The third level of Woma Temple. Nalan Qiushui surveyed those present. "We have eliminated all the Woma Guards surrounding the Woma Hierarch one by one. What remains is the Hierarch itself—this is where the real hard fight begins! I hope everyone can truly set aside old grudges and fight together, otherwise, all of us risk dying in there."

"............." The crowd was stunned into silence. Luo Xiao, his expression shifting between dark and light, scrutinized Hong Tian and Xing Chen before stating heavily, "That is only natural. Whatever grievances exist, we can settle them another day."

"Hahaha." Hong Tian laughed. "Once dead, nothing can be gained. Since we decided to participate in this operation, we certainly aren't joking with our lives. Old Sect Master Nalan, rest assured."

"Dragon Shadow Villa has always acted honorably and openly." Jian Li's eyes pierced Luo Xiao like lightning. "We disdain petty tricks. If you have the guts, just come to our door to seek instruction another day."

"Hmph." Jian Li clearly despised the Luo family's character, yet he spoke without a shred of courtesy. However, Luo Xiao couldn't afford to fly into a rage, only gnashing his teeth internally with hatred.

Everyone present was seasoned and astute, understanding the stakes. The current situation was clear: everyone shared a common goal—reaching the tenth layer of the Illusion Realm. The only way to get there was through sincere cooperation. Anyone trying to play smart now might harm everyone, but they wouldn't gain any real benefit themselves.

No one undertakes a losing venture, and Nalan Qiushui had counted on this point when making her earlier declaration.

"You all understand how terrifying the Woma Hierarch is," Nalan Qiushui stated. "In short, do your best, and leave the rest to fate."

Everyone looked grave. Perhaps these individuals were sworn enemies in the past, but at this moment, for a shared objective, they were forced to temporarily set aside their feuds and unite to confront the legendary, terrifying demonic entity: the Woma Hierarch.

It had been determined that the altar where the Woma Hierarch resided was five hundred meters further in. Historically, there had been several large-scale operations to slay the Woma Hierarch, but none matched the scale of the present endeavor.

Although those attempts all ended in failure, the nature of the Woma Hierarch as a monster had been passed down.

Legend claimed the Woma Hierarch possessed wings, moved like the wind, could soar through the air, and was immensely powerful in terms of strength, speed, and magic. Confronting such a creature could not be won by sheer numbers alone.

To defeat the Woma Hierarch, the elders of the Black Tortoise Alliance, Azure Dragon Gang, White Tiger Alliance, and the Brotherhood had devised a strategy before setting out: utilizing the precise, massive magical strike capability of the Demon-Sealing Mages to utterly annihilate the opponent.

However, the path leading into the altar chamber was narrow, making large-scale mage combat unsuitable. The plan required luring the snake out of its hole: an elite squad would infiltrate the altar to draw the Woma Hierarch out, allowing the Demon-Sealing Brotherhood mages waiting outside to launch a fatal strike.

And how to lure the Hierarch out became the task of our Vanguard Hall.

The Vanguard Hall comprised all the elite forces gathered for this operation: six elders from the Azure Dragon Gang, six elders from the Black Tortoise Alliance, six elders from the White Tiger Alliance, Master Jian Li, Master Jian Qiu, and Master Jian Fei from Dragon Shadow Villa, three elders from Scarlet Moon Villa, three elders from Flowing Cloud Villa, three elders from Vermilion Bird Alliance, one top-tier elder from each of the six great families, three elders from the Demon-Sealing Brotherhood, and one hundred young elite mages from the Demon-Sealing Brotherhood. While these hundred mages hadn't reached Grandmaster status, they were all geniuses with astonishing magical talent, and they would be the absolute core of this operation. The entire Vanguard Hall totaled one hundred and forty people.

"The Woma Hierarch's speed, strength, and magic are all formidable," Nalan Qiushui said gravely. "But I believe that with the top experts gathered from the four continents, we can defeat it this time. Before we proceed, I will re-explain the battle plan for slaying the Woma Hierarch to everyone." In truth, these words were mainly directed at those of us who had arrived later, as we were unaware of the tactics they had previously arranged.

