Chapter 11
Lin Jichen hadn't expected these zombies to be so difficult to deal with. Even though they had been cut down, they kept getting up.
This wasn't a solution; she'd be exhausted to death before dawn. She stopped thinking about leaving these people with intact corpses and immediately set up an array.
In an instant, flames shot into the sky, and the living corpses within the flames were still struggling in agony. The more they struggled, the more fiercely the fire burned.
Those trapped inside the building within the barrier saw the raging fire outside. Someone exclaimed, "My goodness, has Lin Jichen burned down Yunzhou City?" The heat could be felt even through the barrier; just how big was the fire?
Looking at the towering flames, Shi Yunzhou believed in Lin Jichen's strength, but the commotion was so great that it seemed there was no peace outside.
Zhou Xuanzhi remained silent. He didn't know what the situation was like outside, but he hoped that Lin Jichen had already stopped Fang Xiashen.
Time passed slowly, but the firelight outside did not dim. Having no other choice, he used the sword his master had left him to cut his palm and began drawing talismans with his blood.
No one around him spoke; they all watched Zhou Xuanzhi's every move silently, praying in their hearts that his method would succeed.
The talisman drawn in mid-air with blood affixed itself to the barrier. After flashing a few times, it disappeared as if it had been assimilated by the barrier.
It seemed this method was useless, so everyone gathered together to think of other solutions. But suddenly, they seemed to hear a cracking sound. Everyone turned their attention to the barrier again. There seemed to be a crack in the barrier, a very long one, but it was slowly repairing itself.
They couldn't let it repair itself; they had to make good use of this rift. So, everyone, including Zhou Xuanzhi, began drawing talismans with their blood. Shi Yunzhou wasn't just watching from the sidelines; he genuinely didn't know how. After all, in a sense, they were no longer from the same world.
A fissure appeared, and this time, instead of letting the wound heal, the group used their own blood as a medium to deepen the fissure.
Shi Yunzhou, wielding the Moon Worship Sword, leaped forward and slashed fiercely at the crack. The crack's repair had ceased, and even its absorption of their spiritual energy had stopped. He struck again, and instantly the entire barrier was covered in cracks, mixed with red blood; the crack would no longer repair itself.
Taking advantage of this opportunity, Shi Yunzhou slashed down with his sword again, breaking the barrier...
When the group came out, they searched the entire building but still couldn't find Young Master Li.
Lin Jichen, looking at the charred corpse lying on the ground, finally breathed a sigh of relief. It had been so difficult.
Suddenly hearing a sound behind him, Lin Jichen's sword flew towards the group, but after recognizing his companions, he quickly retrieved it.
Everyone stared at the charred corpse behind Lin Jichen, while Lin Jichen looked at the door behind them. When did this door appear?
"Were you burning these living corpses?" someone asked, pointing to the charred bodies.
Lin Jichen was also surprised to see everyone come out. Where was Young Master Li? She nodded: "Yes, everything was destroyed in a fire. Why did you all come out?"
"Did you see anyone come out?" Zhou Xuanzhi asked.
Lin Jichen shook her head. "The door disappeared after you went in, and the windows are gone too." Seeing everyone's slightly panicked expressions, a bad feeling welled up in her heart.
"Young Master Li has been kidnapped by that female demon." Someone explained to Lin Jichen what had just happened inside.
After hearing this information, Lin Jichen said, "Not long after you went in, the doors and windows disappeared, and then this group of zombies appeared. No one came out."
If Young Master Li is really kidnapped by Fang Xiashen, then his fate... no one dared to think about it.
Zhou Xuanzhi seemed to have thought of something and immediately went back into the building, and Shi Yunzhou followed him.
The two arrived at the wall where Young Master Li had just been pinned down. Shi Yunzhou looked at his senior brother, who had already begun casting hand seals, and couldn't help but ask, "Tracking technique? Are you sure?"
"Now that things have come to this, we have no choice but to give it a try."
After Zhou Xuanzhi performed his spell, he held up a lit incense stick. There was no wind in the room, yet the smoke pointed in a certain direction: outside the door.
The two came out and joined the others, then followed Xiang's directions toward the city center.
All the way, Lin Jichen kept thinking about how he would face his master's wrath if Young Master Li really had met with misfortune upon returning to Tianyu Mountain. The more he thought about it, the more frightened he became. Suddenly, the sounds of fighting came from afar, and a glimmer of hope appeared in Lin Jichen's heart. Could it be that the female demon had been encountered by one of their own?
There was no time to think too much; the female demon was not easy to deal with. Everyone quickly moved closer, wanting to support their own side.
Upon closer inspection, it was indeed seen that members of various factions were engaged in a fierce battle with the evil spirits.
Lin Jichen spotted Mingmo in the crowd and knew she was in trouble. She rushed forward and began plucking the strings of her zither.
The others were completely bewildered. Weren't they the female demon and the phantom demon? What's with this group of evil spirits? Could they be related to the living corpses Lin Jichen had just encountered?
There are still many people in Yunzhou City. If even one of the evil spirits here escapes, the consequences are unimaginable.
If I remember correctly, there's still a formation set up on this street from where we came. A group of people stood in their respective positions and began activating the formation.
"Are these all summoned by the Illusion Demon?" Shi Yunzhou was only now showing some emotion. Evil spirits are all imprisoned in the Underworld. For two evil spirits to appear in the human world at the same time, the Underworld is already considered to have failed in its duty. What's going on now?
