All these juvenile devil soldiers are controlled by the worm devil. It can sense the condition of each devil soldier.
The worm devil is definitely aware that I’m killing its devil soldiers. I refuse to believe that it won’t send any Communion devil soldiers to obstruct me. Wu Yuan’s gaze turned icy
For each Communion devil soldier we kill now, we’ll face one less Communion enemy in the final battle. Wu Yuan’s killing intent soared. Perhaps, their deaths may even contribute to my cultivation. I hope the stronger devil soldiers will show up soon, the stronger the better!
The strength of these devil soldiers varied greatly. However, a devil soldier at the ninth-stage Communion phase only had the raw physical strength of a ninth-stage Communion expert with a ninth-degree immortal root. Devil soldiers lacked any artifacts or knowledge of ether arts, meaning their overall strength was significantly weaker compared to a ninth-stage Communion expert.
As for Wu Yuan, although he was at the third-stage Communion phase, his base physical strength surpassed that of a ninth-stage Communion devil soldier. And this was without factoring in artifacts and ether arts. While Wu Yuan’s strength might not have reached the level of the world’s top expert, he certainly ranked among the highest in the Middle Land.
Kill! Kill them all! Even if I encounter a Spiritual Body devil soldier, I mustn’t back down!
Wu Yuan brandished his saber, continuing to patrol in the darkness. He sprinted across the land, Soul Force sweeping through his surroundings, detecting one worm devil soldier after another. With swift precision, he slaughtered them all, leaving no survivors.
…
Four hours passed since the first Heavenly Ranker entered the devil zone, and night had descended.
On a desolate mountain.
“Kill!” As a blinding green light filled the sky, countless trees toppled, and dirt and rocks were sent flying. Three worm devil soldiers, each exceeding twenty meters in length, were pierced in the head by the green light, falling to the ground. The devil crystals within their heads flew into the air.
Onto the next one! A figure glowing with green light soared into the sky, heading to the next patrol area.
…
“The total count of juvenile devil soldiers slain has now surpassed 160.”
“Excellent!”
“Dong Guangbo is indeed a sixth-stage Qi Sea cultivator. His efficiency and ruthlessness in combat are truly remarkable!”
“This strategy of patrolling and hunting down devil soldiers is highly effective.” Within the Middle Land Immortal Hall, numerous Heavenly Rankers discussed quietly.
In the beginning, the Heavenly Rankers didn’t manage to find many devil soldiers. But as time passed, more than 40 of the 58 Heavenly Rankers participating in the first wave of counterattacks arrived at the devil zone. Naturally, this resulted in a tremendous increase in search efficiency.
“Nevertheless, the most Daoist with the highest killing efficiency is none other than Daoist Wu Yuan.”
“Out of the 160 juvenile devil soldiers, he slayed over 70 by himself.”
“He’s unstoppable.” All the Heavenly Rankers couldn’t help but direct their gazes toward the figure in white robes, sitting cross-legged with closed eyes.
At first glance, he seemed unremarkable, yet the projection above his head revealed intermittent scenes of blood splattering in the darkness.
One juvenile devil soldier after another met their demise at his hands, including two that were over 40 meters long and on the verge of transforming into true devil soldiers.
“After night fell, Heavenly Rankers found their vision limited, greatly hindering their search efficiency, but Daoist Wu Yuan appears to be unaffected by the darkness.”
“Could it be due to his powerful Soul Force?”
“No! It’s more likely the effect of a scouting treasure granted to him by Senior Wan Liu. After all, he is a direct disciple of Senior Wan Liu.”
“When it comes to killing efficiency, even Qiong Sea King cannot compare to him.” The numerous Heavenly Rankers were utterly awed and humbled by Wu Yuan’s frenzied slaughter.
Wu Yuan’s efficiency at patrolling and killing was equivalent to the combined efficiency of twenty Heavenly Rankers working as a team. It was nothing short of horrifying. Even though they suspected Wu Yuan of possessing an artifact, utilizing such artifacts required considerable strength to begin with.
