As expected, Barbarian Slayer, Wildland Suppression and King Slayer appeared at the horizon just half a teatime later. They resembled black clouds that consumed the ground as they crept closer.

The three armies did not meet up with each other though. Instead, they occupied three of the four sides of the Nanjiang Royal Court.

“Barbarian Slayer, kill!”

“Wildland Suppression, rise!”

“King Slayer, join!”

As soon as the orders were given, Barbarian Slayer, Wildland Suppression and King Slayer mobilized at the same time.

Fiendish qi rose from Barbarian Slayer’s troops and combined into a monstrous dragon. It flew ominously across a sea of boiling blood.

Wildland Suppression ran forward speedily like an inferno consuming a plain. Flying above the sea of flame was a phoenix that boiled the ocean and burned the heavens.

King Slayer marched forward as dark as the night and as quiet as the clouds. A demonic blade just barely peeked out of the darkness while a field of corpses bobbed up and down a sea of blood.

When black clouds encroached upon a city, even the sun and the moon became dim and lightless. When man resolved to kill, the heavens might fall, and the earth might tear asunder.

Thanks to their army formation, Barbarian Slayer, Wildland Suppression and King Slayer passed right over the Moon God Lake like it did not exist. They ran across the lake’s surface like it was solid ground and reached the city walls in just the blink of an eye.

Right before they could climb over the walls though, a dazzling screen of light suddenly appeared out of nowhere and enveloped the entire Nanjiang Royal Court. It blocked the three armies like an invisible wall and prevented them from advancing even an inch further.

“Kill!”

“Kill!

“Kill!”

The next moment, the monstrous dragon roared, the phoenix extended its wings, and the demonic blade swung at the screen of light at the same time. The combined assault was fearsome to say the least, but they still couldn’t breach the light screen and invade the city.

“Moonlight…”

On the city gate tower, Ye Qing touched the screen of invisible, cool light and murmured to himself.

“That’s right. It’s moonlight.” Feng Qingyou answered beside him.

“They’re coming from the Moon God’s statue.”

Ye Qing looked up. Black clouds were covering up the sky completely, so the moon was nowhere to be found. Therefore, the light could only come from the center of the inner city.

Ye Qing viewed the inner city with his demonic thought. He saw Meng Feixue wearing an exquisite outfit and standing in front of the Moon God’s statue. She was holding up a scroll and chanting words of offering.

Elder Soul Sacrifice and a group of sacrificial priests had also changed into colorful outfits. They were currently performing a strange dance.

The citizens of Nanjiang Royal Court were kneeling with their foreheads pressed against the floor. Their faces were no longer numb and desensitized, however. It was now filled with reverence and caution.

These were all strange, but none stranger than the Moon God’s statue itself. Right now, the statue no longer looked like an cold, inanimate object carved from stone. It was as if it had come to life. Its white clothes were floating, and layers of starlight were glittering around its body. The moon above its head was shining brightly and unleashing seemingly infinite radiance.

The moon was the source of the moonlight surrounding the entire Nanjiang Royal Court and protecting it from harm.

The moon was no real moon as a matter of course, and yet it gave off a grand, vast, and enigmatic feeling.

As Meng Feixue continued chanting, the sacrificial priests continued dancing, and the citizens of Nanjiang continued worshipping, the statue grew increasingly lifelike, and the moon increasingly bright. The moonlight felt so bright and clear it was like a dream.

Strangely, Ye Qing’s senses were telling him that the moonlight emitted by the statue was no different from ordinary moonlight. It should not possess any power whatsoever, and yet it was a fact that it was keeping Barbarian Slayer, Wildland Suppression and King Slayer at bay.

“This is the Clear Light of the Moon[1]. It might be intangible and seem no different from ordinary moonlight, but it really possessed the power to protect anything and everything. So long as the Clear Light of the Moon was present, the three armies would not be able to break inside no matter what,” Feng Qingyou explained.

“The Clear Light of the Moon, huh?” Ye Qing lifted an eyebrow while watching the three armies still attacking the light screen with all they got. “Is this the good show you’re talking about?”

