Chapter 252: A Sword Comes from the West

The battle in Fengdu City shocked the Special Warfare Unit soldiers stationed at the transfer station, who were monitoring the situation in real time. Even the staff at the command center, who could only view the delayed footage, felt deeply shaken.

Such was the path of cultivation's effect on the modern scientific system.

Beyond it all was a sense of awe. In just a short period, the two Special Warfare Unit instructors had risked their lives to cover the retreat. Zhang Zikuang had fought with everything he had, and the giant ghost had displayed overwhelming cruelty and savagery. More importantly, several Golden Core Realm cultivators had returned to attack the ferocious ghost in unison, and Mu Wanxuan had unleashed unexpected power.

No one thought that Mu Wanxuan was so formidable. Before the ferocious ghost, Mu Wanxuan seemed delicate and frail, yet she controlled the forces of yin and yang.

The upright and upside-down Tai Chi diagrams that she had formed with yin-yang qi drew upon the boundless primal qi of the Small Nether Realm, slowly forcing the ferocious ghost to lower its head, hunch its back, and eventually kneel.

Unfortunately, the ghost was far stronger than Golden Core Realm cultivators. Even with her full strength, Mu Wanxuan could only suppress it for a brief moment; she could not inflict any real damage. In just over ten seconds, the technique had already drained thirty percent of her enchanted power.

With just a slight zoom in, the drone footage clearly captured Mu Wanxuan's delicate hands trembling. She could not last much longer.

Seemingly aware of it, the other Golden Core Realm cultivators quickly retreated after one round of coordinated attacks. They only intended to make one attempt with everything they had anyway.

The result was less than ideal. Despite focusing all their strength on the ghost's left ankle, they barely left a scratch on its violet scales. To truly defeat it, they would require overwhelming enchanted power or divine weapons.

Struggling to maintain the technique, Mu Wanxuan gritted her teeth as everyone fell back. She was determined to hold on just a moment longer to cover their retreat.

Before the ferocious ghost fully knelt, it let out a furious roar. Dense black mist enveloped it as its terrifying wave of devilish qi surged upward, shattering the Tai Chi diagram above it.

Mu Wanxuan trembled slightly, and blood seeped from the corner of her mouth. Her face, already cold and aloof like frost untouched by dust, turned completely pale. She pushed forward with both hands and rapidly retreated.

The yin-yang balance within her had been disrupted. To make matters worse, she had no time to stabilize it. She had no choice but to step on Ice Crystal and withdraw quickly.

According to their simple plan, this was only a test strike. They would attack the ghost with all their strength to determine if they could destroy or at least wound it.

To their dismay, their all-out attack inflicted next to no damage. Taking that result into consideration, they had to give up on head-on confrontation. Their strategy now was to avoid combat or harass the ghost from the sides while waiting to see if their artillery support would prove effective.

A surge of devilish qi formed a massive hand and slammed toward Mu Wanxuan. In response, two Buddhist experts appeared beside her. One of the elderly monks unleashed a burst of Buddhist light, temporarily holding back the devilish qi. The other monk, who wielded a monk's spade, hurled a string of prayer beads that transformed into golden spheres. Thunder reverberated as they hit the devilish qi.

After regrouping with Zhang Zikuang and Yan Zhengnan, the eleven Golden Core Realm experts retreated once more.

Meanwhile, the wandering spirits were still locked in combat. The two elders from the Hidden Earth Sect didn't hide knowledge about the Black and White Ghost Banners from the rest. In truth, they had only just figured out how the Black and White Ghost Banner actually worked.

According to the texts passed down within the clan, the banners were used to unseal ghost soldiers. The elders didn't know that they could also control wandering spirits.

Hordes of black-skinned fierce spirits pursued them relentlessly. The devilish qi once again enveloped the ferocious ghost, which was now clearly enraged. Roaring, it stormed forward as its devilish qi surged. It was still as fast and ferocious as ever.

The eleven cultivators split into two groups once more, taking turns distracting the ghost. Their only overwhelming advantage now was their superior intelligence.

Elsewhere in the skies above Fengdu City, another battle had reached a critical stage.

