The Demon Kings scattered, splitting the black clouds into five, with a sudden attack revealing five Demon Kings present.

Three Golden Core Ancestors flew out of the Mountain Protection Array, wielding magical treasures and engaging in battle with the Demon Kings.

If the Demon Kings’ attacks were left unchecked upon the array, the drain on the earth veins would be tremendous.

Currently, Mingfeng Mountain’s spiritual vein is at risk of degrading to a middle-grade level, and it is essential to minimize the array’s extraction from the earth vein.

Daoist Master Zhengyang stood in defense, casting a spell, with the Profound Yellow Tower hanging overhead, emitting a thick aura of yellow light.

Whenever a Demon King attacked, the spirit light remained utterly still, enduring all the attacks like a mountain.

’Comrades, please exert yourselves; the Demon Kings’ attacks are fierce, and I won’t be able to hold out for long.’

Despite appearing calm and breezy, Daoist Master Zhengyang felt slightly anxious inside.

Even though the Profound Yellow Tower is a defensive treasure with formidable power due to years of refinement.

But two fists cannot compete with four hands, and no matter how strong the defense, it cannot withstand the assault of a force of the same tier.

His magical power depletion rate is extremely fast, and this current situation is the result of his best efforts to maintain.

Fortunately, the coordination among the Demon Kings was not seamless; the attacks were not tightly connected, allowing him a slight chance to catch his breath, otherwise, the situation would be even more challenging.

"I’ll help to relieve your pressure!"

Nanshan Zhenren flew out from the range of the treasure light; his body continued to enlarge, transforming into a giant over two zhang tall in the blink of an eye, equivalent in height to the Demon Kings.

As a Body Cultivator, simply wielding magical treasures to attack from afar posed little threat to the Demon Kings. The treasures in his hands could unleash greater power.

The Golden Wheel Treasure returned to its owner, its brilliance intensified several degrees.

Nanshan Zhenren’s body shimmered with a metallic luster, and along with the reflection from the Golden Wheel, appeared as a human-shaped Gundam!

"Beast, meet your death!"

He roared, charging towards a bear-type Demon King.

The previous battle was too frustrating; he wanted to regain his ground. More importantly, this Bear Demon’s aura was the most powerful, akin to his own sixth-layer Golden Core Realm.

Drawing the Bear Demon away could significantly reduce the pressure on Daoist Master Zhengyang.

The giant bear bellowed, opening its bloody maw, riding the Demonic Wind to confront its provoker.

It extended its millstone-sized bear paw, slapping heavily in a melee with the enemy’s magical treasures.

The bear paw struck the Golden Wheel heavily; both man and demon flew backward, spanning over a dozen zhang.

Fire Cloud Zhenren also took serious action, wielding the Divine Fire Fan, launching a fierce attack.

With late-stage Golden Core cultivation, intercepting other demon beasts to prevent Nanshan Zhenren from being besieged fell on him.

Nanshan Zhenren had other missions to fulfill and must not fail.

Each swing of the Divine Fire Fan manifested a Fire Dragon, roaring towards the Demon King.

’A remarkable treasure!’

Daoist Master Zhengyang silently praised, knowing only when the spiritual nature of a treasure reached a certain level, such visions would appear.

Currently, the treasure has reached a critical point; once an Artifact Spirit is cultivated, the treasure can transform, aiding the master in offense or defense.

He secretly sighed again; the Golden Spirit Sect birthed Golden Core Cultivators, lagging Luofeng Valley by seven to eight hundred years, quite lacking in the foundation of treasures.

Black clouds churned, echoing with wails and howls.

The Fire Dragon swayed its tail, cleansing the bright heavens and earth.

For a while, three Golden Core Daoist Masters and five Demon Kings battled evenly matched, locked in a stalemate.

... 𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂

The battlefield became the stage for Golden Core Cultivators, with low-tier cultivators gazing upward, some filled with excitement and others pale-faced.

Ji An watched the awe-inspiring battle in the sky, his eyes revealing a longing gaze.

Any sliver of light or a gust of black wind above would instantly lead to death and nothingness if struck upon him.

He unconsciously clenched his fists, inwardly pondering whether he would ever reach the day to form a Golden Core.

’To hear of the Dao in the morning, one can die at dusk.’

He began to understand what kind of mindset this was; the supreme power of the Golden Core Dao Fruit was right before him, strengthening his Dao Heart further.

Liu Yu furrowed his brows slightly, stepping forward to say:

"Previously, whenever Demon Kings were dispatched, only one or two would appear. This time, five appeared simultaneously.

If it weren’t for the other Ancestors being coincidentally present, today the Immortal City would be in danger."

His heart flashed with deep worry; if all the Ancestors were restrained here, should one Demon King break through the human cultivators’ hinterlands, the devastation would be immeasurable.

The security across the sects should still hold, but those families would suffer.

If the spiritual vein does not reach Tier Two Upper Grade or above, it cannot withstand even a few strikes from the Demon Kings. However, many family settlements in the Western Continent were merely established on Tier One spiritual veins.

If he knew there’s already a late-stage Golden Core tier Demon Cultivator roaming in the sects’ jurisdictions, who knows what he would think?

Ji An paused at his words, pondering for a moment before quietly saying:

"Considering this, the Ancestors stationed at the mountain gates appearing suddenly at Mingfeng Mountain doesn’t make sense.

Could something have happened unknown to us, prompting the Ancestors to have a premonition and gather here?"

The sect established a Teleportation Array here, but the Ancestors should not be stationed by the teleportation array ready to assist anytime.

