"Retreat! Everyone, fall back to the great array!" Lü Tianmeng, seeing the flames on those great banners growing ever thicker, shouted urgently and was the first to pull back, fleeing toward the great array behind him.
The cultivators around him, hearing this, immediately and instinctively followed their leader in retreat.
Seeing this scene, Xuan Le likewise gave the order to withdraw without the slightest hesitation.
But the cultivators on Han Li's side, apart from the few who firmly held the upper hand and could break away at any moment, all found themselves desperately entangled by their opponents. Han Li's own opponent likewise launched a frenzied assault, trying to pin him down.
But Han Li only gave a cold snort. He recalled his other magic tools and brought out the White Scale Shield, nimbly returning to the great array while bracing against his opponent's assault. The Heavenly Fiend Sect cultivators could only stop outside the array, their faces full of chagrin.
Xuan Le saw that more than half of his own team was still stranded outside the array, and the fighting there had only grown fiercer. Knowing things had gone wrong, he wanted to go out with the other cultivators to lend a hand, but the moment he moved, Lü Tianmeng grabbed hold of him.
"It's too late! The Azure Yang Demonic Fire has already been summoned by the enemy!" Lü Tianmeng said, shaking his head with an ashen face.
Hearing this, Han Li finally noticed that arm-thick azure flames had already shot out from the tips of the banners held by the red-robed men. More than ten streams of azure flame rushing into the air merged into a huge azure fireball several zhang in diameter, floating lightly in the air and swaying gently, dazzling to the eye.
"This—?"
Xuan Le was taken aback, and was about to say something more. But the red-robed men's next move instantly made his face turn exceedingly ugly.
The red-robed men pointed their banner tips one by one at the Seven Sects cultivators who were still entangled outside the array. The huge fireball at once gave a muffled "pu" sound and split into more than ten small fireballs several feet long, shooting straight at those cultivators.
These azure fireballs were extremely fast; in the blink of an eye they came hurtling fiercely before the Seven Sects cultivators.
These people had of course long since noticed the transformation of the great fireball. Most instinctively met the azure fireballs with all manner of magic tools, while a rare few used talismans to launch spell attacks, all trying to knock the things down.
Unfortunately, this azure flame, known as the "Azure Yang Demonic Fire," was truly terrifying!
Whether magic tools or spell attacks, the moment they touched the azure fireballs they melted away without a sound, like moths diving into a flame, dissolved without a trace.
Seeing this unbelievable scene, the cultivators turned pale as snow!
Before they could gather their thoughts, the dozen-odd fireballs slammed into them simultaneously. The protective shields and barriers around their bodies were extinguished at a single touch, and they themselves instantly vanished beneath the demonic fire, leaving not the slightest trace in this world.
The remaining cultivators who had not yet been attacked, seeing this terrifying scene, no longer hesitated in the least! Risking grave injury from the Heavenly Fiend Sect cultivators opposite them—or simply abandoning even the magic tools they were locked in combat with—they fled straight toward the great array.
But in doing so, two or three panicked and died directly beneath their opponents' magic tools.
In this way, the Seven Sects side defending the spirit mine had, at the very first exchange, lost more than ten Qi Condensation disciples and one Foundation Establishment cultivator—truly heavy losses!
But the might of the Azure Yang Demonic Fire did not stop there!
Under the red-robed men's control, those azure fireballs once more merged together into a single whole, and then transformed into a wave of azure flame that surged straight toward the Four Fiends Array.
At this, everyone hiding within the array changed countenance; terror spread across all the cultivators.
Seeing this, Xuan Le knit his brows tightly and asked Lü Tianmeng directly:
"Brother Lü, what exactly is this azure flame? How could Foundation Establishment cultivators release such terrifying true fire? This array's restriction should be able to withstand the impact of this fire, shouldn't it?"
At this string of questions, Lü Tianmeng could not help but smile bitterly. But seeing that the other cultivators were all staring at him intently, he had no choice but to explain helplessly:
"To be honest with you fellow Daoists, I only glimpsed the terror of this Azure Yang Demonic Fire once, during the fighting at the border. As for whether it can break the Four Fiends Array, I truly have no way to guess! Only—I later heard some seniors say that this demonic fire cannot be released casually. Not only must these mad-flame cultivators cultivate the Azure Yang Demonic Fire Art, but each release also comes at the cost of lowering their own cultivation. That is why it is so difficult to withstand!"
