The formation node within the Myriad Domain was under Lan Tianhao and Yu Gong’s charge. They were both dependable men. That was why Jiang Chen had entrusted them to keep everything under control.

Of course, he’d also ordered the cultivators there to work with Lan Tianhao and Yu Gong.

The Myriad Domain’s strength had grown dramatically over the years. The most impressive faction among all was the Regal Pill Palace. As Jiang Chen’s home faction, it’d grown to the point that it could rival the Upper Eight Regions.

With Jiang Chen’s help, Palace Head Dan Chi had soared into empyrean realm. Elder Yun Nie and Mu Gaoqi had improved substantially as well.

Mu Gaoqi, especially, had tapped into the full potential of his innate wood constitution and made astounding progress in his cultivation. He’d almost caught up with their palace head.

The Regal Pill Palace would not be at others’ mercy like it’d been before.

The army of ghouls spanned the vast land, many of whom were familiar faces from the Myriad Domain. No one had expected to see them again in such a way.

Myriad’s cultivators were furious. Whoever was controlling the spirits and corpses had desecrated their domain!

However, they were equally reluctant to eliminate the enemy.

Lan Tianhao and Yu Gong knew the head of the Regal Pill Palace was close to Jiang Chen. They therefore invited him to the meeting.

“This must be demons’ doing, Palace Head Dan Chi. Do we stay to defend our post, or do we take the initiative to strike? I want to hear from someone of the domain.”

Dan Chi cared about their old bonds, but he cared more about the greater good. He cast his eyes at the ghouls and boomed, “If these spirits are going to damage the foundation of the formation, they must be eliminated.”

“I admire your clarity, Palace Head. We won’t pull back once the young gives the order to attack the spirits. My apologies for hurting the feelings of your people then.”

Dan Chi sighed. “You can’t be blamed. The one responsible is the demon controlling them.”

Their conversation was interrupted by a giant golden rat emerging from underground.

A Goldbiter Rat! It wasn’t the first time Lan Tian Hao and Yu Gong had seen one. They smiled at it. “Wonderful, the young lord has instructions for us.”

Dan Chi had known about the Goldbiter Rats even earlier, so he wasn’t surprised by its appearance.

“Listen up, this is the yin demons’ doing,” the rat relayed bluntly. “It’s a foul trick to manipulate dead spirits and corpses. The ghouls will be much more powerful than they were when they were alive. Do not underestimate them. No matter if you move out to strike them down or not, the formation node must be protected, or the young lord will have your heads.”

Lan Tianhao smacked his own head with a wry smile. “It seems that the young lord worries we won’t be able to protect the formation. Do you have the confidence to keep it safe, my brothers?”

“There are so many divine cultivators on our side,” said Xu Yigu. “It’ll be much too humiliating if we can’t even protect a formation. We mustn’t embarrass the young lord.”

“That’s right. These are just ghouls. We’ll send any random two divine cultivators and kill them all. There’s nothing to fear.”

“Don’t underestimate our enemies, everyone. It isn’t difficult for gods to take out the ghouls, but who knows if the one manipulating the spirits is a demon forefather? If it is, then possibly two gods won’t be enough.”

That sent a chill down everyone’s spine. They were still reeling from their last encounter with a demon forefather.

They’d put in great forces to deal with Lightford. But in the end, it’d been the divine sacred beasts and Jiang Chen’s golden bell that finally took Lightford down.

Their contribution had been pitiful.

If a demon at Lightford’s level did come, the smart thing for them to do was to defend their post rather than attacking recklessly.

“I believe it’s better to be cautious,” said Lan Tianhao. “Let’s get into position. The demigods on the fringes will lead the empyrean cultivators to eliminate ghouls that get near us. Stay within the circle of defense. Don’t stray far.”

“That’s how we’ll do it!” agreed Yu Gong.

He’d chosen to be conservative as well. It was better to not achieve anything substantial here than to make a mistake.

The situation at the other formation node was similar. Honored Master P’eng and the other seniors though, had much more experience in dealing with demons.

The ghouls posed no threat to them. They didn’t even pay much attention to the spirits. They kept Jiang Chen’s instructions in mind and focused on defending the formation node.

They only took out the ghouls that came close.

Their numbers were few compared to the other node, but the task was much less challenging to them, both mentally and physically.

Roguemist roamed between the two nodes, commanding countless ghouls. His mental energy quickly depleted. If he hadn’t coerced Serratewind into giving him some pills to replenish his energy, he wouldn’t have been able to hang on.

However, he became more confident after testing the waters.

“It seems that that bastard was right. There are fewer divine beings here, but their defensive power and skills are greater than the cultivators at the other node. These must be the sacred beasts. The human cultivators are like scaredy cats in comparison. It’s obvious that they haven’t been through a proper battle.”

Roguemist’s judgement was quite exact. It gave him a great sense of achievement to play the gods like a fiddle, given he was a demigod.

“Serratewind, I’ve done what I can,” muttered Roguemist. “If you fail, the the shadow demon reputation is quite undeserved.”

He was worried since he’d gone behind Forefather Stonefiend’s back. What if the forefather knew? Would he be punished?

He couldn’t be certain. He hoped he’d done the right thing. Only then might he avoid the forefather’s punishment.

....

At the formation node within the Ninesuns Sky Sect, Jiang Chen and the others were entering the last phase of repairing this section formation. It seems that the harassment against the two other nodes affected their mood. Even the young lord looked agitated. Although he spent more time repairing the node every day, his efficiency seemed to be dropping.

“Elder Yuan Li” noted the changes.

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