A contingent of over twenty thousand heavenly soldiers appeared along the vital route of the demonic forces. They clutched their weapons tightly, yet many of the heavenly soldiers' legs trembled, overwhelmed by the sheer number of demons before them. If it were twenty thousand versus twenty thousand, victory would be straightforward; twenty thousand against thirty thousand, they could still win; twenty thousand against forty thousand, they might achieve a hard-fought victory—only barely. But now, they faced twenty thousand against tens of millions. Even if the demons offered no resistance and simply extended their heads to be cut down, the heavenly soldiers would be exhausted. Yet they had received a firm command: no matter what, they must halt the demonic advance. The leading heavenly general took a deep breath, raised his long spear, and declared with conviction, "Follow me—charge ahead and defeat the demons." "Defeat the demons," the heavenly soldiers echoed, but their voices were hesitant, lacking confidence. The general did not pause to listen further. He charged forward first, and his troops followed, resolute yet trembling. At first, the immortal warriors were no match for the demonic forces. But as more and more demons surrounded them, the heavenly troops grew overwhelmed, losing their initial advantage and soon being completely suppressed, one by one falling to the enemy's attacks. On the luxurious throne, Rex spoke with a cold smile to himself, "A group of overconfident fools—unaware of their own limitations—have come forward to meet their deaths." After speaking, he declared aloud, "All units, pay close attention. Accelerate your advance and eliminate these lesser foes. Press forward." Since the heavenly court remained unaware of the situation, the scattered reinforcements were difficult to gather quickly. The reinforcements arriving from all directions, though initially intended to bolster the defense, ended up being absorbed and defeated as the demonic forces consolidated their strength. The heavenly court was in chaos. Because the messengers had first gone to the Purple Emperor's palace, the Hall of the Supreme Heavens received the news last—nearly an hour after the demonic forces had crossed the boundary line. "What?" Qin Dashi leapt up from his躺chair, eyes blazing, and said: "The demonic race has the courage of a lion with its heart set on ambition—how dare they invade the Heavens? Have they forgotten the lessons from the last divine-demon war?" The messenger, his face solemn with sorrow, replied: "Master Qin, I truly hope this isn't true, but the demons have indeed launched an attack. With the Heavens utterly unprepared, the losses have been severe. The Jade Emperor has summoned both the Zuiwei Palace and the Haotian Palace to jointly resist the invaders. Shall we not send you and your brothers-in-arms to the front lines immediately?" "I will certainly join the battle," he declared firmly, "but before that, I have an important matter to attend to. You go back now. The disciples of Haotian Palace will soon appear on the front lines, and I, Qin Feng, will join them shortly. Together, we will surely defeat the demons and make them relive the same fate." "The person bowed respectfully, saying, 'Thank you, Master Qin. By the way, there's another matter—I didn't see the old Magus Emperor appear. Sitting on the Magus Throne is Rex, and according to everyone's analysis, he must have taken over as the new Magus Emperor in place of his uncle.' Honestly, he's become the Magus Emperor! That makes sense—old Magus Emperor was a conservative, strong in consolidation but lacking in aggression. Though he often dreamed of absorbing the Celestial Realm, he never dared to take actual action. "He said seriously, 'Therefore, at the battlefield, it will be very dangerous. You'd better leave here. I know you all want to fight alongside me. So make the most of your time to train and build a solid foundation for our upcoming counteroffensive against the demonic forces.' The young girls nodded obediently. The group then hurried to the valley where Meili lived, making sure to be safe. For added security, General Qin adjusted the mist array—while it might not hold against the immortals, it would be sufficient to repel the demons. Before parting, he handed each of them a pile of inner essences from fierce beasts to refine. On the front lines, under the determined resistance of the heavenly immortals, the demonic army's advance slowed down. General Li Jing led ten thousand heavenly troops around the enemy's flank, striking unexpectedly and eliminating over ten thousand demons. Then, leveraging his intimate knowledge of the terrain, he managed to retreat before the enemy forces could turn and reinforce them. The Erlang God did not fall behind, bringing three thousand heavenly guards to appear on the enemy's other flank, employing the same strategy of attacking and then retreating." Rex remained seated in his chair, listening to the report of the losses from his subordinates, and said, "They've only taken two minor advantages from us—our troop losses amount to no more than a few tens of thousands. That's nothing but a drop in the bucket." A king-level magical being stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, the enemy's forces are gathering in ever-increasing numbers. Our current advantage will soon