Chapter Seventy-Four: Strange Beasts of the Mortal World

Just a few feet below, within the Heaven-Earth Array, the cultivators, aware of the extreme danger, did not abandon their positions. Master Yu Ran’s reckless leap bought precious seconds for Sun Xiaoming, who was responsible for defense. In the split instant that followed, Sun Xiaoming had already led sixty-four team members within the Nine-Palace Eight-Trigram Formation, all raising their hands high.

“Hasten as the law commands! Power the array to its fullest!”

The light from the Defense Academy shone even brighter as the spirit serpent’s icy storm crashed heavily upon the outermost protective barrier, shattering it with a thunderous roar. The entire academy, suspended in mid-air, trembled violently.

Within the Nine-Palace Eight-Trigram Formation, the HOPE members were instantly pressed to their knees by the overwhelming force. As they struggled to hold on, a sharp crack like shattering porcelain echoed beneath their feet—a jagged, unsettling fissure appeared on the array diagram underfoot.

High above, the Master of Fire and Thunder, witnessing this dire scene, shouted to the Young Lord, “Danger! The spirit serpent’s power is too great—the Eight Trigrams won’t hold! Let’s rescue the array at once!”

The Young Lord, seeing Sun Xiaoming and her companions faltering, swiftly descended with the disciples from the array to ambush the spirit serpent from behind. Yet the serpent, already sensing their approach, lashed its tail, summoning fierce gales that scattered most of the Sky Lanterns and the Crane-Wing Formation in the air.

Amidst the winds, the Young Lord tried to approach using the art of shifting form and shadow, but the tempest was too fierce; even after several attempts, he was able to move only a few hundred meters.

At that moment, the spirit serpent, coiling and twisting in the air, roared again at the Academy, unleashing another deluge of icy rain. This time, the hail was clearly aimed at the Nine-Palace Eight-Trigram Formation on the right, hurtling straight towards Sun Xiaoming.

“You overgrown worm! Even if you come at me a hundred times, I, your goddess, will never lose!” Sun Xiaoming’s sharp cry pierced the heavens. Arms raised high, her back drenched in sweat, she fought desperately against the onslaught of massive ice shards.

Crack! Another unsettling sound.

Under the relentless assault, another fissure tore open in the Eight Trigrams Array. The spirit serpent was trying to rip apart the formation with brute force. Worse still, some of the icy spikes had already pierced the outer defenses, directly striking at the girls of the HOPE team!

Although disciples charged into the air to intercept and defend, several icy blades still struck members below. Agonized screams rose one after another as many girls were wounded in the arms and legs by the frozen shards. In no time, over a dozen lay bleeding on the ground, unmoving. The array beneath them was soon speckled and stained with dark red blood.

With HOPE members falling, the formation lost its alignment and instantly collapsed. The entire Defense Academy was left without protection, fully exposed to the spirit serpent.

Meanwhile, Jin Fan in the adjacent array, seeing HOPE suffer grievous losses and the Defense Academy in mortal peril, felt his heart twist in anguish. He raised his right hand, fingers extended, unleashing a storm of steel swords from the Six Ding Six Jia Array, aimed straight at the serpent’s vital point.

But the spirit serpent simply summoned countless beasts to shield itself, and not a single blow found its mark.

Sun Xiaoming, her limbs pierced by ice, staggered to her feet, teeth clenched against the pain, and roared, “You damned mud eel! Don’t underestimate me! Aaaah—!”

As her voice tore the sky, the dimmed Nine-Palace Eight-Trigram Formation beneath HOPE suddenly flickered like a phosphorescent lamp, as though the array itself would revive through her will alone.

Hearing her cry, the wounded members forced themselves to their feet. Yet, with so many badly injured and unconscious, the formation could not be restored at once.

At that moment, Sun Xiaoming shouted at the guardians outside the array, “What are you Good Fortune Boys staring at? Get those trainees up here to fill the gaps!”

Secretly grateful she’d insisted on bringing the trainees to Shengpingning, Sun Xiaoming now saw her foresight pay off. Without their training, there would have been no substitutes at this critical moment.

The guardians, finally roused, rushed in to carry away the unconscious members, while the trainees hurried to fill the vacant spots.

“Quick! Anyone who can move, wipe away the blood—they’ll interfere with the spell’s power!” Sun Xiaoming yelled as she scrubbed blood from the array with her own sleeve. The others followed suit, kneeling with tears streaming down their faces as they wiped away the stains with desperate urgency.

“Stop crying! Don’t let them look down on us—show them our strength!” Sun Xiaoming shouted, fists clenched. “Come on! Even if I die here, I’ll never back down!”

Wiping blood and tears from their faces, the others echoed her cry: “Let’s go! Never give up!”

