"What? Jìmìe Mountain was attacked by humans? Who did it?" Wū Suō roared in fury.
His subordinates, strong individuals themselves, trembled in fear.
After all, Wū Suō was known for his unpredictable temper.
Someone always suffered when he lost his temper.
Tiānyuán nervously replied, "The attackers numbered only about sixty, but their strength is immense. I suspect it's Chén Nán."
BOOM!
A boundless rage surged from within Wū Suō, shooting towards the heavens and causing the clouds to churn incessantly.
He was contorted in a ferocious expression, veins bulging on his forehead, looking exceptionally menacing.
Even his pair of brown eyes had turned crimson at this moment.
He gritted his teeth and uttered a chilling voice, "I never expected that fellow to be so audacious, to dare attack our main stronghold!"
"If I don't tear him into a thousand pieces, my heart's hatred will never be appeased!"
"All soldiers, heed my command."
"Return to Jìmìe Mountain at once, and kill Chén Nán at all costs!"
"Yes!"
The six hundred thousand troops roared in unison, their voices shaking the heavens and earth.
Despite this, their morale had visibly diminished.
It was understandable.
They had just spent half a day crossing a distance of ten thousand li.
Now, without even a moment to catch their breath, they had to turn back the way they came.
They harbored a considerable amount of resentment.
Yet, they dared not voice it.
"Boss, I suggest we leave some of our brothers to guard the Divine Stone Mine," Dìfāng offered his opinion. "I worry the demons might take advantage of our absence. If that happens, the loss would outweigh any gain!"
Wū Suō roared, "If the demons truly had such courage, why would they wait until now to make a move? Please, use your brain before speaking next time!" With that, he leaped into the air, leading the six hundred thousand异魔 (Yìmó) army northward in a mighty procession.
From afar, they resembled a vast expanse of black clouds,
shrouding the sun and moon as they flashed across the sky.
Their potent aura sent shivers down the spines of the creatures on the land, filling them with intense panic.
For they had never witnessed the 异魔 (Yìmó) flying overhead in such a colossal force.
"Dìfāng, do you know your crime?"
Mid-air.
Wū Suō's face was grim.
Dìfāng was utterly bewildered.
What had happened?
Why was the boss asking him this?
Had he done anything wrong?
Though he didn't know what had transpired,
Dìfāng understood Wū Suō's temperament and immediately replied, "Your subordinate knows his crime!"
He had no idea what he had done wrong,
but Wū Suō was clearly enraged, so admitting guilt was the safest course of action.
Wū Suō said coldly, "What crime have you committed?"
This completely stumped Dìfāng.
Had he truly committed a crime?
Wū Suō snorted, "You have a crow's mouth. If you hadn't suggested earlier that Chén Nán might take advantage of our absence, would things have turned out this way?"
Pfft!
Dìfāng nearly spat out a mouthful of blood.
It was clearly my foresight that anticipated Chén Nán's intentions.
And now you're blaming me for having a crow's mouth?
It was your decision not to heed my advice that led to this situation.
How can you shift all the blame onto me?
Is this fair?
He was filled with immense grievances, but dared not express them, lowering his head like a child who had made a mistake.
"I will settle accounts with you after I've dealt with Chén Nán!" Wū Suō said expressionlessly, flying towards Jìmìe Mountain at top speed.
As things stood,
he could only hope his subordinates could hold on until their return.
Otherwise, Jìmìe Mountain was in danger of falling.
------
Jìmìe Mountain.
Chén Nán stood quietly on the mountaintop.
The others were engaged in battle with the 异魔 (Yìmó).
Though the enemy was stronger and they were weaker,
their side had no weaklings.
Even Xuán Qīngniǎo, who had only recently entered the Divine Venerable realm, earned Chén Nán's admiration.
She had condensed her Saber Intent.
While not as potent as Chén Nán's,
she had cultivated saber techniques since childhood.
Her Saber Intent was ferocious, powerful, and unstoppable.
She could instantly kill even a late-stage Divine Venerable realm expert with a single strike.
"If I'm not mistaken, she comprehended Saber Intent when she was in the Divine King realm!"
"Otherwise, her breakthrough wouldn't have gone awry."
"If this situation continues to develop,"
"she is highly likely to master a complete Saber Dao, and even become a Saint."
Chén Nán held high expectations for Xuán Qīngniǎo's future.
Of course,
the tribesmen of the Phoenix tribe also impressed him.
They had all transformed into fire phoenixes, igniting the sky and earth.
Though their flames were not as terrifying as Samadhi True Fire,
they could still incinerate the 异魔 (Yìmó), affecting their strength.
The Nine-headed Flame Lion was not to be outdone.
It directly unleashed its proudest sonic attack.
Its deafening roars made the void tremble and caused the corpses of countless 异魔 (Yìmó) to explode in mid-air.
Although there were many 异魔 (Yìmó) on Jìmìe Mountain,
none of them could approach within five hundred meters of the mountaintop.
As time passed,
the number of 异魔 (Yìmó) on Jìmìe Mountain gradually dwindled.
Xuán Qīngniǎo, the tribesmen of the Phoenix tribe, and the Nine-headed Flame Lion were all covered in blood, panting heavily.
They had expended a great deal of divine power in this battle.
Seeing some more red-eyed 异魔 (Yìmó) charging towards them, Chén Nán raised his hand and unleashed two strands of Saber Intent.
Pfft pfft pfft!
Accompanied by the sound of blood mist,
the remaining 异魔 (Yìmó) all perished under Chén Nán's Saber Intent.
Jìmìe Mountain became eerily quiet.
Only the sounds of everyone's ragged breaths could be heard.
At this moment, the sun was setting,
its fiery glow casting upon Jìmìe Mountain, making the blood-stained mountain range appear even more striking.
"Why did you only act now?"
"If you had acted earlier, would we have had to struggle this much?" Xuán Qīngniǎo asked Chén Nán indignantly, displeased with his pose of smoking and posturing on the mountaintop!
Chén Nán replied, "A sharp sword is honed through grinding, and the plum blossom's fragrance comes from bitter cold. You all needed a fierce battle to temper yourselves!"
Indeed.
In this battle, he had only issued the command to 'kill'.
Apart from that, he had not made a move.
Of course,
he wasn't being lazy by doing this.
It was genuinely to temper their will and strength!
Xuán Qīngniǎo retorted unhappily, "Don't you need to temper yourself as well?"
Chén Nán thought for a moment and replied apologetically, "I'm sorry, I truly don't need to make a superfluous effort!"
"After all, my strength is already quite robust!"
The Nine-headed Flame Lion grinned shamelessly, "We don't know if you're robust or not, but Miss Qīngniǎo knows very well, considering you two are already intimately familiar!"
Xuán Qīngniǎo trembled with rage.
"Everyone, take a rest. If nothing unexpected happens, Wū Suō will soon return the way he came, and then we will face a real tough battle!" Chén Nán looked south, his gaze gradually becoming more solemn.
Jìmìe Mountain had eight hundred thousand Divine Venerable realm 异魔 (Yìmó).
Although these 异魔 (Yìmó) did not possess any spells or divine abilities, nor any magical artifacts,
the sheer numbers alone
made even him feel an inexplicable sense of pressure.
At this moment,
Fèng Jiǔ, covered in blood, approached with heavy breaths and said, "Holy Lord, I have an item that can guarantee our victory in this battle!"
Chén Nán asked curiously, "What item?"
With a wave of his right hand, Fèng Jiǔ summoned a white jade coffin that appeared on the ground with a dull thud.
The moment the coffin lid was opened,
Chén Nán exclaimed, "How do you possess such a thing?"