The arrival of the [Tu Tribe] caused the cultivators from the Heavenly Dao Alliance and the Heavenly Seat Alliance to exchange anxious glances. They saw the worry in the eyes of the other cultivators and understood the gravity of the situation.

"We cannot let them complete the sorcery! Attack the city with full force immediately, kill the sorcerers, and break their spell! Otherwise, I fear we will all perish here!"

Yu Weifeng was enraged.

The most terrifying aspect of the Tu Tribe's sorcery was not its destructive power, but that anyone within the chanting range would be afflicted by the spell.

This was entirely different from a cultivator's spell. The effective range of a Golden Core cultivator's spell rarely exceeded a few hundred zhang; such a small radius was incomparable to the tens or even hundreds of li range of the sorcerers' arts.

All these Golden Core cultivators were currently within the range of the sorcery.

For such a massive-area spell, they had two choices: either immediately occupy this location and flee this mist-shrouded archipelago, or immediately assault the stone city and kill the sorcerers to shatter the spell. Delaying the decision would surely invite the inescapable onslaught of the sorcery. They could all be annihilated and buried on this island.

"It seems these Tu people intend to keep all of us here, doesn't it?" Yan Hao muttered grimly.

A frantic look appeared in the eyes of the assembled Golden Core cultivators, some even rushing forward in desperation.

"The highest peak has the weakest defense! We will dismantle the stone tower at the mountain pass and storm into the stone city! All cultivators, follow me!"

Yan Hao had clearly been pushed too far. With savage ferocity in his eyes, he transformed into a streak of light and charged toward the mountain pass at the peak. His earlier observation had revealed the greatest weakness in the stone fortress's defense.

A large contingent of Golden Core cultivators immediately followed, soaring on their artifacts toward the pass.

Yu Weifeng was displeased that Yan Hao was directing the Heavenly Dao Alliance cultivators without consultation but said nothing.

At this moment, they had no thought for the distribution of spoils after conquering the stone city; their focus was on uniting to defeat the Tu warriors defending this stronghold.

All Foundation Establishment cultivators from the Immortal Palaces, regardless of prior injury, were pressed into service, charging the mountain pass in the fiercest final assault against the Tu forces in the stone city.

As the sorcerers chanted, massive waves several zhang high began to churn the sea surface spanning tens of li around the island.

"Jingbo, how many stone towers have been erected at the mountain pass?"

The blue-robed elder watched the Golden Core cultivators make their move, yet instead of attacking the heavily fortified main walls of the stone city, they charged directly toward the mountain pass spewing dense mist at the peak. His face changed, and he urgently shouted his inquiry.

"Great Shaman, the blue mist at the pass is extremely dense. The low-level warriors cannot hold the line. We haven't had time to erect enough defensive stone towers—only about fifty, with a contingent of mid-rank Bone Bow warriors defending them."

Jingbo replied hastily.

"This is bad! This force cannot hold them off. We absolutely cannot let them approach the pass, or the Tu Tribe's crucial secret will be exposed! Decades of effort will be ruined! Stop them with everything you have!" He paused, then roared, "No, it's too late! Send all the high-rank warriors to the pass to resist them!"

The blue-robed elder became frantic. Carrying his black wooden staff, he leaped from the towering stone structure, transforming into a swift, powerful shadow, rushing toward the mountain peak.

The high-rank warriors from all tribes also had dramatic changes in expression, not daring to hesitate. They leaped out of the stone towers and sprinted toward the mountain at full speed to prevent the Golden Core cultivators from nearing the pass. The fate of all their tribes rested on this, and they could not afford failure.

Yan Hao and Yu Weifeng led the Golden Core cultivators to the mountain peak pass, unleashing a flurry of artifact light, slaughtering the mid-rank Bone Bow archers, and dismantling the dozens of stone towers at the pass.

Under the anxious leadership of the blue-robed elder, a group of over a hundred high-rank Tu warriors arrived at the pass. Even more Tu warriors were surging out of the stone city, their bone spears clashing with the cultivators' artifacts in mid-air, accompanied by countless explosions.

"Kill!"

The scene at the pass was utter chaos. The narrow terrain crammed thousands of Tu warriors and cultivators into a melee both on the ground and in the sky.

"Hah!"

Zhou Yao unleashed five streams of multicolored light from her artifacts, forming the Great Five Elements Sword Array with five top-tier artifacts, trapping a high-rank Sea Plunder Tribe warrior within it and swiftly executing him within the formation.

She had been too hasty; in her urgency, she couldn't focus on more than one target.

Whoosh!

On the chaotic battlefield, a chilling bone arrow shot toward her. Normally, she could block it easily, but now she was using her focus and profound energy to control the five flying swords trapping the high-rank warrior, leaving no energy to summon other artifacts.

Just as the bone arrow was about to strike her protective barrier, a colossal purple greatsword engulfed in raging flames suddenly erupted with a loud clank, shattering the bone arrow into dust.

Zhou Yao abruptly turned, surprised to see the man she both hated and yearned for making a move. This was completely unexpected. In her mind, Ye Qin should either ignore her or seize the opportunity to cause trouble; helping her was the last thing she anticipated.

Ye Qin, however, looked placid, unconcerned by his intervention.

He performed hand seals, recalled the Southern Bright Flame Sword, and held it before him. "The situation here is complex. Don't exert your full power; save some energy for escape. If I can't make it back, I won't be able to explain it to the Palace Master."

"Oh, is that so?"

