The defenders used everything already available. Formation towers behind both compounds poured abyssal energy into the avenue, barriers thickened around the shielded cultivators holding the center, and ranged fighters spread across rooftops and elevated walkways overlooking the road. Heavier cultivators positioned themselves behind the first ranks so they could counterattack anyone who broke through, while formation specialists adjusted the relationships between the compounds and the central defense.
Haotian did not need to stop the army to understand the arrangement. The Dao of the Universe spread through the avenue and both compounds while the Second Mixed Legion continued advancing, revealing which structures were already stable and which ones were still being tied together. The central barrier drew from both compounds, with the western side carrying more of the burden whenever the defenders strengthened the road while the eastern formation tower compensated whenever the western support fluctuated.
Haotian remained with the leading formations rather than moving far ahead of them. Blue Sphere cultivators occupied the center of the Second Legion's front, Marephoros fighters were distributed behind and beside them, Pyrelith cultivators stayed farther back until enemy formations compressed enough to justify heavier attacks, and Umbrel and Celestara members worked the nearby streets and elevations without leaving supporting distance.
Lianhua, Yinxue, Yueru, Ziyue, Xiangyin, and Yanfei remained distributed through the same advancing body rather than forming a separate line around Haotian. Tianlan stayed several formations behind the first contact with his spear held in a shorter grip, while the two Frost Rainbow Falcons moved through the air above the coalition alongside the Celestara cultivators. Shuyue remained deeper inside the formation where she could support exhausted teams.
The demons opened fire before the coalition reached the center of the avenue. The formation towers discharged first, sending abyssal pressure across the roadway in broad layers that struck the Blue Sphere barriers and forced the leading companies to yield several steps rather than absorb the full force in place. Ranged cultivators from the compounds attacked at the same time, their techniques descending between the heavier formation strikes.
The front did not stop.
Marephoros cultivation spread through the paving beneath the Blue Sphere formations and prevented those retreating steps from becoming a loss of balance. The leading teams moved forward again as soon as the first discharge passed. Above them, Celestara cultivators pressured several firing positions at once and forced the demons on the compound roofs to defend themselves instead of continuing to attack freely into the avenue.
The Frost Rainbow Falcons joined the same battle naturally. One climbed above the eastern compound and forced several demonic cultivators away from the avenue, while the second remained lower and attacked anyone trying to descend toward the formations below.
Tianlan fought beneath them. A demonic cultivator dropped from an elevated walkway after seeing a gap between two Blue Sphere teams, but Tianlan stepped into the same space before the attacker reached the road. His spear rose in a compact thrust that forced the demon to turn his weapon downward, and the higher Frost Rainbow Falcon crossed behind him at the same time. Tianlan changed the spear angle and drove the point into the exposed side before a Celestara cultivator struck from above and carried the exchange away from the main formation.
The movement pulled against Tianlan's recovering forearm as he withdrew the spear. The ache had become stronger, so he shortened his grip further and allowed the Falcons and Celestara cultivators to carry more of the wider aerial pressure.
At the center of the avenue, the first demonic ranks advanced behind their barrier when the formation towers discharged again. Haotian moved with the Blue Sphere cultivators, and one of the heavier demons waiting behind the shielded front entered through a prepared gap with a broad halberd.
Haotian stepped inside the weapon's reach before the downward attack completed, struck the shaft with his forearm, and forced the blade past his shoulder before driving Fist of Ruin into the cultivator's chest. The demon crashed backward into the shielded soldiers behind him, creating a disruption in the front that the Blue Sphere cultivators immediately widened.
Two more heavy cultivators tried to close the space. Haotian turned beneath the first attack, struck the second man's weapon arm before his technique completed, and used Seraph Shatter Palm against the defender directly in front of him. He did not pursue any of them deeper than the legion could support.
Lianhua crossed the edge of the breach at the same time and intercepted another cultivator trying to attack Haotian from the side. Cloud-Sundering Steps carried her over the uneven formation pressure, and Voidpierce Sword Sutra entered through the relationship between the demon's weapon and barrier, forcing him to abandon the exchange.
