Under the mighty blow of the Celestial Severance Blade, the four freaks were chopped to pieces. The swarm of vengeful spirits hidden within their bodies burst out and scattered, vanishing into thin air!
After dealing with the four freaks, a strange thud echoed from the cliff on one side of the valley, like something heavy had crashed to the ground.
The women instantly looked up and saw a gray figure scrambling to its feet, leaping away in a flash and disappearing from sight.
"Huh? Who was that?" May Gu asked curiously.
"Heh… That’s the guy controlling the lizard. He must be hurt now. Let’s chase him…" Annabelle Hung turned to the other three, then sprang into action, darting ahead. The three women followed closely behind, plunging deeper into Moonlight Valley.
Just as the four women charged into the valley, Shawn Young and Jade Swann arrived outside. They abandoned their car and entered the valley on foot.
Standing at the junction of two mountain paths, Shawn Young observed for a moment before pointing to the left. "Jade, let’s go in this way."
Jade Swann looked at him with curiosity. "Oh? Why this way? Why not take the right path?"
"Both paths are actually defensive Feng Shui arrays set up by the Nine Chrysanthemums Society, drawing on the yin-yang energy of the mountains. Pretty impressive, really. The right path is the White Tiger Guardian Array, and the left is the Earth Fiend Soul-Lock Array. The White Tiger array has already been broken, so if we take out the left one, their outer defenses will be down! Then we’ll be able to go straight for the boss…" Shawn Young explained.
"Got it! Let’s move!" Jade Swann nodded and dashed into the left path ahead of him.
Following close behind her, Shawn Young stepped inside and was immediately struck by the sight before them—a wide, sunken basin flanked by steep mountain valleys. Gusts of wind and sand whipped past, howling sharply, carrying with them a sense of desolation and tragic grandeur.
"Sheer cliffs split like they've been chopped by an axe, the valley mouth flares out like a trumpet, the autumn wind rattles armor and hints at battles past, thousands of soldiers and horses buried, their souls lost forever." Staring down at the terrain below, Shawn blurted out, then added, "The malice aura and killing intent here are so intense—this must've been a battlefield in ancient times!"
"Ancient battlefield? You mean... the Japanese fought here ages ago?" Yannie Xiaoyu asked, curiosity sparkling in her eyes.
"Yep. The wind and sand blowing in are thick with malice aura. Without tens of thousands fighting to the death, there wouldn't be so much malice built up. And with so much lingering, there must be countless vengeful spirits. The Nine Chrysanthemums Society is all about controlling corpses and spirits, so picking this spot for their Earth Fiend Soul-Lock Array was a pretty clever move!" Shawn explained.
"Hmph! No matter how clever they are, we're busting in anyway!" Yannie declared, her voice brimming with bravado.
"Exactly! Let's go—let's see what kind of weird tricks they've got up their sleeves." Shawn nodded, and together he and Yannie leapt down into the basin, sprinting ahead.
Soon, the two reached the edge of the basin and found a valley ahead. At the far end, the trumpet-shaped mouth spread wide on both sides, forming an open area embraced by twin peaks. The surrounding mountains made it the perfect spot for armies to clash—this must've been the heart of the ancient battlefield.
Suddenly, a fierce wind whipped up, and countless black-robed figures swept across the battlefield like storm clouds, their robes snapping in the gale. Lightning flickered within the dark clouds, and malice aura and killing intent flooded the ancient battlefield.
Right then, a deep, low horn sounded in the valley, its powerful notes echoing again and again. The air churned with swirling sand, and through the haze, Shawn and Yannie could make out a cluster of black shadows in the valley.
They focused and peered ahead, spotting several rows of statue-like black figures, moving in perfect formation toward them.