After Dugu Xin's Ten-Headed Jade Phosphor Serpent Emperor venom reached the realm of Ultimate Poison, it had indeed become far more terrifying. Now, let alone living creatures, even some of the buildings in Dongyang City had been left utterly dilapidated by the corrosive properties of his venom upon contact—a testament to its horrifying potency.
To eradicate the deadly poison within Dongyang City, a massive formation had been set up in the city center. Surging, turbulent blue light converged upon the array's core, rapidly coalescing into a colossal blue vortex over a hundred meters in diameter that shot straight into the sky.
The sky, which had turned brilliantly sunny after Chen Junting's sword strike, now darkened once again. Swaths of dark clouds gathered above Dongyang City, visibly to the naked eye, and the air grew oppressively heavy.
Soon, massive raindrops began to fall from the heavens. At first, they were sparse, but in less than a minute, they transformed into a torrential downpour that crashed thunderously against Dongyang City.
However, if one were to observe closely, they would discover that this was no ordinary rain; within it lingered a faint hint of purple. Though inconspicuous, it was undeniably present. This purple tint was none other than the power of the Aromatic Silk Beauty Immortal Herb, which Chen Junting had embedded within the grand array. While it couldn't cure all poisons, it could suppress them.
Thus, while Dugu Xin prevented the deadly poison from spreading any further, the toxic mist that saturated the city gradually diluted under this extraordinary downpour, slowly dissipating into the rain... until a layer of blue-white light descended from the heavens, enveloping Dongyang City.
Because this special rainwater suppressed and washed away the deadly poison, making the toxic gas vanish, it didn't mean the venom itself was gone. Instead, it was "trapped" within every raindrop. With nowhere to go, it continuously accumulated, forming puddles of varying sizes in the low-lying areas of the city. It appeared to be a simple saturation of the earth, but in reality, it was a profound hazard to the land.
It was precisely for this reason that the blue-white light descended to envelop them. Just moments ago, seeing that the rain had mostly washed and suppressed the poison, Chen Junting waved his hand once more, adjusting the formation's runes, which caused the blue-white light to shoot into the sky.
Instantly, the dark clouds were parted by this pillar of blue-white light, and a sliver of sunlight once again bathed the earth. As this gap expanded exponentially, gradually forming a vortex, the toxic water within the city's puddles began to change. It surged into the sky like a massive tidal wave, reversing its flow like a cosmic river cascading directly toward the aerial vortex.
The colossal volume of water swirled around the vortex, forming a massive ring. At this moment, not a single drop of water remained within the city; all the toxins had been carried into the sky by the rain.
Immediately after, the blue-white light gradually diffused outward. The temperature, which had been relatively normal, suddenly plummeted. As snowflakes drifted down from the heavens, the ring of toxic water in the sky began to freeze, solidifying into a circular block of ice.
Seeing that the task was accomplished, Chen Junting pointed two pressed fingers upward, causing the formation on the ground to ascend. Amidst a bout of trembling and flashing, it seemingly merged with the giant ring, but in reality, it was an illusory array disk that propped the ring up.
"Xiao Feng, give me a big fire!"
As soon as the words left his mouth, the formation rotated once more. The runes within the array disk writhed like living serpents, "crawling" across the disk, causing the originally blue-white ice-and-snow array disk to gradually shift to a crimson red.
The plummeting temperatures instantly reversed, beginning to soar. Simultaneously, the sunlight beating down seemed to grow even more scorching, its rays focusing directly onto the array disk. Yet, before this steadily climbing heat could melt the frozen ring of deadly poison...
"Roar—"
A dragon's roar echoed across the heavens as a Red Dragon, strikingly similar to Wu Yan's Martial Soul True Body, shot into the sky, circling at high altitude. And this, was Wu Feng, having transformed into her Crimson Flame Dragon King True Body.
Whoosh—
Without a word, Wu Feng violently spewed out a breath of dragon flames. However, this fire didn't directly burn the frozen giant ring; instead, it burned onto the illusory array disk below.
In an instant, tongues of fire spewed from the top of the array disk, converging toward a single point at the apex like a cage, enveloping the giant frozen ring within. In the blink of an eye, the array disk transformed into a blazing furnace.
Boom—
Under the incineration of Ultimate Fire, the ring melted. The liquefied poison transformed into a colossal ring of fire, and under Chen Junting's guidance, the array disk carried the fire ring ever higher into the sky. All the deadly venom was thoroughly reduced to ashes under the burning of the dragon flames and the sunfire, leaving not the slightest residue behind.
"It's done."
