...

The sky grew brighter and brighter. Ji An saw demon beasts spread across the mountains and fields, being driven by high-tier demon beasts, moving towards the Immortal City.

Their speed seemed slow yet was actually fast, like a flood breaking through a dam.

Wang Dachui’s eyes rolled around, and he said casually:

"These sons of bitches attacked too fiercely yesterday. In my original squad, only I survived.

Senior Brother Ji, which area did you defend yesterday? What was your squad’s casualty rate like?"

Facing the probing, Ji An shook his head gently:

"I didn’t participate in yesterday’s battle."

He indeed didn’t participate; he was in the courtyard saving lives and seeing off a familiar cultivator.

"I see, Brother, you’re quite lucky," Wang Dachui scratched his head, failing to glean any useful information.

As the morning sun rose, Ji An saw a giant tiger, about four zhang long, stride to the forefront of the demon beasts, opening its bloody maw to let out a mighty roar.

The roar was soul-stirring, causing many cultivators to feel fear upon hearing it.

Judging by its aura and size, this tiger demon should have reached the Chao Origin Stage.

As the signal for battle was given, numerous demon beasts began to accelerate their run, resembling galloping hordes as the ground trembled.

Ji An took out two small flags, one red and one yellow, from his storage bag. The red flag was embroidered with a Phoenix Bird, precisely the Flame Light Banner, while the yellow one revealed a Golden Lotus and Qilin Beast, known as the apricot yellow Banner.

He infused magical power into the apricot yellow Banner, and the Earth Element Spirit Light immediately enveloped him, with golden lotuses blooming at the outermost edge.

Ji An released his hand, and the apricot yellow Banner floated up, revolving around him like a lively Spirit Fish.

"What a treasure!"

Wang Dachui praised honestly.

Though he was a loose cultivator, he could still recognize magical artifacts and spiritual artifacts.

The items the counterpart had produced were undoubtedly spiritual artifacts, as evidenced by the spirit light even without magical power infused.

A cultivator possessing two spiritual artifacts, irrespective of magical combat abilities, was undeniably wealthy and surely equipped with various means to deal with unexpected situations.

"Thank you, fellow Daoist, for the compliment," Ji An smiled slightly, thinking to himself that, indeed, they were good treasures. The apricot yellow Banner had swallowed thousands of Spirit Stones worth of Earth Element Essence for nourishment, full of spirituality.

His gaze looked down at the advancing demon beast group, taking out a large number of Spirit Grain Seeds.

He scattered the seeds over an area extending several zhang below the city wall.

Then he performed the Thick Earth Returning Origin Spell and the Spring Breeze and Rain Skill, with yellow spirit light flashing and white mist swirling.

As the nourishing Spirit Rain fell, the Spirit Grain took root and sprouted.

Ji An changed his spell, releasing the Jade Wood Transformation Skill.

Emerald green light dots descended like a meteor shower, and the Spirit Grain grew rapidly.

Wang Dachui was completely stupefied, thinking...

"Brother, if I’m not mistaken, isn’t that a planting technique?"

He was completely bewildered, thinking:

’Brother, are you in the wrong place? This is a battlefield!’

He could perceive and witness the powerful effect of the magic technique, but planting Spirit Grain at such a moment seemed inappropriate.

Not only him, but many nearby cultivators also noticed what was happening here and were discussing it in whispers.

It couldn’t be helped, the lighting effects of the planting technique were too dazzling to go unnoticed.

In the distance, Liu Yu bared his teeth, wondering what Junior Brother Ji intended to do.

Flying on a sword, Li Haoran noticed the emerald green brilliance cascading down like a waterfall, along with the swirling white mist, and flew over with great interest to see what was going on.

"Yes, isn’t my handiwork pretty good?"

Ji An responded with a friendly smile to his teammate and then activated the All Grass and Trees Are Soldiers.

When the towering grass puppets emerged, Wang Dachui suddenly realized.

With arms composed of numerous vines, the dark green grass puppets waved continuously, swaying like waterweeds in a river.

In the sky, seeing the grass puppets rising from the ground, Li Haoran slightly shook his head, turning back to leave on his sword.

The demon beasts were too numerous, and merely by trampling, the grass puppets would be eliminated by demon beasts, hardly serving any inhibiting function, and wasting a lot of magical power for nothing.

...

The demon beasts drew nearer, and the earth shook more intensely.

As the first demon beast stepped within the attack range of the grass puppets, vines extended like venomous snakes, tightly binding the demon beast.

