The Hou King snorted coldly, and the pressure of the peak of the Dao Integration Realm was completely unleashed, causing a gust of wind to rise around them, instantly neutralizing the combined power of Zhuang Qingqian and Miao Xuanzi.
"Since you want to ruin my plans, then let's see who's more capable."
The Hou King snorted coldly, pointed a finger, and instantly created a spatial rift. He then disappeared into it. Miao Xuanzi and Zhuang Qingqian exchanged a glance and decided to follow him in.
Seeing this, Chang Yu and the other two could only stay by Gu Yifeng's side and protect him.
Before long, several more figures arrived from afar. It was Xuan Che and his group, along with their guardians. Upon hearing that Gu Yifeng needed support for his mission, the four of them disregarded the sect's arrangements and set off immediately.
Thanks to Nangong Wan's fairy boat, the group managed to arrive without falling too far behind.
Xuan Che and the other three exchanged a glance, then asked Chang Yu and the other two to leave. They then sat down around Gu Yifeng, with each of them corresponding to one of the four corners (east, south, west, and north), and each of them struck out with both palms.
"Four Extremes Returning to Origin Formation!"
The four of them gritted their teeth and shouted in unison. Their hands joined together in turn, forming a square array. The phantom images of the Four Symbols appeared, and they roared to the sky. All the spiritual energy and demonic energy around them were absorbed into the array and transformed into primordial energy to nourish Gu Yifeng's physical body.
He felt a gentle force emanating from the formation, which relieved the pain throughout his body and restored his consciousness. The first thing he thought of was to activate the system and sign in.
"Ding! Congratulations, host, you have successfully checked in. The check-in location was detected as: Spring Mountain. You have received the reward: Painting Jiangnan."
As soon as the system voice finished speaking, a scroll appeared in Gu Yifeng's spatial ring. Before the appraisal technique could be activated, the system transmitted the information about this reward into his mind.
"Painting Jiangnan: A Heavenly Rank Secret Treasure. After using spiritual power, it can unfold a scroll, imprinting the battlefield onto the scroll and transforming it into a void space, transferring all existence on the battlefield into the scroll. The Tai Xu Realm can maintain the scroll for one hour."
Upon seeing the reward, Gu Yifeng instantly snapped back to reality. He opened his eyes, and the figures of Xuan Che and the other three immediately came into view, sending a jolt through him.
"Xuan Che, what brings the four of you here?"
Gu Yifeng asked in confusion, as they were still on the outskirts of Spring Mountain, and it seemed that the Hou King had not let them leave.
"When the Valley Master told us that your mission required support, we rushed to Spring Mountain. Luckily you're alright, otherwise I wouldn't be able to go back and face Grandpa."
Xuan Che looked at Gu Yifeng as he woke up and said with great excitement.
The other three formed a circle, all focused on Gu Yifeng's body. Fortunately, he was not seriously injured; the injury was merely a backlash caused by the destruction of his avatar.
“That’s the physical body of my Vermilion Bird clan at the Taixu Realm. Even if it hasn’t reached the Hedao Realm, it shouldn’t be instantly killed. This Hou King’s strength is probably more than just the peak of the Hedao Realm.”
After hearing Gu Yifeng recount his ordeal, Chi Tianyuan frowned deeply. Chi Xuanshan had told him about this, so he was well aware of his elder brother's avatar's strength. It was impossible for someone without the Dao Integration Realm to destroy the avatar's physical body.
"It seems it's still hiding its strength. Let's just hope it doesn't unleash a beast tide."
Gu Yifeng sighed and said with some helplessness.
The group talked for a while longer. About half an hour later, the spatial rift in mid-air opened again. Zhuang Qingqian and Miao Xuanzi remained expressionless, though their auras changed slightly.
As for the Hou King, there was no sign of him at all, not even a trace of his presence.
"Master, how is the Hou King?"
Gu Yifeng immediately stepped forward and asked.
"We fought a battle, but the Hou King was hiding his strength. He has already broken through to the half-step Transformation Realm. Miao Xuanzi and I couldn't kill him. We could only watch him escape. He's probably still in this Spring Mountain."
Zhuang Qingqian shook his head and sighed, then briefly explained the situation.
"Let's go. We can't linger on the outskirts of Spring Mountain any longer. Disciples will be there to disperse the crowd."
Miao Xuanzi then spoke, pointing out a spatial portal that instantly opened. The group immediately entered and arrived at the outskirts of a city.
Spring Mountain City is the closest human city to Spring Mountain. It is not large in scale, just enough for nearby cultivators to recuperate. It has a low presence in Changlin Prefecture. If it weren't for the outbreak of Spring Mountain, this city might not have been built.
However, Spring Mountain City has become lively in the past few days, with a tense atmosphere pervading the city. This is because intelligence from Changchun Valley has arrived, and Spring Mountain City is the first to be affected, so it can only try its best to prepare.
In addition, nearby sects have rushed to the scene, bringing numerous disciples with them in a grand display, all in preparation for the Hou King to launch a beast tide.
...
Within three days, over a hundred camps were set up outside Chunshan City. All the major and minor sects of Changlin Prefecture sent people to the city, creating an atmosphere of panic and paranoia.
The number of monsters in Chunshan alone is not enough, but Chunshan is located in the mountains and forests, surrounded by mountains that stand in a discontinuous manner. It is not a mountain range, but the number of monsters in it is unimaginable.
With the power of the Hou King, it was more than enough to mobilize all the monsters in a mountain range that stretched for thousands of miles.
...
On the fifth day, the ground outside Spring Mountain City suddenly began to tremble, and a plume of dust could be seen rising in the distance. The disciples on patrol that day immediately fired a signal flare, and everyone in Spring Mountain City was awakened from their sleep.
Gu Yifeng stood atop the city wall, gazing into the distance. The overwhelming demonic energy transformed into surging waves, rushing menacingly towards Chunshan City.
"The beast tide is coming! The beast tide is coming!"
As someone shouted, the formation of Spring Mountain City was instantly activated.
"Today is the day you should come and pay homage to my two avatars."
Gu Yifeng snorted coldly, and the figures of Gu Er and Gu San emerged from his dantian, instantly leaping off the city wall and running towards the beast tide.
Soon, the beast tide arrived near Spring Mountain City. Roars of the monsters echoed out. The first wave of monsters crashed into the formation and were instantly reduced to flying pieces of flesh and blood. Countless arrows shot out from the city walls, piercing through the monsters.
Within the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, a pool of blood flowed outside Spring Mountain City, and at least several hundred demonic beasts perished almost without resistance.
However, these demonic beasts were not at a high level, around the Opening Mansion Realm, and were originally intended to be stepping stones to prepare for the demonic beasts that followed.
This is just the beginning. Spring Mountain City has already used up 10% of its arrows and half of its formation power. It is far from enough to resist the beast tide until it passes.
Gu Yifeng watched from afar as Gu Er and Gu San fought fiercely by the city gate. With a thought, the two of them immediately retreated into the formation. Then, they formed hand seals and summoned a rain of ice to fall, reaping the lives of a group of demonic beasts.
The Ice Rain Ritual was perfect for use on the battlefield, instantly wiping out a large number of enemies. Endless blood light vanished into the sky, and then two blue lights reflected back onto Gu Er and Gu San.
A pair of ice wings unfurled behind Gu Er, clearly indicating that he had received a blessing from the Ice Child.
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