"Star had entered the Yellow Springs World before," Jian Li noted. "Since he says this place is the same as the Yellow Springs World, we can be certain it mirrors the Yellow Springs World from the Azure Moon Bone Demon Cave."

"Meaning, what we're about to face is an attack from the Skeleton Legion of the Yellow Springs World," Hong Tian quickly grasped.

"No doubt about it," Nalan Qiushui rejoiced. "Knowing our enemy makes things manageable."

"Tell us about your experience in the Yellow Springs World," Nalan Qiushui looked toward me. "After all, you are the only one present who has been there, and you even managed to slay the Lord of the Yellow Springs. Your experience will undoubtedly be crucial for this operation."

"That's right. With Star's experience to guide us, breaking through the fifth layer of the Illusion Realm shouldn't be difficult," Hong Tian was overjoyed.

The others instinctively turned their gazes toward me. The look in Luo Xiao and the others' eyes still held undisguised resentment, and Mo Ling was also scrutinizing me with a dark expression, which made me feel somewhat uneasy.

Regarding Luo Xiao, I certainly didn't expect to reconcile with them, but Mo Ling's somber stare unsettled me. Truthfully, I always felt an inexplicable closeness to Mo Yin, and her hostility always brought me a sense of loss and hurt.

After all, she looked so much like Qian Yue. Although there was no concrete evidence about any blood relation she might share with Qian Yue, being scrutinized by eyes filled with enmity from a face identical to Qian Yue's was never comfortable. My mind kept unconsciously superimposing this gloomy, ruthless woman with the lively, innocent, romantic Qian Yue from my memory.

I was certain that the Brotherhood present this time harbored ill intentions, and regarding me, their thorn in the side, they would surely spare no effort to eliminate me. When the time came, a life-or-death struggle would be inevitable.

But if that time came, could I truly bring myself to strike against her?

Thinking of this filled me with inner turmoil. However, facing the probing looks of the group, I quickly gathered my thoughts. "Senior overpraises me. That time, we were driven into the Yellow Springs World by Undead Illusions..." I recounted the sights and experiences I had in the Yellow Springs World in detail to Nalan Qiushui and the others, though I consciously glossed over the specifics of how we utilized the Thunder Array to finally kill the Lord of the Yellow Springs.

Although the details of slaying the Lord of the Yellow Springs had long been reported in depth by the accompanying Red Robes, hearing it directly from me, the one who was there, still left everyone utterly captivated.

Perhaps compared to this current journey through the Illusion Realm, where we had killed the Woma Patriarch and the Evil Centipede, the siege against the Lord of the Yellow Springs could be deemed a failure, even one that resulted in heavy casualties. All experts at the Elder level had fallen, and other members suffered massive losses.

But everyone couldn't ignore one point: in that final battle, only 180 of us directly confronted the Lord of the Yellow Springs. More significantly, every single one of those 180 individuals was a young master, without a single Elder-level expert among them. The strongest were only Feng Qingtian, Xia Ya, and Han Yunzhen.

It could be said that the lineup then couldn't compare to the present one. Yet, such a force managed to kill the Lord of the Yellow Springs, ranked fourth among the Ten Great Fiends, through sheer brute force, without any trickery.

Without this current experience in the Illusion Realm, those present might not have had a clear concept of how powerful the legendary Ten Great Fiends truly were. But after witnessing the Woma Patriarch, ranked ninth, and the Evil Centipede, ranked third, everyone now had a clear understanding of the Ten Great Fiends: they were impossibly strong.

For 180 people to challenge any one of the Ten Great Fiends was an insane pipe dream. Even the elite mages of the strongest Ranger Guild, the Brotherhood, wouldn't dare attempt such a reckless maneuver.

Everyone listened, enthralled, except Mo Yin and Mo Ling, who maintained expressions of disdain. However, their tightly clenched fists and slightly disturbed breathing betrayed their inner panic and unconcealed jealousy.

