Chapter 149 - Attack on Black Crow Ridge

Moments ago, deep beneath the forest ground, inside the central chamber Su Ming had just uncovered, spatial ripples churned like a vortex.

A large spatial array carved into the stone blazed with violent crimson light, and a massive figure stumbled out of the glow.

The Nether-Abyss Tiger Demon hit the ground heavily, his twelve-foot frame encased in molten Flame Lord Armor. Heat hissed against the damp stone walls as his bloodshot eyes darted around the cavern in wild panic.

"Mountain Fist was killed as well!"

Before him stood Chen Wuhen, Lady Tao, and Elder Yun Song beside his towering Quasi-Saint Yin-Flesh Puppet.

For three hundred years, Demonic Ancestor Mo had roamed the continent in the shadows as a hunter. But today, he has become the hunted, backed into a single corner. With every other stronghold wiped out, Demonic Ancestor Mo’s remaining vessels were now trapped inside this stronghold.

Chen Wuhen looked toward the stone ceiling, feeling the suffocating pressure of the Heavenly Cloud Sect gathering above. His face twisted with the savage frenzy of a cornered beast baring its fangs.

"Let us begin."

***

High above the forest of the Black Crow Ridge, the air vibrated with destructive power.

Peak Master Lei Zhenwu hovered in the sky in front of Su Ming, flanked by the twenty elders. He raised his heavy halberd as arcs of lightning coiled around its shaft like hungry serpents.

"I will flatten this entire ridge with one strike!" Lei Zhenwu growled as he swung his halberd downward.

"Wait, Peak Master Lei!" Su Ming said, raising a hand. "The formation below is linked directly to the ground. If we force our way in, the entire underground structure will collapse! Let me disable this array first!"

Lei Zhenwu paused, holding his halberd in place. "Can you simply break such a complex formation of this scale?"

Su Ming nodded as he focused his Essence Sight.

In his field of vision, the dense pine forest peeled away, revealing tens of thousands of intersecting energy nodes.

’There! I found it!’

Su Ming took a steady breath and extended his left arm.

A brilliant fusion of golden and violet flames twisted together as his Yin-Yang Origin Flame condensed into a magnificent longbow. It was among the many spells he had mastered recently for long-range attacks.

With his right hand, Su Ming gripped the flaming bowstring and pulled it back to his ear.

Three slender arrows of spiraling flames materialized on it. The surrounding air hummed with the immense power they held, yet not a single drop of energy leaked outward.

Su Ming released the string.

The three flame arrows shot downward, leaving thin trails of light across the sky. They pierced the forest without disturbing a single leaf, followed by three muffled thuds echoing from beneath the soil.

Cracks of pale light spread across the air. The illusory array broke instantly like shattering glass.

The peaceful pine forest vanished.

In its place stood a sprawling fortress of black stone, carved straight out of the mountain basin. Watchtowers, iron barricades, and massive gates stretched across the valley.

Before the sect elders could take in the sight, the ground trembled.

"Kill them!"

"Tear the Heavenly Cloud dogs apart!"

Howls and screams erupted from every corner of the valley. Thousands of demonic cultivators, armored fiends, corpse puppets, and blood-eyed demonic beasts surged out like a tsunami.

"Elders, engage!" Lei Zhenwu roared.

Lei Zhenwu descended from the sky like a falling meteor. As he swung his halberd, it unleashed a streak of azure lightning across the front line. Hundreds of demonic cultivators were swept away with this simple strike.

Simple contact with this thunderous arc was enough to break their bodies apart. Yet even as their bodies were cut open, the corrupted flesh twitched. Black tendrils crawled from their flesh as they patched up their wounds instantly, helping them to force their way back onto their feet and rejoin the battlefield. The puppets reassembled their limbs and charged forward once more.

Behind Lei Zhenwu, the twenty seasoned elders landed in tight formations. Their weapons drew radiant arcs of Qi as they locked down these demonic cultivators, taking them head-on.

Su Ming moved forward with steady strides, analyzing the battlefield with each step.

Dark blood splattered across the ground as the clash of weapons rang out from every direction.

Yet an instinctive chill ran down the back of his neck.

Something felt wrong.

This frontal assault felt too simple and reckless. It felt more like a distraction than a full-scale attack.

Su Ming immediately expanded his divine sense to its absolute limit, covering the entire valley as he flew upward.

Instantly, he caught a razor-sharp thread of killing intent rushing straight toward him from the shadows.

At that exact moment, a dense, bone-chilling mist hissed out of the stone fissures that covered the battlefield in an instant. The grey fog spread across the basin rapidly, swallowing the sunlight and eating away any spiritual sense.

Through the rising mist, a massive silhouette tore through the sky.

The Nether-Abyss Tiger Demon, clad in glowing Flame Lord Armor, descended toward Peak Master Lei Zhenwu with a roar that shook the heavens.

"Lei Zhenwu! Take my fist!"

Before Lei Zhenwu could turn his halberd, the air in front of Su Ming split open.

A blood-red arc of powerful sword qi slashed through the fog.

The strike moved with terrifying velocity. It carried a suffocating weight that seemed capable of severing mountain peaks.

Su Ming had no time to dodge. He raised his Crimson Heaven Sword and channeled his Qi into a dense defensive barrier before him.

The impact felt like a mountain collapsing on him.

The sheer physical force behind the attack shattered through Su Ming’s barrier like glass. The shockwave threw him backward through the air, crashing through an array of thick pine trees before slamming hard against a rocky wall.

Su Ming hit the ground, his chest tightening as a mouthful of blood spilled onto the ground.

’Such terrifying physical power...’