The Eight-Gate Golden Lock Formation was a top-tier killing array, formed using the transformations of the Eight Trigrams and the mutual generation and restraint of the Eight Aspects of Heaven and Earth. Each gate housed a different battle array space, filled with deadly traps. Once inside, escaping was nearly impossible. On the battlefield, it was a supreme killing formation.
Now deployed, it became a bottomless abyss for the onrushing savage beasts and vicious birds. No matter how many charged in, the formation remained unchanged. From the outside, there was no sign of what was happening within.
The Battle Tiger Legion soldiers were battle-hardened veterans. With the support of the formation, their slaughter of the beasts and birds was a brutal massacre. These creatures, driven by their insatiable bloodlust and destruction, were further eroded by the illusions within the formation, turning on one another in a savage frenzy. The scene became horrifying and filled with gore.
Eight-Gate Golden Lock Formation (八门锁金大阵) – A high-level battle array utilizing the principles of the Eight Trigrams. Each gate holds a different spatial battlefield and illusions that can cause enemies to go mad and turn on each other.
"Such a formation... So the human race has such depth. But no matter how strong a formation is, it has its limits. Formations are formed by soldiers—when enough fall, the formation breaks by itself. These are nothing but cannon fodder. Exchanging fodder for elites—this is a profitable deal!"
Within the Evernight Legion, a figure emerged—a skeleton knight clad in black bone armor, wielding a massive blood-colored sword forged from some strange blood-bone material. The blade seemed to flow with actual blood, reeking with an overpowering stench of gore.
He rode upon a bone dragon, western in appearance, with massive skeletal wings and an oppressive draconic might. Though undead, the power it radiated far surpassed normal undead beings.
With their arrival, the vicious beasts and birds became even more frenzied and savage.
The skeleton knight's eyes burned with black soul fire, deep and penetrating, capable of devouring one's very soul. Yet within that flame was also a glimmer of intelligence, setting him apart from the mindless cannon fodder.
He was, without a doubt, a wise and cunning Evernight being, akin to the Clown, capable of commanding armies. To him, cannon fodder was expendable—just like crops, mow one batch and more will grow.
As he observed the Eight-Gate Golden Lock Formation, a cold gleam flashed in his eyes.
"So, humans... Very well. Let's see how you fare when forced to slaughter your own kind. Let's see if your blades still hold steady... if your hearts will tremble."
He waved his hand.
Suddenly, a massive tide of human-shaped Evernight puppets surged forward toward the formation. Leading the charge were heavily armored cavalry on warhorses—tens of thousands of them. Behind them, vast numbers of infantry.
One could see insignias from the Yellow Turban Army, Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, Boxer Rebellion, Wagang Army, and more. These ancient Chinese military forces, now indistinguishable from one another, charged as one into the Eight-Gate Golden Lock Formation.
The skeleton knight seemed intent on witnessing humans slaughtering fellow humans. This attack wave was composed entirely of Evernight puppet-human armies—no other races were involved. Though one was Evernight, and the other Eternal, the human features remained.
This was, in essence, forced fratricide—a scene the skeleton knight found most amusing.
"Excellent," Yi Tianxing sneered inwardly upon seeing this. He exchanged a glance with Jia Xu.
With a thought, a spatial gate appeared within the Eight-Gate Golden Lock Formation.
As the Evernight puppet armies charged in, a bizarre situation unfolded.
Within the formation, after entering, each puppet saw a clear path—each gate led to a corridor, each imbued with formidable power. Previously, blood from fallen beasts soaked these roads. But now, no attacks emerged from the fog, no arrows, no golden chains—just open roads.
They surged forward, undeterred, and at the end of each road was a massive silver-white portal.
Upon seeing the portal, the puppet soldiers didn't hesitate and rushed inside—vanishing without a trace.
Whether cavalry or infantry, they disappeared the moment they stepped through the spatial gate.
Trap Spatial Gate inside the Battle Array – A decoy mechanism that lures mindless enemy puppets into teleportation portals leading to a hidden trap.
