"Manchester." Mo Luo Aotian's expression shifted slightly: "That city is guarded by two more Heavenly Demon Warriors and two Celestial Venerable Daoists of the Tengshe Legion. Could the Nine Luminaries God truly intend to strike them?"
"Two Heavenly Demon Warriors, plus two Celestial Venerable Daoists, even with the strength of the Nine Luminaries God True, he might not necessarily defeat them," Mo Luo Zhan Long remarked.
"Don't forget they possess two sets of the God of Magic Cloaks," Mo Luo Aotian countered. "And with the capabilities of the Blood Wolf Legion, donning the God of Magic Cloaks shouldn't pose much of a challenge."
"Is he actually planning to ambush Manchester?" Xuan Zhi exclaimed, astonished.
"No mistake. If I haven't guessed wrong, the Blood Wolf Legion should already have two Sky Rainbow God Mages, and they will certainly rendezvous with the Nine Luminaries God True near Manchester. Then, they'll jointly capture the city, and the Blood Wolf Legion will make their decisive move amidst the chaos," Mo Luo Aotian speculated. "Luckily, we detected his movements with the Detection Necklace; otherwise, the consequences would have been truly unimaginable."
"This is destiny," Mo Luo Zhan Xiong declared, greatly excited. "This time, we'll ensure he has no escape, even with wings."
"Indeed," Mo Luo Zhan Long said seriously. "Since we know his destination, we can plan properly. With the strength of the six of us, we can absolutely kill him this time."
"Killing the Nine Luminaries God True is certainly good," Xuan Yi continued, "but if we can seize the opportunity to wipe out the other two Sky Rainbow God Mages in one go, that would be even better."
"The other two Sky Rainbow God Mages must certainly be dealt with," Mo Luo Aotian affirmed. "However, we'll proceed in two stages. First, the six of us will combine our strength to kill the Nine Luminaries God True. Defeating them one by one is the best approach; otherwise, facing all three simultaneously, we might not be able to keep the Nine Luminaries God True contained." Mo Luo Aotian continued, "But we can notify Manchester and have them prepare. If they dare to make any rash moves, we'll ensure none of them return."
"Good idea," Mo Luo Zhan Kong agreed. "The two Sky Rainbow God Mages of the Blood Wolf Legion are always a menace."
"Once the Nine Luminaries God True is dead, the Blood Wolf Legion won't be able to stir up much trouble," Mo Luo Zhan Long stated.
"Then our Aotian Legion can finally hold its head high," Xuan Zhi was equally thrilled. Everyone even began to visualize the scene after their victory.
"Hahaha," Mo Luo Aotian laughed heartily. "As long as the Nine Luminaries God True is dead, past losses mean nothing. But it's too early to celebrate now; that kid, the Nine Luminaries God True, is not so easily dealt with. Anyone who underestimates him will suffer greatly."
"That's why we must plan carefully," Xuan Yi said soberly. "The Wanluo Mountain Range, leading to Manchester, requires passing through Lingfeng Bridge and Kuangfeng Valley—these are unavoidable paths. We can get there ahead of time and set up an ambush. Relying on the inherent danger of Lingfeng Bridge, we can absolutely ensure he has no way to fly away."
"That's settled," Mo Luo Aotian agreed.
"Let's return to Luancheng first and borrow a few Mammoth War Beasts from the Tengshe Legion," Mo Luo Zhan Long proposed. "Then, no matter how fast the Nine Luminaries God True is, he won't be able to escape our pursuit."
"Mm." Mo Luo Aotian nodded slightly. Although the Fengmo Continent did not produce Mammoth War Beasts, they had captured quite a few during past skirmishes with the Cangyue Empire, and the nearest Luancheng happened to have several.
Undoubtedly, Mammoth War Beasts were the best mounts for jungle pursuit. Even if the Nine Luminaries God True was incredibly fast then, he wouldn't escape their hunt. Of course, it remained uncertain whether the Nine Luminaries God True could even break through the encirclement beforehand.
