Prior to setting off, the plan had already been confirmed, so none of the Grand Ascension Stage beings had any objections.
Moments later, the devilish army split up into several groups that charged toward the same direction, leaving only the tens of thousands of elite devilish guards and the Grand Ascension Stage beings behind.
A few hours later, the remaining elite devilish warriors also departed from the valley on a giant ark.
Seven days later, an army comprised of over 100,000 devilish warriors was locked in a fierce battle against a swarm of stemborers above a barren plateau.
The devilish army was very organized, and was arranged in a profound circular formation with the several hundred giant arks positioned at strategic locations.
Furthermore, multiple layers of protective light barriers had been set up, and thick pillars of light were being blasted out of the light barriers in a frenzy, felling large swathes of stemborers.
However, there were simply far too many stemborers in this swarm!
No matter how many were killed, more would immediately take their place to continue to attack the formation.
The devilish army had been slowly advancing in the past, but it had been forced to a standstill.
Fortunately, the attacks being unleashed by the formation were becoming more and more powerful, killing countless stemborers and alleviating some of the pressure on the army.
However, the three Body Integration Stage devilish beings standing on the giant ark at the center of the formation weren't pleased at all to see this.
"It's not a wise decision to use our backup power so soon; we won't be able to stall the stemborer swarm for long now," a crimson-armored devilish man said.
"Hmph, if we hadn't used that power, the entire formation could've crumbled just now. If our formation gets overwhelmed, then we won't be able to stall the stemborer swarm at all," a thin elderly devilish man harrumphed coldly in response.
"But the Sacred Ancestors ordered us to hold our own for at least half a day, yet only a few hours have passed. If we want to ensure our survival, we'll have to work out a plan. Otherwise, once everyone's exhausted, the three of us alone won't be able to fight our way out of this swarm," the crimson-armored man countered.
"Don't make me repeat myself; if we hadn't used this power, we would've already been overwhelmed. If worse comes to worst, we'll just have to unleash secret techniques to tap into our latent potential, and there's still a decent chance that we'll be able to escape," the elderly man replied in a nonchalant manner.
"You sure make it sound simple! If anything goes even slightly wrong, all of us could be devoured by these stemborers!" the crimson-armored man said in a cold voice.
"I don't think that's a valid concern as long as we work out a good plan and take the right opportunities," the elderly man countered with a roll of his eyes.
The crimson-armored man immediately flared up with rage, and he was just about to say something when the final devilish lord, a middle-aged woman, interjected, "I can't believe you two are still bickering at a time like this. If you want to argue, you can save it for after we escape from this place. Prior to that, we have to combine our efforts and help one another. Now that we've already sent out our backup forces, it's too late to regret our decision; let's think about whether there are any available courses of action other than burning through our latent potential."
The crimson-armored man forcibly repressed his displeasure and put on a smile as he said, "You're right, Mistress, Tian Miao; we should work together to devise a strategy first."
The elderly man's expression also eased slightly as he said, "I didn't think that these stemborers would be so much more powerful than other devilish insects; it's indeed imperative for us to work together now."
Thus, the three devilish lords began to devise a plan for escape.
Meanwhile, the other devilish armies were also trapped within stemborer swarms elsewhere, and they could only attack the stemborers with all their might as they held on for dear life.
Due to the fact that most of the stemborers around the original sealed site had been diverted away by the devilish armies, all of the Grand Ascension Stage beings and the tens of thousands of elite devilish warriors were able to quickly tear through around a dozen insect swarms, and they were now quite close to the original sealed sight.
However, at this point, the other stemborers had realized what was happening, and they were finally surrounded by a boundless sea of stemborers, just like the other devilish armies.
None of the Grand Ascension Stage beings had stepped in yet, but the tens of thousands of elite devilish warriors and all of the disciples of the Grand Ascension Stage beings were more than equipped to deal with the stemborer swarm.
Countless streaks of light surged through the air, felling large swathes of stemborers with ease, the entire group continued onward at an astonishing speed.
Only the more powerful stemborers could stand in their way, and even they were instantly shredded by the ferocious barrage of attacks.
