Chapter 55: The Grand Barrier’s Breach

Outside the control center of the Grand Barrier in Furnace City, several elders from the major Holy Lands had gathered.

Unlike the chaos outside, entry here required proof of Holy Land affiliation.

Naturally, the Serpent of Devouring had once held such qualifications, but after causing trouble, they had been reviled by a Daoist Venerable and subsequently stripped of their privileges.

“We’re just waiting for the Situ Family Head,” one of them remarked after surveying their surroundings.

Their journey had not been entirely smooth, yet despite the scarcity of personnel, they dared not be negligent in such a critical matter.

Those dispatched were all elders, perhaps knowing that even sending ordinary enforcers would yield little benefit, thus encountering minimal obstruction.

“Esteemed Elders, I, Yan, apologize for my tardiness.” Situ Yan (Head) rushed over, clutching a wound and with blood at the corner of his mouth.

“What happened, Family Head Situ?” one elder inquired.

“I was ambushed on the way. Fortunately, I fought with my life on the line, sacrificing some of my cultivation to arrive just in time,” Situ Yan (Head) said with a bitter smile.

All the elders responded, “Family Head Situ, you’ve worked hard.”

Situ Yan (Head) waved a dismissive hand. “It’s nothing. Everything is for Furnace City. Let us quickly proceed to restart the Grand Barrier.”

“Family Head Situ, who wounded you? I recall your strength is far from weak,” an elder suddenly interjected, watching as Situ Yan (Head) used a controller to open the first layer of the control center’s defenses.

Situ Yan (Head) paused, looking at the elder, then replied, “I was injured by someone who called themselves Fourth Pillar.”

“Fourth Pillar? Ghost Fox, you mean.”

The elder appeared surprised, then chuckled. “That’s truly perilous. That person rarely makes a move, but when they do, they seldom miss. Family Head Situ, you are truly fortunate to have only sustained minor injuries.”

“Yes, indeed, yes, indeed.” Situ Yan (Head) attempted to change the subject. “Let us quickly activate the Grand Barrier.”

“Very well.” As that elder walked past Situ Yan (Head), they deliberately paused, whispering, “Family Head Situ, how did your discussion regarding last night’s matter go?”

Situ Yan (Head) hesitated, then lowered his voice as well. “Furnace City is in utter chaos right now, Elder Li. Please allow me some time to consider.”

“Mhm, good, good.” Elder Li responded with a smile. Suddenly, his right hand formed a claw, striking towards Situ Yan (Head) with a dark, ominous glow.

Situ Yan (Head)’s reaction was incredibly swift, but his entire body seemed to be drawn in, unable to break free. From his shadow, a person was abruptly thrown out. Seeing this, Elder Li quickly retracted his power and caught the individual. The one thrown out was the true head of the Situ Family, Situ Yan (Head).

Thousand Faces quickly retreated, a look of lingering fear on his face. “Thanks, Shadow.”

A young man cloaked in black emerged from his shadow, ignoring him.

Thousand Faces shrugged, then looked at Elder Li, who was examining Situ Yan (Head). He said, “How did Master see through me? I thought my art of disguise and transformation had already surpassed your teachings.”

“Disloyal disciple! I am your master. I watched you grow; I know everything about you.” Elder Li, Li Xingtian, had been Thousand Faces’ mentor before he betrayed the Demonic Sect, practically raising him.

“I noticed something amiss the moment you arrived, so I tested you. I haven’t even met Situ Yan (Head) since coming to Furnace City, and he never knew my surname was Li. And Shadow, do you know how much your betrayal devastated your master?”

“Clap, clap, clap.”

Thousand Faces clapped, praising, “A master is always a master. The older ginger is spicier, indeed.”

Shadow slowly spoke, “I will never forget Master’s kindness to me, but our paths diverge. The seemingly free Demonic Sect is also bound by various worldly rules, isn’t it? Compared to that, the Serpent of Devouring suits me better.”

“Without rules, nothing can be accomplished,” Li Xingtian said gravely. “Where in this vast world is there true freedom? Even if the Demon Venerable dominates the world, they are not lawless; they set their own rules, many of which originate from the mundane world.”

“More words are useless,” Shadow stated. “The freedom I desire, you cannot give.”

“Hey, Shadow, stop chatting!” Thousand Faces exclaimed, looking at the Holy Land elders who had formed a surrounding encirclement. “Fourth Pillar, Second Pillar, if you don’t come out now, I’m surrendering!”

Shadow and Li Xingtian both had black lines on their foreheads. Knowing Thousand Faces’ true nature, they understood he wasn’t just talking; he would genuinely surrender.

Li Xingtian also moved to encircle him, saying, “I thought your integrity would increase a bit with the Serpent of Devouring. It seems it’s all spilled out on the ground now.”

Thousand Faces feigned surprise. “Integrity? I once had such a thing? I didn’t even know it myself. Where did Master see me spill it all?”

Li Xingtian stopped conversing with Thousand Faces, knowing his disciple’s mouth could talk the dead back to life. “Even if Ghost Fox comes, it’s useless. His strength isn’t enough to rescue you from us.”

“Hahaha, Elder Li’s eyesight is as sharp as ever.” Fourth Pillar, Ghost Fox, suddenly appeared, followed by three other individuals. “I admit I don’t possess such ability, but with these few behind me, dealing with you all will be more than sufficient.”

Upon seeing the people behind him, the elders’ pupils constricted, and their eyelids twitched. They recognized the blue-haired ice beauty as the Serpent of Devouring’s Second Pillar, Ice Witch.

While she was a troublesome figure, her direct combat ability was not particularly strong. Beside her was a timid figure, the Situ Family’s second young master, Situ Yan (Second Son).

