303: Deep infiltration and unusual activity in the demon's lair

The assault team, composed of Peak Master Chiyang, Yun Ying, Elder Mo, Huo Chen, and ten Golden Core death squads, sank silently into the boundless soul-eroding gloom Sea of Fog of the Western Wasteland, like a few pebbles thrown into a surging sea of ink.

What they carried was not only Zhenbei City's top-tier anti-devil Magical Artifacts and several enhanced "Light of World Purification" Formation Plates, but also the final hope of the entire city and even the billions of living beings across the Western Wasteland.

Inside the City Lord's Mansion, the atmosphere was as oppressive as the dead silence before a storm.

On the Spirit Web's main control Formation Plate, the few faint light points representing the assault team flickered once at the edge of the pitch-black region marked "High Risk" before rapidly dimming, maintaining only the most basic connection of life and death through pre-set, extremely energy-consuming emergency signal nodes.

Every faint fluctuation in the signal tugged at the heartstrings of all the high-level officials.

"Maintain the highest level of silence; do not contact unless necessary." Peak Master Tianshu stared at the Formation Plate, his voice low. "All we can do is trust them, hold our home, and buy them time."

Defending the city was no easy task.

The departure of the assault team took away nearly half of the city's high-end combat power.

Although those left behind—Ling Yunzi, Wei Rong, Zhao Baichuan, and others—were all battle-hardened veterans, and there was the newly promoted Nascent Soul Elder Xuanji to hold the fort, the defensive forces were still stretched thin when facing the dual pressure that might come from the Western Wasteland's devil's den and Bibo Lake.

Lin Shanhe knew this well, and at the same time the assault team set off, he issued a series of orders:

"Initiate the 'Bedrock Plan'! Reduce the power of all non-core area defense Formations by 30% to save spiritual energy and concentrate supply on the core urban area, the Mutual Trade Market, the mining area, and the four major fortresses!"

"Conscript all Cultivators at or above the Foundation Establishment stage, organize them into the city defense reserve team, and have them rotate in three shifts, ready at all times!"

"Starting today, the Mutual Trade Market will be under military control, with limited supply, prioritizing the production of combat materials!"

"Notify the entire city, make it clear that the devilish threat is severe, and hope that everyone will unite to overcome the difficulties!"

The orders were quickly conveyed through the Spirit Web and various levels of management.

There was no concealment, no sugarcoating, only the naked crisis and a call to stand together in the same boat.

Unexpectedly, the soldiers and civilians of Zhenbei City, having been baptized by several devilish disasters, did not fall into panic but instead erupted with astonishing cohesion.

The workshops were brightly lit as craftsmen worked day and night; the patrol teams were spirited and heavily guarded; even ordinary citizens spontaneously organized themselves to help transport materials and maintain order.

A tragic yet firm atmosphere enveloped the entire city.

However, the real test soon arrived.

On the third day of the assault team's deep penetration into the Western Wasteland, the western Sea of Fog boiled again without warning!

This time, it was not a large-scale devilish tide attacking the city, but countless small, elite devilish creature squads infiltrating from different directions like ghosts, aiming directly at the defense nodes of the Western Front fortresses, the peripheral outposts of the Spirit Web, and... the few secret supply lines leading to the city!

Their tactics were extremely tricky and ruthless; they would retreat immediately after a single strike, never lingering, and specifically targeted weak points in the defense.

Within a single day, several warning towers on the Western Front were destroyed, three patrol teams were ambushed with heavy casualties, and an important water supply line was cut off!

"This is the method of the Netherworld Path!" Zhao Baichuan stood on the wall of the West Town Fortress, looking at the Spell light bursting in the distance from time to time, his face livid. "They are testing, harassing, and exhausting our energy, making it impossible for us to reinforce the assault team, let alone develop with peace of mind!"

"Pass the order! Contract the outer defensive line, abandon some secondary outposts, and concentrate forces to guard key nodes! The Reconnaissance and Patrol Team shall break into smaller units and infiltrate in reverse in small teams to hunt down these devilish creature scouts! The Spirit Web shall fully monitor energy fluctuations and predict their infiltration routes!" Ling Yunzi ordered calmly, responding in an orderly manner.

The defending army acted according to orders, and although they were passive, they stabilized their footing.

The new "Geng Metal Devil-Breaking Crossbow" and the improved "Yang Flame Thunder" played an important role in the defensive battle, causing effective damage to low-level devilish creatures.

The Spirit Web's early warning function also detected infiltrating squads in advance several times, avoiding greater losses.

But everyone understood that this was just the beginning. The main force of the Netherworld Path had not moved, and the real attack was yet to come.

Meanwhile, bad news also came from the southern front line.