This was the weakness of beings driven only by destruction—lacking true intelligence. A normal army would've halted upon seeing such a suspicious situation. But these puppets knew neither fear nor caution. In some cases, this was an advantage—but here, it was a fatal flaw.
Inside the formation, Yi Tianxing opened a portal that led directly into the Hongmeng Heavenly Emperor Tower.
Inside the tower, in the space where the Wuxie Heavenly Sound Treasure Tree grew, the puppet soldiers appeared.
The tree released waves of mystical heavenly sound, accompanied by divine white light that bathed the area.
The puppet soldiers immediately let out agonized screams, falling to the ground, rolling and writhing in pain. Their expressions were twisted with suffering.
Wuxie Heavenly Sound Treasure Tree (无邪天音宝树) – A divine tree that emits sacred music and purifying light, specifically devastating to mindless or corrupted beings like Evernight puppets.
Thousands, tens of thousands, then hundreds of thousands fell under its influence.
As the puppet army poured into the formation, they were effortlessly devoured into the tower—without a single drop of blood spilled.
Once they were all inside, the formation's fog rapidly dissipated. In a blink, it vanished.
The Battle Tiger Legion was nowhere to be seen, and not even a single corpse remained.
In truth, once the puppet army had been absorbed, the entire Battle Tiger Legion followed into the tower via the spatial gate.
The battlefield now appeared eerily empty, as if the army and the beasts had vanished into thin air.
"Something's off. Even the soldiers who formed the array are gone. This city's ruler is quite clever. I heard a nearby star gate was destroyed—it must've been them," the skeleton knight said, his gaze deepening as he let out a cold laugh.
With the battle formation gone, Sunset City was now fully exposed.
Masses of Evernight soldiers, beasts, birds, and all manner of cannon fodder swarmed toward the city walls like a black tide.
"Archers, ready! Fire!"
"Shieldbearers, form up! Hold the line!"
"Rune bombs—throw them!"
"Use talismans! Flame Talismans—concentrate your fire! Release!"
"Ballista—fire!"
Orders rang out in quick succession. The defenses of Sunset City were instantly reactivated.
A fierce new battle erupted, with savage combat at the city walls.
Just as in the past two nights, the Evernight forces charged fearlessly, only to be slain en masse. Their sheer numbers were terrifying, and although the defenders suffered only minor losses in comparison, losses still occurred.
This highlighted the true terror of the Evernight Legion.
Each soldier of Sunset City fought with all their might—using weapons, talismans, rune bombs, arrows, and even their own divine abilities.
Their goal: to inflict maximum damage.
With each fight, the soldiers' combat skills evolved, their moves growing faster, deadlier—turning refined techniques into instinct. Their cultivation levels rose steadily amid the bloodshed.
"What a powerful army. In the human race, such forces are exceedingly rare."
"Every soldier has cultivated elite techniques—military-grade top-tier cultivation methods. Their auras are deep and sustained, and even interlinked. Most factions only distribute average methods to their troops, never the best ones. To offer high-tier cultivation methods to soldiers… this ruler is exceptional."
Yao Yue and Lian Xing, standing atop the city wall, were deeply shaken by the sight.
"So this is the Great Yi Dynasty... Truly worthy of being the first true human dynasty."
"If all humans had this kind of strength, how could we be scorned or bullied by other races?"
The many human cultivators who had gathered in the city over the last two days were equally awed.
In their hearts, a longing for Great Yi quietly blossomed.
They could feel it—this was what a true human civilization should be. Only such a nation could give the human race the dignity it deserved.
The skeleton knight did not engage in battle.
He merely stood silently atop his bone dragon, gazing upon the battlefield. No matter how much death or slaughter unfolded below, it failed to stir any emotion in him.
Unnoticed, the black night began to fade.
Boom!!
As darkness receded, the Evernight Legions began to retreat, halting their assault. The murderous madness in their eyes slowly receded into stillness.