SPLASH.

Dark clouds gathered, and the air pressure dropped.

Most Demon Kings from the sea possessed the power to summon wind and rain.

Now, three Demon Kings had joined forces. Gales and torrential rain intertwined to form a dense curtain.

It obstructed the cultivators’ line of sight!

Normally, cultivators had sharp senses. Even those at the Qi Refining stage possessed a decent resistance to harsh environments.

However, with the gathering Beast Tide, this downpour was mixed with an incomparably dense demonic aura!

Qi Refining cultivators could not extend their Spiritual Sense.

Even by infusing their eyes with Magical Power, they could hardly see through the curtain of rain.

Their vision was obscured.

Meanwhile, a seemingly endless Beast Tide surged toward the city walls.

Piercing roars and bestial howls echoed ceaselessly.

This added an immense, unseen psychological pressure on the cultivators.

’They’re coming on strong...’

Su Ye stood atop a tower, his back against the spire and arms crossed, as he surveyed the surging Beast Tide.

The rain, mixed with demonic aura, might have obscured the vision of Qi Refining cultivators, but under his Divine Sense, everything was as clear as the lines on his own palm.

However, Weiyuan Immortal City was not caught off guard.

The Immortal City had known about the Beast Tide for a long time.

All necessary preparations had been made! 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎

Sikong Xin stood proudly in the wind, his Daoist robes whipping about, completely unflustered!

Raindrops that fell within three feet of him seemed to hit an invisible barrier, sliding away with gravity without dampening his clothes in the slightest!

Gazing out at the boundless Beast Tide, Sikong Xin waved his hand, his expression calm.

"Activate the City Defense Array!"

VMMMM!

Upon the towering city walls, one after another, Spirit Light Array Patterns appeared and began to glow.

Then, as if infused with fresh blood, the Spirit Light Array Patterns turned a deep, scarlet red!

Unlike the color of Su Ye’s Ghostly Flood Dragon, this scarlet was deep and ancient, not ostentatious.

It was like... the dried bloodstains on an ancient battlefield strewn with ruins, having weathered a thousand years!

SWOOSH!

Thousands of scarlet rays shot up from within the city, forming a blood-red canopy that stretched for hundreds of miles!

Flying demonic beasts that were too close to the Immortal City to evade were instantly melted into pools of blood upon touching the crimson canopy!

The Nine Nether Blood Sea Array!

At the same time, scarlet arrows whizzed from the city walls, their firepower as overwhelming as countless machinegun turrets!

Vast numbers of demonic beasts were struck by the arrows and killed in an instant.

Their corpses collapsed to the ground, shriveling up before one’s very eyes.

Their life force and flesh were siphoned away by the Nine Nether Blood Sea Array, converted into new blood arrows!

Blood Dao Formations excelled at sustaining themselves through battle!

Under this unceasing Sea of Blood Arrows, the advance of the Beast Tide came to a sudden halt.

A kill zone, completely devoid of life, was formed!

Only second-rank demonic beasts could withstand the assault of the blood arrows and continue their charge.

And Weiyuan Immortal City had a countermeasure for these second-rank demonic beasts mixed within the Beast Tide.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

On the walls and towers, large ballistae, aimed and operated by cultivators, thundered to life!

Compared to ship-mounted ballistae, these city defense ballistae were immobile.

In exchange, however, these city defense ballistae had dedicated conduits beneath their bases, allowing them to share power with the City Defense Array!

Empowered by the Nine Nether Blood Sea Array, the power of these city defense ballistae posed a lethal threat to second-rank demonic beasts!

Su Ye personally witnessed a second-rank demonic beast get targeted by seven city defense ballistae at once. It was killed instantly, crashing indignantly to the ground!

’With the Beast Tide for cover, the second-rank demonic beasts pose something of a threat as shock troops...’

’But once the surrounding beasts are dead, an isolated second-rank demonic beast targeted by the ballistae can only die...’

Su Ye observed the battle, making a detached assessment.

