The dark gray sky was deep and murky, the blackness not pure, but rather, it had a sandblasted texture in the eyes of the observer.

The cause of this was mostly due to the special ashes sprinkled by spirits, obscuring the sky.

Even though the voice from within the Abyss wished to salvage the situation, the spirit ashes had already reached a point of no return, realizing it was locked down by that force.

A bit earlier and it could have fled, but now there was no way back; it could only choose to face this invisible force head-on.

"Sigh."

The voice within the array also sensed the plight of the spirit ashes and could only sigh helplessly and fall silent.

Facing that force, the fate of the spirit ashes was all too clear to him; it wasn't that he underestimated it, but that force was simply beyond any resistance.

The gray-black ashes gathered, and a monstrous skull, grim and vicious, appeared out of nowhere in front of the spirit ashes.

Within its wide open jowls, explosions incessantly erupted repeatedly in the enclosed space, each capable of easily critically wounding a cultivator in the early stages of the Eighth Realm!

The spirit ashes let out a cold laugh; did Qiu Feng think so little of him? This bizarre force, although formidable, dreaming of defeating him was pure folly!

How much time had he, the spirit ashes, spent to advance to the Ninth Realm? Now at the peak of his powers, it was time to break the seals and show his might. Those Abyss Envoys from the old eras were only born earlier than him, but presume to command him?

Today he intended to break this deadlock, to sacrifice the blood of all cultivators from the Desert North to the Abyss, aiding the Abyss master in breaking the final seal, and to take over the entire Desert North!

Indulging in visions of the future, the spirit ashes suddenly stiffened; an unmatched force transmitted from all directions, and the giant skull beside him was now thoroughly pulverized.

Just like rice being smashed in a mortar, without any hindrance.

The spirit ashes wanted to resist, but his vital flame was like a candle in the wind, gradually being snuffed out.

He tried to use his immense strength to break free from this targeting force, but despite being capable of pulverizing the entire Desert North into dust, there was no target for his attack.

This force could be sensed but couldn't be struck; that was the terrifying part.

"You see, this person, just had to court death, wasn't living fine? Fighting with me, at least he could die clearly, now he can only die so stifled."

From a great distance, Chen Hua looked at the spirit ashes, which were gradually losing vitality, and couldn't help but shake his head and sigh.

"To be honest, indeed."

Qinglian also looked sympathetically at the corpse now being reclaimed by the Abyss; who could have thought that this was just a moment ago a lively cultivator of the Ninth Realm?

Their initial goal here with Chen Hua was precisely to kill that guy, intending to eliminate him.

After all, although his strength wasn't imposing in a one-on-one fight, on this battlefield, he was like a massive weapon. Except for cultivators like him and Chen Hua from the Ninth Realm, most were lower-level cultivators.

Casting a line of interception using the Zen Sect's unique arrays to keep the Abyss Army within the Desert North, these were carried out by ordinary disciples of the Zen Sect and other super forces' disciples.

The ability of the spirit ashes was on the brink of devastation for cultivators below the Eighth Realm; the dust that just blanketed the entire Desert North sky, once exploded, could blast the whole Desert North to the skies, ordinary cultivators, without the protection of the powerful, had no chance of survival whatsoever.

This ability was something the spirit ashes could exert just at the flick of his wrists; had he truly let loose, the cultivators of the Eighth Realm and below across the entire Mystical Mechanism Continent might not survive 24 hours.

"Thank goodness for the support of the Wind God Commerce."

Qinglian and Chen Hua were currently the two mightiest cultivators on the frontline, facing off against the strongest of the Abyss.

Below them, the Zen Sect and Wind God Commerce, mainly handled intercepting the Abyss at the lower levels and the preparations for the war supplies.

War was an enormously costly affair, let alone a deadly battle between two vastly unequal powers; even with the accumulation of Wind God Commerce over tens of thousands of years, the expense was exceedingly painful.

Now, the war appeared evenly matched on the surface; first, since this epoch saw the emergence of Chen Hua, an anomaly who would even be considered a tri-immortal level being from the First Epoch within the Taoist Sect.

Interestingly, spanning across three epochs, those resisting the Abyssal encroachment remained members of the Taoist Sect.

Second was the presence of that sealing array. Limiting the Abyss to a state of inaction, regardless of how damaged the tri-immortal's seal had become, as long as the Sealing Array wasn't completely broken through, the Abyss couldn't take action.

This Sealing Array had touched upon the universal laws. Directly sealing the Abyss seemed unlikely, but with the premise of "as long as the Sealing Array remains," this matter had operational leverage.

Should the seal really shatter, even Chen Hua would need to avoid the brunt of the Abyss capable of taking action; for now, he wasn't yet able to confront the Abyss.

Thirdly, the entire Mystical Mechanism Continent was actually lending support to help the Desert North.

Although the main forces in the Desert North were still the Zen Sect and Wind God Commerce, virtually all named and known powers across the continent had already sent support.

Zen Sect disciples are all capable of enduring beatings due to their body cultivation, but even iron men would be pulverized into dust in such intense warfare, so without the support of disciples from other sects, they would not be able to hold on.

Although some sects inevitably adopt the attitude of "let the tall ones handle it when the sky falls" in order to preserve their strength, most sects on Mystical Mechanism Continent take this matter very seriously.