Saying this, Nalan Qiushui displayed the magical tactical drill blueprint. "The attack force will primarily consist of the Demon-Sealing Brotherhood elders and the hundred young mages, launching ranged magical assaults against the Woma Hierarch."

Originally, so many mages weren't needed, but the Woma Altar was encased in an incredibly powerful magic barrier. Without sufficiently potent offensive magic, it would be impossible to blast it open, and thus impossible to destroy the Woma Hierarch guarding the entrance.

Once the barrier was breached, the Woma Hierarch would inevitably attack us. At that point, all mages must immediately retreat.

However, the Woma Hierarch has wings and moves as fast as the wind; we could never shake it off in this five-hundred-meter passage. Therefore, distance control is the key to this operation.

Thus, for the retreat, we will employ the Wave-Linked Interception Formation! I trust that with everyone's ability and sincere cooperation, the Wave-Linked Interception Formation will guarantee an escape from this five-hundred-meter passage. By then, the Demon-Sealing Mages waiting in the main hall can launch a fatal blow at the Woma Hierarch before it manages to rush out of the passage.

"............." Everyone nodded subconsciously. In the past, others had indeed infiltrated the third level of the Illusion Realm, but when challenging the Woma Hierarch, almost all of them failed to escape that passage—only ten meters wide but five hundred meters long.

In that confined passage, a powerful legion of mages could not deploy effectively to leverage their numerical advantage, and warriors or Taoists, once approached by the Woma Hierarch, were instantly annihilated.

Therefore, how to preserve oneself while successfully luring the Woma Hierarch close to the outer hall was the crux of the entire operation.

Another critical factor was ensuring the Woma Hierarch never broke free from the passage. If it escaped the spatial constraint of the tunnel and gained the freedom of the open hall to exploit its speed advantage, the consequences would be unimaginable.

In previous attempts, some operations successfully lured the Woma Hierarch to the hall end of the passage, but the Hierarch breaking into the hall resulted in the failure of the entire mission.

This current tactic clearly borrowed lessons from past failures challenging the Woma Hierarch, but whether it would succeed was unpredictable.

Nalan Qiushui continued, "According to historical records, the instant the barrier is blasted open, the Woma Hierarch will use the force of the barrier's collapse and explosion to push its speed to the limit, launching a rapid assault. Under such conditions, the cultivation of the young mages of the Demon-Sealing Brotherhood will be insufficient to lock onto the Woma Hierarch. Therefore, immediately after the barrier is breached, the mages must retreat one hundred meters to reform their ranks. This process takes about fifteen seconds."

"Our task is to intercept the Woma Hierarch's attack and slow its speed within these fifteen seconds, allowing the mages, who have pulled distance, time to reestablish their formation and lock onto the Hierarch."

"Thus, the key to luring the Woma Hierarch this time is figuring out how to buy the mages those fifteen seconds of withdrawal time. You must remember, the Woma Hierarch's speed is utterly terrifying."

Saying this, Nalan Qiushui subconsciously glanced at Jian Li and me. "Therefore, to ensure we are not overwhelmed by the Woma Hierarch, the remaining forces will form the Wave-Linked Interception Formation, responsible for covering the mages' retreat."

"The instant the Woma Hierarch closes in, the Black Tortoise Alliance, using the Black Tortoise Great Formation, will defend and absorb the Hierarch's initial wave of attacks, preventing harm to the Demon-Sealing Brotherhood mages. Just long enough to withstand one moment, then the elders of the Azure Dragon Gang will launch the second wave of interception using the Azure Dragon Illusion Formation, followed by the elders of the White Tiger Alliance with the White Tiger Sky-Roaring Formation for the third wave. The Vermilion Bird Alliance, Dragon Shadow Villa, Scarlet Moon Villa, Flowing Cloud Villa, and the experts from the six great families will launch the fourth wave of interception. The Demon-Sealing mages must use this brief respite to pull distance. Once reformed, they must immediately launch their attack to cover our retreat."