"The western side is taking more of the load," she said while moving.
"Break the support there. Do not stay to clear the compound."
Lianhua shifted west with Yinxue following several steps behind her, while Yueru and Ziyue moved toward the eastern side where the formation tower was compensating for the central pressure. None of them left the main battle entirely. The distances widened only enough to attack the structures supporting the avenue, and the mixed legions continued filling the ground behind them.
The demons reacted quickly once the purpose became clear. Several heavy cultivators moved toward Lianhua, ranged fighters redirected their attacks onto her approach, and the outer western barrier thickened as formation specialists drew more power from the compound foundation.
Lianhua did not batter through the reinforced section. She continued moving across its front, using Cloud-Sundering Steps to change her relationship to the descending attacks before they completed their targeting. The defenders repeatedly adjusted, forcing the barrier to pull more heavily from the lower supports.
Yinxue remained close enough to watch those changes. When one of the lower relationships became exposed, her sword entered it and severed enough of the active connection that the outer barrier fluctuated. Lianhua used the instability immediately and cut through the next relationship with Voidpierce Sword Sutra.
The defenders tried to surround them before the breach widened, forcing Lianhua and Yinxue to fight while continuing toward the lower support rather than stopping to exchange with every opponent.
On the eastern side, Yueru's sword carried Lightning directly into the active inscriptions around the formation tower. Each strike disrupted one channel and forced the specialists to shift energy toward it, revealing the lines carrying the additional burden. Ziyue attacked those relationships as they appeared.
A narrow Severing Arc cut through one physical support while Yueru's Lightning forced the neighboring inscription to compensate. The change transferred more power into another section, and Yueru struck again before the operators could distribute the load evenly. The tower remained standing, but its connection to the central barrier became unstable.
The defenders on the avenue felt the weakening support. Their barrier still existed, but it no longer responded uniformly when the Blue Sphere formations pushed against it. One section held while another bent backward, forcing the shielded cultivators to adjust individually rather than advance as one body.
Xiangyin entered the disruption with the mixed teams. Her spear worked through the spaces opening between defenders instead of attacking the barrier itself. One thrust forced a cultivator to turn his shield inward, while the next struck the weapon of the man beside him before he could close the resulting gap. Xiangyin moved with the Blue Sphere fighters, allowing the pressure of the mixed formation to turn each disruption into lost ground.
The demons tried to reinforce the center from the eastern compound.
Yanfei waited until the front ranks entered the narrow connecting road before spreading Frostfire through the paving. Ice formed along existing cracks and hardened around the lower edges of the damaged structures, slowing the approaching formation. Heat followed before they finished adjusting.
The road split beneath the front ranks.
The damage did not destroy the company, but it broke the smooth approach they needed to join the center as one body. The first group crossed at a different pace from those behind them, and Pyrelith fighters struck the separated front before the rest could support it.
The pressure across the avenue kept increasing.
Several heavier cultivators entered the center together once it became clear the barrier would not stop the coalition. Their leader attacked Haotian with a two-handed blade while another moved toward his lower side and a third tried to reach Xiangyin.
Haotian stepped into the first attack, caught the weapon arm before the blade reached full extension, and sent Dragon Vein Collapse through the contact. The technique disrupted the circulation supporting the arm and weakened the strike before it completed. Haotian pulled the man forward as the second demon's weapon entered the same space, causing the attack to strike the damaged leader instead.
Seraph Shatter Palm drove both cultivators apart.
Xiangyin handled the third heavy fighter while remaining inside the mixed formation. Her spear entered beneath the man's guard, lifted his weapon out of the required line, and struck through the opening before Blue Sphere cultivators moved past her and forced the next demonic rank backward.
The center yielded more quickly after that, although the demons continued fighting. Each adjustment required more effort because the formations supporting the road were failing from both sides.
The western compound lost stability first.
