210: Chapter 210 Trump Card

The moment Yantu merged into the Golden-Armored Corpse Puppet, his vision changed abruptly.

He "saw" the vast majority of Qi fluctuations within a radius of several miles—the three Formations and Restrictions at the mouth of Chimang Ridge were like three tightly stretched giant nets.

He could even sense the auras of those Righteous Path Cultivators behind the defensive light barrier, their breathing, heartbeats, and the circulation of Qi within their bodies.

This was the perception at the Golden Core level.

"Attack!" Yantu's voice came from the chest cavity of the Golden-Armored Corpse Puppet, low like rumbling thunder, shaking all directions.

The overwhelming tide of corpses, wrapped in thick black fog, surged roaringly toward the defense line of Chimang Ridge like a breached flood.

...

On the main Peak of Chimang Ridge, the moonlight was obscured by thick clouds, and the mountains of Chimang Ridge were hidden in pitch-black darkness where one could not see one's hand before their face.

At this time, the Cultivator responsible for commanding and garrisoning Chimang Ridge was another Foundation Establishment Peak Cultivator of the Tianxuan Sect, Wang Daoyuan.

Wang Daoyuan sat alone in a temporarily opened quiet room, with a defense map condensed from Qi spread out in front of him.

On the map, the strength of the spiritual light at each Restriction node of Chimang Ridge was clear at a glance—after more than four consecutive months of fierce battle, seventeen nodes were already in a semi-destroyed state, and three others had completely dimmed, meaning they had failed entirely.

He rubbed his swollen glabella; when Liu Jiang retreated heavily wounded, he had handed over the frontline command to him.

This responsibility weighed heavily on his shoulders. During this period, he had never slept a full night, and the Qi within his body was always maintained at seventy to eighty percent, never truly recovering to its Peak state.

Just at this moment, the hurried footsteps coming from outside the quiet room jolted Wang Daoyuan awake from his brief breath-adjustment.

"Fellow Daoist Wang! The Qi-detecting Formation has captured an anomaly—ten miles to the north, a large amount of Qi fluctuations are gathering, and the quantity far exceeds any previous time!"

Wang Daoyuan abruptly stood up and strode out of the quiet room in a few steps.

The Qi-detecting Formation Plate on top of the main Peak was spinning frantically, and circles of dark red ripples appeared on its surface.

His pupils shrank abruptly—the density and intensity of the ripples meant that at least a thousand Corpse Puppets were moving simultaneously, and behind the corpse horde, there were dozens of even more powerful Qi fluctuations.

At the very front of all those Qi fluctuations, there was an aura so violent that even the Qi-detecting Formation Plate was trembling slightly, yet it did not look like the aura of a human Cultivator.

Wang Daoyuan's expression changed drastically, his voice carrying uncontrollable shock: "Could the Corpse Puppet Sect be deploying the Golden-Armored Corpse Puppet?"

This was not probing, nor was it harassment.

This was a full-scale attack.

"Everyone—" Wang Daoyuan's voice expanded with Qi, instantly spreading across the entire mountain pass position, "Take your positions immediately! Prepare for battle!"

Before his voice fell, the black fog in the northern sky suddenly boiled.

This time, the black fog was no longer advancing slowly, but surging forward like a breached flood.

Faint muffled sounds like ten thousand horses galloping came from the mist, the earth began to tremble violently, and gravel on the rocks rolled down patteringly.

The moment the first wave of the corpse horde rushed out of the black fog, Wang Daoyuan gasped.

Charging at the very front were not iron-armored corpse puppets, but a uniform array of Bronze-Armored Corpse Puppets—at least a thousand of them.

Their running speed far exceeded the past, and the iron-colored hard armor on their bodies reflected a gloomy metallic luster under the illumination of the Restriction spiritual light, densely covering the entire field of vision of the mountain pass.

Behind the Bronze-Armored Corpse Puppets were a dozen Silver-Armored Corpse Puppets whose builds were obviously much taller, their silver scales flashing with a grim cold light in the dark.

In the very center of all the corpse puppets, a corpse puppet with an exceptionally massive figure slowly walked out from the black fog.

This corpse puppet stood over thirty feet tall, its whole body covered in dark golden scales, with fierce bone spurs growing at its joints. Every step it took stamped out footprints several inches deep on the rocky ground.

In its eye sockets burned a dim green flame; that flame was not ordinary corpse fire, but a bizarre existence somewhat similar to soul fire.

"Golden-Armored Corpse Puppet..." Xiao Yuanzheng's voice came from the side with a trace of unbelievable trembling, his clothes on his back instantly soaked through with cold sweat. "Didn't they say the Golden-Armored Corpse Puppet wouldn't appear in a secondary battlefield like Hongshi County?"

