I can only beat noobs.

Chapter 280 Paying Homage to the Demon Lord
Chen Ming wasn't in a hurry to go into battle, since the general hadn't mentioned a time limit. He stood outside his camp, watching the battle raging outside.

Above one of the thousand-man squads, the phantom of a fierce tiger appeared.

This must be the army formation led by Wang Jinhu.

The phantom image above the military formation signifies that this thousand-man unit is united and has formed a cohesive group, representing the manifestation of collective will.

The military formation that can form phantoms is almost unaffected by the sword intent of a second-grade expert, and can only be broken through by pure brute force. However, human strength has its limits, and even a first-grade expert will eventually run out of vital energy.

This is how the armies of this world confront powerful martial artists. If it is a battle formation of ten thousand people, even a powerful expert in the Divine Realm will have to take a detour.

An army of 100,000 men was invincible and could scare away even ghosts and gods.

However, to unite 100,000 people into a single battle formation, achieving perfect harmony, requires not only exceptional command skills but also the absolute trust and support of the monarch.

Whether the Great Jin Dynasty still has generals of this caliber is a big question mark.

Even if such a person existed, in peacetime, no emperor would allow such a person to lead troops for an extended period.

Besides Wang Jinhu, several other armies of a thousand men materialized into phantom images. They were indeed sons of noble families, with a long and distinguished family tradition.

Meanwhile, the enemy camp also dispatched several thousand-man squads, which directly confronted the troops sent out from our side. One thousand-man squad against another thousand-man squad—we would not gain any advantage over them.

This shows that this is not a real battlefield.

In war, who would fight you one-on-one?
As Chen Ming observed, he pondered the warning given by the disciple from the Celestial Master's Mansion.

This trial has actually gone wrong.

However, he wasn't too surprised; it would be strange if he could complete the trial smoothly.

"Judging from Liang Guangyu's words, this Merit Pagoda seems to be controlled by people from the Celestial Master's Mansion. Now that there's a problem, it must be the Celestial Master's Mansion that's at fault."

Chen Ming thought to himself, "If only I could get in touch with the Taoist priest."

Wait a moment——

Otherwise, give it a try?

So he silently chanted "Master Wangchenzi, Master Wangchenzi, Master Wangchenzi" three times in his heart.

In an instant, the world before my eyes rippled, and time seemed to stand still for a moment.

Whoosh!
A wisp of Chen Ming's consciousness suddenly rose and entered another strange space, which was the old Taoist's cave.

The old Taoist priest frowned slightly and asked curiously, "The place you are in is a bit strange. Could it be in a secret realm?"

Chen Ming was overjoyed to see him.

This old Taoist priest was indeed extraordinary; I actually managed to meet him.

"It's not a secret realm, I'm inside the Tower of Merit."

"So it's the Pagoda of Merit," the old Taoist priest said in surprise.

"Taoist priest, you also know about this Merit Pagoda?"

"The Merit Pagoda is the name given by the Great Jin royal family. It originally had another name, the Nine Nether Pagoda."

Chen Ming exclaimed in shock, "Could this be a demonic artifact from the Nine Nether Sect?"

The old Taoist stroked his beard and nodded, saying, "That's right. Back then, the founding emperor of the Great Jin Dynasty relied on this demonic artifact to contend with those top experts and suppress and kill countless masters of the Great Wei Dynasty."

What the hell!

Chen Ming was completely stunned. So it turned out that the Great Ancestor of the Great Jin Dynasty was actually the Demon Lord of the Nine Nether Sect.

"So, the relationship between the Great Jin royal family and the Nine Nether Sect..."

"The Great Jin Emperor merely used the Nine Nether Tower. Afterwards, he even invited the Celestial Master's Mansion to suppress this demonic artifact in the palace and renamed it the Merit Tower, in an attempt to cover up this past event."

Chen Ming suddenly remembered something, "Oh no, I heard there was some trouble at the Celestial Master's Mansion, and the Merit Pagoda is having problems. Could it be that it's trying to break free of its seal?"

If that's the case, then it's really troublesome.

