Chapter 2305: Fake, fake, all fake

Who's afraid of a war of attrition? It's backed by the power of Cangyan!

"These several colossal spirits are indeed powerful, but can they be stronger than the collective power of Cangyan's multitudes?" The mirror boasted, "Get on your knees obediently; grandpa here will teach you how to be gods!"

Liu Qingdao: "..."

He was working with the Emperor's protective mirror for the first time. Was it always this lively?

The Emperor must truly suffer on a daily basis.

As if hearing the mirror's words, the stoutest colossal spirit suddenly let out a long howl and knelt down simultaneously with its companions.

"...They really knelt?" The Soul-Seizing Mirror was stunned.

However, the seven great colossal spirits alternated their hands, striking the ground with one heavy punch after another, moving so fast they left afterimages.

Again and again, relentlessly, they were like seven human pile drivers, without a moment's pause.

What was most terrifying was that their attacks were perfectly coordinated, highly efficient, and at a consistent speed.

They dropped their fists together, lifted them together, charged power together, and launched a new round of attacks together.

This attack rhythm was more than ten times faster than before.

These seven massive figures were originally one entity, perfectly united in mind and will, their fist drops synchronized flawlessly.

The cracks in the ground expanded wider and wider. Even with the red light from beneath the earth striving to mend them, the cracks expanded faster than they could heal for the first time.

Yuan Xilin also gritted his teeth: "Faster, faster!"

Supporting such a furious assault by the colossal spirits required an enormous expenditure of energy.

But Qixia Sect's Mystic Crystals were, after all, limited. If they couldn't break through within thirty breaths, their reserves would run out!

If this were in ancient times, with an abundant supply of spiritual energy and Mystic Crystals, the colossal spirits' power could be amplified even further.

Damn it! If Qixia Sect could control one or two Mystic Crystal veins, then Wei'an City and Bingyuan Division wouldn't even warrant a glance from him!

In the southern part of the city within the mirror, Elder Chu also realized he had been tricked.

The dozen or so fire apes he released rampaged through the streets and residential buildings, leaving explosions and soaring flames in their wake. Civilians who weren't killed by the blasts rushed out of buildings, men, women, and children crying and fleeing in all directions.

Elder Chu saw several fire apes suddenly burst through a wall nearby, rolling over a family of seven or eight people, crushing them like ants.

Buildings were burned down one after another, and lives were reaped in clusters. Within dozens of breaths, the entire southern city became a chaotic mess, like a living hell.

Fear, helplessness, confusion. Elder Chu snorted; this was the grand spectacle he desired!

Wei'an City and Cangyan must be made aware of the consequences of offending Qixia Sect.

But his disciple quickly pointed to the ground ahead and said, "Grandmaster, those dead people aren't right!"

Not right? Elder Chu looked closely. The civilians previously crushed by the fire apes had melted onto the ground, turning into charred black lumps. Coincidentally, a gust of wind blew by, sweeping them up.

Indeed, something was off.

Given the high temperature of these fire apes, mortals colliding with them would turn into charcoal in a few breaths. Elder Chu hadn't paid much attention before. But this kind of carbonized black usually integrated with the ground; how could it drift so freely with the wind?

A clump of black ash flew over. Elder Chu grabbed it, rubbed it in his hand, and it crumbled.

"Paper?"

He had a bad feeling. Just then, two people ran out of a burning house nearby. Elder Chu waved his hand, and they were pulled over through the air.

The two exclaimed in alarm: "Ah, what are you doing!"

Elder Chu ignored them, lifting them like puppets and thoroughly examining them up and down.

Upon closer inspection, everyone noticed something was off. From a distance, these two Wei'an City civilians looked normal enough, but up close, their skin was pale, their eyes and expressions dull. Their clothes also had a strange texture, not like fabric, but more like...

"Paper?"

Elder Chu's disciples found a slip of paper sticking out from the back of both their heads, so they pulled it forcefully.

The paper slip was pulled out.

"Grandmaster, it's a talisman!" Yellow paper with red incantations, blood-red.

What living person would have a talisman pasted to the back of their head?

The talismans were removed, and the two civilians instantly transformed into two paper figures, their bodies rapidly flattening.

Elder Chu flicked them away with a forceful swing, and they drifted lightly into the distance.

"Good heavens, this entire southern city is made of paper figures!" he squeezed out through gritted teeth, then quickly sent a private message to Yuan Xilin.

They had fallen into a trap. What kind of cursed place was this?

"Head to the Red Tower and regroup!" he ordered his disciples. "Sect Leader Yuan is facing the enemy; we'll go assist him."

He now understood: the enemy wanted to divide and conquer them. On Cangyan's territory, the enemy surely had a numerical advantage.

At this moment, several streaks of golden light flashed across the sky, causing all the sect members to cheer involuntarily:

"The colossal spirits have appeared!"

"What are you cheering for!" Elder Chu's face was ashen. "Releasing the colossal spirits so early can't be good news!"

The colossal spirits were Qixia Sect's ultimate trump card. The fact that Sect Leader Yuan released them as soon as he engaged Bingyuan Division indicated that the battle had started at an extreme disadvantage for their side.

Yuan Xilin's private message also reached his ears:

"This entire Wei'an City is fake. Quickly regroup with me; we'll break our way out!"

This entire city was... fake? Elder Chu frowned, feeling the violent tremors of the ground—the colossal spirits were beginning to unleash their power. Knowing the sect's techniques well, Elder Chu immediately guessed that the Sect Leader intended to shatter this world directly.

That made sense; they had fallen into the enemy's trap and already lost the initiative. Cangyan had the home advantage here, so Qixia Sect had best not contend with them here. It was better to break out first!

Just then, a startled gasp suddenly came from behind. Elder Chu recognized the voice as Elder Xu's grand-disciple.

He turned around to see one sect member lying on the ground, bleeding profusely, while another was bitten on the lower back by a monster that had burst out of a house, and was being violently dragged backward.

The monster was over ten feet long, resembling both a crocodile and a lizard, with a slender body and dark red scales.

The buildings and living people here were all made of paper, yet the monsters were real. How absurd.

"You beast, how dare you!" Elder Chu roared in anger. His Vajra Pestle flew from his hand, automatically striking towards its snout.

The monster, recognizing the danger, immediately released its grip.

The Vajra Pestle spun back to pursue it, but the monster had already snatched up the Qixia Sect disciple from the ground, twisted him twice in its mouth, and swallowed him whole. Only then did it dive into the ground with a smooth motion, as if a fish slipping into water.

The precious pestle, having missed, flew back. Elder Chu snatched it, gripping it in his hand, and commanded, "Go!"

The injured disciple was supported by his companions. After only a few paces, he urgently said, "Grandmaster, Junior Brother Lü has been poisoned."

Elder Chu turned to look. The injured sect member's face was covered in a layer of black qi, his lips were blood-red, and the foam he spat out was pale yellow. He gasped for air, and everyone could see the veins on his neck bulging and turning crimson.

"That lizard's teeth carry fire poison!" Elder Chu, experienced as he was, knew immediately what was happening. "Get three Ice-Azure Pills; apply them externally and administer them internally!"

"Ice-Azure..." The disciple paused in surprise but immediately complied.

Thanks to 2TNT for the generous reward.

Thanks to user 100817055743008 for the generous reward.

Adding a portion of cold beef salad for lunch!

Novel related.

This is one for your most valued collection.