In the corner of the drone's feed, Qing Yanzi was still locked in a duel with the shadow. The golden light surrounding him had dimmed slightly, while the devilish qi around the shadow had mostly dissipated.

Qing Yanzi was well aware of the dire situation inside the city. However, though only at the peak of the Golden Core Realm, the ancient devil in front of him was sinister, cunning, and vicious. It posed just as much of a threat to his team as the giant ghost.

If Qing Yanzi joined the others now, they would be caught between the ancient devil and the ghost, which would be a disaster. Fortunately, his judgment proved correct.

Still, though he had gained the upper hand, he was growing anxious. Fighting as if his life depended on it, he unleashed every technique he had ever learned, battering the ancient devil into total submission, for one simple reason.

***

Inside the command center at Mount Pingdu.

"Several of our cultivators are about to run out of enchanted power!" a young Special Investigation Unit officer shouted in warning. Those who had just begun to relax instantly tensed up again.

In the latest footage, which was on the main screen, the elderly monk sitting on the jade lotus and two Daoist masters with slightly weaker cultivation were slowing down.

Mu Wanxuan, who had just clashed with the ferocious ghost, stood atop Ice Crystal. She wobbled unsteadily. Were it not for the enchanted power of nearby cultivators pulling them along, the four would have already fallen.

The footage was already two or three minutes old. No one knew what had happened since or if they had suffered casualties.

Everyone in the command center stared at the screen with growing anxiety. The outdated videos gave them no reassurance.

Their only hope now lay in the six medium-range missiles!

If those missiles could not inflict real damage on the ferocious ghost, casualties among the cultivators would be inevitable. They would also be forced to retreat from Fengdu City. Exploring the Eighteen Levels of Hell, aiding the female corpse, and preventing the Small Nether Realm from colliding with the Hua Republic would all be completely out of reach.

They couldn't blame anyone, though.

The initial strike team consisted of twelve of the cultivation world's top experts. Yet cultivation itself had only returned less than ten years ago.

Inside the Small Nether Realm, the available missile platforms were limited, and modern weapon support was constrained.

"Have the Celestial Master and the others begin assembling. Prepare to enter the Nether Gate and support our cultivators," Chi Ling ordered calmly, though sweat poured from her brow.

An elder from the Special Warfare Unit issued the next command. "The second nuclear strike request has been approved. Withdraw the two missile platforms from the Nether Gate and replace the conventional warheads with nuclear ones. Once the drones return, reload them with tactical nukes. Report back when ready. I'll transfer launch and detonation authority to the transfer station commander."

"Is there anything the research institute can do to help them?"

"We wish we could, but we lack the means."

An old man from the research institute sighed.

"We've already formed dozens of teams to study how to stop spatial overlap between the Nether Realm and the human world. We're doing all we can."

They had now circled back to their first question. What else could those stationed outside the Nether Gate do?

"Commander!" A female technician stood up. "We just received a twelve-second video segment. One of the six missiles we launched has shown a slight anomaly in its data. A drone also caught something strange in the footage..."

"Put it on the big screen!"

"Yes, ma'am!"

The technician quickly pressed two keys, and a short video popped up. A drone, which was tasked with data relay and navigation, lurking in the skies of the Small Nether Realm, had captured it.

Several missiles streaked through the sky. As they began their final descent, their noses tilted slightly downward.

The footage paused when the last missile passed. The image zoomed in rapidly to show a specific detail that made everyone in the command center gasp.

***

In Fengdu City, four or five figures moved rapidly through the air, ceaselessly drawing the attention of the giant ghost and forcing it to shift direction.

About a kilometer away, near the west gate's main street, Mu Wanxuan and a Daoist master from Mount Shu stood side by side. They struck down and repelled the incoming fierce spirits.

Behind them, two Buddhist masters, two Daoists, and Zhang Zikuang were seated with their eyes closed. Two had depleted their enchanted power entirely, and devilish qi had wounded the other three, who were low on power. All were meditating to recover.

Covered in Qi-Gathering Talismans, Zhang Zikuang gritted his teeth.

