143: Doomsday Alarm

Above Jing City, the seven-colored glow that had just been dazzlingly brilliant due to the purification of the Jing City Dragon Vein was now rapidly dimming, its radiance as if forcibly wiped away by something.

From the direction of the "Vortex Trap Zone" in the Western Mountains, waves of nauseating, pitch-black thick fog rolled over, carrying bone-chilling cold and ominousness, greedily devouring the remaining auspiciousness.

"Sizzle—Sizzle—"

Light and darkness collided fiercely, emitting a scorching, explosive sound.

The sky presented two distinct colors, one half the holy purity struggling in its death throes, the other half the snarling, roaring evil, forming a shocking doomsday tableau.

"Aung—"

An extremely shrill, mournful cry, not an ordinary sound, exploded clearly in the depths of every living being's heart in Jing City.

That was the mournful cry of the Jing City Dragon Vein!

The core of the Jing City Dragon Vein, which had just recovered a bit of Origin Qi, was perceived by experts like Li Dong and Wei Zheng to have its solid halo cracking inch by inch, clearly unable to hold on, with spiderweb-like cracks appearing all over its surface.

"Heavens! It's here again... even more terrifying than the last time!"

On the street, a Cultivator looked up at the sky, his voice filled with uncontrollable trembling and despair.

Jing City, this ancient capital that had just caught its breath from a nightmare, was instantly dragged back into a deeper, darker desperate situation.

Deep underground, Li Dong, who had just exhausted his mental energy to stabilize the Jing City Dragon Vein, felt his Sea of Consciousness jolt violently.

That overbearing will from the unknown "God Lord," cold, cruel, and greedy, like a black torrent, arrogantly rushed into the depths of his consciousness, wanting to tear his Divine Soul into pieces.

Intense pain!

Li Dong gritted his teeth, the veins on his forehead bulging, and sweat uncontrollably rolled down his cheeks.

He felt as if his head was about to be blown apart by some force, and countless chaotic, evil thoughts were scrambling to squeeze into his consciousness.

"You won't let it rest, will you!"

He let out a low roar, and in this pain that was almost crushing his Soul, instead of collapsing, he was provoked into a monstrous ferocity.

Ordinary Cultivators encountering such an impact would likely have had their Divine Soul collapse long ago, becoming a walking corpse.

But Li Dong's Perfect Dao Body, under extreme pressure, spontaneously emitted a lustrous treasure light, and a pure and resilient force spontaneously protected his vital mental points.

His Spiritual Domain did not passively defend either; instead, it seemed to be completely activated by this sudden, powerful external force, operating actively in a way Li Dong had never anticipated.

"Using pain as a guide... Condense for me!"

A flash of inspiration struck Li Dong's mind, and amidst the intense pain, he made a bold decision to actively guide this force that was almost tearing him apart, using it as a whetstone to sharpen his own spiritual will.

Under the crazy impact of the God Lord's will, his Perfect Dao Body and Spiritual Domain not only did not collapse but instead condensed with unprecedented efficiency, forming a seemingly weak yet indestructible, substantial spiritual barrier on the surface of his Sea of Consciousness!

"Boom!"

The torrent of the God Lord's will slammed heavily against the newly built spiritual barrier, emitting an extremely dull, loud noise.

Li Dong's body shuddered violently, his throat felt sweet, and a wisp of blood spilled from the corner of his mouth, but his barrier actually held firm!

What surprised him even more, and even made him feel a bit dumbfounded, was that just during this head-on confrontation, extremely faint but incredibly clear fragments of information actually "seeped" backward into his perception along the gaps of the collision.

"This is... the way it descends?"

Li Dong's heart stirred.

Those fragments of information were bizarre and chaotic, yet they vaguely pointed to a key point—that the so-called "God Lord" descent was not the appearance of a single entity as he had initially imagined, but rather more like a... multi-dimensional projection of power, or in other words, the manifestation of its will on different levels?

This thing really knows how to play tricks.

"So that's how it is... No wonder I felt its power was mixed, yet it revealed eerie targeting everywhere."

He endured the turbulent aftershocks in his Sea of Consciousness, rapidly analyzing this precious intelligence obtained by accident.

"However, this guy's will is truly indiscriminate, biting whoever it catches, not picky at all."

Li Dong wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, his eyes becoming increasingly sharp.

This "God Lord's" target was not just him, but the entire Jing City, the Jing City Dragon Vein that had just caught its breath!

He knew very well that this spiritual barrier was only temporary, merely quenching thirst with poison.

If he couldn't find its weakness before it completely descended, or stop the opening of its descent channel, Jing City... no, the entire Great Xia Dynasty would be doomed forever.

