The giant palm imprint crashed down, and the city's grand defensive array suddenly erupted in a dazzling burst of seven-colored light.
"Boom!"
In the next instant, the giant palm slammed heavily onto the grand defensive array. The entire formation seemed unable to bear the force, letting out a series of cracking sounds, as if it could shatter at any moment. All the cultivators beneath the array felt their hearts clench in alarm.
The giant palm imprint dissipated, but the grand defensive array still hadn’t truly shattered.
But before the cultivators of Immortal Maple City could breathe a sigh of relief, an even larger black palm imprint appeared in the sky.
"Rumble!"
"Crack!"
In the end, the grand defensive array couldn’t withstand the Serpent King’s second palm strike and collapsed with a thunderous crash.
In that moment, all the cultivators on the city wall fell into despair. With the defensive array shattered, what could they possibly use to resist the Serpent King?
Just then—
The patriarch of a cultivation clan in Immortal Maple City, Tyson Wu, fell to his knees in panic and shouted, "Serpent King, I know where Stone Yun’s son and daughter are being held—please, spare us!"
"Tyson Wu, you...!"
Seeing this, Prefect Wu and Avery Ao were both furious.
The Serpent King, on the other hand, watched with a playful smile. "You must be Tyson Wu of the Wu Family, right?"
"Yes, that’s me! I never imagined Your Majesty would even recognize me—what an honor!" Tyson Wu shamelessly flattered the Serpent King.
Seeing this, the Serpent King's smile grew more amused. "Since you’re so sensible, I’ll give you a chance. Take the Wu Family cultivators into the city and start killing. For every ten people you kill, one Wu clansman gets to live. Whether your whole clan survives depends on how many you slaughter."
Tyson Wu’s face went pale for a moment, but soon twisted with a vicious grin. "Rest assured, Your Majesty, the Wu Family won’t let you down!"
"Go on!"
The Serpent King waved his hand.
"Wu Family sons, follow me!" Tyson Wu shouted, leading the Wu Family cultivators as they charged into the city.
At that moment, the heads of six other clans also dropped to their knees, declaring they were willing to follow Tyson Wu’s example.
The Serpent King sneered, "For your six clans, every fifty people you kill lets one of your own survive. Go on—don’t disappoint me!"
"Thank you, Your Majesty!"
The six clan heads were overjoyed and immediately led their followers to rampage through the city.
"Scoundrels! A bunch of scoundrels!"
Prefect Wu stomped his feet in rage, then pointed at the Serpent King and shouted, "Serpent King, don’t think you can do as you please just because you’re powerful! We’ve already spread the news of your invasion. Even if you slaughter everyone in Immortal Maple City, the imperial court will learn of it and won’t let you go unpunished!"
"Old fool, courting death!"
A demon general flew into a rage at these words and swung his fist at Prefect Wu.
Prefect Wu only had early Soul-Split cultivation and was a civil official, not skilled in combat. Facing the demon’s attack, he was powerless to dodge.
"Prefect Wu, look out!"
Avery Ao flashed forward, blocking in front of Prefect Wu and meeting the demon general’s fist with one of his own.
"Boom! Boom! Boom!"
Waves of force exploded out, destroying huge sections of the city wall. Many cultivators on the wall were caught in the crossfire—some were sent flying and coughed up blood, while those with weaker cultivation were blasted to pieces.
At this moment, the Serpent King pointed at four demon generals. "Each of you take fifty thousand demon cultivators and surround Immortal Maple City. Kill anyone who tries to escape! The rest, follow me into the city!"
The four demon generals moved swiftly, each leading fifty thousand demon cultivators to completely encircle Immortal Maple City.
The remaining three hundred thousand demon cultivators followed the Serpent King into the city.
"Don’t let the demon cultivators enter the city—everyone, stand with me and stop them!"
Avery Ao’s deputy saw the demon cultivators charging in. Unafraid, he shouted and swung his blade in a fierce slash.
"Slash! Slash! Slash! Slash!"
A streak of dazzling blade light flashed by, and the four Nascent Soul-stage demon cultivators at the front were instantly cleaved in half.