The Wanluo Mountain Range, ancient trees towering to obscure the sky and sun! At this moment, I was darting through the dense forest at full speed. The Heavenly Demon Wings, the Wind Ring, the Wind Necklace, combined with Dragon Shadow Flying Passage, allowed me to glide from one tree to another with ease, barely needing to touch the ground. The sensation was indescribably exhilarating. Although I still couldn't soar freely in the sky like a bird, the lightness and swiftness of flashing a hundred meters in an instant, aided by Dragon Shadow and the Heavenly Demon Wings, exceeded my wildest imagination.
However, Manchester was ten thousand miles away. Even at my top speed, it wouldn't be a short journey.
Five days passed, and I reached Lingfeng Bridge!
The Jinshui River was the largest river on the Fengmo Continent, over a thousand meters wide; from afar, one couldn't even see the opposite bank.
Lingfeng Bridge was recognized as one of the Ten Greatest Hazards of the Fengmo Continent, located at the southern end of the Wanluo Mountain Range. The bridge was 1,200 meters long, spanning between the two absolute peaks of Lingxiao Peak and Fengchi Summit. Below plunged the roaring torrent of the ten-thousand-mile Jin River rapids. The terrain was treacherous. Crossing this bridge, one could travel five hundred li further south along the Wanluo Mountain Range to reach another formidable hazard, Kuangfeng Valley. That was also a mandatory crossing point for the raging Jin River. Five hundred li south of Kuangfeng Valley lay the southernmost tip of the Wanluo Mountain Range. Exiting the mountains, one could see Manchester—this was marked on the map as the shortest route.
Of course, the so-called route was relative to me, a Heavenly Demon Warrior. With my exceptional skills, I didn't need to follow the winding mountain paths at all. Instead, I fixed my bearing and advanced in a straight line, like a large bird.
This made my speed even more swift; it took less than five days to arrive at Lingfeng Bridge!
But upon seeing Lingfeng Bridge, I was still stunned by the magnificent spectacle!
Ten thousand streams surged, a thousand peaks stood tall! Rushing between Lingxiao Peak and Fengchi Summit, the ten-thousand-mile Jin River cascaded down like the distant Silver River from the Ninth Heaven. As it flowed between the two peaks, it suddenly made a sharp turn. Unable to hold its course, the surging water madly smashed against the massive stones between the peaks.
Splashes of dazzling water erupted intermittently.
Mists rose all around, and under the sunlight, brilliant, vibrant rainbows appeared!
This scene involuntarily brought to mind the eternal lines from the ancient poem contemplating the past at Red Cliff: Jagged rocks pierce the sky, surging waves beat the shore, rolling up a thousand piles of snow.
But what shocked me even more was the perilous nature of this iron-chained flying bridge!
Lingfeng Bridge was the only bridge spanning the great river on the banks of the Jinshui River. The two mountain peaks were incredibly steep and high, and the iron chains were an astonishing hundred meters above the river surface! Yet, even so, the tumultuous waves beneath the bridge sent a tremor of fear through one's heart.
The chain bridge itself was constructed from several massive iron links, secured to the highest peaks on either bank, Lingxiao Peak and Fengchi Summit, causing the kilometer-long chain bridge to form a huge 'U' shape spanning the great river.
The top was covered with planks about two meters wide. Under the whipping winds of the great river, the entire bridge swayed up and down incessantly, making me feel dizzy just looking at it.
This bridge reminded me of the Luding Bridge over the Dadu River! And thinking of Luding Bridge inevitably brought to mind ambushes and sniping.
If someone were to set an ambush here, I couldn't imagine what the outcome would be.
Instinctively, I unfurled my spiritual sense, cautiously probing the surrounding conditions.
Nothing seemed amiss, yet a persistent, unsettling feeling lingered in my heart.
Was I overthinking things? I shook my head slightly. The Wanluo Mountain Range stretched for ten thousand li. To find me amidst this vast expanse of jungle-covered mountains would be as difficult as finding a needle in the ocean.
