The goal of this special mission is to infiltrate Smoke Cloud City and destroy the resource reserves of the alien demons, specifically the magic stone spiritual mine that the alien demons moved here. There are exactly nine people in this operation, led by Elder Tian, a mid-Nascent Soul stage elder of the council.
Besides Zhang Ling himself and Xuan Gui.
The others are Fire Elder, Elder Tian, Poison Cloud Old Monster, the crew-cut, blonde-haired giant Shi, and the Corpse Gu Sect's Griffin Old Ghost.
The remaining two are Fellow Daoist Yin Guang, who is proficient in formations, and a demonic cultivator wearing a bamboo hat, whose face cannot be seen. But according to the introduction, this person is an elder of the Demonic Moro Sect, surnamed Wei.
It is said that he is born with a powerful divine sense and also cultivates advanced concealment techniques. Infiltrating the alien demon's base camp requires this person.
Not long after, Zhang Ling returned to the sect's camp.
As soon as he entered the camp, Senior Brother Tianfeng appeared before him. "Junior Brother, you have accepted the Elder Council's special mission."
Seeing his senior brother's concern, Zhang Ling nodded. "Senior Brother, don't worry. Although I accepted a special mission, there are several mid-Nascent Soul stage old monsters acting with me this time. Everything has been arranged properly, and there won't be any problems."
"Alas... I won't say anything more." Senior Brother Tianfeng shook his head. With a flip of his hand, he took out a white jade talisman, which had no spiritual patterns on it, but rather several small cracks, making it somewhat broken.
"Take this with you. This jade talisman is the Hao Light Talisman inherited by our sect, and it can autonomously withstand one attack. But remember, it can only withstand a full blow from the early to mid-Nascent Soul stage. If you encounter an old monster in the late-Nascent Soul stage, run away as soon as possible."
"Senior Brother, this..." Zhang Ling was slightly surprised. He didn't expect his senior brother to take out such a treasure for him.
Autonomous defensive treasures are extremely precious in the cultivation world, especially high-level jade talismans that are useful against Nascent Soul stage cultivators.
"Don't be so long-winded, just take it." Senior Brother Tianfeng smiled and threw the jade talisman over.
"Then Junior Brother thanks Senior Brother." Zhang Ling solemnly accepted the jade talisman and held it in his hand. The jade talisman was somewhat cold, and a special spiritual power was constantly flowing inside.
"Haha, that's right. This thing has been used many times, and it will be scrapped after one or two more uses. Each use must be separated by a hundred years. I am about to take my disciples to join the army, so I'm leaving now. Be careful in everything." Senior Brother Tianfeng waved his hand and walked towards the other side.
Zhang Ling returned to his stone building and first played with the white jade talisman. This talisman does not need to be specially activated; just wear it on your body. He put it in his waist pouch.
Then, with a wave of his hand, the Four Direction Flags, Black Bone Giant Claw, Silver Flying Needles, Yellow Luo Umbrella, White Jade Ruyi, and the gold and silver copper rings, as well as several other commonly used magic weapons, all floated before him.
The day after tomorrow is the alien demons' agreed-upon Immortal City defense battle. Tonight, their secret team will set off and infiltrate the vicinity of Smoke Cloud City in advance.
While there is still some time, he might as well familiarize himself with the commonly used magic weapons again.
At the same time, outside, the supporting cultivators, rogue cultivators, and others gathered around Hundred River City and Tianyi Lake also learned about the Immortal City defense battle.
Many cultivators first made a commotion for a while, and then, led by the elders of various sects, they also took action one after another according to the Elder Council's dispatch.
The cultivator army was divided into two major camps: one camp was responsible for attacking the city, and the other camp was responsible for defending the city.
In order to rush to the Immortal City to be defended as soon as possible, the Elder Council decided to temporarily open the teleportation array. In just over two hours, the cultivators responsible for defending the city arrived at the other four Immortal Cities to be defended.
Of course, Hundred River City, the main base camp, naturally left more than twenty Nascent Soul stage cultivators to guard it.
As for the siege army, even more people were dispatched. In this half-day, they were completely mobilized.
Giant warships, carrying the many cultivators, set off without delay towards the five Immortal Cities occupied by the demon race, such as Smoke Cloud City.
Thus, when Zhang Ling walked out of the stone building at night, a sweep of his divine sense revealed that the supporting cultivators who had gathered on Tianyi Lake had already left by seventy or eighty percent.
In the camp where the Hao Yuan Sect was located, only one Golden Core stage cultivator and more than two hundred low-level disciples remained. All the other disciples had left with the main force.
Zhang Ling looked up at the sky. Tonight, the moon and stars were sparse, and a thin layer of dust covered the sky. The moon looked hazy and unreal.
He chuckled softly, and with a sway of his body, he transformed into a faint yellow light, and after a few flashes, he quietly left.
A quarter of an hour later, Zhang Ling and Xuan Gui appeared in a low mountain on the outskirts of Tianyi Lake.
"Fellow Daoist Xuanling, Fellow Daoist Zhang, you two have arrived early." As soon as he landed in a dense forest, he heard a hearty laugh not far away.
Zhang Ling swept his gaze and saw an open space in the dense forest a hundred feet away, with a bonfire lit there and two figures sitting beside it. "Haven't you two been waiting for a long time either?"
"Fire Elder and I have only just arrived."
A yellow-faced man wearing black martial attire, this person was the leader, Elder Tian, looked at him and Xuan Gui with a smile, paying particular attention to Xuan Gui.
The other person beside the bonfire was wearing a felt hat, Fire Elder. Fire Elder was holding a long black iron fork, with several ten-foot-long black fish skewered on it and roasting over the fire. "Two young friends, would you like to try my craftsmanship? This black-headed fish has delicious meat."
Fire Elder also had a smile on his face, beckoning them to come over. This demon looked nothing like a transformed great demon, but more like a mortal old man.
Zhang Ling walked over, tapped his feet lightly, and two square earthen platforms rose up. He and Xuan Gui sat cross-legged on them, waiting quietly.
Watching the bonfire crackle, tonight was a rare moment of peace, reminding him of tranquil times.
Time passed quickly. A quarter of an hour later.
Poison Cloud Old Monster, Griffin Old Ghost, and the others also arrived. Under the leadership of Elder Tian, the nine of them flew towards another mountain not far away and passed through a secret small teleportation array in the mountain. In an instant, they were teleported thousands of miles away, crossing the entire Hundred River River.
The nine reappeared in a mountain peak, where the trees were lush, obscuring the moonlight and making it extremely dark.
Elder Tian looked at the surrounding environment and said, "This place is only a little over a thousand miles away from Smoke Cloud City. Everyone, restrain your aura to avoid being discovered by the alien demons nearby."
Without this person speaking, Zhang Ling and the others restrained their aura, reducing it to the lowest level.
At the same time, Fellow Daoist Wei, wearing a bamboo hat, waved his hand and took out nine black jade bottles. With a flick of his finger, he distributed eight of the jade bottles to several people.
"This is the high-grade Demon Light Pill that I refined, which can better conceal one's own aura and simulate the aura of the alien demons. Even if you encounter alien demon cultivators of the same rank, there is a high probability that you will not be seen through."
"This seat doesn't need it. This old man is quite confident in his own secret methods." Poison Cloud Old Monster glanced at the black jade bottle, sneered coldly, and had no intention of accepting the pill.
