The flash of the blade came precisely at the moment the spiritual network of the ten thousand Great Qin cavalry formation was momentarily obstructed by the freezing air, caught between connection and severance.

Like a streak of lightning, it plummeted directly toward one of the Corpse Generals standing amidst them.

The latter, wreathed in black flames, roared. The momentum of its slashing attack was forcibly halted and redirected, aiming to intercept this flying knife.

But the force of the blade unexpectedly dipped slightly, tracing an unbelievable arc. Then, it accelerated abruptly, piercing forcefully through the black flames, the protective aura, and the armor—

And then it pierced the general's very body. A large swath of flesh and crystalline fragments burst out from behind.

The trajectory of the blade was sharpened to the extreme; even after penetrating one figure, it did not halt.

It struck continuously, piercing straight through a thousand zhang. It slammed through the bodies of several hundred iron-armored cavalrymen before its force finally expended itself and ceased.

However, the sub-blade—the Droplet Leaf Blade that could infinitely retrieve itself via its Mother Blade—could not withstand the stress either. With a muffled peng, the blade shattered, disintegrating into countless particles of iron dust.

And before the cavalry formation, the Corpse General whose body had been pierced by the flying knife stared in disbelief at the center of its chest.

Then, within the black flames, its entire body, along with its mount beneath it, slowly dissolved into ash.

Zong Shou’s strike had directly pulverized its Corpse Core. Furthermore, the Immortal-Slaying Blade Patterns etched within the knife had immediately severed every reason for its continued existence in this world!

With the death of this fierce general, the momentum of the ten thousand black-armored cavalry array below faltered instantly.

Lin Xuanxuan reacted swiftly, tossing another blue spiritual flame toward the steps below.

Thus, another ring of frost expanded like an icy halo, once again freezing the several thousand cavalrymen within a sheath of ice.

This time, even the two Corpse Generals could not break free again, held suspended in the posture they were in just before the freezing began.

At this moment, Yuan Wushang on the platform watched Zong Shou with an expression of utter disbelief.

“I thought that your flying knife art would have very little effect once you reached the Immortal Realm. I thought you wouldn’t need to be so cautious, but I never expected your Six Gods Blade Control Art to become so monstrously potent. That was a Saint-tier existence!”

He subconsciously touched his own neck. Had that single strike been aimed at him,

he felt he would have had no option but to wait for death.

Zong Shou, however, shook his head. It was not Saint-tier; the Corpse General only possessed the strength of the peak Divine Realm, borrowing the power of the cavalry formation to approach the strength of a half-step Ultimate Realm.

And that precise moment was when it was weakest. Although the general’s strength had been reduced due to the breach in the cavalry formation, it was still far superior to an ordinary Divine Realm cultivator.

That Zong Shou could instantly kill it with one blade strike was something he himself found quite surprising.

This Six Gods Blade Control Art was simply too perfectly suited for the Immortal-Slaying Flying Dagger; they were practically one entity.

The protective aura and black flames of that Corpse General were pierced because he had channeled some of the Immortal-Slaying Array Patterns into the blade body.

And yet, even this imitation, less than one percent of the genuine article, had achieved such a feat.

Then what power would the true Immortal-Slaying Blade Qi possess in his hands?

He truly did not understand why Ming Rixuan had traded such a marvelous artifact to him. Was it genuine goodwill, or did he himself not grasp the profound mystery of that Supreme Immortal-Slaying Diagram?

“That blade technique is extraordinary! In that instant, I actually felt threatened.”

Having momentarily resolved the crisis below, Lin Xuanxuan also wore a strange expression.

This Zong Shou was truly someone to be both envied and hated. However, possessing such miraculous blade techniques meant Zong Shou’s combat strength was considerably higher than she had imagined.

“How many more flying knives like that can you launch today?”

Zong Shou estimated the remaining power and replied frankly, “As few as four, as many as nine. But after four strikes, I will need time to rest and recover my strength with elixirs.”

Within his sleeves, only these ten Droplet Leaf Blades were perfectly nurtured using the Six Gods method.

Having used one, only nine remained. Looking at the Jade Lamp, only five spiritual flames were left within it.

In other words, they, as a group, could only hold out for a little while longer.

Although this Altar was only the southern set of steps, forcibly destroying the entire stone altar from other directions would yield the same result. It was just that the spiritual restrictions were slightly more entangled with the stone structure. If this continued, they would not last until he could activate the Immeasurable Beginning and End Buddha Body.

Fortunately, the required day had passed, and the three strands of Immortal Power within his body had recovered, allowing him to use them again.

Lin Xuanxuan also frowned. She had never counted on the Buddhist Sect for aid. And for the second formation core here to mature would take at least two hours.

Did they really have to resort to using their final trump card?

The Qi Refiners hadn't even shown themselves; just these ten thousand Great Qin iron cavalry had forced them into such a predicament.

Lin Xuanxuan shook her head, then let out a cold laugh, her gaze sweeping leisurely toward the distance: “You lot just watch from the sidelines! If we can’t hold on, the few of us will leave. I doubt the Dragon Gathering Formation of the Two Poles and the Corpse Army here can stop us. If the Qin Emperor is resurrected, the Great Qian Dynasty can retreat beyond the domains, and the World of Living Beings Path can relocate to other worlds. We shall see where you all can flee!”

The twenty million corpse army emerging from this tomb would first and foremost target the aristocratic clans and the seven thousand sects of the Central Cloud Continent.

