The five wore grim expressions and each held their sector, leaving the evil spirits no chance to draw near. Overbearing thunder spiritual power, scorching fire spiritual power, resilient water spiritual power, and dense dark spiritual power intertwined, mercilessly grinding apart the spirits that approached and the omnipresent miasma that attacked them without pause.
They tangled with the early Nascent Soul spirits for more than an hour. Only when Huan Die smashed the last spirit with her round fan did the fight finally end and the hall return to clarity and silence.
Yunxi swept the hall with her divine sense. Confirming there were no stragglers, she told the other four, "Let us return to the shield."
They flashed back into the defensive barrier. Battles at this level were within their limits, but they were in a sealing ground for evil spirits. With only evil miasma all around, they could not draw in spiritual power during combat and had to rely on pills or spirit stones.
In such a harsh environment, they all understood they must never squeeze out the last wisp of spiritual power. Without enough strength to sustain their protective barriers, the miasma would invade their bodies at once, and there would be only one end.
The cultivators injured earlier had their barriers broken and were forced to retreat to the Hong Energy Shield. The first thing they did upon returning was ask companions to drive out the miasma that had seeped inside. Otherwise it would corrode and ruin every meridian.
Fortunately, all five were strong enough. None suffered that fate. Once inside the Hong Energy Shield, they sat to regulate their breathing and restore spiritual power.
Yunxi chose not to take pills. She held a top-grade spirit stone and began absorbing. Before she had replenished her power, Dian Dian, who had been hidden inside her collar, stirred and sent an anxious transmission. "Master, the evil miasma here is getting thicker and thicker. You need to find a way to leave."
Yunxi's eyes shifted and she sent back, "We have never stopped killing the spirits. Why is the miasma growing thicker instead? Are the spirits advancing faster?"
Dian Dian scratched its ear inside her robe. "Master, I do not know. I only smell the miasma getting stronger, and I have a hair-raising feeling, like a dreadful hunter has locked onto us."
It squirmed uneasily.
Yunxi frowned. "Should I send you back into the space for now?"
Dian Dian rejected the idea at once. "No, Master. I want to stay with you. I can sense that terrifying thing. If it really comes out, I can warn you."
"All right."
Yunxi opened her eyes and touched the place on her chest where Dian Dian hid. Her brows drew even tighter. She could not shake the feeling that the evil cultivators wanted more than just to release the spirits sealed inside the Shanhe Scroll.
The calm in the hall lasted only two and a half hours before another wave of spirits surged out. These were mid-stage Nascent Soul, all taking human form as they struck at the Hong Energy Shield.
The shield began to gleam red and even sounded an alarm.
Yunxi's expression hardened. She flashed to the Hong Energy Shield, swept her sleeve to open the restriction, and found that the Hong energy core was nearly drained, which had triggered the warning.
She quickly took a fresh core from her storage bracelet, slotted it into the orb, and swapped out the spent one. The alarm cut off an instant later and the shield's light returned to clear and transparent.
Seeing the barrier stabilize, the Nascent Soul cultivators inside let out a breath. If the shield failed, they would all be forced to battle the spirits at once and be dragged into a war of attrition. Any misstep would let the miasma invade, costing them combat strength and burdening allies, with not even a quiet corner left to purge the taint.
Xian Qi flashed to Yunxi's side. "Ran Daoyou, how long can your shield hold?"
Yunxi lowered the restriction again to protect the shield's core, then answered, "Because the spirits are attacking it, the energy consumption spiked. I have replenished it with spirit stones for now. There should be no problem for the moment."
She did not overpromise. Once the Hong energy cores were spent, the barrier would shut down on its own.
Xian Qi nodded. "We have grouped the newly teleported cultivators. From now on, four teams will go out each round to fight. We will keep the spirits from approaching the shield as much as possible. That should buy us more time."
Yunxi agreed with a nod. The longer the shield held, the better their chances of survival.
While they spoke, spiritual power surged at the Huaxian Gate encampment. Yunxi's divine sense brushed over it and found Xian Feng attempting a breakthrough to Divine Transformation, with Xian Yao and Xian Xu standing guard.
Joy flashed across Xian Qi's face. "Senior Brother Xian Feng is breaking through. I will take a look."
He vanished back to the Central Region's circle.
Yunxi returned to the Western Region's circle. Outside, four squads were fighting the spirits, ringed around the Hong Energy Shield.
Wei Yunqing, Zhang Lingrui, and Lin Keyang were all among the combatants. Yunxi found them at a glance.
Wei Yunqing was in the worst shape of the three. Without the augmentation of the Nine Luminaries Woodfire, her barrier would have shattered already. She gripped a cyan longsword, hacking at a mid-stage Nascent Soul spirit.
The spirit had sensed her weakness. Like a cat toying with a mouse, it kept whistling past her, and with every pass a clump of gray mist crashed into her protective barrier. Her face grew uglier by the moment. She had no choice but to trigger a defensive wristband, then grit her teeth and keep cutting at the spirits drawn to soft persimmons.
Yunxi's lips curved slightly and she shifted her gaze to Zhang Lingrui and Lin Keyang. Because they often partnered on missions, their coordination was seamless.
Though their cultivation matched Wei Yunqing's, sword cultivators had the capital to fight above their realm. With Lin Keyang supporting from the side, every spirit around them was either shredded by sword light or smashed apart by fist shadows. They left no openings.
Huaxian Gate's cultivators had directly formed a battle formation. Against mid-stage Nascent Soul spirits, they still fought with ease and were cutting them down the fastest. On the Eastern Region squad's side, the Buddhist cultivators were a nemesis to the spirits. One Buddha's Radiance Shines Everywhere sent them retreating in panic. On the Southern Region's side, demon cultivators wrapped themselves in dense demonic qi and wrestled with the spirits. As the tide shifted, the spirits were ground to dust.
Two hours later, the fighting ended and the cultivators filed back into the Hong Energy Shield.
Yunxi's sharp eye caught Wei Yunqing's shattered defensive wristband. It must have taken a killing blow for her and was now completely ruined.
Wei Yunqing collapsed beside Yunxi, gasping. "Yunxi, c-can I not go out again? I really cannot."
Yunxi gave her a sidelong glance. "Since you no longer have any value, I may as well send you on your way, so you do not become a fresh skin for the spirits."