Ordinary Early-stage Foundation Establishment demon beasts couldn’t free themselves from the grass puppet’s restraint, howling in grievance, as the vines tightened quickly with their breaths, akin to a python hunting prey.

Moreover, some vines even searched for the biological weak points, opting to penetrate the demon beasts’ bodies through the mouth or anus.

The demon beasts, bound and unable to resist, were manipulated by the vines, after which their bodies shriveled visibly to the naked eye.

The dark green grass puppets gained a hint of crimson hue, growing taller by three or four inches. 𝐟𝕣𝕖𝐞𝐰𝕖𝚋𝐧𝗼𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝗰𝐨𝐦

A Fire-Horned Bull came charging, its body engulfed in flames.

It fiercely collided with the grass puppet’s body, spewing rolling flames from its mouth.

The grass puppet immediately ignited, but its vines tightly ensnared the demon beast, with a vine penetrating through the anus into the demon beast’s body, madly devouring flesh and blood to compensate for the fire’s damage.

The Fire-Horned Bull was attacked to death, but the grass puppet couldn’t withstand it either, slowly burning up, eventually turning into a heap of ashes.

On the city wall, Ji An observed the battlefield situation. Wherever the demon beast density was high, he used the Flame Light Banner to attack.

Like waves, flames surged down, as numerous demon beasts danced in the sea of flames before eventually collapsing on the ground.

He released the Quicksand Technique near the city wall, and the Desert Sea swallowed many demon beasts.

An incredible scene unfolded, as demon beasts continued to charge up the city walls in other areas, yet not a single beast reached the wall where Ji An was defending.

A Mid-stage Foundation Establishment flying demon beast swooped down, attempting to disrupt the cultivators’ spell-casting rhythm.

Ji An raised his hand, activated the Cold Wind Technique.

An icy wind howled, and numerous ice particles suddenly crystallized in the air.

The demon beast swept by the magic technique felt its body stiffening, its flying speed significantly slowed.

Hastily, it flapped its wings for a speedy ascent.

Ji An flicked his finger, and a golden light shot out from it, piercing the demon beast, executing the Geng Metal Finger!

The demon bird’s wing-flapping ceased abruptly, plummeting straight down.

...

With the sunset descending, a massive black cloud howled from afar, accompanied by a putrid stench.

Dust and sand danced on the ground, darkening the sky and earth in an instant.

Within the black cloud came the wailing and howling of ghosts and wolves, unsettling to the core.

The cultivators who heard it were all deeply uneasy.

It was a demon cloud formed by several Golden Core Stage Demon Kings united. Once it descended, the blood and flesh of the low-tier cultivators in the city would gradually dissolve into the demon cloud.

The mighty power of a Golden Core Level was utterly beyond their capacity to resist.

Witnessing the situation, Ji An immediately shouted:

"Retreat."

Saying this, he urgently activated the Flame Light Banner, laying down a firewall below the city wall, then jumped off.

The subsequent events were beyond the involvement of a Foundation Establishment junior cultivator like him.

The Daoist Masters overseeing the Mountain Protection Array promptly infused magical power into the array banners, and a yellow dome instantly appeared above the Immortal City.

A Tier Two Upper Grade Magic Array relying solely on extracting Earth Vein Spiritual Power could not possibly withstand a prolonged Golden Core Stage Demon King assault.

"Feeble ants, what’s the point of hiding in your turtle shell? Dare to come out and battle us!"

One Demon King spoke, his tone filled with extreme ridicule.

At this moment, Daoist Master Zhengyang, Nanshan Zhenren, and Fire Cloud Zhenren suddenly emerged from their concealed corners.

Three magical treasures soared into the sky, each launching attacks on the demon cloud.

The Profound Yellow Tower spun vigorously, extending seven or eight zhang high, and the yellow spirit light blasted towards the black cloud like a sky cannon.

The Golden Wheel similarly enlarged with the wind, emanating endless radiance. With the unique sharp and decisive nature of a Metal Element Treasure, it spun into the black cloud.

A multicolored feather fan abruptly expanded, flapping skyward, sending a sea of fire towards the black cloud.

"An ambush!"

"Roar!"

The Demon Kings howled, commanding the black cloud to press down heavily once more, plunging the world into darkness.

Flames soared, with golden light shining brightly.

The battles on the city wall had ceased long before, and cultivators retreated to within the city.

Cheers echoed from amongst the cultivators, boosting morale greatly.

Within the Immortal City, only three Golden Core Ancestors normally controlled the Mountain Protection Array, limiting them to passive defense during Demon King assaults.

Now, with three additional Ancestors arriving, the Immortal City is safe indeed.