Chapter 167: Military battle

In the middle of the battlefield, three Eighth-Grade Cultivators were fighting each other.

However, as they fought, the two Eighth-Grade Demon Heads didn't stop talking.

An eagle-headed, human-bodied Demon Head suppressed the Eighth-Grade Cultivator while saying, "Zhang Lan, Bailin Kingdom doesn't care about these people, so why are you bothering? If you retreat now, you can still keep your life."

The other Demon Head wasn't humanoid; it was a terrifying giant ape, wielding a stone club and roaring furiously: "What nonsense! This Orthodox Sword Palace's trash has already killed two of our brothers! Today, he will surely die here!"

"Shut up!" The eagle-headed Demon Head was secretly annoyed and whispered a message: "This person's cultivation is profound. Don't force him to fight us to the death. This time, snatching the population is—"

But before the eagle-headed Demon Head could finish speaking, the giant ape Demon Head didn't listen at all. He directly unleashed a Divine Ability, grabbed a small mountain next to the battlefield, and pulled it out!

That small mountain, over a hundred meters high, was surrounded by trees, and standing on its peak, one could see beautiful scenery.

However, this mountain suddenly began to move.

The wild beasts in the mountain howled incessantly! Their wails could be heard by Li Qi from such a distance, and then the ground trembled. A silver light several hundred meters long flashed through the mountain range, striking the giant ape, but it was directly caught by the giant ape's other hand and gently squeezed, silencing it.

"Haha, a Ninth-Grade Mountain God, if you don't run, you still dare to block your grandpa?" The giant ape laughed heartily, then threw the silver light lizard he had crushed to death.

The silver light dissipated, and in the mountain ravines, there was only the rumbling sound of rocks. The ferocious beasts that had been wailing earlier all lay dormant, not daring to make a sound.

Immediately after, the entire mountain peak was pulled up! The ground cracked, and the mountain range collapsed! Rolling Qi surged upward, and the Qi of the Earth Veins, suppressed in the soil, suddenly erupted, but it was all collected by that Divine Ability, transforming into a long snake coiling above the mountain peak.

Then, the giant ape swung the mountain peak and fiercely smashed it towards the Eighth-Grade Cultivator.

An entire mountain, carrying the Qi within it, crashed down in one fell swoop!

The Eighth-Grade Cultivator, while resisting the interference of the eagle-headed Demon Head, formed a hand seal with his other hand and softly said to the mountain, "Go!"

As he spoke, his lung Qi surged out.

The lungs belong to Jin, and the Geng Jin Qi converged in the lungs, transforming into Geng Jin Sword Qi, which was directly exhaled with his breath.

All the energy of the exhaled airflow converged. What had just emerged was only a small golden sword, but after flying only twenty zhang, it gradually expanded, and the majestic Sword Intent poured out like a river, gushing forth.

The sword light was unavoidable, and the Sword Qi shot straight into the sky. The small golden sword gradually expanded until it was level with the mountain peak, then two swords, one horizontal and one vertical, cut out a cross.

The two swords directly cut the mountain peak into four sections!

Even on the ground, a huge cross-shaped indentation appeared, as deep as a canyon! The Demonic Army below fled in panic, and those who were slow to escape were directly cut into four sections by the overflowing Sword Intent. Their wounds were identical to the cross-shaped canyon, only differing in size.

Even the giant ape had a cross-shaped wound on his body. The wound was extremely deep, and blood gushed out, staining the ground and even forming a small river that washed away some of the army's formations.

The giant ape sat on the ground for a moment, unable to catch his breath.

"I told you not to push him too hard!" The eagle-headed Demon Head was enraged, but his hands didn't stop, casting spells.

With a wave of his hand, he saw that the surging Demonic Army below seemed to have received some command. They all formed formations, no longer charging, but forming military Qi, condensing into a shape of accumulated earth and solid danger. Its color was black, its Qi was chaotic and round, and red Qi was within it, resembling a rainbow, floating without wind.

The military Qi gathered, but it wasn't used in the battle formation. Instead, it gathered in the eagle-headed Demon Head's hand, transforming into miscellaneous Qi, like a flock of birds flying chaotically, descending from the sky, obscuring the day and covering the Geng Jin Sword Qi.

The Sword Qi, originally bright and gleaming, immediately became dim when polluted by this miscellaneous Qi.

The sword blade wailed! It even cracked into several small chips, and the exploding energy swept out, directly creating a wide and clear sky in the center of the battlefield.

The diffused energy even surged downwards, but it was mostly blocked by the condensed Demonic Army's military Qi, causing only a small impact on the Demonic Army's formation.

Seeing this, the Human Race military officers immediately shouted hoarsely, "Assault Battalion, follow me! Let's fight for a way out for Senior Zhang!"

About a thousand soldier, no longer holding their ground, rushed out fearlessly and bravely, engaging the surging Demonic Army head-on.

