Chapter 438: Divine Ability—Breaking the Army!
Although General Xu Dali was not one for flexibility, he still had battlefield experience.
He was deeply agitated, for he knew that his side was falling into the abyss of defeat.
The Iron-Wall Formation could not be fully deployed. If only the inner ring of the smaller formation was active, it would be difficult to reverse the loss.
Xu Dali, sitting atop his heavy-armored rhino, roared, “Bring me my command flag—quickly!”
Four Foundation Establishment–stage body cultivators immediately hauled over the massive banner.
Such a vital military artifact condensed the army’s power; once a battle formation was activated, it became nearly immovable—let alone fitting it into a storage bag.
When the flag was brought beside Xu Dali, the four cultivators were red-faced and bulging-necked from exertion, drenched in sweat and gasping for breath.
Xu Dali extended his rough, calloused hand and gripped the flagpole tightly. With a sudden shout, he activated his military art.
Military Art—Rally the Army’s Heart!
At that instant, the soldiers’ attention all fell upon the main commander’s flag.
The command flag had not fallen!
The battle was not yet over.
There was still hope.
Countless cultivators’ hearts stirred, their thoughts uniting as one.
Invisible military might began to gather upon the flag. The banner fluttered of its own accord in the windless air.
“Fight! Fight! Fight!” Xu Dali bellowed.
His personal guards and elite soldiers roared in unison.
In that moment, the defeated morale suddenly surged with renewed vigor.
Not only did the Barbarian-Demon Army feel Xu Dali’s battle intent, but even the surrounding barbarian cultivators’ faces changed color.
“This General Xu Dali may be dull-witted, but his will is unyielding and his fighting spirit fierce—a tough bone to chew.” Many of the barbarian cultivators showed faint admiration.
They despised weakness and revered strength.
“Heh… interesting.” Bi Tengyi raised her hand and pointed forward.
Nascent Soul–level power suddenly erupted—vast and overwhelming!
Divine Ability—Hell of Entwining Vines!
As the Barbarian-Demon Army’s morale gathered and the main commander’s flag flapped proudly, a sudden emerald wind arose from nowhere and swept through the ranks in the blink of an eye.
An ominous aura spread. The ground cracked open with countless fissures.
Dark green vines and brambles, thick as pythons and serpents, burst madly from beneath the earth!
Their growth was monstrous—curving, twisting, entangling cultivators’ bodies, stabbing through living flesh.
Even Foundation Establishment and Golden Core cultivators, despite activating all their defenses, were pierced as if wrapped in fragile paper; blood splattered everywhere.
They struggled desperately, but their attacks struck the vines without leaving a mark.
After just a few breaths, these cultivators died tragic deaths on the spot.
The vines and brambles had already spread across the field, blanketing the land like a sea of green hell.
The countless thorny spikes were densely packed, as though tens of thousands of blades were harvesting lives.
The Barbarian-Demon Army fell into chaos!
Unlike Lone Fang, Bi Tengyi possessed a Divine Ability, and was a True Lord.
Though Tu Ming was also a Nascent Soul True Lord, his Formless Venom was merely at the level of a spell—not a Divine Ability.
The might of a Divine Ability naturally stood above all spells.
The outer ranks of the Barbarian-Demon Army were slaughtered—over half perished.
All around, vines crisscrossed, weaving a dark-green hellscape.
Bi Tengyi grinned savagely. Under her deliberate control, vast swaths of vines divided the battlefield into sectors, trapping the Barbarian-Demon Army’s cultivators into separate cages.
They could not break through. At intervals, a vine would suddenly lash out, seize one unlucky soul, and hoist him high.
Then, before all eyes, it strangled him alive—the thorns punctured armor and flesh alike, forcing out screams of agony, despair, and terror.
The morale of the Barbarian-Demon Army collapsed like an avalanche!
The gathered military spirit that Xu Dali had forged with his art dissipated rapidly, plunging to the bottom.
Seeing this, the deputy general hastily said, “General, the situation is lost. We can still retreat!”
Xu Dali barked, “No!”
“I am the vanguard! How could I retreat?”
