Half of the demonic army was trapped within the great formation, leaving far fewer outside than the allied forces. Though showing no sign of weakening, they immediately organized a counteroffensive. Yet within just a few days of engagement, numerous large-scale demonic arrays, composed of countless magical artifacts and spells, were shattered outright. As the remaining demons could no longer hold, they began to retreat. The allied forces naturally seized the momentum and pursued relentlessly, reversing the battlefield situation completely—just as it had been several days prior. ...Almost simultaneously with the initial collapse of the demonic army, deep within an underground chamber at a distance, Yuan Sha, who had been engaging in combat between her magically transformed demonic wolf and Old Master Ao Xiao, noticed a brilliant white glow suddenly radiating from her waist. A series of black glyphs then burst forth from the glow and settled before her, forming several floating, stationary messages. After a casual glance at the black characters, Yuan Sha's face suddenly turned pale. With a sharp cry of rage, his form blurred and instantly transformed into a streak of black light, soaring upward. A moment later, he vanished through the roof of the chamber. A similarly lengthy streak of black swordlight surged forth, vanishing in a thunderous roar upon impact with the massive silver arc. "Though our battle has yet to decide a winner, I naturally wish to keep you here a little longer," said the elder in the sky, as a ripple of energy rippled through the air, revealing a silent flash of lightning within. A figure emerged faintly, with a refined countenance and a gentle smile—none other than Master Ao Xiao himself. "Hmph. It seems you've already planned this well, intending to hold us three here. But don't be too confident—whether or not you succeed remains to be seen!" Yuan Sha's face was flushed with anger. With a sharp cry, he pressed a hand seal, and as his shoulders shifted, a dozen identical phantom figures materialized, each shooting off in different directions. "Think you can escape that easily? I'll seal you down!" Master Ao Xiao watched the scene in silence, his face darkening as he roared aloud. With a single finger pointed skyward, the air above instantly trembled. Vast streams of celestial and terrestrial qi surged and parted, rising to form a luminous, milky jade bowl that floated upward and then pressed down with a resounding force. Within the bowl, shimmering hues of five colors danced, revealing countless symbols the size of a battle standard swirling and shifting. A powerful surge of energy erupted from the bowl, momentarily freezing the very air. The space beneath instantly resonated, the void blurring as the ground over a hundred li trembled violently, sinking several feet deep. Several ethereal forms of the Yuan Sha sect, caught within this force, were suddenly struck— their flight lights dimmed, their speeds reduced to less than a tenth of their original pace. At this moment, Master Ao Xiao chuckled warmly, reaching up with one hand, lightly tapping his forehead. His cranial dome opened, and a dozen faint white beams shot forth, swiftly converging upon the dozen ethereal forms of the Yuan Sha sect. To their surprise, these beams of white light, after rolling forward, swiftly transformed into several dozen snow-white, two-headed giant wolves, which immediately charged straight at the ethereal form. In fury, Yuan Sha's ethereal form unleashed a surge of magical energy and consecutively summoned various magical artifacts to defend itself. For a time, Ao Xiao and Yuan Sha once again engaged in fierce combat, though this time the intensity was markedly greater than before. Yet, given their comparable levels of cultivation and strength, it was clearly not within the short term that either could decisively prevail. Moreover, not only on Yuan Sha's side, but also the other two Magian Saint Ancestors, upon receiving the news of their army's defeat ahead, were now tightly ensnared by Mo Jianli and the Night-Horse Clan's supreme cultivators, leaving them equally astonished and unable to focus on their own defenses. Meanwhile, the high-ranking Magians and the eleven Saint Ancestors who had been trapped within the Wood Realm's array took advantage of the brief pause in the array's defensive mechanisms, and began to move independently across their respective units. For them, if they did not seize this opportunity now to break through the Great Array of the Wood Realm, once the array restored its energy and launched another wave of restrictions, the surviving demonic forces would likely suffer a devastating loss—perhaps half of them wiped out. As their numbers dwindled, the array's targeting precision would sharpen, and each subsequent restriction attack would grow increasingly severe. Even among the high-ranking demonic beings, they could not guarantee their survival once the array unleashed its full, focused assault against them. Thus, though they knew breaking the array would be immensely difficult, they had no choice but to press forward bravely into its depths, seeking a way to breach it. Although the Great Wood Array, as a super-level spell formation, has now ceased active attacks, various defensive restrictions continue to emerge incessantly—so that even the Demi-Emperor's demise within it would no longer be surprising. Moreover, under the influence of these array restrictions, divine awareness is utterly unable to extend beyond a hundred paces, naturally prompting the higher-ranked magical clans who have separated from the main force to exercise greater caution. After flying continuously for over a hundred li without any incident, the entire group breathed a collective sigh of relief, and the leading Demi-Emperor's previously tense heart gradually eased. As they approached a small hill, a magian scouting ahead suddenly perceived a ripple of disturbance in front of him, and a flash of cold light momentarily appeared—immediately causing him to gasp in alarm, exclaiming, "Unfortunate!" Before he could react, the cold light surged and swiftly enveloped him, leaving a sudden chill along his neck, after which his head rolled off with a smooth, rolling motion. A soft "pffft!" sound, a gray mist enveloped a dark, infant-stage spirit, which surged forth from the lifeless body and shot backward. However, as the cold light moved, it immediately drew the spirit into its path! A piercing cry followed, and the black infant spirit was instantly shattered, vanishing completely from the world. The other magical beings were startled and quickly summoned their respective protective magical devices. At that very moment, the space around them trembled with continuous ripples, and a dense array of identical cold lights appeared, densely arranged all around—numbering well over a hundred. The leading magus's eyes flashed with intensity as he carefully observed, finally recognizing these cold lights as slender, yellow wooden swords, each about a foot long, yet each radiating a chilling aura that deeply impressed even him. "Be careful!" he shouted, urgently drawing upon all his inner energy and channeling it rapidly into a protective umbrella-like artifact. The pale green artifact emitted a brilliant glow, instantly transforming into a hazy, emerald-tinged translucent silhouette that enveloped the figure within. At the next moment, sharp beams of cold light surged forth from all around, accompanied by clear, resonant chimes. In response to their shock and alarm, the other magical beings furiously activated their protective artifacts. For a brief while, the air was filled with swirling sword energies and cascading cold light, interlaced with continuous cries of pain. Within just a few breaths, when all the beams vanished as they had first appeared, only one solitary figure remained in the center of the field—every high-ranking magical being had disappeared. Meanwhile, the forest below was gradually enveloped in a steady downpour of blood. Now, the Bull-Head Magus appeared pale, suddenly spitting out several clusters of fresh, vibrant crimson blood. The emerald-veiled protective aura surrounding him had also dimmed noticeably. With a wry smile, he reached into his robes and withdrew a small vial, poured a large, dragon-eye-sized pill into his mouth, and then raised his hand. The green parasol shimmered and then settled once more into the palm as a small, emerald-colored umbrella. Several faint cracks now appeared on its surface. The Bull-Head Magus scanned the surroundings, his expression shifting between gloom and uncertainty before finally sighing, closed his hand around the artifact, and continued drifting deeper into the array in a new direction. A series of thunderous roars followed, and several beams of golden light, brilliant and intense, struck down in a single blow, shattering the Taiji diagram almost instantly and engulfing the three魔尊 in the golden radiance. As the golden light faded, the three魔族 left not a single trace behind. At the same time, dozens of wood族, each commanding a complex magical array, gathered beneath a towering ancient tree at the heart of the mountain range, relaxed visibly.