Although the Aotian Legion was formidable, I didn't believe they possessed a function for tracking and locking onto targets across ten thousand li—unless they had a satellite positioning system.
It seemed I had been overly frightened by the sheer danger of the location!
With that thought, I hesitated no longer. Time was short; I couldn't dawdle. Calming my spirit slightly, I carefully walked along the iron chains toward the center of the river!
However, at that very moment, dense waves of killing intent surged from all directions!
Ah! An ambush! And the ambushers were absolutely masters among masters! With such intense auras, I couldn't imagine anyone other than Heavenly Demon Warriors possessing them. Even worse, these auras simultaneously locked onto my vital points, indicating the large number of opponents.
"Nine Luminaries God True, we meet again." Three figures flashed onto the iron chains, accompanied by a massive white shadow. They were Mo Luo Zhan Xiong, Mo Luo Zhan Long, and the Celestial Venerable Daoist Xuan Zhi. Standing beside Xuan Zhi was that majestic Sacred Beast, the White Tiger. And behind me, three figures and one beast materialized as well.
Mo Luo Aotian, Mo Luo Zhan Kong, and the Celestial Venerable Daoist Xuan Yi, along with Xuan Yi's Sacred Beast, the White Tiger!
"Mo Luo Aotian." I was greatly shocked. How was this possible? They appeared here simultaneously, as if they had already anticipated my passage.
For a moment, an icy shiver ran straight down my spine!
"Hahaha, didn't expect this, did you?" Mo Luo Aotian roared with maniacal laughter.
"........." I didn't know how they had uncovered my movements, but dwelling on it now was too late.
"In this inescapable death trap, let's see how you escape alive," Mo Luo Zhan Long sneered wickedly.
Indeed, I was trapped in a dead spot! Nowhere to ascend, no space to maneuver left or right, and below, the surging, turbulent Jin River.
Even with my ultimate skill, Dragon Shadow Flying Passage, combined with the Heavenly Demon Wings, it was impossible to fly to the riverbanks. And falling into the river meant certain death.
Although Heavenly Demon Warriors were powerful, the forces of nature were not something human effort could contend with. The churning rapids and reefs alone could shatter me into pieces.
A dead spot! Truly a place of certain death!
"Worthy of the Aotian Legion," I managed to steady my rapidly beating heart. "I just don't understand how you found me."
"Hahaha, you can ponder that question slowly in hell," Xuan Zhi grinned menacingly, clearly unwilling to reveal how they had tracked me.
The air seemed to freeze in that instant; the wind ceased to flow. All that existed was a suffocating killing intent. Mo Luo Aotian was shocked to observe that the Nine Luminaries God True before him no longer wore an expression of panic and unease. Instead, there was a profound calmness, like a still ancient well, a cold, deep pool—an ultimate serenity and peace!
Emanating from the slender Dragon Shadow Sword were waves of bizarre nine-colored flowing light. Everyone felt as if the killing intent of the entire world at this moment had been condensed and absorbed by this strange longsword, forming a fatal oppression and majesty! Infinite murderous intent instantly saturated the entire space.
"One person going to hell is too lonely," the Nine Luminaries God True's voice was chillingly devoid of any human emotion, as if life in his eyes were merely meaningless dead things. "Let's all go to hell together." With that, the Dragon Shadow Sword flashed a dazzling arc of light, but it didn't strike any of them; instead, it slashed toward the iron chains as thick as a leg!
Clang! The thick iron chain snapped instantly!
"Ah! Not good!" Mo Luo Zhan Kong cried out in alarm! It was obvious they realized the Nine Luminaries God True intended to sever the chains and take them all down with him!
Whoosh! The Dragon Shadow Sword whipped out a second strike like lightning. This iron chain bridge was connected by more than twenty massive links; severing just one would have little effect.
Clang! The second iron chain snapped!
Everything happened in the blink of an eye!
"How dare you!" Mo Luo Aotian was furious. He sprang up violently, rushing forward like a flying bolt, his Condensing Frost Greatsword summoning a torrent of fiery sword energy, cleaving down from the air. This strike carried immense momentum and forceful power. On the narrow two-meter width of the bridge chains, the Nine Luminaries God True had no space to jump or shift, and meeting it head-on was absolutely beyond the power he possessed.
