119: The Tao follows nature; I can make use of both favorable timing and geographical advantages (Part 1)

Deafening cheers swept through the virtual battlefield like a tsunami. The banner of the Cloud City Team waved frantically in the stands, and countless people were boiling with excitement over this shocking reversal—a classic battle of the weak defeating the strong. On the high platform, the referee's voice announcing the victory of the Cloud City Team sounded like a final verdict, drawing a close to this brutal semi-final.

In the crater area, the surviving dependents of the Cloud City Team hugged and cheered. The joy of surviving the disaster and the glory of victory washed away the previous fear and fatigue. Although the hero units Elwin, Bronzebeard, and Snik were all injured and their auras were weak, their eyes were full of excitement and supreme reverence for my god Lin Zhou. It was my god who led them across the seemingly insurmountable chasm!

Su Yueyao supported Lin Zhou, who was completely unconscious and breathing weakly. Her cold face could not hide her worry, but there was a hint of relief deep in her eyes. She braced her own severely injured and overdrawn body, preparing to guide the remaining Moonlight Power to take Lin Zhou and the remnants out of the virtual battlefield to receive emergency treatment.

However, just as the curtain of victory was about to fall, at the moment when everyone's minds were most relaxed—

"Crrk—!"

A faint, strange sound, as if fabric were being torn, suddenly erupted at the edge of the battlefield, from a crack in the ground caused by the Golden Behemoth's [War Stomp] earlier! The sound was not loud, but it carried a jarring sharpness that instantly pierced into the keen perception of Su Yueyao and the several hero units!

Immediately afterwards, a cold, deathly, gray-white mist with a rich, decaying aura surged out from the ground crack like a fountain! The mist spread extremely fast. Wherever it passed, the grass and trees on the ground withered and turned gray at a speed visible to the naked eye, and even the rocks seemed to lose their luster, covered with a layer of faint Death Qi!

Environmental Anomaly Alert: Negative Energy Surge

Source: Unknown spatial rift (suspected connection to the Negative Energy Plane or Undead territory)

Nature: High concentration of death aura, Soul toxin, decay Law.

Effects:

Life Erosion: Deals 5-20 points of negative energy damage per second to living units (depending on resistance) and adds [Weakened] status (all attributes reduced by 5%).

Environmental Corruption: Changes regional terrain attributes, transforming it into [Lightly Corrupted Land]. Living units within it have their life recovery effects halved, while undead units receive a slight boost.

Vision Obstruction: Within the gray fog range, visibility is significantly reduced, and Mental Energy perception is hindered.

Spread Speed: Rapid, expected to cover the entire crater area within 30 seconds.

"Not good! Something is wrong!" Su Yueyao's expression changed drastically. She felt the malice toward living beings contained in that gray-white mist! She immediately contracted her weak Moonlight protection, tightly covering herself and the unconscious Lin Zhou. The Moonlight Power made a "sizzling" sound of erosion as it came into contact with the negative energy mist.

"Alert! Prepare for battle!" Hero Elwin endured his discomfort and immediately shouted a warning. The Literary Heart Elves quickly stopped cheering, drew their bows and nocked arrows, aiming at the direction from which the mist was surging. The Vast Righteous Qi around them had an instinctive repulsion and purification effect on this deathly aura, but with their master unconscious and themselves in extremely poor condition, the effect was limited.

"It's the aura of the undead! Damn it, how could there be something like this!" Bronzebeard Stonehammer roared, picking up the warhammer at his feet. Dwarves have a natural aversion to the undead and corruption.

Snik looked solemn as he tried to open the Net of Law, only to find that the power of Order was greatly reduced in the face of this sudden deathly Domain.

This sudden change made the cheering audience fall silent instantly. Everyone stared in astonishment at the ominous gray fog spreading in the light screen.

"What's going on? Isn't the match over?"

"What is that? An undead scourge?"

"Is it an accident? Or..."

"Lin Zhou is unconscious! Su Yueyao is also seriously injured! The Cloud City Team is at its weakest right now!"

