and the reward was more than generous.
No one knew what the five Mountain Monarchs told the Little Demons under them, but after Hu Qianqian returned, several thousand mbers of the Demon Race roared with excitent, raised their glittering weapons, and charged toward the cave behind the palace ruins.
Just as the army neared the cave, there was finally a reaction from within its pitch-black depths. Several Longswords shot out, cutting down the Demon Race mbers at the very front.
It was the Sword Control Technique.
The Qi Cultivators brought by Young Master Ming must have made their move.
The Qi Cultivators on the wall, who had just been watching the spectacle, instinctively looked to the sky, waiting to see if Wang Ping had new orders. None of them moved to provide support—after all, the damage an ordinary Qi Cultivator could inflict was negligible in a clash of this scale.
The ambushed Demon Race army reacted quickly. Imdiately, demons skilled in Magic began casting shields made of demonic qi to protect their comrades at the vanguard.
As the fierce battle raged at the cave entrance, hundreds of Evil Cultivator Qi Cultivators also erged from the severed mountaintop. This ti, the Qi Cultivators on the wall had no more reason to spectate. After a brief hesitation, they drew their weapons and charged.
"These people can’t possibly stop our montum. Young Master Ming is just stalling for ti."
"Fellow Daoist!" Zhong Tong cupped his fist toward Wang Ping, urging him to hurry and make a move.
An impulse flashed through Wang Ping’s mind, but he quashed it. This was no ti to be rash. He turned to glance at Yu Lian. Yu Lian did a cheerful little flip, then began to operate the Thunder Law Altar...
KRA-KOOM! Lightning split the sky. An Evil Cultivator Qi Cultivator who had just erged from a tunnel on the mountaintop was instantly blasted into a charred husk.
KRA-KOOM!
KRA-KOOM!
KRA-KOOM!
A continuous stream of lightning bolts followed, splitting the sky. One after another, the Evil Cultivators were zapped into cinders before they could even react. The Qi Cultivators from the Daoist Scripture Hall were scared out of their wits; many who had charged into the fray quickly fell back.
The Demon Race army, however, grew exceptionally excited. So of the most powerful among the Demon Race, those with Great Divine Powers who had condensed an Inner Core, were naturally able to wield Thunderbolt Power. Thus, they had no fear of the lightning, believing it to be a blessing from their ancestors.
"This Thunder Technique is certainly effective!" Zuo Xuan exclaid with genuine admiration.
"Are you interested? A full set only costs five hundred thousand taels of silver. Plus, it can be repaired if it breaks," Yu Lian said, pitching the casting altar to Zuo Xuan.
Zuo Xuan was taken aback. "It can be mass-produced?"
"Theoretically. If you need one, I have another set in my storage bag. I can give you a good price," Wang Ping said with a smile. He had, of course, fed Yu Lian those lines. His original intention was to sell a set to Zhong Tong, since the power of the Thunder Technique would be doubled when paired with a Gold Cultivator.
"I’ll need to consider it," Zuo Xuan said, clearly tempted.
KRA-KOOM!
KRA-KOOM!
Zhong Tong opened his mouth to say sothing, but was cut off by the deafening roar of thunder.
Down on the mountaintop, every Qi Cultivator that erged was instantly electrocuted. After a while, the Evil Cultivators opposite them no longer dared to try.
By this ti, the Demon Race army had already charged past the cave at the palace ruins, destroying the nearby Taiyin Array in the process. Wang Ping grabbed a handful of thorn vine seeds from his storage bag and cast them out. Guided by his Spiritual Qi, the seeds landed in various openings on the mountainside, then rapidly spread along the cave walls, following the Demon Race army into the depths.
Wang Ping, in turn, used the spreading Thorny Vines to investigate the situation inside the caves.
The caves were extrely humid, with a neutral aura and a noticeable miasma. Through the Thorny Vines, Wang Ping cast the Cyan Wood Technique on the Demon Race mbers in the vanguard, temporarily shielding them from the miasma.
The Evil Cultivators’ resistance had ceased. Now, all that remained was to find a trace of Young Master Ming.
So of the Demon Race mbers clearly knew the layout of the place. Under their guidance, the army advanced unimpeded, heading ever deeper underground...
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