fade. Please advise how we should proceed." Rex had already carefully planned his strategy. "I predict that in the coming days, the heavenly realm will continue to rely on small-scale raids. I order our troops to form a turtle-array, continuously rotating the outermost units. As long as any enemy force arrives, we will gather superior strength to annihilate them. At the same time, we must maintain a steady forward momentum. I intend to crush the heavenly palace into rubble." "Understood," the subordinates echoed in unison. With determined effort, the heavenly realm organized a defensive line, and the Jade Emperor personally arrived on the scene to boost the morale of the troops. Soon, representatives from the Haotian and Ziwei palaces arrived, with two emperors leading their teams personally, and three emperors appearing simultaneously, instantly lifting the morale of the troops. The Jade Emperor glanced several times before finally asking, "Where is Qin Feng? I haven't seen him." Haotian Emperor blushed and replied, "He sent his family back to Earth." "What?" the Jade Emperor exclaimed, eyes widening, "With such a great enemy at hand, that young man has simply vanished!" "It's not that he's vanished," Haotian Emperor quickly clarified, "His female friends have just achieved celestial ascension, and their power still isn't sufficient to withstand the demonic forces. Rather than stay in the heavens and face certain death, it's better to send them to a safer place. This way, Qin Feng no longer has to worry about his loved ones, and can fight the demons with full focus and determination." The Jade Emperor nodded, saying, "I believe Qin Feng isn't someone who would abandon his post at a critical moment." "I certainly am not." "Qin Dashi's voice rang out as he stepped upon a vibrant, multicolored cloud, smiling warmly and said, 'With all three of you here, we now have at least five half-strength warriors—enough to stand a single battle against the Mage Emperor. I still can't understand what exactly gives him such boldness in his invasion of the Heavenly Realm.' Pu Wei the Emperor was momentarily stunned: 'What do you mean five half-strength warriors? How can there be a half-wizard? Who is this person?' Hao Tian the Emperor and the Jade Emperor also wished to know the answer, their eyes fixed intently on Qin Dashi. 'First, the three esteemed elders, then General Li Jing—each of you four can defeat Rex.' He then pointed to himself and added, 'And now, including me, that makes five.' Hearing his name called, Li Jing, standing at a distance, felt honored and smiled, offering a respectful bow. Qin offered a gentle smile and continued, "The other half belongs to your nephew, the God of War, Erlang. He's had experience facing Rex, so even if he doesn't win, he'll at least endure a solid fight and manage to escape unscathed. That counts as half." Yang Jian stood beside Li Jing and listened, his face turning green with frustration, yet unable to refute the point—after all, he had truly been held in Rex's hands. After a long moment of gritting his teeth, he spoke, "Qin Feng, this massive invasion by the demonic forces is directly linked to our previous duel. Why don't we send representatives? You and Rex should fight again. If he loses, then..." "You're a fool," Qin interrupted firmly. "He's leading a force of tens of millions—does he really expect to come just to face me again on the battlefield?" The Jade Emperor felt embarrassed by his nephew's proposal and huffed, "Can't you say anything useful?" Yang Jian stammered, "Well, then, I guess I said nothing at all." It's obvious that Qin Shao, who has only recently arrived in the heavenly realm, has already surpassed the established deity Yang Jian in status—after all, who could resist the brilliance of our top-tier talent? No matter where he goes, he always shines. He glanced at the approaching enemies, who formed a dense, dark mass that could truly be described as blocking the sky and the heavens. "Ladies and gentlemen," he proposed with a smile, "how about we all charge together—Li Jing, the Marshal, and the one who's murmuring to himself? What do you think? Just us a few of us, right?" Naturally, the master always supports his disciple. The Heavenly Emperor said, "I believe this is essential—we need to show the demonic forces just how powerful our heavenly warriors truly are." The Purple Emperor agreed, "These thousands of troops haven't faced real combat yet—they've been itching for a chance. This is the perfect opportunity to let them vent their frustrations." Li Jing beamed with enthusiasm, "To fight alongside the three emperors is truly a privilege." "The Jade Emperor concluded with a final summary: 'Then what are we waiting for? Let's go!' Yang Jian hesitated, saying, 'I think, perhaps...' 'Shut up!' the five of them spoke in unison. Yang Jian was so startled that he nearly fell off the cloud, his face filled with despair, wondering how one person could be left without a voice at all. Yang Jian became the one just watching, wanting to throw his weapon but afraid of accidentally knocking it into his uncle's back of the head. He had never noticed before how large his uncle's back of the head was—it completely blocked his view. Boom… Thud… Hush… The demonic army directly in front, under the combined assault of the five spiritual forces, instantly formed five breaches.