"Vortex Trap Zone... It seems that is the true eye of the storm."

Li Dong cast his gaze towards the Western Mountains, where evil aura was growing wildly.

Demon Suppression Division, Secret Chamber.

Wei Zheng opened his eyes abruptly, his seated figure swayed slightly, and the color drained from his face instantly.

Beside him, Seventh Princess Li Qingxuan also trembled, subconsciously steadying herself against the table beside her, her usually calm and composed pretty face now filled with gravity.

"This aura..." Wei Zheng's voice was a bit hoarse, carrying a trace of disbelief, "How could... how could it be so terrifying?!"

"It's the direction of the 'Vortex Trap Zone'!" Li Qingxuan pointed to the western suburbs, her tone urgent, "It's more than a hundred times stronger than Elder Ying Mei's power from before!"

"Father just..." She didn't finish her sentence, but the meaning was clear.

The Jing City Dragon Vein had just been purified, and Jing City had just seen the dawn; this was equivalent to receiving the hardest blow to the head.

"There's no time to think!" Wei Zheng was, after all, the Head of the Demon Suppression Division, having experienced countless storms in his life; though shocked, he was not flustered.

He slammed the table with a dull "thud": "Li Dong must be enduring the most direct impact! We must buy time for him, buy time for Jing City!"

He turned to a trusted subordinate who had been waiting on the side, speaking at a rapid pace, not allowing for doubt: "Pass on my order! All Golden Core retainers of the Demon Suppression Division, and all mobilizable combat forces, assemble at Chengtian Gate immediately! This is the highest level of alert! Tell them, the Great Xia Dynasty... has reached the final moment of life and death!"

"Your subordinate obeys!" The trusted subordinate didn't even have time to wipe the cold sweat from his forehead, his figure flickered, and he turned into an afterimage, disappearing outside the door.

"Imperial Uncle," Li Qingxuan looked at Wei Zheng, her eyes without a hint of hesitation, "I will mobilize all the forces of the Imperial Guards and the Imperial family. The defensive Formation that has been accumulated in Jing City for many years..."

"Activate them all! At any cost!" Wei Zheng said decisively, every word heavy as a thousand jun, "Your Highness, the evacuation of the common people in the inner city can only be entrusted to you!"

"This Princess understands!" A trace of determination and compassion flashed in Li Qingxuan's eyes, "If the city falls, where will the people be? If the city remains, Great Xia remains!"

She said no more, turned, and walked away quickly, the crisp sound of her phoenix boots echoing in the empty hall, carrying an unquestionable majesty and the responsibility of being the Crown Prince.

Orders flowed like water from the center of the Imperial Palace, squads of armored Imperial Guards acted swiftly, and the ancient Jing City defensive Formation, after lying dormant for many years, was activated again at any cost, with light screens of various colors rising one after another throughout the city, attempting to block the rampaging evil aura outside.

Countless commoners, guided by armored soldiers, dragged their families with fear and unease, rushing towards the relatively safe inner city; for a time, cries, shouts, and the sounds of carriages and horses intertwined, and Jing City fell into massive chaos.

Meanwhile, outside Jing City, the true transformation had just begun.

The Yao Beasts, which had originally only become manic and bloodthirsty due to being infected by evil energy, now seemed to have been injected with some kind of unified, more evil will.

In their scarlet eyes, flashed a cunning and cruelty far exceeding before.

Low roars rose and fell, no longer chaotic howls, but instead carrying a certain eerie rhythm, as if chanting a ballad to welcome destruction.

"They... they are assembling! They are forming ranks!" The officer responsible for watching from the city wall had a trembling voice, and the long-distance telescope in his hand was almost impossible to hold steady.

At the end of his vision, the dense swarms of Yao Beasts were menacing, wave after wave, but this time, they were not charging brainlessly; instead, they were vaguely divided into several echelons, forming a crude yet extremely effective siege Formation.

The Demonic Qi gathered above their heads was also several times denser than before, clearly indicating that their strength had improved terrifyingly in a short period of time.

And even more heart-shattering was the movement coming from deep beneath Jing City, from that "Vortex Trap Zone."

"Thump... thump... thump..."

That dull and powerful sound struck the earth and human hearts, with every pulsation causing the entire land of Jing City to tremble slightly.

Accompanying every "heartbeat," a visible stream of black mist pulsed out from above the "Vortex Trap Zone," constantly merging into the darkness that was frantically expanding in the sky.

This "heartbeat" seemed to be the funeral bell of a countdown, signaling that the descent channel of some unimaginably terrifying existence was being forcibly pried open, bit by bit, irreversibly.

The doomsday alarm for Jing City had already rung.