Having accomplished all this, Chen Junting drifted down. At this moment, atop the southern city wall, aside from Dugu Xin who had already deactivated his Martial Soul True Body, the members of the surprise attack squad, as well as Wu Yan, Tai Yu, and the Old Heavenly Dragon, had all gathered there awaiting his return.
"Grandpa Wu, Uncle Tai."
Chen Junting bowed slightly to the two men before turning his gaze to the Sect Master of the Heavenly Dragon Sect. However, toward him, Chen Junting lacked the deep reverence he held for Wu Yan and Tai Yu; he merely offered a polite nod in greeting. "Greetings, Sect Master Yu."
"Truly a heroic youth."
The Old Heavenly Dragon didn't seem to mind this in the slightest. After all, Chen Junting's cultivation was practically on par with his own, and his actual combat power was even superior. Thus, a polite greeting that afforded him the respect due to a senior was more than enough.
"You flatter me, Sect Master Yu."
Chen Junting responded to the praise with neither arrogance nor false humility. This, ironically, made the Old Heavenly Dragon feel a wave of wistfulness; secretly envying the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's abundance of talent, he casually asked a question to change the subject and stop his own wandering thoughts.
"Since little friend has already become a Titled Douluo, might I ask if you will take a new title, or will you inherit the name of Sword Douluo?"
"Naturally, I shall inherit the title of Sword Douluo."
Chen Junting did not hesitate. "I have received the grace of the sect and inherited the legacy of my ancestor, Chen Xin. If not me, who else is worthy of the title 'Sword'?"
"Well said!"
Wu Yan and Tai Yu were naturally overjoyed to hear this. What their Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Sect valued most was legacy and inheritance; otherwise, how could their treasure vault contain so many self-created soul skills and the inherited cultivation journals of their predecessors?
Amidst the pleasantries, no one mentioned the fact that Dugu Xin had used poison to massacre the entire garrison; it was as if the matter had been turned over to a new page. After exchanging a few more brief words, the group shifted to the real business at hand—such as how to deal with the continuing retreat of the Sun Moon Army, and how to besiege Kong Deming.
"Let's spread the word, including the situation on the Star Luo Empire's front," Chen Junting proposed. "Let the Sun Moon Army on the Tian Hun battlefield and Kong Deming know that they are completely surrounded. Aside from surrender or fighting to the death, they have no retreat left."
"Agreed."
"No problem."
"..."
This proposal won everyone's unanimous approval. However, when Gu Tianchen sensed Chen Junting's gaze falling upon him, he was instantly rendered speechless. "You aren't about to make me run errands again, are you?" It sounded like a question, but his tone made it a statement.
"Sorry to trouble you."
Chen Junting pulled out a thick stack of letters. "You just need to fly above the army and scatter them down. Let the news spread completely."
Gu Tianchen took the letters, slightly taken aback. "You had these prepared in advance?"
"It was an inevitable conclusion; I merely anticipated it."
With that, Chen Junting patted Gu Tianchen on the shoulder. "After you finish scattering these letters, make a trip to the Tian Hun camp and bring back a few Super Douluos. We don't need regular soldiers; we will rely solely on powerhouses to blockade the North Sea of the Sun Moon continent and cut off the Sun Moon Army's retreat."
"Alright."
Storing the letters in his storage soul tool, Gu Tianchen flashed into the void, his figure vanishing entirely from everyone's sight.
Then, Chen Junting addressed the others: "Let's begin preparations to blockade the entire front."
...
Tian Hun Empire, Haibo City.
Amidst the unending flames of war and pervasive smoke, Kong Deming, his expression incredibly grave, led this battered and bruised army as they fought and retreated, finally reaching the coast of the Tian Hun Empire.
The sea breeze howled in, carrying a faint salty tang that brushed against the utterly exhausted faces of the soldiers. The turbulent sea churned before them; looking at the ships quietly moored by the shore, many soldiers couldn't help but reveal a glimmer of hope. As long as they could board those vessels, they could escape this sea of suffering and return to their homeland. After all, the prolonged war had long since bred a deep sense of war-weariness among the troops.
But right at this moment, "Huh? What is this?"
"Alert! Stay on alert!"
Suddenly, a large number of letters showered down from the sky. This bizarre scene instantly put the soldiers' taut nerves on high alert, but upon realizing there was no immediate danger, the falling letters immediately piqued their curiosity.
Thus, unable to curb their curiosity, they tore the letters open...
Not long after, inside the City Lord's estate of Haibo City, Kong Deming, who hadn't had a single moment of rest, was making arrangements for their next steps. Just then, a frantic-looking general rushed in without even announcing himself first, his face filled with sheer terror and unease.