After a moment of silence, several light hums echoed successively from the distant directions.

In Zong Shou’s sight, the surging tide of the endless corpse army in the distance suddenly halted its advance.

Waves of majestic spiritual energy began to spread toward their location.

Zong Shou’s heart immediately eased. He knew that someone must have intervened to help them intercept and contain those corpse soldiers and generals.

If they only needed to deal with the million-strong corpse army below the steps, the few of them could still manage it with effort.

Beneath the Altar, the remaining ninety thousand-plus Great Qin cavalry acted decisively, like a gecko shedding its tail, abandoning the frozen riders.

They let the ice blocks be pulverized piece by piece under the combined assault of Yuan Wushang and Chuxue.

After reforming their formation, they continued to circle the perimeter, searching for an opportunity. Within the cavalry array, three more Corpse Generals emerged, breaking through the ranks to become the vanguard of the entire army. Their strength was in no way inferior to the three that had appeared earlier.

However, these ninety thousand iron cavalry were clearly somewhat wary of Lin Xuanxuan’s ice flames and Zong Shou’s flying blades, acting with greater caution. It seemed they were determined to wait until the Heavenly Gang Sword Soldiers cleared away all the surrounding obstacle restrictions before making a move.

This suited Zong Shou’s intentions perfectly; for him, every extra moment bought was precious.

The agreed-upon time was now two quarters past. Composing himself, Zong Shou drew various Sanskrit characters around himself.

These were incantations from the Buddhist Sect, recorded in his memory, capable of temporarily reinforcing the Dharma Body.

However, not having received true Buddhist lineage—having found the information in the ancient texts of the World of Living Beings Path—he was uncertain if they would be effective. But the situation was perilous, and he needed to be more serious and exert his full effort.

“Your Majesty, the formation device is complete!”

Shen Yuexuan’s voice suddenly arrived, startling Zong Shou and reminding him that Shen Yuexuan had volunteered earlier to forge a spiritual artifact set for his Sacred Fire Silver Ants that could replace the Dao Soldier formation.

Curious, Zong Shou stopped what he was doing and looked over.

As Shen Yuexuan opened the crucible, bursts of brilliance indeed surged out from the artifact furnace.

The spiritual artifacts were mindless and lacked the ability to fly. Lifted by Shen Yuexuan’s magical power, they descended before Zong Shou.

They were individual silver-white suits of armor, about three inches in size, each equipped with white wings at the back for the Sacred Fire Silver Ants to insert their own wings into.

Zong Shou picked one up and carefully examined it with his spiritual sense.

He immediately understood. These thick armors possessed spiritual patterns and energy channels akin to human meridians, and they could complete the full circulation of the Dao Soldier cultivation technique.

Once the Sacred Fire Silver Ants wore them, they could channel their power within.

In essence, they were no different from Dao Soldiers.

“Truly an ingenious idea—”

Zong Shou exclaimed in admiration. This was only possible because his seventy-two Sacred Fire Silver Ants shared the same fundamental nature.

It would be absolutely impossible for other monks or exotic beasts to achieve this—

Shen Yuexuan’s method was precisely tailored to his creatures.

First, he signaled Lin Xuanxuan to pay attention and take over the task of holding back the corpse army. Zong Shou then summoned all the Sacred Fire Silver Ants back.

These armors were not only simple to don but also extremely beautiful. Brilliant and magnificent, they complemented the pure white silver flames.

Already beautiful in form, upon donning the armor, these Sacred Fire Silver Ants appeared as the most beautiful and holiest creatures in this world—none other compared.

As their silver-white wings fluttered, countless silver specks of light rained down, dazzling and radiant.

Even Su Xiaoxiao and Chuxue couldn't help but look, their eyes showing a glimmer of affection, despite knowing these creatures were born from the world’s malevolent energy and were inherently ferocious and bloodthirsty.

Zong Shou curled his lip slightly, thinking to himself that in this world, outward appearance was still the most important factor. With a thought, he directed the Sacred Fire Silver Ants to spread out.

Without needing spiritual sense to observe, merely with his eyes, one could detect that the evasion speed of these Sacred Fire Ant Soldiers had increased by a full twofold!

A few silver ants, unable to adapt immediately to the increased speed, nearly rammed straight into the opposing corpse army formation.

—These armors could only be considered top-grade spiritual artifacts; they naturally could not account for this effect.

However, as long as these silver ants did not separate from each other by more than thirty li,

the spiritual energy network between the armors would maintain a connection, causing the seventy-two Sacred Fire Silver Ants to form a single entity, amplifying each other’s power.

Zong Shou’s eyes brightened. This capability was not far from what he had predicted.

Next, the killing power of these silver ants should also see an improvement—

As he watched the silver ants engage the surrounding corpse army again, Zong Shou watched with eager expectation.

Suddenly, Lin Xuanxuan’s expression changed drastically, and she shot into the air.

A tortoise shell inscribed with ancient characters was cast above her head.

Rings of light descended, protecting the Altar.

The whisk in Lin Xuanxuan’s hand then lashed out toward the empty air nearby. A large hand had abruptly reached out there.

The whisk shattered first, and then Lin Xuanxuan’s arm exploded!

“The Grand Technique of Profound Theft and Divine Seizure? Is that the Demon Lord of Profound Theft?”

Lin Xuanxuan’s beautiful face instantly contorted.