Starting with the titmouse, seventy-two transformations

Chapter 402 The War Begins, Thunder Spears Rain Down
"Qiang! Qiang! Qiang!"

The sword rang out with a resounding clang, echoing throughout the empty room.

Du Bingyan let out a long sigh, her clothes soaked with cold sweat.

The previous divine soul pressure was too terrifying, almost crushing her sword heart.

A swordsman would rather break than bend; if he were to bend, his sword spirit would be clouded, and he would find it difficult to make further progress.

If she had succumbed to her instincts and knelt down, her cultivation would have remained at this level for life, or even regressed, with no hope of reaching the Profound Realm.

Fortunately, Du Renwang intervened in time.

"The powerful Yin spirit who created the inner realm, with just a wisp of energy, caused the world to change color and made my muscles and bones weak and unable to move."

If it weren't for our ancestor's intervention, he could have crushed our entire Du family with a single word.

Ancient books say that immortals speak the law of heaven, and their words become law. I didn't believe it before, thinking it was an exaggeration, but now that I've experienced it firsthand, it's indeed true.

Now that the Gongsun clan has even mobilized the gods, they've probably come out in full force. Can my Du clan... hold on?
Even if we ultimately win, how many people will die?

Her breath hitched, she gripped the spirit sword tightly, lowered her head and murmured, her true energy circulating within her body, transforming into a chilling sword aura, as clear as water and as bright as the moon, with the sound of chanting echoing, revealing a compassionate and universal salvation.

As the eldest daughter of the Du family, and still unmarried, she should naturally serve her family, even at the cost of her life. But—

"Don't be afraid, I will protect you. There's no need to worry about the mere Gongsun family."

Just then, a familiar voice rang out behind her, carrying a hint of relief that put her at ease.

It was none other than Liu Sheng, who had come from underground with the help of the "Earth Spirit" talent.

"The Gongsun family has dominated Youzhou for a thousand years. Their foundation is far beyond what our Du family can match. We must not be careless and do not know how many terrifying methods they have hidden!"

Du Bingyan turned around and saw Liu Sheng. She smiled broadly, but still gave him earnest instructions.

"Why bother with those worthless scoundrels, those who sell their heads for a pittance?"

Liu Sheng teased her, deliberately putting on a stern face, looking arrogant and disrespectful to Gongsun Shi.

"No..."

Du Bingyan was initially so anxious she was about to jump up, but then she remembered that her beloved always anticipated the worst and made thorough preparations before taking action. She immediately realized he was teasing her, rolled her eyes in annoyance, and huffed:

"Then go try it!"

"Give it a try, it won't die anyway."

Liu Sheng chuckled and pulled her along to the open space in the courtyard.

Looking up, one could see ten enormous cloud boats lined up in the sky, gleaming with spiritual light and exuding a menacing aura.

The falling shadows almost covered the entire Du clan territory.

The size of this cloud boat alone was much larger than the Du family's cloud boat that Liu Sheng had seen before. The boat was crowded with people, with banners fluttering, and it was almost fully loaded.

Assuming each ship carries 2,000 people, this trip brought over 20,000 elite troops from the Gongsun clan.

Even if they don't mobilize all their forces, it's probably close to it.

This is to achieve victory in one battle!
It is unknown whether they divided themselves into the three clans of Bingwang, Cheng, and Tian.

But even if such a force exists, its main force must be on this fleet of boats.

To catch a thief, first catch his king; even a lion will fight a rabbit with all its might; the first battle is the decisive battle...

Gongsun's intention was very clear: to bypass all the pulling, detours, and maneuvering, reduce all unexpected impacts, and force Du to confront her head-on.

A head-on confrontation leaves no room for leverage, no place to dodge, and no way to avoid the conflict; the only way to determine victory or defeat is through individual strength.

The Gongsun clan dominated Youzhou for a thousand years, and from any perspective, their strength surpassed that of the Du clan.

Once they clash head-on, the outcome will be revealed quickly.

This was Gongsun's overt scheme, grand and righteous, using power to intimidate others.

They knew that the Du family was not to be underestimated, that doing this would be like killing a thousand enemies while losing eight hundred of their own, and that it would severely damage their strength, but they still had to do it.