Once engaged, the military Qi of both sides intertwined and could no longer be separated, and only then did the Geng Jin Sword Qi escape from the miscellaneous Qi.

The Human Race soldier rushed into the Demonic Army's positions, temporarily entangling the opponent's military Qi, preventing them from jointly suppressing the Orthodox Sword Palace Cultivator, whom the Demon Heads called Zhang Lan.

However, the consequence of the forced assault was a rapid loss of a large number of soldiers, with casualties increasing quickly and constant wails being heard.

About a dozen Ninth-Grade military officers struggled to hold on in the battlefield, but they were outnumbered. They almost all faced twice as many enemies, and one Ninth-Grade military officer had to face two or even three Ninth-Grade Demon Heads simultaneously.

It was difficult to sustain.

The battle losses were constantly expanding.

They couldn't hold on for much longer.

Although the military officers didn't give up, they had already begun to suffer losses, with military officers constantly dying, their bodies dismembered and devoured by the advancing Demon Heads.

The Physical Body of a Ninth-Grade Cultivator was a great tonic!

Although the Eighth-Grade Cultivator named Zhang Lan in the sky remained silent, he continued to urge his Sword Qi and even activated other Divine Abilities, trying his best to block his two opponents of the same grade.

The battle situation was already clear.

Defeat was certain, and the more than ten thousand civilians behind him would probably not be saved.

These common people trembled, unable to hide or conceal themselves. Some cried, some trembled, and some tried to escape, but how could they escape the overwhelming Demonic Army?

However, just at this moment—

In the middle of the battlefield, two golden lines, one bright and one dim, suddenly appeared!

The two golden lines instantly stretched for several miles, continuous and glowing, as if substantial.

The golden lines swiftly crossed a distance of three or four miles, and before any of the soldiers and Demon Heads below could react, they returned again.

This round trip took only two breaths of time.

The golden lines slowly disappeared.

Instead, a large number of Demon Heads, hundreds of them, found that two bloodlines had appeared on their bodies.

Then, as they moved, the bloodlines gradually burst, and their bodies, without any warning, directly broke into several pieces. Even the muscles of these Demon Heads were still twitching, and their eyeballs were still rolling.

"There's a Senior helping! I, Lin Ye, a Thousand-Man Commander of Bailin Kingdom, thank you! Brothers, charge with me!" The Demon Heads in front of a military officer were instantly cleared away. He immediately rejoiced and shouted towards where the golden lines had come from.

Then, he immediately raised his long spear and charged again without hesitation!

The Demon Heads were extremely panicked, and even some Ninth-Grade Demon Head leaders began to retreat.

However, the two golden lines struck again.

But, in the sky, the Eighth-Grade eagle-headed Demon Head narrowed his eyes slightly, then lightly pointed downwards.

The military Qi he had extracted returned, and even gained strength. The Demon Heads' power immediately surged, overwhelming the army.

The excess military Qi, like an umbrella or a cover, scattered like a rolling tumbleweed, its momentum gathering like a fortress, strong and unassailable.

The two golden lines crashed into it with a bang, their force greatly reduced, and they returned defeated, only then revealing their true forms.

If anyone with good eyesight were present, they would see that these two golden lines were two small knives, flying at an extremely fast speed in the air, leaving a solidified and unscattered trace.

And now, the military Qi of the Demonic Army's forces had forcibly stopped these two small knives, preventing them from attacking.

However, the price of the eagle-headed Demon Head doing this was that the Cultivator named Zhang Lan finally got a chance to breathe.

He seized the opportunity, flew back, took out a Medicinal Pill, consumed and refined it, and his injuries immediately improved significantly.

And the giant ape, who had been knocked down, had now stopped bleeding and climbed back up.

What had originally been a one-sided situation was now balanced again after the two golden lines pierced in, and the Demon Heads' siege also paused.

"Which Fellow Daoist wants to meddle in this matter? Why don't you come out and show yourself?" The eagle-headed Demon Head did not act again. Instead, he descended from the sky and stood on the giant ape's shoulder.

"Roar!" The giant ape, having just recovered, roared furiously and swung his stone club around wildly, about to charge at Zhang Lan. But after the eagle-headed Demon Head stood on his shoulder, he had to suppress his anger, baring his teeth and glaring around furiously.

Just then, in the sky, a Dragon Horse came treading on clouds, with a slightly dark-skinned young man sitting on it. His clothes were neat, and his demeanor was astute. He cupped his hands and greeted the three Eighth-Grade powerhouses: "Three Senior, it's a pleasure to meet you for the first time. This junior offers his greetings."

"Ninth-Grade? I saw that Spiritual Artifact was Eighth-Grade, and I thought you were also Eighth-Grade. A mere Ninth-Grade, yet you dare to come here and meddle? Aren't you afraid of death?" The eagle-headed Demon Head frowned, his expression displeased, but he still didn't make a move.