Wang Daoyuan's gaze locked tightly onto that dark golden behemoth.

The appearance of the Golden-Armored Corpse Puppet, although startling him, did not throw him into a panic.

He had seen detailed records about this item in the pre-war intelligence of the Tianxuan Sect—refined with the corpse of a Tier 3 creature as the main body, its combat power was at least equivalent to a Golden Core Early Stage Cultivator. Moreover, because the corpse puppet's body did not fear pain or death, its actual threat in breaking city walls and Formations was often greater than that of ordinary Golden Core Cultivators of the same rank.

But at this moment, it was standing five hundred zhang away, the dim green soul fire in its eye sockets coldly gazing at the mountain pass of Chimang Ridge. The coercion of the Golden Core level pressed down like a mountain, causing the Qi and blood of all Righteous Path Cultivators on the frontal battlefield to churn and their Meridians to sting in waves.

Thousands of Bronze-Armored Corpse Puppets densely covered the valley, a dozen Silver-Armored Corpse Puppets formed a vanguard line, and over a dozen Foundation Establishment Demonic Cultivators in the rear had ferocious auras, ready to strike. Yantu's Divine Soul penetrated through the corpse puppet, firmly locking onto the main Peak's Formation eye.

Xiao Yuanzheng stood beside Wang Daoyuan, his fingertips trembling slightly, his voice lowered to the extreme: "Fellow Daoist Wang, the Formation is already dilapidated. A single strike from the Golden-Armored Corpse Puppet can break open the mountain-protecting Formation. We cannot stop it. Quickly send a message to Master Xuanyue."

"I have my own judgment."

Wang Daoyuan interrupted him, his gaze sweeping across the Foundation Establishment Cultivators stationed here on both sides. Everyone's face carried panic.

He understood the current situation: the Formation-protecting light barrier barely maintained by four dilapidated Restrictions was a mere decoration in front of the Golden-Armored Corpse Puppet with Golden Core combat power. Conventional Tier 2 Talismans and Foundation Establishment spell arts could hardly even scratch its scales.

His mind made up, Wang Daoyuan no longer hesitated. Reaching into his close-fitting Storage Pouch, he took out a palm-sized, entirely crimson bead with flowing flame patterns. Inside the bead was sealed a restless mass of Origin Dao fire, which was precisely the trump card specially delivered by Master Xuanyue before the battle—the Thunderstorm Bead, equivalent to the full might of a Golden Core Late Stage Cultivator's self-detonation.

He turned his head to look at another Tianxuan Sect Foundation Establishment Peak Cultivator beside him—Zhou Yuanqing.

"Junior Brother Zhou, since the Golden-Armored Corpse Puppet has already appeared, let's act according to the plan set by the city lord. You will immediately lead everyone to retreat toward the last two defense lines, and do not look back."

Zhou Yuanqing was Master Xuanyue's third Disciple, taciturn in personality but extremely reliable.

Hearing this, he merely nodded, took out three Tier 3 Talismans shimmering with spiritual light from his Storage Pouch, and clasped them in his palm without saying a word.

"Everyone listen to the order." Wang Daoyuan's voice expanded with Qi, reaching the ears of every Cultivator on the frontal position of Chimang Ridge, "Immediately retreat to the final defense line."

After Yantu merged into the corpse puppet, his perception became exceptionally acute. He sensed the changes in the defensive Formation of Chimang Ridge—a large number of Cultivators were retreating. He sneered and urged the Golden-Armored Corpse Puppet to quicken its pace.

The Golden-Armored Corpse Puppet began to run. As the thirty-six-foot behemoth ran, the earth trembled, and every step stamped out footprints several inches deep on the rocky ground.

Looking at the Golden-Armored Corpse Puppet charging at the very front and constantly approaching, Wang Daoyuan let out a cold sneer in his heart. Even Demonic Path Cultivators knew that the geographical location of Hongshan County was special; how could the Tianxuan Sect, acting as the local overlord, not have made preparations?

Aside from Master Xuanyue, the Tianxuan Sect also had a hidden Golden Core Peak Cultivator garrisoned here in Hongshan County. In addition to ensuring that this place was foolproof, another purpose was to nibble away at the strength of Demonic Path Cultivators little by little on this small battlefield.

However, in this entire Hongshan County battlefield, apart from the two Golden Core Cultivators, only the three of them as martial brothers knew part of the truth.

Remembering the Heaven-Defying combat power of that Golden Core Senior Martial Uncle from the Sect, Wang Daoyuan felt extremely secure in his heart.