Chapter 45: Assault on the City Part 6

“Xiang Xian!” Xiao Kun, catching his breath after dispatching Mr. Liu, sensed the threat and shot toward the center!

But Xiang Xian could no longer hear the outside world. He flung his sword, hurling Yan Yan to the ground.

Xiang Xian vibrated the Wisdom Sword once more, facing the demonic face. The golden light dimmed gradually, sapping all his stamina.

“Xiang Xian—!” Xiao Kun roared, desperate for him to snap out of it.

“Master!” Hulü Guang charged at top speed.

“It’s King Mu!” Chaosheng recognized the voice and shouted. “He’s here!”

Wu Yingzong instantly transformed into the Giant Ape, scooping up Chaosheng and plunging into the battlefield.

The demonic face shifted, opening a vast maw from which King Mu emerged, imperial robes billowing!

Vines crawled over his left face. Atop his head, where the hairpin sat, a pitch-black flower bud formed. Thick ink-like Demonic Qi radiated from his body. An Empty Sword Sheath hung at his waist; his hands were empty as he faced Xiang Xian.

As King Mu appeared, Demonic Fire pillars erupted anew across the battlefield. The Ba Army regrouped and charged once more toward Gaochang City!

Xiang Xian gripped the Wisdom Sword with both hands. As he unleashed the Divine Weapon’s power, his five senses vanished, leaving only instinct—which perhaps warned him that the enemy’s power was extraordinary.

Body and sword merged, he became whirling golden light and shot toward King Mu!

However, King Mu caught the Wisdom Sword once again with a single hand and sneered, “It’s not time yet.”

He gripped the blade with his right hand and flicked the sword body sharply with the fingers of his left. Black fire erupted violently, replacing the golden light around Xiang Xian’s entire body with Demonic Qi, which vanished without a trace. Everyone shouted at once, and Xiao Kun shot forward from behind, lunging straight at King Mu.

King Mu merely turned slightly. With his right hand, he summoned the Hairpin, then flung it casually. The Hairpin hit the ground and transformed into massive black thorns that surged howling toward Xiao Kun. Xiao Kun cleaved through the thorns with his Tang Dao, but by then King Mu had vanished into the air.

In an instant, he reappeared before Xiang Xian and said, “I’m taking him with me. If you want to see him again, come to the Heavenly Demon Palace.”

King Mu turned into roiling black clouds and flew off. Just as the clouds were about to envelop the unconscious Xiang Xian and carry him into the sky, Hulü Guang bellowed and rushed in front of Xiang Xian. The Heart Lamp exploded!

The Heart Lamp’s intense light immediately dispersed the black clouds. Hulü Guang still didn’t know how to use it properly and simply held his hands outstretched, eyes wide as he stared tensely at the clouds.

The black clouds shattered with a boom, then swiftly regrouped, reforming King Mu’s figure. King Mu stared at Hulü Guang, spreading his five fingers before clenching them into a tight fist.

The black and white of heaven and earth inverted. Hulü Guang’s heart was suddenly gripped from afar, and he let out a cry of agony, trembling as he dropped to one knee.

Xiao Kun charged from the side, shoving Hulü Guang aside and unleashing his Magical Power to clash against King Mu, resisting his domain.

Xiao Kun shouted, “Hulü Guang! Take Xiang Xian and go—!”

“Oh?” King Mu hovered in the air, his long hair whipping about as he emanated Demonic Qi. “This time, are you the one willing to throw away your life to save your close friend?”

Xiao Kun’s eyes widened, blue light gleaming within them. The thoughts he read from King Mu were an abyss of impenetrable darkness.

King Mu suddenly halted and lifted his head, his expression turning vigilant.

Xiao Kun lunged fiercely at King Mu. King Mu withdrew and ascended higher. In the next moment, the sandstorm-filled sky suddenly brightened.

An azure-blue dragon appeared. It flew in from the eastern horizon, parting the clouds in its wake.

A burst of dragon flame blossomed and crashed to the earth. Azure-white Blazing Flame spread across the battlefield, sending the dry corpses fleeing in all directions. A Huang swooped down from above and landed beside Xiang Xian.

“King Zhou Mu—!” An earth-shattering roar thundered from overhead. “Thief who stole Shenzhou’s Divine Fruit! Return it!”

“Chang Ge!” Chaosheng arrived at the center of the battlefield and cried out in shock. “Is that you?!”

The dark canopy of the sky tore open, and the sandstorm vanished without a trace. The ground was littered with the Ba Army’s corpses. At the same time, on the other side of the canyon, the thunder of ten thousand hooves rang out as they blocked the Ba Army’s retreat. Jing Pian Ge led his army of War Dead Corpse Ghosts charging into the fray.

“Return the Wheel of Fate!” Jing Pian Ge’s voice echoed across the battlefield.

The Azure Dragon dove swiftly, spewing radiant fire. King Mu formed hand seals with both hands to defend himself, taking the dragon flame head-on. Pi Changge knelt on one knee atop Yuzhou’s dragon head and drew a wooden sword from his waist, soaring through the air.

Yuzhou shifted to human form and assumed a punching stance. Together with Pi Changge, they executed a pincer attack—one dragon and one Pixiu—interweaving into a magnificent Divine Light that struck the unfathomable mass of Demonic Qi. The Demonic Qi exploded violently.

King Mu dared not linger in battle. He shot into the sky, trailing his scattering black flames, and vanished into the air.

Xiang Xian awoke, shaking his head vigorously and tilting it to pour sand from his ear. He gazed blankly at his surroundings. In the distance came the victorious cheers of the Gaochang Army.

The wind and sand cleared, revealing the battlefield’s gruesome panorama. In the Tupan Basin before Gaochang City, thousands upon thousands of dry corpses lay fallen. Jing Pian Ge’s forces held the southern road, while to the west flew the wolf-head banner of the Liao Kingdom’s cavalry.

Yelu Dashi’s royal banner fluttered in the gentle breeze.