Chương 134: Two Hours

"What?!" Staring at the Dark Winged Tiger that stood towering in the void, Fang Xinjin and Zhou Yuezi's eyes went wide with disbelief.

"The Black Tiger Cliff has already gotten involved, have they lost their minds entirely?" Fang Xinjin's face had turned ashen. In his heart, he prayed desperately that his family's reinforcements would arrive in time. The Black Tiger Cliff was one of the most fearsome spirit beast powers in the entire Purple Dusk Mountain Range, a faction that commanded Golden Core beasts of its own!

Their most revered bloodline was the Dark Winged Tiger clan, and their territory stretched across the borders of the entire Bing Province. They boasted several Golden Core spirit beasts among their ranks! And the Raging Blood Lion clan? They were nothing more than a subordinate faction beneath the Black Tiger Cliff's shadow. For the Heavenly Crane Sect and the Zheng Clan, the Black Tiger Cliff had always been their greatest enemy. But this wasn't the century-spanning great beast tide.

That wasn't due for decades yet. So why were the Black Tiger Cliff's beasts meddling in a minor conflict between the Raging Blood Lions and the humans of Qingtai? Were they truly willing to risk plunging the entire Bing Province into all-out war? No one answered Fang Xinjin's question. Boom! The Seventh level Tier 3 Dark Winged Tiger made its move, and the very air seemed to shatter beneath its oppressive aura.

With a single beat of its wings, it blurred into motion, streaking across the sky like a phantom, hurtling straight toward the Nine-Star Black Glass Array. Clang! A demonic blade materialized above the Dark Winged Tiger's head. The blade was jet-black, its form savage and cruel, easily over ten feet in length, with a silver line running like a vein of starlight along its spine. That silver line pulsed with faint celestial force, while the blade itself was wreathed in thick, writhing demonic energy.

"A Tier 3 upper grade spirit artifact, the Star Demon Blade!" Fang Xinjin's voice cracked as he shouted the name. That spirit artifact was infamous across the region. Beneath its edge, no fewer than eight Tier 3 spirit beasts had fallen. Its killing power was legendary. It had once belonged to a late-stage Purple Mansion Realm cultivator of the Zheng Clan, one of Bing Province's Golden Core powers.

But during the beast tide two hundred years ago, that cultivator had been ambushed by a Black Tiger Cliff spirit beast and perished on the battlefield. The Star Demon Blade had become spoils of war. And now, it had found its way into the hands of a spirit beast that could truly wield it. Once a spirit beast reached the Purple Mansion realm, it could speak human language. Its intelligence rivaled that of a human cultivator.

And with that intelligence came the ability to wield spirit artifacts, turning a monster into a nightmare.

"Good eyes! But today, the Star Demon Blade will taste the blood of three more Purple Mansion cultivators! Hahaha!" The Dark Winged Tiger's laughter boomed like thunder across the sky. Its spiritual power surged in a torrent, flooding into the Star Demon Blade. Clang! A colossal black blade aura, over ten meters high, materialized in an instant, its edge dripping with killing intent. Stolen novel; please report. Boom! The strike landed with cataclysmic force, warping the very air around it.

In the blink of an eye, it crashed down upon the Nine-Star Black Glass Array. The array's barrier flickered violently, its glow dimming to a fraction of its former brilliance. The energy reserves stored within the formation plummeted at a terrifying speed. A late-stage Tier 3 cultivator wielding a Tier 3 upper grade spirit artifact was a force of nature, and this beast wielded it with savage precision.

"Everyone, fall back into the array! Now!" Fang Xinjin had no choice but to rely on the formation's protection. If they remained outside, caught between two late-stage Tier 3 enemies, they would all die. At the Purple Mansion Realm cultivator's command, the already fragile defensive line collapsed into chaos. Cultivators scrambled for the safety of the array, their discipline shattering like glass.

The spirit beast side had just gained another late-stage Tier 3 powerhouse, and that single fact drove most of the human cultivators to the brink of despair. Huaijin moved like a striking viper. His blood qi exploded outward, blasting three Tier 2 spirit beasts aside with a single surge of power. He retreated swiftly, herding his Zhang Clan members through the array's entrance. The Nine-Star Black Glass Array was already damaged. The cultivators stationed at its anchor points could no longer hold anything back.