"Hui Zhi, senior brother, there seems to be a breach in the Thousand Buddhas Conquering Demons Array 3,000 li northeast of here, please send support immediately!"

"Hui Zhi, senior brother, a Seventh Realm Great Cultivator from the Abyss has appeared 2,600 li northwest, requesting support!"

"Senior brother, the Abyss Army has pushed to the 2,500 li defense line to the north, can we activate the Six Roots Desire Transformation Array?"

"Senior brother! The Abyss has troops using the northern army as bait to execute a diversion tactic, what should we do?"

In the Zen Sect Grand Hall, Hui Zhi's bald head was now even more impossibly shiny, with sweat occasionally appearing on his forehead - a testament to how anguished he was amidst the war.

As Chief of the Zen Sect, he had been commanding the defense alongside his master since the outbreak of the war. Now, with his master in seclusion to break through to a new realm, the responsibility of the frontline fell solely on him.

Fortunately, after a long time beside his master, learning by observation and involvement, he had picked up quite a bit. At least stabilizing the battle situation temporarily was not an issue.

To limit the movement of the Abyss, his master used the Zen Sect's most treasured "Buddha Land in Palm" as the core, combined with Wind God Commerce's "Wind Stabilizing Pearl" and some rare magical treasures, together with several Array Masters to construct an array, refining the ground of the Abyss' exit into a microcosm.

After all, the forces of the Abyss aren't foolish; they have no need to stubbornly fight the Zen Sect here. Once out of the range of the Zen Sect's influence, there's plenty of other places they can invade.

But because of this array, a thousand Buddhas stationed in the Void coordinated with the array and Zen Sect's secret techniques, anyone attempting to break out would be met with a slap from the "Tathagata Divine Palm."

And those capable of forcefully breaking through had to continually guard against a potential surprise attack from Chen Hua's sword.

If that sword strike lands, it would doubtlessly cause severe injuries.

Now a Ninth Realm Great Perfection – Creation Green Lotus, controlling the Power of Void, had arrived. He insanely solidified the surrounding void space a hundredfold, making it as futile as a common man ramming his head against barrier.

While ramming wouldn't kill, it would leave one dizzy and disoriented.

This insidious and frustrating act infuriated the Abyss Great Cultivators to no end; their Array Masters had almost formulated a countermeasure to break the Great Formation and escape, but this person's arrival completely thwarted their plans.

It seems that Qinglian knows he disrupted the Abyss' plans, so he now doesn't go anywhere but follows Chen Hua, making those degenerates see him as children seeing their father wielding a broom.

Without a word, they turn with glum faces and leave.

In the Grand Hall, Hui Zhi faced the unrelenting attacks and various tricks from his opponents without any trace of panic, instead countering each move and even using the enemies' schemes to set traps.

Being able to command cultivators of the Seventh Realm from various forces as a Sixth Realm himself, Hui Zhi certainly had a convincing presence. Otherwise, on a battlefield where strength reigns supreme and dangers abound, no one would entrust their lives to someone unreliable.

Even being the Chief of the Zen Sect wouldn't be enough!

However, after simply observing Hui Zhi calmly commanding multiple battlefields and achieving some victories, the proud cultivators willingly chose to follow his commands. In such a situation, had it been another Seventh Realm cultivator, the outcomes would have been instantaneously disastrous.

"Senior brother, it has been confirmed that all the abnormal people from our sect have disappeared."

After an extremely tense tug of war, the Zen Sect managed to hold the front with a slight advantage once more. As the Abyss Army retreated, allowing a momentary respite, a Zen Sect disciple reported the situation back at the sect.

Currently, with the main forces of the Zen Sect and various supporting forces concentrated in the secret realm of "Buddha Land in Palm," the sect had only left a few elders and disciples to guard the home front. Now that all the abnormal people had vanished, it was a significant matter to report.

"Is that so? Let them be gone then, it's good timing to redeploy some of the guarding disciples and elders here."

Even while speaking, Hui Zhi maintained his meditation posture, sitting on a mat with Spirit Pills and burning fragrant incense in the Grand Hall, each designed to rejuvenate. He couldn't afford to waste a single moment, and other disciples in the Grand Hall did the same.

"Senior brother, why don't we pull the abnormal people here? They have bodies that do not perish."

After hesitating for a long while, the reporting disciple couldn't help but voice this question.

They were fighting desperately at the front, while those abnormal people disciples, unaware of this issue, were laughing and frolicking back at the sect. Thinking of this, the disciple felt somewhat aggrieved and puzzled.

Hui Zhi's brow furrowed and his tightly shut eyes suddenly opened, staring straight at the Zen Sect disciple before him.

This disciple felt a tremor in his heart; the usually gentle and polite Chief, who made everyone feel welcomed, now gave off a completely different aura.

In the relentless warfare that continued day and night, even a scholar would turn into an Iron-blooded General, let alone Hui Zhi.

After all, with every command he gave, countless lives were lost, whether from his own forces or from those of the Abyss.

"Leixing, do you think neither my master nor I have thought of these things?"

With a soft chant of a Buddhist mantra, Hui Zhi reverted to his calm and unruffled state of mind before addressing this true inheritor of the Zen Sect.

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