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Chapter 382: A Horde of Zhong Shans

More and more doppelgangers appeared. Including himself, Liudao had only eighteen figures, but Zhong Shan now had nearly a hundred behind him.

"I planned to rely solely on my cultivation, but since you\'re using doppelganger projections, let me show you what true doppelgangers look like!" Zhong Shan\'s original self said coldly.

"Boom~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~!"

With a wave of his hand, Zhong Shan\'s original self released 128 shadow clones, surging towards Liudao like a tidal wave. This was the seventh layer of the "Ten Thousand Shadows Sutra."

Since he had started practicing this technique, Zhong Shan had never revealed its power.

Liudao smirked coldly. Because of his own cultivation technique, he kept his eyes fixed on Zhong Shan\'s original body. As long as the original didn\'t move, all the clones were fakes.

Groups of four or five shadow clones confronted each of Liudao\'s figures. Liudao dismissed them with contempt, until the moment when the five Zhong Shan clones each slashed at his legs and arms. Only then did Liudao realize that these clones were all real.

"Boom~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~!"

A hundred and twenty-eight broadswords slashed down, causing the earth to shake violently, raising clouds of dust and sending debris flying everywhere.

However, shadow clones were still just shadows, possessing only half the strength of Zhong Shan\'s Nascent Soul stage.

Liudao managed to deflect one of the slashes and escaped from the fray.

As the dust settled below, over a hundred deep gashes were left on the ground.

Liudao was stunned. He couldn\'t believe that Zhong Shan had somehow slashed the ground so rapidly that he missed it. This meant that all those clones were real?

Despite the failed attempt, the 128 shadow clones split into two groups. Twenty-eight soared into the sky to find the mirror, while the remaining hundred, centered around Zhong Shan\'s original self, launched a furious assault on Liudao.

Although each shadow clone was weaker than Liudao, their combined power was formidable. Together with Zhong Shan, they formed a formidable force. The sheer momentum of a hundred men attacking as one was overwhelming.

Liudao, despite his eighteen forms, found himself repeatedly pushed back. What was the use of his eighteen forms against over a hundred true doppelgangers? His seventeen projections couldn\'t make any difference.

As the swarm of Zhong Shans closed in on him from all directions, Liudao grew increasingly anxious.

In the sky, the twenty-eight shadow clones of Zhong Shan located Liudao\'s mirror, floating high up and absorbing sunlight, creating seventeen mirror images around it. These mirrors together projected Liudao\'s eighteen forms.

The twenty-eight Zhong Shans struck simultaneously.

"Boom~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~!"

The mirror shattered into countless pieces with just a slight counterattack. The beams of light disappeared.

Seventeen of the eighteen Liudaos below vanished instantly.

Surrounded by over a hundred Zhong Shans, Liudao felt a surge of desperation. Was he going to lose?

"Great Forbidden Art~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~!" Liudao roared, his eyes turning blood red like Zhong Shan\'s.

Zhong Shan\'s main body paused, aware that Liudao, pushed to the limit, was now using a technique to forcibly enhance his cultivation. It was akin to the Heaven Demonic Body Refining Technique but far more damaging to the body.

"Boom~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~!"

Liudao\'s power seemed to surge abruptly. With a single slash, six of Zhong Shan\'s shadow clones were obliterated, dissipating into black smoke. Nearly five more were sent flying by the shockwave, vanishing into the air.

"Now, this is more like it!" Zhong Shan\'s main body sneered. With a wave of his hand, the remaining shadow clones merged back into his body, disappearing completely. Zhong Shan knew that the shadow clones were no longer sufficient to trouble Liudao and decided to reclaim their energy to avoid unnecessary waste. He gripped his broadsword and charged at Liudao again.

The two ferocious warriors clashed once more.

South of Jinling City

Hao Meili suddenly stepped onto a flying sword, gliding slowly toward the enemy. Little Golden Dragon perched on her shoulder, remaining small to avoid drawing enemy attacks.

Hao Meili flew openly, passing numerous Xuanwu warriors. On the ground, the Xuanwu did not stop her, as Xuan Yan had just transmitted an order forbidding any Xuanwu from attacking the approaching woman.

In the tense, battle-ready atmosphere, the sight of a little girl flying by was extraordinarily jarring.

Hao Meili flew past the Xuanwu ranks and approached the city walls of Jinling.

"Who goes there?" Du Xiu, the general on the city wall, suddenly shouted.

Hao Meili glanced at him dismissively and ignored him, focusing instead on the Black-Robed Empress.

"Scoundrel! Men, shoot her down!" Du Xiu yelled angrily.

Seeing her flying on a sword, he could tell she wasn\'t even at the Nascent Soul stage. Although he didn\'t understand why the enemy would send her to her death, she ignored him even as she approached. Naturally, he decided to eliminate her.

