Chapter 197: The Final Battle Begins!

Rumble!

A Rank Six one-eyed giant charged forward, drawing massive boulders from the mountain valley. The boulders orbited around it like stars, further enhancing its imposing aura.

Several Rank Five one-eyed giants channeled their strength as they followed the Rank Six one-eyed giant.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The hundreds of boulders resembled a meteor shower as they crashed into the valley where Huang Qi and the others had gathered.

The rogue cultivators and noble family elders cursed as they summoned their powerful spirit artifacts to fend off the falling meteors and then engaged in battle with the charging Vicious Beasts.

It's begun!

Pang Jian harmonized with the land to observe the battlefield from a god-like perspective.

A Rank Six female Wood Race warrior sat on an Ice Sculpture Beast as she flew toward the First Peak. She wore a thorn crown on her head and softly chanted incantations.

The thorns on the crown pierced the delicate blood vessels on the head of the mighty Wood Race warrior, greedily siphoning her thick blood essence and life force.

Towering trees sprang up from the ground, branches soaring high into the sky before rushing toward the summit of the First Peak.

The leader of the Demon Scale Race burned his blood as he rode his Rank Six black wyvern, causing it to rain down from the sky. Each drop carried the intense heat of the Fifth World's earthflame magma, along with corrosive and destructive energy.

Whoosh!

The Spirit Slaughtering Astral Array on the First Peak hissed as the blood corroded it. Unfortunately, the blood seeped through the mesh of spiritual power to splash uselessly onto the rocky ground, and the corroded web of lights swiftly reformed.

Underground...

Pang Jian focused his mind. Countless spirit jades were piled beside the radiant spirit vein deep beneath the First Peak and were being used to enhance the spirit vein's magical properties.

Thousands of light beams extended from the summit of the First Peak down into the depths of the earth, draping over the spirit vein and drawing on the spiritual power within the spirit jades. Like meridians, they transported this spiritual power to the heart of the First Peak, the cave dwellings, and the arrays within the stone pathways.

Dozens of Lady Hua's white-clad women followed an underground passage into the depths of the spirit vein. They carefully placed new piles of spirit jade around the glowing spirit vein before discarding the depleted ones.

The spirit vein resembled a slender crystalline serpent coiled deep within the heart of the First Peak. The Spirit Slaughtering Astral Array wrapped around the spirit vein as it continuously channeled spiritual power to the heart of the First Peak.

There must be tens of thousands of spirit jades.

Pang Jian clicked his tongue in astonishment.

This large-scale battle would undoubtedly cause significant losses for Cao Mang. Tens of thousands of spirit jades, equivalent to millions of spirit stones, were constantly being consumed.

Once a spirit jade was depleted, it had to be swiftly replaced to maintain the array and prevent it from stuttering.

This was not the first time the invading forces from the Fifth World had launched an attack on the First Peak. Each assault would have consumed a tremendous amount of spirit jades and Cao Mang could only endure it in silence.

Pang Jian continued to monitor the battlefield, watching the movements of the foreign race warriors and Vicious Beasts, considering when to issue the order to the black turtle.

Liang Ying raised her hand. The Star Crushing Umbrella expanded to several dozen times its original size and loomed above everyone's heads like a second sky.

"Everyone, get ready!" she cried.

The disciples of the Star River Alliance and Fang Boxuan of the Blood Moon Sect huddled under the Star Crushing Umbrella.

The intricate channels of spiritual power could be seen on the skeleton of the umbrella, flowing like radiant divine water to ignite the tiny stars on its canopy.

Fang Boxuan peered up at the river of stars and said, "Senior Liang, I heard this advanced-grade spirit artifact comes from the Divine Treasure Sect."

Liang Ying smiled and nodded. "I specifically went to the Second World and bought it for forty thousand spirit jades from a branch of the Divine Treasure Sect that sells spirit artifacts."

"Forty thousand spirit jades?" Fang Boxuan repeated in astonishment. "Forty thousand spirit jades is equivalent to four million spirit stones. I suppose my only hope is to curry favor with my sect if I want to possess such a powerful spirit artifact."

He was rather envious of Yang Rui. The Nine Suns Cauldron was also an advanced-grade spirit artifact like the Star Crushing Umbrella and was capable of both offense and defense.

The wealthy Radiant Sun Sect had bestowed the Nine Suns Cauldron upon Yang Rui early on, making him the top Profound Abode Realm cultivator in the Third World.

No other Profound Abode Realm cultivator in the Third World could match up to Yang Rui due to the combination of his late-stage Profound Abode Realm cultivation and the Nine Suns Cauldron.

"Don't belittle yourself." Liang Ying frowned slightly. "In the eyes of the Blood Moon Sect, your status is equivalent to Yang Rui's. They haven't given you an advanced-grade spirit artifact of equal power because you haven't reached the late stage of the Profound Abode Realm yet. They fear you won't be able to fully utilize its power."

