"Ladies and gentlemen, the beast surge lies ahead—this is precisely the moment for the peak impact. Since it was I who proposed the alliance, the most perilous frontline will be temporarily held by my own forces. However, once they grow weary, we will need to withdraw and replace them." As Xiao Yan was silently struck by the terrifying scale of the beast surge, the clear voice of the Spirit Jade resonated once more—this time, he had volunteered to take on the most dangerous position. Hearing that he would shoulder such a critical responsibility, many others quietly breathed a sigh of relief. "Really that generous?" Xiao Yan shook his head, smiling. He knew the Huan Palace well—he had never imagined that someone from there would exhibit such selflessness. It was simply absurd. "Everyone, prepare to move!" On the face of the Hounyu, a warm smile remained, as his gaze slowly swept across the entire group, pausing briefly on Xiao Yan, Xun'er, and the others before suddenly turning. He swiftly moved forward, his figure leaping ahead, with several figures dressed in black robes closely following behind him. Behind them came the dense ranks of numerous strong warriors, steadily advancing after the Hounyu's group, their qi gradually spreading throughout their bodies. Xiao Yan's group also rose slowly into the air, not advancing too far ahead but settling at a central position—here, the pressure they experienced was relatively lighter. In the sky, the dark procession formed a streamlined, arrow-like formation, with the Hounyu's group at the very forefront. Should this formation truly unleash its full power, the resulting force would undoubtedly be extraordinarily formidable... "Move!" "As the formation took shape, the soul crystal at the forefront raised a single hand, his body immediately launching forward, cutting through the air with a sharp, piercing wind. He surged directly toward the approaching beast tide. With his movement, the dense ranks of arrows trailing behind him surged forward in a thunderous rhythm, their wind rushing across the sky. 'Roar!' The grand spectacle was already detected by numerous fierce beasts at a distance of a thousand paces—immediately, a wave of violent, thunderous roars erupted, spreading out like a storm, intensifying into a chorus of ever-growing cries. 'Kill!' At a mere thousand paces, the distance was covered in an instant. A surge of terrifying qi erupted from the bodies of the soul crystal and others, sweeping across the battlefield. Within a hundred paces, the fierce beasts were instantly crushed into blood-splattered pulp. At the same time, the massive formation plunged headlong into the beast tide! Boom! Boom!" At the very moment the team came into contact with the beast surge, an astonishing surge of power erupted—strong streams of combat energy surged forth, nearly wiping out entire clusters of fierce beasts within a hundred paces. The dying roars of the beasts echoed continuously across the heavens. Xiao Yan and his group were positioned at the heart of the formation, occasionally launching several rippling streams of combat energy to knock down nearby beasts. At the same time, his eyes constantly scanned the surrounding area. Though the outer beasts of the surge were not particularly strong, allowing them to advance with ease, as they delved deeper into the surge, such unimpeded progress would likely be halted entirely. And indeed, as Xiao Yan and the others had anticipated, when this army forcibly tore open a massive rift in the beast surge and advanced nearly a thousand feet into it, the surrounding pressure suddenly surged dramatically. Some powerful beasts had already reached close to the ranks, their foul stench causing many to grow serious in expression. Xiao Yan also nodded slightly. Now, they were gradually delving deeper into the beast surge. Countless fierce beasts surrounded them on all sides, even in the sky above. With no retreat possible, they had to keep pressing forward, until they finally broke through the surge. With the gaps in sight, Xiao Yan's gaze swept across the front of the formation. At this moment, the Hún Yù and his companions appeared to be giving their full effort, relentlessly attacking the fierce beasts ahead—wave after wave of monsters crashed to the ground under their assault. As a result, the entire formation steadily advanced deeper into the battlefield. It seemed that more and more people were beginning to believe that Hún Yù was indeed fully committed to the success of the group—though, of course, that was not true for him. If, at this very moment, one could gaze down upon this plain from above, one would clearly see a growing tide of fierce beasts rushing in, driven by the wind, dense and swarming like ants, sending shivers down one's spine... "Boom!" As the situation grew increasingly dire, and even when numerous strong warriors joined forces to attack, they could no longer swiftly drive many of the beasts to death, the brutal, close-quarters combat finally erupted... When the soul-crystal group and the wave of beasts engaged in hand-to-hand combat at the forefront, every member of the entire party immediately sensed their pace come to a sudden halt. Under this stillness, fierce beasts from the left, right, and rear swiftly closed in, and then, a fierce and merciless battle erupted all at once! "Roar!" "Thud!" Various fierce beasts, their eyes blazing red, charged wildly at the formation. Although most were slain by strong warriors working in unison, some particularly powerful ones reached close to the ranks, causing casualties. Gritty, piercing cries of agony echoed continuously from all directions. "Move! Move!" Faced with such immense pressure, most of the people grew pale and hurriedly pushed the entire formation forward. At this moment, Xiao Yan once again scanned ahead and found that both the Spirit Jewels and the Spirit Palace's elite warriors had vanished entirely. Now, the leading group consisted of a series of strong warriors being continually pushed forward from behind—unable to retreat, they could only advance. Facing the dense waves of fierce beasts, they launched their mightiest attacks, only to be gradually worn down by the relentless tide of monsters. Each time they defeated some of the beasts, they would be overwhelmed by the surging waves, exhausted. When they finally attempted to retreat, they realized with shock that many had their eyes blazing with determination, desperately pushing themselves forward—thus, they had no room to retreat at all. With no room to retreat and their qi completely depleted, before they could even feel despair, the fierce beasts surged forward and seized them with their gaping maws, tearing them apart. When these individuals were devoured by the beasts, a fresh group at the very forefront of the formation was once again pushed forward by the advancing ranks, thus establishing a continuous cycle of impact under this chaotic surge. At this point, the formation no longer required any external impetus—everyone, driven solely by the need to survive, surged forward relentlessly, continuously pushing new members to the front, where they became the sacrificial wave. Thus, as the group advanced deeper into the terrain, the number of members steadily diminished. Many grew disoriented under these circumstances, losing their composure, which further led to a breakdown in the group's cohesion. Only a few managed to remain composed, maintaining their pace and avoiding being pushed forward by the crowd, thus preventing themselves from being crushed to the very front. Xiao Yan and the others belonged to this small group. "These guys…" Xiao Yan's gaze swept across the team, now reduced to roughly one-tenth of its original size, and finally settled on the figures of Hun Yu and the others at the rear. Though their faces still bore warm, cheerful smiles, the vibrant hue of their expressions had been cast into an eerie, somber tone by the thick crimson blood and the surrounding corpses. "Xiao Yan brother, this team is about to completely break apart. If Hun Yu and the others start moving first, we'll follow. After that, we'll have to rely on ourselves to make the way forward..." Xiao Yan's voice suddenly reached him as his gaze shifted. He nodded slightly, exhaled softly, and glanced at the line of felled beasts and humans behind—each of them had given everything, only to become free sacrifices for others, all used without charge by Hun Yu. "Bang!" At the very forefront, a fierce beast emerged, its entire body dark as black iron. With a massive punch, it slammed into several figures ahead, delivering such powerful force that it crushed the already gasping figures—those whose qi had been largely depleted—into pulp. As the group of Xiao Yan and his companions set off, several waves of people within the team simultaneously launched themselves into the air—clearly, they too had long suspected the soul jade's scheme, though they too wished to leverage the strength of others to reach this destination. With their departure, the remaining hundreds were instantly overwhelmed by the suddenly surging beasts surrounding them, swept off in a wave of fierce attacks, their piercing cries echoing across the sky.