90: Blood Puppet Encirclement Valley and the "Firewall" Show Their Initial Power

Zhao Iron Pillar's guerrilla team was like a swarm of annoying wasps, constantly harassing the expansion of Black Wind Mountain.

They were elusive, hit-and-run, burning supplies, rescuing captives, and destroying roads, making the Blood Fiend Cult extremely annoyed and significantly slowing their expansion speed.

However, this harassment completely enraged Bloody Fierce.

'A bunch of hiding rats!' Bloody Fierce smashed the stone table beside him with a slap, his blood-red eyes almost spitting fire.

He could feel that he was only one step away from the Breakthrough to Foundation Establishment, but he was being driven to distraction by these endless harassments.

What made him even more uneasy was that he vaguely sensed that these attackers were extremely coordinated, as if an invisible pair of eyes was watching the battlefield at all times; this was not something ordinary scattered soldiers could do.

'It's the Qingxuan Sect! It must be that Wen Youyi playing tricks!' Bloody Fierce gritted his teeth.

New and old grudges surged in his heart, and he decided not to endure it any longer.

'Pass the order! Stop expanding outward, all forces, follow this seat to expedition! Target — Lijian Valley!'

Bloody Fierce's voice was like ice from the Nine Netherworlds, 'This seat will crush that bug with his own hands and use his blood to celebrate my Foundation Establishment!'

This time, it was no longer a small skirmish, but a full-scale assault!

Except for the necessary guards, nearly a hundred evil cultivators, along with over fifty newly refined new-type Blood Puppets that were agile and comparable to Middle Stage Qi Refining combat power, formed an army with surging Evil Qi, rushing straight towards Lijian Valley like a rolling blood-colored dark cloud!

Such a big commotion could naturally not be hidden.

The Disciples responsible for warning outside Lijian Valley discovered the blood-colored approaching rapidly in the sky at the first moment, and the sharp alarm sounded through the valley instantly!

'Enemy attack! Large numbers of enemies approaching! It's the Blood Fiend Cult!' The Disciples in charge of guarding scrambled into the valley to report, their voices even changing pitch.

The valley was instantly in chaos.

The War Hall Disciples gathered quickly, but looking at the black mass of enemies in the distance, surging with Evil Qi, many people's faces turned pale.

Most of them were only at the Early Stage Qi Refining; when had they ever seen such a battle array?

'What are you panicking about!' Wen Youyi's clear voice sounded, carrying a strange power of calmness.

He stood on a high place, looking sharply into the distance, 'According to the predetermined plan, take your positions! Don't forget, this is our territory!'

His calmness infected everyone.

Yes, this was the home they had worked hard to build, and they still had the boss's unfathomable methods!

'War Hall First Team, Second Team, rely on the valley entrance fortifications, prepare to meet the enemy! Third Team, Fourth Team, protect the Research Hall and Agricultural and Labor Hall non-combat personnel to retreat to the pre-set shelter cave!'

Wang Wu and Senior Brother Li quickly commanded, although nervous, they were clear-headed.

Senior Brother Zhang took the Research Hall Disciples and rushed quickly to several stone platforms that had been set up in advance and looked like 'Spirit Gathering Formation test points'.

These stone platforms looked simple, but they were connected to several key nodes of 'ark 1.0'!

Wen Youyi took a deep breath, his eyes solemn.

The real test had come!

He not only had to withstand the attack of the Blood Fiend Cult, but also could not expose the real trump card of the 'ark' under the eyes of the 'Observer'.

'Activate the 'Firewall' plan!' Wen Youyi issued an order through the 'Mind Net'.

Almost when the Blood Fiend Cult army entered the three-mile radius outside Lijian Valley, a strange change occurred!

'Buzz —!'

A transparent light shield, so thin it was almost invisible, with five-colored flowing light faintly operating inside, rose instantly with those stone platforms as the center, covering the entire Lijian Valley entrance area!

This was exactly the simplified version of the defensive Formation that Wen Youyi had tinkered with by combining the 'Star Evolution Five Elements Domain' and the 'ark' network energy — he called it 'Five Elements Bewilderment'.

It didn't have very strong hard defensive capabilities; its main function was to interfere, delay, and confuse!

The Blood Puppets and evil cultivators charging at the front crashed into this seemingly thin light shield.

In an instant, they felt like they had rushed into a sticky swamp!

Their movements slowed down involuntarily, the surrounding scenery began to twist and blur, the originally clear valley entrance seemed to be constantly moving, and the companions beside them were sometimes clear and sometimes blurred!

