My little sect, which disappeared a thousand years ago, has become a sacred site!

The outer realms are far more vast and dangerous than ordinary cultivators can imagine.

In addition to the outer city, which serves as a hub, the city lord's mansion has set up several small protective outposts along the main "safe" routes at different distances from the outer city to support cultivators exploring deeper into the city.

These outposts are no bigger than ordinary villages, and usually have simple defensive formations, providing basic healing, trading, and short rest services.

Of course, enjoying these services requires paying a considerable fee, and the stronghold is always staffed by personnel dispatched by the city lord's mansion to manage and collect fees.

However, the expansion of strongholds is not unlimited.

They are mostly concentrated in areas relatively close to the outer city, where the danger has been initially identified.

The further one goes into the outer city, the more bizarre the environment becomes, the stronger the beasts grow, and the unknown risks increase exponentially.

Even the eight semi-immortal city lords who were stationed there did not dare to venture into the deepest areas easily, let alone establish a stronghold there.

The rules are far less strict than those in the outer city; they are more like temporary shelters and supply stations built on the edge of danger.

People from all walks of life gather here, and conflicts often occur. However, as long as the troublemakers compensate for the losses of the stronghold, the city lords will not pursue the matter.

At this moment, the stronghold furthest from the outer city is filled with overwhelming killing intent and chaotic spiritual energy.

The once well-maintained stone and wood buildings are now reduced to ruins, the simple defensive formations have been completely breached, and the spiritual light has dimmed.

On the ruins lay the corpse of a strange beast, as large as a small mountain, resembling a lizard but with six wings, its scales charred and broken.

Above the ruins and corpses, two opposing forces were locked in a standoff.

One side consisted of only three women, yet they exuded a chilling and imposing aura.

The leader, dressed in a moon-white sword robe, stood tall and straight like a pine tree in the snow.

She was stunningly beautiful, with skin as white as snow, and her long, dark hair was loose, with a few strands brushing against her pale yet tightly pursed lips in the wind.

In her hand she held a long sword that was crystal clear, its blade flawless, with faint ripples of void flowing across it.

It was none other than Ye Qingxue, the senior sister of the Celestial Holy Land, who possessed the Taixu Sword Body.

However, at this moment, the swordsman at the eighth level of the Half-Immortal realm was clearly in disarray.

A trickle of crimson blood hung from the corner of her mouth, and her plain white sword robe was torn and stained with dark red in several places. The veins on the back of her hand holding the sword were slightly visible, indicating that she had suffered a serious internal injury.

To her left stood a woman dressed in a light blue gauze dress, her skin as white as jade.

Surrounded by a faint Yin energy, she was none other than Yue Lingxi, the Xuan Tian Yin Soul Body.

To Ye Qingxue's right was a woman in white, with long hair reaching her waist and a silver feather hairpin tucked into her hair.

She was tall and slender, with long silver hair tied into a neat ponytail at the back of her head, and a small, shimmering diamond-shaped crystal mark on her forehead.

What is most striking is the pure and holy aura emanating from her, and her eyes, which are now faintly glowing with golden light due to anger and vigilance.

She is Luo Qingchen, the third disciple of the Heavenly Demon Pavilion, an organization founded by Gu Changyuan in the Demon Realm, whose bloodline is the Flowing Light Heavenly Horse.

Facing the three of them were dozens of cultivators exuding powerful auras.

The leader was a middle-aged man in a yellow robe with a sinister face and fierce eyes; his aura had also reached the seventh level of a half-immortal.

The people behind him were mostly at the first to fifth level of the Half-Immortal realm, and each of them had unfriendly eyes and a murderous aura, clearly indicating that they had come prepared.

Upon seeing Ye Qingxue injured, a cold glint flashed in Yue Lingxi's clear eyes.

She knew that her senior sister's injuries were serious, and she had to finish the fight quickly or create an opportunity to break through.

Almost without warning, the transparent ripples of soul power around her suddenly vibrated violently, and an invisible and intangible, yet terrifying soul impact that struck the depths of the soul swept towards the dozens of cultivators opposite her in an instant!

This is one of the most fearsome abilities of the Xuan Tian Tai Yin Soul Body—a wide-range soul attack that is completely unexpected and impossible to defend against.

However, just as Yue Lingxi's soul attack was about to touch the enemy camp—

"Buzz—!"

Suddenly, a massive, pitch-black array, over a hundred feet in diameter, lit up in the ruins below.

The array patterns were bizarre and twisted, as if drawn from countless tormented souls, exuding an extremely cold aura.

Yue Lingxi's powerful soul attack not only failed to harm the opponent in the slightest, but was also absorbed and transformed instantly by the black formation, like a mud ox entering the sea.

Immediately afterwards, an even more violent, filthy, and intensely resentful backlash of soul power surged back along the trajectory of the soul power she had released.

"puff--!"

Yue Lingxi's body trembled violently, her face turned deathly pale, and she spat out a mouthful of blood. Her aura suddenly weakened, and she swayed precariously.

"Hahahaha!" Upon seeing Yue Lingxi injured, the middle-aged man in the yellow robe at the head of the group burst into a ferocious laugh of extreme pleasure.

"Didn't expect that, did you! We anticipated your annoying soul attack!"

We went to great lengths to find this incomplete array diagram in some ancient ruin in this godforsaken place in order to deal with you!

Although the setup was costly, it was worth it to neutralize your most troublesome tactic! Otherwise, why do you think we dared to launch such a large-scale attack on you?!

Upon seeing that Yue Lingxi was also injured and coughing up blood, Luo Qingchen was extremely anxious.

She gave a sharp shout, and the crystal mark between her brows suddenly emitted a dazzling pure white light.

Immediately afterwards, a phantom of a huge, pure white celestial horse with enormous wings of light on its back, exuding a sacred and majestic aura, materialized above her head.

"Holy Light Purification - Healing!"

The phantom of the celestial horse neighed to the sky, its wings spread, and it showered down a vast expanse of soft, vibrant, pure white holy light, enveloping Ye Qingxue and Yue Lingxi like a rain of light.

The holy light contains the unique purifying and healing power of the Radiant Pegasus clan, which can dispel negative status effects and accelerate the recovery of injuries.

"Hmph! Don't even think about it!"

On the opposing side, an old man in a blood-red robe with a withered face sneered, a mad glint in his eyes.

He suddenly bit his tongue, spitting out a mouthful of blood, and rapidly formed hand seals.

Several people around him simultaneously formed a battle formation with him.

A crimson array, exuding a strong aura of blood and filth, instantly appeared below the area shrouded in holy light.

The crimson array shone brightly, clashing violently with the pure white holy light and emitting a sizzling, corrosive sound.

The faces of the group grew even paler, and blood trickled from the corners of their mouths. Clearly, forcibly activating this formation was putting a great strain on him, but he held on with all his might.

The pure holy light was visibly corrupted and dimmed, and finally, the phantom of the celestial horse let out a mournful cry of resentment and shattered with a crash.