"Since that's the case, there's no need to send any more men. Two waves have already failed to complete the mission — it seems there truly is a formidable power guarding the second formation eye. It's not something we can seize." A demon shrouded in green qi spoke with furrowed brows.
"That's my thought as well. Although the final formation eye cannot be destroyed — meaning the Wood Realm's grand formation remains intact — once the majority of the formation eyes are gone, the overall power of the grand array will be greatly weakened. That should allow many of our higher-ranking clansmen to survive within the formation. As long as our elite forces are preserved, the loss of every last low-ranking soldier wouldn't matter in the slightest. Given our strength, replenishing low-ranking troops is a trivial matter. Besides, the fundamental purpose of deploying this massive army was always to cover Lord Swallowing Heaven's operation. As long as Lord Swallowing Heaven succeeds, our Holy Race will have truly established a foothold in the Spirit Realm." The young demon nodded in agreement.
"But we cannot ignore the terrifying power guarding the second formation eye! As a precaution, why don't we set up the Dazzling Demon Flame Grand Formation centered on this old site? With a super-grand formation for defense, even if a True Immortal-stage being wanted to attack us, we could at least put up some resistance. In the meantime, we should consolidate as many elite forces as possible into the grand formation — not seeking to wound the enemy, but simply to protect ourselves. That way, our odds of holding out until the moment of Lord Swallowing Heaven's great victory will be considerably better." A dark-skinned demon giant spoke, eyes flickering shrewdly.
"A fine idea. After the formation eye here was destroyed, this spot actually became the weakest point in the Wood Realm's grand array's restrictions. Setting up a super-grand formation to counter it is entirely feasible. Very well — leave this matter to me. Before I set out on this campaign, I happened to bring along a full stockpile of formation-laying materials." The demon within the green qi brightened.
"With Grandmaster Jin personally overseeing the work, the formation will naturally be flawless. Everyone else — depart immediately and gather our clansmen here from every direction." The young demon was delighted and made the final decision.
The remaining demons offered no objections and readily agreed.
And so the remaining demons immediately set off into action.
Below, the demon army — upon a single command from the demon in green qi — began busying itself around the nearby mountain range.
Within half a day, a colossal formation spanning over a hundred li had already taken vague shape.
During this period, wave after wave of elite demon warriors converged on the location from every direction, and before long their numbers exceeded a million.
Just then, the Wood Realm's grand formation had finally accumulated sufficient energy. With a deafening roar across the entire sky, the second wave of restrictive attacks erupted simultaneously from every part of the grand array!
The demons in other locations suffered catastrophic losses under the frenzied second wave of restrictions — but only the demons at the site of the original first formation eye, sheltered beneath their newly constructed demon grand formation, sustained minimal casualties.
Their confidence surged!
Naturally, under the assault of the Wood Realm's grand formation, the demons dared not launch any sort of counterattack. They simply kept frantically reinforcing their own grand formation.
And so it went — roughly every one or two days, the Wood Realm's grand formation gathered enough energy to unleash another massacre upon the demon forces at various locations.
As the demon numbers dwindled rapidly across all fronts, the grand formation's power increasingly concentrated toward the demons at the original first formation eye. After several more rounds of restrictions bombarded them, even with their own grand formation to rely upon, the low-ranking demons here began to dwindle in great numbers.
Half a month later, the demon army within their grand formation — originally numbering well over a million — was reduced to a mere eighty or ninety thousand.
But those who had survived half a month of frenzied bombardment were exclusively high-ranking demons, every single one of them at least at the Deity Transformation stage or above.
Moreover, the high-ranking demons gathered here accounted for well over half of all surviving demons within the entire Wood Realm grand formation.
……
Within one of the colossal peaks of the Wood Realm grand formation, upon a hastily erected platform, the Wood Clan's acting Grand Elder stared with an anxious expression at a curtain of light projected by a formation array ahead.
Within the curtain of light, countless points of light flickered and shifted rapidly among dense clusters of multicolored runic symbols.
The curtain of light hummed incessantly one moment, then flashed wildly and expanded and contracted the next.
Eight elderly Wood Clan members sat cross-legged around the formation array beneath the curtain of light. Every one of them had white hair and haggard, withered faces — yet all kept their eyes tightly shut, their ten fingers weaving seals as rapidly as spinning wheels.
These were none other than the Wood Clan's famed Eight Spirit Diviners.
Suddenly, the curtain of light emitted a muffled boom, then dimmed and shattered inch by inch!
The eight elders groaned in unison and simultaneously spat out several mouthfuls of vital blood. Dark blood then streamed ceaselessly from their seven orifices, and the spiritual energy in their bodies vanished in an instant — not a trace of life remained.
These eight Wood Clan elders, struck by the backlash of the power of Heavenly Revelation, had their lifespan instantly exhausted — dying on the spot.
The Wood Clan's acting Grand Elder, who had been anxiously awaiting the result, turned deathly pale. A flash of sorrow crossed his face, but he immediately waved toward the base of the platform.
A dozen Wood Clan guards promptly ascended the platform and carefully carried the remains of the Eight Spirit Diviners down below.