Every reserve of spirit stones within Blood Lion Mountain was fed into the formation. Even the mountain's spirit vein began spewing spiritual energy at full force. Because now, only the Nine-Star Black Glass Array stood between them and annihilation. Rumble! The array roared to full power. The Black Glass Mirror materialized in Fang Xinjin's hands. They couldn't let the Dark Winged Tiger keep hammering the formation unchecked. At this rate, the Nine-Star Black Glass Array would shatter within hours.

"Fellow Daoist Zhou, how far out are the reinforcements? Use the talisman again. Tell them to hurry!" As he spoke, Fang Xinjin poured every ounce of his remaining power into the Black Glass Mirror, unleashing a massive energy beam that locked onto the Dark Winged Tiger. Zhou Yuezi ignited a Tier 2 upper grade message talisman, his fingers trembling as he sent the desperate plea. The Dark Winged Tiger's eyes gleamed with savage delight.

It met the Black Glass Mirror's attack head-on, driving the Star Demon Blade forward to clash with the beam of light.

"Now that their formation is crumbling, attack! Kill every last one of them!" The Dark Winged Tiger's voice rang out like a death knell across the battlefield. The spirit beasts' morale surged. They pressed forward with renewed frenzy. Huaijin held his ground at the array's edge, defending the entrance. His Zhang Clan members had already made it inside.

"Huaijin, get in here! Now!" Liwei's voice was sharp with fear as he watched his kinsman still fighting outside the barrier. The other Zhang Clan members echoed the cry.

"Uncle, help the stationed cultivators stabilize the array. I know what I'm doing!" Huaijin didn't slow. He struck down spirit beasts as they came, buying precious seconds for the other retreating cultivators. Liwei didn't argue. He turned and poured his spiritual power into the array, reinforcing the Nine-Star Black Glass Array with everything he had. If that barrier fell, it would mean annihilation for the tens of thousands of cultivators trapped atop Blood Lion Mountain.

The cultivators who had made it inside rallied as one. They didn't even pause to bandage their wounds, they simply channeled their spiritual energy into the formation, feeding it with their very vitality. A quarter of an hour passed. The Dark Winged Tiger had clashed with the Black Glass Mirror seven or eight times by now. Even its reserves were running low.

"Your turn. I need to recover." The Dark Winged Tiger tossed the Star Demon Blade to the Raging Blood Lion and withdrew into the void, its chest heaving as it began restoring its spiritual power. The Raging Blood Lion caught the blade, its eyes gleaming with bloodthirsty delight.... Before they knew it, another full day had passed. The Nine-Star Black Glass Array was crumbling. After hours of relentless bombardment, some of its anchor points had shattered entirely.

The barrier's light had grown sickly and dim, flickering like a dying candle. Some Qi Refining cultivators, unable to withstand the violent backlash through the formation, felt their meridians rupture under the strain. They collapsed in silence, their lives extinguished. The casualties were devastating. Blood Lion Mountain had become a river of blood. Corpses piled into mountains. Nearly five thousand Qi Refining cultivators had already perished, and that didn't even count the heavy losses from the earlier battles.

This time, the spirit beasts were playing for keeps. Reinforced by the Black Tiger Cliff, they were determined to tear Blood Lion Mountain from human hands once and for all. It had been less than a week since the beast tide erupted, and already Blood Lion Mountain was hanging by a thread. Even the Black Glass Mirror bore a visible crack now, a hairline fracture running across its surface like a wound. Fang Xinjin's face was as pale as death.

The spiritual power within his body was utterly spent, drained to the dregs.

"Fellow Daoist Zhou... how much longer?" His voice came out hoarse, barely above a whisper.

"Two hours." Zhou Yuezi's voice carried the same bitter exhaustion. If Fang Xinjin was drained, Zhou Yuezi was no better. As for Fang Tianyou, he was barely conscious, swaying on his feet like a man about to collapse. Crack! The torrent of energy attacks continued unabated, blazing, boiling, shattering the sky! Then, without warning, the Nine-Star Black Glass Array shuddered violently. A jagged black fissure, ugly and deep, split across its now-dim light barrier.

The surviving cultivators on Blood Lion Mountain turned white as ghosts.