Lianhua reached the lower support while several defenders tried to cut her away from Yinxue. She changed position around the exposed structure and used Voidpierce Sword Sutra through the weakened connection. The support fractured under the accumulated strain, and the barrier around the compound lost enough power that coalition elites entered through multiple openings.
Yinxue stayed near Lianhua and cut down the defenders trying to close those gaps. The compound commander recognized that holding the courtyard would trap more soldiers inside and ordered his companies to withdraw through the northern routes before the mixed legions reached them from the avenue.
The eastern compound began emptying shortly afterward. Yueru's Lightning broke another active channel while Ziyue cut through the exposed support feeding the tower, and the formation specialists could no longer keep the structure tied into the central road. The commander there also withdrew before the compound became a trap.
The two compounds had ceased to function as a coherent defensive system.
That was enough.
The Second Mixed Legion continued through the avenue while the Sixth widened the ground behind it and replaced companies that had been fighting too long. Shuyue moved her support through those rotations, strengthening exhausted cultivators long enough for them to leave the first line safely and helping fresh teams settle into the pressure without disrupting the advance.
The army did not truly stop, which became important when the reinforcement from deeper nine finally reached the area.
Its front companies arrived while soldiers from the fallen compounds were still withdrawing north through the same roads. Officers tried to organize the incoming soldiers around the fresh formation, but wounded, exhausted, and displaced defenders made it impossible to establish the arrangement exactly as planned. Some companies were forced into side streets while others compressed around the central road, and formation specialists who had expected time to prepare emergency nodes found the coalition already emerging from the captured avenue.
"The Second keeps moving," Haotian said.
The leading formations continued the pace they had already maintained.
The demons began firing before their formations were ready. Ranged techniques crossed the road without the layered timing of the earlier compound defenses, and Blue Sphere barriers absorbed most of them while Celestara cultivators pressured the elevated fighters trying to establish new positions. Umbrel observers reported movement through side streets, but those groups had not moved far enough to threaten the coalition before nearby mixed teams intercepted them.
The central collision followed almost immediately.
There was no prepared network beneath the road and no pair of compounds supporting the front. The demons still had disciplined soldiers and competent officers, but they were trying to create a defensive body while already fighting.
Haotian and the family never allowed the line to settle. Haotian remained near the strongest resistance and removed heavy cultivators whenever they tried to establish a stable point. Lianhua moved along the western side and prevented hastily created formation relationships from stabilizing. Yinxue exploited the same openings, while Yueru and Ziyue attacked formation specialists trying to create support on the eastern side.
Xiangyin advanced with the mixed teams through the center and prevented the demons from compressing enough bodies around one point to build another shield wall. Yanfei controlled the roads instead of spreading Frostfire through the whole battlefield. Whenever a company tried to retreat or reinforce through a side route, she damaged that route enough to break its formation and leave the soldiers exposed to the mixed legions.
The reinforcement continued losing shape.
Its soldiers did not panic. Officers kept issuing orders, wounded were pulled away where possible, and companies that still possessed enough cohesion withdrew when remaining no longer served a purpose. The problem was simply that Haotian's group and the mixed legions were advancing faster than those orders could restore the battlefield.
The air above the road became crowded when several demonic ranged groups tried to gain elevation. Celestara cultivators intercepted them before stable positions formed, and the two Frost Rainbow Falcons moved through the engagement with them. One climbed above the enemy groups while the other crossed beneath their flight path, repeatedly forcing the demons to adjust instead of settling into firing formations.
Tianlan participated only when the aerial battle descended close enough to threaten the mixed teams. When one cultivator broke through the lower Celestara line, Tianlan used Ninefold Thrust through a compact sequence that kept the injured forearm close to his body. The first attacks displaced the defender's weapon and forced his guard upward, and the lower Falcon struck before Tianlan needed to extend the sequence farther.
He withdrew the spear and felt a deeper ache through the forearm.
The injury was still holding, but the accumulated strain was no longer something he could ignore.