“Only battle to the death—never retreat!”
Once his stubborn temper rose, Xu Dali stiffened his neck and held his ground.
The deputy general grit his teeth, sighed inwardly, but his eyes grew firm. He no longer mentioned retreat and threw himself wholly into combat.
The defeat of the Barbarian-Demon Army was already certain.
Yet at its core, the small Iron-Wall sub-formation remained unshaken.
Xu Dali’s personal guards and elite troops held their line firmly. Even as waves of wolves struck against them, they stood immovable as mountains.
—Midway up the mountain.
Cang Teng King gazed at Bi Tengyi with concern.
Bi Tengyi’s mouth and nose were bleeding, and her aura rapidly weakened.
She paid it no mind, baring her teeth in a grin. “So this is the taste of assaulting a nation’s defense and bearing the backlash of its national will… hehehe… hahahaha!”
Her laughter was hoarse and grating, like a murder of crows.
Though the Barbarian-Demon Army was newly formed and mixed in origin, Xu Dali was still a general of the Liangzhu Kingdom, bearing an Official Seal. This army was formally registered under Liangzhu’s command—part of its national defense.
A free cultivator like Bi Tengyi, without the backing of another nation’s power, would inevitably suffer the national backlash when attacking a country’s defenses alone.
At this moment, Bi Tengyi was lightly wounded, her strength suppressed by the national will—her combat power reduced by thirty percent.
Only through a period of recuperation could she recover gradually.
Leaving Liangzhu Kingdom’s borders and entering another country’s land would lessen the suppression and hasten her recovery.
For the cultivators of Thousand Peaks Forest, this was their disadvantage—since the forest lay within Liangzhu’s domain, they too had no foreign national power to share the backlash.
—On another mountain slope.
“Such a grand move… has that old hag of the Ancient Vine Tribe lost her mind?” muttered Tu Ming, the High Priest of Poison Belly, slightly astonished.
He too was a True Lord and possessed a Divine Ability, but acted cautiously.
After all, suffering the suppression of national will meant a long recovery time, and ahead still lay the main forces and vanguard of Liangzhu’s army.
This battle had only just begun—it was wise to conserve strength.
Tu Ming’s mind settled. He released a secret messenger.
Soon, a venomous snake slithered from the grass and arrived before Bi Tengyi, bearing Tu Ming’s message.
Tu Ming’s words read: “Xu Dali alone has shown the tenacity of Liangzhu’s cultivators—he cannot be taken lightly. Now that half of the Barbarian-Demon Army is entangled by vines, the greater situation is at risk.”
“I hope you will act according to plan, Bi Tengyi—use these routed soldiers to assault the White Jade Camp.”
Bi Tengyi sneered, unwilling. “Ink Abyss Cave Lord truly has a clever mind, managing the Six Caves Sect so profitably in both open and hidden ways. But I’ve paid such a heavy price—my military credit already in hand. And now you tell me to follow his arrangement? Who will repay my loss?”
Tu Ming was a Nascent Soul True Lord; Bi Tengyi was the same.
His reasoning was sound, but her interests were tangible.
Such was the flaw of alliances—each focused on their own gain, not united in heart.
Yet Tu Ming had expected this. Through the snake messenger, he replied, “Bi Tengyi, have you forgotten? Grandfather Long may be watching you from above.”
Bi Tengyi’s face changed.
She had signed a Divine Decree, requiring her to give her all.
She was the first among this raiding squad to fulfill it.
The Divine Decree was rigid—it could record battle merit, but only by headcount.
Thus, the Dragon Ginseng King had sent his temple priest, Grandfather Long, to personally oversee the battle and record the entire process.
Bi Tengyi was unwilling, but she dared not defy the Dragon Ginseng King’s will. She snorted coldly and agreed, “I will open a path and allow these routed troops to flee the field. But how they are guided to attack the White Jade Camp—that will not be my responsibility.”
The serpent messenger hissed, carrying Tu Ming’s laughter: “Rest assured. I will personally act and send my subordinates to drive them along.”
“As for this place—”
“Leave it to the Cangyue Tribe.”