Chapter 248: Chapter 247: Dead End (Seeking Monthly Tickets)_1
Several months later.
Boom! Boom!
Boom! Boom!
War drums thundered outside Baize Immortal City, where an army of cultivators was arranged in neat formations.
In the sky, multicolored Five-Colored Tower Boats circled, their surfaces erupting with dazzling flashes of light, all preparing for formidable attacks.
On the ground before the army of cultivators, there stood several giant beasts more than ten zhang in length.
These behemoths had bluish-black hide resembling rhinoceroses, armored in thick layers of armor with structures on their backs, inside which cultivators were either forming hand seals and chanting spells or waving Array Flags and Array Disks...
Boom! Boom!
The sounds of war drums echoed throughout Baize Immortal City, causing the faces of Ouyang Zhen, Yuan Feihong, and others on the city walls to change repeatedly.
"They’ve even brought out the Ancient Thunder Beasts, their last-resort war beasts. It seems Mysterious Heaven Sect is determined to win at all costs,"
A round-faced young man standing next to Yuan Feihong muttered to himself.
His surname was Xiang, and he was the twenty-ninth senior brother, a senior brother to Yuan Feihong.
"And so many cultivators, look at the banners of the Spirit Sword Sect, Gloomy Moon Sect, Long Family and other Foundation Establishment powers... It seems they’ve fully mobilized the forces of Yue Country, drawing manpower for a war of attrition against the city’s defensive arrays!"
Another beautiful woman also murmured.
"No matter... Despite their impressive numbers, they still fall short compared to the beast tide."
Ouyang Zhen, wielding the Kui Cattle Drum, shouted to boost morale, "Fellow junior brothers and sisters, proceed as planned!"
"Understood!"
All the Foundation Establishment junior brothers and sisters responded in unison, leading a group of guests to a certain location to reinforce the Array defenses.
Suddenly, two streaks of Escape Light intertwined, and a woman’s scream came from within, "Xiang junior brother, you..."
"Hmm?"
Ouyang Zhen was shocked to see the twenty-ninth ranked junior brother, Xiang, wielding a golden Flying Sword, unexpectedly launching a sneak attack on the beautiful woman known as ’Qing junior sister’.
Qing junior sister’s chest bled profusely, her Escape Light faltering, while her Storage Bag was snatched by Xiang junior brother. He quickly used a talisman to erase the Magic Power imprint and retrieved an Array Flag shimmering with Spiritual Light!
This Array Flag was precisely the key instrument to control the arrays that Ouyang Zhen had entrusted to his junior brothers and sisters!
"Xiang junior brother, you’ve turned out to be a traitor!"
Ouyang Zhen roared furiously. As the Kui Cattle Drum sounded, waves of purple thunder rushed towards the round-faced Xiang junior brother like tidal waves.
Looking at his senior brother, Xiang junior brother’s face showed a flicker of fear, but he still replied loudly, "I just don’t want to die for your ambition... Following you in defending Baize Immortal City, you might gain plenty of resources to reach Core Formation, but what would we get?"
While responding loudly, he swiftly slapped a talisman on himself, manifesting a layer of golden protective Spiritual Light that deflected the thunder from the Kui Cattle Drum, clearly a third-order defensive talisman!
Originally quite fearful, upon seeing the ’Body-Protecting Golden Light Talisman’ provided by Mysterious Heaven Sect actually defending against the great senior brother, Xiang junior brother’s face lit up with joy.
With a quick slap on his Storage Bag, another identical Array Flag appeared. Pouring his Magic Power frantically into the two identical Array Flags, he cackled, "Hahaha... Now I will open the Array Gate and let Mysterious Heaven Sect in, what can you do to me?"
But the next moment, observing the Prohibitions surrounding Baize Immortal City, he saw no change at all, causing his expression to drastically change, "How is this possible?"
"Hmph... Knowing that not only guests, but even among us there could be those secretly conspiring with outsiders, how could I not be prepared!"
Ouyang Zhen sprang into action, catching Qing junior sister while taking out a white jade-like token from his other hand, "The Array Flags I gave you all have hidden mechanisms, controlled by my Prohibition Token... Traitors, meet your death!"