In his hand, he held the genuine controller. It wasn’t Thousand Faces, disguised as Situ Yan (Head), who had opened the first layer of defense earlier, but rather Situ Yan (Second Son), hidden by Ice Witch and waiting for the opportune moment. Now, he was useless.

The critical figures were the other two: one clad in silvery-white armor, wielding a massive holy spear, and the other a white-haired middle-aged man, weathered by time, with a greatsword strapped to his back, standing as unmoving as Mount Tai.

“The former Holy Maiden of Light, and Sword Emperor Ye Qing.” The elders’ hearts surged, their eyelids twitching. Indeed, these two possessed the power to stop them, even to kill them. Just their presence exuded immense pressure and a clear disparity in strength; they were clearly no match.

Daoist Venerables were beyond their reach. The Imperial Extreme Realm was the highest cultivation realm for people on the Profound Sky Continent, but even within it, there were strong and weak.

Figures like Fang Yue and Zhang Xiaoyou stood at the pinnacle of this realm, and these two were not far behind, also belonging to the top tier.

While they couldn’t view Imperial Extreme Realm cultivators as ants like Daoist Venerables could, dealing with a few elders was more than enough.

Moreover, the Serpent of Devouring was also founded by a Daoist Venerable, so the Holy Lands’ advantage would not manifest.

“To think that for this operation, the Serpent of Devouring would dispatch three apostles and no fewer than four enforcers,” Li Xingtian said gravely. “We were careless.”

“Haha,” Fourth Pillar, Ghost Fox, laughed. “After all, we are acting beneath the Holy Land’s defenses. How could we possibly disappoint you all?”

One of the Holy Land elders retorted, “So what? You may indeed have the power to take us down, but if we don’t cooperate, you still can’t open the control center’s main door.”

Feeling safe, Thousand Faces jumped out again. “Then why don’t you cooperate? See, it’ll be easier for everyone.”

However, no one paid him any mind.

Thousand Faces shrugged, then pulled Shadow to sit aside and draw circles.

Shadow was bewildered internally. ‘Why did you bring me here?’

Fourth Pillar chuckled. “You all are much harder to deal with than the people of Tianyuan Kingdom. I anticipated this, so just in case, I brought this along.”

He pulled out an RPG. Yes, an RPG.

However, in the Profound Sky Continent, it had another identity: a Dao artifact.

Dao artifacts were weapons crafted by Daoist Venerables using their own laws. Because they contained a Daoist Venerable’s laws, they possessed infinite wondrous uses, but their consumption on the user was immense.

For a reference, one could look at Zhang Xiaoyou, who directly confronted external laws.

“The Dao artifact of the Seven Sins Daoist Venerable!” The Holy Land elders were truly surprised today.

“Indeed, a Dao artifact that diminishes with each use,” Fourth Pillar said with a rare hint of heartache.

This Dao artifact required another Dao artifact to be used with it, and that other Dao artifact was a consumable. Once used, this RPG would become utterly useless.

Fourth Pillar inserted the other Dao artifact, an armor-piercing round, and fired it directly at the door. His face immediately turned deathly pale.

Although he wasn’t directly confronting laws like Zhang Xiaoyou, using it was an extremely draining act, and his cultivation was not comparable to Zhang Xiaoyou’s. Nevertheless, the effect was remarkably significant.

The control center’s strongest defense was its first system, but that had been shut down by Situ Yan (Second Son). This Dao artifact-level armor-piercing round directly penetrated the remaining layers of defense.

The elders’ faces were as dark as they could be; what an immense cost this must have been, for that was a Dao artifact.

Fourth Pillar consumed several pills, his complexion improving slightly. Seeing the penetrated control center, he nodded in satisfaction and said to the enforcers behind him,

“Do you two want to come and see? Opportunities like this don’t come often.”

“What about them?” Thousand Faces pointed at the Holy Land elders.

Fourth Pillar smiled as he looked at the Holy Land elders. “With the Holy Maiden and the Sword Emperor, they won’t be able to get through.”

“Alright!” Thousand Faces grinned and followed. “You hurry up too, Shadow. Bye-bye, Master!”

“Wait, take me with you!” A disheveled older man also rushed over.

“Array Ghost?” Fourth Pillar asked curiously. “Weren’t you dealing with the Holy Land patrol teams?”

“Dealing with what, exactly?” Array Ghost complained.

“Furnace City is so vast, and I have to split my attention to set up several arrays to deal with these Holy Land disciples. They keep causing trouble for me, and their methods are all different. My head is throbbing; I can’t contain them anymore, I can’t contain them!”

“No matter,” Fourth Pillar chuckled. “Even if they escape, the troops in the city will be enough to give them a hard time. You come along too.”

Within the various arrays of Furnace City, the Holy Land disciples, seeing their vision suddenly clear, knew the arrays had been broken.

They immediately organized personnel to support other areas.

Just as Fourth Pillar had anticipated, although their troops were retreating in the face of the experienced Holy Land disciples, the Serpent of Devouring’s forces had already gained an advantage in Furnace City, making it very difficult to clear them out.

The Serpent of Devouring’s squads also began to resort to unscrupulous tactics, using nearby homes as cover and taking residents hostage. One such squad was retreating in the direction of Yue Cai’s small courtyard.

At this very moment, a specialized Flying Cloud Vessel from the Hundred Flowers Valley arrived above Furnace City. The elegant young woman snapped her fan shut, looking down at the chaotic city.

“Finally here. I’ll take it out on you first.”

📚 Also on NHV Novels

You Need to Start Streaming Now!

Age GapBLBoys Love

Read Now →
Not interested