Chapter 1237: 659: The New Heaven-Burning Ancestor! Venturing Once More into Danger! (Part 2)

He first showed a hint of delight on his face, cupped his hands and promised, then chuckled, and said: "True Martial Sect Leader, the Desolate Sand Sea is easy to defend and hard to attack, and the Demon Race within are its elite. If the army launches a full assault, the loss would be truly tremendous."These words could basically be said to have been laid out plainly.

The implication was nothing more than having the Human Clan’s strongmen form a tactical strike team to tear open a breach in the Desolate Sand Sea.

As soon as he spoke, all eyes fell on Jiang Shu.

He was a newly promoted Daoist Venerable, a legendary warrior who personally slew the Earth Ant and Fire Flood Dragon, and twice destroyed Array Hubs; the leader of the strike team seemed to be none other than him.

Especially since it was currently the Asking Dao Banquet.

Jiang Shu pursed his lips slightly and stepped forward:

"It seems General Hong already has someone in mind."

With that statement, Hong Yue cupped his hands toward Jiang Shu and said:

"Except for the Supreme Mysterious Daoist Venerable, I can’t think of anyone else who could take on this task."

Having come this far, Jiang Shu would naturally not refuse. He stood up and spoke slowly.

His voice was not loud, but carried a decisive tone.

"Ladies and gentlemen, the Desolate Sand Sea needs to be settled."

"The Heaven-Burning Ancestor is mobilizing elite forces with the intention of restoring the Sand Sea. It can be imagined that there must be a tough nut within; only an elite strike can swiftly break the stalemate."

"Delaying a day is giving them time to solidify their defenses or even to breed changes."

"I am willing to lead an elite team to breach their core defenses."

"Sect Leader, I want Zong Yue, as well as one Daoist Venerable and three Peak Daoist Monarchs."

Zong Yue’s current Realm may not be high, but the Supreme Slaughter Longsword he holds is very suitable for this situation.

He did not mince words and straightforwardly asked for people.

Taiwu Daoist Venerable’s eyes flashed with a hint of approval.

"Granted!"

"General Hong, you will coordinate the army. Once Jiang Shu opens the breach, press forward in full force and annihilate the enemy leader entirely, clearing the Sand Sea!"

"I accept the order!"

Hong Yue clasped his fists, his fighting spirit rising.

Zi Ji Daoist Venerable furrowed his brow slightly, wanting to say something, but upon watching Jiang Shu’s calm and resolute profile, it turned into a barely audible sigh.

"Be careful, don’t engage in risky actions again."

"If there is an anomaly at the core of the Array Hub, it’s better to retreat than seek glory."

He genuinely feared this audacious yet always capable of turning the tide disciple would again perform some earth-shattering yet harmful act.

Jiang Shu nodded and said, "Disciple understands."

A few days of preparation passed in the blink of an eye.

A strike team of less than a hundred people, but gathering Inner Sect elites from the Seven Great Sects and those in the alliance skilled in hard assaults and quick maneuvers, quietly assembled in the forest a hundred miles west of Split Stone City.

Everyone restrained their energy, their eyes sharp as knives, like a Divine Weapon about to be unsheathed.

They were carefully selected from the Seven Great Sects, but only Jiang Shu and six others were the true spearhead, while the main role of the others was to clean up the remnants left by Jiang Shu and the team.

Jiang Shu donned a dark blue form-fitting Treasure Armor, no excessive words, only calmly uttered two words:

"Depart!"

In an instant, over a hundred streams of light tore through the still air, like a silent meteor shower, piercing the sky, heading northwest toward the lifeless expanse of the Sand Sea.

Five hundred miles into the Sand Sea, the dust in the air carried a stench of blood and decay, heavy as if it were rust.

Sunlight filtered through the thick yellow canopy, casting a cold shadow.

Beneath the sand, it was no longer pure deathly silence, but concealed numerous twisted rune paths and occasionally flickering dark Guard Arrays.

Jiang Shu’s Divine Sense, like an invisible tide in his Sea of Consciousness, cautiously spread along the ground to explore. The feedback was shocking.

Numerous Demon Soldiers of various forms lurked under the sand, behind weathered rock hills, even half-merged with the flowing sand.

