Sage of Humanity
Chapter 883 - 881: The Might of the Divine Sea

The secret techniques of the Fire Spirit Race are formidable, but the greater the power of the secret technique, the higher the price to be paid.

Interconnectedness indeed allows the Fire Spirit Race to unite their auras and merge from many into one, but in doing so, every Fire Spirit must endure pressure beyond their limits.

At this moment, as they perform this secret technique, many Fire Spirits suddenly burst apart due to their insufficient strength.

Even those Fire Spirits who successfully perform the secret technique suffer severe damage to their vital energy afterward.

Unless it is a desperate situation, the Fire Spirit Race would not use this last-resort technique.

That's why Wan Zhanggang felt so helpless, not understanding why these Fire Spirits were so crazed.

What he didn't know was that, after being sealed for thousands or even longer years, this group of Fire Spirits had already lost their sanity. Any humans they encountered would ignite their intense killing intent.

Otherwise, they wouldn't have relentlessly chased Lu Ye and Ying Wuji all the way here.

The Divine Sea Realm Fire Spirit, surrounded by thousands of clansmen, emitted an incredibly intense aura, with the flames on its body blazing brighter and brighter.

Moreover, many True Lake Realm Fire Spirits also formed formations with their clansmen, each one's aura soaring.

Looking out, what was once a disorganized army of Fire Spirits now appeared entirely refreshed; formations made up of varying numbers of Fire Spirits surged continuously towards Gushan City Pass.

From a distance, it looked as if clusters of fireballs, large and small, were approaching the Ten Thousand Demons Ridge line.

On the city walls, the array buzzed continuously, but the effect was no longer as significant as before.

After forming formations, each fireball had at least one, often several, True Lake Realm Fire Spirits at the core, with other clansmen as auxiliaries, substantially increasing their ability to withstand human attacks.

In the fierce offensive, Fire Spirits constantly suffered impacts, getting separated from their clusters and dying on the spot instantly.

Clusters of fireballs were also burst in mid-air, with no Fire Spirit in those formations spared.

However, the Fire Spirit Race's advance suddenly quickened.

Ten miles, five miles, three miles...

No matter the heavy casualties, regardless of the threat of extinction, nothing could hinder the Fire Spirits' resolve and pace for vengeance against humans.

As the Fire Spirits were about to storm Gushan City Pass, a furious shout suddenly rang out: "Activate the array!"

With a buzz, Gushan City Pass shook as array bases placed throughout the city were triggered, consuming a massive amount of Spirit Stones rapidly. A visible light screen swiftly rose, enveloping the entire Gushan City Pass.

The foremost Fire Spirit formations approached within a mile of the city, about to break into the city, but were blocked by the array. The massive fireball formations outside the array crashed into the light screen, causing it to dent in momentarily, but it quickly recovered, ripples spreading from the impact point.

The array here was incomparable to those at the Spirit Stream battlefield and Cloud River battlefield.

The protective arrays at each pass of the two great factions were almost all created by Divine Sea Realm array cultivators, with protection far beyond imagination.

Clusters of fireballs formed by formations were blocked outside the array; no matter how the Fire Spirits attacked, they couldn't break through.

However, Gushan City's offensive did not cease because of this.

The protective array shielded against external attacks, not internal ones; the Fire Spirits were blocked outside, unable to break in, but Gushan City's attacks faced no such hindrance.

In an instant, the Fire Spirits were left to withstand the attacks passively.

This is the cruelty of a siege battle. The defending side occupies the advantageous terrain, undoubtedly holding a massive advantage. For the attackers to gain, they must break the opponent's protective array quickly.

But an array created by a Divine Sea Realm array cultivator is not so easily broken.

Clusters of fireballs continuously slammed into the protective light screen, undaunted by death, but with little success. Instead, in the process, formations were repeatedly broken, leading to severe casualties among the Fire Spirits.

On a part of the city wall, Lu Ye quietly watched.

A sudden idea struck; if he disrupted one of the array bases of Gushan City's protective array at this moment, it would certainly cause immense losses to Gushan City.

Just as the thought crossed his mind, he glimpsed Ying Wuji turning to look his way.

As if their thoughts aligned, Ying Wuji whispered, "Don't even think about it. If you dare make a move, I'll risk the Heaven's Augury's punishment to expose you."

Allowing Lu Ye to infiltrate Gushan City Pass was out of necessity, but if this guy truly harbored any wrongful thoughts, Ying Wuji wouldn't stand by idly.

Now, he only prayed for this battle to end soon, and for Lu Yiye to get lost afterward!

He couldn't stay in Gushan City Pass anymore. Once this was over, if he survived, he'd request an immediate transfer.

"What could I possibly do?" Lu Ye responded blandly.

"You know exactly what," Ying Wuji lowered his voice.

"Relax, I don't want to die yet!"

If he acted here, his identity would be exposed. Certainly, he could inflict losses on Gushan City Pass, but he would also meet a grim fate.