On the high platform, the referee and the leaders of the schools also changed their expressions.

"Immediately check the virtual battlefield System! Is there any external interference or vulnerability intrusion!"

"Initiate emergency plans, prepare to force disconnection to protect the Examinees!"

"No... this energy reaction... it's not completely virtual... it carries partial real Law mapping!" An experienced chief referee said with a grave expression, his eyes full of disbelief.

Just as everyone was in doubt, a chilling sound of bone friction and silent Soul screams came from the surging gray-white mist!

The next moment, dense, varied undead creatures surged out from the ground cracks and gray mist like a tide!

Pale skeleton warriors held rusted swords, green Soul fires flickering in their eye sockets;

Floating wraiths emitted wails that disturbed the mind, their translucent bodies weaving through the mist;

And there were bone golems of huge size, pieced together from countless broken bones, each step making the earth tremble slightly!

Undead Legion (Preliminary Observation)

Skeleton Warrior (LV 25-30): Quantity approx. 200+, mainly physical attacks, possess [Undead Physique] (high resistance to piercing/bleeding, bonus damage from sacred/fire).

Wailing Wraith (LV 28-32): Quantity approx. 50+, energy attacks (mental shock, fear howl), physical immunity, extremely vulnerable to sacred/positive energy.

Bone Golem (LV 35-40 - Elite): Quantity 3, high physical defense/HP, skills: [Bone Spike Spray], [War Stomp (Weakened)].

Legion Traits: [Undead Creature] (ignores morale, unaffected by most mental influences), [Corrupted Land Adaptation] (attributes +5% in corrupted areas).

This was definitely not a test preset by the virtual battlefield! This was a premeditated, targeted attack! The target was aimed directly at the Cloud City Team, which had just experienced a bitter battle and exhausted its strength, or rather... aimed directly at the unconscious Lin Zhou!

"Protect my god!" Elwin did not hesitate at all, taking the lead to shoot an arrow containing Vast Righteous Qi, blowing the head off a skeleton warrior rushing at the front! But more undead surged like a tide!

"Form a circular formation! Dwarves in front! Elves in the middle shooting! Fishmen support!" Bronzebeard quickly directed the surviving dependents to set up defenses, but the huge gap in quantity and quality made this defensive line appear precarious.

Snik directed the Law Fishmen, trying to use the power of Order to purify the small-scale Corrupted Land and delay the undead's offensive, but the effect was weak.

Su Yueyao protected the unconscious Lin Zhou behind her, holding the Moon Wheel, constantly swinging out cold Moonlight, purifying and repelling the approaching wraiths and skeletons. Her face became paler and paler, and every swing of the Moon Wheel affected the injuries in her body, overdrawing the little remaining Divine Power. Although Moonlight Power had a restraint on the undead, she was alone against such a number of enemies.

"No good... there are too many... and they are still increasing..." A sense of powerlessness welled up in Su Yueyao's heart. She looked at the unconscious Lin Zhou, a flash of determination in her eyes. If it really didn't work, even if it meant damaging her own Divine Domain, she would force a tear in space to take Lin Zhou away! But if she did that, Elwin, Bronzebeard, and the others left behind would surely be drowned by the undead tide.

Just at this critical moment, perhaps stimulated by the strong external crisis, or perhaps due to the autonomous protection of the Temple of Civilization, Lin Zhou, who was unconscious, frowned tightly, and the dim Fire of Civilization in his Sea of Consciousness actually flickered weakly!

An imperceptible thought spread like a ripple, linking to Su Yueyao's anxious mind.

Su Yueyao was startled. She felt a weak but clear guidance, coming from Lin Zhou! No, it was more like it came from the mysterious Temple of Civilization in his body! The direction of the guidance was not to escape, but... to fight back! It pointed to another light cluster in the Sanctuary that exuded an atmosphere of quiet inaction, natural harmony—Daoism!

