These were, after all, the techniques and Dharma Treasures of an official.
Li Dalong was immensely powerful. Though his hands had transformed into giant serpents that could extend for hundreds of meters, they did not lack a grand and righteous aura.
That Netherworld God had a fearsome appearance, and as it led the countless Yin Souls from Li Dalong's Heaven-Piercing Coffin, it carried the air of a ruler.
"Yaozu!"
Li Dalong charged into the city and arrived at Li Yaozu's side. Li Yaozu's earlier strike had killed many, but it had also taken him to the very center of the city. All manner of techniques now rained down upon him, and he had fallen into a trapping formation.
Fortunately, Li Dalong arrived. The long serpents tore at the trapping formation, allowing the black qi that had emerged from Li Yaozu's sword box to recede. Li Yaozu then rode his sword to fly to his father's side.
Looking at the long serpents on his old man's arms, and the Netherworld God in the north of the city leading the Yin Souls into battle, Li Yaozu couldn't help but swallow, thinking to himself that this was just what he'd expect from his father.
Fang Linglong's admiring voice came from the sword box, "Ah Zu, an official's techniques are bestowed by the Heavenly Dao, but the techniques granted depend on the person. In reality, it stimulates a cultivator's ancient bloodline to find the technique most suited for them. Your father can summon a Netherworld God—that is truly powerful. And that coffin... if I'm not mistaken, it's a Spirit Treasure."
"Within the Divinity Transformation realm, as long as he doesn't run into someone like Tian Xing, no one is his match."
Li Yaozu nodded slightly.
But his brow quickly furrowed. The longswords all flew from his sword box as he used a sword technique from many years ago, making the swords move like a dragon. At this moment, he and Li Dalong were already in the center of the battlefield, surrounded on all sides by enemies.
The rainbow-like longswords shattered the enemy's incoming techniques in the sky above.
Li Dalong's twin serpents tore madly at their foes, while the Heaven-Piercing Coffin spun around them, shattering techniques with its indestructible body.
Under such a fierce collision of spiritual power, they couldn't even perceive what was happening on the periphery; even the Heaven-Piercing Coffin could not block all the techniques rushing in.
Under this bombardment, no matter how strong Li Yaozu and Li Dalong were, they were forced into a steady retreat.
In just the span of a finger-snap, Li Dalong's twin serpents were already covered in wounds.
Li Yaozu's once-invincible Sword Dragon truly was, just as Fang Linglong had said, all show and no substance.
Li Dalong and Li Yaozu said not a word; the father and son duo stubbornly held their ground.
...
"Dad, Big Brother!"
Outside the city, Li Yaoqing, whose cultivation base was weaker, had already charged to the city gates but was blocked by a spiritual formation cast by the disciples of the Aeternus Sect.
Watching her father and big brother being besieged by a sky full of cultivators within the city, she couldn't help but grow anxious and immediately used her technique to summon the Mountain God.
The ground rumbled and stones rose from the earth, but the cultivators inside the city continuously bombarded the mountain, slowing its formation.
Li Yaoqing unleashed her 'Divine Art' to its fullest extent.
Li Yaotie and Bai Rourou had also arrived.
Bai Rourou activated the 'Sky-Walker' to form her puppet body, while Li Yaotie transformed with the Divine Puppet.
All of the 'Thunder-Fire Spirit-Seekers' that Li Yaotie had refined poured out from his storage ring.
But there were simply too many cultivators inside the city!
The three of them couldn't even enter the city; the techniques launched from within were already more than enough to give them a hard time.
The cultivators of the Perennis Immortal Palace formed an array, summoning a technique that resembled a sea of blood.
Li Yaotie's 'Thunder-Fire Spirit-Seekers' were blasted apart before they could even reach the city gates.
A Divinity Transformation cultivator charged toward them, preventing Li Yaoqing's 'Mountain God' from fully forming.
He was even able to spare enough spiritual power to resist the Thunder Punishment of the 'Divine Art.'
"Second Sister, there are too many of them!"
Li Yaotie's expression was grim; he had been struck down to the ground by a single blow from that Divinity Transformation cultivator.
When he looked toward the city again, all he could see was the multicolored radiance of countless techniques.
They couldn't even sense what kind of dire situation their father and big brother were facing.
Moreover...
Cultivator after cultivator had already rushed out from the city, surrounding the brother and sister duo completely!
...
"Tianqi, stay by my side and protect me!"
"Talisman of the Thirteen Profound Seals, emerge! Thirteen Seniors, please lend me your aid!"
"Tianming, Tianyue, charge in and kill those forming the arrays!"
The situation on the west side of the city was no better.
Li Tianyi had already set up his zither, its music flowing with a leisurely grace. Behind him floated a massive divine talisman.
The Talisman of the Twelve Profound Seals, after many of the old seniors had entered it to become its refined 'Profound Seals,' and with the addition of numerous Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures from the Li family, had evolved.
This Dharma Treasure now possessed thirteen Profound Seals.
Within this Divine Talisman, these seniors from the Azure Cloud Pavilion, who had been dormant for ages, were now able to wield the power they possessed in life!