“You damned mud eel, get out of my way! Hasten as the law commands! Restart the Eight Trigrams Defense!”

Under Sun Xiaoming’s lead, the HOPE members and trainees took their positions, raising sleeves soaked with blood and tears as they reformed the Nine-Palace Eight-Trigram Formation. In less than a minute, they had swapped out the wounded, and the defensive array of the Academy blazed anew.

“Impossible—how can these girls withstand it?” the Young Lord exclaimed as he watched the defense array reawaken.

By now, the Flaming Arrow Array led by the Master of Fire and Thunder and the Crane-Wing Formation led by the Young Lord had engaged the spirit serpent in fierce combat. The Fish-Scale Frost Formation, weakened by Master Yu Ran’s injuries, began to dissolve, its members caught in close battle with the surrounding beasts.

Amidst the thunder of battle in the stratosphere, the Xuanxiang Wind Roar Array in the troposphere struggled as well.

News from the front threatened even the composure of Tianjizi, usually so unflappable.

How could it be that the deputy registrar, Weiyu, who had been by his side for so long, was actually the Nether Shade?

They say one’s face mirrors one’s heart; how could such a villain, attacker of the Academy and scourge of the world, bear Weiyu’s flawless appearance?

To him, Weiyu was a secret cherished deep within. Even if her appearance could be disguised, her innocent, pure eyes—how could they ever conceal such boundless evil?

Why had it come to this? Having witnessed Weiyu’s celestial power in her duel with Daoling Xingjun, Tianjizi could not understand why she would suppress her strength and hide within the Academy for so long. If her goal was merely slaughter, why go to such lengths?

He was convinced Weiyu had a true purpose, one that no one could expect. Perhaps she simply could not reveal it, or even if she did, no one would believe her.

Tianjizi longed to fly to the stratosphere and ask her face to face. But with just five thousand under his command, his primary task was to guard the ascension of the Sky Lanterns. He soon realized that the sheer number of beasts meant many slipped past the upper battle lines, some even straying into the lower troposphere amid the chaos.

If he abandoned his post and disrupted the Xuanxiang Wind Roar Array, the Sky Lanterns could never reach the stratosphere safely. Worse, if the beasts broke through, the Seven Celestial Arrays could be lost entirely.

Troubled by these thoughts, Tianjizi rode the clouds through the troposphere, forced to rush from place to place as the final line of defense. Should even a few beasts reach the cities below, the casualties among ordinary people would be immense.

As his fears proved true, the vast numbers of beasts meant that, across this thousand-mile front, some inevitably slipped through. If they plunged into the deep sea, they posed little immediate threat to humanity. But if they fell into the cities—especially the crowded urban centers—the police, armed only with light weapons, could do little more than scratch the surface.

Tianjizi stationed his main force in the troposphere and led six disciples to a point about two kilometers below. Holding their position at just six kilometers above ground, they stood ready to exterminate any beasts that slipped through.

Just as he struck down a beast over the sea with a talisman, a hundred kilometers away, a hole suddenly tore open in the clouds. From it, a massive serpent tail emerged, and injured disciples tumbled from the rift.

Tianjizi cursed inwardly; clearly, the spirit serpent had punched a hole through the Flaming Arrow Array amidst the melee.

Sure enough, hundreds of beasts—qiongqi, gu diao, tiger jiao, and others—poured through the breach. Though the disciples quickly mended the gap, those already through plunged unimpeded to the earth below.

“There will be trouble in the city below—we have to go!”

With a flick of his whisk, Tianjizi called his disciples to plunge downward. He saw several others leap from the clouds, chasing the falling beasts.

“Return to the array at once! Don’t let more beasts slip through. Attacking the city is just a ploy to distract us! Don’t lose formation; leave the fallen ones to us!” Tianjizi called out urgently.

“Thank you, elder brother!” the disciples replied, wheeling around to rejoin the battle above.

Tianjizi dove earthward, gazing at the city lights below, careful to avoid the Sky Lanterns ascending through the air, eyes fixed on the falling beasts. As the beasts neared the ground, they scattered in all directions, descending upon various parts of the city.

Turning to his six disciples, Tianjizi said, “The city below must be the Guangzhou region of South Yue. We’ll split up—two to Baiyun Mountain, two to Panyu, two to Pazhou. I’ll cover the central district myself.”

The six disciples took their orders and split into three teams to pursue the beasts.

Reciting a celestial incantation, Tianjizi scattered talismans around him like snowflakes. The talismans seemed to sprout wings, circling him. Pointing at the nearest beasts, he launched the talismans like bullets, shattering the creatures in mid-air.

As he descended, he continued, destroying over a hundred more beasts before he even reached the ground.