Chapter 379
Chapter 380: Picked a Day Packed with Experts
As the eerie Desolate Meteor Crystal was smashed into flying shards by Immortal Yuan Hao’s hammer, a sharp howl burst from deep inside the crystal; the sound carried a frightening power that swept across the sea of clouds around the Cloud Viewing Terrace, even wiping out more than half of the nearest Space Rifts.
This unexpected surge of energy briefly pressed down the number of Demons and strange entities escaping from the Demon Suppression Tower, easing the battle pressure on the Mountain Guarding Disciples who were blocking waves of monsters along the mountain road near Parted Clouds Palace.
Near Parted Clouds Palace, Xuan Che led many Cultivators to form a defensive line, fighting fiercely against the enemies pouring out of the Rifts.
Over the past few hours, large numbers of Demonic Vicious Beasts, fallen Evil Cultivators, and Runaway Entities fled from the Demon Suppression Tower into the outside world. More than ninety percent of the Rifts opened above the sea of clouds near the main peak. The escapees charged straight down the mountain and nearly broke through the hastily organized defenses of Spirit Mountain at the start.
Luckily, the escapees were a scattered mob. Over half had almost no mind of their own, and the rest could not reach any kind of teamwork. Even the leak from the Demon Suppression Tower was a big surprise to them. In a panic, they just ran downhill in confusion with no tactics at all. Once the Mountain Guarding Disciples reacted and stabilized their lines according to the warning plans, the situation gradually came under control.
After the impact that just came from the Cloud Viewing Terrace, the pressure on the mountain road eased even more. Xuan Che finally lifted his gaze and looked across Thousand Peak Spirit Mountain.
The black Rifts spread through the sky were slowly decreasing, and the number of monsters escaping was sharply dropping. Part of this came from the energy release on the Cloud Viewing Terrace, and part of it should be because the master was closing the channels from the inside of the Demon Suppression Tower.
At the edges of the mountain range, a huge semi transparent barrier had risen between heaven and earth. A hazy light curtain stretched from the sea of clouds down to the foot of the mountain, covering all of Thousand Peak Spirit Mountain. It was the mountain-guarding formation in sealed-mountain mode. Senior Uncle Yuan He was controlling the formation core at the Mountain Guard Pass. As long as the barrier held, there was no need to fear that Demons and monsters might slip out through remote Rifts, bypass the lines, and reach ordinary cities.
Beyond the main peak, pillars of light flared among the forests. Under each pillar, faint shields rose. These were key facilities scattered across Thousand Peak Spirit Mountain. The juniors of Spirit Infusion, Divine Armaments, and Beast Taming Peaks had reacted quickly. While fighting began near Parted Clouds Palace, the protections at each site opened on time, so the damage would not spread further.
A roar exploded and shattered rock. Xuan Che instantly drew back his gaze and looked toward the mountain road outside the palace.
Although the leak at the Demon Suppression Tower was coming under control, small groups of Demons were still breaking out of the seals. Several Rifts opened in midair. From one Rift, a monstrous giant serpent crawled out. It had seven heads, each shaped differently: snake, jackal, tiger, leopard, and even one that looked like a beautiful woman.
Right then, the tiger head lifted and roared, forcing back the Mountain Guarding Disciples who were forming an array nearby. The snake head spat poisonous smoke so no one could get close. The leopard head’s eyes gathered lightning and drew bolts of thunder down all around. The human head raised up, glared coldly at Xuan Che, and stared at him with seething hate. One dog head stretched the farthest, trying to gnaw fruit from a nearby tree.
“Xuan Che, your great aunt just broke out of the Demon Suppression Tower! You and your master, and that Yuan He old rascal, all of you are going to… you useless glutton, can you stop eating for one second!”
The woman’s head glared at the dog head next to it, which was stretching its neck to bite the fruit. Her anger at the dog head was even greater than when she saw Xuan Che. The next second, the tiger head snapped wide open and bit the dog head off in one nasty chomp.
Almost at once, another dog head regenerated on the other side of the serpent’s body. This time it did not eat fruit. It picked up a rock and tried to play toss with the Spirit Mountain disciples who were re-forming up ahead.
“Xuan Che!” The giant serpent’s body whipped madly across the mountain road. All the heads roared in fury, except the dog head that was panting and looking for someone to play with: “Where is that mutt-haired old man Yuan He! I’m going to eat him today!”
The scene was eerie with a hint of comedy, but Xuan Che’s face stayed tight. Treating the Seven Headed Serpent as a deadly foe, he gathered his spiritual power in secret and said in a deep voice: “Serpent Princess, you brought disaster to this region back then. My senior uncle spared your life because you had received incense offerings for a few years as a proper Mountain God before you fell into evil. He also pitied how hard cultivation is. All these years we have tried to help you leave the demonic path. If you still have any reason left, you should see our goodwill.”