This time after the Demon Kings appeared not long, several Ancestors appeared in unison, making the situation somewhat intriguing.

Liu Yu’s eyes grew deep, realizing something was indeed amiss.

...

The battle in the sky gradually reached its end; although the Demon Kings were greater in number, relying solely on their claws and inherent talents gave them no advantage over cultivators of the same rank.

Instead, as time went by, the scales of victory tilted toward the Human Race.

"Roar!"

A bear’s howl rang out, its claws and body blood-stained from the long battle, bearing wounds deep enough to reveal bone, its aura considerably weaker than at the start of the fight.

In comparison, Nanshan Zhenren, though wounded, fought with an invigorated fervor, growing more courageous with each battle.

His Golden Wheel Treasure was both offensive and defensive; the bear demon’s fierce attacks mostly fell upon the treasure, failing to cause him substantial harm.

"Roar!"

The bear demon roared again, barely holding on, signaling a retreat.

A fierce glint flashed in Nanshan Zhenren’s eyes; he seized the fleeting opportunity of the bear’s roar, melding his body with the magical treasure, and unleashed all his might, descending with the force of Mount Tai.

He unleashed a secret technique that would greatly reduce his combat power after the attack.

The bear demon’s massive body plummeted from the sky, like a ping pong ball struck hard.

"Boom!"

It crashed heavily into the ground, leaving an imprint on its back.

Meanwhile, Daoist Master Zhengyang, originally guarding Fire Cloud Zhenren, activated his treasure and dashed to Nanshan Zhenren’s side.

The Profound Yellow Tower emitted its treasure light, protecting Nanshan Zhenren.

Suddenly, the ground beneath the bear demon collapsed, and an unfamiliar demon beast resembling a pangolin with a white-tipped nasal bone appeared.

It raised its hefty forelimbs, its sharp claws gleaming coldly, targeting the bear demon’s throat.

The skull was too hard, while the throat was easier to harm.

This demon beast was the Mountain Guardian Spirit Beast Rock Ancestor from the Golden Spirit Sect, making its first appearance on Mingfeng Mountain.

At this moment, the bear demon had very little demonic power left, its defenses far weaker than when its power was abundant, making it the easiest target now.

What’s more, it wasn’t fighting alone!

With Rock Ancestor’s appearance, countless pale gold spider threads shot from the earth, binding the bear demon’s body and limbs.

The spider threads were extremely tough, and coupled with the bear demon’s exhaustion, it couldn’t break free in time, watching helplessly as the claws fiercely plunged into its throat.

A malevolent and ruthless gleam flashed in Rock Ancestor’s eyes; it understood well that now was not the time to give the enemy any breathing room—Golden Core Demon Kings could self-destruct their demon cores.

Fortunately, self-destructing a demon core requires some time to prepare; otherwise, it wouldn’t dare take such a risk.

Its other claw joined in, plunging into the throat then tearing with force, rupturing blood vessels and the trachea.

Its claws continued, viciously tearing down again, splitting the bear demon’s neck vertebrae.

After completing this, Rock Ancestor slightly eased its vigilance, and calmly tore into the bear demon’s abdomen.

The Demon King’s ability to wield demonic power across its body been lost, with only flesh’s natural defenses remaining, significantly lowering resistance.

Finding the egg-sized black and gold-patterned demon core, Rock Ancestor licked it a few times with its tongue—this was a treasure!

In a flash of lightning, a Demon King fell; seeing this, other Demon Kings stirred up the demonic wind to flee, not even having the chance to utter threats.

The despicable Human Race cultivators even have ambushes! If those controlling the Mountain Protection Array arrive, they might not escape!

The war’s goal was to consume the growing number of low-tier demon beasts and conveniently seize territory.

The low-tier demon beasts could fight desperately, but not the Demon Kings.

The Golden Core Ancestors, seeing the situation, did not pursue, aware that they should not stray far from the Mountain Protection Array.

...

The news of the Golden Core Demon King’s demise quickly spread throughout Mingfeng Mountain Immortal City.

Alongside this news was the revelation that each of the Three Sects had a Golden Core stage Mountain Guardian Spirit Beast present in the Immortal City.

All the cultivators rejoiced, previously knowing only of seven Golden Core Daoist Masters openly in Western Continent, unaware of such hidden strength within the sects!

Perhaps the time for Human Race cultivators’ counterattack had arrived.

Ji An returned to his residence, sitting across from Senior Brother Liu, and said with a smile:

"Today has been the earliest I’ve finished work since arriving at Mingfeng Mountain Immortal City."

Casting healing spells for the injured had always kept him busy until the sunset fell.

Unexpectedly, the first day fighting on the city walls ended abruptly, not giving him a chance to go all out.

"Haha, if we slay another one or two Demon Kings, the demon calamity might end early!"

Liu Yu laughed heartily, his mood starkly different from when he saw the Demon Kings coming to attack.

The quantity of Golden Core stage combat power directly affects strategic balance.

One Demon King’s fall would inevitably greatly impact the demon beasts.

Originally worried about being attacked from both front and rear, his mood now greatly relieved.

Even if Golden Core stage Demon Kings cause chaos from behind, what of it? If the main battlefield collapses, the infiltrating Demon Kings would be trapped like turtles in a jar.

"That’s possible," Ji An also smiled.

Without the appearance of Nascent Soul Great Powers, Golden Core stage combat power determines the war’s course.

Records show that in previous demon calamities, the downfall of Golden Core stage Demon Kings marked the turning point.