By the time the reinforcement attempted a general withdrawal, it had already lost too much cohesion to move as one body. The commander tried to pull the central companies toward another military block, but western and eastern groups were at different distances from the route, and retreating soldiers from the previous compounds remained mixed through parts of the formation.
Haotian increased pressure enough to prevent them from settling around another road. He struck one heavy defender with Fist of Ruin and drove the man backward into a group trying to rotate toward the center. Lianhua opened another path along the western side, Yinxue entered behind her, and Yueru's Lightning disrupted defenders trying to close the opening from the east.
Fresh companies from the Sixth replaced exhausted Second Legion teams and kept pressure on the retreat without turning it into a pursuit beyond supporting distance. Blue Sphere cultivators drove the remaining defensive groups backward, Marephoros fighters prevented clean countercharges through damaged streets, and Umbrel observers kept the army aware of groups trying to move around its sides.
A significant number of demons withdrew deeper into nine, but they did so as separated companies rather than the organized reinforcement that had been sent south.
Xuanyin received that report while the six-o'clock force continued pressing the rear. The map around her had changed steadily throughout the fighting, with northern markers shifting farther into nine while the southern engagement remained concentrated around the junction the coalition had already taken. Six was forcing mixed companies to remain behind, but it had not gained enough ground to influence Haotian directly.
The surviving Demon Generals received the same information through the remaining command system.
One of them had remained in the deeper portion of nine while the fighting moved steadily toward him. He had continued directing reinforcements rather than entering personally because the stronghold had already lost several Generals during the first assault, and every remaining high-level commander was responsible for more territory than before.
The reports from the south made that caution increasingly difficult to justify.
The avenue had been lost.
Both compounds had ceased functioning as defensive positions.
The reinforcement sent to stabilize them had been broken before it could establish itself.
The next formation farther north was still incomplete.
The Demon General looked over the remaining companies assigned to the sector and asked how many organized formations stood between Haotian and his current position. The number was smaller than expected, and several of those companies consisted partly of soldiers who had already withdrawn through multiple engagements.
"How long until the next defensive formation is ready?"
"The main supports are active, but the eastern connection is not finished. Haotian will reach it before we complete the relationship."
The General looked toward the southern roads.
"Prepare the elites assigned to this sector. The next formations still hold their positions."
The officer understood what that meant. "You are going south?"
"Yes. If the next line meets him in the same condition as the others, it will fail before the rest of nine can reorganize."
The remaining elite formations began gathering around the Demon General. He did not strip every defensive position to accompany him. Enough soldiers remained behind to protect the deeper roads and continue building the next formation, while the General took only those strong enough to move with him immediately and influence the battle before Haotian reached the unfinished line.
Haotian sensed that movement while the mixed legions were still pressing through the retreating reinforcement.
The cultivation pressure approaching from the north was noticeably stronger than that of the ordinary companies they had fought throughout nine, with several concentrated presences surrounding one that stood clearly above the others. The withdrawing demons ahead were beginning to alter their routes to make room for them.
Lianhua followed Haotian's attention north while continuing to move with the coalition. "One of the Demon Generals?"
"Yes."
Yinxue looked through the withdrawing forces toward the stronger pressure behind them. "He is bringing elites."
Haotian did not change the direction of the advance.
"The legions continue against the ordinary forces. Stay close enough that we can concentrate when he reaches us."
Xiangyin and Yanfei moved back toward the main family formation as their immediate sections of the road were secured. Tianlan remained farther behind with the Frost Rainbow Falcons, and Shuyue kept her position with the deeper mixed teams.
The Demon General came south through a battlefield that was already unfavorable to him. The defensive avenue had fallen, the two compounds that had supported it were no longer functioning as organized positions, and the companies retreating from those areas were moving north through many of the same roads his elites needed to use. Some soldiers still possessed enough discipline to reorganize under new orders, but others had already fought through several positions and were trying to withdraw before the coalition reached them again.
The General therefore reached the advancing coalition with powerful cultivators around him but without the prepared defensive structure that should have supported them.