Under the strict monitoring of Yun Ying and Elder Mo (whose Clone remained in the city to manage the Spirit Web), the strange parasitic energy in the Southern Fissure showed a significant increase in activity after the abnormal movements in the Western Wasteland's devil's den!

They were no longer content with lurking, but began to attempt to condense, forming tiny, constantly pulsing "energy cysts" that attached to the runes of the Demon Purifying Array, crazily absorbing the energy of the Formation, and even began to interfere with the emission of the profound ice soul's cold air in return!

"They are accelerating their growth! Responding to the call of the main body in the Western Wasteland!" Yun Ying sent a message back through the Spirit Web, her tone grave. "At this rate, in at most half a month, these cysts may mature and erupt, tearing the Demon Purifying Array from the inside!"

The southern hidden danger suddenly escalated!

"Can these cysts be cleared in advance?" Lin Shanhe asked urgently.

"Extremely difficult!" Elder Mo shook his head. "The cysts are too deeply entangled with the Formation's energy, and forced removal carries huge risks. Unless... there is more sophisticated energy stripping technology, or... an instantaneous, super-strong purification power..."

Purification power again! Everyone thought of the jade marrow heart at the same time.

But after experiencing the last "reverse infiltration" incident, no one dared to easily let the jade marrow heart directly intervene in such a precise energy confrontation again.

Just when everyone was at their wits' end, Shi Lei brought back feedback from the jade marrow heart again.

"It... it seems very anxious..." Shi Lei tried hard to interpret the vague thoughts. "It felt the 'bad things' in the south growing... It wants to help... but it says... touching directly... would be very dangerous... It says... it can... through the 'Web'... send a little... 'scent' over... to make those things... uncomfortable..."

Sending a "scent" through the Spirit Web? Did the jade marrow heart want to use the Spirit Web as a carrier to remotely deploy a spiritual energy field with dispelling or suppressing effects?

This idea once again exceeded conventional cognition, but there seemed to be no better choice at the moment.

"How certain is it? Will it cause reverse infiltration again?" Lin Shanhe asked cautiously.

"It says... this time it will be very careful... only sending a tiny bit... and... it is the kind of 'scent' it 'dislikes'... it should... not attract the other side..." Shi Lei conveyed.

After weighing the pros and cons, Lin Shanhe finally agreed to this cautious attempt.

Under Elder Mo's guidance, an extremely precise, one-way energy filtering and guiding device was set up on the main Spirit Web line connecting to the southern front.

Subsequently, under Shi Lei's communication, the jade marrow heart carefully separated a trace of extremely weak spiritual energy "imprint" containing its unique purification characteristics, which was slowly transported through the Spirit Web to the southern Demon Purifying Array area like a trickling stream.

This trace of spiritual energy did not directly attack those cysts, but instead permeated the Formation's energy field like an invisible "pheromone."

The effect was immediate! Monitoring data showed that those active cysts seemed to be disturbed by something, their growth rate significantly slowed down, and they even showed slight signs of atrophy!

"It's effective!" Yun Ying sent a message of surprise from the southern front line. "Although it cannot be eradicated, it has successfully suppressed its growth! It has bought us more time!"

Once again, the jade marrow heart helped Zhenbei City resolve a crisis in its own unique way.

However, whether it was the harassment on the Western Front or the suppression in the south, these were only stopgap measures. The real deciding factor still depended on that lone army deep in the Western Wasteland's devil's den.

Just as everyone in Zhenbei City was worried, a burst of extremely short but intense energy fluctuation suddenly came from an emergency signal node representing the assault team's direction on the Spirit Web's main control Formation Plate!

Immediately after, the signal disappeared completely, and there was no further news!

What happened?!

Did they encounter misfortune? Or... had they found the target, voluntarily cut off contact, and entered the most dangerous phase of the operation?

Everyone's heart was in their throat.

And far in the depths of the Western Wasteland, Peak Master Chiyang and the others were facing the most difficult and dangerous choice of their lives.

Based on the macro energy flow guidance last sent by the Spirit Web and combined with the Formation weakness analysis provided by Yun Ying, they finally sneaked to the edge of a huge underground cavern shrouded in Devilish Qi so thick it could not be dissolved.

Inside the cavern, one could vaguely see a terrifying altar of suffocating scale, built from countless bones and vengeful Souls, slowly operating.

Above the altar, a huge, constantly rotating dark vortex was forming, emitting a suction force that devoured everything and an evil will that froze the Soul.

The "Ten Thousand Soul Altar" from Captain of the Seventh Squad's intelligence was right before their eyes!

And around the altar, patrolling Netherworld Path Cultivators and powerful devilish creatures were dense, like a swarm of ants.

The assault team had arrived at the gates of Hell. The next step would be a charge with a nine-in-ten chance of death.