Relying on the Nine Nether Blood Sea Array, the dozen or so satellite cities surrounding Weiyuan Immortal City formed a solid line of defense!

The dense Beast Tide surged toward the Immortal City like a great flood, only to be slaughtered, wave after wave...

The few second-rank demonic beasts that occasionally managed to reach the city walls were also stopped by the Foundation Establishment masters!

As the Immortal City’s cultivators and the enlisted Loose Cultivators adapted to the war, they began to relax.

"Demonic beasts aren’t such a big deal."

"There are just a lot of them, and they’re brainless! Our Immortal City’s Nine Nether Blood Sea Array excels at wars of attrition!"

"I’ve calculated it out. At this rate, in another two months, I’ll have enough battle merits to exchange for a Primordial Spirit Elixir..."

"Who cares about a Primordial Spirit Elixir? A Foundation Establishment Elixir is the real prize!"

"With so many second-rank demonic beasts this time, we’ll probably get a ton of Demon Pills. Think of how many Foundation Establishment Elixirs that could make..."

The Loose Cultivators went wild!

As members of the lowest rung of the Cultivation Realm, they had a casual view of life and death.

In their quest to climb to a higher realm, Loose Cultivators did not fear death.

And since this Beast Tide didn’t seem particularly dangerous so far... the Loose Cultivators were naturally fired up, ready to rack up battle merits.

Only Su Ye and a few others remained grim-faced.

"Something’s not right..." Su Ye muttered.

’This war of attrition is incredibly foolish on the part of the Beast Tide.’

’The Nine Nether Blood Sea Array is a Blood Dao Formation; a war of attrition is the one thing it doesn’t fear...’

’In the past few hundred years, the characteristics of this Array have become, if not universally known, then at least household knowledge.’

’As long as the natives have normal intelligence and basic information-gathering capabilities, they must know about this...’

’So, what have they prepared to break the Nine Nether Blood Sea Array?’

Su Ye raised an eyebrow, gazing at the overwhelming Beast Tide as he fell into thought.

The unknown is the most terrifying thing in this world.

After a moment of thought, Su Ye shook his head, his eyes narrowing.

’The Cultivation Realm has too many bizarre techniques; he couldn’t guess what the natives had planned.’

However...

’No matter what dirty tricks or grand conspiracies they’ve cooked up... in the end, it will all come down to strength!’

With a flash in his eyes, Su Ye left the city wall.

He still hadn’t finished refining the few Spiritual Objects provided by Weiyuan Immortal City, which would help him break through his Magical Power limit.

’Refine the Spiritual Objects, absorb their spiritual essence... I need to increase my Magical Power as much as possible...’

’If the situation becomes critical, even if my Magical Power hasn’t reached the number for a full Circulation, I can still attempt to break through to the Crystallization stage...’

With his foundation, once he advanced to the Crystallization stage, he would be able to retreat with ease even if the unexpected happened!

He wasn’t overly obsessed with reaching the full number for a Circulation.

’I don’t know if I can achieve the "Pill of Nine Laws" without my Magical Power reaching the number for a full Circulation...’

’But a dead man... is obviously never going to achieve the "Pill of Nine Laws"!’

He returned to the Ghostly Flood Dragon and began refining the Spiritual Objects.

The spirit ship was moored in a safe harbor within the city, protected by the Nine Nether Blood Sea Array, and would not be affected by the Beast Tide.

...

「A month or so passed.」

The Beast Tide continued unabated, assaulting the city walls day and night.

The City Guard Army and the Loose Cultivators gradually adapted to the war, relying on the Nine Nether Blood Sea Array to repel one wave of the Beast Tide after another.

Su Ye’s life fell into a simple routine, shuttling between the Ghostly Flood Dragon and the Reverse World.

He cultivated and fought with great regularity, growing stronger bit by bit.

However, on this very day...

RUMBLE!

An earth-shattering fluctuation of Spiritual Power erupted in the night sky, sweeping across the entire city!

’That direction... The city gate?!’

Su Ye walked onto the deck and looked up, his heart jolting in shock.