121: Chapter 121 Resisting Extreme Pressure, Reversing the Path of the Golden Core

Behind the Blood River, loud noises rang out in succession. Three figures vaulted over the remnants of the Asura army, leaving craters several zhang wide with every step.

They did not lead the legion in a charge; their targets had been locked onto three defensive nodes of the Immovable Wisdom King Army Formation from the very beginning.

The Asura commander at the very front was clad in heavy blood-bone armor, wielding a heavy blood blade in each arm, with Qi and blood within its body reaching the Martial Ancestor Realm.

The other two commanders—one holding a long-handled battle axe, the other carrying a giant blood-patterned sword—each had long ribbons of blood Qi formed from incomplete Laws trailing behind them.

Three waves of Martial Ancestor pressure descended upon the army formation before the figures themselves arrived. The shield soldiers in the front row found their breathing obstructed, and the soul-protecting formation patterns within their nether bone mysterious armor lit up in succession.

The killing Laws pressed into the depths of the wasteland were drawn by the commanders; crimson Qi currents drilled out of the fissures and converged toward the three heavy weapons.

Wang Mu stood on the mobile high platform, flipping through the wartime register. The three commanders were charging toward the shield formation, the Spirit Gathering Formation, and the junction of the Artillery Battalion, respectively.

"All battalions, hold your positions! The first to third squads of the Extreme Realm roster, enter the nodes. Artillery Battalion, retreat five hundred zhang. Maintenance teams, reinforce the earth veins."

The order spread across the battle line. The ordinary armored soldiers did not charge to meet the Martial Ancestor commanders but followed the military order to continue holding their respective positions.

Three hundred Half-step Golden Core Cultivators rose from within the army formation, holding Formation Flags. They landed around the Spirit Gathering nodes, and their spiritual power connected rapidly along the formation patterns.

Seven hundred Half-step Martial Masters divided into three squads, stepped in front of the shield formation, and poured their long-compressed Qi and blood into their second generation nether-bone xuan armor.

Wang Shan led three hundred of them to guard the front, dragging his crimson flame saber diagonally at his side, his eyes locked onto the charging dual-blade Asura commander.

Wang Mu personally entered the central formation hub. A hundred Half-step Golden Core Cultivators beside him simultaneously activated their Formation Plates, and nine sets of second-tier formation diagrams projected power from the Divine Kingdom passage.

The three Asura commanders did not change their routes. The speed brought by the Martial Ancestor Realm allowed them to cross the several-mile battlefield and press directly in front of the army formation.

The Asura commander holding the giant sword struck first, swinging the blood-patterned giant sword with both arms, slashing down toward the Spirit Gathering node.

Before the blade could land, the accumulated blood Qi had already split the outer layer of formation light, and over a dozen heavy black iron shields shattered on the spot.

Wang Mu raised the command flag. Hundreds of formation patterns rose from the ground, and the spiritual power of the Extreme Realm Cultivators poured entirely into the node shield.

The blood-patterned giant sword smashed onto the shield, and the vibration spread throughout the army formation. Dozens of Half-step Golden Core Cultivators vomited blood on the spot, and the Formation Plates under their feet cracked with large patterns.

The shield dented inward by several zhang. The giant sword was only three feet away from the central formation hub, yet it could not continue its downward slash.

The Cultivators responsible for the node changed the formation in unison, channeling the unbearable force into the earth veins, causing the ground for several hundred zhang nearby to overturn in layers.

Wang Mu stood beneath the giant sword, his robes stirred by the air waves, the command flag in his hand still pointing steadily at the formation eye.

"First squad, retreat to heal. Fourth squad, take their place. Formation diagram, continue to absorb the pressure and divert it. Do not let it pull the sword out!"

The injured Cultivators retreated according to orders. A new squad of Half-step Golden Core Cultivators stepped into the node, their spiritual power refilling the formation patterns that had dimmed.

The Asura commander exerted force with both arms, wanting to pull the giant sword out of the shield, but the blade was locked tight by hundreds of strands of spiritual power.

On the other side, the commander holding the battle axe had already collided with the junction of the Artillery Battalion, the axe blade striking the shield wall guarding the outer side head-on.

Thirty heavy black iron shields shattered simultaneously. The Extreme Realm Martial Masters standing at the very front were sent flying, their armor crashing into the ranks behind them.

The Martial Masters in the back row did not dodge; groups of ten supported the wounded, while the others immediately filled the shield wall, sealing the gap torn open by the battle axe.

The Asura commander swept with its axe, the Martial Ancestor Qi and blood pressure passing over the army formation node, causing the armor plates on the chests of dozens of Martial Masters to burst open on the spot.

