"With the original Restriction Breaking Pearls, they would indeed be ineffective against high-grade restrictions. But Brother Long, you should know — those Restriction Breaking Pearls that circulated outside were never fully refined; they were all merely half-finished products. The true Restriction Breaking Pearls require several exceptionally rare materials and are difficult to refine, but they possess considerable miraculous effectiveness against high-grade restrictions. Of course, their applications are limited, which is why our sect never made a point of producing many. However, for the sake of the fellow Daoists participating in the wagered battle, our sect has managed to gather ten of them. As long as they carry these pearls and activate them the instant the situation turns dire, they can shatter the restrictions and escape. This way, there will be no worries at all." Lord Zhiyang spoke with easy confidence.
"So that's why Daoist Zhiyang showed no concern about tomorrow's wagered battle despite knowing the risks — it turns out you had this backup plan all along. With the Restriction Breaking Pearls, even if the other side pulls any tricks, there's nothing to fear. However, to be on the safe side, our Tian Sha Sect of the Demonic Path possesses a secret pill called the 'Fury Return Pill.' Taking it can stimulate one's true essence, immediately restoring the majority of one's depleted Magical Power and even temporarily boosting one's cultivation level. Of course, after the pill's effects wear off, it will inevitably damage one's vital essence to some degree. We can have each of these fellow Daoists carry one as well. If the situation becomes truly critical, they can take it as a surprise trump card." Old Devil Hehuan added after glancing at Lord Zhiyang.
"Excellent. With these two contingencies in place, Brother Long can rest easy about the wagered battle." Long Han chuckled. But then he shifted the topic and continued: "Now we need to consider how to deal with those black-robed individuals. These people cultivate Demonic Path techniques, so the Righteous Path Alliance should select a group of fellow Daoists to handle them. After all, among the Taizhen Sect and several others, there are quite a few techniques specifically designed to counter Demonic cultivation. They should be equally effective against these demonic cultivators."
As Long Han spoke, he glanced at Lord Zhiyang to see how he would respond.
"No problem. Leave those demonic cultivators to our Righteous Path Alliance. But the upper-grade Spell Warriors among them will mostly have to be handled by your side." Lord Zhiyang agreed readily without the slightest hesitation.
"Of course! The Spell Warriors will be handled by our three major powers. As for the specifics..."
Upon seeing Lord Zhiyang agree without any resistance to deal with the demonic cultivators from the Jin Kingdom, the others were greatly satisfied. The group continued deliberating in the hall until sunset before finally dispersing in peace.
Each of them returned to make their own preparations according to the agreed-upon plan.
...
The day of the decisive battle arrived in the blink of an eye.
Early that morning, the patrolling cultivators spotted movement from the Spell Warrior encampment across the border. First, flashes of rosy light flickered in the distance, then earth-shaking war drums thundered. Rank after rank of Spell Warriors flew out of the camp in orderly fashion, riding their magical artifacts toward the center of the border.
Upon seeing this, the cultivators who had been standing by promptly sent back message talismans.
Almost immediately, a long, resonant bell toll sounded from the Tiannan encampment. Then all the cultivators who had been resting and conserving their energy for so long poured out of the camp, transforming into countless streaks of brilliant light that shot into the sky, flooding toward the same destination.
In an instant, spiritual lights of every color blanketed the sky. The clear ringing of weapons and long, piercing cries rose and fell one after another. Compared to the ferocious Spell Warrior army advancing from the opposite direction, the two forces resembled two colossal tidal waves hurtling toward each other — but when they were roughly ten miles apart, both sides suddenly ground to a halt.
Whether Spell Warriors or cultivators, the moment they could faintly make out the opposing forces, they simultaneously stopped their flying techniques and stared at each other from afar with undisguised hostility.
One side had no retreat — fighting with their backs to the water was the only way to carve out a path of survival for their entire race. The other had long inhabited their homeland and would not tolerate foreign invaders; their morale was equally blazing.
Before either side had struck a blow, a terrifying killing intent already surged and filled the space between the two armies.
At this moment, Han Li hovered above a formation of over a thousand cultivators, his cold gaze fixed on the Spell Warrior army in the distance.
One look revealed that across the way, patches of rosy light stretched across the horizon, each cluster containing several hundred Spell Warriors gathered together. These clusters of light extended for over ten miles.
Clearly, both sides had deployed their main forces. Though the exact numbers were impossible to estimate, at least sixty to seventy thousand cultivators had gathered at this place.
Furthermore, high-level cultivators — who were seldom seen under normal circumstances — were now everywhere one looked.
However, despite the roughly comparable numbers, the differences between the two sides were still apparent.
On the Spell Warrior side, though their attire varied, the low-rank Spell Warriors all carried the same handful of simple artifacts. Either hazy, glowing round discs, or fist-sized orbs, but most common of all were magical banners of various colors. Sword-type or blade-type artifacts were exceedingly rare.
On the cultivator side, the low-rank cultivators wielded magical artifacts of every conceivable variety, though blade-type pieces predominated. These artifacts glowed and shimmered brilliantly, brimming with spiritual energy — in terms of sheer quality, they were clearly far superior to those of the Spell Warriors.
Though the Spell Warriors were far inferior to the Tiannan cultivators in terms of magical artifacts, their formations were orderly and well-organized. Even while flying through the air, they maintained mysterious, intricate formations, each one silent, their hostile gazes locked forward.
The cultivator side, by contrast, was obviously inadequately trained. Though they barely managed to hold their formations together, everything was chaotic and disorganized. Not only were there constant whispers and murmurs, but people continuously broke from the ranks to wander off as they pleased.
The high-level cultivators had to fly down repeatedly to shout them back into line.
Han Li furrowed his brow slightly upon seeing this.
It was hardly surprising! In just a few months, how could they possibly have trained so many unruly cultivators into proper shape?
Just getting them to line up in formation had already given the high-level cultivators an enormous headache.
The Spell Warrior army across the way was a different story. Though they too were a coalition of numerous Molan tribes, they frequently waged war against the Turkic peoples. Assembling allied forces from various tribes was a routine matter for them, and after only a brief period of coordination, they became well-trained and disciplined.
The cultivator leaders were well aware of all this, but there was nothing they could do. Fortunately, they were cultivators, not a mundane mortal army — the outcome of the battle would not hinge on such things — so they turned a blind eye.
As Han Li mused on this, he studied the Spell Warrior army once more.
The most eye-catching feature on the opposite side was not the Molan Spell Warriors themselves, but rather the dozen or so colossal barbarian beasts interspersed among the Spell Warrior ranks. Their bodies were like small mountains, truly impossible to overlook.