Ningyan Sacred Lord's heart skipped a beat, her brow furrowing slightly. "What? A fight? Has the rebel army launched an attack?"
Yuling Saintess's delicate face also clouded with worry. Had the rebel army finally struck? Could the base hold?
It wasn't fear she felt — it was concern. She was worried her master would force her to leave. She had been raised by her master since childhood and had never once considered leaving her side, let alone facing a separation that might become permanent.
Deep down, she had long been prepared to fight for the Holy Land to the bitter end, but she had never steeled herself for that particular possibility.
Ningyan Sacred Lord, however, paid no attention to Yuling Saintess's mood. She waved her hand. "Come. Let's go take a look."
By now, the scout had caught his breath and hurriedly shook his head and waved his hands. "No, no! Sacred Lord, please let me explain. It's not the rebel army that attacked — someone else attacked the rebel army!"
"Is that so? Could the reinforcements really have arrived?" Yuling Saintess's beautiful eyes lit up. "Master, our reinforcements are here!"
Ningyan Sacred Lord, ever cautious and measured, replied, "Don't celebrate too early. It could be nothing more than a trick orchestrated by Ancestor Jinzhong himself, trying to lure us out. We should hold steady and wait to see what happens."
Even so, Ningyan Sacred Lord led Yuling Saintess toward the outer edge of the formation. Clearly, she wanted to see for herself whether the reinforcements had truly arrived.
If they had, it would undoubtedly be cause for immense joy.
Standing at the edge of the formation, they gazed out beyond the deep valley.
The forces outside had surrounded the valley in an impenetrable mass. Rebel troops from every direction occupied every passageway, sealing off virtually every exit from the base.
Seeing such a dense encirclement, Ningyan Sacred Lord felt a knot of frustration in her chest. She was not afraid of fighting to the death, but she still wanted to send her beloved disciple out safely. With this level of encirclement, getting Yuling Saintess out would be no easy task.
After watching intently for a while, however, Ningyan Sacred Lord noticed that the rebel forces beyond the valley did seem to be experiencing a degree of turmoil.
The closer to the outer perimeter, the more obvious the disturbance became.
Still, standing at the edge of the formation, it was difficult to make out exactly what was happening outside. After a moment, the commotion beyond grew noticeably more violent.
The void beyond the perimeter seemed to have been suddenly dyed with color. Crimson clouds advanced ceaselessly from the distant sky, swallowing the void before them.
The advance was neither hurried nor sluggish, yet it was suffused with the aura of overwhelming power, creating a crushing sense of pressure.
Since ancient times, it was said that dark clouds could bear down upon a city. But now it was crimson clouds pressing down upon the city, and that suffocating sense of collapse was every bit as potent.
The rebel army's formations, which had been rock-solid moments ago, descended into severe disarray. Their lines began to crumble.
Suddenly, a sharp, piercing whistle rang out through the void.
In the next instant, a figure shot out from the void and hovered high in the sky. With a flick of the hand, something was hurled downward. "Listen well, rebel scum! Ancestor Jinzhong has been reduced to nothing — not even ashes remain. Your seven great leaders have all been executed. These are their heads…"
The figure was, of course, Jiang Chen.
Like a child tossing balls one after another, Jiang Chen hurled the heads of the seven great leaders down toward the ground.
Blood-drenched heads thudded into the ranks of the rebel army, instantly sparking massive panic.
Some caught the heads and examined them closely, discovering with horror that they were genuine — the very heads of the seven leaders who had departed only moments ago.
The seven heads still had their eyes wide open, as though they had died with unfinished business. Their expressions suggested they had witnessed the most terrifying thing in the world in their final moments.
"They're real! It's really them!"
"How is this possible? Heavens, what's going on?"
"Even Ancestor Jinzhong has been killed? How can that be?"
Seeing their leaders' heads, the rebel army erupted into chaos, their faces draining of color and filling with dread.
That nameless, unknown terror seized their hearts and minds in an instant.
The lieutenants of the seven great leaders pushed through the crowd and seized the heads, examining them with trembling hands. Clearly, they could not yet accept this reality.
But once they held the heads and inspected them carefully, they were forced to confirm the truth — these were indeed the heads of the seven great leaders.
In other words, all seven of the rebel army's great leaders had perished in the brief span of their departure.
The lieutenants exchanged stunned glances, their arms trembling as they cradled the heads. The sudden, devastating blow had shattered the rebel army's strategy and broken their spirits.
"How is this possible? Who could have done this? To instantly slaughter the seven great leaders — no half-god powerhouse could pull that off. Could it be… a god?"
The word "god" flashed through their minds, and with it came a wave of convulsing terror. If a true deity had arrived, then every last one of them would die without even a grave.
The might of a god was something they had absolutely no capacity to resist. No matter how many of them there were, it would make no difference whatsoever.
Battles between gods did not hinge on numerical superiority.
"See this golden bell? This was Ancestor Jinzhong's life-bound treasure. And now, it's nothing more than my personal toy." Jiang Chen slapped the golden bell hard, a look of wild, unrestrained amusement crossing his face.