Chapter 55 Bloodshed at the Altar, The Clever Plan Breaks the Stalemate

Before Broken Soul Ravine, there was a deathly silence.

Crown Prince Zi Shou's fists clenched until they cracked, his knuckles turning white from excessive force.

He stared fixedly at the collapsed mountain wall ahead; the massive stones and earth were like a ferocious beast, blocking all hope.

"Your Highness, what should we do?" A blood-stained Lieutenant asked in a hoarse voice. "If we take a detour, neither our men nor our horses will hold out."

Fatigue, hunger, and despair spread through the three thousand light cavalry like a plague.

These days of forced marches, traveling by night and hiding by day, had long since exhausted their energy and spirit.

They had thought victory was in sight, only to have their path blocked by this sudden natural disaster.

"This is no natural disaster."

At the rear of the troop, Bixiao, who was responsible for feeding the horses, lowered her voice and spoke to the clumsy Cook beside her.

Her gaze was cold; on that collapsed mountain wall, she sensed a faint but incredibly familiar fluctuation of magic power.

It was the handiwork of the Chan Sect.

Qiong Xiao curled her lip and muttered softly, "Those bastards playing dirty tricks, how truly disgusting."

Right then, countless rustling sounds suddenly rang out from the dense forests on both sides of the canyon.

Immediately after, the surrounding scenery began to twist and deform. The once clear rocks and trees became blurred, as if separated by a curtain of water.

"An ambush! Form ranks!" Zi Shou roared, suddenly drawing the sword at his waist.

Before his voice had even faded, countless bizarre black shadows lunged out from the forest.

There were Essence Spirits shaped like apes and ferocious birds with claws like knives; their eyes were blood-red, looking like crazed demons as they roared and pounced at the line.

"Ah!"

A scream rang out instantly. A cavalryman's shoulder was pierced by a strange bird diving from the sky, blood spurting out.

Another cavalryman's horse was entangled by vines emerging from the ground, dragging both man and horse into the darkness.

The Formation instantly fell into chaos.

"Hold steady! Do not panic!" Huang Yuerong shook her spear, and a silver light flashed, pinning a wolf demon pouncing toward Zi Shou to the ground. Her spear moved like a Dragon, sweeping wide and powerful, forcibly clearing a space in the chaos.

But those Essence Spirits seemed endless; as soon as one batch was killed, more surged forward.

Even more bizarrely, the scenes before the soldiers' eyes became increasingly chaotic; some swung their blades at their comrades, while others cried out in terror as they saw deceased relatives.

An Illusion Array!

Zi Shou's heart sank. He led his personal guards in a charge back and forth, but it felt as if they were running in circles.

No matter which direction they charged, they would eventually return to the same spot, while the soldiers around him continued to fall.

"Your Highness, we're trapped!"

"Save me! I don't want to die!"

Desperate cries, the clashing of weapons, and the roars of wild beasts mixed together, forming a movement of Hell.

High up on the valley side, a young Daoist wearing an Apricot-Yellow Daoist Robe held a Horsetail Whisk, coldly watching the slaughter in the valley.

He was the third-generation Disciple of the Chan Sect, Daoist name Qingxu, who had come to block the way by his master's command.

"A group of Mortals dare to act in a Heaven-Defying manner? Today, I shall let you know the difference between immortals and Mortals." A contemptuous sneer curled at the corner of Qingxu's mouth.

Seeing the casualties mounting, Zi Shou's eyes turned blood-red, and a wave of overwhelming powerlessness surged in his heart.

Could it be that the entire army was truly to be wiped out here? Could it be that Chen Yuan's strategy would ultimately lose to this non-human power?

"Chen Yuan!"

Amidst the chaos, Huang Yuerong let out a shout. She swept away three attacking Essence Spirits with her spear and suddenly remembered something.

Her hand reached into her bosom with a tremble and felt the cold, hard Silk Pouch.

This was the last hope!

She forgot all hesitation and tore open the Silk Pouch, pouring out its contents.

It wasn't some Spirit Pill or medicine, nor was it a Magic Treasure. It was just a neatly folded piece of paper.

Huang Yuerong quickly unfolded the paper; on it was a scribbled map, precisely the terrain of this valley.

On the map, seven or eight seemingly unrelated positions were marked with cinnabar.

