“The King!”
“The King is in Yulan City!”
Every low-level Primordial life form lurking within Yulan City felt a surge of fervor in their hearts.
The low-level Primordial lives were notoriously unruly. Even when ordered by their leaders, only the scarce core members would somewhat obey, while the vast majority of middle and lower-tier clans wouldn’t care much. They might go centuries without ever meeting their leaders and could perish at the hands of Cultivators at any time! Naturally, they became even more indulgent and unrestrained.
Indulgence, recklessness, and unruliness! These traits had already become traditions among the low-level Primordial lives.
The Enchanting Heart Worm clan, the Soul-devouring Snake clan, and the Void Wanderer clan were the three major species of Lurkers. Once a “King” emerged among these three species, they would possess an inconceivable power to command, even making the Kings of other species willing to heed their orders!
This was because only the “King” of the Lurker species could easily infiltrate cities and assassinate the topmost core members within, significantly reducing the difficulty of breaching the city’s defenses.
In the history of the Nine Rivers Sacred Realm, most city breaches—eight out of ten cases—were due to the emergence of a “King” among the three Lurker species.
Once a Lurker King was discovered, the Cultivators of the Nine Rivers Sacred Realm would immediately call for reinforcements! The Dark Sacred Realm would send terrifying Cultivators to hunt down the Lurker King.
Hence, the birth of a Lurker King was kept in absolute secrecy.
A King only had one chance in their life to breach a city!
Once they failed, under relentless pursuit from the cross-realm forces of the Dark Sacred Realm, survival was impossible.
“This is my only chance, my only chance to regain freedom.” The red-robed Cultivator rose to their feet, their gaze icy. To them, the entire Nine Rivers Sacred Realm was a vast cage! After enduring countless hardships, they finally attained Super Limit Level, granting them an opportunity for “freedom.”
If they could breach the city! Out of hundreds of millions of Cultivators, they only needed to massacre a fraction to accumulate enough Merit Points.
“Act now!”
The red-robed Cultivator issued the order. At that moment, all the leaders hiding across Yulan City sprang into action, while the other clans continued to lie dormant.
Whoosh!
The red-robed Cultivator emerged from their Cave Mansion, gliding through a faint mist as they flew toward Wei Yang Palace Master’s Cave Mansion.
At the same time, another 32 leaders began to head toward Wei Yang Palace Master’s Cave Mansion as well.
Under the call of the King, 32 leaders from the Enchanting Heart Worm clan and the Soul-devouring Snake clan, each with the strength of Divine Emperor Perfection, gathered here.
First, several regions across the 35 city zones of the Nine Rivers Sacred Realm had branches where Divine Emperor Perfection Level individuals hadn’t yet emerged. The strongest members in those branches were some Late Stage Divine Emperor clan members, making leader-level members even rarer.
Second, only about half of the leaders were participating in this battle; the rest abstained, so the current participants only represented about half of the elite forces of the two major clans.
“Rumble~~~~”
The gates of Yulan City slammed shut with a deafening roar.
With the gates closed, no Cultivator could enter or leave the city temporarily!
“All Cultivators, return to your respective Cave Mansions immediately, or you may temporarily stay in nearby merchant establishments,” Yuan Xiang Palace Master’s gentle voice echoed throughout the city. “In a moment, all Cultivators are forbidden to step outside. Anyone fleeing will be treated as a low-level Primordial life form in disguise.”
“This inspection will be completed within a day, and all Cultivators must cooperate during the process.”
The message resounded.
The scattered Cultivators across various locations began swiftly heading back to their Cave Mansions if they were nearby; those farther away opted to temporarily stay in merchant establishments instead.
As time passed, a massive flow of Cultivators spread across Yulan City, with their numbers outside gradually decreasing.
“Huh?”
The red-robed Cultivator, now close to Wei Yang Palace Master’s Cave Mansion, noticed that many of the other 32 leaders were still far off, arriving at varied speeds and distances.
“Deploy the first branch to attack the entire city and draw the Cultivators’ attention,” the red-robed Cultivator immediately commanded.
“Yes.”
The leader of the first branch responded and promptly initiated the assigned orders.
Suddenly, in various sectors of Yulan City, over two hundred Cultivators emerged from their Cave Mansions simultaneously. These were all avatars of Enchanting Heart Worms or Soul-devouring Snakes.
The attack plan had always designated these avatars for sacrificial missions.
However, these avatars possessed remarkable strength—some were avatars of core clan members. For Cultivators below the Divine Emperor level, it was a swift massacre at the hands of Enchanting Heart Worms and Soul-devouring Snakes, with casualties piling up at shocking speed.
“Hahaha, it’s been ages since I killed Cultivators so wantonly.”
“In just a blink of an eye, I’ve already slain over ten.”
“With the Merit Points from this massacre, my bloodline will surely evolve to unprecedented heights.”
These two hundred Lurkers raged unchecked, no longer worrying about secrecy—the more reckless, the better!
“They couldn’t resist during the city-wide investigation? Lurkers already revealing themselves?”
“Wipe them out!”
The Elders in charge of Yulan City’s numerous defensive Formations showed no leniency, decisively deploying the Arrays to strike down the rampaging Lurkers.
Rumble~~~~
Thunder and lightning rained down like an unrelenting storm! Within the blink of an eye, every Lurker wreaking havoc across the city was struck, with no room to dodge. Most of them were annihilated instantly, reduced to ashes.
Only three Lurkers managed to withstand the lightning strikes.
“These three must either be Late Stage Divine Emperor True Bodies or leader-level avatars!” One Elder responsible for the Thunder Array communicated this insight to the other Elders.
