Chapter 501: Cangbo Mountain Range
Chapter 501: Cangbo Mountain Range
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The Cangbo Mountain Range boasted countless towering peaks and breathtaking valleys.
Perpetual mist shrouded the mountain summits, concealing deadly dangers. At the heart of the range stood sheer cliffs and bottomless gorges where howling winds sent leaves and stones swirling through the air. Jagged rocks and ancient trees dotted the landscape, with waterfalls frozen mid-air and bizarre boulders floating weightlessly between ravines.
Even amateur feng shui practitioners wouldn't dare linger here.
The overwhelming aura of slaughter could overwhelm ordinary cultivators' minds.
Yet for Li Ziping and Zhang Mengchu, this very atmosphere could empower their formations.
The killing intent originated from heaven and earth's ruthlessness - by channeling this cruelty, they could enhance their trapping and killing arrays beyond normal limits.
"Witnessing two legendary formations manifest today would make my death worthwhile," Liu Yuanqing remarked while surveying the perilous peaks, shaking his head wistfully.
Though proficient in arraycraft, his cultivation only reached the Unity Stage.Most formations didn't require the caster's personal strength, but the Seven Stars Dragon-Binding Array and Demon-Slaying Heavenly Sword Array demanded at least Void Comprehension Stage cultivators who could harness celestial forces - precisely where Liu's understanding remained superficial.
"Elder Liu shouldn't speak such words," Zhang Mengchu said solemnly yet reassuringly. "Though the demon race has five demon sages against our single Great Ascension ancestor, remember our human experts hidden in the Void Abyss. Should they intervene, five sages mean nothing. We merely need to withstand several demon assaults alongside our ancestor to buy time."
"One can only hope." At this point, Liu could only pray the hidden human experts would act.
Otherwise... the Moon Shadow Sect would have to retreat into their ancestor's pocket dimension.
How utterly boring that would be, heh.
"Wait here while I inspect the formation cores." Li Ziping announced before sword-riding toward surrounding peaks.
The Cangbo Mountains contained countless strange summits.
Thirty-six peaks encircling the main mountain had been selected to trap the Cangbo Valley - the demons' inevitable passage unless they wished to waste time crossing the Cangbo Marsh.
Each of the thirty-six peaks now bore a Demon-Suppressing Banner embroidered with resonating sigils that fluttered in unison. At the formation's heart, eighty-one Spirit-Anchoring Stakes forged from Primordial Purple Gold pierced the earth, their engraved restrictions connecting to ley lines below. Once activated, spiritual energy from ten thousand miles would converge, manifesting the sword array mid-air.
After checking the southern peak's core, Li Ziping's expression suddenly darkened.
The southern sky had grown ominous, ink-black clouds pressing down until the mountains seemed to shrink.
Distant thunder rumbled without rain as gales whipped through the valleys, sending debris flying.
"Demonic aura!" Li Ziping's brow furrowed as he sensed an overwhelming presence approaching like a tidal wave of slaughter.
At the main peak, Zhang Mengchu monitored the formation through his Heavenly Mechanism Plate.
Vermilion oil representing demonic energy had already engulfed the night pearl symbolizing their formation at the plate's center.
"They're coming," Li Ziping murmured softly, yet his voice carried across the entire array.
Countless pairs of glowing eyes ignited in distant forests as foul winds carried the stench of bloodlust.
An invisible pressure filled the air, making even breathing difficult.
Having returned to the main peak, Li Ziping and Zhang Mengchu concealed themselves within the formation, holding their breaths.
The Demon-Suppressing Banners trembled faintly while the buried Spirit-Anchoring Stakes masked their presence - the arrays' brilliance lay in appearing completely dormant until activation. S̈
Watching the bloody hue spreading across the mechanism plate, Li Ziping asked, "Brother Zhang, do you think they'll enter our trap?"
After contemplation, Zhang nodded. "The demons advanced unchecked since leaving the Hundred Thousand Mountains, their arrogance peaking. They likely consider our Moon Shadow Sect already fleeing, never expecting an ambush here."
"True enough."
Li Ziping noticed Moon Shadow disciples positioning newly crafted contraptions - the so-called "Cangyun Terminators" their ancestor had developed, though their effectiveness remained unknown.
Xiang Tiange had relocated all equipment into the mountains - over a hundred massive mechanical arms that worked ceaselessly under formation control to manufacture and assemble components. Within one night, they'd produced hundreds of Terminators and Cangyun M4s, with Xiang desperately racing against the demon advance.
"I wonder if the ancestor and Elder Xiang's creations will prove useful," Li Ziping mused, unable to shake his concerns.
Five Great Ascension demons... though their mission was merely delay tactics.
Rumors claimed the Terminators' core technology came from another world called Earth Star, whose power system was inferior except in mechanical constructs. Could such primitive world's products truly synergize with Cangyun Realm's advanced cultivation arts?
"Though 'Terminator' is quite an apt name," Zhang Mengchu chuckled dryly.
In truth, he doubted the contraptions' effectiveness against demon hordes - an inherent bias as a half-step Great Ascension cultivator toward orthodox cultivation over "petty mechanical tricks."
Meanwhile, the main peak's interior had been hollowed into a massive cavern where thousands of Moon Shadow disciples gathered on a platform.
The opposite rockface bore numerous circular openings surrounded by baskets of premium spirit stones and freshly mined spirit jade.
These firing ports overlooked the valley where demons assembled - their purpose unmistakable.
Though unfamiliar with firearms warfare, Xiang Tiange had modeled the defense after mortal city sieges, transforming the main peak into a fortress with firing ports and protective arrays to maximize both offensive capability and disciple safety.
Behind them lay an escape portal should defenses fail.
As the ancestor explained, this ambush primarily served to intimidate the demons and buy time.
"The demon army approaches!" a disciple monitoring the ports suddenly shouted.
Across the southern sky streaked a golden-winged roc with thousand-zhang wingspan that blotted out the heavens.
Each wingbeat generated gales that shook the valleys, its sword-sharp feathers gleaming as it disdainfully surveyed the Cangbo Mountains.
The Roc Sage had arrived first in the Moon Shadow Sect's view...
Yet it seemed unaware of the hidden formations?
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