And at the bottom of the map, there was only one line of text.

"When the wind rises from the southeast, fire shall burn the linked camps."

The wind rises from the southeast?

Huang Yuerong subconsciously looked up; at this moment, the valley was filled with smoke and dust, and no wind direction could be felt at all.

"Your Highness!" She spurred her horse to Zi Shou's side and handed him the paper.

"This is the method Chen Yuan left behind to break the Formation!"

Zi Shou snatched it away, his gaze quickly scanning the line of text. A hint of confusion flashed in his eyes, but it was immediately replaced by determination.

At this point, he could only trust him!

"Pass the order!" Zi Shou's voice was hoarse, yet it carried an unquestionable authority.

"Everyone, close in on me! Distribute all the Fire Oil to these locations!"

He pointed to the red dots on the map and commanded loudly.

Though they didn't understand, the desperate situation caused the soldiers to explode with their final burst of execution.

Several personal guards protected the soldiers carrying Fire Oil as they desperately charged toward the locations marked on the map. Those places were where the vegetation in the valley was most lush.

"What do they want to do? Set a fire?" Daoist Qingxu on the mountaintop saw clearly, and the disdain on his face grew even stronger.

"Stupid Mortals, how can my Illusion Array be broken by mere Mortal fire?"

He pinched a hand seal, preparing to summon the water from the mountain stream after they lit the fire, to make them fall into complete despair.

Just then, in the originally deathly silent canyon, a gust of wind blew without warning.

The wind wasn't strong, but it carried a hint of warmth and moisture, fluttering the soldiers' armor.

It was a southeast wind!

"Now is the time! Loose arrows!" Huang Yuerong shouted sharply.

Dozens of fire arrows tied with oil-soaked cloth whistled as they were shot into the bushes that had long been saturated with Fire Oil.

Boom!

The flames touched the Fire Oil and instantly erupted. Dozens of fire dragons soared into the sky, and with the help of that sudden southeast wind, the fire spread rapidly, merging into one.

The raging fire instantly turned the entire eastern side of the valley into a sea of flames!

"Awoo!"

"Screech!"

Those mountain spirits and wild monsters summoned by the Formation were originally formed from the essence of plants and trees; they feared fire most of all.

As soon as the fire started, their ranks fell into chaos instantly, and they were burned until they shrieked and fled in all directions.

More importantly, the soaring thick smoke billowed up, blotting out the sun and completely disrupting the Qi of the Illusion Array.

The distorted scenes before the soldiers' eyes instantly returned to clarity.

"The... the Formation is broken?"

"Fire! It was the fire that broke the Formation!"

The joy of surviving a disaster made all the soldiers let out a sky-shaking cheer.

On the mountaintop, Daoist Qingxu's face changed drastically. "How is this possible? Mere Mortal fire..."

He suddenly realized and immediately pinched a hand seal, chanting under his breath, "Water, come!"

He wanted to cast a spell to bring down a sweet rain to extinguish the great fire.

However, just as his magic power surged and was about to communicate with the Spiritual Qi of the heaven and earth's water veins.

At the rear of the troop, the "Groom" Bixiao, who had been looking at the Cook Qiong Xiao with disdain, had a cold glint flash in her eyes.

She seemingly casually raised her hand, tidied the stray hair at her temple, and flicked her finger.

An imperceptible thread of immortal power, thinner than a hair, shot into the ground soundlessly.

The water vein Spiritual Qi that was about to respond to Qingxu's summons felt as if it had been violently stirred by an invisible giant hand.

It instantly became violent and chaotic.

"Pfft!"

Daoist Qingxu felt as if he had been struck by a heavy blow. His spellcasting was forcibly interrupted, and under the backlash of his magic power, he sprayed out a mouthful of blood, his face turning pale instantly.

The Illusion Array he had set up also completely collapsed due to the heavy injury of the one controlling it.

"Now is the time! Charge out!"

Zi Shou seized this fleeting opportunity. He pointed his longsword forward, his target being the vaguely visible figure of the Daoist on the mountaintop.

"Kill!"

The three thousand light cavalry, having survived the disaster, were now filled with a surge of bloodthirstiness.

They merged into a black torrent and, along the path cleared by the fire, charged out of the death canyon.

Their goal was only one.

Thirty miles away, that Altar of God where the evil sacrifice was being held!