Zuo Qiu felt a chill run down her spine at the sight before her. These were not divine beings or cultivators; they were clearly puppets, just like her, controlled by the Black Lotus.

And she found herself following her 'enemy,' swinging her weapon as she flew toward Bai Feng.

**Chapter 116: The Divine Lord Leaves His Legacy Everywhere; Could It Be That He’s Recruiting Cannon Fodder?**

“Stop right there.”

Chu Ningyan appeared in front of Bai Feng, raising her sword and swiftly slaying the approaching transformation-stage cultivator.

But just then, a transformation-stage cultivator suddenly erupted with a massive amount of black demonic energy, which enveloped his body and quickly transformed into a graceful woman.

“Black Lotus?” Chu Ningyan frowned, a sharp sword aura radiating from her, like a blade drawn from its sheath.

She hadn’t expected even the Divine Lord’s Black Lotus to show up. This group was truly intent on extending their reach into the Northern Region!

The Black Lotus crossed her arms and chuckled lightly, “No need to be so tense. I’m not here to fight; let’s find a quiet place to chat, shall we?”

“That’s the funniest joke I’ve heard all day,” Chu Ningyan raised her sword. “I have nothing to discuss with the likes of you. You can either leave the Northern Region on your own, or I’ll send you packing.”

The Black Lotus laughed lightly, “Hehe, have I been away from the battlefield for so long that some younger generations have forgotten my reputation?”

“If your true self had come, I might have been a bit concerned,” Chu Ningyan pointed her sword at the Black Lotus, her aura suddenly breaking through the transformation stage and reaching the refining void stage. “But now, with just this thing that isn’t even a proper clone?”

“Refining void stage, huh? You righteous cultivators really love to hide your true strength!” The Black Lotus’s expression grew a bit serious, but then she shook her head with a smile. “Hehe, you still don’t understand the gap between us. In my current state, dealing with you is more than enough.”

With that, she stepped forward, a short sword emerging from her sleeve, lunging toward Chu Ningyan. Chu Ningyan swung her sword to counter.

But in the next moment, the short sword suddenly became incredibly soft, wrapping around her long sword. Immediately after, the Black Lotus’s other hand struck at her. She quickly raised her hand to retaliate, only to find that the Black Lotus’s hand had transformed into demonic energy that ensnared her.

She unleashed a burst of sword energy, shattering the short sword and the encroaching demonic energy, finally freeing herself from the Black Lotus’s bizarre tactics.

The Black Lotus was indeed one of the higher-ups of the Divine Lord, using the body of a transformation-stage cultivator combined with her strange methods to entangle Chu Ningyan, who was at the refining void stage.

Without Chu Ningyan to hold them back, the remaining demonic cultivators charged toward Bai Feng once more.

‘Just as I thought, they’re coming for me.’

Bai Feng’s mind raced. No matter how many tricks he had up his sleeve, he couldn’t possibly contend with a group of desperate Golden Core and Nascent Soul cultivators. All he could do was wait for his master to defeat the Black Lotus or hope for reinforcements from other elders.

With that thought, he quickly tossed out several portable array plates, each one forming a formation beside him.

At the same time, Lin Yan, Luo Chen, and the others noticed the demonic cultivators’ target and rushed back.

“Protect Bai brother!”

“Be careful, Bai shidi!”

But the demonic cultivators also realized this and quickly split off a portion to rush toward Lin Yan, Luo Chen, and the others.

They charged in recklessly, not dodging or avoiding Lin Yan’s attacks, even exploding their Golden Cores or Nascent Souls directly when heavily injured.

In an instant, Lin Yan and the others found their movements obstructed, and even the elite soldiers of the city lord’s mansion were forced to evade the self-destructive attacks of the enemy.

“Brother, we need to retreat!”

Bai Yu Mo slashed down a demonic cultivator that had broken through and quickly grabbed Bai Feng’s wrist, pulling him back.

But the demonic cultivators clung to them tenaciously, making it nearly impossible to escape.

As Bai Feng retreated, he tossed out the few remaining portable array plates, but the demonic cultivators seemed to have lost their sanity, completely disregarding evasion or defense. They even charged into the formations, self-destructing their Golden Cores and Nascent Souls to forcibly destroy the arrays.

He had clearly underestimated the Black Lotus’s tactics. If he hadn’t seen it with his own eyes, he would never have imagined that someone would use a large number of Golden Core and Nascent Soul cultivators as cannon fodder, charging in to self-destruct just to take him down.

A fifth-grade formation couldn’t withstand even a few of these Nascent Soul self-explosions. It wasn’t a problem with the portable array plates; even a standard formation would crumble like paper against so many self-destructs.

