Chapter 649: Ten Thousand Dragons Heavenly Waterfall

At the very instant human shadows emerged, a cascade of unregulated golden patterns began to radiate outward from that point across the heavens—layer upon layer, drifting and swirling in the sky. Clumps of clouds, like sand blown by a sudden wind, vanished swiftly and silently.

If one looked closely, every line of these patterns was studded with scales—like countless living, breathing dragons soaring through the void. The protective sky-mantle above the city, once a steadfast shield, now seemed thin as a scroll of silk, fragile and translucent.

Gazing up at this celestial spectacle, most of the soldiers within the city fell into a state of stunned silence.

Too many upheavals had occurred that day—so many, they had already reached the point of unbearable disbelief.

The high-ranking officers of the loyalist and neutral factions had desperately tried to maintain order within the ranks, yet the soldiers’ hearts were slowly drifting away.

And upon seeing the White Emperor appear, Xu Yuan instantly grasped the intent behind the sect’s actions, deducing the current state of affairs within the city.

No matter how monstrous or formidable the White Emperor might be, he could not possibly breach the city’s defensive array in a single strike. What he was attempting now was not to break the physical barrier—but to shatter the soldiers’ resolve within.

Due to limitations in cultivation, every soldier in the Great Flame’s armies had undergone rigorous screening. No one joined the military with the casual disregard of life or death.

The Western Garrison was no exception.

The soldiers may not fear death, but that did not mean they would not panic in the face of utter despair. Nor did it mean they would willingly rush headlong into certain doom.

They dared to clash with demonic beasts several, even dozens of times their own size, yet faced with this current predicament, they had absolutely no idea where they should even aim their blades.

That saint up above?

Don't be ridiculous.

The array that had suddenly flared to life at dawn, the internal power struggle among the high-ranking officials at the training grounds this morning, the lingering doubts surrounding the Qilin Wolf and the Goddess of the Desert, followed closely by the collective rebellion and assault on the city by low-ranking officers—one wave had crested before another even subsided. Now, witnessing the raw might of a saint with their own eyes, a suffocating, oppressive despair naturally began to spread throughout the city.

In fact, this thread of oppression even wound its way into Xu Yuan's own heart.

The schemes of the Confucian scholar surnamed Wen within the West-Suppressing Citadel were linked link by link, and even though Xu Yuan had already resolved them one by one, he had been left with absolutely no time to deal with the residual fallout of those events.

As these residual effects continuously piled up, the sudden appearance of the White Emperor pushed things directly past the threshold, bringing the morale of the West-Suppressing Citadel's army to the absolute brink of collapse.

The soldiers did not comprehend the differences in strength between saints; they only knew that there were five more existences just like the one standing in the heavens above on the opposing side.

If they were to wait until those grand figures gathered in the West-Suppressing sky...

"Third Young Master, the army's morale in the city is about to collapse, what do we do?"

Si Zijing stepped to Xu Yuan's side, equally aware that they had arrived at the precipice of life and death.

The Saints opposite them had already manifested; any thought of escape was now entirely belated, for not even he could hope to break free while encircled by six such beings.

This meant, inescapably, that they were forced to walk this dark path to its bitter end.

Yet, precisely as Si Zijing reached him, Huang Shiwei's voice transmission arrived, bearing the first piece of good news Xu Yuan had heard all day:

"Third Young Master, the traitors have all been dealt with, though the majority of our heavy city defenses require reloading and recharging. The seventeen arrays of mechanical ballistas we can still deploy have already locked onto that Saint in the sky."

Hearing this, Xu Yuan did not hesitate for a single heartbeat, waving his hand decisively toward the city walls.

In that flash of an instant, seventeen streaks of brilliant white light surged violently into the heavens, hurtling toward the figure gathering strength against the vault of the sky!

Standing aloft in the void, the White Emperor caught sight of these afterimages, his dragon-like eyes narrowing slightly as he looked down upon the mortal world.

Had the war-creations of humanity truly evolved to such an extraordinary degree?

He could distinctly sense the perilous aura carried by those massive arrows; barely a few centuries ago, these engines of war could only threaten those of the Primal Source Realm, yet now they possessed the power to threaten a Saint.

It seems that upon returning to the Ancient Abyss, the reforms can no longer be delayed.

As the arrows streaked toward him, White Emperor's heart grew heavy, and he prepared to sidestep.

But just then,

a clear, feminine voice reached his ears:

"Lord White Emperor, I beg you to face these seventeen arrayed arrow bolts directly and shatter the morale of the troops beneath."

White Emperor glanced briefly at the abyss-like thousand-thorn gulf below, but showed no intention of responding to the voice.

He knew his presence was meant to strike at the morale of the city below, and he understood that accepting such massive arrows in full view would deal a final, devastating blow to the already fragile resolve of those troops.

Yet—why would he do this?

He had just witnessed it himself: these colossal arrows could pierce magic, and facing them head-on, even with his physical strength, would surely injure him.

In this current situation, White Emperor would not be foolish enough to obey the human commands and deliberately weaken his own power.

