The roar of the phantom general made everyone's eardrums ache. As the huge vortex of mist spun, newly emerged phantom soldiers rushed towards the group with overwhelming force. These phantom soldiers were surrounded by a dense black aura, even more ferocious than the previous ones. With each step they took, they left black marks on the ground, as if the ground was being corroded.

Lin Feng knew he couldn't panic at this moment, so he quickly devised a plan. Observing that although the phantom soldiers moved quickly, they seemed to be constrained by the command rhythm of the general phantom, he turned to Xuan Feng and shouted, "Xuan Feng, you are skilled in wind magic, try to disrupt the command of that general phantom. I'll lead the attack, the rest of you continue to defend!" Xuan Feng nodded to indicate that he understood, and then cast the "Wind Chaos and Bewilderment" spell, sending invisible wind blades towards the head of the general phantom, attempting to interfere with its perception.

Lin Feng gripped his ice halberd tightly, channeling his ice-elemental spiritual power to its peak, the halberd tip radiating a dazzling blue light. He unleashed "Ice Dragon's Wrathful Flame Strike," a technique fused with his own creation. This ice dragon was different from previous ones; its body was enveloped in a layer of pale blue flames. These flames were created by Lin Feng, combining his understanding of both ice and fire spiritual powers, possessing the freezing power of ice and the burning power of fire. The ice dragon roared as it charged towards the phantom soldiers. Wherever it passed, the phantom soldiers' bodies were first frozen by the ice dragon's chill, then instantly incinerated by the flames.

Su Ran was not to be outdone. Standing on an ice lotus, she wielded her ice sword, conjuring countless ice swords in front of her using the "Ice Condensation of Ten Thousand Swords" technique. Then, she pushed forward with both hands, unleashing a barrage of ice swords towards the phantom soldiers. Wherever the ice swords passed, much of the black yin energy was dispelled. However, some of the stronger phantom soldiers were able to withstand the impact of the ice swords, though their movements became sluggish.

The woman in white focused all her energy on unleashing "Infernal Fire Sea." Her hands moved swiftly, forming hand seals, and the ground instantly burst into flames, creating a sea of ​​fire that engulfed the approaching phantom soldiers. The flames crackled and popped, accompanied by the phantom soldiers' screams of agony. But these phantom soldiers seemed oblivious to the pain, relentlessly charging through the inferno towards the group.

Seeing her soldiers, though fearful in the face of such a strange and powerful enemy, still holding their ground, the female general felt both gratified and anxious. She raised her arm and shouted, "Soldiers of the Zhengyang Army, behind us are our country and its people! We must not retreat! Kill!" Inspired by her words, the soldiers roared in unison, their morale soaring. They channeled their spiritual energy into their spears, forming a forest of spears, using their unwavering formation to withstand the onslaught of the phantom soldiers.

The Blood Shadow Sect woman observed the battle from the sidelines, noticing that although the phantom soldiers were numerous and powerful, they paused briefly after each attack. Seizing the opportunity, she moved like lightning among the phantom soldiers. Whenever their attacks missed and they paused, she unleashed her Blood Shadow Technique, using her "Blood Shadow Claws" to grab at their vital points. Each strike scattered a phantom soldier, and for a time, she managed to tear a small gap in the horde.

However, the Phantom Commander seemed to have sensed Lin Feng and the others' tactics. While dodging Xuan Feng's wind blades, it commanded its phantom soldiers to change their attack methods. Instead of charging in a swarm, the phantom soldiers split into several small teams, flanking the group from different directions, attempting to disperse their defensive forces.

Lin Feng's heart tightened, and he shouted, "Everyone, stay close together and don't get separated by them! Su Ran, you and the girl in white concentrate your firepower and seal the gap on the left; Xuan Feng, assist the Zheng Yang Army in defending the right; Xue Ying, provide flexible support, go wherever there is danger!" Everyone quickly acted according to Lin Feng's command.

Su Ran and the woman in white worked together. Su Ran used "Ice Guardian" to create a solid ice wall on the left, while the woman in white attached flames to the ice wall to prevent the phantom soldiers from breaking through. The ice wall trembled under the attacks of the phantom soldiers, and the ice and flames fused together, releasing a large amount of water vapor.

Xuanfeng arrived at the right flank of the Zhengyang Army. He reinforced the battle formation with wind-elemental spiritual power, making the soldiers' spear attacks even more swift. Whenever a phantom soldier broke through the front of the battle formation, he would repel it with wind blades. The female general, meanwhile, moved back and forth within the battle formation, boosting morale while directing the soldiers to flexibly change their spear formations to defend against the phantom soldiers' attacks.

The Blood Shadow Sect woman moved across the battlefield like a ghost. Wherever phantom soldiers broke through the defenses, she would arrive in time to repel them with her Blood Shadow Technique. However, there were simply too many phantom soldiers, and the group gradually became overwhelmed.