The Medical Cultivator Camp dragged towing ropes into the inner formation, pulling away those who had lost combat effectiveness, and immediately fed them the soul-burning heaven-mending pill.

The wounded did not remain in place to block the battle line, and the replacement armored soldiers did not stop their advance due to the Martial Ancestor pressure.

On the front guarded by Wang Shan, the dual-blade Asura commander had already leaped onto the shield wall, its left and right blood blades crossing as it slashed toward the center of the army formation.

The two blood blades drew upon the underground Laws, with over ten zhang of blood Qi extending from the edges, enough to cut the entire shield formation in half.

Wang Shan raised his crimson flame saber to meet the left blade. Behind him, three hundred Half-step Martial Masters stepped forward in unison, their Qi and blood flowing along the Immovable Wisdom King Army Formation and into the blade.

Another hundred Extreme Realm Martial Masters joined forces to raise their shields, blocking the blood blade slashing from the right, but two of the three shield layers were broken on the spot.

The crimson flame saber collided with the blood blade. Wang Shan's feet sank into the ground, his shoulder armor burst from the pressure, and the sound of dislocating bones came from his chest.

The three hundred Martial Masters behind him groaned in unison, dozens of them coughing up blood, yet they still held their positions, not allowing the Qi and blood connection to be interrupted.

The dual-blade Asura commander pressed its blade forward, its Martial Ancestor Qi and blood rushing along the crimson flame saber into the army formation, attempting to destroy all nodes from the inside.

The Qi and blood diversion formation on the second generation nether-bone xuan armor operated simultaneously, breaking the force rushing into the body into thousands of strands, distributing it for the entire army formation to bear.

The ground beneath the twenty thousand armored soldiers sank in unison. The shield soldiers' arms trembled, but the blade soldiers still held their battle blades steadily behind the shield wall.

The dual-blade Asura commander looked down at Wang Shan, a fierce intent appearing on its war-scarred face, and raised its right blood blade high once more.

Wang Shan did not take the second blow head-on; he retreated half a step to the side, and the shield formation behind him immediately opened a narrow passage.

The dual-blade Asura commander lifted its foot and stepped into the gap, and the three hundred surrounding Extreme Realm Martial Masters closed the army formation in unison.

The Qi and blood of the Immovable Wisdom King Army Formation pressed down from all sides, locking its footing between the shield formation and the blade formation.

It swung its dual blades in a sweep, sending over a dozen Extreme Realm Martial Masters flying with blood Qi, but the armored soldiers behind them filled the gaps at the same moment.

Seeing that the target had been caught at the front, Wang Mu flipped his wrist, and a pre-prepared second-tier defensive formation diagram flew out of the central formation hub.

The formation diagram crossed over the army formation and unfolded beneath the dual-blade Asura commander's feet, and crimson gold chains rushed out from the formation patterns.

The first batch of chains wrapped around its legs, with Martial Ancestor Qi and blood shattering most of them, but a second batch of chains followed closely behind, wrapping around its waist and abdomen.

Three hundred Cultivators from the Formation Hall formed seals in unison, pouring spiritual power along the Spirit Gathering nodes into the chains, forcibly restricting the Asura commander's movement.

The dual-blade Asura commander let out an angry roar, its blood blades hacking through the shields in front of it, but it could no longer rely on speed to break free from the army formation's encirclement.

Wang Mu stared at the constantly breaking chains, his speaking speed unchanged. "The formation diagram can trap it for ten breaths at most. Wang Shan, is that enough?"

Wang Shan raised his hand to press on his dislocated shoulder bone, Qi and blood rushing through the injury to push the bone back into place.

"Ten breaths is even too long. Give me five breaths; I'll leave it lying on the ground for the remaining five."

Wang Shan took the soul-burning heaven-mending pill from inside his armor and swallowed it, the medicinal power rushing directly along his Meridians to his Divine Soul and Qi and blood Foundation.

The soul-burning heaven-mending pill was originally used to lock the soul during severe injuries, but at this moment, he used it as a medicine to stabilize his Foundation, forcibly bearing the power poured in from the army formation.

Wang Mu's expression darkened. "If this slash doesn't kill it, you will rewrite all your applications for the Shura Field three times when we get back."

Wang Shan twitched the corner of his mouth and raised his crimson flame saber again. "We'll talk about that when we get back. You just tie its legs tight first."

Three thousand Martial Masters adjusted their positions in unison. The Immovable Wisdom King Army Formation shifted from all-around defense to single-point concentration, with Qi and blood rushing toward Wang Shan along the armor's formation patterns.

