The golden light barrier was able to remain strong and resolute in the face of the explosions, but they began to flash erratically in response to the corrosion of the green clouds of mist. The process was very slow, but the light barrier's power was definitely being chipped away at a steady rate.
However, right at this moment, the formations within the fortresses were finally completely activated, and all of the silver balls of light instantly vanished from the centers of the formations.
In the next instant, spatial fluctuations erupted in the air several hundred feet above the fortresses, and the silver balls of light emerged before unleashing bolts of silver lightning that intertwined to form a massive lightning net that descended from above.
Regardless of whether it was fireballs, wind blades, or green poison mist, everything was instantly vanquished into oblivion upon coming into contact with the lightning net, which then transformed into countless silver snakes that descended into the devilish Qi.
A thunderous rumbling boom rang out as the devilish Qi and silver lightning intertwined before exploding violently.
The two types of devilish beasts down below desperately attempted to evade these bolts of silver lightning, but many of them were still instantly reduced to ashes.
On top of that, there were just as many devilish beasts that were killed or injured by the shockwaves from the explosions of the bolts of silver lightning as those that were actually struck by the lightning, and countless devilish beasts were felled amid strings of agonized howls.
Meanwhile, the remaining devilish beasts were still unleashing one wave of attacks after another with single-minded ferocity, but they were unable to destroy the golden light barrier in a short time.
To further compound their woes, the silver bolts of lightning being released by the balls of silver light were only becoming more and more powerful, and close to half of this initial wave of devilish beasts were killed in the blink of an eye.
A furious look appeared on the purple-armored man's face upon seeing this, and he immediately waved a hand through the air. Two of the small flags hovering before him were instantly drawn into his grasp, and he rubbed them viciously between his hands, reducing them to two plumes of smoke.
Close to half of the remaining small flags then began to tremor slightly at his behest, and white light suddenly flashed from the bodies of the two giant white snails in the army of devilish beasts.
Immediately thereafter, they raised huge feelers to the heavens and let loose a thunderous cry that was akin to the moo of a cow. Two pillars of white light erupted from their mouths, then struck the golden light barrier with devastating force.
The resolute light barrier instantly began to ripple violently, and in the next instant, it shuddered before being completely pierced through by the pillars of light.
The dozen or so fortresses behind the light barrier, as well as the human cultivators within them, were all reduced to dust by the pillars of light in the blink of an eye.
Not only that, but a stir immediately ran through the enormous devilish army in the distance, and they all let loose bloodthirsty roars as they galloped toward Deep Heaven City.
At the same time, spiritual light flashed from the bodies of the devilish beings in the air above, and they also began to advance while releasing balls of black light or clouds of devilish Qi, creating a very intimidating sight to behold.
Loud drumming rang out from within the devilish Qi even higher up in the air, and over 100 glossy black flying carriages flew out. There were several armored high-grade devilish beings standing on each carriage, and all of them were wielding long halberds with vicious looks on their faces.
A sharp shrill cry suddenly sounded, and another giant flying carriage that was over 1,000 feet emerged behind these flying carriages. The giant carriage was being drawn by two massive purple beasts that bore a strong resemblance to rhinoceroses, but each had a shimmering golden horn.
There were hundreds of armored guards standing on the giant carriage, and at its very center stood the purple-armored devilish being and the green-robed elderly man, both of whom wore cold expressions.
After throwing a series of jabs, the Elder Devil Race was finally beginning its true attack.
All of the elders' brows furrowed slightly upon seeing this. The number of elite devilish beings that had appeared was far less than they had anticipated compared to how ferocious the first wave of attacks from previous devilish tribulations had been said to be.
These devilish beasts were indeed quite powerful, but they were dreaming if they thought they could conquer Deep Heaven City on their own.
In the face of the countless silver lightning snakes descending from the heavens, the army of devilish beasts continued to charge ahead without any regard for the casualties they were suffering. After reaching the golden light barrier, they either unleashed their innate offensive abilities or used their own powerful bodies as battering rams.
Meanwhile, the devilish beings up above were busy controlling their devilish treasures, conjuring up all types of devilish clouds to keep as much of the lightning at bay as possible.
As for the flying carriages carrying the armored devilish warriors, they stopped close to 10 kilometers away from the light barrier before unleashing attacks with their weapons from afar.
Streaks of black light erupted from the flying carriages and hurtled directly toward the golden light barrier as an incessant string of rumbling booms shook the entire heavens.
