Chapter 597: Extraordinarily Difficult

The sound of the Horn didn’t just startle the two sects in Chu State.

It also sent the beast herds, which had already settled for the night, into a sudden frenzy.

All the Cultivators watched in astonishment as the ground began to roil like a mass of writhing maggots. Then, countless snakes, insects, rats, and ants burrowed up from deep underground, forming a gray, living carpet that surged toward the Celestial River Mountain Range.

Next, from Chu State and even beyond, countless birds answered the Horn’s call, massing in midair to form a great cloud that also surged forward.

The scene in the water was even more astounding. Countless members of the Aquatic Race were packed so tightly together that all one could see was a sea of scales. And mixed in among the ordinary creatures were a considerable number of Demon Beasts!

“This is… this is…”

The surrounding Cultivators were all thrown into a panic.

“Quick, intercept the Demon Beasts passing through!”

Chen Che, snapping back to his senses, immediately shouted the order.

The others instantly came to their senses as well. This was one of Mist Rain Tower’s Beast Taming techniques; they were summoning creatures from several nearby states. If they let it continue unchecked, the Chu State beast tide would undoubtedly happen all over again.

At his command, the Jinyun Valley Cultivators immediately began to intercept and kill the gathering beasts.

The elder released his Sword-Patterned Silver Flood Dragon, while Meng Changtu instantly commanded his Mudskipper Shrimp and Green-Winged Flood Dragon to ravenously devour the passing herds. Ordinarily, these beasts and Demon Beasts would have scattered in terror long ago.

But under the Horn’s call, the herds seemed hypnotized, continuing to surge toward the Celestial River Mountain Range in massive waves.

Moreover, the most they could do was intercept the beast tide within Chu State; they were powerless to stop the Demon Beasts from the other major states.

Chen Che squinted into the distance, faintly discerning large contingents of Mist Rain Tower Cultivators constructing towers upon the mountain range. He could see them rising one after another from the ground in the gaps between each waterfall.

Atop each of these newly erected towers stood a massive Horn, dozens of feet long. That was the source of the sound.

“Chief, what do we do?” a Cultivator from the Pill Hall asked nervously.

In fact, it wasn’t just them; the Cultivators from every Hall felt the same.

Many were filled with regret. ‘We should have attacked the moment the Array fell,’ they thought. ‘We shouldn’t have given them time to prepare.’ But regrets were clearly useless now; the tides of battle were always this unpredictable.

Any single decision could influence the final outcome.

Then again, who was to say that attacking the moment the Array fell wouldn’t have just led them into another ambush?

“What’s there to be afraid of? Our two sects are united. If they’re defending, can’t we be the ones to attack?” Chen Che said, reassuring the crowd.

Sure enough, before dawn broke, Qiu Tianshui immediately convened a meeting. The main topic was, of course, preparing for a siege, which would require all parties to cooperate in building siege engines.

Once the orders were given, every Hall in the two sects sprang into frantic activity. Some began gathering materials on-site to build ballistas and catapults, while others contacted their reserve quartermasters to have equipment transported directly from their headquarters.

Clearly, everyone was preparing for a siege.

Finally, late on the night of the ninth day, to Chen Che’s immense relief, Yu Qian arrived in Chu State.

Ever since the Primordial Defense Battle, Yu Qian had remained in Jinyun Valley, mentoring Liang Yuan and the others while also forging artifacts for both Jinyun Valley and his own Yu Family. The moment he received Chen Che’s letter, he had rushed over.

After learning the outcome of the battle in Chu State and about Mist Rain Tower’s new fortifications on the Celestial River Mountain Range, the Artifact Master’s first words were a heavy sigh:

“What a tragedy.”