"Be careful, it's coming," Yuan Ming said, looking toward the distant sky.

As his words fell, within the rolling clouds of dust in the distance, shrieks suddenly emanated, and one after another, creatures resembling eagles, yet ten times larger—Second-level Demon Beasts, the Red Demon Falcons, had already flown above their heads.

"Whoosh whoosh"

With a sudden increase in the whistling of the wind, flames sparked in the eyes of the Red Demon Falcons, and their feathers seemed half ablaze. With a fierce flap of their wings, countless flames poured down like a torrential rain towards the ground.

"Boom boom boom"

The fiery rain pounded the earth, but was blocked by protective shields raised by Yuan Ming and the others, scattering countless sparks.

Such an attack would normally be trivial to Yuan Ming and his group, but the sheer number at this moment was no small matter. Naturally, they immediately deployed various Magical Treasure Talismans to defend themselves.

While the attacks in the air had not yet ceased, the ground suddenly shook violently. Huge fissures cracked open beneath their feet, and Demon Vines, resembling spiritual snakes, suddenly extended from underground, wrapping towards them.

Seeing this, almost everyone felt a shiver of fear, glad that they had not recklessly used the Earth Escape technique. Otherwise, encountering these things underground, they might have been entangled and trapped by the Demon Vines, ultimately leading to their deaths.

Just then, a green light suddenly spread from the ground.

Zhong Ling, Baili Zhui, and Hua Ping were seen sitting back-to-back on the ground, each holding a green disk, channeling Mana and casting with their eyes closed.

As the green halo spread from beneath them, thick vines burst from the ground, reaching toward the depths and intertwining with the Demon Vines below.

Earlier at the Magma Lake, they had lost most of the stakes used for setting up the array, so now the power of their Ten Thousand Wood Formation was significantly diminished.

"Fellow Daoists, we'll do our best to hold off the attacks coming from underground. The rest is up to you," Zhong Ling said while casting, without waiting for everyone else's response, clearly struggling to manage the formation.

Unperturbed by the reaction of others, she continued to focus deeply on managing the formation.

Yuan Ming raised his hand and tapped his Spiritual Beast Bag at his waist, releasing Lei Yu into the sky to fight on its own.

Lei Yu let out a joyful cry, showing no fear as it soared into the sky, transforming into a streak of lightning. It plunged into the swarm of Red Demon Falcons. With flashes of lightning, it instantly turned several falcons to char, tearing a gap through the flock.

While the Red Demon Falcons tried to encircle Lei Yu, it had already turned into a streak of light, rushing to another area.

Clearly, Lei Yu's goal was not to truly engage with so many falcons, but to disturb them.

This disruption broke the falcons' overwhelming momentum, and indeed, the number of fiery rains plummeting from the sky abruptly decreased.

Seeing this, everyone else was greatly heartened, releasing their own flying spirit beasts to join Lei Yu in harassing the flock in the sky.

Meanwhile, on the ground, the charging demons finally reached them, including Wind Blade-spitting Green Wolves, huge Tiger Demons, and giant Serpents covered in green scales with eyes shining like lanterns, each of different forms and numerous in types.

Fortunately, most were Level 1 and Second Level Demon Beasts, with a mix of third-level ones, and no Level 4 Great Demons had appeared yet.

However, the sheer number of demons, increasingly close, grew ever more oppressive to everyone present.

Qiong Yun couldn't help but swallow spit, glancing at her Spiritual Snake, Lei Guang.

The latter, seemingly attuned to her heart, also showed a grave expression in its eyes but showed no intention of retreating. As it faced the rapidly approaching Green Wolves, it opened its mouth and unleashed a torrent of thunder, forming a Thunder Wall blocking the beasts in front of it.

However, within mere moments, the Thunder Wall was slashed to tatters by tens of Wind Blades, with a dozen Green Wolves breaking through first and pouncing towards her.

Seeing this, Qiong Yun swiftly gestured with her hands, and flung them forward forcefully. The remnants of the shattered Thunder Wall suddenly spun rapidly, transforming into swirling Thunder Blades, retaliating against the Green Wolves.

Where the Thunder Blades sliced through, blood sprayed, and sounds of bones snapping and tendons tearing rang out. The leading two Green Wolves collapsed, but even more demons surged forward.

At the same time, Yuan Ming, Long Chong, and Wulu each took action. One purple and one blue spear shot out, sweeping through the torrent of demons, creating whirlwinds of blood and continuous roars and booms wherever they passed.

Wulu raised a blood-red crescent-shaped Magic Treasure, and as he waved it, large crescent moons of blood fell within the pack of beasts. The blood-colored crescents were exceptionally sharp, easily slicing multiple Demon Beasts into two, creating a blood mist filling the air.

Golden Cloud Fairy, Daoist Qian Bao, and Tu Sheng were guarding in front of the Silver Mirror, their Magic Treasures bursting with spiritual light as they continuously launched fierce attacks, holding off another legion of beasts.

The seven of them seemed tiny within the vast sea of demons, yet as they bravely rallied, the light from their Magic Treasures and spirit beasts joined together, forming a massive wall of light, successfully blocking all demons for the moment.

In the midst of the seven's protection, Zhong Ling and the other two were fully focused on operating the damaged Ten Thousand Wood Formation, managing to block all underground sneaking beasts.