What made them even more uncomfortable was that the operation of the Evil Qi in their bodies became abnormally sluggish, as if entangled by countless invisible threads!

'What's going on?!'

'It's a Formation! Be careful!'

'My Qi operation is not working!'

The Blood Fiend Cult's Formation showed a trace of chaos.

They were used to head-on fighting; when had they ever encountered such a strange Domain?

'Small tricks!' Bloody Fierce snorted coldly, the powerful aura of a Half-step Foundation Establishment burst out, trying to break the skill with force and forcibly shake away this layer of light shield.

However, this 'Five Elements Bewilderment' relied on the independently circulating energy provided by the underground 'ark' network.

Although the total amount was not large, it was endless and had extremely strong resilience.

Bloody Fierce's aura impacted it, the light shield shook violently, the five-colored flowing light circulated crazily, flickering, but stubbornly did not break!

'Eh?' A trace of surprise flashed in Bloody Fierce's eyes.

The toughness of this Formation exceeded his expectations.

Just in this precious time when the Blood Fiend Cult was delayed by the 'Five Elements Bewilderment', the defenses inside Lijian Valley were already in place.

Relying on the simple fortifications at the valley entrance, the War Hall Disciples, under the command of Wang Wu and Senior Brother Li, sacrificed Talismans and cast Spells.

Although the power was not strong, they won by being concentrated and orderly.

Senior Brother Zhang was even manipulating several 'Shockwave Launchers' that had just been developed and looked like large crossbow cannons, shooting out invisible shock ripples, specifically targeting those Blood Puppets whose movements had become sluggish, hitting them until they were swaying.

The battle fell into a stalemate for a time.

The Blood Fiend Cult had the advantage in numbers and strength, but their performance was limited by the strange Formation; Lijian Valley relied on the terrain and preparation to barely hold on.

In the distance, in the direction of the main peak of the Qingxuan Sect, several powerful Divine Senses swept across the battlefield; it was clear that the high-level Sect members had been alarmed.

One of the gentle yet profound Divine Senses belonged to Mu Feng.

He quietly 'watched' the battlefield, looking at that tough, uniquely principled 'Five Elements Bewilderment', watching the Disciples in the valley defending in an orderly manner despite being nervous, and the data stream in his eyes flickered again.

'Defensive Formation, independent energy source, stable structure, possesses rule interference characteristics... Technical maturity exceeds expectations.'

'Target group, organizational degree, psychological quality in the face of battle, good.'

'Risk assessment... Recalibrating.'

He did not intend to intervene, still maintaining a pure 'observation'.

Wen Youyi had no time to worry about anything else at this moment.

He stood on a high ground in the valley, fully maintaining the operation of the 'Five Elements Bewilderment', while urgently contacting Zhao Iron Pillar through the 'Mind Net'.

[Iron Pillar! Home is being stolen! Abandon all missions immediately, return to reinforce at full speed! Come in from that secret path behind the mountain!]

[What? I'm going back right now! Screw that mother-f**king Bloody Fierce!] Zhao Iron Pillar's shocked and angry thought came through.

Wen Youyi looked at the Blood Fiend Cult army that was advancing slowly in the 'Five Elements Bewilderment' and was still powerful, knowing that relying on defense alone would not last long.

A ruthless look flashed in his eyes, and he messaged Senior Brother Zhang:

[Activate the 'Trap'! Add some ingredients for them!]

Senior Brother Zhang understood and immediately activated several hidden devices buried within the range of the 'Five Elements Bewilderment'.

Suddenly, within the range of the Formation, the ground suddenly became muddy, and countless tough vines grew out of thin air to entangle the feet of the evil cultivators; dense golden Qi needles condensed in the air, specifically breaking the protective Evil Qi; there were even scorching fire snakes and heavy earth and stones appearing out of thin air.

Although the power was not enough to be fatal, it made the already chaotic Blood Fiend Cult worse!

These were all small tricks that the Research Hall had come up with using the 'ark' network energy combined with the Five Elements principle, but at this moment, it became the last straw that broke the camel's back.

Bloody Fierce was furious; he had powerful strength but was unable to use it because of this damned Formation!

'Wen Youyi! This seat will definitely tear you into ten thousand pieces!' He roared, regardless of consumption, attacking the 'Five Elements Bewilderment' crazily, and the light shield shook even more violently.

Wen Youyi's face turned pale, feeling his Mental Energy pouring out like a floodgate.

He gritted his teeth and persisted, his eyes fixed on the direction of the back mountain.

Hurry up! Iron Pillar!

(End of chapter)