They were covered in slimy dark red blood scabs, as if they had just crawled out from some foul blood pool, eyes flaming with frenzied red light, clearly having undergone some sort of stimulating enhancement.

The patrols were no longer Low Rank Little Demons, but elite squads led by several Transformed Demons, even one or two whose aura was fierce and in an unusually excited state, led by Demon Monarchs.

The core area of the Desolate Sand Sea resembled a huge web, layered and secure, with a heavy and powerful pressure, like a dark underwater current, slowly accumulating and surging at the center of the web.

"The Heaven-Burning Ancestor indeed spared no expense."

In the team, one Cultivator licked his chapped lips, sensing the dozen or so waves of Peak of Transformation Demon energy roiling behind distant sand dunes.

Jiang Shu’s gaze locked onto the tallest wind-eroded rock pillar visible ahead.

The pillar was dark red, the base crawling with writhing black moss, its top covered with irregular crystals resembling cooled lava.

That was the strongest defense in this area and the most symbolic outpost node, Blood Evil Rock, and the outer barrier of the entire core defense zone.

"Target, Blood Evil Rock."

Jiang Shu’s voice was calmly devoid of wavering.

To him, this battle didn’t require his interference.

He only needed to wait patiently, for the Demon Venerable to make an appearance.

"Tie Shan, Lei Yan, and Qing Ping, the three of you are responsible for the east side, clearing all guards below the rock pillar within three breaths."

"Xiao Suo and Feng Xu, you handle the west side alert dunes, cut off their reinforcements route."

"The others, stay put, ready to counter the first wave of Demon Soldiers surging from underground. The creature in the crystal nest atop the rock pillar, leave it to me."

Assignments were crystal clear, issued in an instant.

No one questioned it. This battle-hardened team acted like a precision machine, erupting with the sharpest execution once the orders were given.

Within them, a Cultivator roared fiercely, a lustrous bronze metallic glow burst from his body, charging like a human war chariot toward the eastern dune!

"Boom!"

The sight of yellow sand rising skywards, seven or eight just-enhanced, violent-aura Transformed Demons were immediately blown away by this overwhelming force. Their protective Demon Energy disintegrated upon contact with Tie Shan’s skin, and their bones emitted a teeth-grinding sound of breaking.

Lei Yan followed closely, rubbing his hands together, two blinding purple thunderballs roared forth, exploding precisely within the groups of demons attempting to form an array, lightning snakes danced wildly, instantly paralyzing their formation.

Qing Ping moved like a phantom, the thin sword in his hand silently targeting core nodes controlling the Guard Array. Where the sword light passed, the blood-colored rune light curtains that had just lit up bizarrely extinguished.

To the west, Xiao Suo wielded an Array Flag, several distorted space light screens instantly rose on the flowing sandy ground, trapping a group of sinister Sand Scorpion Demon Soldiers trying to surround from the side.

Feng Xu transformed into wind, circling the light screen at high speed, azure Wind Blades poured from his fingers like a waterfall, shredding the trapped demon soldiers, moving so fast that only a blur of green shadows was visible.

Almost simultaneously with Jiang Shu’s order, the sand beneath them suddenly surged, countless sharp claws and bone spikes broke through the sand, accompanied by mad shrieks and a strong pungent wind!

These Demon Soldiers emerging from underground were more numerous, their momentum more fierce, evidently the basic consumable force in the Sand Sea’s defenses.

"Slaughter!"

The waiting elite coalition roared in unison, without a hint of hesitation, various Magical Treasure lights, sharp Sword Qi, and surging Primordial Power flooded out instantaneously, fiercely clashing with the demon soldier onslaught.

Blade lights and sword shadows, spells roared, severed limbs and stinking yellow sand flew, the brutal slaughter instantly exploded around Blood Evil Rock, painting the gloomy Sand Sea into a frenzy of blood and violence.

And as this earth-shattering first wave of impact erupted, Jiang Shu moved.

His figure merged with ink, swallowed by space itself.

With a single step, leaving behind a slight ripple of air, he appeared at the entrance of the massive black hive-like crystal nest atop Blood Evil Rock.

Roar!

The aura coiled within the nest erupted instantly, it surprisingly bore the presence of two Demon Venerables!