At the same time, a brief method on how to guide the remaining Divine Power, combine it with the battlefield environment, and initially trigger the Daoist "Call the Wind and Summon the Rain" Spell flooded into Su Yueyao's mind like an instinct! This method was extremely crude, more like an "inducer" or "key" to some kind of Daoist Magic!

Su Yueyao realized it instantly! Lin Zhou, before falling unconscious, or rather, the Temple of Civilization when dealing with the crisis autonomously, chose the Daoist technique! It was not to directly kill the undead with it, but to... change the timing and terrain! Use the environment to restrain the undead!

Undead creatures mostly dislike water, fear thunder, and dread Yang Qi! Heavy rain can wash away Death Qi, mud can restrict movement, and if one could trigger heavenly thunder... it would be the nemesis of the undead!

She did not hesitate at all, and immediately followed the method described, injecting her own remaining Moonlight Divine Power into Lin Zhou's body with a peculiar frequency and rhythm. It was not for healing, but as "fuel" and a "fuse," using Lin Zhou as a medium to communicate with the power of heaven and earth in the dark, triggering that power representing the Daoist "Tao Follows Nature"!

"Lin Zhou... help me..." Su Yueyao whispered in her heart, entrusting all her trust to this.

She pinched the Daoist incantation, simulated Daoist true essence with Moonlight Divine Power, looked up at the sky, and her cold voice carried a strange sense of etherealness, chanting aloud:

"Boundless Heaven and Earth, borrow the Law of the Universe!"

"Clouds gather and winds rise, rain falls and thunder is born!"

"By Order—Call the Wind and Summon the Rain!"

As her last syllable fell, a faint light flashed around her and Lin Zhou. An invisible fluctuation rose from them as the center, submerging into the sky simulated by the virtual battlefield!

Almost at the same time, the environmental simulation System of the virtual battlefield seemed to be triggered by this power containing the true meaning of "Tao Follows Nature," and began to react violently!

"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—"

The originally clear sky suddenly became windy! Dark clouds surged out of thin air from all directions, like galloping ink-colored horses, quickly gathering and covering the entire crater area! The sky darkened at a speed visible to the naked eye, as if stepping from day to dusk in an instant!

Environmental Change: Call the Wind and Summon the Rain (Daoist Magic triggered + System simulation)

Caster: Su Yueyao (Guide) + Lin Zhou (Medium/Inducer) + Temple of Civilization (Origin)

Effects:

Celestial Phenomenon Change: Overcast with dark clouds, light intensity reduced by 70%.

Wind Strength Increase: Regional wind speed increased to 6-7, affecting light units/flying units.

Rainfall Begins: Bean-sized raindrops began to fall sparsely and quickly became dense.

Current Stage: Initial stage, effect continuously strengthening.

Energy Consumption: Continuously consumes Su Yueyao's Divine Power and triggers the remaining Sanctuary power in Lin Zhou's body.

"It's raining?"

"It's Su Yueyao! What did she do?"

"It's Daoist Magic! She is changing the celestial phenomena!"

Everyone was attracted by this sudden change in celestial phenomena.

The movements of the Undead Legion clearly showed a slight lag. The wailing wraiths swayed in the strong wind, and their shrieks weakened a bit; the Soul fires in the eye sockets of the skeleton warriors seemed to dim a little under the gradually darkening light.

However, this was just the beginning! Su Yueyao could feel that this "Call the Wind and Summon the Rain" Spell had just started and was far from reaching its Peak! She gritted her teeth, ignoring the stinging pain from her Meridians, and continued to squeeze the weak power in her own and Lin Zhou's bodies, fully maintaining and pushing the operation of this Daoist Magic!

The dark clouds became thicker and lower, as if they were about to press down on everyone's heads. The strong wind swept up dust and gravel on the ground, making a wailing sound. The raindrops became dense, pattering down on the scorched land, on the pale bones of the undead, and on everyone's bodies.

The cold rain, carrying a trace of imperceptible righteous energy (Yang Qi) of heaven and earth triggered by the Daoist Magic, began to wash this land corrupted by negative energy.