My Beasts Grind Proficiency For Me

Chapter 370 - 227: The Melee Begins (2)

This was only because the Flying Boat was still several miles away. If it activated the Heaven-shattering Earth-collapse Array directly above the Array Formation, the few Arrays that had already been severely damaged by the Flying Boat’s attacks would likely be shattered completely.

The Flying Boat in the air was unaffected by the Heaven-shattering Earth-collapse Array. From the Void Five Weapons Array, Spirit Soldiers formed from pure Spiritual Qi—Long Spears, Flying Forks, Fish Nets, Treasure Swords, and Golden Bricks—rose one after another, soaring toward the enemy vessel.

Once the Heaven-shattering Earth-collapse Array was revealed, the other Demon Sect Flying Boats had already moved to shield that particular vessel at the heart of their formation. Though the whistling Spirit Soldiers were immensely powerful, they were all intercepted by colossal Demon Claws conjured by the Demon Sect’s fleet.

Several Demon Sect Flying Boats opened their side hatches, and hordes of Celestial Demons swarmed out, shrieking as they charged the defensive line.

These Celestial Demons were not like those from the Demon Realm, who lacked physical anchors and were thus rejected by the world’s natural barrier. These had all used host objects to fool the Heaven and Earth Embryonic Membrane of the Nine Heavens World.

The shocking number of Celestial Demons formed a dense, oppressive black cloud that instantly enveloped the Arrays along the defensive line.

The Demon Sect intended to use these Celestial Demons as cover, allowing the vessel carrying the Heaven-shattering Earth-collapse Array to draw closer to the defensive line. From there, they could unleash even more violent tremors to shatter the Spirit Veins underground.

Suddenly, chains of Spiritual Light shot up from the Arrays. Like nets catching sparrows, they bound the Celestial Demons and dragged them back down into the cauldrons within the formations.

This demonic tide, which would normally have sent the Righteous Dao forces scrambling, was completely useless.

On the contrary, a beam of Seven Luminaries Demon-Slaying Divine Light shot across the sky, piercing straight through two unsuspecting Flying Boats and nearly striking the vessel that carried the Heaven-shattering Earth-collapse Array.

The Seven Luminaries Demon-Slaying Array, where Yang Jing had been stationed, had previously suffered heavy damage. After the first tremor ravaged it, the Array collapsed completely.

Yinjiao scanned the area, only to find that the soldiers from the Array had already scattered to other Grand Arrays. He slapped his thigh in frustration, anxiously wanting to rush into one of the nearby Array Formations.

Zuoqiu Feng suddenly appeared, blocking Yinjiao’s path. "The Array Formations are at full power. If you try to force your way in and the operators inside don’t react in time, you’ll likely be injured by the Array itself."

"Yinjiao, according to the soldiers, a Yu Hou claimed to have found a Cave Mansion seven miles west of the defensive line. He took Yang Jing to investigate. Yang Jing should be trapped there. You must rescue him."

Zuoqiu Feng said.

She had arrived even before Yinjiao and had been escorting the soldiers from the collapsed Grand Array to the other Magic Arrays. She had intended to rescue Yang Jing herself, but upon seeing Yinjiao, she immediately decided to entrust the task to him instead.

If that Heaven-shattering Earth-collapse Array was allowed to continue its assault, the Tier Two Arrays on the defensive line would eventually fail.

Yinjiao gave a quick cupped-fist salute and then hurriedly flew west.

Zuoqiu Feng gripped her Five Evils Demon-Slaying Flying Saber, her eyes glinting with murderous intent as she stared at the distant Demon Sect Flying Boats.

As large-scale Magical Artifacts, a Flying Boat commanded by a Foundation Establishment Cultivator and crewed by experienced Qi Cultivators could easily hold its own against a Golden Core Cultivator.

If several Flying Boats coordinated their attacks, even a Golden Core Cultivator would be forced to flee.

That was why she didn’t charge directly into the fleet to try and destroy the Heaven-shattering Earth-collapse Array. Even a Late Stage Golden Core Cultivator might not escape unscathed from such an attempt.

Instead, she set her sights on the Flying Boats that had been damaged by the Seven Luminaries Demon-Slaying Grand Array.

Although the Seven Luminaries Demon-Slaying Grand Array wasn’t designed specifically to counter Flying Boats, the vessels it had pierced were still heavily damaged. They could only move to the edge of the fleet to conduct emergency repairs.

Zuoqiu Feng activated a Tier Two Earth Escape Talisman and traveled underground. Once she was beneath one of the damaged Flying Boats, she burst from the earth, transforming into a sharp, Five-Colored streak of saber light. Becoming one with her blade, she slashed into the existing breach on the vessel.

With a piercing screech of rending metal, the crescent-shaped slash carved a hideous gash across the Flying Boat’s hull, nearly bisecting the entire vessel.