Hating his twenty-ninth junior brother to the core, he waved the token forcefully and a cascade of rosy light linked with the Great Array’s Prohibition.
A pure White Light suddenly descended, forming a massive column that enveloped Xiang junior brother, and endless waves of Divine Thunder and True Fire appeared, submerging him...
A look of terror spread across Xiang junior brother’s face as he watched his protective Golden Light being eroded layer by layer. Before he could even beg for mercy, numerous True Fires reduced him to ashes, obliterating his spirit and scattering his soul.
"Hmph, this is the fate of traitors. Qing junior sister, are you alright?"
Ouyang Zhen turned to the Qing junior sister in his arms, but suddenly his hand ached, and the token fell to the ground, caught by a beam of light that securely grasped it.
With a coquettish laugh, Qing junior sister stepped back like a specter, her Magic Power surging in her hands, rapidly refining the Prohibition Token.
"Kill!"
At the same time, several guest Foundation Establishment cultivators glanced at each other and drew their Spiritual Instruments, attacking the White Peak Mountain disciples who were stunned by the startling turn of events.
"Double-Tailed Scorpion... good, good, good... I personally gave you the egg of this venomous creature, never did I expect that you, Qing junior sister, would use it to scheme against me!"
Ouyang Zhen released a flash of Thunder Light from his body, turning a double-tailed purple-shelled scorpion to dust. His face turned pale as he quickly swallowed an Antidote Spiritual Pill.
Yuan Feihong, in great shock, drew a Spiritual Instrument to protect Ouyang Zhen, his face filled with disbelief, "Qing senior sister... why?"
Qing senior sister fell silent for a moment, then calmly answered, "Sorry... Actually, senior sister has long been involved with a Taoist Companion from Mysterious Heaven Sect in secret. Moreover... I truly cannot agree with the strategy of brother Ouyang’s steadfast defense of the city. If Mysterious Heaven Sect was able to breach Song Family’s Moon Viewing Mountain City, who’s to say they don’t have a second Earth-Shaking Array?"
Yuan Feihong was at a loss for words.
He wanted to say that the great senior brother had already made plans, that if they managed to hold on, a friend of the Master would soon come to take over the defense.
But at this moment, he could say nothing at all.
Or rather, even if he did speak, it would be pointless.
He looked at Ouyang Zhen and suddenly felt that the decision of the great senior brother to withhold information had been a mistake.
Or perhaps more accurately, fishing had lured out Monster Beasts!
Not only had many guests defected, but even many of the senior and junior brothers and sisters who had lived and trained together day and night had now gone their separate ways.
"Now that it has come to this..."
A drop of fresh blood emerged on Qing junior sister’s finger and rapidly entered the token, causing it to glow a bright red. Clearly, she had resorted to some Blood Sacrifice Secret Skill to rapidly enhance the refining effect.
Crack!
A crisp, long chirp emitted from the token, and a flash of joy crossed Qing’s face as she rapidly shook the token.
In the blink of an eye, the protective great array shrouding Baize Immortal City roared and shook, countless prohibitions crumbled, turning into a lifeless thing, losing its original effects.
"Ha ha, seize this city for this elder!"
Upon seeing this scene, Zhang Zhusheng’s face lit up with pleasure, but he did not take any risks himself, instead quickly issuing commands.
The spirit boats circling in the sky and the Ancient Thunder Beasts roared in unison and charged into Baize Immortal City.
Rush!
The Ancient Thunder Beast, like a small hill, caused a mini earthquake with each charge.
It carried the cultivators on its back and easily smashed through the city gate of Baize Immortal City, stepping onto the main street, where the blue stone slabs on the ground instantly shattered...
The remaining individual cultivators shivered in their Dongfus, deeply regretting not having fled the fairy city in advance.
Baize Immortal City... breached!
A trace of despair flashed across Ouyang Zhen’s face.
"Senior brother, let’s go!"
Yuan Feihong let out a long howl, summoning the Spiritual Beasts, holding onto Ouyang Zhen as they climbed onto the back of a winged serpent, and immediately spurred on the magic spell furiously, wanting the Spiritual Beasts to carry the two of them to escape.
