Some of them, at first glance, appeared to be people, yet possessed animalistic features.
For instance, one had the head of an eagle and a pair of wings on its back.
Moreover, those wings glinted with a cold light, appearing to be metallic no matter how one looked.
Others, while recognizable as demonic beasts, had forms they had never encountered before.
What struck them as most peculiar was the complete absence of any surge of true energy or demonic energy from these creatures!
They refused to believe that anything appearing in ruins would be entirely without danger!
The next moment, those entities moved!
The eyes of the demonic beasts flashed with a crimson glow as they charged towards them!
Despite running, their speed was in no way slow!
Those human-eagle headed beings, on the other hand, flapped their wings and ascended into the air.
Yun Hua Zhenren and the others immediately channeled their true energy and unleashed their attacks.
"Swish, swish, swish—!"
Nearly a hundred streams of true energy instantly engulfed those few monsters!
"Rumble, rumble, rumble—!"
Explosions followed one after another, kicking up a massive amount of dust and smoke!
However, the next moment, everyone's expressions changed drastically!
The demonic beasts burst forth from the dust and smoke, completely unharmed!
And at this moment, a faint yellow light enveloped them.
It appeared to be some kind of protective shield, yet still, no fluctuation of true energy or demonic energy could be detected!
The demonic beasts instantly closed the distance, lunging to tear at the cultivators!
A disciple in the Void Return stage was immediately struck, a demonic beast sinking its fangs into his left shoulder.
Then, the demonic beast shook its head.
"Riiip—!"
"Gurgle—!"
That disciple was thus torn in half with a single heave!
Blood mixed with the remnants of internal organs splattered everywhere!
Yun Hua Zhenren evaded the demonic beast's attack and quickly ascended into the air.
From this single wave of assault, they had already lost seven or eight disciples.
Blood stained the ground, and a pungent,腥 scent filled the air…
However, as soon as they reached the sky, they were met with a new wave of attacks!
Those half-human, half-bird creatures opened their mouths and fired several beams of light at them!
Yun Hua Zhenren and the others hastily erected protective shields, managing to barely block this volley.
They then channeled their true energy once more, retaliating.
"Swish, swish, swish—!"
The bird-men didn't even bother to dodge, taking the full force of these spell attacks head-on!
The result was that the yellow light on their bodies completely nullified the attacks, leaving them unscathed!
Yun Hua Zhenren and the others' hearts sank…
Although their counter-attack had been hasty and not at full power, it was sufficient to annihilate a cultivator in the early Nascent Soul stage.
Yet, these creatures of unknown origin were completely unharmed?!
Soon, the bird-men's second wave of attacks arrived.
Without any flashy techniques, they simply opened their mouths and spewed light.
And this light was incredibly fast…
Yun Hua Zhenren and the others dared not hesitate, forcing themselves to counter-attack.
The outcome remained unchanged.
Their attacks were once again blocked by that yellow light!
Those bird-men didn't even retreat a single step!
They seemed utterly invincible!
Meanwhile, the demonic beasts below were not idle, leaping into the air to bite at those above!
Although these demonic beasts couldn't fly, their leaps were exceptionally high…
A disciple in the Void Return stage, busy dealing with the bird-men's attacks, was caught!
"Riiip—!"
His entire lower body was torn off by the demonic beast!
He didn't even have time to scream before his body plummeted to the ground…
These cultivators, simultaneously fending off the bird-men's projectiles and the demonic beasts' gnawing, were in a state of utter disarray.
In a corner of the grand hall.
A nun, with Ye Fan held in one arm, rapidly dodged the demonic beasts' attacks.
She was an elder of the Yun Hua Sect.
While her offensive power was slightly lacking, her movement techniques were the fastest in the entire Yun Hua Sect.
The task of protecting Ye Fan naturally fell to her.
Ye Fan was thus held by her side, his entire face buried in her chest…
However, Ye Fan had no extraneous thoughts at this moment.
Firstly, the rapid flight had made him dizzy and nauseous.
Secondly, he was somewhat astonished!
Initially, he too had believed these things to be demonic beasts.
After all, he had encountered unfamiliar demonic beasts before and assumed they were local specialties of this continent.
But after these creatures launched their attacks, Ye Fan finally understood!
To hell with demonic beasts!
These were clearly alchemical golems!
Alchemical golems, as they were known, were a unique product of Western fantasy worlds.
While their essence was similar to Eastern puppets, their construction and energy circulation systems belonged to completely different paradigms.
The energy source for alchemical golems typically came from the magic crystals of monstrous beasts.
Then, through mechanics and runic inscription, these lifeless entities were brought to life.
Alchemical golems were pure killing machines, devoid of any emotion.
Their sole purpose for existence was to slaughter all beings before them.
Of course.
Some individuals, for the sake of a comfortable life, also created golems for domestic service.
However, the ones present clearly did not fall into this category.
The fact that they could put Yun Hua Zhenren and the others, who were in the Nascent Soul stage, in such a predicament indicated that their level was certainly not low.
Given the prevalence of mages in Western fantasy continents, the attacks of most high-level golems carried a certain anti-magic attribute.
In simple terms, they had strong corrosive properties against magical shields.
Considering the frail physique of mages, without their shields, they were not much stronger than ordinary people.
From this perspective, Yun Hua Zhenren and the others were fortunate.
After all, these were two different systems of power.
The anti-magic attribute had a significantly reduced effect on true energy.
Otherwise, they would have likely been annihilated by now…
The yellow light on the golems was likely runic defense.
Unfortunately, these runes were hidden within their bodies, making it impossible for Ye Fan to discern their specific nature.
Runes, similar to inscriptions, were different manifestations of the two systems.
Overall, Eastern runes were superior in defensive and offensive capabilities, while Western inscriptions had advantages in stability and low consumption.
The former was only a relative advantage, of course.
At this lower level of the cultivation world, a comparison of the strength of runes and inscriptions was not yet relevant.
However, the advantage of inscriptions was now fatal to Yun Hua Zhenren and the others!
In theory, as long as they could maintain their output, they would eventually deplete the magic crystal energy within the golems.
But in reality, they wouldn't last that long at all…
Ye Fan's preliminary estimation placed these golems at a minimum of Master level.
Master-level alchemical golems already possessed the ability to kill cultivators in the Nascent Soul stage!
As for a method of破解, it was simple—disintegration runes.
Disintegration runes could exploit the characteristics of runes to sever the connection between a golem's alchemical array and its magic crystal energy from within.
Without energy for propulsion, these entities would naturally cease to function.
But the problem was, the medium for inscribing disintegration runes required magical materials.
Materials from the East absorbed spiritual energy from heaven and earth, while those from the West absorbed magical elements from the air.
While they might seem similar at first glance, they were ultimately distinct entities.
At present, let alone him, it was unlikely anyone present possessed even a trace of such material…
These alchemical golems were indeed made of magical materials, and salvaging some parts from them could provide a medium for disintegration runes.
However, if Ye Fan were to actually attempt such a feat, he would undoubtedly be "reincarnated" by the golems on the spot…
Seeking parts from a killing-type golem was no different from asking a tiger for its skin…
"Seventh Elder." With this thought, Ye Fan spoke, "Please help me pass on a message."