Although these demons were not particularly strong and had limited spiritual intelligence, they had previously relied on an overwhelming momentum that was formidable. But now, this momentum had been shattered by the concerted efforts of Yuan Ming and the others, greatly reducing the threat.

Just when they were about to breathe a sigh of relief, a roar erupted.

A towering black ape, five zhang tall with a massive body, sprang out from the crowd of beasts. Its eyes were like two purple crystal stones the size of millstones, and its body was enveloped in potent demon energy. Clutching a huge ironwood log in one hand, it ran causing the ground to tremble beneath it, clearly a Level 4 Demon Beast!

Zhong Ling and the other two's expressions changed drastically, and Long Chong and Qiong Yun also showed signs of fear.

Golden Cloud Fairy's expression was solemn, yet she showed no fear as she waved her hand to summon the golden spiritual bird.

The golden spiritual bird let out a piercing screech that seemed to penetrate the heavens, and its body emitted golden flames, forming a vast fiery cloud of gold several tens of zhang in size. The spirit of the bird soared rapidly, reaching the Third-level Upper Stage Peak in the blink of an eye, and it swooped down from the sky, heading straight for the black ape.

The black ape showed fury, and with one hand, it grabbed two Second-level Green Wolf Demon Beasts by its side and hurled them at the golden spiritual bird, only to see them swallowed up by the golden fire clouds.

The golden spiritual bird was staggeringly fast, and in an instant, it appeared above the black ape, its claws reaching down.

The black ape roared angrily, abruptly halted in place, held the gigantic ironwood log with both hands, and spun around swiftly, swinging the ironwood log to meet the golden spiritual bird's claws.

With a loud "bang", the golden spiritual bird's body was drastically shaken, and it was sent flying by the impact.

A Third-level Peak and a Level 4 Demon Beast—the gap was indeed too vast.

However, at that moment, a figure suddenly flashed out—it was Xue Jiao from Bijiao Island.

She was enveloped in a flash of blue light, her body elongated significantly, and her slender legs sprouted fine scales, transforming into a gracefully moving fish tail, revealing her true form.

The water surged forth, lifting Xue Jiao's body like a wave.

In her eyes, a sorrowful expression flashed, and teardrops rolled down like beads off a string, but instead of falling to the ground, they hovered before her, flicked one by one by her bending fingers.

Dozens of teardrops shot out, striking the black ape and quickly penetrated into its body, transforming into a green light that spread from the impacted area to the surroundings.

Wherever the green light passed, the body of the ape slowly turned into a greenish color, astonishingly transforming into green crystal stones.

The black ape, shocked and furious, swung its arm and a claw tore through the air, appearing instantly in front of Xue Jiao. The massive claw fiercely grasped her body, moving faster than anyone's eyes could follow.

With a "sizzle", Xue Jiao's body was sliced into several segments, but no blood sprayed out. Instead, her body transformed into scattered flowing water, flying to the side.

The blue light flashed and the scattered water reformed Xue Jiao's body, seemingly unaffected by the attack.

She softly began chanting a melancholy and mournful song, her voice ethereal and piercing, resonating throughout the valley.

The surge of demon beasts was influenced by this Illusion Sound, and their rampaging speed slowed down.

The black ape too was affected by the song, its eyes momentarily clouded.

A thick pillar of golden fire shot towards it, as the golden spiritual bird took the chance to fly at the ape again, fiercely striking the black ape.

With a loud "boom", the massive body of the ape was sent flying, crashing into a large group of demon beasts. The black ape fur was coated in golden flames that burned fiercely and quickly spread, turning the gigantic ironwood log in its hands into charred timber as well.

Shadows flickered mid-air, and Bing Xin and Yun Jiuxiao also appeared, summoning their spiritual beasts to join the group battle.

Seeing three more reinforcements arrive, the spirits of those who were holding the line were greatly lifted.

"Daoist Xue Jiao, thank you," Golden Cloud Fairy communicated her thanks through telepathy.

"Let's skip the formalities, break the light barrier later, and we'll share in the benefits," Xue Jiao said with a light chuckle.

"Naturally," Golden Cloud Fairy promptly assured.

While the two women communicated through telepathy, the others continued launching attacks, and with the addition of Xue Jiao and her party, the defensive line became even more solid, methodically repelling wave after wave of assaults.

Yuan Ming formed a hand seal, and the Purple Star Nine Dragon Spear emitted a vast purple light, slicing through two rugged, Third-level Black Bear Demon Beasts. The black bears were cleaved in half, blood streaming on the ground.

"This Black Bear Demon Beast's Essence Blood is abundant, Fellow Daoist Yuan, don't waste it," Hong Ling's voice sounded in Yuan Ming's Sea of Consciousness.

"Nagging!" Yuan Ming frowned and coldly huffed, but he also flicked his sleeve, sending out a blue light that gathered the two corpses into the Shura Blood Devouring Map.

During this time, his spear continued, killing several more demon beasts, his efficiency astonishing, making Golden Cloud Fairy and the others take notice.

His brow suddenly furrowed, and he peered into the distance, seeing behind the multitude of demon beasts a hundred-zhang-long Demon Python raising its head, crashing through a vast number of beasts, making its way directly towards them.

The Demon Python's demon energy was deep and potent, clearly a Level 4 Demon Beast that was even stronger than the previous black ape.

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