And so, he abruptly halted the gathering of energy within his body, shifting sideways with effortless ease to evade those seventeen streaks of white light.

Witnessing this, Xu Yuan felt a surge of gladness rather than alarm, his fists tightening imperceptibly beneath his sleeves.

This meant the heavy siege weapons of the city defenses were capable of wounding the White Emperor; and if they could harm a statistical anomaly like him, they would inevitably prove effective against the other five Saints.

Moreover, and more importantly, these encroaching Saints were all holding back to preserve their own strength.

If his hypothesis held true.

The White Emperor, the Qin family, the Master of the Jiantian Pavilion, and Mu Xingyi’s family of lunatics would all be warily watching one another.

As these thoughts raced through his mind, Si Zijing offered a hushed warning:

"Third Young Master, that Saint's attack is about to rain down upon us."

"I know."

Acknowledging the words, Xu Yuan cast a sidelong glance toward the government office, only to see a ten-foot white wolf already hurtling directly before him.

The lion-wolf arrived.

Compared to the solemn, deadly atmosphere of the Western Command's city, this great dog seemed utterly devoid of any sense of tension.

Approaching Xu Yuan, it saw him unharmed and did not retreat. It sat down in the void, lazily licking its paws with a soft, rhythmic "squelch, squelch."

A faint smile curled on Xu Yuan's lips as he spoke to the lion-wolf before him—now vastly larger than when they first met.

"Can you climb up and take this blow?"

"."

At the sound, the lion-wolf paused its licking, lifting its gaze. Its wolf's eyes were pure, innocent.

For a single moment, they locked eyes.

The lion-wolf tilted its head slightly.

Stupid human. This beast does not understand.

"." Xu Yuan's eye twitched.

The ancient beast had a low intelligence, as Ga Yi had once said—perhaps comparable to a common dog.

Yet now, all Xu Yuan could do was hope that this dog-like mind wasn't that of a Husky.

With gestures and hand signals, Xu Yuan tried to communicate with the large wolf, but the creature only lifted its head with a half-understood, half-ignorant gaze toward the White Emperor above the sky.

At first sight, a primal instinct surged within the beast—its fangs bared, a deep, guttural growl erupting into waves, spreading out in all directions, covering hundreds of meters.

Fortunately, Xu Yuan and his companions were floating high above the ground. If they had been at ground level, there would likely be no human survivor within that radius.

But after a brief growl, the foolish dog once again began licking its paws under Xu Yuan’s watchful eyes.

Seeing this, Xu Yuan immediately reached out to continue his gestures, only for the wolf’s cold, aloof gaze to sweep across him first.

"Get lost. Don’t come. Take it head-on. This wolf might die. Besides, I’ll eat you."

The look sent a wave of despair through Xu Yuan’s chest.

Just moments ago, they had claimed the opposite side lacked unity—yet here, not everyone was fully under their command.

Still, this was inevitable.

The clash between Tian Ye and the White Emperor, when they obliterated the terrain with a single strike, still vividly echoed in memory.

Now, the White Emperor—a numerical monster—had amassed his ultimate power, and across the entire realm, no one could possibly withstand that blow head-on.

The city's defensive array might withstand the strike, but to preserve morale, it was absolutely forbidden for such a blow to strike the protective celestial canopy directly. Otherwise, the cataclysmic destruction would shatter the Western Army's spirit to pieces.

After all, the White Emperor’s overwhelming force was utterly devastating against such massive structures as the protective canopy.

Yet no one could step forward to intercept the enemy.

Thus, they were left with only one alternative path.

Thinking this through,

Xu Yuan glanced sideways toward the western city wall.

"Ha-ha. Ha-ha-ha."

A searing, piercing pain surged from every corner of her body, like waves from the ocean crashing into her heart.

The sharp, high-pitched ringing in her ears made thought impossible. She tried to breathe, to draw in air, but no matter how hard she struggled, she could not catch a single breath.

Trying to sense the damage within, she suddenly realized that every meridian and vital organ in her body was now riddled with fine, jagged fractures.

Earlier, to block the crystal great arrow, she had forcibly channeled the power of the military formation due to insufficient cultivation—her half-life had been extinguished in the process.

Her form trembled violently. The severe injuries caused her vision to blur, the spell of suspension nearly failing. With each waver, she would have fallen from the sky, but she forced herself to steady her stance.

Li Junwu knew that most of the city’s attention was currently focused on Xu Yuan, that chaotic fool. Yet, no matter how many soldiers or commoners watched her, she could not collapse here.

She slowly dispersed her techniques, carefully preventing any backlash from spreading to the common soldiers.

Once this was done, Li Junwu exhaled deeply.

Though grievously wounded, this time she had not relied on that man. She had saved the city from destruction through her own strength.

A smile curled at the corner of her lips. Li Junwu forced himself not to let his internal injuries show, lifting his eyes to scan the surroundings.

And with that single glance, the fragile sense of relief she had just regained plummeted into despair.

What was that strange phenomenon in the sky that day?

