Chapter 1302: The Spy

A moment later, the group descended the mountain at top speed.

This time, confidence and excitement showed on their faces. Each used their own methods to conceal their aura and hide their form as they raced toward Yu City.

Their route looked like a tangled mess, utterly without pattern, yet they traveled smoothly the entire way. Even after reaching the outskirts of Yu City, they had not alerted a single soul.

Outside Yu City, Qin Sang and the others revealed themselves from the shadows and observed the great city. The moment they saw the chaos within, they no longer bothered hiding and charged straight into the lotus array.

***

Of the three Spiritual Infant cultivators left behind to guard Yu City, one bore the surname Qi. He had ties to both Canghong and Tianzheng, two towering figures of the righteous path, and was deeply trusted by them.

He stood atop the city wall, personally overseeing the defense and directing the battle.

The enemy army had not yet fully arrived, but nearly all of the Two-Domain Alliance's Spiritual Infant cultivators had already gathered. Even with the power of the city's protective grand array, the situation remained perilous.

Worried about the battle, Daoist Qi's brows remained tightly furrowed.

He had never expected his earlier words to come true. The Two-Domain Alliance's intelligence network had far exceeded their expectations. They had struck so quickly, descending like heavenly soldiers, catching them completely off guard.

He stared fixedly at the figures outside the city, not daring to relax for even a moment.

Fortunately, the soldiers of Sin Abyss were veterans of countless battles and coordinated flawlessly. At a single command, wave after wave of attacks surged forth like a flood and poured into the grand array.

Though Qin Sang and the others were all Spiritual Infant cultivators, they were inside enemy territory and faced concentrated fire from tens of thousands. None dared be careless. They repeatedly dodged and shifted away, their progress in breaking the array slowed as a result.

Yet seeing this scene brought little joy to Daoist Qi's face.

Canghong had gone after Old Devil Ye and still had not returned, leaving Yu City at its weakest.

Lacking powerful experts, all they could do was defend and stall. They had no ability to charge out and engage the enemy directly, nor any means capable of threatening the enemy's lives. As a result, the attackers had little to fear and rampaged recklessly through the array.

If this continued, the city's protective grand array falling was only a matter of time.

Just then, an urgent voice sounded in the distance. "Daoist Qi, the situation is dire! The previous city-guarding array was built to work in conjunction with the Nether Crystal Tower. Now that the Nether Crystal Tower has been destroyed, the array has been affected as well, exposing flaws. They came too quickly. There was no time to repair the array! Only three of us are left in the city, and we lack the ability to seal every weakness. Once they discover the flaws, Yu City will be doomed!"

The voice drew nearer and nearer. In the next instant, a figure flew up onto the city wall. It was another Spiritual Infant cultivator left to defend Yu City, named Qu Huan.

Seeing how critical the battle had become, Qu Huan hurried over to discuss matters with Daoist Qi.

After landing beside him, Qu Huan glanced at the ruins of the Nether Crystal Tower nearby and let out a soft sigh.

The tower's foundation remained intact, but the tower body had been shattered beyond recognition. Some sections were covered in cracks, while others had collapsed entirely into heaps of rubble. The crystal sphere atop the spire had long since vanished, already taken by Old Devil Ye.

Daoist Qi frowned deeply. He naturally understood the problem, but no good solution came to mind. All he could do was hold fast. Seeing that Qu Huan seemed to have an idea, he hurriedly asked, "Daoist Qu, what is your plan?"

"Abandon the outer city!" Qu Huan answered decisively. "At a critical moment, sacrifices must be made. If we wait until the outer city is breached, it will be too late to withdraw our forces. Please decide quickly! The inner city is Yu City's original site. Its defensive grand array was left behind by our ancestors and has withstood the test of ages. Even if the Two-Domain Alliance deploys its full strength, they will never break in within a short time. It will hold until the others return."

Daoist Qi's expression turned grave, hesitation flickering in his eyes. Abandoning the outer city meant far more than simply losing territory.

The treasure vaults throughout the outer city were packed with resources prepared for the great war. All of it would fall into enemy hands.

And there was also the city-guarding array, built at enormous expense by Sin Abyss. Once they lost the outer city as a barrier, they would have nowhere left to retreat!

"Daoist Qu..." After hesitating for a moment, Daoist Qi opened his mouth to speak.

Suddenly, a violent warning surged through his heart. A pinpoint of cold light flashed into existence and shot straight toward his face. Pain stabbed sharply between his brows.

"It's you!" Daoist Qi's expression changed drastically. With an enraged roar, he retreated at high speed, and brilliant azure light erupted from his entire body.

Within that azure radiance, the phantom image of an armor emerged.

The armor looked ancient and weathered. To speak bluntly, it was old and shabby, as though crudely pieced together from chunks of ancient tree bark.

Yet despite its ragged appearance, the armor spun rapidly around Daoist Qi. Countless runes flashed across it, wondrous beyond measure, releasing a dense, heavy azure glow.

Clang! A thumb-sized dark golden flying sword pierced through the azure light and struck the armor, producing the sharp ring of metal striking metal.

Seeing that it could not pierce the armor, Qu Huan recalled the golden sword, surprise flashing across his face. He had not expected Daoist Qi to block his sneak attack so easily.

"You shameless wretch! Have you forgotten the grace of your sect's upbringing? You actually betrayed Sin Abyss and willingly became a running dog of Tianxing Alliance!" Daoist Qi was furious, disbelief written all over his face.

Qu Huan had come from a major righteous sect of Sin Abyss, Haotian Residence. His current status stood second only to the supreme sect leader, standing above ten thousand others, with limitless prospects ahead of him. And yet he was a spy.

"What running dog? I was born in Tianxing Alliance. Before this, I merely played along and kept up appearances. In my youth, my talent was poor and I was ignored. The only reason I achieved what I have today was because Tianxing Alliance secretly supported me, along with my own hard work. Haotian Residence merely added flowers to the brocade. It never truly gave me much at all," Qu Huan said calmly, without the slightest trace of shame.

"What? You were planted in Haotian Residence by Tianxing Alliance?" Daoist Qi was stunned.

Both Tianxing Alliance and Sin Abyss knew full well that spies existed within their own ranks. But for a spy to rise as high as Qu Huan had was exceedingly rare.

"Impossible! If you had been under Tianxing Alliance's control from the beginning, there is no way you could have left no trace and remained hidden until now!"

Qu Huan sneered. "Control? Daoist Master Zhenyi did try to use methods to control me, but I secretly broke free of them. Before today, even when troops were raised to attack Tianxing Alliance, I never passed them a single piece of information, nor did I ever do anything that betrayed Sin Abyss. Of course you found nothing that pointed to me!

"Which side I stood on depended entirely on my mood. Naturally, I had to place bets on both sides. Now that matters have developed to this point, the situation is clear. I judged the times and chose to gamble.

"I simply did not expect you to be so capable. You were struck by my Formless Poison, yet your true essence remained completely unaffected, and you even blocked the Dustfall Sword. With those two methods alone, I once slew a Transformation Realm great demon!"

Hearing this, Daoist Qi no longer concealed anything and said coldly, "And you really thought yourself unmatched in cunning, that everyone else could only dance in your palm? You and Old Freak Feng volunteered to stay behind and help me defend the city. Naturally, I kept my guard up in case something happened.

"No matter how powerful your Formless Poison is, if it cannot enter my body, it is useless. The truth is, I was more wary of Old Freak Feng. I suspected he had deliberately disguised himself in that manner. I never expected that the one with the problem would be you!"

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