He's still inside the Pagoda of Merit. If anything happens to him, he won't be able to escape.

The old Taoist priest pondered for a moment, "So, it seems the Celestial Master's Mansion really is in trouble. I was wondering before, though, that while the Celestial Master's Mansion acts domineeringly, it's still considered righteous. Why would they lock me up for no reason?" "Master, what do you mean..."

"That Taoist master is probably problematic."

The Celestial Master is a True Person of the Yang God Realm, equivalent to a powerful expert in the Divine Treasury Realm.

If he has a problem, it will be a real problem.

Chen Ming quickly asked, "Daoist Master, I am currently inside the Pagoda of Merit. How do I leave?"

The old Taoist priest shook his head and said, "We can only wait. Try to stall for time. The Great Jin royal family has a deep foundation, and someone will naturally handle this matter. Just be careful and don't die in there."

In other words, there was nothing he could do.

Chen Ming smiled bitterly to himself. He had come to see the old Taoist priest only to learn about the origin of the Merit Pagoda and the possibility that the Celestial Master might be in trouble.

Even he couldn't do anything about it; he had to rely on himself.

Seeing his condition, the old Taoist priest could only comfort him, saying, "Young friend, you are destined for greatness and your fortune is at its peak. You will surely turn misfortune into good fortune this time."

Chen Ming was not comforted.

……

When Chen Ming regained consciousness, he opened his eyes to find that the battle outside the city was about to end, and Wang Jinhu and his men had won a great victory.

These sons of noble families are indeed talented.

Just then, a long horn sounded from the enemy camp, and suddenly the gates of the camp opened wide. Countless soldiers in black armor poured out and quickly formed several large formations of ten thousand men each.

Above those massive formations, which each amassed tens of thousands of people, tangible shadows materialized, representing the Vermilion Bird, Black Tortoise, White Tiger, and Azure Dragon.

It was the Four Symbols Formation, the signature technique of the Great Wei Dynasty's military.

Someone exclaimed, "What's going on? Why has the entire enemy force been mobilized?"

"Return to camp quickly!"

Upon seeing this, Wang Jinhu and his men immediately led their troops back to camp and sealed the camp tightly.

Fortunately, the enemy was forming a battle formation and moving slowly, which allowed them to retreat successfully.

Standing atop the camp gate, Wang Jinhu and the others gazed at the four fully assembled formations of ten thousand men. The overwhelming sense of impending doom made it difficult for them to even breathe.

"How to fight?"

Everyone present looked extremely grim. There were only ten of them, out of a total of ten thousand. The rest of the soldiers and the general were nowhere to be seen.

This means that these 10,000 people have to withstand the Four Symbols Formation.

None of the ten were of the highest rank, and even if they were skilled in military formations, they couldn't form a formation of ten thousand men. No matter how you looked at it, they couldn't win.

"They're coming!"

Then the four 10,000-strong army formations moved, slowly and steadily pressing towards the camp.

The disparity between the enemy and ourselves was too great, and everyone felt a chill in their hearts, fearing that a single charge from the enemy could crush them.

Looking at this scene, Chen Ming strongly suspected that it was because he had just visited the old Taoist priest, and the spirit of this demonic artifact, or rather, the Nine Nether Demon Lord himself, had discovered the anomaly and caused this incident.

What?

He felt immense pressure, and finally steeled himself, declaring, "I'll give it my all!"

Immediately, he used a secret technique, the ninth level of the "Weapon Control Technique"!
Since the Nine Nether Tower is a demonic artifact, it should be possible to control it using the "Art of Artifact Control".

"what?"

Suddenly, the world before him rippled again, and time seemed to stand still. A soft exclamation rang in his ears.

The next second, a man in white stepped out of thin air and stood in front of him, looking him over with interest. He clicked his tongue in amazement and said, "You haven't cultivated the Nine Netherworld Great Art, yet you've managed to master the 'Weapon Control Technique' to this extent. It's truly incredible!"

Facing this person, Chen Ming bowed respectfully and said, "Greetings, Demon Lord!"

(End of this chapter)