Because the Du family has become a major threat, if left unchecked, they will inevitably compete with the Gongsun family for Youzhou, and a battle is inevitable.

In that case, it would be better to take advantage of the current situation, when the Gongsun family has the upper hand in all aspects, and strike first to eliminate future troubles.

This vision and decisiveness are truly befitting of the leading clan in Youzhou.

Unfortunately, they made two mistakes:
First, they underestimated Du Renwang's abilities.

This old schemer has now broken through the barrier between life and death, possessing near-divine combat power, or even stronger. This is enough to temporarily neutralize the Gongsun clan's greatest trump card—

Gongsun Tianxu!

Secondly, they underestimated Liu.

He has six top-tier demon avatars under his command, half of whom possess combat strength no less than that of the Profound Realm.

With his various forms already in place and having mastered the Eight-Nine Mysterious Arts, he was powerful enough to sweep through the Yellow Court, equivalent to a near-Profound Realm warrior.

If you add roughly sixty lives to ensure various margins of error, it's enough to rival a Tongxuan (a high-level expert).

With four Transcendent Ancestor-level combatants and three top-tier Yellow Court experts, this force is stronger than most other forces in Youzhou.

With Gongsun Tianxu tied down by Du Renwang, the outcome of this battle, which will determine the future of Youzhou, is already in his hands!

Of course, this is on the premise that Gongsun had no other trump cards or divine assistance.

Will other deities help?
"It's not convenient to fight here. Old man Gongsun, would you dare to join me in a battle in the heavens?"

Du Renwang appeared, wearing a tall hat and wide belt, dressed in green with black hair. He was thin and looked like a scholar. His aura was extremely arrogant, making the daylight seem a bit dim.

"Why not!"

On the cloud boat, an elderly man stroked his beard and sighed, his eyes deep and unfathomable.

His hair and beard were white as frost, his face was ruddy, and he was surrounded by a pure aura, with clouds and mist gathering around him, forming dragons and tigers.

He looks like an old immortal who stepped out of a painting.

It was Gongsun Tianxu, the inner spirit that had suppressed the Gongsun clan's thousand-year fortune!
Faced with Du Renwang's challenge, he smiled faintly, flicked his sleeves, and auspicious clouds rose from his feet, soaring straight into the sky.

"I'm going to kill that old bastard."

Du Renwang snorted coldly, looked down at the Du family members, and finally his gaze landed on Liu Sheng:
"The rest is up to you. This battle is to bring glory to the Du family. You must fight with the spirit and might of the men of the Du family and not disgrace the ancestors of the Du family!"

After he finished speaking, a patch of azure water appeared beneath his feet, which transformed into the shape of a snake-turtle and lifted him into the clouds.

"Boom!"

The next moment, terrifying thunder roared from the clouds, streaks of lightning like pythons tearing across the sky, as if the gods were beating war drums.

The once clear sky was suddenly covered with dark clouds.

Two blurry figures could be vaguely seen chasing and colliding above the clouds, appearing and disappearing intermittently.

Suddenly, the clouds surged, the wind howled, and hailstones rained down.

"Buzzing..."

Just then, ten cloud boats in the sky burst into dazzling light and emitted a terrifying roar that resounded throughout the heavens and earth.

Immediately afterwards, thick purple lightning spears rained down, piercing through the clouds and crashing down on the ground.

These thunder spears were each as thick as a pillar and tens of feet long, covered with thunder patterns and crackling with lightning, exuding an aura of destruction.

"Azure Waves Raging Formation, activate!"

Above the Du clan's territory, a barrier of light and mist appeared, with shimmering water flowing around it.

"Boom!"

Two breaths later, the light barrier shattered with a roar, and the remaining lightning spears slammed down.

"boom!"

A nine-story pavilion was blasted to its roof and instantly reduced to ashes.

"boom!"

A beautiful artificial lake was hit by a bomb, and in the blink of an eye, it dried up and cracked, turning into ruins.

"boom!"

A group of heavily armored Du clan members were caught off guard and instantly turned to ashes upon being hit.

"boom!"

"boom!"

(End of this chapter)