They emerged from the talisman and, daring not to delay, carved a bloody path forward for Li Tianming and Li Tianyue.
They were, after all, seniors from the Azure Cloud Pavilion of over a hundred thousand years ago; the three most ancient masters among them actually possessed the strength of the Divinity Transformation stage.
It was a pity that if not for the Divine Talisman being insufficiently powerful, their strength would likely have been even greater.
But before them was an equally countless number of enemies, and all they could see was the brilliant light of techniques.
The thirteen Profound Seals emerged to face their respective opponents, yet more enemies still charged forward.
"Seniors, please enter Tianqi's body!"
A Divinity Transformation cultivator had noticed something unusual about the Divine Talisman and charged toward Li Tianyi.
Li Tianyi dared not be careless. More spiritual forms appeared from his body and flew into Li Tianqi, who stood to the side with a tortoise shell on his back.
In that instant, Li Tianqi's power began to soar!
His eyes glowed with a golden light. It was unknown which senior had taken control of his body, but they used his palm as a saber and chopped outward.
The music of the zither rang out.
It was Li Tianyi. On this chaotic battlefield, a celestial maiden appeared in the air and began to dance, causing the cultivators surrounding him to show looks of dazed infatuation.
[Enchanting Heart-Summoning Dance Technique]
This Earth-rank technique from the Clear Heart Hall, which conjured a celestial maiden to perform a total of three thousand six hundred different dances to influence the minds of enemies, had fallen into Li Tianyi's hands!
And what's more, he had integrated it into the music of his zither.
As the zither's melody continued, Li Tianming and Li Tianyue also fought their way into the city with great difficulty, charging toward the cultivators who were forming the arrays.
Li Tianyue struck with her twin swords. She wielded the Killing Life Sword, practiced the Killing Life Sword Art, and with her Bloodthirsty Body, she had inherited the 'Blood Monarch's Nether Technique.'
A chaotic group battle like this could not be more suited for her. But this was a battlefield of cultivators; she had no soldiers under her command, and this fight was far more difficult than any she had ever faced on a traditional battlefield!
"Tianming, go! Kill those forming the arrays!"
Li Tianyue slaughtered madly. Her Dharma Body was a sea of blood.
The blood sea was constantly being blasted apart by the enemy's techniques, but it was also continuously absorbing the blood of those she killed to replenish her spiritual power.
"Hahaha, kill!"
Li Tianming, however, paid no mind to any of that. Though he was mad, if he were truly a complete fool, he wouldn't have been kept by Li Tianyi and Li Tianqi's side, nor would he have been sitting on a lotus platform acting like a charlatan.
It was just that when he charged toward the other cultivators, he appeared even more frenzied.
When he saw a woman, he would shout, "Wifey, your husband has come for you!"
No matter who he ran into, he would yell, "You're a genius!" And in those moments, his strength would inexplicably surge.
The 'Treasured Body of Longevity' he had obtained from Tian Xing was likely having an effect, as he charged through such a battlefield completely unscathed.
But as time went on, Li Tianyi's expression grew increasingly grim.
More and more cultivators charged out from the city; they couldn't even fight their way inside!
They had likely overestimated themselves; the strength of the Three Great Powers was far greater than their own.
As time passed, their situation would only become more difficult, because the disciples inside the city were forming arrays—even the Nascent Soul stage cultivators...
Most of the Nascent Soul cultivators were inside the city gathering their strength; the longer they gathered power, the stronger their techniques would become.
Looking over at his allies…
The Old Man from Skynet, in his Bodhisattva form, was facing two Divinity Transformation cultivators, while a dozen or so Nascent Soul cultivators continuously harassed him.
Dongfang Xuan was not having an easy time either. The woman released a painting, and the image within it came to life. Her paintbrush, too, could turn illusion into reality, but she was entangled by one Dharma Treasure after another, and numerous talismans had formed a barrier, sealing her in.
As for Han Yun… he had charged forward with a trident but had been seriously injured and was now being rescued by Daoist Poxu…
The cultivators from Duskwild Prefecture were all at the Divinity Transformation stage.
They were fighting on the west side of the city and, it seemed, had also fallen into a difficult situation.
This was because in the sky on that side, numerous artifacts and even a nine-headed serpent—a transformed spirit beast—had appeared.
The spiritual power was so strong that even they could feel it from a distance.
Far away, a flash of red could be seen; the Old Tree was in the midst of a great battle. With Li Changsheng on its body, its movements were ultimately hindered.
Li Changyao was in command of the Hall of Heavenly Principle and was unable to come.
Only the Old Tree could both protect Li Changsheng and shield him from the workings of heaven; otherwise, there was no telling what those eyes might do.
This was also why, for all these years, the Old Tree had been in such a bind.
He could summon spirit trees and stone statues to fight, but the things he summoned had no effect whatsoever.
His roots shot through the air to strike, but they were easily shattered by the Divinity Transformation experts.
However, the Old Tree seemed able to anticipate the enemy's moves and could always evade harm, its massive body continuously striking out with its roots.