Turning to the assembled elders, Nalan Qiushui asked, "Do you all have any thoughts on this strategy?"

The dozen or so elders from the Azure Dragon Gang and the White Tiger Alliance instinctively looked toward us.

"We will follow your lead," Jian Li stated.

"Then, let's proceed as planned," Nalan Qiushui said solemnly.

.......................................................

The one hundred and forty members of the Vanguard Hall formed a strange diamond formation.

At the very front, the six experts of the Black Tortoise Alliance formed an arcane six-pointed star formation. To the left stood the six elders of the Azure Dragon Gang, also arrayed in a peculiar formation which I couldn't decipher. To the right were the six elders of the White Tiger Alliance, similarly arrayed in a peculiar square.

The three elders of the Demon-Sealing Brotherhood and the one hundred elite mages were protected in the center. The other members—from the six great families, Vermilion Bird Alliance, Flowing Cloud Villa, Scarlet Moon Villa, and Dragon Shadow Villa—stood behind the main body without any specific formation.

While Nalan Qiushui's tactic sounded simple in description, I still felt a knot of anxiety in my gut. The terrifying attack of the Yellow Springs Hierarch still gave me lingering fear. I wondered if the Woma Hierarch would be just as monstrous.

One hundred meters behind us, in the main hall, five thousand Demon-Sealing Brotherhood mages stood ready to unleash the fatal blow. I was certain that if we managed to lure the Woma Hierarch within a hundred meters of the hall, this cohort of mages would shatter it, given the astonishing magical striking power they displayed in prior battles. We also didn't need to worry about friendly fire.

The entire passage, only ten meters wide and thirty meters high, was also a key factor in determining the success or failure of this operation. While the narrowness prevented the mages from forming a powerful square formation to maximize their numbers, it equally restricted the Woma Hierarch's ability to utilize its astounding speed—a favorable condition for us. This was the reason everyone felt so confident about the operation.

"Everyone be careful, let's move," Nalan Qiushui commanded. The Vanguard Hall swiftly entered the passage.

As we advanced, I immediately activated my Eye of Death Desire. The surrounding environment sprang clearly into my mind. It was a deep passage, sloping downward at a thirty-degree angle, penetrating deep into the earth—perfectly straight with no bends. The width between the walls was only about ten meters, but the height above the floor was over forty meters. I assumed this altitude was more than enough for the winged Woma Hierarch to utilize its aerial speed advantage. No wonder all those who tried to pass through ended up killed by the Hierarch in this corridor.

Not long into our advance!

Boom! Boom! Boom! Amidst a barrage of dense, dull roars, a large group of Woma Guards charged toward us. Due to the narrow passage, at most four could charge abreast, but their sheer numbers almost completely blocked the path ahead. Countless Woma Guards surged forward like a bursting torrent.

The sensation was like encountering an oncoming train in a tunnel—there was nowhere to dodge.

"Attack," the commanding mage was still Mo Ling. I had already developed deep respect for her during previous battles; she was undoubtedly a born commander—calm and decisive in the face of slaughter.

"Ice Roar." The hundred mages instantly unleashed Ice Roar. Countless Ice Roars converged, forming a silver-white, gigantic ice dragon that shot straight toward the mass of Woma Guards.

Roar! Pch-pch-pch!

The red and white torrents of iron finally collided in an unstoppable impact. The terrifying force and intense magical fluctuations caused the entire passage to shake violently.

My whole body was instantly enveloped by a coldness—the signature aura of the Ice Roar's ice dragon.

Thump-thump-thump!

The confined space seemed to make the impact of the Ice Roar even more focused. The ice dragon, composed of countless Ice Roars, twisted violently up and down. Even the solid walls were scarred, spitting sparks and debris.