Just as the situation was becoming increasingly critical, Lin Feng suddenly noticed that when General Phantom was giving commands, his body would tremble slightly. Each time he trembled, the rhythm of the Phantom soldiers' attacks would momentarily become chaotic. He was overjoyed, knowing that this might be the key to defeating General Phantom.

Lin Feng stared intently at the phantom general, capturing its every subtle movement. He noticed that the slight tremor seemed to be somehow connected to the flow of the surrounding mist. Lin Feng knew that if he wanted to turn the tide of the battle, he had to seize this fleeting opportunity.

As he continued to wield his ice halberd to fend off the approaching phantom soldiers, he shouted, "Everyone, hold on! Listen to my commands! Xuanfeng, watch out for the flow of the mist. Use your wind-elemental spiritual power to disrupt it, and coordinate with the rhythm of the general's phantom trembling!" Upon hearing this, Xuanfeng immediately extended his senses to the extreme, keenly perceiving the subtle connection between the flow of the mist and the general's phantom.

As the phantom general trembled again, Xuanfeng seized the opportunity and unleashed "Storm Vortex," a powerful gust of wind raging through the mist and disrupting its flow. The phantom general seemed to be greatly affected, its trembling becoming increasingly violent. Its previously orderly commands became chaotic, and the phantom soldiers' attack rhythm was thrown into disarray.

Seizing this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, Lin Feng poured all his ice-elemental spiritual power into his ice halberd. The tip of the halberd shone brightly, and he leaped high into the air, unleashing his strongest attack—"Heavenly Meteor Ice Pillar." Instantly, an enormous ice pillar condensed in the sky, radiating a chilling aura, and crashed down towards the general's phantom with earth-shattering force.

The phantom general seemed to sense the deadly threat and tried to dodge, but the disrupted mist made him tremble and slow his movements. The ice pillar struck him accurately, and with a deafening roar, the phantom general was slammed into the ice pillar, his body rapidly dissipating. The ordinary phantom soldiers who relied on the phantom general's command also turned into wisps of black smoke and vanished into the air the instant the phantom general disappeared.

As the last phantom soldier disappeared, the thick fog around them began to dissipate, and everyone finally breathed a sigh of relief. But before they could even rest properly, a rumbling sound came from the depths of the passage, as if something enormous was moving.

Lin Feng frowned and said, "It seems this isn't over yet. Everyone, let's recover our spiritual energy and prepare for what's to come." Everyone nodded and found a relatively safe place to sit down, circulating their spiritual energy to recover.

After a while, the sounds gradually stopped. Lin Feng stood up, looked around at everyone, and said, "Let's go, let's continue forward and see what's going on ahead." Everyone composed themselves and followed Lin Feng cautiously into the depths of the passage.

As they ventured deeper into the passage, strange patterns began to appear on the walls on either side. These patterns seemed to tell an ancient story, depicting people performing mysterious rituals, strange lights in the sky, and enormous monsters ravaging the world.

Looking at the patterns, Su Ran asked in confusion, "These patterns look very old. Could something major have happened here?" Xuan Feng stroked his chin and pondered, "Judging from the giant beasts and phantom soldiers we encountered before, there are probably some unknown secrets hidden here, perhaps related to some ancient force."

The woman in white nodded in agreement: "Moreover, I've never seen the style of these patterns before. They shouldn't belong to any sect or family we're familiar with." The female general looked at the patterns, a hint of vigilance in her eyes: "Whatever they are, we must be careful. There might be more dangers ahead." The Blood Shadow Sect woman silently followed behind the group, her eyes constantly scanning the surroundings, maintaining a high level of alertness.

The group continued forward, and the passage gradually widened, revealing a massive stone gate ahead. The gate was covered in runes, which shimmered faintly, as if telling tales of the vicissitudes of time. On either side of the gate stood a colossal stone statue, resembling a mythical beast never before seen, baring its fangs and claws, exuding a majestic and awe-inspiring presence.

Lin Feng walked to the stone gate and carefully examined the runes, trying to find a way to open it. However, the runes were obscure and difficult to understand, and he tried several common methods of activating spiritual power, but none of them worked.

Su Ran stepped forward and studied the runes with Lin Feng. Using her understanding of runes, she attempted to infuse ice-type spiritual power into the runes in a specific order. The moment she infused the power, the runes shone brightly, and the stone door began to tremble slowly.

Upon seeing this, everyone quickly took a few steps back, watching the stone door warily. As the stone door slowly opened, an ancient aura rushed out, revealing a vast space behind it. The space was filled with all sorts of strangely shaped objects, and in the very center stood a large stone platform upon which rested a crystal ball emitting a soft glow.

Lin Feng and the others cautiously entered the space, their eyes warily scanning their surroundings. As they approached the stone platform, the crystal ball suddenly shone brightly, its light stinging their eyes. When the light subsided, they were astonished to find images appearing within the crystal ball.

In the scene, an ancient sect is suffering a devastating blow. A group of