“Goodwill my foot!” The serpent roared. Six heads lifted high while the body crushed stone under it: “Even if I trade my life today, I’ll repay this ‘head’ grudge.”
Before she finished, the serpent lunged down. The leopard head called thunder and blasted it toward Xuan Che standing on the road.
Seeing this, Xuan Che had no choice but to strike with his palm. Thick spiritual force surged with the blow and turned into a wall like a sheet of bronze that smashed forward through the air to meet the thunder. At the same time, he tried to persuade her one more time: “Serpent Princess, stop. The situation is a mess, but you have no chance to escape. You know the strength of Thousand Peak Spirit Mountain, and there are experts guarding the mountain today.”
The serpent was furious: “Expert my butt. I want to see how you survive today’s…”
Before the words landed, heavy footsteps slammed across the stone outside Parted Clouds Palace. A streak of flame fell from the sky and exploded between several of the serpent’s heads. Shocked and hurt, the Serpent Princess turned in a panic to look. Before she could see who had come, a great force grabbed her tail, dragged her, and slammed her onto the mountain road.
She finally saw it: a Giant more than ten meters tall, covered head to toe in flaming armor.
“What the…”
The Serpent Princess got out just a few words while trying to figure out how to deal with this sudden and strange Giant. Then a peal of thunder boomed. Lightning, frost, and all kinds of weapons came crashing in from every direction. One Titan after another rushed in as if they had appeared from thin air across the mountain road. They pinned her down and gave her a brutal beating.
In the blink of an eye, seven Thunder Titans had pounded her until her thoughts blurred. She strained her neck and yelled at one of the Giants: “Seven against one, is this what you orthodox sects call honor?”
Before she finished, an excited young girl’s voice came from a Titan’s shoulder: “When you’re dealing with evil, you don’t need to talk about honor. Everybody pile on!”
The serpent almost fainted with rage. As the beating turned her vision fuzzy, the corner of her eye caught the dog head still trying hard to chew grass nearby. Blood spurted from the human head’s mouth as she swore: “Can you stop eating already!”
Then she passed out.
Snow White stood on a Thunder Titan’s shoulder, so excited her face seemed to glow. She turned to the other shoulder where King sat and shouted: “I’ve wanted to say that line for so long!”
Kitty said nothing. It just bent its head to lick its fur. When it was satisfied, it lazily looked at Snow White and flicked a paw: “Meow.”
Space Portals opened outside Parted Clouds Palace. Countless battle mages in starry robes flew out of the swirling vortexes. The Kingdom Mage Corps formed up across the mountain road and began chanting a strategic Resonance spell.
Engines roared from the clouds. Countless shadows formed out of nowhere. Heavy bombers blotted out the sky and dove to drop their payloads on the densest cluster of Rifts. The lumbering propeller planes looked old, but being summoned from thin air gave monsters and Vicious Beasts no time to react.
Across the far sea of clouds above Beast Taming Peak, a Red Dragon was slowly descending. As it fell, it spewed acid and fire, bombing the Demonic Creatures fleeing along the roads.
From the direction of the Spirit Herb Garden, a Giant Beanstalk grew and grew, piercing the mid-mountain mist and the cloud over the summit. Its curling branches were hung with many Demons it had skewered.
Stirring background music echoed between the mountains.
Xuan Che stood on the Plaza before Parted Clouds Palace, his spirit sword floating behind him. The juniors forming arrays around him stared at each other in shock.
Thousand Peak Spirit Mountain had never seen scenery like this.
After a long moment, Xuan Che let out a slow breath, turned to the Serpent Princess who had been tied into several dead knots by the Thunder Titans, and sighed: “I told you there were experts guarding the mountain today, but you wouldn’t believe me.”
A low hum spread through heaven and earth. It sounded like hundreds of people chanting a deep and mysterious spell all at once, and also like the mountains themselves were trembling. Echoes rolled among the peaks.
In the direction of the Demon Suppression Tower, the sea of clouds heaved and boiled.
Xuan Che raised his head toward the surging clouds and saw a towering figure slowly take shape within the rising mist, gathering bit by bit into the form of Immortal Yuan Ling.
Then another towering figure appeared opposite Immortal Yuan Ling and formed into Elder Qian Ji.
“I will help you,” Elder Qian Ji said with a booming laugh.
The two mountain-sized Illusion Arts opened their hands and slowly pressed down toward the Demon Suppression Tower.
All around their Illusion Arts, the figures of countless Mountain Guarding Disciples flickered in and out. Together they made Incantation Gestures, raised their hands, and pressed down toward the Demon Suppression Tower.
Countless voices joined as one, deep and solemn as they rolled across the world: “Seal!”