Chapter 3261: The True Battle Against The Ephemera

The battle began in a storm of chaos and fury.

The instant the Ancestor of the Ephemera Sect’s command echoed through the Ninefold Crypt, the corrupted tide surged forward. Shades and Hollows filled the world in every direction, their cries joining the howling winds and the rumbling earth. The very sky was drowned beneath writhing shadows, and the ground boiled with Baleful Qi.

Lin Mu’s army braced itself.

The combined forces of the three great powers; Xian Sword Sect, Silent Lotus Temple, and the Darkhan Dynasty met the charge with impeccable coordination. They had been trained for this moment, prepared for every possible scenario, including one like this.

The first wave of enemies crashed against the front lines.

The weaker Hollows came first, their bodies physical, their movements erratic and wild. They were grotesque beings with half-formed flesh, some with extra limbs, some with gaping mouths across their torsos, dripping black mist. But physical meant vulnerable, and that was all Lin Mu’s soldiers needed.

"Forward!" shouted a commander from the Darkhan ranks. "Cut them down before they cluster!"

Qi-imbued blades met the Hollows’ corrupted flesh, and explosions of dark mist burst into the air.

The Hollows screamed as they fell, each death spreading the stench of decay. The cultivators of the Xian Sword Sect sliced through them in neat formations, their Sword Qi shredding the twisted forms with precision.

Monks unleashed their Buddhist techniques, golden waves burning away the remains before the Hollows could regenerate.

Lin Mu observed the battle from the forefront. His eyes flicked constantly, assessing every change, every shift in the tide.

The weaker Hollows were manageable. It was the Shades that were the real threat.

They drifted through the battlefield like living nightmares, amorphous shadows that twisted around blades and passed through armor as though it were mist. When struck, their forms dispersed momentarily but soon reformed, their essence feeding off the surrounding Baleful Qi.

Regular Qi attacks barely harmed them. Physical attacks passed straight through. Even Immortal Qi had limited effect as it was diluted by the surrounding corruption.

Only those cultivators with the right attributes: Fire, Lightning, or Light, could do significant damage.

BOOM BOOM BOOM

Bolts of heavenly lightning descended from the sky as the Lightning Division of the Darkhan army took their positions.

The crackling arcs tore through dozens of Shades at once, vaporizing them into nothingness. Behind them, monks continued their chants, sending out waves of purifying golden light that burned through the darkness like the dawn.

Among the Xian Sword Sect disciples, those with strong Sword Intent fought the most efficiently. Their intent, sharp and pure, cut through even the intangible, forcing the Shades to disperse completely.

Despite the chaos, the army moved like a single entity. They had trained for weeks under Lin Mu’s guided plans he had given to the three powers, running simulations of battles they had never fought before.

Lin Mu had anticipated that the Ephemera Sect would use abominations... perhaps not these exact ones, but close enough. He had discussed thousands of scenarios with the other Transcendents, from small-scale ambushes to full-blown ritual wars.

Even now, that foresight was saving lives.

No one panicked. No one faltered.

But while the soldiers fought for their lives, Lin Mu and the Transcendents faced their own challenge.

Their enemies were not the shades or hollows swarming the field. Their enemies were the ones conducting the ritual, the core members of the Ephemera Sect and, above all, the withered Ancestor who commanded them.

The Ancestor stood unmoving, his skeletal form bathed in the black light of the obelisk.

The other cultists surrounded him in a vast formation, chanting continuously. Their words were an eerie rhythm that made the earth pulse in time with their breath. They were the heart of the ritual, and as long as they remained undisturbed, the flow of Baleful Qi would not cease.

Lin Mu knew this, as did every Transcendent present.

The Xian Sword Sect Patriarch, his expression grim, raised his sword once more. "We must breach that barrier," he said. "If we do not interrupt the ritual, this entire marsh will become a great graveyard."

They launched their attacks.

A spear of ice, larger than a mountain, shot from Elder Ice Drake’s claws and crashed into the barrier. The frozen energy exploded on impact, creating a massive shockwave that cleared the air for miles... but the barrier didn’t even ripple.

ROAR

Grand Elder Huo followed up with a large slash, his sword intent shaped like a dragon as it roared toward the barrier. The black fog shuddered, but then greedily absorbed the sword qi within while the Sword Intent dissipated with nothing to cement it.

SHING

The Patriarch’s Sword Intent lashed out once more, tearing through the ground as he unleashed a massive technique. A sword slash that could normally cut through mountains simply vanished the moment it touched the barrier.

DANG DANG DANG

The Abbot continued to chant while releasing large palm imprints at the barrier. His strikes managed to go deeper than the others, but still withered away under the relentless baleful energy.

The Ancestor’s laughter echoed through the Crypt, cruel and triumphant. "Futile! You think you can harm the will of the Mother? This barrier is sustained by the Baleful Sea beneath the Marshes. It is infinite. It is eternal!"

The Transcendents exchanged glances, frustration visible in their eyes.

They had strength, but their power came at a cost. The battlefield was crowded, and the risk of collateral damage was too high. If they unleashed their full abilities, they would annihilate not only the enemy but also their own forces.

Lin Mu grit his teeth as he tried to think. He raised his hand and activated his ring. The air shimmered, and the space around him began to distort as he attempted to activate his Spatial Skills.

"Fade."

Nothing happened.

The distortion sputtered, and Lin Mu felt his Qi being drained away uselessly. The Baleful Qi around them twisted space itself, making it impossible to form a stable focal point. Even his refined control could not stabilize it.

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