Within the silver-white light, severed limbs and broken bodies flew everywhere. Although separated by a hundred meters, this distance was a death vacuum the Woma Guards could never cross. Every Woma Guardian rushing into the light curtain was mercilessly shredded into fragments.

Good heavens! Such a magical bombardment was simply too terrifying; there was no room to even hide.

Just as we thought we could breathe a sigh of relief!

Roar! Whoo! Suddenly, a series of high-pitched, clear cries echoed through the underground palace, followed by sharp sounds of air being torn apart. Looking up, countless crimson shapes flashed high in the sky, diving down.

"It's Fire Womas!" someone shouted.

"Intercept air targets!" Mo Ling's icy expression didn't change at all.

"Yes!"

"Great Fireball." Countless Great Fireballs rained down like bullets from a machine gun, wildly engulfing the narrow sky.

Boom! Boom! Boom! The sky was instantly filled with densely packed flares of fiery red light, resembling magical fireworks during a festival, yet accompanying these blossoming fireworks were falling, living Woma creatures.

Amidst countless mournful cries and screams, the Fire Womas in the sky were struck down one after another, equally unable to advance a single step.

What dense aerial magical bombardment! No wonder the mage legions of the Demon-Sealing Continent have always been the most formidable force, whether on battlefields between nations or in guild wars in the Ranger World. Such methods of attack far surpassed those of mages from other continents.

It took a full half an hour before the narrow passage quieted down.

However, the sheer number of Woma Guards and Fire Womas was so immense that the entire passage was choked with their corpses. The countless bodies had filled the passage into a meat wall five meters high, stretching as far as the eye could see.

Bright red flesh, accompanied by a thick scent of blood, slowly pooled and flowed toward the other end of the passage like lava—an indescribably sinister and bloody sight. This sight made even my own nerves, which I considered as tough as steel bars, prickle with unease.

"Fire Wall spell, incinerate the bodies," Mo Ling ordered curtly.

"Fire Wall attack!" The hundred mages of the Demon-Sealing Brotherhood simultaneously cast the Fire Wall spell, and fierce flames instantly enveloped the hundred meters ahead of the passage.

Mo Ling's method, though gruesome, was simple.

The entire passage was lit crimson by the roaring flames, and the air became scorching hot, making it feel as if we were inside a giant furnace.

Half an hour later, only a layer of grayish-white powder remained in the passage. The corpses left by the Woma legions had long been cremated by fire.

Thanks to the mages' magical bombardment, we encountered no significant resistance on our way here.

.....................................................................

One hundred meters ahead was a vast hall, etched with strange reliefs around its perimeter, though I couldn't see them clearly due to the distance. In the exact center of the hall was a blue screen of light, covering about ten square meters, shaped like a giant, inverted hemisphere.

Faintly visible around it were countless minute light waves flowing, as if the entire space was shrouded in a mysterious mist, displaying strange, dreamlike ripples.

"What potent magical fluctuations!" Gao Jing's expression turned solemn.

"That is the barrier to the Woma Altar," Jian Li whispered. "Inside the barrier is the Woma Hierarch. The center of the altar is the only entrance to the next level. In my father's generation, to break through this level, they forcefully smashed the barrier, angering the Woma Hierarch inside. They then entered while the Hierarch was lured away."

"It's just that the disciples assigned to lure the Woma Hierarch away all perished under its hands," Jian Qiu sighed. "A full two hundred elite disciples never returned."

"............." I was somewhat taken aback; I hadn't realized Dragon Shadow Villa had paid such a terrible price in their quest to uncover the secrets of the Illusion Realm.

"The entrance guarded by the Woma Hierarch is just ahead," Nalan Qiushui stated gravely. "Are you ready?"

"We can start anytime," Mo Ling confirmed.

What followed was the real battle. What kind of entity the Woma Hierarch was, we would soon find out.

Everyone subconsciously tensed up, staring at Nalan Qiushui!

The decisive battle was about to commence!