Besides, Lu Ye never intended to act on it; it was just a passing thought.

Ying Wuji relaxed upon seeing that Lu Ye seemingly had no such plans.

Just then, the battlefield shifted again.

The Divine Sea Realm Fire Spirit, seeing his clansmen suffering enormous casualties and still unable to break the human formations, prepared to take the field personally.

The formation centered around him was the largest on the entire battlefield. From a distance, it no longer looked like a fireball but more like a blazing sun falling from Nine Heavens!

An overwhelming pressure enough to make everyone's heart race spread out. This blazing sun plummeted from the sky, crashing heavily into the array light screen.

The light screen of the array buckled, unable to bear the weight, causing everyone's hearts to leap into their throats, fearing the moment when the array would shatter.

Fortunately, the array was sturdy enough to withstand the hit.

At the same time, the powers of several arrays atop the city walls activated, bombarding the blazing sun and continuously killing the Fire Spirits forming the formation.

Despite the Divine Sea Realm Fire Spirit having intentions to avoid, such a massive formation left him helpless.

The relentless bombardment from Gushan City Pass constantly took its toll on the Fire Spirits forming the array. The blazing sun rapidly shrank in size.

Boom, boom, boom...

One side charged ceaselessly, while the other launched relentless bombardments.

"We can't hold it!" Wan Zhanggang had been monitoring the strength of the protective array. Seeing the light screen visibly thin, he realized the array was at its limit.

In a split second, he made a startling decision.

Rather than waiting for the Fire Spirits to break the array, he chose to open it proactively, hoping this would preserve the array's integrity.

With his decision made, orders were immediately dispatched.

The command, issued by the guard token, was instantly relayed to all Ten Thousand Demons Ridge cultivators. All who received the order prepared themselves.

The blazing sun's size had dwindled to less than half, meaning half of the Fire Spirits forming the formation had perished. The remaining half, too, looked utterly drained, unable to hold out much longer.

As the blazing sun descended again, several arrays on the city walls unleashed their powers, striking the blazing sun in unison.

The mighty bombardments further reduced the size of the blazing sun.

At the moment when it was about to crash into the protective array, the light screen suddenly dissipated.

Simultaneously, a streak of light shot up into the sky, Qi and blood boiling around it, charging head-on towards the blazing sun. The robust figure within the streak of light was Wan Zhanggang.

As his name suggested, he chose the path of a physique cultivator. At his level of cultivation, his body was as powerful as a spirit treasure.

This gave him the confidence to confront the blazing sun formation of the Fire Spirits head-on.

In an instant, the blazing sun and the streak of light collided.

In a silent moment, an immense force erupted. A massive shockwave expanded outward, destabilizing the cultivators on the city walls.

Wan Zhanggang roared, his flesh quivering, standing tall in mid-air, both arms raised high. Spirit force surged from his palms, lifting the descending blazing sun.

In that moment, his imposing figure caused every cultivator witnessing the scene to be moved.

Crack...

A faint sound was heard. Wan Zhanggang's body dropped several meters. His eyes widened in rage, Qi and blood churning around him. His skin turned red like cooked shrimp.

"Get lost!" With a roar, Wan Zhanggang thrusted upward, followed by continuous punches. Qi and blood, and spirit force condensed into punch shadows, relentlessly striking the blazing sun.

At the same time, the Divine Sea Realm Fire Spirit within the blazing sun activated a secret technique, aiming at Wan Zhanggang.

The violent clash of powers and the explosion of light made it impossible for the witnessing cultivators to keep their eyes on the fight.

Boom... The sound of something shattering and the noise of something falling were heard.

When the dust settled, and everyone looked again, they were stunned.

The blazing sun had been shattered. The Fire Spirits forming the formation around the Divine Sea Realm Fire Spirit were all but dead. Only the Divine Sea Realm Fire Spirit survived, but now he was entangled by a graceful figure, unable to escape.

Tan Yaoniang had joined the fray.

Though her cultivation was not as high as Wan Zhanggang's, she was still a Divine Sea Realm cultivator. Wielding a longsword that shimmered like water, she unleashed Sword Qi, continuously clashing with the Divine Sea Realm Fire Spirit, locked in a stalemate.

Elsewhere in Gushan City, Wan Zhanggang knelt on one knee, spewing blood, looking utterly exhausted. His arms were charred black, clearly suffering considerable damage in the previous encounter.

His aura was chaotic, and his Qi and blood were thin – a truly miserable state.

His body swayed as if anyone could take his life.

Dozens of meters away, in a patch of shadow, a figure unnoticed by anyone stood silently, eyes fixed on Wan Zhanggang, with a gaze calm as still water.

If not for years of encounters revealing Wan Zhanggang's true nature, she might have been fooled by him.

But through years of battles, they knew each other well. While others saw Wan Zhanggang in a wretched state, she knew much of it was an act.

Wan Zhanggang was indeed injured, but not to such a severe extent!

He was luring her into making a move.