The giant ape Demon Head was even more direct. He just stared resentfully at Zhang Lan, as if he cared about nothing else but him.

Zhang Lan was initially delighted to see Li Qi appear, but after seeing Li Qi's cultivation, he sighed helplessly: "Little brother... you, alas, you should leave quickly. With me here, they won't be able to Breakthrough for a while. Take this opportunity, take as many people as you can."

But Li Qi was unhurried. He urged the old horse to fly on the clouds, took a few steps forward, and said to the eagle-headed Demon Head: "Senior, why are you so calm? Aren't you afraid I have backup behind me?"

"Haha, you junior are quite interesting. If we didn't have confidence, do you think we would dare to stand here?" The eagle-headed Demon Head laughed.

He was not in a hurry to make a move, because the giant ape's injuries were still healing. Since they had already waited, they might as well wait until the giant ape had fully recovered.

However, while the four were talking, the situation on the ground battlefield below became even worse. The battle, which Li Qi had just helped push back a little, was pushed back again by the Demon Heads.

"Oh, I understand." Li Qi clapped his hands, his expression suddenly enlightened: "Senior, you dare to make a move, surely there aren't just the two of you, right? There should be another stronger Eighth-Grade Demon Head nearby, providing support for you and monitoring whether any strong Cultivators are coming. If strong Cultivators come, or if other unexpected situations arise, you will immediately retreat, right?"

"You're quite perceptive, but it's useless. You, a mere Ninth-Grade, are not qualified to speak here. Get lost." The eagle-headed man seemed to feel that the giant ape's Qi had almost recovered, and he waved his hand at Li Qi.

Li Qi only felt a heavy pressure descend. He hurriedly urged his horse to dodge, but the Qi energy followed him like a shadow, chasing him all the way.

Forcing Li Qi to jump around, he had no choice but to use two Jin Qi (Metal Energy), enduring the injury to resist it. The Jin Qi (Metal Energy) dimmed slightly, somewhat damaged, and would need two or three days of nurturing to recover.

The gap was too big. A mere casual wave forced Li Qi to use all his strength to resist.

However, this surprised the other three greatly.

A mere Ninth-Grade, actually able to block an Eighth-Grade attack?

Even if it was just a casual strike.

With this ability, no wonder he could be considered by others to be another Eighth-Grade Cultivator participating in the battle.

"Oh, you have some skill. How about this then?" The eagle-headed Demon Head became interested and made a move to strike again.

Zhang Lan had already recovered his Qi and immediately moved to intercept, but as Zhang Lan made his move, he paused for a moment, a beat too slow, and almost failed to block that strike.

If he hadn't blocked it, Li Qi would most likely have been sent flying into the pile of Demon Heads underground, to be besieged by several Ninth-Grade Demon Heads.

But Li Qi was unhurried, showing no fear at all. He cupped his hands again and asked, "Senior, look behind you. Is that your reliance?"

The eagle-headed Demon Head was still secretly laughing at Zhang Lan's lapse, but when he heard Li Qi's question, he immediately frowned, and he and the giant ape almost simultaneously turned their heads and looked back.

Behind them, there was a clear, waning moon.

Within the clear light, a beautiful woman with a graceful demeanor stood, holding a silver-furred rat in her hand.

The eagle-headed Demon Head and the giant ape Demon Head's expressions changed, showing shock!

Without any hesitation, the two immediately formed hand seals. The eagle-headed Demon Head instantly transformed into a streak of light and disappeared in the blink of an eye.

The giant ape, who had been incredibly arrogant before, directly prostrated himself, burrowing into the earth. His massive body melted into a yellow Qi and rapidly fled along the Earth Veins.

Zhang Lan wanted to give chase, but Li Qi stopped him: "Senior, hold on. Don't pursue a cornered enemy. The civilians are more important."

Zhang Lan stopped, glanced at the battlefield below, nodded, and without saying anything more, directly swooped down, beginning to slaughter the Demon Heads.

Without the support of the Eighth-Grade Demon Heads, and with an equivalent army entangling their military Qi, the battlefield immediately turned into a slaughterhouse.

Li Qi also didn't think much. He descended and manipulated his Jin Qi (Metal Energy). Two golden lines soared and spun across the battlefield, forming circle after circle of loops.

And Zhang Lan was even faster. With a flick of his finger, countless Sword Qi crisscrossed, and in the blink of an eye, he had plowed the battlefield. These ordinary Demon Heads simply couldn't resist.

If it were simply Demon Heads who had condensed military Qi, it wouldn't be impossible to contend with them using military Qi. But at this moment, the Demon Heads' military Qi was entangled by the Human Race army's military Qi, which meant they had nothing to protect themselves, and facing an Eighth-Grade Cultivator, they were destined to be slaughtered.

Shen Shuibi, however, had barely moved since she appeared, looking dazed.

Within a few minutes, the battle was over. All that remained was to clean up the battlefield.