"I see. It's quite a relief that you've made some preparations in advance, Brother Han," Cao Ji said as his expression eased slightly.
"It sounds like you're quite familiar with Sacred Ancestor clones, Fellow Daoist Han; have you faced some in the past as well?" Fei Xiaoxi suddenly asked.
"I have indeed faced such clones on several occasions," Han Li replied in a calm manner.
"How did you fare against them? I've heard that they're far more powerful than the average late-Body Integration Stage being," Fei Xiaoxi asked.
"I've killed a few, but I was also once forced to flee for over a year straight by few of them," Han Li replied with a nonchalant voice, but both Cao Ji and Fei Xiaoxi were astonished to hear this.
"You've killed Sacred Ancestor clones before? Oh, I see, you must've killed those clones with the assistance of your human race's army, right?" Cao Ji quickly arrived at a conclusion that he thought to be reasonable, and Fei Xiaoxi was also enlightened upon hearing this.
Indeed, with Han Li's late-Body Integration Stage powers, it wouldn't be impossible for him to kill a Sacred Ancestor clone with the assistance of an army.
Instead of replying to Cao Ji's question, Han Li chuckled with a confident smile, "Hehe, that's all in the past now. If multiple Sacred Ancestor clones arrive at our formation core, then all you have to do is hold off one of the clones each and leave the rest to me."
"In that case, I'll be counting on you, Brother Han." Cao Ji was still feeling rather bewildered, but a respectful tone had unconsciously crept into his voice, and he was clearly conceding the leadership role to Han Li.
After all, it was an extremely remarkable feat that Han Li had slain Sacred Ancestor clones in the past, even if it had been with the assistance of the human army.
Fei Xiaoxi hesitated for a short while before finally replying with a slight bow, "If you have a way to deal with the other Sacred Ancestor clones, then I'm also willing to follow your instructions."
"Alright, I'll be sure to repay your trust, fellow daoists," Han Li said with a smile.
Thus, Han Li officially assumed the leadership role at the second formation core.
During the next few days, Han Li's trio took turns overseeing the completion of the formation core.
Five days later, the second formation core was finally completed, and all of the Wood Tribe guards and formation masters flocked onto the giant azure cloud.
Under Han Li's control, the azure cloud descended from above before landing right beside the valley where the giant tree was situated.
At the same time, all of the world's origin Qi around the massive tree was stirred up as countless green specks of light surged out of thin air in a frenzy, then vanished into the entire mountain range.
A string of rumbling booms rang out as all of the formation flags on the tall platforms tremored violently, following which a series of light barriers appeared in the air. Immediately thereafter, bursts of green Qi surged out of all parts of the mountain range, instantly inundating the mountain range in its entirety.
All of the protective restrictions at the second formation core had been activated at this point, and there would be no chance of escape even for the average Body Integration Stage being if they were to enter the formation core.
Half a month later, the entire Wood Realm 36 Extremes Formation was finally complete, setting up a deadly trap of massive proportions for the devilish army.
Chapter 2161: The Eight Wood Spirit Disciples
From the day that the formation core was completed, Han Li's trio had begun meditating at the foot of the giant tree instead of residing on the massive cloud to guard against sneak attacks by high-grade devilish beings.
The backup holy tree was the foundation of this formation core, so the core would remain intact as long as the tree still stood.
As for the thousands of warriors accompanying Han Li's trio, they had been distributed onto the nearby mountains surrounding the formation core.
Daoist Xie had been instructed to reside within a certain building on the massive cloud, and with his incredible powers, it was naturally a simple task for him to replicate the aura of a mid-grade human cultivator.
Aside from Grand Ascension Stage beings, it would be virtually impossible for other cultivators to glean his true cultivation base, so even though Cao Ji and Fei Xiaoxi had seen Daoist Xie on several occasions, they paid no heed to him and simply regarded him as a member of Han Li's entourage.
Ever since the completion of the formation, news surrounding the battle between the united and devilish armies had been constantly pouring in, and Han Li's trio was carefully monitoring the situation.
According to the news they'd received, the battle between the united and devilish armies had been extremely fierce, and only after both sides had expended close to 20% of their troops did the united army begin to retreat.
On this occasion, three Sacred Ancestors had appeared in the devilish army alongside over 20 Sacred Ancestor clones and hundreds of devilish lords, thereby giving them a clear advantage when it came to high-end power.
Through the fierce battle that had taken place thus far, the united army had managed to fool the devilish army, and the latter immediately set off in pursuit as the united army began to retreat. Meanwhile, the united army was retreating as it battled, engaging in battles of different scales against the devilish army every day while gradually shifting the battlefield toward the formation in a discreet manner.
Time slowly passed, and the frequency of news arriving from the battlefield was steadily increasing as the two armies drew closer and closer to the formation.
Atop a giant mountain within the formation stood Elder Han of the Wood Tribe on a massive platform that had only recently been erected.
Not far ahead of him was a formation that was only around 40 feet in size, around which sat eight Wood Tribe elderly men, all of whom had their eyes closed and were holding a white wooden disc in one hand, while constantly making hand seals with the other hand.