At these words, Xuan Le and the other cultivators exchanged glances, gloomy expressions on their faces!
At that moment, that stream of azure flame collided with the array's four-colored restriction, and a low, rumbling explosion drew everyone's attention.
The azure wave crashed against the four-colored light screen wave after wave, making it ripple unceasingly, but in the end it held back the terrifying demonic flame, and the Seven Sects cultivators inside the array all heaved a temporary sigh of relief.
But Han Li and the others were not at ease for long before their hearts hung in suspense once more.
Because as time passed bit by bit, the four-colored light screen, under the repeated washing of the azure flame, had gradually dimmed—a clear sign that the array was about to break. Meanwhile, although the red-robed men were likewise waving their great banners with sweat streaming down their faces, they clearly could hold on for another good while without any problem.
At this, every cultivator in the array racked their brains, bitterly pondering plans to repel the enemy or to escape!
Judging from what had happened at the other spirit mines that had been attacked, the Seven Sects cultivators who fell into the devilish dao's hands were not killed immediately, but were promptly escorted to the enemy's rear. No one knew what the devil-dao people might do with their captives?
Moreover, the Seven Sects and the Six Devilish Sects had fought until now with hatred as deep as the sea! How could they ever treat their prisoners with kindness? Especially since the enemy was particularly adept at the vicious arts of extracting souls and refining spirits, which made the Seven Sects cultivators all the more uneasy!
And so the matter of surrender was never raised unless it was absolutely unavoidable.
"I know of an underground passage that leads directly to a point several dozen li away. It should be enough for us to escape!" said Yu Xing, the elder who had been stationed here for more than ten years, suddenly speaking with a calm expression.
These words were like a great boulder stirring up a thousand-layered wave. Xuan Le and the other cultivators were first startled, and then grew excited.
"Brother Yu, is it true?"
"Wonderful! Now we can get away!"
"We're saved!"
...
The originally panic-stricken Seven Sects cultivators had life return to their faces in an instant, overjoyed!
Han Li was also extraordinarily delighted. After all, he was every bit as helpless before those azure demonic flames—even if he wanted to fight for his life, there was no way to even begin.
Suppressing the agitation in their hearts, Xuan Le and Lü Tianmeng, after confirming the truth of the underground passage from Yu Xing's own mouth, gave the order to retreat without further hesitation!
As for the spirit stone mine, there was no need to worry. At most, the enemy would completely destroy the cave entrance, so that this mine source could no longer supply spirit stones for a short time. As for the spirit stones contained within the mine, the devil-dao people could not take away so much as a single bit. And as for the mortals who dug the mine, neither side of the warring parties would generally harm them!
So all they had to do was pat their backsides and walk away.
And so, the fifty-some cultivators defending the mine, Han Li among them, led by Yu Xing, entered a certain underground tunnel within the spirit stone mine. But at the very instant they entered the underground, everyone felt the entire canyon tremble slightly.
"The Four Fiends Array has been broken!" Xuan Le said, expressionless.
Immediately, everyone's footsteps quickened considerably.
...
Inside the tunnel, everything was lit bright by the moonstones in the cultivators' hands. From the pitted, uneven walls all around, one could see that this tunnel had in fact been dug entirely by human hands, which left the cultivators somewhat surprised.
According to Yu Xing, this tunnel had originally been an extremely long branch vein of the spirit stone, so without anyone quite realizing it, the spirit stone miners had dug out such a long underground tunnel, which connected directly to an exit at the other end.
Fortunately, the tunnel was so long that Yu Xing remembered it vividly. Otherwise, today there would truly have been no path of escape!
The other cultivators nodded in agreement again and again.
But just at that moment, the tunnel suddenly began shaking violently, and amid several rumbling booms, it collapsed bit by bit.
Before the terrified eyes of the cultivators, countless earth and giant rocks buried them all where they stood, and the entire underground world turned pitch black once more.
...
Several hours later, a stone wall of a certain natural cave in the underground world burst open with a "crash," and a lizard-like puppet beast rushed out from the hole. It looked around warily for a moment, then jumped back into the cave.
After the time it takes to eat a meal, the lizard machine-beast darted out of the hole in the wall once more—but this time, a person crawled out right behind it. It was Han Li, who had narrowly escaped death in the collapse.
Han Li rose to his feet, looked around at his surroundings, and a look of gratitude for having survived the calamity appeared on his face!