Facing the imminent collapse of the Sect Protection Array, Golden Dawn Fairy soon found the needed rune among the thousands of runes.

With her delicate fingers plucking at the strings like a gentle tap, the Golden Light Book Pages that flew out of the Heavenly Talisman Strategy turned into a stream of golden light that surged towards the Array, transforming directly into shining golden runes that seamlessly integrated into the operation of the Array.

Soon, the power of the Canghai Xuan Water Pearl was dispersed among these newly added runes, and the flickering Spirit Light Shield over the Array gradually stabilized. However, on the protective shield that enveloped the entire mountain, a faint golden color could now be vaguely seen.

All the Nascent Soul cultivators witnessing this sighed in relief, but some couldn't help but glance at the Heavenly Talisman Strategy now flying back into Golden Dawn Fairy's hands, with a flash of greed crossing their eyes.

"Heh, Golden Dawn Fairy is really lucky. The complete Heavenly Talisman Strategy had been missing for almost thousands of years. If it wasn't for the Fairy defeating the Five Thunder Sect with half of it years ago, we wouldn't even know it had reappeared. Now it's whole again; it seems the Fairy is indeed its destined owner," lamented Old Man Hei Zhu in amazement.

"This is all thanks to two of my friends. Without them, I likely wouldn't have found the complete Heavenly Talisman Strategy," said Golden Dawn Fairy with a smile.

The reappearance of the Heavenly Talisman Strategy was astonishing, but with Wu Yue God strongly attacking the Array, everyone only focused on it briefly before turning their attention back to the battlefield.

With the help of Golden Dawn Fairy, Tian Jizi finally caught his breath and continued to struggle to maintain the Array against Wu Yue God's attacks. Before long, some of the Wu Yue Sect Cultivators managed to free themselves from the Array's interference and joined the siege.

Suddenly, the pressure on Tian Jizi increased significantly, and upon seeing this, all members of the Cloud Desolation Alliance did what they could to help maintain the Formation and provide Spiritual Power.

Eventually, several hours later, when a glimmer of dawn appeared between the mountains in the east, Wu Yue God suddenly stopped his attacks and withdrew all Attack Divine Abilities.

In the hazy Black Mist, no one could see his expression, but the furious aura emanating from him informed everyone that his mood was very foul.

"Retreat!"

His voice only reached Ni Mu's ears, carrying a trace of reluctance and resentment.

Ni Mu was startled and saw Wu Yue God vanish into mid-air, returning to the black palace. He then realized that Wu Yue God, unwilling to publicly announce a retreat due to pride, had him relay the command instead.

This realization made him glance again at the dimming Spirit Light Shield of the Chang Chun Temple Array, which had declined significantly compared to before and could not even maintain a curtain of rain. Perhaps a few more hours of attack from Wu Yue God could have completely breached it.

Normally, once Wu Yue God decided to act, he would never do something that could harm his dignity.

Thinking this, Ni Mu recalled Wu Yue God's actions when he had just emerged from the black palace and felt a slight shock.

Could it be that Yuan Ming actually managed to kill Wu Yue God's physical body?

Meanwhile, below the Array, the members of the Cloud Desolation Alliance, also significantly exhausted, looked at each other in disbelief when they saw Wu Yue God suddenly vanish, and the Wu Yue Sect Cultivators retreat.

"Is it over? Did we hold them off? Did the Wu Yue Sect retreat?" someone muttered.

"It seems... that's the case."

"Are we not trapped in an illusion?"

"The Soul Protection Talisman is still present, and if it were an illusion, we would probably be dead by now."

After a moment of silence and doubt, cheers suddenly exploded, and all the confusion and tension turned into excitement. People hugged each other in celebration, some wept with joy, and tears mixed with laughter were freely released, as everyone vented their emotions unabated. Thе gеnuinе аrtiсlе rеsidеs оn

Outside the Array, the sun also slowly rose from between the mountains, casting its light once more over the landscape, illuminating every figure.

...

An hour later, in the black palace.

"...Our troops have encamped at Yuhua City. Scouts monitoring Chang Chun Temple have also been properly arranged. However, regarding how to proceed after this battle, I await further instructions from Wu Yue God," reported Ni Mu with utmost respect.

At this moment, Wu Yue God sat cross-legged, floating above a black coffin, twisting a spell in each hand, and black mist continuously flowed out from the coffin beneath him, swirling around his body like water.

"Black Witch Mountain is in trouble. For now, I cannot directly attack the Great Array. Tell them, apart from those monitoring Chang Chun Temple, all others should capture mortals, making sure to gather a million within ten days. Also, select a group of elite, and at that time, I will personally perform the Blood Sacrifice Technique to grant them the power to break the Array," he instructed after a brief silence.

"As you command. However, the Blood Sacrifice Technique severely damages the physical body, and it may be difficult to find volunteers to receive the empowerments. Perhaps we should use some methods to persuade the Believers to sacrifice themselves?" Ni Mu hesitated for a moment before asking with gritted teeth.