Though she didn't match him in knowledge or skill, she understood something he didn't—military morale and the spirit of the troops.

This spectacle would shatter the Zhongxi Army within the city.

Li Junwu now grasped the enemy's strategy, and realized the caliber of adversaries that Xu Yuan would face in the days ahead.

Biting her lip, clutching her hands tightly, she turned to look at him—and met his gaze directly.

Across half the city, they stared at each other in silence.

In stillness,

She opened her mouth slightly, and whispered to him with a gentle smile:

"With the city's defensive array, I will handle the aftermath and the soldiers' morale."

The words fell,

and the myriad dragons circling the sky unleashed themselves like a waterfall from heaven.

Collapse began.

The western town of Zhunxi sat at the edge of the abyss within the Thousand Thorns Gorge, its foundation built over centuries and thus remarkably solid. Yet the surrounding loam and fractured rock had no such strength.

A mere collision between the protective array and the celestial torrent of dragons generated a shockwave that cracked the stone pathway linking both banks of the gorge—thin, jagged fissures spreading like veins. Massive chunks of earth and stone around the city began to slide, tumbling like mudflows into the dark depths of the gorge.

The assault ended.

The array had withstood the blow, a divine punishment, but it did so with utter disarray.

The protective sky-shroud was torn and flickered erratically, with several gaping wounds now visible upon its surface.

The city's defensive spell had begun to overwork itself, straining beyond its limits.

The fissure where the celestial veil had been shattered by Bai Di swiftly began to shimmer with fine, web-like beams of light, repairing the ruptures as if unraveling thread.

It was an astonishingly swift process, and Xu Yuan remained ever vigilant, watching the ancient master known as Bai Di hovering above.

Should he so choose, he could seize this moment to breach the city’s defenses.

Yet clearly, he had no such intention.

Bai Di stood in the void, silent and still, gazing upon the chaos within the city.

And just as he had come, he vanished from the heavens in an instant.

"Such a rapid restoration—why not strike now, seize the advantage?"

The piercing eyes of the insectoid fixed upon Mu Xingyi’s gaze, watching the ancient master who had just returned.

"Two more strikes, and the array will shatter entirely."

Bai Di’s dragon eyes flicked briefly upon the insectoid, said nothing, and swept past him, vanishing into the deeper reaches.

Deep within the Thousand Thorns Gorge, the darkness was so profound it could not be seen with even the most delicate eyes.

A voice, ancient and smiling, echoed in harmony with Mu Xingyi's words, chuckling softly:

"Mu, you're right. With your strength, Bai Di, if you strike this city's protective array just a few more times, the soldiers inside would simply collapse—once the formations are shattered, Xu Changtian's hidden reserves would be rendered useless."

"Your rambling can be cut down."

Bai Di replied calmly: "I only do what I must. If you and the Master intend to breach the city, then come with me and act together—right now."

On hearing this, the hunched elder stroked the beard at his lip, and remained silent.

The world's chaos was but the beginning, not yet fully unraveled. They, the Inari, would stay hidden behind the scenes—no reason to step forward.

After all, no one could be certain whether the Emperor, in his final moments, might change his mind, refusing to break with the Imperial Court and instead choosing to continue the absurd reforms through a caretaker arrangement.

Though such a possibility was infinitesimally small, it could not be ignored.

With Bai Di and these three divine beings of alien origin breaking through the city's defenses, even if Xu Yinhe sought to retaliate later, he would have no grounds to invoke righteousness or ancient rules to punish them.

But alas, Bai Di showed no intention of being fooled.

This man only agreed to proceed if he was forced to drag them into the scheme.

In fact, should they achieve their goal without ever appearing or intervening, Bai Di might even turn on them and create trouble for them.

After all, if these co-conspirators were removed, the sole target would be Gu Yuanchen alone.

That would be quite troublesome.

Thinking this, the hunched elder glanced sideways at the silent, motionless white-robed woman standing beside him.

It seemed, then, that the plan to surround and eliminate Bai Di would have to be abandoned.

In the silence of all present, a soft, delicate voice emerged from the deepest darkness:

"Since Master Bai Di is unwilling, we naturally cannot force him."

Upon hearing this voice, the hunched elder chuckled and bowed respectfully inside.

"Ms. Wen."

The voice came from deep within the shadows, laced with a smile:

"Everyone, today's mission has not gone without results.

The two pillars who have steadfastly held the military's morale within the Western Town Fortress have both been eliminated by Xu Changtian. The collapse of morale is now inevitable.

All we need do is wait—let the internal chaos unfold, and then we strike together.

From here on, it will be up to Mr. Mu to manage the swarm tide attacking the city."

". . ."

Mu Xingyi's dual insect eyes pondered for a moment, then suddenly spoke:

"Managing the swarm tide attacking the city is no problem. But what if they maintain stability through iron-fisted purges?"

A silence followed.

Qianran's soft, smiling voice:

"This is indeed a problem, but given the current state of the city, if he chooses to act this way, the collapse would come much sooner, wouldn't it~"