After all, who could afford to use Nascent Souls for such extravagant sacrifices? The resources needed to cultivate a Nascent Soul far exceeded those for a fifth-grade formation!

Was the Divine Lord’s demonic organization leaving behind legacies everywhere just to recruit cannon fodder?

With Bai Yu Mo’s help, Bai Feng pierced through an enemy’s skull with his sword and quickly tossed out the remaining array plates.

At this point, he felt a slight sting in his eyes; the continuous use of spiritual sense attacks and illusions was pushing his mind to its limits.

“Die!”

Bai Yu Mo’s body radiated a faint white light as her long sword swiftly stabbed toward the incoming enemy.

Suddenly, a Nascent Soul disguised as a Golden Core, upon being struck, opened its mouth to reveal the Nascent Soul within, and cracks began to appear on its surface.

In the next moment, a violent surge of spiritual energy erupted from the Nascent Soul.

Boom!

Bai Yu Mo quickly retreated toward Bai Feng, her body shielding him. Just as the shockwave from the impending explosion was about to reach them, she suddenly felt someone embrace her.

“Don’t be clever; I have more life-saving tools than you.”

Bai Feng held Bai Yu Mo tightly, a translucent shell forming around him as a talisman in his hand slowly turned to ash.

It was the top-tier shield talisman given to him by the Peak Master of the Talisman Peak before he entered the secret realm.

Unfortunately, each use meant one less, and it couldn’t withstand so many Nascent Soul self-explosions. It was only meant for emergencies; otherwise, he could have just sat down and watched the show.

“Hmm…”

Bai Yu Mo nodded slightly. Although she cherished the warmth in Bai Feng’s embrace, this was clearly not the time for enjoyment.

She exhaled, quickly clearing her mind of distractions, gripping her long sword as she faced the incoming enemies once more.

But just then, a long knife suddenly struck, almost instantly slaying the nearby demonic cultivators.

“Thank you for your assistance, friend.” Bai Yu Mo lowered her sword to express her gratitude, but then she noticed the newcomer showed no signs of stopping, and her brows furrowed. “Please, stop right there.”

Zuo Qiu had almost blinked before she charged in front of Bai Yu Mo and Bai Feng, her long sword swiftly stabbing toward the two.

Just as the sword was about to strike, Bai Feng quickly tightened his hold on Bai Yu Mo and retreated, clutching a teleportation talisman in his hand.

‘Damn it, the battle is so intense that I forgot to keep an eye on Zuo Qiu’s position.’

Without hesitation, Bai Feng activated the talisman before Zuo Qiu could reach him. But just then, the Black Lotus, engaged in battle with Chu Ningyan in mid-air, glanced down. A wisp of black energy emerged from Zuo Qiu’s shadow and quickly wrapped around Bai Feng’s foot.

After completing this small maneuver, she was struck by Chu Ningyan’s sword, nearly cleaved in two.

“What did you do?”

Chu Ningyan looked down at the now-vanished Bai Feng and Bai Yu Mo, her expression icy as she glared at the Black Lotus.

“Hehe, I didn’t do anything.” The Black Lotus chuckled lightly, her body, which had nearly been severed, slowly reassembling, though her complexion had turned much paler.

Chu Ningyan didn’t ask any further questions. She exhaled softly, and a scene resembling a bamboo forest seemed to materialize beside her.

Seeing this, the Black Lotus also wiped the smile off her face and quickly retreated.

“If you won’t speak, then die.”

Bamboo leaves fluttered, almost completely surrounding the Black Lotus, and a single leaf landed on her, leaving a deep wound.

Meanwhile, Bai Feng successfully teleported outside the city lord’s mansion, but before he could catch his breath, the demonic energy wrapping around his feet suddenly surged, almost instantly engulfing him.

Bai Yu Mo felt the arm around her suddenly loosen. She instinctively turned her head and saw the demonic energy enveloping Bai Feng.

“Brother!!”

She quickly reached out, but the next second, she grasped at nothing.

**Chapter 117: If You Can Clear the Demonic Energy, How About I Be Your Dog?**

Demonic energy—thick and suffocating, surrounding him.

Bai Feng opened his eyes, cautiously surveying his surroundings.

It was desolate, with only the soil exuding demonic energy, not a single plant in sight.

Looking up, the sky was also shrouded in demonic energy. Strangely, even though the air was completely obscured, it didn’t feel dark here.

It was reminiscent of the secret realm he had explored before.

‘When did I fall for this trap?’

Bai Feng pondered for a few seconds. It shouldn’t have been the teleportation talisman; he clearly remembered seeing the city lord’s mansion door, and Bai Yu Mo had been in his arms at that time.

He could only guess that it was the Black Lotus’s doing.