Aspiring to the Immortal Path

The moment the Shadow Nagas began their charge, the situation on the battlefield abruptly changed.

Hundreds of devils began to attack from a distance, the clash of the upper echelons increasing ten times in intensity.

At the same time, violet energy began to emerge from the black clouds. Just like that, the Primordial Fog Violet Energy wrapped around the Shadow Nagas and joined them in the charge. The countless Shadow Nagas were wrapped in a violet cloud while protected by the energy of the devil Titans, which granted them a massive defensive barrier as they charged at the human ranks.

Only now was the Primordial Fog Domain truly flexing its power.

As that terrifying energy radiated into the surroundings, black clouds descended, instilling despair and gloom.

At the same time, the soil under the white fog began to seethe with black energy as the demon blood that contaminated it answered the summons of the Primordial Fog and began to join together with the approaching demonic energy.

It seemed like the devil Titans had planned out everything, choosing this precise moment to launch the lethal attack. The formations in front of the humans almost instantly collapsed, and the demons suddenly had nothing left to stop them. They charged forward, continuing their role as meat shields for the main forces, the Shadow Nagas right behind them…

In the face of this cataclysmic tide, the humans once more trembled in fear.

Had their sturdy walls really appeared so fragile in the eyes of those devils? Once the demons made contact, the only thing awaiting the humans would be a massacre. Many of them started to despair and even resent Tang Jie.

“Immortal Sovereign, the Sand Ocean Formation, Gold Ignis Archdevil Formation, and Nine Astral Lightning Formation have all been rendered ineffective by demonic energy. The front lines are completely defenseless and the Shadow Nagas are charging in!”

A Violet Palace True Lord flew over, crying out in alarm.

“I can see that,” Tang Jie said, gazing into the distance. “Let them charge. There’s no rush. Have the assault division take the front and let the army strike back. They have to hold fast against the demon assault and ensure that our ranks remain firm.”

“Yes!” The True Lord flew off to pass on these orders.

Drums thundered as Tang Jie’s orders were relayed.

The battle intensified.

Shadow Nagas were lower-grade Transformation beings, their strength on par with human Spirit Ring cultivators. But when Shadow Nagas gathered in great numbers, their power was truly terrifying.

Shadow Nagas had both strong bodies and powerful spell arts. When they attacked from a distance, they would screech in unison to shake the soul, after which they would gather the surrounding black fog into arrows.

These Shadow Arrows could be released individually or as a group. When several dozen Shadow Nagas joined together to fire an arrow, even a Violet Palace True Lord would be unwilling to face them, and if there were thousands, Immortals would have to be cautious.

Meanwhile, their tough and tenacious bodies made them extremely difficult to kill, and they could jointly resist Divine Connections. They also had twin bone sabers forged from their own bones, coated in poison that could quickly kill anyone wounded by the blades.

This powerful demon was a threat both near and far.

Even when supported by a formation, the cultivators were under immense pressure when facing Shadow Nagas.

They quickly discovered that on this grandiose stage, there was no difference between the weak and the strong. All life became equal.

Those experts and Titans who had enjoyed glory and honor began to fall one by one. In this bitterly fought battle, anyone could die. Strong experts often had to face strong opponents or even an entire host, so they died just as much as those of the lower ranks.

Helian Hu, once an old foe of Tang Jie, had focused on cultivation after the Beast Garden battle. 1200 years of cultivation and the growth of the Rosecloud Domain itself allowed him to successfully reach Violet Palace. He had mastered “Catch the Wind, Seize the Moon” and had five fiend beast avatars, each one with the strength of a low-level Violet Palace expert, making him a rather renowned figure among the Rosecloud elites. But in this battle, he found that he was still too fragile, and though he killed several dozen Nagas on his own, his avatars died one after the other.

(TN: The author originally wrote this to be Feng Buzhi, hence the appearance of “Catch the Wind, Seize the Moon”. After realizing his mistake, he changed it to Helian Hu.)

Twelve Shadow Nagas passed by his side and joined together to unleash a Shadow Arrow, and even though Helian Hu managed to strike back and kill three, another eight Shadow Nagas came in from the other side and swung their sabers through his shield. He immediately grew dizzy and realized that he couldn’t last for long. But before the poison could bring him down, another large Shadow Arrow shot his way. Rather than dodge, Helian Hu threw himself forward and exploded.

Xiao Wen, a former genius of the Seven Absolutions Sect, had battled against Tang Jie in the Langya Blessed Land during the Immortal Fortune Conference. After a thousand years of cultivation, he had reached the peak of Soul Transformation. With his Wuji Diagram, he could thoughtcast while at Soul Transformation, though it still required a rather long preparation time. But as this was a war, he naturally had this preparation time, and thanks to the Wuji Diagram, he could unleash powerful spell art after spell art, slaying numerous Shadow Nagas.

He was like a spell art cannon, venting the rage of humanity in his own special way.

But his power drew the attention of the Shadow Nagas.

