"Thank you, brothers, and my kinsmen, for your trust."
"As I, Shi Wu, have become the tribal chief, I shall dedicate myself wholeheartedly to the survival and well-being of our people."
"If I betray this oath!"
"May gods and men alike condemn me, and may I die a terrible death!"
Within the tribe.
Shi Wu spoke with impassioned fervor, his face alight with excitement: "However, our immediate priority is to find a new sanctuary."
Wushuang City had always been hidden underground.
It was precisely because of this that they had remained undisturbed for so many years.
But times had changed.
The异魔 (Yi Mo - otherworldly demons) had discovered the location of Wushuang City.
If Wushuang City did not find a new sanctuary soon.
It would not be long before those 异魔 returned.
Gu Jian handed him the array plate, speaking with earnest concern: "Shi Wu, I hope you can contribute to the survival of the tribe..."
Before the word 'ribute' was even finished.
A piercing roar echoed across the heavens and earth.
Countless 异魔 materialized above the tribe, furiously assaulting the defensive formation.
"Why have the 异魔 attacked again?"
"Who can tell me what is happening?"
Gazing at those pairs of dark red eyes.
The people of the tribe were thrown into utter panic.
Their eyes filled with terror.
It felt as though the end of days had arrived.
After all.
Shi Wu had not yet refined the array plate.
The formation's defensive capabilities alone were insufficient to hold out for long.
A profound sense of unease descended upon everyone.
They knew the 异魔 would surely return.
They just hadn't expected them to come back so quickly.
Shi Wu's face turned ashen. He immediately commanded: "Listen to my orders! All cultivators, leave the underground city and engage the 异魔 outside. I will use this opportunity to refine the array plate."
"Yes!"
His call was met with immediate response.
Tens of thousands of people, armed with weapons, charged out.
Meanwhile, he sat cross-legged and began to refine the array plate.
The tribesmen watched with bated breath as their kin, locked in battle with the 异魔 above, were successively slain and devoured.
Perhaps those warriors were powerful.
But before the uncountable horde of 异魔, they were utterly insignificant.
They could not withstand the overwhelming onslaught of the 异魔.
"These 异魔 are too powerful. Our kin cannot resist them," a woman exclaimed, her voice trembling with grief and fear.
"No! Don't! Don't do this!" another woman shrieked, her heart rending cry piercing the night. She watched helplessly as her son's head was torn off by an 异魔, his body then dismembered and devoured by others.
The horrific scene was like a knife twisting in her heart.
It left her gasping for breath.
"Is there truly no one who can stop these 异魔?" someone cried out in despair.
For everyone could see.
It would not be long before all their kin perished.
At that point, the 异魔 would surely break through the formation and storm in.
And they would all become the 异魔's prey.
Gu Jian, looking up, said calmly: "There was someone who could have stopped these 异魔, but... you drove that person away!"
At these words.
The people's minds immediately went to Chen Nan.
After all, he had once repelled the 异魔 invasion, even driving back that humanoid creature.
But now...
Chen Nan had been driven away by them!
Unwillingness!
Regret!
Despair!
Helplessness!
These emotions flooded everyone's hearts.
"Even without Chen Nan, I can repel the 异魔 invasion!" Shi Wu roared in anger. He formed hand seals, bit his tongue, and spat out a mouthful of blood.
Simultaneously.
He quickly gained control of the array plate.
A frenzied smile played on his lips. With swift hand seals, he manipulated the formation to recall the tribesmen battling the 异魔 above back into the stronghold.
However, of the ten thousand who had gone out.
Only a mere thousand returned.
Even among these thousand survivors, many were missing limbs or severely wounded.
"Chen Nan?"
"Who does he think he is?"
"Even without him, I can save the tribe."
"I am the true savior!"
Shi Wu, as if possessed, continued to rapidly cast hand seals.
At the same time.
He pushed the formation to its absolute limit.
A dark crimson light enveloped the entire tribe.
Terrifying killing intent surged heavenward from the formation.
Any 异魔 that touched it dissolved into bloody mist.
This brought a glimmer of hope to the tribespeople.
"Is this the power of the formation? It's truly magnificent!"
"With this formation, why should we fear the 异魔 invasion?"
Watching countless 异魔 turn to mist, the people of the tribe were exhilarated.
Even though many had died, as long as the 异魔 invasion could be repelled, it was enough.
Just as they were breathing a sigh of relief.
The humanoid creature descended slowly from the sky.
He appeared like a god.
Looking down upon the people beneath the formation with disdain.
A flicker of contempt appeared in his eyes: "A mere formation dares to try and stop our clan's advance?"
Shi Wu replied with neither subservience nor arrogance: "Whether it can stop your advance, won't we know by trying?"
The humanoid creature slowly raised his right hand.
A radiant light coalesced at his fingertip.
The radiance grew brighter and brighter.
Like a dazzling star in the night sky.
It possessed an aura of utter destruction.
"Break!"
The humanoid creature uttered a cold, detached word.
The next instant.
The radiant light from his fingertip became a meteor.
It streaked across the night sky.
Under the anxious and fearful gazes of everyone, it descended towards the formation.
The moment the radiant light struck the formation.
Shi Wu instantly spat out a mouthful of blood.
He could not bear the strain of the formation resisting the attack.
Following closely, a gap was torn in the formation by the radiant light.
The radiant light, like a faint spark, ignited the dry grass on the wilderness, causing the gap in the formation to widen.
"Why is this happening?"
"Why?"
Shi Wu's eyes turned bloodshot as he let out a desperate roar.
He had believed.
That by controlling the formation, he could repel the 异魔 invasion.
But he had never imagined that this humanoid creature would be so powerful.
As the gap in the formation widened.
Countless 异魔, like a celestial river bursting its banks, poured through the opening, initiating a hunt with no suspense.
Screams!
Wails echoed beneath the night sky.
The old, weak, sick, and crippled fled in terror, but the sheer number of 异魔 made escape impossible.
Even those who fought bravely found their efforts futile.
"Shi Wu, it's all your fault!"
"If you hadn't driven Chen Nan out of the tribe, why would our kinsmen suffer this calamity?" Amidst an enraged roar, someone plunged a blade through Shi Wu's chest.
Shi Wu coughed up blood, his eyes filled with bitterness: "I admit I bear an undeniable responsibility for this, but is it truly my fault?"
"I merely suggested that Chen Nan be driven out."
"The final decision rested with you!"
"If you had not agreed with my suggestion, how could things have come to this?"
A profound sense of regret welled up within him.
He should not have suggested driving Chen Nan out.
But was it too late to regret now?