Yes, the Aotian Legion had conducted the most meticulous research and investigation into the Nine Luminaries God True. It could be said that no other individual caused the entire Aotian Legion such apprehension.
Their understanding of the Nine Luminaries God True even surpassed what he knew about himself. Every deed he had done since his rise, every martial technique he had displayed, even his height, weight, dietary preferences, and personality, had all been cataloged by the Pigeon Group of the Aotian Legion, analyzed piece by piece. This was an integration of intelligence work beyond common comprehension, yet to deal with this man, Mo Luo Aotian spent over a month absorbing, understanding, and internalizing every scrap of information about him, simultaneously analyzing his psychological drives and every potential reaction.
In fact, Mo Luo Yinfeng had underestimated Mo Luo Aotian. Mo Luo Aotian never dared to take the Nine Luminaries God True lightly. It could be said that Mo Luo Aotian’s assessment of the Nine Luminaries God True's strength had reached heights incomprehensible to ordinary people.
After all, Mo Luo Aotian had clashed directly with the Nine Luminaries God True before, giving him a more intuitive and profound understanding!
And now, the Nine Luminaries God True's reaction was precisely what Mo Luo Aotian feared most—a life-or-death struggle! A frenzy!
Analyzing the Nine Luminaries God True's personality, Mo Luo Aotian always felt he was a deeply contradictory person. Mo Luo Aotian categorized him as having a dual personality, or dual states!
Under normal circumstances, the Nine Luminaries God True could only be considered an average Heavenly Demon Warrior. However, when facing absolute desperation, the combat power he unleashed was definitely beyond what ordinary people could imagine.
This terrifying transformation bore a striking resemblance to Yin Mo Jidu. This made Mo Luo Aotian continuously struggle to accurately assess the Nine Luminaries God True's combat limits, especially after Mo Luo Zhan Long and Mo Luo Zhan Xiong were so easily defeated by the Nine Luminaries God True's mutated Dragon Shadow. No one knew where the Nine Luminaries God True's limit truly lay. Profound and unfathomable—this was Mo Luo Aotian's evaluation of him.
And the familiar aura and sense of pressure before him were startlingly similar to the scene during the great battle at Yuncheng. Even with six experts on their side, they might not be able to defeat him—this was intuition, and Mo Luo Aotian dared not be careless in the slightest.
Therefore, Mo Luo Aotian struck with his full power from the outset! No reservations!
Roar!
At almost the same instant, on the other side, Mo Luo Zhan Xiong's ferocious and unparalleled blade energy swept toward the back of the Nine Luminaries God True!
He absolutely could not be given enough time to sever the chains and achieve mutual destruction!
Hah! The Nine Luminaries God True violently spun his Dragon Shadow Sword. With a casual reverse sweep, six bizarre beams of light shot out like electricity toward the fiery sword energy unleashed by Mo Luo Aotian. As the Dragon Shadow Sword ejected its shadows, it did not pause in the slightest, continuing its sweep behind him. A massive crescent shape simultaneously met the half-moon strike unleashed by Mo Luo Zhan Xiong.
Clash! Boom! Two dazzling explosions erupted simultaneously!
The six Dragon Shadows struck Mo Luo Aotian's longsword precisely. The terrifying force nearly numbed Mo Luo Aotian’s sword-wielding right hand, and the imposing, fiery sword energy was knocked slightly askew, though it shattered more than a dozen planks laid across the iron chains.
And Mo Luo Zhan Xiong's crescent blade energy was met squarely by the Nine Luminaries God True's counter-crescent!
All this happened in the span of a few short moments.
The powerful impact of the fighting energy explosion clearly cost the Nine Luminaries God True as well; he was forced back several steps involuntarily.
Strength had always been his weakness—this was clear to every member of the Aotian Legion. That was why Mo Luo Zhan Xiong exerted his full power immediately, launching a wide-range crescent sweep attack.