Han Li heaved a faint sigh before turning to Buddhist Monk Jin Yue and the others with slightly furrowed brows. "Fellow Daoists, it looks like this is just a jab thrown by the Elder Devil Race to test out our city's defenses, so I'm going to go back for now. I'm currently at a critical juncture in the refinement of one of my treasures, and once I complete the process, it should be very helpful in the defense against the Elder Devil Race."
"Indeed, this first wave of attacks is far less fearsome than we had expected. It seems we overreacted due to the past tales that we had heard. If you have something important you need to attend to, then go ahead, Fellow Daoist Han. It looks like the Elder Devil Race is settling in for a prolonged battle, so Body Integration cultivators like us most likely won't need to do anything in the immediate future," Buddhist Monk Jin Yue sighed as he nodded in response.
"If the Elder Devil Race had attacked our city with everything they had from the beginning, then I would feel less uneasy instead; we'll have to be on our guard in this current situation. We are the most powerful beings in the city, but we all have matters that we need to attend to as well, so we can't just stand around like this. How about this? Unless the Elder Devil Race launches an all-out attack, we'll guard this place two at a time. Fellow Daoist Han, you're not part of the panel of elders, and you're not very familiar with the defenses we've set up in the city, so you won't need to be part of this rotation. However, if the city falls into a truly perilous situation, then I hope you will lend us your assistance," Elder Gu said in a meaningful voice.
"That's a great idea, Brother Gu."
"I have no objections to this, either."
Everyone nodded in agreement with this proposal, including Han Li.
Thus, Han Li cupped his fist in a parting salute before flying away as a streak of azure light. Everyone else also departed soon thereafter, leaving only the burly black-robed man and Elder Gu to stand on guard duty.
"Brother Gu, are we going to just keep standing by and watching like this? Isn't that too passive? It's taking a vast amount of spirit stones to support the Treasured Sunrise Mirror in the face of such fierce attacks," the black-robed man said in a cold voice.
"Hmph, rest assured, Fellow Daoist Bao; seeing as these devilish beings are throwing these devilish beasts at us as cannon fodder to test our defenses, then I certainly can't disappoint them. We'll use the Seven Star Flame Essence Formation to teach them a lesson," Elder Gu replied as a cold look flashed through his eyes.
The black-robed man was quite taken aback by this, and he asked in a hesitant voice, "The Seven Star Flame Essence Formation? That's one of the city's trump cards; is it really a good idea to reveal it so early?"
"It's alright, I'll only activate 10% of the formation's power. In doing so, we'll be able to teach those devilish beings a lesson, but still keep the true power of the formation a secret. Perhaps it'll lure the high-grade devilish beings into a false sense of security and benefit us later on," Elder Gu said in a confident manner.
After contemplating this notion for a moment, the black-robed man also felt this to be a sound plan, so he nodded in agreement. "That does make sense. We'll do as you say, then, Brother Gu."
Thus, having reached a consensus, they immediately issued the order without any delay.
Within an underground secret chamber beneath a giant crimson tower in Deep Heaven City, there were seven elderly men in crimson robes seated around a golden formation with their eyes closed.
Judging from the fire-attribute spiritual Qi emanating from their bodies, all seven of them were fire-attribute cultivators, and the spiritual pressure they were releasing suggested that they were all at the Spatial Tempering Stage.
The sound of a bell chime suddenly rang out from the body of what appeared to be the eldest member of the group, and he immediately opened his eyes, revealing a pair of crimson pupils that seemed to have flames surging within them.
He flipped a hand over to produce a white disk, then quickly glanced down at it before instructing, "Activate the formation, but only unleash 10% of its power."
The other six elderly men immediately opened their eyes, and answered in unison, "Yes!"
All seven of them made hand seals as bright crimson light erupted from their bodies. They then each laid a hand onto the back of their own heads, and seven crimson Nascent Souls emerged in quick succession.
The seven Nascent Souls had facial features that were identical to the seven men, and they were each holding a shimmering red treasure, which consisted of a ring, a flag, a sword, a saber, a pagoda, a badge, and a bead.
There was red light swirling around the surfaces of these treasures, and they were releasing scorching waves of heat, clearly indicating that they were extremely pure fire-attribute treasures.
The seven Nascent Souls began to chant incantations, and the seven fire-attribute treasures quickly swelled to several times their original size, then slowly drifted toward the center of the formation.