No more than seven minutes later, the group had advanced hundreds of thousands of kilometers, killing countless stemborers in the process.
All of a sudden, a burst of strange hissing rang out up ahead, and the stemborers parted to reveal a group of giant green insects.
These giant insects were each over 100 feet in size with sharp pincers and menacing fangs, presenting a very intimidating sight to behold.
A high-grade devilish being immediately issued a warning at the sight of these insects. "Look out! Those are high-grade stemborers, and their breaths are equal in power to a full-force attack from a Body Integration Stage being."
Right at this moment, all of the giant insects opened their mouths to let loose pillars of green light.
Thousands of elite devilish warriors were caught off guard, and their defenses were penetrated by the pillars of light, which instantly vaporized them amid howls of anguish.
These pillars of light were so powerful that the devilish warriors were completely powerless to withstand them.
"Haha, it looks like the stemborers finally understand that we're the main forces they have to deal with. Otherwise, they wouldn't have deployed so many high-grade stemborers at once. Let's not sit around any longer!" a black-armored Sacred Ancestor standing at the front of the giant ark chortled as he raised a hand to release a plume of black threads, which transformed into a net that was several kilometers in area before descending toward the massive stemborers.
The other Grand Ascension Stage beings nearby also sprang into action upon seeing this.
One of them made a hand seal, and fierce winds were instantly swept up, forming around a dozen massive tornados that surged forth with devastating might.
Meanwhile, someone else pointed a finger forward, and the world's origin Qi in the air was immediately churned up, following which countless thick bolts of lightning came crashing down with ferocious power.
At the same time, the remaining Grand Ascension Stage beings were all unleashing attacks of their own, and one of them even materialized a small translucent sword that was slashed directly through the air, unleashing countless translucent sword projections…
Despite how powerful the giant stemborers were, there was no way they could withstand the attacks of so many Grand Ascension Stage beings, and all of them were instantly eradicated, much to the elation of the devilish army.
"Don't stop! Keep advancing!" the black-armored Sacred Ancestor ordered in a thunderous voice.
All of the devilish troops immediately picked up the pace and continued onward.
All of the stemborers that had parted earlier immediately converged again in waves of suicidal attacks, but were still unable to delay the group at all.
Han Li was situated in the hall of the giant ark, but he was able "see" everything using his spiritual sense.
A faint smile appeared on his face as he witnessed all of the giant stemborers being easily eradicated by the Grand Ascension Stage beings.
The breaths of these giant insects were comparable in power to Body Integration Stage attacks, but their defensive prowess was nowhere near the Body Integration Stage.
Otherwise, even with those Grand Ascension Stage beings attacking in unison, they wouldn't have been able to eradicate so many Body Integration Stage beings so easily.
It seemed that these stemborers still weren't the most powerful ones in the swarm.
At this moment, most of the Grand Ascension Stage beings were gathered in the hall, with only several of them standing outside on the giant ark in case any unexpected incidents arose.
Bao Hua was currently seated on a chair at the center of the hall, appraising the Faux Illusion Sky Mirror that she was holding in her hand.
As for the other Grand Ascension Stage beings, they were either gathered together in discussion, or meditating in their chairs.
Han Li cast his gaze toward Sacred Ancestor Xie Lian, who was sitting near a window, and discovered that she was appraising the battle raging outside through the window in a completely expressionless manner, making it impossible to tell what she was thinking.
Not far away from her, Old Man Copper Crow and the Heavenly Crow Realm Grand Ascension Stage beings were meditating on the ground with faint yellow light glowing from their bodies, seemingly practicing some kind of cultivation art.
After a short while, Han Li also closed his eyes to meditate.
Daoist Xie was standing beside him in a wooden manner, but Silvermoon was nowhere to be seen.
Seeing as this could potentially be quite a dangerous trip, Han Li had left Silvermoon behind at the temporary cave abode he had created in the desert.
Even though Silvermoon would be affected by the Art of Indifference after parting with him, it wouldn't be an issue as long as they weren't separated for too long.