A group of thirty Shadow Nagas joined together, launching a giant Shadow Arrow at Xiao Wen. Even though Xiao Wen cast several dozen barriers, the Shadow Arrow still pierced through all of them and ended his life.

Yun Danqi was the young master of Joymount Island’s Yun Clan, a disciple of Horizon Ocean Pavilion. The Ghost Guard had made its first appearance defending the Yun Clan’s island. The Ghost Guard was now the Mother Cloud combat puppet, and the young master of the Yun Clan had also lived a long life. While he hadn’t achieved anything great, he was still a Heart Demon cultivator.

He possessed a solid foundation and agile movements. But in this sort of defensive battle, his light movement techniques were of little meaning. No matter how agile one was, there was simply no dodging spell arts that could cover the entire battlefield. The only solution was to work together with others to resist.

Yun Danqi didn’t know how many demons he had killed, for this concept didn’t exist for him. His lacking strength meant that he didn’t have the right to fight alone, only as a member of the army. He was part of a ten-person squad, utilizing a combination secret art passed down by the seven supreme sects, led by their captain. Sometimes they would act as a unit of ten, other times as part of a unit of one hundred, and rarely, they would join even larger groups.

This sort of combination required keen awareness of the situation. The more people involved, the more time was needed to gather them all and the slower their reaction speed, so it was only suitable to use against more powerful foes. When dealing with smaller and more nimble targets, they needed to come apart so as to not waste firepower.

Yun Danqi followed commands like a machine. Unlike Helian Hu or Xiao Wen, who had their time to shine, he was a simple transmitter of spiritual energy. He didn’t know how many demons he ended up killing, or how he even died. At the last moment of his life, he simply saw darkness overtaking his vision…

There were many others like Helian Hu or Yun Danqi. They steadfastly defended their positions, killing the enemy and being killed in turn. The cultivator wars had never been this intense before, and individual trump cards became like meaningless grains of sand.

Yun Tianlan could not bear these immense losses.

After pushing back an encroaching demon, Yun Tianlan formed a clone from the clouds and appeared at that floating mountain. “Tang Jie, what are you still waiting for? Why haven’t you begun yet?”

Tang Jie gazed into the distance. “The time hasn’t come. Wait a little longer.”

“‘The time hasn’t come’?” Xiao Biehan’s voice rang out.

Although he was a tier lower than Tang Jie in cultivation, Xiao Biehan still had his dignity, and he was one of the few who dared to address Tang Jie directly. “Just when do you plan to wait until? There’s a gruesome battle playing out below, and we’re losing countless cultivators. Are all your preparations only to be used once everyone is dead?”

Tang Jie froze for a moment before saying, “This is our first major battle with the Primordial Fog. After eons of experience, we’ve developed a deep understanding of the Primordial Fog demons, but the demons do not truly understand our Rosecloud Domain. This is our greatest advantage. Thus, we have to deal the greatest blow possible to our foe in this battle. Only then can we create opportunities for the battle that comes after. The Shadow Nagas have entered, but there are still Violet Djinns and Blood Demons. Wait a little longer. Those two demon armies will soon be deployed, after which we will take action. We won’t get another chance at this opportunity!”

“But our side can’t hold much longer! If the army crumbles before then, what use will your plan be?” Xiao Biehan asked.

Tang Jie said nothing.

Xiao Biehan was right. This possibility did exist.

Would the army crumble like Xiao Biehan said, or would it hold out until the end so that Tang Jie could deal the masterstroke? That was more difficult to say. In truth, this would depend on the commander’s judgment and grasp of the battlefield.

Tang Jie felt like his side could hold. After all, the humans were fighting for their home, and the battle had yet to reach its most dire state. But such things were difficult to describe in words. It was a conclusion derived from experience, insight, and intelligence.

Tang Jie could see it because he had another world’s worth of experience and was particularly familiar with this kind of battle.

In comparison, despite the long lives of Xiao Biehan and the others, they had mostly been spent on duels. They had rarely participated in large-scale battles, and even in past Primordial Fog invasions, they had mostly experienced raids and guerrilla tactics. This was their first time in this sort of large-scale battle.

This was why they couldn’t see it.

In their eyes, the human lines were in dire straits, so it was only natural that they would come to urge Tang Jie into action.

They didn’t want the greatest victory, only a sure one.

Tang Jie naturally wanted to stick to his convictions, but he knew that if he didn’t have the support of Yun Tianlan and Xiao Biehan, there would be no point in his obstinance. Moreover, it was not only these two who thought this. In the distance, many Immortals were casting gazes in his direction.

They were also worried, right?

Tang Jie helplessly sighed and gazed into the distance.

The Violet Djinns were already moving out, but only half had entered the designated area.

As for the Blood Demons, which Tang Jie wanted to kill the most, they showed no signs of moving.

It seemed like he would have to satisfy himself with this.

Tang Jie nodded. “Fine then; let’s begin. Eight Ocean Mountains, rise!”