Chapter 695: As Long as I Am Here, the City Stands

“Pacify them? How do you expect me to do that?”

Hearing this, Muu Guibai chuckled helplessly. “Heh, I’d forgotten. Pacification isn’t your strong suit. Never mind, I’ll go myself.”

By the time Zhan Tianxia looked up, Muu Guibai was already gone.

The next moment, the melodious sound of a zither echoed through Dingyuan City. The previously agitated crowd gradually quieted down under its influence.

They followed the sound and looked up to see a figure floating in midair. He was dressed in robes whiter than snow, a Jade Zither in his hands releasing the elegant music.

“The Great City Lord!”

“It’s the Great City Lord!”

The crowd below erupted. In the Daqi Cultivation World, the title “Great City Lord” was legendary. Countless people saw him as a role model and an aspiration. Whenever he appeared, he brought an inexplicable sense of peace.

The music came to an end.

Muu Guibai pressed his ten fingers against the zither strings, his tone calm as he spoke. “Everyone, the Beast Tide may be terrifying, but Luoxia City has never backed down. As long as I am here, the city will stand!”

His voice wasn’t loud, yet it clearly reached the ears of everyone in Dingyuan City, inspiring an undeniable sense of conviction.

The crowd gradually calmed, their gazes unanimously turning to the towering figure in the sky.

“With the Great City Lord here, we can definitely fend off the Beast Tide.”

“That’s right. The Great City Lord has never disappointed anyone.”

The people murmured amongst themselves as the tense atmosphere slowly dissipated. Eventually, the crowd dispersed, with only a small number of Cultivators remaining.

Among them was the short-bearded Cultivator with the surname Zhang.

“Why do you all still linger before the city gates?” Muu Guibai’s voice took on a hint of majesty, and an immense pressure unconsciously settled upon them.

“It’s not that we don’t trust you, Great City Lord, but Dingyuan City was just built. We… we don’t dare to gamble! We hope the Great City Lord will show mercy and let us leave.”

“If you leave now, your fate will be uncertain.”

Muu Guibai frowned slightly. The Demon Race’s vanguard was already active outside Dingyuan City. If these people left now, they would absolutely become targets.

“Please, Great City Lord, let us leave.”

The group remained insistent.

Seeing this, Muu Guibai stopped trying to persuade them. With a light wave of his great sleeve, a vast surge of Mana enveloped the group and teleported them directly outside the city walls.

A short while later, the long howls of Demon Beasts echoed from outside the city.

Muu Guibai slowly closed his eyes…

Somewhere in Dingyuan City, a few people in gray robes were gathered, discussing something in low voices.

“The plan failed. Luoxia City must have noticed something. What should we do?”

“What else can we do? Scatter and hide. We absolutely cannot leave a single trace. If we get caught… you know what you have to do.”

Hearing their leader’s cold words, the group’s expressions changed slightly, but they still nodded in agreement.

Just as they were preparing to conceal their presence and leave, a cold voice drifted to their ears, sending a chill down their spines.

They followed the sound and saw a figure slowly walk out from the shadows. The moment he appeared, an overwhelmingly dense Blood Evil Qi washed over them.

“Damn it, it’s Bai Zhengchun! Run!”

Before they could even move, Bai Zhengchun blurred into an afterimage and shot forward. In an instant, he had struck down and killed several of the gray-robed figures, leaving only their leader alive.

Bai Zhengchun wasted no time with words. After subduing the leader, he slammed a large hand directly onto the man’s face. An incredibly invasive power instantly bored into the man’s Sea of Consciousness.

A moment later, the gray-robed man fell to the ground, trembling and foaming at the mouth, his pupils dull and lifeless.

“The Vast Alliance again. Hmph!”

A vicious glint appeared in Bai Zhengchun’s eyes. This wasn’t the first time the Vast Alliance had caused trouble from the shadows. Countless people wanted to grind their bones to dust, but unfortunately, they were too good at hiding, and their headquarters had never been found.

He had just used the Soul-Seeking Technique, but he had only managed to retrieve fragmented information from the man’s Divine Soul, none of which pertained to the Vast Alliance’s headquarters.