"If Nine Yin were here, you wouldn't dare ask such a question," Wu Yue God said somberly, glancing at Ni Mu coldly.

"Forgive me, my lord, I spoke out of turn," Ni Mu shivered, hastily responding.

Wu Yue God coldly closed his eyes. Seeing this, Ni Mu tactfully retreated, but before he had stepped through the temple doors, he heard Wu Yue God's chilling voice come from behind.

"Go find Free Venerable. As for the rest, you know what to do. If necessary, I will also appear to boost morale."

Hearing this, Ni Mu turned around and bowed respectfully, then exited the temple doors.

After leaving the palace, Ni Mu immediately located Free Venerable and Xi Zheng, conveying Wu Yue God's will to them.

Thirty minutes later, the three of them convened all Wu Yue Sect Cultivators and surveyed the scene from an elevated position, with Ni Mu speaking first.

"Fellow believers, Wu Yue Sect is now in a moment of utmost peril. Only with the concerted efforts of all believers can we overcome this crisis..."

He spoke fervently, informing everyone about the situation in Black Witch Mountain and vehemently denouncing Cloud Desolation Alliance's cowardly surprise attacks. He concluded by mentioning that Wu Yue God had prepared a potent method to break the Sect Protection Array, but it required believers to willingly sacrifice themselves.

Meanwhile, Free Venerable subtly employed Soul Cultivator techniques to stir the emotions of the believers. As Ni Mu's speech approached its end, Wu Yue God also projected a Divine Thought form from the black temple.

"Believers of Wu Yue Sect, today, you are needed. Fear not, be not afraid. Remember, those who truly believe will ascend to my Divine Country and share in eternal life with me," Wu Yue God's voice resounded with tempting power.

At that moment, the faces of the Wu Yue Sect Cultivators showed fervor, and many stood up, loudly proclaiming their readiness to sacrifice their lives for Wu Yue God.

...

Ten days later, in Yuhua City, now occupied by Wu Yue Sect, countless bodies piled into hills, even surpassing the height of the city's houses. The blood-stained roads emitted a pungent stench from every crevice in the cobblestones, an odor so unbearable that even the Wu Yue Sect members found it difficult to stomach.

This city, once known as the Immortal City, had now been thoroughly defiled, turned into a filthy purgatory on earth.

Hovering above Yuhua City, Wu Yue God sat atop his coffin in the black temple. His Divine Thought surveyed the city and upon seeing the scenes of carnage, he also frowned.

It was not out of compassion or disgust, but rather he felt that too few had died, not reaching his desired number of a million.

However, as time was running out for him, he reluctantly accepted the reality. With the lives of only several hundred thousand as the price, he initiated the Blood Sacrifice Technique.

As he formed the spell, in an instant, all the corrupted blood in Yuhua City came to life. It rushed and converged between the buildings, eventually forming an enormous bloody Demon Array.

The bodies within the Demon Array dissolved one by one into blood plasma. Meanwhile, the chosen Wu Yue Sect members, each with a brown bag tied around their waist containing hundreds of thousands of living souls, stepped into the Demon Array.

Upon entering the array, they opened the bags and poured the living souls into the array. Watching the living souls, filled with reluctance, resentment, and fear, being devoured by the Demon Array, even these seasoned killers felt a chill up their spines.

But Wu Yue God felt it was too little. Only when all the living souls had been consumed by the array did he, somewhat unsatisfied, alter the spell, and tapped into the deep underground.

Suddenly, a thick Demonic Qi burst forth from beneath the ground, merging directly into the array, adding a sinister shade of black to the blood-soaked array.

Then, Wu Yue God waved his right hand, summoning countless nail-sized blood crystals from nowhere, and threw them all into the Demon Array, positioning them before each voluntarily sacrificing Cultivator.

Within the array, streams of black and red mist emerged, swiftly flowing into the blood crystals.

The blood crystals quivered and then, with a whoosh, embedded themselves in the Cultivators' foreheads, as though adding a new eye. Simultaneously, tendrils of blood filaments rapidly spread across their faces and soon covered their entire bodies.

The Cultivators screamed in agony, as if enduring immense pain, but soon, as the blood filaments covered their entire bodies, they suddenly straightened up. Their ordinary muscles had now swollen to several times their size, and their flesh-colored skin turned a blackish-red hue, appearing as if they were donned in armor.

"My believers, go forth and conquer Chang Chun Temple for me!" Wu Yue God slowly spoke, his voice echoing through heaven and earth.

The Cultivators in the Demon Array roared in unison. By then, they seemed to have lost the ability to speak coherently; there was no hint of rational light in their eyes, only a spreading, intense desire for slaughter.

They stepped forward simultaneously, rushing towards Chang Chun Temple—though they moved on the ground, their speed was even faster than Flying Escape.

Seeing this from outside Yuhua City, the Wu Yue Sect members followed suit. Under Ni Mu's command, in coordination with the Blood Sacrifice Cultivators, they launched a new attack on the Chang Chun Temple's Great Array.