By now, the fleeting scenes of Wu Yuan battling on the light screen shattered any notion of him being a weak, early-stage Communion cultivator. In their hearts, Wu Yuan’s power was undeniably on par with those at the seventh-stage Qi Sea phase. With his might, he could easily rank among the top twenty cultivators in all of the Middle Land.
…
In the southern region of the Huang Continent lay a deep abyss, within which was the cavernous devil’s lair. This vast, ominous underworld was shrouded in darkness, its surface slick with a viscous black substance that permeated every crevice. Countless creatures with black scales roamed through the darkness.
At the center of this dark lair was an immense, black sphere, spanning over 600 meters in diameter. Its surface was adorned with intricate, cryptic patterns.
Guarding the sphere on either side were two black-scaled creatures stretching over 300 meters in length. Their wings, once black, now took on a crimson hue. Meanwhile, the sphere was fed by a continuous stream of juvenile devil soldiers, each no more than ten meters in length, providing the sphere with a never-ending supply of flesh and blood.
Internally, the sphere housed a mass of semi-transparent eggs, suspended throughout the sphere or nestled within various crevices, resembling a beehive. Within these eggs were unhatched black-scaled creatures that measured roughly a meter in length. Through numerous strange channels, they absorbed the food and nutrients, undergoing rapid growth.
At the core of the large sphere was an orb, approximately ten meters in diameter and glowing with black light. Its surface emitted a hazy glow, and it was devoid of the repugnant stench of blood that permeated the space surrounding it. Instead, an aura of sanctity emanated from the orb. Who would have thought that the true form of the bloodthirsty worm devils was a crystalline orb of light?
A mere bunch of lowly insects! How dare you slay my soldiers? The audacity of this feeble wasteland of a world to antagonize the great Lord Xio repeatedly!
The orb flared as numerous cryptic patterns intertwined, a clear display of its wrath.
Over countless centuries, the relentless interference of the Huang Temple inflicted blow after blow to its growth, greatly affecting its rate of development. Just when it finally managed to obtain large quantities of flesh and blood recently, it was thwarted once more, and hundreds of juvenile devil soldiers were killed. The scale of this loss was truly staggering.
Through its soul connection with its soldiers, the glowing orb gave its commands. “Annihilate them all! First-stage Communion devil soldiers, encircle and eradicate these insects.”
From the immortal slips Wu Yuan had read, a worm devil’s soldiers lacked any form of autonomous consciousness. They were simply puppets, extensions of the worm devil’s will. But while it was true that the devil worm could take over the consciousness of any soldier, it was not to say that these devil soldiers had no mental faculties.
The devil worm had tens of thousands of soldiers. Controlling each one individually would be a nightmare. Though devil worms were considered creatures from a noble bloodline and had unique souls, this was still an impossible feat, especially so for a juvenile creature.
It would only possess the consciousness of its devil soldiers during crucial junctures, while issuing its commands from its lair most of the time.
…
Rumble!
Right at the center of the devil zone, tremors of earthquakes fractured the land, causing mountains to collapse. Beneath the surface of the land, slumbering winged devil soldiers awakened and emerged.
The cultivators of the Middle Land relied on the Immortal Hall to confirm their locations. Meanwhile, the devil soldiers possessed an innate ability to sense each other. From the locations of the fallen juvenile devil soldiers, they quickly ascertained the general direction of their adversaries.
Roar! Roar! Roar! The devil soldiers unfurled their wings and proceeded forth in pairs or trios, launching assaults on the periphery of the devil zone.
…
Within the Middle Land Immortal Hall,the avatars of twelve late-stage Qi Sea cultivators gathered as a group to familiarize themselves with the array controls. At the same time, they maintained a fraction of their attention to oversee the situation in the devil zone.
Each light screen displayed the various experiences of the Heavenly Ranker it tracked. The grand map projection at the center showed the patrolled areas and the whereabouts of each Heavenly Ranker.
“The Communion devil soldiers have appeared! They are not acting alone, but in pairs or trios.”
