Chapter 265 All Forces Gather
Mount Emei, once a renowned Buddhist mountain with flourishing incense offerings, has now become a giant powder keg that could explode at any moment.
The vast sword energy that soared into the sky from the abyss was like a lighthouse in the night, attracting all the covetous eyes within a radius of thousands of kilometers.
Thick, radioactive clouds in the distance were brutally torn apart by the roar of high-powered engines. Dozens of heavy military transport planes and armed helicopters belonging to the Kyoto Alliance roared in in combat formation. The cabin doors swung open, and groups of orthodox cultivators wearing nano-defense robes and riding standard alloy flying swords descended from the sky, hovering steadily on the outskirts of the Emei Mountains.
They were elite cultivators assembled by the Green Zone's officials and powerful clans with massive resources, each radiating pure spiritual energy. The high-level cultivators leading the group stood in the void, their eyes fixed on the soaring sword energy, eager to seize the opportunity below.
And on the wasteland plains beneath their feet, swirling yellow sand also rose into the sky.
It was a steel torrent formed by hundreds of heavily modified off-road vehicles, tracked armored vehicles, and bio-engineered motorcycles. The lone hunters from the Yellow Zone had arrived.
On the roof of the armored vehicle, stained with dried blood, Old Ding ripped off his tattered cloak, revealing his thick left arm covered in dark red mutated scales. He drew his high-frequency vibration blade, its tip not pointing at the lofty "gentlemen" of the Green Zone in the sky, but rather fixed on the dark, dense forest on the other side of Mount Emei.
"Everyone hold your positions and set up heavy firepower."
Old Ding's voice carried across the wilderness through the car's loudspeaker:
"Listen up, all of you, no one is to lay a hand on our own people today. We're here to seize opportunities and find treasures, not to fight our own kind. Those in the sky will use flying swords, and those on the ground will use exoskeletons. Everyone should rely on their own abilities to get in. But if anyone dares to stab their own people in the back, I'll be the first to chop them down."
In mid-air, the high-ranking cultivator from the Green Zone who was leading the group merely snorted coldly upon hearing this, without saying anything more. He raised his hand to signal, and the orthodox cultivators, who had been somewhat wary, adjusted their formation, turning more attention to the dark, dense forest on the other side of Mount Emei. Soon, the flying sword cultivators in the sky and the independent hunters on the ground formed a three-dimensional defensive line that was intertwined and coordinated.
The two supernatural systems, old and new, usually look down on each other and have completely different ways of doing things. However, when faced with such a major issue, humanity still showed an amazing unity against external forces.
Because their real enemy has arrived.
A dull, deafening roar echoed from the deep valleys of Mount Emei, as if a giant hammer were relentlessly pounding the earth. Tens of thousands of towering ancient trees were snapped in half, and an endless torrent of dark red metal surged forth from the depths of the Ten Thousand Mountains.
That's a demon race.
Leading the way were tens of thousands of armored demon guards, their bodies covered in black scales and as large as heavy tanks. They had devoured human alloy armor, undergoing a terrifying mutation, leaving deep trenches in the ground with every step they took.
In the very center of the demon guard legion, a third-tier long-armed ape king, over thirty meters tall and engulfed in eerie green demonic flames, sat on a massive throne constructed from giant wood and white bones.
Its dark golden eyes, filled with cruelty and wisdom, coldly swept over the flying swords in the sky and the armored vehicles on the ground.
"Since it is an ancient relic, my demon race should naturally have a share." The Ape King opened his mouth full of fangs and roared in a broken but clear human language that shook the mountains. "According to the murals, my demon ancestors also shed blood in the holy war against the extraterrestrial demons. The things in this Shushan Sword Tomb belong to the capable."
Humans and demons were mortal enemies on the defensive line. Now, on the outskirts of the Golden Summit of Mount Emei, these two terrifying forces, capable of tearing apart the Emei defense line and turning the surrounding mountains into ruins, suddenly clashed. But strangely, neither side dared to fire the first shot.
Because everyone was kept outside a vortex of death.
Although the ground at the Golden Summit of Mount Emei collapsed, it did not form a massive sinkhole large enough to accommodate everyone rushing in at the same time. The ancient sword intent that erupted from three thousand meters underground spontaneously formed a huge vortex of sword energy, no more than a hundred meters in diameter, above the crater-like fissure on the ground.
The vortex slowly rotated, with countless tiny and sharp invisible sword energies frantically churning within it, emitting a teeth-grinding shriek.
A few minutes ago, a second-tier armored wolf tried to force its way through the vortex using its hard metal shell. But as soon as it made contact, before it could even let out a scream, the entire wolf, along with its scales that even armor-piercing bullets couldn't penetrate, was instantly shredded into the finest blood mist and iron powder.
The entire place fell silent after that.
The entrance was too narrow, and the vortex churned with ancient sword energy accumulated over countless years. Let alone flesh and blood, even iron armor and talismanic armor thrown in would likely not last a single breath.
In the sky, the commander sat in the command helicopter, staring intently at the slowly decreasing energy threshold on the detection instruments, and broadcast the news to the entire human defense line.
"Everyone stay put. The vortex is releasing energy, and in twenty minutes at most, the density of the sword energy will drop to a point where the body can withstand it."
It's not just Emei. At this very moment, in front of the yellow sandstorms of the Taklamakan Desert, and outside the underwater whirlpools of the East China Sea, the same standoff and waiting are unfolding simultaneously.
In fact, deep in the remote mountains and forests, the tremors of the earth had created numerous tiny spatial fissures and ancient caves. However, the commotion in those places was far less dramatic than that of these three great relics; only a very few extremely lucky wandering hunters or lone monsters managed to slip inside silently. These were the scattered sparks of light that Gu Qing had scattered throughout the world, and it wasn't their turn to shine yet.
All eyes were now fixed on the slowly slowing vortex of sword energy.
The air was thick with the smell of gunpowder; even the slightest breeze seemed capable of igniting this unprecedented free-for-all.
Time ticked by in a suffocating atmosphere of oppression.
The sharp sword light on the surface of the vortex began to dim at a visible speed, and the originally impenetrable sword net finally tore open a crack.
When that resistance, powerful enough to crush everything, weakened to a critical value, a crisp sound, like ice shattering, exploded in the minds of all living beings.
The invisible threshold that had been blocking everyone's way finally lowered a bit.
"Charge in! Seize the ancient legacy!"
Suddenly, someone in the crowd let out a hysterical roar.
The brief standoff crumbled instantly. The entrance was extremely narrow, meaning whoever squeezed in first would gain the upper hand.
In the sky, orthodox cultivators, riding flying swords, transformed into hundreds of streaks of light, attempting to plunge directly into the center of the vortex from high above. At the foot of the mountain, Old Ding took the lead, his bio-engineered spiritual root erupting with a dazzling red light, leading his elite armored squad like a sharp dagger piercing the crevice.
In the midst of the demon army, the Ape King let out a savage roar, and thousands of the strongest, armored demon guards, like a black mudslide, fearlessly rushed towards the entrance.
There was no probing, nor any retreat.
Before that narrow, almost cruel entrance, the human's vibrating blades and flying swords clashed violently with the demon's claws and fangs in the very first instant. Blood, shattered armor, and broken bones splattered simultaneously, like a sudden, crimson downpour, sprinkling the walls of Mount Emei.
This bloody struggle revolving around the ancient destiny of immortals has finally erupted completely.