However, even as he was forced back, the Dragon Shadow Sword of the Nine Luminaries God True flashed out another dazzling rainbow!
Clang!
The third iron chain snapped! It was evident the Nine Luminaries God True was still committed to mutual destruction!
"Roar! You court death!" Mo Luo Zhan Xiong was clearly both shocked and enraged. Without any pause, his long saber spun, unleashing another fiercely powerful crescent sweep!
And from behind, Mo Luo Zhan Kong had already replaced the repelled Mo Luo Aotian, charging forward. The Condensing Frost Greatsword lunged out like lightning!
This strike was astonishingly fast, and the angle was tricky and sharp, aiming for the lower back of the Nine Luminaries God True.
With the crescent sweep coming from the front and the Greatsword from behind closing in simultaneously, in this confined two-meter space on the chains, even with heaven-defying skills, the Nine Luminaries God True could not evade their attacks! Facing them head-on was even more impossible. The six Dragon Shadows hadn't been recalled, and after barely blocking Mo Luo Zhan Xiong's crescent strike, his breath likely hadn't recovered yet. This was the Aotian Legion's strategy: attrition warfare.
After Mo Luo Aotian’s attack forced out the Nine Luminaries God True’s elusive six Dragon Shadows, everything became simpler: close-quarters combat. In such a situation, the Nine Luminaries God True’s agile movement and footwork had no room to be utilized.
This tactic was undoubtedly designed specifically against the Nine Luminaries God True. Only on this iron chain bridge could this strategy be effective. Now, it had finally worked!
Mo Luo Aotian was certain the Nine Luminaries God True could not break through such a killing move!
But contrary to their expectations! Without hesitation, the Nine Luminaries God True violently sprang up and dashed toward the left side of the iron chain bridge!
Whoosh! The crescent and the Condensing Frost Greatsword struck nothing but residual phantoms where he had stood! Simultaneously, more than a dozen wooden planks covering the chains shattered!
And before that, the Nine Luminaries God True had already launched himself off the chains, falling toward the surging great river like a meteor.
Ah! Seemingly unprepared for the Nine Luminaries God True to actually jump off the chains, Mo Luo Zhan Xiong and Mo Luo Zhan Kong were momentarily stunned!
"Be careful of his Dragon Shadow Flying Passage," Mo Luo Ao—quickly realizing his error—roared wildly. Mo Luo Aotian would absolutely not forget the Dragon Shadow Flying Passage. After all, it was by using Dragon Shadow Flying Passage that the Nine Luminaries God True had evaded his aerial interception maneuver, Fire Phoenix Soaring the Heavens.
As if to confirm Mo Luo Aotian's warning! The rapidly falling figure suddenly burst forth with dazzling light. The massive Heavenly Demon Wings instantly unfurled, and the six Dragon Shadows, which had been repelled by Mo Luo Aotian, shot out like six lightning bolts, bypassing the iron chains and chasing after the Nine Luminaries God True at high speed.
Whoosh! The six Dragon Shadows instantly overtook the Nine Luminaries God True's falling trajectory, then suddenly veered, drawing six bizarre arcs of light in the air. In the blink of an eye, they formed an ascending ladder, reaching diagonally up toward the iron chain bridge—a Ladder to Heaven!
Everything happened in the briefest instant.
Whoosh, whoosh! Almost as the Dragon Shadows formed the celestial ladder, the Nine Luminaries God True stepped onto the first Dragon Shadow with his foot, shooting upward like lightning, then stepped onto the second!
The third!
The fourth!
The fifth!
Whoosh! The golden figure, originally plummeting toward the river surface, shot upward like a soaring white crane, instantly ascending back onto the iron chain bridge! Moreover, he bypassed the positions of Xuan Zhi and Mo Luo Zhan Long, landing on the other end of the bridge chains.
If one hadn't witnessed it firsthand, no one could imagine a person in this world capable of leaping over twenty meters out of thin air! Returning onto the bridge chains!
This was simply earth-shattering!