Glancing at Xie Xiwen, she added, "Xie Xiwen, the same goes for you. Once you reach the late stage of the Profound Abode Realm and are ready to break through to the Spirit Condensation Realm, our sect will bestow you a powerful advanced-grade spirit artifact."

"It doesn't matter to me," Xie Xiwen said, unfazed. "I just hope the alliance allows me to participate in more dangerous trials and restricted area explorations. Fang Boxuan, Yang Rui, and Zhao Yuanqi have participated in many trials after advancing to the Profound Abode Realm, but I..."

Xie Xiwen bit her lower lip in frustration.

"Isn't this also a trial?" Liang Ying smiled.

"Yes!" Xie Xiwen's eyes sparkled with excitement. "I look forward to more challenges like this. I don't want to be confined to secluded cultivation within the sect."

"The sect is concerned about your parents and doesn't want to prematurely put you in danger." Liang Ying sighed.

Xie Xiwen belonged to the prestigious Xie Family of the Third World, one of the foremost powerful families. Both her parents were formidable cultivators and she had been born with a silver spoon in her mouth.

Although her parents originally came from the Star River Alliance, they were now active in the Second World, but remembering their roots, they decided to send Xie Xiwen there after her birth.

Given her background, how could the Star River Alliance not handle her with care?

The Star River Alliance had not bestowed an advanced-grade spirit artifact with lethal power on Xie Xiwen because they did not want her to take risks.

Her parents would retrieve her once she smoothly broke through to the Spirit Condensation Realm. Wanting to ensure Xie Xiwen's safety during this time, the Star River Alliance naturally refrained from assigning her dangerous tasks.

Whoosh!

A Gilded Chariot from the Star River Alliance flew out of a newly formed cave on the Third Peak. Many Ghost Race warriors riding Ghost Apes instantly boarded it.

The Gilded Chariot then flew toward the valley where Pang Jian was located, and upon reaching an appropriate height, the Ghost Race warriors and their Ghost Apes descended into the valley to attack the cultivators below.

Howl!

Rank Four and Rank Five Vicious Beasts also charged in, attempting to attack Liang Ying and the others.

"Pang Jian! Get under the Star Crushing Umbrella!" Xie Xiwen shouted as she waved her hand. She feared he would be killed by the Ghost Race warriors when she saw him standing alone in the distance.

"I'm fine." Pang Jian declined, calmly shaking his head.

Liang Ying gritted her teeth in anger. "That's our Gilded Chariot!"

As she watched the chariot fly away, she reached out with her divine sense to try to communicate with it, but a sinister force tore it apart as soon as it left her sea of consciousness.

𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞

"Spirit Condensation Realm, elder, Liang Ying..." The leader of the Ghost Race perched on the shoulder of a Rank Five Ghost Ape with his gaze fixed on Liang Ying. In awkward-sounding human language, he said, "You have something we need!"

The one-meter-tall Ghost Race leader was gaunt and resembled a ghastly ghost. A segmented snake skeleton circled his scrawny waist and a black snakeskin covered his small frame. His venomous green eyes flashed with streaks of green lightning.

Screech!

He pulled at his toothed mouth and let out a shrill shriek.

Pang Jian's head immediately felt like it was splitting. His omniscient view of the Primordial Wilderness was also disrupted as he was forced to steady his mind.

A Ghost Race warrior charged at Pang Jian on the back of a Ghost Ape, intending to kill Pang Jian while his soul was in pain.

Pang Jian watched their approach in slight bafflement.

The Ghost Race is attacking me?

He quickly realized why. It had been some days since he had drunk the herbal juice so he no longer carried its scent. Thus, he was indistinguishable from other humans in the eyes of the Ghost Race.

Although caught off guard, Pang Jian did not hesitate to summon his Startling Slaughter Spear and steady his mind. The Ghost Race leader's shriek had caused several strands of divine sense in his sea of consciousness to thin and had rapidly deteriorated his mental strength.

The shriek can directly attack a cultivator's sea of consciousness.

Realizing this, Pang Jian restored his god-like perception and focused on the Ghost Race warrior before him.

A Rank Five Ghost Race warrior and a Rank Four Ghost Ape. Their physical strength and blood essence are far inferior to the warriors from the Celestial Race and Demon Scale Race, but...

As Pang Jian studied the Rank Five Ghost Race warrior, he noticed gray ghostly figures clinging to its internal organs!

Most of these ghostly figures were shrunken remnants of human cultivators' souls and several Vicious Beasts' souls.

The Ghost Race was not as strong as the Demon Scale Race and the Celestial Race, but they could absorb the remnants of their enemies' souls and store them in their bodies to use as power.