"Hmph! Shouting so loudly, you might choke on your own words," Hao Meili sneered arrogantly at Du Xiu.

"What are you waiting for? Shoot her..." Du Xiu ordered the soldiers on the wall.

Before he could finish, Du Xiu suddenly coughed violently, clutching his throat as if something were stuck. His face turned beet red, then a ghastly blue, and he collapsed, spitting foam and struggling to breathe.

A nearby guard quickly rushed to his aid.

"Twang, twang..."

A series of sounds followed. The soldiers, who had been aiming Break-Barrier Arrows at Hao Meili, suddenly had their bowstrings snap. The broken bows recoiled, striking the soldiers in the face, leaving many of them bloodied and disfigured.

"General Du is dead!" one of Du Xiu\'s guards cried out in terror.

Something eerie was at work!

Xuan Yan watched Hao Meili and the little golden dragon on her shoulder, his brows furrowing deeply.

"Who else wants to kill me?" Hao Meili smirked disdainfully at the soldiers.

"Empress of Liudao, aren\'t you skilled in curse spells? Why don\'t you try cursing me?" Hao Meili turned to the Black-Robed Empress.

Prince Qiye, who was standing nearby, was about to speak when the Empress raised her hand to stop him.

"Quite an impressive curse spell you have there, girl. But you\'re too young." The Empress said calmly.

"Why don\'t you give it a try and see who\'s stronger, you or me? Hmph! If you don\'t act soon, I\'ll curse the prince behind you and all the high officials around here. I\'ll make sure your Yin Moon Empire is left with nothing." Hao Meili shouted.

Hao Meili\'s goal was to provoke the Empress. Zhong Shan had given clear instructions earlier. As long as she saved Yinglan, she could negotiate terms with him. If Yinglan died, there would be no negotiations. She needed to force the Empress into submission.

"You and I both possess the art of Cursing Speech, and its power is immense. To avoid any unforeseen consequences, let us duel in the city," declared the Empress as she stamped her foot and soared toward the city center.

The Empress did not understand how Hao Meili wielded the Cursing Speech, as she only possessed a fragmented version of its teachings. Fearing that Hao Meili might indeed unleash chaos upon everyone on the city walls as she had threatened, the Empress aimed to lure her away.

What did Hao Meili fear? Naturally, she leapt into the air and followed.

Atop the city wall, the highest authority was held by Crown Prince Qiye.

"Attack!" commanded the Crown Prince.

A thunderous roar reverberated below.

Massive Xuanwu turtles, ten of them at the Supreme Realm, began their slow and formidable crawl forward, accompanied by many more turtles of lesser strength. As they moved, spikes of earth emerged from the ground with each step, advancing steadily toward the Grand Yan Dynasty\'s direction, creating an oppressive and ever-tightening noose. The memory of the horrific carnage wrought by the Eight Gates Golden Lock Formation was still fresh in everyone\'s minds.

With Zhongshan gone, who would now give orders?

Yiyan turned to Bao\'er and spoke, "Queen Gan, His Majesty once told me something I have never forgotten. He said, \'Bao\'er is my wife; in my absence, she may decide on everything in my stead.\' Now that His Majesty is not here, I ask Queen Gan to take command of the army."

"Please, Queen Gan, lead us," Lin Xiao quickly echoed. Lin Xiao had known Bao\'er for a long time and was well aware of her deep bond with Zhongshan. With Bao\'er in command, no one would dare to dissent.

"Please, Queen Gan, take command," the entire contingent of the Grand Yan Dynasty on the bronze battle island implored in unison.

Bao\'er glanced at them all, took a deep breath, and declared, "Very well, I shall assume my husband\'s authority for the time being."

With that, she entrusted the care of Yinglan to a few nearby maidservants.

Despite her usually gentle and indecisive demeanor, Bao\'er was anything but weak-willed when Zhongshan was absent. Those who thought Bao\'er\'s nature was kind and easy to exploit were gravely mistaken. In the past, after her master\'s death, Bao\'er had ordered the burning of his remains in a high-quality giant cauldron and then had it completely destroyed because it had consumed her master\'s body.

Casting a glance at Yinglan, Bao\'er turned her gaze toward the direction of Jinling City. Her eyes suddenly grew cold, no, they grew as cold as ice.

"Lin Xiao, heed my command!" Bao\'er ordered in a chilling tone.

"At your service!" Lin Xiao responded promptly.

"Within fifty breaths, merge the Second and Third Corps with your First Corps into a single unit," Bao\'er commanded.

"Yes, ma\'am!" Lin Xiao replied without hesitation.

Yiyan also responded promptly by her side.

"Yinglan is His Majesty\'s treasure. I saw a Xuanwu turtle attempting to impale her with earth spikes just now. Gather all the archers. I want the ten Xuanwu turtles killed one by one. Slaughter them!" Bao\'er commanded with ruthless determination.

(To be continued)