Beams of white light would occasionally be released by the wooden discs before converging above the formation to form a large light screen. At present, Elder Han was staring intently at the scene unfolding on the light screen.
There were countless specks of light spread all over the screen, all of which were either purple or green in color.
The specks of light would occasionally intertwine before quickly separating like a pair of armies constantly clashing with and retreating away from one another. However, all of the specks of light were gradually moving toward a certain direction, and when they finally entered a giant diagram, all of the specks of light suddenly vanished at the same time.
At this moment, the eight elderly men opened their eyes, and the wooden discs in their hands dimmed while the light screen disintegrated into nothingness.
"Everything is progressing smoothly. Thank you for your hard work, masters," Elder Han said with an extremely polite smile.
"There's no need to thank us; the survival of our Wood Tribe hinges on this battle, so it's only to be expected for us to give everything that we have. However, I must remind you that this simulation was based on the current circumstances; if anything were to change, then the result could immediately be altered," one of the elderly men replied.
"I'm well aware of that. The next few days will be of vital importance, so I'll have to trouble you to simulate the movement of the armies every day to prevent the direction of the battle from straying out of the realm of our control," Elder Han replied as he cupped his fist in a serious salute.
"All eight of us have some aptitude when it comes to divination, but there are countless powerful beings involved in this battle, so there are far too many volatile factors. As such, we can only do our best, and the results of our simulation should only be referenced rather than fully trusted," the elderly man said with a shake of his head.
"I'm aware of that as well, but doing something will surely be better than doing nothing," Elder Han replied with a wry smil
e.
Even though there was no way to glean the outcome of a battle of such a massive scale through divination, it was very plausible for one to simulate the progression of the battle through divination to make some accurate judgments.
These eight elderly men were the most renowned divination masters of the Wood Tribe, and they had made countless important contributions to the Wood Tribe.
They were granted the title of the Eight Wood Spirit Disciples by the panel of elders, and due to the overexertion of their life force through many years of divination, they had become extremely wizened in appearance.
It was exactly due to this that the Wood Tribe had refrained from employing the services of the Eight Wood Spirit Disciples prior to this, but as a result, their grand elder fell into a trap sprung by the devilish army, and not only was he severely wounded, most of the Wood Tribe's territory was lost to the devilish army.
Thus, in this vital battle, the elders of the Wood Tribe had no choice but to enlist the services of the Eight Wood Spirit Disciples in case any further mishaps occurred.
Following the departure of the Eight Wood Spirit Disciples, several Wood Tribe elders immediately approached Elder Han from nearby, and they began to discuss some important matters.
......
Meanwhile, high up in the air above the border of the Wood Tribe's remaining territory and the territory claimed by the devilish army, Mo Jianli was hovering as a faint silver shadow within a dark cloud that was around an acre in size.
Countless arcs of silver lightning were flashing in and out of the cloud before hurtling into the distance, where a giant inky black sword that was over 1,000 feet in length was plunged firmly into a mountain close to 10 kilometers away.
Standing atop the hilt of the sword was a thin devilish man in a dark green cloak, and he was releasing streaks of glacial sword Qi with both hands.
Each streak of sword Qi was several hundred feet in length, and they eradicated all of the oncoming bolts of silver lightning.
......
In the air above a massive lake, two mountainous wolf projections were locked in a ferocious battle.
One of them was silver in color and around 4,000 feet in length with streaks of white light flying out of its mouth, while the other was completely inky black and had balls of baleful Qi erupting out of its mouth in retaliation.
The pair of giant wolves were able to slice massive gashes into the air with swipes of their claws, and conjure up bursts of powerful shockwaves and fierce winds to attack one another.
The battle taking place between the two giant wolf projections was extremely brutal, but regardless of what injuries they sustained, they were able to instantly regenerate.
Their battle had razed everything within a radius of around 100 kilometers to the ground, and within the belly of a nearby small mountain, Patriarch Ao Xiao sat within a temporary formation with his eyes tightly shut.
His entire body was giving off a faint silver light, and he was making a hand seal with both hands.
Thousands of kilometers away, Yuan Cha was seated in a temporary secret chamber over 10,000 feet below a swamp. The entire secret chamber was enshrouded in complete darkness with the exception of the purple devilish patterns on her body, which were flashing with a faint light.
......
Within a mysterious space, two gigantic beings were facing one another from several kilometers away.
One of them had crimson skin with a pair of black curved horns on its head and a pair of fleshy wings on its back. Its pupils were of a light golden color, and it had its arms crossed with a cold look on its face.
It was appraising another giant with inky-black skin that was riddled with golden and silver devilish patterns. This giant's upper body was completely bare, and the only item of clothing it wore was a beasthide loincloth.
The two giants were glowering at one another with their massive eyes, and astonishing auras were emanating from their bodies.
In the air between them, a pair of crimson monsters that resembled both wolves and apes were battling a massive three-headed golden tiger.
The three creatures were also locked in an extremely fierce battle, and they appeared to be evenly matched.
......