Zhou Yao lightly pursed her red lips, her expression complicated. Her hands never stopped moving as she continued to fight the Tu warriors.

Ye Qin scanned his surroundings.

The battle at the pass had devolved into a massive brawl. Seventy to eighty Golden Core cultivators, several hundred Foundation Establishment cultivators, over a hundred high-rank Tu warriors, and thousands of mid-rank Tu warriors were engaged, divided into two factions occupying the ground and the air, attacking the opposing side.

However, Ye Qin was not overly worried about Zhou Yao's safety. The Golden Core cultivators needed to press the attack, which she could manage. As long as Zhou Yao returned alive, the casualties among the Purple Sword Palace's ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivators were not critical.

Ye Qin entangled a high-rank Tu warrior with the Southern Bright Flame Sword, appearing effortlessly composed, while scanning the battlefield.

He glanced toward the pass with some confusion.

This mountain pass was several li wide! Massive, thick plumes of turbulent blue mist erupted from within, almost enveloping the entire sky. The aura was overwhelming.

This blue mist was strange. While cultivators were protected by their barriers, the Tu warriors seemed quite wary of the surging blue mist.

Ye Qin withdrew his gaze.

Although the blue mist at the pass was peculiar, this was not the time to ponder it.

He then looked toward the stone city.

From this vantage point atop the mountain pass, he could easily look down upon the entire stone city nestled on the mountainside and investigate many details. He could see over ten Tu figures dressed as shamans on the tallest stone tower within the city, their chanting emanating from that structure.

Ye Qin's heart stirred. He hesitated, wondering whether to unleash his four Divine Fangs artifacts and risk charging into the stone city under a hail of bone arrows to eliminate those ten or so sorcerers. He estimated he had a three to four percent chance of killing them if he acted suddenly.

Once these sorcerers' spell was broken, their chances of taking the stone city would greatly increase.

He did not wish to see the expedition against the Tu Tribe fail. After all, only by conquering the stone city could he possibly find the Netherworld Lotus among the Sea Plunder Tribe's settlements. If the assault failed, the Netherworld Lotus would likely vanish without a trace.

However, doing so would expose half of his capabilities, alerting the other allied cultivators. After taking the city, if he was guarded against by the Golden Core cultivators, his chances of securing the Netherworld Lotus would diminish. If the lotus fell into the hands of another Golden Core cultivator, all his efforts would be in vain.

Ye Qin rapidly calculated in his mind, searching for a way to break the city while minimizing the exposure of his true strength.

"Chirp!"

A large swath of blue mist overhead suddenly parted, followed by a sharp, fierce cry.

Ye Qin was greatly alarmed and looked sharply toward the higher reaches of the sky.

A large flock of flying demonic beasts, numbering three to four hundred, pierced through the clouds from the blue mist above. Most were fourth to sixth-tier flying beasts, with a small contingent of over a dozen being seventh-tier or higher. Standing on their backs were Tu warriors clad in light armor and wielding iron spears several zhang long.

"Great Shaman, we arrive to join the fray!"

A middle-aged warrior in white armor, clutching a black iron halberd, stood coldly on the back of a golden-eyed vulture over twenty zhang long. He led the contingent of warriors, charging fiercely toward the cultivators suspended in mid-air.

At that moment, many Foundation Establishment cultivators on the field felt a sense of absurdity; they seemed to be fighting beast-riding cultivators, not the relatively weak Tu warriors.

The cultivators flying in the air had no time to evade before the Tu warriors riding demonic beasts crashed into their formation. The entire battlefield descended into even greater chaos.

Now, Tu warriors could be seen both on the ground and in the sky. The number of high-rank warriors had completely surpassed the Golden Core cultivators, and the number of mid-rank warriors now greatly outnumbered the Foundation Establishment cultivators.

"Heavenly Cavalry Tribe!"

Yan Hao, who was directing the cultivators against the Tu warriors, saw the large contingent of Tu warriors riding flying beasts descending from the sky, completely disrupting the cultivators' lines. He cried out in shock, feeling a surge of despair that victory was slipping away.

Among the ten great Tu Tribes, the only one specialized in large-scale aerial combat was the Heavenly Cavalry Tribe. This tribe excelled at taming demonic beasts and learned to ride them from childhood. While the ground-dwelling Tu people could not contend with cultivators who could fly on artifacts, this tribe was absolutely different.

This entire tribe had actually appeared in these small, mist-shrouded islands.

This small archipelago was only a few thousand li in circumference, not particularly significant in the East Sea. If not for its strategic location along the eastward expansion route of the cultivators, the Heavenly Dao Alliance and Heavenly Seat Alliance might not have been so eager to attack.

There were countless islands in the East Sea, and the cultivators' primary enemy was the Demon Race; they didn't necessarily need to pick a fight with the great Tu Tribes. If possible, they preferred to avoid war.

Yan Hao had accepted the mission to conquer this archipelago from the upper echelons of the Heavenly Demon Alliance, but he hadn't taken the Tu presence here seriously.

However, he never expected so many Tu Tribes to converge here, on this small archipelago spanning a few thousand li. The Sea Plunder Tribe, the Bone Bow Tribe, the Witch Tribe, and now the Heavenly Cavalry Tribe—four of the ten great East Sea Tu Tribes—had already sent their high-rank warriors, intent on completely annihilating this group of cultivators.

This was decidedly abnormal.

Unless a major event was unfolding, these great tribal Tu factions would never gather on such a small archipelago. (To be continued)

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