"Let me go!"
Ouyang Zhen pushed Yuan Feihong away, his face flashing wildly with purple qi, with inch-long white glints shooting from his eyes, as if they had become tangible: "Baize Immortal City has fallen, and I am to blame as well... Wretch, I will have you dead!"
He let out a ferocious yell, and somehow, using some secret skill, he forcibly suppressed the toxins within his body and spurred on the Kui Cattle Drum.
Boom!
The drum reverberated with dancing thunder and suddenly grew to the size of a palace, crashing down from above.
Countless thunderous dances descended like a pure white forest.
A Foundation Establishment consummate cultivator, wielding a third-rank Spiritual Instrument, struck with resentment.
Even though Qing was a mid-Foundation Establishment cultivator, she turned to ashes under the relentless thunder...
"Hmph, you impudent child!"
Outside Baize Immortal City, a figure flew in, with terrifying Spiritual Pressure spreading in all directions.
It was Zhang Zhusheng!
...
Half a month later.
A dimly lit Escape Light descended upon a desolate mountain.
The light converged to reveal two people, it turned out to be Yuan Feihong and Ouyang Zhen.
However, Ouyang Zhen’s appearance was particularly wretched now, not only was his body scorched everywhere, but his full head of black hair had turned pure white, appearing as if he was on his last breath.
"Senior brother..."
Yuan Feihong’s voice was choked with tears as he searched his whole body, finally finding a healing Spiritual Pill and fed it to Ouyang Zhen.
In the previous battle at Baize Immortal City, Ouyang Zhen faced Zhang Zhusheng and was naturally soundly defeated!
Even though Ouyang Zhen fought with all he had, using several Demon Path secret skills to ravage his lifespan and enhance his strength, he was no match for Elder Zhang of the Mysterious Heaven Sect.
If not for Master Bai Feng’s other disciples, who joined together to use several of Master Bai Feng’s remaining Talismans in combination with an array, momentarily entangling Zhang Zhusheng, perhaps neither of them would have made it out.
Even so, Yuan Feihong had gone through serial brutal fights, with pursuers chasing him so relentlessly that there was no escape to heaven nor entry through the earth, and after several exchanges of blows, even the Spiritual Beasts were killed...
"Where is this?"
Moments later, Ouyang Zhen barely opened his eyes and muttered.
"I don’t know... I originally wanted to flee to Wood Kingdom or Martial Kingdom, but encountered a large number of pursuers at the border and had no choice but to take the opposite path, heading deep into the territory of Yue Country... The defenses here of the Mysterious Heaven Sect are a bit weaker..."
Yuan Feihong pulled out a jade slip, barely discerned the direction: "Further north, we will reach the Thousand Island Lake area... I plan to take great senior brother there to lay low for a while, I still have some friends there, and if Elder Zhang pursues us, then we’ll just flee to Jade Island, to see if Elder Zhang dares to follow!"
"Friends from Thousand Island Lake?"
Ouyang Zhen let out a bitter laugh, naturally knowing who Yuan Feihong was referring to.
But having rashly rejected the other party before, and now having to ask for refuge, such a reversal of treatment was indeed hard to put into words.
He thought for a moment and made a decision: "The Island Master of Dragon Fish Island is a decent person, he will surely shelter you... but I needn’t go, if they don’t kill me, this ’bandit leader,’ the Mysterious Heaven Sect will not rest... I won’t join you, to bring disaster upon you."
"Senior brother?!"
Yuan Feihong’s eyes instantly reddened.
At that moment, from behind them, came the shrill sound of something tearing through the air.
"You must go quickly, I’ll cover your retreat!"
Ouyang Zhen’s expression changed, and he struggled to stand: "If you don’t leave... I’ll end myself right here!"
After pushing Yuan Feihong to leave, Ouyang Zhen turned around, his eyes somewhat dreamy as he seemed to recall the various things in Baize Immortal City when his master was still around.
"Enough... here I am, Ouyang Zhen, let’s see who comes to claim my head."
He barely controlled the Escape Light, devouring his last bit of Primordial Energy, turning into a deep purple flash of lightning, rushing towards the pursuing lights coming from behind...