Faster. Just a little faster. I have to recover ten percent of my power. I can't just sit here and wait to die while the younger generation fights and bleeds to protect me!

No one noticed that the figure guarding them was already in dire condition, even though she still had thirty percent of her enchanted power left. They didn't know the extent of the internal damage that Mu Wanxuan had suffered when the Yin-Yang Millstone was destroyed either.

The balance of yin and yang within her had been shattered, and her Golden Core had begun to crack. Though she retained a fraction of her power, the backlash of imbalance was growing worse by the second. She trembled, clearly on the brink of collapse.

Even so, she endured, refusing to retreat.

She bit her lip. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw her master still fighting in the sky. Her eyes glinted with stubborn resolve.

Yin-Yang Grand—

Blood heartbreakingly dripped from Mu Wanxuan's lips onto her Soaring Celestial Dress.

"Bu Yu!" the Shu Sword Sect elder urgently shouted.

"I'm fine!" Mu Wanxuan responded softly. She forced herself upright and unleashed the Yin-Yang Grand Formation once more, freezing the dozens of fierce spirits that had charged forward.

Persevering through sheer willpower, she clenched her small hand into a fist. One after another, fierce spirits were blasted into black mist, yet more kept coming from ahead.

It was unclear how long she had held out. Perhaps half a minute. Perhaps longer.

At last, she heard shouts nearby.

"Support has arrived!"

"Fall back!"

Her vision blurred. She saw several massive fireballs explode in the distance, blowing the giant ferocious ghost backward.

A streak of silver light also descended like a meteor. A sword case she knew better than anyone landed five meters in front of her.

On the lower left corner of the case, the embedded electronic screen showed the fingerprint lock activating. The engine hummed softly over the roars of the fierce spirits.

"Junior..." Mu Wanxuan exhaled softly. Her lips curved into a faint and peaceful smile. She slowly collapsed forward as the fierce spirits lunged again.

Sensing Mu Wanxuan falling, Zhang Zikuang's eyes opened immediately, and the Daoist master from the Shu Mountains turned quickly, ready to deploy his flying sword. The other four who were meditating also sprang up to help.

Whoosh~!

A cold flash sliced through the air. Immortal light shimmered in every color as it moved faster than lightning.

More than ten fierce spirits closest to Mu Wanxuan froze in the middle of their leap, lunge, or raising their claws. By the time a gentle breeze brushed past the elder of the Shu Sword Sect and across Zhang Zikuang's cheek, a man had already reached Mu Wanxuan. Before she could hit the ground, he reached out and caught her around the waist.

Only then did Zhang Zikuang and the others see the familiar sword cultivator.

Up ahead, the fierce spirits exploded into black mist. The sword case sprang open, and a longsword gleamed coldly. The celestial-grade flying sword completed a swift arc and returned, brushing past the shoulder of the sword cultivator.

Holding Mu Wanxuan tightly, he channeled Pure Yang Enchanted Power into her, immediately suppressing the rampaging yin-yang qi within her.

With his usually calm expression filled with icy resolve, he coldly looked at the main street, which was crawling with black-skinned malevolent ghosts. "Hold on tight, Senior Sister."

"

Mm.

"

With Mu Wanxuan in his arms, he moved before his senior sister could even reply.

Using his Seven-Star Footwork, he accelerated to his maximum speed, making him seemingly blur. He gripped Spiritless while moving as fast as a phantom. Flying Haze spun around him like a ribbon of light.

Wherever he passed, fierce spirits fell. Starlight and brilliant sword radiance lit up the main street of Fengdu City.

Before Zhang Zikuang and the others could even smile, their eyes were drawn to the ferocious ghost rising again in the distance. It let out a thunderous roar as its devilish qi surged upward once more, growing thick enough to block out the sky.

At that moment, a white blur charged at the ghost. A sharp, piercing cry rang out, completely drowning out the ghost's roar.

A snowy white-silver fox, dozens of meters long, appeared out of thin air. Its terrifying pressure covered most of Fengdu City.

With no effort at all, it pounced and pinned the ghost to the ground. Its jaws opened wide and sank directly into the ghost's throat with unbelievable ferocity.