Just as the united army had planned, the three Sacred Ancestors within the devilish army were being kept at bay by the three Grand Ascension Stage beings of the united army.
As such, all of them were occupied and unable to assist their respective armies.
Meanwhile, tens of millions of devilish beings were being slowly led toward the formation by the united army.
If the devilish army were to enter the super formation without any Sacred Ancestors to lead it, it would undoubtedly be severely ravaged, and it seemed that everything was progressing in the united army's favor.
However, there were currently over 1,000 devilish flying carriages traveling rapidly around the united army along the outskirts of the battlefield.
These flying carriages were all triangular in shape and completely grey with peculiar devilish patterns engraved onto their surfaces.
There were close to 10,000 devilish beings on these carriages, and every single inch of their bodies were covered in masks and robes, revealing only pairs of cold crimson eyes.
What was even more unsettling was that despite the large number of devilish beings on the carriages, the entire group was traveling in a completely silent wraith-like manner.
Chapter 2162: Battle of the Wood Tribe (1)
At the center of this group was a black devilish ark that was several times larger than the flying carriages around it. Most of the ark was concealed within devilish Qi, but there were some devilish beings that were visible on the ark, and their auras suggested that they were far more powerful than the devilish beings on the flying carriages.
All of a sudden, an elderly voice rang out from the giant ark. "How long until we reach Cottonwood City? The united army's three Grand Ascension Stage beings are all absent, and I had to expend a massive price to return to the Spirit Realm without being detected by the Wood Tribe, so failure is not an option here!"
"At our current speed, we'll get to Cottonwood City in around half a month, Master Tun Tian," an extremely respectful male voice replied.
"That's too slow! Yuan Cha and the others may not be able to buy me that much time. Speed up and make sure we get to Cottonwood City within 10 days. The holy tree is far more important to the Wood Tribe than you can imagine, and if we destroy it, the Wood Tribe won't be able to protect their remaining territory any longer," the elderly voice commanded.
"But Master Tun Tian, this is already the fastest speed that the Crescent Moon Flying Carriages can travel at while remaining hidden. If we go any faster, we might not be able to avoid detection from the Wood Tribe," the male voice replied hesitantly.
"That's alright, the united army is already being forced into retreat, so it's gathering all of its forces. As long as we exercise some caution, there won't be any issues. Besides, even if we encounter any Wood Tribe spies, I'll make sure they don't manage to escape alive," the elderly voice chuckled coldly.
"In that case, I'll relay your orders to everyone right away, Master Tun Tian," the male voice replied in an elated manner.
Shortly thereafter, the devilish ark and all of the flying carriages tremored slightly before accelerating drastically, but at the same time, they began to emit a faint buzzing sound that made them a lot less stealthy and inconspicuous.
......
Seven days later, Han Li was meditating at the foot of the giant tree when his expression suddenly changed slightly, and he immediately opened his eyes, as did Cao Ji and Fei Xiaox, who were seated on either side of him.
The three of them then looked up in unison, and after the span of just a few breaths, something came hurtling toward them from afar.
Azure light flashed, and a streak of sword Qi that was several feet in length arrived.
Han Li's eyes narrowed slightly a
s he swept a hand toward the distance, and the streak of sword Qi circled around in the air above the valley before descending toward the massive tree.
Han Li made a grabbing motion, and a small azure sword projection appeared in his hand, within which was contained a white jade slip.
He rubbed his hands together, and the azure light instantly faded, leaving only the small jade slip behind.
Han Li picked up the jade slip before adhering it to his own forehead, then injected his spiritual sense into it.
Cao Ji and Fei Xiaoxi both turned toward him with serious expressions, and a short while later, Han Li removed the jade slip from his own forehead before tossing it toward Cao Ji.
"The devilish army will be entering the formation in two hours, and the formation's power will be fully activated in half a day with the aim of killing at least two-thirds of the devilish army."
After inspecting the contents of the jade slip, Cao Ji was quite elated, and he tossed the jade slip to Fei Xiaoxi as he said, "So the devilish army really did fall for it. If we really can deal them such a heavy blow, then even if we can't recover the lost territory, we'll at least be able to ensure that the devilish army won't be able to launch any further attacks in the near future."
"In that case, we'll just have to activate the power of the formation at the agreed time. Once all 36 points are activated, the fate of those devilish beings will be sealed!" Fei Xiaoxi also said with a smile after injecting her spiritual sense into the jade slip.
"Prior to the complete activation of the formation, we can't let anyone leave this place, so tell everyone to be on high alert," Han Li instructed.
"Yes, I'll relay that order right away and arrange some people to implement it," Cao Ji agreed.
Most of the troops in the formation core were Wood Tribe beings, so it was naturally only fit for him to issue the order.
"I'll go examine the restriction to see if there are any areas that require addressing," Fei Xiaoxi volunteered.
"Alright, thank you for your efforts, fellow daoists. I'll be staying here; make sure to inform me if you discover anything abnormal," Han Li replied with a nod.
A Record of a Mortal’s Journey to Immortality c1-2248 Page 1241