The first layer of Qi and blood poured into his legs, the second layer surged into his waist and back, and the third layer was pressed entirely into his arms holding the blade.

A dull roar came from within Wang Shan's body. His Half-step Martial Ancestor Foundation had been pushed to the edge of its capacity, and the connections of his armor broke one after another.

He did not attempt to breakthrough to the Martial Ancestor Realm; all the Qi and blood were pressed into the crimson flame saber, and the formation patterns on the blade split section by section due to the excessive load.

The dual-blade Asura commander swung its blood blades with both arms, hacking through the crimson gold chains wrapped around its waist one after another.

The Formation Hall Cultivators continued to repair the formation; for every chain broken, three more wrapped around it, and dozens of people fell out of their positions due to the backlash of spiritual power.

Wang Mu poured his own Half-step Golden Core spiritual power into the formation diagram, his Purple Mansion shaking incessantly, forcibly pinning the chains to the ground.

The other two Asura commanders abandoned their current nodes and rushed over from the left and right sides to rescue it.

The Artillery Battalion had long finished its retreat. Two hundred heavy cannons turned their muzzles, conducting segmented containment against the two Asura commanders.

Blood-breaking cannonballs could not directly kill a Martial Ancestor, but they could force them to constantly change their routes, making it difficult for them to reach the front in a short time.

The Asura commander holding the battle axe swung its axe to smash three cannonballs, splashing pure yang fire liquid all over its heavy blood-bone armor, forcing its footsteps to pause for a moment.

The giant sword commander had its weapon locked by the previous node shield, and by the time it forcibly pulled out the giant sword, Wang Shan had already completed his energy accumulation.

The fifth breath arrived. The Asura commander trapped in the formation diagram shattered the chains on its legs and stepped half a step outward with its right foot.

Wang Shan trampled the ground beneath his feet, his body rising from the ground, and the Qi and blood gathered by the three thousand Martial Masters supported him as he vaulted over the shield wall.

The crimson flame saber slashed down from above, the blade light splitting the Asura commander's protective blood Qi and also severing the blood blade it had hastily raised in its left hand.

The Asura commander swept with its right hand, but the remaining chains dragged at its shoulder.

Wang Shan did not retract his blade, letting the blood blade graze his chest armor, and threw his entire body downward, utilizing the momentum of the army formation.

The second generation nether-bone xuan armor was cut open by the blood blade, and the soul-protecting bone patterns were damaged in succession, while the soul-burning heaven-mending pill locked his vibrating Divine Soul back into his body.

The crimson flame saber passed through the last layer of protective blood Qi and struck the Asura commander's neck directly, with the blood-breaking formation patterns pouring into its flesh along with the blade's edge.

The heavy bones emitted a cracking sound, and the Asura commander's head separated from its torso, carrying broken horns as it vaulted over the army formation.

The headless corpse still walked two steps forward, and just as its hands were raised, the crimson gold chains had already wrapped around its limbs.

Three hundred Extreme Realm Martial Masters pressed their shields forward in unison, the heavy shields colliding with the corpse's chest and flipping this Martial Ancestor body, person and armor alike, onto the ground.

The Asura Survivors within a hundred zhang stopped their movements. The commander's head rolled into the red soil, and the army's Battle Intent collapsed along with it.

The two Martial Ancestor commanders who were rushing over stopped in unison, their aura that had originally locked onto Wang Mu and the Artillery Battalion shifting toward Wang Shan.

They did not continue the rescue; the commander holding the battle axe retreated first, and the giant sword commander also dragged its weapon out of the artillery fire coverage zone.

Wang Mu did not order a pursuit; the Formation Hall was rushing to repair the damaged nodes, and hundreds of the three thousand Extreme Realm Martial Masters were already in need of medical treatment.

Wang Shan landed back in front of the shield wall, his legs sinking half a foot into the ground as he landed, and the crimson flame saber also cracked with several lines due to the excessive load.

The Medical Cultivator Camp was about to step forward, but Wang Shan raised his hand to stop them, first turning back to look at the Immovable Wisdom King Army Formation, which had not collapsed.

The shield soldiers in the front row were still in their positions, the blade soldiers had not pursued the enemy, and the Artillery Battalion had also held the rear; the entire legion had withstood the attack of three Martial Ancestors.

The remaining two Asura commanders retreated toward the Blood River, the remnants of the army along the way clearing a path one after another; no one dared to launch a charge toward the Immortal Martial army formation ever again.

Wang Shan landed and wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth: "Golden Core Martial Ancestor, nothing more than this!"