"I'm afraid those living corpses are the same." Zhou Xuanzhi couldn't believe that this Illusion Demon could be so powerful. Could it really dare to oppose the Underworld?
No, they are also in the cycle of reincarnation, so they naturally wouldn't offend the underworld. If that's the case... then it makes sense. He looked at the burning incense in his hand that had no smoke and said, "These evil spirits must have been refined by the Illusion Demon."
"They still don't dare to offend the underworld. They really are bullies who prey on the weak." They dare not provoke the gods in the heavens or the underworld on earth, but they only dare to mess with mortals.
The evil spirit was vanquished, yet the incense in Zhou Xuan's hand still showed no sign of pointing in any direction.
Seeing that everyone was there except for the one person who should have been missing, Mingmo asked, "Where is Young Master Li?"
Lin Jichen didn't answer, but looked around and saw many people from other sects. It seemed that things in Yunzhou City weren't as simple as he had thought.
The others explained the situation to Mingmo.
"So you tracked them all the way here?"
A disciple stepped forward and asked, looking at the incense that was no longer smoking, "Yes, but now... what has happened to Senior Sister and all the other senior brothers?"
"We were originally outside Yunzhou City when we suddenly discovered a terrifying demonic aura emanating from within the city, so we rushed here." The speaker was a disciple of the Qingxu Sect. The Qingxu Sect, along with Tianyu Mountain, Hanfeng Valley, and Chongwu Mountain, is known as one of the Four Great Immortal Mountains.
"We were originally stationed in the city and planned to leave tomorrow, but who knew that something like this would happen tonight." These people were wearing Medicine God Valley school uniforms.
The Qingxu Sect disciples stationed outside the city say that demonic energy is soaring here? If demonic energy can be seen outside the city, why can't we feel it inside the city?
Everyone noticed something was wrong. They looked at each other; they had never encountered this situation before.
“We’ve been busy for a long time, haven’t we? We should be seeing the first light of dawn by now. Don’t forget, there’s still the Illusion Demon.” Zhou Xuanzhi reminded everyone.
"You mean we're currently inside the Illusionary Demon's formation?"
If that's the case, then it makes sense. It would be strange if so many zombies and evil spirits caused such a commotion, yet the common people hadn't been roused!
"Then why did your incense guide you here?" the senior brother who was helping asked.
"Usually, this is to wipe them all out in one fell swoop!" Shi Yunzhou said as he drew his sword, thrusting it straight at a dark figure behind him. The dark figure disappeared because of this sword strike.
Some people only truly believed the Phantom Demon had appeared after reading this, exclaiming, "It really is the Phantom Demon!" But shouldn't it be imprisoned in the Demon Realm? How did it get out?
The demon lured everyone to this place to wipe them all out. He won't give them time to discuss how to save their lives or how to rescue others.
More evil spirits and undead surged toward the crowd in that instant.
Those on the outermost edge didn't even have time to draw their swords before their spiritual power was drained by the evil spirits and zombies.
Looking at the person lying on the ground and recalling everything that had happened inside the building, Zhou Xuanzhi felt utterly foolish. How could everything have gone so smoothly? He realized he had been the puppet on the strings. He had already extinguished the incense and tossed it on the ground. He then joined the others in the battle.
Among the many sword shadows, Zhou Xuanzhi's red sword and Shi Yunzhou's blue sword were the most eye-catching, and they also attracted the most firepower.
Countless evil spirits swarmed towards the two, easing the pressure on the others.
Seeing the panicked state of the crowd from a distance, Fang Xiashen laughed out loud. She grabbed Young Master Li by the collar and said, "Look at these cultivators, they're nothing special."
Young Master Li's face was now bluish-purple, and he probably wouldn't last much longer. He couldn't see clearly what was happening in the distance, and he had given up hope.
"You wretch...you...you'll die a horrible death." He managed to utter a single, harmless sentence with great effort.
"I'm already dead, of course you won't. You'll just turn to ashes and never be reborn."
As the two spoke, the cultivators in the distance began setting up an array. The panic was only temporary. The array, a combination of the strengths of various sects, was far more powerful than the one inside the brothel. Light instantly pierced through the illusionary demon's environment, and the fluctuations in spiritual energy caused the surrounding scenery to change rapidly.
Fang Xiashen was both angry and panicked as he watched the cultivators about to break through the formation. On one hand, he was cursing the Illusion Demon in his heart for being unreliable. They were about to be eliminated, but he didn't know what he was thinking. Now all their efforts had been in vain.
The fluctuations in spiritual energy caused not only rapid changes in the surrounding scenery, but also physical discomfort. Those guarding the formation were relatively alright, but those still fighting on the outer perimeter were particularly affected, enduring the discomfort while engaging in a desperate battle with these evil spirits and undead.
"Hold on a little longer, we'll break through the formation soon." Such encouragement was obviously useless, because no one could hear it at all.
Those fighting on the periphery, such as Zhou Xuanzhi, Shi Yunzhou, and Lin Jichen, were all focused on the group of evil spirits and zombies. Coupled with their physical discomfort, no one paid attention to the situation of the people inside.
After nearly being attacked in vital areas several times, Shi Yunzhou had abandoned his five senses and maximized his perception range.
Guarding the formation inside is not easy either. If they lose focus or are even slightly careless, the formation that they have worked so hard to build will have to start all over again, and all the previous efforts will be in vain.
Each and every one of them is desperately persevering.
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