The Legion of Evil Spirits, Joint Battle

As they pressed forward, the air grew thicker with deathly energy, and booming sounds filled the air, accompanied by intense waves of spiritual energy. Wang Quan and the others quickened their pace, sensing that these disturbances were not ordinary spiritual fluctuations, but signs of a fierce battle.

When they reached the end of the tunnel, the scene before them caused everyone to gasp in shock—Yunlan Mountain's main force was locked in a fierce struggle with a legion of evil spirits. A massive storm of spiritual energy raged across the space, as deathly energy and spirit energy clashed, creating utter chaos on the battlefield.

"That's... a legion of evil spirits!"

Fengming Daoren's face turned pale as he cried out. In the center of the battlefield, there were eight Foundation Establishment evil spirits, their massive forms solidified, surrounded by swirling black death energy. They loomed like guardians from hell, circling a massive formation that they were clearly maintaining, with death energy continuously pouring out from their bodies, shrouding the entire formation in a thick, ominous mist.

Opposing the evil spirits were five Foundation Establishment cultivators from Yunlan Mountain, all fighting with everything they had. Each one looked pale, their spiritual energy nearly exhausted. The long and grueling battle had pushed them to their limits. Though they managed to hold their formation together, each wave of the evil spirits' attacks wore them down further.

"This is too dangerous!"

Lei Feng muttered, his voice tinged with fear. So many Foundation Establishment evil spirits would crush any group. If not for the strength of the Yunlan Mountain cultivators, they would have long since been annihilated.

At that moment, the leader of the Yunlan Mountain cultivators spotted Wang Quan and his group. His expression shifted immediately, hope flashing in his eyes. Swinging his sword to fend off an evil spirit, he shouted toward them:

"Daoist Fengming! Help us! Come to our aid, and we'll split all the resources fifty-fifty afterward!"

Wang Quan and Fengming Daoren exchanged glances, understanding the urgency of the situation. At this moment, only by joining forces could they hope to survive. The strength of the eight Foundation Establishment evil spirits was overwhelming, and Yunlan Mountain's cultivators were already on the verge of collapse. If they didn't intervene, they could all fall prey to the malevolent formation being controlled by the spirits.

Though Fengming Daoren's face was grim, he knew there was no time to hesitate. He responded sternly, "Alright! We'll help you!"

With that, he led the charge, his sword glowing with spiritual energy, sending green sword light swirling toward the evil spirits.

Wang Quan followed closely behind, quickly channeling his Five Elements spiritual energy, combining fire and metal energies. His sword ignited with scorching flames.

"Golden Fire Sword Technique—Blazing Heaven Strike!"

He shouted, unleashing a sword beam like a flaming dragon, roaring through the air toward the evil spirits. The scorching heat twisted the death energy in its path, and the sword energy, with tremendous piercing power, struck the chest of one of the spirits.

"Boom!"

The sword energy collided with the evil spirit's body, producing a sharp, crackling sound. The flames immediately scorched its body, causing it to writhe in pain. However, the spirit's form was incredibly resilient, suffering only superficial damage. It let out a furious screech, swinging its claws imbued with dark energy directly at Wang Quan.

With a steely gaze, Wang Quan swiftly gathered his earth energy, summoning the Earth Spirit Shield, a thick earthen barrier rising in front of him.

"Bang!"

The evil spirit's claws slammed into the shield with a deafening crash. The shield cracked, and Wang Quan was forced back a few steps, his spiritual energy momentarily disrupted. But he quickly stabilized himself, gathering his energy again for another strike.

Meanwhile, the other scattered cultivators leaped into action. The black-robed cultivator and Fengming Daoren joined forces, their swords and spiritual energy interweaving into bright streaks of light, relentlessly cutting at the evil spirits. Lei Feng's lightning energy crackled through the air, striking the spirits with resounding thunderclaps.

"Thunderclap Burst!"

Lei Feng shouted, unleashing a blast of lightning that struck another evil spirit square in the chest, erupting in a thunderous boom. The shock of the lightning momentarily disrupted the death energy surrounding the spirit, weakening its next attack.

With both groups working together, they finally managed to hold off the evil spirits' onslaught. The Yunlan Mountain cultivators seized the opportunity to recover their strength, hastily channeling their spiritual energy to heal and rejoin the fray.

"Thank you for your help!"

The leader of the Yunlan Mountain cultivators nodded gratefully to Fengming Daoren, then said grimly, "These evil spirits are too strong. If we don't destroy the formation they're maintaining, we won't survive this! We need to bring down those eight Foundation Establishment spirits to break the formation!"

Fengming Daoren nodded in agreement. "Alright! Full force—let's destroy the formation!"

Wang Quan took a deep breath, his Five Elements energy gathering once more, flames rising along the length of his sword. He knew this next battle would be a matter of life and death.

The legion of evil spirits continued their relentless assault, the eight Foundation Establishment spirits maintaining their formation with tremendous power. Their solidified forms were surrounded by an unending stream of death energy, like a never-ending black fog that wrapped around their bodies. Each attack came like a tidal wave, suffocating with its intensity.

Both groups of cultivators, now united, launched an all-out assault against the formation. Sword lights and lightning strikes intertwined, clashing with the deathly energy. The battlefield was consumed by a swirling storm of spiritual energy.

"Golden Fire Sword Technique—Heaven Splitter!"

Wang Quan roared, sending a blazing arc of sword energy streaking through the air, charged with fire energy, directly toward the chest of an evil spirit. The flames burned away at its form, twisting the deathly energy, but the spirit remained undeterred, its claws brimming with dark energy as it lunged at Wang Quan.

Quickly turning, Wang Quan raised another earth shield to block the attack, using the momentum of the clash to prepare for a counterstrike.

The battle raged on, with both sides rapidly depleting their energy reserves. Though the evil spirits' formation remained intact, each new assault began to weaken their hold. Bit by bit, the combined force of both groups wore down the spirits' power.

Everyone knew they had to move fast—if the battle dragged on much longer, their spiritual energy would run dry, and they would be at the mercy of the relentless evil spirits.

Wang Quan's eyes gleamed with focus as he swept his spiritual senses across the battlefield, searching for the formation's weak point. He was ready to unleash his full power in one decisive strike to break the formation and end the battle.