After I quickly summarized the process of killing the Lord of the Yellow Springs using the Thunder Array, a flicker of disappointment and gravity crossed the eyes of Nalan Qiushui, Luo Xiao, and Hong Tian.

"You have directly fought the Lord of the Yellow Springs before. How much chance do you think we have against him with our current strength?" Nalan Qiushui asked gravely. It was clear this question held deeper meaning.

"That depends on the application of tactics," I replied, recalling my past battle with the Lord of the Yellow Springs as I analyzed. "With the precise magical striking power of the Brotherhood's elite mages, we absolutely possess the capability to slay the Lord of the Yellow Springs." I paused before adding, "If we can ensure he is not allowed to close the distance, our current strength is entirely capable of defeating the Lord of the Yellow Springs."

"And if he manages to get close?" Hong Tian inquired.

"Then it's certain death," I said, still haunted by the memory of how the Lord of the Yellow Springs had crushed Feng Yuanxiao and other Elder-level experts, along with a host of young disciples, into dust with just two or three strikes.

"Certain death," Nalan Qiushui’s face changed dramatically, and he instinctively looked toward the group.

Everyone else looked solemn. No one believed I was exaggerating, as the Woma Patriarch already possessed that kind of destructive power. If Blood Tiger Luo Jiang and I hadn't risked our lives to stall it, the main force would have been scattered and slaughtered long ago.

And the Woma Patriarch was merely the ninth-ranked among the Ten Great Fiends.

"Do you think our previous defensive maneuvers—the Black Tortoise Wall, Azure Dragon Rising, and White Tiger's Roar—used to intercept the Woma Patriarch, possess the power to prevent the Lord of the Yellow Springs from engaging in close-quarters combat?" Hong Tian posed the most critical question.

"This..." I hesitated but decided to voice my thoughts. "Using the three ultimate skills—Azure Dragon Rising, Black Tortoise Wall, and White Tiger's Roar—to intercept the Lord of the Yellow Springs' close-range assault would be quite a stretch. While the Lord of the Yellow Springs’ speed isn't as extreme as the Woma Patriarch's, its impact force is several times greater. Furthermore, while its defense isn't as monstrous as the Evil Centipede’s, it is far superior to the Woma Patriarch’s. Unless we use concentrated high-intensity magic attacks like the Brotherhood favors, breaching its defense will be impossible." I sighed, feeling somewhat helpless. "It's not that I want to dampen spirits, but the Lord of the Yellow Springs’ speed, while less manic than the Woma Patriarch's, and its inability to fly notwithstanding, is still beyond your imagination. I highly doubt that, while it moves at high speed, the Brotherhood’s magical striking power can lock onto its form."

"..." Everyone looked aghast.

"Slower than the Woma Patriarch, less durable than the Evil Centipede," the Lei Family Elder murmured.

"Wrong," Hong Tian said gravely. "It should be said its defense is stronger than the Woma Patriarch’s, and its speed is greater than the Evil Centipede’s."

Undeniably, Hong Tian had voiced the anxiety shared by everyone. It was true that in terms of raw speed or defense, the Lord of the Yellow Springs didn't surpass the Woma Patriarch or the Evil Centipede individually. However, compared to the other two, the Lord of the Yellow Springs maintained a relatively balanced distribution of speed and defense—which was precisely what made it so terrifying.

"How to deal with the Lord of the Yellow Springs requires further careful planning," Jian Li stated. "The immediate priority is to figure out the map of the Yellow Springs World." With that, Jian Li instinctively looked towards me. "Star, do you still remember the map of the Yellow Springs World?"

"Roughly," I replied quickly. Truthfully, Jian Li was far more familiar with this place than I was; his asking was merely procedural. Back when we first entered the Yellow Springs World, Jian Li had shown me the map of this layer. Even without seeing it, I could discern the general layout, just not in such detail.