The nearby Flying Boats were completely taken by surprise, not expecting another Golden Core Cultivator to be lying in ambush. They scattered in alarm, pulling away from the attacker.

At the fleet commander’s stern order, the vessels closed in again, activating the Restrictions on their hulls to form one massive Demon Claw after another to seize Zuoqiu Feng.

Zuoqiu Feng didn’t get entangled with the Demon Claws. Shrouding herself in saber light, she sliced through a claw blocking her path and escaped the fleet’s perimeter.

’If I get bogged down fighting the Flying Boats,’ she thought, ’my Magical Power alone won’t be enough to contend with the numerous Spiritual Eye Objects powering them.’

Yinjiao was extremely cautious, using his Cloud Escape to conceal his presence. At the speed of his Cloud Escape, the distance of several miles was covered in a flash.

The first thing he saw was the Nine Nether Evil Transformation Grand Array. The entire Grand Array was slowly creeping across the ground, as if it were trying to flee from something.

Where a valley had once been, there was now a sinkhole more than two hundred feet deep. The earth and stone from the pit had been moved aside by some Great Magical Power, and flickering motes of Five Elements True Fire now clung to the rock walls, burning steadily.

Even though the Spiritual Qi in the rock walls was pitifully scarce, the Five Elements True Fire seemed to grow ever more intense, feeding on the stone itself.

Yinjiao also noticed that at one end of the sinkhole, there were tracks left by countless massive, serpentine creatures. They had bored huge, deep tunnels into the rock walls.

Several of these tunnels had been blasted open with Great Magical Power, and the Five Elements True Fire was now burning its way down them.

Yinjiao slowly exhaled. He knew that while his master rarely displayed it, very few cultivators in the Foundation Establishment Stage could surpass him in Earth Element Magic.

To move such an astonishing amount of earth and stone in a single go meant his master’s Earth Escape Skill had improved yet again. And from the signs at the scene, although he was trapped in the Array, he clearly had the absolute upper hand.

Yinjiao circulated his Magical Power, silently condensing a Water-shaped Magical Sword in his hand. He then stealthily approached using his Cloud Escape.

Lou Lidar and several of his junior brothers and sisters stood guard outside the Array Formation, their faces etched with anxiety. As the one who had set up the Array, he could clearly sense that the entire Nine Nether Evil Transformation Array was rapidly weakening. The Tree Root Demon Monster inside wouldn’t last much longer.

This terrifying display of power made his scalp tingle with fear.

That tree root was several thousand years old. It had been hidden deep within the Demon Realm, absorbing Demonic Qi for millennia, and had secretly devoured a countless number of Celestial Demons.

Though its intelligence was low, the Demonic Qi it had accumulated was genuinely on par with that of a Golden Core Demon Cultivator.

’With that kind of terrifying power,’ he thought, ’if the Array breaks, Yang Jing will only need a single sword strike to kill each of us.’

This terrifying realization made him restless, and he wished he could immediately flee from the Nine Nether Evil Transformation Array, which felt like a volcano on the verge of eruption.

One of his junior brothers approached timidly.

"Senior Brother Lou, First Senior Brother sent a Token. He says the Western Continent Cultivators are exceptionally tenacious. The Heaven-shattering Earth-sinking Array hasn’t had the miraculous effect he expected. He’s ordering us to cut off Yang Jing’s head as quickly as possible to intimidate these native Cultivators."

As he read the message on the Token, he seemed torn between fear and laughter.

Lou Lidar, however, laughed aloud out of pure frustration.

"That bastard Sha Shuyuan! He’s wielding a supreme Artifact like the Heaven-shattering Earth-sinking Array and still can’t handle a bunch of native Western Continent Cultivators, yet he wants *me* to take care of a deadly foe like Yang Jing?"

His junior brothers and sisters lowered their heads, silent. Before laying the trap for Yang Jing, Lou Lidar had boasted that once Yang Jing fell into the Nine Nether Evil Transformation Array, his death was guaranteed.

Now he was singing a very different tune.

They weren’t far from the main battlefield; occasionally, a stray beam of Divine Light would even land nearby.

"Senior Brother! The battle is going poorly. We should retreat back to the Demon Realm first," a Female Cultivator cooed, clinging to Lou Lidar’s arm.

Lou Lidar began to waver. These Western Continent Cultivators were far more troublesome than they had anticipated. Sha Shuyuan’s plan was likely going to end in failure.

Just as he was about to nod in agreement, his expression suddenly changed. He yanked the Female Cultivator beside him and pulled her in front of him as a shield.

A streak of water-colored Sword Light flashed past. The Defensive Spiritual Artifact on the Female Cultivator flared for an instant before the Sword Light cut through it, bisecting her at the waist.