"Elder Kong! Things are dire!"
The general's voice trembled, practically tinged with a mournful wail. In his hand, he clutched a letter.
Kong Deming's heart clenched; an ominously familiar sense of dread surged within him once more. Frowning, he barked, "What has you in such a panic? Speak!"
The general took a deep breath, desperately trying to steady himself, and said, "For some unknown reason, numerous letters rained down from the sky above the army. The content written on them... I fear... I fear..."
Kong Deming forcefully composed himself and urged, "What exactly does it say? Stop stammering!"
Without waiting for the general to finish, he snatched the letter away. But the very moment he read the first line, he felt a rush of blood surge to his head!
First: The Sun Moon Imperial Palace has been destroyed, and your Emperor has perished.
Second: Dongyang City has fallen, and the army that retreated there has been entirely annihilated. We have blockaded the entire northern sea of the Sun Moon continent; your rearguard troops have absolutely no line of retreat left.
Third: The army at the Ming Dou Mountains front has also been defeated. The Star Luo Empire's main force has completely invaded the Sun Moon Empire's territory and is continuously capturing cities; the Sun Moon Empire is in imminent peril.
These pieces of news struck Kong Deming like a bolt of lightning! He widened his eyes, utterly disbelief flooding his senses.
The army at Dongyang City was entirely annihilated just like that!?
No, it isn't necessarily true!
Even if it were true... it cannot be true right now!
Thus, the moment that trace of a thought arose, Kong Deming instantly snuffed it out in less than a second. The unease that had surfaced deep within his eyes was forcefully suppressed; on the surface, he didn't reveal the slightest abnormality. At the very least, this general couldn't see it.
"Elder Kong, is this news..."
Before the general could finish his question, a hand violently swept up before his eyes, practically slapping him across the face.
"Absurd!"
This furious roar gave the general a violent start. The blazing fury in Kong Deming's eyes forced the general to swallow the rest of his words. Then, Kong Deming's stern reprimand rang in his ears.
"Can't you see it!? This is the enemy's psychological warfare! How long has it been since our withdrawn army departed!? Total annihilation? What a joke! Zheng Zhan is no pushover! And the Ming Dou Mountains battlefield—Hongchen and Yulin are personally commanding there, backed by a million elite troops. How could they possibly be defeated so easily! And the notion that His Majesty is dead is even more laughable! Can you believe that!? This is an insult to the Empire!"
In his fury, Kong Deming violently spun around, but the very next moment, he whipped back around and issued his orders.
"Go! I don't care how many people have seen this news, you will confiscate every last letter without exception! Tell all the soldiers that this is an enemy trick! Tomorrow! Tomorrow at dawn, we will board the ships and set sail for home!"
"If there is a single slip-up, you will bring me your head!"
"Yes, sir!"
The general immediately accepted the order and departed.
Only after the general left the room did an indescribable anxiety surface on Kong Deming's face. He stared at the letter he had already crumpled into a ball...
He was terrified!
This time, he was genuinely terrified!
If what the letter said was true, their Sun Moon Empire was in grave danger. This military expedition had unexpectedly escalated into a crisis of national annihilation.
Why on earth did this happen!?
"Sigh—"
Amidst the myriad of thoughts in his mind, only a long, heavy sigh escaped his lips.
Originally, this rearguard action would have required at least another three days, but Kong Deming knew that once this news spread, waiting would be impossible.
And the facts proved Kong Deming right. As the letters rained down, the news spread like a plague through the army. The soldiers whispered amongst themselves, the fear and despair on their faces growing ever more intense, nearly triggering a mutiny.
Even though the commanders tried their utmost to confiscate the letters and stop the spread of the information, it was merely a drop in the bucket—utterly futile.
Morale had completely collapsed!
Fortunately, the order to board the ships and set sail at dawn the next day was issued, which finally stabilized the army's resolve that was on the verge of dissipating entirely under the weight of their collapsed morale.
At this very time, Gu Tianchen transmitted the news back to the Tian Hun Army. Upon hearing this, Ye Xuanji immediately made the call: aside from herself, all the elders of the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Sect would make the trip with Gu Tianchen. Even Shrek Academy's Xian Lin'er and Qian Duoduo went along with them.
Simultaneously, Marshal Li of the Tian Hun Empire issued an order: until Kong Deming began his retreat, the Tian Hun Army would cease their offensive pursuit and only maintain pressure. They would only resume their pursuit after the Sun Moon Army had boarded their ships.
In other words, they couldn't be allowed to fall into absolute despair.
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