With the Wu tribe attacking Highsun City, the earth shook, and the mountains swayed on the battlefield of the Shadowfell Prefecture.
The sky was filled with dazzling Spiritual power.
The forests that the Wu tribesmen had transformed using their Wu Spiritual power over the years were currently being swallowed by a raging prairie fire.
Dust and smoke blotted out the sky; only the flames and the Spiritual power of the cultivators provided any illumination.
Such a massive battle had already lasted for several days.
Ba Siyu was already standing on the Carefree Cloud, his eyes glaring wide like a giant lion as he gazed into the distance.
In reality, he was already engaged in a Spiritual duel with the Wu tribe's Sage Elder!
"Old thief Rising Sun, you're still too green to think you can use your Spiritual power to kill my soldiers! Hahaha!"
Ba Siyu let out a loud laugh.
However, not long after, his smile gradually froze.
In the distance, Zhou Chengli had just returned from the battlefield, holding a brush, ink, paper, and an inkstone, having suffered no small amount of injuries.
As Zhou Chengli sat cross-legged under Ba Siyu's protection, he delivered the bad news:
"Three hundred thousand Wu tribesmen have launched a sneak attack on our Highsun City from the rear. Bi Shihu has cut off the retreat of our cultivators."
Before Ba Siyu had time to react, an aged voice rang out from within the forest that had become a sea of fire.
It was the Rising Sun Sage Elder!
"Ba Siyu, oh Ba Siyu, do you know why it is I who am dealing with you?
Decades ago, when you took command of Highsun City, I was already plotting how to handle you.
To use a saying from your human race, pre-planning averts peril. Venerable Elder Yuanliang is my confidant; he prepared for decades just to catch you off guard."
"You..."
Ba Siyu's expression changed drastically. "Were Yun Hongcai and Bi Shihu also acting on your orders?"
There was a long silence from within the raging fire before the voice replied, "It seems there are quite a few people who want to deal with you."
He had been in Deston Prefecture for decades, and everything had gone smoothly over these decades.
But starting with the Yun Clan, Ba Siyu suddenly realized that snare after snare had fallen completely upon him, turning his rugged face pitch black.
It wasn't that he was entirely unprepared; in this battle, charging against the Divine Bird Totem army, he had used a myriad of unexpected tactics, beating the Rising Sun Sage Elder back step after step.
It would be one thing if a single person was scheming against him from the shadows, but a whole group of people doing so made Ba Siyu want to curse their mothers.
"My Lord, if Highsun City falls..." Zhou Chengli's face was pale.
Incident after incident had occurred suddenly, completely disrupting Ba Siyu's preparations.
If the logistical supplies hadn't been stolen, and if Bi Shihu hadn't rebelled, how could Highsun City have ended up in such a critical situation?
"Are you asking me to turn back and reinforce them?"
Ba Siyu gritted his teeth.
"What about that fellow, Spear Saint Gu Fenghua? There is no turning back; we have no way back! We can only fight our way into Shadowfell Prefecture.
You, take two thousand elite troops and a Void Refinement cultivator back to Highsun City right now. Take the strong ones, and be quick about it!"
"Two thousand... if Highsun City has already fallen..." Zhou Chengli calculated for a moment.
If there were many experts among these two thousand cultivators, it might not be impossible to hold out for a few more days.
"Fallen." Ba Siyu let out a ferocious laugh.
"Leave your Life Tablet with me. If it falls, you can just go die and wait for me in the Netherworld ahead of time!
If that old thief Rising Sun wants to screw me over, I'll drag him down from his high seat with me!"
"Don't let me find out who all is scheming against me from the shadows; I'll hunt you down one by one and fight you to the death!"
Ba Siyu tilted his head back and let out a furious roar at the sky.
Amidst the raging fire in the Endless Forest, an old man leaning on a divine staff, shining like the sun, could be seen with a trace of fear flashing through his eyes.
This old man was the Rising Sun Sage Elder, one of the Sage Elders who had come to guard the Shadowfell Prefecture.
Sensing Ba Siyu's fury, he muttered, "So it turns out I'm not the only one scheming against Ba Siyu. He truly is exasperated and furious; I must be on guard in case he actually fights desperately for his life."
Although Zhou Chengli was injured, he moved swiftly.
Before long, he had taken a Void Refinement cultivator and two thousand elite troops riding the spiritual beast "Pegasus" soaring into the sky, heading toward Highsun City.
Zhou Chengli's heart was filled with nothing but gloom; he knew the current defensive state of Highsun City clearer than anyone.
"Only Feng Tu's ten thousand immortal soldiers are somewhat adequate, but even these ten thousand immortal soldiers haven't fought a battle of this scale before," Zhou Chengli muttered to himself.
"As for the remaining cultivators, how are they any different from scattered stragglers? Where is there a way to break this stalemate?"
"Our Deston Prefecture is in peril!"
.......
Highsun City.
The Wu tribe cultivators formed a dense, swarming mass outside the city.
The Giant Spirit Divine Flame Array of Highsun City blazed fiercely, but as the Wu tribe cultivators continuously bombarded it with Wu Spiritual power, the defensive power of the Divine Flame Array steadily declined.
"Heaven is helping me! Hahaha, heaven is helping me!"
Holding his twin swords, Venerable Elder Yuanliang joyfully stared at the terrified human race within Highsun City.
He only needed to wait for the Divine Flame Array to break; then he could charge into the city, slaughter these human ants, and pave his Dao path.
"Fortunately, fortunately we had Yun Hongcai. If he hadn't stolen Highsun City's logistical supplies, Highsun City's Divine Flame Array wouldn't be this fragile!"
From within the Divine Flame Array, the Spiritual power of human cultivators blasted out, but how many people did the human race actually have?
Those left in Highsun City were mostly weaklings; their Spiritual power was easily neutralized by the Wu tribe.
What truly required vigilance were the attacks conjured by the flames within the Divine Flame Array.
As for the Spiritual power of the Divinity Transformation and Void Refinement realm experts in Highsun City, it was also fended off one by one by the Wu tribe experts.
"Reporting to the Venerable Elder, Bi Shihu's side has merely blocked the human race's path. They haven't expended a large amount of Spiritual power to attack."
A Wu tribe subordinate reported, causing Venerable Elder Yuanliang to frown continuously.
Looking at Bi Shihu from afar, Bi Shihu seemed to have sensed his gaze and smiled, nodding at him.