The battle between the Gu Kings was earth-shattering. Soon, the sky transformed into a sea of fire, covering the entire Blackstone City like a massive burning cloud. Countless mutated microorganisms in the air were buried in the vast inferno.
On the ground, hordes of plague zombies were also consumed by the fire. Beyond the city walls, fire spread everywhere, the scorching heat baking the earth and setting the sky ablaze.
Everyone inside the city was drenched in sweat, fearfully gazing at the sea of flames engulfing the sky.
"Is this the kind of commotion caused by a Gu King battle? Is this the destructive power of Yan Pojun?" Long Xuan watched in shock.
It seemed Yan Pojun had been pushed to his limit, recklessly releasing such a vast firestorm, intent on burning away every microorganism in the air.
Could the microorganisms in the air really have grown strong enough to breach the peak defense of a Gu King? That seemed unlikely, Long Xuan thought with a start.
At this point, the faces of the Yan Clan Gu cultivators turned grim.
"What exactly is happening? Something forced the City Lord to use the Yang Flame technique!"
"It seems Shi Haojun released something from an insect bag. It appears to be a batch of carefully cultivated micro-insect, and these insects have the terrifying power to threaten even a peak Gu King."
"The City Lord couldn’t detect their location, so in order to protect the other Gu Kings, he had no choice but to use this large-scale move and burn all the micro-insects in the air."
"This isn’t good. Yang Flame is a forbidden technique. If the City Lord uses it, his body will suffer tremendous damage. Has the situation really become this dire?"
The Yan Clan Gu cultivators murmured amongst themselves, worry evident on their faces. The battlefield situation looked grim, and many had already shown signs of despair.
"This is bad." At that moment, Long Yuanshan approached Long Xuan, his face solemn as he spoke. "Yang Flame is a forbidden technique that requires the fusion of nine different Spirit Flames to be released."
"You can imagine how dangerous it is to have nine Spirit Flames in a single body. Yan Pojun only became the strongest in the Western Lands because of his control over the nine flames."
"Not only did Yan Pojun use Yang Flame just now, but he also detonated three Spirit Flames. If the situation weren't absolutely critical, he would never resort to this."
"Blackstone City is likely on the brink of collapse. Tonight, you must escape through the space hut and return to the Far West."
"You are the rare prodigy of our Long Clan in ten thousand years. You cannot perish here."
Hearing this, Long Xuan was shocked. Had the situation truly become so dire?
No way, right? So many Gu Kings were fighting one opponent, yet they couldn't defeat him? Shi Hao Jun's combat power seemed absurdly exaggerated.
Is the power of forbidden Gu arts really this immense? And this is just a reduced version.
At this moment, even Long Xuan began to panic and hastily asked, "Isn’t it too late to leave tonight? Should I leave now?"
For the first time, he felt genuinely anxious. Shi Hao Jun’s overwhelming combat strength was starting to scare him.
Long Yuanshan shot him a glance. If it weren't for the fact that Long Xuan was the Long Clan's genius, and he had no right to discipline him, Long Yuanshan would’ve berated him for being such a coward. How could the Long Clan's genius be afraid of death?
"Rest assured, even if all the Gu Kings outside perish, Blackstone City won’t fall for at least a month."
"There's a Spirit Vein underneath Blackstone City, and the protective formation is anchored by this massive vein. Even if Shi Hao Jun exhausts himself, he can’t breach the formation in a short time."
"Blackstone City is the strongest fortress in the Western Lands and has never been breached throughout history. You can rely on the city's defenses."
"Even if you leave in a month, you'll still be perfectly safe."
"That's good to hear." Upon hearing this, Long Xuan finally felt at ease and continued to observe the distant battle.
However, when he looked at the battlefield again, he noticed the battle had already ended. The group of Gu Kings was frantically fleeing, desperately running for their lives.
...
"How is this possible? How could he be this strong? Wasn’t the Plague Demon Gu incomplete? How could it be this powerful?" Yan Pojun muttered in a daze, his face pale as if he had lost his mind.
Suddenly, he pushed away those supporting him and looked towards the surviving Gu Kings.
Upon seeing the scene before him, his heart sank.
The losses were simply too heavy. Among the ten clans of the Western Lands, many Gu Kings had fallen in this battle. Of the more than 150 Gu Kings that had set out, only about 90 returned—dropping their number below 100.
Of the four peak-stage Gu Kings, one had also fallen. Now, besides himself, only Cai Xuan and Jiu Kang remained.
Moreover, both of them were in dire straits. Even though Yan Pojun had used a forbidden technique, their injuries were still worse than his own.
Several Gu practitioners from the Jiu clan gathered around Jiu Kang, sobbing. The rest of the clans were equally devastated, their expressions dull and spirits low. The atmosphere was heavy with grief.
No one had expected that even a hundred Gu Kings, working together, would lose. They all felt as though they were dreaming, or hallucinating.
If even a hundred Gu Kings couldn’t win, and with a small portion already lost, organizing a second attack was impossible.
Everyone understood what this meant: no one could stop Shi Haojun. Blackstone City was likely to be slaughtered by him. The city's demise seemed to be counting down, and everyone still inside was destined to die.
The Gu practitioners of the various clans were all filled with despair, many feeling pessimistic about their fate.
The city was now surrounded by the plague, making it impossible to break through and escape. They were trapped, awaiting death.
The city's food and water supplies were limited. Even if Shi Haojun couldn’t break through in a short time, how long could they hold out? Despair was written all over everyone’s faces.
"City Lord! What should we do next?"
Someone in the crowd finally asked in a low voice.
Yan Pojun looked up at the sky and sighed heavily, "Hold our ground. All we can do now is defend."
"We cannot leave the city again—we simply can’t win."
"Shi Haojun has grown too strong. There are likely few people in the world who can stop him now."
"We have to wait—wait for reinforcements. Shi Haojun has refined a Forbidden Gu, and those who refine Forbidden Gu are hunted by the world."
"Before the city was sealed, I made arrangements. I sent word to spread this news."
"Faced with an old demon who slaughters cities and refines Gu, the Gu Emperor City will not stand idly by. They will surely issue the Demon Extermination Order and mobilize a vast number of Gu Kings to hunt down Shi Haojun."
"All we need to do is hold out until the Gu Emperor City issues the Demon Extermination Order. At that point, Shi Haojun will either face the Gu Kings of the world or retreat. The crisis of Blackstone City will be resolved."
"But this place is so remote that it will likely take a long time for the news to reach the central region and the Gu Emperor City. Gathering Gu Kings from various regions will also take considerable time."
"Stall. Stall for as long as we can. From now on, the entire city is to switch to one meal every two days. Even urine must be collected—don’t discard it."
"Everyone in the city must comply, regardless of wealth or status. Anyone who disobeys will be executed."
"Prepare for a long battle. If we do not hold out until reinforcements arrive, we will burn with the city..."
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