Bai Zhengchun waved his hand, incinerating the gray-robed man’s corpse, then returned to the City Lord’s Mansion to report to Muu Guibai…

While a potential crisis was being silently neutralized, Song Changsheng was also actively leading his clan members in preparation for war.

Because of the missions he had posted, the Cultivators from various vassal forces eagerly responded. So far, nearly four hundred people had accepted the tasks.

The defensive force at Five Elements Peak had now reached over seven hundred people.

In addition, they had three Purple Mansion-level combat assets holding down the fort: Song Changsheng, Yuann Tianshu, and the upgraded Black Star Ship.

As for Foundation Establishment Cultivators, besides the fourteen from their own clan—such as Song Yulong, Song Yushi, Song Qingxing, Song Qingxi, Song Changxue, Song Lutong, Song Qingqing, Song Changxuan, Song Chang’an, Song Qingshi, Song Qingxia, Song Qinghong, and Song Changxiu—

there were also twelve hired Foundation Establishment Cultivators who had come to aid in the battle. The lineup could be described as quite luxurious.

With the Tier Three Middle Grade Mountain Protection Array personally set up by Song Xianming at their back, Song Changsheng was fully confident they could hold out, as long as they weren’t hit by a massive-scale Beast Tide.

“Clan Leader, the scouts have all been sent out. We will know immediately if the Demon Race on the other side of the Canglan River makes any move,” Song Qingshi said respectfully as he came before Song Changsheng.

“Excellent. The Demon Race’s vanguard is roaming the area. Tell them to be extremely careful.” Song Changsheng nodded slightly. He was a man who liked to control the battlefield, and that required the support of good intelligence.

After nearly ten days of tense waiting, Song Qingshi suddenly rushed in one morning to report, “Clan Leader, a message just came back from the forward scouts! The Demon Beasts have started crossing the river! The scale… is enormous.”

Hearing this, a glint flashed in Song Changsheng’s eyes. He rose abruptly and said, “I’ll go see for myself.”

With that, Song Changsheng transformed into a streak of light and shot toward the Canglan River.

Before he even got close, Song Changsheng could see the towering, majestic Demon Qi that soared into the sky. Based on that alone, the scale of this Beast Tide would not be small.

Arriving high above the Canglan River, Song Changsheng focused his gaze on the opposite bank and saw that it was packed with a dense, writhing mass of Demon Beasts.

The first to cross the river was a vast number of Demon Birds. They spread their wings, covering the sky as they surged forward like a dark cloud. Their objective was crystal clear: under the leadership of their commanders, they made a beeline for Dingyuan City.

The Water Demons in the Canglan River would occasionally burst from the surface to launch surprise attacks, causing Demon Birds of all kinds to fall into the river like raindrops.

But the number of Demon Birds crossing the river was immense; such losses were completely insignificant to them.

Song Changsheng narrowed his eyes. He wasn’t satisfied with this outcome, but he wasn’t surprised either. Water Demons had always been at a disadvantage against Demon Birds.

The main event was yet to come. After all, not every Demon Beast had wings. Song Changsheng was very curious to see how such a massive horde would cross this perilous river.

‘They’re not just going to swim across, are they?’

The moment the thought occurred to him, Song Changsheng couldn’t help but laugh. If they really dared to do that, probably very few of the Demon Beasts would make it to the other side.

“ROAR—”

Suddenly, an earth-shattering roar rang out. The enormous Six-winged Dragon Snake emerged, surrounded by Great Demons.

It opened its cavernous mouth and spat a pillar of pure white light at the river’s surface. Before his very eyes, the turbulent water began to freeze solid.

As Song Changsheng watched, the Six-winged Dragon Snake forcibly forged an “Ice Road” a thousand feet wide across the Canglan River.

In that instant, Song Changsheng’s expression became extremely grave. This was not the level of Mana a newly ascended Demon King should possess.

SPLASH—

Countless Water Demons surfaced, attempting to destroy the “Ice Road.”

In response, the Six-winged Dragon Snake roared, soared into the air, and released the immense pressure of its bloodline, firmly suppressing the Water Demons.

“Any who dare to obstruct my army’s crossing shall be killed without mercy!”