Late Stage Divine Emperor low-level Primordial lives had exceptionally tenacious Life Forces; even the strikes of a Formation controlled by an Elder couldn’t annihilate them from afar.
“They’re likely just leader-level avatars.”
“These Lurkers are cunning—they almost never send their True Bodies into cities, only avatars.”
Boom! Whoosh! Roar!
Within mere breaths, the three Lurkers who had resisted the Thunder strikes were subjected to successive attacks from multiple Formations.
Flames engulfed their bodies.
Invisible winds howled across them.
Freezing air descended upon them like death.
…
Layer upon layer of Formation attacks, each one personally directed by the Elders. Ultimately, all three Lurkers met their demise.
Meanwhile.
Not far from Wei Yang Palace Master’s Cave Mansion, the red-robed Cultivator had already rendezvoused with seven other leaders.
“Deploy the second branch to attack the city and hinder them further,” the red-robed Cultivator commanded once again.
“Yes!”
With a new order issued.
Another 192 Lurkers charged out of their Cave Mansions. By this point, very few Cultivators remained outside. These unleashed Lurkers attacked every visible Cultivator within sight, even storming merchant establishments to target attendants inside.
“More Lurkers?”
“What’s going on? How are there still so many surfacing?”
The numerous Elders controlling the Formations were taken aback.
While the emergence of the first batch of over two hundred Cultivators had been anticipated, the sudden appearance of a second wave totaling 192 seemed increasingly suspicious.
“Slaughter them first.”
“Exterminate.”
The Elders executed the Arrays, striking from afar.
The 192 Lurkers attacked with reckless abandon, knowing that even if their avatars perished, as long as they killed enough, they’d still garner sufficient Merit Points.
In just three breaths of time, all 192 Lurkers were vanquished. Of course, they also managed to kill hundreds of innocent Cultivators along the way.
“Something isn’t right.”
Yuan Xiang Palace Master had also noticed the anomaly.
Two consecutive waves of carnage led Yuan Xiang Palace Master to feel uneasy.
“All Cultivators who have yet to return to their Cave Mansions must immediately enter the nearest merchant establishment. Ten breaths of time are all that remain before inspections commence,” Yuan Xiang Palace Master’s voice resonated.
“Hurry, hurry!”
“Ten breaths is too short!”
The vast majority of Cultivators in Yulan City were below Divine Emperor level, their speed constrained by the rules of the Nine Rivers Sacred Realm. Forced to act swiftly, many rushed toward the nearest merchant establishments rather than their Cave Mansions.
…
The red-robed Cultivator near Wei Yang Palace Master’s Cave Mansion was gradually joined by 12 leaders.
“Only ten breaths of time? This operation feels too rushed.” The red-robed Cultivator frowned slightly. According to the original plan, at least twenty leader True Bodies were to act simultaneously, ensuring absolute dominance to eliminate Wei Yang Palace Master.
Then they could proceed to defeat others one by one, effortlessly breaching the city.
But now?
The gathered external forces only amounted to 30% of their intended strength!
Their movements inside the city, hampered by Yulan City’s full defensive lockdown, were also severely restricted.
“Even if rushed, we have no choice.” The red-robed Cultivator’s eyes swept toward the nearby leaders. The 12 leaders around them also fully understood the urgency of the situation.
“Enter the Cave Mansion,” the red-robed Cultivator transmitted the order.
The 13 moved in unison.
“Boom—”
A terrifying burst ripped apart the front gates of Wei Yang Palace Master’s Cave Mansion.
Inside the Cave Mansion, Wei Yang Palace Master sat meditating expressionlessly, controlling the Formations enveloping the entire city and coordinating with other Elders to combat the Lurkers.
“Hmm?” Wei Yang Palace Master instantly stood, looking toward the disturbance.
Twelve ominous presences descended upon them.
Each presence filled Wei Yang Palace Master with dread.
“Twelve leaders, and all True Bodies!” Wei Yang Palace Master could not believe their eyes.
The leaders of the Enchanting Heart Worm and Soul-devouring Snake clans were notoriously difficult to deal with, targeting their enemies’ very souls!
Outside the city, Wei Yang Palace Master had confidence in defeating a leader in a one-on-one combat. But against three at once? Confidence dwindled considerably.
“Now, inside the city, I have the aid of the citywide Formations. Even if all 12 True Body leaders attack simultaneously, there’s still a trace of survival.” Wei Yang Palace Master’s heart wavered with unease. “But why would they risk sending all their True Bodies this time instead of relying on avatars?”
Something wasn’t adding up!
Wei Yang Palace Master quickly sought aid from Yuan Xiang Palace Master, Master Gai Tao, and other Elders!
“Wei Yang Palace Master, meet your end!”
As the chaotic waves closed in, one presence near Wei Yang Palace Master exploded with unparalleled ferocity.
A red-robed Cultivator materialized as if emerging from the void, invading Wei Yang Palace Master’s very soul. Twisting grotesquely, the red-robed figure transformed into a gigantic worm that devoured Wei Yang Palace Master’s Spiritual Power in a single gulp.
“Super Limit Level!” Wei Yang Palace Master was both shocked and enraged. Never had they heard of a Super Limit Level entity arising among the Enchanting Heart Worm and Soul-devouring Snake clans within the Nine Rivers Sacred Realm.
Because if such an existence were revealed, the realm would have immediately summoned reinforcements from the Dark Sacred Realm.
“Kill!”
“There’s no turning back for us!”
“This is our one and only chance at freedom!”
Boom boom boom boom boom boom boom boom!!!!!!
All twelve True Body leaders, driven to madness, plunged into Wei Yang Palace Master’s body, joining their King in the ferocious assault.