“Patience. The show is still beginning.” Feng Qingyou chuckled.

“Nanjiang Pacification!”

Seeing that their assault wasn’t working, Jin Wujiu waved his arm and stopped his troops. At the same time, Barbarian Slayer and Wildland Suppression began marching and moved to King Slayer’s left and right side.

The three armies blended with each other and combined into a single army in an instant.

Vigor shot into the sky, and killing intent filled the clouds. Slowly, a strange beast that was shaped like a tiger but with two horns, three heads and six eyes took form above the combined army.

It was the divine beast worshiped by the Nanjiang Pacification Army, the Jiang.

In the sky, the Jiang voraciously consumed the vigor and fiendish qi of the three armies, causing the wind to blow like a storm, and the clouds to shake violently.

Gradually, the energies of tens of thousands of troops merged into one, and the Jiang’s body grew bigger and denser. Its aura was growing increasingly immense and terrifying as well.

In just the span of a dozen breaths, the Jiang had become as big as a mountain range—it was literally fifty kilometers wide from one end to the other—and its aura was as terrifying as a god demon.

“The Nanjiang Pacification Evil Suppressing Formation?!”

Ye Qing watched the gigantic Jiang in the sky with growing sternness. This could not be anything else but the other legendary military formation of the Nanjiang Pacification Army, the Nanjiang Pacification Evil Suppressing Formation.

Meanwhile, Meng Feixue’s sacrificial ritual had also reached its final critical moment. At the Moon Praying Stage, Meng Feixue’s voice grew faint and spiritual as if it was becoming one with nature itself, “I offer these spirits to the moon and ask that you eat them. I ask that you protect Nanjiang and ensure that its prosperity is everlasting. I, Princess Feixue of the Meng Clan of the Nanjiang Royal Court, humbly request the Moon God to descend to this plane…”

“Offer the sacrifices!”

As soon as the command was given, Elder Soul Sacrifice immediately tossed a human skull he was holding into the air.

The next moment, a pair of white flames lit up in the empty sockets of the skull. Then, it blew at the Nanjiang Pacification captives.

The gust of wind eroded the captives’ flesh and blood so quickly it was like watching a video on fast forward. In just the span of a few breaths, the ten thousand captives had all withered away into piles of dead bones.

At the same time, many souls were slowly floating into the air.

“Come eat…”

Meng Feixue cried. As if on cue, the souls all flew toward the Moon God’s statue and entered its body.

Before this, the statue still looked a little stiff and unnatural. But now, it was truly lifelike and overflowing with divinity.

“Welcome, Moon God…”

“Welcome, Moon God…”

“Welcome, Moon God…”

Meng Feixue, Elder Soul Sacrifice, Grandma Yu, and every Nanjiang citizen all dropped to their knees and kowtowed to the statue, chanting.

Gradually, the Moon God statue moved and pointed outside.

Seemingly ignoring the laws of space itself, the finger magically appeared outside the city and touched on the forehead of the divine beast.

The finger was as tiny and weak as a speck of dust compared to the massive, imposing-looking Jiang.

And yet, when the two objects collided, it was the terrifying Jiang that shattered like a moon in the water.

The Nanjiang Pacification Evil Suppressing Formation created by Barbarian Slayer, Wildland Suppression, and King Slayer was destroyed just like that.

“How is this possible?”

Kui Pingshan, Du Nanhai and Jin Wujiu turned as white as a sheet. They could not believe what just happened.

Before they could regain their wits, a humanoid silhouette appeared in the sky and walked toward them.

At first glance, the silhouette was still far, far away from them. When they looked again, it was right in front of them.

The silhouette was tall and imposing. Its dress and accessories were weaved from moonlight, and a bright moon was suspended above its head. It was carrying a jade rabbit in one arm and standing on a field of blue frost. It looked noble, holy, mysterious, and terrifying.

1. I forgot to mention, but Supreme Yin and Moon are interchangeable in Chinese, just as Supreme Yang and Sun are interchangeable. ☜