In less time than it took to blink, the three strongest figures in their contingent were grievously wounded by the opponent. A wave of sheer terror swept over the rest of them—was this the power of a Cosmic-level being?

Looking again, with Tan no longer tying him down, Dugu Bacheng had completely flipped from defense to offense. His stone blade even carved deep scores across the bodies of the other great demons. Everyone immediately understood Ye Jingyu’s intention.

Dugu Bacheng was the strongest fighting force currently in their camp, his power even far surpassing the Seven Great Generals. The only reason he had been suppressed was their coordinated encirclement; the fusion of seven distinct energies amplified their strength several times over, allowing them to firmly hold Dugu Bacheng in check.

As long as this balance was broken, it would be enough for Dugu Bacheng to turn the tide of defeat into victory. With Dugu Bacheng present, what did the sheer number of demons below matter?

The gap in cultivation level could never be bridged by mere numbers; everyone understood this principle. But without Ye Jingyu and Liang Xiaoke, how could they possibly pose a threat to the Seven Great Generals again?

At this moment, Hu Yanqi had ascended the city wall. His eyes were locked onto Tan, who had inflicted such severe injuries upon Ye Jingyu and the others. He watched as Tan rejoined the fray, and Dugu Bacheng's advantage instantly vanished, forcing him back under the pressure of the seven.

His heart tightened with agony.

Meanwhile, because Ye Jingyu’s Sea of Consciousness had been shattered and could not instantly mend, Hanba, Zhurong, Tianwu, and the others psychically linked to him felt a surge of weakness. Hanba, in particular, who was fully engaged in the Dance of the Celestial Demon, could barely withstand the attacks of the powerful demons. The flames formed by Zhurong and the storm conjured by Tianwu were significantly diminished compared to before. More and more demons were surging through the Twelve Celestial Witches' Annihilation Formation and reaching the base of the city wall.

Under Luo Ruofeng’s command, the warriors on the wall had charged down to engage these demons, but as time wore on, the demons were beginning to gain the upper hand.

At the very least, Hu Yanqi saw Chi Yixiu surrounded by seven Heaven-rank masters. Despite the immense strength of his physical body, he was already riddled with wounds, yet he persisted stubbornly.

Gazing at the still deeply unconscious Ye Jingyu, at Ni Bo fighting on despite crippling injuries, and at Liang Xiaoke desperately pushing out his power of Darkness, Hu Yanqi let out a heavy sigh.

With his current strength, severely wounding a Cosmic-level expert was not impossible; when he shot the Nine Arrows of the Setting Sun, he could even threaten Dugu Bacheng. But to kill a Cosmic-level expert—that was extraordinarily difficult, unless...

With this thought, a look of grim determination slowly dawned in Hu Yanqi’s eyes. He needed to hesitate no longer. He took a step forward, planting his foot on the parapet, bending slightly and drawing his body upward. His left hand held the bow, his right hand drew the string… Streams of surging power constantly coursed through Hu Yanqi’s body—a power that did not belong to him.

“Qi…” Sensing the profound change sweeping over Hu Yanqi, Hu Yanmeng cried out.

“Meng, take good care of the Master for me!” Hu Yanqi spoke calmly, his gaze already locked onto Tan, who was darting through the sky.

His archery was astonishing, and his sight was even more incredible; only he could pierce through the barrier of the great formation to see Tan with the naked eye.

Hearing Hu Yanqi’s words, Hu Yanmeng instantly knew what he intended to do. Her lips pressed tightly together, wanting to say something, but seeing the demons already swarming the base of the wall, she nodded heavily.

Two lines of tears slowly tracked down the corners of her eyes. The Moon Scar, a blade resembling a scimitar in her hand, continuously shot out silver beams of light, slaying every demon that attempted to approach Hu Yanqi.

All of Hu Yanqi’s focus was centered on the Sunset Bow in his hands. A black feathered arrow appeared, tightly gripped in his right hand. Holding the black arrow, his eyes shone with resolution.

Within the great formation, a colossal phantom stood silently, its gaze fixed upon Hu Yanqi atop the wall. It let out a soft sigh...

Tan, engaged in fierce combat with Dugu Bacheng, suddenly sensed an indescribable danger approaching him. A chilling sense swept through his core. What was happening? Could those humans below possibly pose a threat to him?

Before he could comprehend it, a black meteor shot toward him. Without a second thought, he instantly retracted the power he was using against Dugu Bacheng and erected a black light shield before himself.

With a deafening boom, the black meteor struck the shield, revealing itself to be a black feathered arrow. As the arrow shattered, the light shield before him dimmed visibly, and a massive recoil blast threw him backward. Immediately, a second black meteor streaked towards him. Sensing the arrow's immense power, Tan dared not be careless; he erupted with power from within his body, forming layer upon layer of formidable light shields.

In the blink of an eye, he had arrayed no less than ten thousand shields before himself...

Boom... Another deafening sound. This arrow’s power was at least ten times that of the previous one, instantly shattering the outermost few shields.

Then came the third arrow, ten times the power of the second, shattering dozens more shields...

Followed by the fourth, the fifth, the sixth…

When the seventh feathered arrow arrived, the shields before Tan were completely pulverized. Terror dawned on his face; he truly had not expected such devastating offensive capability from that human below.

As the eighth arrow shot forth, Tan could no longer conjure a shield; he could only use his bare arms to seize the incoming projectile.

With a sharp hiss, Tan managed to grasp the arrow, but the shaft exploded instantly. The resulting blast was so immense that Tan’s arm was blown completely apart, his previously injured limb annihilated once more.

A howl of agony tore from Tan's throat, but the ninth feathered arrow was already rushing towards him. Tan had no doubt that even a star would be destroyed by the power of this arrow. This shot was enough to gravely wound him. Without hesitation, his great saber materialized, held horizontally before his chest.

Shing... The arrow pierced the body of the saber without pause and slammed into his sternum. The wound inflicted by the Immortal Slaying Sword and the Slaying Immortal Sword had not fully healed, and now it was struck again by this arrow. Tan shrieked in agony.

A dignified Cosmic-level expert, a General of the demons, reduced to such a state—it was truly wretched.

However, it was only wretchedness; Tan was not yet dead. Even though the final shot had punched a football-sized hole through his chest, it was not enough to kill him.

He was a demon, a Cosmic-level demon. As long as his consciousness remained intact, he could slowly repair himself even if blasted into pieces.