As I spoke, I reached into my spatial pouch for a magical parchment and a pen, beginning to recall the map I had seen during my previous venture into the Yellow Springs World and sketching a rough outline.

However, to avoid revealing too much, I kept the drawing crude, but I did manage to chart the critical routes and major locations.

"This is where the Lord of the Yellow Springs appears," I pointed to a spot on the map near the southeast. "Along the way, we might encounter attacks from high-level undead Illusions, Enhanced Skeleton Archers, and Enhanced Skeleton Swordsmen. Back then, we used a circular shield formation to surround the mages for defense against the Enhanced Skeleton Archers, while the Taoists used Mind Revelation to navigate through the Illusions."

"Order the troops to rest and wait here," Nalan Qiushui commanded.

"Yes," a Xuanwu Alliance disciple acknowledged and departed.

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

The group settled down near the exit to rest. Nalan Qiushui, Hong Tian, Luo Xiao, Jian Li, Mo Ling, and others gathered, studying the map I had drawn while strategizing how to handle the impending challenges. Among the younger generation attending this meeting, besides Mo Ling and myself, were Qing Long and the newly appointed leader of the White Tiger Alliance, Luo Zheng.

"Now that we know our opponents are the Skeleton Legion, high-level undead, and the Lord of the Yellow Springs, we can make thorough preparations in advance," Nalan Qiushui said.

"Indeed," Hong Tian added. "The most troublesome elements in the Yellow Springs World should be the high-level undead and the Enhanced Skeleton Archers. But with the strength of our large contingent and the Brotherhood's elite mages, proper coordination should prevent the high-level undead and the Enhanced Skeleton Legion from overwhelming us."

"The truly formidable one is the Lord of the Yellow Springs," Luo Xiao interjected.

"We'll stick to the old method: concentrate the mages’ power to blast it apart," Hong Tian suggested. "But how to achieve that blast needs careful planning."

"Mm," Elder Lei commented. "Based on Bing He's description, the Lord of the Yellow Springs excels in speed, defense, ranged attacks, and close combat. To kill it, besides preventing it from closing the distance, defending against its ranged attacks is also extremely important."

"I propose we use the Brotherhood's two thousand five hundred mages as the main force for ranged attacks," Nalan Qiushui said, then glanced instinctively at Mo Ling. "What do you think?"

"We couldn't ask for more," Mo Ling shot me a challenging look.

This girl, does fate really pit us against each other? I thought with a sense of helplessness. Even now, she hadn't forgotten to compete with me.

"That would be best," Nalan Qiushui replied with a strange smile. "If we can find a suitable location to set up an ambush and lure the Lord of the Yellow Springs into it, we might be able to kill it with comparative ease."

"Heh, setting up an ambush, concentrating forces, and killing it in one go?" Hong Tian sounded excited.

"Exactly. That's how we eliminated the Woma Patriarch and the Evil Centipede," Nalan Qiushui asserted.

"Let's do that," Luo Xiao confirmed sternly.

"The remaining task is to find a suitable location for the ambush," Jian Li concluded.

"Only once we find a suitable ambush site," Nalan Qiushui continued, "can we formulate a more detailed ambush strategy based on the terrain."

After a period of discussion, Nalan Qiushui, Luo Xiao, Hong Tian, and the others finally established the action plan for their venture into the Yellow Springs World.

For safety, the warriors of the War Hall raised their large shields, forming a circular shield wall to securely protect the mages and Taoists in the center. The Taoists concentrated their spiritual power, using Mind Revelation to monitor changes in their surroundings, while the mages accumulated their magical energy, ready to launch an assault at any moment.

In truth, with several Grandmaster-level experts overseeing them, the Taoists' Mind Revelation wasn't strictly necessary. However, both Nalan Qiushui and Hong Tian and Luo Xiao intended to use this operation to temper the disciples of the younger generation, as this was a very rare training opportunity.