Haotian did not stop the Second and Sixth Mixed Legions to create a separate battlefield. The army continued pressing the ordinary demonic companies around the main road while Haotian, his wives, and Tianlan remained close enough to one another to deal with the stronger group. Shuyue stayed farther back among the mixed formations and continued supporting teams that had fought through multiple positions.
The Demon General also kept his elites close. He had already received reports describing how quickly isolated groups had been destroyed throughout nine and did not scatter his strongest cultivators across the wider battlefield. Instead, they advanced around him in a compact formation while ordinary companies continued withdrawing or fighting along the sides.
The first exchanges confirmed that he was considerably stronger than the ordinary defenders. His weapon carried enough force to break the paving beneath the road and push through the outer layers of the coalition's defenses, and his control was good enough to alter the direction of an attack when Haotian entered too close to the expected line. Haotian had to account for those changes rather than simply stepping inside every strike, but the General faced a larger problem in return. Every moment he concentrated on Haotian allowed the rest of the family to work against the elites protecting him.
Lianhua and Yinxue took the western side of the engagement without moving beyond supporting distance. When one elite tried to intercept Lianhua, she used Cloud-Sundering Steps to change position before the attack fully developed and applied the Voidpierce Sword Sutra against the relationship between his defense and weapon. Yinxue followed the weakness rather than engaging another opponent unnecessarily, forcing the same cultivator to defend against two sword lines before he could recover.
On the opposite side, Yueru and Ziyue prevented two more elites from closing around their commander. Yueru's Lightning disrupted their defensive circulation whenever they tried to attack together, while Ziyue used the resulting openings to force them apart. Xiangyin remained closer to the center, where her spear controlled the spaces between Haotian's fight and the mixed legion behind them. Yanfei used Frostfire only when the demons tried to reposition through damaged side roads, making those routes difficult enough that the elites could not move around the family freely.
The General recognized what was happening and tried to keep the battle concentrated around himself. He increased the pressure against Haotian while calling several elites closer, apparently intending to break one section of the family's formation before the others could completely separate his support. Haotian did not try to overpower him through one exchange. He stayed inside the man's effective range where possible, disrupted the weapon line whenever an opportunity appeared, and prevented him from creating enough distance for larger techniques.
Several exchanges passed in that manner. The General's cultivation allowed him to withstand attacks that would have killed ordinary demons immediately, but each defense required him to adjust around more than Haotian alone. When he turned toward Lianhua, Xiangyin's spear threatened the space near his flank. When he shifted away from Xiangyin, Yueru or Ziyue could attack the side he had exposed. Yinxue rarely needed to remain directly in front of him because she could follow whatever opening the others created.
The elites attempted to restore the imbalance several times, but the surrounding coalition prevented them from doing so cleanly. The Second Mixed Legion continued advancing through ordinary formations, and whenever one of the General's elites was forced too far from him, coalition cultivators could pressure that fighter without abandoning the main road. The high-level battle remained part of the larger advance instead of becoming isolated from it.
Tianlan contributed from farther back and did not force himself into direct exchanges with the Demon General. His recovering forearm had already accumulated significant strain, so he limited himself to controlling threats that came close to the family or mixed formations around him. The two Frost Rainbow Falcons handled much of the aerial pressure alongside the Celestara cultivators.
When one elite descended toward Yanfei from an elevated structure, Tianlan intercepted him with a short sequence from Ninefold Thrust and allowed one Falcon to finish disrupting the attack before his arm had to bear a longer exchange.
The battle continued moving north even while the General resisted. The demons did not possess enough ordinary troops in the immediate area to rebuild a stable line around him, and the mixed legions kept forcing those soldiers backward through the surrounding streets. Any attempt by the General to remain stationary risked allowing the coalition to move past him on the sides, while withdrawing too quickly would expose the unfinished positions farther north.
He eventually tried to gather his remaining elites for a more concentrated push. Several abandoned their separate exchanges and moved back toward him while he began drawing more cultivation through his weapon. Haotian saw the change and ordered the family to prevent the elites from completing the formation.