“Run! Escape quickly!” The participating Heavenly Rankers immediately raised their vigilance, preparing themselves to flee for their lives!
“Daoist Blood Snake King has escaped.”
“Daoist Dong Boguang has escaped.” As night deepened and over 300 devil soldiers were killed, the first wave of counterattacks from the worm devils arrived!
More than 40 Communion devil soldiers materialized from all corners of the region. Though they varied in strength, none of them feared death, and they worked in groups, sending the majority of high-tier Heavenly Rankers running for their lives.
It became evident that the initial count of around a dozen devil soldiers had multiplied exponentially in a matter of days.
“Not good!” Panic gripped the avatar of a purple-robed elderly man seated on a jade platform. “Fellow Daoists, please save me! I’ve encountered a group of six Communion devil soldiers.”
“Quick! Those near Gu Shan, go to his aid!” Emperor Dong Pan commanded.
All eyes were fixed on the light screen above the purple-robed elderly man’s head. The elderly man was desperately trying to escape from the monstrous black-scaled creatures that pursued him.
Numerous Heavenly Rankers, guided by their hall jades, hastened to his rescue.
But less than a breath later, Gu Shan’s agonized cry echoed through the air as his avatar in the immortal palace vanished, and the light screen vanished along with it. He had died, becoming the first Heavenly Ranker in the Middle Land to perish in the battle against the worm devil.
This tragic event sent shockwaves through the Heavenly Rankers. The battle had only just begun; they hadn’t even breached the worm devil’s lair. But before they could grieve his loss, another cry for assistance pierced the air fewer than ten breaths later.
“Help!” A figure clad in green robes grew pale. “I’ve encountered five Communion devil soldiers, two of which surpass 200 meters in length! Both are two-winged!”
These words caused the expressions of the Heavenly Rankers present to shift. All the battle data generated by the immortal cultivators of the Middle Land was gathered and analyzed. Those lacking wings with body length below 50 meters were classified as juvenile devil soldiers. The closer a juvenile devil soldier was to the threshold of 50 meters, the sooner their transformation into true devil soldiers.
Those with one pair of wings were Communion devil soldiers, and of the dozens that had appeared thus far, those reaching 180 meters in length could unleash strength equivalent to the eighth-stage Communion phase.
As for those longer than 200 meters with one pair of wings, they were most likely at the ninth-stage Communion phase. And there were two of them! Ordinary Heavenly Rankers could not hope to withstand such a group of devil soldiers.
“I am 8000 li from Daoist Meng Cai,” boomed Qiong Sea King. “It will take me more than a quarter of an hour to arrive.”
“I am 4000 li away!” bellowed Mountain Devil King.
“I am 5000 li away,” said Black Jiao King with a somber shake of his head.
Despair consumed Meng Cai. He knew that only a cultivator at the seventh-stage Qi Sea phase would stand a fighting chance against this group of five devil soldiers. Yet among the 57 Heavenly Rankers engaged in battle, only a scarce few possessed such strength. Only Qiong Sea King and Mountain Devil King, both in the eighth-stage Communion phase, had absolute confidence in their abilities.
“Meng Cai is done for.”
“Cursed devil soldiers.”
“My strength is insufficient. Even if I head over to help, I’ll just be throwing my life away for nothing.” The other Heavenly Rankers sighed, their hearts filled with bitterness.
This wave of devil soldiers was simply too strong, requiring a group of Heavenly Rankers to team up to conduct a successful rescue. Should someone with feeble strength venture into battle, such as those at the early stages of the Qi Sea phase, it would be nothing short of a death wish.
“Don’t give up, Daoist Meng Cai! Just hold on for one more breath!” An urgent voice echoed through the air.
In that instant, everyone’s attention turned towards a single figure. It was Wu Yuan!
“Just one more breath, and I will reach your location!” declared Wu Yuan.
On the light screen above his head, a vibrant earthy hue rapidly accelerated to an astonishing speed, streaking through the darkness.
“Wu Yuan’s speed is 80 li per breath!” Emperor Dong Pan blurted in disbelief.