Reverend Ecstasy

Like a hurricane of death, the Liberation Temple's troops dropped on their assailants, slamming into the Collapsing Wind Formation of 13,000 Shentu Loyalists. Powered by the enemy soldiers' atrophied cultivation bases, the Collapsing Wind Formation lost a huge chunk of its might, devolving into a shell of a force that, at its peak, would have still been no match for the overwhelming power of the Liberation Temple's troops.

The first impact had yet to come, and still the Shentu troops recoiled unceasingly, whimpering before the united auras of the Liberation Temple's armies.

Under the leadership of Xin Zhong, all White-Winged Demons united in a battle formation, becoming a choir of celestial angels whose every move drew the support of Heaven itself. White lightning and swirling clouds, lustrous waves and chiming bells manifested around the troops, making their individual shapes vanish in a concentration of celestial energies.

The Zhi-Zhu twins' 30,000 armored dancers became a whirlwind of spinning legs, merging in a divine hurricane that single-handedly put the crippled Shentu loyalists in a perilous situation.

Then came Zi Feng's 6,000 peak Void Tribulant puppets, together becoming a mountain-sized white phoenix that burned with a mixture of divine flames and inexhaustible immortal force. At the back, Dong Ling, Chun Xu and the Li nuns controlled the winds and clouds, manipulating meteorological phenomena to keep disturbing the spatial rift.

Afterward, they too joined the melee, cutting down Nascent Souls like scythes in a field of overgrown grass.

At the front, Tusha led the charge. Her eyes flashed with sanguine rays, like a beast driven by an insatiable thirst for wanton massacres.

The Liberation Temple's battle arrays crashed into the Collapsing Wind Formation, instantly collapsing the enemy's aptly named defenses, and mauling their way through the loyalists' lives. Fifteen-hundred Shentu loyalists perished upon impact. A second afterward, 1,500 more lost their heads, beheaded by the unstoppable onslaught put forth by the Liberation Temple's troops.

"No...no!"

Here, Yan Le broke ranks, raking the Heavenly Slayer at a squad of five runaway loyalists. Their recks flew into the sky, large swathes of blood dropping like rainwater as the crippled Nascent Divinities attempted to force their way out.

They couldn't.

Now reduced to the early stage of Nascent Soul, before the mid-Pulse Condensation Yan Le, those experts were like children tied to a tree trunk and forced to confront a barrelling war chariot.

Yan Le's aura pinned the Nascent Divinities down, and powerless to resist, the five loyalists watched her halberd cleave through their Nascent Divinities, destroying them in body and soul. The Heavenly Slayer feasted on blood and souls, growing stronger with each enemy spirit that Yan Le eliminated.

As Yan Le's master, Tusha was faster. With her left hand, she punched the enemy troops into puddles of blood and gore. With her right, she swung her battle-ax at the 14th elder, forcing him to scramble for survival under the might of her crushing blows.

The 14th elder's hands flashed in arcane gestures. Billowing winds poured out of his armor, becoming squalls of razor-sharp wind blades that aimed for Tusha's neck and joints. The Infernal Nun smirked at her opponent's move. Her lips spread apart, the unique Bloodsoul Force gathered at the center of Tusha's mouth, becoming an orb of red starlight that shimmered with vast demonic powers.

Evil Qi flashed in Tusha's eyes, lacing her exposed skin and armor parts as the orb expanded under the 14th elder's petrified gaze.

A sanguine energy beam took off, blasting through the racing wind blades on its way to pierce through the 14th elder's heart. Pushing his weakened cultivation base to the limit, the 14th elder plunged to the left, attempting to avoid what his senses recognized as a fatal strike.

Speed had always been the Wind Spirits' forte, yet faced with Tusha's strike, the 14th elder was...too slow.

The beam pierced through his abdomen, making a mess of his internal organs, and nearly smashing a hole in his dantian. Thankfully for the Shentu elder, he moved fast enough to avoid the destruction of his vitals, and not allowing the grievous injury to slow him down, kept diving towards the ground—falling like a meteor entering planet orbit.

"It's good to be the father-in-law of a God. You can chill, cultivate in peace, and all problems will be resolved before you ever have to make a move. With that said, I do feel a bit...useless." Guang Fanghu, who watched the ongoing battle from a distance, marveled at the disparity between the Liberation Temple's forces and an elite army dispatched by the Shentu imperial clan.

If even Guang Fanghu found it hard to believe, one could imagine the 14th elders' state of mind.

'How hateful. Unless we bring the whole elder council, we stand no chance before these freaks! No, who is to say that behind those city gates, the enemy doesn't hide more terrifying forces than anything we've confronted till now?

I don't know, but for the resurgence of the Shentu clan, I have to find out!'

His eyes flaring with determination, the 14th elder made a ruinous choice, and as his blood leaked in a dropping curve, he clenched the Void-Shredding Claw—slamming it into his chest. The black-gold claws effortlessly ripped through the Wind Spirit Stone armor, piercing the 14th elder's chest.

With one jerking motion, the 14th elder tore one large gash on his chest. The armor collapsed instantly. But instead of tumbling towards the ground, the blood and gore stayed glued to the claw, fusing with the diamond gem in its palm. The gem took a scarlet hue, the Evil Qi accumulated from the blood sacrifice of 150,000 spirits erupted for all to see, sneaking into the 14th elder's wounds—they healed immediately. Worse, the 14th elder's eyes took an uncanny violet-red shade, his Wind Spirit Heart morphing into a demonic version as the Void-Shredding Claw's malevolent powers corrupted his heart and soul with foul energies.

At this time, the unremarkable 2,000 Heart-Wrenching Cult disciples completed their chants. The mortifying skulls that they each held in their hands flashed with onyx rays, dark-gray flames pouring out of their sockets to become a cluster of 150,000 souls—no—ghosts crafted from the mournful souls of the 150,000 sacrificed spirits!

All died before their time, unable to accomplish the goals that they'd set for themselves or assist their loved ones in meaningful ways. No one asked them if they wished to die for the resurgence of the Shentu clan—if the domination of the Zhenwu clan was so intolerable that they had to become the blood sacrifices that fueled the Spiritual Aristocracy's comeback.

Their grievances now bloated the heavens, fueling the might of their corrupted souls, and helping them evolve...into Desolate Heart Ghosts!

In tandem, the 150,000 Desolate Heart Ghosts launched themselves at the Liberation Temple's forces, following the demonized Shentu elder in a brutal struggle.